历史上的今天 February fifth

Today's Highlight in History:
On February fifth, 1937, President Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of Supreme Court justices; critics charged Roosevelt was attempting to "pack" the court.

On this date:
In 1783, Sweden recognized the independence of the United States.

In 1881, Phoenix, Arizona, was incorporated.

In 1887, Verdi's opera "Otello" premiered at La Scala.

In 1917, Congress passed, over President Wilson's veto, an immigration act severely curtailing the influx of Asians.

In 1917, Mexico's constitution was adopted.

In 1940, Glenn Miller and his orchestra recorded "Tuxedo Junction" for RCA Victor's "Bluebird" label.

In 1958, Gamel Abdel Nasser was formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic.

In 1962, French President Charles De Gaulle called for Algeria's independence.

In 1988, the Arizona House impeached Governor Evan Mecham, setting the stage for his trial and conviction in the state Senate.

In 1994, white separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963, and was immediately sentenced to life in prison.

Ten years ago: Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev told the Communist Party it had to give up its unchallenged right to rule in favor of earning that right, instead of taking it for granted.

Five years ago: The White House and congressional Republicans drew battle lines over President Clinton's $1.61 trillion budget, with Republicans accusing Clinton of "taking a walk" and the administration saying Clinton was cutting the deficit more than any president in history.

One year ago: Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson was sentenced in Maryland to a year in jail for assaulting two motorists following a traffic accident (he ended up serving three and a-half months).

"Politics in America is the binding secular religion."

-- Theodore H. White, American political writer (1915-1986).