Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!
On this day in the year 60, St Paul was thought to have been shipwrecked at Malta. Crusaders defeated Prince Redwan of Aleppo at Antioch on this day in 1098. In 1355 on this day, the St. Scholastica's Day riot broke out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead after two days. On this day in 1535, 12 nude anabaptists run through Amsterdam streets. Tomé de Sousa was appointed Governor General of Brazil on this day in 1549. In 1635 on this day, the Academie Francaise was formed in Paris (by Cardinal Richelieu). Wampanoag Indians under King Philip killed all of the men in Lancaster Massachusetts on this day in 1676. On this day in 1713, Netherlands & England signed an accord concerning anti-French Barrier [OS=Jan 31]. Scottish Pretender to the throne James III Edward returned to France on this day in 1716. Edmund Halley was appointed the second Astronomer Royal of England on this day in 1720. On this day in 1746, the English Pelham government resigned. On this day in 1749, the 10th (final) volume of Fielding's "Tom Jones" was published. In 1763 on this day, the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven-Years War (commonly known as the French & Indian War in North America), with France ultimately surrendering Canada to Great Britain. On this day in 1814 during the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Champaubert was fought. It was the opening battle of the Six Days' Campaign, and fought between the French, led by Emperor Napoleon, and a small Russian corps commanded by Lieutenant General Count Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev. On this day in 1824, the Congress of Peru made "El Libertador" Simón Bolívar the dictator of the country, after Bolivar had led the country to independence from Spain. They hoped that he would reorganize the country, politically and militarily. The first fire extinguisher patent was granted to Alanson Crane of Virginia on this day in 1863. Peter Tsjaikovsky's 4th Symphony in F premiered on this day in 1878. Russia declared war on Japan on this day in 1904 after a surprise attack by the Japanese on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur had disabled seven Russian warships. In 1943 on this day, the "Manifesto of Algerian People" by Ferhat Abbas was published. It called for equality & self-determination for the Algerian nation, and was signed by 28 elected Muslim officials. In 1954 on this day, American President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned against US military intervention in Vietnam. The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, detailing Presidential Disability & Succession, went into effect on this day in 1967, just a few years following the JFK assassination. An Iran/Iraqi border fight broke out on this day in 1974. On this day in 1990 during apartheid white minority government rule in South Africa, President FW de Klerk announced that anti-apartheid activist and icon Nelson Mandela would be freed the next day, on Sunday, February 11th. Lithuania voted for independence from the Soviet Union (USSR) on this day in 1991. In 1996 on this day, IBM computer Deep Blue became the first computer to win a game of chess against a reigning (human) chess champion, Gary Kasparov.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
• On this day in the year 60, St Paul was thought to have been shipwrecked at Malta.
• Crusaders defeated Prince Redwan of Aleppo at Antioch on this day in 1098.
• In 1355 on this day, the St. Scholastica's Day riot broke out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead after two days.
• On this day in 1535, 12 nude anabaptists run through Amsterdam streets.
• Tomé de Sousa was appointed Governor General of Brazil on this day in 1549.
• In 1635 on this day, the Academie Francaise was formed in Paris (by Cardinal Richelieu).
• Wampanoag Indians under King Philip killed all of the men in Lancaster Massachusetts on this day in 1676. On this day in 1713, Netherlands & England signed an accord concerning anti-French Barrier [OS=Jan 31].
• Scottish Pretender to the throne James III Edward returned to France on this day in 1716.
• Edmund Halley was appointed the second Astronomer Royal of England on this day in 1720.
• On this day in 1746, the English Pelham government resigned.
• On this day in 1749, the 10th (final) volume of Fielding's "Tom Jones" was published.
• In 1763 on this day, the Treaty of Paris ended the Seven-Years War (commonly known as the French & Indian War in North America), with France ultimately surrendering Canada to Great Britain.
• 1774 - Andrew Becker demonstrates diving suit
• 1794 - Joseph Haydn's 99th Symphony in E, premieres
• 1798 - Louis Alexandre Berthier invaded Rome, on February 15 proclaimed a Roman Republic and then on February 20 take Pope Pius VI as a prisoner.
• 1807 - US Coast Survey authorized by Congress
French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte
• On this day in 1814 during the Napoleonic Wars, the Battle of Champaubert was fought. It was the opening battle of the Six Days' Campaign, and fought between the French, led by Emperor Napoleon, and a small Russian corps commanded by Lieutenant General Count Zakhar Dmitrievich Olsufiev. The Russians fought hard, but the French ultimately prevailed. Survivors fled into the nearby woods while Olsufiev became a French prisoner.
Pictures of the statue of Simón Bolívar just outside of Central Park in New York City.
• On this day in 1824, the Congress of Peru made "El Libertador" Simón Bolívar the dictator of the country, after Bolivar had led the country to independence from Spain. They hoped that he would reorganize the country, politically and militarily.
1846 - Beginning of Mormon march to west US
• 1846 - British defeat Sikhs in battle of Sobraon, India
1846 - Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began their exodus to the west from Illinois.
1855 - US citizenship laws amended; all children of US parents born abroad granted US citizenship
1859 - Gen Horsford defeats Begum of Oude & Nana Sahib in Indian mutiny
1860 - John Brahms' 2nd Serenade in A, premieres
1862 - Dutch 2nd government of Thorbecke forms
• The first fire extinguisher patent was granted to Alanson Crane of Virginia on this day in 1863.
1866 - Dutch government of Frans van der Putte forms
1868 - Conservatives & military seize Convention Hall in Florida
1870 - City of Anaheim incorporates (1st time)
1870 - YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association) forms (NYC)
• 1878 - Peace of Zanjón
Bust of Russian Romantic era composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
• Peter Tsjaikovsky's 4th Symphony in F premiered on this day in 1878.
1879 - 1st electric arc light used (California Theater)
1879 - Henry Morton Stanley departs for the Congo
• 1880 - Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Arcanum about Christian marriage
1881 - Jacques Offenbach's opera "Les Contes d'Hoffman," premieres in Paris
1882 - Rimski-Korsakovs opera "Snyegurochka," premieres in St Petersburg
1883 - Fire at un-insured New Hall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, kills 71
1890 - Around 11 million acres ceded to US by Sioux Indians opens for settlement
1897 - NY Times begins using slogan "All the News That's Fit to Print"
1899 - -39°F (-39°C), Milligan, Ohio (state lowest record temperature)
1899 - US-Spain peace treaty signed by Pres McKinley. US gets PR & Guam
1900 - Peter Ostlund skates world record 500m (45.2 sec)
• Russia declared war on Japan on this day in 1904 after a surprise attack by the Japanese on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur had disabled seven Russian warships.
1906 - British battleship HMS Dreadnought launched after only 100 days, renders all other capital ships obsolete with revolutionary design
1906 - State of siege proclaimed in Zululand
1908 - Tommy Burns KOs Jack Palmer in 4 for heavyweight boxing title
1912 - Hobbs & Rhodes make 323 cricket opening stand v Aust at MCG
1913 - Edward Sheldons "Romance," premieres in NYC
• 1916 - Military conscription begins in Britain
• 1917 - Johanna Westerdijk installed as Neth 1st female professor
1920 - Baseball outlaws all pitches involving tampering with ball
• 1920 - Jozef Haller de Hallenburg performs symbolic wedding of Poland to the sea, celebrating restitution of Polish access to open sea.
1923 - Ink paste manufactured for 1st time by Standard Ink Company
1923 - Owen Davis' "Icebound," premieres in NYC
1923 - SDAP speaks out against allied occupation of the Ruhr
1924 - Bucky Harris, 27, becomes youngest baseball manager (Wash Senators)
1925 - 1st waterless gas storage tank put into service, Michigan City, Ind
1925 - AL decides to alternate leagues for game 1 of World Series each year
1926 - Building of Olympic Stadium Amsterdam, begins
30th US President Calvin Coolidge30th US President Calvin Coolidge
• 1927 - Pres Calvin Coolidge asks for 2nd disarmament conference
1929 - Bishop Stephen Alencastre, dedicates the beautiful Romanesque church of Saint Patrick in Honolulu
• 1930 - Grain Stabilization Corporation authorized by Congress
1931 - New Delhi becomes capital of India
1931 - Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Harts premieres in NYC
1933 - -54°F (-48°C), Seneca, Oregon (state record)
1933 - Delivery of 1st singing telegram (Postal Telegram Co NYC)
1933 - Dutch seaplane bombs Dutch ship
• 1933 - Hitler proclaims end of Marxism
• 1933 - Mutiny on "7 Provinces" ends (began Feb 4th), 23 killed
1934 - 1st Jewish immigrant ship to break the English blockade in Palestine
1934 - Byrd souvenir sheet issued, NYC; 1st unperforated ungummed US stamp
1934 - Howard Hanson's "Merry Mount," premieres in NYC
1934 - Stalin ends 17th CPSU-congress, says "Life becomes merrier"
1934 - Thomson/Gertrude Steins opera premieres in NYC
Soviet Union Premier Joseph StalinSoviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin 1935 - 1st US streamlined electric RR engine begins service
1935 - Pennsylvania RR begins passenger service on new electric locomotive
1937 - Ragnhild Hveger swims world free style record 400m (5:14.2)
1938 - King Carol II of Romania drives out dictator Goga
1940 - "In The Mood" by Glenn Miller hits #1
• 1940 - Tom & Jerry created by Hanna & Barbera debut by MGM
1940 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Joan Tozzer
1940 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Eugene Turner
1941 - 1st highway post office makes 1st trip, Wash, DC-Harrisonburg, VA
1941 - Anti-nazi "Het Parool" begins publishing in Netherlands
1942 - Glenn Miller awarded 1st ever gold record for selling 1 million copies of "Chattanooga Choo Choo"
Flag of Algeria
• In 1943 on this day, the "Manifesto of Algerian People" by Ferhat Abbas was published. It called for equality & self-determination for the Algerian nation, and was signed by 28 elected Muslim officials.
1943 - British 8th Army sweeps through North Africa to Tunisia
1943 - Van der Veen Resistance starts fire in Amsterdam employment bureau
1944 - Belgian resistance fighter and author Kamiel van Baelen arrested
1944 - U-666/U-545/U-283 sink off Ireland
1945 - "Rum & Coca Cola" by Andrews Sisters hits #1
1947 - Italy cedes most of Venezia Giulia to Yugoslavia
1947 - Netherlands Radio Union forms
• 1947 - Province of Petsamo returned to Soviet Union by Finland
• 1947 - WW II peace treaties signed
1948 - Greek Gen Markos' guerrilla army bombs Saloniki
Playwright Arthur MillerPlaywright Arthur Miller 1949 - Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" opens at Morosco Theater, NYC
1951 - "John & Marsha" by Stan Freberg peaks at #21
1953 - Ice Dance Championship at Davos won by Westwood & Demmy GRB
1953 - Ice Pairs Championship at Davos won by Jennifer & John Nicks of GRB
1953 - Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Davos won by Tenley Albright USA
1953 - Men's Figure Skating Champion in Davos won by Hayes Alan Jenkins USA
General Dwight Eisenhower, 34th President of the United States
• In 1954 on this day, American President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned against US military intervention in Vietnam.
1954 - Ice Dance Championship at Oslo won by Jean Westwood/Lawrence Demmy GRB
1954 - Ice Pairs Championship at Oslo won by Frances Dafoe/Norris Bowden CAN
1954 - Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Oslo won by Gundi Busch GER
1954 - Men's Figure Skating Championship in Oslo won by Hayes Alan Jenkins US
1956 - "My Friend Flicka" premieres on CBS (later NBC) TV
1957 - Fay Crocker wins LPGA Serbin Golf Open
1957 - Southern Christian Leadership Conference forms
1959 - Dutch Princess Wilhelmina publishes "Lonely, but not alone"
1959 - Tornado in St Louis kills 19 & injures 265
1960 - "Unsinkable Molly Brown" closes at Winter Garden NYC after 532 perfs
1960 - Charles Ives' "Lincoln, the Great Commoner," premieres
1961 - AFL's LA Chargers move to San Diego
1961 - Niagara Falls hydroelectric project begins producing power
1961 - Walter Piston's 7th Symphony, premieres
1962 - Jim Beatty sets American indoor mile record (3:58.9) in LA
1962 - USSR swaps spy Francis Gary Power to US for Rudolph Abel
1963 - Mickey Wright wins LPGA St Petersburg Women's Golf Open
1963 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Lorraine Hanlon
1963 - US male Figure Skating championship won by Thomas Litz
1964 - Australian destroyer HMAS Voyager sinks after colliding with aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, killing 82
1964 - WBGU TV channel 27 in Bowling Green, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting
1966 - Harmel government in Belgium resigns
An image of the iconic "We the People" wording of the Constitution.
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The American Bill of Rights (picture that I took of a copy of the Bill of Rights, not the original)
• The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, detailing Presidential Disability & Succession, was ratified on this day in 1967, just a few years following the JFK assassination. The amendment required the appointment of a vice-president when that office became vacant and instituted new measures in the event of presidential disability.
1968 - "Spooky" by Classics IV hits #3
1968 - Peggy Fleming wins Olympic figure skating gold medal, Grenoble, France
1969 - LSU Pete Maravich scores 66, despite losing to Tulane 101-94
1970 - 26.4 cm precipitation falls on Mount Washington NH (state record)
1970 - Dry powder avalanche moving at 120 mph smashes into youth hostel killing 40 Belgian, French, & German youths (Val d'Isere, France)
1971 - American Mensa Ltd incorporates in New York
1971 - Bill White becomes 1st black baseball announcer (NY Yankees)
1971 - John Guares "House of Blue Leaves," premieres in NYC
1971 - Royal Albert Hall bans scheduled concert featuring Frank Zappa
1972 - BBC bans "Give Ireland Back to the Irish" by Wings
1972 - Ras al Khaima joins United Arab Emirates
1972 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
Feb 10, 1972: Ziggy Stardust makes his earthly debut It was one of those events that virtually nobody witnessed, yet almost but many wish they had: the concert at London's Toby Jug pub on February 10, 1972, when the relatively minor rocker named David Bowie became the spaceman Ziggy Stardust. While it might be said of many such historic moments—like John meeting Paul at a backyard birthday party, or Elvis ad-libbing "That's All Right (Mama)" between takes at Sun Studios—that their significance became clear only in hindsight, there was at least one man who knew exactly where Ziggy's earthly debut would lead: David Bowie himself. "I'm going to be huge," is what David Bowie told Melody Maker less than three weeks earlier and still six months prior to the release of the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. "And it's quite frightening in a way, because I know that when I reach my peak and it's time for me to be brought down it will be with a bump." That last bit may have been a case of Bowie confusing his Ziggy persona with real life, but that was what put the act over in the first place. Any rock musician can put on a costume, but how many could have inhabited the identity of an androgynous Martian rock star come to Earth in its dying days so convincingly, so effortlessly? Bowie has credited two men with serving as his inspiration for creating Ziggy Stardust. One was the man he met and spoke with after his first Velvet Underground concert and took to be Lou Reed, but who was, in fact, Reed's replacement in the Velvets. "He sat there and talked as though he was Lou and he was talking about how he wrote 'Waiting For The Man' and all these things!" recalled Bowie years later. "And it was at that point that I realised that, at the time, it didn't matter to me if this was the real one or a fake one." The other inspiration was Vince Taylor, an obscure figure to Americans, but a figure well-known in late-60s London as a former pop star very publicly losing his mind. "He fired his band and went on-stage one night in a white sheet. He told the audience to rejoice, that he was Jesus. They put him away." From this mix, Bowie created the persona and groundbreaking album that offered "a finger up the nose of pop sincerity...a boot in the collective sagging denim behind of hippie singer-songwhiners" and made his career. As one of the roughly sixty young Londoners in the audience that night at the Toby Jug now recalls, "Bowie had brought theatre to a humble pub gig....I couldn't blink for fear of missing something—nothing would ever be the same again."
1973 - 2nd time Rangers shut-out Islanders 6-0
1973 - 83m wide gas tank on Staten Island explodes, 40 die
1973 - Mushtaq Mohammad follows up 201 to take 5-49 v NZ Dunedin
1974 - "Gigi" closes at Uris Theater NYC after 103 performances
1974 - Gail Denenber wins LPGA Sears Women's Golf Classic
• An Iran/Iraqi border fight broke out on this day in 1974.
1974 - Judy Ikenberry wins 1st Us women's marathon (2:55:17)
1974 - Silver futures hit record $4.81½ an ounce in London
1975 - William "Judy" Johnson selected to baseball Hall of Fame
1977 - "Party with Comden & Green" opens at Morosco Theater NYC for 92 perfs
1977 - Bomb explosion in Moscow metro
1977 - Jonathan Netanyou Lane in the Bronx named in honor of Bronx-born Israeli prime minister
• 1977 - Israeli soldier who died freeing hostages in Entebee Raid (1976)
1978 - Frank C Carlucci succeeds John F Blake as deputy director of CIA
Singer Rod StewartSinger Rod Stewart 1979 - "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?" by Rod Stewart peaks at #1
1979 - Border is named 12th man for Australia, only Test Cricket he missed
1980 - Ianford Wilsons "Talley's Folly," premieres in NYC
1980 - Jane Blalock wins LPGA Elizabeth Arden Golf Classic
1981 - 33rd NHL All-Star Game: Campbell beat Wales 4-1 at LA
1981 - 8 killed & 198 injured by fire at Las Vegas Hilton
1981 - Dennis Lillee becomes Australian Cricket's top wicket-taker with 249
1982 - 28 skiers perform backflips while holding hands, Bromont, Quebec
1983 - Anglican synod vote 338-100 against unilateral UK nuclear disarmament
1985 - Andrea Schöne skates ladies world record 5 km (7:32.82)
1985 - 35th NBA All-Star Game: West beats East 140-129 at Indiana
1985 - Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-E mission
1985 - Patty Sheehan wins LPGA Sarasota Golf Classic
1985 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1986 - "John Lennon: Live in NYC" album is released
1987 - Philippine troops murder 17 civilians in Lupao Massacre
• 1988 - Rocky Malebane-Metsing coup in Bophuthatswana fails
1988 - 3-judge panel of 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in SF strikes down Army's ban on homosexuals (later overturned by appeal)
1989 - Celtic KC Jones & Cavalier Lenny Wilkens elected to NBA Hall of Fame
1989 - Miami Vice's 100th episode seen on TV
1989 - Minor League Football System opens organizational meeting, St Louis
1989 - Ron Brown chosen 1st black chairman of a major US party (Democrats)
1989 - Test Cricket debut of Aaqib Javed, Pak v NZ age 16 years 189 days
1989 - Tony Robinson of Jamaica becomes Nottingham's 1st black sheriff
1989 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1989 - To gain deregulation WWF admits pro wrestling is an exhibition & not a sport, in a NJ court
1990 - 6th Largest wrestling crowd (63,900-Tokyo Dome)
1990 - Pierrer Water pulls product from shelf due to benzine in water
Flag of South Africa during the apartheid era
Statue of South African President & Nobel Peace Prize Recipient F.W. de Klerk in Cape Town
Statue of Nelson Mandela in the gardens in front of the Union Building in Pretoria, South Africa
• On this day in 1990 during apartheid white minority government rule in South Africa, President F.W. de Klerk announced that anti-apartheid activist and icon Nelson Mandela would be freed the next day, on Sunday, February 11th, after 27 years of imprisonment.
The New York Times from February 12, 1990 showed a picture of Mike Tyson nursing his wounds following the loss to Buster Douglas.
• Even though it actually took place in Tokyo, Japan, on February 11, 1990, viewers in the Western Hemisphere, including Americans (both fighters were from the United States) watched the most shocking upset in sports history on this day in 1990, as James "Buster" Douglas scored a knockout of the seemingly invincible and previously undefeated, undisputed heavyweight champ of the world, "Iron" Mike Tyson.
1990 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Jill Trenary
1991 - "La Bete" opens at Eugene O'Neill Theater NYC for 24 performances
1991 - 41st NBA All-Star Game: East beats West 116-114 at Charlotte
1991 - Beth Daniel wins LPGA Phar-Mor at Inverrary Golf Tournament
1991 - Johann Koss skates world record 10 km (13:43.54)
The flag of Lithuania.
• Lithuania voted for independence from the Soviet Union (USSR) on this day in 1991.
1991 - NBA All Star Game at Charlotte NC
1992 - "Dangerous Women" final episode on WWOR-TV
1992 - Bonnie Blair wins 1992 Olympics 1st gold medal for USA
• Former (and future) boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was convicted in Indianapolis of raping Desiree Washington, Miss Black American contestant on this day in 1992.
Feb 10, 1992: Boxing legend convicted of raping beauty queen Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, accused of raping 18-year-old beauty-pageant contestant Desiree Washington, is found guilty by an Indiana jury. The following month, Tyson was given a 10-year prison sentence, with four years suspended. Mike Tyson rose to fame in 1986 when he beat Trevor Berbick and became, at age 20, the youngest heavyweight champ in boxing history. Born June 30, 1966, in Brooklyn, New York, Tyson had a troubled childhood and was sent to reform school in upstate New York. There, his boxing talent was discovered and he flourished under the tutelage of legendary trainer Cus D'Amato. Tyson turned pro in 1985 and the following year became heavyweight champ, a title he retained until 1990, when he was upset by James "Buster" Douglas. In July 1991, Tyson met Desiree Washington at a rehearsal for the Miss Black America pageant in Indianapolis. Washington accompanied Tyson back to his hotel room, where, in the early hours of July 19, he allegedly raped her. Tyson claimed the sex was consensual. The world-famous fighter was indicted by a grand jury in September of that year and convicted in February 1992. In March, he began serving his term at the Indiana Youth Center near Plainfield, Indiana. While in prison, he reportedly studied Islam and the writings of Mao Zedong and Malcolm X. He was released, after serving three years, in March 1995. Post-prison, Tyson briefly recaptured the heavyweight title in 1996. However, the notorious pugilist continued to court controversy. In 1997, during a bout against Evander Holyfield, Tyson bit off a piece of the heavyweight champ's ear; as a result, his boxing license was temporarily revoked. Tyson also had run-ins with the law and spent several months in jail for assaulting motorists after a traffic accident. Additionally, he battled drug addiction and faced financial problems after squandering the multi-million dollar fortune he had amassed. Tyson's professional career ended in 2005, when he quit during the middle of a bout against Kevin McBride.
1993 - Jani Sievinen swims world record 200m backstroke (1:55.59)
1993 - US officially backs peace plan in Bosnia
1993 - "Michael Jackson Talks To Oprah Winfrey" airs on ABC & drew an astounding 39.3 rating/56 share, 90 million people
1995 - Chelsi Smith, 21, (Texas), crowned 44th Miss USA
King of Pop Michael JacksonKing of Pop Michael Jackson 1995 - Sun Cayun pole vaults female indoor world record (4.12m)
1995 - US female Figure Skating championship won by Nicole Bobek
• In 1996 on this day, IBM computer Deep Blue became the first computer to win a game of chess against a reigning (human) chess champion, Gary Kasparov.
Feb 10, 1996: Kasparov loses chess game to computer On this day in 1996, after three hours, world chess champion Gary Kasparov loses the first game of a six-game match against Deep Blue, an IBM computer capable of evaluating 200 million moves per second. Man was ultimately victorious over machine, however, as Kasparov bested Deep Blue in the match with three wins and two ties and took home the $400,000 prize. An estimated 6 million people worldwide followed the action on the Internet. Kasparov had previously defeated Deep Thought, the prototype for Deep Blue developed by IBM researchers in 1989, but he and other chess grandmasters had, on occasion, lost to computers in games that lasted an hour or less. The February 1996 contest was significant in that it represented the first time a human and a computer had duked it out in a regulation, six-game match, in which each player had two hours to make 40 moves, two hours to finish the next 20 moves and then another 60 minutes to wrap up the game. Kasparov, who was born in 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan, became the Soviet Union's junior chess champion at age 13 and in 1985, at age 22, the youngest world champ ever when he beat legendary Soviet player Anatoly Karpov. Considered by many to be the greatest chess player in the history of the game, Kasparov was known for his swashbuckling style of play and his ability to switch tactics mid-game. In 1997, a rematch took place between Kasparov and an enhanced Deep Blue. Kasparov won the first game, the computer the second, with the next three games a draw. On May 11, 1997, Deep Blue came out on top with a surprising sixth game win--and the $700,000 match prize. In 2003, Kasparov battled another computer program, "Deep Junior." The match ended in a tie. Kasparov retired from professional chess in 2005.
1997 - 13th Soap Opera Digest Awards
1997 - 5th annual ESPY Awards presented
1997 - Comet Shoemaker-Holt 2 Closest Approach to Earth (1.9245 AU)
1997 - O J Simpson jury reaches decision on $25M in punitive damages
1997 - Soyuz TM-25 launches to the MIR
1997 - Lemrick Nelson found guilty in the fatal stabbing on Hasidic Jew Yankel Rosenbaum in Crown Heights Brooklyn in 1991
1998 - AOL raises monthly flat rate internet access from $19.95 to $21.95
1998 - Olympic figure skater Peggy Fleming undergoes breast cancer surgery
• 1998 - Voters in Maine repeal a gay rights law passed in 1997 becoming the first U.S. state to abandon that law.
• 2003 - France and Belgium break the NATO procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq.
• 2005 - North Korea publicly announced for the first time that it had nuclear arms. The country also rejected attempts to restart disarmament talks in the near future saying that it needed the weapons as protection against an increasingly hostile United States.
2007 - NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 31-28
2008 - The 2008 Namdaemun fire severely damages Namdaemun, the first National Treasure of South Korea.
Singer Amy WinehouseSinger Amy Winehouse 2008 - 50th Grammy Awards: Rehab, Amy Winehouse wins
2008 - NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 42-30
• 2013 - Nigeria defeat Burkina Faso 1-0 to win the football 2013 Africa Cup of Nations
• 2013 - 5 people are killed by a falling lifeboat from the cruise ship Thomson Majesty in the Canary islands
• 2013 - 36 people are killed and 39 are injured in a stampede at a train station in Allahabad, India
1763 - The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War. In the treaty France ceded Canada to England. 1840 - Britain's Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe Coburg-Gotha. 1870 - The city of Anaheim was incorporated for the first time. 1870 - The YWCA was founded in New York City. 1879 - The electric arc light was used for the first time. 1897 - "The New York Times" began printing "All the news that's fit to print" on their front page. 1920 - Major league baseball representatives outlawed pitches that involve tampering with the ball. 1923 - Ink paste was manufactured for the first time by the Standard Ink Company. 1925 - The first waterless gas storage tank was placed in service in Michigan City, IN. 1933 - The singing telegram was introduced by the Postal Telegraph Company of New York City. 1933 - Primo Carnera knocked out Ernie Schaaf in round 13 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Schaaf died as a result of the knockout punch. 1934 - The first imperforated, ungummed sheets of postage stamps were issued by the U.S. Postal Service in New York City. 1935 - The Pennsylvania Railroad began passenger service with its electric locomotive. The engine was 79-1/2 feet long and weighed 230 tons. 1942 - The Normandie, the former French liner, capsized in New York Harbor. The day before the ship had caught fire while it was being fitted for the U.S. Navy. 1949 - "Death of a Salesman" opened at the Morocco Theatre in New York City. 1962 - The Soviet Union exchanged capture American U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for the Soviet spy Rudolph Ivanovich Abel being held by the U.S. 1981 - The Las Vegas Hilton hotel-casino caught fire. Eight people were killed and 198 were injured. 1989 - Ron Brown became the first African American to head a major U.S. political party when he was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee. 1997 - The U.S. Army suspended its top-ranking enlisted soldier, Army Sgt. Major Gene McKinney following allegations of sexual misconduct. McKinney was convicted of obstruction of justice and acquitted of 18 counts alleging sexual harassment of six military women. 1998 - A man became the first to be convicted of committing a hate crime in cyberspace. The college dropout had e-mailed threats to Asian students. 1998 - Voters in Maine repealed a 1997 gay rights law. Maine was the first state to abandone such legislation. 1999 - Avalanches killed at least 10 people when they roared down the French Alps 30 miles from Geneva. 2005 - North Korea publicly announced for the first time that it had nuclear arms. The country also rejected attempts to restart disarmament talks in the near future saying that it needed the weapons as protection against an increasingly hostile United States.
2009 - A Russian and an American satellite collide over Siberia.
1763 Treaty of Paris signed, ending the French and Indian War. France ceded Canada and all its North American territories east of the Mississippi to Great Britain. 1837 Russian poet and novelist Alexander Pushkin was killed in a duel. 1840 Queen Victoria married Prince Albert. 1942 Glenn Miller received the first ever gold record for selling a million copies of "Chattanooga Choo Choo." 1962 The Soviet Union exchanged captured American U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers for Rudolph Abel, a Soviet spy held by the United States. 1967 The 25th Amendment was ratified, establishing presidential succession. 1996 IBM's computer, Deep Blue, beat the world chess champion, Garry Kasparov, in the first game of their match. 2005 Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Arthur Miller died.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/feb10.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
