Historical Events Feb 2 Thomas Arnes' opera "Artaxerxes" premieres in London Feb 12 British fleet occupies Martinique Famous Birthdays Feb 19 Friedrich Franz Hurka, Czech tenor and composer (d. 1805) Famous Deaths Feb 11 Johann Tobias Krebs, composer, dies at 71 Feb 12 Laurent Belissen, French composer, dies at 68 Feb 20 Tobias Mayer, German astronomer, dies at 38 1761 History by Year 1763