Historical Events
- Feb 1 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: Mervyn Rose wins his first Grand Slam title; beats fellow Australian Rex Hartwig 6-2, 0-6, 6-4, 6-2
- Feb 1 Australian Championships Women's Tennis: In an all-Australian final Thelma Coyne Long beats Jenny Staley 6-3, 6-4 for the 2nd of her 2 Australian singles titles
- Feb 1 Dutch soccer club De Graafschap "The County" forms in Doetinchem, Netherlands
- Feb 1 Scapino Ballet Studio in Amsterdam destroyed by fire
- Feb 1 US TV soap opera "The Secret Storm" premieres on CBS
"The Nutcracker"
Feb 2 "The Nutcracker" ballet choreographed by George Balanchine with Maria Tallchief as the Sugar Plum Fairy opens in New York, establishes its popularity in the US
First Hydrogen Bomb
Feb 2 President Eisenhower announces the detonation of the world's 1st hydrogen bomb (tested in 1952)
- Feb 2 Rio Grande College basketball forward Bevo Francis scores NCAA record 113 points vs Hillsdale College
- Feb 2 Snow falls on Gibraltar
- Feb 3 Jeen van den Berg wins Dutch Eleven Cities Skating race (7:32)
- Feb 5 WCDC-TV channel 19 in Adams, Massachusetts (ABC) begins broadcasting
- Feb 9 Mario Scelba forms new government in Italy
- Feb 10 President Dwight Eisenhower warns against US intervention in Vietnam
- Feb 10 World Figure Skating Championship at Oslo: Ice Dancing - won by Great Britain's team of Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy
- Feb 10 World Figure Skating Championship at Oslo: Pairs - won by Canadian team of Frances Dafoe and Norris Bowden
- Feb 10 World Figure Skating Championship in Oslo: Ladies - won by West Germany's Gundi Busch
- Feb 10 World Figure Skating Championship in Oslo: Men - won by American Hayes Alan Jenkins
- Feb 11 6th Emmy Awards: I Love Lucy, Donald O'Connor & Eve Arden win
- Feb 12 The UK government establishes an organisation to control atomic energy in the country under The Atomic Energy Authority Bill
- Feb 13 American college basketball player Frank Selvey scores a record 100 points for Furman beating Newberry 149-95
Event of Interest
Feb 14 Senator John F. Kennedy appears on "Meet the Press"
- Feb 14 WTOC TV channel 11 in Savannah, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Feb 15 1st Bevatron particle accelerator in operation at Berkeley, California
- Feb 15 WRDW TV channel 12 in Augusta, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Feb 16 WNEM TV channel 5 in Bay City, MI (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Feb 17 WAST (now WNYT) TV channel 13 in Albany-Troy, NY (NBC) 1st broadcast
- Feb 18 The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 20 General Zahedi wins election in Persia
Polio
Feb 23 First mass inoculation against polio with the Jonas Salk vaccine takes place at Arsenal Elementary School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Feb 23 Syrian army drives out president Adib el-Shishakli
- Feb 25 Abdul Nasser appointed Egyptian premier
- Feb 26 1st typesetting machine (photo engraving) used, Quincy, Massachusetts
- Feb 26 Michigan Representative Ruth Thompson (R) introduces legislation to ban mailing "obscene, lewd, lascivious or filthy" phonograph (rock & roll) records
- Feb 28 US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Billy Mumy, American actor (Will Robinson-Lost in Space, Dear Brigitte), born in San Gabriel, California
- Feb 1 Chuck Dukowski, American punk rock (Black Flag), born in Long Beach, California
- Feb 2 Christie Brinkley [Ex-Mrs Billy Joel], American model and actress (SI, Vacation), born in Monroe, Michigan
- Feb 2 Jayantha Amerasinghe, Sri Lankan cricketer (2 Tests for Sri Lanka v NZ 1983)
- Feb 2 Johann "Hansi" Hinterseer, Austrian pop and schlager singer ("Hände Zum Himmel"), actor, and competitive alpine skier (World Championship silver, 1974), born in Kitzbühel, Austria
- Feb 3 Tiger Williams, Canadian ice hockey player
- Feb 5 Cliff Martinez, American drummer (Captain Beefheart; Red Hot Chili Peppers, 1983-86), and film score composer (Spring Breakers; Sex, Lies, and Videotapes), born in the Bronx, New York
- Feb 5 Roseanne Katan, American model, actress and Playboy playmate (Sep 1978), born in New York City
- Feb 6 Scott Kempner, American rhythm guitarist (Del-Lords), born in the Bronx, New York
- Feb 7 Brian Morton, Scottish writer
- Feb 7 Dieter Bohlen, German pop singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality, born in Berne, West Germany
- Feb 7 Miguel Ferrer, actor (Robocop, NCIS LA), born in Santa Monica, California (d. 2017)
- Feb 9 Christopher Gardner, American entrepreneur
- Feb 9 Gina Rhinehart, Australian mining magnate (Australia's richest person), born in Perth, Western Australia
- Feb 9 Kevin Warwick, Cyborg Scientist
- Feb 9 Mary Jo Duffy, American comic book writer and editor
- Feb 9 Ulrich Walter, German FR, cosmonaut
- Feb 10 Larry McWilliams, American major baseball pitcher, 1978-90, born in Wichita, Kansas
- Feb 11 Noriyuki Asakura, Japanese composer, born in Tokyo, Japan
- Feb 11 Wesley Strick, American screenwriter, born in New York
- Feb 12 Philip Zimmermann, American cryptographer, born in Camden, New Jersey
- Feb 12 Tzimis Panousis, Greek musician, stand-up comedian, and radio presenter, born in Athens, Greece (d. 2018)
- Feb 13 Donnie Moore, American baseball pitcher (MLB All Star 1985 California Angels), born in Lubbock, Texas (d. 1989)
- Feb 13 Vijay Seshadri, American poet (3 Sections - Pulitzer Prize for Poetry 2014), born in Bangalore, India [1]
- Feb 14 Paul Rendall, English rugby union prop (28 caps; London Wasps RUFC), born in London, England (d. 2023)
- Feb 15 Brad Little, American politician, Governor of Idaho (2019-), born in Emmett, Idaho
Matt Groening (70 years old)
Feb 15 American cartoonist and writer (Life in Hell, The Simpsons, Futurama), born in Portland, Oregon
- Feb 15 Pamela Theresa Jiles, American 4X400m relayer (Olympic silver 1976), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Feb 16 Iain [Menzies] Banks, UK, sci-fi author (Wasp Factory), (d. 2013)
- Feb 16 Margaux Hemingway, actress (Lipstick, They Call Me Bruce), born in Portland, Oregon
- Feb 16 Michael Holding, West Indian cricket fast bowler (60 Tests, 249 wickets, BB 8/92; Jamaica, Derbyshire CCC, Lancashire CCC) and broadcaster (Sky Sports), born in Kingston, Jamaica
- Feb 17 Brian Houston, New Zealand-Australian founder of megachurch Hillsong, born in Auckland, New Zealand
- Feb 17 Rene Russo, American model and actress ("Nightcrawler", "Ransom", "Lethal Weapon 3 & 4"), born in Burbank, California
John Travolta (70 years old)
Feb 18 American actor (Welcome Back, Kotter - "Vinnie Barbarino"; Saturday Night Fever; Pulp Fiction), and singer (Grease - "You're The One That I Want"), born in Englewood, New Jersey
- Feb 19 Francis Bucholz, German rock bassist (Scorpions, 1973-92 - "Wind of Change"; Temple of Rock), born in Hanover, West Germany
- Feb 19 Michael Gira, American rock singer-songwriter, and musician (Swans; Angels of Light), born in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 19 Sócrates [Socrates Brasileiro Sampaio de Sousa Vieira de Oliveira], Brazilian soccer midfielder (60 caps, 22 goals Brazil; Corinthians), born in Belém, Brazil (d. 2011)
- Feb 20 Anthony Stewart Head, actor (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)
- Feb 20 Jon Brant, American rock bassist (Cheap Trick, 1981-87), born in Chicago, Illinois
Patty Hearst (70 years old)
Feb 20 American kidnap victim (Symbionese Liberation Army), convicted bank robber (later pardoned on grounds of coercion by her captors), writer, actress, and philanthropist, born in San Francisco, California
- Feb 20 Tom Whitlock, American Academy Award-winning lyricist songwriter (“Take My Breath Away”, “Danger Zone”), born in Springfield, Missouri (d. 2023)
- Feb 20 Vasili Vasilyevich Tsibliyev, Russian colonel and cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-17, TM-25), born in Orekhovka, Crimea, USSR
- Feb 21 Ivo van Damme, Belgian 800/1500m dash (Olympic silver 1976)
- Feb 22 Jean-Philippe Vassal, French architect (Lacaton & Vassal, Pritzker Prize - 2021), born in Casablanca, Morocco
Viktor Yushchenko (70 years old)
Feb 23 Ukrainian politician (President of Ukraine, 2005-10; Prime Minister of Ukraine, 1999-2001), born in Khoruzhivka, Sumy Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)
- Feb 24 Constantine Phipps, 5th Marquess of Normanby
- Feb 24 Plastic Bertrand [Roger François Jouret], Belgian singer (Ça plane pour moi), born in Brussels, Belgium
- Feb 25 John Doe [Duchac], American poet, songwriter, and cow-punk musician (X; The Knitters), born in Decatur, Illinois
- Feb 25 Steve Rixon, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (1977-85)
- Feb 26 John Bolger, American actor (Another World - "Captain Gabe McNamara"), born in New York City
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (70 years old)
Feb 26 Turkish politician (President of Turkey, 2014-present; Prime Minister of Turkey, 2003-14), born in Kasımpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey
- Feb 27 JoAnn Falletta, American conductor (Virginia Symphony, 1991-2020; Buffalo Philharmonic, 1999-present), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Feb 27 Neal Schon, American rock guitarist and songwriter (Santana, 1971-72; Journey - "Don't Stop Believin'"; "Any Way You Want It"; Bad English, 1987-91), born in Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma
- Feb 28 Brian Billick, American football coach
Famous Weddings
Leonard Nimoy
Feb 21 American actor Leonard Nimoy (22) weds American actress Sandra Zober; divorce in1987
Famous Deaths
- Feb 1 Henry Leveson-Gower, English cricket batsman and captain (3 Tests; Surrey CCC, Oxford University CC), dies at 80
- Feb 1 Julius P. Hoste, Belgian journalist, daily newspaper publisher (Last News), and politician (Minister of Education, 1936-38; Senator 1949-54), dies at 69
- Feb 2 Theodor Rogalski, Romanian composer, dies at 52
- Feb 4 Václav Vačkář, Czech composer, known for his marches, conductor, and musicologist, dies at 72
- Feb 5 Vittorio Gnecchi, Italian composer, dies at 77
- Feb 7 Jan Maklakiewicz, Polish composer, chiefly of choral music (Kołysanka - Lullaby; Ave Maria), conductor, and educator, dies at 54
- Feb 9 Mabel Paige, American actress (Lucky Jordan), dies at 73
- Feb 10 Wilhelm Schmidt, German anthropologist and linguist (Anthropos), dies at 86
- Feb 11 Adolph M. Christianson, justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court (b. 1877)
- Feb 12 Dziga Vertov [Denis Kaufman], Russian influential film director (Man with a Movie Camera, 3 Songs of Lenin), dies at 58
- Feb 13 Anges Macphail, Canadian politician (first woman to be elected to Canada's House of Commons), dies at 63 [1]
- Feb 13 Frederick Lewis Allen, American social historian and editor of Harper's Magazine, dies at 63
- Feb 17 Evert Gorter, Dutch children's pioneering paediatrician founder of Dutch medical child care), dies at 72
- Feb 26 William Inge, English author, theologist and Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, dies at 93
