February 3
1468 - Johann Gutenberg, German printer and inventor, died.
1809 - The Illinois Territory 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, which gave African Americans the right to vote, passed.
1913 - The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which established a federal income tax, was ratified.
1917 - The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, the same day an American cargo ship, the SS Housatonic, was sunk by a U-boat off Britain after the crew was allowed to board lifeboats.
1924 - Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States (1913-1921), died in Washington, D.C. at age 67.
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 'n roll singers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the 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.
1988 - The House of Representatives rejected President Ronald Reagan's request for more than $36 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.
1995 - Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the space shuttle when she blasted off on a mission aboard the shuttle Discovery.
1998 - Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman to be executed in the United States since 1984.
1998 - A U.S. Marine plane sliced through the cable of a ski gondola in Italy, causing the car to plunge hundreds of feet, killing all 20 people inside.
2006 - An Egyptian passenger ferry sank in the Red Sea during bad weather, killing more than 1,000 passengers.
2009 - Eric Holder became the first black U.S. attorney general as he was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden.
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.
2017 - President Donald Trump launched his long-promised attack on banking rules that were rushed into law after the nation's economic crisis, signing new orders after meeting with business and investment chiefs and pledging further action to free big banks from restrictions.
2020 - In closing arguments at President Donald Trump's first 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 tat 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.
Birthdays
29 - Brandon Michael Hall (actor)
32 - Sean Kingston (rapper)
38 - Matthew Moy (actor)
40 - Jessica Harp (singer)
40 - Bridget Regan (actress)
44 - Kelly Sullivan (actress)
46 - Isla Fisher (actress)
51 - Elisa Donovan (actress)
52 - Warwick Davis (actor)
57 - Maura Tierney (actress)
60 - Michele Greene (actress)
61 - Keith Gordon (actor)
63 - Thomas Calabro (actor)
66 - Nathan Lane (actor)
72 - Pamela Franklin (actress)
72 - Morgan Fairchild (actress)
75 - Dave Davies (singer)
77 - Bob Griese (football player)
81 - Bridget Hanley (actress)
82 - 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 - Professional football established new rules, including shortening the field to 100 yards, making touchdowns worth 6 points instead of 5, allowing four downs to achieve a first down instead of three, and moving the kickoff from midfield to the 40-yard line.
1944 - Syd Howe (Detroit Red Wings) scored six goals in a 12-6 win over the New York Rangers.
1951 - Dick Buton won his sixth U.S. figure skating championship.
1993 - Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was suspended from baseball for one year due to racist comments.
1998 - Dino Ciccarelli (Florida Panthers) became the 9th NHL player to score 600 career goals.
2001 - The XFL 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 in New Orleans to win Super Bowl XXXVI.
2008 - The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 17-14 in Glendale, Arizona to win Super Bowl XLII.
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. (In January 2013, Armstrong publicly admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs.) Actor-director Ben Gazzara, 81, died in New York.
2013 - The Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in New Orleans to win Super Bowl XLVII.
2019 - The New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Atlanta to win Super Bowl LIII; it was the sixth Super Bowl title for the Patriots.
1468 - Johann Gutenberg, German printer and inventor, died.
1809 - The Illinois Territory 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, which gave African Americans the right to vote, passed.
1913 - The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which established a federal income tax, was ratified.
1917 - The United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, the same day an American cargo ship, the SS Housatonic, was sunk by a U-boat off Britain after the crew was allowed to board lifeboats.
1924 - Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president of the United States (1913-1921), died in Washington, D.C. at age 67.
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 'n roll singers Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the 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.
1988 - The House of Representatives rejected President Ronald Reagan's request for more than $36 million in aid to the Nicaraguan Contras.
1995 - Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the space shuttle when she blasted off on a mission aboard the shuttle Discovery.
1998 - Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, the first woman to be executed in the United States since 1984.
1998 - A U.S. Marine plane sliced through the cable of a ski gondola in Italy, causing the car to plunge hundreds of feet, killing all 20 people inside.
2006 - An Egyptian passenger ferry sank in the Red Sea during bad weather, killing more than 1,000 passengers.
2009 - Eric Holder became the first black U.S. attorney general as he was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden.
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.
2017 - President Donald Trump launched his long-promised attack on banking rules that were rushed into law after the nation's economic crisis, signing new orders after meeting with business and investment chiefs and pledging further action to free big banks from restrictions.
2020 - In closing arguments at President Donald Trump's first 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 tat 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.
Birthdays
29 - Brandon Michael Hall (actor)
32 - Sean Kingston (rapper)
38 - Matthew Moy (actor)
40 - Jessica Harp (singer)
40 - Bridget Regan (actress)
44 - Kelly Sullivan (actress)
46 - Isla Fisher (actress)
51 - Elisa Donovan (actress)
52 - Warwick Davis (actor)
57 - Maura Tierney (actress)
60 - Michele Greene (actress)
61 - Keith Gordon (actor)
63 - Thomas Calabro (actor)
66 - Nathan Lane (actor)
72 - Pamela Franklin (actress)
72 - Morgan Fairchild (actress)
75 - Dave Davies (singer)
77 - Bob Griese (football player)
81 - Bridget Hanley (actress)
82 - 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 - Professional football established new rules, including shortening the field to 100 yards, making touchdowns worth 6 points instead of 5, allowing four downs to achieve a first down instead of three, and moving the kickoff from midfield to the 40-yard line.
1944 - Syd Howe (Detroit Red Wings) scored six goals in a 12-6 win over the New York Rangers.
1951 - Dick Buton won his sixth U.S. figure skating championship.
1993 - Cincinnati Reds owner Marge Schott was suspended from baseball for one year due to racist comments.
1998 - Dino Ciccarelli (Florida Panthers) became the 9th NHL player to score 600 career goals.
2001 - The XFL 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 in New Orleans to win Super Bowl XXXVI.
2008 - The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 17-14 in Glendale, Arizona to win Super Bowl XLII.
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. (In January 2013, Armstrong publicly admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs.) Actor-director Ben Gazzara, 81, died in New York.
2013 - The Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 in New Orleans to win Super Bowl XLVII.
2019 - The New England Patriots defeated the Los Angeles Rams 13-3 in Atlanta to win Super Bowl LIII; it was the sixth Super Bowl title for the Patriots.
