Today is Tuesday, February 17, the 48th day of 2009. There are 317 days left in the year.
1568 _ Holy Roman Emperor agrees to pay annual tribute to Sultan for peace
1598 _ Boris Godunov chosen tsar of Russia
1776 _ First volume of Gibbon's ``Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire" published
1867 _ First ship passes through Suez Canal
1904 _ Giacomo Puccini's opera ``Madam Butterfly" premieres in Milan
1913 _ First minimum wage law in U.S. takes effect (Oregon)
1949 _ Chaim Weizman elected first President of Israel
1972 _ British Parliament votes to join European Common Market
1972 _ President Nixon leaves Washington D.C. for China
1979 _ China invades Vietnam