On this day, Feb. 7
1857 A French court acquitted author Gustave Flaubert of obscenity for his serialized novel “Madame Bovary.”
1943 The government abruptly announced that wartime rationing of shoes made of leather would go into effect in two days, limiting consumers to buying three pairs per person per year. (Rationing was lifted in October 1945.)
1948 Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as U.S. Army chief of staff; he was succeeded by Gen. Omar Bradley.
1962 President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba.
1964 The Beatles arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to begin their first American tour.
1971 Women in Switzerland gained the right to vote through a national referendum, 12 years after a previous attempt failed.
1984 Space shuttle Challenger astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered spacewalk, which lasted nearly six hours.
1985 U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara, Mexico, by drug traffickers who tortured and murdered him.
1991 Jean-Bertrand Aristide was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of Haiti. (He was overthrown by the military the following September.)
1999 Jordan’s King Hussein died of cancer at age 63; he was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdullah.
2009 A miles-wide section of ice in Lake Erie broke away from the Ohio shoreline, trapping about 135 fishermen, some for as long as four hours before they could be rescued (one man fell into the water and later died of an apparent heart attack).
2014 The Sochi Olympics opened with a celebration of Russia’s past greatness and hopes for future glory.
2018 Biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick SoonShiong struck a $500 million deal to buy the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego
Union-Tribune and some other publications; the deal would take effect in June.
2020 Two days after his acquittal in his first Senate impeachment trial, President Donald Trump took retribution against two officials who had delivered damaging testimony; he ousted Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a national security aide, and Gordon Sondland, his ambassador to the European Union.
Today’s birthdays: Author Gay Talese, 91. Comedy writer Robert Smigel, 63. Actor James Spader, 63. Country singer Garth Brooks, 61. Rock musician David Bryan (Bon Jovi), 61. Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard, 61. Actor-comedian Chris Rock, 58. Actor Jason Gedrick, 56. Actor Essence Atkins, 50. Rock singer-musician Wes Borland, 48. Rock musician Tom Blankenship (My Morning Jacket), 45. Actor Ashton Kutcher, 45. Actor Tina Majorino, 38. Actor Deborah Ann Woll, 38. NBA player Isaiah Thomas, 34. NHL center Steven Stamkos, 33.