February 8th 1931: James Dean was born
James Dean’s status as a cultural icon has endured for more than 50 years, despite his film career being cut short to just three main films before his tragic death in a car crash in 1955. Perhaps his most celebrated film is ‘Rebel Without a Cause’, in which he plays the troubled protagonist Jim Stark that earned him a posthumous nomination for a BAFTA. Dean also remains the only actor to have two posthumous Academy Award acting nominations, for ‘East of Eden’ and ‘Giant’.
What is generally less known now about James Dean are the rumours of homosexuality that surrounded his short life, especially after Dean avoided the army draft by registering as a homosexual, then classified by the US government as a mental disorder. When questioned, James Dean is reported to have said, "No, I am not a homosexual. But, I'm also not going to go through life with one hand tied behind my back."
February 9th 1950: McCarthyism strikes the U.S
On February 9th 1950, Senator Joseph Mc Carthy from Wisconsin shocked the U.S Senate by announcing that 205 communists had made their way into the U.S. State Department. In the midst of the Cold War era, this announcement was sensational and drastically increased the Red Scare that was growing in the United Sates. However, the proclaimed number of “known communists” kept changing in McCarthy’s speeches and during subsequent committee hearings, he reported only 8 members of the State Department. Despite this, the speech catapulted McCarthy to nationwide fame and support that only really shattered four years later due to him making unsubstantiated claims against the army.
February 10th 2005: North Korea announces nuclear weapons
North Korea, officially called the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, declared that it possessed nuclear weapons of mass destruction in 2005. It had previously been part of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, but withdrew in 2003, three years prior to the Government officially announcing its first successful nuclear test. Some scholars and analysts have argued that North Korea is using nuclear weapons primarily as a political tool to begin re-establishing normal relations with the U.S., Japan and South Korea, and to end the long-standing economic ban against North Korean goods.
February 11th 660BC: Japan is founded
February 11th is the traditional date for the foundation of Japan by the first Emperor Jimmu, who according to legend established his capital in Yamoto on this day in 660BC. Celebrations of National Foundation Day were stopped after World War II, however they were reinstated in 1968 but remain quite low key, with large expressions of patriotism and nationalism being rare.
February 12th 1994: ‘The Scream’ was stolen
On the same day as the opening of the Winter Olympics, four men broke into the National Gallery in Norway and stole Edvard Munch’s famous painting ‘The Scream’. They left a note reading "Thanks for the poor security", but were convicted after demanding 1,000,000 dollars ransom money. Nevertheless, the men were released on legal grounds because the British agents involved in the recovery operation had entered Norway under false identities.
February 13th 1982: Tallest woman ever dies
Zeng Jinlian was the tallest woman ever recorded, standing at a whopping 8 feet and 1.75 inches (or 249 cm) by her death at the tender age of 17. Zeng is also the only woman to have reached a verified height of 8 feet or taller, and at the time of her death she was the tallest person in the world.
February 14th: Valentine’s Day!
February 15th 1931: The first ever Dracula film released
‘Dracula’ starred Bela Lugosi as the titular character was the first film ever made from Bram Stoker’s novel of the same name and opened to huge success in 1931. When the film premiered in New York; newspapers reported that members of the audiences fainted in shock at the horror on screen. Today, ‘Dracula’ is widely regarded as a classic of the era and of its genre and, to many film lovers and critics alike, Lugosi's portrayal is widely regarded as the definitive Dracula.
