Today is Friday, Feb. 3, the 34th day of 2017. There are 331 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Feb. 3, 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, which had announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, the same day an American cargo ship, the SS Housatonic, was sunk by a U-boat off Britain after the crew was allowed to board lifeboats.
On this date:
In 1783, Spain formally recognized American independence.
In 1867, Crown Prince Mutsuhito (muht-soosh-toh) became Japan's 122nd emperor at age 14 four days after the death of his father, Emperor Komei (koh-may). (Emperor Meiji (may-jee), as he's posthumously known, oversaw Japan's transition from a feudal state to a capitalist world power.)
In 1877, the song "Chopsticks," written by 16-year-old Euphemia Allen under the pseudonym Arthur de Lulli, was deposited at the British Museum under the title "The Celebrated Chop Waltz."
In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.
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 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 1972, the XI Olympic Winter Games opened in Sapporo, Japan.
In 1989, Alfredo Stroessner, president of Paraguay for more than three decades, was overthrown in a military coup.
In 1995, the space shuttle Discovery blasted off with a woman, Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins, in the pilot's seat for the first time in NASA history.