1746 - Birthday of Thaddeus Kosciusko in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in a village that is now in Belarus.  In 1776, Kościuszko moved to North America, where he became a colonel in the Continental Army. An accomplished military architect, he designed and oversaw the construction of state-of-the-art fortifications, including those at West Point. In 1783, in recognition of his services, the Continental Congress promoted him to brigadier general.  He died at Solothurn, Switzerland on Oct 15, 1817.
http://www.polskiinternet.com/english/info/thadeuskosciuszko.html
    1779 - John Paul Jones takes command of Bonhomme Richard.
    1783 - Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities with its former colonies, the United States of America.
    1787 - In an attack on Shays’ insurgents at Petersham, Massachusetts, General Benjamin Lincoln captures 150 rebels and forces Shays to flee for Vermont. By the end of the month, the uprising has been completely suppressed. In March, the Massachusetts legislature offers a pardon to all except Shays, Luke Day and two other leaders. Shays will be pardoned on 13 June, 1788. This rebellion has the effect of causing the state legislature to avoid direct taxation, to lower court costs, and to exempt household necessities and workmen’s tools from the debt process. Shays’ Rebellion is also an important factor in influencing the creation of a new federal constitution, since the states have seen how essentially powerless they are to prevent such incidents of violence.
    1787 - The first Anglican bishops of New York and Pennsylvania were consecrated in London.
    1789 - The only president to receive the unanimous vote of the presidential electors was George Washington who received all of the 69 votes cast by the election from the 10 states that voted this day. This was the first meeting of the Electoral College.  Presidential electors met and chose George Washington as America’s first President. The Federalist Party was formed by those who had supported ratification of the Constitution. Its first candidate was Washington. As President, Washington guided the new government as it moved from the concepts expressed in the Constitution into a functioning federal republic, and he firmly established many traditions and precedents which still guide how we as a nation view the presidency. After serving two terms in office, he refused to seek a third one, believing that two terms were the most that any President should serve. The Federalist, considered pro-English, enjoyed considerable success until 1800, when Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, defeated John Adams for the presidency. Eventually the party lost its supporters and ceased to exist about 1820. Alexander Hamilton was one of the party's founders and foremost leaders. As a point of history, by April 6, the first Congress was formally organized.  By its end in 1791 the first Congress consisted of 26 senators of whom 17 supported the Washington administration and 9 were generally in opposition. In the House, the division was 38 and 26. Senators were chosen by each of the state's legislators until the 20th century when the 17th amendment called for the direct election of Senators.  A nearly unanimous vote took place in November, 1816, when James Monroe of Virginia received 231 of the 232 votes casts by the electors from 24 states. The dissenting vote was cast by William Plumer of New Hampshire.
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/
Direct_Election_Senators.htm
    1801 - John Marshall was sworn in as the fourth Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.  He is the longest-serving Chief Justice in US history.
    1810 - The Cumberland Presbyterian Church was organized in Tennessee as an outgrowth of the Great Revival of 1800. Standing between Calvinism and Arminianism, the denomination holds a "medium theology" which affirms unlimited atonement, universal grace, conditional election, eternal security of the believer and salvation of all children dying in infancy.
    1822 - Free American Blacks settled Liberia, West Africa. The first group of colonists landed in Liberia and founded Monrovia, the colony's capital city, named in honor of President James Monroe.
    1824 – J.W. Goodrich introduced rubber galoshes to public.
    1825 – Ohio legislature authorized the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.
    1826 - “The Last of the Mohicans” by James Fennimore Cooper is published. One of the earliest distinctive American novels, the book is the second of the five-novel series called the “Leather-stocking Tales.” He continued to write about the American frontier in his third book, The Pioneer, which featured backcountry scout Natty Bumppo, known in this book as “Leather-stocking.” The character, representing goodness, purity, and simplicity, became tremendously popular, and reappeared, by popular demand, in five more novels, known collectively as the “Leather-stocking Tales.” The second book in the series, “The Last of the Mohicans”, is still widely read today. The five books span Bumppo’s life, from coming of age through approaching death.
    1841 - Plagued by poor investment decisions and an uncertain economic climate, the Bank of the United States was forced to call it quits on February 4, 1841. It was a painful end for an institution that had suffered through one of the more contentious episodes in the nation’s early financial history. Indeed, the Bank was the direct product of President Alexander Hamilton’s controversial push for a national banking system. Despite the staunch objections of Thomas Jefferson, the federal government chartered the first Bank of the United States in 1791. However, Jefferson kept up his attack, and in 1811, led his supporters in Congress in a successful attempt to block the renewal of the bank’s charter. Buoyed by a confluence of conditions, including state banks’ recent run of woes and political shifts in the House, pro-bank forces forged a new charter in 1816. Under the charge of Nicholas Biddle, the revived Bank of the U.S. enjoyed some healthy years. However, before long, the Bank faced another round of opposition, this time led by President Andrew Jackson, who fiercely opposed the notion of a central bank system. A nasty and protracted political battle ensued, as the President attempted to use his executive power to do away with the bank. Jackson eventually won out, and when the bank’s charter expired in 1836, Biddle shifted course and reestablished the Bank of the United States as a state institution based in Pennsylvania. Biddle’s bank limped on for a few more years before being finally shut down on February 4, 1841.
    1846 - The ship “Brooklyn” left New York bound for San Francisco with members of the Church of Latter-Day Saints aboard. They had been instructed to “flee Babylon.” They departed for California the same day other Saints left Nauvoo, Illinois, following clashes with settlers over polygamy. The party from Nauvoo was to meet Brannan’s group at Yerba Buena.
    1847 - Magnetic Telegraph of Maryland opened four offices in New York City for $250 a year, Philadelphia for $150, in Baltimore for $150, and Washington, DC for $50 a year to become the first Telegraph Company. At first, messages were sent by pigeons across the Hudson River from Jersey City, NJ to New York City. Later, a lead pipe enclosing a covered wire saturated with pitch was laid under the river. The rates from Baltimore to Washington were 10?? cents for the first 10 words and 1 cent for each additional minute. The rates from New York to Washington were 50 cents for the first 10 words and 5 cents for each additional word.
    1849 - The University of Wisconsin began in one room with 20 students.
    1854 - Alvin Bovay proposed the name “Republican Party,” in Ripon, WI.
    1861 - The Apache Wars began at Apache Pass, AZ when Army Lieutenant George Bascom arrested Apache Chief Cochise for raiding a ranch. Cochise escaped and declared war. The wars lasted 25 years under the leadership of Cochise and, later, Geronimo.
    1861 - The first Confederate congressional session took place, lasting until March 16. Its official title was Congress of the Confederate States.  The president of the Senate was Alexander Hamilton Stephens of Georgia, the president pro tempore was Robert Mercer Taliaferro Hunter of Virginia, and the secretary of the Senate was James H. Nash of South Carolina. The House of Representatives under the permanent constitution met in Richmond, VA, on February 18, 1861. Emmet Dixon of Georgia was elected clerk and Thomas Salem Bocock of Virginia was elected speaker. The session adjourned on April 21, 1862. The first order of business was drafting a constitution. They used the U.S. Constitution as a model, and most of it was taken verbatim. It took just four days to hammer out a tentative document to govern the new nation. The president was limited to one six-year term. Unlike the U.S. Constitution, the word “slave” was used and the institution protected in all states and any territories to be added later. Importation of slaves was prohibited, as this would alienate European nations and would detract from the profitable “internal slave trade" in the South. Other components of the constitution were designed to enhance the power of the states:  governmental money for internal improvements was banned and the president was given a line-item veto on appropriations bills. The Congress then turned its attention to selecting a president. The delegates settled on Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate who was the U.S. Secretary of War in the 1850s and a senator from Mississippi. It was emphatic that the purpose of the confederacy was to preserve slavery. There were many rich slave owners in the south and the loss of their property would mean not only substantial loss of their assets, but future income as they would have to pay for work on their farms and other businesses. (an irony of the times, there were Negroes who were also “slave owners”.  At the turn of the century, there were slaves also owned in the North.)
Here is one county, Lowndes District in the County of Lowndes, State of Alabama, that illustrates an idea of the division of “property.”
http://www.ccharity.com/census/1850lowndes.htm
This will substantiate that there were “free Blacks” who also owned “Black slaves.”
http://americancivilwar.com/authors/black_slaveowners.htm
Slave Census of Connecticut and Washington, 1790. It is also correct many of the Northern states began to outlaw slavery in their state after the ratification of the Constitution.
http://www.ctnow.com/extras/html/slaveowners.htm
But make it clear, the purpose of the Confederate States of America was to preserve slavery and was so stated in their constitution.
    1865 - Hawaii Territory established its first Board of Education.     
    1865 - Robert E. Lee was named general-in-chief of Confederate forces
    1873 - Birth of George Bennard in Youngstown, OH.  A Methodist evangelist, he penned over 300 Gospel songs during his lifetime, but is primarily remembered today for one: "The Old Rugged Cross."
    1887 - Interstate Commerce Act authorized federal regulation of railroads and created the Interstate Commerce Commission.
    1895 - In Chicago, Illinois, the Van Buren Street Bridge opened. It was the first rolling lift bridge. It consisted of two arms meeting at the center of the river. The bridge was operated by two 50 horsepower electric motors on each side of the bridge.
http://www.chicagohs.org/fire/ruin/pic0093.html
http://www.deldot.net/static/projects/archaeology/
historic_pres/delaware_bridge_book/PAGE_162.PDF
http://tigger.cc.uic.edu/depts/ahaa/imagebase/
intranet/chiviews/page177.html
    1899 - The Philippine-American War began with fighting between American and Philippine revolutionary forces
    1902 - Birthday of Charles Augustus Lindbergh in Detroit. American aviator, nicknamed “Lucky Lindy,” and “The Lone Eagle”, he was the first to fly solo and nonstop over the Atlantic Ocean, New York to Paris, May 20-21, 1927. In a decade that gave us the invention of television, talking pictures, and Babe Ruth, there was no one more admired, feted, fawned over than Lindbergh.  Later, in 1932, his son was kidnapped and later found murdered in a saga that captured America.  The trial of Bruno Richard Hauptman, the alleged murderer, was called the ‘Trial of the Century.’  As the 1930s came closer to war, he became a Nazi sympathizer, accepting awards from Adolph Hitler and after the war, efforts were made to downplay his lobbying for the Nazi regime.  He became a recluse and moved to Hawaii where died at Kipahulu, Maui on Aug 27, 1974.
    1904 – Birthday of writer MacKinlay Kantor in Webster City, Iowa.  His best seller, “Andersonville” was a story about the infamous Andersonville prison of the Civil War, into which tens of thousands of Northerners were inhumanely confined under obscene conditions. Died on October 11, 1977.
http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/spec-coll/MSC/IaAuthor/Kantor/kantor.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0452269563/inktomi-bkasin-20/
002-1958450-0644835/
    1906 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer, discovered the former planet Pluto, was born in Streator, IL.  He died in 1997.
    1908 - Birthday of trumpet player Mannie Klein, New York City
http://www.trumpetjazz.com/artists.cgi?name=Manny+Klein&x=5&y=9
http://www.jazzoracle.com/reviews/
http://ms.cc.sunysb.edu/~alhaim/recordingsanalysis.htm
http://user.tninet.se/~npt755v/bosw2.htm
    1912 – Golfer Byron Nelson was born in Waxahachie, TX.  PGA tour golfer, 1935-46.  Nelson and two other well-known golfers of the time, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, were born within seven months of each other in 1912. Although he won many tournaments in the course of his relatively brief career, he is mostly remembered today for having won 11 consecutive tournaments and 18 total tournaments in 1945.  Nelson died in 2006.
    1913 - Birthday of Rosa Lee Parks, civil rights leader who refused to give up the seat on the bus, in Tuskegee, AL.  Born Rosa Louise McCauley, Parks was a seamstress who was active with the NAACP. On a fateful day in Montgomery, Al, in 1955, a time when African-Americans were obligated by law to ride in the back of a bus, she refused to give up her seat to a white man during a ride home from work. Parks was subsequently arrested, found guilty of disorderly conduct and fined $14. This simple act sparked the modern civil rights movement, leading to a 381-day boycott of the Montgomery bus system, lawsuits, and an eventual Supreme Court decision decreeing segregation to be unconstitutional. A hero to blacks and whites alike, Parks continued work on civil rights until her death on October 25, 2005, at Detroit, MI. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal, and she is the only American woman to lie in state at the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Many municipalities consider Dec. 1, the day of her arrest in 1955, a holiday: Rose Parks Day.
http://www.grandtimes.com/rosa.html
http://www.rosaparks.org/
    1914 - Pellagra is caused by a deficiency of the B vitamin, niacin. Dr. Joseph/Goldberger of the U.S. Public Health Service at the Mississippi State Penitentiary, eight miles east of Jackson, MS, began the first public finding. Twelve convicts agreed to submit to a restricted-diet test in exchange for an offer of pardon made by Governor Earl LeRoy Brewer. The test was held from February 4, 1915 to April 19, 1915. Six of the 11 convicts (one was excused) developed pellagra, confirming suspicions that pellagra is caused by the niacin deficiency. Pellagra was common, particularly in the South, until news of this experiment became known by newspapers of the time.
    1914 - Congress approved the Burnett-anti-immigration law.
    1915 – Actor William Talman, who played Los Angeles District Attorney Hamilton Burger in the long-running series “Perry Mason”, was born in Detroit.  Died 1968.
    1917 - Downtown Miami, FL, reported an all-time record low of 27 degrees.
     1921 - Birthday of author Betty Freidan, Peoria , IL , founder of the National Organization for Women (NOW), author of the “Feminine Mystique.”
    1928 - Regal Theater opens in Chicago.  Great jazz venue during the 1930's, 1940's.
http://www.suba.com/~scottn/explore/sites/theaters/regal.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/il2/regalthe/
http://jazzinstituteofchicago.org/index.asp?target=/jazzgram/
bronzeville/bronzeville47.asp
    1930 - The first mosaic pavement similar to the mosaics of the ancient world was laid on Canal Street in New Orleans. The mosaic effect was secured by mixing chipped meteorite, crown point spar, and mica with the cement, then pouring the mixture into diamond-shaped brass stripped forms, sanding it down and polishing it. It was part of the project referred to as the ‘Beautification of Canal Street.”
http://theoldentimes.com/canal_st.html
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/dpc/cityscapes/charles.asp
    1932 - The third Winter Olympics opened at Lake Placid, NY, with 32 women and 274 men athletes representing 17 nations. This was the only edition of the Winter games in which athletes from the US won more medals (six gold, four silver and two bronze) than athletes from any other country. The games closed on February 15th.
    1933 - Angered by increasing farm foreclosures, members of Iowa's Farmers Holiday Association threaten to lynch banking representatives and law officials who institute foreclosure proceedings for the duration of the Depression. In April at Primghar, 600 farmers battle the sheriff and his deputies to prevent a foreclosure. During the battle many farmers take a beating. A group of them then turn up at the courthouse, drag a district judge from his chair, put a rope around his neck, and threaten to hang him unless he promises not to issue any more eviction notices. That same month, when state officers in Crawford County are beaten and driven off, the Iowa governor put three counties under martial law, and the National Guard starts rounding up farmers who are fighting foreclosures. Farmers outside Sioux City did not cooperate with the association, selling produce at the best price they could.  In addition, President Roosevelt promised farmers change and help. The crisis here also helped Roosevelt defeat Hoover.
http://www.hooverassociation.org/arhell.htm
http://www.sos.state.ia.us/publications/redbook/history/7-1.html
    1934 - Birthday of piano player Wade Legge, Huntington, WA
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JA8W
inktomi-musicasin-20/002-1958450-0644835
    1936 – Comedian David Brenner was born in Philadelphia.  He died in 2014.
    1937 - Glen Gray and Casa Loma Band record Larry Clinton’s “Study in Brown.”
    1938 - Thornton Wilder's play, "Our Town", opened in New York City at the Henry Miller Theatre. The play won the writer a Pulitzer Prize.
    1938 - Guitarist/vocalist Joe Beard Birthday
http://www.jazznow.com/1001NS/NSJBeard.html
http://www.audioquest-music.com/catalog/1039.html
    1939 - World mile record-holder, Glenn Cunningham, said in a newspaper, "running a four-minute mile is beyond human effort," adding that the best mile run will always be 4:01.66. That mark has been since been broken several times. On May 6, 1954 in Oxford, Roger Bannister became the first to break the barrier when he ran a 3:59.4 mile, a record that would last 46 days.  Jim Ryun did it on several occasions and, more recently, a time of 3:44:39 was set by Noureddine Morceli from Algeria.
    1941 – The USO was founded to provide support worldwide for US service people and their families. The United Service Organizations (USO) centers have served as a home away from home for hundreds of thousands of Americans.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb04.html
    1944 - President Roosevelt authorized the Bronze Star Medal by Executive Order 9419 dated 4 February 1944, retroactive to 7 December 1941. This authorization was announced in War Department Bulletin No. 3, dated 10 February 1944. The Executive Order was amended by President Kennedy, per Executive Order 11046 dated 24 August 1962, to expand the authorization to include those serving with friendly forces.
    1945 – The Yalta Conference between British Prime Minister Churchill, US President Roosevelt and Soviet Premier Stalin opened at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea.  It was here that the spoils of war were discussed.  Roosevelt, mere months from death and suffering from ill health, acquiesced to Stalin regarding control of eastern Europe, setting the stage for the Cold War that would envelop the two countries long after the death of these two leaders.
    1945 - Birthday of tenor sax player John Stubblefield IV, Little Rock AR
http://www.russpix.co.uk/stubb.html
http://www.arjazz.org/artists/hof/1998/98_stubblefield.html
    1947 - Top Hits
“For Sentimental Reasons” - Nat King Cole
“A Gal in Calico” - Johnny Mercer
“Oh, But I Do” - Margaret Whiting
“Rainbow at Midnight” - Ernest Tubb
    1947 – The 44th Vice President of the US, Dan Quayle, was born in Indianapolis.  He served as VP for President Bush, the first.  Many consider him to be the Yogi Berra of politics given his propensity for malapropisms.  "I have made good judgments in the past. I have made good judgments in the future".  When he addressed the United Negro College Fund, whose slogan is "A mind is a terrible thing to waste," he said, "You take the UNCF model that what a waste it is to lose one's mind or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is."  He also instructed grade school pupils on the spelling of potato as ‘potatoe’.
    1948 - Vincent Fournier, better known as Alice Cooper, was born in Detroit. His rock 'n' roll horror show in the 1970's featured chicken-killing and snake-fondling while singing such songs as "Refrigerator Heaven" and "I'm Eighteen." Cooper went into semi-retirement in 1977, when alcohol problems forced him to undergo hospital treatment. He later returned to performing.
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/Alley/3246/
http://www.alicecoopershow.co.uk/portal.htm
    1951 - ADAMS, STANLEY T., Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Master Sergeant (then Sfc.), U.S. Army, Company A, 19th Infantry Regiment. Place and date: Near Sesim-ni, Korea, 4 February 1951. Entered service at: Olathe, Kans. Born: 9 May 1922, DeSoto, Kans. G.O. No.: 66, 2 August 1951. Citation: M/Sgt. Adams, Company A, distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action against an enemy. At approximately 0100 hours, M/Sgt. Adams' platoon, holding an outpost some 200 yards ahead of his company, came under a determined attack by an estimated 250 enemy troops. Intense small-arms, machine gun, and mortar fire from 3 sides pressed the platoon back against the main line of resistance. Observing approximately 150 hostile troops silhouetted against the skyline advancing against his platoon, M/Sgt. Adams leaped to his feet, urged his men to fix bayonets, and he, with 13 members of his platoon, charged this hostile force with indomitable courage. Within 50 yards of the enemy M/Sgt. Adams was knocked to the ground when pierced in the leg by an enemy bullet. He jumped to his feet and, ignoring his wound, continued on to close with the enemy when he was knocked down 4 times from the concussion of grenades which had bounced off his body. Shouting orders he charged the enemy positions and engaged them in hand-to-hand combat where man after man fell before his terrific onslaught with bayonet and rifle butt. After nearly an hour of vicious action M/Sgt. Adams and his comrades routed the fanatical foe, killing over 50 and forcing the remainder to withdraw. Upon receiving orders that his battalion was moving back he provided cover fire while his men withdrew. M/Sgt. Adams' superb leadership, incredible courage, and consummate devotion to duty so inspired his comrades that the enemy attack was completely thwarted, saving his battalion from possible disaster. His sustained personal bravery and indomitable fighting spirit against overwhelming odds reflect the utmost glory upon himself and uphold the finest traditions of the infantry and the military service.
    1952 - Jackie Robinson, still active with the Dodgers, was named Director of Communication for NBC, becoming the first African-American executive of a major radio-TV network.
    1953 - Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis took a dramatic turn when they starred in the film, "The Stooge", premiering at the Paramount Theatre in New York City.
    1955 - Top Hits
“Sincerely” - McGuire Sisters
“Hearts of Stone” - Fontane Sisters
“Melody of Love” - Billy Vaughn
“Let Me Go, Lover!” - Hank Snow
    1955 - The Blue Moon Boys, consisting of Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, Bill Black and DJ Fontana, headline at an amusement park in New Orleans.
    1956 - James Brown and The Famous Flames record "Please, Please, Please" at King Studios in Cincinnati. The single would go on to become a Billboard #5 R&B hit, selling over a million copies, but nine subsequent releases would fail to live up to the success of the debut. It would take over two years for the group to return to the charts with the #1 R&B hit, "Try Me".
    1956 - A Harlem vocal group called The Cadillacs entered the Billboard Pop Chart with "Speedo", which will top out at #17.  It has since become a Doo-Wop classic.
    1956 - Elvis Presley appeared again on CBS' “Dorsey Brothers Stage Show”, performing "Baby, Let's Play House" and "Tutti Frutti."
    1957 - New York's Smith-Corona Manufacturing Inc. began to sell portable electric typewriters. The first "portable" machine weighed 19 pounds! Soon, other manufacturers began offering similar models that were made of lighter weight plastics.
    1959 – The music world awoke to the news that overnight, a private plane crash near Clear Lake, IA took the lives of the pilot and singers Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J.P. ‘The Big Bopper’ Richardson, following their performances at the Winter Dance Party at the Surf Ballroom.  Following the tragic plane crash, Frankie Avalon, Jimmy Clanton, and Bobby Vee take over the headlining spots on the "Winter Dance Party" tour.
    1959 – New York Giants Hall of Fame linebacker, Lawrence Taylor, was born in Williamsburg, VA.  ” Lawrence Taylor, defensively, has had as big an impact as any player I've ever seen. He changed the way defense is played, the way pass-rushing is played, the way linebackers play and the way offenses block linebackers.”  --John Madden              
    1961 - Johnny Burnette is rushed to Hollywood's Cedars of Lebanon Hospital to undergo an emergency appendectomy. The medical crisis forces Burnette, then on the charts with "You're Sixteen," to cancel $10,000 worth of domestic engagements and postpone a European tour.
    1962 - Birthday of country singer Clint Black, was born in Long Branch, NJ.
http://www.countrystars.com/index.html?/artists/clint.html
http://clintblack.com/bios.html
    1962 - The first U.S. helicopter is shot down in Vietnam. It was one of 15 helicopters ferrying South Vietnamese Army troops into battle near the village of Hong My in the Mekong Delta. The first U.S. helicopter unit had arrived in South Vietnam aboard the ferry carrier USNS Core on December 11, 1961. This contingent included 33 Vertol H-21C Shawnee helicopters and 400 air and ground crewmen to operate and maintain them. Their assignment was to airlift South Vietnamese Army troops into combat.
    1963 - Top Hits
“Walk Right In” - The Rooftop Singers
“Hey Paula” - Paul & Paula
“The Night Has a Thousand Eyes” - Bobby Vee
“The Ballad of Jed Clampett” - Flatt & Scruggs
    1964 - The federal government put an end to one of the nation's more shameful bits of legislation by authorizing the Twenty-fourth Amendment, which outlawed the poll tax. The tax stemmed back to the 1880s, when members of the burgeoning Populist Party began to build a potentially potent coalition of African American and lower class white voters in the South. Across the region, planters, merchants, and industrialists moved to preserve their power and pushed for the passage of a deliberately prohibitive poll tax. The legislation, adopted by a host of Southern states, proved all too effective, as scores of African-Americans, as well as the "poorer sort" of whites, simply could not afford to pay the tax and thus lost the right to vote. However, thanks in large part to the efforts of Senator Spessard L. Holland of Florida, the once recalcitrant Congress slowly came around to the cause of outlawing the tax and passed the Twenty-fourth Amendment. On January 23, 1964, the amended was ratified by the South Dakota legislature, giving it the three-fourths majority necessary to make it the law of the land.
    1964 - United States weekly publication Newsweek was the first American magazine to carry a cover story on the Beatles.
    1965 - Martin Luther King Jr. and 770 other protesters arrested in Selma, Alabama for picketing county courthouse to end discrimination in voting rights

    1966 - Jefferson Airplane, The Mystery Trend play the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. It is Bill Graham's first non-benefit show.  Also, about this time, author Ken Kesey disappears to Mexico. 
http://www.winelady.com/records/bgposters.html
    1965 – The #1 record on the charts - Righteous Brothers: “You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling”
         1966 - The Rolling Stones released "19th Nervous Breakdown"
    1967 – Lunar Orbiter 3 lifted off from Cape Canaveral, FL on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft.
    1968 - GONZALEZ, ALFREDO, Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein), FMF. Place and date: Near Thua Thien, Republic of Vietnam, 4 February 1968. Entered service at: San Antonio, Tex. Born: 23 May 1946, Edinburg Tex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as platoon commander, 3d Platoon, Company A. On 31 January 1968, during the initial phase of Operation Hue City, Sgt. Gonzalez' unit was formed as a reaction force and deployed to Hue to relieve the pressure on the beleaguered city. While moving by truck convoy along Route No. 1, near the village of Lang Van Lrong, the marines received a heavy volume of enemy fire. Sgt. Gonzalez aggressively maneuvered the marines in his platoon, and directed their fire until the area was cleared of snipers. Immediately after crossing a river south of Hue, the column was again hit by intense enemy fire. One of the marines on top of a tank was wounded and fell to the ground in an exposed position. With complete disregard for his safety, Sgt. Gonzalez ran through the fire-swept area to the assistance of his injured comrade. He lifted him up and though receiving fragmentation wounds during the rescue, he carried the wounded marine to a covered position for treatment. Due to the increased volume and accuracy of enemy fire from a fortified machine gun bunker on the side of the road, the company was temporarily halted. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Sgt. Gonzalez exposed himself to the enemy fire and moved his platoon along the east side of a bordering rice paddy to a dike directly across from the bunker. Though fully aware of the danger involved, he moved to the fire-swept road and destroyed the hostile position with hand grenades. Although seriously wounded again on 3 February, he steadfastly refused medical treatment and continued to supervise his men and lead the attack. On 4 February, the enemy had again pinned the company down, inflicting heavy casualties with automatic weapons and rocket fire. Sgt. Gonzalez, utilizing a number of light antitank assault weapons, fearlessly moved from position to position firing numerous rounds at the heavily fortified enemy emplacements. He successfully knocked out a rocket position and suppressed much of the enemy fire before falling mortally wounded. The heroism, courage, and dynamic leadership displayed by Sgt. Gonzalez reflected great credit upon himself and the Marine Corps, and were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.
    1968 - Attorney General John Mitchell received a secret memo from Senator Strom Thurmond, in which Thurmond suggested deporting John Lennon due to his antiwar stance.
    1969 - 33-year-old John Madden became head coach of the NFL's Oakland Raiders. In his first season, Madden took the Raiders to a 12-1-1 record and earned them a spot in the AFC Conference Championship Game. Madden went on to become the youngest head coach in the modern NFL era to win 100 games in his first ten seasons.
    1969 - Owners of the 24 major league baseball clubs elected attorney Bowie Kuhn commissioner for a one-year term at a salary of $100,000. Kuhn, who succeeded William D. Eckert, became baseball's fifth commissioner. He served until 1984 when he was replaced by Peter Ueberroth.
    1969 – Yassar Arafat took over as chairman of the PLO.
    1971 - Top Hits
“Knock Three Times” - Dawn
“Lonely Days” - Bee Gees
“Rose Garden” - Lynn Anderson
“Flesh and Blood” - Johnny Cash
    1971 - The Osmonds' "One Bad Apple" album is certified gold
    1973 - Birthday of boxer Oscar de La Hoya, Los Angeles, CA.
    1974 - Patricia Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of publishing billionaire William Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped from her Berkeley, California, apartment. Stephen Weed, Hearst's fiancé‚, was beaten unconscious by the two abductors. Soon, a ransom demand came from the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA), a radical activist group led by Donald DeFreeze. DeFreeze had formed the SLA in 1973 after he escaped from prison. On November 6, 1973, the SLA shot and killed Marcus Foster, Oakland's superintendent of schools, with bullets laced with cyanide. Less than a month before Hearst's kidnapping, an SLA bomb-making factory was discovered by the police. The SLA instructed William Hearst to distribute $70 million in food to the poor in Oakland to have Patty released. The Black Muslims, Malcolm X's former organization, were chosen to manage the food distribution, which turned into a riot when more than 10,000 people showed up and fought for the food. However, DeFreeze and the SLA did not release Patty. The Hearst story took a strange and unexpected turn two months after the abduction, when the SLA robbed the Hibernia Bank in San Francisco. The surveillance cameras clearly showed that Patty Hearst was one of the machine gun-toting robbers. Soon after followed a taped message from the SLA in which Hearst claimed that she had voluntarily joined the SLA and was now to be known as "Tania." On May 17, 1974, police were tipped that the SLA leaders were at a Los Angeles home. With 400 police and FBI agents outside the house, a tremendous gun battle broke out. The overwhelming firepower of the police eventually caused a fire to break out. DeFreeze and five other SLA members died in the fire. However, Hearst was not inside the house. She was not found until September 1975. Patty Hearst was put on trial for armed robbery and convicted, despite her claim that she had been coerced, through repeated rape, isolation, and brainwashing, into joining the SLA. Prosecutors believed that she actually orchestrated her own kidnapping because of her prior involvement with one of the SLA members. Despite any real proof of this theory, she was convicted and sent to prison. President Carter commuted Hearst's sentence after she had served two years. Hearst is currently seeking a pardon.
    1976 - US District Court Judge John W. Oliver upheld the ruling of a baseball arbitrator Peter Seitz that had declared pitchers Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally to be free agents. The two had refused to sign contracts for 1974 as a test case and had argued that baseball's hallowed reserved clause bound them to their respective clubs, not in perpetuity but for only one year beyond the expiration of their last signed contract.  This decision was a turning point in baseball’s ability control players for their entire careers.  The free agency market is now an annual event as owners and general managers maneuver for the best players as they become free agents, or seek to lock them up with long-term contracts that now run into hundreds of millions of dollars.  One can only think of what the Ruths, Williamses, Cobbs, Aarons, Mayses, Mantles, Gibsons, etc., would command in today’s environment with their consistently superior performances.
    1976 - Kathryn Lis, Susan Kollmeye and Cynthia Snead became the first U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets by finishing in the top one percent of the more than 10,000 men and women who competed for admission.
    1976 – A US Senate subcommittee reveals Lockheed Aircraft Corporation made payments abroad of $22 million in bribes to sell planes. Lockheed admits payments in Japan, Turkey, Italy and Holland.
    1977 - "American Bandstand" celebrates its twenty-fifth anniversary with an ABC-TV special hosted by Dick Clark. An incredible "all-star band" made up by Chuck Berry, Seals & Crofts, Gregg Allman, Junior Walker, Johnny Rivers, the Pointer Sisters, Charlie Daniels, Doc Severinsen, Les McCann, Donald Byrd, Chuck Mangione and three quarters of Booker T and the MGs. They join and jam together for a rendition of "Roll Over Beethoven."
    1977 - One of the best-selling albums of all time, Fleetwood Mac's, "Rumors" was released. The LP spent 31 weeks at the top of the US album chart on the strength of the singles, "Go Your Own Way", "Dreams", "Don't Stop" and "You Make Loving Fun", all of which hit the top 10. The album eventually sold over 18 million copies.
    1977 – A Chicago Transit Authority train rear-ended another and derailed, killing 11 and injuring 180, the worst accident in the agency's history.
    1978 - With movie theater promos showing John Travolta's character, Tony Manero walking down the street to the beat of The Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive", the tune shot to the top of the Billboard Pop chart.
    1979 - Top Hits
“Le Freak” - Chic
“Y.M.C.A.” - Village People
“Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?” - Rod Stewart
“Why Have You Left the One You Left Me For” - Crystal Gayle
    1979 - A month-long rock memorabilia auction began in San Francisco to benefit the Save the Whales campaign. Among the items sold are John Travolta’s black leather jacket from “Grease”, and a Paul Kantner guitar.
    1983 - Singer Karen Carpenter died of heart failure due to anorexia nervosa at age 33, at her parents' home in Downey, California. The singer, who had performed with her brother, Richard, would be best-remembered for her songs “(They Long to Be) Close to You” and “We've Only Just Begun”, which dominated the songs of choice for weddings throughout the '70s and '80s. The untimely death of the young, velvet-throated Grammy Award winner saddened and shocked the world. Her death shed new light on the devastating consequences of anorexia, an eating disorder brought on by compulsive dieting. At one low point in Carpenter's career, she was forced to cancel a command performance before Queen Elizabeth II of England, and a concert tour of Europe and the Orient, due to the illness. Standing five feet, four inches, she had dieted down to 90 pounds.
    1987 - Top Hits
“At This Moment” - Billy Vera & The Beaters
“Open Your Heart” - Madonna
“Land of Confusion” - Genesis
“You Still Move Me” - Dan Seals
    1987 - Sacramento Kings score only 4 1st quarter points against the Lakers; fewest in a period since introduction of 24 second shot-clock in 1954
    1987 - “Stars & Stripes”, skippered by Dennis Connor, defeated the Australian boat “Kookaburra III” for the fourth straight time to sweep the America 's Cup challenge and return the prized trophy to the US. This was the last Cup defense to be contested by 12-meter yachts. It came four years after Australia II with John Bertrand as skipper wrested the Cup from the US for the first time ever.
    1987 - Flamboyant pianist Liberace died at age 67 in his block-long palace in Palm Springs, California, officially of a brain disease, although it was a complication of AIDs. At one time, the entertainer was the highest-paid performer in Las Vegas.
    1989 - A winter storm brought heavy snow and high winds to the western U.S. Up to three feet of snow blanketed the Sierra Nevada of California, and buried parts of northeastern Washington State under three feet of snow in five days. High winds across Washington State reached 75 mph, with gusts to 105 mph.
    1991 – The National Baseball Hall of Fame board of directors voted 12-0 to bar Pete Rose, thereby enforcing the agreement Rose signed two years earlier with then-Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti that served Rose with lifetime ineligibility for election to the Hall for gambling on games while manager of the Cincinnati Reds.
    1996 - NBC aired the first of two parts of the mini-series “Gulliver's Travels”, starring Ted Danson as the title character. The venture, with its huge financial investment, had the potential for being a giant flop, but it was a gamble that paid off. The show was NBC's highest-rated miniseries in four years, and most critics praised its faithfulness to the Jonathan Swift tale. 
    1996 - Rob Pilatus, formerly of Milli-Vanilli, was injured when a man hit him over the head with a baseball bat in Hollywood. Pilatus was attempting to steal the man’s car.
    1997 – Simpson Guilty!!! A civil jury in Santa Monica, California found O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. The jury awarded $8.5 million in compensatory damages to Goldman's parents. A few days later, the jury added $25 million in punitive damages to go to Nicole Brown Simpson's estate and Goldman's father. Simpson was later ordered to give up his Heisman Trophy and nearly $500,000 in valuables, including his golf clubs, to help satisfy the judgment.
    1997 - Mario Lemieux of the Pittsburgh Penguins scored into an empty net to become the seventh member of the NHL's 600-goal club.  Pittsburgh beat the Vancouver Canucks, 6-4. Players who previously scored 600 goals are Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Marcel Dionne, Phil Esposito, Mike Gartner and Wayne Gretzky, who got his 600th goal in his 720th game, one more than Lemieux required.
    1998 - Microsoft founder/multi-billionaire Bill Gates gets a pie thrown in his face in Brussels, Belgium.
http://www.zpub.com/un/bill/pie.html
http://home.epix.net/%7Etjwagner/gates.html
http://www.bitstorm.org/gates
    2002 - On the occasion of civil-rights activist Rosa Parks' 89th birthday, Stevie Wonder sings his song "Happy Birthday" to her at the premiere of her TV-movie biography The Rosa Parks Story. The song had originally been written by Wonder to help bring about a national Martin Luther King holiday.
    2004 – Facebook was founded by fellow Harvard students Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskowitz, and Chris Hughes. As of June, 2014, Facebook claims 1.3 billion users.
    2007 - The Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 at Dolphin Stadium in Super Bowl XLI. Colts QB Peyton Manning was named MVP. For the first time in Super Bowl history, the game was played in the rain, which was continuous throughout the game.
    2007 - Billy Joel sang the United States National Anthem during the Super Bowl XLI (41) pre-game show and Prince performed during the halftime festivities.
    2013 - 8 people are killed and 30 are injured after a bus collides with two vehicles and flips in Yucaipa, California

Super Bowl Champions
    2007 - Indianapolis Colts