Month: February 2012

Updated February 18, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Feb. 19, 1945, during World War II, some 30,000 United States Marines landed on the Western Pacific island of Iwo Jima, where they encountered ferocious resistance from Japanese forces. The Americans took control of the strategically important island after a month-long battle.

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On Feb. 19, 1912, Stan Kenton, the American bandleader who was an innovator in the progressive jazz style of the 1950’s, was born. Following his death on Aug. 25, 1979, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1473	The astronomer Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland.
1878	Thomas Edison received a patent for his phonograph.
1881	Kansas became the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
1945	Some 30,000 U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima and began a month-long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces during World War II.
1959	An agreement was signed by Britain, Turkey and Greece granting Cyprus its independence.
1997	Deng Xiaoping, the last of China’s major Communist revolutionaries, died in Beijing at age 92.
2004	Former Enron Corp. chief executive Jeffrey Skilling was charged with fraud, insider trading and other crimes in connection with the energy trader’s collapse.
2007	New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions to gay couples.
2008	An ailing Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency after nearly a half-century in power.
2010	Golfer Tiger Woods admitted infidelity and acknowledged receiving therapy.
2010	The FBI concluded that Army scientist Bruce Ivins acted alone in the 2001 anthrax mailings that killed five people, and formally closed the case.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

R&B singer, songwriter Smokey Robinson turns 72 years old today.

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Rock singer Seal turns 49 years old today.

AP Photo/Darron Cummings

1948	Tony Iommi, Rock musician (Black Sabbath), turns 64
1952	Amy Tan, Author, turns 60
1955	Jeff Daniels, Actor, turns 57
1957	Ray Winstone, Actor, turns 55
1959	Roger Goodell, NFL commissioner, turns 53
1960	Prince Andrew, Member of the British royal family, turns 52
1962	Hana Mandlikova, Tennis Hall of Famer, turns 50
1966	Justine Bateman, Actress (“Family Ties”), turns 46
1967	Benicio Del Toro, Actor, turns 45
1985	Haylie Duff, Singer, actress (“7th Heaven”), turns 27

 

Historic Birthdays

Stan Kenton 2/19/1912 – 8/25/1979 American jazz bandleader, pianist and composer.Go to obituary »

70	Nicolaus Copernicus 2/19/1473 – 5/24/1543 Polish astronomer
61	David Garrick 2/19/1717 – 1/20/1779 English actor, producer, dramatist and comanager of the Drury Lane Theatre
62	Luigi Boccherini 2/19/1743 – 5/28/1805 Italian composer and cellist
73	Elie Ducommun 2/19/1833 – 12/7/1906 Swiss writer, editor and Nobel Peace Prize winner
82	Rudolf Stammler 2/19/1856 – 4/25/1938 German jurist and teacher
68	Svante Arrhenius 2/19/1859 – 10/2/1927 Swedish Nobel Prize-winning physical chemist
68	Merle Oberon 2/19/1911 – 11/23/1979 English/American film actress
81	Eddie Arcaro 2/19/1916 – 11/14/1997 American jockey
50	Carson McCullers 2/19/1917 – 9/29/1967 American author

 

Updated February 17, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Feb. 18, 1861, Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederate States of America in Montgomery, Ala.

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On Feb. 18, 1848, Louis Comfort Tiffany, a craftsman and designer who made significant advancements in the art of glassmaking, was born. Following his death on Jan. 17, 1933, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

 

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1546	Martin Luther, leader of the Protestant Reformation, died in Eiselben, Germany.
1564	The artist Michelangelo died in Rome.
1885	“The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain was published.
1930	Photographic evidence of Pluto was discovered by Clyde W. Tombaugh at Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz.
1960	The eighth Winter Olympic Games opened in Squaw Valley, Calif.
1970	Five of the Chicago Seven defendants were found guilty of intent to incite a riot at the 1968 Democratic national convention. (The convictions were later overturned.)
1972	The California Supreme Court struck down the state’s death penalty.
1977	The space shuttle Enterprise, sitting atop a Boeing 747, went on its maiden flight above the Mojave Desert.
1988	Anthony M. Kennedy was sworn in as a justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
2001	Auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr., 49, died from injuries suffered in a crash at the Daytona 500.
2001	Veteran FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested, accused of spying for Russia for more than 15 years. (Hanssen pleaded guilty and is serving life in prison without parole.)
2006	American Shani Davis won the men’s 1,000-meter speedskating in Turin, becoming the first black athlete to win an individual gold medal in Winter Olympic history.
2006	A Hamas-dominated Palestinian parliament was sworn in.
2010	Software engineer A. Joseph Stack III crashed his single-engine plane into a building containing IRS offices in Austin, Texas, killing one person besides himself..

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Artist-singer Yoko Ono turns 79 years old today.

AP Photo/Joel Ryan

Actor John Travolta turns 58 years old today.

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

1922	Helen Gurley Brown, Author, editor, turns 90
1925	George Kennedy, Actor, turns 87
1927	John Warner, Former U.S. senator, R-Va., turns 85
1931	Toni Morrison, Nobel Prize winning author, turns 81
1932	Milos Forman, Director, turns 80
1941	Herman Santiago, Singer (Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers), turns 71
1941	Irma Thomas, Soul singer, turns 71
1947	Dennis DeYoung, Rock singer (Styx), turns 65
1948	Sinead Cusack, Actress, turns 64
1950	Cybill Shepherd, Actress, turns 62
1952	Juice Newton, Singer, turns 60
1957	Vanna White, Game show host (“Wheel of Fortune”), turns 55
1960	Greta Scacchi, Actress, turns 52
1964	Matt Dillon, Actor, turns 48
1965	Dr. Dre, Rapper, turns 47
1968	Molly Ringwald, Actress (“Pretty in Pink, “The Breakfast Club”), turns 44

 

Historic Birthdays

Louis Comfort Tiffany 2/18/1848 – 1/17/1933 American painter, decorator and designerGo to obituary »

42	Mary (Mary I) Tudor 2/18/1516 – 11/17/1558 English queen (1553-58)
82	Alessandro Volta 2/18/1745 – 3/5/1827 Italian physicist and inventor
65	James Biddle 2/18/1783 – 10/1/1848 American career naval officer
50	Ramakrishna 2/18/1836 – 8/16/1886 Hindu religious leader
63	Max Klinger 2/18/1857 – 7/5/1920 German painter, sculptor and engraver
77	Charles M. Schwab 2/18/1862 – 9/18/1939 American entrepreneur who pioneered Bethlehem Steel
52	Wendell Willkie 2/18/1892 – 10/8/1944 American Republican presidential candidate
25	George Gipp 2/18/1895 – 12/14/1920 American football player (“The Gipper”)
90	Enzo Ferrari 2/18/1898 – 8/14/1988 Italian automobile manufacturer, designer and racing-car driver
85	Sir Arthur Bryant 2/18/1899 – 1/2/1985 English historian and biographer
84	Wallace Stegner 2/18/1909 – 4/13/1993 American author