TODAY IN HISTORY - JANUARY 3RD

1749 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.

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

1823 – Stephen F. Austin receives a grant of land in Texas from the government of Mexico.

1861 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.

1870 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.

1888 – The refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory, measuring 91 cm in diameter, is used for the first time. It was the largest telescope in the world at the time.

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

1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman, co-founded Currier and Ives (b. 1824) dies.

1913 – An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.

1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first female elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first female to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.

1937 – Glen A. Larson, American director, producer, and screenwriter, created Battlestar Galactica (d. 2014) is born.

1938 – The March of Dimes is established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

1944 – World War II: Top Ace Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington is shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.

1945 – World War II: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan.

1946 – Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf dies in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.

1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.

1953 – Frances P. Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.

1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.

1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.

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

1961 – The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba over the latter's nationalization of American assets.

1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.

1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.

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

1981 – Eli Manning, American football player, New York Giants quarterback, is born.

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

2014 – Phil Everly, American singer and guitarist (b. 1939) dies.