Today in History

Today is Friday, Feb. 9, the 40th day of 2024. There are 326 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 9, 1964, the Beatles made their first live American television appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show," broadcast from New York on CBS. The quartet played six songs, including "Love Me Do" and "I Want to Hold Your Hand," to a crowd of screaming teenagers in person and more than 70 million viewers across the country.

On this date:

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

In 1942, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II.

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

In 1950, in a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin charged that the State Department was riddled with Communists.

In 1962, an agreement was signed to make Jamaica an independent nation within the British Commonwealth later in the year.

In 1963, the Boeing 727 went on its first-ever flight as it took off from Renton, Washington.

In 1971, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake in California's San Fernando Valley claimed 65 lives.

In 1984, Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov, 69, died 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was followed by Konstantin U. Chernenko, who would only be in power for 13 months.

In 1986, Halley's Comet visited the solar system for the first time since 1910. (Its next return will be in 2061).

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

In 2009, New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs, telling ESPN he'd used banned substances while with the Texas Rangers for three years.

In 2018, at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in South Korea, North and South Korean athletes entered Olympic Stadium together, waving flags showing a unified Korea; it was their first joint Olympic march in more than a decade.

In 2020, "Parasite," from South Korea, won the best picture Oscar, becoming the first foreign-language film to take home the biggest honor in film.

In 2021, the Senate moved ahead with a second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, rejecting arguments that the chamber could not proceed because Trump was no longer in office.

In 2022, it was revealed that Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian figure skating superstar who had just led her team to an Olympic gold medal, tested positive for a banned heart medication before the Beijing Games.

In 2023, Burt Bacharach, the composer and Oscar winner who delighted millions with the quirky arrangements and unforgettable melodies of "Walk on By," "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and dozens of other hits, died at age 94.

Today's birthdays: Actor Janet Suzman is 85. Nobel Prize-winning author J.M. Coetzee is 84. Actor-politician Sheila James Kuehl (TV: "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis") is 83. Singer-songwriter Carole King is 82. Actor Joe Pesci is 81. Singer Barbara Lewis is 81. Author Alice Walker is 80. Actor Mia Farrow is 79. Former Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., is 78. Singer Joe Ely is 77. Actor Judith Light is 75. Actor Charles Shaughnessy is 69. Actor Ed Amatrudo is 68. Former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe is 67. Jazz musician Steve Wilson is 63. Country singer Travis Tritt is 61. Actor Julie Warner is 59. Country singer Danni Leigh is 54. Actor Sharon Case is 53. Actor Jason George is 52. Actor Amber Valletta is 50. Actor-producer Charlie Day is 48. Rock singer Chad Wolf (Carolina Liar) is 48. Actor A.J. Buckley is 47. Rock musician Richard On (O.A.R.) is 45. Actor Zhang Ziyi is 45. Olympic silver and bronze medal figure skater Irina Slutskaya is 45. Actor Tom Hiddleston is 43. Actor David Gallagher is 39. Actor Michael B. Jordan is 37. Actor Rose Leslie is 37. Actor Camille Winbush is 34. Actor Jimmy Bennett is 28. Actor Evan Roe (TV: "Madam Secretary") is 24.