By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Monday, Feb. 5, the 36th day of 2018. There are 329 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Feb. 5, 1918, during World War I, the Cunard liner SS Tuscania, which was transporting about 2,000 American troops to Europe, was torpedoed by a German U-boat in the Irish Sea with the loss of more than 200 people.

On this date:

In 1631, the founder of Rhode Island, Roger Williams, and his wife, Mary, arrived in Boston from England.

In 1783, Sweden recognized the independence of the United States.

In 1887, Verdi’s opera “Otello” premiered at La Scala.

In 1917, Mexico’s present constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Convention in Santiago de Queretaro. The U.S. Congress passed, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto, an act severely curtailing Asian immigration.

In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed increasing the number of U.S. Supreme Court justices; the proposal, which failed in Congress, drew accusations that Roosevelt was attempting to “pack” the nation’s highest court.

In 1943, “The Outlaw,” Howard Hughes’ controversial Western featuring the screen debut of Jane Russell, premiered in San Francisco.

In 1958, Gamal Abdel Nasser was formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic (a union of Egypt and Syria which lasted until 1961).

In 1967, “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” premiered on CBS-TV.

In 1971, Apollo 14 astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell stepped onto the surface of the moon in the first of two lunar excursions.

In 1988, the Arizona House impeached Republican Gov. Evan Mecham (MEE’-kuhm), setting the stage for his trial in the state Senate, where he was convicted of obstructing justice.