February 21
Today in America's Present Past
1777 | English Ambassador Joseph Yorke demanded the resignation of a Governor for saluting the U.S. flag. Governor Johannes de Graaff of St. Eustatius (Dutch West Indies) ordered the “First Salute” to an American ship, the Andrew Doria, in late 1776.
1792 | Congress: Enacted the Presidential Succession Act. This established the first line of succession after the Vice President: the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, followed by the Speaker of the House.
1807 | POTUS: President Martin Van Buren wed Hannah Hoes.
1821 | Publisher Charles Scribner was born.
1828 | Civil Rights: The first American Indian newspaper, “Cherokee Phoenix,” was published. It was in both English and the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah. It was a vital tool for tribal organization during the era of Indian Removal.
1842 | John Greenough patented the sewing machine.
1848 | POTUS: Ex-President John Quincy Adams and then-Congressman suffered a massive stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives. He died two days later in the Speaker’s Room at the Capitol.
1852 | The American Geographical Society elected George Bancroft as its President.
1857 | Congress: Enacted a ban on foreign currency as legal tender in the U.S. Before this act, Spanish and Mexican pesos were common legal tender.
1858 | The first electric burglar alarm was installed by Edwin T. Holmes in Boston, Massachusetts.
1862 | Civil War: The Union loses the Battle of Valverde, New Mexico. A major engagement in the “Confederate Invasion of New Mexico.” Though a tactical Confederate victory, it was part of a campaign that ultimately failed to secure the West for the South.
1862 | Civil Rights: Nathanial Gordon was hung for being a slave trader in New York City, New York. He remains the only person in U.S. history to be executed under the Piracy Law of 1820, which categorized participation in the Atlantic slave trade as an act of piracy punishable by death.
1864 | Civil War: The Battle of Okolona, Mississippi.
1864 | Civil Rights: The first all-African-American Catholic parish was dedicated in Baltimore, Maryland.
1866 | Civil Rights: Lucy Hobbs became the first woman to earn a DDS degree.
1878 | The world’s first telephone directory was published in New Haven, Connecticut. It was a single cardboard sheet listing 50 names; it did not include numbers, as callers still had to be connected manually.
1885 | The public dedication of the Washington Monument occurred in Washington, D.C. At 555 feet, it was the world’s tallest structure at the time of its completion. It had taken 37 years to finish due to funding issues and the Civil War.
1886 | Architect Herbert J. Krapp was born.
1887 | Oregon becomes the first to create a “Labor Day” holiday. While New York was the first to introduce a bill, Oregon was the first to pass it into law. It became a federal holiday in 1894.
1895 | Civil Rights: The North Carolina legislature adjourned to mourn the passing of Frederick Douglass.
1902 | Dr. Harvey Cushing performed the first brain surgery in America.
1903 | The cornerstone for the U.S. Army War College was laid in Washington, D.C.
1904 | The National Ski Association formed in Ishpeming, Michigan
1908 | Sculptor Harriet Hosmer died.
1919 | Nurse and Medal of Honor recipient Mary Edwards Walker died.
1925 | The first issue of the New Yorker was published. Founded by Harold Ross, the issue featured the iconic fictional dandy Eustace Tilley on the cover.
1931 | Alka Seltzer was introduced for sale in Indiana.
1945 | WWII: US forces liberated Monte Castello, Italy.
1945 | WWII: US forces defeated Germany’s Orscholtz line of defense.
1947 | Inventor Edwin Land demonstrated the Polaroid Camera publicly at a meeting of the Optical Society of America. It produced a finished print in 60 seconds.
1948 | NASCAR was incorporated. Bill France Sr. organized a meeting at the Streamline Hotel in Daytona Beach to standardize rules and promote the sport.
1954 | Actor Leonard Nimoy wed Sandra Zober.
1955 | Actor Kelsey Grammar was born.
1958 | Musician Mary-Chapin Carpenter was born.
1962 | Author Chuck Palahniuk was born.
1962 | Author David Foster Wallace was born.
1964 | Astronaut and politician Mark Kelly was born.
1965 | Civil Rights leader Malcolm X was assassinated by a Nation of Islam member. He was shot 21 times while preparing to address the Organization of Afro-American Unity at the Audubon Ballroom in Manhattan.
1967 | Author Charles Beaumont died.
1970 | TV: The Jackson 5 made their national musical debut on “American Bandstand.”
1972 | POTUS: Republican President Nixon met with Communist Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Beijing, China. This was the “week that changed the world.” Nixon was the first President to visit the People’s Republic of China, effectively ending 25 years of isolation between the two nations.
1975 | POTUS: Watergate figures H.R. Haldeman, John D. Ehrlichman, and John Mitchell were sentenced.
1979 | Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt was born.
1996 | Composer Morton Gould died.
1999 | Biochemist Gertrude B. Elion died.
2003 | TV: HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” debuted.
2014 | POTUS: Democrat President Obama met with the Dalai Lama.
2018 | Cleric Billy Graham died.