February 2

in History

Justin I Was Born — From peasant boy to Byzantine emperor

Dardania, Eastern Roman EmpireClassical

450

Justin I Was Born

From peasant boy to Byzantine emperor

Justin was born to a peasant family in the Roman province of Dardania, with nothing to suggest the extraordinary destiny awaiting him. Through sheer determination, he rose through the ranks of the Byzantine military to become commander of the imperial guard. When Emperor Anastasius I died, the nearly seventy-year-old Justin outmaneuvered younger rivals to claim the throne, founding the Justinian dynasty that would produce some of Byzantium's greatest rulers.

450 AD

Willie Kamm Was Born — A master of the hot corner in Chicago

San Francisco, United StatesEarly 20th Century

1900

Willie Kamm Was Born

A master of the hot corner in Chicago

William Edward Kamm was born in San Francisco, destined for a distinguished career at third base in Major League Baseball. Playing primarily for the Chicago White Sox, Kamm became the dominant defensive third baseman in the American League during the 1920s and 1930s. His sure hands and quick reflexes at the hot corner set a standard that few of his contemporaries could match.

1900 AD

1960s–1990s conflict in Northern IrelandLate 20th Century

1972

The Troubles

The Troubles: Protestors burned the British Embassy in Ireland following the massacre of 14 civilians in Derry by British forces.

The Troubles were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe.

1972 AD