Author Archives: Linda

February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

National Bagels and Lox Day
Toothache Day

Birthday of William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773), ninth president of the U.S. He was the first president to die in office. Inaugurated March 4, 1841, he died one month later or April 4, 1841. He was succeeded by his vice-president, John Tyler.

After no presidential candidate received a majority of electoral votes in the election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.

Anniversary of the proclamation of the Confederate States of America in 1861. Jefferson Davis was elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.

1895 – William G. Morgan created a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.

1942 – Year-round Daylight Saving Time was re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.

1962 – Neil Sedaka recorded “Breaking Up is Hard to Do” for the first time.
 
 

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The Beatles made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964, performing before an audience of 73 million viewers.

Vietnam War: The first United States combat troops were sent to South Vietnam in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson.

February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

National Molasses Bar Day
National Potato Lover’s Day

Mary, Queen of Scots, was executed on this day in 1587 on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Mary was born on Dec 8, 1542 and became Queen of Scots when she was six days old.

Publication of Federalist Paper #51: The Structure of the Government Must Furnish the Proper Checks and Balances Between the Different Departments written by James Madison in 1788. Madison emphasizes that “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.” Checks and balances are needed to maintain separation in the different branches of the government. Of all The Federalist papers, No. 51 is the fourth most-cited document.

Publication of Federalist Paper #52: The House of Representatives written by James Madison in 1788. This essay primarily details the qualifications for the House of Representatives and the reasons why members of the House are elected for a two-year term. The House was meant to be the more powerful of the two houses, therefore should be of the shortest duration in order to keep elected officials close to the people they are supposed to represent.

Birthday of William Tecumseh Sherman (February 8, 1820), American soldier who served in the Union Army during the Civil War. The Sherman tank was named in his honor. Per Wikipedia: William Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the scorched earth policies that he implemented against the Confederate States.

Birthday of Jules Verne (February 8, 1828), French novelist, poet, and playwright. Wrote such classics as “Around the World in Eighty Days”, “Journey to the Center of the Earth”, and “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea“. He is often known as the “Father of Science Fiction”. Verne is the second most translated writer of all time (behind Agatha Christie). Per Biography.com

In 1837 Richard Mentor Johnson became the only Vice President of the United States to be chosen by the United States Senate under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment. He served in the administration of Martin Van Buren. (The 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution modified the way in which the president and vice president are elected under the Electoral College system. The amendment requires that the electors of the Electoral College cast separate votes for president and vice president, rather than two votes for president.)

In the United States, Delaware voters rejected the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1865, and voted to continue the practice of slavery. (Delaware finally ratified the amendment on February 12, 1901.)

President Warren G. Harding introduced the first radio in the White House on February 8, 1922.

1960 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name “Mountbatten-Windsor”.

The NASDAQ stock market index opened for the first time on February 8, 1971.

February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Wave All your Fingers at Your Neighbor Day

Send a Card to a Friend Day

National Fettuccine Alfredo Day

1795 – The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified.

The Judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to extend to any suit in law or Equity, commenced or prosecuted against one of the United States by Citizens of another State, or by Citizens or Subjects of any Foreign State.

Simply, it says that the Federal Courts have no jurisdiction regarding a suit against a State by a Citizen or Citizens of another State, or by people from another country (Foreign State). These matters are at the State level and none of the business of the Federal Government. A state was considered to have “sovereign immunity”.

1804 Birthday of John Deere, American inventor and manufacturer of the steel plow.

1812 Birthday of Charles Dickens, author of Oliver Twist, Tale of Two Cities, Christmas Carol.

1817 Birthday of Frederick Douglass, first black citizen to hold high rank in the U. S. government as a consultant to President Lincoln and U. S. Minister to Haiti.

1870- Birthday of Alfred Adler, Austrian psychiatrist, major proponent of the “inferiority complex”.

On February 7, 1898 Émile Zola was brought to trial for libel for publishing J’Accuse.

The classic board game Monopoly was invented in 1935.

1936 – Authorization of a flag for the office of the Vice-President of the U. S.

The second full length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premiered in 1940. It was based on the book The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi. The movie introduced the character of Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio’s conscience, who sings “When You Wish Upon a Star”.
 
 

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1990 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agreed to give up its monopoly on power.

1987 – US male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano

February 5 is:

World Nutella Day

National Frozen Yogurt Day

Roger Williams Day, observed by American Baptists to celebrate the arrival of their founder, Roger Williams, to the North American continent in 1631. He founded Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island.

1778 – South Carolina became the second state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.

Birthday of Sir Robert Peel (February 5, 1788), English prime minister. The British police became known as “bobbies” as a result of Peel’s interest in public safety.

Publication of Federalist Paper #50: Method of Guarding Against the Encroachments of Any One Department of Government by Appealing to the People Through a Convention written by James Madison in 1788. This article continues the subject under discussion in Federalist Paper #49. The author recalls an attempt by Pennsylvania to examine “whether the constitution had been violated, and whether the legislative and executive departments had encroached upon each other.” The inquiry failed because political considerations are inevitable in these endeavors.

The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, one of the largest and oldest museums in the world, opened to the public on February 5, 1852.

The Congress of the United States (1917) passed the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. Also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act, it forbade immigration from nearly all of south and southeast Asia.

Astronauts landed on the moon in the Apollo 14 mission in 1971. Commander Alan Shepard and Lunar Module Pilot Edgar Mitchell landed on the surface of the moon while Command Module Pilot Stuart Roosa remained in lunar orbit aboard the Command/Service Module Kitty Hawk.

February 2 is:

National Tater Tot Day

Candlemas Day celebrates the presentation of the child Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem and the purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After observing the traditional 40-day period of purification following his birth, Mary took Jesus to the temple. According to a New Testament gospel, a Jewish man named Simeon held the baby in his arms and said that he would be a light for the Gentiles (Luke 2:32). It is for this reason that this event is called Candlemas.

According to Jewish tradition, a mother who gives birth to a son was excluded from the temple for 40 days. She was then to bring a lamb or a young pigeon or two turtledoves to the temple in order to be “cleansed”. If she had given birth to a daughter, the time was doubled to eighty days.

Ground Hog Day – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, Groundhog Day is observed. Ground Hog Day began in 1887. According to folklore, if it is cloudy when a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day, then spring will come early; if it is sunny, the groundhog will supposedly see its shadow and retreat back into its burrow, and the winter weather will persist for six more weeks.

In Scotland, the poem:

If Candle-mas Day is bright and clear,
There’ll be two winters in the year.

An English poem:

If Candle mas be fair and bright,
Winter has another flight.
If Candlemas brings clouds and rain,
Winter will not come again.

On February 2, 1913, Grand Central Terminal in New York City was opened for the first time.

1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) was incorporated.

Publication of Federalist Paper #49: Periodical Appeals to the People Considered written by James Madison in 1788. In his “Notes on the State of Virginia,”, Jefferson is quoted as saying that, since the people “are the only legitimate fountain of power” the encroachments of power cannot be addressed “without an appeal to the people themselves.” The author of this article agrees that there is logic to the idea of allowing the people to appeal through the use of a convention, but explains that it would be unworkable and contradictory to the proposed Constitution. The population would consider the Constitution defective if they had to meet in convention to “correct it”. It would be impractical to provide the opportunity for constant change once it is ratified.

1848 – Mexican–American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed, ceding Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California to the U.S.

Birthday of Ayn Rand (February 2, 1905), (born Alisa Zinov’yevna Rosenbaum), Russian-American author and philosopher, founder of Objectivism. Authored “Atlas Shrugged” and “The Fountainhead”.

1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.. The race is from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, a distance of 938 miles and takes from 8-20+ days to complete.

February 1 is:

National Cake Pops Day
National Baked Alaska Day
National Dark Chocolate Day Studies show that dark chocolate can improve health and lower the risk of heart disease.

1709 – Alexander Selkirk was rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

Birthday of Thomas Campbell (February 1, 1763), Irish religious leader who founded the Church of the Disciples of Christ in the U.S.

Publication of Federalist Paper #48: These Departments Should Not Be So Far Separated as to Have No Constitutional Control Over Each Other written by James Madison in 1788. Madison continues to discuss the separation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Madison admits that power is by nature encroaching and speaks of the difficult task to prevent invasion of one branch into the workings of another. He singles out the legislative branch as being particularly successful in taking over power. As a final example, Madison describes legislative over-reach in the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania.

Anniversary of the first meeting of the Supreme Court of the U.S. (1790) at New York City with Chief Justice John Jay presiding

1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

1796 – The capital of Upper Canada was moved from Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake) to York (now Toronto).

“The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” a poem by Julia Ward Howe, was published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1862.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:
He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;
He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:
His truth is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;
He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment-seat:
Oh, be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant, my feet!
Our God is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in His bosom that transfigures you and me:
As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.

Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
While God is marching on!

In 1876, a murder conviction effectively forced the “Molly Maguires “, to disband. They were violent, Pennsylvanian- Irish immigrant, anti-owner, coal miners.

February 1, 1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary was published.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police began operations in 1920.

In 1968, Canada’s three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, were unified into the Canadian Forces.

February 1, 1979 – Convicted bank robber, Patty Hearst, was released from prison after her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter.

February 1, 1979 – The Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.

February 1, 2002 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, was kidnapped January 23, 2002 by terrorists in Pakistan. He was beheaded and mutilated by his captors on February 1, 2002.

February 1, 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia broke up on re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board.