Events on Feb 17
- 1370Battle at Rudau: Germany beats Lithuania
- 1568Holy Roman Emperor agrees to pay tribute to the Sultan for peace
- 1598Boris Godunov chosen tsar of Russia
- 1621Miles Standish appointed 1st commander of Plymouth colony
- 1634William Prynne tried in Star Chamber for publishing "Histrio-masti
- 1670France and Bavaria sign military assistance treaty
- 1676Kings Charles II and Louis XIV sign secret treaty
- 1691Thomas Neale granted British patent for American postal service
- 17721st partition of Poland-Russia and Prussia, joined later by Austria
- 1791Messier catalogs M83 (spiral galaxy in Hydra)
- 1795Thomas Seddal harvests 8.3-kg potato from his garden Chester, England
- 1801House breaks electoral college tie, chooses Jefferson President over Burr
- 18171st US city lit by gas (Baltimore)
- 1818Baron Karl von Drais de Sauerbrun patents "draisine" (early bicycle)
- 1836HMS Beagle / Charles Darwin leaves Tasmania
- 1848Toscane gets liberal Constitution
- 1854British recognize independence of Orange Free State (South Africa)
- 1864Confederate sub "HL Hunley" sinks Union ship "Housatonic"
- 1865Columbia SC burns down during Civil War
- 18671st ship passes through Suez Canal
- 1867Gyula Andressy becomes Premier of Hungary
- 1870Esther Morris appointed 1st female judge
- 1870Mississippi becomes 9th state readmitted to US after Civil War
- 1876Sardines 1st canned (Julius Wolff-Eastport, Maine)
- 18781st telephone exchange in SF opens with 18 phones
- 1880Tsar Alexander II of Russia survives an assassination attempt
- 1883A Ashwell patents free-toilet in London
- 1897National Organization of Mothers forms (Parent Teacher Association)
- 1905Frances Willard becomes 1st women honored in National Statuary Hall
- 19111st hydroplane flight to and from a ship (Glenn Curtiss, San Diego)
Born on Feb 17
- 1444Rudolf Agricola [Roelof Huysman]: Dutch humanist / Organist
- 1490Charles de Bourbon: Officer / Governor (Lombardy)
- 1583J Henry Alting: Dutch theologist
- 1653Arcangelo Corelli: Fusignano, Italy -- Violinist / comp (Concerto Grossi)
- 1667Georg Bronner: Composer
- 1675Johann Melchior Conradi: Composer
- 1696Baron Ernst Gottlieb: Composer
- 1697Louis-Maurice de La Pierre: Composer
- 1699Hans Georg Wenzeslaus von Knobelsdorff: German architect (Sanssouci)
- 1723Tobias Mayer: "method of lunars" for longitude determination
- 1740Horace B de Saussure: Switzerland -- Physicist / geologist
- 1747Narciso Casanovas: Composer
- 1752Friedrich M Klinger: German playwright (Wirrwarr)
- 1754Jan Jachym Kopriva: Composer
- 1758John Pinkerton: Scottish historian
- 1774Raphaelle Peale: United States -- Painter (After the Rain-1823)
- 1796Giovanni Pacini: Composer
- 1804Samuel Read Anderson: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1883
- 1816Friedrich Wilhelm Markull: Composer
- 1820Henri Vieuxtemps: Verviers, Belgium -- Composer / teacher (Brussels Cons)
- 1824William Farrar "Baldy" Smith: Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1903
- 1831Francisco Salvador Daniel: Composer
- 1837Francis Jay Herron: Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1902
- 1837Sam[uel] van Houten: Dutch (lib) Minister (child labor laws)
- 1844A Montgomery Ward: Founded mail-order business (Montgomery Ward)
- 1849Selwyn Image: Bodiam, Sussex -- Painter
- 1850Anton Urspruch: Composer
- 1850Ludwig Bonvin: Composer
- 1854Friedrich A Krupp: German arms manufacturer
- 1855Otto Liman von Sanders: German General in Turkey (WWI)
Died on Feb 17
- 0364Flavius Jovianus: Christian Emperor of Rome (363-64), dies at about 32
- 0956Hugo the Great: Earl of Paris / Duke of Francia, dies at about 55
- 1600Giordano Bruno: Advocate of Copernican theory, burned at stake
- 1612Ernst of Bayern: Prince / Bishop of Luik / archbish Cologne, dies at 57
- 1612Jodocus Hondius: Flemish cartoonist / mathematician, dies at 48
- 1652Gregorio Allegri: Italian singer / Composer (Miserere), dies at about 67
- 1654Michael Lohr: Composer, dies at 62
- 1673Moliare [Jean Baptiste Poquelin]: French Author (Learned Lady)
- 1688Rev James Renwick: Hanged in Scotland for being a Presbyterian
- 1715Antoine Galland: French interpreter, dies at 68
- 1732Louis Marchand: Composer, dies at 63
- 1796James Macpherson: Poet
- 1804Christian Ernst Graf: Composer, dies at 80
- 1815Franz Gotz: Composer, dies at 59
- 1827Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi: Swiss educator, dies at 81
- 1841Ferdinando Carulli: Composer, dies at 70
- 1852Micha Joseph Levenson: Hebrew poet
- 1854Hugues F R de Lamennais: French priest / writer, dies at 71
- 1856Heinrich Heine: German poet, dies at 58 in Paris, France
- 1856John Braham: Singer / composer, dies at 81
- 1874[Lambert] Adolphe J Quetelet: Belg astronomer / sociologist, dies at 77
- 1883Napoleon Coste: Composer, dies at 76
- 1901Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin: Composer, dies at 38
- 1903Joseph Parry: Composer, dies at 61
- 1905Serge Alexandrovich: Governor-General Moscow, murdered
- 1907Henry Olcott: Co-founder (Theosophical Society-Madras)
- 1907Henry Steel Olcott: US co-founder (Theosophist Society), dies at 74
- 1908Geronimo: Apache chief, dies at about 79
- 1912Aloys von Aerenthal: Foreign Minister (Austria-Hungary), dies at 57
- 1912L Oates: British explorer (Antarctica)
Historical events on February 18
- 1129Jerusalem taken by Emperor Frederik II
- 1503Henry Tudor created Prince of Wales (later Henry VIII)
- 1536France and Turkey sign milt / trade agreement against King Karel
- 1574Zeeland falls to Dutch rebels
- 1634Ferdinand II orders commander Albrecht von Wallenstein, execution
- 1688Quakers conduct 1st formal protest of slavery in Germantown, Pennsylvania
- 1713French invade under Jacques Cassard on Curacao
- 17351st opera performed in America, "Flora, " in Charleston, South Carolina
- 1745Bonnie Prince Charlies troops occupy Inverness Scotland
- 1787Austrian Emperor Jozef II bans children under 8 from labor
- 18041st US land-grant college, Ohio University, Athens Ohio, chartered
- 1828More than 100 vessels destroyed in a storm, Gibraltar
- 18341st US labor newspaper, "The Man, " published, New York City
- 1839Detroit Boat Club forms
- 18411st continuous filibuster in US Senate began, lasting until March 11
- 18491st regular steamboat service to California starts (or 02 / 28)
- 1850California Legislature creates 9 Bay Area counties
- 1856American (Know-Nothing) Party abolishes secrecy
- 1857Insurrection of Chinese in Sarawak, Borneo
- 1861Confederate President Jefferson Davis inaugurated at Montgomery Ala
- 1861King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia becomes 1st King of Italy
- 1865Battle of Ft Moultrie, SC occupied by Federals
- 1865Union troops force Confederates to abandon Ft Anderson, North Carolina
- 1876Direct telegraph link established between Britain and New Zealand
- 1879Arabs capture Egyptian Premier Nabar Pasha
- 1884General Charles Gordon arrives in Khartoum
- 1896Cave of Winds at Niagara Falls goes almost dry for 1st time in 50 yrs
- 1899San Francisco named as a port of dispatch for Army transports
- 1900Ajax soccer team forms in Amsterdam
- 1900Battle at Paardeberg, 1,270 British killed / injured
Born on February 18
- 1404Leon B Alberti: Italian humanist / architect (Della Pittura)
- 1516Mary I Tudor [Bloody Mary]: Greenwich -- Queen of England (1553-58)
- 1559Isaac Casaubon: Naturalized English classical scholar, Theologian
- 1609Edward Hyde: Earl of Clarendon, English Prime Minister (1660-67)
- 1632Giovanni Battista Vitali: Composer
- 1677Jacques Cassini: French astronomer (rings of Saturn)
- 1716Gaspard Fritz: Composer
- 1743Count Alessandro Volta: Como, Italy -- Physicist
- 1745Alessandro Giuseppe Antonio Anastasio Volta: Inventor (battery)
- 1751Karl Haack: Composer
- 1770Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck: Composer
- 1771Friedrich Christian Ruppe: Composer
- 1775Thomas Girtin: London, England -- Artist / watercolorist
- 1776John Parry: Composer
- 1781Henry Martyn: Truro -- Missionary
- 1790Marshall Hall: Basford Nottinghamshire, England -- Physician
- 1795George Peabody: South Danvers, Massachusetts -- Merchant / philanthropist
- 1805Louis Malesherbes Goldsborough: Rear Admiral (Union Navy)
- 1815Henri Leys: Flemish painter
- 1817Lewis Addison Armistead: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1863
- 1817Walter Page Lane: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1892
- 1819Joseph Philbrick Webster: Composer
- 1829Jean Jacques Alfred Mouton: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
- 1833James Deshler: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1863
- 1836Ramakrishna: Hooghly Bengal, India -- Hindu Saint (preached unity of religions)
- 1836Swami Ramakrishna [Gadadhar Chatterji]: Indian mystic / hindu leader
- 1838Ernst Mach: Chirlitz-Turas, Austria -- Physicist / philosopher / psychologist
- 1841Samuel Prowse Warren: Composer
- 1844Willem Maris: Dutch painter (Hague School)
- 1848Louis Comfort Tiffany: Glassmaker (stained glass windows)
Died on February 18
- 0999Gregory V [Bruno]: 1st German Pope
- 1217Alexander Neckum de Sancto Albano: Engl encyclopedist, dies at 59
- 1397Enguerrand VII: French master of Coucy / Count of Soissons, dies at 56
- 1455Fra Angelico: Italian Monk / painter
- 1478Duke of Clarence: Forced drowning in a wine barrel
- 1535Agrippa von Nettesheim: German royal astrologer, dies at 48
- 1535Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim: Physician / theologian
- 1546Martin Luther: Biblical Scholar / religious reformer, dies at 62
- 1564Michelangelo Buonarroti: Italian Sculptor / Painter (David), dies at 88
- 1660Judith Jansdochter Leyster: Dutch painter, buried
- 1683Nicolaes Pietersz Berchem: Dutch landscape Painter / etcher, dies at 62
- 1745Nicola Fago: Composer, dies at 67
- 1790Wilhelm Gottfried Enderle: Composer, dies at 67
- 1799Maurus Haberhauer: Composer, dies at 52
- 1803J W L Gleim: Writer
- 1807August G Meissner: German estheticus / literary, dies at 53
- 1807S von Laroche: Writer, dies at 75
- 1817Giacomo Quarenghi: Master builder (Hermitage Theater), dies at 72
- 1829Jan Krtitel Kuchar: Composer, dies at 77
- 1830Charles G G: Earl of Merode, mayor (Brussels), dies at 67
- 1833Georg Johann Schinn: Composer, dies at 64
- 1833Ignac Ruzitska: Composer, dies at 55
- 1846Giovanni Liverati: Composer, dies at 73
- 1861Louis C Luzac: Dutch Minister of Internal affairs, dies at 74
- 1878Peter D Regout: Industrialist (Sphinx, Maastricht), dies at 76
- 1885Charlotte Helen Sainton-Dolby: Composer, dies at 61
- 1890Guyla Andr ssy, Sr.: Earl / Premier of Hungary (1867-71), dies at 66
- 1895Albrecht FR: Archduke of Austrian (Battle at Custozza), dies at 77
- 1899M Sophus Lie: Norwegian mathematician, dies at 56
- 1905Jules de Geyter: Belgian Poet (International), dies at 75
Events on Feb 19
- 0356Emperor Constantius II shuts all heathen temples
- 0607Boniface III begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 0842Medieval Iconoclastic Controversy ends as a council in Constantinople formally reinstated the veneration of icons in the churches
- 1512French troops under Gaston de Foix occupy Brescia
- 1537Weavers of Leiden Neth strike
- 1539Jews of Tyrnau Hungary (then Trnava Czech), expelled
- 1574Spanish troops plunder Krommenie, Wormerveer and Jisp Neth
- 1582Francis of Valois becomes Duke of Brabant
- 1619Trial against Johan van Oldenbarnevelt begins in The Hague
- 1674Netherlands and England sign Peace of Westminster (NYC becomes English)
- 1700Last day of Julian calendar in Denmark
- 1771Messier adds M46-M49 to his catalog (galactic clusters in Puppis & Hydra & galaxy in Virgo)
- 17971 / 3 of papal domain ceded to France
- 1807British squadron under Admiral Duckworth forces passage of Dardanelle
- 1807VP Aaron Burr arrested in Alabama for treason; later found innocent
- 18311st practical US coal-burning locomotive makes 1st trial run, Penn
- 1846Texas state government formally installed in Austin
- 1856Tin-type camera patented by Hamilton Smith, Gambier, Ohio
- 1859Dan Sickles is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity 1st time this defense is successfully used
- 1864Knights of Pythias form 1st lodge in Washington DC (12 members)
- 1869US Assay Office in Boise, Idaho authorized
- 1878Thomas Alva Edison patents gramophone (phonograph)
- 1881Kansas becomes 1st state to prohibit all alcoholic beverages
- 1884Tornadoes in Miss, Ala, NC, SC, Tenn, Ky and In kill 800 people
- 1900British troops occupy Hlangwane Natal
- 1906WK Kellogg and Ch Bolin found Battle Creek Toasted Corn Flake Company
- 19131st prize inserted into a Cracker Jack box
- 1913Mexican General V Huerta takes power with US support
- 1915British fleet fire on Dardanellen coast
- 1919Pan-African Congress, organized by W E B Du Bois (Paris)
Born on Feb 19
- 1588Pieter de Carpentier: Flemish Governor-General of Dutch East-Indies
- 1611Andries de Graeff: Mayor of Amsterdam (1657..71)
- 1616Jacques de Saint-Luc: Composer
- 1671Charles-Hubert Gervais: Composer
- 1687Johann Adam Birkenstock: Composer
- 1717David Garrick: Actor / producer / writer (Aboan-Oroonoko)
- 1743[Ridolfo] Luigi Boccherini: Italian composer, cellist (Minuet)
- 1751Cornelis de Gijselaar: Dutch politician / patriot
- 1754Vincenzo Monti: Italian poet / translator (Al Signor di Montgolfier)
- 1755Pieter G van Overstraten: Governor-General of the Netherlands Indies
- 1762Friedrich Franz Hurka: Composer
- 1780Friedrich H von der Hagen: German germanist (Nibelungenlied)
- 1812Lauro Rossi: Composer
- 1817Willem III: Last male King of the Netherlands (1849-90)
- 1819Mark Prager Lindo: English / Dutch author / Novelist / writer
- 1821Francis Preston Blair, Jr.: Lexington, Kentucky -- (Rep-Missouri)
- 1824Constantine D Uschinsky: Russian educator
- 1827Charles Robert Woods: Bvt Major General (Union Army), died in 1855
- 1828Johannes von Miquel: German politician
- 1841Felipe Pedrell: Composer
- 1843Adelina Patti: Madrid, Spain -- Opera soprano (Lucio)
- 1859Svante August Arhenius: Swedish physicist / chemist (Nobel 1903)
- 1863Emanuel Moor: Composer
- 1864Aritius S Talma: Dutch Minister of Agriculture (Work Law of 1911)
- 1865Adrian van Oordt: Dutch writer (neo-romantic)
- 1865Sven Hedin: Sweden -- Scientist / explorer (Tibet)
- 1877Else Berg: German / Dutch painter
- 1877Louis Francois-Marie Aubert: French composer (Habanera)
- 1880Arthur Shepherd: Composer
- 1881Armin Knab: German composer (Eichendorff-cycle)
Died on Feb 19
- 0197D Clodius Septimus Albinus: Roman bequest in England, dies in battle
- 1401William Sawtree: 1st English religious martyr, burned in London
- 1414Thomas Arundel: Archbishop of Canterbury / chancellor of England
- 1545Pierre Brully [Peter Brulius]: Calvinist minister, burned to death
- 1553Erasmus Reinhold: German mathematician, dies at 41
- 1605Orazio Tiberio Vecchi: Composer, dies at 54
- 1620Roemer P Visscher: Poet, buried in Amsterdam
- 1653Luigi Rossi: Composer
- 1785Johann Christoph Richter: Composer, dies at 84
- 1790Jean-Baptiste Krumphultz: Composer, dies at 47
- 1815Leonhard von Call: Composer, dies at 47
- 1822Jeronymo Francisco de Lima: Composer, dies at 78
- 1858Alois Basil Nikolaus Tomasini: Composer, dies at 78
- 1864William Edwin Baldwin: US Confederate Brigadier General
- 1875Jean B Vuillaume: French violin maker (octobas), dies at 76
- 1878Charles F Daubigny: French restaurateur / painter, dies at 61
- 1887Eduard Douwes Dekker: Dutch writer (Max Havelaar), dies at 66
- 1894Ernesto Camillo Sivori: Composer, dies at 78
- 1897Karl T Weierstrass: German mathematician, dies at 81
- 1916Ernst Mach: Austrian physicist / philosopher / psychologist, dies at 78
- 1923Jeronimo Gimenez y Bellido: Composer, dies at 68
- 1927Georg Brandes [Cohen]: Danish literary-historian / critic, dies at 85
- 1927Robert Fuchs: Composer, dies at 80
- 1933Arnold Ludwig Mendelssohn: Composer, dies at 77
- 1941Hamilton Hamilton Harty: Composer / conductor, dies at 61
- 1944Siegfried Garibaldi Kallenberg: Composer, dies at 76
- 1945Wim Speelman: Dutch resistance fighter, executed at 26
- 1949Auguste Jean Maria Charles Serieyx: Composer, dies at 83
- 1950Edyth Walker: US singer, dies at 82
- 1951Andre[-Paul-Guillaume] Gide: French writer (Nobel 1947), dies at 82