February 23rd
Today in 1836,Mexican troops began the siege of the Alamoin San Antonio, Texas. The siege only ended in an assault on March 6ththat killed almost all of the remaining Texan defenders.
Today in 1861,afteran unsuccessful assassination attempt in Baltimore, Abraham Lincoln was transported secretly to Washington DC to take office.
Today in 1870,the state of Mississippi was readmitted to the Union after the Civil War.
Today in 1896, Leo Hirshfield introduced the Tootsie Roll.
Today in 1898,Emile Zola, a famous French writer was imprisoned after writingthe letter “J’accuse,” which accused the government of anti-Semitism againstAlfred Dreyfus. Dreyfus was a Jewish army officer who was accused of treason unfairly.
Today in 1903,the United States began leasing land for a naval basein Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Today in 1904,the United States bought the Panama Canal Zone for $10-million.
Today in 1915, Nevada began enforcing their "convenient divorce law. "Basically, that means they became the land of "quickie" divorces.
Today in 1927,the Federal Radio Commission, later known as the Federal Communications Commission, went into operation asthe Radio Act of 1927 was signed into law by President Calvin Coolidge.
Today in1939,at the 11thAcademy Awards, Shirley Temple presented Walt Disney with one large Oscar and seven little Oscars for his animated feature "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs."
Today in 1954,Jonas Salk's polio vaccine was first administered to schoolchildren in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Today in 1983,Herschel Walker signed with the New Jersey Generals, becoming the first Heisman Trophy winner to be signed by the short-lived U.S. Football League. He was paid about $6-million, a record for the time.
Today in1999,a jury in Jasper, Texas convicted white supremacist John William King of murder in the gruesome dragging death of a black man, James Byrd Junior; King was sentenced to death two days later.
Today in 2005,New York City’s medical examiner’s office announced that it had completed its efforts to identify the remains of people killed during the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centers. 1,600 people had been identified, leaving 1,100.
Today in 2008,B-2 Spirit of the USAFcrashed in Guam. The crew survived, but aircraft was written off as the most expensive air crash in human history (aircraft alone cost $1.2-billion). Prior to this, the B-2 had a perfect safety record before the crash – as in, not one B-2 had ever crashed.