Today in history
On Feb. 5, 1897,
the Indiana House of Representatives unanimously passed a measure redefining the area of a circle and the value of pi; the bill died in the state Senate.
In1917
Congress passed, over President Wood row Wilson’s veto, an immigration act severely curtailing the influx of Asians.
In1934
baseball great Hank Aaron was born in Mobile, Ala.
In1937
President Franklin Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court; critics accused Roosevelt of attempting to “pack” the high court.
In1967
“The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” premiered on CBS.
In1983
ex-Nazi-Gestapo official Klaus Barbie, expelled from Bolivia, was brought to Lyon, France, to stand trial. (Hewas convicted and sentenced to life in prison.)
In 1988 a
pair of indictments were unsealed in Florida, accusing Panama’s military leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega, of bribery and drug trafficking.
In1993
federal Judge Kimba Wood, President Bill Clinton’s expected choice for attorney general, withdrew from consideration, saying her baby-sitter had been an illegal immigrant for seven years.
In 1994 white
separatist Byron De La Beck with was convicted in Jackson, Miss., of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963, andwas immediately sentenced to life in prison.
In 2003 Secretary
of State Colin Powell urged the U.N. Security Council tomove against Saddam Hussein, saying Iraq had failed to disarm, was harboring terrorists andwas hiding behind a “web of lies.”
In 2004 Pakistani
President Pervez Musharraf pardoned the country’s top nuclear scientist for leaking weapons technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.
In 2006 Iran
ended all voluntary cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Also in 2006 the Pittsburgh Steelers won a record-tying fifth Super Bowl with a 21-10win over the Seattle Seahawks.
In2011
former Chicago Bears defensive end Richard Dent, who racked up137 1⁄2 sacks in his 15-year career andwas MV Pof the winning Super Bowl XX, was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In2012
the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 21-17, to win Super Bowl XLVI.