Almanac - Thursday February 22, 2024

Pippin is considered one of the major American painters of his period. One of his more significant works, "John Brown Going to His Hanging," is owned by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

1913 George "Buddy" Tate, American jazz saxophonist, born in Sherman, Texas (d. 2001)

1933 Ernie K-Doe [Ernest Kador Jr.], American R&B singer ("Mother-in-Law"), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2001)

George Fleming was born February 22, 1937, in Dallas, Texas.

He was a Washington State politician, one-time professional football player, and advocate for people of color, disabled people, and senior citizens.

1938 Bobby Hendricks, American R&B singer (Itchy Twitchy Feeling), born in Columbus, Ohio

Call me Ishmael. Born Feb 22, 1938 – Ishmael Reed, American poet, novelist, essayist, and proud, longtime Oakland resident

Feb 22, 1950 Julius Winfield( "Dr.J") Erving, 49, former basketball player, born Roosevelt, NY, Feb 22, 1950

1989 Daniel D. [Davis], American jazz and hip hop violinist, born in Charleston, South Carolina

Also on this day in Black History…

Robert Smalls died in Beaufort on February 22, 1915 and is buried there with his family.

Born in slavery, during the civil war, He was a hand on the Confederate steam transport ship The Planter. One night while the boat was docked and the crew went on shore leave, Robert Smalls was put in charge of guarding the boat. Robert Smalls then snuck his wife, children, and 12 more enslaved people on board and he took the ship to a safe place on the Union side. This action convinced Abraham Lincoln to accept African-Americans to fight for the North. Robert Smalls became a public servant and served many roles including as a member of the House of Representatives. He took the money he saved and bought the estate he was once enslaved on in Beaufort, South Carolina. (Nikki Haley is headed there today on a campaign stop)

Feb 22, 1898 Black postmaster lynched and his wife and three daughters shot and maimed for life in Lake City, S.C.

Feb 22, 1911 On this day, the "Bronze Muse" died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

was the most famous female poet of her day and the most famousAfrican-American poet of the 19th century. Also a well-known orator, she spoke frequently in public promoting equal rights for women and African-Americans. She

was a worker for the Underground Railroad and in 1896 she helped establish the National Association of Colored Women.

1979 – The Carribean island of Saint Lucia gains independence from the United Kingdom.

Jonas Savimbi (born August 3, 1934, Portuguese Angola—died February 22, 2002, near Lucusse, Angola) Angolan politician, the leader of a long-continuing guerrilla insurgency against the postindependence government of Angola.

Feb 22, 1989 DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince win the first rap Grammy for the hit single "Parents Just Don't Understand."

Also on this day in history…

1879 – In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of five-and-dime Woolworth stores.

1889 – President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.

1904 – The United Kingdom sells a meteorological station on the South Orkney Islands to Argentina; the islands are subsequently claimed by the United Kingdom in 1908.

1973 – Cold War: Following President Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices.

1983 – The notorious Broadway flop Moose Murders opens and closes on the same night at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.

1986 – Start of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines.

1994 – Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged by the United States Department of Justice with spying for the Soviet Union.

2014 – President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine is impeached by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by a vote of 328–0, fulfilling a major goal of the Euromaidan rebellion.

Today’s birthday’s include….

1732 – George Washington, American general and politician, 1st President of the United States (d. 1799)

1788 – Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher and author (d. 1860)

1857 – Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, English general, co-founded The Scout Association (d. 1941)

1857 – Heinrich Hertz, German physicist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1894)

1892 – Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet and playwright (d. 1950)

1900 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish-Mexican director and producer (d. 1983)

1907 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)

1907 – Robert Young, American actor (d. 1998)

1918 – Don Pardo, American radio and television announcer (d. 2014)

1925 – Edward Gorey, American illustrator and poet (d. 2000)

1930 – Marni Nixon, American soprano and actress (d. 2016)

1932 – Ted Kennedy, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2009)

1933 – Ernie K-Doe, American R&B singer (d. 2001)

1938 – Ishmael Reed, American poet, novelist, essayist

1950 – Julius Erving, American basketball player and sportscaster

1951 – Ellen Greene, American singer and actress

1955 – David Axelrod, American journalist and political adviser

1962 – Steve Irwin, Australian zoologist and television host (d. 2006)

1975 – Drew Barrymore, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter

Almanac - Thursday February 22, 2024

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