- Feb 1 1st auto insurance policy in US issued, by Travelers Insurance Co
- Feb 8 John Ames Sherman patents 1st envelope folding & gumming mach (Mass)
- Feb 10 Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish-American War is signed by President McKinley; US acquires Philippines, Puerto Rico & Guam
- Feb 11 Owen Smith of NC, AME Zion minister, named US minister to Liberia
- Feb 15 USS Maine sinks in Havana harbor, cause unknown, 258 sailors die
- Feb 22 Black postmaster lynched, his wife & 3 daughters shot in Lake City, South Carolina
- Feb 23 In France, Emile Zola is imprisoned for writing his "J'accuse" letter accusing government of anti-Semitism & wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus