February 23
1685 - Composer George Frideric Handel was born in Germany.
1822 - Boston was granted a charter to incorporate as a city.
1836 - Mexican general Santa Ana began the siege of the Alamo.
1861 - President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington, D.C. to take office, following word of a possible assassination plot in Baltimore.
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, which accused the government of anti-Semitism 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 US mainland during World War II occurred as a Japanese submarine fired on an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, causing little damage.
1945 - During World War II, US 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 schoolchildren against polio using the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh as some 5,000 students were vaccinated.
1997 - Scientists in Scotland announced the successful cloning of a sheep, which they had named "Dolly."
1998 - Forty-two people were killed, some 2,600 homes and businesses damaged or destroyed, by tornadoes in central Florida.
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.
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.)
2022 - The Kremlin said rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine asked Russia for military assistance to help fend off Ukrainian “aggression” while Ukraine declared a nationwide state of emergency amid growing fears of an all-out invasion by Russian troops. (The invasion would become a reality a day later.)
Birthdays
21 - Emilia Jones (actress)
28 - Andrew Wiggins (basketball player)
29 - Dakota Fanning (actress)
31 - Samara Weaving (actress)
36 - Sarah Urie (actress)
37 - Tye White (actor)
37 - Skylar Grey (singer)
40 - Aziz Ansari (actor)
40 - Emily Blunt (actress)
42 - Josh Gad (actor)
47 - Kelly Macdonald (actress)
51 - Steve Holy (singer)
53 - Niecy Nash (actress)
55 - Marc Price (actor)
58 - Helena Sukova (tennis player)
58 - Kristin Davis (actress)
59 - Dusty Drake (singer)
68 - Howard Jones (singer)
72 - Ed "Too Tall" Jones (football player)
72 - Patricia Richardson (actress)
80 - Fred Biletnikoff (football player)
=============================
Today in Sports History - February 23
1874 - Walter Winfield patented a game called "sphairistike." More widely known as lawn tennis.
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.
1685 - Composer George Frideric Handel was born in Germany.
1822 - Boston was granted a charter to incorporate as a city.
1836 - Mexican general Santa Ana began the siege of the Alamo.
1861 - President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington, D.C. to take office, following word of a possible assassination plot in Baltimore.
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, which accused the government of anti-Semitism 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 US mainland during World War II occurred as a Japanese submarine fired on an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, causing little damage.
1945 - During World War II, US 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 schoolchildren against polio using the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh as some 5,000 students were vaccinated.
1997 - Scientists in Scotland announced the successful cloning of a sheep, which they had named "Dolly."
1998 - Forty-two people were killed, some 2,600 homes and businesses damaged or destroyed, by tornadoes in central Florida.
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.
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.)
2022 - The Kremlin said rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine asked Russia for military assistance to help fend off Ukrainian “aggression” while Ukraine declared a nationwide state of emergency amid growing fears of an all-out invasion by Russian troops. (The invasion would become a reality a day later.)
Birthdays
21 - Emilia Jones (actress)
28 - Andrew Wiggins (basketball player)
29 - Dakota Fanning (actress)
31 - Samara Weaving (actress)
36 - Sarah Urie (actress)
37 - Tye White (actor)
37 - Skylar Grey (singer)
40 - Aziz Ansari (actor)
40 - Emily Blunt (actress)
42 - Josh Gad (actor)
47 - Kelly Macdonald (actress)
51 - Steve Holy (singer)
53 - Niecy Nash (actress)
55 - Marc Price (actor)
58 - Helena Sukova (tennis player)
58 - Kristin Davis (actress)
59 - Dusty Drake (singer)
68 - Howard Jones (singer)
72 - Ed "Too Tall" Jones (football player)
72 - Patricia Richardson (actress)
80 - Fred Biletnikoff (football player)
=============================
Today in Sports History - February 23
1874 - Walter Winfield patented a game called "sphairistike." More widely known as lawn tennis.
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.
