February 2

Ground Hog Day

Birthdays:

1954 ~ Christie Brinkley, American model.

1947 ~ Farrah Fawcett (d. 2009), American actress.

1931 ~ Judith Viorst, American author.

1927 ~ Stan Getz (d. 1991), American musician.

1926 ~ Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, French president.

1923 ~ Liz Smith, American gossip columnist.

1915 ~ Abba Eban (d. 2002), Israeli diplomat.

1912 ~ Millvina Dean (d. 2009), last survivor of the RMS Titanic.

1905 ~ Ayn Rand (d. 1982), Russian-born American author and philosopher, best known for her novels, Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead.

1897 ~ Howard Johnson (d. 1972), American hotelier and founder of the Howard Johnson hotel and restaurant chain.

1882 ~ James Joyce (d. 1941), Irish author.

1861 ~ Solomon Guggenheim (d. 1949), American art collector and philanthropist.

1786 ~ Jacques Philippe Marie Binet (d. 1856), French mathematician.

1650 ~ Nell Gwynne (d. 1687), English actress and long-time mistress of King Charles II of England.

1649 ~ Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730).

1522 ~ Lodovico Ferrari (d. 1565), Italian mathematician.

1455 ~ King John of Denmark (d. 1513).

1208 ~ King James I of Aragon (d. 1276).

Events that Changed the World:

1971 ~ Idi Amin became leader and dictator of Uganda.

1935 ~ The first polygraph machine was tested.

1925 ~ Dog sleds reached Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum.  This inspired the Iditarod races.

1922 ~ James Joyce published his novel, Ulysses.

1913 ~ Grand Central Terminal was opened in New York City.

1901 ~ The funeral for Queen Victoria was conducted.

1899 ~ The Australian Premiers’ Conference, which was held in Melbourne, decided to locate Australia’s capital city to Canberra.

1887 ~ The first Groundhog Day was observed in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

1876 ~ The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of the Major League Baseball was formed.

1848 ~ The first wave of Chinese immigrants arrived in San Francisco, California to assisted with the California Gold Rush.

1653 ~ The city of New Amsterdam, alter renamed New York City, was incorporated.

1536 ~ The city of Buenos Aries, Argentina was founded by Pedro de Mendoza.

1032 ~ Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor became King of Burgundy.

962 ~ Otto I was crown Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John XII.

Good-byes:

1996 ~ Gene Kelly (b. 1912), American dancer and actor.

1992 ~ Bert Parks (b. 1914), American television host and long-time emcee for the Miss America pageants.

1980 ~ William Howard Stein (b. 1911), American biochemist and recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

1980 ~ Hanna Rovina (b. 1893), Israeli actress.

1970 ~ Sid Vicious (né John Simon Ritchie, b. 1957), English musician and frontman for the Sex Pistols.  He died from a drug overdose that was possibly a suicide.

1970 ~ Bertrand Russell (b. 1872), English mathematician, writer and philosopher.  He was the recipient of the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature.

1969 ~ Boris Karloff (d. 1887), English actor best known for his characters in horror films.

1950 ~ Constantin Cathathéodory (b. 1873), Greek mathematician.

1918 ~ John L. Sullivan (b. 1858), American heavyweight boxer.

1904 ~ William C. Whitney (b. 1841), American financier.

1769 ~ Pope Clement XIII (b. 1689).

1768 ~ Robert Smith (b. 1689) English mathematician.

1704 ~ Guillaume François Antoine, Marquis de l’Hôpital (b. 1661), French mathematician.

1461 ~ Owen Tudor, (b.~ 1400), Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty of England.