Historical Events
- Feb 1 US Army arrives at Siegfriedlinie
- Feb 2 Escape attempt at Mauthausen concentration camp
- Feb 3 Almost 1,000 Flying Fortresses drop 3,000 tons of bombs on Berlin
- Feb 3 Walt Disney's "3 Caballeros" released
Yalta Conference
Feb 3 WWII: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in Yalta, Crimea, Soviet Union for the "Big Three" Yalta Conference
Conference of Interest
Feb 4 Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin meet at Yalta in the Crimea to discuss the final phase of World War II
- Feb 5 Big Racket becomes fastest race horse at 69t.6 kph (440 yd/20.8 s)
'I Shall Return'
Feb 5 US troops under General Douglas MacArthur enter Manila in the Philippines after a month long battle, ending three years of Japanese military occupation
- Feb 6 WWII: Russian Red Army crosses the Oder River between Poland and Germany
- Feb 6 WWII: US 8th Air Force bombs oil facilities in Magdeburg and Chemnitz, Germany
MacArthur's Manila Return
Feb 7 General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila
- Feb 7 Harry Truman appoints Irwin C. Mollison judge of US Customs Court
- Feb 7 London, Washington and Moscow discuss final phase of World War II
- Feb 7 US 76th/5th Infantry divisions begin crossing the Sauer river near Echternach, Luxembourg, and breach the Siegfried Line
- Feb 8 Allied air attack on Goch, Kleef, Kalkar and Reichswald
Brown to Coach Cleveland
Feb 8 Paul Brown agrees to coach the new American football expansion team in Cleveland, which would later be named the Cleveland Browns after their coach
- Feb 9 -Feb 10] Germany destroys Ruhrdammen
- Feb 9 The Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Venturer sinks U-Boat 864 off the coast of Norway
- Feb 9 WAAF-corporal flies along the tail of a Spitfire
- Feb 10 "Rum and Coca-Cola" by the Andrews Sisters hits #1
- Feb 11 1st gas turbine propeller-driven airplane flight tested, Downey, CA
Conference of Interest
Feb 11 Declaration of Liberated Europe signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin after the Yalta Conference
- Feb 12 SF selected for site of UN Conference
- Feb 12 Tornado strikes Montgomery, Alabama, with estimated Fujita scale of F3 intensity, kills 26, destroys about 100 houses, two warehouses, and a freight train;
- Feb 12 Tornado strikes near York and Livingston, Alabama, with estimated Fujita scale of F4 intensity, kills 11 people
Bombing of Dresden
Feb 13 Allied planes begin bombing the German city of Dresden, resulting in a devastating firestorm that destroys the city and kills over 22,000 people
- Feb 13 Gerbrandy Dutch government refuses Dutch Jewish right to buy
- Feb 13 Soviet forces capture Budapest after a 49-day battle with Nazi Germany that killed 159,000 people
- Feb 14 Peru, Paraguay, Chile & Ecuador joins UN
- Feb 14 Second day of the bombing of Dresden by Allied air forces
- Feb 14 World War II: Mostar is liberated by Yugoslav partisans.
- Feb 14 World War II: Prague is bombed probably due to a mistake in the orientation of the pilots bombing Dresden.
- Feb 16 US forces land on Corregidor, complete conquest on March 3
- Feb 16 Venezuela declares war on Nazi Germany
- Feb 16 WWII: US Navy 5th Fleet aircraft carriers and planes begin two-day bombardment of airfields and aircraft plants near Tokyo, Japan; over 500 hundred Japanese aircraft are destroyed
- Feb 19 980 Japanese soldiers reportedly killed by crocodiles in 2 days on Ramree Island, Burma
- Feb 19 Brotherhood Day-1st celebrated
Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima
Feb 19 US 5th Fleet launches invasion of Iwo Jima against the Japanese with 30,000 US Marines
- Feb 21 Battle of Monte Castello (Italy): Allied forces, including the first land battle of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, defeat Germans after three months of fierce fighting in the foothills of the Apennine Mountains
- Feb 21 Dutch Archbishop of Utrecht Johannes de Jong calls to the Allies for help with war casualties following the Nazi occupation of Netherlands
- Feb 21 Operation Veritable: British Army captures Goch from Germany, forcing German retreat away from the Rhineland
- Feb 21 WWII: US Army 10th Armored Division overthrows Germany's Orscholz line of defense
- Feb 22 Arab League forms (Cairo)
- Feb 22 British troops take Ramree Island, Burma
- Feb 22 Canadian 3rd Division occupies Moyland
- Feb 23 2nd Dutch government of Gerbrandy forms in London
- Feb 23 Canadian troops occupy Kalkar
- Feb 23 Operation Grenade: US Lieutenant General Simpson's 9th Army crosses Ruhr
- Feb 23 US Marines raise the flag of the United States on top of Mt. Suribachi, Iwo Jima. Pulitzer Prize winning photo of which by Joe Rosenthall later became iconic, inspiring the Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture
- Feb 24 Egypt & Syria declare war on nazi-Germany
- Feb 24 Egyptian Premier Ahmed Maher Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree
- Feb 24 Manila freed from Japanese
- Feb 25 WWII: Turkey declares war on Germany
- Feb 26 Very heavy bombing on Berlin by 8th US Air Force
- Feb 27 Battle of US 94 Infantry
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Feb 28 Film adaptation of Betty Smith's novel "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" premieres; director Elia Kazan's first feature film stars Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, and Peggy Ann Garner
Famous Birthdays
- Feb 1 Ole Buck, Danish classical pianist and composer, born in Copenhagen, Denmark
- Feb 1 Yasuhiro Takai, Japanese baseball first baseman, designated hitter and broadcaster (NPB record 27 career pinch-hit home runs; Hankyu Braves), born in Imabari, Japan (d. 2019)
- Feb 2 Edna Wright, American pop singer (Honey Cone - "Want Ads"), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 2020)
- Feb 2 Ronnie Goodson, American singer (Hi-Lites), born in New Jersey (d. 1980)
- Feb 3 Bob Griese, NFL quarterback (Miami Dolphins, 1971 Player of Year)
- Feb 3 Johnny Cymbal [Blair], American pop-rock singer-songwriter ("Mr. Bass Man"), and record producer, born in Ochiltree, Scotland (d. 1993)
- Feb 3 Willeke Alberti [Verbruggen], Dutch pop singer ("De winter was lang" ("The winter was long"), and actress (De Kleine Waarheid (Small Truth)), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Feb 4 John Stubblefield, American jazz saxophonist, flute and oboe player (Mingus Big Band), born in Little Rock, Arkansas (d. 2005)
- Feb 5 Sarah Weddington, American attorney (represented "Jane Roe" in Roe v. Wade before US States Supreme Court), born in Abilene, Texas (d. 2021)
Bob Marley (1945-1981)
Feb 6 Jamaican reggae musician ("Exodus"; "One Love"; "No Woman No Cry"; "Three Little Birds"), born in Nine Mile, Saint Ann, Jamaica
- Feb 7 Gerald Davies, British rugby union outside back (46 caps Wales, 5 British & Irish Lions; Barbarians FC, London Welsh RFC, Cambridge University RUFC, Cardiff FC), born in Llansaint, Wales
- Feb 7 Ian Jack, Scottish journalist
- Feb 7 Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (In the Name of the Father, Inception), born in Warrington, England (d. 2011)
- Feb 8 Taffy Thomas, Welsh thoroughbred jockey (Singapore Gold Cup 1977, Vernons Sprint Cup 1978, King's Stand Stakes 1983), born in Caernarvon, Wales (d. 2022)
- Feb 9 Bill Bergey, American NFL player, born in South Dayton, New York
- Feb 9 Mia Farrow [Maria], American actress (Rosemary's Baby; The Purple Rose of Cairo; Hannah and Her Sisters), and human rights activist, born in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 10 John Hayes, secretary-general (British Law Society)
- Feb 11 Ralph Doubell, Australian athlete (Olympic gold 800m WR 1:44.40 1968), born in Melbourne, Australia
- Feb 12 Cliff De Young, actor (F/X, Hunger, Shock Treatment), born in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 12 David D. Friedman, American economist, physicist, legal scholar, and libertarian theorist (The Machinery of Freedom), born in New York City
- Feb 12 Don Wilson, American baseball pitcher (2 x no-hitters 1967, 69; MLB All Star 1971; Houston Astros), born in Monroe, Louisiana (d. 1975)
- Feb 12 Joe Schermie [Schermetzler], American bass player (Three Dog Night - "Joy to the World"), born in Madison, Wisconsin (d. 2002)
- Feb 12 Maud Adams, Swedish actress (Octopussy, Rollerball, Tattoo), born in Lulea, Sweden,
- Feb 12 Roman Tam [Pak-sin], Hong Kong singer knownn as the "Grand Godfather of Cantopop", born in Baise, Guangxi, China (d. 2002)
- Feb 13 David Tremlett, English artist, born in Dartford, United Kingdom
- Feb 13 Keith Nichols, English jazz musician, born in Essex, England
- Feb 13 Ken Sitzberger, American diver and broadcaster (Olympic gold 3m springboard 1964), born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa (d. 1984)
- Feb 13 King Floyd, American soul singer-songwriter ("Groove Me"), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2006)
- Feb 13 Roy Dyke, English rock drummer (Ashton, Gardner & Dyke), born in Liverpool, England
- Feb 13 Simon Sharma, English historian (A History of Britain), born in London, England
- Feb 14 Gregory Hines, American actor and dancer (White Nights, Taps), born in New York City (d. 2003)
- Feb 14 Hans-Adam, Prince of Liechtenstein (1989-), born in Zürich, Switzerland
- Feb 14 K M Jenkins, British director of personnel (Royal Mail)
- Feb 14 Ladislao Mazurkiewicz, Uruguayan soccer goalkeeper (36 caps; Atlético Mineiro), born in Piriápolis, Uruguay (d. 2013)
- Feb 14 Vic Briggs, British guitarist (The Animals, 1966-68), and producer; later known as Antion Vikram Singh, he created Sikhi devotional and Hawaiian music, born in Twickenham, England (d. 2021)
- Feb 14 William Hill Boner, American politician (Rep-D-TN, 1979-88), born in Nashville, Tennessee
- Feb 15 Douglas Hofstadter, American academic and writer, born in New York City
- Feb 15 John Helliwell, British rock Saxophonist (Supertramp - "The Logical Song"), born in Todmorden, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
- Feb 16 Julio Morales, Uruguayan soccer striker (24 caps; Racing Montevideo, Nacional, Austria Wien), born in Montevideo, Uruguay (d. 2022)
- Feb 16 Pete Christlieb, American jazz bebop and session saxophonist (Steely Dan - "Deacon Blues; "FM"; Natalie Cole; Quincy Jones; Tom Scott; Tom Waits - "Nighthawks at the Diner"), born in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 17 Brenda Fricker, actress (My Left Foot), born in Dublin, Ireland
- Feb 17 Patricia Morrow, American actress (Rita-Peyton Place), born in Los Angeles, California
- Feb 18 Judy Rankin, American golfer (US Open, Titleholders C'ship 1972 runner-up; 26 LPGA Tour wins), born in St Louis, Missouri
- Feb 18 Michael Nader, American actor (Peter-Gidget, Dex Dexter-Dynasty), born in St Louis, Missouri
- Feb 19 Jon Whiteley, Scottish child actor (Moonfleet) and art historian, born in Monymusk, Scotland
- Feb 19 Michael Nader, American actor (Dynasty, All My Children), born in St Louis, Missouri (d. 2021)
- Feb 19 Thomas Brasch, German writer and film director, born in Westow, England (d. 2001)
- Feb 20 Alan Hull, British folk singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Lindisfarne - "Lady Eleanor"), born in Benwell, Newcastle upon Tyne, England (d. 1995)
- Feb 20 Andrew Bergman, director/screenwriter (Soapdish, Honeymoon in Vegas)
- Feb 20 Annu Kapoor, Indian actor (Vicky Donor), born in Bhopal, India
- Feb 20 Brion James, American actor (d. 1999)
- Feb 21 Sudhir Naik, Indian cricket batsman (3 Tests, 1 x 50; Bombay), born in Mumbai, India (d. 2023)
- Feb 22 Leslie Charleson, American actress (Monica-General Hospital), born in Kansas City, Missouri
- Feb 22 Michael Zagaris, American sports photographer (Oakland Athletics, San Francisco 49ers), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Feb 22 Oliver [Swofford], American pop singer ("Good Morning Starshine"; "Jean"), born in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina (d. 2000)
- Feb 23 Frank Murray, Northern Ireland police officer and superintendent (RUC Special Branch), known as the "Bionic Man" (d. 1996) [1]
- Feb 23 John Halsey, British rock drummer (The Rutles - "Barry Wom"), born in Highgate, North London, England
- Feb 25 Elkie Brooks [Elaine Bookbinder], British rock singer ("Pearl's A Singer"), born in Manchester, England
- Feb 25 Shivadhar Srinivasa Naipaul, Trinidad, novelist, essayist (Fireflies)
- Feb 26 Giannis Ioannidis, Greek basketball coach (12 × Greek League C'ship; 6 × Greek Cup winner; GS Larissas, Aris, Olympiacos, AEK, Greece 1982–90), born in Thessaloniki, Greece (d. 2023)
- Feb 26 Jan Klijnjan, Dutch soccer attacking midfielder (11 caps; FC Dordrecht, Sparta Rotterdam, FC Sochaux), born in Papendrecht, Netherlands (d. 2022)
- Feb 26 Mitch Ryder, American rocker (Detroit Wheels - "Devil With the Blue Dress"), born in Hamtramck, Michigan
- Feb 26 Peter Brock, Australian auto racer (3 x Australian Touring Car C'ship; 9 x Bathurst 500/1000; 9 x Sandown Endurance), born in Melbourne, Australia (d. 2006)
- Feb 27 Daniel Olbrychski, Polish actor (La Truite), born in Łowicz, Poland
- Feb 28 Alexei Ekimov, Russian-American physicist (2023 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for discovery of quantum dots), born in Soviet Union [1]
- Feb 28 Bubba Smith, American College Football Hall of Fame defensive end (Michigan State; Pro Bowl 1970, 71; First Team All Pro 1971; Super Bowl 1971; Baltimore Colts) and actor (Police Academy), born in Orange, Texas (d. 2011)
- Feb 28 Mimsy Farmer, American actress (Devil's Angel, Road to Salina), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Feb 28 Ronnie Rosman, American rock organist, and accordion player (Tommy James & The Shondells - "I Think We're Alone Now"; "Crystal Blue Persuasion"), born in Greensburg, PA
Famous Deaths
- Feb 1 Johan Huizinga, Dutch culture historian (Homo Ludens), dies at 72
- Feb 2 Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German Leipzig mayor and Nazi regime opponent (20th July plot), hanged at 60
- Feb 2 Joe Hunt, American tennis player (US National C'ship 1943), dies in fighter plane crash during training at 25
- Feb 3 José Roló, Mexican composer, dies at 61
- Feb 3 Roland Freisler, German Nazi judge (July 20th plotter case) and politician, dies at 51
- Feb 5 Violette Szabo, French WWII secret agent, is executed by Nazis at 23
- Feb 6 Jan Bos, Dutch resistance fighter, executed in Hoogkarspel in retribution for the unrelated killing of a Dutch Nazi guard, at 27
- Feb 6 Paul Bos, Dutch resistance fighter, executed
- Feb 6 Robert Brasillach, French author and journalist (editor in chief of the fascist weekly Je Suis Partout), controversially executed for treason by firing squad at 35
- Feb 9 George Maduro, Dutch Antillian resistance fighter (Madurodam), dies in Dachau at 28
- Feb 10 Anacleto Diaz, Filipino jurist (b. 1878)
- Feb 11 Al Dubin, Swiss-American song lyricist ("Tiptoe Through The Tulips"; "I Only Have Eyes For You"), dies at 53 [1]
- Feb 11 J S H Lokerman, Dutch resistance fighter, dies in Neugengamme
- Feb 12 Antonio Villa-Real, Filipino jurist (b. 1880)
- Feb 12 Henrietta Szold, American Zionist leader (founded Hadassah, Youth Aliyah), dies at 84
- Feb 12 Walraven van Hall, Dutch banker who led resistance against Nazis, executed by the Nazis at 39
- Feb 13 George Studd, English cricket batsman (4 Tests; Middlesex), dies at 85
- Feb 16 Rudolf Vornlund, Swedish playwright (Upproret), dies at 45
- Feb 18 Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian general (youngest ever Soviet general of the army), dies at 38
- Feb 19 John Basilone, American Marine (Medal of Honor at the Battle for Henderson Field), is killed in action at Iwo Jima at 26
- Feb 19 Wim Speelman, Dutch resistance fighter, executed at 26
Anne Frank (1929-1945)
Feb 21 Dutch diarist and Jewish victim of the Nazi Holocaust (Diary of Anne Frank), dies of typhus in the Belsen concentration camp at 15 [estimate - exact date undocumented] [1]
- Feb 21 Eric Liddell, Scottish 400m runner (Olympic gold 1924) and Christian missionary in China, dies of an inoperable brain tumor at 43 while interned at the Weihsien Internment Camp in Weifang, Shandong, China
- Feb 22 Osip Brik, Russian avant garde writer (Left Front of the Arts) and literary critic of the Russian formalist school, dies of a heart attack at 57 while climbing the stairs to his apartment
- Feb 23 Aleksei Tolstoi, Russian poet and writer (Pjotr Peroyj), dies at 62
- Feb 23 Aubrey Cousins, Canadian sergeant (Victoria Cross), dies in battle
- Feb 24 Ahmed Maher Pasha, Egypt's PM, assassinated in parliament
- Feb 25 Mário de Andrade, Brazilian writer, photographer and modernist, dies of a heart attack at 51
- Feb 27 HJ Lochtman, Dutch chaplain/resistance fighter, dies in Bergen-Belsen
- Feb 28 Rudolf Breslauer, German Jewish photographer (documented Westerbork transit camp), killed at Auschwitz at 41
