Today in History

Today is Friday, Feb. 22, the 53rd day of 2013. There are 312 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 22, 1732 (New Style date), the first president of the United States, George Washington, was born in Westmoreland County in the Virginia Colony.

On this date:

In 1784, a U.S. merchant ship, the Empress of China, left New York for the Far East to trade goods with China.

In 1862, Jefferson Davis, already the provisional president of the Confederacy, was inaugurated for a six-year term following his election in November 1861.

In 1865, Tennessee adopted a new constitution which included the abolition of slavery.

In 1909, the Great White Fleet, a naval task force sent on a round-the-world voyage by President Theodore Roosevelt, returned after more than a year at sea.

In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge delivered the first radio broadcast from the White House as he addressed the country over 42 stations.

In 1935, it became illegal for airplanes to fly over the White House.

In 1943, Pan Am Flight 9035, a Boeing 314 flying boat, crashed while attempting to land in Lisbon, Portugal. Twenty-five people were killed; 14 survived, including actress-singer Jane Froman.

In 1959, the inaugural Daytona 500 race was held; although Johnny Beauchamp was initially declared the winner, the victory was later awarded to Lee Petty.

In 1967, more than 25,000 U.S. and South Vietnamese troops launched Operation Junction City, aimed at smashing a Vietcong stronghold near the Cambodian border. (Although the communists were driven out, they later returned.)

In 1973, the United States and China agreed to establish liaison offices.

In 1980, the "Miracle on Ice" took place in Lake Placid, N.Y., as the United States Olympic hockey team upset the Soviets, 4-3. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.)

In 1993, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved creation of an international war crimes tribunal to punish those responsible for atrocities in the former Yugoslavia.

Ten years ago: Jesica Santillan, the teenager who'd survived a botched heart-lung transplant long enough to get a second set of donated organs, died two days after the second transplant at Duke University Medical Center in North Carolina.

Five years ago: Turkish troops crossed into northern Iraq in their first major ground incursion against Kurdish rebel bases in nearly a decade. Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez gave birth to twins, a girl and a boy. Civil rights activist Johnnie Carr died in Montgomery, Ala., at age 97.

One year ago: Primed for a fight, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum swapped accusations about health care, spending earmarks and federal bailouts in the 20th debate of the roller-coaster race for the Republican presidential nomination, held in Mesa, Ariz. Two Marine Corps helicopters collided over a remote section of the California desert during a nighttime exercise, killing seven Marines. A jury in Charlottesville, Va., found University of Virginia lacrosse player George Huguely V guilty of second-degree murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend and lacrosse player Yeardley Love in May 2010.

Today's Birthdays: Announcer Don Pardo is 95. Actor Paul Dooley is 85. Hollywood "ghost singer" Marni Nixon is 83. Movie director Jonathan Demme is 69. Actor John Ashton is 65. Actress Miou-Miou is 63. Actress Julie Walters is 63. Basketball Hall of Famer Julius Erving is 63. Actress Ellen Greene is 62. Former Sen. Bill Frist, R-Tenn., is 61. White House adviser David Axelrod is 58. Actor Kyle MacLachlan is 54. World Golf Hall of Famer Vijay Singh is 50. Actress-comedian Rachel Dratch is 47. Actor Paul Lieberstein (TV: "The Office") is 46. Actress Jeri Ryan is 45. Actor Thomas Jane is 44. Actress Tamara Mello is 43. Actress-singer Lea Salonga is 42. Actor Jose Solano is 42. International Tennis Hall-of-Famer Michael Chang is 41. Rock musician Scott Phillips is 40. Actress Drew Barrymore is 38. Actress Liza Huber is 38. Singer James Blunt is 36. Rock singer Tom Higgenson (Plain White T's) is 34. Actor Zach Roerig (TV: "The Vampire Diaries") is 28. Actor Daniel E. Smith is 23.

Thought for Today: "It is infinitely better to have a few good men than many indifferent ones." -- President George Washington (1732-1799).

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.