February 23
1822 - Boston was granted a charter to incorporate as a city.
1836 - Mexican general Santa Anna began the siege of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.
1847 - U.S. troops under Gen. Zachary Taylor defeated Mexican general Santa Anna at the Battle of Buena Vista in Mexico.
1848 - John Quincy Adams, the 6th president of the United States (1825-1829), died at age 80 in Washington, D.C., two days after suffering a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives.
1861 - President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take office after an assassination plot was foiled in Baltimore.
1870 - Mississippi was readmitted to the Union.
1896 - The Tootsie Roll was introduced by Leo Hirshfield.
1898 - French novelist Emile Zola was convicted of libel and sentenced to jail for writing his "J'accuse" letter accusing the government of anti-Semitisim and wrongly jailing Capt. Alfred Dreyfus.
1903 - President Theodore Roosevelt signed an agreement with Cuba to lease the area around Guantanamo Bay to the United States.
1942 - The first shelling of the U.S. mainland during World War II occurred as a Japanese submarine fired on an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California, causing little damage.
1945 - During World War II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi, where they raised two American flags (the second flag-raising was captured in the iconic Associated Press photograph.)
1954 - The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh.
1965 - Stan Laurel of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy died at age 74.
1991 - President George H.W. Bush announced that the allied ground offensive against Iraqi forces had begun.
1999 - A jury in Jasper, Texas, convicted white supremacist John William King of murder in the dragging death of an African-American man, James Byrd Jr.
1997 - Scottish scientists announced the successful cloning of a sheep, which they named "Dolly".
2000 - Carlos Santana won eight Grammy Awards for his album "Supernatural," tying the record set by Michael Jackson in 1983 for "Thriller."
2003 - Norah Jones won five Grammy Awards for the album "Come Away With Me."
2007 - A Mississippi grand jury refused to bring any new charges in the 1955 slaying of Emmett Till, the Black teenager who was beaten and shot after being accused of whistling at a white woman, declining to indict the woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, for manslaughter.
2011 - In a major policy reversal, the Obama administration said it would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage.
2017 - Seeking to tamp down growing unease in Latin America, President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security secretary, John Kelly, pledged during a visit to Mexico City that the United States would not enlist its military to enforce immigration laws and that there would be “no mass deportations.”
2020 - Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was fatally shot on a residential Georgia street; a white father and son had armed themselves and pursued him after seeing him running through their neighborhood. (Greg and Travis McMichael and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan were convicted of murder, aggravated assault and other charges and were sentenced to life in prison.)
2021 - Officials who were in charge of Capitol security at the time of the Jan. 6 riot told lawmakers that missed intelligence was to blame for the failure to anticipate the violent mob.
Birthdays
27 - Andrew Wiggins (basketball player)
28 - Dakota Fanning (actress)
30 - Samara Weaving (actress)
36 - Tye White (actor)
36 - Skylar Grey (singer)
39 - Aziz Ansari (actor)
39 - Emily Blunt (actress)
41 - Josh Gad (actor)
46 - Kelly Macdonald (actress)
50 - Steve Holy (country singer)
52 - Niecy Nash (actress)
54 - Marc Price (actor)
57 - Kristin Davis (actress)
58 - Dusty Drake (country singer)
67 - Howard Jones (singer)
71 - Ed "Too Tall" Jones (football player)
71 - Patricia Richardson (actress)
78 - John Sandford (author)
79 - Fred Biletnikoff (football player)
=========================================
Today in Sports History - February 23
1894 - Ottawa refused to travel to Toronto to play in the first Stanley Cup game. The Cup was awarded to the Montreal AAA.
1957 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NFL operations did fall within coverage of antitrust laws.
1968 - Wilt Chamberlain, of the Philadelphia 76ers, became the first player to score 25,000 career points in the NBA.
1983 - Herschel Walker signed a $5 million, 3-year contract with the USFL's New Jersey Generals.
1987 - Nate McMillan (Seattle Supersonics) set an NBA record when he had 25 assists against the Los Angeles Clippers.
1999 - Garth Brooks attended spring training camp with the San Diego Padres as a non-roster player. The Padres Foundation agreed to contribute to the Touch 'Em All Foundation in lieu of a salary to Brooks.
2013 - Some 30 NASCAR fans were injured when rookie Kyle Larson’s car was propelled by a crash into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, and large chunks of debris flew into the grandstands.
2014 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. snaps a 55-race winless streak to win the Daytona 500.
1822 - Boston was granted a charter to incorporate as a city.
1836 - Mexican general Santa Anna began the siege of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.
1847 - U.S. troops under Gen. Zachary Taylor defeated Mexican general Santa Anna at the Battle of Buena Vista in Mexico.
1848 - John Quincy Adams, the 6th president of the United States (1825-1829), died at age 80 in Washington, D.C., two days after suffering a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives.
1861 - President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take office after an assassination plot was foiled in Baltimore.
1870 - Mississippi was readmitted to the Union.
1896 - The Tootsie Roll was introduced by Leo Hirshfield.
1898 - French novelist Emile Zola was convicted of libel and sentenced to jail for writing his "J'accuse" letter accusing the government of anti-Semitisim and wrongly jailing Capt. Alfred Dreyfus.
1903 - President Theodore Roosevelt signed an agreement with Cuba to lease the area around Guantanamo Bay to the United States.
1942 - The first shelling of the U.S. mainland during World War II occurred as a Japanese submarine fired on an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California, causing little damage.
1945 - During World War II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi, where they raised two American flags (the second flag-raising was captured in the iconic Associated Press photograph.)
1954 - The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh.
1965 - Stan Laurel of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy died at age 74.
1991 - President George H.W. Bush announced that the allied ground offensive against Iraqi forces had begun.
1999 - A jury in Jasper, Texas, convicted white supremacist John William King of murder in the dragging death of an African-American man, James Byrd Jr.
1997 - Scottish scientists announced the successful cloning of a sheep, which they named "Dolly".
2000 - Carlos Santana won eight Grammy Awards for his album "Supernatural," tying the record set by Michael Jackson in 1983 for "Thriller."
2003 - Norah Jones won five Grammy Awards for the album "Come Away With Me."
2007 - A Mississippi grand jury refused to bring any new charges in the 1955 slaying of Emmett Till, the Black teenager who was beaten and shot after being accused of whistling at a white woman, declining to indict the woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, for manslaughter.
2011 - In a major policy reversal, the Obama administration said it would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage.
2017 - Seeking to tamp down growing unease in Latin America, President Donald Trump’s Homeland Security secretary, John Kelly, pledged during a visit to Mexico City that the United States would not enlist its military to enforce immigration laws and that there would be “no mass deportations.”
2020 - Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man, was fatally shot on a residential Georgia street; a white father and son had armed themselves and pursued him after seeing him running through their neighborhood. (Greg and Travis McMichael and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan were convicted of murder, aggravated assault and other charges and were sentenced to life in prison.)
2021 - Officials who were in charge of Capitol security at the time of the Jan. 6 riot told lawmakers that missed intelligence was to blame for the failure to anticipate the violent mob.
Birthdays
27 - Andrew Wiggins (basketball player)
28 - Dakota Fanning (actress)
30 - Samara Weaving (actress)
36 - Tye White (actor)
36 - Skylar Grey (singer)
39 - Aziz Ansari (actor)
39 - Emily Blunt (actress)
41 - Josh Gad (actor)
46 - Kelly Macdonald (actress)
50 - Steve Holy (country singer)
52 - Niecy Nash (actress)
54 - Marc Price (actor)
57 - Kristin Davis (actress)
58 - Dusty Drake (country singer)
67 - Howard Jones (singer)
71 - Ed "Too Tall" Jones (football player)
71 - Patricia Richardson (actress)
78 - John Sandford (author)
79 - Fred Biletnikoff (football player)
=========================================
Today in Sports History - February 23
1894 - Ottawa refused to travel to Toronto to play in the first Stanley Cup game. The Cup was awarded to the Montreal AAA.
1957 - The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NFL operations did fall within coverage of antitrust laws.
1968 - Wilt Chamberlain, of the Philadelphia 76ers, became the first player to score 25,000 career points in the NBA.
1983 - Herschel Walker signed a $5 million, 3-year contract with the USFL's New Jersey Generals.
1987 - Nate McMillan (Seattle Supersonics) set an NBA record when he had 25 assists against the Los Angeles Clippers.
1999 - Garth Brooks attended spring training camp with the San Diego Padres as a non-roster player. The Padres Foundation agreed to contribute to the Touch 'Em All Foundation in lieu of a salary to Brooks.
2013 - Some 30 NASCAR fans were injured when rookie Kyle Larson’s car was propelled by a crash into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, and large chunks of debris flew into the grandstands.
2014 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. snaps a 55-race winless streak to win the Daytona 500.
