On this day: February 14

Events on February 14

• 1530 Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrow and execute Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico. Wikipedia
• 1779 American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Kettle Creek is fought in Georgia. Wikipedia
• 1797 French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Cape St. Vincent: John Jervis, (later 1st Earl of St Vincent) and Horatio Nelson (later 1st Viscount Nelson) lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar. Wikipedia
• 1852 Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, is founded in London. Wikipedia
• 1855 Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas. Wikipedia
• 1859 Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state. Wikipedia
• 1876 Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray. Wikipedia
• 1879 The War of the Pacific breaks out when the Chilean Army occupies the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta. Wikipedia
• 1895 Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest (production pictured), once described as the second-most quoted English-language play after Hamlet, premiered in London. Wikipedia
• 1912 Arizona is admitted as the 48th and the last contiguous U.S. state. Wikipedia
• 1916 World War I: Britain, France and Russia made the Declaration of Sainte-Adresse, stating that they would refuse to sign any peace treaty with the Central Powers that failed to ensure the political and economic independence of Belgium. Wikipedia
• 1920 The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago. Wikipedia
• 1929 Saint Valentine's Day Massacre: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone's gang, are murdered in Chicago. Wikipedia
• 1939 World War II: German battleship Bismarck is launched. Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: Tunisia Campaign: General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim's Fifth Panzer Army launches a counter-attack against Allied positions in Tunisia. Wikipedia
• 1943 World War II: General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim's 5th Panzer Army launched a concerted attack against Allied positions in Tunisia. Wikipedia
• 1945 President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy, officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations. Wikipedia
• 1949 The Knesset (parliament of Israel) convenes for the first time. Wikipedia
• 1979 In Kabul, Setami Milli militants kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police. Wikipedia
• 1989 Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses. Wikipedia
• 1990 The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth that later becomes famous as Pale Blue Dot. Wikipedia
• 2004 In a suburb of Moscow, Russia, the roof of the Transvaal water park collapses, killing more than 28 people, and wounding 193 others. Wikipedia
• 2005 The online video platform YouTube was founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. Wikipedia
• 2005 YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos. Wikipedia
• 2020 At least 22 people are killed in an attack on a village in Northwest Region, Cameroon. Wikipedia

Born on February 14

• 1404 Leon Battista Alberti, Italian painter, poet, and philosopher (died 1472) Wikipedia
• 1483 Babur, Mughal emperor (died 1530) Wikipedia
• 1670 Rajaram Raj Bhonsle, third Chhatrapati of the Maratha Confederacy (died 1700) Wikipedia
• 1819 Christopher Latham Sholes, American journalist and politician, invented the typewriter (died 1890) Wikipedia
• 1869 Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist and meteorologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1959) Wikipedia
• 1895 Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (died 1973) Wikipedia
• 1917 Herbert A. Hauptman, American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2011) Wikipedia
• 1939 Eugene Fama, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate Wikipedia
• 1942 Michael Bloomberg, American businessman and politician, 108th Mayor of New York City Wikipedia
• 1944 Alan Parker, English director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2020) Wikipedia
• 1945 Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein Wikipedia
• 1951 Kevin Keegan, English footballer and manager (died 2026) Wikipedia
• 1952 Sushma Swaraj, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (died 2019) Wikipedia
• 1967 Mark Rutte, Dutch businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Wikipedia
• 1967 Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Greek-English businessman, founded easyJet Wikipedia
• 1970 Simon Pegg, English actor, director, and producer Wikipedia
• 1972 Jaan Tallinn, Estonian computer programmer, co-developed Skype Wikipedia
• 1983 Bacary Sagna, French footballer Wikipedia
• 1987 Edinson Cavani, Uruguayan footballer Wikipedia
• 1988 Ángel Di María, Argentinian footballer Wikipedia
• 1992 Christian Eriksen, Danish footballer Wikipedia
• 1996 Lucas Hernandez, French footballer Wikipedia

Died on February 14

• 269 Saint Valentine, Roman saint Wikipedia
• 869 Cyril, Greek missionary bishop and saint (born 827) Wikipedia
• 1400 Richard II, king of England (born 1367) Wikipedia
• 1779 James Cook, English captain, cartographer, and explorer (born 1728) Wikipedia
• 1891 William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (born 1820) Wikipedia
• 1943 David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (born 1862) Wikipedia
• 1975 Julian Huxley, English biologist and eugenicist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (born 1887) Wikipedia
• 1975 P. G. Wodehouse, English novelist and playwright (born 1881) Wikipedia
• 1976 George Washington Bacon III, American soldier, CIA agent, and mercenary (born 1946) Wikipedia
• 2004 Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (born 1970) Wikipedia
• 2005 Rafic Hariri, Lebanese businessman and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Lebanon (born 1944; assassinated) Wikipedia
• 2018 Ruud Lubbers, Dutch politician and diplomat, Prime Minister and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (born 1939) Wikipedia
• 2018 Morgan Tsvangirai, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (born 1952) Wikipedia
• 2021 Carlos Menem, Argentine former president, lawyer, and statesman (born 1930) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Cyril and Methodius, patron saints of Europe (Roman Catholic Church) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Eleuchadius Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Manchan Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Valentine (see also Valentine's Day) Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Vicente Vilar David Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: February 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• Statehood Day (Arizona, United States) Wikipedia
• Statehood Day (Oregon, United States) Wikipedia
• Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Armenian Apostolic Church) Wikipedia
• Parents' Worship Day (parts of India) Wikipedia

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “February 14” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-09 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. We picked the 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths with the widest coverage across Wikipedia's language editions (counted from Wikidata) and sorted them by year; the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures.