Major Events
- 1587 Queen Elizabeth I of England signs death warrant for her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots
- 1843 Oldest continuous writer of insurance in America - The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (MONY) opens
- 1884 1st volume of the Oxford English Dictionary, A-Ant, published
- 1908 King Carlos I of Portugal and his heir, Prince Luis Filipe are assassinated by Republican sympathizers in Terreiro do Paco, Lisbon
- 1968 Saigon police chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan executes Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém with a pistol shot to head. The execution is captured by photographer Eddie Adams and becomes an anti-war icon.
- 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini returns to Iran after 15 years in exile
- 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
- 2021 Military stage a coup in Myanmar, detaining civilian leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi and declare a one-year state of emergency
- More February 1 Events
Feb 1 in Film & TV
- 1893 Thomas Edison completes worlds 1st movie studio at West Orange, New Jersey
Feb 1 in Music
- 1896 Giacomo Puccini's opera "La Boheme" premieres in Turin
Feb 1 in Sport
- 1960 Australian Championships Men's Tennis: In a classic all-Australian final Rod Laver beats Neale Fraser 5-7, 3-6, 6-3, 8-6, 8-6; Laver's first Grand Slam title
- 2023 At age 45, Tom Brady, regarded as the greatest NFL quarterback of all time, announces his re-retirement after a 23 year career and a record 7 Super Bowl titles with the NE Patriots and TB Buccaneers
Did You Know?
Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir is elected as the first female Prime Minister of Iceland, becoming the first openly gay Head of Government in the modern world.
John Napier
Thomas Cole
Louis St. Laurent
Zhang Chunqiao
Muriel Spark
Boris Yeltsin
John Ford
Clark Gable
Langston Hughes
Rick James
Lisa Marie Presley
Harry Styles
Fun Fact About February 1
1st scientific hand-held calculator (HP-35) introduced ($395)
Famous Weddings
- 1840 Novelist Alexandre Dumas (37) weds actress Ida Ferrier
- 1932 Film director Frank Capra (34) weds secretary Lucille Reyburn
- 1986 American pop snger Diana Ross weds Norwegian businessman Arne Naess in Switzerland
More February 1 Weddings
Mary Shelley
Friedrich Paulus
Buster Keaton
Werner Heisenberg
Donald Wills Douglas
Ed KochArticles, Photos and Quiz
How Portugal Lost Its Monarchy
There were few tears – and some uncharitable rejoicing – when King Carlos I of Portugal was shot dead on this day, bringing an end to a 270-year-old monarchy.
February 1, 1908
Execution of a Viet Cong Prisoner
General Nguyễn Ngọc Loan summarily executes Viet Cong prisoner Nguyễn Văn Lém
February 1, 1968
