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 23

Physicist Werner Heisenberg describes uncertainty principle (1927); 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 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 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 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 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).

Reverend Jesse Jackson

"The Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, a protege of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and two-time presidential candidate who led the Civil Rights Movement for decades after the revered leader’s assassination, died Tuesday. He was 84."https://apnews.com/article/jesse-jackson-dies-43abb84d2ffc76d967f9a5596ebd0be1?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter&user_id=66c4c92f5d78644b3ac5d5b4

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

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); Whitney Houston dies (2012).

Incoming Disney President

"The Walt Disney Company is about to undergo one of its most significant leadership transitions in recent memory, and the woman stepping into the role of President and Chief @Creative Officer has some ambitious ideas about the future of moviemaking."

https://insidethemagic.net/2026/02/disneys-incoming-president-has-bold-plans-for-ai-in-film-production-el1/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Movie+%26+Entertainment+2026-02-10&utm_term=Movie+%26+Entertainment

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 is born (1997); "Crime and Punishment" author Fyodor Dostoyevsky dies (1881)

February 8

Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1587); French author Jules Verne born (1828); Boy Scouts of America is founded (1910); Hollywood legend Lana Turner born (1921); Actor James Dean born (1931); Hollywood Walk of Fame breaks ground (1960); Nasdaq Stock Market index holds first trading day (1971).

February 7

English writer Charles Dickens born (1812); American writer Sinclair Lewis born (1885); The Great Baltimore Fire breaks out (1904); The US bans all Cuban imports and exports (1962); Country musician 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); Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments patents the first microchip (1959); 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); Apollo 14 astronauts land on the moon (1971); Brazilian football player Neymar born (1992); 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); Feminist Betty Friedan is born (1921); Facebook launches (2004); Actor and playwright Ossie Davis dies (2005).

February 3

15th Amendment to US Constitution ratified, granting voting rights regardless of race (1870); American novelist Gertrude Stein born (1874); Luna 9 becomes first spacecraft to make soft landing on the moon (1966); Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot a space shuttle (1995).

February 2

City of Buenos Aires, Argentina, is founded (1536); Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed, ending the Mexican-American War (1848); First Groundhog Day celebrated (1887); First Groundhog Day celebrated (1887); First Groundhog Day celebrated (1887); NYC's Grand Central Terminal opens (1913); James Joyce's "Ulysses" published (1922); Actor Paul Mescal born (1996)

February 1

 "Oxford English Dictionary" debuts (1884); Poet Langston Hughesborn (1901); Film legend Clark Gable born (1901); Harriet Tubman becomes first Black woman on US postage stamp (1978); Harry Styles born (1994); Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates on reentry, all seven astronauts killed (2003).