On This Day for February 1 - Space shuttle Columbia destroyed, Boris Yeltsin is featured, and more

Created: 2020-02-01 11:02 Updated: 2020-02-01 11:02 Notebook: On this Day in History

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February 01

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

1931

Boris Yeltsin

space shuttle: crew of Columbia on its last mission

FEATURED EVENT

2003

Space shuttle Columbia destroyed

MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2013: American politician Ed Koch—who had served as mayor of New York City (1978–89), earning a reputation for tenacity and brashness—died at age 88.

2009: Icelandic politician Johanna Sigurðardóttir was sworn in as the country's prime minister, becoming the first woman to hold that post in Iceland and the world's first openly gay head of government. [Take our Women's History: Female Firsts quiz .]

2004: In what was perhaps the most controversial halftime show in Super Bowl history, pop singer Janet Jackson experienced a “wardrobe malfunction” when part of her bustier was ripped off by Justin Timberlake ; some argued it was accidental while others said premeditated.

1960: Protesting a segregated lunch counter at a Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina, four African Americans began a sit-in; its success led to a wider sit-in movement throughout the South. [ Learn about 10 Milestones in U.S. Civil Rights History .]

Langston Hughes, photograph by Jack Delano, 1942.

1902: American writer Langston Hughes, one of the foremost interpreters to the world of the black experience in the United States, was born. [ Discover how much you know about the writers of the Harlem Renaissance .]