1944 - A U.S. amphibious landing takes place on Kwajalein, Marshall Islands.

1961 - Lt. Cmdr. Samuel Lee Gravely Jr. becomes the first African-American to command a combat ship, USS Falgout (DER 324).

1981 - The era of enlisted naval aviators ends when the last pilot retires.

February 1

1941 - The U.S. fleet is reorganized, reviving the Atlantic and Pacific Fleets.

1942 - USS Enterprise (CV 6) and USS Yorktown (CV 5) make the first World War II air strike on the Japanese in the Marshall Islands.

1955 - Operation Deep Freeze, a research task force, is established in Antarctica.

2003 - Space shuttle Columbia broke apart during re-entry on mission STS-107. Cmdr. William C. McCool (Pilot), Capt. David M. Brown (Mission Specialist) and Cmdr. Laurel B. Clark (Mission Specialist) were killed in the incident, along with four other astronauts.

February 2

1800 - Constellation, commanded by Capt. Thomas Truxtun, captures French vessel la Vengeance.

1862 - Hartford, commanded by Capt. David G. Farragut, departs Hampton Roads for Mississippi River campaign.

1894 - Sloop Kearsarge, commanded by Cmdr. Oscar F. Heyerman, wrecks without loss of life on Roncador Reef off Central America.

1991 - Coalition naval operations continue in the Gulf War with an attack on the Al Kalia naval facility. One Iraqi Exocet-capable patrol craft is hit directly with two laser-guided bombs, while a second U.S. aircraft launches a string of twelve 500-pound bombs across another patrol boat. The bombs also strike several buildings on the pier, generating several secondary explosions.

February 3

1801 - The U.S. Senate approves a peace treaty with France, ending an undeclared naval war, which began in 1798.

1917 - The United States severs diplomatic relations with Germany.

1991 - Battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) fires eight 2,000-pound shells from her 16-inch guns, destroying prefabricated enemy concrete command and control bunkers Iraq is moving into Kuwait.

February 4

1779 - John Paul Jones takes command of the vessel Bonhomme Richard.

1919 - The Navy Cross and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal are created by an act of Congress.

1959 - The keel of USS Enterprise (CVN 65), the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is laid in Newport News, Va.

1991 - The Pentagon releases its budget for Fiscal Year 1992. The budget includes $2.8 billion for the creation of a Seawolf nuclear attack submarine and the decommissioning of the Navy's last two active battleships, USS Missouri (BB 63) and USS Wisconsin (BB 64).

February 5

1854 - The first chapel built on Navy property is dedicated in Annapolis, Md.

1971 - Capt. Alan B. Shepherd Jr., commander of Apollo 14, and Cmdr. Edgar D. Mitchell, lunar module pilot, participate in a moonwalk. During the nine-day mission, 94 pounds of lunar material was collected, and Shepard became the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon. A helicopter from USS New Orleans (LPH 11) takes care of recovery.

1981 - John F. Lehman Jr. assumes office as 65th Secretary of the Navy.

February 6

1778 - Treaties of commerce and alliance are signed with France. This turns the American Revolutionary War into an international conflict.

1862 - A Union gunboat squadron captures Fort Henry on the Tennessee River.

1922 - World powers sign the Washington Naval Treaty, providing limitations for naval armament.

1973 - Operation End Sweep, a mine-clearing operation, begins off North Vietnam.

1979 - Six U.S. vessels evacuate 200 American citizens and 240 other persons from the ports of Bandar Abbas and Char Bahar in revolution-wracked Iran.

1991 - Within two hours of relieving her sister battleship during the Gulf War, USS Wisconsin (BB 64) conducts her first naval gunfire support mission since the Korean War, destroying an Iraqi artillery battery in Southern Kuwait.