SUNDAY IN HISTORY

Today is Sunday, Feb. 26, the 57th day of 2017. There are 308 days left in the year.

Highlight in History:

On Feb. 26, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed a congressional act establishing Mount McKinley National Park (now Denali National Park) in the Alaska Territory.

On this date:

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the Island of Elba and headed back to France in a bid to regain power.

In 1904, the United States and Panama proclaimed a treaty under which the U.S. agreed to undertake efforts to build a ship canal across the Panama isthmus.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed a congressional act establishing Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

In 1929, President Calvin Coolidge signed a measure establishing Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

In 1952, Prime Minister Winston Churchill said Britain had developed its own atomic bomb.

In 1962, after becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, astronaut John Glenn told a joint meeting of Congress, “Exploration and the pursuit of knowledge have always paid dividends in the long run.”

In 1970, National Public Radio was incorporated.

In 1987, the Tower Commission, which investigated the Iran-Contra affair, issued a report rebuking President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.

In 1993, a truck bomb built by terrorists exploded in the parking garage of New York’s World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

Ten years ago: Iraq’s Shiite vice president narrowly escaped death as a blast ripped through a government meeting hall just hours after it had been searched by U.S. teams with bomb-sniffing dogs.

Five years ago: Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot to death in Sanford, Fla., during analtercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman.

One year ago: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie stunned the Republican establishment by endorsing Donald Trump for president.

Today’s Birthdays: Game show host Tom Kennedy is 90. Singer Fats Domino is 89. Actor-director Bill Duke is 74. Singer Michael Bolton is 64. Actress Jennifer Grant is 51. Olympic gold medal swimmer Jenny Thompson is 44.