On this day: January 2
The Lindbergh baby kidnapping trial begins, the Jets give Namath a record contract, Nixon lowers the nation's maximum speed limit to 55, and oil tops $100 a barrel for the first time, all on this day.
1788: Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1788: Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1909: Politician Barry M. Goldwater, a five-term U.S. senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for president in the 1964 election, is born in Phoenix, Arizona Territory.
1920: Author and biochemistry professor Isaac Asimov, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books, is born in Petrovichi in the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Asimov's most famous work is the "Foundation Series." His other major series are the "Galactic Empire" series and the "Robot" series.
1935: Bruno Hauptmann goes on trial for the murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr., the infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh. He would be convicted of extortion and murder the following month and was executed by electric chair on April 3, 1936.
1936: Country singer-songwriter Roger Miller, an 11-time Grammy winner best known for songs such as "King of the Road" and "Dang Me," is born in Fort Worth, Texas.
1940: Televangelist Jim Bakker, seen here in the late-1980s with his wife Tammy Faye Bakker, is born in Muskegon, Mich. A former Assemblies of God minister and host of "The PTL Club," a popular evangelical Christian television program, a sex scandal led to his resignation from the ministry in 1987. He was convicted on eight counts of mail fraud, 15 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy in 1989 and ended up serving five years in prison.
1942: Thirty-three members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne are sentenced to a total of 300 years in prison in the largest espionage case in United States history. The spies who formed the ring were placed in key jobs in the United States to get information that could be used in the event of war and to carry out acts of sabotage. The ring was discovered thanks to the work of the FBI and William G. Sebold, who had been recruited as a spy for Germany and served as a double agent for the U.S. government.
1947: Zoologist Jack Hanna, whose media appearances have made him one of the most notable animal experts in the United States, is born in Knoxville, Tenn.
1959: Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.
1961: Actress Gabrielle Carteris, best known for her role as Andrea Zuckerman on the TV drama "Beverly Hills, 90210," is born in Scottsdale, Ariz.
1965: The New York Jets sign University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath for $427,000, a pro football record at the time.
1967: Actress Tia Carrere, best known for her roles in movies such as "Wayne's World," "True Lies" and "Kull the Conqueror," is born Althea Rae Janairo in Honolulu, Hawaii.
1968: Actor Cuba Gooding Jr., best known for Academy Award-winning role in "Jerry Maguire," is born in The Bronx, N.Y. Gooding is also known for roles in movies such as "Boyz n the Hood," "Outbreak," "As Good as it Gets," "Men of Honor," "Pearl Harbor" and "Radio."
1969: Model Christy Turlington, best known for representing Calvin Klein from 1987 to 2007, is born in Walnut Creek, Calif.
1971: Actor Taye Diggs, best known for his roles in movies such as "How Stella Got Her Groove Back," "Go," "The Wood," "Chicago" and "Rent," is born Scott Leo Diggs in Newark, N.J.
1974: Country music singer and actor Tex Ritter, who starred in more than 50 Westerns, most of the "singing cowboy" variety, dies of a heart attack at the age of 68 in Nashville, Tenn. Ritter also recorded several No. 1 country hits, including "I'm Wastin' My Tears on You," "You Two-Timed Me One Time Too Often" and "You Will Have To Pay." He was also the father of "Three's Company" actor John Ritter.
1974: President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 miles per hour in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
1983: Actress Kate Bosworth, known for roles in movies such as "Blue Crush," "Wonderland," "Beyond the Sea" and "Superman Returns," is born in Los Angeles, Calif.
2004: The NASA robotic space probe Stardust successfully flies past comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth. Seen here is a picture of the comet the probe took during its approach.
2006: An explosion in a coal mine in Sago, W.Va., traps and kills 12 miners, while leaving one miner in critical condition.
2008: Oil prices soar to $100 a barrel for the first time.
2011: English actor Pete Postlethwaite, best known for his movie roles in "In the Name of the Father," "The Usual Suspects," "The Constant Gardener," "Romeo + Juliet" and "The Town," dies of pancreatic cancer at the age of 64 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. Postlethwaite earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for "In the Name of the Father" in 1994.
