1504Christopher Columbus uses a lunar eclipse to frighten hostile Jamaican Indians

1644Abel Tasman sets out on his second exploratory expedition for the VOC to the southern Pacific from Banda, in the Moluccas, with three ships (will chart northern coast of New Holland / Australia)[1]

1692 First people are accused of witchcraft, and arrested in Salem, Massachusetts - Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne, and Tituba, a West Indian slave

1768 Polish noblemanCasimir Pulaski joins the Bar Confederation to defend the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence

1784Marquis de Sade transferred from Vincennes fortress to the Bastille

1832Charles Darwin walks through the tropical forests of Bahia in Brazil, describing the experience as being in "transports of pleasure"

1868 1st British government ofBenjamin Disraeli forms

1904Theodore Roosevelt, appoints 7-man Panama Canal Commission to proceed with completing a canal at the Isthmus

1936 US PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt signs 2nd Neutrality Act

1940 12th Academy Awards: "Gone With The Wind" wins eight Oscars,Robert Donat &Vivien Leigh also win

1940Hattie McDaniel becomes 1st African American woman to win an Oscar for "Gone With The Wind"

1944 Karol Wojtyla, future PopeJohn Paul II, is run down and injured by a Nazi truck in Kraków

1956 MLB's Cleveland Indians franchise is sold for nearly $4m; former player and the team’s general managerHank Greenberg is part of the new ownership group

1956 US PresidentEisenhower announces he will seek a 2nd term

1960 1stPlayboy Club, featuring bunnies, opens in Chicago

1960JFK makes "missile gap" the presidential campaign issue

1964 Australian swimmerDawn Fraser records the fastest 100m freestyle of her brilliant career; smashes her own world record 58.9s in Sydney; goes on to win her 3rd straight gold in the event at the Tokyo Olympics

1964 Cincinnati'sJerry Lucas andOscar Robertson combine for a rare 40-40 performance as the Royals beat host Philadelphia 76ers, 117-114; NBA MVP Robertson has 43 points; Rookie of the Year Lucas, 40 rebounds

1964LBJ reveals the US has secretly developed the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird, an advanced, long‐range high-speed and high-altitude reconnaissance airplane[1]

1968Howard Hanson's 6th Symphony, premieres

1972 Future Baseball Hall of Fame right fielderHank Aaron becomes first player to earn $200,000 average annual salary; signs 3-year deal with Atlanta Braves after one of his best seasons – .327 average, 47 HRs and 118 RBIs

1976 American driverRichard Petty wins the only Winston Cup race run on Leap Day, taking the Carolina 500 at Rockingham by 2 laps overDarrell Waltrip

1980 Future Hockey Hall of Fame right wingGordie Howe scores in the 3rd period to become first NHL player to score 800 career goals as Hartford Whalers beat St. Louis Blues, 3-0 at Springfield Civic Center

1984Pierre Trudeau announces he is stepping down after 15 years as Canadian Prime Minister

1988 Nazi document implicatesKurt Waldheim in WWII deportations

1988 NYC Mayor Koch callsReagan a "WIMP" in the war on drugs

1992 Boston’sRay Bourque becomes just the 3rd defenseman in NHL history to score 1,000 career points with a goal and 2 assists in the Bruins' 5-5 tie with Washington Capitals at Boston Garden

2000 Giant Records releases American rock bandSteely Dan's "Two Against Nature", their eighth studio album, and first in 20 years; it wins four Grammy Awards.

2004 76th Academy Awards: "TheLord of the Rings: The Return of the King,"Sean Penn &Charlize Theron win