Today is Sunday, Feb. 16, the 47th day of 2020. There are 319 days left in the year.
Today in history
On Feb. 16, 2001, the United States and Britain staged air strikes against radar stations and air defense command centers in Iraq.
Also on this date:
In 1862, the Civil War Battle of Fort Donelson in Tennessee ended as 12,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered; Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s victory earned him the moniker “Unconditional Surrender Grant.”
In 1868, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks was organized in New York City.
In 1945, American troops landed on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines during World War II.
In 1959, Fidel Castro became premier of Cuba a month and a-half after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista.
In 1961, the United States launched the Explorer 9 satellite.
In 1968, the nation’s first 911 emergency telephone system was inaugurated in Haleyville, Ala., as the speaker of the Alabama House, Rankin Fite, placed a call from the mayor’s office in City Hall to a red telephone at the police station (also located in City Hall) that was answered by U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill.
In 1988, seven people were shot to death during an office rampage in Sunnyvale, Calif., by a man obsessed with a co-worker who was wounded in the attack. (The gunman is on death row.)
In 1996, 11 people were killed in a fiery collision between an Amtrak passenger train and a Maryland commuter train in Silver Spring, Md.
In 1998, a China Airlines Airbus A300 trying to land in fog near Taipei, Taiwan, crashed, killing all 196 people on board, plus seven on the ground.
Fun fact
The average adult tells about 11 lies in a week.
Just for laughs
Why did the deer need braces?
He had buck teeth.
Trending words
“Debonair:” adjective; (deb-uh-NAIR). Definition: Suave or urbane; lighthearted or nonchalant.
— Merriam-Webster
Today’s birthdays
Jazz/pop singer-actress Peggy King is 90. Actor Jeremy Bulloch is 75. Actor William Katt is 69. Actor LeVar Burton is 63. Actor-rapper Ice-T is 62. Actress Lisa Loring is 62. International Tennis Hall of Famer John McEnroe is 61. Rock musician Andy Taylor is 59. Rock musician Dave Lombardo (Slayer) is 55. Actress Sarah Clarke is 49. Olympic gold medal runner Cathy Freeman is 47. Actor Mahershala Ali is 46. Singer Sam Salter is 45. Electronic dance music artist Bassnectar is 42. Rapper Lupe Fiasco is 38. Actress Chloe Wepper is 34. Pop-rock singer Ryan Follese (Hot Chelle Rae) is 33. Rock musician Danielle Haim is 31. Actress Elizabeth Olsen is 31. Actor Mike Weinberg is 27.
The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.
