Historical Events
- Feb 1 1st "March of Time" newsreel premieres at the Capitol
- Feb 1 James T Farrell finishes his "Studs Lonigan" trilogy
- Feb 2 Leonarde Keeler first uses his polygraph machine on criminals later convicted of assault on its findings in Portage, Wisconsin
- Feb 6 "Monopoly" board game goes on sale for 1st time
- Feb 6 1st election to allow women to vote in Turkey
Vinson US Champion
Feb 9 US female Figure Skating championship won by Maribel Vinson
- Feb 9 US male Figure Skating championship won by Robin Lee
- Feb 11 -11°F (-24°C), Ifrane, Morocco (African record low)
- Feb 11 1st US airplane flight with auto slung beneath fuselage, NY
Radar Demonstrated
Feb 12 First secret demonstration of radio signals detecting aircraft by Robert Watson-Watt and Arnold Wilkins at Daventry, England
- Feb 12 Great airship, USS Macon lost in a storm off Point Sur, California with the loss of two lives, with 64 people saved
- Feb 13 1st US surgical operation for relief of angina pectoris, Cleveland
- Feb 13 Bruno Hauptmann found guilty of kidnap & murder of Lindbergh infant. He proclaimed his innocence to the end.
- Feb 19 Clifford Odets' "Awake & Sing" premieres in NYC
- Feb 20 Dane Caroline Mikkelson is 1st woman to land on Antarctica
The Little Colonel
Feb 22 "The Little Colonel" premieres starring Shirley Temple, Lionel Barrymore and Bill Robinson, featuring famous stair dance with Hollywood's first interracial dance couple
- Feb 22 Airplanes are no longer permitted to fly over the White House
Luftwaffe Re-forms
Feb 26 Existence of re-formed German Luftwaffe revealed (banned in 1920 by Treaty of Versailles) with Reichsmarshall Hermann Göring as commander-in-chief
- Feb 26 RADAR (Radio Detection and Ranging) first demonstrated by Robert Watson-Watt
Academy Awards
Feb 27 7th Academy Awards: "It Happened One Night", Clark Gable, and Claudette Colbert win
- Feb 28 Amsterdam Hotel of the Red Lion gets sidewalk permit
- Feb 28 Ladby Ship is discovered within a Viking grave on the island of Funen in Denmark by amateur archaeologist Poul Helweg Mikkelsen
- Feb 28 Wallace Carothers manufactures 1st nylon polymer
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Ruth Clarke, British teacher, social activist, and religious leader (Moderator - General Assembly of the United Reform Church), born in England (d. 2021)
- Feb 1 Vladimir Viktorovich Aksyonov, USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 22, T-2)
- Feb 2 Pete Brown, American golfer (first African-American to win on PGA Tour, Waco 1964), born in Port Gibson, Mississippi (d. 2015)
- Feb 3 Johnny "Guitar" Watson, American R&B and funk guitarist ("Space Guitar"; "A Real Mother for Ya"), born in Houston, Texas (d. 1996)
- Feb 4 Martti Talvela, Finnish operatic bass (Bayreuth, 1960-85 ; Metropolitan Opera, 1968–87), born in Hiitola, Finland (d. 1989) [1]
- Feb 4 Wallis Mathias, Pakistan cricket batsman (21 Tests; first non-Muslim to play for Pakistan), born in Karachi, Pakistan (d. 1994)
- Feb 5 Alex Harvey, Scottish rock and blues singer (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1982)
- Feb 5 John J "Jannie" Geldenhuys, South African army general (Chief of the South African Defence Force, 1985-90; Chief of the Army, 1980-85), born in Kroonstad, Orange Free State, South Africa (d. 2018)
- Feb 7 Herb Kohl, American businessman (Kohls department stores; Milwaukee Bucks, 1985-2014), politician (US Senator (D) from Wisconsin, 1989-2013), and philanthropist, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 2023)
- Feb 8 Vincent Weir, 3rd baron Inverforth, Scottish shipping magnate
- Feb 9 Miroslav Blažević, Bosnian soccer manager (Switzerland, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, NK Zagreb, Hajduk Split, Grasshoppers, Dinamo Zagreb, Nantes, PAOK), born in Travnik, Bosnia & Herzegovina (d. 2023)
- Feb 10 Conrad Klapheck, German surrealist and pop-art painter and graphic artist (typewriters), born in Düsseldorf, Germany (d. 2023)
- Feb 10 Salvador Pueyo, Spanish composer (Abstracciones), and educator (Barcelona Conservatory, 1987-present), born in Barcelona, Spain
- Feb 10 Theodore Antoniou, Greek conductor and composer (Paean, Celebration), born in Athens (d. 2018)
- Feb 11 Bent Lorentzen, Danish orchestral, electronic, and opera composer, born in Stenvad, Denmark (d. 2018)
- Feb 11 Gene Vincent [Vincent Eugene Craddock], American rock guitarist and vocalist ("Be-Bop-A-Lula"), born in Norfolk, Virginia (d. 1971)
- Feb 12 Gene McDaniels, American vocalist ("A Hundred Pounds Of Clay"), songwriter ("I Feel Like Making Love") and actor (Young Swingers), born in Kansas City, Kansas (d. 2011)
- Feb 12 Ken Still, American golfer (3 PGA Tour titles), born in Tacoma, Washington (d. 2017)
- Feb 13 Don Panoz, American pharmaceutical entrepreneur and motorsports impresario (ALMS - American Le Mans Series), born in Alliance, Ohio (d. 2018)
- Feb 13 Tommy Jacobs, American golfer (US Open 1964 runner-up; US Masters 1966 runner-up), born in Denver, Colorado (d. 2022)
- Feb 14 Christel Adelaar, Dutch actress (Pipo the Clown - "Mammaloe"), born in Semarang, Dutch East Indies (d. 2013)
- Feb 14 David Wilson, Scottish administrator and 27th Governor of Hong Kong (1987-92), born in Alloa, Scotland
Mickey Wright (1935-2020)
Feb 14 American golfer (13 major titles; 82 LPGA Tour wins), born in San Diego, California
- Feb 15 John R Block, US Secretary of Agriculture (1981-86)
- Feb 15 Roger B Chaffee, Lt Cmdr USN/astronaut, born in Grand Rapids Michigan
- Feb 15 Susan Brownmiller, feminist author (Against Our Wills), born in Brooklyn, New York
Sonny Bono (1935-1998)
Feb 16 American musician, vocalist (Sonny & Cher - "I Got You Babe"), songwriter ("Bang Bang"; "Needles and Pins"), actor (Hairspray), and politician (US Congress (R)-CA, 1995-98), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Feb 16 Bradford Parkinson, American engineer and inventor (Global Positioning System), born in Madison, Wisconsin
- Feb 16 Brian Bedford, British actor (Coronet Blue - "Anthony"), born in Morley, West Yorkshire, England (d. 2016)
- Feb 16 Kenneth Price, ceramic artist and print maker (Hot Bottoms; Tamed), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2012)
- Feb 16 Robin Clark, New Zealand-born chemist (early transition metals and highly coordinated complexes), born in Rangiora, New Zealand (d. 2018)
- Feb 17 Christina Pickles, UK-born American actress (St Elsewhere), born in Halifax, England
- Feb 17 Johnny Bush, American country singer, born in Houston, Texas (d. 2020)
- Feb 18 Bosko Petrovic, Croatian jazz musician, founder of the Zagreb Jazz Quartet, born in Bjelovar (d. 2011)
- Feb 18 Michel Aoun, President of Lebanon (2016-present), born in Haret Hreik, Lebanon
- Feb 18 Savvas Theodoridis, Greek soccer goalkeeper (12 caps; Olympiacos), born in Athens, Greece (d. 2020)
- Feb 18 Sergei Cortez, Chilean-Belarusian composer (Jubilee and The Bear; Giordano Bruno), born in San Antonio, Chile (d. 2016)
- Feb 20 Raven Wilkinson, American ballerina, first African American woman to dance with major ballet company, born in New York City (d. 2018)
- Feb 21 Jean Pelletier, French Canadian politician (Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, 1993–2001; Mayor of Quebec, 1977-89), born in Chicoutimi, Quebec (d. 2009)
- Feb 21 Mark McManus, Scottish actor (Taggart; 2000 Weeks; Ned Kelly), born in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Scotland (d. 1994)
- Feb 22 Ineke Haas-Berger, Dutch politician (PvdA), born in Abcoude-Baambrugge, Netherlands
Sally Jessy Raphael (89 years old)
Feb 25 American TV talk show host (Sally), born in Easton, Pennsylvania
- Feb 26 Azzedine Alaïa, Tunisian-born fashion designer, born in Tunis, Tunisia (d. 2017)
- Feb 26 Dorval Rodrigues, Brazilian soccer right winger (13 caps; Santos FC, SE Palmeiras), born in Porto Alegre, Brazil (d. 2021)
- Feb 27 Alberto Remedios, British opera & concert singer, born in Liverpool, England (d. 2016)
- Feb 27 Mirella Freni, Italian lyric soprano (Madame Butterfly), born in Modena, Italy (d. 2020)
- Feb 28 Bill Haller, American baseball umpire (AL 1961, 63-82; 15 x AL C'ship Series games; 27 x World Series games; 4 x MLB All-Star games), born in Joliet, Illinois (d. 2022)
- Feb 28 Clive Halse, cricketer (South African fast bowler on 1963-64 Aust/NZ tour)
Famous Deaths
- Feb 3 Hugo Junkers, German engineer and aircraft designer, dies at 76
- Feb 8 Max Liebermann, German impressionist painter and graphic artist, dies at 87
- Feb 9 Karl Nef, Swiss musicologist, dies at 61
- Feb 12 Auguste Escoffier, French chef and writer (Le Guide Culinaire), dies at 88
- Feb 13 Vernon Lee [Violet Paget], British author (Satan the Master, Gospels of Anarchy), dies at 78
- Feb 23 Jan Duiker, Dutch architect (Hotel Gooiland), dies at 44
- Feb 28 (Francisca) "Chiquinha" Gonzaga, Brazilian pianist, composer, and 1st female conductor in Brazil, dies at 87
- Feb 28 Alexander Willem Frederik Idenburg, Dutch politician of the Anti Revolutionary Party and Governor-General of Dutch Indies (1909-16), dies at 73
