This Day In History, February 1st.
Five Historical Events That Happened on February 1st.
1327: Edward III becomes King of England after his father, Edward II, is forced to give up the throne.
The French Revolutionary Wars started when France declared war on Great Britain in 1793.
1865: President Abraham Lincoln signs the 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which officially ends slavery in the country.
1960: Four black college students start a sit-in protest at a lunch counter for whites only in Greensboro, North Carolina. This starts a wave of similar protests all over the country.
2003: During re-entry, the Space Shuttle Columbia breaks up, killing all seven people on board.
This Day In History, February 1st: Edward III Becomes King of England
On 1 February 1327, at the age of 14, Edward III ascended to the throne of England. Edward III was put on the throne as a figurehead by a group of barons who had forced his father, Edward II, to abandon the throne and who controlled through a regency council. But Edward III eventually seized power and established himself as one of England's most prosperous medieval monarchs, guiding the country to victory over France in the Hundred Years' War.
February 1st, 1793: The French Revolutionary War Starts
It was on February 1, 1793, when France officially started the French Revolutionary Wars by declaring war on Britain. In 1793, France was in the middle of great political and social upheaval as a direct result of the Revolution that had begun the previous year. France was involved in multiple wars at once at this time, including the one with Britain, since revolutionary zeal was spreading across Europe and many countries wanted to limit or resist the new French government. For more than two decades, the French Revolutionary Wars shaped Europe.
Abraham Lincoln Signs The 13th Amendment of The United States Constitution, February 1st, 1865.
Slavery and involuntary servitude were abolished in the United States on February 1, 1865, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Once the House of Representatives ratified the amendment in January 1865 and the Senate did so in April 1864, all that was left was for Lincoln to sign it into law. It took several years for the amendment's promises to be completely realized, but the ratification of the 13th Amendment was a major victory in the fight for civil rights in the United States.
Civil Rights Protest Start in Greensboro North Carolina, February 1st, 1960.
A group of four African American college students named Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr. (also known as Jibreel Khazan), and David Richmond sat in at a whites-only lunch restaurant in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960. Black Americans and their allies, demanding an end to segregation and discrimination in public spaces, responded with a wave of similar sit-ins and protests around the country after their demonstration. Support for the fight for racial equality in the United States was greatly bolstered by the Greensboro sit-ins, which have since become a defining landmark in the Civil Rights Movement.
Space Shuttle Columbia Breaks Up and Kills Seven People, February 1st, 2003.
The seven-member crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia perished on re-entry into Earth's atmosphere on February 1, 2003. An insulation foam fragment broke off from the shuttle's external fuel tank during liftoff, causing damage to the shuttle's left wing and causing the spacecraft to disintegrate upon re-entry. Damage to the American space program from the loss of Columbia and its crew resulted in a two-and-a-half year break in the Space Shuttle program while safety upgrades were implemented.