This day in history

[February 21, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Feb. 21, the 52nd day of 2011. There are 313 days left in the year. This is Presidents Day.

Today's highlight in history:

On Feb. 21, 1911, composer Gustav Mahler, despite a fever, conducted the New York Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall in what turned out to be his final concert (he died the following May).

On this date:

In 1846, Sarah G. Bagley became the first female telegrapher as she took charge at the newly opened telegraph office in Lowell, Mass.

In 1866, Lucy B. Hobbs became the first woman to graduate from a dental school, the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati.

In 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated.

In 1916, the World War I Battle of Verdun began in France as German forces attacked; the French were able to prevail after 10 months of fighting.

In 1925, The New Yorker magazine made its debut.

In 1965, black Muslim leader and civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death inside the Audubon Ballroom in New York by assassins identified as members of the Nation of Islam.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon began his historic visit to China as he and his wife, Pat, arrived in Beijing.

In 1973, Israeli fighter planes shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 over the Sinai Desert, killing all but five of the 113 people on board.

In 1986, Larry Wu-tai Chin, the first American found guilty of spying for China, killed himself in his Virginia jail cell.

In 1995, Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon, landing in Leader, Saskatchewan.

Ten years ago: The Supreme Court ruled that state workers cannot use the Americans With Disabilities Act, a federal law, to win money damages for on-the-job discrimination. At the Grammy Awards, Steely Dan won album of the year for "Two Against Nature," plus best pop album and best pop performance by a duo or group for "Cousin Dupree"; controversial rapper Eminem won three awards, all in rap categories.

Five years ago: President George W. Bush endorsed the takeover of shipping operations at six major U.S. seaports by a state-owned business in the United Arab Emirates, and pledged to veto any bill Congress might approve to block the agreement. Donald Herbert, a brain-injured Buffalo, N.Y., firefighter who suddenly spoke after nearly a decade in a near-vegetative state, died at age 44. Harvard University president Lawrence H. Summers announced his resignation.

One year ago: A mistaken U.S. missile attack killed 23 civilians in Afghanistan. (Four American officers were later reprimanded.) The United States stunned Canada 5-3 to advance to the Olympic men's hockey quarterfinals in Vancouver. Bode (BOH'-dee) Miller finally captured his elusive gold medal, winning the super-combined for his third medal in three events. Spectator Susan Zimmer, 52, was killed at the NHRA Arizona Nationals at Firebird International Raceway in Chandler when a tire flew off a crashing dragster and struck her.

Today's birthdays: Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe is 87. Movie director Bob Rafelson is 78. Actor Gary Lockwood is 74. Actor-director Richard Beymer is 72. Actor Peter McEnery is 71. U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., is 71. Film/music company executive David Geffen is 68. Actor Alan Rickman is 65. Actress Tyne Daly is 65. Actor Anthony Daniels is 65. Tricia Nixon Cox is 65. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, R-Maine, is 64. Rock musician Jerry Harrison (The Heads) is 62. Actress Christine Ebersole is 58. Actor William Petersen is 58. Actor Kelsey Grammer is 56. Country singer Mary Chapin Carpenter is 53. Actor Jack Coleman is 53. Actor Christopher Atkins is 50. Rock singer Ranking Roger is 50. Actor William Baldwin is 48. Rock musician Michael Ward is 44. Actress Aunjanue Ellis is 42. Blues musician Corey Harris is 42. Country singer Eric Heatherly is 41. Rock musician Eric Wilson is 41. Rock musician Tad Kinchla (Blues Traveler) is 38. Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt is 32. Singer Charlotte Church is 25. Actress Ellen Page is 24. Actor Corbin Bleu is 22

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Thought for today: "You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at." -- W.H. Auden (born this date in 1907, died 1973)

[Associated Press]

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