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• ... that the World War II bombing of Canterbury on 1 June 1942 revealed a Mosaic pavement (pictured) which is now a Scheduled monument, sheltered by the Roman Museum?
• ... that The Land of Green Plums by Nobel Prize winner Herta Müller, depicting life in a totalitarian state, became a favorite of Iranian activist Mohammad-Ali Abtahi soon after he was released from jail?
• ... that during the German invasion of Norway, Minister of Justice Terje Wold told Police Chief of Oslo Kristian Welhaven to arrest fascist leader Vidkun Quisling if he got the opportunity?
• ... that Cystoderma carcharias is considered an inedible Fungus because of an unpleasant odor attributable to the presence of Geosmin?
• ... that the career of pianist Lincoln Mayorga has ranged from hit Rock and roll instrumentals to Gershwin recitals in Moscow, by way of Lumpy Gravy and Pete's Dragon?
• ... that Tympanosclerosis is a disease caused by the Calcification of tissues in the middle ear, sometimes resulting in Hearing loss?
• ... that the town of Lille, Alberta, was named as such because its coal mine's financial backers resided in Lille, France?
• ... that Warrington Colescott created the etching Christmas with Ziggy (1964), a social satire of businessmen entertaining their mistresses at a posh London restaurant?
• ... that GameDaily named Uncharted character Elena Fisher the 49th hottest video game babe of all time?
  
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• NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour (pictured) on a mission carrying the Tranquility and Cupola modules to the International Space Station.
• Laura Chinchilla of the Centre-left National Liberation Party is elected the first female President of Costa Rica.
• In American football, the New Orleans Saints defeat the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV to win the National Football League Championship for the first time in the team's 43-year history.
• A blizzard strikes the Eastern United States, producing 2–3 feet (60–90 cm) of snow in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
• In Sumo, the controversial Mongolian yokozuna Asashōryū Akinori announces his retirement.
• The Iranian Space Agency announces that it launched a rocket with living animals on board and returned them to Earth unharmed.
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February 9

• 474 – As the seven-year old Leo II was deemed too young to rule, his father Zeno was crowned as the co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
• 1825 – After no presidential candidate received a majority of electoral votes, the United States House of Representatives elected John Quincy Adams President of the United States.
• 1895 – William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director in Holyoke, Massachusetts, US, invented a game called Mintonette, which evolved into Volleyball (pictured).
• 1920 – The Spitsbergen Treaty was signed, recognizing Norwegian sovereignty over the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, but all signatories were also given equal rights to engage in commercial activities on the islands.
• 1943 – World War II: Allied forces declared Guadalcanal secure, ending the Guadalcanal Campaign as a significant strategic victory for Allied forces fighting Japan in the Pacific War.