- 457 Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire
- 1074 Battle of Montesarchio: Prince of Benevento, Pandulf IV killed battling the encroaching Normans in southern Italy
- 1238 The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir
- 1301 Edward of Caernarion (later Edward II) becomes first (English) Prince of Wales
- 1522 Treaty of Brussels: Habsburgers split into Spanish and Austrian Branches
- 1550 Giovanni Maria del Monte elected Pope Julius III
- 1613 Michail Romanov (aged 16) becomes Tsar of Russia
- 1639 Academie Française begins Dictionary of French Language
- 1653 Nicolas Fouquet appointed superintendant of Finance of France
- 1668 Dutch Prince William III dances in premiere of "Ballet of Peace"
- 1792 Austria & Prussia sign anti-French covenant
- 1792 Domenico Cimarosa's opera "Il Matrimonio Segreto" premieres in Vienna
- 1795 11th Amendment to US Constitution ratified, affirms power of states
- 1795 Dutch Prince William V accepts British occupation of Dutch Indies
- 1812 8.2 earthquake shakes New Madrid, Missouri
Event of Interest
1812 Poet Lord Byron (6th Baron Byron) makes his maiden speech in House of Lords
Lord Byron
- 1817 Baltimore becomes the 1st American city lit by gas street lamps with the first turned on at Market and Lemon Streets (currently Baltimore and Holliday Streets)
- 1818 1st successful US educational magazine "Academician" begins (NYC)
- 1827 Ballet (Deserter) introduced to US at Bowery Theater (NYC)
- 1831 Belgium adopts its Constitution
Historic Publication
1836 "Sketches by Boz" (essays) published by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Event of Interest
1839 Henry Clay declares in Senate "I had rather be right than president"
Henry Clay
- 1842 Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien
- 1856 The colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the first piece of legislation (the Electoral Act of 1856) anywhere in the world providing for elections by way of a secret ballot.
- 1862 Federal fleet attack on Roanoke Island NC
- 1863 HMS Orpheus sinks off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189
- 1864 Federal troops occupy Jacksonville, Florida
- 1872 Alcorn Agricultural and Mechanical College opens
- 1876 US President Grant's private secretary Orville acquitted in Whiskey Ring
- 1877 1st Guernsey Cattle Club organizes (NYC)
- 1881 Battle at Ingogo, Transvaal: Boers beat superior British forces
- 1882 Last bare knuckle champion John L Sullivan KOs Paddy Ryan in Miss
- 1883 Lt-colonel Borgnis-Desbordes founds Fort Bamako, Niger
- 1884 Canadian Rugby Football Union forms
- 1889 Astronomical Society of Pacific holds 1st meeting in San Francisco
- 1893 Vanderbilt University claims it participated in the first organised intercollegiate basketball game at the Nashville YMCA Gymnasium; Vanderbilt beats YMCA, 9-3
- 1894 The Cripple Creek miners' strike, led by the Western Federation of Miners, begins in Cripple Creek, Colorado
- 1900 British troops vacate Vaal Krantz, Natal
- 1903 VVV '03 soccer club is established in the Dutch southeastern city of Venlo
- 1904 Baltimore catches fire (1500 buildings destroyed in 80 blocks)
- 1905 Dominican Republic signs treaty turning over customs collection to US
- 1907 The Mud March, first large procession organized by the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)
- 1907 Conservative coalition take over Reichstag in Germany after rallying conservatives against the threat of a socialist government
Event of Interest
1908 Connie Mack sells hurler Rube Waddell to St Louis Browns for $5,000
Connie Mack
Event of Interest
1914 Charlie Chaplin debuts silent film character The Tramp in "Kid Auto Races at Venice"
Charlie Chaplin
- 1914 Steel work completed on Exposition (Civic) Auditorium, San Francisco
- 1915 1st wireless message sent from a moving train to a station received
- 1915 Second Battle of Masurian Lakes: German armies surrounded a Russian army
- 1920 Admiral Kolchak surrenders to Bolshevik troops and is executed
- 1922 John Willard's "Cat & the Canary" premieres in NYC
Event of Interest
1924 Benito Mussolini's Italian government exchanges diplomats with USSR
Benito Mussolini
- 1928 1st solo flight from England to Australia takes off from Croydon, piloted by Australian aviator Bert Hinkler (arrives 15 ½ days later)
- 1931 US opera "Peter Ibbetson" by Deems Taylor premieres at Met Opera, New York City
- 1933 Colonial troops in Suriname kill 2 demonstrators
- 1933 Social-Dem meeting in Berlin "As thousands cheer" Marxism is dead
- 1934 1st contract for TVA power, Tupelo, Miss
- 1936 A flag is authorized for US Vice President
- 1936 Felix the Cat, animated film released by Van Beuren Studios licensed from Otto Messmer
Film Premier
1940 Walt Disney's second feature length movie, "Pinocchio" premieres (NYC)
Walt Disney
Event of Interest
1941 Frank Sinatra & Tommy Dorsey orchestra record "Everything Happens to Me"
Frank Sinatra
Event of Interest
1944 Bing Crosby records "Swinging on a Star" for Decca Records (Academy Award Best Originial Song)
Bing Crosby
- 1944 Germans launch counteroffensive at Anzio, Italy
Event of Interest
1945 General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila
Douglas MacArthur
- 1945 Harry Truman appoints Irwin C Mollison judge of US Customs Court
- 1945 US 76th/5th Infantry divisions begin crossing Sauer
- 1945 London, Washington and Moscow discuss final phase of World War II
- 1946 Filibuster in US Senate kills FEPC (Fair Employment Practices Committee) bill
- 1947 The UK announces its intention to end the Mandate for Palestine
- 1948 "Cradle Will Rock" closes at Mansfield Theater NYC after 34 performances
Event of Interest
1948 Omar Bradley succeeds Dwight Eisenhower as US Army Chief of Staff
Omar Bradley
Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 1948 After winning Lake Placid (1932) and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1936) Olympic ski jumping gold medals, Birger Ruud comes out of retirement to win silver in St. Moritz in a Norwegian medal sweep
Event of Interest
1949 Joe DiMaggio becomes 1st $100,000 a year baseball player for the New York Yankees
Joe DiMaggio
Event of Interest
1959 Fidel Castro proclaims new Cuban constitution
Fidel Castro
Event of Interest
1961 Jane Fonda made her acting debut in the NBC drama "A String of Beads"
Jane Fonda
- 1962 Gas explosion in Luisanthal coal mine Voelklingen Germany kills 298
Event of Interest
1962 US President JFK begins blockade of Cuba by banning all Cuban imports and exports.
John F. Kennedy
Event of Interest
1965 George Harrison's tonsils removed
George Harrison
- 1965 Operations begin at Grupo Folklorico Antiyano on Curacao
- 1965 US begins regular bombing & strafing of N Vietnam
- 1965 WVIZ TV channel 25 in Cleveland, Ohio (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1966 KWCM TV channel 10 in Appleton, MN (PBS) begins broadcasting
- 1967 A fire at a restaurant in Montgomery, Alabama kills 25 people.
Theater Premiere
1968 Arthur Miller's play "Price" premieres in NYC
Arthur Miller
Event of Interest
1969 Al-Fatah-leader Yasser Arafat becomes president of PLO
Yasser Arafat
- 1969 Diane Crump becomes 1st woman jockey at a major US racetrack (Hialeah)
- 1969 The original Hetch Hetchy Moccasin Powerhouse is removed from service
- 1970 "Hollywood Palace" last airs on ABC TV
- 1970 "Jingle Jangle" hits #10 on the pop singles chart by Archies
- 1970 LSU's "Pistol" Pete Marovich scores 69 pts in losing cause
- 1970 US female Figure Skating championship won by Janet Lynn
- 1970 US male Figure Skating championship won by Tim Wood
- 1971 Switzerland votes for national women's suffrage in a referendum
- 1972 Dutch Olympic 1,500m and 5,000m speed skating champion Ard Schenk wins his 3rd gold medal at the Sapporo Winter Games when he takes out the 10,000m
- 1973 1st time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0
- 1973 US Senate creates Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities
- 1973 North Ireland's United Loyalist Council hold a one-day strike, loyalist paramilitaries forcibly try to stop people going to work
Album Release
1973 The Stooges release their 3rd album "Raw Power"
Iggy Pop
- 1974 Grenada gains independence from Britain (National Day)
Film Release
1974 Mel Brooks' film "Blazing Saddles" opens in movie theaters starring Cleavon Little and Gene Wilder
Mel Brooks
Gene Wilder
Election of Interest
1974 UK Prime Minister Edward Heath calls for a 'snap' general election in the midst of a protracted miners' strike
Edward Heath
NHL Record
1976 Toronto center Darryl Sittler sets NHL record with 10 points in a Maple Leafs' 11-4 win over Boston at Maple Leaf Gardens; 6 goals, 4 assists
Darryl Sittler
- 1976 FCC raids & shuts down pirate radio station WCPR (Brooklyn New York)
- 1976 Larry Groce's "Junk Food Junkie" peaks at #9
- 1976 World's largest telescope (600 cm) begins operation (USSR)
- 1977 Soyuz 24 launches with 2 cosmonauts
- 1978 Ethiopian offensive in Ogaden desert
- 1979 "Supertrain", TV Anthology, Superbomb of 1979, debuts on NBC
- 1979 Colonel Benjedid Chadli succeeds president Boumedienne in Algeria
- 1979 Faoud Bacchus scores 250 for WI v India at Kanpur
Music Concert
1979 Pink Floyd premiere their live version of "The Wall" in Los Angeles
David Gilmour
Roger Waters
- 1982 Luis A Monge elected President of Costa Rica
- 1983 1st female secretary of transportation sworn-in (Elizabeth Dole)
- 1983 "José Cuervo" single released by Shelly West (Billboard Song of the Year 1983)
- 1984 American astronaut Bruce McCandless makes 1st untethered space walk
- 1984 David (born without immunity system) touches his mother for 1st time at age 12
Event of Interest
1984 Michael Jackson awarded a 4-ft-high platinum disc by CBS
Michael Jackson
Event of Interest
1986 Haiti's President-for-Life Jean-Claude Duvalier flees to France: Henri Namphy becomes leader of Haiti
Jean-Claude Duvalier
Election of Interest
1986 Corazon Aquino defeats incumbent Filipino dictator Ferdinand Marcos but fraudulent returns gave the election to Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Corazon Aquino
NBA All-Star Game
1988 38th NBA All-Star Game, Chicago Stadium: East beats West, 138-133; MVP: Michael Jordan, Chicago Bulls, F
Michael Jordan
- 1988 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: AFC beats NFC, 15-6; MVP: Bruce Smith, Buffalo Bills, DE
NHL All-Star Game
1989 40th NHL All-Star Game, Northlands Coliseum, Edmonton: Campbell Conference beats Wales Conference, 9-5; MVP: Wayne Gretzky, LA Kings, C
Wayne Gretzky
Event of Interest
1989 Tennis superstar Björn Borg apparently attempts suicide in Milan
Björn Borg
- 1990 Karachi police kill 22 anti-nationalistic demonstrators
- 1990 USSR Communist party agrees to allow opposition political parties
- 1990 Lisa Leslie of Morningside HS in Inglewood California scores 101 in 1st half, South Torrance HS decides not to play 2nd half & loses 102-24
- 1991 Jean-Bertrand Aristide sworn in as Haiti's 1st elected president
Hall of Fame
1991 Bob Knight, Larry O'Brien, Tiny Archibald, Dave Cowens, Harry Gallatin & Larry Fleisher elected to NBA Hall of Fame
Dave Cowens
- 1991 The IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting.
Event of Interest
1992 Mike Tyson testifies in his rape trial
Mike Tyson
Album Release
1993 Carmen Electra releases her self-titled debut album, "Carmen Electra"
Carmen Electra
Music Awards
1994 21st American Music Awards: Whitney Houston wins
Whitney Houston
Event of Interest
1994 Howard Stern stops a would-be jumper on the George Washington Bridge
Howard Stern
- 1994 American actor Jim Nabors undergoes a liver transplant
Event of Interest
1995 Last day of Test Cricket cricket for Graham Gooch & Mike Gatting
Graham Gooch
Album Release
1995 Bluegrass and country musician Alison Krauss releases her compilation album "Now that I've Found You"
Alison Krauss
Album Release
1995 "The Woman in Me" 2nd studio album by Shania Twain is released (Billboard Album of the Year 1996)
Shania Twain
- 1997 US & Russia announce summit set for Helsinki, March 20-21
- 1998 XVIII Winter Olympic Games open in Nagano, Japan
- 1998 NHL's Dallas Stars retire Neal Broten's #7
- 1999 NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: AFC beats NFC, 23-10; Keyshawn Johnson, NY Jets, QB; Ty Law, New England Patriots, CB
- 1999 Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein.
- 2000 Bahria University is established through Presidential Ordinance No. V of 2000 by the Government of Pakistan.
- 2001 51st Berlin International Film Festival: "Intimacy" wins the Golden Bear
- 2005 Britain's Ellen MacArthur becomes the fastest person to sail solo around the world taking 71 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes 33 seconds
Event of Interest
2006 Uma Thurman is named a knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France for outstanding achievement in the field of art and literature
Uma Thurman
- 2008 58th Berlin International Film Festival: "Elite Squad" wins the Golden Bear
- 2009 Bushfires in Victoria left 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.
- 2010 Super Bowl XLIV, Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Miami, FL; New Orleans Saints beat Indianapolis Colts, 31-17; MVP: Drew Brees, New Orleans, QB
- 2013 Eugène Delacroix's painting Liberty Leading the People is vandalized at the Louvre-Lens museum
- 2013 Azerbaijan launches its first satellite, Azerspace-1
- 2013 63rd Berlin International Film Festival: "Child's Pose" wins the Golden Bear
- 2014 German treasurer Helmut Linssen resigns amid a scandal involving offshore banking accounts in the Bahamas and Panama
- 2014 XXII Winter Olympic Games open in Sochi, Russia
- 2018 Armed groups release 300 child soldiers from Yambio, South Sudan according to UN
- 2018 "The Los Angeles Times" is bought by LA doctor Patrick Soon-Shiong from Tronc for $500 million
- 2018 Missing Nigerian painting masterpiece of Ife princess Adetutu Ademiluyi by Ben Enwonwu announced rediscovered in London
- 2018 DNA analysis of Chedder Man, UK's oldest complete skeleton shows he had dark skin and blue eyes
- 2018 White House aide Rob Porter resigns in wake of physical abuse allegations by ex-wives
- 2018 All citrus fruit can be traced to the southeast foothills of the Himalayas, according to DNA study published in "Nature"
- 2018 Angel Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party reaches a coalition deal with Social Democrats after four months
- 2019 Measles cases in Europe highest in a decade, tripling in a year to 82,596 according to WHO
- 2019 New kangaroo fossil research published from Riversleigh, Australia, show Kangaroos learned to hop 20 million years ago, much earlier than first thought
- 2019 Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio declares national emergency over rape and sexual assault violence after instances double
- 2019 Measles outbreak declared in the Philippines with 1,813 cases and 26 deaths
- 2019 France recalls its Italian ambassador from Rome after Italian deputy PM Luigi Di Maio met with yellow vest protesters
February in History
![Soccer Star Dodges TV Trap]()
Soccer 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, 1961![2,000-year-old Glass Treasure Shattered by a Drunk]()
2,000-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, 1845![Earthquakes and a Book Rock London]()
Earthquakes 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![Why 'SuperMac' was Banished From Number 10]()
Why 'SuperMac' was Banished From Number 10
War hero, Edwardian gentleman, academic, friend of the Kennedys, former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was born on this day.
February 10, 1894
