Today is Sunday, February 26, the 57th day of 2023. There are 308 days left in the year. Spring arrives in 24 days (March 20, 2023). There are 116 days until summer (June 21, 2023).

Here are some notable events in history on this day — some that still have an impact on us:

In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from exile on the Island of Elba and headed back to France in a bid to regain power.

In 1904, the United States and Panama proclaimed a treaty under which the U.S. agreed to undertake efforts to build a ship canal across the Panama isthmus.

In 1945, authorities ordered a midnight curfew at nightclubs, bars and other places of entertainment across the nation.

In 1952, Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that Britain had developed its own atomic bomb.

In 1966, South Korean troops sent to fight in the Vietnam War massacred at least 380 civilians in Go Dai hamlet.

In 1987, the Tower Commission, which had probed the Iran-Contra affair, issued its report, which rebuked President Ronald Reagan for failing to control his national security staff.

In 1993, a truck bomb built by Islamic extremists exploded in the parking garage of the North Tower of New York’s World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring more than 1,000 others. The bomb failed to topple the North Tower into the South Tower, as the terrorists had hoped; both structures were destroyed in the 9/11 attack eight years later.

In 1998, a jury in Amarillo, Texas, rejected an $11 million lawsuit brought by Texas cattlemen who blamed Oprah Winfrey’s talk show for a price fall after a segment on food safety that included a discussion about mad cow disease.

In 2005, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered his country’s constitution changed to allow presidential challengers in an upcoming fall election.

In 2012, Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot to death in Sanford, Florida, during an altercation with neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who said he acted in self-defense. Zimmerman was later acquitted of second-degree murder.

In 2013, a hot air balloon burst into flames during a sunrise flight over the ancient Egyptian city of Luxor and then plummeted 1,000 feet to earth, killing 19 tourists.

In 2020, the World Health Organization reported that the number of new coronavirus cases outside China had exceeded the number of new infections in China for the first time.

In 2022, Kyiv residents braced for another night sheltering underground, as Russian troops closed in on Ukraine’s capital and skirmishes were reported on the outskirts. Ukraine’s leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, vowed to continue fighting the Russian assault as he appealed for more outside help. He accused Russia of hitting infrastructure and civilian targets.

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Today’s birthdays: Actor-director Bill Duke is 80. Singer Mitch Ryder is 78. Actor Marta Kristen (TV: “Lost in Space”) is 78. Rock musician Jonathan Cain (Journey) is 73. Singer Michael Bolton is 70. The president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan (REH’-jehp TY’-ihp UR’-doh-wahn), is 69. Actor Greg Germann is 65. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is 65. Bandleader John McDaniel is 62. Actor-martial artist Mark Dacascos is 59. Actor Jennifer Grant is 57. Rock musician Tim Commerford (Audioslave) is 55. Singer Erykah Badu (EHR’-ih-kah bah-DOO’) is 52. Actor Maz Jobrani (TV: “Superior Donuts”) is 51. R&B singer Rico Wade (Society of Soul) is 51. Olympic gold medal swimmer Jenny Thompson is 50. R&B singer Kyle Norman (Jagged Edge) is 48. Actor Greg Rikaart is 46. Rock musician Chris Culos (O.A.R.) is 44. R&B singer Corinne Bailey Rae is 44. Pop singer Nate Ruess (fun.) is 41. Former tennis player Li Na is 41. Latin singer Natalia Lafourcade is 39. Actor Teresa Palmer is 37.