ROSS SIMPSON

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799)

George Washington, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States,
served as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army during the
Revolutionary War, then was inaugurated as the first U.S. President
on April 30, 1789.

Washington’s legacy as a commander at Valley Forge, Yorktown, and
Boston was honored in 1917 when an asteroid was named after him:
the 886 Washingtonia asteroid.

General George Washington (left) and French military leader Marquis
de Lafayette at Valley Forge during the winter of 1777–78 (AP)

Washington praying at Valley Forge.

A reproduction of Emanuel Leutze’s 1851 oil painting ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware." (Associated Press)

Peter Tork (Peter Halsten Thorkelson)
(February 13, 1942 – February 21, 2019)

(Fox News) – Peter Tork, keyboardist and bass guitarist of ‘60s pop group
The Monkees, has died Thursday.

The Washington Post reported His death was confirmed by his sister Anne Thorkelson.

In 1999 Tork had been diagnosed with adenoid cystic carcinoma, a rare
cancer affecting his tongue. He died at a family home in Connecticut.

TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1965, Malcolm X was assassinated in New York City at
the age of 39 by assassins identified as Black Muslims. He was about
to address the OAAU in Manhattan’s Audubon Ballroom when a man
in the 400-person audience rushed forward and shot him once in the 
chest with a sawed-off shotgun as two other men charged the stage
firing semi-automatic handguns. Malcolm X was pronounced dead at
3:30 pm, shortly after arriving at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

The Audubon Ballroom stage after the murder. Circles on backdrop
mark bullet holes.

Malcolm X (Little) (1925–1965)

On this day in 1972, President Richard M. Nixon arrived in China for
an official trip. He was the first U.S. president to visit the People’s Republic of China since it was established in 1949. This was an
important event because the United States was seeking to improve relations with a Communist country during the Cold War.         

    
    
    
   

President and Mrs. Nixon visit the Great Wall of China.      
   

President Nixon and Prime Minister Zhou Enlai, left, in Shanghai at
the end of Nixon’s visit.

CARLATA BRADLEY

John Glenn made space history on this day in 1962 when he orbited
the Earth three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes, becoming the first
American to do so. He was aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury
capsule (above).

Here’s what John Glenn saw while orbiting the Earth. 

Friendship 7 capsule after splashdown.

The successful mission concluded with a splashdown and recovery
in the Atlantic Ocean, 800 miles southeast of Bermuda.

Sir Sidney Poitier is 92-years-old today.

Actor, director, and diplomat Sidney Poitier became the first
African American to win an Oscar after performing in Lilies
of the Field (1963). The films Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner
(1967) To Sir, with Love (1967) and In the Heat of the Night
(1967), additionally bolstered his fame. The American Film
Institute called him one of the 25 Greatest Male Stars of All
Time in 1999.

1961

TV movie, 2001

Donald Newcombe (June 14, 1926 – February 19, 2019), nicknamed
Newk.

(Fox News) – According to a team statement, Dodgers great Don Newcombe
passed away Tuesday after a lengthy illness.

Newcombe was the first winner of the Cy Young award in 1956 and also won
MVP and Rookie of the Year awards.    

The team called Newcombe “one of the greatest pitchers in Dodger history
and one of the franchise’s final links to Brooklyn and the days of Roy
Campanella and Jackie Robinson.”