On this day, Feb. 5

1865 The Pittsburgh Clearing House Association opened for business with John Harper as president.

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

1941 Pittsburgh health director I. Hope Alexander stepped up his efforts for a smoke-abatement campaign as a black smoke pall blotted out the sun and hung over the city. The Allegheny County Medical Society endorsed efforts to obtain an anti-smoke law.

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

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

2006 The Steelers won Super Bowl XL in Detroit, 21-10, against the Seattle Seahawks — their fifth Super Bowl championship.

2014 A United Nations human rights committee denounced the Vatican for adopting policies that it said allowed priests to rape and molest tens of thousands of children over decades. Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).

— Compiled by Alyssa Brown

Today’s birthdays: Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, 85. Actor Stuart Damon, 82. Tony-winning playwright John Guare, 81. Financial writer Jane Bryant Quinn, 80. Actor David Selby, 78. Singer-songwriter Barrett Strong, 78. Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach, 77. Movie director Michael Mann, 76. Rock singer Al Kooper, 75. Actress Charlotte Rampling, 73. Racing Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip, 72. Actress Barbara Hershey, 71. Actor Christopher Guest, 71. Actor Tom Wilkinson, 71. Actor-comedian Tim Meadows, 58. Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, 57. Actress Laura Linney, 55. Rock musician Duff McKagan (Velvet Revolver), 55. World Golf Hall of Famer Jose Maria Olazabal, 53. Actor-comedian Chris Parnell, 52. Rock singer Chris Barron (Spin Doctors), 51. Singer Bobby Brown, 50. Actor Michael Sheen, 50. Actor David Chisum, 49. Country singer Sara Evans, 48. Country singer Tyler Farr, 35. Neo-soul musician Mark Shusterman (Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats), 34. Actor-singer Darren Criss, 32. Actor Alex Brightman, 32. Actor Henry Golding, 32. Rock musician Kyle Simmons (Bastille), 31. Actor Jeremy Sumpter, 30. Drummer Graham Sierota (Echosmith), 20. Thought for today: “Many excellent words are ruined by too definite a knowledge of their meaning.”