This is what we're celebrating or observing This Week
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January 29, 2012
Bubblegum Sculpture Day - Jan. 29
Bubblewrap Appeciation Day - 1/29
National Corn Chip Day - Jan. 29
Freddie Prinze (American actor and comedian) dies the day after he shoots himself in the head (1977) - Jan. 29
George III of the UK dies from what is now generally thought to be the blood disease porphyria and is succeeded by his son George IV (1820) - 1/29
Kansas is admitted to the union as the 34th US State (1861) 1/29
Explosions rock London's West End when a series of twelve bombs go off with 4 of them outside employment agencies - only 1 man is hurt (1976) - Jan. 29
National Puzzle Day - Jan. 29
Thomas Paine (English pamphleteer, inventor, free thinker and intellectual) is born in Thetford England (1737) - Jan. 29
Presentation of Christ at the Temple (when Mary brings Jesus into the temple) in Church of England celebrated either on 2/2 or the Sunday between 1/28 and 2/3 (2012) - 1/29
Free Thinkers Day - Jan. 29
SAG (Screen Actors' Guild) Awards (2012) - Jan. 29
January 30, 2012
Andrew Jackson is subjected to the first attempted assassination ever made against a sitting president (1835) - Jan. 30
Charles I of England is beheaded at the Palace of Whitehall in front of the Banqueting House (1649) - Jan. 30
Comet Hyakutake is discovered by Yuji Hyakutake of Japan using a powerful set of binoculars (1996) - 1/30
The Beatle's give their last live concert together for "Let It Be" on the rooftop of Apple Records in London (1969) - Jan. 30
Flying Wallendas have two members die during a performance of the seven-person chair pyramid in Detroit MI (1962) - Jan. 30
Mohandas Karamchand Ghandi (political and spiritual leader of India through the Indian Independence movement) is shot on his nightly public walk in New Delhi (1948) - Jan. 30
Adolf Hitler is sworn in as the Chancellor of Germany (1933) - 1/30
Oliver Cromwell (died September, 1658) is exhumed and subjected to the ritual of a posthumous execution (1661) - Jan. 30
Peter Leko (Hungarian chess Player) becomes an international grand master at age 14 (1994) - Jan. 30
Rudolf (Crown Prince of Austria) is found dead along with his lover Baroness Mary Vetsera at his hunting lodge (Mayerling-1889) - 1/30
MV Wilhelm Gustloff (German passenger ship overloaded with civilian refugees) is sunk by three Soviet torpedos 9,400 aboard died (1945) - Jan. 30
Winston Churchill receives a state funeral held at St. Paul's Cathedral by decree of Queen Elizabeth II (1965) - Jan. 30
January 31, 2012
Alaska Airlines Flight 261 experiencing horizontal stablizer problems crashes into the Pacific Ocean killing all 88 aboard (2000) - Jan. 31
Apollo 14 (3rd manned mission for the moon) launches from Kennedy Space Center (1971) - Jan. 31
Charles Edward Stuart (exiled Jacobite claimant to the throne of Great Britain) aka Bonnie Prince Charlie, dies in Rome at age 68 (1788) - Jan. 31
Eddie Slovik (private in the US Army during WWII) is executed by firing squad for desertion (1945) - 1/31
The Family Guy (animated American TV sitcom) premieres on Fox Television (1999) - Jan. 31
Guy Fawkes (primary conspirator in the gunpowder plot to blow up Parliament) is to be executed as a traitor, but jumped to break his neck (1606) - Jan. 31
Ham the Chimp is launched into space during the Mercury-Redstone 2 mission and despite many problems is also safely recovered (1961) - Jan. 31
McDonald's fast-food chain opens its first store in Moscow, Russia (1990) - Jan. 31
North Sea Flood (a high spring tide and severe European windstorm resulting in a storm tide) kills over 1,800 people in Holland (1953) - 1/31
Pacoima, CA Junior High School playground is the site of plane crash that killed 3 of the 220 boys ending their outdoor athletics (1957) - Jan. 31
Alvan Clark (American astronomer and telescope maker) discovers Sirius B (the small star pictured above), the first known white dwarf star (1862) - Jan. 31
3M begins marketing its new cellulose tape discovered by Richard Drew (renamed "Scotch Tape") originally designed to seal cellophane (1930) - Jan. 31
Inspire Your Heart with Art Day - Jan. 31
Waterfall rail accident occurs near Waterfall, New South Wales, Australia when the train derailed killing 7 people on-board (2003) - Jan. 31
When Hell Freezes Over Day - Jan. 31
Backward Day - Jan. 31
Franz Schubert (Austrian composer student of Antonio Salieri best known for his "Unfinished Symphony") is born in Vienna (1797) - Jan. 31
Molo, Kenya Oil Spillage Ignition results in the deaths of at least 113 people with 200 more critically injured (2009) - Jan. 31
February 1, 2012
Ayatollah Khomeni (1st Supreme Leader of Iran) returns to Iran in triumph after 14 years of exile (1979) - Feb. 1
Gale force northerly winds lash Britain's coastline, breaching defenses from Yorkshire to Kent killing hundreds (1953) - Feb. 1
Edward III of England is crowned at age 14 following the deposition of his father (1327) - Feb. 1
Lillian Fishburne becomes the first African-American female to hold the rank of Rear Admiral in the US Navy (1998) - Feb. 1
Grand Central Station (train terminal in New York City) is opened to the public (1913) - Feb. 1
Hamilton River in Canada is renamed the Churchill River after Winston Churchill (1965) - Feb. 1
Superbowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy occurs when Justin Timberlake exposes Janet Jackson's breast due to a "wardrobe malfunction" (2004) - 2/1
Mayon volcano eruption buries Cagsawa, Philippines so that only the town church's bell tower is visible (1814 - photo shows 1928 vs today) - Feb. 1
Patty Hearst is released from prison after her 7 year sentence is commuted by Jimmy Carter she is holding hands with bodyguard Bernard Shaw (1979) - Feb. 1
Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas during re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere killing all 7 crew members aboard (2003) - Feb. 1
Saint Brigid of Kildare (Brigid of Ireland) Feast Day is the traditional first day of spring in Ireland - Feb. 1
Saint Severus of Avranches (Bishop of Avranches) Feast Day - Feb. 1
Great Britain's Half-penny coin is discontinued after 13 years of almost universal unpopularity (1984) - Feb. 1
National Freedom Day (USA observance) commemorates Abraham Lincoln's signing of a resolution outlowing slavery (1865) - Feb. 1
The first Oxford English Dictionary fascicle is published 23 years after Coleridge's sample pages were released (1884) - Feb. 1
Inspire Your Employees to Excellence Day - 2/1
Imbolc (A cross quarter day on the Solar calendar halfway between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox) - Feb. 1
Mobius Awards (recognizes outstanding work in various forms of advertising) announces their "Best of Show" winners for 2010 - 2/1
February 2, 2012
Andrew Selkirk (Scottish sailor who spent 4 years as a castaway on an uninhabited island) is finally rescued (1709) - Feb. 2
Candlemas (When Mary was purified after the birth of Jesus) - Feb. 2
G.I. Joe Day commemorates the launch of the G.I. Joe line with a WWII theme (1964) - Feb. 2
Groundhog Day - Feb. 2
Dia de la Candelaria (Mexico) - Feb. 2
Queen Victoria's funeral takes place in London (she died Jan. 22 - 1901) - Feb. 2
Cyclone Yasi strikes Australia's still flooded Queensland area (2011) - Feb. 2
US Supreme Court convened for the first time (1790) - Feb. 2
Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange marries Maxima Zorreguita Cerruti (Argentine woman of Spanish and Italian descent) at Beurs van Berlage (2002) - Feb. 2
Central Florida is struck by 4 tornadoes killing 21 people and injuring 76 others (2007) - Feb. 2
United Kingdom and Ireland snowstorm results in a 15 cm or 6 in snowfall in parts of London that brings traffic to a halt (2009) - Feb. 2
World Wetlands Day - Feb. 2
February 3, 2012
STS-41-B launches as the 10th space shuttle mission and the 4th flight for Challenger with the first untethered space walks (1984) - Feb. 3
Cavalese Cable Car Incident occurs when a US military jet cuts a cable supporting a gondola of skiers killing 20 people (1998) - 2/3
Day the Music Died (Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, Big Bopper) die in the same plane crash (1959) - Feb. 3
John Buster, M.D. performs history's first embryo transfer from one woman to another that results in a live birth (1984) - Feb. 3
Karla Faye Tucker (convicted Texas murderess) is executed by lethal injection making her the 1st woman executed in TX since 1863 (1998) - Feb. 3
Soviet Union's Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to achieve a lunar soft landing (1966) - Feb. 3
Setsubun (Japanese Spring bean-scattering holiday) - Feb. 3
Wedding Ring Day - Feb. 3
Woodrow Wilson (28th President of the United States) dies in his S Street home in Washington, DC (1924) - Feb. 3
National Carrot Cake Day - Feb. 3
L'homme qui marche (sculpture by Alberto Giacometti) sells at a Sotheby's auction in London for a record breaking £65 million (2010) - Feb. 3
Go Red Day (aka National Wear Red Day for Women - 1st Friday in February) is Women's Heart Disease Awareness Day (2012) - Feb. 3
February 4, 2012
Afghanistan earthquake (6.1 on the Richter scale) occurs killing nearly 5,000 and leaving 15,000 homeless (1998) - Feb. 4
Haicheng earthquake (7.3 on Richter scale) strikes with low loss of life due to successful prediction and evacuation the day before (1975) - Feb. 4
Sri Lanka gains its independence from the UK as the Republic of Ceylon (1948) - Feb. 4
Across the Universe Day commemorates when NASA transmitted the Beatles' "Across the Universe" toward Polaris, 431 light years from Earth (2008) - Feb. 4
PhilSports stadium stampede results in the death of 73 and injures 300 more out of the 30,000 gathered to see a taping of "Wowowee" (2006) - Feb. 4
Thank a Mailperson Day - Feb. 4
USO (United Service Organizations, Inc.) is founded and incorporated in New York City (1941) - 2/4
Winter Halfpoint Day (halfway through winter today) - Feb. 4
World Cancer Day - Feb. 4
Amadou Diallo (23-year-old Guinean immigrant) is fatally shot by 4 New York City Police plain-clothed officers who fired 41 shots in a case of mistaken identity (1999) - Feb. 4
Facebook (Privately-owned Social Network) is founded by Mark Zuckerberg (2004) - 2/4
Scientists in Colombia discover partial skeletons of the "Titanoboa" a 43' snake that weighed 2,500 lbs from the Palocene Epoch (2009) - Feb. 4
Create a Vacuum Day - Feb. 4
Mawlid al-Nabi (Observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad-Sunni) falls in the Islamic calendar month of Rabi al-awwal (2012) - Feb. 4
Homemade Soup Day - Feb. 4
February 5, 2012
Pompeii (17 years before it is buried by Mount Vesuvius) experiences an earthquake which is believed to have registered 7.5 on the Richter Scale (62 AD) - Feb. 5
Mexico Constitution Day (1917) - Feb. 5
Morecambe Bay (England) cockling disaster occurs when at least 21 cockle pickers are caught by a fast moving incoming tide and drown (2004) - Feb. 5
USS Port Royal (US Navy guided missile cruiser) runs aground off Oahu, Hawaii causing damage (in the millions) to the ship and the coral reef it hit (2009) - Feb. 5
Stephen W. Thompson (American aviator of WWI) becomes the 1st person in the US Military to shoot down an enemy aircraft (1918) - Feb. 5
Super Tuesday tornado outbreak occurs when 87 tornadoes form killing at least 57 people across 4 states during an election Tuesday (2008) - Feb. 5
Tybee Bomb (7,600 pound Mark 15 hydrogen bomb) is lost in the waters off Tybee Island near Savannah, GA during a practice exercise (1958) - Feb. 5
United Artists (UA) is founded as a joint venture by Mary Pickford, Charles Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith (1919) - Feb. 5
National Weather Person's Day - Feb. 5
Superbowl Sunday (2012) - Feb. 5
Most captions and photos are courtesy of Wikipedia
