### February 5 February 5 is an important day in history! On February 5, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified by the U.S. Congress, abolishing slavery throughout the United States. In 1942, the United States military appointed General Dwight Eisenhower as Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe, a position he held until the end of World War II in 1945. Finally, in 1997, astronomers announced the discovery of the first known "extrasolar" planet - a planet orbiting a star other than the sun.