today in history - usaparliament

Today in History: March 7, Kathryn Bigelow is first woman to win Best Director Oscar

Today is Saturday, March 7, the 66th day of 2026. There are 299 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On March 7, 2010, filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director, taking the prize for “The Hurt Locker.”

Also on this date:

In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a U.S. patent for his telephone.

In 1936, Adolf Hitler ordered his troops to march into the demilitarized Rhineland, thereby breaking the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties.

In 1965, a march by over 500 civil rights demonstrators was violently broken up at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama; state troopers and a sheriff’s posse fired tear gas and beat marchers with batons in what became known as “Bloody Sunday.”

In 1975, the U.S. Senate revised its filibuster rule, allowing 60 senators to limit debate in most cases, instead of the previously required two-thirds of senators present.

In 1994, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a parody that pokes fun at an original work can be considered “fair use.” (The ruling concerned a parody of the Roy Orbison song “Oh, Pretty Woman” by the rap group 2 Live Crew.)

In 2024, movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the 2021 fatal shooting of a cinematographer by Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal on the set of the Western film “Rust.” (Gutierrez-Reed served an 18-month prison sentence and was released in 2025.)

Today’s birthdays:

Hall of Fame auto racer Janet Guthrie is 88.
Actor Daniel J. Travanti is 86.
Entertainment executive Michael Eisner is 84.
Football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann is 74.
R&B musician Ernie Isley (The Isley Brothers) is 74.
Actor Bryan Cranston is 70.
Tennis Hall of Famer Ivan Lendl is 66.
Singer Taylor Dayne is 64.
Author Bret Easton Ellis is 62.
Comedian Wanda Sykes is 62.
Actor Rachel Weisz is 56.
Actor Peter Sarsgaard is 55.
Actor Jenna Fischer is 52.
Actor Tobias Menzies is 52.
Actor Laura Prepon is 46.
Poet Amanda Gorman is 28.

tioo World first solo nonstop plane flight March 3 history today in history

Today in History: March 3, Millionaire makes first solo nonstop plane flight

Today is Tuesday, March 3, the 62nd day of 2026. There are 303 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On March 3, 2005, millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly a plane around the world solo without stopping or refueling, landing in Salina, Kansas, where he took off 67 hours earlier.

Also on this date:

In 1845, Florida became a U.S. state.

In 1849, Congress established the U.S. Department of the Interior.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the act creating the National Academy of Sciences.

In 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a bill making “The Star-Spangled Banner” the national anthem of the United States.

In 1943, in London’s East End, 173 people died in a crush of bodies at the Bethnal Green Tube station, which was being used as a wartime air raid shelter.

In 1945, Allied troops fully secured the Philippine capital of Manila from Japanese forces during World War II after a monthlong battle that destroyed much of the city.

In 1969, Apollo 9 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on a mission to test NASA’s lunar module.

In 1991, motorist Rodney King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers after a high-speed chase in a scene captured on amateur video that sparked public outrage. (The subsequent acquittal of four officers of felony assault and other charges in April 1992 triggered days of rioting and dozens of deaths in Los Angeles.)

In 2022, OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma reached a nationwide settlement over its role in the opioid crisis, with the Sackler family members who own the company boosting their cash contribution to as much as $6 billion in a deal intended to stanch a flood of lawsuits.

Today’s birthdays:

Filmmaker George Miller is 81.
Singer Jennifer Warnes is 79.
Author Ron Chernow is 77.
Football Hall of Famer Randy Gradishar is 74.
Musician Robyn Hitchcock is 73.
Actor Miranda Richardson is 68.
Radio personality Ira Glass is 67.
Olympic track and field gold medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee is 64.
Rapper-actor Tone Loc is 60.
Hockey Hall of Famer Brian Leetch is 58.
Actor Julie Bowen is 56.
Actor David Faustino is 52.
Actor Jessica Biel is 44.
Singer Camila Cabello is 29.
NBA forward Jayson Tatum is 28.

tioo World March 1 history Peace Corps today in history

Today in History: March 1, Peace Corps established

Today is Sunday, March 1, the 60th day of 2026. There are 305 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On March 1, 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order establishing the Peace Corps; since its establishment, over 240,000 Americans have served as Peace Corps volunteers.

Also on this date:

In 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act, making Yellowstone the nation’s first national park.

In 1932, Charles A. Lindbergh Jr., the 20-month-old son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh, was kidnapped from the family home in New Jersey. (Remains identified as those of the child were found two months later; Bruno Richard Hauptmann was convicted of murder in the case in 1935 and executed in 1936.)

In 1954, four Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire from the spectators gallery of the U.S. House of Representatives, wounding five members of Congress.

In 1966, the Soviet space probe Venera 3 crash-landed on the surface of Venus, becoming the first spacecraft to reach another planet. However, Venera was unable to transmit any data back to Earth because its communications system had failed.

In 1971, a bomb went off inside a men’s room at the U.S. Capitol. The radical group Weather Underground claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn blast, which damaged the building but caused no injuries.

In 1974, seven people, including former Nixon White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman; former Attorney General John Mitchell; and former assistant Attorney General Robert Mardian, were indicted by a grand jury on charges of conspiring to obstruct justice in connection with the Watergate break-in. (These four defendants were convicted in January 1975, though Mardian’s conviction was later reversed.)

In 2005, Dennis Rader, the churchgoing family man accused of leading a double life as the BTK serial killer, was charged in Wichita, Kansas, with 10 counts of first-degree murder. (Rader later pleaded guilty and received multiple life sentences.)

In 2007, a tornado outbreak in the Southeast U.S. killed at least 19 people across Alabama and Georgia. One of the tornadoes toppled a concrete wall at a high school in Enterprise, Alabama, killing eight students.

In 2014, a mass stabbing by men wielding knives and machetes at a railway station in Kunming, in southwest China, left at least 29 people dead and 130 others wounded. Authorities blamed a militant separatist group for the attack and said four of the suspects were shot dead.

In 2024, thousands of mourners bid farewell to Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny at a public funeral in Moscow, two weeks after his unexplained death in an Arctic penal colony. Navalny had been jailed since January 2021, when he returned to Moscow to face certain arrest after recuperating in Germany from nerve agent poisoning he blamed on the Kremlin.

Today’s birthdays:

Rock singer Roger Daltrey is 82.
Actor Dirk Benedict is 81.
Republican Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska is 75.
Filmmaker Ron Howard is 72.
Actor Tim Daly is 70.
Hockey Hall of Famer Ron Francis is 63.
Filmmaker Zack Snyder is 60.
Actor Javier Bardem is 57.
Basketball Hall of Famer Yolanda Griffith is 56.
Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Webber is 53.
Actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar is 52.
Actor Jensen Ackles is 48.
Actor Lupita Nyong’o is 43.
Pop singer Kesha is 39.
Pop singer Justin Bieber is 32.
NFL wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase is 26.
Actor Izabella Alvarez is 22.
Actor Sawyer Sharbino is 20.

tioo World Benedict XVI February 28 history pope resigns today in history

Today in History: February 28, Benedict XVI becomes first pope to resign

Today is Saturday, Feb. 28, the 59th day of 2026. There are 306 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 28, 2013, Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eight-year pontificate. (Benedict was succeeded the following month by Pope Francis.)

Also on this date:

In 1844, a massive 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded as the ship was sailing on the Potomac River, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others; President John Tyler, who also was aboard the ship, was uninjured.

In 1953, Francis H.C. Crick announced that he and fellow scientist James D. Watson had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.

In 1975, 43 people were killed in London’s Underground when a train failed to stop at Moorgate station, smashing into the end of a tunnel.

In 1983, the final episode of the television series “M*A*S*H” aired; nearly 106 million viewers saw the finale, which remains the most-watched episode of any U.S. television series to date.

In 1986, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated while walking on a Stockholm street with his wife; his assailant was never captured and remains unidentified.

In 1993, a gun battle erupted at a religious compound near Waco, Texas, when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to arrest Branch Davidian leader David Koresh for stockpiling illegal weapons; four agents and six Davidians were killed as a 51-day standoff began. (On April 19 of that year, FBI agents stormed the compound with tear gas and armored vehicles, with dozens dead before the standoff was over).

In 2014, President Barack Obama delivered a blunt warning to Moscow about reports of military activity inside Ukraine by Russia and said “there will be costs” for any intervention.

In 2023, a passenger train collided head-on with a freight train more than 200 miles north of Athens, Greece, killing 57 people in that country’s deadliest rail disaster.

In 2024, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the longest-serving U.S. Senate leader in history, announced he would step down from the leadership role the following November. (Twelve months later, the octogenarian senator said his term ending in January 2027 would be his last).

Today’s birthdays:

Rock singer Sam the Sham (aka Domingo Samudio) is 89.
Actor-director-choreographer Tommy Tune is 87.
Hall of Fame auto racer Mario Andretti is 86.
Actor Mercedes Ruehl is 79.
Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman is 73.
Basketball Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley is 71.
Actor John Turturro is 69.
Actor Robert Sean Leonard is 57.
Musician Pat Monahan (Train) is 57.
Actor Tasha Smith is 55.
Hockey Hall of Famer Eric Lindros is 53.
Actor Ali Larter is 50.
Country musician Jason Aldean is 49.
NBA guard Luka Dončić is 27.

tioo World American Indian Movement February 27 history today in history Wounded Knee

Today in History: February 27, American Indian Movement takes over Wounded Knee

Today is Friday, Feb. 27, the 58th day of 2026. There are 307 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 27, 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women and children; the occupation would last for over two months.

Also on this date:

In 1933, Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag, was gutted by fire; Chancellor Adolf Hitler, blaming communists, used the fire to justify suspending civil liberties.

In 1942, the Battle of the Java Sea began during World War II; Imperial Japanese naval forces scored a decisive victory over the Allies.

In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, limiting a president to two terms in office, was ratified.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued the Shanghai Communique, a historic joint statement that called for normalizing relations between their countries, at the conclusion of Nixon’s historic visit to China.

In 1991, Operation Desert Storm came to a conclusion as President George H.W. Bush declared in a White House address that “Kuwait is liberated, Iraq’s army is defeated,” and announced that the allies would suspend combat operations at midnight, Eastern time.

In 1997, Ireland became one of the last countries in the world to legalize divorce. Divorce remains illegal in just two countries: the Philippines and Vatican City.

In 2010, in Chile, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami killed 525 people and caused up to $30 billion in damage and a major power blackout.

In 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated East-West tensions by ordering nuclear forces put on high alert while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy agreed to talks with Moscow as Russia’s troops and tanks drove deeper into the country.

Today’s birthdays:

Actor Joanne Woodward is 96.
Football Hall of Famer Raymond Barry is 93.
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader is 92.
Broadcast journalist Charlayne Hunter-Gault is 84.
Rock musician Neal Schon (Journey) is 72.
Actor Timothy Spall is 69.
Democratic U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire is 68.
Basketball Hall of Famer James Worthy is 65.
Actor Noah Emmerich is 61.
Jockey Kent Desormeaux is 56.
Singer Chilli (TLC) is 55.
Football Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez is 50.
Author Chelsea Clinton is 46.
Singer Josh Groban is 45.
Actor Kate Mara is 43.
Pop singer Ten is 30.

tioo World February 25 history Ferdinand Marcos Philippine martial law today in history

Today in History: February 25, Dictator flees the Philippines after 20 years of rule

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 25, the 56th day of 2026. There are 309 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 25, 1986, President Ferdinand Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule in the wake of a tainted election; opposition leader Corazon Aquino — the first woman to lead the country — assumed the presidency.

Also on this date:

In 1870, Republican Hiram R. Revels of Mississippi was sworn in as a U.S. senator, becoming the first African American member of either house of Congress.

In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, giving Congress the power to levy and collect income taxes, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Philander Chase Knox.

In 1956, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev railed for hours against the brutality and “cult of personality” of his late predecessor, dictator Josef Stalin, in a speech to a Communist Party congress.

In 1964, Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) became world heavyweight boxing champion for the first time as he defeated Sonny Liston in Miami Beach.

In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, 28 American soldiers were killed when an Iraqi Scud missile hit a U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

In 1994, American-born Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire with an automatic rifle inside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, killing 29 Muslims before he was beaten to death by worshippers.

In 1997, a jury in Media, Pennsylvania, convicted chemical fortune heir John E. du Pont of third-degree murder, deciding he was mentally ill when he shot and killed world-class wrestler David Schultz. (Du Pont died in prison in December 2010 while serving a 13- to 30-year sentence; he was 72.)

In 2024, the U.S. and Britain struck 18 Houthi targets in Yemen, answering a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed militia group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including a missile strike that set fire to a cargo vessel.

Today’s birthdays:

Former talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael is 91.
Actor Tom Courtenay is 89.
Film director Neil Jordan is 76.
Rock musician-actor John Doe (punk band X) is 73.
Comedian Carrot Top is 61.
Actor Tea Leoni is 60.
Actor Sean Astin is 55.
Singer Daniel Powter is 55.
Comedian-actor Chelsea Handler is 51.
Actor Rashida Jones is 50.
FBI Director Kash Patel is 46.
Actor Jameela Jamil is 40.
Golfer Hideki Matsuyama is 34.
Actor Isabelle Fuhrman is 29.
Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix is 26.

tioo World February 24 Jerry Falwell Larry Flynt Supreme Court parody satire today in history

Today in History: February 24, Jerry Falwell loses to Larry Flynt at the Supreme Court

Today is Tuesday, Feb. 24, the 55th day of 2026. There are 310 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 24, 1988, in a ruling that expanded legal protections for parody and satire, the Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $200,000 award that the Rev. Jerry Falwell had won against Hustler magazine and its publisher, Larry Flynt.

Also on this date:

In 1803, in its landmark Marbury v. Madison decision, the U.S. Supreme Court established the foundational principle of judicial review of the constitutionality of laws and statutes.

In 1868, the U.S. House of Representatives impeached President Andrew Johnson by a vote of 126-47 following his attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton; Johnson was later acquitted by the Senate by a single vote.

In 1942, the SS Struma, a charter ship attempting to carry nearly 800 Jewish refugees from Romania to British-mandated Palestine, was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine in the Black Sea; all but one of the refugees died.

In 1981, a jury in White Plains, New York, found Jean Harris guilty of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of “Scarsdale Diet” author Dr. Herman Tarnower. (Sentenced to 15 years to life in prison, Harris was granted clemency by New York Gov. Mario Cuomo in December 1992.)

In 1991, the United States began ground operations in the Gulf War by entering Iraqi-held Kuwait.

In 2008, Cuba’s parliament named Raul Castro president, ending nearly 50 years of rule by his brother, Fidel, who announced days earlier that he would not seek reelection. Raul Castro served as president until April 2018.

In 2011, Discovery, the world’s most traveled spaceship, thundered into orbit for the final time, heading toward the International Space Station on a journey marking the beginning of the end of the shuttle era.

In 2020, Hollywood movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was convicted of rape and sexual assault in New York and was led off to prison in handcuffs in a pivotal moment for the #MeToo movement. An appeals court later threw out the verdict and ordered a new trial, but Weinstein remained behind bars after other convictions.

In 2022, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching airstrikes on cities and military bases and sending troops and tanks from multiple directions.

Today’s birthdays:

Actor Dominic Chianese is 95.
Nike co-founder Phil Knight is 88.
Actor Barry Bostwick is 81.
Actor Edward James Olmos is 79.
Musician George Thorogood is 76.
Baseball Hall of Famer Eddie Murray is 70.
Actor Billy Zane is 60.
Boxing Hall of Famer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is 49.
Tennis Hall of Famer Lleyton Hewitt is 45.
Actor Daniel Kaluuya is 37.
Singer-songwriter Domenic Innarella is 15.

tioo World Ahmaud Arbery murder February 22 history today in history

Today in History: February 22, White men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery

Today is Sunday, Feb. 22, the 53rd day of 2026. There are 312 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 22, 2022, three white men were convicted of federal hate crimes in the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, who was jogging through their neighborhood near Brunswick, Georgia, when he was attacked in 2020. (The men are serving life sentences after being convicted of murder in state court.)

Also on this date:

In 1732, the first president of the United States, George Washington, was born in Westmoreland County in the Virginia Colony.

In 1784, a U.S. merchant ship, the Empress of China, left New York for the first trade voyage of an American ship to China.

In 1819, a weakened Spain, facing revolutions in Latin America, signed a treaty ceding Florida to the United States.

In 1862, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated to a full six-year term as president of the Confederate States of America after his election the previous November. He previously served as the Confederacy’s provisional president.

In 1959, the inaugural Daytona 500 race was held; although Johnny Beauchamp was initially declared the winner, the victory was later awarded to Lee Petty.

In 1967, more than 25,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation Junction City, aimed at smashing a Viet Cong stronghold near the Cambodian border.

In 1997, scientists in Scotland announced they had successfully cloned an adult mammal for the first time, a sheep they named “Dolly.”

In 1980, the “Miracle on Ice” took place at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, as the U.S. Olympic hockey team upset the Soviet Union, 4-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal two days later, 4-2, over Finland.)

In 2010, Najibullah Zazi, accused of buying products from beauty supply stores to make bombs for an attack on New York City subways, pleaded guilty to charges including conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction. (He spent nearly a decade after his arrest helping the U.S. identify and prosecute terrorists and was given a 10-year sentence.)

In 2020, pioneering Black mathematician Katherine Johnson, who calculated rocket trajectories and Earth orbits for NASA’s early space missions and was later portrayed in the 2016 film “Hidden Figures,” died at the age of 101.

In 2024, a private lander built by Intuitive Machines made the first U.S. touchdown on the moon in more than 50 years, but the spacecraft only managed a weak signal and spotty communications with flight controllers.

Today’s birthdays:

Actor Paul Dooley is 98.
Actor James Hong is 97.
Actor Julie Walters is 76.
Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving is 76.
Golf Hall of Famer Amy Alcott is 70.
Actor Kyle MacLachlan is 67.
Golf Hall of Famer Vijay Singh is 63.
Hockey Hall of Famer Pat LaFontaine is 61.
Actor Paul Lieberstein (TV: “The Office) is 59.
Actor Jeri Ryan is 58.
Actor-singer Lea Salonga is 55.
Tennis Hall of Famer Michael Chang is 54.
Singer James Blunt is 52.
Actor Drew Barrymore is 51.
Comedian Iliza Shlesinger is 43.
Dancer and singer Genneya Walton is 27.
Rapper Molly Brazy is 27.

tioo World February 21 history Kristi Yamaguchi wins gold today in history

Today in History: February 21, Figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi wins gold for the US

Today is Saturday, Feb. 21, the 52nd day of 2026. There are 313 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 21, 1992, Kristi Yamaguchi of the United States won the gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Albertville Winter Olympics; Midori Ito of Japan won the silver, and American Nancy Kerrigan the bronze.

Also on this date:

In 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published “The Communist Manifesto” in London.

In 1885, President Chester Arthur dedicated the Washington Monument.

In 1911, composer Gustav Mahler, despite a fever, conducted the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in what turned out to be his final concert. (He died the following May.)

In 1916, the Battle of Verdun, the longest battle of World War I, began in northeastern France.

In 1965, civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death inside Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom in New York. Three men identified as members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of murder and imprisoned; all were eventually paroled. (The convictions of two of the men were dismissed in November 2021, when prosecutors said new evidence had undermined the case against them.)

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon began a historic visit to China, where he met with Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

In 1973, Israeli fighter planes shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 after it strayed into Israeli-controlled airspace over the Sinai Desert, killing all but five of the 113 people on board.

In 1975, former Attorney General John N. Mitchell, former White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, and former White House Domestic Affairs Adviser John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 1/2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up. (Each ended up serving less than two years.)

In 1995, American adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean by balloon, landing in Saskatchewan, Canada, after a 5,400-mile, four-day flight from South Korea.

Today’s birthdays:

Film and music executive David Geffen is 83.
Actor Tyne Daly is 80.
Actor Anthony Daniels is 80.
Actor William Petersen is 73.
Actor Kelsey Grammer is 71.
Country musician Mary Chapin Carpenter is 68.
Baseball Hall of Famer Alan Trammell is 68.
Actor William Baldwin is 63.
Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona is 62.
Actor Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is 57.
Musician Rhiannon Giddens is 49.
Actor Tituss Burgess is 47.
Actor Jennifer Love Hewitt is 47.
Filmmaker-comedian Jordan Peele is 47.
Singer Charlotte Church is 40.
Actor Joe Alwyn is 35.

tioo World FBI agent spy February 18 history Robert Philip Hanssen today in history

Today in History: February 18, Veteran FBI agent accused of spying for Russia

Today is Wednesday, Feb. 18, the 49th day of 2026. There are 316 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 18, 2001, veteran FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen was arrested, accused of spying for Russia. (Hanssen later pleaded guilty to espionage and attempted espionage and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; he died in prison in 2023.)

Also on this date:

In 1885, Mark Twain’s “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” was published in the U.S.

In 1930, the dwarf planet Pluto was discovered by American astronomer Clyde Tombaugh.

In 1970, the “Chicago Seven” defendants were found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention; five were convicted of violating the Anti-Riot Act of 1968 (those convictions were later reversed).

In 1983, 13 people were shot to death at a gambling club in Seattle’s Chinatown in what became known as the Wah Mee Massacre. (Two men were convicted of the killings and were sentenced to life in prison; a third was found guilty of robbery and assault and served 28 years in prison before being deported to Hong Kong in 2014.)

In 1994, in the final race of his Olympic career at the Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway, U.S. speedskater Dan Jansen broke the world record in the 1,000 meters, winning the gold medal.

In 2001, auto racing star Dale Earnhardt Sr. died in a crash in the final lap of the Daytona 500; he was 49.

In 2003, an arson attack involving two South Korean subway trains in the city of Daegu claimed nearly 200 lives.

In 2013, some $42 million (40 million euros) worth of diamonds and other gems were stolen at Brussels’ international airport by eight gunmen who cut through a perimeter fence, drove onto the tarmac and took the gemstones as they were being transferred from an armored car to a plane bound for Switzerland.

In 2021, the NASA rover Perseverance successfully landed on Mars, where it continues to explore the planet’s surface.

Today’s Birthdays:

Artist-singer Yoko Ono is 93.
Restaurateur-TV host Prue Leith (TV: “The Great British Baking Show”) is 86.
Singer Irma Thomas is 85.
Musician Dennis DeYoung is 79.
Actor Cybill Shepherd is 76.
Actor John Travolta is 72.
TV personality Vanna White is 69.
Actor Matt Dillon is 62.
Rapper-music executive Dr. Dre is 61.
Actor Molly Ringwald is 58.
Actor Ike Barinholtz is 49.
Football Hall of Famer Dwight Freeney is 46.
Musician Regina Spektor is 46.
Actor Kylie Rogers is 22.

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