Today In History

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 7, the 38th day of 2023. There are 333 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY

On Feb. 7, 1964, the Beatles arrived at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to begin their first American tour.

ON THIS DATE

› 1857: A French court acquitted author Gustave Flaubert of obscenity for his serialized novel “Madame Bovary.”

› 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. ›

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

› 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.

› 1985: U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena was kidnapped in Guadalajara, Mexico, by drug traffickers who tortured and murdered him.

› 1991: Jean-Bertrand Aristide was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of Haiti (he was overthrown by the military the following September).

› 1999: Jordan’s King Hussein died of cancer at age 63; he was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdullah.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Author Gay Talese is 91. Former Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., is 88. Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., is 71. Comedy writer Robert Smigel is 63. Country singer Garth Brooks is 61. Rock musician David Bryan (Bon Jovi) is 61. Actor-comedian Eddie Izzard is 61. Actor-comedian Chris Rock is 58. Actor Jason Gedrick is 56. Actor Essence Atkins is 50. Rock musician Tom Blankenship (My Morning Jacket) is 45. Actor Ashton Kutcher is 45. Actor Tina Majorino is 38. Actor Deborah Ann Woll is 38. NBA player Isaiah Thomas is 34. NHL center Steven Stamkos is 33.