This day in history

[February 04, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Friday, Feb. 4, the 35th day of 2011. There are 330 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Feb. 4, 1861, delegates from six southern states that had recently seceded from the Union met in Montgomery, Ala., to form the Confederate States of America.

On this date:

In A.D. 211, Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus died at age 65.

In 1783, Britain's King George III proclaimed a formal cessation of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.

In 1789, electors chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States.

In 1932, New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid.

In 1941, the United Service Organizations (USO) came into existence.

In 1948, the island nation of Ceylon -- now Sri Lanka -- became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.

In 1961, Angola began its war of independence from Portuguese colonial rule. (Although independence was achieved in 1975, the country was then plunged into a 27-year civil war.)

In 1974, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

In 1976, more than 23,000 people died when a severe earthquake struck Guatemala with a magnitude of 7.5, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1999, Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant, was shot and killed in front of his Bronx home by four plainclothes New York City police officers. (The officers were acquitted at trial.)

Ten years ago: In the NHL All-Star game, the North America team beat the World squad 14-12. In the Pro Bowl, the AFC defeated the NFC, 38-17.

Five years ago: Thousands of Syrians enraged by caricatures of the prophet Muhammad torched the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus. In Gaza, Palestinians marched through the streets, storming European buildings and burning German and Danish flags. A stampede at a Manila stadium resulted in 74 deaths. Thousands of mourners poured into the Georgia Capitol rotunda to pay tribute to civil rights activist Coretta Scott King. Feminist author Betty Friedan died on her 85th birthday in Washington, D.C. Troy Aikman, Reggie White, Warren Moon, Harry Carson, John Madden and Rayfield Wright were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

One year ago: Republican Scott Brown took over the seat of the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy as he was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden at a Capitol Hill ceremony.

Today's birthdays: Actor William Phipps is 89. Actor Conrad Bain is 88. Former Argentinian President Isabel Peron is 80. Actor Gary Conway is 75. Movie director George A. Romero is 71. Rock musician John Steel (The Animals) is 70. Singer Florence LaRue (The Fifth Dimension) is 67. Former Vice President Dan Quayle is 64. Rock singer Alice Cooper is 63. Actor Michael Beck is 62. Actress Lisa Eichhorn is 59. Football Hall-of-Famer Lawrence Taylor is 52. Rock singer Tim Booth is 51. Rock musician Henry Bogdan is 50. Country singer Clint Black is 49. Rock musician Noodles (The Offspring) is 48. Country musician Dave Buchanan (Yankee Grey) is 45. Actress Gabrielle Anwar is 41. Actor Rob Corddry is 40. Singer David (dah-VEED') Garza is 40. Actor Michael Goorjian is 40. Boxer Oscar De La Hoya is 38. Rock musician Rick Burch (Jimmy Eat World) is 36. Singer Natalie Imbruglia (em-BROO'-lee-ah) is 36. Rapper Cam'ron is 35. Rock singer Gavin DeGraw is 34. Olympic gold medal gymnast-turned-singer Carly Patterson is 23.

Thought for today: "Habit is necessary; it is the habit of having habits, of turning a trail into a rut, that must be incessantly fought against if one is to remain alive." -- Edith Wharton, American author (1862-1937)

[Associated Press]

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