Today is Friday, Feb. 21, the 52nd day of 2025. There are 313 days left in the year.

On Feb. 21, 1965, civil rights activist Malcolm X, 39, was shot to death inside Harlem’s Audubon Ballroom in New York. Three men identified as members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of murder and imprisoned; all were eventually paroled. (The convictions of two of the men were dismissed in November 2021, when prosecutors said new evidence had undermined the case against them.)

In 1885, President Chester Arthur dedicated the Washington Monument.

In 1916, the Battle of Verdun, the longest battle of World War I, began in northeastern France.

In 1972, President Richard M. Nixon began a historic visit to China, where he met with Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

In 1973, Israeli fighter planes shot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 over the Sinai Desert, killing all but five of the 113 people on board.

In 1975, former Attorney General John N. Mitchell, former White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, and former White House Domestic Affairs Adviser John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 1/2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up. (Each ended up serving less than two years.)

In 1992, Kristi Yamaguchi of the United States won the gold medal in women’s figure skating at the Albertville Winter Olympics; Midori Ito of Japan won the silver, Nancy Kerrigan of the U.S. the bronze.

In 1995, Chicago adventurer Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo across the Pacific Ocean by balloon, landing in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada. after a 5,400 mile, four-day flight from South Korea.