Today in History....January 4

* 1493, Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey

* 1717, the Netherlands, England, and France sign the Triple Alliance against Spain, attempting to maintain the agreement of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. The three states were concerned about Spain becoming a superpower in Europe. As a result of this militarisation took place, causing great havoc to civilians. This enraged Spain and other states, leading to brinkmanship. It became the Quadruple Alliance the next year with the accession of Holy Roman Emperor Charles VI

* 1762, England declares war on Spain and Naples

* 1847, Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government

* 1865, the New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City

* 1936, Billboard magazine publishes its first pop music charts

* 1944, Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins

* 1951, during the Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul

* 1962, New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board

* 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his "Great Society" during his State of the Union address

* 1974, President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over materials subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee

* 1995, the 104th Congress convened, the first entirely under Republican control since the Eisenhower era

* 2004, Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC

* 2006, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel suffers a second stroke.
His authority is transferred to Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who still holds the position

* 2007, the 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history