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February 19, 2014 – Segment 1
Marc talks about some of what happened on this day in history, including the meeting of W.E.B. DuBois’ Pan-African Congress, the publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, and the birthdays of Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers from The Miracles.
EVENTS
1807 – Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama and confined to Fort Stoddert.
1846 – In Austin, Texas the newly formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following the annexation of Texas by the United States.
1847 – The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.
1861 – Serfdom is abolished in Russia.
1876 – Founding of the National Amateur Press Association (NAPA) in Philadelphia.
1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
1919 – Pan-African Congress, organized by W.E.B. Du Bois, met a Grand Hotel, Paris. There were fifty-seven delegates sixteen from the United States and fourteen from Africa form sixteen countries and colonies. Blaise Diagne of Senegal was elected president and Du Bois was named secretary.
1942 – World War II: nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin killing 243 people.
1942 – World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese-Americans to internment camps.
1945 – World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima – about 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.
1953 – Censorship: Georgia approves the first literature censorship board in the United States.
1959 – The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is then formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
1963 – The publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique reawakens the Feminist Movement in the United States as women’s organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.
1965 – Working at Abbey Road studios in London, The Beatles recorded a new John Lennon song ‘You’re Going To Lose That Girl’ in two takes. The track was released on the Help! album.
1976 – Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald R. Ford’s Proclamation 4417
1978 – Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat.
1982 – Ozzy Osbourne was arrested in San Antonio, Texas for urinating on the Alamo. Osbourne was wearing a dress at the time of his arrest, (due to his wife Sharon hiding all his clothes so he couldn’t go outside). Osbourne who apparently thought he was relieving himself on a pile of rubble was banned from ever playing in San Antonio, Texas again, (a ban which was lifted in 1992)
1986 – Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers the eastern province of Sri Lanka.
1992 – John Singleton,the first African American director to be nominated for the Academy Award is nominated for best director and best screenplay for his first film Boyz N the Hood.
2002 – Vonetta Flowers became the first black gold medalist in the history of the Winter Olympic Games. She and partner Jull Brakken won the inagural women’s two-person bobsled event.
BIRTHS
1896 – André Breton, French poet (d. 1966)
1924 – Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987)
1940 – Smokey Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer (The Miracles)
1940 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (The Miracles) (d. 2013)
DEATHS
Sources: The People History; Wikipedia List of Historical Anniversaries; This Day in Women’s History; This Day in African History;History.com; History Orb; Yenoba; Selected Black Facts; Phil Konstantin’s North American Indian History; and This Day in Music
