Historical Events
PM Benjamin Disraeli
Feb 21 Benjamin Disraeli succeeds William Gladstone as British Prime Minister
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian poet, dramatist and essayist (founded Salzburg festival), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 1929)
- Feb 3 Gertrude Stein, American-French writer (Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1946)
- Feb 6 Milton Bennett Medary, American architect (Washington Chapel), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1929)
- Feb 9 Amy Lowell, American poet and critic (Patterns, Sword Blades & Poppy Seed), born in Brookline, Massachusetts (d. 1925)
- Feb 9 Vsevolod Meyerhold [Karl Kasimir Theodor], Russian theatrical director and actor (Houligan), born in Penza Oblast, Russian Empire (d. 1940)
- Feb 11 Elsa Beskow, Swedish children's author and illustrator (Tale of the Little Little Old Woman), born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1963)
- Feb 11 Fritz Bennicke Hart, British composer and conductor (Melbourne Symphony Orchestra), born in Greenwich, London (d. 1949)
- Feb 13 Hendrik Spiekman, Dutch journalist and politician (co-founder Social Democratic Workers' Party), born in Hoogezand (d. 1917)
- Feb 15 Emilis Melngailis, Latvian composer and ethnomusicologist, born in Vidriži, Russian Empire (d. 1954)
Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922)
Feb 15 British-Irish polar explorer (Endurance, Antarctica), born in Kilkea, Ireland
- Feb 16 Marie Gutheil-Schoder, German operatic soprano (Vienna State Opera, 1920-26), and pedagogue, born in Weimar, Thuringia, Germany (d. 1935)
Thomas J. Watson (1874-1956)
Feb 17 American businessman (Chairman and CEO of IBM, 1914-56), born in Campbell, New York
- Feb 20 Mary Garden, Scottish-American operatic soprano, 1900-34, and M-G-M talent scout, born in Aberdeen Scotland (d. 1967)
- Feb 22 Bill Klem, American Baseball HOF umpire (record 18 x World Series), born in Rochester, New York (d. 1951)
- Feb 23 Konstantin Päts, Estonian Prime Minister (1921-23, 1932-33) and dictator (1933-40), born in Tahkuranna Parish, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (d. 1956)
Honus Wagner (1874-1955)
Feb 24 American Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop (8 x NL batting champion; 5 × NL RBI / stolen base leader; Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Chartiers Borough, Pennsylvania
Famous Deaths
- Feb 3 Lunalilo, Hawaiian king (1873-74), dies of tuberculosis at 39
- Feb 8 David Strauss, German theologist (focused on historical Jesus' Life), dies at 66
- Feb 9 Jules Michelet, French historian (History of France), dies at 75
- Feb 17 Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian astronomer, mathematician and sociologist (body mass index scale), dies at 77
- Feb 18 Louis Wigfall, American politician (Confederate States Senator from Texas 1862-85), dies at 57
- Feb 24 Anselmo Clavé, Spanish politician and composer, dies at 49
- Feb 27 Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, Cuban revolutionary hero, dies at 54
