Harriet Sanders (born 1841)

In 1841, in the year that Harriet Sanders was born, on February 4th, James Morris wrote about Groundhog Day in his diary - the first known reference to the day in North America. He wrote: "Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas day, the day on which, according to the Germans, the Groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate."

In 1860, on February 26th, near Eureka California, white settlers attacked a tribe of Wiyot Indians on Indian Island. Over 60 women, children and older people died. Bret Harte - a writer and friend of Mark Twain - reported the news about the massacre to the papers in San Francisco.

In 1876, on May 1st, Queen Victoria added the title Empress of India, a title held by British monarchs until 1948 - when India gained independence from the United Kingdom.

In 1911, the United States Supreme Court broke up Standard Oil in May. John D. Rockefeller established Standard Oil in 1870 and it was the largest oil refinery at the time. The Supreme Court found that Standard Oil of New Jersey (one of the many iterations of Standard Oil) was guilty of "monopolizing the petroleum industry through a series of abusive and anticompetitive actions". The Court broke up the several entities that comprised Standard Oil and they eventually became competing firms.

In 1939, in May, Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated film, reached a total international gross of $6.5 million which made it (to then) the most successful sound film of all time. First released in December 1937, it was originally dubbed "Disney's Folly" but the premiere received a standing ovation from the audience. At the 11th Academy Awards in February 1939, Walt Disney won an Academy Honorary Award - a full-size Oscar statuette and seven miniature ones - for Snow White.