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On this day in history - February 2

What Happened On This Day – February 2

  • 1990 The South African Apartheid system of racial segregation begins to disintegrate

    President de Klerk announced the unbanning of the African Nation Congress (ANC) and his intentions to release Nelson Mandela.

  • 1943 The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end as the Axis Powers surrender

    Germany's defeat marked a turning point in World War II.

  • 1925 20 mushers embark on a journey to transport medicine to Nome, Alaska, inspiring the Iditarod Race

    The Iditarod is the world's longest and most challenging dog sled race.

  • 1922 “Ulysses” by James Joyce is published

    The novel is considered one of the most important works of modernist literature.

  • 1852 The first public flushing toilet is opened in London

    Using the “Public Waiting Room” at 95 Fleet Street cost 2 pence.

Illustration of stork, signifying birth

Births On This Day,
February 2

  • 1977 Shakira

    Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, actress

  • 1963 Eva Cassidy

    American singer, guitarist

  • 1926 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing

    French politician, 20th President of France

  • 1905 Ayn Rand

    Russian/American author, philosopher

  • 1882 James Joyce

    Irish author

Illustration of tombstone, signifying death

Deaths On This Day,
February 2

  • 1996 Gene Kelly

    American dancer, actor

  • 1979 Sid Vicious

    English singer, bass player

  • 1972 Natalie Clifford Barney

    American poet, playwright

  • 1970 Bertrand Russell, 3rd Earl Russell

    English mathematician, historian, philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate

  • 1945 Carl Friedrich Goerdeler

    German politician