Today in History

Today is Friday, Feb. 9, the 40th day of 2018. There are 325 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 9, 1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.

On this date:

In 1773, the ninth president of the United States, William Henry Harrison, was born in Charles City County, Virginia.

In 1825, the House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

In 1861, Jefferson Davis was elected provisional president of the Confederate States of America at a congress held in Montgomery, Alabama.

In 1870, the U.S. Weather Bureau was established.

In 1893, Giuseppe Verdi's last opera, "Falstaff," was first performed in Milan, Italy.

In 1942, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II. Daylight-saving "War Time" went into effect in the United States, with clocks moved one hour forward. The SS Normandie, a former French liner being refitted for the U.S. Navy at a New York pier, caught fire (it capsized early the next morning).

In 1950, in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., charged the State Department was riddled with Communists.

In 1964, The Beatles made their first live American television appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," broadcast from New York on CBS.

In 1971, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in California's San Fernando Valley claimed 65 lives. The crew of Apollo 14 returned to Earth after man's third landing on the moon.

In 1984, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov, 69, died 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was followed by Konstantin U. Chernenko.

In 1991, voters in Lithuania overwhelmingly endorsed independence from the Soviet Union in a non-binding plebiscite.

In 2002, Britain's Princess Margaret, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died in London at age 71.

Ten years ago: Democrat Barack Obama swept the Louisiana primary and caucuses in Nebraska and Washington state; Republican Mike Huckabee outpolled John McCain in the Kansas caucuses and Louisiana primary, while McCain won the Washington caucuses. A suicide bomber blasted a political gathering in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 27 people. Space shuttle Atlantis, carrying a European-built science lab, docked with the international space station.

Five years ago: Hundreds of mourners and dignitaries, including first lady Michelle Obama, packed the funeral service for Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old honor student who was shot and killed Jan. 29 as she stood with friends at a neighborhood park about a mile from President Barack Obama's Chicago home in the Kenwood neighborhood.

One year ago: A federal appeals court refused to reinstate President Donald Trump's ban on travelers from seven predominantly Muslim nations, unanimously rejecting the administration's claim of presidential authority, questioning its motives and concluding that the order was unlikely to survive legal challenges. President Donald Trump reaffirmed America's long-standing "one China" policy in a phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping, potentially alleviating concerns about a major shift in Washington's relations with Beijing.

Today's Birthdays: Television journalist Roger Mudd is 90. Actress Janet Suzman is 79. Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee is 78. Actress-politician Sheila James Kuehl (TV: "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis") is 77. Singer-songwriter Carole King is 76. Actor Joe Pesci is 75. Singer Barbara Lewis is 75. Author Alice Walker is 74. Actress Mia Farrow is 73. Former Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., is 72. Singer Joe Ely is 71. Actress Judith Light is 69. Rhythm-and-blues musician Dennis "DT" Thomas (Kool & the Gang) is 67. Actor Charles Shaughnessy is 63. Actor Ed Amatrudo is 62. Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is 61. Jazz musician Steve Wilson is 57. Country singer Travis Tritt is 55. Actress Julie Warner is 53. Country singer Danni Leigh is 48. Actress Sharon Case is 47. Actor Jason George is 46. Actress Amber Valletta is 44. Actor-producer Charlie Day is 42. Rock singer Chad Wolf (Carolina Liar) is 42. Actor A.J. Buckley is 41. Rock musician Richard On (O.A.R.) is 39. Actress Ziyi Zhang is 39. Olympic silver and bronze medal figure skater Irina Slutskaya is 39. Actor Tom Hiddleston is 37. Actor David Gallagher is 33. Actor Michael B. Jordan is 31. Actress Rose Leslie is 31. Actress Marina Malota is 30. Actress Camille Winbush is 28. Actor Jimmy Bennett is 22. Actor Evan Roe (TV: "Madam Secretary") is 18.

Thought for Today: "What we call progress is the exchange of one nuisance for another nuisance." -- Havelock Ellis, English psychologist (1859-1939).