Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.

1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.

1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne becomes the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.

1894 – James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (d. 1955)

1902 – Langston Hughes, American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright (d. 1967)

1937 – Garrett Morris, American actor and comedian

1948 – Rick James, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)

Also on this day in history….

1861 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.

1865 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.

1893 – Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.

1896 – La bohème premieres at the Teatro Regio in Turin, conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini.

1918 – Russia adopts the Gregorian calendar.

1942 – Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers.

1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.

1964 – The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with "I Want to Hold Your Hand".

1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is recorded on motion picture film, as well as in an iconic still photograph taken by Eddie Adams.

1979 – Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile.

1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.

2009 – The first cabinet of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was formed in Iceland, making her the country's first female prime minister and the world's first openly gay head of government.

And if today is your birthday, Happy Birthday To You! You share this special day with…

1894 – John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973)

1901 – Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)

1904 – S.J. Perelman, American humorist and screenwriter (d. 1979)

1918 – Muriel Spark, Scottish playwright and poet (d. 2006)

1924 – Richard Hooker, American novelist (d. 1997)

1928 – Tom Lantos, Hungarian-American academic and politician (d. 2008)

1931 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (d. 2007)

1937 – Don Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1939 – Fritjof Capra, Austrian physicist, author, and academic

1939 – Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (d. 2014)

1942 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2020)

1947 – Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983)

1951 – Sonny Landreth, American guitarist and songwriter

1956 – Exene Cervenka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1967 – Meg Cabot, American author and screenwriter

1968 – Lisa Marie Presley, American singer-songwriter and actress

1969 – Andrew Breitbart, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 2012)

1979 – Jason Isbell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1994 – Harry Styles, English singer-songwriter

Almanac - Monday 2/1/21

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