
1919 Irish militant nationalist party Sinn Féin creates its own parliament in Dublin and declares Ireland independent of Great Britain, sparking the Irish War of Independence.


1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Quebec Flag Day.

1921 British crime writer Agatha Christie publishes her first novel “The Mysterious Affair at Styles” introducing the character Hercule Poirot
1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board.
1976 – First commercial Concorde flight: Generating a sonic boom as it traveled through the atmosphere at supersonic speed, the Concorde, a commercial aircraft built with funding from the British and French governments, began regular service on this day in 1976.

1977 – President of the United States Jimmy Carter pardons nearly all American Vietnam War draft evaders, some of whom had emigrated to Canada.
2004 – NASA’s MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.

2013 – Henry Okah, a Nigerian is found guilty of masterminding two car bombs in Abuja by a South African Judge.
Famous Birthdays:

1940 Jack Nicklaus born in Columbus, Ohio, U.S. He is American professional golfer, a dominating figure in world golf from the 1960s to the ’80s. He is 84 today.

1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon was born in Lagos, Nigerian-born American professional basketball player who led the Houston Rockets to consecutive National Basketball Association (NBA) championships in 1994 and 1995. He is 61 today.

Christian Dior – 1905 Born in the seaside town of Granville on the coast of Normandy, Christian Dior was a French couturier, best known for his eponymous fashion house which is often referred to as just Dior.