Famous Events For February 2 – Today In History

February 2: Today in History – Historical Events

Early Centuries – February 2 Historic Events – Before the 1700s

1. 2nd Feb 1536: The Argentine city of Buenos Aires was founded by Pedro de Mendoza on this day.
2. 2nd Feb 1542: In the Battle of Bacente, the Portuguese capture a Muslim-occupied hill fort in northern Ethiopia.
3. 2nd Feb 1550: The Duke of Somerset, Edward Seymour was freed on this day.
4. 2nd Feb 1653: On this day New Amsterdam became a city. This was later renamed as New York.

18th Century – What Happened on February 2 – The 1700s

5. 2nd Feb 1709: Alexander Selkirk, a British sailor was rescued on this day after being marooned on a desert island for 5 years.
6. 2nd Feb 1732: King Fredrik Willem I moves Lutherans toward East Prussia.
7. 2nd Feb 1742: This day marks the resignation of the British Walpole government.

19th Century – February 2 This Day That Year – The 1800s

8. 2nd Feb 1829: York Cathedral was set afire by Madman Jonathan Martin, which did damage of 60,000 pounds.
9. 2nd Feb 1843: The British settlers and the US in Oregon Country chose a government committee.

10. 2nd Feb 1848: The Mexican war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. U.S. acquired Texas, California New Mexico, and Arizona for $15 million.
11. 2nd Feb 1848: The first shipload of Chinese arrived in San Francisco on this day.
12. 2nd Feb 1852: The first British men’s toilet opens on this day at Fleet Street, London.
13. 2nd Feb 1869: A removable tempered steel plow blade was invented by James Oliver on this day.
14. 2nd Feb 1878: Greece declares war on Turkey.
15. 2nd Feb 1880: SS Strathleven arrives in London with 1st Australian frozen mutton.
16. 2nd Feb 1892: William Painter of Baltimore patented the bottle cap with cork seal on this day.
17. 2nd Feb 1894: U.S. warship Kearsarge wrecked on Roncador Reef near Solomon Island.
18. 2nd Feb 1899: At the Australian Premier’s Conference held in Melbourne, it was decided to locate Australia’s capital at Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.

20th Century – Important Events On This Day February 2nd – The 1900s

19. 2nd Feb 1901: On this day the Female Army Nurse Corps was established as a permanent organization.
20. 2nd Feb 1901: The U.S. government on this day passed the Army Reorganization Act, placing a minimum number of men under arms at 58,000.
21. 2nd Feb 1901: Yaqui Indians ambushed Mexican government troops, killing 100.
22. 2nd Feb 1906: Pope Encyclical against the separation of church and the state. Crewmembers of a British merchant trawler came across the remains of the giant airship floating.
23. 2nd Feb 1916: German zeppelins dropped close to 400 bombs over the West Midlands.
24. 2nd Feb 1919: There was a Monarchist riot in Portugal.
25. 2nd Feb 1920: Estonia on this day declares its independence from Russia.
26. 2nd Feb 1920: German Memel territory was occupied by France.
27. 2nd Feb 1923: Ethyl gasoline was 1st marketed in Dayton, Ohio.
28. 2nd Feb 1923: A friendship treaty was signed between the US and Central American countries.
29. 2nd Feb 1924: Marks the formation of the International Ski Federation (FSI).

30. 2nd Feb 1925: Sears opened its first retail store in its headquarters building, the Merchandise Building in Chicago.
31. 2nd Feb 1925: The team of sled dogs led by Gunnar Kasson delivered the much-needed diphtheria serum to Nome, Alaska where a major diphtheria epidemic.
32. 2nd Feb 1931: Rocket used to deliver mail for the first time in Austria.
33. 2nd Feb 1932: The Geneva Disarmament conference begins with 60 countries participating.
34. 2nd Feb 1933: Adolf Hitler dissolves the Reichstag (German Parliament), two days after becoming Chancellor.
35. 2nd Feb 1933: A new livestock board was appointed by Ferguson. This board had decided to replace 260 old employees with new ones.
36. 2nd Feb 1933: Nazi Politician Hermann Goering bans all communist meetings and demonstrations in Germany.
37. 2nd Feb 1935: The polygraph machine was first used on this day. Leonarde Keeler’s first use of his polygraph machine on criminals.

38. 2nd Feb 1937: It was reported that there was a leak in the White House roof. There was more rain and snow expected. While the roof was leaking Congress was debating whether to spend $400 for its repair.
39. 2nd Feb 1937: The city of Paducah in Kentucky experienced the effect of the Ohio River Flood. Flood waters rose to 60.8 feet.
40. 2nd Feb 1940: Frank Sinatra makes his singing debut in Indianapolis.
41. 2nd Feb 1942: Security measures against Japanese-Americans were urged by the LA Times.
42. 2nd Feb 1942: Auto factories in the United States switch from commercial production to war production.
43. 2nd Feb 1943: After the Battle of Stalingrad, the German 6th Army surrendered. This became a turning point in Europe during World War II.
44. 2nd Feb 1944: 4th US Marine division conquers Roi, Marshall Islands.
45. 2nd Feb 1944: Allied troops set foot on Japanese territory for the first time.
46. 2nd Feb 1945: There was an escape attempt at the Mauthausen concentration camp.
47. 2nd Feb 1946: The Hungarian Republic was proclaimed on this day.
48. 2nd Feb 1948: The US Congress was urged by President Harry Truman to adopt a civil rights program.

49. 2nd Feb 1949: This day marked the release of the first 45 RPM vinyl record. This became very popular with the music lovers.
50. 2nd Feb 1949: Golfing champion Ben Hogan was involved in an auto accident. He suffered serious injuries.
51. 2nd Feb 1951: Nuclear test performed by the US at the Nevada Test Site.
52. 2nd Feb 1954: The detonation of the hydrogen bomb done in 1952 was reported on this day by President Eisenhower.
53. 2nd Feb 1955: President Eisenhower conducts the first presidential news conference on network TV.
54. 2nd Feb 1957: A resolution calling for Israeli troops to leave Egypt was adopted by the UN.
55. 2nd Feb 1958: Syria joins Egypt in the United Arab Republic.
56. 2nd Feb 1961: A New RBI building in Amsterdam was opened by Price Bernhard.
57. 2nd Feb 1961: About 600 passengers aboard the hijacked liner Santa Maria were finally landed and released in Brazil.
58. 2nd Feb 1962: Pole Vault over 16’ cleared for the first time by John Uelses in Melrose Games.

59. 2nd Feb 1962: Eight planets out of the nine planets align for the 1st time in 400 years.
60. 2nd Feb 1962: Nuclear test performed by USSR at Eastern Kazakh in USSR.
61. 2nd Feb 1966: After the 1965 Indo-Pakistan war, Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with the Kashmir dispute topping the list for Indo-Pak ministerial talks.
62. 2nd Feb 1967: Bolivia adopts its constitution on this day.
63. 2nd Feb 1967: The formation of the American Basketball Association was announced on this day.
64. 2nd Feb 1967: Springer Publishers in West Berlin was bombed on this day.
65. 2nd Feb 1968: Richard Nixon on this day began his campaign for the 1968 in New Hampshire for the Republican presidential nomination.
66. 2nd Feb 1971: Idi Amin becomes dictator of Uganda by ousting Milton Obote.
67. 2nd Feb 1971: US Congressional Black Caucus was organized with Charles C. Diggs Jr as its first Chair.
68. 2nd Feb 1972: The British embassy in Dublin was destroyed by crowds throwing firebombs in retaliation against the shooting of 13 people in Londonderry.
69. 2nd Feb 1973: Richard Helms ends his term as the director of the CIA. He was the 8th director of the CIA. He was succeeded by James R Schlesinger.

70. 2nd Feb 1973: Rock music show “Midnight Special” makes its debut on NBC-TV.
71. 2nd Feb 1973: Richard John Hadlee of New Zealand made his test debut on this day against Pakistan in Wellington.
72. 2nd Feb 1974: At Christchurch in New Zealand, the 10th British Commonwealth Games closed on this day.
73. 2nd Feb 1974: Marks the inaugural flight of F-16 Fighting Falcon.
74. 2nd Feb 1975: Army launches offensive against rebels in Eritrea.
75. 2nd Feb 1977: Radio Shack begins creating the TRS-80 computer officially.
76. 2nd Feb 1977: The Russian space station Salyut 4 burns up on this day.
77. 2nd Feb 1980: Details of a sting operation that targeted 31 elected and public officials for bribes for political favors was released by the FBI on this day.
78. 2nd Feb 1982: Hamah in Syria witnessed a battle between Muslim fundamentalists and Government troops.
79. 2nd Feb 1983: Pope John Paul II names 18 new cardinals. Chicago Archbishop Joseph L Bernardin is among the 18.
80. 2nd Feb 1984: Lebanese army fights in Beirut.
81. 2nd Feb 1986: Pope John Paul II and Dalai Lama meet in India on this day.
82. 2nd Feb 1986: Costa Rica elects Oscar Arias Sanchez as its president.
83. 2nd Feb 1987: The Philippines adopted its constitution on this day.
84. 2nd Feb 1988: David Boon the Australian batsman scored a century against England in the Sydney test. It was his 6th test century.
85. 2nd Feb 1989: Botha was replaced as South Africa’s National Party leader by FW de Klerk.
86. 2nd Feb 1990: South African President FW de Klerk promises to free anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela and legalize ANC and 60 other political organizations.

87. 2nd Feb 1991: Sri Lankan cricketer Aravinda De Silva scores 267 against New Zealand in the Wellington test.
88. 2nd Feb 1991: US postage is raised to 29 cents from 25 cents.
89. 2nd Feb 1993: Irina Privalova creates an indoor world record by running 50m in 6.05 sec.
90. 2nd Feb 1995: US space shuttle Discovery was launched.
91. 2nd Feb 1996: 22-year-old Ali Landry of Louisiana was crowned 45th Miss USA.
92. 2nd Feb 1998: A DC 9 aircraft belonging to the Philippines crashed killing all the 104 on board.

21st Century – February 2 This Day In History – The 2000s

93. 2nd Feb 2006: The U.N. nuclear watchdog resolves Iran’s nuclear developments. Russia and China promise to back the resolution to bring Iran to the Security Council over its disputed nuclear activities.
94. 2nd Feb 2008: Microsoft makes an unsolicited offer for Yahoo offering $31 per share which is higher than the market value of Yahoo shares. This is an attempt by Microsoft to prevent the dominance of Google in the Internet advertising market.
95. 2nd Feb 2012: MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papa New Guinea. 246 people were saved. 126 are missing of which 100 are believed to be trapped in the vessel.

96. 2nd Feb 2013: Militants attacked an army base in the Lakki Marwat District in Pakistan. 23 people were killed and eight injured in the attack.
97. 2nd Feb 2013: The Prime Minister of Japan Shinzō Abe vows to defend the Senkaku Islands at all costs.
98. 2nd Feb 2013: A bus catches fire after falling down a ravine in Gansu province in China. 18 people were killed and 34 injured in the accident.
99. 2nd Feb 2014: In Ukraine, protests turn violent after parliament passes legislation that outlaws protests.
100. 2nd Feb 2016: The first case of Zika contracted in the US and the second known sexually transmitted case was confirmed in Texas

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