Lost and Found – February 28th Edition

What to remember about February 28th…

• 1827  Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroad is incorporated; becomes 1st in America to offer passenger and cargo transportation
• 1854  Republican Party is born in Ripon, Wisconsin when 30 opponents of Kansas-Nebraska Act meet to form new political party
• 1893  America’s 1st battleship is launched; USS Indiana (BB-1)
• 1940  Legendary Italian American race car driver Mario Andretti is born
• 1953  Scientists James D. Watson and Francis Crick 1st announce that they have discovered the chemical structure of DNA
• 1983  After 11 seasons on television, M*A*S*H airs for last time
• 1991  President Bush declares a ceasefire ending 1st Gulf War; ground war had lasted just 100 hours
• 1993  Federal agents storm Branch Davidian compound outside Waco, Texas in attempt to arrest leader David Koresh; 10 killed in gun battle before beginning 50-day siege that will kill another 76 at the end
• 1997  2 heavily armed and armored bank robbers engage police in firefight outside a Bank of America in North Hollywood; both shooters killed and 18 others injured
• 1998  RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle takes maiden flight; 1st UAV certified for use in civilian airspace
• 2005  American businessman and adventurer Stephen Fossett begins 1st nonstop, unrefueled, circumnavigation of the globe by a fixed-wing aircraft aboard Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer
• 2009  American radio broadcaster Paul Harvey (Aurant) dies in Phoenix, Arizona (b. 1918); now you know “The Rest of the Story”

Lost and Found – February 27th Edition

What to remember about February 27th…

• 1776  Patriot forces score 1st victory of Revolutionary War when troops defeat superior British force at Battle of Moore’s Creek
• 1827  New Orleans’ Mardi Gras tradition is born when masked and costumed students take to the streets
• 1960  Abraham Lincoln gives famous Cooper Union Speech; brings him to prominence and then nomination for presidency
• 1864  Union prisoners of war begin arriving at Camp Sumter near Andersonville, Georgia; thousands will die under horrific conditions by time of liberation
• 1922  Supreme Court issues opinion in Lesser v. Garnett affirming ratification of 19th Amendment; women’s right to vote guaranteed
• 1942  Aircraft carrier USS Langley is sunk by Japanese bombers; U.S. Navy’s 1st aircraft carrier
• 1949  Chaim Weizmann becomes 1st President of Israel
• 1951  22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified; Presidents are limited to 2 terms of service
• 1972  Chinese premier and President Nixon issue “Shanghai Communique” announcing normalization of relations
• 1973  200 members of American Indian Movement (AIM) occupy Wounded Knee historic battlefield and take hostages
• 1982  Wayne Bertram Williams is convicted for 2 of 28 serial murders of young African-American males in Atlanta, Georgia
• 1991  President Bush announces that Kuwait has been liberated

Lost and Found – February 26th Edition

What to remember about February 26th…

• 1813  Founding father Robert R. (The Chancellor) Livingston dies (b. 1746), administered Washington’s oath of office and negotiated Treaty of Paris; aided Robert Fulton’s construction of 1st functional steamboat
• 1815  Napoleon Bonaparte escapes Island of Elba to begin second conquest of France
• 1846  American soldier, showman, and Medal of Honor recipient William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody is born in Iowa (d. 1917)
• 1919  President Wilson declares Grand Canyon a National Park
• 1932  American singer, song writer, and actor John R. “Johnny” Cash is born in Kingsland, Arkansas (d. 2003)
• 1935  In violation of Treaty of Versailles; Hitler signs secret order to create a German air force – the Luftwaffe
• 1949  B-50 bomber Lucky Lady II takes off from Arizona to make 1st non-stop flight around the world
• 1993  Islamic terrorists detonate truck bomb in parking garage below World Trade Center; 6 killed over 1000 injured
• 1995  Britain’s oldest investment bank Barings Bank collapses after rogue trader Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion on Singapore markets
• 2009  President Obama’s administration reverses military policy of prohibiting media coverage of returning war dead

Lost and Found – February 25th Edition

What to remember about February 25th…

• 1779  Patriots and frontiersmen led by George Rogers Clark capture British Fort Sackville to break spirit of loyalist settlers
• 1836  Samuel Colt patents 1st percussion “revolver” pistol
• 1862  To finance Civil War, Congress passes Legal Tender Act authorizing use of paper notes to pay government debt instead of gold or silver
• 1870  Republican Hiram Rhodes is sworn in as United States Senator from Mississippi; 1st African-American to sit in Congress
• 1932  Adolf Hitler becomes naturalized German citizen and becomes eligible to run for election
• 1933  USS Ranger is launched as 1st U.S. Navy purpose-built aircraft carrier
• 1948  Communist Party assumes control of government in Czechoslovakia
• 1964  22-year-old Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali) defeats heavyweight champion Sonny Liston in surprise decision
• 1991  Iraqi SCUD missile lands on American barracks in Dahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28 in greatest single casualty incident of the Gulf War
• 2005  Dennis Rader was arrested in BTK (bind torture kill) serial killings

Lost and Found – February 24th Edition

What to remember about February 24th…

• 1803  Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice John Marshall, issues decision in William Marbury v. James Madison; power of judicial review confirmed
• 1836  Colonel Travis sends messengers carrying call for aid for troops besieged at the Alamo by General Santa Ana
• 1840  Former President John Quincy Adams begins arguments before Supreme Court in Amistad case defending rights of would-be slaves
• 1868  President Andrew Johnson becomes 1st president impeached; attempted dismissal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton is reason
• 1917  U.S. Ambassador to Mexico receives copy of “Zimmerman Note”; cable from Germany offers to Mexico the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona if they enter WWI as an ally against America
• 1944  “Merrill’s Marauders” Rangers begin guerilla campaign against Japanese in northern Burma after 1000-mile march into occupied territory
• 1991  After 6-week bombing campaign, coalition ground forces invade Iraq and Kuwait; Operation Desert Shield becomes Desert Storm
• 2008  Communist dictator Fidel Castro retires after almost 50 years

Lost and Found – February 23rd Edition

What to remember about February 23rd…

• 1778  Prussian born Barron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge to begin training of Continental troops to become professional soldiers
• 1836  Mexican army arrives, siege begins at Battle of the Alamo, Texas
• 1848  Former 6th President of the United States John Quincy Adams dies from stroke inside U.S. Capitol Building (b. 1757)
• 1861  President elect Lincoln foils assassination attempt with last-minute change of his itinerary; arrives in Washington, D.C vs Baltimore
• 1870  Mississippi is readmitted to the Union; military governance ends
• 1943  Japanese submarine bombards Elwood, California

• 1945  U.S. flag is raised by Marines on Mt. Suribaci on Iwo Jima
• 1954  Polio vaccine invented by Dr. Jonas Salk is given to children for 1st time; incidence of disease has dropped from peak of hundreds of thousands infected each year to around 1000
• 1991  Coalition ground forces cross the border from Saudi Arabia to begin liberation of Kuwait during the Gulf War
• 1997  Palestinian teacher Ali Hassan Abu Kamal opens fire on observation deck of Empire State Building; 2 killed 6 wounded

Just For George Washington’s Birthday

Here are a few words of wisdom from America’s “indispensible man”.

(Trivia note:  George Washington’s birth day is recorded as February 11, 1731 under the old style Julian Calendar.  When England converted to the Gregorian Calendar in 1750, all dates had to be revised.  As we reckon our current calendar, Washington’s birth date is February 22, 1732.)

And to wrap it all up, here are a few jokes for sharing around the water cooler…

• Why did George Washington have trouble sleeping? – Because he couldn’t lie.
• What do you call George Washington’s false teeth? – Presidentures!
• What would you get if you crossed the first US president with an animated character? – George Washingtoon!
• What would George Washington be if he were alive today? – Really, really, really old!
• How did George Washington speak to his army?- In general terms!

Lost and Found – February 22nd Edition

What to remember about February 22nd…

• 1732  George Washington, 1st President of the United States, is born in Virginia (d. 1799)
• 1819  Representatives of United States and Spain sign Florida Purchase Treaty; U.S. assumes $5 million in Spanish debt
• 1847  5,000 U.S. troops led by future 12th president Zachary Taylor defeat 15,000 under General Santa Anna at Battle of Buena Vista
• 1856  Republican Party holds 1st national convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• 1862  Jefferson Davis inaugurated President of Confederate States of America
• 1864  Outnumbered 3-to-1, Confederates led by Nathan Bedford Forrest rout Yankees at Battle of West Point, Mississippi
• 1942  President Franklin Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur to evacuate from the Philipines in face of Japanese invasion
• 1943  Nazis execute by guillotine college student leaders of White Rose resistance movement at University of Munich
• 1968  American and South Vietnamese forces deal communists massive losses as Tet Offensive comes to a close
• 1980  U.S. hockey team scores miraculous victory over reigning gold medal winning Soviets at Lake Placid Winter Olympics
• 1990  Fraudulent musical act Milli Vanilli wins Grammy award as Best New Artist

Lost and Found – February 21st Edition

What to remember about February 21st…

• 1848  Former 6th President John Quincy Adams suffers stroke during heated debate in U.S. House of Representatives
• 1849  Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto; leads to millions of deaths worldwide
• 1885  Washington Monument is dedicated after almost 50 years in works
• 1916  10-month Battle of Verdun begins with massive bombardment
• 1948  National Association for Stock Car Racing (NASCAR) is incorporated
• 1965  African-American activist Malcolm X (aka El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz) is assassinated by members of Nation of Islam after leaving group (b. 1925)
• 1970  Secret peace negotiations begin between Vietnamese representatives and Henry Kissinger
• 1972  President Nixon arrives in China to open diplomatic relations talks
• 1994  CIA employee Aldrich Ames is arrested for selling secrets to Soviet Union; at least 10 agents murdered because of his leaks
• 1995  American businessman and adventurer Steve Fossett completes 1st solo balloon flight across the Pacific

Lost and Found – February 20th Edition

What to remember about February 20th…

• 1792  President George Washington signs Postal Service Act; U.S. Postal Service is born
• 1902  American photographer Ansel Adams is born in San Francisco, California (d. 1984)
• 1933  Congress formally proposes 21st Amendment; repeal of prohibition
• 1942  Navy Lt. Edward O’Hare becomes 1st American WWII ace pilot shooting down 5 Japanese planes himself, he is awarded Medal of Honor
• 1962  NASA successfully launches Friendship 7 spacecraft, John Glenn becomes 1st American to orbit the Earth
• 2005  Spain is 1st nation to vote on and ratify the proposed European Constitution