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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
1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states.1377 - more than 2,000 people of the Italian city of Cesena are slaughtered by Papal Troops (Cesena Bloodbath ).1451 - Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire .1488 - Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope , becoming the first known European to travel so far south.1509 - The Battle of Diu , between Portugal and the Ottoman Empire takes place in Diu , India .1690 - The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in America .1706 - During the Battle of Fraustadt Swedish forces defeat a superior Saxon -Polish -Russian force by deploying a double envelopment .1783 - American Revolutionary War : Spain recognizes United States independence.1787 - Shays' Rebellion is crushed.1807 - A British military force, under Brig-Gen. Sir Samuel Auchmuty captures the city of Montevideo , then part of the Spanish Empire now capital of Uruguay .1809 - The Illinois Territory is created.1830 - The sovereignty of Greece was confirmed in a London Protocol .1834 - Wake Forest University is established.1867 - Emperor Meiji becomes the 122nd emperor of Japan .1870 - The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, granting voting rights to citizens regardless of race.1900 - Gubernatorial candidate William Goebel is assassinated in Frankfort, Kentucky .1908 - Foundation of Panathinaikos in Athens , Greece .1913 - The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an 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 the former announced a new policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.1918 - The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world at 11,920 feet (3,633 meters) long.1923 - The Alpha Zeta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia founded at Pennsylvania State University .1930 - The Communist Party of Vietnam is established.1931 - The Hawke's Bay earthquake, New Zealand 's worst natural disaster, kills 258.1941 - World War II : Nazi Germany forcibly restores Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy , France .1944 - World War II: United States troops capture the Marshall Islands .1945 - World War II: The Soviet Union agrees to enter the Pacific Theatre conflict against Japan .1945 - World War II: As part of Operation Thunderclap , 1,000 B-17 's of the Eighth Air Force bomb Berlin.
1947 - The lowest temperature in North America is recorded in Snag, Yukon .
1957 - Senegalese political party Democratic Rally merges into the Senegalese Party of Socialist Action (PSAS).1958 - Founding of the Benelux Economic Union, creating a testing ground for a later European Economic Community .1959 - A plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa kills Buddy Holly , Ritchie Valens , The Big Bopper , and Roger Peterson also known as The Day the Music Died .1966 - The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon .1967 - Ronald Ryan , the last person to be executed in Australia , is hanged in Pentridge Prison , Melbourne .1969 - In Cairo , Yasser Arafat is appointed Palestine Liberation Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress .1971 - New York Police Office Frank Serpico is shot during a drug bust in Brooklyn and survives to later testify against police corruption.. Many believed the incident proved NYPD officers tried to kill him.1984 - Space Shuttle program : STS-41-B Mission - Astronauts, Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make first untethered spacewalks using the Manned Maneuvering Unit .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 .1989 - A military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner , dictator of Paraguay since 1954 .
1991 - The Italian Communist Party dissolves and splits into the Democratic Party of the Left and the Communist Refoundation Party .1998 - Karla Faye Tucker is executed in Texas becoming the first woman executed in the United States since 1984 .1998 - Cavalese cable-car disaster : a United States Military pilot causes the death of 20 people when his low-flying plane cuts the cable of a cable-car near Trento , Italy .
1999 - In Jammu and Kashmir the political party Democratic Janata Dal (Jammu and Kashmir) is revived.2007 - A Baghdad market bombing kills at least 135 people and injures a further 339.
Births
1338 - Jeanne de Bourbon , wife of Charles V of France (d. 1378 )1677 - Jan Santini Aichel , Czech architect (d. 1723 )1690 - Richard Rawlinson , English minister (d. 1755 )1721 - Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz , Prussian general (d. 1773 )1747 - Samuel Osgood , American patriot (d. 1813 )1795 - Antonio José de Sucre , South American independence leader (d. 1830 )1807 - Joseph E. Johnston , Confederate general (d. 1891 )1808 - Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar , Princess 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 (d. 1881 )1821 - Elizabeth Blackwell , American physician (d. 1910 )1824 - Ranald MacDonald , Canadian-born Scottish educator and interpreter (d. 1894 )1826 - Walter Bagehot , British essayist, journalist and businessman, (d.1877 )1830 - Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1903 )1842 - Sidney Lanier , American writer (d. 1881 )1843 - William Cornelius Van Horne , American-born railway pioneer and executive (d. 1915 )1859 - Hugo Junkers , German aircraft designer (d. 1935 )1862 - James Clark McReynolds , American Supreme Court Justice (d. 1946 )1872 - Lou Criger , American baseball player (d. 1934 )1874 - Gertrude Stein , American writer (d. 1946 )1876 - William Tedmarsh , silent movie actor (d. 1937 )1887 - Juan Negrín , Spanish Prime Minister (d. 1956 )1887 - Georg Trakl , Austrian poet (d. 1914 )
1889 - Carl Theodor Dreyer , Danish film director, (d. 1968 )1893 - Gaston Julia , French mathematician (d. 1978 )1894 - Norman Rockwell , American illustrator (d. 1978 )1898 - Alvar Aalto , Finnish architect (d. 1976 )1899 - João Café Filho , Brazilian president (m.1970 )1899 - Lao She , Chinese writer (d. 1966 )
1899 - Doris Speed , English actress (d.1994 )
1904 - Luigi Dallapiccola , Italian composer (d. 1975 )1904 - Pretty Boy Floyd , American gangster (d. 1934 )
1905 - Arne Beurling , American mathematician(d. 1986 )1907 - James Michener , American author (d. 1997 )1909 - André Cayatte , French filmmaker (d. 1989 )1909 - Simone Weil , French philosopher (d. 1943 )
1911 - Jehan Alain , French organist and composer (d. 1940 )1911 - Robert Earl Jones , American actor (d. 2006 )
1912 - Jacques Soustelle , French anthropologist (d. 1990 )1913 - Richard Seaman , British racing driver (d. 1939 )1918 - Joey Bishop , American entertainer, member of the Rat Pack (d. 2007 )1918 - Helen Stephens , American runner (d. 1994 )
1920 - Henry Heimlich , American physician1920 - Tony Gaze , Australian racing driver
1923 - Alys Robi , Quebec singer1924 - E. P. Thompson , English socialist historian, (The Making of the English Working Class ), (d.1993 )1924 - Martial Asselin , French Canadian politician and lieutenant governor of Quebec1925 - Keith Dunstan , Australian author and journalist1925 - John Fiedler , American voice actor (d. 2005 )
1925 - Leon Schlumpf , member of the Swiss Federal Council
1926 - Shelley Berman , American comedian1926 - Hans-Jochen Vogel , German politician
1927 - Kenneth Anger , American Underground Filmmaker1927 - Val Doonican , Irish singer and entertainer
1927 - Joan Lowery Nixon , American writer (d. 2003 )
1927 - Blas Ople , Filipino politician (d. 2003 )
1929 - Ken Shipp , American football coach1930 - Gillian Ayres , English painter1932 - Peggy Ann Garner , American actress (d. 1984 )1933 - Paul Sarbanes , American politician1938 - Victor Buono , American actor (d. 1982 )1938 - Emile Griffith , US Virgin Islands professional boxer
1939 - Michael Cimino , American film director1940 - Fran Tarkenton , American football player1941 - Neil Bogart , American record executive (d. 1982 )1943 - Blythe Danner , American actress1943 - Dennis Edwards , American singer (The Temptations )
1943 - Shawn Phillips , American singer, guitarist and songwriter
1944 - Trisha Noble , Australian singer and actress1945 - Johnny Cymbal , American singer and songwriter (d. 1993 )1945 - Bob Griese , American football player
1947 - Paul Auster , American novelist1947 - Dave Davies , British musician (The Kinks )
1947 - Stephen McHattie , Canadian actor
1947 - Melanie Safka , American singer-songwriter
1948 - Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo , East Timor politician, Nobel Peace laureate 1948 - Henning Mankell , Swedish author
1949 - Arthur Kane , American musician1949 - Hennie Kuiper , Dutch cyclist
1950 - Morgan Fairchild , American actress1951 - Eugenijus Riabovas , Lithuanian football manager1952 - Fred Lynn , American baseball player1953 - Savvas Tsitouridis , Greek politician1954 - Tiger Williams , Canadian ice hockey player1955 - Stephen Euin Cobb , American novelist1955 - Kirsty Wark , British broadcast journalist
1956 - John Jefferson , American football player1956 - Nathan Lane , American actor
1956 - Lee Ranaldo , American musician (Sonic Youth )
1957 - Chico Serra , Brazilian racing driver1957 - Steven Stapleton , British musician (Nurse With Wound )
1958 - N. Gregory Mankiw , American economist1959 - Thomas Calabro , American actor1959 - Yasuharu Konishi , Japanese musician (Pizzicato Five )
1959 - Lol Tolhurst , British musician (The Cure )
1960 - Kerry Von Erich , American wrestler (d. 1993 )1960 - Marty Jannetty , American Wrestler1961 - Jay Adams , American skateboarder1961 - Linda Eder , American singer1961 - Keith Gordon , American actor
1962 - Michele Greene , American actress1965 - Karlous Marx Shinohamba , Namibian politician1965 - Maura Tierney , American actress
1966 - Frank Coraci , American film director1967 - Dave Benson-Phillips , Children's TV Presenter1967 - Bob Taylor , English footballer
1968 - Vlade Divac , National Basketball Association player1969 - Retief Goosen , professional golfer1970 - Oscar Cordoba , Colombian footballer1970 - Warwick Davis , British actor
1971 - Sean Dawkins , American former football player1971 - Elisa Donovan , American actress
1971 - Sarah Kane , English playwright (d. 1999 )
1971 - Hong Seok-cheon , South Korean actor
1972 - Mart Poom , Estonian football player1973 - Ilana Sod , Mexican journalist1974 - Konrad Gałka , Polish swimmer1974 - Miriam Yeung , Hong Kong actress
1976 - Mathieu Dandenault , Canadian hockey player1976 - Isla Fisher , Australian actress
1976 - Dwayne Rudd , American football player
1977 - Daddy Yankee , reggaeton singer/rapper.1978 - Adrian R'Mante , American actor1978 - Eliza Schneider , American actress and singer
1980 - Sarah Lewitinn , American writer1981 - Alisa Reyes , American actress and singer1981 - Maurice Ross , Scottish footballer
1982 - Alan Gurr , Australian V8 Supercar driver1982 - Jessica Harp , American singer (The Wreckers )
1983 - Richard Bartel , National Football League quarterback1983 - Silambarasan Rajendar ,famous south Indian actor
1989 - Slobodan Rajković , Serbian footballer1989 - Ryne Sanborn , American actor
1990 - Sean Kingston , American reggae rapper
Deaths
619 - Laurence of Canterbury , 2nd Archbishop of Canterbury 699 - Saint Werburgh 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 publisher1566 - George Cassander , Flemish theologian (b. 1513 )1619 - Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham , English conspirator (b. 1564 )1737 - Tommaso Ceva , Italian Mathematician (b. 1648 )1802 - Pedro Rodríguez, Conde de Campomanes , Spanish statesman (b. 1723 )1832 - George Crabbe , English naturalist (b. 1754 )1862 - Jean-Baptiste Biot , French physicist (b. 1774 )1866 - François-Xavier Garneau , French Canadian poet and historian (b. 1809 )1874 - Lunalilo , Hawaiian monarch (b. 1835 )1889 - Belle Starr , American outlaw (b. 1848 )1922 - John Butler Yeats , Northern Irish artist (b. 1839 )1924 - Woodrow Wilson , 28th President of the United States , Nobel laureate (b. 1856 )1929 - Agner Krarup Erlang , Danish scientist (b. 1878 )1935 - Hugo Junkers , German engineer (b. 1859 )1936 - Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg , consort of William of Wied, Prince of Albania (b.1885 )1937 - Marija Leiko , Latvian film actress (b. 1887 )1945 - Roland Freisler , Nazi leader (b. 1893 )1947 - Marc Mitscher , American Navy Admiral (b. 1887 )1956 - Émile Borel , French mathematician (b. 1871 )1956 - Johnny Claes , Belgian racing driver (b. 1916 )
1959 - Buddy Holly , American singer (b. 1936 )1959 - Ritchie Valens , American singer (b. 1941 )
1959 - J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson , American singer (b. 1930 )
1960 - Fred Buscaglione , Italian singer and actor (b. 1921 )1961 - Viscount Dunrossil , Australian governor-general (b. 1893 )1964 - Sir Albert Richardson , English architect (b. 1880 )1967 - Joe Meek , English record producer (b. 1929 )1969 - Eduardo Mondlane Mozambican independence founder (b. 1920 )1975 - William D. Coolidge , American physicist and inventor (b. 1873 )1975 - Umm Kulthum , Egyptian singer (b. 1904 )
1985 - Frank Oppenheimer , American physicist (b. 1912 )1989 - John Cassavetes , American actor (b. 1929 )1989 - Lionel Newman , American movie music orchestra leader, composer and arranger (b. 1916 )
1991 - Harry Ackerman , American TV executive producer (b. 1912 )1991 - Nancy Kulp , American actress (b. 1921 )
1993 - Paul Emery , British racing driver (b. 1916 )1996 - Audrey Meadows , American actress (b. 1926 )1998 - Karla Faye Tucker , American murderer (b. 1959 )2000 - Richard Kleindienst , American politician (b. 1923 )2003 - Lana Clarkson , American actress (b. 1962 )2004 - Jason Raize , American musical theatre actor (b. 1975 )2005 - Corrado Cardinal Bafile , Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1903 )2005 - Ernst Mayr , German-born biologist (b. 1904 )
2005 - Zurab Zhvania , Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963 )
2006 - Al Lewis , American actor (b. 1923 )2007 - Pedro Knight , Cuban-American musician, husband of legendary singer Celia Cruz (b. 1921 )2007 - Ralph de Toledano , Moroccan-born American political columnist and author (b. 1916 )
2007 - George Becker , American president of United Steelworkers (1993–2001) (b. 1928 )
2008 - Douglas Fraser , Scottish pilot (b. 1916 )
Holidays and observances
External links
