On this day:
Thursday, Feb. 1:
* First edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is published in 1884. And it is still copyrighted because of the 1956 renewal:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=16644
Friday, Feb. 2:
* Alexander Selkirk rescued from a desert island in 1709, inspiring Defoe's book, "Robinson Crusoe". About two people who return to Selkirk Island to relive the experience:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=439771
Saturday, Feb. 3:
* 'The Day the Music Died' -- Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and "The Big Bopper" Richardson killed in plane crash early on this day in 1959. The story behind "'American Pie," the song that memorialized it:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=703222
Sunday, Feb. 4:
* Gangster Al Capone buried without pallbearers on this day in 1947 at Chicago's Mt. Carmel Cemetery. Attendees at the funeral:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=389806
---
Monday, Feb. 5: Constitution Day-- Mexico (36)
* Mutual funds in Massachusetts fined $225 million in 2004 by the SEC for "market timing" scandals:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=396791
Tuesday, Feb. 6: Waitangi Day -- New Zealand (37)
* Bob Marley, guitarist and songwriter, born as "Robert Nesta Marley" in 1945 in Jamaica:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=388671
Wednesday, Feb. 7:
* The Beatles arrive for first U.S. tour in 1964. Some 'urban legends' about the rock 'n roll group:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=44559
Thursday, Feb. 8:
* Actor Jack Nicholson uses a 2-iron on a Mercedes-Benz in response to traffic problems:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=446803
Friday, Feb. 9:
* The Boeing 747 makes its maiden flight from Paine Field in Everett, WA on this day in 1969. Here's how fast it lands:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=413437
Saturday, Feb. 10:
* 25th Amendment to the Constitution ratified (1967), clarifying presidential succession (mostly):
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=260227
Sunday, Feb. 11:
* Thomas Alva Edison, born on this day in 1847, liked Morse code so much that he proposed to his wife in it -- and nicknamed his kids "Dot" and "Dash":
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=739201
---
Monday, Feb. 12: Lincoln's Birthday -- U.S. (43)
National Foundation Day -- Japan
* Abraham Lincoln on requirements of being a citizen:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=62652
Tuesday, Feb. 13:
* Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome (1633) for his trial before the Inquisition. Where he fits in the Copernican Revolution:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=53913
Wednesday, Feb. 14: Valentine's Day (45)
* A good thing to know before Valentine's Day: "The Secret of Women":
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=18407
* For those in a relationship: Love, from lust to long-term:
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=65201
Thursday, Feb. 15:
* Spring training for Major League Baseball begins in Arizona (Cactus League) and Florida (Grapefruit League). A bit more about Arizona:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=380585
Friday, Feb. 16:
* First 9-1-1 emergency telephone service starts in Haleyville, AL (1968). How 911 calls are triaged:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=563521
Saturday, Feb. 17:
* Pope Pius XII declares Saint Clare of Assissi the patron saint of television in 1958. He also chose the national anthem of the Vatican:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=741901
Sunday, Feb. 18:
* Jefferson Davis inaugurated as provisional president of the Confederate States of America (1861) at the capitol, which was in Montgomery, AL until May 21:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=415711
---
Monday, Feb. 19: Presidents Day -- U.S. (50)
* Prizes put in Cracker Jack boxes for the first time in 1913. Where you can get 'lenticular pictures' or the moving images the snack company often used:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=735713
Tuesday, Feb. 20:
* The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York (1872). And they have an excellent website too, with a timeline of art history:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=315221
Wednesday, Feb. 21: Ash Wednesday (52)
* Lent begins today, the traditional Christian period of penitence and fasting. It ends on Holy Thursday, sometimes referred to as Maunday Thursday by Protestants:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=211396
Thursday, Feb. 22: Washington's Birthday -- U.S. (53)
* George Washington, born in 1732, was an early beer connoisseur. His recipe for "Colonial porter":
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=104119
Friday, Feb. 23:
* On this morning in 1945, American Marines raised the flag on Iwo Jima's Mt. Surabachi. AP photographer Joe Rosenthal caught his Pulitzer Prize-winning photo when it was raised a second time that afternoon:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=106554
Saturday, Feb. 24:
* National Public Radio founded (and incorporates two days later) in 1970. Demographics of today's NPR audience:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=481455
Sunday, Feb. 25: 79th Academy Awards (55)
* A list of the Best Picture nominees and other awards that they won:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=175917
---
Monday, Feb. 26:
* Kennedy-Johnson tax cuts totalling $9 billion are passed in 1964. A summary of changes by income group:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=531583
Tuesday, Feb. 27:
* Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14 in 1940. How it is used in radiocarbon dating:
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=724455
Wednesday, Feb. 28:
* AT&T incorporated in New York state in 1885. What happened afterwards to the stock:
http://answers.google.com/answers/main?cmd=threadview&id=191398
Comments or errors? Contact the webmaster.