1222 – William I, earl of Holland (1203-22), dies
1714 – Duke of Berry, French King Louis XIV’s grandson, dies
1954 – Vaclav Vackar, composer, dies at 72
1957 – Miguel Covarrubias, Mexican illustrator, dies
1974 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist (Bose–Einstein statistics), dies at 80
1975 – Julian Fuhs, German-American jazz pianist and bandleader (Follies Band), dies at 83
2003 – Charlie Biddle, Canadian jazz bassist (b. 1926)
2012 – Istvan Csurka, Hungarian writer and politician, dies at 77
2016 – Edgar Mitchell, american NASA astronaut (Apollo 14), dies at 85
2018 – Kenneth Haigh, British actor (Look Back in Anger, Search for the Nile), dies at 86
Author: gil7
Historical Events for 4th February 2022
211 – Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta
1924 – Norway sweeps the medals in the Nordic combined event at the inaugural Chamonix Winter Olympics; Thorleif Haug wins his 3rd gold of the Games ahead of teammates Thoralf Strømstad and Johan Grøttumsbråten
1930 – 1st tieless, soundless, shockless streetcar tracks, New Orleans
1938 – “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder opens on Broadway
1962 – US male Figure Skating championship won by Monty Hoyt
1967 – US launches Lunar Orbiter 3
1971 – Baseball announces a special hall of fame wing for blacks
1977 – Wings release their single “Maybe I’m Amazed”
2000 – German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion in connection with the sabotage of German railway lines.
2020 – Radio personality Rush Limbaugh is presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Donald Trump during the State Of The Union Address
Today in History for 4th February 2022
Historical Events
1854 – Alvan Bovay proposes name “Republican Party” in Ripon, Wisconsin
1926 – Austrian chancellor Seipel wants to join Germany
1975 – Haicheng earthquake, M 7.3, strikes Haicheng, Liaoning, China
1982 – “Pump Boys and Dinettes” opens at Princess Theater NYC for 573 performances
1985 – Naval exercises canceled when US refuses to tell NZ if nuclear weapons aboard USS Buchanan
2015 – Post Malone uploads his debut single “White Iverson” to his SoundCloud account
Famous Birthdays
1746 – Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish-Lithuanian military leader and statesman considered a national hero, born in Mereczowszczyzna, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (d. 1817)
1859 – Timofei Mikhailov, Russian revolutionary, member of Narodnaya Volya (d. 1881)
1876 – Victor Vreuls, Belgian composer and musician, born in Verviers (d. 1944)
1937 – Harry Jacobs, American football linebacker (AFL All Star 1965, 69; AFL C’ship 1964, 65 Buffalo Bills; Boston Patriots, NO Saints), born in Canton, Illinois (d. 2021)
1970 – Gabrielle Anwar, Laleham England, actress (Body Snatchers)
1975 – Konstantinos Nebegleras, Greek footballer
Famous Deaths
869 – Saint Cyril, Greek missionary to the Slavs (b. 827)
1921 – Xavier Mellery, Belgian painter and illustrator, dies at 75
1983 – Karen Carpenter, American pop vocalist and drummer (“We’ve Only Just Begun”; “Rainy Days And Mondays”; “Top Of The World”), dies of anorexia nervosa at 32
2005 – Peter Heine, South African cricketer (solid South African fast bowler in 1950’s), dies at 76
2010 – Kostas Axelos, Greek-French philosopher, dies at 85
2016 – Leslie Bassett, American classical composer (Variations for Orchestra – Pulitzer Prize 1966), and educator (University of Michigan, 1952-92), dies at 93
Famous Deaths for 3rd February 2022
1014 – Sweyn Forkbeard, Viking king of Denmark, Norway and England (1013-14), dies at around 54 (born cira 960)
1669 – Catharina Questiers, Dutch poet (Friend of Abandoned Child), dies at 31
1737 – Tommaso Ceva, Italian Mathematician (b. 1648)
1846 – Joseph Weigl, German-Austrian composer (La Principessa d’Amalfi; Emmeline), and conductor, dies at 79
1866 – François-Xavier Garneau, French Canadian poet and historian (b. 1809)
1900 – Ottokar Eugen Novacek, composer, dies at 33
1985 – Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist (b. 1912)
1991 – Harry Ackerman, American TV executive producer (b. 1912)
1995 – Turner Fodrell, American blues and folk singer, and guitarist, dies at 66
2018 – Leon “Ndugu” Chancler, American pop, funk and jazz session and touring drummer, (Michael Jackson -“Billie Jean”; George Duke; Herbie Hancock), composer, and producer, dies of prostate cancer at 65
Historical Events for 3rd February 2022
1752 – Dutch States-General forbids export of windmills
1867 – Prince Mutsuhito, 14, becomes Emperor Meiji of Japan (1867-1912)
1870 – US state of Iowa ratifies the 15th Amendment of the United States Constitution allowing suffrage for all races and colour
1903 – Frederick Lugard occupies Kano West Africa
1929 – Revolutionary Socialist Party forms in Amsterdam
1947 – Bradman bowled by Alec Bedser for a duck in 4th Test Cricket
1976 – 26th NBA All-Star Game, Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pa: East beats West, 123-109; MVP: Dave Bing, Washington Bullets, PG
1978 – Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and US President Jimmy Carter discuss the Middle East peace process in Washington, D.C.
1992 – Maximum NY State unemployment benefits raised to $300 per week
2020 – First Democratic caucus in Iowa won narrowly by Pete Buttigieg (most delegates) and Bernie Sanders (most votes) after lengthy delays and irregularities in reporting the results
Today in History for 3rd February 2022
Historical Events
1509 – The Battle of Diu, naval battle at port of Diu, India between Portugal and the Ottoman Empire, establishes Portuguese trading control
1931 – Arkansas legislature passes motion to pray for soul of journalist H. L. Mencken, after he calls the state the “apex of moronia”
1947 – 1st black reporter in US Congressional press gallery (Percival Prattis)
1975 – Billy Herman, Earl Averill, and Bucky Harris elected to Hall of Fame
1986 – Pixar Animation Studios (Toy Story; The Incredibles) headed by Edwin Catmull and Alvy Ray Smith, is spun off from Lucasfilm, Ltd as an independent film production company, with backing of Steve Jobs
1993 – General Hospital’s Tristan Rogers convicted of drunk driving
Famous Birthdays
1887 – Carlo Jachino, composer
1908 – Oddbjorn Hagen, Norwegian cross country jumper (Olympic gold 1936)
1946 – Stan Webb, English blues musician (Chicken Shack), born in London
1968 – Frantisek Kucera, NHL defenseman (Vanc Canucks, Olympic gold 1998), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia
1968 – Vlade Divac, Yugoslavia, NBA center (Charlotte Hornets, LA Lakers)
1969 – Terry Bradshaw, American baseball outfielder, 1995-96 (St Louis Cardinals), and hitting coach (Kansas City Royals 2018-present), born in Franklin, Virginia
Famous Deaths
1737 – Tommaso Ceva, Italian Mathematician (b. 1648)
1909 – Johann Georg Herzog, composer, dies at 86
1959 – (Charles) “Buddy” Holly [Holley], American rock and roll musician and songwriter (“Peggy Sue”; “That’ll Be the Day”; “Words Of Love”), dies in a plane crash at 22
1979 – Jody Gilbert, American actress (Willard, Shaggy, Blonde Dynamite), dies at 62
1991 – Harry Ackerman, American TV executive producer (b. 1912)
2015 – Charlie Sifford, American golfer (first African-American to join PGA Tour, 2 titles), dies of a stroke at 92
Famous Deaths for 2nd February 2022
1597 – Lucas van Valckenborch, Flemish painter, buried at about 61
1873 – Edward Johnson, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 56
1909 – Adolf Stoecker, German conservative politician, and reformer who founded the German Christian Social Party, dies at 73
1953 – Gustav Strube, composer, dies at 85
1974 – Jean Absil, Belgian organist and composer (Benedictions; Peau d’Ane), dies at 80
1980 – William H. Stein, American biochemist (Nobel 1972), dies at 68
1987 – Patrick “Spike” Hughes, British jazz musician (Cinderella), dies at 78
1994 – John Wesley Funchess Littlejohn, blues guitarist/singer, dies at 62
1997 – Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier, dies at 65
2005 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (world heavyweight champion 1930-32), dies at 99
Historical Events for 2nd February 2022
1864 – -Oct 7th) Cruise of CSS Florida
1888 – Frank Sprague opens the first successful U.S. electric street railway system, the Richmond Union Passenger Railway, in Richmond, Virginia
1923 – Ethyl gasoline 1st marketed, Dayton, Ohio
1935 – Leonarde Keeler first uses his polygraph machine on criminals later convicted of assault on its findings in Portage, Wisconsin
1969 – Stan Coveleski and Waite Hoyt are voted into baseball Hall of Fame
1969 – KMST TV channel 46 in Monterey-Salinas, CA (CBS) begins broadcasting
1970 – Pete Maravich becomes 1st to score 3,000 college basketball points
1976 – Roger Connor, Fred Lindstrom and umpire Cal Hubbard elected to Baseball Hall of Fame
1977 – Toronto’s Ian Turnbull scores 5 goals, NHL REcord for a defenseman
1989 – 0°F (-18°C) or below in 15 US states
Today in History for 2nd February 2022
Historical Events
1892 – Longest boxing match under modern rules; 77 rounds in Nameoki, Illinois between Harry Sharpe and Frank Crosby
1945 – Escape attempt at Mauthausen concentration camp
1948 – President Harry Truman urges congress to adopt a civil rights program
1976 – “Rich Little Show” debuts on NBC-TV
1977 – Burn up of Salyut 4 Space Station (USSR)
1986 – NFL Pro Bowl, Aloha Stadium, Honolulu, HI: NFC beats AFC, 28-24; MVP: Phil Simms, NY Giants, QB
Famous Birthdays
1583 – Anna Roemers Visscher, Dutch poetess
1621 – Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian-born humanist (d. 1679)
1669 – Louis Marchand, French baroque composer and organist (d. 1732)
1881 – Karl Frederick, pistol champ (Olympic gold 1920)
1925 – David Abell Wood, priest
1946 – Howard Bellamy, American pop and country vocalist (Bellamy Bros – Let Your Love Flow), born in Darby, Florida
Famous Deaths
1435 – Johanna II, Queen of Naples (1414-35), dies at 61
1529 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian diplomat and author, dies at 50
1580 – Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese retainer (b. 1558)
1873 – Edward Johnson, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 56
1878 – Josip Runjanin, Croatian Serb composer (Croatian National Anthem) and soldier, dies at 56
1989 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater (Olympic gold men’s singles 1972; World C’ships gold 1971, 72, 73), dies from cancer of the lymph nodes at 38
Famous Deaths for 1st February 2022
1967 – Ernie Bromley, Australian cricket batsman (2 Tests; first Western Australian to play Test cricket for Australia), dies at 54
1980 – Romolo Valli, Italian actor (Boom, La Viaccia), dies at 54
1992 – George Berkeley, American actor (Life Stinks, Capts and Kings), dies at 70
2003 – David Brown, American astronaut and member of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster), dies at 46
2003 – Laurel Clark, American astronaut and member of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster), dies at 41
2008 – Shell Kepler [Michelle Alaine Kepler], American actress (General Hospital), dies from renal failure at 49
2009 – Frankie Ervin, American RandB singer (The Three Blazers -“Dragnet Blues”; The Shields -“You Cheated”), dies at 82
2014 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish soccer forward (11 caps; Atlético Madrid) and manager (Spain 2004-08; Atlético Madrid, Barcelona), dies from leukemia at 75
2017 – Desmond Carrington, British radio host (The Music Goes Round), dies at 90
2021 – Dustin Diamond, American actor (Saved By Bell – “Screech”), dies of cancer at 44