Today is Sunday, Feb. 26, the 57th day of 2017. There are 308 days left in the year.
Today's Highlights in History:
On Feb. 26, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed a congressional act establishing Mount McKinley National Park (now Denali National Park) in the Alaska Territory. The Original Dixieland Jass Band (an all-white group) made what's generally regarded as the first commercial jazz recording, "Dixie Jass Band One-Step" and "Livery Stable Blues," in New York for the Victor label.
On this date:
In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the Island of Elba and headed back to France in a bid to regain power.
In 1904, the United States and Panama proclaimed a treaty under which the U.S. agreed to undertake efforts to build a ship canal across the Panama isthmus.
In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson signed a congressional act establishing Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.
In 1929, President Calvin Coolidge signed a measure establishing Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
In 1942, "How Green Was My Valley" won the Academy Award for best picture of 1941, beating out nine other films, including "The Maltese Falcon" and "Citizen Kane"; Gary Cooper was named best actor for "Sergeant York," while Joan Fontaine was recognized as best actress for "Suspicion."
In 1945, authorities ordered a midnight curfew at nightclubs, bars and other places of entertainment across the nation.
In 1952, Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that Britain had developed its own atomic bomb.
In 1962, after becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, astronaut John Glenn told a joint meeting of Congress, "Exploration and the pursuit of knowledge have always paid dividends in the long run."
In 1970, National Public Radio was incorporated.
In 1987, the Tower Commission, which investigated the Iran-Contra affair, issued a report rebuking President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.
In 1992, Armenian forces attacked the village of Khodzhaly (koh-JAH'-lee), resulting in the deaths of 613 Azerbaijanis (ah-zur-by-JAHN'-eez), according to Azerbaijani authorities. (Armenia does not deny the attack, but calls the reported death toll exaggerated.)
In 1993, a truck bomb built by terrorists exploded in the parking garage of New York's World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others.
