Today is Monday, Jan. 12, the 12th day of 2026. There are 353 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 12, 1969, the biggest upset in Super Bowl history occurred as the New York Jets of the American Football League defeated the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League 16-7 in Super Bowl III, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Also on this date:
In 1915, the U.S. House of Representatives rejected a proposed constitutional amendment to give women nationwide the right to vote.
In 1932, Hattie W. Caraway of Arkansas became the first woman to win election to the U.S. Senate after initially being appointed to serve out the remainder of the term of her late husband, Thaddeus.
In 1948, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Sipuel v. Board of Regents of University of Oklahoma, unanimously ruled that state law schools could not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race.
In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. founded Motown Records (originally Tamla Records) in Detroit.
In 1966, “Batman” premiered on ABC, starring Adam West and Burt Ward.
In 2010, Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that the Haitian government estimated killed some 300,000 people.
Today’s birthdays:
- Author Haruki Murakami is 77.
- Filmmaker Wayne Wang is 77.
- Football Hall of Famer Drew Pearson is 75.
- Writer Walter Mosley is 74.
- Media personality Howard Stern is 72.
- Filmmaker John Lasseter is 69.
- Broadcast journalist Christiane Amanpour is 68.
- Actor Oliver Platt is 66.
- Basketball Hall of Famer Dominique Wilkins is 66.
- Entrepreneur Jeff Bezos is 62.
- Musician-filmmaker Rob Zombie is 61.
- Rock singer Zack de la Rocha (Rage Against the Machine) is 56.
- Rapper Raekwon (Wu Tang Clan) is 56.
- Singer Melanie Chisholm (Spice Girls) is 52.
- Hockey Hall of Famer Marián Hossa is 47.
- Actor Issa Rae is 41.
- Singer Zayn Malik is 33.
- Actor Nathan Gamble is 27.
Author
Today is Sunday, Jan. 11, the 11th day of 2026. There are 354 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 11, 2010, Mark McGwire admitted to The Associated Press that he’d used steroids and human growth hormone when he broke baseball’s home run record in 1998.
Also on this date:
In 1861, Alabama became the fourth state to declare its secession from the Union.
In 1908, the Grand Canyon was established as a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt. The move protected it from mining and other activities until it became a national park in 1919.
In 1935, aviator Amelia Earhart began what would be the first solo flight from Hawaii to California, completing the 2,400-mile flight across the Pacific to Oakland in just under 19 hours.
In 1964, U.S. Surgeon General Luther Terry issued “Smoking and Health,” a report that concluded that “cigarette smoking contributes substantially to mortality from certain specific diseases and to the overall death rate.”
In 2002, the first al-Qaida prisoners from Afghanistan arrived at the U.S. military’s Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba.
In 2021, House Democrats introduced an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump, charging him with “incitement of insurrection” after the attack on the U.S. Capitol building five days earlier.
In 2024, U.S. and British forces bombed more than dozen sites used by the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen, in a massive retaliatory strike for the militant group’s attacks on international cargo ships and other targets in the Red Sea.
Today’s birthdays:
- Filmmaker Alfonso Arau is 94.
- Golf Hall of Famer Ben Crenshaw is 74.
- Jazz guitarist Lee Ritenour is 74.
- Olympic swimming gold medalist Tracy Caulkins is 63.
- Filmmaker Malcolm D. Lee is 56.
- Singer Mary J. Blige is 55.
- Actor Amanda Peet is 54.
- Actor Devin Ratray is 49.
- Actor Aja Naomi King is 41.
- Singer and former competitive swimmer Cody Simpson is 29.
Author
Today is Saturday, Jan. 10, the 10th day of 2026. There are 355 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Jan. 10, 2013, a series of bomb blasts in Pakistan killed more than 100 people, including dozens who died in a sectarian attack in the southwest city of Quetta. Hundreds of others were injured.
Also on this date:
In 1776, Thomas Paine anonymously published his influential pamphlet, “Common Sense,” which argued for American independence from British rule.
In 1860, the Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusetts, collapsed and caught fire, killing as many as 145 people.
In 1861, Florida became the third state to secede from the Union prior to the Civil War.
In 1863, the London Underground was born when the Metropolitan Railway, the world’s first underground passenger railway, opened to the public with service between Paddington and Farringdon Street.
In 1920, the League of Nations was established as the Treaty of Versailles (vehr-SY’) went into effect.
In 1946, the United Nations convened its first General Assembly session in London with 51 nations represented. The proceedings defined the scope and purpose of the world body.
In 1982, San Francisco 49ers receiver Dwight Clark caught a touchdown pass from Joe Montana with 58 seconds left in the NFC Championship Game; one of the most famous plays in NFL history, “The Catch” led the 49ers to a 28-27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys and a berth in Super Bowl XVI, where they defeated the Cincinnati Bengals for their first Super Bowl victory.
In 2017, President Barack Obama delivered his farewell address in Chicago, in which the two-term Democrat urged national unity and highlighted achievements of his presidency including the Affordable Care Act. Republican Donald Trump took office days later after a 2016 election in which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Today’s birthdays:
- Olympic decathlon gold medalist Bill Toomey is 87.
- Singer Rod Stewart is 81.
- Rock singer-musician Donald Fagen (Steely Dan) is 78.
- Singer Pat Benatar is 73.
- Hall of Fame racing driver and team owner Bobby Rahal is 73.
- Actor-comedian Jemaine Clement is 52.
- Actor Sarah Shahi is 46.
- Business owner Jared Kushner is 45.
- Actor and singer Reneé Rapp is 26.