The FReeper Foxhole Remembers The Saratoga Campaign - 1777

Battle of Freeman's Farm: September 19, 1777

Maj. General John Burgoyne's plan of attack for September 19, 1777, used three columns. Brig. General Simon Fraser was chosen to command 2,200 men on the right. He was to sweep west toward the vicinity of Freeman's Farm. Brig. General James Inglis Hamilton commanded the 1,100 men of the center column, although Burgoyne himself would accompany this column and thus was the actual commander. This column would move south and then west and join with the right column. The left column had 1,100 men and was led by Maj. General Friedrich von Riedesel and joined by Maj. General William Philips. This column was to move south along the road adjoining the Hudson River. What the subsequent movements would be all depended on how the Americans responded.

After a cold and foggy morning, it was bright and clear at 11:00 A.M. when General Burgoyne's columns got underway. An American patrol on the eastern bank of the Hudson River saw and reported the activity to Maj. General Horatio Gates. By 12:30 P.M., the advance guard of the center column had reached Freeman's Farm. Burgoyne halted here and awaited word from General Fraser. General Riedesel had been slowed while repairing bridges, but had reached a point due east of Freeman's Farm.

General Gates was content to make no response, but Brig. General Benedict Arnold, who had recently returned from Fort Stanwix urged him to action. Gates sent out Colonel Daniel Morgan and his rifle company supported by 300 New Hampshire light infantry under Major Henry Dearborn to make contact. At about 12:45 P.M. the first shots of the battle were fired when Colonel Morgan's men picked off every officer in General Burgoyne's advance guard located at the cabin on Freeman's Farm. The advance guard retreated, which brought on an unathorized charge by Morgan's men. The charge dissipated when they ran into General Hamilton's main body. A turkey call brought his men back to Morgan.

Some of the British actually fired on their own men in the confusion following the charge by Colonel Morgan's men. General Burgoyne decided to respond quickly and instead of waiting for word on General Fraser's position, he signalled to the other two columns that he was moving out. By 1:00 P.M., the center column had formed along the northern edge of the clearing at Freeman's Farm without opposition. Colonel Morgan and Major Dearborn had taken up positions along the southern edge of the same clearing, while some seven regiments had moved forward from the American fortifications at Bemis Heights as reinforcements. The Americans would fire from cover and then charge, while the British regrouped and repelled using bayonets. This action continued back and forth for more than three hours. The Americans had greater numbers and the British had artillery and experience.

At about 2:00 P.M., General Riedesel received word that a general engagement appeared to about to be undertaken. He sent four guns and an aide, who returned at 5:00 P.M. with orders from General Burgoyne to leave enough men to defend his current position and bring reinforcements to the battlefield. The central column had been strung out dangerously thin and had taken casualties during their own bayonet assaults. Riedesel was risking his own force and the supply train. He led 500 infantry and another two six-pound guns.

Battle of Freeman's Farm Comes to an End: September 19, 1777

Maj. General Friedrich von Riedesel attacked the American right flank. They had failed to screen it with patrols and Brig. General Benedict Arnold was back at Bemis Heights requesting more reinforcements from Maj. General Horatio Gates. When he did begin to head back, Gates ordered Arnold to Bemis Heights and Maj. General Ebenezer Learned went instead. Learned's troops added nothing to the battle. Maj. General John Burgoyne had launched a counterattack when Riedesel had arrived. The Americans helpd their ground, but then started falling back as darkness fell and they began to run low on ammunition.

Brig. General Simon Fraser's right column did little more than exchange a few shots with General Learned's brigade near the end of the battle. General Burgoyne could claim the field and made camp there. However, his advance had been halted. He had also sustained heavy casualties in the regiments that made up the center column. The British sustained 600 casualties, while the Americans sustained about 320 casualties.

Standoff: September 20-October 6, 1777

General Burgoyne was ready to renew his attack on the following day, but General Fraser requested a day's rest for his men who were to lead the offensive. Burgoyne's forces began building fortifications at the positions that they held at the end of the engagement. Then on September 21st, Burgoyne received a letter from Maj. General Henry Clinton. Burgoyne had been requesting reinforcements from Clinton for nearly six weeks. Clinton informed Burgoyne that he was leading an offensive into the Hudson Highlands, so Burgoyne postponed his attack on the American position.

As he awaited word on the outcome of General Clinton's offensive, General Burgoyne dug in. He built a redoubt, called the Balcarres Redoubt at Freeman's Farm. Another redoubt, the Breymann Redoubt was built another 500 yards north. Three additional redoubts were built along the Hudson River near where the bateaux and supplies were stored.

General Burgoyne's forces numbered now only 5,000. On October 3, rations for his troops were reduced by one-third. On September 29,1777, Maj. General Benjamin Lincoln arrived at the American camp leading the New Hampshire militia. Additional militia from New England and New York also streamed in. By October 4, his strength was at 7,000 and by the 7th, it stood at 11,000.

Battle at Bemis Heights: October 7, 1777

Maj. General John Burgoyne now ordered his force to entrench around Freeman's Farm. He was waiting for Lt. General Sir Henry Clinton, who was supposedly preparing to leave New York City and march north to Albany. Burgoyne waited for three weeks, but Clinton did not come. Burgoyne was now once again low on supplies and facing an American army that was growing in numbers. He could wait no longer. He had to choose to either retreat or engage General Gates.

On October 7, General Burgoyne sent a British force of 1,500 to test the American left flank. The Americans responded to the British movement with three columns under Colonel Daniel Morgan, Maj. General Ebenezer Learned, and Maj. General Enoch Poor, and attacked at about 3 P.M. The British line was repeatedly broken, but rallied again and again.

After Brig. General Simon Fraser was mortally wounded trying to rally his men to cover a withdrawal, Maj. General Benedict Arnold rode onto the field. He and Maj. General Horatio Gates had earlier quarrelled and had been relieved of command. However, he now led General Learned's column against the British center held by the German troops. The Germans joined the withdrawal.

Within an hour of the beginning of the battle, the British were forced to fall back to their fortifications around Freeman's Farm. The Americans now believed that victory was theirs, but the British heavy entrenchments proved difficult to overwhelm. After failing to overrun one redoubt, General Arnold led the attack on another that was manned by Germans. Here, he succeeded, but received a wound in the leg.

Fighting only ceased when darkness fell. The darkness had saved General Burgoyne from defeat. During the night, he left campfires burning and withdrew to a large redoubt. He had suffered 1,000 casualties to only 500 for the Americans. The following night he retreated to fortifications at Saratoga, New York, where the American force, which now numbered 20,000 surrounded the British force of 6,000.

Aftermath

Following his retreat on October 8, Maj. General John Burgoyne spent a week negotiating terms of surrender with Maj. General Horatio Gates. Finally on October 17, 1777, Burgoyne formally surrendered. Under the generous terms of the Saratoga Articles of Convention, Burgoyne was allowed to march out of camp "with the Honors of War", which included retaining his colors and the return of his men to England. His 6,000 men marched out of their camp, surrendered their weapons and began their march west. However, when they reached New England, Gates' terms were not honored and the British soldiers spent months in sparce guarded camps.

The effect of the victory was enormous. General Gates became known as the 'Hero of Saratoga'. The victory also gave the fledgling country much needed momentum. Not long after France learned of the victory, they declared war on Britain, finally officially joining the war. Spain soon did the same. The loss also further weakened the current British government under Lord North. It was the beginning of the end of the war for the British.

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'Historians consider the Battle of Saratoga to be the major turning point of the American Revolution. This battle proved to the world that the fledgling American army was an effective fighting force capable of defeating the highly trained British forces in a major confrontation. As a result of this successful battle, the European powers, particularly the French, took interest in the cause of the Americans and began to support them.'

Good Morning Everybody.

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Good Morning Music Man! Top of the morning to ya! How be ya this day? :-)

GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY!

As a result of this successful battle, the European powers, particularly the French, took interest in the cause of the Americans and began to support them.

And even to this day the French believe that they won the American Revolution.

Good morning.

Howdy Ms SpookBrat!! How's things in Texas??? We have not talked in a long time, how are you?

Morning Feather. Another Opening day for you. You have the record.

Morning Pipin

Sam I love the SAD EYES fabulous!!
I have drunk all the coffee all ready, better make some more!! Do you want me to make coffee???LOL

It was more a case of "The enemy of my enemy is my friend", they just wanted to fight the Brits.

Morning CholeraJoe

Good Morning Spooky!

Yep. You're in charge, I'm on the way to work.

Good Morning ALL...Today's graphic

Today's classic warship, USS Saratoga (CV-3)

Lexington class aircraft carrier
Displacement. 33,000 t.
Lenght. 888' 0"
Beam. 106' 0"
Draft. 24' 1 1/2"
Speed. 33.91 k.
Complement. 2,111
Armament. 8 8", 12 5", 4 6-pdrs., 81 aircraft.

The USS Saratoga (CV-3) was laid down on 25 September 1920 as Battle Cruiser #3 by the New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N.J.; ordered converted to an aircraft carrier and reclassified CV-3 on 1 July 1922 in accordance with the Washington Treaty limiting naval armaments, launched on 7 April 1925, sponsored by Mrs. Curtis D. Wilbur, wife of the Secretary of the Navy; and commissioned on 16 November 1927, Capt. Harry E. Yarnell in command.

Saratoga, the first fast carrier in the United States Navy, quickly proved the value of her type. She sailed from Philadelphia on 6 January 1928 for shakedown; and, on 11 January, her air officer, the future World War II hero, Marc A. Mitscher, landed the first aircraft on board. In an experiment on 27 January, the rigid airship Los Angeles (ZR-3) moored to Saratoga's stern and took on fuel and stores. The same day Saratoga sailed for the Pacific via the Panama Canal. She was diverted briefly between 14 and 16 February to carry marines to Corinto, Nicaragua, and finally joined the Battle Fleet at San Pedro, California, on 21 February. The rest of the year was spent in training and final machinery shakedown.

On 15 January 1929, Saratoga sailed from San Diego with the Battle Fleet to participate in her first fleet exercise, Fleet Problem IX. In a daring move Saratoga was detached from the fleet with only a single cruiser as escort to make a wide sweep to the south and "attack" the Panama Canal, which was defended by the Scouting Fleet and Saratoga's sister ship, Lexington. She successfully launched her strike on 26 January, and despite being "sunk" three times later in the day, proved the versatility of a fast task force centered around a carrier. The idea was incorporated into fleet doctrine and reused the following year in Fleet Problem X in the Caribbean. This time, however, Saratoga and carrier, Langley, were "disabled" by a surprise attack from Lexington, showing how quickly air power could swing the balance in a naval action.

Following the fleet concentration in the Caribbean Saratoga took part in the Presidential Review at Norfolk in May and returned to San Pedro on 21 June 1930.

During the remaining decade before World War II Saratoga exercised in the San Diego-San Pedro area, except for the annual fleet problems and regular overhauls at the Bremerton Navy Yard. In the fleet problems, Saratoga continued to assist in the development of fast carrier tactics, and her importance was recognized by the fact that she was always a high priority target for the opposing forces. The fleet problem for 1932 was planned for Hawaii, and, by coincidence occurred during the peak of the furor following the "Manchurian incident" in which Japan started on the road to World War II. Saratoga exercised in the Hawaii area from 31 January to 19 March and returned to Hawaii for fleet exercises the following year between 23 January and 28 February 1933. On the return trip to the west coast, she launched a successful air "attack" on the Long Beach area.

Exercises in 1934 took Saratoga to the Caribbean and the Atlantic for an extended period, from 9 April to 9 November, and were followed by equally extensive operations with the United States Fleet in the Pacific the following year. Between 27 April and 6 June 1936, she participated in a fleet problem in the Canal Zone, and she then returned with the fleet to Hawaii for exercises from 16 April to 28 May 1937. On 15 March 1938, Saratoga sailed from San Diego for Fleet Problem XIX, again conducted off Hawaii. During the second phase of the problem, Saratoga launched a surprise air attack on Pearl Harbor from a point 100 miles off Oahu, setting a pattern that the Japanese copied in December 1941. During the return to the west coast, Saratoga and Lexington followed this feat with "strikes" on Mare Island and Alameda. Saratoga was under overhaul during the 1939 fleet concentration, but, between 2 April and 21 June 1940, she participated in Fleet Problem XXI, the last to be held due to the deepening world crisis.

Between 14 and 29 October 1940, Saratoga transported a draft of military personnel from San Pedro to Hawaii, and, on 6 January 1941, she entered the Bremerton Navy Yard for a long deferred modernization, including widening her flight deck forward and fitting a blister on her starboard side and additional small antiaircraft guns. Departing Bremerton on 28 April 1941, the carrier participated in a landing force exercise in May and made two trips to Hawaii between June and October as the diplomatic crisis with Japan came to a head.

When the Japanese struck at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, Saratoga was just entering San Diego after an interim drydocking at Bremerton. She hurriedly got underway the following day as the nucleus of a third carrier force (Lexington and Enterprise were already at sea), carrying Marine aircraft intended to reinforce the vulnerable garrison on Wake Island. Presence of these aircraft on board made Saratoga the logical choice for the actual relief effort. She reached Pearl Harbor on 15 December and stopped only long enough to fuel. She then rendezvoused with Tangier (AV-8), which had relief troops and supplies on board, while Lexington and Enterprise provided distant cover for the operation. However, the Saratoga force was delayed by the low speed of its oiler and by a decision to refuel destroyers on 21 December. After receiving reports of Japanese carrier aircraft over the island and Japanese landings on it, the relief force was recalled on 22 December. Wake fell the next day.

Saratoga continued operations in the Hawaiian Island region; but, on 11 January 1942, when heading towards a rendezvous with Enterprise, 500 miles south-west of Oahu, she was hit without warning by a deep-running torpedo fired by Japanese submarine, I-16. Although six men were killed and three firerooms were flooded, the carrier reached Oahu under her own power. There, her 8-inch guns, useless against aircraft, were removed for installation in shore defenses, and the carrier proceeded to the Bremerton Navy Yard for permanent repairs and installation of a modern anti-aircraft battery.

Saratoga departed Puget Sound on 22 May for San Diego. She arrived there on 25 May and was training her air group when intelligence was received of an impending Japanese assault on Midway. Due to the need to load planes and stores and to collect escorts, the carrier was unable to sail until 1 June and arrived at Pearl Harbor on the 6th after the Battle of Midway had ended. She departed Pearl Harbor on 7 June after fueling; and, on 11 June, transferred 34 aircraft to Hornet and Enterprise to replenish their depleted air groups. The three carriers then turned north to counter Japanese activity reported in the Aleutians, but the operation was canceled and Saratoga returned to Pearl Harbor on 13 June.

Between 22 and 29 June, Saratoga ferried Marine and Army aircraft to the garrison on Midway. On 7 July, she sailed for the southwest Pacific; and, from 28 to 30 July, she provided air cover for landing rehearsals in the Fiji Islands in preparation for landings on Guadalcanal. As flagship of Real Admiral F. J. Fletcher, Saratoga opened the Guadalcanal assault early on 7 August when she turned into the wind to launch aircraft. She provided air cover for the landings for the next two days. On the first day, a Japanese air attack was repelled before it reached the carriers, but since further attacks were expected, the carrier force withdrew on the afternoon of 8 August towards a fueling rendezvous. As a result, it was too far away to retaliate after four Allied cruisers were sunk that night in the Battle of Savo Island. The carrier force continued to operate east of the Solomons, protecting the sealanes to the beachhead and awaiting a Japanese naval counterattack.

The counterattack began to materialize when a Japanese transport force was detected on 23 August, and Saratoga launched a strike against it. The aircraft were unable to find the enemy, however, and spent the night on Guadalcanal. As they were returning on board the next day, the first contact report on enemy carriers was received. Two hours later, Saratoga launched a strike which sent Japanese carrier Ryujo to the bottom. Later in the afternoon, as an enemy strike from other carriers was detected, Saratoga hastily launched the aircraft on her deck, and these found and damaged seaplane tender Chitose. Meanwhile, due to cloud cover, Saratoga escaped detection by the Japanese aircraft, which concentrated their attack on, and damaged, Enterprise. The American force fought back fiercely and weakened enemy air strength so severely that the Japanese recalled their transports before they reached Guadalcanal.

After landing her returning aircraft at night on 24 August, Saratoga refueled on the 25th and resumed her patrols east of the Solomons. A week later, a destroyer reported torpedo wakes heading toward the carrier, but the 888-foot flattop could not turn quickly enough. A minute later, a torpedo from I-26 slammed into the blister on her starboard side. The torpedo killed no one and only flooded one fireroom, but the impact caused short circuits which damaged Saratoga's turbo-electric propulsion system and left her dead in the water. Cruiser Minneapolis took the carrier under tow while she flew her aircraft off to shore bases. By early afternoon, Saratoga's engineers had improvised a circuit out of the burned wreckage of her main control board and had given her a speed of 10 knots. After repairs at Tongatabu from 6 to 12 September, Saratoga arrived at Pearl Harbor on 21 September for permanent repairs.

Saratoga sailed from Pearl Harbor on 10 November and proceeded, via Fiji, to Noumea which she reached on 5 December. She operated in the vicinity of Noumea for the next twelve months, providing air cover for minor operations and protecting American forces in the Eastern Solomons. Between 17 May and 31 July 1943, she was reinforced by the British carrier, Victorious, and, on 20 October, she was joined by Princeton (CVL-23). As troops stormed ashore on Bougainville on 1 November, Saratoga's aircraft neutralized nearby Japanese airfields on Buka. Then, on 5 November, in response to reports of Japanese cruisers concentrating at Rabaul to counterattack the Allied landing forces, Saratoga conducted perhaps her most brilliant strike of the war. Her aircraft penetrated the heavily defended port and disabled most of the Japanese cruisers, ending the surface threat to Bougainville. Saratoga, herself, escaped unscathed and returned to raid Rabaul again on 11 November.

Saratoga and Princeton were then designated the Relief Carrier Group for the offensive in the Gilberts; and, after striking Nauru on 19 November, they rendezvoused on 23 November with the transports carrying garrison troops to Makin and Tarawa. The carriers provided air cover until the transports reached their destinations, and then maintained air patrols over Tarawa. By this time, Saratoga had steamed over a year without repairs, and she was detached on 30 November to return to the United States. She underwent overhaul at San Francisco from 9 December 1943 to 3 January 1944, and had her antiaircraft battery augmented for the last time, receiving 60 40-millimeter guns in place of 36 20-millimeter guns.

The carrier arrived at Pearl Harbor on 7 January, and, after a brief period of training, sailed from Pearl Harbor on 19 January with light carriers, Langley and Princeton, to support the drive in the Marshalls. Her aircraft struck Wotje and Taroa for three days, from 29 to 31 January, and then pounded Engebi, the main island at Eniwetok, the 3d to the 6th and from the 10th to the 12th of February. Her planes delivered final blows to Japanese defenses on the 16th, the day before the landings, and provided close air support and CAP over the island until 28 February.

Saratoga then took leave of the main theaters of the Pacific war for almost a year, to carry out important but less spectacular assignments elsewhere. Her first task was to help the British initiate their carrier offensive in the Far East. On 4 March, Saratoga departed Majuro with an escort of three destroyers, and sailed via Espiritu Santo; Hobart, Tasmania; and Fremantle, Australia, to join the British Eastern Fleet in the Indian Ocean. She rendezvoused at sea on 27 March with the British force, composed of carrier, Illustrious, and four battleships with escorts, and arrived with them at Trincomalee, Ceylon, on 31 March. On 12 April, the French battleship, Richelieu, arrived, adding to the international flavor of the force. During the next two days, the carriers conducted intensive training at sea during which Saratoga's fliers tried to impart some of their experience to the British pilots. On 16 April, the Eastern Fleet, with Saratoga, sailed from Trincomalee, and, on the 19th, the aircraft from the two carriers struck the port of Sabang, off the northwest tip of Sumatra. The Japanese were caught by surprise by the new offensive, and much damage was done to port facilities and oil reserves. The raid was so successful that Saratoga delayed her departure in order to carry out a second. Sailing again from Ceylon on 6 May, the force struck at Soerabaja, Java, on 17 May with equally successful results. Saratoga was detached the following day, and passed down the columns of the Eastern Fleet as the Allied ships rendered honors to and cheered each other.

Saratoga arrived at Bremerton, Washington, on 10 June 1944 and was under repair there through the summer. On 24 September, she arrived at Pearl Harbor and commenced her second special assignment, training night fighter squadrons. Saratoga had experimented with night flying as early as 1931, and many carriers had been forced to land returning aircraft at night during the war; but, only in August 1944, did a carrier, Independence, receive an air group specially equipped to operate at night. At the same time, Carrier Division 11, composed of Saratoga and Ranger (CV-4), was commissioned at Pearl Harbor to train night pilots and develop night flying doctrine. Saratoga continued this important training duty for almost four months, but as early as October, her division commander was warned that "while employed primarily for training, Saratoga is of great value for combat and is to be kept potentially available for combat duty." The call came in January 1945. Light carriers like Independence had proved too small for safe night operations, and Saratoga was rushed out of Pearl Harbor on 29 January 1945 to form a night fighter task group with Enterprise for the Iwo Jima operation.

Saratoga arrived at Ulithi on 7 February and sailed three days later, with Enterprise and four other carrier task groups. After landing rehearsals with marines at Tinian on 12 February, the carrier force carried out diversionary strikes on the Japanese home islands on the night of 16 and 17 February before the landings on Iwo Jima. Saratoga was assigned to provide fighter cover while the remaining carriers launched the strikes on Japan, but, in the process, her fighters raided two Japanese airfields. The force fueled on 18 and 19 February; and, on 21 February, Saratoga was detached with an escort of three destroyers to join the amphibious forces and carry out night patrols over Iwo Jima and night heckler missions over nearby Chi-chi Jima. However, as she approached her operating area at 1700 on the 21st, an air attack developed, and taking advantage of low cloud cover and Saratoga's insufficient escort, six Japanese planes scored five hits on the carrier in three minutes. Saratoga's flight deck forward was wrecked, her starboard side was holed twice and large fires were started in her hangar deck, while she lost 123 of her crew dead or missing. Another attack at 1900 scored an additional bomb hit. By 2015, the fires were under control and the carrier was able to recover aircraft, but she was ordered to Eniwetok and then to the west coast for repairs, and arrived at Bremerton on 16 March.

On 22 May, Saratoga departed Puget Sound fully repaired, and she resumed training pilots at Pearl Harbor on 3 June. She ceased training duty on 6 September, after the Japanese surrender, and sailed from Hawaii on 9 September transporting 3,712 returning naval veterans home to the United States under Operation "Magic Carpet." By the end of her "Magic Carpet" service, Saratoga had brought home 29,204 Pacific war veterans, more than any other individual ship. At the time, she also held the record for the greatest number of aircraft landed on a carrier, with a lifetime total of 98,549 landings in 17 years.

With the arrival of large numbers of Essex-class carriers, Saratoga was surplus to postwar requirements, and she was assigned to Operation "Crossroads" at Bikini Atoll to test the effect of the atomic bomb on naval vessels. She survived the first blast, an air burst on 1 July, with only minor damage, but was mortally wounded by the second on 25 July, an underwater blast which was detonated under a landing craft 500 yards from the carrier. Salvage efforts were prevented by radioactivity, and seven and one-half hours after the blast, with her funnel collapsed across her deck, Saratoga slipped beneath the surface of the lagoon. She was struck from the Navy list on 15 August 1946.

Saratoga received seven battle stars for her World War II service.

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on February 11:
1380 Gianfrancesco Poggio Bracciolini Italy, humanist
1465 Elizabeth of York London, Consort of King Henry VII
1506 Juliana van Stolberg engraver of Nassau
1535 Gregory XIV [Niccolò Sfondrati], Roman Catholic pope (1590-91)
1557 John Wtenbogaert remonstrants theologist
1568 Honoré d'Urfé French writer (L'Astrée)
1657 Bernard Fontenelle France, scientist/writer (Plurality of Worlds)
1755 Albert Christoph Dies composer
1764 Marie-Joseph de Chénier French poet (Cajus Graechus)
1776 Joannis Capodistrias Greek Governor of Troezen (1827-31)
1780 K v Günderode writer
1783 Jarena Lee famous African
1790 Ignaz Assmayer composer
1800 William Henry Fox Talbot Wiltshire England, photographic pioneer
1802 Lydia Maria Child US, author/abolitionist (Juvenile Miscellany)
1810 Loisa Puget composer
1812 Alexander Hamilton Stephens Vice President (Confederacy), died in 1883
1812 Benjamin Franklin Sands Commander (Union Navy), died in 1883
1819 Samuel Parkman Tuckerman composer
1821 Auguste Édouard Mariette French Egyptologist, (dug out Sphinx 12/16/42)
1821 Hermann Allmers writer
1829 William Anderson Pile Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1889
1830 Hans Bronsart von Schellendorf composer
1830 Peter Arnold Heise composer
1833 Melville Weston Fuller 8th chief justice
1839 Josiah Willard Gibbs theoretical physicist/chemist
1840 Sanuel Dana Greene Lieutenant Commander (Union Navy), died in 1884
1847 Thomas Alva Edison Milan OH, lit up your life (held 1200 patents)
1860 Rachilde [Marguerite Vallette-Eymery], French author (Monsieur Venus)
1867 August W Messer German philosopher/educator/psychologist
1869 Helene ELJ Kröller-Müller Dutch founder (Kröller-Müller Museum)
1873 Feodor Chaliapine Russian author/novelist (Pages from My Life)
1874 Elsa Beskow [Maartman], Swedish children's book/fairy tales author
1874 Fritz Bennicke Hart composer
1875 Sara Wennerberg-Reuter composer
1879 Jean Gilbert composer
1882 Gheorghe Cucu composer
1883 Paul August von Klenau Danish composer/conductor (Sulamith)
1887 Ernst "Putzi" Hanfstängl German/US pianist/politician (NSDAP)
1887 John van Melle South African writer (Dawid Booysen)
1889 John Mills dancer (Mills Brothers)
1889 Vladimir Mikhaylovich Deshevov composer
1890 John P M L de Vries fairy tale writer
1891 J W Hearne cricket leg-spinner (all-rounder for England in 24 Tests)
1893 Johan C P Alberts Dutch literary (Festival)
1894 Alfonso Leng composer
1894 Isaac M Kolthoff chemist (Massenanalyse)
1895 Viktor Nikolayevich Trambitsky composer
1896 Else Lasker-Schüler writer
1897 Yves de La Casiniere composer
1898 Leo Szilard Hungary, physicist/A-bomb worker/peace activist
19-- Deena Freeman Palo Alto CA, actress (April-Too Close For Comfort)
1900 Thomas Hitchcock Jr great polo player (Westchester Cup 1924,27,30,39)
1900 Hans-Georg Gadamer German philosopher
1903 Hans Redlich composer
1903 Rex Lease West Virginia, actor (Fast Bullets, Sunny Skies, Custer's Last Stand)
1904 Henry R LaBouisse headed UNICEF (1965-79)
1904 Sir Keith Holyoake New Zealand PM (1960-72)
1905 Beb [Elizabeth] Vuyk Netherlands/Indonesian writer (Camp diary)
1906 Denis Barnett British air chief marshal
1907 E W Swanton author & sports commentator
1908 Josh White rocker
1908 Sutan Takdir Alishahbana Indonesian linguistic/author/novelist
1908 Vivian [Ernest] Fuchs geologist/explorer (British Antarctic Survey)
1909 Max Baer [The Livermore Larruper] Omaha NB, heavyweight boxing champion (1934-35)/actor (The Prizefighter and the Lady)
1909 Joseph L Mankiewicz Wilkes-Barre PA, film writer/director (Sleuth)
1911 Alec Cairncross chancellor (Glasgow U)
1912 Roy Fuller England, poet/novelist (Lost Season)
1912 Rudolf Firkusny Napajedla Czechoslovakia, pianist (Julliard)
1913 Lucio Diestro San Pedro composer
1914 Matt Dennis Seattle WA, singer (Matt Dennis Show)
1914 French Duynstee Dutch constitutional lawyer
1914 Menelaos Pallantios composer
1914 Winand J Borgerhoff Mulder court judge of Amsterdam
1915 Haakon Stotijn Dutch oboist (VARA Orchestra, Orkestgebouw Orchestra)
1915 Mervyn Levy artist/critic
1915 Patrick Leigh Fermor author
1916 Bernice Levin Neugarten social scientist/gerontologist
1917 Sidney Sheldon novelist (1947 Academy Award, 1959 Tony, Bloodline)
1917 Richard Jock Kinneir graphic designer
1919 Gretchen Fraser Tacoma WA, slalom skier (Olympics-gold-1948)
1920 Billy Halop New York NY, actor (Bert Munson-All in the Family)
1920 Daniel F[rancis] Galouye US, sci-fi author (Dark Universe, Last Leap)
1920 Farouk I Cairo, last King of Egypt (1936-52)
1920 Paul Peter Piech artist
1921 Eva Gabor Budapest Hungary, actress (Lisa-Green Acres, Gigi)
1921 Lloyd Bentsen (Senator-D-TX) (1988 Democratic Vice-Presidential nominee)
1922 Leslie Nielsen Regina Sask, actor (Forbidden Planet, Naked Gun)
1922 Tudor Jarda composer
1923 Baroness Sharples
1923 Ronald Arculus British diplomat
1924 Mary Tregear Oriental art historian
1925 Dr Virginia E Johnson sexologist (Masters & Johnson)
1925 Kim Stanley [Patricia Reid], Tularosa NM, actress (Right Stuff)
1925 Peter Berger British Vice-Admiral
1925 Virginia E Johnson doctor/sexologist (Masters & Johnson)
1926 Paul Bocuse France, great chef (Legion of Honor)
1926 Alexander Gibson British conductor/founder (Scottish Opera)
1928 Conrad Janis New York NY, actor (Mork & Mindy, Quark, Bonino)
1928 Archibald Forster CEO (Esso UK)
1928 Gerry Alexander cricket wicketkeeper (West Indies of 50s & 60s)
1928 Raoul Cita rocker
1929 Leonard Gregory Kastle composer
1930 Alevtina Koltschina USSR, cross country relay skier (Olympics-gold-1960)
1930 C H Dearnley organist
1930 Earl of Rosebery
1931 Larry Merchant author/boxing commentator (Showtime)
1932 Jerome Lowenthal Philadelphia PA, pianist/professor (Jerusalem Academy of Music)
1932 Dennis Skinner MP
1934 Mary Quant Kent England, fashion designer (Chelsea Look, Mod Look)
1934 Tina Louise New York NY, actress (Ginger-Gilligan's Island, Julie-Dallas)
1934 Francesco Pennisi composer
1934 John Surtees British race car driver
1934 Patrick Holmes Sellors ophthalmologist
1935 Bent Lorentzen composer
1935 Gene Vincent Norfolk VA, rock guitarist/vocalist (Be-Bop-A-Lula)
1936 Burt Reynolds Waycross GA, actor (Evening Shade, Striptease, Cannonball Run, Smokey and the Bandit, Dan August, Deliverance)
1937 Bill Lawry cricketer (dour Australian lefty opener, Can talk a bit)
1937 Lodewijk Boer Dutch violinist/playwright (The Family)
1937 Marilyn Butler Rector (Exeter College-Oxford)
1937 Peter Lashley cricketer (4 Tests for West Indies 1960-66)
1938 Boris Majorov USSR, ice hockey (Olympics-gold-1964)
1938 General Manuel Antonio Noriega Panamanian General/dictator (1983-1990)
1938 Yevgeniy Majorov USSR, ice hockey (Olympics-gold-1964)
1938 Bevan Congdon cricketer (New Zealand batsman of 60s & 70s)
1938 Willy Correa de Oliveira composer
1939 Gerry Goffin Queens NY, rock lyricist (married Carole King)
1939 Bryan Gould MP
1939 Jane [Hyatt] Yolen US, sci-fi author (Spider Jane, Heart's Blood)
1940 Bobby "Boris" Pickett rocker (Monster Mash)
1940 Calvin Fowler Pittsburgh PA, basketball player (Olympics-gold-1968)
1940 John Fink Detroit MI, actor (Dr Adam Hudson-Nancy)
1941 Sergio Mendes jazz/pop musician (Brazil '66/'77/'88)
1941 Glenn Randall Jr stuntman (Species, Mrs Soffel, Return of the Jedi)
1941 Jeremy Mackenzie General
1942 Archie comic book character
1942 Archie Andrews comic book character (Archie)
1942 James Couchman MP
1942 Leon Haywood US vocalist/keyboardist (It's Got to be Mellow)
1942 Otis Clay US gospel/R&B-singer (That's how it is)
1942 Tony Colton rock producer (On the Boards)
1943 Iain Cameron British brigadier
1943 Win Griffiths MP
1944 Bert Greene golfer
1944 Buddhadev Dasgupta director (Charachar, Grihajuddha)
1944 Michael G Oxley (Representative-R-OH, 1981- )
1946 M C Walker CEO (Iceland Frozen Foods)
1946 Timothy Chambers pediatrician
1948 Sue Bernard Los Angeles CA, playmate (December 1966)
1949 Charlie Hargrett rock guitarist (Blackfoot)
1950 Clarence Ellis NFLer
1950 Earnest Jim Istook (Representative-R-OK)
1950 Johanna E "Joke" Beerens actress (Schipper Next to God)
1950 Rochelle Fleming US soul vocalist (First Choice, Smarty Pants)
1953 Philip Anglim San Francisco CA, actor (Dane-Thorn Birds)
1953 Stephen D Thorne Frankfurt-on-Main, German, Lieutenant Commander USN/astronaut
1953 Alan Rubin music figure (Blues Brothers)
1954 Catherine Hickland Ft Lauderdale, actress (Capitol, Star Trek IV)
1956 Kathleen Beller Queens NY, actress (Ft Apache the Bronx, Touched)
1958 Michael Jackson controller (BBC2)
1958 Regina Marsikova Czechoslovakia, tennis star
1959 Corinne Shigemoto US judo coach (Olympics-96)
196- Bianca Ferguson actress (Felicia Jones-General Hospital)
1960 Richard A Mastracchio Waterbury CT, astronaut
1961 Mary Docter US, 3000 meter speed skater (Olympics-1980, 84, 88, 92)
1961 Becky LeBeau Los Angeles CA, vocalist (Mischief)
1961 Carey Lowell New York NY, actress (Me & Him, Guardian, Dangerously Close)
1962 Scott Kolden Torrance CA, actor (Scott-Me & the Chimp)
1962 Sheryl Crow Kennett MO, singer/songwriter (All I Wanna Do, If It Makes You Happy)
1963 Todd Benzinger US baseball player (San Francisco Giants)
1965 Angie Ridgeway Wabash IN, LPGA golfer (1992 Sara Lee-8th)
1965 Stephen Gregory New York NY, actor (Chase-Young & Restless)
1966 Alexander Semak Ufa Russia, NHL center (New York Islanders)
1966 Anthony Parker NFL cornerback (Minnesota Vikings, St Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1966 Patrick Kuhnen West Germany, tennis star
1966 Stephen Gregory New York NY, actor (Chase-Young & Restless)
1967 Barbara Byrne Princeton NJ, rower (Olympics-96)
1967 Chris Reohr Ridley Park PA, fencer (Olympics-96)
1967 Derek King Hamilton, NHL left wing (New York Islanders)
1967 John Patterson US baseball infielder (San Francisco Giants)
1969 Shannon Long Gladstone Australia, playmate (October 1988)
1969 Bryan Eversgerd US baseball pitcher (St Louis Cardinals)
1969 Jennifer Aniston Sherman Oaks CA, actress (Rachel-Friends)
1969 Joe Valerio NFL outside corner/tackle (Kansas City Chiefs)
1969 Kevin King US baseball pitcher (Seattle Mariners)
1969 Mark Atkinson cricket wicket-keeper (Tasmanian batsman)
1969 Mary Stoker Miss Wisconsin-USA (1996)
1970 Alistair Brown cricketer (Surrey & England ODI opening batsman 1996)
1970 Jason Allyn Scott Iowa City IA, rower (Olympics-1996)
1971 Jennifer Lynne Faucette Burlington VT, Miss Vermont-America (1995)
1971 John Bock NFL center (New York Jets, Miami Dolphins)
1971 Linda Wild Arlington Heights IL, tennis star (1993 Melbourne Open)
1972 Dennis Iliohan Dutch soccer player (FC Lisse, ADO Den Haag)
1973 Tom Tumulty linebacker (Cincinnati Bengals)
1974 Brian Newman guard (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1974 Ronnie Ward linebacker (Miami Dolphins)
1974 Wally Richardson quarterback (Baltimore Ravens)
1975 Chuck Watanabe kayak (alternate-Olympics-96)
1975 Jacque Vaughn NBA guard (Utah Jazz)
1975 Kim Weir Miss Nebraska-USA (1997)
1976 Brice Beckham Long Beach CA, actor (Wesley-Mr Belvedere)
1976 Tony Battie NBA forward (Denver Nuggets)
1977 Jessica Carlson Kalamazoo MI, archer (alternate-Olympics-1996)
1977 Stephanie Richardson Toronto Ontario, 200 meter/800 meter swimmer (Olympics-96)
1977 Veronica Marie Duka Campbellsville KY, Miss Kentucky-America (1996-Top 10)
1979 Brandy [Norwood] singer (Les Miserables, Moesha)
1980 Matthew Lawrence Montgomery PA, actor (Matthew-Gimme a Break)
1980 Natasha Bobo Watsonville CA, actress (Sally-Together We Stand)
1997 Michael Jackson Jr son of Michael Jackson

Deaths which occurred on February 11:
0641 Heraclius emperor of Byzantium (610-641), dies at about 65
0731 Gregory II Greek-Syrian Pope, dies
0821 Benedict of Aniane saint, dies
0824 Paschal I Italian Pope (817-24), dies
0867 Theodora the Saint, beauty queen/empress of Byzantine, dies
1141 Hugo of St-Victor philosopher/theologist/mystic, dies
1503 Elizabeth of York Consort of King Henry VII, dies on 38th birthday
1543 Ahmed Gran sultan of Adal, dies in battle
1622 Alfonso Fontanelli composer, dies at 64
1650 René Descartes philosopher "I think therefore I am", stops thinking
1685 David Teniers III Flemish painter, dies at 46
1762 Johann Tobias Krebs composer, dies at 71
1797 Antoine Dauvergne composer, dies at 83
1806 Vicente Martin y Soler composer, dies at 51
1841 J H Ferdinand Olivier German painter, dies at 55
1868 Léon Foucault discovers 1st physical proof of Earth's rotation, dies
1870 Jacob M de Kempenaer Dutch Minister of Internal Affairs (1848-49), dies at 76
1870 Leopold Eugen Mechura composer, dies at 66
1879 Honore Daumier caricaturist/painter, dies
1879 Willem J van Zeggelen Dutch author/novelist/writer, dies at 67
1882 Gustav Schmidt composer, dies at 65
1892 Erik Anthon Valdemar Siboni composer, dies at 63
1894 Pasqual Juan Emilio Arrieta y Corera composer, dies at 70
1899 George Morgan 1st English motorist to die in an motor accident, dies
1901 Milan I king of Serbia, dies at 56
1903 Henryk Szulc composer, dies at 67
1907 Peter J Savelberg Dutch Limbourg monastery founder, dies at 80
1911 Albert von Rothschild baron/Austrian banker, dies at 66
1922 Gerardus J P Bolland Dutch philosopher (Bolland Society), dies at 67
1931 Charles Algernon Parsons British inventor (steam turbine), dies at 76
1939 Franz Schmidt Austrian composer, dies at 64
1940 John Buchan 1st Baron Tweedsmuir, Governor-General of Canada (1935-40), dies
1941 Rudolf Hilferding German economist/Minister of Finance (SPD), suicide at 63
1944 Ivan Sollertinski friend of Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich, dies
1945 Al Dubin Swiss songwriter (Tiptoe Thru The Tulips), dies at 53
1945 J S H Lokerman Dutch resistance fighter, dies in Neugengamme
1948 Sergy Eisenstein film director, dies at 50
1961 Eduard R Verkade Dutch actor/director (Pygmalion), dies at 82
1961 Patrice Lumumba 1st premier Congo, murdered at 34
1963 Sylvia Plath poet/novelist (Ariel), kills herself in London at 30
1968 Howard Lindsay US playwright (State of the Union), dies at 78
1969 James Lanphier actor (Flight of Lost Balloon), dies at 48
1970 Emil Abranyi composer, dies at 87
1971 Whitney Young Jr National Urban League director, drowns in Nigeria
1972 Jan Wils architect (Olympian Stadium, Amsterdam), dies at 80
1973 Hans D Jensen German physicist (Nobel prize 1963), dies at 65
1974 Anna Q Nilsson actress (Toll Gate, Sorrell & Son), dies at 85
1976 Lee J Cobb actor (12 Angry Men, On the Waterfront), dies at 64
1976 Alice Allen actress (Call of the Hills), dies
1976 Charlie Naughton actor (Frozen Limits), dies at 89
1977 Louis J M Beel Dutch premier (1946-48, 58-59), dies at 74
1978 James B Conant headmaster (Harvard University), dies at 84
1982 Eleanor Powell tap dancer/wife of Glenn Ford, dies of cancer at 69
1982 Takashi Shimura Japan, actor (Rashomon, 7 Samurais), dies at 76
1985 Heinz Eric Roemheld composer, dies of pneumonia at 83
1985 Henry Hathaway actor/director (Nob Hill), dies of heart attack at 86
1985 Ulysses Sipmson Kay composer, dies at 68
1986 Frank [Patrick] Herbert sci-fi author (Dune), dies at 65
1989 George O'Hanlon actor/director (Bop Girl, Zamba), dies at 71
1991 Oscar Nitzchke German architect (Alcoa building), dies at 90
1992 Ray Danton US actor/director (Psychic Killer), dies at 60
1993 George A Stephen inventor (Weber Kettle Grill), dies at 71
1993 Joy Garrett actress (Days of Our Lives), dies of liver failure
1993 Oksana Kostina Russian gymnast, dies in an auto accident
1994 Antonio Martin Spanish cyclist, dies in cycling accident at 23
1994 Sorrell Brooke actor (Mayor Hogg-Dukes of Hazzard), dies at 64
1994 William Conrad actor (Cannon), dies of a heart attack at 73
1996 Amelia Rosselli poet, dies at 65
1996 Bob Shaw science fiction writer, dies of cancer at 64
1996 Cyril Poole cricket (Notts 1946-62, England 1951-52 in 3 Tests), dies
1996 Kebby Musokotwane prime minister of Zambia in (1985-89), dies
1996 Phil Regan actor (Las Vegas Night, Dames, Housewife), dies at 88
1997 Don Porter actor (Gidget), dies at 84
1554 Lady Jane Grey deposed Queen of England, beheaded after 9 day rule at 17

On this day...
0660 -BC- Traditional founding of Japan by Emperor Jimmu Tenno
0385 Oldest Pope elected; Siricius-bishop of Tarragona
0731 St Gregory II ends his reign as Catholic Pope
0824 St Paschal I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1531 Henry VIII recognized as supreme head of the Church in England
1543 Battle at Wayna Daga Ethiopian/Portugese troops beat Moslem army
1543 Karel/Henry VIII sign anti-French covenant
1573 1st European, Francis Drake sees the Pacific (from Panama)
1575 King Frederick of Denmark offers island of Hveen to Tycho Brahe
1638 Dutch countess Louise of Solms marries earl John of Brederode
1720 Sweden & Prussia sign peace (2nd Treaty of Stockholm)
1752 Pennsylvania Hospital, the 1st hospital in the US, opened
1766 Stamp Act declared unconstitutional in Virginia
1768 Samuel Adams letter, circulates around American colonies, opposing Townshend Act taxes
1790 Society of Friends petitions Congress for abolition of slavery
1793 Prussian troops occupy Venlo Netherlands
1794 1st session of US Senate open to the public
1808 Anthracite coal 1st burned as fuel, experimentally, Wilkes-Barre PA
1809 Robert Fulton patents the steamboat
1810 Napoleon marries Marie-Louise of Austria
1811 President Madison prohibits trade with Britain for 3rd time in 4 years
1812 Massachusetts Governor Gerry signs a redistricting bill-the 1st "gerrymander
1814 Norway's independence proclaimed
1826 London University founded
1837 American Physiological Society organizes in Boston
1840 Gaetano Donizetti's Opera "La Fille du Regiment" premieres in Paris
1843 Giuseppe Verdi's Opera "I Lombardi" premieres in Milan
1851 1st cricket 1st-class game in Australia, Tasmania vs Victoria, Launceston
1852 1st British public female toilet opens (Bedford Street London)
1854 Major streets lit by coal gas for 1st time
1858 1st apparition of Mary to 14-year-old Bernadette of Lourdes France
1861 US House unanimously passes resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state
1861 President-elect Lincoln takes train from Spingfield IL to Washington DC
1873 Spanish Cortes fires king Amadeus I
1878 1st US bicycle club, Boston Bicycle Club, forms
1878 1st weekly Weather report published in UK
1889 Meiji constitution of Japan adopted; 1st Diet convenes in 1890
1895 -17ºF (-27.2ºC) in Braemar, Grampian (UK record)
1895 Georgetown became part of Washington DC
1896 Oscar Wildes "Salomé" premieres in Paris
1897 White Rose Mission opens on East 97th Street, NYC
1898 Owen Smith of North Carolina, AME Zion minister, named minister to Liberia
1899 -15ºF (-26ºC), Washington DC (district record)
1899 -61ºF (-52ºC), Montana (record low temperature)
1902 Police beats up universal suffrage demonstrators in Brussels
1903 Anton Bruckner's 9th Symfonie premieres in Vienna
1905 James Blackstone, Seattle, bowls 299½-last pin breaks but stands
1905 Pope Pius X publishes encyclical Vehementer nos
1907 De Master's Dutch government resigns
1907 Passenger ship Larchmont sinks by Block Island, 322 die
1908 Australia regain the Ashes with a 308 run cricket victory vs England
1908 Heemskerk's government begins in Holland
1916 Emma Goldman arrested for lecturing on birth control
1916 Baltimore Symphony Orchestra presents its 1st concert
1919 Friedrich Ebert (SPD), elected President of Germany
1921 Ambassador Theater opens at 215 W 49th St NYC
1922 "April Showers" by Al Jolson hits #1
1922 US intervention army leaves Honduras
1926 Tokelau (Union) islands in south Pacific transfers to New Zealand
1927 US female Figure Skating championship won by Beatrix Loughran
1927 US male Figure Skating championship won by Nathaniel Niles
1928 2nd Winter Olympics games opens in St Moritz, Switzerland
1929 Vatican City (world's smallest country) made an enclave of Rome
1929 Eugene O'Neill's "Dynamo" premieres in New York NY
1932 73ºF highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in February
1935 -11ºF (-24ºC), Ifrane, Morocco (African record low)
1935 1st US airplane flight with auto slung beneath the fuselage, New York
1936 Pumping begins to build Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay
1937 44-day sit-down strike at General Motors in Flint MI ends
1938 Steve Casey beats Lou Thesz in Boston, to become wrestling champion
1941 1st Gold record presented (Glenn Miller-Chattanooga Choo Choo)
1941 Lieutenant-General Erwin Rommel arrives in Tripoli
1941 Sicherheitsdienst complains about Dutch anti German sentiments
1942 "Archie" comic book debuts
1943 General Eisenhower selected to command the allied armies in Europe
1943 Transport nr 47 departs with French Jews to Nazi-Germany
1944 German troops re-conquer Aprilia Italy
1944 U-424 sunk off Ireland
1945 1st gas turbine propeller-driven airplane flight tested, Downey CA
1945 Yalta agreement signed by FDR, Churchill & Stalin
1948 Billy Griffith scores cricket century on debut England vs West Indies, out for 140
1948 John Costello follows Eamon Da Valera as premier of Ireland
1948 Test Cricket debut of Frank Worrell, vs England Port-of-Spain
1949 Willie Pep recaptures world featherweight boxing title
1950 "Rag Mop" by The Ames Brothers hit #1
1951 Kwame Nkrumah wins 1st parliamentary election on Gold coast (Ghana)
1953 J Styne/B Hilliard's musical "Hazel Flagg" premieres in New York NY
1953 President Eisenhower refuses clemency appeal for Rosenberg couple
1953 Russia breaks diplomatic relations with Israel
1954 6th Emmy Awards I Love Lucy, Donald O'Connor & Eve Arden win
1957 KUMV TV channel 8 in Williston ND (NBC) begins broadcasting
1957 NHL Players Association forms (New York NY), Red Wings' Ted Lindsay elected president
1958 Marshal Chen Yi succeeds Chu En-lai as Minister of Foreign affairs
1958 Ruth Carol Taylor is 1st African-American woman hired as flight attendant
1958 WTVC TV channel 9 in Chattanooga TN (ABC) begins broadcasting
1959 Vinoo Mankad ends his final Test Cricket (v West Indies at Delhi)
1960 Jack Paar walks off his TV show
1961 Robert C Weaver sworn in as Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency with then highest federal post by a black
1961 Trial of Adolf Eichmann begins in Jerusalem
1963 Beatles tape 10 tracks for their 1st album, including "Please, Please Me"
1963 CIA Domestic Operations Division created
1964 Beatles 1st live appearance in US; Washington DC Coliseum
1964 Greek & Turks begin fighting in Limassol, Cyprus
1964 Taiwan drops diplomatic relations with France
1965 Beatle Ringo Starr marries Maureen Cox
1965 Braves propose to pay 5¢ from each ticket to bring a new team to Milwaukee
1966 San Francisco Giant Willie Mays signs highest contract, $130,000 per year
1968 Jeffrey Kramer survives 76 meter jump, Washington Bridge, Hudson River NY
1968 Peggy Fleming wins Olympics figure skating gold medal, Grenoble, France
1968 Israeli-Jordan border fight
1968 Madison Square Garden III closes Madison Square Garden IV opens (New York NY)
1969 Diana Crump becomes 1st US woman jockey to ride against men, Hialelah
1969 Dorey Funk Jr beats Gene Kiniski in Tampa, to become NWA champion
1970 26.37 cm (10.38") of rainfall, Mt Washington NH (state 24-hour record)
1970 Japan becomes 4th nation to put a satellite (Osumi) in orbit
1970 John Lennon pays £1,344 fines for 96 protesting the South African rugby team playing in Scotland
1971 Montréal Canadien John Believau scores his 500th NHL goal
1971 US, UK, USSR, others sign Seabed Treaty outlawing nuclear weapons
1973 1st sub 17-minute 1,500 meter female freestyle swim (Shane Gould 16 minutes 56.9 seconds)
1973 Philadelphia 76ers lose their 20th NBA game in a row
1973 1st one-day international for Pakistan & New Zealand
1973 Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Naples-Lely Golf Classic
1974 Titan-Centaur test launch fails
1974 1st baseball arbitration Twins pitcher Dick Woodson seeking $29,000 wins, Twins offered $23,000
1974 Dick Woodson is 1st of 48 to invoke baseball's new arbitration rule
1975 Margaret Thatcher defeats Edward Heath for Conservative leadership
1976 Clifford Alexander Jr confirmed as 1st black Secretary of Army
1977 20.2-kg lobster caught off Nova Scotia (heaviest known crustacean)
1978 16 Unification church couples wed in New York NY
1978 25th hat trick in Islander history-Denis Potvin
1978 China lifts a ban on Aristotle, Shakespeare, & Dickens
1978 EOKA organization disbands in Cyprus
1979 43 million watch "Elvis!" on ABC
1979 Emmy News & Documentaries Award presentation
1979 Iran's premier Bakhtiar resigns, Ayatollah Khomeini seizes power
1979 Musical "They're Playing Our Song" premieres at Imperial NYC for 1082 performances
1981 Australia all out 83 vs India at MCG chasing 143 to win
1981 Polish premier Jozef Pinkowski replaced by Wojciech Jaruzelski
1982 Ozzie Smith for Garry Templeton trade finally goes through
1983 4th largest snowfall in NYC history (18"(46 cm))
1983 "Weird Al" Yankovic records "Ricky" & "Buckingham Blues" debut LP
1984 10th space shuttle mission (41-B)-Challenger 4-returns to Earth
1984 Wayne Gretsky sets NHL short handed season scoring record at 11
1985 Jordan king Hussein & PLO leader Arafat sign accord
1985 Kent Hrbek signs 5-year, $6 million contract with Minnesota Twins
1985 Wasim Akram takes 10 wickets in his 2nd Test Cricket, New Zealand still wins
1986 Rights activist Anatoly Scharansky released by USSR, leaves country
1986 Australia beat India 2-0 to win the World Series Cup
1986 Iran begins Fajr-8 offensive against Iraq
1987 British Airways begins trading stocks
1987 England beat Australia 2-0 to win the World Series Cup
1987 Philippines constitution goes into effect
1987 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1988 Anthony M Kennedy appointed to the Supreme Court
1989 Barbara Clementine Harris consecrated 1st female bishop (Episcopalian)
1989 US female Figure Skating championship won by Jill Trenary
1990 James "Buster" Douglas KOs Mike Tyson to win heavyweight boxing crown
1990 Nelson Mandela (political prisoner-27 years) freed in South Africa
1990 40th NBA All-Star Game East beats West 130-113 in Miami
1990 US male Figure Skating championship won by Todd Eldredge
1991 UNPO, Unrepresented Nations & People Organization forms in Hague Netherlands
1992 F-16 jet crashes at residential district of Hengelo Netherlands (No deaths)
1992 Michael Johnson runs indoor world record 400 meter (44.97 seconds)
1993 Howard Stern's radio show begins transmitting to Rochester NY (WRQI)
1993 Irina Privalova runs world record 60 meter indoor (6.92 seconds)
1993 Janet Reno selected by Clinton as US Attorney General
1994 Lu Parker, (South Carolina), crowned 43rd Miss USA
1994 Space shuttle STS-60 (Discovery 18), lands
1995 Danyon Loader swims world record 400 meter freestyle (3 minutes 40.46 seconds)
1995 Mark Foster swims world record 50 meter butterfly (23.55 seconds)
1995 Sandra Völker swims European record 50 meter backstroke (27.67 seconds)
1995 Space shuttle STS-63 (Discovery 19), lands
1995 US male Figure Skating championship won by Todd Eldredge
1995 West Indies score 5-660 against New Zealand
1996 46th NBA All-Star Game East beats West 129-118 at San Antonio
1997 Bill Parcells becomes head coach of New York Jets
1997 STS 82 (Discovery 22) launches
1998 KVBC-FM (Las Vegas) offers Monica Lewinsky $5M for interview
1998 Lyrics to "Candle in the Wind 1997" auctioned for $442,500
1999 Pluto is once again the farthest planet from the sun in our solar system

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Bangladesh : Shaheed Day
Cameroon : Youth Day
Flint MI : White Shirt Day-end of blue collar sit down strike (1907)
Florida : Gasparilla Carnival-remembrance of pirates
Ft Myers FL : Pageant of Light (1884)
Italy : Giorno della Conciliazione Day (1929)
Japan : Empire Day
Japan : Foundation Day (660 BC)-accession of Emperor Jimmu
Liberia : Armed Forces Day
Mauritius : Chinese Spring Festival
US : National Inventors Day
World : Boy Scouts Day (1910) - - - - - ( Sunday )

Religious Observances
Christian : Feast of St Adolph
Methodist : Race Relations Sunday (2nd Sunday in February)
Phil : Our Lady's Miraculous Apparitions of St Bernadette Soubirous
Unification Church : True parents' birthday
Roman Catholic : Feast of St Gregory II, 89th Roman Catholic pope (715-31)
Christian : Commemoration of St Theodora, Byzantine empress
Roman Catholic : Memorial of the Apparition of the Virgin at Lourdes (opt)
Christian : Shrove Tuesday (Mardi Gras)

Religious History
1650 Death of Ren‚ Descartes, 53, French philosopher and mathematician. His last words were: 'My soul, thou hast long been held captive; the hour has now come for thee to quit thy prison...; suffer, then, this separation with joy and courage.'
1779 English founder of Methodism John Wesley wrote in a letter: 'Chance has no share in the government of the world. The Lord reigns, and disposes all things, strongly and sweetly, for the good of them that love him.'
1858 In Lourdes, France, 14-year-old French peasant Bernadette Soubirous experienced her first vision of the Virgin Mary. By July 16th of this year, she had experienced 18 such visions.
1948 U.S. Senate Chaplain Peter Marshall prayed: 'We ask Thee not for tasks more suited to our strength, but for strength more suited to our tasks.'
1989 Rev. Barbara C. Harris, 58, was consecrated in Boston as the first woman bishop in the Anglican Church. (In 1988 the Church of England passed the first legislation which began opening the Anglican priesthood to women.)

Thought for the day :
"Nobody can be as agreeable as an uninvited guest."