Today is Wednesday, February 17, the 48th day of 2010. 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
1876 _ Sardines first canned (Julius Wolff _ Eastport, Me.)
1904 _ Giacomo Puccini's opera ``Madame Butterfly" premieres in Milan
1933 _ First issue of ``Newsweek" magazine published
1959 _ First weather satellite launched, Vanguard 2 _ 9.8 kg
1972 _ President Nixon leaves Washington, D.C. for China
1986 _ First Francophone Summit convenes at Versailles
1995 _ Federal judge allows lawsuit claiming U.S. tobacco makers knew nicotine was addictive and manipulated its levels to keep customers hooked