February 1Birthdays & History

On this day: February 1 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 1327The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.Europe
2. 1411The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).Europe
3. 1662The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.Asia
4. 1713The Kalabalik or Skirmish at Bender results from the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III's order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.Middle EastEurope
5. 1793French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.Europe
6. 1796The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.North America
7. 1814Mayon in the Philippines erupts, killing around 1,200 people, which was the most devastating eruption of the volcano.Asia
8. 1835Slavery is abolished in Mauritius.Africa
9. 1861American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States and joins the Confederacy a week later.North America
10. 1864Second Schleswig War: Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig, starting the war.Europe
11. 1865President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.North America
12. 1884The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.Europe
13. 1893Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.North America
14. 1895Fountains Valley, Pretoria, the oldest nature reserve in Africa, is proclaimed by President Paul Kruger.Africa
15. 1896La bohème premieres in Turin at the Teatro Regio (Turin), conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini.Europe
16. 1897Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.Asia
17. 1900Great Britain, defeated by Boers in key battles, names Lord Roberts commander of British forces in South Africa.EuropeAfrica
18. 1908Lisbon Regicide: King Carlos I of Portugal and Infante Luis Filipe are shot dead in Lisbon.Europe
19. 1924Russia–United Kingdom relations are restored, over six years after the Communist revolution.Europe
20. 1942World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.Europe
21. 1942Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers.North America
22. 1942World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls–Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.North AmericaAsia
23. 1942Mao Zedong makes a speech on "Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature", which puts into motion the Yan'an Rectification Movement.Asia
24. 1946The Parliament of Hungary abolishes the monarchy after nine centuries, and proclaims the Hungarian Republic.Europe
25. 1946Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary-General.Europe
26. 1950The first prototype of the MiG-17 makes its maiden flight.Europe
27. 1957Northeast Airlines Flight 823 crashes on Rikers Island in New York City, killing 20 people and injuring 78 others.North America
28. 1960Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.North America
29. 1964The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with "I Want to Hold Your Hand".North America
30. 1968Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is recorded on motion picture film, as well as in an iconic still photograph taken by Eddie Adams.Asia
31. 1968Canada's three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.North America
32. 1968The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form Penn Central Transportation.North America
33. 1972Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.Asia
34. 1974A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.Latin America
35. 1979Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile.Middle East
36. 1981The Underarm bowling incident of 1981 occurred when Trevor Chappell bowls underarm on the final delivery of a game between Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).Oceania
37. 1982The Intel 80286 is released, which introduced protected mode memory. The IBM PC/AT and its clones used this CPU.North America
38. 1991A runway collision between USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport results in the deaths of 34 people, and injuries to 30 others.North America
39. 1991A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes the Hindu Kush region, killing at least 848 people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and present-day Tajikistan.Asia
40. 1992The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal disaster case.Asia
41. 1996The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.North America
42. 1998Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne becomes the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.AfricaNorth America
43. 2002Daniel Pearl, American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal, kidnapped on January 23, is beheaded and mutilated by his captors.North AmericaAsia
44. 2003Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.North America
45. 2004Hajj pilgrimage stampede: In a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured.Middle East
46. 2004Double suicide attack in Erbil on the offices of Iraqi Kurdish political parties by members of Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-JihadMiddle East
47. 2005King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d'état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.Asia
48. 2007The National Weather Service in the United States switches from the Fujita scale to the new Enhanced Fujita scale to measure the intensity and strength of tornadoes.North America
49. 2009The first cabinet of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was formed in Iceland, making her the country's first female prime minister and the world's first openly gay head of government.Europe
50. 2012Seventy-four people are killed and over 500 injured as a result of clashes between fans of Egyptian football teams Al Masry and Al Ahly in the city of Port Said.Middle East
51. 2013The Shard, the sixth-tallest building in Europe, opens its viewing gallery to the public.Europe
52. 2021A coup d'état in Myanmar removes Aung San Suu Kyi from power and restores military rule.Asia
53. 2022Five-year-old Moroccan boy Rayan Aourram falls into a 32-meter (105 feet) deep well in Ighran village in Tamorot commune, Chefchaouen Province, Morocco, but dies four days later, before rescue workers reached him.Africa

Source: Wikipedia "February 1" / CC BY-SA 4.0