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News, Events, Birthdays, History - February 19 - February 25

Ansel Adams - February 20th, 1902.
American photographer, best known for his photographs of Yosemite National Park.
George Washington - February 22, 1732.
The leader of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and later the first President of the United States.
George Frederick Handel - February 22, 1685. Along with Johann Sebastian Bach, Handel is considered the master of baroque music. His most frequently performed work is the Messiah, first heard in 1742.


U.S. Landing on Iwo Jima - February 19th, 1945.

This 12 square mile island would see over 30,000 U.S. troops arrive on this day, beginning one of the epic battles of World War II. The island was heavily fortified, and some 20,000 Americans would lose their lives before the island was finally taken on March 16th, 1945.
First American to Orbit the Earth - February 20th, 1962.
John Glenn, Jr. would orbit the Earth 3 times in the Friendship 7 capsule. Thirty-six years later, then 77-year-old Glenn went into space again aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery to test the effects of aging.
CIA Agent Arrested as Spy - February 21st, 1994.
Aldrich Ames and his wife Maria were arrested on charges they had spied for the Soviet Union beginning in 1985. The government considered this to be one of the most serious spy cases ever uncovered in the U.S.
President Nixon Visits China - February 21st, 1972.
Richard Nixon became the first President to visit a country not diplomatically recognized by the United States. About two and one-half years later, Nixon would mark another first, becoming the first President to resign from office.