On This Day in History - February 6th - Almanac

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 2018 with 328 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Jupiter, Mars, Mercury and Saturn. Evening stars are Neptune, Uranus and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include England's Queen Anne in 1665; statesman Aaron Burr in 1756; baseball great George Herman "Babe" Ruth in 1895; former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1911; Eva Braun, mistress of Adolf Hitler, in 1912; actor Zsa Zsa Gabor in 1917; actor Patrick Macnee in 1922; actor Rip Torn in 1931 (age 87); actor Mamie Van Doren in 1931 (age 87); French film director Francois Truffaut in 1932; actor Mike Farrell in 1939 (age 79); TV newsman Tom Brokaw in 1940 (age 78); handgun control activist Sarah Brady in 1942; singer Fabian Forte in 1943 (age 75); actor Michael Tucker in 1945 (age 73); Jamaican reggae singer/songwriter Bob Marley in 1945; singer Natalie Cole in 1950; actor Kevin Whately in 1951 (age 67); actor/director Robert Townsend in 1957 (age 61); actor Kathy Najimy in 1957 (age 61); singer W. Axl Rose in 1962 (age 56); singer Gordon Downie in 1964; singer Rick Astley in 1966 (age 52); actor Alice Eve in 1982 (age 36); actor Crystal Reed in 1985 (age 33); actor Dane DeHaan in 1986 (age 32); actor Dominic Sherwood in 1990 (age 28); singer Tinashe Kachingwe in 1993 (age 25); actor Charlie Heaton in 1994 (age 24).

On this date in history:

In 1819, Singapore was founded with the establishment of a British East India Co. trading post.

In 1865, Gen. Robert E. Lee was appointed commander in chief of the armies of the Confederacy.

In 1943, U.S. Army Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was named commander of Allied expeditionary forces in North Africa.

In 1952, Princess Elizabeth became sovereign of Great Britain upon the death of her father, King George VI. She was crowned Queen Elizabeth II on June 2, 1953.

In 1987, broad no-smoking rules took effect for 890,000 employees in 6,800 U.S. federal buildings nationwide.

In 1992, a military transport plane crashed into a restaurant and hotel in Evansville, Ind., killing 16 people.

In 2001, Ariel Sharon was elected prime minister of Israel.

In 2004, a suicide bomber detonated explosives in a suitcase on a Moscow subway car, killing 39 people and injuring about 200.

In 2006, U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told Congress that President George W. Bush was within his legal rights when he authorized warrantless surveillance of people in the United States by the National Security Agency.

In 2014, Jay Leno ended his 22-year stint as host of The Tonight Show. Jimmy Fallon took over hosting duties, moving the talk show from Burbank, Calif., to New York City.

In 2016, a magnitude-6.4 earthquake rocked Taiwan, leaving at least 117 dead and 550 people injured when several buildings collapsed.

In 2017, Qatar Airways completed the longest regularly scheduled airline flight at 17 hours and 7 minutes. The Boeing 777 traveled from Auckland, New Zealand, to Doha, Qatar.

A thought for the day: U.S. President Ronald Reagan said, "You can accomplish much if you don't care who gets the credit."