Today is Sunday, Jan. 23, the 23rd day of 2011. There are 342 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History

On Jan. 23, 1961, word reached the world that the Portuguese ocean liner Santa Maria, with some 600 passengers aboard, had been seized in the Caribbean by two dozen hijackers led by Henrique Galvao, an opponent of Portugal’s leader, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar. (The drama ended on Feb. 2 with the surrender of the hijackers off Brazil.)

On this date

In 1789, Georgetown University was established in present-day Washington, D.C.

In 1845, Congress decided all national elections would be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

In 1932, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 1943, critic Alexander Woollcott suffered a fatal heart attack during a live broadcast of the CBS radio program “People’s Platform.”

In 1950, the Israeli Knesset approved a resolution affirming Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

In 1960, the U.S. Navy-operated bathyscaphe Trieste carried two men to the deepest known point in the Pacific Ocean, reaching a depth of more than 35,000 feet.

In 1964, the 24th amendment to the Constitution, eliminating the poll tax in federal elections, was ratified.

In 1968, North Korea seized the Navy intelligence ship USS Pueblo, charging its crew with being on a spying mission. (The crew was released 11 months later.)

In 1973, President Richard M. Nixon announced an accord had been reached to end the Vietnam War.

In 1981, American composer Samuel Barber died in New York at age 70.

Ten years ago

California energy officials eked sufficient power out of tight West Coast electricity supplies to avoid rush-hour blackouts as lawmakers scrambled to make longer-term deals to buy power. Five people identified by Chinese authorities as Falun Gong followers set themselves on fire in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square; two died.

Five years ago

Ford Motor Co. said it would cut up to 30,000 jobs and idle 14 facilities in North America by 2012. A U.S. military jury at Fort Carson, Colo., ordered a reprimand, but no jail time, for Chief Warrant Officer Lewis Welshofer Jr., an Army interrogator convicted of killing an Iraqi general. Stephen Harper and his Conservative Party won Canada’s national elections, ending 13 years of Liberal rule.

One year ago

Abby Sunderland, 16, left Marina del Rey, Calif., on her first attempt to become the youngest person to sail solo around the world. (The voyage ended a week and a half later because the boat experienced power problems; Sunderland then made a second attempt, but that too fell short.) Rachael Flatt won her first title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Spokane, Wash., finishing more than 10 points ahead of Mirai Nagasu.

Today’s Birthdays

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J., is 87. Actress Jeanne Moreau is 83. Actress Chita Rivera is 78. Actor-director Lou Antonio is 77. Actor Gil Gerard is 68. Actor Rutger Hauer is 67. Rhythm-and-blues singer Jerry Lawson (The Persuasions) is 67. Sen. Thomas R. Carper, D-Del., is 64. Singer Anita Pointer is 63. Actor Richard Dean Anderson is 61. Rock musician Bill Cunningham is 61. Rock singer Robin Zander (Cheap Trick) is 58. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is 58. Princess Caroline of Monaco is 54. Singer Anita Baker is 53. Reggae musician Earl Falconer (UB40) is 52. Actress Gail O’Grady is 48. Actress Mariska Hargitay is 47. Rhythm-and-blues singer Marc Nelson is 40. Actress Tiffani Thiessen is 37. Rock musician Nick Harmer (Death Cab for Cutie) is 36. Christian rock musician Nick DePartee (Kutless) is 26.

Thought for Today

“The trouble is that hardly anybody in America goes to bed angry at night.”

— George J. Stigler,

American economist (1911-1991)