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  • Hami City, China
    Feb, 73
    Imperial China (Qin and Han dynasties)

    Battle of Yiwulu

    Hami City, China
    Feb, 73

    A punitive Han expedition against the Xiongnu captured territory in the area of modern Hami City.




  • China
    Friday Feb 13, 105
    Imperial China (Qin and Han dynasties)

    He of Han died

    China
    Friday Feb 13, 105

    He of Han died.




  • Roman Empire
    Tuesday Feb 25, 138
    Roman Empire

    Antoninus Pius "adopted son"

    Roman Empire
    Tuesday Feb 25, 138

    Antoninus Pius acquired much favor with Hadrian, who adopted him as his son and successor on 25 February 138, after the death of his first adopted son Lucius Aelius, on the condition that Antoninus would, in turn, adopt Marcus Annius Verus, the son of his wife's brother, and Lucius, son of Lucius Aelius, who afterward became the emperors, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.




  • Han, China
    Monday Feb 15, 145
    Imperial China (Qin and Han dynasties)

    Chong of Han died

    Han, China
    Monday Feb 15, 145

    Chong of Han died.




  • Henan, China
    Feb, 190
    Imperial China (Qin and Han dynasties)

    Campaign against Dong Zhuo

    Henan, China
    Feb, 190

    A coalition led by Yuan Shao gathered at Hangu Pass in anticipation of an expedition against Dong.




  • Eboracum, Roman Empire (Present-Day in York, England, United Kingdom)
    Monday Feb 4, 211
    Roman Empire

    Septimius Severus died

    Eboracum, Roman Empire (Present-Day in York, England, United Kingdom)
    Monday Feb 4, 211

    Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna. Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. His remains are now lost.




  • Mesopotamia (Present-Day in Iraq)
    Sunday Feb 11, 244
    Roman Empire

    Gordian III died

    Mesopotamia (Present-Day in Iraq)
    Sunday Feb 11, 244

    Gaius Julius Priscus and, later on, his own brother Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as Philip the Arab, stepped in at this moment as the new Praetorian Prefects Gordian would then start a second campaign. Around February 244, the Sasanians fought back fiercely to halt the Roman advance to Ctesiphon. The eventual fate of Gordian after the battle is unclear. Sasanian sources claim that a battle occurred (Battle of Misiche) near modern Fallujah (Iraq) and resulted in a major Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III.


  • Rome
    Feb, 244
    Roman Empire

    Philip the Arab

    Rome
    Feb, 244

    In an attempt to shore up his regime, Philip put a great deal of effort into maintaining good relations with the Senate, and from the beginning of his reign, he reaffirmed the old Roman virtues and traditions.


  • Rome, Italy
    Tuesday Feb 16, 269
    Valentine's Day

    Saint Valentine's death

    Rome, Italy
    Tuesday Feb 16, 269

    Saint Valentine was martyred by emperor Claudius II Gothicus and was buried in via falminia.


  • Roman Empire
    Tuesday Feb 24, 303
    Roman Empire

    Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published

    Roman Empire
    Tuesday Feb 24, 303

    Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published. The edict ordered the destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the empire and prohibited Christians from assembling for worship.


  • Egypt
    Feb, 1021
    Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah

    Disappearance

    Egypt
    Feb, 1021

    In the final years of his reign, Hakim displayed a growing inclination toward asceticism and withdrew for meditation regularly. On the night of 12/13 February 1021 and at the age of 35, Hakim left for one of his night journeys to the Mokattam hills outside of Cairo, and never returned. A search found only his donkey and bloodstained garments. The disappearance has remained a mystery, though it is likely that his sister Sitt al-Mulk arranged for his assassination, being opposed to his intolerant politics. Al-Ḥākim was succeeded by his young son Ali az-Zahir under the regency of Sitt al-Mulk.


  • Mansoura, Egypt
    Friday Feb 11, 1250
    Mamluks

    Prior to Turanshah's arrival at the front facing the French

    Mansoura, Egypt
    Friday Feb 11, 1250

    Prior to Turanshah's arrival at the front facing the French, the Bahriyyah, a junior regiment of the Salihiyyah commanded by Baibars al-Buduqdari, defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of al-Mansurah on 11 February 1250.


  • Cairo, Egypt
    Sunday Feb 27, 1250
    Mamluks

    The sultan Turanshah arrived in Egypt

    Cairo, Egypt
    Sunday Feb 27, 1250

    On 27 February, Turanshah, as new sultan, arrived in Egypt from Hasankeyf (Turkish for "rock fortress"), where he had been Emir (Arabic for "Prince") of Hisn Kayfa (Arabic for "rock fortress").


  • Pisa, Italy
    Monday Feb 23, 1260
    Leaning Tower of Pisa

    Guido Speziale

    Pisa, Italy
    Monday Feb 23, 1260

    On 23 February 1260, Guido Speziale, son of Giovanni Pisano, was elected to oversee the building of the tower.


  • Cairo, Egypt
    Tuesday Feb 1, 1453
    Mamluks

    Al-Mansur Fakhr-ad-Din Uthman was the Mamluk sultan of Egypt in 1453

    Cairo, Egypt
    Tuesday Feb 1, 1453

    Al-Malik al-Mansur Fakhr ad-Din Uthman ibn Jàqmaq, more simply known as Al-Mansur Uthman was Sultan of Cairo's Mamluk Burji dynasty (1453).


  • Cairo, Egypt
    Tuesday Feb 26, 1461
    Mamluks

    Al-Mu'ayyad Shihab al-Din Ahmad was a Mamluk sultan of Egypt in 1461

    Cairo, Egypt
    Tuesday Feb 26, 1461

    Al-Mu'ayyad Shihab al-Din Ahmad was the son of Sayf ad-Din Inal, and a Mamluk sultan of Egypt from 26 February to 28 June 1461.


  • London, England, United Kingdom
    Saturday Feb 12, 1487
    Elizabeth Woodville

    Retired

    London, England, United Kingdom
    Saturday Feb 12, 1487

    Dowager Queen Elizabeth spent the last five years of her life living at Bermondsey Abbey, to which she retired on 12 February 1487.


  • Pisa (then part of the Duchy of Florence), Italy
    Saturday Feb 15, 1564
    Galileo Galilei

    Birth

    Pisa (then part of the Duchy of Florence), Italy
    Saturday Feb 15, 1564

    Galileo was born in Pisa (then part of the Duchy of Florence), Italy, on 15 February 1564, the first of six children of Vincenzo Galilei, a lutenist, composer, and music theorist, and Giulia (née Ammannati), who had married in 1562.


  • Italy
    Feb, 1615
    Galileo Galilei

    Lorini accordingly sent a copy to the Secretary of the Inquisition

    Italy
    Feb, 1615

    Lorini and his colleagues decided to bring Galileo's letter to the attention of the Inquisition. In February 1615 Lorini accordingly sent a copy to the Secretary of the Inquisition, Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, with a covering letter critical of Galileo's supporters: All our Fathers of the devout Convent of St. Mark feel that the letter contains many statements which seem presumptuous or suspect, as when it states that the words of Holy Scripture do not mean what they say; that in discussions about natural phenomena the authority of Scripture should rank last... . [The followers of Galileo] were taking it upon themselves to expound the Holy Scripture according to their private lights and in a manner different from the common interpretation of the Fathers of the Church... — Letter from Lorini to Cardinal Sfrondato, Inquisitor in Rome, 1615. Quoted in Langford, 1992.


  • Italy
    Friday Feb 19, 1616
    Galileo Galilei

    The Inquisition asked a commission of theologians about the propositions of the heliocentric view of the universe

    Italy
    Friday Feb 19, 1616

    On February 19, 1616, the Inquisition asked a commission of theologians, known as qualifiers, about the propositions of the heliocentric view of the universe. Historians of the Galileo affair have offered different accounts of why the matter was referred to the qualifiers at this time. Beretta points out that the Inquisition had taken a deposition from Gianozzi Attavanti in November 1615, as part of its investigation into the denunciations of Galileo by Lorini and Caccini.


  • Italy
    Wednesday Feb 24, 1616
    Galileo Galilei

    Qualifiers delivered their unanimous report

    Italy
    Wednesday Feb 24, 1616

    On February 24 the Qualifiers delivered their unanimous report: the proposition that the Sun is stationary at the centre of the universe is "foolish and absurd in philosophy, and formally heretical since it explicitly contradicts in many places the sense of Holy Scripture"; the proposition that the Earth moves and is not at the centre of the universe "receives the same judgement in philosophy; and ... in regard to theological truth it is at least erroneous in faith."


  • Italy
    Friday Feb 26, 1616
    Galileo Galilei

    Galileo was called to Bellarmine's residence

    Italy
    Friday Feb 26, 1616

    At a meeting of the cardinals of the Inquisition on the following day, Pope Paul V instructed Bellarmine to deliver this result to Galileo, and to order him to abandon the Copernican opinions; should Galileo resist the decree, stronger action would be taken. On February 26, Galileo was called to Bellarmine's residence and ordered, to abstain completely from teaching or defending this doctrine and opinion or from discussing it... to abandon completely... the opinion that the sun stands still at the center of the world and the earth moves, and henceforth not to hold, teach, or defend it in any way whatever, either orally or in writing. — The Inquisition's injunction against Galileo, 1616.


  • Westmoreland County, Virginia, U.S.
    Saturday Feb 23, 1732
    George Washington

    Birth

    Westmoreland County, Virginia, U.S.
    Saturday Feb 23, 1732

    George Washington was born February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia.


  • Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, U.S. (then Colony of Virginia)
    Feb, 1754
    George Washington

    A Lieutenant Colonel

    Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, U.S. (then Colony of Virginia)
    Feb, 1754

    In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of the 300-strong Virginia Regiment, with orders to confront French forces at the Forks of the Ohio.


  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
    Feb, 1756
    George Washington

    Washington pressed his case

    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
    Feb, 1756

    Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission, and pressed his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor, William Shirley, and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, Lord Loudoun. Shirley ruled in Washington's favor only in the matter of Dagworthy; Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort Cumberland.


  • London, England, United Kingdom
    Feb, 1777
    George Washington

    Patriots were in a position to demand unconditional independence

    London, England, United Kingdom
    Feb, 1777

    In February 1777, word reached London of the American victories at Trenton and Princeton, and the British realized the Patriots were in a position to demand unconditional independence.


  • U.S.
    Feb, 1778
    George Washington

    Treaty of Alliance

    U.S.
    Feb, 1778

    In early 1778, the French responded to Burgoyne's defeat and entered into a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans. The Continental Congress ratified the treaty in May, which amounted to a French declaration of war against Britain.


  • Southern Italian peninsula and Sicily
    Wednesday Feb 5, 1783
    1783 Calabrian earthquakes

    The Earthquake

    Southern Italian peninsula and Sicily
    Wednesday Feb 5, 1783

    This earthquake, with an estimated magnitude of 7.0, affected a large area including most of the southern Italian peninsula and shook the whole island of Sicily. Many villages were damaged and as many as 180 almost completely destroyed, with more than 25,000 casualties. A tsunami affected the coastline on both sides of the Straits of Messina, destroying the harbor walls at Messina. The earthquake had already caused widespread death and destruction in Messina. Homes were razed to the ground, the medieval Duomo was badly damaged and most of the historic buildings were reduced to rubble.


  • Southern Italian peninsula and Sicily
    Thursday Feb 6, 1783
    1783 Calabrian earthquakes

    This magnitude 6.2 event

    Southern Italian peninsula and Sicily
    Thursday Feb 6, 1783

    This magnitude 6.2 event occurred during the night following the first event and struck the area just to the southwest. Most of the damage and casualties appear to have been caused by a tsunami that was set off by a major collapse of Monte Pací into the sea near Scilla shortly after the earthquake. Many of Scilla's residents, frightened by the tremors of the previous day had moved onto the open beach for the night, where they were overwhelmed by the waves. The tsunami caused severe flooding in the town, reaching as far as 200 m inland, and there were more than 1500 deaths.


  • Southern Italian peninsula and Sicily
    Friday Feb 7, 1783
    1783 Calabrian earthquakes

    Severe damage extended 15 km along the front of the Serre Mountains

    Southern Italian peninsula and Sicily
    Friday Feb 7, 1783

    This event occurred at about midday 40 km NE of the first mainshock on the 5th. Severe damage extended 15 km along the front of the Serre Mountains, leveling all the villages between Acquaro and Soriano Calabro. The earthquake is thought to have involved the rupturing of the southern segment of the Serre fault that bounds the Mesima Basin.


  • Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S.
    Feb, 1784
    George Washington

    Visited his mother

    Fredericksburg, Virginia, U.S.
    Feb, 1784

    Washington was longing to return home after spending just 10 days at Mount Vernon out of ​8 1⁄2 years of war. He arrived on Christmas Eve, delighted to be "free of the bustle of a camp and the busy scenes of public life". He was a celebrity and was fêted during a visit to his mother at Fredericksburg in February 1784, and he received a constant stream of visitors wishing to pay their respects to him at Mount Vernon.


  • Schonbrunn Castle, Vienna, Austria
    Saturday Feb 11, 1786
    Mozart

    Joseph II and the composing of The Impresario

    Schonbrunn Castle, Vienna, Austria
    Saturday Feb 11, 1786

    In January 1786, Mozart had taken on a new commission for opera. Without doubt his decision was motivated by the appeal that came from the emperor himself, in memory of the sister of the emperor. The welcome sum of 50 ducats was given him by Emperor Joseph II itself. In addition, Mozart produced an opera, called The Impresario.


  • U.S.
    Thursday Feb 5, 1789
    George Washington

    The state electors under the Constitution voted for the president

    U.S.
    Thursday Feb 5, 1789

    The delegates to the Convention anticipated a Washington presidency and left it to him to define the office once elected. The state electors under the Constitution voted for the president on February 4, 1789, and Washington suspected that most republicans had not voted for him. The mandated March 4 date passed without a Congressional quorum to count the votes, but a quorum was reached on April 5. The votes were tallied the next day, and Congressional Secretary Charles Thomson was sent to Mount Vernon to tell Washington he had been elected president. Washington won the majority of every state's electoral votes; John Adams received the next highest number of votes and therefore became vice president.


  • U.S.
    Thursday Feb 26, 1789
    George Washington

    Rift became openly hostile between Hamilton and Jefferson

    U.S.
    Thursday Feb 26, 1789

    Hamilton created controversy among Cabinet members by advocating the establishment of the First Bank of the United States. Madison and Jefferson objected, but the bank easily passed Congress. Jefferson and Randolph insisted that the new bank was beyond the authority granted by the constitution, as Hamilton believed. Washington sided with Hamilton and signed the legislation on February 25, and the rift became openly hostile between Hamilton and Jefferson.


  • New York, U.S.
    Feb, 1791
    Benjamin Banneker

    Surveying team in western New York

    New York, U.S.
    Feb, 1791

    In February 1791, surveyor Major Andrew Ellicott (the son of Joseph Ellicott and cousin of George Ellicott), having left at the request of U.S. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson a surveying team in western New York that he had been leading, hired Banneker as a replacement to assist in the initial survey of the boundaries of a new federal district. Formed from land along the Potomac River that the states of Maryland and Virginia ceded to the federal government of the United States in accordance with the 1790 federal Residence Act and later legislation, the territory that became the original District of Columbia was a square measuring 10 miles (16 km) on each side, totaling 100 square miles (260 km2). Ellicott's team placed boundary marker stones at or near every mile point along the borders of the new capital territory.


  • Japan
    Feb, 1792
    1792 Unzen earthquake and tsunami

    Fugen-dake started to erupt

    Japan
    Feb, 1792

    In February 1792, Fugen-dake started to erupt, triggering a lava flow which continued for two months. Meanwhile, the earthquakes continued, shifting nearer to the city of Shimabara.


  • U.S.
    Wednesday Feb 13, 1793
    George Washington

    Washington signed into law the Fugitive Slave Act

    U.S.
    Wednesday Feb 13, 1793

    On February 12, 1793, Washington signed into law the Fugitive Slave Act, which overrode state laws and courts, allowing agents to cross state lines to capture and return escaped slaves. Many in the north decried the law believing the act allowed bounty hunting and the kidnappings of blacks. The Slave Trade Act of 1794, limiting American involvement in the Atlantic slave trade, was also enacted.


  • U.S.
    Wednesday Feb 13, 1793
    George Washington

    Second Term

    U.S.
    Wednesday Feb 13, 1793

    The Electoral College unanimously elected him president on February 13, 1793, and John Adams as vice president by a vote of 77 to 50.


  • Riobamba, Spanish Empire (now Ecuador)
    Saturday Feb 4, 1797
    12:30:00 PM
    Disasters with highest death tolls

    1797 Riobamba Earthquake

    Riobamba, Spanish Empire (now Ecuador)
    Saturday Feb 4, 1797
    12:30:00 PM

    The 1797 Riobamba earthquake occurred at 12:30 UTC on 4 February. It devastated the city of Riobamba and many other cities in the Interandean valley, causing between 6,000–40,000 casualties.


  • Lunéville, France
    Monday Feb 9, 1801
    Napoleon

    Treaty of Lunéville

    Lunéville, France
    Monday Feb 9, 1801

    As a result, the Austrians capitulated and signed the Treaty of Lunéville in February 1801. The treaty reaffirmed and expanded earlier French gains at Campo Formio.


  • Ottoman Empire (Present Day Turkey)
    Feb, 1806
    Napoleon

    Ottoman Emperor Selim III recognized Napoleon as Emperor

    Ottoman Empire (Present Day Turkey)
    Feb, 1806

    In February 1806, Ottoman Emperor Selim III recognized Napoleon as Emperor. He also opted for an alliance with France, calling France "our sincere and natural ally". That decision brought the Ottoman Empire into a losing war against Russia and Britain.


  • Preussisch Eylau, East Prussia (Present Day Bagrationovsk, Russia)
    Saturday Feb 7, 1807
    Napoleon

    Battle of Eylau

    Preussisch Eylau, East Prussia (Present Day Bagrationovsk, Russia)
    Saturday Feb 7, 1807

    Napoleon marched against the advancing Russian armies through Poland and was involved in the bloody stalemate at the Battle of Eylau in February 1807.


  • Spain
    Tuesday Feb 16, 1808
    Napoleon

    Napoleon announced that he would intervene to mediate between the rival political factions in the country

    Spain
    Tuesday Feb 16, 1808

    Throughout the winter of 1808, French agents became increasingly involved in Spanish internal affairs, attempting to incite discord between members of the Spanish royal family. On 16 February 1808, secret French machinations finally materialized when Napoleon announced that he would intervene to mediate between the rival political factions in the country.


  • Austria
    Wednesday Feb 8, 1809
    Napoleon

    Imperial Government secretly decided on another confrontation against the French

    Austria
    Wednesday Feb 8, 1809

    After four years on the sidelines, Austria sought another war with France to avenge its recent defeats. Austria could not count on Russian support because the latter was at war with Britain, Sweden, and the Ottoman Empire in 1809. Although Archduke Charles warned that the Austrians were not ready for another showdown with Napoleon, a stance that landed him in the so-called "peace party", he did not want to see the army demobilized either. On 8 February 1809, the advocates for war finally succeeded when the Imperial Government secretly decided on another confrontation against the French.


  • Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.
    Monday Feb 13, 1809
    Abraham Lincoln

    Birth

    Hodgenville, Kentucky, U.S.
    Monday Feb 13, 1809

    Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, the second child of Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, in a one-room log cabin on Sinking Spring Farm near Hodgenville, Kentucky.


  • France
    Tuesday Feb 28, 1815
    Napoleon

    Napoleon escaped to France

    France
    Tuesday Feb 28, 1815

    Napoleon escaped from Elba, in the brig Inconstant on 26 February 1815 with 700 men. Two days later, he landed on the French mainland at Golfe-Juan and started heading north.


  • Maryland, U.S.
    Saturday Feb 14, 1818
    Frederick Douglass

    Birth

    Maryland, U.S.
    Saturday Feb 14, 1818

    Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey was born into slavery on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Talbot County, Maryland. The plantation was between Hillsboro and Cordova; his birthplace was likely his grandmother's cabin.


  • Angostura, Venezuela
    Monday Feb 15, 1819
    Simón Bolívar

    Venezuelan Second National Congress

    Angostura, Venezuela
    Monday Feb 15, 1819

    On 15 February 1819, Bolívar was able to open the Venezuelan Second National Congress in Angostura, in which he was elected president and Francisco Antonio Zea was elected vice president. Bolívar then decided that he would first fight for the independence of New Granada, to gain resources of the vice royalty, intending later to consolidate the independence of Venezuela.


  • Bristol, England, United Kingdom
    Saturday Feb 3, 1821
    Elizabeth Blackwell

    Birth

    Bristol, England, United Kingdom
    Saturday Feb 3, 1821

    Elizabeth was born on February 3, 1821, in Bristol, England, to Samuel Blackwell, who was a sugar refiner, and his wife Hannah (Lane) Blackwell.


  • Greece
    Feb, 1821
    Muhammad Ali of Egypt

    Greek War of Independence

    Greece
    Feb, 1821

    While Muhammad Ali was expanding his authority into Africa, the Ottoman Empire was being challenged by ethnic rebellions in its European territories. The rebellion in the Greek provinces of the Ottoman Empire began in 1821. The Ottoman army proved ineffectual in its attempts to put down the revolt as ethnic violence spread as far as Constantinople. With his own army proving ineffective, Sultan Mahmud II offered Muhammad Ali the island of Crete in exchange for his support in putting down the revolt.


  • Peru
    Tuesday Feb 10, 1824
    Simón Bolívar

    The Peruvian congress named him dictator of Peru

    Peru
    Tuesday Feb 10, 1824

    Thereafter, Bolívar took over the task of fully liberating Peru. The Peruvian congress named him dictator of Peru on 10 February 1824, which allowed Bolívar to reorganize completely the political and military administration. Assisted by Antonio José de Sucre, Bolívar decisively defeated the Spanish cavalry at the Battle of Junín on 6 August 1824. Sucre destroyed the still numerically superior remnants of the Spanish forces at Ayacucho on 9 December 1824.


  • Verkhnie Aremzyani (now a village near Tobolsk in Siberia)
    Saturday Feb 8, 1834
    Dmitri Mendeleev

    Birth

    Verkhnie Aremzyani (now a village near Tobolsk in Siberia)
    Saturday Feb 8, 1834

    Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was born on 8 February 1834, in the village of Verkhnie Aremzyani, near Tobolsk in Siberia. Dimitri was the youngest of 14 surviving siblings.


  • London, England, United Kingdom
    Feb, 1835
    The palace of Westminster England

    Works proceeded quickly

    London, England, United Kingdom
    Feb, 1835

    Works proceeded quickly and the chambers were ready for use by February 1835.


  • Damascus, Syria
    Feb, 1841
    Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt

    The United Kingdom and the Austrian Empire intervened to preserve the integrity of the Ottoman Empire

    Damascus, Syria
    Feb, 1841

    But the United Kingdom and the Austrian Empire intervened to preserve the integrity of the Ottoman Empire. Their squadrons cut his communications by the sea with Egypt, a general revolt isolated him in Syria, and he was finally compelled to evacuate the country in February 1841.


  • Bonn, Germany
    Saturday Feb 1, 1845
    12:00:00 PM
    Beethoven

    Beethovenfest

    Bonn, Germany
    Saturday Feb 1, 1845
    12:00:00 PM

    There is a museum, the Beethoven House, the place of his birth, in central Bonn. The same city has hosted a musical festival, the Beethovenfest, since 1845. The festival was initially irregular but has been organized annually since 2007.


  • Central Europe (Present-Day Germany)
    Friday Feb 4, 1848
    German revolutions of 1848–1849

    Baden sent two democrats to the pre parliament

    Central Europe (Present-Day Germany)
    Friday Feb 4, 1848

    Baden sent two democrats, Friedrich Karl Franz Hecker and Gustav von Struve, to the pre parliament. In the minority and frustrated with the lack of progress, Hecker and Struve walked out in protest on April 2, 1848.


  • Florence, Italy
    Feb, 1848
    Unification of Italy

    Revolts in Tuscany that were relatively nonviolent

    Florence, Italy
    Feb, 1848

    In February 1848, there were revolts in Tuscany that were relatively nonviolent, after which Grand Duke Leopold II granted the Tuscans a constitution. A breakaway republican provisional government formed in Tuscany during February shortly after this concession.


  • Central Europe (Present-Day Bavaria, Germany)
    Wednesday Feb 9, 1848
    German revolutions of 1848–1849

    Demonstration in Bavaria

    Central Europe (Present-Day Bavaria, Germany)
    Wednesday Feb 9, 1848

    On February 9, conservatives came out onto the streets in protest.


  • Italy
    Monday Feb 21, 1848
    Unification of Italy

    Pope Pius IX granted a constitution to the Papal States

    Italy
    Monday Feb 21, 1848

    On 21 February, Pope Pius IX granted a constitution to the Papal States, which was both unexpected and surprising considering the historical recalcitrance of the Papacy.


  • Germany
    Feb, 1848
    Unification of Germany

    German revolutions of 1848–1849

    Germany
    Feb, 1848

    The "March Revolution" in the German states took place in the south and the west of Germany, with large popular assemblies and mass demonstrations. Led by well-educated students and intellectuals, they demanded German national unity, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly.


  • France
    Wednesday Feb 23, 1848
    Unification of Italy

    King Louis Philippe of France was forced to flee Paris

    France
    Wednesday Feb 23, 1848

    On 23 February 1848, King Louis Philippe of France was forced to flee Paris, and a republic was proclaimed. By the time the revolution in Paris occurred, three states of Italy had constitutions—four if one considers Sicily to be a separate state.


  • Central Europe (Present-Day Germany)
    Feb, 1848
    German revolutions of 1848–1849

    Baden was the first state to have popular unrest

    Central Europe (Present-Day Germany)
    Feb, 1848

    Baden was the first state in Germany to have popular unrest, despite the liberal reforms. Baden happened to be one of the most liberal states in Germany. After the news of the February Days in Paris reached Baden.


  • Germany
    Feb, 1848
    Revolutions of 1848

    German revolutions of 1848–1849

    Germany
    Feb, 1848

    The German revolutions of 1848–1849, the opening phase of which was also called the March Revolution, were initially part of the Revolutions of 1848 that broke out in many European countries. They were a series of loosely coordinated protests and rebellions in the states of the German Confederation, including the Austrian Empire.


  • Central Europe (Present-Day Germany)
    Sunday Feb 27, 1848
    German revolutions of 1848–1849

    An assembly of people from Baden adopted a resolution demanding a bill of rights

    Central Europe (Present-Day Germany)
    Sunday Feb 27, 1848

    On February 27, 1848, in Mannheim, an assembly of people from Baden adopted a resolution demanding a bill of rights. Similar resolutions were adopted in Württemberg, Hesse-Darmstadt, Nassau, and other German states.


  • Cooper Union, New York, U.S.
    Tuesday Feb 28, 1860
    Abraham Lincoln

    Cooper Union speech

    Cooper Union, New York, U.S.
    Tuesday Feb 28, 1860

    On February 27, 1860, powerful New York Republicans invited Lincoln to give a speech at Cooper Union, in which he argued that the Founding Fathers had little use for popular sovereignty and had repeatedly sought to restrict slavery. He insisted that morality required opposition to slavery, and rejected any "groping for some middle ground between the right and the wrong". Many in the audience thought he appeared awkward and even ugly. But Lincoln demonstrated intellectual leadership that brought him into contention. Journalist Noah Brooks reported, "No man ever before made such an impression on his first appeal to a New York audience".


  • U.S.
    Saturday Feb 2, 1861
    Abraham Lincoln

    Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed

    U.S.
    Saturday Feb 2, 1861

    by February 1, 1861, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed (secession).


  • Washington, United States
    Monday Feb 4, 1861
    USA civil war

    A pre-war February Peace Conference of 1861 met in Washington

    Washington, United States
    Monday Feb 4, 1861

    A pre-war February Peace Conference of 1861 met in Washington, proposing a solution similar to that of the Crittenden compromise; it was rejected by Congress. The Republicans proposed an alternative compromise to not interfere with slavery where it existed but the South regarded it as insufficient.


  • U.S.
    Saturday Feb 9, 1861
    Abraham Lincoln

    Confederate States of America

    U.S.
    Saturday Feb 9, 1861

    Six of these states declared themselves to be a sovereign nation, the Confederate States of America, and adopted a constitution.


  • The Confederacy (Present Day U.S.)
    Sunday Feb 10, 1861
    Abraham Lincoln

    The Confederacy selected Jefferson Davis

    The Confederacy (Present Day U.S.)
    Sunday Feb 10, 1861

    President Buchanan and President-elect Lincoln refused to recognize the Confederacy, declaring secession illegal. The Confederacy selected Jefferson Davis as its provisional President on February 9, 1861.


  • Italy
    Monday Feb 18, 1861
    Unification of Italy

    Victor Emmanuel assembled the deputies of the first Italian Parliament

    Italy
    Monday Feb 18, 1861

    On 18 February 1861, Victor Emmanuel assembled the deputies of the first Italian Parliament in Turin.


  • Virginia, United States
    Wednesday Feb 20, 1861
    USA civil war

    The primary Confederate force in the Eastern theater

    Virginia, United States
    Wednesday Feb 20, 1861

    The primary Confederate force in the Eastern theater was the Army of Northern Virginia. The Army originated as the (Confederate) Army of the Potomac, which was organized on June 20, 1861, from all operational forces in northern Virginia.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Sunday Feb 24, 1861
    Abraham Lincoln

    Lincoln arrived in disguise in Washington, D.C.

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Sunday Feb 24, 1861

    On February 23, 1861, Lincoln arrived in disguise in Washington, D.C., which was placed under substantial military guard.


  • Geneva, Switzerland
    Tuesday Feb 17, 1863
    United Nations

    International Committee of the Red Cross

    Geneva, Switzerland
    Tuesday Feb 17, 1863

    In the century prior to the UN's creation, several international treaty organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross were formed to ensure protection and assistance for victims of armed conflict and strife.


  • Schleswig and Jutland
    Monday Feb 1, 1864
    Unification of Germany

    Second Schleswig War

    Schleswig and Jutland
    Monday Feb 1, 1864

    The Second Schleswig War also sometimes known as the Dano-Prussian War or Prusso-Danish War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century.


  • U.S
    Feb, 1864
    USA civil war

    Lincoln made Grant commander of all Union armies

    U.S
    Feb, 1864

    At the beginning of 1864, Lincoln made Grant commander of all Union armies. Grant made his headquarters with the Army of the Potomac and put Maj. Gen.


  • U.S.
    Feb, 1866
    Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

    Vetoing

    U.S.
    Feb, 1866

    In February 1866, Johnson vetoed legislation extending the Freedmen's Bureau and expanding its powers; Congress was unable to override the veto. Afterward, Johnson denounced Radical Republicans Representative Thaddeus Stevens and Senator Charles Sumner, along with abolitionist Wendell Phillips, as traitors.


  • Housatonic, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, U.S.
    Tuesday Feb 5, 1867
    W. E. B. Du Bois

    Alfred married Mary

    Housatonic, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, U.S.
    Tuesday Feb 5, 1867

    Alfred married Mary Silvina Burghardt on February 5, 1867, in Housatonic, a village in Great Barrington.


  • Austria
    Feb, 1867
    Unification of Germany

    Austro-Hungarian Compromise

    Austria
    Feb, 1867

    In 1867, the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph accepted a settlement (the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867) in which he gave his Hungarian holdings equal status with his Austrian domains, creating the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.


  • Washington D.C, U.S.
    Feb, 1868
    Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

    Johnson's Opponents in Congress

    Washington D.C, U.S.
    Feb, 1868

    Johnson's opponents in Congress were outraged by his actions; the president's challenge to congressional authority—with regard to both the Tenure of Office Act and post-war reconstruction—had, in their estimation, been tolerated for long enough.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Friday Feb 21, 1868
    Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

    Lorenzo Thomas

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Friday Feb 21, 1868

    On February 21, 1868, the president appointed Lorenzo Thomas, a brevet major general in the Army, as interim Secretary of War. Johnson thereupon informed the Senate of his decision.


  • House of Representatives, Washington D.C, U.S.
    Saturday Feb 22, 1868
    Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

    Declaration of William D. Kelley

    House of Representatives, Washington D.C, U.S.
    Saturday Feb 22, 1868

    Expressing the widespread sentiment among House Republicans, Representative William D. Kelley (on February 22, 1868) declared: Sir, the bloody and untilled fields of the ten unreconstructed states, the unsheeted ghosts of the two thousand murdered negroes in Texas, cry, if the dead ever evoke vengeance, for the punishment of Andrew Johnson.


  • Great Barrington, Massachusetts, U.S.
    Sunday Feb 23, 1868
    W. E. B. Du Bois

    Birth

    Great Barrington, Massachusetts, U.S.
    Sunday Feb 23, 1868

    William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, to Alfred and Mary Silvina (née Burghardt) Du Bois.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday Feb 24, 1868
    Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

    The House of Representatives Against Johnson

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Monday Feb 24, 1868

    On February 24, 1868, three days after Johnson's dismissal of Stanton, the House of Representatives voted 126 to 47 (with 17 members not voting) in favor of a resolution to impeach the president for high crimes and misdemeanors.


  • U.S.
    Monday Feb 24, 1868
    Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

    Impeachment

    U.S.
    Monday Feb 24, 1868

    The impeachment of Andrew Johnson was initiated on February 24, 1868, when the United States House of Representatives resolved to impeach Andrew Johnson, 17th president of the United States, for "high crimes and misdemeanors", which were detailed in eleven articles of impeachment.


  • U.S.
    Thursday Feb 3, 1870
    Frederick Douglass

    15th Amendment

    U.S.
    Thursday Feb 3, 1870

    After the Civil War, when the 15th Amendment giving Blacks the right to vote was being debated, Douglass split with the Stanton-led faction of the women's rights movement. Douglass supported the amendment, which would grant suffrage to black men. Stanton opposed the 15th Amendment because it limited expansion of suffrage to black men; she predicted its passage would delay for decades the cause for women's right to vote. Stanton argued that American women and black men should band together to fight for universal suffrage, and opposed any bill that split the issues.


  • Mosley Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
    Monday Feb 3, 1879
    Incandescent light bulb

    The First Street in the world to be lit by an Incandescent Lightbulb

    Mosley Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
    Monday Feb 3, 1879

    The first street in the world to be lit by an incandescent lightbulb was Mosley Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. It was lit by Joseph Swan's incandescent lamp on 3 February 1879.


  • France
    Monday Feb 14, 1887
    Eiffel Tower

    Artists against the Eiffel Tower

    France
    Monday Feb 14, 1887

    A petition called "Artists against the Eiffel Tower" was sent to the Minister of Works and Commissioner for the Exposition, Adolphe Alphand, and it was published by Le Temps on 14 February 1887: We, writers, painters, sculptors, architects and passionate devotees of the hitherto untouched beauty of Paris, protest with all our strength, with all our indignation in the name of slighted French taste, against the erection … of this useless and monstrous Eiffel Tower … To bring our arguments home, imagine for a moment a giddy, ridiculous tower dominating Paris like a gigantic black smokestack, crushing under its barbaric bulk Notre Dame, the Tour Saint-Jacques, the Louvre, the Dome of les Invalides, the Arc de Triomphe, all of our humiliated monuments will disappear in this ghastly dream. And for twenty years … we shall see stretching like a blot of ink the hateful shadow of the hateful column of bolted sheet metal. Gustave Eiffel responded to these criticisms by comparing his tower to the Egyptian pyramids: "My tower will be the tallest edifice ever erected by man. Will it not also be grandiose in its way? And why would something admirable in Egypt become hideous and ridiculous in Paris?" These criticisms were also dealt with by Édouard Lockroy in a letter of support written to Alphand, sardonically saying, "Judging by the stately swell of the rhythms, the beauty of the metaphors, the elegance of its delicate and precise style, one can tell this protest is the result of collaboration of the most famous writers and poets of our time", and he explained that the protest was irrelevant since the project had been decided upon months before, and construction on the tower was already under way.


  • Washington D.C., U.S.
    Saturday Feb 2, 1895
    Frederick Douglass

    Death

    Washington D.C., U.S.
    Saturday Feb 2, 1895

    On February 20, 1895, Douglass attended a meeting of the National Council of Women in Washington, D.C. During that meeting, he was brought to the platform and received a standing ovation. Shortly after he returned home, Douglass died of a massive heart attack. He was 77. Douglass' coffin was transported back to Rochester, New York, where he had lived for 25 years, longer than anywhere else in his life. He was buried next to Anna in the Douglass family plot of Mount Hope Cemetery, and Helen joined them in 1903.


  • England, United Kingdom
    Feb, 1895
    Winston Churchill

    Churchill was commissioned as a second lieutenant

    England, United Kingdom
    Feb, 1895

    In February 1895, Churchill was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Queen's Own Hussars regiment of the British Army, based at Aldershot. Eager to witness military action, he used his mother's influence to get himself posted to a war zone.


  • U.S.
    Monday Feb 3, 1896
    X-ray

    Collecting the results of X-rays of fractured wrist

    U.S.
    Monday Feb 3, 1896

    On 3 February 1896 Gilman Frost, professor of medicine at the college, and his brother Edwin Frost, professor of physics, exposed the wrist of Eddie McCarthy, whom Gilman had treated some weeks earlier for a fracture, to the X-rays and collected the resulting image of the broken bone on gelatin photographic plates obtained from Howard Langill, a local photographer also interested in Röntgen's work.


  • Palermo, Italy
    Wednesday Feb 5, 1896
    X-ray

    Developing live images

    Palermo, Italy
    Wednesday Feb 5, 1896

    On February 5, 1896 live imaging devices were developed by both Italian scientist Enrico Salvioni (his "cryptoscope") and Professor McGie of Princeton University (his "Skiascope"), both using barium platinocyanide.


  • Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
    Friday Feb 14, 1896
    X-ray

    First surgical operation

    Birmingham, England, United Kingdom
    Friday Feb 14, 1896

    On February 14, 1896, Hall-Edwards was also the first to use X-rays in a surgical operation.


  • Eastern Siberia, Russian Empire
    Feb, 1897
    Vladimir Lenin

    3 years exile

    Eastern Siberia, Russian Empire
    Feb, 1897

    In February 1897, he was sentenced without trial to three years' exile in eastern Siberia. He was granted a few days in Saint Petersburg to put his affairs in order and used this time to meet with the Social-Democrats, who had renamed themselves the League of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class.


  • South Africa
    Saturday Feb 10, 1900
    Second Boer War

    Roberts launched his main attack

    South Africa
    Saturday Feb 10, 1900

    Roberts launched his main attack on 10 February 1900 and although hampered by a long supply route, managed to outflank the Boers defending Magersfontein. Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts was a British Victorian era general who became one of the most successful British military commanders of his time. Born in India to an Anglo-Irish family, Roberts joined the East India Company Army and served as a young officer in the Indian Rebellion during which he won a Victoria Cross for gallantry. He was then transferred to the British Army and fought in the Expedition to Abyssinia and the Second Anglo-Afghan War, in which his exploits earned him widespread fame. Roberts would go on to serve as the Commander-in-Chief, India before leading British Forces to success in the Second Boer War. He also became the last Commander-in-Chief of the Forces before the post was abolished in 1904.


  • Kimberley, South Africa
    Wednesday Feb 14, 1900
    Second Boer War

    Cavalry division under Major General John French launched a major attack to relieve Kimberley

    Kimberley, South Africa
    Wednesday Feb 14, 1900

    On 14 February, a cavalry division under Major General John French launched a major attack to relieve Kimberley. Although encountering severe fire, a massed cavalry charge split the Boer defenses on 15 February, opening the way for French to enter Kimberley that evening, ending its 124 days' siege.


  • Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
    Wednesday Feb 14, 1900
    Second Boer War

    Battle of the Tugela Heights

    Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
    Wednesday Feb 14, 1900

    In Natal, the Battle of the Tugela Heights, which started on 14 February was Buller's fourth attempt to relieve Ladysmith. The losses Buller's troops had sustained convinced Buller to adopt Boer tactics "in the firing line—to advance in small rushes, covered by rifle fire from behind; to use the tactical support of artillery; and above all, to use the ground, making rock and earth work for them as it did for the enemy." Despite reinforcements his progress was painfully slow against stiff opposition.


  • South Africa
    Saturday Feb 17, 1900
    Second Boer War

    Pincer movement involving both French's cavalry and the main British force attempted to take the entrenched position

    South Africa
    Saturday Feb 17, 1900

    On 17 February, a pincer movement involving both French's cavalry and the main British force attempted to take the entrenched position, but the frontal attacks were uncoordinated and so were easily repulsed by the Boers. Finally, Roberts resorted to bombarding Cronjé into submission, but it took a further ten precious days, and with the British troops using the polluted Modder River as water supply, there was a typhoid epidemic killing many troops. General Cronjé was forced to surrender at Surrender Hill with 4,000 men.


  • Paardeberg Drift, South Africa
    Sunday Feb 18, 1900
    Second Boer War

    Battle of Paardeberg

    Paardeberg Drift, South Africa
    Sunday Feb 18, 1900

    The Battle of Paardeberg or Perdeberg ("Horse Mountain") was a major battle during the Second Anglo-Boer War. It was fought near Paardeberg Drift on the banks of the Modder River in the Orange Free State near Kimberley. Lord Methuen advanced up the railway line in November 1899 with the objective of relieving the besieged city of Kimberley (and the town of Mafeking, also under siege). Battles were fought on this front at Graspan, Belmont, Modder River before the advance was halted for two months after the British defeat at the Battle of Magersfontein. In February 1900, Field Marshal Lord Roberts assumed personal command of a significantly reinforced British offensive.


  • Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
    Monday Feb 26, 1900
    Second Boer War

    Buller used all his forces in one all-out attack for the first time and at last succeeded in forcing a crossing of the Tugela

    Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
    Monday Feb 26, 1900

    On 26 February, after much deliberation, Buller used all his forces in one all-out attack for the first time and at last succeeded in forcing a crossing of the Tugela to defeat Botha's outnumbered forces north of Colenso.


  • Ladysmith, South Africa
    Tuesday Feb 27, 1900
    Second Boer War

    Siege lasting

    Ladysmith, South Africa
    Tuesday Feb 27, 1900

    After a siege lasting 118 days, the Relief of Ladysmith was effected, the day after Cronjé surrendered, but at a total cost of 7,000 British casualties. Buller's troops marched into Ladysmith on 28 February.


  • Hami City, China
    Feb, 73
    Imperial China (Qin and Han dynasties)

    Battle of Yiwulu

    Hami City, China
    Feb, 73

    A punitive Han expedition against the Xiongnu captured territory in the area of modern Hami City.


  • China
    Friday Feb 13, 105
    Imperial China (Qin and Han dynasties)

    He of Han died

    China
    Friday Feb 13, 105

    He of Han died.


  • Roman Empire
    Tuesday Feb 25, 138
    Roman Empire

    Antoninus Pius "adopted son"

    Roman Empire
    Tuesday Feb 25, 138

    Antoninus Pius acquired much favor with Hadrian, who adopted him as his son and successor on 25 February 138, after the death of his first adopted son Lucius Aelius, on the condition that Antoninus would, in turn, adopt Marcus Annius Verus, the son of his wife's brother, and Lucius, son of Lucius Aelius, who afterward became the emperors, Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus.


  • Han, China
    Monday Feb 15, 145
    Imperial China (Qin and Han dynasties)

    Chong of Han died

    Han, China
    Monday Feb 15, 145

    Chong of Han died.


  • Henan, China
    Feb, 190
    Imperial China (Qin and Han dynasties)

    Campaign against Dong Zhuo

    Henan, China
    Feb, 190

    A coalition led by Yuan Shao gathered at Hangu Pass in anticipation of an expedition against Dong.


  • Eboracum, Roman Empire (Present-Day in York, England, United Kingdom)
    Monday Feb 4, 211
    Roman Empire

    Septimius Severus died

    Eboracum, Roman Empire (Present-Day in York, England, United Kingdom)
    Monday Feb 4, 211

    Severus is famously said to have given the advice to his sons: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, scorn all others" before he died on 4 February 211. On his death, Severus was deified by the Senate and succeeded by his sons, Caracalla and Geta, who were advised by his wife Julia Domna. Severus was buried in the Mausoleum of Hadrian in Rome. His remains are now lost.


  • Mesopotamia (Present-Day in Iraq)
    Sunday Feb 11, 244
    Roman Empire

    Gordian III died

    Mesopotamia (Present-Day in Iraq)
    Sunday Feb 11, 244

    Gaius Julius Priscus and, later on, his own brother Marcus Julius Philippus, also known as Philip the Arab, stepped in at this moment as the new Praetorian Prefects Gordian would then start a second campaign. Around February 244, the Sasanians fought back fiercely to halt the Roman advance to Ctesiphon. The eventual fate of Gordian after the battle is unclear. Sasanian sources claim that a battle occurred (Battle of Misiche) near modern Fallujah (Iraq) and resulted in a major Roman defeat and the death of Gordian III.


  • Rome
    Feb, 244
    Roman Empire

    Philip the Arab

    Rome
    Feb, 244

    In an attempt to shore up his regime, Philip put a great deal of effort into maintaining good relations with the Senate, and from the beginning of his reign, he reaffirmed the old Roman virtues and traditions.


  • Rome, Italy
    Tuesday Feb 16, 269
    Valentine's Day

    Saint Valentine's death

    Rome, Italy
    Tuesday Feb 16, 269

    Saint Valentine was martyred by emperor Claudius II Gothicus and was buried in via falminia.


  • Roman Empire
    Tuesday Feb 24, 303
    Roman Empire

    Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published

    Roman Empire
    Tuesday Feb 24, 303

    Diocletian's first "Edict against the Christians" was published. The edict ordered the destruction of Christian scriptures and places of worship across the empire and prohibited Christians from assembling for worship.


  • Egypt
    Feb, 1021
    Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah

    Disappearance

    Egypt
    Feb, 1021

    In the final years of his reign, Hakim displayed a growing inclination toward asceticism and withdrew for meditation regularly. On the night of 12/13 February 1021 and at the age of 35, Hakim left for one of his night journeys to the Mokattam hills outside of Cairo, and never returned. A search found only his donkey and bloodstained garments. The disappearance has remained a mystery, though it is likely that his sister Sitt al-Mulk arranged for his assassination, being opposed to his intolerant politics. Al-Ḥākim was succeeded by his young son Ali az-Zahir under the regency of Sitt al-Mulk.


  • Mansoura, Egypt
    Friday Feb 11, 1250
    Mamluks

    Prior to Turanshah's arrival at the front facing the French

    Mansoura, Egypt
    Friday Feb 11, 1250

    Prior to Turanshah's arrival at the front facing the French, the Bahriyyah, a junior regiment of the Salihiyyah commanded by Baibars al-Buduqdari, defeated the Crusaders at the Battle of al-Mansurah on 11 February 1250.


  • Cairo, Egypt
    Sunday Feb 27, 1250
    Mamluks

    The sultan Turanshah arrived in Egypt

    Cairo, Egypt
    Sunday Feb 27, 1250

    On 27 February, Turanshah, as new sultan, arrived in Egypt from Hasankeyf (Turkish for "rock fortress"), where he had been Emir (Arabic for "Prince") of Hisn Kayfa (Arabic for "rock fortress").


  • Pisa, Italy
    Monday Feb 23, 1260
    Leaning Tower of Pisa

    Guido Speziale

    Pisa, Italy
    Monday Feb 23, 1260

    On 23 February 1260, Guido Speziale, son of Giovanni Pisano, was elected to oversee the building of the tower.


  • Cairo, Egypt
    Tuesday Feb 1, 1453
    Mamluks

    Al-Mansur Fakhr-ad-Din Uthman was the Mamluk sultan of Egypt in 1453

    Cairo, Egypt
    Tuesday Feb 1, 1453

    Al-Malik al-Mansur Fakhr ad-Din Uthman ibn Jàqmaq, more simply known as Al-Mansur Uthman was Sultan of Cairo's Mamluk Burji dynasty (1453).


  • Cairo, Egypt
    Tuesday Feb 26, 1461
    Mamluks

    Al-Mu'ayyad Shihab al-Din Ahmad was a Mamluk sultan of Egypt in 1461

    Cairo, Egypt
    Tuesday Feb 26, 1461

    Al-Mu'ayyad Shihab al-Din Ahmad was the son of Sayf ad-Din Inal, and a Mamluk sultan of Egypt from 26 February to 28 June 1461.


  • London, England, United Kingdom
    Saturday Feb 12, 1487
    Elizabeth Woodville

    Retired

    London, England, United Kingdom
    Saturday Feb 12, 1487

    Dowager Queen Elizabeth spent the last five years of her life living at Bermondsey Abbey, to which she retired on 12 February 1487.


  • Pisa (then part of the Duchy of Florence), Italy
    Saturday Feb 15, 1564
    Galileo Galilei

    Birth

    Pisa (then part of the Duchy of Florence), Italy
    Saturday Feb 15, 1564

    Galileo was born in Pisa (then part of the Duchy of Florence), Italy, on 15 February 1564, the first of six children of Vincenzo Galilei, a lutenist, composer, and music theorist, and Giulia (née Ammannati), who had married in 1562.


  • Italy
    Feb, 1615
    Galileo Galilei

    Lorini accordingly sent a copy to the Secretary of the Inquisition

    Italy
    Feb, 1615

    Lorini and his colleagues decided to bring Galileo's letter to the attention of the Inquisition. In February 1615 Lorini accordingly sent a copy to the Secretary of the Inquisition, Cardinal Paolo Emilio Sfondrati, with a covering letter critical of Galileo's supporters: All our Fathers of the devout Convent of St. Mark feel that the letter contains many statements which seem presumptuous or suspect, as when it states that the words of Holy Scripture do not mean what they say; that in discussions about natural phenomena the authority of Scripture should rank last... . [The followers of Galileo] were taking it upon themselves to expound the Holy Scripture according to their private lights and in a manner different from the common interpretation of the Fathers of the Church... — Letter from Lorini to Cardinal Sfrondato, Inquisitor in Rome, 1615. Quoted in Langford, 1992.


  • Italy
    Friday Feb 19, 1616
    Galileo Galilei

    The Inquisition asked a commission of theologians about the propositions of the heliocentric view of the universe

    Italy
    Friday Feb 19, 1616

    On February 19, 1616, the Inquisition asked a commission of theologians, known as qualifiers, about the propositions of the heliocentric view of the universe. Historians of the Galileo affair have offered different accounts of why the matter was referred to the qualifiers at this time. Beretta points out that the Inquisition had taken a deposition from Gianozzi Attavanti in November 1615, as part of its investigation into the denunciations of Galileo by Lorini and Caccini.


  • Italy
    Wednesday Feb 24, 1616
    Galileo Galilei

    Qualifiers delivered their unanimous report

    Italy
    Wednesday Feb 24, 1616

    On February 24 the Qualifiers delivered their unanimous report: the proposition that the Sun is stationary at the centre of the universe is "foolish and absurd in philosophy, and formally heretical since it explicitly contradicts in many places the sense of Holy Scripture"; the proposition that the Earth moves and is not at the centre of the universe "receives the same judgement in philosophy; and ... in regard to theological truth it is at least erroneous in faith."


  • Italy
    Friday Feb 26, 1616
    Galileo Galilei

    Galileo was called to Bellarmine's residence

    Italy
    Friday Feb 26, 1616

    At a meeting of the cardinals of the Inquisition on the following day, Pope Paul V instructed Bellarmine to deliver this result to Galileo, and to order him to abandon the Copernican opinions; should Galileo resist the decree, stronger action would be taken. On February 26, Galileo was called to Bellarmine's residence and ordered, to abstain completely from teaching or defending this doctrine and opinion or from discussing it... to abandon completely... the opinion that the sun stands still at the center of the world and the earth moves, and henceforth not to hold, teach, or defend it in any way whatever, either orally or in writing. — The Inquisition's injunction against Galileo, 1616.


  • Westmoreland County, Virginia, U.S.
    Saturday Feb 23, 1732
    George Washington

    Birth

    Westmoreland County, Virginia, U.S.
    Saturday Feb 23, 1732

    George Washington was born February 22, 1732, at Popes Creek in Westmoreland County, Virginia.


  • Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, U.S. (then Colony of Virginia)
    Feb, 1754
    George Washington

    A Lieutenant Colonel

    Pittsburgh, Allegheny, Pennsylvania, U.S. (then Colony of Virginia)
    Feb, 1754

    In February 1754, Dinwiddie promoted Washington to lieutenant colonel and second-in-command of the 300-strong Virginia Regiment, with orders to confront French forces at the Forks of the Ohio.


  • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
    Feb, 1756
    George Washington

    Washington pressed his case

    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
    Feb, 1756

    Washington, impatient for an offensive against Fort Duquesne, was convinced Braddock would have granted him a royal commission, and pressed his case in February 1756 with Braddock's successor, William Shirley, and again in January 1757 with Shirley's successor, Lord Loudoun. Shirley ruled in Washington's favor only in the matter of Dagworthy; Loudoun humiliated Washington, refused him a royal commission and agreed only to relieve him of the responsibility of manning Fort Cumberland.


  • London, England, United Kingdom
    Feb, 1777
    George Washington

    Patriots were in a position to demand unconditional independence

    London, England, United Kingdom
    Feb, 1777

    In February 1777, word reached London of the American victories at Trenton and Princeton, and the British realized the Patriots were in a position to demand unconditional independence.


  • U.S.
    Feb, 1778
    George Washington

    Treaty of Alliance

    U.S.
    Feb, 1778

    In early 1778, the French responded to Burgoyne's defeat and entered into a Treaty of Alliance with the Americans. The Continental Congress ratified the treaty in May, which amounted to a French declaration of war against Britain.