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 […]

ST. VALENTINE Although a Christian bishop named Valentine was martyred on February 14 in A.D. 271, there is nothing in this legend to account for the custom of choosing a sweetheart on this day.By the early 1600s, handmade valentines were customarily sent from admirers to […]

Every Year GET A DIFFERENT NAME DAY 1580s 1588: ASTRONOMER TYCHO BRAHE OUTLINED HIS SOLAR SYSTEM STRUCTURE 1860s 1866: JESSE JAMES ROBBED HIS FIRST BANK 1867: STRAUSS’S BLUE DANUBE PREMIERED IN VIENNA 1870s 1875: FIRST U.S. QUINTUPLETS BORN, IN WATERTOWN, WISCONSIN 1880s BORN 1885: BESS […]

ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S BIRTHDAY The 16th president of the United States was born on the morning of Sunday, February 12, 1809, in a one-room, 16×18-foot, log cabin with a dirt floor. Called Sinking Spring Farm, the land was situated near Hodgenville, Kentucky. Abe’s father, Thomas, was […]

Every Year NATIONAL INVENTORS’ DAY (UNITED STATES) 1570s 1573: SIR FRANCIS DRAKE CLIMBED TREE AND SAW PACIFIC OCEAN FOR FIRST TIME, ISTHMUS OF PANAMA 1800s 1808: FIRST USE OF ANTHRACITE COAL AS A HOUSEHOLD FUEL 1830s 1836: MOUNT HOLYOKE SEMINARY, THE FIRST U.S. COLLEGE FOR […]

1720s 1720: EDMOND HALLEY BECAME SECOND ASTRONOMER ROYAL OF ENGLAND 1760s 1763: FRANCE CEDED CANADA TO ENGLAND AT THE TREATY OF PARIS, ENDING THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR 1840s 1840: QUEEN VICTORIA OF THE UNITED KINGDOM MARRIED PRINCE ALBERT OF SAXE COBURG-GOTHA 1841: ACT OF […]

1770s BORN 1773: WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON (9TH U.S. PRESIDENT) 1810s 1811: ROBERT FULTON RECEIVED PATENT FOR STEAMBOAT IMPROVEMENTS 1860s 1861: JEFFERSON DAVIS NAMED PRESIDENT OF THE CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA BORN 1866: GEORGE ADE (HUMORIST) 1870s 1870: U.S. WEATHER BUREAU ESTABLISHED BY CONGRESS AS PART […]

COURTESY WIKIPEDIA COMMONS: The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 2.3 million youth participants and about one million adult volunteers. The BSA was founded in 1910, and since then, about 110 million Americans participated in […]

1800s BORN 1804: JOHN DEERE (FARM EQUIPMENT MANUFACTURER) 1810s BORN 1812: CHARLES DICKENS (AUTHOR) 1820s 1827: MADAME FRANCISQUY HUTIN FIRST INTRODUCED BALLET IN THE U.S. WHEN SHE STAGED THE DESERTER AT THE BOWERY THEATER IN NEW YORK CITY 1860s BORN 1867: LAURA INGALLS WILDER (AUTHOR) […]

1630s 1631: RELIGIOUS LEADER ROGER WILLIAMS ARRIVED IN AMERICA (BOSTON) 1780s BORN 1784: NANCY HANKS LINCOLN (MOTHER OF U.S. PRESIDENT ABRAHAM LINCOLN) 1840s 1840: FIRST ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN STATISTICAL ASSOCIATION 1846: THE OREGON SPECTATOR WAS THE FIRST NEWSPAPER PUBLISHED ON THE PACIFIC COAST […]

Every Year NATIONAL FREEDOM DAY (UNITED STATES) MONTH OF FEBRUARY 1700s 1709: ALEXANDER SELKIRK, A SCOTTISH SAILOR, WAS FOUND ON AN ISLAND WHERE HE HAD BEEN STRANDED FOR OVER 4 YEARS. HIS EXPERIENCE WAS THE BASIS FOR DANIEL DEFOE’S NOVEL, “ROBINSON CRUSOE” 1790s 1791: FIRST […]

Every Year AUSTRALIA DAY 1780s 1788: FIRST SETTLERS, INCLUDING 717 CONVICTS, ARRIVED AT SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA 1810s BORN 1810: JOSEPH BROWN (INVENTOR) 1820s BORN 1826: JULIA DENT GRANT (U.S. FIRST LADY) 1827: PERU SECEDED FROM COLUMBIA 1830s BORN 1831: MARY ELIZABETH DODGE (AUTHOR) BORN 1833: ELISABET […]

Every Year NATIONAL HANDWRITING DAY (UNITED STATES) 1550s 1556: DEADLIEST EARTHQUAKE ON RECORD KILLED 830,000 IN CHINA 1810s BORN 1813: CAMILLA COLLETT (WRITER) 1840s 1849: ELIZABETH BLACKWELL BECAME THE FIRST WOMAN TO RECEIVE AN M.D. DEGREE 1849: ENVELOPE MACHINE PATENTED 1860s 1862: CALIFORNIA VINTNER AGOSTON […]

1730s BORN 1738: ETHAN ALLEN (PATRIOT) 1740s BORN 1743: JOHN FITCH (INVENTOR) 1780s 1789: FIRST AMERICAN NOVEL, THE POWER OF SYMPATHY, PUBLISHED IN BOSTON. 1790s 1793: LOUIS XVI OF FRANCE WAS BEHEADED 1820s BORN 1824: THOMAS “STONEWALL” JACKSON (CONFEDERATE ARMY GENERAL) 1890s DIED 1891: CALIXA […]

1800s 1809: FIRST MAJOR U.S. GEOLOGY BOOK DEBUTED 1810s BORN 1811: SAMUEL KEEFER (FIRST CANADIAN CHIEF ENGINEER OF PUBLIC WORKS) 1890s BORN 1896: GEORGE BURNS (COMEDIAN & ACTOR) 1900s DIED 1900: JOHN RUSKIN (ART CRITIC) 1920s BORN 1926: PATRICIA NEAL (ACTRESS) 1930s BORN 1930: EDWIN […]

Every Year CONFEDERATE HEROES DAY (TEXAS, UNITED STATES) 1730s BORN 1736: JAMES WATT (INVENTOR) 1800s BORN 1807: ROBERT E. LEE (CONFEDERATE GENERAL) BORN 1809: EDGAR ALLEN POE (AUTHOR) 1820s 1825: TIN CAN PATENTED 1830s BORN 1839: PAUL CÉZANNE (PAINTER) 1840s 1840: EXPLORER CHARLES WILKES CLAIMED […]

MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.’S BIRTHDAY (OBSERVED) Since 1986, the third Monday in January has been a federal holiday in observance of the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister, Nobel Peace Prize winner, and civil rights leader dedicated to nonviolence. This is a […]

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S BIRTHDAY Benjamin Franklin, born on January 17, 1706, not only was a world-renowned statesman, inventor, and scientist, but also was fascinated by agriculture. To demonstrate the value of gypsum as fertilizer, he applied it to a field in a pattern that spelled out, […]

WIKIPEDIA INFORMATION ON SADE Helen Folasade Adu CBE (Yoruba: Fọláṣadé Adú [fɔ̄láʃādé ādú]; born 16 January 1959), known professionally as Sade Adu or simply Sade (/ʃɑːˈdeɪ/ shah-DAY), is a British singer, songwriter, and actress, known as the lead singer of her eponymous band. She has been credited as one of the most successful British female […]