February 6

February 6 in history:

• 1778, the U.S. won official recognition from France with the signing of treaties in Paris

• 1899, a peace treaty between the United States and Spain was ratified by the U.S. Senate

• 1933, the 20th Amendment to the Constitution, the so-called "lame duck" amendment, was proclaimed in effect by Secretary of State Henry Stimson

• 1952, Britain's King George VI died; he was succeeded as reigning monarch by his daughter, Elizabeth II

• 1959, the United States successfully test-fired for the first time a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile from Cape Canaveral

• 1998, President Bill Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair redoubled their pledge to use military force against Iraq if necessary; during a joint news conference in which the subject of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky came up, Clinton said he would "never" resign.

• 1998, President Clinton signed a bill changing the name of Washington National Airport to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport

• 2002, a federal judge ordered John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban," held without bail pending trial.

• 2002, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II reached a bittersweet milestone, somberly marking 50 years as monarch on the anniversary of the death of her father, King George VI

• 2006, terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui disrupted the opening of his sentencing trial in Alexandria, Va., and was tossed out of court.