On This Day, Feb. 21: Japanese Hayabusa-2 probe lands on asteroid Ryugu

UPI Staff
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On February 21, 2019, the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa-2 probe, pictured, touched down on asteroid Ryugu. File Image courtesy of the DLR German Aerospace Center
On February 21, 2019, the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa-2 probe, pictured, touched down on asteroid Ryugu. File Image courtesy of the DLR German Aerospace Center

Feb. 21 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1848, The Communist Manifesto was published by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A rare copy of the publication sold at auction for $39,600 in 1986.

In 1878, the New Haven, Conn., Telephone Co. published the first phone directory. It listed 50 subscribers.

In 1885, the Washington Monument, a 555-foot-high marble obelisk built in honor of America's revolutionary hero and first president, was dedicated in Washington.

File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI
File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI
On February 21, 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated in Washington. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI
On February 21, 1885, the Washington Monument was dedicated in Washington. File Photo by Pat Benic/UPI

In 1916, Germans launched the Battle of Verdun. More than 1 million soldiers in the German and French armies were killed in nearly 10 months of fighting. It was the longest battle of World War I.

In 1925, the first issue of The New Yorker was published.

President Richard Nixon tries his luck at eating with chopsticks during the farewell banquet upon completion of his historic visit to China in 1972. At left is premier Chou En-Lai and at right is Communist Party Leader Chang Chung-chiao. File Photo by Dirck Halstead/UPI
President Richard Nixon tries his luck at eating with chopsticks during the farewell banquet upon completion of his historic visit to China in 1972. At left is premier Chou En-Lai and at right is Communist Party Leader Chang Chung-chiao. File Photo by Dirck Halstead/UPI

In 1934, Nicaraguan guerrilla leader Cesar Augusto Sandino was killed by members of the country's national guard.

In 1953, Francis Crick and James D. Watson discovered the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. It took another three decades for scientists to produce a clear, direct picture of the DNA molecule.

On February 21, 1934, Nicaraguan guerrilla leader Cesar Augusto Sandino was killed by members of the country's national guard. File Photo courtesy of Underwood & Underwood/Wikimedia
On February 21, 1934, Nicaraguan guerrilla leader Cesar Augusto Sandino was killed by members of the country's national guard. File Photo courtesy of Underwood & Underwood/Wikimedia
The Francis Crick Letter titled "Secret of Life" is on display at Christie's in New York City on April 5, 2013. The letter from Francis Crick to his son dated March 19, 1953, outlines the revolutionary discovery of the structure and function of DNA. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI
The Francis Crick Letter titled "Secret of Life" is on display at Christie's in New York City on April 5, 2013. The letter from Francis Crick to his son dated March 19, 1953, outlines the revolutionary discovery of the structure and function of DNA. File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI

In 1965, Black Muslim leader Malcolm X was assassinated at a rally in New York.

On February 21, 1916, Germans launched the Battle of Verdun. More than 1 million soldiers in the German and French armies were killed in nearly 10 months of fighting. It was the longest battle of World War I. File Photo courtesy Wikimedia
On February 21, 1916, Germans launched the Battle of Verdun. More than 1 million soldiers in the German and French armies were killed in nearly 10 months of fighting. It was the longest battle of World War I. File Photo courtesy Wikimedia

In 1972, Richard Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit the People's Republic of China.

In 1994, longtime CIA counterintelligence officer Aldrich Ames and his wife, Maria, were arrested and charged with selling information to the Soviet Union and Russia. Ames was sentenced to life in prison; his wife got a five-year term.

On February 21, 1925, the first issue of The New Yorker was published. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI
On February 21, 1925, the first issue of The New Yorker was published. File Photo by Ezio Petersen/UPI

In 1995, a Russian commission estimated up to 24,400 civilians died in a two-month uprising in the separatist republic of Chechnya.

In 2007, nuclear neighbors India and Pakistan signed a treaty in New Delhi aimed at preventing the accidental use of atomic weapons.

Former Bollingbrook, Ill., police Sgt. Drew Peterson leaves Will County circuit court after his arraignment on May 18, 2009, in Joliet, Ill. On February 21, 2013, Peterson, 59, was sentenced to 38 years in prison for the 2004 murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. File Photo by David Banks/UPI
Former Bollingbrook, Ill., police Sgt. Drew Peterson leaves Will County circuit court after his arraignment on May 18, 2009, in Joliet, Ill. On February 21, 2013, Peterson, 59, was sentenced to 38 years in prison for the 2004 murder of his third wife, Kathleen Savio. File Photo by David Banks/UPI

In 2014, U.S. President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, at the White House after the Chinese government warned the meeting would damage U.S.-China relations. A White House statement said Obama "reiterated the U.S. position that Tibet is part of the People's Republic of China and that the United States does not support Tibet independence."

In 2019, the Japanese Space Agency's Hayabusa-2 probe touched down on asteroid Ryugu. It was the first probe to deploy working rovers onto an asteroid.

President Barack Obama meets with His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama in the Map Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 16, 2011. On February 21, 2014, Obama met the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, at the White House after the Chinese government warned the meeting would damage U.S.-China relations. File Photo by Pete Souza/White House

In 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered "peacekeeping" troops into two separatist regions of eastern Ukraine under new decrees recognizing them as independent republics. Three days later, Russia invaded Ukraine.

File Photo courtesy of Kremlin Pool
File Photo courtesy of Kremlin Pool