In 1199, King Richard (the Lionheart) of England was killed at the siege of castle Chalus-Chabrol in France. In 1869, the American Museum of Natural History was founded in New York City. In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, Greece. In 1917, the United States formally declared war on Germany and entered World War I. In 1947, the first Antoinette Perry (a.k.a. Tony) Awards were presented for theatrical achievement.

Lincoln Steffens (1866-1936), journalist; Leonora Carrington (1917-2011), artist; Gerry Mulligan (1927-96), musician; James Watson (1928- ), biologist/Nobel laureate; André Previn (1929-2019), composer; Billy Dee Williams (1937- ), actor; Merle Haggard (1937-2016), singer; Barry Levinson (1942- ), filmmaker; John Ratzenberger (1947- ), actor; Paul Rudd (1969- ), actor; Zach Braff (1975- ), actor; Candace Cameron Bure (1976- ), actress

In 2004, University of Connecticut became the first university to win the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball championships in the same year.

Florence Green, the last surviving veteran of World War I, died in Feb. 2012 at the age of 110.

"There is only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous." – Napoleon Bonaparte