This day in history

[February 01, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Feb. 1, the 32nd day of 2011. There are 333 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Feb. 1, 1861, Texas voted to leave the Union, 166-8, at a Secession Convention in Austin.

On this date:

In 1790, the U.S. Supreme Court convened for the first time in New York. (However, since only three of the six justices were present, the court recessed until the next day.)

In 1893, the opera "Manon Lescaut," by Giacomo Puccini (JAH'-koh moh poo-CHEE'-nee), premiered in Turin, Italy.

In 1896, Puccini's opera "La Boheme" premiered in Turin.

In 1920, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police came into existence, merging the Royal North West Mounted Police and the Dominion Police.

In 1946, Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie (TRIG'-vuh lee) was chosen to be the first secretary-general of the United Nations.

In 1960, four black college students began a sit-in protest at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., where they'd been refused service.

In 1961, the U.S. Air Force successfully test-fired the Minuteman I, its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, from a test site in Florida.

In 1979, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (hoh-MAY'-nee) received a tumultuous welcome in Tehran as he ended nearly 15 years of exile.

In 1991, 34 people were killed when an arriving USAir jetliner crashed atop a commuter plane on a runway at Los Angeles International Airport.

In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry, killing all seven of its crew members.

Ten years ago: John Ashcroft won confirmation as attorney general on a 58-42 Senate vote, completing President George W. Bush's Cabinet over strong Democratic opposition.

Five years ago: In his first case on the Supreme Court, new Justice Samuel Alito split with the court's conservatives, refusing to let Missouri execute a death-row inmate contesting lethal injection. French and German newspapers republished caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in what they called a defense of freedom of expression, sparking fresh anger from Muslims. United Airlines left bankruptcy after a painful restructuring that lasted more than three years.

One year ago: President Barack Obama unveiled a multitrillion-dollar spending plan, pledging an intensified effort to combat high unemployment and asking Congress to quickly approve new job-creation efforts that would boost the deficit to a record-breaking $1.56 trillion.

Today's birthdays: America's last surviving World War I veteran, Frank Buckles, is 110. Gospel singer George Beverly Shea is 102. Actor Stuart Whitman is 83. Singer Don Everly is 74. Actor Garrett Morris is 74. Singer Ray Sawyer (Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show) is 74. Actor Sherman Hemsley is 73. Bluegrass singer Del McCoury is 72. Jazz musician Joe Sample is 72. TV personality-singer Joy Philbin is 70. Comedian Terry Jones is 69. Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) is 67. Opera singer Carol Neblett is 65. Rock musician Mike Campbell (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) is 61. Blues singer-musician Sonny Landreth is 60. Actor-writer-producer Bill Mumy (MOO'-mee) is 57. Rock singer Exene Cervenka is 55. Actor Linus Roache is 47. Princess Stephanie of Monaco is 46. Country musician Dwayne Dupuy (Ricochet) is 46. Actress Sherilyn Fenn is 46. Lisa Marie Presley is 43. Comedian-actor Pauly Shore is 43. Actor Brian Krause is 42. Jazz musician Joshua Redman is 42. Rock musician Patrick Wilson (Weezer) is 42. Actor Michael C. Hall is 40. Rock musician Ron Welty is 40. Rapper Big Boi (Outkast) is 36. Country singer Julie Roberts is 32. Actor Jarrett Lennon is 29. TV personality Lauren Conrad is 25.

Thought for today: "It is the tragedy of the world that no one knows what he doesn't know -- and the less a man knows, the more sure he is that he knows everything." -- Joyce Cary, English author (1888-1957)

[Associated Press]

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