On This Day in History for February 2
Events in History
- 506 Alaric II, king of the Visigoths, promulgates the Lex Romania Visigothorum (or Breviary of Alaric), a collection of Roman law
- 962 Pope John XII crowns German King Otto I the Great Emperor
- 1032 Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes King of Burgundy, succeeding Rudolf III
- 1119 Guido di Borgogna elected Pope Callistus II
- 1141 Battle of Lincoln: King Stephen captured by forces loyal to Empress Matilda and commanded by Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester
- 1349 By this date at least 200 people a day were being buried in London as a result of the Black Death
- 1461 Battle of Mortimer's Cross: in a major battle of the War of the Roses Yorkist army of Edward, Earl of March, defeats Lancaster force led by Jasper Tudor
- 1536 Pedro de Mendoza founds Argentine city of Buenos Aires
- More Events in History
Weddings in History
- 1387 King John I of Portugal (29) marries Philippa of Lancaster (26), daughter of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, in Porto, consolidating an Anglo-Portuguese Alliance that endures to the present day
- 1870 American writer (Huckleberry Finn) Samuel Langhorne Clemens, pen name Mark Twain, (34) marries Olivia Langdon (24) in Elmira, NY
- 1936 Physicist Emilio G. Segrè (31) weds jewish woman Elfriede Spiro at the Great Synagogue of Rome in Italy
More Weddings & Divorces in History
February in History
How Portugal Lost Its Monarchy
There were few tears – and some uncharitable rejoicing – when King Carlos I of Portugal was shot dead on this day, bringing an end to a 270-year-old monarchy.
February 1, 1908The Hidden Depths of Mark Twain
Forced to find a new job when the American Civil War struck the Mississippi river, Samuel Longhorne Clemens turned to writing and Mark Twain was born.
February 2, 1863Funeral of Queen Victoria
The funeral cortege of Queen Victoria outside St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on February 2, 1901
February 2, 1901America’s First Woman Doctor
Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman in the United States to receive a medical degree and the first woman on the British medical register, was born on this day.
February 3, 1821