The many iconic birthdays of February Part 1 (I can't fit them all in one!)

When I first thought of writing this blog, it was going to be a top 5 list.
I had planned it so that there would be George Washington, Abe Lincoln and others, and then in place number one... Me! It would have been cute and funny, but as I explored the web looking into the birthdays of this wonderful month, I realized there are just too many greats to put it into five slots.
So then I was going to put just 20 names... But I decided that this blog shouldn't be numbered.
I also will have to make this post into many posts, because of the huge number of iconic February figures.

-Ytime-

George Washington

Some consider him the greatest president of the United states,  he was also the first president.
The list of his honors go on and on, but, being a humble man, I'm sure he would want this list short and sweet.
Born the 22nd of February in 1732, George was raised as a farmer in the state of Virginia.
He was the commander-in-chief of the continental army during the American revolution, and before that a major of the British province of Virginia and even before THAT a respected surveyor.
His head is on the front of the dollar bill, his face is carved into the black hills on Mount Rushmore (His hand can also be seen, because they originally planned to fully carve the Presidents) and this next part (straight out of Wikipedia) interested me highly.

The Electoral College unanimously elected Washington as the first president in 1789^[l] and again in 1792.^[148] He remains the only president to receive the totality of electoral votes. Washington was inaugurated on April 30, 1789, taking the first presidential oath of office on the balcony of Federal Hall in New York City.^[149] The oath, as follows, was administered by Chancellor Robert R. Livingston: "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." Historian John R. Alden indicates that Washington added the words "so help me God."^[150]

The 1st United States Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a large sum in 1789, valued at about $340,000 in 2015 dollars.^[n] Washington faced financial troubles then, yet he initially declined the salary. At the urging of Congress, however, he ultimately accepted the payment to avoid setting a precedent whereby the presidency would be perceived as limited only to independently wealthy individuals who could serve without any salary.

So not very short I'll admit, but you'll agree, he is worth a little extra reading.

To learn more about George Washington you can visit Wikipedia or about 396 thousand other sites (no joke!)

Abe Lincoln

Another Iconic American President, born Feb 12th 1809, also considered by many people the greatest of all time.

Washington and Lincoln were very different but had many similarities, both were war heroes and neither knew how to smile when someone was taking a picture of them (in Washingtons case, painted).

Lincoln started as a lawyer and failed many times at politics before securing a spot as the new Republican party candidate for president, he led the Union through the American Civil war all while dealing with multiple deaths in his family. He was elected for a second term which was shortened by his assassination in 1865.

Lincolns efforts helped to free the slaves of America and held together America during a time when it wasn't apparent the Nation would survive.

However, the fight for REAL freedom and equality for the African-Americans was led by many others and went on far longer then Lincoln, this brings me to...

Frederick Douglas 

     

He was born on the first on February 1818 and is sometimes known as "The voice of freedom".

He escaped Slavery in Maryland and began to speak out, becoming the the leader and the voice of the abolitionist movement in NewYork and Massachusetts. He wrote many books against slavery including an autobiography titled- Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglas, American slave-

He was and is praised for his oratory skills, he was also a speaker for Woman's rights in America, saying once that "he could not accept the right to vote as a black man, if woman could not also have that right." (He also couldn't smile for a picture but, then again, none of these dudes had anything to smile for I guess) Douglas did live to see both the end of the war and the end of the slavery, however he did not live to see the end of segregation which would come later. Which brings us to...

Rosa Parks 

   

 Born February 4, 1913, Rosa Parks is sometimes known as "The mother of the freedom movement". Parks was swept into the fight for equality when she refused to move from her seat for a white man in 1955, The law at the time stated that if the white section of the bus was full, then the people seated in the "colored section" would have to move.In her autobiography Parks claims that she wasn't trying to make a statement, she was just tired, from work and from being treated poorly.

But the bus wasn't Parks first involvement in the fight, she was already the secretary for the local chapter of the NCAAP. She was fired from her job and received many death threats but continued to fight along side figures like Martin Luther King Jr and E.D.Nixon.

She did live to see the end of the segregation, dying in 2005.

There are MANY others which will be called to the stage in my next blog including myself but until then- I bid you goodbye- YTime.