On this day: February 27
Saccharin is accidentally discovered, the 22nd Amendment is ratified, Michael Jackson wins his first Grammy, and Mister Rogers dies, all on this day.
1973: The American Indian Movement and about 200 Oglala Lakota seize and occupy the town of Wounded Knee, S.D., on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, the site of the tragic Battle of Wounded Knee. The protest stemmed from the failure of an attempt to impeach the elected tribal president Richard Wilson, whom they accused of corruption and abuse of opponents. The group also was protesting the United States government's failure to fulfill treaties with Native American tribes and demanded the reopening of treaty negotiations. The standoff between the protesters and the federal law enforcement officers would stretch on for 73 days. Pictured is the Wounded Knee memorial burial ground.
