Today in History.....February 3

On this day in …

* 1783, Spain recognized U.S. independence

* 1809, the territory of Illinois was created

* 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified

* 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, which had announced a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare

* 1930, the chief justice of the United States, William Howard Taft, resigned for health reasons

* 1943, during World War II, the U.S. transport ship Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a torpedo. (Four Army chaplains gave their life belts to four other men, and went down with the ship.)

* 1959, a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, claimed the lives of rock 'n' roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson

* 1994, the space shuttle Discovery lifted off, carrying Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard a U.S.
spacecraft

* 1995, the space shuttle Discovery blasted off with a woman, Air Force Lt. Colonel Eileen Collins, in the pilot's seat for the first time in NASA history. ALSO: Sgt. 1st Class Donald A. Dugan, 38, became the first U.S. soldier killed while on duty in Bosnia when a piece of ammunition exploded in his hands

* 2004, an interim report detailed conflicts of interest and flawed management in the UN oil-for-food program.