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This Day in History - February

Can you guess these things that happened in the month of February?
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Last updated: August 13, 2020
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First submittedFebruary 10, 2013
Times taken39,750
Average score69.0%
Rating4.38
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Date
Year
Clue
Answer
Feb 1
2004
This singer has a "wardrobe malfunction" during the Super Bowl halftime show
Janet Jackson
Feb 2
1922
"Ulysses", by this author, is first published
James Joyce
Feb 3
1959
This musician dies in a plane crash, along with Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper. Known as the "Day the Music Died".
Buddy Holly
Feb 4
2004
This website is founded by Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook
Feb 5
1939
This generalísimo becomes leader of Spain
Francisco Franco
Feb 6
1819
This Asian city is founded as a trading post for the British Empire by Sir Stamford Raffles
Singapore
Feb 7
2009
173 are killed by the "Black Saturday" wildfires in this country
Australia
Feb 8
1950
The Stasi, secret police of this country, is established
East Germany
Feb 9
1964
This rock band's appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show" creates a mania in the United States
The Beatles
Feb 10
2005
This country announces it has nuclear weapons
North Korea
Feb 11
1990
In a shocking upset, this boxer is defeated by Buster Douglas
Mike Tyson
Feb 12
1832
This country annexes the Galápagos Islands
Ecuador
Feb 13
1913
The 13th Dalai Lama proclaims the independence of this country
Tibet
Feb 14
1876
Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for this device
Telephone
Feb 15
1965
A maple-leaf design is adopted as the flag of this country
Canada
Feb 16
1959
This revolutionary becomes leader of Cuba
Fidel Castro
Feb 17
2008
This country declares independence from Serbia
Kosovo
Feb 18
1930
This dwarf planet is discovered
Pluto
Feb 19
1986
The Soviet Union launches this space station
Mir
Feb 20
1877
This Tchaikovsky ballet premieres at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow
Swan Lake
Feb 21
1848
Marx and Engels publish this manifesto
The Communist Manifesto
Feb 22
2011
This city in New Zealand is struck by a deadly earthquake
Christchurch
Feb 23
1455
This printer publishes his first Bibles
Johannes Gutenberg
Feb 24
1989
Ayatollah Khomeini offers a $3 million bounty for the death of this author
Salman Rushdie
Feb 25
1954
Gamal Abdel Nasser becomes premier of this country
Egypt
Feb 26
1815
This famous leader escapes from the island of Elba
Napoleon Bonaparte
Feb 27
1933
The Reichstag building is set on fire in this city
Berlin
Feb 28
1991
This war comes to an end
The Gulf War
Feb 29
2004
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is deposed as leader of this country
Haiti
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40 Comments
Somequiztaker
+2
Level 79
Feb 11, 2013
Would you please accept Desert Storm in addition to Gulf War?
redsplat
+16
Level 72
Feb 1, 2015
The Gulf War is not called Desert Storm. Desert Storm is the name of only one operation on only one side of the war. Nobody calls WWII "Operation Quicksilver" or "Operation Clawhammer."
joeythelemur
+1
Level 80
Feb 13, 2017
How many "sides" were there? I think it's generally accepted that the pre-war buildup was Operation Desert Shield and the actual combat operations were Operation Desert Storm.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_War

Djilas
+5
Level 86
Feb 13, 2017
At least the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait wasn't a part of Desert Storm
tshalla
+1
Level 78
Feb 1, 2018
I tried Gulf Assault.
IsleAuHaulte
+7
Level 92
Sep 2, 2018
I tried Gulf Oil Company.
KittynJim
+1
Level 58
Feb 1, 2018
Wikipedia redirects Desert Storm to Gulf War. I think this justifies accepting Desert Storm as an answer.
Sifhraven
+7
Level 76
Jun 8, 2019
No, otherwise it would redirect gulf war to desert storm...
Djilas
+8
Level 86
Aug 14, 2020
No, redirects don't always mean it's the same, just that something doesn't get a separate article.
redsplat
+1
Level 72
Feb 1, 2021
Exactly. Redirects on WP can be for many reasons, including mistaken terminology or merged content. A redirect does not indicate a synonym by default.
AlexThirkell
+1
Level 74
Feb 2, 2021
Only took 8 years to clear this up lol
ctleng76
+1
Level 65
Feb 13, 2013
Shouldn't Desert Storm work for the Gulf War clue?
joz
+9
Level 66
Feb 2, 2015
No.
TheWombat
+15
Level 72
Oct 4, 2013
What?! My birth in Tasmania, Australia is not on here? I demand satisfaction!
triviaolivia
+1
Level 63
Jul 9, 2022
Well, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Wardo
+1
Level 89
Mar 23, 2014
100% with 1:23 leftover. only tough one was which king died in 1952 because I am not English.
LarryLovage
+4
Level 55
Feb 1, 2015
Sad not to see the one historical event of February I always remember, which is the destruction of Dresden in 1945. (A bit downbeat, I know). Late January to early February are bad months for NASA and the British Royal Family. Apollo 1, Challenger, Columbia - George III, Victoria, George V, George VI.
Malbaby
+3
Level 70
Feb 1, 2018
Dresden 1945, just for balance see the bombing of British Cities 1940 onward ......here it is
dunkinggandalf2
+9
Level 72
Feb 1, 2021
What the hell does "balance" mean? Do atrocities justify atrocities?
Kalleanon
+3
Level 66
Feb 2, 2021
If you want balance why not post a list of German cities as well. Or just look at the civilian casualty rates - by some estimates ten times as many German civilians were killed by strategic bombing than British. Or you could mention that evacuations due to unexploded WWII bombs still happen in Germany pretty much every week (and rarely make even the local news).

I'm not saying either side's actions justify or negate the other's, just that that's an odd definition of balance.

Pimbard6
+1
Level 66
Feb 13, 2015
Good clues - spent nearly a whole minute on North Korea (thought their nuclear announcement was more recent than 2005)
tschutzer
+1
Level 93
Sep 16, 2017
Just looked up that 2011 earthquake. Incredible amount of damage and unfortunate loss of life for that magnitude of earthquake. I generally associate anything in the 6 range with minor damage, but the photos of this are anything but minor.
dogmeat
+1
Level 69
Feb 2, 2021
The quake was incredibly shallow on a previously unknown fault line right under the CBD which is largely a drained swamp.
idontkn1
+1
Level 94
Feb 1, 2018
I nearly missed the event on the 28th because I wanted to call it Desert storm. If you go to the current Wikipedia page it opens with "The Gulf War (2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991), codenamed Operation Desert Shield (2 August 1990 – 17 January 1991) for operations leading to the buildup of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm (17 January 1991 – 28 February 1991)". If you are only going to take Gulf War then the question needs to state that it started in August because Desert Storm ended on the 28th as well. It's the equivalent of saying that after the end of a non tied basketball game that it's not acceptable to say the 4th period ended only the game did. There are a lot more squishy fills ins throughout this site.
redsplat
+4
Level 72
Feb 1, 2021
No. One country's operation is not synonymous with a whole war. The Gulf War ended February 28. Other things may also have ended February 28, but they're not synonymous with the war. If there were different names for the actual Gulf War, that's a different story and I would support those names being accepted (like Vietnam War and American War referring to the same war).

I don't think your analogy helps your case either by the way; if the question asked "What operation ended Feb. 28" your analogy might make sense. But it's asking for the name of the *war*, and ending date is not the only criteria. People don't talk about the fourth period as if it is representative of the game itself.

phalocrocorax
+3
Level 84
Aug 14, 2020
The Tchaikovsky question was the first one in this series where I actually found the month useful - The Nutcracker would have premiered around Christmas time so could be ruled out.
GingerNinja80
+2
Level 71
Aug 15, 2020
Could you please accept the Cold War as an answer for a war coming to an end in 1991?
KanzazKyote
+1
Level 92
Aug 18, 2020
Well, the Cold War was not technically a real war so...
AchillesFirstStand
+6
Level 79
Feb 1, 2021
It didn't end on February 28th specifically though.
Jerry928
+1
Level 76
Aug 16, 2020
Spelling: Generalissimo
Quizmaster
+6
Level ∞
Aug 16, 2020
Look again. Notice the accent. I used the Spanish version.
Jerry928
+3
Level 76
Aug 16, 2020
¡Mis disculpas!
johnnyrdnck
+1
Level 48
Nov 9, 2020
i tried cold war lol, it isnt that wrong
Baxtergrad
+4
Level 51
Dec 8, 2020
Well actually it is, the Cold War ending wasn't in February.
PLSiHaveRayGun
+1
Level 21
Feb 4, 2021
August 13th was my birthday thanks for the gift of this quiz
blairjohnstone
+1
Level 33
Oct 2, 2021
East Berlin should be accepted for East Germany
Dontforget
+2
Level 76
Apr 12, 2025
Is East Berlin a country?
SpartanLlama
+1
Level 79
Sep 27, 2023
For 1991 I could only think of Cold War, forgot there was an actual war that ended
mjthedinarwhal
+1
Level 66
Feb 2, 2026
why is "Rushdy" and acceptable spelling but "Rushdi", which is objectively closer, is not?
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Apr 2, 2026
Because if you type Rushdie and it completes with Rushdi you are left with an extra E that you have to erase.

We don't want to punish people spelling it correctly to reward those who don't.

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