Today is Friday, February 17, the 48th day of 2012. There are 318 days left in the year.
1776 ― First volume of Gibbon's ``Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire" published
1795 ― Thomas Seddal harvests 8.3-kg potato from his garden Chester, England
1904 ― Giacomo Puccini's opera ``Madam Butterfly" premieres in Milan
1933 ― Blondie Boopadoop marries Dagwood Bumstead; Dagwood's father promptly disinherits him
1933 ― First issue of ``Newsweek" magazine published
1972 ― President Nixon leaves Washington, D.C. for China
1972 ― British Parliament votes to join European Common Market
1979 ― China invades Vietnam
1981 ― Chrysler Corp reports largest corporate losses in U.S. history
1995 ― Federal judge allows lawsuit claiming U.S. tobacco makers knew nicotine was addictive and manipulated its levels to keep customers hooked