 Today's
highlight in history:
On Feb. 3, 1959, rock-and-roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and
J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a small plane crash near
Clear Lake, Iowa.
On this date:
In 1783, Spain formally recognized American independence.
In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President
Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference off the
Virginia coast; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern
autonomy.
In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, providing for a
federal income tax, was ratified.
In 1924, the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson,
died in Washington, D.C., at age 67.
In 1930, the chief justice of the United States, William Howard
Taft, resigned for health reasons. (He died just over a month
later.)
In 1943, during World War II, the U.S. transport ship Dorchester,
which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a
German torpedo; of the more than 900 men aboard, only some 230
survived.
In 1959, An American Airlines Lockheed Electra crashed into New
York's East River, killing 65 of the 73 people on board.
In 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to
make a soft landing on the moon.
In 1971, New York City police officer Frank Serpico, who had charged
there was widespread corruption in the NYPD, was shot and seriously
wounded during a drug bust in Brooklyn.
In 1972, the XI Olympic Winter Games opened in Sapporo, Japan.
In 1991, the rate for a first-class postage stamp rose to 29 cents.
In 1998, Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, 38, for the pickax
killings of two people in 1983; she was the first woman executed in
the United States since 1984. A U.S. Marine plane sliced through the
cable of a ski gondola in Italy, sending the car plunging hundreds
of feet, killing all 20 people inside.
Ten years ago:
Former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay backed out of testifying before
Congress about the collapse of the energy giant. More than 40 people
were killed in an earthquake in Turkey. The New England Patriots won
Super Bowl XXXVI (36) as they defeated the St. Louis Rams 20-17.
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Five years ago: A suicide truck bomber struck a Baghdad
market in a predominantly Shiite area, killing 137 people. President
George W. Bush designated four central Florida counties disaster
areas in the wake of tornadoes that had ripped through the region,
leaving 21 dead. Thurman Thomas, Bruce Matthews, Roger Wehrli,
Michael Irvin, Charlie Sanders and Gene Hickerson were elected to
the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
One year ago: Tens of thousands of protesters staged
unprecedented demonstrations against Yemen's autocratic president,
Ali Abdullah Saleh (AH'-lee ahb-DUH'-luh sah-LEH'), a key U.S. ally
in battling Islamic militants, as unrest inspired by uprisings in
Egypt and Tunisia spread further in the Arab world. Actress Maria
Schneider, who was Marlon Brando's young co-star in Bernardo
Bertolucci's steamy "Last Tango in Paris," died in the French
capital at age 58.
Today's birthdays: Comedian Shelley Berman is 87. Former Sen.
Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., is 79. Football Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton
is 72. Actress Bridget Hanley is 71. Actress Blythe Danner is 69.
Singer Dennis Edwards is 69. Football Hall-of-Famer Bob Griese is
67. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 65. Singer Melanie
is 65. Actress Morgan Fairchild is 62. Actress Pamela Franklin is
62. Actor Nathan Lane is 56. Rock musician Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth)
is 56. Actor Thomas Calabro is 53. Actor-director Keith Gordon is
51. Actress Michele Greene is 50. Country singer Matraca (muh-TRAY'-suh)
Berg is 48. Actress Maura Tierney is 47. Actor Warwick Davis is 42.
Actress Elisa Donovan is 41. Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee is 36.
Musician Grant Barry is 35. Singer-songwriter Jessica Harp is 30.
Rapper Sean Kingston is 22.
Thought for today: "The path of civilization is paved with
tin cans." -- Elbert Hubbard, American author and publisher
(1856-1915)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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