Today in History, February 23rd
On February 23, 1945, Marines raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi. Plus the first Salk polio shots and the start of the Alamo siege.
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February 23 is best known for 1945, when U.S. Marines raised the American flag atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, producing one of the most famous photographs ever taken. The date also saw the first shots of Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine in 1954 and the start of the siege of the Alamo in 1836.
The big story: The Flag Goes Up on Iwo Jima (1945)
Four days into the Battle of Iwo Jima, Marines fought their way to the top of Mount Suribachi, the island’s highest peak at about 550 feet and its most valuable lookout. On February 23, 1945, a patrol from the 28th Marine Regiment planted a small American flag on the crest, and troops below cheered. A few hours later, more Marines carried up a bigger flag to replace it. Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal had joined them on the climb. His shot of six men straining to push the heavy pole upright became, by one count, the most reproduced photograph in history and won him a Pulitzer Prize. Film of the moment shows it was not staged, as some later claimed. The flag raising did not end the fighting. The battle dragged on for weeks, and three of the men in the photo were killed before it was over. More than 6,000 Americans died taking the island.
More events on February 23
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1778 | Prussian officer Friedrich von Steuben arrived at Valley Forge and began drilling the Continental Army into a disciplined force. |
| 1836 | Santa Anna’s army reached San Antonio de Béxar, beginning the siege of the Alamo. It fell on March 6. |
| 1861 | President-elect Abraham Lincoln slipped into Washington, D.C., around 6 a.m. after an overnight train ride, avoiding a reported plot to kill him in Baltimore. |
| 1940 | Woody Guthrie wrote “This Land Is Your Land” in New York City. |
| 1954 | Children at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh received the first injections of Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine. |
| 1958 | Rebels tied to Fidel Castro kidnapped racing champion Juan Manuel Fangio from his Havana hotel to embarrass the Batista government. They let him go unharmed after the race. |
| 1980 | Speed skater Eric Heiden won the 10,000 meters in world-record time at Lake Placid, his fifth gold medal of the Games, all in individual events. |
| 2014 | Jason Collins of the Brooklyn Nets became the first openly gay athlete to play in a game in one of the four major U.S. pro leagues. |
Born on February 23
- 1868: W.E.B. Du Bois, scholar, writer and co-founder of the NAACP.
- 1940: Peter Fonda, actor best known for Easy Rider.
- 1994: Dakota Fanning, actress known for I Am Sam and War of the Worlds.
Sources
- U.S. flag raised on Iwo Jima, History.com
- This Day in History: February 23, History.com
- Friedrich von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, History.com
- Alamo, Battle of the, Texas State Historical Association
- Lincoln arrives in Washington, History.com
- Children receive first polio vaccine, History.com
- Eric Heiden speed skates into Olympic history, History.com
- W.E.B. Du Bois, Biography.com
- Peter Fonda, Britannica
- Dakota Fanning, Biography.com
Love this blog! I love history too, but I tend to write Canadian’s. 🙂
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