Today is Shrove Tuesday, Feb. 12, the 43rd day of 2013. There are 322 days left in the year.
On Feb. 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was born in present-day Larue County, Ky.
On this date:
In 1554, Lady Jane Grey, who'd claimed the throne of England for nine days, and her husband, Guildford Dudley, were beheaded after being condemned for high treason.
In 1818, Chile officially proclaimed its independence, more than seven years after initially renouncing Spanish rule.
In 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People was founded.
In 1912, Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, abdicated, marking the end of the Qing Dynasty.
In 1959, the redesigned Lincoln penny – with an image of the Lincoln Memorial replacing two ears of wheat on the reverse side – went into circulation.
In 1973, Operation Homecoming began as the first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam conflict took place.
In 1999, the Senate voted to acquit President Bill Clinton of perjury and obstruction of justice.