On this day in history. 1633 English diarist Samuel Pepys (peeps) was born in London. 1836 the siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, Texas. 1848 the sixth president of the United States, John Quincy Adams, died in Washington, D.C., at age 80. 1863 British explorers John H. Speke and James A. Grant announced they had found the source of the Nile River to be Lake Victoria. 1870 Mississippi was readmitted to the Union. 1903 President Theodore Roosevelt signed an agreement with Cuba to lease the area around Guantanamo Bay to the United States. 1927 President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill creating the Federal Radio Commission, forerunner of the Federal Communications Commission. 1934 Leopold III succeeded his late father, Albert I, as King of the Belgians. 1944 U.S. forces secured Eniwetok Atoll from the Japanese during World War II. 1945 U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi. On Feb. 23, 1954, the first mass inoculation of schoolchildren against polio using the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh as some 5,000 students were vaccinated 1970 Guyana became a republic within the Commonwealth of Nations. 1989 the Senate Armed Services Committee voted 11-9 along party lines to recommend rejection of John Tower as President George H.W. Bushs defense secretary. (Towers nomination went down to defeat in the full Senate the following month.) Ten years ago: The Army canceled its Comanche helicopter program after sinking $6.9 billion into it over 21 years. Education Secretary Rod Paige likened the National Education Association, the nations largest teachers union, to a terrorist organization during a private White House meeting with governors. (Paige later called it a poor choice of words, but stood by his claim the NEA was using obstructionist scare tactics.) Five years ago: President Barack Obama pledged to dramatically slash the skyrocketing annual budget deficit as he started to dole out the record $787 billion economic stimulus package hed signed the previous week. One year ago: Some 30 NASCAR fans were injured when rookie Kyle Larsons car was propelled by a crash into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, and large chunks of debris — including a tire — flew into the grandstands. The Ultimate Fighting Championship held its first womens bout as Ronda Rousey beat Liz Carmouche on an armbar, her signature move, with 11 seconds left in the first round of their bantamweight title fight at UFC 157 in Anaheim, Calif.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Feb 2014 11:16:44 +0000
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