1905 – Discovery of the Cullinan Diamond The largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found, the Cullinan, weighing 3,106.75 carats (approx. 0.62 kg), was discovered at the Premier Mine near Pretoria, South Africa. In April 1905, it was put up for sale in London. In 1907, the Transvaal Colony government purchased the Cullinan and presented it to Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom, who entrusted the Asscher Brothers company in Amsterdam with its cutting.
1919 – Death of Ismail Qemali Ismail Qemali, the Chairman of the first Albanian Government and the primary signatory of the Act of Independence, passed away at the age of 74. He died in exile in Perugia, Italy. On February 8, 1919, his body was transported by train to Brindisi, from where it was escorted to Vlorë aboard the torpedo boat Alpino. On February 12, following a grand ceremony, his body—placed on a gun carriage and draped in the National Flag—was escorted to Kaninë, where he was interred in the courtyard of the Tekke within the Vlora family cemetery.
1924 – Saint Petersburg renamed Leningrad The city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, was renamed Leningrad. During World War I, the Tsarist government had renamed the city Petrograd, or “Peter’s City,” to remove the German words “Sankt” and “Burg.” The city contains over 230 sites related to the life and activities of Lenin, some of which have been converted into museums, including the cruiser Aurora—a symbol of the October Revolution and the oldest ship in the Russian Navy. In 1991, alongside the first Russian presidential elections, city authorities organized a referendum to revert the name. 66% of the votes supported the name Saint Petersburg.
1934 – Germany-Poland Non-Aggression Pact An international treaty between Nazi Germany and the Second Polish Republic was signed on January 26, 1934. Both countries pledged to resolve their issues through bilateral negotiations and to renounce armed conflict for a period of 10 years. The pact ended abruptly in 1939 with the invasion of Poland.
1963 – Birth of José Mourinho José Mourinho was born in Setúbal, Portugal. A professional football manager, he is widely considered one of the greatest and most decorated managers of all time. He has led elite clubs such as Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, and Manchester United. (Note: At the time of this writing, he has also managed Tottenham Hotspur and Roma).
1979 – Death of Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Rockefeller passed away in New York at the age of 70. An American businessman and politician, he served as the 41st Vice President of the United States (1974–1977) and previously as the 49th Governor of New York (1959–1973). As the grandson of billionaire John D. Rockefeller, he was a prominent art collector and an administrator of the Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.
1980 – Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations Israel and Egypt established diplomatic relations for the first time. The state of war between the two nations, dating back to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, peaked during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. This was followed by the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty, signed a year after the Camp David Accords brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
1992 – Boris Yeltsin stops targeting U.S. cities Boris Yeltsin announced that Russia would stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons. The targeting of major American metropolises by Soviet nuclear warheads was one of the most terrifying aspects of the Cold War. It was estimated that in the event of World War III, millions would have perished in both countries from nuclear strikes.
2020 – Death of Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant, a legendary American professional basketball player, died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. A “shooting guard” who spent his entire 20-year career in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers, Bryant joined the league directly from high school and won five championships.
