On this day in history - February 19

What Happened On This Day – February 19

• 2008 Fidel Castro steps down as Cuba's president

  Castro was 81 years old at the time and had been in power for 49 years.

• 1986 The “Mir” Space Station is launched

  The Soviet vehicle was the world's first modular space station and remained in orbit for 15 years.

• 1985 Iberia Airlines Flight 610 crashes

  All 148 people on board died in the accident that was blamed on pilot error.

• 1945 U.S. troops land on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima

  The photo showing 4 marines erecting a U.S. flag on the island has become one of the best-known images of World War II.

• 1878 Thomas Edison patents the phonograph

  It was the first machine able to reproduce recorded sound.