February 17th

Today's Highlight in History:
On February 17th, 1801, the House of Representatives broke an electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr, electing Jefferson president. Burr became vice president.

On this date:
In 1817, a street in Baltimore became the first to be lighted with gas from America's first gas company.

In 1865, Columbia, South Carolina, burned as the Confederates evacuated and Union forces moved in. (It's not known which side set the blaze.)

In 1897, the forerunner of the National PTA, the National Congress of Mothers, was founded in Washington.

In 1904, Giacomo Puccini's opera %26quot;Madama Butterfly%26quot; was poorly received at its world premiere at La Scala.