Today's Highlight in History:
On February 27th, 1960, the US Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets¹, three goals to two, at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, California. (The US team went on to win the gold medal.)
On this date:
In 1801, the District of Columbia was placed under the jurisdiction² of Congress.

In 1807, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine.

In 1861, in Warsaw, Russian troops fired on a crowd protesting Russian rule over Poland; five marchers were killed.

In 1922, the Supreme³ Court unanimously upheld the 19th Amendment⁴ to the Constitution that guaranteed the right of women to vote.

In 1933, Germany's parliament building, the Reichstag, caught fire. The Nazis⁵, blaming the Communists, used the fire as a pretext⁶ for suspending civil liberties.

In 1939, the Supreme Court outlawed⁷ sit-down strikes.

In 1972, President Nixon and Chinese Premier⁸ Chou En-lai issued the Shanghai Communique at the conclusion of Nixon's historic visit to China.

In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre⁹ of Sioux men, women and children. (The occupation lasted until May.)

In 1982, Wayne B. Williams was found guilty of murdering two of the 28 young blacks whose bodies were found in the Atlanta area over a 22-month period.

In 1997, divorce became legal in Ireland.

Ten years ago: The Supreme Court ruled that prison officials could force inmates¹⁰ to take powerful anti-psychotic drugs without a judge's consent.

Five years ago: Court-appointed salvagers swarmed¹¹ into Britain's oldest investment bank to evaluate the remaining assets of Barings PLC after Nick Leeson, a 28-year-old trader, ruined the firm by gambling¹² on Tokyo stock prices.

One year ago: The Reverend Henry Lyons, president of the National Baptist Convention USA, was convicted in Largo¹³, Florida, of swindling millions of dollars from companies seeking to do business with his followers¹⁴. Nigerians voted to elect Olusegun Obasanjo their new president as the country marked the final phase of its return to democracy.