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 Today's highlight in history:
On Feb. 4, 1789, electors chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States. (However, the results of the balloting were not counted in the U.S. Senate until two months later).
On this date:
In 1783, Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities with its former colonies, the United States of America.
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 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 1983, singer-musician Karen Carpenter died in Downey, Calif., at age 32.
In 1987, pianist Liberace died at his Palm Springs, Calif., home at age 67.
Ten years ago: More than 2,300 people were killed when an earthquake hit northeast Afghanistan with a magnitude of 5.9, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
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 Five years ago: President Bush visited the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where he led a tribute to the lost crew of the shuttle Columbia and rededicated the nation to space travel. A rare television interview with Saddam Hussein aired in which the Iraqi leader charged that U.S. claims of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons in his country were a pretext to seize Iraq's oil fields. Lawmakers formally dissolved Yugoslavia and replaced it with a loose union of its remaining two republics, Serbia and Montenegro. Opera singer Jerome Hines died in New York at age 81.
One year ago: The Indianapolis Colts won Super Bowl XLI, beating the Chicago Bears 29-17. Singer-actress Barbara McNair died in Los Angeles at age 72.
Today's birthdays: Actor William Phipps is 86. Actor Conrad Bain is 85. Actor Gary Conway is 72. Movie director George A. Romero is 68. Rock musician John Steel (The Animals) is 67. Singer Florence LaRue (The Fifth Dimension) is 64. Former Vice President Dan Quayle is 61. Rock singer Alice Cooper is 60. Actor Michael Beck is 59. Actress Lisa Eichhorn is 56. Rock singer Tim Booth is 48. Rock musician Henry Bogdan is 47. Country singer Clint Black is 46. Country musician Dave Buchanan (Yankee Grey) is 42. Actress Gabrielle Anwar is 38. Singer David Garza is 37. Actor Michael Goorjian is 37. Rock musician Rick Burch (Jimmy Eat World) is 33. Singer Natalie Imbruglia is 33. Rapper Cam'ron is 32. Rock singer Gavin DeGraw is 31. Olympic gold medal gymnast-turned-singer Carly Patterson is 20.
Thought for today: "No human creature can give orders to love."
-- George Sand, French author (1804-1876)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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