Events in History
- Feb 9 American submarine USS Greeneville accidentally strikes and sinks the Ehime-Maru, a Japanese training vessel operated by the Uwajima Fishery High School; nine the Ehime-Maru's crew members were killed, including four high school students.
- Feb 12 NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touchdown in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
Event of Interest
Feb 18 FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison, where he dies
- Feb 19 An Oklahoma City bombing museum is dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial
- Feb 20 The United States Supreme Court declines to consider an appeal by five major oil companies against Unocal's patent on production of cleaner "reformulated" gasoline sold in California
- Feb 26 The Taliban destroy two giant Buddha statues in Bamyan, Afghanistan.
- Feb 28 Six passengers and four railway staff are killed and a further 82 people suffer serious injuries in the Selby rail crash
- Feb 28 The Nisqually Earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter Scale hits the Nisqually Valley and the Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia area of the U.S. state of Washington.
- Feb 28 The US Environmental Protection Agency announces that it intends to proceed with implementation of tighter restrictions on sulfur content in diesel fuel; the rule is opposed by many in the refining industry
Weddings in History
Diane von Furstenberg
Feb 2 Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg (54) weds media tycoon Barry Diller
Deaths in History
- Feb 1 André D'Allemagne, Quebec teacher, political observer and essayist, dies at 71
- Feb 6 Filemon Lagman, Filipino Communist revolutionary (b. 1953)
- Feb 6 Fulgence Charpentier, French Canadian journalist, dies at 103
- Feb 6 Jack Hyles, Independent Baptist pastor (First Baptist Church of Hammond 1959-2001), dies at 74
Anne Morrow Lindbergh (1906-2001)
Feb 7 American author and aviator (Gift from the Sea), dies of a stroke at 94
Herbert A. Simon (1916-2001)
Feb 9 American political scientist (Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Turing Award), dies at 84
- Feb 9 Herbert Simon, American economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1916)
- Feb 10 Abraham Beame, American politician (Mayor of New York City, 1974-44, 1st Jewish mayor), dies at 94
- Feb 13 Montague Woodhouse, British military officer and politician (WWII organized the resistance forces in Crete, MI6 agent), dies at 83
- Feb 14 Alan Ross, British poet and editor (London Magazine), dies at 78
- Feb 16 William Masters, American gynecologist who studied sexual dysfunction, dies of complications from Parkinson's disease at 85
- Feb 17 Khalid Abdul Muhammed, American Nation of Islam spokesman (b. 1948)
- Feb 18 Balthus [Balthazar Klossowski], French Polish painter, dies at 92
- Feb 19 Priscilla Davis, American socialite (b. 1942)
Claude Shannon (1916-2001)
Feb 24 American mathematician and information theorist (A Mathematical Theory of Communication), dies at 84
- Feb 26 Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan writer, historian and politician (Lanzas Coloradas), dies at 94
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists