Today in History - History - February 1st

1978Harriet Tubman is 1st black woman honored on a US postage stamp

1982"Late Night With David Letterman" debuts on NBC-TV, Bill Murray is first guest

1968Vince Lombardi resigns as coach of Green Bay Packers

1965Peter Jennings, 26, becomes anchor of ABC's nightly news

196048th Australian Mens Tennis: Rod Laver beats N Fraser (57 36 63 86 86)

1669French King Louis XIV limits freedom of religion

1865General Sherman's march through South Carolina begins

2004Janet Jackson's breast is exposed during the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, resulting in US broadcasters adopting a stronger adherence to FCC censorship guidelines.

1896Giacomo Puccini's Opera "La Boheme," premieres in Turin

1587Queen Elizabeth I of England signs death warrant for Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots

1882Louis St. Laurent, Compton Quebec, (L) 12th Canadian PM (1948-57)

1902Langston Hughes, Joplin, Missouri, American poet (Weary Blues) and playwright (Mulatto)

1948Rick James (James Ambrose Johnson Jr), Buffalo New York, American funk musician

1895John Ford, Maine, director (Stagecoach, Air Mail, Quiet Man)

1918Muriel Spark, Edinburgh Scotland, novelist (Prime of Miss Jean Brodie)

1968Lisa Marie Presley Keough Jackson, Memphis Tenn, daughter of Elvis

1901Clark Gable, Cadiz Ohio, American actor (Gone With the Wind)

1931Boris Yeltsin, Ural Mts USSR, president of Russian SSR

1840Novelist Alexandre Dumas (37) weds actress Ida Ferrier

1997Retired MLB player Johnny Bench (49) weds stockbroker Elizabeth Benton

1944Piet Mondrian, abstract painter (Composition in Blue), dies at 71

1851Mary Shelley, novelist (Frankenstein), dies of a brain tumour at 53