On This Day, Jan. 5: Scientists discover dwarf planet Eris
Jan. 5 (UPI) -- On this date in history:
In 1914, the Ford Motor Co. increased its pay from $2.34 for a 9-hour day to $5 for 8 hours of work. It was a radical move in an attempt to better retain employees after introducing the assembly line.
In 1925, Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming was sworn in as the first woman governor in the United States.
In 1933, construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge over San Francisco Bay.
In 1933, former President Calvin Coolidge died of coronary thrombosis at his Northampton, Mass., home at the age of 60.
In 1948, the first color newsreel, filmed at the Tournament of Roses in Pasadena, Calif., was released by Warner Brothers-Pathe.
In 1982, a series of landslides killed up to 33 people after heavy rain in the San Francisco Bay area.
In 1993, the state of Washington hanged serial child-killer Westley Allan Dodd in the nation's first gallows execution in 28 years.
In 1996, a U.S. government shutdown ended after 21 days when Congress passed a stopgap spending measure that would allow federal employees to return to work. President Bill Clinton signed the bill the next day.
In 1998, U.S. Rep. Sonny Bono, R-Calif., of Sonny and Cher fame, was killed when he hit a tree while skiing at South Lake Tahoe, Calif.
In 2002, a 15-year-old student pilot, flying alone, was killed in the crash of his single-engine Cessna into the 28th floor of the Bank of America building in Tampa, Fla.
In 2005, Eris was discovered. It was considered the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system until a year later when Pluto was downgraded from being a planet.
In 2008, tribal violence following a disputed Kenya presidential election claimed almost 500 lives, officials said. Turmoil exploded after incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner over opposition candidate Raila Odinga, who had a wide early lead.
In 2013, a cold wave that sent temperatures far below average in northern India was blamed for at least 129 deaths. Many of the victims were homeless.
In 2019, Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople granted independence to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, formally separating it from Moscow for the first time since the 17th century.
In 2024, embattled National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre announced his resignation from the organization. He was accused of using funds from the NRA as a "personal piggy bank."
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This story was originally published January 5, 2025 at 3:00 AM