Events

• 1648 – Eighty Years' War: The Treaty of Münster and Osnabrück is signed, ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain.

• 1649 – King Charles I of England is beheaded.

• 1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England is ritually executed two years after his death, on the anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed.

• 1790 – The first boat specializing as a lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne.

• 1806 – The original Lower Trenton Bridge (also called the Trenton Makes the World Takes Bridge), which spans the Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey, is opened.

• 1820 – Edward Bransfield sights the Trinity Peninsula and claims the discovery of Antarctica.

• 1826 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, considered the world's first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the north West coast of Wales, is opened.

• 1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson, but fails and is subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen.

• 1841 – A fire destroys two-thirds of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.

• 1847 – Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco.

• 1858 – The first Hallé concert is given in Manchester, England, marking the official founding of the Hallé Orchestra as a full-time, professional orchestra.

• 1862 – The first American ironclad warship, the is launched.

• 1889 – Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in Mayerling.

• 1911 – The destroyer makes the first airplane rescue at sea saving the life of James McCurdy 10 miles from Havana, Cuba.

• 1911 – The Canadian Naval Service becomes the Royal Canadian Navy.

• 1913 – The United Kingdom's House of Lords rejects the Irish Home Rule Bill.

• 1925 – The Government of Turkey throws Patriarch Constantine VI out of Istanbul.

• 1930 – The world's second radiosonde is launched in Pavlovsk, USSR.

• 1933 – Adolf Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.

• 1943 – World War II: Second day of the Battle of Rennell Island. The is sunk and a U.S. destroyer is heavily damaged by Japanese torpedoes.

• 1944 – World War II: United States troops land on Majuro.

• 1945 – World War II: The Wilhelm Gustloff, overfilled with refugees, sinks in the Baltic Sea after being torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, leading to the deadliest known maritime disaster, killing approximately 9,000 people.

• 1945 – World War II: Raid at Cabanatuan: 126 American Rangers and Filipino resistance liberate 500 prisoners from the Cabanatuan POW camp.

• 1945 – World War II: Hitler gives his last ever public address, a radio address on the 12th anniversary of his coming to power. (A subsequent address on February 24 was not read by Hitler.)

• 1948 – Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu extremist.

• 1956 – American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.'s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

• 1960 – The African National Party is founded in Chad, through the merger of traditionalist parties.

• 1962 – Two of the high-wire Flying Wallendas are killed when their seven-person pyramid collapses during a performance in Detroit, Michigan.

• 1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 6 is launched.

• 1968 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive begins when Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks in South Vietnam.

• 1969 – The Beatles' last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.

• 1971 – Carole King's Tapestry album is released, it would become the longest charting album by a female solo artist and sell 24 million copies worldwide.

• 1972 – Bloody Sunday: British Paratroopers kill fourteen unarmed civil rights/anti internment marchers in Northern Ireland.

• 1972 – Pakistan withdraws from the Commonwealth of Nations.

• 1976 – George H. W. Bush becomes the 11th director of the CIA.

• 1979 – Varig 707-323C freighter, flown by the same commander as Flight 820, disappears over the Pacific Ocean 30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo.

• 1982 – Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot program called "Elk Cloner".

• 1989 – The American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan closes.

• 1994 – Péter Lékó becomes the youngest chess grand master.

• 1995 – Workers from the National Institutes of Health announce the success of clinical trials testing the first preventive treatment for sickle-cell disease.

• 1996 – Gino Gallagher, the suspected leader of the Irish National Liberation Army, is killed while waiting in line for his unemployment benefit.

• 1996 – Comet Hyakutake is discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake.

• 2000 – Off the coast of Ivory Coast, Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing 169.

• 2003 – Belgium becomes the second country in the world to legally recognise same-sex marriage.

Births

• 133 – Marcus Severus Didius Julianus, Roman Emperor (d. 193)

• 1505 – Thomas Tallis, English composer (d. 1585)

• 1563 – Franciscus Gomarus, Dutch theologian (d. 1641)

• 1615 – Thomas Rolfe, American colonial settler and only child of Pocahontas and John Rolfe (d. 1675)

• 1661 – Charles Rollin, French historian (d. 1741)

• 1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann, German architect (d. 1753)

• 1697 – Johann Joachim Quantz, German flautist and composer (d. 1773)

• 1720 – Charles De Geer, Swedish industrialist and entomologist (d. 1778)

• 1754 – John Lansing, Jr., American statesman (d. 1829)

• 1781 – Adelbert von Chamisso, German writer (d. 1838)

• 1816 – Nathaniel Prentice Banks, 24th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1894)

• 1822 – Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist (d. 1899)

• 1832 – Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier (d. 1897)

• 1841 – Félix Faure, 6th President of the French Third Republic (d. 1899)

• 1859 – Tony Mullane, Irish-born American baseball player (d. 1944)

• 1861 – Charles Martin Loeffler, German-born composer (d. 1935)

• 1873 – Georges Ricard-Cordingley, painter (d. 1939)

• 1878 – Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Estonian author (d. 1940)

• 1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States (d. 1945)

• 1889 – Jaishankar Prasad, Hindi poet, dramatist and novelist (d. 1937)

• 1894 – Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria (d. 1943)

• 1899 – Max Theiler, South African virologist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1972)

• 1901 – Rudolf Caracciola, German race car driver (d. 1959)

• 1902 – Nikolaus Pevsner, German-born art historian (d. 1983)

• 1910 – C Subramaniam, Indian politician (d. 2000)

• 1911 – Roy Eldridge, American musician (d. 1989)

• 1912 – Werner Hartmann, German physicist (d. 1988)

• 1912 – Francis Schaeffer, American Evangelical theologian and pastor (d. 1984)

• 1912 – Barbara W. Tuchman, American historian (d. 1989)

• 1913 – Percy Thrower, British Television Gardener (d. 1988)

• 1914 – John Ireland, Canadian actor (d. 1992)

• 1914 – David Wayne, American actor (d. 1995)

• 1915 – Joachim Peiper, German SS officer (d. 1976)

• 1915 – John Profumo, British cabinet minister (d. 2006)

• 1917 – Paul Frère, Belgian racing driver and motorsport journalist (d. 2008)

• 1918 – David Opatoshu, American television actor (d. 1996)

• 1919 – Nikolay Glazkov, Russian poet (d. 1979)

• 1920 – Carwood Lipton, American WWII veteran (d. 2001)

• 1920 – Michael Anderson, English film director

• 1920 – Delbert Mann, American film director (d. 2007)

• 1922 – Dick Martin, American comedian (d. 2008)

• 1924 – Lloyd Alexander, American writer (d. 2007)

• 1925 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist

• 1925 – Dorothy Malone, American actress

• 1927 – Olof Palme, Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1986)

• 1927 – Bendapudi Venkata Satyanarayana, Indian dermatologist (d. 2005)

• 1928 – Hal Prince, American stage producer and director

• 1929 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian surgeon and international aid worker (d. 1996)

• 1930 – Sandy Amorós, Cuban baseball player (d. 1992)

• 1930 – Samuel J. Byck, American attempted assassin of Richard Nixon (d. 1974)

• 1930 – Gene Hackman, American actor

• 1930 – Magnus Malan, South African politician

• 1931 – John Crosbie, Canadian politician

• 1931 – Allan W. Eckert, American historian, naturalist, and author

• 1931 – Shirley Hazzard, Australian-born author

• 1932 – Knock Yokoyama, Japanese comedian and politician

• 1933 – Louis Rukeyser, American journalist (d. 2006)

• 1935 – Richard Brautigan, American writer and poet (d. 1984)

• 1936 – F. Vernon Boozer, American politician

• 1936 – Patrick Caulfield, British painter and printmaker (d. 2005)

• 1936 – Horst Jankowski, German popular pianist (d. 1998)

• 1937 – Ed Hansen, American film director and editor (d. 2005)

• 1937 – Vanessa Redgrave, English actress

• 1937 – Boris Spassky, Russian chess player and 10th world chess champion (1969-1972)

• 1938 – Islom Karimov, President of Uzbekistan

• 1941 – Gregory Benford, American author and scientist

• 1941 – Dick Cheney, 46th Vice President of the United States

• 1941 – Tineke Lagerberg, Dutch swimmer

• 1942 – Marty Balin, American musician

• 1943 – Davey Johnson, American baseball player and manager

• 1945 – Michael Dorris, American author (d. 1997)

• 1947 – Les Barker, English poet

• 1947 – Steve Marriott, English musician (Humble Pie, The Small Faces) (d. 1991)

• 1948 – Nick Broomfield, English film- and documentary-maker

• 1948 – Paul Magee, Provisional Irish Republican Army member

• 1948 – Miles Reid, English mathematician

• 1949 – Peter Agre, American biologist, Nobel laureate

• 1950 – Trinidad Silva, American actor (d. 1988)

• 1951 – Phil Collins, English musician

• 1951 – Charles S. Dutton, American actor

• 1951 – Bobby Stokes, English former footballer (d. 1995)

• 1952 – Doug Falconer, Canadian football player

• 1955 – Curtis Strange, American golfer

• 1955 – John Baldacci, American politician, governor of Maine

• 1955 – Judith Tarr, American author

• 1955 – Mychal Thompson, Bahamian basketball player

• 1956 – Jeremy Gittins, English actor

• 1956 – Keiichi Tsuchiya, Japanese racing driver

• 1957 – Payne Stewart, American golfer (d. 1999)

• 1958 – Brett Butler, American actress and comedian

• 1959 – Mark Eitzel, American singer and musician (American Music Club)

• 1959 – Jody Watley, American singer

• 1961 – Dexter Scott King, American actor and son of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King

• 1962 – King Abdullah II of Jordan

• 1962 – Mary Kay Letourneau, American convicted statutory rapist

• 1963 – Tina Malone, English actress

• 1964 – Otis Smith, American basketball player

• 1965 – Julie McCullough, American model and actress

• 1966 – Danielle Goyette, Quebec female ice hockey player

• 1967 – Jay Gordon, American musician

• 1968 – Trevor Dunn, American musician (Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Secret Chiefs 3)

• 1968 – Prince Felipe of Spain

• 1968 – Tony Maudsley, British film actor

• 1969 – Carolyn Kepcher, American businesswoman and reality TV show star

• 1971 – Darren Boyd, British actor

• 1971 – Kimo von Oelhoffen, American football player

• 1972 – Lupillo Rivera, Mexican singer

• 1972 – Chris Simon, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1973 – Jalen Rose, American basketball player

• 1974 – Christian Bale, Welsh actor

• 1974 – Olivia Colman, English actress

• 1974 – Jemima Khan, English socialite

• 1975 – Juninho Pernambucano, Brazilian footballer

• 1975 – Yumi Yoshimura, Japanese singer (Puffy Amiyumi)

• 1976 – Andy Milonakis, American comedian

• 1977 – Dan Hinote, American ice hockey player

• 1977 – Deltha O'Neal, American football player

• 1978 – John Patterson, American baseball player

• 1980 – Leilani Dowding, British glamour model

• 1980 – Wilmer Valderrama, American actor

• 1980 – Pavel Ponomaryov, Russian-Estonian actor

• 1980 – Joãozinho, Brazilian footballer

• 1981 – Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgarian footballer

• 1981 – Peter Crouch, English footballer

• 1981 – Josh Kelley, American musician

• 1981 – Mathias Lauda, Austrian racing driver

• 1982 – Jorge Cantu, Mexican baseball player

• 1984 – Jeremy Hermida, American baseball player

• 1984 – Kid Cudi, American hip hop performer

• 1985 – Aaadietya Pandey, Indian astrologer

• 1985 – Trae Williams, American football player

• 1986 – Sam Duckworth, British singer-songwriter

• 1986 – Nick Evans, American baseball player

• 1987 – Rebecca Knox, Irish professional wrestler

• 1987 – Arda Turan, Turkish footballer

• 1988 – Rob Pinkston, American actor

• 1989 – Khleo Thomas, American actor and rapper

• 1990 – Jake Thomas, American actor

• 1990 – Luca Sbisa, Swiss ice hockey player

• 1990 – Eiza Gonzalez, Mexican actress/singer

• 2005 – Prince Hashem bin Al Abdullah II, of Jordan

Deaths

• 1030 – William V, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 969)

• 1181 – Emperor Takakura of Japan (b. 1161)

• 1384 – Louis II of Flanders (b. 1330)

• 1574 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher (b. 1502)

• 1606 – Everard Digby, English conspirator (b. 1578)

• 1649 – King Charles I of England (executed) (b. 1600)

• 1730 – Tsar Peter II of Russia (b. 1715)

• 1836 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress (b. 1752)

• 1849 – Jonathan Alder, American settler (b. 1773)

• 1858 – Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist (b. 1778)

• 1867 – Emperor Kōmei of Japan (b. 1831)

• 1869 – William Carleton, Irish novelist (b. 1794)

• 1889 – Crown Prince Rudolph of Austria (b. 1858)

• 1926 – Barbara La Marr, American actress (b. 1896)

• 1928 – Johannes Andreas Grib Fibiger, Danish scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1867)

• 1929 – La Goulue, French Cancan dancer (b. 1866)

• 1934 – Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher (b. 1862)

• 1948 – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, Indian freedom fighter (b. 1869)

• 1948 – Orville Wright, American aviation pioneer (b. 1871)

• 1951 – Ferdinand Porsche, Austrian automotive engineer (b. 1875)

• 1958 – Jean Crotti, Swiss artist (b. 1878)

• 1958 – Ernst Heinkel, German aviation engineer (b. 1888)

• 1962 – Manuel de Abreu, Brazilian physician (b. 1894)

• 1963 – Francis Poulenc, French composer (b. 1899)

• 1969 – Georges Pire, Belgian monk, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)

• 1980 – Professor Longhair, American musician (b. 1918)

• 1982 – Lightnin' Hopkins, American musician (b. 1912)

• 1984 – Patrick Lee McCall, South African bank robber, member of Stander gang (b. 1950)

• 1989 – Alfonso, Duke of Anjou and Cádiz, "Legitimist" pretender to the French throne (b. 1936)

• 1991 – John Bardeen, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1908)

• 1991 – Clifton C. Edom, American photojournalism educator (b. 1907)

• 1991 – John McIntire, American actor (b. 1907)

• 1994 – Pierre Boulle, French author (b. 1912)

• 1995 – Gerald Durrell, British naturalist, zookeeper, author, and television presenter (b. 1925)

• 1998 – Richard Cassilly, American tenor (b. 1927)

• 1999 – Huntz Hall, American actor (b. 1919)

• 1999 – Ed Herlihy, American broadcaster (b. 1909)

• 2001 – Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor (b. 1911)

• 2001 – Johnnie Johnson, British fighter pilot (b. 1915)

• 2001 – Joseph Ransohoff, the father of modern neurosurgery (b. 1915)

• 2005 – Martyn Bennet, Canadian musician (b. 1971)

• 2005 – Wes Wehmiller, American musician (b. 1971)

• 2006 – Coretta Scott King, American activist and wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1927)

• 2007 – Nikos Kourkoulos, Greek actor and artistic director (b. 1934)

• 2007 – Sidney Sheldon, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1917)

• 2008 – Jeremy Beadle, British television host, (b. 1948)

• 2008 – Roland Selmeczi, Hungarian actor (b. 1969)

• 2008 – Marcial Maciel, Mexican religious leader (b. 1920)

• 2009 – Ingemar Johansson, Swedish heavyweight professional boxing champion of the world (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances

• St. Mutien-Marie Wiaux (+1917)

• St. Hippolytus

• St. Hyacintha Mariscotti

• St. Aldegonde

• St. Bathild

• St. Martina, Virgin and Martyr, c. 226 AD

• St. Savina, martyred under Emperor Diocletian

• St. Anthony the Great's feast in the Coptic Church

• King Charles the Martyr (Anglicanism)

• Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Church: Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs

• *This Feast honors the three great Fathers of the Eastern Church --St. Basil the Great, St. Gregory the Theologian, and St. John Chrysostom