Today in History

Today in History

Today is Saturday, Feb. 6, the 37th day of 2016. There are 329 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 6, 1911, Ronald Wilson Reagan, the 40th president of the United States, was born in Tampico, Ill.

On this date:

In 1778, the United States won official recognition from France with the signing of a Treaty of Alliance in Paris.

In 1788, Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1899, a peace treaty between the United States and Spain was ratified by the U.S. Senate.

In 1933, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, the so-called "lame duck" amendment, was proclaimed in effect by Secretary of State Henry Stimson.

In 1952, Britain's King George VI died; he was succeeded by his daughter, Elizabeth II.

In 1959, the United States successfully test-fired for the first time a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile from Cape Canaveral.

In 1978, Muriel Humphrey took the oath of office as a United States senator from Minnesota, filling the seat of her late husband, former Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

In 1991, comedian and television performer Danny Thomas died in Los Angeles at age 79.

In 1992, 16 people were killed when a C-130 military transport plane crashed in Evansville, Ind.

In 1996, a Turkish-owned Boeing 757 jetliner crashed into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after takeoff from the Dominican Republic, killing 189 people, mostly German tourists.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush submitted a $2.77 trillion budget blueprint for fiscal 2007. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales defended the Bush administration's eavesdropping program before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui disrupted the opening of his sentencing trial in Alexandria, Va., and was tossed out of court. Hundreds of protesters hurled stones and fire bombs at the Danish Embassy in Tehran to denounce published caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. Stephen Harper was sworn in as Canada's 22nd prime minister. Isabelle Dinoire, the Frenchwoman who'd received the world's first partial face transplant, showed off her new features at a news conference.

Five years ago: Egypt's vice president met with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups and offered sweeping concessions, including granting press freedom and rolling back police powers in the government's latest attempt to end two weeks of upheaval. The Green Bay Packers won Super Bowl XLV, defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady became the first unanimous choice for The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award.

One year ago: A message purportedly from the Islamic State group said an American hostage, 26-year-old aid worker Kayla Mueller, had been killed in a Jordanian airstrike in Syria. Jordan dismissed the claim as "criminal propaganda." (Her death was later confirmed by U.S. officials.) President Barack Obama warned against American "overreach" as he outlined a new national security blueprint for his last two years in office. Obama said the threat of terrorism against the homeland had "diminished, but still persists" and vowed to degrade extremist groups using counterterrorism operations and global coalitions, not large-scale, American-led ground wars. NBC News said it had assigned the head of its own investigative unit to look into statements that anchor Brian Williams made about his reporting a dozen years earlier when he said he was in a helicopter hit by a rocket-propelled grenade in Iraq in 2003.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor is 99. Cinematographer and filmmaker Haskell Wexler (Film: "Medium Cool") is 94. Actor Rip Torn is 85. Actress Mamie Van Doren is 85. Actor Mike Farrell is 77. Former NBC News anchorman Tom Brokaw is 76. Singer Fabian is 73. Actress Gayle Hunnicutt is 73. Actor Michael Tucker is 72. Producer-director-writer Jim Sheridan is 67. Actor Jon Walmsley is 60. Actress Kathy Najimy is 59. Rock musician Simon Phillips (Toto) is 59. Actor-director Robert Townsend is 59. Actor Barry Miller is 58. Actress Megan Gallagher is 56. Rock singer Axl Rose (Guns N' Roses) is 54. Country singer Richie McDonald is 54. Singer Rick Astley is 50. Rock musician Tim Brown (Boo Radleys) is 47. "Good Morning America" co-host Amy Robach is 43. Actor Brandon Hammond is 32. Actress Alice Greczyn is 30.

Thought for Today: "Life is just one grand sweet song, so start the music." -- President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004).