Events in History
Historic Expedition
Feb 14 John C. Frémont and his party become the first Europeans to discover Lake Tahoe during his second expedition through the American West
Kit Carson
- 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 Aaron Montgomery Ward, American retailer, founded mail-order business (Montgomery Ward), born in Chatham, New Jersey (d. 1913)
- Feb 18 Willem Maris, Dutch painter (Hague School)
- Feb 20 Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (statistical mechanics)
- Feb 20 Joshua Slocum, Canadian-American seaman and adventurer, born in Mount Hanley, Nova Scotia (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