21 February - Malcolm X assassinated in 1965

 

Malcolm X, he was a prominent African American civil rights activist and a leader in the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little on May 19, 1925, in Omaha, Nebraska, and he became a powerful advocate for the rights of African Americans during the turbulent 1950s and 1960s.

He initially joined the Nation of Islam, led by Elijah Muhammad, and became a prominent spokesperson for the organization. Malcolm X advocated for black self-defense, economic empowerment, and the rejection of white domination. However, he later broke with the Nation of Islam and embraced Sunni Islam after making a pilgrimage to Mecca.

Malcolm X continued his activism for civil rights, emphasizing human rights and the importance of global solidarity among oppressed peoples. Unfortunately, he was assassinated on 21 February 1965, in New York City. Malcolm X's legacy endures, and he is remembered as a significant figure in the struggle for civil rights and social justice in the United States.

 

21 February - The first self-propelling steam locomotive made its outing

 

The first self-propelling steam locomotive, known as the "Puffing Devil," was built by Richard Trevithick, and it made its outing on 21 February 1801, at the Penydarren Ironworks in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. The locomotive successfully carried iron and passengers, marking a significant development in the history of rail transportation.

Peace symbols

 

A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a Dove lithograph by Pablo Picasso after World War II. In the 1950s the "peace sign", as it is known today (also known as "peace and love"), was designed by Gerald Holtom as the logo for the British Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), a group at the forefront of the peace movement in the UK, and adopted by anti-war and counterculture activists in the US and elsewhere. The symbol is a superposition of the semaphore signals for the letters "N" and "D", taken to stand for "nuclear disarmament", while simultaneously acting as a reference to Goya's The Third of May 1808 (1814) (aka "Peasant Before the Firing Squad").