Today In History
Today is Friday, Feb. 3, the 34th day of 2023. There are 331 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY
On Feb. 3, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.
ON THIS DATE ›
1865: President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference off the Virginia coast; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern autonomy.
› 1917: The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, the same day an American cargo ship, the SS Housatonic, was sunk by a U-boat off Britain after the crew was allowed to board lifeboats.
› 1943: During World War II, the U.S. transport ship SS Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo in the Labrador Sea; of the more than 900 men aboard, only some 230 survived.
› 1959: Rock-and-roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.
› 1966: The Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to make a soft landing on the moon.
› 1988: The U.S. House of Representatives handed President Ronald Reagan a major defeat, rejecting his request for $36.2 million in new aid to the Nicaraguan Contras by a vote of 219-211.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 82. Actor Blythe Danner is
80. Football Hall of Famer Bob Griese is 78. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 76. Singer Melanie is 76. Actor Morgan Fairchild is 73. Actor Pamela Franklin is 73. Actor Nathan Lane is 67. Rock musician Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) is 67. Actor Thomas Calabro is
64. Rock musician/author Lol Tolhurst (The Cure) is 64. Actor-director Keith Gordon is 62. Actor Michele Greene is 61. Country singer Matraca Berg is 59. Actor Maura Tierney is 58. Actor Elisa Donovan is 52. Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee is
47. Actor Isla Fisher is
47. Human rights activist Amal Clooney is 45. Singer-songwriter Jessica Harp is 41. Actor Matthew Moy is 39. Rapper Sean Kingston is 33. Actor Brandon Micheal Hall is 30.