On February 6, 1843, "The Virginia Minstrels" opened at the Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City. It was the first minstrel show in America...

Also on Feb. 6, 1895, George Herman 'Babe' Ruth, baseball's great star, was born.

On Feb. 7, 1984, space shuttle astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart went on the first untethered spacewalk.

Also on February 7, 1882, the last bareknuckle fight for the heavyweight boxing championship took place in Mississippi City...

On February 8, 1927, the original version of "Getting Gertie’s Garter" opened at the Hippodrome Theatre in New York City...

Also on February 8, 1922- President Warren G. Harding had a radio installed in the White House

On Feb. 9, 1943, the World War II battle of Guadalcanal in the southwest Pacific ended with an American victory over Japanese forces.

And on a related note, on February 9, 1885, the first Japanese arrived in Hawaii...

On Feb. 10, 1962, the Soviet Union exchanged captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for Rudolph Ivanovich Abel, a Soviet spy held by the United States.

Also on February 10, 1897, "The New York Times" began printing "All the news that's fit to print" on their front page...

On Feb. 11, 1945, President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin signed the Yalta Agreement during World War II.

Also on Februar 11, 1808, Judge Jesse Fell experimented by burning anthracite coal to keep his house warm. He successfully showed how clean the coal burned and how cheaply it could be used as a heating fuel...

On February 12, 1554, Lady Jane Grey was beheaded after being charged with treason. She had claimed the throne of England for only nine days...

I am here, turns out the weather is too poor to go fishing this morning.

Lady Jane Grey was a Jeopardy answer/question Thurs... Why is stupid stuff like this stuck in my brain and not important facts like the name of the lovely lady I met the other day? Have phone number no name... that would not go well I'm afraid.

Ok back to our regularly scheduled trivial information thread...

Also on February 12th, 1915- The cornerstone for the Lincoln Memorial was laid in Washington, D.C.

On February 13, 1542, Catherine Howard was executed for adultery. She was the fifth wife of England's King Henry VIII...

Also on Feb. 13 in 1935, a jury in Flemington, N.J., found Bruno Richard Hauptmann guilty of first-degree murder in the kidnap-death of the infant son of Charles and Anne Lindbergh. Hauptmann was later executed.

On February 14, 1859, Oregon became the 33rd member of the Union...

Also on Feb. 14th in 1929- the St. Valentine's Day Massacre took place in a Chicago garage as seven rivals of Al Capone's gang were gunned down.

On February 15th, 1898- The U.S. battleship Maine blew up in Havana harbor, killing more than 260 crew members and bringing the U.S. closer to war with Spain over the issue of Cuban independence.

Also on February 15, 1903, Morris and Rose Michtom, Russian immigrants, introduced the first teddy bear in America...

On February 16th, 1948- NBC-TV aired its first nightly newscast, "The Camel Newsreel Theatre," which consisted of Fox Movietone newsreels.

Also on February 16, 1857, the National Deaf Mute College was incorporated in Washington, DC. It was the first school in the world for advanced education of the deaf. The school was later renamed Gallaudet College...

On February 17, 1876, Julius Wolff was credited with being the first to can sardines...

On February 18, 1913, the famous French painting "Nude Descending a Staircase", by the French artist, Marcel Duchamp, was displayed at an "Armory Show" in New York City...

On February 19th, 1945- Some 30,000 U.S. Marines landed on Iwo Jima and began a month-long battle to seize control of the island from Japanese forces during World War II.

On February 19, 1878, Thomas Alva Edison patented a music player (the phonograph)...

On February 20, 1962, John Glenn made space history when he orbited the world three times in 4 hours, 55 minutes. He was the first American to orbit the Earth. He was aboard the Friendship 7 Mercury capsule...

Also on February 20th in 1839- Congress prohibited dueling in the District of Columbia.

Maybe they should bring it back?

On February 21st, 1975- Former Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H.R. Haldeman and John D. Ehrlichman were sentenced to 2 1/2 to 8 years in prison for their roles in the Watergate cover-up.

On February 21, 1858, the first electric burglar alarm was installed in Boston, MA...

On February 22nd, 1879- Frank Winfield Woolworth opened a five-cent store in Utica, N.Y.

Also on February 22, 1819, Spain ceded Florida to the United States...

On Feb. 23, 1954, the first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine began in Pittsburgh.

Also on February 23, 1792, the Humane Society of Massachusetts was incorporated...

On February 24th, 1821- Mexico declared its independence from Spain.

Also on February 24, 1868, the first parade to use floats occurred in New Orleans at Mardi Gras...

On Feb. 25, 1870, Hiram R. Revels, R-Miss., became the first black member of the United States Senate as he was sworn in to serve out the unexpired term of Jefferson Davis.

Also on February 25, 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified. It authorized a graduated income tax...

On February 26, 1907, the U.S. Congress raised their own pay to $7500...

On February 27, 1827, New Orleans held its first Mardi Gras celebration...