Video: Union forces occupy Clarksville (at 21:06)
(Wednesday, February 19, 1862, during the American Civil War) — Three days after the fall of Fort Donelson, federal forces of General C.F. Smith from General U.S. Grant’s command today occupied Clarksville, Tennessee.
(Tuesday, February 18, 1992) — Former Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas won New Hampshire’s Democratic primary today while Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton ran a strong second and proclaimed himself “the comeback kid” after weeks of controversy.
In the Republican race, incumbent President Bush won an unconvincing victory, surviving angry voters who gave conservative challenger Patrick Buchanan a strong second place.
Video: Death penalty invalidated (at 9:14)
(Friday, February 18, 1972) — The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson invalidated the state’s death penalty today and commuted the sentences of all death row inmates, including members of the Charles Manson family, to life imprisonment.
(Wednesday, February 16, 1972, 10:00 p.m. ET) — The wife of an elderly farmer who refuses to die decides to force nature’s hand with the help of an old crone skilled in the black arts on tonight’s episode of the NBC-TV anthology series Night Gallery.
(Wednesday, February 16, 8:00 p.m. ET) — On temporary assignment at LAX, Reed and Malloy have to save a stewardess who is taken hostage inside a lounge by a man desperately trying to get the attention of a television producer on tonight’s episode of the NBC-TV police drama Adam-12.
'To Be or Not to Be' trailer
(Sunday, February 15, 1942) — To Be or Not to Be, a comedy about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw who use their abilities at disguise and acting to fool the occupying troops, premiered tonight in Los Angeles.
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch, the film stars Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart, Lionel Atwill, Stanley Ridges and Sig Ruman. The film was released two months after actress Carole Lombard was killed in an airplane crash.
(Thursday, February 14, 1952, 9:00 p.m. ET) — The police interrogate a suspect whom they believe to have murdered more than a dozen men on tonight’s episode of the NBC-TV crime drama Dragnet.
Video: JFK on Feb. 14, 1962 (part 1)
(Wednesday, February 14, 1962) — President John F. Kennedy today denied Republican National Committee charges implying that the United States is virtually in a shooting war in Vietnam and not merely acting in an advisory capacity in the struggle to keep that country from being overrun by the Communists. Continue reading JFK denies GOP claims, backs role in Vietnam 50 years ago today (1962)
Video: 'Cabaret' trailer
(Sunday February 13, 1972) — Cabaret, a musical film set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931, under the ominous presence of the growing National Socialist Party, opened today in the U.S. (including the Ziegfeld Theater in New York City).
Produced and directed by Bob Fosse and starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York and Joel Grey, the film is loosely based on the 1966 Broadway musical of the same name.
Bill Clinton on 'Nightline' (part 1)
(Wednesday, February 12, 1992, 11:30 p.m.) — Six days before the New Hampshire primary, Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton appeared on ABC-TV’s Nightline to answer questions about how he avoided the military draft during the Vietnam War, specifically to explain his decision to back out of an agreement to join the ROTC program. Continue reading Bill Clinton seeks to diminish draft controversy before New Hampshire primary 20 years ago this hour (1992)
