Historical Events
- Feb 1 "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off..." closes at Shubert, NYC, after 556 performances
- Feb 1 Afobaka Dam is completed on the Suriname River
- Feb 1 French sisters Christine Goitschel (gold) and Marielle Goitschel (silver) become first female siblings to win Olympic gold and silver in the same event when they dominate the slalom in Innsbruck
- Feb 1 Indiana Governor Mathew Walsh tries to ban "Louie Louie" for obscenity
- Feb 1 The Beatles' 1st #1 hit "I Want to Hold Your Hand," topped the Hot 100, stays #1 for 7 weeks before being replaced by "She Loves You", also by The Beatles
Baseball Hall of Fame
Feb 2 Elected to Baseball Hall of Fame - Red Faber, Burleigh Grimes, Tim Keefe, Heinie Manush, John Montgomery Ward, & Miller Huggins
- Feb 2 GI Joe, debuts as a popular American boy's toy
- Feb 2 Sjoukje Dijkstra (Netherlands) wins Olympic gold for figure skating
- Feb 3 "Meet the Beatles" album goes Gold
- Feb 3 Black & Puerto Rican students boycott NYC public schools
- Feb 3 French sisters Marielle Goitschel (gold) and Christine Goitschel (silver) repeat (in reverse order) their top-2 finish in the slalom 2 days earlier, in the giant slalom at the Innsbruck Winter Olympics
- Feb 4 FAA begins 6 month test of reactions to sonic booms over Oklahoma City
- Feb 6 "Rugantino" opens at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC for 28 performances
Latest Wonder of the World
Feb 6 France & Great-Britain sign accord over building channel tunnel
- Feb 6 WCIU TV channel 26 in Chicago, IL (IND) begins broadcasting
- Feb 7 Baskin-Robbins introduces Beatle Nut ice cream
- Feb 7 Beatles land at New York's JFK airport, for 1st US tour
Sessions' 5th Symphony
Feb 7 Roger Sessions' 5th Symphony premieres in Philadelphia with Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra
Royal Hunt of the Sun
Feb 8 Peter Shaffer's musical "Royal Hunt of the Sun" premieres in London
- Feb 8 US Rep Martha Griffiths address gets civil rights protection for women being added to the 1964 Civil Rights Act
Beatles on Ed Sullivan Show
Feb 9 1st appearance of the Beatles on "The Ed Sullivan Show", live from New York; broadcast draws 73.7 million television viewers
- Feb 9 G.I. Joe “action figure” introduced at the American International Toy Fair in New York
- Feb 9 Hanumant Singh scores 105 India v England on debut at Delhi
- Feb 9 IX Winter Olympic Games close in Innsbruck, Austria
- Feb 9 NYC news anchor Jim Jenson's 1st appearance on WCBS-TV
- Feb 10 Australian destroyer HMAS Voyager sinks after colliding with aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, killing 82
- Feb 10 WBGU TV channel 27 in Bowling Green, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Feb 11 Beatles 1st live appearance in US, at the Washington Coliseum in Washington, D.C.
- Feb 11 Greek & Turks begin fighting in Limassol, Cyprus
- Feb 11 Taiwan drops diplomatic relations with France
- Feb 12 Beatles 1st NYC concerts, two shows at Carnegie Hall
Cricket History
Feb 12 End of Richie Benaud's 63-Test cricket career in drawn 5th Test v South Africa in Sydney
- Feb 12 Fighting breaks out between Turks and Greeks over dispute islands in Cyprus and 16 are killed; the UN responds the following month by sending a peacekeeping force
Sports History
Feb 12 US female Figure Skating championship won by Peggy Fleming
- Feb 12 US male Figure Skating championship won by Scott Allen
A World Without Love
Feb 14 British pop music duo Peter & Gordon release single "A World Without Love" (written by Paul McCartney, credited to Lennon-McCartney)
- Feb 15 Beatles' "Meet the Beatles!" album goes #1 & stays #1 for 11 weeks
College Basketball
Feb 15 Bill Bradley scores 51 points for Princeton
Foxy
Feb 16 Robert Emmett Dolan and Johnny Mercer's musical "Foxy", starring Bert Lahr, opens at Ziegfeld Theater, NYC; runs for 72 performances, with Lahr winning a Tony Award
Music Concert
Feb 16 The Beatles' 2nd appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show", live from Deauville Hotel in Miami, Florida; broadcast draws about 70 million television viewers
- Feb 17 101st member elected to Baseball Hall of Fame, Chicago White Sox shortstop Luke Appling
- Feb 17 US House of Representatives accept Law on the civil rights
- Feb 17 US Supreme Court rules - 1 man 1 vote (Westberry v Sanders)
- Feb 17 WMEM TV channel 10 in Presque Isle, ME (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Feb 18 Muriel Resnik's "Any Wednesday" premieres in NYC
- Feb 18 Papandreou government takes power in Greece
- Feb 19 UK flies ½ ton of Beatles wigs to the US
- Feb 21 UK flies 24,000 rolls of Beatles wallpaper to US
- Feb 22 Beatles arrive back in England after their 1st US visit
Daytona 500
Feb 23 6th Daytona 500: Race winner Richard Petty leads for record 184 of the 200 laps
- Feb 23 Charlie Finley signs a 4 year lease to keep MLB A's in Kansas City
- Feb 23 The Beatles' 3rd appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show", featuring 3 performances taped on February 9, prior to their live debut
- Feb 24 "My Heart Skips a Beat" single released by Buck Owens (Billboard No. 1 U.S. Hot Country Singles, 1964)
- Feb 25 Austrian chancellor Alfons Gorbach resigns
Boxing Title Fight
Feb 25 Muhammad Ali [Cassius Clay] wins his first world heavyweight boxing title when Sonny Liston fails to come out for round 7 at the Convention Center, Miami Beach
What Makes Sammy Run?
Feb 27 Erwin Drake's musical "What Makes Sammy Run?", starring Steve Lawrence, Robert Alda, and Sally Ann Howes, opens at 54th St Theater, NYC; runs for 540 performances
- Feb 27 The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
- Feb 29 "Rugantino" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 28 performances
World Record
Feb 29 Australian swimmer Dawn Fraser records the fastest 100m freestyle of her brilliant career; smashes her own world record 58.9s in Sydney; goes on to win her 3rd straight gold in the event at the Tokyo Olympics
Sports History
Feb 29 Cincinnati's Jerry Lucas and Oscar Robertson combine for a rare 40-40 performance as the Royals beat host Philadelphia 76ers, 117-114; NBA MVP Robertson has 43 points; Rookie of the Year Lucas, 40 rebounds
- Feb 29 NC high school basketball teams play to 56-54 score in 13 overtime
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Dwayne Goettel, Canadian keyboardist and industrial-electronic music composer (Skinny Puppy), born in High Level, Alberta (d. 1995)
- Feb 1 Jani Lane [John Oswald], American heavy metal rock songwriter, and singer (Warrant - "Cherry Pie"), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 2011)
- Feb 1 Kaitlin Hopkins, American actress (Kelsey-Another World), born in New York City
- Feb 1 Linus Roache, English actor, born in Manchester, United Kingdom
- Feb 1 Mario Pelchat, Canadian francophone singer, born in Dolbeau-Mistassini, Quebec
- Feb 1 Sharon Bruneau, Canadian actress (Sensuous Muscle), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Feb 2 Laura Poitras, American documentary film maker (Citizenfour - Academy Award Best Docu), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Feb 2 Maria Gazia Chiuri, Italian fashion designer (Christian Dior), born in Rome, Italy
- Feb 5 (Michael Andrew) "Duff" McKagan, American bassist (Guns N' Roses), born in Seattle, Washington
- Feb 5 Alexia Vassiliou, Cypriot singer and film score composer, born in Famagusta, Cyprus
- Feb 5 Jim Pugh, American tennis player (8 x Grand Slam doubles titles; world #1 doubles 1989), born in Manhattan Beach, California
- Feb 5 Laura Linney, American actress (The Truman Show, Mystic River), born in Manhattan, New York
- Feb 6 Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russian director and screenwriter (The Return), born in Novosibirsk, USSR
- Feb 6 Gordon Downie, Canadian rock singer-songwriter and musician (The Tragically Hip), born in Amherstview, Ontario (d. 2017)
- Feb 6 Petras Geniušas, Lithuanian classical pianist, and educator, born in Vilnius, Lithuanian SSR, USSR (now Lithuania)
- Feb 6 Skip Ewing, American country vocalist (Coast of Colorado), born in Redlands, California
- Feb 7 Cynthia "Sippy" Woodhead, swimmer (Olympic silver 1984), born in Riverside, California
- Feb 8 Dennis Gibson, American NFL inside linebacker (San Diego Chargers), born in Des Moines, Iowa
- Feb 8 Trinny Woodall, British fashion guru (Trinny and Susannah - What Not to Wear), born in London, England
- Feb 9 Rachel Bolan [James Southworth], American musician and songwriter (Skid Row), born in Point Pleasant, New Jersey
- Feb 10 Arthur Lenk, Israeli diplomat, born in Paterson, New Jersey
- Feb 10 Francesca Neri, Italian actress (Ages of Lulu), born in Trento, Italy
- Feb 10 Glenn Beck, American radio and television host, born in Everett, Washington
- Feb 10 Mir Aimal Kansi, Pakistani perpretrator of the 1993 shootings at CIA Headquarters, born in Quetta, Pakistan (d. 2002)
- Feb 10 Sam Graddy, US 4x100m runner (Olympic gold 1984), born in Gaffney, South Carolina
- Feb 11 Ken Shamrock, American martial artist, born in Macon, Georgia
- Feb 11 Sarah Palin, American politician, born in Sandpoint, Idaho
- Feb 12 Maurice Douglass, American NFL safety (NY Giants), born in Muncie, Indiana
- Feb 12 Michel Petit, Canadian NHL defenseman (Tampa Bay Lightning), born in Quebec, Canada
- Feb 12 Milton Small, West Indian cricket fast bowler (2 Tests, 4 wickets; Barbados), born in Saint Philip Parish, Barbados
- Feb 12 Raphael Sbarge, American actor (Risky Business, My Science Project, Werewolf), born in New York City
- Feb 13 Mark Patton, US interior designer and actor (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Come back to the Five and Dime), born in Kansa City, Missouri
- Feb 13 Ylva Johansson, Swedish politician, born in Huddinge Municipality, Sweden
- Feb 14 Gianni Bugno, Italian road cyclist (Giro d'Italia General classification 1990; World C'ship gold Elite Men's Road Race 1991, 92), born in Brugg, Switzerland
- Feb 14 Rob Jones "The Bass Thing", English musician (The Wonder Stuff), born in Stourbridge, West Midlands (d. 1993)
Chris Farley (1964-1997)
Feb 15 American actor and comedian (SNL, Wayne's World, Coneheads), born in Madison, Wisconsin
- Feb 16 Bebeto [José Roberto Gama de Oliveira], Brazilian footballer, born in Salvador, Brazil
- Feb 16 Ching-Wan [Sean] Lau, Hong Kong actor (Life Without Principle), born in Hong Kong
- Feb 16 Christopher Eccleston, English actor (Ninth Doctor in Doctor Who), born in Salford, England
- Feb 16 Mark Price, American basketball guard (NBA All-Star x 4; All-NBA First Team 1993; Cleveland Caveliers), born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma
- Feb 17 Buster Olney, American sports columnist
- Feb 17 Jim Jordan, American politician (Rep-R-Ohio 2007-), born in Troy, Ohio
- Feb 18 Kevin Tapani, American baseball pitcher (Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins), born in Des Moines, Iowa
- Feb 18 Lisa Elaine Comshaw, American actress (Scanner Cop, Lukas' Child), born in Akron, Ohio
- Feb 18 Matt Dillon, American actor (The Outsiders; Drugstore Cowboy; Crash), born in New Rochelle, New York
- Feb 18 Paul Hanley, British musician (The Fall, Tom Hingley and the Lovers), born in Manchester, England
- Feb 19 Dmitri Lipskerov, Russian writer
- Feb 19 Doug Aldrich, American rock guitarist (Burning Rain; Dead Daisies), born in Raleigh, North Carolina
- Feb 19 Jennifer Doudna, American biochemist (2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for CRISPR Gene Editing), born in Washington D.C.
- Feb 19 Sonu Walia, Indian actress
- Feb 20 Christian Ruuttu, Lappeenranta FIN, hockey forward (Team Finland)
- Feb 20 French Stewart, American actor (Harry Solomon-3rd Rock From the Sun), born in Albuquerque, New Mexico
- Feb 20 Jeff Maggert, American golfer (US Senior Open, Tradition 2015), born in Columbia Missouri
- Feb 20 Rodney Rowland, American actor
- Feb 20 Terry Ilous, French rock vocalist (Great White, 2010-18; XYZ; The Vagabonds), born in Lyon, France
- Feb 21 Huw Higginson, British actor, born in Uxbridge, United Kingdom
- Feb 21 Jane Tomlinson, British cancer campaigner, born in Wakefield, United Kingdom (d. 2007)
- Feb 21 Mark Kelly, American astronaut, Navy captain and politician (Senator-R-Arizona 2020-), born in Orange, New Jersey
- Feb 21 Willie Pless, American CFL linebacker (Edmonton Eskimos), born in Anniston, Alabama
- Feb 22 Gigi Fernandez [Beatriz], American tennis star (Olymp-gold-96), born in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Feb 22 Jim Wicek, American actor (Ben-Ryan's Hope), born in New York City
- Feb 23 Dana Katherine Scully, American fictional character (The X-Files), born in Annapolis, Maryland
- Feb 23 John Norum, Swedish rock guitarist (Europe), born in Vardø, Norway
- Feb 24 Andy Crane, British children's television presenter
- Feb 24 Russell Ingall, Australian racing driver
- Feb 24 Todd Field, American actor and film director (Tár), born in Pomona, California
- Feb 25 Don Majkowski, NFL quarterback (Detroit Lions)
- Feb 25 Lee Evans, English comedian
- Feb 25 Steve Nevius, film editor (Eden, Fall Time, Damascus)
- Feb 26 Mark Dacascos, American actor and martial artist, born in Honolulu, Hawaii
- Feb 27 April Heinrichs, US women's soccer coach (Olympic-96), born in Littleton, Colorado
- Feb 27 Ewen Vernal, British pop bassist (Deacon Blue), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Feb 28 Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistan road cyclist (Tour de France points winner 1991, 93-4), born in Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Feb 28 Rihards Dubra, Latvian composer, primarily of sacred choral works, born in Riga, Latvian SSR, Soviet Union (now Latvia)
- Feb 29 Guy Leech, Australian iron man (World Ironman C'ship 1986; World Ocean Paddling C'ship 1994; 7 x Uncle Toby's Super Series; 2 x Coolangatta Gold), born in Sydney, Australia
- Feb 29 Henrik Sundström, Swedish tennis player (World #6 singles 1984), born in Lund, Sweden
- Feb 29 Jahred [Jared Gomes], Afro-Brazilian-American rapper and singer (Hed PE; The Clue), born in California
- Feb 29 James RB Ogilvy, son of English princess Alexandra
Famous Weddings
Peter Sellers
Feb 19 Actor Peter Sellers (38) weds actress Britt Ekland in London, England
Famous Divorces
Billy Rose
Feb 10 Billy Rose and Joyce Mathews divorce again
Famous Deaths
Emilio Aguinaldo (1869-1964)
Feb 6 1st President of the Philippines (1899-1901), dies of coronary thrombosis at 94
- Feb 6 Sophocles Venizelos, premier of Greece (1944, 50-51), dies at 69
- Feb 6 W L "Tich" Cornford, English cricket wicketkeeper (4 Tests, 8 dismissals; Sussex CCC), dies at 63
- Feb 7 Hermann A. J. Kees, German Egyptologist (Problems of Egyptology), dies at 77
- Feb 7 Lillian Copeland, US discus thrower (Olympic gold 1932), dies at 59
- Feb 8 Tom Terriss, English director (His Buddy's Wife, Sumuru), dies at 91
- Feb 9 Willie Bryant, American jazz singer, bandleader, and disc jockey (Sugar Hill Times), dies of a heart attack at 55
- Feb 10 Eugen Sänger, Austrian aerospace engineer (b. 1905)
- Feb 12 Gerald Gardner, British occultist and Wiccan (founding the tradition of Gardnerian Wicca), dies at 79
- Feb 13 Ken Hubbs, 2nd baseman (Chicago Cubs), dies in plane crash at 22
- Feb 13 Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist, one of the main organizers of Nazi Germany's T-4 Euthanasia Program, dies at 61
- Feb 15 Robert L. Thornton, American businessman and politician (b. 1880)
- Feb 18 Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Quebec inventor and industrialist (b. 1907)
- Feb 20 R T Stanyforth, English cricket wicket-keeper (South Africa 1927-28), dies
- Feb 22 Edie Martin, actor (Titfield Thunderbolt), dies at 84
- Feb 24 Frank Conroy, British actor (Midnight Mary, Threat), dies at 73
- Feb 25 Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian-American sculptor and water colors painter, dies at 76
- Feb 25 Grace Metalious, American writer (b. 1924)
- Feb 27 Orry-Kelly, Australian costume designer (b. 1897)
- Feb 28 Dirk Filarski, Dutch painter and lithographer (Bergen School), dies at 78se
- Feb 28 Gus Lesnevich, American light heavyweight boxing champ (1947 fighter of year), dies at 49
- Feb 29 Frank Albertson, American actor (Psycho, It's a Wonderful Life, Alice Adams), dies in his sleep at 55
- Feb 29 Victor van Straelen, Flemish biologist and paleontologist, dies at 74
