Today in History - History - February 22nd

1998"King & I," closes at Neil Simon Theater NYC after 781 performances

2009Heath Ledger, posthumously, wins the Academy Award for Best Supporting Act for his performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight"

1976Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Bent Tree Golf Classic

1892"Lady Windermere's Fan" by Oscar Wilde premieres at St James (London)

1962Wilt Chamberlain sets NBA record with 34 free throw attempts

1835HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin leave Valdivia Chile

1989UK physicist Stephen Hawking calls Star Wars a "deliberate fraud"

200981st Academy Awards - "Slumdog Millionare," Sean Penn & Kate Winslet win

1980USA beats USSR in Olympic hockey 4-3, referred to as "Miracle on Ice". USA captain Mike Eruzione scores winning goal in 3rd period

1942World War II: President Franklin Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as American defenses collapse

1962Steve Irwin, Melbourne Victoria, Australian naturalist and TV personality (The Crocodile Hunter)

1975Drew Barrymore, Los Angeles California, actress (ET, Firestarter, Poison Ivy)

1972Michael Chang, Hoboken New Jersey, tennis star (1989 French Open)

1934Sparky Anderson [George Lee Anderson], Bridgewater South Dakota, American MLB manager (Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers)

1732George Washington, Westmoreland, Virginia, 1st American president (1789-97)

1965Pat LaFontaine, St Louis Missouri, NHL center (NY Islanders, Buffalo Sabres, NY Rangers)

1997Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez (27) weds Ojani Noa on the grounds of a friend's Miami home

1991Actor Bill Bixby (57) weds Laura Michael (32)

1767US Defector General Benedict Arnold (26) weds the daughter of the sheriff of New Haven Margaret Mansfield

1941CIA Director William Casey (27) weds Sophia Kurz

1875Charles Lyell, British geologist (Elements of Geology), dies at 77

1832Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer, dies at 82