 Today's highlight in history:
On Feb. 15, 1952, a funeral was held at Windsor Castle for Britain's
King George VI, who had died nine days earlier.
On this date:
In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established by Pierre Laclede and
Auguste Chouteau.
In 1812, American jeweler Charles Lewis Tiffany, the founder of
Tiffany & Co., was born in Killingly, Conn.
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 Japanese forces
during World War II.
In 1953, Tenley Albright became the first American woman to win the
world figure skating championship, held in Davos, Switzerland.
In 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.
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 new pence instead of 240 pence.
In 1982, 84 men were killed when a huge oil-drilling rig, the Ocean
Ranger, sank off the coast of Newfoundland during a fierce storm.
In 1989, the Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had
left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military
intervention.
In 1992, a Milwaukee jury found that Jeffrey Dahmer was sane when he
killed and mutilated 15 men and boys. Benjamin L. Hooks announced
plans to retire as executive director of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People.
Ten years ago: A private funeral was held at Windsor Castle
for Britain's Princess Margaret, who had died six days earlier at
age 71. President George W. Bush approved Nevada's Yucca Mountain as
the site for long-term disposal of thousands of tons of highly
radioactive nuclear waste. (However, the Obama administration
decided in 2009 to halt work on the Yucca site.) Skating and
Olympics officials awarded Canadian pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale
(sah-LAY') and David Pelletier (pehl-tee-YAY') a gold medal, while
letting the Russian pair, Elena Berezhnaya (behr-ehzh-NY'-uh) and
Anton Sikharulidze (sih-kar-OOL'-ihd-zeh), keep their gold medal as
a way to resolve a judging controversy that had dominated the Winter
Games in Salt Lake City. Broadcast journalist Howard K. Smith died
in Bethesda, Md., at age 87.
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Five years ago: National Guardsmen in Humvees ferried food,
fuel and baby supplies to hundreds of motorists stranded for nearly
a day on a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 78 in eastern Pennsylvania
because of a monster storm. The U.S. Mint unveiled the new
presidential $1 coin. Oscar-winning songwriter Ray Evans died in Los
Angeles at age 92.
One year ago: Protesters swarmed Wisconsin's capitol after
Gov. Scott Walker proposed cutbacks in benefits and bargaining
rights for public employees. Italian Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi was ordered to stand trial on charges he'd paid a
17-year-old Moroccan girl for sex and then used his influence to
cover it up. (Both Berlusconi and the young woman denied having a
sexual relationship.)
Today's birthdays: Actor Allan Arbus is 94. Former Illinois
Congressman John Anderson is 90. Former Defense and Energy Secretary
James Schlesinger is 83. Actress Claire Bloom is 81. Author Susan
Brownmiller is 77. Songwriter Brian Holland is 71. Rock musician
Mick Avory (The Kinks) is 68. Jazz musician Henry Threadgill is 68.
Actress Jane Seymour is 61. Singer Melissa Manchester is 61. Actress
Lynn Whitfield is 59. "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening (GREE'-ning)
is 58. Model Janice Dickinson is 57. Actor Christopher McDonald is
57. Reggae singer Ali Campbell is 53. Actor Joseph R. Gannascoli is
53. Musician Mikey Craig (Culture Club) is 52. College and Pro
Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green is 52. Country singer Michael
Reynolds (Pinmonkey) is 48. Actor Michael Easton is 45. Rock
musician Stevie Benton (Drowning Pool) is 41. Actress Renee O'Connor
is 41. Actress Sarah Wynter is 39. Actor-director Miranda July is
38. Rock singer Brandon Boyd (Incubus) is 36. Rock musician Ronnie
Vannucci (The Killers) is 36. Actress Ashley Lyn Cafagna is 29.
Actress Amber Riley (TV: "Glee") is 26.
Thought for today: "Like all dreamers I confuse
disenchantment with truth." -- Jean-Paul Sartre, French
philosopher (1905-1980)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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