Historical Events
- Feb 4 Earthquake in Quito, Ecuador kills 41,000
God Save Emperor Francis
Feb 12 Joseph Haydn's song "Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser" (God Save Emperor Francis) premieres in Vienna
Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797)
Feb 14 Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeats larger Spanish fleet under Admiral Don José de Córdoba y Ramos near Cape St. Vincent, Portugal. Captain Horatio Nelson distinguishes himself.
- Feb 18 Trinidad is surrendered to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby
- Feb 21 Trinidad, West Indies, a Spanish colony, surrenders to the British
Last Invasion of Britain
Feb 22 The Last Invasion of Britain, launched by the French during the Revolutionary Wars, begins near Fishguard, Wales
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 6 Joseph Maria von Radowitz, German diplomat, born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 1912)
- Feb 15 Heinrich [Henry] Engelhard Steinway, German American piano maker (Steinway & Sons), born in Wolfshagen im Harz, Duchy of Brunswick (d. 1871)
- Feb 24 Samuel Lover, Irish composer, novelist and painter, born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1868)
- Feb 28 Frederick, prince of Netherlands, general and admiral (10 day campaign), born in Berlin (d. 1881)
- Feb 28 Mary Lyon, American educator and activist for woman's higher education (set up and first Principal of Mt Holyoke Female Seminary), born near Buckland, Massachusetts (d. 1849)
Famous Deaths
- Feb 8 Johann Friedrich Doles, German composer, pupil of J. S. Bach, dies at 81
- Feb 11 Antoine Dauvergne, French composer, dies at 83
- Feb 22 Baron Münchhausen, German adventurer, soldier and storyteller (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen), dies at 76
- Feb 27 Benvenuto Robbio San Raffaele, Italian composer, dies at 61
