Today In History

Today is Thursday, Feb. 7, the 38th day of 2019. There are 327 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1962: President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba.

ON THIS DATE

› 1795: The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, dealing with states’ sovereign immunity, was ratified.

› 1812: Author Charles Dickens was born in Landport, Portsmouth, England.

› 1817: America’s first public gas street lamp was lighted in Baltimore at the corner of Market and Lemon streets (now East Baltimore and Holliday streets).

› 1904: A fire began in Baltimore that raged for about 30 hours and destroyed more than 1,500 buildings.

› 1943: The government abruptly announced that wartime rationing of shoes made of leather would go into effect in two days, limiting consumers to buying three pairs per person per year. (Rationing was lifted in October 1945.)

› 1948: Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as U.S. Army chief of staff; he was succeeded by Gen. Omar Bradley.

› 1964: The Beatles arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to begin their first American tour.

› 1971: Women in Switzerland gained the right to vote through a national referendum, 12 years after a previous attempt failed.

› 1984: Space shuttle Challenger astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered spacewalk, which lasted nearly six hours.

› 1998: The Winter Olympic Games were opened in Nagano, Japan, by Emperor Akihito.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Author Gay Talese is 87. Former Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., is 84. Reggae musician Brian Travers (UB40) is 60. Comedy writer Robert Smigel is 59. Actor James Spader is 59. Country singer Garth Brooks is

57. Rock musician David Bryan (Bon Jovi) is 57. Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard is 57. Actor-comedian Chris Rock is

54. Actor Jason Gedrick is 52. Actress Essence Atkins is 47. Rock singer-musician Wes Borland is 44. Rock musician Tom Blankenship (My Morning Jacket) is 41. Actor Ashton Kutcher is 41. Actress Tina Majorino is

34. Actress Deborah Ann Woll is 34. NBA player Isaiah Thomas is 30.