February 14 facts for kids

February 14 is a special day known around the world as Valentine's Day. It's a day when people celebrate love and friendship. Many important things have happened on this date throughout history, and many famous people were born or passed away.

Important Events in History

Early History (Before 1600)

• 748 – The Abbasid Revolution began to take shape when rebels led by Abu Muslim captured the city of Merv. This was a big step in forming the Abbasid Caliphate.
• 842 – Two kings, Charles the Bald and Louis the German, made a special promise called the Oaths of Strasbourg. They swore these oaths in both French and German.
• 1014 – Pope Benedict VIII crowned Henry of Bavaria as the Holy Roman Emperor. He was already the King of Germany and Italy.
• 1349 – In Strasbourg, many Jewish people faced terrible persecution and were forced to leave the city.
• 1530 – Spanish explorers, led by Nuño de Guzmán, took over the Purépecha Empire in what is now central Mexico. They removed the last independent ruler, Tangaxuan II.
• 1556 – Akbar became the ruler of the Mughal Empire. This was a very important moment in Indian history.

Later History (1601-1900)

• 1613 – A royal wedding took place at Whitehall Palace in London, between Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate.
• 1655 – The Mapuche people in Chile started a series of attacks against the Spanish. This began the Mapuche uprising of 1655.
• 1778 – The Flag of the United States was officially recognized by a foreign navy for the very first time! A French Admiral gave a special salute to the American ship USS Ranger.
• 1779 – During the American Revolutionary War, the Battle of Kettle Creek was fought in Georgia.
• 1779 – The famous explorer James Cook passed away near Kealakekua, Hawaii on the Island of Hawaii.
• 1797 – In the French Revolutionary Wars, the British Royal Navy, led by John Jervis and Horatio Nelson, won a big victory over a Spanish fleet near Gibraltar.
• 1804 – Karađorđe led the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire.
• 1835 – The original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles was formed in the Latter Day Saint movement in Kirtland, Ohio.
• 1849 – James K. Polk became the first sitting President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
• 1852 – Great Ormond Street Hospital, the first hospital in England specifically for children, was opened in London.
• 1859 – Oregon officially became the 33rd U.S. state.
• 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone. Elisha Gray also applied for a similar patent on the same day!
• 1879 – The War of the Pacific began when the Chilean Army took over the Bolivian city of Antofagasta.
• 1899 – Voting machines were approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections.

Modern History (1901-Present)

• 1903 – The United States Department of Commerce and Labor was created. It later split into two separate departments.
• 1912 – Arizona officially became the 48th and last contiguous U.S. state.
• 1912 – The U.S. Navy started using its first diesel-powered submarines.
• 1918 – Russia changed its calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
• 1919 – The Polish–Soviet War began.
• 1920 – The League of Women Voters was founded in Chicago. This group helps people understand politics and encourages voting.
• 1924 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changed its name to International Business Machines Corporation, or IBM.
• 1939 – During World War II, the German battleship Bismarck was launched.
• 1942 – In World War II, the Battle of Pasir Panjang happened, which contributed to the fall of Singapore.
• 1943 – In World War II, Rostov-on-Don, Russia, was freed from occupation.
• 1945 – In World War II, the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces began bombing Dresden.
• 1945 – Also in World War II, due to a mistake, Prague, Czechoslovakia, was bombed by a United States Army Air Forces squadron.
• 1945 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt met King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia on a ship, starting official diplomatic relations between the two countries.
• 1946 – The Bank of England became owned by the government.
• 1949 – The Knesset, which is the parliament of Israel, met for the very first time.
• 1961 – The chemical element Lawrencium (Element 103) was first created at the University of California.
• 1966 – Australian currency changed to a decimal system.
• 1989 – The Voyager 1 spacecraft took a famous photograph of planet Earth from far away, which is known as the Pale Blue Dot.
• 2000 – The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker became the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid, 433 Eros.
• 2003 – UN inspectors reported to the United Nations Security Council that they had not found weapons of mass destruction in Ba'athist Iraq.
• 2005 – YouTube was launched by a group of college students. It quickly became the biggest video sharing website in the world.
• 2011 – As part of the Arab Spring, the Bahraini uprising began with a 'Day of Rage'.
• 2018 – Jacob Zuma stepped down as President of South Africa.

Famous Birthdays

Born Before 1900

• 1404 – Leon Battista Alberti, an Italian painter, poet, and thinker.
• 1483 – Babur, who founded the Mughal Empire.
• 1602 – Francesco Cavalli, an Italian composer.
• 1763 – Jean Victor Marie Moreau, a French general.
• 1819 – Christopher Latham Sholes, an American journalist who invented the typewriter.
• 1838 – Margaret E. Knight, an American inventor.
• 1859 – George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., an American engineer who invented the Ferris wheel.
• 1869 – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, a Scottish physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1882 – John Barrymore, a famous American actor.
• 1894 – Jack Benny, an American actor and producer.
• 1898 – Fritz Zwicky, a Swiss-American physicist and astronomer.

Born After 1900

• 1902 – Thelma Ritter, an American actress.
• 1913 – Jimmy Hoffa, an American trade union leader.
• 1917 – Herbert A. Hauptman, an American mathematician who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1921 – Hugh Downs, an American journalist and TV host.
• 1927 – Lois Maxwell, a Canadian-Australian actress.
• 1934 – Florence Henderson, an American actress and singer.
• 1941 – Michael Bloomberg, an American businessman and politician, who was the Mayor of New York City.
• 1944 – Carl Bernstein, an American journalist famous for his investigative work.
• 1944 – Alan Parker, an English director and producer.
• 1946 – Gregory Hines, an American actor, singer, and dancer.
• 1947 – Cadel Evans, an Australian cyclist.
• 1951 – Kevin Keegan, an English footballer and manager.
• 1952 – Sushma Swaraj, an Indian lawyer and politician.
• 1959 – Renée Fleming, an American opera singer.
• 1960 – Jim Kelly, an American football player.
• 1960 – Meg Tilly, an American actress and author.
• 1967 – Stelios Haji-Ioannou, a Greek-English businessman who founded easyJet.
• 1967 – Mark Rutte, a Dutch politician who became the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
• 1970 – Simon Pegg, an English actor, director, and producer.
• 1971 – Gheorghe Mureșan, a Romanian basketball player.
• 1972 – Drew Bledsoe, an American football player.
• 1972 – Jaan Tallinn, an Estonian computer programmer who helped create Skype.
• 1972 – Rob Thomas, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1977 – Cadel Evans, an Australian cyclist.
• 1978 – Danai Gurira, an American-Zimbabwean actress.
• 1982 – Marián Gáborík, a Slovak ice hockey player.
• 1983 – Bacary Sagna, a French footballer.
• 1987 – Edinson Cavani, a Uruguayan footballer.
• 1988 – Ángel Di María, an Argentinian footballer.
• 1992 – Christian Eriksen, a Danish footballer.
• 1992 – Freddie Highmore, an English actor.
• 1993 – Jadeveon Clowney, an American football player.
• 1997 – Jaehyun, a South Korean singer and actor.

People Who Passed Away

Before 1900

• 869 – Cyril, a Greek missionary bishop.
• 1400 – Richard II, a king of England.
• 1779 – James Cook, a famous English captain and explorer.
• 1780 – William Blackstone, an English lawyer.
• 1831 – Vicente Guerrero, a Mexican general and politician who was the President of Mexico.
• 1891 – William Tecumseh Sherman, an American general.

After 1900

• 1901 – Edward Stafford, a Scottish-New Zealand politician who was the Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• 1930 – Thomas Mackenzie, a Scottish-New Zealand politician who was also a Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• 1943 – David Hilbert, a Russian-German mathematician and philosopher.
• 1975 – Julian Huxley, an English biologist who helped start the World Wide Fund for Nature.
• 1975 – P. G. Wodehouse, a famous English novelist and playwright.
• 1989 – James Bond, an American expert on birds.
• 1996 – Bob Paisley, an English footballer and manager.
• 2005 – Rafic Hariri, a Lebanese businessman and politician who was the Prime Minister of Lebanon.
• 2010 – Dick Francis, a Welsh jockey and author.
• 2015 – Louis Jourdan, a French-American actor.
• 2018 – Ruud Lubbers, a Dutch politician who was the Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
• 2021 – Carlos Menem, a former president of Argentina.

Holidays and Observances

• Valentine's Day is celebrated in most countries. It's a day for showing love and affection.
• Christian feast day:
  • Cyril and Methodius, who are important saints in the Roman Catholic Church.
  • Valentine (which is why it's called Valentine's Day!).
• Statehood Day for Arizona and Oregon in the United States. This celebrates when they became states.
• Parents' Worship Day is celebrated in parts of India.

See also

In Spanish: 14 de febrero para niños