FEBRUARY 1
Louisiana History
1810 - An act mandates that 200 copies of the United States Constitution, all Congressional Acts relative to the Territory of Orleans and the Treaty of Cession negotiated between the United States and France must be printed. Twenty five copies are to be given to the Secretary of the Legislative Council and the remainder to the Clerk of the House.
1963 - Orleans Parish District Attorney Jim Garrison was convicted of defaming eight New Orleans criminal district judges.
World History
1669 - French king Louis XIV limits freedom of religion in France.
1951 - Alfred Krupp and 28 German war criminals are freed.
1968 - Famous photo is released of Saigon police chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan executes a Viet Cong officer with a shot to the head.
February 2
Louisiana History
1825 - An act creates the Alexandria Bridge Company and authorizes the building of a bridge over the Red River at Alexandria.
American History
1653 - New Amsterdam becomes a city (later New York City).
1848 - The treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican War. The US gains California, New Mexico and Arizona from Mexico for $15 million.
1863 - Samuel Clemens becomes Mark Twain for the first time.
World History
1943 - The Battle of Stalingrad ends with the surrender of the German 6th Army- turning point in WWII.
February 3
Louisiana History
1814 - An act gives William Dewees authorization to receive tolls from persons using the bridge over Monterano Bayou in East Baton Rouge Parish. Description of the toll fees on goods (i.e. hogs, cattle, etc.) is provided for in the act.
American History
1783 - Spain recognizes the independence of the United States.
1870 - The 15th Amendment is passed (black suffrage).
1962 - President Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba except food and drugs.
World History
1930 - The Vietnamese Communist Party forms.
1969 - The Palestine National Congress appoints Yasser Arafat head of the PLO.
FEBRUARY 4
Louisiana History
1833 - The Legislature's Resolution in response to Governor Roman's message to the Legislature agrees in condemning the nullification stand of South Carolina and expressing loyalty to the firm stand of President Jackson.
1850 - The first order of business is conducted at the new Statehouse in Baton Rouge (Old State Capitol), involving the establishment of mail service between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. The Gothic structure overlooking the Mississippi River is to serve as Louisiana's seat of government until 1932 when governmental operations were moved up-river to the new skyscraper capitol.
American History
1864 - The 24th Amendment abolishes the Poll Tax.
1899 - A revolt begins against US occupation in the Philippines.
February 5
Louisiana History
1850 - A resolution orders the Auditor of Public Accounts to "have leave to absent himself from the seat of government for ten days in order to superintend the printing of his report."
1883 - The first through train service from New Orleans to California begins over the lines of a series of companies that became part of the Southern Pacific System in 1885.
American History
1631 - Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, arrives in Boston from England.
1945 - US troops under General Douglas MacArthur enter Manilla.
World History
1983 - Former Nazi Gestapo official, Klaus Barbie, is brought to trial.
FEBRUARY 8
Louisiana History
1820 - William Tecumseh Sherman, Civil War general and former president of the Louisiana Seminary of Learning (later LSU), is born.
1978 - Sam Jones, Governor 1940 -1944, dies in Lake Charles.
American History
1837 - The first Vice President is chosen by the Senate, Richard Johnson, under the Van Buren Administration.
1887 - The Dawes Act passes, granting citizenship to Indians not living in tribes.
World History
1600 - The Vatican convicts scholar Giordano Bruno to death.
1807 - Napoleon defeats the Russians at the Battle of Eylau.
FEBRUARY 9
Louisiana History
1820 - Act of 1820 gives free white citizens of St. Bernard Parish the approval to incorporate and to erect a church. The annual incorporation fee is $10.00 for members.
American History
1674 - England reconquers New York from the Netherlands.
1775 - The English Parliament declares that the Massachusetts colony is in rebellion.
World History
1904 - Japan declares war on Russia.
1925 - German Minister Stresemann proposes a security treaty with France.
1934 - The Balkan Entente forms between Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey and Romania.
FEBRUARY 10
Louisiana History
1763 - The Treaty of Paris confirmed the cession of Louisiana to Spain but modified the territory involved, since England, who had just defeated France in the Seven Years War, demanded and received the Florida Parishes. Baton Rouge became the capital of English Louisiana and was called New Richmond.
1805 - Governor William C. C. Claiborne approves an act establishing a militia for the Territory of Orleans.
American History
1763 - The Treaty of Paris ends the French-Indian War, forcing France to give up Canada to England.
1954 - Eisenhower warns against US intervention in Vietnam.
World History
1824 - Simon Bolivar is named dictator by the Congress of Peru.
FEBRUARY 11
Louisiana History
1776 - Walter Brashear, member of the committee which selected James Dakin as architect for the Old State Capitol, is born. Brashear City is named for him, later renamed Morgan City.
American History
1790 - The Society of Friends petitions Congress for the abolition of slavery.
1811 - President Madison prohibits trade with England for the third time in four years.
1861 - The House of Representative unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.
World History
1929 - Vatican City (smallest country) is made an enclave of Rome.
FEBRUARY 12
Louisiana History
1773 - Jacques Dupre, Governor 1830, is born in New Orleans.
1885 - Alexander Mouton, Governor 1843-1846 and Chairman of the Louisiana Secession Convention, dies in Vermillionville (Lafayette).
American History
1709 - Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being marooned on Fernandez Island for 5 years. His story inspires Robinson Crusoe.
1733 - Georgia is founded by James Oglethorpe, at the site of Savannah.
1793 - The first US fugitive slave law is passed; it requires the return of escaped slaves.
1823 - The Creek Indian Treaty is signed, requiring tribal chiefs to return all of their land in Georgia to the government and migrate by September 1, 1826.
FEBRUARY 13
Louisiana History
1895 - Solis Seiferth, one of the three architects of the new State Capitol, is born.
1899 - State record of -16 degrees Fahrenheit (-27 degrees Celsius) in Minden, Louisiana.
American History
1866 - Jesse James holds up his first bank in Liberty, MO ($15,000).
World History
1633 - Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for the trial before the Inquisition for professing his belief that the earth revolves around the Sun.
1920 - The League of Nations recognizes the perpetual neutrality of Switzerland.
FEBRUARY 14
Louisiana History
1840 - An act stipulates that a lifetime pension must be given to John Sulser of West Feliciana out of the State Treasury for injuries he received while serving in the parish militia. Sulser receives $20.00 a month after a cannon accident resulted in both of his arms "shot off and one of his eyes blown out besides other bruises and injuries."
American History
1929 - The St. Valentine's Day Massacre begins in Chicago. Seven gangsters are killed.
World History
1950 - The USSR and China sign a peace treaty.
1989 - The Ayatollah Khomeini orders Muslims to slay novelist Salmanhiehdie for writing The Satanic Verses.
FEBRUARY 15
Louisiana History
1808 - An act outlines the procedures for the policing of the state's waterways and levee systems.
American History
1804 - New Jersey becomes the last northern state to abolish slavery.
1869 - Charges of treason against Jefferson Davis are dropped.
1898 - The USS Maine sinks iHavanana Harbor, killing 258 sailors. Although the cause is unknown, the incident precipitates the Spanish-American War.
World History
1965 - The Maple Leaf replaces the Union Jack as the official flag of Canada.
1989 - The Soviet occupation of Afghanistan ends.
FEBRUARY 16
Louisiana History
1826 - A resolution is passed in which the General Assembly of Louisiana goes on record as opposing a proposal approved in 1824 by the General Assembly of Ohio seeking the gradual emancipation of all slaves.
American History
1945 - US troops land on Corregidor, but the conquest is not complete until March 3.
World History
1923 - Howard Carter discovers the tomb oPharaohah Tutankhamen.
1956 - Britain abolishes the death penalty.
1959 - Fidel Castro names himself the premier of Cuba after the overthrow of Battista.
FEBRUARY 17
Louisiana History
1770 - Charles Philippe Aubry, French Colonial Governor 1765-1766, dies near Bordeaux, France.
1805 - New Orleans was incorporated as a city, and the first election was held for a Board of Aldermen.
1821 - A resolution is passed in the regular session of the General Assembly seeking plans to build the state's first penitentiary.
American History
1621 - Miles Standish is appointed the first commander of the Plymouth Colony.
1933 - The US Senate accepts the Blaine Act, ending prohibition.
1972 - President Richard Nixon leaves Washington, D. C. for China.
FEBRUARY 18
Louisiana History
1808 - Stephen Minor Kenner, founder of the City of Kenner, is born in New Orleans.
American History
1688 - The Quakers conduct the first formal protest of slavery in Germantown, PA.
1927 - The United States and Canada begin diplomatic relations.
World History
1915 - Germany begins a blockage of England.
1979 - Snow falls in the Sahara Desert.
FEBRUARY 19
Louisiana History
1825 - An act is passed which re-establishes the state capital in New Orleans until 1829, at which time land is to be secured for the erection of a statehouse in Donaldsonville.
American History
1807 - Vice President Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Alabama; he is later found innocent.
1881 - Kansas becomes the first state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages.
1942 - FDR orders the detention and internment of all West Coast Japanese-Americans.
World History
1986 - The USSR launches the MIR space station into Earth orbit.
FEBRUARY 20
Louisiana History
1811 - President Madison signs the bill providing for Louisiana's statehood.
1893 - P. T. G. Beauregard, Confederate General and influential figure in postwar Louisiana, dies in New Orleans.
American History
1839 - Congress prohibits dueling in Washington, D.C.
1929 - American Samoa organizes as a territory of the US.
World History
1975 - Margaret Thatcher is elected leader of the British Conservative Party.
FEBRUARY 21
Louisiana History
1675 - Pierre Sidrac Dugue de Boisbriand, Acting French Colonial Governor 1725-1726, is born in Montreal, Canada.
1870 - Legislation is approved whereby the Institution of the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind in Baton Rouge offers its facilities to house the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning. The latter, which was located near Alexandria was destroyed by fire on October 15, 1869.
American History
1777 - English Ambassador Joseph Yorke demands the dismissal of Governor John de Graaff for saluting the American Flag.
1431 - England begins trial against Joan of Arc.
1916 - The Battle of Verdun during WWI begins (1 million casualties).
1819 - The US and Spain signed the Adams-Onis Treaty, which set the western boundaries of the Louisiana Purchase. The treaty established the Sabine River as the boundary between Louisiana and Texas.
1965 - Richard Leche, Governor 1936-1939, dies in New Orleans.
1630 - Indians introduce popcorn to the Pilgrims.
1821 - Spain sells (East) Florida to the US for $5 million.
1856 - The first national meeting of the Republican Party is heldPittsburghsburg).
1680 - Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville (explorer and French Colonial Governor 1701-1713, 1718-1724, and 1733-1743) is born in Montreal, Canada
1869 - The puaccommodationstions law is signed by the governor.
1836 - The Alamo is sieged by Santa Anna; the entire garrison is eventually killed.
1847 - The Battle of Buena Vista is fought; US troops under Zachary Taylor defeat the Mexican army.
1871 - An act is approved which grants permission to lease a building in New Orleans to serve as the State Capitol.
1868 - The House of Representatives votes to impeach President Andrew Johnson (126-47).
1903 - The US signs an agreement acquiring a naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
1977 - President Carter announces that human rights will be a consideration before foreign aid is given.
1917 - The German plan to get Mexican help during WWI is exposed with the Zimmerman Telegram.
1823 - An act repeals part of a previous act incorporating Roman Catholic Church inhabitants of East Baton Rouge Parish demanding that they pay $10.00 annual corporation fee.
1977 - New Orleans' Pete Marovich sets NBA record for a guard with 68 points.
1793 - The first Cabinet meeting is held (at George Washington's home).
1913 - The 16th Amendment is ratified, authorizing income tax.
1910 - The Dali Lama flees Tibet from Chinese troops into the British Indies.
1932 - Immigrant Adolf Hitler gains German citizenship.
1863 - President Lincoln signs the National Currency Act.
1907 - The US Congress raises their own salaries to $7500.
1815 - Napoleon and 1,200 others leave Elba for a 100 day re-conquest of France.
1935 - Germany begins the Luftwaffe operation, under Reichsmarshall Herman Goering.
1952 - Winston Churchill announces that Britain has its own atomic bomb.
1980 - Egypt and Israel trade ambassadors for the first time.
1809 - An act authorizes the governor to find two suitable printers to print in French and English the official proceedings of the territorial government.
1827 - The first Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans is held.
1951 - The 22nd Amendment is ratified, limiting the president to two terms.
1950 - General Chiang Kai-Chek is elected president of Nationalist China.
1976 - The final meeting is held between Mao Tse-tung and Nixon.
1991 - The Gulf War ends after Iraqi troops retreat and Kuwait is liberated.
1692 - The Salem witch hunts begin.
1849 - The first boatload of gold rush prospectors arrive in San Francisco from the East Coast.
1859 - Arkansas legislatation requires free blacks to decide between exile or slavery.
1917 - The Association Press reports that Mexico and Japan will ally with Germany if the United States enters WWI.
1922 - Egypt gains its independence from Britain, but British troops remain.
1976 - Ceuta and Mellila (Spanish Morocco) are the last European African possessions.