- Today is Saturday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 1999. There are 328
days left in the year.
- On Feb. 5, 1756, America's third vice president, Aaron Burr, was
born in Newark, N.J.
- In 1778, the U.S. won official recognition from France as the two
nations signed a pair of treaties in Paris.
- In 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the U.S.
Constitution.
- In 1815, New Jersey issued the first American railroad charter to
John Stevens, who proposed a rail link between Trenton and New
Brunswick. The line was never built.
- In 1820, the first organized emigration of blacks back to Africa was
arranged.
- In 1862, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Henry in Tennessee.
- In 1895, baseball legend Babe Ruth was born in Baltimore.
- In 1921, "The Kid," starring Charlie Chaplin and 6-year-old Jackie
Coogan, was released.
- In 1933, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution came into effect.
The amendment moved the start of presidential, vice-presidential and
congressional terms from March to January.
- In 1943, a Los Angeles jury acquitted actor Errol Flynn of three
counts of statutory rape. Also: Singer Frank Sinatra made his debut
as vocalist on radio's "Your Hit Parade."
- In 1952, King George VI of Great Britain was found dead in bed by a
servant delivering the morning tea.
- In 1956, Autherine Lucy became the first African American student to
enroll in the University of Alabama.
- In 1964, France and Great Britain signed an accord committing the
two nations to the construction of a tunnel under the English
Channel.
- In 1968, the 10th Winter Olympic Games opened in Grenoble, France.
- In 1970, the NBA expanded to 18 teams for the '70-'71 season. New
franchises were granted to Buffalo and Cleveland in the East and to
Houston and Portland in the West.
- In 1971, Apollo 14 astronaut Alan Shepherd took a few shots at some
golf balls while on the moon.
- In 1974, the U.S. House of Representatives approved an inquiry to
determine if there were grounds for impeachment of President Nixon.
- In 1978, Muriel Humphrey took the oath of office as a United States
senator from Minnesota, filling the seat of her late husband,
former Vice President Hubert Humphrey.
- In 1990, Brett Hull, son of Bobby Hull, became the first son of an
NHL 50-goal scorer to score 50 himself.
- One year ago: President Bill Clinton said he would "never" consider
resigning over the sex scandal involving Monica Lewinsky.
*Happy Birthday*
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- Tom Brokaw, 59, news anchor/journalist
- Natalie Cole, 49, singer
- Mike Farrell, 60, actor, "M*A*S*H"
- Zsa Zsa Gabor, 82, actress
- Megan Gallagher, 39 actress, "Millennium"
- Patrick Macnee, 77, actor, "The Avengers"
- Kathy Najimy, 42, actress, "Veronica's Closet," "Sister Act"
- Ronald Reagan, 88, former President, actor
- Axl Rose, 37, singer/musician, Guns 'N Roses
- Rip Torn, 68, actor, "The Larry Sanders Show," "Men in Black"
- Robert Townsend, 42, actor/director, "The Parent 'Hood"
- Michael Tucker, 55, actor, "L.A. Law"