On 22 February 1879 the first chain store, F.W. Woolworth, opened at Utica, New York. In 1997 the closing of the chain was announced. Read more at http://www.woolworthsmuseum.co.uk/aboutwoolies.html.
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On 22 February 1980 the US Olympic hockey team upset the team from the Soviet Union, 4– 3, at the Lake Placid Winter Games to earn a victory often called the “Miracle on Ice.” Led by coach Herb Brooks, the Americans went on to defeat Finland two days later and win the gold medal.
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Girl Scouts and Girl Guides think about their sisters in other parts of the world by learning about other countries and cultures and becoming aware of global concerns. Read more at https://www.wagggs.org/en/what-we-do/world-thinking-day/badge/.
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23 February is Curling Is Cool Day. Offer up a worldwide embrace for an Olympic sport the entire family can play! If you don’t get it, you ain’t cool.
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On 23 February 1893, Rudolf Diesel received a patent in Germany for the engine that bears his name. The diesel engine burns fuel oil rather than gasoline and is used in trucks and heavy industrial machinery.
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On 23 February 1945, the US flag was raised on the Pacific island of Iwo Jima by US Marines. Almost 20,000 American soldiers lost their lives before the island was finally taken from the Japanese on 16 March 1945.
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On 24 February 1912, 12 members of the Daughters of Zion Study Circle met at New York City under the leadership of Henrietta Szold. A constitution was drafted to expand the study group into a national organization called Hadassah (Hebrew for myrtle and the biblical name of Queen Esther) to foster Jewish education in America and to create public health nursing and nurses’ training in Palestine. Hadassah is now the largest women’s volunteer organization in the US, with 1,500 chapters rooted in healthcare delivery, education and vocational training, children’s villages and services and land reclamation in Israel.
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Open That Bottle Night. A night to finally drink that bottle of wine that you’ve been saving for a special occasion that never seems to come. Annually, the last Saturday in February.
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On 25 February 1841, the Impressionist painter Pierre Auguste Renoir was born at Limoges, France. Renoir’s paintings are known for their joy and sensuousness as well as the light techniques he employed in them. In his later years he was crippled by arthritis and would paint with the brush strapped to his hand. He died at Cagnes-sur-Mer, Provence, France, 17 December 1919.
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On 26 February 1919, by an act of Congress, the Grand Canyon National Park was established. An immense gorge cut through the high plateaus of northwest Arizona by the raging Colorado River and covering 1,218,375 acres, Grand Canyon National Park is considered one of the most spectacular natural phenomena in the world.
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On 27 February 2006, President George W. Bush signed a proclamation declaring a seven-acre plot at the corners of Duane and Elk streets in Lower Manhattan, New York, to be a national monument. From the 1690s to the 1790s, this land served as a cemetery for both free and enslaved Africans and is believed to be the resting place of more than 15,000 people.
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On 27 February 1897, opera singer Marian Anderson was born at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Anderson’s talent was evident at an early age. Her career stonewalled by the prejudice she encountered in the US, she moved to Europe, where the magnificence of her voice and her versatility as a performer began to establish her as one of the world’s finest contraltos.
Preventing Anderson’s performance at Washington’s Constitution Hall in 1939 on the basis of her color, the Daughters of the American Revolution unintentionally secured for her the publicity that would lay the foundation for her success in the States. Her performance was rescheduled, and on 9 April 1939 (Easter Sunday), 75,000 people showed up to hear her sing from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The performance was simultaneously broadcast by radio. In 1955 Anderson became the first African American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera. The following year President Dwight Eisenhower named her a delegate to the United Nations. She performed at President John F. Kennedy’s inauguration and in 1963 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Anderson died 8 April 1993, at Portland, Oregon.
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On 28 February 1983, after concluding a run of 255 episodes, this 2 ½-hour finale of M*A*S*H was the most-watched television show at that time: 77 percent of the viewing public was tuned in. The show premiered in 1972.
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28 February is National Tooth Fairy Day. Why shouldn’t the tooth fairy have her own day? Every kid in the country knows about her and every parent is her assistant. Celebrate the hard work she does on the graveyard shift and brush, floss and read books about the tooth fairy in her honor!
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Rare Disease Day is celebrated on the last day of February to raise awareness among the general public and decision-makers about the impact of rare diseases. Most rare diseases have no cure and many go undiagnosed. Patient organizations work on the local and national level to encourage researchers and decision makers to do more for those living with rare diseases. Read more at https://www.rarediseaseday.org/.
On the first day of each month, the genealogy community is urged to back up their genealogy data and all computer data.
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First celebrated in 1991, March marks the celebration of the contributions of Irish-Americans to the nation’s history. Read more at http://irishamericanheritagemonth.com/.
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Mar 1, 1932. Twenty-month-old Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr, the son of Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was kidnapped from their home at Hopewell, NJ. Even though the Lindberghs paid a $ 50,000 ransom, their child’s body was found in a wooded area less than five miles from the family home on May 12. Bruno Richard Hauptmann was charged with the murder and kidnapping. He was executed in the electric chair Apr 3, 1936.
As a result of the kidnapping and murder, the Crime Control Act was passed on May 18, 1934, authorizing the death penalty for kidnappers who take their victims across state lines.
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The Multiple Sclerosis Association of America seeks to raise awareness of MS, an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system. They hope to help people understand the symptoms and relapses of the disease. Read more at https://mymsaa.org/.
Mar 1– 31. A time for reexamining and celebrating the wide range of women’s contributions and achievements that are too often overlooked in the telling of US history.
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President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order on 1 March 1961 officially establishing the Peace Corps on this date. The Peace Corps has sent more than 200,000 volunteers to 139 countries to help people help themselves. The volunteers assist in projects such as health, education, water sanitation, agriculture, nutrition and forestry.
March is a time to recognize the work of the Red Cross and community heroes. Read mores at http://www.redcross.org/about-us/red-cross-month.
The Massachusetts Bay Colony village of Salem had experienced a strange February in which several teen-aged girls exhibited bizarre behavior and attributed their ailments to witches. Three women were then arrested on 28 February 1692. One of the accused, Tituba, a West Indian slave, broke down under questioning on 1 March and admitted to being a witch. Soon the teen-aged girls accused four other residents, and by the end of April, 19 women had been accused of witchcraft and were languishing in jail— including a four-year-old child. Massachusetts governor Sir William Phips, seeking to control the growing terror, ordered trials held.
In October, the special court was dissolved after growing protests of the trials’ unjust proceedings. By then, 19 people had been hanged, 5 had died in jail, 1 had been tortured to death and more than 150 had been imprisoned. Two dogs were also executed. On 14 January 1697, Judge Samuel Sewall publicly apologized and a court-ordered day of atonement began. In 1711, all those accused of witchcraft were pardoned by the colony’s legislature.
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In March, Social Workers celebrate the valuable contributions they make as advocates for local citizens who need help bringing order to the chaos in their lives. Read mores at https://www.socialworkers.org/News/Social-Work-Month.
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St. David’s Day celebrates the patron saint of Wales (Dewi Sant). Welsh tradition calls for the wearing of a leek on this day.
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