1799 – US Congress passes 1st federal quarantine legislation
1904 – Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Toronto Marlboroughs in 2 games
1910 – Dalai Lama flees Tibet for British India to escape Chinese troops
1919 – Oregon is 1st state to tax gasoline (1 cent per gallon)
1957 – Buddy Holly and the Crickets record their smash hit “That’ll Be the Day” in Clovis, New Mexico
1962 – India Congress Party wins elections
1981 – Rita Jenrette (wife of Abscam congressman) appears on Donahue
1986 – 28th Grammy Awards: “We Are the World”, Sade, Phil Collins win
1992 – 34th Grammy Awards: “Unforgettable”;, Marc Cohn win
1999 – British chef Gordon Ramsay comes to prominence appearing in the TV documentary “Boiling Point” detailing the opening of Restaurant Gordon Ramsay
Author: gil7
Today in History for 25th February 2023
Historical Events
1862 – First Legal Tender Act 1862 is passed by the US Congress, authorizing the United States Note (greenback) into circulation, the first fiat paper money that was legal tender in America
1940 – 1st televised (W2XBS, NYC) hockey game (Rangers vs Canadians)
1957 – US Supreme Court decides 6-3, baseball is only antitrust exempt pro sport
1963 – Beatles release their 1st US single – “Please Please Me”
1971 – P Zindel’s “And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little” premieres in NYC
2021 – Chinese President Xi Jinping claims the country has eradicated extreme poverty (earning less than US$620 a year), though many observers remain skeptical about the accuracy of Chinese data due to widespread corruption and lack of transparency
Famous Birthdays
1868 – Anthony John Blok, Dutch lawyer (strafproces), born in Hees, Netherlands (d. 1934)
1902 – Oscar Cullmann, French-Swiss Lutheran theologist (Das Petrusproblem), born in Strasbourg, Germany (d. 1999)
1918 – Bobby Riggs, American tennis player (“The Battle of the Sexes”, US Open 1939, 41), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1995)
1934 – Robert Neame, British brewer (Shepherd Neame)
1947 – Doug Yule, American bassist and singer (Velvet Underground, 1968-73), born in Mineola, Long Island, New York
1986 – Danny Saucedo [Grzechowski], Swedish pop singer-songwriter (“Play It for the Girls”; E.M.D. – “Jennie Let Me Love You”), born in Stockholm, Sweden
Famous Deaths
779 – Walburgis, Anglo-Saxon abbess and saint (Walpurgis Night), dies
1851 – Ferdinand Simon Gassner, Austrian composer, dies at 53
1957 – Mark Aldanov, Russian-French writer and critic (Novy Zhurnal), dies at 70
1967 – Walter “Fats” Pichon American jazz pianist, singer, and big bandleader, dies at 60
2013 – C Everett Koop, American pediatric surgeon, health administrator and 13th US Surgeon General (1982-89), dies at 96
2016 – Tony Burton, American actor (Rocky films) and boxer, dies at 78
Famous Deaths for 24th February 2023
1907 – Otto Goldschmidt, German composer, dies at 77
1933 – Spottiswoode Aitken, Scottish actor (The Birth of a Nation, The Avenging Conscience), dies at 65
1984 – Uwe Johnson, writer, dies at 59
1991 – Jean Rogers, actress (Flash Gordon, Hot Cargo), dies at 74
1991 – Marcella Markham, dies of breast cancer at 68
1994 – Jean Sablon, French pop singer-songwriter, dies at 87
2002 – Leo Ornstein, Russian-American composer and pianist, (born about 1893)
2006 – Don Knotts, American actor (Andy Griffth Show, 3’s Company), died of lung cancer at 81
2008 – Larry Norman, American musician and pioneer of Christian rock music (“Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?”), dies at 60
2014 – Harold Ramis, American actor and director, dies from vasculitis at 69
Historical Events for 24th February 2023
1552 – Privileges of Hanseatic League in England are abrogated
1894 – Nicaragua captures Tegucigalpa, Honduras
1917 – German plan to get Mexican help in WW I exposed (Zimmerman telegram)
1943 – Major General Omar Bradley flies to Algiers
1962 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1987 – American radio and television personality Larry King suffers a heart attack
1997 – Qatar inaugurates the world’s largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporting facility and formally launches Qatar Liquefied Gas Co.
2002 – 55th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs): “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” Best Film, Peter Jackson Best Director
2018 – Men’s big air snowboarding event makes Olympic debut at Pyeongchang; Canada’s Sébastien Toutant is inaugural gold medallist
2019 – 91st Academy Awards: Best Picture “Green Book”, Best Director Alfonso Cuarón, Best Actor Rami Malek, Best Actress Olivia Colman
Today in History for 24th February 2023
Historical Events
1807 – 17 die and 15 wounded in a crush to witness execution of Holloway, Heggerty and Elizabeth Godfrey in England
1839 – Steam shovel patented by William Otis, Philadelphia
1893 – The American University is chartered by an act of the Congress of the United States of America
1951 – Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Milan won by Richard Button of USA
2010 – Europe risks a double-dip recession after bad results emerge from France, Germany and Italy, it is reported today; the Eurozone only grew by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2009
2013 – Raúl Castro is elected to a second term as the President of Cuba
Famous Birthdays
1934 – Renata Scotto, Italian soprano and opera director (La Traviata – “Violetta”), born in Savona, Italy
1940 – Jimmy Ellis, WBA heavyweight boxing champ (1968-70), born in Louisville, Kentucky, (d. 2014)
1943 – Pablo Milanés, Cuban Nueva Trova singer-songwriter and guitarist (Yolanda; Yo Me Quedo), born in 1943, Bayamo, Cuba (d. 2022)
1953 – Derek St. Holmes, American musician rock guitarist and singer (Ted Nugent band, 1975-78; 2011-14), born in Riverview, Michigan
1974 – Chad Hugo, American musician and producer (The Neptunes)
1984 – Sterling James Keenan, American professional wrestler
Famous Deaths
1986 – Tommy Douglas, Canadian politician and “Father of Medicare”, dies of cancer at 81
2001 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician and information theorist (A Mathematical Theory of Communication), dies at 84
2008 – Philip Bodner, American jazz clarinetist and studio musician (also played flute, oboe, saxophone, piccolo, and English horn), dies at 90
2011 – Anant Pai, Indian educationalist and creator of comics (b. 1929)
2019 – Margaret Scott, South-African ballet dancer and founder (Australian Ballet School), dies at 96
2022 – Jan Gomola, Polish soccer goalkeeper (7 caps; Górnik Zabrze), dies at 80
Famous Deaths for 23rd February 2023
1934 – Augusto Sandino, Nicaraguan patriot, assassinated by the National Guard at 38
1970 – Hirsch Jacobs, American thoroughbred horse trainer and owner (b. 1904)
1976 – John Forest “Fuzzy” Knight, American stage and screen actor, noted as sidekick in Westerns (Oklahoma Annie; Cowboy and the Lady), dies at 74
1980 – Robert Vandekerckhove, Belgian politician, dies at 62
1987 – Esmond Knight, British actor (Hamlet, Sleeping Murder), dies from a heart attack at 80
2003 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (b. 1910)
2003 – Howard “Howie” Epstein, American bass guitarist (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, 1982-2002), dies from an overdose at 47
2007 – John Ritchie, British footballer (b. 1941)
2016 – Lennie Baker, American rock saxophonist musician (Sha Na Na, 1970-99), dies at 69
2020 – Stefan Florenski, Polish soccer defender (11 caps; Górnik Zabrze), dies at 86
Historical Events for 23rd February 2023
1660 – Charles XI becomes king of Sweden
1778 – Baron von Steuben joins Continental Army at Valley Forge
1910 – 1st radio contest held (Philadelphia)
1945 – US Marines raise American flag on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Pulitzer Prize winning photo of which by Joe Rosenthall later became iconic, inspiring the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture
1969 – Groundbreaking TV documentary series “Civilisation” presented by art historian Kenneth Clark premieres on BBC2 in the UK
1979 – Frank Peterson Jr named 1st black general in Marine Corps
1985 – Goaltender Patrick Roy makes his NHL debut for the Montreal Canadiens
2007 – A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 22. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.
2016 – US primary elections: Nevada Republican Primary – Donald Trump wins with 45.9.5%
2019 – Clashes on Venezuelan border kills two as its country’s officials try to stop aid getting in
Today in History for 23rd February 2023
Historical Events
1574 – France begins 5th “holy war” against Huguenots
1822 – Boston, Massachusetts, is incorporated as a city
1921 – 1st US transcontinental air mail flight arrives in NYC from San Francisco
1999 – Hip Hop artist Eminem releases his first major record album ‘The Slim Shady LP’ (Grammy 2000 – Rap album)
2020 – African American Ahmaud Arbery shot to death after being chased down by two white men in Brunswick, Georgia. Video of the killing emerges in May, prompting arrests.
2020 – First major COVID-19 outbreak in Europe in Italy with 152 cases and three deaths, prompting emergency measures, locking down 10 towns in Lombardy
Famous Birthdays
1938 – Sylvia Chase, newscaster (ABC Weekend News, 20/20), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
1953 – Satoru Nakajima, Japanese racing driver
1965 – Robert “Bob” Ferguson, American politician (Democratic Party) and Attorney General of Washington, born in Seattle, Washington
1973 – Lars-Olof Johansson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans), born in Huskvarna, Sweden
1973 – Jack Case, American artist
1994 – Dakota Fanning, American actress (I Am Sam, Man of Fire), born in Conyers, Georgia
Famous Deaths
1669 – Lieuwe van Aitzema, Dutch historian (Matters of State and War), dies at 68
1930 – Horst Wessel, German nazi lyricist (Fahne Hoch), dies at 22
1937 – Claude Buckenham, cricketer (21 wkts in 4 Tests for Eng 1909-10), dies
1987 – Esmond Knight, British actor (Hamlet, Sleeping Murder), dies from a heart attack at 80
1992 – Jacquelyn Hyde, American actress (Dark, House of Terror), dies at 61
1994 – Stuart Berger, doctor (Immune Power Diet), dies from obesity at 40
Famous Deaths for 22nd February 2023
1788 – Franz Joseph Oehlschlagel, composer, dies at 63
1827 – Charles Willson Peale, American painter remembered for portraits of leading American Revolution figures (George Washington), dies at 85
1888 – Jean-Delphin Alard, French violinist and composer, dies at 72
1913 – Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist (Mémoire sur le système primitif des voyelles dans les langues indo-européennes), dies at 55
1976 – Angela Baddeley, English actress (Speckled Band), dies at 71
1978 – Ilka Chase, actress (Masquerade Party, Trials of O’Brien), dies at 74
1980 – Oskar Kokoschka, Austria/British painter and graphic artist, dies at 93
1984 – Jessamyn West, American writer (b. 1902)
2016 – Sonny James [James Loden], American country music singer-songwriter (Young Love), dies at 87
2017 – Ed Garvey, American labor leader (NFL Players Association), dies at 76
Historical Events for 22nd February 2023
303 – 1st official Roman edict for persecution of Christians issued by Emperor Diocletian at Nicomedia, ordering all churches to be closed and scriptures burnt
1288 – Girolamo Masci elected Pope Nicolas IV
1927 – Baruch Spinosa’s house of mourning opened as a museum
1927 – ARC soccer team forms in Alphen on the Rhine
1941 – German assault on El Agheila Libya
1941 – Arthur “Bomber” Harris becomes British Air Marshal
1951 – 4th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs): “All About Eve” Best Film
1979 – Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s Primate and Cat Building is dedicated (Cleveland, Ohio)
2014 – 45th NAACP Image Awards: “12 Years a Slave” wins Outstanding Motion Picture
2014 – Snowboard Olympic parallel special slalom event debuts and is run for the only time at the Sochi Winter Games; Russian Vic Wild and Julia Dujmovits of Canada win unique gold medals