This day in history

In 1914, the Federal Trade Commission was established.

In 1955, following word that President Eisenhower had suffered a heart attack, the New York Stock Exchange saw its worst price decline since 1929.

In 1980, the Cuban government abruptly closed Mariel Harbor, ending the "freedom flotilla” of Cuban refugees that had begun the previous April.

In 1986, William H. Rehnquist was sworn in as the 16th chief justice of the United States, while Antonin Scalia joined the Supreme Court as its 103rd member.

In 1991, four men and four women began a two-year stay inside a sealed-off structure in Oracle, Ariz., called Biosphere 2.

Ten years ago: President Clinton signed a bill ensuring two-day hospital stays for new mothers and their babies.Richard Allen Davis, the killer of 12-year-old Polly Klaas, was formally sentenced to death in San Jose.

Five years ago: In truce talks held at the urging of the United States, Israel and the Palestinians agreed on a series of confidence-building measures aimed at ending a year of fighting.

One year ago: Army Private First Class Lynndie England was convicted by a military jury in Fort Hood, Texas, on six of seven counts stemming from the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal (England was later sentenced to three years in prison).

Today's Birthdays

Actor Philip Bosco is 76. Country singer David Frizzell is 65. Actor Kent McCord is 64. Television host Anne Robinson is 62. Former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Christie Whitman is 60. Singer Lynn Anderson is 59. Actress Mary Beth Hurt is 58. Actor James Keane is 54. Rock singer-musician Cesar Rosas (Los Lobos) is 52. Country singer Carlene Carter is 51. Actress Linda Hamilton is 50. Country singer Doug Supernaw is 46. Actress Melissa Sue Anderson is 44. Actor Patrick Bristow is 44. Singer Tracey Thorn (Everything But The Girl) is 44. TV personality Jillian Barberie is 40. Tennis player Serena Williams is 25.

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