Historical Events
Polankski Flees US
Feb 1 Director Roman Polanski skips bail in the US and flees to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl
1st Female African American Stamp
Feb 1 Harriet Tubman is 1st African American woman to be honored on a US postage stamp
- Feb 3 Australia beat India 3-2 on 6th day of final test, after India are all out for 445 chasing 493 to win
Al-Sadat and Carter Meeting
Feb 3 Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat and US President Jimmy Carter discuss the Middle East peace process in Washington, D.C.
Bossy's Hat Trick
Feb 4 NHL New York Islanders rookie Mike Bossy scores 1st career hat trick in 6-1 win over Washington Capitols at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York
- Feb 5 28th NBA All-Star Game, Omni Coliseum, Atlanta, Ga: East beats West, 133-125; MVP: Randy Smith, SD Clippers, G
- Feb 5 Blizzard forms in US North East, 100 people killed in New England and New York over 3 days
- Feb 5 Fred Newman makes 88 consecutive basketball free throws blindfolded
Humphrey Serves Out Husband's Term
Feb 6 Muriel Humphrey, former Second Lady, is appointed to serve remainder of late husband Hubert Humphrey's term as US Senator by Minnesota Governor Rudy Perpich
- Feb 6 Snowstorm hits New England, parts of Rhode Island (54" / 137cm)
- Feb 7 Ethiopian offensive in Ogaden desert
- Feb 8 Crown Prince Sad Abdallah al-Salim Al Sabah becomes Prime Minister of Kuwait
- Feb 8 Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
- Feb 10 Frank C. Carlucci succeeds John F. Blake as deputy director of the CIA
- Feb 10 U.S. premiere of "Blue Collar", Paul Schrader's first film direction
- Feb 11 16 Unification church couples wed in NYC
Sports History
Feb 11 25th hat trick in NY Islander history, Denis Potvin's 2nd
Event of Interest
Feb 11 China lifts a ban on works of Aristotle, William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens
- Feb 11 EOKA disbands in Cyprus
- Feb 12 "Jesus Christ Superstar" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 96 performances
- Feb 12 US female Figure Skating championship won by Linda Fratianne
- Feb 12 US male Figure Skating championship won by Charles Tickner
- Feb 13 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Feb 14 1st "micro on a chip" patented by Texas Instruments
- Feb 14 In girls' HS basketball, Chicago Latin beats Harvard St George
- Feb 15 England all out 64 for 1st loss to NZ in cricket (Geoffrey Boycott captain)
Boxing Title Fight
Feb 15 Leon Spinks beats Muhammad Ali in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
- Feb 15 Zaire revises its constitution
- Feb 16 1st Computer Bulletin Board System (Ward & Randy's CBBS, Chicago)
- Feb 17 11 civilians and 1 RUC officer are killed and 30 wounded by a Provisional Irish Republican Army incendiary bomb at the La Mon Restaurant near Belfast
- Feb 18 1st Iron Man Triathlon (swim, bike ride, marathon) held, Kona, Hawaii
Daytona 500
Feb 19 20th Daytona 500: Bobby Allison takes lead with 11 laps remaining; lowest starting position (33rd) for winner until 2007
- Feb 19 Brigitte Kraus runs world record 1000 m indoor (2:34.8)
On The Twentieth Century
Feb 19 Cy Coleman, Betty Comden & Adolph Green's musical "On The Twentieth Century", starring John Cullum and Madeline Kahn, and Kevin Kline, and directed by Hal Prince, opens at the St. James Theatre, NYC; runs for 449 performances, wins 5 Tony and 4 Drama Desk Awards
People's Choice Awards
Feb 20 4th People's Choice Awards: John Wayne and Barbra Streisand (Motion Picture), and James Garner and Mary Tyler Moore (TV) win
- Feb 20 Bob Backland beats "Superstar" Billy Graham in NYC, to become WWF wrestling champion
- Feb 20 Egypt announces it is pulling its diplomats out of Cyprus
- Feb 21 Electrical workers accidentally discover the Aztec Templo Mayor, or High Temple, two blocks from Mexico City's central square, the Zócalo
- Feb 22 2 tankers with propane gas explode killing 15 at Waverly, Tenn
- Feb 22 28th Berlin International Film Festival: "Las truchas" and "What Max Said" win the Golden Bear (tie)
Grammy Awards
Feb 23 20th Grammy Awards: "Hotel California" by The Eagles; Fleetwood Mac; Debbie Boone win
- Feb 24 Kevin Porter, NJ, sets NBA record with 29 assists in a game
Cricket History
Feb 25 England cricket all-rounder Ian Botham scores first Test century, 103 v New Zealand in Christchurch
- Feb 27 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 2 Barbara Mori, Uruguayan-Mexican actress and producer (Rubi), born in Montevideo, Uruguay
- Feb 2 Barry Ferguson, Scottish soccer midfielder (45 caps; Rangers, Blackburn Rovers, Blackpool, Birmingham City) and manager (Clyde, Alloa A), born in Hamilton, Scotland
- Feb 2 Eden Espinosa, American singer and stage actress (Wicked), born in Anaheim, California
- Feb 3 Adrian R'Mante, American actor (The Suite Life of Zack & Cody), born in Tampa, Florida
- Feb 3 Amal Clooney, British-Lebanese human rights lawyer (Julian Assange), born in Beirut, Lebanon
- Feb 3 Eliza Schneider, American actress. performance artist, and playwright, born in the USA
- Feb 4 Danna Garcia, Colombian actress
- Feb 5 Brian Russell, American football player, born in Scotland, United Kingdom
- Feb 5 Shawn Reaves, American actor, born in Monroe, Louisiana
- Feb 6 Olena Zelenska, Ukrainian screenwriter and First Lady of Ukraine (2019-), born in Kryvyi Rih, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Ashton Kutcher (46 years old)
Feb 7 American model, actor (That '70s Show - "Kelso"; Punk'd; Two and a Half Men, 2011-15), and venture capitalist, born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
- Feb 7 Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian footballer
- Feb 7 David Aebischer, National Hockey League goaltender
- Feb 7 Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, Nigerian Nollywood actress, born in Lagos, Nigeria
- Feb 8 Christa Williams, American softball pitcher (Olympic gold 1996), born in Houston, Texas
- Feb 9 Airton Daré, Brazilian racing driver
- Feb 9 Daniel Mann, British television commentator
- Feb 10 Don Omar [William Omar Landró], Puerto Rican reggaeton singer ("Danza Kuduro"), record producer, and actor (Fast & Furious films), born in Carolina, Puerto Rico
- Feb 10 Lorna Bailey, English ceramic designer
- Feb 12 Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby league footballer, born in Liverpool, Australia
- Feb 12 Gethin Jones, British (Welsh) television presenter, born in Cardiff, United Kingdom
- Feb 12 Silver Meikar, Estonian human rights activist and politician, born in Tartu, Estonia
- Feb 13 Hamish Glencross, Scottish guitarist (My Dying Bride), born in Dundee, Scotland
- Feb 13 Mini Andén, Swedish model and actress, born in Stockholm, Sweden
Danai Gurira (46 years old)
Feb 14 Zimbabwean-American actress and playwright (The Walking Dead; Black Panther), born in Grinnell, Iowa
- Feb 14 Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player, born in Marijampolė, Lithuania
- Feb 14 Dean Gaffney, British actor, born in Hammersmith, London
- Feb 14 Dwele [Andwele Gardner], American soul singer, born in Detroit, Michigan
- Feb 14 Laurie Schwoy, American soccer forward (4 caps; North Carolina Tar Heels women, Philadelphia Charge FC), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Feb 14 Richard Hamilton, American basketball player, born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania
- Feb 15 Kimberly Goss, American singer and musician (Sinergy), born in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 15 Tuan Le, Vietnamese-US poker player, born in Paris, France
- Feb 16 John Tartaglia, Broadway actor and Muppeteer
- Feb 16 Tia Hellebaut, Belgian athlete
- Feb 16 Wasim Jaffer, Indian Cricketer
- Feb 17 Jacob Wetterling, American kidnapping victim, born in Long Praire, Minnesota (d. 1989)
- Feb 18 Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer, born in Canberra, Australia
- Feb 19 Immortal Technique [Felipe Coronel], American rapper, born in Lima, Peru
- Feb 19 Michalis Konstantinou, Greek-Cypriot footballer
- Feb 20 (Javier) "Jay" Hernandez, American actor (Crazy/Beautiful; Magnum PI), born in Montebello, California
- Feb 20 Chelsea Peretti, American comedian and actress (Brooklyn Nine-Nine), born in Oakland, California
- Feb 20 Jakki Degg, English glamour model/actress
- Feb 20 Julia Jentsch, German actress
- Feb 20 Lauren Ambrose, American actress
- Feb 21 Kim Ha Neul, South Korean actress, born in Danyang County, South Korea
- Feb 21 Kumail Nanjiani, Pakistani American comedian, actor and writer (The Big Sick, Silicon Valley), born in Karachi, Pakistan
- Feb 21 Nicole Parker, American actress, born in Irvine, California
- Feb 21 Park Eun-hye, South Korean actress, born in Incheon, South Korea
- Feb 23 Karolina Rantamaki, Finnish ice hockey left wing (Finland, Olympics 1998), born in Espoo, Finland
- Feb 23 Residente [René Pérez], Puerto Rican musician (Calle 13), born in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico
- Feb 24 John Nolan, American rock guitarist, singer and piano player (Taking Back Sunday; Straylight Run), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Feb 24 Shinya [Terachi], Japanese heavy metal drummer (Dir En Grey), born in Hirakata, Osaka, Japan
- Feb 24 Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro, Brazilian mixed-martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world champion, born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Feb 26 Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Senegalese footballer, born in Dakar, Senegal
- Feb 26 John Tartaglia, Broadway performer & "Muppeteer", born in Maple Shade, New Jersey
- Feb 26 Marc Hynes, British racing driver, born in Guildford, United Kingdom
- Feb 27 Adam Kinzinger, American politician (Rep -R-Illinois 2011-), born in Kankakee, Illinois
- Feb 27 James Beattie, English footballer, born in Lancaster, England
- Feb 28 Benjamin Raich, Austrian alpine ski racer, born in Innsbruck, Austria
- Feb 28 Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player, born in Brooklyn, New York
- Feb 28 Jeanne Cherhal, French singer-songwriter, born in Nantes, France
- Feb 28 Louise Woodward, English nanny who killed eight-month-old Matthew Eappen in 1997, born in Elton, Cheshire
- Feb 28 Mariano Zabaleta, Argentine tennis player, born in Tandil, Argentina
Famous Weddings
Roger Miller
Feb 14 American country singer Roger Miller (42) weds Mary Arnold
Famous Deaths
- Feb 2 Wendy Barrie, British-American TV hostess (Wendy Barrie Show), dies at 65
- Feb 4 Bergen Evans, American professor of English ($64,000 Question), dies at 73
- Feb 5 Annie Romein-Verschoor, Dutch historian and author (Low Countries by the Sea; Erflaters - both written with her husband Jan), dies at 83
- Feb 5 Frans van Immerseel, Belgian graphic artist, dies at 68
- Feb 9 Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (b. 1893)
- Feb 9 Herbert Kappler, German head of Nazi police and security services (SS) in Rome during WWII and war criminal responsible for the Ardeatine massacre, dies at 70
- Feb 9 Julio Jaramillo, Ecuadorian pasillo and ranchera singer, dies of peritonitis at 42
- Feb 9 Kimberly Leach, killed by Ted Bundy in Lake City, Florida at 12
- Feb 11 Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist and poet (Trade Wind-Nobel 1974), dies at 73
- Feb 11 James B. Conant, American chemist and President of Harvard University, dies at 84
- Feb 14 Paul Governali, American professional football player (b. 1921)
- Feb 15 Alex Bradford, American gospel composer and singer (Your Arms Too Short To Box With God), dies of a stroke at 51
- Feb 15 Ilka Chase, American actress (Masquerade Party, Trials of O'Brien), dies at 72
- Feb 16 E. Roland Harriman, American financier (b. 1895)
- Feb 18 Derrick De Marney, British actor (The Girl Was Young, Inheritance), dies at 71
- Feb 18 Marguerite "Maggie" McNamara, American actress (3 Coins in a Fountain, Cardinal), dies of a barbiturate overdose at 49
- Feb 21 Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish historian and priest (b. 1901)
- Feb 22 Ilka Chase, actress (Masquerade Party, Trials of O'Brien), dies at 74
- Feb 22 Phyllis McGinley, American children's author and poet (Pulitzer Prize 1961), dies at 72
- Feb 25 Daniel "Chappie" James Jr, retired Air Force general, dies at 58
- Feb 27 Vadim Salmanov, Soviet Russian composer, dies at 65
- Feb 28 (Pil Lip) Philip Ahn, American actor (Kung Fu - as "Master Kan"; Thoroughly Modern Millie), dies from pneumonia at 72
- Feb 28 Eric Frank Russell, sci-fi author (Hugo, Deep Space), dies at 73
