February 23rd is
Banana Bread Day
Diesel Engine Day *
Digital Learning Day *
Dog Biscuit Day
Chili Day
Curling is Cool Day
Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day *
___________________________________________________________
MORE! Samuel Pepys, Ruth Rowland Nichols and Carlos Santana, click
___________________________________________________________
WORLD FESTIVALS AND NATIONAL HOLIDAYS
Brunei – National Day
Guyana – Mashramani
(Republic/National Day)
Kyrgyzstan – Homeland Defender’s Day
Russia – Motherland Defender’s Day
Tajikistan – Army Day
Transdniestria – Motherland Defender’s Day
__________________________________________________________
On This Day in HISTORY
1574 – France begins the 5th holy war against the Huguenots
1633 – Samuel Pepys born, English diarist and naval administrator
1648 – John Blow born, English Baroque composer, organist at Westminster Abbey
1660 – Karl XI (in English, Charles IX) becomes King of Sweden at age 17; he strengthens the military and the navy; oversees a major financial overhaul of the government and improvement of country’s shaky economy; but he also imposes required attendance at Sunday sermons of the Lutheran Church, Sweden’s state religion, and requires all commoners to learn to read Archbishop Svebilius’ catechism; his reign is marked by 20 years of peace
1685 – George Frideric Handel born in Germany, Baroque composer, much of his life in England composing and performing, often for British royalty; became a British citizen in 1726; his oratorios made the format immensely popular in London; he continued to compose and oversee productions of his work right up to his death in 1759, in spite of 2 strokes, blindness in his left eye (1750), then total blindness (1752)
1792 – The Humane Society of Massachusetts is incorporated
1813 –First U.S. raw cotton-to-cloth mill was founded in Waltham MA
1820 – The Cato Street conspiracy is uncovered, an attempt to assassinate all British cabinet ministers, including the Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, because of the Six Acts suppression of all meetings for the purpose of radical reform, and harsh economic times
1821 – The Philadelphia College of Apothecaries establishes the first pharmacy college
1822 – Boston incorporates as a city
1836 – In San Antonio TX the siege of the Alamo begins
1839 – In Boston MA William F. Harnden organizes the first express service between Boston and New York City, the first express service in the U.S.
1847 – Santa Anna, returning from one of several exiles, assumes command of the Mexican army, then is defeated at the Battle of Buena Vista by a smaller force of U.S. troops under General Zachary Taylor
1850 – Cesar Ritz born, French hotelier, founder of the Hôtel Ritz Paris
1861 – U.S. President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington to take his office after an assassination attempt in Baltimore
1861 – Texas becomes the 7th state to secede from the Union
1868 – W.E.B. Du Bois born, American sociologist who helped found the N.A.A.C.P
1870 – The state of Mississippi is readmitted to the Union
1874 – Walter Winfield patents a game called “sphairistike,” aka lawn tennis
1875 – J. Palisa discovers asteroid #143 (aka Adria)
1876 – Wadih Sabra born, Lebanese composer; founder of the National Higher Conservatory of Music; composer of the music for Lebanon’s National Anthem
1883 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law
1886 – Charles M. Hall completes his invention of aluminum
1893 – Diesel Engine Day * – Rudolf Diesel patents his diesel engine
1896 – The Tootsie Roll is introduced by Leo Hirshfield
1898 – In France, Emile Zola is imprisoned for his letter, “J’accuse,” which accuses the government of anti-Semitism and wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus
1901 – Ruth Rowland Nichols born, American aviation pioneer; only woman pilot to simultaneously hold speed, altitude, and distance world records
1904 – The U.S. acquires control of the Panama Canal Zone for $10 million.
1905 – The Rotary Club is founded in Chicago IL by Paul Harris and three others
1910 – In Philadelphia PA the first radio contest is held
1915 – Nevada Bill AB-11, returning the state’s residency requirements for divorce from 1 year back to six months, is signed into law by Governor Emmet Boyle, paving the way for Reno to become the “Divorce Capital of America,” a $5 million-a-year industry in the 1930s, after the residency requirement is lowered again in 1931, to a mere 6 weeks
1916 – U.S. Congress authorizes the McKinley Memorial $1 gold coin
1919 – The Fascist Party is formed in Italy by Benito Mussolini
1927 – Federal Radio Commission begins assigning frequencies, hours of operation and power allocations for radio broadcasters; July 1, 1934 the commission’s name is changed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
1937 – Bing Crosby records “Sweet Leilani” with Lani McIntyre’s band
1940 – Walt Disney’s animated movie Pinocchio is released
1945 – The 28th Regiment of the Fifth Marine Division of the U.S. Marines reaches the top of Mount Surabachi, where their photograph is taken raising the American flag
1954 – The first mass vaccination of children against polio begins in Pittsburgh, PA
1957 – U.S. Supreme Court rules that NFL operations do fall under antitrust laws
1958 – Juan Fangio, 5-time world driving champion, is kidnapped by Cuban rebels during the practice runs for the Cuban Grand Prix; Castro wanted to embarrass Batista by forcing cancellation of the race, but it went on as scheduled; Fangio is allowed to hear the race on his captors’ radio. He is released unharmed after 29 hours
1963 – The 24th Constitutional Amendment is ratified, prohibiting poll taxes in U.S. federal elections
1970 – Guyana becomes a republic
1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more for the release of Patty Hearst, who had been kidnapped on February 4th
1980 – Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini declares that Iran’s new parliament will decide the fate of the hostages taken on November 4, 1979, at the U.S. embassy in Tehran
1991 – During the Persian Gulf War, ground forces cross the border of Saudi Arabia into Iraq; less than four days later, the war is over as Iraqi forces surrender or withdraw
1993 – Gary Coleman won a $1,280,000 lawsuit against his parents
1997 – NBC-TV airs Schindler’s List, completely uncensored
1999 – In Ankara, Turkey, Abdullah Ocalan is charged with treason, with prosecutors the death penalty for the Kurdish rebel leader
1999 – White supremacist John William King is found guilty of kidnapping and murdering African American James Byrd Jr. Byrd by dragging him behind a truck for two miles on a country road in Texas
2000 – Carlos Santana wins eight Grammy Awards for his album Supernatural, tying the record set by Michael Jackson in 1983 for Thriller
2001 – Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day * is launched by the National Society of Professional Engineers, IBM and the National Engineers Week Foundation as a joint project to prove girls can grow up to be engineers too, show them that engineering is creative and collaborative, and that as women they will be welcomed as colleagues
2003 – Norah Jones wins 5 Grammy Awards for her album Come Away With Me
2005 – The New York City medical examiner’s office announces it has exhausted all efforts to identify the remains of the people killed at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, due to the limits of DNA technology; about 1,600 people have been identified, leaving more than 1,100 not identified
2011 – The Obama administration said it will no longer defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage
2012 –Digital Learning Day * launched by education leaders to encourage teachers and librarians to take advantage of technological innovations as additional resources
___________________________________________________________
Visuals
- Scottish curler Eve Muirhead, 2014 Winter Olympics Curling Bronze Medalist
- International flags
- Samuel Pepys, good dinner quote
- Hôtel Ritz Paris -1898
- W.E.B. Du Bois, ignorance quote
- Rudolf Diesel’s engine
- Ruth Rowland Nichols and Crosley Radio Lockheed Vega, 1930
- Juan Fangio, to be the best quote
- Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day poster
- Digital Learning Day poster
___________________________________________________________
Nicole Plyler Fisk
Gene Howington
FFS Guest Blogger
Joy of Fishes
Chuck Stanley
shortfinals
Terry Welshans
ann li-summers
wordcloud9
Flowers For Socrates 
Good reading. The siege of the Alamo started and on March 2, 1838 Texas declared independence from Mexico. The territory taken includes not only the State of Texas but up to southern Wyoming. It stayed a republic until 1845 when it joined the Union. Texas joined the Union to help keep the Mexican attacks to regain the region. Notable Zachary Taylor fought in the US Army and was assigned to the Texican claimed border. The State of Texas is the only state whose flag can fly the same height as the US flag.
I am on my second cup of coffee.
LOL Russell –
I can see that coffee really stimulates your ‘leetle gray cells’ – mine’s half-caf, otherwise I would never sleep at all.
I thought Texas became a state so the U.S. government would pay the debts that.Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar ran the republic into. Why anybody would trust a man with a name like that is beyond me – it just reeks of ego and arrogance..
That’s a new one for me. I will state that Texas was known as a debtor state. The folks who basically went to Texas were debt ridden. Take for instance the figure Sam Houston, he owed a man in Tennessee about 15,000 dollars. Sam rather than be a citizen of the debtor prison decided that Texas had so much to offer. He booked as quick as he could. Eventually he had enough to pay the debt and I think he paid it.
Texas is one of the states that still protects debtors. Although rights have eroded, the citizens still have greater protection. Take for instance John Connelly, he filed for personal and business bankruptcy. He claimed his house exempt. If I recall he used the curtlage (sp)exemption. It was only 200 acres on Texas’ most desirable hill top, contained by metal fencing. If I had to guess the value would be more than 30 million at the time. Creditors complained, he won.
Daily I drink Coffee that could be called mud and ice tea with lime that has the clarity of a brunette everyday. So far caffeine has not affected me.
Debt of the Republic of Texas at the time of annexation: $9,949,007.00 – quite a lot of money in those days.
What’s money when you live in Texas. I recall the US giving Texas 10 mil or so.
I love US History, especially the wild, wild west. I grew up in the Republic of California in the 1950-60s, another state that proudly has but one star on its flag. My favorite character back in the day was General John C. Fremont who captured Monterey, California from the Mexicans a few days before the war actually started. He gave it back, waited until the war started, and captured it again.
The Mexican border states have a glorious history!
I’m a native-born Arizonan, who fled that state as soon as I was old enough, and settled in Southern California for its cooler summers and sometimes better politics. The history of border states is indeed fantastic reading.
Well, my family has an intriguing history. Not only did We help Steal Texas, which I think means” friend” from the Indians, we lost relatives at the Alamo and a number during the civil war, more affectiontaly referred to as northern aggression. To having family relationships in all aspects of government.
You and my husband have a lot in common, except that the German immigrant side of his family wouldn’t fight for the ‘Southern Cause’ – they had come to America to stop being conscripted by the Elector of Hanover, who sold his troops to the highest bidders as mercenaries in other nation’s wars while the profit went into the Elector’s pocket, so they didn’t think slavery was a good idea.
Sorry, in my book it’s the winner that gets to name the war – American Civil War it is.
A jr high school Alabama history textbook I had always referred to it as “The war between the states”. It spent longer on the reconstruction era than the war or the events leading to it.
Not the same book but I recall one of the reasons Texas wanted independence was because Mexico abolished slavery in 1829. They did allow Texans to own slaves but not to transfer ownership.
We want to keep our slaves sucks as a rallying cry, though.
Pete,
The ever fountain of knowledge.