Historical Events
"Black Donnelly" Massacre
Feb 4 "Black Donnelly" massacre in Biddulph, Ontario, Canada: Irish immigrants James (63), Johannah (56), John (32), Thomas (25) and Bridget (21) Donnelly murdered at home by members of the Vigilance Committee
- Feb 4 Steele MacKay's play "Hazel Kirke" premieres in New York City
Assassination Attempt
Feb 17 Alexander II of Russia survives an assassination attempt
- Feb 29 Gotthard railway tunnel between Switzerland & Italy completed
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Antonio Guarnieri, Italian cellist and opera conductor (La Scala, 1929-50), born in Venice, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1952)
- Feb 1 Francesco Balilla Pratella, Italian composer, born in Lugo, Italy (d. 1955)
- Feb 8 Franz Marc, German Expressionist painter (co-founder of journal Blaue Reiter), born in Munich, Germany (d. 1916)
- Feb 9 Lipót Fejér, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1959)
- Feb 10 Jesse G. Vincent, American engineer (designed 1st V-12 engine, Packard automobiles), born in Charleston, Arkansas (d. 1962)
- Feb 12 John Llewellyn Lewis, American union leader (United Mine Workers, 1920-60), born near Lewis, Iowa (d. 1969)
- Feb 14 Aida Overton Walker, African-American dancer and singer (In Dahomey, Salome), born in Richmond, Virginia (d. 1914)
- Feb 14 Edgar Bainton, British-Australian composer, born in Hackney, London, England (d. 1956)
- Feb 18 Eric De Lamarter, American organist, composer and conductor (Chicago Symphony), born in Lansing, Michigan (d. 1953)
- Feb 19 Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and President of Mexico (1920-24), born in Alamos, Mexico (d. 1928)
- Feb 19 Arthur Shepherd, American composer, born in Paris, Indiana (d. 1958)
- Feb 20 Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen, French aristocrat and novelist (d. 1923)
- Feb 21 Frank Orth, American actor (Boston Blackie, Brothers), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1962)
- Feb 21 Waldemar Bonsels, German novelist, children's literature writer (Maya the Bee), and outspoken anti-semite, born in Ahrensburg German Empire (d. 1952)
- Feb 22 Frigyes Riesz, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1956)
- Feb 23 Edgar Istel, German composer, born in Mainz, Grand Duchy of Hesse, German Empire (d. 1948)
- Feb 26 Lionel Logue, Australian speech therapist who treated King George VI (The Kings Speech), born in Adelaide (d. 1953)
- Feb 27 Angelina Weld Grimke, American journalist, teacher and playwright (Harlem Renaissance), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1958)
Famous Deaths
James Donnelly (1816-1880)
Feb 4 Irish-Canadian patriarch of the Donnelly family, murdered along with his family in the "Black Donnelly" massacre at 63
