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February 1
The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster was a fatal accident in the NASA Space Shuttle program on February 1, 2003. During the launch of the STS-107 mission, foam insulation from the Space Shuttle external tank fell and damaged the thermal protection system of the orbiter. During atmospheric reentry at the end of the mission, the damage allowed hot gases to penetrate the heat shield and destroy the internal wing structure. The orbiter broke apart inflight, killing all seven astronauts on board (crew pictured). Debris was scattered over eastern Texas and Louisiana, and a massive recovery effort was launched to recover debris and crew remains. The accident resulted in a two-year hiatus for the Space Shuttle program, and an investigation into its cause discovered that NASA had become accustomed to insulation foam hitting the orbiter on previous missions. The accident contributed to the eventual cancellation and retirement of the Space Shuttle, which last flew in 2011. (Full article...)
February 2
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Resolution Guyot, formerly known as Huevo, is a guyot (tablemount) in the underwater Mid-Pacific Mountains. It is a circular flat mountain, rising 500 metres (1,600 ft) above the seafloor to a depth of about 1,320 metres (4,330 ft), with a summit platform 35 kilometres (22 mi) wide. The Mid-Pacific Mountains lie west of Hawaii and northeast of the Marshall Islands, but at the time of its formation the guyot was located in the Southern Hemisphere, by a hotspot in today's French Polynesia. Plate tectonics shifted it to its present-day location, and the Easter, Marquesas, Pitcairn and Society hotspots may have been involved in the formation of Resolution Guyot. Volcanic activity has been dated to have occurred 107 to 129 million years ago and formed a volcanic island that was subsequently flattened by erosion. The platform emerged above sea level at one point before eventually drowning for reasons still unknown, with thermal subsidence lowering it further to its present depth. (Full article...)
February 3
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HMS Argus was a British aircraft carrier that served in the Royal Navy from 1918 to 1944. Converted from an ocean liner, she became the first example of the standard pattern of aircraft carriers, with a full-length flight deck allowing aircraft to take off and land. The ship was involved for several years in the development of the optimum design for other aircraft carriers. She spent one brief deployment on the China Station in the late 1920s before being placed in reserve. Argus was recommissioned and partially modernised shortly before the Second World War. In July 1940 she made the first of her many ferry trips to fly off fighters to Malta. In 1942 she was pressed into front-line service despite her lack of speed and armament. She provided air cover during the invasion of French North Africa and was slightly damaged by a bomb. Argus was used again for deck-landing practice until September 1944. She became an accommodation ship in December, was sold in late 1946 and was scrapped in 1947. (Full article...)
February 4
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Made in the Dark is the third studio album by English indietronica band Hot Chip (pictured), released on 4 February 2008 through EMI Records internationally and Astralwerks and DFA Records in the United States. A defining feature of the 13-track album is the strong presence of romantic ballads. Alexis Taylor, the main contributor to the lyrics, felt that feelings of love and happiness, partly the result of his recent marriage, had contributed to the album's romantic tone. The title track was described as "sublime" by one critic. Songs such as "Ready for the Floor" and "Bendable Poseable" were noted by critics to be reminiscent of the band's previous release, The Warning. Some critics felt that Made in the Dark lacked focus and contained too many varied elements. The album peaked at number four on the UK Albums Chart, and entered at number 109 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Several singles were released from the album, including "Shake a Fist", "Ready for the Floor", and "One Pure Thought". (Full article...)
February 5
Colin Robert Chase (February 5, 1935 – October 13, 1984) was an American academic. An associate professor of English at the University of Toronto, he was known for his contributions to the studies of Old English and Anglo-Latin literature. His father was a newspaper executive and his mother, Mary Chase, was a playwright who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. His best-known work, The Dating of Beowulf, challenged the accepted consensus as to when the Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf (page pictured) was created; it left behind what was described in A Beowulf Handbook as "a cautious and necessary incertitude". Chase was also known for writing Two Alcuin Letter-Books, a scholarly collection of 24 letters by the 8th-century scholar Alcuin. He also contributed to the Dictionary of the Middle Ages and wrote the Beowulf section of "This Year's Work in Old English Studies" for the Old English Newsletter for nearly a decade. (Full article...)
February 6
Rhea Seddon (born 1947) is an American surgeon and retired astronaut for NASA. After being selected as part of the first group of NASA astronauts to include women in 1978, she flew on three Space Shuttle flights, as mission specialist on STS-51-D and STS-40, and as payload commander for STS-58, accumulating over 722 hours in space. On these flights, she built repair tools for a US Navy satellite and performed medical experiments. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Seddon was awarded her doctor of medicine degree in 1973. During her residency with the University of Tennessee hospitals, she was the only woman in the General Surgery Residency Program. Before, during and after her career in the astronaut program, she worked in hospital emergency departments. She retired from NASA in November 1997 and became Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt Medical Group. (Full article...)
February 7
Jesus nahm zu sich die Zwölfe ('Jesus gathered the Twelve to Himself'), BWV 22, is a church cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach, written for the last Sunday before Lent. He composed it as an audition piece for the position of director of church music in Leipzig, and he first performed it there in a church service at the Thomaskirche on 7 February 1723. The work begins with a scene from the Gospel in which Jesus predicts his suffering in Jerusalem, and is not understood by his disciples. Bach showed, setting the prescribed text of an unknown poet, that he mastered the composition of a dramatic scene, an expressive aria with obbligato oboe, a recitative with strings, an exuberant dance, and a chorale in the style of Johann Kuhnau, his predecessor in Leipzig. According to the Bach scholar Richard D. P. Jones, several elements of the work such as a "frame of biblical text and chorale around the operatic forms of aria and recitative" became standards for Bach's Leipzig cantatas and even his Passions. (Full article...)
February 8
The Northolt siege was a hostage situation which developed in Northolt, West London, on 25 December 1985. After a domestic dispute, Errol Walker forced entry into his sister-in-law's flat in Poynter Court (pictured). He killed the woman, keeping her daughter and his own daughter hostage. He released his daughter, but held the other girl hostage. After more than a day, he ventured onto the communal balcony to pick up an abandoned riot shield. Armed officers tried to intercept him but he made it back to the flat. They threw stun grenades through the windows, their first use by British police, and climbed through the kitchen window. One officer found Walker lying on a sofa, holding a knife to the child, and fired three shots, the first shooting by the Metropolitan Police's Firearms Wing. Walker was shot twice, and was later given life imprisonment for murder and other offences. One historian of the unit felt that the incident showed that the police had an alternative for crises that could not be resolved peacefully. (Full article...)
February 9
The forest raven (Corvus tasmanicus), or Tasmanian raven, is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae native to Tasmania and parts of southern Victoria and New South Wales. It is 50 to 53 cm (20 to 21 in) in length, its plumage, beak and legs are all black, and its feathers have grey bases. Adults have white irises; younger birds have dark irises with a blue rim. New South Wales populations form a subspecies, C. t. boreus. This raven lives in a wide variety of habitats in Tasmania, but in closed forest on mainland Australia. Breeding takes place in spring and summer, occurring later in Tasmania than in New South Wales. The nest is a bowl-shaped structure of sticks sited high in a tree. An opportunistic omnivore, it eats a wide variety of plant and animal material, as well as food waste from urban areas and roadkill. It has been blamed for killing lambs and poultry, and is unprotected in Tasmanian law. It is sedentary, with pairs generally bonding for life in permanent territories. (Full article...)
February 10
George Andrew Davis Jr. (December 1, 1920 – February 10, 1952) was an American fighter pilot and flying ace during World War II and the Korean War. Born in Dublin, Texas, he joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1942, and was sent to the Pacific Theater. He flew in the New Guinea and Philippines campaigns, scoring seven victories over Japanese aircraft. Known for his "daredevil" style which contrasted with his reserved personality, Davis was the only American flying ace to be killed in action in Korea. During this war, he flew the F-86 Sabre fighter jet, rising quickly to become the war's ace of aces and downing fourteen North Korean, Chinese, and Soviet aircraft. During his final combat mission, Davis surprised and attacked twelve Chinese MiG-15 fighter jets in "MiG Alley", downing two before he was shot down and killed. A major at the time of his death, he was posthumously promoted to lieutenant colonel, and received the Medal of Honor. (Full article...)
February 11
Fatima Whitbread (born 1961) is a retired British javelin thrower. She broke the women's javelin throw world record with a throw of 77.44 metres (254 ft 3⁄4 in) at the 1986 European Athletics Championships in Stuttgart, and also won the European title that year. She took the gold medal at the 1987 World Championships in Athletics and is a two-time Olympic medallist, winning bronze at the 1984 games and silver at the 1988 games. She was voted BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1987. During her career, she had a well-publicised rivalry with another British javelin athlete, Tessa Sanderson. Her later career was affected by a persistent shoulder injury, and in 1992 she retired from competition. She has since appeared on several television programmes, including I'm a Celebrity ... Get Me Out of Here! in 2011. Whitbread was named the Sports Writers' Association Sportswoman of the Year in 1986 and 1987. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to athletics. (Full article...)
February 12
The Battle of Powick Bridge was fought on 23 September 1642 south of Worcester, England, during the First English Civil War, between elements of the principal field armies of the Royalists and the Parliamentarians. A Royalist convoy carrying valuables took refuge in Worcester and reinforcements were sent under Prince Rupert. The Parliamentarians sent a detachment, commanded by Colonel John Brown, to capture the convoy. Each force consisted of around 1,000 mounted troops, a mix of cavalry and dragoons. The Parliamentarians approached from the south, up narrow lanes, and straight into Rupert's force, which was resting in a field. The Royalist dragoons fired at point-blank range as the Parliamentarians emerged. Rupert's cavalry then charged and broke most of the Parliamentarian cavalry. Brown covered his cavalry's escape with his dragoons at Powick Bridge (pictured), but his cavalry fled 15 miles (24 km) further, causing panic among part of the main Parliamentarian army. (Full article...)
February 13
Pavle Đurišić (1909–1945) was a Royal Yugoslav Army officer who became a Chetnik leader during World War II. He was a commander of a popular uprising in July 1941 against the Italians who occupied Montenegro, then collaborated with the Italians against the Yugoslav Partisans. On 13 February 1943, he wrote to Draža Mihailović, the Chetnik supreme commander, reporting that his men had killed about 1,200 Bosnian Muslim combatants and 8,000 women, children and elderly people in Montenegro and eastern Bosnia. Soon after, Đurišić and his troops participated in an anti-Partisan offensive alongside Italian troops. Captured by the Germans in May 1943, he escaped and was recaptured. Released after the Italian surrender, he began collaborating with the Germans and the Serbian puppet government. In 1944 he was decorated by the German commander in Montenegro. Đurišić was killed by the Armed Forces of the Independent State of Croatia near Banja Luka after he was captured in April 1945. (Full article...)
February 14
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"I Need You" is a song recorded by American socialite Paris Hilton (pictured). Michael Green produced the song and co-wrote it with Hilton and Simon Wilcox. Heiress Records released it as a digital download on February 14, 2018. A version of the song leaked in 2010, but Hilton said she re-recorded portions of the vocals and instrumental as a dedication to her then-fiancé Chris Zylka. It is a doo-wop and pop ballad with holiday-related puns about love. Green based the ballad's style on 1950s music. Critics praised "I Need You", partially as a departure from Hilton's dance and EDM songs. The single peaked at number 32 on the Dance Club Songs chart, Hilton's fifth appearance on it. A music video, directed by Zylka, features Hilton wearing lingerie, posing in a bed covered with red rose petals, and popping out of a cake. It was inspired by Marilyn Monroe's performance of "I Wanna Be Loved by You" and Jessica Rabbit. Critics described the bed scene as an homage to the 1999 film American Beauty. (Full article...)
February 15
The UEFA Euro 2020 final was a football match between England and Italy that took place at Wembley Stadium (pictured) in London, England, on 11 July 2021 to determine the winner of UEFA Euro 2020, which had been delayed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Italy won their second European Championship, beating first-time finalists England 3–2 in a penalty shoot-out following a 1–1 draw after extra time. England's Luke Shaw opened the scoring in the second minute of the match, the fastest goal ever scored in a European Championship final, only for Leonardo Bonucci – who was later named the man of the match – to equalise midway through the second half. England had a 2–1 advantage in the shoot-out after two kicks each, but Italy came back to win. The event was marred by crowd disorder and incidents of violence; the English Football Association was punished by UEFA. Racial abuse on social media directed at England's final three, unsuccessful, penalty takers led to a police investigation. (Full article...)
February 16
Goldfinger is the seventh novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. First published in 1959, it centres on Bond's investigation into the gold-smuggling activities of Auric Goldfinger, who is suspected of being connected to Soviet counter-intelligence. Bond uncovers Goldfinger's plot involving the gold reserves at Fort Knox (pictured). In Goldfinger, Fleming presents the character of James Bond as a more complex individual than in the previous novels. A theme of Bond as a St George figure is echoed by the fact that Bond is a British Secret Service agent sorting out an American problem. Fleming probably based the gold-obsessed character of Goldfinger on the American gold tycoon Charles W. Engelhard Jr. On its release, the novel went to the top of the best-seller lists. It was adapted as the third James Bond feature film of the Eon Productions series, released in 1964 and starring Sean Connery as Bond. (This article is part of a featured topic: Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and short stories.)
February 17
Theodora Kroeber (1897–1979) was an American writer and anthropologist, best known for her accounts of Native Californian cultures. She grew up in the mining town of Telluride, Colorado. She graduated with a major in psychology in 1919, and received a master's degree in 1920. Married in 1920 and widowed in 1923, she began doctoral studies in anthropology. She met anthropologist Alfred Kroeber and married him in 1926. One of her two children with Alfred was the writer Ursula K. Le Guin. Kroeber began writing professionally late in life, publishing a collection of translated Native Californian narratives in 1959. Two years later she published Ishi in Two Worlds, an account of the last member of the Yahi people of northern California. This sold widely, and received high praise from contemporary reviewers. After Alfred died in 1960, Theodora married artist John Quinn in 1969. She published several other works, including a biography of Alfred. A 1989 biography stated that her "great strength was as an interpreter of one culture to another". (Full article...)
February 18
Back to the Future is a 1985 American science fiction film directed by Robert Zemeckis, and starring Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover, and Thomas F. Wilson. Set in 1985, the story follows Marty McFly (Fox), accidentally sent back to 1955 in a time-traveling DeLorean automobile. While there, Marty prevents his parents from falling in love, threatening his existence unless he reconciles the pair. Eric Stoltz was initially cast as Marty, but after filming began, Zemeckis determined he was not right for the part and hired Fox, re-filming scenes already shot. The film was the highest-grossing film of 1985 worldwide, earning $381.1 million. Critics praised the story, humorous elements, and the cast. It won an Academy Award, three Saturn Awards, and a Hugo Award. Its theme song, "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News, was also a success. Two sequels, video games, theme park rides, an animated television series, and a stage musical testify to its enduring popularity. (Full article...)
February 19
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The Corp Naomh is an Irish bell shrine made in the 9th or 10th century to enclose a now lost hand-bell, which probably dated to around 600 to 900 AD and belonged to an early Irish saint. It is 23 cm (9.1 in) high and 12 cm (4.7 in) wide. It consists of cast bronze and plates of sheet bronze mounted on a wooden core decorated with silver, niello and rock crystal. It is severely damaged with extensive losses and wear across almost all of its parts. Sections from its original include the cross on the reverse and the ornate semi-circular cap, which shows a bearded cleric holding a book. He is surrounded on both sides by horsemen and large birds. It was extensively refurbished in the 15th century, and possibly the 16th century, when a central bronze crucifixion of Jesus, a griffin and lion panel, stamped border panels and a backing plate were added. It was transferred to the National Museum of Ireland in 1887. (Full article...)
February 20
The Wisconsin Territorial Centennial half dollar was designed by David Parsons and Benjamin Hawkins and minted by the United States Bureau of the Mint in 1936. The obverse (pictured) depicts a pick axe and lead ore, referring to the lead mining in early Wisconsin; the reverse depicts a badger and the territorial seal. Organizers of the territorial centennial celebration sought a commemorative half dollar as a fundraiser; newly issued United States commemorative coins at this time found a ready market from collectors and speculators. Accordingly, legislation was introduced by Senator Robert M. La Follette Jr., which passed Congress without opposition. When initial designs by Parsons were rejected by the Commission of Fine Arts, Hawkins was hired. He executed the designs, though Parsons was also given credit. A total of 25,000 pieces were coined for public sale in July 1936. Sales were weak and the coins were vended by the Wisconsin Historical Society until the late 1950s. The coins catalog for up to $250. (Full article...)
February 21
An unsuccessful attempt was made to pass an amendment to the Constitution of New Jersey in 1927. The legislature twice passed a proposal, subject to a popular vote, intended to increase the length of the terms of its members and the governor, with the text approved by the state attorney general. Then, it was realized that though the legislature intended that members of its lower house, the General Assembly, be elected biennially (once in two years), the text actually read that they were to be chosen "biannually" (twice a year). The press was considerably amused by this. Democrats opposed the amendment as it provided that the governor would be elected at the same time as the U.S. president, something that they felt benefited Republicans. The Democrats' political boss, Jersey City mayor Frank Hague (pictured), spoke against it. On September 20, 1927, the people of New Jersey voted down the proposal, and Assembly members served one-year terms until the state passed a new constitution in 1947. (Full article...)
February 22
Banjo-Kazooie: Nuts & Bolts is a 2008 platform game developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 (pictured). Set eight years after Banjo-Tooie (2000), Nuts & Bolts follows Banjo and Kazooie as they compete with the witch Gruntilda for their home. It retains the structure of previous Banjo-Kazooie games – collecting jigsaw puzzle pieces to progress – but shifts the focus from exploration to vehicle construction and manoeuvring. The developers, led by Gregg Mayles, introduced vehicles as they sought to evolve the platform genre. Nuts & Bolts was a commercial disappointment and drew criticism from fans for departing from the Banjo-Kazooie gameplay, but received generally positive reviews. Retrospectively, its focus on construction and player freedom has been considered ahead of its time. It remains the most recent Banjo-Kazooie game, despite fan interest in a continuation. (Full article...)
February 23
American transportation in the Siegfried Line campaign of World War II played a crucial part in the military logistics of the campaign between September and December 1944. The Germans attempted to delay the Allied advance by denying access to ports and demolishing communications. Cherbourg was the only deep-water port in northwest Europe in Allied hands, and it had been badly damaged. Insufficient port capacity caused a backlog of ships awaiting discharge in European waters, precipitating a global shipping crisis. Additional capacity was obtained by opening Rouen, Le Havre and Antwerp. Port clearance then became a bottleneck. Motor transport was used until the railways could be brought back into service. Antwerp was subject to attack from German V-weapons, so it was considered unwise to unload ammunition there. The German Ardennes offensive in December threatened Antwerp and the depot areas around Liège, but by the year's end preparations were under way for the final assault on Germany. (Full article...)
February 24
Artemy Vedel (1767–1808) was a Ukrainian-born Russian composer of military and liturgical music. He made major contributions to the music of Ukraine, producing works based on Ukrainian folk melodies, and is one of the greatest composers of Ukrainian and Russian classical music of his era. Born in Kyiv, he studied at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, after which he was appointed its conductor. The army general Andrei Levanidov acquired his services to lead Kyiv's regimental chapel and choir, where he reached the peak of his creativity as a composer. He was then based in Kharkiv but returned to Kyiv when cultural life was affected by Tsar Paul I's decrees. He became a novice monk of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, but was accused of threatening the royal family and incarcerated as a mental patient. His work was censored while Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. More than 80 of his works are known, including 31 choral concertos, but many of his compositions are lost. (Full article...)
February 25
The Lake Street Transfer station was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L" that linked its Lake Street Elevated with the Logan Square branch of its Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad from 1913 to 1951. The Lake Street and Metropolitan were both constructed in the 1890s by different companies. The two companies owning the lines, along with two others, unified their operations in the early 1910s; as part of the merger, the Lake Street's owner had to close its nearby station on Wood Street and build a new one to form a transfer with the Metropolitan. This transfer station had a double-decked construction (depicted), with the Metropolitan's infrastructure crossing over the Lake Street. This arrangement continued until the Dearborn Street subway opened on February 25, 1951, replacing the Logan Square branch in the area and leading to the station's closure. The site would eventually serve as the junction of the modern Pink Line to the Green Line. (Full article...)
February 26
The Japanese fire-bellied newt (Cynops pyrrhogaster) consists of four distinct varieties, formally recognized together as a single species. Its upper body is dark and its lower regions bright red; coloration varies with age, genetics, and region. Adults are 8 to 15 cm (3 to 6 in) long. They are found on many Japanese islands. Their habitats include bodies of water, forests, and grasslands. They breed from spring to the beginning of summer. Eggs are laid separately, hatching after about three weeks. They grow from larval to juvenile form in five to six months. Juveniles eat soil-dwelling prey; adults eat insects, tadpoles, and the eggs of their own species. They have multiple adaptations to avoid predators, including containing tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin. Several aspects of their biology have been studied, including their ability to regrow lost body parts. Currently, their population is declining, and they face threats from disease and the pet trade. They can be successfully kept in captivity. (Full article...)
February 27
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Ibn al-Ash'ath (died 704) was an Arab nobleman and military commander during the Umayyad Caliphate. He played a minor role in the Second Fitna and then served as governor of Rayy. After the appointment of al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf as governor of Iraq in 694, relations with the Iraqi tribal nobility became strained. In 699, al-Hajjaj appointed Ibn al-Ash'ath as commander of a huge Iraqi army to subdue Zabulistan. In 700, Ibn al-Ash'ath and the army revolted. This developed into a full-fledged anti-Umayyad rebellion, with widespread support, especially among the religious zealots known as "Quran readers". The rebel army was decisively defeated by al-Hajjaj's Syrian troops at the Battle of Dayr al-Jamajim. Ibn al-Ash'ath fled to Zabulistan. His fate is unclear; some accounts hold that he was executed there, while most claim that he committed suicide to avoid capture. The suppression of Ibn al-Ash'ath's revolt signalled the end of the power of the tribal nobility of Iraq. (Full article...)
February 28
USS Indiana was the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time. Authorized in 1890, she was launched on 28 February 1893 and commissioned on 20 November 1895. The ship pioneered the use of an intermediate battery. Indiana served in the Spanish–American War as part of the North Atlantic Squadron and took part in the blockade of Santiago de Cuba and the battle of Santiago de Cuba. After the war she became obsolete—despite several modernizations—and spent most of her time in commission as a training ship or in the reserve fleet, with her last commission during World War I as a training ship for gun crews. She was decommissioned for the third and final time in January 1919 and was shortly after renamed Coast Battleship Number 1 so that the name Indiana could be reused. She was sunk in shallow water as a target in aerial bombing tests in 1920 and her hull was sold for scrap in 1924. (Full article...)