Today In History
Today is Tuesday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 2024. There are 329 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
On Feb. 6, 1952, Britain’s King George VI, 56, died at Sandringham House in Norfolk, England; he was succeeded as monarch by his 25-year-old elder daughter, who became Queen Elizabeth II.
ON THIS DATE
› 1778: During the American Revolutionary War, the United States won official recognition and military support from France with the signing of a Treaty of Alliance in Paris.
› 1815: The state of New Jersey issued the first American railroad charter to John Stevens, who proposed a rail link between Trenton and New Brunswick.
› 1862: During the Civil War, Fort Henry in Tennessee fell to Union forces.
› 1899: A peace treaty between the United States and Spain was ratified by the U.S. Senate.
› 1911: Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, was born in Tampico, Illinois.
› 1922: Cardinal Archille Ratti was elected pope; he took the name Pius XI.
› 1933: The 20th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the so-called “lame duck” amendment, was proclaimed in effect by Secretary of State Henry Stimson.
› 2000: First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton launched her successful candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
› 2008: The Bush White House defended the use of the interrogation technique known as waterboarding, saying it was legal, not torture, and had saved American lives.
› 2013: Toy maker Hasbro Inc. announced that Monopoly fans had voted online to add a cat token to the board game, replacing the iron.
› 2021: George P. Shultz, who was President Ronald Reagan’s secretary of state as part of a long career in public service, died at his California home; he was 100.
› 2022: Queen Elizabeth II celebrated the 70th anniversary of her ascendance to the British throne, an unprecedented reign that made her a symbol of stability in the United Kingdom.
› 2023: A powerful 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Turkey and Syria, toppling thousands of buildings and trapping residents under mounds of rubble; the death toll would eventually be more than 50,000.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Actor Mamie Van Doren is 93. Actor Mike Farrell is 85. Producer-director-writer Jim Sheridan is 75. Actor Jon Walmsley is 68. Actor Kathy Najimy is 67. Rock musician Simon Phillips (Toto) is 67. Singer Rick Astley is 58. Former ABC News anchor Amy Robach is 51. Actor Josh Stewart is 47. Actor Ben Lawson is 44. Actor Alice Greczyn is 38. R&B singer/actor Tinashe is 31.