Today in History

Today is Monday, Feb. 12, the 43rd day of 2024. There are 323 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 12, 1983, composer and pianist Eubie Blake, who wrote such songs as "I'm Just Wild About Harry" and "Memories of You," died in Brooklyn, New York, at 96.

On this date:

In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, who had claimed the throne of England for nine days, and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were beheaded after being condemned for high treason.

In 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in a log cabin in Hardin (now LaRue) County, Kentucky.

In 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP, was founded.

In 1912, Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, abdicated, marking the end of the Qing Dynasty.

In 1914, groundbreaking took place for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. (A year later on this date, the cornerstone was laid.)

In 1973, Operation Homecoming began as the first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam conflict took place.

In 1999, the Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice.

In 2000, Charles M. Schulz, creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, died in Santa Rosa, California, at age 77.

In 2002, former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic went on trial in The Hague, accused of war crimes (he died in 2006 before the trial could conclude).

In 2006, figure skater Michelle Kwan effectively retired from competition as she withdrew from the Turin Olympics due to injury (she was replaced on the U.S. team by Emily Hughes).

In 2012, Adele emerged as the top winner at the Grammy Awards, winning six trophies, including record and song of the year for "Rolling in the Deep" and album of the year for "21", in a ceremony shadowed by the death of Whitney Houston the day before.

In 2013, the manhunt for a rogue ex-Los Angeles cop Christopher Dorner, who was seeking revenge for his firing, came to an end with his apparent suicide in a mountain cabin following a gunbattle with law enforcement; authorities blamed him for killing four people, including two officers.

In 2017, at the Grammy Awards, Adele took home all five awards she was nominated for, including album of the year for "25" as well as record and song of the year for "Hello."

In 2019, Mexico's most notorious drug lord, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, was convicted in New York of running an industrial-scale smuggling operation. (Guzman is serving a life sentence at the federal supermax prison facility in Florence, Colorado.)

In 2021, lawyers for Donald Trump defended him against impeachment at his Senate trial by accusing Democrats of waging a campaign of "hatred" against the former president and manipulating his words in the lead-up to the deadly siege of the U.S. Capitol.

In 2023, Patrick Mahomes was the MVP as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Philadelphia Eagles to win their third NFL championship in four years at Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona.

Today's birthdays: Movie director Costa-Gavras is 91. Actor Joe Don Baker is 88. Author Judy Blume is 86. Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak is 82. Country singer Moe Bandy is 80. Actor Maud Adams is 79. Actor Cliff DeYoung is 78. Actor Michael Ironside is 74. Rock musician Steve Hackett is 74. Rock singer Michael McDonald is 72. Actor Joanna Kerns is 71. Actor Zach Grenier is 70. Actor-talk show host Arsenio Hall is 68. Actor John Michael Higgins is 61. Actor Raphael Sbarge is 60. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh is 59. Actor Christine Elise is 59. Actor Josh Brolin is 56. Singer Chynna Phillips is 56. Rock musician Jim Creeggan (Barenaked Ladies) is 54. Actor Jesse Spencer is 45. Rapper Gucci Mane is 44. Actor Sarah Lancaster is 44. Actor Christina Ricci is 44. Actor Jennifer Stone is 31. Actors Baylie and Rylie Cregut (TV: "Raising Hope") are 14.