Today is Monday, Feb. 22, the 53rd day of 2016. There are 313 days left in the year.
On this date:
In 1784, a U.S. merchant ship, the Empress of China, left New York for the Far East to trade goods with China.
In 1862, Jefferson Davis, already the provisional president of the Confederacy, was inaugurated for a six-year term following his election in Nov. 1861.
In 1865, Tennessee amended its constitution to abolish slavery.
In 1909, the Great White Fleet, a naval task force sent on a round-the-world voyage by President Theodore Roosevelt, returned after more than a year at sea.
In 1924, President Calvin Coolidge delivered the first radio broadcast from the White House as he addressed the country over 42 stations.
In 1935, it became illegal for airplanes to fly over the White House.
In 1940, the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was enthroned at age four in Lhasa, Tibet.
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