Historical Events
- Feb 5 American British Colony of Georgia becomes 1st US territory to abolish both entail and primogeniture land and estate inheritance practices
Third Voyage of James Cook
Feb 12 Captain James Cook arrives at Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, aboard HMS Resolution, on his 3rd trip to the Pacific
Marquis de Sade Arrested
Feb 13 Marquis de Sade arrested without charge, imprisoned in Vincennes fortress
General Benjamin Lincoln
Feb 14 US Congress commissions Benjamin Lincoln a major general in the Continental Army
Astronomy
Feb 16 French astronomer Charles Messier adds M53 to his catalog (globular cluster in Coma Berenice)
- Feb 21 British ambassador Joseph Yorke demands dismissal of Governor John de Graaff for saluting US flag
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 12 Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German poet (d. 1843)
