This day in history — Jan. 18

Today’s highlight in history 

On Jan. 18, 1943, during World War II, Jewish insurgents in the Warsaw Ghetto launched their initial armed resistance against Nazi troops, who eventually succeeded in crushing the rebellion.

On this date 

In 1778, English navigator Captain James Cook reached the present-day Hawaiian Islands, which he named the “Sandwich Islands.” 

In 1911, the first landing of an aircraft on a ship took place as pilot Eugene B. Ely brought his Curtiss biplane in for a safe landing on the deck of the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania in San Francisco Harbor. 

In 1919, the Paris Peace Conference, held to negotiate peace treaties ending the First World War, opened in Versailles, France.

In 1949, Charles Ponzi, engineer of one of the most spectacular mass swindles in history, died destitute at a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, at age 66.

In 1967, Albert DeSalvo, who claimed to be the “Boston Strangler,” was convicted of armed robbery, assault and sex offenses. (Sentenced to life, DeSalvo was killed in prison in 1973.)

In 1993, the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was observed in all 50 states for the first time.

In 2005, the world’s largest commercial jet, the Airbus A380 “superjumbo” capable of flying up to 800 passengers, was unveiled in Toulouse, France.

Ten years ago: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon designated George Clooney a U.N. “messenger of peace” to promote the world body’s activities.

Five years ago: Former Democratic New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin was indicted on charges that he used his office for personal gain, accepting payoffs, free trips and gratuities from contractors while the city was struggling to recover from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. (Nagin was found guilty of charges including bribery and money laundering, and is serving a 10-year prison sentence; his conviction is being appealed.)

One year ago: President Barack Obama defended his decision to cut nearly three decades off convicted leaker Chelsea Manning’s prison term, arguing in his final White House news conference that the former Army intelligence analyst had served a “tough prison sentence” already.

Associated Press

QUOTE UNQUOTE

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." 

Rudyard Kipling, 

Nobel Prize-winning author who died on this date in 1936 at age 70