This Week in History
by Dianne Hermann
“The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate
their own understanding of their history.” George Orwell
Feb. 26-Mar. 3, 2024
February 26
1732 – The first Catholic mass celebrated in a church in the U.S. is in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Philadelphia.
1891 – The first two buffalo are purchased for the Golden Gate Park. A bison cow and bull were transported to the park. A herd of 10 buffalo can be seen in the park’s Buffalo Paddock.
1907 – The members of Congress raise their own salaries to $7,500. Congressional salaries are currently $174,000, with a pay freeze since 2009.
1930 – The first red and green traffic lights in the U.S. are installed in Manhattan, New York.
1977 – The first flight of a Space Shuttle (Enterprise) atop a specially modified Boeing 747 takes off from California headed for the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Enterprise was flight tested but never flown in space. Originally named “Constitution,” it was renamed by President Ford after a letter writing campaign by fans of the TV show Star Trek.
1983 – Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album goes to #1 and stays #1 for 37 weeks. Watch the short version of the video.
1984 – Reverend Jesse Jackson, a Democrat presidential candidate, acknowledges after repeated denials that he called Jews “Hymies” and New York City “Hymietown” while at Washington National Airport a month earlier.
1993 – The New York City World Trade Center is bombed, killing 6 people and injuring over 1,000. In 1994, four men were convicted of the bombing. In 1997, two more terrorists were convicted, including the mastermind of the 1993 bombing, Ramzi Yousef. He was also convicted of the bombing of Philippine Airlines flight 434 and sentenced to life imprisonment plus 240 years.
2009 – The Pentagon reverses its 18-year policy of not allowing the media to cover returning war dead. The reversal allowed some media coverage with family approval.
February 27
1813 – Congress authorizes the use of steamboats to transport mail.
1922 – The Supreme Court unanimously upholds the 19th amendment guaranteeing a woman’s right to vote. The 19th Amendment was passed by Congress in June 1919 and ratified in August 1920.
1939 – The Supreme Court rules that sit-down strikes, where strikers sit down at their work stations and prevent replacement workers from taking their place, are illegal.
1951 – The 22nd amendment is ratified, limiting a president to two terms (8 years).
1972 – During his visit to China, President Nixon and People’s Republic of China Premier Jhou Enlai issue the Shanghai Communique, pledging to work toward the normalization of their relations.
1982 – Wayne Williams, now 65, is convicted on two counts of murder in the Atlanta murder case. Although never tried for the Atlanta Child Murders, police attribute the murders of at least 22 children, teens, and adults to Williams from 1979 to 1981. Williams is currently serving a life sentence. Williams will be eligible for parole again in 2027.
1991 – The Gulf War ends after Iraqi troops retreat and Kuwait is re-taken by the U.S.
2019 – The House of Representatives passes H.R 8 that would have required background checks on all firearm sales. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not allow it to be taken up in the Senate for consideration.
February 28
1794 – Swiss-born Abraham Gallatin’s election to the U.S. Senate is voided because he did not meet the citizenship requirement of 9 years. Gallatin was elected to the House of Representatives in 1795, where he became the House Majority Leader. He was also the founder of New York University.
1914 – Construction begins on Tower of Jewels in San Francisco for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at the 1915 World’s Fair. The Tower was 435 feet tall and decorated with 102,000 glass jewels. The temporary building was demolished after the World’s Fair ended.
1953 – American scientist James D. Watson and British scientist Francis H.C. Crick discover the double-helix structure of DNA in a Cambridge University laboratory. Crick died in 2004 at age 88. Watson is now 95 years old.
1993 – A gun battle erupts between the FBI and the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. The ensuing standoff lasted 51 days. Seventy-six men, women, and children, including 33-year-old founder David Koresh, died after the FBI launched an assault in the compound.
1997 – Two heavily armed men wearing body armor are involved in the North Hollywood shootout after a failed Bank of America robbery attempt. The bank robbers fired over 1,100 rounds of ammunition before being killed by law enforcement officers. Eighteen officers and civilians were wounded. Watch actual news footage.
2019 – Youtube announces it will disable comments on videos that feature children because of inappropriate comments that have been left by pedophiles.
February 29 (Leap Year)
1692 – The first group of people, Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, are accused of witchcraft in Salam, Massachusetts.
1940 – “Gone with the Wind,” wins 8 Oscars at the Academy Awards. Hattie McDaniel became the first black woman to win an Oscar.
1944 – The Office of Defense Transportation, for the second year in a row, restricts attendance at the Kentucky Derby to residents of the Louisville area. This is an effort to prevent a railroad traffic burden during wartime.
1960 – The first Playboy Club, featuring Playboy bunnies, opens in Chicago. Founder Hugh Hefner died in 2017 at age 91.
2020 – The U.S. and the Taliban sign a deal to end the (then) 18-year war in Afghanistan. The war ended in 2021 when President Biden abruptly pulled troops out.
March 1
1692 – The “Salem witch hunt” begins when authorities interrogate Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and an Indian slave, Tituba, to determine if they practiced witchcraft. In all, more than 150 people were jailed and 14 women and 5 men were executed. Many of those in jail died while incarcerated.
1790 – The first U.S. census is authorized. The U.S. population was almost 4 million people. The current U.S. population is estimated at 336 million. That does not include the 7 million illegal border crossings since Biden took office in 2021.
1792 – The Presidential Succession Act is passed as the first law establishing the line of succession. It established the President pro tempore of the Senate next in line after the vice president, followed by the Speaker of the House. The Presidential Succession Act of 1886 followed the assassination of James Garfield and the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 was passed after the death of FDR, each one changing the procedure and order of succession.
1872 – Yellowstone is established as the world’s first national park during the U.S. Grant administration.
1875 – Congress passes a Civil Rights Act forbidding discrimination in hotels, trains, and public spaces, but the Supreme Court invalidated it in 1883.
1932 – Charles Lindbergh, Jr. (20 months old) is kidnapped in New Jersey. The Lindbergh baby was found dead May 12. Bruno Hauptmann was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering the Lindbergh baby and was executed in 1936. Watch a short British Movietone newsreel.
1962 – The first K-Mart store opens in Garden City, Michigan. Sebastian S. Kresge founded the S.S. Kresge Company and opened the first store in Detroit in 1899. The “K” in K-Mart stands for Kresge. Attention K-Mart shoppers, watch the history of S. S. Kresge and K-Mart.
1967 – The House of Representatives excludes (refuses to allow to seat) Rep. Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. He was accused of mismanaging his committee’s budget in the previous Congress, excessive absenteeism, and misuse of public funds. The only other Representative who was excluded was Brigham Henry Roberts (D-UT), who was denied his seat in January 1900 for practicing polygamy.
2002 – The U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, Operation Anaconda, begins in eastern Afghanistan. President Biden abruptly pulled troops out of Afghanistan in 2021, making it the longest U.S. war.
2004 – Terry Nichols is convicted of state murder charges and being an accomplice to Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. Nichols was sentenced to 161 consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole (160 people plus 1 unborn child were killed). Nichols is incarcerated in Colorado and is now 68 years old.
March 2
1819 – The U.S. passes its first immigration law. A total of 556 people were deported under the Immigration Act.
1877 – Rutherford B. Hayes (R) is declared president despite Samuel J. Tilden (D) winning the popular vote, but Tilden is one electoral vote short of victory. The other presidents who received fewer popular votes but more electoral votes, thus becoming president, are John Quincy Adams (over Andrew Jackson), Benjamin Harrison (over Grover Cleveland), George W. Bush (over Al Gore), and Donald Trump (over Hillary Clinton).
1939 – The Massachusetts Legislature votes to ratify the Bill of Rights – 147 years late.
1942 – The Stage Door Canteen opens on West 44th Street in New York City. The canteen provided dancing and entertainment for WWII servicemen. The first canteen could accommodate 500 people. Other canteens opened later in Boston, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Newark. Watch the history of the Stage Door Canteen.
1962 – Wilt Chamberlain, with the Philadelphia Warriors, scores an incredible 100 points in a National Basketball Association game against the New York Nicks. The record still stands. Chamberlain holds 72 NBA record, including the most games scoring 60 or more points (32 games). Chamberlain died in 1999 at age 63. Watch Wilt “The Stilt” score the 100 points.
2016 – U.S. astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko return to earth after nearly a year (340 days) in space, setting an International Space Station record. The ISS has been continuously occupied since 2000.
March 3
1812 – The U.S. Congress passes the first foreign aid bill to help Venezuela’s earthquake victims.
1837 – Congress increases the Supreme Court membership from 7 to 9 justices. The Constitution did not establish the number of Supreme Court justices, but it was set at 5 in 1801 and increased to 7 in 1807. In 1937, President FDR attempted unsuccessfully to increase the number of justices by 6 based on the age of the current justices in his Judicial Procedures Reform Bill. It was seen as a plan to pack the court in his favor after the Supreme Court ruled his New Deal unconstitutional.
1845 – The U.S. Senate overrides a presidential veto for the first time. President Tyler vetoed a Congressional bill that would have denied him the power to appropriate federal funds to build ships without Congressional approval.
1887 – Anne Sullivan begins teaching 6-year-old blind and deaf Helen Keller. Sullivan died in 1936 at age 70. Author and lecturer Helen Keller died in 1968 at age 87. Watch the actual newsreel with Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller when Anne explains how she taught Helen to speak.
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1931 – The “Star Spangled Banner” officially becomes the U.S. national anthem. Francis Scott Key wrote it as a poem while being held prisoner on a ship near Fort McHenry, Maryland, during the War of 1812.
1972 – Sculpted figures of Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson are completed on Stone Mountain in Georgia. The monolith is the largest stone carving in the world at 158 feet tall.
1991 – The Los Angeles Police severely beat motorist Rodney King, which is captured on amateur video. Four LAPD police officers were indicted for assault and using excessive force. Their acquittal resulted in riots where more than 50 people were killed. King was arrested several more times for various offenses. King died in 2012 at age 47 when he drowned in his pool after using drugs and alcohol.
1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones begin their circumnavigation of the Earth in a hot air balloon non-stop. The flight took 20 days.
2005 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane solo around the world without any stops and without refueling. The journey of 25,000 miles began and ended in Kansas and was completed in 67 hours and 2 minutes. The first non-stop flight around the world was completed by the team of Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager in 1986. Watch a video about Fossett and the flight.
Image from: air-and-space.com
