TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Tuesday, Feb. 21, the 52nd day of 2023.
Today’s highlight in history
On Feb. 21, 1975, former Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 1⁄2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up. (Each ended up serving 1 1⁄2 years.)
On this date
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.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon began his historic visit to China as he and his wife, Pat, arrived in Beijing.
In 1992, Kristi Yamaguchi of the United States won the gold medal in ladies’ figure skating at the Albertville Olympics; Midori Ito of Japan won the silver, Nancy Kerrigan of the U.S. the bronze.
In 1995, Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean by balloon, landing in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada.
In 2020, a temporary truce between the U.S. and the Taliban in Afghanistan took effect, setting the stage for the two sides to sign a peace deal the following week.
Ten years ago: Drew Peterson, the Chicago-area police officer who gained notoriety after his much-younger fourth wife, Stacy Peterson, vanished in 2007, was sentenced to 38 years in prison for murdering his third wife, Kathleen Savio.
Today’s birthdays
Actor Gary Lockwood is 86. Actor Richard Beymer is 84. Actor Peter McEnery is 83. Actor Tyne Daly is 77. Actor Anthony Daniels is 77. Tricia Nixon Cox is 77. Former Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, is 76. Actor Christine Ebersole is 70. Actor William Petersen is 70. Actor Kelsey Grammer is 68. Singer Mary Chapin Carpenter is 65. Actor Jack Coleman is 65. Actor Christopher Atkins is 62. Actor William Baldwin is 60. Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., is 59. Actor Tituss Burgess is 44. Actor Jennifer Love Hewitt is 44. Director Jordan Peele is 44. Singer Charlotte Church is 37. Actor Ashley Greene is 36. Actor Elliot Page is 36. Actor Corbin Bleu is 34. Actor Sophie Turner is 27.