TODAY IN HISTORY

FEB 8TH

1587-Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded.

1693-College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., received its charter, becoming the second institution of higher learning in the United States.

1870-The National Weather Service was established under the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

1904-The Russo-Japanese war began when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur in northeast China.

1915-D. W. Griffith's controversial epic, The Birth of a Nation premiered in Los Angeles.

1924-The gas chamber was used for the first time as a method of execution in the United States. Gangster Gee Jon was put to death at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City.

1960-The payola (pay for broadcast airplay) hearings opened in the U.S. House of Representatives. Dick Clark would testify in April.

1980-President Jimmy Carter revealed his plan to reinstate selective service draft registration.