Home > February 3

In the Northern hemisphere, there are 88 days in winter (in a non-leap year). We are considered halfway through winter on February 3.

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1 Events

• 1451 - Murad II, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his son Mehmed II.
• 1488 - Bartholomeu Diaz of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa, becoming the first known EuropeFor the band of the same name, see Europe (band . Europe is a continent forming the westermost part of the Eurasian supercontinent. Europe is bounded to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the Mediterranean Sean to travel this far south.
• 1783Events February 3 American Revolutionary War: Spain recognizes United States independence. February 4 American Revolutionary War: Great Britain formally declares that it will cease hostilities with the United States of America. May 18 Saint John, New Brun - American Revolutionary WarThe American Revolutionary War ( 1775 1783), also known as the American War of Independence was a war fought between Great Britain and revolutionaries within thirteen of her North American colonies. The war, which eventually widened far beyond British Nor: SpainThe Kingdom of Spain is a country located in the southwest of Europe. It shares the Iberian Peninsula with Portugal, Gibraltar and Andorra. To the northeast, along the Pyrenees mountain range, it borders France and the tiny principality of Andorra. It inc recognizes United StatesThe United States of America also referred to as the United States U. America ¹ or the States is a federal republic in central North America, stretching from the Atlantic in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. It shares land borders with Canada in independence.
• 1787Events In Britain, Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp formed the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade with support from John Wesley, Josiah Wedgwood and others. January 11 William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus. Februa - Shays' RebellionShays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts in 1786 by small farmers over high debt and tax burdens. The rebellion started on August 29. The crisis leading to the rebellion was precipitated by credit problems incurred after the America is crushed, ending an uprising that would prompt negotiations that would result in the drafting of the Constitution of the United States.
• 1809 - Illinois Territory is created.
• 1815 - The first commercial cheese factory is founded ( Switzerland).
• 1867 - Prince Mutshuhito becomes Emperor Meiji of Japan.
• 1870 - The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution is passed.
• 1900 - Gubernatorial candidate William Goebels is assassinated in Frankfort, Kentucky. Former-Secretary of State Caleb Powers was later found guilty in a conspiracy to kill Goebels.
• 1913 - The 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect income tax.
• 1916 - Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Canada burn down.
• 1917 - World War I: The United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany a day after Germany announces a new policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
• 1918 - The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world (11,920 feet long).
• 1931 - 258 die in New Zealand's worst natural disaster, the Napier earthquake.
• 1941 - World War II: The Nazis forcibly restore Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy, France.
• 1944 - United States troops capture the Marshall Islands.
• 1945 - World War II: Soviet Union agrees to enter the Pacific Theatre conflict against Japan.
• 1947 - Percival Prattis becomes the first African American news correspondent allowed in the United States House and Senate press gallery.
• 1951 - Dick Button wins the American figure skating championship for the sixth time.
• 1952 - The earliest known tropical storm makes landfall in South Florida.
• 1959 - plane crash that kills Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and The Big Bopper. This date becomes known as " The Day The Music Died".
• 1966 - The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon.
• 1969 - In Cairo, Yasser Arafat is appointed Palestinian Liberation Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress .
• 1972 - The first Winter Olympics to be held in Asia open in Sapporo, Japan.
• 1984 - Space Shuttle Challenger is launched on the tenth space shuttle mission.
• 1988 - Iran-Contra Affair: The United States House of Representatives rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to aid Nicaraguan Contras.
• 1989 - After a stroke, P.W. Botha resigns party leadership and the presidency of South Africa.
• 1998 - Karla Faye Tucker is executed in Texas becoming the first woman executed in the United States since 1984.
• 1998 - A United States Marine Corps pilot causes the death of 20 skiers in Italy riding on a lift suspended by a cable snapped by the low-flying plane.
• 2002 - Super Bowl XXXVI: The New England Patriots defeat the St. Louis Rams, 20-17, to win their first Super Bowl championship.