Today in History: February 3, 'the day the music died'

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 3, the 34th day of 2026. There are 331 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 3, 1959, which would become known as "the day the music died," rock 'n roll stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson died in a small plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.

Also on this date:

In 1870, the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting Black American men the right to vote, was ratified.

In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, providing for a federal income tax, was ratified.

In 1917, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany, the same day an American cargo ship, the SS Housatonic, was sunk by a U-boat off Britain (after the crew was allowed to board lifeboats).

In 1943, during World War II, the U.S. transport ship SS Dorchester, which was carrying troops to Greenland, sank after being hit by a German torpedo in the Labrador Sea; only some 230 of the 900 aboard survived.

In 1966, the Soviet probe Luna 9 became the first man-made object to make a soft landing on the moon.

In 1998, a U.S. Marine jet sliced through the cable of a ski gondola near Cavalese, Italy, causing the car to plunge hundreds of feet, killing all 20 people inside.

In 2006, an Egyptian passenger ferry sank in the Red Sea during bad weather, killing more than 1,000 people.

In 2007, a truck bomb exploded in a busy street market in Baghdad, killing more than 100 people in one of the deadliest single attacks in the Iraqi capital.

In 2015, a Metro-North Railroad commuter train slammed into an SUV stuck on the tracks at a suburban rail crossing 20 miles north of New York City, killing five train passengers and the SUV driver and injuring about 30 others.

In 2023, more than three dozen freight cars of a train carrying hazardous materials derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, close to the Pennsylvania line. The derailment prompted an immediate evacuation and the intentional burning of toxic vinyl chloride three days later that sent flames and acrid smoke in the air.

Today's birthdays: Football Hall of Famer Fran Tarkenton is 86. Actor Blythe Danner is 83. Football Hall of Famer Bob Griese is 81. Singer-guitarist Dave Davies (The Kinks) is 79. Actor Morgan Fairchild is 76. Actor Nathan Lane is 70. Actor Maura Tierney is 61. Basketball Hall of Famer Vlade Divac is 58. Golf Hall of Famer Retief Goosen is 57. Actor Warwick Davis is 56. Actor Isla Fisher is 50. Reggaeton singer Daddy Yankee is 49. Actor Aimee Lou Wood is 32.