TODAY IN HISTORY
On Feb. 23, 1954, the first mass inoculation of schoolchildren against polio using the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh as about 5,000 students were vaccinated.
Also on this date
In 1942,
in the first shelling of the U.S. mainland during World War II, a Japanese submarine fired on an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, California. (It caused little damage.)
In 1945,
during World War II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi, where they raised two American flags (the second flag-raising was captured by an Associated Press photographer.)
In 2007,
a Mississippi grand jury refused to bring any new charges in the 1955 slaying of Emmett Till, the Black teenager who was beaten and shot after being accused of whistling at a white woman, declining to indict the woman, Carolyn Bryant Donham, for manslaughter.
In 2011,
the Obama administration said it would no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage.
In 2020,
Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man, was fatally shot on a Georgia street; a white father and son had armed themselves and pursued him after seeing him running through their neighborhood. (Greg and Travis McMichael and neighbor William “Roddie” Bryan were convicted of murder, aggravated assault and other charges, and were sentenced to life in prison.)
In 2021,
golfer Tiger Woods was seriously injured when his SUV crashed into a median and rolled over several times on a steep road in suburban Los Angeles.
Ten years ago:
About 30 NASCAR fans were injured when Kyle Larson’s car was propelled by a crash into the fence at Daytona International Speedway, and large chunks of debris flew into the grandstands.
Five years ago:
Rick Gates, a former senior adviser to Donald Trump’s election campaign, pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy and false-statements charges, becoming a cooperating witness in the investigation of Trump’s campaign and Russia’s election interference.
One year ago:
The Kremlin said rebel leaders in eastern Ukraine asked Russia for military assistance to fend off Ukrainian “aggression”; Ukraine declared a state of emergency amid fears of an invasion. (Russia invaded the next day.)