1655 – John Casor becomes the first legally-recognized slave in what will be the United States. His owner is a free BLACK man, but you won’t hear THAT during Black History Month.

1862 – American Civil War: The iron-clad CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) steams into Hampton Roads, Virginia and kicks much Yankee butt. This results in the mass soiling of much Yankee drawerage.

1917 – The U.S. Senate votes to limit filibusters by adopting the cloture rule.

1936 – Daytona Beach and Road Course holds its first oval stock car race. Drive like hell. Slow down. Turn left. Repeat. Today’s NASCAR?!? “Stock” cars, my ass!

1950 – The iconic Volkswagen Type 2 “Bus” begins production. I’ve owned two.

1965 – First US combat forces arrive in Vietnam (3,500 Marines). Before that, we were “advisors”. And who was president in 1965? That notorious pandering SOB, LBJ, a dimmocrat.

1974 – Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France. It prepares to operate out of England when things get dicey in France.

1978 – Don’t panic! The first radio episode of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, is transmitted on BBC Radio 4.

1979 – Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time.

1983 – President Ronald Reagan calls the Soviet Union an “evil empire.” The Left wets itself, lights extra candles at the shrine of Josef Stalin.

2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying a total of 239 people, disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.