Historical Events
- Feb 8 John Ames Sherman patents 1st envelope folding & gumming machine in Massachusetts
- Feb 11 Owen Smith of NC, AME Zion minister, named US minister to Liberia
- Feb 15 USS Maine sinks in Havana harbor, cause unknown, 258 sailors die
- Feb 22 Black postmaster lynched, his wife & 3 daughters shot in Lake City, South Carolina
J'Accuse...!
Feb 23 Emile Zola is imprisoned in France for writing his "J'accuse" letter which accused the government of anti-Semitism and of wrongly jailing Alfred Dreyfus
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 2 Josephina Johanna "Fien" de la Mar, Dutch actress (Theatre De la Mar), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1965)
- Feb 3 Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (Finlandia House) and designer, born in Kuortane, Finland (d. 1976)
- Feb 3 Lillian "Lil" Hardin Armstrong, American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader, born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 1971)
- Feb 3 Pavel Urysohn, Ukrainian mathematician, born in Odessa, Russian Empire (d. 1924)
- Feb 7 Morgan Lee "Dock" Boggs, American folk and blues singer and banjo player, born in Norton, Virginia (d. 1971)
- Feb 8 Andrés Soriano, Spanish Filipino industrialist (San Miguel Brewery, Philippine Airlines), born in Manila, Spanish Philippines (d. 1964)
Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)
Feb 10 German poet and playwright (Mother Courage), born in Augsburg, Bavaria
- Feb 10 Joseph Kessel, French journalist and writer (Army of the Shadows), born in Villa Clara, Argentina (d. 1979)
- Feb 10 Judith Anderson [Frances Margaret Anderson], Australian actress (Laura, Rebecca, Tycoon), born in Adelaide, South Australia (d. 1992)
- Feb 10 Robert Keith [Rolland Keith Richey], American character actor (Guys and Dolls; The Wild One; Battle Circus; Branded), born in Fowler, Indiana (d. 1966)
Leó Szilárd (1898-1964)
Feb 11 Hungarian-German-American nuclear physicist (Manhattan Project) and peace activist, born in Budapest, Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire
- Feb 12 Roy Harris, American composer (When Johnny Comes Marching Home: An American Overture), born near Chandler, Oklahoma (d. 1979)
- Feb 12 Wallace Ford [Samuel Jones Grundy], British actor (Freaks, Harvey, Spellbound, Deputy), born in Bolton, Lancashire, England (d. 1966)
- Feb 13 Neville Pearson, English publisher (Country Life), born in Frensham, England (d. 1982)
- Feb 14 Fritz Zwicky, Swiss astronomer (supernova, dark matter), born in Varna, Bulgaria (d. 1974)
- Feb 15 Allen Woodring, American runner (d. 1982)
- Feb 15 Totò [Antonio Clemente], Italian actor (Motorizzate, Noi Duri) commonly referred to as the most popular Italian comedian of all time, born in Naples, Italy (d. 1967)
- Feb 16 Katharine Cornell, German actress (Barretts of Wimpole St), born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1974)
- Feb 17 Tom Lowry, New Zealand cricket batsman (7 Tests, 2 x 50s; first NZ Test captain), President NZ Thoroughbred Breeders Association 1951-65, born in Fernhill, New Zealand (d. 1976)
Enzo Ferrari (1898-1988)
Feb 18 Italian racing car driver and founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team and sportscar manufacturer Ferrari, born in Modena, Italy
- Feb 18 K'Tut Tantri [Muriel Stuart Walker] Scottish-American broadcaster during Indonesian National Revolution, born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1997)
- Feb 18 Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet (d. 1980)
- Feb 18 Walter Herbert [Seligmann], German-American conductor, impresario (Houston Grand Opera, 1955- 72; San Diego Opera, 1965-77), and world champion bridge player, born in Frankfurt, Germany (d. 1975)
- Feb 19 Lauwrens Voorthuyzen [Lou de Palingboer], Dutch religious sect leader, born in Breezand, Netherlands (d. 1968)
- Feb 21 Vasily Vainonen, Russian ballet dancer and choreographer (Gayaneh), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1964)
- Feb 22 Anton de Kom, Surinamese worker's union leader and resistance fighter, born in Paramaribo, Suriname (d. 1945)
- Feb 23 Reinhard Herbig, German archaeologist (Etruscan, Ancient Greece and Rome), (d. 1961)
- Feb 24 Kurt Tank, German aircraft designer (WWII Luftwaffe planes), born in Bromberg, Germany (d. 1983)
- Feb 25 William Astbury, English physicist and chemist (pioneer in molecular biology), born in Longton, England (d. 1961)
- Feb 26 Julien de Valckenaere, Belgian poet, born in Ghent, Belgium (d. 1958)
- Feb 27 Allison Danzig, American sports writer (Tennis Pictorial History), born in Waco, Texas (d. (1987)
- Feb 27 Bronislaw Rutkowski, Belarusian organist, pedagogue, and composer, born in Komaje, Russian Empire (now Belarus) (d. 1964)
- Feb 28 Molly Picon, Yiddish actress (Milk & Honey), born in New York City (d. 1992)
- Feb 28 Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish soccer striker (16 caps; Fenerbahçe), born in Istanbul, Turkey (d. 1969)
