Events on Feb 3
- 1377Cardinal Robert of Geneva (anti-pope Clemens VII) starts term
- 1377Mass execution of population of Cesena Italy
- 1488Bartholomeus Diaz discovers Mosselbaai (Angra dos Vaqueros)
- 1547Russian Czar Ivan IV (17) marries Anastasia Romanova
- 1576Henry of Navarre (future Henry IV) escapes from Paris
- 1591German monarchy forms Protestant Union of Torgau
- 1653Cardinal Mazarin returns to Paris from exile
- 1660General Moncks army reaches London
- 16901st paper money in America issued (Colony of Massachusetts)
- 1740Charles de Bourbon, King of Naples, invites Jews to return to Sicily
- 1743Philadelphia establishes a "pesthouse" to quarantine immigrants
- 1752Dutch States-General forbid export of windmills
- 1781Dutch West Indies island of St. Eustatia taken by British
- 1783Spain recognizes US independence
- 1809Territory of Illinois organizes (including present-day Wisconsin)
- 1825Dutch North Sea coast floods
- 1836Whig Party holds its 1st national convention (Albany NY)
- 1855Wisconsin Supreme Ct declares US Fugitive Slave Law unconstitutional
- 1860Thomas Clemson takes office as 1st US superintendent of agriculture
- 1865Hampton Roads Peace Conference, Lincoln and Stephens reach an impasse
- 1867Prince Mutsuhito, 14, becomes Emperor Meiji of Japan (1867-1912)
- 1869Booth theater at 23rd and 6th opens in NYC (Romeo and Juliet)
- 187015th Amendment (Black suffrage) passed
- 1876Albert Spalding with $800 starts sporting goods co, manufacturing 1st official baseball, tennis ball, basketball, golf ball, and football
- 1882Circus owner PT Barnum buys his world famous elephant Jumbo
- 1887To avoid disputed National elections, Congress creates Electoral Count Act
- 1892Russia closes down Yeshiva of Volozhin
- 18941st US steel sailing vessel, Dirigo, launched in Bath, Maine
- 1895Wilhelm Mauseth skates world record 500 m (46.8 seconds)
- 1900Rival forces fight for control of the Union Park ball grounds in Baltimore
Born on Feb 3
- 1525Giovanni Perluigi da Palestrina: Composer
- 1648Louis Bouteiller: Composer
- 1655Francois Fagel: Dutch Field Marshal, baptized
- 1736Johann Georg Albrechtsberger: Austria -- Organist / composer
- 1740Guillaume Lasceux: Composer
- 1755Florido Tomeoni: Composer
- 1763Caroline von Wolzogen [von Lengefeld]: German author
- 1784John Fane graaf van Westmorland: English (opera)composer / diplomat
- 1805Otto T Freiherr von Manteuffel: Premier Prussia
- 1807Joseph Eggleston Johnston: Gen (Confederate Army), died in 1891
- 1809Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Hamburg, Germany -- Composer (Great Scherzos)
- 1811Horace Greeley: Editor ("Go west, young man")
- 1817Emile Racine Gauthier Prudent: Composer
- 1817Samuel Ryan Curtis: Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1866
- 1820Elisha Kent Kane: US Arctic explorer (Kane Basin off NW Greenland)
- 1821Elizabeth Blackwell: Bristol, England -- 1st woman Physician
- 1824George Thomas "Tige" Anderson: Brigadier General (Confederate Army)
- 1824Nathan George "Shanks" Evans: Brigadier General (Confederacy), died in 1868
- 1826Walter Bagehot: England, United Kingdom -- Economist / sociologist
- 1830Robert Cecil: Marquess of Salisbury (C), British Prime Minister (1885-1902)
- 1831Cyrus Ballou Comstock: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1910
- 1833Thomas T H Jorissen: Dutch historian
- 1842Sidney Clopton Lanier: United States -- Composer / poet (Hall of Fame)
- 1845Ernest von Wildenbruch: German playwright (Sedan)
- 1851Johannes B van Heutsz: Lieutenant General / Governor-General Dutch East Indies
- 1865Martinus Ballings: Flemish Jesuit / author (Will Power)
- 1868Damaso Ledesma: Composer
- 1870Ada Negri: Italian poet / author (Il Libro di Mara)
- 1873Ernest B Allo: French theologist
- 1874Franklyn Dyall: Liverpool, England -- Actor (Easy Virtue)
Died on Feb 3
- 0474Leo I: Byzantine Emperor (457-74)
- 0865Ansgar / Anscharius / Oskar: German 1st (arch)bishop of Hamburg / saint
- 1451Murad II: Sultan of Turkey (1421-51)
- 1468Johann Gensfleisch Gutenberg: Printer
- 1558Alfonsus de Castro: Spanish Theologist (council of Trente)
- 1602Paul Melissus [Paul Schede]: German Poet / composer, dies at 62
- 1679Jan Havicksz Steen: Dutch Painter (St Nicolas Feast), dies at 53
- 1697Sjoucke Gabbes: Frisian sailor, buried on Dirk-Hartog Island
- 1715Gottfried Vopelius: Composer, dies at 70
- 1748Henri Madin: Composer, dies at 49
- 1803Pedro R de Campomanes: Spanish economist / lawyer / literary, dies at 79
- 1814Johann Antonin Kozeluch: Composer, dies at 75
- 1832George Crabbe: English vicar / Poet (Borough), dies at 77
- 1846Joseph Weigl: Austria Composer / conductor (Waisenhaus), dies at 79
- 1862Jean-Baptiste Biot: French physicist / astronomer, dies at 87
- 1875Everhardus J Potgieter: Writer (Liedekens van Bontekoe), dies at 66
- 1876Gino Capponi: Italian Marquis / literary / Premier of Toscane, dies at 83
- 1882Guglielmo Quarenghi: Composer, dies at 55
- 1889Belle Starr: US female gangster, murdered at 40
- 1890Christophorus H D Buys Ballot: Dutch meteorologist, dies at 72
- 1900Ottokar Eugen Novacek: Composer, dies at 33
- 1902Isaac Fransen van der Putten: Dutch Prime Minister (1866)
- 1903Frederick E Kitziger: Composer, dies at 59
- 1909Johann Georg Herzog: Composer, dies at 86
- 1921Max Wilhelm Zach: Composer, dies at 56
- 1924Woodrow Wilson: 28th President (1913-21), dies at his home in Washington at 67
- 1925Jaap Eden: Dutch World champion bicyclist / speed skating, dies at 51
- 1931Hans Schardt: Swiss geologist, dies at 72
- 1943Alexander Goode: Rabbi who surrended his life jacket, drowns
- 1945Jose Rolon: Composer, dies at 61
Historical events on February 4
- 1508Maximilian I assumes imperial title without being crowned
- 1586Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, becomes Governor of Neth
- 1600Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler meet for 1st time near Prague
- 1657Oliver Cromwell grants residency to Luis Caravajal
- 16973 VOC-ships anchor at Dirk-Hartogeiland, Australia
- 1699350 rebellious Streltsi executed in Moscow
- 1782British garrison surrenders to French and Spanish fleet
- 1783Worst quake in 8 years kills some 50,000 (Calabria, Italy)
- 17871st Anglican bishops of New York and Pennsylvania consecrated in London
- 17891st electoral college chooses Washington and Adams as President and VP
- 1794French National Convention proclaims abolishment of slavery
- 1797Earthquake in Quito, Ecuador kills 41,000
- 1803William Dunlap, adapts French melodrama "Voice of Nature"
- 1822Free American Blacks settle Liberia, West Africa
- 1824J W Goodrich introduces rubber galoshes to public
- 1846Mormons leave Nauvoo, Mo for settlement in west
- 18471st US telegraph co established in Maryland
- 1849University of Wisconsin begins in 1 room with 20 students
- 1854Alvan Bovay proposes name "Republican Party, " Ripon, Wisc
- 1855Soldiers shoot Jewish families in Coro, Venezuela
- 1861Confederate constitutional convention meets for 1st time, Montgomery Alabama: Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina elect Jefferson Davis President of Confederacy
- 186424th Amendment abolishes Poll tax
- 1864Skirmish at Big Black River Bridge, Mississippi
- 1865Hawaiian Board of Education formed
- 1865Robert E Lee is named commander-in-chief of Confederate Army
- 1866Mary Baker Eddy cures her injuries by opening a bible
- 1875Princess Louise marries Prince Philip von Saksen-Coburg-Gotha in Belg
- 1887Interstate Commerce Act authorizes federal regulation of railroads
- 18951st rolling lift bridge opens, Chicago
- 1899Revolt against US occupation of Philippines
Born on February 4
- 1465French van Brederode: Leader of Hoeksen
- 1549Eustache du Caurroy: Composer
- 1581Daniel Selich: Composer
- 1646Hans A Freiherr von Abschatz: Silesian poet
- 1688Pierre De Marivaux: Paris, France -- Writer (Marianne)
- 1693George Lillo: Bourgeois English dramatist (London Merchant)
- 1747Tadeusz Kosciusko: Poland -- Patriot, (New York Bridge)
- 1751Blas de Laserna: Composer
- 1758Pierre-Gabriel Gardel: French ballet dancer / choreographer
- 1764Carel H Verhuell: Dutch / French Vice-Admiral / Minister of Navy
- 1767Johann Franz Volkert: Composer
- 1768Maurits C van Hall: Dutch ruler of Heicop and Boeicop, lawyer / politician
- 1769Samuel I Wiselius: Dutch lawyer / businessman / writer
- 1799Joao Batista da Silva Leitao de Almeida Garret: Portuguese playwright
- 1802Mark Hopkins: United States -- Educator / philosopher (Williams College)
- 1805Georg Andreas Henkel: Composer
- 1819Joshua Norton: San Francisco, California -- Norton I, Emperor of USA
- 1826Halbert Eleazer Paine: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1905
- 1842Georg Brandes [Morris Cohen]: Danish literary-historian / critic
- 1842Vasili O Klyutshevski: Russian historian
- 1848[Francois-Victor-]Jean Aicard: French playwright / poet (Jeune Croyances)
- 1849Jean Richepin: French poet / writer (Les Chansons de Gueux)
- 1865Charles Bally: Switzerland -- Linguist (Le langage et la vie)
- 1868Constance Gore-booth Markiewicy: Irish patriot / playwright / MP
- 1875Ludwig Prandtl: Germany -- Physicist (father of aerodynamics)
- 1875Raymond Moulaert: Composer
- 1876Victor Jean Leonard Vreuls: Composer
- 1881Kliment J Woroshilov: Marshal / President USSR (1953-60)
- 1884Julius Callewaert: Flemish dominican / bringing up children
- 1888Paul Althaus: German theologist (The Christian Truth)
Died on February 4
- 0211Lucius Septimus Severus: Emperor of Rome (193-211), dies at 64
- 0708Sisinnius: Greek-Syrian Pope (708, 20 days)
- 0856Hrabanus Maurus: East France, Archbishop of Mainz
- 1189Gilbert of Sempringham: English monastery founder / saint
- 1222Willem I: Earl of Holland (1203-22)
- 1503Queen Elizabeth: Consort of Henry VII of England
- 1505Joan of Valois: Queen of France / saint, dies at 40
- 1553Caspar Othmayr: Composer, dies at 37
- 1590Gioseffo Zarlino: Composer, dies at 73
- 1617Louis Elsevier: Dutch publisher, dies at about 76
- 1640Hendrick C Vroom: Dutch seascape painter
- 1746Robert Blair: Scottish Poet (Grave), dies at 46
- 1781Josef Myslivecek: Composer, dies at 43
- 1781Willem Crul: Admiral (West-Indies), dies in battle at 59
- 1815Geert Reinders: Dutch cattle breeder / inoculation proponent, dies at 77
- 1815Jacob van Strij: Dutch cartoonist / graphic artist, dies at 58
- 1816Meingosus Gaelle: Composer, dies at 63
- 1834Amelie Julia Candielle: Composer, dies at 66
- 1844Willem de Clerq: Dutch Merchant / literary, dies at 49
- 1854Carl Ludwig Cornelius Westenholz: Composer, dies at 66
- 1869Johan M Dautzenberg: Flemish Author / Novelist (Future), dies at 60
- 1894Antoine J "Adolphe" Sax: Instrument maker (saxophone), dies at 79
- 1895Faustina Hasse Hodges: Composer, dies at 71
- 1896Henry David Leslie: Composer, dies at 73
- 1911Peter A "Piet" Cronje: South African Boer General, dies at about 75
- 1921Xavier Mellery: Belgian Painter / illustrator, dies at 75
- 1927Thomas Linnemann Laub: Composer, dies at 74
- 1928Hendrik A Lorentz: Physicist (L transformation-Nobel 1902), dies at 74
- 1939Edward Sapir: US linguist / cultural antropologist (indian), dies at 55
- 1939Henri W A Deterding: Dutch oil magnate (Royal Oil, Shell), dies at 72
Events on Feb 5
- 0816Frankish Emperor Louis grants Archbishop Salzburg immunity
- 1488Roman Catholic German Emperor Maximilian I caught in Belgium
- 1512French troops under Gaston de Foix rescues Bologna
- 1556Kings Henri I and Philip II sign Treaty of Vaucelles
- 1572Beggars assault Oisterwijk Neth, drive nuns out
- 1576Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours
- 1631Rhode Island, founder, Roger Williams arrives in Boston from England
- 16441st US livestock branding law passed, by Connecticut
- 1649Prince of Wales becomes King Charles II
- 1663Earthquake in Canada
- 1679German Emperor Leopold I signs peace with France
- 1736Methodists John and Charles Wesley arrive in Savannah, Georgia
- 1777Georgia becomes 1st US state to abolish both entail and primogeniture
- 1778Articles of Confederation ratified by 1st state, South Carolina
- 1782Spanish take Minorca (western Mediterranean) from English
- 1783Earthquakes ravage Calabria, killing 30,000
- 1783Sweden recognizes US independence
- 1795Zealand Neth surrenders to French general Michaud
- 18171st US gas co incorporated, Baltimore (coal gas for street lights)
- 1825Hannah Lord Montague of New York creates 1st detachable shirt collar
- 1831Jan van Speijk blows up his gunboat in Antwerp, killing about 30
- 1846"Oregon Spectator" is 1st newspaper to be published on the West Coast
- 1850Adding machine employing depressible keys patented, New Paltz, New York
- 1855British government of Palmerston forms
- 18611st moving picture peep show machine is patented by Samuel Goodale
- 1861Kinematoscope patented by Coleman Sellers, Philadelphia
- 1861Louisiana delegation except Mr Bouligny withdraws from Congress
- 1864Federals occupy Jackson, Mississippi
- 18701st motion picture shown to a theater audience, Philadelphia
- 1879Joseph Swan demonstrates light bulb using carbon glow
Born on Feb 5
- 1589Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan: French playwright / poet
- 1662Giuseppi Vignola: Composer
- 1711Joseph Umstatt: Composer
- 1723John Witherspoon: Clergyman / signed Declaration of Independence
- 1732Nathanael Gottfried Gruner: Composer
- 1744John Jeffries: Colonial Physician / meteorologist
- 1748Christian Gottlob Neefe: German composer / conductor / tutor of Beethoven
- 1753Coert L van Beyma thoe Kingma: Frisian regent / patriot
- 1770Alexandre Brongniart: Paris, France -- Mineralogist / geologist (Tertiary)
- 1775Margaretha J de Neufville: Author (Small Pligten)
- 1788Karoly Kisfaludy: Hungarian literary (A Tat rok Magyarorsz gon)
- 1799John Lindley: English Botanist (Elements of Botany)
- 1804Johan Ludvig Runeberg: Finland -- Poet
- 1810Ole Bull: Composer
- 1833John Watkinson: Founder of British Chess Magazine (oldest chess magazine)
- 1837Dwight Lyman Moody: United States -- Evangelist (Student Volunteer Movement)
- 1840Hiram Stevens Maxim: Inventor (automatic single-barrel rifle)
- 1840John Boyd Dunlop: Scotland, United Kingdom -- Developer (pneumatic rubber tire)
- 1848Belle Starr [Myra Belle Shirley]: US female outlaw (wild west)
- 1848Joris-Karl Huysmans: France -- Writer (Against the Grain)
- 1856Otto Brahm: German critic / founder (Neue Deutsche Rundschau)
- 1860Jackson Showalter: 1st US Chess Champion
- 1863Armand Parent: Composer
- 1864Carl Tieke: Composer
- 1865Harvey Worthington Loomis: Composer
- 1866Arthur Keith: Scottish anthropologist
- 1866Henri [Hendrik J] Hall: Dutch MP / comic (Put a Lid on it)
- 1866Rossetter Gleason Cole: Composer
- 1867Casper A Lingbeek: Vicar / Dutch MP (HSP, 1925..37)
- 1868Lodewijk Mortelmans: Composer
Died on Feb 5
- 1578Giovanni B Moroni: Italian portrait painter
- 1591Gerard de Jode: Flemish publisher
- 1658Maria Margaretha van Angels: Dutch prioress at Oirschot, dies at 52
- 1679Joost van den Vondel: Dutch Poet (Gysbreght van Aemstel), dies at 91
- 1705Jean Gilles: Composer, dies at 37
- 1721James Stanhope 1st Earl of Stanhope: English General, dies at 47
- 1738Georg Reidel: Composer, dies at 61
- 1745Coelestin Praelisauer: Composer, dies at 49
- 1754Nicolaas S Cruquius: Hydraulic engineer, (Haarlemmermeer), dies at 75
- 1758Bernhard Christian Weber: Composer, dies at 45
- 1807Pasquale Paoli: Corsican freedom fighter, dies at 80
- 1812Franz Schneider: Composer, dies at 74
- 1822Ali Pasha of Janina: (Napoleon, Lord Byron), dies at about 77
- 1825Pierre Gaveaux: Composer, dies at 64
- 1831John CJ van Speijk: Commits suicide at 29
- 1838Philippe Libon: Composer, dies at 62
- 1867Salomon Munk: Published Arabic edition of Maimounides
- 1881Thomas Carlyle: Historian / essayist, dies in London at 85
- 1897Hoss Radbourn: Pitcher won 60 games in 1884, dies at 42
- 1907Ludwig Thuille: Composer, dies at 45
- 1917Paul Rubens: Composer, dies at 41
- 1919Vasili V Rozanov: Russian philosopher / writer, dies at 62
- 1922James William Tate: Composer, dies at 46
- 1924Alexis Hollander: Composer, dies at 83
- 1926Andre Gedalge: Composer, dies at 69
- 1929Siegfried Ochs: Composer, dies at 70
- 1943Wim Gertenbach: Dutch resistance fighter (Slogan), shot by Nazis
- 1944Robert E Park: Sociologist (human ecology, marginal man), dies at 79
- 1946George Arliss: Actor / writer (Dr Syn, Voltaire), dies at 77
- 1947Ganzefles: Dutch Nazi spy / Jews hunter, executed