# What happened on February 14 in history?

**Date:** February 14  
**Events recorded:** 68  
**Years spanned:** 748 – 2020  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/february/14/

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## Featured Event

**2018** — A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 17 injuries.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkland_high_school_shooting)

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## Events on this date

- **748** — Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbasid_revolution))
- **763** — The death of Ibrahim ibn Abdallah marks the end of the Alid revolt of 762–763. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibrahim_ibn_Abdallah))
- **842** — Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_the_Bald))
- **1014** — Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and of Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_VIII))
- **1130** — The troubled 1130 papal election exposes a rift within the College of Cardinals. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1130_papal_election))
- **1349** — Strasbourg massacre: Several thousand Jews are burned to death by mobs while the remaining Jews are forcibly removed from Strasbourg after being accused of causing the Black Death. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strasbourg_massacre))
- **1530** — Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrow and execute Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquistador))
- **1556** — Having been declared a heretic and laicized by Pope Paul IV on 4 December 1555, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is publicly defrocked at Christ Church Cathedral. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heresy))
- **1556** — Coronation of Akbar as ruler of the Mughal Empire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akbar))
- **1613** — Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate at Whitehall Palace, London. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wedding_of_Frederick_V_of_the_Palatinate_and_Princess_Elizabeth))
- **1655** — The Mapuches launch coordinated attacks against the Spanish in Chile beginning the Mapuche uprising of 1655. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapuche))
- **1778** — The United States flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States))
- **1779** — American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Kettle Creek is fought in Georgia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War))
- **1779** — James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_James_Cook))
- **1797** — French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Cape St. Vincent: John Jervis, (later 1st Earl of St Vincent) and Horatio Nelson (later 1st Viscount Nelson) lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolutionary_Wars))
- **1804** — Karađorđe leads the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kara%C4%91or%C4%91e))
- **1831** — Ras Marye of Yejju marches into Tigray and defeats and kills Dejazmach Sabagadis in the Battle of Debre Abbay. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marye_of_Yejju))
- **1835** — The original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in the Latter Day Saint movement, is formed in Kirtland, Ohio. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quorum_of_the_Twelve))
- **1849** — In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_K._Polk))
- **1852** — Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, is founded in London. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Ormond_Street_Hospital))
- **1855** — Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas))
- **1859** — Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oregon))
- **1876** — Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Graham_Bell))
- **1879** — The War of the Pacific breaks out when the Chilean Army occupies the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Pacific))
- **1899** — Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voting_machine))
- **1900** — The British Army begins the Battle of the Tugela Heights in an effort to lift the Siege of Ladysmith. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Army))
- **1903** — The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Department_of_Commerce_and_Labor))
- **1912** — Arizona is admitted as the 48th and the last contiguous U.S. state. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arizona))
- **1912** — The U.S. Navy commissions its first class of diesel-powered submarines. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy))
- **1918** — Soviet Russia adopts the Gregorian calendar. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Soviet_Federative_Socialist_Republic))
- **1919** — The Polish–Soviet War begins. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polish%E2%80%93Soviet_War))
- **1920** — The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Women_Voters))
- **1924** — The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM))
- **1929** — Saint Valentine's Day Massacre: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone's gang, are murdered in Chicago. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Valentine's_Day_Massacre))
- **1939** — World War II: German battleship Bismarck is launched. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **1942** — World War II: Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pasir_Panjang))
- **1943** — World War II: Rostov-on-Don, Russia is liberated. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rostov-on-Don))
- **1943** — World War II: Tunisia Campaign: General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim's Fifth Panzer Army launches a counter-attack against Allied positions in Tunisia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisian_campaign))
- **1944** — World War II: In the action of 14 February 1944, a Royal Navy submarine sinks a German-controlled Italian Regia Marina submarine in the Strait of Malacca. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Action_of_14_February_1944))
- **1945** — World War II: On the first day of the bombing of Dresden, the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces begin fire-bombing Dresden. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Dresden))
- **1945** — World War II: Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague, Czechoslovakia by a United States Army Air Forces squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviet Red Army's Vistula–Oder Offensive. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Prague))
- **1945** — World War II: Mostar is liberated by Yugoslav partisans ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mostar))
- **1945** — President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy, officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt))
- **1946** — The Bank of England is nationalized. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_of_England))
- **1947** — The act abolishing all noble ranks and related styles comes into force in Hungary. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_IV_of_1947_regarding_the_abolition_of_certain_titles_and_ranks))
- **1949** — The Knesset (parliament of Israel) convenes for the first time. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knesset))
- **1949** — The Asbestos Strike begins in Canada. The strike marks the beginning of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asbestos_strike))
- **1954** — First Indochina War - small French garrison at Đắk Đoa is overrun by the Viet Minh after a week's siege. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Indochina_War))
- **1961** — Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_chemical_element_discoveries))
- **1979** — In Kabul, Setami Milli militants kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabul))
- **1983** — United American Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee collapses. Its president, Jake Butcher, is later convicted of fraud. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knoxville%2C_Tennessee))
- **1989** — Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the Indian government for damages it caused in the 1984 Bhopal disaster. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Carbide))
- **1989** — Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran))
- **1990** — Ninety-two people are killed when Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashes in Bangalore, India. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Airlines_Flight_605))
- **1990** — The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth that later becomes famous as Pale Blue Dot. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_1))
- **1998** — An oil tanker train collides with a freight train in Yaoundé, Cameroon, spilling fuel oil. One person scavenging the oil created a massive explosion which killed 120. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_freight_transport))
- **2000** — The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NEAR_Shoemaker))
- **2003** — Iraq disarmament crisis: UNMOVIC Executive Chairman Hans Blix reports to the United Nations Security Council that disarmament inspectors have found no weapons of mass destruction in Ba'athist Iraq. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_disarmament_crisis))
- **2004** — In a suburb of Moscow, Russia, the roof of the Transvaal water park collapses, killing more than 28 people, and wounding 193 others. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow))
- **2005** — In Beirut, 23 people, including former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, are killed when the equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT is detonated while Hariri's motorcade drives through the city. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beirut))
- **2005** — Seven people are killed and 151 wounded in a series of bombings by suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants that hit Makati, Davao City, and General Santos, all in the Philippines. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda))
- **2005** — YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/YouTube))
- **2008** — Northern Illinois University shooting: A gunman opens fire in a lecture hall of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb County, Illinois, resulting in six fatalities (including the gunman) and 21 injuries. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Northern_Illinois_University_shooting))
- **2011** — As a part of Arab Spring, the Bahraini uprising begins with a 'Day of Rage'. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring))
- **2018** — Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Zuma))
- **2018** — A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 17 injuries. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkland_high_school_shooting))
- **2019** — Pulwama attack takes place in Lethpora in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and a suicide bomber were killed and 35 were injured. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Pulwama_attack))
- **2020** — At least 22 people are killed in an attack on a village in Northwest Region, Cameroon. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngarbuh_massacre))

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## Notable births on February 14

- **2002** — **Jaxon Smith-Njigba** — American football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaxon_Smith-Njigba))
- **2000** — **Gabriel Moreno** — Venezuelan baseball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Moreno))
- **1999** — **Tyler Adams** — American soccer player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Adams))
- **1997** — **Jaehyun** — South Korean singer and actor ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaehyun))
- **1997** — **Breel Embolo** — Swiss footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breel_Embolo))
- **1996** — **Nikolaj Ehlers** — Danish ice hockey player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolaj_Ehlers))
- **1996** — **Poasa Faamausili** — New Zealand rugby league player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poasa_Faamausili))
- **1996** — **Lucas Hernandez** — French footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucas_Hernandez))
- **1993** — **Jadeveon Clowney** — American football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jadeveon_Clowney))
- **1993** — **Alberto Rosende** — American actor and singer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Rosende))

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## Notable deaths on February 14

- **2026** — **Tom Noonan** — American actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1951) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Noonan))
- **2021** — **Carlos Menem** — Argentine former president, lawyer, and statesman (born 1930) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Menem))
- **2021** — **William Meninger** — American Trappist monk and a principal developer of Centering Prayer (born 1932) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Meninger))
- **2019** — **Andrea Levy** — English author (born 1956) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_Levy))
- **2018** — **Ruud Lubbers** — Dutch politician and diplomat, Prime Minister and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (born 1939) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruud_Lubbers))
- **2018** — **Morgan Tsvangirai** — 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (born 1952) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_Tsvangirai))
- **2016** — **Eric Lubbock** — 4th Baron Avebury, English lieutenant, engineer, and politician (born 1928) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Lubbock%2C_4th_Baron_Avebury))
- **2016** — **Steven Stucky** — American composer and academic (born 1949) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Stucky))
- **2015** — **Louis Jourdan** — French-American actor and singer (born 1921) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Jourdan))
- **2015** — **Philip Levine** — American poet and academic (born 1928) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Levine_(poet)))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/february/14/](https://thisday.info/events/february/14/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.