February 25, 1873 – Italian operatic tenor Enrico Caruso is born in Naples, Kingdom of Italy. He is considered the first “lyric” tenor (dramatic tenor) in Italian opera. He is also one of the first major singing talents to be commercially recorded, releasing 247 recordings from 1902 to 1920.
February 26, 1802 – French author Victor Hugo (Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Miserables) is born in Besancon, France. Hugo is also renowned for his poetry collection and produced more than 4,000 drawings during his lifetime. In addition, he was a respected politician and was given a state funeral attended by over 2 million people when he died.
February 26, 1829 – German born clothing designer Levi Strauss is born in Buttenheim, Bavaria. He emigrated to the United States and set up shop in San Francisco to serve the Gold Rush trade. In 1871 Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans using rivets to strengthen them,
March 1, 1904 – American band leader Glenn Miller is born in Clarinda, Iowa. He gained enormous popularity during the 1930’s and 1940’s. He went missing in 1944 while crossing the English Channel in a plane en route to a performance in Paris.