February 3 is the 34th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 331 days remaining until the end of the year (332 in leap years).
Events
Up to 1900
1901 – 2000
- 1908 - The Panathinaikos Sports Club is founded in Athens.
- 1913 – The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified. It lets the Federal government create and collect income tax.
- 1916 – Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Canada burn down.
- 1917 – World War I: The United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany a day after Germany announces a new policy of submarine warfare.
- 1918 - The Twin Peaks Tunnel in San Francisco begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world, at 3,633 metres long.
- 1930 - The Communist Party of Vietnam is founded in Kowloon, then-British Hong Kong.
- 1931 - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hits New Zealand's North Island, mainly the cities of Napier and Hastings.
- 1943 - The USAT Dorchester is sunk by a German U-boat, killing 672 of the 902 men on board.
- 1944 – United States troops capture the Marshall Islands.
- 1945 – World War II: Soviet Union agrees to enter the Pacific Theatre fighting against Japan.
- 1947 - North America's lowest temperature is recorded in Snag, Yukon, Canada.
- 1952 – The earliest known tropical storm makes landfall in South Florida.
- 1955 - Czechoslovakia declares an end to hostilities with Germany.
- 1958 - The Benelux Economic Union is formed.
- 1959 – An airplane crash kills musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. This date becomes known as "The Day The Music Died".
- 1960 - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Macmillan makes a speech in which he says that "winds of change" are blowing across the African continent.
- 1961 - Start of the Angolan War of Independence.
- 1966 - The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft is launched.
- 1967 - In Melbourne, Ronald Ryan becomes the last person to be executed in Australia.
- 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.
- 1972 - Until February 9, a blizzard in Iran kills around 4,000 people.
- 1976 - In Mozambique, the capital city changes its name from Lourenco Marques to Maputo.
- 1981 - Gro Harlem Brundtland is elected Prime Minister of Norway.
- 1988 – The United States House of Representatives rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to aid Nicaraguan Contras.
- 1989 - In Paraguay, a coup removes Alfredo Stroessner from power.
- 1994 - Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on mission STS-60.
- 1995 - Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot a space shuttle.
- 1996 - An earthquake of magnitude 7 hits Yunnan Province, China, killing over 300 people.
- 1998 – In Northern Italy 20 people die in a cable car disaster caused by a low-flying United States Military plane.
- 1998 - Karla Faye Tucker is executed in Texas, as the first woman to be executed in the US since 1984.
From 2001
- 2002 – Super Bowl XXXVI: The New England Patriots defeat the St. Louis Rams, 20–17, to win their first Super Bowl championship.
- 2006 – The Egyptian al-Salam Boccaccio ferry sinks in the Red Sea, killing around 1,000 people.
- 2007 - A bombing at a market in Baghdad kills 135 people.
- 2008 – Super Bowl XLII: The New York Giants defeat the previously undefeated New England Patriots, 17–14, to win their third Super Bowl championship and prevent them from becoming the first 19-0 team.
- 2010 - The sculpture L'homme qui marche by Alberto Giacometti is sold at an auction in London for £ 65 million.
- 2011 - Tropical Cyclone Yasi hits Queensland, Australia.
- 2013 - Super Bowl XLVII is interrupted by a power failure just after half time, with the Baltimore Ravens leading 28-6 over the San Francisco 49ers. After over half an hour, play gets back underway. The Baltimore Ravens later go on to win the game.
- 2015 - Sergio Mattarella becomes President of Italy.
- 2015 - The House of Commons of the United Kingdom, by a majority, supports the introduction of "Three-person babies". After being passed by the House of Lords, the UK would be the first country to introduce this.
- 2015 - It is announced that a second novel by Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, is to be published in July, called Go Set a Watchman.
Births
Up to 1900
- 995 - William IV, Duke of Aquitaine (d. 1037)
- 1338 – Jeanne de Bourbon, Queen of France (d. 1378)
- 1654 - Pietro Antonio Fiocco, Italian composer (d. 1714)
- 1677 - Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect (d. 1723)
- 1689 - Blas de Lozo, Spanish admiral (d. 1741)
- 1721 - Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (d. 1773)
- 1736 – Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Austrian composer (d. 1809)
- 1747 - Samuel Osgood, American patriot (d. 1813)
- 1761 - Dorothea von Medem, German countess (d. 1821)
- 1777 - John Cheyne, British physician, surgeon and author (d. 1836)
- 1790 - Gideon Mantell, British geologist and physician (d. 1852)
- 1795 – Antonio Jose de Sucre, South American independence leader (d. 1830)
- 1806 - Ansel Briggs, 1st Governor of Iowa (d. 1881)
- 1807 - Joseph E. Johnston, American Confederate general (d. 1891)
- 1807 - Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington, British general (d. 1884)
- 1808 – Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar of Eisenach, Empress of Prussia (d. 1877)
- 1809 – Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (d. 1847)
- 1811 – Horace Greeley, American journalist, editor, and publisher (d. 1872)
- 1817 - Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse, French geologist and mineralogist (d. 1881)
- 1821 – Elizabeth Blackwell, British-American physician (d. 1910)
- 1824 - Ronald MacDonald, American explorer and educator (d. 1910)
- 1830 – Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1903)
- 1842 - Sidney Lanier, American poet and composer (d. 1881)
- 1846 - Judson Harmon, Governor of Ohio and United States Attorney General (d. 1927)
- 1857 - Giuseppe Moretti, Italian sculptor (d. 1935)
- 1859 – Hugo Junkers, German aircraft designer (d. 1935)
- 1870 – Ada Negri, Italian actress (d. 1945)
- 1874 – Gertrude Stein, American writer and publicist (d. 1946)
- 1878 - Gordon Coates, 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1943)
- 1887 – Georg Trakl, Austrian writer (d. 1914)
- 1889 - Risto Ryti, 5th President of Finland (d. 1956)
- 1891 - Juan Negrin, Spanish politician (d. 1956)
- 1894 – Norman Rockwell, American artist, illustrator (d. 1978)
- 1898 – Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (d. 1976)
- 1898 - Lil Hardin Armstrong, American jazz musician (d. 1971)
- 1899 - Lao She, Chinese author and playwright (d. 1966)
- 1899 - Joao Café Filho, President of Brazil (d. 1970)
1901 – 1950
- 1903 – Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, Scottish aviator (d. 1973)
- 1907 – James A. Michener, American writer (d. 1997)
- 1909 – Simone Weil, French philosopher (d. 1943)
- 1911 – Jehan Alain, French composer (d. 1940)
- 1911 - Robert Earl Jones, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1912 – Mary Carlisle, American actress
- 1912 - Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist (d. 2006)
- 1915 - Stuart Archer, British recipient of the George Cross (d. 2015)
- 1915 – Boris Paichadze, Georgian footballer (d. 1990)
- 1918 - Joey Bishop, American entertainer (d. 2007)
- 1920 - Henry Heimlich, American physician
- 1925 – Leon Schlumpf, Swiss Federal Councillor (d. 2012)
- 1925 - Shelley Berman, American actor, comedian and writer
- 1926 – Hans-Jochen Vogel, German politician
- 1927 – Val Doonican, Irish singer and entertainer (d. 2015)
- 1928 - Ingemar Haraldsson, Swedish footballer (d. 2004)
- 1932 – Michael Martin, American philosopher (d. 2015)
- 1932 - Stuart Hall, Jamaican-British cultural theorist and sociologist (d. 2014)
- 1933 - Paul Sarbanes, American politician
- 1935 - Johnny "Guitar" Watson, American musician (d. 1996)
- 1937 - Jacques Barrot, French politician (d. 2014)
- 1938 - Emile Griffith, American boxer (d. 2013)
- 1939 - Michael Cimino, American film director
- 1943 – Blythe Danner, American actress
- 1943 – Dennis Edwards, American singer (The Temptations)
- 1943 - Shawn Philipps, American guitarist, singer and songwriter
- 1947 – Dave Davies, English musician (The Kinks)
- 1947 – Paul Auster, American writer
- 1948 – Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, East Timorese bishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner
- 1948 – Henning Mankell, Swedish writer (d. 2015)
- 1950 – Morgan Fairchild, American actress
1951 – 1975
- 1951 - Eugenijus Riabovas, Lithuanian football manager
- 1951 – Blaise Compaoré, former President of Burkina Faso
- 1955 – Stephen Euin Cobb, American writer
- 1955 – Bruno Pezzey, Austrian footballer (d. 1994)
- 1955 – Kirsty Wark, Scottish broadcast journalist
- 1956 - Nathan Lane, American actor
- 1956 - Lee Ranaldo, American musician
- 1958 - Joe F. Edwards, Jr., American basketball player
- 1959 - Lol Tolhurst, English musician (The Cure)
- 1960 – Joachim Löw, German football trainer
- 1961 - Jay Adams, American skateboarder (d. 2014)
- 1963 – Stefano Mei, Italian sportsperson (athletics)
- 1964 – Michael Rummenigge, German footballer
- 1966 - Franco Coraci, American movie director
- 1967 – Mixu Paatelainen, Finnish footballer and coach
- 1969 - Beau Biden, American attorney and politician (d. 2015)
- 1970 - Warwick Davis, British actor
- 1971 – Sarah Kane, British playwright (d. 1999)
- 1972 – Mart Poom, Estonian footballer
- 1975 - Brad Thorn, New Zealand rugby player
From 1976
- 1976 - Mathieu Dandenault, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Isla Fisher, Australian actress
- 1977 - Marek Zidlicky, Czech ice hockey player
- 1977 – Daddy Yankee, Puerto Rican singer
- 1978 – Joan Capdevila, Spanish footballer
- 1978 - Amal Clooney, Lebanese-British lawyer and activist
- 1978 - Eliza Schneider, American actress and singer
- 1980 - Kim E-Z, Korean singer
- 1981 - Alisa Reyes, American actress and singer
- 1982 - Jessica Harp, American singer
- 1982 - Bridget Regan, American actress
- 1983 – Gabriel Sargissian, Armenian chess player
- 1984 - Sara Carbonero, Spanish journalist
- 1985 - Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarussian ice hockey player
- 1986 - Kanako Yanagihara, Japanese actress, comedian and entertainer
- 1988 - Kyuhyun, South Korean singer
- 1988 – Gregory van der Wiel, Dutch footballer
- 1989 – Vania King, American tennis player
- 1990 – Sean Kingston, American singer
- 1990 - Sterling Moore, American football player
- 1991 - Glenn McCuen, American actor
- 1993 - Getter Jaani, Estonian actress and singer
Deaths
Up to 1900
- 619 - Laurence of Canterbury, 2nd Archbishop of Canterbury
- 699 - Werburgh, English saint (b. 650)
- 995 - William IV, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
- 1014 – King Sweyn I of Denmark
- 1116 - King Coloman of Hungary (b. 1070)
- 1399 – John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (b. 1340)
- 1428 - Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shogun (b. 1386)
- 1451 – Murad II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1404)
- 1468 – Johannes Gutenberg, German publisher
- 1737 - Tommaso Ceva, Italian mathematician (b. 1648)
- 1820 – Emperor Gia Long of Vietnam (b. 1762)
- 1832 – George Crabbe, English naturalist (b. 1754)
- 1862 - Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (b. 1774)
- 1874 – William Charles Lunalilo, King of Hawaii (b. 1835)
- 1889 – Belle Starr, American outlaw (b. 1848)
- 1900 – William Goebel, 34th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1856)
1901 – 2000
- 1908 - Ferdinand Meldahl, Danish architect (b. 1827)
- 1920 - Frank Brown, Governor of Maryland (b. 1846)
- 1921 – Colin Archer, Norwegian shipbuilder (b. 1832)
- 1922 - John Butler Yeats, Irish illustrator (b. 1839)
- 1924 – Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize winner (b. 1856)
- 1929 - Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish scientist (b. 1878)
- 1935 – Hugo Junkers, German aircraft designer (b. 1859)
- 1937 - Marija Leiko, Latvian movie actress (b. 1887)
- 1944 - Yvette Guilbert, French cabaret singer (b. 1865)
- 1945 – Roland Freisler, Nazi official (b. 1893)
- 1948 - Louis J. Brann, Governor of Maine (b. 1876)
- 1952 - Harold L. Ickes, American politician (b. 1874)
- 1955 - Vasili Blokhin, Soviet general (b. 1895)
- 1956 - Johnny Claes, Belgian racing driver (b. 1916)
- 1959 - "Day the Music Died":
- 1960 – Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (b. 1921)
- 1961 – Anna May Wong, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1961 - William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, Governor-General of Australia (b. 1893)
- 1967 - Joe Meek, English record producer (b. 1929)
- 1969 – Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique independence founder (b. 1920)
- 1969 - C. N. Annaduri, Indian politician, 7th Chief Minister of Madras State (b. 1909)
- 1975 – Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer (b. 1904)
- 1975 - William D. Coolidge, American physicist and inventor (b. 1873)
- 1985 - Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist (b. 1912)
- 1989 – John Cassavetes, American actor (b. 1929)
- 1989 - Lionel Newman, American movie music orchestra leader and composer (b. 1916)
- 1991 - Harry Ackerman, American television producer (b. 1912)
- 2000 - Alla Rakha, Indian tabla player (b. 1919)
From 2001
- 2003 – Lana Clarkson, American actress (b. 1962)
- 2004 - Jason Raize, American actor (b. 1975)
- 2005 – Zurab Zhvania, Georgian politician (b. 1963)
- 2005 – Ernst Mayr, German biologist (b. 1904)
- 2006 - Al Lewis, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Edouard Glissant, French-Martinican poet (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Maria Schneider, French actress (b. 1952)
- 2012 – Ben Gazzara, American actor (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Samuel Youd, British writer (b. 1922)
- 2014 - Louise Brough, American tennis player (b. 1923)
- 2014 - Richard Bull, American actor (b. 1924)
- 2014 - Louan Gideon, American actress (b. 1955)
- 2014 - Joan Mondale, former Second Lady of the United States (b. 1930)
- 2014 - Bill Sinkin, American activist (b. 1913)
- 2015 - Frank Borghi, American soccer player (b. 1925)
- 2015 - Charlie Sifford, American golfer (b. 1922)
- 2015 - Martin Gilbert, British historian (b. 1936)
- 2015 - Mary Healy, American actress (b. 1918)
- 2016 - Mark Farren, Irish footballer (b. 1982)
- 2016 - Balram Jakhar, Indian politician (b. 1923)
- 2016 - Saulius Sondeckis, Lithuanian violinist and conductor (b. 1928)
- 2016 - Joe Alaskey, American voice actor (b. 1952)
Observances
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