Today in History

Today is Thursday, Feb. 2, the 33rd day of 2024. There are 333 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 2, 2013, former Navy SEAL and "American Sniper" author Chris Kyle was fatally shot along with a friend, Chad Littlefield, at a gun range west of Glen Rose, Texas; suspect Eddie Ray Routh was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

On this date:

In 1536, present-day Buenos Aires, Argentina, was founded by Pedro de Mendoza of Spain.

In 1653, New Amsterdam -- now New York City -- was incorporated.

In 1887, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, held its first Groundhog Day festival.

In 1913, New York's rebuilt Grand Central Terminal officially opened to the public at one minute past midnight.

In 1914, Charles Chaplin made his movie debut as the comedy short "Making a Living" was released by Keystone Film Co.

In 1925, the legendary Alaska Serum Run ended as the last of a series of dog mushers brought a life-saving treatment to Nome, the scene of a diphtheria epidemic, six days after the drug left Nenana.

In 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II.

In 1948, President Harry S. Truman sent a 10-point civil rights program to Congress, where the proposals ran into fierce opposition from Southern lawmakers.

In 1980, NBC News reported the FBI had conducted a sting operation targeting members of Congress using phony Arab businessmen in what became known as "Abscam," a codename protested by Arab Americans.

In 1990, in a dramatic concession to South Africa's Black majority, President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.

In 2006, House Republicans elected John Boehner of Ohio as their new majority leader to replace the indicted Tom DeLay.

In 2016, health officials reported that a person in Texas had become infected with the Zika virus in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States.

In 2017, using a backhoe to smash through a barricade of water-filled footlockers, police stormed Delaware's largest prison, ending a nearly 20-hour hostage standoff with inmates; one hostage, a guard, was killed.

In 2018, at a sentencing hearing in Michigan for former sports doctor Larry Nassar, a distraught father of three girls who the doctor had sexually abused tried to attack Nassar before being tackled by sheriff's deputies and hauled out of court. (Randall Margraves later apologized; the judge said there was "no way" she would fine him or send him to jail for trying to attack Nassar.)

In 2020, the Philippines reported that a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan had died in a Manila hospital from the new coronavirus; it was the first death from the virus to be recorded outside of China.

In 2021, the Senate approved Pete Buttigieg as transportation secretary, making him the first openly gay person confirmed to a Cabinet post.

In 2022, four men were charged with being part of the drug distribution crew that supplied a deadly mix of narcotics to actor Michael K. Williams of "The Wire", who had overdosed five months earlier.

In 2023, a huge, high-altitude Chinese balloon sailing across the U.S. drew Pentagon accusations of spying while sending excited or alarmed Americans outside with binoculars.

Today's birthdays: Rock singer-guitarist Graham Nash is 82. Television executive Barry Diller is 82. Country singer Howard Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) is 78. TV chef Ina Garten is 76. Actor Jack McGee is 75. Actor Brent Spiner is 75. Rock musician Ross Valory (Journey) is 75. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is 72. The former president of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, is 72. Model Christie Brinkley is 70. Actor Michael Talbott is 69. Actor Kim Zimmer is 69. Actor Michael T. Weiss is 62. Actor-comedian Adam Ferrara is 58. Rock musician Robert DeLeo (Army of Anyone; Stone Temple Pilots) is 58. Actor Jennifer Westfeldt is 54. Rapper T-Mo is 52. Actor Marissa Jaret Winokur is 51. Actor Lori Beth Denberg is 48. Singer Shakira is 47. Actor Rich Sommer is 46. Country singer Blaine Larsen is 38. Actor Zosia Mamet is 36.