On This Day: 14 February

14 February in Indian history

• 2019Pulwama attack takes place in Lethpora in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and a suicide bomber were killed and 35 were injured.India
• 1990Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashed near Hindustan Airport during its approach to the airport, which resulted in 92 out of the 146 people on board being killed.India
• 1989Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the Indian government for damages it caused in the 1984 Bhopal disaster.India
• 1556Coronation of Akbar as ruler of the Mughal Empire.India

14 February in world history

• 2011Arab Spring: On the Day of Rage, Bahraini youths began an uprising against the government in 55 marches across 25 locations.
• 2005The online video platform YouTube was founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim.
• 2005In Beirut, 23 people, including former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, are killed when the equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT is detonated while Hariri's motorcade drives through the city.
• 2003Iraq disarmament crisis: UNMOVIC Executive Chairman Hans Blix reports to the United Nations Security Council that disarmament inspectors have found no weapons of mass destruction in Ba'athist Iraq.
• 1990The NASA space probe Voyager 1 took Pale Blue Dot, a photograph of Earth from a record distance of 40.5 astronomical units (6.06 billion km; 3.76 billion mi).
• 1989Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses.
• 1961Lawrencium, the radioactive synthetic element with atomic number 103, was first synthesized at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley.
• 1945World War II: Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague, Czechoslovakia by a United States Army Air Forces squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviet Red Army's Vistula–Oder Offensive.
• 1943World War II: General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim's 5th Panzer Army launched a concerted attack against Allied positions in Tunisia.
• 1855Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas.
• 1797French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Cape St. Vincent: John Jervis, (later 1st Earl of St Vincent) and Horatio Nelson (later 1st Viscount Nelson) lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar.
• 1779American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Kettle Creek, a militia of Patriots decisively defeated and scattered a Loyalist militia that was on its way to British-controlled Augusta, Georgia.
• 1778The United States flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones.
• 1655Arauco War: The Mapuche carried out a series of coordinated attacks against Spanish settlements and forts in colonial Chile, beginning a ten-year period of warfare.

Born on 14 February

• 1952Sushma Swaraj, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (died 2019)India
• 1942Michael Bloomberg, American businessman and politician, 108th Mayor of New York City
• 1924Juan Ponce Enrile, Filipino politician and lawyer (died 2025)
• 1921Hazel McCallion, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 3rd Mayor of Mississauga (died 2023)
• 1670Rajaram Raj Bhonsle, third Chhatrapati of the Maratha Confederacy (died 1700)India
• 1483Babur, Mughal emperor (died 1530)India

Died on 14 February

• 2013Glenn Boyer, American historian and author (born 1924)
• 2002Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer and manager (born 1922)
• 1958Abdur Rab Nishtar, Pakistani politician, 2nd Governor of Punjab (born 1899)India
• 1780William Blackstone, English jurist and politician (born 1723)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 14 February in history?

2019: Pulwama attack takes place in Lethpora in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and a suicide bomber were killed and 35 were injured. 2011: Arab Spring: On the Day of Rage, Bahraini youths began an uprising against the government in 55 marches across 25 locations. 2005: The online video platform YouTube was founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. 2005: In Beirut, 23 people, including former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, are killed when the equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT is detonated while Hariri's motorcade drives through the city.

What happened on 14 February in Indian history?

2019: Pulwama attack takes place in Lethpora in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and a suicide bomber were killed and 35 were injured. 1990: Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashed near Hindustan Airport during its approach to the airport, which resulted in 92 out of the 146 people on board being killed. 1989: Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the Indian government for damages it caused in the 1984 Bhopal disaster.

Which famous people were born on 14 February?

Sushma Swaraj, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (died 2019) (1952); Michael Bloomberg, American businessman and politician, 108th Mayor of New York City (1942); Juan Ponce Enrile, Filipino politician and lawyer (died 2025) (1924); Hazel McCallion, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 3rd Mayor of Mississauga (died 2023) (1921).

Which day is observed on 14 February?

Statehood Day (Arizona, United States); Statehood Day (Oregon, United States); Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Armenian Apostolic Church); Parents' Worship Day (parts of India).