28 February: Two Months Down; Gold Rush Real; DNA Noticed; Palme Plugged; Waco; NoHo Shoot-Out; Mr. Ed Goes To Stable In The Sky

Today is Sunday, Feb. 28, the 59th day of 2010. There are 306 days left in the year. The UPI Almanac.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Feb. 28, 1960, a day after defeating the Soviets at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif., the United States won its first Olympic hockey gold medal by defeating Czechoslovakia's team, 9-4.
On this date:
In 1784, the Methodist Church was chartered by John Wesley.
In 1827, the first US railroad chartered to carry passengers and freight, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co., was incorporated by the state of Maryland.
In 1844, a 12-inch gun aboard the USS Princeton exploded, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Navy Secretary Thomas W. Gilmer and several others.
In 1849, the California gold rush began in earnest as regular steamship service started bringing gold-seekers to San Francisco.
In 1854, about 50 slavery opponents met in Ripon, Wis., to call for creation of a new political group that became the Republican Party.
In 1861, the Territory of Colorado was organized.
In 1885, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company was incorporated in New York as a subsidiary of American Bell Telephone.
In 1935, nylon was invented by DuPont researcher Wallace Carothers.
In 1940, college basketball games were first televised, by New York City station W2XBS, as Pittsburgh defeated Fordham, 57-37, and New York University beat Georgetown, 50-27, at Madison Square Garden.
In 1942, Japanese forces landed in Java, the last Allied bastion in the Dutch East Indies.
In 1953, scientists James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Crick announced they had discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, the molecule that contains the human genes.
In 1959, American author and playwright Maxwell Anderson died in Stamford, Conn., at age 70.
In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai issued the Shanghai Communique at the conclusion of Nixon's historic visit to China, a step toward the eventual normalization of relations between the two countries.
In 1974, the United States and Egypt re-established diplomatic relations after a seven-year break.
In 1975, more than 40 people were killed in London's Underground when a subway train smashed into the end of a tunnel.
In 1982, the J. Paul Getty Museum became the most richly endowed museum on Earth when it received a $1.2 billion bequest left by Getty.
In 1986, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot to death in central Stockholm.

In 1990, the Soviet Parliament passed a law permitting the leasing of land to individuals for housing and farming. It was another radical change in the Stalinist scheme of a state-run economy.
In 1991, allied and Iraqi forces suspended their attacks as Iraq pledged to accept all United Nations resolutions concerning Kuwait.
In 1992, a judge in Rochester Hills, Mich., said euthanasia advocate Jack "Dr. Death" Kevorkian must stand trial for murder for helping two chronically ill women commit suicide. Also in 1992, a bomb blamed on the IRA ripped through a London railway station, injuring at least 30 people and shutting down the British capital's rail and subway system.
In 1993, a gun battle erupted at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Texas, when Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents tried to serve warrants; four agents and six Davidians were killed and a 51-day standoff began.
In 1994, NATO was involved in actual combat for the first time in its 45-year history when four U.S. fighter planes operating under NATO auspices shot down four Serb planes that had violated the U.N. no-fly zone in central Bosnia.
In 1996, Britain's Prince Charles and Princess Diana agreed to divorce after 15 years of marriage.
In 1997, in North Hollywood, Calif., two heavily armed and armored robbers bungled a bank heist and came out firing, unleashing their arsenal on police, bystanders, cars and TV choppers before they were killed. Also in 1997, former FBI agent Earl Pitts pleaded guilty to spying and became only the second FBI agent convicted of espionage. And, the Democratic National Committee said it would return nearly $1.5 million in contributions that may have been illegal or improper.
In 1999, guerrillas detonated two bombs beside a military convoy in southern Lebanon, killing a Israeli brigadier general and three other Israelis; Israel retaliated with air raids on suspected guerrilla hideouts.
In 2000, right-wing Austrian leader Joerg Haider resigned as head of the Freedom Party in an apparent bid to end Austria's international ostracism following his party's rise to power.
In 2001, a 6.8-magnitude earthquake rocked the U.S. Pacific Northwest, injuring 250 people and causing more than $1 billion in damage.
In 2002, a body found outside San Diego was identified as that of Danielle van Dam, 7, who'd disappeared from her bedroom about a month earlier; a neighbor was later convicted of her murder and sentenced to death.
In 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives approved a ban on all forms of human cloning, setting up a Senate debate on what would be appropriate research.
In 2004, Iraq's US-picked leaders failed to meet a deadline for adopting an interim constitution. Six-nation talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program ended in Beijing with an agreement to hold more negotiations. The Bow Mariner, a tanker carrying ethanol, exploded and sank off the Virginia coast; three crew members died and 18 were left missing and presumed dead, while six men survived. Former Librarian of Congress Daniel J. Boorstin died in Washington D.C., at age 89.
In 2005, in Santa Maria, Calif., the prosecution and defense gave opening statements in the sexual molestation trial of Michael Jackson, who was later acquitted. A U.S. District Judge, Joan Humphrey Lefkow, discovered the bodies of her husband and mother inside her Chicago home. (An unemployed electrician confessed to the murders in a suicide note.) A suicide car bombing targeted at security recruits killed 125 people in Hillah, Iraq. Lebanon's pro-Syrian prime minister, Omar Karami, resigned amid large anti-Syria street demonstrations in Beirut.

In 2006, at least 25 people died in an explosion outside a Shiite mosque in Baghdad and 33 more were killed in three other bombings.
In 2007, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Diego declared bankruptcy, halting trials on about 150 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse of children by priests. Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. died at age 89.
In 2008, rivals in the bitterly disputed Kenyan presidential election signed a power-sharing agreement in an effort to end a violent two-month aftermath in which an estimated 1,500 people died and as many as 600,000 were displaced. Also in 2008, Prince Harry, third in line for the British throne, was pulled from the front lines in Afghanistan immediately after word got out that the prince was on army duty. He had spent 10 weeks in the war zone. The British media knew of the deployment but kept quiet until the story broke on a U.S. Web site. President George W. Bush told a White House news conference the country was not recession-bound; Democratic candidate Barack Obama said the economy was "on the brink of a recession" and blamed economic policies espoused by Bush and Republican presidential contender John McCain. [No, really? And who was correct? — Ed.] Defense Secretary Robert Gates told his Turkish counterpart that Turkey should end its offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as soon as possible. Deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra returned to Thailand from 17 months in exile to face corruption charges.
In 2009, Paul Harvey, the news commentator and talk-radio pioneer whose staccato style made him one of the nation's most familiar voices, died in Phoenix at age 90. Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley died when their boat overturned in rough seas off the coast of Florida. Also in 2009, Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius accepted U.S. President Barack Obama's nomination as secretary of health and human services after former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle withdrew over a tax problem.
Today's Birthdays: Producer Saul Zaentz is 89. Actor Charles Durning is 87. Svetlana Alliluyeva, daughter of Josef Stalin, is 84. Architect Frank Gehry is 81. Actor Gavin MacLeod is 79. Hall of Fame basketball coach Dean Smith is 79. Actor Don Francks is 78. Actor-director-dancer Tommy Tune is 71. Hall of Fame auto racer Mario Andretti is 70. Singer Joe South is 70. Actor Frank Bonner is 68. Actress Kelly Bishop is 66. College Football Hall of Famer and retired NFL player Bubba Smith is 65. Actress Stephanie Beacham is 63. Actress Mercedes Ruehl is 62. Actress Bernadette Peters is 62. Energy Secretary Steven Chu is 62. Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman is 57. Football coach Brian Billick is 56. Basketball Hall of Famer Adrian Dantley is 55. Comedian Gilbert Gottfried is 55. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Adrian Dantley is 54. Actor John Turturro is 53. Rock singer Cindy Wilson is 53. Actress Rae Dawn Chong is 49. Football coach Ken Whisenhunt is 48. Actor Robert Sean Leonard is 41. Rock singer Pat Monahan is 41. Author Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) is 40. Actress Maxine Bahns is 39. Hockey player Eric Lindros is 37. Actress Ali Larter is 34. Country singer Jason Aldean is 33. Actor Bobb'e J. Thompson is 14. (Stations: "Bobb'e J. Thompson" is correct)
Those Born On This Date Include: French essayist Michel de Montaigne (1533); American journalist and screenwriter Ben Hecht (1894); chemist and physicist Linus Pauling, twice winner of the Nobel Prize (1901); movie director Vincente Minnelli (1903); cartoonist Milton Caniff (1907); actors Billie Bird (1908) & Zero Mostel (1915).
Today In Entertainment February 28
In 1966, the Cavern Club in Liverpool, where the Beatles began their climb to fame, closed because of financial problems. The next day, dozens of people protested at the club in hopes of keeping it open.
In 1968, singer Frankie Lymon was found dead of a heroin overdose in New York. He was 25. As the frontman for The Teenagers, he had a hit song with "Why Do Fools Fall In Love."
In 1974, singer-songwriter Bobby Bloom shot himself to death in West Hollywood, California. He was 28. Bloom's biggest hit was "Montego Bay."
In 1979, "talking horse" Mr. Ed died.

In 1983, the final episode of "MASH" aired, bringing in the biggest TV audience of all time to that date.

Also in '83, the album "War" by U2 was released.
In 1984, Michael Jackson won a record eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for "Thriller." But, Jackson lost to Sting of the Police in the Song of the Year category, when "Every Breath You Take" won.
In 1986, singer George Michael announced Wham! was breaking up.
In 1993, actor Tony Curtis married his fourth wife, Linda Deutsch. Also in 1993, film actress Lillian Gish, a major star in the silents and whose career spanned more than 80 years, died at age 96; and actress/dancer Ruby Keeler, star of '30s musicals ("42nd Street"), died at age 82.
In 2000, the Pretenders played a concert in their hometown of Akron, Ohio, for the first time.
In 2008, singer-keyboardist Mike Smith of The Dave Clark Five died of pneumonia in London, less than two weeks before the band was to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Thought for Today: "In science, all facts, no matter how trivial or banal, enjoy democratic equality." — Mary McCarthy, American author and critic (1912-1989).
(Above Advance for Use Sunday, Feb. 28)