To illustrate the depth one can access in our collections, we have compiled relevant archival imagery to frame a diverse cultural, political and chronological retrospective of noteworthy anniversaries. Be sure to bookmark this section as the calendar is a work in progress and will continue to expand.
| February | Year | Anniversary | Event |
|---|
| 1 | 1587 | 421st | Elizabeth I, Queen of England, signs the Warrant of Execution for Mary Queen of Scots. |
| 1 | 1862 | 146th | "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," by Julia Ward Howe, is published in "Atlantic Monthly". |
| 1 | 1902 | 106th | Langston Hughes, American author, poet (1902-1967) born. |
| 1 | 1922 | 86th | Hollywood director William Taylor discovered dead, perhaps shot by his teenage star, Mary Miles Minter. |
| 3 | 1917 | 91st | The U.S. breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany when it resumes unrestricted submarine warfare. |
| 4 | 1792 | 216th | George Washington unanimously elected by the Electoral College to his second term. |
| 4 | 1902 | 106th | Charles Lindbergh, American aviator, is born. |
| 5 | 1917 | 91st | Congress nullifies President Wilson's veto of its Immigration Act, which curtailed Asian immigration. |
| 5 | 1937 | 71st | Pres. Franklin Roosevelt announces his "court-packing" plan, to expand the Supreme Court |
| 6 | 1917 | 91st | A German submarine sinks the U.S. passenger ship, "California" |
| 6 | 1952 | 56th | Great Britain's George VI dies and his daughter becomes Queen Elizabeth II. |
| 7 | 1812 | 196th | Charles Dickens, British novelist, born. |
| 7 | 1817 | 191st | Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist leader, born. |
| 7 | 1862 | 146th | Confederates order reinforcements to Fort Donelson |
| 8 | 1587 | 421st | Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded in Fotheringay Castle |
| 8 | 1862 | 146th | The Battle of Roanoke Island, led by Union Commander Goldsborough |
| 8 | 1887 | 121st | Pres. Cleveland signs the Dawes Act, with tragic results for Native Americans |
| 10 | 1862 | 146th | Dante Rossetti finds the body of his wife, Elizabeth Siddal, who committed suicide |
| 10 | 1897 | 111st | The slogan "All the News that's Fit to Print" first appears on the "New York Times" front page |
| 11 | 1812 | 196th | The term "gerrymandering" coined when Massachusetts Governor Gerry signs a re-districting law |
| 11 | 1847 | 161st | Thomas Alva Edison, U.S. inventor who claimed 1,093 patented ideas, born |
| 12 | 1892 | 116th | President Lincoln's birthday declared a national holiday. |
| 13 | 1542 | 466th | Catherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, is executed for adultery |
| 14 | 1847 | 161st | Anna Howard Shaw, influential leader of the U.S. women's suffrage movement, born |
| 15 | 1797 | 211st | Henry Steinway, German-American piano maker, born Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg |
| 16 | 1862 | 146th | Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee, in a disaster for the South |
| 17 | 1942 | 66th | Huey P. Newton, African-American activist who co-founded the Black Panthers, born. |
| 17 | 1972 | 36th | Pres. and Mrs. Richard Nixon depart on their historic trip to China |
| 18 | 1907 | 101st | The U.S. sends 600,000 tons of grain to Russia, where millions are starving due to famine |
| 18 | 1922 | 86th | Congress passes the Capper-Volstead Act, exempting U.S. farmers from anti-trust laws |
| 19 | 1777 | 231st | Congress denies Benedict Arnold a promotion |
| 19 | 1807 | 201st | Aaron Burr, former US Vice President, arrested for conspiring against the US |
| 19 | 1942 | 66th | Pres. Franklin Roosevelt signs Executive Order 90066, sending Japanese-Americans to internment camps |
| 20 | 1792 | 216th | George Washington creates the U.S. Post Office |
| 20 | 1872 | 136th | The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened in New York City |
| 21 | 1862 | 146th | The Battle of Val Verde, a bloody Civil War battle in New Mexico Territory |
| 21 | 1972 | 36th | President and Mrs. Nixon arrive in China for 8 days |
| 22 | 1732 | 276th | George Washington is born at Popes Creek Plantation, Virginia |
| 22 | 1942 | 66th | Pres. Franklin Roosevelt tells Gen. MacArthur to get out of the Philippines |
| 23 | 1927 | 81st | Pres. Calvin Coolidge creates the Federal Radio Commission (later the FCC) |
| 24 | 1917 | 91st | The Zimmerman Telegram, a coded message from Germany saying it was going to declare war on the U.S., was decoded by the British |
| 25 | 1862 | 146th | The Legal Tender Act, written by Elbridge Spaulding, allows the U.S. to issue "greenbacks" or paper money |
| 26 | 1802 | 206th | Victor Hugo, French author, born. |
| 26 | 1862 | 146th | Union officer Elisha Hunt Rhodes heard Sen. Henry Wilson speak in Congress |
| 26 | 1917 | 91st | The Zimmermann Telegram is relayed from England to Pres. Wilson in Washington DC |
| 26 | 1952 | 56th | Winston Churchill announces to the world that Britain has the atomic bomb |
| 27 | 1807 | 201st | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, U.S. poet, born |
| 27 | 1922 | 86th | The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, allowing women to vote, is declared consitutional |
| 28 | 1827 | 181st | The first U.S. railroad chartered to carry passengers and freight, the Baltimore & Ohio, is incorporated |
| 28 | 1987 | 21st | Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev calls for nuclear weapons treaty |
| 29 | 1692 | 316th | Sarah Goode and Tituba are accused of witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts, triggering the Salem witch trials |
