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Highlight in History
On Feb. 5, 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices; critics accused Roosevelt of attempting to “pack” the nation’s highest court. (The proposal failed in Congress.)
On this date
In 1631, the co-founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, and his wife, Mary, arrived in Boston from England.
In 1762, an estimated 30,000 Sikhs were slain by Muslims in Punjab in present-day India.
In 1783, Sweden recognized the independence of the United States.
In 1811, George, the Prince of Wales, was named Prince Regent due to the mental illness of his father, Britain’s King George III.
In 1887, Verdi’s opera “Otello” premiered at La Scala.
In 1917, Congress passed, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, an immigration act severely curtailing the influx of Asians. Mexico’s constitution was adopted.
In 1922, the first edition of Reader’s Digest was published.
In 1940, Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded “Tuxedo Junction” for RCA Victor’s Bluebird label.
In 1958, Gamal Abdel Nasser was formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic (a union of Syria and Egypt).
In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the surface of the moon in the first of two lunar excursions.
In 1982, Laker Airways, founded by Sir Freddie Laker, collapsed in bankruptcy.
In 1989, the Soviet Union announced that all but a small rear-guard contingent of its troops had left Afghanistan.
Ten years ago
A federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., indicted John Walker Lindh on 10 charges, alleging he was trained by Osama bin Laden’s network and then conspired with the Taliban to kill Americans. (Lindh later pleaded guilty to lesser offenses and was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.) Congressional committees decided to subpoena former Enron Chairman Kenneth Lay to appear to tell what he knew of Enron’s complex financial dealings. (Lay did appear, but refused to testify, citing his Fifth Amendment rights.) At a Senate hearing, Deborah Perrotta, a laid-off Enron employee, wept as she described how her retirement savings all but disappeared when the company failed.
Five years ago
President George W. Bush unveiled a $2.9 trillion budget which proposed a big spending increase for the Pentagon while pinching domestic programs. NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak was arrested in Orlando, Fla., accused of trying to kidnap a perceived rival for the affections of a space shuttle pilot. (Nowak was sentenced in 2009 to a year of probation in the altercation after pleading guilty to burglary charges; she was drummed out of the astronaut corps as well as the U.S. Navy.)
One year ago
The leadership of Egypt’s ruling party stepped down as the military figures spearheading the transition tried to placate protesters without giving them the one resignation they were demanding, that of President Hosni Mubarak.
Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders led a class of seven voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame; joining them were Shannon Sharpe, Richard Dent, Ed Sabol, Les Richter and Chris Hanburger. J. Paul Getty III, the troubled grandson of the billionaire oil magnate, died outside London at age 54.
Top News
Today in History for Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012
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Georgia Aquarium welcomes beluga whale calf
A beluga whale at Georgia Aquarium has given birth to her first calf.
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96 Yemeni soldiers killed in suicide bombing
A Yemeni soldier detonated a bomb hidden in his military uniform during a rehearsal for a military parade, killing 96 fellow soldiers and wounding at least 200 on Monday in one of the deadliest attacks in the capital in years.
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Allies on ‘irreversible’ course to end Afghan war
President Barack Obama and leaders around the globe locked down an exit path from the war in Afghanistan, affirming Monday that they will close the largely stalemated conflict at the end of 2014, a strategy that means their troops will still be fighting and dying for another two-plus years.
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Prosecutors to appeal sentence in webcam case
Prosecutors say they will appeal the 30-day jail sentence given Monday to a former Rutgers University student who used a webcam to spy on his roommate kissing another man.
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Today in History for Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Today is Tuesday, May 22, the 143rd day of 2012. There are 223 days left in the year.
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Jekyll Island reaches milestone in $50M makeover
After six years of planning and 18 months of construction, Georgia officials on Sunday celebrated the opening of Jekyll Island’s new beachfront convention center — the centerpiece of a multimillion-dollar makeover aimed at winning back tourist groups and business groups that had given up on the state park’s dated amenities.
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VIDEO: 'Ring of fire' solar eclipse
The solar eclipse that took place Sunday evening was an annular eclipse, one in which the moon blocks almost all of the sun. Some of the best viewing was in Asia, as with this video filmed in Japan.
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Party leaders refuse to budge on debt positions
Republicans and Democrats are refusing to budge when it comes to their already hardened positions on spending cuts versus tax increases to deal with the nation’s debt.
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Protesters march through Chicago to NATO summit
Thousands of protesters marched through downtown Chicago on Sunday in one of the city’s largest demonstrations in years, airing grievances about war, climate change and a wide range of other complaints as world leaders assembled for a NATO summit.
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Prison guard dies, others hurt in ‘disturbance’
A guard at a southwest Mississippi prison died Sunday and several other employees were injured during what the facility’s private operator is calling “an inmate disturbance” that continued into the evening.
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Georgia Aquarium welcomes beluga whale calf
