What happened on February 1? There are more than 305 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About February 1
February 1 is the 32nd day of the year 2024. There are 334 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday. This day falls under the 5th week of the year 2024.
On this day in El Paso, Illinois 61738 sunrise occured at 07:04 AM and sunset occured at 05:14 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aquarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Amethyst while the mystical birthstone is Bloodstone.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 9 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 21 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For February 1
- 1327Teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
- 1411The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn, Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).
- 1662The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
- 1709Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.
- 1713The Kalabalik or Tumult in Bendery results from the Ottoman sultan’s order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.
- 1790In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States convenes for the first time.
- 1793French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
- 1796The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.
- 1814Mayon Volcano, in the Philippines, erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano.
- 1835Slavery is abolished in Mauritius.
- 1861American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
- 1865President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 1876A murder conviction effectively forces the violent Pennsylvanian Irish anti-owner coal miners, the “Molly Maguires”, to disband.
- 1884The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
- 1893Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.
- 1897Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.
- 1908King Carlos I of Portugal and his son, Prince Luis Filipe are killed in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon.
- 1918Russia adopts the Gregorian Calendar.
- 1920The Royal Canadian Mounted Police begins operations.
- 1924The United Kingdom recognizes the USSR.
- 1942Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States federal government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers.
- 1942World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.
- 1942World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls-Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.
- 1946Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.
- 1957Felix Wankel’s first working prototype DKM 54 of the Wankel engine runs at the NSU research and development department Versuchsabteilung TX in Germany
- 1958Egypt and Syria merge to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961.
- 1960Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
- 1965The Hamilton River in Labrador, Canada is renamed the Churchill River in honour of Winston Churchill.
- 1968Canada’s three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.
- 1968The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form the ill-fated Penn Central Transportation.
- 1968Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyen Ngoc Loan is videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams. This image helped build opposition to the Vietnam War.
- 1972Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- 1974A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in Sao Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.
- 1974Kuala Lumpur is declared a Federal Territory.
- 1978Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees the United States to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
- 1979Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence is commuted by President Jimmy Carter.
- 1979The Ayatollah Khomeini is welcomed back to Tehran, Iran after nearly 15 years of exile.
- 1982Senegal and the Gambia form a loose confederation known as Senegambia.
- 1989The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder.
- 1991A runway collision between USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport results in the death of 34 persons, and the injury of 30 others.
- 1992The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal Disaster case.
- 1993Gary Bettman becomes the NHL’s first commissioner
- 1996The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
- 1998Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne became the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.
- 2003Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
- 2004251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured in a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
- 2004Janet Jackson’s breast is exposed during the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, resulting in US broadcasters adopting a stronger adherence to Federal Communications Commission censorship guidelines.
- 2005King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d'état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.
- 2009Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is chosen the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay head of government in the modern world.
- 2041New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Metal Rooster in Chinese astrology.
Who Were Born On February 1?
- 1261Walter de Stapledon, English bishop (d. 1326)
- 1459Conrad Celtes, German scholar (d. 1508)
- 1462Johannes Trithemius, German cryptographer (d. 1516)
- 1552Edward Coke, English jurist and Member of Parliament (d. 1634)
- 1635Marquard Gude, German archaeologist (d. 1689)
- 1659Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (d. 1729)
- 1663Mother Ignacia del Espiritu Santo, Filipino foundress of the Religious of the Virgin Mary (d. 1748)
- 1690Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian composer (d. 1768)
- 1710Konrad Ernst Ackermann, German actor (d. 1771)
- 1761Christian Hendrik Persoon, South African mycologist (d. 1836)
- 1763Thomas Campbell, Irish theologian (d. 1854)
- 1764George Duff, Royal Navy Captain, killed in action at the Battle of Trafalgar (d.1805)
- 1796Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss poet (d. 1865)
- 1801Émile Littré, French lexicographer (d. 1881)
- 1820George Hendric Houghton, American Protestant Episcopal clergyman (d. 1897)
- 1841William Davenport, American magician (d. 1877)
- 1844G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (d. 1924)
- 1851Durham Stevens, American diplomat (d. 1908)
- 1859Victor Herbert, Irish composer (d. 1924)
- 1872Andrew Kehoe, American mass murderer (d. 1927)
- 1872Jerome F. Donovan, American politician (d. 1949)
- 1873John Barry, Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1901)
- 1873Joseph Allard, Canadian fiddler (d. 1947)
- 1874Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian writer (d. 1929)
- 1878Milan Hodža, Slovak politician (d. 1944)
- 1882Louis Stephen St. Laurent, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1973)
- 1884Bradbury Robinson, who threw the first forward pass in American football history in 1906 (d. 1949)
- 1884Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian writer (d. 1937)
- 1887Charles Nordhoff, English-born author (d. 1947)
- 1894James P. Johnson, American composer (d. 1955)
- 1894John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973)
- 1895Conn Smythe, Canadian builder of the National Hockey League (d. 1980)
- 1897Denise Robins, (aka Francesca Wright, Ashley French, Harriet Gray, Julia Kane) British romance novelist (d. 1985)
- 1898Leila Denmark, American pediatrician and medical researcher who co-developed the pertussis (whooping cough) vaccine and supercentenarian.
- 1901Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)
- 1901Frank Buckles, last surviving American veteran of World War I (d. 2011)
- 1902Langston Hughes African-American poet and author (d. 1967)
- 1902Therese Brandl, Nazi concentration camp guard (d. 1947)
- 1904S. J. Perelman, American humorist (d. 1979)
- 1905Emilio G. Segrè, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1989)
- 1906Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigerian Chief Justice (d. 1993)
- 1906Hildegarde, American actress and singer (d. 2005)
- 1907Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer (d. 1993)
- 1907Günter Eich, German lyricist (d. 1972)
- 1908George Pal, Hungarian-born director and producer (d. 1980)
- 1909George Beverly Shea, Canadian singer
- 1910Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Tibetan politician (d. 2009)
- 1915Stanley Matthews, English footballer (d. 2000)
- 1917Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player (d. 1944)
- 1918Muriel Spark, Scottish author (d. 2006)
- 1921Patricia Robins (alias Claire Lorrimer), British writer
- 1921Peter Sallis, English actor
- 1921Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano (d. 2004)
- 1924Ben Weider, Canadian businessman and author (d. 2008)
- 1924Richard Hooker, American writer (d. 1997)
- 1926Shane Devine, United States Federal Judge (d. 1999)
- 1928Stuart Whitman, American actor
- 1928Tom Lantos, American politician (d. 2008)
- 1930Hossain Mohammad Ershad, Bangladeshi politician
- 1930Mario Beaulieu, Canadian politician (d. 1998)
- 1930Shahabuddin Ahmed, former President of Bangladesh
- 1931Boris Yeltsin, 1st President of the Russian Federation (d. 2007)
- 1931Iajuddin Ahmed, former President of Bangladesh
- 1932Jan Ramberg, Swedish law professor, and arbitration court judge
- 1934Bob Shane, American folk singer (The Kingston Trio)
- 1936Azie Taylor Morton, American civil servant, and 35th Treasurer of the United States (d. 2003)
- 1937Don Everly, American musician (Everly Brothers)
- 1937Garrett Morris, American comedian
- 1937Ray Sawyer, American singer (Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show)
- 1938Niculiţă Secrieriu, Romanian painter (d. 2002)
- 1938Sherman Hemsley, American comedian and actor
- 1939Claude François, French singer (d. 1978)
- 1939Fritjof Capra, Austrian physicist
- 1939Joe Sample, American jazz pianist
- 1939Paul Gillmor, American politician (d. 2007)
- 1940Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
- 1940Hervé Filion, Canadian harness racer
- 1941Jerry Spinelli, children’s author
- 1941Karl Dall, German television host
- 1942Muna Wassef, Syrian/Arab actress and United Nations Goodwill ambassador.
- 1942Terry Jones, Welsh actor and writer
- 1944Burkhard Ziese, German football manager (d. 2010)
- 1944Dick Snyder, American basketball player
- 1944Mike Enzi, American politician, senior senator from Wyoming
- 1945Serge Joyal, Canadian politician
- 1946Chris Clark, Motown Soul singer
- 1946Elisabeth Sladen, English Actress (d. 2011)
- 1946Gerhard Welz, German footballer
- 1947Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983)
- 1947Mike Brant, Israeli pop singer (d. 1975)
- 1947Normie Rowe, Australian singer
- 1948Rick James, American musician and composer (d. 2004)
- 1950Mike Campbell, American guitarist and producer
- 1951Sonny Landreth, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1952Jenő Jandó, Hungarian pianist
- 1953Brendan Batson, English former footballer
- 1954Bill Mumy, American actor and musician
- 1954Chuck Dukowski, American musician (Black Flag)
- 1955Ernie Camacho, baseball player
- 1956Brahmanandam, Indian film actor
- 1956Exene Cervenka, American musician
- 1956Mike Kitchen, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1957Renae Jacobs, American voice actress
- 1958Jackie Shroff, Indian actor
- 1958Luther Blissett, English footballer
- 1958Ryo Horikawa, Japanese voice actor
- 1961Daniel Tani, NASA astronaut
- 1961Volker Fried, German field hockey player
- 1962José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2004)
- 1962Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese guitarist
- 1963Takashi Murakami, Japanese artist
- 1964Jani Lane American musician, songwriter (d. 2011)
- 1964Linus Roache, English actor
- 1964Mario Pelchat, Canadian singer
- 1965Brandon Lee, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1965Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
- 1965Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
- 1966Donna Edmondson, Playboy Playmate
- 1966Michelle Akers, American soccer player
- 1966Rob Lee, English footballer
- 1966Vasilis Dimitriadis, Greek footballer
- 1967Meg Cabot, American author
- 1967Patle Shishupal Natthu, Indian politician
- 1968Kent Mercker, American baseball player
- 1968Lisa Marie Presley, American singer and actress
- 1968Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968Pauly Shore, American comedian
- 1969Brian Krause, American actor
- 1969Gabriel Batistuta, Argentine footballer
- 1969Joshua Redman, American musician
- 1969Patrick Wilson, American musician (Weezer)
- 1970Malik Sealy, American basketball player (d. 2000)
- 1970Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese racing driver
- 1971Ajay Jadeja, Former Indian cricketer
- 1971Harald Martin Brattbakk, Norwegian footballer
- 1971Hynden Walch, American actress
- 1971Jill Kelly, American porn actress
- 1971Michael C. Hall, American actor
- 1971Ron Welty, American musician
- 1971Zlatko Zahovič, Slovenian footballer
- 1972Kami (musician), drummer of Japanese visual kei band Malice Mizer (d. 1999)
- 1972Yoshi DeHerrera, American TV personality
- 1973Andrew DeClercq, American basketball player
- 1973Makiko Ohmoto, Japanese voice actress
- 1973Yuri Landman, Experimental musical instrument builder, musician and comic book artist
- 1974David Meca, Spanish long distance swimmer
- 1974Walter McCarty, American basketball player
- 1975Big Boi, American musician (Outkast)
- 1975Katerina Thanou, Greek sprinter
- 1976Phil Ivey, American poker player
- 1977Kevin Kilbane, Irish footballer
- 1977Robert Traylor, American basketball player (d. 2011)
- 1978Domenick Davies, Welsh-born German rugby player
- 1978Tim Harding, Australian singer (Hi-5)
- 1979Juan Silveira dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
- 1979Julie Augustyniak, American soccer player
- 1979Rachelle LeFevre, Canadian actress
- 1979Valentín Elizalde, Mexican singer (d. 2006)
- 1980Héctor Luna, Dominican Republic baseball player
- 1980Moisés Muñoz, Mexican footballer
- 1980Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2005)
- 1981Graeme Smith, South African cricketer
- 1981Luis Lamá, Angolan footballer
- 1981Rob Austin, British racing driver
- 1982Gavin Henson, Welsh rugby player
- 1982Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer
- 1983Andrew VanWyngarden, musician (MGMT)
- 1983Jurgen Van Den Broeck, Belgian cyclist
- 1983Kevin Martin, American basketball player
- 1984Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer
- 1984Lee Thompson Young, American actor
- 1985Dean Shiels, Northern Irish footballer
- 1985Jodi Gordon, Australian actress and model
- 1985Rachael Scdoris, American dog musher
- 1986Lauren Conrad, American reality TV personality
- 1987Giuseppe Rossi, Italian footballer
- 1987Heather Morris, American actress and dancer
- 1987Montario Hardesty, American football player
- 1987Wu Jingyu, Chinese taekwondo practitioner
- 1988Brett Anderson, American baseball player
- 1988Mark Healey, British computer games developer
- 1990Laura Marling, English singer-songwriter
- 1991Luca Caldirola, Italian footballer
- 1994Harry Styles, Member of British/Irish boy band One Direction
- 1996Alex Bausch, Pokemon League Champion and Sole Apocalypse Survivor
Who Died On February 1?
- 1248Henry II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1207)
- 1328King Charles IV of France (b. 1294)
- 1542Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1480)
- 1563Menas, Emperor of Ethiopia (died of fever) (b. 1559)
- 1590Lawrence Humphrey,English clergyman and educator
- 1673Elizabeth Fones, English-born colonial American pioneer (b. 1610)
- 1691Pope Alexander VIII (b. 1610)
- 1718Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician (b. 1660)
- 1733King Augustus II of Poland (b. 1670)
- 1734John Floyer, English physician and writer (b. 1649)
- 1743Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian composer (b. 1657)
- 1761Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French historian (b. 1682)
- 1768Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, British cavalry officer (b. 1685)
- 1793William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman (b. 1717)
- 1832Archibald Murphey, North Carolina politician (b. 1777)
- 1850Edward Baker Lincoln, son of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln (b. 1846)
- 1851Mary Shelley, English author (b. 1797)
- 1893George Henry Sanderson, Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1824)
- 1897Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist (b. 1826)
- 1903George Gabriel Stokes, Irish physicist (b. 1819)
- 1908King Carlos I of Portugal (b. 1863)
- 1922William Desmond Taylor, American silent film actor and director; his murder remains unsolved. (b. 1872)
- 1928Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
- 1936Georgios Kondylis, general of the Greek army and Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878)
- 1940Philip Francis Nowlan, science fiction writer, creator of Buck Rogers character (b. 1888)
- 1944Piet Mondriaan, Dutch painter (b. 1872)
- 1945Prince Kiril of Bulgaria, prince of Bulgaria (b. 1895)
- 1949Herbert Stothart, American composer, song writer (b. 1885)
- 1957Friedrich Paulus, German general (b. 1890)
- 1958Clinton Davisson, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1888)
- 1959Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (b. 1873)
- 1963Fleetwood Lindley, the last living person to see Abraham Lincoln’s face (b. 1888)
- 1966Buster Keaton, American actor (b. 1895)
- 1966Hedda Hopper, American film actress and gossip columnist (b. 1885)
- 1968Jacob van der Hoeden, Dutch-Israeli veterinary scientist (b. 1891)
- 1970Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1921)
- 1976George Whipple, American scientist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1878)
- 1976Werner Heisenberg, German physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1901)
- 1980Gastone Nencini, Italian cyclist (b. 1930)
- 1981Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American aircraft manufacturer (b. 1892)
- 1981Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian composer (b. 1908)
- 1986Alva Myrdal, Swedish politician, diplomat, and writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1902)
- 1987Alessandro Blasetti, Italian film director (b. 1900)
- 1988Heather O'Rourke, American actress (b. 1975)
- 1989Elaine de Kooning, American artist (b. 1918)
- 1991Carol Dempster, American actress (b. 1901)
- 1991Phil Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1914)
- 1995Richey James Edwards, lyricist and rhythm guitarist of Welsh rock band Manic Street Preachers (presumed dead) (b. 1967)
- 1997Herb Caen, American newspaper columnist (b. 1916)
- 1999Paul Mellon, American philanthropist (b. 1907)
- 2001André D'Allemagne, Quebec teacher, political observer and essayist (b. 1929)
- 2002Hildegard Knef, German actress, singer, and writer (b. 1925)
- 2003Crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster): David Brown (b. 1956)
- 2003Crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster): Ilan Ramon (b. 1954)
- 2003Crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster): Kalpana Chawla (b. 1961)
- 2003Crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster): Laurel Clark (b. 1961)
- 2003Crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster): Michael P. Anderson (b. 1959)
- 2003Crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster): Rick D. Husband (b. 1957)
- 2003Crew of the STS-107 Mission (Space Shuttle Columbia disaster): Willie McCool (b. 1961)
- 2003Mongo Santamaria, Cuban percussionist and band leader (b. 1922)
- 2004May O'Donnell, American modern dancer and choreographer (b. 1909)
- 2005John Vernon, Canadian actor (b. 1932)
- 2006Bryce Harland, New Zealand diplomat (b. 1931)
- 2006Dick Bass, American football player (b. 1937)
- 2007Ahmad Abu Laban, Danish Muslim leader (b. 1946)
- 2007Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-born composer (b. 1911)
- 2007Ray Berres, American baseball player (b. 1907)
- 2007Seri Wangnaitham, Thai dance choreographer (b. 1937)
- 2007Whitney Balliett, American jazz critic (b. 1926)
- 2008Beto Carrero, Brazilian theme park owner and entertainer (b. 1937)
- 2010Justin Mentell, American artist and actor (b. 1982)
Did you know that coffee and word games are an excellent combination to sharpen your vocabulary? Try this! Within 30 seconds, how many words can you think of from these letters CIFDKLPQEAM? Check your answers here: Words with these letters CIFDKLPQEAM. (Sponsored by WordFinder.Cafe)