February 9, 2023
February Trivia of Important Dates
By Eloise Graham
February 2: Groundhog Day
- 1653 New Amsterdam became a city. It was later named New York City
- 1709 British sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued by William Dampier after being marooned on a desert island for five years, his story inspires “Robinson Crusoe.”
- 1802 the first leopard exhibited in the U. S. was in Boston. Admission to see it was 25 cents / 1892 the bottle cap was patented by William Painter
- 1925 Sears and Roebuck opened its first retail store in Chicago. It was an expansion of its catalog business which started in 1890’s.
February 12: Lincoln’s Birthday
- 1848 the ballet “Faust” premiered at La Scala in Milan
- 1855 Michigan State University was established
- 1877 the first news dispatch by telephone between Boston and Salem, Massachusetts occurred
- 1878 Harvard player Frederick Thayer received patent for baseball catcher’s mask
- 1924 Calvin Coolidge became the first U. S. President to deliver an address by radio
- 2014 a sinkhole opened up under a classic Corvette museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky
February 14: Valentine’s Day
- 1855 Texas was linked with the rest of the United States with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, TX
- 1920 the League of Women Voters was founded by Carrie Chapman Catt
- 1931 original “Dracula” film starring Bella Lugosi was released
- 1978 the first “micro on a chip” was patented by Texas Instruments
- 2010 Alexandre Bilodeau won the Gold Medal in the freestyle skiing men’s moguls event, becoming the first Canadian to win a Gold Medal during a Canadian-hosted Olympics
February 17: Presidents’ Day / Random Act of Kindness Day / National Cabbage Day
- 1904 the opera “Madame Butterfly” by Giacomo Puccini premiered at the La Scala theater in Milan, Italy
- 1911 the first electric self start was installed in a Cadillac
- 1925 the New Yorker was published for the first time
- 1992 Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was jailed for life
- 2008 Kosovo declared its independence
February 21: Fat Tuesday (last day of Carnival) International Pancake Day / Sticky Bun Day
- 1804 the world’s first railway journey took place in Wales
- 1878 the world’s first telephone book was issued in New Haven, Connecticut. It consisted of a single piece of cardboard and had 50 numbers
- 1972 President Nixon embarked on his historic visit to China
February 22: Washington’s Birthday / Ash Wednesday (first day of Lent) / National Margarita Day / Scout Founder’s Day
- 1872 the first national convention of the Prohibition Party took place in Columbus, Ohio
- 1876 John Hopkins University opened
- 1879 the first Woolworth five cent store opened in Utica, New York
- 1907 the first cabs with taxi meters began operating in London
- 1935 airplanes were no longer permitted to fly over the White House
- 1958 Australian swimmer Jon Konrads set 6 world records in 2 days
- 1959 Inaugural Daytona 500: Lee Petty and Joan Beauchamp crossed the finish line side by side
- 1964 the Beatles arrived back in England after their first visit to the U. S
