TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, Feb. 10, the 41st day of 2023.

Today’s highlight

On Feb. 10, 1962, the Soviet Union exchanged captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for Rudolf Abel, a Soviet spy held by the U.S.

On this date In 1763,

Britain, Spain and France signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the Seven Years’ War (aka the French and Indian

War in North America).

In 1936, Nazi Germany’s Reichstag passed a law investing the Gestapo secret police with absolute authority, exempt from any legal review.

In 1959, a major tornado tore through the St. Louis area, killing 21 people.

In 1967, the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, dealing with presidential disability and succession, was ratified.

In 1992, boxer Mike Tyson was convicted of raping Desiree Washington, a Miss Black America contestant. (Tyson served three years in prison.)

In 1996, world chess champion Garry Kasparov lost the first game of a match against an IBM computer dubbed “Deep Blue.” (Kasparov ended up winning the match, 4 to 2; he was defeated by Deep Blue the following year.)

In 2005, North Korea boasted publicly for the first time that it possessed nuclear weapons. In 2015, NBC announced it was suspending “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams for six months without pay for misleading the public about his experiences covering the Iraq War. Jon Stewart announced he would step down as host of “The Daily Show.”

Today’s birthdays

Opera singer Leontyne Price is 96. Actor Robert Wagner is 93. Singer Roberta Flack is 86. Singer Jimmy Merchant is 83. Musician Bob Spalding (The Ventures) is 76. Swimmer Mark Spitz is 73. Golfer Greg Norman is 68. Actor Kathleen Beller is 67. TV host George Stephanopoulos is 62. Radio host Glenn Beck is 59. Actor Laura Dern is 56. Writer-producer Vince Gilligan is 56. Actor Elizabeth Banks is 49. Actor Uzo Aduba is 42. Actor Emma Roberts is 32. Actor Chloe Grace Moretz is 26. Actor Yara Shahidi is 23.