Historical Events
Bradman's 299 Not Out
Feb 1 Australian cricket's master batsman Don Bradman scores 299 not out in 10 wicket 4th Test win vs South Africa in Adelaide; runs out of partners going for 300
- Feb 2 Australian spin bowler Clarrie Grimmett takes 14 wickets v South Africa (7-116 & 7-83)
- Feb 2 Geneva disarmament conference begins with 60 countries
- Feb 2 Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC) organized in the US to provide financial support to state and local governments and to make loans to banks, railroads, mortgage associations and other businesses
"Shanghai Express"
Feb 3 "Shanghai Express" directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Marlene Dietrich, Clive Brook and Anna Mae Wong premieres in Los Angeles
- Feb 4 III Winter Olympic Games open in Lake Placid, New York
- Feb 4 Japanese troops occupy Harbin, Manchuria
- Feb 5 American speed skater Jack Shea wins the 1,500m at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics; clinches sprint double after also taking out the 500m
- Feb 6 1st Olympic dog sled race at Lake Placid, New York (demonstration sport)
- Feb 6 Fascist coup in the Memel territory
- Feb 8 American speed skater Irving Jaffee wins the 10,000m at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics; clinches distance double after also taking out the 5,000m
- Feb 9 US airship Columbia crashes during storm (Flushing, NY)
- Feb 9 USA enters Olympic 2-man bobsled competition for 1st time
- Feb 10 Sweden goes 1-2 in the 18k cross country event at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics; Sven Utterström wins gold ahead of teammate Axel Wikström
- Feb 11 73°F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in February
- Feb 11 Johan Grøttumsbraaten leads a Norwegian medal sweep of the Nordic combined event at the Lake Placid Games; retains combined title after also winning in St. Moritz
- Feb 12 49-year-old Australian cricket spin bowler Bert Ironmonger captures 5-6 as South Africa dismissed for 36 in 5th Test in Melbourne; Australia wins by an innings & 72 runs; series 5-0
- Feb 12 Communist Party of Holland forms Unemployed Combat Committees
- Feb 12 Karl Schäfer of Austria wins the first of 2 consecutive men’s figure skating Olympic gold medals at the Lake Placid Winter Games in the United States
Olympic Gold
Feb 12 Sonja Henie of Norway wins her 2nd of 3 consecutive Olympic gold medals in women’s figure skating at the Lake Placid Winter Games; beats Austria’s Fritzi Burger into 2nd place for 2nd straight Games
- Feb 12 World champion French husband and wife team Pierrre and Andrée Brunet win their 2nd consecutive Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal at the Lake Placid Games
- Feb 13 "Free Eats" introduces George "Spanky" McFarland to "Our Gang"
- Feb 13 A 2-2 final round tie with the US is good enough for Canada to clinch its 4th consecutive Olympic ice hockey gold medal at Lake Placid; Canadian center Walter Monson is tournament top scorer with 11 points
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Feb 13 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Jack Crawford retains title and repeats previous year's win over Harry Hopman 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1
- Feb 13 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: Coral McInnes Buttsworth retains title; beats Kathrine Le Mesurier 9-7, 6-4
- Feb 13 Finland goes 1-2 in the 50k cross country event at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics; Veli Saarinen wins gold ahead of teammate Väinö Liikkanen
- Feb 14 The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show debuts on CBS radio, airing there until 1937, moving to NBC until 1949, and returning to CBS in 1949, before moving to television
- Feb 15 American brothers Hubert and Curtis Stevens beat the 8-nation field to win the 2-man bobsleigh gold medal at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics
Olympic Gold
Feb 15 As a member of gold medal winning US 4-man bobsleigh team at Lake Placid, Eddie Eagan (boxing gold Antwerp 1920) becomes only Olympian to win gold medals at both summer & winter Games in different sports
- Feb 15 Australia beat South Africa in cricket by an innings in 5 hrs 53 min playing time
- Feb 15 George Burns & Gracie Allen debut as regulars on the "Guy Lombardo Show"
- Feb 15 III Winter Olympic Games close at Lake Placid, New York
There's Always Juliet
Feb 15 John Van Druten's play "There's Always Juliet" premieres in NYC
- Feb 16 1st patent for a tree issued to James Markham for a peach tree
Face the Music
Feb 17 Irving Berlin and Moss Hart's musical "Face the Music" opens at the New Amsterdam Theatre, NYC; runs for 165 performances
- Feb 18 Japan proclaims and names Manchukuo in Manchuria, China, as an independent state
- Feb 18 Norway's Sonja Henie wins her 6th straight World Women's figure skating title
Event of Interest
Feb 19 William Faulkner completes his novel "Light in August"
- Feb 20 Japanese troops occupy Tunhua China
Fall of Laval's Government
Feb 20 Pierre Laval's first French government falls
Sports History
Feb 24 Malcolm Campbell sets world land speed record speed of 253.96 mph driving his famous Blue Bird car at Daytona Beach, Florida
Event of Interest
Feb 25 Austrian immigrant Adolf Hitler gets German citizenship
- Feb 27 Explosion in coal mine Boissevain, Virginia, USA leaves 38 dead
- Feb 29 Failed coup attempt by fascist Lapua Movement in Finland
- Feb 29 TIME magazine features eccentric American politician William "Alfalfa" Murray on its cover after Murray stated his intention to run for President of the United States.
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 John Hart, American TV journalist (CBS News Retrospective, NBC News), born in Denver, Colorado
- Feb 1 John Nott, British policitican(C), Secretary of State for Defence during Falkland War, born in Bideford, Devon
- Feb 2 Robert Mandan, American actor best known for his role as Chester Tate in US sitcom "Soap", born in Clever, Missouri (d. 2018)
- Feb 3 Jonathan Fellows-Smith, South African cricket all-rounder (4 Tests, HS 35; Oxford University CC, Northamptonshire CCC, Transvaal), born in Durban, Natal (d. 2013)
- Feb 3 Peggy Ann Garner, American actress (Little Women, Daisy Kenyon), born in Canton, Ohio (d. 1984)
- Feb 4 Ivan Davis, Jr., American concert pianist, and teacher, born in Electra,Texas (d. 2018)
- Feb 5 Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer, 1954-67 (AC Milan and 2 other teams), and manager, 1967-1999 (6 teams), born in Trieste, Italy (d. 2016)
- Feb 6 Camilo Cienfuegos, Cuban revolutionary, born in Havana, Cuba (d. 1959)
- Feb 6 Francois Truffaut, French director (Jules & Jim, Fahrenheit 451), born in Paris, France (d. 1984)
- Feb 7 Alfred M. Worden, American Colonel USAF, NASA astronaut (Apollo 15), born in Jackson, Michigan (d. 2020)
- Feb 7 Gay Talese, author (Honor Thy Father)
- Feb 8 Horst Eckel, German soccer wing half (32 caps West Germany, 1954 FIFA World Cup; 1. FC Kaiserslautern, SV Röchling Völklingen), born in Vogelbach, Germany (d. 2021)
- Feb 8 Jan Christiaanse, Dutch university professor, and politician (Senate, 1973-77, 1979-91; resident of Dutch political party CDA), born in Gouda, Netherlands (d. 1991)
John Williams (92 years old)
Feb 8 American composer responsible for some of the most recognizable film scores (Jaws, Star Wars, Harry Potter, India Jones, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), born in New York City
- Feb 9 Gérard Murillo, French rugby union outside back (2 Tests; Stade Dijonnais) and manager (Saint-Jean-de-Luz Olympique Rugby 1962-81), born in Paris (d. 2023)
- Feb 9 Gerhard Richter, German painter
- Feb 9 Tatsuro Hirooka, Japanese baseball player
- Feb 10 Donald Hilton, Moderator (General Assembly of United Reformed Church)
- Feb 10 Rockin Dopsie Sr [Alton Jay Rubin], American Jazz-Fusion singer (Zydeco), born in Carencro, Louisiana (d. 1993)
- Feb 11 Dennis Skinner, British politician (L), Chairman of the Labour Party (1988-89), born in Clay Cross, Derbyshire
- Feb 11 Jerome Lowenthal, American concert pianist, and educator (Julliard; Jerusalem Academy of Music), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Feb 12 Axel Jensen, Norwegian author (d. 2003)
- Feb 12 Lincoln Kilpatrick, American actor (BJ-Leslie Uggams Show), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 2004)
- Feb 13 Marcelino Campanal, Spanish soccer defender (11 caps; Real Avilés CF, Sevilla FC, Deportivo de La Coruña), born in Gijón, Spain (d. 2020)
- Feb 13 Susan Oliver [Charlotte Gercke], American stage and screen actress (Peyton Place - "Ann"; Star Trek - The Cage), television director, and airplane pilot, born in New York City (d. 1990)
- Feb 14 Alexander Kluge, German author and film director (Yesterday Girl), born in Halberstadt, Province of Saxony
- Feb 14 Banjo Matthews, American auto racing constructor (72% of winning cars in top NASCAR division 1974-85; 262 wins in 362 Cup races), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 1996)
- Feb 14 Jack Hibbert, British economic statistician (Central Statistical Office, 1960-92, as director, 1985-92), born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England (d. 2005)
- Feb 14 Jocelyn Stevens, British media publisher and executive (Queen magazine), and administrator (Royal College of Art, 1984-92; English Heritage. 1992-2000), born in Marylebone, London, England (d. 2014)
- Feb 14 Leo Thorsness, American Vietnam War pilot (Medal of Honor), born in Walnut Grove, Minnesota (d. 2017)
- Feb 14 Michael Ball, Bishop (Truro)
- Feb 14 Peter Ball, British Church of England clergyman (Bishop of Gloucester. 1992-93; Bishop of Lewes, 1977-92), and convicted sex offender, born in West Sussex, England (d. 2019)
- Feb 15 Adrian Swire, British aircraft magnate (Cathay Pacific), born in Marylebone, London, England (d. 2018)
- Feb 16 Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Sierra Leonean economist, lawyer, and politician (President of Sierra Leone, 1996-2007 - interrupted by military coup d'etat for 9 months), born in Pendembu, British Sierra Leone (d. 2014)
- Feb 16 Antonio Ordóñez, Spanish bullfighter (over 3,000 bullfights), born in Ronda, Spain (d. 1998)
- Feb 16 Gretchen Wyler, American actress, dancer (Silk Stockings), and animal rights activist, born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma (d. 2007)
- Feb 16 Harry Goz, American musical theatre actor and voice actor, born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 2003)
- Feb 16 Nand Baert, Flemish radio presenter (Afternoonbeat) and television game show host, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1985)
- Feb 16 Otis Blackwell, American songwriter ("Fever"; "Don't Be Cruel"; "Great Balls Of Fire"; All Shook Up"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2002)
- Feb 16 [Ervin] Aharon Appelfeld, Israeli writer (Blooms of Darkness; Badenheim), and holocaust survivor, born in Jadova Commune, Kingdom of Romania (d. 2018)
- Feb 18 Duane Michals, American photographer (Sequences; The Journey of the Spirit After Death), born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania
- Feb 18 Miloš Forman, Czech-American award-winning director (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, The Firemen's Ball), born in Čáslav, Czechoslovakia (d. 2018)
- Feb 19 Jean-Pierre Ponnele, French opera director (Carmina Burana), born in Paris, France (d. 1988)
- Feb 19 Joseph P. Kerwin, American Capt Med Corps USN/astro (Skylab 2), born in Oak Park, Illinois
- Feb 20 Adrian Cristobal, Filipino writer (d. 2007)
- Feb 21 Leon Black, American college basketball coach (Texas Longhorns men's team 1967-76), born in Martins Mill, Texas (d. 2021)
Ted Kennedy (1932-2009)
Feb 22 American politician (US Senator (D)-Massachusetts, 1962- 2009), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Feb 23 Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (Star Trek), and the widow of Gene Roddenberry, born in Cleveland, Ohio (d. 2008)
- Feb 24 Andrew Jacobs Jr, American politician (Rep-D-IN, 1965-73, 75-97), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 2013)
- Feb 24 Everard Goodman, English real estate developer (Tops Estates), born in Yorkshire, England (d. 2011)
- Feb 24 Jay Sandrich, American Emmy Award-winning television director (The Mary Tyler Moore Show; Soap; The Cosby Show), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2021)
- Feb 24 John Vernon [Adolphus Agopsowicz], Canadian actor (Animal House, Chained Heat, Dirty Harry), born in Zehner, Saskatchewan (d. 2005)
- Feb 24 Michel Legrand, French composer and jazz musician (Summer of '42, Windmills of Your Mind), born in Paris, France (d. 2019)
- Feb 25 Åke Persson, Swedish bebop jazz trombonist (Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, 1963–71), born in Hässleholm Sweden (d. 1975)
- Feb 25 Faron Young, American country and honky-tonk singer ("Hello Walls"; "It's Four in the Morning"), and actor (Hidden Guns; Daniel Boone, Trailblazer), born in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 1996)
- Feb 25 Laurence New, Major-General
- Feb 25 Martin William Karlins, American contemporary classical composer, born in North Brook, Illinois (d. 2005)
- Feb 25 Tony Brooks, English auto racer (F1 World C'ship third 1958, runner-up 1959; 6 x F1 wins), born in Dukinfield, Cheshire, England (d. 2022)
Johnny Cash (1932-2003)
Feb 26 American country singer ("I Walk the Line"; "Ring of Fire"; "A Boy Named Sue"), born in Kingsland, Arkansas
- Feb 27 David Young, Baron Young of Graffham, British politician (House of Lords, 1984-2022), cabinet minister, and businessman (CEO of Cables & Wireless), born in London, England (d. 2022)
- Feb 27 Dolf Zwerver, Frisian-Dutch fantasy painter, born in Nijehaske, Netherlands (d. 2010)
Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011)
Feb 27 English-American actress, businesswoman, and humanitarian (Father of the Bride, Butterfield 8, Cleopatra), and serial bride, born in London, England
- Feb 28 Brian Moore, British sports commentator (BBC Radio, London Weekend Television 'The Big Match'), born in Benenden, Kent, England (d. 2001)
- Feb 28 Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer and musician (Terminal Choice; Finian's Rainbow), born in Vancouver, British Columbia (d. 2016)
- Feb 28 Rocky Dijon [Kwasi Dzidzornu] Ghanaian rock and R&B percussionist (The Rolling Stones, Taj Mahal, Stevie Wonder), born in British Gold Coast colony, Africa (d. 1993)
- Feb 29 Gavin Stevens, Australian cricket batsman (4 Tests, HS 28; South Australia), born in Adelaide, Australia
- Feb 29 Gene Golub, American mathematician (d. 2007)
- Feb 29 Jaguar [Sérgio Jaguaribe], Brazilian cartoonist, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Feb 29 Masten Gregory, American auto racer (24 Hours of Le Mans 1961, 65 [Jochen Rindt]), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1985)
- Feb 29 Reri Grist, African-American musical theater and operatic coloratura soprano (West Side Story - "Somewhere"; Zurich Opera, 1962-66; Bayerische Staatsoper, 1965-87; New York Metropolitan Opera, 1966-79), born in New York City
Famous Weddings
Frank Capra
Feb 1 Film director Frank Capra (34) weds secretary Lucille Reyburn
Famous Deaths
Mad Dog Coll (1908-1932)
Feb 8 Irish-American mob hitman, murdered at 23 by the Dutch Schultz gang
- Feb 9 Junnosuke Inouye, Japanese minister of Finance, murdered by extremists during League of Blood incident at 61
Edgar Wallace (1875-1932)
Feb 10 English novelist, playwright and journalist (The Terror, The Four Just Men) who created King Kong, dies of diabetes at 76
- Feb 15 Minnie Maddern Fiske, American actress (Henrik Ibsen's plays), dies at 66
- Feb 16 Ferdinand Buisson, French pacifist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1841)
- Feb 17 Franz Gailliard, Belgian painter and graphic artist (Egina), dies at 70
- Feb 18 Frederick Augustus III, last King of Saxony (1904-18), dies at 66
- Feb 27 William Southam, Canadian newspaper publisher, dies at 88
- Feb 28 Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer (b. 1851)
