Holidays
St. Valentine's Day
A day of romance. Valentine's Day originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine.
One early tradition tells the story of Saint Valentine of Rome who was imprisoned for ministering to Christians persecuted under the Roman Empire in the third century, and restored sight to the blind daughter of his jailer. An 18th-century embellishment to the legend claims he wrote the jailer's daughter a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell before his execution.
Valentine's Day became associated with romantic love in the 14th and 15th centuries associating it with the "lovebirds" of early spring. In 18th-century England, it grew into an occasion for couples to express their love by presenting flowers and confectionery, and sending cards known as "valentines".
What Happened On
Walter Cronkite Announces His Retirement
February 14, 1980
CBS anchorman Walter Cronkite announces his retirement. "And that's the way it is…"
At the time, CBS had a policy of mandatory retirement by age 65, and Cronkite would turn 65 the following year. His last day in the anchor chair at the CBS Evening News was on March 6, 1981. He had been on the show since 1962.
Cronkite became known as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in a public opinion poll.
First Tarzan Film
February 14, 1918
The first movie featuring Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan character, Tarzan of the Apes, is released. It starred Gordon Griffith as Tarzan as a child, Elmo Lincoln as adult Tarzan, and Enid Markey as Jane, making them the first to play these characters in film.
USS E-1 (SS-24)
USS E-1 (SS-24)
First U.S. Diesel Submarine
February 14, 1912
The first U.S. diesel-powered submarine, USS E-1 (SS-24) is commissioned, in Groton, Connecticut. She had a top speed of 13.5 kn (15.5 mph; 25.0 km/h) surfaced and 11.5 kn (13.2 mph; 21.3 km/h) submerged.
In 1916, she became the first U.S. submarine to cross the Atlantic.
Telephone Battle
February 14, 1876
Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray both file a patent for the telephone on the same day. A long legal battle ensued which Bell ultimately won (1888).
Oldest Photograph of a U.S. President Taken While in Office
February 14, 1849
James K. Polk (U.S. President, 1845-49) has his photograph taken. This is the oldest existing photograph taken of a U.S. President while they were in office.
William Henry Harrison was the first U.S. president photographed while in office, posing for a photo after delivering his 1841 inaugural speech. However, that photo has been lost.
A photograph of John Quincy Adams (U.S. President, 1825-29), that was taken in March 1843 still exists, but that was taken after he left office.
Beatles - Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!
February 14, 1843
The circus event that inspired the 1967 The Beatles song Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! is held. John Lennon got the idea for the song from an antique poster advertising the circus. Many of the lyrics, such as "the Henderson's will all be there" and "through a hogshead of real fire," also came from the poster.
GPS Goes Public
February 14, 1989
GPS is made available for public use. The first of 24 Block II satellites intended to expand the Global Positioning System (GPS) for public use is put into orbit, with the last of these 24 launched in 1994.
After the 1983 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 disaster in which a passenger aircraft carrying 269 people strayed into prohibited airspace due to navigational errors and was shot down by a Soviet interceptor aircraft, President Ronald Reagan issued a directive making GPS freely available for civilian use in an effort to prevent future such accidents.
The first experimental Block-I GPS satellite was launched in 1978.
The Gulf War from 1990 to 1991 was the first conflict in which the military widely used GPS.
$1,000,000 Bounty for Salman Rushdie
February 14, 1989
A $1,000,000 bounty is offered by the Ayatollah Khomeini for the killing of Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses.
McDonald's Hamburger University
February 14, 1961
McDonald's Hamburger University graduates its first students.
Al Capone
Al Capone
St. Valentine's Day Massacre
February 14, 1929
Members of Al Capone's gang - dressed as policemen - gun down seven members of Bugs Moran's gang in Chicago.
1924 logo and a 1957 electronic data processing machine
1924 logo and a 1957 electronic data processing machine
IBM
February 14, 1924
The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM). CTR was formed in 1911 when separate companies producing a computing scale, the dial recorder, the Electric Tabulating Machine, and a workers time clock merged together.
Some of the company's inventions include the automated teller machine (ATM), the floppy disk, the hard disk drive, the magnetic stripe card, the relational database, and the UPC barcode.
Gregorian Calendar Adopted by Russia
February 14, 1918
The previous day had been January 31st.
Arizona
February 14, 1912
Arizona becomes the 48th U.S. state. The state's name appears to originate from an earlier Spanish name "Arizonac", which was derived from the Native American name "alĭ ṣonak", meaning "small spring", the pronunciation of which sounded like "Arissona".
Voting Machines
February 14, 1899
The U.S. Congress approves the use of voting machines in federal elections.
Oregon
February 14, 1859
Oregon becomes the 33rd U.S. state. The origin of the state's name may come from the geographical designation "orejón" (meaning "big ear") or possibly from the Spanish word oregano, which refers to a plant that grows in the southern part of the region.
Home of Auguste Chouteau, one of the founders of St. Louis
Home of Auguste Chouteau, one of the founders of St. Louis
St. Louis
February 14, 1764
The city of St. Louis, Missouri is founded.
Birthdays
Henderson (right) as Carol Brady
Henderson (right) as Carol Brady
Florence Henderson (Florence Agnes Henderson)
Born February 14, 1934 d. 2016
American singer, actress. TV: The Brady Bunch (1969-74, Carol Brady).
Jimmy Hoffa
Born February 14, 1913 d. 1975
American Teamster boss (1957-71). Hoffa played a major role in the growth and development of the Teamsters union, which eventually became the largest in the U.S. with over 2.3 million members. Hoffa was involved with organized crime during his Teamsters work and in 1964 was convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery, and fraud. He was sentenced to 13 years and imprisoned in 1967. In 1971, he resigned as president of the union as part of a pardon agreement with President Richard Nixon.
He disappeared outside of a restaurant in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan (1975) and was declared legally dead in 1982. He said he was going there to meet with two mafia leaders.
Fritz Zwicky
Born February 14, 1898 d. 1974
Swiss Astronomer. He coined the terms "supernova" (1934) describing the transition of stars into neutron stars, and "dark matter" (1993, dunkie materie) to explain why the gravitational mass of galaxies was at least 400 times greater than expected from their luminosity.
He also said rockets could not operate in space as they required the atmosphere to push against to provide thrust, later admitting he was wrong.
Jack Benny with Harry S. Truman
Jack Benny (Benjamin Kubelsky)
Born February 14, 1894 d. 1974
American comedian. "Famous" for his violin concertos.
In 1932 as a guest on Ed Sullivan's program, he spoke his first words on radio, "This is Jack Benny talking. There will be a slight pause while you say, 'Who cares?'" He was then given his own program, which ran until 1955 along with a TV program from 1950 to 1965.
The original 1893 Chicago Ferris Wheel
The original 1893 Chicago Ferris Wheel
George Washington Gale Ferris, Jr.
Born February 14, 1859 d. 1896
American engineer. Inventor of the Ferris wheel. It was constructed for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago. His ride was 250 feet in diameter, took 20 minutes per revolution, and had a capacity of 2,160 people.
Sholes' typewriter - 1873
Sholes' typewriter - 1873
Inventor of QWERTY
Christopher Latham Sholes
Born February 14, 1819 d. 1890
American inventor. He and Samuel W. Soule invented the first commercially-successful typewriter (1868). It was only able to type capital letters and the numbers 2 through 9 and was manufactured by E. Remington & Sons. He also coined the word "type-writer" and created the QWERTY keyboard layout (1873). The QWERTY keyboard was designed to split up commonly-used letter combinations in order to reduce key jamming.
Pris Stratton
Born February 14, 2016
Blade Runner android. The "basic pleasure model" android in the 1982 film Blade Runner, played by Daryl Hannah.
Meg Tilly (Margaret Chan)
Born February 14, 1960
American actress. Film: The Big Chill (1983) and Agnes of God (1985, title role).
Gregory Hines
Born February 14, 1946 d. 2003
American actor, dancer. Film: History of the World Part I (1981), The Cotton Club (1984), White Nights (1985), and Tap (1989). He made his Broadway debut at age 8.
Carl Bernstein
Born February 14, 1944
American journalist. He and Bob Woodward uncovered the Watergate scandal while working for the Washington Post.
Jonathan Adams (John Adams)
Born February 14, 1931 d. 2005
British actor. Film: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, Dr. Everett Von Scott - Great Scott!). He was also the narrator in the original 1973 London stage production of The Rocky Horror Show.
Vic Morrow
Born February 14, 1929 d. 1982
American actor. TV: Combat! (1962-67, Sgt. Chip Saunders). He was killed in a helicopter crash while filming Twilight Zone-The Movie.
Lois Maxwell (Lois Ruth Hooker)
Born February 14, 1927 d. 2007
Canadian actress. Film: Miss Moneypenny in the first 14 of the James Bond movies (1962-85).
Hugh Downs
Born February 14, 1921 d. 2020
American Emmy-winning news anchor, TV personality. He once held the Guinness World Record for the most hours on commercial network television before being surpassed by Regis Philbin.
TV: Tonight Starring Jack Paar (1957-62, announcer and sidekick), Today (1962-71, co-host), Concentration (1958-69, host), and 20/20 (1978-99, anchor).
Carl Thomas Anderson
Born February 14, 1865 d. 1948
American cartoonist. Creator of Henry.
Richard Allen
Born February 14, 1760 d. 1831
American clergyman. Born a slave, he helped establish the first African American U.S. church (1816), the African Methodist Episcopal Church of Philadelphia, of which he was bishop, making him the first African American bishop in the U.S.
Georg Christian Füchsel
Born February 14, 1722 d. 1773
German geologist. He originated the concept of strata, rock layers that each represent a certain epoch of time.
Deaths
War is Hell
William Tecumseh Sherman
Died February 14, 1891 b. 1820
American Civil War general (Union). He is known for his destruction of Georgia and his statement "War is hell."
James Cook
Died February 14, 1779 b. 1728
English naval captain and explorer. He discovered the Hawaiian Islands, and introduced tattoos to the western world. He was killed by the natives of the Sandwich Islands.
Andrei Chikatilo
Died February 14, 1994 b. 1936
Russian serial killer. As Russia's most prolific serial killer, he was executed for the murder and cannibalism of at least 52 women and children between 1978 and 1990. Another man was mistakenly executed for these crimes.
Frederick Loewe
Died February 14, 1988 b. 1901
German composer of Lerner and Loewe. Together they wrote My Fair Lady (1956) and Paint Your Wagon (1969).
Mordecai "Three Finger" Brown
Died February 14, 1948 b. 1876
American baseball Hall of Famer. He had the use of only three fingers on his pitching hand, giving him a natural knuckle ball.
John Dickinson
Died February 14, 1808 b. 1732
American statesman, author, member of the Colonial Congress (1765). He wrote the Farmer's Letters (1767-68), expressing opposition to the Townshend Acts of 1767.
Richard II
Died February 14, 1400 b. 1367
King of England (1377-99).