Today in history

On Feb. 9, 1942, the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II.

On this date:

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

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, Ala.

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

In 1942, daylight-saving "War Time" went into effect in the United States, with clocks turned one hour forward.

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, W.Va., Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., charged 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 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 less than 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was followed by Konstantin U. Chernenko (chehr-NYEN'-koh).

In 2001, a U.S. Navy submarine, the USS Greeneville, collided with a Japanese fishing boat, the Ehime Maru (eh-hee-mee mah-roo), while surfacing off the Hawaiian coast, killing nine men and boys aboard the boat.

Ten years ago: Britain's Princess Margaret, the high-spirited and unconventional sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died in London at age 71. At the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Jochem Uytdehaage (YAH'-kihm EYE'-tih-hah-geh) of the Netherlands won the gold medal in the men's 5,000-meter speedskating race in a world record time of 6:14.66. Oakland's Rich Gannon led the AFC to a 38-30 victory over the NFC in the Pro Bowl.

Five years ago: Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Munich, Germany, that serial numbers and other markings on bombs suggested that Iranians were linked to deadly explosives used by Iraqi militants. British actor Ian Richardson, who portrayed immoral politician Francis Urquhart in the satirical TV drama "House of Cards," died in London at age 72.

One year ago: Thousands of workers went on strike across Egypt, adding a new dimension to the uprising as public rage turned to the vast wealth President Hosni Mubarak's family reportedly amassed while close to half the country struggled near the poverty line. Rep. Christopher Lee, R-N.Y., abruptly resigned with only a vague explanation of regret after gossip website Gawker reported that the married congressman had sent a shirtless photo of himself flexing his muscles to a woman whose Craigslist ad he answered. Lindsay Lohan pleaded not guilty in Los Angeles to felony grand theft of a $2,500 necklace. (Lohan later pleaded no contest to taking the necklace without permission and served 35 days of house arrest.)

 

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