Timeline February 2008

Events in February 2008 9

• 1925 – 2008 William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008) Died 27 February 2008, aged 82 American conservative writer and commentator who founded National Review magazine and hosted the television program Firing Line. He was a central figure in shaping the modern American conservative movement.
• 1932 – 2008 Roy Scheider (1932-2008) Died 10 February 2008, aged 75 American actor best known for playing police chief Martin Brody in Jaws and for his role in All That Jazz. He received two Academy Award nominations during his career.
• 2008 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers play the Super Bowl halftime show Super Bowl XLII A greatest-hits set in Glendale, Arizona.
• 2008 Tesla Roadster launched First modern electric sports car Tesla Motors delivered its first Roadster on February 7, 2008, the first highway-capable all-electric vehicle in series production. It demonstrated that electric cars could be both practical and desirable.
• 2008 Amy Winehouse wins five Grammys Via satellite from London Wins five Grammys, performing by satellite.
• 2008 Australia apologizes to the Stolen Generations Kevin Rudd delivers formal apology to Indigenous Australians Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a formal parliamentary apology on 13 February 2008 to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples forcibly removed from their families under past government policies. The apology was seen as a landmark moment in Australian reconciliation.
• 2008 Kosovo declares independence Unilateral declaration of independence from Serbia Kosovo's parliament unilaterally declared independence from Serbia on 17 February 2008. The United States and many EU states recognized the new state within days, while Serbia and Russia rejected the move as illegal.
• 2008 Fidel Castro resigns as President of Cuba End of nearly five decades in power Fidel Castro announced on 19 February 2008 that he would not accept another term as Cuba's president after handing over power provisionally in 2006 due to illness. His brother Raul Castro was formally named president days later.
• 2008 – present The Svalbard Global Seed Vault Doomsday Vault A secure backup for the world's crop diversity located in the permafrost.