– by Valerie Green –
February is often thought of as a somewhat dreary month. By then Christmas is just a distant memory and spring is not yet here. Valentine’s Day on the 14th is the only highlight, but even that day can be associated with another February 14 back in 1929 in Chicago when the infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre took place and seven members of the Bugs Moran gang were murdered in a warehouse by Al Capone’s rival gang.
Upon further investigation, however, I discovered that throughout history February has been anything but dull. In 1916, right here on Vancouver Island, there was a record snowfall of 70 inches in seven days. In 1996, February 15 was made National Flag Day in Canada to mark the day in 1965 when the red and white maple leaf flag was first hung on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. In 1972, February 17 was established as Heritage Day and is now celebrated across Canada. We also celebrate February as Black History month and now an extra holiday for Family Day happens on the second Monday of the month.
In addition, many famous people were born this month. On February 1, 1895 Hollywood director, John Ford, best known for directing the movie The Grapes of Wrath, was born in Maine. The first female physician in the U.S., Elizabeth Blackwell, was born on February 3, 1821 near Bristol, England, and on the same date American illustrator Norman Rockwell was born in New York in 1894.
In 1902 on February 4, pioneer aviator Charles Lindbergh was born in Detroit, Michigan. In 1927 he made the first non-stop solo flight from New York to Paris.
February 6 was the birthday of two more famous people, “Babe” Ruth in 1895 in Baltimore, Maryland, and U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1911.
Charles Dickens, born in 1812 in Portsmouth, England, celebrated his birthday on February 7. On February 11, 1847 inventor, Thomas Edison, was born and two eminent names popped up for February 12, Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin, both born in 1809, Lincoln in Kentucky and Darwin in Shrewsbury, England. February has certainly produced some very famous people.
There have also been a number of world-famous events in February. For instance, on February 6, 1952, a much loved English King, George VI, died, and his young daughter, then Princess Elizabeth, became Queen Elizabeth II at the age of 25. She was crowned the following year on June 3. And who can forget the Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal back in the 1990s? On February 12 1999 then President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate ended. Clinton was acquitted and served out the remainder of his term until January, 2001.
It would seem, therefore, that the month of February is anything but boring!
Valerie Green is an author/historian and can be reached at valgee@shaw.ca
