February 4th is
Homemade Soup Day
Stuffed Mushroom Day
Thank a Mail Carrier Day *
USO Day *
World Cancer Day *
Ice Cream for Breakfast Day *
Take Your Child to the Library Day *
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MORE! Emperor Taizu, Betty Friedan and Alice Cooper, click
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WORLD FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
Angola – Liberation Day
Spain – Madrid:
Drone Film Festival
Sri Lanka – Independence Day
United States –
Los Angeles CA:
› Golden Dragon Parade
Greenacres FL:
› Forgotten Soldiers Outreach Poker Run
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On This Day in HISTORY
960 – Zhao Kuangyin becomes Emperor Taizu, the first emperor of the Song dynasty in China; he expanded the imperial examination system so most of the civil service were recruited through the exams, and encouraged education by building academies which were allowed a great deal of freedom of discussion, and curtailed the power of the military, ending an era of warlords; the Song dynasty lasted over three centuries
1555 – John Rogers is the first Protestant burned at the stake under Mary I of England after she revived the Heresy Acts, returning the English church to Roman jurisdiction
1676 – Giacomo Facco born, Italian Baroque composer and violinist
1677 – Johann Ludwig Bach born, second cousin of Johann Sebastian Bach, composer
1703 – In Edo (now Tokyo), 46 of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master’s death
1758 – Macapá, Brazil is founded by Sebastião Veiga Cabral as São José de Macapá
1775 – Thank a Mail Carrier Day *: The Second Continental Congress establishes the Constitutional Post, the first organized mail service in America; First Postmaster General Benjamin Franklin instituted a standardized rate chart
1789 – George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College
1794 – The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French First Republic, but it will be reestablished in the French West Indies in 1802
1820 – During the Chilean War of Independence, the Chilean Navy commanded by former British Naval officer Lord Cochrane captures Valdivia from the Spanish forces with 300 men and 2 ships
1825 – The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal
1846 – The first Mormon pioneers make their exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, westward towards Salt Lake Valley
1859 – The Codex Sinaiticus, the Sinai Bible, a handwritten copy of the Greek Bible from the 4th century, is discovered in Egypt
1861 – In Montgomery AL, delegates from six Southern states form the Confederate States of America
1899 – The Philippine-American War begins with its largest battle at Manila
1902 – Charles Lindbergh born, American pilot and explorer
1906 – Clyde W. Tombaugh born, American astronomer, discoverer Pluto in 1930; he makes his first telescopes from old farm equipment parts
1913 – Rosa Parks born, American civil rights activist
1915 – Norman Wisdom born, English performer-songwriter
1918 – Ida Lupino born, actress and director
1921 – Betty Friedan born, American feminist and author; The Feminine Mystique; co-founder, first President of the National Organization for Women (NOW)
1930 – Mars Candy launches Snickers, named for Frank Mars’ prized racehorse
1936 – At UC Berkeley, Dr. John Jacob Livingood bombards elements with 5-MEV, and discovers irradiated bismuth emits fast electrons with a 5-day half-life, which is the behavior of Radium E, leading to making the first synthetic Radium
1938 – Our Town by Thornton Wilder opens in Broadway
1941 – The USO is formed by volunteers to entertain American troops
1941 – Roy J. Plunkett patents Teflon, which he discovered accidentally in 1938
1945 – The Yalta Conference of Churchill, FDR and Stalin begins in the Crimea
1948 – Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth
1948 – Alice Cooper is born as Vincent Damon Furnier, American singer-songwriter
1952 – Jenny Shipley born, New Zealand’s first woman Prime Minister (1997-1999)
1953 – Kitarō born, Japanese keyboard player, New Age composer
1957 – Smith-Corona Manufacturing Inc., of New York, begins selling a portable electric typewriter, which weighs 19 pounds
1957 – Don Davis born, composer-orchestrator, music for The Matrix movies
1961 – Angolan War of Independence begins
1966 (exact date uncertain) – Ice Cream for Breakfast Day * starts on a February morning after late January blizzard in Rochester NY with two kids complaining to their mom, Florence Rappaport that it was too cold to do anything, so she said “Let’s have ice cream for breakfast” and a tradition was born – now celebrated the first Saturday in February as a charitable fundraising event at U.S. ice cream shops
1966 – The Rolling Stones release “19th Nervous Breakdown” in the U.K.
1971 – USO Day * proclaimed by President Nixon on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the United Service Organizations: thousands of USO volunteers have boosted morale and brought entertainment to the U.S. Armed Forces in war and peace since before WWII
1976 – The Fleetwood Mac single “Rhiannon” is released
1985 – Ronald Reagan’s defense budget calls for a tripling of expenditure on the “Star Wars” research program
1993 – Russian scientists unfurl a giant mirror in orbit and flash a beam of sunlight across Europe during the night, which observers saw as a momentary flash
2000 – World Cancer Day * is established by the Paris Charter adopted at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millenium to highlight new developments in cancer research, and educate the public on prevention and treatment
2003 – The Bengali Hindus declare independence of the Republic of Bangabhumi from Bangladesh
2003 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed Serbia and Montenegro, adopting a new constitution
2004 – Mark Zuckerberg founds Facebook
2011 – Take Your Child to the Library Day * Librarians Nadine Lipman and Cailin August of the Connecticut Library Consortium, joined by artist Nancy E. Wallace, launch what has become an international initiative to encourage families to take advantage of the many services and programs available at their local libraries
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Visuals
- Homemade Soup Day
- USO Day
- International flags
- Thank a Mail Carrier Day
- Clyde W. Tombaugh with telescope
- Betty Friedan what women can be quote
- Take Your Child to the Library Day poster
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Lots and lots, you are my new L. M. Boyd.
I try and thank everyone, be surprised jhow far that goes with everyone. Maybe it’s a southern colloquial idiom. However I do think the Postal person.
I am all for ice cream for breakfast, I also like enchiladas, tacos etc.
Homemade soup is a good thing to make. Chicken, chicken and dumplings, chili, beef stew or potato soup. I am in.
Unless I have decided to BBQ. Then enough meat is made for a week. Nothing better than smoked fish, bacon, ribs or brisquet.
Every one should take a child to the library. I once had a teacher that tested out of the preface, forward and the indexes. It was a good learning experience.
I think, I saw Fleetwood Mac in Austin.
I have met Alice Cooper. A hotel we were staying at, a guy gets off of the elevator and I said hello Alice, my young daughter looked at me like I was nuts and we got into the suite and she corrected me. That was a guy, I told her she was right but that he was a musician that’s stage name was Alice Copper.
Thanks Russell – You make putting these posts together so worthwhile!
When I was a little girl, we lived way out at the end of a dirt road in the Arizona desert, so my mom drove us into town once a week for shopping and errands. The highlight was always the stop at the library to return the previous week’s books and choose the new ones. I had a lot of time to read in those days – wish I had as much time now.
My husband is very involved in golf – works for a non-profit golf association – he’s a big fan of Alice Cooper, who is an enthusiastic golfer.
Yes, Robert Furener is from Michigan and lives in AZ and is one hell of a golfer.
“Correct me if I’m wrong, Jerry, but I couldn’t kill all the golfers. They’d lock me up and throw away the key.”
Also Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours” was released 4 Feb 1977. 40 years ago today. Does not seem that long ago.
Never saw them in concert but I did see Alice Copper once in the mid to late 70’s. For showmanship one of the best rock shows I’ve ever seen.
Hi pete –
Yeah I saw a lot of the cool bands, but it was mostly 50 years ago, and that sure doesn’t seem possible.