February 1
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Featured Event
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On this day in 1979, homebrewing was officially legalized. In October 1978 U.S. Pres. Jimmy Carter signed HRT 1337, a relatively average transportation bill. Hidden within the bill, however, one amendment made homebrewing beer and wine legal, allowing hobbyists to brew 100 gallons of alcohol on an annual basis. The American craft beer revolution had been underway since the 1960s, and the legalization of homebrewing further spurred the movement along. Vibrant brewing festivals and competitions were established, and the American Homebrewers Association formed at the end of 1978. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© mark reinstein/Shutterstock.com
It is especially important to encourage unorthodox thinking when the situation is critical: At such moments, every new word and fresh thought is more precious than gold.
Born this day in 1931, Boris Yeltsin, president of Russia from 1990 to 1999, became in 1991 the first popularly elected leader in Russian history and guided the country through a decade of political and economic transition.
Famous Birthdays
More on February 1
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images
2023
Tom Brady announced that he was retiring from the NFL. Widely regarded as one of the game’s best quarterbacks, he won a record seven Super Bowl titles. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about football.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
2021
On the day Myanmar’s parliament was set to meet, the military seized power in Myanmar in a coup d’état, ousting the country’s de facto leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. [Test your knowledge of plots and revolutions.]
U.S. Department of Defense/National Archives, Washington, D.C.
2013
Politician Ed Koch, who had served as mayor of New York City (1978–89), died at age 88. Koch was known for his brash manner of speaking and racially insensitive rhetoric, which led him to lose his fourth bid for reelection in 1989. [How much do you know about New York City?]
Icelandic Ministry of Social Affairs and Social Security
2009
Politician Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was sworn in as Iceland’s prime minister, becoming the first woman to hold the post and the world’s first openly gay head of government. [Take our quiz about famous female firsts.]
Christopher Polk/Getty Images
2004
In what was perhaps the most controversial halftime show in Super Bowl history, pop singer Janet Jackson experienced a “wardrobe malfunction” when part of her bustier was ripped off by singer Justin Timberlake; some argued it was accidental while others said it was premeditated. [Sort fact from fiction in our pop culture quiz.]
NASA
2003
While returning to Earth from an orbital mission, the U.S. space shuttle Columbia broke up catastrophically at an altitude of about 40 miles (60 km) over Texas, killing all seven crew members. [Learn about astronaut Kalpana Chawla]
Photo NASA/JPL/Caltech (NASA photo # PIA00343)
1979
The spacecraft Voyager 1 photographed Jupiter from a distance of 20.3 million miles (32.7 million km). Voyager 1, along with its companion Voyager 2, helped to document details about the gas giants and their moons. [Learn more about the Voyager space probes.]
AP/Shutterstock.com
1960
Protesting a segregated lunch counter at a Woolworth’s in Greensboro, North Carolina, four African Americans began a sit-in; its success led to a wider sit-in movement throughout the South. [Learn about 10 milestones in U.S. civil rights history.]
H. Roger-Viollet
1946
Politician and diplomat Trygve Lie was elected the first secretary-general of the United Nations. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about world organizations.]
H. Roger-Viollet
1923
The private army of Blackshirts that had helped Benito Mussolini come to power in Italy was officially transformed into a national militia, the Voluntary Fascist Militia for National Security.
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1902
Writer Langston Hughes, who had written riveting works about the Black experience in America, was born. [Read more about influential poets in American history]
© 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
1901
Motion-picture star Clark Gable, whose enormous popularity made him the “King of Hollywood,” was born in Cadiz, Ohio. He was known for starring in iconic films like Gone with the Wind (1936) and San Francisco (1936). [Read about Gone with the Wind’s controversial premiere.]
Alinari/Art Resource, New York
1896
Giacomo Puccini premiered his opera La Bohème at the Teatro Regio in Turin, Italy. [Take our opera quiz.]
© Oxford University Press
1884
The first of 10 volumes of The Oxford English Dictionary were published in London, the final volume being published April 19, 1928. [Take our quiz about word meanings and origins.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1820
In a battle fought at Cepeda, Argentina, federalist forces defeated unitarios, who were advocates of strong central government. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about South America.]
© Orhan Çam/stock.adobe.com
1790
The first session of the Supreme Court of the United States was held in New York City. [Watch an overview of the U.S. Supreme Court.]