February 13, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia found dead
Today is Friday, February 13, the 44th day of the year 2026. There are 321 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On February 13, 2016, Justice Antonin Scalia, an influential conservative member of the United States Supreme Court, was found dead in a private residence in the Big Bend area of West Texas; he was 79 years old.
Also on this date:
In 1935, a jury in Flemington, New Jersey, found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of first-degree murder in the killing of Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. (Hauptmann was executed the following year.)
In 1945, Allied forces in World War II launched a three-day bombardment of Dresden, Germany, killing up to 25,000 people and setting off a firestorm that swept through the city center.
In 1965, during the Vietnam War, President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized Operation Rolling Thunder, a prolonged bombing campaign against the North Vietnamese.
In 1980, the 13th Winter Olympics opened in Lake Placid, New York.
In 1996, Jonathan Larson’s rock musical “Rent” premiered on Broadway less than three weeks after Larson’s death.
In 2002, John Walker Lindh, captured by U.S. forces as an enemy combatant in 2001, pleaded not guilty in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, to conspiracy to kill Americans and supporting the Taliban and terrorist organizations. (Lindh later pleaded guilty to minor offenses and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.)
In 2017, Michael Flynn, President Donald Trump’s national security adviser, resigned following reports that he misled Vice President Mike Pence and other officials about his contacts with Russia.
In 2018, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen said he paid $130,000 out of his own pocket to Stephanie Clifford (aka Stormy Daniels), a porn actress who claimed to have had a sexual relationship with Trump.
In 2021, Donald Trump was acquitted by the Senate in his second impeachment trial – the first involving a former president – in which he was accused of inciting the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. Seven Republicans joined 50 Democrats in voting for conviction, less than the two-thirds threshold required.
Today’s birthdays:
- Actor Kim Novak is 93 years old.
- Actor Stockard Channing is 82 years old.
- Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is 80 years old.
- Basketball Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski is 79 years old.
- Musician Peter Gabriel is 76 years old. Musician Peter Hook is 70 years old.
- Singer-writer Henry Rollins is 65 years old.
- Hockey Hall of Famer Mats Sundin is 55 years old.
- Singer Robbie Williams is 52 years old.
- Football Hall of Famer Randy Moss is 49 years old.
- Actor Mena Suvari (MEE’-nuh soo-VAHR’-ee) is 47 years old.
- Actress Sophia Lillis is 24 years old.
