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.

1864: During the Civil War, the Union ship USS Housatonic was rammed and sunk in Charleston Harbor, S.C., by the Confederate hand-cranked submarine HL Hunley in the first naval attack of its kind.

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

1964: The Supreme Court, in Wesberry v. Sanders, ruled that congressional districts within each state had to be roughly equal in population.

1972: President Richard M. Nixon departed the White House with his wife, Pat, on a historic trip to China.

Today’s birthdays

Actor-comedian Barry Humphries (aka “Dame Edna”) is 89. Actor Lou Diamond Phillips is 61. Basketball Hall of Famer Michael Jordan is 60. Actor-comedian Larry, the Cable Guy is 60. Movie director Michael Bay is 59. Olympic gold and silver medal skier Tommy Moe is 53. Actor Denise Richards is 52.Rock singer-musician Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day) is 51. TV personality Paris Hilton is 42. Actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt is 42. Actor Chord Overstreet is 34.

The Associated Press