Today is Thursday, Feb. 2nd, the 33rd day of 2006. There are 332 days left in the year. This is Groundhog Day.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Feb. 2nd, 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War Two.
On this date:
In 1536, the Argentine city of Buenos Aires was founded by Pedro de Mendoza of Spain.
In 1653, New Amsterdam— now New York City— was incorporated.
In 1848, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican War, was signed.
In 1870, the “Cardiff Giant,” supposedly the petrified remains of a human discovered in Cardiff, New York, was revealed to be nothing more than carved gypsum.
In 1876, the National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs was formed in New York.
In 1882, Irish poet and novelist James Joyce was born near Dublin.
In 1897, fire destroyed the Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg. (A new statehouse was dedicated on the same site nine years later.)
In 1945, President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill departed Malta for the summit in Yalta with Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
In 1971, Idi Amin assumed power in Uganda, following a coup that ousted President Milton Obote.
In 1987, the White House announced the resignation of CIA director William Casey, who was hospitalized and had undergone brain surgery.
Ten years ago: Dancer, actor and choreographer Gene Kelly died at his Beverly Hills, California, home; he was 83. A deep freeze continued in the Plains, the Midwest and much of the South, breaking temperature records that had stood for a century.
Five years ago: Former President Clinton and Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton said they would pay for $86,000 worth of White House gifts they’d chosen to keep.
One year ago: In his State of the Union address, President Bush called for changes in Social Security that would combine reduced government benefits for younger workers with “a chance to build a nest egg” through personal accounts. German heavyweight boxer Max Schmeling died in Hollenstedt, Germany, at age 99.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Elaine Stritch is 81. Actor Robert Mandan is 74. Comedian Tom Smothers is 69. Rock singer-guitarist Graham Nash is 64. Actor Bo Hopkins is 64. Television executive Barry Diller is 64. Country singer Howard Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) is 60. Actress Farrah Fawcett is 59. Actor Brent Spiner is 57. Rock musician Ross Valory (Journey) is 57. Model Christie Brinkley is 52. Actor Michael Talbott is 51. Actress Kim Zimmer is 51. Rock musician Robert DeLeo (Stone Temple Pilots) is 40. Rock musician Ben Mize (Counting Crows) is 35. Rapper T-Mo is 34. Actress Lori Beth Denberg is 30. Singer Shakira is 29.
Thought for Today: “It was naive of the 19th century optimists to expect paradise from technology— and it is equally naive of the 20th century pessimists to make technology the scapegoat for such old shortcomings as man’s blindness, cruelty, immaturity, greed and sinful pride.”— Peter F. Drucker, authority on business management.