(FOXNEWS) – Yellowstone National Park, an almost
mystical  2.2-million acre wonderland of dynamic
hydrothermal activity, breathtaking scenery and
spectacular wildlife, was established on this day in
history, March 1, 1872.        

It was the first national park in the United States and,
to most people around the world, the first known on
the planet. It quickly inspired an international
conservation movement in the wake of the Industrial
Revolution.

This poster was created in 1938 as part of the Works
Progress Administration, or WPA.

Lee Petty, driver of the No. 42 Oldsmobile, poses in front
of his car after winning the first 1959 Daytona 500 race at
the Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 25, 1959.

Sunday afternoon’s Daytona 500 will be the 65th running of
what NASCAR self-proclaims as “The Great American Race.”

Cracker Jack started its "prize in every box" promotion on this
day in history, Feb. 19, 1912.

German immigrant F.W. Rueckheim (below) first invented the
now-ubiquitous ballpark treat in the late 19th century. 

It was initially sold at his small candy and popcorn shop,
F. W. Rueckheim & Bro. (SnackHistory.com.) 

Frederich William Rueckheim (1846-1934)

On February 5, 1919, Hollywood heavyweights Charlie Chaplin,
Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith joined
forces to create their own film studio, which they called the
United Artists Corporation.

United Artists quickly gained prestige in Hollywood, thanks to
the success of the films of its stars, notably Chaplin’s The Gold
Rush (1925), as well as the work of actors such as Buster
Keaton, Rudolph Valentino and Gloria Swanson. Chaplin
directed UA films as well as acted in them, and Pickford
concentrated on producing after she retired from acting in
the 1930s. With the rise of sound during that decade, UA was
helped by the talents (and bankrolls) of veteran producers
like Joseph Schenck, Samuel Goldwyn, Howard Hughes and
Alexander Korda.

The corporation began to struggle financially in the 1940s,
however, and in 1951 the production studio was sold and
UA became only a financing and distributing facility.

From left, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin
(seated) and Douglas Fairbanks Sr. signing the original
contract that created the United Artists studio in 1919.