1997 – A civil jury in Santa Monica, California finds O.J. Simpson liable for the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ron Goldman.Goldman's father Fred:"Our family is grateful for a verdict of responsibility which is all we ever wanted and we have it, thank God."1974 – Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst is kidnapped in Berkeley, California by a group calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army.

Hearst who is captured the following years says her kidnappers had brainwashed her into committing robbery and extortion.

2004 – The Massachusetts high court says same-sex couples are entitled to nothing less than marriage and that civil unions are not sufficient.

1976 – In Central America, a severe earthquake strikes Guatemala and Honduras killing more than 22,000 people.

And 1902Aviator Charles Lindbergh who made the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean is born in Detroit.

Today in History, February 4th, Bryant Thomas, the Associated Press.