On this day...

1495 French King Charles VIII enters Naples to claim the crown
1774 English House of Lords rules authors do not have perpetual copyright
1784 Empress of China sets sail on first NY to China route
1819 Spain renounces claims to Oregon Country, Florida
1821 Spain sells (east) Florida to United States for $5 million
1825 Russia & Britain establish Alaska-Canada boundary
1860 Shoe-making workers of Lynn MS, strike successfully for higher wages
1865 Tennessee adopts a new constitution abolishing slavery
1872 First national convention of the Prohibition Party, Columbus, Ohio
1872 Labor Reform Party formed at Columbus, Ohio
1878 Greenback Labor Party formed at Toledo, Ohio
1879 First "five and dime" store opened by F.W. Woolworth in Utica, NY
1882 With 120 miles James Saunders wins NYC's 24 hour race & $100 prize
1887 Union Labor Party organized in Cincinnati
1889 Dakotas, Montana & Washington admitted to the union
1909 Great White Fleet, first US fleet to circle the globe, returns to Virginia
1912 J. Vedrines makes first airplane flight over 100 mph
1920 First artificial rabbit used at a dog race track, Emeryville, California
1922 Congress authorizes Grant Memorial $1 gold coin
1923 First successful chinchilla farm in US, Los Angeles
1923 Transcontinental airmail service begins
1924 First presidential radio address (Calvin Coolidge)
1928 fFrst solo England to Australia flight lands (Bert Hinkler)
1935 Airplanes are no longer permitted to fly over the White House
1956 Elvis Presley's first hit in Billboard's Top 10 (Heartbreak Hotel)
1957 Jockey Ted Atkinson, 3,500th win
1958 Australian swimmer Jon Konrads sets 6 world records in 2 days
1959 First Daytona 500 auto race-Lee Petty wins
1962 Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record with 34 free throw attempts
1968 Rock group Genesis release their first record "The Silent Sun"
1969 Barbara Rubin becomes first female jockey to win at a major US track
1973 Israeli fighter planes shoot down a Libyan commercial airliner (106 die)
1979 Billy Martin named manager of Oakland A's
1979 St. Lucia gains independence from Britain
1980 Afghanistan declares martial law
1980 USA beats USSR in Olympic hockey 4-3 en route to a gold medal
1982 NYC Mayor Koch announces he will run for NY governor (unsuccessful)
1989 "Don't Worry, Be Happy" wins Grammy as song of the year
1989 First Spanish commercial on network TV (Pepsi-CBS Grammy Awards)

Birthdays which occurred on February 22nd:

1403 Charles VII, King of France (1422-61)
1732 George Washington, first US President (1789-1796)
1778 Rembrandt Peale, portrait & historical painter (Court of Death)
1788 Arthur Schopenhauer, Germany, philosopher (Great Pessimist)
1796 Adolphe Quetelet, Belgium, mathematician/astronomer/statistician
1819 James Russell Lowell, poet/critic/diplomat/abolitionist
1857 Heinrich Hertz, physicist, first to broadcast & receive radio waves
1857 Lord Robert Baden-Powell, founded Boy Scouts, Girl Guides
1862 Connie Mack, baseball manager (Phila A's 1900-1950)
1864 Jules Renard, France, writer (Carrots)
1882 Eric Gill, England, sculptor/engraver/typographer (Perpetua)
1891 Jan Wils, Holland, architect (designed Amsterdam's Olympic Stadium)
1892 David Dubinsky, labor leader (Freedom Award, 1969 Medal of Freedom)
1892 Edna St. Vincent Millay, poet/dramatist (Harp Weaver-Pulitzer Prize)
1896 Edvin Wide, Sweden, 10K runner (Olympic-silver-1924)
1896 Enid Markey, Dillon Colorado, actress (Aunt Violet-Bringing Up Buddy)
1900 Giorgios Seferis, Greece, poet (Nobel 1963)
1900 Sean O'Faolain, Ireland, writer (Murder at Cobbler's Hulk)
1901 Charles E. Whittaker, Kansas, US Supreme Court Justice (1957-62)
1903 Morley Callaghan, Canada, author (Toronto Star, Native Argosy)
1904 Peter Hurd, Roswell NM, painter (Portrait of Jos‚ Herrera)
1906 Gale Gordon, LA, actor (Conklin-Our Miss Brooks, Here's Lucy)
1907 Robert Young, Chicago, actor (Father Knows Best, Marcus Welby MD)
1907 Sheldon Leonard, NYC, actor/director (Danny Thomas Show, Big Eddie)
1908 John Mills, England, actor (Big Sleep, King Rat, War & Peace)
1908 Romulo Betancourt, President of Venezuela (1945-48, 1958-64)
1915 Dan Seymour, Chicago, actor (We the People, Sing it Again)
1918 Charles O. Finley, baseball team owner (Oakland A's)
1918 Robert Wadlow, Alton IL, tallest known human (8' 11.1")
1926 Bud Yorkin, producer (All in the Family, 1959, 1960 Emmy)
1927 Donald May, Chicago, actor (Adam-Edge of Night, Colt .45)
1930 Allison Hayes, Washington, actress (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman)
1932 Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy, (Sen-D-Mass), professional politician
1932 Piper Laurie, Detroit, actress (Days of Wine & Roses, Carrie)
1934 George "Sparky" Anderson, baseball manager (Reds, Tigers)
1934 Thomas Paul, Chicago Illinois, bass (NYC Opera 1963-70)
1937 Tommy Aaron, golfer (1969 Canadian Open)
1938 Ishmael Reed, US, author (Last Days of Louisiana Red)
1949 Leslie Charleson, Kansas City, actress (Monica-General Hospital)
1949 Nikki Lauda, Austria, Formula One auto racer (world champ 1975, 77, 84)
1950 Julius Erving, ABA/NBA forward (NY Nets, Philadelphia 76'ers)
1950 Miou-Miou, Paris France, actress (Dog Day, My Other Husband)
1956 Amy Alcott, Kansas City MO, LPGA golfer
1958 Kyle MacLachlan, actor (Blue Velvet, Dune, Hidden)
1959 Susan Benjamin, actress (Tracy-Accidental Family)
1961 Ellen Greene, Brooklyn, singer/actress (Little Shoppe of Horrors)
1964 Jim Wicek, NYC, actor (Ben-Ryan's Hope)
1975 Drew Barrymore, actress (ET, Firestarter)

Deaths which occurred on February 22nd:

1512 Amerigo Vespucci, explorer, dies at 61
1690 Charles Le Brun, classical painter (Academie de Peinture), dies at 70
1695 Robert Southwell, English poet, hanged for becoming a Catholic priest
1913 Francisco Indalecio Madero, Mexican President, assassinated in military coup
1957 Harry Sothern, actor (Dr. Huer-Buck Rogers), dies at 72
1959 Helen Parrish, actress (Hour Glass), dies of cancer at 36
1967 Joe Forte, actor (Horwitz-Life With Luigi), dies at 70
1972 Walter Sande, actor (Adventures of Tugboat Annie), dies at 65
1973 Elizabeth Bowen, Anglo-Irish novelist, dies in London at 72
1978 Ilka Chase, actress (Masquerade Party, Trials of O'Brien), dies at 74
1985 Alexander Scourby, actor, dies at 71
1987 David Susskind, TV host (Open End, David Susskind Show), dies at 56