History Events on February 02

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men's singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.

#Tennis

Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.

#Pedro_de_Mendoza

In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.

#Punxsutawney,_Pennsylvania

Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established.

#Terra_Mariana

Leonarde Keeler administers polygraph tests to two murder suspects, the first time polygraph evidence was admitted in U.S. courts.

#Leonarde_Keeler

The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran.

#Ramsar_Convention

Nine experienced ski hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union die under mysterious circumstances.

#Ural_Mountains

World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last German troops in the city.

#World_War_II

Funeral of Queen Victoria.

#Queen_Victoria

Mexican-American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.

#Mexican-American_War

New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.

#New_Amsterdam

Battle of Inverlochy.

#Battle_of_Inverlochy_(1645)

Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer's Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England.

#Wars_of_the_Roses

Pro-Imperial forces captured Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burned it to the ground.

#Fall_of_Osaka_Castle

Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.

#Apartheid

Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.

#Idi_Amin

The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.

#Melbourne

Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.

#Kashmir

The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 146-165 dead.

#MV_Rabaul_Queen

Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.

#Federal_Bureau_of_Investigation

Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama.

#1982_Hama_massacre

France occupies Memel.

#Klaip?da

Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe's adventure book Robinson Crusoe.

#Alexander_Selkirk

The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda.

#Battle_of_Lincoln_(1141)

The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.

#Treaty_of_Tartu_(Russian-Estonian)

Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of "Roman law".

#Alaric_II

Soviet-Afghan War: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.

#Soviet-Afghan_War

Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy.

#Conrad_II,_Holy_Roman_Emperor

Brigham Young declares war on Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah.

#Brigham_Young

After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.

#People_Power_Revolution

Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.

#Grand_Central_Terminal

Ulysses by James Joyce is published.

#Ulysses_(novel)

Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.

#1925_serum_run_to_Nome

Police officer Filippo Raciti is killed when a clash breaks out in the Sicily derby between Catania and Palermo, in the Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. This event led to major changes in stadium regulations in Italy.

The Government of Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage.

First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.

The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.

The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.

The Paris Film Congress opens. An attempt by European producers to form an equivalent to the MPCC cartel in the United States.

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.

Nine leaders of the Transylvanian peasant revolt are executed at Torda.

Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.

Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.