February 28

Coaching legend Dean Smith born (1931); Record 106 million people watch series finale of "M*A*S*H" (1983); Persian Gulf War ends (1991); Basketball star Luka Dončić born (1999); Actress Jane Russell dies (2011).

W. Clement Stone

W. Clement Stone was an entrepreneur, writer and motivational speaker, who believed in the power of positive thinking and taking action to achieve one’s goals.Born in 1902, W. Clement Stone grew up in an underprivileged family, facing numerous hardships. However, he was determined to overcome these challenges and build a successful life for himself.

With a strong entrepreneurial spirit, W. Clement Stone went on to co-found The Combined Insurance Company of America, which became one of the largest insurance companies in the United States.W. Clement Stone’s philosophy centered around the idea that our thoughts and actions shape our reality, and by harnessing the power of positive thinking, we can overcome obstacles and create a life of abundance and fulfillment.

February 27

Author John Steinbeck born (1902); Actress Elizabeth Taylor born (1932); Nobel Prize-winning physiologist Ivan Pavlov dies (1936); 22nd Amendment is ratified, limiting US presidents to only being elected to two terms (1951); Mister Rogers dies (2003).

February 26

Fashion designer Levi Strauss born (1829); Grand Canyon National Park established (1919); Musician Johnny Cash born (1932); Musician Erykah Badu born (1971); World Trade Center bombing kills six, injures more than 1,000 (1993).

February 25

Hiram Revels becomes first African American in US Congress (1870); Beatles guitarist George Harrison born (1943); Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, defeats Sonny Liston to win his first world heavyweight title (1964); Actress Téa Leoni born (1966); Playwright and poet Tennessee Williams dies (1983).

February 24

Marbury v. Madison establishes principle of judicial review in the US (1803); Nike cofounder Phil Knight born (1938); Steve Jobs born (1955); "Hidden Figures" NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson dies (2020); Russia begins full-scale invasion of Ukraine (2022).

February 23

Physicist Werner Heisenberg describes uncertainty principle (1927); Iconic flag-raising photo taken on Iwo Jima's Mount Suribachi (1945); Historian WEB Du Bois born (1868); Actress Emily Blunt born (1983); Flaco, Eurasian eagle-owl, dies in Lower Manhattan nine months after escaping from Central Park Zoo (2024)

February 22

President George Washington born (1732); Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin born (1962); Drew Barrymore born (1975); "Miracle on Ice" as the US defeats the Soviet Union in hockey at Winter Olympics (1980); Andy Warhol dies (1987).

February 21

 "The Communist Manifesto" published by Karl Marx (1848); Musician Nina Simone born (1933); NASCAR founded (1948); Malcolm X assassinated (1965); Rev. Billy Graham dies (2018).

February 20

Frederick Douglass dies (1895); Sidney Poitier born (1927); John Glenn becomes first American to orbit Earth (1962); Kurt Cobain born (1967); Rihanna born (1988); Olivia Rodrigo born (2003).

February 19

Thomas Edison awarded patent for the phonograph (1878); Musician Smokey Robinson born (1940); Battle of Iwo Jima begins (1945); Actress Millie Bobby Brown born (2004); “To Kill a Mockingbird” author Harper Lee dies (2016).

February 18

Artist Michelangelo died (1564); “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” published in the US (1885); Astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto (1930); Novelist Toni Morrison born (1931); Auto racing legend Dale Earnhardt killed in crash at Daytona 500 (2001).

February 17

Football player and actor Jim Brown born (1936); 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

Fidel Castro assumes power in Cuba (1959); First 911 emergency line goes into operation in Haleyville, Alabama (1968); Hezbollah is founded (1985); "Reading Rainbow" host LeVar Burton born (1957); Singer The Weeknd born (1990); Russian activist Alexei Navalny dies in prison (2024)

Charlie Chaplin

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 1889 – 25 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry's most important figures. His career spanned more than 75 years, from his childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977, and encompassed both accolade and controversy.Chaplin's childhood in London was one of poverty and hardship. His father was absent and his mother struggled financially – he was sent to a workhouse twice before age nine. When he was 14, his mother was committed to a mental asylum. Chaplin began performing at an early age, touring music halls and later working as a stage actor and comedian. At 19, he was signed to the Fred Karno company, which took him to the United States. He was scouted for the film industry and began appearing in 1914 for Keystone Studios. He soon introduced and adopted the Tramp as his screen persona. He directed his own films and continued to hone his craft as he moved to Essanay Studios, where the Tramp persona was developed emotionally in The Tramp (1915). He then attracted a large fanbase and demanded more money as he moved to Mutual and First National corporations. By 1918, he was one of the world's best-paid and best-known figures.In 1919, Chaplin co-founded the distribution company United Artists, which gave him complete control over his films. His first feature-length film was The Kid (1921), followed by A Woman of Paris (1923), The Gold Rush (1925), and The Circus (1928). He initially refused to move to sound films in the 1930s, instead producing City Lights (1931) and Modern Times (1936) without dialogue. His first sound film was The Great Dictator (1940), which satirised Adolf Hitler. The 1940s were marked with controversy for Chaplin, and his popularity declined rapidly. He was accused of communist sympathies, and some members of the press and public were scandalised by his involvement in a paternity suit and marriages to much younger women. An FBI investigation was opened, and Chaplin was forced to leave the U.S. in 1952 and settle in Switzerland. He abandoned the Tramp in his later films, which include Monsieur Verdoux (1947), Limelight (1952), A King in New York (1957), and A Countess from Hong Kong (1967).Chaplin wrote, directed, produced, edited, starred in, and composed the music for most of his films. He was a perfectionist, and his financial independence enabled him to spend years on the development and production of a picture. His films are characterised by slapstick combined with pathos, typified in the Tramp's struggles against adversity. Many contain social and political themes, as well as autobiographical elements. He received an Honorary Academy Award for "the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century" in 1972, as part of a renewed appreciation for his work. He continues to be held in high regard, with The Gold Rush, City Lights, Modern Times, and The Great Dictator often ranked on lists of the greatest films.

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 (269); Abolitionist Frederick Douglass born (1818); 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

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).

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).