Today in History – February 22, 2018

2014 – World’s most-wanted drug kingpin is captured in Mexico

February 22, 2014, one of the world’s most-wanted criminals, Joaquin “El Chapo” (“Shorty”) Guzman Loera, head of the Sinaloa cartel, the world’s biggest drug trafficking organization, was arrested in a joint U.S.-Mexican operation in Mazatlán, Mexico. Guzman had been outrunning law enforcement for more than a decade. Guzman had been the target of an international hunt since 2001, when he escaped from a Mexican prison where he was serving a 20-year sentence.

1819 – The U.S. acquires Spanish Florida

Spanish minister Do Luis de Onis and U.S. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams signed the Florida Purchase Treaty, in which Spain agreed to cede the remainder of its old province of Florida to the United States.

1975 – Actress Drew Barrymore is born

On this day in 1975, Drew Barrymore, who will shoot to stardom as a child after appearing in “ET: The Extra-Terrestrial” then later build a successful career as a leading lady, is born in Los Angeles . Barrymore is part of a famous family of American actors that includes her grandfather John Barrymore and great-uncle Lionel Barrymore. She is a goddaughter of director Steven Spielberg.

1732 – George Washington is born

On this day in 1732, George Washington is born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the second son from the second marriage of a colonial plantation owner. An initially loyal British subject, Washington eventually led the Continental Army in the American Revolution and became known as the father of the United States.

1990 – Milli Vanilli win the Best New Artist Grammy

With the benefit of hindsight, there might be Grammy awards that members of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences wish they could take back, but there is only one that they actually did: the Best New Artist Grammy that was awarded to the famously fraudulent dance act Milli Vanilli on February 22, 1990.

Comments

comments