1014 – Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry II Holy Roman Emperor. 1076 – Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (for the 1st time). 1779 – Captain James Cook was killed by Hawaiians in a dispute over the theft of a cutter. 1797 – The Battle of Cape St Vincent: British fleet under Admiral Sir John Jervis defeats larger Spanish fleet under Admiral Don José de Córdoba y Ramos near Cape St. Vincent, Portugal. Captain Horatio Nelson distinguishes himself. 1876 – Alexander G. Bell & Elisha Gray apply separately for telephone patents Supreme Court eventually rules Bell rightful inventor. 1920 – With the establishment of women’s suffrage in the United States, Carrie Chapman Catt formed the League of Women Voters in Chicago. 1929 – St Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago, 7 gangsters killed, allegedly on Al Capone’s orders. 1946 – The first general-purpose high-speed electronic digital computer, the ENIAC (Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer), was demonstrated to the public by its creators, J. Presper Eckert, Jr., and John W. Mauchly. 1971 – Richard Nixon installs secret taping system in the White House. 2005 – Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim registered YouTube, a Web site for sharing videos; it would become hugely popular, with more than one billion unique users visiting the site every month.
Births & Deaths:1946 – American dancer, choreographer, and actor Gregory Hines, a major figure in the revitalization of tap dancing in the late 20th century, was born.
Sport:1984 – Britain’s Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean famously dominate the ice dancing at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; perform to Ravelâs Bolero in free dance routine; record 9-of-9 perfect scores for artistic impression. 2010 – Alexandre Bilodeau wins the Gold Medal in the freestyle skiing men’s moguls event, becoming the first Canadian to win a Gold Medal during a Canadian-hosted Olympics.
Music: 1982 – “Night of 100 Stars” takes place at NY’s Radio City Music Hall.
TV & Film: 1931 – The original “Dracula” film starring Bela Lugosi as the titular vampire, is released.
