1847

The first rescuers reached members of the Donner Party, who had been snowbound in the Sierra Nevada mountains near the California-Nevada border for nearly four months.

1878

Inventor Thomas Edison was issued a patent for the phonograph.

1942

During World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the internment of 125,000 people of Japanese ancestry, including U.S.-born citizens.

1945

Operation Detachment began during World War II as the first wave of U.S. Marines landed at Iwo Jima, where they commenced a successful monthlong battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces.

2008

An ailing Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency after nearly a half-century in power; his brother Raúl was later named to succeed him.

Birthdays

Singer Smokey Robinson is 85. Rock musician Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath) is 77. Author Amy Tan is 73. Actor Jeff Daniels is 70. Actor Ray Winstone is 68. Actor Leslie David Baker is 67. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is 66. Tennis Hall of Famer Hana Mandlíková is 63. Singer Seal is 62. Actor Benicio Del Toro is 58. Author-cartoonist Jeff Kinney is 54. Actor Millie Bobby Brown is 21.