History of February

During the month of February the following events have happened in our world's history.

February 01, 1709 - Alexander Selkirk (aka Robinson Crusoe) rescued from Juan Fernandez
February 01, 1783 - William Herschel announces star Lambda Herculis as apex
February 01, 1790 - US Supreme Court convened for 1st time (NYC)
February 01, 1865 - 13th amendment approved (National Freedom Day)
February 01, 1865 - Sherman's march through SC
February 01, 1867 - Bricklayers start working 8-hour days
February 01, 1920 - 1st armored car introduced
February 01, 1951 - 1st telecast of atomic explosion
February 01, 1951 - 1st X-ray moving picture process demonstrated
February 01, 1957 - 1st Negro pilot on scheduled passenger airline - PH Young
February 01, 1958 - Egypt & Syria join to form United Arab Republic
February 01, 1960 - 4 students stage 1st civil rights sit-in - at Greensboro Woolworth's
February 01, 1966 - Nicholas Piantanida sets unofficial world altitude record for manned balloon flight (123 -800 ft or 37 -700 m) - but dies in descent
February 01, 1972 - 1st scientific hand-held calculator (HP-35) introduced
February 01, 1975 - Lorne Henning scored in 3rd Islander penalty shot
February 01, 1976 - Sonny & Cher resumes on TV despite real life divorce
February 01, 1982 - Senegal & Gambia form loose confederation (Senegambia)
February 02, 1753 - Candlemas
February 02, 1848 - 1st shipload of Chinese arrive in SF Mexico sells US; Texas - California - New Mexico & Az for $15 million
February 02, 1876 - National Baseball League formed with 8 teams
February 02, 1880 - SS Strathleven arrives in London with 1st Australian frozen mutton
February 02, 1894 - US warship Kearsarge wrecked on Roncador Reef
February 02, 1935 - Lie detector 1st used in court - Portage Wi
February 02, 1962 - 8 of the 9 planets aligned for 1st time in 400 years
February 02, 1981 - Late Night with David Letterman premiers
February 03, 1809 - Territory of Illinois organized
February 03, 1864 - Sherman's march through Mississippi
February 03, 1869 - Booth theater at 23rd & 6th opens in NYC (Romeo & Juliet)
February 03, 1918 - Twin Peaks Tunnel longest (11 -920 ft) streetcar tunnel begins service
February 03, 1945 - Walt Disney's "The Three Caballeros" released
February 03, 1945 - Yalta Conference agreed that Russia would enter WWII against Japan
February 03, 1964 - Meet the Beatles goes Gold
February 03, 1966 - Soviet Luna 9 1st spacecraft to soft-land on moon
February 03, 1984 - 10th Space Shuttle Mission - Challenger 4 is launched
February 04, 1600 - Tycho Brahe & Johannes Kepler meet for 1st time outside of Prague
February 04, 1847 - 1st US Telegraph Company established in Maryland
February 04, 1865 - Hawaiian Board of Education is formed
February 04, 1887 - Interstate Commerce Act authorizes federal regulation of railroads
February 04, 1899 - Revolt against US occupation of Philippines
February 04, 1932 - 1st Winter Olympics held at Lake Placid - NY
February 04, 1936 - 1st radioactive substance produced synthetically - radium E
February 04, 1945 - Roosevelt - Stalin & Churchill meet in Yalta - USSR
February 04, 1948 - Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) gains independence from Britain (Nat'l Day)
February 04, 1957 - 1st electric portable typewriter placed on sale - Syracuse NY
February 04, 1964 - Amendment 24 banning poll tax
February 04, 1973 - Islanders & Sabres had a penality free game
February 04, 1973 - Reshef - Israel's missile boat - is unveiled
February 04, 1974 - Patricia Hearst kidnapped by Symbionese Liberation Army
February 04, 1984 - Backstage Magic" opens at CommuniCore
February 04, 1985 - 20 countries (not US) sign UN treaty outlawing torture
February 05, 1663 - Earthquake in Canada
February 05, 1887 - Snow falls on SF
February 05, 1917 - Present Mexican constitution adopted
February 05, 1921 - Yankees purchase 20 acres in the Bronx for Yankee Stadium
February 05, 1937 - FDR proposes enlarging Supreme Court - plan failed "court packing"
February 05, 1953 - Walt Disney's "Peter Pan" released
February 05, 1963 - Maarten Schmidt discovers enormous red shifts in quasars
February 05, 1971 - US Apollo 14 - 3rd manned expedition to moon - lands near Fra Mauro
February 05, 1974 - US Mariner 10 returns 1st close-up photos of Venus's cloud structure
February 05, 1979 - According to Census Bureau - US population reaches 200 million
February 06, 1693 - College of William & Mary chartered in Williamsburg - Va
February 06, 1788 - Mass becomes 6th state to ratify constitution
February 06, 1840 - Waitangi Day; treaty signed between European & Natives of N Zealand
February 06, 1900 - Spanish-American War ends
February 06, 1919 - 1st day of 5-day Seattle general strike
February 06, 1922 - US - UK - France - Italy & Japan sign Washington naval arms limitation
February 06, 1933 - 20th amendment changes date of presidential inaugurations
February 06, 1952 - Elizabeth II becomes queen of Great Britain
February 06, 1959 - Fidel Castro is interviewed by Edward R Murrow
February 06, 1968 - Former President Dwight Eisenhower shot a hole in one
February 06, 1974 - 3rd time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0
February 06, 1977 - 4th time Rangers shut-out Islanders 4-0
February 07, 1882 - Last bare knuckle champion John L Sullivan KOs Paddy Ryan in Miss
February 07, 1889 - Astronomical Society of Pacific holds 1st meeting in SF
February 07, 1905 - Dominican Rep. signs treaty turning over customs collection to U.S
February 07, 1914 - Steel work completed on Exposition (Civic) Auditorium
February 07, 1940 - Walt Disney's "Pinocchio" released
February 07, 1965 - US begins regular bombing & strafing of N Vietnam
February 07, 1973 - 1st time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0
February 07, 1974 - Grenada gains independence from Britain (National Day)
February 07, 1976 - World's largest telescope (600 cm) begins operation in USSR
February 07, 1977 - Soyuz 24 launched
February 07, 1984 - Bruce McCandless makes 1st untethered space walk
February 07, 1986 - Haitians overthrow dictator - "Baby Doc" Duvalier
February 08, 1587 - Mary - Queen of Scots beheaded
February 08, 1672 - Isaac Newton reads 1st optics paper before Royal Society in London
February 08, 1693 - Charter granted for College of William & Mary - 2nd college in US
February 08, 1861 - Confederate States of America organized in Montgomery - Ala
February 08, 1883 - Louis Waterman begins experiments that invent the fountain pen
February 08, 1910 - Boy Scouts of America founded
February 08, 1911 - US helps to overthrow Miguel D vila - president of Honduras
February 08, 1922 - Radio arrives in the White House
February 08, 1926 - Walt Disney Studios formed
February 08, 1957 - SF Public Library's bookmobile initiated in front of City Hall
February 08, 1969 - Meteorite weighing over one ton is recovered in Chihuahua - Mexico
February 08, 1974 - Skylab 4's astronauts land
February 08, 1975 - Caps only got one shot in a period against the Islanders
February 08, 1977 - Earthquake in SF - at 5.0 - strongest since 1966
February 08, 1984 - Soyuz T-10 is launched
February 09, 1811 - Nevill Maskelyne - 5th Astronomer Royal of England dies
February 09, 1877 - US Weather Service is founded
February 09, 1885 - 1st Japanese arrive in Hawaii
February 09, 1891 - 1st shipment of asparagus arrives in SF from Sacramento
February 09, 1893 - Canal builder De Lesseps & others sentenced to prision for fraud.
February 09, 1922 - Snow on Mauna Loa
February 09, 1943 - Japanese evacuated Guadalcanal - ending epic battle
February 09, 1953 - Superman TV series premiers
February 09, 1964 - 1st appearance of the Beatles on Ed Sullivan
February 09, 1969 - Boeing 747 makes its 1st coml flight
February 09, 1971 - Apollo 14 returns to Earth
February 09, 1975 - Soyuz 17 returns to Earth
February 09, 1986 - Halley's Comet reaches perihelion (closest approach to sun)
February 10, 1720 - Edmund Halley is appointed 2nd Astronomer Royal of England
February 10, 1763 - Treaty of Paris ends French & Indian War
February 10, 1840 - Queen Victoria marries Prince Albert
February 10, 1870 - City of Anaheim incorporated (1st time)
February 10, 1879 - 1st electric arc light used (in California Theater)
February 10, 1942 - Glenn Miller's Chattanooga Choo Choo goes gold
February 10, 1967 - 25th Amendment (Presidential Disability & Succession) in effect
February 10, 1973 - 2nd time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0
February 11, 0660 - Traditional founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu Tenno
February 11, 1575 - King Frederick of Denmark offers island of Hveen to Tycho Brahe
February 11, 1650 - Rene Descartes - "I think therefore I am" - dies
February 11, 1854 - Major streets lit by coal gas for 1st time
February 11, 1868 - Leon Foucault discovers 1st physical proof of earth's rotation - dies
February 11, 1929 - Vatican City (world's Smallest Country) is made an enclave of Rome
February 11, 1936 - Pumping begins to build Treasure Island
February 11, 1937 - 44-day sit-down strike at General Motors in Flint - Mich. ends
February 11, 1958 - 1st flight with Negro stewardess - RC Taylor - Ithaca NY
February 11, 1960 - Jack Paar walks off his show
February 11, 1968 - Madison Square Garden III closes MSG IV opens
February 11, 1970 - Japan becomes 4th nation to put a satellite (Osumi) in orbit
February 11, 1978 - 25th hat trick in Islander history - Denis Potvin
February 11, 1984 - Tenth Space Shuttle Mission - Challenger 4 returns to Earth
February 12, 1541 - Santiago - Chile founded
February 12, 1733 - Georgia founded by James Oglethorpe
February 12, 1908 - Anna Jeanes bequests $1 -000 -000 to Swarthmore to become all girl
February 12, 1915 - Cornerstone laid for Lincoln Memorial in Washington - DC
February 12, 1924 - Rhapsody In Blue" premiers in Carnegie Hall
February 12, 1934 - Export-Import Bank incorporated
February 12, 1945 - SF selected for site of UN Conference
February 12, 1947 - A daytime fireball & meteorite fall is seen in eastern Siberia
February 12, 1955 - Pres Eisenhower sends 1st US advisors to S Vietnam
February 12, 1961 - USSR launches Venera 1 toward Venus
February 12, 1980 - 2nd Islander scoreless tie - Jets at Nassau
February 13, 1678 - Tycho Brahe 1st sketches "Tychonic system" idea of solar system
February 13, 1741 - 1st magazine published in America (The American Magazine)
February 13, 1867 - Blue Danube" waltz premiers in Vienna
February 13, 1937 - Prince Valiant comic strip appears; known for historical detail
February 13, 1937 - Los Angeles Rams formed (then in Cleveland)
February 13, 1945 - Fire-bombing of Dresden begins; c. 50 -000 killed
February 13, 1955 - Israel acquires 4 of the 7 dead sea scrolls
February 13, 1960 - France explodes its 1st atomic bomb - in Algerian desert
February 13, 1982 - Islander's Bryan Trottier scores five goals against the Flyers
February 14, 1753 - Valentine's Day
February 14, 1859 - Oregon admitted as 33rd State
February 14, 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell files application for patent on the telephone
February 14, 1912 - Arizona becomes 48th state
February 14, 1918 - USSR adopts New Style (Gregorian) calendar
February 14, 1921 - Skeezix of "Gasoline Alley" discovered on Wallet's doorstep
February 14, 1929 - St Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago - 7 gangsters killed
February 14, 1950 - Karl Jansky - discoverer of cosmic radio sources - dies
February 14, 1954 - Sen John Kennedy appears on Meet the Press
February 14, 1961 - Element 103 - lawrencium - 1st produced in Berkeley California
February 14, 1962 - Mrs Kennedy gives TV audience a tour of the White House
February 14, 1972 - John & Yoko guest host Mike Douglas Show for the entire week
February 14, 1972 - USSR launches Luna 20; unmanned probe soft-lands on moon - returns
February 14, 1980 - US launches Solar Maximum Mission Observatory to study solar flares
February 15, 1583 - Lupercalia
February 15, 1764 - St. Louis founded
February 15, 1845 - William Parsons - the Earl of Rosse - 1st uses 72-inch reflector
February 15, 1861 - Ft Point completed & garrisoned (but has never fired cannon in anger)
February 15, 1876 - Historic Elm at Boston blown down
February 15, 1898 - USS Maine sinks in Havana harbor - cause unknown
February 15, 1917 - SF Public Library (Main Branch at Civic center) dedicated
February 15, 1933 - Pres-elect Franklin Roosevelt survives assassination attempt
February 15, 1950 - Walt Disney's "Cinderella" released
February 15, 1954 - 1st bevatron in operation - Berkeley - California
February 15, 1955 - Production announced-1st pilot plant to produce man-made diamonds
February 15, 1972 - Bill Torrey becomes 1st Islander General Manager
February 16, 1600 - Giordano Bruno - advocate of Copernican theory & plurality of worlds - is burned at the stake by the Inquisition in Rome
February 16, 1862 - Ft. Donelson captured by Gen. Grant
February 16, 1883 - Ladies Home Journal begins publication
February 16, 1914 - 1st airplane flight to LA from SF
February 16, 1918 - Lithuania declares independence from Germany
February 16, 1923 - Howard Carter finds the Pharoah Tutankhamun
February 16, 1937 - Nylon patented - WH Carothers
February 16, 1938 - US Federal Crop Insurance program authorized
February 16, 1945 - US forces land on Corregidor - complete conquest on March 3
February 16, 1946 - 1st commercially designed helicopter tested - Bridgeport Ct
February 16, 1951 - SF City Hall dome fire
February 16, 1961 - 1st all solid propellant rocket put in orbit-Wallops Island - Va
February 16, 1964 - Beatles second appearance on Ed Sullivan
February 17, 1600 - Giordano Bruno burned in Rome as a heretic
February 17, 1854 - British recognize independence of Orange Free State (South Africa)
February 17, 1870 - Mississippi readmitted to U.S. after Civil War
February 17, 1876 - Sardines were 1st canned - in Eastport - Maine
February 17, 1878 - 1st telephone exchange in SF opens with 18 phones
February 17, 1908 - Geronimo - Apache hero - dies (birth date unknown)