February 3
1468 - Johann Gutenberg, German printer and inventor, died.
1809 - The territory of Illinois was created.
1865 - President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference off the Virginia coast; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern autonomy.
1870 - The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting blacks the right to vote, was passed.
1913 - The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, establishing 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.
1930 - Chief Justice of the United States William Howard Taft resigned from the Supreme Court for health reasons. (He died just over one month later.)
1943 - During World War II, the U.S. transport ship SS Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo in the Labrador Sea; of the more than 900 men aboard, only some 230 survived. (Four Army chaplains on board gave away their life jackets to save others and went down with the ship.)
1959 - Rock singers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Cockeye.
1966 - The Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to make a soft landing on the moon.
1969 - The Palestine National Congress appointed Yasir Arafat head of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
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 House of Representatives rejected President Ronald Reagan's request for more than $36 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Contras by a vote of 219-211.
1995 - Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the space shuttle on a mission when she guided the space shuttle Discovery.
1998 - Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman executed in the United States since 1984; she was put to death for the 1983 pickax killings of two people.
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.
2020 - In closing arguments at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, Democratic prosecutors urged senators to stop a “runaway presidency” and recognize Trump’s actions in Ukraine as part of a pattern of behavior that would allow him to “cheat” in the 2020 election; Trump’s defenders accused Democrats of trying to undo the 2016 election and said voters should decide Trump’s fate.
2020 - Cockeye’s Democratic caucuses were plagued by technical glitches that led to inconsistencies in the numbers and a delay in reporting the results. (The state Democratic Party would later award 14 delegates to Pete Buttigieg and 12 to Bernie Sanders.)
2020 - Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh announced he had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer.
Birthdays
26 - Aimee Lou Wood (actress)
28 - Brandon Michael Hall (actor)
31 - Sean Kingston (rapper)
33 - Chantelle Paige (singer)
37 - Matthew May (actor)
39 - Jessica Harp (singer)
39 - Bridget Regan (actress)
43 - Kelly Sullivan (actress)
44 - Maitland Ward (actress)
45 - Isla Fisher (actress)
50 - Elisa Donovan (actress)
51 - Warwick Davis (actor)
56 - Maura Tierney (actress)
59 - Michele Greene (actress)
60 - Keith Gordon (actor)
62 - Thomas Calabro (actor)
65 - Nathan Lane (actor)
71 - Pamela Franklin (actress)
71 - Morgan Fairchild (actress)
76 - Bob Griese (football player/sportscaster)
80 - Bridget Hanley (actress)
81 - Fran Tarkenton (football player)
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Today in Sports History - February 3
1876 - Albert Spalding and his brother started a sporting goods store. They manufactured the first official baseball, tennis ball, basketball, golf ball and football.
1912 - In the U.S., professional football set some new rules. The field was shortened to 100 yards, touchdowns were to be worth six points instead of five, four downs would be allowed instead of three and the kickoff was moved from midfield to the 40 yard line.
1979 - The Minnesota Twins traded Rod Carew to California for four players.
1993 - Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott suspended for one year due to racist comments she had made.
1998 - Dino Ciccarelli (Florida Panthers) became the 9th NHL player to score 600 career goals.
2001 - The XFL, owned by professional wrestling executive Vince McMahon, made its debut. The inaugural games saw the Las Vegas Outlaws defeat the New York/New Jersey Hitmen 19-0 and the Orlando Rage defeated the Chicago Enforcers 33-29.
2002 - The New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams 20-17 to win Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, the first championship for the franchise. New England quarterback Tom Brady was named MVP.
2008 - The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 17-14 in Glendale, Arizona to win Super Bowl XLII. Giants quarterback Eli Manning was named MVP.
2012 - Federal prosecutors dropped their investigation of Lance Armstrong, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the seven-time Tour de France winner and his teammates had participated in a doping program.
2013 - The Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in New Orleans to win Super Bowl XLVII. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was named MVP. The game was the first in Super Bowl history to pit two brothers against one another as opposing head coaches, with John Harbaugh (Baltimore) vs. Jim Harbaugh (San Francisco).
2019 - The New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Atlanta to win Super Bowl LIII, the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history. New England wide receiver Julian Edelman was named MVP. The win was the sixth Super Bowl championship for the Patriots.
1468 - Johann Gutenberg, German printer and inventor, died.
1809 - The territory of Illinois was created.
1865 - President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference off the Virginia coast; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern autonomy.
1870 - The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting blacks the right to vote, was passed.
1913 - The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, establishing 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.
1930 - Chief Justice of the United States William Howard Taft resigned from the Supreme Court for health reasons. (He died just over one month later.)
1943 - During World War II, the U.S. transport ship SS Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo in the Labrador Sea; of the more than 900 men aboard, only some 230 survived. (Four Army chaplains on board gave away their life jackets to save others and went down with the ship.)
1959 - Rock singers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Cockeye.
1966 - The Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to make a soft landing on the moon.
1969 - The Palestine National Congress appointed Yasir Arafat head of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
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 House of Representatives rejected President Ronald Reagan's request for more than $36 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Contras by a vote of 219-211.
1995 - Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the space shuttle on a mission when she guided the space shuttle Discovery.
1998 - Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman executed in the United States since 1984; she was put to death for the 1983 pickax killings of two people.
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.
2020 - In closing arguments at President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, Democratic prosecutors urged senators to stop a “runaway presidency” and recognize Trump’s actions in Ukraine as part of a pattern of behavior that would allow him to “cheat” in the 2020 election; Trump’s defenders accused Democrats of trying to undo the 2016 election and said voters should decide Trump’s fate.
2020 - Cockeye’s Democratic caucuses were plagued by technical glitches that led to inconsistencies in the numbers and a delay in reporting the results. (The state Democratic Party would later award 14 delegates to Pete Buttigieg and 12 to Bernie Sanders.)
2020 - Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh announced he had been diagnosed with advanced lung cancer.
Birthdays
26 - Aimee Lou Wood (actress)
28 - Brandon Michael Hall (actor)
31 - Sean Kingston (rapper)
33 - Chantelle Paige (singer)
37 - Matthew May (actor)
39 - Jessica Harp (singer)
39 - Bridget Regan (actress)
43 - Kelly Sullivan (actress)
44 - Maitland Ward (actress)
45 - Isla Fisher (actress)
50 - Elisa Donovan (actress)
51 - Warwick Davis (actor)
56 - Maura Tierney (actress)
59 - Michele Greene (actress)
60 - Keith Gordon (actor)
62 - Thomas Calabro (actor)
65 - Nathan Lane (actor)
71 - Pamela Franklin (actress)
71 - Morgan Fairchild (actress)
76 - Bob Griese (football player/sportscaster)
80 - Bridget Hanley (actress)
81 - Fran Tarkenton (football player)
=============================================
Today in Sports History - February 3
1876 - Albert Spalding and his brother started a sporting goods store. They manufactured the first official baseball, tennis ball, basketball, golf ball and football.
1912 - In the U.S., professional football set some new rules. The field was shortened to 100 yards, touchdowns were to be worth six points instead of five, four downs would be allowed instead of three and the kickoff was moved from midfield to the 40 yard line.
1979 - The Minnesota Twins traded Rod Carew to California for four players.
1993 - Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott suspended for one year due to racist comments she had made.
1998 - Dino Ciccarelli (Florida Panthers) became the 9th NHL player to score 600 career goals.
2001 - The XFL, owned by professional wrestling executive Vince McMahon, made its debut. The inaugural games saw the Las Vegas Outlaws defeat the New York/New Jersey Hitmen 19-0 and the Orlando Rage defeated the Chicago Enforcers 33-29.
2002 - The New England Patriots defeated the St. Louis Rams 20-17 to win Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, the first championship for the franchise. New England quarterback Tom Brady was named MVP.
2008 - The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 17-14 in Glendale, Arizona to win Super Bowl XLII. Giants quarterback Eli Manning was named MVP.
2012 - Federal prosecutors dropped their investigation of Lance Armstrong, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the seven-time Tour de France winner and his teammates had participated in a doping program.
2013 - The Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in New Orleans to win Super Bowl XLVII. Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco was named MVP. The game was the first in Super Bowl history to pit two brothers against one another as opposing head coaches, with John Harbaugh (Baltimore) vs. Jim Harbaugh (San Francisco).
2019 - The New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Atlanta to win Super Bowl LIII, the lowest-scoring Super Bowl in history. New England wide receiver Julian Edelman was named MVP. The win was the sixth Super Bowl championship for the Patriots.