140 things happened on 2 February, from AD 506 to 2025. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1709 · 317 years ago
Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued by the English captain Woodes Rogers and his crew. Selkirk had spent four years and four months as a castaway on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean. His captain had left him there, at first at Selkir…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
At the Battle of Lincoln, King Stephen of England was defeated and captured by forces loyal to his cousin and rival, Empress Matilda. Stephen was imprisoned, and Matilda ruled for a short time. Their long struggle for the crown was a civil war known as the Anarchy. In the end, Matilda's son became King Henry II after Stephen's death in 1154.
UK story
A Royalist army of Scottish Highlanders and Irish troops won the Battle of Inverlochy in Scotland. Led by James Graham, Marquess of Montrose, they defeated the Marquess of Argyll's forces, who had camped by Inverlochy Castle. The battle was part of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. These were conflicts in England, Scotland and Ireland between 1639 and 1653, including the English Civil Wars.
UK story
Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued by the English captain Woodes Rogers and his crew. Selkirk had spent four years and four months as a castaway on an uninhabited island in the South Pacific Ocean. His captain had left him there, at first at Selkirk's own request. His adventure is generally believed to have inspired Daniel Defoe's famous novel Robinson Crusoe.
UK story
The last ever frost fair was held on the frozen River Thames in London. It began on 1 February and lasted four days, and an elephant was even led across the ice. Traders sold gingerbread, hot apples and hot chocolate, while people danced and played nine-pin bowling. Afterwards the river became less likely to freeze, as the climate grew milder and old London Bridge was replaced.
UK story
The funeral of Queen Victoria took place. She had reigned since 1837, for 63 years and 216 days, longer than any British monarch before her. Her time on the throne is called the Victorian era, a period of big changes in industry, science and politics. The British Empire grew hugely, and in 1876 Parliament gave her the extra title Empress of India.
Grand Central Terminal in New York City opened just after midnight. It has more platforms than any other train station in the world. The station stands at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. It is one of the busiest stations in North America and connects with the New York City Subway.
Teams of sled dogs reached the town of Nome, Alaska, carrying medicine to stop an outbreak of diphtheria, a dangerous disease. The medicine was passed along in a relay by 20 mushers, or sled drivers, and about 150 dogs. Together they covered 674 miles (1,085 kilometres) across Alaska in five and a half days. This 'Great Race of Mercy' later inspired the famous Iditarod sled dog race.
An international agreement to protect the world's wetlands was signed in the city of Ramsar, in Iran. Wetlands are places where the ground is flooded or soaked with water, either all the time or for part of the year. They are among the richest places on Earth for wildlife, home to a huge variety of plants and animals. The date is now marked every year as World Wetlands Day.
South Africa's president, F. W. de Klerk, announced that the African National Congress would no longer be banned. He also promised to release Nelson Mandela from prison. Under apartheid, from 1948 to 1994, laws kept people of different races apart and gave power to the white minority. De Klerk's government went on to dismantle apartheid and give all adults the right to vote.
Swiss tennis star Roger Federer became the world number one in men's singles. He stayed at the top for a record 237 weeks in a row. Altogether he was ranked number one for 310 weeks. During his career he won 103 singles titles, including 20 major men's singles titles.
Alaric II, King of the Visigoths, promulgated a collection of Roman law known as the Breviary of Alaric (excerpt pictured).
Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III of France is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.
Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.
Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy.
An assembly at the Abbey of Payerne crowned Conrad II (pictured) king of Burgundy.
Terra Mariana, comprising present-day Estonia and Latvia, was established as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire.
Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established.
Byzantine Empress Anna convenes a synod to depose patriarch Joseph XIV in Constantinople. The same night, conspirators let in her rival John VI Kantakouzenos which ends the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347.
Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.
New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first bottle of South African wine.
J. S. Bach led the first performance of his chorale cantata Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, BWV 125, based on Luther's paraphrase of the Nunc dimittis.
The siege of Mantua ends after eight months when Count Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser surrenders the fortress of Mantua to Napoleon Bonaparte. The fall of Mantua secures French control over Northern Italy and marks the beginning of the conclusion of the Italian campaign of 1796-1797, and sets the stage for the end of the War of the First Coalition.
Mexican–American War: During the American occupation of Mexico City, diplomats signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the war and had Mexico cede 1.36 million square kilometres (530,000 sq mi) of territory and the United States pay US$15 million.
Brigham Young declares war on Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah.
Pro-Imperial forces capture Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burn it to the ground.
The Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä), a novel by Finnish author Aleksis Kivi, is published first time in several thin booklets.
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
The sentences of the trial of the warlocks of Chiloé are imparted.
In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day is observed.
The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.
The Paris Film Congress opens, an attempt by European producers to form an equivalent to the MPPC cartel in the United States.
The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.
Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
The Export–Import Bank of the United States, the country's official export credit agency, was established.
World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last organized German troops in the city.
The Detroit Red Wings played in the first outdoor hockey game by any NHL team in an exhibition against the Marquette Branch Prison Pirates in Marquette, Michigan.
Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965.
Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon (pictured), the most numerous fixed-wing aircraft currently in military service, made its first flight.
After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.
Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.
First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.
Omid, Iran's first domestically made satellite, was launched from Semnan Space Center.
The Burmese military establishes the State Administration Council, the military junta, after deposing the democratically elected government in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.
Slovenian NBA player Luka Doncic is traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis in one of the largest trades in American sports history.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Castaway Alexander Selkirk is rescued from a desert island”?
C: 1709. 1709 — that’s 317 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “The funeral of Queen Victoria takes place”?
A: 1901. 1901 — that’s 125 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: Royalists win the Battle of Inverlochy in Scotland. 1645: Royalists win the Battle of Inverlochy in Scotland · 1901: The funeral of Queen Victoria takes place · 1709: Castaway Alexander Selkirk is rescued from a desert island Find it on the page
“Royalists win the Battle of Inverlochy in Scotland” happened in 1645. How many years ago was that?
A: 381 years. 2026 − 1645 = 381. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 2 February.
UK story
Millvina Dean was a British woman who sailed on the RMS Titanic when she was just two months old. She was the youngest passenger on board and survived when the ship sank in April 1912. Later in life she worked as a civil servant and a cartographer, which means a map-maker. Until her death in 2009, she was the last living survivor of the Titanic.
Well-known people who died on 2 February.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 2 February somewhere in the world.
Groundhog Day is a tradition in the United States and Canada. An old belief says that if a groundhog leaves its burrow and sees its shadow, winter will last six more weeks. If it does not see its shadow, spring will come early. In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, crowds gather to watch a groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil make his 'prediction'.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “February 2” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.