February 3 in History

• 1690

  February 3, 1690:

  Massachusetts becomes the first American colony to issue paper money.

• 1894

  February 3, 1894:

  The Dirigo, the first American steel ship, sets off on its first journey from Bath, Maine.

• 1913

  February 3, 1913: The US Congress gains the power to tax incomes through the ratification of the Constitution’s Sixteenth Amendment.

• 1953

  February 3, 1953:

  “The Silent World”, a memoir by French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau is published.

• 1959

  February 3, 1959:

  A plane crash claims the young life of 22-year-old American rock and roll singer, Buddy Holly and two others: The Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens.

• 1960

  February 3, 1960:

  “La dolce vita”, an Italian comedy-drama film, makes its worldwide cinema debut.

• 1995

  February 3, 1995:

  Eileen Collins pilots the Discovery, becoming the first woman in the world to pilot a space shuttle.

• 2002

  February 3, 2002:

  The New England Patriots become Super Bowl champions for the first time by beating the St Louis Rams.

• 2005

  February 3, 2005:

  Alberto R. Gonzales becomes the first Hispanic to occupy the office of the United States Attorney General.

• 2019

  February 3, 2019:

  US immigration officials arrest rapper, 21 Savage on allegations of being an illegal immigrant from the United Kingdom who overstayed his visa.