Today in History....February 12

On this day in …

* 1818, Chile officially proclaimed its independence, more than seven years after initially renouncing Spanish rule

* 1912, Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, abdicated, marking the end of the Qing Dynasty

* 1915, the cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington D.C.

* 1940, the radio play "The Adventures of Superman" debuted with Bud Collyer as the Man of Steel

* 1973, Operation Homecoming began as the first release of American prisoners of war from the Vietnam conflict took place

* 1997 the highest-ranking official to flee communist North Korea, Hwang Jang Yop, asked for political asylum at South Korea's consulate in Beijing. ALSO: The Clinton administration gave permission to 10 U.S. news organizations to open bureaus in Cuba

* 2002, former Enron chairman Kenneth Lay expressed "profound sadness" about the collapse of the energy giant, but refused to testify at a Senate hearing. ALSO: Former Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic went on trial in The Hague, accused of war crimes. AND: Pakistan charged three men in connection with the kidnapping of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Karachi (they and a fourth man were later convicted of Pearl's murder).

* 2006, a record 26.9 inches of snow fell in New York's Central Park