February 3

Events
Up to 1900
1112 - Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona and Douce I, Countess of Provence marry, uniting the fortunes of the two states.
1377 - Over 2,000 people in Cesena, Italy are killed by Papal troops.
1488 - Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal lands at Mossel Bay in present-day South Africa, having become the first European to travel round the Cape of Good Hope.
1690 - The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in America.
1781 - British forces seize the Dutch-owned Caribbean island of Sint Eustatius.
1783 - American Revolutionary War: Spain recognizes United States independence.
1809 - Illinois Territory is created.
1815 - The first commercial cheese factory is founded (Switzerland).
1830 - Greece's sovereignty is confirmed by the London Protocol.
1870 - The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed.
1900 - Governor of Kentucky William Goebel dies four days after being shot, and three days after being sworn in to office.
1901 2000
1908 - The Panathinaikos Sports Club is founded in Athens.
1913 - The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified. It lets the Federal government create and collect income tax.
1916 - Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Canada burn down.
1917 - World War I: The United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany a day after Germany announces a new policy of submarine warfare.
1918 - The Twin Peaks Tunnel in San Francisco begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world, at 3,633 metres long.
1930 - The Communist Party of Vietnam is founded in Kowloon, then-British Hong Kong.
1931 - A magnitude 7.8 earthquake hits New Zealand's North Island, mainly the cities of Napier and Hastings.
1943 - The USAT Dorchester is sunk by a German U-boat, killing 672 of the 902 men on board.
1944 - United States troops capture the Marshall Islands.
1945 - World War II: Soviet Union agrees to enter the Pacific Theatre fighting against Japan.
1947 - North America's lowest temperature is recorded in Snag, Yukon, Canada.
1952 - The earliest known tropical storm makes landfall in South Florida.
1955 - Czechoslovakia declares an end to hostilities with Germany.
1958 - The Benelux Economic Union is formed.
1959 - An airplane crash kills musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper. This date becomes known as "The Day The Music Died".
1960 - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Harold Macmillan makes a speech in which he says that "winds of change" are blowing across the African continent.
1961 - Start of the Angolan War of Independence.
1966 - The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft is launched.
1967 - In Melbourne, Ronald Ryan becomes the last person to be executed in Australia.
1969 - In Cairo, Yasser Arafat is appointed Palestinian Liberation Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress.
1972 - The first Winter Olympics to be held in Asia open in Sapporo, Japan.
1972 - Until February 9, a blizzard in Iran kills around 4,000 people.
1976 - In Mozambique, the capital city changes its name from Lourenco Marques to Maputo.
1981 - Gro Harlem Brundtland is elected Prime Minister of Norway.
1988 - The United States House of Representatives rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to aid Nicaraguan Contras.
1989 - In Paraguay, a coup removes Alfredo Stroessner from power.
1994 - Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off on mission STS-60.
1995 - Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot a space shuttle.
1996 - An earthquake of magnitude 7 hits Yunnan Province, China, killing over 300 people.
1998 - In Northern Italy 20 people die in a cable car disaster caused by a low-flying United States Military plane.
1998 - Karla Faye Tucker is executed in Texas, as the first woman to be executed in the US since 1984.
From 2001
2002 - Super Bowl XXXVI: The New England Patriots defeat the St. Louis Rams, 20-17, to win their first Super Bowl championship.
2006 - The Egyptian al-Salam Boccaccio ferry sinks in the Red Sea, killing around 1,000 people.
2007 - A bombing at a market in Baghdad kills 135 people.
2008 - Super Bowl XLII: The New York Giants defeat the previously undefeated New England Patriots, 17-14, to win their third Super Bowl championship and prevent them from becoming the first 19-0 team.
2010 - The sculpture L'homme qui marche by Alberto Giacometti is sold at an auction in London for PS 65 million.
2011 - Tropical Cyclone Yasi hits Queensland, Australia.
2013 - Super Bowl XLVII is interrupted by a power failure just after half time, with the Baltimore Ravens leading 28-6 over the San Francisco 49ers. After over half an hour, play gets back underway. The Baltimore Ravens later go on to win the game.
2015 - Sergio Mattarella becomes President of Italy.
2015 - The House of Commons of the United Kingdom, by a majority, supports the introduction of "Three-person babies". After being passed by the House of Lords, the UK would be the first country to introduce this.
2015 - It is announced that a second novel by Harper Lee, who wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, is to be published in July, called Go Set a Watchman.
Births
Up to 1900
995 - William IV, Duke of Aquitaine (d. 1037)
1338 - Jeanne de Bourbon, Queen of France (d. 1378)
1654 - Pietro Antonio Fiocco, Italian composer (d. 1714)
1677 - Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect (d. 1723)
1689 - Blas de Lozo, Spanish admiral (d. 1741)
1721 - Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (d. 1773)
1736 - Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Austrian composer (d. 1809)
1747 - Samuel Osgood, American patriot (d. 1813)
1761 - Dorothea von Medem, German countess (d. 1821)
1763 - Caroline von Wolzogen, German writer (d. 1847)
1774 - Karl Mollweide, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1825)
1777 - John Cheyne, British physician, surgeon and author (d. 1836)
1790 - Gideon Mantell, British geologist and physician (d. 1852)
1795 - Antonio Jose de Sucre, South American independence leader (d. 1830)
1806 - Ansel Briggs, 1st Governor of Iowa (d. 1881)
1807 - Joseph E. Johnston, American Confederate general (d. 1891)
1807 - Arthur Wellesley, 2nd Duke of Wellington, British general (d. 1884)
1806 - Ansel Briggs, American politician, 6th Governor of Iowa (d. 1881)
1808 - Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar of Eisenach, Empress of Prussia (d. 1877)
1809 - Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (d. 1847)
1811 - Horace Greeley, American journalist, editor, and publisher (d. 1872)
1817 - Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse, French geologist and mineralogist (d. 1881)
1821 - Elizabeth Blackwell, British-American physician (d. 1910)
1823 - Stephen Fullerton Baird, American naturalist (d. 1887)
1824 - Ranald MacDonald, American explorer and educator (d. 1910)
1826 - Walter Bagehot, British journalist and businessman (d. 1877)
1830 - Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1903)
1842 - Sidney Lanier, American poet and composer (d. 1881)
1846 - Judson Harmon, Governor of Ohio and United States Attorney General (d. 1927)
1854 - Sergei Korsahoff, Russian neuropsychiatrist (d. 1900)
1857 - Giuseppe Moretti, Italian sculptor (d. 1935)
1859 - Hugo Junkers, German aircraft designer (d. 1935)
1870 - Ada Negri, Italian actress (d. 1945)
1874 - Gertrude Stein, American writer and publicist (d. 1946)
1878 - Gordon Coates, 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1943)
1887 - Georg Trakl, Austrian writer (d. 1914)
1889 - Risto Ryti, 5th President of Finland (d. 1956)
1892 - Juan Negrin, Spanish politician (d. 1956)
1894 - Norman Rockwell, American artist, illustrator (d. 1978)
1898 - Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (d. 1976)
1898 - Lil Hardin Armstrong, American jazz musician (d. 1971)
1899 - Lao She, Chinese author and playwright (d. 1966)
1899 - Joao Cafe Filho, President of Brazil (d. 1970)
1901 1950
1903 - Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, Scottish aviator (d. 1973)
1907 - James A. Michener, American writer (d. 1997)
1909 - Simone Weil, French philosopher (d. 1943)
1911 - Jehan Alain, French composer (d. 1940)
1911 - Robert Earl Jones, American actor (d. 2006)
1912 - Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist (d. 2006)
1914 - Mary Carlisle, American actress
1915 - Stuart Archer, British recipient of the George Cross (d. 2015)
1915 - Boris Paichadze, Georgian footballer (d. 1990)
1918 - Joey Bishop, American entertainer (d. 2007)
1920 - Henry Heimlich, American physician (d. 2016)
1924 - Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Hohenzollern, German aristocrat (d. 2010)
1925 - Leon Schlumpf, Swiss Federal Councillor (d. 2012)
1925 - Shelley Berman, American actor, comedian and writer (d. 2017)
1926 - Hans-Jochen Vogel, German politician
1927 - Val Doonican, Irish singer and entertainer (d. 2015)
1927 - Blas Ople, Filipino politician (d. 2003)
1927 - Kenneth Anger, American filmmaker and writer
1927 - Indra Bahadur Rai, Indian writer (d. 2018)
1927 - Sarah Jimenez, Mexican artist (d. 2017)
1928 - Ingemar Haraldsson, Swedish footballer (d. 2004)
1932 - Michael Martin, American philosopher (d. 2015)
1932 - Stuart Hall, Jamaican-British cultural theorist and sociologist (d. 2014)
1933 - Paul Sarbanes, American politician (d. 2020)
1935 - Johnny "Guitar" Watson, American musician (d. 1996)
1937 - Jacques Barrot, French politician (d. 2014)
1938 - Emile Griffith, American boxer (d. 2013)
1939 - Michael Cimino, American movie director (d. 2016)
1943 - Blythe Danner, American actress
1943 - Dennis Edwards, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 2018)
1943 - Shawn Philipps, American guitarist, singer and songwriter
1947 - Dave Davies, English musician (The Kinks)
1947 - Paul Auster, American writer
1948 - Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, East Timorese bishop and Nobel Peace Prize winner
1948 - Henning Mankell, Swedish writer (d. 2015)
1950 - Morgan Fairchild, American actress
1951 1975
1951 - Eugenijus Riabovas, Lithuanian football manager
1951 - Blaise Compaore, former President of Burkina Faso
1954 - Tiger Williams, Canadian ice hockey player
1955 - Stephen Euin Cobb, American writer
1955 - Bruno Pezzey, Austrian footballer (d. 1994)
1955 - Kirsty Wark, Scottish broadcast journalist
1956 - Nathan Lane, American actor
1956 - Lee Ranaldo, American musician
1958 - Joe F. Edwards, Jr., American basketball player
1959 - Lol Tolhurst, English musician (The Cure)
1959 - Fredric Lehne, American actor
1960 - Joachim Low, German football trainer
1961 - Jay Adams, American skateboarder (d. 2014)
1963 - Stefano Mei, Italian sportsperson (athletics)
1964 - Michael Rummenigge, German footballer
1965 - Maura Tierney, American actress
1966 - Franco Coraci, American movie director
1967 - Mixu Paatelainen, Finnish footballer and coach
1969 - Beau Biden, American attorney and politician (d. 2015)
1970 - Warwick Davis, British actor
1971 - Sarah Kane, British playwright (d. 1999)
1972 - Mart Poom, Estonian footballer
1975 - Brad Thorn, New Zealand rugby player
From 1976
1976 - Mathieu Dandenault, Canadian ice hockey player
1976 - Isla Fisher, Australian actress
1977 - Marek Zidlicky, Czech ice hockey player
1977 - Daddy Yankee, Puerto Rican singer
1978 - Joan Capdevila, Spanish footballer
1978 - Amal Clooney, Lebanese-British lawyer and activist
1978 - Eliza Schneider, American actress and singer
1980 - Kim E-Z, Korean singer
1981 - Alisa Reyes, American actress and singer
1982 - Jessica Harp, American singer
1982 - Bridget Regan, American actress
1983 - Gabriel Sargissian, Armenian chess player
1983 - Hillary Scott, American pornographic actress
1984 - Sara Carbonero, Spanish journalist
1985 - Sergei Kostitsyn, Belarussian ice hockey player
1986 - Kanako Yanagihara, Japanese actress, comedian and entertainer
1988 - Kyuhyun, South Korean singer
1988 - Gregory van der Wiel, Dutch footballer
1989 - Vania King, American tennis player
1990 - Sean Kingston, American singer
1990 - Sterling Moore, American football player
1991 - Glenn McCuen, American actor
1993 - Getter Jaani, Estonian actress and singer
1993 - Mark Bennett, Scottish rugby player
1995 - Tao Tsuchiya, Japanese actress, model and dancer
Deaths
Up to 1900
619 - Laurence of Canterbury, 2nd Archbishop of Canterbury
699 - Werburgh, English saint (b. 650)
995 - William IV, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
1014 - King Sweyn I of Denmark
1116 - King Coloman of Hungary (b. 1070)
1399 - John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (b. 1340)
1428 - Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shogun (b. 1386)
1451 - Murad II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1404)
1468 - Johannes Gutenberg, German publisher
1737 - Tommaso Ceva, Italian mathematician (b. 1648)
1820 - Emperor Gia Long of Vietnam (b. 1762)
1832 - George Crabbe, English naturalist (b. 1754)
1862 - Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (b. 1774)
1867 - Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied (b. 1782)
1874 - William Charles Lunalilo, King of Hawaii (b. 1835)
1889 - Belle Starr, American outlaw (b. 1848)
1900 - William Goebel, 34th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1856)
1901 2000
1908 - Ferdinand Meldahl, Danish architect (b. 1827)
1920 - Frank Brown, Governor of Maryland (b. 1846)
1921 - Colin Archer, Norwegian shipbuilder (b. 1832)
1922 - John Butler Yeats, Irish illustrator (b. 1839)
1924 - Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Peace Prize winner (b. 1856)
1929 - Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish scientist (b. 1878)
1935 - Hugo Junkers, German aircraft designer (b. 1859)
1937 - Marija Leiko, Latvian movie actress (b. 1887)
1944 - Yvette Guilbert, French cabaret singer (b. 1865)
1945 - Roland Freisler, Nazi official (b. 1893)
1948 - Louis J. Brann, Governor of Maine (b. 1876)
1951 - August Horch, German engineer (b. 1868)
1952 - Harold L. Ickes, American politician (b. 1874)
1955 - Vasili Blokhin, Soviet general chief executioner of almost 22 000 Poles in Katyn Forest (b. 1895) (suicide, February 3)
1956 - Johnny Claes, Belgian racing driver (b. 1916)
1959 - "Day the Music Died":
Buddy Holly, American singer (b. 1936)
Roger Peterson, American pilot (b. 1937)
Ritchie Valens, American musician (b. 1941)
The Big Bopper, American musician (b. 1930)
1960 - Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (b. 1921)
1961 - Anna May Wong, American actress (b. 1905)
1961 - William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, Governor-General of Australia (b. 1893)
1967 - Joe Meek, English record producer (b. 1929)
1969 - Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambique independence founder (b. 1920)
1969 - C. N. Annaduri, Indian politician, 7th Chief Minister of Madras State (b. 1909)
1975 - Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer (b. 1904)
1975 - William D. Coolidge, American physicist and inventor (b. 1873)
1985 - Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist (b. 1912)
1989 - John Cassavetes, American actor (b. 1929)
1989 - Lionel Newman, American movie music orchestra leader and composer (b. 1916)
1991 - Harry Ackerman, American television producer (b. 1912)
1997 - Bohumil Hrabal, Czech writer (b. 1914)
1998 - Karla Faye Tucker, American murderer (b. 1959)
2000 - Alla Rakha, Indian tabla player (b. 1919)
From 2001
2003 - Lana Clarkson, American actress (b. 1962)
2004 - Jason Raize, American actor (b. 1975)
2005 - Zurab Zhvania, Georgian politician (b. 1963)
2005 - Ernst Mayr, German biologist (b. 1904)
2006 - Al Lewis, American actor (b. 1923)
2006 - Romano Mussolini, Italian pianist and artist (b. 1927)
2011 - Edouard Glissant, French-Martinican poet (b. 1928)
2011 - Maria Schneider, French actress (b. 1952)
2012 - Ben Gazzara, American actor (b. 1930)
2012 - Samuel Youd, British writer (b. 1922)
2014 - Louise Brough, American tennis player (b. 1923)
2014 - Richard Bull, American actor (b. 1924)
2014 - Louan Gideon, American actress (b. 1955)
2014 - Joan Mondale, former Second Lady of the United States (b. 1930)
2014 - Bill Sinkin, American activist (b. 1913)
2015 - Frank Borghi, American soccer player (b. 1925)
2015 - Charlie Sifford, American golfer (b. 1922)
2015 - Martin Gilbert, British historian (b. 1936)
2015 - Mary Healy, American actress (b. 1918)
2016 - Mark Farren, Irish footballer (b. 1982)
2016 - Balram Jakhar, Indian politician (b. 1923)
2016 - Saulius Sondeckis, Lithuanian violinist and conductor (b. 1928)
2016 - Joe Alaskey, American voice actor (b. 1952)
2016 - Big Kap, American DJ (b. 1970)
2017 - Robert Dahlqvist, Swedish rock musician (b. 1976)
2017 - Yoshiro Hayashi, Japanese politician (b. 1927)
2017 - Hassan Joharchi, Iranian actor (b. 1968)
2017 - Lou Rowan, Australian cricket umpire (b. 1925)
2017 - Benny Perrin, American football player (b. 1959)
2017 - John M. Hayes, American scientist (b. 1940)
2017 - Richard Lyon, American admiral and politician (b. 1923)
2017 - Shumon Miura, Japanese author (b. 1926)
2018 - Michael Harner, American anthropologist and author (b. 1929)
2018 - Dirk Bernard Joseph Schouten, Dutch economist (b. 1923)
2018 - Hukum Singh, Indian politician (b. 1938)
2018 - Rolf Zacher, German actor (b. 1941)
Observances
Christian feast day: Saint Blaise (Roman Catholic Church)
Heroes' Day (Mozambique)
Veterans' Day (Thailand)
Setsubun (Japan)
February 03