The St. Valentine's Day Massacre begins in Chicago. Seven gangsters are killed. The USSR and China sign a peace treaty. The Ayatollah Khomeini orders Muslims to slay novelist Salmun Rushdie for writing The Satanic Verses . An act outlines the procedures for the policing of the state's waterways and levee systems.
New Jersey becomes the last northern state to abolish slavery.
1869 - Charges of treason against Jefferson Davis are dropped. 1898 - The USS Maine sinks in Havanna Harbor, killing 258 sailors. Although the cause is unknown, the incident precipitates the Spanish-American War. 1989 - The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan ends. A resolution is passed in which the General Assembly of Louisiana goes on record as opposing a proposal approved in 1824 by the General Assembly of Ohio seeking the gradual emancipation of all slaves.