Today In History

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 3, the 34th day of 2021. There are 331 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1959: Rock ’n’ roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

ON THIS DATE

› 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.

› 1913: The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.

› 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.

› 1930: The chief justice of the United States, William Howard Taft, resigned for health reasons. (He died just over a month later.)

› 1966: The Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to make a soft landing on the moon.

› 1994: The space shuttle Discovery lifted off, carrying Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a U.S. spacecraft.

› 2019: In the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever, featuring just one touchdown, the New England Patriots beat the Los Angeles Rams, 13-3.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 81. Actor Bridget Hanley is

80. Actor Blythe Danner is 78. Football Hall of Famer Bob Griese is 76. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is

74. Singer Melanie is 74. Actor Morgan Fairchild is

71. Actor Pamela Franklin is 71. Actor Nathan Lane is 65. Rock musician Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) is 65. Actor Thomas Calabro is 62. Rock musician/author Lol Tolhurst (The Cure) is 62. Actor Michele Greene is 59. Country singer Matraca Berg is 57. Actor Maura Tierney is 56. Actor Warwick Davis is 51. Actor Elisa Donovan is 50. Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee is 45. Actor Isla Fisher is 45. Human rights activist Amal Clooney is 43. Singer-songwriter Jessica Harp is 39. Actor Matthew Moy is 37. Rapper Sean Kingston is 31. Actor Brandon Micheal Hall is 28.