February 14

Saturday 14, 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.

Thursday 14, 2002:

The Tullaghmurray Lass sinks off the coast of Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland killing three members of the same family on board.

Monday 14, 2000:

The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker entered orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.

Saturday 14, 1998:

Authorities in the United States announce that Eric Robert Rudolph is a suspect in an Alabama abortion clinic bombing.

Tuesday 14, 1989:

The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System is placed into orbit.

Thursday 14, 1985:

CNN reporter Jeremy Levin is freed from captivity in Lebanon.

Thursday 14, 1980:

Walter Cronkite announces his retirement from CBS Evening News.

Wednesday 14, 1979:

In Kabul, Muslim extremists kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.

Monday 14, 1966:

Australian currency is decimalised.

Wednesday 14, 1962:

First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy takes television viewers on a tour of the White House.

Tuesday 14, 1961:

Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized (Berkeley, California).

Thursday 14, 1952:

1952 Winter Olympic Games open in Oslo, Norway.

Monday 14, 1949:

The Asbestos Strike begins in Canada. The strike marks the beginning of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec.

Thursday 14, 1946:

ENIAC (for "Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer"), the first general-purpose electronic computer, is unveiled at the University of Pennsylvania.

Wednesday 14, 1945:

President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets with King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy, officially starting the US-Saudi diplomatic relationship.

Monday 14, 1944:

World War II: Anti-Japanese revolt on Java.

Sunday 14, 1943:

German General Erwin Rommel and his Afrika Korps launch an offensive against Allied defenses in Tunisia.

Thursday 14, 1929:

St. Valentine's Day Massacre: Seven gangsters rivalling Al Capone are murdered in Chicago, Illinois.

Thursday 14, 1924:

IBM corporation founded.

Saturday 14, 1920:

The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago, Illinois.

Thursday 14, 1918:

The Soviet Union adopts the Gregorian calendar (1 February according to the Julian calendar).

Wednesday 14, 1912:

In Groton, Connecticut, the first diesel-powered submarine is commissioned.

Saturday 14, 1903:

The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into Dept. of Commerce and Dept. of Labor).

Wednesday 14, 1900:

Boer War: In South Africa, 20,000 British troops invade the Orange Free State.

Tuesday 14, 1899:

Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections.

Thursday 14, 1895:

First showing of Oscar Wilde's last play The Importance of Being Earnest (St James's Theatre in London).

Friday 14, 1879:

The War of the Pacific broke out when Chilean armed forces occupied the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta.

Monday 14, 1876:

Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone. So did Elisha Gray.

Monday 14, 1859:

Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state.

Tuesday 14, 1854:

Texas is linked by telegraph with the rest of the United States, when a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas is completed.

Wednesday 14, 1849:

In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first President of the United States to have his photograph taken.

Tuesday 14, 1804:

Karadjordje led the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire.

Monday 14, 1803:

Chief Justice John Marshall declares that any act of U.S. Congress which conflicts with the Constitution is void.

Tuesday 14, 1797:

John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent & Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson led the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent near Gibraltar.

Sunday 14, 1779:

James Cook is killed by the natives of the Sandwich Islands.

Thursday 14, 1743:

Henry Pelham becomes British Prime Minister.

Friday 14, 1575:

Henry III of France marries Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont

Tuesday 14, 1556:

Thomas Cranmer is declared a heretic.

Monday 14, 1076:

Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.

Monday 14, 1014:

Pope Boniface I recognizes Henry of Bavaria as King of Germany.

Friday 14, 842:

Charles II,and Louis the German sign a treaty.

More on February, 14

• People Born on February, 14
• They left us on February, 14