Today’s highlight

On Feb. 17, 1801, the U.S. House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson president; Burr became vice president.

On this date

1815: The United States and Britain exchanged the instruments of ratification for the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812.

1863: The International Red Cross was founded in Geneva.

1897: The forerunner of the National PTA, the National Congress of Mothers, convened its first meeting in Washington.

1944: During World War II, U.S. forces invaded Eniwetok Atoll, encountering little initial resistance from Imperial Japanese troops. (The Americans secured the atoll less than a week later.)

1959: The United States launched Vanguard 2, a satellite that carried meteorological equipment.

1995: Colin Ferguson was convicted of six counts of murder in the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings (he was later sentenced to a minimum of 200 years in prison).

2015: Vice President Joe Biden opened a White House summit on countering extremism and radicalization, saying the United States needed to ensure that immigrants were fully included in the fabric of American society to prevent violent ideologies from taking root at home.