February 3

February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are
331 days remaining, (332 in leap years).

Events

   * 1488 - Bartholomeu Diaz of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding
     the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa, becoming the first known
     European to travel this far south.
   * 1783 - American Revolutionary War: Spain recognizes United States
     independence.
   * 1787 - Shays' Rebellion is crushed, ending an uprising that would
     prompt neogiations that would result in the drafting of the
     Constitution of the United States
   * 1809 - Illinois Territory is created.
   * 1815 - The first commercial cheese factory is founded (Switzerland).
   * 1867 - Prince Mutshuhito becomes Emperor Meiji of Japan
   * 1870 - The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed
   * 1900 - Gubernatorial candidate William Goebels is assassinated in
     Frankfort, Kentucky. Former-Secretary of State Caleb Powers was later
     found guilty in a conspiracy to kill Goebels.
   * 1913 - The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is
     ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect
     income tax.
   * 1916 - Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Canada are burned down.
   * 1917 - World War I: The United States breaks off diplomatic relations
     with Germany a day after Germany announces a new policy of unrestricted
     submarine warfare.
   * 1918 - The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service as the longest streetcar
     tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long).
   * 1941 - World War II: The Nazis forcibly restore Pierre Laval to office
     in occupied Vichy, France.
   * 1944 - United States troops capture the Marshall Islands
   * 1945 - World War II: Russia agrees to enter the Pacific Theatre
     conflict against Japan.
   * 1947 - Percival Prattis becomes the first African American news
     correspondent allowed in the United States House and Senate press
     gallery.
   * 1951 - Dick Button wins the American figure skating championship for
     the sixth time.
   * 1959 - News of the February 2 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly,
     Richie Valens and The Big Bopper becomes widely known. This date
     becomes known as "The Day The Music Died".
   * 1966 - The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first controlled
     rocket-assisted landing on the Moon.
   * 1969 - In Cairo, Yasser Arafat is appointed Palestinian Liberation
     Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress.
   * 1972 - The first Winter Olympics to be held in Asia open in Sapporo,
     Japan.
   * 1984 - Space Shuttle Challenger is launched on the tenth space shuttle
     mission.
   * 1988 - Iran-Contra Affair: The United States House of Representatives
     rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to aid
     Nicaraguan Contras.
   * 1989 - After a stroke, P.W. Botha resigns party leadership and the
     presidency of South Africa.
   * 1998 - Karla Faye Tucker is executed in Texas becoming the the first
     woman executed in the United States since 1984.
   * 1998 - A United States Marine Corps pilot causes the death of 20 skiers
     in Italy riding on a lift suspended by a cable snapped by the
     low-flying plane.

Births

   * 1721 - Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, general (+ 1773)
   * 1809 - Felix Mendelssohn, composer (+ 1847)
   * 1811 - Horace Greeley, journalist, editor, publisher (+ 1872)
   * 1821 - Elizabeth Blackwell, first female physician in the United States
   * 1859 - Hugo Junkers, industrialist and aircraft designer (+ 1935)
   * 1874 - Gertrude Stein, writer and patron of the arts (+ 1946)
   * 1887 - Georg Trakl, poet (+ 1914)
   * 1894 - Norman Rockwell, artist, illustrator (+ 1978)
   * 1904 - Pretty Boy Floyd, gangster (+ 1934)
   * 1907 - James Michener, author (+ 1997)
   * 1909 - Simone Weil, philosopher (+ 1943)
   * 1918 - Joey Bishop, comedian, actor
   * 1924 - Andrzej Szczypiorski, writer (+ 2000)
   * 1927 - Val Doonican, Irish singer and entertainer
   * 1930 - Gillian Ayres, painter
   * 1932 - Peggy Ann Garner, actress (+ 1984)
   * 1940 - Fran Tarkenton, Football Hall of Famer
   * 1943 - Blythe Danner, actress
   * 1944 - Dave Davies, musician
   * 1945 - Bob Grises, Football Hall of Famer
   * 1947 - Paul Auster, novelist
   * 1950 - Morgan Fairchild, actress
   * 1956 - Nathan Lane, actor
   * 1971 - Sarah Kane, playwright

Deaths

   * 1014 - Sweyn I, king of Denmark
   * 1468 - Johannes Gutenberg, publisher
   * 1889 - Belle Starr, outlaw
   * 1924 - Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States
   * 1956 - ƒmile Borel, mathematician, politician, statesman, member of the
     French Resistance during World War II
   * 1959 - Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, musicians
   * 1989 - John Cassavetes, actor, director, writer
   * 1996 - Audrey Meadows, actress

Holidays and observances

   * Boy Scout Sunday

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