What Happened in February?

President Abraham Lincoln meets with three Confederate commissioners on February 3, 1865 aboard the steamer River Queen in what is known as the Hampton Roads Conference. His offers were rejected by the Confederate representatives.  Expand +

The U.S. House of Representatives impeaches President Andrew Johnson, on February 24, 1868, by a vote of 126-47, marking the first time a U.S. president was impeached, highlighting the intense power struggle between the executive and legislative branches regarding the reunification of the country after the Civil War. Expand +

The 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified on February 3, 1870 allowing suffrage for black Americans. The new constitutional right which had been passed by Congress on February 26, 1869, was another step in the struggle for equality that would continue for more than a century before African Americans could fully participate in American public and civic life. More

Hiram R. Revels, a Republican minister from Mississippi, becomes the first African American to serve in either chamber of the U.S. Congress He was sworn in on February 25, 1870, to fill the Senate seat once held by Jefferson Davis. He served until March 1871.  Expand +

University College London becomes the first university in England to admit women.

The U.S. Patent No. 200,521 for the phonograph is awarded to Thomas Edison on February 19, 1878. The first machine capable of recording and reproducing sound used a tinfoil-wrapped cylinder to record sound vibrations. The inaugural recording was "Mary Had a Little Lamb". Expand +

The world's first telephone directory is published  by the New Haven District Telephone Company on February 21, 1878, listing 50 subscribers but no numbers, as operators manually connected calls. The single page grew into a pamphlet with usage tips and ads, marking a significant step in telecommunications history.

Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" is published in the U.S. on February 18, 1885. It had been first published on December 10, 1884 in the United Kingdom and Canada.  Expand +

The Washington monument is formally dedicated on February 21, 1885, one day before George Washington's 153rd birthday. President Chester A. Arthur presided over the ceremony. More

Reportedly, the first "official" Groundhog day event takes place on February 2, 1887 in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in the Gobbler's Knob part of town. People have gathered there annually for the event to see if a groundhog ("Punxsutawney Phil"), sees his shadow, which means six more weeks of winter and If he didn't, it means spring was approaching. Expand +

Giacomo Puccini’s La Bohème premiers on February 1, 1896, at the Teatro Regio in Turin, Italy. It was conducted by Arturo Toscanini. The opening night audience gave it a polite reception. Since then, the four-act opera based on Henri Murger's novel has become one of the most frequently performed and enduring classics in operatic history.

Oscar Wilde's play "Salomé" is premiered on February 11, 1896, at the Théâtre de l'Œuvre in Paris,. The one-act play debuted while Wilde was imprisoned in England, following a ban on his 1892 London production due to its depiction of Biblical characters. The performance was viewed as a protest against English censorship.

Alfred L. Cralle, is granted a patent for the first ice cream scoop, on February 2, 1897. Cralle, an African American businessman and inventor noticed ice cream servers having difficulty getting the confection into the cone since the ice cream tended to stick to spoons and ladles, requiring the server to use two hands and at least two separate implements to serve customers. Expand +

The British invasion of the Kingdom of Benin, a powerful, highly organized West African state in modern-day Nigeria, begins on February 9, 1897. The operation was named the Benin Punitive Expedition and part of its objectives was to capture the Benin Oba. Expand +

The USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana Harbor on February 15, 1898, killing over 260 American crew members. While blamed on a Spanish mine, modern investigations suggest an internal coal bunker fire triggered the blast. 

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The United States Senate ratifies the Treaty of Paris, on February 6, 1899, by a margin of only one vote, officially ending the Spanish-American War.  Expand +

J.P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation on February 25, 1901, by merging Carnegie Steel Company with Federal Steel Company and others; creating the worlds first billion-dollar corporation, controlling two-thirds of U.S. steel production.

The first "Teddy bear" goes on sale on February 15, 1903. Named after President Theodore Roosevelt, the stuffed bear was designed by Rose Michtom, wife of Morris Michtom, a Brooklyn, New York, resident who owned a candy shop where the first Teddy bear went on sale. More

Japan launches a surprise attack on the night of February 8, 1904, against the Russian-held Port Arthur, along the coast of Manchuria, The assault, launched without a formal declaration of war, began the Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). Expand +

Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly, premiered at La Scala in Milan on February 17, 1904. The initial performance was a major failure, receiving hissing, and jeering from the audience. The opera was heavily revised by Puccini and went on to become one of the most beloved and frequently performed operas.