Today is Tuesday, February 3, the 34th day of 2009. There are 331 days left in the year.
1783 _ Spain recognizes US independence
1876 _ Albert Spalding with $800 starts sporting goods company, manufacturing first official baseball, tennis ball, basketball, golf ball, and football
1919 _ League of Nations first meeting (Paris)
1951 _ Tennessee Williams' ``Rose Tattoo" premieres in New York City
1964 _ ``Meet the Beatles" album goes Gold
1966 _ First soft landing on the Moon (Soviet Luna 9)
1967 _ ``Purple Haze" recorded by Jimi Hendrix
1980 _ Muhammad Ali tours Africa as President Carter's envoy
1993 _ Federal trial of four police officers charged with civil rights violations in videotaped beating of Rodney King begins in Los Angeles
1994 _ President Bill Clinton lifts US trade embargo against Vietnam