George Washington was born on February 22, 1732 “As was the custom, the family took the name of its estate or village, and William de Hertburn was known as William de Wessyngton. The “de” was soon dropped and Wessyngton was pronounced and spelled, down through the centuries, Wessington, Weshington, Wassington, until it became Washington. The names of these knightly descendants of the Norman conquerors, in their various forms, are found in the lists of English chivalry all through the Middle Ages, and many of them engaged in heroic enterprises to be eclipsed only by one great American name which should evermore be “first in war.” From: The story of young George Washington by Wayne Whipple, published in 1918 https://archive.org/details/storyofyounggeor00whip/page/22 Source says not in copyright Image: The birth-place of Washington. At Bridges Creek, Westmoreland Co. Va. The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. –>

On February 22, 1881, an ancient Egyptian obelisk was installed in New York’s Central Park near the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dubbed “Cleopatra’s Needle” the 3,400 year old monument was a gift from the Khedive (viceroy) of Egypt to the US. It stands 70 feet tall and is covered in hieroglyphics. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain –>

“Abraham Lincoln raising a flag at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, in honor of the admission of Kansas to the Union on Washington’s Birthday, February 22, 1861” via Library of Congress, no known restrictions –>

On February 22, 1889, President Grover Cleveland (just 10 days before finishing his 1st Presidential term) signed the Enabling Act which authorized the entry of Washington, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota (split Territory of Dakota) into the Union. All 4 states officially entered the Union later that same year, in November 1889. Image of Grover Cleveland from 1903 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain –>

Amy Carter and Jimmy Carter participate in a speed reading course at the White House. February 22, 1977 Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain –>

On today’s date February 22, 1819, John Quincy Adams and Luis de Onís y González-Vara of Spain negotiated the Adams-Onis Treaty that essentially ceded Florida and other Spanish lands in America to The United States. The U.S. officially took possession of Florida a little over two years later in 1821. Image: Map of Florida from 1822 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain –>

On February 22, 1865, the Battle of Wilmington, North Carolina concludes as Union General Jacob D. Cox leads his 3rd Division into the city. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain –>

Invitation to Raising of Flag on U.S. Mail Steamship New York February 22, 1893 Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain –>

Shopping at a Woolworth Five-and-Dime store in Washington, D.C. in 1941 On today’s date February 22, 1879 the first Woolworth retail store opened in Utica, New York. The first store failed but Frank Woolworth stuck to it and in ten years he had 12 profitable stores in business. Image via Library of Congress, no known restrictions –>

Rodman Wanamaker and Native American Chiefs on February 22, 1913 at the groundbreaking ceremony for the National American Indian Memorial at Fort Wadsworth on Staten Island in New York. Groundbreaking of the Memorial commenced in 1913; however, the project was ultimately left unfinished, and no physical trace exists today. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain –>

Herb Brooks Arena in Lake Placid, New York where the U.S. defeated the Soviet Union in hockey on February 22, 1980 to advance to the gold medal game. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain –>

Nine years before she was dedicated in New York Harbor, The Statue of Liberty was accepted as a gift from the people of France to the United States on February 22, 1877 with a joint resolution by U.S. Congress. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain –>

On February 22, 1819, American poet James Russell Lowell was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. One of his sonnets was titled In Absence These rugged, wintry days I scarce could bear, Did I not know, that, in the early spring, When wild March winds upon their errands sing, Thou wouldst return, bursting on this still air, Like those same winds, when, startled from their lair, They hunt up violets, and free swift brooks From icy cares, even as thy clear looks Bid my heart bloom, and sing, and break all care: When drops with welcome rain the April day, My flowers shall find their April in thine eyes, Save there the rain in dreamy clouds doth stay, As loath to fall out of those happy skies; Yet sure, my love, thou art most like to May, That comes with steady sun when April dies. –>

Washington’s Birthday a painting by Belgian artist Charles Baugniet from 1878 Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain –>