868 – A copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in China, making it the oldest known dated printed book.
1310 – In France, fifty-four members of the Knights Templar are burned at the stake as heretics.
1720 – Karl Friedrich Hieronymus Freiherr von Münchhausen, German adventurer (d. 1797) born
1742 – Francesco Stradivari, Ital violin maker/son of Antonius, dies at 70
1779 – John Heart, US farmer (signed Decl of Independence), dies at about 68
1792 – Captain Robert Gray becomes the first documented white person to sail into the Columbia River.
1811 – Chang and Eng Bunker, Thai-American conjoined twins (d. 1874) was born.
1812 – Prime Minister Spencer Perceval is assassinated by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons, London.
1820 – HMS Beagle, the ship that will take Charles Darwin on his scientific voyage, is launched.
1846 – President James K. Polk asked for and received a Declaration of War against Mexico, starting the Mexican–American War
1852 – Charles W. Fairbanks, American politician, 26th United States Vice President (d. 1918) was born.
1857 – Indian Rebellion of 1857: Indian rebels seize Delhi from the British.
1858 – Minnesota is admitted as the 32nd U.S. State.
1862 – American Civil War: The ironclad CSS Virginia is scuttled in the James River northwest of Norfolk, Virginia.
1889 – An attack upon a U.S. Army paymaster and escort results in the theft of over $28,000 and the award of two Medals of Honor.
1889 – John Cadbury, English businessman founded the Cadbury Company (b. 1801) died.
1894 – Pullman Strike: Four thousand Pullman Palace Car Company workers go on a wildcat strike in Illinois.
1904 – Salvador Dali, Figueras Spain, surrealist artist (Crucifixion) Born
1910 – An act of the U.S. Congress establishes Glacier National Park in Montana.
1912 – Foster Brooks, Louisville Ky, comedian/actor (Miles-Mork & Mindy) Born
1912 – Phil Silvers, Brooklyn New York, American comedian (Sgt Bilko-Phil Silvers Show) born
1927 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded.
1927 – Mort Sahl, Montreal, comedian/political satirist/beatnik (Big Party)
1933 – Louis Farrakhan, minister (black islam nation, million man march) Birthed
1941 – Eric Burdon, English singer-songwriter, actor, and painter (The Animals and War) was born.
1944 – World War II: The Allies begin a major offensive against the Axis Powers on the Gustav Line.
1945 – World War II: Off the coast of Okinawa, the aircraft carrier USS Bunker Hill is hit by two kamikazes, killing 346 of its crew. Although badly damaged, the ship is able to return to the U.S. under its own power.
1946 – Robert Jarvik, American cardiologist, developed the Artificial heart was born.
1947 – Butch Trucks, American drummer (The Allman Brothers Band, The 31st of February, and The Vikings) was born.
1949 – Siam officially changes its name to Thailand for the second time. The name had been in use since 1939 but was reverted in 1945.
1949 – Israel joins the United Nations.
1952 – Following President Truman’s seizure of Steel Mills last month , the case on the legality is now before the supreme court. Does the president have powers to seize private industries in national emergencies.
1960 – John D. Rockefeller Jr, American financier, oligarch, dies of pneumonia at 86
1960 – In Buenos Aires, Argentina, four Israeli Mossad agents capture fugitive Nazi Adolf Eichmann who is living under the alias of Ricardo Klement.
1963 – Racist bombings in Birmingham, Alabama disrupt nonviolence in the Birmingham campaign and precipitate a crisis involving federal troops.
1970 – The Salt Talks ( Strategic Arms Limitation Talks ) between the US and the Soviet Union are continuing , this is despite US involvement in Cambodia . It appears both countries are keen to find a compromise on Strategic Arms Limitation to stop the growth and continued arms race.
1973 – Citing government misconduct, Daniel Ellsberg has charges for his involvement in releasing the Pentagon Papers to The New York Times dismissed.
1975 – Ziad Jarrah, Lebanese terrorist, hijacker of United Airlines Flight 93 (d. 2001) was birthed.
1979 – Lester Raymond Flatt, musician (Ballad of Jed Clampett), dies at 64
1981 – Bob Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bob Marley and the Wailers) (b. 1945) dies of brain & lung cancer (Assassinated) at 36
1985 – Chester Gould, American cartoonist, created Dick Tracy (b. 1900) died.
1987 – Klaus Barbie goes on trial in Lyon for war crimes committed during World War II.
1987 – In Baltimore, Maryland, the first heart–lung transplant takes place. The surgery is performed by Dr. Bruce Reitz of the Stanford University School of Medicine.
1988 – Kim Philby, British spy/Soviet mole, dies at 76
1992 – Carlos Herrera, drink inventor (Margarita), dies at 90
1994 – Lewis B Puller, US writer (Pulitzer 1992), commits suicide at 48
1995 – More than 170 countries extend the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty indefinitely and without conditions.
1997 – Brenda Carlin, TV producer/wife of comedian George Carlin, dies at 57
1997 – Deep Blue, a chess-playing supercomputer, defeats Garry Kasparov in the last game of the rematch, becoming the first computer to beat a world-champion chess player in a classic match format.
2000 – Second Chechen War: Chechen separatists ambush Russian paramilitary forces in the Republic of Ingushetia.
2001 – Douglas Adams, English author and screenwriter, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (b. 1952) died.
2002 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster (b. 1905) Dies
2003 – Noel Redding, English bass player (The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Road, Fat Mattress, and The Noel Redding Band) (b. 1945) died.
2006 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer, dies at 71
2007 – Bernard Gordon, blacklisted American author (b. 1918) Dies
2008 – John Rutsey, Canadian drummer (Rush) (b. 1953) died.
2010 – David Cameron becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom following talks between the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats to form the UK’s first coalition government since World War II after elections produced a hung parliament.
2010 – Frank Frazetta, American fantasy and science fiction artist (b. 1928) Dies