Today in History for Feb. 15, 2013

Today is Friday, Feb. 15, the 46th day of 2013. There are 319 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On Feb. 15, 1933, President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt escaped an assassination attempt in Miami that mortally wounded Chicago Mayor Anton J. Cermak; gunman Giuseppe Zangara was executed more than four weeks later.

On this date:

In 1764, the city of St. Louis was established by Pierre Laclede and Auguste Chouteau.

In 1898, the U.S. battleship Maine mysteriously blew up in Havana Harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the United States closer to war with Spain.

In 1942, the British colony Singapore surrendered to Japanese forces during World War II.

In 1952, a funeral was held at Windsor Castle for Britain’s King George VI, who had died nine days earlier.

In 1953, Tenley Albright became the first American woman to win the world figure skating championship, held in Davos, Switzerland.

In 1961, 73 people, including an 18-member U.S. figure skating team en route to the World Championships in Czechoslovakia, were killed in the crash of a Sabena Airlines Boeing 707 in Belgium.

In 1965, Canada’s new maple-leaf flag was unfurled in ceremonies in Ottawa.

In 1971, Britain and Ireland “decimalised” their currencies, making one pound equal to 100 new pence instead of 240 pence.

In 1982, 84 men were killed when a huge oil-drilling rig, the Ocean Ranger, sank off the coast of Newfoundland during a fierce storm.

In 1989, the Soviet Union announced that the last of its troops had left Afghanistan, after more than nine years of military intervention.

In 1992, a Milwaukee jury found that Jeffrey Dahmer was sane when he killed and mutilated 15 men and boys. Benjamin L. Hooks announced plans to retire as executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

In 2002, a private funeral was held at Windsor Castle for Britain’s Princess Margaret, who had died six days earlier at age 71.

Ten years ago: Millions of protesters around the world demonstrated against the prospect of a U.S. attack on Iraq.

Five years ago: Business tycoon Steve Fossett, 63, was declared dead by a judge in Cook County, Ill., five months after his small plane vanished after taking off from an airstrip near Yerington, Nev. (Fossett’s remains were discovered in late October 2008 in California’s Sierra Nevada.)

One year ago: Congressional negotiators sealed an agreement on legislation to renew a payroll tax cut for 160 million workers and jobless benefits for millions more. In defiant swipes at its foes, Iran said it was dramatically closer to mastering the production of nuclear fuel even as the U.S. weighed tougher pressure on the Tehran government.

Today’s birthdays: Actor Allan Arbus is 95. Former Illinois Congressman John Anderson is 91. Former Defense and Energy Secretary James Schlesinger is 84. Actress Claire Bloom is 82. Author Susan Brownmiller is 78. Songwriter Brian Holland is 72. Rock musician Mick Avory (The Kinks) is 69. Jazz musician Henry Threadgill is 69. Actress Jane Seymour is 62. Singer Melissa Manchester is 62. Actress Lynn Whitfield is 60. “Simpsons” creator Matt Groening is 59. Model Janice Dickinson is 58. Actor Christopher McDonald is 58. Reggae singer Ali Campbell is 54. Actor Joseph R. Gannascoli is 54. Musician Mikey Craig (Culture Club) is 53. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Darrell Green is 53. Country singer Michael Reynolds (Pinmonkey) is 49. Actor Michael Easton is 46. Rock musician Stevie Benton (Drowning Pool) is 42. Actress Renee O’Connor is 42. Actress Sarah Wynter is 40. Actor-director Miranda July is 39. Rock singer Brandon Boyd (Incubus) is 37. Rock musician Ronnie Vannucci (The Killers) is 37. Actress Ashley Lyn Cafagna is 30. Blues-rock musician Gary Clark Jr. is 29. Actress Amber Riley (“Glee”) is 27.

Thought for today: “Nothing is mine, I have only nothing but it is enough, it is beautiful and it is all mine.” — Katherine Anne Porter, American author (1894-1980).