On Feb. 21, 1885, President Chester Arthur dedicated the Washington Monument.

In 1916, the Battle of Verdun, the longest battle of World War I, began in northeastern France.

In 1965, civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death inside Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom in New York.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon began a historic visit to China.

In 1975, former Attorney General John N. Mitchell, former White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, and former White House Domestic Affairs Adviser John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 1/2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up. (Each ended up serving less than two years.)

In 1995, Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean by balloon.