- Feb 1 Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay Head of Government in the modern world.
- Feb 1 Super Bowl XLIII, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Arizona Cardinals, 27-23; MVP: Santonio Holmes, Pittsburgh, WR
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Feb 1 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Spanish ace Rafael Nadal wins his first Australian title; beats Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2
Historic Event
Feb 3 Eric Holder becomes 82nd and 1st African American US Attoney General, succeeding Michael Mukasey
- Feb 5 The United States Navy guided missile cruiser Port Royal runs aground off Oahu, Hawaii, damaging the ship as well as a coral reef
- Feb 5 59th Berlin International Film Festival: "The Milk of Sorrow" wins the Golden Bear
- Feb 7 Bushfires in Victoria left 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.
Grammy Awards
Feb 8 51st Grammy Awards: Best Album "Raising Sand" and Record of the Year "Please Read The Letter", both by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss win
- Feb 8 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 30-21; MVP: Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals, WR
BAFTA Awards
Feb 8 62nd British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs): "Slumdog Millionaire" Best Film, Danny Boyle Best Director
Music History
Feb 8 Singer Rihanna cancels appearance at the Grammys after being assaulted by boyfriend Chris Brown
Historic Event
Feb 11 Uri Geller purchases Lamb Island, Scotland, previously known for its witch trials
- Feb 12 Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes near Buffalo in the state of New York killing 50 people.
- Feb 12 40th NAACP Image Awards: "The Secret Life of Bees" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
- Feb 13 Unix time passed 1,234,567,890 seconds February 13, 2009 at exactly 23:31:30 (UTC).
- Feb 13 The Dutch Statistics agency confirms the Netherlands are in recession
NBA All-Star Game
Feb 15 58th NBA All-Star Game, US Airways Center, Phoenix, AZ: West beats East, 146-119; MVPs: Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers, F; Shaquille O'Neal, LA Lakers, C
- Feb 15 51st Daytona 500: Matt Kenseth wins shortened race; called off with 48 laps to go after a severe rainstorm hits the track
- Feb 18 The Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics announced that the Taiwanese economy has contracted an unprecedented 8.36% in the fourth quarter of 2008; thus placing the country in a technical recession
Knighthood
Feb 18 English fantasy author Terry Pratchett receives a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace
- Feb 21 29th Golden Raspberry Awards: "The Love Guru" wins
Academy Awards
Feb 22 81st Academy Awards: "Slumdog Millionaire", Sean Penn & Kate Winslet win
Academy Awards
Feb 22 Heath Ledger posthumously wins Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor, for his performance as the Joker in "The Dark Knight"
- Feb 25 BDR massacre in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 74 People are being killed, including more than 50 Army officials, by Bangladeshi Boarder Guards inside its headquarter.
- Feb 27 Statistics Finland informs that Finland's gross domestic product diminished by 1.3% in the last quarter of 2008 from the previous quarter