Today in History for Feb. 3, 2013

Today is Sunday, Feb. 3, the 34th day of 2013. There are 331 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On Feb. 3, 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.

On this date:

In 1783, Spain formally recognized American independence.

In 1865, President Abraham Lincoln and Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens held a shipboard peace conference off the Virginia coast; the talks deadlocked over the issue of Southern autonomy.

In 1924, the 28th president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson, died in Washington, D.C., at age 67.

In 1930, the chief justice of the United States, William Howard Taft, resigned for health reasons. (He died just over a month later.)

In 1943, during World War II, the U.S. transport ship Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo; of the more than 900 men aboard, only some 230 survived.

In 1953, the Batepa Massacre took place in Sao Tome as Portuguese troops killed some 1,000 striking plantation workers.

In 1959, rock-and-roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa. An American Airlines Lockheed Electra crashed into New York’s East River, killing 65 of the 73 people on board.

In 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first manmade object to make a soft landing on the moon.

In 1971, New York City police officer Frank Serpico, who had charged there was widespread corruption in the NYPD, was shot and seriously wounded during a drug bust in Brooklyn.

In 1972, the XI Olympic Winter Games opened in Sapporo, Japan.

In 1991, the rate for a first-class postage stamp rose to 29 cents.

In 1998, Texas executed Karla Faye Tucker, 38, for the pickax killings of two people in 1983; she was the first woman executed in the United States since 1984. A U.S. Marine plane sliced through the cable of a ski gondola in Italy, sending the car plunging hundreds of feet, killing all 20 people inside.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush sent lawmakers a $2.23 trillion budget for 2004. Abandoning a two-month-long general strike that failed to oust President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela’s workers returned to work in all sectors but the vital oil industry. Legendary record producer Phil Spector was arrested in the shooting death of actress Lana Clarkson at his mansion in Alhambra. (Spector’s first trial ended in a jury deadlock; he was convicted of second-degree murder in a retrial and sentenced to 19 years to life in prison.)

Five years ago: The New York Giants scored a late touchdown to win Super Bowl XLII, 17-14, ending the New England Patriots’ run at a perfect season.

One year ago: Susan G. Komen for the Cure abandoned plans to eliminate funding for Planned Parenthood, following a three-day furor that resounded across the Internet, in Congress and among Komen affiliates. Federal prosecutors dropped their investigation of Lance Armstrong, ending a nearly two-year effort aimed at determining whether the seven-time Tour de France winner and his teammates had participated in a doping program. (In January 2013, Armstrong publicly admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs.) Actor Ben Gazzara, 81, died in New York. Actor-filmmaker Zalman King, 70, died in Santa, Monica.

Today’s birthdays: Comedian Shelley Berman is 88. Former Sen. Paul Sarbanes, D-Md., is 80. Football Hall-of-Famer Fran Tarkenton is 73. Actress Bridget Hanley is 72. Actress Blythe Danner is 70. Singer Dennis Edwards is 70. Football Hall-of-Famer Bob Griese is 68. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 66. Singer Melanie is 66. Actress Morgan Fairchild is 63. Actress Pamela Franklin is 63. Actor Nathan Lane is 57. Rock musician Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) is 57. Actor Thomas Calabro is 54. Actor-director Keith Gordon is 52. Actress Michele Greene is 51. Country singer Matraca Berg is 49. Actress Maura Tierney is 48. Actor Warwick Davis is 43. Actress Elisa Donovan is 42. Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee is 37. Musician Grant Barry is 36. Singer-songwriter Jessica Harp is 31. Actor Matthew Moy is 29. Rapper Sean Kingston is 23.

Thought for today: “When there is an income tax, the just man will pay more and the unjust less on the same amount of income.” — Plato, Greek philosopher.