|
What happened in history on this day: February 13?
On February 13 in ...
- 1130 - Gregorio de' Papareschi elected as Pope Innocent II.
- 1130 - Honorius II [Lamberto], Pope (1124-30), dies.
- 1199 - Stefanus Nemanja (Symeon) monk, dies.
- 1237 - Jordanus of Saxon second general of Dominicans, drowns.
- 1315 - Jean I of Chalon-Arlay mayor of Neuchâtel, dies.
- 1332 - Andronicus II Paleologus Byzantine emperor (1282-1328)/monk, dies.
- 1349 - Jews are expelled from Burgsordf Switzerland.
- 1440 - Birth of Hartmann Schedel German physician/humanist/historian.
- 1469 - Birth of Elijah Levita in Neustadt an der Aisch (Germany); scholar of the Hebrew language, dictionaries and grammars (died in 1549 in Venice, Italy).
- 1480 - Birth of Hieronymus Aleander [Girólamo Aleandro], Italian diplomat/cardinal.
- 1510 - Charles of Gelre conquerors Oldenzaal.
- 1545 - Willem of Nassau becomes prince of Orange.
- 1599 - Birth of Alexander VII [Fabio Chigi], Siena Italy, pope (1655-67).
- 1601 - John Lancaster leads first East India Company voyage from London.
- 1602 - Alexander Nowell English churchman, dean of Saint Paul's, dies.
- 1610 - Birth of Jean de la Badie French divine, founder of the Lagardists.
- 1629 - Girolamo Giacobbi composer, dies at age 61.
- 1633 - Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for trial before Inquisition for professing belief that earth revolves around the Sun.
- 1635 - Georg R Weckerlin German poet, dies at age 50.
- 1635 - Oldest US public institution, Boston Latin School founded.
- 1651 - Flemish missionary Joris van Geel departs to Congo.
- 1660 - Sweden's King Karl X Gustav dies of a stroke in Göteborg.
- 1662 - Elisabeth Stuart English daughter of James I, dies at age 65.
- 1668 - Treaty of Lisbon Spain recognizes Portugal.
- 1678 - Tycho Brahe first sketches "Tychonic system" of solar system.
- 1682 - Birth of Giovanni Battista Piazzetta Venice, painter (Fortune Teller).
- 1689 - British Parliament adopts Bill of Rights.
- 1689 - A convention offers he English crown to Statholder William Henry, Prince of Orange, and wife Mary Stewart, as joint sovereign.
- 1692 - MacDonald clan murdered by Campbell clan on orders of King William III.
- 1693 - College of William and Mary opens.
- 1693 - Johann Kaspar von Kerll German composer, dies at age 65.
- 1706 - Battle at Fraustadt Swedish army beats Russia/Saksen.
- 1741 - Andrew Bedford publishes first American magazine (The American Magazine).
- 1755 - Rebel leader Mangkubuni signs Treaty of Gianti Java.
- 1756 - Birth of Joannes van der Linden lawyer/judge (Ware Pleiter).
- 1766 - Birth of Thomas Malthus Rookery in Surrey, Great Britain, economist/demographer/population expert (Law of Malthus).
- 1768 - Birth of Édouard Mortier French general, duke, prime minister (1834-35).
- 1782 - French fleet occupies Saint Christopher.
- 1784 - Death of Charles Gravier; French earl of Vergennes/Minister of Foreign Affairs.
- 1795 - First state university in US opens, University of North Carolina.
- 1798 - Death of Wilhelm H Wackenroder at age 24; German writer (Fantasies of Art).
- 1807 - Birth of Bartolommea Capitanio; Italian monastery founder (Liefdezusters).
- 1809 - French take Saragossa, Spain after a long siege.
- 1813 - Birth of Charles Pierre Schimpf; Governor of Suriname (1855-59).
- 1816 - Teatro San Carlo in Naples destroyed by fire.
- 1818 - George Rogers Clark, frontier military leader in American Revolutionary War, dies.
- 1826 - American Temperance Society forms in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1829 - Birth of Gerard Keller; writer (Netherlands Spectator).
- 1831 - Birth of John Aaron Rawlins; US Brevet Major General (Union Army) (dies 1869).
- 1832 - First appearance of cholera at London, England.
- 1833 - Birth of William Whedbee Kirkland; Brigadier General (Confederate Army) (dies 1915).
- 1837 - Riot in New York over high price of flour.
- 1852 - Birth of Johan L E Dreyer; Danish astronomer (New generation catalogue of nebulae).
- 1861 - Abraham Lincoln is declared President of the US.
- 1861 - Birth of Uchimura Kanzo in Tokyo, Japan; religious writer (How I Became a Christian).
- 1861 - US Colonel Bernard Irwin attacks and defeats hostile Chiricahua Indians.
- 1861 - First military action to result in Congressional Medal of Honor, Arizona.
- 1866 - Jesse James and his gang commit the first armed bank robbery (Liberty Missouri: US$15,000) in United States history during peacetime.
- 1867 - Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube" waltz premieres in Vienna, Austria.
- 1867 - Death of George Whitfield Hatch in Dobbs Ferry, New York, USA; designer and engraver of bank notes, president of American Bank Note Company.
- 1874 - Birth of Hendrik Spiekman; Dutch politician (social-democratic).
- 1875 - Birth of Kanouse quintuplets in Watertown, Wisconsin, USA; first quintuplets in US, born to Edna Kanouse.
- 1880 - Thomas Edison observes what is later called the Edison effect, leading to the first U.S. patent for an electronic device (U.S. Patent 307,031).
- 1881 - Birth of Eleanor Farjeon; English writer (Martin Pippin).
- 1882 - Henry Highland Garnet, diplomat, dies in Monrovia, Liberia at age 66.
- 1883 - Wilhelm Richard Wagner, German composer (Die Walküre), dies in Venice at age 69.
- 1886 - Birth of Ricardo Güiraldes in Argentina; novelist/poet (Don Segundo Sombra).
- 1887 - Birth of Alvin York; famed US soldier with 25 kills in WWI.
- 1888 - Birth of Georgios Papandreou; Greek prefect of Lesbos/minister/premier.
- 1891 - David Dixon Porter, US Rear Admiral (Union Army-Civil War), dies at age 77.
- 1892 - Birth of Grant Wood; US painter (American Gothic).
- 1892 - Birth of Robert Houghwout Jackson; 84th Supreme Court justice (1941-54).
- 1893 - Birth of Ana Pauker-Rabensohn in Romania; communist/foreign minister (1945-52).
- 1893 - Ignacio M Altamirano, Mexican author (El Zarco), dies at age 58.
- 1894 - Auguste and Louis Lumière patent the Cinematographe, a combination movie camera and projector.
- 1895 - Birth of Fred Essler in Austria; actor (Unsinkable Molly Brown, Saratoga Trunk).
- 1895 - Moving picture projector is patented.
- 1902 - Birth of Blair Moody in New Haven, Connecticut, USA; American politician (Senator-Michigan).
- 1902 - Birth of Karl Menger; Austrian/US mathematician (theory of dimension).
- 1903 - Birth of Georges Simenon in Belgium; mystery writer (Snow Was Black).
- 1905 - -29 degrees F (-34 degrees C) in Pond, Arkansas (state record low).
- 1905 - -40 degrees F (-40 degrees C) in Lebanon, Kansas (state record low).
- 1905 - -40 degrees F (-40 degrees C) in Warsaw, Missouri (state record low).
- 1907 - English suffragettes storm British Parliament and 60 women are arrested.
- 1908 - Birth of Pauline Frederick; journalist/correspondent (UN, NBC TV).
- 1908 - Birth of Sulo Nurmela in Finland; 4 X 100Km relay skier (Olympics-gold-1936).
- 1910 - Birth of William B Shockley in London, Englnd; US physicist (Nobel Prize 1956 - for research on semiconductors and discovery of the transistor effect along with John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain).
- 1912 - Birth of Jose de Capriles; US fencer (Olympics-1936, 1948, 1952).
- 1912 - Birth of Margaretta Scott; actress (Crescendo, Where's Charley, Counterblast).
- 1913 - Birth of Chuck Yeager in West Virginia, USA; US Air Force Brigidier General, World War II double ace, first commandant of the US Air Force's Aerospace Research Pilot School, flew 127 missions as commander of 405th Tactical Fighter Wing in the Vietnam War, first pilot to break sound barrier.
- 1914 - American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers-ASCAP forms in New York City, New York.
- 1914 - Birth of Earl Cadogan; British large landowner (Military Cross).
- 1914 - Birth of George Kleinsinger in San Bernardino, California, USA; composer (Tubby the Tuba).
- 1915 - Birth of Lyle Betther in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; actor (Harry - Grand Jury, Lone Ranger).
- 1916 - Birth of James Griffith in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Sheriff of Cochise).
- 1917 - Birth of Polly Rose; actress (Myrtle - Love That Jill).
- 1918 - Birth of Helen Stephens in Fulton, Missouri, USA; 100 metre runner (Olympics-gold-1936).
- 1918 - Birth of Patty Berg in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; LPGA golfer (1938 US Amateur, 1943, 1955 Associated Press Sports Woman of the Year).
- 1919 - Birth of Eddie Robinson; winningest college football coach (Grambling).
- 1919 - Birth of Joan Edwards in New York City, New York, USA; singer (Joan Edwards Show).
- 1919 - Birth of Tennessee Ernie Ford in Bristol, Tennessee, USA; country singer/actor (pea picker).
- 1920 - Birth of Bryant Boudleaux in Shellman, Georgia, USA; rock writer ("Bye Bye Love").
- 1920 - Birth of Eileen Farrell in Willimantic, Connecticut, USA; opera soprano (Interrupted Melody).
- 1920 - League of Nations recognizes perpetual neutrality of Switzerland.
- 1920 - US National Negro Baseball League is organized.
- 1920 - Switzerland rejoins League of Nations.
- 1922 - Birth of Lord Pym of Sandy; British minister of foreign affairs.
- 1923 - Birth of Chuck Yeager; American test pilot (first man to break sound barrier).
- 1924 - King Tut's tomb is opened.
- 1925 - US Congress makes Surpreme Court appeal more difficult.
- 1927 - Brooks Adams, US philosopher (New Empire), dies at age 78.
- 1927 - Uprising against Portuguese regime of General Carmona defeated.
- 1929 - Birth of Omar Torrijos Herrera; President of Panamá.
- 1929 - US Cruiser Act authorizes construction of 19 new cruisers and an aircraft carrier.
- 1930 - Birth of Dotty McGuire in Middletown, Ohio, USA; singer (McGuire Sisters).
- 1931 - Birth of Marjorie Jackson in Austria; 100 metre/200 metre dash (Olympics-gold-1952).
- 1931 - Phil Tobin introduces Assembly Bill 98 in Nevada legislature to allow licensed gambling on a variety of games. Gambling table games would be licensed at $75 per month each, and slot machines a $12.50 per month each. Cheating would be outlawed, and minor forbidden in gambling houses.
- 1933 - Birth of Caroline Blakiston; actress (At Bertram's Hotel).
- 1933 - Birth of Emanuel Ungaro in France; fashion designer (Neiman-Marcus Award-1969).
- 1933 - Birth of Kim Novak [Marilyn] in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actress (Vertigo, Of Human Bondage).
- 1933 - Birth of Paul Biya; President of Cameroon (1982-).
- 1934 - Austrian Engelbert Dollfuss government bans socialistic party.
- 1934 - Birth of George Segal; actor/banjo player (Carbon Copy, Fun with Dick and Jane).
- 1935 - First US surgical operation for relief of angina pectoris, in Cleveland, Ohio.
- 1935 - Bruno Hauptmann found guilty of kidnap and murder of Lindbergh's infant.
- 1935 - Violet Paget, British author (Gospels of Anarchy), dies at age 78.
- 1936 - Birth of Leamon King in Tulare, California, USA; 4X100 metre relayer (Olympics-gold-1956).
- 1937 - Prince Valiant comic strip first published; known for historical detail.
- 1937 - Birth of Sigmund Jähn in Germany; cosmonaut (Soyuz 31/29).
- 1937 - Birth of Susan Oliver in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Ann - Peyton Place, Star Trek).
- 1937 - Donald Bradman scores 123 South Africa versus Queensland, 165 minutes, 10-4 1-6 in cricket.
- 1937 - Maribel Vinson wins her 9th US figure skating championship.
- 1937 - NFL Boston Redskins move to Washington DC.
- 1937 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Robin Lee.
- 1938 - Birth of Oliver Reed in London, England; actor (The Big Sleep).
- 1939 - Birth of Valeri Illyich in Rozhdestvensky, USSR; cosmonaut (Soyuz 23).
- 1940 - Donald Bradman scores 209 in 161 minutes for South Australia at the WACA.
- 1941 - Birth of Bo Svenson in Göteborg, Sweden; actor (North Dallas 40, Walking Tall).
- 1941 - Nazi leaders attack Dutch Jewish Council.
- 1942 - Birth of Carol Lynley in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Night Stalker, Fantasy Island, Immortal).
- 1942 - Birth of Donald E Williams in Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Captain US Navy/astronaut (STS 51D, STS 34).
- 1942 - Birth of Peter Tork AKA Peter Halsten Thorkelson in Washington DC, USA; singer/actor (Monkees - "Last Train to Clarksville").
- 1942 - Adolf Hitler's Operation Seelöwe (invasion of England) is cancelled.
- 1943 - Birth of Geoff Edwards in Westfield, New Jersey, USA; actor (Jeff - Petticoat Junction, Jackpot).
- 1943 - Birth of Leo Frankowski; American sci-fi author (High Tech Knight, Flying Warlord).
- 1943 - German assault on Sidi Bou Zid, Tunisia.
- 1943 - William Walraven, journalist/writer (Neglected Grouser), dies at age 55.
- 1943 - US Women's Marine Corps created.
- 1944 - Birth of Jerry Springer in London, England; talk show host (Jerry Springer Show).
- 1944 - Birth of Sal Bando; baseball player (Oakland Athletics).
- 1944 - Birth of Stockard Channing in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Grease, The Big Bus, Without a Trace).
- 1945 - British bombers attack Dresden, Germany. This is Operation Thunderclap, a directive of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, to destroy German cities. About 800 Lancaster bombers bomb the centre of the town with 1600 tons of incendiaries and high explosives, starting a firestorm. Over 1680 acres are destroyed in the city centre, over 86,000 houses destroyed or damaged, 20,000 to 25,000 killed.
- 1945 - Birth of Roy Dyke in Liverpool, England; rock drummer (Ashton, Gardner and Dyke).
- 1945 - George Studd, cricket player (4 Tests with brother versus Australia 1882-83), dies.
- 1945 - USSR captures Budapest, after 49-day battle with Germany; 159,000 dead.
- 1946 - Birth of Rainer Werner Fassbinder; German director/actor (Ehe der Maria Braun).
- 1946 - The first general-purpose electronic computer, ENIAC is announced to the public in the USA. The 30-ton computer is eighty feet long, eight feet high, and consists of 18,000 vacuum tubes, 70,000 resistors, 10,000 capacitors, and 1500 relays, to provide twenty words of memory. It is programmed by 6000 dials and switches. ENIAC stands for Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer. The project was initiated in 1943, to improve calculations of artillery shell trajectories. It was built at the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Engineering in Philadelphia. It cost about US$400,000 to build.
- 1947 - Birth of Tony Butler; rock bassist (Big Country - "It's a Big Country", "Wonderland").
- 1948 - Andy Ganteaume scores 112 for West Indies in only Test Cricket innings.
- 1948 - Ice Pairs Championship at Davos, Switzerland, won by Lannoy and Baugniet of Belgium.
- 1948 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Davos, Switzerland, won by Richard Button of USA.
- 1950 - Birth of Leonard Pascoe; cricket player (dynamic Aussie quick 1977-82).
- 1950 - Birth of Peter Gabriel in Surrey, England; rock vocalist (Genesis - "In Your Eyes").
- 1951 - Birth of David Naughton in Hartford, Connecticut, USA; actor (My Sister Sam, Seperate Vacations).
- 1952 - Alfred Einstein, German/US musicologist, dies at age 71.
- 1952 - Birth of Ed Gagliardi in New York City, New York, USA; rock bassist (Foreigner - "Cold As Ice").
- 1952 - Rocky Marciano defeats Lee Savold for his 39th straight win.
- 1953 - Philadelphia Athletics change name of Shibe Park to Connie Mack Stadium.
- 1953 - Birth of Sharon Wyatt in Lebanon, Tennessee, USA; actress (Tiffany - General Hospital).
- 1953 - Birth of Suleiman Nyambui; Tanzanian runner (world record 5km indoor).
- 1954 - Frank Selvey scores 100 points (basketball) for Furman beating Newberry 149-95.
- 1955 - Birth of Jan de Ligt; Dutch saxophonist ("I've Got the Bullets").
- 1955 - Birth of Scott Smith; rock bassist (Loverboy - "Get Lucky").
- 1955 - Israel acquires four of seven Dead Sea scrolls.
- 1955 - Patty Berg wins LPGA Saint Petersburg Golf Open.
- 1956 - Birth of Liam Brady; British soccer player.
- 1956 - Birth of Peter Hook; English rock bassist (New Order - Round and Round, Run).
- 1956 - Birth of Richard Eden; actor (Brick - Santa Barbara, Solar Crisis, Robocop).
- 1957 - Birth of Doris King in Nashville, Tennessee, USA; vocalist (Girls Next Door - "Don't Be Cruel").
- 1957 - Birth of Thelston Payne; cricket wicket-keeper (West Indies 1986).
- 1957 - Southern Christian Leadership Conference organizes in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- 1958 - Birth of Mark Fox; congas/percussionist (Haircut 100 - "Nobody's Fool").
- 1958 - Georges Rouault, French painter (Christ aux outrages), dies at age 86.
- 1959 - Miro Cardon, premier of Cuba, resigns.
- 1960 - Birth of Kelly McCormick in Anaheim, California, USA; diver (Olympics-silver-1984).
- 1960 - Birth of Matt Salinger in Windsor, Vermont, USA; actor (Captain America, Deadly Deception).
- 1960 - Delmar G Roos, designer of the jeep, dies at age 79.
- 1960 - France performs first nuclear test at Reggane Proving Grounds, Algeria.
- 1961 - Birth of Henry Rollins; US vocalist/poet (Black Flagg, Rollins Band).
- 1961 - Birth of Kyi Hla Han in Yangon, Burma; Australasia golfer.
- 1961 - Birth of Les Warner; rocker (Cult - "Fire Woman").
- 1962 - Birth of Jackie Silva in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; volleyball player (Pan Am-bronze).
- 1963 - Birth of Penelope Ann Miller; actress (Awakenings, Chaplin, Freshman).
- 1963 - Harry Steers, bowling hall of famer, dies.
- 1964 - Birth of Evi Strasser in Bavaria, Germany; equestrian (Olympics-1996).
- 1965 - Birth of Stephen Manley in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Donny - Married the First Year).
- 1965 - Jerry Burke, pianist (Lawrence Welk Show), dies.
- 1965 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming.
- 1965 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Gary Visconti.
- 1966 - Birth of Freedom Williams; rock vocalist (C&C Music Factory - "Everybody Dance Now").
- 1966 - Birth of Tally Chanel in Tel Aviv, Israel; actress (Warrior Queen).
- 1966 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk.
- 1967 - Birth of Bas Roorda; soccer player (FC Groningen).
- 1967 - Birth of Eddie Pye; US baseball infielder (Los Angeles Dodgers).
- 1967 - Birth of Melanie Denise Bridges in Derry, New Hampshire, USA; Miss New Hampshire-America (1990).
- 1967 - CBC TV debuts Mr. Dressup in Canada, starring Ernie Coombs.
- 1968 - Birth of Matt Mieske; US baseball outfielder (Milwaukee Brewers).
- 1968 - Ildebrando Pizzetti, Italian composer, dies at age 87.
- 1968 - Mae Marsh, actress (Birth of a Nation, Intolerance), dies at age 72.
- 1968 - US sends 10,500 additional soldiers to Vietnam.
- 1969 - Birth of Subroto Banerjee; cricket player (Indian quickie and Dennis Lillee protégé).
- 1969 - Suriname government of Pengel resigns.
- 1970 - Birth of Kevin Stocker; US baseball infielder (Philadelphia Phillies).
- 1970 - Birth of Ruben Brown; NFL guard (Buffalo Bills).
- 1970 - Birth of Vernon Patao; 141 pounds (64kg) US weightlifter (alternate-Olympics-1996).
- 1970 - Herbert Strudwick, cricket player (28 Tests for England, ct 60 stp 12), dies.
- 1970 - Man-eating tiger is reported to have killed 48, 80 km from New Delhi, India.
- 1970 - National League offices begin move from Cincinnati to San Francisco (completed February 23).
- 1971 - 12,000 South Vietnamese troops cross into Laos.
- 1971 - Birth of Jim Reid; NFL tackle (Houston Oilers).
- 1971 - Birth of Mats Sundin in Bromma, Sweden; NHL center (Team Sweden, Toronto Maple Leafs).
- 1971 - Birth of Shelly Hammonds; NFL safety (Minnesota Vikings).
- 1971 - Birth of Todd Williams; US baseball pitcher (Los Angeles Dodgers).
- 1971 - Golfing US Vice President Spiro Agnew hits two tee shots into the crowd, injuring two.
- 1972 - 1776 closes at 46th Steet Theater in New York City after 1,217 performances.
- 1972 - Grease opens on Broadway.
- 1972 - XI Olympic Winter Games close at Sapporo, Japan.
- 1972 - Birth of Charlie Garner; NFL running back (Philadelphia Eagles).
- 1972 - Birth of Juha Ylonen in Helsinki, Finland; NHL forward (Olympics-bronze-1998, Phoenix Coyotes).
- 1973 - Birth of Willie Smith; NFL linebacker (Detroit Lions).
- 1973 - US dollar devalued by 10 percent.
- 1974 - Birth of Anthony Mortas; hockey forward (Team France 1998).
- 1974 - Dissident Nobel Prize writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn expelled from USSR.
- 1974 - James "Cool Papa" Bell is named to baseball's Hall of Fame.
- 1975 - Birth of Mark Gerald Keddell in Christchurch, New Zealand; 200 metre (Olympics-1996).
- 1975 - Cyprus premier Denktash proclaims Turkish-Cypriot Federation.
- 1975 - Dagmar Godowsky, actress (Common Law, Red Lights), dies at age 78.
- 1975 - Henry P Van Dusen, US protestant theologist, dies at age 77.
- 1976 - Dorothy Hamill wins Olympics figure-skating gold, Innsbruck, Austria.
- 1976 - General Murtala Mohammed, head of Nigeria, killed during a coup.
- 1976 - Lily Pons, French/US soprano/opera diva (Metropolitan Opera), dies at age 71.
- 1976 - Peter Casserly of New Zealand hand-sheers record 353 lambs in 9 holes.
- 1977 - Eric Heiden is first American to win world speed skating championship.
- 1977 - Jack Gardner, actor (Wild Bill Hickok, Three Russian Girls), dies at age 77.
- 1977 - Pam Higgins wins LPGA American Cancer Society Golf Classic.
- 1978 - Birth of Niklas Bäckström, Finnish hockey player (Minnesota Wild).
- 1978 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1979 - Birth of Julie Nagle; Miss North Dakota Teen-USA (1997).
- 1979 - Jean Renoir, French writer/actor/director (Human Beast, Rules of the Game), dies at age 84.
- 1979 - Intense windstorm strikes western Washington State and sinks a 1/2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.
- 1979 - Birth of Anders Behring Breivik, Norwegian right-wing terrorist.
- 1980 - Birth of Kristy Powell in Florida, USA; gymnast (Olympics-1996).
- 1980 - David Janssen [Meyer], American actor (Fugitive, Harry O), dies at age 49 (born 1931).
- 1980 - New Zealand beats West Indies by one wicket in cricket at Dunedin.
- 1980 - Apollo Computer is incorporated.
- 1980 - (to February 24) The XIII Olympic Winter Games are held in Lake Placid, New York, USA.
- 1981 - Rupert Murdoch buys The Times and The Sunday Times for £12 million.
- 1981 - Longest sentence published by New York Times - 1286 words.
- 1982 - New York Islanders' Bryan Trottier scores five goals against the Philadelphia Flyers.
- 1982 - Zeng Jinlian, of Hunan, China, grew to 8 feet 1 inch (tallest woman), dies at age 17.
- 1983 - Donna White wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Classic.
- 1983 - Marian Nixon, actress (Dr Bull, Sweepstakes), dies of cancer at age 78.
- 1983 - World Boxing Council becomes first to cut boxing from 15 to 12 rounds.
- 1983 - A cinema fire in Turin, Italy kills 64.
- 1983 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan proclaims 1983 "The Year of the Bible".
- 1983 - 33rd NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 132-123 at Los Angeles, California.
- 1983 - Australia beats New Zealand 2-0 to win World Series Cup.
- 1984 - Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
- 1984 - Six-year-old Texan Stormie Jones gets first heart and liver transplant.
- 1984 - Naomi Uemura, Japanese mountain climber, dies on Mount McKinley.
- 1985 - Polish police arrest seven Solidarity leaders.
- 1987 - M L "Curly" Page, cricket player (New Zealand Test captain 1933), dies.
- 1987 - Detroit Tigers' pitcher Jack Morris awarded US$1.85 million salary by arbitrator, the highest arbitration award to date.
- 1988 - (to February 28) The XV Olympic Winter Games are held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
- 1988 - Christine Wachtel runs world record 800 metre indoor (1 minute 56.40 seconds).
- 1988 - European Community plans removal of inner boundaries on January 1, 1992.
- 1988 - Heike Dreschler long jumps world record indoor (7.37 metres).
- 1988 - Ronald Weigel runs unofficial world record speed walking (18 minutes 11.41 seconds).
- 1989 - Kidnapped Belgian Premier Vanden Boeynants is freed.
- 1989 - Oklahoma football player Charles Thompson is charged with selling cocaine; he is later sentenced to two years in prison.
- 1990 - Drexel Burnham Lambert investment bank files for bankruptcy.
- 1990 - 50 killed at Inkatha-UDF battle in Natal, South Africa.
- 1990 - Ken Lynch, actor (Paratroop Command, Legend of Tom Dooley), dies at age 79.
- 1990 - Larry Bird (Boston Celtics) ends NBA free throw streak of 71 games.
- 1990 - Birth of Erdini Qoigyijabu, eleventh Panchen Lama.
- 1990 - US, France, and England give consent to German reunification.
- 1991 - Eddie Bartell, actor (Every Night at Eight), dies at age 83.
- 1991 - Syria tells Germany they are ready to recognize Israel.
- 1991 - Two laser-guided "smart bombs" destroy an underground bunker or bomb shelter in Baghdad, killing hundreds of Iraqis.
- 1992 - Bob den Uyl, Dutch journalist/writer (Restless Travel), dies at age 61.
- 1992 - West beats East 14 to 9 in Major Soccer League all star game.
- 1993 - Agatha Hagtingius-Seger, Dutch author (Sparkles Chain), dies at age 91.
- 1993 - Ljubow Kremljowa runs world record 1000 metre indoor (2:34.84).
- 1993 - Merlene Ottey runs world record 200 metre indoor (21.87 seconds).
- 1993 - Sergei Bubka pole vaults indoor record (6.14 metres).
- 1994 - 44th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 127-118 at Minneapolis, Minnesota.
- 1994 - Inna Lassovskaya jumps world record 14.9m.
- 1994 - Johann Olav Koss skates world record 5000 metre 6 34,96.
- 1994 - Ship disaster near Ranong, Thailand, kills 200.
- 1995 - A United Nations tribunal on human rights violations in the Balkans charges 21 Bosnian Serb commanders with genocide and crimes against humanity.
- 1995 - Azeddine Medjoubi, head of Algerian national theater, murdered at age 49.
- 1995 - Joan A C Ramsey (nee Hamilton), lady Ramsey of Canterbury, dies at age 84.
- 1995 - West Indies beats New Zealand by innings and 332, Courtney Walsh 13-55.
- 1996 - Death of Martin Balsam at age 76 of a heart attack; actor (Archie Bunker's Place, Dr. Kildare).
- 1997 - Tune-up and repair work on the Hubble Space Telescope is started by astronauts from Space Shuttle Discovery.
- 1997 - The Washington Post reports that U.S. Justice Department investigators found evidence the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC may have coordinated financial contributions to the Democratic party in violation of U.S. law.
- 1997 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 7,000 for the first time, gaining 60.81 to 7,022.44.
- 1998 - Jo Clayton, author, (Cancer Died, Drums of Chaos), dies at age 58.
- 2000 - The final original Peanuts comic strip is published, following the death of its creator, Charles Schulz.
- 2001 - In El Salvador, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake occurs, felt also in Guatemala and Honduras. At least 315 people killed, 3,399 injured and extensive damage. Landslides occurred in many areas of El Salvador.
- 2002 - Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom gives former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani an honorary knighthood.
- 2002 - Death of Waylon Jennings at age 64 of diabetes-related illness; country singer/songwriter (recorded 60 albums, had 16 No. 1 country singles, inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2001, narrated and sang the theme song for the TV series Dukes of Hazzard).
- 2003 - In Shanghai, China, a ground-breaking ceremony takes place for the Shanghai World Financial Centre, to be the world's tallest building.
- 2003 - A small airplane crashes in southern Colombia. FARC guerillas kill one American and a Colombian army sergeant, and take three Americans hostage. FARC claims they are CIA agents; the US government claims they are defense contractors.
- 2003 - Death of Walt Whitman Rostow, at age 85. Rostow was national security advisor to US Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.
- 2004 - Athens, Greece, is hit by a major blizzard which blankets the entire city for days, causing widespread havoc.
- 2004 - Scientists in South Korea announce the cloning of 30 human embryos.
- 2004 - The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics discovers the universe's largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093.
- 2006 - Adam Dunn and the Cincinnati Reds agreed to a US$18.5 million two-year deal.
- 2007 - North Korea agrees to shut down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon by April 14 as a first step towards complete denuclearization, receiving in return energy aid equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.
- 2007 - Taiwan opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigns as the chairman of the Kuomintang party after being indicted on charges of embezzlement; Ma also announces his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.
- 2007 - D-Wave Systems of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, announces the world's first practical quantum computer.
- 2008 - US President George Bush signs a law for individual tax rebates and temporary investment incentives worth US$168 billion.
- 2008 - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia delivers a formal apology to the Stolen Generations.
- 2009 - The U.S. House of Representatives approves (246-183) a US$787 billion package of spending (64 percent) and tax cuts (36 percent).
- 2009 - The U.S. House of Congress approves (60-38) the US$787 billion government spending package.
- 2010 - Over 15,000 American, British and Afghan troops launch the biggest offensive in Afghanistan since the overthrow of the Taliban in 2001.
- 2010 - At least nine people are killed and 57 others injured in a bomb attack at the German Bakery restaurant in India's western city of Pune.
- 2014 - Belgium becomes the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia for terminally ill patients of any age.
- 2017 - Death of Kim Jong-nam, half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (born 1971).
- 2020 - NASA publishes a detailed study of Arrokoth, the most distant body ever explored by a spacecraft.
- 2021 - (to February 17) A major winter storm kills at least 136 people and causes over 9.9 million power outages in the U.S.
- 2021 - Mario Draghi is sworn in as prime minister of Italy.
- 2021 - The US Senate acquits President Donald Trump of inciting an insurrection on January 6.
|
|
vvv advertisement vvv
^^^ advertisement ^^^
You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history.
Bookmark this URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/ and revisit each day.
(this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events)
Or, visit my Timelines of History page.
|