TIM MAGUIRE

On this day in 1836, Connecticut-born gun manufacturer Samuel
Colt (1814-62) received a U.S. patent for a revolver mechanism
that enabled a gun to be fired multiple times without reloading.

In Hartford, Connecticut, Samuel Colt built the world’s largest private armament factory. The factory was not only the largest, it was the
world’s most advanced manufacturing facility.

On February 25, 1964, underdog Cassius Clay, age 22, defeated champion Sonny Liston in a technical knockout to win the world heavyweight boxing crown. The highly anticipated match took
place in Miami Beach, Florida. Clay, who later became known to
the world as Muhammad Ali, went on to become the first fighter
to capture the heavyweight title three times.

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)

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.”

BRIAN THOMAS

During World War II on this  day in 1945, about 30,000 United States
Marines landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima 
from the Imperial Japanese Army.  

William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. is 79-years-old today.

Singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive
Smokey Robinson was the founder and front man of the Motown
vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief songwriter
and producer. Robinson led the group from its 1955 origins as
"The Five Chimes" until 1972 when he announced a retirement
from the group to focus on his role as Motown’s vice president,
but Robinson returned to the music industry as a solo artist the
following year. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in 1987.