1535 – Twelve nude Anabaptists run through the streets of Amsterdam
1713 – Netherlands and Britain sign accord concerning anti-French Barrier [OS=Jan 31]
1879 – 1st electric arc light used (California Theater)
1923 – Ink paste manufactured for 1st time by Standard Ink Company
1966 – “Valley of the Dolls” by Jacqueline Susann is published by Bernard Geis Associates in the US – sold over 31 million copies
1968 – “Spooky” by Classics IV hits #3
1992 – Mike Tyson convicted of raping Desiree Washington in Indiana
2013 – 66th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs): “Argo”, Ben Affleck (Director); Daniel Day-Lewis and Emmanuelle Riva win
Author: gil7
Today in History for 10th February 2026
Historical Events
1878 – Pact of Zanjón signed between Cubans rebels and the Spanish bringing the 10 Years War to an end
1933 – -54°F (-48°C), Seneca, Oregon (state record)
1939 – “Stagecoach” western film directed by John Ford, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne, premieres in Miami
1974 – Judy Ikenberry wins 1st Us women’s marathon (2:55:17)
1993 – “Michael Jackson Talks to Oprah Winfrey” airs on ABC and draws an astounding 39.3 rating/56 share, with 90 million people watching
Famous Birthdays
1937 – Ronnie Rondell Jr., American stuntman known for appearing on the cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here”, born in Hollywood, California (d. 2025)
1942 – Alfred Gager, Austrian soccer midfielder (6 caps; Austria Wien, FC Wacker Wien), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2022)
1942 – Howard Mudd, American football OL (Pro Bowl 1966–68; All-Pro 1967-68; SF 49ers, Chicago Bears) and coach (Super Bowl 2006; OL Indianapolis Colts), born in Midland, Michigan (d. 2020)
1951 – Zeudi Araya, Eritrean actress (Hearts and Armour, La peccatrice), born in Dekemhare, British Eritrea
1987 – Yuja Wang, Chinese-American award-winning pianist known for her charismatic stage presence (Rachmaninoff Marathon), born in Beijing, China
Famous Deaths
1127 – William IX, the Troubadour, Frankish nobleman (Duke of Aquitaine, Gascony, Count of Poitou, 1086-1127), Crusader, and poet, dies at 55
1887 – Ellen Wood, English author (Pomeroy Abbey), dies at 73
1917 – Émile Pessard, French pianist, concert and comic opera composer, and teacher (Maurice Ravel, Jacques Ibert), dies at 73
1951 – Joseph Bovet, Swiss composer and conductor (Fribourg folk music), dies at 71
1995 – Kenton Kilmer, American writer, dies of cancer at 85
Famous Deaths for 9th February 2026
1802 – Thomas Graves, 1st Baron Graves, British admiral (Seven Years’ War, American War of Independence), dies at 76
1875 – Cecil De Vere, English chess player (1st official British chess champion (1866), dies from tuberculosis at 28
1943 – World War II: Dutch fascist official Hermannus Reydon and his wife are shot by resistance members, his wife dies immediately and he dies six months later
1949 – Poul Schierbeck, Danish organist and composer, dies at 60
1994 – Jarmila Novotná, Czech-American soprano (Metropolitan Opera, 1940-56), and actress (The Search), dies at 86
2010 – Chaskel Besser, Polish-American Orthodox rabbi, dies at 86
2013 – Kåre Valebrokk, Norwegian journalist and director of TV 2, dies at cancer at 72
2018 – Jóhann Jóhannsson, Icelandic theatre, dance, and film score composer (The Theory of Everything), dies from a combination of cocaine and prescription medication at 48
2019 – Patricia Nell Warren, American novelist (The Front Runner, The Fancy Dancer), dies of cancer at 82
2023 – Lewis Spratlan, American classical composer and Pulitzer Prize winner (Life Is A Dream), dies at 82
Historical Events for 9th February 2026
1870 – US President Ulysses S Grant signs law resulting in US Army Signal Service’s establishment of its “Division of Telegrams and Reports for the Benefit of Commerce”, later known as the National Weather Service
1934 – Balkan Entente alliance forms (Yugoslavia, Greece, Turkey and Romania)
1955 – Dutch 2nd Chamber accepts crematory law
1972 – British government declares a state of emergency after a month-long coal miners’ strike
1979 – New York City premiere of Paul Schrader’s allegedly fact based film “Hardcore”
1984 – Finnish cross-country skier Marja-Liisa Hämäläinen wins the 10k gold medal at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; first of 3 individual medal sweep, also winning 5k and 20k events
1995 – Augustus and Ruth Goetz’ stage drama “The Heiress” opens at Cort Theater, NYC; runs for 340 performances
2000 – 50th Berlin International Film Festival: “Magnolia” wins the Golden Bear
Today in History for 9th February 2026
Historical Events
1682 – Thomas Otway’s “Venice Preserved” premieres in London
1979 – Walter Hill’s crime drama film “The Warriors”, based on Sol Yurick’s 1965 novel, is released in the United States, sparking gang violence at many theaters and a halt to the film’s marketing campaign
1990 – Spacecraft Galileo flies by Venus at an altitude of 10,000 miles (16,000 km) in a gravity assist maneuver to gain speed on its way to Jupiter
1990 – “Bradys” return to TV for 6 episodes on CBS TV
2021 – WHO team investigating origin of COVID-19 in Wuhan say it is “extremely unlikely” that it leaked from a local research lab
Famous Birthdays
1900 – Walter Page, American jazz double bassist, saxophonist, tuba player, and bandleader (Blue Devils; Count Basie Orchestra), born in Gallatin, Missouri (d. 1957)
1903 – Georg Trexler, German composer, choirmaster, and organist (St. Trinitatis, Leipzig, 1930-70), born in Pirna, Germany (d. 1979)
1927 – Joe Maneri, American jazz composer, saxophone and clarinet player (Boston Microtonal Society), born in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 2009)
1944 – Alice Walker, American novelist (The Color Purple, Meridian), born in Putnam County, Georgia
1964 – Rachel Bolan [James Southworth], American musician and songwriter (Skid Row), born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey
Famous Deaths
1583 – Jeseph Sanalbo, Jewish convert in Rome, burned at stake
1916 – Hynek Vojáček, Czech composer, dies at 90
1973 – Max Yasgur, American dairy farmer, and owner Woodstock Festival site in Bethel, New York, dies of a heart attack at 53
2001 – Reginald Marsh, British actor (Sicilians: It Happened Here), dies at 74
2002 – Margaret Rose, British princess and Countess of Snowdon, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, dies of a stroke at 71
Famous Deaths for 8th February 2026
1691 – Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect and composer, dies at 79
1750 – Aaron Hill, English playwright and poet (Tragedy of Zara), dies at 65
1772 – Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales by marriage to Frederick, Prince of Wales, dies at 52
1910 – Hans Jæger, Norwegian writer and political activist as leader of the Kristiania Bohemians, dies at 55
1924 – Gee John, Chinese-American gangster (1st person in US to be executed by lethal gas in Nevada), executed at 29
1973 – Herbie Taylor, South African cricket batsman and captain (42 Tests; 2,936 runs @ 40.77; 7 x 100s), dies at 83
1993 – N. Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan communist leader
2007 – Ian Stevenson, Canadian-American parapsychologist and reincarnation expert, dies at 88
2015 – Filipe Pires, Portuguese pianist, composer (Portugaliae Genesis), and educator, dies at 81
2019 – Robert Ryman, American minimalist painter and visual artist known for his white-on-white works, dies at 88
Historical Events for 8th February 2026
1849 – New Roman Republic established in Italy
1924 – 1st US coast-to-coast radio hookup: General John Joseph Carty speech in Chicago
1943 – Red Army recaptures Kursk on the eastern front
1953 – WLVA (now WSET) TV channel 13 in Lynchburg-Roanoke, VA (ABC) begins
1960 – Boston Celtic Bill Russell becomes 1st NBAer with 50 rebounds (51)
1979 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1984 – For the 1st time eight people are in space
2009 – Al Gore’s book “An Inconvenient Truth” wins a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album
Today in History for 8th February 2026
Historical Events
1575 – University of Leiden established by William I of Orange, given the motto “Praesidium Libertatis” (oldest university in Netherlands)
1916 – French cruiser “Admiral Charner” torpedoed off Syrian coast, kills 374
2013 – 29 people are killed and 69 are injured in a series of Iraq bombings
2014 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen equals the Winter Olympics medal record with 12
2014 – Netherlands sweeps the medals in the men’s 5,000m speed skating at the Sochi Winter Olympics; Sven Kramer retains title ahead of teammates Jan Blokhuijsen and Jorrit Bergsma
Famous Birthdays
1813 – Jacob Georg Agarah, Swedish botanist, born in Lund, Sweden (d. 1901)
1828 – Jules Verne, French novelist known as the “Father of Science Fiction” (Around the World in 80 days), born in Nantes, France (d. 1905)
1928 – Jack Larson, American actor (The Adventures of Superman – “Jimmy Olsen”), screenwriter, and librettist (Virgil Thomson’s “Lord Byron”), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2015)
1956 – Dave Meros, American progressive rock bassist (Spock’s Beard), born in Salinas, California
1961 – Sammy Llanas, American rock singer-songwritrer (Bodeans, 1983-2011 – “Closer To Free”), born in Wisconsin
Famous Deaths
1265 – Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler, grandson of Genghis Khan (besieged and pillaged Baghdad) (b. 1217)
1599 – Robert Rollock, Scottish educator (1st Regent of Edinburgh University), dies
1993 – Franz Schnyder, Swiss director (10th of May), dies at 82
1995 – Wilhelm J. Soukop, Austrian-British sculptor, dies at 88
2012 – Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi, dies at 99
Famous Deaths for 7th February 2026
999 – Boleslaus II of Bohemia
1593 – Jacques Amyot, French humanist, translator and Abbot of Bellozanne, dies at 79
1823 – Ann Radcliffe, English Gothic novelist (The Mysteries of Udolpho, The Romance of the Forest), dies at 58
1873 – Sheridan Le Fanu, Irish writer (The House by the Churchyard), dies at 58
1937 – Elihu Root, American statesman (Nobel Peace Prize, 1912), dies at 91
1940 – Francis Ford, English cricketer (5 Tests for England v Australia 1894-95), dies at 73
1984 – Brooks West, American actor (Richard-My Friend Irma), dies at 67
1996 – [Isian Kehinde] I. K. Dairo, Nigerian Jùjú musician and academic, dies at 65
1999 – José Silva, American parapsychologist, author of the Silva Method and Silva UltraMind ESP System (b. 1914)
2015 – Billy Casper, American golfer (US Open 1959, 66; US Masters 1970), dies of a heart attack at 83
Historical Events for 7th February 2026
1668 – Dutch Prince William III dances in premiere of “Ballet of Peace”
1827 – Ballet (Deserter) introduced to US at Bowery Theater (NYC)
1845 – The Portland Vase, thought to date to the 1st century BC is shattered into more than 80 pieces by a drunken visitor to the British Museum
1972 – Dutch Olympic 1,500m and 5,000m speed skating champion Ard Schenk wins his 3rd gold medal at the Sapporo Winter Games when he takes out the 10,000m
1973 – Iggy Pop and The Stooges release their influential 3rd album “Raw Power”
1974 – UK Prime Minister Edward Heath calls for a ‘snap’ general election in the midst of a protracted miners’ strike
1979 – “Supertrain”, TV Anthology, Superbomb of 1979, debuts on NBC
1998 – NHL’s Dallas Stars retire Neal Broten’s #7