On Jan. 19, 1981, the United States and Iran signed an accord paving the way for the release of 52 Americans held hostage for more than 14 months.

On this date:

In 1809, author, poet and critic Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston.

In 1937, millionaire Howard Hughes set a transcontinental air record by flying his monoplane from Los Angeles to Newark, New Jersey, in 7 hours, 28 minutes and 25 seconds.

In 1955, a presidential news conference was filmed for television and newsreels for the first time, with the permission of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In 1980, retired Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas died in Washington, D.C., at age 81.

In 1987, Guy Hunt became Alabama’s first Republican governor since 1874 as he was sworn into office, succeeding George C. Wallace.

In 2005, the American Cancer Society reported that cancer had passed heart disease as the top killer of Americans age 85 and younger.

In 2009, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal restoring natural gas shipments to Ukraine and paving the way for an end to the nearly two-week cutoff of most Russian gas to a freezing Europe.

Ten years ago: Chinese President Hu Jintao, visiting the White House, declared “a lot still needs to be done” to improve his country’s record on human rights; the exchange with President Barack Obama over human rights was balanced by U.S. delight over newly announced Chinese business deals expected to generate about $45 billion in new export sales for the U.S.

Five years ago: Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump received the endorsement of conservative firebrand Sarah Palin, giving the businessman a potential boost less than two weeks before Iowa’s kick-off caucuses. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, in his State of the State address, again pledged to fix the crisis over Flint’s lead-contaminated water. Italian movie director Ettore Scola, 84, died in Rome.

One year ago: Health officials in central China reported that 17 more people had been diagnosed with the new coronavirus, which had killed two patients and placed other countries on alert. The South Korean film “Parasite” became the first foreign language film to take top honors from the Screen Actors Guild, en route to an Academy Award as best picture. The San Francisco 49ers rolled past the Green Bay Packers, 37-20, to advance to the franchise’s seventh Super Bowl; the Kansas City Chiefs reached their first Super Bowl in a half century by beating the Tennessee Titans 35-24 for the AFC championship.

Today’s Birthdays: Country singer Dolly Parton is 75. Reggae musician Mickey Virtue (formerly with UB40) is 64. Actor Shawn Wayans is 50. Rapper Taylor Bennett is 25.