Historical Events
Quisling Premier
Feb 1 German occupiers make Vidkun Quisling Norwegian premier
- Feb 1 Mussert forms pro-Nazi shadow cabinet in Netherlands
- Feb 2 Cubs return to original uniform after experimenting with a vest
- Feb 2 German 6th Army surrenders after the Battle of Stalingrad in a major turning point in Europe during World War II
- Feb 3 "The Four Chaplains" drown after giving up their life jackets to others as the US Army transport ship Dorchester sinks in the North Atlantic [1]
"The Good Person of Szechwan"
Feb 4 Bertolt Brecht's play "The Good Person of Szechwan" premieres in Zurich
- Feb 5 Amsterdam resistance group CS-6 shoots nazi general Seyffardt
- Feb 5 Clandestine Radio Atlantiksender, Germany, 1st transmission
LaMotta vs. Robinson
Feb 5 Jake LaMotta defeats future multi-weight world boxing champion Sugar Ray Robinson by unanimous points decision in Detroit in the 2nd of their 6 meetings; his only win of their rivalry; Robinson’s first loss in his first 40 pro bouts
- Feb 6 1st Spitfire in action above Darwin, Australia, Mu Ki-46 shot down
Sinatra's Debut
Feb 6 Singer Frank Sinatra debuts on radio's "Your Hit Parade"
- Feb 7 Shoe rationing begins in US (may purchase up to 3 more pairs in 1942)
- Feb 8 Red Army recaptures Kursk on the eastern front
- Feb 9 Japanese troops evacuate Guadalcanal, ending the epic World War II battle on the Solomon Islands in the Pacific
- Feb 9 National League of Baseball seeks a buyer for the Philadelphia Phillies as owner Gerry Nugent falls in arrears
48-hour Work Week
Feb 9 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs an executive order setting a minimum 48-hour work week in a number of critical war industries
Eisenhower Given Command
Feb 11 US General Eisenhower selected to command the allied armies in Europe; British General Montgomery not best pleased
- Feb 12 General Eisenhower departs Algiers for Tebessa
- Feb 13 German assault on Sidi Bou Zid Tunisia, General Dwight D. Eisenhower visits front
- Feb 13 Women's US Marine Corps created
- Feb 14 German offensive against US troops through de Faid-pass, Tunisia begins, starting the Battle of Sidi Bou Zid
- Feb 14 The Soviet Union recaptures the city of Rostov-on-Don, liberating Russia from the German 17th Army during WWII
We Can Do It!
Feb 15 Wartime propaganda poster "We Can Do It!" produced by J. Howard Miller and posted on the walls of Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company's plants in the Midwest
- Feb 15 Women's camp Tamtui on Ambon (Moluccas) hit by allied air raid
- Feb 16 -32°F (-36°C), Falls Village, Connecticut (state record)
Contract of Interest
Feb 16 British premier Winston Churchill contracts pneumonia
- Feb 16 Sign on Munich facade: "Out with Hitler! Long live freedom!" done by "White Rose" student anti-Nazi resistance group, caught on 2/18, beheaded on 2/22
- Feb 16 Withdrawing Afrika Korps reaches Mareth-line in North Africa
- Feb 16 World War II: The USSR reconquers Kharkov
Event of Interest
Feb 17 Adolf Hitler visits field marshal Erich von Manstein's headquarters in Zaporozje, Ukraine and stays until the 19th
Event of Interest
Feb 17 Dow Chemical and Corning Glass Works form a joint venture to explore and produce silicon materials, based upon the work of James Franklin Hyde
- Feb 17 Dutch churches protest at Seyss-Inquart against persecution of Jews
Event of Interest
Feb 17 Major General Omar Bradley flies to Washington, D.C.
Sports History
Feb 17 NY Yankee Joe DiMaggio enlists into the US army
- Feb 18 1st edition of Dutch resistance newspaper "Trouw"
- Feb 18 A syndicate headed by New York lumberman William D Cox buys MLB's Philadelphia Phillies for $850,000; 33 year-old Cox is youngest owner in baseball
- Feb 18 German Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbells demands "total war" from German citizens in speech at Berlin Sportpalast
- Feb 18 Members of student non-violent resistance group "White Rose" arrested by Nazis after distributing pamphlets in Munich, Germany
- Feb 19 German tanks under Major General Karl Buelowius attack Kasserine Pass, Tunisia
- Feb 20 Allied troops occupy Kasserine pass in Tunisia
- Feb 20 American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
- Feb 20 New volcano Paracutin erupts in farmer's corn field (Mexico)
- Feb 20 Phil Wrigley & B Rickey charter All-American Girls Softball League
- Feb 21 Dutch RC bishops protest against persecution of Jews
- Feb 22 3 members of White Rose student anti-Nazi resistance group are executed in Munich, Germany
Tagus River Plane Crash
Feb 22 Plane crash in the Tagus River, Lisbon, Portugal kills 23 with 15 survivors including singer Jane Froman
- Feb 23 German troops pull back through Kasserine-pass Tunisia
- Feb 23 Major General Omar Bradley arrives in Dakar & Marrakesh
- Feb 24 Major General Omar Bradley flies to Algiers
- Feb 24 Texas League announces it will quit for the duration of WW II
- Feb 25 Vietminh forms Indo Chinese Democratic Front
- Feb 26 German assault moves to Beja, North Tunisia
- Feb 27 The Rosenstrasse protest starts in Berlin
- Feb 27 The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men
- Feb 27 University of Munich professor Kurt Huber, advisor to student non-violent resistance group "White Rose", arrested by Nazis
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Josceline Dimbleby, cookery writer
- Feb 1 Tina Sloan, NY, actress (Lillian-Guiding Light, Search for Tomorrow)
- Feb 2 Peter MacBeth, British rock bassist (The Foundations - "Baby Now That I've Found You"), born in West London, England
- Feb 3 Blythe Danner, American Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress (Butterflies Are Free), and mother of Gwyneth Paltrow, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Feb 3 Dennis Edwards, American pop and R&B singer (The Temptations - "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone"), born in Fairfield, Alabama (d. 2018)
- Feb 3 Eric Haydock [Haddock], British rock bassist (The Hollies, 1962-66 - "Look Through Any Window"), born in Stockport, Cheshire, England (d. 2019)
- Feb 4 Alberto João Jardim, Portuguese president of the regional government of Madeira
- Feb 4 Barry Beckett, American keyboardist and record producer (David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, Roger Hawkins), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 2009)
- Feb 4 Cheryl Miller, American actress (Daktari - "Paula"; Born Free), born in Sherman Oaks, California
- Feb 4 Jimmy Johnson, American session guitarist and co-founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, born in Sheffield, Alabama (d. 2019)
- Feb 4 Ken Thompson, American computer scientist who developed UNIX, born in New Orleans, Louisiana [1]
- Feb 5 Chuck Winfield, American trumpet and flugelhorn player (Blood, Sweat & Tears - "Spinning Wheel"), born in Monessen, Pennsylvania
- Feb 5 Craig Morton, College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Cal; NFL: Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos), born in Flint, Michigan
- Feb 5 Ivan Alexandrovich Tcherepnin, French-American composer of Russian and Chinese parentage (Le va et le vient), born in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France (d. 2003)
- Feb 5 Larry Tamblyn, American rock guitarist (The Standells - "Dirty Water"), born in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 5 Michael Mann, American actor and director (Sexpot, Close Friends), born in Chicago, Illinois
Nolan Bushnell (81 years old)
Feb 5 American electrical engineer (founded Atari, created Pong), born in Clearfield, Utah
- Feb 6 Fabian [Fabiano Anthony Forte], American pop singer ("Turn Me Loose"; "Tiger"), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Feb 6 Gayle Hunnicutt, American-British actress (Marlowe; Legend of Hell House; Dallas), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2023)
- Feb 6 Georgeanna Tillman, American singer (The Marvelettes - "Please Mr. Postman"), born in Inkster, Michigan (d. 1980)
- Feb 6 Pelle Svensson, Swedish Greco-Roman wrestler (World C'ship gold 100kg 1970, 71; Olympic silver 97kg 1964), born in Sollefteå, Sweden (d. 2020)
- Feb 7 Gareth Hunt, English actor (d. 2007)
- Feb 7 Walter Scott, American singer (Bob Kuban) whose murder was featured on "Forensic Files", born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1983)
- Feb 8 Bob Oliver, American MLB player, born in Shreveport, Louisiana (d. 2020)
- Feb 8 Creed Bratton [William Schneider], American rock guitarist (Grass Roots - "Sooner or Later"), and actor (The Office), born in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 8 José Antônio Rezende de Almeida Prado, Brazilian composer, born in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil (d. 2010)
- Feb 8 Pirzada Qasim, Pakistani poet and VC of Karachi University, born in Delhi, British India
- Feb 9 Barbara Lewis, American soul and R&B singer-songwriter ("Hello Stranger"; "Baby I'm Yours"), born in Salem, Michigan
- Feb 9 James King, American basketball player (Olympic gold 1968), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Joe Pesci (81 years old)
Feb 9 American actor (Half Nelson, Goodfellas), born in Newark, New Jersey
- Feb 9 Jonny Nilsson, Swedish speed skater (Olympic gold 10k 1964; World C'ships gold allround 1963), born in Gothenburg, Sweden (d. 2022)
Joseph Stiglitz (81 years old)
Feb 9 American economist and Nobel laureate (asymmetric information), born in Gary, Indiana
- Feb 9 Ryland Davies, Welsh operatic tenor, born in Cwm, Gwent, Wales (d. 2023)
- Feb 9 Squire Fridell, American actor (Rosetti & Ryan), born in Oakland, California
- Feb 10 Ralph "Ral" Donner, American rock and roll singer ("You Don't Know What You've Got (Until You Lose It)", born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1984)
- Feb 11 Alan Rubin, American jazz and session trumpeter and flugelhorn player (SNL; Blues Brothers) known as "Mr Fabulous", born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2011)
- Feb 11 Iain Cameron, British brigadier
- Feb 11 Serge Lama [Chauvier], French singer ("Je suis malade"), born in Bordeaux, France
- Feb 12 Manfred Schaefer, Australian soccer defender (49 caps; St. George-Budapest FC) and manager (St. George-B FC, Sydney Olympic FC, APIA Leichhardt, Sydney Utd, Marconi), born in Baltiysk, Russia (d. 2023)
- Feb 13 Bill Szymczyk, American sound engineer, and record producer (The Eagles; Joe Walsh), born in Muskegon, Michigan
- Feb 13 Friedrich Christian Delius, German writer, born in Rome, Italy
- Feb 13 Leo Frankowski, American sci-fi author (High Tech Knight, Flying Warlord), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2008)
- Feb 14 Aaron Russo, American political activist, movie producer and director (Trading Places, Wise Guys, The Rose), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2007)
- Feb 14 Bob Murphy Jr, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1970 runner-up; 11 Senior PGA Tour titles), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Feb 14 Eric Anderson, American vocalist (Avalanche, Be True to You), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Feb 14 Israël "Ischa" Meijer, Dutch journalist, critic and author (Een Dik Uur Ischa, Boezemvriend), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1995)
- Feb 14 Maceo Parker, American tenor saxophonist (James Brown; Parliament-Funkadelic, King's One, Mo' Roots), born in Kinston, North Carolina
- Feb 15 Ian Heads, Australian sports journalist, commentator and author who was rugby league's foremost historian; Rugby League Week, born in Sydney, Australia (d. 2024)
- Feb 16 Anthony Dowell, English ballet dancer (Royal Ballet), born in London, England
- Feb 16 James Beaton, British police officer (awarded George Cross for saving Princess Anne), born in St Fergus, Aberdeenshire
- Feb 18 Graeme Garden, Scottish writer (The Goodies), born in Aberdeen, Scotland
- Feb 19 Homer Hickam, American author (Rocket Boys) and retired NASA engineer, born in Coalwood, West Virgina
- Feb 19 Lou Christie [Lugee Sacco], American singer-songwriter ("Lightnin' Strikes"), born in Glenwillard, Pennsylvania
- Feb 19 Tim Hunt, British biochemist, (Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology for discovery of protein molecules), born in Neston, England
- Feb 20 Aleksandr Pavlovich Alexandrov, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz T-9, TM-3)
- Feb 20 Eddy Offord, British audio engineer and record producer (Emerson, Lake & Palmer; Yes), born in the UK
- Feb 20 Kanji "Antonio" Inoki, Japanese pro wrestler (12 x world champion; NJPW/JWA), promoter, and politician (House of Councillors, 1989-95 & 2013-19), born in Yokohama, Japan (d. 2022) [1]
- Feb 20 Lord McNally, British Minister of State for Justice
- Feb 20 Mike Leigh, dramatist/director (High Hopes, Secrets & Lies)
- Feb 21 (Katherine) "Kitty Winn", American actress (The Panic in Needle Park; Beacon Hill), born in Washington, D.C.
- Feb 21 David Geffen, American record producer (Geffen Records; Asylum) and film studio executive (DreamWorks SKG), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Feb 21 Duncan Swift, British jazz stride pianist, born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, England (d. 1997)
- Feb 21 Roberto Faenza, Italian director (Copkiller, Corrupt), born in Turin, Italy
- Feb 22 David Skaggs, American politician (Rep-D-Colorado), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Feb 22 Dick Van Arsdale, American NBA all-star (New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Feb 22 Horst Köhler, German politician, born in Skierbieszów, Poland
- Feb 22 Tom Van Arsdale, American NBA basketball player, 1965-77, 3X All-Star (Detroit Pistons, Cincinnati/Kansas City/Omaha Kings, Philadelphia 76ers), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Feb 23 Bobby Mitchell, American golfer (US Masters runner-up 1972), born in Chatham, Virginia (d. 2018)
- Feb 23 Fred Biletnikoff, American Pro Football HOF wide receiver (Super Bowl 1976 [MVP] Oakland Raiders; First-team All-Pro 1972; 4 × Pro Bowl; NFL receptions leader 1971), born in Erie, Pennsylvania
- Feb 23 Jada Rowland, American actress (Penny-Hamptons, Amy-Secret Storm), born in New York City
- Feb 24 Hristo Prodanov, Bulgarian mountaineer
- Feb 24 Pablo Milanés, Cuban Nueva Trova singer-songwriter and guitarist (Yolanda; Yo Me Quedo), born in 1943, Bayamo, Cuba (d. 2022) [1]
- Feb 24 Terry Semel, American business executive
- Feb 25 Elliot Roberts [Rabinowitz] American music artist manager (Joni Mitchell; Neil Young), and label executive (Asylum Records), born in the Bronx, New York (d. 2019)
George Harrison (1943-2001)
Feb 25 British guitarist, singer, songwriter, and sitar player (Beatles - "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"; "Here Comes The Sun"; solo - "If Not For You"; Traveling Wilburys - "Handle With Care"), and movie producer (The Life of Brian, Time Bandits), born in Liverpool, England
- Feb 25 Maryann Amacher, American electronic music composer, and sound installation artist, born in Kane, Pennsylvania (d. 2009)
- Feb 25 Wilson da Silva Piazza, Brazilian footballer
- Feb 26 Bill Duke, American actor (Bird on a Wire, Predator), born in Poughkeepsie, New York
- Feb 26 Bob "Bear" Hite, American vocalist (Canned Heat - "Going Up the Country"), born in Torrance, California (d. 1981)
- Feb 26 Bob van Reeth, Flemish architect, born in Temse, Belgium
- Feb 26 Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer, born in Macerata, Italy
- Feb 26 Paul Cotton, American country-rock guitarist and singer-songwriter (Poco - "Heart of the Night"), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2021) [1]
- Feb 27 Dilorom Saidaminova, Uzbek composer, educator, and songwriter, born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Feb 27 Klaus Köste, German gymnast (Olympic gold 1972- vault), born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 2012)
- Feb 27 Mary Frann [Leucke], American actress (Newhart - "Joanna"; Days of Our Live, 1976-79 - "Amanda"), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 1998)
- Feb 27 Morten Lauridsen, American composer, born in Colfax, Washington
- Feb 28 Barbara Acklin, American soul singer ("Love Makes A Woman"), and songwriter ("Have You Seen Her"), born in Oakland, California (d. 1998)
- Feb 28 Charles Bernstein, American composer of film and television scores, born in Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Feb 28 Donnie Iris [Dominic Ierace], American rock musician (The Cruisers), born in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania
- Feb 28 Hans Dijkstal, Dutch minister of the Interior (VVD, 1994-98)
Famous Weddings
Sam Walton
Feb 14 Walmart founder Sam Walton (24) weds Helen Robson (23)
Bettie Page
Feb 15 Model Bettie Page (19) weds high school sweetheart Billy Neal in Gallatin, Tennessee
Augusto Pinochet
Feb 18 Chilean army officer, and future dictator, Augusto Pinochet (27) marries Lucía Hiriart (20)
Famous Deaths
- Feb 1 Foy Draper, American athlete (Olympic gold 4 x 100m relay 1936 WR 39.8s), dies in action as a USAF pilot at 31
- Feb 2 Jack Burke Sr., American golfer (US open 1920 runner-up; Senior PGA C'ship 1941), dies at 54
- Feb 3 Alexander Goode, American US Navy chaplain and rabbi (The Four Chaplains) drowns in the sinking of the Dorchester at 31 [1]
- Feb 3 Clark Poling, American US Army chaplain and Protestant minister (The Four Chaplains) drowns in the sinking of the Dorchester at 32 [1]
- Feb 3 George Fox, American US Army chaplain and Methodist minister (The Four Chaplains) drowns in the sinking of the Dorchester at 42 [1]
- Feb 3 John Washington, American US Army chaplain and Catholic priest (The Four Chaplains) drowns in the sinking of the Dorchester at 34 [1]
- Feb 4 Frank Calder, British-Canadian 1st NHL president, dies at 65
- Feb 5 Wim Gertenbach, Dutch resistance fighter (Slogan), shot by Nazis
- Feb 6 Hendrik Seyffardt, Dutch general who collaborated with the Nazi regime, assassinated by the Dutch resistance at 71
- Feb 9 World War II: Dutch fascist official Hermannus Reydon and his wife are shot by resistance members, his wife dies immediately and he dies six months later
- Feb 13 William Walraven, Dutch journalist and writer (Neglected Grouser), dies at 55
- Feb 14 David Hilbert, German mathematician (Hilbert spaces, invariant theory, axiomatization of geometry, dies at 81
- Feb 14 Dora Gerson, German-Jewish actress, cabaret singer, and Holocaust victim (Caravan of Death), dies in Auschwitz concentration camp at 43
- Feb 15 William Victor Harris, American composer, dies at 73
- Feb 17 Armand J. Piron, American jazz violinist and composer, dies at 54
- Feb 17 Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (b. 1872)
- Feb 18 Henri Polak, Dutch labor leader (General Diamond Workers' Union), journalist, and Social-Democrat politician (Member of Parliament), dies of pneumonia at 74
- Feb 19 Lynne Overman, American actor (Reap the Wild Wind), dies from a heart attack at 55
- Feb 22 Christoph Probst, German medical student and anti-Nazi political activist, member of non-violent resistance group Weisse Rose (White Rose), executed by guillotine at 23
- Feb 22 Hans Scholl, German anti-Nazi political activist, founder of non-violent resistance group Weisse Rose (White Rose), executed by guillotine at 24
- Feb 22 Sophie Scholl, German anti-Nazi political activist, member of non-violent resistance group Weisse Rose (White Rose), executed by guillotine at 21
- Feb 24 Fred Tate, English cricket spin bowler (1 Test, 2 wickets; Sussex CCC) and coach (Derbyshire CCC), dies at 75
- Feb 26 Helene Stöcker, German feminist, pacifist, and writer, dies of cancer at 73
- Feb 26 Theodor Eicke, German Nazi official who developed the concentration camps, killed at 50 when his plane shot down
- Feb 27 Kostis Palamas, Greek poet, twice nominated for the Nobel prize (b. 1859)
