Historical Events
Discovery of Homo Erectus
Feb 3 Paleoanthropologist Davidson Black reports his findings on the ancient human fossils found at Zhoukoudian, China in the journal Nature and declares them to be a new species he names 'Sinanthropus pekinensis' (now known as 'Homo erectus')
- Feb 6 A woman dubbed Anna Anderson [possibly Franziska Schanzkowska] arrives in NYC, using the alias "Anastasia Tschaikovsky" claims to be Grand Duchess Anastasia, daughter of Tsar Nicholas II
- Feb 7 1st solo flight from England to Australia takes off from Croydon, piloted by Australian aviator Bert Hinkler (arrives 15 ½ days later)
- Feb 8 1st transatlantic TV image received at Hartsdale, NY
- Feb 11 II Winter Olympic Games open in St Moritz, Switzerland
Olympic Gold
Feb 13 Clas Thunberg of Finland wins his 4th Olympic gold medal when he dead-heats with Norway’s Bernt Evensen in the 500m speed skating at the St. Moritz Winter Games
- Feb 13 Legendary Norwegian speed skater Ivar Ballangrud wins the first of 2 straight 5,000m Olympic gold medals when he beats Julius Skutnabb of Finland by 9 seconds in St. Moritz
- Feb 14 Clas Thunberg of Finland wins his 2nd gold medal of the Games and 5th career title when he takes out the 1,500m speed skating at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics
- Feb 14 Per-Erik Hedlund leads a Swedish sweep of the medals in the 50k cross-country at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Gustaf Jonsson & Volgar Andersson take the minor medals
- Feb 17 American brothers, Jennison and John Heaton fight out the top placings in the cresta (now known as skeleton) at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Jennison takes the gold by 1.0s
- Feb 17 Johan Grøttumsbråten leads a Norwegian sweep of the medals in the 18k cross country at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; he also wins the Nordic combined gold the following day
- Feb 18 Johan Grøttumsbråten of Norway wins the Nordic combined gold at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; doubles up with the 18k cross country gold the previous day
- Feb 18 Norway goes 1-2 in the ski jumping at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics with Alf Andersen taking gold ahead of Sigmund Ruud
Olympic Gold
Feb 18 Sonja Henie of Norway wins the women’s figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympic Games; her first of 3 consecutive titles in the event
- Feb 18 USA 2 beats USA 1 by 0.5s for the 5-man bobsleigh gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Olympics; Germany 2 takes bronze
- Feb 19 Canada retains the Olympic ice hockey title when they rout Switzerland, 13-0 in the final round in St. Moritz; Canadian left-wing Dave Trottier top scores with 15 points
- Feb 19 Gillis Grafström of Sweden wins his 3rd consecutive Olympic men’s figure skating gold medal at St. Moritz; one of only 2 athletes to win gold at both Winter & Summer Games (won figure skating Antwerp 1920)
- Feb 19 II Winter Olympic Games close at St Moritz, Switzerland
- Feb 19 World champion French team Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet win the Olympic pairs figure skating gold medal at the St. Moritz Winter Games; the couple marry in 1929 and take 2nd straight gold in 1932
- Feb 22 1st solo flight from England to Australia lands in Darwin, 15 ½ days after take off, piloted by Australian aviator Bert Hinkler
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Debbie Dean [Reba Smith], American pop singer and songwriter (Motown), born in Corbin, Kentucky (d. 2001)
- Feb 1 Eric Evans, English dean of St Paul's, born in Tenby, Wales (d. 1996)
- Feb 1 Peter Gordon Dorrell, British archaeologist and photographer (d. 1996)
- Feb 1 Sir Samuel "Sam" Edwards, Welsh physicist (condensed matter physics), born in Swansea, Wales (d. 2015)
- Feb 1 Stuart Whitman, American actor (Johnny Thunder; The Mark; The Comancheros; Cimarron Strip), born in San Francisco, California (d. 2020)
- Feb 1 Tom Lantos, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1981-2008), born in Budapest, Hungary (d. 2008)
- Feb 2 Ciriaco De Mita, Italian politician (Prime Minister of Italy, 1988-89; Member of European Parliament, 1984-88, 1999-2004 & 2009-14), born in Nusco, Campania, Italy (d. 2022)
- Feb 3 Alan Fluck, Scottish musical educator, born in South Wales (d. 1997)
- Feb 3 C V Gadkari, Indian cricket batsman (6 Tests, 1 x 50; Maharashtra, Services), born in Pune, India (d. 1998)
- Feb 4 Dave Ketchum, American character actor (Get Smart - "Agent 13"), and writer (Happy Days; The Love Boat), born in Quincy, Illinois)
- Feb 5 Andrew M Greeley, American Catholic priest, journalist (Chicago Sun-Times), author (The Cardinal Sins), and sociologist, born in Oak Park, Illinois (d. 2013)
- Feb 5 Pananayiotis Taki Vatikiotis, Middle Eastern scholar (d. 1997)
- Feb 7 Alphonse "Al" Smith [Fuzzy Smith], American MLB outfielder and third baseman (Cleveland Indians), born in Kirkwood, Missouri (d. 2002)
- Feb 8 Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher, American lawyer and civil rights activist (challenged University of Oklahoma segregation laws in Supreme Court and won), born in Chickasha, Oklahoma (d. 1995)
- Feb 8 Jack Larson, American actor (The Adventures of Superman - "Jimmy Olsen"), screenwriter, and librettist (Virgil Thomson's "Lord Byron"), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2015)
- Feb 8 Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (Concrete Jungle, Zorro, Zulu), born in Ferndale, Glamorgan (d. 1976)
- Feb 9 Frank Frazetta [Frazzetta], American fantasy illustrator of comic book, paperback, album cover art, born in Brooklyn, New York City (d. 2010)
- Feb 9 Rinus Michels, Dutch football coach (d. 2005)
- Feb 9 Roger Mudd, American Emmy and Peabody Award-winning journalist and TV news anchor (CBS Weekend News; NBC Evening News; Meet The Press), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2021)
- Feb 10 Gene Taylor, American politician (Rep-D-St Louis, 1973-89), born in Sarcoxie, Missouri (d. 1998)
- Feb 11 Archibald Forster, British chemical engineer and businessman (CEO of Esso UK, 1982-93), born in London, England (d. 2001)
- Feb 11 Conrad Janis, American actor (Mork & Mindy - "Frederick"; Quark; Bonino), and traditional jazz trombonist (Beverly Hills Unlisted Jazz Band), born in New York City (d. 2022)
- Feb 11 Gerry Alexander, West Indian cricket wicket-keeper (25 Tests, top score 108, 90 dismissals), born in Kingston, Jamaica (d. 2011)
- Feb 11 Raoul Cita, R&B pianist and songwriter (Harptones), born in New York City (d. 2014)
- Feb 14 Ben Garrido Blaz, American politician (Rep-R-Guam, 1985-93), born in Agana, Guam (d. 2014)
- Feb 14 Juan Garcia Hortelano, Spanish author (Tormenta de verano - Summer Storm), born in Madrid, Spain (d. 1992)
- Feb 15 (Mary) Norma Procter, British contralto singer, born in Cleethorpes, England (d. 2017)
- Feb 15 Norman Bridwell, American author and cartoonist (Clifford the Big Red Dog), born in Kokomo, Indiana (d. 2014)
- Feb 17 Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress (La Divina Infiel; The Shadow of the Bat), and singer ("Es tarde ya" (It's Too Late Now)), born in Ponce, Puerto Rico (d. 2013)
- Feb 18 Jim McElreath, American auto racer (California 500, 1970), born in Arlington, Texas (d. 2017)
- Feb 18 Tom Johnson, Canadian NHL ice hockey defenseman, 1947-65 (5 x Stanley Cups - Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins), and executive (Bruins - 2 x Stanley Cups), born in Baldur, Manitoba (d. 2007)
- Feb 18 Tom Jones, American musical theatre lyricist (The Fantasticks; 110 In the Shade), born in Littlefield, Texas (d. 2023) [1]
- Feb 19 Garland F. Pinholster, American college basketball coach (USA: gold Pan American Games 1963; Oglethorpe University 1956-66), born in Clyattville, Georgia (d. 2020)
- Feb 19 Mike Sammes, British arranger, session, pop and easy-listening vocalist (The Mike Sammes Singers; Disneyland; The Beatles - "I Am The Walrus", "Good Night"; Olivia Newton-John - "Let Me Be There"), born in Reigate, England (d. 2001)
- Feb 20 Donald Longmore, British cardiac surgeon (part of first UK heart transplant team), born in Birchington-on-Sea, England (d. 2023)
- Feb 20 Elroy Face, baseball pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates)
- Feb 21 Cecil Sandford, British motorcycle road racer (125cc world champion 1952; 250cc world champion 1957), born in Blockley, England (d. 2023)
- Feb 21 Philip von Schantz, Swedish painter, born in Norrköping, Sweden (d. 1998)
- Feb 22 Bruce Forsyth, British entertainer and television presenter (The Generation Game), born in London, England (d. 2017)
- Feb 22 Paul Dooley, American actor, writer and comedian(16 Candles, Strange Brew, Wedding), born in Parkersburg, West Virginia
- Feb 23 David Somerset, 11th Duke of Beaufort, British aristocrat, art dealer, and peer, born in the UK (d. 2017)
- Feb 23 Taini Jamison (née Royal), New Zealand netball coach (New Zealand 1967-71; World C'ship 1967), born in Rotorua, New Zealand (d. 2023)
- Feb 23 Vasily Grigoryevich Lazarev, Soviet Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz 12, Soyuz 18A), born in Siberia, USSR (d. 1990)
- Feb 24 Al Lettieri, American actor (The Godfather; Pulp; Mr Majestyk; Getaway), born in New York City (d. 1975)
- Feb 24 Michael Harrington, American author (Fragments of Century; The Other America), radio commentator, and political activist (Founder of the Democratic Socialists of America), born in St. Louis, Missouri (d. 1989)
- Feb 25 Larry Gelbart, American television writer, playwright, director and author, best known as creator and producer of M*A*S*H, born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2009)
- Feb 25 Paul Elvstrøm, Danish yachtsman (4 Olympic gold, Finn class 1948, 52, 56, 60), born in Hellerup, Denmark (d. 2016)
- Feb 25 Richard Stern, American writer (Pacific Tremors), and educator (University of Chicago, 1955-2002), born in New York City (d. 2013)
- Feb 25 Sir Keith Williamson, British Royal Air Force commander (Chief of the Air Staff, 1982–1985), born in Leytonstone, England (d. 2018)
- Feb 26 Aldonis Kalniņš, Latvian compose (Latgalē), and pedagogue, born in Brakos, Užava parish, Soviet Union (now Latvia)
- Feb 26 Anatoli Vassilyevich Filipchenko, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz 7; Soyuz, 16), born in Davydovka, USSR (d. 2022)
Fats Domino (1928-2017)
Feb 26 American rhythm & blues piano player, singer, and star of the early rock ’n’ roll era ("Blueberry Hill"; "Blue Monday"; "Walkin' To New Orleans"), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Ariel Sharon (1928-2014)
Feb 26 Israeli general, politician and Prime Minister of Israel (2001-06), born in Kfar Malal, Mandatory Palestine
- Feb 26 John Ewart, Australian radio, stage, and screen actor (The Muddle-Headed Wombat.; The Picture Show Man), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 1994)
- Feb 26 Monique Leyrac, French Canadian singer ("Mon Pays"), and actress (Act of the Heart), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2019)
- Feb 27 Josh Greenfeld, American author and screenwriter (A Child Called Noah), born in Malden, Massachusetts (d. 2018)
- Feb 28 Tom Aldredge, American actor (The Sopranos, What About Bob, Nurse, Mind Snatchers), born in Dayton, Ohio (d. 2011)
- Feb 29 Alan Loveday, New Zealand and British violinist, born in Palmerston North, New Zealand (d. 2016)
- Feb 29 Joss Ackland, British actor (Queenie, To Kill a Priest), born in London, England (d. 2023) [1]
- Feb 29 McHenry Boatwright, American operatic singer, born in Tennille, Georgia (d. 1994)
- Feb 29 Tempest Storm [Annie Blanche Banks], American burlesque and film performer, born in Eastman, Georgia (d. 2021)
- Feb 29 Terry Lewis, Australian disgraced police officer (Commissioner of the Queensland Police Service, 1976-87), and convict (corruption, forgery), born in Australia (d. 2023)
Famous Weddings
Mary Astor
Feb 26 American actress Mary Astor (21) weds American film director Kenneth Hawks (30) at her family home "Moorcrest" in the Hollywood Hills, until his death in 1930
Famous Deaths
H. H. Asquith (1852-1928)
Feb 15 British Prime Minister (Liberal: 1908-16), dies at 75
- Feb 16 Eddie Foy Sr. [Edwin Fitzgerald], Irish-American actor, singer and dancer (A Favorite Fool), dies at 71
- Feb 20 Antonio Abetti, Italian astronomer, dies at 81
- Feb 29 Adolphe Appia, Swiss set designer and theorist (Wagner opera sets), dies at 65
- Feb 29 Armando Diaz, Italian marshal and minister of War (1922-24), dies at 66
- Feb 29 Ina Coolbrith, first poet laureate of California (b. 1841)
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