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	422nd	Elizabeth I, Queen of England, signs the Warrant of Execution for Mary Queen of Scots.
1	1862	147th	"The Battle Hymn of the Republic," by Julia Ward Howe, is published in "Atlantic Monthly".
1	1902	107th	Langston Hughes, American author, poet (1902-1967) born.
1	1922	87th	Hollywood director William Taylor discovered dead, perhaps shot by his teenage star, Mary Miles Minter.
3	1917	92nd	The U.S. breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany when it resumes unrestricted submarine warfare.
4	1792	217th	George Washington unanimously elected by the Electoral College to his second term.
4	1902	107th	Charles Lindbergh, American aviator, is born.
5	1917	92nd	Congress nullifies President Wilson's veto of its Immigration Act, which curtailed Asian immigration.
5	1937	72nd	Pres. Franklin Roosevelt announces his "court-packing" plan, to expand the Supreme Court
6	1917	92nd	A German submarine sinks the U.S. passenger ship, "California"
6	1952	57th	Great Britain's George VI dies and his daughter becomes Queen Elizabeth II.
7	1812	197th	Charles Dickens, British novelist, born.
7	1817	192nd	Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist leader, born.
7	1862	147th	Confederates order reinforcements to Fort Donelson
8	1587	422nd	Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded in Fotheringay Castle
8	1862	147th	The Battle of Roanoke Island, led by Union Commander Goldsborough
8	1887	122nd	Pres. Cleveland signs the Dawes Act, with tragic results for Native Americans
10	1862	147th	Dante Rossetti finds the body of his wife, Elizabeth Siddal, who committed suicide
10	1897	112nd	The slogan "All the News that's Fit to Print" first appears on the "New York Times" front page
11	1812	197th	The term "gerrymandering" coined when Massachusetts Governor Gerry signs a re-districting law
11	1847	162nd	Thomas Alva Edison, U.S. inventor who claimed 1,093 patented ideas, born
12	1892	117th	President Lincoln's birthday declared a national holiday.
13	1542	467th	Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, is executed for adultery
14	1847	162nd	Anna Howard Shaw, influential leader of the U.S. women's suffrage movement, born
15	1797	212nd	Henry Steinway, German-American piano maker, born Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg
16	1862	147th	Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee, in a disaster for the South
17	1942	67th	Huey P. Newton, African-American activist who co-founded the Black Panthers, born.
17	1972	37th	Pres. and Mrs. Richard Nixon depart on their historic trip to China
18	1907	102nd	The U.S. sends 600,000 tons of grain to Russia, where millions are starving due to famine
18	1922	87th	Congress passes the Capper-Volstead Act, exempting U.S. farmers from anti-trust laws
19	1777	232nd	Congress denies Benedict Arnold a promotion
19	1807	202nd	Aaron Burr, former US Vice President, arrested for conspiring against the US
19	1942	67th	Pres. Franklin Roosevelt signs Executive Order 90066, sending Japanese-Americans to internment camps
20	1792	217th	George Washington creates the U.S. Post Office
20	1872	137th	The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened in New York City
21	1862	147th	The Battle of Val Verde, a bloody Civil War battle in New Mexico Territory
21	1972	37th	President and Mrs. Nixon arrive in China for 8 days
22	1732	277th	George Washington is born at Popes Creek Plantation, Virginia
22	1942	67th	Pres. Franklin Roosevelt tells Gen. MacArthur to get out of the Philippines
23	1927	82nd	Pres. Calvin Coolidge creates the Federal Radio Commission (later the FCC)
24	1917	92nd	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	147th	The Legal Tender Act, written by Elbridge Spaulding, allows the U.S. to issue "greenbacks" or paper money
26	1802	207th	Victor Hugo, French author, born.
26	1862	147th	Union officer Elisha Hunt Rhodes heard Sen. Henry Wilson speak in Congress
26	1917	92nd	The Zimmermann Telegram is relayed from England to Pres. Wilson in Washington DC
26	1952	57th	Winston Churchill announces to the world that Britain has the atomic bomb
27	1807	202nd	Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, U.S. poet, born
27	1922	87th	The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, allowing women to vote, is declared consitutional
28	1827	182nd	The first U.S. railroad chartered to carry passengers and freight, the Baltimore & Ohio, is incorporated
28	1987	22nd	Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev calls for nuclear weapons treaty
29	1692	317th	Sarah Goode and Tituba are accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, triggering the Salem witch trials