1014 – Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry II Holy Roman Emperor
1076 – Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV (for the 1st time)
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
1929 – St Valentine’s Day Massacre in Chicago, 7 gangsters killed, allegedly on Al Capone’s orders
1945 – Second day of the bombing of Dresden by Allied air forces
1950 – USSR & China sign peace treaty
1971 – Richard Nixon installs secret taping system in the White House
1979 – In Kabul, Muslims kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police
1985 – Hostage CNN reporter Jeremy Levin is released in Beirut
2005 Lebanon’s former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri, is assassinated, prompting the country to fall into chaos.
2013 – The recession in the Eurozone economy deepens with a fall of 0.6% in GDP in the fourth quarter of 2012
2018 – South African President Jacob Zuma resigns from office
2018 – Ex-student Nikolas Cruz shoots and kills 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Florida, before being captured
2020 – More than 800,000 people displaced from their homes in north-western Syria amid assault by Syrian pro-government forces on last rebel stronghold
2020 – More than 800,000 people displaced from their homes in north-western Syria amid assault by Syrian pro-government forces on last rebel stronghold
Film & TV:
1931 – The original “Dracula” film starring Bela Lugosi as the titular vampire, is released
1963 – “8½” film directed by Federico Fellini, starring Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale, is released (Academy Awards Best Foreign Language Film 1964)
Music:
1982 – “Night of 100 Stars” takes place at NY’s Radio City Music Hall
1984 – Britain’s Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean famously dominate the ice dancing at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; perform to Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero” in free dance routine; record 9-of-9 perfect scores for artistic impression
Sport:
1984 – Britain’s Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean famously dominate the ice dancing at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics; perform to Maurice Ravel’s “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
