1676 - In King Philip’s War, the Narragansett and Nipmuck Indians, searching for food, raided Lancaster, Mass. Over 35 villagers were killed and 24 were taken captive including Mary Rowlandson and her 3 children. Rowlandson was freed after 11 weeks and an account of her captivity was published posthumously in 1682.

1677 - Virginia Governor William Berkley revokes the royal pardon which Colonel Herbert Jeffreys has brought for rebels of Bacon’s Rebellion. In defiance of the Crown, Berkley proceeds to execute 23 of the rebels.

1753-Treaty of Paris ends French and Indian War. Canada was ceded to Britain, France received various West Indies possessions and Spain won Louisiana and Havana. Known in Europe as the Seven Years' War, this conflict ranged from North America to India, with many European nations involved. In North America, French expansion into the Ohio River Valley in the 1750s led to conflict with Great Britain. Some Indians fought alongside the French; a young George Washington fought for the British. As a result of the signing of the Treaty of Paris, France lost all claims to Canada and had to cede Louisiana to Spain. Fifteen years later, French bitterness over the loss of its North American colonies to Britain contributed to its supporting the colonists in the American Revolution.

1841 - The Act of Union, uniting Upper and Lower Canada, came into effect.

1846-Their leader assassinated and their homes under attack, the Mormons of Nauvoo, Illinois, begin a long westward migration that eventually brings them to the valley of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. The members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been persecuted for their beliefs ever since Joseph Smith founded the church in New York in 1830. Smith's claim to be a modern-day prophet of God and his acceptance of polygamy proved controversial wherever the Mormons attempted to settle. In 1839, Smith hoped his new spiritual colony of Nauvoo in Missouri would provide a permanent safe haven for the Saints, but anti-Mormon prejudice there proved virulent. Angry mobs murdered Smith and his brother in June 1844 and began burning homes and threatening the citizens of Nauvoo. Convinced that the Mormons would never find peace in the United States, Smith's successor, Brigham Young, made a bold decision: the Mormons would move to the still wild territories of the Mexican-controlled Southwest. Young had little knowledge of the geography and environment of the West and no particular destination in mind, but trusting in God, he began to prepare the people of Nauvoo for a mass exodus. On this day in 1846, Young abandoned Nauvoo and began leading 1,600 Mormons west across the frozen Mississippi in subzero temperatures to a temporary refuge at Sugar Grove, Iowa. Young planned to make the westward trek in stages, and he determined the first major stopping point would be along the Missouri River opposite Council Bluffs. He sent out a reconnaissance team to plan the route across Iowa, dig wells at camping spots, and in some cases, plant corn to provide food for the hungry emigrants. The mass of Mormons made the journey to the Missouri River, and by the fall of 1846, the Winter Quarters were home to 12,000 Mormons. After a hard journey across the western landscape, Young and his followers emerged out onto a broad valley where a giant lake shimmered in the distance. With his first glimpse of this Valley of the Great Salt Lake, Young reportedly said, "This is the place." That year, some 1,600 Mormons arrived to begin building a new civilization in the valley. The next year, 2,500 more made the passage. By the time Young died in 1877, more than 100,000 people were living in the surrounding Great Basin, the majority of them Mormons. Young, however, had not escaped the troubles that plagued the Church in the East. By early 1848, the Mormons' haven became a U.S. territory after the American victory in the Mexican War. The Mormons had finally found a permanent home along the Great Salt Lake, but its isolation and freedom from persecution was short-lived.

1855 - US citizenship laws were amended to include all children of US parents born abroad.

1861-Jefferson Davis receives word that he has been selected president of the new Confederate States of America. Davis was at his plantation, Brierfield, winter pruning rose bushes with his wife Varina when a messenger arrived from nearby Vicksburg. It was not a job he wanted, but he accepted it out of a sense of duty to his new country. Varina later wrote that she saw her husband's face grow pale and she recalled, "Reading that telegram he looked so grieved that I feared some evil had befallen our family. After a few minutes he told me like a man might speak of a sentence of death." Davis said of the job: "I have no confidence in my ability to meet its requirement. I think I could perform the function of a general." He could see the difficulties involved in launching the new nation. "Upon my weary heart was showered smiles, plaudits, and flowers, but beyond them I saw troubles innumerable. We are without machinery, without means, and threatened by powerful opposition but I do not despond and will not shrink from the task before me." Davis was prescient in his concerns. He drew sharp criticism during the war: Alexander Stephens, the vice president, said Davis was "weak and vacillating, timid, petulant, peevish, obstinate," and Stephens declared that he held "no more feeling of resentment toward him" than he did toward his "poor old blind and deaf dog." His appointment of his friends as generals was one of his main undoings, plus his inability to keep to a course. It is said, he changed his mind about military strategy often, actually following the suggestions of the last military person with whom he spoke. He had been elected to a six year term, never finishing it, and many believe he would not have been re-elected.

1855 -- The Women's Hospital of New York City is founded. Although it provides much needed care for poor women, the hospital was also the arena for J. Marion Sims. Much of his work was done on Black slaves where he saved countless lives and developed new procedures in gynecology. He founded the hospital for Black women to receive free care.
http://www.healthcarehof.org/honorees98/sims.html
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/m_r/moss/sims.htm

1863 - Two of the world's most famous midgets, General Tom Thumb, who stood three feet, four inches high, and his bride, Lavinia Warren, who was two feet, eight inches tall, were married in New York City, in front of 2,000 of their closest friends.

1863 - Alanson Crane patented the fire extinguisher.
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blfiresprinkler.htm

1868-Birthday of William Allen White, American newspaperman, owner and editor of the Emporia Gazette. Coined the phrase “tinhorn politician” and in one obituary, wrote of the deceased that he had “The talent of a meat-packer, the morals of a money changer and the manners of an undertaker.” Born at Emporia, KS, he died there Jan 29, 1944.

1868- the temperature of 32 degrees below zero recorded at Muscatine, Iowa on the Mississippi was the lowest for the period 1839 to 1965.

1893—Birthday of “The Schnozz,” Jimmy Durante, born at New York City. His first break into show biz came when he was 17 when he got a regular job playing ragtime at a saloon at Coney Island. Later his friend Eddie Cantor urged him to try comedy. In the 1920's, he had a very popular nightclub in New York called “Durant.” The painter had left “e” off and wanted a $100 bucks to re-do the sign and lights. Durante developed a unique comedic style as a short-tempered by lovable personage. His shtick included slamming down his hat and flapping his arms. His clothing, enormous nose, craggy face, gravely singing voice and mispronunciations were all part of the persona. Durante, whose career spanned six decades, appeared on TV, stage and screen. His television signoff, “Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are became a trademark. Jimmy Durante died at Santa Monica, CA, Jan 29, 1980.

1893-Birthday of William Tatem “Bill” Tilden, Jr., tennis player, born at Philadelphia, PA. Generally considered one of the greatest players of all time, Tilden won more tournaments than the record books can count. A nearly flawless player, he was also an egotistical showman on the court with an interest in show business. He turned pro in 1930 and continued to win regularly. Died at Hollywood, CA., June 5, 1953.

1897-The familiar slogan "All the News That's Fit to Print" appeared on page one of The New York Times. It had first appeared on the editorial page on Oct 25, 1896. Although in 1896 a $100 prize was offered for a slogan, owner Adolph S. Ochs concluded that his own slogan was better.

1898-Birthday of Katharine Burr Blodgett, inventor, research physicist, who developed the first non-reflecting glass (as used in picture frames) and was the first female research scientist at General Electric Laboratories.

1899- the record low temperature for the state of Ohio was set at Milligan when the mercury dipped to 39 degrees below zero. The record low temperature for Virginia was also set at Monterey with 29 degrees below zero.

1902-Birthday of Walter Brattain, who together with William Shockley and John Bardeen, invented the transistor. The three shared the Nobel Prize for physics in 1956 for the transistor and for their work on semiconductors. The transistor replaced the bulky vacuum tubes previously used in electronics and paved the way for all later microelectronics.

1902—Drummer Chick Webb birthday
http://www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_webb_chick.htm
http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Chick%20Webb.html
http://art.staviator.com/C/Chick_Webb.html
http://www.cd-music.org/music/22384Chick-Webb.html

1907-Birthday of alto sax player Walter” Foots” Thomas, Muskogee, OK. He also was an arranger in Cab Calloway's orchestra. He moved to New York City in 1927, and played for a time with Jelly Roll Morton. He then joined The Missourians in 1929, just before Calloway took it over. In 1943 he left to work with Don Redman. He died on August 26, 1981. http://www.okjazz.org/index.cfm?id=99981.
http://www.redhotjazz.com/levee.html
http://www.lindycafe.com/_music/musicians/ccalloway.html

1908- Birthday of Jean Coulthard, the first composer from the Canadian west coast to gain wide recognition, born in Vancouver. Her orchestral compositions "Canadian Fantasy," "Excursion," "Ballade (A Winter's Tale)" and "Song to the Sea" established her reputation in Canada in the early 1940's. In 1953, the CBC commissioned her to write” A Prayer for Elizabeth" to mark the Queen's coronation.
http://music.acu.edu/www/iawm/articles/winter98/colton.html
http://www.yorku.ca/caml/coulthard.htm

1914 Birthday of Larry Adler, harmonica virtuoso.

1916-Birthday of accordion player Aldus Roger, Carencro, LA
http://www.cajunfrenchmusic.org/biographies/roger-a.htm
http://www.cajunculture.com/People/rogeraldus.htm
http://www.lsue.edu/acadgate/music/alleman.htm

1920 - Representatives for major league baseball outlawed pitches that involve tampering with the ball, including using the spitter or sandpaper or emery paper. It may be a baseball law but, it is often broken like others. Many umpires have the nail files to prove it.

1921-Birthday of pianist Joe Big Duskin, Birmingham, AL
http://cincinnati.citysearch.com/feature/20472
http://www.arhoolie.com/titles/422.shtml
http://artists.spun.com/big_joe_duskin

1923 - For the first time, ink paste was manufactured by the Standard Ink Company. It was available in one color: black.

1925 - In Michigan City, Indiana, the first waterless gas storage tank was put into service.

1927-Birthday of opera singer Leontyne Price, Laurel, MS.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb10.html

1927 - Gisele Mackenzie, Canadian singer, star of Your Hit Parade TV show during the 1950s. Her mother was a concert singer and pianist.

1932-Birthday of accordion/zydeco player Rockin' Dopsie, Sr., Carencro, LA
http://www.rockindopsie.com/
http://www.neworleansproducts.com/rockindopsie/dopsieband.htm
http://www.epluri.com/NOTfolder/Acts/Rockin'%20Dopsie/rockindopise.html
His son, Rockin' Dopsie, Jr.
http://www.neworleansproducts.com/music/zydecogumbo/index.html

1933 – Low temperature of -54ºF (-48ºC), Seneca OR (state record)

1933 - The Postal Telegraph Company of New York City introduced the singing telegram.

1933 - In round 13 at a boxing match held at Madison Square Garden in New York, Primo Carnera knocked out Ernie Schaaf. While the crowd and the press at the match shouted, "Fake!" at the knockout, Schaaf later died as a result of that punch. It was no fake.

1934 - The United States Postal Service issued the first stamps without perforations or glue in New York City. One had to cut apart the stamps, then apply glue to the back to get them to stick to an envelope. After numerous complaints, the Postal Service changed this idea.

1935 - The Pennsylvania Railroad started passenger service with its new "streamlined" electric locomotive. The engine was 79 1/2 feet long and weighed 230 tons.

1939-Birthday of singer Roberta Flack, born in Asheville, North Carolina. She had a half-dozen ballad hits in the 1970's, including three number-ones - "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face," "Killing Me Softly With His Song" and "Feel Like Makin' Love." Flack returned to the top-10 in 1991 with "Set the Night to Music," a duet with Maxi Priest.

1942-A Japanese submarine launches a brutal attack on Midway, a coral atoll used as a U.S. Navy base. It was the fourth bombing of the atoll by Japanese ships since December 7. The capture of Midway was an important part of the broader Japanese strategy of trying to create a defensive line that would stretch from the western Aleutian Islands in the north to the Midway, Wake, Marshall, and Gilbert Islands in the south, then west to the Dutch West Indies. Occupying Midway would also mean depriving the United States of a submarine base and would provide the perfect launching pad for an all-out assault on Hawaii. Adm. Isoroku Yamamoto, mastermind of the Pearl Harbor attack and commander in chief of the Japanese combined fleet, knew that only the utter destruction of U.S. naval capacity would ensure Japanese free reign in the Pacific. Japanese bombing of the atoll by ship and submarine failed to break through the extraordinary defense put up by Adm. Chester Nimitz, commander of the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, who used every resource available to protect Midway and, by extension, Hawaii. Yamamoto persevered with an elaborate warship operation, called Mi, launched in June, but the Battle of Midway was a disaster for Japan, and was the turning point for ultimate American victory in the Pacific. The television series “Victory at Sea” has an excellent episode regarding this early part of the war, especially the Japanese underestimation of the American fighting stamina.

1942-Second Lieutenant Alexander Ramsey “Sandy” Ninger, Jr. was posthumously awarded World War II's first Medal of Honor for heroism at the Battle of Bataan. He had graduated from West Point in 1941 and was on his first assignment after being commissioned.
http://www.homeofheroes.com/moh/citations_1940_wwii/nininger.html

1942 - For Decca Records in Los Angeles, California, Ted Fio Rito's orchestra recorded "Rio Rita". Bob Carroll provided the vocals for the song that became the group's theme song.

1942- the first gold disc ever awarded to an artist was presented to the Glenn Miller Orchestra by RCA Victor during a radio broadcast. The presentation was for Miller's recording of "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," which sold more than 1.2-million copies on the Bluebird label. The award was not solid gold - it was merely gold lacquered.

1945---"Rum and Coca Cola" by Andrews Sisters hits #1
http://www.mareesalbumlyrics.com/Rum_And_Coca_Cola.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000002P8A/002-1958450-0644835
http://www.singers.com/jazz/vintage/andrews.html

1945---Top Hits
Rum and Coca Cola---Andrew Sisters
Accentuate the Positive - Johnny Mercer
I Dream of You - The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Freddy Stewart)
I'm Losing My Mind Over You - Al Dexter

1946--Folk singer Donovan, whose last name is Leitch, was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He was the British answer to Bob Dylan, and his career was launched in 1965 with his hit single "Catch the Wind." Donovan's biggest success was "Sunshine Superman," number one on both sides of the Atlantic in 1966. Donovan's music, as well as the flowing robes and love beads he wore, were out of date by 1970.

1949 - Lee J. Cobb, Arthur Kennedy and Mildred Dunnock starred in, "Death of a Salesman", which opened at New York City's Morocco Theatre. The play would later become a major motion picture.

1949-Joe Fulks of the Philadelphia Warriors set an NBA record by scoring 63 points in a game against the Indianapolis Jets. Fulks' total was the largest recorded by an NBA player before the introduction of the 24-second clock in 1954. His record stood until November 8, 1959, when Elgin Baylor of the Minneapolis Lakers scored 64 points.

1952--DAVIS, GEORGE ANDREW, JR. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Major, U.S. Air Force, CO, 334th Fighter Squadron, 4th Fighter Group, 5th Air Force. Place and date: Near Sinuiju-Yalu River area, Korea, 10 February 1952. Entered service at: Lubbock, Tex. Born: 1 December 1920, Dublin, Tex. Citation: Maj. Davis distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. While leading a flight of 4 F-86 Saberjets on a combat aerial patrol mission near the Manchurian border, Maj. Davis' element leader ran out of oxygen and was forced to retire from the flight with his wingman accompanying him. Maj. Davis and the remaining F-86's continued the mission and sighted a formation of approximately 12 enemy MIG-15 aircraft speeding southward toward an area where friendly fighter-bombers were conducting low level operations against the Communist lines of communications. With selfless disregard for the numerical superiority of the enemy, Maj. Davis positioned his 2 aircraft, and then dove at the MIG formation. While speeding through the formation from the rear he singled out a MIG-15 and destroyed it with a concentrated burst of fire. Although he was now under continuous fire from the enemy fighters to his rear, Maj. Davis sustained his attack. He fired at another MIG-15 which, bursting into smoke and flames, went into a vertical dive. Rather than maintain his superior speed and evade the enemy fire being concentrated on him, he elected to reduce his speed and sought out still a third MIG-15. During this latest attack his aircraft sustained a direct hit, went out of control, and then crashed into a mountain 30 miles south of the Yalu River. Maj. Davis' bold attack completely disrupted the enemy formation, permitting the friendly fighter-bombers to successfully complete their interdiction mission. Maj. Davis, by his indomitable fighting spirit, heroic aggressiveness, and superb courage in engaging the enemy against formidable odds exemplified valor at its highest.

1953---Top Hits
Don't Let the Stars Get in Your Eyes - Perry Como
Why Don't You Believe Me - Joni James
Keep It a Secret - Jo Stafford
I Let the Stars Get in My Eyes - Goldie Hill

1954: “The Glenn Miller Story”, starring James Stewart and June Allyson, has its American premiere in New York City.

1956 - Elvis Presley recorded "Heartbreak Hotel" for RCA Records in Nashville, Tennessee. The record was awarded two gold records, one for each side. The hit song gracing the other side was "I Was the One"

1956-- Little Richard records "Long Tall Sally"

1956---"My Friend Flicka" TV Premiere. CBS series about a boy and his horse based on the children's book by Mary OHara. The series was set in the early 1960's on the Goose Bar Ranch in Montana. Johnny Washbrook starred as Ken McLaughlin, Gene Evans as Ken's father, Bob, Anita Louise as Ken's mother, Nell, Frank Ferguson as Gus, the ranch hand, and Wahanna, the beautiful Arabian horse, as Flicka.

1957-Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other Southern black clergy founded the Atlanta-based Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) to help coordinate civil rights activities in the South. King remained the SCLC's president until his assassination in 1968. King's son, Martin Luther King III, became the SCLC's president on January 15, 1998.

1958--Elvis Presley attains his ninth US number one single with the double-sided hit "Don't" / "I Beg of You".

1958-Frank Sinatra's "Come Fly with Me" rose to the top of the US album chart, where it would stay for the next five weeks.

1959-Link Wray performs his controversial instrumental hit "Rumble" on American Bandstand. Because of its title, many radio stations refused to play the record, but it still managed to sell over a million copies and reach #16 on the Billboard Pop chart.

1959- St. Louis, Missouri was hit by an F4 tornado. Nearly 2000 buildings were damaged or destroyed and over $10 million in damage was done. 21 people lost their lives and 345 sustained injuries

1960 -- Adolph Coors, the beer brewer, is kidnapped in Golden, Colorado.

1961 - The Los Angeles franchise, the Chargers, in the American Football League known as the Los Angeles Chargers, moved to San Diego, California, changing their name to the San Diego Chargers. In 1960, Jack Kemp was captain of the team. He led the Chargers to a Western Division Championship with a 10–4 record congressman and US Senator Bob Dole's vice-president running mate. He also was the AFL co-founder and served as president for five years.
http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/sdla/lachargers.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Kemp

1961---Top Hits
Will You Love Me Tomorrow - The Shirelles
Calcutta - Lawrence Welk
Shop Around - The Miracles
North to Alaska - Johnny Horton

1961-Henry Mancini had the #1 album in the US with the soundtrack to the film Breakfast at Tiffany's.

1962 - Francis Gary Powers, the U.S. pilot of a U-2 plane shot down over the Soviet Union in 1960, was exchanged for KGB agent Rudolf Abel in Berlin.

1964 - The press reported "millions of teenage boys are spending extra time in front of the mirror trying to make their hair look like Paul McCartney's...," after The Beatles appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" the night before.

1965-Viet Cong guerrillas blow up the U.S. barracks at Qui Nhon, 75 miles east of Pleiku on the central coast, with a 100-pound explosive charge under the building. A total of 23 U.S. personnel were killed, as well as two Viet Cong. In response to the attack, President Lyndon B. Johnson ordered a retaliatory air strike operation on North Vietnam called Flaming Dart II. This was the second in a series of retaliations launched because of communist attacks on U.S. installations in South Vietnam. Just 48 hours before, the Viet Cong struck Camp Holloway and the adjacent Pleiku airfield in the Central Highlands. This attack killed eight U.S. servicemen, wounded 109, and destroyed or damaged 20 aircraft. With his advisors advocating a strong response, President Johnson gave the order to launch Operation Flaming Dart, retaliatory air raids on a barracks and staging areas at Dong Hoi, a guerrilla training camp 40 miles north of the 17th parallel in North Vietnam. Johnson hoped that quick and effective retaliation would persuade the North Vietnamese to cease their attacks in South Vietnam. Unfortunately, Operation Flaming Dart did not have the desired effect. The attack on Qui Nhon was only the latest in a series of communist attacks on U.S. installations, and Flaming Dart II had very little effect.

1965 - An often used quote was first spoken by Hubert H. Humphrey who said, "The impersonal hand of government can never replace the helping hand of a neighbor." Humphrey was a beloved United States Senator from Minnesota and a Vice-President during the Lyndon Johnson administration. He eventually ran for the Presidency but lost to Richard M. Nixon, primarily because Nixon promised to end the war in Viet Nam (which he eventually did) and Humphrey was Johnson's former vice-president, who at best “waffled” on the Viet Nam war. Perhaps what lost him the very close race was the Chicago Democratic National Convention. The convention, which began August 12, 1968, was the most violent in U.S. history. Antiwar protestors clashed with police and national guardsmen. Hundreds of people, including bystanders and members of the press, were beaten by police, some in full view of television cameras. Nixon beat Humphrey 31,785,480 to 31,275,166, and independent George C. Wallace, a third-party candidate, 9,906,473. The electoral vote was 302 to 191 and Wallace received 45. The republicans gained four seats in the House and five in the Senate (the Democrats still held majorities of 58-42 in the Senate and 243 in the House). The Republicans gained five governorships in the election.

1966-Andrew Brimmer is appointed the first Black person to serve on the Federal Reserve Board.
http://www.umass.edu/economics/Staff/brimmer.html

1967-Procedures for presidential succession were further clarified by the 25th Amendment, along with provisions for continuity of power in the event of a disability or illness of the president, ratified today in 1967.

1967-- The Beatles record---"A Day In The Life". The Beatles and George Martin added the orchestral crescendos to "A Day in the Life", using a 40-piece orchestra. Martin would later recall that when he told some of Britain's finest musicians that they were to play twenty-four bars of cacophonous, improvised crescendo, "they all looked at me as though I were completely mad."

1968 - Sly and the Family Stone's "Dance to the Music" enters the pop charts

1969---Top Hits
Crimson and Clover - Tommy James & The Shondells
Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone
Touch Me - The Doors
Daddy Sang Bass - Johnny Cash

1970-BACA, JOHN P. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Specialist Fourth Class, U.S. Army, Company D, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division. Place and date: Phuoc Long Province, Republic of Vietnam, 10 February 1970. Entered service at: Fort Ord, Calif. Born: 10 January 1949, Providence, R.I. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. Sp4c. Baca, Company D, distinguished himself while serving on a recoilless rifle team during a night ambush mission A platoon from his company was sent to investigate the detonation of an automatic ambush device forward of his unit's main position and soon came under intense enemy fire from concealed positions along the trail. Hearing the heavy firing from the platoon position and realizing that his recoilless rifle team could assist the members of the besieged patrol, Sp4c. Baca led his team through the hail of enemy fire to a firing position within the patrol's defensive perimeter. As they prepared to engage the enemy, a fragmentation grenade was thrown into the midst of the patrol. Fully aware of the danger to his comrades, Sp4c. Baca unhesitatingly, and with complete disregard for his own safety, covered the grenade with his steel helmet and fell on it as the grenade exploded, thereby absorbing the lethal fragments and concussion with his body. His gallant action and total disregard for his personal well-being directly saved 8 men from certain serious injury or death. The extraordinary courage and selflessness displayed by Spc4. Baca, at the risk of his life, are in the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the U.S. Army.

1971-Four journalists, including photographer Larry Burrows of Life magazine, Kent Potter of United Press International, Nenri Huett of the Associated Press, and Keisaburo Shimamoto of Newsweek, die in a South Vietnamese helicopter operating in Laos. The journalists had been covering Operation Lam Son 719, a limited attack into Laos by South Vietnamese forces, when their helicopter crashed. Vietnam was one of the most reported conflicts in the history of warfare. In 1964, when the massive American buildup began, there were roughly 40 U.S. and foreign journalists in Saigon. By August 1966, there were over 400 news media representatives in South Vietnam from 22 nations. The Vietnam War correspondents in the field shared the same dangers that confronted the front-line troops, risking their lives to witness and report the realities of the battlefield. Sixteen Americans lost their lives while covering the war. American journalists are among the 42 U.S. civilians still missing in action and unaccounted for in Southeast Asia, including NBC News correspondent Welles Hangen and Time photographer Sean Flynn, both of whom disappeared while covering the war in Cambodia.

1977---Top Hits
Torn Between Two Lovers - Mary MacGregor
New Kid in Town - Eagles
Blinded by the Light - Manfred Mann's Earth Band
Near You - George Jones & Tammy Wynette

1978-Van Halen's debut album is released. The LP hit the top-20 and has sold over 6 million copies (as of 1997). It contained the singles "You Really Got Me and "Runnin' With The Devil."

1978- Southern California received up to 8 inches of rain, resulting in widespread floods and mudslides. The rainfall produced a wall of water, which ripped through the mountain resort community of Hidden Springs drowning at least 13 persons. The storm caused 50 million dollars in damage, making it one of the most destructive in history.

1979 - Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" was the #1 US single. It was a track from the album "Blondes Have More Fun", which was the #1 U.S. album this day. The album stayed at the top for three weeks. "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" was number one for four weeks: “If you want my body and you think I'm sexy; come on sugar let me know. If you really need me just reach out and touch me; come on honey tell me so...”
http://users.cis.net/sammy/sexy.htm

1982--- Bismarck, North Dakota experienced its 45th consecutive day of subzero temperature readings which tied the previous record long string of subzero daily lows ending on the same date in 1937

1985 - One of the Houston Rockets' "Twin Towers", seven foot four inch tall Ralph Sampson, the Rockets star center, scored 24 points; leading the West to beat the East, 140-129 in the NBA All-Star Game held in Indianapolis, Indiana. Sampson was chosen as the games' Most Valuable Player.

1985- "Tears Are Not Enough," the contribution of Canadian recording artists to African famine relief, was recorded at Manta Sound in Toronto under the name "Northern Lights." The song was written by Bryan Adams and his regular songwriting partner, Jim Vallance. Adams's performance of the song at the Live Aid concert in July 1985 was marred by satellite blackout.

1985---Top Hits
I Want to Know What Love Is - Foreigner
Easy Lover - Philip Bailey with Phil Collins
Careless Whisper - Wham! featuring George Michael
Ain't She Somethin' Else - Conway Twitty

1987- a gala benefit concert was held at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto to honor the 100th anniversary of the Royal Conservatory of Music. Among the alumni who participated were tenor Jon Vickers, violinist Steven Staryk, soprano Lois Marshall and conductor Victor Feldbrill.

1987- one of the Soviet Union's top rock bands, Autograph, played in Quebec City as part of its first North American tour. The concert was organized to coincide with the Rendezvous 87 hockey series between the NHL all-stars and the Soviet Union.

1989-the first Chairman of a major political party who was African-American was Ronald H. Brown, who was elected chairman of the Democratic Party National Committee. Brown later served as secretary of commerce in the cabinet of President William Jefferson Clinton. He was killed in an airplane crash near Bosnia during a ceasefire.

1989- Miami Vice's 100th episode seen on TV
http://timstvshowcase.com/miamivic.html

1990- Paula Abdul's "Forever Your Girl" became the first album to generate six number-one singles when "Opposites Attract" hit the top of the Billboard chart.

1991- Kevin Costner, Donny Osmond, Meryl Streep and Mike Tyson were among dozens of celebrities who gathered in Burbank, California to record a tribute to US troops in the Persian Gulf. The song, "Voices That Care," was composed and produced by Canadian David Foster.

1992 - The New Kids on the Block filed suit on this date against former producer Gregory McPherson, accusing him of slander. McPherson had publicly accused the group of lip-syncing, and said that the young entertainers did on 20 percent of the singing in concerts and on their 1988 hit album, Hangin' Tough. McPherson claimed that New Kids manager Maurice Starr and Starr's brother were the real voices. The group's attorney denied his claim. Two months later, McPherson dropped his $21 million suit against Starr.

1992 - In Indianapolis, former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was found guilty of rape of an 18-year-old beauty contestant, Desiree Washington. The jury found him guilty on all three counts after deliberating for 9 hours.

1992 - Noted black author Alex Haley died at age 70 in Seattle of a heart attack. Haley would be best-remembered for his gripping account of African family history spanning two centuries, “Roots”, which was later turned into a wildly successful television miniseries. The eight-part series was aired on consecutive nights and became the most watched show in TV history. Some 130 million people-nearly half the country's population at the time--watched the last episode of the show. Haley's books led to an increased interest in the study of black history and heritage. Haley later spent two decades with the U.S. Coast Guard as a journalist, writing adventure stories to take the edge off his boredom. When he retired, he moved back to New York to pursue a writing career. He interviewed trumpeter Miles Davis and political activist Malcolm X for Playboy in the 1960s and later collaborated with the Black Muslim spokesman to write The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), an acclaimed work that fueled the black-power movement in America and was cited extensively in institutions of higher learning. Haley then started his best-known work, “Roots: The Saga of an American Family”, published in 1976. The blend of fact and fiction, drawn largely from stories recited by Haley's grandmother, chronicles seven generations of Haley's family history, from the enslavement of his ancestors to his own quest to trace his family tree. To write the mostly nonfiction work, Haley pored over records in the National Archives and went by safari to the African village of Juffure to meet with an oral historian (Haley later donated money to that village for a new mosque). There are those who claim that Haley copied the work from other writers. It was never proven and all lawsuits brought against him were not successful. In the early 1970s, he and his brothers founded the Kinte Foundation, named for Haley's ancestor Kunta Kinte, to collect and preserve African American genealogy records. Haley received special citations from the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award committees in 1977 for “Roots”, which sold more than a million copies in one year. It was translated into 26 languages. Later in his life, Haley wrote a biography of Frank Wills, the security guard who discovered the break-in at the Watergate Hotel that brought down Richard Nixon's presidency.

1993- Michael Jackson, in a live TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, said he had an inherited disorder that causes skin pigmentation to fade. He denied altering most of his face, but did admit to minor cosmetic surgery. Jackson also said he finds the comfort in children and animals that he missed in a friendless, workaholic childhood. In the wake of Jackson's first solo interview in nearly a decade, sales of his "Dangerous" album, released 14 months earlier, skyrocketed.

1993- Mick Jagger marked the release of his "Wandering Spirit" album with an invitation-only gig at a dance club in New York. Most of the material was from his solo effort, but Jagger also performed a couple of Rolling Stones' tunes - "Live With Me" and "Rip This Joint." The concert was beamed to clubs in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and Toronto.

1994- a severe ice storm occurred over portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Heavy rainfall of over 5 inches in some sections resulted in one of the worst icing in many years for this region. Ice accumulation reached 6 inches in Mississippi, resulting in damage to 3.7 million acres of commercial forestland valued at an estimated $1.3 billion. Over 80,000 utility poles were pulled down by the weight of the ice. Some residents of Mississippi were without power for up to a month. Damage and cleanup costs exceeded $50 million in Arkansas.

1996- Canadian country singer Shania Twain drew an estimated crowd of 10,000 to 20,000 fans for an autograph session at the Mall of America in Minneapolis.

1996 - An IBM computer called Deep Blue made chess history by comfortably beating world champion Garry Kasparov, a machine's first victory under classic tournament rules.

1997-Heavyweight Riddock Bowe announced that he had retired from boxing in order to join the US Marines. He had enlisted on January 27 and reported to Parris Island on this date. On February 21, Bowe announced that he had changed his mind and that the Marines had agreed to release him. “He could not,” said the Corps,” handle the regulated lifestyle.” Bowe, 29, married and the father of five, had won the heavyweight championship in 1992 from Evander Holyfield only to surrender it to Holyfield in 1993. In his Marines stint, he endured 36 hours of actual training.

1998 - AOL raised its monthly flat access rate from $19.95 to $21.95, explaining it needed to upgrade its network to handle the onslaught of people taking advantage of its flat price. The increase was set to go into effect in April 1998. Eventually seven users could use the dial-up program. DSL and cable brought the internet faster speeds than the AOL dial-up and by the first quarter of 2003, for the first time in its history, AOL began losing more members than it was putting on.

2008-The Eagles won a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "How Long". It was the band's fifth Grammy Award.