Today in History

Feb 1, 2022, 7:00 AM | Updated: 9:01 pm

Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 2, the 33rd day of 2022. There are 332 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Feb. 2, 1990, in a dramatic concession to South Africa’s Black majority, President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.

On this date:

In 1536, present-day Buenos Aires, Argentina, was founded by Pedro de Mendoza of Spain.

In 1653, New Amsterdam — now New York City — was incorporated.

In 1887, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, held its first Groundhog Day festival.

In 1913, New York City’s rebuilt Grand Central Terminal officially opened to the public at one minute past midnight.

In 1914, Charles Chaplin made his movie debut as the comedy short “Making a Living” was released by Keystone Film Co.

In 1925, the legendary Alaska Serum Run ended as the last of a series of dog mushers brought a life-saving treatment to Nome, the scene of a diphtheria epidemic, six days after the drug left Nenana.

In 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman sent a 10-point civil rights program to Congress, where the proposals ran into fierce opposition from Southern lawmakers.

In 1980, NBC News reported the FBI had conducted a sting operation targeting members of Congress using phony Arab businessmen in what became known as “Abscam,” a codename protested by Arab-Americans.

In 2006, House Republicans elected John Boehner (BAY’-nur) of Ohio as their new majority leader to replace the indicted Tom DeLay.

In 2016, health officials reported that a person in Texas had become infected with the Zika virus through sex in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States.

In 2020, the Philippines reported that a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan had died in a Manila hospital from the new coronavirus; it was the first death from the virus to be recorded outside of China. Authorities in parts of China extended the Lunar New Year holiday break well into February to try to keep people at home.

Ten years ago: Egyptian security forces clashed with stone-throwing protesters enraged by the failure of police to prevent a soccer riot the night before that killed 74 people. Donald Trump announced his endorsement of Republican Mitt Romney for president, saying the former Massachusetts governor was “not going to allow bad things to continue to happen to this country we all love.”

Five years ago: Using a backhoe to smash through a barricade of water-filled footlockers, police stormed Delaware’s largest prison, ending a nearly 20-hour hostage standoff with inmates; one hostage, a guard, was killed.

One year ago: Ahead of the second Senate impeachment trial of outgoing President Donald Trump, House Democrats filed a legal brief saying Trump had endangered the lives of all members of Congress when he aimed a mob of supporters “like a loaded cannon” at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6; Trump denied the allegations through his lawyers and called the trial unconstitutional. U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who confronted the mob that stormed the building on Jan. 6 and died a day later, lay in honor inside the Capitol. The Senate approved Pete Buttigieg (BOO’-tuh-juhj) as transportation secretary, making him the first openly gay person confirmed to a Cabinet post. A Moscow court ordered Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny to serve more than 2 1/2 years in prison on charges that he violated the terms of his probation while he was recuperating in Germany from nerve-agent poisoning.

Today’s Birthdays: Comedian Tom Smothers is 85. Rock singer-guitarist Graham Nash is 80. Television executive Barry Diller is 80. Actor Bo Hopkins is 78. Country singer Howard Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) is 76. TV chef Ina (EE’-nuh) Garten is 74. Actor Jack McGee is 73. Actor Brent Spiner (SPY’-nur) is 73. Rock musician Ross Valory (Journey) is 73. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is 70. The former president of South Korea, Park Geun-hye (goon-hay), is 70. Model Christie Brinkley is 68. Actor Michael Talbott is 67. Actor Kim Zimmer is 67. Actor Michael T. Weiss is 60. Actor-comedian Adam Ferrara is 56. Rock musician Robert DeLeo (Army of Anyone; Stone Temple Pilots) is 56. Actor Jennifer Westfeldt is 52. Rapper T-Mo is 50. Actor Marissa Jaret Winokur is 49. Actor Lori Beth Denberg is 46. Singer Shakira is 45. Actor Rich Sommer is 44. Country singer Blaine Larsen is 36. Actor Zosia (ZAH’-shuh) Mamet is 34.