History for February 28

History for February 28 - On-This-Day.com:
Sir John Tenniel 1820 - Cartoonist, illustrator, Linus Pauling 1901 - Nobel prize for chemistry in 1954, Nobel peace prize winner in 1962, Earl Scheib 1907


Milton Caniff 1907 - Cartoonist, Chris Kraft 1924 - NASA flight director and voice of Mission Control for all Mercury and many Gemini missions, Svetlana Allilueva 1926 - Author, daughter of Russian leader Joseph Stalin
       

1854 - The Republican Party was organized in Ripon, WI. About 50 slavery opponents began the new political group.

1885 - AT&T (American Telephone and Telegraph) was incorporated. The company was capitalized on only $100,000 and provided long distance service for American Bell.


1953 - In a Cambridge University laboratory, scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick discovered the double-helix structure of DNA.


1979 - Mr. Ed, the talking horse from the TV show "Mr. Ed", died.


1983 - "M*A*S*H" became the most watched television program in history when the final episode aired.


1986 - Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated in Stockholm.


1993 - U.S. Federal agents raided the compound of an armed religious cult in Waco, TX. The ATF had planned to arrest the leader of the Branch Davidians, David Koresh, on federal firearms charges. Four agents and six Davidians were killed and a 51-day standoff followed.


1995 - The Denver International Airport opened after a 16-month delay.