Official U.S. Navy photo Task Force 77 steams in formation while operating in the South China Sea, 1965. It had recently launched strikes against North Vietnam following attacks on U.S. barracks. Carriers present are (clockwise from bottom): Ranger (CVA 61), Yorktown (CVS 10), Coral Sea (CVA 43) and Hancock (CVA 19).

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).

Feb. 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.

Feb. 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.

Feb. 7

1800 - Essex becomes the first U.S. Navy vessel to cross the equator.

1815 - The Board of Naval Commissioners, a group of senior officers, is established to oversee the operation and maintenance of the Navy under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy.

1955 - Ships from the 7th Fleet begin the evacuation of Chinese nationalists from the Tachen Islands.

1965 - In response to a Viet Cong attack on a U.S. barracks area in Pleiku, South Vietnam, aircraft from carriers USS Coral Sea (CV 43), USS Hancock (CV 19) and USS Ranger (CV 61) attack a North Vietnamese area near Donghoi.

1991 - Using her remotely piloted vehicle for spotting, USS Wisconsin (BB 64) pounds Iraqi artillery, electronic warfare and naval sites with her 16-inch guns. Fifty rounds sink or severely damage 15 boats, and destroy piers at Khawr al-Mufattah Marina.

Feb. 8

1862 - A Union joint amphibious force captures Roanoke Island, N.C., opening the entire North Carolina coast to the Federals.

1890 - Omaha Sailors and Marines assist the city of Hodogaya, Japan, in subduing a large fire.

1974 - Three Skylab III astronauts are recovered by USS New Orleans (LPH 11) in the Pacific Ocean about 150 miles west of San Diego.

1991 - Battleship USS New Jersey (BB 62) is decommissioned at Long Beach, Calif.

Feb. 9

1799 - Constellation, commanded by Capt. Thomas Truxtun, captures the French warship l'Insurgente.

1943 - Organized Japanese resistance on Guadalcanal ends.

1947 - Carrier USS Wright (CVL 49) is commissioned.

1978 - A new era in naval communications begins with the launching of the first satellite of the Navy's Fleet Satellite Communications System.

1984 - Destroyer USS Moosbrugger (DD 980) fires approximately 150 shells at Syrian artillery positions east of Beirut.

Feb. 10

1862 - Union gunboats destroy Confederate ships during a victory in the Battle of Elizabeth City.

1900 - The first naval governor of Guam, Commodore Seaton Schroder, is appointed.

1960 - USS Sargo (SSN 583) surfaces at the North Pole.