February 8 Birthday
On February 8, 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle. She had been imprisoned in England for nineteen years by her cousin Elizabeth I, who feared Mary's claim to the English throne. Mary was convicted of treason for plotting against Elizabeth in the Babington Plot — she had agreed, in coded letters, to a plan to assassinate Elizabeth and seize the crown. The evidence was obtained by Sir Francis Walsingham's spy network, which intercepted and decrypted the correspondence. Elizabeth hesitated for months before signing the death warrant. Mary went to the scaffold wearing a bright red wig. Her small dog was found hiding under her skirts after the execution. She was forty-four. The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated on this day in 1910, by William D. Boyce, a Chicago publisher. Boyce had been lost in the fog of London in 1909 when an unknown Boy Scout helped him find his way and refused a tip, saying it was his duty. Boyce was so impressed that he brought the concept back to America. The Scout Oath — "On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country" — was adapted from the British original. The BSA at its peak in 1972 had 6.5 million members. In 2020, facing bankruptcy from sex-abuse lawsuits, it filed for Chapter 11. In 1924, Gee Jon became the first person executed by gas chamber, at Nevada State Prison in Carson City. The state had decided that hanging was barbaric and sought a more humane method. The prison officials attempted to pump hydrogen cyanide gas into Gee Jon's cell while he slept, but the gas would not circulate through the building. They built a makeshift gas chamber. It took six minutes. The method was adopted by eleven states and used for 594 executions. The Supreme Court struck it down as cruel and unusual punishment in 1999. It has not been used since. Jules Verne, born this day in 1828, wrote about submarines, helicopters, moon rockets, and television before any of them existed. His father wanted him to be a lawyer. He ran away to sea as a boy, was brought back, and went to law school in Paris, where he met Alexandre Dumas. He wrote From the Earth to the Moon in 1865 — the launch site he chose was in Florida, near the one NASA would use a century later. John Williams, also born this day, has composed the scores for Star Wars, Jaws, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, and Harry Potter. His music is the sound of modern cinema. People born on February 8 fall under the zodiac sign of Aquarius. The birthstone is Amethyst and the birth flower is Violet. Historical events on February 8 include 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots, executed at Fotheringhay Castle, 1910: Boy Scouts of America incorporated, 1924: First execution by gas chamber in Nevada State Prison. Famous people born on February 8 include Jules Verne (1828), John Williams (1932), James Dean (1931).