| February 1 |
1971 Wireless licenses were abolished in the
UK |
February 2
 |
 1986
Liechtenstein women voted for the first time in a general
election
1976
The Queen opened the National Exhibition Centre in
Birmingham
1852
The first public flushing lavatory for men was opened in
London's Fleet Street
|
| February 3 |
2002
In the shipping forecast Finistere became FitzRoy, after Sir
Admiral FitzRoy founder of the Meteorological Office
1966
Russia's Luna IX made the first controlled landing on the
moon
1962
Fidel Castro was excommunicated
1959
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper died in an
air crash
1919
The League of Nations first met
|
| February 4 |
1953 Sweet rationing ended in the UK
1920
The comic actor Norman Wisdom was born
|
| February 5 |
1922 The Reader's Digest was first published
|
| February 6 |
 1957
Bill Haley and the Comets played their first London gig
|
| February 7 |
1984 Captain Bruce McCandless became the
first astronaut to fly free in space without a life-lin
1965
George Harrison had his tonsils removed |
| February 8 |
1990
George de Mestral, the man who invented Velcro, died
1969 The
Boeing 747 airliner made its maiden flight |
| February 9 |
2002
Princess Margaret died
1933
The Oxford Union Society debated the motion
"That this house will in no way fight for King and country"
1824
At the age of twelve Charles Dickens started work in a
blacking factory |
| February 10 |
1942
The first golden disc was presented - to Glenn Miller for Chattanooga
Choo Choo
|
| February 11 |
 1891
The first Cruft's Dog Show opened at the Agricultural
Hall, Islington
1852 The first flushing toilet for
women in London was opened |
| February 12 |
1941 The first person was
successfully treated with penicillin |
| February 13 |
 1978
Anna Ford became ITN's first female newsreader
1692 The
Campbells massacred the MacDonalds at Glencoe |
| February 14 |
1918
The first Tarzan film 'Tarzan of the Apes' was released
1852 The first patient was admitted to the
Children's Hospital in Great Ormond Street, London |
| February 15 |
1971
The UK adopted decimal currency |
| February 16 |
1937 Nylon patented |
| February 17 |
2002 Short track skater Steven Bradbury won
Australia's first Winter Olympics gold medal when the four skaters in
front of him fell over on the last corner
1909 Geronimo, the last Apache chief to surrender, died in
custody |
February 18
|
1984 After 400 years the naval dockyard at Chatham
closed
1930 The American
astronomer Clyde Tombaugh discovered the
planet Pluto
1901 Sir Winston
Churchill made his maiden speech in
parliament
1678 The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan was published |
| February 19 |
2001
The French singer Charles Trenet died
1975 Iceland broke off diplomatic relations with the UK
over a fishing dispute 1878
Edison patented the phonograph |
| February 20 |
1985
The Irish parliament legalised the sale of contraceptives
1971 Idi Amin declared himself president of Uganda |
| February 21 |
1741 Jethro Tull, inventor of the seed drill,
died |
| February 22 |
1907 The first purpose built cinema in Britain,
the Central Hall in Colne, Lancashire, opened
1879 Frank Winfield Woolworth opened his first
shop in Utica, New York |
| February 23 |
2000 Legendary footballer Sir Stanley Mathews
died |
| February 24 |
 1923
The Flying Scotsman went into service |
| February 25 |
1570
Elizabeth I was excommunicated |
| February 26 |
1935
RADAR was first demonstrated |
| February 27 |
 2002 Truly
original comic giant Spike Milligan died
1939
Borley Rectory, reputedly the most haunted house in
England, burnt down |
| February 28 |
2000 After a 100 years the UK's quarantine laws
were relaxed at midnight |
| February 29 |
1956 Muffin the Mule made his tv debut |
... a
bit Suffolk