February 2
1536 - The city of Buenos Aires, Argentina was founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Mendoza.
1653 - New Amsterdam, now known as New York City, was incorporated.
1709 - Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe," was rescued after four years alone on an island off the coast of Chile.
1848 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican War, was signed. In the treaty, Mexico ceded to the United States a huge portion of what is today the American West and Southwest, including California and New Mexico.
1870 - The Cardiff Giant was revealed to be a hoax.
1887 - The first gathering at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania was held to see if the groundhog would see its shadow.
1913 - New York City’s rebuilt Grand Central Terminal officially opened to the public at one minute past midnight.
1914 - Charles Chaplin made his movie debut as the comedy short “Making a Living” was released by Keystone Film Co.
1922 - James Joyce's "Ulysses" was published.
1925 - The legendary Alaska Serum Run ended as the last of a series of dog mushers brought a life-saving treatment to Nome, the scene of a diphtheria epidemic, six days after the drug left Nenana.
1943 - Nazi troops surrendered to the Soviets in the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II.
1971 - Idi Amin became dictator of Uganda.
1979 - Punk rock musician Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols died of a drug overdose at age 21.
1980 - NBC News reported the FBI had conducted a sting operation targeting members of Congress using phone Arab businessmen in what became known as the "Abscam" scandal.
1988 - President Ronald Reagan pressed his case for additional aid to the Nicaraguan Contras a day ahead of a vote by the House of Representatives. (The three major TV broadcast networks declined to carry the speech, which was covered by CNN; a divided House voted to reject Reagan's request for $36.2 million in new aid.)
1990 - South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.
2002 - Inside the World Economic Forum in New York, foreign economic leaders criticized the United States for protectionist policies while outside, thousands of protesters demonstrated against global capitalism.
2003 - Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel stepped down after 13 years.
2006 - House Republicans elected John Boehner of Ohio as their new majority leader to replace the indicted Tom DeLay.
2007 - The world's leading climate scientists said global warming has begun, is "very likely" caused by humans, and will be unstoppable for centuries.
2008 - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former supermodel Carla Bruni were married at the presidential Elysee Palace.
2009 - Former first lady and U.S. senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was sworn in as U.S. secretary of state.
2011 - Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak charged into Cairo's central square on horses and camels brandishing whips while others rained firebombs from rooftops in what appeared to be an orchestrated assault against protesters trying to topple Egypt's leader of 30 years.
2014 - Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead at age 46 in his New York City apartment from a combination of heroin, cocaine and other drugs.
2016 - Health officials reported that a person in Texas had become infected with the Zika virus through sex in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States.
2020 - The Philippines reported that a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan had died in a Manila hospital from the new coronavirus; it was the first death from the virus to be recorded outside of China. The United States recorded its ninth known case, a woman in the San Francisco area who’d recently traveled to Wuhan. Authorities in parts of China extended the Lunar New Year holiday break well into February to try to keep people at home.
Birthdays
24 - Ellie Bamber (actress)
31 - Lauren Bushnell Lane (reality star)
33 - Natalie Halcro (model)
33 - Zosia Mamet (actress)
35 - Blaine Larsen (country singer)
35 - Gemma Arterton (actress)
40 - Emily Rose (actress)
43 - Rich Sommer (actor)
44 - Shakira (singer)
45 - Lori Beth Denberg (actress)
48 - Marissa Jaret Winokur (actress)
51 - Jennifer Westfeldt (actress)
55 - Adam Ferrara (actor/comedian)
59 - Michael T. Weiss (actor)
66 - Kim Zimmer (actress)
66 - Michael Talbott (actor)
67 - Christie Brinkley (model)
68 - Duane Chapman (reality star)
72 - Ross Valory (musician)
72 - Brent Spiner (actor)
72 - Jack McGee (actor)
75 - Howard Bellamy (country singer)
77 - Bo Hopkins (actor)
84 - Tom Smothers (comedian)
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Today in Sports History - February 2
1876 - The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was formed in New York with charter teams located in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Hartford, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis.
1943 - After experimenting with a vest, the Chicago Cubs return to their original uniforms.
1954 - Bevo Francis of Rio Grande College scores 113 points in a basketball game.
1959 - Vince Lombardi signs a five year contract to coach the Green Bay Packers.
1964 - Red Faber, Burleigh Grimes, Tim Keefe, Heinie Manush, John Montgomery Ward and Miller Huggins are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1967 - The American Basketball Association was formed by representatives of the NBA.
1970 - Pete Maravich becomes the first player in NCAA history to score 3,000 career points.
1975 - Dorothy Hamil wins the U.S. ladies figure skating championship.
1976 - Roger Connor, Fred Lindstrom and Cal Hubbard are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1985 - Brian Boitano wins the U.S. men's figure skating championship.
1997 - Scott Bowman becomes the first coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games.
2014 - The Seattle Seahawks defeat the Denver Broncos 42-8 in East Rutherford, New Jersey to win Super Bowl XLVIII. Seattle linebacker Malcolm Smith is named MVP.
2020 - Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to three touchdowns over the final 6 minutes, 13 seconds to lift them to a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl LIV in Miami. Mahomes is named MVP. The win was the second Super Bowl title for the Chiefs and their first in 50 years (Super Bowl IV, 1970).
2020 - Novak Djokovic won his eighth Australian Open and 17th Grand Slam singles championship.
1536 - The city of Buenos Aires, Argentina was founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro de Mendoza.
1653 - New Amsterdam, now known as New York City, was incorporated.
1709 - Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe," was rescued after four years alone on an island off the coast of Chile.
1848 - The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican War, was signed. In the treaty, Mexico ceded to the United States a huge portion of what is today the American West and Southwest, including California and New Mexico.
1870 - The Cardiff Giant was revealed to be a hoax.
1887 - The first gathering at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsatawney, Pennsylvania was held to see if the groundhog would see its shadow.
1913 - New York City’s rebuilt Grand Central Terminal officially opened to the public at one minute past midnight.
1914 - Charles Chaplin made his movie debut as the comedy short “Making a Living” was released by Keystone Film Co.
1922 - James Joyce's "Ulysses" was published.
1925 - The legendary Alaska Serum Run ended as the last of a series of dog mushers brought a life-saving treatment to Nome, the scene of a diphtheria epidemic, six days after the drug left Nenana.
1943 - Nazi troops surrendered to the Soviets in the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II.
1971 - Idi Amin became dictator of Uganda.
1979 - Punk rock musician Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols died of a drug overdose at age 21.
1980 - NBC News reported the FBI had conducted a sting operation targeting members of Congress using phone Arab businessmen in what became known as the "Abscam" scandal.
1988 - President Ronald Reagan pressed his case for additional aid to the Nicaraguan Contras a day ahead of a vote by the House of Representatives. (The three major TV broadcast networks declined to carry the speech, which was covered by CNN; a divided House voted to reject Reagan's request for $36.2 million in new aid.)
1990 - South African President F.W. de Klerk lifted a ban on the African National Congress and promised to free Nelson Mandela.
2002 - Inside the World Economic Forum in New York, foreign economic leaders criticized the United States for protectionist policies while outside, thousands of protesters demonstrated against global capitalism.
2003 - Czech Republic President Vaclav Havel stepped down after 13 years.
2006 - House Republicans elected John Boehner of Ohio as their new majority leader to replace the indicted Tom DeLay.
2007 - The world's leading climate scientists said global warming has begun, is "very likely" caused by humans, and will be unstoppable for centuries.
2008 - French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former supermodel Carla Bruni were married at the presidential Elysee Palace.
2009 - Former first lady and U.S. senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was sworn in as U.S. secretary of state.
2011 - Supporters of President Hosni Mubarak charged into Cairo's central square on horses and camels brandishing whips while others rained firebombs from rooftops in what appeared to be an orchestrated assault against protesters trying to topple Egypt's leader of 30 years.
2014 - Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman was found dead at age 46 in his New York City apartment from a combination of heroin, cocaine and other drugs.
2016 - Health officials reported that a person in Texas had become infected with the Zika virus through sex in the first case of the illness being transmitted within the United States.
2020 - The Philippines reported that a 44-year-old Chinese man from Wuhan had died in a Manila hospital from the new coronavirus; it was the first death from the virus to be recorded outside of China. The United States recorded its ninth known case, a woman in the San Francisco area who’d recently traveled to Wuhan. Authorities in parts of China extended the Lunar New Year holiday break well into February to try to keep people at home.
Birthdays
24 - Ellie Bamber (actress)
31 - Lauren Bushnell Lane (reality star)
33 - Natalie Halcro (model)
33 - Zosia Mamet (actress)
35 - Blaine Larsen (country singer)
35 - Gemma Arterton (actress)
40 - Emily Rose (actress)
43 - Rich Sommer (actor)
44 - Shakira (singer)
45 - Lori Beth Denberg (actress)
48 - Marissa Jaret Winokur (actress)
51 - Jennifer Westfeldt (actress)
55 - Adam Ferrara (actor/comedian)
59 - Michael T. Weiss (actor)
66 - Kim Zimmer (actress)
66 - Michael Talbott (actor)
67 - Christie Brinkley (model)
68 - Duane Chapman (reality star)
72 - Ross Valory (musician)
72 - Brent Spiner (actor)
72 - Jack McGee (actor)
75 - Howard Bellamy (country singer)
77 - Bo Hopkins (actor)
84 - Tom Smothers (comedian)
========================================
Today in Sports History - February 2
1876 - The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs was formed in New York with charter teams located in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Hartford, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia and St. Louis.
1943 - After experimenting with a vest, the Chicago Cubs return to their original uniforms.
1954 - Bevo Francis of Rio Grande College scores 113 points in a basketball game.
1959 - Vince Lombardi signs a five year contract to coach the Green Bay Packers.
1964 - Red Faber, Burleigh Grimes, Tim Keefe, Heinie Manush, John Montgomery Ward and Miller Huggins are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1967 - The American Basketball Association was formed by representatives of the NBA.
1970 - Pete Maravich becomes the first player in NCAA history to score 3,000 career points.
1975 - Dorothy Hamil wins the U.S. ladies figure skating championship.
1976 - Roger Connor, Fred Lindstrom and Cal Hubbard are elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
1985 - Brian Boitano wins the U.S. men's figure skating championship.
1997 - Scott Bowman becomes the first coach in NHL history to win 1,000 games.
2014 - The Seattle Seahawks defeat the Denver Broncos 42-8 in East Rutherford, New Jersey to win Super Bowl XLVIII. Seattle linebacker Malcolm Smith is named MVP.
2020 - Quarterback Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to three touchdowns over the final 6 minutes, 13 seconds to lift them to a 31-20 victory over the San Francisco 49ers to win Super Bowl LIV in Miami. Mahomes is named MVP. The win was the second Super Bowl title for the Chiefs and their first in 50 years (Super Bowl IV, 1970).
2020 - Novak Djokovic won his eighth Australian Open and 17th Grand Slam singles championship.