748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
842 – Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages.
1014 – Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and of Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor.
1076 – Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
1130 – Pope Innocent II is elected.
1349 – Several hundred Jews are burned to death by mobs while the remaining Jews are forcibly removed from Strasbourg.
1400 – Richard II of England dies, most probably from starvation, in Pontefract Castle, on the orders of Henry Bolingbroke.
1530 – Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrow and execute Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico.
1556 – Thomas Cranmer is declared a heretic.
1556 – Coronation of Akbar.
1655 – The Mapuches launch coordinated attacks against the Spanish in Chile beginning the Mapuche uprising of 1655.
1778 – The United States flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones.
1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Kettle Creek is fought in Georgia.
1779 – James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii.
1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Cape St. Vincent: John Jervis, (later 1st Earl of St Vincent) and Horatio Nelson (later 1st Viscount Nelson) lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar.
1804 – Karađorđe leads the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire.
1831 – Ras Marye of Yejju marches into Tigray and defeats and kills Dejazmach Sabagadis in the Battle of Debre Abbay.
1835 – The original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in the Latter Day Saint movement, is formed in Kirtland, Ohio.
1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
1852 – Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, is founded in London.
1855 – Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas.
1859 – Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state.
1876 – Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray.
1879 – The War of the Pacific breaks out when the Chilean Army occupies the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta.
1899 – Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections.
1900 – British forces begin the Battle of the Tugela Heights in an effort to lift the Siege of Ladysmith.
1903 – The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor).
1912 – Arizona is admitted as the 48th and the last contiguous U.S. state.
1912 – The U.S. Navy commissions its first class of diesel-powered submarines.
1919 – The Polish–Soviet War begins.
1920 – The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago.
1924 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
1929 – Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone’s gang, are murdered in Chicago.
1942 – Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore.
1943 – World War II: Rostov-on-Don, Russia is liberated.
1943 – World War II: Tunisia Campaign: General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim’s Fifth Panzer Army launches a concerted attack against Allied positions in Tunisia.
1944 – World War II: In the Action of 14 February 1944, a Royal Navy submarine sinks a German-controlled Italian submarine in the Strait of Malacca.
1945 – World War II: On the first day of the bombing of Dresden, the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces begin fire-bombing Dresden.
1945 – World War II: Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague, Czechoslovakia by an American squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviet’s Vistula–Oder Offensive.
1945 – World War II: Mostar is liberated by Yugoslav partisans
1945 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy, officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations.
1946 – The Bank of England is nationalized.
1949 – The Knesset (parliament of Israel) convenes for the first time.
1949 – The Asbestos Strike begins in Canada. The strike marks the beginning of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec.
1961 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California.
1966 – Australian currency is decimalized.
1979 – In Kabul, Setami Milli militants kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.
1983 – United American Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee collapses. Its president, Jake Butcher, is later convicted of fraud.
1989 – Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the Indian government for damages it caused in the 1984 Bhopal disaster.
1989 – Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses.
1990 – Ninety-two people are killed when Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashes in Bangalore, India.
1990 – The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth that later become famous as Pale Blue Dot.
1998 – An oil tanker train collides with a freight train in Yaoundé, Cameroon, spilling fuel oil. One person scavenging the oil created a massive explosion which killed 120.
2000 – The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.
2004 – In a suburb of Moscow, Russia, the roof of the Transvaal water park collapses, killing more than 25 people, and wounding more than 100 others.
2005 – In Beirut, 23 people, including former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, are killed when the equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT is detonated while Hariri’s motorcade drives through the city.
2005 – Seven people are killed and 151 wounded in a series of bombings by suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants that hit Makati, Davao City, and General Santos City, all in the Philippines.
2005 – YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos.
2008 – Northern Illinois University shooting: A gunman opens fire in a lecture hall of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb County, Illinois, resulting in six fatalities (including the gunman) and 21 injuries.
2011 – As a part of Arab Spring, the Bahraini uprising begins with a ‘Day of Rage’.
2018 – Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa.
2018 – A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 15 injuries.
2019 – Pulwama attack takes place in Lethpora in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and a suicide bomber were killed and 35 were injured.
Births on February 14
1404 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian painter, poet, and philosopher (d. 1472)
1408 – John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel (d. 1435)
1452 – Pandolfo Petrucci, tyrant of Siena (d. 1512)
1468 – Johannes Werner, German priest and mathematician (d. 1522)
1483 – Babur, Moghul emperor (d. 1530)
1490 – Valentin Friedland, German scholar and educationist of the Reformation (d. 1556)
1513 – Domenico Ferrabosco, Italian composer (d. 1573)
1545 – Lucrezia de’ Medici, Duchess of Ferrara (d. 1561)
1602 – Francesco Cavalli, Italian composer (d. 1676)
1614 – John Wilkins, English bishop, academic and natural philosopher (d. 1672)
1625 – Countess Palatine Maria Eufrosyne of Zweibrücken, Swedish princess (d. 1687)
1628 – Valentine Greatrakes, Irish faith healer (d. 1683)
1640 – Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (d. 1693)
1670 – Rajaram Raj Bhonsle, third Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1700)
1679 – Georg Friedrich Kauffmann, German organist and composer (d. 1735)
1692 – Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French author and playwright (d. 1754)
1701 – Enrique Flórez, Spanish historian and author (d. 1773)
1763 – Jean Victor Marie Moreau, French general (d. 1813)
1782 – Eleanora Atherton, English philanthropist (d. 1870)
1784 – Heinrich Baermann, German clarinetist (d. 1847)
1799 – Walenty Wańkowicz, Polish painter and illustrator (d. 1842)
1800 – Emory Washburn, American historian, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1877)
1808 – Michael Costa, Italian-English conductor and composer (d. 1884)
1813 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (d. 1884)
1819 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American journalist and politician, invented the typewriter (d. 1890)
1824 – Winfield Scott Hancock, American general and politician (d. 1886)
1828 – Edmond François Valentin About, French journalist and author (d. 1885)
1835 – Piet Paaltjens, Dutch minister and poet (d. 1894)
1838 – Margaret E. Knight, American inventor (d. 1914)
1846 – Julian Scott, American soldier and drummer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1901)
1847 – Anna Howard Shaw, American physician, minister, and activist (d. 1919)
1848 – Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer and academic (d. 1934)
1855 – Frank Harris, Irish author and journalist (d. 1931)
1859 – George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., American engineer, inventor of the Ferris wheel (d. 1896)
1860 – Eugen Schiffer, German lawyer and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 1954)
1869 – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist and meteorologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
1878 – Julius Nieuwland, Belgian priest, chemist and academic (d. 1936)
1882 – John Barrymore, American actor (d. 1942)
1884 – Nils Olaf Chrisander, Swedish actor and director (d. 1947)
1884 – Kostas Varnalis, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1974)
1890 – Nina Hamnett, Welsh-English painter and author (d. 1956)
1890 – Dick Richards Welsh international footballer, forward
1891 – Katherine Stinson, American aviator (d. 1977)
1892 – Radola Gajda, Czech commander and politician (d. 1948)
1894 – Jack Benny, American actor and producer (d. 1974)
1895 – Wilhelm Burgdorf, German general (d. 1945)
1895 – Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (d. 1973)
1898 – Bill Tilman, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
1898 – Fritz Zwicky, Swiss-American physicist and astronomer (d. 1974)
1900 – Jessica Dragonette, American singer (d. 1980)
1903 – Stuart Erwin, American actor (d. 1967)
1905 – Thelma Ritter, American actress and singer (d. 1969)
1907 – Johnny Longden, English-American jockey and trainer (d. 2003)
1911 – Willem Johan Kolff, Dutch physician and inventor (d. 2009)
1912 – Tibor Sekelj, Hungarian lawyer, explorer, and author (d. 1988)
1913 – Mel Allen, American sportscaster (d. 1996)
1913 – Woody Hayes, American football player and coach (d. 1987)
1913 – Jimmy Hoffa, American trade union leader (d. 1975)
1913 – James Pike, American bishop (d. 1969)
1916 – Marcel Bigeard, French general (d. 2010)
1916 – Sally Gray, English actress and singer (d. 2006)
1916 – Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese director and producer (d. 1996)
1916 – Edward Platt, American actor (d. 1974)
1917 – Herbert A. Hauptman, American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
1921 – Hugh Downs, American journalist, game show host, and producer
1921 – Hazel McCallion, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 3rd Mayor of Mississauga
1923 – Jay Hebert, American golfer (d. 1997)
1924 – Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (d. 2017)
1927 – Lois Maxwell, Canadian-Australian model and actress (d. 2007)
1928 – William Allain, American soldier and politician, 58th Governor of Mississippi (d. 2013)
1928 – Vicente T. Blaz, American general and politician (d. 2014)
1929 – Vic Morrow, American actor and director (d. 1982)
1931 – Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2006)
1931 – Brian Kelly, American actor and director (d. 2005)
1932 – Harriet Andersson, Swedish actress
1934 – Florence Henderson, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
1935 – David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, Scottish academic and diplomat, 27th Governor of Hong Kong
1936 – Anna German, Polish singer (d. 1982)
1937 – John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market, English politician, Secretary of State for Transport
1937 – Magic Sam, American singer and guitarist (d. 1969)
1939 – Razzy Bailey, American country music singer-songwriter and musician
1939 – Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
1939 – Eugene Fama, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1940 – James Maynard, American businessman, co-founded Golden Corral
1941 – Donna Shalala, American academic and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
1941 – Paul Tsongas, American lawyer and politician (d. 1997)
1942 – Michael Bloomberg, American businessman and politician, 108th Mayor of New York City
1942 – Andrew Robinson, American actor and director
1942 – Ricardo Rodríguez, Mexican race car driver (d. 1962)
1943 – Eric Andersen, American singer-songwriter
1943 – Maceo Parker, American saxophonist
1943 – Aaron Russo, American director and producer (d. 2007)
1944 – Carl Bernstein, American journalist and author
1944 – Alan Parker, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1944 – Ronnie Peterson, Swedish race car driver (d. 1978)
1945 – Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein
1945 – Rod Masterson, American lieutenant and actor (d. 2013)
1946 – Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauru politician, President of Nauru (d. 2003)
1946 – Gregory Hines, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 2003)
1947 – Tim Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
1947 – Judd Gregg, American lawyer and politician, 76th Governor of New Hampshire
1948 – Kitten Natividad, Mexican-American actress and dancer
1948 – Pat O’Brien, American journalist and author
1948 – Wally Tax, Dutch singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
1948 – Teller, American magician and actor
1950 – Roger Fisher, American guitarist and songwriter
1951 – Terry Gross, American radio host and producer
1951 – Kevin Keegan, English footballer and manager
1952 – Sushma Swaraj, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (d. 2019)
1954 – Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (d. 2013)
1955 – Carol Kalish, American publisher (d. 1991)
1956 – Howard Davis Jr., American boxer and trainer (d. 2015)
1956 – Dave Dravecky, American baseball player
1956 – Katharina Fritsch, German sculptor and academic
1957 – Alan Hunter, American television host and actor
1957 – Soile Isokoski, Finnish soprano and actress
1957 – Alan Smith, English bishop
1958 – Grant Thomas, Australian footballer and coach
1959 – Renée Fleming, American soprano and actress
1960 – Philip Jones, English admiral
1960 – Jim Kelly, American football player and businessman
1960 – Meg Tilly, American actress and author
1963 – Enrico Colantoni, Canadian actor, director, and producer
1963 – John Marzano, American baseball player (d. 2008)
1964 – Gianni Bugno, Italian cyclist and sportscaster
1966 – Petr Svoboda, Czech ice hockey player and agent
1967 – Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Greek-English businessman, founded easyJet
1967 – Manuela Maleeva, Bulgarian-Swiss tennis player
1967 – Mark Rutte, Dutch businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
1968 – Jules Asner, American model and television host
1968 – Chris Lewis, Guyanese-English cricketer
1968 – Scott McClellan, American civil servant and author, 25th White House Press Secretary
1969 – Meg Hillier, English journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
1970 – Giuseppe Guerini, Italian cyclist
1970 – Sean Hill, American ice hockey player
1970 – Simon Pegg, English actor, director, and producer
1971 – Kris Aquino, Filipino talk show host, actress, and producer
1971 – Gheorghe Mureșan, Romanian basketball player
1972 – Drew Bledsoe, American football player and coach
1972 – Musōyama Masashi, Japanese sumo wrestler
1972 – Najwa Nimri, Spanish actress and singer
1972 – Jaan Tallinn, Estonian computer programmer, co-developed Skype
1972 – Rob Thomas, American singer-songwriter
1973 – H. D. Ackerman, South African cricketer
1973 – Tyus Edney, American basketball player and coach
1973 – Steve McNair, American football player (d. 2009)
1973 – Annalisa Buffa, Italian mathematician
1974 – Valentina Vezzali, Italian fencer and politician
1976 – Liv Kristine, Norwegian singer-songwriter
1976 – Rie Rasmussen, Danish model, film director, writer, photographer, and actress
1977 – Cadel Evans, Australian cyclist
1977 – Jim Jefferies, Australian comedian and actor
1977 – Darren Purse, English footballer
1977 – Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (d. 2007)
1977 – Anna Erschler, Russian mathematician
1977 – Robert J. Jackson Jr., American law professor
1978 – Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
1978 – Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
1980 – Josh Senter, American screenwriter and producer
1980 – Michelle Ye, Hong Kong actress and producer
1981 – Matteo Brighi, Italian footballer
1981 – Randy de Puniet, French motorcycle racer
1981 – Brad Halsey, American baseball player (d. 2014)
1982 – Marián Gáborík, Slovak ice hockey player
1982 – John Halls, English footballer and model
1982 – Lenka Tvarošková, Slovak tennis player
1983 – Callix Crabbe, Virgin Islander baseball player
1983 – Rocky Elsom, Australian rugby player
1983 – Bacary Sagna, French footballer
1985 – Karima Adebibe, English model and actress
1985 – Tyler Clippard, American baseball player
1985 – Heart Evangelista, Filipino singer and actress
1985 – Philippe Senderos, Swiss international footballer, centre back
1985 – Miki Yeung, Hong Kong singer and actress
1986 – Michael Ammermüller, German race car driver
1986 – Oliver Lee, English actor, director, and screenwriter
1986 – Gao Lin, Chinese footballer
1987 – Edinson Cavani, Uruguayan footballer
1987 – Tom Pyatt, Canadian ice hockey player
1987 – David Wheater, English footballer
1988 – Katie Boland, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
1988 – Ángel Di María, Argentinian footballer
1988 – Siim Liivik, Estonian ice hockey player
1988 – Asia Nitollano, American singer and dancer
1989 – Néstor Calderón, Mexican footballer
1989 – Adam Matuszczyk, Polish footballer
1989 – Emma Miskew, Canadian curler
1989 – Brandon Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player
1989 – Jurij Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper
1989 – Kristian Thomas, English gymnast
1990 – Sefa Yılmaz, German-Turkish footballer
1991 – Daniela Mona Lambin, Estonian footballer
1991 – Chris Rowney, English footballer
1992 – Christian Eriksen, Danish footballer
1992 – Freddie Highmore, English actor
1996 – Lucas Hernandez, French footballer
Deaths on February 14
869 – Cyril, Greek missionary bishop (b. 827)
945 – Lian Chongyu, Chinese general
945 – Zhu Wenjin, Chinese emperor
1009 – Bruno of Querfurt, German missionary bishop
1010 – Fujiwara no Korechika, Japanese nobleman (b. 974)
1140 – Leo I, Armenian prince
1140 – Sobĕslav I, duke of Bohemia
1164 – Sviatoslav Olgovich, Kievan prince
1229 – Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, king of the Isles
1317 – Margaret of France, queen of England
1400 – Richard II, king of England (b. 1367)
1440 – Dietrich of Oldenburg, German nobleman
1489 – Nicolaus von Tüngen, prince-bishop of Warmia
1528 – Edzard I, German nobleman (b. 1462)
1549 – Il Sodoma, Italian painter (b. 1477)
1571 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal (b. 1517)
1676 – Abraham Bosse, French engraver and illustrator (b. 1602)
1714 – Maria Luisa of Savoy, queen of Spain (b. 1688)
1737 – Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot, English lawyer and politician Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1685)
1744 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (b. 1682)
1779 – James Cook, English captain, cartographer, and explorer (b. 1728)
1780 – William Blackstone, English jurist and politician (b. 1723)
1782 – Singu Min, Burmese king (b. 1756)
1808 – John Dickinson, American lawyer and politician 5th Governor of Delaware (b. 1732)
1831 – Vicente Guerrero, Mexican general and politician, 2nd President of Mexico (b. 1782)
1831 – Henry Maudslay, English engineer (b. 1771)
1870 – St. John Richardson Liddell, American general (b. 1815)
1881 – Fernando Wood, American merchant and politician, 73rd Mayor of New York City (b. 1812)
1884 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (b. 1813)
1885 – Jules Vallès, French journalist and author (b. 1832)
1891 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (b. 1820)
1894 – Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (b. 1814)
1901 – Edward Stafford, Scottish-New Zealand educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1819)
1910 – Giovanni Passannante, Italian anarchist (b. 1849)
1922 – Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish lawyer and politician (b. 1880)
1929 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and lawyer (b. 1875)
1930 – Thomas Mackenzie, Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1853)
1933 – Carl Correns, German botanist and geneticist (b. 1864)
1942 – Adnan Saidi, Malayan lieutenant (b. 1915)
1943 – Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (b. 1899)
1943 – David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (b. 1862)
1948 – Mordecai Brown, American baseball player and manager (b. 1876)
1949 – Yusuf Salman Yusuf, Iraqi politician (b. 1901)
1950 – Karl Guthe Jansky, American physicist and engineer (b. 1905)
1952 – Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (b. 1896)
