Today is Sunday, Feb. 5, the 36th day of 2006. There are 329 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Feb. 5, 1937, President Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of justices on the Supreme Court; critics accused Roosevelt of attempting to “pack” the high court.
On this date:
In 1881, Phoenix, Arizona, was incorporated.
In 1897, the Indiana House of Representatives passed, 67-0, a measure redefining the area of a circle, effectively declaring the value of Pi to be 3.2 (The bill died in the Indiana Senate.)
In 1906, 100 years ago, actor John Carradine was born in New York City.
In 1917, Mexico’s constitution was adopted.
In 1940, Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded “Tuxedo Junction” for RCA Victor’s “Bluebird” label.
In 1958, Gamel Abdel Nasser was formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic.
In 1962, French President Charles De Gaulle called for Algeria’s independence.
In 1973, services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for Army Lieutenant Colonel William B. Nolde, the last American soldier killed before the Vietnam cease-fire.
In 1981, a military jury in North Carolina convicted Marine Private First Class Robert Garwood of collaborating with the enemy while a prisoner of war in Vietnam. (Garwood was dishonorably discharged.)
In 1994, white separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963, and was immediately sentenced to life in prison. (Beckwith died January 21st, 2001 at age 80.)
Ten years ago: John C. Salvi III went on trial in Dedham, Massachusetts, in the shooting deaths of two receptionists at abortion clinics. (Salvi was convicted and sentenced to two life terms; he was found dead in his cell in November 1996, an apparent suicide.) Actress Elizabeth Taylor filed for divorce from Larry Fortensky, her seventh husband.
Five years ago: Four disciples of Osama bin Laden went on trial in New York in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. (The four were convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole.) Flanked by a jumbo refund-check stage prop, President Bush asked Americans to get behind his proposed tax cuts. A disgruntled former factory worker killed five people, including himself, at an engine plant near Chicago.
One year ago: Togo President Gnassingbe Eyadema, Africa’s longest-ruling leader, died after a fatal heart attack; he was 69. Steve Young and Dan Marino were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Today’s Birthdays: Comedian-actor Red Buttons is 87. Country singer Claude King is 83. The Reverend Andrew M. Greeley is 78. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Hank Aaron is 72. Actor Stuart Damon is 69. Financial writer Jane Bryant Quinn is 67. Television producer-writer Stephen J. Cannell is 65. Actor David Selby is 65. Singer-songwriter Barrett Strong is 65. Football Hall-of-Famer Roger Staubach is 64. Singer Cory Wells (Three Dog Night) is 64. Movie director Michael Mann is 63. Singer Al Kooper is 62. Actress Charlotte Rampling is 60. Actress Barbara Hershey is 58. Actor Christopher Guest is 58. Actor Tom Wilkinson is 57. Actor-comedian Tim Meadows is 45. Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh is 44. Actress Laura Linney is 42. Rock musician Duff McKagan (Velvet Revolver) is 42. Rock singer Chris Barron (Spin Doctors) is 38. Singer Bobby Brown is 37. Country singer Sara Evans is 35. Actor Jeremy Sumpter is 17.
Thought for Today: “The greater the philosopher, the harder it is for him to answer the questions of common people.”— Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish author (1846-1916).