History in 22nd Feb

First President and Continental Army Commander-in-Chief George Washington is born in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Washington, the "Father of our country," he defeated the British during the Revolutionary War, resigned his army commission to allow a civilian government to take power, and served two terms as President. His presidency signaled American neutrality during European conflicts, quelled domestic unrest, and devised the model for executive power.

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The United States Men's Ice Hockey Team defeats the heavily-favored Soviet Union team in the medal round of the 1980 Winter Olympics hosted in Lake Placid, New York. The game, dubbed the 'Miracle on Ice', pitted an American team composed of amateur and collegiate players against a Soviet team that had won four straight gold medals.

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Secretary of State John Quincy Adams arranges the purchase of Florida from Spain as he signs the Adams-Onís Treaty in Washington, D.C. While the border did concede present-day Texas to New Spain, the United States took control of Florida in exchange for the assumption of $5 million in civilian claims against the Spanish government. The U.S. Senate ratified the treaty two years later, in 1821.