On This Day: February 14 through the ages

Aside from Valentine's Day, we take a look at what is remembered on February 14.
We take a look at what's remembered on February 14 through the ages.We take a look at what's remembered on February 14 through the ages.
We take a look at what's remembered on February 14 through the ages.

Circa 270: St Valentine was thought to have been martyred by Roman Emperor Claudius II.

1766: Thomas Robert Malthus, economist and author of An Essay On The Principles Of Population (1798), was born. He saw famine, disease and disaster as a method of controlling the Earth's fast-growing population.

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1779: British explorer Captain James Cook was murdered by natives in Hawaii.

1822: Britain's postal services had to employ extra sorters as the fashion of sending messages to loved ones on this day continued to grow in popularity.

1895: The Importance Of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde had its premiere in London.

1929: The St Valentine's Day Massacre took place in a Chicago warehouse. Seven members of Bugs Moran's gang were gunned down, probably by mobsters from Al Capone's outfit.

1946: The Bank of England was nationalised.

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1975: Sir Pelham Grenville (PG) Wodehouse KBE, known affectionately as "Plum" and writer of many humorous novels, notably the Jeeves series, died in the United States, aged 93.

1984: Britain's Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean skated their way to a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, getting maximum points for artistic expression.

2013: Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was arrested on suspicion of murder after his girlfriend was shot dead at his home.

ON THIS DAY LAST YEAR: Friends and fans across the world paid tribute to the band Viola Beach, after a car crash in Sweden that killed all four members and their manager.

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FEBRUARY 14 BIRTHDAYS: Carl Bernstein, Watergate journalist, 73; Alan Parker, film director, 73; Kevin Keegan, former footballer and ex-England manager, 66; Meg Tilly, actress, 57; Simon Pegg, actor/comedian, 47; Dean Gaffney, actor, 39; Rhydian Roberts, singer, 34; David Wheater, footballer, 30.