By The Associated Press
- Today is Friday, Feb. 12, the 43nd day of 1999. There are 322
days left in the year.
- On Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the
United States, was born in present-day Larue County, Ky.
- In 1733, English colonists led by James Oglethorpe founded
Savannah, Ga.
- In 1870, women in the Utah Territory gained the right to vote.
- In 1892, President Lincoln's birthday was declared a national
holiday.
- In 1907, more than 300 people died when the steamer Larchmont
collided with a schooner off New England's Block Island.
- In 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People was founded.
- In 1915, the cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in
Washington, D.C.
- In 1924, George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" premiered in New
York.
- In 1940, the radio play "The Adventures of Superman" debuted
on the Mutual network with Bud Collyer as the Man of Steel.
- In 1973, the first release of American prisoners of war from the
Vietnam conflict took place.
- In 1993, in a crime that shocked Britons, two 10-year-old boys
lured 2-year-old James Bulger from his mother at a shopping mall in
Liverpool and beat him to death.
- Ten years ago: The special prosecutor in the Iran-Contra case
and the Justice Department reached an agreement on protecting
classified materials aimed at allowing the trial of Oliver North to
proceed.
- Five years ago: President Clinton signed an $8.6 billion relief
package for victims of the Northridge earthquake in Southern
California. The XVII Winter Olympic Games opened in Lillehammer,
Norway.
- One year ago: A federal judge threw out President Clinton's new
line-item veto authority. At Nagano, Norwegian Bjorn Daehlie became
the first man to win six Winter Olympic gold medals, as he placed
first in the 10-kilometer classical cross-country race. An appeals
panel reinstated Canadian snowboarder Ross Rebagliati's gold medal,
a day after he was stripped of the honor for testing positive for
marijuana.
*Happy Birthday*
----------------
- Movie director Franco Zefferelli is 76.
- Baseball Hall-of-Fame sportscaster Joe Garagiola is 73.
- Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., is 69.
- Basketball Hall-of-Famer Bill Russell is 65.
- Rock musician Ray Manzarek (The Doors) is 64.
- Actor Joe Don Baker is 63.
- Author Judy Blume is 61.
- Country singer Moe Bandy is 55.
- Actress Maud Adams is 54.
- Actor Michael Ironside is 49.
- Actress Joanna Kerns is 46.
- Actor-former talk show host Arsenio Hall is 44.
- Singer Chynna Phillips is 31.
- Rock musician Jim Creeggan (Barenaked Ladies) is 29.
- Rhythm-and-blues musician Keri Lewis (Mint Condition) is 28.
- Actress Christina Ricci is 19.