The season of Pre-Lent, once marked by the Roman Catholic Church, developed in the seventh century and included the three Sundays before the beginning of Lent. These Sundays are Septuagesima, Sexagesima, and Quinquagesima—roughly 70, 60, and 50 days before Easter. The Ordinary Form of the Mass (Novus Ordo), introduced in 1969, does not officially celebrate Pre-Lent. However, these Pre-Lent Sundays are still included in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass (Traditional Latin Mass or Tridentine Mass). These three Sundays are also celebrated by certain other Christian denominations.
Daily Calendar for Sunday, February 23, 2025
Born
- George Frederic Watts (artist) –
- W.E.B. Du Bois (founder of the Niagara Movement, which eventually merged with the NAACP) –
- Majel Barrett-Roddenberry (actress and producer) –
- Patricia Richardson (actress) –
- Josh Gad (actor) –
- Dakota Fanning (actress) –
- Estelle Silvia Ewa Mary (daughter of Sweden’s Crown Princess Victoria; first royal birth in 30 years) –
Died
- John Quincy Adams (6th U.S. president) –
- Melvin Franklin (Motown singer) –
- Gordon Matthews (inventor of voicemail) –
- Charlie Fox (1971 manager of the year with the San Francisco Giants and spent a half-century in baseball as an executive, manager, coach, and scout) –
- Don Cornell (big band singer) –
Events
- Cato Street Conspiracy foiled –
- The siege of the Alamo began in San Antonio, Texas –
- Liberty Bell developed its final irreparable crack after tolling for Washington’s birthday celebration –
- Tootsie Roll introduced by Leo Hirshfield –
- First powered flight in Canada (by John Alexander Douglas McCurdy in Silver Dart) took place in Baddeck, Nova Scotia –
- USS Osmond Ingram, first U.S. naval vessel named for an enlisted man, was launched –
- Federal Radio Commission established –
- U.S. rocket mail flight across Greenwood Lake, New York, to New Jersey –
- Song As Time Goes By, from movie Casablanca, copyrighted –
- The most memorable WW II photo was taken by Joe Rosenthal of members of the 5th Division of the U.S. Marines planting an American flag atop Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima, Japan –
- The existence of Dolly the sheep, the first successful cloned mammal, was announced –
- Chloe Hegland kept soccer ball aloft with 163 touches in 30 seconds –
Weather
- Blizzard stranded 750 motorists in the Sierra Nevada region of California –
- 97 degrees F, San Antonio, Texas –
