Today’s Highlight

On Jan. 18, 1958, Canadian Willie O’Ree became the first Black player in the National Hockey League as he made his debut with the Boston Bruins.

On this date

1778: English navigator Captain James Cook reached the present-day Hawaiian Islands, which he dubbed the “Sandwich Islands.”

1911: The first landing of an aircraft on a ship took place as pilot Eugene B. Ely brought his Curtiss biplane in for a safe landing on the deck of the armored cruiser USS Pennsylvania in San Francisco Harbor.

1973: Pink Floyd began recording “Dark Side of the Moon.”

1977: Scientists identified the bacteria responsible for the deadly form of atypical pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease.

1990: Washington, D.C., Mayor Marion Barry was arrested after FBI agents caught him smoking crack cocaine in a D.C. hotel room in a videotaped sting operation.

1993: The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday was observed in all 50 states for the first time.

1996: Lisa Marie Presley filed for divorce from Michael Jackson after less than two years of marriage.

Today’s birthdays

Actor-filmmaker Kevin Costner is 70. Actor Mark Rylance is 65. Hockey Hall of Famer Mark Messier is 64. Actor Dave Bautista is 56. Actor Jesse L. Martin is 56. Rock singer Jonathan Davis is 54. Football Hall of Famer Julius Peppers is 45. Actor Jason Segel is 45. Tennis player Angelique Kerber is 37.