FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
The Oregon Spectator, was a newspaper published from 1846 to 1855 in Oregon City of what was first the Oregon Country and later the Oregon Territory of the United States. The Spectator was the first American newspaper west of the Rocky Mountains and was the main paper of the region used by politicians for public debate of the leading topics of the day. The paper’s motto was Westward the Star of Empire takes its way.
LEGACY AND ARCHIVES
The Spectator was indexed by a project of the Works Progress Administration in 1941. The index is available in two volumes hosted by the Oregon State University library. Archives of the issues themselves are available in the University of Oregon Historic Oregon Newspapers archive.
TODAY’S ALMANAC
Full Snow Moon
In 2023, the Full Moon rises on February 5. Usually the heaviest snows fall in February. Hunting becomes very difficult, and hence to some Native American tribes this was the Hunger Moon. Learn more on our February Full Moon Guide.
Question of the Day
Are new stars being formed, or did they all form at the same time?
They are continually being formed. The Pleiades are an example of a group of newly formed stars. When the dinosaurs walked the Earth, the Pleiades did not exist.
Advice of the Day
Violent north winds in February herald a fertile year.
Home Hint of the Day
For a handy way to keep your eyeglasses clean, fill a spray bottle with a solution of 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 2-1/2 cups of water. Spray on your glasses, then wipe off with a soft cloth or tissue.
Word of the Day
Phenology
The study of natural periodic events in the life-cycle of plants (and animals).
Puzzle of the Day
Which is heavier, a half or a full Moon?
The half, because the full Moon is twice as light.
Born
- Nancy Hanks Lincoln (mother of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln) – 1784
- Ralph McGill (American journalist ) – 1898
- William Burroughs (author) – 1914
- Red Buttons (actor) – 1919
- Hank Aaron (baseball player) – 1934
- Roger Staubach (football player) – 1942
- Barbara Hershey (actress) – 1948
- Laura Linney (actress) – 1964
- Sara Evans (country music singer) – 1971
Died
- Marianne Moore (poet) – 1972
- Samuel M. Rubin (known as Sam the Popcorn Man, the first to pop corn in machines on a widespread basis in theaters) – 2004
- Franklin Cover (actor) – 2006
- Brian Jacques (children’s author) – 2011
- Kirk Douglas (actor) – 2020
Events
- Religious leader Roger Williams arrived in America (Boston)– 1631
- First annual meeting of the American Statistical Association– 1840
- The Oregon Spectator was the first newspaper published on the Pacific coast of the United States– 1846
- Edwin Prescott was granted a patent for a centrifugal railway (an early design of a looping roller coaster)– 1901
- The Yankees bought 10 acres in the Bronx, New York, for a stadium– 1921
- Richard Button won Olympic gold for figure skating– 1948
- The first Don’t Walk” automatic signs were installed in New York City”– 1952
- Walt Disney’s Peter Pan premiered– 1953
- Canadian industrialist and William Stephenson invested as Companion of Order of Canada– 1980
- RHESSI (then called HESSI) launched to study solar flares. (RHESSI stands for Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager.)– 2002
- The National Zoo’s first litter of cheetahs in 115 years went on display to the public– 2005
Weather
- San Francisco, California, received 3.7” of snow downtown and 7” in the west hills– 1887
- Two to 4 inches of snow fell in parts of southern Louisiana – more than had been received in any of the preceding 15 years.– 1988
- Most of the western United States experienced a severe arctic outbreak– 1989
- Northern Minnesota saw chilly temperatures of -38 F in Hallock and -42 F in Embarrass– 2007
- Grand Fork, North Dakota, and International Falls, Minnesota, each recorded a temperature of -30 degrees F– 2007
- The temperature dropped to -44 degrees F in Winnipeg, Manitoba– 2007
- Dozens of twisters were reported in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, and Alabama– 2008
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