Today in History

Today is Sunday, Feb. 27, the 58th day of 2022. There are 307 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 27, 1922, the Supreme Court, in Leser v. Garnett, unanimously upheld the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which guaranteed the right of women to vote.

On this date:

In 1807, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine.

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 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.)

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 2020, U.S. stocks posted their worst one-day drop since 2011, as worldwide markets plummeted amid growing anxiety about the coronavirus; the Dow tumbled nearly 1,200 points. President Donald Trump declared that a widespread U.S. outbreak of the virus was not inevitable, even as top health authorities at his side warned that more infections were coming.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama urged the nation's governors at the White House to invest more state resources in education, saying a highly skilled workforce was crucial for the U.S. to remain competitive with other countries. Three students were shot to death in a Chardon, Ohio, high school cafeteria by a 17-year-old who later received three life terms in prison.

Five years ago: President Donald Trump proposed a huge $54 billion surge in U.S. military spending for new aircraft, ships and fighters in his first federal budget while slashing big chunks from domestic programs and foreign aid to make the government "do more with less." The Senate confirmed billionaire investor Wilbur Ross as commerce secretary by a vote of 72-27.

One year ago: 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.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Joanne Woodward is 92. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader is 88. Actor Barbara Babcock is 85. Actor Debra Monk is 73. Rock singer-musician Neal Schon (Journey) is 68. Rock musician Adrian Smith (Iron Maiden) is 65. Actor Timothy Spall is 65. Rock musician Paul Humphreys (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) is 62. Country singer Johnny Van Zant (Van Zant) is 62. Rock musician Leon Mobley (Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals) is 61. Basketball Hall of Famer James Worthy is 61. Actor Adam Baldwin is 60. Actor Grant Show is 60. Actor Noah Emmerich is 57. Actor Donal Logue is 56. R&B singer Chilli (TLC) is 51. Rock musician Jeremy Dean (Nine Days) is 50. Country-rock musician Shonna Tucker is 44. Chelsea Clinton is 42. Actor Brandon Beemer is 42. Rock musician Cyrus Bolooki (New Found Glory) is 42. Rock musician Jake Clemons (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) is 42. R&B singer Bobby V is 42. Singer Josh Groban is 41. Banjoist Noam Pikelny is 41. Rock musician Jared Champion (Cage the Elephant) is 39. Actor Kate Mara is 39. TV personality JWoww (AKA Jenni Farley) is 36. Actor Lindsey Morgan is 32.