Here’s a brief look back in time on this day, February 15th.
In 1898, the USS Maine explodes in a Cuban harbor, killing 260 Americans. Initially, the Maine wasn’t blamed on Spain just yet. The cause of the explosion was determined to have been onboard powder kegs that somehow exploded. To this day, the perpetrators nor the source of the spark have never been found. However, the New York Journal somehow “discovered” that Spanish torpedoes were the culprit. Despite several investigations determining Spain had no part, the Journal’s intense coverage stirred a large outcry from the American public. While it wasn’t the sole cause for the Spanish-American War, Congress decided to proceed with the effort later that year due to Spain’s campaign against the Cuban rebellion: a bad look for potential American investment. This phenomenon, dubbed “yellow journalism”, was an effort to increase circulation and subscriptions via sensationalism.
In 1933, incoming U.S. president Franklin Delano Roosevelt dodges an assassin’s bullet after an attempt on his life during a speech in Miami, FL: 17 days before FDR’s inauguration. The perpetrator, an Italian immigrant named Giuseppe Zangara, fired five bullets. The then-mayor of Chicago, Anton Cermak, is mortally wounded in the attack. Four others were injured, but survived. Zangara would be executed a month later in Florida State Prison. This wasn’t the first assassination endeavor on the future New Deal president; in 1929, a postal worker attempted to mail-in a stick of dynamite to FDR, but was intercepted. Roosevelt was the governor of New York at the time. The bomb was rendered disarmed due to the same worker accidentally stepping on it. The worker was reportedly sent to Bellevue Hospital instead of prison. Their fate – like their identity – is unknown.
In 1998, Dale Earnhardt Sr. wins his first Daytona 500 after 20 attempts of doing so. His record still consisted of an impressive 76 wins prior in different championships, but the 500 eluded Earnhardt for two decades. Following his victory, all the competing crew members in the race lined up to congratulate him: a humble moment following NASCAR’s biggest race. Earnhardt Sr. would unfortunately lose his life in a devastating crash at the 2001 Daytona 500. His son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., would pick up his father’s legacy and win his first 500 in 2004.