What happend on 1st February

31.01
02.02
1979

Convicted bank robber Patty Hearst is released from prison after her sentence was commuted by President Jimmy Carter.

1978

Director Roman Polanski skips bail and flees to France after pleading guilty to charges of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old girl.

1974

Kuala Lumpur declared a Federal Territory.

1974

In São Paulo, Brazil, a fire in a 25-story office building kills 189 and injures 293.

1968

Vietnam War: Viet Cong officer Nguyen Van Lem is executed by Nguyen Ngoc Loan a South Vietnamese National Police Chief. The execution was videotaped and photographed by Eddie Adams and helped sway public opinion against the war.

1960

Four black students stage a sit-in at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.

1958

Merger of Egypt and Syria to form the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961.

1946

Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary General.

1943

World War II: Vidkun Quisling appointed Premier of Norway by the Nazi occupiers.

1929

Frenchman Charles Rigoulet is the first weightlifter to lift over 400 pounds (181 kg) in the "clean and jerk" method.