On February 2, 1887, the people of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, decided to become America’s official winter forecasting site by celebrating Groundhog’s Day. This unique tradition centers around Punxsutawney Phil, a groundhog designated by the town’s Groundhog Club to predict the weather. Drawing from ancient European…
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On February 1, 1865, Abraham Lincoln affixed his signature to the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, completing the final executive step in abolishing slavery throughout the nation. The act itself—quiet, procedural, and almost anticlimactic—belied the enormity of its meaning. With a few…
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On February 1, 2003, the world watched in shock as the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, tragically killing all seven astronauts aboard. The disaster occurred just 16 minutes before the shuttle was scheduled to land at Kennedy Space Center, marking…
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As war raged across Europe, America knew it needed to find its “voice.” Amidst the throes of World War II, the United States government recognized the need for a propaganda tool to counteract the misinformation spread by Axis powers. Voice of America began its…
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On January 31, 1865, Robert E. Lee was appointed general-in-chief of all Confederate armies, a decision that came during the final, desperate months of the American Civil War. By this point, the Confederacy was struggling against relentless Union advances, and its military situation was…
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On January 31, 1943, the German military catastrophe at Stalingrad reached its irrevocable conclusion. That day, Friedrich Paulus, commander of Germany’s Sixth Army, surrendered the southern pocket of his trapped forces to the Soviet Red Army. Two days later, the remaining German units in…
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On January 31, 2020, Great Britain struck out on its own, officially leaving the European Union in a historic move known as Brexit. This departure marked a significant milestone in European politics and ended a complex, often contentious relationship between the UK and the…
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On January 30, 1862, in the depths of the American Civil War, a vessel unlike any the world had ever seen slid into the waters of New York Harbor. The USS Monitor, squat, low-slung, and almost unsettling in appearance, marked a decisive break with…
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On January 30, 1835, a startling event took place in Washington, D.C., marking the first recorded assassination attempt against a sitting U.S. president. Andrew Jackson, the nation’s seventh president, became the target of an attack by Richard Lawrence, an unemployed house painter. The dramatic…
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In January 1649, England went through a radical upheaval. Charles I, King of England, Scotland, and Ireland, faced execution after a tumultuous period of civil war and political upheaval. His authoritarian rule, clashes with Parliament, and attempts to impose Anglican worship across his kingdoms…
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