On February 2nd...

Candlemas
Ground-Hog Day

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1119 Guido di Borgogna was elected Pope Callistus II.

1208 James I, King of Aragon, was born.

1250 King Eric XI of Sweden died.

1435 Queen Johanna II of Naples died.

1536 Pedro de Mendoza founded Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1594 Composer Palestrina died.

1600 Librarian and scholar Gabriel Naudé was born.

1649 Pope Benedict XIII was born.

1709 British sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued after being marooned on a desert island for five years.

1742 The British government of Robert Walpole resigned.

1769 Pope Clement XIII died.

1811 Russian traders established Fort Ross north of present-day San Francisco, California.

1848 Representatives of the United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican-American War.
1848 The first shipload of Chinese immigrants arrived in San Francisco, California.

1861 The Organized Incorporated Territory of Nevada was created.

1863 Samuel Clemens first used the pen name "Mark Twain."

1875 Violinist Fritz Kreisler was born.

1876 Baseball's National League was formed.

1878 Greece declared war on Turkey.

1882 Novelist James Joyce was born.

1887 The first Groundhog Day was observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

1888 Frank Sprague opened the first successful electric street railway system in the United States, the Richmond (Virginia) Union Passenger Railway.

1892 William Painter patented a bottle cap with cork seal.
1892 Harry Sharpe and Frank Crosby boxed for 77 rounds, the longest boxing match under modern rules, in Nameoki, Illinois.

1895 George Halas, founder of the Chicago Bears, was born.

1897 The ice cream mold and scoop were patented.

1901 The U. S. Congress passed the Army Reorganization Act.
1901 Violinist Jascha Heifetz was born.

1905 Author Ayn Rand was born.

1906 Aviation pioneer Samuel Pierpont Langley died.

1907 Chemist Dmitri Mendeleev died.

1913 Grand Central Terminal opened in New York City, New York.

1915 Abba Eban, Israeli politician, was born.

1918 Boxer John L. Sullivan died.

1920 Estonia declared its independence from Russia.

1923 Ethyl (leaded) gasoline first went on sale in the United States, in Dayton, Ohio.

1924 The International Ski Federation was formed.

1925 Dogsleds reached Nome, Alaska, with emergency diptheria serum.
1925 Sears, Roebuck opened its first retail store, in Chicago.

1926 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, President of France, was born.

1927 Jazz musician Stan Getz was born.

1932 The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was organized.

1933 Adolf Hitler dissolved the German Reichstag.

1935 Leonarde Keeler first used his polygraph machine on accused criminals, in Portage, Wisconsin.

1937 Comedian Tommy Smothers was born.

1942 Actor Bo Hopkins was born.
1942 Musician Graham Nash was born.

1943 The last German troops surrendered in the Stalingrad pocket, completing the Russian victory at Stalingrad.

1944 The 4th U. S. Marines Division conquered Roi, Marshall Islands.

1946 The Hungarian Republic was proclaimed.

1947 Actress Farrah Fawcett was born.

1949 Actor Brent Spiner was born.

1950 "What's My Line" premiered on CBS-TV.

1954 Model Christie Brinkley was born.

1958 Actress Rita Hayworth married film writer-producer James Henry Hill, in Beverly Hills, California.

1959 Vince Lombardi signed a 5-year contract to coach the Green Bay Packers.

1960 Michale Eufemia sank 625 balls without a miss in a pool match.

1962 John Uelses became the first to pole vault more than 16 feet.

1964 Hasbro launched its G. I. Joe action figure line.

1967 Bolivia adopted a new constitution.

1969 Actor Boris Karloff died.

1970 Pete Maravich became the first college basketball player to score 3,000 points.
1970 Mathematician Bertrand Russell died.

1971 The U. S. Congressional Black Caucus was organized.

1973 "Midnight Special" premiered on NBC-TV.

1977 Singer Shakira was born.

1979 The first Learjet Longhorn (50 Series) rolled off the assembly line.
1979 Rock musician Sid Vicious died.

1984 The first Soap Opera Digest Awards were presented.

1986 Oscar Arias Sanchez was elected President of Costa Rica.

1987 Philippines adopted a new constitution.
1987 Author Alistair MacLean died.

1992 Bert Parks, longtime host of the Miss America Pageant, died.

1995 Tennis player Fred Perry died.
1995 Actor Donald Pleasence died.

1996 Actor Gene Kelly died.

1997 Scotty Bowman became the first coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games.

2005 Boxer Max Schmeling died.

2012 The MV Rabaul Queen sank off the coast of Papua New Guinea, taking 126 of its 370 passengers and crew members down with her.
2012 Artist Mike Kelley died.

2013 A bus fell down a ravine and caught fire in Gansu Province, China, killing 18 persons and injuring 34.

2014 The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Denver Broncos 42-8 in Super Bowl XLVIII.

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This page was last updated on February 02, 2019.