2 February 1955

The passenger ferry MV Rabaul Queen capsized and sank in rough conditions in the Solomon Sea, resulting in at least 88 deaths.

Omid, Iran's first domestically made satellite, was launched from Semnan Space Center.

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer became the top-ranked men's singles player, a position he held for a record 237 consecutive weeks.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon (pictured), the most numerous fixed-wing aircraft currently in military service, made its first flight.

The Troubles: Protestors burned the British Embassy in Ireland following the massacre of 14 civilians in Derry by British forces.

The first act of the Norwegian resistance movement took place with the bombing of Oslo East Station by the Osvald Group to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.

The Export–Import Bank of the United States, the country's official export credit agency, was established.

New York City's Grand Central Terminal, the world's largest train station by number of platforms, opened immediately after midnight.

Mexican–American War: During the American occupation of Mexico City, diplomats signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which ended the war and had Mexico cede 1.36 million square kilometres (530,000 sq mi) of territory and the United States pay US$15 million.

J. S. Bach led the first performance of his chorale cantata Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, BWV 125, based on Luther's paraphrase of the Nunc dimittis.

Scottish sailor Alexander Selkirk was rescued by English captain Woodes Rogers and his crew after spending four years as a castaway on an uninhabited island in the Pacific, providing the inspiration for Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe.

Jan van Riebeeck, the founder of Cape Town, produced the first bottle of South African wine.

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina dies at the age of 68.

Terra Mariana, comprising present-day Estonia and Latvia, was established as a principality of the Holy Roman Empire.

Alaric II, King of the Visigoths, promulgated a collection of Roman law known as the Breviary of Alaric (excerpt pictured).

Slovenian NBA player Luka Doncic is traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis in one of the largest trades in American sports history.

The Burmese military establishes the State Administration Council, the military junta, after deposing the democratically elected government in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.

The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 146–165 dead.

Police officer Filippo Raciti is killed when a clash breaks out in the Sicily derby between Catania and Palermo, in the Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. This event led to major changes in stadium regulations in Italy.

Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men's singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.

First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.

Cebu Pacific Flight 387 crashes into Mount Sumagaya in the Philippines, killing all 104 people on board.

Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.

Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.