A Brief History On February 23, 1903, Cuba made a deal with the United States to lease 45 square miles of land and sea for a period of time with no expiration, virtually forever! Digging Deeper In 1898, the US and Spain fought a war, including ground and sea combat in Cuba, then a Spanish possession.  The US won the short war, and took possession of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam, while Cuba was freed from Spain and became an independent country. The original rent payment was to be paid in Gold, $2000 per year, but after 1934 the…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on February 22nd.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On February 22, 1744, the British Royal Navy began an engagement with Spanish and French naval ships in a sea battle off the coast of Toulon, France in the Mediterranean Sea, a battle that was a defeat for the British and one of the most humiliating fiascos in Royal Navy history, The Battle of Toulon. On February 22, 1909, President Teddy Roosevelt…

A Brief History On February 22, 2006, a gang of 7 or more pulled off a heist of a Securitas AB depot in Tonbridge, England, absconding with a haul of  £53 million in cash.  Amazingly, they left behind £154 million because they could not carry it! Digging Deeper After placing a gang member as an inside man at the depot, the gang took the manager and his family hostage, fooled employees into allowing them to enter, and robbed the place of cash.  Law enforcement moved quickly and began recovering stolen cash and making arrests, and within a year 36 people…

A Brief History This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on February 21st.  For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event. Digging Deeper On February 21, 1245, the first known Bishop of Finland, Thomas, confessed to charges of forging a Papal letter and torturing a man to death, among other felonies, and was allowed to resign his post. On February 21, 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto, a book that has become the antithesis of capitalists everywhere and to many, synonymous with all…

A Brief History On February 21, 1965, former Nation of Islam officer and African American nationalist, Malcom X, was gunned down prior to making a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City. Digging Deeper Malcom had a falling out with the NOI and had received threats and warnings of imminent assassination.  While one assailant blasted Malcom with a shotgun to the chest, 2 more gunmen fired multiple shots from semi-automatic handguns, hitting him with 21 bullets and 10 shotgun pellets. Malcom X was killed, and one of his murderers was beaten and captured by the audience, while the…