269
Religion
St. Valentine Martyred
According to tradition, St. Valentine was executed in Rome during the persecution of Christians under Emperor Claudius II. He would later become the patron saint of lovers and the namesake of Valentine's Day.
On This Day in History
1349
Disaster
Strasbourg Massacre During Black Death
Hundreds of Jews were burned alive in Strasbourg as scapegoats for the Black Death plague. This was one of the worst anti-Semitic pogroms of the medieval period.
1779
Exploration
Captain Cook Killed in Hawaii
Captain James Cook was killed by Native Hawaiians at Kealakekua Bay during a confrontation over a stolen boat. His three Pacific voyages had mapped more of the world than any previous explorer.
1849
Invention
First Photograph of a U.S. President
James K. Polk became the first sitting U.S. president to be photographed, in a daguerreotype taken at the White House. The image captured a moment in the transition from paintings to photography.
1912
Politics
Arizona Becomes the 48th State
Arizona was admitted to the Union as the 48th and last contiguous state. It would be 47 years before Alaska and Hawaii were added.
1929
Crime
St. Valentine's Day Massacre
Seven members of George 'Bugs' Moran's gang were gunned down in a Chicago warehouse, allegedly on orders from Al Capone. The massacre shocked the nation and symbolized Prohibition-era gangland violence.
1990
Space
Voyager 1 Takes 'Pale Blue Dot' Photo
NASA's Voyager 1 spacecraft took the famous 'Pale Blue Dot' photograph of Earth from 3.7 billion miles away. Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's place in the cosmos.