Friday, February 28, 2014

History for February 28

History for February 28 - On-This-Day.com
Birth anniversaries of comic strip artist Milton Caniff (1907-88), journalist and screenwriter Ben Hecht (1894-1964),


Happy Birthday! Mario Andretti, Bernadette Peters, Tommy Tune, 

1854 - The Republican Party was organized in Ripon, WI. About 50 slavery opponents began the new political group. 


1885 - AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph) was incorporated. The company was capitalized on only $100,000 and provided long distance service for American Bell. 


1900 - In South Africa, British troops relieved Ladysmith, which had been under siege since November 2, 1899. 


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. 


1953 - In a Cambridge University laboratory, scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick discovered the double-helix structure of DNA. 


1979 - Mr. Ed, the talking horse from the TV show "Mr. Ed", died.
 

1983 - "M*A*S*H" became the most watched television program in history when the final episode aired. 


1986 - Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated in Stockholm.
 

1993 - U.S. Federal agents raided the compound of an armed religious cult in Waco, TX. The ATF had planned to arrest the leader of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh, on federal firearms charges. Four agents and six Davidians were killed and a 51-day standoff followed. 


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