This day in history

[February 06, 2009]  (AP)  Today is Friday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 2009. There are 328 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Feb. 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, was born in Tampico, Ill.

On this date:

In 1756, America's third vice president, Aaron Burr, was born in Newark, N.J.

In 1778, the United States won official recognition from France with the signing of a Treaty of Alliance in Paris.

In 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1899, a peace treaty between the United States and Spain was ratified by the U.S. Senate.

In 1933, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, the so-called "lame duck" amendment, was proclaimed in effect by Secretary of State Henry Stimson.

In 1952, Britain's King George VI died; he was succeeded by his daughter, Elizabeth II.

In 1959, the United States successfully test-fired for the first time a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile from Cape Canaveral, Fla.

In 1978, Muriel Humphrey took the oath of office as a United States senator from Minnesota, filling the seat of her late husband, former Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

In 1992, 16 people were killed when a C-130 military transport plane crashed in Evansville, Ind.

In 1996, a Turkish-owned Boeing 757 jetliner crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from the Dominican Repubic, killing 189 people, mostly German tourists.

Ten years ago: The public finally got to see and hear Monica Lewinsky as excerpts of the former White House intern's videotaped testimony were shown at President Bill Clinton's impeachment trial. Clinton requested legislation to require background checks on buyers at gun shows.

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Five years ago: President George W. Bush appointed a bipartisan commission to examine intelligence on Iraq's weapons. An explosion ripped through a Moscow subway car during rush hour, killing 41 people. Auto mechanic Joseph P. Smith was charged with murder after authorities in Sarasota, Fla., found the body of 11-year-old Carlie Brucia, whose kidnapping had been captured by a carwash surveillance camera. (Smith was later convicted and sentenced to death.)

One year ago: At least 54 deaths were reported after two days of tornadoes that plowed across Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. The White House defended the use of the interrogation technique known as waterboarding, saying it was legal -- not torture as critics argued -- and had saved American lives. The Phoenix Suns acquired Shaquille O'Neal in a stunning blockbuster deal that sent four-time All-Star Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks to the Miami Heat.

Today's birthdays: Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor is 92. Actor Patrick Macnee is 87. Actor Rip Torn is 78. Actress Mamie Van Doren is 78. Actor Mike Farrell is 70. Former NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw is 69. Singer Fabian is 66. Actress Gayle Hunnicutt is 66. Actor Michael Tucker is 65. Producer-director-writer Jim Sheridan is 60. Singer Natalie Cole is 59. Actor Jon Walmsley is 53. Actress Kathy Najimy is 52. Rock musician Simon Phillips (Toto) is 52. Actor-director Robert Townsend is 52. Actor Barry Miller is 51. Actress Megan Gallagher is 49. Rock singer Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses) is 47. Country singer Richie McDonald is 47. Singer Rick Astley is 43. Rock musician Tim Brown (Boo Radleys) is 40. Actor Brandon Hammond is 25.

Thought for today: "Work is much more fun than fun." -- Sir Noel Coward, British actor, dramatist and songwriter (1899-1973)

[Associated Press]

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