This Day in History: February 7th

Here’s a brief look back in time on this day, February 7th.

In 1904, a fire breaks out in the basement of the John E. Hurst Company on Redwood Street in Baltimore, MD. The blaze would quickly stretch across an 80-block radius from the business district to the harbor due to harsh winds blowing embers across the city. 1500 buildings were destroyed, and another 1000 were severely damaged. Only 5 Bostonians were killed, but the fire left an upwards of 35,000 unemployed.

In 1962, 35th U.S. president John F. Kennedy’s Proclamation 3447 – which embargos all trade between the United States and neighboring Cuba – goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. EST. This followed the disastrous 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion, as American forces assisted by Cuban exiles attempted to overthrow Fidel Castro’s government. It remains in effect today.

In 1992, the groundwork for the establishment of the European Union (EU) is officially signed by heads of government in Western Europe. It would go into effect later on November 1st, 1993. This granted EU citizenship to everyone residing in a member state; made the Euro as its central currency; and allowed stronger security policies in the event of another potential global conflict.