Today is Monday, Feb. 9, the 40th day of 2015. There are 325 days left in the year.
Today’s highlight:
On Feb. 9, 1870, the U.S. Weather Bureau was established.
On this date:
In 1773, the ninth president of the United States, William Henry Harrison, was born in Charles City County, Virginia.
In 1825, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.
In 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected provisional president of the Confederate States of America at a congress held in Montgomery, Alabama.
In 1942, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II. Daylight-saving “War Time” went into effect in the United States, with clocks turned one hour forward.
In 1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.
In 1950, in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., charged the State Department was riddled with Communists.
In 1960, Adolph Coors Co. chairman Adolph Coors III, 44, was shot to death in suburban Denver during a botched kidnapping attempt. (The man who killed him, Joseph Corbett, Jr., served 19 years in prison.)
In 1964, The Beatles made their first live American television appearance on “The Ed Sullivan Show,” broadcast from New York by CBS.
In 1971, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in California’s San Fernando Valley claimed 65 lives. The crew of Apollo 14 returned to Earth after man’s third landing on the moon.
In 1984, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov, 69, died 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was followed by Konstantin U. Chernenko.
In 1995, former Sen. J. William Fulbright, D-Ark., died in Washington at age 89.
In 2002, Britain’s Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died in London at age 71.
Ten years ago: Hewlett-Packard Co. chief executive Carly Fiorina was forced out by board members, ending her nearly six-year reign. A new postage stamp honoring President Ronald Reagan was issued in ceremonies across the country.
Five years ago: Appealing for bipartisanship, President Barack Obama sat down with Democrats and Republicans to spur cooperation on job creation, deficit reduction and health care overhaul. First lady Michelle Obama launched her “Let’s Move!” campaign against childhood obesity. Iran began enriching uranium to a higher level over the vociferous objections of the U.S. and its allies. Fred Morrison, credited with inventing the Frisbee, died in Monroe, Utah, at age 90.
One year ago: Despite a wave of online protests, Copenhagen Zoo in Denmark killed a healthy male giraffe named “Marius” because of rules imposed by a European zoo association to deter inbreeding. Host country Russia won its first gold medal of the Sochi Olympics, winning the team figure skating event; Matthias Mayer of Austria won the men’s downhill. Missouri All-American Michael Sam came out to the nation as an openly gay player in published interviews with ESPN, The New York Times and Outsports. Danish movie director Gabriel Axel (“Babette’s Feast”) died in Copenhagen at age 95.
Today’s birthdays: Television journalist Roger Mudd is 87. Actress Janet Suzman is 76. Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee is 75. Actress-politician Sheila James Kuehl (kyool) (“The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis”) is 74. Singer-songwriter Carole King is 73. Actor Joe Pesci is 72. Singer Barbara Lewis is 72. Author Alice Walker is 71. Actress Mia Farrow is 70. Former Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., is 69. Singer Joe Ely is 68. Actress Judith Light is 66. Rhythm-and-blues musician Dennis “DT” Thomas (Kool &the Gang) is 64. Actor Charles Shaughnessy is 60. Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is 58. Jazz musician Steve Wilson is 54. Country singer Travis Tritt is 52. Actress Julie Warner is 50. Country singer Danni Leigh is 45. Actress Sharon Case (TV: “The Young and the Restless”) is 44. Actor Jason George is 43. Actor-producer Charlie Day is 39. Rock singer Chad Wolf (Carolina Liar) is 39. Actor A.J. Buckley is 38. Rock musician Richard On (O.A.R.) is 36. Actress Ziyi Zhang is 36. Olympic silver and bronze medal figure skater Irina Slutskaya is 36. Actor David Gallagher is 30. Actor Michael B. Jordan is 28. Actress Rose Leslie is 28. Actress Marina Malota is 27. Actress Camille Winbush is 25. Actor Jimmy Bennett is 19.
Thought for today: “The man who has eaten enough will never believe a hungry one.” — Albanian proverb.
Associated Press
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