The day the music died

Today is Saturday, February 3rd, the 34th day of 2024. There are 332 days left in the year.

Today in History:

Rock and roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and JP “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, on February 3, 1959, which will be remembered as “the day the music died.” .

On this date:

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens held a peace conference on a ship off the coast of Virginia; Negotiations reached an impasse over the issue of Southern autonomy.

In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, providing for a federal income tax.

In 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany; On the same day, the American cargo ship SS Housatonic was sunk by a submarine off the coast of Britain after its crew were allowed into lifeboats.

In 1943, during World War II, the US transport ship SS Dorchester carrying troops to Greenland sank after being hit by a German torpedo in the Labrador Sea; Of the more than 900 men on board, only 230 survived.

In 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first man-made object to make a soft landing on the moon.

In 1988, the U.S. House of Representatives dealt a landslide defeat to President Ronald Reagan, rejecting his request for $36.2 million in new aid to the Nicaraguan Contras by a vote of 219 to 211.

In 1994, the space shuttle Discovery took off carrying Sergei Krikalev (SUR’-gay KREE’-kuh-lev), the first Russian cosmonaut to fly in a U.S. spacecraft.

In 1995, the space shuttle Discovery took off for the first time in NASA history with a woman named Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins in the pilot seat.

In 1998, a U.S. Seaplane cut the cable of a ski gondola in Italy, causing the car to plummet hundreds of feet, killing all 20 people on board.

In 2006, an Egyptian passenger ferry sank in the Red Sea due to bad weather conditions and more than 1000 passengers died.

In 2009, Eric Holder became the first Black attorney general of the United States when he was sworn in by Vice President Joe Biden.

In 2013, fired Los Angeles police officer Christopher Dorner launched a war of revenge against law enforcement and the families of those he blamed for ending his career, killing four people during a 6-day manhunt that ended with his suicide in a mountain cabin.

In 2018, linebacker Ray Lewis and receiver Terrell Owens were among eight people voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In 2020, during closing arguments in President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial, Democratic prosecutors urged senators to stop a “runaway presidency” and recognize Trump’s actions in Ukraine as part of a pattern of behavior that would allow him to “ride” the 2020 election . ; Trump’s defenders accused Democrats of trying to undo the 2016 election and said voters should decide Trump’s fate.

In 2021, country music star Morgan Wallen was suspended from his record label and had his music withdrawn by radio stations and streaming services after a video emerged showing him making racial slurs.

Today’s birthdays are: Football Hall of Fame member Fran Tarkenton 83. Actor Blythe Danner 81. Football Hall of Fame member Bob Griese 79. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) 77. Actor Morgan Fairchild 74. Actor Pamela Franklin 74 years old Actor Nathan Lane is 68 years old. Rock musician Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) is 68 years old. Actor Thomas Calabro is 65. Rock musician/writer Lol Tolhurst (The Cure) is 65. Actor-director Keith Gordon is 63. Actor Michele Greene is 62. Country singer Matraca Berg 60, Actor Maura Tierney 59, Actor Warwick Davis 54, Actor Elisa Donovan 53, Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee 48, Actor Isla Fisher 48, Civil rights activist Amal Clooney 46. Singer-songwriter Jessica Harp 42, Actor Matthew Moy 40, Rapper Sean Kingston is 34, Actor Brandon Micheal Hall is 31.