What Happened on February 23?

February 23 gave us one of history's most famous photographs, the first mass polio vaccinations, and the start of a legendary 13-day siege — plus it's National Banana Bread Day!

• 1836 — Siege of the Alamo begins in San Antonio

  About 1,500 Mexican soldiers surrounded roughly 150 Texas defenders inside an old mission called the Alamo — starting a 13-day siege remembered in the phrase 'Remember the Alamo.' Read the full story →

• 1945 — Marines raise the flag on Mount Suribachi, Iwo Jima

  Associated Press photographer Joe Rosenthal snapped six Marines raising an American flag atop a volcanic mountain — an image so powerful it won the Pulitzer Prize and became a famous statue. Read the full story →

• 1954 — First mass polio vaccinations begin in Pittsburgh

  Students at Arsenal Elementary School rolled up their sleeves to become the very first kids vaccinated against polio in Dr. Jonas Salk's historic campaign that eventually crushed the disease by 99 percent worldwide. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963)

Days & observances

National Banana Bread Day · National Tile Day