Today in history: January 28

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last updated 8 January 2015

January 28, 1916: Appointed by President Wilson, Louis D. Brandeis became the first Jewish member of the Supreme Court.

January 28, 1986: Less than two minutes after liftoff, the space shuttle Challenger exploded, killing all seven crew members aboard. President Reagan postponed his State of the Union and gave what is regarded as one of the finest speeches of his presidency. Challenger's anniversary comes the day after the anniversary of the fire on board Apollo 1 that killed three astronauts (Jan. 27, 1967) and four days before the shuttle Columbia anniversary, in which all seven aboard were killed (Feb. 1, 2003).

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