/year

February 14 in history

239 sourced entries recorded on February 14, from 360 CE to 2024 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 360The first Hagia Sophia church is consecrated in Constantinople.source
  • 748Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan (modern Iran), marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt. Qahtaba ibn Shabib al-Ta'i takes the cities Nishapur and Rey, defeating an Umayyad army (10,000 men) at Gorgan.source
  • 842Oaths of Strasbourg: King Louis the German, ruler of East Francia, and his half-brother Charles the Bald, ruler of West Francia, meet with their armies at Strasbourg. They agree to swear allegiance (recorded in vernacular languages) to each other, and to support each other against their brother Lothair I (nominal emperor of all the Frankish kingdoms and the Holy Roman Empire).source
  • 1009February 14 or March 9 – The first known mention is made of the name of Lithuania, in connection with the murder of Bruno of Querfurt. He is beheaded and his 18 companions are hanged the same day during a mission among the Prussians in the Baltic region.source
  • 1010On the death of Fujiwara no Korechika his daughter, the poet Fujiwara no Chikako, becomes a lady-in-waiting to Empress Shōshi.source
  • 1014King Henry II arrives at Rome and is crowned Holy Roman Emperor together with his wife Cunigunde by Pope Benedict VIII in St. Peter's Basilica. Henry establishes the Diocese of Bobbio (Northern Italy) and returns to Germany.source
  • 1099The Crusaders under Raymond IV besiege the fortified town of Akkar – whose garrison is loyal to Jalal al-Mulk Abu'l-Hasan, emir of Tripoli (modern Lebanon). On May 13 after a 3-month siege the investment of Akkar is raised and Raymond orders the camp to be struck. The Crusader host, finally joined by the forces of Godfrey of Bouillon and Robert II, resumes his march southwards to Tripoli.source
  • 1130Pope Innocent II succeeds Pope Honorius II, as the 164th pope. Other factions (including Roger II of Sicily), however, support Anacletus II as pope, leading to the papal schism of 1130, and Innocent flees to France.source
  • 1193King Richard I (the Lionheart), previously imprisoned on his return from the Third Crusade by Leopold V (the Virtuous), duke of Austria is handed over to Emperor Henry VI, and moved to Trifels Castle.source
  • 1216Leo I, King of Armenia ("the Magnificent"), with support of the Knights Hospitaller, reconquers the Principality of Antioch. Armenian troops enter Antioch while Prince Bohemond IV of Antioch ("the One-Eyed") is absent. The Knights Templar, supporting Bohemond, abandon the citadel, and Raymond-Roupen is installed as Prince of Antioch by the Latin Patriarch, Peter II.source
  • 1283February 13–14 – Battle of Thị Nại Bay: A Mongol-led Yuan expeditionary force (some 5,000 men) lands on the beach, near Champa's capital Vijaya in Vietnam. Despite being outnumbered, the Yuan invaders break the Cham defensive line and force King Indravarman V to retreat to the Western Highlands, where he wages a successful guerrilla campaign against the occupying Yuan forces.source
  • 1300Egyptian monk Yohanna Ben-Ebsal is ordained as the 80th Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church and takes the regnal name Pope John VIII, following the death on January 13 of Theodosios III.source
  • 1316Battle of Skaithmuir: Scottish forces under James Douglas, Lord of Douglas defeat an English raiding party near Coldstream. During the skirmish, Edmond de Caillou (nephew of Piers Gaveston) is killed.source
  • 1318In Germany, Henry II becomes the new Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal upon the death of his father Henry Lackland.source
  • 1326Queen Ingeborg, the regent and de facto ruler of Sweden, is stripped from all political authority. Due to having many debts (known as the Scania affair), she gives up several fiefs.source
  • 1349Jewish persecutions during the Black Death: Strasbourg massacre – Because they are believed by the residents to be the cause of the Black Death, roughly 2,000 Jews are burned to death.source
  • 1385John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, son of the late King Edward III of England and uncle of King Richard II, flees London after learning during a joust that he has been targeted for assassination by the King's advisors Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk and Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford; and John de Montacute, Earl of Salisburysource
  • 1406Scottish nobles Henry II Sinclair, Earl of Orkney and David Fleming of Biggar are assigned by King Robert III to transport the Crown Prince James to Bass Rock at the Firth of Forth to be evacuated to France. The group is ambushed by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany at Long Hermiston Moor. Fleming is killed in battle, but Orkney is able to escape with Prince James and, after rescue, to board a ship to cross the English Channel.source
  • 1420English Lollard William Taylor is acquitted of charges of heresy in a trial before the Archbishop of Canterbury, Henry Chichele. Taylor will in 1423 be convicted of heresy and burned at the stake.source
  • 1424Wars in Lombardy: The army of the Florentine Republic, led by Captain Pandolfo III Malatesta, storms the city of Romagna.source
  • 1436In Yemen, the Imam Al-Mansur Ali bin Salah ad-Din of the Zaidi state becomes of one of the victims of a plague sweeping the kingdom. His son, an-Nasir Muhammad, becomes the new Imam but dies four weeks later.source
  • 1451Louis XI marries Charlotte of Savoy.source
  • 1451The future Louis XI marries Charlotte of Savoy .source
  • 1467Still unable to receive more than 7,500 ducats, General Skanderbeg departs from Rome with no plans for future aid to the Papal States, and receives word that he is needed back in Albania to defend the kingdom against the Ottoman invasion.source
  • 1488The Swabian League is re-established at a ceremony in Esslingen am Neckar as a military alliance of the Electorate of the Palatinate, the Duchy of Bavaria, monarchies and archbishoprics in Bayreuth, Hesse, Ansbach, Baden, Tyrol, Württemberg, Mainz and Trier, as well as 22 other "free cities" in the Holy Roman Empire.source
  • 1489Two alliance agreements are signed in the Austrian city of Dordrecht, with the Archduchy of Austria allying against France, with the Spanish Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of England. The tripartite agreement is completed with Castile and England reaching a mutual treaty on March 26.source
  • 1493A storm east of the Azores threatens to capsize both of the remaining ships, the Niña and the Pinta, on the expedition of Christopher Columbus as the crew are returning to Europe after being the first to reach the "New World". The two ships are separated and neither crew knows the fate of the other. The crew takes a vow for one of them to make a pilgrimage if they survive the storm. Columbus himself later makes a pilgrimage to the cathedral at Moguer in Andalusia in Spain.source
  • 1504King Ferdinand V of Castile contracts with Juan de la Cosa to finance an independent expedition to the Pearl Islands and the Gulf of Urabá.source
  • 1511The League of Cambrai is dissolved as Spain and the Holy Roman Empire withdraw and ally against the Kingdom of France.source
  • 1533By a treaty between the German city of Münster and the Holy Roman Empire, Münster is recognized as a Lutheran city.source
  • 1540Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, enters Ghent without resistance, and executes rebels, ending the Revolt of Ghent (1539–1540).source
  • 1542Guadalajara, Mexico, is founded by the Spaniards after three previous attempts failed, due to aggressive opposition from local tribes.source
  • 1548(Tenbun 18, 4th day of 1st month) At the Battle of Uedahara, firearms are used for the first time on the battlefield in Japan, and Takeda Shingen is defeated by Murakami Yoshikiyo.source
  • 1551Alice Arden and her lover, Richard Mosbey, carry out the murder-for-hire of her husband, Thomas Arden of Faversham with the assistance of a highwayman known as "Black Will", two of Arden’s domestic servants (Michael Saunderson and Elizabeth Stafford) and Mosbye's sister (Cicely Pounder). The body is carried outside, and Thomas is reported as missing, but a discovery is made that the murder was committed inside the house. The conspirators are later executed.source
  • 1556Akbar the Great ascends the throne of the Mughal Empire in India at age 13; he will rule until his death in 1605, by which time most of the north and centre of the Indian subcontinent will be under his control.source
  • 1556at the age of 13 Akbar becomes the emperor of Mughal Indiasource
  • 1570Funeral of Regent Moray at St Giles' Cathedral.source
  • 1586In India, Yakub Shah Chak becomes the new Sultan of Kashmir after the death of his father, the Sultan Yousuf Shah.source
  • 1596Archbishop John Whitgift begins building his hospital at Croydon.source
  • 1604King James of England denounces the Roman Catholic Church after learning from one of his spies, Sir Anthony Standen, that Queen Anne has been sent a rosary from the Pope.source
  • 1608The brutal winter of 1607-1608 in England ends after 10 weeks of sub-freezing temperatures.source
  • 1613Elizabeth, daughter of King James I of England, marries Elector Frederick V of the Palatinate.source
  • 1614February 14 (February 4 O.S.) – King James I of England issues his proclamation Against Private Challenges and Combats in an effort to end duels.source
  • 1619Earthquake flattens the town of Trujillo, Peru, killing hundreds in the town and causing landslides in the surrounding countryside killing hundreds more.source
  • 1628The coronation of Shah Jahan as ruler of the Mughal Empire takes place in Agra.source
  • 1639Writers Jacques Esprit François de La Mothe Le Vayer are elected to the Académie française.source
  • 1643Body of Marie de' Medici arrives in Liège on its journey to Francesource
  • 165114 February–18 June – a diplomatic team headed by Oliver St John and Walter Strickland is sent to The Hague to negotiate an alliance between the English Commonwealth and the Dutch Republic, in which they are unsuccessful.source
  • 1655The Mapuches launch coordinated attacks against the Spanish in Chile, beginning the Mapuche uprising of 1655.source
  • 1661A common Supreme Court is established for Denmark-Norway.source
  • 1661George Monck’s regiment becomes The Lord General's Regiment of Foot Guards in England (which later becomes the Coldstream Guards).source
  • 1661George Monck's regiment becomes The Lord General's Regiment of Foot Guards (which later becomes the Coldstream Guards).source
  • 1664A peace treaty is signed in Turin in Italy to end the War of the Banished between the Duchy of Savoy and the Waldensians.source
  • 1676Metacomet and his Wampanoags attack Northampton, Massachusetts; meanwhile, the Massachusetts Council debates whether a wall should be erected around Boston.source
  • 1718The reign of Victor Amadeus over the principality of Anhalt-Bernburg (within the modern-day state of Saxony-Anhalt in northeastern Germany) ends after 61 years and 7 months. He had ascended the throne on September 22, 1656. He is succeeded by his son Karl Frederick.source
  • 1729King Philip V of Spain issues a royal cedula, directing an effort to offer incentives to families from the Canary Islands for settlements in New Spain north of the Rio Grande in the modern-day U.S. state of Texas (→ Canarian Americans).source
  • 1732Henry Fielding's comedy The Modern Husband premieres at the Royal Theatre on Drury Lane in London.source
  • 1732first performance of Henry Fielding's comedy The Modern Husband, at the Royal Theatre on Drury Lane in London.source
  • 1735The Order of St. Anna is established in Russia, in honor of the daughter of Peter the Great.source
  • 1737William Talbot, MP for Glamorganshire, succeeds his father as Baron Talbot.source
  • 1741Irish-born actor Charles Macklin makes his London stage debut as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, pioneering a psychologically realistic style with Shakespeare's text revived, replacing George Granville's melodramatic adaptation The Jew of Venice. Kitty Clive plays the travesti role of Portia.source
  • 1743Finnur Jónsson is appointed official of the Diocese of Skálholt, serving as bishop until a new bishop has been elected after the death of Jón Árnason.source
  • 1751At Lakkireddipalle in southeastern India, the new Nizam of Hyderabad, Subhadar Muzaffar Jang, leads an invasion of cavalry against the small kingdom of Kurnool and is confronted by its monarch, the Nawab Bahadur Khan. The Subhadar and the Nawab order their soldiers to stand down and then engage in hand-to-hand combat, during which the Nawab "thrust[s] a spear into the Subhadar's brain" before he is "himself hacked to pieces."source
  • 1756Battle of Vijaydurg: The Maratha Navy, that has controlled the western coast of India for the Maratha Empire for more than a century, is destroyed by British attackers fighting for the East India Company. On orders of Royal Navy Admiral Charles Watson, the British capture a Maratha ship (the former British warship HMS Restoration), set it on fire, and then float the burning vessel into the Vijaydurg Port where most of Maratha Admiral Tulaji Angre's ships are anchored. The fire soon spreads to the other ships, destroying one large warship armed with 74 cannons, eight gurabs of 200 tonnes apiece, and sixty galbat ships.source
  • 1758Vice Chancellor Aleksey Bestuzhev-Ryumin was removed from office.source
  • 1765Spain's five-member "special junta", appointed by Prime Minister Jerónimo Grimaldi, delivers its report regarding "ways to address the backwardness of Spain's commerce with its colonies and with foreign nations". The report provides detailed orders to be delivered to José de Gálvez, the visitador general in charge of New Spain.source
  • 1770Scottish explorer James Bruce arrives at Gondar, capital of Abyssinia (modern-day Ethiopia) and is received by the Emperor Tekle Haymanot II and Ras Mikael Sehul.source
  • 1788HMS Supply leaves Sydney Cove to establish a settlement on Norfolk Island.source
  • 1797French Revolutionary Wars – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: The British Royal Navy under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeats a larger Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent, Portugal.source
  • 1797Battle of Cape St Vincent: The Royal Navy under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeats a larger Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent, Portugal. On 23 May, Jervis is made Earl of St Vincent, and Horatio Nelson made a Knight of the Bath, for their part in the victory.source
  • 1802Acting lieutenant John Murray, commander of the Lady Nelson, explores Port Phillip.source
  • 1804The First Serbian uprising begins the Serbian Revolution. By 1817, the Principality of Serbia will have proclaimed self-rule from the Ottoman Empire, the first nation-state in Europe to do so.source
  • 1814War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Vauchamps: A French army led by Napoleon is victorious against von Blücher, the last major action of the Six Days' Campaign.source
  • 1820Emperor Minh Mạng starts to rule in Vietnam.source
  • 1831Battle of Debre Abbay: Ras Marye of Yejju marches into Tigray, and defeats and kills the warlord Sabagadis.source
  • 1831Vicente Guerrero, leader of Mexican War of Independence and 2nd President of Mexico, assassinated (born 1782)source
  • 1843The event that will inspire The Beatles' 1967 song "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" is held in England.source
  • 1849In New York City, James K. Polk becomes the first President of the United States to have his photograph taken.source
  • 1849James Knox Polk becomes the first sitting president of the United States to have his photograph taken, in New York City.source
  • 1850February 8–17 – Battle at Fort Utah: The Nauvoo Legion kills Timpanogos hostile to the Mormon settlement at Fort Utah on the orders of Brigham Young.source
  • 1852The Great Ormond Street Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits its first patient.source
  • 1852Great Ormond Street Hospital in London admits its first child patient.source
  • 1854Texas is linked by telegraph with the rest of the United States, when a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas is completed.source
  • 1859Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state.source
  • 1859Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state (see History of Oregon).source
  • 1859Ole Rasmussen Apeness, district sheriff, soldier, and farmer (born 1765)source
  • 1862February 11–16 – Battle of Fort Donelson – General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee, capturing it on the last day.source
  • 1867Augusta Institute is founded in Augusta, Georgia, later known as Morehouse College.source
  • 1870Schoolteacher Seraph Young Ford becomes the first woman to vote under a women’s equal suffrage law in the USA, casting her ballot in the Salt Lake City municipal election.source
  • 1876Alexander Graham Bell applies for a U.S. patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray.source
  • 1879The War of the Pacific begins when 500 Chilean soldiers arrive by ship and occupied the port city of Antofagasta without a fight, in response to the National Congress of Bolivia's attempt to seize and auction the assets of the Antofagasta Nitrate & Railway Company.source
  • 1880The wife of the governor general, The Princess Louise, Marchioness of Lorne, is seriously injured when the viceregal sleigh overturns on a Rudolph Ottawa street.source
  • 1881Pine City, Minnesota, is incorporated.source
  • 1886The first trainload of oranges leaves Los Angeles via the United States transcontinental railroad.source
  • 1891In the FA Cup quarter-final in English association football, a goal is deliberately stopped by handball on the goal line. An indirect free kick is awarded, since the penalty kick, proposed the previous year by William McCrum, has not yet been implemented. This event probably changes public opinion on the penalty kick, seen previously as an Irishman's motion.source
  • 1893February 11–19 – White Star Line cargo liner SS Naronic sinks without a trace in heavy seas on the Liverpool–New York transatlantic passage.source
  • 1899Belgian Antarctic Expedition research vessel Belgica freed from Antarctic ice.source
  • 1899February 12–14 – Great Blizzard of 1899: Freezing temperatures and snow extend well south into North America, including southern Florida. It is the latest in a series of disasters to Florida's citrus industry.source
  • 1901Edward VII opens his first parliament of the United Kingdom.source
  • 1903Census Board within the Department of Commerce and Labor (Census Bureau).source
  • 1909The first North Island Main Trunk passenger express train leaves Auckland for Wellington, an overnight trip scheduled to take 19 hours 15 minutes, with a sleeping car, day cars with reclining seats, postal/parcels vans, and a dining car for part of the way.source
  • 1910Establishment of the Vicariate Apostolic of Central Chi-Li.source
  • 1912Arizona is admitted as the 48th state of the United States, the last contiguous state to be admitted into the Union.source
  • 1913February 9–19 — Ten Tragic Dayssource
  • 1914February 10–14 large-scale demonstrations erupted in Tokyo in response to the Siemens scandal.source
  • 1915The first contingent of 500 Māori soldiers sails for Egypt aboard SS Warrimoo. Earlier policy had been against 'native peoples' fighting in a European war.source
  • 1918Russia switches from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar; the date skips from January 31 to February 14.source
  • 1920February 12–24 – Conference of London: Leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Italy meet to discuss the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire.source
  • 1920The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago.source
  • 1922Baragoola, the last of the Binngarra class Manly ferries, is launched at Balmain, New South Wales.source
  • 1922February 10–17 – Modern Art Week in São Paulo marks the start of Modernism in Brazil.source
  • 1924The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR), based in the U.S. state of New York, is renamed International Business Machines (IBM).source
  • 1924Amalie Andersen, actress (born 1861).source
  • 1926The Nazi Party holds the Bamberg Conference in an attempt to strengthen Adolf Hitler's control over the party.source
  • 1927A magnitude 6.1 earthquake, with a maximum MSK intensity of VII–VIII (Very strong – Damaging), kills 50 in Yugoslavia.source
  • 1928February 11 – 19 – The 1928 Winter Olympics are held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the first as a separate event. Sonja Henie of Norway wins her first gold medal, in women's figure skating.source
  • 1929"Saint Valentine's Day Massacre": Five gangsters (rivals of Al Capone), plus a civilian, are shot dead in Chicago.source
  • 1931The original film version of Dracula, with Bela Lugosi, is released in the United States.source
  • 1933unsuccessful attempt by Peruvian Air Force to bomb Colombian Navy, President Herrera breaks off diplomatic relationssource
  • 1933unsuccessful attempt by Peruvian Air Force to bomb the Colombian Navysource
  • 1934February 12–15 – Austrian Civil War: The Fatherland Front consolidates its power in a series of clashes across the country.source
  • 1936February 10–19 – Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Amba Aradam – Italian forces gain a decisive tactical victory, effectively neutralizing the army of the Ethiopian Empire.source
  • 1937first competition takes place at a new ski jumping hill at Skalité near Szczyrk,source
  • 1946ENIAC (for "Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer"), an early general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania; it weighs 60,000 pounds (over 27 tons), and occupies a big room.source
  • 1950In an election speech at Edinburgh, Winston Churchill proposes "a parley at the summit" with Soviet leaders, the first use of the term "summit" for such a meeting.source
  • 1952The Gallego EDCOR farm in Buldon, Cotabato, the second EDCOR project, is opened.source
  • 1952Diário de Noite ran a report of mysterious bombs exploding in the city of Porto Alegre since the month of January. In May of the same year, the bomber, 24-year-old radio technician Herbert Rudiger was captured after maiming himself while fabricating another bomb. Rudiger confessed to the police that he was the author of the bombings while in the hospital and said his motive was fun he obtained with the sensationalism of the media.source
  • 1952February 14–25 – The Winter Olympics are held in Oslo, Norway.source
  • 1955Dissident émigrés seize the Romanian embassy in Bern, Switzerland, in protest against the government. The group surrender after two days.source
  • 1956February 14–25 – The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union is held in Moscow.source
  • 19561956 Santiago rail crashsource
  • 1958The Hashemite Kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan unite in the Arab Federation, with King Faisal II of Iraq as head of state.source
  • 1960Chief Martial Law Administrator Field Marshal Muhammad Ayub Khan is confirmed as president through a limited referendum that he held to legitimize his rule. The 80,000 "basic democrats", village councilmen who had been elected locally, were called upon to vote "yes" or "no" on Ayub's continuance in office, and about 94% of them voted in the affirmative.source
  • 1961Decimal Day - Decimalisation of currency replaces the South African pound with the South African rand.source
  • 1961Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized in Berkeley, California.source
  • 1962First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy takes television viewers on a tour of the White House.source
  • 1965An All Nippon Airways Douglas DC-3 aircraft crashes into Mount Nakanoone in Shizuoka Prefecture, killing both occupants of the plane.source
  • 1966The Australian dollar is introduced at a rate of 2 dollars per pound, or 10 shillings per dollar.source
  • 1966Decimalisation of the Australian currency; the Australian dollar replaces the Australian pound at the rate of ten shillings to the dollar.source
  • 1968February 6–18 – The 1968 Winter Olympics are held in Grenoble, France.source
  • 1969Pope Paul VI issues Mysterii Paschalis, a motu proprio, deleting many names from the Roman calendar of saints (including Valentine, who was celebrated on this day).source
  • 1975Protest in Sion against the closure of Bally workshops in Valaissource
  • 1978Both leaders from North Korea and Communist China had sided with Cambodia to maintain its own independent standing within the "communist world" and to support its "revolutionary comrade-in-arms", with Kim Il Sung and Deng Xiaoping provided critical support to Angkar and the Khmer Rouge, as their motivations and the nature of their relationships with Pol Pot as "Brother Number One" that implemented an extremist form of Maoism, drawing direct inspiration from China's Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution especially Red August to Cambodia's Super Great Leap Forward ("Moha Lout Plaoh").source
  • 1981Stardust fire: A fire at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, Dublin, Ireland, in the early hours kills 48 young people and injures 214. In 2024 these will be declared as unlawful killings.source
  • 1982February 11-19: the 1982 Amílcar Cabral Cup took place in Praiasource
  • 1984February 8–19 – The 1984 Winter Olympics are held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.source
  • 1985Lebanon hostage crisis: CNN reporter Jeremy Levin is freed from captivity in Lebanon.source
  • 1988George Vassiliou, an independent candidate supported by AKEL, defeated Glafcos Clerides of the Democratic Rally in presidential elections. They were the first presidential elections in the country's history to go to a second round. Voter turnout was 94.3% in both rounds.source
  • 1989The first of 24 Global Positioning System satellites is placed into orbit.source
  • 1989Union Carbide agrees to pay $470,000,000 to the Indian government for damages in the 1984 Bhopal disaster, a gas leak that killed 3.7 thousand.source
  • 1989The Satanic Verses controversy: Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Supreme Leader of Iran (died June 3), issues a fatwa calling for the death of Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie and his publishers for issuing the novel The Satanic Verses (1988).source
  • 1990The Pale Blue Dot photograph of Earth is sent back from the Voyager 1 probe after completing its primary mission, from around 5.6 billion kilometers (3.5 billion miles) away.source
  • 1990Indian Airlines Flight 605, an Airbus A320-231 registered as VT-EPN, crashes shortly before landing at Bangalore, killing 92 out of the 146 occupants on board.source
  • 1991Culemborg fireworks disastersource
  • 1992Ukraine and four other nations in the Commonwealth of Independent States reject Russia's proposal to maintain unified armed forces. Ukraine, Moldova and Azerbaijan announce they will go ahead with plans to create their own military forces.source
  • 1996Violent clashes erupt between Filipino soldiers and Vietnamese boat people, as the Filipino government attempts to forcibly repatriate hundreds of Vietnamese asylum seekers.source
  • 1999over 250,000 Orthodox Jews demonstrate in Jerusalem over a Supreme Court ruling that Reform and Conservative congregations should have representatives on local religious councils.source
  • 2002The State of Bahrain is declared a constitutional monarchy and becomes the Kingdom of Bahrain.source
  • 2002Kilkeel fishing boat The Tullaghmurray Lass is lost with all three crew in the Irish Sea.source
  • 2002The International Court of Justice rules in favor of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Arrest Warrant of 11 April 2000 case.source
  • 2003The remains of Carol II and of his wife, Magda Lupescu, are repatriated from Portugal and placed inside the Curtea de Argeș Cathedral.source
  • 2005YouTube, an American online video sharing and social media platform was founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim headquartered in San Bruno, California.source
  • 2005Chad Hurley registers the youtube.com domain name.source
  • 2006Kenyan police instruct 20 leading figures not to leave the country as investigations into two corruption scandals, the Goldenberg and Anglo Leasing scandals continue. Among the people told to hand in their passports is George Saitoti whose resignation as education minister was announced by President Mwai Kibaki yesterday. Meanwhile, 80 Members of Parliament have demanded the resignation of Deputy President Moody Awori, who is accused of involvement in the Anglo-Leasing scandal.source
  • 2008A Belavia CRJ-100 crash lands at Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, Armenia. 7 people are injured.source
  • 2010Prime Minister Raila Odinga suspends Minister of Agriculture William Ruto and Minister of Education Sam Ongeri alleging them on corruption. Ongeri has admitted diverting school infrastructure money to his constituency while Ruto is linked to the maize scandal. President Mwai Kibaki reversed the suspensions instantly, leading to a political debate on the powers between the president and PMsource
  • 2011The Day of Rage in Bahrain begins, which marks the first day of the 2011 Bahraini uprising.source
  • 2011The new TV Channel Medeniyyet TV began to operate.source
  • 2013Bahraini uprising (2011–present)source
  • 2015February 14–15 – A lone gunman leaves 2 people dead in a terrorist attack in Copenhagen, Denmark.source
  • 2015March 29 – The 2015 Cricket World Cup is held in Australia and New Zealand with Australia defeating New Zealand in the final.source
  • 2018Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa after nine years in power.source
  • 2018A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 17 injuries.source
  • 20192019 Haitian protests: The death toll rises to 9 as protesters ask for Jovenel Moïse to step down as president of Haiti.source
  • 2021Militants of the Islamic State's Central Africa Province raid the town of Ndalya in the Ituri Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing 11 civilians and three members of the armed forces.source
  • 2021February 13–February 17 – A major winter storm kills at least 136 people and causes over 9.9 million power outages in the U.S.source
  • 2022The flag of Mauritius is raised on the British-controlled Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean for the first time in history. Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth describes the event as a "historic moment", saying that it was time for the United Kingdom to cede control of the archipelago.source
  • 2023The European Parliament approves a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles in the European Union from 2035, citing the need to combat climate change in Europe and promote electric vehicles.source
  • 2024Airbus C-295MW officially entered service with the Royal Brunei Air Force.source

Births

  • 1313Thomas Beauchamp, English nobleman (died 1369)source
  • 1368Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1437)source
  • 1404Leon Battista Alberti, Italian painter, poet, and philosopher (died 1472)source
  • 1408John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel (died 1435)source
  • 1448Nannina de' Medici, Florentine member of the de' Medici family (died 1493)source
  • 1452Pandolfo Petrucci, tyrant of Siena (died 1512)source
  • 1483Zahir al-Din Mohammed Babur Shah, founder of the Moghul Dynasty (died 1530)source
  • 1490Valentin Friedland, German scholar and educator of the Reformation (died 1556)source
  • 1513Domenico Ferrabosco, Italian composer (died 1573)source
  • 1515Frederick III, Elector Palatine, ruler from the house of Wittelsbach (died 1576)source
  • 1532Richard Lowther, English soldier and official (died 1607)source
  • 1546Johann Pistorius, German historian (died 1608)source
  • 1572William Cooke, English politician (died 1619)source
  • 1602Francesco Cavalli, Italian composer of the early Baroque period (died 1676)source
  • 1614John Wilkins, English bishop, academic and natural philosopher (died 1672)source
  • 1652Camille d'Hostun, duc de Tallard, nobleman, diplomat and military officer (died 1728)source
  • 1680John Sidney, 6th Earl of Leicester, English privy councillor (died 1737)source
  • 1736Johan Peter Wleugel, naval officer and cartographer (died 1825 in Denmark)source
  • 1763Jean Victor Marie Moreau, French general (died of wounds 1813)source
  • 1766Thomas Malthus, English demographer, economist (died 1834)source
  • 1818Frederick Douglass (his day of birth was never established; he adopted this date), American abolitionist author, statesman (died 1895)source
  • 1824Winfield Scott Hancock, American Civil War Union general, Democratic presidential candidate (died 1886)source
  • 1855João Franco, politician (died 1929).source
  • 1913Jimmy Hoffa, American labor leader (disappeared 1975)source
  • 1933Madhubala, Indian actress (died 1969)source

Deaths

  • 869Cyril, Byzantine missionary and bishopsource
  • 945Zhu Wenjin, emperor of Min (Ten Kingdoms)source
  • 1009Bruno of Querfurt, German missionary bishopsource
  • 1010Fujiwara no Korechika, Japanese nobleman (born 974)source
  • 1043Gisela of Swabia, Holy Roman Empress (born 990)source
  • 1117Bertrade de Montfort, French queen (born 1070)source
  • 1140Soběslav I, duke of Bohemiasource
  • 1140Leo I, prince of Armeniasource
  • 1229Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, ruler of the Islessource
  • 1318Henry Lackland, German nobleman and ruler (born 1256)source
  • 1318Margaret of France, queen consort of England (born 1279)source
  • 1400King Richard II of England, (probably murdered) (born 1367)source
  • 1400The deposed Richard II of England dies by means unknown in Pontefract Castle. It is likely that King Henry IV ordered his death by starvation, to prevent further uprisings.source
  • 1405Timur (aka Tamerlane), Turco-Mongol monarch and conqueror (born 1336)source
  • 1444Henriette, Countess of Montbéliard, regent of Württemberg (born 1387)source
  • 1452Konrad VII the White, Duke of Oleśnicasource
  • 1459Stephen, Count Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken (born 1385)source
  • 1489Nicolaus von Tüngen, bishop of Warmiasource
  • 1527Queen consort Mary of Hungary, named as regent for the kingdom upon the August 29 death of her husband Louis II, asks permission from the Hungarian Diet to step down as the regent for the newly elected Frederick of Habsburg, but is denied.source
  • 1530Tangaxuan II, last cazonci of the Purépecha Empire, is executed by conquistador Nuño de Guzmán, ending the Purépecha Empire's independence from Spain.source
  • 1549Il Sodoma, Italian painter (born 1477)source
  • 1618Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, Italian Catholic cardinal (born 1560)source
  • 1690John Berry, Royal Navy officer (born 1635)source
  • 1779James Cook, British naval captain and explorer (born 1728)source
  • 1779James Cook killed by Hawaiian natives, cutting short his search for Northwest Passage. (born 1728)source
  • 1780William Blackstone, English jurist (born 1723)source
  • 1808John Dickinson, American lawyer, governor of Delaware and Pennsylvania (born 1732)source
  • 1831Vicente Guerrero, 2nd President of Mexico, Independence War hero (born 1782)source
  • 1881Fernando Wood, New York City mayor (born 1812)source
  • 1891William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (born 1820)source
  • 1929St. Valentine's Day Massacre: Seven gangsters, rivals of Al Capone, are murdered in Chicago.source
  • 1979In Kabul, Muslim extremists kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs, who is killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.source
  • 1983At least 10 people, mostly students, were killed when police opened fire on the procession against the education policy, popularly known at that time as “Majid Khan Education Policy.” The incident marked the beginning of the anti-autocracy movement against the military regime of H. M. Ershad.source
  • 2005Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri is assassinated, along with 21 others, by a suicide bomber in Beirut.source
  • 2011Central American Airways Flight 731 crashes outside Tegucigalpa, all the 14 passengers and crew are killed.source