Timeline February 2023

Events in February 2023 18

• 1928 – 2023 Burt Bacharach American Songwriter & Composer American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist, widely regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular music. Working primarily with lyricist Hal David, he wrote dozens of hit songs including Walk on By, I Say a Little Prayer and Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head. He won six Grammy Awards, three Academy Awards, and charted 73 songs in the American Top 40.
• 1929 – 2023 Betty Boothroyd (1929-2023) Died 26 February 2023, aged 93 British politician and the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons.
• 1932 – 2023 Carlos Saura (1932-2023) Died 10 February 2023, aged 91 Spanish director whose films chronicled life under Franco and after, and who brought flamenco to the screen.
• 1936 – 2023 Hugh Hudson (1936-2023) Died 10 February 2023, aged 86 British director whose Chariots of Fire won the Academy Award for best picture.
• 1940 – 2023 Raquel Welch American Actress & Icon American actress and cultural icon who rose to international fame in the 1960s. Born Jo Raquel Tejada to a Bolivian father and American mother, she became one of the defining sex symbols of her era following her appearance in One Million Years B.C. (1966). She won a Golden Globe for The Three Musketeers and had a career spanning over fifty years.
• 1943 – 2023 Pervez Musharraf (1943-2023) Died 5 February 2023, aged 79 Pakistani general who seized power in a 1999 coup and ruled as president until 2008.
• 2023 Puffin edits Dahl's books, then reverses course Hundreds of changes by sensitivity readers After a public row, Puffin kept the edited versions but reissued the originals as the Classic Collection.
• 2023 East Palestine train derailment A vinyl chloride release in Ohio A Norfolk Southern freight train carrying hazardous chemicals derailed at East Palestine, Ohio, on 3 February 2023. A controlled burn of vinyl chloride sent a plume over the town and forced evacuations.
• 2023 Chinese surveillance balloon shot down off South Carolina A week-long transit across North America A US fighter shot down a Chinese high-altitude balloon off the coast of South Carolina on 4 February 2023 after it crossed the continental United States. Beijing said it was a weather craft blown off course.
• 2023 F-22 shoots down a Chinese balloon Off South Carolina An F-22 downs a Chinese high-altitude balloon off the South Carolina coast with an AIM-9X missile — the Raptor's first air-to-air kill.
• 2023 Beyonce becomes the most decorated artist in Grammy history A 32nd award at the 65th ceremony Beyonce won her 32nd Grammy on 5 February 2023, passing Georg Solti to become the most awarded artist in the history of the ceremony.
• 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake 60,000 killed in twin earthquakes Two powerful earthquakes struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6, 2023, killing over 60,000 people in the deadliest natural disaster in the region in over a century.
• 2023 Becomes NBA all-time leading scorer LeBron surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record of 38,387 points to become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history, at a home game in Los Angeles.
• 2023 Burt Bacharach dies in Los Angeles Died of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 94.
• 2023 Raquel Welch dies in Los Angeles Died at her home in Los Angeles at the age of 82. Her death certificate listed cardiac arrest as the cause, with Alzheimer's disease as an underlying factor.
• 2023 Star Trek: Picard — Season 3 The TNG cast reunites for a final season — Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis and Brent Spiner all return together for the first time in over 20 years. Showrunner Terry Matalas delivers a love letter to TNG that becomes one of the most celebrated seasons in franchise history.
• 2023 Brother Jansen dies at 28 Panettiere's younger brother Jansen died on 19 February 2023 at the age of 28. His death was attributed to cardiomegaly (an enlarged heart) with aortic valve complications. Hayden spoke publicly about the devastating impact of losing her brother and the guilt she carried in the aftermath.
• 2023 Nokia rebrands — drops blue logo after 60 years Nokia unveils a new corporate identity in February 2023 — replacing the iconic blue oval Nokia logo used since 1966 with a new geometric lettermark in multiple colours. The rebrand signals Nokia's determination to shed its mobile phone consumer identity and establish itself as a pure B2B technology company. CEO Pekka Lundmark says the old logo carries too much consumer nostalgia for a company now focused on enterprise and carrier customers.