Today in History

Today in History

Today is Saturday, Feb. 5, the 36th day of 2022. There are 329 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Feb. 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump, bringing to a close the third presidential trial in American history, though a majority of senators expressed unease with Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine that resulted in the two articles of impeachment. Just one Republican, Mitt Romney of Utah, broke with the GOP and voted to convict.

On this date:

In 1811, George, the Prince of Wales, was named Prince Regent due to the mental illness of his father, Britain’s King George III.

In 1917, the U.S. Congress passed, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, an act severely curtailing Asian immigration.

In 1918, during World War I, the Cunard liner SS Tuscania, which was transporting about 2,000 American troops to Europe, was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the Irish Sea with the loss of more than 200 people.

In 1922, the first edition of Reader’s Digest was published.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices; the proposal, which failed in Congress, drew accusations that Roosevelt was attempting to “pack” the nation’s highest court.

In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the surface of the moon in the first of two lunar excursions.

In 1973, services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for U.S. Army Col. William B. Nolde, the last official American combat casualty before the Vietnam cease-fire took effect.

In 1983, former Nazi Gestapo official Klaus Barbie, expelled from Bolivia, was brought to Lyon (lee-OHN’), France, to stand trial. (He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison — he died in 1991.)

In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, granting workers up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for family emergencies.

In 1994, white separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963, and was immediately sentenced to life in prison. (Beckwith died Jan. 21, 2001 at age 80.)

In 2008, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop; he was believed to be about 90.

In 2014, CVS Caremark announced it would pull cigarettes and other tobacco products from its stores.

Ten years ago: Josh Powell, long identified as a person of interest in the 2009 disappearance of his wife, Susan, set fire to his home in Graham, Washington, killing himself and his two sons, 7-year-old Charles and 5-year-old Braden, who had been brought there by a social worker for a supervised visit. Eli Manning and the Giants one-upped Tom Brady and the Patriots again, coming back with a last-minute score to beat New England 21-17 for New York’s fourth NFL title in Super Bowl XLVI (46).

Five years ago: Tom Brady led one of the greatest comebacks in sports history highlighted by a spectacular Julian Edelman catch that helped lift New England from a 25-point hole against the Atlanta Falcons to the Patriots’ fifth Super Bowl victory, 34-28, the first ever in overtime.

One year ago: The Supreme Court told California it couldn’t enforce a ban on indoor church services because of the coronavirus pandemic; the justices declined to stop the state from barring singing and chanting at services. New York’s Yankee Stadium was opened as a COVID-19 mass vaccination site by officials trying to boost inoculation rates in surrounding Bronx neighborhoods hard hit by the pandemic. Christopher Plummer, who played Captain von Trapp in the film “The Sound of Music” and at 82 became the oldest Academy Award winner in history, died at 91. Former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks died at 67 after battling prostate and other cancers; he had beaten Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title in 1978.

Today’s Birthdays: Tony-winning playwright John Guare (gwayr) is 84. Financial writer Jane Bryant Quinn is 83. Actor David Selby is 81. Singer-songwriter Barrett Strong is 81. Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach is 80. Movie director Michael Mann is 79. Rock singer Al Kooper is 78. Actor Charlotte Rampling is 76. Racing Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip is 75. Actor Barbara Hershey is 74. Actor Christopher Guest is 74. Actor Tom Wilkinson is 74. U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is 63. Actor-comedian Tim Meadows is 61. Actor Jennifer Jason Leigh is 60. Actor Laura Linney is 58. Rock musician Duff McKagan (Velvet Revolver) is 58. World Golf Hall of Famer Jose Maria Olazabal is 56. Actor-comedian Chris Parnell is 55. Rock singer Chris Barron (Spin Doctors) is 54. Singer Bobby Brown is 53. Actor Michael Sheen is 53. Actor David Chisum is 52. Country singer Sara Evans is 51. Country singer Tyler Farr is 38. Actor-singer Darren Criss is 35. Actor Alex Brightman is 35. Actor Henry Golding is 35. Rock musician Kyle Simmons (Bastille) is 34. Actor Jeremy Sumpter is 33. Drummer Graham Sierota (Echosmith) is 23.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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