February 28: This Day in History

Today in History Featured Fact, 1849:
The ship "California" arrives in San Francisco, bringing the first of the gold-seekers. The trip began in New York City and took five months.

Also Today:
1692: Salem witch hunt begins.
1827: The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company
-- the first U.S. railroad company chartered to carry passengers and freight -- is incorporated.
1847: U.S. defeats Mexico in the Battle of Sacramento.
1983: The final episode of M*A*S*H aired. It was the most watched television program in history.
1993: Four federal agents were killed in Waco, Texas, after they tried to serve an arrest warrant for weapons charges on Branch Davidian sect leader David Koresh, starting a 51-day standoff.

February is Black History Month. Today:
1704: Elias Neau, a Frenchman, opens a school for blacks in New York City.
1859: Arkansas legislature tells free blacks to choose between exile and enslavement.

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