February 3
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Featured Event
© Vlad Ivantcov/stock.adobe.com
Paper money is printed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
On this day in 1690 (or 1691), the Massachusetts Bay Colony printed £40,000 in paper money, an act that was technically banned by the English crown. This was the first time paper money became widespread in the West, but after conflicts such as King William’s War and the French and Indian War, the cash rapidly depreciated in value—by almost 40 percent within a year. Regardless, other American colonies began printing money too. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© Photos.com/Getty Images
I have grown accustomed to composing in our garden….Today or tomorrow I am going to dream there the Midsummer Night’s Dream.
One of the most-celebrated figures of the early Romantic period, German composer Felix Mendelssohn, born this day in 1809, largely observed Classical models and practices while initiating key aspects of Romanticism.
Famous Birthdays
More on February 3
U.S. Department of Justice
2005
Alberto R. Gonzales was sworn in as the attorney general of the United States, becoming the first Hispanic American to occupy the post. [Take our quiz about American history and politics.]
NASA
1995
American astronaut Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a space shuttle, the Discovery. She later became the first woman to command a space shuttle mission, in 1999. [Take our space exploration quiz.]
Jacques Marqueton—AP/Shutterstock.com
1975
Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, who was one of the most famous Arab singers and public personalities of the 20th century, died in Cairo. [Test your knowledge of musicians.]
Riama Film and Pathé Consortium Cinéma; photograph from a private collection
1960
The Italian dramedy La dolce vita (“The Sweet Life”), which was directed by Federico Fellini, had its world premiere, and it became widely hailed as one of the most important films in cinema. The film is known for introducing the word paparazzi to the English language. [Read Martin Scorsese’s essay about film preservation.]
Photo by Dick Cole, Waterloo, IA
1959
American rock ’n’ roll singer Buddy Holly was killed in a plane crash at age 22. Holly was known for his distinctive style of playing the electric guitar. [Read about “The Day the Music Died”.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1924
Former U.S. president Woodrow Wilson, who was president when the U.S. entered World War I, died at age 67. [Read about Wilson’s role in establishing the League of Nations.]
Library of Congress, Serials and Government Publications Division, Washington, D.C. (call no. D522 .W28 1919)
1917
Not yet involved in World War I, the United States broke off diplomatic relations with Germany after the Germans announced their intention to practice unrestricted submarine warfare. [How much do you know about World War I?]
NARA
1913
The Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, granting Congress the authority to levy income taxes, was ratified. [Match the amendment number to its purpose in our quiz.]
Carl Van Vechten/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-103678)
1874
Avant-garde writer Gertrude Stein, whose Paris home was a salon for the leading artists and writers of the period between World Wars I and II, was born. [Test your knowledge of famous authors.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: cph 3g02399)
1870
The Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified, guaranteeing Americans the right to vote regardless of race. [Read more about the American civil rights movement.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1865
In a personal meeting with Confederate representatives, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln offered liberal pardons in exchange for the South’s quitting the Civil War, with reunion as a precondition of peace—an offer that was rejected. [How much do you know about Abraham Lincoln?]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1811
Horace Greeley, known as one of the most persuasive antislavery voices in the antebellum North, was born in Amherst, New Hampshire. [Take our quiz about the history of slavery in North America.]
© Georgios Kollidas/Fotolia
1468
Johannes Gutenberg, whose mechanized printing press simplified the process of mass-producing books, died in Mainz. [Test your knowledge of famous people in history.]