^B{^#!16!3 February^N! Feast day of St Laurence of Spoleto, St Anskar, St Ia the Virgin, St Laurence of Canterbury, St Blaise, St Werburga, and St Margaret 'of England'.
^B{1488^B} The Portuguese navigator Bartholomeu Diaz landed at Mossal Bay in the Cape - the first European known to have landed on the southern extremity of Africa. ^B{1913^B} The 16th Amendment to the US Constitution, authorising the power to impose and collect income tax, was ratified. ^B{1919^B} The League of Nations held its first meeting in Paris, with US President Wilson chairing. ^B{1966^B} The first rocket-assisted controlled landing on the Moon was made by the Soviet space vehicle Luna IX. ^B{1969^B} At the Palestinian National Congress in Cairo, Yasser Arafat was appointed leader of the PLO. ^B{1989^B} South African politician P W Botha unwillingly resigned both party leadership and the presidency after suffering a stroke.
^B{^I{^#!14!Born ^N}Felix Mendelssohn, German composer, ^B{1809^B}; Gertrude Stein, US author, ^B{1874^B}; Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect, ^B{1898^B}; James Michener, US novelist, ^B{1907^B}; Simone Weil, French writer, ^B{1909^B}; Frankie Vaughan, English singer, ^B{1928^B}.
^B{^I{^#!14!Died ^N}John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, ^B{1399^B}; Richard 'Beau' Nash, British dandy and gambler, ^B{1762^B}; Woodrow Wilson, 28th US president, ^B{1924^B}; Buddy Holly, US singer and guitarist, ^B{1959^B}; Boris Karloff, US film actor, ^B{1969^B}; John Cassavetes, US film actor and director, ^B{1989^B}.
