Picture History : Anniversaries

Anniversaries

To illustrate the depth one can access in our collections, we have compiled relevant archival imagery to frame a diverse cultural, political and chronological retrospective of noteworthy anniversaries. Be sure to bookmark this section as the calendar is a work in progress and will continue to expand.

February	Year	Anniversary	Event
1	1587	426th	Elizabeth I, Queen of England, signs the Warrant of Execution for Mary Queen of Scots.
1	1862	151st	"The Battle Hymn of the Republic," by Julia Ward Howe, is published in "Atlantic Monthly".
1	1902	111st	Langston Hughes, American author, poet (1902-1967) born.
1	1922	91st	Hollywood director William Taylor discovered dead, perhaps shot by his teenage star, Mary Miles Minter.
3	1917	96th	The U.S. breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany when it resumes unrestricted submarine warfare.
4	1792	221st	George Washington unanimously elected by the Electoral College to his second term.
4	1902	111st	Charles Lindbergh, American aviator, is born.
5	1917	96th	Congress nullifies President Wilson's veto of its Immigration Act, which curtailed Asian immigration.
5	1937	76th	Pres. Franklin Roosevelt announces his "court-packing" plan, to expand the Supreme Court
6	1917	96th	A German submarine sinks the U.S. passenger ship, "California"
6	1952	61st	Great Britain's George VI dies and his daughter becomes Queen Elizabeth II.
7	1812	201st	Charles Dickens, British novelist, born.
7	1817	196th	Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist leader, born.
7	1862	151st	Confederates order reinforcements to Fort Donelson
8	1587	426th	Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded in Fotheringay Castle
8	1862	151st	The Battle of Roanoke Island, led by Union Commander Goldsborough
8	1887	126th	Pres. Cleveland signs the Dawes Act, with tragic results for Native Americans
10	1862	151st	Dante Rossetti finds the body of his wife, Elizabeth Siddal, who committed suicide
10	1897	116th	The slogan "All the News that's Fit to Print" first appears on the "New York Times" front page
11	1812	201st	The term "gerrymandering" coined when Massachusetts Governor Gerry signs a re-districting law
11	1847	166th	Thomas Alva Edison, U.S. inventor who claimed 1,093 patented ideas, born
12	1892	121st	President Lincoln's birthday declared a national holiday.
13	1542	471st	Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, is executed for adultery
14	1847	166th	Anna Howard Shaw, influential leader of the U.S. women's suffrage movement, born
15	1797	216th	Henry Steinway, German-American piano maker, born Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg
16	1862	151st	Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee, in a disaster for the South
17	1942	71st	Huey P. Newton, African-American activist who co-founded the Black Panthers, born.
17	1972	41st	Pres. and Mrs. Richard Nixon depart on their historic trip to China
18	1907	106th	The U.S. sends 600,000 tons of grain to Russia, where millions are starving due to famine
18	1922	91st	Congress passes the Capper-Volstead Act, exempting U.S. farmers from anti-trust laws
19	1777	236th	Congress denies Benedict Arnold a promotion
19	1807	206th	Aaron Burr, former US Vice President, arrested for conspiring against the US
19	1942	71st	Pres. Franklin Roosevelt signs Executive Order 90066, sending Japanese-Americans to internment camps
20	1792	221st	George Washington creates the U.S. Post Office
20	1872	141st	The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened in New York City
21	1862	151st	The Battle of Val Verde, a bloody Civil War battle in New Mexico Territory
21	1972	41st	President and Mrs. Nixon arrive in China for 8 days
22	1732	281st	George Washington is born at Popes Creek Plantation, Virginia
22	1942	71st	Pres. Franklin Roosevelt tells Gen. MacArthur to get out of the Philippines
23	1927	86th	Pres. Calvin Coolidge creates the Federal Radio Commission (later the FCC)
24	1917	96th	The Zimmerman Telegram, a coded message from Germany saying it was going to declare war on the U.S., was decoded by the British
25	1862	151st	The Legal Tender Act, written by Elbridge Spaulding, allows the U.S. to issue "greenbacks" or paper money
26	1802	211st	Victor Hugo, French author, born.
26	1862	151st	Union officer Elisha Hunt Rhodes heard Sen. Henry Wilson speak in Congress
26	1917	96th	The Zimmermann Telegram is relayed from England to Pres. Wilson in Washington DC
26	1952	61st	Winston Churchill announces to the world that Britain has the atomic bomb
27	1807	206th	Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, U.S. poet, born
27	1922	91st	The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, allowing women to vote, is declared consitutional
28	1827	186th	The first U.S. railroad chartered to carry passengers and freight, the Baltimore & Ohio, is incorporated
28	1987	26th	Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev calls for nuclear weapons treaty
29	1692	321st	Sarah Goode and Tituba are accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, triggering the Salem witch trials