February 1

Reading

This Day In History

1709

Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

1790

In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time.

1884

The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.

1920

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police begins operations.

1946

Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.

1968

The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form the ill-fated Penn Central Transportation.

2003

Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.

Famous Birthdays

1462

Johannes Trithemius, German cryptographer (d. 1516)

1701

Johan Agrell, late German/Swedish baroque composer (d. 1765)

1801

Thomas Cole, American Hudson River School romantic landscape painter

1884

Bradbury Robinson, who threw the first forward pass in American football history in 1906 (d. 1949)

1894

John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973)

1901

Frank Buckles, last surviving American veteran of World War I (d. 2011)

1901

Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)

1902

Langston Hughes African-American poet and author (d. 1967)

1931

Boris Yeltsin, 1st President of the Russian Federation (d. 2007)

1938

Sherman Hemsley, American comedian and actor

1942

Terry Jones, Welsh actor and writer

1946

Elisabeth Sladen, English Actress (d. 2011)

1954

Bill Mumy, American actor and musician