Today in history:
On February 5, 1994, white separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers and sentenced to life in prison.
Also on this date:
In 1917, the United States Congress passed the Immigration Act of 1917, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, a law that severely restricted Asian immigration and mandated literacy testing of immigrants.
In 1918, more than 200 people were killed during World War I when the Cunard liner SS Tuscania, carrying more than 2,000 American troops to Europe, was torpedoed by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland.In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the moon’s surface during the first of two lunar excursions.
In 1973, services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for U.S. Army Colonel William B. Nolde, the last official American combat casualty of the Vietnam War before a ceasefire took effect.
In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, which granted employees up to twelve weeks of unpaid leave for family emergencies.
In 2008, an outbreak of 87 tornadoes broke out in nine states, killing 57 people in a 12-hour period in Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama. One twister from Arkansas left a 120-mile (192 km) path of damage across the ground.
In 2017, Tom Brady led one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history, highlighted by a spectacular Julian Edelman catch that helped New England come from a 25-point deficit against the Atlanta Falcons to the Patriots’ fifth Super Bowl victory, 34–28; it was the first Super Bowl to end in overtime.
In 2020, the Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial. Most senators expressed dismay over Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine that prompted the impeachment, but only one Republican, Mitt Romney of Utah, broke through party ranks and voted to convict. In 2021, the Senate acquitted Trump in a second trial of inciting the violent siege of the Capitol on January 6.
In 2023, Beyoncé won her 32nd Grammy, becoming the most decorated artist in the award’s history.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Tony-winning playwright John Guare is 88.
- Famer Roger Staubach’s football hall is 84.
- Film director Michael Mann is 83.
- Racing Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip is 79.
- Actor Barbara Hershey is 78.
- Actor-comedian Tim Meadows is 65.
- Actor Jennifer Jason Leigh is 64.
- Rock musician Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) is 62.
- Golf Hall of Famer Jose Maria Olazabal is 60.
- Actor-comedian Chris Parnell is 59.
- Actor Michael Sheen is 57.
- Country singer Sara Evans is 55.
- Actor-singer Darren Criss is 39.
- Actor Henry Golding is 39.
- Football star Neymar is 34.
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