This Day In History

Acclaimed author Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7, 1867, in Pepin County, Wisconsin. She retold stories from her childhood in the wildly popular Little House on the Prairie series, which went on to become a popular TV series as well.

George Herman “Babe” Ruth was born on February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the sports world’s most famous players, he set and broke numerous records during his career and is a legend of baseball.

Politician Adlai Stevenson II was born on February 5, 1900, in Los Angeles, California. He was a popular governor of Illinois and US ambassador to the United Nations.

Aviation pioneer Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on February 4, 1902, in Detroit, Michigan. He was the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean and helped to promote and expand aviation and airmail.

George Herman “Babe” Ruth was born on February 6, 1895, in Baltimore, Maryland. One of the sports world’s most famous players, he set and broke numerous records during his career and is a legend of baseball.

Politician Adlai Stevenson II was born on February 5, 1900, in Los Angeles, California. He was a popular governor of Illinois and US ambassador to the United Nations.

Newspaper publisher Horace Greeley was born on February 3, 1811, in Amherst, New Hampshire.  His newspapers championed a number of causes, including abolition, temperance, railroads, and westward expansion.

On January 29, 1940, the US Post Office Department issued the first stamps in the Famous Americans Series. It honors 35 Americans from 7 professions based on recommendations submitted by the public.

On February 8, 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was officially founded.  The world’s largest youth organization, the Boy Scouts has grown from a British youth group to a worldwide movement with members in almost every country around the globe.

The 1984 Winter Olympic Games opened in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia (now Bosnia), on February 8, 1984. These were the first Winter Games – and the second Olympics – held in a Communist state.

By the time Carlson was eight years old, both of his parents were sick, which left him responsible with working to support the family.  In his teens, he would work two or three hours before school, and then several more hours after classes finished for the day. 

On February 8, 1693, a royal charter officially established the College of William and Mary.  Today it’s the second-oldest college in America (behind Harvard).