Milestones: February 1, 2024

February 1, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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SUPREME COURT’S DEBUT — THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT CONVENED FOR THE FIRST TIME ON FEB. 1, 1790, IN NEW YORK CITY’S ROYAL EXCHANGE BUILDING on Broad Street. Established through Article 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which took effect in March 1789, the U.S. Supreme Court was granted final jurisdiction over all laws, in particular those whose constitutionality came into question. The Supreme Court also ruled on cases involving treaties, foreign diplomacy, admiralty practice and maritime law. Three months before the Supreme Court first convened, Congress passed the Judiciary Act, which provided for six justices to serve for life. President George Washington appointed John Jay, after whom schools are now named, as chief justice; the Senate confirmed then two days later.

It wasn’t until 1929 that the Supreme Court would get its own building, in Washington at the urging of Chief Justice William Howard Taft. Congress authorized $9.74 million. The architect was Cass Gilbert Sr., whose projects included New York City’s Woolworth Building. The new building opened in 1935.

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‘THE GREENSBORO FOUR’ — IT TOOK ONLY FOUR BLACK COLLEGE STUDENTS TO SPARK A NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT when, on Feb. 1, 1960, they refused to leave a “whites only” lunch counter at a Woolworth’s store. The students, who were attending North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State students — Ezell Blair Jr., Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil and David Richmond — became known as the Greensboro Four, named for the Guilford County town where the sit-in occurred. Holding their ground when ordered to leave, the students stayed at the counter when denied service through the store’s closing, promising to return the next day. The number of protesters grew. The first week of the demonstration would attract 200 protesters to the store. Woolworth finally conceded and integrated its lunch counter.

The Greensboro Four’s nonviolent demonstration inspired sit-ins in more than 30 cities and received extensive TV coverage.

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POSTAGE STAMP ICON OF FREEDOM — ANTISLAVERY CRUSADER AND CIVIL WAR VETERAN HARRIET TUBMAN ON FEB. 1, 1978, BECAME THE FIRST AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN to appear on a U.S. postage stamp. The first in the Post Office’s Black Heritage Series, this stamp represented progress made in recognizing African Americans’ contributions to American history. It also served to place abolitionists on equal ground with slaveholders in the philatelic world. An enslaved woman, Tubman escaped captivity in Maryland; but instead of finding her own refuge, she completed at least 19 trips back to free more enslaved people. All told, Tubman helped several hundred enslaved people find freedom in Canada through the Underground Railroad, of which Plymouth Church in Brooklyn was a part. She is said to have “never lost a passenger.”

Even with a stamp dedicated to Harriet Tubman, a controversy has arisen amid delays in the proposal to update the $20 bill with her picture, replacing the current one of slaveowner Andrew Jackson, who was the 7th U.S. President. Some civil rights groups believe that money bearing her image would actually dishonor her legacy.

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TEXAS QUITS THE UNION — TEXAS BECAME THE SEVENTH STATE TO SECEDE FROM THE UNION, ON FEB. 1, 1861. A state convention voted 166 to 8 in favor of the measure, doing so over the objections of Governor Sam Houston, who was a staunch Unionist. A combination of developments veered Texas toward secession, including John Brown’s raid on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia; fears of an insurrection by enslaved people, and the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860. Under pressure from secessionists, Houston reluctantly called a convention so that Texans could consider the measure. However, he sat silently during the vote, complained that Texans were “stilling the voice of reason” and refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy. For this, he was replaced by his lieutenant governor.

Ironically, Houston’s election as governor in 1859 had seemed to indicate that Texas was not in accord with other Southern states on leaving the Union.

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A MOST COMPREHENSIVE DICTIONARY — THE FIRST PORTION, (CALLED A FASCICLE) OF THE OXFORD ENGLISH DICTIONARY WAS PUBLISHED ON FEB. 1, 1884. Considered the most comprehensive and accurate dictionary of the English language, the Oxford English Dictionary is to this day the definitive authority on the meaning, pronunciation and history of more than half a million English words, past and present. Initial plans began in 1857 when London’s Philological Society, believing that no up-to-date, error-free dictionaries existed, set out to produce one that would cover the entire range of vocabulary from 1150 A.D. to the present (then, the mid-19th century). The dictionary was conceived as a four-volume work of 6,400 pages, and the time it took to complete the project was four times more than the 10 years that were originally estimated. The final fascicle was finally published in 1928. The Oxford English Dictionary differs from most of its contemporaries in that it not only lists present-day definitions, but also details a word’s chronological history.

In 1984, Oxford University Press embarked on a five-year, multimillion-dollar project to create an electronic version of the dictionary, with 120 typists and 50 proofreaders needed to complete it. The online version of the dictionary has been active since 2000.

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RUTHLESS PRESIDENTS — THE NETFLIX SERIES “HOUSE OF CARDS” PREMIERED ON FEB. 1, 2013, the first major TV show available exclusively on a streaming service. Based on an eponymous British political drama, the American version of “House of Cards” starred Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright as an increasingly ruthless couple who start off as a Congressmember and a nonprofit director, respectively. Hungry for power, they manipulate circumstances and people — murdering when they deem it necessary until each in turn holds the presidency. The program, which ran for six seasons and won seven Emmy Awards and 56 nominations, was the first to present the entire season’s episodes at once, instead of one at a time.

After a sex scandal involving lead actor Kevin Spacey broke out, he was removed from the show, and his character simply “died,” with some surprise plot developments arising from that.

See previous milestones, here.