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Today February 2nd 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
962 – Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.
1032 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes King of Burgundy.
1509 – The Battle of Diu takes place near Diu, India, between Portugal and Turkey.
1536 – Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1542 – Portuguese under Christovão da Gama capture a Moslem-occupied hillfort in northern Ethiopia in the Battle of Baçente.
1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
1709 – Alexander Selkirk is rescued from shipwreck on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.
1787 – Arthur St. Clair is elected the 9th President of the President of the Continental Congress under the Articles of Confederation.
1790 – The U.S. Supreme Court convenes for the first time.
1812 – Russia establishes a fur trading colony at Fort Ross, California.
1848 – Mexican-American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
1848 – California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese emigrants arrives in San Francisco, California.
1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
1878 – Greece declares war on Turkey.
1880 – The first electric streetlight is installed in Wabash, Indiana.
1882 – The Knights of Columbus are formed in New Haven, Connecticut.
1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.
1899 – The Australian Premiers Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia s capital (Canberra) between Sydney and Melbourne.
1901 – Queen Victoria s funeral takes place.
1913 – Grand Central Station was opened in New York City.
1920 – The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.
1920 – France occupies Memel.
1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
1933 – Adolf Hitler dissolves the German Parliament.
1935 – Leonarde Keeler tests the first polygraph machine.
1940 – Frank Sinatra debuts with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra.
1943 – World War II: The last German forces surrender to the Soviets after the Battle of Stalingrad.
1946 – The Proclamation of Hungarian Republic is made.
1957 – Iskander Mirza of Pakistan lays the foundation-stone of the Guddu Barrage.
1966 – Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
1967 – The American Basketball Association is formed.
1971 – Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.
1972 – The British embassy in Dublin is destroyed in protest over Bloody Sunday.
1974 – The F-16 Fighting Falcon flies for the first time.
1976 – The Groundhog Day gale hits the north-eastern United States and south-eastern Canada.
1980 – Reports surface that FBI were targeting Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
1980 – Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey is founded.
1982 – Hama Massacre: Syria attacks the town of Hama.
1989 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet Union armored column leaves Kabul.
1989 – Satellite television service Sky Television plc launched.
1990 – Apartheid: F.W. de Klerk allows the African National Congress to legally function and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
1998 – A Cebu Pacific Air DC-9-32 crashes into a mountain near Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, killing 104.
2002 – Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange marries Máxima Zorreguieta.
Births
1208 – James I of Aragon (d. 1276)
1455 – King John of Denmark (d. 1513)
1494 – Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (d. 1557)
1502 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher (d. 1574)
1506 – René de Birague, French cardinal and chancellor (d. 1583)
1522 – Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician (d. 1565)
1600 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653)
1613 – Noël Chabanel, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1649)
1621 – Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian humanist (d. 1679)
1649 – Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730)
1650 – Nell Gwynne, English actress and royal mistress (d. 1687)
1669 – Louis Marchand, French organist and harpsichordist (d. 1732)
1695 – William Borlase, English naturalist (d. 1772)
1695 – François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769)
1700 – Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (d. 1766)
1711 – Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, Austrian diplomat (d. 1794)
1714 – Gottfried August Homilius, German composer (d. 1785)
1717 – Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)
1786 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician (d. 1856)
1802 – Jean Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist (d. 1887)
1803 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (d. 1862)
1829 – Alfred Brehm, German zoologist (d. 1884)
1841 – François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (d. 1912)
1842 – Yulian Vasilievich Sokhotski, Russian mathematician (d. 1927)
1849 – Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet (d. 1921)
1851 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican artist (d. 1913)
1860 – Curtis Guild, Jr., American politician (d. 1915)
1861 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American art collector and philanthropist (d. 1949)
1873 – Konstantin von Neurath, German diplomat and statesman (d. 1956)
1875 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (d. 1962)
1878 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (d. 1955)
1881 – Orval Overall, American baseball player (d. 1947)
1882 – James Joyce, Irish author (d. 1941)
1887 – Ernst Hanfstängl, German pianist and politician (d. 1975)
1888 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969)
1889 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general, posthumous Marshal of France (d. 1952)
1890 – Charles Correll, American actor (d. 1972)
1893 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1974)
1893 – Raoul Riganti, Argentine racing driver (d. 1970)
1895 – George Halas, American NFL co-founder (d. 1983)
1896 – Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980)
1897 – Aimé Avignon, France s former oldest living man (d. 2007)
1897 – Howard Johnson, American hotelier (d. 1972)
1900 – Willie Kamm, American baseball player (d. 1988)
1901 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian violinist (d. 1987)
1902 – Newbold Morris, American politician (d. 1966)
1905 – Ayn Rand, Russian-born American author and philosopher (d. 1982)
1908 – Wes Ferrell, American baseball player (d. 1976)
1909 – Frank Albertson, American actor (d. 1964)
1912 – Millvina Dean, last living survivour of the RMS Titanic
1912 – Burton Lane, American composer and lyricist (d. 1997)
1913 – Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor (d. 1985)
1914 – Eric Kierans, Canadian politician and economist (d. 2004)
1915 – Abba Eban, Israeli diplomat (d. 2002)
1915 – Stan Leonard, Canadian professional golfer (d. 2005)
1916 – Xuân Di?u, Vietnamese poet (d. 1985)
1918 – Hella S. Haasse, Dutch writer
1923 – James Dickey, American poet and author (d. 1997)
1923 – Bonita Granville, American actress (d. 1988)
1923 – Red Schoendienst, American baseball player and manager
1923 – Liz Smith, American gossip columnist
1924 – Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-born American producer and musician
1925 – Elaine Stritch, American actress
1926 – Valéry Giscard d Estaing, French politician
1927 – Stan Getz, American musician (d. 1991)
1928 – Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American civil rights activist (d. 1998)
1931 – Dries van Agt, Dutch politician
1931 – Les Dawson, British comedian (d. 1993)
1931 – Judith Viorst, American author
1932 – Robert Mandan, American actor
1933 – Tony Jay, English actor (d. 2006)
1933 – Than Shwe, ruler of Myanmar
1936 – Duane Jones, American actor
1937 – Don Buford, American
1937 – Remak Ramsay, American actor
1937 – Tom Smothers, American musician and comedian
1939 – Akbar Adibi, Iranian scientist (d. 2000)
1940 – Wayne Fontes, American football coach
1940 – David Jason, English actor
1942 – Graham Nash, British-born American musician
1943 – Susan Hanson, English actress
1944 – Karen Foss, American broadcaster
1944 – Geoffrey Hughes, British actor
1946 – Alpha Oumar Konaré, Mali politician
1947 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress
1948 – Al McKay, American guitarist and songwriter (Earth, Wind & Fire)
1948 – Roger Williamson, English racecar driver (d. 1973)
1949 – Francisco Maturana, Colombian football manager
1949 – Brent Spiner, American actor
1949 – Ross Valory, American musician (Journey)
1950 – Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese professional wrestler
1952 – John Cornyn, American politician
1953 – Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter
1954 – Christie Brinkley, American model
1954 – Ina Garten, American author and TV personality
1954 – Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian singer and actor
1954 – John Tudor, American baseball player
1955 – Virginia Leng, British equestrian
1957 – Phil Barney, French singer
1958 – Michel Marc Bouchard, Quebec playwright
1960 – Jari Porttila, Finnish sports journalist
1961 – Lauren Lane, American actress
1961 – Steve Penney, National Hockey League goaltender
1962 – Andy Fordham, English darts player
1962 – Paul Kilgus, American baseball player
1962 – Michael T. Weiss, American actor
1963 – Eva Cassidy, American singer (d. 1996)
1963 – Philip Laats, Belgian judoka
1965 – Carl Airey, English footballer
1965 – Naoki Sano, Japanese professional wrestler
1966 – Andrei Chesnokov, Russian tennis player
1966 – D. C. Douglas, American actor and director
1966 – Robert DeLeo, American musician (Stone Temple Pilots)
1967 – Arturs Irbe, Latvian hockey player
1967 – Laurent Nkunda, Congolese military leader
1968 – Sean Elliott, American basketball player
1968 – Scott Erickson, American baseball player
1968 – Simon Wickham-Smith, British musician
1969 – Valeri Karpin, Russian footballer
1969 – Tim Sherwood, English footballer
1970 – C. Ernst Harth, Canadian actor
1970 – Nikolaos Michopoulos, Greek footballer
1970 – Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer
1970 – Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress
1972 – Tego Calderón Puerto Rican reggaeton
1972 – Dana International, Israeli singer
1972 – Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player
1973 – Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower
1973 – Marissa Jaret Winokur, American actress
1975 – Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian hockey player
1975 – Vaggelis Koutsoures, Greek footballer
1975 – Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer
1975 – Niclas Wallin, Swedish hockey player
1976 – James Hickman, British swimmer
1976 – Lori Beth Denberg, American actress
1977 – Heather Martin, American gospel singer
1977 – Shakira, Colombian singer
1977 – Libor Sionko, Czech football player
1978 – Eden Espinosa, American singer and actress
1978 – Barry Ferguson, Scotish football player
1979 – Fani Halkia, Greek hurdler
1979 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
1979 – Irini Terzoglou, Greek shot putter
1980 – Teddy Hart, Canadian professional wrestler
1980 – Gucci Mane, American rapper
1980 – Oleguer Presas, Spanish football player
1981 – Jason Kapono, American basketball player
1982 – Sergio Castaño, Spanish footballer
1982 – Han Ga In, South Korean model/actress
1982 – Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player
1982 – Brandy Talore, American pornographic actress
1983 – Carolina Klüft, Swedish athlete
1983 – Will South, British musician (Thirteen Senses)
1983 – Jordin Tootoo, Canadian hockey player
1983 – Alex Westaway, British musician
1987 – Gerard Piqué, Spanish football player
1987 – Martin Spanjers, American actor
1992 – Danielle White, American singer
Deaths
672 – Saint Chad
1124 – Borivoj II of Bohemia
1218 – Konstantin of Rostov, Prince of Novgorod (b. 1186)
1250 – Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)
1461 – Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty of England
1529 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian writer (b. 1478)
1580 – Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese retainer (b. 1558)
1594 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer (b. 1525)
1648 – George Abbot, English writer
1660 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615)
1660 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans, French politician (b. 1608)
1661 – Lucas Holstenius, German humanist (b. 1596)
1688 – Abraham Duquesne, French naval officer (b. 1610)
1704 – Guillaume François Antoine, Marquis de l Hôpital, French mathematician (b. 1661)
1712 – Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician
1714 – John Sharp, English Archbishop of York (b. 1643)
1723 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist (b. 1666)
1768 – Robert Smith, English mathematician (b. 1689)
1769 – Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693)
1802 – Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, British statesman (b. 1713)
1804 – George Walton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1749-50)
1895 – Archduke Albert, Austrian general (b. 1817)
1904 – William C. Whitney, American financier (b. 1841)
1907 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (b. 1834)
1909 – Carlo Acton, Italian composer and concert pianist (b. 1829)
1918 – John L. Sullivan, American heavyweight boxer (b. 1858)
1922 – William Desmond Taylor, Irish film director (b. 1872)
1925 – Jaap Eden, Dutch skater and cyclist (b. 1873)
1926 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (b. 1848)
1932 – Agha Petros, Assyrian nationalist leader
1942 – Daniil Kharms, Russian playwright (b. 1905)
1945 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German politician (b. 1884)
1948 – Bevil Rudd, South African athlete (b. 1894)
1948 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker; father or Corliss Lamont; great-grandfather of Ned Lamont (b. 1870)
1950 – Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician (b. 1873)
1956 – Charles Grapewin, American actor (b. 1869)
1956 – Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
1957 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (b. 1890)
1961 – Anna May Wong, American actress (b. 1905)
1969 – Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887)
1970 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (b. 1898)
1970 – Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, English mathematician, writer and philosopher, Nobel laureate (b. 1872)
1972 – Natalie Clifford Barney, American writer (b. 1876)
1973 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian politician (b. 1902)
1979 – Sid Vicious, English musician (Sex Pistols) (b. 1957)
1980 – William Howard Stein, Nobel laureate (b. 1911)
1982 – Paul Desruisseaux, French Canadian lawyer, businessman and politician (b. 1905)
1983 – Sam Chatmon, American blues musician (b. 1897)
1987 – Castilho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1927)
1987 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist (b. 1922)
1988 – Marcel Bozzuffi, French film actor (b. 1929)
1989 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater (b. 1951)
1989 – Arnold Nordmeyer, NZ politician (b. 1901)
1990 – Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (b. 1934)
1992 – Bert Parks, American television host (b. 1914)
1995 – Fred Perry, British former tennis player (b. 1909)
1995 – Donald Pleasence, English actor (b. 1919)
1996 – Gene Kelly, American dancer, actor, and director (b. 1912)
1997 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913)
1997 – Sanford Meisner, American actor (b. 1904)
1999 – David McComb, Australian musician (The Triffids) (b. 1962)
2002 – Paul Baloff, American singer (Exodus) (b. 1960)
2002 – Claude Brown, American writer (b. 1937)
2003 – Lou Harrison, American composer (b. 1917)
2004 – Bernard McEveety, American film director (b. 1924)
2005 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)
2007 – Vijay Arora, Indian film and television actor (b. 1944)
2007 – Billy Henderson, American singer (The Spinners) (b. 1939)
2007 – Joe Hunter, American pianist and bandleader of The Funk Brothers (b. 1927)
2007 – Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967)
2007 – Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919)
2007 – Eric von Schmidt, American folk/blues singer-songwriter (b. 1931)
2008- Katoucha, Guinean model and activist (b. 1960)
Holidays and observances
Ancient Latvia – Veja Diena observed.
Czech Republic – Hromnice.
France – Chandeleur (= Candlemas), AKA Crêpe (Pancake) Day.
Paganism – Imbolc (in northern hemisphere), Lughnasadh (in southern hemisphere).
Scotland – A quarter day in the Christian calendar (due to Candlemas).
United States and Canada – Groundhog Day.
University of King s College – George III Day
Yemanja – Celebration of Yemanja, the sea goddess.
Roman Catholicism – Candlemas, The Presentation of the Lord, The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, World Day for Consecrated Life (also February 3 in the United States).
St. Cornelius
February 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
World Wetlands Day
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