Today in History

Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023

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:

In 1857, a French court acquitted author Gustave Flaubert of obscenity for his serialized novel “Madame Bovary.”

In 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.)

In 1948, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as U.S. Army chief of staff; he was succeeded by Gen. Omar Bradley.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba. In 1971, women in Switzerland gained the right to vote through a national referendum, 12 years after a previous attempt failed. In 1984, space shuttle Challenger astronauts Bruce Mccandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered spacewalk, which lasted nearly six hours.

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

In 1991, Jean-bertrand Aristide (zhahn BEHRTRAHN’ ahr-ihs-teed’) was inaugurated as the first democratically elected president of Haiti (he was overthrown by the military the following September). In 1999, Jordan’s King Hussein died of cancer at age 63; he was succeeded by his eldest son, Abdullah (ab-duh’-luh).

In 2009, a miles-wide section of ice in Lake Erie broke away from the Ohio shoreline, trapping about 135 fishermen, some for as long as four hours before they could be rescued (one man fell into the water and later died of an apparent heart attack).

In 2014, the Sochi Olympics opened with a celebration of Russia’s past greatness and hopes for future glory.

In 2020, two days after his acquittal in his first Senate impeachment trial, President Donald Trump took retribution against two officials who had delivered damaging testimony; he ousted Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a national security aide, and Gordon Sondland, his ambassador to the European Union. Ten years ago: CIA Director-designate John Brennan strongly defended anti-terror attacks by unmanned drones under close questioning at a protest-disrupted confirmation hearing held by the Senate Intelligence Committee. Five years ago: Biotech billionaire Dr. Patrick Soonshiong struck a $500 million deal to buy the Los Angeles Times, the San Diego Union-tribune and some other publications; the deal would take effect in June. St. John’s beat top-ranked Villanova, 7975, for its second win that week over a top-five team. (St. John’s had earlier snapped an 11-game losing streak by beating fourthranked Duke.)

One year ago:

President Joe Biden’s top science adviser Eric Lander resigned after the White House confirmed that an internal investigation found credible evidence that he mistreated his staff, marking the first Cabinetlevel departure of the Biden administration.

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. Actor James Spader is 63. Country singer Garth Brooks is 61. Rock musician David Bryan (Bon Jovi) is 61. Actorcomedian Eddie Izzard is

61. Actor-comedian Chris Rock is 58. Actor Jason Gedrick is 56. Actor Essence Atkins is 50. Rock singer-musician Wes Borland is 48. 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.

Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 8, the 39th day of 2023. There are 332days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Feb. 8, 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

On this date:

In 1693, a charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in the Virginia Colony.

In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated. In 1922, President Warren G. Harding had a radio installed in the White House. In 1924, the first execution by gas in the United States took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City as Gee Jon, a Chinese immigrant convicted of murder, was put to death. In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed her accession to the British throne following the death of her father, King George VI. In 1960, work began on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles.

In 1965, Eastern Air Lines Flight 663, a DC-7, crashed shortly after takeoff from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport; all 84 people on board were killed. The Supremes’ record “Stop! In the Name of Love!” was released by Motown.

In 1968, three Black students were killed in a confrontation between demonstrators and highway patrolmen at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg in the wake of protests over a whites-only bowling alley.

In 1971, NASDAQ, the world’s first electronic stock exchange, held its first trading day.

In 1973, Senate leaders named seven members of a select committee to investigate the Watergate scandal, including its chairman, Democrat Sam J. Ervin of North Carolina. In 2007, model, actor and tabloid sensation Anna Nicole Smith died in Hollywood, Florida, at age 39 of an accidental drug overdose.

In 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Beijing said a 60-yearold U.S. citizen who’d been diagnosed with the coronavirus had died on Feb. 5 in Wuhan; it was apparently the first American fatality from the virus.

Ten years ago:

A massive storm packing hurricaneforce winds and blizzard conditions began sweeping through the Northeast, dumping nearly 2 feet of snow on New England and knocking out power to more than a half a million customers.

Five years ago: The federal government stumbled into a shutdown that would end by morning, its second in less than a month, as rogue Senate Republicans blocked a speedy vote on a massive, bipartisan, budget-busting spending deal. For the second time in a week, the Dow Jones industrials plunged by more than 1,000 points as a sell-off in the stock market deepened. Hundreds of thousands lined the streets of Philadelphia as the Eagles celebrated their Super Bowl victory with a parade.

One year ago: Retired Pope Benedict XVI asked forgiveness for any “grievous faults” in his handling of clergy sex abuse cases, but denied any personal or specific wrongdoing after an independent report criticized his actions in four cases while he was archbishop of Munich, Germany. “The Power of the Dog” topped the 2022 Oscar nominations with 10. (It would go on to win just one, best director for Jane Campion.)

Today’s birthdays:

Composer-conductor John Williams is 91. Broadcast journalist Ted Koppel is 83. Actor Nick Nolte is 82. Comedian Robert Klein is 81. Actor-rock musician Creed Bratton is 80. Singer Ron Tyson is 75. Actor Brooke Adams is 74. Actor Mary Steenburgen is 70. Author John Grisham is 68. Retired NBA All-star and College Basketball Hall of Famer Marques Johnson is 67. Actor Henry Czerny is 64. Rock singer Vince Neil (Motley Crue) is 62. Former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson is 61. Movie producer Toby Emmerich is 60. Actor Missy Yager is 55. Actor Mary Mccormack is 54. Basketball Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning is 53. Actor Susan Misner is 52. Dance musician Guymanuel de Homem-christo (Daft Punk) is 49. Actor Seth Green is 49. Actor Joshua Morrow is 49. Rock musician Phoenix (Linkin Park) is 46. Actor William Jackson Harper is 43. Actor Jim Parrack is 42. Folk singer-musician Joey Ryan (Milk Carton Kids) is 41. Actor-comedian Cecily Strong is 39. Rock musician Jeremy Davis is 38. Hip-hop artist Anderson. Paak is 37. Actor Ryan Pinkston is 35. NBA star Klay Thompson is 33. Professional surfer Bethany Hamilton is 33. Actor Karle Warren is 31.