×

TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is the 58th day of 2020. There are 308 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Feb. 27, 1922, the Supreme Court, in Leser v. Garnett, upheld the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed the right of women to vote.

On this date:

In 1801, the District of Columbia was placed under the jurisdiction of Congress.

In 1933, Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag, was gutted by fire; Chancellor Adolf Hitler, blaming the Communists, used the fire to justify suspending civil liberties.

In 1939, the Supreme Court, in National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp., effectively outlawed sit-down strikes.

In 1943, an explosion inside a coal mine near Bearcreek, Mont., killed 74 miners and one rescue worker.

In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, limiting a president to two terms of office, was ratified.

In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women and children.

In 1982, Wayne Williams was found guilty of murdering two of the 28 young blacks whose bodies were found in the Atlanta area over a 22-month period.

In 1998, with the approval of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s House of Lords agreed to end 1,000 years of male preference by giving a monarch’s first-born daughter the same claim to the throne.

Ten years ago: In Chile, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami killed 524 people, caused $30 billion in damage and left more than 200,000 homeless.

Five years ago: Actor Leonard Nimoy, 83, world famous to “Star Trek” fans as the pointy-eared, purely logical science officer Mr. Spock, died in Los Angeles. In Tyrone, Mo., Joseph Jesse Aldridge, 36, a man who authorities said might have been unhinged by the death of his ailing mother, was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after apparently killing seven people in a shooting rampage. Boris Nemtsov, a charismatic Russian opposition leader and sharp critic of President Vladimir Putin, was gunned down near the Kremlin.

One year ago: In testimony to a House panel, Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former lawyer, cast Trump as a racist and a con man who had used his inner circle to cover up politically damaging allegations about sex, and who had lied during the election campaign about his business interests in Russia.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Joanne Woodward is 90. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader is 86. Actress Barbara Babcock is 83. Actor Howard Hesseman is 80. Actress Debra Monk is 71. Rock singer Neal Schon (Journey) is 66. Rock musician Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) is 63. Actor Adam Baldwin is 58. Actor Noah Emmerich is 55. Country-rock musician Shonna Tucker is 42. Chelsea Clinton is 40. Actor Brandon Beemer is 40. Rock musician Cyrus Bolooki (New Found Glory) is 40. Rock musician Jake Clemons (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) is 40. Singer Josh Groban is 39.

Thought for Today: “I am indeed rich, since my income is superior to my expenses, and my expense is equal to my wishes.” — Edward Gibbon, English historian (1737-1794).

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

[vivafbcomment]

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today