February 4, 2026
Karen Carpenter Dies of Anorexia-Related Heart Failure (1983)
Anorexia nervosa was a little-known disorder during Carpenter's life, but her death brought it lasting media attention. Performing alongside her brother Richard as half of the Carpenters duo, she had become a successful pop singer in the 1970s. Behind the scenes, however, her obsessive dieting and extreme weight fluctuations took a toll on her health, straining her heart. She succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 32. What is her husband said to have thrown into the casket at her funeral?
February 3, 2026
Contested Kentucky Governor Dies of Gunshot Wounds (1900)
At the time he was shot on the grounds of Kentucky's state capitol, William Goebel was not a well-liked man—nor had he technically won the heavily contested 1899 Kentucky gubernatorial election. However, he lived just long enough to be declared governor and sworn into office, making him the only state governor in US history to have been assassinated. The identity of his assassin remains a mystery. Several years before his murder, Goebel shot a political foe in the head. What prompted their duel?
February 2, 2026
New Amsterdam Incorporated as a City (1653)
In 1625, the Dutch West India Company decided to build a fort on the southern tip of Manhattan Island, in close proximity to the fur-rich forests bordering the Hudson River. Named Fort Amsterdam, it became the capital of New Netherland and was incorporated as the city of New Amsterdam a few decades later. In 1664, it was captured by the British and renamed New York. The Dutch retook the city in 1673, and before the British claimed it yet again, it was briefly known by what third name?
