THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2013

Today is Thursday, February 21, the 52nd day of 2013. There are 313 days left in the year.

1431 ― England begins trial against Joan of Arc

1613 ― Michael Romanov, son of the Patriarch of Moscow, elected Russian tsar

1764 ― John Wilkes thrown out of English House of Commons for “Essay on Women”

1804 ― First locomotive, Richard Trevithick's, runs for first time, in Wales

1842 ― First known sewing machine patented in U.S., John Greenough, Washington, D.C.

1916 ― Battle of Verdun (WWI) begins (1 million casualties)

1964 ― U.K. flies 24,000 rolls of Beatle wallpaper to U.S.

1970 ― Jackson 5 make TV debut on “American Bandstand”

1972 ― Richard Nixon becomes first U.S. president to visit China

1989 ― U.S. bust Chinese heroin ring, capture record 820-lbs heroin ($1 billion street value)