February 29 1860 Birth: Herman Hollerith: American inventor of a tabulating machine that was an important precursor of the electronic computer. For the 1890 U.S. census, he invented several punched-card machines to automate the sorting of data. The machine which read the cards used a pin going through a hole in the card to make an electrical connection with mercury placed beneath. The resulting electrical current activated a mechanical counter. It saved the U.S. 5 million dollars for the 1890 census by completing the analysis of the data in a fraction of the time it would have taken without it and with a smaller amount of manpower than would have been necessary otherwise. In 1896, he formed the Tabulating Machine Company, a precursor of IBM. 1904 Various: Panama: Birth: Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenber, Sr., near Hamburg, Germany. One Christian name for each letter of the alphabet. 1916 World War I: Two ships sink in North Sea battle: On the afternoon of February 29, 1916, both the British armed merchant ship Alcantara and the German raider Grief sink after engaging each other in a close-range battle on the North Sea. [For further details, Click here.]
1920 Hungary: Miklos Horthy de Nagybanya becomes the Regent just six months after leading a counterrevolution. 1932 Finland: There is a failed coup attempt by the fascist Lapua-motion. 1936 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a second neutrality act: It shall thereafter during the period of the war be unlawful for any person within the United States to purchase, sell, or exchange bonds, securities, or other obligations of the government of any belligerent country, or of any political subdivision thereof, or of any person acting for or on behalf of such government, issued after the date of such proclamation, or to make any loan or extend any credit to any such government or person: Provided, That if the President shall find that such action will serve to protect the commercial or other interests of the United States or its nationals, he may, in his discretion, and to such extent and under such regulation as he may prescribe, except from the operation of this section ordinary commercial credits and short-time obligations in aid of legal transactions and of a character customarily used in normal peace-time commercial transactions. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a renewal or adjustment of such indebtedness as may exist on the date of the President's proclamation. Whoever shall violate the provisions of this section or of any regulations issued hereunder shall, upon conviction thereof, be fined not more than $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than five years, or both. 1936 Church and Reich: Cardinal Hlond declares in a public letter that: It is true that the Jews are committing frauds, practicing usury, and dealing in white slavery. It is true that in schools, the influence of Jewish youth upon Catholic youth is generally evil, from a religious and ethical point of view. But let us be just. Not all Jews are like that. One does well to prefer his own kind in commercial dealings and to avoid Jewish stores and Jewish stalls in the markets, but it is not permissible to demolish Jewish businesses, break windows, torpedo their houses. (THP) 1944 World War II: Various: War against Japan: From the horse's mouth: The Office of Defense Transportation, for the second year, restricts attendance at the Kentucky Derby to residents of the Louisville area to prevent a railroad traffic burden during wartime. 1952: Cold War: Lattimore admits inaccuracies in previous testimony:
Owen Lattimore, one of the more famous figures of the "Red Scare" in the United States during the 1950s, testifies before a Senate subcommittee that he might have been inaccurate in some of his previous testimony. Lattimore's admissions resulted in his being charged with perjury and years of legal wrangling. [For further details, Click here.]
1956 Pakistan: An Islamic Republic is established. 1956 President Eisenhower announces he will seek a second term of office. 1956 Space: The Department of Defense releases a sixty-one minute long educational film entitled The Challenge of Outer Space. The DOD's description of the film, featuring von Braun, explains that he will describe "the characteristics of present day guided missile models, how they function, the problems involved in achieving operational effectiveness, and the challenge presented by outer space in future development." 1960 Armaments: President John F. Kennedy makes the so-called 'missile gap' a presidential campaign issue. 1964 Aviation: The Lockheed SR-71 'Blackbird' 2,000mph warplane, has its first public showing. 1964 Aviation: President Lyndon B. Johnson reveals that the US has secretly developed the A-11 jet fighter. 1988 Kurt Waldheim implicated in a Nazi document in connection with World War II deportations. Edited by Levi Bookin (Copy editor) Click to join 3rdReichStudies FAIR USE NOTICE: This site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of historical, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, environmental, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Please note that the list-owner and the moderator are not responsible for, and do not necessarily approve of, the random ads placed on our pages by our web server. They are the unfortunate price one pays for a 'free' website.
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