Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2012. There are 320 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 15, 1952, a funeral was held at Windsor Castle for Britain's King George VI, who had died nine days earlier.

On this date:

In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established by Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau.

In 1812, American jeweler Charles Lewis Tiffany, the founder of Tiffany & Co., was born in Killingly, Conn.

In 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the United States closer to war with Spain.

In 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara was executed more than four weeks later.

In 1942, the British colony Singapore surrendered to Japanese forces during World War II.

In 1953, Tenley Albright became the first American woman to win the world figure skating championship, held in Davos, Switzerland.

In 1961, 73 people, including an 18-member U.S. figure skating team en route to the World Championships in Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium.

In 1965, Canada's new maple-leaf flag was unfurled in ceremonies in Ottawa.

In 1971, Britain and Ireland "decimalised" their currencies, making one pound equal to 100 new pence instead of 240 pence.

In 1982, 84 men were killed when a huge oil-drilling rig, the Ocean Ranger, sank off the coast of Newfoundland during a fierce storm.

In 1989, the Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military intervention.

In 1992, a Milwaukee jury found that Jeffrey Dahmer was sane when he killed and mutilated 15 men and boys. Benjamin L. Hooks announced plans to retire as executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Ten years ago: A private funeral was held at Windsor Castle for Britain's Princess Margaret, who had died six days earlier at age 71. President George W. Bush approved Nevada's Yucca Mountain as the site for long-term disposal of thousands of tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste. (However, the Obama administration decided in 2009 to halt work on the Yucca site.) Skating and Olympics officials awarded Canadian pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier a gold medal, while letting the Russian pair, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, keep their gold medal as a way to resolve a judging controversy that had dominated the Winter Games in Salt Lake City. Broadcast journalist Howard K. Smith died in Bethesda, Md., at age 87.

Five years ago: National Guardsmen in Humvees ferried food, fuel and baby supplies to hundreds of motorists stranded for nearly a day on a 50-mile stretch of Interstate 78 in eastern Pennsylvania because of a monster storm. The U.S. Mint unveiled the new presidential $1 coin. Oscar-winning songwriter Ray Evans died in Los Angeles at age 92.

One year ago: Protesters swarmed Wisconsin's capitol after Gov. Scott Walker proposed cutbacks in benefits and bargaining rights for public employees. Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was ordered to stand trial on charges he'd paid a 17-year-old Moroccan girl for sex and then used his influence to cover it up. (Both Berlusconi and the young woman denied having a sexual relationship.)

Today's Birthdays: Actor Allan Arbus is 94. Former Illinois Congressman John Anderson is 90. Former Defense and Energy Secretary James Schlesinger is 83. Actress Claire Bloom is 81. Author Susan Brownmiller is 77. Songwriter Brian Holland is 71. Rock musician Mick Avory (The Kinks) is 68. Jazz musician Henry Threadgill is 68. Actress Jane Seymour is 61. Singer Melissa Manchester is 61. Actress Lynn Whitfield is 59. "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening is 58. Model Janice Dickinson is 57. Actor Christopher McDonald is 57. Reggae singer Ali Campbell is 53. Actor Joseph R. Gannascoli is 53. Musician Mikey Craig (Culture Club) is 52. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green is 52. Country singer Michael Reynolds (Pinmonkey) is 48. Actor Michael Easton is 45. Rock musician Stevie Benton (Drowning Pool) is 41. Actress Renee O'Connor is 41. Actress Sarah Wynter is 39. Actor-director Miranda July is 38. Rock singer Brandon Boyd (Incubus) is 36. Rock musician Ronnie Vannucci (The Killers) is 36. Actress Ashley Lyn Cafagna is 29. Actress Amber Riley (TV: "Glee") is 26.

Thought for Today: "Like all dreamers I confuse disenchantment with truth." -- Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher (1905-1980).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.