Today in History
Today is Thursday, Feb. 9, the 40th day of 2017. There are 325 days
left in the year. Today's Highlights in History: On Feb. 9, 1942, the
U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate
military strategy during World War II. Daylight-saving "War Time" went
into effect in the United States, with clocks moved one hour forward.
The SS Normandie, a former French liner being refitted for the U.S.
Navy at a New York pier, caught fire (it capsized early the next
morning). On this date: In 1773, the ninth president of the United
States, William Henry Harrison, was born in Charles City County,
Virginia. In 1825, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy
Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral
votes. In 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected provisional president of
the Confederate States of America at a congress held in Montgomery,
Alabama. In 1870, the U.S. Weather Bureau was established. In 1933, the
Oxford Union Society approved, 275-153, a motion "that this House will
in no circumstances fight for its King and Country," a stand that was
widely denounced. (On this date in 1983, the Oxford Union rejected,
416-187, a motion "that this House would not fight for Queen and
Country.") In 1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the
southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces. In
1950, in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Sen. Joseph McCarthy,
R-Wis., charged the State Department was riddled with Communists. In
1964, The Beatles made their first live American television appearance
on "The Ed Sullivan Show," broadcast from New York by CBS. In 1971, a
magnitude 6.6 earthquake in California's San Fernando Valley claimed 65
lives. The crew of Apollo 14 returned to Earth after man's third
landing on the moon. In 1984, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov, 69, died
15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was followed by
Konstantin U. Chernenko (chehr-NYEN'-koh). In 1997, Best Products
closed the last of its stores, a victim of the diminishing allure of
the catalog showroom concept of retailing. In 2002, Britain's Princess
Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died in London at age 71. Ten
years ago: Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Munich,
Germany, that serial numbers and other markings on bombs provided
"pretty good" evidence that Iranians were supplying either weapons or
technology to Iraqi extremists. British actor Ian Richardson, who
portrayed immoral politician Francis Urquhart in the satirical TV drama
"House of Cards," died in London at age 72. Five years ago: President
Barack Obama freed 10 states from some of the toughest requirements of
the No Child Left Behind education law. The Pentagon formally opened
thousands of jobs to women in units that were closer to the front lines
than ever before. Former skiing champion Jill Kinmont Boothe, who
became a painter and a teacher after she was paralyzed during a race
and was the subject of a book and two Hollywood films, died in Carson
City, Nevada, at age 75. One year ago: Republican Donald Trump posted a
decisive victory in the New Hampshire primary, while Democrats lined up
behind Bernie Sanders in their own act of anti-establishment defiance.
President Barack Obama unveiled his eighth and final budget, a $4
trillion-plus proposal freighted with liberal policy initiatives and
tax hikes. Two commuter trains crashed head-on in a remote area of
southern Germany, killing 12 people and injuring dozens of others.
Today's Birthdays: Television journalist Roger Mudd is 89. Actress
Janet Suzman is 78. Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee is 77.
Actress-politician Sheila James Kuehl (kyool) (TV: "The Many Loves of
Dobie Gillis") is 76. Singer-songwriter Carole King is 75. Actor Joe
Pesci is 74. Singer Barbara Lewis is 74. Author Alice Walker is 73.
Actress Mia Farrow is 72. Former Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., is 71. Singer
Joe Ely is 70. Actress Judith Light is 68. Rhythm-and-blues musician
Dennis "DT" Thomas (Kool & the Gang) is 66. Actor Charles Shaughnessy
is 62. Actor Ed Amatrudo (TV: "Nashville") is 61. Virginia Gov. Terry
McAuliffe is 60. Jazz musician Steve Wilson is 56. Country singer
Travis Tritt is 54. Actress Julie Warner is 52. Country singer Danni
Leigh is 47. Actress Sharon Case is 46. Actor Jason George is 45.
Actress Amber Valletta is 43. Actor-producer Charlie Day is 41. Rock
singer Chad Wolf (Carolina Liar) is 41. Actor A.J. Buckley is 40. Rock
musician Richard On (O.A.R.) is 38. Actress Ziyi Zhang is 38. Olympic
silver and bronze medal figure skater Irina Slutskaya is 38. Actor Tom
Hiddleston is 36. Actor David Gallagher is 32. Actor Michael B. Jordan
is 30. Actress Rose Leslie is 30. Actress Marina Malota is 29. Actress
Camille Winbush is 27. Actor Jimmy Bennett is 21. Thought for Today:
"Modesty is the conscience of the body. Honore de Balzac, French author
and dramatist (1799-1850).
