TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SATURDAY, FEB. 6, the 37th day of 2021. There are 328 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1778, during the American Revolutionary War, the United States won official recognition and military support from France with the signing of a Treaty of Alliance in Paris.
In 1756, America’s third vice president, Aaron Burr, was born in Newark, New Jersey.
In 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
In 1815, the state of New Jersey issued the first American railroad charter to John Stevens, who proposed a rail link between Trenton and New Brunswick. (The line, however, was never built.)
In 1862, during the Civil War, Fort Henry in Tennessee fell to Union forces.
In 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, was born in Tampico, Illinois.
In 1933, the 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the so-called “lame duck” amendment, was proclaimed in effect by Secretary of State Henry Stimson.
In 1952, Britain’s King George VI, 56, died at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England; he was succeeded as monarch by his 25-year-old elder daughter, who became Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1991, comedian and television performer Danny Thomas died in Los Angeles at age 79.
In 1993, Tennis Hall-of-Famer and human rights advocate Arthur Ashe died in New York at age 49.
In 1998, President Bill Clinton signed a bill changing the name of Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Carl Wilson, a founding member of The Beach Boys, died in Los Angeles at age 51.
In 2003, edging closer to war, President George W. Bush declared “the game is over” for Saddam Hussein and urged skeptical allies to join in disarming Iraq.
In 2008, the Bush White House defended the use of the interrogation technique known as waterboarding, saying it was legal — not torture as critics argued — and had saved American lives.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Mamie Van Doren is 90. Actor Mike Farrell is 82. Former NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw is 81. Singer Fabian and actor Gayle Hunnicutt are 78. Actor Michael Tucker is 76. Producer-directorwriter Jim Sheridan is 72. Actor Jon Walmsley is 65. Actor Kathy Najimy, rock musician Simon Phillips (Toto) and actor-director Robert Townsend are 64. Actor Barry Miller is 63. Actor Megan Gallagher is 61. Rock singer Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses) and country singer Richie McDonald are 59. Singer Rick Astley is 55. Rock musician Tim Brown (Boo Radleys) is 52. “Good Morning America” co-host Amy Robach is 48. Actor Josh Stewart is 44. Actor Ben Lawson is 41. Actor Brandon Hammond is 37. Actor Crystal Reed (TV: “Teen Wolf”) is 36. Actor Alice Greczyn is 35. Actor Anna Diop is 33. R&B singer/ actor Tinashe is 28.