Friday, February 12th
The 043rd day of 2010.
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Today's Highlights in History
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On Feb. 12, 1973, the first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam conflict took place. (Go to article.)
On Feb. 12, 1809, Charles Darwin, who originated the theory of evolution by natural selection, was born. Following his death on April 19, 1882, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On February 12, 1870, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about American Indian policy. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1554 Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the throne of England for nine days, was beheaded after being charged with treason.
1733 English colonists led by James Oglethorpe founded Savannah, Ga.
1809 Naturalist Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England.
1809 Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in present-day Larue County, Ky.
1870 Women in the Utah Territory gained the right to vote.
1909 The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded in New York.
1912 Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, abdicated, marking the end of the Qing Dynasty.
1915 The cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington, D.C.
1924 George Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" premiered in New York City.
1999 The Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.
2000 Charles M. Schulz, creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, died at age 77.
2000 Hall of Fame football coach Tom Landry died at age 75.
2001 The NEAR spacecraft touched down on Eros, completing the first landing on an asteroid.
2002 The war crimes trial of former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic began in The Hague.
2002 Pakistan charged three men in connection with the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi.
2004 Defying a California law, San Francisco officials began performing weddings for same-sex couples.
2009 Republican Sen. Judd Gregg of New Hampshire abruptly withdrew his nomination as President Barack Obama's Commerce Secretary.
2009 A commuter plane crashed into a suburban Buffalo, N.Y., home, killing all 49 aboard and a person in the house.
Current Birthdays
Arlen Specter turns 80 years old today.
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., turns 80 years old today.
87 Franco Zeffirelli
Director
84 Joe Garagiola
Sportscaster
76 Bill Russell
Basketball Hall of Famer
74 Joe Don Baker
Actor
71 Ray Manzarek
Rock musician (The Doors)
60 Steve Hackett
Rock musician (Genesis)
58 Michael McDonald
Singer (The Doobie Brothers)
57 Joanna Kerns
Actress ("Growing Pains")
55 Arsenio Hall
Actor
42 Josh Brolin
Actor ("W.," "No Country for Old Men")
42 Chynna Phillips
Singer (Wilson Philips)
31 Jesse Spencer
Actor ("House")
Historic Birthdays
Charles Darwin
2/12/1809 - 4/19/1882
English naturalist who documented evolution
(Go to obit.)
53 Thomas Campion
2/12/1567 - 3/1/1620
English poet,composer and musical theorist
44 Caspar Bartholin
2/12/1585 - 7/13/1629
Danish physician/theologian
65 Cotton Mather
2/12/1663 - 2/13/1728
American Congregational minister/author
92 Peter Cooper
2/12/1791 - 4/4/1883
American inventor,manufacturer and philanthropist
56 Abraham Lincoln
2/12/1809 - 4/15/1865
16th President of the United States
40 John Graham Chambers
2/12/1843 - 3/4/1883
English sportsman and journalist
89 John L. Lewis
2/12/1880 - 6/11/1969
American labor leader and founder of the C.I.O.
96 Alice Roosevelt Longworth
2/12/1884 - 2/20/1980
American politically influential daughter of Theodore Roosevelt
66 Max Beckmann
2/12/1884 - 12/27/1950
German expressionist painter/printmaker
88 Omar Bradley
2/12/1893 - 4/8/1981
American general, 1st chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
47 Louis Buchalter
2/12/1897 - 3/4/1944
American crime boss
81 Roy Harris
2/12/1898 - 10/1/1979
American composer/teacher
81 Joseph Alioto
2/12/1916 - 1/29/1998
Mayor of San Francisco
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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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