February 4, 1913 - Rosa Parks Birthday
In 1900, Montgomery, Alabama had passed a city ordinance for the purpose of segregating bus passengers by race. Conductors were given the power to assign seats to accomplish that purpose; however, no passengers would be required to move or give up their seat and stand if the bus was crowded and no other seats were available. Over time and by custom, however, Montgomery bus drivers had adopted the practice of requiring black riders to move whenever there were no white only seats left.

On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks, age 42, refused to obey bus driver James Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. Though not the first act of its kind, Parks' action sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

During a 1956 radio interview several months after her arrest, when asked why she had decided not to vacate her bus seat, Parks said, "I would have to know for once and for all what rights I had as a human being and a citizen. People always say that I didn't give up my seat because I was tired, but that isn't true. I was not tired physically, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the only tired I was, was tired of giving in."


February 6, 1756 - Aaron Burr
So you think our election campaigns are negative nowadays? Consider Aaron Burr...
An American politician, Revolutionary War participant, and adventurer, Burr served as the third Vice President of the United States (1801–1805), under Thomas Jefferson. During an unsuccessful campaign for governor of New York in 1804, Burr took umbrage at remarks made by Alexander Hamilton, a longtime political rival, at a dinner party. Burr challenged Hamilton to a duel on July 11, 1804, in which he mortally wounded Hamilton. Easily the most famous duel in U.S. history, it had immense political ramifications. Burr was indicted for murder in both New York and New Jersey (though these charges were either later dismissed or resulted in acquittal), and the harsh criticism and animosity directed towards him brought an end to his political career.

 

 

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States (1981–1989) and the 33rd Governor of California (1967–1975). Prior to his political career Reagan was also a famous motion picture actor. Reagan left office in 1989. In 1994, the former president disclosed that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease earlier in the year; he died ten years later at the age of 93. He ranks highly among former U.S. presidents in terms of approval rating, but has a more mixed perception in presidential surveys.

 

 

George Herman Ruth, Jr., best known as "Babe" Ruth, was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935. Ruth was the first player to hit 60 home runs in one season (1927), setting the season record which stood until broken by Roger Maris in 1961. Ruth's lifetime total of 714 home runs at his retirement in 1935 was a record, until first surpassed by Hank Aaron in 1974.

 

 

An English novelist of the Victorian era, Dickens is one of the most popular authors of all time. He created some of literature's most iconic characters, with the theme of social reform running throughout his work. The continuing popularity of his novels and short stories is such that they have never gone out of print. Just a few of his popular titles: The Adventures of Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, and The Christmas Carol.

 

 

Harrison was the ninth President of the United States, and within less than six weeks of his election he earned two unwelcome distinctions. Harrison became the first president to die in office, succumbing to complications from a cold. He died on his thirty-second day in office, thus also becoming the President with the shortest tenure in U.S. presidential history. His death sparked a brief constitutional crisis, but that crisis ultimately resolved many questions about presidential succession left unanswered by the Constitution until passage of the 25th Amendment.

 

 

Edison is arguably one of the best known inventors in history. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and a long-lasting, practical electric light bulb. Dubbed "The Wizard of Menlo Park" (now Edison, New Jersey) by a newspaper reporter, he was one of the first inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large teamwork to the process of invention, and therefore is often credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory.

 

 

 

The Ed Sullivan Show was a popular American TV variety show that originally ran on CBS from Sunday June 20, 1948 to Sunday June 6, 1971, and was hosted by New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960 and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. These two icons came together on February 9th, 1964, with the first of three performances by the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show. Their first appearance is considered a milestone in American pop culture and the beginning of the British Invasion in music. The broadcast drew an estimated 73 million viewers, at the time a record for US television, and was characterized by an audience composed largely of screaming hysterical teenage girls in tears.

 

 

Mandela is a former President of South Africa (1994 to 1999), and the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of the African National Congress's armed wing. The South African courts convicted him on charges of sabotage, as well as other crimes committed while he led the movement against apartheid. In accordance with his conviction, Mandela served 27 years in prison. Following his release from prison, Mandela supported reconciliation and negotiation, and helped lead the transition towards multi-racial democracy in South Africa.