On January 14, 1784, the Continental Congress ratified the Treaty
of Paris (above), ending the War for Independence.

In the document, which was known as the Second Treaty of Paris because the Treaty of Paris was also the name of the agreement
that had ended the Seven Years’ War in 1763, Britain officially
agreed to recognize the independence of its 13 former colonies
as the new United States of America.

In addition, the treaty settled the boundaries between the United
States and what remained of British North America.

Robert Edward Knievel II (May 7, 1962 – January 13, 2023)

(AP) – Famous American daredevil Robbie Knievel, who followed
in the footsteps of his father “Evel” Knievel, died Friday morning
after battling pancreatic cancer while in hospice care in Reno.

Robbie Knievel completed over 340 jumps, setting 20 world
records.

Robert Craig "Evel" Knievel
(October 17, 1938 – November 30, 2007)

Robert Clifton Weaver (December 29, 1907 – July 17, 1997)

On January 13, 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed
the first African American cabinet member, making Robert C.
Weaver (above) head of the Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), the agency that develops and implements
national housing policy and enforces fair housing laws.

In keeping with his vision for a Great Society, Johnson sought
to improve race relations and eliminate urban blight. As many
of the country’s African Americans lived in run-down inner-city
areas, appointing Weaver was an attempt to show his African
American constituency that he meant business on both counts.

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III
(January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021)

Limbaugh was an American conservative political commentator
who was the host of The Rush Limbaugh Show, which first aired
in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM radio
stations from 1988 until his death in 2021.

Rush was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame and the
National Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. During the
2020 State of the Union Address, President Donald Trump
awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Former Associated Press photographer Jack Smith, left, is
seen with fellow photographer Steven Nehl, then of the Oregonian newspaper.

SEATTLE (AP) — Jack Smith, an Associated Press photographer
who captured unforgettable shots of the eruption of Mount St.
Helens, the Exxon-Valdez oil spill, boxer Mike Tyson biting off
part of Evander Holyfield’s ear, and weeping figure skater Tonya
Harding at the Olympics during a 35-year career with the news organization, has died.

Smith passed away on Jan. 4 at his home in La Mesa, California.

The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980.

USA’s Tonya Harding, of Portland, Ore., shows her skate
to the judges after interrupting her free skating program
at the Winter Olympics in Hamar, Norway on Feb. 25, 1994.

Another of Jack Smith’s famous sports shots came in 1997, when boxer Mike Tyson bit off part of Evander Holyfield’s
ear during a fight in Las Vegas.

The Exxon-Valdez oil spill in 1989.