Today in history
On Feb. 9, 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.
In 1773, the ninth president of the United States, William Henry Harrison, was born in Charles City County, Va.
In 1825, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.
In 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected provisional president of the Confederate States of America at a congress held in Montgomery, Ala.
In 1870, the U. S. Weather Bureau was established.
In 1933, the Oxford Union Society approved, 275- 153, a motion " that this House will in no circumstances fight for its King and Country," a stand that was widely denounced. ( On this date in 1983, the Oxford Union Society rejected, 416- 187, a motion " that this House would not fight for Queen and Country.")
In 1942, the U. S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II. Daylight- saving " War Time" went into effect in the United States, with clocks turned one hour forward.
In 1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.
In 1950, in a speech in Wheeling, W. Va., Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R- Wis., charged the State Department was riddled with Communists.
In 1963, the Boeing 727 went on its first- ever flight as it took off from Renton, Wash.
In 1971, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in California's San Fernando Valley claimed 65 lives. The crew of Apollo 14 returned to Earth after man's third landing on the moon.
In 1984, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov, 69, died 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was followed by Konstantin U. Chernenko ( chehr- NYEN'- koh).
In 2002, Britain's Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died in London at age 71.
Ten years ago: President George W. Bush and Democratic front- runner John Kerry sparred over the president's economic leadership, while Kerry's rivals sought to slow his brisk pace. Anti- government rebels took control of nearly a dozen towns in western Haiti as the death toll in the violent uprising rose to at least 40.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama used his first news conference since taking office to urgently pressure lawmakers to approve a massive economic recovery bill. New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking performance- enhancing drugs, telling ESPN he'd used banned substances while with the Texas Rangers for three years. Lindsey Vonn won the downhill for her second gold at the World Championships in Val D'isere, France, becoming the second American woman ( after Andrea Mead Lawrence) to win two golds at a worlds. Playwright Robert Anderson (" Tea and Sympathy") died in New York at age 91.
One year ago: Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries, including first lady Michelle Obama, packed the funeral service for 15- year- old Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed Jan. 29 as she stood with friends at a neighborhood park about a mile from President Barack Obama's Chicago home in the Kenwood neighborhood.
" What we call progress is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance." — Havelock Ellis, English psychologist ( 1859- 1939).