217 years ago today
Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin Born on the Same Day
February 12, 1809 is one of the most extraordinary coincidences in history: on the same day, in the same year, two men were born who would transform the 19th century and echo through every century since. Abraham Lincoln entered the world in a log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky — the man who would hold the United States together through its bloodiest war and abolish slavery. Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, England — the man whose theory of evolution by natural selection would permanently alter humanity's understanding of life itself. One rewrote the laws of nations; the other rewrote the laws of nature.
Abraham Lincoln
16th President of the United States
Born in a Kentucky log cabin, Lincoln educated himself by firelight and rose to the presidency on the eve of the Civil War. He held the Union together through four years of catastrophic conflict, issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and pushed through the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery — before being assassinated at Ford's Theatre in April 1865.
Charles Darwin
English Naturalist & Biologist
The author of On the Origin of Species (1859), Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection ranks as the most important idea in the history of biology. His five-year voyage on HMS Beagle and decades of meticulous research produced an explanation for the diversity of all life on earth that has never been seriously challenged.
Anna Pavlova
Russian Prima Ballerina
The most famous ballerina in history, Pavlova's worldwide touring company introduced classical ballet to audiences who had never seen it before — from Egypt to India, Japan to South America. The dessert 'pavlova' is named after her, as is a crater on Venus.
Bill Russell
American Basketball Player & Civil Rights Activist
Widely regarded as the greatest winner in team sports history, Russell led the Boston Celtics to 11 NBA championships in 13 seasons and was an outspoken civil rights activist during an era when such stances came at personal cost. The NBA Finals MVP trophy is named in his honor.
Judy Blume
American Author
One of the most widely read and frequently challenged authors in American literary history, Blume's frank portrayal of adolescence, puberty, and sexuality in books like Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and Forever made her a touchstone for generations of young readers and a perennial target for censors.
Santiago, Chile Is Founded
Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founds the city of Santiago de Nueva Extremadura — present-day Santiago, Chile — establishing the principal base for Spanish colonization of the southern Pacific coast of South America.
James Oglethorpe Founds Georgia — America's Last Colony
James Oglethorpe and 114 colonists land at the site of present-day Savannah, founding the Province of Georgia — the last of the original 13 British colonies. Oglethorpe envisioned it as a refuge for the poor and a buffer against Spanish Florida.
Lincoln and Darwin Born
Two of the 19th century's most transformative figures — Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin — are born on the same day, oceans apart.
The NAACP Is Founded
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is established in New York City on the centenary of Lincoln's birth — a pointed symbolism. It becomes the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States, fighting segregation through the courts for over a century.
The Last Emperor of China Abdicates
Six-year-old Puyi, the Xuantong Emperor, formally abdicates the throne — ending over 2,000 years of imperial rule in China and the Qing dynasty. The Republic of China is proclaimed, though the country will not know true stability for decades.
Christian Dior's 'New Look' Shocks and Revives Fashion
In postwar Paris, designer Christian Dior unveils a collection so dramatically feminine — full skirts, nipped waists, soft shoulders — that Harper's Bazaar editor Carmel Snow exclaims 'It's quite a new look!' The phrase sticks and the New Look transforms global fashion overnight.
Solzhenitsyn Expelled from the Soviet Union
Alexander Solzhenitsyn — whose Gulag Archipelago had just been published in the West, revealing the full horror of the Soviet labor camp system — is arrested, stripped of his citizenship, and deported. He would not return to Russia for 20 years.
Thieves Steal Munch's 'The Scream'
In a brazen daylight raid on the National Gallery of Norway in Oslo, thieves steal Edvard Munch's most famous painting, 'The Scream,' in less than a minute. A note left behind reads: 'Thanks for the poor security.' The painting is recovered three months later.
Bill Clinton Acquitted in Impeachment Trial
The US Senate acquits President Bill Clinton on both articles of impeachment — perjury and obstruction of justice — relating to his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. He is only the second president in history to be impeached.
San Francisco Begins Issuing Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
In defiance of California state law, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom orders city hall to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Over the next month, roughly 4,000 couples wed — sparking a national legal and political battle that ultimately leads to nationwide marriage equality in 2015.
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Queen of England (r. 1553, 9 days)
The 'Nine-Day Queen,' used as a Protestant pawn in a succession crisis after Edward VI's death, Jane Grey was beheaded at the Tower of London at age 16 — along with her husband Lord Guildford Dudley — after Mary I consolidated power. She remains one of history's most poignant victims of dynastic politics.
Immanuel Kant
German Philosopher
The philosopher whose Critique of Pure Reason (1781) is the most influential work in modern Western philosophy, Kant spent his entire life in Königsberg but remade the foundations of epistemology and ethics. His concept of the 'categorical imperative' remains the cornerstone of deontological moral theory.
Charles M. Schulz
American Cartoonist, Creator of Peanuts
The creator of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the Peanuts gang died in his sleep the night before his final Sunday strip was to be published — February 13, 2000. He had drawn Peanuts for almost exactly 50 years. The strip ran in over 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries and is considered the most influential comic strip in history.
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