On This Day
What Happened on February 14 in History
9 events that happened on February 14, oldest first. Every entry is written in our own words and links to its source.
Colonial America and the Revolution
1779
Captain James Cook is killed in a clash with Native Hawaiians at Kealakekua Bay.
The British explorer had returned to the island of Hawaii to repair his ship, and tensions rose after a boat was stolen. Cook was killed on shore when he tried to take a Hawaiian chief hostage, ending the career of one of history's great navigators.
Source: history.com
1779
Patriot militia defeat a Loyalist force at the Battle of Kettle Creek in Georgia.
Militia led by Andrew Pickens, John Dooly and Elijah Clarke surprised Loyalists marching to join British troops at Augusta. The victory was a rare Patriot success in the South during the British occupation of Georgia.
Source: history.com
The Young Republic and the Civil War Era
1859
Oregon is admitted to the Union as the 33rd state.
President James Buchanan signed the admission act two days after Congress passed it. Oregon's constitution banned slavery but also barred Black people from settling in the state.
Source: millercenter.org
The Early 1900s and the World Wars
1912
Arizona becomes the 48th state, the last of the contiguous states to join the Union.
President William Howard Taft signed the proclamation after Arizona agreed to drop a provision allowing voters to recall judges, which he had opposed.
Source: archives.gov; millercenter.org
1929
Seven men are gunned down in a Chicago garage in the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
Gunmen, some dressed as police officers, lined up members and associates of George Bugs Moran's gang against a wall and opened fire. The killings were widely blamed on Al Capone's organization, but no one was ever convicted.
Source: history.com; archive.nytimes.com
The Cold War
1950
China and the Soviet Union sign a 30-year treaty of alliance in Moscow.
The Treaty of Friendship, Alliance and Mutual Assistance pledged the Soviet Union and the new People's Republic of China to defend each other and brought Soviet loans and advisers to China. The alliance alarmed Washington and later broke down in the Sino-Soviet split.
Source: history.com; millercenter.org
1962
Jacqueline Kennedy leads a televised tour of the newly restored White House.
The First Lady showed viewers rooms she had refurnished with historic pieces as part of her restoration project. The program aired on CBS and NBC to a huge audience.
Source: history.com
1990
Voyager 1 turns its camera back toward home and captures the Pale Blue Dot image of Earth.
From beyond the orbit of Neptune, the spacecraft photographed Earth as a tiny speck in a band of scattered sunlight. Astronomer Carl Sagan, who had urged NASA to take the picture, made it famous as a reminder of how small our world is.
Source: history.com
The Modern Era
2018
A gunman kills 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
A former student opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle at the school. Surviving students organized the March for Our Lives the following month, one of the largest youth-led protests in American history.
Source: history.com