The following events occurred inFebruary 1912:

• GeneralManuel Bonilla, elected on November 3, 1911, was sworn in asPresident of Honduras.^[1]
• After four years of existence, the city ofStrathcona, Alberta was incorporated intoEdmonton. The merger had been approved by a 518–178 margin of Strathcona voters.^[2]
• TheStamford Brook station opened to serveDistrict Railway andLondon and South Western Railway trains, eventually becoming part of theLondon Underground.^{[citation needed]}
• Atwo-seat biplane prototype was test flown by aviatorGeoffrey de Havilland at theRoyal Aircraft Factory,Farnborough Airport,Hampshire,England.^[3]
• Died:Jimmy Doyle, 30, American baseball player,third baseman for theCincinnati Reds andChicago Cubs, leader in theNational League for double plays and in errors, died of blood poisoning following anappendectomy (b.1881).^[4]

• TheRoyal Navy submarineHMSA3, with 14 men aboard, sank off of theIsle of Wight after being rammed by the depot shipHazard.^[5]
• The German cargo shipSSAugsburg departed from New York City toward its destination ofDurban inSouth Africa, with a crew of 39 people and a cargo of cans ofkerosene to be delivered to Bataiva in the Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta in Indonesia). Expected to arrive at Durban by March 5, the ship disappeared without a trace.^[6] The captain of another German ship, SSMagdeburg, which departed the same day, had passed through a severe storm on February 4 and speculated that SSAugsburg had sunk at that time.^[7]
• Ageneral strike inBrisbane involving tramway workers turned violent when police officers and special constables attacked a crowd of 15,000 demonstrators assembling in the city's Market Square in what became known as "Baton Friday" and later, "Black Friday."^[8] Many of demonstrators were women, including hundreds of elderly. One of the elderly group reportedly stood her ground against a mounted police officer, stabbing the horse in the side with a hairpin that caused the horse to buck the officer off.^[9][10]
• TheUnion Party retained their majority ingeneral elections held on theFaroe Islands.^[11]

• U.S. SenatorRobert M. La Follette had been the foremost challenger against incumbent U.S. PresidentWilliam Howard Taft for theRepublican Party nomination, until he went ahead with a speech to thePeriodical Publishers' Association, despite being ill with a stomach virus. Instead of making the planned brief remarks, La Follette made a long, rambling speech that criticized the assembled newspaper reporters, then dropped out of sight. La Follette's disastrous showing cleared the way for former PresidentTheodore Roosevelt to get the nomination instead.^[12][13][14]
• TheCentral Intercollegiate Athletic Association was organized as the first intercollegiate sports conference for African-American colleges. The original members of the conference wereHampton University,Howard University,Lincoln University,Shaw University, andVirginia Union University.^[15]
• FilmmakerCharles Urban releasedWith Our King and Queen Through India, a 2½-hourKinemacolorfeature film of theDelhi Durbar attended byKing George in December of 1911, at theScala Theatre,London.^[16]
• Born:
  • Millvina Dean, British public servant, youngest and last survivor of the sinking of theTitanic; inBranscombe,Devonshire (d.2009).^{[citation needed]}
  • Burton Lane, American composer, known for musical hits includingFinian's Rainbow andOn a Clear Day You Can See Forever; inNew York City (d.1997).^{[citation needed]}
  • Zhu Shenghao, Chinese academic, translated the works ofWilliam Shakespeare into theChinese language; inJiaxing,Zhejiang province (d.1944).^{[citation needed]}

• The French government decreed that theindigenes ofAlgeria, male residents of Arab descent, were to be drafted for three years service into theFrench Army. The move was opposed by French Algerians, who did not want the indigenous population to be trained to use weapons, and non-French Algerians.^[17]
• The rules ofAmerican football were revised by theNational Collegiate Athletic Association following two days of deliberations. Among the alterations were that the length of the field was shortened from 110 yards to 100, teams would now have fourdowns instead of three to try to gain ten yards,kickoffs were to be made from the 40 yard line rather than the middle of the field, and thetouchdown was now worth six points instead of five.^[18]
• Born:
  • Lynn Patrick, Canadian hockey player,left wing for theNew York Rangers from 1934 to 1947; inVictoria, British Columbia (d.1980).^{[citation needed]}
  • Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist, leading researcher onPre-Columbian civilizations; inMontpellier,Hérault département (d.1990).^{[citation needed]}

• Bohemia won theIce Hockey European Championship inPrague.^[19]

• Parisian tailor and inventorFranz Reichelt plunged to his death after jumping from theEiffel Tower to test a wearableparachute.^[20]
• King George andQueen Mary arrived back in theUnited Kingdom atSpithead,England, after an absence of almost three months. The royal family had departed on November 10, 1911, to travel toBritish India.^[21]
• Anice bridge overNiagara Falls broke and carried anOhio teenager and a Canadian husband and wife to their deaths over the falls, as thousands of spectators watched in horror. The 1,000-foot-wide (300 m) bridge had formed two weeks earlier from the piling up of ice fields from up river, and was 60 feet (18 m) thick. An article inThe New York Times remarked: "This is the first time in the history of the Niagara that lives have been lost in this way."^[22]
• U.S. PresidentWilliam Howard Taft ordered an increase of the number of American troops guarding the nation's border withMexico.^[23][24]
• Born:
  • Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian-American conductor, known for his collaborations withBoston Symphony Orchestra,Metropolitan Opera,Los Angeles Philharmonic, andNew York Philharmonic; inVienna (d.1993).^{[citation needed]}
  • Byron Nelson, American golfer, winner of the 1937 British Open, the 1937 and 1942 Masters, the 1939 U.S. Open, and the 1940 and 1945 PGA Championships, and sixthall-time winner of the PGA Tour with 52 wins; inWaxahachie, Texas (d.2006).^{[citation needed]}

• TheMormon colonies in Mexico, which had been founded by Americans more than 25 years earlier, were threatened for the first time when the residents ofColonia Juárez refused a demand by a force of Mexican rebels for weapons, horses and supplies. Initially, the colonists were able to resist a takeover by pledging to remain neutral and by requesting intervention by the American consul.^[25]
• The British Arbitration League, a peace society, issued an appeal against air warfare, with signatories including renowned British authorsArthur Conan Doyle andThomas Hardy, and American painterJohn Singer Sargent.^[26]
• The first exhibition ofFuturist painting was held, opening inParis.^[27]
• Thornton Burgess published the first installment of his syndicated newspaper column "Bedtime Stories," which ran six days a week.^[28] He wrote 15,000 of the columns, along with 100 books, retiring in 1960 at the age of 86.^[29][30]
• Sidney Smith's cartoonOld Doc Yak made its debut in theChicago Tribune.^[31]
• Born:Hedwig Potthast, German administrator, secretary and mistress toHeinrich Himmler; inCologne (d.1994).^{[citation needed]}
• Died:Mary Greenleaf Clement Leavitt, 81, American activist against alcohol sales, leading promoter of theWoman's Christian Temperance Union (b.1830).^{[citation needed]}

• Portuguese army reinforcements began arriving inDili,East Timor to help put down arevolt in the interior.^[32]
• The colonial administration ofGerman Samoa abolished the chieftain position ofAli'i Sili (paramount chief) following the death ofMataʻafa Iosefo. Samoans Tanumafili I and Tamasese Meaole I were appointedfautua, or advisers to the colonial administration, in place of the position.^[33]
• The city ofMt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania was created and incorporated as a township.^[34]
• Born:
  • Eva Braun, German photographer, companion and wife ofAdolf Hitler; inMunich (committed suicide,1945).^{[citation needed]}
  • Christopher Hill, English historian, leading expert onearly modern Britain, inYork (d.2003).^{[citation needed]}
• Died:James B. Weaver, 68, American politician, U.S. Representative forIowa as member of theGreenback Party from 1879 to 1889,1892 presidential candidate for thePopulist Party (b.1833).^[35]

• One day after announcing that federal appellate judgeWilliam Cather Hook would be his nominee to fill the vacancy on theU.S. Supreme Court caused by the death ofJohn Marshall Harlan, U.S. PresidentWilliam Howard Taft withdrew Hook's name because of protests by theNAACP and other African-American organizations.^[36]Mahlon Pitney was selected by the President in place of Hook.^[37]
• TheU.S. Marines landed atPuerto Cortés inHonduras.^[21]
• TheUsambara Railway officially opened for operation inGerman East Africa (nowTanzania).^[38]
• A rail line of 4 miles 7 chains (6.6 kilometres) in length opened between Jammerdrif toWepener,South Africa.^[39]
• Born:
  • Russell Drysdale, British-Australian artist, known for paintings includingSofala andWest Wyalong; inBognor Regis,West Sussex (d.1981).^{[citation needed]}
  • Roberta McCain, American socialite and oil heiress (d.2020).^{[citation needed]}
  • Roy Sullivan, American park ranger, recorded byGuinness World Records for being struck the most times by lightning; inGreene County, Virginia (committed suicide,1983).^{[citation needed]}
• Died:Edward Wilmot Blyden, 79, Liberian politician and activist, proponent ofPan-Africanism (b.1832).^{[citation needed]}

• Robert G. Fowler landed his airplane inJacksonville, Florida after starting fromLos Angeles on October 19, becoming the first pilot to fly across theUnited States from west to east (California toFlorida), and the second overall, afterCal Rodgers.^[40]
• Emmanouel Argyoropoulos became the first Greek pilot, taking a Nieuport airplane aloft atAthens. On his second flight of the day, he was accompanied by Greek Prime MinisterEleftherios Venizelos as his co-pilot.^[41][42]
• Australia inaugurated its first wireless telegraphic station, atMelbourne, as part of a plan to establish a network of 19 stations nationwide.^[43]

• Japan began shipment of 6,040cherry blossom seedlings to theUnited States. The shipment arrived inWashington, D.C. the following month.^[44]
• An eight-year old Tunisian Arab child was struck and killed by a tram operating by an Italian operator inTunis. Witnesses to the tragic accident reported the operator being drunk while operating the vehicle. Aboycott was called on all Italian-owned trams in Tunis until reparations were paid to the family of the deceased child. The boycott would last nearly two months with none of the protestors' demands met, but it laid the groundwork for theTunisian national movement.^[45]
• Born:
  • Thomas Hinman Moorer, American naval officer,Chief of Naval Operations during theVietnam War; inMount Willing, Alabama (d.2004).^{[citation needed]}
  • Futabayama Sadaji, Japanesesumo wrestler, 35thyokozuna; inUsa, Ōita Prefecture (d.1968).^{[citation needed]}
• Died:Hyacinthe Loyson, 84, French cleric who was excommunicated by theCatholic Church after questioning the doctrine of papal infallibility (b.1827).^{[citation needed]}

• TheFrench Senate ratified theMorocco agreement.^[21]
• TheSáenz Peña Law (named after Argentine PresidentRoque Sáenz Peña) was put into effect, allowinguniversal suffrage for all male citizens inArgentina.Women's suffrage would not be achieved in the country until 1947.^[46]
• Archibald Peake of theLiberal Union Party defeated incumbentJohn Verran of theUnited Labor Party in thestate election forSouth Australia.^[47]
• Seven state governors sent former U.S. PresidentTheodore Roosevelt a letter urging him to declare that he would accept the Republican nomination for the presidency. Roosevelt would answer on February 24.^[48][49]
• Born:Henry Krips, Austrian-Australian composer, known for his collaboration with theAdelaide Symphony Orchestra; inVienna (d.1987).^{[citation needed]}
• Died:
  • Joseph Lister, 84, British surgeon, introduced the practice of sterilization of wounds and surgical instruments (b.1827).^{[citation needed]}
  • José Paranhos, 67, Brazilian diplomat,Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1902 to 1912 (b.1845).^{[citation needed]}
  • Thomas Reibey, Australian politician,Premier of Tasmania 1876 to 1877 (b.1821).^{[citation needed]}

• TheNiger-Chad border was created by French military commanders and the Governors-General ofFrench West Africa andFrench Equatorial Africa.^[50]
• Agustín Lizárraga, who discoveredMachu Picchu in 1902 before American explorerHiram Bingham in 1911, was reported drowned after falling off of a bridge inPeru.^[51]
• TheShinano Railway Line was extended inChikuma, Nagano,Japan, withTogura Station serving the line.^[52]
• Swedish figure skaterGösta Sandahl won the gold medal in theEuropean Figure Skating Championships inStockholm.^[53]
• Born:Roy Fuller, English writer, member ofThe Movement in theUnited Kingdom, father to poetJohn Fuller; inFailsworth,Lancashire (d.1991).^{[citation needed]}

• TheQing dynasty ofChina, also called theManchu dynasty, came to an end after 268 years as theEmpress Dowager Longyu signed an agreement on behalf ofPuyi, the six year old Emperor ofChina, to dissolve theImperial Advisory Council andmaking GeneralYuan Shikai the president of the newRepublic. In return for the peaceful transition, the Republicans signed the "Articles of Favorable Treatment." The Emperor was allowed to keep his title, palace and servants, and to continue to live the Imperial life. The arrangement lasted until 1924, whenFeng Yuxiang forced the Imperial family to flee from theForbidden City to the Japanese Embassy.^[54][55]
• China's Foreign Ministrywired its diplomats around the world, directing them to abandon their traditional Chinese clothing in favor of "the usual dress of American civil officials." At home, many Chinese citizens began adopting foreign attire as well.^[56][57]
• Bonar Law began steps to merge theLiberal Unionist Party and theConservative Party, shaping the British conservative party into its present form.^[58]
• Dutch aviatorAnthony Fokker establishedFokker Aeroplanbau inGermany, predecessor toFokker Aircraft Company.^[59]
• TheOregon Eastern Railway was sold to theCentral Pacific Railroad inOregon.^[60]
• TheVancouver Sun published its first issue.^[61]
• Born:
  • Anton Buttigieg,President of Malta from 1976 to 1981; inQala, Malta (d.1983).^{[citation needed]}
  • Edith Houghton, the first femaleMajor League Baseballscout; inNorth Philadelphia,Pennsylvania. Houghton worked for thePhiladelphia Phillies from 1946 to 1952 (d.2013).^[62]

• Bulgaria andSerbia signed an agreement, forming theBalkan League.^[63]
• The stern of the battleshipUSSMaine was raised from Havana Harbor, where it had exploded and sunk on February 15, 1898. After the stern was refloated, the ship's hulk was, on March 16, towed to theStraits of Florida, and following a ceremony, sunk in 620 fathoms of water within American territorial limits.^[64]
• Dr.Sun Yat-sen informed the National Assembly atNanjing of his resignation as President of China, and asked the legislators to electYuan Shikai. Yuan was sworn in as president inBeijing on March 10, 1912.^[65]
• Born:
  • Antonia Pozzi, Italian poet, known for poetry collections includingBreath. Poems and Letters; inMilan (d.1938).^{[citation needed]}
  • Margaretta Scott, English actor, best known for her role in theBBC televisionsitcomAll Creatures Great and Small; inWestminster,London (d.2005).^{[citation needed]}

• Arizona was admitted as the48th state of theUnited States, at 10:00 amET (8:00 amMT in Arizona), as U.S. PresidentWilliam Howard Taft signed a proclamation of statehood. At noon,George W. P. Hunt was inaugurated as the first State Governor.^[66][67]
• King George gave a speech in the British Parliament about his visit to the imperial colonies and expressed his trust to the people ofIndia and their government when he visited the country in 1911.^[68]
• Amateur archaeologistCharles Dawson wrote a letter to British paleontologistArthur Smith Woodward, describing his finding of "part of a thick human skull" in "a very old Pleistocene bed" betweenUckfield andCrowborough inEast Sussex,England. Dawson's "discovery," known as the "Piltdown Man," became one of the great hoaxes of the 20th century.^[69]
• TheTimes of London announced that Captain W.S. Patton, a British physician inMadras, had discovered the parasite that causedblack fever.^[70]
• Born:
  • Juan Pujol García, Spanish spy, double agent forMI5 who infiltratedNazi Germany's intelligence organizationAbwehr duringWorld War II, where he diverted attention away from theNormandy landings using false information, recipient of theOrder of the British Empire and theIron Cross; inBarcelona (d.1988).^{[citation needed]}
  • Ollie Harrington, American cartoonist, known for his political cartoon collections includingDark Laughter; inValhalla, New York (d.1995).^{[citation needed]}
  • Nie Er, Chinese composer, best known for the "March of the Volunteers," the national anthem ofChina; inKunming,Yunnan province (d. drowned1935).^{[citation needed]}

• Yuan Shikai, who had been leader of North China fromBeijing, was declared as President of the Republic of China by the assembly that controlled South China fromNanjing, at the recommendation of PresidentSun Yat-sen. Sun "had committed himself to put the unity of China before his own position and, had he not done so, the consequence would almost certainly have been civil war."^[71]
• Some 40,000-hectare (400 km²; 150 sq mi) ofZululand inSouth Africa was set aside aswildlife game reserve.^[72]
• Born:George Mikes, Hungarian-born British journalist, known for his humorous collection includingHow to be an Alien; inSiklós (d.1987).^{[citation needed]}

• Residents of La Mesa Springs voted 249–60 to incorporate the city ofLa Mesa, California. Now a suburb of San Diego, the city's population grew from 700 to over 57,000 people in a hundred years.^[73]
• The Mexican town of Garza Galán, inCoahuila State and across theRio Grande fromDel Rio, Texas, was renamed in honor of poetManuel Acuña. The name was shortened to Villa Manuel Acuña toCiudad Acuña on September 16, 1957.^[74]
• Thomas Jennings, the first American criminal to be convicted by fingerprint evidence, was executed by hanging.^[75]
• Died:Nicholas of Japan, 75, Russian Orthodox missionary and saint who introduced theEastern Orthodox Church toJapan (b.1836).^{[citation needed]}

• British polar explorerEdgar Evans, 35, became the first of the five members ofRobert Falcon Scott'sSouth Pole group to perish during the group's attempt to return to their base. Evans collapsed the previous day as the party descendedBeardmore Glacier inAntarctica, likely due to combination of frostbite, exhaustion, and complications from injuries to his hand and head during the return trek. The group was forced to leave his body behind and it was never recovered.^[76]
• A plot against CountHisaichi Terauchi, the firstGovernor-General of Korea, was discovered.^[21]
• Robert G. Fowler landed his airplane atPablo Beach, Florida, becoming the second person to fly an airplane across theUnited States, and the first to travel from west to east. He had started fromPasadena, California on October 20, afterCal Rodgers had flown east to west in 1911.^[77]
• British pilotGraham Gilmour was killed when theMartin airplane he was flying overRichmond Park,London experienced structural failure in mid-air and crashed.^[78]
• TheBaltimore and Ohio Railroad, commonly called the "B&O", reversed a decision to have separate waiting rooms for black and white passengers at its stations. On January 25, the managing editor of theBaltimore Afro-American, John H. Murphy Sr., had written to B&O President Daniel Willard and pledged to use his influence to divert the black tourist and convention business to other railroad lines.^[79]
• Austrian figure skaterFritz Kachler won the gold at theMen's World Figure Skating Championships inManchester.^[80]
• Born:Andre Norton (pen name for Alice Mary Norton), American science fiction and fantasy writer, author of theWitch World series, and the first woman to be inducted in theScience Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame; inCleveland (d.2005).^{[citation needed]}
• Died:
  • George Fuller Golden, 43, American vaudeville entertainer and labor leader, founder of theWhite Rats of America labor union, died of tuberculosis (b.1868).^{[citation needed]}
  • John Hyde, 46, American Presbyterian missionary, known his missionary work in British India'sPunjab Province, died following surgery for a brain tumor (b.1865).^{[citation needed]}
  • Alois Lexa von Aehrenthal, 57, Austrian diplomat,Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary from 1906 to 1912, died of leukemia (b.1854).^{[citation needed]}

• The13th Dalai Lama, Thakpo Langdun, declaredTibet independent of theRepublic of China. The Buddhist kingdom would resist several invasions until being conquered by the People's Republic of China in 1959.^[81]
• Under pressure fromRussia and theUnited Kingdom, the government ofPersia restored a pension to its former King,Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar, and granted amnesty to the followers who had attempted to return him to the throne.^[82]
• Britishfull-rigged shipErne was abandoned during a storm in theAtlantic Ocean while en route fromBoston toBuenos Aires, with the loss of 10 out 19 crew.^[83]
• Norwegian speed skaterOscar Mathisen won his third world title at theWorld Allround Speed Skating Championships inKristiania,Norway.^[84]

• Fifty people drowned in the sinking of a boat atRangoon.^[21]
• Carl Hayden was sworn in as the first U.S. Representative for the newly admitted state ofArizona. In 1927, he became one of the state's U.S. Senators, and became the first person to serve fifty years in the U.S. Congress, serving until 1969.^[85]
• Mahlon Pitney was nominated by U.S. PresidentWilliam Howard Taft to become a justice of theU.S. Supreme Court. He would be confirmed by the Senate on March 14, 1912, by a vote of 50–26.^[86]
• For the first time, a small prize was placed in every box ofCracker Jack, the caramel, popcorn and peanuts snack introduced in 1896.^[87]
• Born:
  • Hermann Flohn, German climatologist who was one of the first scientists to researchclimate change; inFrankfurt (d.1997).^{[citation needed]}
  • Adolf Rudnicki, Polish Jewish writer, best known for his novels onThe Holocaust andWarsaw Uprising; inŻabno (d.1990).^{[citation needed]}

• A cyclone swept throughLouisiana andMississippi, killing 20 people, mostly African-Americans. The heaviest damage was inShreveport, Louisiana, where eight people died.^[88]
• Jens Bratlie became the fifthPrime Minister of Norway, replacingWollert Konow and hiscabinet.^[21]
• CountLeopold Berchtold replaced the late CountAlois Lexa von Aehrenthal as theForeign Minister of Austria-Hungary.^[21]
• Born:
  • Pierre Boulle, French novelist, author ofThe Bridge over the River Kwai andPlanet of the Apes; inAvignon,Vaucluse département (d.1994).^{[citation needed]}
  • Muriel Humphrey, American politician, U.S. Senator forMinnesota following the death of her husbandHubert Humphrey in 1978; inHuron, South Dakota (d.1998).^{[citation needed]}
  • George Devol, American inventor who developed the firstindustrial robot; inLouisville, Kentucky (d.2011).^{[citation needed]}

• The city ofHouston was heavily damaged by a fire that destroyed 19 businesses and destroyed 200 buildings in the downtown. There were no deaths, but 1,000 people were left homeless. The blaze, which started in an empty rooming house, was spread by a gale across theTexas city.^[89]
• Construction workers successfully bored a nearly six mile tunnel through theSwiss Alps to make possible theJungfrau Railway. The tunnel was made beneath theEiger andMönch mountains, both more than 13,000 feet tall. The line, at the time the highest in Europe, would open on August 1, 1912.^[90][91]
• Captain Fesa Bey became the first member of the Turkish Army to complete flight training and to be awarded a pilot's license.^[92]
• ThePalmyra Atoll was successfully claimed as a possession of theUnited States by theUSSWest Virginia, under the command of Rear Admiral W. H. H. Southerland.^[93]
• Born:Solomon Schonfeld, British rabbi who rescued thousands of European Jews fromThe Holocaust; inStoke Newington,London (d.1984).^{[citation needed]}
• Died:Osborne Reynolds, 69, Irish chemist and physicist and pioneer in the study offluid dynamics (b.1842).^{[citation needed]}

• A fire at the No. 5 mine of Western Coal Company inLehigh, Oklahoma, killed nine people. Rufino Rodrigues saved as many as 259 miners by venturing further into the mine to warn his fellow employees. Rodrigues, a 22-year-old native of Mexico, was awarded a bronze medal by theCarnegie Hero Fund.^[94]
• French pilotJules Védrines became the first airplane pilot tofly faster than 100 miles per hour.^[95]
• InVernon, California,Johnny Kilbane defeated championAbe Attell for the world featherweight boxing championship. Attell had held the title for 11 years, and Kilbane would hold it for 11 more.^[96]

• The illuminatedLeaders of the World electric sign in New York City was destroyed by a record-breaking storm.^[97] The sign The sign had been in operation on July 19, 1910 and was on the roof of the Hotel Normandie, at Broadway and 38th Street, near Herald Square, taking approximately 90 days to complete. With 20,000 electric light bulbs and 70,000 electrical connections, the sign displayed messages and an animated scene of a chariot race.
• Born:
  • Harold Keith Johnson, American army officer,Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the height ofVietnam War; inBowesmont, North Dakota (d.1983).^{[citation needed]}
  • Henry S. Reuss, American politician, U.S. Representative ofWisconsin from 1955 to 1983; inMilwaukee (d.2002).^{[citation needed]}

• The Italian Chamber of Deputies voted 431–38 in favor of approving the royal proclamation to annexTripolitania andCyrenaica, both part of modern-dayLibya.^[98] The Italian Senate approved the measure unanimously the next day.^[99][100]

• In an attempt to force theOttoman Empire to accept the annexation ofTripoli andCyrenaica,Italy made a surprise attack on Beirut, a part of the Empire. The cruiserGiuseppe Garibaldi and the gunboatVolturno sailed into the Lebanese port and demanded the surrender of the Turkish shipsAnkara andAvnillah. Before the Ottoman provincial governor could reply, the Italian ships began bombardment, sinking both ships. The final death toll was 97 sailors and civilians.^[101]
• Former U.S. PresidentTheodore Roosevelt replied to the February 10 letter from several state governors, and declared that he would be willing to accept the Republican party nomination for President "if it is tendered to me," and added that "I will adhere to this decision until the convention has expressed its preference." The letter was released the next day.^[102]
• One of the first photographicaerial reconnaissance missions was undertaken, withItalian ArmyCaptain Carlo Piazza photographingOttoman Army positions inLibya during theItalo-Turkish War.^[103]
• The steamshipEarnslaw was launched atKingston onLake Wakatipu inNew Zealand.^[104][105]

• The firstBoy Scout troop inChina was organized, by the Reverend Yen Chia-lin, in the city ofWuchang. The organization, now called theScouts of China, is limited toTaiwan.^[106][107]
• Grand Duke William of Luxembourg died while still onthrone at age 59. He was succeeded by his 17-year-old daughter,Marie-Adélaïde, who reigned over the European nation as Grand Duchess until 1919 when she abdicated the throne to her sisterCharlotte.^[108]
• Born:Al Tomaini, American circus performer billed as "The Tallest Man in the World," standing 8'4" in 1931; inLong Branch, New Jersey. He and his wife, 2'6" Jeanie Tomiani, were later billed as "The World's Strangest Married Couple" (d.1962).^{[citation needed]}

• Coal miners in theUnited Kingdom walked out onstrike, beginning with employees of the Alfretor coal pits inDerbyshire,England. By Thursday, 600,000 miners had stopped work. The walkout lasted for seven weeks.^[109][110] By the end of the week, one million miners joined the strike, seeking a minimum wage guarantee.^[111][112]
• After announcing that he would run against U.S. PresidentWilliam Howard Taft for the 1912 Republican nomination, former PresidentTheodore Roosevelt was asked at a press conference inBoston whether he intended "to support the Republican nominee, whoever he may be" and replied that he would.^[113] After Taft received the nomination, Roosevelt ran against him as candidate of the Progressive Party.^{[citation needed]}
• Born:Hugues Panassié, French jazz producer, founder ofHot Club de France; inParis (d.1974).^{[citation needed]}
• Died:Bernardino Caballero, 72,President of Paraguay 1880 to 1886 (b.1839).^{[citation needed]}

• Eladio Victoria was sworn in asPresident of the Dominican Republic after his nephew, General Alfredo Victoria, pressured the Dominican Congress to elect his uncle. As a result, Horacio Vasquez returned from exile and led his followers, the "Horacistas," in a revolt against the government.^[114]
• Liberato Marcial Rojas was forced out of office asPresident of Paraguay and replaced byPedro Peña.^[21]
• General Electric Company obtained the U.S. Patent 1,018,502 for a tungsten filament lamp that had been invented by Austrian scientistsAlexander Just and Franz Hanaman.^[115]
• The Pacific Great Eastern Railway, predecessor ofBC Rail, was incorporated to build a line fromVancouver north to a connection with theGrand Trunk Pacific Railway atPrince George, British Columbia.^[116]
• British skating pairJames andPhyllis Johnson won the gold at thePairs World Figure Skating Championships inManchester.^[117]
• The towns ofGrant, Iowa andPollasky, California were incorporated.^{[citation needed]}
• Born:
  • Lawrence Durrell, British writer, author ofThe Alexandria Quartet andThe Avignon Quintet; inJalandhar,Punjab Province,British India (d.1990).^{[citation needed]}
  • James Klugmann, British writer, historian of theCommunist Party of Great Britain; inHampstead,London (d.1977).^{[citation needed]}

• A storm at Lake Tamehua, within the Mexican state ofTamaulipas, caused a barge to overturn, killing 35 people. Many of the drowning victims were American employees of the Pearson Oil Company.^[118]
• Danish composerCarl Nielsen conducted the premiere of hisSymphony No. 3 and hisViolin Concerto with theRoyal Danish Orchestra inCopenhagen.^[119][120]
• Hill County, Montana was created from the northern part ofChouteau County. Its county seat isHavre.^[121]
• Born:
  • Prince Bertil, Swedish royal family member, third son ofKing Gustaf andPrincess Margaret; inStockholm (d.1997).^{[citation needed]}
  • Clara Petacci, Italian photographer, mistress of Italian dictatorBenito Mussolini; inRome (executed1945).^{[citation needed]}

• Serbia andBulgaria secretly signed a treaty of alliance for a term of eight years, with each pledging to come to the defense of the other during war. The two nations fought together against the Ottoman Empire later that year during theFirst Balkan War, then against each other in theSecond Balkan War and inWorld War I.^[122]
• Russian gold miners at the Lena Mining Company inSiberia went out on strike, originally in protest about the quality of food sold to them by the company.^[123][124]
• KingVajiravudh of Siam (nowThailand) was overseeing military maneuvers atNakhon Pathom, when he was informed by his army chief of staff, Prince Chakrabongse, that several junior officers were plotting to overthrow him. 92 men were arrested, with most of them graduating from the military academy in 1909.^[125]
• Walter Wagner filed for a patent for the "bayonet and valve closed reservoir system," granted as U.S. Patent No. 1,142,210 but not put into use for water coolers until 80 years later. The invention reduced the possibility of contamination of bottled water during the filling and dispensing process.^[126]

• February 1912
• February by year
• Months in the 1910s

• CS1 German-language sources (de)
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• CS1 errors: ISBN date
• CS1 uses Japanese-language script (ja)
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• CS1: unfit URL
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• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from July 2024
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