On this day: 5 February

Augustus is named 'Father of the Fatherland' by the Roman Senate

The Roman Senate gave Emperor Augustus the title Pater Patriae, which means 'Father of the Fatherland'. Augustus, also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor and ruled from 27 BC until AD 14. His reign began a long time of peace across the Roman world. After him, 22 more emperors received the same title.

An earthquake shakes the Roman town of Pompeii

A strong earthquake struck the Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum in Italy, badly damaging them. It may have been an early warning sign of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79, which later destroyed both towns. The Roman writer Seneca the Younger described the earthquake in one of his books about the natural world.

Gold hunters find the giant Welcome Stranger nugget in Australia

Gold prospectors at Moliagul, in Australia, found the largest alluvial gold nugget ever discovered. It became known as the Welcome Stranger. A nugget is a natural lump of gold. Alluvial gold is found in loose sand, gravel or clay left behind by running water, such as in a stream bed.

Leo Baekeland announces Bakelite, the first synthetic plastic

Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announced his invention of Bakelite, the first plastic made from synthetic, or man-made, ingredients. He had developed it in 1907 in Yonkers, New York. Bakelite was cheap, did not catch fire easily and could be used for lots of things. It marked the start of the modern plastics industry, and Baekeland has been called 'The Father of the Plastics Industry'.

Bill Ponsford scores a world record 429 runs in cricket

Australian cricketer Bill Ponsford scored 429 runs in a single innings. This broke the world record for the highest score in first-class cricket. Ponsford is the only player to have broken that record twice. He and Brian Lara are the only cricketers to score 400 runs in an innings on two different occasions.

Apollo 14 lands on the Moon

Astronauts Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell landed on the Moon in the Apollo 14 mission. It was the third crewed Moon landing and the first in the Moon's highlands. On their two moonwalks they collected 42.8 kilograms of Moon rocks, and Shepard famously hit two golf balls with a makeshift club. Meanwhile, Stuart Roosa orbited the Moon with several hundred seeds, many of which later grew into 'Moon trees'.

Rome and Carthage officially end a war that began 2,134 years earlier

The mayors of Carthage, in Tunisia, and Rome, in Italy, signed a symbolic peace treaty to officially end the Third Punic War. That war between ancient Rome and Carthage had begun 2,134 years earlier, in 149 BC. It was the last of the three Punic Wars between the two powers. The treaty was a friendly gesture rather than the end of any real fighting.

An Lushan proclaims himself Emperor of China, founding the short-lived state of Yan.

Pope Clement IV is elected as the 183rd Bishop of Rome and head of the Catholic Church.

Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion.

Peninsular War: Siege of Cádiz begins.

Charles XIV John (pictured) succeeded to the thrones of Sweden and Norway as the first monarch of the House of Bernadotte.

Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Prince of Moldavia, is also elected as prince of Wallachia, joining the two principalities as a personal union called the United Principalities, an autonomous region within the Ottoman Empire, which ushered in the birth of the modern Romanian state.

In a speech before the U.S. Congress, Representative John Edward Bouligny refused to join his fellow Louisiana congressmen in heeding the state's secession convention and resigning.

King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal possession.

J. P. Morgan incorporates U.S. Steel in the state of New Jersey, although the company would not start doing business until February 25 and the assets of Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel Company, Elbert H. Gary's Federal Steel Company, and William Henry Moore's National Steel Company were not acquired until April 1.

In Mexico, the General Hospital of Mexico is inaugurated, initially with four basic specialties.

Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announces the creation of Bakelite, the world's first synthetic plastic.

Claudio Monteverdi's last opera, L'incoronazione di Poppea, was performed theatrically for the first time in more than 250 years.

Greek military aviators Michael Moutoussis and Aristeidis Moraitinis perform the first naval air mission in history, with a Farman MF.7 hydroplane.

The U.S. Congress overrode President Woodrow Wilson's veto to pass the Immigration Act of 1917, establishing new restrictions on immigrants, including the wholesale ban of people from much of Asia.

The current constitution of Mexico is adopted, establishing a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

World War II: Allied forces begin the Battle of Keren to capture Keren, Eritrea.

World War II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila.

Gamal Abdel Nasser is nominated to be the first president of the United Arab Republic.

French President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence.

The European Court of Justice's ruling in Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen establishes the principle of direct effect, one of the most important, if not the most important, decisions in the development of European Union law.

Cultural Revolution: The January Storm revolt in Shanghai reached its apogee as Maoist rebels proclaimed the establishment of the Shanghai People's Commune, a move the previously supportive Mao Zedong criticized.

The National Revolutionary Front for the Liberation of Haiti captured the city of Gonaïves, starting a coup d'état against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide's government.

The United States Navy guided missile cruiser Port Royal ran aground (pictured) on a coral reef off the island of Oahu.

Pope Francis becomes the first Pope in history to visit and perform papal mass in the Arabian Peninsula during his visit to Abu Dhabi.

United States President Donald Trump is acquitted by the United States Senate in his first impeachment trial.