FRIDAY, JANUARY 4, 2008

Today is Friday, January 4, the fourth day of 2008. There are 362 days left in the year.

274 _ St. Eutychian begins his reign as Catholic pope

1493 _ Columbus left the New World on return from first voyage

1642 _ King Charles I with 400 soldiers attacks the English parliament

1717 _ The Netherlands, England and France sign Triple Alliance

1725 _ Benjamin Franklin arrives in London

1762 _ England declares a war on Spain and Naples

1894 _ France ratifies the Duple Alliance with Russia

1896 _ Following Mormon abandonment of polygamy, Utah admitted as the 45th U.S. state

1907 _ George Bernard Shaw's ``Don Juan in Hell" premieres in London

1923 _ Lenin's "Political Testament" calls for removal of Stalin

1932 _ British East Indies Viceroy Willingdon arrests Gandhi and Nehru

1951 _ During the Korean conflict, North Korean forces captured Seoul

1969 _ France begins arms embargo against Israel

1989 _ U.S. F-14s shoot down 2 Libyan jet fighters over the Mediterranean