Today is Wednesday, Feb. 23, the 54th day of 2022. There are 311 days left in the year.
Today in history
On Feb. 23, 1954, the first mass inoculation of schoolchildren against polio using the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh as some 5,000 students were vaccinated.
Also on this date:
In 1685, composer George Frideric Handel was born in present-day Germany.
In 1822, Boston was granted a charter to incorporate as a city.
In 1861, President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrived secretly in Washington to take office, following word of a possible assassination plot in Baltimore.
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an agreement with Cuba to lease the area around Guantanamo Bay to the United States.
In 1836, the siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, Texas.
In 1942, the first shelling of the U.S. mainland during World War II occurred as a Japanese submarine fired on an oil refinery near Santa Barbara, Calif., causing little damage.
In 1945, during World War II, U.S. Marines on Iwo Jima captured Mount Suribachi, where they raised two American flags (the second flag-raising was captured in the iconic Associated Press photograph.)
Fun fact
The lemon is an evergreen tree, it blooms (a white flower) and produces fruit all year round. Each tree can produce between 500 and 600 pounds of lemons a year.
That’s punny
The farmer bought a donkey because he thought he might get a kick out of it.
Trending words
“Candor:” noun; (KAN-der), Definition: Unreserved, honest or sincere expression.
— Merriam-Webster
Today’s birthdays
Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff is 79. Author John Sandford is 78. Actor Patricia Richardson is 71. Former NFL player Ed “Too Tall” Jones is 71. Rock musician Brad Whitford (Aerosmith) is 70. Singer Howard Jones is 67. Rock musician Michael Wilton (Queensryche) is 60. Country singer Dusty Drake is 58. Actor Kristin Davis is 57. Former tennis player Helena Sukova is 57. Actor Marc Price is 54. TV personality/businessman Daymond John (“Shark Tank”) is 53. Actor Niecy Nash is 52. Rock musician Jeff Beres (Sister Hazel) is 51. Country singer Steve Holy is 50. Rock musician Lasse Johansson (The Cardigans) is 49. Film and theater composer Robert Lopez is 47. Actor Kelly Macdonald is 46. Rapper Residente (Calle 13) is 44. Actor Josh Gad is 41. Actor Emily Blunt is 39. Actor Aziz Ansari is 39. Actor Tye White (“Greenleaf”) is 36. Actor Dakota Fanning is 28.
The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.
