This day in history

[February 05, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Feb. 5, the 36th day of 2009. There are 329 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Feb. 5, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed a Judiciary Reorganization Bill that included a provision to increase the number of justices on the Supreme Court; critics accused Roosevelt of attempting to "pack" the high court with justices who would side with his New Deal policies. (The measure failed in Congress.)

On this date:

In 1631, the co-founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, and his wife, Mary, arrived in Boston from England.

In 1783, Sweden recognized the independence of the United States.

In 1811, George, Prince of Wales, was named the Prince Regent due to the insanity of his father, Britain's King George III.

In 1887, Verdi's opera "Otello" premiered at La Scala.

In 1897, the Indiana House of Representatives passed, 67-0, a measure redefining the method for determining the area of a circle, which would have effectively altered the value of pi. (The bill died in the Indiana Senate.)

In 1917, Congress passed, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, an immigration act severely curtailing the influx of Asians. Mexico's constitution was adopted.

In 1940, Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded "Tuxedo Junction" for RCA Victor's Bluebird label.

In 1958, Gamal Abdel Nasser was formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic (a union of Syria and Egypt).

In 1973, services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for Army Lt. Col. William B. Nolde, the last official American combat casualty before the Vietnam cease-fire.

In 1989, the Soviet Union announced that all but a small rearguard contingent of its troops had left Afghanistan.

Ten years ago: Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was sentenced in Rockville, Md., to a year in jail for assaulting two motorists following a traffic accident. (He ended up serving 3 1/2 months.)

Five years ago: CIA Director George Tenet offered a forceful defense of prewar intelligence in a speech at Georgetown University. Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf pardoned the country's top nuclear scientist for leaking weapons technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

One year ago: John McCain seized command of the race for the Republican presidential nomination, winning delegate-rich primaries from the East Coast to California on Super Tuesday; Democratic rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama traded victories. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop; he was thought to be 91.

Today's birthdays: Country singer Claude King is 86. The Rev. Andrew M. Greeley is 81. Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron is 75. Actor Stuart Damon is 72. Financial writer Jane Bryant Quinn is 70. Television producer-writer Stephen J. Cannell is 68. Actor David Selby is 68. Singer-songwriter Barrett Strong is 68. Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach is 67. Singer Cory Wells (Three Dog Night) is 67. Movie director Michael Mann is 66. Rock singer Al Kooper is 65. Actress Charlotte Rampling is 63. Actress Barbara Hershey is 61. Actor Christopher Guest is 61. Actor Tom Wilkinson is 61. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm is 50. Actor-comedian Tim Meadows is 48. Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh is 47. Actress Laura Linney is 45. Rock musician Duff McKagan (Velvet Revolver) is 45. Rock singer Chris Barron (Spin Doctors) is 41. Singer Bobby Brown is 40. Country singer Sara Evans is 38. Actor Jeremy Sumpter is 20.

Thought for today: "Men do not desire to be rich, but to be richer than other men." -- John Stuart Mill, English philosopher and economist (1806-1873)

[Associated Press]

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