FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS

Lucy Hobbs Taylor (March 14, 1833 – October 3, 1910) was an American school teacher and a dentist, known for being the first woman to graduate from dental school (Ohio College of Dental Surgery in 1866).

She was originally denied admittance to the Eclectic Medical College in Cincinnati, Ohio due to her gender. Due to this, a professor in the college agreed to tutor her and encouraged her to practice dentistry. Once again, she applied to a dentistry school, this time Ohio College of Dentistry. Unfortunately, she was once again refused admittance due to her gender. From there, a college graduate agreed to tutor her, allowing her to continue her studies towards dentistry. In 1861, she decided to open her own practice instead of attempting to get into a college once again. After a year, she moved to Iowa and opened a dentistry practice. This allowed her to be accepted as a dentist without the diploma and become part of the Iowa State Dental Society. Being part of this society meant that she was also serving as the group’s delegate to the American Dental Associate Convention, only three years after moving to Iowa. With great coincidence, that same year (1865) the Ohio College of Dentistry decided to waive the policy prohibiting women being admitted to the institution. Instantly, Taylor enrolled as a senior student thanks to her dentistry experience she had accumulated over the years. She graduated in 1866, becoming the first woman in the world to graduate from a dental college, and to receive a doctorate in dentistry.

Legacy

By 1900, almost one thousand women had followed Lucy Taylor into dentistry, an increase many attribute largely to her accomplishments. In 1983, the American Association of Women Dentists honored Taylor by establishing the Lucy Hobbs Taylor Award, which it now presents annually to AAWD members in recognition of professional excellence and achievements in advancing the role of women in dentistry.

TODAY’S ALMANAC

Presidents’ Day (U.S.)

Though this day is commonly called Presidents’ Day, the federal holiday is still called “Washington’s Birthday,” contrary to popular belief. It is one of eleven permanent holidays established by Congress. George Washington’s actual birthday is February 22, but we observe federal holidays on Mondays (in this case, the third Monday of February). To complicate matters, Washington was actually born on February 11 in 1731 because the country switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar during his lifetime (something most of Europe had done in 1582). As a result of this calendar reform, people born before 1752 were told to add 11 days to their birth dates. Those born between January 1 and March 25, as Washington was, also had to add one year to be in sync with the new calendar. By the time Washington became president in 1789, he celebrated his birthday on February 22 and listed his year of birth as 1732. Upon entering office, Washington was not convinced that he was the right man for the job. He wrote, “My movements to the chair of government will be accompanied by feelings not unlike those of a culprit, who is going to the place of his execution.” Fortunately for the young country, he was wrong. Learn more facts and folklore about Presidents’ Day.

Question of the Day

Who built the world’s tallest snowman?According to the Guiness Book of Records, Angus was his name, and he was completed in February of 1999 by the residents of Bethel, Maine. Angus, named for Angus King, governor of Maine, stood a whopping 113 feet, 7.5 inches tall. In 2008, the tallest snowwoman was also built in Bethel, Maine. She was 122 feet, 1 inch tall. She didn’t fully melt until July!

Advice of the Day

To cure hiccups, pant like a dog.

Home Hint of the Day

If you’re using urethane varnish and are looking for extra protection for a hardwood floor in a high-traffic area such as a kitchen, apply an extra coat of the varnish.

Word of the Day

Pica1/6 inch; used in printing for measuring column width, etc.

Puzzle of the Day

What things increase the more you contract them?Debts

Died

• Jethro Tull (agriculturist, inventor of the horse-drawn seed drill) – 1741
• Malcolm X assassinated in NYC – 1965
• Dame Margot Fonteyn (ballerina) – 1991
• Bart Howard (songwriter known for writing Fly Me to the Moon) – 2004
• Billy Graham (evangelist) – 2018
• Peter Tork (musician, member of The Monkees) – 2019

Born

• Anais Nin (novelist) – 1903
• W.H. Auden (poet) – 1907
• John Robert Lewis (American politician; civil rights leader) – 1940
• Alan Rickman (actor) – 1946
• William Petersen (actor) – 1953
• Kelsey Grammer (actor) – 1955
• Jennifer Love Hewitt (actress) – 1979
• Corbin Bleu (actor) – 1989

Events

• Lucy Hobbs Taylor became the first woman to graduate from a dental school, the Ohio College of Dental Surgery in Cincinnati, Ohio– 1866
• First telephone book issued– 1878
• The Washington Monument was dedicated by President Arthur in Washington, D.C. It took 102 years to complete, beginning in 1783 when Congress proposed it. It was the largest man-made structure in the world at the time– 1885
• First issue of The New Yorker published– 1925
• Polaroid instant camera first demonstrated– 1947
• President Nixon became the first U.S. president to visit a country not diplomatically recognized by the U.S. when he visited China– 1972
• UFO sighted in Portland, Oregon– 2010

Weather

• Granville, North Dakota, experienced a spectacular chinook temperature swing. The temperature rose from -33F in the morning to 50F in the afternoon.– 1918
• Destructive ice storm began in areas of Wisconsin, lasting through February 23– 1922
• Twelve days of heavy rain and snow in California finally came to an end– 1986
• Two tornadoes hit the Sacramento, California, area– 2005

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