In History, Today on February 14

Approximately 2,000 Jews were burned to death by mobs or forcibly removed from the city of Strasbourg during the Strasbourg massacre, part of the widespread violence against Jews during the Black Death pandemic.

The deposed King Richard II of England died under mysterious circumstances at Pontefract Castle, possibly murdered or starved to death on the orders of his successor, Henry IV.

British explorer Captain James Cook was killed by Native Hawaiians during his third exploratory voyage in the Pacific, at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii.

In New York City, James Knox Polk became the first sitting U.S. president to have his photograph taken.

Oregon was admitted as the 33rd state of the United States.

Alexander Graham Bell applied for a patent for the telephone, an invention that would revolutionize communication.

Oscar Wilde's play 'The Importance of Being Earnest' was first performed at the St James's Theatre in London.

Arizona was admitted as the 48th U.S. state.

The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre took place in Chicago, where seven members of Chicago's North Side Gang were murdered, allegedly on the orders of Al Capone.

The bombing of Dresden in World War II by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) continued, resulting in a devastating firestorm and significant civilian casualties.

The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the first general-purpose electronic digital computer, was formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania.

The element Lawrencium was first synthesized at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling for the death of British author Salman Rushdie and his publishers for the novel 'The Satanic Verses', which was considered blasphemous by many Muslims.

The Dolly the sheep, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell, was euthanized due to a progressive lung disease and severe arthritis.

Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in a car bomb explosion in Beirut, leading to widespread protests and the eventual withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon.

The Bahraini uprising began as part of the wider Arab Spring protests, with demonstrators demanding political reforms and greater freedoms.

A mass shooting occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, resulting in 17 deaths and sparking a nationwide movement for gun control in the United States.

A suicide bombing in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir, killed 40 Indian Central Reserve Police Force personnel, escalating tensions between India and Pakistan.