Today in History - History - February 2nd

1992IRS & Willie Nelson settle on $9M tax bill (of $16.7M)

1933Hermann Goering bans communist meetings/demonstrations in Germany

1972Tom Stoppard's "Jumpers," premieres in London

1990South Africa's Pres FW de Klerk promises to free Nelson Mandela & legalizes ANC & 60 other political orgs

1940Frank Sinatra's singing debut in Indianapolis (Tommy Dorsey Orch)

1949Golfing champ Ben Hogan seriously injured in an auto accident

1997Scotty Bowman becomes first coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games

1986Dalai Lama meets Pope John Paul II in India

1863Samuel Clemens becomes Mark Twain for 1st time

1970Pete Maravich becomes 1st to score 3,000 college basketball points

1895George Halas, Chicago Illinois, NFL pioneer (owner of the Chicago Bears)

1947Farrah Fawcett, Texas, actress (Charley's Angels, Burning Bed)

1882James Joyce, Ireland, novelist/poet (Dubliners, Ulysses, Finnigan's Wake)

1977Shakira [Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll], Barranquilla, Colombian pop singer ('Whenever Wherever', 'Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)')

200823rd French Republic President Nicolas Sarkozy (53) weds supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni (39) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France

1997"American Idol" judge Paula Abdul (34) weds sportswear designer Brad Beckerman at The Beverly Hills Four Seasons Hotel

1976Actress Gloria Swanson (76) weds writer William Dufty (60)

1957Actress Elizabeth Taylor (24) marries for the 3rd time to Producer Mike Todd (47)

1985NFL Footballer and felon OJ Simpson marries 2nd wife Nicole Brown (murdered 1994)

1870American writer (Huckleberry Finn) Samuel Langhorne Clemens, pen name Mark Twain, (34) marries Olivia Langdon (24) in Elmira, NY

1979Sid Vicious, [John Simon Ritchie], bassist (Sex Pistols), OD's at 21

2014Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor (Capote, Moneyball) dies at 46 of a suspected drug overdose