TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – FEB 2
962 Otto I invades Italy and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor.
1494 Columbus begins the practice of using Indians as slaves.
1536 The city of Buenos Aires, Argentina, was founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Mendoza.
1571 All eight members of a Jesuit mission in Virginia are murdered by Indians who pretended to be their friends.
1626 Charles I is crowned King of England. Fierce internal struggles between the monarchy and Parliament characterized 17th century English politics.
1709 Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, was rescued after four years alone on an island off the coast of Chile.
1848 The Mexican War was ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty turned over portions of land to the U.S., including Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, California and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. The U.S. gave Mexico $15,000,000 and assumed responsibility of all claims against Mexico by American citizens. Texas had already entered the U.S. on December 29, 1845.
1852 The first public flushing toilet is opened in London Using the “Public Waiting Room” at 95 Fleet Street cost 2 pence.
1865 Confederate raider William Quantrill and his bushwackers rob citizens, burn a railroad depot and steal horses from Midway, Kentucky.
1870 The press agencies Havas, Reuter and Wolff sign an agreement whereby between them they can cover the whole world.
1870 The “Cardiff Giant” was revealed to be nothing more than carved gypsum. The discovery in Cardiff, NY, was alleged to be the petrified remains of a human.
1887 The first gathering at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsatawney, Pa. to wait for the groundhog’s shadow occurred.
1897 The Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg was destroyed by fire. The new statehouse was dedicated nine years later on the same site.
1916 U.S. Senate votes independence for Philippines, effective in 1921.
1922 “Ulysses” by James Joyce is published The novel is considered one of the most important works of modernist literature.
1925 20 mushers embark on a journey to transport medicine to Nome, Alaska, inspiring the Iditarod Race
1935 Leonard Keeler conducted the first test of the polygraph machine, in Portage, WI.
1959 Arlington and Norfolk, Va., peacefully desegregate public schools.
1960 The U.S. Senate approves 23rd Amendment calling for a ban on the poll tax.
1971 Idi Amin became dictator of Uganda.
1978 U.S. Jewish leaders bar a meeting with Egypt’s Anwar Sadat.
1980 The situation known as “Abscam” began when reports surfaced that the FBI had conducted a sting operation that targeted members of the U.S. Congress. A phony Arab businessmen were used in the operation.
1987 Largest steel strike in American history, in progress since August, ends.
1989 The final Russian armored column left Kabul, Afghanistan, after nine years of military occupation.
1998 U.S. President Clinton introduced the first balanced budget in 30 years.
2004 It was reported that a white powder had been found in an office of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) later confirmed that the powder was the poison ricin.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
