1. On February 1, 1960, the Greensboro sit-ins began, a series of nonviolent protests against racial segregation at Woolworth's department store in downtown Greensboro. The protests marked a pivotal moment in the Civil Rights Movement and led to the desegregation of many public places.

2. On February 1, 1976, Richard Petty won his 173rd NASCAR Cup Series race at the Riverside International Raceway in California, setting a record for the most career wins in the series. Petty would go on to win a total of 200 Cup Series races, a record that still stands today.

3. On February 1, 1988, North Carolina State University's men's basketball team defeated the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 91-83 in what has become known as the "Game of the Century." The victory marked one of the biggest upsets in college basketball history and is considered a defining moment in the rivalry between the two schools.

4. On February 1, 2003, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven crew members aboard. One of the crew members, Michael P. Anderson, was a North Carolina native who had obtained his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

5. On February 1, 2016, the Moravian settlement of Old Salem in Winston-Salem was listed on the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program. The designation recognized the town's role as a site of refuge and assistance for enslaved people seeking freedom before and during the Civil War.