TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Monday, Feb. 19, the 50th day of 2024. There are 316 days left in the year. Today’s Highlight in History:
On Feb. 19, 1942, during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the relocation and internment of people of Japanese ancestry, including U.S.-born citizens. On this date:
In 1473, astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland. In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr, accused of treason, was arrested in the Mississippi Territory, in present-day Alabama. (Burr was acquitted at trial.) In 1878, Thomas Edison received a U.S. patent for “an improvement in phonograph or speaking machines.” In 1945, Operation Detachment began during World War II as some 30,000 U.S. Marines began landing on Iwo Jima, where they commenced a successful month-long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces. In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford, calling the issuing of the internment order for people of Japanese ancestry in 1942 “a sad day in American history,” signed a proclamation formally confirming its termination. In 1985, the British soap opera “EastEnders” debuted on BBC Television. In 2003, an Iranian military plane carrying 275 members of the elite Revolutionary Guards crashed in southeastern Iran, killing all on board. In 2008, an ailing Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency after nearly a halfcentury in power; his brother Raul was later named to succeed him. In 2017, Three former elite U.S. gymnasts, including 2000 Olympian Jamie Dantzscher, appeared on CBS’ “60 Minutes” to say they were sexually abused by Dr. Larry Nassar, a volunteer team physician for USA Gymnastics. Today’s birthdays: Singer Smokey Robinson is 84. Actor Stephen Nichols is 73. Author Amy Tan is 72. Actor Jeff Daniels is 69. Rock singer-musician Dave Wakeling is 68. Actor Ray Winstone is 67. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is 65. Singer Seal is 61. Actor Justine Bateman is 58. Actor Benicio Del Toro is 57. Pop singer-actor Haylie Duff is 39. Actor Luke Pasqualino is 34. Actor Victoria Justice is 31. Actor David Mazouz (TV: “Gotham”) is 23. Actor Millie Bobby Brown is 20.