Historical Events
- Feb 2 52nd NHL All-Star Game, Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA: World beats North America, 8-5; MVP: Éric Dazé, Chicago Blackhawks, RW
"Plutonian Ode"
Feb 2 Philip Glass' Symphony No. 6 (Plutonian Ode), for soprano and orchestra, based on the poem by Allen Ginsberg, premieres with the American Composers Orchestra conducted by Dennis Russell Davies, at Carnegie Hall, NYC
Super Bowl XXXVI
Feb 3 Super Bowl XXXVI, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA: New England Patriots beat St. Louis Rams, 20-17; MVP: Tom Brady, New England, QB
51st NBA All-Star Game
Feb 10 51st NBA All-Star Game, First Union Centre, Philadelphia, PA: West beats East, 135-120; MVP: Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers, F
- Feb 12 An Iran Air Tupolev Tu-154 crashes prior to landing in Khorramabad, Iran, killing 119
United Nations
Feb 12 The trial of former President of Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milošević begins at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague. He eventually dies four years later before its conclusion.
- Feb 12 US Secretary of Energy makes the decision that Yucca Mountain is suitable to be the United States' nuclear waste repository
- Feb 14 Fishing vessel Tullaghmurray Lass sinks off the coast of Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland killing three members of the same family on board
- Feb 15 At the Tri-State Crematory in La Fayette, Georgia, investigators find uncremated bodies disposed of in the woods and buildings on crematorium's property. One of the worst incidents of abuse in the funeral service industry.
- Feb 15 Walt Disney releases "Return to Never Land", an animated film sequel to 1953's "Peter Pan"
Daytona 500
Feb 17 44th Daytona 500: Ward Burton's win first for Dodge since Richard Petty's victory in the 1974 race
- Feb 17 Westlife go to No.1 on the UK singles chart with 'World Of Our Own.' The Irish boy band's 10th UK No.1 single.
- Feb 19 NASA's Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
- Feb 20 In Reqa Al-Gharbiya, Egypt, a fire on a train injures over 65 and kills at least 370.
- Feb 21 Canadian world champion women's ice hockey team wins first of 4 consecutive Winter Olympic gold medals with a 3-2 win over the United States at Salt Lake City
- Feb 22 Angolan revolutionary politician and military leader of UNITA, Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush in the province of Moxico
- Feb 23 Sky Disc of Nebra, world's oldest map of the stars at 3,600 years old, recovered in police sting operation in Basal, Switzerland after being illegally excavated in Germany [1]
BAFTA Awards
Feb 24 55th British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs): "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" Best Film, Peter Jackson Best Director
- Feb 24 IXX Winter Olympic Games close in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Grammy Awards
Feb 27 44th Grammy Awards: "Walk On"; Alicia Keys win
- Feb 27 Godhra train burning, a Muslim mob kills 59 Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya
- Feb 27 Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire in London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair's handling of the evacuation.
Music History
Feb 27 Singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell receives Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award
Famous Birthdays
Sophia Lillis (22 years old)
Feb 13 born in Brooklyn, New York
- Feb 23 Emilia Jones, English actress (CODA), born in London, England
Famous Weddings
Willem-Alexander
Feb 2 Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands (34) weds Argentinean born Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti (30) at the Beurs van Berlage in Amsterdam, Netherlands
Joan Collins
Feb 17 Actress Joan Collins (68) weds theater company manager Percy Gibson at Claridge's Hotel in London
LeAnn Rimes
Feb 23 "Blue" country and pop singer LeAnn Rimes (19) weds backup dancer Dean Sheremet (21) at Perkins Chapel in Dallas, Texas
Famous Deaths
- Feb 1 Hildegard Knef, German actress, singer, and writer (Touch of Class; Mozambique), dies at 76
- Feb 1 Irish McCalla, American actress and artist (Sheena Queen of Jungle), dies of a brain tumor and stroke complications at 73
- Feb 2 Claude Brown, American writer (b. 1937)
- Feb 2 Paul Baloff, American singer (Exodus) (b. 1960)
- Feb 4 George Nader, American actor (Robot Monster, Away All Boats), dies at 80
- Feb 6 John R. Farndon, British surgeon and professor, dies at 53
- Feb 6 Max Perutz, Austrian molecular biologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1914)
- Feb 8 Eldon Rudd, American politician (Rep-R-AZ, 1977-87), dies at 81
- Feb 8 Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (b. 1930)
- Feb 8 Ong Teng Cheong, President of Singapore (b. 1936)
- Feb 9 Margaret Rose, British princess and Countess of Snowdon, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, dies of a stroke at 71
- Feb 9 Vicente Sardinero, Spanish operatic lyric baritone, dies at 65
- Feb 10 Dave Van Ronk, American folk singer and songwriter, dies at 65
- Feb 10 Traudl Junge, German secretary to Adolf Hitler, dies at 81
- Feb 11 Barry Foster, British actor (b. 1931)
- Feb 11 Frankie Crosetti, American baseball shortstop and 3rd base coach (record 17 World Series titles as player and coach; NY Yankees), dies from complications of a fall at 91
- Feb 13 Pauline Trigère, French-American fashion designer (Bell Bottoms), dies at 93
Waylon Jennings (1937-2002)
Feb 13 American country singer and guitarist ("I'm A Ramblin' Man"), dies of diabetic complications at 64
- Feb 14 Mick Tucker, English rock drummer (Sweet - "Ballroom Blitz"), dies of leukemia at 54
- Feb 14 Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer (b. 1922)
- Feb 15 Garry Weston, English businessman (Associated British Foods), dies at 74
- Feb 15 Howard K. Smith, American print and broadcast journalist, dies from pneumonia at 87
Kevin Smith (1963-2002)
Feb 15 New Zealand actor (Ares-Hercules), dies at 38 after falling from a prop tower
- Feb 16 Billy Ward, American singer and songwriter (Billy Ward and his Dominoes), dies at 80
- Feb 16 Walter Winterbottom, England soccer manager (first manager England national football team 1946–62; FA Director of Coaching), dies at 88
- Feb 18 Nathan Perelman, Soviet Russian pianist and pedagogue, dies at 95
- Feb 19 Sylvia Rivera, American gay liberation and transgender activist and drag queen, dies of liver cancer at 50
- Feb 20 Stephen Longstreet, American writer (All or Nothing), dies at 94
- Feb 21 A. L. [Audrey] Barker, English writer, dies at 83
- Feb 21 Harold Furth, Austrian-American physicist, dies at 72
- Feb 21 Harold Pruett, American actor (Sybil, Embrace of the Vampire), dies of a drug overdose at 32
- Feb 21 John Thaw, British stage and screen actor (Inspector Morse), dies of cancer at 60
- Feb 22 Charles "Chuck" Jones, American animator and cartoonist best known for his work with Warner Bros. (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, Porky Pig), dies of congestive heart failure at 89
- Feb 22 Daniel Pearl, American journalist (b. 1963)
- Feb 22 Jonas Savimbi, Angolan revolutionary politician and military leader who founded the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), dies in combat with Angolan government troops at 67
- Feb 22 Poncke Princen, Dutch anti-Nazi fighter, colonial soldier and human rights activist, dies at 76
- Feb 22 Roden Cutler, Australian diplomat and Governor (New South Wales), dies at 85
- Feb 24 Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (b. 1932)
- Feb 24 Leo Ornstein, Russian-American composer and pianist, (born about 1893)
- Feb 25 Afaq Hussain, Pakistani cricket spin bowler (2 Tests, 1 wicket; Karachi University, Pakistan International Airlines), dies at 62
- Feb 26 Lawrence Tierney, American actor (Abduction, Dillinger, Reservoir Dogs), dies of pneumonia at 82
- Feb 26 Oskar Sala, German physicist, composer, electronic music pioneer, and Trautonium (an early synthesizer) player, dies at 91
Spike Milligan (1918-2002)
Feb 27 Irish-British actor and comedian (The Goon Show, 3 Musketeers), dies of kidney failure at 83
- Feb 28 Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer, dies at 82
- Feb 28 Mary Stuart, American actress (Jo-Search for Tomorrow), dies at 75
