On this date in history:

In 1547, Henry VIII died and 9-year-old Edward VI became king of England.

In 1782, the U.S. Congress authorized creation of the Great Seal of the United States.

In 1813, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen was published.

In 1878, the first commercial telephone switchboard began operation in New Haven, Conn.

In 1958, The Lego Group received a patent for its toy building blocks.

In 1965, the Canadian Parliament accepted a new national flag design that included a red maple leaf in its center.

In 1974, Israel lifted its siege of Suez City and turned over 300,000 square miles of Egyptian territory to the United Nations, ending an occupation that had begun during the October 1973 war.

In 1982, kidnapped U.S. Army Brig. Gen. James Dozier was rescued in Padua, Italy, after being held 42 days by Italian Red Brigades militants.

In 1986, the space shuttle Challenger exploded 72 seconds after launch from Cape Canaveral, killing all seven crew members, including civilian teacher Christa McAuliffe.

In 1993, a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that the U.S. military's policy against homosexuals was unconstitutional because it was based on cultural myths and false stereotypes.

In 1995, the United States and Vietnam agreed to exchange low-level diplomats and open liaison offices in each other's capital cities.

In 1997, five former police officers in South Africa admitted to killing anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko, who died in police custody in 1977 and whose death had been officially listed as an accident.

In 2000, the U.S. government admitted that workers making nuclear weapons were exposed to radiation and chemicals that led to cancer and early death.

In 2004, the chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq told Congress government officials were almost all wrong in believing Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and called for an outside independent investigation of the apparent intelligence failure.

In 2005, Condoleezza Rice was sworn in as the 66th U.S. secretary of state.

In 2009, the World Health Organization said more than 3,000 people died of cholera during an outbreak in Zimbabwe.

In 2013, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands announced she would end her 33-year rule in April.

In 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama pledged in his State of the Union address to do all he could, using executive orders if necessary, to expand opportunities for U.S. families. Obama said, So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that's what I'm going to do,

Copyright 2015 by United Press International