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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The Mud March of February 9, 1907, was the first large-scale demonstration organized by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS) and marked a crucial moment in the fight for women’s voting rights in Britain. While not the first suffrage protest, its unprecedented…
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On February 8, 1960, Queen Elizabeth II issued an Order-in-Council declaring that her direct descendants would bear the surname Mountbatten-Windsor, a decision that subtly but significantly altered the royal family’s naming conventions. This choice reflected both personal and political considerations as the Queen navigated…
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On February 7, 1812, the most powerful earthquake in a relentless series of seismic shocks struck the frontier town of New Madrid, delivering a convulsion so violent that it reshaped the land, terrified distant cities, and permanently altered American understanding of the continent’s hidden…
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On February 7, 1962, the United States enacted a sweeping trade embargo against Cuba, effectively halting all imports and exports between the two nations. This move was part of a broader effort to isolate Fidel Castro’s revolutionary government following the Cuban Revolution of 1959.…
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On February 6, 1820, a small group of 86 African American emigrants departed New York aboard the ship Elizabeth, embarking on a journey that would bind the future of the United States to the West African coast in complicated and enduring ways. Sponsored by…
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On February 6, 1978, one of the most destructive winter storms in U.S. history struck New England with unprecedented force. The Blizzard of 1978 would paralyze the region for days, stranding thousands, shutting down major highways, and causing widespread devastation. By the time the…
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On February 5, 1869, in the small Victorian settlement of Moliagul, two itinerant miners made a discovery so improbable that it bordered on myth. Digging just below the surface of the red Australian soil, John Deason and Richard Oates unearthed the largest alluvial gold…
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The recapture of Manila, which began in earnest on February 3, 1945, marked the culmination of General Douglas MacArthur’s long-promised return to the Philippine capital—a vow famously declared upon his departure in 1942 and meticulously orchestrated over the intervening years. By February 5, the…
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On February 4, 1846, the first groups of Mormon pioneers began their westward exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, marking the opening stage of one of the largest organized religious migrations in American history. Their departure, carried out in the depths of winter, initiated a multi-year…
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