January 2 ...

In 1492 the leader of the last Arab stronghold in Spain surrendered to Spanish forces loyal to King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella I. In 1788 Georgia became the 4th state to ratify the US Constitution. In 1872 Brigham Young, the 71-year-old leader of the Mormon Church, was arrested on a charge of bigamy; he had 25 wives. In 1879 Thomas Edison began construction on his first generator. In 1890 Alice Sanger became the first female White House staffer. In 1900 US Secretary of State John Hay announced the Open Door Policy to prompt trade with China. In 1920 science fiction author Isaac Asimov was born near Smolensk, Russia. In 1929 the United States and Canada reached an agreement on joint action to preserve Niagara Falls. In 1935 Bruno Hauptmann went on trial in Flemington, NJ, 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 1955 Panamanian President Jose Antonio Remon was assassinated. In 1960 Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. In 1968 Dr. Christian Barnard performed the first successful heart transplant. In 1971 a federally imposed ban on television cigarette advertisements went into effect in the US. In 1974 President Richard M. Nixon signed a bill requiring all states to lower the maximum speed limit to 55 MPH. The law was intended to conserve gasoline supplies during an embargo imposed by Arab oil-producing countries; federal speed limits were abolished in 1995. In 1986 former baseball owner Bill Veeck, known for his innovative promotions with the St. Louis Browns and the Chicago White Sox, died in Chicago at age 71.