TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS MONDAY, FEB. 8, the 39th day of 2016. There are 327 days left in the year. This is the Chinese New Year of the Monkey.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1966, during the Vietnam War, President Lyndon B. Johnson and South Vietnamese Premier Nguyen Cao Ky concluded their meetings in Hawaii by issuing the “Declaration of Honolulu,” which asserted the resolve of their countries to defeat the Communists.
In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.
In 1915, D.W. Griffith’s groundbreaking as well as controversial silent movie epic about the Civil War, “The Birth of a Nation,” premiered in Los Angeles under its original title, “The Clansman.”
In 1922, President Warren G. Harding had a radio installed in the White House.
In 1942, during World War II, Japanese forces began invading Singapore, which fell a week later.
In 1952, Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed her accession to the British throne following the death of her father, King George VI.
In 1968, three college students were killed in a confrontation with highway patrolmen in Orangeburg, S.C., during a civil rights protest against a whites-only bowling alley.
In 1976, Martin Scorsese’s graphic urban drama “Taxi Driver,” starring Robert De Niro, was released by Columbia Pictures.
In 1996, in a ceremony at the Library of Congress, President Bill Clinton signed legislation revamping the telecommunications industry, saying it would “bring the future to our doorstep.”
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Composer-conductor John Williams is 84. Newscaster Ted Koppel is 76. Actor Nick Nolte is 75. Comedian Robert Klein is 74. Actor-rock musician Creed Bratton is 73. Singer Ron Tyson is 68. Actress Brooke Adams is 67. Actress Mary Steenburgen is 63. Author John Grisham is 61. Retired NBA All-Star and College Basketball Hall of Famer Marques Johnson is 60. Actor Henry Czerny is 57. The president of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, is 56. Movie producer Toby Emmerich is 53. Actress Mary McCormack and rock musician Keith Nelson (Buckcherry) are 47. Basketball Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning is 46. Dance musician Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (Daft Punk) and actors Seth Green and Josh Morrow are 42. Actress-comedian Cecily Strong is 32. Rock musician Jeremy Davis is 31. Rock musician Max Grahn (Carolina Liar) and actor Ryan Pinkston are 28. Professional surfer Bethany Hamilton is 26. Actress Karle Warren is 24.