China invades Vietnam on February 17, 1979, starting the month-long Sino-Vietnamese War. It was triggered in part, by Vietnam's invasion of Cambodia in 1978 and toppling the Chinese-aligned Khmer Rouge regime. The Chinese forces withdrew on March 16.
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What Happened in February?
Emperor ascensions, legendary battles, and assassinations. Discover what happened this month in history. Explore pivotal events from February that helped shape the world. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The United States Olympic hockey team pulls off the "Miracle on Ice," on February 22, 1980, defeating the Soviet team during the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
The 2.5-hour "MAS*H" finale aired on February 28, 1983 and becomes the most-watched television episode in American history at the time. with some estimates peaking at 121.6 to 125 million.
U.S Navy captain Bruce McCandless II, on the NASA Space Shuttle Challenger’s STS 41-B mission, becomes the first human being to do a spacewalk without a safety tether linked to a spacecraft on February 7, 1984.
McCandless donned a backpack mobility device—the Manned Maneuvering Unit—and ventured about 320 ft (98 m) away from the vehicle, becoming the first human satellite. His solo ride lasted 1 hour and 22 minutes. More
Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos, escapes his country with his family for Hawaii on February 25, 1986, via U.S. Air Force planes after a fraudulent electoral victory over Corazon Aquino. His departure ended his 20-year rule and allowed Corazon Aquino to assume the Presidency.
When the Marcos family arrived in Hawaii they carried significant, undeclared wealth and after Ferdinand Marcos's death1989, the remaining members of the family were allowed to return to the Philippines to face various corruption charges in 1992. However, they were able to return to political power that same year, to the dismay of many Filipino people, with the election of Bongbong Marcos (Son of Ferdinand E. Marcos) as congressman for the second district of Ilocos Norte. He was elected to president of the Philippines in June 30, 2022.
Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme is gunned down on February 28, 1986 in the street outside a cinema in Stockholm. His killer was never found.
Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa on February 14, 1989, condemning author Salman Rushdie to death for his novel *The Satanic Verses*, which was deemed blasphemous by many in the Muslim community.
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South African President F.W. de Klerk lifts the 30-year ban on the African National Congress and other black liberation parties and releases Nelson Mandela from prison in South Africa on February 11, 1990, after 27 years in captivity.
The presidential order also allowed, freedom of the press and the release of political prisoners marking the beginning of the end of apartheid. More
The Treaty of Maastricht is signed on February 7, 1992, formally establishing the European Union, effective on November 1, 1993 with the EEC becoming the European Community (EC) "first pillar" of the newly formed EU, which encompassed the EC alongside other areas like foreign policy and justice.
In 2009, the Lisbon Treaty merged the EC into the EU, creating a unified legal framework and giving the EU a single legal personality as the EC formally ceased to exist. The six founding nations of the EU's predecessors, the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands. These nations signed treaties in the 1950s to create the ECSC (1951) and the EEC (1957) with the goal of fostering peace and economic integration, laying the groundwork for the modern European Union. More
A bomb planted by terrorists explodes beneath the World Trade Center in New York City on February 26, 1993, killing six and injuring over 1,000 people. The World Trade Center building suffered more than $500 million in damage. The attack was carried out by Ramzi Yousef and 6 conspirators. One of them was never captured. More
American astronaut Eileen Collins becomes, the first woman to pilot a Space shuttle as she pilots the Discovery in what was the first flight of the new joint Russian- American Space Program. In July 1999, Collins went on to be the first woman to be a Shuttle commander on the STS-93 Columbia. More
The Irish Republican Army (IRA) declares on February 9, 1996 an end to its 18-month cessation of military operations in Northern Ireland as of 6pm the same day.
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Russian chess grandmaster and World Chess Champion, Garry Kasparov, triumphs over the IBM's Deep Blue Supercomputer on February 17, 1996 in a a six-round tournament competition to determine if a machine could defeat a human in chess.
Surprisingly, Kasparov lost the first game of the tournament but was able to end the competition with an overall win of three victories, two draws and one loss.
1998, February 10-22
The 1998 Winter Olympics are held in Nagano, Japan, from February 7 -22. Seventy two nations and 2,176 athletes participated..
The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the measles virus eliminated in the United States on February 5, 2000.
FBI agent Robert Hanssen was arrested on February 18, 2001, for spying for the Soviet Union and its successor state, Russia, for more than 20 years. He was charged with 15 counts of espionage and conspiracy. On May 10, 2002, Hanssen was sentenced to 15 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
He was charged with 15 counts of espionage and conspiracy. He reached a plea bargain avoiding the death penalty, in exchange for cooperating with authorities and providing a full account of his activities. Hanssen provided highly classified national security information in exchange for over $1.4 million in cash and diamonds; compromising numerous U.S. intelligence operations and assets which led to the execution of at least two U.S. double agents by the Russians. Hanssen died in prison in 2023, at the age of 79, from natural causes. More
The trial of Slobodan Milošević begins at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague.
Space Shuttle Columbia breaks apart upon re-entry, tragically killing all seven crew members. Columbia lifted off on time on the first shuttle mission of the year on Jan. 16, 2003, at 10:39 a.m. EST, It carried seven crew members, on a marathon international scientific research flight. More
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia officially changes its name to the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro on February 4, 2003, replacing the federal government with a loose union marking the the end of the "Yugoslavia" name, which had been in use since 1929.
The union lasted until June 3, 2006, when Montenegro declared its own independence following a referendum. Serbia's National Assembly formally declared its own independence, on June 5, 2006 as the legal successor state to the Union of Serbia and Montenegro. Formally spliting into two countries.
Millions protest the impending invasion of Iraq on February 15, 2003 as a coordinated day of protests was held across the world in which people in more than 600 cities expressed opposition to the imminent Iraq War.
The demonstrations were believed to be the largest single day of anti-war protest in history. It was part of a series of protests and political events that had begun in 2002 and continued as the invasion, war, and occupation took place. More