As of today, February 4, 2023

960: The coronation of Chao Kuangjin as emperor of China under the name Taichu marks the beginning of the Song Dynasty period, which would last more than three centuries.

1169: A powerful earthquake hits the eastern coast of Sicily, and especially Catania, causing the death of approximately 15,000 inhabitants.

789: George Washington is unanimously elected by the Electoral College as the first president of the United States.

1794: Slavery is abolished in all the territories of the French First Republic. It would be reintroduced to the French West Indies in 1802.

1797: An earthquake hits Ecuador, killing about 40,000 people.

1848: In France, the Black Code is finally and officially abolished and consequently the slave market.

1859: The Sinaitic Code is discovered in Egypt.

1867: A devastating earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale, hits Kefalonia (January 23 according to the old calendar), with hundreds of dead and great destruction. 224 people are killed and 2,612 houses collapse.

1900: The water that the Athenians drink from Hadrian’s Aqueduct was found to be contaminated. The problem is caused by a huge sinkhole found next to the aqueduct.

1920: The first London-South Africa flight takes place. The plane took a month and a half to reach its destination, making many stopovers.

1924: Incident in the Parliament between the Venezuelan MP, Theodoros Pagalos, and his opposition colleague, Athanasios Tzonis. The second, provoked, raps the first, who threatens him with his revolver, but is disarmed by the deputy of Artas.

1932: The Japanese occupy Harbin in Manchuria.

1943: Costas Perrikos, an air force officer, who had developed resistance action in Athens, culminating in the blowing up of the building of the pro-Nazi organization ESPO, is executed by the Germans.

Births

1495 – Francis II Sforza, Duke of Milan

1815 – Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek politician

1851 – Karl Berg, German industrialist

1856 – Robert Dick Wilson, American linguist

1871 – Friedrich Ebert, German politician

1872 – Gotse Delchev, Bulgarian revolutionary

1873 – Etienne Demarteau, Canadian athlete

1881 – Fernand Leger, French painter and sculptor

1889 – Walter Catlett, American actor

1892 – Andres Nin, Spanish revolutionary

1897 – Ludwig Erhard, German politician

1900 – Jacques Prevert, French poet

1902 – Charles Lindbergh, American pilot

1906 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian

1906 – Clyde Tombo, American astronomer

1912 – Byron Nelson, American golfer

1913 – Rosa Parks, American activist

1915 – Ray Evans, American songwriter

1917 – George Sikeliotis, Greek painter and engraver

1921 – Betty Friedan, American feminist

1923 – Donald Nicol, English Byzantine scholar

1931 – Isabel Peron, Argentine politician

1940 – George Romero, American director

1941 – Opi Zouni, Greek painter

1941 – Şerban Cantacuzinos, Romanian actor

1941 – Laisenia Karaze, Prime Minister of the Fiji Islands

1943 – Svetlana Babanina, Russian swimmer

1947 – Lakis Glezos, Greek football player

1948 – Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Fournier), American singer

1948 – Ram Baran Yadav, President of Nepal

1951 – George Papadakis, Greek presenter

1972 – Giovanni Silva de Oliveira, Brazilian soccer player

1978 – Dana Garcia, Colombian actress

1979 – Giorgio Pandano, Italian racing driver

1981 – Jason Capono, American basketball player

1982 – Chris Sabin, American wrestler

1990 – Katerina Stefanidis, Greek pole vaulter

2000 – George Antzoulas, Greek football player

Deaths

211 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor

708 – Pope Sisinius

1461 – Owen Tudor, Welsh nobleman

1508 – Conrad Keltis, German scholar

1615 – Gianbattista della Porta, Italian scholar

1843 – Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek marshal

1905 – Louis-Ernest Barria, French sculptor

1925 – Robert Koldewei, German archaeologist

1928 – Hendrik Lorenz, Dutch physicist

1936 – Wilhelm Gustloff, German Nazi

1940 – Nikolai Yezhov, Soviet secret police officer

1943 – Kostas Perrikos, Greek military and resistance fighter

1947 – Luigi Russolo, Italian painter and composer

1968 – Neal Cassady, American writer

1984 – Michael Myridakis, Greek politician

1991 – Eleni Skouras, Greek politician

1995 – Patricia Highsmith, American writer

1997 – Antonis Pararas, Greek TV presenter

2000 – Achilleas I. Papaloukas, Greek lawyer and politician

2001 – Iannis Xenakis, Greek composer

2006 – Betty Friedan, American feminist

2009 – Aleka Paizi, Greek actress

2010 – Costas Axelos, Greek philosopher

2011 – Pavlos Sarlis, Greek politician

2011 – Martial Celestin, Prime Minister of Haiti

2012 – Florence Green, English World War I veteran

2013 – Panagiotis Katerinis, Greek resistance fighter and politician

2018 – John Mahoney, English-American actor.