1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots was executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot on the 8th February 1587, to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

1807 – Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins the English sculptor was born on the 8th February 1807 (died 1889).

1822 – Maxime Du Camp the French photographer and journalist was born on the 8th February 1822 (died 1894).

1855 – The Devil’s Footprints mysteriously appeared in southern Devon on the 8th February 1855.

1880 – Franz Marc the German painter was born on the 8th February 1880 (died 1916).

1906 – Chester Carlson the American physicist and inventor of the Xerography was born on the 8th February 1906 (died 1968).

1909 – Elisabeth Murdoch the Australian philanthropist was born on the 8th February 1909 (died 2012).

1910 – The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated by William D. Boyce on the 8th February 1910.

1915 – D.W. Griffith‘s controversial film The Birth of a Nation premiered in Los Angeles on the 8th February 1915.

1922 – President Warren G. Harding introduced the 1st radio in the White House on the 8th February 1922.

1925 – Jack Lemmon the  American actor, singer, and director was born on the 8th February 1925 (d. 2001).

1931 – James Dean the American actor was born on the 8th February 1931 (d. 1955).

1941 – Nick Nolte the American actor was born on the 8th February 1941.

1944 – Sebastião Salgado the Brazilian photographer was born on the 8th February 1944.

1946 – The first portion of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first serious challenge to the popularity of the Authorized King James Version was published on the 8th February 1946.

1948 – Ron Tyson the American singer-songwriter from The Temptations was born on the 8th February 1948.

1950 – The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany was established on the 8th February 1950.

1952 – Elizabeth II was proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom on the 8th February 1952.

1960 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council on the 8th February 1960, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name Mountbatten-Windsor.

1960 – The first eight brass star plaques are installed in the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the 8th February 1960.

1961 – Vince Neil the American singer-songwriter from Mötley Crüe was born on the 8th February 1961.

1963 – The First full Color Television program in the World, publicly advertised, was broadcast in Mexico City by XHGC-TV, Channel 5 on the 8th February 1963, due to technical breakthrough advances made by Mexican Engineer Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena.

1965 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean and exploded on the 8th February 1965, killing everyone aboard.

1969 – Allende meteorite fell near Pueblito de Allende, Chihuahua, Mexico on the 8th February 1969.

1971 – The NASDAQ stock market index opened for the first time on the 8th February 1971.

1974 – After 84 days in space, the crew of Skylab 4, the last crew to visit American space station Skylab, returned to Earth on the 8th February 1974.

1974 – Seth Green the American actor, screenwriter and producer was born on the 8th February 1974.

1977 – Yucef Merhi the Venezuelan-American poet and graphic designer was born on the 8th February 1977.

1978 – Proceedings of the United States Senate were broadcast on radio for the first time on the 8th February 1978.

1980 – Cameron Muncey the Australian singer and guitarist  from Jet was born on the 8th February 1980.

1983 – The Melbourne dust storm hit on the 8th February 1983, as a result of the worst drought on record, causing a day of severe weather conditions, when a 320 metres (1,050 ft) deep dust cloud enveloped the city, turning day to night.

1985 ~ Jeremy Davis the American bassist in rock band Paramore was born on the 8th February 1985.

1990 ~ Bethany Hamilton the American professional surfer and survivor of a shark attack was born on the 8th February 1990, in Hawaii. Bethany Hamilton had her left arm bitten off by a 14 to 15 foot tiger shark on the 31st October 2003, at the age of 13, while having a morning surf along Tunnels Beach, Kauai with best friend Alana Blanchard and her father and brother. Bethany overcame the injury and returned to professional surfing. She wrote about her experience in the 2004 autobiography Soul Surfer: A True Story of Faith, Family, and Fighting to Get Back on the Board. In 2011 the feature film Soul Surfer was released, based on the book.

1996 – The massive Internet collaboration 24 Hours in Cyberspace took place on the 8th February 1996.

2010 – A freak storm in the Hindukush mountains of Afghanistan triggered a series of about 36 avalanches on the 8th February 2010, burying over two miles of road, killing at least 172 people and trapping over 2,000 travellers.

1741 – Henry Fuseli the Swiss painter was born on the 7th February 1741 (died 1825).

1804 – John Deere the American businessman and founder of Deere & Company was born on the 7th February 1804 (died 1886).

1867 – Laura Ingalls Wilder the American author was born on the 7th February 1867 (died 1957).

1870 – Alfred Adler the Austrian psychologist was born on the 7th February 1870 (died 1937).

1906 – Oleg Antonov the Soviet aircraft designer and founder of the Antonov Aircraft Company was born on the 7th February 1906 (died 1984).

1909 – Wilhelm Freddie the Danish painter was born on the 7th February 1909 (died 1995).

1912 – Russell Drysdale the Australian painter was born on the 7th February 1912 (died 1981).

1918 – Markey Robinson the Irish painter was born on the 7th February 1918 (died 1999).

1920 – An Wang the Chinese-American engineer, businessman and founder of Wang Laboratories was born on the 7th February 1920 (died 1990).

1923 – Martha Holmes the American photographer was born on the 7th February 1923 (died 2006).

1935 – Monopoly the classic board game was invented on the 7th February 1935.

1940 – The second full length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premiered on the 7th February 1940.

1948 – Neil Harvey became the youngest Australian to score a century in Test cricket on the 7th February 1948.

1948 – Jimmy Greenspoon the American keyboard player from Three Dog Night was born on the 7th February 1948.

1949 – Joe English the American drummer from Wings was born on the 7th February 1949.

1960 – James Spader the American actor was born on the 7th February 1960. James Spader is best known for his movie roles in Pretty in Pink, Less Than Zero, Sex, Lies, and Videotape, Crash, Stargate, Secretary, Lincoln and The Avengers: Age of Ultron. He’s best known for his television roles in The Practice, Boston Legal, The Office and as Raymond Reddington in The Blacklist. 

1962 – Garth Brooks the American singer-songwriter and guitarist was born on the 7th February 1962.

1962 – Eddie Izzard the Yemeni-English actor and comedian was born on the 7th February 1962.

1964 – The Beatles first arrived in the United States on the 7th February 1964. Their performance on The Ed Sullivan Show 2 days later would marked the beginning of the British Invasion.

1965 – Chris Rock the American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer was born on the 7th February 1965.

1974 – Grenada gained independence from the United Kingdom on the 7th February 1974.

1974 – Danny Goffey the English drummer from Supergrass was born on the 7th February 1974.

1975 – Wes Borland the American guitarist from Limp Bizkit was born on the 7th February 1975.

1978 – Ashton Kutcher the American model, actor, and producer was born on the 7th February 1978.

1979 – Pluto moved inside Neptune‘s orbit on the 7th February 1979, for the first time since either was discovered.

1984 – Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B Mission – Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart made the 1st untethered space walk on the 7th February 1984, using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).

2009 – Bushfires in Victoria on the 7th February 2009, left 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia’s history.

2013 ~ Australian sport’s “blackest day” was on the 7th February 2013, when a devastating report from the Australian Crime Commission found that drugs were being supplied in Australia by organised crime figures who had infiltrated every level of Australian sport.

1851 – Black Thursday, the largest Australian bushfire in a populous region in recorded history took place on the 6th February 1851, in the state of Victoria.

1895 – Babe Ruth the American baseball player was born on the 6th February 1895 (died 1948).

1911 – Ronald Reagan the American actor and 40th President of the United States was born on the 6th February 1911 (died 2004).

1912 – Eva Braun the German wife of Adolf Hitler was born on the 6th February 1912 (died 1945).

1917 – Zsa Zsa Gabor the Hungarian-American actress was born on the 6th February 1917.

1918 – British women over the age of 30 got the right to vote on the 6th February 1918.

1949 – Mike Batt the English singer-songwriter and producer of The Wombles was born on the 6th February 1949.

1950 – Natalie Cole the American singer-songwriter and actress was born on the 6th February 1950.

1959 – Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments filed the first patent for an integrated circuit on the 6th February 1959.

1962 – Axl Rose the American singer-songwriter from Guns N’ Roses was born on the 6th February 1962.

1981 – Jens Lekman the Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist was born on the 6th February 1981.

0960 – The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song was on the 4th February 960, initiating the Song Dynasty period of China that lasted more than three centuries.

1169 – A strong earthquake struck the Ionian coast of Sicily on the 4th February 1169, causing tens of thousands of injuries and deaths, especially in the city of Catania.

1789 – George Washington was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States on the 4th February 1789, by the U.S. Electoral College.

1859 – The Codex Sinaiticus was discovered in Egypt on the 4th February 1859.

1941 – The United Service Organization (USO) was created to entertain American troops on the 4th February 1941.

1948 – Alice Cooper the American singer-songwriter was born on the 4th February 1948.

1948 – Ceylon (know known as Sri Lanka) became independent within the British Commonwealth on the 4th February 1948.

1963 – Noodles the American guitarist from The Offspring was born on the 4th February 1963.

1973 ~ James Hird the professional Australian rules footballer and coach of the Essendon Football Club was born on the 4th February 1973.

1976 – The 1976 Winter Olympics opened in Innsbruck, Austria on the 4th February 1976.

1996 – Major snowstorm paralyzed Midwestern United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin on the 4th February 1996, and tied all-time record low temperature at -26°F (-32.2°C).

1998 – An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan on the 4th February 1998, killed over 5,000 people.

2002 – Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest independent cancer research charity, was founded on the 4th February 2002.

2003 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was officially renamed Serbia & Montenegro on the 4th February 2003.

2004 – Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg on the 4th February 2004.

2013 ~ Scientist confirmed the find of RiCHARD III Of ENGLAND, found under a car park in the city of Leicester on the 4th February 2013, after 500 years. See Reuters news: England’s King Richard III found after 500 years 

Researchers confirm that a skeleton found under a city centre car park in
Leicester is that of King Richard III, on TelegraphTV video: 

Sign the Richard lll Petitions: King Richard III and the Princes in the Tower & Return King Richard III to Yorkshire

1468 – Johannes Gutenberg the German publisher and inventor of the Printing press died on the 3rd February 1468 (born 1398).

1690 – The colony of Massachusetts issued the first paper money in America on the 3rd February 1690.

1809 – Felix Mendelssohn the German pianist, composer, and conductor was born on the 3rd February 1809 (died 1847).

1809 – The Illinois Territory was created on the 3rd February 1809.

1870 – The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified on the 3rd February 1870, guaranteeing voting rights to citizens regardless of race.

1904 – Pretty Boy Floyd the American gangster was born on the 3rd February 1904 (died 1934).

1916 – Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Canada burnt down on the 3rd February 1916.

1918 – The Twin Peaks Tunnel in San Francisco, California began service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world on the 3rd February 1918, at 11,920 feet (3,633 meters) long.

1927 – Val Doonican the Irish singer was born on the 3rd February 1927.

1931 – The Hawke’s Bay earthquake, New Zealand‘s worst natural disaster was on the 3rd February 1931, killing 258 people.

1945 ~ Bob Bright from Bobby & Laurie, the Australian singing duo of the 1960s, was born on the 3rd February 1945.

1947 – Dave Davies the English singer-songwriter and guitarist from The Kinks was born on the 3rd February 1947.

1947 – The lowest temperature in North America was recorded in Snag, Yukon on the 3rd February 1947.

1950 – Morgan Fairchild the American actress was born on the 3rd February 1950.

1956 – Lee Ranaldo the American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Sonic Youth was born on the 3rd February 1956.

1959 – A plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and pilot Roger Peterson on the 3rd February 1959, which became known as The Day the Music Died.

1966 – The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft made the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon on the 3rd February 1966.

1967 – Ronald Ryan, the last person to be executed in Australia, was hanged in Pentridge Prison, Melbourne on the 3rd February 1967.

1971 ~ Gabriel Rossi the Italian Australian comedian was born on the 3rd February 1971. The official Gabriel Rossi website: www.GabrielRossi.com & The Gabriel Rossi Facebook Fan Page 

1972 – The first day of the seven-day 1972 Iran blizzard was on the 3rd February 1972, which killed at least 4,000 people, making it the deadliest snowstorm in history.

1976 – Isla Fisher the Omani-Australian actress was born on the 3rd February 1976.

1984 – John Buster and the research team at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center announcde history’s first embryo transfer on the 3rd February 1984, from one woman to another resulting in a live birth.

1984 – Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B was launched using Space Shuttle Challenger on the 3rd February 1984.

1986 – Rebel Wilson the Australian actress was born on the 3rd February 1986.

1995 – Astronaut Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle on the 3rd February 1995, as mission STS-63 got underway from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

1998 – Karla Faye Tucker was executed in Texas on the 3rd February 1998, becoming the first woman executed in the United States since 1984.

1998 – Cavalese cable car disaster: a United States Military pilot caused the death of 20 people on the 3rd February 1998, when his low-flying plane cut the cable of a cable-car near Trento, Italy.

1536 – Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founded Buenos Aires, Argentina on the 2nd February 1536.

1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) was incorporated on the 2nd February 1653.

1848 – During the start of the California Gold Rush, The first ship with Chinese immigrants arrived in San Francisco, California on the 2nd February 1848.

1899 – The Australian Premiers’ Conference held in Melbourne on the 2nd February 1899, decided to locate Australia‘s capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.

1901 – The Funeral of Queen Victoria was on the 2nd February 1901.

1913 – Grand Central Terminal was opened in New York City on the 2nd February 1913.

1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce was published on the 2nd February 1922.

1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reached Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum on the 2nd February 1925, inspiring the Iditarod race.

1935 – Leonarde Keeler tested the first polygraph machine on the 2nd February 1935.

1941 – Lee Redmond the American Guinness World Record holder for longest fingernails was born on the 2nd February 1941.

1942 – Graham Nash the English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist  from The Hollies, Crosby & Nash, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young was born on the 2nd February 1942.

1949 – Duncan Bannatyne the Scottish businessman and author was born on the 2nd February 1949.

1963 – Eva Cassidy the American singer and guitarist was born on the 2nd February 1963 (died 1996).

1974 – The F-16 Fighting Falcon flew for the first time on the 2nd February 1974.

1977 – Shakira the Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress was born on the 2nd February 1977.

2004 – Swiss tennis player Roger Federer became the No. 1 ranked men’s singles player on the 2nd February 2004, a position he held for a record 237 weeks.

2007 – The worst flooding in Indonesia in 300 years began on the 2nd February 2007.

2014 ~ Philip Seymour Hoffman the American actor and director died on the 2nd February 2014 aged 46 (born in Fairport, New York on 23rd July 1967).  He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 2005 biographical film Capote. Phillip Seymour Hoffman is remembered for his film roles in Scent of a Woman (1992), Twister (1996), Boogie Nights (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), Patch Adams (1998), Magnolia (1999), The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), Almost Famous (2000), Red Dragon (2002), 25th Hour (2002), Punch-Drunk Love (2002) and Cold Mountain (2003).

1709 – Alexander Selkirk was rescued on the 1st February 1709, after being shipwrecked on a desert island, which inspired the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

1790 – In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States convened for the first time on the 1st February 1790.

1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: France declared war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands on the 1st February 1793.

1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary was published on the 1st February 1884.

1893 – Thomas A. Edison finished construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey on the 1st February 1893.

1901 ~ Clark Gable the American actor was born on the 1st February 1901 (died 1960). Clark Gable was best known for his movie roles in Gone with the Wind (1939), Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), It Happened One Night (1934)), Manhattan Melodrama (1934) and The Misfits (1961). YouTube video: Clark Gable as Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind (1939)…

1920 – The Royal Canadian Mounted Police began operations on the 1st February 1920.

1931 – Boris Yeltsin the 1st President of Russia was born on the 1st February 1931 (died 2007).

1937 ~ Don Everly the American singer-songwriter and guitarist  from the Everly Brothers was born on the 1st February 1937. YouTube video: Everly Brothers – Crying In The Rain (1962)…

1947 ~ Normie Rowe the Australian singer was born on the 1st February 1947. YouTube video: Normie Rowe – Shakin All Over (National Bandstand) 1965…

1957 – Felix Wankel‘s first working prototype (DKM 54) of the Wankel engine ran on the 1st February 1957, at the NSU research and development department Versuchsabteilung TX in Germany

1974 – Kuala Lumpur was declared a Federal Territory on the 1st February 1974.

1975 ~ Big Boi the American rapper from Outkast was born Antwan André Patton on the 1st February 1975. YouTube video: OutCast: Hey Ya! (2003) song from The Love Below album. Hey Ya! was No.1 in North America in the Billboard Hot 100 for 9 weeks, also topping the Billboard Hot Digital Tracks for 17 weeks, No.1 in Australia, Norway, Sweden and in the Top 10 in the UK, Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, and Switzerland. In 2005 the Recording Industry Association of America certified single platinum for shipping one million copies. At the 46th Grammy Awards the song won Best Urban/Alternative Performance…

1978 – Director Roman Polanski skipped bail and fled the United States on the 1st February 1974, to France, after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.

1978 – Tim Harding the Australian singer and actor from Hi-5 was born on the 1st February 1978. YouTube video: Hi-5 Tim’s birthday-1…

1979 ~ Jason Isbell the American singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Green Hill, Alabama was born on the 1st February 1979. YouTube video: Jason Isbell Performs “Elephant” on SiriusXM Outlaw Country (warning: explicit language)…

1985 ~ Jodi Gordon the Australian actress and model was born in Mackay on the 1st February 1985. Jodi Gordon is best known for her Logie award winning role of Martha MacKenzie in Home and Away. Jodi Gordon won the Logie award for Most Popular New Female Talent in 2006.  Jodi Gordon is also known as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars. Jodi Gordon won a modeling competition at the age of 13, and gained a contract with Vivien’s Modelling Agency, leading to modelling in Japan, London and Milan. In September 2008 Jodi Gordon became the official celebrity ambassador and model for Australian lingerie brand Crystelle, and official ambassador for Australian shoe brand Tony Bianco.

YouTube video: Jodi Gordon in a Home and Away interrupted shower scene…

1989 – The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamated to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder on the 1st February 1989.

1994 ~ Harry Styles the English singer from One Direction was born on the 1st February 1994. YouTube Vevo video: One Direction – Best Song Ever…

2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia on mission STS-107 disintegrated during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere on the 1st February 2003, killing all 7 astronauts aboard.

2004 ~ Janet Jackson’s breast was exposed during the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVIII on the 1st February 2004, resulting in US broadcasters adopting a stronger adherence to Federal Communications Commission censorship guidelines. YouTube video: Janet Jackson – Super Bowl halftime 2004 (video live): Janet Jackson performs a medley of her singles “All for You” and “Rhythm Nation” and then performs alongside Justin Timberlake. As Timberlake sang the lyric “gonna have you naked by the end of this song” from his single “Rock Your Body”, he tore open her top, exposing her right breast…

2009 – A prolonged period of snowfall began in the British Isles on the 1st February 2009, with some areas experiencing their largest snowfalls since 1991.