Historical Events
Thorpe Signs with Giants
Feb 1 American all-round athlete Jim Thorpe signs to play baseball with the NY Giants; unlike his other sporting endeavours the Olympic-medal winner's career in MLB was uninspiring (1913-19)
"Trees"
Feb 2 American poet Joyce Kilmer writes his famous poem "Trees" in Mahwah, New Jersey
- Feb 2 NYC's Grand Central Terminal opens
- Feb 3 16th Amendment to the US Constitution, federal income tax, ratified
- Feb 3 Golden and Cawthorne's musical "Sunshine Girl" premieres in New York City
- Feb 4 Louis Perlman patents demountable auto tire-carrying wheel rim
- Feb 4 National Institute of Arts & Letters founded
- Feb 9 Beginning of the Ten Tragic Days in Mexico City, with revolts leading to 3,000 deaths
- Feb 10 Edward Sheldon's "Romance" premieres in NYC
- Feb 15 1st avant-garde art show in America opens in NYC
Agreement of Interest
Feb 16 US President William Howard Taft agrees not to intervene in Mexico
Event of Interest
Feb 17 New York Armory Show introduces Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Marcel Duchamp to US public
- Feb 17 US State of Oregon becomes second to enact minimum wage law
Event of Interest
Feb 18 French modernist painting "Nude Descending a Staircase" by Marcel Duchamp causes an uproar when shown in New York
- Feb 18 President Francisco Madero of Mexico is overthrown
- Feb 19 1st prize inserted into a Cracker Jack box
Coup d'état
Feb 19 Mexican General Victoriano Huerta seizes power after a 10 day coup d'état in Mexico City with US support, deposing the elected President Francisco I. Madero
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Jeffrey Kindersley Quill, British test pilot (Spitfire), born in Littlehampton, Sussex (d. 1996)
- Feb 2 Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor (Soldaten og Jenny, Det gælder os alle), born in Ganløse, Denmark (d. 1985)
- Feb 3 Richard Seaman, British auto racer (German GP 1938), born in Chichester, England (d. 1939)
Rosa Parks (1913-2005)
Feb 4 American civil rights activist who refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger, born in Tuskegee, Alabama
Mary Leakey (1913-1996)
Feb 6 British archaeologist and anthropologist who discovered the earliest human footprints (3.6 million years old), born in London
- Feb 8 John Grandy, British RAF-marshal, born in London, England (d. 2004)
- Feb 9 Erskine Butterfield, American swing and boogie-woogie jazz pianist, singer, and composer, born in Syracuse, New York (d. 1961)
- Feb 9 Leo van der Kar, Dutch businessman and sport benefactor (Sports funds) (d. 1992)
- Feb 10 Douglas Slocombe, British cinematographer (Kind Hearts and Coronets, Raiders of the Lost Ark), born in London (d. 2016)
- Feb 10 Philippa Bevans, British actress (Notorious Landlady, World of Henry Orient), born in London, England (d. 1968)
- Feb 10 Ragnhild Marie Hatton, Norwegian historian, born in Bergen, Norway (d. 1995)
- Feb 11 Lucio San Pedro, Filipino composer ("Sa Ugoy ng Duyan"), born in Angono, Philippines (d. 2002)
- Feb 12 Fusata Iida, Japanese Navy Air Service fighter pilot (commander of the Japanese 3rd Air Group), considered the 1st "kamikaze", born in Tonda, Japan (d. 1941)
- Feb 12 Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza, grandson of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil and claimant to the throne of Brazil, born in Château d'Eu, France (d. 2007)
- Feb 13 Guiseppe Dossetti, Italian politician (drafted Italian constitution) and priest, born in Genoa, Italy (d. 1996)
- Feb 14 Ab Visser, Dutch poet and writer (Man Without a Head), born in Groningen, Netherlands (d. 1982)
- Feb 14 James Pike, American Episcopal controversial bishop (Beyond Anxiety), born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (d. 1969)
- Feb 14 Jimmy Hoffa, American Union leader (Leader of Teamsters Union with ties to organized crime, disappeared mysteriously in 1975), born in Brazil, Indiana (d. 1975) [1]
- Feb 14 Mel Allen, American sportscaster (voice of NY Yankees; 22 World Series; 24 MLB All Star games), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 1996)
- Feb 14 Woody Hayes, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (National C'ship 1954, 57, 61, 68, 70; Ohio State), born in Clifton, Ohio (d. 1987)
- Feb 15 Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (grandmaster 1952), born in Innsbruck, Austria (d. 1997)
- Feb 15 Willy Vandersteen, Belgian cartoonist (Suske & Wiske), born in Antwerp, Belgium (d. 1990)
- Feb 17 Oskar Danon, Yugoslav conductor (Belgrade Opera, 1944-65), born in Sarajevo, Austro-Hungarian Empire (d. 2009)
- Feb 17 René Leibowitz, Polish-French jazz pianist, classical composer, conductor, and educator, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1972)
- Feb 17 Wallace Coulter, American inventor and entrepreneur (Coulter Principle - made complete blood counts possible), born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 1998) [1]
- Feb 18 Artur Axmann, German Nazi leader (head of Hitler Youth 1940-45), born in Hagen, Germany (d. 1996)
- Feb 19 Alvin Derold Etler, American oboist, and composer, born in Battle Creek, Iowa (d. 1973)
- Feb 20 Mary Durack, Australian author and historian (Kings in Grass Castles and Keep Him My Country), born in Adelaide, Australia (d. 1994)
- Feb 20 Rex Tucker, British TV writer and director (d. 1996)
- Feb 20 Tommy Henrich, American baseball utility (MLB All Star 1942, 1947–50; World Series 1938, 41, 47, 49, 51; NY Yankees), born in Massillon, Ohio (d. 2009)
- Feb 21 Glenn M. Anderson, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1969-93), born in Hawthorne, California (d. 1994)
- Feb 21 Roger Laurent, Belgian racing driver (d. 1997)
- Feb 22 George "Buddy" Tate, American jazz saxophonist, born in Sherman, Texas (d. 2001)
- Feb 23 Charles Leonard, American pentathlete (Olympic silver medal 1936), born in Fort Snelling, Minnesota (d. 2006)
- Feb 23 Edward Fiennes-Clinton, Australian-born 18th Earl of Lincoln, born in Melbourne, Victoria (d. 2001)
- Feb 24 Richard M. Goodwin, American mathematician and economist (The Dynamics of A Capitalist Economy), born in New Castle, Indiana (d. 1996)
- Feb 25 Gert Fröbe [Karl Gerhart Fröbe], German actor (Goldfinger, Lover's Wood, Upper Hand), born in Saxony, German Empire (d. 1988)
- Feb 25 James "Jim" Backus, American actor (Mr Magoo, Rebel Without a Cause, Gilligan's Island), born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1989)
- Feb 26 George Barker, English poet (Calamiterror, Anno Domini), born in Loughton, England (d. 1991)
- Feb 26 Hermann Lenz, German writer (Swabian Chronicle), born in Stuttgart (d. 1998)
- Feb 27 Irwin Shaw, American novelist (Rich Man Poor Man), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 1984)
- Feb 27 Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish president (d. 1989)
Famous Deaths
- Feb 10 Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek athlete (Olympic gold standing long jump, bronze high jump 1912, 2 x silver 1908), dies from meningitis at 24
- Feb 18 George Washington Custis Lee, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 80
- Feb 22 Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist (Mémoire sur le système primitif des voyelles dans les langues indo-européennes), dies at 55
- Feb 22 Francisco I. Madero, Mexican revolutionary and 33rd President of Mexico (1911-13), assassinated in military coup at 39
- Feb 22 Pino Suárez, Mexican vice-president (1911-13), assassinated in a military coup at 43
- Feb 23 Jimmy Sinclair, cricketer (3 centuries in 25 Test South African career), dies
- Feb 26 Bud Fowler, American Baseball HOF executive (earliest known African-American player in organized pro baseball), dies at 54
- Feb 26 Felix Draeseke, German composer (Christus: Mysterium in a Prelude and Three Oratorios), dies from a stroke at 77
- Feb 27 Adam Sedgwick, English zoologist (Peripatus), dies at 58
- Feb 28 Elephant seal, 6.8-m, 4000-kg, shot in Possession Bay, South Georgia
