On this day …
January 19, 2018
- In 1861, Georgia seceded from the Union.
- In 1883, the first electric lighting system employing overhead wires began service in Roselle, N.J.
- In 1915, Georges Claude patented the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
- In 1937, aviator and businessman Howard Hughes set a record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in seven hours, 28 minutes.
- In 1953, more than 70 percent of televisions in the United States were tuned to the episode of I Love Lucy in which Lucy gave birth.
- In 1981, officials from the United States and Iran signed an agreement to release 52 American hostages who had spent 14 months in captivity.