1690-Massachusetts established a provincial bank and issued money in denominations from two shillings to five pounds to pay the soldiers who served in the war with Quebec. This was the first instance of issuing “paper money.” Until 1690, the North American colonies had dealt primarily in coinage. Silver and gold were rather rare, so colonists generally used unofficial coins, or “decrepit coppers.” Boston-based silversmiths John Hull and Robert Sanderson did operate their own mint between 1652 and 1682, issuing silver shillings and three and sixpence pieces, but save for a few ill-fated experiments, paper money was hardly tried or used. Other colonies and states soon also issued paper money without any basis, so that in 1780 the ratio of paper to silver was 40 to 1.

1737- Elizabeth Graeme Ferguson birthday. Writer whose primary fame rests on being a go-between on behalf of the British with revolutionary forces at the behest (or insistence) of her husband, a loyalist. In October 1777 Ferguson's husband prevailed upon her to carry from the Reverend Jacob Duché to General George Washington a letter urging Washington to surrender. Washington chided her for her part in the episode. She later carried to Joseph Reed, Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress and aide to Washington, an offer of 10,000 guineas for help in obtaining peace terms advantageous to Britain. Ferguson's role in these proceedings brought her trouble. Her husband had already been retained and proscribed, and late in the war Graeme Park was confiscated. Although it was restored to her in 1781, she lost it through financial reverses in 1791. Her last years were difficult. She died near the Graeme Park estate in Pennsylvania on February 23, 1801.
http://search.eb.com/women/articles/Ferguson_Elizabeth_Graeme.html

1787 – Shays' Rebellion, an uprising of Massachusetts farmers led by Daniel Shays, ended with defeat at Petersham. Starting on August 29 the previous year, Shay began building his following. On January 25, Shays led 1100 men in an attempt to seize the arsenal in Springfield, Mass. State militia commanded by Gen. William Shepherd routed the insurgents. The uprising had been caused by the harsh economic conditions faced by Massachusetts farmers, who sought reforms and the issuance of paper money. The insurgents were taken completely by surprise on the morning of February 3rd in Petersham. General Benjamin Lincoln had marched his troops through a snowstorm the previous night. The farmers scattered, and the rebellion was ended. Most of the insurgents took advantage of a general amnesty and surrendered. Shays and a few other leaders escaped for a while. The Supreme Judicial Court soon sentenced fourteen of the rebellion's leaders, including Shays, to death for treason. They were later pardoned by the newly elected Governor John Hancock. Only two men, John Bly and Charles Rose of Berkshire County, were hung for their part in the Rebellion. A new Massachusetts Legislature in Boston began to undertake the slow work of reform. On February 6, 1788, Massachusetts would become the sixth state to ratify the US Constitution and become the sixth state of the Union.
http://www.sjchs-history.org/shays.html

1793 -- Lucretia Mott born Nantucket, Massachusetts. Abolitionist and feminist. One of the strongest voices for the rights of women and blacks in the US was Lucretia Coffin Mott, a birthright Quaker who lived most of her life in Philadelphia, the center of American Quakerism. The event that triggered her involvement in women's rights activity was richly ironic. She was an accredited delegate to an international anti-slavery convention in London, along with five other US women. The men in charge apparently saw nothing wrong with excluding all women from an assembly dedicated to advancing the rights of blacks. It was on the sidewalk outside the convention where Mott started her long association with Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with whom she was instrumental in establishing the basis for women's suffrage. She was a peacemaker between groups with different priorities, and campaigned (dressed in Quaker grey) for human rights into her 85th year. Her incisive, challenging mind, a clear sense of her mission, and a level-headed personality made her a natural leader and a major force in her time.
—Bleedster G. Armour Van Horn, Twisted History
http://www.mott.pomona.edu/mott1.htm
http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blmott.htm
http://womhist.binghamton.edu/mott/intro.htm

1807-Birthday of Confederate General Joseph Johnston, born near Farmville, VA, and died March 21, 1891 at Washington, DC. One of the most brilliant officers of the CSA, but known for having many differences with President Jefferson Davis who wanted to run the war from his office. Johnston's troops were never directly defeated and he holds the record of most victories when he was in command.

1809 - Illinois Territory, including present-day Wisconsin, was established.

1811-Birthday of Horace Greely, newspaper editor, born at Amherst, NH. Founded of the “New York Tribune” and one of the organizers of the Republican Party. Greely was an outspoken opponent of slavery. Best remembered for his saying, “Go West, young man.” Died No 29, 1872 at New York City.

1821- Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman doctor in the United States. After her graduation in 1849, she went to Paris to study which was then the world's foremost medical center, but Paris doctors proved as intolerant as their American colleagues. They would not permit her to study as a doctor. She was forced to enter a large maternity hospital as a student midwife. Because of an infection she contracted there, she lost the sight of one eye. When she returned to New York City in 1850, no hospital would allow her to practice there. Using funds donated by women, mostly Quakers, she and her sister opened the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, the first clinic for women examined and treated by women. After the Civil War, she returned to her native Britain where she continued to practice medicine. Died May 31, 1910.
http://womenshistory.about.com/library/bio/blbio_blackwell_eliz.htm

1841-Nauvoo Legion chartered: created by Illinois Charter and comprised of 5,000 Mormon men under the command of Lieutenant General Joseph Smith, the Nauvoo Legion was considered the “largest trained soldiery in the US except for the US Army.”

1862 - Thomas Edison printed the "Weekly Herald" and distributed it to passengers on a train traveling between Port Huron and Detroit, Michigan. It was the first newspaper printed on a train. It was a single sheet of approximately seven by eight inches, printed on both sides.

1862 – Birthday of George Tilyou, creator of Steeplechase Amusement Park, Coney Island.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/coney/peopleevents/pande04.html

1865-President Abraham Lincoln and his Secretary of State, William Seward, met to discuss peace with Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens and others at Hampton Roads, VA. The meeting, which took place on board the ship “River Queen,” lasted four hours and produced no positive results. The Confederates sought an armistice first and discussion of reunion later, while Lincoln was insistent that the recognition of Federal authority must be the first step toward peace. New York Tribune editor and abolitionist Horace Greeley provided the impetus for the conference when he contacted Francis Blair, a Maryland aristocrat and presidential adviser. Greeley suggested that Blair was the "right man" with whom to open discussions with the Confederates to end the war. Blair sought permission from Lincoln to meet with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and he did so twice in January 1865. Blair suggested to Davis that an armistice be forged and the two sides turn their attention to removing the French-supported regime of Maximilian in Mexico. This plan would help cool tensions between North and South by providing a common enemy, he believed. Meanwhile, the situation was becoming progressively worse for the Confederates in the winter of 1864-65. In January, Union troops captured Fort Fisher and effectively closed Wilmington, North Carolina, the last major port open to blockade runners. Davis conferred with his vice president, Alexander Stephens, and Stephens recommended that a peace commission be appointed to explore a possible armistice. Davis sent Stephens and two others to meet with Lincoln at Hampton Roads, Virginia. The meeting convened on February 3. Stephens asked if there was any way to stop the war and Lincoln replied that the only way was "for those who were resisting the laws of the Union to cease that resistance." The delegation underestimated Lincoln's resolve to make the end of slavery a necessary condition for any peace. The president also insisted on immediate reunification and the laying down of Confederate arms before anything else was discussed. In short, the Union was in such an advantageous position that Lincoln did not need to concede any issues to the Confederates. Robert M.T. Hunter, one of the delegation, commented that Lincoln was offering little except the unconditional surrender of the South.

After less than five hours, the conference ended and the delegation left with no concessions. April 9, at Appomattox Court House, VA., Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered to Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. The Civil War was virtually ended.

Unfortunately President Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC, April 14. The war continued and on May 10, Jefferson Davis was captured at Irwinville, GA, by a contingent of Gen. James H. Wilson's cavalry, led by Lt. Col. Benjamin Pritchard. On May 29th President Johnson issued a proclamation of amnesty.

1867-- In San Francisco, California, Joshua Norton I, "Dei Gratia" Emperor of the United States & Protector of Mexico, abolishes Congress & calls out the Army to clear out the riff-raff & crooks. “WHEREAS, a body of men calling themselves the National Congress are now in session in Washington City, in violation of our Imperial edict of the 12th of October last, declaring the said Congress abolished; WHEREAS, it is necessary for the repose of our Empire that the said decree should be strictly complied with; NOW, THEREFORE, we do hereby Order & Direct Major-General Scott, the Command-in-Chief of our Armies, immediately upon receipt of this, our Decree, to proceed with a suitable force & clear the Halls of Congress.”

1870-The 15th Amendment granted that the right of citizens to vote shall not be denied on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.

1874-Birthday of Gertrude Stein, avant-garde expatriate American writer, perhaps best remembered for her poetic declaration (in 1912): “Rose is a rose is a rose,” while living in Oakland, California. Born at Allegheny, PA, died at Paris, France, July 27, 1946. She lived most of her life in France with her lifelong companion Alice B. Toklas. Her word repetitions challenged readers to explore the various and deeper meanings of words such as "A rose is a rose is a rose." Coined the phrase "the lost generation” and used the word "gay” for the first time in literature. Renowned collector of modern French art.

1880-Theodore Roosevelt declares his love for young Alice Lee of Boston, MA.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/feb03.html

1882 -- Docking in New York, Oscar Wilde is asked by customs if he has anything to declare; he replies: "Nothing but my genius."

1894-Birthday of Norman Rockwell, American artist and illustrator especially noted for his realistic and homey magazine covers for the “Saturday Evening Post.” Born at New York, NY, he died at Stockbridge, MA, Nov 8, 1978.

1895-Birthday of vocalist Frankie “Half-Pint” Jaxon, Montgomery, AL
http://www.redhotjazz.com/jaxon.html
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/
B0000046G0/inktomi-musicasin-20/002-1958450-0644835

1895-Birthday of trumpet paler Kid Valentine, Reserve, LA
http://www.musica.co.uk/musica/screen__ARTISTDB/
shop__MUS/artist__Valentine,~'Kid'~Thomas~(1).htm
http://www.thejukejoint.com/amcd-049.html
http://www.arhoolie.com/titles/346.shtml
http://www.rainerjazz.com/Interpreten/Thomas_Kid_001.htm
http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/jazzitoria/moose.htm

1898-Birthday of Lil Hardin Armstrong, pianist, singer, orchestra leader in Chicago. She had her own band in 1920's, also played with King Oliver. Married Louis Armstrong who played in HER band in 1925 (divorced 1938). Led all-women and all-men bands, toured Europe, and was the house musician for Decca records. Born Memphis, Tennessee. Lil studied music at Fisk University, the Chicago College of Music and the New York College of Music where she earned her doctorate in 1929. Lil also studied fashion and in 1942, she staged her own fashion show in New York City. Lil's first job in the music field was playing sheet music at Jones's Music Store in Chicago in 1917. In 1920 Lil formed her own band at the Dreamland Cafe and in 1921 she joined King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band where she met Louis Armstrong. Lil and Louis married on February 5, 1924.

Lil became the driving force behind Louis career. She taught him to read music and wrote the music for many of the tunes he composed. She was the feature singer with Louis' Hot Five and Hot Seven bands. Lil and Louis separated in 1931 and they divorced in 1938 although they remained close friends until they died.

During the 1930s Lil led several other recording groups, including the Hot Shots and the New Orleans' Wanderers. Lil also starred in Broadway shows including "Shuffle Along" and "Hot Chocolates."

During the late 1930's Lil recorded for Decca Records. She moved back to Chicago in the early 1940s and performed as a soloist in Chicago nightclubs including the Tin Pan Alley Club, the Mark Twain Lounge and the Garrick Stage Bar. She also made several European tours during this period. Lil continued to cut records until 1963 and stayed active in music all her life.

Lil Hardin Armstrong died of a massive heart attack on August 27, 1971 while playing the "St. Louis Blues" during a Louis Armstrong Memorial Concert just a short two months after Louis, himself passed on. She was 73 years old.
http://www.redhotjazz.com/lil.html
http://www.duke.edu/~rmc5/lil.htm
http://www.washboardwailers.nl/lil2.html
http://www.meister.u-net.com/dixie/lil_hardin.htm
http://www.heptune.com/lyrics/artists/hardinli.html
http://www.africana.com/Articles/tt_126.htm
http://www.multirace.org/firstday/stamp84.htm

1899 -16º F (-27º C), Minden LA (state record)

1903-Jack Johnson, first Black heavyweight champion, wins the “Negro Heavyweight Title.”
http://www.famoustexans.com/jackjohnson.htm
http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014275.html
http://cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/jjohn.htm
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0000027GU/inktomi-musicasin-20/002-1958450-0644835
http://www.siteofthewest.com/search/historical/
personalities/jack_johnson/index.shtml

1907-Birthday of James Michener, American author, born at New York, NY. Best known for massive, detailed novels, many of which were born in his workshop with assistants and researchers. His “Tales of the South Pacific” was the basis for the popular film and play “South Pacific.” A prolific author, his other works include “Sayonara”, “Iberia”, “Hawaii”, “Centennial”, “Alaska”, “Chesapeake”, and “Texas”. Died at Austin, TX, Oct 17, 1997.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/michene.htmHis

1910 -- Mary Harris "Mother" Jones addresses Milwaukee brewery workers. Mother Jones spent two months working alongside women bottle-washers in one of the breweries during a period when she was not on the United Mine Workers payroll. Her report on their working conditions went like this: "Condemned to slave daily in the wash-room in wet shoes and wet clothes, surrounded with foul-mouthed, brutal foremen . . . the poor girls work in the vile smell of sour beer, lifting cases of empty and full bottles weighing from 100 to 150 pounds, in their wet shoes and rags, for they cannot buy clothes on the pittance doled out to them. . . . Rheumatism is one of the chronic ailments and is closely followed by consumption . . . An illustration of what these girls must submit to, one about to become a mother told me with tears in her eyes that every other day a depraved specimen of mankind took delight in measuring her girth and passing comments."

1912 -- 32,000 textile mill workers now involved in the "Bread and Roses" strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The Bread and Roses strike began last month and lasted for over nine weeks. Despite collusion by government and mill owners and their goons, strikers will not waver, even when 18-year-old Syrian worker John Rami is killed, when Annie Welzenbach and her two teenage sisters are arrested and dragged from their beds in the middle of the night, or when 200 police draw their clubs on February 19th and go after 100 women pickets, knocking them to the ground and beating them.
http://www.holtlaborlibrary.org/Lawrence.html

1913-The 16th amendment was ratified, granting Congress the authority to levy taxes on income.

1917 - Downtown Miami, FL, reported an all-time record low of 27 degrees.

1917 - Tom Mooney trial begins in San Francisco. Martin Swanson, a detective with a long involvement in strikes, & various labor confrontations in San Francisco , spent a couple of months trying to frame Mooney for an earlier bombing of PG&E power lines by offering bribes of $5,000 to several of Mooney's allies. He also maintained constant surveillance and harassment of Mooney, Billings, and the anarchists Alexander Berkman & Emma Goldman, who were living at 569 Dolores in the Mission District. Over the next two years it was gradually revealed that Swanson was primarily responsible for finding and coaching false witnesses for the District Attorney. In spite of revelations showing all the evidence against them was faked, and a convincing demolition of the state's case in each of the trials, Warren Billings & Tom Mooney were both convicted of first degree murder.
America free Tom Mooney
America save the Spanish Loyalists
America Sacco & Vanzetti must not die...
— Allen Ginsberg
www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmooney.htm

1918-Birthday of great comedian Joey Bishop, perhaps best known as a member of the Frank Sinatra “Rat Pack”. He was also a favorite of the Jack Paar Show, born The Bronx, New York, under the name Joseph Abraham Gottlieb. Bishop later became of several who sought to take on the King of Late Night, Johnny Carson, and actually had a solid following for several years. He also starred in “The Joey Bishop Show” with Abby Dalton.
http://home.arcor.de/dinoandfriends/joey_engl/joeybishop_e.htm
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0084086/

1919 - The first meeting of the League of Nations took place in Paris.

1919-Birthday of trumpet player Eugene “Snooky” Young, Dayton, Ohio
http://www.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/
0,,512643,00.html?artist=Snooky+Young
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/young_snooky/bio.jhtml
http://www.theiceberg.com/artist/26086/snooky_young/

1922 –Comic actor and director Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's trial ends in a hung jury on this day in 1922. Arbuckle, who worked with Charlie Chaplin and launched Buster Keaton's career, was accused of manslaughter after the death of starlet Virginia Rappe. Rappe died of a ruptured bladder several days after the 350-pound Arbuckle allegedly sexually assaulted her at a wild drinking party in San Francisco. After two hung juries, Arbuckle was acquitted, but his films were banned and withdrawn from circulation. He directed two features and several short films under the pseudonym William Goodrich. Arbuckle died in 1933 at the age of 46.

1926-Birthday of great comedian Shelly Berman, born Chicago, Illinois

1927-Bix Beiderbecke and Tram record “Singin' the Blues,” Okeh 40772.

1927 - United States President Calvin Coolidge signed a bill creating the Federal Radio Commission, "to bring order out of this terrible chaos." The president was speaking about the nation's then unregulated radio stations.

1928 – Birthday of Frankie Vaughn (Abelson) (singer: “Garden of Eden”, “Tower of Strength”)

1929 – Birthday of Russell Arms (singer: “Your Hit Parade”)

1930 - United States President Herbert Hoover appointed Charles Evans Hughes to be the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

1931 --The Arkansas state legislature passes a motion to pray for the soul of H. L. Mencken after he calls the state "the apex of moronia."
http://www.io.com/~gibbonsb/mencken.html
http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/photos/assets/photos/1047.jpg

1933-- Birthday of alto sax player John Handy. My late father's favorite sax player. He and violinist Mike White would visit my late father often. He helped them get jobs on TV and for events early in their career.
http://www.sfsu.edu/~allarts/handy/handybio.html
http://www.johnhandy.com/
http://www.saxworx.com/handybio.htm
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/handy_john_1_/bio.jhtml
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/x.dll?p=amg&sql=B6658

Abraham Lincoln Observance, Oregon, annually on the first Monday in February

1935-Birthday of guitarist Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Houston, TX, died May 18, 1996.
http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/Johnny%20Guitar%20Watson.html
http://www.rockabillyhall.com/JohnnyWatson.html
http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/9605/18/watson/

1935-Birthday of singer Sugar Boy Williams ( Jody Williams )
http://www.allblues4u.com/jody/jwilliams.htm
http://www.joes-corner.de/chicago2001/photos_jody1.htm
http://ottawa-bluesfest.ca/view_artist_profile.php?artistID=60
http://www.bluesbeforesunrise.com/bbssetlist022402.html

1939 -- The Baltimore Museum of Art exhibit Contemporary Negro Art opens. The exhibit, which will run for 16 days, will feature works by Richmond Barth, Aaron Douglas, Archibald Motley, Jr., and Jacob Lawrence's Toussaint L'Ouverture series.
http://sheldon.unl.edu/HTML/ARTIST/Lawrence_J/SSII.html
http://www.jacoblawrence.org/

1940-Birthday of pro football Hall of Fame quarterback Francis Asbury “Fran” Tarkenton, Richmond, VA.

1941-Jimmy Dorsey Band records, “Amapola,” Decca 3692.

1941-Birthday of Hall of Fame golfer Carol Mann, born Buffalo, NY.

1942--Medal of Honor BIANCHI, WILLIBALD C.
Rank and organization: First Lieutenant, U.S. Army, 45th Infantry, Philippine Scouts. Place and date: Near Bagac, Bataan Province, Philippine Islands, 3 February 1942. Entered service at: New Ulm, Minn. Birth: New Ulm, Minn. G.O. No.: 11, 5 March 1942. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy on 3 February 1942, near Bagac, Province of Bataan, Philippine Islands. When the rifle platoon of another company was ordered to wipe out 2 strong enemy machinegun nests, 1st Lt. Bianchi voluntarily and of his own initiative, advanced with the platoon leading part of the men. When wounded early in the action by 2 bullets through the left hand, he did not stop for first aid but discarded his rifle and began firing a pistol. He located a machinegun nest and personally silenced it with grenades. When wounded the second time by 2 machinegun bullets through the chest muscles, 1st Lt. Bianchi climbed to the top of an American tank, manned its antiaircraft machinegun, and fired into strongly held enemy position until knocked completely off the tank by a third severe wound.

1943- The Allied troopship S.S. Dorchester was torpedoed by a German sub and went down with a loss of 600 lives. As it sank, four chaplains gave up their lifejackets to shipmates, thereby also perishing in the icy waters. The bravery of Rev. Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed), Rev. George Lansing Fox (Methodist), Father John Washington (a Catholic priest) and Alexander David Goode (a Jewish rabbi) led Congress afterward to mark February 3rd as "Four Chaplains Day."
http://search.gospelcom.net/chi/DAILYF/2002/02/daily-02-03-2002.shtml
http://www.homeofheroes.com/brotherhood/chaplains.html

1944---POWERS, LEO J. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Private First Class, U.S. Army, 133d Infantry, 34th Infantry Division. Place and date: Northwest of Cassino, Italy, 3 February 1944. Entered service at: Alder Gulch, Mont. Birth: Anselmo, Nebr. G.O. No.: 5, 15 January 1945. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty. On 3 February 1944, this soldier's company was assigned the mission of capturing Hill 175, the key enemy strong point northwest of Cassino, Italy. The enemy, estimated to be at least 50 in strength, supported by machineguns emplaced in 3 pillboxes and mortar fire from behind the hill, was able to pin the attackers down and inflict 8 casualties. The company was unable to advance, but Pfc. Powers, a rifleman in 1 of the assault platoons, on his own initiative and in the face of the terrific fire, crawled forward to assault 1 of the enemy pillboxes which he had spotted. Armed with 2 hand grenades and well aware that if the enemy should see him it would mean almost certain death, Pfc. Powers crawled up the hill to within 15 yards of the enemy pillbox. Then standing upright in full view of the enemy gunners in order to throw his grenade into the small opening in the roof, he tossed a grenade into the pillbox. At this close, the grenade entered the pillbox, killed 2 of the occupants and 3 or 4 more fled the position, probably wounded. This enemy gun silenced, the center of the line was able to move forward again, but almost immediately came under machinegun fire from a second enemy pillbox on the left flank. Pfc. Powers, however, had located this pillbox, and crawled toward it with absolutely no cover if the enemy should see him. Raising himself in full view of the enemy gunners about 15 feet from the pillbox, Pfc. Powers threw his grenade into the pillbox, silencing this gun, killing another German and probably wounding 3 or 4 more who fled. Pfc. Powers, still acting on his own initiative, commenced crawling toward the third enemy pillbox in the face of heavy machine-pistol and machinegun fire. Skillfully availing himself of the meager cover and concealment, Pfc. Powers crawled up to within 10 yards of this pillbox fully exposed himself to the enemy gunners, stood upright and tossed the 2 grenades into the small opening in the roof of the pillbox. His grenades killed 2 of the enemy and 4 more, all wounded, came out and surrendered to Pfc. Powers, who was now unarmed. Pfc. Powers had worked his way over the entire company front, and against tremendous odds had single-handedly broken the backbone of this heavily defended and strategic enemy position, and enabled his regiment to advance into the city of Cassino. Pfc. Powers' fighting determination and intrepidity in battle exemplify the highest traditions of the U.S. Armed Forces.

1945--Medal of Honor PEDEN, FORREST E.
Rank and organization: Technician 5th Grade, U.S. Army, Battery C, 10th Field Artillery Battalion, 3d Infantry Division. Place and date: Near Biesheim, France, 3 February 1945. Entered service at: Wathena, Kans. Birth: St. Joseph, Mo. G.O. No.: 18, 13 February 1946. Citation: He was a forward artillery observer when the group of about 45 infantrymen with whom he was advancing was ambushed in the uncertain light of a waning moon. Enemy forces outnumbering the Americans by 4 to 1 poured withering artillery, mortar, machinegun, and small-arms fire into the stricken unit from the flanks, forcing our men to seek the cover of a ditch which they found already occupied by enemy foot troops. As the opposing infantrymen struggled in hand-to-hand combat, Technician Peden courageously went to the assistance of 2 wounded soldiers and rendered first aid under heavy fire. With radio communications inoperative, he realized that the unit would be wiped out unless help could be secured from the rear. On his own initiative, he ran 800 yards to the battalion command post through a hail of bullets which pierced his jacket and there secured 2 light tanks to go to the relief of his hard-pressed comrades. Knowing the terrible risk involved, he climbed upon the hull of the lead tank and guided it into battle. Through a murderous concentration of fire the tank lumbered onward, bullets and shell fragments ricocheting from its steel armor within inches of the completely exposed rider, until it reached the ditch. As it was about to go into action it was turned into a flaming pyre by a direct hit which killed Technician Peden. However, his intrepidity and gallant sacrifice was not in vain. Attracted by the light from the burning tank, reinforcements found the beleaguered Americans and drove off the enemy.

1945-Birthday of broadcaster and Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Robert Allen “Bob” Griese.

1945-Birthday of tuba player Bob Stewart, Sioux Falls, SD
http://www.centrohd.com/biogra/s1/bob_stewart_b.htm
http://www.view.com/stewart-bio.html
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=Bu2jx7i8jg7or

1946—Top Hits
Symphony - The Freddy Martin Orchestra (vocal: Clyde Rogers)
I Can't Begin to Tell You - Bing Crosby with the Carmen Cavallaro Orchestra
Let It Snow - Vaughn Monroe
Guitar Polka - Al Dexter

1947-North America's Coldest Record Temperature: at Snag, in Canada's Yukon Territory, a temperature of 81 degrees below zero ( Fahrenheit) was recorded, a record low for all of North America.

1947 - The temperature at Tanacross, AK, plunged to a record 75 degrees below zero.

1947 – Birthday of American author Paul Auster, born Newark, New Jersey.
http://webspace.yline.com/~thomas.hartl/austres.htm
http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/slas/harman/auster.html

1950 - The Ames Brothers, Ed, Gene, Joe and Vic, reached #1 on the pop music charts for the first time, with "Rag Mop". The brothers had many successes in their recording career: "You You You" [1953], "The Man with the Banjo" and "The Naughty Lady of Shady Lane" [1954], "Tammy" and "Melody d'Amour" [1957]. Ed Ames was formerly with the Russ Morgan band, after the brothers broke up in the late 1950s, he went on to have a successful television and recording career. In the 1960s, he recorded the hits "My Cup Runneth Over" and "Who Will Answer". On television, he played Mingo on "Daniel Boone". Ed is remembered for one of the "Tonight Show's" funniest moments when he competed with host, Johnny Carson, in a hand axe-tossing contest. Mingo won with hilarious consequences still shown in every celebration of "The Tonight Show".

1951 - For the sixth time, Dick Button won the United States figure skating title.

1951 - Tennessee Williams' play, "The Rose Tattoo", opened on Broadway.

1953 - Marine archeologist Jacques Cousteau became renowned worldwide for documenting his deep sea explorations. His first and most-lasting work, “The Silent World”, was published on this date. He attracted world attention when he salvaged a 1,000-pound Roman freighter near Marseilles. While in the French navy, he and engineer Emil Gargon invented the aqualung. However, Cousteau is best known for his television documentaries and book.

1953--MURPHY, RAYMOND G. Medal of Honor
Rank and organization: Second Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division (Rein.). Place and date: Korea, 3 February 1953. Entered service at: Pueblo, Colo. Born: 14 January 1930, Pueblo, Colo. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as a platoon commander of Company A, in action against enemy aggressor forces. Although painfully wounded by fragments from an enemy mortar shell while leading his evacuation platoon in support of assault units attacking a cleverly concealed and well-entrenched hostile force occupying commanding ground, 2d Lt. Murphy steadfastly refused medical aid and continued to lead his men up a hill through a withering barrage of hostile mortar and small-arms fire, skillfully maneuvering his force from one position to the next and shouting words of encouragement. Undeterred by the increasing intense enemy fire, he immediately located casualties as they fell and made several trips up and down the fire-swept hill to direct evacuation teams to the wounded, personally carrying many of the stricken marines to safety. When reinforcements were needed by the assaulting elements, 2d Lt. Murphy employed part of his unit as support and, during the ensuing battle, personally killed 2 of the enemy with his pistol. With all the wounded evacuated and the assaulting units beginning to disengage, he remained behind with a carbine to cover the movement of friendly forces off the hill and, though suffering intense pain from his previous wounds, seized an automatic rifle to provide more firepower when the enemy reappeared in the trenches. After reaching the base of the hill, he organized a search party and again ascended the slope for a final check on missing marines, locating and carrying the bodies of a machine gun crew back down the hill. Wounded a second time while conducting the entire force to the line of departure through a continuing barrage of enemy small-arms, artillery, and mortar fire, he again refused medical assistance until assured that every one of his men, including all casualties, had preceded him to the main lines. His resolute and inspiring leadership, exceptional fortitude, and great personal valor reflect the highest credit upon 2d Lt. Murphy and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service.

1954—Top Hits
Oh! My Pa-Pa - Eddie Fisher
Secret Love - Doris Day
Make Love to Me - Jo Stafford
Bimbo - Jim Reeves

1956-Autherine Lucy becomes the first Black student at the University of Alabama. She was suspended four days later following a riot and expelled on February 29.
http://www.osm.ua.edu/corolla/100yrs/27.html
http://www.datelinealabama.com/article/2002/11/21/3352_alumni_art.php3

1956 -- Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash hold a recording session at Sun Studios in Memphis. The sessions are later named the "Million Dollar Quartet.”

1957-Birthday of Marlon Riggs , Fort Worth, Texas, Fearless American filmmaker, black activist, AIDS martyr, died 1964.
http://www.newsavanna.com/gravity/BlackIs/biographyofmarl_419.html
http://www.colorado.edu/journals/standards/V5N1/marlonintro.html
http://www.colorado.edu/journals/standards/V5N1/riggs_release.html
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/RiggsInterview.html

1958-The Royal Teens' biggest hit, "Short Shorts" enters the US record charts on its way to number 3. The song was originally an instrumental warm up number that the group added silly lyrics to. The tune was recorded in about twenty minutes of left over studio time and released after a record label executive took a liking to it. I can still remember the lyrics and sing the song.

1959—“The Day the Music Died:” The sudden death of rock-and-roll legends Charles Hardin “Buddy” Holly, Ritchie Valens, and JP “The Big Bopper” Richardson. Many of Holly’s songs came from a wire recording he made in his apartment that were put onto records after his death. “ The Day the Music Died” is the theme of singer Don McLean's song, “American Pie, “ and is the date on which they were killed in a plane crash in a cornfield near Mason City, IA, in a driving snowstorm. Earlier that day they had completed a concert with Dion & The Belmonts at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, IA. “That' Be the Day While on a concert tour, rock and roll singers Buddy Holly, age 22, Ritchie Valenz, age 17, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, age 24, were killed. Valenz had just recorded two back-to-back hits, “Donna” and “La Bamba”. The plane's pilot was not certified to fly by instruments, which was what he attempted to do in a driving snowstorm. It was determined that he could not see the stars nor the lights below because of the visual obstruction of falling snow, and he misread the instrument panel. When the artists failed to arrive in Fargo for the concert, the then-unknown Bobby Vee took Buddy Holly's place. He greatly influenced rock groups and singers that came later, such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan The tragic news of the three young entertainers' deaths devastated the world. Holly was buried in his home town of Lubbock, Texas, and more than 1,000 people attended the funeral. Holly, just 22, had started singing country music with high school friends but switched to rock and roll after opening for various rock singers, including Elvis Presley. By the mid-1950s, Holly and his band had a regular radio show and had toured internationally, playing hits like "Peggy Sue," "Oh, Boy!," "Maybe Baby," and "Early in the Morning." Holly wrote all his own songs, and much of his work was released after his death, influencing such artists as Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. Another crash victim, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, 28, had started out as a disk jockey in his native Texas but began writing songs during his two years in the army. He wrote songs for other artists, including "Running Bear," a chart-climbing song recorded by singer Johnny Preston. The most famous work performed by Richardson himself was the rockabilly "Chantilly Lace," which made the Top 10. He developed a stage show based on his radio persona, "The Big Bopper." The third crash victim was Ritchie Valens, born Richard Valenzuela, who was only 17 when the plane went down but had already scored a No. 2 hit with the ballad "Donna." He had also hit No. 22 with "La Bamba," an upbeat number based on a traditional Mexican wedding song. In 1987, Valens' life was portrayed in the movie “La Bamba”, and the title song, performed by Los Lobos, became a No. 1 hit again Singer Don McLean memorialized Holly, Valens, and Richardson in the 1972 No. 1 hit "American Pie," which was rerecorded by Madonna in 2000

1960-- Frank Sinatra forms his own label, Reprise Records.

1961-- Bob Dylan makes his first recordings, versions of "San Francisco Bay Blues" and "Jesus Met the Woman at the Well," at the home of friends Sid and Bob Gleason in East Orange, NJ.

1962—Top Hits
Peppermint Twist - Joey Dee & The Starliters
Can't Help Falling in Love - Elvis Presley
Norman - Sue Thompson
Walk on By - Leroy Van Dyke

1962-Gene Chandler's "The Duke of Earl" tops the Cashbox Best Sellers chart for the first of a five week stay.

1964-- The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" b/w "I Saw Her Standing There" and their “Meet the Beatles!” album are all certified gold

1966--In San Francisco, The Psychedelic Shop Grand Opening (Haight Street)

1967- The Beatles record "A Day In The Life"

1968-The Beatles record Paul McCartney's song "Lady Madonna" at EMI's Abbey Road studios. They accomplished this in just three takes.

1968 - An Oxford, Ohio group called the Lemon Pipers saw their only Billboard chart-maker, "Green Tambourine", reach #1.

1969- John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr hire Allen Klein as the Beatles' business manager. Paul McCartney dissents and the hiring is contributing factor to the group's breakup.

1969- The Steve Miller Band records "My Dark Hour"

1970—Top Hits
I Want You Back - The Jackson 5
Venus - The Shocking Blue
Whole Lotta Love - Led Zeppelin
A Week in a Country Jail - Tom T. Hall

1971- Country singer Lynn Anderson was awarded a gold record for her recording of Joe South's "Rose Garden," which topped both the country and pop charts.

1973-- Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" hits #1.

1973-President Richard Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law.

1973 -- Convicted mass-murderer Juan V. Corona sentenced to 25 terms of life imprisonment (which, it was stipulated, he was to serve consecutively).
http://www.angelfire.com/oh/yodaspage/corona.html
http://darkday.tripod.com/a-h/corona.html

1976- Elvis Presley records "Solitaire"

1978—Top Hits
Baby Come Back - Player
Short People - Randy Newman
Stayin' Alive - Bee Gees
Out of My Head and Back in My Bed - Loretta Lynn

1978- It's the 19th anniversary of Buddy Holly's death. It's also the day on which his birthplace in Lubbock, Texas had been scheduled for demolition by the Lubbock Building Department. The Department had no idea the house had any association with the town's most famous son. However a few days ago, a man bought the place, moved it intact, outside the city limits and fixed it up so his family could move in. He too, did not know the significance of the house and became the man who save Buddy Holly's birthplace by accident.

1978- "Dead Man's Curve," a made-for-TV-movie about surf-rock singers Jan & Dean, airs on ABC-TV. Jan and Dean were classmates at University High School, West Los Angeles, California. It is the dramatization of the real-life accident wherein Dean Torrance, upon learning he had been drafted, crashed his Corvette at a high speed, leaving him partially paralyzed as he remains today.

1979-- The Blues Brothers' album Briefcase Full of Blues hits #1.

1982- The city of Memphis declared "Bar-Kays Day" in honor of the band that began as Otis Redding's backup group. Several members of the Bar-Kays died in the 1967 plane crash that killed Redding, but the group survived to have such hits as "Soul Finger" and "Shake Your Rump to the Funk."

1986 - The United States Weather Bureau officially named January of 1986 the warmest January since 1953. The average temperature in United States for that month was 38 degrees.

1986—Top Hits
That's What Friends are For - Dionne & Friends
Burning Heart - Survivor
I'm Your Man - Wham!
Just in Case - The Forester Sisters

1988 - Arctic air continued to invade the central U.S. The temperature at Midland TX plunged from a record high of 80 degrees to 37 degrees in just three hours. Morning lows in the higher elevations of Wyoming were as cold as 38 degrees below zero. Heavy snow blanketed southwestern Colorado, with 16 inches reported at Steamboat Springs.

1989 - On the 30th anniversary of Buddy Holly's death, Bobby Vee and the Crickets played a memorial concert before 1,700 fans in Fargo, North Dakota. Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper were on their way to Fargo when their plane crashed this date in 1959. It was Vee who took Holly's place in Fargo the night of the tragedy. It was the beginning of his career, and Vee went on to place 38 hits on Billboard's Hot 100 chart.

1989 - A winter storm brought heavy snow and high winds to the western U.S. Up to three feet of snow blanketed the Sierra Nevada of California, and buried parts of northeastern Washington State under three feet of snow in five days. High winds across Washington State reached 75 mph, with gusts to 105 mph. The morning low of 29 degrees below zero at Casper, WY was a record for the month of February. Wisdom, MT hit 53 degrees below zero. Missoula, MT reported a wind chill reading of 85 degrees below zero.

1990 - Thunderstorms developing ahead of a cold front produced severe weather over the central Gulf coast states during the afternoon and evening hours. Thunderstorms spawned seven tornadoes in Alabama, including one which touched down north of Birmingham injuring fifteen people and causing nearly three million dollars damage. A tornado at Margaret injured eleven persons and caused a million dollars damage

1990- Quebec teen heartthrob Roch Voisine (ROCK VWAH-ZINN') won the best international French-language album award at a ceremony in Paris. His album "Helene" was at the top of the French chart at the time.

1990 - Jockey Willie Shoemaker raced for the 40,352nd and last time. He finished fourth at the Santa Anita Racetrack aboard 7-10 favorite "Patchy Groundfog". Shoemaker won 1100 stakes and 8,833 wins (a world record that stood until Laffit Pincay Jr. topped it in 1999) in 40,350 races. In 42 years, Shoemaker won 11 Triple Crown races, including four Kentucky Derbies, five Belmont Stakes, and three Preakness Stakes; 1,009 stakes races; and 10 national money titles. He earned more than $123 million in purses, about $10 million of which went into his pocket. (Shoemaker's life took a tragic turn on April 8, 1991, when he was left paralyzed from the neck down after an auto accident.)

1995 - Air Force Lt. Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman space-shuttle pilot this day as the space shuttle "Discovery" (STS-63) blasted off from Cape Kennedy, Florida. She was wearing a scarf that belonged to Amelia Earhart, and carried the pilot's license of early endurance flight champion Bobbi Trout, as well as items belonging to members of the Women Air force Service Pilots who ferried military aircraft in the U.S. during WWII (and died) and from the women who applied and passed initial tests in NASA's Mercury program in the 1950's, but were turned down because of their gender. Lt. Colonel Eileen Collins, 38, lifted off from Cape Canaveral in the co-pilot's seat, as the first woman to pilot an American space craft. An Air Force test pilot, she was selected for the NASA space program in 1990, the first woman chosen as a space shuttle pilot. In December 1994, two more women were chosen.
http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/whos_who_level2/collins.html
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/collins.html
http://www.undelete.org/military/astronauts.html

1996 - Rap artist Queen Latifah was stopped by a California Highway Patrol officer and arrested for reportedly possession of a concealed, loaded handgun, possession of marijuana, and speeding as she was traveling west on Interstate 10. Pending the results of a sobriety test, she could also face DUI charges. The Grammy-winning singer was known for her anti-drug and anti-violent messages in her music, and was a popular actress on the television sitcom “Living Single” . She is perhaps best known now for her role in the movie “Chicago,” and now has her own talk show.

1996-The first American serviceman killed during the Bosnia conflict was Sergeant First Class Donald Allen Dugan of Ridgeway, OH, a member of the peacekeeping force organized by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that entered Bosnia-Hercegovina in December, 1995. Dugan was killed in an explosion in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The cause of the explosion was not determined.

1996-Blues Traveler's "Run-Around" was on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart for the 46th straight week, breaking the record held by Tag Team's "Whoomp! (There It Is)" and Crystal Waters' "100 Per Cent Pure Love."

1998-Winger Dino Ciccarelli of the Florida Panthers became the ninth player in NHL history to score 600 regular-season goals. Ciccarelli tallied in the third period of a game against the Detroit Red Wings. The power-play goal earned Florida a 1-1 tie.

1998- Attorneys General subpoena Microsoft. The antitrust suit against Microsoft expanded as attorneys general from several states issued new subpoenas regarding Microsoft's business practices in the pending launch of Windows 98. Microsoft's battle with the government during the next year would reveal secret deals with online providers, hardball tactics for promoting Internet Explorer, and other questionable practices. The government claimed such practices were ruthless and anticompetitive, but Microsoft called them just plain good business. However, Microsoft won on one point this day: An appeals judge agreed to suspend the investigation of a "special master"-an expert on Internet law to whom Microsoft objected.

2001 - The XFL (Xtreme Football League) debuted. The league was created by Vince McMahon, mastermind behind the WWF (World Wrestling Federation). What was promoted as “Football the Way It Was Meant to Be Played” soon faded into painful memories for TV viewers and fans. The WWF apparently thought that it could pull in millions of wrestling fans to support the league, but was shocked when it discovered that actual football fans were the major supporters of the XFL, and these football fans were turned off by the wrestling-show influence on the games.

2002- Super Bowl XXXVI-Among the biggest underdogs in SB history (14 points), the Patriots won the hearts of much of America by shutting down the "greatest show on turf" St. Louis Rams before Adam Vinatieri kicked a field goal on the final play of the game to win 20-17. After struggling to a 5-11 record in 2000, they began this season 1-3 and lost their starting quarterback, Drew Bledsoe, to injury. But backup Tom Brady replaced him and eventually led the team to nine straight wins, including the Super Bowl.

2008--The Giants (14–6) won 17–14 over the previously undefeated Patriots (18–1). In doing so, the Giants became the first NFC wild card team to win a Super Bowl. They also became the sixth wild card seed from either conference, the fifth in eleven years, and second in three years, to earn an NFL championship. The first three quarters of Super Bowl XLII were largely a defensive battle, as both teams combined for only 10 points entering into the final quarter, with the Patriots leading 7–3. New York finally scored their first touchdown with 11:05 left in the game to take a 10–7 lead. Faced with third down and five yards to go from his own 44-yard line with 1:15 remaining, Giants quarterback Eli Manning avoided what looked like a sack, completed a 32-yard pass to wide receiver David Tyree, who made a leaping catch by pinning the ball on his helmet, which put them at New England's 24-yard-line. Four plays later, New York wide receiver Plaxico Burress caught the winning touchdown with 0:35 left. Manning, who threw both of his touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, was named the Most Valuable Player

2013—Baltimore Ravens win Superbowl. After going 13–3 and reaching the NFC Championship the year before, the 49ers topped that success with their first NFC championship since 1994 as well as their sixth overall as a franchise, overcoming a 17–0 deficit to defeat the Atlanta Falcons 28–24 on January 20, 2013 in the NFC title game. However, the season ended with their first-ever defeat in the Super Bowl, falling to theBaltimore Ravens, 31–34.

Super Bowl Champions This Date

2002 -New England Patriots
Patriots 20, Rams 17
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XXXVI

2013—Baltimore Ravens—SF 49ers 34-31
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl_XLVII