Today is Saturday, Feb. 2, the 33rd day of 2019. There are 332 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Feb. 2, 1990, in a dramatic concession to South Africa's black majority, President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.
On this date:
In 1653, New Amsterdam — now New York City — was incorporated.
In 1887, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, held its first Groundhog Day festival.
In 1914, Charles Chaplin made his movie debut as the comedy short "Making a Living" was released by Keystone Film Co. The musical "Shameen Dhu," featuring the song "Too Ra Loo Ra Loo Ral," opened on Broadway.
In 1925, the legendary Alaska Serum Run ended as the last of a series of dog mushers brought a life-saving treatment to Nome, the scene of a diphtheria epidemic, six days after the drug left Nenana.
In 1932, Duke Ellington and His Orchestra recorded "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)" for Brunswick Records.
In 1942, a Los Angeles Times column by W.H. Anderson urged security measures against Japanese-Americans, arguing that a Japanese-American "almost inevitably ... grows up to be a Japanese, not an American."
In 1943, the remainder of Nazi forces from the Battle of Stalingrad surrendered in a major victory for the Soviets in World War II.
In 1948, President Harry S. Truman sent a 10-point civil rights program to Congress, where the proposals ran into fierce opposition from southern lawmakers.
In 1964, Ranger 6, a lunar probe launched by NASA, crashed onto the surface of the moon as planned, but failed to send back any TV images.
In 1971, Idi Amin, having seized power in Uganda, proclaimed himself president.
In 1988, President Ronald Reagan pressed his case for additional aid to the Nicaraguan Contras a day ahead of a vote by the U.S. House of Representatives. (The three major broadcast TV networks declined to carry the speech, which was covered by CNN; a divided House voted to reject Reagan's request for $36.2 million in new aid.)
In 2002, inside the World Economic Forum in New York, foreign economic leaders criticized the United States for protectionist policies while outside, thousands of protesters demonstrated against global capitalism.