Today in history: Feb. 19
Operation Detachment began during World War II as some 30,000 U.S. Marines began landing on Iwo Jima, and more events that happened on this day in history.
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1807: Aaron Burr
In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr, accused of treason, was arrested in the Mississippi Territory, in present-day Alabama. (Burr was acquitted at trial.)
1878: Thomas Edison
In 1878, Thomas Edison received a U.S. patent for “an improvement in phonograph or speaking machines.”
1942: Australia
In 1942, Imperial Japanese warplanes raided the Australian city of Darwin; at least 243 people were killed.
1942: Executive Order 9066
In 1942, during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the relocation and internment of people of Japanese ancestry, including U.S.-born citizens.
1945: Operation Detachment
In 1945, Operation Detachment began during World War II as some 30,000 U.S. Marines began landing on Iwo Jima, where they commenced a successful month-long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces.
1968: "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood"
In 1968, the children’s program “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” created by and starring Fred Rogers, made its network debut on National Educational Television, a forerunner of PBS, beginning a 31-season run.
1997: Deng Xiaoping
In 1997, Deng Xiaoping (dung shah-oh-ping), the last of China’s major Communist revolutionaries, died at age 92.
2008: Fidel Castro
In 2008, an ailing Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency after nearly a half-century in power; his brother Raul was later named to succeed him.
2011: G20
Ten years ago: The world’s dominant economies, meeting in Paris, struck a watered-down deal on how to smooth out trade and currency imbalances blamed for a global financial crisis.
2011: Protests
Ten years ago: Security forces in Libya and Yemen fired on pro-democracy demonstrators as the two hard-line regimes struck back against the wave of protests that had already toppled autocrats in Egypt and Tunisia.
2016: Harper Lee
Five years ago: Harper Lee, author of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” died in Monroeville, Alabama, at age 89.
2019: Space Force
In 2019, President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to develop plans for a new Space Force within the Air Force, accepting less than the full-fledged department he had wanted.
2020: Diamond Princess Cruise
One year ago: About 500 passengers left the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan at the end of a two-week quarantine that failed to stop the spread of the coronavirus among passengers and crew; the number of confirmed cases aboard the ship topped 600.
2020: Frankfurt, Germany
One year ago: A man who had posted an online rant calling for the “complete extermination” of various races and cultures shot and killed nine people, most of them Turkish, in an attack on a hookah bar and other sites near Frankfurt, Germany; he was later found dead at his home along with his mother.
2020: Richard Grenell
One year ago: President Donald Trump announced that Richard Grenell, the U.S. ambassador to Germany, would become acting director of national intelligence.
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