Friday February 1 1884 First edition of the Oxford English Dictionary published. 1961 Plans for the Post Office Tower in central London were unveiled. 1977 The Pompidou Centre opened in Paris. 1983 TV-AM began broadcasting. Births: John Ford, legendary

Friday February 1

1884 First edition of the Oxford English Dictionary published.

1961 Plans for the Post Office Tower in central London were unveiled.

1977 The Pompidou Centre opened in Paris.

1983 TV-AM began broadcasting.

Births: John Ford, legendary Hollywood director, 1895; Clark Gable, star of Gone With the Wind, 1901; Stanley Matthews, soccer legend, 1915; Boris Yeltsin, ex-Russian president, 1931.

Today's birthday's: Peter Sallis, from Last of the Summer Wine and the voice of Wallace in Wallace and Gromit, 87; Don Everly, once of the Everly Brothers, 71; Terry Jones, once of the Monty Python Flying Circus, 66; Gavin Henson, Wales Rugby Union star, 26.

Deaths: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, author of Frankenstein, 1851; Buster Keaton, Hollywood silent movie comedian, 1966.

Saturday February 2

1955 Plans for Britain's motorway network were unveiled.

1959 Buddy Holly played his last show, at the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.

1989 The Russian ended their nine-year occupation of Afghanistan.

1990 South Africa President F W de Klerk lifted the ban on the African National Congress (ANC).

1999 Glenn Hoddle was sacked as England soccer manager.

Births: James Joyce, author of Ulysses, 1882; Hughie Greene, presenter of Double Your Money and Opportunity Knocks, 1920; Les Dawson, comedian, 1934; Eva Cassidy, singer-songwriter, 1963.

Today's birthday's: David Jason, star of Only Fools and Horses, 68; Graham Nash, musician, 66; Farrah Fawcett, actress, 61.

Deaths: Bertrand Russell, philosopher, 1970; Boris Karloff, horror movie actor, 1969; Sid Vicious, of the Sex Pistols, 1979; Fred Perry, British tennis legend, 1995; Donald Pleasance, actor, 1995; Gene Kelly, actor and dancer, 1996.

Sunday February 3

1959 Buddy Holly along with Richie Valens and The Big Bopper were killed in an air crash after take-off from Mason City, Iowa.

1969 Yasser Arafat was appointed leader of the PLO.

1989 South African leader P W Botha resigned as president.

Births: Felix Mendelssohn, German composer, 1809.

Today's birthday's: Val Doonican, entertainer, 80; Dave Davies, of The Kinks, 60.

Deaths: Woodrow Wilson, US President, 1924; Buddy Holly, singer-songwriter, 1959; The Big Bopper, musician, 1959; Richie Valens, singer-songwriter, 1959.

Monday

1927 British driver Malcolm Campbell broke the world land speed record with a speed of 174.88mph.

1968 The world's largest hovercraft was launched at Cowes on the Isle of Wight.

1972 Britain recognised the independence of Bangladesh.

1975 Edward Heath quit as leader of the Conservative Party.

1990 New Zealand pace bowler Richard Hadlee took his 400th Test wicket.

2001 Divers discovered the wreckage of Donald Campbell's Bluebird in Coniston Water

Births: Charles Lindbergh, aviator, 1902.

Today's birthdays: Norman Wisdom, comedian, 93; Dan Quayle, ex-US Vice President, 61; Alice Cooper, singer-songwriter, 60; Natalie Imbruglia, singer, 33.

Deaths: Karen Carpenter, of The Carpenters, 1983; Liberace, entertainer, 1987; Patricia Highsmith, author of The Talented Mr Ripley, 1995.

Tuesday February 5

1961 First edition of The Sunday Telegraph published.

1971 The Apollo 14 landed on the moon.

1989 Rupert Murdoch lunched Sky TV

1996 First privatised rail services began with South West Trains and Great Western.

Births: Robert Peel, creator of the Metropolitan police, 1788; Frank Muir, writer and broadcaster, 1920.

Today's birthdays: Charlotte Rampling, actress, 62; Barbara Hershey, actress, 60; Sven-Goran Eriksson, Manchester City soccer boss, 60; Russell Grant, astrologer, 56; Jennifer Jason Leigh, actress, 46; Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United soccer star, 23.

Deaths: Thomas Carlyle, author and historian, 1881.

Wednesday February 6

1952 George VI died and was succeeded by Elizabeth II.

1958 A plane carrying Manchester United players crashed on take-off in Munich, killing eight players.

1964 Britain and France reached an agreement to construct a Channel Tunnel.

1997 Both oxygen generators on the Mir space station failed.

Births: Babe Ruth, US baseball legend, 1895; Ronald Reagan, ex-US President, 1911; Billy Wright, England and Wolves soccer star, 1924; Fred Trueman, England Test cricket pace bowler, 1931; Leslie Crowther, comedian and television presenter, 1933; Bob Marley, singer-songwriter, 1945.

Today's birthdays: Zsa Zsa Gabor, actress, 91; Patrick Macnee, from The Avengers, 86; Keith Waterhouse, writer and journalist, 79; Natalie Cole, singer-songwriter, 58; Kevin Whatley, actor, 57; Axl Rose, from Guns-n-Roses, 46; Rick Astley, singer, 42.

Deaths: George VI, 1952; Arthur Ashe, ex-Wimbledon men's singles champion, 1993; Carl Wilson, of the Beach Boys, 1998.

Thursday February 7

1947 The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in caves west of the Jordan River.

1997 Virgin Trains was given the franchise for the West Coast rail routes.

2001 Ariel Sharon was elected Prime Minister of Israel.

Births: Charles Dickens, novelist, 1812.

Today's birthdays: Peter Jay, journalist and broadcaster, 71; Pete Postlethwaite, actor, 63; Eddie Izzard, comedian, 46; Garth Brooks, country singer, 46.