Today in History....January 19

On this day in …

1861, Georgia seceded from the Union
1937, millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, N.J., in seven hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds

1944, the federal government relinquished control of the nation's railroads following settlement of a wage dispute

1950, the People's Republic of China bestows diplomatic recognition upon the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Communist China's official recognition of Ho Chi Minh's communist regime resulted in much needed financial and military assistance in Ho's battle against the French in Vietnam, and also pushed the United States to take a more intensive and active role in the conflict in Southeast Asia

1953, episode #56, “Lucy Goes to the Hospital,” of hit 1950s sitcom I Love Lucy airs for the first time. The episode, in which Lucy Ricardo, famously played by Lucille Ball, gives birth to a son, was one of the most popular in television history. Forty-four million viewers, a full 72 percent of all U.S. homes with a television, tuned in; only 29 million viewers had watched President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s televised inauguration the previous night

1955, a presidential news conference was filmed for television for the first time, with the permission of President Eisenhower

1977, in one of his last acts of office, President Ford pardoned Iva Toguri D'Aquino ("Tokyo Rose"), an American who'd made wartime broadcasts for Japan

1997, Yasser Arafat, ym"sh, returned to Hebron for the first time in more than 30 years, joining 60,000 Palestinians in celebrating the handover of Judaism's second holiest city, and the last West Bank town, from Israeli control

2002, Israeli troops set off a powerful explosion that gutted the official Palestinian broadcasting building, dealing a blow to Yasser Arafat, ym"sh, and the Palestinian Authority. The move followed yet another suicide bomber practicing his "religion of peace"