What Happened in February 1887

Historical Events

  • Feb 1 Harvey Wilcox of Ks subdivides 120 acres he owned in Southern California & starts selling it off as a real estate development (Hollywood)
  • Feb 2 First Groundhog Day observed at Gobbler's Knob, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania
  • Feb 3 To avoid disputed national elections, the US Congress creates Electoral Count Act
  • Feb 4 Interstate Commerce Act authorizes federal regulation of railroads

"Otello"

Feb 5 Giuseppe Verdi's opera "Otello" premieres at La Scala in Italy, Verdi's first new opera for over 15 years

  • Feb 5 Snow falls on San Francisco
  • Feb 8 Aurora Ski Club of Red Wing, Minnesota becomes the 1st US ski club
  • Feb 8 The Dawes Act authorizes the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments. Those who accepted allotments and lived separately from the tribe were granted United States citizenship.
  • Feb 14 Cubs sell Mike King Kelly to Boston for record $10,000
  • Feb 16 1st newspaper convention held in Rochester, NY
  • Feb 16 Dutch writer Multatuli writes his last text
  • Feb 20 Germany, Austria-Hungary & France end Triple Alliance
  • Feb 21 1st US bacteriology laboratory opens (Brooklyn)
  • Feb 21 Oregon becomes 1st US state to make Labor Day a holiday
  • Feb 22 Union Labor Party organized in Cincinnati
  • Feb 23 French/Italian Riviera struck by Earthquake; 2,000 die
  • Feb 23 US Congress grants Seal Rocks to San Francisco

Cricket History

Feb 26 George Lohmann took 1st 8-wkt haul in test cricket, 8-35 at Sydney Cricket Ground


1887 History

Famous Birthdays

  • Feb 1 Charles Nordhoff, English-born author (d. 1947)
  • Feb 1 Dirk Roosenburg, Dutch architect (KLM building and design), born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1962)
  • Feb 2 Ernst Hanfstängl, German-American businessman, art dealer, and early supporter of Adolf Hitler who later provided Allies with valuable information about the dictator, born in Munich, Germany (d. 1975)
  • Feb 3 Carlo Jachino, Italian composer, born in San Remo, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1971)
  • Feb 3 Georg Trakl, Austrian poet (Autumn of the Lonely), born in Salzburg, Austria (d. 1914)
  • Feb 3 Juan Negrín, Spanish Prime Minister (d. 1956)
  • Feb 3 Silvio D'Amico, Italian theater critic (Tramonto del grande attore), born in Rome, Italy (d. 1955)
  • Feb 6 Josef Frings, German Archbishop of Cologne, born in Neuss, Germany (d. 1978)
  • Feb 7 (James Hubert) "Eubie" Blake, American ragtime composer and pianist ("Memories of You"; "I'm Just Wild About Harry"), born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1983) [1]
  • Feb 9 Heinie Zimmerman, American baseball player (Chicago Cubs, NY Giants,1912-batted .372 with 14 HRs), born in New York City (d. 1969)
  • Feb 9 Vital Celen, Flemish writer and scholar (Puppy Love), born in Hulshout, Belgium (d. 1956)
  • Feb 11 John van Melle, South African writer (Bart Nel), born in Goes, Netherlands (d. 1953)
  • Feb 15 H. M. Bateman, British cartoonist (The Man Who... series), born in Sutton Forest, Australia (d. 1970)
  • Feb 16 Kathleen Clifford, American actress (When the Clouds Roll by), born in Charlottesville, Virginia (d. 1962)
  • Feb 17 Leevi Antti Madetoja, Finnish composer (Pohjalaisia), conductor and teacher, born in Oulu, Finland, (d. 1947)
  • Feb 20 David McKinley Williams, Welsh-American church musician and composer, born in Carnarvonshire, Wales (d. 1978)
  • Feb 20 Hesketh Pearson, English biographer and playwright (Writ for Libel), born in Hawford, England (d. 1964)

Vincent Massey (1887-1967)

Feb 20 Canadian diplomat and 1st Canadian-born Governor General of Canada (1952-59), born in Toronto, Ontario

  • Feb 21 Savielly Tartakower, Austrian-Polish-French chess player, born in Rostov-on-Don, Russian Empire (d. 1956)
  • Feb 23 Cyril Delevanti, British actor (Soylent Green, The Night of the Iguana), born in London, England (d. 1975)
  • Feb 23 Oskar Lindberg, Swedish composer (Requiem), born in Gagnef, Sweden (d. 1955)
  • Feb 24 Mary Ellen Chase, American educator and author (Windswept, 1959 Sarah Hale Award), born in Blue Hill, Maine (d. 1973)
  • Feb 25 Leonard Carey, British actor (Rebecca, Laughter), born in London, England (d. 1977)
  • Feb 26 Benegal Narsing Rau, Indian lawyer and civil servant, President of UN Security Council (1950), helped draft India's constitution, born in Mangalore, India (d. 1953)
  • Feb 26 Grover Cleveland Alexander, American Baseball HOF pitcher (World Series 1926 Chicago Cubs; Triple Crown 1915, 16, 20; 6 × NL wins & strikeout leader; Philadelphia Phillies), born in Elba, Nebraska (d. 1950)
  • Feb 26 Stefan Grabinski, Polish writer (d. 1936)
  • Feb 27 James Dickson Innes, British painter, born in Llanelli, Wales (d. 1914)
  • Feb 28 William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor (Spirit of the Dance), born in Jurbarkas, Lithuania, Russian Empire (d. 1966)
Born in 1887

Famous Deaths

  • Feb 10 Ellen Wood, English author (Pomeroy Abbey), dies at 73
  • Feb 10 Pieter Jan Baptist Carel Robidé van der Aa, Dutch Indologist and geographer, dies at 54
  • Feb 19 Multatuli [Eduard Douwes Dekker], Dutch writer (Max Havelaar), dies at 66
  • Feb 27 Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and scientist (Robert LeDiable), dies at 53