1557 – First Russian Embassy established in London
1594 – Henri IV crowned king of France
1814 – Ludwig von Beethoven’s 8th Symphony in F, premieres
1827 – First Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans
1854 – Composer Robert Schumann saved from suicide attempt in Rhine
1860 – Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
1933 – Nazis set fire to German parliament, blame it on Communists
1945 – Lebanon declares Independence.
1956 – Female suffrage in Egypt
1964 – The government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
1973 – American Indian Movement occupy Wounded Knee in South Dakota
1974 – “People” magazine begins sales
1976 – Final meeting between Mao tse Tung and Richard Nixon
1981 – Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder record “Ebony & Ivory”
click to listen
1987 – Donald Regan resigned as White House chief of staff
1988 – Gulfstream G-IV goes around the world 36:08:34
2013 – Pope Benedict XVI presents his farewell address to Vatican City
Birthdays
1779 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English soap and alkali manufacturer (d. 1842)
1807 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Portland Maine, poet (Hiawatha)
1891 – David Sarnoff, US, radio/TV pioneer/CEO (RCA)
1891 – Anne Samson, oldest-ever nun documented (d. 2004)
1902 – John Steinbeck, Salinas California, author (Grapes of Wrath-Nobel 1962)
1932 – Elizabeth Taylor, London, English-American actress (Father of the Bride, Butterfield 8, Cleopatra) (d. 2011)
1934 – Ralph Nader, Winsted Conn, (Unsafe at Any Speed)
Deaths
1892 – Louis Vuitton, French luggage maker (b. 1821)
1960 – Adriano Olivetti, Italian engineer/manufacturer, dies at 58
1993 – Lillian Gish, US actress (Birth of a Nation), dies at 96
2013 – Van Cliburn, American pianist, dies at 78
