Today in History: Thursday, January 12, 2012

Today in History: Thursday, January 12, 2012 Dallas Morning News AP Highlight in History: On Jan. 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a magnitude-7 earthquake, killing as many as 300,000 residents and leaving more than 1.5 million people homeless. AP Photo/Julie Jacobson 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. 1944 Heavyweight boxing champion Joe Frazier was born in Beaufort, S.C. 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. 1959 Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown Records (originally Tamla Records) in Detroit. 1969 Led Zeppelin's self-titled first album was released. 1969 The New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Miami. AP Photo 1971 The sitcom "All in the Family" premiered on CBS. 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.) AP Photo/Doug Mills 1998 Linda Tripp provided Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr's office with taped conversations between herself and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. 2000 The Supreme Court gave police broad authority to stop and question people who run at the sight of an officer. 2005 Britain's Prince Harry apologized after a newspaper published a photograph of the young royal wearing a Nazi uniform to a costume party. Video Highlights of This Day in History Today's Birthdays: Actress Naya Rivera ("Glee") turns 25 years old today. AP Photo/Michael A. Mariant) Name Profession Age Ray Price Country singer 86 Glenn Yarborough Singer 82 The Amazing Kreskin Magician 77 William Lee Golden Country singer (The Oak Ridge Boys) 73 Cynthia Robinson Rock musician (Sly and the Family Stone) 68 Kirstie Alley Actress ("Cheers") 61 Rush Limbaugh Radio talk show host 61 Ricky Van Shelton Country singer 60 Howard Stern Radio talk show host 58 Christiane Amanpour Broadcast journalist 54 Dominique Wilkins Basketball Hall of Famer 52 Jeff Bezos Amazon.com founder and CEO 48 Vendela Model 45 Rachael Harris Actress 44 Melanie Chisholm Singer (Spice Girls) 38 Actor Oliver Platt turns 52 years old today. AP Photo/Evan Agostini

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