Daily Calendar for Saturday, February 1, 2025

February came from the Latin word februa, “to cleanse.” The month was named after the Roman Februalia, which was a month-long festival of purification and atonement. Find fun facts all about the month of February!

Born

  • Thomas Cole (painter)
  • Victor Herbert (cellist)
  • Louis Stephen St. Laurent (Canadian Prime Minister)
  • Clark Gable (actor)
  • Langston Hughes (poet)
  • John Hart (broadcast journalist)
  • Don Everly (musician)
  • Sherman Hemsley (actor)
  • Rick James (singer)
  • Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
  • Brandon Lee (actor)
  • Lisa Marie Presley (daughter of Elvis and Priscilla Presley)
  • Lee Thompson Young (actor)
  • Harry Styles (singer)

Died

  • Mary Shelley (author)
  • Buster Keaton (actor)
  • Heather O'Rourke (actress)
  • Don Cornelius (creator of Soul Train)
  • Edward "Ed" Koch (former mayor of New York City)
  • Carl Weathers (actor)

Events

  • Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish sailor, was found on an island where he had been stranded for over 4 years. His experience was the basis for Daniel DeFoe’s novel, Robinson Crusoe
  • First U.S. dental dispensary opened, New York City
  • The first dental college was incorporated, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Texas seceded from the Union
  • Battle Hymn of the Republic, a poem written by Julia Ward Howe, was published in Atlantic Monthly
  • “Edition One” of the Oxford English Dictionary was published
  • First automobile insurance policy issued
  • First U.S. Marine Division activated
  • Gordon Matthews received a patent for “voice message exchange” system (better known as voicemail)
  • Space shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry, killing all seven astronauts onboard
  • New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady became the youngest quarterback to lead his team to two Super Bowl victories
  • During Super Bowl XLIII, Pittsburgh Steeler James Harrison intercepted a pass on the goal line and returned it 100 yards for a touchdown. It was the longest play in Super Bowl history

Weather

  • Forty-five degrees below zero F in Pittsburg, New Hampshire
  • The greatest ice storm of record in the United States produced a layer of ice up to four inches thick from Texas to Pennsylvania, causing 25 deaths, 500 serious injuries, and $100 million worth of damage. Communications and utilities were interrupted for a week to ten days.
  • -50 degrees F, Gavilan, New Mexico
  • A high temperature of 50 degrees F was reported in Burlington, Vermont

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