Today in History: February 5, Senate acquits Donald Trump in first impeachment
FILE - President Donald Trump holds up a newspaper with a headline that reads “Trump acquitted” during an event celebrating his impeachment acquittal, in the East Room of the White House, Feb. 6, 2020, in Washington. The impeachment investigation, sparked by a government whistleblower’s complaint over Trump’s call, swiftly became a milestone, the first in a generation since Democrat Bill Clinton faced charges over an affair with a White House intern. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)
Today in History:
On Feb. 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump, bringing to a close the third presidential trial in American history, though a majority of senators expressed unease with Trump’s pressure campaign on Ukraine that resulted in the two articles of impeachment. Just one Republican, Mitt Romney of Utah, broke with the GOP and voted to convict.
The U.S. Senate acquitted President Donald Trump of both impeachment charges Wednesday, ending only the third presidential trial in American history with votes that split the country and tested civic norms.
On this date:
In 1811, George, the Prince of Wales, was named Prince Regent due to the mental illness of his father, Britain’s King George III.
In 1917, the U.S. Congress passed, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, an act severely curtailing Asian immigration.
In 1918, during World War I, the Cunard liner SS Tuscania, which was transporting about 2,000 American troops to Europe, was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the Irish Sea with the loss of more than 200 people.
In 1922, the first edition of Reader’s Digest was published.
In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices; the proposal, which failed in Congress, drew accusations that Roosevelt was attempting to “pack” the nation’s highest court.
In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the surface of the moon in the first of two lunar excursions.
In 1973, services were held at Arlington National Cemetery for U.S. Army Col. William B. Nolde, the last official American combat casualty before the Vietnam cease-fire took effect.
In 1983, former Nazi Gestapo official Klaus Barbie, expelled from Bolivia, was brought to Lyon (lee-OHN’), France, to stand trial. (He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison -- he died in 1991.)
In 1993, President Bill Clinton signed the Family and Medical Leave Act, granting workers up to 12 weeks unpaid leave for family emergencies.
In 1994, white separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, of murdering civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963, and was immediately sentenced to life in prison.
In 2008, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a guru to the Beatles who introduced the West to transcendental meditation, died at his home in the Dutch town of Vlodrop; he was believed to be about 90.
In 2012, Eli Manning and the New York Giants one-upped Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, coming back with a last-minute score to win 21-17 in Super Bowl XLVI.
In 2014, CVS Caremark announced it would pull cigarettes and other tobacco products from its stores.
In 2017, Tom Brady led one of the greatest comebacks in sports history, highlighted by a spectacular Julian Edelman catch that helped lift New England from a 25-point hole against the Atlanta Falcons to the Patriots’ fifth Super Bowl victory, 34-28, the first ever in overtime.
In 2018, Jerome Powell was sworn in as the 16th chairman of the Federal Reserve.
In 2022, on the eve of the celebration of her 70th anniversary on the throne, Queen Elizabeth II offered her support to have the Duchess of Cornwall become known as Queen Camilla, a significant decision in shaping the future of the British Monarchy.
In 2023, Beyoncé won her 32nd Grammy to become the most decorated artist in the history of the award.