Today in History

February 16th

• 1486 Maximilian I is elected King of the Romans at Frankfurt

Maximilian was elected King of the Romans in Frankfurt-am-Main at his father's initiative and crowned on 9 April 1486 in Aachen.
Much of the Austrian territories and Vienna were under the rule of king Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, as a result of the Austrian–Hungarian War (1477–1488).
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• 1559 Pope Paul IV calls for deposition of sovereigns supporting heresy

Pope Paul IV issues the bull Cum Ex Apostolatus, which recommends and endorses the deposition of any sovereign who supports heresy.
This includes Protestant monarchs such as Elizabeth I of England.


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February 16th

• 1959 Fidel Castro becomes the 16th Prime Minister of Cuba after overthrowing Fulgencio Batista

Cuban Revolutionary and PresidentFidel Castro
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Cuban President and DictatorFulgencio Batista


Today in history| This day in history - Fidel Castro was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Cuba on Feb 16, 1959 | Trending & Viral News (timesnownews.com)

 

February 16th

• 1923 Howard Carter opens the inner burial chamber of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun's tomb and finds the sarcophagus

Thebes, Egypt, English archaeologist Howard Carter enters the sealed burial chamber of the ancient Egyptian ruler King

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A photo of British archaeologist Howard Carter at the sarcophagus of Egyptian pharaoh Tutankhamun

Tutankhamun's Burial Chamber Found - On This Day

 

February 16th

• 1960 US nuclear submarine USS Triton set off on underwater round-world trip

The actual submerged circumnavigation occurred between 24 February and 25 April 1960, covering 26,723 nautical miles (49,491 km; 30,752 mi) in 60 days and 21 hours at the average speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) while crossing the Equator on four different occasions.

USS Triton (SSRN-586) - Wikipedia

 

February 16th

• 1991 US female Figure Skating championship won by Tonya Harding

Harding's breakthrough year came in 1991 when, at the U.S. Championships, she completed her first triple Axel in competition on February 16 – the first American woman to execute the jump.
She landed seven triple jumps in the long program including the triple Axel
She won the 1991 U.S. Ladies' Singles title with the event's first 6.0 technical merit score since Janet Lynn's 1973 performance at the U.S. Championships.
She won the long program when seven of the nine judges gave her first place, and won the competition.
She scored eight 5.9s and one 6.0 for technical merit and six 5.9s, one 5.8 and two 5.7s for composition and style

 

Happy birthday to Lisa Loring (64 years old today) the Original Wednesday Addams.

 

February 17th

• 1936 The world's first superhero,

The Phantom, a cartoon strip by Lee Falk, makes his first appearance in comics
Falk (had earlier had success with the newspaper strip Mandrake the Magician) and drawn by Ray Moore,
Phantom first appeared in King Features Syndicate on February 17, 1936.

The Phantom - Wikipedia

 

February 17th
Britain Joins the European Community

• 1972 British Parliament votes to join the European Common Marke

Britain Joins the European Community - On This Day

*** That went well !

 

I remember this night like it was yesterday.

Today in History February 20th

The Station Night Club Fire - February 20, 2003

 

February 19th:

1914 Four-year old Charlotte May Pierstorff ---
--- mailed by train from Grangeville, Idaho to her grandparents’ house 73 miles away in most famous 'child in the post' instance



When the US postal service began parcel deliveries in 1913 it wasn't long before some ingenious parents cottoned on to the idea of mailing their children. A 10-month old baby boy, the child of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Beauge from Batavia, Ohio, was posted for the cost of 15c in stamps, though his parents did insure him for $50. In the most famous case 5-year-old May Pierstorff was mailed via train from her home in Idaho, the stamps stuck to her coat.
The practice is not as callous as it first appears, postmen were trusted local officials whom rural people usually knew personally. May Pierstorff was herself sent with a cousin who was a postal clerk. Nevertheless the US postal service tried to shut the practice down and had to issue a directive that no humans were to be carried in the mail.

 

February 20th:


1280 Japanese Imperial Court orders all temples and shrines to pray for victory


After acknowledging its importance, the Imperial Court led great prayer services to calm local residents, and much government business was put off in order to pray for victory in the impending second Mongol invasion

 

February 20th:

1962 John Glenn becomes the 1st American to orbit the Earth,



Astronaut Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth as he flew aboard Project Mercury's Friendship 7 spacecraft, which circled the globe three times in a flight lasting 4 hours, 55 minutes and 23 seconds before splashing down safely in the Atlantic Ocean 800 miles southeast of Bermuda.

 

February 21st:

1965 Activist Malcolm X is shot dead



Malcolm X is shot dead by Nation of Islam followers at Audubon Ballroom in New York City

Malcolm X - Wikipedia

 

February 21st:

1972 Richard Nixon



... becomes the first US President to visit China, normalizing relations between the countries in a meeting with Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Beijing

Nixon Meets Mao (Famous Photo) - On This Day

 

February 22nd:

1797 The Last Invasion of Britain,


Launched by the French during the Revolutionary Wars, begins near Fishguard, Wales
The brief campaign, on 22–24 February 1797, is the most recent landing on British soil by a hostile foreign force, and thus is often referred to as the "last invasion of mainland Britain".
The French general Lazare Hoche had devised a three-pronged attack on Britain in support of the Society of United Irishme
After brief clashes with hastily assembled British forces and the local civilian population, the invading force's Irish-American commander, Colonel William Tate, was forced into unconditional surrender on 24 February.

Battle of Fishguard - Wikipedia

 

February 22nd:

1997 Dolly the Sheep,
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The World's first cloned mammal (from an adult cell) is announced by the Roslin Institute in Scotland

BBC ON THIS DAY | 22 | 1997: Dolly the sheep is cloned