This Week In History Feb 17th

1600 Giordano Bruno advocate of Copernican theory and plurality of worlds, burned at stake by the Inquisition in Rome.

1600 Philosopher Giordano Bruno was burnt alive at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome, charged of heresy.

1609 Death of Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1549)

1612 Ernst of Bayern prince/bishop of Luik/archbishop of Cologne, dies at age 57.

1612 Jodocus Hondius Flemish cartoonist/mathematician, dies at age 48.

1621 Miles Standish appointed first commander of Plymouth colony.

1621 Miles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth colony.

1624 Death of Juan de Mariana, Spanish historian (b. 1536)

1634 William Prynne tried in Star Chamber for publishing “Histriomastix”.

1646 Birth of Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)

1652 Gregorio Allegri Italian singer/composer (Miserere), dies at about age 67.

1653 Birth of Arcangelo Corelli Fusignano Italy, violinist/composer (Concerto Grosso).

1654 Michael Lohr composer, dies at age 62.

1659 Death of Abel Servien, French diplomat (b. 1593)

1667 Birth of Georg Bronner composer.

1670 France and Bavaria sign military assistance treaty.

1673 Death of MoliFre, French playwright (b. 1622)

1673 Jean Baptiste Poquelin, French author and dramatist, dies in Paris at age 51.

1675 Birth of Johann Melchior Conradi composer.

1676 Kings Charles II and Louis XIV sign secret treaty.

1680 Death of Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English statesman and writer (b. 1599)

1688 Reverend James Renwick hanged in Scotland for being a Presbyterian.

1691 Thomas Neale granted British patent for American postal service.

1696 Birth of Baron Ernst Gottlieb composer.

1697 Birth of Louis-Maurice de La Pierre composer.

1699 Birth of Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff German architect (Sanssouci).

1714 Parliament of Paris accepts Pope Clemens XI’s “Unigenitus” degree.

1715 Antoine Galland French interpreter, dies at age 68.

1715 Death of Antoine Galland, French archaeologist (b. 1646)

1718 Birth of Matthew Tilghman, American Continental Congressman (d. 1790)

1723 Birth of Tobias Mayer “method of lunars” for longitude determination.

1732 Death of Louis Marchand, French organist and harpsichordist (b. 1669)

1732 Louis Marchand composer, dies at age 63.

1740 Birth of Horace B de Saussure Swiss physicist/geologist.

1747 Birth of Narciso Casanovas composer.

1752 Birth of Friedrich M Klinger German playwright (Wirrwarr).

1753 February 17 is followed by March 1 as Sweden moves to the Gregorian from the Julian calendar.

1754 Birth of Jan Jachym Kopriva composer.

1758 Birth of John Pinkerton Scottish historian.

1766 Birth of Thomas Malthus, English demographer and political economist (d. 1834)

1768 Death of Arthur Onslow, English politician (b. 1691)

1772 First partition of Poland-Russia and Prussia, joined later by Austria.

1774 Birth of Raphaelle Peale US, painter (After the Rain-1823).

1776 First volume of Gibbon’s “Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire” published.

1780 Death of Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (b. 1706)

1781 Birth of RenT-ThTophile-Hyacinthe La?nnec France, inventor (stethoscope).

1791 Messier catalogs M83 (spiral galaxy in Hydra).

1792 Birth of Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist (d. 1876)

1795 Thomas Seddal harvests 8.3-kg potato from his garden Chester, England.

1796 Birth of Giovanni Pacini composer.

1796 James Macpherson poet, dies.

1801 An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.

1801 House breaks electoral college tie, chooses Jefferson President over Burr.

1803 Louis R E prince de Rohan-GuTmenT archbishop of Straatsburg, dies at age 68.

1804 Birth of Samuel Read Anderson Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1883.

1804 Christian Ernst Graf composer, dies at age 80.

1814 Battle of Mormans

1815 Franz Gotz composer, dies at age 59.

1816 Birth of Friedrich Wilhelm Markull composer.

1817 Birth of King William III of the Netherlands (d, 1890)

1817 First US city lit by gas (Baltimore).

1818 Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun patents “draisine” (early bicycle).

1819 The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise.

1820 Birth of Henri Vieuxtemps Verviers Belgium, composer/teacher (Brussels Cons).

1821 Birth of Lola Montez, Mexican dancer, actress, friend of monarchs (d. 1861)

1824 Birth of William Farrar “Baldy” Smith Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1903.

1827 Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi Swiss educator, dies at age 81.

1831 Birth of Francisco Salvador Daniel composer.

1836 Birth of Gustavo Adolfo BTcquer, Spanish poet (b. 1870)

1837 Birth of Francis Jay Herron Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1902.

1841 Death of Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist

1841 Dutch ex-king Willem I marries Henriette d’Oultremont de WTgimont.

1841 Ferdinando Carulli composer, dies at age 70.

1844 Birth of A Montgomery Ward founded mail-order business (Montgomery Ward).

1847 William Collins landscape painter, dies.

1848 Birth of Louisa Lawson, Australian feminist, suffragist, and writer (d. 1920)

1848 Toscane gets liberal Constitution.

1849 Birth of Selwyn Image Bodiam Sussex, painter.

1850 Birth of Anton Urspruch composer.

1852 Micha Joseph Levenson Hebrew poet, dies.

1853 Birth of Jaroslav Vrchlicky [Emil Fr?da], Czechoslovakian poet (One night on Karlstein).

1854 Birth of Friedrich A Krupp German arms manufacturer.

1854 British recognize independence of Orange Free State (South Africa).

1854 Death of John Martin, English painter (b. 1789)

1854 Hugues F R de Lamennais French priest/writer, dies at age 71.

1854 The British recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.

1855 Birth of Otto Liman von Sanders German general in Turkey (WWI).

1856 Death of Heinrich Heine, German writer (b. 1797)

1856 Heinrich Heine German poet, dies at age 58 in Paris.

1856 John Braham singer/composer, dies at age 81.

1857 Birth of Samuel Sidney McClure Irish-American newspaper editor/publisher.

1858 Birth of Ernest Ford composer.

1859 Giuseppe Verdi’s opera “Un Ballo in maschera” premieres at the Apollo Theatre in Rome.

1862 Birth of Edward German (Jones) Whitchurch Shropshire, British composer.

1864 American Civil War: CSS H. L. Hunley is the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.

1864 Birth of Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson New South Wales Australia, poet (Waltzing Matilda).

1864 Confederate submarine “HL Hunley” sinks Union ship “Housatonic” (first submarine to sink an enemy ship).

1865 American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina burns as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.

1865 Battle of Charleston, South Carolina.

1865 Columbia, South Carolina, burns down.

1867 Birth of William Cadbury England, chocolate manufacturer (Cadbury).

1867 First ship passes through Suez Canal.

1867 Gyula Andressy becomes premier of Hungary.

1867 The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.

1870 Birth of Louis de Raet Belgian economist/founder (Flemish People’s Party).

1870 Esther Morris appointed first female judge.

1870 Mississippi becomes ninth state re-admitted to US after Civil War.

1874 Birth of Thomas J Watson Sr US, representative/founder (IBM).

1874 [Lambert] Adolphe J Quetelet Belgian astronomer/sociologist, dies at age 77.

1875 Lu?s Varela Brazilian romantic poet, dies at age 33.

1876 Sardines first canned (Julius Wolff-Eastport ME).

1877 Birth of Henri Vandeputte Belgian author/poet (L’homme Jeune).

1878 First telephone exchange in San Francisco opens with 18 phones.

1878 JosT Amador de los R?os Spanish historian/poet, dies at age 59.

1879 Birth of Dorothy Canfield Fisher US, novelist (Book-of-the Month-Club).

1880 Birth of Alvaro Obregon General/President of Mexico (1920-24).

1880 Tsar Alexander II of Russia survives an assassination attempt.

1882 Birth of Kurt Schindler composer.

1882 First Test Cricket match played at Sydney Cricket Ground.

1883 A Ashwell patents free-toilet in London.

1883 Death of Napoleon Coste, French guitarist and composer (b. 1806)

1883 Napoleon Coste composer, dies at age 76.

1884 Birth of Arthur Vanderpoorten Flemish minister of Internal affairs (1940).

1885 Bismarck gives Carl Peters’ firm management of East-Africa.

1887 Birth of Leevi Antti Madetoja composer.

1888 Birth of Henrietta P “Hetty” Beck actress (Bouwmeester Award).

1889 Birth of H[aroldson] L Hunt Texas oil multi-millionaire.

1891 Birth of Georg Britting writer.

1892 Birth of Theodor Plievier German writer (Des Kaisers Kulis, Stalingrad).

1895 Birth of Anita Stewart New York, actress (South of Hell Mountain).

1895 Swan Lake, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, is first performed at full length in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

1896 London Country Councils’ Muzzling Order becomes effective.

1897 National Congress of Parents and Teachers (PTA) organizes (Washington DC).

1898 Birth of Tom Lowry cricket player (New Zealand batsman in seven Tests and their first Test captain).

1901 Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin composer, dies at age 38.

1902 Birth of Marian Anderson Philadelphia Pennsylvania, operatic contralto (banned by D A R).

1903 Birth of Johannes Linthorst Homan director of the queen in Groningen.

1903 Joseph Parry composer, dies at age 61.

1904 Birth of Albert Kuyle [Louis Kuitenbrouwer], Dutch writer (Jesus’ Robe).

1905 Frances Willard is honored in National Statuary Hall.

1905 Serge Alexandrovich Governor-General Moscow, murdered.

1906 Birth of Galo Plaza Lasso President of Ecuador (1948-52), head of OAS (1968-75).

1906 Theodore Roosevelt’s daughter Alice marries in the White House.

1907 Birth of Alec Wilder Rochester New York, composer (1973 ASCAP award).

1907 Henry Steel Olcott US co-founder (Theosophist Society-Madras), dies at age 74.

1908 Birth of Walter L “Red” Barber Mississippi, sports announcer (Brooklyn Dodgers, New York Yankees).

1908 Geronimo Apache chief, dies at about age 79.

1909 Birth of Joseph “Poeske” Scherens Belgian cyclist (champion sprinter 1932-37).

1909 Death of Geronimo, Apache leader (b. 1829)

1910 Birth of Ai Qing poet.

1911 Birth of Arthur Hunnicutt Gravelly Arkansas; actor (Big Sky, Apache Uprising).

1911 First amphibian flight to and from a ship, by Glenn Curtiss, San Diego.

1912 Aloys von Aerenthal foreign minister (Austria-Hungary), dies at age 57.

1912 Birth of Andre [Alice Mary] Norton Cleveland Ohio, science fiction writer (Beast Master, Stand and Deliver).

1912 L Oates British explorer (Antarctica), dies.

1913 Birth of JosTphine F “Fietje” van Anrooy Dutch actress/director.

1913 First minimum wage law in US takes effect (Oregon).

1913 New York Armory Show introduces Picasso, Matisse, Duchamp to US public.

1913 The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.

1914 Birth of Albert Westerlinck [JosT J M Aerts], Flemish literary.

1915 Birth of Homer Keller composer.

1915 Edward Stone, first US combatant to die in WWI, is mortally wounded.

1916 Birth of Don Tallon cricket player (perhaps Australia’s greatest wicket-keeper).

1916 Romberg/Hanley/Atteridge/Smith’ musical premieres in New York City, New York.

1917 Edmund Bishop English Secretary of Thomas Carlyle, dies at age 70.

1918 Birth of Charles A Hayes (Representative-Democrat-Illinois, 1983-).

1918 Wilfrid Laurier Canadian Prime Minister (1896-1911), dies.

1919 Birth of Jock Mahoney Chicago Illinois; actor (Dallas, Yancy Derringer, Day of Fury).

1919 Death of Wilfrid Laurier, seventh Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1841)

1920 Birth of Colin Franklin doctor.

1921 Arthur Honegger’s “Pastorale D’TtT” premieres.

1922 Birth of Tommy Edwards rock vocalist (It’s All in the Game).

1923 Birth of Alden Winship Clausen in Hamilton, Illinois, USA; banker (President of World Bank).

1923 Ottawa Senators’ Cy Denneny becomes NHL’s all-time high scorer (143 goals).

1924 Birth of Margaret Truman, American novelist

1924 In Miami, Florida, Johnny Weissmuller sets a new world record in the 100-yard freestyle swimming competition with a time of 52-2/5 seconds.

1924 Johnny Weissmuller sets 100-yard freestyle record (52.4 seconds).

1925 Birth of Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)

1926 Avalanche buries 75 people in Sap Gulch in Bingham, Utah, USA; 40 die.

1926 Birth of Lee Hoiby in Madison, Wisconsin, USA; composer (1957 Arts and Letters).

1926 Tennis star Suzanne Lenglen beats Helen Wills in their only match, at Cannes, France.

1929 Birth of Chaim Potok, American author (d. 2002)

1929 John Read, cricket player (batted in 17 Tests for England for 463 runs), dies.

1930 Birth of Ruth Rendell, English writer

1930 French government of AndrT Tardieu falls.

1931 First telecast of a sporting event in Japan (baseball).

1931 Hockey’s Hershey Bears (now with AHL) play first game.

1932 Birth of Buck Trent, American banjo player

1933 Birth of Bobby Lewis; rocker (“Tossin’ and Turnin'”).

1933 The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.

1933 The magazine Newsweek is published for the first time.

1933 US Senate accepts Blaine Act ending prohibition.

1934 Albert I LCMM von Saksen-Coburg, King of Belgium (1909-34), dies at age 58.

1934 Birth of Buddy Ryan; NFL coach (Philadelphia Eagles, Phoenix Cardinals).

1934 Death of King Albert I of Belgium (b. 1875)

1934 First high school auto driving course offered (State College, Pennsylvania).

1935 Birth of Christina Pickles, British actress

1936 -58 degrees F (-50 degrees C) in McIntosh, South Dakota (state record).

1936 Birth of Barry Jarman; cricket player (Australian wicket-keeper in 1960s).

1937 Birth of Mickey McGill; American vocalist (Dells – “Love is Blue”).

1938 Birth of Mary Frances Berry; educator/head (US Commission on Civil Rights).

1938 First public experimental demonstration of Baird color TV (London, England).

1939 Birth of Mary Ann Mobley, American actress and beauty queen

1939 Death of Willy Hess, German violinist (b. 1859)

1939 Katwijk soccer team forms.

1940 Birth of Dennis Gamsy; cricket player (South African bat in two Tests versus Australia 1970).

1940 Donald Bradman scores 135 in a non-Shield match for South Africa versus West Australia.

1941 Birth of Gene Pitney in Hartford, Connecticut, USA; singer/songwriter (“Town Without Pity”).

1941 Joe Louis knocks out Gus Dorazio in two rounds for heavyweight boxing title.

1942 Birth of Huey Newton; Black Panther leader.

1942 US Army General Douglas MacArthur reaches Australia and takes command of Allied forces.

1943 Death of Armand J. Piron, American jazz violinist and composer (b. 1888)

1943 Dutch churches protest at Seyss-Inquart against persecution of Jews.

1944 Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins; US victory on February 22.

1944 Birth of Bernie Grant; British politician (Labour).

1944 Fausto Agnelli, Swiss painter, dies at age 64.

1944 US begins night bombing of Truk.

1944 World War II: Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.

1944 World War II: Operation Hailstone begins. U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk (Chuuk), Japan’s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.

1945 Birth of Willie J L Swildens-Rozendal; Dutch Member of Parliament (PvdA).

1946 Birth of Valdemar Bandolowski in Denmark; yachting (Olympics-gold-1976, 1980).

1946 Humanistic Covenant forms in Amsterdam.

1947 Birth of Ben Cramer; Dutch vocalist (Clown).

1947 Dutch Roman Catholic bishops publish manifest against “godless communism”.

1947 The Voice of America begins to transmit radio broadcasts into the Soviet Union.

1947 Voice of America begins broadcasting to USSR.

1949 Birth of Fred Frith; English guitarist/violinist/bassist (Skeleton Crew).

1949 Chaim Weizman declared President of Israel.

1949 Ice Pairs Championship at Paris won by Andrea KTkessy/Ede Kir�ly of Hungary.

1949 Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Alena Vrzanova of Czechoslovakia.

1949 Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Paris won by Richard Button of USA.

1950 31 die in a train crash in Rockville Center, New York.

1950 Birth of Rick Medlocke; rock guitarist/vocalist (Blackfoot).

1952 Birth of Guillermo Vilas; tennis player (1977 US Open).

1953 Birth of Janice Dickinson, American model

1954 Birth of Rene Russo, American actress

1954 The Detroit Auto Show opens for press previews, in Michigan. The Ford Motor Company shows its new two-seat convertible, calling it a “personal car”, with the name “Fairlane”.

1955 Ice Dance Championship at Vienna Austria won by J Westwood/Demmy of Great Britain.

1955 Ice Pairs Championship at Vienna won by Frances Dafoe and Bowden of Canada.

1955 Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Vienna won by Tenley Albright os the USA.

1955 Mike Souchak sets PGA 72-hole record of 257.

1955 Otto J Gombosi, Hungarian/American musicologist, dies at age 52.

1956 Birth of Richard Karn, American actor

1956 Ice Dance Championship at Garmisch won by Pamela Weight/P Thomas of Great Britain.

1956 Ice Pairs Championship at Garmisch won by Schwarz and Oppelt of Austria.

1956 Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Garmisch won by Carol Heiss of the USA.

1956 Men’s Figure Skating Championship in Garmisch won by H A Jenkins of the USA.

1957 A fire at a home for the elderly in Warrenton, Missouri kills 72 people.

1957 Birth of Loreena McKennitt, Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter

1957 Fire in Warreton, Missouri, kills 72.

1957 Mary Lena Faulk wins LPGA Saint Petersburg Golf Open.

1958 Birth of Karen Lende O’Connor in Concord, Massachusetts, USA; equestrian 3-day (Olympics-silver-1996).

1958 Pope Pius XII declares Saint Clare of Assisi (1193~1253) the patron saint of television

1959 Birth of Ambrose “Rowdy” Gaines; American 100 metre swimmer (Olympics-gold-1984).

1959 The first weather satellite, Vanguard 2, was launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.

1959 Tim Mara, co-founder of NFL’s New York Giants, dies.

1961 Birth of Deb[ra] Richardson in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; beach volleyball player (Olympics-1996).

1961 Death of Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1897)

1962 A storm kills more than 300 people in Hamburg, West Germany.

1962 Beach Boys introduce a new musical style with their hit “Surfin”.

1962 Birth of David McComb in Australia; vocalist/songwriter (Triffids).

1962 Bruno Walter, symphony conductor (New York Philharmonic), dies at age 85.

1962 Death of Bruno Walter, German conductor (b. 1876)

1962 Storm in Hamburg, Germany, kills 265.

1962 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Philadelphia Warriors scores 67 points versus Saint Louis Hawks.

1963 Birth of Dan Reed; rocker/actor (HOTS, Lake Consequence).

1963 Toru Terasawa runs world record marathon (2:15:15.8).

1964 101st member elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame (Luke Appling).

1964 Birth of Mike Campbell in Seattle, Washington, USA; pitcher (Chicago Cubs).

1964 In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.

1964 US Supreme court rules – one man one vote (Westberry versus Sanders).

1965 Birth of Jim Bowie; Japanese/US baseball infielder (Oakland Athletics).

1965 US-Japan baseball relations suspended over Masanori Murakami dispute.

1966 Birth of Luc Robitaille in MontrTal, Quebec, Canada; NHL left wing (New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins).

1966 Hans Hofmann, German/US painter (Search for the Real), dies at age 85.

1967 Birth of Gary Shuchuk in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; NHL center (Los Angeles Kings).

1967 Kosmos 140 (Soyuz test) launches into Earth orbit.

1967 The Beatles release “Penny Lane” and “Strawberry Fields”.

1968 Birth of Bryan Cox; NFL linebacker (Miami Dolphins, Chicago Bears).

1968 In Springfield, Massachusetts the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.

1968 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.

1969 Birth of David Klingler; NFL quarterback (Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals).

1969 Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash record an album (never released).

1969 Golda Meir sworn in as Israel’s prime minister.

1970 Agnon [SJ Czaczkes], Hebrew writer (Nobel Prize 1966), dies at age 81.

1970 Alfred Newman, US composer, dies at age 69.

1970 Birth of Tommy Moe in Anchorage, Alaska, USA; nordic skier (Olympics-gold/silver-1994).

1970 Death of Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Israeli writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)

1970 Schmuel J Agnon, novelist (Nobel Prize 1966), dies.

1971 Birth of Martyn Bennett, Canadian musician and composer (d. 2005)

1971 England regains cricket Ashes with a 2-0 series win.

1972 Birth of Billie Joe Armstrong; singer/musician (Green Day).

1972 British Parliament votes to join European Common Market.

1972 Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle model exceed those of Ford Model-T.

1972 Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, founder (San Francisco Zen Center), half ashes buried.

1973 Birth of Chris Robinson; NBA guard (Vancouver Grizzlies).

1973 Rodney Redmond scores 107 on debut versus Pakistan, his only Test Cricket.

1974 49 die in stampede for seats at soccer match, Cairo, Egypt.

1974 Birth of Jerry O’Connell, American actor

1974 Carol Mann wins LPGA Naples Lely Golf Classic.

1974 Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House with a stolen helicopter.

1975 Birth of Sung-Hee Park in Pusan, Korea; tennis star (1993 Futures-Seoul).

1976 Macau adopts constitution (Organic Law of Macau).

1976 New Zealand scores their first innings win in Test Cricket, versus India.

1976 Richard Hadlee takes 7-23 versus India, his first match-winning spell.

1977 Death of Janani Luwum, Ugandan Archbishop (shot) (b. 1922)

1978 Birth of Jacob Wetterling, American kidnapping victim

1979 Chinese troops invade Vietnam.

1979 Eric Heiden equals skating world record 1000 metre (1:14.99).

1979 The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.

1980 Birth of Jason Ritter; American actor.

1980 Buddy Baker wins Daytona 500 (177.6 MPH/285.8 kph).

1980 Dot Germain wins LPGA S&H Golf Classic.

1981 Birth of Donielle Thompson in Wheatridge, Colorado; gymnast (World-bronze-1995, Olympics-1996).

1981 Chrysler Corp reports largest corporate loss in US history.

1982 Birth of Adriano Leite Ribeiro; Brazilian football player (soccer player).

1982 Commencement of Sri Lanka’s first Test Cricket match, versus England.

1982 Death of Lee Strasberg, American actor (born 1901).

1982 Theolonious S Monk, American jazz pianist/composer (Blue Monk), dies at age 64 (born 1917).

1983 Bob Bourne fails on 8th New York Islanders’ penalty shot.

1983 Netherlands adopts constitution.

1983 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

1985 First day/night game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Australia versus England.

1985 Hein Vergeer becomes world champion skater.

1985 Laffit Pincay Jr is third to ride 6,000th winners at Santa Anita.

1985 Third person to receive an artificial heart (Murray Haydon).

1986 First Francophone Summit convenes at Versailles, France.

1986 Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian philosopher (Kingdom Happiness), dies at age 90.

1986 Johnson and Johnson announces it no longer sells capsule drugs.

1986 Libyan bombers attack N’djamena Airport in Chad.

1987 Michelle Renee Royer, age 21, of Texas, crowned 36th Miss USA.

1987 New York Yankees’ first baseman Don Mattingly wins his US$1.975 million arbitration case breaking the record for the largest amount ever awarded to a player set by Jack Morris just four days ago.

1988 US Lieutenant Colonel William Higgins, serving with a United Nations group monitoring a truce in southern Lebanon, is kidnapped by Lebanese terrorists.

1989 Birth of Stacey McClean, British singer.

1989 Former baseball player/manager Leo Durocher injured in a car crash.

1989 Lefty Gomez, New York Yankees pitching great, dies at age 80.

1989 Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya form common market.

1989 Orel Hershiser, Dodger pitcher signs record US$7.9 million, three-year contract.

1989 Six-week study of Arctic atmosphere shows no ozone “hole”.

1989 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakhstan/Semipalitinsk.

1990 Death of Erik Rhodes, American actor (b. 1906)

1991 Birth of Bonnie Wright, English actress.

1991 US male Figure Skating championship won by Todd Eldredge.

1992 A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sentences serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison.

1992 A court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin sentences serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to life in prison.

1993 Alfredo de Leon, leader (Philippines Red Scorpio Gang), killed.

1993 George E Wilburn, film editor, dies of emphysema at age 77.

1993 Haitian ferry boat capsize in storm, killing approximately 1,215 out of 1,500 passengers.

1993 Leslie Townsend, cricket all-rounder (England in four Tests 1930-34), dies.

1993 Mark Foster swims world record 50 metre free style (21.60 seconds).

1994 Death of Randy Shilts, American author and activist (AIDS) (b. 1951)

1994 Randy Shilts, American journalist (And the band played on), dies of AIDS at age 41 (born 1951).

1995 Colin Ferguson is convicted of six counts of murder for the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings and later receives a 200+ year sentence.

1995 Colin Ferguson is convicted of six counts of murder for the December 1993 Long Island Rail Road shootings and later receives a 200+ year sentence.

1995 Detroit Tigers’ manager Sparky Anderson takes unpaid leave due to baseball strike.

1995 Federal judge allows lawsuit claiming US tobacco makers knew nicotine was addictive and manipulated its levels to keep customers hooked.

1995 The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a cease-fire brokered by the UN.

1995 Timothy Hugh Brown, theatre critic, dies at age 52.

1995 Uta Graf, singer/teacher, dies at age 80.

1996 Bentley Bridgewater, British Museum secretary, dies at age 84.

1996 Birth of Sasha Pieterse, South African actress.

1996 [Elsie] Evelyn Laye, actress/singer (Sun Child), dies at age 95.

1996 First full ODI for the Netherlands versus New Zealand, cricket World Cup Nolan Clarke makes ODI debut for Netherlands at age 47.

1996 Henry Guinness, missionary, dies at age 87.

1996 In Irian Jaya Region, Indonesia, a magnitude 8.2 earthquake occurs. At least 164 people killed or missing, 423 injured, 5,043 houses destroyed or damaged. Extensive damage from the tsunami, which reached heights of 7 metres.

1996 In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Garry Kasparov beats IBM’s “Deep Blue” computer in a second chess match.

1996 In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.

1996 Jean Writer-Pierre Herve Bazin dies at age 84.

1996 Michael Raptis, writer/revolutionary, dies at age 84.

1997 Death of Zein Isa, Palestinian militant imprisoned in the United States for the honor killing of his daughter.

1998 Death of Ernst Jnnger, German author (b. 1895)

1998 Ernst Juenger, German writer, dies at age 102 in Riedlingen, Germany.

1999 Death of Sunshine Parker, American actor (born 1927).

2000 Microsoft releases Windows 2000.

2001 Death of Khalid Abdul Muhammad, an ex-felon and a controversial figure in the Black Nationalist, Pan Africanist movement.

2003 Death of 23-year old Steve Belcher of multi-organ failure, possibly linked to use of ephedra; Belcher was an American baseball player (Baltimore Orioles).

2003 London, England, introduces a 5 pound (US$8) “congestion charge” to drive within an 8 square-mile patch of central London, to reduce traffic and fund public transport.

2003 The Atlanta Braves and Greg Maddux agree the largest one-year contract in major league baseball history: US$14.75 million.

2004 Death of JosT L=pez Portillo, President of Mexico (born 1920).

2004 (to February 20) A nor’easter blizzard devastates Atlantic Canada, dumping more than 95 centimetres on some areas.

2005 Death of Nariman Sadeq, Queen of Egypt (born 1934).

2006 A ball of fire is reported falling in the area of Stirling Castle in Scotland.

2006 As many as 1,800 people die when a mudslide occurs on Leyte Island in the Philippines.

2006 Death of Ray Barretto, Puerto Rican musician (congas) (b. 1929)

2007 Death of Maurice Papon, French Vichy government official (born 1910).

2008 A suicide bombing by a Taliban member kills up to 80 in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

2008 British central bank chancellor announces the Northern Rock bank would be nationalized.

2008 Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Company recalls 143 million pounds of beef, the USA’s largest meat recall in California, due to the slaughter of cattle unfit for human consumption.

2008 In Daytona, Florida, the 50th NASCAR Daytona 500 race is held. Winner is Ryan Newman of Penske Racing.

2008 Kosovo Albanians declare independence of Serbia.

2009 The JEM rebel group in Darfur, Sudan sign a pact with the Sudanese government, planning a ceasefire within the next three months.

2009 The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charges Texas billionaire Allen Stanford and three of his companies with fraudulently selling US$8 billion in high-yield certificates of deposit. Stanford International Bank is based in Antigua with 30,000 clients in 131 countries and US$8.5 billion in assets.

2009 Trump Entertainment Resorts casino operator files for bankruptcy protection in New Jersey, with assets of about US$2.1 billion and total debts of about $1.74 billion as of the end of 2008.

2009 US President Barack Obama signs into law a US$787 billion economic stimulus plan.