Today in History for 2nd February 2026

Historical Events

1653 – New Amsterdam becomes a city, later renamed New York City
1900 – Gustave Charpentiers opera “Louise” premieres at the Salle Favart, in Paris France; performed by the Opéra-Comique conducted by André Messageri
1957 – Leonard Bernstein’s musical “Candide” closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 73 performances
2014 – Protests in Ukraine turn violent after parliament passes legislation that outlaws protest
2020 – Palindrome Day: the date 02022020 reads the same forward and backward including in the US and China (last one like this 11 November 1111)

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Famous Birthdays

1827 – Oswald Aschenbach, German landscape painter, born in Düsseldorf, Prussia (d. 1905)
1883 – S Z Sakall [Gerö Jenö], Hungarian stage and film character actor (Dolly Sisters, Casablanca), born in Budapest Hungary (d. 1955)
1899 – Benny Rubin, American actor and comedian (Benny Rubin Show), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1986)
1907 – Bernardas Brazdzionis, Lithuanian poet, editor and critic, born in Stebeikėliai, Lithuania, Russian Empire (d. 2002)
1944 – Geoffrey Hughes, British actor (Keeping Up Appearances, Coronation Street), born in Wallasey, England, (d. 2012)

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Famous Deaths

1673 – Kaspar Förster, German composer, dies at 56
1881 – Alekey Pisemski, Russian novelist and playwright (A Bitter Lot), dies at 59 (OS 21 Jan)
1993 – Alexander Schneider, Lithuanian violinist (Budapest String Quartet), dies at 84
1999 – Marie Van Brittan Brown, American nurse and co-inventor of the home security system with her husband Albert L. Brown, dies at 76
2021 – Tom Moore, English army captain knighted for raising £32 million for the NHS, dies with COVID-19 at 100

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Today in History for 1st February 2026

Historical Events

1940 – Soviet Union begins new offensive against Finland
1954 – Australian Championships Men’s Tennis: Mervyn Rose wins his first Grand Slam title; beats fellow Australian Rex Hartwig 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
1968 – Former US VP Richard Nixon announces candidacy for president
1980 – Sears Radio Theater moves from CBS to Mutual Broadcasting System
1985 – -61°F (-52°C), Maybell, Colorado (state record)

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Famous Birthdays

1877 – Thomas Dunhill, British light classical composer (The Wind Among The Reeds; Tantivy Towers), teacher, and musicologist, born in London, England (d. 1946)
1942 – Muna Wassef, Syrian actress (The Message) and UN Goodwill ambassador, born in Damascus, Syria
1951 – (Clide) “Sonny” Landreth, American blues and zydeco slide guitar player, born in Canton, Mississippi
1962 – Takashi Murakami, Japanese artist (Superflat), born in Tokyo, Japan
1980 – Moisés Muñoz, Mexican soccer goalkeeper (19 caps; Morelia, América), born in Aguililla, Mexico

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Famous Deaths

1328 – Charles IV, the Handsome, King of France (1322-28), dies at 33
1905 – Oswald Aschenbach, German landscape painter, dies at 77
1966 – William Harrigan, American actor (Invisible Man, Girl in 419), dies at 71
1991 – Jimmy MacDonald, Scottish-American voice actor (Mickey Mouse), dies at 84
2003 – Mongo Santamaria, Cuban Latin jazz percussionist and bandleader, dies at 85

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Today in History for 31st January 2026

Historical Events

1891 – First attempt of a republican revolution breaks out in the northern city of Porto, Portugal
1966 – Australian Championships Women’s Tennis: Margaret Smith wins her 7th consecutive Australian singles title; beats American Nancy Richey in a walkover, Richey injured
1968 – Nauru (formerly Pleasant Island) declares independence from Australia the UK and New Zealand, becoming the world’s smallest republic
1975 – Barry Manilow’s single “Mandy” goes gold
2009 – Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Serena Williams wins 10th Grand Slam singles title; outclasses Dinara Safina of Russia 6-0, 6-3

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Famous Birthdays

1597 – John Francis Regis, French priest and Roman Catholic saint, born in Fontcouverte, France (d. 1640)
1919 – Jackie Robinson, American Baseball HOF second baseman (1st African-American MLB player Brooklyn Dodgers; 6 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1955; NL MVP 1949), born in Cairo, Georgia (d. 1972)
1920 – Bert Williams, English soccer goalkeeper (24 caps; Wolverhampton Wanderers 381 games), born in Bradley, Staffordshire (d. 2014)
1924 – William Bryant, American character actor (King Dinosaur, Hell Squad), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2001)
1942 – Gerald Chanberlain, American jazz trombonist (Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd), born in Refugio, Texas (d. 2007)

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Famous Deaths

1815 – José Félix Ribas, Venezuelan independentist leader (b. 1775)
1865 – Aristide Farrenc, French flautist, music publisher, and musicologist (Trésor des pianistes), dies at 70
1925 – George W. Cable, American writer (Northampton Years), dies at 80
1974 – Glenn Morris, American athlete (Olympic gold decathlon 1936) and actor (Tarzan’s Revenge; Hold That Co-ed), dies of congestive heart failure at 61
1990 – Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-American biochemist and imam, stabbed to death at 54 (b. 1935)

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Today in History for 30th January 2026

Historical Events

1820 – British explorer Edward Bransfield aboard Williams sights Trinity Peninsula, Antarctica, claiming it for Britain
1925 – Turkish government throws out Constantine VI of Constantinople
1934 – Former Australian cricket spin bowler Bert Ironmonger ends Sheffield Shield career age 51 years 298 days as Victoria draws with NSW at the Sydney Cricket Ground
1960 – US female Figure Skating championship won by Carol Heiss
1993 – 100,000 Europeans demonstrate against fascism and racism

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Famous Birthdays

1617 – William Sancroft, 79th Archbishop of Canterbury, born in Fressingfield, Suffolk, England (d. 1693)
1900 – Martita Hunt, Argentine-born English actress (Man in Grey, Great Expectations), born in Buenos Aires (d. 1969)
1920 – George Skibine, Russian-American ballet dancer and choreographer (Tragedy in Verona), born in Yasnaya Polyana, Russia (d. 1981)
1951 – Trevor Laughlin, Australian cricketer (Australian all-rounder 1978-79), born in Nyah West, Australia
1956 – Jeremy Gittins, British actor (Michael the Vicar in “Keeping Up Appearances”), born in Manchester, England

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Famous Deaths

1956 – Gerrit Mannoury, Dutch mathematician and philosopher, dies at 88
1972 – Karel Boleslav Jirak, Czech composer and pedagogue, dies at 81
1999 – (Henry) “Huntz” Hall, American radio, stage, and screen actor (Dead End Kids: The Bowery Boys; Gas Pump Girls), dies from congestive heart failure at 78
2016 – Ken Sailors, American basketball point guard (popularised and may have invented the jump shot), dies at 95
2022 – Jon Appleton, American electronic and electro-acoustic music composer, educator and co-developer of the Synclavier, dies at 83

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Today in History for 29th January 2026

Historical Events

1895 – King Koko’s Kopermannen assault on Akassa Niger, 100’s killed
1908 – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, at Cornell University, incorporates
1982 – Wayne Garland, baseball’s first millionaire free agent, is waived by the Indians
1995 – Greg Blewett scores century on Test debut vs England, Adelaide
2011 – Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Kim Clijsters wins her 4th and final Grand Slam title; beats Li Na of China 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

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Famous Birthdays

1889 – Francisco Santiago, Filipino pianist, composer (Taga-ilog Symphony), conductor, and pedagogue, born in Santa Maria, Bulacan, Philippines (d. 1947)
1940 – Katharine Ross, American actress (Graduate, Francesca-Colbys), born in Hollywood, California
1948 – Felice Taylor, American RandB singer (“I Feel Love Comin’ On”), born in Richmond, California (d. 2017)
1964 – Maarika Järvi, Estonian-American classical flautist), born in Tallinn, Estonian SSR, US
1967 – Sean Burke, Canadian ice hockey goalie (NHL All-Star 1989, 2001, 02; Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes; Canada Cup gold 1991), born in Toronto, Ontario

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Famous Deaths

1933 – Sara Teasdale, American lyric poet (Pulitzer Prize 1918 “Love Songs”), commits suicide at 48
1934 – Fritz Haber, German physicist and chemist (Nobel Prize for Chemistry – 1918, for process to synthesize ammonia), dies at 65
1999 – Lili St. Cyr [Marie Van Schaack], American dancer and strip tease performer, dies at 80
2004 – Otto Wilhelm Fischer, Austrian actor (Helden, Ich suche dich), dies of kidney disease at 88
2021 – Hilton Valentine, British rock guitarist (Animals – “House of the Rising Sun”), dies at 77

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Today in History for 28th January 2026

Historical Events

1916 – US President Woodrow Wilson nominates Louis Brandeis for the Supreme Court of the United States
1957 – “Tonight! America After Dark” premieres, with Jack Lescoulie and Al (Jazzbo) Collins on NBC (between Steve Allen and Jack Paar)
2001 – Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Andre Agassi retains title; beats Frenchman Arnaud Clement 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 for his 3rd Australian trophy
2007 – Australian Open Men’s Tennis: Swiss ace Roger Federer successfully defends his title beating Fernando González of Chile 7-6, 6-4, 6-4
2024 – 100 Ballads names “The Wandering Prince of Troy” the most popular ballad of the 17th century in a project documenting “the earliest form of commercial pop music in England”

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Famous Birthdays

1784 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Peelite: 1852-55) and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1841-46), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1860)
1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian author, politician, and freedom fighter, born in Dhudike, British India (d. 1928)
1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian-French writer, socialite, and political hostess, born in Bucharest, Kingdom of Romania (d. 1973)
1928 – Martin Sinnatt, British army Major-General (Korean War), and administrator (Secretary and CEO of the Kennel Club, 1984-93), born in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, England (d. 2022)
1986 – Shruti Haasan, Indian actress and one of the highest paid South Indian cinema actresses, born in Madras, India

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Famous Deaths

1932 – Franz Xavier Arens, German-American conductor and composer (Cleveland Philharmonic), dies at 75
1939 – W. B. Yeats, Irish poet (Wild Swans at Coole-Nobel 1923), dies at 73
1947 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan-French singer, composer, conductor, and music critic, dies at 72
2005 – Jim Capaldi, British drummer, singer, and songwriter (Traffic – “The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys”), dies of stomach cancer at 60
2014 – Fernand Leduc, Canadian abstract expressionist painter (Les Automatistes), and teacher, dies of cancer at 97

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Today in History for 27th January 2026

Historical Events

1671 – Welsh pirate Henry Morgan lands at the gates of Panama City
1864 – Civil War skirmish at Kelly’s Ford, Virginia
1917 – Coen de Koning wins 2nd official 11 cities race (9:53) (record)
1961 – Australian Championships Men’s Tennis: Roy Emerson beats fellow Australian Rod Laver 1-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 for his first Grand Slam title
1996 – Australian Open Women’s Tennis: Monica Seles beats Anke Huber of Germany 6-4, 6-1 for her first and only Grand Slam victory after her stabbing

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Famous Birthdays

1918 – William Seawell, American Army Brigadier General and CEO of Pan Am, born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas (d. 2005)
1936 – Barry C. Barish, American Physicist (Nobel Prize 2017, gravitational waves), born in Omaha, Nebraska
1955 – Eugene Jarvis, American video game designer (Cruis’n USA, Cruis’n World), born in Palo Alto, California
1962 – Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian writer, theater director, visual artist, and composer, born in Rimini, Italy
1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish stage and screen actor (X2, The Good Wife), born in Aberfeldy, Scotland

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Famous Deaths

847 – Sergius II, Pope (844-47), dies
1773 – Philippe Buache, French geographer and cartographer (pioneered use of contour lines), dies at 72
1921 – Maurice Buckley, Australian soldier and winner of the Victoria Cross, dies at 29
1970 – Lawren Harris, Canadian landscape painter (South Shore, Baffin Island; The Old Stump), and co-founder of the Group of Seven, dies at 84
1995 – Willem R “Wim” van der Zee, General Secretary of the Council of Churches of the Netherlands, dies at 64

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Today in History for 26th January 2026

Historical Events

1930 – Cleveland’s Terminal Tower opens (52 stories)
1939 – Filming begins on the film adaptation of “Gone with the Wind”
1979 – “The Dukes of Hazzard” premieres on US TV network CBS
2020 – 62nd Grammy Awards: Billie Eilish wins 5 Grammys, including album, record and song of the year
2022 – Spotify removes Neil Young’s music from its streaming platform after the singer-songwriter’s ultimatum in objection to COVID-19 misinformation in Joe Rogan’s podcasts

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Famous Birthdays

1924 – Alice Babs [Nilson], Swedish jazz singer (The Swe-Danes; Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts), and actress (Swing It, Teacher!), born in Västervik, Sweden (d. 2014)
1933 – Ercole Baldini, Italian cyclist (Olympic gold men’s road race 1956; World C’ship gold individual pursuit 1956; Giro d’Italia 1958), born in Villanova di Forlì, Italy (d. 2022)
1935 – Paula Rego, Portuguese-British artist (Cast of Characters From Snow White), born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 2022)
1942 – Souad Hosni, Egyptian actress called the “Cinderella” of Arab cinema, born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 2001)
1965 – Allison Hossack, Canadian actress (Olivia Matthews in “Another World”), born in Steinbach, Canada

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Famous Deaths

1933 – Alva Belmont, American socialite and women’s suffrage activist (co-founder and President of the National Woman’s Party), dies at 80
1947 – Gerda Neumann, Danish film actress, dies in an airplane crash at 31
1990 – Lewis Mumford, American cultural historian, city planner and writer, dies at 94
1996 – Gerrit Cornelis Berkouwer, Dutch theologist (Dogmatic Studies), dies at 92
1996 – Henry Jay Lewis, American double-bassist and conductor (Los Angeles Philharmonic 1948-65), dies of a heart attack at 63

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Today in History for 25th January 2026

Historical Events

1946 – United Mine Workers union rejoins American Federation of Labor
1955 – Russia ends state of war with Germany
1983 – Infrared telescope satellite launched into polar orbit
2001 – A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela killing 24
2013 – 50 people are killed and 90 are injured in a prison riot in Barquisimeto, Venezuela

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Famous Birthdays

1814 – Francis Harrison Pierpont, American lawyer and politician (Union), born in Morgantown, West Virginia (d. 1899)
1880 – Francis George Scott, Scottish composer (Intuitions), born in Hawick, Roxburghshire, Scotland (d. 1958)
1917 – Floyd “Guitar” Smith, American jazz and blues guitarist and record producer, born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1982)
1929 – Robert Faurisson, British-born French academic, born in Shepperton, United Kingdom (d. 2018)
1947 – Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer (World C’ships: 50cc 1969, 70, 72, 75, 76, 77; 125cc 1971, 72, 79, 81, 82, 83, 84; 90 Grand Prix victories), born in Zamora, Spain (d. 2017)

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Famous Deaths

844 – Pope Gregory IV, Italian Pope (827-844)
1871 – Jeanne Villepreux-Power, “Mother of Aquariophily,” French pioneering marine biologist and inventor of the aquarium, dies at 76
1992 – Mahmoud Riad, Egyptian diplomat, Secretary-General of Arab League (1972-79), dies at 74
1998 – Attila Zoller, Hungarian-American jazz guitarist, educator (Vermont Jazz Center, 1974-98), and inventor (bi-directional pickup), dies at 70
2009 – Kim Manners, American television producer and director (b. 1951)

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Today in History for 24th January 2026

Historical Events

1924 – Benito Mussolini disallows non-fascist work union
1930 – John Mills scores New Zealand’s 1st Test century in cricket, sharing a record 276 run opening stand with Stewie Dempster
1935 – First canned beer, “Krueger’s Cream Ale,” is sold by American company Krueger Brewing Co.
1950 – US patent is awarded to inventor Percy Spencer for the microwave oven
2018 – UK charity Presidents Club forced to close after revelations of sexual harassment at event revealed by the “Financial Times”

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Famous Birthdays

1746 – Gustav III, King of Sweden (1771-92), born in Stockholm (d. 1792)
1864 – Marguerite Durand, French journalist, feminist, and publisher (La Fronde), born in Paris, France (d. 1936)
1925 – William Hudson, American actor (I Led 3 Lives), born in Gilroy, California (d. 1974)
1948 – Michael Des Barres, British rock singer (Detective; Power Station), actor (MacGyver; The New WKRP in Cincinnati), and radio DJ, born in Hove, England
1957 – Mark Eaton, American basketball center (NBA All-Star 1989; NBA Defensive Player of the Year 1985, 89; Utah Jazz), born in Westminster, California (d. 2021)

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Famous Deaths

1848 – Horace Wells, American dentist (pioneered use of medical anesthesia), commits suicide after committing a crime under the influence of chloroform at 33
2008 – J. Robert Hooper, American politician, dies at 71
2015 – Toller Cranston, Canadian figure skater (Olympic bronze men’s singles 1976; World C’ship bronze 1974) and painter, dies of a heart attack at 65
2022 – Aftab Baloch, Pakistan cricket batsman (2 Tests; 7th player to pass the 400 first class run milestone, 428 for Sind 1974), dies at 68
2025 – Ellert Schram, Icelandic soccer forward (23 caps; KR) and executive (chairman Icelandic FA 1973-89), dies at 85

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