Shimla, Feb.
2014
American actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who fully inhabited the characters he played and was renowned for his scene-stealing work in supporting roles, died of a heroin overdose in New York City.
1980
The FBI’s undercover criminal investigation known as Abscam was revealed to the public; it resulted in the convictions of various elected officials on an assortment of bribery and corruption charges.
1979
Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols, early proponents of British punk rock, died of a drug overdose in New York City.
1971
Idi Amin declared himself president of Uganda and for the next eight years headed a regime that was noted for its brutality.
1943
The Battle of Stalingrad in World War II ended with the surrender of German troops to the Soviets.
1927
American jazz saxophonist Stan Getz was born in Philadelphia.
1912
Frederick Rodman Law performed what was considered the first motion-picture stunt, parachuting from the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.
1905
American writer Ayn Rand, whose commercially successful novels promoting individualism and laissez-faire capitalism became influential among conservatives and libertarians, was born in St. Petersburg.
1876
The National League, the oldest existing major-league professional baseball organization in the United States, began play as the National League of Professional Baseball Clubs.
1848
The United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
