February 2 in History

Historical Events on February 2

506

Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of "Roman law".
880

Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.
962

Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.
1032

Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy.
1141

The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda.
1207

Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established.
1438

Nine leaders of the Transylvanian peasant revolt are executed at Torda.
1461

Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer's Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England.
1536

Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1653

New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
1709

Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe's adventure book Robinson Crusoe.
1848

Mexican-American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
1850

Brigham Young declares war on Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah.
1868

Pro-Imperial forces captured Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burned it to the ground.
1876

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
1887

In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.
1899

The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.
1901

Funeral of Queen Victoria.
1913

Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.
1920

The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.
1920

France occupies Memel.
1922

Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
1925

Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
1934

The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.
1935

Leonarde Keeler administers polygraph tests to two murder suspects, the first time polygraph evidence was admitted in U.S. courts.
1942

The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.
1943

World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last German troops in the city.
1966

Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
1971

Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.
1971

The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran.
1980

Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
1982

Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama.
1987

After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.
1989

Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.
1990

Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
2000

First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.
2004

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men's singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.
2005

The Government of Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage.
2012

The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 146-165 dead.

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