Historical Events
- Feb 1 Auction of British musician Mark Knopfler's guitar collection auction of realizes $11.27 M USD (8.8M GBP). with 25% earmarked for his favorite charities at Christies Auction House in London, England
- Feb 2 Wildfires begin burning in Chile, east of Viña del Ma, spread to Quilpué and Villa Alemana, killing at least 131 with hundreds missing. Chile's greatest natural disaster since 2010. [1]
- Feb 4 President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, the self-titled "world's coolest dictator", wins re-election in a landslide [1]
Grammy Awards
Feb 5 66th Grammy Awards: Taylor Swift wins record 4th Best Album with "Midnights", Best Record Miley Cyrus "Flowers", Best Song Billie Eilish “What I Was Made For”, Killer Mike led away in handcuffs [1]
- Feb 5 Brazil warns it is expecting a very bad year of dengue fever with over 4.2 million cases - with Rio de Janeiro already declaring a public health emergency [1]
Music History
Feb 5 Meghan Thee Stallion's achieves her first solo No.1 with diss single "Hiss" amid a feud with fellow rapper Nicki Minaj [1]
Film Premiere
Feb 6 Denis Villeneuve's science fiction film epic "Dune: Part Two" premieres in Mexico City, starring Timothée Chalamet and an ensemble cast
- Feb 6 Jennifer Crumbley is the first American parent of a school shooter to be found guilty of manslaughter, held responsible for her teenager killing four at Oxford High School (2021) [1]
King Diagnosed with Cancer
Feb 6 King Charles III diagnosed with cancer according to Buckingham Place, Queen Camilla takes on his public duties while he receives treatment [1]
Netanyahu Seeks Total Victory
Feb 7 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejects Hamas's ceasefire proposal, saying he will continue till "total victory", saying forces will push further south into city of Rafah [1]
Event of Interest
Feb 7 Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky removes his top general Valery Zaluzhny, in the military's most significant shake-up in years [1]
Election of Interest
Feb 8 Pakistan election: In an upset independents backed by imprisoned Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party win the most seats with 97, PML-N win 76, PPP 54 [1]
Event of Interest
Feb 10 Donald Trump says he threatened a NATO ally over their defense spending "No, I would not protect you. I would encourage them (Russia) to do whatever the hell they want" at South Carolina rally [1]
- Feb 10 Hungarian President Katalin Novak resigns after pardoning a man involved in a child sexual abuse case [1]
- Feb 11 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final; hosts Ivory Coast defeat Nigeria 2-1 at Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan [1]
- Feb 11 Argentina's first female saint María Antonia de Paz y Figueroa, (Mama Antula) canonised at a ceremony attended by President Javier Milei at the Vatican [1]
- Feb 11 Former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb wins the presidential election over the Green Party [1]
- Feb 11 Super Bowl LVIII is the most-watched TV program in US history, averaging 123.4 million viewers across television and streaming platforms [1]
Super Bowl
Feb 11 Super Bowl LVIII, Allegiant Stadium, LV: Kansas City Chiefs win back to back titles and 3rd in 5 years with an overtime 25-22 win over the SF 49ers; MVP: Patrick Mahomes, KC, QB
Sports History
Feb 11 Usher performs the halftime show at Super Bowl LVIII with guests Alicia Keys, will.i.am, Lil Jon, H.E.R. and Ludacris [1]
- Feb 12 Oldest known 11,000 Stone Age megastructure, used for hunting, revealed submerged in Bay of Mecklenburg, off the German coast [1]
- Feb 14 Indonesian presidential election: Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto appears to win by significant margin (full results 20 March) [1]
- Feb 14 Israel launches air strikes in Lebanon in an escalation of conflict along the border, killing four, in a retaliation after a Hezbollah rocket killed an Israeli soldier in Safed [1]
- Feb 14 Korean scientists say they have created "meaty rice", with beef grown inside rice grains in a lab, adding 8% more protein [1]
- Feb 14 Shooting at a rally to celebrate the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory kills one and injures more than 20 in downtown Kansas City, Missouri [1]
- Feb 14 Technology and AI company, Nvidia's market capitalization reaches $1.83 trillion, overtaking Alphabet and Amazon [1]
Sports History
Feb 15 Caitlin Clark becomes the NCAA Division I women's career scoring leader in a game for Iowa against Michigan, scoring a career-high 49 points
- Feb 15 Germany becomes the world's third-largest economy after Japan slips into recession [1]
- Feb 15 Greece is the first Christian Orthodox county to legalise same-sex marriage and adoption [1]
- Feb 15 Private company Intuitive Machines’ lunar lander Odysseus launches aboard SpaceX’s Falcon from the Kennedy Space Center [1]
- Feb 16 Alabama Supreme Court rules frozen embryos can be considered children as part of a wrongful death case where frozen embryos were accidentally destroyed at a clinic [1]
- Feb 16 Donald Trump and Trump Organization ordered to pay $354 million in fines in NY civil fraud case - one of the largest corporate sanctions in NY history [1]
- Feb 17 Donald Trump launches his “Never Surrender High-Tops” footwear (US$399) at Sneaker Con in Philadelphia [1]
- Feb 17 Ukraine withdraws its troops from the key eastern town of Avdiivka, blaming a lack of western-supplied weapons [1]
Film & TV History
Feb 18 77th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs) "Oppenheimer" Best Film, Christopher Nolan Best Director, Emma Stone, Cillian Murphy acting awards [1]
- Feb 18 Massacre leaves 49 dead after tribal fighting in Papa New Guinea's Enga Province [1]
Event of Interest
Feb 18 Poll by historians' ranks Joe Biden as the 14th best US president, with Donald Trump ranked last [1]
- Feb 18 Singaporean chess prodigy Ashwath Kaushik at eight years old is the youngest player to defeat a grandmaster in a classic tournament game at the Burgdorfer Stadthaus Open, Switzerland [1]
- Feb 19 66th Daytona 500: William Byron takes the lead on a restart with 4 laps to go and then wins after Ross Chastain and Austin Cindric crash to bring out a race-ending caution; Hendrick Motorsports record-tying 9th win
- Feb 19 Brightest known object in the universe identified as a quasar, 500 trillion x brighter than the sun, powered by a supermassive black hole that devours a sun-sized mass every day [1]
- Feb 19 Investigation into 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise charges his wife, the former PM and ex-chief of police [1]
- Feb 20 Australia announces plans to double its naval fleet of warships to create its largest fleet since WWII [1]
- Feb 20 Former Youtuber Ruby Franke and her business partner sentenced to up to 60 years in prison for physically and emotionally abusing her children [1]
- Feb 22 Japan’s benchmark stock exchange, the Nikkei average reaches its highest-ever level at 39,098, breaking its 1989 record [1]
- Feb 22 Odysseus is the first private spacecraft to land on the moon though on its side, 1st US moon landing since 1972 [1]
- Feb 23 German parliament votes to legalize cannabis 407 votes to 226, with restrictions [1]
Sports History
Feb 24 Brian Ortega wins against Yair Rodríguez at UFC Fight Night 237, earning Performance of the Night
- Feb 24 Senegalese-French director's Mati Diop’s documentary "Dahomey" is the surprise winner of the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival [1]
EFL Cup final
Feb 25 Lewis Koumas is an unused substitute in the 2024 EFL Cup final where Liverpool beat Chelsea 1–0 after extra time
- Feb 25 President Volodymyr Zelensky says 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died fighting in the two years since Russia invaded [1]
- Feb 25 The Great Mosque of Algiers is opened by Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune - third largest mosque in the world, able to hold 120,000 worshippers [1]
- Feb 27 First confirming sighting of a sexual encounter between humpback whales, and the first homosexual coupling, published in "Marine Mammal Science" [1]
- Feb 27 Quickly spreading wildfires across Texas Panhandle propel Governor Greg Abbott to issue a disaster declaration for 60 counties [1]
Marian Anderson Hall
Feb 27 The Philadelphia Orchestra announces renaming of their concert home as Marian Anderson Hall, in honor of the noted 20th century contralto who was from the city [1]
- Feb 28 Ghana passes new legislation making it illegal to identify as LGBTQ+ [1]
- Feb 28 Lewis Koumas makes his first team debut for Liverpool and scores his first senior goal against Southampton in the FA Cup fifth round
Event of Interest
Feb 28 Mitch McConnell announces he is stepping down as Senate Republican leader in November, as the longest-serving Senate leader in US history [1]
Film & TV History
Feb 28 Oprah Winfrey says she is stepping down from the board of WeightWatchers and selling her shares, months after she confirmed taking prescription weight-loss drugs [1]
- Feb 28 Wisconsin records 60-degree temperature swing in 24 hours, with Madison registering 70 degrees (21.11 C) Tuesday, plunging to 11 degrees (-11.67 C) Wednesday morning [1]
- Feb 29 At least 112 Palestinians killed as they desperately swarm aid convoys in north Gaza [1]
- Feb 29 The Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Texas panhandle, home to most of the state's cattle ranches, becomes the second-largest fire in US history, burning over 1.1 million acres [1]
Famous Weddings
Famous Deaths
Carl Weathers (1948-2024)
Feb 1 American football player, actor (Rocky films (I-IV); Street Justice; The Mandalorian), and director, dies at 76
- Feb 1 Michel Jazy, French athlete (WR 1 mile 3:53.6 1965; Olympic silver 1500m 1960), dies at 87
- Feb 1 Mike Martin, American College Baseball HOF coach (all-time winningest coach in NCAA Division I: Florida State Uni 1980-2019; Baseball America Coach of the Year 2012, 19), dies at 79
- Feb 2 Francisco Jara, Mexican soccer forward (9 caps; CD Guadalajara 1960-71), dies at 82
- Feb 2 Rich Caster, American football wide receiver-tight end (Super Bowl XVII Washington Redskins; Pro Bowl 1972, 74, 75 New York Jets), dies from Parkinson's disease at 75
- Feb 2 Stefan Yanev, Bulgarian soccer midfielder (Cherno More Varna 228 games) and broadcaster (BNT; 17 books on Bulgarian football), dies at 84
- Feb 2 Wayne Kramer [Kambes], American guitarist (MC5 - "Kick Out The Jams"), and record producer, dies of pancreatic cancer at 75 [1]
- Feb 2 Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, American operatic soprano, and actress (Diva), dies of cancer at 75 [1]
- Feb 3 Aston Barrett, Jamaican reggae bassist (Bob Marley & the Wailers - "I Shot the Sheriff"; Burning Spear), sound engineer, and producer, dies of heart failure after a series of strokes at 77 [1]
- Feb 4 Barry John, Welsh rugby union fly-half (25 Tests Wales, 5 British & Irish Lions; Cefneithin RFC, Llanelli RFC, Cardiff RFC, Barbarian FC), dies at 79
- Feb 4 Giacomo Losi, Italian soccer defender (11 caps; AS Roma 386 games) and manager (Piacenza, ASG Nocerina, SS Juve Stabia), dies at 88
- Feb 4 John Elford, Australian rugby league winger (4 Tests; Western Suburbs RLFC, NSW), dies at 76
- Feb 4 Kurt Hamrin, Swedish soccer winger (31 caps; AIK, AC Milan, Fiorentina 289 games), dies at 89
- Feb 5 Dries van Agt, Dutch politician (Prime Minister (CDA), 1977-82), dies with his wife of 70 years via euthanasia at 93
Toby Keith (1961-2024)
Feb 5 American country singer ("Should've Been A Cowboy"; "She Never Cried In Front Of Me"), and actor (Broken Bridges), dies of stomach cancer at 62 [1]
- Feb 5 Tsutomu Hanahara, Japanese freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold flyweight 1964), dies at 84
- Feb 6 Anthony Epstein, English pathologist and virologist (co-discover of the Epstein–Barr virus), dies at 102 [1]
- Feb 6 Don McKay, New Zealand rugby union winger (5 Tests; Auckland RU), dies at 86
- Feb 6 Miguel Ángel, Spanish soccer goalkeeper (18 caps; Real Madrid 247 games), dies of ALS at 76
Sebastián Piñera (1949-2024)
Feb 6 Chilean businessman and politician (President of Chile, 2010-14 and 2018-22), dies in a helicopter crash at 74
- Feb 6 Seiji Ozawa, Japanese conductor (Boston Symphony Orchestra, 1973-2002, Vienna State Opera, 2002-10), dies of heart failure at 88 [1] [2]
- Feb 7 Henry Fambrough, American pop and R&B singer (The Spinners, 1954-2023 - "Could It Be I'm Falling in Love?"; "The Rubberband Man"), dies at 85 [1]
- Feb 7 Luigi Arienti, Italian track cyclist (Olympic gold men's team pursuit 1960), dies at 87
- Feb 7 Mojo Nixon [Neill McMillan, Jr.], American musician ("Elvis Is Everywhere") and actor, dies of cardiac event at 66 [1]
- Feb 9 (Kemji) "Damo" Suzuki, Japanese rock singer (Can; Damo Suzuki's Network), dies of colon cancer at 74
- Feb 9 Roland Grip, Swedish soccer defender (55 caps; IFK Östersund, AIK, IK Sirius), dies at 83
- Feb 10 Bob Edwards, American Peabody Award-winning broadcast journalist (NPR - "Morning Edition", 1979-2004; Sirius XM - "The Bob Edwards Show", 2004-15), dies of complications from bladder cancer at 76
- Feb 10 Bob Moore, American food entrepreneur (Bob's Red Mill), and philanthropist, dies at 94 [1]
- Feb 11 Randy Sparks, American folk singer-songwriter and impresario (New Christy Minstrels), dies at 90
- Feb 12 Zdenko Morović, Venezuelan soccer midfielder (5 caps; Deportivo Italia, CS Marítimo, Caracas FC), dies at 57
- Feb 13 Datta Gaekwad, Indian cricket batsman and captain (11 Tests, 1 x 50; Baroda CC), dies at 95
- Feb 13 Ken Ploen, American CFL HOF quarterback (CFL All-Star 1965; CFL West All-Star 1957, 59, 65 Winnipeg Blue Bombers), dies at 88
- Feb 14 Don Gullett, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1970-78 (3 x World Series Champion - Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees), dies at 73
Alexei Navalny (1976-2024)
Feb 16 Russian political activist and opposition leader of the Progress Party, murdered in prison at 47
- Feb 16 Ian McMillan, Scottish soccer inside forward (6 caps; Airdrieonians 301 games, Rangers 127 games) and manager (Airdrieonians 1970-76, 1985–86), dies at 92
- Feb 16 Jan Sørensen, Danish soccer striker (11 caps; Club Brugge, FC Twente, Feyenoord, Ajax) and manager (Portimonense, Walsall FC), dies at 68
- Feb 16 Joe Hindelang, American college baseball coach (USciences, Lafayette, Penn State Uni 1991-2004), dies at 78
- Feb 16 Jorge Toro, Chilean soccer midfielder (29 caps; Colo-Colo, Sampdoria, Modena, Unión Española), dies at 85
- Feb 17 Bill Francis, Welsh rugby league utility back (4 Tests Great Britain, 19 Wales; Wigan, St. Helens, Oldham), dies at 76
- Feb 17 Johan Galtung, Norwegian sociologist and father of peace studies (Peace Research Institute Oslo; Journal of Peace Research), dies at 93 [1]
- Feb 17 Lefty Driesell, American Basketball HOF coach (first to win 100+ games at 4 different NCAA Div I schools: Davidson College, Uni of Maryland, James Madison, Georgia State), dies at 92
- Feb 17 Levan Tediashvili, Georgian freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold USSR 82kg 1972, 90kg 1976; World C'ship gold x 4), dies at 75
- Feb 17 Mike Procter, South African cricket all-rounder (7 Tests, 41 wickets, BB 6/73; Gloucestershire CCC, Natal, Western Province, Rhodesia, Orange Free State), dies of cardiac arrest at 77
- Feb 20 Andreas Brehme, German soccer defensive midfielder (86 caps; FIFA World Cup 1990; 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich, Inter Milan), dies from cardiac arrest at 63
- Feb 20 Vasile Dîba, Romanian sprint canoeist (Olympic gold K-1 500m 1976; ICF World C'ships 5 x gold), dies at 69
- Feb 21 Roger Guillemin, French-American neuroscientist (1977 Nobel Prize for Medicine for work on neurohormones), dies at 100 [1]
- Feb 22 (Veronica) "Roni" Stoneman, American banjo player, singer, and comedienne (The Stoneman Family; Hee Haw), dies at 85
- Feb 22 Artur Jorge, Portuguese soccer striker (16 caps; Académica, Benfica, Belenenses) and manager (Portugal, Switzerland, Cameroon; Porto), dies at 78
- Feb 22 Jean-Guy Talbot, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (7 x Stanley Cup Montreal Canadiens; 6 x NHL All Star) and coach (St. Louis Blues, NY Rangers), dies at 91
- Feb 23 Irene Camber, Italian fencer (Olympic gold foil individual 1952, bronze team foil 1960; World C'ship gold 1953 individual foil; team foil 1957), dies at 98
- Feb 23 Rui Rodrigues, Portuguese soccer centre-back (12 caps; Académica, Benfica, Vitória Guimarães), dies at 80
- Feb 23 Wilson Fittipaldi Jr, Brazilian auto racer (38 x F1 GP) and team owner (Fittipaldi F1 team), dies at 80
- Feb 24 Chris Nicholl, Irish soccer centre-back (51 caps Northern Ireland; Aston Villa 210 games, Southampton 228 games) and manager (Southampton 1985–91, Walsall 1994–97), dies at 77
Kenneth Mitchell (1974-2024)
Feb 24 Canadian actor (Star Trek: Discovery), dies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis at 49
- Feb 24 Stan Bowles, English soccer forward (5 caps; Queens Park Rangers 255 games, Leyton Orient, Brentford), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 75
- Feb 24 Ulrik le Fevre, Danish soccer left winger (37 caps; Vejle Boldklub, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Club Brugge), dies at 77
- Feb 26 Jacob Rothschild, British peer, investment banker and member of the Rothschild banking family, dies at 87
- Feb 26 Ole Anderson, American pro wrestler (founding member of influential stable "The Four Horsemen"; PWI Tag Team of the Year 1975, 77 with Gene Anderson), dies at 81
- Feb 27 John Fairchild, American magazine publisher and editor (Women's Wear Daily, 1960-96; W Magazine, 1972-97), dies at 87
Richard Lewis (1947-2024)
Feb 27 American comedian and actor (Anything But Love; Robin Hood: Men in Tights; Curb Your Enthusiasm), dies of a heart attack at 76 [1]
- Feb 29 Andy Russell, American football linebacker (Super Bowl IX, X; First-team All-Pro 1975; 7 x Pro Bowl; Pittsburgh Steelers), dies at 82
Brian Mulroney (1939-2024)
Feb 29 18th Prime Minister of Canada (1984-93), dies at 84
Year of the Rabbit
Year of the Dragon
Year of the Snake
Year of the Horse
Year of the Goat/Sheep
Year of the Monkey