February 1:

Events

• 1790 – In New York City, the Supreme Court of the United States attempts to convene for the first time.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
• 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
• 1893 – Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.
• 1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls–Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.
• 1958 – The United States Army launches Explorer 1.
• 1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams. This image helped build opposition to the Vietnam War.
• 1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form the ill-fated Penn Central Transportation.
• 1978 – Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees the United States to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.
• 1979 – Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence is commuted by President Jimmy Carter.
• 1991 – A runway collision between USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport results in the deaths of 34 people, and injuries to 30 others.
• 1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
• 1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne became the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.
• 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
• 2004 – Janet Jackson's breast is exposed during the half-time show of Super Bowl XXXVIII, resulting in US broadcasters adopting a stronger adherence to Federal Communications Commission censorship guidelines.

Births

• 1820 – George Hendric Houghton, American clergyman (d. 1897)
• 1841 – William Davenport, American magician (d. 1877)
• 1844 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist (d. 1924)
• 1851 – Durham Stevens, American diplomat (d. 1908)
• 1872 – Jerome F. Donovan, American politician (d. 1949)
• 1872 – Andrew Kehoe, American mass murderer. (d. 1927)
• 1920 – Mike Scarry, American football player and coach (d. 2012)

Deaths

• 1832 – Archibald Murphey, American politician (b. 1777)
• 1850 – Edward Baker Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1846)
• 1893 – George Henry Sanderson, American politician, 22nd Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1824)
• 1922 – William Desmond Taylor, American actor and director (b. 1872)
• 1928 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
• 1997 – Herb Caen, American columnist (b. 1916)
• 2003 – crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia

Michael P. Anderson, American pilot and astronaut (b. 1959)

David M. Brown, American captain and astronaut (b. 1956)

Kalpana Chawla, Indian-American astronaut (b. 1961)

Laurel Clark, American surgeon, captain, and astronaut (b. 1961)

Rick Husband, American pilot and astronaut (b. 1957)

William C. McCool, American navy officer and astronaut (b. 1961)

Ilan Ramon, Israeli pilot and astronaut (b. 1954)

• 2004 – May O'Donnell, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1909)
• 2013 – Cecil Womack, American singer-songwriter and producer (The Valentinos and Womack & Womack) (b. 1947)