This Day in Pop Culture for February 1
1865: Abraham Lincoln Outlaws Slavery
It was on this day in 1865 when President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th Amendment outlawing slavery. The event was not ratified by the states until December 18 of that same year. Major Richard Robert Wright, Sr. a former slave, created National Freedom Day to honor this historic occasion and on June 30, 1948, President Harry Truman signed the bill that made today the Official National Freedom Day in the United States.
2004: The First Wardrobe Malfunction
On this day in 2004, 143.6 million watched the halftime show at the Super Bowl XXXVIII where Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake performed and two terms were created for the first time: “wardrobe malfunction” and “nipplegate.” At the end of the musical performance, Timberlake reached over to remove a piece of fabric covering Jackson’s breast which ended up exposing her nipple for about a second. It was considered a “malfunction” in that there was supposed to be another piece of material covering the nipple, but it failed to stay on. According to Jawed Karim, the incident led to the creation of YouTube. The FCC fined CBS $550,000, which was appealed. At the time, some fans didn’t think the act wasn’t a big deal.
1949: The First Soap Opera
These Are My Children, the first television daytime soap opera, is broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago.
2012: Best-Selling Car
The Toyota Corolla is known as the best-selling car of all time. Selling over 37.5 million units.
2018: Double Feature
Both a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse occurred on the same day.
Birthdays
- 1919: Jackie Robinson (baseball player)
- 1921: Carol Channing (actress)
- 1927: Norm Prescott (animator)
- 1929: Jean Simmons (actress)
- 1937: Suzanne Pleshette (actress)
- 1970: Minnie Driver (actress)
- 1973: Portia de Rossi (actress)
- 1977: Kerry Washington (actress)
- 1981: Justin Timberlake (singer)
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