On this day …
February 28, 2018
- In 1525, conquistador Hernan Cortes ordered the execution of Aztec king Cuauhtemoc.
- In 1784, John Wesley chartered the Methodist Church.
- In 1885, American Telephone and Telegraph was incorporated in New York City.
- In 1940, Fordham University and the University of Pittsburgh played in the first televised basketball game.
- In 1983, the final episode of the television series M*A*S*H aired, setting a still-standing record for highest viewership of a finale.
- In 1993, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms raided the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, marking the start of a 51-day standoff.
- In 2013, Pope Benedict XVI became the first pope to resign since Pope Gregory XII in 1415.