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, killing¹ 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 Canyon² National Park in Arizona.

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

In 1940, the United States Air Defense³ 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 Amendment⁴ to the Constitution, limiting a president to two terms of office, was ratified⁵.

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 rebuked⁶ 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 stunning⁷ election upset.

Five years ago: The United States and China averted⁸ a major trade war by signing a comprehensive agreement. Barings PLC, Britain's oldest investment banking⁹ firm, collapsed¹⁰ after Nick Leeson, a 28-year-old securities dealer¹¹, lost over $1.4 billion by gambling¹² 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.