This Week in History

HISTORY, 20 Feb 2017

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

Feb 20-26

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“You’re never too old, never too bad, never too late and never too sick to start from the scratch once again.” – Bikram Choudhury

 

FEBRUARY 20

Today is the WORLD DAY OF SOCIAL JUSTICE:

2014  Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, many reportedly killed by snipers.

Euromaidan Anti-government Protect and Its Deadly Clash on February 20, 2014:

History of Ukraine:

Ukraine-Russian Relations:

Ukraine-the West Relations:

2013  The smallest extrasolar planet, Kepler-37b is discovered.

Kepler-37b:

2009  Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a suicide attack.

Tamil Tigers:

Sri Lankan Civil War:

History of the Sri Lankan Civil War:

History of Sri Lanka:

Sri Lanka:

Foreign Relations of Sri Lanka:

Economy of Sri Lanka:

2006  In South Korea the United Liberal Democrats, the three top political parties was merged into Grand National Party.

Grand National Party of the South Korea:

2005  Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.

Spain’s Referendum on the Proposed Constitution:

1991  A gigantic statue of Albania‘s long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down in the Albanian capital Tirana, by mobs of angry protesters.

Enver Hoxha:

History of Albania:

1989  An IRA bomb destroys a section of a British Army barracks in Ternhill, England.

IRA’s Attack on Ternhill Barracks of 20 February 1989:

Irish Republican Army (IRA)/Provisional Republican Army (PIRA):

History of the IRA:

Sinn Féin:

History of Sinn Féin:

Sinn Féin, IRA and the Catholic Church:

1988  The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the Nagorno-Karabakh War.

Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast:

Nagorno-Karabakh War:

History of Azerbaijan:

Azerbaijan:

History of Armenia:

Armenia:

Foreign Relations of Armenia:

Economy of Armenia:

1987  Unabomber: In Salt Lake City, a bomb explodes in a computer store.

1986  The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.

1978  The last Order of Victory is bestowed upon Leonid Brezhnev.

1975  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1975:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1971  The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.

1965  Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.

1962  Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.

1959  The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.

1956  The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.

1952  Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.

1944  World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.

1944  World War II: The “Big Week” began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.

1943  The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell‘s Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt‘s 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.

1943  The Parícutin volcano begins to form in Parícutin, Mexico.

1943  American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.

1942  Lieutenant Edward O’Hare becomes America’s first World War II flying ace.

1935  Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.

1933  Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party‘s upcoming election campaign.

Adolf Hitler:

Hitler and the German Industrialists:

History of the Nazi Party:

History of Nazi Germany:

1933  The Congress of the United States proposes the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution that will end Prohibition in the United States.

1931  The Congress of the United States approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.

1921  The Young Communist League of Czechoslovakia is founded.

1913  King O’Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.

1909  Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.

1901  The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.

History of Hawaii:

1877  Tchaikovsky‘s ballet Swan Lake receives its première performance at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.

Swan Lake:

1873  The University of California opens its first medical school in San Francisco.

1872  In New York City the Metropolitan Museum of Art opens.

1865  End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance.

1846  Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence.

 

 

FEBRUARY 21

Today is the INTERNATIONAL MOTHER LANGUAGE DAY:

2015  Turkey sends troops to Syria to rescue 40 guards and relocate remains from the tomb of Sulayman Shah, which is now surrounded by ISIS militants; the site is internationally recognized as Turkish territory.

2014  President Obama meets with the Dalai Lama for the third time despite protests from China and warnings that the meeting could threaten diplomatic relations.

1995  Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.

1975  Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison.

Haldeman and Ehrlichman in the Watergate Scandal:

Watergate Scandal:

Watergate Tapes:

1974  The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with Egypt.

Yom Kippur War:

Yom Kippur War and the US Policy:

Yom Kippur War and the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

Timeline of the Yom Kippur War:

1972  Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 jet killing 108.

1972  The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon.

1972  United States President Richard Nixon visits the People’s Republic of China to normalize Sino-American relations.

Richard Nixon:

Nixon’s Visit to People’s Republic of China:

Sino-US Relations:

1971  The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.

1965  Malcolm X is assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City.

Malcolm X:

Assassination of Malcolm X:

1963  US performs nuclear test (atmospheric) at Nevada Test Site.

Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at the Nevada Site:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nevada Test Site:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1958  The peace symbol, commissioned by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom.

Peace Symbol:

1952  The Bengali Language Movement protests occur at the University of Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).

1952  The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to “set the people free”.

Identity Cards and the UK:

1948  NASCAR is incorporated.

History of NASCAR:

1947  In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first “instant camera“, the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America.

1945  World War II: Japanese kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea and damage the USS Saratoga.

1937  The League of Nations bans foreign national “volunteers” in the Spanish Civil War.

1921  The New Yorker publishes its first issue.

1921  Rezā Shāh takes control of Tehran during a successful coup

1921  Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country’s first constitution.

Democratic Republic of Georgia and Its First Constitution:

History of Georgia (country):

Democracy and Georgia:

Georgia:

Foreign Relations of Georgia:

Economy of Georgia:

1919  German socialist Kurt Eisner is assassinated. His death results in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing Munich, Germany.

1918  The last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo.

1916  World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun begins.

Battle of Verdun:

1913  Ioannina is incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars.

Ioannina:

Greek State:

Modern History of Greece:

Balkan Wars:

First Balkan War:

Second Balkan War:

1896  An Englishman raised in Australia, Bob Fitzsimmons, fought an Irishman, Peter Maher, in an American promoted event which technically took place in Mexico, winning the 1896 World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.

1885  The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated.

1848  Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto.

The Communist Manifesto:

Karl Marx:

Friedrich Engels:

1808  Without a previous declaration of war, Russian troops cross the border to Sweden at Abborfors in eastern Finland, thus beginning the Finnish War, in which Sweden will lose the eastern half of the country (i.e. Finland) to Russia.

1804  The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales.

1613  Mikhail I is unanimously elected Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia.

1543  Battle of Wayna Daga – A combined army of Ethiopian and Portuguese troops defeats a Muslim army led by Ahmed Gragn.

1440  The Prussian Confederation is formed.

 

 

FEBRUARY 22

2015  A ferry carrying 100 passengers capsizes in the Padma River, killing 70 people.

2014  President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine is impeached by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by a vote of 328–0, fulfilling a major goal of the Euromaidan rebellion.

Victor Yanukovych and His impeachment:

2012  A train crash in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 51 people and injures 700 others.

2011  Bahraini uprising: Tens of thousands of people march in protest against the deaths of seven victims killed by police and army forces during previous protests.

February 22, 2011 in the Bahraini Uprising:

Bahraini Uprising of 2011:

Arab Spring:

Arab Spring and the CIA:

Arab Spring and Al-Qaeda:

Arab Spring and Israel:

2011  New Zealand’s second deadliest earthquake strikes Christchurch, killing 185 people.

2006  At least six men stage Britain’s biggest robbery, stealing £53m (about $92.5 million or €78 million) from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent.

2002  Angolan political and rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush.

Jonas Savimbi:

Angola:

Foreign Relations of Angola:

Angola and the United Nations:

History of Angola:

Economy of Angola:

1997  In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly has been successfully cloned.

Cloned Sheep Dolly:

1995  The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.

1994  Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged by the United States Department of Justice with spying for the Soviet Union.

1986  Start of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines.

Philippines’ People Power Revolution of 1986:

Timelines of the People Power Revolution:

1979  Independence of Saint Lucia from the United Kingdom.

Independence of Saint Lucia:

History of Saint Lucia:

Saint Lucia:

Foreign Relations of Saint Lucia:

Economy of Saint Lucia:

1974  Samuel Byck tries and fails to assassinate US President Richard Nixon.

1974  The Organization of the Islamic Conference summit begins in Lahore, Pakistan. Thirty-seven countries attend and twenty-two heads of state and government participate. It also recognizes Bangladesh.

Organization of the Islamic Conference (= Organization of the Islamic Cooperation):

1973  Cold War: Following President Richard Nixon‘s visit to the People’s Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices. Cold War: Following President Richard Nixon‘s visit to the People’s Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices.

United States-China Relations:

1972  The Official Irish Republican Army detonates a car bomb at Aldershot barracks, killing seven and injuring nineteen others.

Official Republic Army:

Aldershot Bombing of February 1972:

1958  Egypt and Syria join to form the United Arab Republic.

Unite Arab Republic:

1957  Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam survives a communist shooting assassination attempt in Buôn Ma Thuột.

1948  Communist revolution in Czechoslovakia.

Communist Revolution in Czechoslovakia of 1948:

1944  World War II: The Soviet Red Army recaptures Krivoi Rog.

Krivoi Rog Offensive:

1944  World War II: American aircraft mistakenly bomb the Dutch towns of Nijmegen, Arnhem, Enschede and Deventer, resulting in 800 dead in Nijmegen alone.

1943  World War II: Members of the White Rose resistance, Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl, and Christoph Probst are executed in Nazi Germany.

White Rose:

1942  World War II: President Franklin D Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as the Japanese victory becomes inevitable.

1921  After Russian forces under Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg drive the Chinese out, the Bogd Khan is reinstalled as the emperor of Mongolia.

1915  World War I: Germany institutes unrestricted submarine warfare.

1909  The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USS Connecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.

1899  Filipino forces led by General Antonio Luna launch counterattacks for the first time against the American forces during the Philippine–American War. The Filipinos fail to regain Manila from the Americans.

1848  The French Revolution of 1848, which would lead to the establishment of the French Second Republic, begins.

1847  Mexican–American War: The Battle of Buena Vista – 5,000 American troops defeat 15,000 Mexicans.

1829  Greek War of Independence: Alexander Ypsilantis crosses the Prut river at Sculeni into the Danubian Principalities.

Greek War of Independence:

Modern History of Greece:

1819  By the Adams–Onís Treaty, Spain sells Florida to the United States for five million US dollars.

1797  The Last Invasion of Britain begins near Fishguard, Wales.

1744  War of the Austrian Succession: The Battle of Toulon begins.

1632  Galileo‘s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published.

Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems:

 

 

FEBRUARY 23

2012  A series of attacks across Iraq leave at least 83 killed and more than 250 injured.

February 23, 2012 Iraq Attacks:

2010  Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in northern Italy, sparking an environmental disaster.

2005  The controversial French law on colonialism is passed, requiring teachers to teach the “positive values of colonialism”. After public outcry, it is repealed at the beginning of 2006.

French Law on Colonialism:

1999  An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31.

1999  Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.

1991  In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d’état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.

Thai Bloodless Coup in February 1991:

1991  Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.

Gulf War Timelines:

1987  Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

Supernova 1987a:

1983  The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.

Dioxin:

Times Beach and Dioxin:

1981  In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d’état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.

“23-F”:

1980  Iran hostage crisis: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran’s parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.

Timeline of the Iran Hostage Crisis:

Iran Hostage Crisis:

1974  The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.

1967  US troops begin largest offensive of Vietnam War.

Vietnam War in 1967:

1966  In Syria, Ba’ath Party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin al-Hafiz, also a Baathist.

Syria’s Military Coup of February 1966:

1962  US performs nuclear test (atmospheric) at Nevada Test Site.

Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at the Nevada Site:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

US Nuclear Tests at Nevada Site:

Nevada Test Site:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1958  Cuban rebels kidnap 5-time world F1 champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

1958  USSR performs nuclear test (atmospheric) at Novaya Zemlya USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1958:

USSR Atmospheric Nuclear Tests:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Novaya Zemlya Nuclear Test Site:

1955  First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization:

1954  The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.

1947  The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.

International Organization for Standardization (ISO):

1945  World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is annihilated in a raid by 379 British bombers.

1945  World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.

1945  World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by combined Filipino and American forces.

1945  World War II: The 11th Airborne Division, with Filipino guerrillas, free the captives of the Los Baños internment camp.

1945  World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a US Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag.

1944  The Soviet Union begins the forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.

Soviet Union’s Population Transfer:

1943  Greek Resistance: The United Panhellenic Organization of Youth is founded is Greece.

Greek Resistance in World War II:

1943  A fire breaks out at St. Joseph’s Orphanage, County Cavan, Ireland, killing 36 people (35 of whom are children).

1942  World War II: Japanese submarines fire artillery shells at the California coastline near Santa Barbara.

1941  Plutonium is chemically identified by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.

Discovery of Plutonium:

1934  Leopold III becomes King of Belgium.

1927  German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time.

Uncertainty Principle:

1927  US President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.

1918  Last monarch of Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz commits suicide.

1917  First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution.

February Revolution of 1917 in Saint Petersburg:

Russian Revolution of 1917 and Its Timelines:

1909  The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.

1905  Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world’s first service club.

Rotary Club and Its History:

1903  Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States “in perpetuity”.

History of the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base:

Human Rights at Guantánamo:

1900  Second Boer War: Boers and British troops fight in the Battle of Hart’s Hill.

Boers (people):

Battle of Hart’s Hill:

Second Boer War:

1898  Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing “J’accuse“, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.

1896  The Tootsie Roll is invented.

Tootsie Roll:

1887  The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.

1886  Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of man-made aluminum, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister Julia Brainerd Hall.

First Man-Made Aluminum Production:

1885  Sino-French War: French Army gains an important victory in the Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of Vietnam.

Sino-French War:

Battle of Đồng Đăng:

1854  The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.

Orange Free State (1854-1902):

Britain’s Invasion of the Orange Free State of 1900:

1847  Mexican–American War: Battle of Buena Vista – In Mexico, American troops under future president General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.

1836  Texas Revolution: The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.

1820  Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.

1554  Mapuche forces, under the leadership of Lautaro, score a victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Marihueñu in Chile.

1455  Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.

 

 

FEBRUARY 24

2011  Final Launch of Space Shuttle Discovery (OV-103).

2008  Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years.

Fidel Castro Retires:

Fidel Castro:

Cuba or the “Republic of Cuba” (Repúlica de Cuba):

Foreign Relations of Cuba:

History and Culture of Cuba:

Economy of Cuba:

2007  Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.

2006  Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup.

1989  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1989  Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini offers a US$3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.

The Satanic Verses:

Salman Rushdie:

Khomeini’s Order to Kill Rushdie:

1983  A special commission of the US Congress releases a report that condemns the practice of Japanese internment during World War II.

Japanese Internment during World War II:

Executive Order 9066 and the Internment of Japanese Americans:

President Gerald Ford’s Proclamation 4417:

1981  An earthquake registering 6.7 (surface wave magnitude) hits Athens. This intensity IX (Violent) shock killed 16 people and destroyed buildings in several towns west of the city.

1976  Cuba: national Constitution is proclaimed.

Cuba National Constitution:

1971  The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed three days earlier. P.K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman.

1968  Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.

Vietnam War in 1968:

Tet Offensive:

Timelines of the Tet Offensive:

Vietnam War and Pertinent Events:

1966  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1962  US performs nuclear test (atmospheric) at Nevada Test Site.

Atmospheric Nuclear Testing at the Nevada Site:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

Atmospheric Nuclear Tests of the United States and Radioactive Fallout:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nevada Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1946  Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, elected to his first term as President of Argentina.

1945  Egyptian Premier Ahmad Mahir Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.

1944  Merrill’s Marauders: The Marauders begin their 1,000-mile journey through Japanese occupied Burma.

1942  An order-in-council passed under the Defence of Canada Regulations of the War Measures Act gives the Canadian federal government the power to intern all “persons of Japanese racial origin”.

1942  The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm led to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasted into the early hours of February 25.

1920  The Nazi Party is founded.

History of the Nazi Party:

History of Nazi Germany:

1918  Estonian Declaration of Independence.

Independence of Estonia and the Independence War:

History of Estonia:

Estonia:

Estonia and the European Union:

Foreign Relations of Estonia:

Historical Background of the Baltic States and the Soviet Union:

Russia Reviews the 1991 Decision to Recognize the Independence of the Baltic States:

1917  World War I: The US ambassador to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States.

Zimmermann Telegram:

1916  The Governor-General of Korea establishes a clinic called Jahyewon in Sorokdo to segregate Hansen’s disease patients.

Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy):

1895  Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the Cuban War of Independence, that ends with the Spanish–American War in 1898.

Independence War of Cuba:

History and Culture of Cuba:

Cuba or the “Republic of Cuba” (Repúlica de Cuba):

Economy of Cuba:

1881  China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.

1848  King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.

1831  The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West.

1826  The signing of the Treaty of Yandabo marks the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War.

1822  The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated.

1821  Final stage of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain with Plan of Iguala .

1739  Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nader Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.

1711  The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.

1607  L’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance.

1582  With the papal bull Inter gravissimas, Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.

1538  Treaty of Nagyvárad between Ferdinand I and John Zápolya.

1525  Spanish-Imperial army defeat French army at Battle of Pavia.

 

 

FEBRUARY 25

2009  Members of the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny at their headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulting in 74 deaths, including more than 50 army officials.

1997  Yi Han-yong, a North Korean defector, was murdered by unidentified assailants in Bundang, South Korea.

1994  Mosque of Abraham massacre: In the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, Baruch Goldstein opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and injuring 125 more before being subdued and beaten to death by survivors.

1992  Khojaly massacre: About 613 civilians are killed by Armenian armed forces during the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

Khojaly Massacre:

Nagorno-Karabakh War:

1991  The Warsaw Pact is declared disbanded.

History of the Warsaw Pact:

1991  Gulf War: An Iraqi scud missile hits an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28 U.S. Army Reservists from Pennsylvania.

Iraqi Scud Missile:

Gulf War Timelines:

1986  People Power Revolution: President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the Philippines‘ first woman president.

Philippines’ People Power Revolution of 1986:

Timelines of the People Power Revolution:

Corazon Aquino:

1981  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1980  The government of Suriname is overthrown by a military coup led by Dési Bouterse.

Suriname Coup of 1980 (Sergeants’ Coup or “De Sergeantencoup” in Dutch):

History of Suriname:

Suriname:

Foreign Relations of Suriname:

Economy of Suriname:

1971  The first unit of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, the first commercial nuclear power station in Canada, goes online.

1968  Vietnam War: One hundred thirty-five unarmed citizens of Hà My village in South Vietnam‘s Quảng Nam Province are killed and buried en masse by South Korean troops in what would come to be known as the Hà My massacre.

1968 in the Vietnam War:

Hà My Massacre:

Massacres in the Vietnam War:

Viet Nam War and Pertinent Events:

1964  US Air Force launches a satellite employing a US Air Force Atlas/Agena combination from Point Arguello (LC-2-3) in California and from Cape Kennedy in Florida.

1964  North Korean Prime Minister Kim Il-sung calls for the removal of feudalistic land ownership aimed at turning all cooperative farms into state-run ones.

1956  In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union denounces the cult of personality of Joseph Stalin.

1954  Gamal Abdel Nasser is made premier of Egypt.

Gamal Abdel Nasser:

Egypt:

History of (Modern) Egypt:

Foreign Relations of Egypt:

Economy of Egypt:

1948  The Communist Party takes control of government in Czechoslovakia and the period of the Third Republic ends.

1947  The State of Prussia ceases to exist.

History of Prussia:

Timelines of Prussia:

History of Germany:

1945  World War II: Turkey declares war on Germany.

1933  The USS Ranger is launched. It is the first US Navy ship to be built solely as an aircraft carrier.

1932  Adolf Hitler obtains German citizenship by naturalization, which allows him to run in the 1932 election for Reichspräsident.

Adolf Hitler:

1928  Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, D.C. becomes the first holder of a broadcast license for television from the Federal Radio Commission.

1921  Tbilisi, capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, is occupied by Bolshevist Russia.

Democratic Republic of Georgia and Its First Constitution of 1921:

Soviet Invasion of Georgia:

Georgia-Russian/Soviet Relations:

History of Georgia (country):

Georgia:

Foreign Relations of Georgia:

Economy of Georgia:

Democracy and Georgia:

1916  World War I: The Germans capture Fort Douaumont during the Battle of Verdun.

Battle of Verdun, First World War:

1912  Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.

1901  J P Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation.

1875  Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi‘s regency.

1870  Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress.

1866  Miners in Calaveras County, California, discover what is now called the Calaveras Skull – human remains that supposedly indicated that man, mastodons, and elephants had co-existed.

1856  A Peace conference opens in Paris after the Crimean War.

1848  Provisional government in revolutionary France, by Louis Blanc‘s motion, guarantees workers’ rights.

1843  Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain in the Paulet Affair (1843).

1831  Battle of Olszynka Grochowska, part of Polish November Uprising against Russian Empire.

Battle of Olszynka Grochowska:

November Uprising:

History of Poland:

Poland and Russia:

Poland:

Foreign Relations of Poland:

Economy of Poland:

1821  Greek War of Independence: Alexander Ypsilantis issues a proclamation at Iași, announcing that he had “the support of a great power” (i.e. Russia).

Greek War of Independence:

Modern History of Greece:

1797  Colonel William Tate and his force of 1000–1500 soldiers surrender after the Last invasion of Britain.

 

 

FEBRUARY 26

2015  The US Federal Communications Commission approves net neutrality rules, which guarantee equal Internet access to all users; broadband companies had been seeking the ability to sell faster access to certain customers while slowing access for others

US Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Decision on Net Neutrality:

2014  NASA announces that its Kepler space telescope has discovered 715 planets in other solar systems, bringing the instrument’s new-planet tally to 961; four of the latest discoveries are thought to have an orbit favorable to habitation, but the distance of these planets makes exploration impossible with current technology

Kepler Mission Program of NASA:

2013  Scientists in Illinois, announce they’ve developed stretchable batteries that can power a new generation of flexible electronics

Stretchable Batteries for Flexible Electronics:

2008  The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea. The first event of its kind to take place in North Korea.

1995  The United Kingdom’s oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.

1993  World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand.

World Trade Center Bombing of 1993:

1992  Nagorno-Karabakh War: Khojaly Massacre: Armenian armed forces open fire on Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead.

Khojaly Massacre:

Nagorno-Karabakh War:

1991  Gulf War: United States Army forces capture the town of Al Busayyah.

Gulf War Timelines:

1990  USSR agrees to withdraw all 73,500 troops from Czechoslovakia by July, 1991

1987  Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.

Tower Commission:

Iran-Contra Affair:

1987  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalatinsk USSR.

USSR Nuclear Tests in 1987:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site:

Health, and Ecological Issues in Kazakhstan/Semipalatinsk:

1980  Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.

Egypt-Israel Relations:

Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty of 1979:

1976  US performs nuclear test (underground) at Nevada Test Site.

US Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

Nevada Test Site:

Ecological and Health Issues in and around the Nevada Test Site:

1971  UN Secretary General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.

Earth Day:

1967  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1966  Vietnam War: The ROK Capital Division of the South Korean Army massacres 380 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam.

Vietnam War in 1966:

Bình An / Tây Vinh Massacre:

1966  Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket

1952  Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.

1946  Finnish observers report the first of many thousands of sightings of ghost rockets.

1936  In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.

1935  Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.

Development of Radar in the UK:

1935  Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.

Adolf Hitler:

Treaty of Versailles:

Luftwaffe:

History of Nazi Germany:

1929  President Calvin Coolidge signs an Executive Order establishing the 96,000 acre Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

1919  President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of the US Congress establishing most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park – the Grand Canyon National Park.

1917  The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first jazz record, for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York.

1914  HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.

1909  Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.

1876  Japan and Korea sign a treaty granting Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights, opening three ports to Japanese trade, and ending Korea’s status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.

Japan-Korea Treaty of 1876:

1815  Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.

1616  Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.

Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems:

Catholic Church and Galileo:

Catholic Church/Christianity//Religion and Science:

______________________________________

(Sources and references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/february_20   february_26; http://www.onthisday.com/events/february/20   to february/26;   http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/february_20.html.   to february_26.html; and other pertinent web sites and/or documents, mentioned above.)

  1. The views expressed in the cited or quoted websites and/or documents in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this article. These websites and/or documents are cited or quoted for academic or educational purposes. Neither the author of this article nor the Transcend Media Service (TMS) is responsible for the contents, information, or whatsoever contained in these websites and/or documents.
  2. One of the primary purposes of this article is to provide the readers with opportunities to think about “peace”, including positive peace and negative peace as well as external/outer peace and internal/inner peace, and more, directly or indirectly, from various angles and/or in the broadest sense, through historical events. It is because this article is prepared specifically for the TMS whose main objective is to address “peace”.

Satoshi Ashikaga, having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, prefers a peaceful and prudent life, especially that in communion with nature.  His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, remind him of the invaluableness of peace.  His interest and/or expertise includes international affairs, international law, jurisprudence, economic and business affairs, project/operations or organizational management, geography, history, the environmental/ecological issues, science and technology, visual/audio documentation of nature and culture, and more. Being a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment, he is currently compiling This Week in History

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 20 Feb 2017.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: This Week in History, is included. Thank you.

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