February 28
1784 - John Wesley issues the "Deed of Declaration", formally establishing the Methodist Church.
1827 - The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co. was incorporated.
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.
1861 - The Territory of Colorado was organized.
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 M. Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai issued the Shanghai Communique at the conclusion of Nixon's historic visit to China, a step toward the eventual normalization of relations between the two countries.
1974 - The United States and Egypt re-established diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.
1983 - The final episode of "M*A*S*H" aired after an 11-year run on CBS and became the most-watched television program in history when 121.6 million tuned in.
1986 - Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot to death in central Stockholm.
1991 - Allied and Iraqi forces suspended their attacks as Iraq pledged to accept all United Nations resolutions concerning Kuwait.
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 a car crash in Paris a year after that.)
2005 - In Santa Maria, California, the prosecution and defense gave opening statements in the sexual molestation trial of Michael Jackson, who was later acquitted.
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.)
2018 - Walmart announced that it would no longer sell firearms and ammunition to people younger than 21 and would remove items resembling assault-style rifles from its website. Dick’s Sporting Goods said it would stop selling assault-style rifles and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21.
2020 - The number of countries touched by the coronavirus climbed to nearly 60; Nigerian authorities reported the first case in sub-Saharan Africa, and Mexico said it had two confirmed cases. The State Department told Americans to avoid nonessential travel to Italy, which had seen nearly 900 virus cases.
Birthdays
24 - Abby Champion (model)
24 - Olivia Scriven (actress)
25 - Bobb'e J. Thompson (actor)
26 - Quinn Shephard (actress)
26 - Madisen Beaty (actress)
27 - True O'Brien (actress/model)
34 - Michelle Horn (actress)
37 - Melanie Chandra (actress)
43 - Geoffrey Arend (actor)
44 - Jason Aldean (country singer)
45 - Ali Larter (actress)
48 - Eric Lindros (hockey player)
49 - Rory Cochrane (actor)
50 - Tasha Smith (actress)
52 - Robert Sean Leonard (actor)
52 - Maxine Bahns (actress)
64 - Cindy Wilson (singer)
64 - John Turturro (actor)
66 - Adrian Dantley (basketball player)
66 - Gilbert Gottfried (actor/comedian)
72 - Ilene Graff (actress)
73 - Bernadette Peters (actress)
73 - Mercedes Ruehl (actress)
74 - Stephanie Beacham (actress)
77 - Kelly Bishop (actress)
79 - Frank Bonner (actor)
81 - Mario Andretti (race car driver)
90 - Gavin MacLeod (actor)
==========================================
Today in Sports History - February 28
1940 - College basketball was televised for the first time as station W2XBS aired the Pittsburgh-Fordham and Georgetown-NYU games from Madison Square Garden in New York.
1960 - The U.S. Olympic hockey team won the gold medal, defeating Czechoslovakia 9-4 at Squaw Valley, California.
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain sets an NBA record by making his 35th consecutive field goal without a miss.
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 replace Dennis Miller on "Monday Night Football", signing a four-year, $20 million deal with ABC Sports.
1784 - John Wesley issues the "Deed of Declaration", formally establishing the Methodist Church.
1827 - The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co. was incorporated.
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.
1861 - The Territory of Colorado was organized.
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 M. Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai issued the Shanghai Communique at the conclusion of Nixon's historic visit to China, a step toward the eventual normalization of relations between the two countries.
1974 - The United States and Egypt re-established diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.
1983 - The final episode of "M*A*S*H" aired after an 11-year run on CBS and became the most-watched television program in history when 121.6 million tuned in.
1986 - Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot to death in central Stockholm.
1991 - Allied and Iraqi forces suspended their attacks as Iraq pledged to accept all United Nations resolutions concerning Kuwait.
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 a car crash in Paris a year after that.)
2005 - In Santa Maria, California, the prosecution and defense gave opening statements in the sexual molestation trial of Michael Jackson, who was later acquitted.
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.)
2018 - Walmart announced that it would no longer sell firearms and ammunition to people younger than 21 and would remove items resembling assault-style rifles from its website. Dick’s Sporting Goods said it would stop selling assault-style rifles and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21.
2020 - The number of countries touched by the coronavirus climbed to nearly 60; Nigerian authorities reported the first case in sub-Saharan Africa, and Mexico said it had two confirmed cases. The State Department told Americans to avoid nonessential travel to Italy, which had seen nearly 900 virus cases.
Birthdays
24 - Abby Champion (model)
24 - Olivia Scriven (actress)
25 - Bobb'e J. Thompson (actor)
26 - Quinn Shephard (actress)
26 - Madisen Beaty (actress)
27 - True O'Brien (actress/model)
34 - Michelle Horn (actress)
37 - Melanie Chandra (actress)
43 - Geoffrey Arend (actor)
44 - Jason Aldean (country singer)
45 - Ali Larter (actress)
48 - Eric Lindros (hockey player)
49 - Rory Cochrane (actor)
50 - Tasha Smith (actress)
52 - Robert Sean Leonard (actor)
52 - Maxine Bahns (actress)
64 - Cindy Wilson (singer)
64 - John Turturro (actor)
66 - Adrian Dantley (basketball player)
66 - Gilbert Gottfried (actor/comedian)
72 - Ilene Graff (actress)
73 - Bernadette Peters (actress)
73 - Mercedes Ruehl (actress)
74 - Stephanie Beacham (actress)
77 - Kelly Bishop (actress)
79 - Frank Bonner (actor)
81 - Mario Andretti (race car driver)
90 - Gavin MacLeod (actor)
==========================================
Today in Sports History - February 28
1940 - College basketball was televised for the first time as station W2XBS aired the Pittsburgh-Fordham and Georgetown-NYU games from Madison Square Garden in New York.
1960 - The U.S. Olympic hockey team won the gold medal, defeating Czechoslovakia 9-4 at Squaw Valley, California.
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain sets an NBA record by making his 35th consecutive field goal without a miss.
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 replace Dennis Miller on "Monday Night Football", signing a four-year, $20 million deal with ABC Sports.
