Welcome to Today In History for Thursday, February 23, 2012.

On this day in history ..

• 0303 - Emperor Diocletian orders general persecution of Christians
• 1455 - Johannes Gutenberg prints 1st book, Bible (estimated date)
• 1574 - France begins 5th holy war against Huguenots
• 1660 - Charles XI becomes king of Sweden
• 1668 - Fire in Wiener Hofburg in Vienna, emperor Leopold I rescued
• 1672 - Joan Blaeus publishers destroyed by fire in Amsterdam
• 1689 - Dutch prince William III proclaimed king of England
• 1778 - Baron von Steuben joins Continental Army at Valley Forge
• 1792 - Joseph Haydn's 94th Symphony in G, premieres
• 1792 - Humane Society of Massachusetts incorporated (erected life-saving stations for distressed mariners)
• 1804 - Conspirators against Napoleon, for restoration of Louis XVIII
• 1813 - 1st US raw cotton-to-cloth mill founded in Waltham, Mass
• 1820 - Cato Street conspiracy uncovered
• 1821 - College of Apothecaries organized in Phil; 1st US pharmacy college
• 1822 - Boston is incorporated as a city
• 1836 - Alamo besieged by Santa Anna; entire garrison eventually killed
• 1846 - Polish revolutionaries march on Cracow, but are defeated
• 1847 - Battle of Buena Vista M‚xico; Zachary Taylor defeats Mexicans
• 1854 - Great-Britain & Orange Free state sign Convention of Bloemfontein
• 1861 - By popular referendum, Texas becomes 7th state to secede from US
• 1861 - Dutch Premier Floris A van Hall resigns
• 1861 - Pres-elect Lincoln arrives secretly in Wash DC to take office
• 1869 - Louisiana governor signs public accommodations law
• 1870 - Mississippi is readmitted to US
• 1874 - Mjr Walter Winfield patents game called "sphairistike" (lawn tennis)
• 1883 - Alabama becomes 1st US state to enact an antitrust law
• 1883 - American Anti-Vivisection Society organized (Phila)
• 1886 - Aluminum manufacturing process developed
• 1886 - London Times publishes world's 1st classified ad
• 1886 - Tsjaikovski's symphony "Manfred," premieres
• 1887 - Congress grants Seal Rocks to SF
• 1887 - French/Italian Riviera struck by Earthquake; 2,000 die
• 1892 - 1st college student govt forms at Bryn Mawr Penn
• 1894 - Stanley Cup: Montreal AAA's awarded cup by trustees as Ottawa refuses to travel to Toronto to play
• 1895 - Jaap Eden skates world record 10km (17:56)
• 1895 - William Heard, AME minister & educator, named minister to Liberia
• 1896 - Tootsie Roll introduced by Leo Hirshfield
• 1898 - In France, Emile Zola is imprisoned for writing his "J'accuse" letter accusing government of anti-Semitism & wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus
• 1900 - Battle at Hart's Hill, South-Africa (Boers vs British army)
• 1900 - Steamer "Rio de Janeiro" sinks in SF Bay
• 1903 - Cuban state of Guantanamo leased to USA
• 1904 - US acquired control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million
• 1905 - Rotary Club International formed by 4 men in Chicago
• 1906 - Tommy Burns beats Marvin Hart in 20 for heavyweight boxing title
• 1909 - Russian tsar Nicolas II dissolves Finnish Diet
• 1910 - 1st radio contest held (Philadelphia)
• 1910 - George Bernard Shaw's "Misalliance," premieres in London
• 1915 - Germany sinks US ships Carib & Evelyn & torpedoes Norwegian ship Regin
• 1915 - Nevada enforces convenient divorce law
• 1916 - Congress authorizes McKinley Memorial $1 gold coin
• 1916 - French artillery kills entire French 72nd division at Samogneux Verdun
• 1917 - February revolution begins in Russia
• 1919 - Fascist Party forms in Italy by Benito Mussolini
• 1921 - 1st US transcontinental air mail flight arrives in NYC from SF
• 1923 - German Republic day with laws against worker
• 1923 - Great Britain lowers import duty on German products from 26% to 5%
• 1927 - Pres Coolidge creates Federal Radio Commission (FCC)
• 1934 - Casey Stengel becomes manager of Brooklyn Dodgers
• 1934 - Coronation of King Leopold III of Belgium
• 1936 - 1st rocket air mail flight, Greenwood Lake, NY
• 1938 - Joe Louis KOs Nathan Mann in 3 for heavyweight boxing title
• 1939 - Lou Thesz beats E Marshall in St Louis, to become wrestling champ
• 1940 - Russian troops conquer Lasi Island
• 1940 - Walt Disney's animated movie "Pinocchio," released
• 1942 - Japanese sub fires on oil refinery in Ellwood, Calif
• 1943 - Gen-Maj Bradley arrives in Dakar & Marrakesh
• 1943 - German troops pull back through Kasserine-pass Tunisia
• 1945 - 2nd Dutch govt of Gerbrandy forms in London
• 1945 - Canadian troops occupy Kalkar
• 1945 - Operation Grenade: Gen Simpsons 9th Army crosses Ruhr
• 1945 - US Marines raise flag on Iwo Jima, famous photo & statue
• 1947 - Gen Eisenhower opens drive to raise $170M in aid for European Jews
• 1954 - 1st mass inoculation with Salk vaccine (Pittsburgh)
• 1954 - Syrian army drives out president Adib el-Shishakli
• 1955 - Edgar Faure forms French government
• 1956 - 20th Congress of CPSU closes in Moscow
• 1956 - Russian party leader Khrushchev attacks memory of Stalin
• 1957 - "Mr Wonderful" closes at Broadway Theater NYC after 383 performances
• 1958 - 5-time world driving champion Juan Fangio kidnapped by Cuban rebels
• 1958 - Arturo Frondizi elected president of Argentina
• 1958 - Last Municipal arc light, Mission & 25th removed (installed in 1913)
• 1958 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
• 1959 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Lake Worth Golf Open
• 1959 - KVIE TV channel 6 in Sacramento-Stockton, CA (PBS) begins broadcasting
• 1960 - Demolition begins on Brooklyn's Ebbets Field (opened in 1913)
• 1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1964 - Charlie Finley signs a 4 year lease to keep A's in Kansas City
• 1965 - Constance Baker Motley elected Manhattan Borough president
• 1966 - Aldo Moro forms Italian government
• 1966 - Military coup in Syria ends Bitar govt
• 1966 - Premier Obote grabs power in Uganda
• 1967 - 25th amendment (presidential succession) declared ratified
• 1967 - John Herbert's "Fortune & Men's Eyes," premieres in NYC
• 1967 - Ted Workman replaces Senator Keith Davey as CFL commissioner
• 1967 - US troops begin largest offensive of Vietnam War
• 1968 - Wilt Chamberlain becomes 1st NBAer to score 25,000 points
• 1969 - Nayif Hawatimah forms Dem People's Front for Liberation of Palestine
• 1969 - WWVU (now WNPB) TV channel 24 in Morgantown, WV (PBS) 1st broadcast
• 1970 - Guyana becomes a republic (National Day)
• 1970 - Holy Eucharist given by women for 1st time in Roman Catholic service
• 1971 - Boston Bruins begin 13 NHL game win streak
• 1971 - George Harrison is fined & his driving license is suspended for 1 year
• 1971 - Lt Calley confessed & implicates Captain Medina
• 1973 - Gold goes up $10 overnight to record $95 an ounce in London
• 1974 - Patty Hearst, daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst, kidnapped by SLA
• 1974 - Teri Garr appears on Bob Newhart Show in "Confessions of an Orth"
• 1975 - Amy Alcott wins LPGA Orange Blossom Golf Classic
• 1976 - Owners announce spring training won't open without a labor contract
• 1978 - 20th Grammy Awards: Hotel Calif, Fleetwood Mac, Debbie Boone wins
• 1979 - "Sarava" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 140 performances
• 1979 - Frank Peterson Jr named 1st black general in Marine Corps
• 1979 - George Harrison releases "George Harrison" album
• 1980 - 13th Winter Olympic games close at Lake Placid, NY
• 1980 - Eric Heiden wins all 5 speed skating golds at Lake Placid Olympics
• 1980 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
• 1980 - Oil tanker explosion off Pilos, Greece, causes 37-mil-gallon spill
• 1981 - People mag features drug ordeal of Mackenzie & Papa John Phillips
• 1981 - Spanish coup under lt-col Antonio Tejero Molina fails
• 1982 - Michael Frayn's "Noises Off," premieres in London
• 1983 - 25th Grammy Awards: Roxanna, Toto IV, Men at Work wins
• 1983 - USFL NJ Generals sign Heisman winner Herschel Walker (3 years-$5 mil)
• 1985 - Indiana basketball coach Bobby Knight throws a chair during a game
• 1985 - US Senate confirms Edwin Meese III as attorney general
• 1986 - Despite losing, Red Sox Wade Boggs gets largest arbitration ($1.35M)
• 1986 - Mary Beth Zimmerman wins LPGA Standard Register/Samaritan Golf Classic
• 1986 - Nelli Fiere-Cooman runs world record 60 m indoor (7.00 sec)
• 1987 - Dick Howser retires from managing KC Royals, due to brain tumor
• 1987 - Russian Writers Union accepts Boris Pasternak posthumous as member
• 1987 - Supernova 1987A in LMC 1st seen; 1st naked-eye supernova since 1604
• 1988 - 15th Winter Olympic games opens in Calgary, Alberta
• 1988 - Chicago gives Cubs right to install lights & play up to 18 night games
• 1988 - Yvonne van Gennip skates female record 3k (4:11.94)
• 1990 - Ian Smith 173* NZ v India, 136 balls, world record for no 9 bat
• 1991 - Greg Haugen scores a split decision over Hector "Macho" Camacho
• 1991 - Military coup in Thailand, Premier Choonhaven arrested
• 1991 - NC is 1st NCAA basketball team to win 1,500 games
• 1991 - Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Orix Hawaiian Ladies Golf Open
• 1991 - US insists Iraq publicly announce it is leaving Kuwait by 12 PM EST
• 1992 - 16th Winter Olympic games closes in Albertville, France
• 1992 - Andy Flower scores 115* on ODI debut, Zimbabwe v Sri Lanka
• 1992 - World Cup scoreline Zimbabwe 4-312, Sri Lanka 7-313
• 1993 - Gary Coleman wins $1,280,000 lawsuit against parents for high fees
• 1993 - India complete a 3-0 series drubbing of England
• 1993 - Sacramento Gold Miners admitted as CFL's 9th franchise (1st US team)
• 1994 - Indians owner Richard Jacobs announces he will pay $10 million to name baseball field (Jacobs Field) at Gateway (becomes official 3/23)
• 1995 - "Uncle Vanya" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 29 performances
• 1995 - Antoine Nduwayo appointed Premier of Burundi
• 1995 - Dow Jones closes above 4,000 for 1st time (4,003.33)
• 1996 - Mark Waugh scores 130 in World Cup vs Kenya, 207 w/brother Steve
• 1996 - Rajindra Dhanraj takes 9-97 for Trinidad against Leeward Islands
• 1997 - Ali Abu Kamal opens fire in Empire State Building & kills 1
• 1997 - American Express Senior Golf Invitational
• 1997 - Jeff Sluman wins Tucson Golf Classic
• 1997 - NBC TV shows "Schindler's List," completely uncensored, 65M watch
• 1997 - Tucson Chrysler Golf Classic
• 1997 - Scientists in Scotland announced they succeeded in cloning an adult mammal, producing a lamb named "Dolly"
• 1998 - Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Charleston SC on WAVF 96.1 FM
• 1998 - Supreme Court lets Megan's Law stand
• 1998 - Tornadoes in Florida kills at least 31