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962 - Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.

1032 - Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes King of Burgundy.

1119 - Callixtus II becomes Pope.

1509 - Battle of Diu takes place near Diu, India, between Portugal and Turkey.

1536 - Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1542 - Portuguese under Christovão da Gama capture a Moslem-occupied hillfort in northern Ethiopia in the Battle of Baçente.

1653 - New Amsterdam (later renamed New York City) is incorporated.

1709 - Alexander Selkirk is rescued from shipwreck on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

1790 - The U.S. Supreme Court convenes for the first time after an unsuccessful attempt on February 1.

1812 - Russia establishes a fur trading colony at Fort Ross, along the California coast.

1848 - Mexican-American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed ending the war.

1848 - California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese emigrants seeking fortune in California's gold country arrive in San Francisco.

1870 - It is revealed that the famed Cardiff Giant was just carved gypsum and not the petrified remains of a human.

1874 - Grand County, Colorado is created when it is carved out of Summit County

1876 - The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.

1878 - Greece declares war on Turkey.

1880 - The first electric streetlight is installed in Wabash, Indiana.

1882 - The Knights of Columbus are formed in New Haven, Connecticut.

1887 - In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.

1897 - The Pennsylvania state capitol is destroyed by fire.

1899 - The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital (Canberra) between Sydney and Melbourne.

1920 - Tartu Peace Treaty signed between Estonia and Russia.

1920 - France occupies Memel.

1925 - Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.

1933 - Adolf Hitler dissolves the German Parliament.

1935 - The polygraph machine is tested for the first time. Leonard Keeler conducts the experiment in Portage, Wisconsin.

1940 - Frank Sinatra debuts with the Tommy Dorsey orchestra.

1943 - World War II: The last German forces surrender to the Soviets after the Battle of Stalingrad.

1945 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill leave to meet with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin at the Yalta Conference.

1952 - A tropical storm forms north of Cuba and moves northeast making landfall in Florida. It is the earliest reported formation of a tropical storm on record in the Atlantic basin.

1957 - President Iskander Mirza of Pakistan lays the foundation-stone of the Guddu Barrage across river Indus near Sukkur.

1962 - For the first time in 400 years Neptune and Pluto align.

1966 - Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir dispute as number one item for the proposed Indo-Pak ministerial talks after 1965 war.

1967 - The American Basketball Association is formed.

1971 - After a coup in Uganda, Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader.

1972 - The British embassy in Dublin is destroyed in protest over Bloody Sunday.

1976 - Groundhog Day gale of 1976 hits the north-eastern United States and south-eastern Canada.

1980 - Abscam: Reports surface that FBI personnel were targeting members of the U.S. Congress in a sting operation.

1980 - Founding congress of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Turkey.

1982 - Hama Massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama and kills thousands of people.

1989 - Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet Union armored column leaves Kabul, ending nine years of military occupation.

1989 - Satellite television service Sky Television plc launched in the Europe.

1990 - Apartheid: In South Africa President F.W. de Klerk allows the African National Congress to legally function again and promises to set Nelson Mandela free.

1998 - A Cebu Pacific Air DC-9-32 crashes into a mountain near Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, killing 104.

2002 - Wedding of Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands to the Argentinean born Máxima Zorreguieta in Amsterdam.

2002 - Foundation of Eurodoc, the European Council for Doctoral Candidates and Junior Researchers, in Giróna (Spain).

2006 - An aging Egyptian passenger ferry carrying more than 1,400 people sinks in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast.

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1208 - James I of Aragon (d. 1276)

1455 - King John of Denmark (d. 1513)

1494 - Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (d. 1557)

1502 - Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher (d. 1574)

1506 - René de Birague, French cardinal and chancellor (d. 1583)

1522 - Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician (d. 1565)

1600 - Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653)

1613 - Noël Chabanel, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1649)

1621 - Johannes Schefferus, Alsatian-born humanist (d. 1679)

1649 - Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730)

1650 - Nell Gwynne, English actress and royal mistress (d. 1687)

1669 - Louis Marchand, French organist and harpsichordist (d. 1732)

1695 - William Borlase, English naturalist (d. 1772)

1695 - François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769)

1700 - Johann Christoph Gottsched, German writer (d. 1766)

1711 - Wenzel Anton von Kaunitz, Austrian diplomat (d. 1794)

1714 - Gottfried August Homilius, German composer (d. 1785)

1717 - Ernst Gideon Freiherr von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)

1754 - Charles Maurice de Talleyrand, French politician (d. 1838)

1786 - Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician (d. 1856)

1802 - Jean Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist (d. 1887)

1803 - Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (d. 1862)

1829 - Alfred Brehm, German zoologist (d. 1884)

1841 - François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss hydrologist (d. 1912)

1842 - Yulian Vasilievich Sokhotski, Russian mathematician (d. 1927)

1851 - Jose Guadalupe Posada,Mexican artist(d. 1913)

1875 - Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (d. 1962)

1878 - Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer (d. 1955)

1882 - James Joyce, Irish author (d. 1941)

1887 - Ernst Hanfstängl, German pianist and politician (d. 1975)

1888 - Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969)

1890 - Charles Correll, American actor (d. 1972)

1893 - Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1974)

1895 - George Halas, American football player, coach, and league founder (d. 1983)

1897 - Howard Johnson, American hotelier (d. 1972)

1901 - Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian violinist (d. 1987)

1905 - Ayn Rand, Russian-born author (d. 1982)

1913 - Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor (d. 1985)

1915 - Abba Eban, Israeli diplomat (d. 2002)

1916 - Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet (d. 1985)

1918 - Hella S. Haasse, Dutch writer

1923 - James Dickey, American poet and author (d. 1997)

1923 - Bonita Granville, American actress (d. 1988)

1923 - Red Schoendienst, baseball player and manager

1923 - Liz Smith, American gossip columnist

1924 - Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American producer and musician

1925 - Elaine Stritch, American actress

1926 - Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French politician

1927 - Stan Getz, American musician (d. 1991)

1928 - Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham, Jr., civil rights activist and author

1931 - Dries van Agt, Dutch politician

1931 - Judith Viorst, American author

1932 - Robert Mandan, American actor

1933 - Than Shwe, ruler of Myanmar

1937 - Tom Smothers, American musician and comedian

1940 - David Jason, English actor

1942 - Christine Keeler, British model

1942 - Graham Nash, American (British-born) rock musician

1944 - Geoffrey Hughes, British actor

1946 - Alpha Oumar Konaré, ex-president of Mali

1947 - Farrah Fawcett, American actress

1947 - Melanie Safka, American singer

1949 - Brent Spiner, American actor

1949 - Ross Valory, American musician (Journey)

1952 - Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese professional wrestler

1954 - Christie Brinkley, American model

1962 - Paul Kilgus, baseball player

1961 - Lauren Lane, American actress

1963 - Eva Cassidy, American singer (d. 1996)

1965 - Carl Airey, English footballer

1965 - Naoki Sano, Japanese professional wrestler

1966 - Robert DeLeo, American musician (Stone Temple Pilots)

1967 - Arturs Irbe, Latvian hockey player

1969 - Valeri Karpin, Russian footballer

1972 - Dana International, Israeli singer

1973 - Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower

1975 - Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek football player

1975 - Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian hockey player

1976 - James Hickman, British swimmer

1977 - Shakira, Colombian singer

1977 - Libor Sionko, Czech football player

1980 - Skip Schumaker, Baseball player

1980 - Teddy Hart, Canadian professional wrestler

1981 - Jason Kapono, American basketball player

1982 - Kelly Mazzante, American Basketball player

1983 - Jordin Tootoo, Canadian hockey player

1987 - Martin Spanjers, American actor

1992 - Danielle White, American singer

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1124 - Bořivoj II of Bohemia

1218 - Konstantin of Rostov, Prince of Novgorod (b. 1186)

1250 - Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)

1461 - Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty of England

1529 - Baldassare Castiglione, Italian writer (b. 1478)

1580 - Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese retainer (b. 1558)

1594 - Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer (b. 1525)

1648 - George Abbot, English writer

1660 - Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615)

1660 - Gaston, Duke of Orléans, French politician (b. 1608)

1661 - Lucas Holstenius, German humanist (b. 1596)

1688 - Abraham Duquesne, French naval officer (b. 1610)

1704 - Guillaume François Antoine, Marquis de l'Hôpital, French mathematician (b. 1661)

1712 - Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician

1714 - John Sharp, English Archbishop of York (b. 1643)

1768 - Robert Smith, English mathematician (b. 1689)

1769 - Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693)

1802 - Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, British statesman (b. 1713)

1895 - Archduke Albert, Austrian general (b. 1817)

1904 - William C. Whitney, American financier (b. 1841)

1907 - Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (b. 1834)

1922 - William Desmond Taylor, Irish film director (b. 1872)

1925 - Jaap Eden, Dutch skater and cyclist (b. 1873)

1926 - Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (b. 1848)

1932 - Agha Petros, Assyrian nationalist leader

1942 - Daniil Kharms, Russian playwright (b. 1906)

1945 - Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German politician (b. 1884)

1948 - Bevil Rudd, South African athlete (b. 1894)

1948 - Thomas W. Lamont, American banker; father or Corliss Lamont; great-grandfather of Ned Lamont (b. 1870)

1950 - Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician (b. 1873)

1956 - Charles Grapewin, American actor (b. 1869)

1956 - Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)

1957 - Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (b. 1890)

1969 - Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887)

1970 - Bertrand Russell, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1872)

1973 - Hendrik Elias, Belgain politician (b. 1902)

1979 - Sid Vicious, English musician (Sex Pistols) (b. 1957)

1980 - William Howard Stein, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1911)

1987 - Castilho, Brazilian footballer (b. 1927)

1987 - Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist (b. 1922)

1992 - Bert Parks, American television host (b. 1914)

1995 - Donald Pleasence, English actor (b. 1919)

1996 - Gene Kelly, American dancer, actor, and director (b. 1912)

1997 - Sanford Meisner, American actor (b. 1904)

1997 - Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913)

2002 - Paul Baloff, American vocalist (b. 1960)

2003 - Lou Harrison, American composer (b. 1917)

2004 - Bernard McEveety, American film director (b. 1924)

2005 - Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)

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Ancient Latvia - Veja Diena observed.

Czech Republic - Hromnice.

France - Crêpe Day.

Paganism - Imbolc (in northern hemisphere), Lughnasadh (in southern hemisphere).

Scotland - A quarter day in the Christian calendar (due to Candlemas).

United States and Canada - Groundhog Day.

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Catholicism - Candlemas, The Presentation of the Lord, The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, World Day for Consecrated Life (also February 3 in the United States).

St. Adelbald

St. Cornelius