1802 – Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1885) was born.
1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.
1829 – Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (d. 1902) was born.
1846 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (d. 1917) was born.
1852 – John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes (d. 1943) was born.
1866 – Herbert Henry Dow, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company (d. 1930) was born.
1876 – Japan and Korea sign a treaty granting Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights, opening three ports to Japanese trade, and ending Korea’s status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.
1893 – Wallace Fard Muhammad, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (d. 1934) was born.
1903 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor, invented the Gatling gun (b. 1818) died.
1908 – Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor (d. 1980) was born.
1909 – Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
1914 – HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
1916 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer (d. 1987) was born.
1917 – The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first jazz record, for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York.
1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of the U.S. Congress establishing most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park – the Grand Canyon National Park.
1920 – Tony Randall, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2004) was born.
1928 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2014) was birthed.
1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signs an Executive Order establishing the 96,000 acre Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
1932 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Tennessee Three and The Highwaymen) (d. 2003) was born.
1935 – Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
1935 – Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.
1936 – In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.
1950 – Jonathan Cain, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Journey, The Babys, and Bad English) was born.
1952 – Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces Great Britain has developed its own atomic bomb.
1953 – Michael Bolton, American singer-songwriter and actor (Blackjack) was born.
1966 – Vietnam War: The ROK Capital Division of the South Korean Army massacres 380 unarmed civilians in South Vietnam.
1968 – Tim Commerford, American bass player and songwriter (Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave) was born.
1987 – Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
1993 – World Trade Center bombing: As part of an FBI Sting Op., a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand.
1994 – Bill Hicks, American comedian and singer (b. 1961) died.
1995 – The United Kingdom’s oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after securities broker Nick Leeson, loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
2012 – Trayvon Martin, American homicide victim (b. 1995) died.