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).

February 11

Inventor Thomas Edison born (1847); Jennifer Aniston born (1969); Iranian Revolution begins as Ayatollah Khomeini comes to power (1979); Nelson Mandela released from prison after 27 years in South Africa (1990)

February 10

French and Indian War ends (1763); “Roots” author Alex Haley dies (1992); American playwright Arthur Miller dies (2005); Hollywood legend and diplomat Shirley Temple dies (2014).

February 9

Volleyball is invented, initially known as mintonette (1895); World's first intercontinental ballistic missile, the R-7 Semyorka, becomes operational (1959); NFL star Saquon Barkley born (1997); "Crime and Punishment" author Fyodor Dostoyevsky dies (1881)

February 8

Author Jules Verne born (1828); Boy Scouts of America is founded (1910); Hollywood legend Lana Turner born (1921); Actor James Dean born (1931); Nasdaq Stock Market index opens (1971).

February 7

Charles Dickens born (1812); The US bans all Cuban imports and exports (1962); Garth Brooks born (1962); "Beatlemania" arrives in America (1964); Author and pilot Anne Morrow Lindbergh dies (2001).

February 6

Babe Ruth born (1895); Former President Ronald Reagan born (1911); Bob Marley born (1945); King George VI dies, Elizabeth II becomes queen (1952); Singer Rick Astley born (1966); Tennis legend and activist Arthur Ashe dies (1993).

February 5

Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, arrives in Boston (1631); Baseball legend Hank Aaron born (1934); English actress Charlotte Rampling born (1946); Medgar Evers’ murderer convicted after 30 years (1994); President Donald Trump acquitted in his first impeachment trial (2020). 

February 4

George Washington elected first president of the US (1789); Aviation innovator Charles Lindbergh born (1902); Rosa Parks born (1913); Facebook is founded (2004); Actor and playwright Ossie Davis dies (2005). 

February 1

Last frost fair on frozen River Thames held (1814); First Groundhog Day observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (1887); NYC's Grand Central Terminal opens (1913); James Joyce's "Ulysses" published (1922); Actor Paul Mescal born (1996); Actor Carl Weathers dies (2024).

February 2

Last frost fair on frozen River Thames held (1814); First Groundhog Day observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (1887); NYC's Grand Central Terminal opens (1913); James Joyce's "Ulysses" published (1922); Actor Paul Mescal born (1996); Actor Carl Weathers dies (2024).

February 3

Printing press inventor Johannes Gutenberg dies (1468); American novelist Gertrude Stein born (1874); Musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper killed in plane crash (1959); Luna 9 becomes first spacecraft to make soft landing on the moon (1966).