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 Today's
highlight in history:
On Feb. 5, 1631, the co-founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, and his wife, Mary, arrived in Boston from England.
On this date:
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 included altering 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.
In 1917, Mexico's constitution was adopted.
In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of justices on the U.S. Supreme Court; critics accused Roosevelt of attempting to "pack" the high court.
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 1983, former Nazi Gestapo official Klaus Barbie, expelled from Bolivia, was brought to Lyon, France, to stand trial. (He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison
- he died in 1991.)
In 1988, the Arizona House impeached Gov. Evan Mecham, setting the stage for his trial in the state Senate, where he was convicted of obstructing justice and misusing funds.
Ten years ago: Democratic fund-raiser Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie pleaded not guilty in Washington to charges he had raised illegal donations to buy influence in high places. (Trie pleaded guilty in May 1999 to a felony count and a misdemeanor and was sentenced later that year to four months of home detention and three years' probation.)
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Five years ago: Secretary of State Colin Powell urged the U.N. Security Council to move against Saddam Hussein, saying Iraq had failed to disarm, was harboring terrorists and was hiding behind a "web of lies." Longtime CBS News radio reporter Larry LeSueur died in Washington at age 93.
One year ago: President Bush unveiled a $2.9 trillion budget, which proposed a big spending increase for the Pentagon while pinching domestic programs.
NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak was arrested in Orlando, Fla., accused of trying to kidnap a perceived rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot.
Today's birthdays: Country singer Claude King is 85. The Rev. Andrew M. Greeley is 80. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Hank Aaron is 74. Actor Stuart Damon is 71. Financial writer Jane Bryant Quinn is 69. Television producer-writer Stephen J. Cannell is 67. Actor David Selby is 67. Singer-songwriter Barrett Strong is 67. Football Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach is 66. Singer Cory Wells (Three Dog Night) is 66. Movie director Michael Mann is 65. Rock singer Al Kooper is 64. Actress Charlotte Rampling is 62. Actress Barbara Hershey is 60. Actor Christopher Guest is 60. Actor Tom Wilkinson is 59. Actor-comedian Tim Meadows is 47. Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh is 46. Actress Laura Linney is 44. Rock musician Duff McKagan (Velvet Revolver) is 44. Rock singer Chris Barron (Spin Doctors) is 40. Singer Bobby Brown is 39. Country singer Sara Evans is 37. Actor Jeremy Sumpter is 19.
Thought for today: "Politics in America is the binding secular religion."
-- Theodore H. White, American political writer (1915-1986)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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