Today is the 50th day of Saturday, February 19, 2022. There are 315 days left in the year.
Today's highlights in history:
On February 19, 2008, the ailing Fidel Castro resigned from the presidency of Cuba after nearly half a century in power; His brother Ral was later named as his successor.
On this date:
In 1473, the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland.
In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr, accused of treason, was arrested in the Mississippi Territory in present-day Alabama. (Burr was acquitted of the trial.)
In 1878, Thomas Edison was awarded the U.S. Award for "improvements in the phonograph or speaking machines". Patent received.
In 1942, during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the resettlement and detention of people of Japanese descent, including American citizens.
In 1945, Operation Detachment began during World War II as approximately 30,000 US Marines began landing on Iwo Jima, where they began a successful month-long battle to gain control of the island from Japanese forces.
In 1959 Britain, Turkey and Greece signed an agreement granting Cyprus its independence.
In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford signed a proclamation formally confirming its termination in 1942, calling the issuance of detention orders for people of Japanese descent "a sad day in American history."
In 1985, the British soap opera "EastEnders" debuted on BBC television.
In 1986, the U.S. Senate approved 83-11, the Genocide Convention, an international treaty that outlaws "acts committed with intent to destroy wholly or partially a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group". Is. The agreement was previously submitted for ratification.
In 1997, the last of China's leading communist revolutionaries, Deng Xiaoping (Gobar Shah-oh-ping), died at the age of 92.
In 2003, an Iranian military plane carrying 275 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards crashed in southeastern Iran, killing all.
In 2019, President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to develop plans for a new Space Force within the Air Force, accepting a less than full department that he wanted.
Ten years ago: Three skiers were killed when an avalanche swept them a quarter-mile into an out-of-bounds canyon at Stevens Pass, Washington, but a fourth skier was caught in the slide by a safety device was saved. Forty inmates were killed in a prison riot in Apodaca, northern Mexico.
Five years ago: Three former elite American gymnasts, including 2000 Olympian Jamie Dentzscher, appeared on CBS's "60 Minutes" to say they had been sexually abused by Dr. Larry Nassar, a volunteer team doctor for USA Gymnastics . (Nassar would be sentenced to decades in prison after hundreds of girls and women said he sexually abused them under the guise of medical treatment.) Anthony Davis had an All-Star game for the record books, scoring 52 Points scored as the Western Conference lost. Eastern Conference 192–182 - Highest scoring game in league history.
A year ago: Southern cities were battered by winter storms that left millions of days without power, dealing with water pipes broken by record-low temperatures; The break created a shortage of clean drinking water, closing airports and leaving hospitals in shambles. The United States officially returned to the Paris Climate Agreement; President Joe Biden told a virtual gathering of European leaders that the world "can no longer delay or do the bare minimum to address climate change." US officials scramble to bolster the country's cyber security after a widespread hack that may have exposed government and corporate secrets in Russia. Kim Kardashian West filed for divorce from Kanye West in Los Angeles after 6 1/2 years of marriage.
Birthday today: Singer Smokey Robinson is 82 years old. Actor Carlin Glynn is 82 years old. Howard Stringer, the former president of Sony Corp, is 80 years old. Singer Lou Christie is 79 years old. Rock musician Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell) is 74 years old. Actor Stephen Nichols is 71. Writer Amy Tan is 70 years old. Actor Jeff Daniels is 67 years old. Rock singer-composer Dave Wakeling is 66 years old. Talk show host Laurian Crook is 65 years old. Actor Ray Winston is 65 years old. Actor Leslie David Baker is 64 years old. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is 63 years old. Britain's Prince Andrew is 62 years old. Tennis Hall of Famer Hana Mandlikova is 60 years old. Singer Seal is 59 years old. Actress Jessica Tuck is 59 years old. Country musician Ralph McCauley (Wild Horse) is 58 years old. Rock musician John Fishman (Fish) is 57 years old. Actor Justin Bateman is 56 years old. Actor Benicio del Toro is 55 years old. Actor Bellamy Young is 52 years old. Rock musician Daniel Adair is 47 years old. Pop singer-actor Haley Duff is 37 years old. Actor Ariel Kebbel is 37 years old. Christian rock musician Seth Morrison (Skillet) is 34 years old. Actor Luke Pasqualino is 32 years old. Actor Victoria Justice is 29 years old. Actor David (dah-wee ED') Mazouz (TV: "Gotham") is 21 years old. Actor Millie Bobby Brown is 18 years old.