On this day, Feb. 22
1630 English colonists in the Massachusetts Bay Colony first sampled popcorn brought to them by a Native American named Quadequina for their Thanksgiving celebration.
1732 The first president of the United States, George Washington, was born in Westmoreland County in the Virginia Colony.
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. (Although the communists were driven out, they later returned.)
1980 The “Miracle on Ice” took place in Lake Placid, N.Y., as the United States 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.
1997 Scientists in Scotland announced they had succeeded in cloning an adult mammal, producing a lamb named “Dolly.” (Dolly, however, was later put down after a short life marred by premature aging and disease.)
2010 Najibullah Zazi, accused of buying beauty supplies to make bombs for an attack on New York City subways, pleaded guilty to charges including conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction. (Zazi faced up to life in prison but spent nearly a decade after his arrest helping the U.S. identify and prosecute terrorists; he was given a 10-year sentence followed by supervised release.)
2013 The Justice Department joined a lawsuit against disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong alleging the former seven-time Tour de France champion had concealed his use of performance-enhancing drugs and defrauded his longtime sponsor, the U.S. Postal Service.
2016 The City Council of Charlotte, N.C., voted 7-4 to pass a new law allowing transgender people to choose public bathrooms that corresponded to their gender identity.
2021 The number of U.S. deaths from COVID-19 topped 500,000, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Today’s birthdays: Actor Paul Dooley, 95. Actor James Hong, 94. Actor John Ashton, 75. Actor Miou-Miou, 73. Actor Julie Walters, 73. Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving, 73. Actor Ellen Greene, 72. Former Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., 71. Former White House adviser David Axelrod, 68. Actor Kyle MacLachlan, 64. World Golf Hall of Famer Vijay Singh, 60. Actor-comedian Rachel Dratch, 57. Actor Paul Lieberstein, 56. Actor Jeri Ryan, 55. Actor Thomas Jane, 54. TV host Clinton Kelly, 54. Actor Tamara Mello, 53. Actor-singer Lea Salonga, 52. Actor Jose Solano, 52. International Tennis Hall of Famer Michael Chang, 51. Rock musician Scott Phillips, 50. Actor Drew Barrymore, 48. Actor Liza Huber, 48. Rock singer Tom Higgenson (Plain White T’s), 44. Actor Zach Roerig, 38.