^B{^#!16!27 February^N! Feast day of St Alnoth, St Herefrith of Louth, and St Leander of Seville.
^B{1557^B} The first Russian Embassy opened in London, England; exactly one year later, the first trade mission arrived. ^B{1879^B} US chemists Ira Remsen and Constantine Fahlberg announced their discovery of saccharin. ^B{1881^B} British troops were defeated by the Boers at Majuba Hill, Transvaal. ^B{1933^B} The German Reichstag (parliament building) in Berlin was destroyed by fire; it is believed that the Nazis were responsible, though they blamed the Communists. ^B{1948^B} The Communist Party seized power in Czechoslovakia. ^B{1991^B} The Gulf War came to an end with the liberation of Kuwait and the retreat of Iraqi forces.
^B{^I{^#!14!Born ^N}Constantine, Roman emperor, ^B{AD 274^B}; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, US poet, ^B{1807^B}; Rudolf Steiner, Austrian philosopher,^B{ 1861^B}; John Steinbeck US novelist, ^B{1902^B}; Lawrence Durrell, English poet and novelist, ^B{1912^B}; Elizabeth Taylor, English-born US film actress, ^B{1932^B}.
^B{^I{^#!14!Died ^N}John Evelyn, English diarist, ^B{1706^B}; Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and chemist, ^B{1887^B}; Ivan Pavlov, Russian psychologist, ^B{1936^B}; Peter Behrens, German architect, ^B{1940^B}; Henry Cabot Lodge, US politician and diplomat, ^B{1985^B}; Lilian Gish, US film actress, ^B{1993^B}.
