Today in history

Today is Saturday, Feb. 22, the 53rd day of 2020. There are 313 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Feb. 22, 1980, the “Miracle on Ice” took place in Lake Placid, New York, as the United States Olympic hockey team upset the Soviets, 4-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.)

On this date:

In 1732 (New Style date), the first president of the United States, George Washington, was born in Westmoreland County in the Virginia Colony.

In 1857, Robert BadenPowell, founder of the Boy Scouts, was born in London.

In 1862, Jefferson Davis, already the provisional president of the Confederacy, was inaugurated for a six-year term following his election in November 1861.

In 1909, the Great White Fleet, a naval task force sent on a round-the-world voyage by President Theodore Roosevelt, returned after more than a year at sea.

In 1924, Calvin Coolidge delivered the first presidential radio broadcast from the White House.

In 1935, it became illegal for airplanes to fly over the White House.

In 1984, David Vetter, a 12-year-old Texas boy who’d spent most of his life in a plastic bubble because he had no immunity to disease, died 15 days after being removed from the bubble for a bone-marrow transplant.

In 1987, pop artist Andy Warhol died at a New York City hospital at age 58.

In 1995, actor Ed Flanders, 60, died at his own hand in Denny, California.

In 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.)

In 2004, consumer advocate Ralph Nader announced he was running again for president, this time as an independent.

In 2018, the U.S. women’s hockey team won the gold medal at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, beating Canada 3-2 after a shootout tiebreaker.