1892 – Britain and United States sign treaty on seal hunting in Bering Sea.
1904 – Theodore Roosevelt appoints 7-man Panama Canal Commission to proceed with completing a canal at the Isthmus.
1920 – Trying to maintain independence from Germany and the USSR, Czechoslovakia adopts a constitution.
1932 – TIME magazine features eccentric American politician William “Alfalfa” Murray on its cover after Murray stated his intention to run for President of the United States.
1940 – 12th Academy Awards: “Gone With the Wind” wins eight Oscars, Robert Donat and Vivien Leigh also win. Hattie McDaniel becomes first African American woman to win an Oscar for her role in the movie.
1940 – Golfer Jimmy Demaret wins his third PGA Tour event within an 8-day span, taking the St. Petersburg Open by 1 stroke over Byron Nelson.
1944 – US troops land on Los Negros, Admiralty Islands.
1956 – Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians franchise is sold for nearly $4 million. Former player and the team’s general manager Hank Greenberg is part of the new ownership group.
1960 – First Playboy Club, featuring bunnies, opens in Chicago.
1964 – Cincinnati’s Jerry Lucus and Oscar Robertson combine for a rare 40-40 performance as the Royals beat host Philadelphia 76ers. NBA MVP Robertson has 43 points. Rookie of the Year Lucas has 40 rebounds.
1964 – President Lyndon Johnson reveals the United States has secretly developed the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, an advanced, long-range high-speed and high-altitude reconnaissance airplane.
1972 – Future Baseball Hall of Fame right fielder Hank Aaron becomes first player to earn $200,000 average annual salary. He signs 3-year deal with Atlanta Braves after one of his best seasons – .327 average, 47 home runs and 118 runs batted in.
1976 – Richard Petty wins the only Winston Cup race run on Leap Day, taking the Carolina 500 at Rockingham by 2 laps over Darrell Waltrip.
1984 – Pierre Trudeau announces he is stepping down after 15 years as Canadian Prime Minister.
1988 – New York City Mayor Ed Koch calls President Ronald Reagan a “WIMP” in the war on drugs.
1996 – Russian Soyuz Tm-23 returning from Mir space station.
2000 – Giant Records releases rock band Steely Dan’s “Two Against Nature”, their eighth studio album, and first in 20 years. It wins four Grammy Awards.
2004 – 76th Academy Awards: “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King,” Sean Penn and Charlize Theron win.
2020 – United States and Taliban sign deal to end 18-year war in Afghanistan in Loha, Qatar. US and NATO allies will withdraw their troops after 14 months if deal is kept.
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