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Other Notable Events, February 7

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Published in History & Quotes

In 1497, the Bonfire of the Vanities in Florence, Italy, took place when followers of Girolamo Savonarola burned thousands of books, art and cosmetics.

In 1795, States ratified the U.S. Constitution's 11th Amendment, which outlines the power of the federal judiciary.

In 1898, Emile Zola was tried for libel following publication of J'Accuse.

In 1904, a massive fire, possibly started by a discarded cigarette, struck Baltimore, burning for 31 hours and destroying an 80-block downtown area. Miraculously no lives or homes were lost.

In 1940, British railroads were nationalized.

In 1956, Autherine Lucy, the first black person admitted to the University of Alabama, was expelled after she accused school officials of conspiring in the riots that accompanied her court-ordered enrollment.

In 1964, the Beatles arrived in the United States for the first time and immediately set off a frantic wave of Beatlemania.

In 1973, the U.S. Senate voted to set up a committee to investigate the break-in at the Democratic National Headquarters in Washington's Watergate complex.

In 1984, two U.S. shuttle astronauts made the first untethered space walk.

In 1986, both Ferdinand Marcos and challenger Corazon Aquino claimed victory in the Philippine presidential election.

Also in 1986, Haiti's President for Life Jean-Claude Duvalier fled to France.

In 1991, Jean-Bertrand Aristide was inaugurated as Haiti's first democratically elected president in 186 years.

Also in 1991, The British Cabinet, meeting at London's 10 Downing St., was attacked with mortars by members of the Irish Republic Army.

In 1992, the European Union was created when the Maastricht Treaty was signed.

In 1993, 13 more women accused U.S. Sen. Bob Packwood of improper advances, bringing the total to 23 women who have said the Oregon Republican harassed them with unwelcome sexual overtures.

 

In 1995, the alleged mastermind in the 1993 bombing of New York's World Trade Center, Ramzi Ahmed Yousef, was arrested in Pakistan.

In 1999, King Hussein of Jordan died of cancer at age 63. Hussein ruled Jordan for 46 years.

In 2003, Colombian rebels were blamed for a bomb explosion at a Bogota social club that killed more than 30 people.

In 2005, rescuers reported no survivors among the 104 people aboard an Afghan airliner that crashed in the mountains near Kabul. It was Afghanistan's worst air disaster.

In 2007, the U.S. military confirmed a twin-rotor Sea Knight transport helicopter crashed northwest of Baghdad, the fifth in 18 days. Seven died in the latest crash.

In 2008, the U.S. Congress gave final approval to a $168 billion stimulus package for taxpayers in an effort to rekindle the flickering American economy. Rebates of $300-$600 went to individuals earning up to $75,000 and to couples with incomes up to $150,000, plus extra money for children.

Also in 2008, Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton said she lent her campaign $5 million before Super Tuesday to be competitive. Further, some senior members of Clinton's campaign staff reportedly agreed to go without pay for a month.

In 2009, the worst series of brushfires in Australian history claimed more than 200 lives, destroyed almost 2,000 homes and burned at least 1.1 million acres in Victoria state.

Also in 2009, the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez, major league baseball's highest paid player, admitted taking performance-enhancing drugs earlier in his career.

In 2010, Viktor Yanukovich regained the Ukrainian presidency with a close runoff election over Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

In 2011, anti-government groups protesting in Cairo's Tahrir Square in a determined bid to oust Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak formed a unified leadership to provide a voice for demonstrators in the future.

Also in 2011, a mutiny within joint north and south Sudanese forces on the regional border claimed up to 50 lives.

In 2012, a federal appeals court in California rejected a ban on same-sex marriage that voters had approved four years earlier. The court ruled the ban violated the constitutional rights of those involved.

Also in 2012, polar researchers announced Russian scientists briefly pierced the 2-mile-thick veil over a freshwater lake hidden beneath Antarctica's ice sheet for millions of years.


Copyright 2013 by United Press International

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