Today in HistoryToday is Wednesday, January 11, the 11th day of 2006. There are 354 days left in the year.

ON THIS DATE<$>

In 1757, the first secretary of the US Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, was born in the West Indies.

In 1815, Sir John A. Macdonald, the first prime minister of Canada, was born in Glasgow, Scotland.

In 1922, 14-year-old Canadian Leonard Thompson, became the first person to have his diabetes successfully treated with insulin.

In 1964, US Surgeon General Luther Terry issued the first government report saying smoking may be hazardous to one’s health.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

“The essence of taste is suitability. Divest the word of its prim and priggish implications, and see how it expresses the mysterious demand of the eye and mind for symmetry, harmony and order.” — Edith Wharton, American author (1862-1937).