Today in History

According to this Wikipedia page, 10 years ago today, President Bill Clinton was acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial. Less than a year later, “he left office with an approval rating at 66%, the highest end of office rating of any president since World War II.”

Five years ago today, the city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom, however:

In August 2004, the California Supreme Court annulled the marriages that Newsom had authorized, as they conflicted with state law at that time. Still, Newsom’s unexpected move brought national attention to the issues of gay marriage and gay rights, solidifying political support for Newsom in San Francisco and in the gay community, and causing several other states to change their laws concerning marriage and gay rights

Two hundred years ago today, Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, was born. Fifty-six years later, John Wilkes Booth shot him in the back of the head during a play at Ford’s Theater.

Click here to see what else the wikipedia community thinks happened on February 12.

UPDATE: I had not seen Mr. Golob’s Darwin post before writing this one, and, in actuality, had been working on it over the course of the week, but somehow managed to miss that it was also Darwin’s birthday. I promise.