This Day in History

February 1

This Day In History

What Happened In the 21st Century?

A singular event occurred during the halftime show of the Super Bowl on February 1, 2004, it was known as the "Nipplegate." While performing a duet with Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake briefly exposed one of her breasts in what was later described as a "wardrobe malfunction." An estimated 143.6 million people saw it happen as it was airing live on Television. "Nipplegate" became one of the most-viewed, most-searched-for, and most-talked-about moments in the history of the internet. To this day, it still hasn't been decided if it was an accident or a publicity stunt.

What Happened In Opera?

February 1, 1896, Puccini’s "La Bohème" premieres in Turin, Italy. This was huge for Puccini, as it was a huge step in the right direction of his career. It allowed for his debts to be repaid and aquire a country villa. Puccini was no longer a starving artist, but rather a star embraced by the artistic establishment. Even those who are not opera fans may be more familiar with La Bohème than they realize. This is due to Puccini’s opera acting as inspiration and source material for the late Jonathan Larson in creating the Broadway smash Rent.

What Happened In Sports?

On February 1, 1913, 25-year-old multi-sport star Jim Thorpe signed a Major League Baseball contract with the New York Giants. Legendary Football coach, Pop Warner, said that Thorpe was a freak of nature and would become a great baseball player. Thorpe's main sports were track, football, and baseball, but he also had the ability to play basketball, boxing, lacrosse, swimming, hockey, handball and tennis. He even went and won two gold medals in the 1912 Olympics. However, even with all of the hype, Thorpe never lived up to the high expectations and only played six seasons with a batting average of only .252 during this span of time.

What Happened In Black History?

On February 1, 1960, in Greensboro, North Carolina, four Black college students spark a nationwide civil rights movement by refusing to leave a “whites-only” lunch counter. The students sat at the Woolworth counter until the store closed, and they continued to come back everyday. By the end of the first week, 200 people protested at the store. It continued for six months, until Woolworth gave in and integrated the lunch counter. Although it wasn't the first sit-in, it was one of the first heavily televised ones, and caused for many more sit-ins to occur in 30 other cities.

What happened in Dictionary?

On February 1, 1884, the first portion of the Oxford English Dictionary, which is considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language, was published. It started being created in the late 1850s by members of the London Physicological Society. They decided to do this because of a lack of current dictionaries at the time. Unlike most English dictionaries, which only list present-day common meanings, it provides a detailed chronological history for every word and phrase, citing quotes from a wide range of sources, including classic literature. It took 40 years for the final fiscal to be published (April 1928).

What Happened In War?

On February 1, 1968, President Richard Nixon annouced his candidicy for president. This came as a surprise to many because of him being written off by most observers after the loss to Kennedy in the 1960 election. It also was a shock to many due to his recent loss of Governor in the state of California. However, with his stance that was between the more conservative elements of his party, led by Ronald Reagan, and the liberal side, led by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, Nixon won the nomination on the first ballot at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach. He was able to win the candidicy due to weakened internal divisions within his own party and the growing dissatisfaction with the Johnson administration’s handling of the war in Vietnam.

One Interesting Fact:

Harry Styles was born on February 1, 1994.

Wrap-Up:

What Happened In Crime?

Overall, I think this day is very cool and lots of interesting things have happened on this day over the years. I didn't realize that many huge things in war, technology, crime, etc. have occured on this day. My favorite thing that I learned about was that the first portion of the Oxford Dictionary was created on this day.

On February 1, 1974, serial killer Ted Bundy striked again. His victim was a University of Washington student Lynda Ann Healy, who disappeared from her apartment. This murder officially pushed Bundy into the rank of serial killer. During the summer of 1974, Bundy attacked at least seven young women in Washington. Bundy’s victims looked remarkably similar to each other, with nearly all of them having long, dark hair parted in the middle. By the time he was finally captured on April 27, 1979, Bundy was America’s most famous serial killer.

Max Letchworth