February 14
February 14 is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 321 days remain until the year's end. It falls in winter (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Aquarius.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On February 14 the Sun's declination is approximately -13.6°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a February 14.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Saint Valentine's Day (worldwide)
- Statehood Day — Arizona (1912), Oregon (1859)
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
1779 — British explorer James Cook was killed by Native Hawaiians at Kealakekua Bay. ↗(247 years ago)more
On 14 February 1779 British explorer Captain James Cook was killed as he attempted to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu, the ruling chief of the island of Hawaii, and hold him hostage for the return of a cutter which Hawaiians had stolen.
1859 — Oregon was admitted as the 33rd U.S. state. ↗(167 years ago)more
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western United States, with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho.
1876 — Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone (granted March 7). ↗(150 years ago)more
A telephone, commonly shortened to phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into electronic signals that are transmitted via cables and other communication channels to an...
1912 — Arizona was admitted as the 48th U.S. state. ↗(114 years ago)more
Arizona is a landlocked state in the Southwestern United States, sharing the Four Corners region with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the northwest and California to the west, and shares an international border with the Mexican states of Sonora and Baja California to the south and southwest.
1929 — The St Valentine's Day Massacre: seven Chicago gangsters were killed, allegedly on orders of Al Capone. ↗(97 years ago)more
The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago, garage when between four and six men entered, two of whom were disguised as police officers.
1989 — Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa against Salman Rushdie over The Satanic Verses. ↗(37 years ago)more
The Satanic Verses controversy, also known as the Rushdie Affair, was a controversy sparked by the 1988 publication of The Satanic Verses by the Indian author Salman Rushdie. It centred on the novel's references to the Satanic Verses, and came to include a larger debate about censorship and religious violence.
Notable births
1818 — Frederick Douglass, American abolitionist and orator. ↗(208 years ago)more
Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. He was the most important leader of the movement for African-American civil rights in the 19th century.
Notable deaths
1779 — Captain James Cook. ↗(247 years ago)more
Captain James Cook was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer who led three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans between 1768 and 1779. He completed the first recorded circumnavigation of the main islands of New Zealand, and led the first recorded visit by Europeans to the east coast of Australia and the Hawaiian Isl...
2005 — Rafic Hariri, Lebanese Prime Minister, in a Beirut bombing. ↗(21 years ago)more
Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (45) | 3^2 × 5 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (321) | 3 × 107 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 14022026 · next palindrome year: 2041 |
| Sun declination | -13.61° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 56 days |