February 1, 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln approved the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, abolishing slavery.

February 1, 1960 - Four young African-American students sat down at a segregated lunch counter in the Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina. Their courageous protest galvanized the civil rights movement and led to hundreds of similar sit-ins at segregated facilities across the South.

February 1, 1978 - The first U.S. postage stamp to honor an African-American woman, Harriet Tubman, was issued.