This Day in History - February 23 - Jamaica Observer Mobile

Thursday, May 24, 2012

This Day in History - February 23

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Today's Highlight

2000: Preston King, a black man who refused induction into the Army in the 1960s because the all-white draft board wouldn't address him as "Mr", returns to the United States for the first time in 39 years after receiving a presidential pardon.

Other Events

1573: Irish rebellion is crushed with surrender of James Fitzmaurice; pacification of Perth ends fighting in Scotland between Regent and supporters of Mary Queen of Scots.

1574: Fifth War of Religion breaks out in France.

1660: Sweden's King Charles IX executes leaders of pro-Polish party for treason.

1836: Siege of the Alamo begins in future US state of Texas against Mexicans.

1861: US President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington to take office after an assassination plot is foiled in Baltimore.

1901: Britain and Germany agree on boundary between German East Africa and Nyasaland.

1933: Japan begins occupation of China north of the Great Wall.

1938: First oil discovery in Kuwait.

1942: Japanese submarine shells oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California.

1945: US Marines plant flag on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima, but it will be another three weeks until all Japanese defenders on the island are defeated.

1964: Britain recognises President Abdul Amari Karume's regime in Zanzibar, renamed Tanzania.

1970: Republic of Guyana, formerly British Guinea, ends association with Britain but remains within Commonwealth.

1991: Military junta seizes power in Thailand after a bloodless coup.

1995: Speaking to Canada's Parliament, US President Bill Clinton voices support for a united Canada, as threat of Quebec secession looms.

1996: Two sons-in-law of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein are killed by clan members after returning to the country after defecting.

1997: Ali Abu Kamal, a Palestinian, fires a gun into a crowd on the observation deck of New York City's Empire State Building, killing one person and injuring six, then shoots himself to death.

1999: The first peace talks between Kosovo Albanians and Yugoslavia end in Rambouillet, France, without much progress toward a settlement. NATO suspends its threat of bombing till the talks resume March 15.

2002: Colombia's President Andres Pastrana returns to the very spot in former rebel territory where he began a tortuous peace process three years ago and blames the guerrillas for sabotaging the talks to end Colombia's 38-year war.

2004: At least 66 people die in weekend clashes among Colombian troops, leftist rebels of the United Self-Defence Forces or AUC, and right-wing paramilitary forces. The two-day toll is extremely high even by standards in Colombia, which has been engulfed in a 40-year insurgency.

2006: The snow-covered roof of a large Moscow market collapses, killing at least 66 people and forcing rescuers to clear away concrete slabs and metal beams to reach possible survivors trapped in the wreckage.

2008: A B-2 stealth bomber plunges to the ground shortly after taking off from an air base in Guam, the first time the aircraft has crashed, but both pilots eject safely.

2009: The first Guantanamo detainee released since President Barrack Obama took office returns to Britain, saying his seven years in captivity were a nightmare.

2011: The scope of Moammar Gadhafi's control is whittled away as major Libyan cities and towns closer to the capital fell to the rebellion against his rule.

Today's Birthdays

George Frederick Handel, German composer (1685-1759); Sir George Frederick Watts, English artist (1817-1904); Constantine Caramanlis, Greek president (1907-1998); Peter Fonda, US actor/director (1940- ); Brad Whitford, guitarist for Aerosmith (1952- ); Howard Jones, British singer (1955- );