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.
1854 - About 50 slavery opponents met in Ripon, Wisconsin to call for the creation of a new political group that became the Republican Party.
1861 - The Colorado Territory was organized.
1911 - President William Howard Taft nominated William H. Lewis to be the first Black Assistant Attorney General of the United States.
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, which became the most-watched television program in history.
1986 - Swedish prime minister Olof Palme was assassinated 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.)
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.
2017 - Heralding a “new chapter of American greatness,” President Donald Trump issued a broad call for overhauling the nation’s health care system and significantly boosting military spending in an hourlong speech to a joint session of Congress.
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.
Birthdays
25 - Olivia Scriven (actress)
25 - Abby Champion (model)
26 - Bobb'e J. Thompson (actor)
27 - Quinn Shephard (actress)
27 - Madisen Beaty (actress)
28 - True O'Brien (actress/model)
34 - Aroldis Chapman (baseball player)
35 - Michelle Horn (actress)
38 - Melanie Chandra (actress)
44 - Geoffrey Arend (actor)
45 - Jason Aldean (country singer)
46 - Ali Larter (actress)
49 - Eric Lindros (hockey player)
50 - Rory Cochrane (actor)
51 - Tasha Smith (actress)
53 - Pat Monahan (singer)
53 - Robert Sean Leonard (actor)
53 - Maxine Bahns (actress)
65 - Cindy Wilson (singer)
65 - John Turturro (actor)
67 - Adrian Dantley (basketball player)
67 - Gilbert Gottfried (actor/comedian)
73 - Ilene Graff (actress)
74 - Bernadette Peters (actress)
74 - Mercedes Ruehl (actress)
75 - Stephanie Beacham (actress)
78 - Kelly Bishop (actress)
82 - Mario Andretti (race car driver)
83 - Tommy Tune (actor)
85 - Sam the Sham (singer)
======================================
Today in Sports History - February 28
1931 - The Canadian Rugby Union adopted the forward pass.
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 set and NBA record with his 35th consecutive field goal.
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.
2012 - Matt Kenseth won his second Daytona 500, holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a post-midnight victory after rain had postponed the start of the race for the first time in its 54-year history from Sunday to Monday.
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.
1854 - About 50 slavery opponents met in Ripon, Wisconsin to call for the creation of a new political group that became the Republican Party.
1861 - The Colorado Territory was organized.
1911 - President William Howard Taft nominated William H. Lewis to be the first Black Assistant Attorney General of the United States.
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, which became the most-watched television program in history.
1986 - Swedish prime minister Olof Palme was assassinated 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.)
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.
2017 - Heralding a “new chapter of American greatness,” President Donald Trump issued a broad call for overhauling the nation’s health care system and significantly boosting military spending in an hourlong speech to a joint session of Congress.
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.
Birthdays
25 - Olivia Scriven (actress)
25 - Abby Champion (model)
26 - Bobb'e J. Thompson (actor)
27 - Quinn Shephard (actress)
27 - Madisen Beaty (actress)
28 - True O'Brien (actress/model)
34 - Aroldis Chapman (baseball player)
35 - Michelle Horn (actress)
38 - Melanie Chandra (actress)
44 - Geoffrey Arend (actor)
45 - Jason Aldean (country singer)
46 - Ali Larter (actress)
49 - Eric Lindros (hockey player)
50 - Rory Cochrane (actor)
51 - Tasha Smith (actress)
53 - Pat Monahan (singer)
53 - Robert Sean Leonard (actor)
53 - Maxine Bahns (actress)
65 - Cindy Wilson (singer)
65 - John Turturro (actor)
67 - Adrian Dantley (basketball player)
67 - Gilbert Gottfried (actor/comedian)
73 - Ilene Graff (actress)
74 - Bernadette Peters (actress)
74 - Mercedes Ruehl (actress)
75 - Stephanie Beacham (actress)
78 - Kelly Bishop (actress)
82 - Mario Andretti (race car driver)
83 - Tommy Tune (actor)
85 - Sam the Sham (singer)
======================================
Today in Sports History - February 28
1931 - The Canadian Rugby Union adopted the forward pass.
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 set and NBA record with his 35th consecutive field goal.
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.
2012 - Matt Kenseth won his second Daytona 500, holding off Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a post-midnight victory after rain had postponed the start of the race for the first time in its 54-year history from Sunday to Monday.
