On This Day in History - February 13th - Almanac

Today is Sunday, Feb. 13, the 44th day of 2022 with 321 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include Pope Alexander VII in 1599; Bess Truman, wife of former U.S. President Harry Truman, in 1885; artist Grant Wood in 1891; Supreme Court Justice Robert Jackson in 1892; golf Hall of Fame member Patty Berg in 1918; singer "Tennessee" Ernie Ford in 1919; pilot Chuck Yeager, the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound, in 1923; actor Kim Novak in 1933 (age 89); actor George Segal in 1934; musician Peter Tork in 1942; actor Carol Lynley in 1942; talk show host Jerry Springer in 1944 (age 78); actor Stockard Channing in 1944 (age 78): Hall of Fame basketball Coach Mike Krzyzewski in 1947 (age 75); singer Peter Gabriel in 1950 (age 72); actor David Naughton in 1951 (age 71); fitness activist Denise Austin in 1957 (age 65); rock musician Henry Rollins in 1961 (age 61); actor Neal McDonough in 1966 (age 56); pop singer Robbie Williams in 1974 (age 48); actor Mena Suvari in 1979 (age 43); actor Sophia Lillis in 2002 (age 20).

On this date in history:

In 1668, Portugal was recognized as an independent nation by Spain.

In 1861, the first Medal of Honor was awarded. It went to Col. Bernard Irwin, an assistant surgeon serving in the first major U.S. Army-Apache conflict.

In 1923, the New York Renaissance, the first all-Black professional basketball team, was established. The Rent were a dominant team in the 1920s and 1930s before disbanding in 1949 upon the formation of the racially integrated National Basketball Association.

In 1935, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was convicted of America's most colossal crime, and a jury determined that he would forfeit his life in the electric chair for the murder of baby Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr.

In 1945, thousands of Allied planes started bombing the German city of Dresden in World War II. The attack caused a firestorm that destroyed the city over a three-day period. Reports of the death toll varied widely over the years, with many researchers eventually estimating it was in the 25,000 range.

In 1960, France tested its first atomic weapon, making it the fourth nuclear power.

In 1974, the Soviet Union expelled dissident writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

In 1983, a blaze engulfed a crowded movie theater in Turin, Italy, killing 74 people, many of them teenagers trampled to death in a panic-stricken race to the exits.

In 1984, Konstantin Chernenko succeeded the late Yuri Andropov as Soviet leader.

In 2001, more than 400 people were killed in an earthquake in El Salvador.

In 2006, a U.N. report accused the United States of violating prisoners' rights at its military base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In 2014, the Afghan government, despite protests from the U.S. military, released 65 suspected members of the Taliban from prison.

In 2017, national security adviser Michael Flynn resigned for misleading Vice President Mike Pence about discussions he had with Russia's ambassador. The retired general held the position for 24 days.

In 2021, a weather event unofficially known as Winter Storm Uri formed off the coast of the Pacific Northwest. The storm brought days of snow and frigid temperatures to much of the South, plunging Texas into a two-week power crisis and killing at least 246 people.

A thought for the day: "I have always thought that what is needed is the development of people who are interested not in being leaders as much as developing leadership in others." -- American civil rights activist Ella J. Baker