This Week in History
by Dianne Hermann
“In the summer of 1776 our Founding Fathers sought to
secure our independence and our liberties that remain the
foundation of our nation today.” Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA)
Feb 23-Mar 1, 2026
February 23
1836 – The Alamo was besieged for 13 days by the Mexican army under General Santa Anna. By March 6th the entire garrison had been killed. The Alamo was built as the chapel of the Mission San Antonio de Valero in Texas.
1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington, DC to take office because seven states have already seceded from the Union since the election. Noted private detective Allen Pinkerton uncovered an assassination plot and escorted Lincoln to Washington.
1904 – The U.S. acquired control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million. President Jimmy Carter returned control of the Canal to Panama in 1999.
1945 – U.S. Marines raised the American flag on Iwo Jima. The famous photo became the model for the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial erected at Arlington National Cemetery. Hershel “Woody” Williams was the last surviving Medal of Honor recipient from the Battle for Iwo Jima. He died in 2022 at age 98. Watch an interview with Woody.
1954 – Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was the site of the first mass inoculation against polio using the vaccine developed by Jonas Salk. There has been only one new cases of polio in the U.S. since 1979. Salk died in 1995 at age 80.
1971 – Lieutenant William Calley confessed to the My Lai massacre in Viet Nam in April 1969 and implicates his commander Captain Ernest Medina. Medina was acquitted and Calley was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor. After numerous appeals Calley served only 3 ½ years of house arrest. Calley died in 2024 at age 80.
1980 – American Eric Heiden won all five speed skating gold medals at the Lake Placid Olympics. Heiden is now 67 years old. Watch Heiden win all 5 medals.
1998 – The Supreme Court let stand Megan’s Law. Megan’s Law (named for 7-year-old Megan Kanka who was raped and murdered by a repeat sex offender) allows the information on registered sex offenders to be made public.
2008 – A U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit (Stealth Bomber) crashed at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam. The crew survived but the aircraft was destroyed, making it the most expensive air crash in history (the aircraft alone cost $1.2 billion). The B-2 had a perfect safety record before the crash.
February 24
1803 – The Supreme Court made its first ruling that a law is unconstitutional (Marbury v Madison). This decision marked the case for judicial review, cementing the Supreme Court as a separate but equal branch of government.
1868 – The House of Representatives voted 126 to 47 to impeach President Andrew Johnson. His Senate impeachment trial began on March 13, but Johnson’s opponents failed to get the needed two-thirds majority to convict him. Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998, but was not removed from office. In 2019, Donald Trump was impeached twice, but also not removed from office. The first attempted presidential impeachment attempt was John Tyler in 1843, which failed in the House by a vote of 127-83.
1903 – The U.S. signed an agreement acquiring a naval station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It now serves as a military prison. Although President Obama promised to close the facility, Congress passed laws to prohibit the detainees from being transferred to the U.S. Obama reduced the number of detainees from 245 to 41 by releasing them or transferring them to other countries. In 2018, President Trump signed an executive order keeping the detention camp open.
1999 – The State of Arizona executes Karl LaGrand, a German national involved in an armed robbery, in spite of Germany’s legal action to save him.
2011 – The Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-133) is launched for the final time. The last Space Shuttle launch was the Atlantis (STS-135) in July 2011. Watch the launch including videos attached to the shuttle.
February 25
1793 – George Washington held the first cabinet meeting at his home in Mt. Vernon, Virginia. In attendance was Vice President John Adams (future president), Secretary of State John Jay (later the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court), Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton (killed by Aaron Burr in a duel in 1804), Secretary of War Henry Knox (for whom Fort Knox in Kentucky is named), and Attorney General Edmund Randolph (former governor of Virginia).
1933 – The USS Ranger was christened as the first genuine aircraft carrier. The captain of the USS Ranger from 1937 to 1939 was the late Senator John McCain’s grandfather.
1950 – “Your Show of Shows” with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca premiered on NBC and airs until 1954. Writers included Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Woody Allen. Coca died in 2001 at age 92. Caesar died in 2014 at age 91. Watch a pantomime sketch with Sid and Imogene.
1987 – The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Affirmative Action in a 6-3 decision with its only gender-based ruling in Johnson v. Transportation Agency. Paul Johnson claimed he was passed over for promotion by a woman, whom he claimed was less qualified.
1991 – The U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia was hit by a SCUD missile, killing 28 and wounding 89. Among the dead were three women, the first killed in the Persian Gulf War.
1995 – Frank Sinatra performed his final live concert in Palm Desert, California. Sinatra died in 1998 at age 82.
2019 – The Rotten Tomatoes film review site implemented changes to its website “in an effort to streamline the site and provide users with a more enriched experience” after trolling of the “Captain Marvel” movie. One change is to not allow audience reviews before a film is released.
February 26
1732 – The first Catholic mass celebrated in a church in the U.S. was in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Philadelphia.
1907 – The members of Congress raised their own salaries to $7,500. Congressional salaries are currently $174,000, with a pay freeze since 2009.
1930 – The first red and green traffic lights in the U.S. are installed in Manhattan, New York.
1977 – The first flight of a Space Shuttle (Enterprise) atop a specially modified Boeing 747 took off from California headed for the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Enterprise was flight tested but never flown in space. Originally named “Constitution,” it was renamed by President Ford after a letter writing campaign by fans of the TV show Star Trek. Watch the amazing takeoff:
1984 – Reverend Jesse Jackson, a Democrat presidential candidate, acknowledged after repeated denials that he called Jews “Hymies” and New York City “Hymietown” while at Washington National Airport a month earlier. Jackson died last week at the age of 84.
1993 – The New York City World Trade Center was bombed, killing 6 people and injuring over 1,000. In 1994, four men were convicted of the bombing. In 1997, two more terrorists were convicted, including the mastermind of the 1993 bombing, Ramzi Yousef. He was also convicted of the bombing of Philippine Airlines flight 434 and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 240 years.
2009 – The Pentagon reversed its 18-year policy of not allowing the media to cover returning war dead. The reversal allowed some media coverage with family approval.
February 27
1922 – The Supreme Court unanimously upheld the 19th amendment guaranteeing a woman’s right to vote. The 19th Amendment was passed by Congress in June 1919 and ratified in August 1920.
1951 – The 22nd amendment was ratified, limiting a president to two terms (8 years).
1982 – Wayne Williams, now 67, is convicted on two counts of murder in the Atlanta murder case. Although never tried for the Atlanta Child Murders, police attribute the murders of at least 22 children, teens, and adults to Williams from 1979 to 1981. Williams is currently serving a life sentence. Williams will be eligible for parole again in 2027.
1991 – The Gulf War ended after Iraqi troops retreat and Kuwait is re-taken by the U.S.
2019 – The House of Representatives passes H.R 8 that would have required background checks on all firearm sales. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not allow it to be taken up in the Senate for consideration.
February 28
1794 – Swiss-born Abraham Gallatin’s election to the U.S. Senate was voided because he did not meet the citizenship requirement of 9 years. Gallatin was elected to the House of Representatives in 1795, where he became the House Majority Leader. He was also the founder of New York University.
1953 – American scientist James D. Watson and British scientist Francis H.C. Crick discovered the double-helix structure of DNA in a Cambridge University laboratory. Crick died in 2004 at age 88. Watson died in 2025 at the age of 97.
1993 – A gun battle erupted between the FBI and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. The ensuing standoff lasted 51 days. Seventy-six men, women, and children, including 33-year-old founder David Koresh, died after the FBI launched an assault in the compound.
1997 – Two heavily armed men wearing body armor were involved in the North Hollywood shootout after a failed Bank of America robbery attempt. The bank robbers fired over 1,100 rounds of ammunition before being killed by law enforcement officers. Eighteen officers and civilians were wounded. Watch actual news footage.
2019 – Youtube announced it will disable comments on videos that feature children because of inappropriate comments that have been left by pedophiles.
March 1
1692 – The “Salem witch hunt” began when authorities interrogate Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and an Indian slave, Tituba, to determine if they practiced witchcraft. In all, more than 150 people were jailed and 14 women and 5 men were executed. Many of those in jail died while incarcerated.
1790 – The first U.S. census was authorized. The U.S. population was almost 4 million people. The current U.S. population is estimated at 336 million. That does not include the millions of illegal border crossings since Biden took office in 2021.
1792 – The Presidential Succession Act was passed as the first law establishing the line of succession. It established the President pro tempore of the Senate next in line after the vice president, followed by the Speaker of the House. The Presidential Succession Act of 1886 followed the assassination of James Garfield and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 was passed after the death of FDR, each one changing the procedure and order of succession.
1872 – Yellowstone was established as the world’s first national park during the U.S. Grant administration.
1875 – Congress passed a Civil Rights Act forbidding discrimination in hotels, trains, and public spaces, but the Supreme Court invalidated it in 1883.
1932 – Charles Lindbergh, Jr. (20 months old) was kidnapped in New Jersey. The Lindbergh baby was found dead May 12. Bruno Hauptmann was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering the Lindbergh baby and was executed in 1936. Watch a short British Movietone newsreel.
1962 – The first K-Mart store opened in Garden City, Michigan. Sebastian S. Kresge founded the S.S. Kresge Company and opened the first store in Detroit in 1899. The “K” in K-Mart stands for Kresge. Attention K-Mart shoppers, watch the history of S. S. Kresge and K-Mart.
2002 – The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda, began in eastern Afghanistan. President Biden abruptly pulled troops out of Afghanistan in 2021, making it the longest U.S. war.
2004 – Terry Nichols was convicted of state murder charges and being an accomplice to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Nichols was sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole (160 people plus 1 unborn child were killed). Nichols is incarcerated in Colorado and is now 70 years old.
Image from: cnn.com
