TODAY IN HISTORY

1825

The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

1942

The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II.

1943

The World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.

1950

In a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Republican Sen. Joseph Mccarthy of Wisconsin charged that the State Department was riddled with Communists.

1962

An agreement was signed to make Jamaica an independent nation within the British Commonwealth later in the year.

1963

The Boeing 727went on its first-ever flight as it took off from Renton, Washington.

1964

The Beatles made their first live American television appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” broadcast from New York on CBS. The G.I. Joe action figure was introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York.

1984

Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov, 69, died 15months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was followed by Konstantin U. Chernenko (chehr-nyen’-koh).

1986

During its latest visit to the solar system, Halley’s Comet came closest to the sun (its next return will be in 2061).

2002

Britain’s Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died in London at age 71.

2009

New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking performanceenhancing drugs, telling ESPN he’d used banned substances while with the Texas Rangers for three years.

2020

“Parasite,” from South Korea, won the best picture Oscar, becoming the first foreignlanguage film to take home the biggest honor in film.

2013

Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries, including first lady Michelle Obama, packed the funeral service for Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old honor student who was shot and killed Jan. 29as she stood with friends at a neighborhood park about a mile from President Barack Obama’s Chicago home in the Kenwood neighborhood.