February 13th, 1689

William and Mary were proclaimed the king and queen of England and ruled together until Mary’s death in 1694. This came after the Glorious Revolution which overthrew King James II.

February 14th, 1876

Alexander Graham Bell filed for a patent for the telephone, which he received on March 6th of the same year. 

February 15th, 1898

The USS Maine sank after an explosion in Havana Harbor; the explosion was blamed on the Spanish, but it is likely that gunpowder on the ship accidentally exploded. The explosion led to the Spanish-American War.

February 16th, 1923

King Tut’s tomb was unsealed by the British archaeologist Howard Carter.   

February 17th, 1801

After a tie in the election of 1800, the United States House of Representatives granted the presidency to Thomas Jefferson over Aaron Burr. 

February 18th, 1931

Toni Morrison, the American author of popular novels like Beloved and Sula, was born in Lorain, Ohio.

February 19th, 1963

Betty Friedan, an American activist and writer, published The Feminine Mystique, a book credited with starting the second wave of feminism within the United States.