On This Day:
Thursday February 6, 2014 This is the 37th day of the year, with 328 days remaining in 2014. Fact of the Day: biathlon The biathlon is a winter sport that combines cross-country skiing with precision target shooting using a rifle. Competitors complete a cross-country skiing course covering a set distance while periodically stopping at firing ranges to shoot at targets. The sport has hunting origins dating back thousands of years in Scandinavia. As militaries in that region developed, the combination of skiing and rifle marksmanship became important. It is documented that Swedish and Norwegian skiing units fought in the Second Northern War in 1700-1721. The first recorded biathlon competition took place between companies patrolling the Norway-Sweden border in 1763. It gained popularity when it was added to the Winter Olympics in 1924 as a demonstration sport. The competition was called a "Patrol Race" until 1955 when rules were developed using the word "biathlon." The biathlon was added as an official men's event in the 1960 Winter Olympics and became an official women's event in the 1992 Wint er Olympics.
Holidays New Zealand: Waitangi Day.
Feast day of St. Paul Miki and his Companions, St. Vedast or Vaast, St. Hidegund, St. Amand, Saints Mel and Melchu, and St. Guarinus of Palestrina.
United States: Arbor Day.
Events 1508 - Maximilian I assumed the title of Holy Roman Emperor.
1693 - College of William and Mary was chartered -- the first college charter -- in Williamsburg, Virginia.
1778 - During the Revolutionary War, representatives from the United States and France signed the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance in Paris. The Treaty of Amity and Commerce recognized the United States as an independent nation and promoted trade between France an d the United States. The Treaty of Alliance created a military alliance against Great Britain, stipulating American independence as a condition of peace.
1788 - Massachusetts became the sixth state to ratify the Constitution of the United States of America.
1952 - Elizabeth II acceded to the British throne upon the death of her father, King George VI. The coronation took place June 2, 1953.
1958 - The Munich air disaster took place when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off from a slush-covered runway at the Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany.
1959 - The United States successfully test-fired for the first time a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile from Cape Canaveral.
1998 - President Bill Clinton signed a bill changing the name of Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
2004 - An explosion ripped through a Moscow subway killing 41 people and injuring 129 others in an attack blamed on Chechen separatists.
Births 1564 - Christopher Marlowe, English poet, dramatist.
1665 - Queen Anne, Queen of England.
1895 - George Herman "Babe" Ruth, American baseball great.
1911 - Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States of America (1981-89), actor.
1913 - Mary Douglas Leakey, British archaeologist, paleoanthropologist.
1945 - Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae musician.
1961 - Bill Lester, American NASCAR racer.
1962 - Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose, Jr.), American musician.
Deaths 1989 - Chris Gueffroy, the last person killed escaping over the Berlin Wall.
1991 - Danny Thomas (born Amos Alphonsus Muzyad Yakhoob), American nightclub comedian, television and film actor.
1993 - Arthur Ashe, American tennis player.
1994 - Jack Kirby (born Jacob Kurtzberg), American comic book writer and editor.
1998 - Carl Wilson, founding member of Beach Boys rock group.
2007 - Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio), American singer.
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