TODAY IN HISTORY - JANUARY 3RD

1777 – American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.

1870 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.

1879 – Grace Coolidge, American wife of Calvin Coolidge; 32nd First Lady of the United States (d. 1957) is born

1892 – J. R. R. Tolkien, English philologist and author (d. 1973) is born

1911 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.

1938 – The March of Dimes is established

1939 – Bobby Hull, Canadian ice hockey player, Chicago Blackhawks great, is born

1946 – John Paul Jones, English bass player, songwriter, and producer (Led Zeppelin and Them Crooked Vultures) is born

1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter is born

1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower. by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.

1961 – A core explosion and meltdown at the SL-1, a government-run reactor near Idaho Falls, Idaho, kills three workers.

1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.

1967 – Jack Ruby, American murderer (b. 1911) dies

1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.

1979 – Conrad Hilton, American businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (b. 1887) dies

1981 – Eli Manning, New York Giants quarterback, is born

1990 – Former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrenders to American forces.

1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched.

2000 – The last original weekday Peanuts comic strip is published.

2004 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it the deadliest aviation accident in Egyptian history.
2014 – Phil Everly, American singer and guitarist (The Everly Brothers) (b. 1939) dies