On February 13, 1633, Galileo Galilei, the renowned Italian astronomer and physicist, entered Rome to face trial before the Inquisition after being charged with heresy due to his unwavering support for the heliocentric model of the universe. His assertion that the Sun, not the…
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On February 12, 1909—coinciding with the centennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth—a small but determined coalition of Black and white reformers gathered in New York City to launch what would become one of the most consequential civil rights organizations in American history: the National Association…
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On February 12, 1999, the United States Senate acquitted President Bill Clinton of impeachment charges, bringing an end to a highly contentious political and legal battle that had gripped the nation for over a year. Clinton, the 42nd president of the United States, had…
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The debut of Christian Dior’s “New Look” on February 12, 1947, marked a defining moment in fashion history, reestablishing Paris as the uncontested heart of haute couture. Emerging from the shadows of World War II, Dior’s collection infused the weary fashion scene with a…
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The story is could be straight out of the movie Rocky as one of the greatest sports upsets of all time. On February 11, 1990, Buster Douglas took on Mike Tyson in Tokyo, Japan. Douglas, the challenger, was a monumental 42-1 underdog, facing the undefeated…
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On February 11, 1808, Jesse Fell, a judge and businessman from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, conducted a simple yet groundbreaking experiment that changed the way Americans heated their homes. By successfully burning anthracite coal on an open grate, he proved that this hard, dense fuel could…
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On February 10, 1306, a killing inside a church in the Scottish border town of Dumfries turned a long, faltering resistance into an open revolution. Before the high altar of Greyfriars Church, Robert the Bruce struck down his political rival John Comyn. In medieval…
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On this day in history, February 10, 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued a cautionary warning against direct U.S. military intervention in Vietnam. At the time, the French were struggling to maintain their colonial control over Indochina, facing fierce resistance from the communist Viet…
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On February 10, 1996, the world of chess witnessed a historic encounter between Garry Kasparov, the reigning World Chess Champion, and Deep Blue, a chess-playing computer developed by IBM. This match marked the first time a reigning world champion faced a computer under standard…
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On February 9, 1942, the United States did something that would have seemed mildly absurd just a few years earlier: it reset the nation’s clocks—permanently, at least for the duration of the war. With the country barely two months removed from Pearl Harbor, Congress…
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