This Day in History
In Alaska
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• In 1917, the Coast Guard cutter Unalga arrived in Juneau to begin the first winter fisheries patrol of Alaska waters.
• In 1959, IRS reversed an earlier ruling and allowed cost-of-living allowances paid to federal employees to be declared non-taxable.
In the nation
• In 1907, 100 years ago, the Richard Strauss opera "Salome" made its American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; its racy content (including the Dance of the Seven Veils) sparked outrage.
• In 1917, President Wilson pleaded for an end to war in Europe, calling for "peace without victory." (By April, however, America also was at war.)
• In 1938, Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town" was performed publicly for the first time, in Princeton, N.J.
• In 1957, suspected "Mad Bomber" George P. Metesky was arrested in Waterbury, Conn. (He was later found mentally ill and committed to a mental hospital until 1973.)
• In 1973, the Supreme Court handed down its Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion.
• In 1987, Pennsylvania treasurer R. Budd Dwyer, convicted of defrauding the state, proclaimed his innocence at a news conference before shooting himself to death in front of horrified spectators.
• In 1997, the Senate confirmed Madeleine Albright as the nation's first female secretary of state and former Republican Sen. William Cohen as defense secretary.
• In 2002, Kmart Corp., the discount chain that gave America the BlueLight Special, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
• In 2006, Kobe Bryant scored 81 points, the second-highest in NBA history, in the Los Angeles Lakers' 122-104 victory over the Toronto Raptors. The Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC title game, dismantling the Denver Broncos 34-17. The Seattle Seahawks claimed the NFC title, routing the Carolina Panthers 34-14.
In the world
• In 1905, thousands of demonstrating Russian workers were fired on by Imperial army troops in St. Petersburg on what became known as "Bloody Sunday."
• In 1944, during World War II, Allied forces began landing at Anzio, Italy.
• In 2006, Evo Morales, Bolivia's first Indian president, took office with a promise to lift his nation's struggling indigenous majority out of centuries of poverty and discrimination.