Today in History

Today in History Today is Tuesday, Feb. 27, the 58th day of 2024. There are 308 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Feb. 27, 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women and children. (The occupation lasted until the following May.) On this date: In 1807, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine. In 1922, the Supreme Court, in Leser v. Garnett, unanimously upheld the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed the right of women to vote. In 1933, Germany's parliament building, the Reichstag, was gutted by fire; Chancellor Adolf Hitler, blaming the Communists, used the fire to justify suspending civil liberties. In 1939, the Supreme Court, in National Labor Relations Board v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp., effectively outlawed sit-down strikes. In 1942, the Battle of the Java Sea began during World War II; Imperial Japanese naval forces scored a decisive victory over the Allies. In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, limiting a president to two terms of office, was ratified. In 1991, Operation Desert Storm came to a conclusion as President George H.W. Bush declared that "Kuwait is liberated, Iraq's army is defeated," and announced that the allies would suspend combat operations at midnight, Eastern time. In 1997, divorce became legal in Ireland. In 1998, with the approval of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's House of Lords agreed to end 1,000 years of male preference by giving a monarch's first-born daughter the same claim to the throne as any first-born son. In 2006, former Newark Eagles co-owner Effa Manley became the first woman elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2010, in Chile, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake and tsunami killed 524 people, caused $30 billion in damage and left more than 200,000 homeless. In 2013, Van Cliburn, the internationally celebrated pianist whose triumph at a 1958 Moscow competition launched a spectacular career that made him the rare classical musician to enjoy rock star status, died in Fort Worth, Texas, at age 78. In 2020, President Donald Trump declared that a widespread U.S. outbreak of COVID-19 was not inevitable, even as top health authorities at his side warned that more infections were coming. In 2021, the U.S. got a third vaccine to prevent COVID-19, as the Food and Drug Administration cleared a Johnson & Johnson shot that worked with just one dose instead of two. In 2022, President Vladimir Putin dramatically escalated East-West tensions by ordering Russian nuclear forces put on high alert, while Ukraine's embattled leader agreed to talks with Moscow as Putin's troops and tanks drove deeper into the country. Today's birthdays: Actor Joanne Woodward is 95. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader is 91. Actor Barbara Babcock is 88. Actor Debra Monk is 76. Rock singer-musician Neal Schon (Journey) is 71. Rock musician Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) is 68. Actor Timothy Spall is 68. Rock musician Paul Humphreys (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) is 65. Country singer Johnny Van Zant (Van Zant) is 65. Rock musician Leon Mobley (Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals) is 64. Basketball Hall of Famer James Worthy is 64. Actor Adam Baldwin is 63. Actor Grant Show is 63. Actor Noah Emmerich is 60. Actor Donal Logue is 59. R&B singer Chilli (TLC) is 54. Rock musician Jeremy Dean (Nine Days) is 53. Country-rock musician Shonna Tucker is 47. Chelsea Clinton is 45. Actor Brandon Beemer is 45. Rock musician Cyrus Bolooki (New Found Glory) is 45. Rock musician Jake Clemons (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) is 45. R&B singer Bobby V is 45. Singer Josh Groban is 44. Banjoist Noam Pikelny is 44. Rock musician Jared Champion (Cage the Elephant) is 51. Actor Kate Mara is 42. TV personality JWoww (AKA Jenni Farley) is 39. Actor Lindsey Morgan is 35.