Today's Historical Events
- 3102 BC Epoch (origin) of the Kali Yuga
- 1219 Jerusalem re-taken by the Christian Crusader kingdom in a peace treaty between Holy Roman Emperor Frederik II and Egyptian ruler Al-Kamil
- 1268 The Livonian Brothers of the Sword are defeated by Dovmont of Pskov in the Battle of Rakovor.
- 1332 Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces.
- 1478 George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is privately executed in the Tower of London (allegedly by being drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine).
Event of Interest
1503 Henry Tudor (later Henry VIII) created Prince of Wales
Henry VIII
Event of Interest
1519 Hernán Cortés leaves Cuba for the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico with 11 ships and 500 men
Hernán Cortés
- 1536 France & Turkey sign military/trade agreement against King Karel
- 1563 Huguenot Jean Poltrot de Mere shoots gen Francois De Guise
- 1574 Zeeland falls to Dutch rebels
- 1634 Ferdinand II orders commander Albrecht von Wallenstein's execution
- 1678 John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" is published in Holborn, London, by Nathaniel Ponder
- 1685 Fort St. Louis is established by a Frenchman at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to Texas.
- 1688 Quakers conduct 1st formal protest of slavery in Germantown, Pa
- 1713 French invade under Jacques Cassard on Curacao
- 1735 1st opera performed in America, "Flora", in Charleston, South Carolina
- 1745 Bonnie Prince Charlie's troops occupy Inverness, Scotland
- 1787 Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II bans children under 8 from labor
- 1797 Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby
- 1804 1st US land-grant college, Ohio University, Athens Ohio, chartered
Victory in Battle
Victory in Battle1814 The Battle of Montereau; victory of French under Napoleon Bonaparte against Austrians and Württembergers under the King of Württemberg.
Napoléon Bonaparte
Event of Interest
1856 The American Party (Know-Nothings) convenes in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to nominate its first Presidential candidate, former President Millard Fillmore.
Millard Fillmore
Event of Interest
1857 Chinese residents in the fledging state of Sarawak rebel against the "White Rajah" James Brooke
James Brooke
Event of Interest
1861 Confederate President Jefferson Davis inaugurated at Montgomery, Alabama (US Civil War)
Jefferson Davis
Event of Interest
1861 King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia becomes first King of Italy
Victor Emmanuel II
- 1865 Battle of Fort Moultrie, SC occupied by Federals
- 1865 Evacuation of Charleston, South Carolina
- 1865 Union troops force Confederates to abandon Ft Anderson, NC
- 1876 Direct telegraph link established between Britain & New Zealand
- 1878 John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jessie Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
- 1879 Arabs capture Egyptian premier Nabar Pasha
Event of Interest
1879 Sculptor Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi is awarded a patent for his design for the Statue of Liberty
Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi
- 1884 General Charles Gordon arrives in Khartoum
Leo Tolstoy
Historic Publication
Historic Publication1885 Mark Twain publishes the "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in the US
Mark Twain
- 1891 Capt Archinard's army fights with Nyamina of Niger in West-Sudan
- 1896 Cave of Winds at Niagara Falls goes almost dry for first time in 50 yrs
- 1899 80°F recorded in San Francisco, California
- 1899 San Francisco named as a port of dispatch for Army transports
- 1899 Stanley Cup: Mont Shamrocks sweep Queens U (Kingston Ont) in 2 games
- 1900 Ajax soccer team forms in Amsterdam
- 1900 Battle at Paardeberg, 1,270 British killed/injured
- 1900 British troops occupy Monte Christo, Natal
- 1901 H Cecil Booth patented a dust removing suction cleaner
Event of Interest
1901 Winston Churchill makes his maiden speech in the British House of Commons.
Winston Churchill
- 1902 Opera "Hunchback of Notre Dame" premieres in Monte Carlo
- 1903 Kuyper government launches anti strike laws
- 1905 Frank Wedekind's "Hidalla oder Sein und Haben" (Hidalla, or Being and Having) premieres in Munich
- 1906 Vincent d'Indy's "Jour D'été à La Montagne" premieres in Paris
- 1908 1st US postage stamps in rolls issued
- 1908 The American ambassador to Japan is given a note by the Japanese in which they agree to restrict Japanese emigration to the US; this becomes known as the 'Gentlemen's Agreement'
- 1911 The first official flight with air mail takes place in Allahabad, British India, when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 km away.
Event of Interest
1913 French modernist painting "Nude Descending a Staircase" by Marcel Duchamp causes an uproar when shown in New York
Marcel Duchamp
- 1913 President Francisco Madero of Mexico is overthrown
- 1915 Germany begins a blockade of Britain
- 1916 The last German garrison in the German colony of Cameroons surrenders
- 1917 1st major strike of the Russian "February Revolution" starts at the giant Putilov factory in Petrograd [NS=Mar 3]
- 1918 Germany renews its offensive against the Russians, making dramatic gains against disorganized and dispirited Russian troops
NHL Record
NHL Record1919 Cy Denneny of NHL Ottawa Senators scores record 52nd goal
Cy Denneny
- 1921 British troops occupy Dublin
- 1922 Kenesaw Mountain Landis resigns his judgeship to work for baseball
- 1922 WOC-AM in Davenport IA begins radio transmissions
- 1922 The Capper-Volstead Act allows farmers to buy and sell co-operatively without the risk of prosecution under antitrust laws
- 1923 Belgium: Borinage-mine workers strike for higher wages
- 1924 US Ladies' Figure Skating championship won by Theresa Weld Blanchard
- 1924 US Men's Figure Skating championship won by Sherwin Badger
- 1924 US Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby resigns due to Teapot Dome scandal
- 1927 1st US radio broadcast of "Cities Service Concerts"
- 1927 US & Canada open diplomatic relations
- 1928 Sonja Henie of Norway wins the women’s figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympic Games; her first of 3 consecutive titles in the event
- 1928 USA 2 beats USA 1 by 0.5s for the 5-man bobsleigh gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Germany 2 takes bronze
- 1928 Johan Grøttumsbråten of Norway wins the Nordic combined gold at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; doubles up with the 18k cross country gold the previous day
- 1928 Norway goes 1-2 in the ski jumping at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics with Alf Andersen taking gold ahead of Sigmund Ruud
- 1930 Cow flown & milked, milk sealed in paper containers & parachuted
- 1930 Luigi Pirandello's "Come Tu Mi Vuoi" premieres in Milan
- 1930 Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart's "Simple Simon" premieres in NYC
- 1930 US astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto
- 1932 Japan declares Manchuria independent
- 1932 Sonja Henie wins her 6th straight World Women's figure skating title
- 1932 Japan proclaims and names Manchukuo state in north east China
- 1936 NHL record 32 points scored, NY Americans (28) & Mont Maroons (24)
- 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition opens on Treasure Island
- 1942 Japanese troop land on Bali
- 1943 1st edition of Dutch resistance newspaper "Trouw"
- 1943 Munich resistance group "White Rose" captured by Nazis
- 1943 William D Cox buys Philadelphia Phillies
- 1943 German Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbells demands "total war" from German citizens in speech at Berlin Sportpalast
- 1944 Maastricht resistance fighter JAJ Janssen arrested
- 1944 Youngest baseball player, Cincinnati Reds sign 15 year old Joe Nuxhall
- 1947 24 die in a train crash in Gallitzin, Pennsylvania
- 1947 Gian Carlo Menotti's opera "Telephone" premieres in NYC
- 1950 "Dance Me a Song" closes at Royale Theater NYC after 35 performances
- 1951 3 City College of NY basketball players admit to accepting bribes
- 1951 Nepal becomes a constitutional monarchy
- 1951 Netherlands Radio School forms
- 1952 4th Emmy Awards: first time awards presented based on nationwide basis, "The Red Skelton Show", Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca win
- 1952 Norwegian speed skater Hjalmar Anderson wins his 3rd gold medal of the Oslo Winter Olympics when he claims the 10,000m in Olympic record 16:45.8; also wins gold in 1,500m and 5,000m
- 1953 "Maggie" opens at National Theater NYC for 5 performances
- 1953 KOLN TV channel 10 in Lincoln, NB (CBS) begins broadcasting
- 1954 The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California
- 1955 Baghdad Pact signed, making Turkey & Iraq a defense alliance
- 1957 Dedan Kimathi, a Kenyan freedom fighter is executed by the British colonial government.
- 1960 VIII Winter Olympic Games open in Squaw Valley, California
- 1960 Walter O'Malley, LA Dodger owner, purchases Chavez Ravine for $494,000
- 1961 Henk van der Grift becomes world champion skater
- 1962 France & Algerian Muslims negotiate truce to end 7 year war
- 1962 4th Daytona 500: Race winner Fireball Roberts dominates the event, leading 144 of the 200 laps
- 1964 Muriel Resnik's "Any Wednesday" premieres in NYC
- 1964 Papandreou government takes power in Greece
- 1965 "Fade Out-Fade In" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 72 performances
- 1965 27 copper miners die in avalanche, Granduc Mountain, British Columbia
- 1965 Frank Gifford announces his retirement from football for broadcasting
- 1965 The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom
- 1967 Bob Seagren sets pole vault record at 17'3"
- 1967 Softball pitcher Eddie Feigner strikes out 6 straight major leaguers
- 1968 Thousands of people in West Berlin demonstrate against US involvement in the Vietnam War
- 1968 X Winter Olympic Games close in Grenoble, France
- 1968 Britain commences a trial of year-round daylight saving time (BST - British Standard Time, one hour ahead of GMT)
Event of Interest
1968 David Gilmour joins rock group Pink Floyd
Roger Waters
David Gilmour
- 1968 After winning men's luge singles Olympic gold medal in Innsbruck (1964), Thomas Köhler of Germany teams with Klaus Bonsack to take out the doubles in Grenoble
- 1969 Doug Walters scores 2nd innings century after 242 in 1st
- 1969 PLO-attack El-Al plane in Zurich Switzerland
- 1970 Chicago 7 defendants found innocent of inciting to riot
Event of Interest
1970 US President Richard Nixon launches the "Nixon doctrine"
Richard Nixon
Event of Interest
1972 John Lennon and Yoko Ono end a week of co-hosting Mike Douglas Show
John Lennon
Yoko Ono
- 1973 54-kg octopus measuring 7m across captured in Hood Canal, Washington
- 1973 Belgian Emiel Puttemans runs 3,000m indoor record 7:39.2
- 1973 15th Daytona 500: Richard Petty wins his 4th Great American Race by more than 2 laps from Bobby Isaac
- 1974 NASA launches Italian satellite San Marcos C-2 (235/843 km)
- 1974 US ambassador to India Daniel Moynihan present $2,046,700,000 check
Music Awards
Music Awards1975 2nd American Music Awards: Olivia Newton-John & John Denver win
Olivia Newton-John
John Denver
- 1975 Italy broadens abortion law
Event of Interest
1977 George Harrison releases "True Love"
George Harrison
- 1977 Space Shuttle above a Boeing 747 goes on its maiden flight
- 1977 Test Cricket debuts of Colin Croft & Joel Garner v Pakistan Bridgetown
- 1977 Kiss play their first concert in their hometown venue of Madison Square Garden in New York City
- 1978 1st Iron Man Triathlon (swim, bike ride, marathon) held, Kona, Hawaii
- 1979 -52°F (-47°C), Old Forge, New York (state record)
- 1979 Mini-series "Roots: Next Generations" premieres on ABC TV
- 1979 NASA launches space vehicle S-202
- 1979 President Zia ur-Rahman's National Party wins elections in Bangladesh
- 1979 Snow falls in Sahara Desert
- 1979 21st Daytona 500: Richard Petty wins (143.977 MPH)
- 1980 Billy Wyman said he will leave Rolling Stones in 1983 (Sure!)
- 1980 Pierre Elliott Trudeau's Liberal Party wins Canadian elections
- 1980 30th Berlin International Film Festival: "Heartland" and "Palermo or Wolfsburg" win the Golden Bear (tie)
- 1980 Soviet figure skater Irina Rodnina wins her 3rd consecutive Olympic pairs title at Lake Placid; gold medals with husband Alexander Zaitsev (1976, 80) and Alexei Ulanov (1972)
- 1980 East German cross country skier Barbara Petzold wins first of 2 gold medals at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics in women's 10k; also takes gold as part of 4 x 5k relay team
- 1981 20-year-old Edmonton center Wayne Gretzky becomes first player in NHL history to score 5 career hat-tricks before age 21; scores 5 goals and 2 assists in 9-2 Oilers' home win against St. Louis
- 1983 NBA Indiana Pacers begin a 28 game road losing streak
- 1983 Right wing Lanny McDonald becomes the first player in NHL franchise Calgary Flames' history to score 50 goals in a season in a 5-1 loss to Buffalo Sabres
- 1983 33rd Berlin International Film Festival: "Ascendancy" and "The Beehive" win the Golden Bear (tie)
- 1984 Revised concordat between Italy & Vatican signed
- 1984 Finnish cross-country skier Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen wins the 20k gold medal at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; sweeps all 3 individual events, also winning 5k and 10k events
- 1984 East German figure skater Katarina Witt wins first of 2 consecutive women's singles gold medals at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; also wins gold in Calgary (1988)
- 1984 Finnish ski jumper Matti Nykänen wins first of 4 career Olympic gold medals in the Large Hill individual event at the Sarajevo Winter Games
- 1986 San Antonio's Alvin Robertson scores NBA 2nd quadruple double-20 pts, 11 rebounds, 10 assists & 10 steals against Phoenix
Event of Interest
1986 Anti-smoking ad airs for 1st time on TV, featuring Yul Brynner: he died of smoking-induced lung cancer on 10th October 1985
Yul Brynner
- 1988 Anthony Kennedy, sworn in as US Supreme Court Justice
- 1988 Federal Road Safety Corps is established in Nigeria
- 1989 Sherri Turner wins LPGA Orix Hawaiian Ladies Golf Open/Itoki Pro-Am
- 1989 "A Better Man" single released by Clint Black (Billboard Song of the Year 1989)
- 1990 Jane Crafter wins LPGA Phar-Mor at Inverrary Golf Tournament
- 1990 32nd Daytona 500: Derrike Cope wins (165.761 MPH)
Event of Interest
1991 Edmonton Oiler goalie Grant Fuhr returns to NHL after season-long suspension for substance abuse & shuts out NJ Devils 4-0
Grant Fuhr
Event of Interest
1996 First ODI for Kenya national cricket team in Cricket World Cup v India: Sachin Tendulkar scores 127*
Sachin Tendulkar
Event of Interest
1998 Andrea Bocelli makes his operatic debut as Rodolfo in "La bohème" at the Teatro Comunale in Cagliari
Andrea Bocelli
- 2000 Stjepan Mesić becomes the second President of Croatia
Event of Interest
2001 FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison
Robert Hanssen
- 2001 Crash during Daytona 500 race on last lap claims life of Dale Earnhardt, prompting sport to implement new safety procedures
- 2001 43rd Daytona 500: Michael Waltrip wins (161.783 MPH)
- 2003 Comet C/2002 V1 (NEAT) makes perihelion, seen by SOHO.
- 2003 Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea
- 2004 Up to 295 people, including nearly 200 rescue workers, die near Neyshabur in Iran when a run-away freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertiliser catches fire and explodes.
Event of Interest
2004 Greg Maddux signs with the Chicago Cubs, the team he began his career with
Greg Maddux
NBA All-Star Game
NBA All-Star Game2007 56th NBA All-Star Game, Thomas & Mack Center, Paradise, NV: West beats East, 153-132; MVP: Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers, F
Kobe Bryant
Knighthood
Knighthood2009 English fantasy author Terry Pratchett receives a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace
Terry Pratchett
Elizabeth II
Event of Interest
2010 Bibliothèque nationale de France purchases the memoirs of Giacomo Casanova a for €7 million
Giacomo Casanova
Revolution in Ukraine
Revolution in Ukraine2014 Ukrainian Revolution of 2014 begins as protesters, riot police and unknown shooters take part in violent events in the capital, Kiev, culminating after five days in the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych
More >>
Event of Interest
2016 Pope Francis questions US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump's Christianity over his call to build a wall on the Mexican border
Pope Francis
Donald Trump
- 2017 67th Berlin International Film Festival: Hungarian film "On Body and Soul" wins the Golden Bear
NBA All-Star Game
2018 NBA All Star Game, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA: Team LeBron beats Team Curry, 148-145; MVP: LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers, F
LeBron James
- 2018 Frenchman Martin Fourcade wins his 2nd of 3 gold medals at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the 15k mass start biathlon; also wins men's 12.5k pursuit & mixed relay
- 2018 Aseman Airlines flight crashes in the Zagros mountains, Iran, killing all 66 on board
- 2018 Syrian government forces begin a new offensive on Eastern Ghouta in Syria's civil war
- 2018 60th Daytona 500: Austin Dillon driving for Richard Childress Racing wins in a Chevrolet Camero ZL1
- 2018 71st British Academy Film Awards (Baftas): "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri " Best Film, Guillermo del Toro Best Director, Best Actors Frances McDormand / Gary Oldman
- 2018 After taking out the men's combined gold medal, Austrian alpine skier Marcel Hirscher wins the giant slalom at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics
- 2019 American snowboarder David Wise wins first of 2 consecutive Olympic halfpipe gold medals in Sochi; wins again in Pyeongchang (2018)
Articles on Events in February
![Nat King Cole's Struggle With Racism]()
Nat King Cole's Struggle With Racism
Sure, he had unique talent and a golden voice, but as Nat King Cole, who died on this day, was to discover, that wasn't enough for American racists.
February 15, 1965![A Deadly Bite, Or King Tut's Revenge?]()
A Deadly Bite, Or King Tut's Revenge?
It was one of the most spectacular archaeological finds – but was the disturbed Tutankhamun a sleeping tiger?
February 16, 1923![Buried at Sea: The Casket That Carried JFK]()
Buried at Sea: The Casket That Carried JFK
John F. Kennedy's aides struggling to load the casket containing the slain President aboard Air Force One is an enduring image. But what happened to the casket?
February 18, 1966![Final Deadly Performance of a Twisted Actor]()
Final Deadly Performance of a Twisted Actor
From a celebrated family of actors came a young man with a twisted mind whose last performance involved the death of a president.
February 20, 1817
