Japanese submarine I-63 sank in Bungo Channel after a collision with another submarine during maneuvers. Six of the crew were standing on the bridge at the time of the collision and were able to swim to safety; the other 81 perished.[5][6]
The Collins Block fire in Syracuse, New York, killed eight firefighters, the greatest loss of life in the Syracuse Fire Department's history. The eight firemen fell into the cellar of the building and were trapped under rubble. Fellow firefighters worked for six hours to rescue them until a further collapse eliminated all possibility of their survival.[8]
Neville Chamberlain was heartily applauded in the House of Commons when he said that any threat to France "must evoke the immediate co-operation of this country."[12]
Arabs in Jerusalem called for a three-day strike coinciding with a conference in London between Arabs, Jews and British authorities on the Holy Land.[13]
Syracuse, New York, Fire Department First Assistant Chief Charles A. Boynton died of a heart attack. Boynton had been present at the Collins Block fire on February 3 and had worked for hours attempting to rescue the trapped firefighters and then to recover their bodies.[8]
The Home Office announced plans to provide shelters to thousands of British homes in districts most likely to be bombed in the event of war. The steel shelters, nicknamed "Anderson shelters" after Lord Privy SealSir John Anderson, measured 6'6" by 4'6" and were designed so that two unskilled people could erect them.[10]
Pius XI died at 5:31 a.m. (Rome Time) of a third heart attack on 10 February 1939, at the age of 81. His last words to those near him at the time of his death were spoken with clarity and firmness: "My soul parts from you all in peace."[116]
Born:Adrienne Clarkson, Canadian journalist, politician and 26th Governor General of Canada, in Hong Kong; Peter Purves, television presenter, in Preston, England
Died:Pope Pius XI, 81, Pope of the Catholic Church
Generalissimo Francisco Franco promulgated a decree providing for dissolution of all parties associated with the Popular Front and penalties of loss of citizenship and exile for those deemed hostile to the Nationalist cause.[17]
Hungarian Prime Minister Béla Imrédy resigned after confirming rumors that his ancestry was partly Jewish. Imrédy still defended his antisemitic policies as "a good thing for our fatherland" but said he was resigning because it was "inconsistent that under such circumstances I should be identified with such legislation."[19]
Peruvian army officers launched an uprising against the government while President Óscar R. Benavides was sailing on holiday. The coup in the presidential palace was quickly put down with about a dozen deaths, including the coup's leader General Antonio Rodríguez.[23]
The first pay-per-view sporting event in history took place when a live BBC Television broadcast of a boxing match between Eric Boon and Arthur Danahar was shown at three London cinemas. In 1939 only about 20,000 London households had television sets in a city of 8.6 million people, and the crowds at the cinemas were completely packed.[29][30][31]
Reich Transport Minister Julius Dorpmüller decreed that Jews were forbidden from using sleeping and dining cars on German railroads.[32]
Berlin police ordered the city's Jewish community to produce the names of 100 Jews per day, who would then be given notice to leave Germany within two weeks. It was not explained what would happen to those who did not comply.[33]
Manuel Azaña resigned as President of the Spanish Republic. Diego Martínez Barrio was his constitutionally designated successor but he refused the post.[3]
The Cortes Generales convened in exile in Paris and accepted Azaña's resignation.[3]
A motion was brought against the Neville Chamberlain government in the House of Commons declaring the recognition of Francoist Spain "a deliberate affront to the legitimate Government of a friendly Power, is a gross breach of international traditions, and marks a further stage in a policy which is steadily destroying in all democratic countries confidence in the good faith of Great Britain." The motion was defeated, 344 to 137.[36]
Two competing editions of Hitler's Mein Kampf appeared in U.S. bookstores on the same day. Reynal & Hitchcock's version was officially leased from the American copyright holder Houghton Mifflin, but Stackpole Sons' edition was unauthorized and proudly advertised that Hitler would receive no royalties from its sales. Stackpole claimed that Hitler had not been a citizen of any country at the time of publication and so the book was therefore public domain. Reynal & Hitchcock responded by promising to donate all profits from its edition to a refugee fund, and Houghton Mifflin continued to fight Stackpole Sons in court.[37][38]
^ abcdefghCortada, James W., ed. (1982). Historical Dictionary of the Spanish Civil War, 1936–1939. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. p. 513. ISBN0-313-22054-9.
^"Franco Offers Pardon to Foes Who Surrender". Chicago Daily Tribune. February 3, 1939. p. 4.