International Childhood Cancer Day: A day to raise awareness and promote the prevention and treatment of childhood cancer.
Valentine’s Day: A popular day celebrated by couples around the world as a day of love and romance.
Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Day: A day to raise awareness and educate people about the most common birth defect in the world, congenital heart defects.
National Ferris Wheel Day: A day to celebrate the invention of the Ferris Wheel, an iconic amusement park ride that has been enjoyed by millions of people around the world.
World Bonobo Day: A day to raise awareness and promote the conservation of the endangered Bonobo ape, one of the closest living relatives to humans.
270 AD – According to legend, Saint Valentine is executed in Rome for performing marriages for Christian couples in secret.
1779 – James Cook, the British explorer, is killed by Hawaiian natives in a dispute over a stolen boat.
1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first sitting President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
1929 – The infamous St. Valentine’s Day Massacre takes place in Chicago, when seven members of a rival gang are killed by Al Capone’s gang.
1962 – First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy gives a televised tour of the White House, introducing Americans to the historic residence and its art and furnishings.
1989 – The Ayatollah Khomeini issues a fatwa calling for the death of British author Salman Rushdie, who had written a controversial novel, “The Satanic Verses.”
2018 – A gunman opens fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring many others.