Along Came a Spider is a crime thriller novel, and the first novel in James Patterson's series about forensic psychologist Alex Cross. First published in 1993 on Feb 2
In Montgomery, Alabama, Thomas Reed, president of the Alabama chapter of the NAACP, was arrested after he and 11 others attempted to strike a Confederate flag flying atop the state capitol building. 1988!
Riggs, Marlon (1957-1994) - Birthday : He was born in Fort Worth, Texas to a military family on February 3, 1957, and spent his childhood at various military posts, including time spent living in Georgia and Germany.
Black Hero of Argentina dies: Antonio Ruiz (El Negro Falucho), national hero of Buenos Aires, Agentina, dies for his country. 1810
Laura Wheeler Waring, portrait painter and illustrator dies: Laura Wheeler Waring, portrait painter and illustrator dies. 1948
The Air Force Academy drops its ban on applicants with sickle cell trait: The Air Force Academy drops its ban on applicants with sickle cell trait. 1981
U of Alabama First Black Student : Autherine J. Lucy becomes the first black student to attend the University of 1956
Gold Medal: Geraldine McCullough, sculptor, wins the Widener Gold Medal award.1965
Édouard Glissant , (born September 21, 1928, Le Lamentin, Martinique—died February 3, 2011, Paris, France), French-speaking West Indian poet and novelist who belonged to the literary Africanism movement.
Glissant was a disciple and fellow countryman of the poet Aimé Césaire, who founded the Negritude movement to promote an African culture free of all colonial influences. Glissant recorded the awakening of colonized peoples in his verse collection Un Champ d’îles (1953; “An Expanse of Islands”) and in his epic poem Les Indes (1956; The Indies in bilingual edition). His novel La Lézarde (1958; “The Crack”; Eng. trans. The Ripening) won him France’s Prix Théophraste Renaudot (1958), an important annual award bestowed upon a novel. In Le Quatrième Siècle (1964; “The Fourth Century”), he retraced the history of slavery in Martinique and the rise of a generation of young West Indians, trained in European universities, who would reclaim their land. The narrative structure of his novel Malemort (1975) interweaves the colonial history of Martinique with an examination of contemporary experience, a technique he used again in La Case du commandeur (1981; “The Commander’s Cabin”). Glissant’s other verse collections include Boises (1977; “Woods”) and Pays rêvé, pays réel (1985; “Countries Dreamed, Countries Real”). The collection of poems Le Sel noir (1960) was published in English translation as Black Salt: Poems. Glissant’s play Monsieur Toussaint (published 1961) is about the Haitian hero Toussaint-Louverture. His book about William Faulkner, Faulkner, Mississippi (1996), appeared in English translation under the same title.
Horace King, born a slave on September 8, 1807 in Chesterfield District, South Carolina, was a successful bridge architect and builder in West Georgia, Northern Alabama and northeast Georgia in the period between the 1830s and 1870s. King worked for his master, John Godwin who owned a successful construction business. Although King was a slave, Godwin treated him as a valued employee and eventually gave him considerable influence over his business. Horace King supervised many of Godwins business activities including the management of construction sites. In 1832, for example, King led a construction crew in building Moore’s Bridge, the first bridge crossing the lower Chattahoochee River in northwest Georgia. Later in the decade, Godwin and King constructed some of the largest bridges in Georgia, Alabama, and Northeastern Mississippi. By the 1840s King designed and supervised construction of major bridges at Wetumpka, Alabama and Columbus, Mississippi without Godwins supervision. Godwin issued five year warranties on his bridges because of his confidence in King’s high quality work.
In 1839, Horace King married Frances Thomas, a free African American woman. The couple had had four boys and one girl. The King children eventually joined their father at working on various construction projects. In addition to building bridges, King constructed homes and government buildings for Godwins construction company. In 1841, King supervised the construction of the Russell County Courthouse in Alabama. Despite the success of the company in attracting work, Godwin nonetheless fell into debt. King was emancipated by Godwin on February 3, 1846 to avoid his seizure by creditors. King continued to work for Godwins construction company and when his former owner died in 1859, King assumed controlled of Godwin’s business.
During the Civil War, King continued to work on construction projects usually for the Confederacy including a building for the Confederate navy near Columbus, Georgia.
On this day in:
Negro Baseball League founded 1920
1659 Jan van Riebeeck, the first governor of the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa, planted a vineyard in 1655. On February 2, 1659 he made the first wine from grapes grown at the Cape.
1754 Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord was born. Known simply as Talleyrand, French statesman, diplomat and grand gourmet, called the 'first fork of France.' He served at the top levels of French governments for almost 50 years. During this time his chefs included Bouchee, Careme, and Avice. Many culinary preparations have been created or named for him.
1795 The French government offers a prize of 12,000 francs for a method of preserving food for transport to the French army. It was eventually won by Nicholas Appert who invented a successful method to can food.
(Canning History)
1820 Jean Etienne Bore, died. Inventor of the sugar granulating process (1794 or 1795), founder of the sugar industry in Louisiana.
1826 Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin died. A French lawyer and politician, author of ‘La Physiologie du gout’ (‘The Physiology of Taste’) (1825). He was probably the greatest food critic that ever lived.
1852 The first public lavatory opened in London.
1869 A removable steel plow blade is patented by James Oliver of South Bend, Indiana.
1880 The first successful shipment of frozen mutton made it to London from Australia, aboard the SS Strathleven.
1887 The first Groundhog day is observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
1892 William Painter received a patent for the crown-cork bottle cap with a cork seal. It was used up until the 1970s, when the cork liner was replaced with a plastic liner.
1897 Alfred L. Cralle (1866-1920) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania received U.S.patent No. 576,395 for an "Ice-Cream Mold and Disher" (ice cream scoop). His basic design is still used today.
1897 Howard Deering Johnson was born (died June 20, 1972). Founder of Howard Johnson's chain of restaurants and motels.
1913 Carl Gustaf Patrik de Laval died. A Swedish scientist and inventor. Among his inventions was the centrifugal cream separator and a vacuum milking machine.
1925 Sears, Roebuck & Co. expanded it's catalog business by opening its first retail store in the Merchandise building (its headquarters in Chicago, Illinois).
1961 U.S. President Kennedy announces pilot food stamp programs would be initiated. The pilot programs would retain the requirement that the food stamps be purchased, but eliminated the concept of special stamps for surplus foods. A Department spokesman indicated the emphasis would be on increasing the consumption of perishables. (see also
1971 Richard Hellmann died (born 1876). New York deli owner and creator of Hellmann's Mayonnaise.
1996 Ray McIntire died. A chemical engineer who worked for Dow Chemical Company, he invented Styrofoam.
2010 Kraft Foods announced that more than 71% of Cadbury shareholders had voted to approve Kraft's takeover bid of the British confectioner.
On Wednesday, February 3rd, for the first time in history, America's urban students will have a Web site specifically designed to address their educational needs and interests. The site -- called the Cyber-Youth Network -- provides a model for online education by offering students and teachers culturally relevant material that is both educational and entertaining.
With help from organizations like founding sponsor DaimlerChrysler Corp., the
launch of the program will showcase students from Washington, DC's Eastern and
Ballou Senior High Schools who, using the Cyber-Youth Network, will trace their
ancestors through the African-American Civil War Memorial online database, access sites about Black History Month and participate in a live video conference with African-American role models. The project is conducted in partnership with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with plans to expand the program to other urban school systems within HUD's existing nine Enterprise Zone Communities over the next year.
The launch of the Cyber-Youth Network will coincide with the first week of Black
History Month. WHAT: The Cyber-Youth Network will launch the nation's first fully interactive Internet Web site specifically designed for urban students, teachers and parents in recognition of Black History Month. More than 15 students will demonstrate the Network's capabilities.