FRIDAY, Feb. 2, 204

1870-Mark Twain, 34, marries Olivia Langdon in Elmira NY

1924-International Ski Federation (FIS) founded

1931-First siyyum of Talmud celebrated by Daf Yomi students

1935-Lie detector 1st used in court (Portage WI)

1943-Battle of Stalingrad ends with final surrender of the German army, turning point of WWII

1944-Allied troops first set foot on Japanese territory

1954-President Eisenhower reports detonation of first H-bomb (done in 1952)

1957-U.N. adopts a resolution calling for Israeli troops to leave Egypt

1962-Eight of 9 planets align for 1st time in 400 years

1967-Formation of the American Basketball Association is announced

1982-Government troops & Moslem-fundamentalists battle in Hamah, Syria

1985-U.S. male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano

1986-Dalai Lama meets Pope John Paul II in India

1989-0ºF (-18ºC) or below in 15 US states

1990-South Africa's President F.W. de Klerk promises to free Nelson Mandela & legalizes African National Congress & 60 other political organizations

1995-U.S. space shuttle Discovery launched

1998-Philippine DC-9 crashes apparently killing all 104 on board