February 2
It’s Groundhog Day and Dog Sled Day
ON THIS DAY…
506 Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates The Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum) a collection of Roman law.
962 Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.
1032 Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes King of Burgundy.
1536 Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1653 New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
1709 Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.
1790 The Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time.
1812 Russia establishes a fur trading colony at Fort Ross, California.
1848 Mexican-American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
1848 California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese immigrants arrives in San Francisco, California.
1876 The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
1882 The Knights of Columbus are formed in New Haven, Connecticut.
1887 In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.
1901 Funeral of Queen Victoria.
1913 Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.
1922 Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
1925 Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
1925 The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
1935 Leonarde Keeler tests the first polygraph machine.
1940 Frank Sinatra debuts with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra.
1943 World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to conclusion as Soviet troops accept the surrender of 91,000 remnants of the Axis forces.
1967 The American Basketball Association is formed.
1971 Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.
1972 The British embassy in Dublin is destroyed in protest at Bloody Sunday.
1974 The F-16 Fighting Falcon flies for the first time.
1989 Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet armored column leaves Kabul.
1990 Apartheid: F.W. de Klerk allows the African National Congress to function legally and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
BORN:
1522 Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician
1649 Pope Benedict XIII
1650 Nell Gwynne, English actress and royal mistress
1829 William Stanley, inventor and engineer
1861 Solomon R. Guggenheim, American art collector and philanthropist
1882 James Joyce, Irish author
1895 George Halas, American NFL co-founder
1897 Howard Johnson, American hotelier
1905 Ayn Rand, Russian-born American author and philosopher
1909 Frank Albertson, American actor
1912 Millvina Dean, last living survivor of the RMS Titanic
1912 Burton Lane, American composer and lyricist
1923 James Dickey, American poet and author
1923 Bonita Granville, American actress
1925 Elaine Stritch, American actress
1927 Stan Getz, American musician
1931 Les Dawson, British comedian
1933 Tony Jay, English actor
1937 Tom Smothers, American musician and comedian
1940 David Jason, English actor
1942 Graham Nash, British-born American musician
1947 Farrah Fawcett, American actress
1949 Brent Spiner, American actor
1953 Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter
1954 Christie Brinkley, American model
1962 Michael T. Weiss, American actor
1963 Eva Cassidy, American singer
DIED:
1461 Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty of England
1660 Gaston, Duke of Orléans, French politician
1769 Pope Clement XIII
1961 Anna May Wong, American actress
1969 Boris Karloff, English actor
1979 Sid Vicious, English musician (Sex Pistols)
1987 Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist
1992 Bert Parks, American television host
1995 Donald Pleasence, English actor
1996 Gene Kelly, American dancer, actor, and director