February 2

Today in History
• 1536 - The Argentine city of Buenos Aires was founded by Pedro de Mendoza
• 1653 - New Amsterdam, now known as New York City, was incorporated
• 1798 - Federal St. Theater, Boston, becomes 1st in U.S. destroyed by fire
• 1848 - The first shipload of Chinese emigrants arrived in San Francisco, CA
• 1863 - Samuel Clemens becomes Mark Twain for 1st time
• 1887 - The beginning of Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PA
• 1892 - William Painter patented the bottle cap
• 1897 - The Pennsylvania state capitol in Harrisburg was destroyed by fire


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Candlemas Day
• Feast of Candelaria
• Groundhog Day
• National Tater Tot Day
• National Ukulele Day
• Optimist Day
• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
• Wetlands Day

Birthdays
• 1455 - King John of Denmark
• 1506 - René de Birague, French cardinal and chancellor
• 1649 - Benedict XIII [Pierfrancesco Orsini], Italian 245th pope
• 1754 - Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French statesman, born in Paris
• 1780 - Johannes van den Bosch, Governor-General, Netherlands East Indies
• 1817 - John Glover, English chemist (sulfuric acid)
• 1860 - Curtis Guild, Jr., 43rd Governor of Massachusetts
• 1861 - Mehmed VI, last sultan of Ottoman Empire (1918-22)s