Reuters North American News Service, January 26th, 2008
Jan 26 (Reuters) - Following are some of the major events to
have occurred on February 2 since 1900:
1918 - John L. (Lawrence) Sullivan, U.S. professional boxer,
died; he won the world heavyweight boxing title as a bareknuckle
fighter in 1882 and lost it in 1892 under Queensberry rules.
1920 - Russia signed the Treaty of Tartu (Dorpat), under
which Russia recognised Estonian independence in perpetuity.
1969 - Boris Karloff (William Henry Pratt), British-born
film actor, died. He was best known for his roles in horror
films notably "Frankenstein" and "The Mummy".
1970 - British philosopher Bertrand Russell died at 97; he
won the Nobel prize for literature in 1950.
1971 - Ugandan army strongman Major-General Idi Amin took
full powers as military head of state and formed an 18-man
cabinet to run the country.
1986 - Liechtenstein's women voted for the first time in
parliamentary elections.
1996 - Hollywood song and dance legend Gene Kelly, star of
such classic movies as "Singing in the Rain" and "An American in
Paris", died.
1998 - In the Philippines, a Cebu Pacific Air DC-9 crashed
into a mountainside 40 miles (65 km) northeast of Cagayan de Oro
airport, killing all 104 on board.
2002 - Crown Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands wed
Maxima Zorreguieta, an Argentine whose father's military junta
past revived a tradition of controversial Dutch royal matches.
2003 - Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria, a Cuban-born percussionist
and bandleader known for his conga rhythms, died. Best known for
his 1963 recording of Herbie Hancock's song "Watermelon Man",
which became his first Top 10 hit.
2005 - Germany's former world heavyweight champion Max
Schmeling, who fought two unforgettable bouts with American Joe
Louis in the 1930s and fell out of favour with the Nazis after
resisting Hitler's embrace, died aged 99.
2007 - Three-time Grammy winning pianist Joe Hunter died
aged 79.
