Today is Monday, Jan. 5, the fifth day of 2015. There are 360 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History: On Jan. 5, 1925, Democrat Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming took office as
America’s first female governor, succeeding her late husband, William, following a special election.
On this date:
In 1781, a British naval expedition led by Benedict Arnold burned Richmond, Virginia.
In 1895, French Capt. Alfred Dreyfus, convicted of treason, was publicly stripped of his rank. (He was
ultimately vindicated.)
In 1905, the National Association of Audubon Societies for the Protection of Wild Birds and Animals was
incorporated in New York State.
In 1914, auto industrialist Henry Ford announced he was going to pay workers $5 for an 8-hour day, as
opposed to $2.34 for a 9-hour day. (Employees still worked six days a week; the 5-day work week was
instituted in 1926.)
In 1933, construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge. (Work was completed four years later.)
In 1949, in his State of the Union address, President Harry S. Truman labeled his administration the Fair
Deal.
In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed assistance to countries to help them resist Communist
aggression in what became known as the Eisenhower Doctrine.
In 1964, during a visit to the Holy Land, Pope Paul VI met with Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople
in Jerusalem.
In 1970, Joseph A. Yablonski, an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency of the United Mine Workers of
America, was found murdered with his wife and daughter at their Clarksville, Pennsylvania, home. (UMWA
President Tony Boyle and seven others were convicted of, or pleaded guilty to, the killings.) “All My
Children” premiered on ABC-TV.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama scolded 20 of his highest-level officials over the thwarted
Christmas Day terror attack on an airliner bound for Detroit, taking them jointly to task for “a
screw-up that could have been disastrous” and should have been avoided. The U.S. and British embassies
in Yemen reopened their doors after a two-day closure prompted by security concerns.