Historical Events and Current Affairs on February 3

1377: Cardinal Robert of Geneva (anti-pope Clemens VII) starts term
1377: Mass execution of population of Cesena Italy
1488: Bartholomeus Diaz discovers Mosselbaai (Angra dos Vaqueros)
1547: Russian czar Ivan IV (17) marries Anastasia Romanova
1576: Henry of Navarre (future Henry IV) escapes from Paris
1591: German monarchy forms Protestant Union of Torgau
1653: Cardinal Mazarin returns to Paris from exile
1660: General Moncks army reaches London
1690: 1st paper money in America issued (colony of Mass)
1740: Charles de Bourbon, King of Naples, invites Jews to return to Sicily
1743: Philadelphia establishes a "pesthouse" to quarantine immigrants
1752: Dutch States-General forbid export of windmills
1781: Dutch West Indies island of St Eustatia taken by British
1783: Spain recognizes US independence
1809: Territory of Illinois organizes (including present-day Wisconsin)
1815: World's 1st commercial cheese factory established, in Switzerland
1825: Dutch North Sea coast floods
1836: Whig Party holds its 1st national convention (Albany NY)
1844: Hector Berlioz' "Carnaval Romain," premieres in Paris
1855: Wisconsin Supreme Ct declares US Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional
1860: Thomas Clemson takes office as 1st US superintendent of agriculture
1864: Sherman's march through Mississippi
1865: Hampton Roads Peace Conference, Lincoln & Stephens reach an impasse
1867: Prince Mutsuhito, 14, becomes Emperor Meiji of Japan (1867-1912)
1869: Booth theater at 23rd & 6th opens in NYC (Romeo & Juliet)
1870: 15th Amendment (Black suffrage) passed
1876: Albert Spalding with $800 starts sporting goods co, manufacturing 1st
1882: Circus owner PT Barnum buys his world famous elephant Jumbo
1887: To avoid disputed natl elections, Congress creates Electoral Count Act
1892: Russia closes down Yeshiva of Volozhin
1894: 1st US steel sailing vessel, Dirigo, launched, Bath, Me
1895: Wilhelm Mauseth skates world record 500 m (46.8 secs)
1900: Rival forces fight for control of the Union Park ball grounds in Balt
1901: Dutch troops under Gen Van Heutsz conquer Batu Ili‰ on Sumatra
1903: Frederick Lugard occupies Kano West Africa
1908: Supreme Court rules a union boycott violates Sherman Antitrust Act
1911: J Helffrich discovers asteroids #708 Raphaela & #709 Fringilla
1913: 16th Amendment, federal income tax, ratified
1913: Golden/Cawthorne's musical "Sunshine Girl," premieres in NYC
1915: Turkish & German army reach Suez Canal
1916: Canada's original Parliament buildings, in Ottawa, burns down
1916: Tristan Tzar publishes Dada-manifest in Zurich Switzerland
1917: US liner Housatonic sunk by German sub & diplomatic relations severed
1918: Twin Peaks Tunnel longest (11,920') streetcar tunnel begins service
1919: Herbert/Blossom's musical "Velvet Lady," premieres in NYC
1919: League of Nations 1st meeting (Paris)
1919: Socialist conference convenes (Berne Switzerland)
1924: Alexei Ryko elected as Pres of People's commission (succeeds Lenin)
1927: Uprising against regime of general Carmona in Portugal
1929: Revolutionary Socialist Party forms in Amsterdam
1930: Vietnamese Communistic Party forms
1930: William Howard Taft, resigns as chief justice for health reasons
1931: after he calls state "apex of moronia"
1931: Arkansas legislature passes motion to pray for soul of H L Mencken
1933: 1st interstate legislative conference in US opens, Washington, DC
1933: German minister G”ring bans social-democratic newspaper Vorw„rts
1933: Marinus van der Lubbe departs to Berlin
1935: S Arend discovers asteroids #1352 Wawel, #1969 Alain & #2689 Bruxelles
1938: Paul Osborn's "On Borrowed Time," premieres in NYC
1941: Supreme Court upheld Federal Wage & Hour law, sets min wages & max hrs
1942: 1st Japanese air raid on Java
1942: Baseball owners agree to permit each club up to 14 night games in 1942
1943: 4 chaplains drown after giving up their life jackets to others
1945: Almost 1000 Flying Fortresses drop 3000 ton bombs on Berlin
1945: Walt Disney's "3 Caballeros" released
1947: -81øF (-63øC), Snag Yukon (North American record)
1947: 1st black reporter in Congressional press gallery (Percival Prattis)
1948: Dick Button becomes 1st world figure skating champion from US
1950: Nuclear physicist Klaus Fuchs arrested on spy charges
1951: "Victor Borge Show," debuts on NBC TV
1951: Dick Button wins US skating title for 6th time
1951: Largest purse to date in horse racing, $144,323, won by Great Circle
1951: Tennessee Williams' "Rose Tattoo," premieres in NYC
1953: J Fred Muggs, a chimp, becomes a regular on NBC's Today Show
1954: Jeen van den Berg wins Dutch Eleven Cities Skating race (7:32)
1956: Autherine J Lucy admitted to U of Alabama, suspended 2/7 after a riot
1956: Toni Sailor becomes 1st Olympic skier to sweep 3 alpine events
1958: Royal Teens' "Short Shorts" enters Top 40 chart & peaks at #3
1959: American Airlines Electra crashes in NY's East River, killing 65
1961: 6th largest snowfall in NYC history (17.4" (44.2cm))
1962: John Uelses pole vaults record 489 cm
1962: Pres Kennedy bans all trade with Cuba except for food & drugs
1964: "Meet the Beatles" album goes Gold
1964: Black & Puerto Rican students boycott NYC public schools
1965: 105 USAF cadets resigned for cheating on exams
1965: Braves offer Milwaukee $500,000 to terminate their lease a year early
1965: earlier, the proposal is turned down
1965: Geraldine McCullough wins Widener Gold Medal for Sculpture
1965: Orbiting Solar Observatory 2 launches into Earth orbit (552/636 km)
1966: 1st operational weather satellite, ESSA-1 launched US
1966: 1st soft landing on Moon (Soviet Luna 9)
1967: "Purple Haze" recorded by Jimi Hendrix
1969: "Canterbury Tales" opens at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC for 122 perfs
1969: The Palestine National Congress appointed Yasser Arafat head of PLO
1971: KTSC TV channel 8 in Pueblo-Colorado Spgs, CO (PBS) 1st broadcast
1972: 11th Winter Olympic games opens in Sapporo, Japan (1st in Asia)
1972: US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1973: Dr Hook's "Cover of "Rolling Stone"" enters Top 40 & peaks at #6
1973: President Nixon signs Endangered Species Act into law
1974: "Pajama Game" closes at Lunt Fontanne Theater NYC after 65 perfs
1975: Billy Herman, Earl Averill, & Bucky Harris elected to Hall of Fame
1976: 26th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 123-109 at Philadelphia
1977: Martin Dihigo John Lloyd elected to Hall of Fame
1978: Australia beat India 3-2 on 6th day of final test
1978: India needing 493 to beat Australia at Adelaide, all out 445
1979: "YMCA" by Village People peaks at #2 on pop singles chart
1979: Minnesota Twins trade Rod Carew to California for 4 players
1979: US female Figure Skating championship won by Linda Fratianne
1979: US male Figure Skating championship won by Charles Tickner
1980: 30th NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 144-136 (OT) at Washington
1980: Larry Holmes TKOs Lorenzo Holmes in 6 for heavyweight boxing title
1980: Mohammed Ali tours Africa as Pres Carter's envoy
1981: Australia beats NZ 3-1 to win World Series Cup
1981: Gro Harlem Brundtland elected premier of Norway
1982: Columbia Shuttle moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating for STS-3 mission
1982: Greatest helicopter lift, 56,888 kg, Podmoscovnoe, USSR
1982: John Sharples of England finishes disco dancing 371 hours
1982: Porn star John Holmes ordered to stand trial for murder
1983: US female Figure Skating championship won by Rosalynn Sumners
1984: 10th Space Shuttle Mission (41B)-Challenger 4 launched
1985: "Harrigan 'n Hart" closes at Longacre Theater NYC after 5 performances
1986: Pres Reagan announces formation of Comm on Challenger Accident
1987: Expos trade Jeff Reardon to Twins for Neal Heaton
1987: SD Yacht Club celebrates return of America's Cup
1989: Bill White named NL president; 1st black major-league sports head
1989: Military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay
1990: Darryl Strawberry enters Smither Center for Alcohol rehabilitation
1990: Jockey Billy Shoemaker (58), retires after 40,350 horse race
1990: NY Met Darryl Strawberry voluntarily enters Alcohol rehab center
1991: NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 23-21
1992: Defense opens calling Noriega "our ally in war on drugs"
1992: Labor strike at Royal Canadian Mint ends
1992: Maximum NY State unemployment benefits raised to $300 per week
1993: Cin Red owner Marge Schott suspended for 1 year due to racist comments
1993: Federal trial of 4 police officers charged with civil rights
1993: General Hospital's Tristan Rogers convicted of drunk driving
1993: violations in videotaped beating of Rodney King begins in LA Calif
1994: "Les Miserables," opens at Kallang Theatre, Singapore
1994: Actor Jean-Claude van Damme (32) weds Darcy Lapier (28) in Bangkok
1994: Pres Bill Clinton lifts US trade embargo against Vietnam
1994: STS-60 (Discovery) launches into orbit
1995: STS 63 (Discovery 19), launches into orbit
1997: Carl Sagan Public Memorial at Ithaca NY
1997: Howard Stern Radio Show premieres in Detroit MI on WKRK 97.1 FM
1998: Britain issues a set of Princess Diana stamps
1998: Fla Panther Dino Ciccarelli's is 9th NHLer to score 600 career goals
1998: Mary Kay LeTourneau, 36, former teacher, violates probation with 14
1998: NY Yankees replace general manager Bob Watson with Brian Cashman
1998: Stamps commemorating Princess Diana go on sale across Britain
1998: US military plane clips cable car lines in northern Italy, kills 20
1998: year-old father of her baby

News Updates

Birthdays

Death Days

Events