Today is Monday, Feb. 29, the 60th day of 2016. There are 306 days left in the year. This is Leap Day.
On this date:
In 1504, Christopher Columbus, stranded in Jamaica during his fourth voyage to the West, used a correctly predicted lunar eclipse to frighten hostile natives into providing food for his crew.
In 1796, President George Washington proclaimed Jay’s Treaty, which settled some outstanding differences with Britain, in effect.
In 1892, the United States and Britain agreed to submit to arbitration their dispute over seal-hunting rights in the Bering Sea. (A commission later ruled in favor of Britain.)
In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt appointed a seven-member commission to facilitate completion of the Panama Canal.
In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a second Neutrality Act as he appealed to American businesses not to increase exports to belligerents.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Feb. 29, 1916, singer, actress and TV personality Dinah Shore was born Frances Rose Shore in Winchester, Tennessee. (Shore, who claimed March 1, 1917 as her birthdate, died in 1994 just days before she would have turned 78.)
Twelve years ago
Facing rebellion, Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide resigned and left for exile in the Central African Republic. (Aristide returned to Haiti in March 2011.) “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won a record-tying 11 Academy Awards, including best picture; Sean Penn took the best-actor prize for “Mystic River” and Charlize Theron won best actress for portraying Aileen Wuornos in “Monster.” Playwright Jerome Lawrence died in Malibu, California, at age 88.
Eight years ago
Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama accused rival Hillary Rodham Clinton of trying to “play on people’s fears to scare up votes” with a TV ad showing sleeping children and asking who would be more qualified to answer a national security emergency call at 3 a.m.
Four years ago
Violent weather packing tornadoes continued to ravage the Midwest and South, resulting in some 15 deaths. Davy Jones, 66, the heartthrob singer who helped propel the made-for-TV rock band The Monkees to the top of the pop charts, died in Stuart, Florida.
— By The Associated Press
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