Historical Events
1810 – 1st insurance company managed by African Americans, The African Insurance Company opens in Philadelphia
1918 – Jerome Kern, Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse’s musical premieres in New York
1923 – Allied ultimatum on Lithuanian occupation of Memel
1935 – James T Farrell finishes his “Studs Lonigan” trilogy
1959 – WVUE TV channel 8 in New Orleans, LA (ABC) begins broadcasting
1967 – The 10-team American Basketball Association (ABA) with George Mikan as Commissioner is formed and lasts 9 years; its three-point shot remains a feature of the game
Famous Birthdays
1633 – Gabriel Schutz, German composer and musician (d. 1710)
1882 – Louis St. Laurent, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (Liberal: 1948-57), born in Compton, Quebec (d. 1973)
1901 – Clark Gable, American actor (Gone With the Wind; It Happened One Night) known as ‘The King of Hollywood’, born in Cadiz, Ohio (d. 1960)
1942 – Terry Jones, Welsh comedian (Monty Python), born in Colwyn Bay, Denbighshire, Wales (d. 2020)
1968 – Mark Recchi, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame right wing (Stanley Cup 1991, 2006, 11; at 43 oldest player to score in Stanley Cup Finals Series), born in Kamloops, Canada
1974 – David Meca, Spanish open water swimmer (World C’ship gold 10k 2000, 25k 2005), born in Sabadell, Spain
Famous Deaths
1705 – Sophia Charlotte of Hanover, 1st Queen consort of Prussia (1701-05), dies at 36
1743 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer, dies at 85
1883 – Pavel Melnikov, Russian historian and author (In the Forests), dies at 64 [NS=Feb 13]
1991 – Jimmy MacDonald, Scottish-American voice actor (Mickey Mouse), dies at 84
1996 – Clive Burton, British neuropathologist, dies at 54
2003 – Willie McCool, American astronaut and member of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster), dies at 41