Historical Events
- Feb 3 Canada's original Parliament buildings in Ottawa burn down
- Feb 3 Tristan Tzara publishes the Dada manifesto in Zurich, Switzerland
"O Solo Mio"
Feb 5 Italian tenor Enrico Caruso records "O Solo Mio" for the Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey
- Feb 8 French cruiser "Admiral Charner" torpedoed off Syrian coast, kills 374
- Feb 8 NL votes down Charlie Ebbets proposal to limit 25 cent seats
- Feb 9 Britain's military service act enforced (conscription)
- Feb 9 NL votes down a proposal by Giants, Braves, & Cubs to increase club player limit from 21 to 22 (The Reds want to decrease to 20)
Biggest Oil Gusher Ever
Feb 10 Biggest oil well gusher ever - Edward L. Doheny's Cerro Azul No. 4 first gushes 600 feet in the air near Tampico, Mexico
- Feb 10 Military conscription begins in Britain
- Feb 11 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presents its 1st concert, led by Gustav Strube of the Peabody Institute, at the Lyric Theatre
Emma Goldman Arrested
Feb 11 Emma Goldman arrested for lecturing on birth control
- Feb 11 Germany and Austria-Hungary notify the US that they will sink any armed merchant ships starting on 1 March
Event of Interest
Feb 13 Albert Einstein presents Karl Schwarzschild’'s solution to his equations for a (then theoretical) black hole to the Prussian Academy of Sciences
Sinking of the Lusitania
Feb 16 The German ambassador in Washington announces that Germany will pay an indemnity for American lives lost on the Lusitania
- Feb 16 The US rejects the right of Germany and Austria-Hungary to sink armed merchant ships
- Feb 18 The last German garrison in the German colony of Cameroons surrenders
- Feb 21 Battle of Verdun begins with a German offensive, leads to an estimated 1 million casualties, and becomes the longest battle of the entire war (9 months)
- Feb 22 The House-Grey Memorandum, drafted by US and Britain, states: 'Should the Allies accept [the American idea of a conference to end the war] and should Germany refuse it, the United States would "probably" enter the war against Germany'
- Feb 23 US Congress authorizes McKinley Memorial $1 gold coin
- Feb 25 Battle of Verdun: German troops conquer Fort Douaumont without firing a shot, the largest and highest fort defending the city of Verdun during World War I
- Feb 26 Germans sink French transport ship Provence II, killing 930
Film and TV History
Feb 26 Mutual signs Charlie Chaplin to a film contract
- Feb 26 Russian troops conquer Kermansjah, Persia
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Bruce Gordon, American actor (The Untouchables), born in Fitchburg, Massachusetts (d. 2011)
- Feb 1 Gordon Hobday, English scientist (developed penicillin with Alexander Fleming, worked on Ibuprofen), born in New Sawley, Derbyshire (d. 2015)
- Feb 2 Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet (d. 1985)
- Feb 4 Colin Morris, British playwright and documentary filmmaker (d. 1996)
- Feb 4 David Vassall Cox, British composer ("Lillibullero"), born in Broadstairs, Isle of Thanet, England (d. 1997)
- Feb 4 Gavin Ewart, English poet (Pleasures of the Flesh), born in London, England (d. 1995)
- Feb 4 Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha, 41st master of the Oveyssi-Shahmaghsoudi Sufi Order (d. 1980)
- Feb 6 John Crank, British mathematician, born in Hindley, United Kingdom (d. 2006)
- Feb 8 Betty Field, American actress (Of Mice and Men, Kings Row, Bus Stop), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1973)
- Feb 9 Tex Hughson, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- Feb 10 Edward R. Roybal, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1963-93), born in Pecos, New Mexico (d. 2005)
- Feb 10 Oscar "TV Slim" Wills, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist ("Flatfoot Sam"), born in Houston, Texas (d. 1969)
- Feb 11 Bernice Neugarten, American physiologist (work on psychology of aging), born in Norfolk, Nebraska (d. 2001)
- Feb 12 Joseph L Alioto, American politician (Mayor-San Francisco), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1998)
- Feb 12 Karl Hubert Rudolf Schiske, Austrian composer (Vom Tode), born in Győr, Danube Monarchy (now Hungary) (d. 1969)
- Feb 13 James Griffith, American actor (Sheriff of Cochise), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1993)
- Feb 13 John Reed, British comic actor and singer (Gilbert & Sullivan; D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 1951-79), born in Close House, Durham, England (d. 2010)
- Feb 14 Edward Platt, American actor (Get Smart - "The Chief"; North By Northwest), born in Staten Island, New York (d. 1974)
- Feb 14 Marcel Bigeard, French general (WWII, First Indochina War, Algerian War), politician, and writer, born in Toul, France (d. 2010)
- Feb 14 Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese film director and screenwriter (Joi-uchi), born in Otaru, Japan (d. 1996)
- Feb 14 Wawrzyniec Żuławski, Polish composer, born in Zakopane, Poland, Russian Empire (d. 1957)
- Feb 15 Ian Ballantine, American publisher (Ballantine Books), born in New York City (d. 1995)
- Feb 15 Mary Jane Croft, American actress (Our Miss Brooks: The Lucy Show), born in Muncie, Indiana (d. 1999)
- Feb 15 Ronnie Aldrich, British easy listening and jazz pianist, arranger, and composer, born in Erith, Kent, England (d. 1993)
- Feb 16 Bill Doggett, American jazz and blues Hammond B-3 organist ("Honky Tonk"; "Funky Whistler"), pianist and arranger (The Inkspots; Ella Fitzgerald), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (d. 1996)
- Feb 16 Charlie Fowlkes, American baritone saxophonist (Count Basie Orchestra, 1953-80), born in New York City (d. 1980)
- Feb 17 Alexander Obolensky, Russian prince and English rugby union winger (4 caps; Leicester Tigers RUFC, Oxford Uni RFC), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1940)
- Feb 17 Don Tallon, Australian cricket wicket-keeper (21 Tests, 58 dismissals, 2 x 50s; Queensland CA), born in Bundaberg, Australia (d. 1984)
- Feb 17 Raf Vallone, Italian actor (El Cid, 2 Women, Greek Tycoon), born in Tropea, Italy (d. 2002)
- Feb 17 Vivian McGrath, Australian tennis player (Australian C'ship 1937), born in Merrendee, Australia (d. 1978)
- Feb 18 Betty Gathergood, British curator (Dr. Johnson's House), born in the United States (d. 1996) [1]
- Feb 18 Jean Drapeau, Canadian politician (Mayor of Montreal 1954-57, 1960-86), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1999)
Eddie Arcaro (1916-1997)
Feb 19 American Racing Hall of Fame jockey (Triple Crown 1941 Whirlaway, 1948 Citation), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Feb 20 Julius Juzeliūnas, Lithuanian composer and organist (The Game), born in Čepolė, Lithuania (d. 2001)
- Feb 23 George Abel, Canadian ice hockey player (Olympic gold 1952), born in Melville, Saskatchewan (d. 1996)
- Feb 23 Martindale Sidwell, English organist and conductor, born in Little Packington, England (d. 1998)
- Feb 25 Ralph Baldwin, Canadian harness driver and trainer (11 major world records; Hambletonian Stakes 1963, 73), born in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan (d. 1982)
- Feb 25 Reinhard Bendix, German sociologist (d. 1991)
Jackie Gleason (1916-1987)
Feb 26 American comedian (The Jackie Gleason Show; The Honeymooners), actor (Requiem For A Heavyweight; The Hustler), composer, and conductor (Music for Lovers Only), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Feb 26 Mordecai Seter, Israeli composer, born in Novorossiysk, Russia (d. 1994)
- Feb 26 Ross Gregory, Australian cricket batsman (2 Tests, 2 x 50; Victoria), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1942)
- Feb 28 Svend Asmussen, Danish jazz violinist, known as "The Fiddling Viking" (The Swe-Danes), born in Copenhagen, Denmark (d. 2017)
Famous Deaths
- Feb 1 Anton Simon, Russian composer, dies at 65
- Feb 6 Isla van Diest, Belgian physician, 1st female doctor and 1st female university graduate in Belgium, dies at 73
- Feb 6 Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan writer (b. 1867)
- Feb 8 Gustav Falke, German author and poet (Der Mann im Nebel), dies at 63
- Feb 9 Hynek Vojáček, Czech composer, dies at 90
- Feb 9 Jack Barrett, Australian cricketer (2 Tests for Australia 1890), dies at 49
- Feb 12 Richard Dedekind, German mathematician (Nature & Meaning of Numbers), dies at 84
- Feb 14 Petko Todorov, Bulgarian writer (Zmejova), dies at 36
- Feb 15 Nikolay Lodizhensky, Russian diplomat and composer, dies at 73
- Feb 16 Jeltje de Bosch Kemper, Dutch feminist, dies at 79
- Feb 16 [Gerard] Jan Ligthart, Dutch educator (Ot & Sien), dies at 57
- Feb 19 Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist (shock waves, Mach number), philosopher and psychologist, dies at 78
- Feb 20 Klas Arnoldson, Swedish politician and pacifist (Nobel Peace 1908), dies at 71
- Feb 23 George Martin, English composer and organist, dies at 71
- Feb 28 Henry James, American-British writer (Bostonians), dies at 72
- Feb 29 Edward H J Keurvels, Flemish conductor/composer (Parisina), dies at 62
