Events in History
- Feb 3 Hector Berlioz' "Carnaval Romain" premieres in Paris
- Feb 4 World's oldest known Bible, "The Codex Sinaiticus" (Sinai Bible), is discovered or stolen in Egypt by Constantin von Tischendorf
- Feb 14 Lt. John C. Frémont becomes first European to discover Lake Tahoe in the US
- Feb 27 Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti (National Day)
- Feb 28 12-inch gun aboard USS Princeton explodes, killing Secretary of State Abel P. Upshur, Secretary of the Navy Thomas Gilmer, and other high-ranking U.S. federal officials
Birthdays in History
- Feb 1 Eduard Adolf Strasburger, German botanist (Angiospermen)
- Feb 1 Granville Stanley Hall, American psychologist
- Feb 17 A Montgomery Ward, found mail-order business (Montgomery Ward)
- Feb 18 Willem Maris, Dutch painter (Hague School)
- Feb 20 Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (statistical mechanics)
- Feb 20 Joshua Slocum, Canadian seaman and adventurer (d. 1909)
- Feb 20 Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (thermodynamics), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1906)
Deaths in History
- Feb 4 Willem de Clerq, Dutch merchant/literary, dies at 49
Henry Addington
Feb 15 Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, British Prime Minister (Tory: 1801-04), dies at 86
Henry Addington
- Feb 16 Joseph Crosfield, English soap and alkali manufacturer, dies at 51
- Feb 27 Nicholas Biddle, US lawyer/diplomat/statesman/financier, dies at 85
- Feb 28 Abel P Upshur, Secretary of State, dies in explosion on USS Princeton
- Feb 28 Thommas W Gilmer, Navy Secretary, dies in explosion on USS Princeton