February 28 Through History

Explanation: Cuauhtémoc, whose name means 'the descending eagle', was captured by Hernán Cortés in 1521 during the fall of Tenochtitlan. He resisted torture for a long time before being hanged in 1525 during an expedition to Honduras. He is today considered a Mexican national hero.

Explanation: The Republican Party, founded in Ripon, Wisconsin, was initially opposed to slavery and brought together former Whigs and Northern Democrats. It brought Abraham Lincoln to the presidency in 1860. Its symbol, the elephant, was popularized by cartoonist Thomas Nast in 1874.

Explanation: Gaston Lagaffe, created by André Franquin, is described as 'the first antihero of comic strips'. A quirky employee and catastrophic inventor, he embodies resistance to work and authority. The series gave rise to expressions that entered French-speaking popular culture, such as 'gaffophone'.

Explanation: Olof Palme was shot in the street after a night out at the cinema with his wife, with no bodyguards. Despite decades of investigation, the case was long one of the greatest criminal mysteries in Europe. In 2020, Swedish authorities closed the case by naming Stig Engström as the main suspect, although he had died in 2000.

Explanation: Operation Desert Storm, the air and ground phase of the Gulf War, officially lasted eleven days. The coalition led by the United States included 34 countries. The ground phase itself lasted only 100 hours, hence the nickname 'the 100-hour war'. Saddam Hussein remained in power until 2003.

Explanation: Joseph Ratzinger, born in 1927 in Bavaria, was elected pope in 2005 following the death of John Paul II. His resignation, justified by his lack of strength to carry out the papal duties, is exceptional: the last pope to have abdicated before him was Gregory XII in 1415. He took the title of 'pope emeritus' and passed away in 2022.

Explanation: Nylon, the first synthetic fiber made entirely from chemical raw materials, was officially introduced in 1938 at the New York World's Fair. The first nylon stockings caused lines of several hours in American stores starting in 1940. Tragically, Wallace Carothers took his own life in 1937, before seeing the success of his invention.

Explanation: Michel de Montaigne, born at the château of the same name in Périgord, is considered the inventor of the essay as a literary genre. His motto 'Que sais-je?' (What do I know?) reflects his benevolent skepticism. His Essays influenced thinkers such as Descartes, Shakespeare, and Pascal. He also served as mayor of Bordeaux from 1581 to 1585.

Explanation: L'Équipe was born under the pen of journalists including Jacques Goddet, former director of L'Auto. That newspaper had been banned at the Liberation for collaboration during World War II. L'Équipe is behind the creation of the European Football Cup in 1955 and the Ballon d'Or since 1956.

Explanation: Kronstadt is a fortress city located on Kotlin Island, in the Gulf of Finland, 30 km from Saint Petersburg. The sailors' revolt, despite them being former supporters of the Revolution, demanded free soviets and an end to the party's dictatorship. It was crushed in March 1921 by the Red Army under Trotsky's orders, crossing the ice of the gulf.