Today in History for Feb. 12, 2013

Today is Shrove Tuesday, Feb. 12, the 43rd day of 2013. There are 322 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in present-day Larue County, Ky.

On this date:

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

In 1818, Chile officially proclaimed its independence, more than seven years after initially renouncing Spanish rule.

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

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

In 1915, the cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington D.C., a year to the day after groundbreaking.

In 1924, George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue” premiered in New York.

In 1940, the radio play “The Adventures of Superman” debuted with Bud Collyer as the Man of Steel.

In 1959, the redesigned Lincoln penny – with an image of the Lincoln Memorial replacing two ears of wheat on the reverse side – went into circulation.

In 1963, President John F. Kennedy celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation with a reception at the White House. A Northwest Orient Airlines Boeing 720 broke up during severe turbulence and crashed into the Florida Everglades, killing all 43 people aboard.

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

In 1993, in a crime that shocked and outraged Britons, two 10-year-old boys, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables, lured 2-year-old James Bulger from his mother at a shopping mall near Liverpool, England, then beat him to death. (Thompson and Venables were kept in custody before being paroled in 2001 at age 18; Venables was jailed in 2010 for possessing and distributing child pornography.)

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

Ten years ago: The U.N. nuclear agency declared North Korea in violation of international treaties, sending the dispute to the Security Council. India conducted its fourth missile test of 2003, firing a supersonic cruise missile. Holiday Inn chain founder Kemmons Wilson died in Memphis, Tenn., at age 90.

Five years ago: Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain won their respective parties’ primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. General Motors reported losing $38.7 billion in 2007, a record annual loss in automotive history, and offered buyouts to 74,000 hourly workers. Imad Mughniyeh, one of world’s most wanted terrorists, was killed in a car bombing in Damascus, Syria. Character actor David Groh died in Los Angeles at age 68. Uno became the first beagle named Westminster’s best in show.

One year ago: Adele emerged as the top winner at the Grammy Awards, winning six trophies, including record, song and album of the year, in a ceremony shadowed by the death of Whitney Houston the day before. State governor Henrique Capriles won Venezuela’s first-ever opposition presidential primary by a wide margin. Irish character actor David Kelly (“Waking Ned Devine”) died in Dublin at age 82.

Today’s birthdays: Movie director Franco Zeffirelli is 90. Actor Louis Zorich is 89. Baseball Hall-of-Fame sportscaster Joe Garagiola is 87. Movie director Costa-Gavras is 80. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Bill Russell is 79. Actor Joe Don Baker is 77. Author Judy Blume is 75. Rock musician Ray Manzarek (The Doors) is 74. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak is 71. Country singer Moe Bandy is 69. Actress Maud Adams is 68. Actor Cliff DeYoung is 67. Actor Michael Ironside is 63. Rock musician Steve Hackett is 63. Rock singer Michael McDonald is 61. Actress Joanna Kerns is 60. Actor-former talk show host Arsenio Hall is 58. Actor John Michael Higgins is 50. Actor Raphael Sbarge is 49. Actress Christine Elise is 48. Actor Josh Brolin is 45. Singer Chynna Phillips is 45. Rock musician Jim Creeggan (Barenaked Ladies) is 43. Rhythm-and-blues musician Keri Lewis is 42. Actor Jesse Spencer is 34. Actress Sarah Lancaster is 33. Actress Christina Ricci is 33. NFL quarterback Robert Griffin III is 23. Actress Jennifer Stone is 20.

Thought for today: “Quarrel not at all. No man resolved to make the most of himself can spare time for personal contention. Still less can he afford to take all the consequences, including the vitiating of his temper and loss of self-control.” — Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865).