February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.
We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.
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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.