Today in History

Today is Thursday, Feb. 8, the 39th day of 2018. There are 326 days left in the year.

Today's Highlights in History:

On Feb. 8, 1968, three college students were killed in a confrontation between demonstrators and highway patrolmen at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg in the wake of protests over a whites-only bowling alley. The science-fiction film "Planet of the Apes," starring Charlton Heston, had its world premiere in New York (it went into general release the following April.)

On this date:

In 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1693, a charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in the Virginia Colony.

In 1862, the Civil War Battle of Roanoke Island, North Carolina, ended in victory for Union forces led by Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside.

In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.

In 1922, President Warren G. Harding had a radio installed in the White House.

In 1937, during the Spanish Civil War, Malaga fell to Nationalist and Italian forces.

In 1942, during World War II, Japanese forces began invading Singapore, which fell a week later.

In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed her accession to the British throne following the death of her father, King George VI.

In 1978, the deliberations of the Senate were broadcast on radio for the first time as members opened debate on the Panama Canal treaties.

In 1989, 144 people were killed when an American-chartered Boeing 707 filled with Italian tourists slammed into a fog-covered mountain in the Azores.

In 1992, the XVI Olympic Winter Games opened in Albertville, France.

In 1993, General Motors sued NBC, alleging that "Dateline NBC" had rigged two car-truck crashes to show that 1973-to-87 GM pickups were prone to fires in side impact crashes. (NBC settled the lawsuit the following day and apologized for its "unscientific demonstration.")

Ten years ago: Scotland Yard investigators concluded that Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto died on Dec. 27, 2007, as the result of a bomb blast, not a gunshot, a finding disputed by Bhutto supporters. A 23-year-old nursing student at Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge, shot and killed two other students and then herself. Novelist Phyllis A. Whitney died in Charlottesville, Virginia, at age 104.

Five years ago: A massive storm packing hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions began sweeping through the Northeast, dumping nearly 2 feet of snow on New England and knocking out power to more than a half a million customers.

One year ago: The Senate confirmed Sen. Jeff Sessions to be attorney general, 52-47, despite fierce Democratic opposition to the Alabama Republican over his record on civil rights and immigration. Britain's House of Commons gave its final approval to a bill authorizing the government to start exit talks with the European Union, despite fears by opposition lawmakers that the U.K. was setting out on a rocky path to Brexit with a sketchy roadmap.

Today's Birthdays: Composer-conductor John Williams is 86. Newscaster Ted Koppel is 78. Actor Nick Nolte is 77. Comedian Robert Klein is 76. Actor-rock musician Creed Bratton is 75. Singer Ron Tyson is 70. Actress Brooke Adams is 69. Actress Mary Steenburgen is 65. Author John Grisham is 63. Retired NBA All-Star and College Basketball Hall of Famer Marques Johnson is 62. Actor Henry Czerny is 59. The former president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, is 58. Rock singer Vince Neil (Motley Crue) is 57. Rock singer-musician Sammy Llanas (The BoDeans) is 57. Former Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson is 56. Movie producer Toby Emmerich is 55. Actress Missy Yager is 50. Actress Mary McCormack is 49. Rock musician Keith Nelson is 49. Basketball Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning is 48. Dance musician Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (Daft Punk) is 44. Actor Seth Green is 44. Actor Josh Morrow is 44. Rock musician Phoenix (Linkin Park) is 41. Actor William Jackson Harper is 38. Actor Jim Parrack is 37. Folk singer-musician Joey Ryan (Milk Carton Kids) is 36. Actress-comedian Cecily Strong is 34. Rock musician Jeremy Davis is 33. Hip-hop artist Anderson.Paak is 32. Rock musician Max Grahn (Carolina Liar) is 30. Actor Ryan Pinkston is 30. Professional surfer Bethany Hamilton is 28. Actress Karle Warren is 26.

Thought for Today: "Health is the thing that makes you feel that now is the best time of the year." -- Franklin P. Adams, American journalist (1881-1960).