February 26th

Today's Highlight in History:
On February 26th, 1993, a bomb built by a group of Islamic extremists exploded in the parking garage of New York's World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others.

On this date:
In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the Island of Elba to begin his second conquest of France.

In 1848, the Second French Republic was proclaimed.

In 1919, Congress established Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

In 1929, President Coolidge signed a measure establishing Grand Teton National Park.

In 1940, the United States Air Defense Command was created.

In 1945, a midnight curfew on night clubs, bars and other places of entertainment was set to go into effect across the nation.

In 1951, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution, limiting a president to two terms of office, was ratified.

In 1952, Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that Britain had developed its own atomic bomb.

In 1979, a total solar eclipse cast a moving shadow 175 miles wide from Oregon to North Dakota before moving into Canada.

In 1987, the Tower Commission, which probed the Iran-Contra affair, issued its report, which rebuked President Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.

Ten years ago: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega conceded defeat to his opponent, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, in a stunning election upset.

Five years ago: The United States and China averted a major trade war by signing a comprehensive agreement. Barings PLC, Britain's oldest investment banking firm, collapsed after Nick Leeson, a 28-year-old securities dealer, lost over $1.4 billion by gambling on Tokyo stock prices.

One year ago: President Clinton, outlining foreign policy goals for the final two years of his administration, urged continued American engagement in the quest for peace and freedom abroad during a news conference in San Francisco.

"The wise make proverbs and fools repeat them."

-- Isaac D'Israeli, English author (1766-1848).