On this date in . . .

1940: MGM released the movie cartoon "Puss Gets the Boot," the first starring Tom and Jerry, though Tom was called Jasper. Jasper and Jerry were nominated for an Academy Award, but lost. Eventually, Tom and Jerry won seven Oscars for their creators Hanna and Barbera.

1952, 1953, 1956, 1961, and 1966: Ralph and Carolyn Cummins of Clintwood, Virginia, had a child. Four girls and one boy, all born on Feb. 20.

1962: Astronaut John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule.

1965: Buck Owens hit #1 on the Billboard country chart with "I've Got a Tiger by the Tail."

1985: Clarence Nash died in California of leukemia at age 80. He was the voice of Donald Duck.

1987: Host David Hartman left ABC’s "Good Morning America" after 11 years.

1988: The United Youth Movement in Jorhor, Malaysia, set off an 18,777-foot display of 3,338,777 firecrackers. It exploded for 9 hours and 27 minutes, the longest firecracker display ever popped.

1992: Ross Perot said that he "wouldn’t be temperamentally fit" for the presidency, but hinted he would run if voters put him on the ballot in all 50 states.

1997: The Trinity Broadcasting network announced it had dropped singer Pat Boone’s Gospel America show after he recorded a heavy metal album and appeared on the American Music Awards in black leather and a studded dog collar.

1997: Ben and Jerry's introduced a their ice cream Phish Food, named after the rock group Phish.

1998: American Tara Lipinski became the youngest gold medal winner in winter Olympics history when she won the ladies' figure skating title at Nagano, Japan. Tara was 15.

2001: A man who led police on a 10 mile-an-hour chase on a tractor was jailed for a year. The driver was chased after being spotted driving while drinking a beer. Residents of Janesville, Wisconsin, lined the chase route and some even took photos. The driver eventually stopped in a church parking lot and told officers he didn't think he would be arrested there. He was.\

2005: Actress Sandra Dee died at age 62.

2006: The Danish newspaper that published controversial cartoons of Muslim Prophet Mohammed and triggered widespread, angry and often deadly protests, ran a full-page apology in Saudi papers.

2008: An Amarillo, Texas, special-needs nurse was caring for a two-faced kitten after her cat gave birth in her home. Renee Cook said the two-faced kitten was feisty soon after being born and that it has a strong heartbeat and a good chance to live. Cook said she just might name it Double-Trouble.

Birthdays:

• actor Sidney Poitier is 85;
• actress Sandy Duncan 66;
• actor Andrew Shue 45;
• actress Majandra Delfino 31;
• musician Chris Thile (Nickel Creek) 32;
• Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell 37;
• singer Buffy Sainte-Marie 71;
• Cheap Tricker Jon Brant 57;
• model Cindy Crawford 46;
• heiress Patty Hearst 58;
• basketball's Charles Barcley 49;
  basketball's Stephon Marbury 35.

     Q: Did model Cindy Crawford receive a full university scholarship to study: (a) fashion design; (b) chemical engineering; or (c) art history?
      A: Chemical engineering.

     Q: Your pewter looks terrible. According to an old wives’ tale, should you clean it with: (a) a wet cat; (b) cabbage leaves; or (c) a banana peel.
     A: Cabbage leaves.

     Q: You suffer from scotophobia. Do you have an abnormal fear: (a) of being forced at gunpoint to eat fertilizer; (b) of having to wear a kilt to a hockey game; or (c) of the dark?
     A: You’re afraid of the dark.

22 years ago today:

• The #1 song was "Opposites Attract" by Paula Abdul with The Wild Pair.
• The #1 country song was "On Second Thought" by Eddie Rabbitt.
• The #1 R&B song was Ruby Turner’s "It’s Gonna Be Alright."