Today in History for 2nd February 2026

[CoM Moderators]

Historical Events

1653 - New Amsterdam becomes a city, later renamed New York City
1900 - Gustave Charpentiers opera "Louise" premieres at the Salle Favart, in Paris France; performed by the Opéra-Comique conducted by André Messageri
1957 - Leonard Bernstein's musical "Candide" closes at Martin Beck Theater NYC after 73 performances
2014 - Protests in Ukraine turn violent after parliament passes legislation that outlaws protest
2020 - Palindrome Day: the date 02022020 reads the same forward and backward including in the US and China (last one like this 11 November 1111)

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Famous Birthdays

1827 - Oswald Aschenbach, German landscape painter, born in Düsseldorf, Prussia (d. 1905)
1883 - S Z Sakall [Gerö Jenö], Hungarian stage and film character actor (Dolly Sisters, Casablanca), born in Budapest Hungary (d. 1955)
1899 - Benny Rubin, American actor and comedian (Benny Rubin Show), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1986)
1907 - Bernardas Brazdzionis, Lithuanian poet, editor and critic, born in Stebeikėliai, Lithuania, Russian Empire (d. 2002)
1944 - Geoffrey Hughes, British actor (Keeping Up Appearances, Coronation Street), born in Wallasey, England, (d. 2012)

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Famous Deaths

1673 - Kaspar Förster, German composer, dies at 56
1881 - Alekey Pisemski, Russian novelist and playwright (A Bitter Lot), dies at 59 (OS 21 Jan)
1993 - Alexander Schneider, Lithuanian violinist (Budapest String Quartet), dies at 84
1999 - Marie Van Brittan Brown, American nurse and co-inventor of the home security system with her husband Albert L. Brown, dies at 76
2021 - Tom Moore, English army captain knighted for raising £32 million for the NHS, dies with COVID-19 at 100

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