On This Day: February 1

It is the 32nd day of 2009, the first day of February, 13 days until Valentine’s Day, Super Bowl Sunday, and 333 days left in the year. Here’s your daily dose of facts:

• 1790: The Supreme Court convenes for the first time in New York City.
• 1793: As a part of the French Revolutionary Wars, France declares war on the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
• 1856: East Alabama Male College, now known as Auburn University, is chartered.
• 1861: Texas secedes from the Union.
• 1862: The Battle Hymn of the Republic is published for the first time in The Atlantic Monthly.
• 1884: The first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
• 1893: Thomas Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, in West Orange, NJ.
• 1913: The world’s largest train station, Grand Central Terminal, opens in New York City.
• 1920: The Royal Canadian Mounted Police begin operations.
• 1946: Trygve Lie of Norway, is chosen as the first U.N. Secretary General.
• 1968: The execution of a Viet Cong officer by a South Vietnamese soldier is videotaped by NBC, and photographed by Eddie Adams, who would win the Pulitzer Prize for the photo (video below).

• 1979: Ayatollah Khomeini is welcomed back to Iran after nearly 15 years in exile.
• 2003: The Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas upon re-entering the atmosphere while trying attempting to land at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, killing the seven astronauts on board.
• 2004: The Most Famous Wardrobe Malfunction of all time occurs (video below).

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