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What happened on February 1st?
A student-led protest critical to the Civil Rights Movement began
Matthew Jones
February 01, 2025
1960 Four Black Students Stage a Sit-In at a Segregated Lunch Counter
On this day in 1960, four Black freshmen from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College sat down at the Woolworth’s counter in Greensboro and were denied service in accordance with the store’s segregation policy. They refused to leave and came back the next day, and the next, and the next. They were joined by more students in what became an inspiring, effective, nonviolent protest. Finally, six months later, Woolworth’s changed its policy and the original four students were served at the counter.
The photo shows three African-American Civil Rights protesters at a Woolworth's sit-in in Durham, NC, on February 10, 1960.
🗞️Today’s Headlines
Everything important that’s ever happened on February 1:
2023 — Tom Brady announced his retirement (for good this time) from the NFL after 23 years, seven Super Bowl championships, three MVPs, and 15 Pro Bowl appearances.
2021 — In a coup d’etat, Myanmar’s military ousted the democratically elected government, leading to nationwide protests and revolts that were forcibly suppressed. There were tens of thousands of casualties and the military remains in power to this day.
2009 — Icelandic politician Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was sworn in as the first female prime minister of Iceland and the first openly gay head of state in the world.
2004 — During the halftime show of the Super Bowl, pop star Janet Jackson experienced a “wardrobe malfunction” when Justin Timberlake ripped her costume, briefly exposing her breast.
2003 — The Space shuttle Columbia broke apart upon re-entry into the atmosphere, killing all seven crew members aboard. The tragedy was caused by damage done to the left wing during takeoff.
1946 — Trygve Lie, a Norwegian politician and diplomat, was elected the first secretary-general of the United Nations, serving until 1952 and shaping the role for future leaders.
1923 — Benito Mussolini’s private army known as the Blackshirts officially became a national militia, the Voluntary Fascist Militia for National Security, further cementing his fascist authority.
1896 — The opera La Bohème, composed by Giacomo Puccini, premiered in Turin, Italy. It’s been performed worldwide and is ranked by some as among the top five operas of all time.
1884 — The first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary was published, covering A–Ant. It would take 44 years for the Dictionary to be completely published from A–Z.
1790 — The Supreme Court of the United States held its first session, although they didn’t hear any actual cases until the following year after they’d established organizational proceedings.
🎂 Today’s Birthdays
On February 1, we’re singing to:
Clark Gable (1901) — An American actor who started as an extra in silent films before becoming one of Hollywood’s most bankable leading men for more than 30 years and winning an Oscar in 1935 for It Happened One Night.
Boris Yeltsin (1931) — First democratically elected president of Russia, who served from 1991–1999, during which time Russia transitioned into a capitalist market economy.
Harry Styles (1994) — British singer and actor who came to fame with the boy band group One Direction before launching an extremely successful solo career and turning to acting.
🪦Who Died Today?
On February 1, we’re saying goodbye to:
Werner Heisenberg (1976) — German physicist and philosopher, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics, known for Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle, which states that we can never know the velocity and position of a particle.
Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1851) — British author and science fiction pioneer who overcame many personal tragedies to write Frankenstein, which was chosen as one of the top 10 best British novels of all time by the BBC.
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