Ohio History
February 11, 1847 – Inventor Thomas Alva Edison was born in Milan, Ohio. His innovations, including the phonograph and improvements to electric lighting, transformed modern technology.
February 14, 1812 – The Ohio legislature founded the city of Columbus, designating it as the new state capital on land donated near the Scioto River.
World History
February 9, 1950 – Senator Joseph McCarthy delivers anti-Communist speech in Wheeling, West Virginia:
McCarthy claimed he had a list of Communists working in the U.S. State Department, marking the beginning of the Red Scare and McCarthyism in America.
February 10, 1962 – U.S. and Soviet Union exchange spies:
American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers was exchanged for Soviet spy Rudolf Abel on the Glienicke Bridge in Berlin, one of the most notable spy swaps of the Cold War.
February 11, 1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from prison:
After 27 years of imprisonment under apartheid, Nelson Mandela walked free from Victor Verster Prison in South Africa, a pivotal moment in the nation’s path to democracy.
February 12, 1809 – Abraham Lincoln is born:
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States who led the country during the Civil War and abolished slavery, was born in a log cabin in Kentucky.
February 15, 1898 – USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor:
The battleship USS Maine exploded in Cuba’s Havana Harbor, killing over 260 crew members. The incident escalated tensions and helped trigger the Spanish–American War.
