TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, FEB. 2, the 33rd day of 2022. There are 332 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1990, in a dramatic concession to South Africa’s Black majority, President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela. In 1536, present-day Buenos Aires was founded by Pedro de Mendoza of Spain. In 1653, New Amsterdam — now New York City — was incorporated. In 1887, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, held its first Groundhog Day Festival. In 1913, New York City’s rebuilt Grand Central Terminal opened to the public at 1 minute past midnight. In 1914, Charles Chaplin made his movie debut as the comedy short “Making a Living” was released by Keystone Film Co. In 1925, the legendary Alaska Serum Run ended as the last of a series of dog mushers brought a life-saving treatment to Nome, scene of a diphtheria epidemic, six days after the drug left Nenana. In 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II. In 1948, President Harry S. Truman sent a 10-point civil rights program to Congress, where the proposals ran into fierce opposition from Southern lawmakers. In 1980, NBC News reported the FBI had conducted a sting operation targeting members of Congress using phony Arab businessmen in what became known as “Abscam,” a codename protested by Arab Americans. In 2006, House Republicans elected John Boehner of Ohio majority leader to replace the indicted Tom DeLay. In 2016, health officials reported that a person in Texas had become infected with the Zika virus through sex in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States. In 2020, the Philippines reported that a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan had died in a Manila hospital from the new coronavirus; it was the first death from the virus to be recorded outside of China. Authorities in parts of China extended the Lunar New Year holiday break well into February to try to keep people at home. TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Comedian Tom Smothers is 85. Rock singer-guitarist Graham Nash and television executive Barry Diller are 80. Actor Bo Hopkins is 78. Country singer Howard Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) is 76. TV chef Ina Garten is 74. Actors Jack McGee and Brent Spiner, and rock musician Ross Valory (Journey) are 73. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and the former president of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, are 70. Model Christie Brinkley is 68. Actors Michael Talbott and Kim Zimmer are 67. Actor Michael T. Weiss is 60. Actorcomedian Adam Ferrara and rock musician Robert DeLeo (Army of Anyone; Stone Temple Pilots) are 56. Actor Jennifer Westfeldt is 52. Rapper T-Mo is 50. Actor Marissa Jaret Winokur is 49. Actor Lori Beth Denberg is 46. Singer Shakira is 45. Actor Rich Sommer is 44. Country singer Blaine Larsen is 36. Actor Zosia Mamet is 34.