Throwback Thursday 2/9!

Here's what happened on February 9th!

  • 1773: The ninth president of the United States William Henry Harrison was born in Charles City County, VA. Harrison was only president for a month. He did not wear a coat during his inauguration, and afterward he developed pneumonia and died a month into his term. He was the first president to die in office.
    (Biography for Beginners, World Biography, American History)
  • 1849: Suffragist Laura Clay was born near Richmond, Kentucky. When Kentucky ratified the Nineteenth Amendment, one Kentucky suffragist noted that “it is only proper that recognition should be given to Miss Laura Clay, who for a quarter of a century when the cause of woman suffrage seemed but an incandescent dream, labored, toiled, spoke, spent herself and her wealth to advance that cause.”
    (Defining Moments)
  • 1859: Carrie Chapman Catt was born in Ripon, Wisconsin. In 1900 Susan B. Anthony named Catt as her successor as president of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA). Catt stepped up efforts to modernize the organization, as well to grow its membership and treasury.
    (Defining Moments)
  • 1861: Alexander Hamilton Stephens was elected Vice President of the Confederacy. He was a strong advocate of civil liberties and states’ rights. He also was opposed to the secession that led to the establishment of the Confederacy. After the Civil War, he served in Congress and was governor of Georgia when he died.
    (World Biography, American History)
  • 1865: Bentley “Snowflake” Wilson was born in Jericho, Vermont. He is the first person to photograph snow crystals. Bentley’s work and discoveries were largely ignored during this lifetime and he never made money from his work. 
    (Biography for Beginners)
  • 1898: A private letter written by Spanish Ambassador to the US Enrique Dupuy de Lôme to a friend was published in the New York Journal. The letter contained negative remarks about President William McKinley and the United States. This caused major tension between the countries. You can read a translated excerpt here.
    (Defining Moments, American History)
  • 1906: Paul Laurence Dunbar passed away from tuberculosis at the age of 33. In his short life he published 12 books of poetry, a play, several novels, and four short stories collections. He is considered the first important African-American poet and his works are still studied today.
    (Biography for Beginners)
  • 1950: U.S. Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy gave a historic speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, that would set in motion a series of events that would make him the most feared and controversial politician in America. “McCarthyism,” a crusade against accused Communist spies and sympathizers in America, would grip the nation for years to come. Click here to read an excerpt from the Congressional Record version of his speech.
    (Defining Moments)
  • 1961: Bill Veeck was born in Chicago, Illinois. When he was three his father became the president of the Chicago Cubs, beginning Bill’s lifelong involvement with Major League Baseball. During his career as a baseball executive he built up many different teams including the Cleveland Indians!
    (Sports Champions)
  • 1971: Alan Shepard and his team returned to Earth following their mission to the Moon. He became one of only 12 Americans to walk on the moon and the oldest person ever to achieve that feat (47 years old).
    (Biography for Beginners)