Events in History
- Feb 12 An Iran Air Tupolev Tu-154 crashes prior to landing in Khorramabad, Iran, killing 119
United Nations
Feb 12 The trial of former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević begins at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague. He eventually dies four years later before its conclusion.
- Feb 12 US Secretary of Energy makes the decision that Yucca Mountain is suitable to be the United States' nuclear waste repository
- Feb 14 Fishing vessel Tullaghmurray Lass sinks off the coast of Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland killing three members of the same family on board
- Feb 15 At the Tri-State Crematory in La Fayette, Georgia, investigators find uncremated bodies disposed of in the woods and buildings on crematorium's property. One of the worst incidents of abuse in the funeral service industry.
- Feb 19 NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
- Feb 20 In Reqa Al-Gharbiya, Egypt, a fire on a train injures over 65 and kills at least 370.
- Feb 22 Angolan revolutionary politician and military leader of UNITA, Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush in the province of Moxico
- Feb 23 Sky Disc of Nebra, world's oldest map of the stars at 3,600 years old, recovered in police sting operation in Basal, Switzerland after being illegally excavated in Germany [1]
- Feb 27 Godhra train burning, a Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya
- Feb 27 Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire in London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair's handling of the evacuation.
Weddings in History
Willem-Alexander
Feb 2 Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (34) weds Argentinean born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti (30) at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Deaths in History
- Feb 2 Claude Brown, American writer (b. 1937)
- Feb 6 John R. Farndon, British surgeon and professor, dies at 53
- Feb 6 Max Perutz, Austrian molecular biologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1914)
- Feb 8 Eldon Rudd, American politician (Rep-R-AZ, 1977-87), dies at 81
- Feb 8 Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (b. 1930)
- Feb 8 Ong Teng Cheong, President of Singapore (b. 1936)
- Feb 9 Margaret Rose, Countess of Snowdon, Sister of Queen Elizabeth II, dies of a stroke at 71
- Feb 10 Traudl Junge, German secretary to Adolf Hitler, dies at 81
- Feb 13 Pauline Trigère, French-American fashion designer (Bell Bottoms), dies at 93
- Feb 15 Howard K. Smith, American print and broadcast journalist, dies from pneumonia at 87
- Feb 19 Sylvia Rivera, American gay liberation and transgender activist and drag queen, dies of liver cancer at 50
- Feb 20 Stephen Longstreet, American writer (All or Nothing), dies at 94
- Feb 21 A. L. [Audrey] Barker, English writer, dies at 83
- Feb 21 Harold Furth, Austrian-American physicist, dies at 72
- Feb 22 Charles "Chuck" Jones, American animator and cartoonist best known for his work with Warner Bros. (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, Porky Pig), dies of congestive heart failure at 89
- Feb 22 Daniel Pearl, American journalist (b. 1963)
- Feb 22 Jonas Savimbi, Angolan revolutionary politician and military leader who founded the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), dies in combat with Angolan government troops at 67
- Feb 22 Poncke Princen, Dutch anti-Nazi fighter, colonial soldier and human rights activist, dies at 76
- Feb 22 Roden Cutler, Australian diplomat and Governor (New South Wales), dies at 85
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists