1855 – Michigan State University established
1934 – The four-day February Uprising, sometimes called the Austrian Civil War, begins
1964 – US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Allen
1964 – US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming
1981 – Pete Squires sets record for 1575 steps of Empire State Building, 10m
2012 – Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow is re-elected President of Turkmenistan with 97% of the vote
2013 – North Korea allegedly conducts its third nuclear test, saying it was a nuclear device that could be weaponized
2016 – Fiji becomes the first country to ratify the UN climate deal (signed Paris, December 2015)
2019 – US national debt tops 22 trillion for the first time according to US Treasury
2023 – Super Bowl LVII, State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona: Kansas City Chiefs beat Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35; MVP: Patrick Mahomes, KC, QB
Author: gil7
Today in History for 12th February 2024
Historical Events
1793 – 1st US fugitive slave law passed; requires return of escaped slaves
1818 – Chile gains independence from Spain
1925 – E. Thieffry departs with Handley Page for the Belgian Congo
1938 – Austrian chancellor Kurt Schuschnigg visits Adolf Hitler in Berchtesgaden
1997 – Fred Goldman says he will settle for a signed murder confession from O.J. Simpson in lieu of his $20.5 million judgement
2007 – A gunman opens fire in a mall in Salt Lake City, killing 5 people in the Trolley Square shooting.
Famous Birthdays
1907 – Clifton C. Edom, American photojournalism educator (d. 1991)
1920 – Pran Krishan Sikand, Indian actor often cast as the villain in Hindi cinema (Khandaan, Be-Imaan), born in New Delhi (d. 2013)
1938 – Judy Blume, American author (Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret), born in Elizabeth, New Jersey
1969 – Byron Stroud, Canadian heavy metal bassist, born in New Westminster, British Columbia
1976 – Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby union footballer, born in Paraparaumu, New Zealand
1985 – Saskia Burmeister Croft, Australian actress, born in Sydney, Australia
Famous Deaths
1903 – Gaspar Núñez de Arce, Spanish dramatist and statesman (b. 1834)
1981 – Jean Dixon, American actress (Joy of Living, You Only Live Once), dies at 87
1996 – Bob Shaw, Northern Irish novelist (b. 1931)
2000 – (Jalacy) “Screamin’ Jay” Hawkins, American blues-rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter (“I Put a Spell On You”), and actor, dies of an aneurysm at 70
2004 – Robert A. Bruce, American cardiologist and pioneer (exercise cardiology), dies at 87
2022 – Brian Kan, Chinese thoroughbred horse trainer (5 x Hong Kong champion trainer; 5 x HK Derby winners), dies at 84
Famous Deaths for 11th February 2024
1503 – Elizabeth of York, Queen Consort of England and wife of King Henry VII, dies of a post-partum infection on her 37th birthday
1911 – Albert Salomon Anselm von Rothschild, Austrian banker and member of the Rothschild banking family of Austria, dies at 66
1952 – Charles Scribner III, American book publisher, dies at 62
1976 – Alexander Lippisch, German scientist and pioneer of aerodynamics, dies at 81
1977 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian leader and 5th President of India (1974-77), dies of a heart attack at 72
1991 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist who worked with RNA (Nobel Prize 1968), dies at 71
1994 – Neil Bonnett, American race car driver, dies at 47
1996 – Kebby Musokotwane, prime minister of Zambia in (1985-89), dies
2015 – Jerry Tarkanian, American collegiate basketball coach, 1961-2002 (California State, UNLV, Fresno State; career record: 784–202), dies at 84
2017 – Harvey Lichtenstein, American head of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, dies at 87
Historical Events for 11th February 2024
1543 – Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and English King Henry VIII sign anti-French covenant
1897 – White Rose Mission opens on East 97th Street, NYC
1929 – Vatican City, the world’s smallest country, is made an enclave of Rome
1945 – 1st gas turbine propeller-driven airplane flight tested, Downey, CA
1948 – John Costello follows Eamon Da Valera as premier of Ireland
1951 – Kwame Nkrumah and his Convention People’s Party wins 1st legislative general election in the Gold Coast (Ghana) in a landslide
1953 – J Styne and Bob Hilliard’s musical “Hazel Flagg” opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 190 performances
1956 – British diplomats Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean deny working as spies for Soviet Russia after reappearing in the Soviet Union after going missing 5 years earlier
1979 – Iran’s premier Bakhtiar resigns, Ayatollah Khomeini seizes power
1992 – Michael Johnson runs indoor world record 400m (44.97 sec)
Today in History for 11th February 2024
Historical Events
1814 – Norway’s independence proclaimed
1929 – Eugene O’Neill’s play “Dynamo” premieres in NYC
1989 – Barbara Clementine Harris consecrated 1st female bishop (Episcopalian)
1994 – Space shuttle STS-60 (Discovery 18), lands
1995 – Space shuttle STS-63 (Discovery 19), lands
2020 – “The Hot Wing King” a play by Katori Hall premieres off-Broadway at Signature Theatre in New York (Pulitzer Prize 2021 for Drama)
Famous Birthdays
1889 – Vladimir Mikhaylovich Deshevov, Russian-Soviet composer (Ice and Steel), born in St. Petersburg, Russia (d. 1955)
1904 – Keith Holyoake, 26th Prime Minister of New Zealand (National: 1960-72), born in Pahiatua, New Zealand (d. 1983)
1923 – Sy Kattelson, American photographer, born in the Bronx, New York (d. 2018)
1929 – Leonard Kastle, opera composer, librettist, director (The Passion of Mother Ann), and film maker (The Honeymoon Killers), born in New York City (d. 2011)
1930 – Alevtina Koltschina, USSR, cross coutry relay skier (Olympic gold 1960)
1977 – Mike Shinoda, American musician (Linkin Park, Fort Minor), born in Agoura Hills, California
Famous Deaths
1755 – Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist (b. 1675)
1939 – Franz Schmidt, Austro-Hungarian cellist, pianist, and composer, dies at 64
1944 – Ivan Sollertinski, friend of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, dies
1997 – Don Porter, American actor (Gidget), dies at 84
1999 – Jaki Byard, American jazz pianist (Charlie Mingus), saxophonist, drummer, composer, arranger, and educator, dies from an unsolved gunshot at 76
2021 – Phil Horrocks-Taylor, English rugby union fly half (9 caps England, 1 British and Irish Lions; Leicester Tigers), dies at 86
Famous Deaths for 10th February 2024
1832 – Antonio Benedetto Maria Puccini, Italian composer, dies at 84
1852 – Samuel Prout, British water color painter, dies at 68
1861 – Francis Danby, Irish painter, dies at 67
1902 – Johann Nepomu Krieger, German Selenographer (lunar maps), dies at 37
1960 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (b. 1898)
1961 – Velma Middleton, American jazz vocalist (Louis Armstrong’s big bands and small groups), dies from complications of a stroke at 43
1966 – Billy Rose [William Samuel Rosenberg], American theatrical producer (Diamond Horse Show), dies at 66
1987 – Ray Colignon (sometimes none as “Coco”), Belgian jazz and easy listening pianist, Hammond organist, and bandleader, dies at 80
1988 – Paolo Renosto, Italian composer, dies at 52
1997 – Matthew Eappen, American child involved in the Louise Woodward court case, dies at 8 months
Historical Events for 10th February 2024
1763 – Treaty of Paris ends French-Indian War, France surrenders Canada to Great Britain
1842 – Moreton Bay Penal Colony abolished and opened for free settlement (modern city of Brisbane, Australia)
1931 – Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s musical “America’s Sweetheart” premieres on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre, NYC
1934 – Byrd souvenir sheet issued, NYC; 1st unperforated ungummed US stamp
1953 – Ice Pairs Championship at Davos won by Jennifer and John Nicks of GRB
1970 – Dry powder avalanche moving at 120 mph smashes into youth hostel at Val d’Isere, France, killing 40 Belgian, French, and German youths
1989 – Miami Vice’s 100th episode seen on TV
2013 – 55th Grammy Awards: “Somebody That I Used To Know” (Goyte); “We Are Young” (fun); and “Babel” (Mumford and Sons) win
2014 – After winning Vancouver (2010) Olympic moguls title, Canadian freestyle skier Alexandre Bilodeau wins 2nd consecutive Olympic gold medal in Sochi; beats teammate Mikaël Kingsbury
2019 – 61st Grammy Awards: Childish Gambino first rapper to win Best Song and Best Record for “This Is America”; Best Album “Golden Hour” Kacey Musgraves
Today in History for 10th February 2024
Historical Events
1899 – -39°F (-39°C), Milligan, Ohio (state lowest record temperature)
1931 – Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart’s musical “America’s Sweetheart” premieres on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre, NYC
1959 – Dutch Princess Wilhelmina publishes “Lonely, but not alone”
1971 – American Mensa Ltd incorporates in New York
1981 – 33rd NHL All-Star Game, The Forum, Inglewood: Campbell Conference beats Wales Conference, 4-1; MVP: Mike Liut, St. Louis Blues, G
2014 – Canadian short track speed skater Charles Hamelin wins his 3rd career Olympic gold medal in the 1,500m in Sochi; Vancouver (2010) 500m and 5,000m relay champion
Famous Birthdays
1696 – Johann Melchior Molter, German composer, born in Tiefenort, Thuringia (now Germany) (d. 1765)
1846 – Mildred Childe Lee, American favourite daughter of confederate General Robert E. Lee, born at Arlington Plantation, Virginia (d. 1905)
1888 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, Italian poet (Hermeticism) and journalist, born in Alexandria (d. 1970)
1894 – Roy D’Arcy [Roy Giusti], American actor (Warning Shadows, Revolt of Zombies), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1969)
1913 – Ragnhild Marie Hatton, Norwegian historian, born in Bergen, Norway (d. 1995)
1918 – Gordon Pirie, English Group Captain and politician, born in Oxford (d. 2003)
Famous Deaths
1543 – Johann Eck, German Scholastic theologian and early counter-reformer against Lutheran challenges, dies a 56
1836 – Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier, French chemist (worked with husband Antoine Lavoisier), dies at 78
1927 – Laura Netzel (née Pistolekors), Finnish-Swedish pianist, composer, concert organizer, and humanitarian, dies at 87
1987 – Sadequain, Pakistani artist, painter, calligrapher and artist, dies at 56
1995 – Paul Monette, American writer, dies of AIDS at 49
2001 – Lewis Arquette, American actor (Horror Show; Book of Love), dies at 65
Famous Deaths for 9th February 2024
1918 – Emiel van der Straeten, Flemish playwright (Sudanese legends), dies at 30
1962 – Harriet Ware (Krumbhaar), American concert pianist, composer (Women’s Triumphal March; The Rose Is Red; The Varying Shore), and music educator, dies at 84
1974 – Cees de Lange, Dutch conferencier, dies at 60
1977 – Gaus, an orangutan who lived to be 59
1979 – Allen Tate, American poet (Mr Pope and Other Poems), dies at 79
1987 – Larry French, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1940; Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago Cubs; Brooklyn Dodgers), dies at 79
2007 – Hank Bauer, American baseball infielder, manager (8-time World Series champion; NY Yankees, Baltimore Orioles), dies from lung cancer at 84
2009 – Eluana Englaro, an Italian woman who lived in a persistent vegetative state for 17 years (b. 1970)
2015 – Claude Ruel, Canadian NHL coach (Stanley Cup 1968-69, Montreal Canadiens), dies at 76
2018 – Reginald “Reg” E Cathey, American actor (The Wire, Oz, House of Cards), dies of lung cancer at 59
Historical Events for 9th February 2024
1941 – Nazi collaborators destroy pro-Jewish café Alcazar Amsterdam (Alcazar refused to hang “No Entry for Jews” signs in front of cafe)
1945 – The Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Venturer sinks U-Boat 864 off the coast of Norway
1945 – WAAF-corporal flies along the tail of a Spitfire
1946 – Dutch Labor Party (Dutch Social Democratic Party) forms
1971 – Apollo 14 returns to Earth
1974 – “Daddy What If” by Bobby Bare peaks at #41
1983 – Belgium buys 44 F-16s
1996 – WYNY-FM in NYC changes calls to WKTU-FM
2014 – Slovak biathlete Anastasiya Kuzmina retains her Olympic 7.5k sprint title (Vancouver 2010) at the Sochi Winter Games
2018 – XXIII Olympic Winter Games open in PyeongChang, South Korea