History February 28th – March 6th: Historical Quotes for Each Day

There is always much to learn from quotes and their historical significance. Read on for a collection of quotes and general history from February 28th – March 6th.

February 28, 1993

“I am more willing to come out when I get my message from my commander.”

– David Koresh

On February 28, 1993, the Waco siege began when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) attempted to serve a search and arrest warrant on the religious sect Branch Davidians’ Mount Carmel Center ranch near Waco, Texas. Rather than allow the search and arrest of their leader, David Koresh, a shootout occurred. Four government agents and six Branch Davidians were killed starting a 51-day siege of the compound. Eventually, the FBI launched an assault on April 19^th to end the siege but a fire broke out resulting in the deaths of 76 Branch Davidians. The government’s handling of the situation resulted in much controversy, particularly surrounding the origin of the fire and whether the Davidians intentionally set it or if the use of incendiary tear gas was to blame.

Bonus: February 29th

“Every year that is exactly divisible by four is a leap year, except for years that are exactly divisible by 100, but these centurial years are leap years if they are exactly divisible by 400. For example, the years 1700, 1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are.”

– United States Naval Observatory

In most of the world today, Leap Day is held on February 29^th of each Leap Year meeting the rule above for the Gregorian calendar. This extra day is required approximately every four years because the Earth revolves around the Sun in 365.2425 days rather than a perfect 365. However, for much of history under the Julian calendar, Leap Day was held every four years by duplicating February 24^th and always having only 28 numbered days in February. Many other calendars have similar mechanisms for correcting the date to the seasonal year, known as intercalating.

Fun fact: The length of a day must also sometimes be corrected by adding a leap second into Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) due to variations in Earth’s rotation period.

“As the Earth continues to slow, leap seconds will grow more common. Eventually we will need one every year, and then even more. Scientists could have avoided these awkward skips by choosing instead to adjust the duration of the second itself. Who would notice? That is what they did, in fact, until 1955.”

– James Gleick

March 1, 1872

“An act to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River as a public park. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the tract of land in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming … is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.”

– Ulysses S. Grant, Schuyler Colfax, and James G. Blaine

Yellowstone National Park was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, becoming the world’s first national park! Yellowstone is especially famous for its geothermal features, like Old Faithful geyser, and contains roughly half of the world’s geysers and hydrothermal features. Wildlife is also abundant within the park, home to hundreds of animal species and unique plants. As the largest remaining nearly-intact ecosystem in Earth’s northern temperate zone, Yellowstone was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.

March 2, 1949

“Turn medium bombers into inter-continental bombers.”

– Secretary of the Air Force W. Stuart Symington on aerial refueling

The first nonstop flight around the world was completed on March 2, 1949. The flight lasted 94 hours and 1 minute in a US Air Force Boeing B-50 Superfortress named Lucky Lady II. To complete the nonstop circumnavigation, four aerial refuelings were completed and a crew of 14 people were carried to work three shifts piloting the aircraft. The Lucky Lady II was later badly damaged in an accident and today its fuselage is on display at Planes of Fame Museum in Chino, California.

March 3, 1991

“People, I just want to say, can we all get along? Can we get along?”

– Rodney King

The police beating of Rodney King occurred on March 3, 1991, in Los Angeles. The incident was famously caught on amateur video by George Holliday from his balcony and the footage sent to a local news station. Public outcry against the police brutality was immediate and led to King’s charge of “felony evading” being dropped. Eventually, four officers were charged with the use of excessive force but acquitted. News of the acquittals quickly spread starting the 1992 Los Angeles riots that lasted six days and killed 63 people.

March 4, 1933

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life, a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.”

– Franklin D. Roosevelt

The first inauguration of Franklin D. Roosevelt was held on March 4, 1933, in which he gave his famous speech on “fear itself.” At the time, the nation was struggling through the Great Depression and FDR’s speech was highly anticipated to set the stage for dealing with the crisis. This inauguration was the last to be held on the constitutionally prescribed date of March 4th, with future Inauguration Days moved to January 20th by the 20th Amendment.

March 5, 1946

“From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia; all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject, in one form or another, not only to Soviet influence but to a very high and in some cases increasing measure of control from Moscow.”

– Winston Churchill, “Sinews of Peace” address on March 5, 1946

On March 5, 1946, Winston Churchill’s speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri popularized the term “iron curtain” for the growing division between the Soviet Union and the West which led to the Cold War. At first, this referred to the political boundary barring open contact between the nations but was later symbolized by physical barriers like the Berlin Wall. The term “iron curtain” originated with fireproof curtains in theaters but began to be used as a metaphor to denote the end of an era or a closed geopolitical border in the early 1900s.

March 6, 1836

“I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible & die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor & that of his country. VICTORY OR DEATH.”

– William B. Travis on defending the Alamo

The pivotal Battle of the Alamo in the Texas Revolution came to an end on March 6, 1836. Following a 13-day siege, General Antonio López de Santa Anna’s Mexican troops stormed the Alamo Mission near present-day San Antonio, Texas killing nearly all of the approximately 200 Texians garrisoned there. Seeking revenge and driven by cries of “Remember the Alamo!” the Texians later defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21^st. These two battles were crucial to ending Mexico’s hopes of reclaiming Texas and legitimizing the recently self-proclaimed Republic of Texas.

In case you missed last week’s quotes, see History February 23rd – 27th.

To never miss a Quill Quotes post, please subscribe via email and/or follow us on social media!