February 28
1784 - John Wesley issues the "Deed of Declaration" which formally established 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 visitors from the East Coast 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.
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, which at the time was the most-watched event in television history.
1986 - Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated in central Stockholm.
1993 - Four federal agents were killed in Waco, Texas after they tried to serve an arrest warrant on 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.)
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.)
2013 - Chelsea Manning, the Army private arrested in the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history, pleaded guilty at Fort Meade, Maryland, to 10 charges involving illegal possession or distribution of classified material. (Manning was sentenced to up to 35 years in prison after being convicted of additional charges in a court-martial, but had her sentence commuted in 2017 by President Barack Obama.)
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.
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 and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21.
2018 - President Donald Trump called for substantial changes to the nation’s gun laws, criticizing lawmakers for being fearful of the National Rifle Association.
2020 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week 12.4% lower in the market’s worst weekly performance since the 2008 financial crisis.
2022 - A Texas man charged with storming the U.S. Capitol with a holstered handgun on his waist became the first Jan. 6 defendant to go on trial.
Birthdays
23 - Jonathan Davis (actor)
24 - Luka Doncic (basketball player)
27 - Bobb'e J. Thompson (actor)
28 - Quinn Shephard (actress)
28 - Madisen Beaty (actress)
29 - True O'Brien (actress)
36 - Michelle Horn (actress)
39 - Melanie Chandra (actress)
45 - Geoffrey Arend (actor)
46 - Jason Aldean (singer)
47 - Ali Larter (actress)
51 - Rory Cochrane (actor)
52 - Tasha Smith (actress)
54 - Pat Monahan (singer)
54 - Robert Sean Leonard (actor)
54 - Maxine Bahns (actress)
66 - Cindy Wilson (singer)
66 - John Turturro (actor)
68 - Adrian Dantley (basketball player)
74 - Ilene Graff (actress)
75 - Bernadette Peters (actress)
75 - Mercedes Ruehl (actress)
76 - Stephanie Beacham (actress)
79 - Kelly Bishop (actress)
83 - Mario Andretti (race car driver)
84 - Tommy Tune (actor)
86 - 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.
1959 - In an unprecedented trade in the NFL, the Chicago Cardinals sent running back Ollie Matson to the Los Angeles Rams for nine other players.
1960 - The United States men's hockey team won their first Olympic gold medal in the sport, defeating Czechoslovakia 9-4 in the finals at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, California.
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain set and NBA record with his 35th consecutive made field goal.
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" after signing a four-year, $20 million deal with ABC Sports.
1784 - John Wesley issues the "Deed of Declaration" which formally established 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 visitors from the East Coast 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.
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, which at the time was the most-watched event in television history.
1986 - Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated in central Stockholm.
1993 - Four federal agents were killed in Waco, Texas after they tried to serve an arrest warrant on 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.)
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.)
2013 - Chelsea Manning, the Army private arrested in the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history, pleaded guilty at Fort Meade, Maryland, to 10 charges involving illegal possession or distribution of classified material. (Manning was sentenced to up to 35 years in prison after being convicted of additional charges in a court-martial, but had her sentence commuted in 2017 by President Barack Obama.)
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.
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 and ban the sale of all guns to anyone under 21.
2018 - President Donald Trump called for substantial changes to the nation’s gun laws, criticizing lawmakers for being fearful of the National Rifle Association.
2020 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the week 12.4% lower in the market’s worst weekly performance since the 2008 financial crisis.
2022 - A Texas man charged with storming the U.S. Capitol with a holstered handgun on his waist became the first Jan. 6 defendant to go on trial.
Birthdays
23 - Jonathan Davis (actor)
24 - Luka Doncic (basketball player)
27 - Bobb'e J. Thompson (actor)
28 - Quinn Shephard (actress)
28 - Madisen Beaty (actress)
29 - True O'Brien (actress)
36 - Michelle Horn (actress)
39 - Melanie Chandra (actress)
45 - Geoffrey Arend (actor)
46 - Jason Aldean (singer)
47 - Ali Larter (actress)
51 - Rory Cochrane (actor)
52 - Tasha Smith (actress)
54 - Pat Monahan (singer)
54 - Robert Sean Leonard (actor)
54 - Maxine Bahns (actress)
66 - Cindy Wilson (singer)
66 - John Turturro (actor)
68 - Adrian Dantley (basketball player)
74 - Ilene Graff (actress)
75 - Bernadette Peters (actress)
75 - Mercedes Ruehl (actress)
76 - Stephanie Beacham (actress)
79 - Kelly Bishop (actress)
83 - Mario Andretti (race car driver)
84 - Tommy Tune (actor)
86 - 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.
1959 - In an unprecedented trade in the NFL, the Chicago Cardinals sent running back Ollie Matson to the Los Angeles Rams for nine other players.
1960 - The United States men's hockey team won their first Olympic gold medal in the sport, defeating Czechoslovakia 9-4 in the finals at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, California.
1967 - Wilt Chamberlain set and NBA record with his 35th consecutive made field goal.
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" after signing a four-year, $20 million deal with ABC Sports.
