On Jan. 12, 1773, the first public museum in America was established, in Charleston, S.C.
In 1915 the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a proposal to give women the right to vote.
In 1932 Hattie Caraway became the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
In 1945 during World War II, Soviet forces began a huge offensive against German forces in Eastern Europe.
In 1948 the Supreme Court ruled that states could not discriminate against law-school applicants because of race.
In 1951 radio commentator Rush Limbaugh was born in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
In 1964 leftist rebels in Zanzibar began their successful revolt against the government.
In 1969 the New York Jets defeated the Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
In 1971 the groundbreaking television sitcom “All In the Family” premiered on CBS.
In 1986 the shuttle Columbia blasted off with a crew that included the first Hispanic-American in space, Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz.
In 1987 Anglican Church envoy Terry Waite arrived in Lebanon to help win the release of Western hostages; instead, Waite ended up becoming a captive.
In 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.)
In 1995 Qubilah Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, was arrested in Minneapolis on charges she had tried to hire a hit man to kill Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. (The charges were later dropped in a settlement with the government.)
In 1998 nineteen European nations signed a treaty in Paris opposing human cloning. Also in 1998 Linda Tripp provided Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr’s office with taped conversations between herself and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
In 1999 Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball was sold at auction in New York for $3 million to an anonymous bidder. (The buyer was later identified as toy and comic book entrepreneur Todd McFarlane.)
In 2000 the U.S. Supreme Court gave police broad authority to stop and question people who run at the sight of an officer.
In 2001 the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights concluded a two-day hearing on Florida’s presidential election, with members accusing Secretary of State Katherine Harris of presiding over a “disaster” and trying to shift blame to others.
In 2002 former Secretary of State Cyrus Vance died in New York; he was 84.
In 2005 a NASA spacecraft, Deep Impact, blasted off on a mission to smash a hole in a comet and give scientists a glimpse of the frozen primordial ingredients of the solar system. (The probe smashed into Comet Tempel 1 on July 3.)
In 2006 a stampede broke out during the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, killing 363 people.
