Feb. 22, 1732 The first U.S. president, George Washington, was born in Westmoreland County in the Virginia Colony.
1784 A U.S. merchant ship, the Empress of China, left New York for the Far East to trade goods with China.
1862 Jefferson Davis, already the provisional president of the Confederacy, was inaugurated for a six-year term after his election in November 1861.
1865 Tennessee adopted a constitution that included the abolition of slavery.
1924 President Calvin Coolidge delivered the first radio broadcast from the White House.
1935 It became illegal for airplanes to fly over the White House.
1940 The 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) was enthroned at age 4 in Lhasa, Tibet.
1959 The inaugural Daytona 500 race was held.
1967 More than 25,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation Junction City, aimed at smashing a Vietcong stronghold near the Cambodian border. (The communists were driven out but returned later.)
1973 The United States and China agreed to establish liaison offices.
1980 The "Miracle on Ice" took place in Lake Placid, N.Y., as the U.S. Olympic hockey team upset the Soviets, 4-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.)
1987 Pop artist Andy Warhol died at a New York City hospital at age 58.
10 years ago San Diego police arrested David Westerfield in the disappearance of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. (He was later sentenced to death.) The Angolan government announced the killing of UNITA leader Jonas Savimbi.
Five years ago Britain's Ministry of Defense said Prince Harry, a second lieutenant in the army, would be deployed to Iraq. (Officials later reversed the decision because of insurgent threats).
One year ago A magnitude-6.1 earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand, killed 184 people. Somali pirates shot to death four Americans taken hostage on their yacht several hundred miles south of Oman. Former White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel was elected mayor of Chicago.
Thought for today "It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one." — President George Washington (1732-1799)
The Associated Press
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