February 16

Governments have a responsibility to the people that they serve, responsibilities that they ignore at their peril. A government should have a close and abiding relationship with its people and ought to pass and enforce laws that will benefit the nation as a whole. Ideally, they should pay little or no heed to special, partisan interests. In times of peril, a government should take the lead in insuring the happiness of the masses it is serving. That is the only explanation of why, on the 16th in 1859, the French government passed a law setting the A-note above middle C to a frequency of 435 Hz to standardize the pitch. I was unaware of the French interest in baseball.

February 15

Socrates is considered by many to be one of the wisest of the ancients. He considered himself wise, however, simply because he knew that he knew nothing, as opposed to his contemporaries who while considering themselves to be wise actually knew very little. For all practical purposes, a person who is aware of the fact that he or she knows nothing does give that person a slight edge over the teeming masses. Which is why it is really rather unfortunate that Socrates, after having been convicted and sentenced to death for his unwavering opposition to the democratic regime he lived under, chose to drink a lethal dose of hemlock instead of escaping. He did this on the 15th in 399 b.c.e.

February 14

On the 14th in 1778, the flag of the nascent United States was formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when the French admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte, gave a nine-gun salute to the USS Ranger, whose captain was John Paul Jones. Apparently, among naval types in the eighteenth century, making a lot of noise by firing guns was the diplomatic way of saying ‘Wassup dawg’. Sort of like a rap concert today.

February 13

What do William Lloyd Garrison, Benjamin Franklin, and Louis Farrakhan have in common? They all dropped out of the Boston Latin School, the first public school in the United States, which opened its doors on the 13th in 1635.
Garrison was an ardent abolitionist. One quote which illustrates his commitment is "I am in earnest – I will not equivocate – I will not excuse – I will not retreat a single inch – I WILL BE HEARD."
In his free time, Franklin liked to keep busy. He played the violin, the harp, and the guitar; all in addition to composing string quartets in a classical style.
Before joining the Nation of Islam, Farrakhan was on the road to having a successful career as a Calypso singer.
Before you jump down my throat, I am well aware that at the time the school opened, it wasn’t in the United States, but you get the idea.

February 12

Lady Jane Grey was the Queen of England from July 6 to July 19, 1553. Sixteen-year old Lady Jane was beheaded for treason on the 12th in 1554, which seems to be a terribly high price for her to have paid for her 15 minutes. Her last words before the executioner took off her head were “Good people, I am come hither to die, and by a law I am condemned to the same. The fact, indeed, against the queen's highness was unlawful, and the consenting thereunto by me: but touching the procurement and desire thereof by me or on my behalf, I do wash my hands thereof in innocency, before God, and the face of you, good Christian people, this day.”

February 11

On the 11th in 1953, President Eisenhower denied a petition for clemency made on behalf of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. The Rosenbergs had been convicted on March 29, 1951 of conspiracy to commit espionage. There are those who believe that their convictions were obtained in reliance on specious evidence. The two were executed by electrocution on June 19,, 1953. No long, drawn-out, terribly boring appeals of the death sentence in those days. The executioner got Julius on the first try. However, proving yet again that women are the stronger of the species, it took three tries before Ethel bought it. I was unable to find out what Mrs. Rosenberg wore to her execution and one can only hope that it was something demure and in quiet good taste.

February 10

When I think of Oxford, England, I can’t help but picture a bunch of guys wearing tweed jackets that have leather patches on the elbows, invariably smoking pipes and busily engaged in doing a whole bunch of thinking, which can be extremely tiring (Or should that be tiresome?). After a day spent engaged in lots of pondering, they probably liked to pop off down to the pub for a quick one after work. On the 10th in 1355, which just happens to be St. Scholastica's Day, a riot broke out following a dispute at Oxford’s Swindlestock Tavern, over the quality of the beer being served. The scholars from the University of Oxford and their students became embroiled in a dispute that left 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals wishing that they had kept their heads in their books instead of on pikes. The scholars from the University of Oxford and their students became embroiled in a dispute that left 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals wishing that they had kept their heads in their books instead of on pikes.

Saint Scholastica, who died in 543, was the twin sister of St. Benedict of Nursia, the founder of the Benedict Order. Scholastica is the patroness against storms and rain. Benedict, on the other hand is far busier, being as he is the patron against poison; witchcraft; agricultural workers; cavers; civil engineers; coppersmiths; dying people; erysipelas; Europe; farmers; fever; gall stones; Heerdt, Germany; inflammatory diseases; Italian architects; kidney disease; monks; nettle rash; Norcia, Italy; people in religious orders; schoolchildren; servants who have broken their master's belongings; speleologists; spelunkers and temptations