February 1 - What happened today?

Home What happened today in history? Blamepro's Almanac for February 1
In the headlines today:

2003	The NASA space shuttle Columbia, flight STS-107, explodes over Texas just 16 minutes from landing, killing its seven-member crew. Seated in front are (L-R) Commander Rick D. Husband, Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla and Pilot William C. McCool. Standing are Mission Specialists David M. Brown, Laurel B. Clark and Michael P. Anderson, and Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon. (photo credit: NASA)
1994	Jeff Gillooly, Tonya Harding's ex-husband, pleads guilty to taking part in an attack on figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.
1991	35 people die when a USAir jetliner crashes atop a commuter plane at Los Angeles International Airport.
1986	Dick James, music publisher for The Beatles from 1962-70, dies in London, at age 58.
1982	Late Night With David Letterman makes its debut on NBC-TV.
1979	Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst leaves federal prison when her sentence for bank robbery is commuted by US president Jimmy Carter.
1979	Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 15 years in exile.
1967	The Beatles record nine instrumental takes of the title track of their Sergeant Pepper album, at EMI Studios in London. (photo credit: Capitol Records)
1966	Buster Keaton, famous comic film star, dies at age 69.
1952	The United Arab Republic (Egypt and Syria) is formed.
1946	Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie is selected as the first secretary-general of the United Nations.
1918	The French ship LaDive is torpedoed in the Mediterranean.
1861	Texas votes to secede from the Union during the US Civil War.
1851	Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, dies at age 53.
1840	The first US college of dentistry is chartered in Baltimore, MD.