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Today February 1st 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
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 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn, Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).
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.
1790 – In New York City the Supreme Court of the United States attempts to convene 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 in West Orange, New Jersey.
1896 – The opera La bohème premieres in Turin.
1897 – Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens 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 begins operations.
1924 – The United Kingdom recognizes USSR.
1942 – World War II: Vidkun Quisling is appointed Premier of Norway by the Nazi occupiers.
1943 – The German 6th Army surrenders at Stalingrad.
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 the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
1965 – The Hamilton River in Labrador, Canada is renamed the Churchill River in honour of Winston Churchill.
1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan is videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams. This image helped build opposition to the Vietnam War.
1968 – Canada s three military services of Canada, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.
1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form ill-fated Penn Central Transportation.
1972 – Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
1974 – A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in Sao Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.
1974 – Kuala Lumpur is declared a Federal Territory.
1978 – Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees the United States 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 – The Ayatollah Khomeini is welcomed back into Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.
1982 – Senegal and the Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia.
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.
1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne became the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.
2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
2004 – 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured in a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
2004 – Janet Jackson s breast is exposed during the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, resulting in US broadcasters adopting a stronger adherence to FCC censorship guidelines.
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)
1663 – Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, foundress (d. 1748)
1690 – Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian composer (d. 1768)
1761 – Christian Hendrik Persoon, South African mycologist (d. 1836)
1763 – Thomas Campbell, Irish theologian (d. 1854)
1796 – Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss poet (d. 1865)
1801 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer (d. 1881)
1820 – George Hendric Houghton, American Protestant Episcopal clergyman (d. 1897)
1844 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (d. 1924)
1851 – Durham Stevens, American diplomat (d. 1908)
1859 – Victor Herbert, Irish composer (d. 1924)
1872 – Jerome F. Donovan, American politician (d. 1949)
1872 – Andrew Kehoe, American mass murderer (d. 1927)
1873 – Joseph Allard, Canadian fiddler (d. 1947)
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 – Bradbury Robinson, who threw the first forward pass in American football history in 1906 (d. 1949)
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)
1924 – Ben Weider, Quebec businessman and author
1926 – Stuart Whitman, American actor
1930 – Shahabuddin Ahmed, President of Bangladesh
1930 – Mario Beaulieu, Quebec politician (d. 1998)
1930 – Hossain Mohammad Ershad, Bangladeshi politician
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 – Fritjof Capra, Austrian physicist
1939 – Claude François, French singer (d. 1978)
1939 – Paul Gillmor, American politician (d. 2007)
1939 – Joe Sample, American jazz pianist
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
1942 – Muna Wassef, Wassef is a well known Syrian/Arab movie star and a United Nations Goodwill ambassador.
1944 – Mike Enzi, American politician, senator of Wyoming
1944 – Burkhard Ziese, German football manager
1945 – Serge Joyal, French Canadian politician
1946 – Chris Clark, Motown Soul singer
1947 – Mike Brant, Israeli pop singer (d. 1975)
1947 – Normie Rowe, Australian singer
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
1951 – Sonny Landreth, American guitarist and songwriter
1952 – Jeno Jandó, Hungarian pianist
1953 – Brendan Batson, English former footballer
1954 – Chuck Dukowski, American musician (Black Flag)
1954 – Bill Mumy, American actor and musician
1955 – Ernie Camacho, baseball player
1956 – Brahmanandam, Indian film actor
1956 – Exene Cervenka, American musician
1956 – Mike Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1958 – Jackie Shroff, Indian actor
1958 – Luther Blissett, English footballer
1961 – Volker Fried, German field hockey player
1962 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2004)
1962 – Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese guitarist
1963 – Takashi Murakami, Japanese artist
1964 – Mario Pelchat, Quebec singer
1964 – Linus Roache, English actor
1965 – Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
1965 – Brandon Lee, American actor (d. 1993)
1965 – Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
1966 – Michelle Akers, American soccer player
1966 – Rob Lee, English footballer
1967 – Meg Cabot, American author
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 (Drummer for Weezer)
1970 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player (d. 2000)
1970 – Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese racing driver
1971 – Michael C. Hall, American actor
1971 – Jill Kelly, American porn actress
1971 – Ron Welty, American musician
1971 – Zlatko Zahovic, Slovenian footballer
1971 – Ajay Jadeja, Former Indian cricketer
1972 – Yoshi DeHerrera, American TV personality
1972 – Kami (musician), drummer of Japanese visual kei band Malice Mizer (d. 1999)
1973 – Yuri Landman, Experimental musical instrument builder, musician and comic book artist
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 – Katerina 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
1979 – Valentin Elizalde, Mexican Singer (d. 2006)
1979 – Rachelle LeFevre, Canadian actress
1980 – Héctor Luna, Dominican Republic baseball player
1980 – Moisés Muñoz, Mexican footballer
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
1983 – Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Belgian cyclist
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
1987 – Giuseppe Rossi, Italian footballer
1989 – Hurricane Chris, American rapper
1990 – Laura Marling, British singer-songwriter
1993 – Jack Reader
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)
1832 – Archibald Murphey, North Carolina politician (b. 1777)
1850 – Edward Baker Lincoln, son of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln
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)
1936 – Georgios Kondylis, general of the Greek army and Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878)
1940 – Philip Francis Nowlan, science fiction writer, creator of Buck Rogers character (b. 1888)
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)
1986 – Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)
1987 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian film director (b. 1900)
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)
1999 – Baris Manço, Turkish singer, composer, television producer and celebrity. (b. 1943)
2001 – André D Allemagne, Quebec teacher, political observer and essayist (b. 1929)
2002 – Hildegard Knef, German actress, singer, and writer (b. 1925)
2003 – Michael P. Anderson – crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) (b. 1959)
2003 – David Brown – crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) (b. 1956)
2003 – Kalpana Chawla – crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) (b. 1961)
2003 – Laurel Clark – crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) (b. 1961)
2003 – Rick D. Husband – crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) (b. 1957)
2003 – Willie McCool – crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) (b. 1961)
2003 – Ilan Ramon – crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster) (b. 1954)
2003 – Mongo Santamaria, Cuban percussionist and band leader (b. 1922)
2004 – May O Donnell, American modern dancer and choreographer (b. 1909)
2005 – John Vernon, Canadian actor (b. 1932)
2006 – Dick Bass, American football player (b. 1937)
2006 – Bryce Harland, New Zealand diplomat (b. 1931)
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)
2008 – Beto Carrero, Brazilian theme park owner and entertainer (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.
Feast day of Astina in the Syrian church
St. Brigid, patron saint of Ireland. Feast day in the Roman Catholic Church.
National Freedom Day in the United States
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