Today in History Today's Birthdays February 15

Today is Sunday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2009. There are 319 days left in the year.  AP page. AP A/V. UPI Almanac. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 15, 1898, the battleship U. S. S. Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the United States closer to war with Spain. On this date: In 1564, Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei was born in Pisa. In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established by Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau. Two hundred years ago, in 1809, American inventor Cyrus Hall McCormick, creator of the first successful horse-drawn mechanical reaper, was born in Rockbridge County, Va. In 1820, American suffragist Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, Massachusetts. In 1879, President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court. In 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara was executed more than four weeks later. [What took so long? — Ed.] In 1942, the British colony Singapore surrendered to the Japanese during World War II. In 1961, 73 people, including an 18-member U. S. figure skating team en route to Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium. In 1965, Canada's new maple-leaf flag was unfurled in ceremonies in Ottawa. [And was soon adorning the back-packs of young hitch-hikers & tourists across Europe, both Canadian & American. — Ed.] Twenty years ago, in 1989, the Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military intervention. [Give anyone any ideas? — Ed.] In 2002, President George W. Bush approved Nevada's Yucca Mountain as the site for long-term disposal of highly radioactive nuclear waste. Canadian pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were awarded a gold medal to resolve a judging controversy at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton continued his whirlwind visit to Mexico, where he conferred with President Ernesto Zedillo. The body of Amadou Diallo, the unarmed West African gunned down by New York City police, was returned to his native Guinea. Five years ago: A pair of blazes in China killed at least 93 people. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the Daytona 500 on the same track where his father was killed three years earlier. The West defeated the East 136-132 in the NBA All-Star game. Actress Jan Miner, best known as "Madge the Manicurist" in Palmolive T-V ads, died in Bethel, Conn., at age 86. In 2005, defrocked priest Paul Shanley was sentenced in Boston to 12 to 15 years in prison on child rape charges. One year ago: Business tycoon Steve Fossett, 63, was declared dead by a judge in Cook County, Ill., 5 months after his small plane vanished after taking off from an airstrip near Yerington, Nev. (Fossett's remains were discovered in late Oct. 2008 in California's Sierra Nevada.) 

Thought for Today: "Nothing is mine. I have only nothing but it is enough, it is beautiful and it is all mine." — Katherine Anne Porter, American author (1894-1980). [How Zen. — Ed.] Today's Birthdays February 15: Actor Kevin McCarthy is 95. Actor Allan Arbus is 91. Country singer Hank Locklin is 91. Former Illinois Congressman John Anderson is 87. Former defense secretary & CIA director James R. Schlesinger is 80.  Actress Claire Bloom is 78.Author Susan Brownmiller is 74. Songwriter Brian Holland is 68. Rock musician Mick Avory (The Kinks) is 65. Jazz musician Henry Threadgill is 65. Actress Jane Seymour is 58. Singer Melissa Manchester is 58. Actress Lynn Whitfield is 56. "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening is 55. Model Janice Dickinson is 54. Actor Christopher McDonald is 54. Reggae singer Ali Campbell is 50. [Did every guy in UB40 have a birthday w/in two mos. of each other? — Ed.] Actor Joseph R. Gannascoli is 50. Musician Mikey Craig (Culture Club) is 49. Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green is 49.

Today In Entertainment History

On February 15th, 1941, Duke Ellington recorded "Take The A Train" with his big band. It became the orchestra's theme song. In 1950, Disney released the movie "Cinderella."In 1961, Jackie Wilson was shot twice by Juanita Jones as he answered the door of his apartment in New York. Jones had told police she had intended to kill herself if Wilson rejected her. Wilson spent 21 days in a coma. In 1964, for the first time one act had five songs on Billboard's Hot 100 list. It was The Beatles, with "I Want To Hold Your Hand," "I Saw Her Standing There," "She Loves You," "Please, Please Me" and "My Bonnie." In 1965, singer Nat "King" Cole died of lung cancer in Santa Monica, California. He was 46. In 1971, Pink Floyd released their "Dark Side of the Moon" album. In 1981, blues guitarist Mike Bloomfield died in San Francisco of an accidental drug overdose. Bloomfield was a veteran of the white blues revival in the 1960s.In 1984, Broadway singer and actress Ethel Merman died at the age of 76. In 2000, Darva Conger married Rick Rockwell on the Fox TV show "Who Wants To Marry A Multimillionaire." Fox later learned an ex-girlfriend accused Rockwell of hitting her, and Conger asked for an annulment less than a week later. Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved