If one were to listen to the radio or turn on the television today, there’s a good chance that they would be informed that today, February 3, is, in Don
McLean’s immortal lyrics, “the day the music died.” More precisely, it is the 50th anniversary of the day when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper perished in a plane crash on a dreadful winter night in Iowa. Sad? Surely. But is it really the most important event that has occurred on February 3 in the history of the World? I’d like to think not. In fact, I did some research and discovered that the following events took place on this fateful day. My hope is that you will see that Holly, Valens, and the fat guy don’t “own” this day and they should stop taking all of the credit.
· 1377 – more than 2,000 people of the Italian city of Cesena are slaughtered by Papal Troops (Cesena Bloodbath).
See? This is why you don’t piss off the Pope.
· 1509 – The Battle of Diu, between Portugal and the Ottoman Empire takes place in Diu, India.
Why is this battle important? I don’t really know, but I bet Wikipedia knows.
· 1690 – The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in America. 
Tell me that isn’t exciting. Before paper money, Massachusetts residents used the scalps of dead Indians to buy their precious pilgrim hats. But upon issuance of the new currency, the murder of Indians dropped by 3% and the colonists were able to fit dozens of paper bills in their pockets, as opposed to a single scalp (unless it belonged to a small child. In that case, one could fit two scalps into their wallets, which, coincidentally, were fashioned from the scalps of dead Indians).
· 1867 – Emperor Meiji becomes the 122nd emperor of Japan.
Sure, he probably didn’t sell as many records as Buddy Holly, but he
did have “five ladies in waiting,” which is pretty cool. He probably didn’t have time to make records, due to the fact that he had to attend to the demands of FIVE women, who all probably wanted to talk about their “feelings” and other inconsequential matters.
· 1913 – The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an income tax.
Okay, so, this isn’t really all that exciting. In fact, this probably makes February 3 the worst date ever. Well, second worst after February 14 (Valentine’s Day).
· 1947 – The lowest temperature in North America is recorded in Snag, Yukon.
This was also the first and last time Snag, Yukon 
was mentioned outside of, well, Snag, Yukon.
· 1971 – New York Police Officer Frank Serpico is shot during a drug bust in Brooklyn and survives to later testify against police 
corruption. Many believe the incident proves that NYPD officers tried to kill him.
If Frank Serpico wasn’t shot in the face on this fateful day, we wouldn’t have the 1973 film “Serpico.” Granted, I only saw the movie once about fifteen years ago and don’t remember much about it, aside from Al Pacino getting shot in the face, but I think I liked the film. I could be wrong, however.
· 1989 – A military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay since 1954.
Yes, Paraguay is a country. No, I don’t know where it is.
So, you see, there have been numerous happenings on this day that have nothing to do with Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, the fat guy, and Iowa. Also, research will show that a number of influential and/or famous people were born on this very day. I, however, didn’t recognize any of the names I came across in my research, except for Nathan Lane, who, in my opinion, is too annoying to garner a spot on the bulleted list.