February 16, 1923 – English archaeologist Howard Carter enters the sealed burial chamber of the ancient Egyptian ruler King Tutankhamen culminating a five-year search for the boy-king’s tomb. The tomb’s interior treasures were untouched after more than 3,000 years with King Tut’s mummy, the most perfectly preserved ever discovered.
February 17, 1801 – Thomas Jefferson is elected President of the United States as the House of Representatives breaks an electoral college tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr.
February 19, 1878 – Prolific inventor and promoter Thomas Edison is granted a patent for his cylinder phonograph.
February 21, 1965 – African American nationalist and religious leader Malcom X is assassinated while giving a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in New York. This followed a philosophical split with the more radical Nation of Islam and his founding of the Organization of Afro-American Unity. Three Nation of Islam members were eventually charged with his death (although later release of previously secret FBI documents showed only one person actually did the killing).