EVENTS:
- 1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
- 1859 – Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state.
- 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray.
- 1899 – Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections.
- 1912 – Arizona is admitted as the 48th U.S. state.
- 1990 – Ninety-two people are killed when Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashes in Bangalore, India.
- 1990 – The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth later become famous as Pale Blue Dot.
- 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.
- 2015 – Two people are killed in shootings at a free-speech seminar and at a synagogue service in Copenhagen.
- 2018 – Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa.
- 2018 – Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in the Miami metropolitan area is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 15 injuries.
- 2019 – A suicide car bomb attack kills 46 Central Reserve Police Force personnel in Jammu and Kashmir, India
BIRTHS:
- 1819 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American journalist and politician, invented the typewriter (d. 1890)
- 1846 – Julian Scott, American soldier and drummer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1901)
- 1913 – Woody Hayes, American football player and coach (d. 1987)
- 1917 – Herbert A. Hauptman, American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
- 1933 – Madhubala, Indian actress and singer (d. 1969)
- 1939 – Eugene Fama, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1951 – Kevin Keegan, English footballer and manager
- 1952 – Sushma Swaraj, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs
- 1954 – Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (d. 2013)
- 1960 – Jim Kelly, American football player and businessman
- 1972 – Drew Bledsoe, American football player and coach
- 1972 – Jaan Tallinn, Estonian computer programmer, co-developed Skype
- 1973 – Steve McNair, American football player (d. 2009)
- 1977 – Darren Purse, English footballer
- 1982 – John Halls, English footballer and model
- 1987 – David Wheater, English footballer
HOLIDAYS and OBSERVANCES:
- Statehood Day (Arizona, United States)
- Statehood Day (Oregon, United States)
- Valentine’s Day (International)
