On February 29th 1940, Gone with the Wind won eight Academy Awards, the most momentous of them being that of Hattie McDaniel, who won Best Supporting Actress for her role as “Mammy,” a housemaid and former slave. She became the… Read More ›
Month: February 2012
February 28 1993 ATF Raid Branch Davidian In Waco Texas
On February 28th 1993, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided the Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas, prompting a gun battle in which four agents and six cult members were killed. The federal agents were… Read More ›
February 27 1827 First Mardi Gras In New Orleans
On February 27th 1827, a group of masked and costumed students dance through the streets of New Orleans, Louisiana, marking the beginning of the city’s famous Mardi Gras celebrations. The celebration of Carnival, or the weeks between Twelfth Night on… Read More ›
February 26 1919 and 1929 Grand Canyon and Grand Teton National Parks Established
On February 26th 1919 and 1929, two national parks were established in the United States 10 years apart; the Grand Canyon in 1919 and the Grand Teton in 1929. Located in north-western Arizona, the Grand Canyon is the product of… Read More ›
February 25 1964 Cassius Clay Knocks Out Sonny Liston
On February 25th 1964, 22-year-old Cassius Clay shocked the odds-makers by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ Sonny Liston in a seventh-round technical knockout. The dreaded Liston, who had twice demolished former champ Floyd Patterson in one round, was an 8-to-1… Read More ›
February 24 1836 Alamo Defenders Call For Help
On February 24th 1836, in San Antonio, Texas, Colonel William Travis issued a call for help on behalf of the Texan troops defending the Alamo, an old Spanish mission and fortress under attack by the Mexican army. A native of… Read More ›
February 23 1940 Woody Guthrie Writes "This Land Is Your Land"
On February 23rd 1940, folk singer Woody Guthrie wrote one of his best-known songs, “This Land is Your Land.” Born in Okemah, Oklahoma, in 1912, Guthrie lived and wrote of the real West, a place of hard-working people and harsh… Read More ›
February 22 1732 George Washington Born
On February 22nd 1732, George Washington was born in Westmoreland County, Virginia, the second son from the second marriage of a colonial plantation owner. An initially loyal British subject, Washington eventually led the Continental Army in the American Revolution and… Read More ›
February 21 1848 Karl Marx Publishes Communist Manifesto
On February 21st 1848, The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx with the assistance of Friedrich Engels, was published in London by a group of German-born revolutionary socialists known as the Communist League. The political pamphlet, arguably the most influential… Read More ›
February 20 1962 John Glenn First American To Orbit Earth
On February 20th 1962, from Cape Canaveral, Florida, John Hershel Glenn Jr was successfully launched into space aboard the Friendship 7 spacecraft on the first orbital flight by an American astronaut. Glenn, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps,… Read More ›
February 19 1945 US Marines Invade Iwo Jima
On February 19th 1945, Operation Detachment, the US Marines’ invasion of Iwo Jima, was launched. Iwo Jima was a barren Pacific island guarded by Japanese artillery, but to American military minds, it was prime real estate on which to build… Read More ›
February 18 1885 Mark Twain Publishes Huckleberry Finn
On February 18th 1885, Mark Twain published his famous and controversial novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Twain (the pen name of Samuel Clemens) first introduced Huck Finn as the best friend of Tom Sawyer, hero of his tremendously successful… Read More ›
February 17 1904 Madame Butterfly Premieres
On February 17th 1904, Giacomo Puccini’s opera Madame Butterfly premiered at the La Scala theatre in Milan, Italy. It was not received well, and lasted only one performance. The young Puccini had decided to dedicate his life to opera after… Read More ›
February 16 1923 King Tut's Tomb Opened
On February 16th 1923, in Thebes, Egypt, English archaeologist Howard Carter entered the sealed burial chamber of the ancient Egyptian ruler King Tutankhamen. Because the ancient Egyptians saw their pharaohs as gods, they carefully preserved their bodies after death, burying… Read More ›
February 15 1965 Canada Adopts Maple Leaf Flag
On February 15th 1965, in accordance with a formal proclamation by Queen Elizabeth II of England, a new Canadian national flag was raised above Parliament Hill in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. Beginning in 1610, Lower Canada, a new British… Read More ›
February 14 278 St Valentine Beheaded
On February 14th around the year 278 AD, Valentine, a holy priest in Rome in the days of Emperor Claudius II, was executed. Under the rule of Claudius the Cruel, Rome was involved in many unpopular and bloody campaigns. The… Read More ›
February 14 1779 Captain Cook Killed In Hawaii
On February 14th 1779, Captain James Cook, the great English explorer and navigator, was killed by natives of Hawaii during his third visit to the Pacific island group. In 1768, Cook, a surveyor in the Royal Navy, was commissioned a… Read More ›
February 13 1633 Galileo In Rome For Inquisition
On 13th February 1633, Italian philosopher, astronomer and mathematician Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome to face charges of heresy for advocating Copernican theory, which holds that the Earth revolves around the Sun. Galileo officially faced the Roman Inquisition in April… Read More ›
February 12 1912 Last Emperor Of China Abdicates
On February 12th 1912, Hsian-T’ung, the last emperor of China, was forced to abdicate following Sun Yat-sen’s republican revolution. A provisional government was established in his place, ending 267 years of Manchu rule in China and 2,000 years of imperial… Read More ›
February 11 1990 Nelson Mandela Released From Prison
On February 11th 1990, Nelson Mandela, leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, was released from prison after 27 years. In 1944, Mandela, a lawyer, joined the African National Congress (ANC), the oldest black political organization in South… Read More ›
February 10 1962 Francis Gary Powers Spy Swap
On February 10th 1962, American spy pilot Francis Gary Powers was released by the Soviets in exchange for Soviet Colonel Rudolf Abel, a senior KGB spy who was caught in the United States five years earlier. The two men were… Read More ›
February 9 1900 Davis Cup Competition Established
On February 9th 1900, the solid silver trophy known today as the Davis Cup was first put up for competition when American collegian Dwight Filley Davis challenged British tennis players to come across the Atlantic and compete against his Harvard… Read More ›
February 8 1587 Mary Queen Of Scots Beheaded
On February 8th 1587, after 19 years of imprisonment, Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England for her complicity in a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I. In 1542, while just six days old, Mary ascended… Read More ›
February 7 1992 European Union Established
On February 7th 1992, after suffering through centuries of bloody conflict, the nations of Western Europe finally united in the spirit of economic cooperation with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty of European Union. The treaty, signed by ministers of… Read More ›
February 6 1952 Elizabeth Becomes Queen
On February 6th 1952, after a long illness, King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland died in his sleep at the royal estate at Sandringham. Princess Elizabeth, the oldest of the king’s two daughters and next in line… Read More ›
February 5 1783 Earthquake Devastates Southern Italy
On February 5th 1783, a massive earthquake in southern Italy destroyed villages and triggered a tsunami and landslides. In all, about 34,000 people lost their lives and 180 communities were destroyed. The estimated 7.5 to 8.0-magnitude quake struck at about… Read More ›
February 4 1976 Earthquake Rocks Guatemala City
On February 4th 1976, in the very early morning hours, a massive earthquake leveled much of Guatemala City, killing 23,000 people and leaving 1 million others homeless. It was 3:04 a.m. when the first large tremor, centered six miles under… Read More ›
February 3 2005 Gonzales First Hispanic US Attorney General
On February 3, 2005, Alberto Gonzales won Senate confirmation as the nation’s first Hispanic Attorney General despite protests over his record on torture. The Senate approved his nomination on a largely party-line vote of 60-36, reflecting a split between Republicans… Read More ›
February 2 1887 First Groundhog Day
On February 2nd 1887, Groundhog Day, featuring a rodent meteorologist, was celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow,… Read More ›
February 1 1884 Oxford Dictionary Debuts
On February 1st 1884, the first portion, or fascicle, of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language, was published. Today, the OED is the definitive authority on the meaning, pronunciation and… Read More ›
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