This day in history

[February 04, 2010]  (AP)  On Feb. 4, 1783, Britain's King George III proclaimed a formal cessation of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.

On this date:

In 1789, electors chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States.

In 1861, delegates from six Southern states met in Montgomery, Ala., to form the Confederate States of America.

In 1932, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid.

In 1938, the Thornton Wilder play "Our Town" opened on Broadway.

In 1941, the United Service Organizations (USO) came into existence.

In 1945, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.

In 1948, the island nation of Ceylon -- now Sri Lanka -- became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.

In 1974, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

In 1976, more than 23,000 people died when a severe earthquake struck Guatemala with a magnitude of 7.5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1999, Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant, was shot and killed in front of his Bronx home by four plainclothes New York City police officers. (The officers were acquitted at trial.)

Ten years ago: Austrian President Thomas Klestil swore in a coalition government that included Joerg Haider's (yohrg HY'-durz) far-right Freedom Party, a development which triggered European Union sanctions. Former House Speaker Carl Albert died in McAlester, Okla. at age 91. Singer Doris Kenner-Jackson of the Shirelles died in Goldsboro, N.C. at age 58.

Five years ago: Gunmen kidnapped Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena in Baghdad. (Sgrena was freed a month later; however, an Italian agent who'd secured her release was killed by U.S. gunfire at a checkpoint.) Actor and civil rights activist Ossie Davis died in Miami Beach, Fla. at age 87.

One year ago: President Barack Obama imposed a $500,000 cap on executive pay for companies receiving federal bailout money; the president also signed a bill extending health coverage to 4 million uninsured children. Lux Interior, co-founder and lead singer of the horror-punk band the Cramps, died in Glendale, Calif. at age 62.

Today's birthdays: Actor William Phipps is 88. Actor Conrad Bain is 87. Former Argentinian President Isabel Peron is 79. Actor Gary Conway is 74. Movie director George A. Romero is 70. Rock musician John Steel (The Animals) is 69. Singer Florence LaRue (The Fifth Dimension) is 66. Former Vice President Dan Quayle is 63. Rock singer Alice Cooper is 62. Actor Michael Beck is 61. Actress Lisa Eichhorn is 58. Football Hall-of-Famer Lawrence Taylor is 51. Rock singer Tim Booth is 50. Rock musician Henry Bogdan is 49. Country singer Clint Black is 48. Rock musician Noodles (The Offspring) is 47. Country musician Dave Buchanan (Yankee Grey) is 44. Actress Gabrielle Anwar is 40. Actor Rob Corddry is 39. Singer David (dah-VEED') Garza is 39. Actor Michael Goorjian is 39. Boxer Oscar De La Hoya is 37. Rock musician Rick Burch (Jimmy Eat World) is 35. Singer Natalie Imbruglia (em-BROO'-lee-ah) is 35. Rapper Cam'ron is 34. Rock singer Gavin DeGraw is 33. Olympic gold medal gymnast-turned-singer Carly Patterson is 22.

Thought for today: "Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries." -- James Michener, American author (1907-1997)

[Associated Press]

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