February 6
Today is observed as an (deep breath)
International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (phew, talk about a long day, sheesh).
California, Wisconsin, and 21 other U.S. states celebrate
Ronald Reagan Day today.
Meanwhile, the Kiwis observe
Waitangi Day, celebrating the founding of New Zealand.
Also, the
Sapporo Snow Festival begins today, in Sapporo, Japan.
Events
1685 –
James II of England and VII of Scotland becomes King upon the death of his brother
Charles II.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: In Paris the
Treaty of Alliance and the
Treaty of Amity and Commerce are signed by the United States and France signaling official recognition of the new republic.
1788 – Massachusetts becomes the sixth state to ratify the
United States Constitution.
1819 –
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founds
Singapore.
1820 – The first 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the
American Colonization Society depart New York to start a settlement in present-day
Liberia.
1840 – Signing of the
Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony.
1851 – The
largest Australian bushfires in a populous region in recorded history take place in the state of Victoria.
1862 – American Civil War: Forces under the command of Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew H. Foote give the Union its first victory of the war, capturing Fort Henry, Tennessee in the
Battle of Fort Henry.
1899 – Spanish–American War: The
Treaty of Paris, a peace treaty between the United States and Spain, is ratified by the United States Senate.
1918 – British women over the age of 30 get
the right to vote.
1922 – The
Washington Naval Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., limiting the naval armaments of United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy.
1951 –
The Broker, a Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train
derails near Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. The accident kills 85 people and injures over 500 more. The wreck is one of the worst rail disasters in American history.
1952 –
Elizabeth II becomes queen regnant of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms upon the death of her father,
George VI. At the exact moment of succession,
she was in a tree house at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya. ("For the first time in the history of the world, a young girl [she was
26
] climbed into a tree one day a Princess and after having what she described as her most thrilling experience she climbed down from the tree next day a Queen — God bless her." ~Jim Corbett)
1958 – Eight
Manchester United F.C. players and 15 other passengers are killed in the
Munich air disaster.
1958 -
George Harrison joined Liverpool group
The Quarrymen.
1959 –
Jack Kilby of
Texas Instruments files the first patent for an
integrated circuit.
1978 – The
Blizzard of 1978, one of the worst
Nor'easters in New England history, hit the region, with sustained winds of 65 mph and snowfall of
four inches an hour.
1988 –
Michael Jordan makes his signature slam dunk from the free throw line inspiring
Air Jordan and the
Jumpman logo.
1990 -
Billy Idol suffered serious injuries when he failed to stop at a stop sign and crashed his Harley-Davidson into a car. Idol had been James Cameron's first choice for the role of the villainous
T-1000 in
Terminator 2: Judgment Day; the role was recast entirely as a result of the accident.
1996 –
Willamette Valley Flood: Floods in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, United States, causes over US$500 million in property damage throughout the Pacific Northwest.
1998 – Washington National Airport is renamed
Ronald Reagan National Airport.
1998 - American singer and guitarist
Carl Wilson of
The Beach Boys died, aged 51, after a long battle with lung cancer.
1998, Austrian singer
Falco (Johann Holzel) was killed in a road accident after his car collided with a bus. He scored the 1986 UK & US No.1 single '
Rock Me Amadeus' making him the first-ever Austrian act to score a UK and US No.1 hit single.
2001 - Guitarist
Don Felder was fired from
The Eagles. He would later launch a $50 million law suit against drummer
Don Henley and guitarist
Glen Frey, alleging wrongful termination and breach of implied-in-fact contract. Henley and Frey then countersued Felder for breach of contract, alleging that Felder had written and attempted to sell the rights to a "tell-all" book. Both parties settled out-of-court for an undisclosed amount.
2011 - Irish guitarist and singer
Gary Moore died in his sleep of a heart attack in his hotel room while on holiday in Estepona, Spain.
2012 – A
6.9 magnitude earthquake hits near the central Philippines off the coast of Negros Island causing at least 51 deaths and injuring 112 others.
2013 – A
8.0 magnitude earthquake hits the Solomon Islands killing 10 people and injuring 17 others.
2016 – A
6.4 magnitude earthquake hits southern Taiwan, killing at least 38 people and injuring over 530 more. [I'm making preparations to be somewhere flat with no buildings or cliffs in the future on this date. Helluva day for earthquakes.]
Births
1756 – Aaron Burr (3rd VPOTUS); 1833 – J. E. B. Stuart; 1895 – Babe Ruth; 1911 – Ronald Reagan
(40th POTUS); 1912 – Eva Braun (Adolf's main squeeze); 1913 – Mary Leakey; 1914 – Thurl Ravenscroft (voice of Tony The Tiger "They'rrrrre Grrreat!", sang "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch"); 1917 – Zsa Zsa Gabor; 1922 – Patrick Macnee (The Avengers (1961)); 1931 – Rip Torn; 1932 – François Truffaut (director
Fahrenheit 451); 1939 – Mike Farrell ('B.J. Hunnicutt' on
M*A*S*H); 1940 – Tom Brokaw (talking head); 1941 – Dave Berry♪ ♫; 1943 – Fabian Forte♪ ♫; 1944 – Michael Tucker (
L.A. Law); 1945 –
Bob Marley♪ ♫; 1946 – Richie Hayward
(Little Feat); 1946 – Kate McGarrigle♪ ♫; 1949 – Jim Sheridan (co-writer, director of
My Left Foot); 1950 – Natalie Cole♪ ♫; 1957 – Kathy Najimy; 1957 – Robert Townsend; 1962 – Axl Rose (whiny-voiced asshole); 1964 – Gordon Downie♪ ♫(The Tragically Hip); 1966 – Rick Astley♪ ♫
Continued in next post