On Jan. 3, 1521, Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church.
In 1777 Gen. George Washington’s army routed the British in the Battle of Princeton, N.J.
In 1793 Lucretia Mott, one of the founders of the American women’s rights movement, was born Lucretia Coffin in Nantucket, Mass.
In 1868 the Meiji Restoration re-established the authority of Japan’s emperor and heralded the fall of the military rulers known as “shoguns.”
In 1938 the “March of Dimes” campaign to fight polio was organized.
In 1947 congressional proceedings were televised for the first time as viewers in Washington, Philadelphia and New York got to see some of the opening ceremonies of the 80th Congress.
In 1959 President Dwight Eisenhower signed a proclamation admitting Alaska to the Union as the 49th state.
In 1961 the United States severed diplomatic relations with Cuba.
In 1967 Jack Ruby, the man who shot accused presidential assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, died in a Dallas hospital.
In 1984 Navy Lt. Robert O. Goodman Jr., who was shot down during a U.S. raid against Syrian positions in Lebanon, was freed after a month’s captivity in Syria following an appeal by Rev. Jesse Jackson.
In 1990 ousted Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega surrendered to U.S. forces, 10 days after taking refuge in the Vatican’s diplomatic mission.
In 1993 U.S. President George H. W. Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin signed a historic nuclear missile-reduction treaty in Moscow.
In 1995 the Postal Service raised the price of a first-class stamp to 32 cents.
In 2000 the last new daily “Peanuts” strip by Charles Schulz ran in 2,600 newspapers.
In 2001 Oklahoma defeated Florida State, 13-2, to win college football’s Bowl Championship Series title game.
In 2002 a three-year federal investigation into the political and personal finances of Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.), ended with no criminal charges. Also in 2002 the University of Miami completed a perfect season with a 37-14 victory over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl to win its fifth national title and first in 10 years.
In 2003 Hall of Fame pro football coach Sid Gillman, who is credited with creating the foundation for the “West Coast offense” while coaching in Los Angeles and San Diego, died in Century City, Calif.; he was 91.
In 2004 a Boeing 737 owned by Egyptian charter tour operator Flash Airlines crashed into the Red Sea, killing all 148 people aboard, most of them French tourists. Also in 2004 NASA’s Mars rover Spirit touched down on Mars.
In 2005 President George W. Bush tapped his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and former President Bill Clinton to help raise tsunami relief funds. Also in 2005 Will Eisner, the artist who revolutionized comic books and helped pioneer the graphic novel, died in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla.; he was 87.
In 2006 lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty to providing gifts to officials in exchange for their help; he agreed to cooperate in investigations of corruption in Congress.
