Category: Uncategorized

Updated February 6, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Feb. 7, 1984, space shuttle astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered spacewalk.
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On Feb. 7, 1817, Frederick Douglass, the American abolitionist leader, was born. Following his death on Feb. 20, 1895, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1944	Germany launched a counteroffensive at Anzio, Italy, during World War II.
1948	Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower resigned as Army chief of staff and was succeeded by Gen. Omar Bradley.
1962	President John F. Kennedy imposed a full trade embargo on Cuba..
1964	The Beatles arrived in New York for their first American tour, kicking off rock ‘n’ roll’s “British invasion.”
1974	The island nation of Grenada won independence from Britain.
1984	Space shuttle astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered space walk.
1986	Haitian President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier fled his country, ending 28 years of family rule.
1990	The Soviet Union’s Communist Party gave up its monopoly on power by agreeing to let other political parties compete for control of the country.
1991	Jean-Bertrand Aristide was sworn in as Haiti’s first democratically elected president.
1992	European Community members signed the Maastricht Treaty, which led to creation of the euro.
1995	Ramzi Yousef, the alleged mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, was arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.
1999	Jordan’s King Hussein died at age 63.
2011	AOL Inc. announced the $315 million purchase of The Huffington Post website.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Comedian Chris Rock turns 47 years old today.

AP Photo/Matt Sayles

Actor Ashton Kutcher (“That ’70s Show”) turns 34 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

1932	Gay Talese, Author, turns 80
1935	Herb Kohl, U.S. senator, D-Wis., turns 77
1952	John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado, turns 60
1955	Miguel Ferrer, Actor, turns 57
1960	James Spader, Actor (“Boston Legal”), turns 52
1962	Garth Brooks, Country singer, turns 50
1962	Eddie Izzard, Actor, comedian, turns 50
1974	Steve Nash, Basketball player, turns 38
1985	Tina Majorino, Actress, turns 27

Historic Birthdays

Frederick Douglass 2/7/1817 – 2/20/1895 American black abolitionist.Go to obituary »

58	St. Thomas More 2/7/1478 – 7/6/1535 English humanist/chancellor
82	John Deere 2/7/1804 – 5/17/1886 American inventor of agricultural implements
58	Charles Dickens 2/7/1812 – 6/9/1870 English novelist
84	Gardner Quincy Colton 2/7/1814 – 8/9/1898 American anesthetist/inventor
78	Sir James Murray 2/7/1837 – 7/26/1915 Scottish lexicographer/editor
90	Laura Ingalls Wilder 2/7/1867 – 2/10/1957 American author of children’s fiction
67	Alfred Adler 2/7/1870 – 5/28/1937 Austrian physician/psychologist
100	Eubie Blake 2/7/1883 – 2/12/1983 American pianist/composer
65	Sinclair Lewis 2/7/1885 – 1/10/1951 American novelist/social critic
73	Buster Crabbe 2/7/1908 – 4/23/1983 American swimmer/actor
79	Ruth Sager 2/7/1918 – 3/29/1997 American geneticist

Updated February 5, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Feb. 6, 1952, Britain’s King George VI died; he was succeeded by his daughter, Elizabeth II.
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On Feb. 6, 1895, George Herman ‘Babe’ Ruth, baseball’s great star, was born. Following his death on Aug. 16, 1948, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1756	Aaron Burr, America’s third vice president, was born in Newark, N.J.
1788	Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.
1895	Baseball Hall of Famer George Herman “Babe” Ruth was born in Baltimore.
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, Ill.
1933	The 20th Amendment to the Constitution was declared in effect. It moved the start of presidential, vice-presidential and congressional terms from March to January.
1945	Reggae musician Bob Marley was born in St. Ann parish in Jamaica.
1993	Tennis Hall of Famer Arthur Ashe, who had conracted HIV through a tainted blood transfusion, died at age 49.
1999	Excerpts of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky’s videotaped testimony were shown at President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in the Senate.
2000	First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton launched her successful candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
2001	Ariel Sharon was elected Israeli prime minister in a landslide over Ehud Barak.
2004	An explosion ripped through a Moscow subway car during rush hour, killing 41 people in a terrorist attack blamed on Chechen separatists.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Singer Natalie Cole turns 62 years old today.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

Rock singer Axl Rose (Guns N’ Roses) turns 50 years old today.

AP Photo/Steve McEnroe

1917	Zsa Zsa Gabor, Actress, turns 95
1931	Rip Torn, Actor (“The Larry Sanders Show”), turns 81
1939	Mike Farrell, Actor (“M*A*S*H,” “Providence”), turns 73
1940	Tom Brokaw, Broadcast journalist, author, turns 72
1943	Fabian, Singer, turns 69
1957	Kathy Najimy, Actress, turns 55
1957	Robert Townsend, Actor, director, turns 55
1966	Rick Astley, Singer, turns 46

Historic Birthdays

Babe Ruth 2/6/1895 – 8/16/1948 American professional baseball player.Go to obituary »

80	Aaron Burr 2/6/1756 – 9/14/1836 3rd Vice President of The United States
73	Sir Charles Wheatstone 2/6/1802 – 10/19/1875 English physicist
83	William Maxwell Evarts 2/6/1818 – 2/28/1901 American lawyer/statesman
31	Jeb Stuart 2/6/1833 – 5/12/1864 American Confederate cavalry officer
67	Sir Henry Irving 2/6/1838 – 10/13/1905 English actor/stage manager
57	F. W. H. Myers 2/6/1843 – 1/17/1901 English writer/cofounder of the Society for Psychical Research
48	George Tyrrell 2/6/1861 – 7/15/1909 Irish-bn. English Jesuit priest/philosopher
93	Ronald Reagan 2/6/1911 – 6/5/2004 40th president of the United States
68	Melvin Tolson 2/6/1898 – 8/29/1966 African-American poet
33	Eva Braun 2/6/1912 – 4/30/1945 German mistress/wife of Adolf Hitler
83	Mary Douglas Leakey 2/6/1913 – 12/9/1996 English-bn. archaeologist/paleoanthropologist
52	Francois Truffaut 2/6/1932 – 10/21/1984 French film critic/producer

Updated February 4, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Feb. 5, 1937, President Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of Supreme Court justices; critics charged Roosevelt was attempting to “pack” the court.

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On Feb. 5, 1900, Adlai Ewing Stevenson, the American politician and diplomat, was born. Following his death on July 14, 1965, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1881	Phoenix, Ariz., was incorporated.
1917	Congress passed, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, a law severely curtailing the immigration of Asians.
1937	President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of Supreme Court justices. Critics charged that he was attempting to “pack” the court.
1958	Gamel Abdel Nasser was nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic, a short-lived union of Syria and Egypt.
1988	The Arizona House of Representatives impeached Gov. Evan Mecham, who was later convicted in the state Senate and removed from office.
1988	Panamanian military leader Gen. Manuel Noriega was indicted on bribery and drug trafficking charges in Florida.
1994	White separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Miss., of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963. He was sentenced to life in prison.
1997	Investment bank Morgan Stanley announced a $10 billion merger with Dean Witter.
2001	Four disciples of Osama bin Laden went on trial in New York in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.
2002	A federal grand jury indicted John Walker Lindh, the so-called “American Taliban,” alleging that he was trained by Osama bin Laden’s network and that he conspired with the Taliban to kill Americans.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actress Laura Linney turns 48 years old today.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron turns 78 years old today.

AP Photo/John Bazemore

1928	Rev. Andrew M. Greeley, Professor, author, turns 84
1942	Roger Staubach, Football Hall of Famer, turns 70
1943	Michael Mann, Director, turns 69
1944	Al Kooper, Rock musician, singer (Blood, Sweat and Tears), turns 68
1946	Charlotte Rampling, Actress, turns 66
1948	Christopher Guest, Actor, screenwriter (“This is Spinal Tap”), turns 64
1948	Barbara Hershey, Actress, turns 64
1948	Tom Wilkinson, Actor, turns 64
1959	Jennifer Granholm, Former governor of Michigan, turns 53
1961	Tim Meadows, Actor, comedian (“Saturday Night Live”), turns 51
1962	Jennifer Jason Leigh, Actress, turns 50
1967	Chris Parnell, Actor-comedian (“Saturday Night Live”), turns 45
1968	Roberto Alomar, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 44
1969	Bobby Brown, R&B singer, turns 43
1971	Sara Evans, Country singer, turns 41
1987	Darren Criss, Actor, singer (“Glee”), turns 25

Historic Birthdays

Adlai Ewing Stevenson 2/5/1900 – 7/14/1965 American politician/diplomat.Go to obituary »

70	Marie Sevigne 2/5/1626 – 4/17/1696 French writer, mostly of letters to her daughter
41	Belle Starr 2/5/1848 – 2/3/1889 American outlaw in Texas and Oklahoma territory
57	Andre-Gustave Citroen 2/5/1878 – 7/3/1935 French engineer/industrialist
71	Ralph E. McGill 2/5/1898 – 2/3/1969 American journalist
82	John Carradine 2/5/1906 – 11/27/1988 American actor
83	William S. Burroughs 2/5/1914 – 8/2/1997 American writer
75	Robert Hofstadter 2/5/1915 – 11/17/1990 American physicist, winner of Nobel prize
77	Andreas Papandreou 2/5/1919 – 6/23/1996 Greek prime minister

Updated February 3, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Feb. 4, 1974, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

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On Feb. 4, 1902, Charles A. Lindbergh, the American aviator who became the first man to fly the Atlantic solo nonstop from the United States to Europe, was born. Following his death on Aug. 26, 1974, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1783	Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War.
1789	Electors unanimously chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States.
1861	Delegates from six southern states met in Montgomery, Ala., to form the Confederate States of America.
1913	Civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks was born Rosa Louise McCauley in Tuskegee, Ala.
1938	The Thornton Wilder play “Our Town” opened on Broadway.
1941	The United Service Organizations (USO) was formed.
1945	President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.
1948	The island nation of Ceylon – now Sri Lanka – became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.
1974	Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
1977	The album “Rumours” by Fleetwood Mac was released.
1997	A civil jury found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
1999	Four plainclothes New York City police officers fired 41 bullets at Amadou Diallo in front of his Bronx home after mistaking his wallet for a gun. The unarmed West African immigrant was killed.
2003	Yugoslavia was dissolved and replaced with a loose union of its remaining two republics, Serbia and Montenegro.
2004	The Massachusetts high court declared that gays were entitled to marry.
2004	The social networking website Facebook was launched.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Rock singer Alice Cooper turns 64 years old today.

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Former Vice President Dan Quayle turns 65 years old today.

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

1923	Conrad Bain, Actor (“Diff’rent Strokes”), turns 89
1936	David Brenner, Comedian, turns 76
1940	George A. Romero, Director, turns 72
1959	Lawrence Taylor, Football Hall of Famer, turns 53
1962	Clint Black, Country musician, turns 50
1971	Rob Corddry, Actor, turns 41
1975	Natalie Imbruglia, Rock singer, turns 37
1977	Gavin DeGraw, Rock singer, turns 35
1988	Carly Patterson, Gymnast, turns 24

Historic Birthdays

Charles A. Lindbergh 2/4/1902 – 8/26/1974 American aviator.Go to obituary »

85	Mark Hopkins 2/4/1802 – 6/17/1887 American educator and theologian
85	Clement Ader 2/4/1841 – 3/5/1926 French engineer and pioneer of flight
78	Ludwig Prandtl 2/4/1875 – 8/15/1953 German physicist, “father of aerodynamics”
70	Jacques Copeau 2/4/1879 – 10/20/1949 French actor/critic/director
74	Fernand Leger 2/4/1881 – 8/17/1955 French painter
75	George Kennedy Bell 2/4/1883 – 10/3/1958 English Anglican bishop of Chichester
95	Raymond Dart 2/4/1893 – 11/22/1988 Australian-bn. South African physical anthropologist
73	MacKinlay Kantor 2/4/1904 – 10/11/1977 American author/newspaperman
39	Dietrich Bonhoeffer 2/4/1906 – 4/9/1945 German Protestant theologian
90	Clyde W. Tombaugh 2/4/1906 – 1/17/1997 American astronomer who discovered Pluto

Updated February 2, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Feb. 3, 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, which had announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
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On Feb. 3, 1874, Gertrude Stein, American author and literary stylist, was born. Following her death on July 27, 1946, her obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1809	The territory of Illinois was created.
1913	The 16th Amendment to the Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.
1917	The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, which had announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
1924	Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States, died in Washington, D.C., at age 67.
1959	Rock ‘n’ roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.
1971	Apollo 14 astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr. and Edgar D. Mitchell landed on the lunar sufrace during the third successful manned mission to the moon.
1988	The U.S. House of Representatives rejected President Ronald Reagan’s request for more than $36 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.
1994	The space shuttle Discovery blasted off with a woman, Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins, in the pilot’s seat for the first time.
1998	Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker for the pickax killings of two people in 1983.
2006	An Egyptian passenger ferry sank in the Red Sea during bad weather, killing more than 1,000 passengers.
2011	Tens of thousands of protesters staged unprecedented demonstrations against Yemen’s autocratic president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key U.S. ally in battling Islamic militants.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Actress Blythe Danner turns 69 years old today.

AP Photo/Danny Moloshok

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley turns 69 years old today.

AP Photo/Phil Rawls

1940	Fran Tarkenton, Football Hall of Famer, turns 72
1945	Bob Griese, Football Hall of Famer, turns 67
1947	Dave Davies, Rock musician (The Kinks), turns 65
1947	Melanie, Folk singer, turns 65
1950	Morgan Fairchild, Actress, turns 62
1956	Nathan Lane, Actor, turns 56
1962	Michele Greene, Actress (“L.A. Law”), turns 50
1965	Maura Tierney, Actress (“ER,” “Newsradio”), turns 47
1976	Daddy Yankee, Reggaeton singer, turns 36

Historic Birthdays

Gertrude Stein 2/3/1874 – 7/27/1946 American writer.Go to obituary »

38	Felix Mendelssohn 2/3/1809 – 11/4/1847 German composer/pianist/teacher
61	Horace Greeley 2/3/1811 – 11/29/1872 American newspaper editor
72	Sir William C. Van Horne 2/3/1843 – 9/11/1915 American-bn. Canadian railway official
102	Naruhiko Higashikuni 2/3/1887 – 1/20/1990 Japanese imperial prince/prime minister
84	Norman Rockwell 2/3/1894 – 11/8/1978 American illustrator
62	Juan Negrin 2/3/1894 – 11/14/1956 Spanish Republican prime minister during Spanish Civil War
78	Alvar Aalto 2/3/1898 – 5/11/1976 Finnish architect/city planner
90	James Michener 2/3/1907 – 10/16/1997 American novelist/short story writer
34	Simone Weil 2/3/1909 – 8/24/1943 French mystic and Resistance activist
75	Helen Stephens 2/3/1918 – 1/17/1994 American Olympic gold medal runner

Updated February 1, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Feb. 2, 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II.

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On Feb. 2, 1882, James Joyce, the Irish author of “Ulysses”, was born. Following his death on Jan. 13 , 1941, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1536	The Argentine city of Buenos Aires was founded.
1653	New Amsterdam – now New York City – was incorporated.
1848	The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ending the Mexican War.
1876	The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was formed in New York.
1882	Novelist James Joyce was born near Dublin.
1887	Punxsutawney, Pa., held its first Groundhog Day festival.
1971	Idi Amin assumed power in Uganda following a coup.
1979	Punk rock musician Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols died of a drug overdose at age 21.
1990	South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.
2007	The world’s leading climate scientists said global warming has begun, is “very likely” caused by humans and will be unstoppable for centuries.
2008	French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former supermodel Carla Bruni were married at the presidential Elysee Palace.
2009	Hillary Rodham Clinton was sworn in as U.S. secretary of state.
2011	Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak charged into Cairo’s central square on horses and camels brandishing whips while others rained firebombs from rooftops in what appeared to be an orchestrated assault against protesters trying to topple Egypt’s leader of 30 years.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Rock singer-musician Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills and Nash) turns 70 years old today.

AP Photo/Charles Sykes

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, turns 60 years old today.

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

1925	Elaine Stritch, Actress, turns 87
1937	Tom Smothers, Comedian, turns 75
1942	Barry Diller, TV-film executive, turns 70
1949	Ross Valory, Rock musician (Journey), turns 63
1954	Christie Brinkley, Model, turns 58
1955	Kim Zimmer, Actress (“Guiding Light”), turns 57
1970	Jennifer Westfeldt, Actress, turns 42
1973	Marissa Jaret Winokur, Actress, turns 39
1977	Shakira, Singer, turns 35

Historic Birthdays

James Joyce 2/2/1882 – 1/13/1941 Irish novelist.Go to obituary »

43	Lodovico Ferrari 2/2/1522 – 10/5/1565 Italian mathematician
37	Nell Gwyn 2/2/1650 – 11/14/1687 English actress
84	Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand 2/2/1754 – 5/17/1838 French statesman/diplomat
59	Albert Sidney Johnston 2/2/1803 – 4/6/1862 American Confederate general in Civil War
80	Havelock Ellis 2/2/1859 – 7/8/1939 English essayist/physician
86	Fritz Kreisler 2/2/1875 – 1/29/1962 Austrian-born violinist
62	Jean de Lattre de Tassigny 2/2/1889 – 1/11/1952 French army officer
88	George Stanley Halas 2/2/1895 – 10/31/1983 American founder/owner of Chicago Bears
86	Jascha Heifetz 2/2/1901 – 12/10/1987 Russian-born American violinist
77	Ayn Rand 2/2/1905 – 3/6/1982 Russian-born American writer/philosopher
49	Jussi Bjorling 2/2/1911 – 9/9/1960 Swedish tenor
73	James Dickey 2/2/1923 – 1/19/1997 American author

Updated January 31, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Feb. 1, 1960, four black college students began a sit-in protest at a lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., where they’d been refused service.

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On Feb. 1, 1902, Langston Hughes, the American poet and prominent figure of the Harlem Renaissance , was born. Following his death on May 22 , 1967, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1861	Texas voted to secede from the Union.
1862	“The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a poem by Julia Ward Howe, was published in the Atlantic Monthly.
1896	Puccini’s opera “La Boheme” premiered in Turin, Italy.
1920	The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was established.
1946	Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie was chosen to be the first secretary-general of the United Nations.
1960	Four black college students began a sit-in protest at a lunch counter in Greensboro, N.C., where they’d been refused service.
1968	During the Vietnam War, Saigon’s police chief, Nguyen Ngoc Loan, executed a Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to the head.
1979	Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini received a tumultuous welcome in Tehran as he ended nearly 15 years of exile.
1982	“Late Night with David Letterman” premiered on NBC.
1999	Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky gave a deposition that was videotaped for senators weighing impeachment charges against President Bill Clinton.
2004	Singer Janet Jackson’s breast was briefly exposed during a duet with Justin Timberlake during the Super Bowl halftime show. Timberlake later referred to the incident as a “wardrobe malfunction.”
2009	The Pittsburgh Steelers won their record sixth Super Bowl with a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII.
2011	Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak announced he would not run for a new term but rejected protesters’ demands he step down immediately.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., turns 68 years old today.

AP Photo/Charles Dharapak

Reality TV personality Lauren Conrad (“The Hills”) turns 26 years old today.

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

1937	Don Everly, Singer, turns 75
1937	Garrett Morris, Actor, comedian (“Saturday Night Live”), turns 75
1938	Sherman Hemsley, Actor (“The Jeffersons”), turns 74
1941	Joy Philbin, TV personality, turns 71
1942	Terry Jones, Actor, writer (Monty Python), turns 70
1954	Bill Mumy, Actor, writer (“Lost in Space”), turns 58
1964	Linus Roache, Actor (“Law and Order”), turns 48
1965	Princess Stephanie, Member of Monaco’s royal family, turns 47
1965	Sherilyn Fenn, Actress, turns 47
1968	Lisa Marie Presley, Rock singer, daughter of Elvis Presley, turns 44
1968	Pauly Shore, Actor, comedian, turns 44
1971	Michael C. Hall, Actor (“Dexter”), turns 41
1975	Big Boi, Rapper (Outkast), turns 37

Historic Birthdays

Langston Hughes 2/1/1902 – 5/22/1967 American poet and writer.Go to obituary »

82	Sir Edward Coke 2/1/1552 – 9/3/1634 English jurist and politician
66	John Philip Kemble 2/1/1757 – 2/26/1823 English Shakespearean actor and theater manager
47	Thomas Cole 2/1/1801 – 2/11/1848 American painter
56	Joseph Keppler 2/1/1838 – 2/19/1894 Austria bn. American caricaturist and magazine founder
80	Stanley Granville Hall 2/1/1844 – 4/24/1924 American psychologist
65	Victor Herbert 2/1/1859 – 5/26/1924 American composer
72	Hattie O. Caraway 2/1/1878 – 12/21/1950 First female U.S. senator
78	John Ford 2/1/1895 – 8/31/1973 American motion picture director
59	Clark Gable 2/1/1901 – 11/16/1960 American film actor
75	S.J. Perelman 2/1/1904 – 10/17/1979 American humorist
84	Emilio Segre 2/1/1905 – 4/22/1989 Italian-bn. American physicist

Updated January 30, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Jan. 31, 1865, the House of Representatives passed a constitutional amendment to abolish slavery.

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On Jan. 31, 1919, Jackie Robinson, who made history in 1947 by becoming the first black baseball player in the major leagues, was born. Following his death on Oct. 24, 1972, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1606	Guy Fawkes, convicted for his part in the Gunpowder Plot against the English Parliament and King James I, was executed.
1797	Composer Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria.
1865	Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of the Confederate armies.
1917	Germany announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
1919	Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, who broke the sport’s color barrier in 1947, was born in Cairo, Ga.
1944	U.S. forces invaded the Japanese-held Marshall Islands during World War II.
1945	Private Eddie Slovik became the only U.S. soldier since the Civil War to be executed for desertion.
1949	The first TV daytime soap opera, “These Are My Children,” was broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago.
1950	President Harry S. Truman announced that he had ordered development of the hydrogen bomb.
1971	Astronauts Alan B. Shepard Jr., Edgar D. Mitchell and Stuart A. Roosa blasted off aboard Apollo 14 on the third successful manned mission to the moon.
1990	McDonald’s Corp. opened its first fast-food restaurant in Moscow.
2000	An Alaska Airlines jet plunged into the ocean off Southern California on a flight from Mexico to San Francisco, killing all 88 people on board.
2001	A Scottish court sitting in the Netherlands convicted one Libyan and acquitted a second in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
2006	Samuel Alito was confirmed by the Senate and sworn in as a Supreme Court justice.
2006	The Senate approved Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve.
2011	Egypt’s military promised not to fire on peaceful protests and recognized “the legitimacy of the people’s demands.”
2011	Myanmar opened its first parliament in more than two decades.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Singer-actor Justin Timberlake turns 31 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Baseball Hall of Famer and Texas Rangers president Nolan Ryan turns 65 years old today.

AP Photo/LM Otero

1921	Carol Channing, Actress, turns 91
1931	Ernie Banks, Baseball Hall of Famer, turns 81
1937	Philip Glass, Composer, turns 75
1938	Queen Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands, turns 74
1941	Richard Gephardt, Former House minority leader, turns 71
1941	Jessica Walter, Actress (“Arrested Development”), turns 71
1951	KC, Singer, musician (KC and the Sunshine Band), turns 61
1956	Johnny Rotten, Rock singer (The Sex Pistols), turns 56
1959	Anthony LaPaglia, Actor (“Without a Trace”), turns 53
1970	Minnie Driver, Actress, turns 42
1973	Portia de Rossi, Actress (“Arrested Development,” “Ally McBeal”), turns 39
1977	Bobby Moynihan, Actor, comedian (“Saturday Night Live”), turns 35
1977	Kerry Washington, Actress, turns 35

Historic Birthdays

Jackie Robinson 1/31/1919 – 10/24/1972 African/American baseball player.Go to obituary »

72	Robert Morris 1/31/1734 – 5/8/1806 American merchant/banker
54	Andre-Jacques Garnerin 1/31/1769 – 8/18/1823 French parachutist
85	Charles Green 1/31/1785 – 3/26/1870 English balloonist
70	Sam Loyd 1/31/1841 – 4/10/1911 American puzzlemaker
58	George Perkins 1/31/1862 – 6/18/1920 American insurance executive
67	Zane Grey 1/31/1872 – 10/23/1939 American Western writer
49	Anna Pavlova 1/31/1881 (O.S.) – 1/23/1931 Russian ballerina
72	Eddie Cantor 1/31/1892 – 10/10/1964 American comedian
84	Alva Myrdal 1/31/1902 – 2/1/1986 Swedish diplomat
65	John O’Hara 1/31/1905 – 4/11/1970 American writer
53	Thomas Merton 1/31/1915 – 12/10/1968 American Catholic monk/poet