What happened on 1 February?

15 events from the Ever-When timeline, ranked by how much they mattered.

1. 1864 Wars of German Unification Prussia's three wars — against Denmark, Austria and France — that forged the German Empire under Bismarck.
2. 1918 Spanish flu pandemic Influenza pandemic kills 50-100 million worldwide; deadlier than WWI; misnamed for early Spanish press coverage.
3. 1859 Mill's On Liberty Classic defence of individual freedom against social and state coercion; argues for the 'harm principle' — power may only be exercised to prevent harm to others.
4. 1979 Khomeini returns to Iran Ayatollah Khomeini returns from exile to a rapturous welcome and seizes the revolution.
5. 1917 Unrestricted submarine warfare resumed Germany resumes attacks on neutral shipping; bring the US into the war within months.
6. 2007 Subprime mortgage crisis Mortgage-defaults trigger global financial crisis.
7. 1896 Puccini's La Boheme premieres Bohemian love story that remains one of the most performed operas.
8. 1960 Greensboro sit-ins Four African-American students sit at a Woolworth's lunch counter; touches off sit-in movement across the South.
9. 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster Shuttle disintegrates on reentry.
10. 1988 Construction of the Channel Tunnel Engineering of the rail tunnel linking UK and France.
11. 2008 First Tesla electric vehicle (Roadster) Tesla's first production EV.
12. 1918 Spanish flu pandemic begins 1918 influenza pandemic kills tens of millions worldwide.
13. 1953 North Sea flood of 1953 A night storm surge drowns 1,836 people in Zeeland and 307 in England; the Netherlands resolves it will never happen again.
14. 2021 Myanmar coup Tatmadaw seizes power, detains Aung San Suu Kyi, and reverses a decade of partial reform.
15. 1886 William Gladstone's third premiership Gladstone's First Home Rule Bill is defeated by his own party and the Liberals split.