From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 333 days remaining until the end of the year (334 in leap years).

Events

• 1327 – Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
• 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn, Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).
• 1587 – The Colony of Roanoke Island was established by the landing of Sir Walter Raleigh. This Colony would become known as the "Lost Colony"
• 1662 – The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
• 1713 – The Kalabalik or Tumult in Bendery results from the Ottoman sultan's order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.
• 1790 – In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States attempts to convene for the first time.
• 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
• 1796 – The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.
• 1814 – Mayon Volcano, in the Philippines, erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano.
• 1851 – Honduras and El Salvador, during their invasion of Guatemala, are repelled at the Battle of La Arada.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
• 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
• 1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
• 1893 – Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.
• 1896 – The opera La bohème receives its premiere in Turin.
• 1897 – Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.
• 1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal and his son, Prince Luis Filipe are killed in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon.
• 1918 – Russia adopts the Gregorian Calendar.
• 1920 – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police begins operations.
• 1924 – The United Kingdom recognizes the USSR.
• 1942 – World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.
• 1946 – Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.
• 1957 – Felix Wankel's first working prototype DKM 54 of the Wankel engine runs at the NSU research and development department Versuchsabteilung TX in Germany
• 1958 – Egypt and Syria merge to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961.
• 1958 – The United States Army launches Explorer 1.
• 1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
• 1965 – The Hamilton River in Labrador, Canada is renamed the Churchill River in honour of Winston Churchill.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan is videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams. This image helped build opposition to the Vietnam War.
• 1968 – Canada's three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.
• 1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form the ill-fated Penn Central Transportation.
• 1972 – Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
• 1974 – A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in Sao Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.
• 1974 – Kuala Lumpur is declared a Federal Territory.
• 1978 – Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees the United States to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
• 1979 – Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence is commuted by President Jimmy Carter.
• 1979 – The Ayatollah Khomeini is welcomed back to Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.
• 1982 – Senegal and the Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia.
• 1985 – Maybell, Colorado reaches a record low of -61 degrees.
• 1989 – The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
• 1992 – The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal Disaster case.
• 1993 – Gary Bettman becomes the NHL's first commissioner
• 1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
• 1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne became the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.
• 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
  

  

  STS-107 reentry
• 2004 – 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured in a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
• 2004 – Janet Jackson's breast is exposed during the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, resulting in US broadcasters adopting a stronger adherence to Federal Communications Commission censorship guidelines.
• 2005 – King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d'état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.
• 2009 – Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay head of state in the modern world.

Births

• 1261 – Walter de Stapledon, English bishop (d. 1326)
• 1459 – Conrad Celtes, German scholar (d. 1508)
• 1462 – Johannes Trithemius, German cryptographer (d. 1516)
• 1552 – Edward Coke, English jurist and Member of Parliament (d. 1634)
• 1635 – Marquard Gude, German archaeologist (d. 1689)
• 1659 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (d. 1729)
• 1663 – Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, Filipino foundress of the Religious of the Virgin Mary (d. 1748)
• 1690 – Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian composer (d. 1768)
• 1761 – Christian Hendrik Persoon, South African mycologist (d. 1836)
• 1763 – Thomas Campbell, Irish theologian (d. 1854)
• 1796 – Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss poet (d. 1865)
• 1801 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer (d. 1881)
• 1820 – George Hendric Houghton, American Protestant Episcopal clergyman (d. 1897)
• 1841 – William Davenport, American magician (d. 1877)
• 1844 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (d. 1924)
• 1851 – Durham Stevens, American diplomat (d. 1908)
• 1859 – Victor Herbert, Irish composer (d. 1924)
• 1872 – Jerome F. Donovan, American politician (d. 1949)
• 1872 – Andrew Kehoe, American mass murderer (d. 1927)
• 1873 – Joseph Allard, Canadian fiddler (d. 1947)
• 1873 – John Barry, Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1901)
• 1874 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian writer (d. 1929)
• 1878 – Milan Hodža, Slovak politician (d. 1944)
• 1882 – Louis Stephen St. Laurent, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1973)
• 1884 – Bradbury Robinson, who threw the first forward pass in American football history in 1906 (d. 1949)
• 1884 – Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian writer (d. 1937)
• 1887 – Charles Nordhoff, English-born author (d. 1947)
• 1894 – John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973)
• 1894 – James P. Johnson, American composer (d. 1955)
• 1895 – Conn Smythe, Canadian builder of the National Hockey League (d. 1980)
• 1897 – Denise Robins (aka Francesca Wright, Ashley French, Harriet Gray, Julia Kane) British romance novelist (d. 1985)
• 1901 – Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)
• 1901 – Frank Buckles, last surviving American veteran of World War I
• 1902 – Langston Hughes American writer (d. 1967)
• 1902 – Therese Brandl, Nazi concentration camp guard (d. 1947)
• 1904 – S. J. Perelman, American humorist (d. 1979)
• 1905 – Emilio G. Segrè, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1989)
• 1906 – Hildegarde, American actress and singer (d. 2005)
• 1907 – Günter Eich, German lyricist (d. 1972)
• 1907 – Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer (d. 1993)
• 1908 – George Pál, Hungarian-born director and producer (d. 1980)
• 1909 – George Beverly Shea, Canadian singer
• 1910 – Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Tibetan politician (d. 2009)
• 1915 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer (d. 2000)
• 1917 – Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player (d. 1944)
• 1918 – Muriel Spark, Scottish author (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano (d. 2004)
• 1921 – Peter Sallis, English actor
• 1924 – H. Richard Hornberger, American writer (d. 1997)
• 1924 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman and author
• 1928 – Stuart Whitman, American actor
• 1930 – Shahabuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh
• 1930 – Mario Beaulieu, Canadian politician (d. 1998)
• 1930 – Hossain Mohammad Ershad, Bangladeshi politician
• 1931 – Boris Yeltsin, 1st President of the Russian Federation (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Iajuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh
• 1932 – Jan Ramberg, Swedish law professor, and arbitration court judge
• 1934 – Bob Shane, American folk singer (The Kingston Trio)
• 1936 – Azie Taylor Morton, 35th Treasurer of the United States (d. 2003)
• 1937 – Don Everly, American musician (Everly Brothers)
• 1937 – Garrett Morris, American comedian
• 1937 – Ray Sawyer, American singer (Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show)
• 1938 – Sherman Hemsley, American comedian and actor
• 1939 – Fritjof Capra, Austrian physicist
• 1939 – Claude François, French singer (d. 1978)
• 1939 – Paul Gillmor, American politician (d. 2007)
• 1939 – Joe Sample, American jazz pianist
• 1940 – Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
• 1940 – Hervé Filion, Quebec harness racer
• 1941 – Karl Dall, German television host
• 1941 – Jerry Spinelli, children's author
• 1942 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor and writer
• 1942 – Muna Wassef, Syrian/Arab actress and United Nations Goodwill ambassador.
• 1944 – Mike Enzi, American politician, senior senator from Wyoming
• 1944 – Burkhard Ziese, German football manager
• 1945 – Serge Joyal, French Canadian politician
• 1946 – Chris Clark, Motown Soul singer
• 1947 – Mike Brant, Israeli pop singer (d. 1975)
• 1947 – Normie Rowe, Australian singer
• 1947 – Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983)
• 1948 – Rick James, American musician and composer (d. 2004)
• 1948 – Elisabeth Sladen, British actress
• 1950 – Mike Campbell, American guitarist and producer
• 1951 – Sonny Landreth, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1952 – Jenő Jandó, Hungarian pianist
• 1953 – Brendan Batson, English former footballer
• 1954 – Chuck Dukowski, American musician (Black Flag)
• 1954 – Bill Mumy, American actor and musician
• 1955 – Ernie Camacho, baseball player
• 1956 – Brahmanandam, Indian film actor
• 1956 – Exene Cervenka, American musician
• 1956 – Mike Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1958 – Jackie Shroff, Indian actor
• 1958 – Ryo Horikawa, Japanese voice actor
• 1958 – Luther Blissett, English footballer
• 1961 – Volker Fried, German field hockey player
• 1961 – Daniel Tani, NASA astronaut
• 1962 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2004)
• 1962 – Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese guitarist
• 1963 – Takashi Murakami, Japanese artist
• 1964 – Mario Pelchat, Quebec singer
• 1964 – Linus Roache, English actor
• 1965 – Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
• 1965 – Brandon Lee, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1965 – Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
• 1966 – Michelle Akers, American soccer player
• 1966 – Vasilis Dimitriadis, Greek footballer
• 1966 – Rob Lee, English footballer
• 1967 – Meg Cabot, American author
• 1967 – Patle Shishupal Natthu, Indian politician
• 1968 – Lisa Marie Presley, American singer and actress
• 1968 – Pauly Shore, American comedian
• 1968 – Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1968 – Kent Mercker, American baseball player
• 1969 – Gabriel Batistuta, Argentine footballer
• 1969 – Joshua Redman, American musician
• 1969 – Brian Krause, American actor
• 1969 – Patrick Wilson, American musician (Weezer)
• 1970 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player (d. 2000)
• 1970 – Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese racing driver
• 1971 – Michael C. Hall, American actor
• 1971 – Jill Kelly, American porn actress
• 1971 – Ron Welty, American musician
• 1971 – Zlatko Zahovič, Slovenian footballer
• 1971 – Ajay Jadeja, Former Indian cricketer
• 1972 – Yoshi DeHerrera, American TV personality
• 1972 – Kami (musician), drummer of Japanese visual kei band Malice Mizer (d. 1999)
• 1973 – Yuri Landman, Experimental musical instrument builder, musician and comic book artist
• 1973 – Makiko Ohmoto, Japanese voice actress
• 1974 – Roberto Heras, Spanish cyclist
• 1974 – David Meca, Spanish long distance swimmer
• 1974 – Walter McCarty, American basketball player
• 1975 – Big Boi, American musician (Outkast)
• 1975 – Katerina Thanou, Greek sprinter
• 1976 – Phil Ivey, American poker player
• 1977 – Kevin Kilbane, Irish footballer
• 1977 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player
• 1978 – Tim Harding, Australian singer (Hi-5)
• 1979 – Julie Augustyniak, American soccer player
• 1979 – Juan Silveira dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
• 1979 – Valentin Elizalde, Mexican Singer (d. 2006)
• 1979 – Rachelle LeFevre, Canadian actress
• 1980 – Héctor Luna, Dominican Republic baseball player
• 1980 – Moisés Muñoz, Mexican footballer
• 1980 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2005)
• 1981 – Luis Lamá, Angolan footballer
• 1981 – Graeme Smith, South African cricketer
• 1981 – Rob Austin, British racing driver
• 1982 – Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer
• 1982 – Gavin Henson Welsh rugby player
• 1983 – Kevin Martin, American basketball player
• 1983 – Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Belgian cyclist
• 1984 – Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer
• 1984 – Lee Thompson Young, American actor
• 1985 – Jodi Gordon, Australian actress and model
• 1985 – Rachael Scdoris, American dog musher
• 1985 – Dean Shiels, Northern Irish footballer
• 1986 – Lauren Conrad, American reality TV personality
• 1987 – Giuseppe Rossi, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Wu Jingyu, Chinese taekwondo practitioner.
• 1990 – Laura Marling, British singer-songwriter

Deaths

• 1248 – Henry II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1207)
• 1328 – King Charles IV of France (b. 1294)
• 1542 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1480)
• 1563 – Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia (died of fever) (b. 1559)
• 1590 – Lawrence Humphrey,English clergyman and educator
• 1691 – Pope Alexander VIII (b. 1610)
• 1718 – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician (b. 1660)
• 1733 – King Augustus II of Poland (b. 1670)
• 1734 – John Floyer, English physician and writer (b. 1649)
• 1743 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer (b. 1657)
• 1761 – Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French historian (b. 1682)
• 1768 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, British cavalry officer (b. 1685)
• 1793 – William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman (b. 1717)
• 1832 – Archibald Murphey, North Carolina politician (b. 1777)
• 1850 – Edward Baker Lincoln, son of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (b. 1846)
• 1851 – Mary Shelley, English author (b. 1797)
• 1893 – George Henry Sanderson, Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1824)
• 1897 – Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist (b. 1826)
• 1903 – George Gabriel Stokes, Irish physicist (b. 1819)
• 1908 – King Carlos I of Portugal (b. 1863)
• 1922 – William Desmond Taylor, American silent film actor and director; his murder remains unsolved. (b. 1872)
• 1928 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
• 1936 – Georgios Kondylis, general of the Greek army and Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878)
• 1940 – Philip Francis Nowlan, science fiction writer, creator of Buck Rogers character (b. 1888)
• 1944 – Piet Mondriaan, Dutch painter (b. 1872)
• 1945 – Prince Kiril of Bulgaria, prince of Bulgaria (b. 1895)
• 1957 – Friedrich Paulus, German general (b. 1890)
• 1958 – Clinton Davisson, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1888)
• 1959 – Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (b. 1873)
• 1963 – Fleetwood Lindley, the last living person to see Abraham Lincoln's face (b. 1888)
• 1966 – Hedda Hopper, American film actress and gossip columnist (b. 1885)
• 1966 – Buster Keaton, American actor (b. 1895)
• 1970 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1921)
• 1976 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1901)
• 1976 – George Whipple, American scientist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1878)
• 1980 – Gastone Nencini, Italian cyclist (b. 1930)
• 1981 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American aircraft manufacturer (b. 1892)
• 1981 – Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer (b. 1908)
• 1986 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1902)
• 1986 – Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)
• 1987 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian film director (b. 1900)
• 1988 – Heather O'Rourke, American actress (b. 1975)
• 1989 – Elaine de Kooning, American artist (b. 1918)
• 1991 – Carol Dempster, American actress (b. 1901)
• 1991 – Phil Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
• 1997 – Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist (b. 1916)
• 1999 – Paul Mellon, American philanthropist (b. 1907)
• 2001 – André D'Allemagne, Quebec teacher, political observer and essayist (b. 1929)
• 2002 – Hildegard Knef, German actress, singer, and writer (b. 1925)
• 2003 – Crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster):
  • Michael P. Anderson (b. 1959)
  • David Brown (b. 1956)
  • Kalpana Chawla (b. 1961)
  • Laurel Clark (b. 1961)
  • Rick D. Husband (b. 1957)
  • Willie McCool (b. 1961)
  • Ilan Ramon (b. 1954)
• 2003 – Mongo Santamaria, Cuban percussionist and band leader (b. 1922)
• 2004 – May O'Donnell, American modern dancer and choreographer (b. 1909)
• 2005 – John Vernon, Canadian actor (b. 1932)
• 2006 – Dick Bass, American football player (b. 1937)
• 2006 – Bryce Harland, New Zealand diplomat (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-born composer (b. 1911)
• 2007 – Seri Wangnaitham, Thai dance choreographer (b. 1937)
• 2007 – Whitney Balliett, American jazz critic (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Ray Berres, American baseball player (b. 1907)
• 2007 – Ahmad Abu Laban, Danish Muslim leader (b. 1946)
• 2008 – Beto Carrero, Brazilian theme park owner and entertainer (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances

• Anniversary of the Abolition of Slavery (Mauritius)
• Christian Feast Day
  • Astina (Syrian Church)
  • Brigid, patron saint of Ireland
• Federal Territory Day (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, Malaysia)
• Imbolc (Celtic Calendar)
• National Freedom Day (United States)
• The start of Black History Month (United States and Canada)
• The start of LGBT History Month (United Kingdom)
• February 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

From Wikiquote

Quotes of the day from previous years:

2005

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. ~ American proverb

• selected by Kalki

2006

I've known rivers:
I've known rivers ancient as the world and older than the
flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.
~ Langston Hughes ~ (born 1 February 1902)

• selected by Kalki

2007

I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.
~ Langston Hughes ~

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2008

Reason is the life of the law; nay, the common law itself is nothing else but reason. ~ Edward Coke

• proposed by InvisibleSun

2009

Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.
~ Langston Hughes ~

• proposed by Kalki

2010

Suggestions

When you turn the corner
And you run into yourself
Then you know that you have turned
All the corners that are left.
~ Langston Hughes (born February 1, 1902)

• 3 InvisibleSun 07:42, 31 January 2007 (UTC)
• 3 Kalki 16:05, 3 February 2007 (UTC)
• 2 Zarbon 21:37, 22 April 2008 (UTC)

The law is the surest sanctuary, that a man should take, and the strongest fortresse to protect the weakest of all. ~ Edward Coke (born February 1, 1552)

• 3 InvisibleSun 06:48, 31 January 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 21:37, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
• 2 Kalki 18:09, 31 January 2009 (UTC)

What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over
like a syrupy sweet?
Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.
Or does it explode?
~ Langston Hughes ~

• 3 Kalki 02:03, 1 February 2008 (UTC)
• 1 Zarbon 21:37, 22 April 2008 (UTC)
• 3 InvisibleSun 23:10, 31 January 2009 (UTC)

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Games released on February 1.

From Wikia Gaming, your source for walkthroughs, games, guides, and more!

Game releases

• 2005
  • Forza Motorsport for the Xbox in North America

Other

• 2006
  • The AAID released a statement about the game Gun saying that its depiction of Native Americans was negative and stereotypical, also calling for a boycott.
• 2005
  • DICE 2005 is held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

From Familypedia

February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 333 days remaining until the end of the year (334 in leap years).

Events

• 1327 - Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
• 1411 - Peace of Toruń 1411 signed in Toruń, Poland
• 1662 - The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
• 1713 - The Kalabalik or Tumult in Bendery results from the Ottoman sultan's order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.
• 1788 - Isaac Briggs and William Longstreet patent the steamboat.
• 1790 - In New York City the Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time.
• 1793 - French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
• 1796 - The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.
• 1814 - Mayon Volcano, in the Philippines, erupts, killing around 1,200 people; most devastating eruption of Mayon Volcano.
• 1856 - Auburn University is chartered as the East Alabama Male College.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
• 1862 - Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is published for the first time in the Atlantic Monthly.
• 1880 - The first edition of theatrical newspaper The Stage is published.
• 1884 - Edition one of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
• 1893 - Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria (West Orange).
• 1896 - The opera La bohème premieres (Turin).
• 1897 - Shinhan Bank (former CHB), oldest bank in South Korea, opened in Seoul.
• 1908 - King Carlos I of Portugal and his son, Prince Luis Filipe are killed in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon.
• 1913 - New York City's Grand Central Terminal opens as the world's largest train station.
• 1918 - Russia adopts the Gregorian Calendar.
• 1920 - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police begin operations.
• 1924 - United Kingdom recognizes USSR.
• 1929 - Frenchman Charles Rigoulet is the first weightlifter to lift over 400 pounds (181 kg) in the "clean and jerk" method.
• 1943 - World War II: Vidkun Quisling is appointed Premier of Norway by the Nazi occupiers.
• 1946 - Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.
• 1957 - Felix Wankel's first working prototype DKM 54 of the Wankel engine was running at the NSU research and development department Versuchsabteilung TX in Germany
• 1958 - Merger of Egypt and Syria to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961.
• 1960 - Four black students stage a sit-in at a lunch counter in Greensboro.
• 1965 - Churchill River, Newfoundland - Hamilton River in Labrador renamed Churchill River in honour of Winston Churchill.
• 1968 - Vietnam War: Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem is executed by Nguyen Ngoc Loan a South Vietnamese National Police Chief. The execution was videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams and helped sway public opinion against the war.
• 1968 - Official unification of the three military services of Canada, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, into the Canadian Forces.
• 1968 - Merger of the historic New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad to form ill-fated Penn Central Transportation.
• 1969 - Saturday mail delivery in Canada eliminated.
• 1972 - Kuala Lumpur became a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
• 1974 - Joelma Building fire - a fire in a 25-story office building kills 189 and injures 293 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
• 1974 - Kuala Lumpur declared a Federal Territory.
• 1978 - Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
• 1979 - Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter.
• 1979 - Ayatollah Khomeini is welcomed back into Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.
• 1981 - Trevor Chappell bowls his infamous "Underarm Ball" to Brian McKechnie to prevent New Zealand scoring a 6, and tying the ODI, on the last ball of the third match in the final of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup. It directly led to the banning of underarm bowling by the International Cricket Council as not within the spirit of the game.
• 1982 - Senegal and Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia.
• 1982 - David Letterman begins an 11-year run as the host of the NBC program Late Night with David Letterman.
• 1989 - The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
• 1992 - The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal Disaster case.
• 1994 - In Portland Tonya Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly pleads guilty for his role in attacking figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.
• 1996 - The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
• 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
• 2004 - 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured in a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
• 2005 - Nepal King Gyanendra exercises Coup d'état to capture the democracy becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.
• 2005 - Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act, making Canada the fourth country to sanction same-sex marriage.

Births

• 1261 - Walter de Stapledon, English bishop (d. 1326)
• 1459 - Conrad Celtes, German scholar (d. 1508)
• 1462 - Johannes Trithemius, German cryptographer (d. 1516)
• 1552 - Edward Coke, English colonial entrepreneur (d. 1634)
• 1635 - Marquard Gude, German archaeologist (d. 1689)
• 1690 - Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian composer (d. 1768)
• 1761 - Christian Hendrik Persoon, South African mycologist (d. 1836)
• 1796 - Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss poet (d. 1865)
• 1801 - Émile Littré, French lexicographer (d. 1881)
• 1820 - George Hendric Houghton, American Protestant Episcopal clergyman (d. 1897)
• 1844 - G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (d. 1924)
• 1851 - Durham Stevens, American diplomat (d. 1908)
• 1859 - Victor Herbert, Irish composer (d. 1924)
• 1872 - Jerome F. Donovan, American politician (d. 1949)
• 1872 - Andrew Kehoe, American mass murderer (d. 1927)
• 1873 - John Barry, Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1901)
• 1874 - Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian writer (d. 1929)
• 1878 - Milan Hodža, Slovak politician (d. 1944)
• 1882 - Louis Stephen St. Laurent, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1973)
• 1884 - Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian writer (d. 1937)
• 1887 - Charles Nordhoff, English-born author (d. 1947)
• 1894 - John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973)
• 1894 - James P. Johnson, American composer (d. 1955)
• 1895 - Conn Smythe, Canadian builder of the National Hockey League (d. 1980)
• 1901 - Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)
• 1902 - Langston Hughes American writer (d. 1967)
• 1902 - Therese Brandl, Nazi concentration camp guard (d. 1947)
• 1904 - S. J. Perelman, American humorist (d. 1979)
• 1905 - Emilio G. Segrè, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1989)
• 1906 - Hildegarde, American actress and singer (d. 2005)
• 1907 - Günter Eich, German lyricist (d. 1972)
• 1907 - Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer (d. 1993)
• 1908 - George Pál, Hungarian-born director and producer (d. 1980)
• 1909 - George Beverly Shea, Canadian singer
• 1915 - Stanley Matthews, English football player (d. 2000)
• 1918 - Muriel Spark, Scottish author (d. 2006)
• 1922 - Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano (d. 2004)
• 1924 - H. Richard Hornberger, American writer (d. 1997)
• 1926 - Stuart Whitman, American actor
• 1930 - Shahabuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh
• 1930 - Mario Beaulieu, Quebec politician (d. 1998)
• 1931 - Boris Yeltsin, 1st President of the Russian Federation (d. 2007)
• 1931 - Iajuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh
• 1934 - Bob Shane, American folk singer (The Kingston Trio)
• 1936 - Azie Taylor Morton, 35th Treasurer of the United States (d. 2003)
• 1937 - Don Everly, American musician (Everly Brothers)
• 1937 - Garrett Morris, American comedian
• 1937 - Ray Sawyer, American singer (Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show)
• 1938 - Sherman Hemsley, American comedian and actor
• 1939 - Claude François, French singer (d. 1978)
• 1939 - Paul Gillmor, American politician (d. 2007)
• 1940 - Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
• 1940 - Hervé Filion, Quebec harness racer
• 1941 - Karl Dall, German television host
• 1941 - Jerry Spinelli, children's author
• 1942 - Terry Jones, Welsh actor and writer
• 1944 - Burkhard Ziese, German football manager
• 1945 - Serge Joyal, French Canadian politician
• 1947 - Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983)
• 1948 - Rick James, American musician and composer (d. 2004)
• 1948 - Elisabeth Sladen, British actress
• 1950 - Mike Campbell, American guitarist and producer
• 1953 - Brendan Batson, English former footballer
• 1953 - Duane Chapman, American TV personality
• 1954 - Chuck Dukowski, American musician (Black Flag)
• 1954 - Bill Mumy, American actor and musician
• 1955 - Ernie Camacho, baseball player
• 1956 - Exene Cervenka, American musician
• 1956 - Mike Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1958 - Jackie Shroff, Indian actor
• 1958 - Luther Blissett, English footballer
• 1961 - Volker Fried, German field hockey player
• 1962 - José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2004)
• 1962 - Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese guitarist
• 1964 - Linus Roache, English actor
• 1965 - Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
• 1965 - Brandon Lee, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1965 - Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
• 1965 - Noah Blake, American actor and reality series star
• 1966 - Michelle Akers, American soccer player
• 1966 - Rob Lee, English footballer
• 1967 - Patle Shishupal Natthu, Indian politician
• 1968 - Lisa Marie Presley, American singer and actress
• 1968 - Pauly Shore, American comedian
• 1968 - Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1968 - Kent Mercker, American baseball player
• 1969 - Gabriel Batistuta, Argentine footballer
• 1969 - Joshua Redman, American musician
• 1969 - Brian Krause, American actor
• 1969 - Patrick Wilson, American musician
• 1970 - Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese racing driver
• 1971 - Michael C. Hall, American actor
• 1971 - Jill Kelly, American porn actress
• 1971 - Ron Welty, American musician
• 1971 - Zlatko Zahovič, Slovenian footballer
• 1972 - Yoshi DeHerrera, American TV personality
• 1972 - Kami, Full name Kamimura Ukyou, Drummer of the Japanese visual kei band Malice Mizer
• 1973 - Yuri Landman, Experimental musical instrument builder, musician and comic book artist
• 1973 - Makiko Ohmoto, Japanese voice actress
• 1974 - Roberto Heras, Spanish cyclist
• 1974 - David Meca, Spanish long distance swimmer
• 1975 - Big Boi, American musician (Outkast)
• 1975 - Katerina Thanou, Greek sprinter
• 1976 - Phil Ivey, American poker player
• 1977 - Kevin Kilbane, Irish footballer
• 1979 - Julie Augustyniak, American soccer player
• 1979 - Juan Silveira dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
• 1979 - Valentin Elizalde, Mexican Singer (d.2006)
• 1980 - Héctor Luna, Dominican Republic baseball player
• 1980 - Moisés Muñoz, Mexican footballer
• 1980 - Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2005)
• 1981 - Luis Lamá, Angolan footballer
• 1981 - Graeme Smith, South African cricketer
• 1981 - Rob Austin, British racing driver
• 1982 - Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer
• 1983 - Kevin Martin, American basketball player
• 1984 - Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer
• 1984 - Lee Thompson Young, American actor
• 1985 - Dean Shiels, Northern Irish footballer
• 1985 - Rachael Scdoris, American dog musher
• 1985 - Jodi Gordon, Australian actress and model
• 1986 - Lauren Conrad, American TV star

Deaths

• 1248 - Henry II (b. 1207)
• 1328 - King Charles IV of France (b. 1294)
• 1542 - Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1480)
• 1563 - Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia (died of fever)
• 1590 - Lawrence Humphrey,English clergyman and educator
• 1691 - Pope Alexander VIII (b. 1610)
• 1718 - Charles Talbot, English politician (b. 1660)
• 1733 - King Augustus II of Poland (b. 1670)
• 1734 - John Floyer, English physician and writer (b. 1649)
• 1743 - Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer (b. 1657)
• 1761 - Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French historian (b. 1682)
• 1768 - Sir Robert Rich, British cavalry officer (b. 1685)
• 1793 - William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman (b. 1717)
• 1832 - Archibald Murphey, North Carolina politician (b. 1777)
• 1851 - Mary Shelley, English author (b. 1797)
• 1893 - George Henry Sanderson, Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1824)
• 1897 - Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist (b. 1826)
• 1903 - George Gabriel Stokes, Irish physicist (b. 1819)
• 1908 - King Carlos I of Portugal (b. 1863)
• 1928 - Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
• 1936 - Georgios Kondylis, general of the Greek army and Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878)
• 1944 - Piet Mondriaan, Dutch painter (b. 1872)
• 1957 - Friedrich Paulus, German general (b. 1890)
• 1958 - Clinton Davisson, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1888)
• 1959 - Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (b. 1873)
• 1963 - Fleetwood Lindley, the last living person to see Abraham Lincoln's face (b. 1888)
• 1966 - Hedda Hopper, American gossip columnist (b. 1885)
• 1966 - Buster Keaton, American actor (b. 1895)
• 1970 - Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1921)
• 1976 - Werner Heisenberg, German physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1901)
• 1976 - George Whipple, American scientist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1878)
• 1980 - Gastone Nencini, Italian cyclist (b. 1930)
• 1981 - Donald Wills Douglas, American aircraft manufacturer (b. 1892)
• 1981 - Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer (b. 1908)
• 1986 - Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1902)
• 1986 - Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)
• 1988 - Heather O'Rourke, American actress (b. 1975)
• 1989 - Elaine de Kooning, American artist (b. 1918)
• 1991 - Carol Dempster, American actress (b. 1901)
• 1991 - Phil Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
• 1997 - Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist (b. 1916)
• 1999 - Paul Mellon, American philanthropist (b. 1907)
• 2001 - André D'Allemagne, Quebec teacher, political observer and essayist (b. 1929)
• 2002 - Hildegard Knef, German actress, singer, and writer (b. 1925)
• 2003 - The crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster), astronauts:
  • Michael P. Anderson (b. 1959)
  • David Brown (b. 1956)
  • Kalpana Chawla (b. 1961)
  • Laurel Clark (b. 1961)
  • Rick D. Husband (b. 1957)
  • Willie McCool (b. 1961)
  • Ilan Ramon (b. 1954)
• 2003 - Mongo Santamaria, Cuban percussionist and band leader (b. 1922)
• 2005 - John Vernon, Canadian actor (b. 1932)
• 2006 - Dick Bass, American football player (b. 1937)
• 2006 - Bryce Harland, New Zealand diplomat (b. 1931)
• 2007 - Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-born composer (b. 1911)
• 2007 - Seri Wangnaitham, Thai dance choreographer (b. 1937)
• 2007 - Whitney Balliett, American jazz critic (b. 1926)
• 2007 - Ray Berres, American baseball player (b. 1907)
• 2007 - Ahmad Abu Laban, Danish Muslim leader (b. 1946)

Holidays and observances

• The start of Black History Month in the United States.
• Imbolc - the first day of Spring in Ireland (Irish Calendar) and one of the four Gaelic seasonal (and sometimes religious) festivals. Also part of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year.
• The start of LGBT History Month in the United Kingdom.

Religious observances

• Astina
• St. Brigid, patron saint of Ireland. Feast day in the Roman Catholic Church.

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day

• On This Day in Canada