- 1812 – Russians establish Fort Ross in California.
- 1839 – Black inventor Edmond Berger patented the spark plug.
- 1847 – The first member of the Donner Party dies.
- 1848 – The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed, ending the Mexican-American war.
- 1862 – District of Columbia abolishes slavery.
- 1876 – The National League of baseball is founded.
- 1882 – James Joyce is born.
- 1887 – Groundhog Day is celebrated for the first time at Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.
- 1897 – Black inventor Alfred Cralle patents the ice cream scooper.
- 1905 – Ayn Rand is born in St. Petersburg, Russia. She is the author of “Atlas Shrugged.”
- 1913 – Grand Central Terminal opens in New York City.
- 1915 – Ernest E. Just receives the Spingarn medal for his pioneering work in cell division and fertilization. Despite having a PhD, he could not find work in the US as a Black scientist so he moved to Europe to continue his research. He was held as a prisoner–of-war by Nazis after their invasion of France.
- 1935 – Raven Wilkinson is born. At the age of 20, she became the first Black woman to receive a contract to dance full time with a major ballet company.
- 1943 – The Battle of Stalingrad ends as the last German troops surrender to the Red Army.
- 1971 – Idi Amin takes power in Uganda
- 2014 – Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies of an accidental overdose at age 46.
