This Day in History
February 1

Copyright © 2006-2024 Ken Polsson
internet e-mail: ken@kpolsson.com
URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/
(this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing a single day's events)

What happened in history on this day: February 1?

On February 1 in ...

  • 656 - Sigebert III, king of Austrasia, dies at about age 25.
  • 772 - Adrian I begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
  • 1204 - Alexius IV Angelus regent of Byzantium (1203-04), murdered.
  • 1248 - Hendrik II duke of Brabant (1235-48), dies.
  • 1294 - Louis II the Stern, ruler of Upper-Bayern, dies.
  • 1328 - Charles IV the Handsome, King of France (1322-28), dies.
  • 1459 - Birth of Conradus Celtis in Wipfeld, Germany; poet.
  • 1502 - Olivier de la Marche Flemish writer/poet/governor, dies.
  • 1539 - Emperor Karel and King François I sign anti-English treaty.
  • 1542 - Hieronymus Aleander [Girólamo Aleandro], Italian diplomat, dies at age 61.
  • 1552 - Birth of Edward Coke England, jurist/politician (defended common law).
  • 1587 - English queen Elizabeth I signs Mary Stuart's death sentence.
  • 1603 - Birth of Michael Trumper composer.
  • 1605 - Birth of Isaac Aboab de Fonseca Portuguese/Netherlands rabbi/mystic.
  • 1650 - Rene Descartes philosopher "I think therefore I am", stops thinking.
  • 1659 - Birth of Jacob Roggeveen Dutch Swiss lawyer/navigator (Easter Island).
  • 1662 - Dutch garrison on Formosa surrenders for Chinese pirates.
  • 1666 - Sjihab al-Din Sultan C Shah Djahan mogol of India (Taj-Mahal), dies.
  • 1669 - Abandoned child Huygens friend poet Catharina Questiers, buried at age 31.
  • 1669 - Birth of Miguel Lopez composer.
  • 1669 - French King Louis XIV limits freedom of religion.
  • 1690 - Birth of Francesco Maria Veracini Italian opera composer.
  • 1691 - Alexander VIII [Pietro Ottoboni], Italian Pope (1689-91), dies at age 80.
  • 1691 - George Etherege English stage writer (Love in a Tub), dies at age 56.
  • 1694 - John L baron van Elderen 63rd bishop of Liege (1688-94), dies at age 73.
  • 1709 - British sailor Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being marooned on a desert island (Fernandez Island) for five years, his story is the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe".
  • 1710 - Birth of Konrad E Ackermann German actor (Die Oberpfalz).
  • 1717 - Henri d'Aguesseau's first appointment as chancellor of France.
  • 1720 - Sweden and Prussia sign peace treaty.
  • 1732 - Parliament of Ratisborn accept Pragmatic Sanctions.
  • 1733 - August II the Strong, King of Poland (355 children), dies at age 62.
  • 1742 - Sardinia and Austria sign alliance.
  • 1757 - Birth of John P Kemble England; actor/director (Drury Lane, Covent Garden).
  • 1763 - Birth of Thomas Campbell founder (Church of Disciples in America).
  • 1783 - William Herschel announces star Lambda Herculis as apex.
  • 1788 - First US steamboat patent issued, by Georgia to Briggs and Longstreet.
  • 1789 - Chinese troops driven out of Vietnam capital Thang Long.
  • 1790 - US Supreme Court convenes for the first time (New York City, New York).
  • 1793 - France declares war on England and Netherlands.
  • 1793 - Patent granted to Ralph Hodgson of New York, for oiled silk and linen.
  • 1801 - Birth of Thomas Cole; US romantic landscape painter (Hudson River School).
  • 1805 - Birth of Auguste Blanqui in France; revolutionary (workers' leader).
  • 1807 - Birth of Henri Klimrath; French lawyer (Mémoire sur lesson Olim).
  • 1807 - Birth of William Bowen Campbell; US Brigadier General (Union volunteers) (dies 1867).
  • 1809 - Dutch King Louis Napoleon accepts metric system.
  • 1810 - Seville, Spain surrenders to the French.
  • 1814 - Volcano Mayon on Luzon, Philippines erupts killing 1,200.
  • 1819 - Birth of Henry Lawrence Eustis; US Brigadier General (Union volunteers) (dies 1885).
  • 1827 - Birth of Alphonse de Rothschild; French banker.
  • 1829 - Birth of John Potts Slough; Brigadier General (US volunteers) (dies 1867).
  • 1832 - Ecco Epkema, Dutch classic linguist (Frisian/Old Frisian), dies at age 71.
  • 1838 - Abraham de Veer, Dutch Governor-General of Suriname (1822-28), dies at age 71.
  • 1839 - Birth of James A Herne [J Aherne]; US playwright (Hearts of Oak).
  • 1840 - Baltimore College of Dental Surgery, first in US, is incorporated.
  • 1844 - Birth of Eduard Adolf Strasburger; German botanist (Angiospermen).
  • 1851 - Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, novelist (Frankenstein), dies at age 53.
  • 1859 - Birth of Victor August Herbert in Dublin, Ireland; composer (Babes in Toyland).
  • 1861 - Dike breaks in Gelderland, Netherlands.
  • 1864 - Second German-Danish war begins.
  • 1864 - Austrian/Prussian troops occupy Sleeswijk/Holstein.
  • 1865 - US Constitution 13th Amendment approved (National Freedom Day).
  • 1865 - USA Army General Tecumseh Sherman's march through South Carolina begins.
  • 1867 - US bricklayers start working 8-hour days.
  • 1869 - Birth of Johannes F "Frits" Bakker; actor (Holland Tooneelgezelschap).
  • 1869 - Frederik W Conrad, hydraulic engineer/railway pioneer, dies at age 68.
  • 1872 - Birth of Paul Fort; French poet/founder of Vers et Prose.
  • 1873 - Birth of Clara Butt in Southwick, Sussex, England; contralto (Country of Hope and Glory).
  • 1875 - Birth of Eddie Pola; composer (Lullabye of Broadway).
  • 1878 - George Cruikshank, English illustrator (Grimm), dies at age 85.
  • 1882 - Birth of Louis Saint Laurent in Compton, Québec, Canada; (Liberal) 12th Canadian Prime Minister (1948-57).
  • 1883 - Birth of Jevgeni B Vachtangov; Armenian/Russian actor/director (Eric XIV).
  • 1883 - French Lieutenant-Colonel Gustave Borgnis-Desbordes reaches Bamako on the Niger.
  • 1884 - First volume of the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary is published (covering A to Ant).
  • 1884 - Birth of Yevgeny Zamyatin in Russia; novelist/playwright (We).
  • 1885 - Birth of Camille Chautemps; premier of France.
  • 1887 - Harvey Wilcox of Kansas subdivides 120 acres of land he owns in Southern California and starts selling it off as a real estate development (Hollywood).
  • 1889 - Birth of Gertrude Caton-Thompson; British archaeologist (Zimbabwe, Southern Arabia).
  • 1892 - Birth of K Rudolf Mengelberg; composer/musicologist (Amsterdam Concert Hall).
  • 1892 - Mrs William Astor invites 400 guests to a grand ball at her mansion.
  • 1893 - Thomas Alva Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.
  • 1895 - Birth of John Ford in Maine, USA; director (Stagecoach, Air Mail, Quiet Man).
  • 1896 - Birth of Anastasio "Tacho" Somoza; General/President of Nicaragua (1937-56).
  • 1897 - Birth of Denise Robins in London, England; romantic novelist (First Long Kiss).
  • 1900 - Birth of Stephen Potter; humorist/writer (School for Scoundrels, Shipbuilders).
  • 1901 - Birth of Clark Gable in Cadiz, Ohio, USA; actor (Gone With the Wind).
  • 1902 - Birth of Langston Hughes; poet/translator (The Weary Blues) (dies 1967).
  • 1902 - China's empress Tzu-hsi forbids binding woman's feet.
  • 1903 - Birth of Georg Rendl in Austria; miner/bee-keeper/writer (The Bees Novel).
  • 1903 - George G Stokes, British physicist/presidential Royal Society, dies at age 83.
  • 1904 - Birth of S J Perelman in Brooklyn, New York, USA; author/humorist (Around the World in 80 Days).
  • 1905 - Hungarian premier Tisza resigns.
  • 1906 - First federal penitentiary building completed, Leavenworth, Kansas.
  • 1906 - Birth of Hildegarde Adell in Wisconsin, USA; night club singer ("I'll Be Seeing You").
  • 1906 - Birth of Pierre Cardevielle; French composer/conductor (Amants Captifs).
  • 1907 - Birth of Alan Strode Campbell Ross; professor (coined the terms U and non-U).
  • 1907 - Birth of Günter Eich; German literary (Underground Highway, Girls of Viterbo).
  • 1907 - Birth of John Canaday; art critic (Metropolitan Museum of Art Portfolios).
  • 1908 - Birth of Albie Booth; collegiate Hall of Fame football star (Yale).
  • 1908 - Birth of George Pal; Hungarian/US film director (When Worlds Collide, Puppetoons).
  • 1908 - King Carlos I of Portugal (1889-1908), is assassinated by mob at age 44.
  • 1909 - Birth of Douglas Hall; Governor (Somaliland Protectorate).
  • 1909 - Birth of Helen Chandler in Charleston, South Carolina, USA; actress (Christopher Strong, Dracula).
  • 1909 - US Assay Office open in Salt Lake City, Utah.
  • 1910 - First British labour exchange opens.
  • 1910 - Birth of Jahangir Khan; cricket player (father of Majid, Indian player 1932-36).
  • 1910 - Birth of Michael Kanin in Rochester, New York, USA; director/writer/actor (Woman of the Year).
  • 1910 - Dragoumis government forms in Greece.
  • 1910 - Otto Julius Bierbaum, German writer (Irrgarten Der Liebe), dies at age 44.
  • 1913 - New York City's Grand Central Terminal opens as the world's largest train station.
  • 1914 - New York Giants and Chicago White Sox play an exhibition baseball game in Egypt.
  • 1914 - Pennsylvania State Board of [motion picture] Censors is appointed.
  • 1914 - Tanganyika Railway opens.
  • 1915 - Birth of Stanley Matthews; first British soccer player to be knighted.
  • 1916 - Birth of Gordon Hobday; Lord Lieutenant (Nottinghamshire).
  • 1917 - German Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz announces unlimited submarine war.
  • 1918 - Last day of Gregorian calendar in Estonia. Next day is February 15.
  • 1918 - Birth of Maurice Laing; life president (John Laing).
  • 1918 - Birth of Muriel Spark in Edinburgh, Scotland; novelist (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie).
  • 1919 - Brooklyn Dodgers trade Jake Daubert to Cincinnati Reds for Tommy Griffith Daubert.
  • 1920 - First commercial armored car introduced (Saint Paul, Minnesota).
  • 1920 - Birth of Pierre Jonquéres d'Oriola in France; equestrian jumper (Olympics-gold-1952, 1964).
  • 1920 - Royal Canadian Mounted Police forms as Royal Northwest Mounted Police merge with Dominion Police.
  • 1920 - Soccer team Quick Boys forms.
  • 1921 - Birth of Peter Sallis; actor (Taste the Blood of Dracula).
  • 1922 - Birth of Bogumil Witalis Andrzejewski; professor of Cushtic languages.
  • 1922 - Birth of Clifford McWatt; cricket player (West Indies wicket-keeper in six Tests 1954-55).
  • 1922 - Birth of Renata Tebaldi; opera singer (La Bohéme).
  • 1922 - William Desmond Taylor, director/actor (Broken Coin), dies at age 49.
  • 1923 - Allied ultimatum on Lithuanian occupation of Memel.
  • 1923 - Fascists Voluntary Militia forms in Italy under Benito Mussolini.
  • 1924 - New British Ramsay MacDonald government recognizes USSR.
  • 1925 - First national conference of KPD's Rotfrontkämpferbund in Berlin.
  • 1926 - Birth of Peter Crill; Bailiff of Jersey.
  • 1926 - Birth of Stuart Whitman in San Francisco, California, USA; actor (Captain Apache, Ransom, Cimarron Strip, Revenge).
  • 1926 - Kirghiz Autonomous Region in RSFSR becomes Kirghiz ASSR.
  • 1926 - Land at Broadway and Wall Street sells at a record $7 per square inch.
  • 1927 - Birth of Galway Kinnell in Providence, Rhode Island, USA; author (Body Rags, Book of Nightmares).
  • 1928 - Birth of Thomas Eric Evans; dean (Saint Paul's).
  • 1928 - Birth of Tom Lantos; American politician (Representative-Democrat-California, 1981-).
  • 1929 - First clean and jerk of 400 pounds (182kg), Charles Rigoulet, 402.5 pounds.
  • 1931 - Birth of Barrel [ABM] Frinking; teacher/Dutch Member of Parliament (CVP).
  • 1931 - Birth of Boris Yeltsin in Ural Mountains, USSR; president of Russian Soviet Socialist Republic (dies 2007).
  • 1931 - Birth of Madeline Berthod in Switzerland; downhill skier (Olympics-gold-1956).
  • 1931 - Birth of Mark Richmond; CEO (Science and Engineering Research Council).
  • 1931 - Birth of Ton [ABM] Frinking; Dutch Member of Parliament (CDA).
  • 1932 - Birth of John Hart in Denver, Colorado, USA; newsman (CBS News Retrospective, NBC News).
  • 1932 - Donald Bradman makes 299 versus South Africa, runs out partner going for 300th.
  • 1933 - Birth of Reynolds Price; US writer (Strengthened by a Pale Green Light).
  • 1933 - Dutch bishops forbid membership in non-catholic unions.
  • 1934 - Austrian Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss dissolves all political parties but his own.
  • 1934 - Birth of Bob Shane; vocalist (Kingston Trio - "Scarlet Ribbons").
  • 1935 - First "March of Time" newsreel premieres at the Capitol, Washington, D.C.
  • 1935 - Birth of Ruth Clarke; Moderator (General Assembly of the United Reform Church).
  • 1935 - Birth of Vladimir Viktorovich Aksyonov in USSR; cosmonaut (Soyuz 22, T-2).
  • 1935 - British coinage ceases to be legal tender in New Zealand.
  • 1936 - Birth of G H Blake; Principal (Collingwood College, Durham University).
  • 1937 - Birth of Don Everly in Brownie, Kentucky, USA; singer (The Everly Brothers - "Wake Up Little Susie").
  • 1937 - Birth of Garrett Morris in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; actor/comedian (Saturday Night Live, Martin, Carwash).
  • 1937 - Birth of Ray Sawyer AKA Dr Hook in Alabama, USA; vocalist (Dr Hook and the Medicine Show - "When You're in Love").
  • 1937 - Stapleton, Staten Island, New York becomes a customs-free port.
  • 1938 - Birth of Jacky Cupit; golfer (Rookie of the Year 1961).
  • 1938 - Birth of Jimmy Carl Black; rocker (Mothers Of Invention).
  • 1938 - Birth of Sherman Hemsley in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; actor (All in the Family, Jeffersons, Amen).
  • 1939 - Birth of Paul E Gillmor; American politician (Representative-Republican-Ohio).
  • 1940 - Birth of Herve Filion; sulky driver (1969 Canadian Sports Hall of Fame).
  • 1940 - Russia begins new offensive against Finland.
  • 1941 - Birth of Anatoliy Firssov in USSR; ice hockey player (Olympics-gold-1964, 1968, 1972).
  • 1941 - Birth of Franco Nones in Italy; 30km cross country skier (Olympics-gold-1968).
  • 1941 - Birth of Robert Walmsley British Vice-Admiral.
  • 1941 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Jane Vaughn.
  • 1941 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Eugene Turner.
  • 1942 - Second Norwegian government of Quisling forms.
  • 1942 - Birth of Bibi Besch in Vienna, Austria; actress (Star Trek 2, The Beast Within).
  • 1942 - Birth of Dave Sincock; cricket player (Chinaman bowler played for Australia 1964-66).
  • 1942 - Birth of Terry Jones in Colwyn Bay, North Wales; actor/comedian (Monty Python).
  • 1943 - Birth of Tina Sloan in New York, USA; actress (Lillian - Guiding Light, Search for Tomorrow).
  • 1943 - German occupiers of Norway make Vidkun Quisling premier.
  • 1943 - Mussert forms pro-Nazi shadow cabinet (Netherlands).
  • 1944 - Birth of Leo Burmester in Louisville, Kentucky, USA; actor (Flo, Chiefs, The Abyss, Odd Jobs).
  • 1944 - Birth of Tommy Duffy; rocker (Echos).
  • 1944 - Piet Mondrian, abstract painter (Composition in Blue), dies at age 71.
  • 1944 - Supreme Soviet enlarges soviet republics' autonomy.
  • 1944 - US 7th Infantry/25th Marine Division lands on Kwajalein/Roi/Namur.
  • 1945 - Johan Huizinga, Dutch culture historian (Homo Ludens), dies at age 72.
  • 1945 - US Army arrives at Siegfriedlinie.
  • 1946 - Birth of Bert Braverman in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Bobby - Vega$, Roy - New Odd Couple).
  • 1946 - Republic of Hungary proclaimed, Zolt n Tildy as communist president.
  • 1946 - Trygve Lie, a Norwegian socialist, becomes first Secretary-General of United Nations.
  • 1947 - Birth of Jessica Savitch in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA; news anchor (NBC).
  • 1947 - Aleide de Gasperi forms Italian government of Christian-democrats and communists.
  • 1947 - Birth of Adam Ingram; British Member of Parliament.
  • 1947 - NV United Dutch Fokker's Aircraft established.
  • 1948 - Birth of Rick James [James Johnson]; rock/soul/funk vocalist ("Super Freak") (dies 2004).
  • 1948 - Birth of Jennifer Adams; superintendent (Central Royal Parks).
  • 1948 - Federation Malaysia forms from nine sultanates.
  • 1948 - Palestine Post building in Jerusalem is bombed.
  • 1949 - 200-inch (5.08-metre) Hale telescope first used.
  • 1949 - Birth of Jimmy Lee Thorpe in Roxboro, North Carolina, USA; PGA golfer (1985 Greater Milwaukee Open).
  • 1949 - RCA releases first single record ever (45 RPM).
  • 1950 - Harry Blomberg, Swedish author (Jacobs Dröm), dies at age 56.
  • 1950 - USSR demands condemnation of Emperor Hirohito for war crimes.
  • 1950 - Urko Kekkonen elected president of Finland.
  • 1951 - -50 degrees F (-46 degrees C), Gavilan, New Mexico, USA (state record).
  • 1951 - First X-ray moving picture process demonstrated.
  • 1951 - The first telecast of an atomic explosion is aired, a US nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site.
  • 1951 - Alfred Krupp and 28 other German war criminals freed.
  • 1951 - Birth of Brandis Kemp in Palo Alto, California, USA; actress/comedienne (Fridays).
  • 1951 - United Nations condemns People's Republic of China as aggressor in Korea.
  • 1952 - General strike against French colonial management in Tunisia.
  • 1953 - CBS TV debuts General Electric Theater.
  • 1953 - CBS TV premieres TV show You Are There hosted by Walter Cronkite.
  • 1953 - CBS-TV debuts sitcom Private Secretary.
  • 1953 - Birth of C A Barnett; headmaster (Whitgift School).
  • 1953 - Sea water at the levees of Netherlands reach 15 feet above normal high tide, destroying 90 levees, killing 1835 people and 200,000 cattle. 300 farms and 3000 buildings are swept away.
  • 1954 - CBS-TV debuts the daytime drama The Secret Storm.
  • 1954 - Birth of Billy Mumy in California, USA; actor (Will Robinson - Lost in Space, Dear Brigitte).
  • 1954 - Birth of Mike Campbell; guitarist (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "Breakdown").
  • 1954 - Julius P Hoste, Belgian minister/newspaper publisher, dies at age 69.
  • 1955 - Birth of Kate Ashbrook; General Secretary (Open Spaces Society).
  • 1955 - H C Hansen appointed premier of Denmark.
  • 1956 - Birth of Exene Cervenka; singer (X).
  • 1956 - Hague Daily Newspaper reveals war crimes of Hague mayor Schokking.
  • 1957 - Birth of Donna Adamek Duarte in California, USA; bowler (BWAA Woman of Year 1978-81).
  • 1957 - Friedrich von Paulus, German field marshal (Stalingrad), dies at age 66.
  • 1957 - Felix Wankel's first working prototype DKM 54 of the Wankel rotary engine is running at the NSU research and development department Versuchsabteilung TX in Germany.
  • 1958 - Birth of Maureen Madill in Coleraine, Northern Ireland; golfer (British Open Amateur 1979).
  • 1958 - Egypt and Syria announce plans to merge into United Arab Republic.
  • 1959 - Birth of Anthony LaPaglia in Adelaide, South Australia; actor (Murder One, Criminal Justice, Betsy's Wedding).
  • 1959 - Birth of Carolyn Hill in Santa Monica, California, USA; LPGA golfer (1994 McCall's Classic).
  • 1959 - Birth of Mike Horan; NFL punter (New York Giants).
  • 1959 - Birth of Wade Wilson; NFL quarterback (Dallas Cowboys).
  • 1959 - Madame Sul-To-Wan [Conley], actress (Birth of a Nation), dies at age 85.
  • 1959 - Swiss males vote against voting rights for women.
  • 1959 - Texas Instruments requests patent of integrated circuit.
  • 1959 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Carol Heiss.
  • 1959 - US male Figure Skating championship won by David Jenkins.
  • 1959 - Wiffi Smith wins LPGA Havana Golf Tournament.
  • 1959 - Zack Wheat unanimously elected to baseball Hall of Fame.
  • 1960 - 34th Australian Women's Tennis: Margaret Smith beats J Lehane (7-5, 6-2).
  • 1960 - Four students stage first civil rights sit-in, at Greensboro, North Carolina, Woolworths store.
  • 1960 - 48th Australian Men's Tennis: Rod Laver beats N Fraser (5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, 8-6).
  • 1960 - Extreme right-wing rebels in Algiers surrender.
  • 1961 - First full-scale test of US Minuteman ICBM is successful.
  • 1961 - Birth of Daniel M Tani in Ridley Park, Maryland, USA; astronaut.
  • 1961 - Birth of Gabrielle Carteris in Phoenix, Arizona, USA; actress (Beverly Hills 90210).
  • 1961 - Birth of Gina Hull in Jacksonville, Florida, USA; LPGA golfer (1989 USX Golf Classic-8th).
  • 1961 - British minister Enoch Powell makes medical insurance more expensive.
  • 1961 - Mackay and Kline hang on for 100 minutes for cricket draw versus West Indies.
  • 1962 - National League releases its first 162-game schedule.
  • 1963 - Nyasaland (later Malawi) becomes self-governing under Hastings Banda.
  • 1964 - Stop the World, I Want to... closes at Shubert Theater in New York City after 556 performances.
  • 1964 - The Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" first #1 hit and stays #1 for 7 weeks.
  • 1964 - Birth of Jani Lane; rocker (Warrant - "Cherry Pie").
  • 1964 - Birth of Kaitlin Hopkins in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Kelsey - Another World).
  • 1964 - Birth of Sharon Bruneau in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; actress (Sensuous Muscle).
  • 1964 - Indiana Governor Mathew Walsh tries to ban "Louie Louie" for obscenity.
  • 1964 - Suriname River dammed.
  • 1965 - Birth of Dwayne Dupuy; country keyboardist (Ricochet).
  • 1965 - Birth of Brandon Lee in Emerson, Colorado, USA; actor (Showdown in Little Tokyo).
  • 1965 - Birth of David Callaghan; cricket player (South African all-rounder in one-dayers 1992).
  • 1965 - Birth of Sherilyn Fenn in Detroit, Michigan, USA; actress (Two Moon Junction, Twin Peaks).
  • 1965 - Birth of Stephanie Marie Elisabeth de Grimaldi in Monte Carlo, Monaco; Princess.
  • 1965 - Martin Luther King Junior and 700 demonstrators arrested in Selma, Alabama.
  • 1965 - National League adopts emergency team replacement plan to restock any club struck by disaster.
  • 1965 - Peter Jennings, age 26, becomes anchor of ABC's nightly news show.
  • 1966 - Birth of Eddie Zambrano; Venezuelan/US baseball outfielder (Chicago Cubs).
  • 1966 - Birth of Michelle Akers in Santa Clara, California, USA; soccer forward (Olympics-1996).
  • 1966 - Buster Keaton [Joseph Francis], US comic (The General), dies at age 69.
  • 1966 - Hedda Hopper [Elda Furry], US gossip columnist, dies at age 75.
  • 1966 - Nicholas Piantanida sets balloon flight record and dies in descent.
  • 1966 - William Harrigan, actor (Invisible Man, Girl in 419), dies at age 71.
  • 1967 - Birth of Tim Naehring in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; infielder (Boston Red Sox).
  • 1967 - Ernie Bromley, cricket player (two Tests for Australia 1933-34), dies.
  • 1967 - Langston Hughes, poet/translator (Weary Blues), dies on 65th birthday.
  • 1967 - Severe brush fires in Tasmania destroy $11 million and 60 lives.
  • 1968 - Birth of George Quigley Junior in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; skeet (Olympics-1996).
  • 1968 - Birth of Kent Mercker in Dublin, Ohio, USA; pitcher (Atlanta Braves, Baltimore Orioles).
  • 1968 - Birth of Lisa Marie Presley Keough Jackson in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, daughter of Elvis Presley.
  • 1968 - Birth of Mark Recchi in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada; NHL right wing (Montreal Canadiens).
  • 1968 - Birth of Pauly Shore in Hollywood, California, USA; comedian (Totally Pauly, Encino Man).
  • 1968 - Birth of Sean Millington; Canadian Football League fullback (British Columbia Lions).
  • 1968 - Famous photo: Saigon police chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan executes a Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to the head.
  • 1968 - Former US Vice-President Richard Nixon announces candidacy for President.
  • 1968 - Lawson Little, amateur golfer (US/British Opens 1934, 1935), dies at age 57.
  • 1968 - Vince Lombardi resigns as coach of the Green Bay Packers.
  • 1968 - World trade conference Unctad 2 opens in New Delhi.
  • 1968 - The Canadian Forces Reorganization Act is proclaimed, combining former Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force into the Canadian Armed Forces, the world's first unified service.
  • 1969 - Birth of Patrick Wilson; Drummer (Weezer).
  • 1969 - Birth of Bryan Jacob in Palatka, Florida, USA; 59kg (130 pounds) weightlifter (Olympics-1992, 1996).
  • 1969 - Birth of John Moore; Australian baseball catcher (Olympics-1996).
  • 1969 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Janet Lynn.
  • 1969 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Tim Wood.
  • 1970 - Birth of Eric Mobley; NBA center (Vancouver Grizzlies).
  • 1970 - Birth of Malik Sealy; NBA guard/forward (Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers).
  • 1970 - Former baseball commissioner Ford Frick, Earle Combs, and Jesse Haines elected by Special Veterans Committee to Baseball Hall of Fame.
  • 1970 - Stalled commuter train rammed by express in Argentina, 139 die.
  • 1970 - Federal Republic of Germany and USSR sign gas contract.
  • 1971 - Birth of Ajay Jadeja; cricket player (Indian opening batsman).
  • 1971 - Birth of Derek Byrd; NFL cornerback (New Orleans Saints).
  • 1971 - Birth of Robert O'Neal; WLAF safety (Amsterdam Admirals).
  • 1971 - Birth of Tommy Salo in Surahammar, Sweden; NHL goalie (Team Sweden, New York Islanders).
  • 1971 - Jim A J Christy, cricket player (10 Tests for South Africa, 638 runs at 34 33), dies.
  • 1972 - First scientific hand-held calculator (HP-35) introduced (US$395).
  • 1972 - Birth of Brian Krause; actor (December, Sleepwalkers, Return to Blue Lagoon).
  • 1972 - Birth of Geoff Sanderson in Hay River, Northwest Territories, Canada; NHL left wing (Hartford Whalers).
  • 1972 - Birth of Richard Becker in Aurora, Illinois, USA; outfielder (Minnesota Twin).
  • 1972 - Birth of [Thomas] Carlton Bruner; American 1500-metre freestyle swimmer (Olympics-1996).
  • 1973 - Birth of Andrew DeClercq; NBA forward (Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics).
  • 1973 - Birth of Elena Makarova in Moscow, Russia; tennis star (1993 Futures-Val).
  • 1973 - Birth of Michael Joyce in Santa Monica, California, USA; tennis star (1989 USTA National Boys' 18).
  • 1973 - Birth of Tlia Reima; ice hockey center (Finland, Olympics-1998).
  • 1973 - Monte Irvin elected to baseball Hall of Fame.
  • 1974 - TV show Good Times (spinoff from Maude) premieres on CBS TV.
  • 1974 - Birth of Jennifer Lien; actress (Hannah Moore - Another World).
  • 1974 - Birth of Randy Josselyn in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Fever Lake, Andy Colby's Incredible Adventure).
  • 1974 - Birth of Walter McCarty; NBA forward (Boston Celtics).
  • 1974 - Lynda Ann Healy is abducted in Seattle, Washington (first Ted Bundy murder victim).
  • 1975 - Birth of Big Boi; rapper (Outkast).
  • 1975 - First successful Washington Capitals' penalty shot, Ken Lockett versus Vancouver Canucks.
  • 1975 - Birth of Martijn Reuser; Dutch soccer player (Ajax).
  • 1975 - Otis Francis Tabler is first open homosexual to get security clearance to work for the US Defense Department.
  • 1975 - Richard Wattis, actor (Dick and the Duchess, Liberace), dies at age 62.
  • 1976 - ABC TV premieres the mini-series Rich Man, Poor Man.
  • 1976 - East Lansing police arrest Los Angeles Dodgers' reliever Mike Marshall for taking batting practice at Michigan State University after he is warned not to.
  • 1976 - Edgar Pangborn, sci-fi author (Judgment of Eve, Davy), dies at age 66.
  • 1976 - Judy Rankin win LPGA Burdine's Golf Invitational.
  • 1976 - The CBS TV network resumes airing The Sonny and Cher Show 60-minute variety TV show in the USA, despite their real-life divorce.
  • 1976 - Werner C Heisenberg, German physicist (Nobel Prize 1932, field theory), dies at age 74 in Munich.
  • 1977 - Edmond [Moore] Hamilton, American sci-fi author (Danger Planet), dies at age 72.
  • 1977 - Heavy blizzard in New England claims 100 lives.
  • 1977 - Hillsdale High School defeats Person High School 2-0 in basketball.
  • 1978 - A bomb explodes outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two garbagemen, a policeman and injuring several others.
  • 1979 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 15 years in exile.
  • 1979 - Mort Marshall, actor (Cully - Dumplings), dies at age 60.
  • 1979 - Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence is commuted by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
  • 1979 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk.
  • 1980 - TV soap opera Love of Life on CBS ends a 28-year run.
  • 1980 - Birth of Courtney Hamilton; Miss Arizona Teen-USA (1996).
  • 1980 - Jack Bailey, TV host (Queen for a Day), dies at age 72.
  • 1980 - Romolo Valli, actor (Boom, La Viaccia), dies at age 54.
  • 1981 - 31st NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 123-120 at Cleveland, Ohio.
  • 1981 - French government accord sends 60 Mirage fighter jets to Iraq.
  • 1981 - Nils Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer, dies at age 72 (born 1908).
  • 1981 - Sandra Palmer win LPGA Whirlpool Golf Championship of Deer Creek.
  • 1981 - Trevor Chappell bowls underarm to Brian McKechnie, WSC Final Melbourne Cricket Ground.
  • 1981 - Wanda Hendrix, actress (Sierra, Ride the Pink Horse), dies.
  • 1981 - 11th NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 21-7.
  • 1982 - Senegal and Gambia form loose confederation (Senegambia).
  • 1982 - NBC-TV debuts Late Night With David Letterman.
  • 1983 - Tullio Campagnolo, Italian bicycle manufacturer, dies.
  • 1983 - USSR performs underground nuclear test.
  • 1983 - Canadian arts pay-TV network C-Channel debuts.
  • 1984 - China and Netherlands regain diplomatic relations.
  • 1984 - Daniel Stern becomes NBA commissioner.
  • 1984 - Ravindara Mhatrem, Indian diplomat, kidnapped in England (killed February 3).
  • 1984 - Medicare comes into effect in Australia.
  • 1985 - -61 degrees F (-52 degrees C), Maybell, Colorado (state record).
  • 1985 - -69 degrees F (-56 degrees C), Peter's Sink, Utah (state record).
  • 1985 - Birth of Dean Shiels; Northern Irish football player.
  • 1985 - AM stereo broadcasting starts in Australia.
  • 1985 - Azharuddin scores third Test century in third Test Cricket (122 versus England).
  • 1985 - Saint Louis Cardinals trade D Green, Jose Uribe, Dave LaPoint to San Francisco Giants for Jack Clark.
  • 1985 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Tiffany Chin.
  • 1986 - Birth of Lauren Conrad; reality star from Laguna Beach and The Hills, fashion designer, Teen Vogue intern.
  • 1986 - Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer, Nobel peace prize winner (1982), dies at age 84 (born 1902).
  • 1986 - Dick James, Beatles' music publisher (1962-70), dies in London at age 58.
  • 1987 - 163 day strike against Deere and Company ends, workers accept wage freeze.
  • 1987 - 38,873 NBA crowd watch Chicago Bulls at Detroit Pistons.
  • 1987 - Erin Westmore, makeup artist (Hollywood Backstage), dies at age 82.
  • 1987 - Kathy Postlewait win LPGA Mazda Golf Classic.
  • 1987 - NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 10-6.
  • 1988 - Heather O'Rourke, American actress (Poltergeist), dies of intestinal ailment at age 12 (born 1975).
  • 1989 - Comet Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 at perihelion.
  • 1989 - Joan Kirner becomes Victoria's first female Deputy Premier, after the resignation of Robert Fordham over the VEDC (Victorian Economic Development Co-operation) Crisis.
  • 1989 - Death of Elaine de Kooning, American artist (born 1919).
  • 1990 - Nintendo ships the Super Mario Bros. 3 video game for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the US.
  • 1991 - Carol Dempster, actress (Sally of Sawdust, America), dies at age 89.
  • 1991 - Craig McDermott takes 8-97 versus England at the WACA.
  • 1991 - H J van Ommeren-Averink, Dutch Member of Parliament (CPN), dies.
  • 1991 - James G MacDonald, cartoon voice (Mickey Mouse), dies at age 84.
  • 1991 - Phil Watson, NHL coach (New York Rangers), dies.
  • 1991 - South African President F W de Klerk says he would repeal all apartheid laws.
  • 1991 - A USAir Boeing 737-300, Flight 1493 collides with a Skywest Fairchild Metroliner, Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport killing 34.
  • 1992 - Barry Bonds signs baseball's highest single year contract (US$4.7 million).
  • 1992 - Denis Potvin's #5 becomes the first number retired by the New York Islanders.
  • 1992 - George Berkeley, actor (Life Stinks, Captains and the Kings), dies at age 70.
  • 1992 - Irving R Kaufman, federal judge (Rosenberg Case), dies at age 81.
  • 1992 - 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, and orders the Indian government to press for an extradition from the United States.
  • 1993 - New York Judge Sol Wachtler indicted for harassing Joy Silverman.
  • 1993 - Soyuz TM-16 lands.
  • 1994 - Fouad Fram al-Boustani, Lebanese historian (Rawaeaa), dies at age 88.
  • 1994 - Irina Privalova runs world record 50 metre indoor (6.03 seconds).
  • 1994 - Large meteorite falls near Kusaie, Pacific Ocean.
  • 1994 - In Portland, Oregon, Tonya Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly pleads guilty to his role in attacking figure skater Nancy Kerrigan. He accepts a plea bargain, admitting to racketeering charges in exchange for testimony against Harding.
  • 1994 - Olan Soule, radio voice, character actor (Super Friends), dies of lung cancer at age 83 (born 1909).
  • 1995 - Amtrak New York-Tampa run ends.
  • 1995 - Amy van Dikes swims woman's world record 50 metre butterfly (26.73).
  • 1995 - Andy and Grant Flower make 269 stand versus Pakistan, brotherly record.
  • 1995 - Belgium's TV channel VT4 goes on the air.
  • 1995 - John Smith, CEO (Liverpool FC), dies at age 74.
  • 1996 - Clive Burton, neuropathologist, dies at age 54.
  • 1997 - Death of Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist, at age 80 of lung cancer (born 1916).
  • 1997 - Peter Morris, historian of France, dies at age 50.
  • 1997 - Thelma Moss, psychologist, dies at age 78.
  • 1998 - 86th Australian Mens Tennis: Petr Korda beats Marcelo Rios (6-2, 6-2, 6-2).
  • 1998 - Australian Mixed Doubles Tennis: J Gimelstob and V Williams beat Suk and Sukova (6-2, 6-1).
  • 1998 - NFL Pro Bowl Game, AFC beats NFC 29-24.
  • 1998 - The United States Senate passes Resolution 71, urging U.S. President Bill Clinton to "take all necessary and appropriate actions to respond to the threat posed by Iraq's refusal to end its weapons of mass destruction programs."
  • 1999 - Death of Paul Mellon, American philanthropist (born 1907).
  • 2002 - Kidnapped Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl is murdered in Karachi, Pakistan.
  • 2003 - American Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas upon re-entry, killing all seven astronauts onboard: Michael P. Anderson (born 1959), David M. Brown (born 1956), Kalpana Chawla (born 1961), Laurel Clark (born 1961), Rick Husband (born 1957), William McCool (born 1961), Ilan Ramon (Israeli, born 1954).
  • 2003 - In Northern Ireland, Protestant Ulster Defence Association Belfast leader John Gregg is killed by a loyalist faction.
  • 2003 - The new Congress of Brazil's parliament is sworn in.
  • 2004 - A hajj stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 251 pilgrims.
  • 2004 - The New England Patriots win NFL Super Bowl XXXVIII, as Adam Vinatieri kicks the game-winning field goal with four seconds left.
  • 2005 - Death of John Vernon at age 72 following heart surgery; actor (Wojek TV show, Delta House, Matrix, Acapulco HEAT, Batman).
  • 2006 - UAL Corporation, United Airlines' parent company, emerges from bankruptcy after being in that position since December 9, 2002, the longest such filing in history.
  • 2006 - At a luncheon at Safeco Field, baseball player Craig Biggio becomes the 41st recipient of the Hutch Award.
  • 2006 - In Calgary, Alberta, Canada, an exceptionally bright meteor is seen streaking across the sky, lasting for several seconds before breaking up into fragments. It is estimated that remnants of the meteorite land about 400 km south of Calgary, in Montana, USA.
  • 2006 - A meteor falls in a field in Singpara village, Bangladesh; a hot, lead-like black material three feet below the earth is dug up, weighing 2.5kg.
  • 2007 - British Prime Minister Tony Blair is questioned for a second time in the 'cash for peerages' (Cash for Honours) probe as a witness.
  • 2007 - Death of Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-born composer and librettist (born 1911).
  • 2008 - In Dambulla, Sri Lanka, a bomb explodes on a civilian bus, killing 18 people and wounding 50.
  • 2008 - In Baghdad, Iraq, two suicide bombers kill 72 people, wounding another 149.
  • 2009 - The Australian Open tennis championships final games are played (day two).
    • Mens' singles: Spaniard Rafael Nadal defeats Roger Federer 7-5, 3-6, 7-6, (7-3), 3-6, 6-2.

  • 2009 - In Tampa, Florida, the NFL's SuperBowl XLII game is played. The Pittsburgh Steelers win their record sixth Super Bowl by defeating the Arizona Cardinals. Santonio Holmes is named the game's most valuable player.
  • 2009 - Zimbabwe currency reform drops twelve zeroes, making Z$1 trillion equal to a new Z$1. Inflation rate in the country is about 5 billion-trillion (21 zeroes).
  • 2009 - Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow is enthroned as the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church.
  • 2009 - Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is appointed as the new Prime Minister of Iceland.
  • 2009 - In Ireland, round 1 of the FIA World Rally Championship is won by Sébastien Loeb.
  • 2010 - A woman detonates an explosives vest among a group of pilgrims 80km north-east of Baghdad, killing at least 41 people and injuring 106.
  • 2010 - US President Barack Obama announces a US$3.8 trillion budget plan for 2011, forecasting the US deficit would rise to a record US$1.56 trillion this year.
  • 2010 - US President Barack Obama cancels the Constellation project designed to take humans to the Moon by 2020.
  • 2010 - Death of Steingrímur Hermannsson, 19th Prime Minister of Iceland (born 1928).
  • 2012 - At least 79 people are killed and more than 1,000 injured after a football match in Port Said, Egypt.
  • 2012 - Death of Wislawa Szymborska, Polish Nobel poet (born 1923).
  • 2016 - Parliament of Myanmar opens, with freely elected majority.
  • 2017 - Death of Étienne Tshisekedi, 18th Prime Minister of Zaire (born 1932).
  • 2019 - U.S. President Donald Trump confirms that the U.S. will leave the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1987, citing Russian non-compliance.
  • 2020 - A passenger aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship tests positive for Covid-19.
  • 2021 - Kosovo officially establishes diplomatic ties with Israel and announces plans to open an embassy in Jerusalem.
  • 2021 - The number of COVID-19 vaccinations administered worldwide exceeds 100 million.
  • 2021 - Death of Edward Babiuch, 5th Prime Minister of the Polish People's Republic (born 1927).
  • 2021 - Military in Myanmar seizes power in a coup.
  • 2022 - Attempted coup foiled in Bissau, capital of Guinea-Bissau.
  • 2022 - Death of Shintaro Ishihara at age 89; governor of Tokyo, Japan.
  • 2023 - Comet C/2022 E3 (ZTF) passes by Earth; last passing was 50,000 years ago.

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