Historical Events
- Feb 2 1st Chinese immigrants arrive by boat in San Francisco, California
- Feb 2 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican–American War. Mexico loses 55 percent of its territory to the US, including California, Nevada and Utah in exchange for $15 million.
- Feb 12 Ballet "Faust" premieres at La Scala in Milan
The Communist Manifesto
Feb 21 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish "The Communist Manifesto" in London
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 4 Jean Aicard, French playwright and poet (Jeune Croyances), born in Toulon, France (d. 1921)
- Feb 5 Belle Starr [Myra Belle Shirley] American outlaw (American wild west), born in Carthage, Missouri (d. 1889)
- Feb 5 Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean war hero (d. 1882)
- Feb 5 Joris-Karl Huysmans, French writer (Against the Grain), born in Paris, France (d. 1907)
- Feb 6 Luigi Mancinelli, Italian orchestral composer, born in Orvieto, Italy (d. 1921)
- Feb 14 Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer, born in Chalon-sur-Saône, France (d. 1934)
- Feb 16 Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist and geneticist who rediscovered Mendel's theory of heredity and for his work on genes (The Mutation Theory), born in Haarlem, Netherlands (d. 1935)
- Feb 17 Louisa Lawson, Australian writer, publisher (The Dawn) and suffragist who founded The Dawn Club, born in Gulgong, New South Wales (d. 1920)
- Feb 18 Louis Comfort Tiffany, American artist and designer known for his glasswork (Tiffany & Co), born in New York City (d. 1933)
- Feb 20 Edward Henry Harriman, American railroad executive (d. 1909)
- Feb 23 Thomas Payne Westendorf, American songwriter ("I'll Take You Home Again, Kathleen"), born in Bowling Green, Virginia (d. 1923)
- Feb 24 Andrew Inglis Clark, Tasmanian politician (d. 1907)
- Feb 24 Grant Allen, Canadian writer (Woman Who Did), born in Alwington, Ontario (d. 1899)
- Feb 24 Johanna Barbiers, Dutch actress (Voddenraper of Paris), born in Zaandam, The Netherlands (d. 1927)
- Feb 27 Hubert Parry, English musicologist and composer (Jerusalem), born in Bournemouth, England (d. 1918)
Famous Deaths
Thomas Cole (1801-1848)
Feb 11 American romantic landscape painter (Hudson River School), dies of pleurisy at 47
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848)
Feb 23 6th President of the United States (Democratic: 1825-1829), dies of a stroke at 80
