^B{^#!16!8 February^N! Feast day of St Jerome Emiliani, St John of Matha, St Cuthman, St Stephen of Muret, St Elfleda, St Nicetius or Nizier of BesanĪon, and St Meingold.
^B{1725^B} Catherine I succeeded her husband, Peter the Great, to become Empress of Russia. ^B{1740^B} The 'Great Frost' of London, England, ended (began 25 Dec 1739). ^B{1920^B} Odessa was taken by Bolshevik forces. ^B{1924^B} The gas chamber was used in the US for the first time, in the Nevada State Prison. ^B{1964^B} Beatlemania gripped the US as the Fab 4 flew into Kennedy airport. ^B{1969^B} The Boeing 747, the world's largest commercial plane, made its first flight. ^B{1972^B} A concert by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention was canceled at the Albert Hall, London, UK, because some of their lyrics were considered obscene. ^B{1974^B} After 85 days in space, the US Skylab station returned to earth. ^B{1993^B} All 132 persons aboard an Iran Air passenger jet were killed minutes after take-off when the plane collided with a military aircraft.
^B{^I{^#!14!Born ^N}John Ruskin, English writer, artist, and art critic, ^B{1819^B}; William Sherman, US general, ^B{1820^B}; Jules Verne, French novelist, ^B{1828^B}; Lana Turner, US film actress, ^B{1920^B}; Jack Lemmon, US film actor, ^B{1925^B}; James Dean, US film actor, ^B{1931^B}.
^B{^I{^#!14!Died ^N}Mary, Queen of Scots, beheaded, ^B{1587^B}; R B Ballantyne, Scottish writer, ^B{1894^B}; Peter Alexeivich Kropotkin, Russian anarchist, ^B{1921^B}; William Bateson, English biologist, ^B{1926^B}; Max Liebermann, German painter and etcher, ^B{1935^B}; Del Shannon, US pop singer, ^B{1990^B}.
