February 1
Events
Pre-1600
- 1327 - The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
- 1411 - The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn, Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights.
1601–1900
- 1662 - The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
- 1713 - The Kalabalik or Skirmish at Bender results from the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed III's order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.
- 1793 - French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
- 1796 - The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.
- 1814 - Mayon in the Philippines erupts, killing around 1,200 people, which was the most devastating eruption of the volcano.
- 1835 - Slavery is abolished in Mauritius.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States and joins the Confederacy a week later.
- 1864 - Second Schleswig War: Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig, starting the war.
- 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
- 1884 - The first volume of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
- 1893 - Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.
- 1895 - Fountains Valley, Pretoria, the oldest nature reserve in Africa, is proclaimed by President Paul Kruger.
- 1896 - La bohème premieres in Turin at the Teatro Regio, conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini.
- 1897 - Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.
- 1900 - Great Britain, defeated by Boers in key battles, names Lord Roberts commander of British forces in South Africa.
1901–present
- 1908 - Lisbon Regicide: King Carlos I of Portugal and Infante Luis Filipe are shot dead in Lisbon.
- 1924 - Russia–United Kingdom relations are restored, over six years after the Communist revolution.
- 1942 - World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.
- 1942 - World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls-Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.
- 1942 - Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers.
- 1942 - Mao Zedong makes a speech on "Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature", which puts into motion the Yan'an Rectification Movement.
- 1946 - Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary-General.
- 1946 - The Parliament of Hungary abolishes the monarchy after nine centuries, and proclaims the Hungarian Republic.
- 1950 - The first prototype of the MiG-17 makes its maiden flight.
- 1957 - Northeast Airlines Flight 823 crashes on Rikers Island in New York City, killing 20 people and injuring 78 others.
- 1960 - Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
- 1964 - The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with "I Want to Hold Your Hand".
- 1968 - Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is recorded on motion picture film, as well as in an iconic still photograph taken by Eddie Adams.
- 1968 - Canada's three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.
- 1968 - The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form Penn Central Transportation.
- 1972 - Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
- 1974 - A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.
- 1979 - Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile.
- 1981 - The Underarm bowling incident of 1981 occurred when Trevor Chappell bowls underarm on the final delivery of a game between Australia and New Zealand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- 1991 - A runway collision between USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport results in the deaths of 34 people, and injuries to 30 others.
- 1991 - A magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes the Hindu Kush region, killing at least 848 people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and present-day Tajikistan.
- 1992 - The 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.
- 1996 - The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
- 1998 - Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne becomes the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.
- 2002 - Daniel Pearl, American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal, kidnapped on January 23, is beheaded and mutilated by his captors.
- 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
- 2004 - Hajj pilgrimage stampede: In a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured.
- 2004 - Double suicide attack in Erbil on the offices of Iraqi Kurdish political parties by members of Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad
- 2005 - King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d'état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.
- 2007 - The National Weather Service in the United States switches from the Fujita scale to the new Enhanced Fujita scale to measure the intensity and strength of tornadoes.
- 2009 - The first cabinet of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was formed in Iceland, making her the country's first female prime minister and the world's first openly gay head of government.
- 2012 - Seventy-four people are killed and over 500 injured as a result of clashes between fans of Egyptian football teams Al Masry and Al Ahly in the city of Port Said.
- 2013 - The Shard, the sixth-tallest building in Europe, opens its viewing gallery to the public.
- 2021 - A coup d'état in Myanmar removes Aung San Suu Kyi from power and restores military rule.
- 2022 - Five-year-old Moroccan boy Rayan Aourram falls into a 32-meter deep well in Ighran village in Tamorot commune, Chefchaouen Province, Morocco, but dies four days later, before rescue workers reached him.
Births
Pre-1600
- 1261 - Walter de Stapledon, English bishop and politician, Lord High Treasurer
- 1435 - Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy
- 1447 - Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg
- 1459 - Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar
- 1462 - Johannes Trithemius, German lexicographer, historian, and cryptographer
- 1552 - Edward Coke, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales
- 1561 - Henry Briggs, British mathematician
1601–1900
- 1635 - Marquard Gude, German archaeologist and scholar
- 1648 - Elkanah Settle, English poet and playwright
- 1659 - Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer
- 1663 - Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, Filipino nun, founded the Religious of the Virgin Mary
- 1666 - Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, Princess of Conti and titular queen of Poland
- 1687 - Johann Adam Birkenstock, German violinist and composer
- 1690 - Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian violinist and composer
- 1701 - Johan Agrell, Swedish-German pianist and composer
- 1761 - Christiaan Hendrik Persoon, South African-French mycologist and academic
- 1763 - Thomas Campbell, Irish minister and theologian
- 1796 - Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss minister, poet, and educator
- 1801 - Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher
- 1820 - George Hendric Houghton, American clergyman and theologian
- 1836 - Emil Hartmann, Danish organist and composer
- 1844 - G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and academic
- 1851 - Durham Stevens, American lawyer and diplomat
- 1858 - Ignacio Bonillas, Mexican diplomat
- 1859 - Victor Herbert, Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor
- 1866 - Agda Meyerson, Swedish nurse and healthcare activist
- 1868 - Ștefan Luchian, Romanian painter and illustrator
- 1870 - Erik Adolf von Willebrand, Finnish physician
- 1872 - Clara Butt, English opera singer
- 1872 - Jerome F. Donovan, American lawyer and politician
- 1873 - John Barry, Irish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient
- 1874 - Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright
- 1878 - Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer and architect, designed the Grand Hotel Aranybika
- 1878 - Milan Hodža, Slovak journalist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia
- 1881 - Tip Snooke, South African cricketer
- 1882 - Vladimir Dimitrov, Bulgarian artist
- 1882 - Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada
- 1884 - Bradbury Robinson, American football player and physician
- 1884 - Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian journalist and author
- 1887 - Charles Nordhoff, English-American lieutenant, pilot, and author
- 1890 - Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War
- 1894 - John Ford, American director and producer
- 1894 - James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer
- 1895 - Conn Smythe, Canadian businessman
- 1897 - Denise Robins, English journalist and author
- 1898 - Leila Denmark, American pediatrician and author