February 17

US House of Representatives breaks an Electoral College tie to elect Thomas Jefferson president (1801); Vanguard 2 launched as first weather satellite (1959); Michael Jordan born (1963); Volkswagen Beetle passes Ford Model T to become world’s bestselling car (1972); Golf great Mickey Wright dies (2020).

February 16

"Reading Rainbow" host LeVar Burton born (1957); Fidel Castro assumes formal power in Cuba (1959); First 911 emergency line goes into operation in Haleyville, Alabama (1968); Singer The Weeknd born (1990); Russian activist Alexei Navalny dies in prison (2024).

February 15

Astronomer Galileo Galilei born (1564); Women's rights activist Susan B. Anthony born (1820); Musician Nat King Cole dies (1965); Soviet-Afghan War ends as all Soviet troops depart Afghanistan (1989); Actress Raquel Welch dies (2023).

February 14

Saint Valentine dies (around 270); Pale Blue Dot photo taken by Voyager 1 (1990); Dolly the sheep dies; was first cloned mammal (2003); Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting; 17 killed and 17 injured (2018).

February 13

Galileo arrives in Rome to face charges of heresy (1633); Chuck Yeager, first pilot to break sound barrier, born (1923); Talk show host and politician Jerry Springer born (1944); Nashville sit-ins begin (1960); French opera singer Lily Pons dies (1976).

February 12

President Abraham Lincoln born (1809); Biologist Charles Darwin born (1809); Children’s author Judy Blume born (1938); President Bill Clinton acquitted on impeachment charges (1999); “Peanuts” cartoonist Charles Schulz dies (2000).

James Van Der Beek

"James Van Der Beek, the actor known best for embodying those formative, angsty teenage years in "Dawson's Creek" and "Varsity Blues," has died following a diagnosis with colorectal cancer. He was 48."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2026/02/11/james-van-der-beek-dead-death-cancer-dawsons-creek/86345578007/?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4c92f5d78644b3ac5d5b4