Today in History

Today is Saturday, Jan. 24, the 24th day of 2015. There are 341 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Jan. 24, 1965, British statesman Winston Churchill died in London at age 90.

On this date:

In 1742, Charles VII was elected Holy Roman Emperor during the War of the Austrian Succession.

In 1848, James W. Marshall discovered a gold nugget at Sutter's Mill in northern California, a discovery that led to the gold rush of '49.

In 1908, the Boy Scouts movement began in England under the aegis of Robert Baden-Powell.

In 1935, beer was first sold in cans in Richmond, Virginia, by the Gottfried Krueger Brewing Co.

In 1942, the Roberts Commission placed much of the blame for America's lack of preparedness for Imperial Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on Rear Adm. Husband E. Kimmel and Lt. Gen. Walter C. Short, the Navy and Army commanders.

In 1945, Associated Press war correspondent Joseph Morton was among a group of captives executed by the Germans at the Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp in Austria.

In 1961, a U.S. Air Force B-52 crashed near Goldsboro, North Carolina, dropping its payload of two nuclear bombs, neither of which went off; three crew members were killed.

In 1963, a U.S. Air Force B-52 on a training mission crashed into Elephant Mountain in Maine after encountering turbulence and losing its vertical stabilizer; seven of the nine crew members were killed.

In 1985, the space shuttle Discovery was launched from Cape Canaveral on the first secret, all-military shuttle mission.

In 1989, confessed serial killer Theodore Bundy was executed in Florida's electric chair.

Ten years ago: Authorities in Iraq said Sami Mohammed Ali Said al-Jaaf, an al-Qaida lieutenant in custody, had confessed to masterminding most of the car bombings in Baghdad. The United Nations broke with years of protocol and commemorated the 60-year anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps, directly linking its own founding with the end of the Holocaust in some of the strongest language ever.

Five years ago: In an audio message, Osama bin Laden endorsed the failed attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day and threatened new attacks against the United States. Afghanistan postponed parliamentary elections. The Indianapolis Colts beat the New York Jets 30-17 in the AFC championship game. The New Orleans Saints of the NFC made it to their first Super Bowl after battering the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 in overtime. Bowler Kelly Kulick became the first woman to win a PBA Tour title, beating Chris Barnes in the final of the 45th Tournament of Champions in Las Vegas. Actor Pernell Roberts, 81, died in Malibu, California.

One year ago: A truck bombing struck the main security headquarters in Cairo, one of a string of bombings targeting police in a 10-hour period, killing 6 people on the eve of the third anniversary of the revolt that overthrew President Hosni Mubarak and left the Arab nation deeply divided.

Thought for Today: "To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to have changed often." — Winston Churchill (1874-1965).

(Above Advance for Use Saturday, Jan. 24)