1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral fell on the night of 12th-13th February 1322.

1462 – Treaty of Westminster was finalised between Edward IV of England and the Scottish Lord of the Isles on the 13th February 1462.

1542 – Catherine Howard, the 5th wife of Henry VIII of England, was executed on the 13th February 1542, for adultery.

1668 – Spain recognized Portugal as an independent nation on the 13th February 1668.

1689 – William and Mary are proclaimed co-rulers of England on the 13th February 1689.

1692 – Massacre of Glencoe: 78 Macdonalds at Glen Coe, Scotland were killed early in the morning on the 13th February 1692, for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new king, William of Orange.

1880 – Thomas Edison observed the Edison effect on the 13th February 1880.

1914 – Copyright: In New York City the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers was established on the 13th February 1914, to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.

1931 – New Delhi became the capital of India on the 13th February 1931.

1947 – Kevin Bloody Wilson the Australian comedian was born on the 13th February 1947.

1949 ~ Tim Storrier (AM) the Australian artist was born on the 13th February 1949. Tim Storrier won the 2012 Archibald Prize with a self portrait entitled The Histrionic Wayfarer (after Bosch).

1955 – Israel obtained 4 of the 7 Dead Sea scrolls on the 13th February 1955.

1961 – A 500,000-year-old rock was discovered near Olancha, California, US, on the 13th February 1961, that appeared to anachronistically encase a spark plug.

1967 – American researchers discovered the Madrid Codices by Leonardo da Vinci in the National Library of Spain on the 13th February 1967.

1978 – Hilton bombing: a bomb exploded in a refuse truck outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia on the 13th February 1978, killing 2 rubbish collectors and a policeman.

2000 – The last original “Peanuts” comic strip appeard in newspapers on the 13th February 2000, one day after Charles M. Schulz died.

2001 – An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter Scale hit El Salvador on the 13th February 2001, killing at least 400.

2004 – The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announced the discovery of the universe’s largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093 on the 13th February 2004. Astronomers named this star “Lucy” after The Beatles‘ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds“.

2008 – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd mades a historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations on the 13th February 2008.

2009 – At 23:31:30 on the 13th February 2009 UTC the Unix system time (time t) number reached 1234567890 seconds.

2012 – The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted the 1st launch of the European Vega rocket  on the 13th February 2012, from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

1502 – Vasco da Gama set sail from Lisbon, Portugal on the 12th February 1502, on his second voyage to India.

1541 ~ Santiago, Chile was founded on the 12th February 1541, by Pedro de Valdivia. Santiago is the largest city and capital of Chile, with a population of 7 million.

1951 ~ Cory Lerios the American pianist, voclist and founding members of the platinum-record selling band Pablo Cruise was born on the 12th February 1951. For the past 30 years Cory Lerios has scored music for film and television. Pablo Cruise performing their No.6 hit single Love Will Find A Way from their most successful album Worlds Away in 1978. This YouTube video is from the ‘It’s Good To Be Live’ CD/DVD greatest hits, which are the first new recordings from Pablo Cruise in over 25 years, recorded at a concert in Northern California by the 3 original founding members of the band: David Jenkins (guitar/vocals), Cory Lerios (piano/keyboards/vocals) and Steve Price (drums), along with Larry Antonino (Jeff Beck, Air Supply, Kenny Loggins) on bass/vocals.

1953 ~ Joanna Kerns the American actress and director best known as Maggie Seaver on Growing Pains was born in San Francisco, California on the 12th February 1953.

1959 – Sigrid Thornton the Australian actress was born on the 12th February 1959.

1968 – Chynna Phillips the American singer from Wilson Phillips was born on the 12th February 1968.

1980 – Christina Ricci the American actress was born on the 12th February 1980.

1531 – Henry VIII of England was recognized as supreme head of the Church of England on the 11th February 1531.

1752 – Pennsylvania Hospital, the first hospital in the United States, was opened on the 11th February 1752, by Benjamin Franklin.

1794 – First session of United States Senate open to the public on the 11th February 1794.

1847 – Thomas Edison the American businessman, inventer of the light bulb and phonograph was born on the 11th February 1847 (died 1931).

1903 – Anton Bruckner‘s 9th Symphony received its 1st performance on the 11th February 1903, in Vienna, Austria.

1935 – Gene Vincent the American singer and guitarist was born on the 11th February 1935 (died 1971).

1936 – Burt Reynolds the American actor and director was born on the 11th February 1936.

1938 – BBC Television produced the world’s 1st ever science fiction television program on the 11th February 1938, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Čapek play R.U.R., that coined the term robot.

1939 – A Lockheed P-38 Lightning flew from California to New York in 7 hours 2 minutes on the 11th February 1939.

1942 – The 1st gold record was presented to Glenn Miller for Chattanooga Choo Choo on the 11th February 1942.

1959 – Deborah Meaden the English businesswoman was born on the 11th February 1959.

1962 – Sheryl Crow the American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress was born on the 11th February 1962.

1969 ~ Alex Papps the Greek-born Australian actor and television host was born on the 11th February 1969.

1971 – 87 countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union, signed the Seabed Arms Control Treaty on the 11th February 1971, outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.

1974 – Alex Jones the American radio host and author was born on the 11th February 1974.

1978 – Censorship: China lifted a ban on works by Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens on the 11th February 1978.

1981 – Kelly Rowland the American singer-songwriter from Destiny’s Child was born on the 11th February 1981.

1990 – Nelson Mandela was released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa on the 11th February 1990, after 27 years as a political prisoner.

1996 ~ Ballykissangel the BBC television drama set in Ireland, was first broadcast on the 11th February 1996, until the 15th April 2001. The show was filmed in Avoca and Enniskerry in County Wicklow. YouTube video: Ballykissangel – Opening Theme…

1997 – Space Shuttle Discovery was launched on a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope on the 11th February 1997.

2011 ~ Just Go with It the American romantic comedy film was released on the 11th February 2011.

2014 ~SHiRLEY TEMPLE the American actress,  singer and dancer died on the 11th February 2014, aged 85 (born in Santa Monica, California on 23rd April 1928). Shirley Temple was best known for her movie roles in Bright Eyes, The Little Colonel, Curly Top, Wee Willie Winkie, Heidi, A Little Princess, The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer, and Fort Apache. YouTube video: Shirley Temple : Animal Crackers In My Soup Extended Version…

Today in History for the 11th February video produced by Associated Press 

1870 – The YWCA was founded in New York City on the 10th February 1870.

1944 – Peter Allen the Australian singer-songwriter and pianist was born on the 10th February 1944 (d. 1992).

1961 – George Stephanopoulos the American journalist was born on the 10th February 1961.

1964 – Melbourne-Voyager collision: The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collided with the destroyer HMAS Voyager on the 10th February 1964, off the south coast of New South Wales, Australia.

1996 – The IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeated Garry Kasparov in chess for the first time on the 10th February 1996.

2009 – The communication satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251 collided in orbit on the 10th February 2009, destroying both.

1900 – The Davis Cup competition was established on the 9th February 1900.

1934 – The Balkan Entente was formed on the 9th February 1934.

1944 – Derryn Hinch, Australian radio and television host was born on the 9th February 1944.

1945 – Mia Farrow the American actress and singer was born on the 9th February 1945.

1954 ~ Chris Gardner the American entrepreneur, investor, stockbroker, motivational speaker, author and philanthropist was born Christopher Paul Gardner on the 9th February 1954. Chris Gardner struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher Jr. in the early 1980s. Chris Gardner’s book of memoirs, The Pursuit of Happyness was published in 2006, along with the 2006 movie The Pursuit of Happyness starring Will Smith as Chris. In 2012 Chris Gardner became CEO of his own stockbrokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co in Chicago, Illinois, where he lives when he’s not living in Toronto. YouTube video: The Pursuit of Happyness Trailer…

1964 – The Beatles made their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show on the 9th February 1964, performing before a record-busting audience of 73 million viewers.

1969 – First test flight of the Boeing 747 was on the 9th February 1969.

1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 returned to Earth on the 9th February 1971, after the 3rd manned moon landing.

1975 – The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returned to Earth on the 9th February 1975.

1976 – Charlie Day the American actor was born on the 9th February 1976.