Today in History

February 22

1848 - Revolt erupts in Paris due to failure of Louis Philippe’s reign.

1862 - American Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as Confederate President.

1913 - Francisco Madero, President of Mexico, is assassinated in a military coup.

1924 - Calvin Coolidge delivers the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House.

1928 - Australian aviation pioneer Bert Hinkler becomes the first person to fly solo from England to Australia.

1958 - Indian scholar, freedom fighter and politician Maulana Abul Kalam Azad dies.

1966 - Uganda’s Prime Minister Milton Obote orders five cabinet members arrested and assumes full power.

1972 - Shaikh Khalifa Bin Hamad Al Thani becomes Emir and Prime Minister of Qatar.

1980 - Afghanistan declares martial law. 1986 - Philippines armed forces break with the government of President Ferdinand Marcos, precipitating his downfall. 1987 - Thousands of Syrian troops enter west Beirut in response to an appeal by Lebanese Muslim leaders.

1990 - Last statue of Joseph Stalin topples in Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator.

1997 - Fleeing fighting, 30,000 refugees from Rwanda and Burundi leave their refugee camp in eastern Zaire.

1998 - Tamil separatist rebel gunboats attack a 12-ship convoy carrying soldiers to northern Sri Lanka, killing up to 80 people.

2006 - Blast damages historic Shiite shrine in Iraq, sparking sectarian reprisals.

2007 - UN nuclear watchdog announces findings that Iran has expanded its uranium enrichment programme.

2008 - Turkey lifts ban on female students wearing the headscarf at university.

2009 - 73 miners are dead and dozens reported missing after a gas blast in a coal plant in Shanxi Province of China.

2011 - At least 160 are killed by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand.

2015 - An overcrowded ferry collide with a cargo vessel and sinks in a Bangladesh river, killing at least 41.