AP Highlight in History: On Feb. 9, 1950, Sen. Joseph McCarthy, during a speech in Wheeling, W.Va., charged that the State Department was riddled with Communists. (The Wisconsin Republican never provided any evidence to substantiate his claims.)
Sen. Joseph McCarthy, R-Wis.
AP Photo/Herbert K. White
On this date in:
1773
William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the United States, was born in Charles City County, Va.
1825
The House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams president after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.
1861
The Provisional Congress of the Confederate States of America elected Jefferson Davis president and Alexander H. Stephens vice president.
1942
Daylight-saving "war time" went into effect in the United States, with clocks turned one hour forward.
1943
The World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an American victory over Japanese forces.
1964
The Beatles made their first live American TV appearance, on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
