Tidbits of History

February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

Don’t Cry over Spilled Milk Day
Make a Friend Day
White T-Shirt Day
National Peppermint Patty Day

1531 – Henry VIII of England was recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.

Feb 11, 1650 is the date of the death of Rene Descartes, French philosopher and mathematician. Descartes is best known for “Cogito ergo sum” (I think, therefore I am).

At the time of his death, Descartes was the guest of Queen Christina of Sweden, who helped him found an academy of arts and took private lessons from him in philosophy. Queen Christina insisted on having lessons at 5:00 a.m. It is believed that lack of sleep and the bitter Scandinavian winter damaged his health and he died of pneumonia at age 53.

Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the United States, was opened by Benjamin Franklin in 1752.

Birthday of Thomas Alva Edison (1847), American inventor. Edison is the fifth most prolific inventor in history, holding 1,084 US patents in his name including the phonograph, the electric light bulb, and the motion picture camera. (The top four prolific inventors are Kia Silverbrook of Australia (4669 utility patents); Shunpei Yamazaki of Japan (3516 utility patents); Paul Lapstun of Australia (1268 utility patents); and Gurtej Sandhu of India (1093 utility patents).

In 1942 the first gold record was presented to Glenn Miller for “Chattanooga Choo Choo“.
 
 

 
Lyrics from www.songlyrics.com

Step aside partner, it’s my day
Bend an ear and listen to my version
(Of a really solid Tennessee excursion)

Pardon me boy, is that the Chattanooga Choo Choo?
(Yes yes, track 29)
Boy, you can give me a shine
(Can you afford to board Chattanooga Choo Choo?)

I’ve got my fare
(And just a trifle to spare)

You leave the Pennsylvania station ’bout a quarter to four
Read a magazine and then you’re in Baltimore
Dinner in the diner, nothing could be finer
(Then to have your ham and eggs in Carolina)

When you hear the whistle blowin’ eight to the bar
Then you know that Tennessee is not very far
Shovel all the coal in, gotta keep it rollin’
(Whoo whoo, Chattanooga, there you are)

There’s gonna be a certain party at the station
Satin and Lace, I used to call funny face
She’s gonna cry until I tell her that I’ll never roam
(So Chattanooga Choo Choo)

Won’t you choo choo me home
(Chattanooga, Chattanooga)
Get aboard
(Chattanooga, Chattanooga)
All aboard
(Chattanooga, Chattanooga)

Chattanooga Choo Choo
Won’t you choo choo me home
Chattanooga Choo Choo

1936 Birthday of Burt Reynolds, American actor, one of the most charismatic actors to rule the silver screen. The star of movies like The Longest Yard, Boogie Nights and Best Friends was a massive box-office attraction from 1978 to 1982, with Smokey and the Bandit I and II being his biggest hits. In 1982, Reynolds was voted the most popular star in the US for the fifth year in a row. He died September 6, 2018 of a heart attack.

February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.

(The United States Congress has passed about 200-600 laws during each of its 115 biennial sessions; the total number of statutes that have been passed by Congress since 1789 is greater than 30,000.)
 

National Cream Cheese Brownie Day

National “Have a Brownie” Day

The February 10, 1763 Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War and France ceded Quebec to Great Britain. In the terms of the treaty, France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. Twenty years later another Treaty of Paris of 1783 formally ended the American Revolutionary War.

Birthday of Charles Lamb (February 10, 1775), English essayist. E.V. Lucas, his principal biographer, said Lamb was “the most lovable figure in English literature”. In one of his essays, Lamb wrote “Lawyers, I suppose, were children once.”

On this day in 1957, Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the best-selling “Little House” series of children’s novels based on her childhood on the American frontier, died at age 90 in Mansfield, Missouri. She wrote “Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that is how I will remember you all. If you can only remember me with tears, then don’t remember me at all.”

1967 – The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. It deals with presidential disability and succession. Section 4 may become important in the near future.

Section 1.

In case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.

Section 2.
Whenever there is a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, the President shall nominate a Vice President who shall take office upon confirmation by a majority vote of both Houses of Congress.

Section 3.
Whenever the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that he is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, and until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such powers and duties shall be discharged by the Vice President as Acting President.

Section 4.
Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Thereafter, when the President transmits to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives his written declaration that no inability exists, he shall resume the powers and duties of his office unless the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive department or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit within four days to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Thereupon Congress shall decide the issue, assembling within forty-eight hours for that purpose if not in session. If the Congress, within twenty-one days after receipt of the latter written declaration, or, if Congress is not in session, within twenty-one days after Congress is required to assemble, determines by two-thirds vote of both Houses that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President; otherwise, the President shall resume the powers and duties of his office.

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.
 
 

From You Tube

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”.
 
 

From You Tube

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.