This day in history

[February 13, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Friday, Feb. 13, the 44th day of 2009. There are 321 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 13, 1935, a jury in Flemington, N.J., found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of first-degree murder in the kidnap-slaying of the son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. (Hauptmann was later executed.)

On this date:

In 1542, the fifth wife of England's King Henry VIII, Catherine Howard, was executed for adultery.

In 1741, Andrew Bradford of Pennsylvania published the first American magazine. Titled "The American Magazine, or A Monthly View of the Political State of the British Colonies," it lasted three issues.

In 1914, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, known as ASCAP, was founded in New York.

In 1920, the League of Nations recognized the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland.

In 1939, Justice Louis D. Brandeis retired from the U.S. Supreme Court. (He was succeeded by William O. Douglas.)

In 1945, during World War II, Allied planes began bombing the German city of Dresden. The Soviets captured Budapest, Hungary, from the Germans.

In 1960, France exploded its first atomic bomb, in the Sahara Desert.

In 1980, the 13th Winter Olympics opened in Lake Placid, N.Y.

In 1984, Konstantin Chernenko was chosen to be general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding the late Yuri Andropov.

In 1988, the 15th Winter Olympics opened in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Ten years ago: In his weekly radio address, President Bill Clinton said as many as 4,000 American troops would go to Kosovo as part of a NATO peacekeeping force if warring Serbs and ethnic Albanians were to reach a political settlement. A federal judge held American Airlines' pilots union and two top board members in contempt and promised sizable fines against them, saying the union did not do enough to encourage pilots to return to work after a court order.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush, trying to calm a political storm, ordered the release of his Vietnam-era military records to counter Democrats' suggestions that he'd shirked his duty in the Texas Air National Guard.

One year ago: Under oath and sometimes blistering questioning, seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens told Congress: "I have never taken steroids or HGH." Hollywood writers ended their 100-day strike that had disrupted the TV season and canceled awards shows. Japanese movie director Kon Ichikawa died in Tokyo at age 92.

Today's birthdays: Former test pilot Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager is 86. Actress Kim Novak is 76. Actor George Segal is 75. Actress Carol Lynley is 67. Singer-musician Peter Tork (The Monkees) is 67. Actress Stockard Channing is 65. Talk show host Jerry Springer is 65. Actor Bo Svenson is 65. Singer Peter Gabriel is 59. Actor David Naughton is 58. Rock musician Peter Hook is 53. Actor Matt Salinger is 49. Singer Henry Rollins is 48. Actor Neal McDonough is 43. Singer Freedom Williams is 43. Actress Kelly Hu is 41. Rock musician Todd Harrell (3 Doors Down) is 37. Singer Robbie Williams is 35. Football player Randy Moss is 32. Rhythm-and-blues performer Natalie Stewart (Floetry) is 30. Actress Mena Suvari is 30.

Thought for today: "It is not so much what we have done amiss, as what we have left undone, that will trouble us, looking back." -- Ellen Wood, English playwright and journalist (1813-1887)

[Associated Press]

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