What do we know of February, on this its first day?
- It’s the second and shortest month of the year, with 28 days in common years and 29 days in leap ones that occur every four years.
- February is named after Februa, an ancient Roman festival of ritual purification or spring cleansing, later incorporated into Lupercalia.
- February and Valentine’s Day have become almost synonymous. The day came into being at the end of the 5th century when Pope Gleasius I replaced Lupercalia with St. Valentine’s Day. It’s been celebrated as a day of romance since the 14th century.
- The only month that can pass without a full moon is February. It didn’t have a full moon in 2018, before that in 1999, and will be without one next in 2037.
FEBRUARY IN THE PAST
- On February 1, 1790 the Supreme Court of the US met for the first time in the Royal Exchange Building in New York City. In April 1875 a bill passed providing for the creation of a Supreme Court of Canada, which held its first sitting on January 17, 1876.
- The first publicly funded gas street light in the US was lit in Baltimore in February 1817. The first gas street lamps in Canada were installed in Montreal in 1838.
- The Oxford English Dictionary, which has been the last word on words for more than a century, debuted in February 1884. It was issued in instalments (called fascicles) between 1884 and 1928.
- The Washington Monument was dedicated on February 21, 1885 and opened to the public about three years later. At 555 ft 5 1/8 in, it was the tallest structure in the world until the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889. First proposed in 1783, the marble obelisk faced countless delays, including during the Civil War.
- Groundhog Day, celebrated on February 2, was first observed in 1887 in Punxsutawney PA. German tradition has it if the hibernating animal casts a shadow on February 2nd, winter will last for another six weeks. If no shadow appears, spring will come early.
- On February 1, 1913, New York City’s Grand Central Terminal opened as the world’s largest station. It still holds the record for platform capacity.
- On February 14, 1929 four men dressed as police went into the headquarters of Bugs Moran (1891-1957) in Chicago, killing seven of Bugs’s men in the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Moran was a rival of gangster Al Capone (1899-1947).
- Fidel Castro (1926-2016) became Prime Minister of Cuba on February 16, 1959, after leading a Communist guerrilla campaign that forced dictator Fulgencio Batista (1901-73) into exile. Castro ruled over Cuba for nearly five decades, until handing power to his younger brother Raúl in 2008.
- Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), leader of the movement to end South African apartheid, was released from prison after 27 years on February 11, 1990.
- iTunes sold its billionth music download on February 22, 2006. Alex Ostrovsky of West Bloomfield MI bought “Speed of Sound” by Coldplay. Steve Jobs (1955-2011) called the 16 year old to tell him he’d won several Apple products.
To discover additional fun facts about events of February, click here.
An atmospheric, poignant poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-82) ends this post elegantly.
Tim McPhail says
New England won their first Super Bowl on Feb 3, 2002. That was the first Super Bowl in Feb. The following year the SB was on Jan 26. Since then, every SB has been held on the first Sunday of Feb.
The next 3 Academy Awards will be held on the last Sunday of Feb. Looks like the Powers That Be are trying to give us bread and circuses in Feb to prevent civil discontent !
Pam McPhail says
New England won its sixth SB yesterday — as you well know.
Ian Wallace says
Lots of things have happened in the month of February including the end of the biggest battle in history which also turned out to be the turning point in the largest war of all time (thus far). It was in February 1943 that starving German and Axis forces, e.g. Romania, Italy, etc, surrendered to Red Army troops at Stalingrad, a catastrophic defeat from which Hitler’s regime never recovered.
Pam McPhail says
The Allies bombed Dresden in February 1945 over Valentine’s Day. Have you read Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr? He was imprisoned in the slaughterhouse in Dresden after which he named his 1969 novel.
Ian Wallace says
I did read Slaughterhouse Five, many decades ago, and visited Dresden fairly recently (by comparison). After a vast restoration, the city appears to have reclaimed its place among the world’s most attractive urban areas, and the new parts we saw are also very appealing. All in all, a spectacular place!
Glen Wickens says
Crocuses usually appear by February (and sometimes earlier) in Vancouver and Victoria. Indeed this year cherry blossoms have already appeared in Victoria. Elsewhere in the Great White North, old, cold February at least means that the next month brings Spring.