Today is Wednesday, Jan. 2, the second day of 2019. There are 363 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Jan. 2, 1900, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay announced the "Open Door Policy" to facilitate trade with China.
On this date:
In 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1792, the first classes began at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
In 1929, the United States and Canada reached agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls.
In 1935, Bruno Hauptmann went on trial in Flemington, New Jersey, on charges of kidnapping and murdering the 20-month-old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (Hauptmann was found guilty, and executed.)
In 1942, the Philippine capital of Manila was captured by Japanese forces during World War II.
In 1960, Sen. John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts launched his successful bid for the presidency.
In 1967, Republican Ronald Reagan took the oath of office as the new governor of California in a ceremony that took place in Sacramento shortly just after midnight.
In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 miles an hour as a way of conserving gasoline in the face of an OPEC oil embargo. (The 55 mph limit was effectively phased out in 1987; federal speed limits were abolished in 1995.) "Singing cowboy" star Tex Ritter died in Nashville at age 68.
In 1983, the original Broadway production of the musical "Annie" closed after a run of 2,377 performances.
In 1986, former baseball owner Bill Veeck, remembered for his well-publicized stunts and promotional gimmicks, including an exploding scoreboard and a midget pinch-hitter, died in Chicago at age 71.
In 2000, Retired Admiral Elmo R. Zumwalt, Jr., known early in his career for modernizing the Navy and later for ordering the spraying of Agent Orange in Vietnam, died in Durham, N.C. at age 79.
In 2006, a methane gas explosion at the Sago Mine in West Virginia claimed the lives of 12 miners, but one miner, Randal McCloy, Jr., was eventually rescued. The roof of a skating rink collapsed in the German town of Bad Reichenhall, killing 15 people.