On February 16, 1868, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE) was founded in New York City. One of the oldest fraternal organizations in the US, they provide aid to America’s youth, veterans, the disadvantaged, and handicapped.
While the exact date of abolitionist Frederick Douglass’s birth is unknown, it’s generally considered to be February 14, 1818. Douglass was an abolitionist and suffragist, one of the leading civil rights leaders of the 19th century.
On February 12, 1909, the US Post Office issued a set of stamps commemorating the 100th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s birth. These were America’s first definitive-sized commemoratives.
Scientist Josiah Willard Gibbs was born on February 11, 1839, in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a Yale professor, inventor, and formulated the laws of thermodynamics.
On February 9, 1870, Ulysses S. Grant created the US Weather Bureau. Still in operation today as the National Weather Service, it provides weather forecasts and warnings for hazardous weather.
William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8, 1820 in Lancaster, Ohio. His tough “scorched earth” policy was a severe blow to morale in the Confederacy during the Civil War.
Politician Adlai Stevenson II was born on February 5, 1900, in Los Angeles, California. He was a popular governor of Illinois and US ambassador to the United Nations.
Aviation pioneer Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on February 4, 1902, in Detroit, Michigan. He was the first person to fly solo non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean and helped to promote and expand aviation and airmail.
Newspaper publisher Horace Greeley was born on February 3, 1811, in Amherst, New Hampshire. His newspapers championed a number of causes, including abolition, temperance, railroads, and westward expansion.