Historical Events
Jumbo the Elephant
Feb 3 Circus owner P. T. Barnum buys his world-famous elephant Jumbo
- Feb 6 The society of the Knights of Columbus forms in New Haven, Connecticut
Sullivan vs. Ryan
Feb 7 Last bare knuckle champion John L. Sullivan KOs Paddy Ryan in Miss
- Feb 10 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera "Snyegurochka" premieres in St Petersburg
- Feb 12 Social-Democratic Union forms in Amsterdam
- Feb 15 SS Dunedin leaves New Zealand for Britain with the first cargo of frozen meat.
- Feb 17 Australian cricket opening bowlers Joey Palmer (7/68) and Edwin Evans (3/64) dismiss England for 133 in 2nd Test; first Test match played at Sydney Cricket Ground
- Feb 21 NYC's 24 hour race begins, winner with most mileage in 24 hours
- Feb 22 The Serbian kingdom is refounded.
- Feb 22 With 120 miles James Saunders wins NYC's 24 hour race & $100 prize
- Feb 28 1st US college cooperative store opens, at Harvard University
Famous Birthdays
Louis St. Laurent (1882-1973)
Feb 1 12th Prime Minister of Canada (Liberal: 1948-57), born in Compton, Quebec
- Feb 2 Andrew, Prince of Greece and Denmark, born in Monte Carlo, Monaco (d. 1944)
James Joyce (1882-1941)
Feb 2 Irish novelist and poet (Dubliners, Ulysses, Finnigan's Wake), born in Dublin, Ireland
- Feb 3 Trijntje Jansma-Boskma; oldest person in the Netherlands (d. 1991)
- Feb 5 Felice Lattuada, Italian composer and educator (Civica Scuola di Musica, Milan, 1935-62), born at Caselle di Morimondo, Kingdom of Italy (d. 1962)
- Feb 7 Wilbur Sweatman, American ragtime and dixieland jazz clarinetist, composer, and bandleader, born in Brunswick, Missouri (d. 1961) [1]
- Feb 8 George Siegmann, American actor (Birth of Nation, Queen of Sheba, Oliver Twist), born in New York City (d. 1928)
- Feb 8 Thomas Selfridge, American army officer, 1st person to die in an airplane crash, born in San Francisco, California (d. 1908)
- Feb 9 James Stephens, Irish poet (Crock of Gold), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1950)
- Feb 9 Tom Campbell, South African cricket wicket-keeper (5 Tests, 8 dismissals), born in Edinburgh, Scotland (d. 1924)
- Feb 11 Gheorghe Cucu, Romanian composer, born in Puiești, Romania (d. 1932)
- Feb 12 Walter Vaes, Belgian painter and etcher (d. 1958)
- Feb 14 George Jean Nathan, American editor, author and critic (American Mercury), born in Fort Wayne, Indiana (d. 1958)
- Feb 14 Ignaz Friedman, Polish pianist and composer, born in Podgórze, Kraków, Austrian Poland (d. 1948)
John Barrymore (1882-1942)
Feb 15 American actor (Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Feb 17 Kurt Schindler, German-American composer and conductor, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1935)
- Feb 22 Eric Gill, English sculptor, engraver and typographer (Perpetua, Gill sans), born in Brighton, England (d. 1940)
- Feb 23 Ladislav Vycpalek, Czech composer, born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Czech Republic) (d. 1969)
- Feb 25 Jozef Goossenaerts, Flemish philologist (Language boundary), born in Wuustwezel, Belgium (d. 1963)
- Feb 26 Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral, commander of the Pacific Fleet during Pearl Harbour Attack, born in Henderson, Kentucky (d. 1968)
- Feb 28 Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (Story of American Singer), born in Melrose, Massachusetts (d. 1967)
- Feb 28 Jose Vasconcelos, politician, essayist, philosopher, born in Oaxaca, Mexico (d. 1959)
- Feb 28 Richard Stein, German composer, born in Halle, Province of Saxony, Kingdom of Prussia (d. 1942)
Famous Deaths
- Feb 2 Fabio Campana, Italian composer and opera director, dies at 63
- Feb 3 Guglielmo Quarenghi, Italian composer and cellist, dies at 55
- Feb 3 Mary Elizabeth Lange, Cuban-American educator, Catholic nun, and co-founder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first African-American Catholic religious order, dies at about 92 [birthdate uncertain, c. 1769]
- Feb 11 Gustav Schmidt, German composer and conductor, dies at 65
- Feb 13 Henry Highland Garnet, American minister, abolitionist and diplomat, dies in Monrovia, Liberia at 66
- Feb 28 John Romney Robinson, Irish astronomer and physicist, dies at 89
Year of the Rabbit
Year of the Dragon
Year of the Snake
Year of the Horse
Year of the Goat/Sheep
Year of the Monkey