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Today’s Highlight in History: 

One hundred years ago, on Feb. 27, 1902, American author John Steinbeck was born in Salinas, Calif. 

On this date: 

In 1801, the District of Columbia was placed under the jurisdiction of Congress. 

In 1807, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was born in Portland, Maine. 

In 1861, in Warsaw, Russian troops fired on a crowd protesting Russian rule over Poland; five marchers were killed. 

In 1922, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the 19th Amendment to the Constitution that guaranteed the right of women to vote. 

In 1933, Germany’s parliament building, the Reichstag, caught fire. The Nazis, blaming the Communists, used the fire as a pretext for suspending civil liberties. 

In 1939, the Supreme Court outlawed sit-down strikes. 

In 1960, the U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the Soviets, three goals to two, at the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. (The U.S. team went on to win the gold medal.) 

In 1972, President Nixon and Chinese Premier Chou En-lai issued the Shanghai Communique at the conclusion of Nixon’s historic visit to China. 

In 1973, members of the American Indian Movement occupied the hamlet of Wounded Knee in South Dakota, the site of the 1890 massacre of Sioux men, women and children. (The occupation lasted until May.) 

In 1982, Wayne B. Williams was found guilty of murdering two of the 28 young blacks whose bodies were found in the Atlanta area over a 22-month period. 

Ten years ago:  

William Aramony resigned as president of United Way of America amid charges of financial mismanagement and lavish spending. Former Sen. S.I. Hayakawa died in San Francisco at age 85. 

Five years ago:  

A jury in Fayetteville, N.C., convicted former Army paratrooper James N. Burmeister of murdering a black couple so he could get a skinhead tattoo. (He was later sentenced to life in prison.) Divorce became legal in Ireland. Legislation banning most handguns in Britain went into effect. 

One year ago:  

President Bush went before Congress with a $1.9 trillion spending plan that would sharply reduce growth in many government programs while leaving room to give Americans the biggest tax cut in two decades. 

Today’s Birthdays: 

Actress Joanne Woodward is 72. Actress Elizabeth Taylor is 70. Consumer advocate Ralph Nader is 68. Actress Barbara Babcock is 65. Actor Howard Hesseman is 62. Actress Debra Monk is 53. Rock musician Paul Humphreys (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) is 42. Basketball player James Worthy is 41. Actor Adam Baldwin is 40. Actor Grant Show is 40. Rock musician Mike Cross (Sponge) is 37. Actor Donal Logue is 36. Rhythm-and-blues singer Chilli (TLC) is 31. Rock musician Jeremy Dean (Nine Days) is 30. Rhythm-and-blues singer Roderick Clark is 29. Chelsea Clinton is 22. Rhythm-and-blues singer Bobby Wilson (Mista) is 22.