February 1
February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar. There are 333 days remaining, (334 in
leap years).
*
1411 -
Peace of Toruń 1411 signed in
Toruń,
Poland*
1662 - The
Chinese general
Koxinga seizes the island of
Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
*
1713 - The
Kalabalik or
Tumult in Bendery results from the
Ottoman sultan's order that his unwelcome guest, King
Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.
*
1788 -
Isaac Briggs and
William Longstreet patent the
steamboat.
*
1790 - In
New York City the
Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time.
*
1793 -
France declares war on the
United Kingdom and the
Netherlands.
*
1796 - The capital of
Upper Canada is moved from
Newark to
York.
*
1814 -
Mayon Volcano, in the
Philippines, erupts, killing around 1,200 people; most devastating eruption of
Mayon Volcano.
*
1856 -
Auburn University is chartered as the
East Alabama Male College.
*
1861 -
American Civil War:
Texas secedes from the
United States.
*
1862 -
Julia Ward Howe's "
Battle Hymn of the Republic" is published for the first time in the
Atlantic Monthly.
*
1880 - The first edition of theatrical
newspaper The Stage is published.
*
1884 - Edition one of the
Oxford English Dictionary is published.
*
1893 -
Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first
motion picture studio, the
Black Maria (
West Orange, New Jersey).
*
1896 - The opera
La bohème premieres (
Turin).
*
1908 - King
Carlos I of Portugal and his son,
Prince Luis Filipe are killed in
Terreiro do Paco,
Lisbon.
*
1913 -
New York City's
Grand Central Terminal opens as the world's largest
train station.
*
1918 -
Russia adopts the
Gregorian Calendar.
*
1920 - The
Royal Canadian Mounted Police begin operations.
*
1924 -
United Kingdom recognizes
USSR.
*
1929 - Frenchman
Charles Rigoulet is the first
weightlifter to lift over 400 pounds (181 kg) in the "clean and jerk" method.
*
1943 -
World War II:
Vidkun Quisling is appointed
Premier of Norway by the
Nazi occupiers.
*
1946 -
Trygve Lie of
Norway is picked to be the first
United Nations Secretary General.
*
1958 - Merger of
Egypt and
Syria to form the
United Arab Republic, which lasted until
1961.
*
1960 - Four black students stage a
sit-in at a lunch counter in
Greensboro, North Carolina.
*
1965 -
Churchill River,
Newfoundland - Hamilton River in Labrador renamed Churchill River in honour of
Winston Churchill.
*
1968 -
Vietnam War:
Viet Cong officer
Nguyen Van Lem is executed by
Nguyen Ngoc Loan a
South Vietnamese
National Police Chief. The execution was videotaped and photographed by
Eddie Adams and helped sway public opinion
against the war.
* 1968 - Official
unification of the three former military services of
Canada, the
Royal Canadian Navy, the
Canadian Army and the
Royal Canadian Air Force became the united
Canadian Armed Forces.
* 1968 - Merger of the historic
New York Central Railroad and
Pennsylvania Railroad to form ill-fated
Penn Central Transportation.
*
1974 - In
São Paulo,
Brazil, a fire in a 25-story office building kills 189 and injures 293.
* 1974 -
Kuala Lumpur declared a
Federal Territory.
*
1978 - Director
Roman Polanski skips
bail and flees to
France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
*
1979 - Convicted bank robber
Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence was commuted by
President Jimmy Carter.
* 1979 -
Ayatollah Khomeini is welcomed back into
Tehran,
Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.
*
1981 -
Trevor Chappell bowls his infamous
"Underarm Ball" to
Brian McKechnie to prevent
New Zealand scoring a 6, and tying the
ODI, on the last ball of the third match in the final of the
Benson & Hedges World Series Cup. It directly led to the banning of underarm bowling by the
International Cricket Council as not within the spirit of the game.
*
1982 -
Senegal and
Gambia form a loose confederation known as
Senegambia.
* 1982 -
David Letterman begins an 11-year run as the host of the
NBC program
Late Night with David Letterman.
*
1989 - The
Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the
City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
*
1992 - The
Chief Judicial Magistrate of
Bhopal court declares
Warren Anderson, ex-
CEO of
Union Carbide, a fugitive under
Indian law for failing to appear in the
Bhopal Disaster case.
*
1994 - In
Portland, Oregon Tonya Harding's ex-husband
Jeff Gillooly pleads guilty for his role in attacking figure skater
Nancy Kerrigan.
*
1995 -
Manic Street Preachers lyricist
Richey James Edwards goes missing from the
Embassy Hotel in
London, UK.
*
1996 -
Communications Decency Act is passed by the
U.S. Congress.
*
1999 -
North Dakota Public Radio is launched.
*
2003 -
Space Shuttle program:
STS-107 mission (
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster)
*
2004 - At least 244 people trampled to death in a stampede at the
Hajj pilgrimage in
Saudi Arabia.
* 2004 -
Janet Jackson exposes her
breast on
American television during the half-time show of the
Super Bowl, prompting the
Nipplegate controversy which was associated with
riots.
*
2005 -
Nepal King
Gyanendra exercised
Coup d'état to capture the democracy becoming
Chairman of the
Councils of ministers.
*
2005 -
Canada passes Bill C-38, the Civil Marriage Act. The Act passed by a 158-133 majority, and was approved in the Senate in July, making Canada the 4th country to sanction homosexual marriage.
*
1261 -
Walter de Stapledon, English bishop (d.
1326)
*
1459 -
Conrad Celtes, German humanisr scholar (d.
1508)
*
1462 -
Johannes Trithemius, German cryptographer (d.
1516)
*
1552 -
Edward Coke, English colonial entrepreneur and jurist (d.
1634)
*
1635 -
Marquard Gude, German archaeologist (d.
1689)
*
1690 -
Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian composer (d.
1768)
*
1761 -
Christian Hendrik Persoon, South African mycologist (d.
1836)
*
1844 -
G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (d.
1844)
*
1859 -
Victor Herbert, Irish composer (d.
1924)
*
1874 -
Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian writer (d.
1929)
*
1878 -
Milan Hodža, Slovak politician, champion of regional integration in Europe (d.
1944)
*
1882 -
Louis Stephen St. Laurent, 12th
Prime Minister of Canada (d.
1973)
*
1884 -
Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian writer (d.
1937)
*
1887 -
Charles Nordhoff, English-born author (d.
1947)
*
1894 -
John Ford, American director and producer (d.
1973)
* 1894 -
James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (d.
1955)
*
1898 -
Enzo Ferrari, Italian auto manufacturer (d.
1988)
*
1901 -
Clark Gable, American actor (d.
1960)
*
1902 -
Langston Hughes American writer (d.
1967)
*
1904 -
S. J. Perelman, American humorist and author (d.
1979)
*
1905 -
Emilio G. Segrè, Italian physicist,
Nobel Prize Laureate (d.
1989)
*
1906 -
Hildegarde, American actress and singer (d.
2005)
*
1907 -
Günter Eich, German lyricist (d.
1972)
*1907 -
Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer (d.
1993)
*
1908 -
George Pál, Hungarian-born director and producer (d.
1980)
*
1909 -
George Beverly Shea, Canadian singer
*
1915 -
Sir Stanley Matthews, English football player (d.
2000)
*
1918 -
Muriel Spark, Scottish author (d.
2006)
*
1922 -
Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano (d.
2004)
*
1930 -
Shahabuddin Ahmed,
President of Bangladesh*
1931 -
Boris Yeltsin, 1st
President of the Russian Federation* 1931 -
Iajuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh
*
1936 -
Azie Taylor Morton, 35th
Treasurer of the United States (d.
2003)
*
1937 -
Don Everly, American musician (
Everly Brothers)
* 1937 -
Garrett Morris, American comedian
*
1938 -
Sherman Hemsley, American comedian and actor
*
1940 -
Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d.
1996)
*
1941 -
Karl Dall, German television host.
*
1942 -
Terry Jones, Welsh actor and writer
*
1944 -
Burkhard Ziese, German football manager
*
1947 -
Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d.
1983)
*
1948 -
Rick James, American musician and composer (d.
2004)
* 1948 -
Elisabeth Sladen, British actress
*
1950 -
Mike Campbell, American guitarist and producer
*
1954 -
Bill Mumy, American actor and musician
*
1955 -
Ernie Camacho, baseball player
*
1956 -
Exene Cervenka, American musician (
X)
*
1961 -
Volker Fried, German field hockey player
*
1962 -
José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer
* 1962 -
Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese guitarist
*
1965 -
Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
* 1965 -
Brandon Lee, American actor (d.
1993)
* 1965 -
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco* 1965 -
Noah Blake, American actor and
reality series star
*
1966 -
Michelle Akers, American soccer player
* 1966 -
Rob Lee, English footballer
*
1968 -
Lisa Marie Presley, American singer and actress
* 1968 -
Pauly Shore, American comedian
* 1968 -
Mark Recchi, Canadian
ice hockey player
* 1968 -
Kent Mercker, baseball player
*
1969 -
Gabriel Batistuta, Argentine footballer
* 1969 -
Joshua Redman, American musician
* 1969 -
Brian Krause, American actor
* 1969 -
Patrick Wilson, American Musician (
Weezer)
*
1971 -
Jill Kelly, American pornographic actress
* 1971 -
Ron Welty, American musician (
The Offspring)
* 1971 -
Zlatko Zahovič, Slovenian footballer
*
1972 -
Yoshi DeHerrera, American television personality
*
1973 -
Makiko Ohmoto, Japanese voice actress
*
1974 -
David Carter, Seneschalstown footballer (retired)
* 1974 -
Roberto Heras, Spanish cyclist
*
1975 -
Big Boi, American musician (
Outkast)
*
1977 -
Kevin Kilbane, Irish footballer
*
1979 -
Julie Augustyniak, American soccer player
*1979 -
Juan, Brazilian footballer
*
1980 -
Héctor Luna, baseball player
*
1981 -
Luis Lamá, Angolan footballer
*
1982 -
Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer
*
1984 -
Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer
*
1985 -
Dean Shiels, Northern Irish footballer
*
1248 -
Henry II, Duke of Brabant (b.
1207)
*
1328 - King
Charles IV of France (b.
1294)
*
1542 -
Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Catholic cardinal (b.
1480)
*
1563 -
Menas,
Emperor of Ethiopia (died of fever)
*
1590 -
Lawrence Humphrey, English clergyman and educator
*
1691 -
Pope Alexander VIII (b.
1610)
*
1718 -
Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician (b.
1660)
*
1733 - King
Augustus II of Poland (b.
1670)
*
1734 -
John Floyer, English physician and writer (b.
1649)
*
1743 -
Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer (b.
1657)
*
1761 -
Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French historian (b.
1682)
*
1768 -
Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, British cavalry officer (b.
1685)
*
1793 -
William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman (b.
1717)
*
1851 -
Mary Shelley, English author (b.
1797)
*
1893 -
George Henry Sanderson, Mayor of San Francisco (b.
1824)
*
1897 -
Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist (b.
1826)
*
1903 -
George Gabriel Stokes, Irish physicist (b.
1819)
*
1908 - King
Carlos I of Portugal (b.
1863)
*
1928 -
Hughie Jennings, baseball player (b.
1869)
*
1944 -
Piet Mondriaan, Dutch painter (b.
1872)
*
1957 -
Friedrich Paulus, German general (b.
1890)
*
1958 -
Clinton Davisson, American physicist,
Nobel Prize Laureate (b.
1888)
*
1959 -
Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (b.
1873)
*
1966 -
Hedda Hopper, American gossip columnist (b.
1885)
* 1966 -
Buster Keaton, American actor (b.
1895)
*
1970 -
Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician (b.
1921)
*
1976 -
Werner Heisenberg, German physicist,
Nobel Prize Laureate (b.
1901)
* 1976 -
George Whipple, American scientist,
Nobel Prize Laureate (b.
1878)
*
1980 -
Gastone Nencini, Italian cyclist (b.
1930)
*
1981 -
Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American aircraft manufacturer (b.
1892)
* 1981 -
Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer (b.
1908)
*
1986 -
Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer,
Nobel Prize Laureate (b.
1902)
*
1988 -
Heather O'Rourke, American actress (b.
1975)
*
1989 -
Elaine de Kooning, American artist (b.
1918)
*
1991 -
Carol Dempster, American actress (b.
1901)
*
1997 -
Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist (b.
1916)
*
1999 -
Paul Mellon, American philanthropist (b.
1907)
*
2002 -
Hildegard Knef, German actress, singer, and writer (b.
1925)
*
2003 - The crew of the
STS-107 Mission (
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster), astronauts:
**
Michael P. Anderson (b.
1959)
**
David Brown (b.
1956)
**
Kalpana Chawla (b.
1961)
**
Laurel Clark (b.
1961)
**
Rick D. Husband (b.
1957)
**
Willie McCool (b.
1961)
**
Ilan Ramon (b.
1954)
* 2003 -
Mongo Santamaria, Cuban percussionist and band leader (b.
1922)
*
2005 -
John Vernon, Canadian actor (b.
1932)
*
Imbolc - the first day of Spring in
Ireland (
Irish Calendar), one of the eight solar holidays in the
Wheel of the Year.
*The start of
Black History Month in the
United States.
*The start of
LGBT History Month in the
United Kingdom.
Liturgical feasts
*
St. Brigid of
Kildare - one of the three
patron saints of
Ireland, the others being
St. Patrick and
St. Columcille.
*Blessed
Reginald of Sint-Gillis*St.
Veridiana* In
Roald Dahl's
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, the fictional character Willy Wonka gives an unprecedented tour of his chocolate factory on February 1 (year unspecified).
*
On this day in Canada*
NY Times: On this day*
BBC: On This DayJanuary 31 -
February 2 -
January 1 -
March 1 --
listing of all days
