Today in History
Today is Tuesday, Feb. 21, the 52nd day of 2017. There are 313 days
left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 21, 1947,
inventor Edwin H. Land publicly demonstrated his Polaroid Land camera,
which used self-developing film to produce a black & white photograph
in 60 seconds. On this date: In 1513, Pope Julius II, who commissioned
Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, died nearly
four months after the project was completed. In 1613, Mikhail Romanov,
16, was unanimously chosen by Russia's national assembly to be czar,
beginning a dynasty that would last three centuries. In 1885, the
Washington Monument was dedicated. In 1916, the World War I Battle of
Verdun began in France as German forces attacked; the French were able
to prevail after 10 months of fighting. In 1945, during the World War
II Battle of Iwo Jima, the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea was sunk by
kamikazes with the loss of 318 men. In 1958, the USS Gudgeon (SS-567)
became the first American submarine to complete a round-the-world
cruise, eight months after departing from Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. In
1965, black Muslim leader and civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was
shot to death inside Harlem's Audubon Ballroom in New York by assassins
identified as members of the Nation of Islam. (Three men were convicted
of murder and imprisoned; all were eventually paroled.) In 1972,
President Richard M. Nixon began his historic visit to China as he and
his wife, Pat, arrived in Beijing. In 1975, former Attorney General
John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and 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 a year and a-half). In
1986, Larry Wu-tai Chin, the first American found guilty of spying for
China, killed himself in his Virginia jail cell. In 1992, Kristi
Yamaguchi (yah-mah-GOO'-chee) of the United States won the gold medal
in ladies' figure skating at the Albertville Olympics; Midori Ito
(mee-doh-ree ee-toh) of Japan won the silver, Nancy Kerrigan of the
U.S. the bronze. In 1997, a bomb exploded at The Otherside Lounge, a
gay and lesbian nightclub in Atlanta, injuring five people. (Eric
Rudolph later admitted targeting the club.) Ten years ago: British
Prime Minister Tony Blair announced his country would withdraw around
1,600 troops from Iraq in the coming months; Denmark, meanwhile, said
it would withdraw its 460 troops. A U.S. helicopter was shot down north
of Baghdad; all aboard were safely evacuated by a second helicopter.
Five years ago: The 17-nation eurozone approved a $170 billion bailout
for Greece, which received the news with a mixture of relief and
foreboding. Publisher Barney Rosset, 89, who introduced the U.S. to
such underground classics as "Tropic of Cancer" and "Lady Chatterley's
Lover," died in New York. One year ago: Bombings claimed by the Islamic
State group in the Syrian cities of Damascus and Homs killed nearly 130
people. Pope Francis, speaking at the Vatican, urged Catholic leaders
to show "exemplary" courage by not allowing executions "in this Holy
Year of Mercy. Denny Hamlin won the Daytona 500, edging Martin Truex
Jr. by inches at the finish line. Today's Birthdays: Zimbabwe President
Robert Mugabe is 93. Fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy is 90. Movie
director Bob Rafelson is 84. Actor Gary Lockwood is 80. Actor-director
Richard Beymer is 78. Actor Peter McEnery is 77. U.S. Rep. John Lewis,
D-Ga., is 77. Film/music company executive David Geffen is 74. Actress
Tyne Daly is 71. Actor Anthony Daniels is 71. Tricia Nixon Cox is 71.
Former Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, is 70. Rock musician Jerry
Harrison (The Heads) is 68. Actress Christine Ebersole is 64. Actor
William Petersen is 64. Actor Kelsey Grammer is 62. Country singer Mary
Chapin Carpenter is 59. Actor Kim Coates is 59. Actor Jack Coleman is
59. Actor Christopher Atkins is 56. Rock singer Ranking Roger is 56.
Actor William Baldwin is 54. Rock musician Michael Ward is 50. Actress
Aunjanue Ellis is 48. Blues musician Corey Harris is 48. Country singer
Eric Heatherly is 47. Rock musician Eric Wilson is 47. Rock musician
Tad Kinchla (Blues Traveler) is 44. Singer Rhiannon Giddens (Carolina
Chocolate Drops) is 40. Actor Tituss Burgess is 38. Actress Jennifer
Love Hewitt is 38. Comedian-actor Jordan Peele (TV: "Key and Peele") is
38. Actor Brendan Sexton III is 37. Singer Charlotte Church is 31.
Actress Ashley Greene is 30. Actress Ellen Page is 30. Actor Corbin
Bleu is 28. Actress Hayley Orrantia is 23. Actress Sophie Turner is 21.
Thought for Today: "Tomorrow is often the busiest day of the week.
Spanish proverb.
