Mitchell Sentenced: Watergate's First Prisoners
Three men who ran the most powerful office in the world got 2.5 to 8 years for obstruction of justice. John Mitchell, the Attorney General, had ordered the break-in. H.R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, Nixon's closest advisors, covered it up. All three reported to minimum-security prisons. Mitchell served 19 months. Haldeman served 18. Ehrlichman served 18. The burglars who actually broke into the Watergate got longer sentences than the men who told them to do it.
February 21, 1975
51 years ago
What Else Happened on February 21
Athanasius walked back into Alexandria after his third exile. He'd been bishop there since 328. He'd been thrown out in 336, 339, and 356. Three different emper…
Severianus refused to hand over the church's sacred texts. Roman officials in Palestine had ordered all Christian bishops to surrender their scriptures for burn…
Thomas resigned in 1245 after confessing to torture and forgery. He was Finland's first bishop. The job came with converting pagans who didn't want converting. …
The Prussian Confederation formed when 53 Prussian cities and nobles decided they'd rather fight their own king than keep paying his war taxes. They were techni…
Ahmed Gragn had conquered two-thirds of Ethiopia. For fourteen years, his Muslim forces burned churches, enslaved populations, pushed the Christian empire to th…
A sixteen-year-old hiding in a monastery became Tsar of Russia because nobody else wanted the job. Mikhail Romanov's father was in Polish captivity. His mother …
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.