February 21st

Today's Highlight in History:
On February 21st, 1965, former Black Muslim leader Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death in New York by assassins identified as Black Muslims.

On this date:
In 1846, Sarah G. Bagley became the first female telegrapher as she took charge at the newly opened telegraph office in Lowell, Massachusetts.

In 1866, Lucy B. Hobbs became the first woman to graduate from a dental school, the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati.

In 1878, the first telephone directory was issued, by the District Telephone Company of New Haven, Connecticut.

In 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated.

In 1916, the World War One Battle of Verdun began in France.

In 1925, The New Yorker magazine made its debut.

In 1947, Edwin H. Land publicly demonstrated his Polaroid Land camera, which could produce a black-and-white photograph in 60 seconds.

In 1972, President Nixon began his historic visit to China.

In 1973, Israeli fighter planes shot down a Libyan Airlines jet over the Sinai Desert, killing more than 100 people.

In 1975, former Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to two and a-half to eight years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up.

Ten years ago: Addressing the US Congress, Czechoslovak President Vaclav Havel said his nation welcomed US help after decades of Soviet domination, but also said Europe should eventually "decide for itself" how long American and Soviet troops should remain.

Five years ago: The United States and Mexico signed an agreement to unlock $20 billion in US support to stabilize the peso, but under tough conditions. Chicago stockbroker Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, landing in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada.

One year ago: Secretary of State Madeleine Albright reported little progress toward a Kosovo peace settlement during talks in Rambouillet, France.

"There is nothing more horrifying than stupidity in action."

-- Adlai E. Stevenson, United Nations ambassador (1900-1965).