21st FEBRUARY
Edward, Earl of Warwick (b. 1475)
Cardinal John Henry Newman (b. 1801)
Léo Delibes (b. 1836)
Constantin Brancusi (b. 1876)
Gertie Miller (b. 1879)
Sacha Guitry (b. 1885)
Sir Felix Aylmer (b. 1889)
Andrés Segovia (b. 1893)
Madeleine Rénaud (b. 1900)
Anaïs Nin (b. 1903)
WH Auden (b. 1907)
Sir Douglas Bader (b. 1910)
Eddie Waring (b. 1910)
Ann Sheridan (b. 1915)
Sam Peckinpah (b. 1919)
Nina Simone (b. 1933)
Mark McManus (b. 1935)
Vince Welnick (b. 1951)
James I, King of Scotland (d. 1437)
Robert Southwell (d. 1595)
Baruch Spinoza (d. 1677)
Jethro Tull (d. 1741)
Nikolai Gogol (d. 1852)
George Ellery Hale (d. 1938)
Jacques Becker (d. 1960)
Malcolm X (d. 1965)
Anthony Asquith (d. 1968)
Florence Ballard (d. 1976)
Nolan Strong (d. 1977)
Murray The K (d. 1982)
Mikhail Sholokhov (d. 1984)
Victor Canning (d. 1986)
Shigechiuyo Izumi (d. 1986)
Dame Margot Fonteyn (d. 1991)
Sir Dick White (d. 1993)
Jim Lewis (d. 1995)
Morton Gould (d. 1996)
John Thaw (d. 2002)
Barry Bucknell (d. 2003)
Les Gray (d. 2004)
Joe Gibbs (d. 2008)
Edinburgh proclaimed capital city, 1437
1st electric alarm installed, by Edwin Holmes, Boston MA, 1858
Post Office underground mailbag service begins, London, 1863
Lucy B Hobbs becomes 1st woman to graduate from a dental school, Cincinnati OH, 1866
1st telephone directory issued, by the District Telephone Co, New Haven CT, 1878
1st republic of Cuba founded, 1901
Apollo Theatre opened, 1901
Houston partly destroyed by fire, Texas, 1912
Battle of Verdun begins, 1916
Carolina parakeet declared extinct, US, 1918
New Yorker 1st published, US, 1925
New Statesman founded, 1931
Camera exposure meter patented, by WN Godwin, 1932
Old Age Pension introduced for women aged 60+, 1940
Indian naval mutiny, Bombay, 1946
Land demonstrates 1st camera to take, develop and print photographs, New York, 1947
ID cards abolished, UK, 1952
Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme inaugurated, 1956
Beatles make their debut at the Cavern, Liverpool, 1961
John Erlichman, HR Haldeman & John Mitchell sentenced in Watergate trial, US, 1975
Boadicea's tomb discovered beneath Platform 8, King's Cross, 1988
Steve Fossett becomes 1st to fly solo across Pacific in a balloon, Saskatchewan, 1995
1st UK car clamped for displaying out of date tax disc, London, 1996
Ellen MacArthur is fastest person to circumnavigate world solo, London, 2001

22nd FEBRUARY
Charles VII, King of France (b. OS 1403)
Johann Ambrosius Bach (b. 1645)
Arthur Schopenhauer (b. 1788)
James Lowell (b. 1819)
Lord (Robert) Baden-Powell (b. 1857)
Heinrich Hertz (b. 1857)
Eric Gill (b. 1882)
Lady (Olave) Baden-Powell (b. 1889)
Edna St Vincent Millay (b. 1892)
Luis Buñuel (b. 1900)
Seán O'Faoláin (b. 1900)
Sir John Mills (b. 1908)
Spade Cooley (b. 1910)
Warren Tute (b. 1914)
Robert Wadlow (world's tallest man) (b. 1918)
Guilietta Masina (b. 1920)
Kenneth Williams (b. 1926)
Guy Mitchell (b. 1927)
Ernie K-Doe (b. 1936)
Steve Irwin (b. 1962)
David II, King of Scotland (d. 1371)
Amerigo Vespucci (d. 1512)
Lord (George) Lyttelton (d. 1773)
Camille Corot (d. 1875)
Hugo Wolf (d. 1903)
Elizabeth Bowen (d. 1973)
Oskar Kokoschka (d. 1980)
Ron Grainer (d. 1981)
Efrem Zimbalist (d. 1985)
Andy Warhol (d. 1987)
Solomon (d. 1988)
Eric Hosking (d. 1991)
Papa John Creach (d. 1994)
Charles Harvey (d. 2000)
John Fahey (d. 2001)
Chuck Jones (d. 2002)
Simone Simon (d. 2005)
Robert II accedes to throne of Scotland, 1370
Last invasion of Britain (by French), Fishguard, 1797
Trevithick drives 1st rail steam engine, Penydarren, 1804
Florida purchased by USA from Spain, 1819
FW Woolworth opens 1st "5 cent store", Utica NY, 1879
1st personal column appears, in The Times, 1886
Calvin Coolidge delivers 1st presidential radio broadcast from White House, US, 1924
National Council for Civil Liberties founded, 1934
UK agrees to US missile bases sited on UK soil, 1958
Beatles begin filming HELP!, Bahamas, 1965
7 die in IRA bomb attack, Aldershot, 1972
Pakistan recognises independence of Bangladesh, 1974
Madness (formerly Morris & the Minors) play 1st gig under new name, 1979
Official Secrets Bill passed, UK, 1989
Tori Amos and Mark Hawley marry, West Wycombe, 1998

23rd FEBRUARY
Samuel Pepys (b. 1633)
George Frederick Handel (b. 1685)
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (b. 1743)
Sir George Watts (b. 1817)
Victor Fleming (b. 1883)
Kathleen Harrison (b. 1892)
Leslie Norman (b. 1911)
Leslie Halliwell (b. 1929)
Tom Wesselmann (b. 1931)
Florian Fricke (b. 1944)
Rob Collins (b. 1963)
Johannes Gutenberg (d. 1468)
Sir Joshua Reynolds (d. 1792)
John Keats (d. 1821)
John Quincy Adams (d. 1848)
Auguste Bonheur (d. 1884)
Ernest Dowson (d. 1900)
Dame Nellie Melba (d. 1931)
Sir Edward Elgar (d. 1934)
Leo Baekeland (d. 1944)
Aleksey Tolstoi (d. 1945)
Stan Laurel (d. 1965)
LS Lowry (d. 1976)
Sir Adrian Boult (d. 1983)
James Herriot (d. 1995)
Melvin Franklin (d. 1995)
Tony Williams (d. 1997)
Sir Stanley Matthews (d. 2000)
Ofra Haza (d. 2000)
Cato Street Conspiracy to assassinate Cabinet ministers thwarted, London, 1820
Boston granted a charter to incorporate as a city, US, 1822
Seige of the Alamo begins, San Antonio TX, 1836
Capt Speke rediscovers source of the Nile, 1863
Mississippi, the Magnolia State, re-admitted to the Union, US, 1870
Game of lawn tennis patented by Major Walter Wingfield as "Sphairistike", 1874
Zola imprisoned for writing J'accuse, 1898
Rotary Club founded, Chicago IL, 1905
Sarah Bernhardt has right leg amputated, 1915
February Revolution begins, Petrograd, OS 1917
1st regional broadcasting service in Britain begins, Chelmsford, 1920
1st rocket air mail flight, Greenwood Lake NY, 1936
US marines capture Mount Suribachi, Battle of Iwo Jima, 1945
1st broadcast of an election return, UK, 1950
World War II deserters granted amnesty, 1953
West German Army bans goose-step, 1956
Guyana becomes a republic within the Commonwealth, 1970
Bristol University damaged by animal rights' bombing, 1989
Carlos Santana awarded 8 Grammy awards, US, 2000

24th FEBRUARY
Charles Le Brun (b. 1619)
Elisabeth Bach (b. 1644)
Samuel Wesley (b. 1766)
Wilhelm Grimm (b. 1786)
George Moore (b. 1852)
Mary Ellen Chase (b. 1887)
Betty Marsden (b. 1919)
Pat Kirkwood (b. 1921)
Stuart Henry (b. 1942)
George Harrison (b. 1943)
Nicky Hopkins (b. 1944)
Thomas Coutts (d. 1822)
Thomas Bowdler (d. 1825)
Arnold Dolmetsch (b. 1858)
Aethelbert, King of Kent (d. 616)
Thomas Coutts (d. 1822)
Thomas Bowdler (d. 1825)
Joseph Rowntree (d. 1925)
Darrell Banks (d. 1970)
Memphis Slim (d. 1988)
Irwin Charwin (d. 1988)
Johnny Ray (d. 1990)
Webb Pierce (d. 1991)
Bobbie Moore (d. 1993)
Dinah Shore (d. 1994)
Derek Nimmo (d. 1999)
Dennis Weaver (d. 2006)
Persecution of Christians begins by edict of Maximianus, 303
Battle of Roslin, near Edinburgh, 1303
Pope Gregory XIII introduces Gregorian calendar, 1582
Chopin makes recital début, playing a Gyrowetz concerto, 1818
Cadiz becomes a free port, 1820
Mexico declared its independence from Spain, 1821
Avonmouth Dock opened, Bristol, 1877
1st inter-capital telephone line opened, Paris-Brussels, 1887
London's 1st telephone service inaugurated, 1902
Lady Astor becomes 1st woman to speak in Parliament, 1920
Simplon Tunnel opened, Switzerland-Italy, 1905
Flying Scotsman goes into service, 1923
Sir Michael Campbell sets land-speed record (253_96 mph), 1932
Toothbrush bristles, 1st nylon product, introduced, 1938
Voice of America begins broadcasting (in German), 1942
Juan Péron elected president, Argentina, 1946
1st rocket to reach outer space launched, White Sands NM, 1949
Kwame Nkrumah overthrown by army coup, Ghana, 1966
Jimi Hendrix Experience makes final UK live performance, Royal Albert Hall, 1969
Syd Barrett records BBC Top Gear session, 1970
Byrds make final live appearance, Capitol Th, Passaic NJ, 1973
Engagement of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer announced, 1981
Supernova 1987A seen to self-detonate, 1987
16 die when cargo door of Boeing 747 blows off, Pacific, 1989
Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love marry, Waikiki, 1992
Br Coal retire last 4 pit ponies, 1994
Dolly, a Finn Dorset sheep, becomes 1st animal to be cloned, Roslin, 1997
Lauryn Hill awarded 5 Grammy awards for debut album, US, 1999

25th FEBRUARY
Carlo Goldoni (b. 1707)
John Wood the Younger (b. 1728)
Pierre Renoir (b. 1841)
Princess Andrew of Greece (b. 1885)
Dame Myra Hess (b. 1890)
Meher Baba (b. 1894)
Zeppo Marx (b. 1901)
Victor Sylvester (b. 1901)
John Arlott (b. 1914)
Anthony Burgess (b. 1917)
Bobby Riggs (b. 1918)
Faron Young (b. 1932)
Bernard Bresslaw (b. 1934)
Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex (d. 1601)
Sir Christopher Wren (d. 1723)
Thomas Moore (d. 1852)
Paul Julius Reuter (d. 1899)
Sir John Tenniel (d. 1914)
Henri (Bluebeard) Landru (d. 1922)
Alexander Archipenko (d. 1964)
Grace Metalious (d. 1964)
Mark Rothko (d. 1970)
Tennessee Williams (d. 1983)
Jack Clayton (d. 1995)
Glenn Seaborg (d. 1999)
Sir Donald Bradman (d. 2001)
Coronation of Edward II, 1308
Pope Pius V excommunicates Elizabeth I, 1570
Rules of cricket formulated, Star & Garter, Pall Mall, 1774
Samuel Colt patents his revolver, US, 1836
Greenbacks (American banknotes) 1st issued, by Lincoln, 1862
Federal income tax introduced, US, 1913
Meat and butter rationing introduced, Southern England, 1918
1st post-war bananas arrive in UK, 1946
Peoples Republic proclaimed after communist coup, Czechoslovakia, 1948
HMS Ark Royal, largest UK aircraft carrier, completed, 1955
Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock becomes 1st single to sell million in UK, 1957
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament set up under presidency of Lord Russell, 1958
Cassius Clay defeats Sonny Liston to become heavyweight boxing champion, 1964
Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath meet at St Bartolph's Review launch, Cambridge, 1968
Mariner 6 launched for Mars fly-by, Cape Kennedy FL, 1969
Richard Nixon meets Elizabeth II, London, 1969
Pioneer 10 launched on voyage to Jupiter, Cape Kennedy FL, 1972
The Jam sign to Polydor, 1977
Florence Griffith Joyner announces retirement, US, 1989
Massacre takes place in temple, Hebron, 1994

26th FEBRUARY
Victor Hugo (b. 1802)
Buffalo Bill (b. 1846)
John Harvey Kellogg (b. 1852)
Frank Bridge (b. 1879)
Jean Negulesco (b. 1900)
Madeleine Carroll (b. 1906)
Tex Avery (b. 1907)
Fanny Cradock (b. 1909)
Robert Alda (b. 1914)
Jackie Gleason (b. 1916)
Tony Randall (b. 1920)
Margaret Leighton (b. 1922)
Johnny Cash (b. 1932)
Coxsone Dodd (b. 1932)
Sir James Goldsmith (b. 1933)
Bob (The Bear) Hite (b. 1945)
Margaret, Queen of Scotland (d. 1275)
John Philip Kemble (d. 1823)
Aloys Senefelder (d. 1834)
Richard Gatling (d. 1903)
Caran d'Ache (d. 1909)
Sir Harry Lauder (d. 1950)
Lou Costello (d. 1959)
George Adamski (d. 1965)
Bukka White (d. 1977)
Gabor Szabo (d. 1982)
Slim Gaillard (d. 1991)
Bill Hicks (d. 1994)
Buddy Miles (d. 2008)
Battle of Benevento, 1266
20,000 die in earthquake, Lisbon, 1531
Bank of England issues 1st £1 & £2 notes, 1797
Napoleon escapes from Elba, 1815
1st Grand Liverpool Steeplechase, later National, won by Jem Mason on Lottery, Aintree, 1839
Second French Republic proclaimed, 1848
485 die when steamer Birkenhead wrecked, Cape Colony, 1852
1st New York subway line opened to public, 1870
1st buffalo purchased for Golden Gate Park, San Francisco CA, 1891
Coal-miners strike begins, UK, 1912
1st released jazz record made by Original Dixieland Jass Band, New York NY, 1917
Grand Canyon National Park AZ established, 1919
Grand Teton National Park established, US, 1929
RADAR 1st demonstrated, Daventry, 1935
1st Volkswagon Beetle factory opened by Hitler, Germany, 1936
Winston Churchill announces atomic bomb produced in UK, 1952
1st photo-engraving typesetting machine used, Quincy MA, 1954
GF Smith becomes 1st aviator to bail out at supersonic speed, US, 1955
Hedy Lamarr released on bail on shop-lifting charges, US, 1966
Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations, 1980
£1 falls to all-time low against dollar of $1.03_8, New York NY, 1985
Ferdinand E Marcos flees Philippines in defeat, 1986
6 die in explosion below Vista Hotel, World Trade Center, New York NY, 1993

27th FEBRUARY
Constantine the Great (b. 274)
Lord (George) Bentinck (b. 1802)
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (b. 1807)
Dame Ellen Terry (b. 1847)
Sir Hubert Parry (b. 1848)
Rudolf Steiner (b. 1861)
Enrico Caruso (b. 1873)
Lotte Lehmann (b. 1888)
William Demarest (b. 1892)
Marino Marini (b. 1901)
John Steinbeck (b. 1902)
Gene Sarazen (b. 1902)
Franchot Tone (b. 1905)
Kenneth Horne (b. 1907)
Joan Bennett (b. 1910)
Lawrence Durrell (b. 1912)
Winifred Atwell (b. 1914)
Dexter Gordon (b. 1923)
Jake Thackray (b. 1938)
Nancy Spungen (b. 1958)
John Evelyn (d. 1706)
Adam Sedgwick (d. 1813)
Ivan Pavlov (d. 1936)
Joan Greenwood (d. 1987)
Basil Boothroyd (d. 1988)
Lillian Gish (d. 1993)
Pat Smythe (d. 1996)
Sir Spike Milligan (d. 2002)
Linda Smith (d. 2006)
William F Buckley (d. 2008)
Earl of Angus defeats English, Battle of Ancrum, 1545
1st Russian embassy established, London, 1557
1st Russian trade mission reaches London, 1558
Continent of Antarctica 1st discovered, 1831
Dominican Republic becomes independent, 1844
Boers defeat British, Battle of Majuba, 1881
1st practical cigar rolling machine patented, 1883
Labour Party founded, UK, 1900
Central Criminal Court (The Old Bailey) opened, 1907
Woman's right to vote unanimously upheld, Supreme Court, US, 1922
Reichstag destroyed by fire, Berlin, 1933
Borley Rectory, most haunted house in UK, burns down, 1939
Japanese attack Java, 1942
Pink Floyd record Arnold Layne, 1967
American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee SD, 1973
Gulf War ends after liberation of Kuwait, 1991
James Brown released from prison, US, 1991
Barings Bank collapses, UK, 1995
Divorce legalised in Ireland, 1997

28th FEBRUARY
Michel de Montaigne (b. 1533)
Sir John Tenniel (b. 1820)
Charles Blondin (b. 1824)
Arthur Symons (b. 1865)
Douglas Hogg, Lord Hailsham (b. 1872)
Vaslav Nijinsky (b. OS 1890)
Ben Hecht (b. 1893)
Linus Pauling (b. 1901)
Sir Stephen Spender (b. 1909)
Claretta Petacci (b. 1912)
Vincente Minnelli (b. 1913)
Zero Mostel (b. 1915)
Max Jones (b. 1917)
Harry H Corbett (b. 1925)
Jennifer Kendal (d. 1934)
John Fahey (b. 1939)
Brian Jones (b. 1942)
Syreeta (b. 1946)
Robin Cook (b. 1946)
Dorothy Stratten (b. 1960)
Henry James (d. 1916)
Arnold Dolmetsch (d. 1940)
Jack Anthony (d. 1962)
Henry R Luce (d. 1967)
Frankie Lymon (d. 1968)
Winifred Atwell (d. 1983)
Olaf Palme (d. 1986)
Ruby Keeler (d. 1993)
Lord (Charles) Forte of Ripley (d. 2007)
Mike Smith (d. 2008)
John Wesley founds Methodism, 1784
1st gold-seekers arrive in the ship California, San Francisco CA, 1849
Republican Party formed, Ripon WI, 1854
Relief of Ladysmith, Boer War, 1900
Capt Berry makes 1st successful parachute drop from aeroplane, St Louis MO, 1912
British Protectorate of Egypt ceases, 1922
Leon Theremin obtains patent for Thereminovox, US, 1928
Last UK troops leave India, 1948
Watson and Crick discover the double-helix structure of DNA, Cambridge, 1953
Cavern Club closes, Liverpool, 1966
Talmadge Hayer pleads guilty to Malcolm X murder, 1966
Led Zeppelin play as the Nobs to avoid being sued by Eva von Zeppelin, Copenhagen, 1970
42 die when London Underground train crashes, Moorgate, 1975
Glen Matlock fired from Sex Pistols, 1977
Bob Dylan plays Budokan, Tokyo, 1978
Final episode of M*A*S*H broadcast, US, 1983
Seige begins with death of 4 ATF agents and 6 Branch Davidian members, Waco TX, 1993
Fred and Rose West arrested after discovery of 9 buried bodies, Gloucester, 1994
Denver International Airport opened, US, 1995
Prince and Princess of Wales agree to divorce, Kensington Palace, 1996
10 die in rail crash when Land Rover crashes on the line, Selby, 2001

29th FEBRUARY
Pope Paul III (b. 1468)
Ann Lee (b. 1736)
Sir Augustus Callcott (b. 1779)
Gioacchino Rossini (b. 1792)
John Philip Holland (b. 1840)
Morarji Desai (b. 1896)
Jimmy Dorsey (b. 1904)
Balthus (b. 1908)
AL Lloyd (b. 1908)
Dinah Shore (b. 1916)
John Landseer (d. 1852)
Pat Garrett (d. 1908)
EF Benson (d. 1940)
Roland Culver (d. 1984)
Benjamin Disraeli becomes prime minister, UK, 1868
St Gothard tunnel through the Alps completed, 1880
Dutch scientists produce solid helium, 1908
Military revolt, Peking, 1912
12,000 die in earthquake, Agadir, Morocco, 1960
1st Playboy Club opened by Hugh Hefner, Chicago IL, 1960
Price of singles rises from 6/8d to 7/3d, UK, 1966
Burnell announces discovery of 1st pulsar, Cambridge, 1968
U2's Zoo TV world tour begins, Lakeland FL, 1992

Last update: March 23, 2008