Today's Highlights in History

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/general/on...0050112.html?th
On Jan. 12, 1915, the United States House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote. LINK

On Jan. 12 , 1876, Jack London , the American author best known for his novel "The Call of the Wild" , was born. Following his death on Nov. 22 , 1916, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit.) LINK



On January 12, 1861, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about secession. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.) LINK

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On this date in:


1519 Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I died.


1773 The first public museum in America was established, in Charleston, S.C.


1932 Hattie W. Caraway, a Democrat from Arkansas, became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate. (She had been appointed two months earlier to fill the vacancy caused by her husband's death.)

1945 Soviet forces began a huge offensive against the Germans in Eastern Europe during World War II.


1948 The Supreme Court ruled that states could not discriminate against law-school applicants because of race.


1969 The New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Miami.


1971 The sitcom ''All in the Family'' premiered on CBS.


1976 Mystery writer Agatha Christie died at age 85.


1986 Space shuttle Columbia blasted off with a crew that included the first Hispanic-American in space, Dr. Franklin R. Chang-Diaz.


1991 A deeply divided Congress gave President George H.W. Bush the authority to use force to expel Iraq from Kuwait. The Senate vote was 52-47; the House followed suit 250-183.

1998 Nineteen European nations signed a treaty in Paris opposing human cloning.


1998 Linda Tripp provided Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's office with taped conversations between herself and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.

1999 Mark McGwire's 70th home run ball was sold at auction in New York for $3 million to an anonymous bidder.


2000 The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, gave police broad authority to stop and question people who run at the sight of an officer.


2003 AOL Time Warner chairman Steve Case announced his resignation.


2003 Singer Maurice Gibb of the Bee Gees died at age 53.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current Birthdays


Howard Stern turns 51 years old today.

AP Photo/Gregory Bull Radio talk show host Howard Stern turns 51 years old today.




95 Luise Rainer
Actress


89 P.W. Botha
Former South African president


79 Ray Price
Country singer


77 Ruth Brown
Singer


75 Glenn Yarborough
Singer


70 The Amazing Kreskin
Psychic-magician


66 William Lee Golden
Country singer (The Oak Ridge Boys)


61 Joe Frazier
Boxer


59 George Duke
Singer-musician


59 Cynthia Robinson
Rock musician (Sly and the Family Stone)


57 Anthony Andrews
Actor


56 Wayne Wang
Director


54 Kirstie Alley
Actress


54 Rush Limbaugh
Radio talk show host


53 Ricky Van Shelton
Country singer


48 Tom Ardolino
Rock musician (NRBQ)


45 Charlie Gillingham
Rock musician (Counting Crows)


45 Oliver Platt
Actor


39 Rob Zombie
Rock singer


38 TBird
Rapper (B-Rock and the Bizz)


38 Vendela
Model-actress


37 Farrah Forke
Actress


35 Zack de la Rocha
Rock singer (Rage Against the Machine)


35 Raekwon
Rapper (Wu Tang Clan)


32 Dan Haseltine
Singer (Jars of Clay)


32 Matt Wong
Rock musician (Reel Big Fish)


31 Melanie Chisholm
Singer (Spice Girls)


23 Dontrelle Willis
Baseball player


18 Will Rothhaar
Actor


17 Andrew Lawrence
Actor



Historic Birthdays


Jack London

1/12/1876 - 11/22/1916
American novelist
(Go to obit.)



61 John Winthrop
1/12/1588 - 3/26/1649
Massachusetts Bay Colony founder


75 Charles Perrault
1/12/1628 - 5/15/1703
French poet


56 John Hancock
1/12/1737 - 10/8/1793
American revolutionary leader


41 Jakob Michael Lenz
1/12/1751 - 5/24/1792
Russian-born German poet


69 Francis Henry Underwood
1/12/1825 - 8/7/1894
American lawyer/author


69 John Singer Sargent
1/12/1856 - 4/15/1925
Italian-born American artist


86 Max Eastman
1/12/1883 - 3/25/1969
American poet/editor


80 Louis Horst
1/12/1884 - 1/23/1964
American pianist/composer


53 Hermann Goring
1/12/1893 - 10/15/1946
German Nazi commander