Stagecoach Premieres
Feb 10 "Stagecoach" western film directed by John Ford, starring Claire Trevor and John Wayne, premieres in Miami
Film & TV History
Feb 14 Victor Fleming replaces George Cukor as director of film "Gone With The Wind"
- Feb 15 German battleship Bismarck was launched
The Little Foxes
Feb 15 Lillian Hellman's play "The Little Foxes" premieres in New York City
Netherlands Recognizes Franco Regime
Feb 22 Netherlands recognizes Francisco Franco's dictatorial regime in Spain
Academy Awards
Feb 23 11th Academy Awards: "You Can’t Take It With You", Spencer Tracy & Bette Davis wins
- Feb 24 Roy Harris' 3rd Symphony premieres in Boston
- Feb 25 1st Anderson bomb shelter in Britain erected in an Islington garden
- Feb 27 Belgian government of Pierlot falls
- Feb 27 Borley Rectory, "the most haunted house in England", destroyed in a fire
- Feb 27 Britain and France recognize Francisco Franco's government in Spain
- Feb 27 Supreme Court outlaws sit-down strikes
- Feb 28 The erroneous word "Dord" is discovered in the Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.
- Feb 28 The first issue of Serbian weekly magazine Politikin zabavnik is published.
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Claude François, French pop singer-songwriter ("Comme d'habitude"), born in Ismaïlia, Egypt (d. 1978)
- Feb 1 Del McCoury, American bluegrass guitarist and singer, born in York, Pennsylvania
- Feb 1 Joe Sample, American jazz and session keyboardist and composer (The Jazz Crusaders), born in Houston, Texas (d. 2014)
- Feb 1 Paul Gillmor, American politician (Rep-R-Ohio 1989-2007), born in Tiffin, Ohio (d. 2007)
- Feb 2 Akbar Adibi, Iranian scientist, father of electronics in Iran (d. 2000)
- Feb 2 Dale T. Mortensen, American economist (Nobel, 2010), born in Enterprise, Oregon (d. 2014)
- Feb 3 Michael Cimino, American director (The Deer Hunter), born in New York City (d. 2016)
- Feb 3 Vladimir Yevgenyevich Preobrazhensky, Russian cosmonaut
- Feb 4 Jacques Charlier, Belgian artist and sculptor, born in Liège, Belgium
- Feb 4 Stan Lundine, American politician (Rep-D-NY, 1976-86, Lieutenant Governor of New York. 1987-94), born in Jamestown, New York
- Feb 5 Brian Luckhurst, cricketer (England opener of 60's & early 70's)
- Feb 5 Derek Wadsworth, British jazz composer and arranger, born in Cleckheaton, Yorkshire (d. 2008)
- Feb 5 Jane Bryant Quinn, newscaster/financial writer (Everyone's Money Book), born in Niagara Falls, New York
- Feb 5 Patric Standford, British composer (Taikayoku; Christus Requiem), born in Barnsley, Yorkshire, England (d. 2014)
- Feb 6 Mike Farrell, American actor (M*A*S*H;, 1975-83 - B.J."; Providence), producer (Patch Adams), and human rights activist, born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Feb 8 Gerrit Lakmaaker, Dutch sculptor/painter (Leidsepleingroep) (d. 1995)
- Feb 8 José Maria Sison, Filipino communist
- Feb 9 Barry Mann [Imberman], American pop songwriter ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling"), and singer ("Who Put the Bomp In The Bomp, Bomp, Bomp"), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Feb 9 Janet Suzman, South African actress (Dry White Season, Nuns on the Run)
- Feb 10 Adrienne Clarkson, 26th Governor General of Canada
- Feb 10 Barbara Kolb, American contemporary classical composer (Trobar Jus), born in Hartford, Connecticut
- Feb 10 Peter Purves, English television presenter and actor (Doctor Who, Blue Peter), born in Preston, Lancashire
- Feb 11 Bryan Gould, New Zealand and British politician (L), born in Hawera, New Zealand
- Feb 11 Gerry Goffin, American pop and rock lyricist ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow"; "Up On The Roof"; "Pleasant Valley Sunday"), married to Carole King, 1959-69, born in Queens, New York (d. 2014)
- Feb 11 Jane Yolen, American sci-fi and children's literature author and poet (Spider Jane; Heart's Blood), born in Manhattan, New York
- Feb 12 John D Hancock, American actor and director (Black Marble, Traxx, Houston Knights), born in Kansas City, Missouri
- Feb 12 Ray Manzarek, American rock organist and songwriter (The Doors - "Light My Fire"; "Love Her Madly"), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2013)
- Feb 13 Beate Klarsfeld, Franco-German journalist, born in Berlin, Germany
- Feb 13 Valery Rozhdestvensky, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 23), born in Leningrad, Soviet Union (d. 2011)
- Feb 14 Chris Pyne, British jazz, touring, and session trombonist (Mike Gibbs; Ronnnie Scott; Humphrey Lyttelton), born in Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England (d. 1995)
- Feb 14 Michael Rudman, American theater director and producer working in the UK (Death of the Salesman, Donkeys' Years), born in Tyler, Texas (d. 2023) [1]
- Feb 15 Alvin Cash [Welch], American pop singer ("Twine Time"; "The Philly Freeze"), and actor, born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1999)
- Feb 15 Jo Clayton, American sci-fi author (Irsud, Maeve, Star Hunters)
- Feb 15 Ole Ellefsæter, Norwegian cross-country skier (Olympic gold 50km & 4×10km relay 1968; World C'ship gold 4×10km relay 1966), born in Furnes, Norway (d. 2022)
- Feb 15 Robert Hansen, American serial killer
- Feb 15 Tony Bloom, deputy CEO (Sketchley)
- Feb 16 David Griffiths, Welsh portrait painter, born in Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Feb 17 Mary Ann Mobley, American model and actress (Miss America-1959, Diff'rent Strokes), Biloxi Mississippi (d. 2014)
- Feb 18 Bobby Hart [Harshman], American pop songwriter ("I'm Not Your Steppin' Stone"; "Last Train To Clarksville") and singer (Boyce & Hart - "I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight"), born in Phoenix, Arizona
- Feb 18 Claude Ake, political scientist
- Feb 18 Dal Maxvill, American baseball player
- Feb 18 Marek Janowski, Polish-German conductor (Dresden Philharmonic, 2001-03 & 2019-23: Berlin Radio Symphony, 2002-16; Nouvel Orchestre Philharmonique, 1984-2000), born in Warsaw, Poland
- Feb 18 Marlos Nobre, Brazilian classical composer (Desafio), born in Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
- Feb 18 Petronella CM "Carletta" Banning, actress (Potasch & Perlemoer)
- Feb 19 Douglas Mitchell, Canadian Football Hall of Fame executive (CFL Commissioner 1984-88), born in Calgary, Alberta (d. 2022)
- Feb 19 Gwen Taylor, British actress (Monty Python's Life of Brian; Duty Free; Heartbeat - "Peggy"), born in Crich, Derbyshire, England
- Feb 20 (Roy George) Elroy Josephs, Jamaican-British jazz dance teacher, and actor, born in Jamaica (d. 1997)
- Feb 20 Frank Arundel, English footballer
- Feb 21 Richard Beymer, American stage actor and singer (West Side Story; Diary of Anne Frank), born in Avoca, Iowa
- Feb 21 Ron Nagle, American sculptor, and songwriter, born in San Francisco, California
- Feb 22 George Haslam, British avant-garde jazz baritone saxophonist, and tárogató player, born in Preston, Lancashire, England
- Feb 22 Steve Barber, American MLB pitcher (Baltimore Orioles, NY Yankees), born in Takoma Park, Maryland (d. 2007)
- Feb 23 Edmund Boyd Fisher, publisher
- Feb 23 Esteban "Steve" Jordan, American conjunto, Tejano, rock and jazz accordion player, born in Elsa, Texas (d. 2010)
- Feb 23 Josef Feistmantl, Austrian luger (Olympic gold men's doubles 1964; World C'ship gold singles 1969), born in Absam, Austria (d. 2019)
- Feb 24 George Bain, principal (London Business School)
- Feb 25 A C F Verity, master (Dulwich College)
- Feb 25 Marisa Mell, Graz Austria, actress (Masquerade, Casanova '70)
- Feb 26 Josephine Tewson, British actress (Keeping Up Appearances; Last Of The Summer Wine, 2003-10), born in Hampstead, England (d. 2022)
- Feb 27 Antoinette Sibley, British ballerina (Turning Point), born in Bromley, England
- Feb 27 Kenzō Takada, Japanese fashion designer (Kenzo), born in Himejo, Japan (d. 2020)
- Feb 27 Lester King, West Indian cricketer (WI fast bowler, 2 Tests 1962-68, 9 wkts), born in St Catherine, Jamaica
- Feb 27 Peter Revson, American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1971 pole winner, runner-up), born in New York City (d. 1974)
- Feb 28 Charles Brown, featherweight boxer (Olympic bronze 1964), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Feb 28 Charles Gayle, American jazz saxophonist and composer ("Streets"), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 2023)
- Feb 28 John Fahey, American folk singer and guitarist (Transfiguration of Blind Joe Death), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2001)
- Feb 28 Kamel Lemoui, Algerian soccer defender (7 caps; AS Béziers Hérault) and manager (Algeria 1988-89), born in Batna, Algeria (d. 2022)
- Feb 28 Tommy Tune, American dancer, choreographer, and theater director (Boyfriend), born in Wichita Falls, Texas
Famous Weddings
Frank Sinatra
Feb 4 American singer Frank Sinatra (23) marries 1st wife Nancy Barbato (21) at Our Lady of Sorrows catholic church in Jersey City, New Jersey; divorce in 1951
Famous Deaths
- Feb 11 Franz Schmidt, Austro-Hungarian cellist, pianist, and composer, dies at 64
- Feb 15 Foppe G. Scheltema, Dutch lawyer, dies at 47
- Feb 15 Henri Jaspar, 27th Prime Minister of Belgium (1927-31), dies at 68
- Feb 15 Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Russian painter (b. 1878)
- Feb 16 Jura Soyfer, Austrian political journalist and cabaret writer, dies at Buchenwald concentration camp at 26
- Feb 17 Willy Hess, German violinist, dies at 79
- Feb 18 Ludwig Bonvin, composer, dies at 89
- Feb 22 Antonio Machado, Spanish poet (Campos de Castilla), dies at 63
- Feb 27 Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary (Central Committee member, Soviet Minister for Education, wife of Vladimir Lenin), dies at 70
