Interesting things that happened February 2nd:

Birthdays on this date:

• In 1754 Talleyrand, French statesman and diplomat
• In 1803 General Albert Sidney Johnston, mortally wounded at Shiloh
• In 1875 Fritz Kreisler, violinist
• In 1882 James Joyce, writer (Dubliners, Ulysses, Finnegans Wake)
• In 1901 Jascha Heifetz, violinist
• In 1905 Ayn Rand (at Petrograd, Russia), American novelist (Atlas Shrugged)
• In 1923 James Dickey, writer
• In 1928 Elaine Stritch, singer, Broadway actor (Company, Show Boat)
• In 1937 Martina Arroyo, opera singer
• In 1938 Tom Smothers, comedian
• In 1946 Patricia Nixon-Cox, daughter of former Pres. Nixon
• In 1947 Farrah Fawcett (in Texas), actor (Charlie's Angels, The Burning Bed)
• In 1954 Christie Brinkley, model

Events worth noting:

• + Candlemas Day
  + Groundhog Day
• In 1141 At Lincoln, England, two rebel earls defeat and capture King Stephen.
• In 1461 Edward of York smashed the Lancastrian forces in Wales "by the light of three suns."
• In 1556 830,000 die in north China earchquake, the deadliest ever recorded.
• In 1645 At Inverlochy, Scotland, Montrose with 1,500 Royalists routed 3,000 Campbells and Covenanters.
• In 1848 First shipload of Chinese immigrants arrives in San Francisco, CA.
  + Mexico sells U.S. Texas, California, New Mexico and Arizona.
• In 1876 National Baseball League formed with 8 teams.
• In 1880 S.S. Strathleven arrives in London with first successful shipment of frozen mutton from Australia.
• In 1935 Lie detector first used in court at Portage, WI.
• In 1943 German troops in Stalingrad surrender to Soviet army.
• In 1962 8 of the (then) 9 planets aligned for the first time in 400 years.
• In 1969 Boris Karloff, man of 1000 faces, dies at age 81.
• In 1971 Idi Amin declares himself military head of state in Uganda.
• In 1972 3 days after 13 unarmed civil rights demonstrators were shot dead by British troops in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, outraged citizens burn down the British embassy in Dublin, capital of independent Ireland.
• In 1977 Radio Shack officially begins creating the TRS-80 microcomputer.
• In 1981 "Late Night with David Letterman" premiers.
• In 1989 P.W. Botha resigns as leader of the all-white National Party over party opposition to his approval of Namibia's independence.
• In 1990 South African President F.W. de Klerk lifts ban on African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
• In 1996 Actor and dancer Gene Kelly dies at age 83.

And remember ...

• Canned Food Month
• Marfan Syndrome Awareness Month
• National Embroidery Month
• Age-Related Macular Degeneration & Low Vision Awareness Month