In 1827, the first Mardi Gras was celebrated in New Orleans.
In 1844, the Dominican Republic granted independence from Haiti.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler’s Nazis set fire to the German parliament building in Berlin, blamed it on the communists and made that an excuse to suspend German
civil liberties and freedom of the press.
In 1942, opening salvos were fired in the Battle of the Java Sea, during which 13 U.S. warships were sunk by the Japanese, who lost two.
In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, limiting presidents to two terms, was ratified.
In 1964, the Italian government asked for suggestions on how to save the renowned 180-foot Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling.
In 1974, the first edition of People magazine was published.
In 1982, an Atlanta jury convicted Wayne Williams of killing two of 28 young blacks whose deaths over a two-year period had shaken the city. Williams was
sentenced to life in prison.
In 1990, the Soviet Parliament approved creation of a U.S.-style presidential system that gave Mikhail Gorbachev broad new powers and established direct
popular elections for the post.
Also in 1990, a federal grand jury in Anchorage, Alaska, indicted Exxon Corp. and its shipping subsidiary over the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
In 1991, allied troops liberated Kuwait City.
In 1992, Elizabeth Taylor celebrated her 60th birthday by closing Disneyland for an elaborate private party with her celebrity friends.
In 1994, the 17th Winter Olympic Games ended in Lillehammer, Norway.
In 1998, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at an all-time high of 8,545.72, the first time it closed at more than 8,500.
In 1999, Nigeria’s transition to civilian rule was nearly completed with the election of Olusegun Obasanjo, a former military leader, as president.
In 2003, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein denied Baghdad had any connection with al-Qaida or its leader Osama bin Laden and that Iraq would set fire to its
oil fields and blow up its dams in response to a U.S.-led invasion.
Also in 2003, Amnesty International reported that the Ivory Coast’s main rebel group slaughtered dozens of Ivorian policemen and their children during
an October rampage.
In 2004, two studies commissioned by the U.S. Roman Catholic church showed at least 4 percent of priests were involved in child sexual abuse from 1950-2002,
with the peak year 1970 in which one of every 10 priests eventually was accused of abuse.
In 2005, the United Nations took a first step aimed at curtailing worldwide smoking by announcing its tough tobacco control treaty had gone into effect.
In 2006, more than 1,300 Iraqis were reported killed in sectarian violence since the bombing of a major Shiite shrine in Baghdad.
In 2007, U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, identified as the target by the Taliban, escaped injury when a suicide bomber blew himself up outside U.S. Bagram
Air Base in Afghanistan. Twenty-three people were reported killed in the attack.
In 2008, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank was considering lowering interest rates despite rising inflation and a record low
dollar.
In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama told Marines in Camp Lejeune, N.C., he intended to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by Aug. 31, 2010. He said as
many as 50,000 troops would remain there for smaller missions and to train Iraqi soldiers.
Also in 2009, revised data indicated the U.S. gross domestic product, the measure of a nation’s total economic activity, shrank 6.2 percent during Oct.-Dec.
2008, biggest drop since 1982.
