February 28
1784 - John Wesley issues the "Deed of Declaration" formally establishing the Methodist Church.
1844 - A 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded as the ship was sailing on the Potomac River, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others.
1849 - The steamship California landed in San Francisco, bringing the first East Coasters to the Gold Rush.
1911 - President William Howard Taft nominated William H. Lewis to be the first Black Assistant Attorney General of the United States.
1916 - Henry James, American novelist and critic, died.
1948 - The last British troops left India.
1953 - James Watson and Francis Crick described their theory that two DNA strands were coiled in a double-helix.
1972 - President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued the Shanghai Communique, which called for normalizing relations between their countries, at the conclusion of Nixon's historic visit to China.
1975 - Forty-two people were killed in London's Underground when a train smashed into the end of a tunnel.
1983 - The final episode of "M*A*S*H" aired, and at the time, the episode was the most watched television program in history.
1986 - Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot to death in central Stockholm.
1993 - Four federal agents were killed in Waco, Texas after they tried to serve an arrest warrant for weapons charges on Branch Davidian sect leader David Koresh, starting a 51-day standoff.
1996 - Britain's Princess Diana agreed to divorce Prince Charles. (Their 15-year marriage officially ended in August 1996; Diana died in an automobile accident a year after that.)
2009 - Paul Harvey, the news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the nation's most familiar voices, died in Phoenix at age 90.
2013 - Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eight-year pontificate. (Benedict was succeeded the following month by Pope Francis.)
2014 - Delivering a blunt warning to Moscow, President Barack Obama expressed deep concern over reported military activity inside Ukraine by Russia and warned "there will be costs" for any intervention.
2020 - The number of countries touched by the coronavirus climbed to nearly 60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week 12.4% lower in the market’s worst weekly performance since the 2008 financial crisis.
2022 - Russian forces shelled Ukraine’s second-largest city, rocking a residential neighborhood, and closed in on the capital, Kyiv, in a 17-mile convoy of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles.
Birthdays
20 - Averi White (actress)
24 - Jonathan Daviss (actor)
25 - Luka Doncic (basketball player)
27 - Abby Champion (model)
28 - Bobb'e J. Thompson (actor)
29 - Quinn Shephard (actress)
29 - Madisen Beaty (actress)
30 - True O'Brien (actress)
33 - Sarah Bolger (actress)
36 - Aroldis Chapman (baseball player)
37 - Michelle Horn (actress)
40 - Melanie Chandra (actress)
46 - Geoffrey Arend (actor)
47 - Jason Aldean (singer)
48 - Ali Larter (actress)
52 - Rory Cochrane (actor)
53 - Tasha Smith (actress)
55 - Maxine Bahns (actress)
67 - Cindy Wilson (singer)
67 - John Turturro (actor)
69 - Adrian Dantley (basketball player)
71 - Paul Krugman (economist)
75 - Ilene Graff (actress)
76 - Bernadette Peters (actress)
76 - Mercedes Ruehl (actress)
77 - Stephanie Beacham (actress)
80 - Kelly Bishop (actress)
84 - Mario Andretti (race car driver)
87 - Sam the Sham (singer)
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Today in Sports History - February 28
1940 - The first televised basketball game was shown. The game featured Fordham University and the University of Pittsburgh from Madison Square Gardens in New York.
1960 - The United States wins its first Olympic gold medal in ice hockey with a 9-4 win over Czechoslovakia at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley.
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain set and NBA record with his 35th consecutive made field goal.
1991 - Don Mattingly is named the 10th captain of the New York Yankees.
1998 - Mark Messier (Vancouver Canucks) became the fourth NHL player to score 1,600 points.
1999 - Venus and Serena Williams became the first sisters to win WTA Tour events on the same day.
2002 - It was announced that John Madden would be replacing Dennis Miller on "Monday Night Football." Madden signed a four-year $20 million deal with ABC Sports.
1784 - John Wesley issues the "Deed of Declaration" formally establishing the Methodist Church.
1844 - A 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded as the ship was sailing on the Potomac River, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others.
1849 - The steamship California landed in San Francisco, bringing the first East Coasters to the Gold Rush.
1911 - President William Howard Taft nominated William H. Lewis to be the first Black Assistant Attorney General of the United States.
1916 - Henry James, American novelist and critic, died.
1948 - The last British troops left India.
1953 - James Watson and Francis Crick described their theory that two DNA strands were coiled in a double-helix.
1972 - President Richard Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued the Shanghai Communique, which called for normalizing relations between their countries, at the conclusion of Nixon's historic visit to China.
1975 - Forty-two people were killed in London's Underground when a train smashed into the end of a tunnel.
1983 - The final episode of "M*A*S*H" aired, and at the time, the episode was the most watched television program in history.
1986 - Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot to death in central Stockholm.
1993 - Four federal agents were killed in Waco, Texas after they tried to serve an arrest warrant for weapons charges on Branch Davidian sect leader David Koresh, starting a 51-day standoff.
1996 - Britain's Princess Diana agreed to divorce Prince Charles. (Their 15-year marriage officially ended in August 1996; Diana died in an automobile accident a year after that.)
2009 - Paul Harvey, the news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the nation's most familiar voices, died in Phoenix at age 90.
2013 - Benedict XVI became the first pope in 600 years to resign, ending an eight-year pontificate. (Benedict was succeeded the following month by Pope Francis.)
2014 - Delivering a blunt warning to Moscow, President Barack Obama expressed deep concern over reported military activity inside Ukraine by Russia and warned "there will be costs" for any intervention.
2020 - The number of countries touched by the coronavirus climbed to nearly 60. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week 12.4% lower in the market’s worst weekly performance since the 2008 financial crisis.
2022 - Russian forces shelled Ukraine’s second-largest city, rocking a residential neighborhood, and closed in on the capital, Kyiv, in a 17-mile convoy of hundreds of tanks and other vehicles.
Birthdays
20 - Averi White (actress)
24 - Jonathan Daviss (actor)
25 - Luka Doncic (basketball player)
27 - Abby Champion (model)
28 - Bobb'e J. Thompson (actor)
29 - Quinn Shephard (actress)
29 - Madisen Beaty (actress)
30 - True O'Brien (actress)
33 - Sarah Bolger (actress)
36 - Aroldis Chapman (baseball player)
37 - Michelle Horn (actress)
40 - Melanie Chandra (actress)
46 - Geoffrey Arend (actor)
47 - Jason Aldean (singer)
48 - Ali Larter (actress)
52 - Rory Cochrane (actor)
53 - Tasha Smith (actress)
55 - Maxine Bahns (actress)
67 - Cindy Wilson (singer)
67 - John Turturro (actor)
69 - Adrian Dantley (basketball player)
71 - Paul Krugman (economist)
75 - Ilene Graff (actress)
76 - Bernadette Peters (actress)
76 - Mercedes Ruehl (actress)
77 - Stephanie Beacham (actress)
80 - Kelly Bishop (actress)
84 - Mario Andretti (race car driver)
87 - Sam the Sham (singer)
====================================
Today in Sports History - February 28
1940 - The first televised basketball game was shown. The game featured Fordham University and the University of Pittsburgh from Madison Square Gardens in New York.
1960 - The United States wins its first Olympic gold medal in ice hockey with a 9-4 win over Czechoslovakia at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley.
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain set and NBA record with his 35th consecutive made field goal.
1991 - Don Mattingly is named the 10th captain of the New York Yankees.
1998 - Mark Messier (Vancouver Canucks) became the fourth NHL player to score 1,600 points.
1999 - Venus and Serena Williams became the first sisters to win WTA Tour events on the same day.
2002 - It was announced that John Madden would be replacing Dennis Miller on "Monday Night Football." Madden signed a four-year $20 million deal with ABC Sports.