Feb 26-1983: Michael Jackson’s Thriller album reaches No. 1 and stays there for the next 37 weeks.
Feb 27-1807: Born: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow – Listen my children & you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…
Feb 28-1861: My home state of Colorado is organized as a United States territory.
(Leap Year) Feb 29-1940: 12th Academy Awards go to Gone with the Wind for best picture; Vivien Leigh and Hattie McDaniel for best actress and supporting actress, respectively, also for Gone with the Wind; and Victor Fleming wins best director for Gone with the Wind. The best song is Over the Rainbow.
Mar 1-1904: Born: Glenn Miller of Big Band and military fame. The auditorium in my hometown high school in Ft Morgan, Colorado is named for him. While he wasn’t born there, his family moved to Ft. Morgan in 1918 and he attended high school there. (Photo: CreativeCommons: http://www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/afp/afp1297.htm)
Mar 2-1861: John Butterfield’s Overland Mail Company is granted a government contract to provide daily mail service to the west coast of the United States, which heralds in the coming heydays of the Pony Express.
Mar 3-1855: U.S Congress approves $30,000 to test camels for military use in the southwest.
Mar 4-1967: Merle Haggard reaches No. 1 on Country Music’s Billboard chart for the first time with “The Fugitive”.
Until next time,