History for February 2 - On-This-Day.com:
James Joyce 1882, George Halas 1895, Ayn Rand 1905
Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) 1942, Farrah Fawcett 1947, Christie Brinkley 1954
1848 - The Mexican War was ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty turned over portions of land to the U.S., including Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, California and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. The U.S. gave Mexico $15,000,000 and assumed responsibility of all claims against Mexico by American citizens. Texas had already entered the U.S. on December 29, 1845.
1863 - Samuel Langhorne Clemens used a pseudonym for the first time. He is better remembered by the pseudonym which is Mark Twain.
1887 - The beginning of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PA.
1945 - U.S. President Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill left for a summit in Yalta with Soviet leader Josef Stalin.
1971 - Idi Amin assumed power in Uganda after a coup that ousted President Milton Obote.
1980 - The situation known as "Abscam" began when reports surfaced that the FBI had conducted a sting operation that targeted (DEMOCRAT) members of the U.S. Congress. A phony Arab businessmen were used in the operation.
1989 - The final Russian armored column left Kabul, Afghanistan, after nine years of military occupation.
1999 - Hugo Chávez FrÃas took office. He had been elected president of Venezuela in December 1998.
