Feb. 23rd. 303 - Emperor Diocletian begins policy of persecution of Christians razing church at Nicomedia 1455 - Johannes Gutenberg prints his first book, Bible (estimated date) 1540 - Francisco Vázquez de Coronado's expedition sets off from Mexico in search of the 7 cities of Cibola 1574 - France begins 5th "holy war" against Huguenots 1660 - Charles XI becomes king of Sweden 1668 - Fire in Wiener Hofburg in Vienna, emperor Leopold I rescued 1672 - Joan Blaeus publishers destroyed by fire in Amsterdam 1689 - Dutch prince William III proclaimed king of England 1778 - Baron von Steuben joins Continental Army at Valley Forge 1792 - Joseph Haydn's 94th Symphony in G premieres 1792 - Humane Society of Massachusetts incorporated (erected life-saving stations for distressed mariners) 1804 - Conspirators against Napoleon, for restoration of Louis XVIII 1813 - 1st US raw cotton-to-cloth mill founded in Waltham, Mass 1820 - Cato Street conspiracy uncovered 1821 - College of Apothecaries organized in Phil; 1st US pharmacy college. 1822 - Boston was incorporated as a city. 1836 - In San Antonio, TX, the siege of the Alamo began. 1839 - In Boston, MA, William F. Harnden organized the first express service between Boston and New York City. It was the first express service in the U.S. 1847 - Santa Anna was defeated at the Battle of Buena Vista in Mexico by U.S. troops under Gen. Zachary. 1861 - U.S. President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take his office after an assassination attempt in Baltimore. 1861 - Texas became the 7th state to secede from the Union. 1870 - The state of Mississippi was readmitted to the Union. 1874 - Walter Winfield patented a game called "sphairistike." More widely known as lawn tennis. 1875 - J. Palisa discovered asteroid #143 (aka Adria). 1883 - Alabama became the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law. 1886 - Charles M. Hall completed his invention of aluminum. 1887 - The French/Italian Riviera was hit by an earthquake that killed about 2,000. 1896 - The Tootsie Roll was introduced by Leo Hirshfield. 1898 - In France, Emile Zola was imprisoned for his letter, "J'accuse," which accused the government of anti-Semitism and wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus. 1900 - The Battle of Hart's Hill took place in South Africa between the Boers and the British army. 1904 - The U.S. acquired control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million. 1905 - The Rotary Club was founded in Chicago, IL, by Attorney Paul Harris and three others. 1910 - In Philadelphia, PA, the first radio contest was held. 1915 - Nevada began enforcing convenient divorce law. 1916 - The U.S. Congress authorizes the McKinley Memorial $1 gold coin. 1919 - The Fascist Party was formed in Italy by Benito Mussolini. 1927 - The Federal Radio Commission began assigning frequencies, hours of operation and power allocations for radio broadcasters. On July 1, 1934 the name was changed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). 1932 - Robert Short became the first American to die in an arial battle with the Japanese. (more info) 1940 - Russian troops conquered Lasi Island. 1940 - Walt Disney's animated movie "Pinocchio" was released. 1945 - The 28th Regiment of the Fifth Marine Division of the U.S. Marines reached the top of Mount Surabachi. A photograph of these Marines raising the American flag was taken. 1954 - The first mass vaccination of children against polio began in Pittsburgh, PA. 1955 - The French government was formed by Edgar Faure. 1957 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NFL operations did fall within coverage of antitrust laws. 1958 - Juan Fangio, 5-time world diving champion, was kidnapped by Cuban rebels. 1963 - The 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. It prohibited poll taxes in federal elections. 1966 - The Bitar government in Syria was ended with a military coup. 1967 - Jim Ryun set a record in the half-mile run when ran it in 1:48.3. 1968 - Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia 76ers) became the first player to score 25,000 career points in the NBA. 1970 - Guyana became a republic. 1974 - The Symbionese Liberation Army demanded $4 million more for the release of Patty Hearst. Hearst had been kidnapped on February 4th. 1980 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declared that Iran's new parliament would have to decide the fate of the hostages taken on November 4, 1979, at the U.S. embassy in Tehran. 1985 - The TV show "Gimme a Break" was broadcast live before a studio audience. It was the first TV sitcom to be seen live since the 1950s. 1991 - During the Persian Gulf War, ground forces crossed the border of Saudi Arabia into the country of Iraq. Less than four days later the war was over due to the surrender or withdraw of Iraqi forces. 1993 - Gary Coleman won a $1,280,000 lawsuit against his parents. 1995 - The Dow Jones Industrial closed about 4,000 for the first time at 4,003.33. 1997 - NBC-TV aired "Schindler's List." It was completely uncensored. 1997 - Ali Hassan Abu Kamal, a Palestinian teacher, opened fire on the 86th-floor observation deck of New York City's Empire State Building. He killed one person and wounded six more before killing himself. 1992 - 16th Winter Olympic games closes in Albertville, France 1992 - Andy Flower scores 115* on ODI debut, Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka 1992 - World Cup scoreline Zimbabwe 4-312, Sri Lanka 7-313 1992 - The Socialist Labour Party is founded in Georgia. 1993 - Gary Coleman wins $1,280,000 lawsuit against parents for high fees 1993 - India complete a 3-0 series drubbing of England 1993 - Sacramento Gold Miners admitted as CFL's 9th franchise (1st US team) 1994 - Indians owner Richard Jacobs announces he will pay $10 million to name baseball field (Jacobs Field) at Gateway (becomes official 3/23) 1995 - "Uncle Vanya" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 29 performances 1995 - Antoine Nduwayo appointed Premier of Burundi 1995 - Dow Jones closes above 4,000 for 1st time (4,003.33) 1996 - Mark Waugh scores 130 in World Cup vs Kenya, 207 w/brother Steve 1996 - Rajindra Dhanraj takes 9-97 for Trinidad against Leeward Islands 1997 - Ali Abu Kamal opens fire in Empire State Building & kills 1 1997 - American Express Senior Golf Invitational 1997 - Jeff Sluman wins Tucson Golf Classic 1997 - NBC TV shows "Schindler's List" completely uncensored, 65M watch 1997 - Tucson Chrysler Golf Classic 1997 - Scientists in Scotland announced they succeeded in cloning an adult mammal, producing a lamb named "Dolly" 1998 - Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Charleston SC on WAVF 96.1 FM 1998 - US Supreme Court lets Megan's Law stand. 1998 - Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders. 1999 - Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey. 1999 - An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31. 1999 - Hip Hop artist Eminem releases his first major record album 'The Slim Shady LP' (Grammy 2000 - Rap album) 2000 - 42nd Grammy Awards: Smooth, Christina Aguilera wins 2003 - 45th Grammy Awards: Don't Know Why, Norah Jones wins 2005 - Slovakia Summit 2005 begins, marking the first occasion when a sitting American President visits Slovakia; George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin are in attendance. 2006 - Dubai Ports World agrees to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill. 2007 - Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea. 2007 - A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 22. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents. 2008 - a B-2 Spirit of the USAF crashes at Guam. The crew survived but the aircraft was written off, making it the most expensive air crash in human history (the aircraft alone cost $1.2Bn). The B-2 had a perfect safety record before the crash; not one B-2 ever crashed. 2008 - 28th Golden Raspberry Awards: I Know Who Killed Me wins 2010 - Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million litres of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster. 2011 - Venezuela's economy grew 0.6% in the last quarter of 2010, technically leaving the recession after six quarters, it is reported today 2012 - A series of bomb attacks across 12 Iraqi cities kills 60 and injures 200 2013 - 51 people are killed and 62 are injured in conflict between rival tribes in Darfur, Sudan 2013 - 33rd Golden Raspberry Awards: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 wins 2014 - A pro-Euromaidan rally is held in Simferopol, Ukraine, while in Kerch, protesters attempt to replace the Ukrainian flag from city hall with a Russian flag. ......		Feb. 24th. 303 - 1st official Roman edict for persecution of Christians issued by Emperor Diocletian 1208 - St Francis of Assisi, 26, received his vocation in Portiuncula Italy 1296 - Pope Boniface VIII degree Clericis Iaicos 1387 - King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda. 1389 - Battle at Falköping: Danes defeat King Albert of Sweden 1496 - England's Henry VII ends commercial dispute with Flanders 1510 - Pope Julius II excommunicates the republic of Venice 1525 - Battle of Pavia: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V's troops beat the French. French King Francois I captured, 15,000 killed/wounded 1527 - Ferdinand of Austria crowned as king of Bohemia 1528 - Hungarian anti-king Janos Zapolyai & Sultan Suleiman signs treaty 1530 - 1st imperial coronation by a Pope, Charles V crowned by Clement V 1538 - Treaty of Nagyvarad/Peace of Grosswardein signed between Ferdinand I of Austria and John Zápolya of Hungary. 1541 - Santiago, Chile founded by Pedro de Valvidia (or 2/12) 1552 - Privileges of Hanseatic League in England are abrogated. 1597 - Flemish painter Frederick of Valckenborch becomes porter of Frankfurt-on-Main 1607 - Claudio Monteverdi's opera "Orfeo" premieres in Mantua 1708 - Prince Johan Willem Friso sworn in as viceroy of Groningen 1711 - Handel's opera "Rinaldo" premieres at Haymarket theatre in London 1739 - Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nadir Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah. 1779 - George Rogers Clark captures Vincennes (Ind) from British 1786 - Charles Cornwallis appointed governor-general of India 1793 - French troops conquer Breda 1803 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled itself to be the final interpreter of all constitutional issues. 1835 - "Siwinowe Kesibwi" (The Shawnee Sun) was issued as the first Indian language monthly publication in the U.S. 1839 - Mr. William S. Otis received a patent for the steam shovel. 1857 - The Los Angeles Vinyard Society was organized. 1857 - The first shipment of perforated postage stamps was received by the U.S. Government. 1863 - Arizona was organized as a territory. 1866 - In Washington, DC, an American flag made entirely of American bunting was displayed for the first time. 1868 - The U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson due to his attempt to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton. The U.S. Senate later acquitted Johnson. 1886 - Thomas Edison and Mina Miller were married. 1900 - New York City Mayor Van Wyck signed the contract to begin work on New York's first rapid transit tunnel. The tunnel would link Manhattan and Brooklyn. The ground breaking ceremony was on March 24, 1900. 1903 - In Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an area was leased to the U.S. for a naval base. 1925 - A thermit was used for the first time. It was used to break up a 250,000-ton ice jam that had clogged the St. Lawrence River near Waddington, NY. 1938 - The first nylon bristle toothbrush was made. It was the first time that nylon yarn had been used commercially. 1942 - The U.S. Government stopped shipments of all 12-gauge shotguns for sporting use for the wartime effort. 1942 - The Voice of America (VOA) aired for the first time. 1945 - During World War II, the Philippine capital of Manilla, was liberated by U.S. soldiers. 1946 - Juan Peron was elected president of Argentina. 1956 - The city of Cleveland invoked a 1931 law that barred people under the age of 18 from dancing in public without an adult guardian. 1980 - NBC premiered the TV movie "Harper Valley P.T.A." 1981 - Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Britain's Prince Charles to Lady Diana Spencer. 1983 - The Dow Jones industrial average closed above the 1100 mark for the first time. 1983 - A U.S.congressional commission released a report that condemned the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II. 1987 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, of the Los Angeles Lakers, got his first three-point shot in the NBA. 1987 - An exploding supernova was discovered in the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy. 1988 - The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a $200,000 award to Rev. Jerry Falwell that had been won against "Hustler" magazine. The ruling expanded legal protections for parody and satire. 1989 - Irans Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini sentenced Salman Rushdie to death for his novel "The Satanic Verses". A bounty of one to three-million-dollars was also put on Rushidie's head. 1989 - A United Airlines 747 jet rips open in flight killing 9 people. The flight was from Honolulu to New Zealand. 1992 - "Wayne's World" opened in U.S. theaters. 1992 - Tracy Gold began working on the set of "Growing Pains" again. She had left the show due to anorexia. 1994 - In Los Angeles, Garrett Morris was shot during a robbery attempt. He eventually recovered from his injury. 1997 - The U.S. The Food and Drug Administration named six brands of birth control as safe and effective "morning-after" pills for preventing pregnancy. 1997 - Dick Enberg received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1999 - In southeast China, a domestic airliner crashed killing all 64 passengers. 2007 - The Virginia General Assembly passed a resolution expressing "profound regret" for the state's role in slavery. 2008 - Cuba's parliament named Raul Castro president. His brother Fidel had ruled for nearly 50 years. 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar scored the the first double century in One Day International cricket. 2010 - Europe risks a double-dip recession after bad results emerge from France, Germany and Italy, it is reported today; the Eurozone only grew by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2009 2011 - Final Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103). 2013 - Jimmie Johnson wins the 2013 Daytona 500 2014 - Pope Francis creates a second Secretariat with the power to audit any Vatican agency at any time 2014 - 7 people are killed & 37 are injured after a bridge collapses in Vietnam 2014 - A 4.4 billion-year-old Crystal is discovered to be the oldest known fragment from the earth's crust......	Feb. 25th. 138 - The Emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius, effectively making him his successor. 1095 - Council of Rockingham: bishop Anselmus vs King William II Rufus 1358 - Dalmatie flees Venice 1497 - Italians troops reconquer Taranto on France 1502 - Austrian emperor Maximilian I reformats government machine 1570 - Pius V excommunicates Elizabeth I, absolves her subjects from allegiance 1605 - Portuguese garrison on Ambon surrenders to Admiral Van der Haghen 1623 - Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria becomes monarch of Palts 1634 - Irish captain Walter Devereaux kills duke Wallenstein 1643 - Dutch US colonists kill Algonquin-indians 1667 - Abraham Crijnssens fleet reach Fort Willoughby on Suriname River 1746 - Cumberlands troops occupy Aberdeen 1751 - 1st performing monkey exhibited in America, NYC (admission 1 cent) 1791 - 1st Bank of US chartered 1793 - 1st cabinet meeting (At George Washington's home) 1795 - French Politician and Educator Joseph Lakanal, defines on behalf of the French Revolution an educational utopia aiming to put an end to inequalities of development that affected a citizen's capacities for judgment." 1797 - Colonel William Tate and his force of 1000-1500 soldiers surrender after the Last Invasion of Britain 1799 - 1st federal forestry legislation authorizes purchase of timber land 1799 - Congress passes 1st federal quarantine legislation 1803 - 1,800 sovereign German states unite into 60 states 1804 - Thomas Jefferson nominated for US President at Democratic-Republican caucus 1830 - Victor Hugo's "Hernani" premieres in Paris 1836 - Samuel Colt patents 1st revolving barrel multishot firearm 1836 - US Showman Phineas Taylor Barnum exhibits African American slave Joice Heth. 1837 - 1st US electric printing press patented by Thomas Davenport. 1847 - State University of Iowa is approved 1859 - 1st use of "insanity plea" to prove innocence 1862 - Congress forms US Bureau of Engraving & Printing 1862 - Paper currency (greenbacks) introduced in US by Pres Abraham Lincoln 1863 - Congress creates national banking system, comptroller of currency 1870 - Hiram R. Revels, is sworn in as 1st African American member of Congress (Sen-R-MS) 1875 - Kiowa Indians under Lone Wolf (Guipago) surrender at Ft Sill 1879 - Congress passed 1st Timberland Protection Act 1885 - US Congress condemns barbed wire around government grounds 1892 - James Barrie's "Walker London," premieres in London 1896 - Italian government decides to attack governor Baratieri of Eritrea 1901 - George Cohan's musical "Governor's Son," premieres in NYC 1901 - US Steel Corp organized under J P Morgan. 1913 - The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. It authorized a graduated income tax. 1919 - The state of Oregon became the first state to place a tax on gasoline. The tax was 1 cent per gallon. 1928 - The Federal Radio Commission issued the first U.S. television license to Charles Jenkins Laboratories in Washington, DC. 1930 - The bank check photographing device was patented. 1933 - The aircraft carrier Ranger was launched. It was the first ship in the U.S. Navy to be designed and built from the keel up as an aircraft carrier. 1940 - The New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens played in the first hockey game to be televised in the U.S. The game was aired on W2WBS in New York with one camera in a fixed position. The Rangers beat the Canadiens 6-2. 1948 - Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia. 1950 - "Your Show of Shows" debuted on NBC. 1956 - Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev criticized the late Josef Stalin in a speech before a Communist Party congress in Moscow. 1964 - Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) TKOs Sonny Liston in 7 for his first world heavyweight championship title 1966 - Syrian military coup under Hafiz al-Assad 1968 - 430 Unification Church couples wed in Korea 1968 - Makarios re-elected president of Cyprus 1969 - Beatles begin recording Abbey Road album 1969 - Mariner 6 launched for fly-by of Mars 1969 - Pension plan for baseball is agreed to 1969 - Germany gives $5 million to an Arab terrorist as ransom for the passengers and crew of a hijacked jumbo jet. 1971 - "Oh! Calcutta!" opens at Belasco Theater NYC for 1,316 performances 1971 - P Zindel's "And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little," premieres in NYC 1971 - Northern Ireland Prime Minister James Chichester-Clark holds a meeting with Catholic Cardinal of Ireland William Conway, the first such meeting between men holding these offices since 1921 1972 - Lopsided trade, Cards trade Steve Carlton to Phillies for Rick Wise 1972 - Germany gave a $5 million ransom to Arab terrorist who had hijacked a jumbo jet. 1972 - Attempted assassination of Minister of State for Home Affairs John Taylor who is shot a number of times (the Official Irish Republican Army later claimed responsibility) 1973 - Juan Corona sentenced to 25 life sentences for 25 murders 1973 - Steven Sondheim's musical "Little Night Music," premieres at Shubert Theatre in NYC (601 performances) 1974 - Veronica & Colin Scargill (England) begin tandem bicycle ride a record 18,020 miles around the world, completed on August 27, 1975 1975 - Ewen Chatfield flattened by Peter Lever & seriously injured 1977 - New Orleans' Pete Maravich sets NBA record for a guard with 68 pts 1977 - Oil tanker explosion west of Honolulu spills 31 million gallons 1977 - Soyuz 24 returns to Earth. 1984 - Oil fire in Cubatao Brazil kills 500 1986 - 28th Grammy Awards: We Are the World, Sade, Phil Collins wins 1986 - Corazon Aquino becomes President of the Philippines, Marcos flees the country 1986 - Iran conquerors Iraq peninsula Fao 1986 - Thousands of Egyptian military police riot, destroy 2 luxury hotel 1987 - LaMarr Hoyt is banned from baseball for 1987, due to drug abuse 1987 - US Supreme Court upholds (5-4) affirmative action 1988 - Bruce Springsteen "Tunnel of Love Tour," begins in Worcester Mass 1988 - South Korea adopts constitution 1989 - 1st independent blue-collar labor union in Communist Hungary forms 1989 - Javed Miandad scores 271 v NZ at Eden Park 1989 - Lowest baramotric pressure in Netherlands (956.7 mbar at De Bilt). 1989 - Mike Tyson TKOs Frank Bruno in 5 for heavyweight boxing title 1990 - Australia beat Pakistan 2-0 to win the Cricket World Series Cup 1990 - Nicaraguans votes out Sandinistas 1990 - On a BBC taped interview, rock star Stevie Nicks breaks down, saying that she will never have children & no man can stand her for long 1991 - Andrew Jones scores twin Test Cricket tons v Sri Lanka (122 & 100*) 1991 - Bruce McNall, Wayne Gretzky & John Candy buy CFL's Toronto Argonauts 1991 - US, barracks in Dhahran Saudi Arabia, hit by scud missile, kills 28 1992 - 34th Grammy Awards: Unforgetable, Marc Cohn wins 1992 - Khojaly massacre: about 613 civilians killed by Armenian armed forces during the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan 1992 - Muddy Waters wins Lifetime Achievement Award at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards. 2007 - 79th Academy Awards - "The Departed," Forest Whitaker & Helen Mirren win 2009 - BDR massacre in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 74 People are being killed, including more than 50 Army officials, by Bangladeshi Boarder Guards inside its headquarter. 2011 - In the Irish general election, the Fianna Fáil-led government suffered the worst defeat of a sitting government since the formation of the Irish state in 1921. 2011 - French fashion house Christian Dior suspends its chief designer John Galliano after he is arrested for an anti-semitic verbal attack in Paris 2012 - Syrian Army kills 100 civilians in artillery shelling of Homs and Hama 2012 - Al Qaeda suicide bombing kills at least 26 people in Mukalla, Yemen 2012 - World Health Organization removes India from the list of polio endemic countries 2012 - Louisiana Red, American blues musician, dies from stroke at 79 2013 - Italy Common Good, a centre left alliance, wins the Italian general election 2013 - Cuban President Raul Castro announces he will not seek another term in 2018 2014 - 50 students are killed in a Boko Harem attack on a college in Buni, Nigeria 2014 - Hundreds of pro-Russian protesters block the Crimean parliament and demand a referendum on Crimea's independence......
	Feb. 26th. 747 BC - Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era. 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor. 1266 - Battle of Benevento fought in Southern Italy between Manfred of Sicily and army of Charles of Anjou 1534 - Pope Paul II affirms George van Egmond as bishop of Utrecht 1590 - Mauritius of Nassaus sails to Breda 1616 - Spanish Inquisition delivers injunction to Galileo 1732 - 1st mass celebrated in 1st American Catholic church, St Joseph's, Philadelphia 1773 - Construction authorized for Walnut St jail (Phila) (1st solitary) 1794 - Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen burns down. 1797 - Bank of England issues first £1-note 1804 - Vice-admiral William Bligh (of Bounty fame) ends siege of Fort Amsterdam, Willemstad 1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the Island of Elba. He then began his second conquest of France. 1848 - The second French Republic was proclaimed. 1863 - U.S. President Lincoln signed the National Currency Act. 1870 - In New York City, the first pneumatic-powered subway line was opened to the public. 1881 - S.S. Ceylon began his world-wide cruise, beginning in Liverpool, England. 1907 - The U.S. Congress raised their own pay to $7500. 1916 - Mutual signed Charlie Chaplin to a film contract. 1919 - In Arizona, the Grand Canyon was established as a National Park with an act of the U.S. Congress. 1929 - U.S. President Coolidge signed a bill creating the Grand Teton National Park. 1930 - New York City installed traffic lights. 1933 - A ground-breaking ceremony was held at Crissy Field for the Golden Gate Bridge. 1945 - In the U.S., a nationwide midnight curfew went into effect. 1952 - British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that Britain had developed an atomic bomb. 1957 - The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was established by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 1960 - Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev voices support for Indonesia 1960 - USA's David Jenkins wins Olympic Gold for men's figure skating 1960 - Verne Gagne beats Doctor X in Omaha, to become NWA wrestling champ 1960 - Vera Miles stars in the famous "Mirror Image" episode of the classic CBS television series "The Twilight Zone" 1962 - Arthur Kopit's "Oh, Dad, Poor Dad . . ." premieres in NYC 1962 - US Supreme court disallows race separation on public transportation 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Phila Warriors scores 67 points vs NY 1965 - Dutch government of Marijnen falls 1965 - West Germany ceases military aid to Tanzania 1966 - KBIM TV channel 10 in Roswell, NM (CBS) begins broadcasting 1967 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR 1967 - Verne Gagne beats Mad Dog Vachon in St Paul, to become NWA champ 1968 - Clandestine Radio Voice of Iraqi People (Communist) final transmission 1970 - "Georgy" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 4 performances. 1971 - Two Royal Ulster Constabulary officers are shot and killed by the Irish Republican Army while on a mobile patrol in the Ardoyne area of Belfast, North Ireland 1972 - Slag heap dam collapses above Buffalo Creek West Virginia, kills 125 1973 - Triple Crown horse Secretariat bought for a record $5.7m 1974 - Gold hits record $188 an ounce in Paris 1975 - "Night... Made America Famous" opens at Barrymore NYC for 75 perfs 1975 - 1st televised kidney transplant (Today Show) 1976 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site 1977 - 1st flight of Space Shuttle (atop a Boeing 747) 1978 - Ira Levin's "Deathtrap" premieres in NYC. 1979 - "Flatbush" debuted on CBS-TV. 1980 - Egypt & Israel exchange ambassadors for 1st time 1980 - Milt coup under Desi Bouterse in Suriname 1980 - R Hadlee scores Test Cricket century v Roberts, Garner, Holding, Croft 1981 - 3 Anglican missionaries detained in Iran since Aug 1980 are released 1981 - 84 penalties (406 mins) assessed for a brawl between NHL Minn & Bost 1981 - French Train Grande Vitesse averages 380 kph on trial run 1982 - Test Cricket debut of Martin Crowe, v Australia Wellington, run out 9 1983 - Michael Jackson's "Thriller" album goes to #1 & stays #1 for 37 weeks 1983 - Shortwave pirate Radio USA (Wellsville, NY) begins transmission 1984 - Last US marines in multinational peacekeeping force in Lebanon left Beirut. 1986 - Corazon Aquino was inaugurated president of the Philippines. Long time President Ferdinand Marcos went into exile. 1987 - The Tower Commission rebuked U.S. President Reagan for failing to control his national security staff in the wake of the Iran-Contra affair. 1987 - The U.S.S.R. conducted its first nuclear weapons test after a 19-month moratorium period. 1991 - Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announced on Baghdad Radio that Iraqi troops were being withdrawn from Kuwait. 1993 - Six people were killed and more than a thousand injured when a van exploded in the parking garage beneath the World Trade Center in New York City. The bomb had been built by Islamic extremists. 1995 - Barings PLC collapsed after a securities dealer lost more than $1.4 billion by gambling on Tokyo stock prices. The company was Britain's oldest investment banking firm. 1998 - A Texas jury rejected an $11 million lawsuit by Texas cattlemen who blamed Oprah Winfrey for price drop after on-air comment about mad-cow disease. 1998 - In Oregon, a health panel rules that taxpayers must help to pay for doctor-assisted suicides. 2001 - A U.N. tribunal convicted Bosnian Croat political leader Dario Kordic and military commander Mario Cerkez of war crimes. They had ordered the systematic murder and persecution of Muslim civilians during the Bosnian war. 2002 - In Rome, Italy, a bomb exploded near the Interior Ministry. No injuries were reported. 2009 - Former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic was acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia regarding war crimes during the Kosovo War. 2009 - The Pentagon reveresed its 18-year policy of not allowing media to cover returning war dead. The reversal allowsd some media coverage with family approval. 2011 - 31st Golden Raspberry Awards: The Last Airbender wins 2012 - The film The Artist wins five Academy Awards and becomes the first silent film to win since 1927. 2012 - Train derailment kills 3 and injures 45 in Burlington, Ontario 2012 - 84th Academy Awards - "The Artist", Jean Dujardin & Meryl Streep win 2013 - A flexible battery capable of being charged wirelessly and folded and stretched is developed 2013 - A hot air balloon crashes in Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 tourists 2013 - A rocket launched from the Gaza strip into Israel ends the ceasefire since November 2012.......		Feb. 27th. 837 - 15th recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet 1526 - Saxony & Hesse form League of Gotha (league of Protestant princes) 1531 - Evangelical German monarchy/towns form Schmalkaldische Union 1557 - 1st Russian Embassy arrives in London 1563 - William Byrd is appointed organist at Lincoln Cathedral 1594 - Henri IV crowned king of France 1626 - Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after he led the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci. 1665 - Battle at Elmina, Gold Coast: Vice-adm De Ruyter beats English 1667 - Abraham Crijnssen conquerors Fort Willoughby (Zeelandia), Suriname 1670 - Jews expelled from Austria by order of Leopold I 1678 - Earl of Shaftesbury freed from the Tower of London 1696 - English/Welsh nobles lay down Oath of Association 1700 - Pacific Island of New Britain discovered 1713 - French troops bomb Willemstad Curacao 1801 - Washington DC placed under Congressional jurisdiction 1803 - Great fire in Bombay, India 1813 - 1st federal vaccination legislation enacted 1813 - Congress authorizes use of steamboats to transport mail 1814 - Ludwig von Beethoven's 8th Symphony in F premieres 1816 - Dutch regain Suriname 1860 - Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency. 1861 - Russians shoot at Poles protesting Russian rule of Poland in Castle Square, Warsaw 1861 - US Congress authorizes 1st stamped newspaper wrappers for mailing 1864 - 6th & last day of battle at Dalton, Georgia (about 600 casualties) 1864 - Near Andersonville GA, rebels open a new POW camp "Camp Sumpter" 1865 - Civil War skirmish near Sturgeon, Missouri 1869 - John Menard is 1st black to make a speech in Congress 1871 - Meeting of Alabama claims commission 1872 - Charlotte Ray, 1st Black woman lawyer, graduated from Howard University 1873 - Dutch socialist Samuel van Wooden demands law against child labor 1874 - Baseball 1st played in England at Lord's Cricket Ground 1877 - US Electoral College declares R Hayes winner presidential election 1879 - Constantine Fahlberg discovers saccharin (artificial sweetener) 1881 - Battle at Amajuba, S Afr: Boers vs Brit army under Gen Colley 1883 - Oscar Hammerstein patents 1st cigar-rolling machine 1890 - D Needham & P Kerrigan box 100 rounds (6 h 39 m), SF; match is draw. 1896 - The "Charlotte Observer" published a picture of an X-ray photograph made by Dr. H.L. Smith. The photograph showed a perfect picture of all the bones of a hand and a bullet that Smith had placed between the third and fourth fingers in the palm. 1900 - Battle at Pietershoogte during the Boer War 1900 - Boer General Cronjé surrenders to British in Pardenberg, South Africa 1900 - In London, the Trades Union Congress and the Independent Labour Party (formed in 1893) meet, resulting in a Labour Representative Committee and eventually the modern Labour Party in 1906 1901 - NL Rules Committee decrees that all fouls are to count as strikes except after two strikes 1901 - A General Committee of National Liberal Federation meets and adopts a resolution deploring the continuation of the war in South Africa and condemning the British Government's insistence on unconditional surrender by the Boers. 1907 - Psychiatrists Carl Gustav Jung and Sigmund Freud meet for the first time in Vienna 1908 - Sacrifice fly adopted (repealed in 1931, reinstated 1954) 1908 - Star #46 was added to US flag for Oklahoma 1912 - Lord Kitchener opens Khartoum-El Obeid (Nyala) railway 1919 - 1st public performance of Holst's "Planets" 1919 - American Association for Hard of Hearing forms (NYC) 1921 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Theresa Weld Blanchard; US male Figure Skating championship won by Sherwin Badger 1921 - The International Working Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna 1921 - The Fascists incite a riot in Florence, Italy 1922 - US Commerce Sec Herbert Hoover convenes 1st National Radio Conference 1922 - The U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 19th Amendment that guaranteed women the right to vote. 1933 - The Reichstag, Germany's parliament building in Berlin, was set afire. The Nazis accused Communist for the fire. 1939 - The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed sit-down strikes. 1949 - Chaim Weizmann became the first Israeli president. 1951 - The 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, limiting U.S. Presidents to two terms. 1972 - The Shanghai Communique was issued by U.S. President Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai. 1973 - The American Indian Movement occupied Wouned Knee in South Dakota. 1974 - "People" magazine was first issued by Time-Life (later known as Time-Warner). 1981 - Chrysler Corporation was granted an additional $400 million in federal loan guarantees. Chrysler had posted a loss of $1.7 billion in 1980. 1982 - Wayne B. Williams was convicted of murdering two of the 28 black children and young adults whose bodies were found in Atlanta, GA, over a two-year period. 1986 - The U.S. Senate approved the telecast of its debates on a trial basis. 1990 - The Exxon Corporation and Exxon Shipping were indicted on five criminal counts in reference to the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. 1991 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush announced live on television that "Kuwait is liberated." 1997 - In Ireland, divorce became legal. 1997 - Don Cornelius received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 1998 - Britain's House of Lords agreed to give a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first-born son. This was the end to 1,000 years of male preference. 1999 - Colin Prescot and Andy Elson set a new hot air balloon endurance record when they had been aloft for 233 hours and 55 minutes. The two were in the process of trying to circumnavigate the Earth. 1999 - Nigeria returned to civilian rule when Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo became the country's first elected president since August of 1983. 2002 - In Boston, twenty people working at Logan International Airport were charged with lying to get their jobs or security badges. 2012 - Wikileaks begins disclosing 5 million emails from private intelligence company Stratfor 2013 - 20 people are killed in a market fire in Calcutta, India 2013 - 17 Afghan militia are killed by Taliban insurgents in an attack in the Andar District 2013 - Pope Benedict XVI presents his farewell address to Vatican City 2014 - Republic of Crimea announces a referendum & ousts its regional government 2014 - Arseniy Yatsenyuk appointed Prime Minister of the Ukraine. 2014 - Chaos erupts after the Swedish Public Employment Service mistakenly invites 61,000 people to a job interview in Stockholm 2014 - US Republican Governor Jan Brewer vetoes a "religious freedom" bill that would have allowed businesses to turn away gay customers. .......	Feb. 28th. 202 BC - Coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han takes place, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China 364 - Valentinian I becomes Roman Emperor. 870 - 8th Ecumenical council ends in Constantinople 1570 - Anti-Portugese uprising on Ternate, Moluccas 1638 - Scottish Presbyterians sign National Convent, Greyfriars, Edinburgh 1646 - Roger Scott was tried in Mass for sleeping in church 1653 - -Mar 3] 3 Day Sea battle English beats Dutch 1667 - English colony Suriname in Dutch hands 1700 - Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar. 1704 - Frenchman Elias Neau opens a school for blacks in NYC 1704 - Indians attack Deerfield, Mass, kill 40, kidnap 100 1708 - Slave revolt, Newton, Long Island NY, 11 die 1710 - In the Battle of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock. 1728 - George F Handel's opera "Siroe, re di Persia" premieres in London 1730 - Tsarina Anna Ivanovna leads autocracy. 1827 - The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad became the first railroad incorporated for commercial transportation of people and freight. 1844 - Several people were killed aboard the USS Princeton when a 12-inch gun exploded. 1849 - Regular steamboat service to California via Cape Horn arrived in San Francisco for the first time. The SS California had left New York Harbor on October 6, 1848. The trip took 4 months and 21 days. 1854 - The Republican Party was organized in Ripon, WI. About 50 slavery opponents began the new political group. 1861 - The U.S. territory of Colorado was organized. 1881 - Thomas Edison hired Samuel Insull as his private secretary. 1883 - The first vaudeville theater opened. 1885 - AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph) was incorporated. The company was capitalized on only $100,000 and provided long distance service for American Bell. 1893 - Edward G. Acheson showed his patent for Carborundum. 1900 - In South Africa, British troops relieved Ladysmith, which had been under siege since November 2, 1899. 1911 - Thomas A. Edison, Inc. was organized. 1940 - The first televised basketball game was shown. The game featured Fordham University and the University of Pittsburgh from Madison Square Gardens in New York. 1948 - Bud Gartiser set a world record when he cleared the 50-yard low hurdles in 6.8 seconds. 1951 - A Senate committee issued a report that stated that there were at least two major crime syndicates in the U.S. 1953 - In a Cambridge University laboratory, scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick discovered the double-helix structure of DNA. 1954 - In San Francisco "Birth of a Planet" was aired. It was the first American phase-contrast cinemicrography film to be presented on television. 1956 - A patent was issued to Forrester for a computer memory core. 1962 - The John Glenn for President club was formed by a group of Las Vegas republicans. 1974 - The U.S. and Egypt re-established diplomatic relations after a break of seven years. 1979 - Mr. Ed, the talking horse from the TV show "Mr. Ed", died. 1983 - "M*A*S*H" became the most watched television program in history when the final episode aired. 1986 - Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated in Stockholm. 1993 - U.S. Federal agents raided the compound of an armed religious cult in Waco, TX. The ATF had planned to arrest the leader of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh, on federal firearms charges. Four agents and six Davidians were killed and a 51-day standoff followed. 1994 - NATO made its first military strike when U.S. F-16 fighters shot down four Bosnian Serb warplanes in violation of a no-fly zone over central Bosnia. 1995 - The Denver International Airport opened after a 16-month delay. 1998 - Serbian police began a campaign to wipe out "terrorist gangs" in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo. 2001 - The Northwest region of the U.S., including the state of Washington, was hit by an earthquake that measured 6.9 on the Richter Scale. There were no deaths reported. 2002 - In Ahmadabad, India, Hindus set fire to homes in a Muslim neighborhood. At least 55 people were killed in the attack. 2002 - Sotheby's auction house announced that it had identified Peter Paul Reubens as the creator of the painting "The Massacre of the Innocents." The painting was previously thought to be by Jan van den Hoecke. 2002 - It was announced that John Madden would be replacing Dennis Miller on "Monday Night Football." Madden signed a four-year $20 million deal with ABC Sports. 2005 - A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127. 2005 - 19th Soul Train Music Awards: Ice Cube, Usher & Ciara win 2007 - Jupiter flyby of the New Horizons Pluto-observer spacecraft. 2008 - Former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra is arrested on corruption charges upon returning to Thailand after months of exile. 2012 - Occupy London protesters evicted from St Paul's Cathedral 2012 - Discovery of the largest prehistoric penguin, Kairuku grebneffi, at nearly 5ft tall 2013 - 28 people are killed and 60 are injured after a series of bombings across Baghdad, Iraq 2013 - 35 people are killed in violent demonstrations across Bangladesh 2013 - The brains of two rats successfully connected so that they share information 2014 - Russia moves troops into the Crimea to protect its interests against Ukraine 2013 - Benedict XVI resigned as pope. He was the first pope to resign since Gregory XII in 1415 and the first to resign voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294. .......
	*********************************			Feb. 29th. 1504 - Columbus uses a lunar eclipse to frighten hostile Jamaican Indians 1692 - Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne & Tituba, an Indian servant first people to be accused of witchcraft in Salem Mass. 1696 - English ex-premier Earl Danby accused of corruption 1704 - French & Indians attack Deerfield, Mass, kill 50, abduct 100 1712 - February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, in a move to abolish the Swedish calendar for a return to the Old style. 1720 - Queen Ulrica Eleonora of Sweden resigns 1780 - The Omicron Delta Omega fraternity was founded by Benjamin Franklin at James Madison University. 1784 - Marquis de Sade transferred from Vincennes fortress to the Bastille 1796 - Jay's Treaty proclaimed, settles some differences with England 1832 - Charles Darwin visits jungle near Bahia Brazil 1836 - Giacomo Meyerbeers opera "Les Huguenots," premieres in Paris 1848 - Neufchatel declares independence of Switzerland 1856 - Hostilities in Russo-Turkish War cease 1868 - 1st British government of Disraeli forms. 1904 - In Washington, DC, a seven-man commission was created to hasten the construction of the Panama Canal. 1940 - Hattie McDaniel became the first black person to win an Oscar. She won Best Supporting Actress award for her role as Mammy in "Gone with the Wind." 1944 - The invasion of the Admiralty Islands began with "Operation Brewer." U.S. General Douglas MacArthur led his forces onto Los Negros. 1944 - Dorothy McElroy Vredenburgh of Alabama became the first woman to be appointed secretary of a national political party. She was appointed to the Democratic National Committee. 1944 - The Office of Defense Transportation, for the second year in a row, restricted attendance at the Kentucky Derby to residents of the Louisville area. This was an effort to prevent a railroad traffic burden during wartime. 1964 - Dawn Fraser got her 36th world record. The Australian swimmer was timed at 58.9 seconds in the 100-meter freestyle in Sydney, Australia. 1972 - Jack Anderson revealed a memo written by ITT's Washington lobbyist, Dita Beard, that connected ITT's funding of part of the Republican National Convention. 1988 - KWK-FM in St Louis Missouri changes call letters to WKBG 1988 - Mark Greatbatch scores 107* v England on Test Cricket debut 1988 - NYC Mayor Koch calls Reagan a "WIMP" in the war on drugs 1988 - Nazi document implicates Waldheim in WW II deportations 1988 - "Day by Day" premiered on NBC-TV. 1996 - Kenya defeat West Indies (all out 93) in Cricket World Cup 1996 - Soyuz TM-23, lands 2004 - Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigns as President of Haiti following popular rebel uprising. 2004 - 76th Academy Awards - "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," Sean Penn & Charlize Theron win. ......