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1947–In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians. The “228 Massacre” was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan, which was violently suppressed by the KMT-led Republic of China government and which resulted in the massacre of numerous civilians. The incident marked the beginning of the Kuomintang's “White Terror” period in Taiwan, in which thousands more inhabitants vanished, died, or were imprisoned.


BC 202–The coronation ceremony of Liu Bang as Emperor Gaozu of Han is held, initiating four centuries of the Han Dynasty's rule over China.

468–Pope Hilarius, dies in Rome, Western Roman Empire.

628–Khosrow II, is executed by Mihr Hormozd under the orders of Kavadh II.

870–The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.

1066–Westminster Abbey opens in London, England.

1119–Emperor Xizong of Jin is born Hela in China. He was the third emperor of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty, which ruled northern China between the 12th and 13th centuries.

1155–King of England, Henry the Young, is born in England. Beginning in 1170, he officially reigned alongside his father, Henry II of England.

1246–The siege of Jaen ends in the context of the Spanish Reconquista, resulting in the Castilian takeover of the city from the Taifa of Jaen.

1261–Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway, is born at Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England.

1326–Leopold I, Duke of Austria, dies in Strasbourg, in the Alsace region in north eastern France, at age 35. He was co-ruler with his elder brother, Frederick the Fair, from 1308 until his death.

1409–Elisabeth of Luxembourg is born is Visegrad, Hungary. She was queen consort of Germany, Hungary, and Bohemia.

1453–Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine, dies at age 53.

1510–Juan de la Cosa, Spanish cartographer and explorer, dies from being shot with poison arrows of Indians in Turbaco, Columbia, at age 60. He is known for designing the earliest European world map incorporating the territories of the Americas that were discovered in the 15th century. De la Cosa played an important role in the first and second voyage of Christopher Columbus to the West Indies, since he was the owner and captain of the Santa María.

1525–The Aztec King, Cuauhtémoc, is executed by Hernán Cortés's forces, at age 30.

1572–Catherine of Austria, Queen of Poland, dies in Linz, Austria, at age 38. She was one of the 15 children of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary.

1638–The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh, Scotland.

1648–Christian IV of Denmark dies in Copenhagen, Denmark, at age 70.

1692–The Salem "Witch Hunt" begins in Massachusetts.

1700–Today is followed by March 1st in Sweden, creating the Swedish calendar.

1710–In the Battle of Helsingborg, 14,000 Danish invaders, under Jorgen Rantzau, are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force, under Magnus Stenbock. This is the last time Swedish and Danish troops meet on Swedish soil.

1759–Pope Clement XIII allows the Bible to be translated into a number of different languages.

1784–John Wesley charters the Methodist Church.

1827–The B & O Railroad is incorporated for the commercial transportation of people and freight. It’s on the board game, Monopoly. Its actual name is the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

1838–Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (present-day Quebec).

1844–A gun explodes on the USS Princeton while on a Potomac River cruise, killing eight people, including two U.S. Cabinet members.

1847–The Battle of the Sacramento River during the Mexican-American War is a decisive victory for the United States, leading to the capture of Chihuahua, Mexico.

1849–Regular steamboat service from the West Coast to the East Coast of the U.S. begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay. It is carrying the first of the gold seekers.

1850–The University of Utah opens in Salt Lake City, Utah.

1854–Slavery opponents meet in Ripon, Wisconsin, calling for a new political group, which, in time, would become the Republican Party.

1861–Colorado is established as a U.S. territory.

1867–Seventy years of Holy See-United States relations are ended by a Congressional ban on federal funding of diplomatic envoys to the Vatican. Relations will not be restored until January 10, 1984.

1870–The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire.

1874–One of the longest cases ever heard in an English court ends when the defendant is convicted of perjury for attempting to assume the identity of the heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.

1883–The first Vaudeville theater in America opens in Boston, Massachusetts.

1885–The American Telephone and Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York State as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone.

1891–Businessman and politician, George Hearst, dies in Washington, D.C., at age 70. He was a U.S. Senator and the father of newspaperman, William Randolph Hearst.

1893–The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy, is launched.

1894–Ben Hecht, novelist, playwright, and screenwriter, is born in New York, New York. Called the “Shakespeare of Hollywood,” he received screen credits, alone or in collaboration, for the stories or screenplays of 70 films, and as a prolific storyteller, he authored 35 books. In the 1910s and early 1920s, Hecht became a noted journalist, foreign correspondent, and literary figure. He was blacklisted in the U.K. during World War II because of his support for the Jews. Among the better known films he helped write without being credited are Gone with the Wind, The Shop Around the Corner, Foreign Correspondent, His Girl Friday, The Sun Also Rises, Mutiny on the Bounty, The Greatest Show on Earth, and Casino Royale. Gaily, Gaily was a 1969 biographical film about Hecht, directed by Norman Jewison. Hecht's films include Underworld, The Unholy Night, The Front Page, Scarface, Barbary Coast, A Star Is Born, Gunga Din, Stagecoach, Wuthering Heights, Spellbound, Notorious, Rope, Strangers on a Train, Monkey Business, Guys and Dolls, The Man with the Golden Arm, and Trapeze.

1897–Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force.

1900–In the Second Boer War, the 118-day "Siege of Ladysmith" is lifted.

1903–Film director, Vincente Minnelli, is born Lester Anthony Minnelli in Chicago, Ilinois. His films include Cabin in the Sky, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Pirate, Father of the Bride, An American in Paris, The Bad and the Beautiful, The Bandwagon, The Long, Long Trailer, Brigadoon, Kismet, Lust for Life, Gigi, Some Came Running, Bells Are Ringing, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, Goodbye Charlie, The Sandpiper, and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. He was married to Judy Garland and they were the parents of singer, Liza Minnelli.

1906–Mobster, Bugsy Siegel, is born Benjamin Siegel in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York. He was known as one of the most infamous and feared gangsters of his day. He was the innovator who started the Las Vegas Strip, in particular the first hotel there, which was The Flamingo (named after his girlfriend, Virginia Hill).

1908–Entrepreneur, Earl Scheib, is born. In 1937, he founded Earl Scheib Auto Paint, a company that specialized in repainting and collision repair of automobiles. The company grew quickly following World War II. By 1975, there were branches in Germany and England, all company owned, with Scheib manufacturing his own paint through a wholly owned subsidiary. Scheib started a national ad campaign, wrote the commercials, and became the company spokesman. He was famous for his slogan, "I'm Earl Scheib, and I'll paint any car, any color for $19.95. No ups, no extras." With locations in 23 states in the U.S., the company ceased operation on July 16, 2010.

1915–Actor, Zero Mostel, is born Samuel Joel Mostel in Brooklyn, New York. He was an actor of stage and screen. His films include Panic in the Streets, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Producers, Waiting for Godot, The Great Bank Robbery, The Hot Rock, and The Front.

1916–Author, Henry James, dies in Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, London, England, at age 72. He is regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. His works include The Europeans, The Portrait of a Lady, The Bostonians, and What Maisie Knew.

1919–Entrepreneur, Alfred Marshall, is born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He founded Marshalls, a chain of department stores which specializes in overstocked, irregular, and out-of-season name brand clothing, sold at deeply discounted prices. He opened the original Marshalls in Beverly, Massachusetts, in 1956. Marshall and his business partners expanded the chain throughout the 1960s and 1970s: Marshalls had 36 locations throughout New England and California by 1976. The partners sold Marshalls to the Melville Corporation in 1976. In 1995, Marshalls was acquired by TJX Companies, which also owns T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods. As of 2012, there were 904 Marshalls stores worldwide.

1921–Film producer, Saul Zaentz, is born in Passaic, New Jersey. His films include One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Amadeus, The Mosquito Coast, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, At Play in the Fields of the Lord, and The English Patient.

1922–The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.

1923–Actor, Charles (Edward) Durning, is born in Highland Falls, New York. He appeared in the films He appeared in the films I Walk the Line, The Pursuit of Happiness, Sisters, The Sting, The Front Page, Dog Day Afternoon, Breakheart Pass, Queen of the Stardust Ballroom, An Enemy of the People, Starting Over, North Dalls Forty, Die Laughing, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Tootsie, Scarface, V.I. Warshawski, I.Q., Spy Hard, One Fine Day, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?

1925–The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.

1925–Friedrich Ebert, first President of Germany, dies of septic shock at age 54.

1928–C.V. Raman and K. S. Krishnan discover Raman scattering in liquids. It is the inelastic scattering of a photon.

1929–Architect, Frank Owen Gehry, is born in Toronto, Canada. The was a Postmodernist architect and a pioneer of Deconstructivism. His designs are considered among the most important of contemporary architecture, including the titanium-covered Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain. But it was his own residence in Santa Monica, California, which originally brought him to fame, and is now a world renowned tourist attraction.

1931–Actor, Gavin MacLeod, is born Allan George See in Mount Kisco, New York. He is best known for the roles of Murray Slaughter on the TV sitcom The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Captain Merrill Stubing on the TV series The Love Boat. He appeared in the films I Want to Live!, Pork Chop Hill, Operation Petticoat, The Gene Krupa Story, High Time, The Sand Pebbles, and The Party.

1935–Nylon is invented by Dr. Wallace H. Carothers.

1939–The erroneous word "dord" is discovered in the Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation. Dord is a notable error in lexicography, an accidental creation, or ghost word, by the G. and C. Merriam Company's staff included that was in the second edition, in which the term is defined as "density." On July 31, 1931, Austin M. Patterson, Webster's chemistry editor, sent in a slip reading "D or d, cont./density." This was intended to add "density" to the existing list of words that the letter "D" can abbreviate. The slip somehow went astray, and the phrase "D or d" was misinterpreted as a single, run-together word: Dord. The would-be word got past proofreaders and appeared on page 771 of the dictionary around 1934. The entry "dord" was not removed until 1947.

1939–Folk guitarist, John (Aloysius) Fahey, is born in Cecil County, Maryland. Fahey formulated an idiosyncratic, blues-based fingerpicking style, which was showcased on a series of albums for his label, Takoma Records. He was considered a principal, albeit unwilling, influence on such new-age musicians as Will Ackerman and George Winston.

1939–Dancer-choreographer, Tommy Tune, is born Thomas James Tune in Wichita Falls, Texas. He appeared on stage in A Joyful Noise, Seesaw, Nine, My One and Only, Stepping Out, Grand Hotel, The Will Rogers Follies, Tommy Tune Tonite, Byb Bye Birdie, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and Grease.

1940–Basketball is televised for the first time: Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden.

1940–Auto racer, Mario (Gabriele) Andretti, is born in Montona, Istria, Kingdom of Italy (present-day Motovun, Istria County, Croatia). He was a world champion racing driver, one of the most successful Americans in the history of the sport. He is one of only two drivers to win races in Formula One, IndyCar, World Sportscar Championship and NASCAR. To date, he remains the only driver ever to win the Indianapolis 500 (1969), Daytona 500 (1967), and the Formula One World Championship. Andretti has had 109 career wins on major circuits.

1940–Singer, Joe South, is born Joseph Alfred Souter in Atlanta, Georgia. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for “Song of the Year” for Games People Play in 1970. He also wrote Walk a Mile in My Shoes and Rose Garden. Artists who have recorded South-penned songs include Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Loretta Lynn, Carol Burnett, Andy Williams, Kitty Wells, Dottie West, Jim Nabors, Liz Anderson, The Georgia Satellites, and k.d. lang.

1941–Alfonso XIII of Spain dies in Rome, Kingdom of Italy, at age 54.

1942–The heavy cruiser, USS Houston, is sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait, with 693 crew members killed, along with the HMAS Perth, which lost 375 men.

1942–Actor, Frank Bonner, is born Frank Woodrow Boers, Jr. in Little Rock, Arkansas. He is best known for the role of sales manager Herb Tarlek on the TV sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.

1942–Brian Jones, guitar player for The Rolling Stones, is born Lewis Brian Hopkin-Jones in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. Although it may not be widely known, Jones was the founder of The Rolling Stones, but stronger members, such as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, led the group in their own direction. Jones was asked to leave the group in June 1969, due to his heavy drug use.

1945–Actress, Mimsy Farmer, is born Merle Farmer in Chicago, Illinois. She appeared in the films Spencer’s Mountain, Hot Rods to Hell, Riot on Sunset Strip, The Wild Racers, Devil’s Angels, More, and The Black Cat.

1945–Football player and actor, Bubba Smith, is born Charles Aaron Smith in Orange, Texas. Smith played nine years in the National Football League (NFL) with the Baltimore Colts (1967-1971), the Oakland Raiders (1973-1974) and the Houston Oilers (1975-1976). He appeared in the films Stroker Ace, Police Academy (1-6), and Black Moon Rising.

1946–Musician, Don Ciccone, is born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He was a member of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons (1973-1981) and Tommy James and the Shondells.

1947–In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians. The “228 Massacre” was an anti-government uprising in Taiwan, which was violently suppressed by the KMT-led Republic of China government and which resulted in the massacre of numerous civilians. The incident marked the beginning of the Kuomintang's “White Terror” period in Taiwan, in which thousands more inhabitants vanished, died, or were imprisoned.

1948–The Christiansborg Cross-Roads shooting takes place on the Gold Coast in west Africa, when a British police officer opens fire on a march of ex-servicemen, killing three of them and sparking major riots and looting in Accra.

1948–Film director, Mike Figgis, is born in Carlisle, Cumberland, England. His films include Internal Affairs, Mr. Jones, The Browning Version, Leaving Las Vegas, and Cold Creek Manor.

1948–Geoff (James) Nicholls, of Black Sabbath, is born in Birmingham, England.

1948–Actress, Bernadette Peters, is born Bernadette Lazzara in Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films, and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings. She has appeared on stage in George M!, Dames at Sea, Mack and Mabel, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, The Goodbye Girl, and Annie Get Your Gun. She has appeared in the films The Longest Yard, Silent Movie, The Jerk, Pennies from Heaven, Heartbeeps, Annie, Slaves of New York, Pink Cadillac, and Alice.

1948–Actress, Mercedes Ruehl, is born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. She has appeared in the films Heartburn, Radio Days, 84 Charing Cross Road, The Secret of My Success, Big, Married to the Mob, Slaves of New York, Crimes and Misdemeanors, The Fisher King, Lost in Yonkers, The Minus Man, and The Amati Girls.

1951–A U.S. Senate committee reports that there is at least two major crime syndicates operating in America.

1951–The 8th Annual Golden Globe Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: Sunset Boulevard; Best Actor: José Ferrer for Cyrano de Bergerac; Best Actress: Gloria Swanson for Sunset Boulevard; Best Director: Billy Wilder for Sunset Boulevard; Best International Film: Broken Arrow.

1952–An intense storm brings coastal sections of southeastern Massachusetts to a halt, stranding 3,000 motorists on Lower Cape, and leaving 10,000 homes on the Cape without electricity.

1952–Actress, Gene Tierney, divorces fashion designer, Oleg Cassini, after almost 11 years of marriage.

1953–James D. Watson and Francis Crick disclose to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA. A formal announcement about their discovery will come later.

1954–The U.S. conducts an atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island.

1954–The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public.

1955–Comedian, Gilbert Gottfried, is born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1980, Saturday Night Live was being retooled with a new staff and new comedians and Gottfried joined the cast. He appeared in the films Bad Medicine, Beverly Hills Cop II, Hot to Trot, Look Who’s Talking Too, Problem Child, and The Aristocrats.

1957–The 14th Annual Golden Globe Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: Around the World in Eighty Days; Best Actor: Kirk Douglas for Lust for Life; Best Actress: Ingrid Bergman for Anastasia; Best Director: Elia Kazan for Baby Doll; Best Musical: The King and I; Best International Film: Battle Hymn.

1957–Actor, John (Michael) Turturro, is born in Brooklyn, New York. He has appeared in the films Raging Bull, The Flamingo Kid, Desperately Seeking Susan, To Live and Die in L.A., Hannah and Her Sisters, The Color of Money, Gung Ho, Five Corners, Do the Right Thing, Miller’s Crossing, Jungle Fever, Barton Fink, Fearless, Quiz Show, Box of Moonlight, Grace of My Heart, The Big Lebowski, and O Brother, Where Art Thou?

1957–Singer, Cindy Wilson, of the B-52's, is born Cynthia Leigh Wilson in Athens, Georgia. The group had hits with Rock Lobster, Private Idaho, Party Out of Bounds, Love Shack, and Roam.

1958–A school bus hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork River in Floyd County, Kentucky. The driver and 26 children die in what remains one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.

1959–Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched.

1959–Cash Box magazine, a trade publication for the music and radio industry, begins using a red “bullet” on its record charts to indicate those records that have the strongest upward movement each week. The phrase, “number one with a bullet” designates hits at the top of the list and still climbing higher.

1960–The VIII Winter Olympic Games close at Squaw Valley, California.

1960–Playboy playmate-model, Dorothy Stratten, is born Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten in Vancouver, British Colombia, Canada. She appeared in the films Americathon, Skatetown, U.S.A., Autumn Born, Galaxina, and They All Laughed.

1961–Actress, Rae Dawn Chong, is born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She appeared in the films Quest for Fire, Choose Me, American Flyers, The Color Purple, Soul Man, The Squeeze, and The Principal. She is the daughter of Tommy Chong (of Cheech and Chong). She was married to actor, C. Thomas Howell.

1963–Rajendra Prasad, the first President of the Republic of India, dies in Patna, Bihar, India, at age 78.

1966–The Cavern Club closes. The famous venue, where The Beatles got their start on Mathew Street in Liverpool, England, would become a parking lot. Some of the bricks are salvaged and the stage is sawed into small sections and sold.

1966–CBS Labs develops a metal disc that reproduces motion pictures through a television set.

1966–The 23rd Annual Golden Globe Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: Doctor Zhivago; Best Actor: Omar Sharif for Doctor Zhivago; Best Actress: Samantha Eggar for The Collector; Best Director: David Lean for Doctor Zhivago; Best Musical: The Sound of Music; Best Foreign Film: Darling (United Kingdom) and Juliet of the Spirits (Italy).

1967–Nineteen men are indicted in Mississippi in connection with the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers.

1967–Chinese-American publisher, Henry Luce, dies in Phoenix, Arizona, at age 68. He co-founded Time magazine, and his other publications include Fortune, Life, and Sports Illustrated. At his death, he was said to be worth $100 million in Time Inc. stock. Most of his fortune went to the Henry Luce Foundation.

1969–The Living Theater finishes a week-long engagement at UCLA's Bovard Auditorium. On the evening, the group performs its tour de force, “Paradise Now,” a confrontational, streetwise, guerilla theater piece about personal freedom. The piece systematically and dynamically challenges all boundaries, restrictions, moral codes, laws, and regulations.

1969–Actor, Robert Sean Leonard, is born Robert Lawrence Leonard in Westwood, New Jersey. He has appeared in the films The Manhattan Project, Dead Poet’s Society, Mr. and Mrs. Bridge, Married to the Mob, Swing Kids, Much Ado About Nothing, The Age of Innocence, Safe Passage, and A Painted House.

1970–Bicycles are now permitted to cross the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California.

1972–The United States and the People's Republic of China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.

1974–The United States and Egypt re-establish diplomatic ties for the first time since 1967.

1975–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1975–In London, England, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.

1976–The 18th Annual Grammy Awards announces its winners. Record of the Year: The Captain and Tennille for Love Will Keep Us Together; Album of the Year: Paul Simon for Still Crazy After All These Years; Song of the Year: Stephen Sondheim (songwriter) for Send in the Clowns; Best Vocal Performance, Male: Paul Simon for Still Crazy After All These Years; Best Vocal Performance, Female: Janis Ian for At Seventeen; Best Performance by a Vocal Group: The Eagles for Lyin’ Eyes; Best Country & Western Performance: Willie Nelson for Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain; Best Rhythm & Blues Performance: Natalie Cole for This Will Be; Best Instrumental Performance: Van McCoy for The Hustle; Best New Artist: Natalie Cole. The ceremonies are held at the Hollywood Palladium, Hollywood, California. There is no host.

1977–A killer whale is born in captivity at Marineland, in San Diego, California.

1977–A crazed audience member climbs onstage at a Ray Charles concert and attempts to strangle the blind pianist with a rope.

1977–Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, of The Jack Benny Show, dies of heart disease in Los Angeles, California, at age 71. He began his most famous role of Rochester van Jones, usually known simply as "Rochester," the valet of Jack Benny, on the radio show The Jack Benny Program. When the series moved to television, Anderson continued in the role until the series ended in 1965. In a last philanthropic gesture, it was his intention to will his sizable home to charity after his death. Today, The Eddie Rochester Anderson Foundation helps troubled men transition into society and is an at-risk substance sober-living residence for homeless substance abusers.

1979–Bamboo Harvester, better known as “Mr. Ed” the talking horse, is euthanized due to numerous health problems, which include a broken leg. He was 19 years old. Bamboo Harvester was a show and parade horse foaled in 1949 in El Monte, California.

1980–The U.S. conducts a nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1980–Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.

1983–The final episode of the TV series, M*A*S*H, is broadcast on CBS-TV, becoming the most watched television episode in history, with 125 million viewers.

1984–The 26th Annual Grammy Awards announces its winners. Record of the Year: Michael Jackson for Beat It; Album of the Year: Michael Jackson for Thriller; Song of the Year: Sting (songwriter) for Every Breath You Take; Best Vocal Performance, Male: Michael Jackson for Thriller; Best Vocal Performance, Female: Irene Cara for Flashdance... What a Feeling; Best Performance by a Vocal Group: The Police for Every Breath You Take; Best Country & Western Performance: Anne Murray for A Little Good News; Best Rhythm & Blues Performance: Michael Jackson for Billie Jean; Best Rock Performance: Michael Jackson for Beat It; Best Instrumental Performance: Herbie Hancock for Rockit; Best New Artist: Culture Club. The ceremonies are held at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. There is no host. Michael Jackson won a record of eight awards.

1985–The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, England, killing nine officers.

1986–Swedish Prime Minister, Olof Palme, is assassinated in Stockholm, Sweden.

1987–Mid-morning, a monstrous tornado touches down near Moselle, Mississippi, growing to a width of two miles. The tornado travels a distance of 40 miles killing six people, injuring 350, and causing $28.5 million in damage.

1988–The XV Winter Olympic Games close at Calgary, Canada.

1989–Red Schoendienst and Al Barlick are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

1990–The space shuttle, Atlantis, is launched from Cape Canaveral, in order to place a spy satellite into orbit.

1991–The first Gulf War ends.

1993–The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms agents attempt to serve warrants on the Branch Davidians at a compound near Waco, Texas, triggering a 51-day siege.

1993–Actress, singer, and dancer, Ruby Keeler, dies of cancer in Rancho Mirage, California, at age 82. She appeared in the films 42nd Street, Gold Diggers of 1933, Footlight Parade, and Sweetheart of the Campus.

1995–Denver International Airport opens.

1995–Former Australian Liberal party leader, John Hewson, resigns from the Parliament almost two years after losing the Australian federal election in 1993.

1996–The 38th Annual Grammy Awards announces its winners. Record of the Year: Seal for Kiss From a Rose; Album of the Year: Alanis Morissette for Jagged Little Pill; Song of the Year: Seal (songwriter) for Kiss From a Rose; Best Vocal Performance, Male: Seal for Kiss From a Rose; Best Vocal Performance, Female: Annie Lennox for No More I Love You's; Best Performance by a Vocal Group: Hootie & the Blowfish for Let Her Cry; Best Country & Western Performance: Alison Krauss for Baby, Now That I've Found You; Best Rhythm & Blues Performance: Stevie Wonder for For Your Love; Best Rock Performance: Alanis Morissette for You Oughta Know; Best Instrumental Performance: Los Lobos for Mariachi Suite; Best Rap Performance: Coolio for Gangsta's Paradise; Best New Artist: Hootie & the Blowfish. The ceremonies are held at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. The host is Ellen DeGeneres.

1997–An earthquake in northern Iran kills 3,000 people.

1997–A shootout takes place, in North Hollywood, California. It is an armed confrontation between two heavily armed and armored bank robbers and officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Both robbers are killed, 11 police officers and seven civilians are injured, and numerous vehicles and other property are damaged or destroyed by the nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition fired by the robbers and police. Due to the large number of injuries, rounds fired, weapons used, and overall length of the shootout, it is regarded as one of the longest and bloodiest events in American police history.

1997–GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way.

1997–Smokers must prove they are over 18 to purchase cigarettes in America.

1998–The first flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk takes place. It is the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.

1998–Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.

1998–Actress, Pamela Anderson, divorces Motley Crue drummer, Tommy Lee, after three years of marriage.

2001–A 6.8 earthquake shakes the Pacific Northwest, resulting in injuries and over $1 billion in damages.

2002–During the religious violence in Gujarat, 97 people are killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 are killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre.

2003–Fidel Sánchez Hernández, President of El Salvador, dies of a heart attack in San Salvador, El Salvador, at age 85.

2004–Over one million Taiwanese people participate in the “228 Hand-in-Hand Rally,” forming a 310-mile-long human chain to commemorate the 228 Incident in 1947.

2005–A suicide bombing at a police recruiting center in Al Hillah, Iraq, kills 127 people.

2005–Chris Curtis, of The Searchers, dies in Liverpool, England, at age 63. The group’s hits include Sugar and Spice, Needles and Pins, Don’t Throw Your Love Away, and When You Walk in the Room.

2007–Psychedelic rockers, The Doors, are honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2008–Musician, Mike Smith, of The Dave Clark Five, dies of pneumonia in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, at age 64. In September 2003, Smith was involved in an accidental fall in his home in Spain, which caused severe injury to his spinal cord. The accident left him permanently paralyzed from the waist down and in his right arm, with very little movement in his left arm. Following four years of treatment, Smith was released from the hospital. Following his death, it was discovered that Smith left a surprisingly modest estate, worth only £66,000. The Dave Clark Five had hits with Glad All Over, Bits and Pieces, Can’t You See That’s She Mine, Come Home, Try Too Hard, Do You Love Me, Because, Reelin’ and Rockin', and Catch Us If You Can.

2009–Radio broadcaster, Paul Harvey, dies in Phoenix, Arizona, at age 90. He was a conservative radio broadcaster for the ABC Radio Networks. From the 1950s through the 1990s, Harvey's programs reached as many as 24 million people a week. Paul Harvey News was carried on 1,200 radio stations, 400 Armed Forces Network stations, and in 300 newspapers.

2011–Actress, Jane Russell, dies of respiratory failure in Santa Maria, California, at age 89. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. Howard Hughes starred her in his film, The Outlaw, which was considered quite controversial at the time. She also appeared in the films The Paleface, His Kind of Woman, Road to Bali, Gentleman Prefer Blondes, The Tall Men, The Revolt of Mamie Stover, and Born Losers.

2012–The first confirmed February tornado in Nebraska state history strikes Lincoln and Logan Counties. It is on the ground for up to six minutes and travels three miles before dissipating. The path of the tornado was over open range and cropland, where limited damage occurred. Patches of snow were still on the ground when the tornado hit.

2012–”Occupy London” protesters are evicted from St. Paul's Cathedral in London, England.

2013–Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since 1415.

2013–After a series of bombings across Baghdad, Iraq, 28 people are killed and 60 are injured.

2013–In a high-tech experiment, the brains of two rats are successfully connected and it is proven that they can share information.

2016–The 88th Annual Academy Awards announces its winners. Best Picture: Spotlight; Best Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio for The Revenant; Best Actress: Brie Larson for Room; Best Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu for The Revenant; Best Foreign Film: Son of Saul (Hungary). Honorary Awards went to Spike Lee and Gena Rowlands. The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award went to Debbie Reynolds. The ceremonies are held at the Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California. The host is Chris Rock.

2016–At least 36 people are killed when a methane gas leak at a coal mine triggers three explosions and the collapse of the mine in Vorkuta, Russia.

2016–Actor, George Kennedy, dies of heart disease in Middleton, Idaho, at age 91. He appeared in the films Spartacus, Lonely Are the Brave, Charade, McHale’s Navy, In Harm’s Way, The Flight of the Phoenix, Shenandoah, The Sons of Katie Elder, The Dirty Dozen, Cool Hand Luke, The Boston Strangler, Airport, Thunderbolt and Lightfoot, Earthquake, Modern Romance, and The Delta Force.

2017–President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of U.S. Congress for the first time in his presidency.

2017–Hundreds of right-wing activists gather to protest the court-ordered demolition of the Israeli settlement of Ofra, which was built on private Palestinian land in the West Bank. Israeli police evacuate nine homes in the settlement, despite hunger strikes and people barricading themselves inside.

2017–The Royal Thai Government fires Police General Jumpol Manmai for "extremely evil" misconduct and political interests that threatened national security.

2017–Mount Etna spews lava as it erupts in Sicily.

2018–The International Olympic Committee restores the Russian Federation's membership after the ban from the 2018 Winter Olympics.

2018–A supermarket in Amsterdam opens an no-plastic aisle with more than 700 grocery items, including meat, rice, sauces, dairy, chocolate, cereals, yogurt, fresh fruit, and vegetables. Goods within the aisle all bear the Plastic Free Mark, a new label introduced by A Plastic Planet to help shoppers quickly identify products that are completely free from plastic packaging.


PHOTOS TOP TO BOTTOM: Liu Bang of China; Aztec King Cuauhtémoc; Salt Lake City, Utah, circa 1850; Vincente Minnelli; a building designed by Frank Owen Gehry; a psychedelic John Fahey poster; Joe South; Mimsy Farmer; Bernadette Peters; the first color television sets using the NTSC standard; Cindy Wilson; Rae Dawn Chong; Robert Sean Leonard; The Captain and Tennille; Culture Club; Ruby Keeler; Hootie & the Blowfish; Fidel Sánchez Hernández; Mike Smith; Jane Russell; and George Kennedy.
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