Today is Thursday, February 9, the 40th day of 2012. There are 326 days left in the year.
1863 ― Fire extinguisher patented by Alanson Crane
1885 ― First Japanese arrive in Hawaii
1886 ― President Cleveland declares a state of emergency in Seattle because of anti-Chinese violence
1895 ― Volleyball invented by W. G. Morgan in Massachusetts
1926 ― Teaching theory of evolution forbidden in Atlanta, Ga., schools
1969 ― World's largest airplane, Boeing 747, makes first commercial flight
1971 ― Probably first gay theme TV episode ― All in the Family
1972 ― British government declares state of emergency after month-long miners' strike
1985 ― Madonna's ``Like a Virgin" album goes No. 1 for three weeks
1994 ― Israeli minister Shimon Perez signs accord with PLO's Yasser Arafat