Today In History
Today is Thursday, Feb. 2, the 33rd day of 2023. There are 332 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY
On Feb. 2, 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.
ON THIS DATE
› 1536: Present-day Buenos Aires, Argentina, was founded by Pedro de Mendoza of Spain.
› 1887: Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, held its first Groundhog Day festival.
› 1913: New York City’s rebuilt Grand Central Terminal officially opened to the public at one minute past midnight.
› 1914: Charles Chaplin made his movie debut as the comedy short “Making a Living” was released by Keystone Film Co.
› 1925: The legendary Alaska Serum Run ended as the last of a series of dog mushers brought a life-saving treatment to Nome, the scene of a diphtheria epidemic, six days after the drug left Nenana.
› 1943: The remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II.
1948: President Harry S. Truman sent a 10-point civil rights program to Congress, where the proposals ran into fierce opposition from Southern lawmakers.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Comedian Tom Smothers is 86. Rock singer-guitarist Graham Nash is 81. Television executive Barry Diller is 81. Country singer Howard Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) is 77. TV chef Ina Garten is 75. Actor Jack McGee is 74. Actor Brent Spiner is 74. Rock musician Ross Valory (Journey) is 74. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is
71. The former president of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, is 71. Model Christie Brinkley is 69. Actor Michael Talbott is
68. Actor Kim Zimmer is 68. Actor Michael T. Weiss is 61. Actor-comedian Adam Ferrara is 57. Rock musician Robert DeLeo (Army of Anyone; Stone Temple Pilots) is
57. Actor Jennifer Westfeldt is 53. Rapper T-Mo is 51. Actor Marissa Jaret Winokur is 50. Actor Lori Beth Denberg is 47. Singer Shakira is 46. Actor Rich Sommer is 45. Country singer Blaine Larsen is 37. Actor Zosia Mamet is 35.