February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 333 days remain until the end of the year (334 in leap years).
Events
- 1327 - Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
- 1411 - Peace of Toruń 1411 signed in Toruń, Poland
- 1662 - The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
- 1713 - The Kalabalik or Tumult in Bendery results from the Ottoman sultan's order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.
- 1788 - Isaac Briggs and William Longstreet patent the steamboat.
- 1790 - In New York City the Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time.
- 1793 - French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
- 1796 - The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.
- 1814 - Mayon Volcano, in the Philippines, erupts, killing around 1,200 people; most devastating eruption of Mayon Volcano.
- 1856 - Auburn University is chartered as the East Alabama Male College.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
- 1862 - Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" is published for the first time in the Atlantic Monthly.
- 1880 - The first edition of theatrical newspaper The Stage is published.
- 1884 - Edition one of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
- 1893 - Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria (West Orange, New Jersey).
- 1896 - The opera La bohème premieres (Turin).
- 1897 - Shinhan Bank (former CHB), oldest bank in South Korea, opened in Seoul.
- 1908 - King Carlos I of Portugal and his son, Prince Luis Filipe are killed in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon.
- 1913 - New York City's Grand Central Terminal opens as the world's largest train station.
- 1918 - Russia adopts the Gregorian Calendar.
- 1920 - The Royal Canadian Mounted Police begin operations.
- 1924 - United Kingdom recognizes USSR.
- 1929 - Frenchman Charles Rigoulet is the first weightlifter to lift over 400 pounds (181 kg) in the "clean and jerk" method.
- 1943 - World War II: Vidkun Quisling is appointed Premier of Norway by the Nazi occupiers.
- 1946 - Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.
- 1957 - Felix Wankel's first working prototype DKM 54 of the Wankel engine was running at the NSU research and development department Versuchsabteilung TX in Germany
- 1958 - Merger of Egypt and Syria to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961.
- 1960 - Four black students stage a sit-in at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
- 1965 - Churchill River, Newfoundland - Hamilton River in Labrador renamed Churchill River in honour of Winston Churchill.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem is executed by Nguyen Ngoc Loan a South Vietnamese National Police Chief. The execution was videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams and helped sway public opinion against the war.
- 1968 - Official unification of the three military services of Canada, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, into the Canadian Forces.
- 1968 - Merger of the historic New York Central Railroad and Pennsylvania Railroad to form ill-fated Penn Central Transportation.
- 1969 - Saturday mail delivery in Canada eliminated.
- 1974 - Joelma Building fire - a fire in a 25-story office building kills 189 and injures 293 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
- 1974 - Kuala Lumpur declared a Federal Territory.
- 1978 - Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
- 1979 - Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter.
- 1979 - Ayatollah Khomeini is welcomed back into Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.
- 1981 - Trevor Chappell bowls his infamous "Underarm Ball" to Brian McKechnie to prevent New Zealand scoring a 6, and tying the ODI, on the last ball of the third match in the final of the Benson & Hedges World Series Cup. It directly led to the banning of underarm bowling by the International Cricket Council as not within the spirit of the game.
- 1982 - Senegal and Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia.
- 1982 - David Letterman begins an 11-year run as the host of the NBC program Late Night with David Letterman.
- 1989 - The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
- 1992 - The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal Disaster case.
- 1994 - In Portland, Oregon Tonya Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly pleads guilty for his role in attacking figure skater Nancy Kerrigan.
- 1995 - Richey James Edwards of the Manic Street Preachers disappears from the Embassy Hotel at Bayswater Road in London after checking out at 7:00am.
- 1996 - The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
- 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
- 2004 - At least 244 people are trampled to death in a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
- 2005 - Nepal King Gyanendra exercises Coup d'état to capture the democracy becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.
- 2005 - Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act, making Canada the fourth country to sanction same-sex marriage.
Births
- 1261 - Walter de Stapledon, English bishop (d. 1326)
- 1459 - Conrad Celtes, German scholar (d. 1508)
- 1462 - Johannes Trithemius, German cryptographer (d. 1516)
- 1552 - Edward Coke, English colonial entrepreneur (d. 1634)
- 1635 - Marquard Gude, German archaeologist (d. 1689)
- 1690 - Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian composer (d. 1768)
- 1761 - Christian Hendrik Persoon, South African mycologist (d. 1836)
- 1796 - Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss poet (d. 1865)
- 1801 - Émile Littré, French lexicographer (d. 1881)
- 1844 - G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (d. 1924)
- 1859 - Victor Herbert, Irish composer (d. 1924)
- 1872 - Jerome F. Donovan, American politician (d. 1949)
- 1872 - Andrew Kehoe, American mass murderer (d. 1927)
- 1873 - John Barry, Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1901)
- 1874 - Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian writer (d. 1929)
- 1878 - Milan Hodža, Slovak politician (d. 1944)
- 1882 - Louis Stephen St. Laurent, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1973)
- 1884 - Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian writer (d. 1937)
- 1887 - Charles Nordhoff, English-born author (d. 1947)
- 1894 - John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973)
- 1894 - James P. Johnson, American composer (d. 1955)
- 1895 - Conn Smythe, Canadian builder of the National Hockey League (d. 1980)
- 1901 - Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)
- 1902 - Langston Hughes American writer (d. 1967)
- 1902 - Therese Brandl, Nazi concentration camp guard (d. 1947)
- 1904 - S. J. Perelman, American humorist (d. 1979)
- 1905 - Emilio G. Segrè, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1989)
- 1906 - Hildegarde, American actress and singer (d. 2005)
- 1907 - Günter Eich, German lyricist (d. 1972)
- 1907 - Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer (d. 1993)
- 1908 - George Pál, Hungarian-born director and producer (d. 1980)
- 1909 - George Beverly Shea, Canadian singer
- 1915 - Stanley Matthews, English football player (d. 2000)
- 1918 - Muriel Spark, Scottish author (d. 2006)
- 1922 - Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano (d. 2004)
- 1924 - H. Richard Hornberger, American writer (d. 1997)
- 1926 - Stuart Whitman, American actor
- 1930 - Shahabuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh
- 1930 - Mario Beaulieu, Quebec politician (d. 1998)
- 1931 - Boris Yeltsin, 1st President of the Russian Federation (d. 2007)
- 1931 - Iajuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh
- 1934 - Bob Shane, American folk singer (The Kingston Trio)
- 1936 - Azie Taylor Morton, 35th Treasurer of the United States (d. 2003)
- 1937 - Don Everly, American musician (Everly Brothers)
- 1937 - Garrett Morris, American comedian
- 1937 - Ray Sawyer, American singer (Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show)
- 1938 - Sherman Hemsley, American comedian and actor
- 1939 - Claude François, French singer (d. 1978)
- 1940 - Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
- 1940 - Hervé Filion, Quebec harness racer
- 1941 - Karl Dall, German television host
- 1941 - Jerry Spinelli, children's author
- 1942 - Terry Jones, Welsh actor and writer
- 1944 - Burkhard Ziese, German football manager
- 1945 - Serge Joyal, French Canadian politician
- 1947 - Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983)
- 1948 - Rick James, American musician and composer (d. 2004)
- 1948 - Elisabeth Sladen, British actress
- 1950 - Mike Campbell, American guitarist and producer
- 1953 - Duane Chapman, American TV personality
- 1954 - Bill Mumy, American actor and musician
- 1955 - Ernie Camacho, baseball player
- 1956 - Exene Cervenka, American musician
- 1956 - Mike Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1958 - Jackie Shroff, Indian actor
- 1958 - Luther Blissett (footballer), English footballer
- 1961 - Volker Fried, German field hockey player
- 1962 - José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2004)
- 1962 - Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese guitarist
- 1964 - Linus Roache, English actor
- 1965 - Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
- 1965 - Brandon Lee, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1965 - Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
- 1965 - Noah Blake, American actor and reality series star
- 1966 - Michelle Akers, American soccer player
- 1966 - Rob Lee, English footballer
- 1967 - Patle Shishupal Natthu, Indian politician
- 1968 - Lisa Marie Presley, American singer and actress
- 1968 - Pauly Shore, American comedian
- 1968 - Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 - Kent Mercker, American baseball player
- 1969 - Gabriel Batistuta, Argentine footballer
- 1969 - Joshua Redman, American musician
- 1969 - Brian Krause, American actor
- 1969 - Patrick Wilson, American musician
- 1971 - Michael C. Hall, American actor
- 1971 - Jill Kelly, American porn actress
- 1971 - Ron Welty, American musician
- 1971 - Zlatko Zahovič, Slovenian footballer
- 1972 - Yoshi DeHerrera, American TV personality
- 1972 - Kami (musician), Full name Kamimura Ukyou, Drummer of the Japanese visual kei band Malice Mizer
- 1973 - Makiko Ohmoto, Japanese voice actress
- 1974 - Roberto Heras, Spanish cyclist
- 1974 - David Meca, Spanish long distance swimmer
- 1975 - Big Boi, American musician (Outkast)
- 1975 - Ekaterini Thanou, Greek sprinter
- 1976 - Phil Ivey, American poker player
- 1977 - Kevin Kilbane, Irish footballer
- 1979 - Julie Augustyniak, American soccer player
- 1979 - Juan Silveira dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 - Héctor Luna, Dominican Republic baseball player
- 1980 - Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2005)
- 1981 - Luis Lamá, Angolan footballer
- 1981 - Graeme Smith, South African cricketer
- 1981 - Rob Austin, British racing driver
- 1982 - Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer
- 1983 - Kevin Martin, American basketball player
- 1984 - Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer
- 1984 - Lee Thompson Young, American actor
- 1985 - Dean Shiels, Northern Irish footballer
- 1985 - Rachael Scdoris, American dog musher
- 1985 - Jodi Gordon, Australian actress and model
- 1986 - Lauren Conrad, American TV star
Deaths
- 1248 - Henry II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1207)
- 1328 - King Charles IV of France (b. 1294)
- 1542 - Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1480)
- 1563 - Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia (died of fever)
- 1590 - Lawrence Humphrey,English clergyman and educator
- 1691 - Pope Alexander VIII (b. 1610)
- 1718 - Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician (b. 1660)
- 1733 - King Augustus II of Poland (b. 1670)
- 1734 - John Floyer, English physician and writer (b. 1649)
- 1743 - Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer (b. 1657)
- 1761 - Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French historian (b. 1682)
- 1768 - Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, British cavalry officer (b. 1685)
- 1793 - William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman (b. 1717)
- 1851 - Mary Shelley, English author (b. 1797)
- 1893 - George Henry Sanderson, Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1824)
- 1897 - Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist (b. 1826)
- 1903 - George Gabriel Stokes, Irish physicist (b. 1819)
- 1908 - King Carlos I of Portugal (b. 1863)
- 1928 - Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
- 1944 - Piet Mondriaan, Dutch painter (b. 1872)
- 1957 - Friedrich Paulus, German general (b. 1890)
- 1958 - Clinton Davisson, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1888)
- 1959 - Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (b. 1873)
- 1963 - Fleetwood Lindley, the last living person to see Abraham Lincoln's face (b. 1888)
- 1966 - Hedda Hopper, American gossip columnist (b. 1885)
- 1966 - Buster Keaton, American actor (b. 1895)
- 1970 - Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1921)
- 1976 - Werner Heisenberg, German physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1901)
- 1976 - George Whipple, American scientist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1878)
- 1980 - Gastone Nencini, Italian cyclist (b. 1930)
- 1981 - Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American aircraft manufacturer (b. 1892)
- 1981 - Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer (b. 1908)
- 1986 - Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1902)
- 1988 - Heather O'Rourke, American actress (b. 1975)
- 1989 - Elaine de Kooning, American artist (b. 1918)
- 1991 - Carol Dempster, American actress (b. 1901)
- 1991 - Phil Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
- 1997 - Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist (b. 1916)
- 1999 - Paul Mellon, American philanthropist (b. 1907)
- 2001 - André D'Allemagne, Quebec teacher, political observer and essayist (b. 1929)
- 2002 - Hildegard Knef, German actress, singer, and writer (b. 1925)
- 2003 - The crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster), astronauts:
- Michael P. Anderson (b. 1959)
- David Brown (b. 1956)
- Kalpana Chawla (b. 1961)
- Laurel Clark (b. 1961)
- Rick D. Husband (b. 1957)
- Willie McCool (b. 1961)
- Ilan Ramon (b. 1954)
- 2003 - Mongo Santamaria, Cuban percussionist and band leader (b. 1922)
- 2005 - John Vernon, Canadian actor (b. 1932)
- 2006 - Dick Bass, American football player (b. 1937)
- 2007 - Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-born composer (b. 1911)
- 2007 - Seri Wangnaitham, Thai dance choreographer (b. 1937)
- 2007 - Whitney Balliett, American jazz critic (b. 1926)
- 2007 - Ray Berres, American baseball player (b. 1907)
- 2007 - Ahmad Abu Laban, Danish Muslim leader (b. 1946)
- 2007 - Seri Wangnaitham, Thai dancer (b. 1937)
Holidays and observances
- The start of Black History Month in the United States.
- Imbolc - the first day of Spring in Ireland (Irish Calendar) and one of the four Gaelic seasonal (and sometimes religious) festivals. Also part of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year.
- The start of LGBT History Month in the United Kingdom.
- Observed as "national" porridge day by parts of Northern England, but this has been disputed by Southern England in the past.
Religious observances
- Astina
- St. Brigid, patron saint of Ireland. Feast day in the Roman Catholic Church.