Today in History
Today is Thursday, Feb. 4, the 35th day of 2016. There are 331 days
left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 4, 1945,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston
Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at
Yalta. On this date: 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 1861, delegates from six southern states that had
recently seceded from the Union met in Montgomery, Alabama, to form the
Confederate States of America. In 1919, Congress established the U.S.
Navy Distinguished Service Medal and the Navy Cross. 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 1962, a rare conjunction of the sun, the moon, Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn occurred. In 1974, newspaper
heiress Patricia Hearst, 19, was kidnapped in Berkeley, California, by
the radical 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 1983, pop
singer-musician Karen Carpenter died in Downey, California, at age 32.
In 1987, pianist Liberace died at his Palm Springs, California, home at
age 67. In 1997, a civil jury in Santa Monica, California, found O.J.
Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and
her friend, Ronald Goldman. In 2004, the Massachusetts high court
declared that gay couples were entitled to nothing less than marriage,
and that Vermont-style civil unions would not suffice. The social
networking website Facebook had its beginnings as Harvard student Mark
Zuckerberg launched "Thefacebook. In 2005, Actor and civil rights
activist Ossie Davis died in Miami Beach, Florida, at age 87. In 2010,
the first National Tea Party Convention opened in Nashville. Ten 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. Five years ago: President Barack Obama appealed to Egyptian
President Hosni Mubarak to focus on his legacy and begin an orderly
process to relinquish the power he'd held for 30 years; however, Obama
stopped short of calling for Mubarak's immediate resignation. Iraq's
prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, said he would return half of his
annual salary to the public treasury in a symbolic gesture that
appeared calculated to insulate him against anti-government unrest
spreading across the Middle East. One year ago: As Boston continued to
dig out from more than 3 feet of snow in the past week, the New England
Patriots were finally honored with a parade celebrating their fourth
Super Bowl win. Some fans defied police warnings and watched the parade
from atop giant piles of snow. Today's Birthdays: Actor William Phipps
is 94. Former Argentinian President Isabel Peron is 85. Actor Gary
Conway is 80. Movie director George A. Romero is 76. Actor John Schuck
is 76. Rock musician John Steel (The Animals) is 75. Singer Florence
LaRue (The Fifth Dimension) is 74. Former Vice President Dan Quayle is
69. Rock singer Alice Cooper is 68. Actor Michael Beck is 67. Actress
Lisa Eichhorn is 64. Football Hall-of-Famer Lawrence Taylor is 57.
Actress Pamelyn Ferdin is 57. Rock singer Tim Booth is 56. Rock
musician Henry Bogdan is 55. Country singer Clint Black is 54. Rock
musician Noodles (The Offspring) is 53. Country musician Dave Buchanan
(Yankee Grey) is 50. Actress Gabrielle Anwar is 46. Actor Rob Corddry
is 45. Singer David (dah-VEED') Garza is 45. Actor Michael Goorjian is
45. TV personality Nicolle Wallace (TV: formerly co-host "The View") is
44. Olympic gold medal boxer Oscar De La Hoya is 43. Rock musician Rick
Burch (Jimmy Eat World) is 41. Singer Natalie Imbruglia
(em-BROO'-lee-ah) is 41. Rapper Cam'ron is 40. Rock singer Gavin DeGraw
is 39. Olympic gold medal gymnast-turned-singer Carly Patterson is 28.
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).
