February 2
From Metapedia
[edit] Events
- 1653 - New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
- 1790 - The U.S. Supreme Court convenes for the first time.
- 1848 - Mexican-American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed, ending the war.
- 1848 - California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese emigrants seeking fortune in California's gold country arrives in San Francisco, California.
- 1878 - Greece declares war on Turkey.
- 1943 - World War II: The last German forces surrender to the Soviets after the Battle of Stalingrad.
- 1980 - Reports surface that FBI personnel were targeting members of the U.S. Congress in the Abscam sting operation.
- 1989 - Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet Union armored column leaves Kabul, ending nine years of military occupation.
[edit] Births
- 1803 - Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (d. 1862)
- 1882 - James Joyce, Irish author (d. 1941)
- 1905 - Ayn Rand, Russian-Jewish author and philosopher (d. 1982)
[edit] Deaths
- 1970 - Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, English mathematician, writer and philosopher, Nobel laureate (b. 1872)
- 2005 - Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)
