From left, American rock and roll legends Ritchie Valens, 17, Buddy Holly, 22, and J.P. ‘Big Bopper’ Richardson, 28, who died in a small-
plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa, in 1959.

Rising American rock stars Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P.
“The Big Bopper” Richardson were killed when their chartered Beechcraft Bonanza plane crashes in Iowa a few minutes after
takeoff from Mason City on a flight headed for Moorhead,
Minnesota. Investigators blamed the crash on bad weather and
pilot error. Holly and his band, the Crickets, had just scored a
No. 1 hit with “That’ll Be the Day.”

Gull Avenue Crash site is located west of intersection of 315th Street
and Gull Avenue., Clear Lake, IA.

Harold Rowe Holbrook Jr.
(February 17, 1925 – January 23, 2021)

(Fox News) – Hal Holbrook, the Emmy and Tony award-
winning actor best known for his portrayal of Mark
Twain in his famous one-man-show, died on Jan. 23 at
his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. No cause of death has
been given.

Hal Holbrook as Mark Twain in his one-man show in 2005.

Groundhog Day is derived from the Pennsylvania Dutch superstition
that if a groundhog emerging from its burrow on this day sees its shadow due to clear weather, it will retreat to its den and winter will persist for six more weeks; but if it does not see its shadow
because of cloudiness, spring will arrive early.

February 1, 1884: The first portion, or fascicle, of the Oxford
English Dictionary (OED), considered the most comprehensive
and accurate dictionary of the English language, was published.

Today, the OED is the definitive authority on the meaning,
pronunciation and history
of over half a million English words, past and present. 

National Freedom Day is a United States observance on February 1 honoring the signing by Abraham Lincoln of a joint House and
Senate resolution that later became the 13th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution. President Lincoln signed the Amendment
outlawing slavery on February 1, 1865, although it was not
ratified by the states until later.