Today in History for 7th February 2025
Historical Events
1238 – Mongolian forces led by General Batu capture and burn the important Russian city of Vladimir, after an eight-day siege
1839 – Henry Clay declares in Senate “I had rather be right than president”
1907 – The Mud March, first large procession organized by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS)
1950 – United States formally recognizes the State of Vietnam as the legitimate government of Vietnam, with Bảo Đại as leader
2006 – Uma Thurman is named a knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of France for outstanding achievement in the field of art and literature
2023 – LeBron James scores 38 points to become NBA’s all-time leading scorer as the Lakers go down 133-130 to Oklahoma City Thunder in Los Angeles; surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points
Famous Birthdays
1707 – Carl August Thielo, Danish composer, opera director, and court organist, born in Høsterkøb, Denmark (d. 1763)
1812 – Charles Dickens, English writer (“Oliver Twist”; “A Tale of Two Cities”; “A Christmas Carol”), born in Portsmouth, Hampshire (d. 1870)
1920 – Oscar Brand, Canadian-born American folk vocalist (Draw Me A Laugh), born in Winnipeg, Manitoba (d. 2016)
1924 – Johnny Jordaan [Johannes van Musscher], Dutch pop and levenslied singer, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1989)
1953 – Bruce Gaitsch, American session guitarist, songwriter, and record producer (Chicago; Richard Marx; Peter Cetera; Madonna), born in Chicago, Illinois
1983 – Christian Klien, Austrian racing driver
Famous Deaths
1839 – Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet (b. 1799)
1933 – Albert Apponyi, Hungarian politician (Minister of Religion and Education of Hungary), dies at 86
1938 – Harvey Firestone, American manufacturer and founder of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, dies at 69
1960 – Igor Kurchatov, Soviet-Russian nuclear physicist who directed the Soviet atomic bomb project, dies of a cardiac embolism at 57 likely caused by radiation poisoning during the catastrophe at Chelyabinsk-40
1991 – Dick Winslow, American actor (Tom Sawyer, Mutiny on the Bounty), dies at 75
2020 – Li Wenliang, Chinese doctor who tried to raise the alarm over COVID-19, dies of COVID-19 in Wuhan at 34
