Today in History for February 2008

Months in 2008: January March April May June July August September October November December

Historical Events

Events 1 - 11 of 11

5th - A major tornado outbreak across the Southern United States leaves at least 58 dead, the most since the May 31, 1985 outbreak that killed 88.
8th - Nebraska bans electric chair as sole execution method.
10th - The 2008 Namdaemun fire severely damages Namdaemun, the first National Treasure of South Korea.
11th - In East Timor, assassination attempts were made on Xanana Gusmao and Jose Ramos-Horta. Both failed.
13th - Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes an historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.
14th - Northern Illinois University shooting: a gunman opened fire in a lecture hall of the DeKalb County, Illinois university resulting in 24 casualties; 6 fatalities (including gunman) and 18 injured.
17th - Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
19th - Toshiba announces its formal recall of its HD DVD video formatting, ending the format war between it and Sony's Blu-Ray Disc
23rd - a B-2 Spirit of the USAF crashes at Guam. The crew survived but the aircraft was written off, making it the most expensive air crash in human history (the aircraft alone cost $1.2Bn). The B-2 had a perfect safety record before the crash; not one B-2 ever crashed.
24th - Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba after nearly fifty years.
28th - Former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra is arrested on corruption charges upon returning to Thailand after months of exile.

Famous Weddings

Weddings 1 - 4 of 4

2nd - Singer-actress Katharine McPhee (23) weds producer Nick Cokas (42) at the Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church in Beverly Hills, California
2nd - 23rd French Republic President Nicolas Sarkozy (53) weds supermodel-turned-singer Carla Bruni (39) at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France
14th - Oasis singer Liam Gallagher (35) weds All Saints singer Nicole Appleton (33) at Westminster Register Office in London
19th - "The Lord of The Rings" actor Sean Bean (49) weds actress Georgina Sutcliffe (29) at Marylebone Registry Office in central London

Famous Divorces

Divorces 1 - 1 of 1

22nd - "Baywatch" actress Pamela Anderson (40) divorces Rick Salomon (39) due to irreconcilable differences only 2 months after getting married

Famous Deaths

Deaths 1 - 44 of 44

2nd - Katoucha, Guinean model and activist (b. 1960)
3rd - Douglas Fraser, Scottish pilot (b. 1916)
4th - Stefan Meller, Polish foreign minister (b. 1942)
5th - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian guru, founder of Transcendental Meditation (b. ca. 1917)
6th - John McWethy, American journalist (b. 1947)
6th - Tony Rolt, English racing driver (b. 1918)
7th - Tamara Desni, German-born British actress (b. 1913)
8th - Chua Ek Kay, Singaporean painter (b. 1947)
9th - Christopher Hyatt Occultist,Philosopher and Author.
9th - Jazeh Tabatabai, Iranian avant-garde painter, poet and sculptor. (b. 1931)
9th - Trichen Jurme Kunzang Wangyal, the eleventh Mindrolling Trichen, Tibetan Buddhist lama of the Nyingma school (b. 1930)
9th - Scott Halpin, a one time drummer of The Who.
10th - Roy Scheider, American Actor (b. 1932)
10th - Steve Gerber, American comics writer (b. 1947)
11th - Tom Lantos, member of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1928)
11th - Frank Piasecki, American aeronautical designer (b. 1919)
12th - Oscar Brodney, American screenwriter (b. 1907)
13th - Roger Voisin, Trumpet player, Boston Symphony (b. 1918)
15th - Amnon Netzer, Iranian-Israeli historian (b. 1934)
15th - Ashley Callie, South African actress (b. 1976)
17th - Brian Harris, English footballer (b. 1935)
18th - Sir Richard Knowles, British politician (b. 1917)
18th - Mihaela Mitrache, Romanian actress, (b. 1955)
18th - Mickey Renaud, Canadian professional ice hockey player (b. 1988)
19th - Lydia Shum, Hong Kong comedian and actress (b. 1945)
19th - Yegor Letov, Russian song writer and singer (b. 1964)
20th - Emily Perry, English Actress (b. 1907)
20th - Larry Davis (criminal)
21st - Sunny Lowry, First British woman to swim the English Channel (b. 1911)
21st - Ben Chapman, American actor (b. 1928)
23rd - Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian prime minister and president (b. 1950)
23rd - Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and motorsport journalist (b. 1917)
23rd - Douglas Fraser, Scottish pilot, first to land at Newfoundland Airport on January 11, 1938 (b. 1916)
24th - Larry Norman, American musician, singer, songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
25th - Ashley Cooper, Australian race car driver (b. 1980)
25th - Hans Raj Khanna, Judge of the Supreme Court of India (b. 1912)
25th - Static Major, American singer (b. 1974)
26th - Buddy Miles, American drummer (Band of Gypsies; b. 1947)
26th - Dick Fletcher, Meteorologist (b.1942)
26th - Glory Mukwati, Zimbabwean politician
27th - Myron Cope, American sports broadcaster (b. 1929)
27th - William F. Buckley, Jr., American conservative author and commentator (b. 1925)
27th - Boyd Coddington, American automobile designer (b. 1944)
28th - Mike Smith, English musician (The Dave Clark Five) (b. 1943)