Today in history February 23 303 Roman Emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution 1455 Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type. 1554 Mapuche forces, under the leadership of Lautaro, score a victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Marihueñu in Chile. 1739 Richard Palmer is identified at York Castle, by his former schoolteacher, as the outlaw Dick Turpin. 1778 American Revolution: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army. 1820 Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed. 1821 Alexander Ypsilantis starts the Greek War of Independence in Ia?i, Wallachia, modern-day Romania. 1836 The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas. 1847 Mexican-American War: Battle of Buena Vista In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna. 1854 The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared. 1861 President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland. 1870 In the United States, post-Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union. 1883 Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law. 1886 Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister Julia Brainerd Hall. 1887 The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000. 1896 The Tootsie Roll is invented. 1898 Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing Jaccuse, a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus. 1900 In South Africa, Boers and British troops fight in the Battle of Harts Hill. 1903 Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States in perpetuity. 1905 Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the worlds first service club. 1909 The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire. 1917 First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution. 1918 First victory of Red Army over the Kaisers German troops near Narva and Pskov. In honor of this victory, the date is celebrated from 1923 onward as Red Army Day; it is renamed Defender of the Fatherland Day after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and is colloquially known as Mens Day. 1927 President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States. 1927 German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time. 1934 Leopold III becomes King of Belgium. 1941 Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg. 1942 World War II: Japanese submarines fire artillery shells at the California coastline near Santa Barbara. 1943 A fire breaks out at St. Josephs Orphanage, County Cavan, Ireland, killing 36 people (35 of whom are children). 1944 The Soviet Union begins the forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia. 1945 World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a commonly forgotten U.S. Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag. 1945 World War II: The 11th Airborne Division, with Filipino guerrillas, free the captives of the Los Baños internment camp. 1945 World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by combined Filipino and American forces. 1945 World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznan. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces. 1945 World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is completely destroyed in a raid by 379 British bombers. 1947 The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded. 1954 The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh. 1955 First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). 1958 Cuban rebels kidnap 5-time world F1 champion Juan Manuel Fangio. 1966 In Syria, Baath party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin Hafiz, also a Baathist. 1974 The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst. 1980 Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Irans parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages. 1981 In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup détat by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies. 1983 The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri. 1987 Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud. 1991 Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war. 1991 In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup détat, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan. 1997 A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir. 1998 In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42. 1998 Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and Crusaders; the latter term is commonly interpreted to refer to the people of Europe and the United States. 1999 Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey. 1999 An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31. 2005 The controversial French law on colonialism is passed, requiring teachers to teach the positive values of colonialism. After public outcry, it is repealed at the beginning of 2006. 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 United States Air Force B-2 Spirit crashes on Guam. It is the first operational loss of a B-2. 2010 Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Feb 2014 08:14:49 +0000
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