Today in History
Today is Thursday, Feb. 3, the 34th day of 2022. There are 331 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Feb. 3, 1943, during World War II, the U.S. transport ship SS Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo in the Labrador Sea; of the more than 900 men aboard, only some 230 survived. (Four Army chaplains on board gave away their life jackets to save others and went down with the ship.)
On this date:
In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference off the Virginia coast; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern autonomy.
In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.
In 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, the same day an American cargo ship, the SS Housatonic, was sunk by a U-boat off Britain after the crew was allowed to board lifeboats.
In 1959, rock-and-roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.
In 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to make a soft landing on the moon.
In 1988, the U.S. House of Representatives handed President Ronald Reagan a major defeat, rejecting his request for $36.2 million in new aid to the Nicaraguan Contras by a vote of 219-211.
In 1994, the space shuttle Discovery lifted off, carrying Sergei Krikalev (SUR’-gay KREE’-kuh-lev), the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a U.S. spacecraft.
In 1995, the space shuttle Discovery blasted off with a woman, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Eileen Collins, in the pilot’s seat for the first time in NASA history.
In 1998, a U.S. Marine plane sliced through the cable of a ski gondola in Italy, causing the car to plunge hundreds of feet, killing all 20 people inside.
In 2006, an Egyptian passenger ferry sank in the Red Sea during bad weather, killing more than 1,000 passengers.
In 2009, Eric Holder became the first black U.S. attorney general as he was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden.
In 2020, in closing arguments at President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, Democratic prosecutors urged senators to stop a “runaway presidency” and recognize Trump’s actions in Ukraine as part of a pattern of behavior that would allow him to “cheat” in the 2020 election; Trump’s defenders accused Democrats of trying to undo the 2016 election and said voters should decide Trump’s fate.
Ten years ago: The breast cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure abandoned plans to eliminate its funding for Planned Parenthood, following a three-day furor that resounded across the Internet, in Congress and among Komen affiliates. Federal prosecutors dropped their investigation of Lance Armstrong, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the seven-time Tour de France winner and his teammates had participated in a doping program. (In January 2013, Armstrong publicly admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs.) Actor-director Ben Gazzara, 81, died in New York.
Five years ago: President Donald Trump launched his long-promised attack on banking rules that were rushed into law after the nation’s economic crisis, signing new orders after meeting with business and investment chiefs and pledging further action to free big banks from restrictions.
One year ago: A white Columbus, Ohio, police officer, Adam Coy, was charged with murder in the December 2020 shooting death of a Black man, Andre Hill. (Coy has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.) Country star Morgan Wallen was suspended from his label and his music was pulled by radio stations and streaming services after a video surfaced showed him shouting a racial slur. Tennis Hall of Famer Tony Trabert, a five-time Grand Slam singles champion, died at his Florida home at the age of 90.
Today’s Birthdays: Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 82. Actor Bridget Hanley is 81. Actor Blythe Danner is 79. Football Hall of Famer Bob Griese is 77. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 75. Singer Melanie is 75. Actor Morgan Fairchild is 72. Actor Pamela Franklin is 72. Actor Nathan Lane is 66. Rock musician Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) is 66. Actor Thomas Calabro is 63. Rock musician/author Lol Tolhurst (The Cure) is 63. Actor-director Keith Gordon is 61. Actor Michele Greene is 60. Country singer Matraca (muh-TRAY’-suh) Berg is 58. Actor Maura Tierney is 57. Actor Warwick Davis is 52. Actor Elisa Donovan is 51. Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee is 46. Actor Isla (EYE’-luh) Fisher is 46. Human rights activist Amal Clooney is 44. Singer-songwriter Jessica Harp is 40. Actor Matthew Moy is 38. Rapper Sean Kingston is 32. Actor Brandon Micheal Hall is 29.
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