On This Day In History
On this day in 1947, a white mob seized a 24-year-old Black man named Willie Earle from a local jail, brutally beat him, and lynched him near Greenville, SC. No one was ever convicted. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/NqPd7f11CI
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) February 17, 2022
February 18th
1519 Hernán Cortés leaves Cuba for the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico with 11 ships and 500 men
1678 John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" is published in Holborn, London, by Nathaniel Ponder
1861 King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia becomes first King of Italy
1885 Mark Twain publishes the "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in the US
1917 1st major strike of the Russian "February Revolution" starts at the giant Putilov factory in Petrograd [NS=Mar 3]
2014 Ukrainian Revolution of 2014 begins as protesters, riot police and unknown shooters take part in violent events in the capital, Kiev, culminating after five days in the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych
Did You Know?
US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto
Today in History in 1930
Would You Believe?
Fort St. Louis is established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas.
Today in History in 1685
On Feb 18th 2021, the Perseverance rover landed on Mars and began recording the surface. The guiding voice heard by viewers watching footage was that of engineer Dr Swati Mohan, in control of guidance, navigation and controls for the vehicle. pic.twitter.com/80j7AHr9Bh
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) February 18, 2022
On this day in 1965, an Alabama state trooper shot an unarmed Black man named Jimmie Lee Jackson twice while Mr. Jackson was trying to protect his mother and grandfather. He died 8 days later. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/aIuGfkzZI2
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) February 18, 2022
Michelangelo died #OnThisDay in 1564. A hero of the High Renaissance, he was the first artist to be recognised by his contemporaries as a genius.
Let’s take a closer look at his unfinished masterpiece, ‘The Manchester Madonna’. On display in Room 61: https://t.co/m4zMHzYlZf pic.twitter.com/rIRV9P5uMf
— National Gallery (@NationalGallery) February 18, 2022
#OTD in 1564 - #Michelangelo, a painter, sculptor, and one of the great artists died in Rome. pic.twitter.com/GPALQE40sL
— #🅾🆃🅳 (@changnoi2018) February 18, 2022
Michelangelo died #OnThisDay in 1564. He may have been one of the greatest artists the world has ever seen, but he was no Mozart. That is, he was decidedly not a child prodigy. https://t.co/zEgC0LcR7j
— JSTOR Daily (@JSTOR_Daily) February 18, 2022
February 19th
356 Emperor Constantius II shuts all heathen temples
1600 Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in South American recorded history
1878 Thomas Edison is granted a patent for his gramophone (phonograph)
1942 About 150 Japanese warplanes attack the Australian city of Darwin
1945 US 5th Fleet launches invasion of Iwo Jima against the Japanese with 30,000 US Marines
Did You Know?
Will Keith Kellogg and Charles D. Bolin found the Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company, now the multinational food manufacturer Kellogg's
Today in History in 1906
Would You Believe?
980 Japanese soldiers reportedly killed by crocodiles in 2 days on Ramree Island, Burma
Today in History in 1945
This day 121 years ago – 19 February 1901 – Thomas O'Donnell, MP for West Kerry, began speaking Irish in the House of Commons during his maiden speech, but was quickly prevented from doing so.
A thread. (1/9) pic.twitter.com/J1q8C9hNk4
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) February 19, 2022
On 19 February 1928, pilot Marga von Etzdorf became the first woman to fly a commercial airliner. Mostly self-taught, with support from engineer Melitta Schiller, she flew for Lufthansa and later became a record-breaking global endurance flyer. https://t.co/T0uW4AOEUF
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) February 19, 2022
On this day in 1923, SCOTUS held that Indian immigrants had "unmistakable and profound differences” from "white" immigrants and they were legally barred from becoming U.S. citizens. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/fIFItMhtdQ
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) February 19, 2022
February 20th
1792 US postal service created, postage 6-12 cents depending on distance
1872 New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art opens
1873 British Naval Officer John Moresby discovers the site of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and claims it for Britain
1938 UK Foreign Secretary Anthony Eden resigns stating Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain has appeased Nazi Germany
1947 Earl Mountbatten of Burma appointed as last viceroy of India to oversee the move to independence
Did You Know?
Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a dowry payment
Today in History in 1472
Would You Believe?
Scientists successfully regenerate the flowering plant, Silene stenophylla from a 31,800 year old piece of fruit, greatly surpassing the previous record of 2,000 years
Today in History in 2012
This day 40 years ago – 20 February 1982 – Garda Patrick Reynolds, aged 23, was shot in the back while searching a flat in Tallaght, Co Dublin after a £60,000 armed robbery.
He died shortly after.
INLA member Sean Hughes was tried for the killing in 2000, but was acquitted. pic.twitter.com/bLh0uCBJYx
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) February 20, 2022
In February 1911, an oil well on 10-year-old Sarah Rector's land became a 'gusher'. The poor agricultural land, rejected as unfit for white farmers, made Rector 'the Richest Colored Girl in the World'. She was a millionaire at 18. https://t.co/juzrHwSKLy pic.twitter.com/hBCVG1GUYa
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) February 20, 2022
On this day in 1956, local officials issued arrest warrants for civil rights activists for leading an "illegal boycott" to protest racial segregation on city buses. 89 would later be indicted. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/Ti9swFn7xB
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) February 20, 2022
February 21st
1173 Pope Alexander III canonizes Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury
1613 Michael Romanov, son of Patriarch of Moscow, elected first Russian Tsar of the house of Romanov
1804 1st locomotive, Richard Trevithick's, runs for the 1st time, along the tramway of the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
1916 World War I: Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)
1922 Britain declares Egypt a sovereign state
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
Did You Know?
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish "The Communist Manifesto" in London
Today in History in 1848
Would You Believe?
World's 1st telephone directory issued, 50 subscribers (New Harbor, Connecticut)
Today in History in 1878