Historical Events
- Feb 3 Dutch West Indies island of St Eustatia taken by British
Astronomy
Feb 17 French astronomer Charles Messier catalogs M83 (spiral galaxy in Hydra)
Famous Birthdays
Famous Deaths
- Feb 4 Josef Mysliveček, Czech composer, dies at 43
- Feb 4 Willem Crul, British admiral (West Indies), dies in battle during the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War at 59
- Feb 15 Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German critic and dramatist (1st ever dramaturge), dies at 52
- Feb 23 George Taylor, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (for Pennsylvania), dies at about 64 or 65
- Feb 24 Edward Capell, English critic, dies at 67
- Feb 28 Richard Stockton, American attorney and signer of Declaration of Independence, dies at 50
