Today In History
Today is Tuesday, Feb. 12, the 43rd day of 2019. There are 322 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
› 1959: The redesigned Lincoln penny — with an image of the Lincoln Memorial replacing two ears of wheat on the reverse side — went into circulation.
ON THIS DATE
› 1909: The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded.
› 1914: Groundbreaking took place for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. (A year later on this date, the cornerstone was laid.)
› 1924: George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” premiered in New York.
› 1973: Operation Homecoming began as the first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam conflict took place.
› 1980: The FBI announced that about $5,800 of the $200,000 ransom paid to hijacker “D.B. Cooper” before he parachuted from a Northwest Orient jetliner in 1971 had been found by an 8-year-old boy on a riverbank of the Columbia River in Washington state.
› 2008: General Motors reported losing $38.7 billion in 2007, a record annual loss in automotive history, and offered buyouts to 74,000 hourly workers. Uno became the first beagle named Westminster’s best in show.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Movie director Franco Zeffirelli is 96. Movie director Costa-Gavras is 86. Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Russell is 85. Actor Joe Don Baker is
83. Author Judy Blume is
81. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is
77. Country singer Moe Bandy is 75. Actress Maud Adams is 74. Actor Cliff DeYoung is 73. Actor Michael Ironside is 69. Rock musician Steve Hackett is 69. Rock singer Michael McDonald is 67. Actress Joanna Kerns is
66. Actor-talk show host Arsenio Hall is 63. Actor John Michael Higgins is
56. Actress Christine Elise is 54. Actor Josh Brolin is
51. Singer Chynna Phillips is 51. Rock musician Jim Creeggan (Barenaked Ladies) is 49. Rhythm and blues musician Keri Lewis is 48. Actor Jesse Spencer is 40. Rapper Gucci Mane is 39. Actress Sarah Lancaster is 39. Actress Christina Ricci is 39. NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III is 29. Actress Jennifer Stone is
26. Actresses Baylie and Rylie Cregut (TV: “Raising Hope”) are nine.