Events in History
- Feb 5 A major tornado outbreak across the Southern United States leaves at least 58 dead, the most since the May 31, 1985 outbreak that killed 88.
- Feb 8 Nebraska bans electric chair as sole execution method
- Feb 10 The 2008 Namdaemun fire severely damages Namdaemun, the first National Treasure of South Korea.
- Feb 11 In East Timor, assassination attempts were made on Xanana Gusmao and Jose Ramos-Horta. Both failed.
- Feb 13 Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes an historic apology to Indigenous Australians, especially to the Stolen Generations who suffered forced child removal and assimilation [1]
- Feb 13 The LZR Racer Suit is unveiled in NYC; line of competition swimsuits made by Speedo using high-tech fabric of woven elastane-nylon & polyurethane; times went down dramatically; rules changed 2010
- Feb 14 Northern Illinois University shooting: a gunman opened fire in a lecture hall of the DeKalb County, Illinois university resulting in 24 casualties; 6 fatalities (including gunman) and 18 injured.
- Feb 17 Kosovo declares independence from Serbia
- Feb 19 Serzh Sargsyan wins the Armenian Presidential Election
- Feb 23 B-2 Spirit of the USAF crashes at Guam. Crew survives but aircraft written off, the most expensive air crash in human history (aircraft alone cost $1.2Bn). B-2 had a perfect safety record before the crash; not one B-2 ever crashed.
Historic Event
Feb 24 Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba due to ill health after nearly fifty years
- Feb 28 Former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra is arrested on corruption charges upon returning to Thailand after months of exile.
Deaths in History
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
Feb 5 Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian guru who developed Transcendental Meditation, dies at 90
- Feb 6 John McWethy, American journalist (b. 1947)
- Feb 6 Dieter Noll, German writer (Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt), dies at 80
- Feb 8 Chua Ek Kay, Singaporean painter (b. 1947)
- Feb 9 Christopher Hyatt Occultist, Philosopher and Author.
- Feb 9 Jazeh Tabatabai, Iranian avant-garde painter, poet and sculptor. (b. 1931)
- Feb 9 Trichen Jurme Kunzang Wangyal, the eleventh Mindrolling Trichen, Tibetan Buddhist lama of the Nyingma school (b. 1930)
- Feb 10 Steve Gerber, American comics writer (b. 1947)
- Feb 11 Tom Lantos, member of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1928)
- Feb 11 Frank Piasecki, American aeronautical designer and helicopter aviation pioneer, dies at 88
- Feb 13 Kon Ichikawa, Japanese director (Matatabi, Money Talks), dies at 92
- Feb 15 Amnon Netzer, Iranian-Israeli historian (b. 1934)
- Feb 18 Sir Richard Knowles, British politician (b. 1917)
- Feb 20 Larry Davis (criminal)
- Feb 21 Sunny Lowry, First British woman to swim the English Channel (b. 1911)
- Feb 22 Maurice Laing, English builder (John Laing & Son) dies at 90
- Feb 23 Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian prime minister and president (b. 1950)
- Feb 23 Douglas Fraser, Scottish pilot, first to land at Newfoundland Airport on January 11, 1938 (b. 1916)
- Feb 23 Denis Lazure, Canadian physician and politician, dies at 82
- Feb 23 Roger Foulon, Belgian writer (Un été dans la Fagne), dies at 84
- Feb 25 Hans Raj Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India (b. 1912)
- Feb 26 Dick Fletcher, American meteorologist, dies at 65
- Feb 26 Glory Mukwati, Zimbabwean politician
- Feb 27 William F. Buckley Jr, American conservative author and commentator (National Review, Firing Line), dies of a heart attack at 82
- Feb 27 Boyd Coddington, American automobile designer (b. 1944)
- Feb 27 Anthony Blond, British publisher (The Publishing Game, Book Book), dies at 79
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists