TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS TUESDAY, FEB. 21, the 52nd day of 2023. There are 313 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:

On this date in 1975, former Attorney General John N. Mitchell, and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2½ to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up (each ended up serving 1½ years). In 1437, James I, King of Scots, was assassinated; his 6-year-old son succeeded him as James II. In 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated. In 1965, minister and civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death inside Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom in New York. (Three men identified as members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of murder and imprisoned; all were eventually paroled. The convictions of two of the men were dismissed in November 2021; prosecutors said new evidence had undermined the case against them.) In 1973, Israeli fighter planes shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 over the Sinai Desert, killing all but five of the 113 people on board. In 1995, Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean by balloon, landing in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Film/music company executive David Geffen is 80. Actors Tyne Daly and Anthony Daniels, and Tricia Nixon Cox are 77. Actor Kelsey Grammer and singer/ guitarist Larry Campbell are 68. Actor Christopher Atkins is 62. Actor William Baldwin is 60. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., is 59. Actor Aunjanue Ellis and Blues musician Corey Harris are 54. Rock musician Tad Kinchla (Blues Traveler) is 50. Singer Charlotte Church is 37.