Category Archives: Vocabulary

Today in History (February 19th): 1473: Birthdays: Nicolaus Copernicus, the father of modern astronomy, was born in Torun, a city in north-central Poland. 1717: Birthdays: British actor David Garrick. 1807: Aaron Burr, a former U.S. vice president, was arrested in … Continue reading →

Today in History (February 18th): President’s Day (United States) 1229: Emperor Frederick II signed a truce, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem for the Holy Roman Empire. 1841: The first filibuster in the U.S. Senate began. It ended March 11. 1848: … Continue reading →

Today in History (February 17th): 1621: Miles Standish was appointed first commander of the Plymouth colony. 1801: The U.S. House of Representatives chose Thomas Jefferson as the third president of the United States after he and Aaron Burr tied in … Continue reading →

Today in History (February 16th): 1698: Birthdays: French mathematician Pierre Bouguer. 1838: Birthdays: Historian Henry Brooks Adams. 1901: Birthdays: Orchestra leader Wayne King (The Waltz King); Actor Chester Morris. 1903: Birthdays: Ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. 1909: Birthdays: Actor Hugh Beaumont. 1918: … Continue reading →

Today in History (February 15th): 1564: Birthdays: Italian astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei. 1764: The city of St. Louis was founded along the Mississippi River. 1809: Birthdays: Inventor Cyrus McCormick. 1812: Birthdays: Jeweler Charles Tiffany. 1820: Birthdays: Feminist pioneer Susan … Continue reading →

Today in History (February 14th): Valentine’s Day Dilbert of the Day 1779: British navigator and explorer James Cook, first known European to reach the Hawaiian Islands, was stabbed to death by Hawaiian natives while investigating the theft of a boat. … Continue reading →

Today in History (February 13th): 1633: Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition. 1635: The oldest public institution in America, the Boston Latin School, was founded. 1668: Portugal was recognized as an independent nation by Spain. … Continue reading →

Today in History (February 12th): 1541: Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia. 1728: Birthdays: French architect Etienne-Louis Boullee. 1733: The American colony of Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe. 1791: Birthdays: Philanthropist Peter Cooper. 1809: Birthdays: Abraham Lincoln, … Continue reading →

Today in History (February 9th): 1621: Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation. 1773: Birthdays: William Henry Harrison, ninth president of the United States. 1775: The American colony of Massachusetts declared in rebellion by the British Parliament. … Continue reading →

Today in History (February 8th): Dilbert of the Day 1587: Mary Queen of Scots was beheaded, charged with conspiring to kill England’s Queen Elizabeth I. 1692: A doctor in Massachusetts Bay Colony claimed two village girls may be bewitched, a … Continue reading →