Today is Saturday, Feb. 19, the 50th day of 2022. There are 315 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlights in History:

On Feb. 19, 2008, an ailing Fidel Castro resigned the Cuban presidency after nearly a half-century in power; his brother Raul was later named to succeed him.

On this date:

In 1473, astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Torun, Poland.

In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr, accused of treason, was arrested in the Mississippi Territory, in present-day Alabama. (Burr was acquitted at trial.)

In 1878, Thomas Edison received a U.S. patent for “an improvement in phonograph or speaking machines.”

In 1942, during World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which paved the way for the relocation and internment of people of Japanese ancestry, including U.S.-born citizens.

In 1945, Operation Detachment began during World War II as some 30,000 U.S. Marines began landing on Iwo Jima, where they commenced a successful month-long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces.

In 1976, President Gerald R. Ford, calling the issuing of the internment order for people of Japanese ancestry in 1942 “a sad day in American history,” signed a proclamation formally confirming its termination.

In 2019, President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to develop plans for a new Space Force within the Air Force, accepting less than the full-fledged department he had wanted.

Today’s Birthdays: Singer Smokey Robinson is 82. Singer Lou Christie is 79. Rock musician Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath, Heaven and Hell) is 74. Actor Jeff Daniels is 67. Talk show host Lorianne Crook is 65. Actor Ray Winstone is 65. Actor Leslie David Baker is 64. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is 63. Britain’s Prince Andrew is 62. Tennis Hall of Famer Hana Mandlikova is 60. Singer Seal is 59. Actor Justine Bateman is 56. Actor Benicio Del Toro is 55.