/year

February

second month in the Julian and Gregorian calendars

92 dated entries naming February, drawn from 91 separate years between 228 CE and 1951 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

JSONWikipedia articleWikidata Q109

3rd century

  • 228c. February – May – Battle of Jieting: The Cao Wei Kingdom decisively defeats the Shu Han Kingdom.source
  • 229February – May – Battle of Jianwei: The state of Shu Han is victorious over the state of Cao Wei.source

4th century

  • 313February: Emperors Constantine I and Licinius convene in Mediolanum (modern Milan). Licinius marries Constantine's half-sister Constantia, and they issue the Edict of Milan. This edict ends the Great Persecution against the Christians and is the first piece of legislation in western history to decree freedom of religion. It also returns property confiscated from Christians. The edict is posted in Nicomedia on June 13.source
  • 360February – Julian, Roman Caesar, is proclaimed emperor in Lutetia (modern Paris).source
  • 378February – The Lentienses (part of the Alemanni) cross the frozen Rhine and raid the countryside. They are driven back by Roman auxilia palatina (Celtae and Petulantes), who defend the western frontier.source

7th century

  • 624February – Chinese General Li Daliang leads an army to retake the Yu prefecture, near Xuancheng in what is now the Anhui province, from the rebel leader Fu Gongshi.source

8th century

  • 712February – King Ansprand dies, and is succeeded by his son Liutprand as ruler of the Lombards. During his reign, Liutprand becomes the greatest of the Lombard Kings. Coins and documents from his court at Pavia confirm the impression of a strong and effective monarch.source
  • 724February – Al-Jarrah ibn Abdallah of the Umayyad Caliphate inflicts a crushing defeat on the Khazars of what is now Russia in a battle fought between the Cyrus and Araxes Rivers.source
  • 744February – King Liutprand of the Lombards dies of natural causes after a 32-year reign, in which he has defeated the dukes of Spoleto and Benevento, bringing the Lombard Kingdom to the height of her power. He is succeeded by Hildeprand, called "the Useless" (nephew or grandson of Liutprand), as ruler of the Lombards.source
  • 754February – Council of Hieria: Emperor Constantine V summons a Christian council in the palace of Hieria in Constantinople. The council, under the presidency of Bishop Theodosius of Ephesus, supports the policy of Iconoclasm and condemning the use of religious images (icons) in the Byzantine Empire. Constantine increases the persecution of the monasteries; hundreds of monks and nuns are mutilated or put to death.source

9th century

  • 821February – Duke Borna of Croatia dies after an 11-year reign, as vassal of the Frankish Empire. He is succeeded by his nephew, Vladislav. Emperor Louis I recognizes him as prince of Dalmatia and Liburnia, at the Council of Aachen.source
  • 824February – A major earthquake strikes Byzantium in Asia Minor (now part of western Turkey) and part of Greece, damaging the city walls of Theodosiopolis (now Barbaros in Turkey) and Heraclea Perinthus at the same time that the forces of Byzantine Emperor Michael II the Amorian are suppressing the rebellion by Thomas the Slav. Both cities surrender after the natural event.source
  • 896February – King Arnulf of Carinthia invades Italy at the head of an East Frankish expeditionary army. He storms Rome (the Leonine City), and has himself crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Formosus at St. Peter's. Arnulf sets out to establish his authority in Spoleto, but suffers a stroke; he is forced to call off the campaign, and returns to Bavaria.source

10th century

  • 901February – King Louis III (the Blind) is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Benedict IV at Rome. His rival Berengar I seeks refuge in Bavaria at the court of King Louis IV (the Child).source
  • 902February – March – Abu Abbas Abdallah, conqueror of Reggio Calabria, returns from Sicily and succeeds his father Ibrahim II as Aghlabid emir of Ifriqiya.source
  • 996February - Chotoku Incident: Fujiwara no Korechika and Takaie shoot an arrow at Retired Emperor Kazan.source

11th century

  • 1025February – In what was the Kingdom of Israel, Fath al-Qal'i, the Fatimid Governor of Jerusalem, and Anushtakin al-Dizbari, the Governor of Palestine, make a successful assault on Ramla against Hassan ibn Mufarrij al-Jarrah, the leader of the Jarrahids of Syria.source
  • 1037February – At an Imperial Diet in Pavia (assembled by Conrad II), Aribert is accused of fomenting a revolt against the Holy Roman Empire, Conrad orders his arrest.source
  • 1045February – Pope Sylvester III is deposed (election deemed invalid); Pope Benedict IX is elected once more, becoming the 147th pope.source
  • 1075February – Pope Gregory VII holds a council in the Lateran Palace at Rome. He publishes a decree against laymen investiture (an act which will later cause the Investiture Controversy).source
  • 1091February – Norman conquest of Sicily: The Normans conquer Noto and complete the 30-year-long conquest of Sicily from the Moorish rulers. Duke Roger Borsa (a son of Robert Guiscard) surrenders his share in the castles of Calabria, and receives his inheritance of Palermo. He grants charters to various towns and encourages urban planning in Apulia and Calabria.source
  • 1099February – The Crusaders under Godfrey of Bouillon set out from Antioch to Latakia. They are joined by forces of Bohemond I and Robert II, count of Flanders. On their arrival, Bohemond decides to turn back to consolidate his power in Antioch. Godfrey and Robert move on to besiege the small sea-port of Jabala. After two weeks, the Emir of Jabala makes a truce, and accepts the suzerainty of the Crusaders.source

12th century

  • 1110February–May – Crusaders under Baldwin I besiege Beirut. Genoese and Pisan ships blockade the harbour; Fatimid ships from Tyre and Sidon try in vain to break the blockade. The Fatimid governor flees by night through the Italian fleet to Cyprus. On May 13, Baldwin captures the city by assault and the Italians carry out a massacre among the inhabitants.source
  • 1156February – Domenico Morosini, doge of Venice (House of Morosini), dies after an 8-year reign. He is succeeded by Vitale II Michiel as ruler of Venice.source
  • 1177February/March – Philip of Swabia, rival of Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1208)source
  • 1183February – Raynald of Châtillon has at least five ships freighted over the Isthmus of Suez, which he then uses to pillage the shores of the Red Sea around Jeddah.source

13th century

  • 1206February – The Bulgarians attack and loot the fortified town of Rodosto (see Battle of Rodosto), defended by a Venetian garrison. Later, Kaloyan captures many more towns and fortresses.source
  • 1223February – A council of Russian princes summons at Kiev; several princes are convinced by Köten Khan to assemble an allied army to drive the Mongols back. During the first half of March, Russian princes return to their principalities and begin to raise forces for the forthcoming campaign. The alliance has a combined force of some 60,000 men, mainly cavalry. Subutai unites his army with Jebe, and sends ambassadors to the Kievan Rus' princes, to tell them to stay out of the conflict as it didn't involve them.source
  • 1224February – King Ferdinand III (the Saint) announces his intention to resume the Reconquista against the realm of the Almohad Caliphate. Caliph Yusuf II al-Mustansir dies and is succeeded by Abu Muhammad al-Wahid, but in Al-Andalus, two competing pretenders also claim their rights to the throne: Abu Muhammad Ibn al-Mansur al-Adil in Seville and Abu Muhammad abu Abdallah al-Bayyasi in Córdoba. The chronic political instability on the Almohad site allows Ferdinand to begin his campaign victoriously in October, with the capture of Quesada in Spain.source
  • 1272February – Charles I of Anjou, king of Sicily, occupies the city of Durrës, and establishes the Angevin Kingdom of Albania. A delegation of Albanian nobles and citizens from Durrës make their way to Charles' court.source

14th century

  • 1332February – Henry Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey (b. c. 1265)source
  • 1351February – Enactments by the Parliament of England:source
  • 1356ca. February – Burnt Candlemas: Edward III of England burns down every town and village in Lothian, Scotland.source
  • 1369February – Vladislav I of Wallachia liberates Vidin from the Hungarians, resulting in the restoration of Ivan Sratsimir on the throne of Bulgaria, in the autumn.source
  • 1373February – Ibn Kathir, Mamluk Islamic scholar (b. 1301)source
  • 1374February – In what is now Hanoi in Vietnam, the Emperor Trần Duệ Tông of Đại Việt issues decrees establishing an imperial examination for civil servants.source
  • 1385February – Bugaya becomes the new Sultan of Kano in what is now northern Nigeria, upon the death of his brother Yaji I.source
  • 1400February – Henry Percy (Hotspur) leads English incursions into Scotland.source

15th century

  • 1419February – Abu 'Amr 'Uthman, Hafsid caliph of Ifriqiya (d. 1488)source
  • 1426February – Christian of Oldenburg, King of Denmark 1448–1481, of Norway 1450–1481 and of Sweden 1457–1464 (d. 1481)source
  • 1429February – Giovanni di Bicci de' Medici, founder of the Medici dynasty of Florence (b. c. 1360)source
  • 1436February – Karl Knutsson Bonde becomes the Rikshövitsman of the Swedish military jointly with Engelbrekt. The two will share the title until Engelbrekt's death two months later.source
  • 1440February–June – The Praguerie, an uprising by the French nobility against King Charles VII.source
  • 1449February – Alexăndrel seizes the throne of Moldavia, with the support of the boyars.source
  • 1452February – Alexăndrel retakes the throne of Moldavia, in his long struggle with Petru Aron.source
  • 1496February – Pietro Bembo's Petri Bembi de Aetna Angelum Chalabrilem liber, a description of a journey to Mount Etna, is published in Venice by Aldus Manutius, the first book printed in the old-style serif or humanist typeface cut by Francesco Griffo (known from the 20th century as Bembo) and with early adoption of the semicolon (dated 1495 according to the more veneto).source

16th century

  • 1508February – Robert Lauder of the Bass, governor of Berwick-on-Tweed (b. c. 1440)source
  • 1531February or March – Battle of Antukyah: Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi of the Adal Sultanate defeats the Ethiopian army.source
  • 1542February – Nikolaus Federmann, German adventurer in Venezuela and Colombia (b. 1501)source
  • 1558January or February – Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter (d. 1617)source
  • 1570February – Henry Balnaves, Scottish politician and religious reformer (b. 1512)source
  • 1574February – The fifth War of Religion against the Huguenots begins in France.source
  • 1577February – Adam von Bodenstein, Swiss alchemist and physician (b. 1528)source
  • 1580February – John Digby, 1st Earl of Bristol, English diplomat (d. 1653)source
  • 1600February – Edmund Calamy the Elder, English Presbyterian (d. 1666)source

17th century

  • 1623February – Malcolm Macfie, last chief of the Scottish clan Clan Macfiesource
  • 1625February – Huguenot forces under the Duke of Soubise capture the Island of Ré.source
  • 1653February – The Morning Star Rebellion (Morgonstjärneupproret) of peasants breaks out in Sweden's province of Närke, against Queen Christina. It is brutally suppressed by April, and its leader, the self-proclaimed King Olof Mårtensson (who uses a morning star as his scepter) is executed on a breaking wheel on April 6.source
  • 1680February – Ralph Davenant, English rector and founder of Davenant Foundation Schoolsource
  • 1685February–March – Morean War (part of the Great Turkish War): The Ottoman serasker Halil Pasha invades the Mani Peninsula, and forces it to surrender hostages.source
  • 1696February – Ahom King Supaatphaa or Gadadhar Singhasource

18th century

  • 1703February – Soldiers at Fort Louis de la Mobile celebrate Mardi Gras in Mobile, starting the tradition for Mobile, Alabama.source
  • 1704February – In America, Mardi Gras is celebrated with the Masque de la Mobile in the capital of Louisiana (New France), Mobile, Alabama.source
  • 1709February – In America, Mardi Gras is celebrated one more time with Masque de la Mobile in the capital of French Louisiana, Mobile, Alabama, before Mobile is moved 27 miles (43 km) down the Mobile River to Mobile Bay in 1711.source
  • 1711February – French settlers at Fort Louis de la Mobile celebrate Mardi Gras in Mobile (Alabama), by parading a large papier-mache ox head on a cart (the first Mardi Gras parade in America).source
  • 1731February – Charles Churchill, English poet (d. 1764)source
  • 1731February – Thomas Hancorne, Welsh clergyman and theologian (b. 1642)source
  • 1732February – Charles Churchill, English poet (d. 1764)source
  • 1734June 30 – War of the Polish Succession: Russian troops take Gdańsk (German: Danzig), which had been besieged since February 1734, after the failure of a French expedition to relieve the city.source
  • 1745February – Samuel Hearne, English explorer, fur-trader, author, and naturalist (d. 1792)source
  • 1749February – The second part of John Cleland's erotic novel Fanny Hill (Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure) is published in London. The author is released from debtors' prison in March.source
  • 1766February – Ferocious wolf attacks occur in France, such as the Beast of Gévaudan or Wolves of Périgord.source
  • 1793February – In Manchester, Vermont, the wife of a captain falls ill, probably with tuberculosis. Some locals believe that the cause of her illness is that a demon vampire is sucking her blood. As a cure, Timothy Mead burns the heart of a deceased person in front of a crowd of a few hundred people.source

19th century

  • 1813February – War of 1812 in North America: General William Henry Harrison sends out an expedition to burn the British vessels at Fort Malden by going across Lake Erie via the Bass Islands in sleighs, but the ice is not hard enough, and the expedition returns.source
  • 1814February – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, represents Britain at the Congress of Chatillon.source
  • 1831February–March – Revolts in Modena, Parma and the Papal States are put down by Austrian troops.source
  • 1837February – Charles Dickens's Oliver Twist begins publication in serial form in London.source
  • 1840February – The Rhodes blood libel is made against the Jews of Rhodes.source
  • 1843February – Shaikh Ali bin Khalifa Al-Khalifa captures the fort and town of Riffa after the rival branch of the family fails to gain control of the Riffa Fort and flees to Manama. Shaikh Mohamed bin Ahmed is killed at the battle, called the Battle of Hunayniya.source
  • 1864February – John Wisden publishes The Cricketer's Almanack for the year 1864 in England; it will go on to become the major annual cricket reference publication.source
  • 1865February – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina burns, as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.source
  • 1870February – Denis Vrain-Lucas is sentenced to 2 years in prison for multiple forgery, in Paris.source
  • 1876February–March – The Harvard Lampoon humor magazine is founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts.source
  • 1883February – The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi is first published complete in book form, in Italy.source
  • 1891February – The Tobacco Protest begins in Iran.source

20th century

  • 1915February – While working as a cook at New York's Sloane Hospital for Women under an assumed name, "Typhoid Mary" (an asymptomatic carrier of typhoid fever) infects 25 people, and is placed in quarantine for life on March 27.source
  • 1927February – Werner Heisenberg formulates his famous uncertainty principle, while employed as a lecturer at Niels Bohr's Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Copenhagen.source
  • 1928February – The Ford River Rouge Complex at Dearborn, Michigan, an automobile plant begun in 1917, is completed as the world's largest integrated factory.source
  • 1945February – Raymond L. Libby of American Cyanamid's research laboratories, at Stamford, Connecticut, announces a method of orally administering the antibiotic penicillin.source
  • 1947January–February — Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in the 20th century causes extensive disruption of travel. Given the low ratio of private vehicle ownership at the time, it is mainly remembered in terms of its effects on the railway network.source
  • 1950February – The Ad Hoc Committee on Slavery of the United Nations is formally inaugurated with its first meeting at Lake Success in February 1950.source
  • 1951February – The Convention People's Party wins national elections in Gold Coast (British colony).source

Named in the same entries