- 337 St Julius I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1189 Riots in Lynn, Norfolk (England) spread to Norwich
- 1508 Maximilian I proclaimed Holy Roman Emperor, 1st Emperor in centuries not to be crowned by the Pope
- 1577 King Henri de Bourbon of Navarra becomes leader of the Huguenots
- 1626 Huguenot rebels & French sign Peace of La Rochelle
- 1651 -7] Cardinal Mazarin flees Paris
- 1685 Duke of York becomes King James II of England and VII of Scotland upon the death of his brother Charles II
- 1716 Britain & Netherlands renew alliance
- 1778 Britain declares war on France
- 1778 France recognizes USA, signs Treaty of Alliance in Paris, 1st US treaty
- 1788 Massachusetts becomes 6th state to ratify constitution
- 1815 New Jersey issues 1st US railroad charter (John Stevens)
Event of Interest
1819 Stamford Raffles founds Singapore as a British trading port
Stamford Raffles
- 1820 1st organized emigration of blacks back to Africa (NY to Sierra Leone)
- 1820 US population announced at 9,638,453, African Americans 1,771,656 (18.4%)
- 1820 First 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society start a settlement in present-day Liberia
- 1832 1st appearance of cholera in Edinburgh, Scotland
- 1832 US ship destroys Sumatran village in retaliation for piracy
Event of Interest
1836 HMS Beagle and Charles Darwin arrive in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania)
Charles Darwin
Treaty of Waitangi
1840 The Treaty of Waitangi is signed between 40 Māori Chiefs (later signed by 500) and representatives of the British crown in Waitangi, New Zealand. The treaty was designed to share sovereignty between the two groups.
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Event of Interest
1855 British government of Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston forms
Henry John Temple
Victory in Battle
1862 General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry in Tennessee
Ulysses S. Grant
- 1862 American Civil War: Naval engagement on Tennessee River, USS Conestago vs CSS Appleton Belle
- 1862 Ulysses S. Grant begins military campaign in Mississippi
- 1864 -7] Skirmish at Barnett's Ford Virginia
- 1865 2nd day of battle at Dabney's Mills (Hatcher's Run)
- 1867 Peabody Fund forms to promote Black education in southern USA
- 1869 Harper's Weekly publishes 1st picture of Uncle Sam with chin whiskers
- 1882 The society of the Knights of Columbus forms in New Haven, Connecticut
- 1891 1st great train robbery by Dalton Gang (Southern Pacific #17)
- 1894 Bottle opener patented by William Painter
- 1899 Spanish-American War ends, peace treaty ratified by Senate
- 1900 The Battle of Vaal Krantz, South Africa (Boers vs British army)
- 1902 Young Women's Hebrew Association organizes in NYC
- 1904 Japan notifies Russia that in view of Russia's delaying tactics and provocative military action, Japan is ending negotiations and recalling its members from Moscow
- 1911 1st old-age home opened in Prescott, Arizona
- 1911 Great fire destroys downtown Constantinople (Istanbul, Turkey)
- 1918 Great Britain grants women (30 & over) the vote
- 1919 1st day of 5-day Seattle general strike
- 1919 The first day of the Weimar Republic which, because of its support of the Treaty of Versailles, does not receive proper allegiance from the German nation
- 1920 Saarland administrated by League of Nations
Film Release
1921 "The Kid", silent film starring Charlie Chaplin & Jackie Coogan, released
Charlie Chaplin
Lita Grey
- 1922 Cardinal Achille Ratti elected Pope Pius XI
- 1922 US, UK, France, Italy & Japan sign Washington naval arms limitation
- 1926 NFL rules college students ineligible until college classes graduates
- 1926 St Louis Browns acquire catcher Wally Schang from NY Yankees
- 1928 A woman dubbed Anna Anderson [possibly Franziska Schanzkowska] arrives in NYC, using the alias "Anastasia Tschaikovsky" claims to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II
- 1929 Rudy Vallee records single "Deep Night"
- 1932 1st Olympic dog sled race at Lake Placid, New York (demonstration sport)
- 1932 Fascist coup in the Memel territory
- 1933 -90°F (-68°C), Oymyakon, USSR (Asian record)
- 1933 Highest recorded sea wave (not tsunami), 34 m, in North Pacific hurricane by USS Ramapo
Event of Interest
1933 German President Paul von Hindenburg and Franz von Papen end the Prussian parliament
Paul von Hindenburg
- 1934 Reds purchase 43-year-old Dazzy Vance from the Cards for $7,500
- 1934 Far right leagues rally in front of the Palais Bourbon in an attempted coup against the French Third Republic, creating a political crisis in France
- 1935 "Monopoly" board game goes on sale for 1st time
- 1935 1st election to allow women to vote in Turkey
Event of Interest
1936 Pravda criticizes Dmitri Shostakovich's ballet "Clear Brook"
Dmitri Shostakovich
- 1936 IV Winter Olympic Games open in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
- 1937 K Elizabeth Ohi becomes 1st Japanese-US female lawyer
- 1939 Spanish government flees to France
- 1941 Auke Adema wins 6th official Dutch 11 Cities Skating Race (9:19)
- 1941 Battle of Beda Fomm: Italian 10th army destroyed
- 1941 British troops conquer Bengazi, Libya
- 1943 1st Spitfire in action above Darwin, Australia, Mu Ki-46 shot down
Event of Interest
1943 Singer Frank Sinatra debuts on radio's "Your Hit Parade"
Frank Sinatra
Event of Interest
1947 Magnum Photos founded in Paris by Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, George Rodger and David Seymour
Robert Capa
Henri Cartier-Bresson
- 1948 1st radio-controlled airplane flown
Donald Bradman
- 1948 KNXT (now KCBS) TV channel 2 in Los Angeles, CA (CBS) 1st broadcast
- 1948 World & European champion Barbara Ann Scott becomes the first Canadian to win a women's figure skating Olympic gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games
- 1948 Nils Karlsson wins the 50k cross country gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Swedish skiers win all 3 cross-country events at the Games
- 1951 "Broker Special" train crashes in Woodbridge NJ, killing 84
Event of Interest
1951 Radio commentator Paul Harvey arrested for trying to sneak into Argonne National Laboratory, a nuclear test site located 20 miles (32 km) west of Chicago
Paul Harvey
- 1951 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site Argonne Atomic Lab (Ill), to demonstrate lax in security
Event of Interest
1952 Queen Elizabeth II succeeds King George VI to the British throne and proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms including Canada, Australia and New Zealand
Elizabeth II
George VI
- 1953 Ian Craig makes Test Cricket debut at 17 yrs 239 days, youngest Aussie
- 1953 US controls on wages & some consumer goods lifted
- 1956 Chicago's Daily Defender, begins publishing
- 1956 French Prime Minister Guy Mollet pelted with tomatoes in Algiers
- 1956 University of Alabama suspends African-American student Autherine Lucy claiming that it can no longer provide for her safety
Event of Interest
1958 Future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Ted Williams becomes highest paid player in MLB when he re-signs with Boston Red Sox for $135,000
Ted Williams
Event of Interest
1959 Fidel Castro is interviewed by Edward R Murrow
Fidel Castro
- 1961 "Jail, No Bail" Jail-in movement starts in Rock Hill, South Carolina
- 1961 KOAP TV channel 10 in Portland, OR (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1962 Schoolman Athletic Field in the Bronx named
- 1964 "Rugantino" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 28 performances
- 1964 France & Great-Britain sign accord over building channel tunnel
- 1964 WCIU TV channel 26 in Chicago, IL (IND) begins broadcasting
- 1965 "Kelly" opens & closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC
- 1965 Righteous Brothers "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" hits #1
- 1967 Cultural Revolution in Albania
Boxing Title Fight
1967 Muhammad Ali pummels Ernie Terrell for 15 rounds to retain his world heavyweight boxing crown at Houston Astrodome; regains Terrell’s WBA belt as well
Muhammad Ali
Event of Interest
1968 Former President Dwight Eisenhower shot a hole-in-one
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Event of Interest
1969 The New Ulster Movement forms, promoting moderate and non-sectarian policies and to assist those candidates who support Northern Ireland Prime MinisterTerence O'Neill
Terence O'Neill
- 1970 Graeme Pollock completes 274 v Australia at Durban
- 1970 NBA expands to 18 teams with Buffalo, Cleveland, Houston & Portland
- 1971 1st time a golf ball is hit on Moon (by Alan Shepard)
- 1971 The Irish Republican Army shoots and kills Gunner Robert Curtis, the first British soldier to die during the 'Troubles'
- 1971 Bernard Watt (28), a Catholic civilian, is shot and killed by the British Army (BA) during street disturbances in Ardoyne, Belfast
- 1971 James Saunders (22), a member of the IRA, is shot and killed by the British Army during a gun battle near the Oldpark Road, Belfast
- 1972 A Civil Rights march held in Newry, County Down; very large turn-out with many people attending to protest at the killings in Derry the previous Sunday
Golden Globes
1972 29th Golden Globes: "The French Connection", Gene Hackman, & Jane Fonda win
Jane Fonda
Gene Hackman
- 1972 Dutch speed skater Ard Schenk follows his win in the 5,000m with victory in the 1,500m, on his way to 3 gold medals at the Sapporo Winter Olympics; also wins 10,000m
- 1973 "Shelter" opens at John Golden Theater NYC for 31 performances
- 1973 40,000 civil servants demonstrate against higher pension contribution
- 1973 6th ABA All-Star Game: West 123 beats East 111 at Utah
- 1973 Bernice Fekete skips her curling rink to 2nd straight 8-ender, Edm
Music Concert
1973 Drummer Buddy Rich plays influential performance at the Top of the Plaza, Richmond New York, later televised by PBS
Buddy Rich
Event of Interest
1974 US House of Reps begins determining grounds for impeachment of President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
- 1975 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
Event of Interest
1976 George Harrison releases "This Guitar (Can't Keep From Crying)"
George Harrison
- 1977 4th time Rangers shut-out Islanders 4-0
- 1977 Alain Prieur jumps his motorcycle 65 m over 16 buses, near Paris
- 1977 Harley Race beats Terry Funk in Toronto, to become NWA wrestling champ
- 1978 Muriel, wife of late Hubert Humphrey (Sen-D-Minn) takes his office
- 1978 Snowstorm hits New England, parts of Rhode Island (54" / 137cm)
- 1979 Supreme court of Lahore affirms death sentence against Premier Bhutto
Murder of Interest
1980 John Wayne Gacy goes on trial for the murder of 33 young men in Cook County, Illinois
John Wayne Gacy
- 1981 "Brady Brides" debuts on NBC TV
Event of Interest
1981 Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr & George Harrison record a tribute to John Lennon
- 1981 Suleiman Nyambui runs world record 5k indoor (13:20.4)
Film Release
1981 Crime film "Fort Apache: The Bronx" starring Paul Newman released amid protests in the US
Paul Newman
- 1982 "Centerfold" by J. Geils Band hits #1 on pop chart
- 1983 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 20-19; MVPs: Dan Fouts, San Diego Chargers, QB; John Jefferson, Green Bay Packers, WR
- 1983 Trial of former Gestapo commandant Klaus Barbie begins in France for war crimes during World War II
- 1984 Muslim militiamen take over West Beirut from Lebanese army
- 1986 NJ Devil Peter McNab becomes 42nd NHLer to score 350 goals
- 1987 No-smoking rules take effect in US federal buildings
- 1987 US female Figure Skating championship won by Jill Trenary
- 1988 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
Event of Interest
1989 Solidarity union leader Lech Wałęsa begins negotiating with Polish government
Lech Wałęsa
Event of Interest
1990 Brett Hull becomes 1st son of NHL 50 goal scorer (Bobby) to score 50
Brett Hull
- 1990 Groundbreaking begins on Baltimore Orioles' new $102 million stadium
- 1990 Steve Briers of Wales recites entire lyrics of Queen's album "A Night At The Opera" in 9 minutes 58.44 seconds backwards!
- 1991 Mousey Davis becomes 1st coach of NY-NJ Knights
- 1992 "Late Night's 10th Anniversary Show At Radio City Music Hall" on NBC
- 1992 The Sámi people of the far northern Nordic countries have an official day celebrating their existence
NHL All-Star Game
1993 44th NHL All-Star Game, Montreal Forum, Montreal, QC: Wales beats Campbell, 16-6; MVP: Mike Gartner, NY Rangers, RW
Mike Gartner
Boxing Title Fight
1993 Riddick Bowe TKOs Michael Dokes in 1 for heavyweight boxing title
Riddick Bowe
Event of Interest
1995 Darryl Strawberry suspended from baseball for 60 days
Darryl Strawberry
- 1995 Greg Blewett scores his 2nd century in his 2nd Test Cricket
Event of Interest
1995 Rapper Tupac Shakur convicted on sexual assault charge and sentenced to up to 4 1/2 years in prison
Tupac Shakur
- 1996 Heidi Fleiss scheduled to begin her 7 year jail sentence
- 1997 Diane Blood, 32, in England, won right to use her dead husband's sperm
- 1998 Twins trade Chuck Knoblauch to NY Yankees for $3M & 4 minor leaguers
- 1998 Mary Kay LeTourneau, 36, former teacher, who violated probation by seeing 14 year old father of her baby, sentenced to 7 years
- 1998 In Corsica, the prefect Claude Erignac is assassinated in Ajaccio, presumably by Yvan Colonna.
Event of Interest
1998 Washington National Airport is renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport
Ronald Reagan
- 2000 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 51-31; MVP: Randy Moss, Minnesota Vikings, WR, HI
NHL All-Star Game
2000 50th NHL All-Star Game, Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON: World beats North America, 9-4; MVP: Pavel Bure, Florida Panthers, RW
Pavel Bure
- 2002 52nd Berlin International Film Festival: "Spirited Away" and "Bloody Sunday" win the Golden Bear (tie)
- 2003 53rd Berlin International Film Festival: "In This World" wins the Golden Bear
- 2003 50 Cent releases his album “Get Rich or Die Trying’” (2003 Billboard Album of the Year)
- 2005 Super Bowl XXXIX, Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, FL: New England Patriots beat Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21; MVP: Deion Branch, New England, WR
Event of Interest
2005 Tony Blair, now the longest-serving Labour PM, marks 2,838 days as British Prime Minister
Tony Blair
Super Bowl
2011 Super Bowl XLV, Cowboys Stadium, Arlington, TX: Green Bay Packers beat Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-25; MVP: Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay, QB
Aaron Rodgers
- 2012 6.9 magnitude quake hits near the central Philipines with 43 confirmed deaths
- 2012 Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of becoming British monarch, becoming only the second to do so
Event of Interest
2012 Canadian singer Gordon Lightfoot is presented with the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
Gordon Lightfoot
- 2013 A magnitude 8.0 earthquake occurs off the Solomon Islands coast causing the death of nine people
- 2014 The Taliban and Pakistani government begin peace negotiations
- 2014 64th Berlin International Film Festival: "Black Coal, Thin Ice" wins the Golden Bear
- 2015 46th NAACP Image Awards: "Selma" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
- 2016 Eighth Republican presidential candidates debate hosted by ABC, held in Goffstown, New Hampshire
- 2017 Qatar Airways achieves the longest-ever commercial flight in service when its B777 aircraft lands in Auckland after a 16 hour and 23 minutes flight from Doha
- 2018 Maldives President Abdulla Yameen declares state of emergency ordering arrest of two judges
- 2018 Brazilian jockey Jorge Ricardo equals world record number of victories for a jockey - 12,844 in Rio de Janeiro
- 2018 UN calls for ceasefire in rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area by Syrian government troops after 40 people reportedly killed
- 2018 Polish president Andrzej Duda signs controversial Holocaust law, outlaws accusing Poles of complicity under Nazis
- 2018 6.0 magnitude earthquake strikes Hualien County, Taiwan, leaving 10 dead and over 50 missing
- 2019 Quadriga, Canada's biggest cryptocurrency exchange is unable to get to $145 million of bitcoin assests after its CEO dies with its access passwords
Event of Interest
2019 US President Donald Trump makes presidential State of Union address to Congress a week later than usual due to government shutdown
Donald Trump
- 2019 Honeybees are able to add and substract and understand concept of zero according to research from RMIT University in Australia
- 2019 Davido's 'Fall' becomes longest-charting Nigerian pop song in US Billboard history
- 2019 2018 named the 4th warmest year on record according to NOAA and NASA, after 2016, 2015, and 2017
February in History
I'm Not Gay Insists 'Fruit-Flavoured, Mincing' Liberace
Entertainer Liberace died on this day, going to his grave insisting he was not gay. But his death from AIDS told a different story . . .
February 4, 1987Soccer Star Dodges TV Trap
How did a 'This Is Your Life' surprise for footballer Danny Blanchflower backfire so badly and end with the Tottenham Hotspur star storming off the set?
February 6, 19612,000-year-old Glass Treasure Shattered by a Drunk
One of the British Museum's treasured pieces of Roman antiquity was shattered on this day by a drunken visitor.
February 7, 1845Earthquakes and a Book Rock London
In the 18th Century, Englishmen went into a panic when London, of all places, was hit by earthquakes. But was there a stronger force than Mother Nature at work?
February 8, 1750
