Feb. 9, 1773 The ninth president of the United States, William Henry Harrison, was born in Charles City County, Va.
1825 The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.
1861 Jefferson Davis was elected provisional president of the Confederate States of America at a congress held in Montgomery, Ala.
1942 The U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff held its first formal meeting to coordinate military strategy during World War II. Daylight-saving "War Time" went into effect in the United States, with clocks turned one hour forward.
1943 The World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an Allied victory over Japanese forces.
1950 In a speech in Wheeling, W.Va., Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis., charged the State Department was riddled with Communists.
1964 The Beatles made their first live American television appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
1971 A magnitude-6.6 earthquake in California's San Fernando Valley claimed 65 lives.
1984 Soviet leader Yuri V. Andropov, 69, died less than 15 months after succeeding Leonid Brezhnev; he was followed by Konstantin U. Chernenko.
Ten years ago Britain's Princess Margaret, the high-spirited and unconventional sister of Queen Elizabeth II, died in London at age 71.
Five years ago Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters in Munich, Germany, that serial numbers and other markings on bombs suggested that Iranians were linked to deadly explosives used by Iraqi militants.
One year ago Thousands of workers went on strike across Egypt, adding a new dimension to the uprising as public rage turned to the vast wealth President Hosni Mubarak's family reportedly amassed. Rep. Christopher Lee, R-N.Y., abruptly resigned with only a vague explanation of regret after gossip website Gawker reported that the married congressman had sent a shirtless photo of himself to a woman whose Craigslist ad he answered.
Thought for Today "You can fall in love at first sight with a place as with a person." — Alec Waugh, English author (1898-1981)
The Associated Press
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