This day in history

[February 15, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2011. There are 319 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Feb. 15, 1961, 73 people, including an 18-member U.S. figure skating team en route to the World Championships in Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium.

On this date:

In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established by Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau.

In 1820, American suffragist Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, Mass.

In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court.

In 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the United States closer to war with Spain.

In 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara was executed more than four weeks later.

In 1942, the British colony Singapore surrendered to the Japanese during World War II.

In 1944, Allied bombers destroyed the monastery atop Monte Cassino (MAWN'-tay kah-SEE'-noh) in Italy.

In 1965, Canada's new maple-leaf flag was unfurled in ceremonies in Ottawa.

In 1971, Britain and Ireland "decimalised" their currencies, making one pound equal to 100 pence instead of 240 pence.

In 1989, the Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military intervention.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush said the Pentagon should review its policy on civilian participation in military exercises like the emergency ascent drill a Navy submarine was performing when it collided with and sank a Japanese fishing vessel off Hawaii. Hans-Joachim Klein, a former German terrorist, was sentenced to nine years in prison by a German court for killing three people in a 1975 attack on an OPEC meeting in Vienna, Austria.

Five years ago: Vice President Dick Cheney accepted blame for accidentally shooting a hunting companion, calling it "one of the worst days of my life," but was defiantly unapologetic in a Fox News Channel interview about not publicly disclosing the accident until the next day. Testifying before the Senate, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff acknowledged delayed aid and fumbled coordination in the federal response to Hurricane Katrina.

One year ago: Eighteen people were killed when two trains collided south of Brussels, Belgium. At the Vancouver Winter Olympics, Didier Defago (DIH'-dee-ay dih-FAH'-goh) of Switzerland won the gold in the Olympic downhill and American Bode (BOH'-dee) Miller took the bronze. American Seth Wescott defended his Olympic title, overtaking Canada's Mike Robertson to win the gold medal in men's snowboardcross.

Today's birthdays: Actor Allan Arbus is 93. Former Illinois Congressman John Anderson is 89. Former Defense and Energy Secretary James Schlesinger is 82. Actress Claire Bloom is 80. Author Susan Brownmiller is 76. Songwriter Brian Holland is 70. Rock musician Mick Avory (The Kinks) is 67. Jazz musician Henry Threadgill is 67. Actress Jane Seymour is 60. Singer Melissa Manchester is 60. Actress Lynn Whitfield is 58. "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening (GREE'-ning) is 57. Model Janice Dickinson is 56. Actor Christopher McDonald is 56. Reggae singer Ali Campbell is 52. Actor Joseph R. Gannascoli is 52. Musician Mikey Craig (Culture Club) is 51. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green is 51. Country singer Michael Reynolds (Pinmonkey) is 47. Actor Michael Easton is 44. Rock musician Stevie Benton (Drowning Pool) is 40. Actress Renee O'Connor is 40. Actress Sarah Wynter is 38. Rock singer Brandon Boyd (Incubus) is 35. Rock musician Ronnie Vannucci (The Killers) is 35. Actress Ashley Lyn Cafagna is 28. Actress Amber Riley (TV: "Glee") is 25.

Thought for today: "Fools act on imagination without knowledge, pedants act on knowledge without imagination." -- Alfred North Whitehead, English philosopher (born this date in 1861, died 1947)

[Associated Press]

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