1701

  • March 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1068 – An earthquake in the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula, leaves up to 20,000 dead.
    • 1229 – Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, declares himself King of Jerusalem in the Sixth Crusade.
    • 1241 – First Mongol invasion of Poland: Mongols overwhelm Polish armies in Kraków in the Battle of Chmielnik and plunder the city.
    • 1314 – Jacques de Molay, the 23rd and final Grand Master of the Knights Templar, is burned at the stake.
    • 1438 – Albert II of Habsburg becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1608 – Susenyos is formally crowned Emperor of Ethiopia.
    • 1644 – The Third Anglo-Powhatan War begins in the Colony of Virginia.
    • 1741 – New York governor George Clarke’s complex at Fort George is burned in an arson attack, starting the New York Conspiracy of 1741.
    • 1766 – American Revolution: The British Parliament repeals the Stamp Act.
    • 1793 – The first modern republic in Germany, the Republic of Mainz, is declared by Andreas Joseph Hofmann.
    • 1793 – Flanders Campaign of the French Revolution, Battle of Neerwinden.
    • 1834 – Six farm labourers from Tolpuddle, Dorset, England are sentenced to be transported to Australia for forming a trade union.
    • 1848 – March Revolution: In Berlin there is a struggle between citizens and military, costing about 300 lives.
    • 1850 – American Express is founded by Henry Wells and William Fargo.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: The Congress of the Confederate States adjourns for the last time.
    • 1871 – Declaration of the Paris Commune; President of the French Republic, Adolphe Thiers, orders the evacuation of Paris.
    • 1874 – Hawaii signs a treaty with the United States granting exclusive trade rights.
    • 1892 – Former Governor General Lord Stanley pledges to donate a silver challenge cup as an award for the best hockey team in Canada; it was later named after him as the Stanley Cup.
    • 1900 – AFC Ajax Amsterdam, The Netherlands’s biggest and most successful football club, was founded.
    • 1902 – Macario Sakay issues Presidential Order No. 1 of his Tagalog Republic.
    • 1913 – King George I of Greece is assassinated in the recently liberated city of Thessaloniki.
    • 1915 – World War I: During the Battle of Gallipoli, three battleships are sunk during a failed British and French naval attack on the Dardanelles.
    • 1921 – The second Peace of Riga is signed between Poland and the Soviet Union.
    • 1921 – The Kronstadt rebellion is suppressed by the Red Army.
    • 1922 – In India, Mohandas Gandhi is sentenced to six years in prison for civil disobedience, of which he serves only two.
    • 1925 – The Tri-State Tornado hits the Midwestern states of Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, killing 695 people.
    • 1937 – The New London School explosion in New London, Texas, kills 300 people, mostly children.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Spanish Republican forces defeat the Italians at the Battle of Guadalajara.
    • 1938 – Mexico creates Pemex by expropriating all foreign-owned oil reserves and facilities.
    • 1940 – World War II: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
    • 1942 – The War Relocation Authority is established in the United States to take Japanese Americans into custody.
    • 1944 – Mount Vesuvius in Italy erupts, killing 26 people, causing thousands to flee their homes, and destroying dozens of Allied bombers.
    • 1948 – Soviet consultants leave Yugoslavia in the first sign of the Tito–Stalin Split.
    • 1953 – An earthquake hits western Turkey, killing 265 people.
    • 1959 – The Hawaii Admission Act is signed into law.
    • 1962 – The Évian Accords end the Algerian War of Independence, which had begun in 1954.
    • 1965 – Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, leaving his spacecraft Voskhod 2 for 12 minutes, becomes the first person to walk in space.
    • 1967 – The supertanker Torrey Canyon runs aground off the Cornish coast.
    • 1968 – Gold standard: The U.S. Congress repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back US currency.
    • 1969 – The United States begins secretly bombing the Sihanouk Trail in Cambodia, used by communist forces to infiltrate South Vietnam.
    • 1970 – Lon Nol ousts Prince Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia.
    • 1971 – Peru: a landslide crashes into Yanawayin Lake, killing 200 people at the mining camp of Chungar.
    • 1980 – A Vostok-2M rocket at Plesetsk Cosmodrome Site 43 explodes during a fueling operation, killing 48 people.
    • 1990 – Germans in the German Democratic Republic vote in the first democratic elections in the former communist dictatorship.
    • 1990 – In the largest art theft in US history, 12 paintings, collectively worth around $500 million, are stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.
    • 1994 – Bosnia’s Bosniaks and Croats sign the Washington Agreement, ending war between the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia and the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and establishing the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
    • 1996 – A nightclub fire in Quezon City, Philippines kills 162 people.
    • 1997 – The tail of a Russian Antonov An-24 charter plane breaks off while en route to Turkey causing the plane to crash and killing all 50 people on board.
    • 2014 – The parliaments of Russia and Crimea sign an accession treaty.
    • 2015 – The Bardo National Museum in Tunisia is attacked by gunmen. 23 people, almost all tourists, are killed, and at least 50 other people are wounded.

    Births on March 18

    • 1075 – Al-Zamakhshari, Persian scholar and theologian (d. 1144)
    • 1395 – John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter, English military commander (d. 1447)
    • 1495 – Mary Tudor, Queen of France (d. 1533)
    • 1548 – Cornelis Ketel, Dutch painter (d. 1616)
    • 1552 – Polykarp Leyser the Elder, German theologian (d. 1610)
    • 1555 – Francis, Duke of Anjou (d. 1584)
    • 1578 – Adam Elsheimer, German painter (d. 1610)
    • 1590 – Manuel de Faria e Sousa, Portuguese historian and poet (d. 1649)
    • 1597 – Jérôme le Royer de la Dauversière, French religious leader, founded the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal (d. 1659)
    • 1603 – Simon Bradstreet, English colonial magistrate (d. 1697)
    • 1609 – Frederick III of Denmark (d. 1670)
    • 1634 – Madame de La Fayette, French author (d. 1693)
    • 1640 – Philippe de La Hire, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1719)
    • 1657 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian organist and composer (d. 1743)
    • 1690 – Christian Goldbach, Prussian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1764)
    • 1701 – Niclas Sahlgren, Swedish businessman and philanthropist, co-founded the Swedish East India Company (d. 1776)
    • 1733 – Christoph Friedrich Nicolai, German author and bookseller (d. 1811)
    • 1780 – Miloš Obrenović, Serbian prince (d. 1860)
    • 1782 – John C. Calhoun, American lawyer and politician, 7th Vice President of the United States (d. 1850)
    • 1789 – Charlotte Elliott, English poet, hymn writer, editor (d. 1871)
    • 1798 – Francis Lieber, German-American jurist and philosopher (d. 1872)
    • 1800 – Harriet Smithson, Irish actress, the first wife and muse of Hector Berlioz (d. 1854)
    • 1813 – Christian Friedrich Hebbel, German poet and playwright (d. 1864)
    • 1814 – Jacob Bunn, American businessman (d. 1897)
    • 1819 – James McCulloch, Scottish-Australian politician, 5th Premier of Victoria (d. 1893)
    • 1820 – John Plankinton, American businessman and industrialist, also noted for philanthropy (d. 1891)
    • 1823 – Antoine Chanzy, French general (d. 1883)
    • 1828 – Randal Cremer, English activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1908)
    • 1837 – Grover Cleveland, American lawyer and politician, 22nd and 24th President of the United States (d. 1908)
    • 1840 – William Cosmo Monkhouse, English poet and critic (d. 1901)
    • 1842 – Stéphane Mallarmé, French poet and critic (d. 1898)
    • 1844 – Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Russian composer and academic (d. 1908)
    • 1846 – Kicking Bear, Native American tribal leader (d. 1904)
    • 1848 – Nathanael Greene Herreshoff, American architect and engineer (d. 1938)
    • 1858 – Rudolf Diesel, German engineer, invented the Diesel engine (d. 1913)
    • 1862 – Eugène Jansson, Swedish painter (d. 1915)
    • 1863 – William Sulzer, American lawyer and politician, 39th Governor of New York (d. 1941)
    • 1869 – Neville Chamberlain, English businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1940)
    • 1870 – Agnes Sime Baxter, Canadian mathematician (d. 1917)
    • 1874 – Nikolai Berdyaev, Russian-French philosopher and theologian (d. 1948)
    • 1877 – Edgar Cayce, American mystic and psychic (d. 1945)
    • 1877 – Clem Hill, Australian cricketer and engineer (d. 1945)
    • 1878 – Percival Perry, 1st Baron Perry, English businessman (d. 1956)
    • 1882 – Gian Francesco Malipiero, Italian composer and educator (d. 1973)
    • 1884 – Bernard Cronin, English-Australian journalist and author (d. 1968)
    • 1886 – Edward Everett Horton, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1970)
    • 1890 – Henri Decoin, French director and screenwriter (d. 1969)
    • 1893 – Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist (d. 1978)
    • 1893 – Wilfred Owen, English soldier and poet (d. 1918)
    • 1901 – Manly Palmer Hall, Canadian mystic, author and philosopher (d. 1990)
    • 1901 – William Johnson, American painter (d. 1970)
    • 1903 – Galeazzo Ciano, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1944)
    • 1903 – E. O. Plauen, German cartoonist (d. 1944)
    • 1904 – Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet and author (d. 1926)
    • 1904 – Margaret Tucker, Australian author and activist (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Thomas Townsend Brown, American physicist and engineer (d. 1985)
    • 1905 – Robert Donat, English actor (d. 1958)
    • 1907 – John Zachary Young, English zoologist and neurophysiologist (d. 1997)
    • 1908 – Loulou Gasté, French composer (d. 1995)
    • 1909 – Ernest Gallo, American businessman, co-founded the E & J Gallo Winery (d. 2007)
    • 1909 – C. Walter Hodges, English author and illustrator (d. 2004)
    • 1911 – Smiley Burnette, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1967)
    • 1912 – Art Gilmore, American voice actor and announcer (d. 2010)
    • 1913 – René Clément, French director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – Werner Mölders, German colonel and pilot (d. 1941)
    • 1915 – Richard Condon, American author and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1922 – Egon Bahr, German journalist and politician, Federal Minister for Special Affairs of Germany (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – Seymour Martin Lipset, American sociologist and academic (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Fred Shuttlesworth, American activist, co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Andy Granatelli, American race car driver and businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Alessandro Alessandroni, Italian musician (d. 2017)
    • 1925 – James Pickles, English journalist, lawyer, and judge (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – Peter Graves, American actor and director (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – John Kander, American pianist and composer
    • 1927 – George Plimpton, American journalist and actor (d. 2003)
    • 1927 – Lillian Vernon, German-American businesswoman and philanthropist, founded the Lillian Vernon Company (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Miguel Poblet, Spanish cyclist (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Fidel V. Ramos, Filipino general and politician, 12th President of the Philippines
    • 1929 – Samuel Pisar, Polish-American lawyer and author (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – James J. Andrews, American mathematician and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1931 – John Fraser, Scottish actor
    • 1932 – John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 2009)
    • 1933 – Unita Blackwell, American civil rights activist and politician (d. 2019)
    • 1934 – Roy Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1983)
    • 1934 – Charley Pride, American country music singer and musician
    • 1935 – Ole Barndorff-Nielsen, Danish mathematician and statistician
    • 1935 – Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (d. 2016)
    • 1936 – F. W. de Klerk, South African lawyer and politician, 2nd State President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Rudi Altig, German cyclist and sportscaster (d. 2016)
    • 1937 – Mark Donohue, American race car driver (d. 1975)
    • 1938 – Carl Gottlieb, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1938 – Shashi Kapoor, Indian actor and producer (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – Kenny Lynch, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1938 – Timo Mäkinen, Finnish race car driver (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – Machiko Soga, Japanese actress (d. 2006)
    • 1939 – Ron Atkinson, English footballer and manager
    • 1939 – Jean-Pierre Wallez, French violinist and conductor
    • 1941 – Wilson Pickett, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Kathleen Collins, African-American filmmaker and playwright (d. 1988)
    • 1943 – Dennis Linde, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1944 – Amnon Lipkin-Shahak, Israeli general and politician, 22nd Transportation Minister of Israel (d. 2012)
    • 1944 – Frank McRae, American football player and actor
    • 1944 – Dick Smith, Australian publisher and businessman, founded Dick Smith Electronics and Australian Geographic
    • 1945 – Hiroh Kikai, Japanese photographer
    • 1945 – Michael Reagan, American journalist and radio host
    • 1945 – Susan Tyrrell, American actress (d. 2012)
    • 1945 – Eric Woolfson, Scottish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 2009)
    • 1946 – Michel Leclère, French race car driver
    • 1947 – Patrick Barlow, English actor and playwright
    • 1947 – Patrick Chesnais, French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1947 – David Lloyd, English cricketer, journalist, and sportscaster
    • 1947 – B. J. Wilson, English rock drummer (d. 1990)
    • 1948 – Guy Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1948 – Brian Lloyd, Welsh footballer
    • 1948 – Eknath Solkar, Indian cricketer (d. 2005)
    • 1949 – Åse Kleveland, Norwegian singer and politician, Norwegian Minister of Culture
    • 1950 – James Conlon, American conductor and educator
    • 1950 – Brad Dourif, American actor
    • 1950 – Linda Partridge, English geneticist and academic
    • 1950 – Larry Perkins, Australian race car driver
    • 1951 – Paul Barber, English actor
    • 1951 – Ben Cohen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Ben and Jerry’s
    • 1951 – Bill Frisell, American guitarist and composer
    • 1951 – Timothy N. Philpot, American lawyer, author, and judge
    • 1952 – Will Durst, American journalist and actor
    • 1952 – Pat Eddery, Irish jockey and trainer (d. 2015)
    • 1952 – Bernie Tormé, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2019)
    • 1952 – Mike Webster, American football player (d. 2002)
    • 1953 – Franz Wright, Austrian-American poet and translator (d. 2015)
    • 1953 – Takashi Yoshimatsu, Japanese composer
    • 1955 – Francis G. Slay, American lawyer and politician, 45th Mayor of St. Louis
    • 1955 – Jeff Stelling, English journalist and game show host
    • 1956 – Rick Martel, Canadian wrestler
    • 1956 – Deborah Jeane Palfrey, American madam (d. 2008)
    • 1956 – Ingemar Stenmark, Swedish skier
    • 1957 – Christer Fuglesang, Swedish physicist and astronaut
    • 1958 – Richard de Zoysa, Sri Lankan journalist and author (d. 1990)
    • 1959 – Luc Besson, French director, producer, and screenwriter, founded EuropaCorp
    • 1960 – Richard Biggs, American actor (d. 2004)
    • 1960 – Guy Carbonneau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1960 – James Plaskett, Cypriot-English chess player
    • 1961 – Grant Hart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
    • 1962 – Michael Andrews, Australian rugby league player
    • 1962 – Irene Cara, American singer-songwriter, actress, and producer
    • 1962 – Brian Fisher, American baseball player
    • 1962 – Thomas Ian Griffith, American actor and martial artist
    • 1962 – James McMurtry, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1962 – Etsushi Toyokawa, Japanese actor and director
    • 1962 – Volker Weidler, German race car driver and engineer
    • 1963 – Jeff LaBar, American guitarist
    • 1963 – Vanessa L. Williams, American model, actress, and singer
    • 1964 – Bonnie Blair, American speed skater
    • 1964 – Alex Caffi, Italian race car driver
    • 1964 – Jo Churchill, British politician
    • 1964 – Courtney Pine, English saxophonist and clarinet player
    • 1964 – Isabel Noronha, Mozambican film director
    • 1966 – Jerry Cantrell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1966 – Peter Jones, English businessman
    • 1966 – Brian Watts, Canadian golfer
    • 1967 – Miki Berenyi, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1968 – Prince Eudes, Duke of Angoulême
    • 1968 – Miguel Herrera, Mexican footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Temur Ketsbaia, Georgian footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Paul Marsden, English businessman and politician
    • 1969 – Andy Cutting, English accordion player and composer
    • 1969 – Vassily Ivanchuk, Ukrainian chess player
    • 1969 – Shaun Udal, English cricketer
    • 1970 – Queen Latifah, American rapper, producer, and actress
    • 1971 – Wayne Arthurs, Australian tennis player
    • 1971 – Mike Bell, American wrestler (d. 2008)
    • 1971 – Mariaan de Swardt, South African-American tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Kitty Ussher, English economist and politician
    • 1972 – Dane Cook, American comedian, actor, director, and producer
    • 1972 – Reince Priebus, American lawyer and politician
    • 1973 – Luci Christian, American voice actress and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Laure Savasta, French basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Stuart Zender, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1975 – Sutton Foster, American actress, singer, and dancer
    • 1975 – Brian Griese, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1975 – Kimmo Timonen, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Tomas Žvirgždauskas, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1976 – Giovanna Antonelli, Brazilian actress and producer
    • 1976 – Tomo Ohka, Japanese baseball player
    • 1976 – Scott Podsednik, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Mike Quackenbush, American wrestler, trainer, and author, founded Chikara wrestling promotion
    • 1977 – Zdeno Chára, Slovak ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Danny Murphy, English international footballer, midfielder and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Fernando Rodney, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1977 – Willy Sagnol, French footballer and manager
    • 1977 – Terrmel Sledge, American baseball player and coach
    • 1978 – Fernandão, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1978 – Brooke Hanson, Australian swimmer
    • 1978 – Brian Scalabrine, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1978 – Jonas Wallerstedt, Swedish footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1979 – Adam Levine, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and television personality
    • 1980 – Sébastien Frey, French footballer
    • 1980 – Sophia Myles, English actress
    • 1980 – Alexei Yagudin, Russian figure skater
    • 1981 – Tora Berger, Norwegian biathlete
    • 1981 – Fabian Cancellara, Swiss cyclist
    • 1981 – Leslie Djhone, French sprinter
    • 1981 – Jang Na-ra, South Korean singer and actress
    • 1981 – Kasib Powell, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Tom Starke, German footballer
    • 1981 – Doug Warren, American soccer player
    • 1981 – Lovro Zovko, Croatian tennis player
    • 1982 – Mantorras, Angolan footballer
    • 1982 – Chad Cordero, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Timo Glock, German race car driver
    • 1982 – Adam Pally, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Ethan Carter III, American wrestler
    • 1983 – Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro, French tennis player
    • 1983 – Andy Sonnanstine, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Tomasz Stolpa, Polish footballer
    • 1984 – Simone Padoin, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – Rajeev Ram, American tennis player
    • 1984 – Vonzell Solomon, American singer and actress
    • 1985 – Ana Beatriz, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1985 – Marvin Humes, English singer
    • 1985 – Vince Lia, Australian footballer
    • 1986 – Lykke Li, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Abdennour Chérif El-Ouazzani, Algerian footballer
    • 1987 – Rebecca Soni, American swimmer
    • 1989 – Francesco Checcucci, Italian footballer
    • 1989 – Lily Collins, English-American actress
    • 1989 – Shreevats Goswami, Indian cricketer
    • 1989 – Kana Nishino, Japanese singer-songwriter
    • 1989 – Paul Marc Rousseau, Canadian guitarist and producer
    • 1989 – Ming Xi, Chinese model
    • 1991 – Dylan Mattingly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1991 – Sam Williams, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Ryan Truex, American race car driver
    • 1992 – Takuya Terada, Japanese singer, actor, and model
    • 1997 – Ciara Bravo, American actress
    • 1997 – Rieko Ioane, New Zealand rugby union player

    Deaths on March 18

    • 978 – Edward the Martyr, English king (b. 962)
    • 1076 – Ermengarde of Anjou, Duchess of Burgundy (b. 1018)
    • 1086 – Anselm of Lucca, Italian bishop (b. 1036)
    • 1227 – Pope Honorius III (b. 1148)
    • 1272 – John FitzAlan, 7th Earl of Arundel (b. 1246)
    • 1308 – Yuri I of Galicia
    • 1314 – Jacques de Molay, Frankish knight (b. 1244)
    • 1314 – Geoffroy de Charney, Preceptor of Normandy for the Knights Templar
    • 1321 – Matthew III Csák, Hungarian oligarch (b. c.1260/5)
    • 1582 – Juan Jauregui, attempted assassin of William I of Orange (b. 1562)
    • 1675 – Arthur Chichester, 1st Earl of Donegall, Irish soldier (b. 1606)
    • 1689 – John Dixwell, English soldier and politician (b. 1607)
    • 1745 – Robert Walpole, English scholar and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1676)
    • 1768 – Laurence Sterne, Irish novelist and clergyman (b. 1713)
    • 1781 – Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1727)
    • 1823 – Jean-Baptiste Bréval, French cellist and composer (b. 1753)
    • 1835 – Christian Günther von Bernstorff, Danish-Prussian politician and diplomat (b. 1769)
    • 1845 – Johnny Appleseed, American gardener and missionary (b. 1774)
    • 1871 – Augustus De Morgan, Indian-English mathematician and academic (b. 1806)
    • 1898 – Matilda Joslyn Gage, American author and activist (b. 1826)
    • 1900 – Hjalmar Kiærskou, Danish botanist (b. 1835)
    • 1907 – Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1827)
    • 1913 – George I of Greece (b. 1845)
    • 1918 – Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, American architect, designed the Plaza Hotel (b. 1847)
    • 1930 – Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, American painter (b. 1863)
    • 1936 – Eleftherios Venizelos, Greek journalist, lawyer, and politician, 93rd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1864)
    • 1939 – Henry Simpson Lunn, English businessman, founded Lunn Poly (b. 1859)
    • 1941 – Henri Cornet, French cyclist (b. 1884)
    • 1947 – William C. Durant, American businessman, co-founded General Motors and Chevrolet (b. 1861)
    • 1954 – Walter Mead, English cricketer (b. 1868)
    • 1956 – Louis Bromfield, American environmentalist and author (b. 1896)
    • 1962 – Walter W. Bacon, American accountant and politician, 60th Governor of Delaware (b. 1880)
    • 1964 – Sigfrid Edström, Swedish businessman, 4th President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1870)
    • 1965 – Farouk of Egypt (b. 1920)
    • 1973 – Johannes Aavik, Estonian philologist and poet (b. 1880)
    • 1977 – Marien Ngouabi, Congolese politician, President of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1938)
    • 1977 – Carlos Pace, Brazilian race car driver (b. 1944)
    • 1978 – Leigh Brackett, American author and screenwriter (b. 1915)
    • 1978 – Peggy Wood, American actress (b. 1892)
    • 1980 – Erich Fromm, German psychologist and philosopher (b. 1900)
    • 1982 – Patrick Smith, Irish farmer and politician, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine (b. 1901)
    • 1983 – Umberto II of Italy (b. 1904)
    • 1984 – Charley Lau, American baseball player and coach (b. 1933)
    • 1986 – Bernard Malamud, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Billy Butterfield, American trumpet player and cornet player (b. 1917)
    • 1990 – Robin Harris, American comedian (b. 1953)
    • 1993 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English-American economist and activist (b. 1910)
    • 1996 – Odysseas Elytis, Greek poet and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
    • 2000 – Eberhard Bethge, German theologian and academic (b. 1909)
    • 2001 – John Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Mamas & the Papas) (b. 1935)
    • 2002 – R. A. Lafferty, American soldier and author (b. 1914)
    • 2003 – Karl Kling, German race car driver (b. 1910)
    • 2003 – Adam Osborne, Thai-English engineer and businessman, founded the Osborne Computer Corporation (b. 1939)
    • 2004 – Harrison McCain, Canadian businessman, co-founded McCain Foods (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Dan Gibson, Canadian photographer and cinematographer (b. 1922)
    • 2007 – Bob Woolmer, Indian-English cricketer, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1948)
    • 2008 – Anthony Minghella, English director and screenwriter (b. 1954)
    • 2009 – Omid Reza Mir Sayafi, Iranian journalist and blogger (b. 1980)
    • 2009 – Natasha Richardson, English-American actress (b. 1963)
    • 2010 – Fess Parker, American actor and businessman (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – Warren Christopher, American lawyer and politician, 63rd United States Secretary of State (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Furman Bisher, American journalist and author (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – William R. Charette, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – William G. Moore Jr., American general (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – George Tupou V of Tonga (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Muhammad Mahmood Alam, Pakistani general and pilot (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Henry Bromell, American novelist, screenwriter, and director (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Clay Ford, American lawyer and politician (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Catherine Obianuju Acholonu, Nigerian author, playwright, and academic (b. 1951)
    • 2014 – Kaiser Kalambo, Zambian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1953)
    • 2014 – Lucius Shepard, American author and critic (b. 1943)
    • 2015 – Zhao Dayu, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1961)
    • 2015 – Thomas Hopko, American priest and theologian (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Grace Ogot, Kenyan nurse, journalist, and politician (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – Barry Hines, English author and screenwriter (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Jan Němec, Czech director and screenwriter (b. 1936)
    • 2016 – Tray Walker, American football player (b. 1992)
    • 2016 – Guido Westerwelle, German lawyer and politician, 15th Vice-Chancellor of Germany (b. 1961)
    • 2017 – Chuck Berry, American guitarist, singer and songwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2020 – Alfred Worden, Apollo 15 command module pilot (b. 1932)

    Holidays and observances on March 18

    • Anniversary of the Oil Expropriation (Mexico)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexander of Jerusalem
      • Anselm of Lucca
      • Cyril of Jerusalem
      • Edward the Martyr
      • Fridianus
      • Salvator
      • March 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The earliest date on which Holy Wednesday can fall, while April 21 is the latest; celebrated on the week before Easter. (Christianity)
    • Flag Day (Aruba)
    • Gallipoli Memorial Day (Turkey)
    • Men’s and Soldiers’ Day (Mongolia)
    • Ordnance Factories’ Day (India)
    • Sheelah’s Day (Ireland, Canada, Australia)
    • Teacher’s Day (Syria)

  • March 16- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    March 16 in History

    • 934 – Meng Zhixiang declares himself emperor and establishes Later Shu as a new state independent of Later Tang.
    • 1190 – Massacre of Jews at Clifford’s Tower, York.
    • 1244 – Over 200 Cathars who refuse to recant are burned to death after the Fall of Montségur.
    • 1322 – The Battle of Boroughbridge takes place in the Despenser Wars.
    • 1521 – Ferdinand Magellan reaches the island of Homonhon in the Philippines.
    • 1621 – Samoset, a Mohegan, visited the settlers of Plymouth Colony and greets them, “Welcome, Englishmen! My name is Samoset.”
    • 1660 – The Long Parliament of England is dissolved so as to prepare for the new Convention Parliament.
    • 1689 – The 23rd Regiment of Foot, or Royal Welch Fusiliers, is founded.
    • 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Spanish troops capture the British-held island of Roatán.
    • 1782 – Anglo-Spanish War (1779): Action of 16 March 1782.
    • 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden is shot; he dies on March 29.
    • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: An Austrian column is defeated by the French in the Battle of Valvasone.
    • 1802 – The Army Corps of Engineers is established to found and operate the United States Military Academy at West Point.
    • 1812 – The Siege of Badajoz begins: British and Portuguese forces besiege and defeat the French garrison during the Peninsular War.
    • 1815 – Prince Willem proclaims himself King of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, the first constitutional monarch in the Netherlands.
    • 1818 – In the Second Battle of Cancha Rayada, Spanish forces defeated Chileans under José de San Martín.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: During the Red River Campaign, Union troops reach Alexandria, Louisiana.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Averasborough began as Confederate forces suffer irreplaceable casualties in the final months of the war.
    • 1870 – The first version of the overture fantasy Romeo and Juliet by Tchaikovsky receives its première performance.
    • 1872 – The Wanderers F.C. won the first FA Cup, the oldest football competition in the world, beating Royal Engineers A.F.C. 1–0 at The Oval in Kennington, London.
    • 1894 – Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs is first performed.
    • 1898 – In Melbourne the representatives of five colonies adopted a constitution, which would become the basis of the Commonwealth of Australia.
    • 1900 – Sir Arthur Evans purchased the land around the ruins of Knossos, the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete.
    • 1916 – The 7th and 10th US cavalry regiments under John J. Pershing cross the US–Mexico border to join the hunt for Pancho Villa.
    • 1917 – World War I: A German auxiliary cruiser is sunk in the Action of 16 March 1917.
    • 1918 – Finnish Civil War: Battle of Länkipohja is infamous for its bloody aftermath as the Whites executed 70–100 capitulated Reds.
    • 1924 – In accordance with the Treaty of Rome, Fiume becomes annexed as part of Italy.
    • 1925 – An earthquake occurs in Yunnan, China.
    • 1926 – History of Rocketry: Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket, at Auburn, Massachusetts.
    • 1935 – Adolf Hitler orders Germany to rearm herself in violation of the Treaty of Versailles. Conscription is reintroduced to form the Wehrmacht.
    • 1936 – Warmer-than-normal temperatures rapidly melt snow and ice on the upper Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, leading to a major flood in Pittsburgh.
    • 1939 – From Prague Castle, Hitler proclaims Bohemia and Moravia a German protectorate.
    • 1940 – First person killed (James Isbister) in a German bombing raid on the UK in World War II during a raid on Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ended, but small pockets of Japanese resistance persisted.
    • 1945 – Ninety percent of Würzburg, Germany is destroyed in only 20 minutes by British bombers, resulting in around 5,000 deaths.
    • 1958 – The Ford Motor Company produces its 50 millionth automobile, the Thunderbird, averaging almost a million cars a year since the company’s founding.
    • 1962 – A Flying Tiger Line Super Constellation disappears in the western Pacific Ocean, with all 107 aboard missing and presumed dead.
    • 1966 – Launch of Gemini 8, the 12th manned American space flight and first space docking with an Agena Target Vehicle.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: My Lai Massacre occurs; between 347 and 500 Vietnamese villagers (men, women, and children) are killed by American troops.
    • 1968 – General Motors produces its 100 millionth automobile, the Oldsmobile Toronado.
    • 1969 – A Viasa McDonnell Douglas DC-9 crashes in Maracaibo, Venezuela, killing 155.
    • 1976 – British Prime Minister Harold Wilson resigns, citing personal reasons.
    • 1977 – Assassination of Kamal Jumblatt, the main leader of the anti-government forces in the Lebanese Civil War.
    • 1978 – Former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro is kidnapped. (He is later murdered by his captors.)
    • 1978 – A Balkan Bulgarian Airlines Tupolev Tu-134 crashes near Gabare, Bulgaria, killing 73.
    • 1978 – Supertanker Amoco Cadiz splits in two after running aground on the Portsall Rocks, three miles off the coast of Brittany, resulting in the largest oil spill in history at that time.
    • 1979 – Sino-Vietnamese War: The People’s Liberation Army crosses the border back into China, ends the war.
    • 1983 – Demolition of the Ismaning radio transmitter, the last wooden radio tower in Germany.
    • 1984 – William Buckley, the CIA station chief in Lebanon, is kidnapped by Hezbollah. (He later dies in captivity.)
    • 1985 – Associated Press newsman Terry Anderson is taken hostage in Beirut. He is released on December 4, 1991.
    • 1988 – Iran–Contra affair: Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North and Vice Admiral John Poindexter are indicted on charges of conspiracy to defraud the United States.
    • 1988 – Halabja chemical attack: The Kurdish town of Halabja in Iraq is attacked with a mix of poison gas and nerve agents on the orders of Saddam Hussein, killing 5,000 people and injuring about 10,000 people.
    • 1988 – The Troubles: Ulster loyalist militant Michael Stone attacks a Provisional IRA funeral in Belfast with pistols and grenades. Three persons, one of them a member of PIRA are killed, and more than 60 others are wounded.
    • 1991 – The airplane carrying eight members of Reba McEntire’s touring band crashed on the side of Otay Mountain.
    • 1995 – Mississippi formally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment, becoming the last state to approve the abolition of slavery. The Thirteenth Amendment was officially ratified in 1865.
    • 2001 – A series of bomb blasts that took place in the city of Shijiazhuang, China killed 108 people and injured 38 others, was the biggest mass murder in China in decades.
    • 2003 – American activist Rachel Corrie is killed in Rafah trying to obstruct the demolition of a home by being run over by a bulldozer.
    • 2005 – Israel officially hands over Jericho to Palestinian control.
    • 2014 – Crimea votes in a controversial referendum to secede from Ukraine to join Russia.
    • 2016 – A bomb detonates in a bus carrying government employees in Peshawar, Pakistan, killing 15 and injuring at least 54.
    • 2016 – Two suicide bombers detonate their explosives at a mosque during morning prayer on the outskirts of Maiduguri, Nigeria, killing 22 and injuring 18.

    Births on March 16

    • 1399 – The Xuande Emperor, ruler of Ming China (d. 1435)
    • 1445 – Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss priest and theologian (d. 1510)
    • 1465 – Kunigunde of Austria, Archduchess of Austria (d. 1520)
    • 1473 – Henry IV, Duke of Saxony (d. 1541)
    • 1559 – Amar Singh I, successor of Maharana Pratap of Mewar (d. 1620)
    • 1581 – Pieter Corneliszoon Hooft, Dutch historian and poet (d. 1647)
    • 1585 – Gerbrand Bredero, Dutch poet and playwright (d. 1618)
    • 1590 – Ii Naotaka, Japanese daimyō (d. 1659)
    • 1596 – Ebba Brahe, Swedish countess (d. 1674)
    • 1609 – Michael Franck, German baker, teacher, poet, and composer (d. 1667)
    • 1609 – Agostino Mitelli, Italian painter (d. 1660)
    • 1621 – Georg Neumark, German poet and composer (d. 1681)
    • 1631 – René Le Bossu, French critic (d. 1680)
    • 1638 – François Crépieul, Jesuit missionary (d. 1702)
    • 1654 – Andreas Acoluthus, German scholar (d. 1704)
    • 1670 – François de Franquetot de Coigny, French general (d. 1759)
    • 1673 – Jean Bouhier, French jurist and scholar (d. 1746)
    • 1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Frederick William I (d. 1757)
    • 1693 – Malhar Rao Holkar, Indian nobleman (d. 1766)
    • 1701 – Daniel Lorenz Salthenius, Swedish theologian (d. 1750)
    • 1729 – Maria Louise Albertine (d. 1818)
    • 1741 – Carlo Amoretti, Italian scientist (d. 1816)
    • 1744 – Nicolas-Germain Léonard, French poet and novelist (d. 1793)
    • 1750 – Caroline Herschel, German-English astronomer (d. 1848)
    • 1751 – James Madison, American academic and politician, 4th President of the United States (d. 1836)
    • 1753 – François Amédée Doppet, French general (d. 1799)
    • 1760 – Johann Heinrich Meyer, Swiss painter and writer (d. 1832)
    • 1766 – Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, French antiquarian, cartographer, artist and explorer (d. 1875)
    • 1771 – Antoine-Jean Gros, French painter (d. 1835)
    • 1773 – Juan Ramón Balcarce, Argentinian general and politician, 6th Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 1836)
    • 1774 – Matthew Flinders, English navigator and cartographer (d. 1814)
    • 1789 – Francis Rawdon Chesney, English general and explorer (d. 1872)
    • 1789 – Georg Ohm, German physicist and mathematician (d. 1854)
    • 1794 – Ami Boué, Austrian geologist and ethnographer (d. 1881)
    • 1797 – Alaric Alexander Watts, English poet and journalist (d. 1864)
    • 1799 – Anna Atkins, English botanist and photographer (d. 1871)
    • 1800 – Emperor Ninkō of Japan (d. 1846)
    • 1805 – Peter Ernst von Lasaulx, German philologist and politician (d. 1861)
    • 1806 – Félix De Vigne, Belgian painter (d. 1862)
    • 1808 – Hannah T. King, British-born American writer and pioneer (d. 1886)
    • 1813 – Gaëtan de Rochebouët, French prime minister (d. 1899)
    • 1819 – José Paranhos, Brazilian politician (d. 1880)
    • 1820 – Enrico Tamberlik, Italian tenor (d. 1889)
    • 1821 – Eduard Heine, German mathematician and academic (d. 1881)
    • 1822 – Rosa Bonheur, French painter and sculptor (d. 1899)
    • 1822 – John Pope, American general (d. 1892)
    • 1823 – William Henry Monk, English organist and composer (d. 1889)
    • 1825 – Camilo Castelo Branco, Portuguese writer (d. 1890)
    • 1828 – Émile Deshayes de Marcère, French politician (d. 1918)
    • 1834 – James Hector, Scottish geologist and surgeon (d. 1907)
    • 1836 – Andrew Smith Hallidie, English-American engineer and businessman (d. 1900)
    • 1839 – Sully Prudhomme, French poet and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1907)
    • 1839 – John Butler Yeats, Irish painter (d. 1922)
    • 1840 – Shibusawa Eiichi, Japanese businessman (d. 1931)
    • 1840 – Georg von der Gabelentz, German linguist and sinologist (d. 1893)
    • 1845 – Umegatani Tōtarō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 15th Yokozuna (d. 1928)
    • 1846 – Gösta Mittag-Leffler, Swedish mathematician and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1846 – Rebecca Cole, American physician and social reformer (d. 1922)
    • 1846 – Jurgis Bielinis, Lithuanian book smuggler (d. 1918)
    • 1848 – Axel Heiberg, Norwegian financier and diplomat (d. 1932)
    • 1851 – Otto Bardenhewer, German patrologist (d. 1935)
    • 1851 – Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (d. 1931)
    • 1856 – Napoléon, Prince Imperial of France (d. 1879)
    • 1857 – Charles Harding Firth, English historian and academic (d. 1936)
    • 1859 – Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1906)
    • 1865 – Patsy Donovan, Irish-American baseball player and manager (d. 1953)
    • 1869 – Willy Burmester, German violinist (d. 1933)
    • 1871 – Hans Merensky, South African geologist and philanthropist (d. 1951)
    • 1871 – Frantz Reichel, French rugby player and hurdler (d. 1932)
    • 1874 – Frédéric François-Marsal, French prime minister (d. 1958)
    • 1877 – Léo-Ernest Ouimet, Canadian director and producer (d. 1972)
    • 1878 – Clemens August Graf von Galen, German cardinal (d. 1946)
    • 1878 – Paul Jouve, French painter (d. 1973)
    • 1881 – Fannie Charles Dillon, American composer (d. 1947)
    • 1882 – James Lightbody, American runner (d. 1953)
    • 1883 – Ethel Anderson, Australian poet, author, and painter (d. 1958)
    • 1884 – Eric P. Kelly, American journalist and author (d. 1960)
    • 1885 – Giacomo Benvenuti, Italian composer and musicologist (d. 1943)
    • 1885 – Sydney Chaplin, English actor (d. 1965)
    • 1886 – Herbert Lindström, Swedish tug of war player (d. 1951)
    • 1887 – Emilio Lunghi, Italian runner (d. 1925)
    • 1887 – S. Stillman Berry, American marine zoologist (1984)
    • 1889 – Reggie Walker, South African athlete (d. 1951)
    • 1892 – César Vallejo, Peruvian poet, playwright, and journalist (d. 1938)
    • 1895 – Ernest Labrousse, French historian (d. 1988)
    • 1897 – Antonio Donghi, Italian painter (d. 1963)
    • 1897 – Conrad Nagel, American actor (d. 1970)
    • 1900 – Cyril Hume, American novelist (d. 1966)
    • 1900 – Mencha Karnicheva, Macedonian revolutionary and assassin (d. 1964)
    • 1901 – Alexis Chantraine, Belgian footballer (d. 1987)
    • 1903 – Mike Mansfield, American politician and diplomat, 22nd United States Ambassador to Japan (d. 2001)
    • 1906 – Francisco Ayala, Spanish sociologist, author, and translator (d. 2009)
    • 1906 – Maurice Turnbull, Welsh-English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1944)
    • 1906 – Henny Youngman, English-American violinist and comedian (d. 1998)
    • 1908 – René Daumal, French author and poet (d. 1944)
    • 1908 – Ernest Rogez, French water polo player (d. 1986)
    • 1908 – Robert Rossen, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1966)
    • 1910 – Aladár Gerevich, Hungarian fencer (d. 1991)
    • 1910 – Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi, Indian-English cricketer and politician, 8th Nawab of Pataudi (d. 1952)
    • 1911 – Pierre Harmel, Belgian lawyer and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 2009)
    • 1911 – Josef Mengele, German physician and captain (d. 1979)
    • 1911 – Philip Pavia, American painter and sculptor (d.2005)
    • 1912 – Pat Nixon, First Lady of the United States (d. 1993)
    • 1913 – Rémy Raffalli, French soldier (d. 1952)
    • 1915 – Kunihiko Kodaira, Japanese mathematician and academic (d. 1997)
    • 1916 – Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (d. 2004)
    • 1916 – Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese engineer and businessman (d. 2010)
    • 1917 – Louis C. Wyman, American lawyer and politician (d. 2002)
    • 1917 – Laure Pillay, Mauritian lawyer and jurist (d. 2017)
    • 1917 – Mehrdad Pahlbod, Iranian politician (d. 2018)
    • 1918 – Aldo van Eyck, Dutch architect (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Frederick Reines, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
    • 1920 – John Addison, English-American soldier and composer (d. 1998)
    • 1920 – Sid Fleischman, American author and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1920 – Traudl Junge, German secretary (d. 2002)
    • 1920 – Leo McKern, Australian-English actor (d. 2002)
    • 1922 – Harding Lemay, American screenwriter and playwright (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Heinz Wallberg, German conductor (d. 2004)
    • 1925 – Cornell Borchers, Lithuanian-German actress and singer (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Mary Hinkson, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Ervin Kassai, Hungarian basketball player and referee (d. 2012)
    • 1925 – Luis E. Miramontes, Mexican chemist and engineer (d. 2004)
    • 1926 – Charles Goodell, American lawyer and politician (d. 1987)
    • 1926 – Jerry Lewis, American actor and comedian (d. 2017)
    • 1927 – Vladimir Komarov, Russian pilot, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
    • 1927 – Daniel Patrick Moynihan, American sociologist and politician, 12th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2003)
    • 1927 – Olga San Juan, American actress and dancer (d. 2009)
    • 1928 – Wakanohana Kanji I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 45th Yokozuna (d. 2010)
    • 1928 – Christa Ludwig, German soprano and actress
    • 1929 – Betty Johnson, American singer
    • 1929 – Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Nadja Tiller, Austrian actress
    • 1930 – Tommy Flanagan, American pianist and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1930 – Minoru Miki, Japanese composer (d. 2011)
    • 1931 – Augusto Boal, Brazilian theatre director, writer and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Alan Heyman, American-South Korean musicologist and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Anthony Kenny, English philosopher and academic
    • 1931 – John Munro, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2003)
    • 1932 – Don Blasingame, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
    • 1932 – Walter Cunningham, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1932 – Kurt Diemberger, Austrian mountaineer and author
    • 1932 – Herbert Marx, Canadian politician (d. 2020)
    • 1933 – Keith Critchlow, English architect and academic, co-founded Temenos Academy
    • 1933 – Sanford I. Weill, American banker, financier, and philanthropist
    • 1934 – Jean Cournoyer, Canadian politician
    • 1934 – Ray Hnatyshyn, Canadian lawyer and politician, 24th Governor General of Canada (d. 2002)
    • 1934 – Roger Norrington, English violinist and conductor
    • 1935 – Teresa Berganza, Spanish soprano and actress
    • 1935 – Pepe Cáceres, Colombian bullfighter (d. 1987)
    • 1936 – Raymond Vahan Damadian, Armenian-American inventor, invented the MRI
    • 1936 – Fred Neil, American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2001)
    • 1937 – David Frith, English historian, journalist, and author
    • 1937 – Attilio Nicora, Italian cardinal (d. 2017)
    • 1937 – Amos Tversky, Israeli-American psychologist and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1938 – Carlos Bilardo, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1939 – Yvon Côté, Canadian teacher
    • 1940 – Bernardo Bertolucci, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1940 – Vagif Mustafazadeh, Azerbaijani pianist and composer (d. 1979)
    • 1940 – Jan Pronk, Dutch academic and politician, Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment
    • 1940 – Keith Rowe, English guitarist
    • 1941 – Robert Guéï, Ivorian soldier and politician, 3rd President of Côte d’Ivoire (d. 2002)
    • 1941 – Chuck Woolery, American game show host and television personality
    • 1942 – Roger Crozier, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1996)
    • 1942 – Gijs van Lennep, Dutch race car driver
    • 1942 – Jean-Pierre Schosteck, French politician
    • 1942 – James Soong, Chinese-Taiwanese politician, Governor of Taiwan Province
    • 1942 – Jerry Jeff Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Ursula Goodenough, American biologist, zoologist, and author
    • 1943 – Hans Heyer, German racing driver
    • 1943 – Álvaro de Soto, Peruvian diplomat
    • 1944 – Andrew S. Tanenbaum, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1946 – Sigmund Groven, Norwegian harmonica player and composer
    • 1946 – Mary Kaldor, English economist and academic
    • 1946 – J. Z. Knight, American New Age teacher and author
    • 1946 – Guesch Patti, French singer
    • 1948 – Michael Owen Bruce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1948 – Richard Desjardins, Canadian singer-songwriter and director
    • 1948 – Catherine Quéré, French politician
    • 1949 – Erik Estrada, American actor
    • 1949 – Victor Garber, Canadian actor and singer
    • 1949 – Elliott Murphy, American-French singer-songwriter and journalist
    • 1950 – Peter Forster, English bishop
    • 1950 – Kate Nelligan, Canadian actress
    • 1950 – Edhem Šljivo, Bosnian footballer
    • 1951 – Ray Benson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1951 – Abdelmajid Bourebbou, Algerian footballer
    • 1951 – Oddvar Brå, Norwegian skier
    • 1951 – Joe DeLamielleure, American football player
    • 1951 – Alexandre Gonzalez, French long-distance runner
    • 1953 – Claus Peter Flor, German conductor
    • 1953 – Isabelle Huppert, French actress
    • 1953 – Rainer Knaak, German chess player
    • 1953 – Richard Stallman, American computer scientist and programmer
    • 1954 – David Heath, English politician
    • 1954 – Jimmy Nail, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1954 – Tim O’Brien, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Dav Whatmore, Sri Lankan-Australian cricketer and coach
    • 1954 – Nancy Wilson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actress
    • 1955 – Svetlana Alexeeva, Russian ice dancer and coach
    • 1955 – Rimantas Astrauskas, Lithuanian physicist
    • 1955 – Bruno Barreto, Brazilian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Linda Lepomme, Belgian actress and singer
    • 1955 – Bob Ley, American sports anchor and reporter
    • 1955 – Andy Scott, Canadian politician (d. 2013)
    • 1955 – Jiro Watanabe, Japanese boxer
    • 1956 – Ozzie Newsome, American football player and manager
    • 1956 – Clifton Powell, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1956 – Yoriko Shono, Japanese writer
    • 1956 – Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Swiss lawyer and politician
    • 1958 – Phillip Wilcher, Australian pianist and composer
    • 1958 – Kate Worley, American author (d. 2004)
    • 1958 – Jorge Ramos, Mexican-American journalist and author
    • 1959 – Michael J. Bloomfield, American astronaut
    • 1959 – Sebastian Currier, American composer and educator
    • 1959 – Greg Dyer, Australian cricketer
    • 1959 – Flavor Flav, American rapper and actor
    • 1959 – Charles Hudson, American baseball player
    • 1959 – Steve Marker, American musician
    • 1959 – Jens Stoltenberg, Norwegian economist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Norway, 13th Secretary General of NATO
    • 1960 – John Hemming, English businessman and politician
    • 1960 – Duane Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1960 – Jenny Eclair, English comedian, actress and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Brett Kenny, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1961 – Todd McFarlane, Canadian author, illustrator, and businessman, founded McFarlane Toys
    • 1962 – Franck Fréon, French race car driver
    • 1962 – Liliane Gaschet, French athlete
    • 1963 – Jerome Flynn, English actor and singer
    • 1963 – Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor and singer (d. 2002)
    • 1964 – Patty Griffin, American singer-songwriter
    • 1964 – Jaclyn Jose, Filipino actress
    • 1964 – Pascal Richard, Swiss racing cyclist
    • 1964 – Gore Verbinski, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Steve Armstrong, American wrestler
    • 1965 – Cindy Brown, American basketball player
    • 1965 – Mark Carney, Canadian-English economist and banker
    • 1965 – Cristiana Reali, Italian-Brazilian actress
    • 1966 – Chrissy Redden, Canadian cross-country cyclist
    • 1967 – Tracy Bonham, American singer and violinist
    • 1967 – John Darnielle, American musician and novelist
    • 1967 – Lauren Graham, American actress and producer
    • 1967 – Ronnie McCoury, American bluegrass mandolin player, singer and songwriter
    • 1967 – Heidi Zurbriggen, Swiss alpine skier
    • 1968 – Trevor Wilson, American basketball player and police officer
    • 1969 – Judah Friedlander, American comedian and actor
    • 1969 – Ottis Gibson, Barbadian cricketer and coach
    • 1969 – Alina Ivanova, Russian athlete
    • 1969 – Evangelos Koronios, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1970 – Joakim Berg, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Franck Comba, French rugby player
    • 1971 – Alan Tudyk, American actor
    • 1972 – Ismaïl Sghyr, French-Moroccan long-distance runner
    • 1973 – Andrey Mizurov, Kazakhstani road bicycle racer
    • 1973 – Vonda Ward, American boxer
    • 1974 – Georgios Anatolakis, Greek footballer and politician
    • 1974 – Anne Charrier, French actress
    • 1974 – Heath Streak, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1975 – Luciano Castro, Argentine actor
    • 1975 – Sienna Guillory, English model and actress
    • 1975 – Lionel Torres, French archer
    • 1976 – Blu Cantrell, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1976 – Leila Lejeune, French handballer
    • 1976 – Susanne Ljungskog, Swedish cyclist
    • 1976 – Abraham Núñez, Dominican baseball player
    • 1976 – Zhu Chen, Qatari chess Grandmaster
    • 1977 – Mónica Cruz, Spanish actress and dancer
    • 1977 – Thomas Rupprath, German swimmer
    • 1978 – Brooke Burns, American fashion model and actress
    • 1978 – Annett Renneberg, German actress and singer
    • 1979 – Christina Liebherr, Swiss equestrian
    • 1979 – Rashad Moore, American football player
    • 1979 – Sébastien Ostertag, French handball player
    • 1979 – Leena Peisa, Finnish keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1979 – Andrei Stepanov, Estonian footballer
    • 1980 – Todd Heap, American football player
    • 1980 – Felipe Reyes, Spanish basketball player
    • 1981 – Andrew Bree, Irish swimmer
    • 1981 – Curtis Granderson, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Julien Mazet, French road bicycle racer
    • 1981 – Fabiana Murer, Brazilian pole vaulter
    • 1982 – Miguel Comminges, Guadeloupean footballer
    • 1982 – Riley Cote, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1982 – Tommy Hansen, Czech actor
    • 1982 – Jesús Del Nero, Spanish road bicycle racer
    • 1982 – Brian Wilson, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Stephen Drew, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Brandon League, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Nicolas Rousseau, French road bicycle racer
    • 1983 – Tramon Williams, American football player
    • 1984 – Levi Brown, American football player
    • 1984 – Aisling Bea, Irish comedienne and actress
    • 1984 – Sharon Cherop, Kenyan long-distance runner
    • 1984 – Michael Ennis, Australian rugby player
    • 1984 – Hosea Gear, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1984 – Brandon Prust, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Teddy Atine-Venel, French athlete
    • 1985 – Eddy Lover, Panamanian singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Aleksei Sokirskiy, Russian hammer thrower
    • 1986 – Alexandra Daddario, American actress
    • 1986 – Toney Douglas, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Kenny Dykstra, American wrestler
    • 1986 – T. J. Jordan, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Boaz Solossa, Indonesian footballer
    • 1986 – Daisuke Takahashi, Japanese figure skater
    • 1987 – Fabien Lemoine, French football player
    • 1988 – Jessica Gregg, Canadian speed skater
    • 1988 – Patrick Herrmann, German footballer
    • 1989 – Blake Griffin, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Jung So-min, South Korean actress
    • 1989 – Magalie Pottier, French racing cyclist
    • 1989 – Theo Walcott, English footballer
    • 1990 – Andre Young, American basketball player
    • 1991 – Reggie Bullock, American basketball player
    • 1991 – Wolfgang Van Halen, American bassist
    • 1993 – George Ford, English rugby union player
    • 1993 – Marine Lorphelin, Miss France
    • 1994 – Joel Embiid, Cameroonian basketball player
    • 1995 – Inga Janulevičiūtė, Lithuanian figure skater
    • 1997 – Florian Neuhaus, German football player

    Deaths on March 16

    • AD 37 – Tiberius, Roman emperor (b. 42 BC)
    • 455 – Valentinian III, Roman emperor (assassinated; b. 419)
    • 455 – Heraclius, Roman courtier (primicerius sacri cubiculi )
    • 842 – Xiao Mian, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 933 – Takin al-Khazari, Egyptian commander and politician, Abbasid Governor of Egypt
    • 943 – Pi Guangye, Chinese official and chancellor (b. 877)
    • 1021 – Heribert of Cologne, German archbishop and saint (b. 970)
    • 1072 – Adalbert of Hamburg, German archbishop (b. 1000)
    • 1181 – Henry I, Count of Champagne
    • 1185 – Baldwin IV of Jerusalem (b. 1161)
    • 1279 – Jeanne of Dammartin, Queen consort of Castile and León (b. 1216)
    • 1322 – Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford, English general and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1276)
    • 1405 – Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (b. 1350)
    • 1410 – John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, French-English admiral and politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1373)
    • 1457 – Ladislaus Hunyadi, Hungarian politician (b. 1433)
    • 1485 – Anne Neville, queen of Richard III of England (b. 1456)
    • 1559 – Anthony St. Leger, English-Irish politician Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1496)
    • 1649 – Jean de Brébeuf, French-Canadian missionary and saint (b. 1593)
    • 1679 – John Leverett, English general and politician, 19th Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (b. 1616)
    • 1721 – James Craggs the Elder, English politician, Postmaster General of the United Kingdom (b. 1657)
    • 1736 – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1710)
    • 1737 – Benjamin Wadsworth, American minister and academic (b. 1670)
    • 1738 – George Bähr, German architect, designed the Dresden Frauenkirche (b. 1666)
    • 1747 – Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst (b. 1690)
    • 1838 – Nathaniel Bowditch, American captain and mathematician (b. 1773)
    • 1841 – Félix Savart, French physicist and psychologist (d. 1791)
    • 1868 – David Wilmot, American politician, sponsor of Wilmot Proviso (b. 1814)
    • 1884 – Art Croft, American baseball player (b. 1855)
    • 1888 – Hippolyte Carnot, French politician (b. 1801)
    • 1892 – Samuel F. Miller, American lawyer and politician (b. 1827)
    • 1898 – Aubrey Beardsley, English author and illustrator (b. 1872)
    • 1899 – Joseph Medill, American journalist and politician, 26th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1823)
    • 1903 – Roy Bean, American lawyer and judge (b. 1825)
    • 1907 – John O’Leary, Irish politician (b. 1830)
    • 1912 – Max Burckhard, Austrian theater director (b. 1854)
    • 1914 – Gaston Calmette, French journalist (b. 1858)
    • 1914 – Charles Albert Gobat, Swiss lawyer and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
    • 1914 – John Murray, Scottish oceanographer, biologist, and limnologist (b. 1841)
    • 1925 – August von Wassermann, German bacteriologist and hygienist (b. 1866)
    • 1930 – Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (b. 1870)
    • 1935 – John James Rickard Macleod, Scottish physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
    • 1935 – Aron Nimzowitsch, Latvian-Danish chess player (b. 1886)
    • 1936 – Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (b. 1864)
    • 1937 – Alexander von Staël-Holstein, Estonian orientalist and sinologist (b. 1877)
    • 1940 – Selma Lagerlöf, Swedish author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
    • 1945 – Börries von Münchhausen, German poet (b. 1874)
    • 1955 – Nicolas de Staël, French-Russian painter and illustrator (b. 1914)
    • 1957 – Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer (b. 1876)
    • 1958 – Leon Cadore, American baseball player (b. 1891)
    • 1961 – Chen Geng, Chinese general and politician (b. 1903)
    • 1961 – Václav Talich, Czech violinist and conductor (b. 1883)
    • 1963 – Laura Adams Armer, American author and photographer (b. 1874)
    • 1965 – Alice Herz, German activist (b. 1882)
    • 1967 – Thomas MacGreevy, Irish poet (b. 1893)
    • 1968 – Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Italian-American pianist and composer (b. 1895)
    • 1968 – Gunnar Ekelöf, Swedish poet and translator (b. 1907)
    • 1970 – Tammi Terrell, American singer (b. 1945)
    • 1971 – Bebe Daniels, American actress (b. 1901)
    • 1971 – Thomas E. Dewey, American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of New York (b. 1902)
    • 1972 – Pie Traynor, American baseball player (b. 1898)
    • 1975 – T-Bone Walker, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1910)
    • 1977 – Kamal Jumblatt, Lebanese lawyer and politician (b. 1917)
    • 1979 – Jean Monnet, French economist and politician (b. 1888)
    • 1980 – Tamara de Lempicka, Polish-American painter (b. 1898)
    • 1983 – Arthur Godfrey, American actor and television host (b. 1903)
    • 1983 – Fred Rose, Polish-Canadian politician (b. 1907)
    • 1985 – Roger Sessions, American composer, critic, and educator (b. 1896)
    • 1985 – Eddie Shore, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1902)
    • 1988 – Jigger Statz, American baseball player (b.1897)
    • 1988 – Mickey Thompson, American race car driver (b. 1928)
    • 1990 – Ernst Bacon, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1898)
    • 1991 – Chris Austin, American country singer (b .1964)
    • 1991 – Jean Bellette, Australian artist (b. 1908)
    • 1992 – Yves Rocard, French physicist and engineer (b. 1903)
    • 1994 – Eric Show, American baseball player (b. 1956)
    • 1998 – Derek Barton, English-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
    • 1998 – Esther Bubley, American photographer (b. 1921)
    • 1999 – Gratien Gélinas, Canadian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1909)
    • 2000 – Thomas Ferebee, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 2000 – Pavel Prudnikau, Belarusian poet and author (b. 1911)
    • 2000 – Michael Starr, Canadian judge and politician, 16th Canadian Minister of Labour (b. 1910)
    • 2000 – Carlos Velázquez, Puerto Rican pitcher (b. 1948)
    • 2001 – Bob Wollek, French race car driver (b. 1943)
    • 2003 – Rachel Corrie, American activist (b. 1979)
    • 2003 – Ronald Ferguson, English captain, polo player, and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2004 – Vilém Tauský, Czech conductor and composer (b. 1910)
    • 2005 – Todd Bell, American football player (b. 1958)
    • 2005 – Ralph Erskine, English architect, designed The London Ark (b. 1914)
    • 2005 – Dick Radatz, American baseball player (b. 1937)
    • 2007 – Manjural Islam Rana, Bangladeshi cricketer (b. 1984)
    • 2008 – Bill Brown, Australian cricketer and soldier (b. 1912)
    • 2008 – Ivan Dixon, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1931)
    • 2008 – Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (b. 1942)
    • 2010 – Ksenija Pajčin, Serbian singer, dancer and model (b. 1977)
    • 2011 – Richard Wirthlin, American religious leader (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Donald E. Hillman, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Takaaki Yoshimoto, Japanese poet, philosopher, and critic (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Jamal Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi physicist and cosmologist (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz, Argentinian economist and politician, Minister of Economy of Argentina (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Yadier Pedroso, Cuban pitcher (b. 1986)
    • 2013 – Ruchoma Shain, American-born teacher and author (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – Marina Solodkin, Russian-Israeli academic and politician (b. 1952)
    • 2013 – Frank Thornton, English actor (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Gary Bettenhausen, American race car driver (b. 1941)
    • 2014 – Donald Crothers, American chemist and academic (b. 1937)
    • 2014 – Yulisa Pat Amadu Maddy, Sierra Leonean author, poet, and playwright (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Steve Moore, English author and illustrator (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – Alexander Pochinok, Russian economist and politician (b. 1958)
    • 2015 – Jack Haley, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1964)
    • 2015 – Don Robertson, American pianist and composer (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Alexander Esenin-Volpin, Russian-American mathematician and poet (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Frank Sinatra Jr., American singer and actor (b. 1944)
    • 2017 – Lewis Rowland, American neurologist (b. 1925)
    • 2018 – Louise Slaughter, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York (b. 1929)
    • 2019 – Dick Dale, American surf-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (b. 1937)

    Holidays and observances on March 16

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abbán
      • Finian Lobhar (Finian the Leper)
      • Heribert of Cologne
      • Hilarius of Aquileia
      • Julian of Antioch
      • March 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the Book Smugglers (Lithuania)
    • Remembrance day of the Latvian legionnaires (Latvia)
    • Saint Urho’s Day (Finnish Americans and Finnish Canadians)
    • Austin 3:16 Day (Not official, but leisure day)

  • March 9- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 141 BC – Liu Che, posthumously known as Emperor Wu of Han, assumes the throne over the Han dynasty of China.
    • 1009 – First known mention of Lithuania, in the annals of the monastery of Quedlinburg.
    • 1226 – Khwarazmian sultan Jalal ad-Din conquers the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.
    • 1230 – Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen II defeats Theodore of Epirus in the Battle of Klokotnitsa.
    • 1500 – The fleet of Pedro Álvares Cabral leaves Lisbon for the Indies. The fleet will discover Brazil which lies within boundaries granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas.
    • 1701 – Safavid troops retreat from Basra, ending a three year occupation.
    • 1765 – After a campaign by the writer Voltaire, judges in Paris posthumously exonerate Jean Calas of murdering his son. Calas had been tortured and executed in 1762 on the charge, though his son may have actually committed suicide.
    • 1776 – The Wealth of Nations by Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith is published.
    • 1796 – Napoléon Bonaparte marries his first wife, Joséphine de Beauharnais.
    • 1811 – Paraguayan forces defeat Manuel Belgrano at the Battle of Tacuarí.
    • 1815 – Francis Ronalds describes the first battery-operated clock in the Philosophical Magazine
    • 1841 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules in the United States v. The Amistad case that captive Africans who had seized control of the ship carrying them had been taken into slavery illegally.
    • 1842 – Giuseppe Verdi’s third opera, Nabucco, receives its première performance in Milan; its success establishes Verdi as one of Italy’s foremost opera composers.
    • 1842 – The first documented discovery of gold in California occurs at Rancho San Francisco, six years before the California Gold Rush.
    • 1847 – Mexican–American War: The first large-scale amphibious assault in U.S. history is launched in the Siege of Veracruz.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: USS Monitor and CSS Virginia fight to a draw in the Battle of Hampton Roads, the first battle between two ironclad warships.
    • 1908 – Inter Milan was founded on Football Club Internazionale, following a schism from A.C. Milan.
    • 1916 – Mexican Revolution: Pancho Villa leads nearly 500 Mexican raiders in an attack against the border town of Columbus, New Mexico.
    • 1933 – Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt submits the Emergency Banking Act to Congress, the first of his New Deal policies
    • 1942 – World War II: Dutch East Indies unconditionally surrendered to the Japanese forces in Kalijati, Subang, West Java, and the Japanese completed their Dutch East Indies campaign
    • 1944 – World War II: Soviet Army planes attack Tallinn, Estonia.
    • 1945 – World War II: A coup d’état by Japanese forces in French Indochina removes the French from power.
    • 1946 – Bolton Wanderers stadium disaster at Burnden Park, Bolton, England, kills 33 and injures hundreds more.
    • 1954 – McCarthyism: CBS television broadcasts the See It Now episode, “A Report on Senator Joseph McCarthy”, produced by Fred Friendly.
    • 1956 – Soviet forces suppress mass demonstrations in the Georgian SSR, reacting to Nikita Khrushchev’s de-Stalinization policy.
    • 1957 – The 8.6 Mw  Andreanof Islands earthquake shakes the Aleutian Islands, causing over $5 million in damage from ground movement and a destructive tsunami.
    • 1959 – The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.
    • 1960 – Dr. Belding Hibbard Scribner implants for the first time a shunt he invented into a patient, which allows the patient to receive hemodialysis on a regular basis.
    • 1961 – Sputnik 9 successfully launches, carrying a dog and a human dummy, and demonstrating that the Soviet Union was ready to begin human spaceflight.
    • 1967 – Trans World Airlines Flight 553 crashes in a field in Concord Township, Ohio following a mid-air collision with a Beechcraft Baron, killing 26 people.
    • 1974 – The Mars 7 Flyby bus releases the descent module too early, missing Mars.
    • 1976 – Forty-two people die in the Cavalese cable car disaster, the worst cable-car accident to date.
    • 1977 – The Hanafi Siege: In a thirty-nine-hour standoff, armed Hanafi Muslims seize three Washington, D.C., buildings.
    • 1978 – President Soeharto inaugurated Jagorawi Toll Road, the first toll highway in Indonesia, connecting Jakarta, Bogor and Ciawi, West Java.
    • 1997 – Comet Hale–Bopp: Observers in China, Mongolia and eastern Siberia are treated to a rare double feature as an eclipse permits Hale-Bopp to be seen during the day.2011 – Space Shuttle Discovery makes its final landing after 39 flights.

    Births on March 9

    • 1454 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian cartographer and explorer (d. 1512)
    • 1564 – David Fabricius, German theologian, cartographer and astronomer (d. 1617)
    • 1568 – Aloysius Gonzaga, Italian saint (d. 1591)
    • 1662 – Franz Anton von Sporck, German noble (d. 1738)
    • 1697 – Friederike Caroline Neuber, German actress (d. 1760)
    • 1737 – Josef Mysliveček, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1781)
    • 1749 – Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau, French journalist and politician (d. 1791)
    • 1753 – Jean-Baptiste Kléber, French general (d. 1800)
    • 1758 – Franz Joseph Gall, German neuroanatomist and physiologist (d. 1828)
    • 1763 – William Cobbett, English journalist and author (d. 1835)
    • 1806 – Edwin Forrest, American actor and philanthropist (d. 1872)
    • 1814 – Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet and playwright (d. 1861)
    • 1815 – David Davis, American jurist and politician (d. 1886)
    • 1820 – Samuel Blatchford, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1893)
    • 1824 – Amasa Leland Stanford, American businessman and politician, founded Stanford University (d. 1893)
    • 1847 – Martin Pierre Marsick, Belgian violinist, composer, and educator (d. 1924)
    • 1850 – Hamo Thornycroft, English sculptor and academic (d. 1925)
    • 1856 – Eddie Foy, Sr., American actor and dancer (d. 1928)
    • 1863 – Mary Harris Armor, American suffragist (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – Fritz Lenz, German geneticist and physician (d. 1976)
    • 1890 – Rupert Balfe, Australian footballer and lieutenant (d. 1915)
    • 1890 – Vyacheslav Molotov, Russian politician and diplomat, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1986)
    • 1891 – José P. Laurel, Filipino lawyer, politician and President of the Philippines (d. 1959)
    • 1892 – Mátyás Rákosi, Hungarian politician (d. 1971)
    • 1892 – Vita Sackville-West, English author, poet, and gardener (d. 1962)
    • 1902 – Will Geer, American actor (d. 1978)
    • 1904 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American soldier and engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (d. 2002)
    • 1910 – Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (d. 1981)
    • 1911 – Clara Rockmore, American classical violin prodigy and theremin player, (d. 1998)
    • 1915 – Johnnie Johnson, English air marshal and pilot (d. 2001)
    • 1918 – George Lincoln Rockwell, American sailor and politician, founded the American Nazi Party (d. 1967)
    • 1918 – Mickey Spillane, American crime novelist (d. 2006)
    • 1920 – Franjo Mihalić, Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – Carl Betz, American actor (d. 1978)
    • 1922 – Ian Turbott, New Zealand-Australian former diplomat and university administrator (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – James L. Buckley, American lawyer, judge, and politician
    • 1923 – André Courrèges, French fashion designer (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Walter Kohn, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Joe Franklin, American radio and television host (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Gerald Bull, Canadian-American engineer and academic (d. 1990)
    • 1928 – Keely Smith, American singer and actress (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Desmond Hoyte, Guyanese lawyer, politician and President of Guyana (d. 2002)
    • 1929 – Zillur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 19th President of Bangladesh (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Ornette Coleman, American saxophonist, violinist, trumpet player, and composer (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Jackie Healy-Rae, Irish politician (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Qayyum Chowdhury, Bangladeshi painter and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Walter Mercado, Puerto Rican-American astrologer and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1933 – Lloyd Price, American R&B singer-songwriter
    • 1933 – David Weatherall, English physician, geneticist, and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1934 – Yuri Gagarin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1968)
    • 1934 – Joyce Van Patten, American actress
    • 1935 – Andrew Viterbi, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Qualcomm Inc.
    • 1936 – Mickey Gilley, American singer-songwriter and pianist[
    • 1936 – Marty Ingels, American actor and comedian (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Bernard Landry, Canadian lawyer, politician and Premier of Quebec (d. 2018)
    • 1937 – Harry Neale, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1937 – Brian Redman, English race car driver
    • 1940 – Raul Julia, Puerto Rican-American actor (d. 1994)
    • 1941 – Jim Colbert, American golfer
    • 1941 – Ernesto Miranda, American criminal (d. 1976)
    • 1942 – Ion Caramitru, Romanian actor and artistic director
    • 1942 – Mark Lindsay, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and producer
    • 1943 – Bobby Fischer, American chess player and author (d. 2008)
    • 1944 – Lee Irvine, South African cricketer
    • 1945 – Robert Calvert, English singer-songwriter and playwright (d. 1988)
    • 1945 – Robin Trower, English rock guitarist and vocalist
    • 1946 – Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (d. 2014)
    • 1946 – Warren Skaaren, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1990)
    • 1946 – Bernd Hölzenbein, German footballer and scout
    • 1947 – Keri Hulme, New Zealand author and poet
    • 1948 – Emma Bonino, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1948 – Eric Fischl, American painter and sculptor
    • 1948 – Jeffrey Osborne, American singer and drummer
    • 1949 – Neil Hamilton, Welsh lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – Doug Ault, American baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1950 – Andy North, American golfer
    • 1950 – Howard Shelley, English pianist and conductor
    • 1951 – Helen Zille, South African journalist, politician and Premier of the Western Cape1952 – Bill Beaumont, English rugby player and manager
    • 1954 – Carlos Ghosn, Brazilian-Lebanese-French business executive
    • 1954 – Bobby Sands, PIRA volunteer; Irish republican politician (d. 1981)
    • 1954 – Jock Taylor, Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1982)
    • 1955 – Teo Fabi, Italian race car driver
    • 1955 – Józef Pinior, Polish academic and politician
    • 1956 – Mark Dantonio, American football player and coach
    • 1956 – Shashi Tharoor, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs
    • 1956 – David Willetts, English academic and politician
    • 1958 – Paul MacLean, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1959 – Takaaki Kajita, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1959 – Lonny Price, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Linda Fiorentino, American actress
    • 1961 – Rick Steiner, American wrestler
    • 1961 – Darrell Walker, American basketball player and coach
    • 1963 – Terry Mulholland, American baseball player
    • 1963 – Jean-Marc Vallée, Canadian director and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Juliette Binoche, French actress
    • 1964 – Phil Housley, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1965 – Brian Bosworth, American football player and actor
    • 1965 – Benito Santiago, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
    • 1966 – Brendan Canty, American drummer and songwriter
    • 1966 – Tony Lockett, Australian footballer
    • 1968 – Youri Djorkaeff, French footballer
    • 1969 – Kimberly Guilfoyle, American lawyer and journalist
    • 1970 – Naveen Jindal, Indian businessman and politician
    • 1970 – Martin Johnson, English rugby player and coach
    • 1971 – Emmanuel Lewis, American actor
    • 1972 – Jodey Arrington, United States politician
    • 1973 – Liam Griffin, English race car driver
    • 1975 – Juan Sebastián Verón, Argentinian footballer
    • 1977 – Radek Dvořák, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Oscar Isaac, Guatemalan-American actor
    • 1981 – Antonio Bryant, American football player
    • 1981 – Clay Rapada, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Ryan Bayley, Australian cyclist
    • 1982 – Matt Bowen, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Mirjana Lučić-Baroni, Croatian tennis player
    • 1983 – Wayne Simien, American basketball player[
    • 1983 – Clint Dempsey, American international soccer player, forward
    • 1984 – Abdoulay Konko, French footballer
    • 1984 – Julia Mancuso, American skier
    • 1985 – Brent Burns, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Jesse Litsch, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Pastor Maldonado, Venezuelan race car driver
    • 1985 – Parthiv Patel, Indian cricketer
    • 1986 – Colin Greening, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Brittany Snow, American actress and producer
    • 1989 – Taeyeon, South Korean artist, member of Girls’ Generation
    • 1990 – Daley Blind, Dutch footballer
    • 1990 – Matt Robinson, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1990 – YG (rapper), American rapper
    • 1991 – Jooyoung, Korean singer-songwriter
    • 1993 – Suga, South Korean artist (BTS)
    • 1994 – Morgan Rielly, Canadian ice hockey player

    Deaths on March 9

    • 886 – Abu Ma’shar al-Balkhi, Muslim scholar and astrologer (b. 787)
    • 1202 – Sverre of Norway
    • 1440 – Frances of Rome, Italian nun and saint (b. 1384)
    • 1444 – Leonardo Bruni, Italian humanist (b. c.1370)
    • 1463 – Catherine of Bologna, Italian nun and saint (d. 1463)
    • 1566 – David Rizzio, Italian-Scottish courtier and politician (b. 1533).
    • 1649 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton, Scottish soldier and politician, (b. 1606)
    • 1649 – Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland, English soldier and politician (b. 1590)
    • 1661 – Cardinal Mazarin, Italian-French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1602)
    • 1709 – Ralph Montagu, 1st Duke of Montagu, English courtier and politician (b. 1638)
    • 1808 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (b. 1739)
    • 1810 – Ozias Humphry, English painter and academic (b. 1742)
    • 1825 – Anna Laetitia Barbauld, English poet, author, and critic (b. 1743)
    • 1847 – Mary Anning, English paleontologist (b. 1799)
    • 1851 – Hans Christian Ørsted, Danish physicist and chemist (b. 1777)1888 – William I, German Emperor (b. 1797)
    • 1895 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (b. 1836)
    • 1897 – Sondre Norheim, Norwegian-American skier (b. 1825)
    • 1918 – Frank Wedekind, German author and playwright (b. 1864)
    • 1925 – Willard Metcalf, American painter and academic (b. 1858)
    • 1926 – Mikao Usui, Japanese spiritual leader, founded Reiki (b. 1865)
    • 1937 – Paul Elmer More, American journalist and critic (b. 1864)
    • 1943 – Otto Freundlich, German painter and sculptor (b. 1878)
    • 1954 – Vagn Walfrid Ekman, Swedish oceanographer and academic (b. 1874)
    • 1955 – Miroslava, Czech-Mexican actress (b. 1925)
    • 1964 – Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck, German general (b. 1870)
    • 1969 – Abdul Munim Riad, Egyptian general (b. 1919)
    • 1971 – Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (b. 1902)
    • 1974 – Earl Wilbur Sutherland, Jr., American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
    • 1974 – Harry Womack, American singer (b. 1945)
    • 1983 – Faye Emerson, American actress (b. 1917)
    • 1983 – Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
    • 1988 – Kurt Georg Kiesinger, German lawyer, politician and Chancellor of Germany (b. 1904)
    • 1989 – Robert Mapplethorpe, American photographer (b. 1946)
    • 1991 – Jim Hardin, American baseball player (b. 1943)
    • 1992 – Menachem Begin, Belarusian-Israeli soldier, politician and Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
    • 1993 – C. Northcote Parkinson, English historian and author (b. 1909)
    • 1994 – Charles Bukowski, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1920)
    • 1994 – Eddie Creatchman, Canadian wrestler, referee, and manager (b. 1928)
    • 1994 – Fernando Rey, Spanish actor (b. 1917)
    • 1997 – Jean-Dominique Bauby, French journalist and author (b. 1952)
    • 1997 – Terry Nation, Welsh author and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 1997 – The Notorious B.I.G., American rapper, songwriter, and actor (b. 1972)
    • 1999 – Harry Somers, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1925)
    • 2000 – Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and educator (b. 1908)
    • 2003 – Stan Brakhage, American director and cinematographer (b. 1933)
    • 2003 – Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauruan politician, President of Nauru (b. 1946)
    • 2006 – Tom Fox, American activist (b. 1951)
    • 2006 – John Profumo, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for War (b. 1915)
    • 2007 – Brad Delp, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1951)
    • 2007 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
    • 2010 – Willie Davis, American baseball player and manager (b. 1940)
    • 2010 – Doris Haddock, American activist and politician (b. 1910)
    • 2011 – David S. Broder, American journalist and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Max Jakobson, Finnish journalist and diplomat
    • 2013 – Merton Simpson, American painter and art collector (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – James Molyneaux, Baron Molyneaux of Killead, Northern Irish soldier and politician (b. 1920)
    • 2016 – Robert Horton, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Clyde Lovellette, American basketball player and coach (b. 1929)
    • 2017 – Howard Hodgkin, British painter (b. 1932)
    • 2018 – Jo Min-ki, Korean actor (b. 1965)
    • 2020 – John Bathersby, Australian Catholic bishop (b. 1936)

    Holidays and observances on March 9

    • Christian feast day:
      • Catherine of Bologna
      • Forty Martyrs of Sebaste
      • Frances of Rome
      • Pacian
      • Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria (Coptic Orthodox Church)
      • Gregory of Nyssa (Episcopal Church (United States))
      • March 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Teachers’ Day or Eid Al Moalim (Lebanon)

  • February 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George’s (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
    • 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.
    • 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
    • 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France’s claim to Texas.
    • 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington.
    • 1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
    • 1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta.
    • 1816 – Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
    • 1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile.
    • 1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
    • 1865 – End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance.
    • 1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.
    • 1877 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
    • 1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
    • 1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
    • 1913 – King O’Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.
    • 1920 – An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori.
    • 1931 – The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
    • 1933 – The U.S. Congress approves the Blaine Act to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution to state ratifying conventions for approval.
    • 1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party’s upcoming election campaign.
    • 1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
    • 1942 – Lieutenant Edward O’Hare becomes America’s first World War II flying ace.
    • 1943 – American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
    • 1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.
    • 1944 – World War II: The “Big Week” began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.
    • 1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.
    • 1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
    • 1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
    • 1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
    • 1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.
    • 1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
    • 1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
    • 1979 – An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java.
    • 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.
    • 1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
    • 1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania’s long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters.
    • 1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
    • 2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
    • 2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
    • 2009 – Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack.
    • 2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago.
    • 2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, many reportedly killed by snipers.
    • 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.
    • 2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.

    Births on February 20

    • 1358 – Eleanor of Aragon, queen of John I of Castile (d. 1382)
    • 1469 – Thomas Cajetan, Italian philosopher (d. 1534)
    • 1523 – Jan Blahoslav, Czech writer (d. 1571)
    • 1549 – Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, last Duke of Urbino (d. 1631)
    • 1552 – Sengoku Hidehisa, Daimyō (d. 1614)
    • 1608 – Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (d. 1649)
    • 1631 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1712)
    • 1633 – Jan de Baen, Dutch painter (d. 1702)
    • 1705 – Nicolas Chédeville, French musette player and composer (d. 1782)
    • 1726 – William Prescott, American colonel (d. 1795)
    • 1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (d. 1813)
    • 1751 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (d. 1826)
    • 1753 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1815)
    • 1759 – Johann Christian Reil, German physician, physiologist, and anatomist (d. 1813)
    • 1774 – Vicente Sebastián Pintado, Spanish cartographer, engineer, military officer and land surveyor of Spanish Louisiana and Spanish West Florida (d. 1829)
    • 1784 – Judith Montefiore, British linguist, travel writer, philanthropist (d. 1862)
    • 1792 – Eliza Courtney, French daughter of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1859)
    • 1794 – William Carleton, Irish author (d. 1869)
    • 1802 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1870)
    • 1819 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (d. 1882)
    • 1839 – Benjamin Waugh, English activist, founded the NSPCC (d. 1908)
    • 1844 – Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1906)
    • 1844 – Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909)
    • 1848 – E. H. Harriman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1909)
    • 1857 – A. P. Lucas, English cricketer (d. 1923)
    • 1866 – Carl Westman, Swedish architect, designed the Stockholm Court House and Röhsska Museum (d. 1936)
    • 1867 – Louise, Princess Royal of England (d. 1931)
    • 1870 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (d. 1937)
    • 1874 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
    • 1879 – Hod Stuart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1907)
    • 1880 – Jacques d’Adelswärd-Fersen, French author and poet (d. 1923)
    • 1882 – Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor (d. 1946)
    • 1887 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
    • 1888 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (d. 1948)
    • 1889 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and physician (d. 1948)
    • 1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1993)
    • 1895 – Louis Zborowski, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1924)
    • 1897 – Ivan Albright, American painter (d. 1983)
    • 1898 – Ante Ciliga, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (d. 1992)
    • 1899 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1992)
    • 1901 – René Dubos, French-American biologist and author (d. 1982)
    • 1901 – Louis Kahn, American architect, designed the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Bangladesh Parliament Building (d. 1974)
    • 1901 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian general and politician, 1st President of Egypt (d. 1984)
    • 1901 – Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (d. 1978)
    • 1902 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (d. 1984)
    • 1904 – Alexei Kosygin, Russian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1980)
    • 1906 – Gale Gordon, American actor (d. 1995)
    • 1912 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (d. 1994)
    • 1912 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace of the Second World War (d. 2006)
    • 1913 – Tommy Henrich, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
    • 1914 – John Charles Daly, South African–American journalist and game show host (d. 1991)
    • 1916 – Jean Erdman, American dancer and choreographer
    • 1918 – Leonore Annenberg, American businesswoman and diplomat (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – James O’Meara, English soldier and pilot (d. 1974)
    • 1920 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 1992)
    • 1923 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Guyana (d. 1985)
    • 1923 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress, fashion designer, and socialite (d. 2019)
    • 1925 – Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1925 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (d. 1990)
    • 1926 – Matthew Bucksbaum, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded General Growth Properties (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Gillian Lynne, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Bob Richards, American Olympic track and field athlete
    • 1926 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1998)
    • 1927 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer and political activist (d. 1986)
    • 1927 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer and musician (d. 2005)
    • 1927 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat
    • 1928 – Roy Face, American baseball player and carpenter
    • 1928 – Jean Kennedy Smith, American diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to Ireland
    • 1929 – Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
    • 1931 – John Milnor, American mathematician and academic
    • 1932 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and author (d. 2007)
    • 1934 – Bobby Unser, American race car driver
    • 1935 – Ellen Gilchrist, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
    • 1936 – Marj Dusay, American actress (d. 2020)
    • 1936 – Larry Hovis, American actor and singer (d. 2003)
    • 1936 – Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach
    • 1937 – David Ackles, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
    • 1937 – Robert Huber, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Roger Penske, American race car driver and businessman
    • 1937 – Robert Evans, Australian minister and amateur astronomer
    • 1937 – Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – Richard Beymer, American actor, director, and cinematographer
    • 1940 – Jimmy Greaves, English international footballer, forward and TV pundit
    • 1941 – Lim Kit Siang, Malaysian lawyer and politician
    • 1941 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1942 – Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
    • 1942 – Mitch McConnell, American lawyer, and politician
    • 1942 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
    • 1943 – Antonio Inoki, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician
    • 1943 – Mike Leigh, English director and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian economist and politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1999)
    • 1944 – Lew Soloff, American trumpet player, composer, and actor (d. 2015)
    • 1944 – Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1945 – Alan Hull, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
    • 1946 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
    • 1946 – Sandy Duncan, American actress, singer, and dancer
    • 1946 – J. Geils, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
    • 1947 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
    • 1947 – Peter Strauss, American actor and producer
    • 1948 – Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Jennifer O’Neill, American model and actress
    • 1949 – Eddie Hemmings, English cricketer
    • 1949 – Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite and model
    • 1950 – Walter Becker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
    • 1950 – Peter Marinello, Scottish footballer, forward
    • 1950 – Tony Wilson, English journalist and businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1951 – Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
    • 1951 – Gordon Brown, Scottish historian and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    • 1951 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
    • 1951 – Phil Neal, English footballer and manager
    • 1953 – Poison Ivy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1954 – Jon Brant, American bass player
    • 1954 – Anthony Head, English actor
    • 1954 – Patty Hearst, American actress and author
    • 1957 – Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1959 – Scott Brayton, American race car driver (d. 1996)
    • 1959 – David Corn, American journalist and author
    • 1959 – Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
    • 1960 – Joel Hodgson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas, Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (d. 2014)
    • 1961 – Steve Lundquist, American swimmer
    • 1962 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded Milestone Media (d. 2011)
    • 1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1963 – Joakim Nystrom, Swedish tennis player
    • 1963 – Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health
    • 1963 – Cui Yongyuan, Chinese former anchor
    • 1964 – Willie Garson, American actor and director
    • 1964 – Tom Harris, Scottish journalist and politician
    • 1964 – Jeff Maggert, American golfer
    • 1964 – French Stewart, American actor
    • 1966 – Cindy Crawford, American model and businesswoman
    • 1967 – Paul Accola, Swiss alpine skier
    • 1967 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994)
    • 1967 – David Herman, American comedian and actor
    • 1967 – Andrew Shue, American actor and activist, founded Do Something
    • 1967 – Lili Taylor, American actress
    • 1967 – Tom Waddle, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Kjell Ove Hauge, Norwegian school principal and track and field athlete
    • 1969 – Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Danis Tanović, Bosnian director and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Calpernia Addams, American actress, author, and activist
    • 1971 – Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
    • 1971 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby player (d. 2017)
    • 1972 – Neil Primrose, Scottish drummer
    • 1974 – Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer and manager
    • 1975 – Liván Hernández, Cuban baseball player
    • 1975 – Brian Littrell, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1975 – Niclas Wallin, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler
    • 1978 – Lauren Ambrose, American actress and producer
    • 1980 – Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
    • 1980 – Luis Gabriel Rey, Colombian footballer
    • 1981 – Tony Hibbert, English footballer
    • 1981 – Fred Jackson, American football player
    • 1982 – Jason Hirsh, American baseball player
    • 1983 – Jose Morales, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
    • 1983 – Justin Verlander, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Brian McCann, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Trevor Noah, South African comedian, actor, and television host
    • 1984 – Ramzee Robinson, American football player
    • 1985 – Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Julia Volkova, Russian singer and actress
    • 1985 – TJ Kirk, American YouTube personality and podcast host
    • 1987 – Luke Burgess, English rugby league player
    • 1987 – Miles Teller, American actor
    • 1988 – Kealoha Pilares, American football player
    • 1988 – Ki Bo-bae, South Korean archer
    • 1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian-American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1988 – Jiah Khan, Indian singer and actress (d. 2013)
    • 1989 – Daly Cherry-Evans, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Ciro Immobile, Italian footballer
    • 1991 – Hidilyn Diaz, Filipino weightlifter
    • 1991 – Giovanni Kyeremateng, Italian footballer
    • 1991 – Angelique van der Meet, Dutch tennis player
    • 1991 – Antonio Pedroza, English-Mexican footballer
    • 1991 – Jocelyn Rae, English-Scottish tennis player
    • 1992 – Kyle Turner, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Elseid Hysaj, Albanian footballer

    Deaths on February 20

    • 789 – Leo of Catania, saint and bishop of Catania (b. 709)
    • 922 – Theodora, Byzantine empress
    • 1054 – Yaroslav the Wise, grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and Kiev (b. 978)
    • 1154 – Saint Wulfric of Haselbury (b. c. 1080)
    • 1171 – Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
    • 1194 – Tancred, King of Sicily (b. 1138)
    • 1258 – Al-Musta’sim, Iraqi caliph (b. 1213)
    • 1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
    • 1431 – Pope Martin V (b. 1368)
    • 1458 – Lazar Branković, Despot of Serbia
    • 1513 – King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1455)
    • 1524 – Tecun Uman, Mayan ruler (b. 1500)
    • 1579 – Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)
    • 1618 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (b. 1554)
    • 1626 – John Dowland, English lute player and composer (b. 1563)
    • 1762 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (b. 1723)
    • 1771 – Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist and astronomer (b. 1678)
    • 1773 – Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (b. 1701)
    • 1778 – Laura Bassi, Italian physicist and scholar (b. 1711)
    • 1790 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
    • 1806 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (b. 1725)
    • 1810 – Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean rebel leader (b. 1767)
    • 1850 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843–1844) (b. 1794)
    • 1862 – William Wallace Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850)
    • 1871 – Paul Kane, Irish-Canadian painter (b. 1810)
    • 1893 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (b. 1818)
    • 1895 – Frederick Douglass, American author and activist (b. 1818)
    • 1900 – Washakie, American tribal leader (b. 1798)
    • 1907 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
    • 1910 – Boutros Ghali, Egyptian educator and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1846)
    • 1916 – Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish journalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844)
    • 1920 – Jacinta Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1910)
    • 1920 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (b. 1856)
    • 1933 – Takiji Kobayashi, Japanese writer (b. 1903)
    • 1936 – Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879)
    • 1957 – Sadri Maksudi Arsal, Turkish scholar and politician (b. 1878)
    • 1961 – Percy Grainger, Australian-American pianist and composer (b. 1882)
    • 1963 – Jacob Gade, Danish violinist and composer(b. 1879)
    • 1966 – Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (b. 1885)
    • 1968 – Anthony Asquith, English director and screenwriter (b. 1902)
    • 1969 – Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (b. 1883)
    • 1972 – Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
    • 1972 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and actor (b. 1897)
    • 1976 – René Cassin, French lawyer and judge, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
    • 1976 – Kathryn Kuhlman, healing evangelist, known for belief in Holy Spirit (b. 1907)
    • 1981 – Nicolas de Gunzburg, French-American banker and publisher (b. 1904)
    • 1987 – Wayne Boring, American illustrator (b. 1905)
    • 1992 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (b. 1898)
    • 1992 – Dick York, American actor (b. 1928)
    • 1993 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, founded Lamborghini (b. 1916)
    • 1993 – Ernest L. Massad, American general (b. 1908)
    • 1996 – Solomon Asch, American psychologist and academic (b. 1907)
    • 1996 – Audrey Munson, American model (b. 1891)
    • 1996 – Toru Takemitsu, Japanese pianist, guitarist, and composer (b. 1930)
    • 1999 – Sarah Kane, English playwright (b. 1971)
    • 1999 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and critic (b. 1946)
    • 2000 – Anatoly Sobchak, Russian lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Saint Petersburg (b. 1937)
    • 2001 – Rosemary DeCamp, American actress (b. 1910)
    • 2001 – Donella Meadows, American environmentalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
    • 2003 – Mushaf Ali Mir, Pakistani air marshal (b. 1947)
    • 2003 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and author (b. 1907)
    • 2003 – Orville Freeman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 29th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1918)
    • 2005 – Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1942)
    • 2005 – Josef Holeček, Czechoslovakian canoeist (b. 1921)2005 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (b. 1937)
    • 2006 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (b. 1920)
    • 2008 – Emily Perry, English actress and dancer (b. 1907)
    • 2009 – Larry H. Miller, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1944)
    • 2010 – Alexander Haig, American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Knut Torbjørn Eggen, Norwegian footballer and manager (b. 1960)
    • 2012 – Katie Hall, American educator and politician (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Kenji Eno, Japanese game designer and composer (b. 1970)
    • 2013 – David S. McKay, American biochemist and geologist (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Antonio Roma, Argentinian footballer (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Walter D. Ehlers, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Garrick Utley, American journalist (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Govind Pansare, Indian author and activist (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Henry Segerstrom, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – John C. Willke, American physician, author, and activist (b. 1925)
    • 2016 – Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician (b. 1934)
    • 2017 – Vitaly Churkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (b. 1952)
    • 2017 – Mildred Dresselhaus, American physicist (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Steve Hewlett, British journalist (b. 1958)
    • 2020 – Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Treasury and MP

    Holidays and observances on February 20

    • Christian feast day:
      • Eleutherius of Tournai
      • Eucherius of Orléans
      • Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto
      • Frederick Douglass (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Wulfric of Haselbury
      • February 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Heavenly Hundred Heroes (Ukraine)
    • World Day of Social Justice

  • February 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
    • 356 – Emperor Constantius II issues a decree closing all pagan temples in the Roman Empire.
    • 1594 – Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592.
    • 1600 – The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.
    • 1649 – The Second Battle of Guararapes takes place, effectively ending Dutch colonization efforts in Brazil.
    • 1674 – England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, and it is renamed New York.
    • 1726 – The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
    • 1807 – Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama and confined to Fort Stoddert.
    • 1819 – British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands and claims them in the name of King George III.
    • 1836 – King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia.
    • 1846 – In Austin, Texas the newly formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following the annexation of Texas by the United States.
    • 1847 – The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.
    • 1859 – Daniel E. Sickles, a New York Congressman, is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity.
    • 1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
    • 1884 – More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.
    • 1913 – Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.
    • 1915 – World War I: The first naval attack on the Dardanelles begins when a strong Anglo-French task force bombards Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.
    • 1937 – Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Ethiopian nationalists of Eritrean origin attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.
    • 1942 – World War II: Nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin, killing 243 people.
    • 1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps.
    • 1943 – World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.
    • 1945 – World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.
    • 1948 – The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta.
    • 1949 – Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.
    • 1953 – Book censorship in the United States: The Georgia Literature Commission is established.
    • 1954 – Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
    • 1959 – The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
    • 1960 – China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket.
    • 1963 – The publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique reawakens the feminist movement in the United States as women’s organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.
    • 1965 – Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Viet Minh, along with Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Trần Thiện Khiêm, all Catholics, attempt a coup against the military junta of the Buddhist Nguyễn Khánh.
    • 1976 – Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford’s Proclamation 4417.
    • 1978 – Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat.
    • 1985 – William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital.
    • 1985 – Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148.
    • 1986 – Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka.
    • 1989 – Flying Tiger Line flight 66 crashes into a hill near Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Malaysia, killing four.
    • 2002 – NASA’s Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
    • 2003 – An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275.
    • 2006 – A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, kills 65 miners.
    • 2011 – The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artifacts found in one location, begins in Singapore.
    • 2012 – Forty-four people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico.

    Births on February 19

    • 1461 – Domenico Grimani, Italian cardinal (d. 1523)
    • 1473 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (d. 1543)
    • 1497 – Matthäus Schwarz, German fashion writer (d. 1574)
    • 1519 – Froben Christoph of Zimmern, German author of the Zimmern Chronicle (d. 1566)
    • 1526 – Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist and academic (d. 1609)
    • 1532 – Jean-Antoine de Baïf, French poet (d. 1589)
    • 1552 – Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal (d. 1630)
    • 1594 – Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (d. 1612)
    • 1611 – Andries de Graeff, Dutch politician (d. 1678)
    • 1630 – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Indian warrior king and the founder of Maratha Empire
    • 1660 – Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (d. 1742)
    • 1717 – David Garrick, English actor, playwright, and producer (d. 1779)
    • 1743 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
    • 1798 – Allan MacNab, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Premier of Canada West (d. 1862)
    • 1800 – Émilie Gamelin, Canadian nun and social worker, founded the Sisters of Providence (d. 1851)
    • 1804 – Carl von Rokitansky, German physician, pathologist, and philosopher (d. 1878)
    • 1821 – August Schleicher, German linguist and academic (d. 1868)
    • 1833 – Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
    • 1838 – Lydia Thompson, British burlesque performer (d. 1908)
    • 1841 – Elfrida Andrée, Swedish organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1929)
    • 1855 – Nishinoumi Kajirō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 16th Yokozuna (d. 1908)
    • 1859 – Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
    • 1865 – Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer and explorer (d. 1952)
    • 1869 – Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian-Russian poet and author (d. 1923)
    • 1872 – Johan Pitka, Estonian admiral (d. 1944)
    • 1876 – Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer (d. 1957)
    • 1877 – Gabriele Münter, German painter (d. 1962)
    • 1878 – Harriet Bosse, Swedish–Norwegian actress (d. 1961)
    • 1880 – Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and politician, 39th President of Mexico (d. 1928)
    • 1886 – José Abad Santos, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (d. 1942)
    • 1888 – José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian lawyer and poet (d. 1928)
    • 1893 – Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director (d. 1964)
    • 1895 – Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956)
    • 1896 – André Breton, French poet and author (d. 1966)
    • 1897 – Alma Rubens, American actress (d. 1931)
    • 1899 – Lucio Fontana, Argentinian-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
    • 1902 – Kay Boyle, American novelist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1992)
    • 1904 – Havank, Dutch journalist and author (d. 1964)
    • 1904 – Elisabeth Welch, American-English singer and actress (d. 2003)
    • 1911 – Merle Oberon, Indian-American actress (d. 1979)
    • 1912 – Dorothy Janis, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1912 – Saul Chaplin, American composer (d. 1997)
    • 1913 – Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – Frank Tashlin, American animator and screenwriter (d. 1972)
    • 1914 – Thelma Kench, New Zealand Olympic sprinter (d. 1985)
    • 1915 – John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (d. 2014)
    • 1916 – Eddie Arcaro, American jockey and sportscaster (d. 1997)
    • 1917 – Carson McCullers, American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and essayist (d. 1967)
    • 1918 – Fay McKenzie, American actress (d. 2019)
    • 1920 – C. Z. Guest, American actress, fashion designer, and author (d. 2003)
    • 1920 – Jaan Kross, Estonian author and poet (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – George Rose, English actor and singer (d. 1988)
    • 1922 – Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player and theoretician (d. 2006)
    • 1924 – Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1926 – György Kurtág, Hungarian composer and academic
    • 1927 – Philippe Boiry, French journalist (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Jacques Deray, French director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1930 – John Frankenheimer, American director and producer (d. 2002)
    • 1930 – Kasinathuni Viswanath, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1932 – Joseph P. Kerwin, American captain, physician, and astronaut
    • 1935 – Dave Niehaus, American sportscaster (d. 2010)
    • 1935 – Russ Nixon, American MLB catcher and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1936 – Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1936 – Frederick Seidel, American poet
    • 1937 – Terry Carr, American author and educator (d. 1987)
    • 1937 – Norm O’Neill, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2008)
    • 1938 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (d. 1989)
    • 1939 – Erin Pizzey, English activist and author, founded Refuge
    • 1940 – Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006)
    • 1940 – Smokey Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1940 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – David Gross, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1941 – Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge, English politician
    • 1942 – Cyrus Chothia, English biochemist and emeritus scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Paul Krause, American football player and politician
    • 1942 – Howard Stringer, Welsh businessman
    • 1942 – Will Provine, American biologist, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1943 – Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter
    • 1943 – Homer Hickam, American author and engineer
    • 1943 – Tim Hunt, English biochemist and academic, Nobel laureate
    • 1944 – Les Hinton, English-American journalist and businessman
    • 1945 – Yuri Antonov, Uzbek-Russian singer-songwriter
    • 1946 – Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist
    • 1946 – Peter Hudson, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1946 – Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist (d. 1974)
    • 1947 – Jackie Curtis, American actress and playwright (d. 1985)
    • 1947 – Tim Shadbolt, New Zealand businessman and politician, 42nd Mayor of Invercargill
    • 1948 – Mark Andes, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1948 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (d. 2002)
    • 1948 – Tony Iommi, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1949 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (d. 1998)
    • 1949 – Eddie Hardin, English singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2015)
    • 1949 – Barry Lloyd, English footballer, midfielder and manager
    • 1949 – William Messner-Loebs, American author and illustrator
    • 1950 – Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1950 – Andy Powell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani scholar and politician, founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran
    • 1952 – Ryū Murakami, Japanese novelist and filmmaker
    • 1952 – Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican engineer and astronaut
    • 1952 – Gary Seear, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2018)
    • 1952 – Dave Cheadle, American baseball player (d. 2012)
    • 1952 – Amy Tan, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
    • 1952 – Danilo Türk, Slovene academic and politician, 3rd President of Slovenia
    • 1953 – Corrado Barazzutti, Italian tennis player
    • 1953 – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentine lawyer and politician, former President of Argentina and current Vice President of Argentina
    • 1953 – Massimo Troisi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
    • 1954 – Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2011)
    • 1954 – Francis Buchholz, German bass player
    • 1954 – Michael Gira, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1955 – Jeff Daniels, American actor and playwright
    • 1956 – Kathleen Beller, American actress
    • 1956 – Peter Holsapple, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1956 – Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1956 – Dave Wakeling, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Falco, Austrian singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician (d. 1998)
    • 1957 – Dave Stewart, American baseball player and coach
    • 1957 – Ray Winstone, English actor
    • 1958 – Tommy Cairo, American wrestler
    • 1958 – Helen Fielding, English author and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Steve Nieve, English keyboard player and composer
    • 1959 – Roger Goodell, American businessman
    • 1960 – Prince Andrew, Duke of York
    • 1960 – John Paul Jr., American race car driver
    • 1961 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (d. 1998)
    • 1961 – Ernie Gonzalez, American golfer
    • 1962 – Hana Mandlíková, Czech-Australian tennis player and coach
    • 1963 – Seal, English singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Jessica Tuck, American actress
    • 1964 – Doug Aldrich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1964 – Jonathan Lethem, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
    • 1965 – Jon Fishman, American drummer
    • 1965 – Clark Hunt, American businessman
    • 1965 – Leroy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1966 – Justine Bateman, American actress and producer
    • 1966 – Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player and coach
    • 1966 – Eduardo Xol, American designer and author
    • 1967 – Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican-American actor, director, and producer
    • 1968 – Frank Watkins, American bass player (d. 2015)
    • 1968 – Prince Markie Dee, American rapper and actor
    • 1969 – Burton C. Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1969 – Helena Guergis, Canadian businesswoman and politician
    • 1970 – Joacim Cans, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1971 – Miguel Batista, Dominican baseball player and poet
    • 1971 – Richard Green, Australian golfer
    • 1971 – Jeff Kinney, American author and illustrator
    • 1972 – Francine Fournier, American wrestler and manager
    • 1972 – Sunset Thomas, American pornographic actress
    • 1975 – Daniel Adair, Canadian drummer and producer
    • 1975 – Daewon Song, South Korean-American skateboarder, co-founded Almost Skateboards
    • 1977 – Ola Salo, Swedish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1977 – Andrew Ross Sorkin, American journalist and author
    • 1977 – Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Ben Gummer, English scholar and politician
    • 1978 – Immortal Technique, Peruvian-American rapper
    • 1979 – Steve Cherundolo, American soccer player and manager
    • 1980 – Dwight Freeney, American football player
    • 1980 – Ma Lin, Chinese table tennis player
    • 1980 – Mike Miller, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Beth Ditto, American singer
    • 1983 – Kotoōshū Katsunori, Bulgarian sumo wrestler
    • 1983 – Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1983 – Ryan Whitney, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Chris Richardson, American singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Haylie Duff, American actress and singer
    • 1986 – Kyle Chipchura, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Marta, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Maria Mena, Norwegian singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Michael Schwimer, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Anna Cappellini, Italian ice dancer
    • 1988 – Shawn Matthias, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Seth Morrison, American guitarist
    • 1989 – Sone Aluko, Anglo-Nigerian international footballer, forward/winger
    • 1991 – Christoph Kramer, German national footballer
    • 1991 – Trevor Bayne, American race car driver
    • 1992 – Camille Kostek, American model
    • 1993 – Mauro Icardi, Argentinian footballer
    • 1993 – Victoria Justice, American actress and singer
    • 1994 – Sam Lisone, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player
    • 1994 – Tiina Trutsi, Estonian footballer
    • 1995 – Nikola Jokić, Serbian basketball player
    • 1998 – Katharina Gerlach, German tennis player
    • 2001 – David Mazouz, American actor
    • 2004 – Millie Bobby Brown, English actress

    Deaths on February 19

    • 197 – Clodius Albinus, Roman usurper (b. 150)
    • 446 – Leontius of Trier, Bishop of Trier
    • 1133 – Irene Doukaina, Byzantine wife of Alexios I Komnenos (b. 1066)
    • 1275 – Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sufi philosopher and poet (b. 1177)
    • 1300 – Munio of Zamora, General of the Dominican Order
    • 1408 – Thomas Bardolf, 5th Baron Bardolf, English rebel
    • 1414 – Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1353)
    • 1445 – Leonor of Aragon, queen of Portugal (b. 1402)
    • 1491 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (b. 1460)
    • 1553 – Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511)
    • 1602 – Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur (b. 1558)
    • 1605 – Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (b. 1550)
    • 1622 – Henry Savile, English scholar and politician (b. 1549)
    • 1672 – Charles Chauncy, English-American minister, theologian, and academic (b. 1592)
    • 1709 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (b. 1646)
    • 1716 – Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (b. 1634)
    • 1785 – Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (b. 1701)
    • 1789 – Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and politician, 7th Governor of Delaware (b. 1738)
    • 1799 – Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (b. 1733)
    • 1806 – Elizabeth Carter, English poet and translator (b. 1717)
    • 1837 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (b. 1813)
    • 1837 – Thomas Burgess, English bishop and philosopher (b. 1756)
    • 1887 – Multatuli, Dutch-German author and civil servant (b. 1820)
    • 1897 – Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician and academic (b. 1815)
    • 1915 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian philosopher and politician (b. 1866)
    • 1916 – Ernst Mach, Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (b. 1838)
    • 1927 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (b. 1847)
    • 1928 – George Howard Earle Jr., American lawyer and businessman (b. 1856)
    • 1936 – Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (b. 1879)
    • 1945 – John Basilone, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1916)
    • 1951 – André Gide, French novelist, essayist, and dramatist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
    • 1952 – Knut Hamsun, Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
    • 1953 – Richard Rushall, British businessman (b. 1864)
    • 1957 – Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (b. 1871)
    • 1959 – Willard Miller, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1877)
    • 1962 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the Pap smear (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Madge Blake, American actress (b. 1899)
    • 1970 – Ralph Edward Flanders, (b. 1890) US Senator from Vermont.
    • 1972 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (b. 1898)
    • 1972 – Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1938)
    • 1973 – Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (b. 1892)
    • 1977 – Anthony Crosland, English captain and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b. 1918)
    • 1977 – Mike González, Cuban baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
    • 1980 – Bon Scott, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 1983 – Alice White, American actress (b. 1904)
    • 1988 – André Frédéric Cournand, French-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
    • 1992 – Tojo Yamamoto, American wrestler and manager (b. 1927)
    • 1994 – Derek Jarman, English director and set designer (b. 1942)
    • 1996 – Charlie Finley, American businessman (b. 1918)
    • 1997 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (b. 1908)
    • 1997 – Deng Xiaoping, Chinese politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1904)
    • 1998 – Grandpa Jones, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1913)
    • 1999 – Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric (b. 1943)
    • 2000 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-New Zealand painter and illustrator (b. 1928)
    • 2001 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (b. 1913)
    • 2001 – Charles Trenet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender LGBT activist (b. 1951)
    • 2003 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)
    • 2007 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian dancer and director, founded the National Ballet of Canada (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Yegor Letov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1964)
    • 2008 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress and singer (b. 1945)
    • 2009 – Kelly Groucutt, English singer and bass player (b. 1945)
    • 2011 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Ruth Barcan Marcus, American philosopher and logician (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Jaroslav Velinský, Czech author and songwriter (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Vitaly Vorotnikov, Russian politician, 27th Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – Park Chul-soo, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1937)
    • 2013 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Eugene Whelan, Canadian farmer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Kresten Bjerre, Danish footballer and manager (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Dale Gardner, American captain and astronaut (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Harold Johnson, American boxer (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Nirad Mohapatra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Harris Wittels, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1984)
    • 2016 – Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (b. 1932)
    • 2016 – Harper Lee, American author (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Chiaki Morosawa, Japanese anime screenwriter (b. 1959)
    • 2016 – Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (b. 1923)
    • 2017 – Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (b. 1943)
    • 2019 – Clark Dimond, American musician and author (b. 1941)
    • 2019 – Karl Lagerfeld, German fashion designer (b. 1933)
    • 2020 – José Mojica Marins, Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and television horror host Coffin Joe. (b. 1936)
    • 2020 – Pop Smoke, American rapper (b. 1999)

    Holidays and observances on February 19

    • Armed Forces Day (Mexico)
    • Brâncuși Day (Romania)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Barbatus of Benevento
      • Boniface of Brussels
      • Conrad of Piacenza
      • Lucy Yi Zhenmei (one of Martyrs of Guizhou)
      • February 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Commemoration of Vasil Levski (Bulgaria)
    • Flag Day (Turkmenistan)
    • Shivaji Jayanti (Maharashtra, India)9

  • February 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
    • 842 – Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages.
    • 1014 – Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and of Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1076 – Pope Gregory VII excommunicates Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor.
    • 1130 – Pope Innocent II is elected.
    • 1349 – Several hundred Jews are burned to death by mobs while the remaining Jews are forcibly removed from Strasbourg.
    • 1400 – Richard II of England dies, most probably from starvation, in Pontefract Castle, on the orders of Henry Bolingbroke.
    • 1530 – Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrow and execute Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico.
    • 1556 – Thomas Cranmer is declared a heretic.
    • 1556 – Coronation of Akbar.
    • 1655 – The Mapuches launch coordinated attacks against the Spanish in Chile beginning the Mapuche uprising of 1655.
    • 1778 – The United States flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to USS Ranger, commanded by John Paul Jones.
    • 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Kettle Creek is fought in Georgia.
    • 1779 – James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii.
    • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Cape St. Vincent: John Jervis, (later 1st Earl of St Vincent) and Horatio Nelson (later 1st Viscount Nelson) lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar.
    • 1804 – Karađorđe leads the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1831 – Ras Marye of Yejju marches into Tigray and defeats and kills Dejazmach Sabagadis in the Battle of Debre Abbay.
    • 1835 – The original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in the Latter Day Saint movement, is formed in Kirtland, Ohio.
    • 1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
    • 1852 – Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, is founded in London.
    • 1855 – Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas.
    • 1859 – Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state.
    • 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray.
    • 1879 – The War of the Pacific breaks out when the Chilean Army occupies the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta.
    • 1899 – Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections.
    • 1900 – British forces begin the Battle of the Tugela Heights in an effort to lift the Siege of Ladysmith.
    • 1903 – The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor).
    • 1912 – Arizona is admitted as the 48th and the last contiguous U.S. state.
    • 1912 – The U.S. Navy commissions its first class of diesel-powered submarines.
    • 1919 – The Polish–Soviet War begins.
    • 1920 – The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago.
    • 1924 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
    • 1929 – Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone’s gang, are murdered in Chicago.
    • 1942 – Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore.
    • 1943 – World War II: Rostov-on-Don, Russia is liberated.
    • 1943 – World War II: Tunisia Campaign: General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim’s Fifth Panzer Army launches a concerted attack against Allied positions in Tunisia.
    • 1944 – World War II: In the Action of 14 February 1944, a Royal Navy submarine sinks a German-controlled Italian submarine in the Strait of Malacca.
    • 1945 – World War II: On the first day of the bombing of Dresden, the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces begin fire-bombing Dresden.
    • 1945 – World War II: Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague, Czechoslovakia by an American squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviet’s Vistula–Oder Offensive.
    • 1945 – World War II: Mostar is liberated by Yugoslav partisans
    • 1945 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the USS Quincy, officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations.
    • 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalized.
    • 1949 – The Knesset (parliament of Israel) convenes for the first time.
    • 1949 – The Asbestos Strike begins in Canada. The strike marks the beginning of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec.
    • 1961 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California.
    • 1966 – Australian currency is decimalized.
    • 1979 – In Kabul, Setami Milli militants kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.
    • 1983 – United American Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee collapses. Its president, Jake Butcher, is later convicted of fraud.
    • 1989 – Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the Indian government for damages it caused in the 1984 Bhopal disaster.
    • 1989 – Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses.
    • 1990 – Ninety-two people are killed when Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashes in Bangalore, India.
    • 1990 – The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth that later become famous as Pale Blue Dot.
    • 1998 – An oil tanker train collides with a freight train in Yaoundé, Cameroon, spilling fuel oil. One person scavenging the oil created a massive explosion which killed 120.
    • 2000 – The spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.
    • 2004 – In a suburb of Moscow, Russia, the roof of the Transvaal water park collapses, killing more than 25 people, and wounding more than 100 others.
    • 2005 – In Beirut, 23 people, including former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, are killed when the equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT is detonated while Hariri’s motorcade drives through the city.
    • 2005 – Seven people are killed and 151 wounded in a series of bombings by suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants that hit Makati, Davao City, and General Santos City, all in the Philippines.
    • 2005 – YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos.
    • 2008 – Northern Illinois University shooting: A gunman opens fire in a lecture hall of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb County, Illinois, resulting in six fatalities (including the gunman) and 21 injuries.
    • 2011 – As a part of Arab Spring, the Bahraini uprising begins with a ‘Day of Rage’.
    • 2018 – Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa.
    • 2018 – A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 15 injuries.
    • 2019 – Pulwama attack takes place in Lethpora in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and a suicide bomber were killed and 35 were injured.

    Births on February 14

    • 1404 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian painter, poet, and philosopher (d. 1472)
    • 1408 – John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel (d. 1435)
    • 1452 – Pandolfo Petrucci, tyrant of Siena (d. 1512)
    • 1468 – Johannes Werner, German priest and mathematician (d. 1522)
    • 1483 – Babur, Moghul emperor (d. 1530)
    • 1490 – Valentin Friedland, German scholar and educationist of the Reformation (d. 1556)
    • 1513 – Domenico Ferrabosco, Italian composer (d. 1573)
    • 1545 – Lucrezia de’ Medici, Duchess of Ferrara (d. 1561)
    • 1602 – Francesco Cavalli, Italian composer (d. 1676)
    • 1614 – John Wilkins, English bishop, academic and natural philosopher (d. 1672)
    • 1625 – Countess Palatine Maria Eufrosyne of Zweibrücken, Swedish princess (d. 1687)
    • 1628 – Valentine Greatrakes, Irish faith healer (d. 1683)
    • 1640 – Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (d. 1693)
    • 1670 – Rajaram Raj Bhonsle, third Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1700)
    • 1679 – Georg Friedrich Kauffmann, German organist and composer (d. 1735)
    • 1692 – Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French author and playwright (d. 1754)
    • 1701 – Enrique Flórez, Spanish historian and author (d. 1773)
    • 1763 – Jean Victor Marie Moreau, French general (d. 1813)
    • 1782 – Eleanora Atherton, English philanthropist (d. 1870)
    • 1784 – Heinrich Baermann, German clarinetist (d. 1847)
    • 1799 – Walenty Wańkowicz, Polish painter and illustrator (d. 1842)
    • 1800 – Emory Washburn, American historian, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1877)
    • 1808 – Michael Costa, Italian-English conductor and composer (d. 1884)
    • 1813 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (d. 1884)
    • 1819 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American journalist and politician, invented the typewriter (d. 1890)
    • 1824 – Winfield Scott Hancock, American general and politician (d. 1886)
    • 1828 – Edmond François Valentin About, French journalist and author (d. 1885)
    • 1835 – Piet Paaltjens, Dutch minister and poet (d. 1894)
    • 1838 – Margaret E. Knight, American inventor (d. 1914)
    • 1846 – Julian Scott, American soldier and drummer, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1901)
    • 1847 – Anna Howard Shaw, American physician, minister, and activist (d. 1919)
    • 1848 – Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer and academic (d. 1934)
    • 1855 – Frank Harris, Irish author and journalist (d. 1931)
    • 1859 – George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., American engineer, inventor of the Ferris wheel (d. 1896)
    • 1860 – Eugen Schiffer, German lawyer and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (d. 1954)
    • 1869 – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist and meteorologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
    • 1878 – Julius Nieuwland, Belgian priest, chemist and academic (d. 1936)
    • 1882 – John Barrymore, American actor (d. 1942)
    • 1884 – Nils Olaf Chrisander, Swedish actor and director (d. 1947)
    • 1884 – Kostas Varnalis, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1974)
    • 1890 – Nina Hamnett, Welsh-English painter and author (d. 1956)
    • 1890 – Dick Richards Welsh international footballer, forward
    • 1891 – Katherine Stinson, American aviator (d. 1977)
    • 1892 – Radola Gajda, Czech commander and politician (d. 1948)
    • 1894 – Jack Benny, American actor and producer (d. 1974)
    • 1895 – Wilhelm Burgdorf, German general (d. 1945)
    • 1895 – Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (d. 1973)
    • 1898 – Bill Tilman, English mountaineer and explorer (d. 1977)
    • 1898 – Fritz Zwicky, Swiss-American physicist and astronomer (d. 1974)
    • 1900 – Jessica Dragonette, American singer (d. 1980)
    • 1903 – Stuart Erwin, American actor (d. 1967)
    • 1905 – Thelma Ritter, American actress and singer (d. 1969)
    • 1907 – Johnny Longden, English-American jockey and trainer (d. 2003)
    • 1911 – Willem Johan Kolff, Dutch physician and inventor (d. 2009)
    • 1912 – Tibor Sekelj, Hungarian lawyer, explorer, and author (d. 1988)
    • 1913 – Mel Allen, American sportscaster (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – Woody Hayes, American football player and coach (d. 1987)
    • 1913 – Jimmy Hoffa, American trade union leader (d. 1975)
    • 1913 – James Pike, American bishop (d. 1969)
    • 1916 – Marcel Bigeard, French general (d. 2010)
    • 1916 – Sally Gray, English actress and singer (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese director and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1916 – Edward Platt, American actor (d. 1974)
    • 1917 – Herbert A. Hauptman, American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
    • 1921 – Hugh Downs, American journalist, game show host, and producer
    • 1921 – Hazel McCallion, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 3rd Mayor of Mississauga
    • 1923 – Jay Hebert, American golfer (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (d. 2017)
    • 1927 – Lois Maxwell, Canadian-Australian model and actress (d. 2007)
    • 1928 – William Allain, American soldier and politician, 58th Governor of Mississippi (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Vicente T. Blaz, American general and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Vic Morrow, American actor and director (d. 1982)
    • 1931 – Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2006)
    • 1931 – Brian Kelly, American actor and director (d. 2005)
    • 1932 – Harriet Andersson, Swedish actress
    • 1934 – Florence Henderson, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
    • 1935 – David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, Scottish academic and diplomat, 27th Governor of Hong Kong
    • 1936 – Anna German, Polish singer (d. 1982)
    • 1937 – John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market, English politician, Secretary of State for Transport
    • 1937 – Magic Sam, American singer and guitarist (d. 1969)
    • 1939 – Razzy Bailey, American country music singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1939 – Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – Eugene Fama, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1940 – James Maynard, American businessman, co-founded Golden Corral
    • 1941 – Donna Shalala, American academic and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
    • 1941 – Paul Tsongas, American lawyer and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1942 – Michael Bloomberg, American businessman and politician, 108th Mayor of New York City
    • 1942 – Andrew Robinson, American actor and director
    • 1942 – Ricardo Rodríguez, Mexican race car driver (d. 1962)
    • 1943 – Eric Andersen, American singer-songwriter
    • 1943 – Maceo Parker, American saxophonist
    • 1943 – Aaron Russo, American director and producer (d. 2007)
    • 1944 – Carl Bernstein, American journalist and author
    • 1944 – Alan Parker, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1944 – Ronnie Peterson, Swedish race car driver (d. 1978)
    • 1945 – Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein
    • 1945 – Rod Masterson, American lieutenant and actor (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauru politician, President of Nauru (d. 2003)
    • 1946 – Gregory Hines, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 2003)
    • 1947 – Tim Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1975)
    • 1947 – Judd Gregg, American lawyer and politician, 76th Governor of New Hampshire
    • 1948 – Kitten Natividad, Mexican-American actress and dancer
    • 1948 – Pat O’Brien, American journalist and author
    • 1948 – Wally Tax, Dutch singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1948 – Teller, American magician and actor
    • 1950 – Roger Fisher, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1951 – Terry Gross, American radio host and producer
    • 1951 – Kevin Keegan, English footballer and manager
    • 1952 – Sushma Swaraj, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (d. 2019)
    • 1954 – Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (d. 2013)
    • 1955 – Carol Kalish, American publisher (d. 1991)
    • 1956 – Howard Davis Jr., American boxer and trainer (d. 2015)
    • 1956 – Dave Dravecky, American baseball player
    • 1956 – Katharina Fritsch, German sculptor and academic
    • 1957 – Alan Hunter, American television host and actor
    • 1957 – Soile Isokoski, Finnish soprano and actress
    • 1957 – Alan Smith, English bishop
    • 1958 – Grant Thomas, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1959 – Renée Fleming, American soprano and actress
    • 1960 – Philip Jones, English admiral
    • 1960 – Jim Kelly, American football player and businessman
    • 1960 – Meg Tilly, American actress and author
    • 1963 – Enrico Colantoni, Canadian actor, director, and producer
    • 1963 – John Marzano, American baseball player (d. 2008)
    • 1964 – Gianni Bugno, Italian cyclist and sportscaster
    • 1966 – Petr Svoboda, Czech ice hockey player and agent
    • 1967 – Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Greek-English businessman, founded easyJet
    • 1967 – Manuela Maleeva, Bulgarian-Swiss tennis player
    • 1967 – Mark Rutte, Dutch businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
    • 1968 – Jules Asner, American model and television host
    • 1968 – Chris Lewis, Guyanese-English cricketer
    • 1968 – Scott McClellan, American civil servant and author, 25th White House Press Secretary
    • 1969 – Meg Hillier, English journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
    • 1970 – Giuseppe Guerini, Italian cyclist
    • 1970 – Sean Hill, American ice hockey player
    • 1970 – Simon Pegg, English actor, director, and producer
    • 1971 – Kris Aquino, Filipino talk show host, actress, and producer
    • 1971 – Gheorghe Mureșan, Romanian basketball player
    • 1972 – Drew Bledsoe, American football player and coach
    • 1972 – Musōyama Masashi, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1972 – Najwa Nimri, Spanish actress and singer
    • 1972 – Jaan Tallinn, Estonian computer programmer, co-developed Skype
    • 1972 – Rob Thomas, American singer-songwriter
    • 1973 – H. D. Ackerman, South African cricketer
    • 1973 – Tyus Edney, American basketball player and coach
    • 1973 – Steve McNair, American football player (d. 2009)
    • 1973 – Annalisa Buffa, Italian mathematician
    • 1974 – Valentina Vezzali, Italian fencer and politician
    • 1976 – Liv Kristine, Norwegian singer-songwriter
    • 1976 – Rie Rasmussen, Danish model, film director, writer, photographer, and actress
    • 1977 – Cadel Evans, Australian cyclist
    • 1977 – Jim Jefferies, Australian comedian and actor
    • 1977 – Darren Purse, English footballer
    • 1977 – Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (d. 2007)
    • 1977 – Anna Erschler, Russian mathematician
    • 1977 – Robert J. Jackson Jr., American law professor
    • 1978 – Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
    • 1978 – Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
    • 1980 – Josh Senter, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1980 – Michelle Ye, Hong Kong actress and producer
    • 1981 – Matteo Brighi, Italian footballer
    • 1981 – Randy de Puniet, French motorcycle racer
    • 1981 – Brad Halsey, American baseball player (d. 2014)
    • 1982 – Marián Gáborík, Slovak ice hockey player
    • 1982 – John Halls, English footballer and model
    • 1982 – Lenka Tvarošková, Slovak tennis player
    • 1983 – Callix Crabbe, Virgin Islander baseball player
    • 1983 – Rocky Elsom, Australian rugby player
    • 1983 – Bacary Sagna, French footballer
    • 1985 – Karima Adebibe, English model and actress
    • 1985 – Tyler Clippard, American baseball player
    • 1985 – Heart Evangelista, Filipino singer and actress
    • 1985 – Philippe Senderos, Swiss international footballer, centre back
    • 1985 – Miki Yeung, Hong Kong singer and actress
    • 1986 – Michael Ammermüller, German race car driver
    • 1986 – Oliver Lee, English actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1986 – Gao Lin, Chinese footballer
    • 1987 – Edinson Cavani, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1987 – Tom Pyatt, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – David Wheater, English footballer
    • 1988 – Katie Boland, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1988 – Ángel Di María, Argentinian footballer
    • 1988 – Siim Liivik, Estonian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Asia Nitollano, American singer and dancer
    • 1989 – Néstor Calderón, Mexican footballer
    • 1989 – Adam Matuszczyk, Polish footballer
    • 1989 – Emma Miskew, Canadian curler
    • 1989 – Brandon Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Jurij Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper
    • 1989 – Kristian Thomas, English gymnast
    • 1990 – Sefa Yılmaz, German-Turkish footballer
    • 1991 – Daniela Mona Lambin, Estonian footballer
    • 1991 – Chris Rowney, English footballer
    • 1992 – Christian Eriksen, Danish footballer
    • 1992 – Freddie Highmore, English actor
    • 1996 – Lucas Hernandez, French footballer

    Deaths on February 14

    • 869 – Cyril, Greek missionary bishop (b. 827)
    • 945 – Lian Chongyu, Chinese general
    • 945 – Zhu Wenjin, Chinese emperor
    • 1009 – Bruno of Querfurt, German missionary bishop
    • 1010 – Fujiwara no Korechika, Japanese nobleman (b. 974)
    • 1140 – Leo I, Armenian prince
    • 1140 – Sobĕslav I, duke of Bohemia
    • 1164 – Sviatoslav Olgovich, Kievan prince
    • 1229 – Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, king of the Isles
    • 1317 – Margaret of France, queen of England
    • 1400 – Richard II, king of England (b. 1367)
    • 1440 – Dietrich of Oldenburg, German nobleman
    • 1489 – Nicolaus von Tüngen, prince-bishop of Warmia
    • 1528 – Edzard I, German nobleman (b. 1462)
    • 1549 – Il Sodoma, Italian painter (b. 1477)
    • 1571 – Odet de Coligny, French cardinal (b. 1517)
    • 1676 – Abraham Bosse, French engraver and illustrator (b. 1602)
    • 1714 – Maria Luisa of Savoy, queen of Spain (b. 1688)
    • 1737 – Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot, English lawyer and politician Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1685)
    • 1744 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (b. 1682)
    • 1779 – James Cook, English captain, cartographer, and explorer (b. 1728)
    • 1780 – William Blackstone, English jurist and politician (b. 1723)
    • 1782 – Singu Min, Burmese king (b. 1756)
    • 1808 – John Dickinson, American lawyer and politician 5th Governor of Delaware (b. 1732)
    • 1831 – Vicente Guerrero, Mexican general and politician, 2nd President of Mexico (b. 1782)
    • 1831 – Henry Maudslay, English engineer (b. 1771)
    • 1870 – St. John Richardson Liddell, American general (b. 1815)
    • 1881 – Fernando Wood, American merchant and politician, 73rd Mayor of New York City (b. 1812)
    • 1884 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (b. 1813)
    • 1885 – Jules Vallès, French journalist and author (b. 1832)
    • 1891 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (b. 1820)
    • 1894 – Eugène Charles Catalan, Belgian-French mathematician and academic (b. 1814)
    • 1901 – Edward Stafford, Scottish-New Zealand educator and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1819)
    • 1910 – Giovanni Passannante, Italian anarchist (b. 1849)
    • 1922 – Heikki Ritavuori, Finnish lawyer and politician (b. 1880)
    • 1929 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and lawyer (b. 1875)
    • 1930 – Thomas Mackenzie, Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1853)
    • 1933 – Carl Correns, German botanist and geneticist (b. 1864)
    • 1942 – Adnan Saidi, Malayan lieutenant (b. 1915)
    • 1943 – Dora Gerson, German actress and singer (b. 1899)
    • 1943 – David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician, physicist, and philosopher (b. 1862)
    • 1948 – Mordecai Brown, American baseball player and manager (b. 1876)
    • 1949 – Yusuf Salman Yusuf, Iraqi politician (b. 1901)
    • 1950 – Karl Guthe Jansky, American physicist and engineer (b. 1905)
    • 1952 – Maurice De Waele, Belgian cyclist (b. 1896)
    • 1958 – Abdur Rab Nishtar, Pakistani politician, 2nd Governor of Punjab (b. 1899)
    • 1959 – Baby Dodds, American drummer (b. 1898)
    • 1967 – Sig Ruman, German-American actor (b. 1884)
    • 1969 – Vito Genovese, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1897)
    • 1970 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer and coach (b. 1880)
    • 1974 – Stewie Dempster, New Zealand cricketer and coach (b. 1903)
    • 1975 – Julian Huxley, English biologist and eugenicist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b. 1887)
    • 1975 – P. G. Wodehouse, English novelist and playwright (b. 1881)
    • 1979 – Adolph Dubs, American lieutenant and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (b. 1920)
    • 1983 – Lina Radke, German runner and coach (b. 1903)
    • 1986 – Edmund Rubbra, English composer and conductor (b. 1901)
    • 1987 – Dmitry Kabalevsky, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1904)
    • 1988 – Frederick Loewe, German-American composer (b. 1901)
    • 1989 – James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (b. 1900)
    • 1989 – Vincent Crane, English pianist (b. 1943)
    • 1994 – Andrei Chikatilo, Soviet serial killer (b. 1936)
    • 1994 – Christopher Lasch, American historian and critic (b. 1932)
    • 1995 – Michael V. Gazzo, American actor and playwright (b. 1923)
    • 1995 – U Nu, Burmese politician, 1st Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1907)
    • 1996 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (b. 1919)
    • 1999 – John Ehrlichman, American lawyer and politician, 12th White House Counsel (b. 1925)
    • 1999 – Buddy Knox, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1933)
    • 2002 – Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1922)
    • 2002 – Mick Tucker, English drummer (b. 1947)
    • 2003 – Johnny Longden, English jockey and trainer (b. 1907)
    • 2004 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (b. 1970)
    • 2005 – Rafic Hariri, Lebanese businessman and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1944; assassinated)
    • 2006 – Lynden David Hall, English singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1974)
    • 2007 – Ryan Larkin, Canadian animator and director (b. 1943)
    • 2007 – Gareth Morris, English flute player and educator (b. 1920)
    • 2009 – Bernard Ashley, English engineer and businessman, co-founded Laura Ashley plc (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Louie Bellson, American drummer and composer (b. 1924)
    • 2010 – Doug Fieger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
    • 2010 – Dick Francis, Welsh jockey and author (b. 1920)
    • 2010 – Linnart Mäll, Estonian historian, orientalist, and translator (b. 1938)
    • 2011 – George Shearing, English-American pianist and composer (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Mike Bernardo, South African boxer and martial artist (b. 1969)
    • 2012 – Tonmi Lillman, Finnish drummer and producer (b. 1973)
    • 2012 – Dory Previn, American singer-songwriter (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Péter Rusorán, Hungarian swimmer, water polo player, and coach (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – Glenn Boyer, American historian and author (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Ronald Dworkin, American philosopher and scholar (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Tom Finney, English footballer (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Chris Pearson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Yukon (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Mike Stepovich, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Alaska Territory (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – Louis Jourdan, French-American actor and singer (b. 1921)
    • 2015 – Philip Levine, American poet and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Franjo Mihalić, Croatian-Serbian runner and coach (b. 1920)
    • 2016 – Eric Lubbock, 4th Baron Avebury, English lieutenant, engineer, and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2016 – Steven Stucky, American composer and academic (b. 1949)
    • 2018 – Ruud Lubbers, Dutch politician and diplomat, Prime Minister and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (b. 1939)
    • 2018 – Morgan Tsvangirai, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (b. 1952).

    Holidays and observances on February 14

    • Christian feast day:
      • Cyril and Methodius, patron saints of Europe (Roman Catholic Church)
      • Manchan
      • Valentine (Valentine’s Day)
      • February 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Statehood Day (Arizona, United States)
    • Statehood Day (Oregon, United States)
    • Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (Armenian Apostolic Church)
    • Parents’ Worship Day (parts of India)

  • February 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    This day marks the approximate midpoint of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and of summer in the Southern Hemisphere (starting the season at the December solstice).

    February 4 in History 

    • 211 – Following the death of Rome’s Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarreling sons, Caracalla and Geta, whom he had instructed to make peace.
    • 960 – The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, initiating the Song dynasty period of China that would last more than three centuries.
    • 1169 – A strong earthquake struck the Ionian coast of Sicily, causing tens of thousands of injuries and deaths, especially in Catania.
    • 1454 – In the Thirteen Years’ War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.
    • 1555 – John Rogers is burned at the stake, becoming the first English Protestant martyr under Mary I of England.
    • 1703 – In Edo (now Tokyo), all but one of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master’s death.
    • 1758 – The city of Macapá in Brazil is founded by Sebastião Veiga Cabral.
    • 1789 – George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
    • 1794 – The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French First Republic. It would be reestablished in the French West Indies in 1802.
    • 1797 – The Riobamba earthquake strikes Ecuador, causing up to 40,000 casualties.
    • 1801 – John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
    • 1810 – Napoleonic Wars: Britain seizes Guadeloupe.
    • 1820 – The Chilean Navy under the command of Lord Cochrane completes the two-day long Capture of Valdivia with just 300 men and two ships.
    • 1825 – The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.
    • 1846 – The first Mormon pioneers make their exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, westward towards Salt Lake Valley.
    • 1859 – The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from six break-away U.S. states meet and form the Confederate States of America.
    • 1899 – The Philippine–American War begins with the Battle of Manila.
    • 1932 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Harbin, Manchuria, falls to Japan.
    • 1938 – Adolf Hitler appoints himself as head of the Armed Forces High Command.
    • 1941 – The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
    • 1945 – World War II: Santo Tomas Internment Camp is liberated from Japanese authority.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Yalta Conference between the “Big Three” (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) opens at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea.
    • 1945 – World War II: The British Indian Army and Imperial Japanese Army begin a series of battles known as the Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations.
    • 1948 – Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.
    • 1961 – The Angolan War of Independence and the greater Portuguese Colonial War begin.
    • 1966 – All Nippon Airways Flight 60 plunges into Tokyo Bay, killing 133.
    • 1967 – Lunar Orbiter program: Lunar Orbiter 3 lifts off from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 13 on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft.
    • 1969 – Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
    • 1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
    • 1974 – M62 coach bombing: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) explodes a bomb on a bus carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel in Yorkshire, England. Nine soldiers and three civilians are killed.
    • 1975 – Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale) occurs in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
    • 1976 – In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.
    • 1977 – A Chicago Transit Authority elevated train rear-ends another and derails, killing 11 and injuring 180, the worst accident in the agency’s history.
    • 1992 – A coup d’état is led by Hugo Chávez against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.
    • 1997 – En route to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73.
    • 1998 – The 5.9 Mw  Afghanistan earthquake shakes the Takhar Province with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). With 2,323 killed, and 818 injured, damage is considered extreme.
    • 1999 – Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot 41 times by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race relations in the city.
    • 2000 – The World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium, Charter of Paris is signed by the President of France, Jacques Chirac and the Director General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, initiating World Cancer Day which is held on February 4 every year.
    • 2003 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia adopts a new constitution, becoming a loose confederacy between Montenegro and Serbia.
    • 2004 – Facebook, a mainstream online social networking site, is founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin.
    • 2015 – TransAsia Airways Flight 235 with 58 people on board, en route from the Taiwanese capital Taipei to Kinmen, crashes into the Keelung River just after take-off, killing 43 people.
    • 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic causes all casinos in Macau to be closed down for 15 days.

    Births on February 4

    • 1447 – Lodovico Lazzarelli, Italian poet (d. 1500)
    • 1495 – Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1535)
    • 1495 – Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (d. 1568)
    • 1505 – Mikołaj Rej, Polish poet and author (d. 1580)
    • 1575 – Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and theologian, founded the French school of spirituality (d. 1629)
    • 1646 – Hans Erasmus Aßmann, German poet and politician (d. 1699)
    • 1676 – Giacomo Facco, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1753)
    • 1677 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (d. 1731)
    • 1688 – Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (d. 1763)
    • 1725 – Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (d. 1804)
    • 1740 – Carl Michael Bellman, Swedish poet and composer (d. 1795)
    • 1778 – Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, Swiss botanist, mycologist, and academic (d. 1841)
    • 1799 – Almeida Garrett, Portuguese journalist and author (d. 1854)
    • 1818 – Emperor Norton, San Francisco eccentric and visionary (d. 1880)citation needed
    • 1831 – Oliver Ames, American financier and politician, 35th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1895)
    • 1848 – Jean Aicard, French poet, author, and playwright (d. 1921)
    • 1849 – Jean Richepin, French poet, author, and playwright (d. 1926)
    • 1862 – Édouard Estaunié, French novelist (d. 1942)
    • 1865 – Abe Isoo, Japanese minister and politician (d. 1949)
    • 1868 – Constance Markievicz, Irish revolutionary and first woman elected to the UK House of Commons (d. 1927)
    • 1871 – Friedrich Ebert, German lawyer and politician, 1st President of Germany (d. 1925)
    • 1872 – Gotse Delchev, Bulgarian and Macedonian revolutionary activist (d. 1903)
    • 1873 – Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1905)
    • 1875 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist and engineer (d. 1953)
    • 1877 – Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (d. 1953)
    • 1881 – Eulalio Gutiérrez, Mexican general and politician, President of Mexico (d. 1939)
    • 1881 – Fernand Léger, French painter and sculptor (d. 1955)
    • 1883 – Reinhold Rudenberg, German-American inventor and a pioneer of electron microscopy (d. 1961)
    • 1891 – M. A. Ayyangar, Indian lawyer and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Lok Sabha (d. 1978)
    • 1892 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and academic (d. 1964)
    • 1895 – Nigel Bruce, English actor (d. 1953)
    • 1896 – Friedrich Glauser, Austrian-Swiss author (d. 1938)
    • 1896 – Friedrich Hund, German physicist and academic (d. 1997)
    • 1897 – Ludwig Erhard, German soldier and politician, 2nd Chancellor of West Germany (d. 1977)
    • 1899 – Virginia M. Alexander, American physician and founder of the Aspiranto Health Home (d. 1949)
    • 1900 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (d. 1977)
    • 1902 – Charles Lindbergh, American pilot and explorer (d. 1974)
    • 1902 – Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, German-English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 2003)
    • 1903 – Alexander Imich, Polish-American chemist, parapsychologist, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1904 – MacKinlay Kantor, American author and screenwriter (d. 1977)
    • 1905 – Hylda Baker, English comedian, actress and music hall performer (d. 1986)
    • 1906 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (d. 1945)
    • 1906 – Letitia Dunbar-Harrison, Irish librarian (d. 1994)
    • 1906 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer and academic, discovered Pluto (d. 1997)
    • 1908 – Julian Bell, English poet and academic (d. 1937)
    • 1912 – Ola Skjåk Bræk, Norwegian banker and politician, Norwegian Minister of Industry (d. 1999)
    • 1912 – Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian-American conductor (d. 1993)
    • 1912 – Byron Nelson, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2006)
    • 1913 – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – Alfred Andersch, German-Swiss author and publisher (d. 1980)
    • 1915 – William Talman, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
    • 1915 – Norman Wisdom, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2010)
    • 1917 – Yahya Khan, Pakistan general and politician, 3rd President of Pakistan (d. 1980)
    • 1918 – Ida Lupino, English-American actress and director (d. 1995)
    • 1918 – Luigi Pareyson, Italian philosopher and author (d. 1991)
    • 1920 – Janet Waldo, American actress and voice artist (d. 2016)
    • 1921 – Betty Friedan, American author and feminist (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Lotfi Zadeh, Iranian-American mathematician and computer scientist and founder of fuzzy logic (d. 2017)
    • 1923 – Conrad Bain, Canadian-American actor (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Russell Hoban, American author and illustrator (d. 2011)
    • 1925 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Christopher Zeeman, English mathematician and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Gyula Grosics, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Dave Sands, Australian boxer (d. 1952)
    • 1927 – Rolf Landauer, German-American physicist and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1928 – Oscar Cabalén, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1967)
    • 1928 – Osmo Antero Wiio, Finnish journalist, academic, and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Paul Burlison, American rockabilly guitarist (d. 2003)
    • 1929 – Neil Johnston, American basketball player (d. 1978)
    • 1930 – Tibor Antalpéter, Hungarian volleyball player and diplomat, Hungarian Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Arthur E. Chase, American businessman and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Jim Loscutoff, American basketball player (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Isabel Martínez de Perón, Argentinian dancer and politician, 41st President of Argentina
    • 1935 – Wallis Mathias, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1994)
    • 1935 – Martti Talvela, Finnish opera singer (d. 1989)
    • 1935 – Collin Wilcox, American actress (d. 2009)
    • 1936 – David Brenner, American comedian, actor, and author (d. 2014)
    • 1936 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – David Newman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1938 – Frank J. Dodd, American businessman and politician, president of the New Jersey Senate (d. 2010)
    • 1939 – Stan Lundine, American lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New York
    • 1940 – George A. Romero, American director and producer (d. 2017)
    • 1941 – Russell Cooper, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of Queensland
    • 1941 – Ron Rangi, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1988)
    • 1941 – Jiří Raška, Czech skier and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1943 – Alberto João Jardim, Portuguese journalist and politician, 2nd President of the Regional Government of Madeira
    • 1943 – Wanda Rutkiewicz, Lithuanian-Polish mountaineer (d. 1992)
    • 1943 – Ken Thompson, American computer scientist and programmer, co-developed the B programming language
    • 1944 – Florence LaRue, American singer and actress
    • 1947 – Dennis C. Blair, American admiral and politician, 3rd Director of National Intelligence
    • 1947 – Dan Quayle, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 44th Vice President of the United States
    • 1948 – Alice Cooper, American singer-songwriter
    • 1948 – Rod Grams, American journalist and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1948 – Mienoumi Tsuyoshi, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1949 – Michael Beck, American actor
    • 1949 – Rasim Delić, Bosnian general (d. 2010)
    • 1951 – Patrick Bergin, Irish actor
    • 1951 – Phil Ehart, American rock drummer and songwriter
    • 1952 – Jenny Shipley, New Zealand educator and politician, 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1952 – Thomas Silverstein, American prisoner, founder and former leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang (d. 2019)
    • 1955 – Mikuláš Dzurinda, Slovak politician, Prime Minister of Slovakia
    • 1957 – Don Davis, American composer and conductor
    • 1958 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (d. 2005)
    • 1959 – Christian Schreier, German footballer and manager
    • 1959 – Lawrence Taylor, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Siobhan Dowd, English author and activist (d. 2007)
    • 1960 – Adrienne King, American actress, dancer, and painter
    • 1960 – Jonathan Larson, American composer and playwright (d. 1996)
    • 1961 – Stewart O’Nan, American novelist
    • 1961 – Denis Savard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1962 – Clint Black, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1962 – Stephen Hammond, English banker and politician
    • 1963 – Pirmin Zurbriggen, Swiss skier
    • 1964 – Elke Philipp, German Paralympic equestrian
    • 1965 – Jerome Brown, American football player (d. 1992)
    • 1966 – Tony Butterfield, Australian rugby league player
    • 1966 – Viatcheslav Ekimov, Russian cyclist
    • 1967 – Sergei Grinkov, Russian figure skater (d. 1995)
    • 1970 – Gabrielle Anwar, English actress
    • 1971 – Rob Corddry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Eric Garcetti, American lieutenant and politician, 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles
    • 1972 – Dara Ó Briain, Irish comedian and television host
    • 1972 – Giovanni Silva de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Oscar De La Hoya, American boxer
    • 1973 – James Hird, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1973 – Manny Legace, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1975 – Natalie Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1977 – Gavin DeGraw, American singer-songwriter
    • 1979 – Giorgio Pantano, Italian race car driver
    • 1980 – Raimonds Vaikulis, Latvian basketball player
    • 1981 – Jason Kapono, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Johan Vansummeren, Belgian cyclist
    • 1982 – Chris Sabin, American wrestler
    • 1982 – Ivars Timermanis, Latvian basketball player
    • 1982 – Tomas Vaitkus, Lithuanian cyclist
    • 1983 – Lee Stempniak, American ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Rebecca White, Australian politician
    • 1984 – Sandeep Acharya, Indian singer (d. 2013)
    • 1984 – Mauricio Pinilla, Chilean footballer
    • 1986 – Maximilian Götz, German race car driver
    • 1986 – Mahmudullah Riyad, Bangladeshi cricketer
    • 1987 – Darren O’Dea, Irish footballer
    • 1987 – Lucie Šafářová, Czech tennis player
    • 1988 – Carly Patterson, American gymnast and singer
    • 1993 – Bae Noo-ri, South Korean actress
    • 1998 – Maximilian Wöber, Austrian footballer

    Deaths on February 4

    • 211 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (b. 145)
    • 708 – Pope Sisinnius (b. 650)
    • 856 – Rabanus Maurus, Frankish archbishop and theologian (b. 780)
    • 870 – Ceolnoth, archbishop of Canterbury
    • 1169 – John of Ajello, Bishop of Catania
    • 1498 – Antonio del Pollaiolo, Italian artist (b. 1429/1433)
    • 1505 – Jeanne de Valois, daughter of Louis XI of France (b. 1464)
    • 1508 – Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar (b. 1459)
    • 1555 – John Rogers, English clergyman and translator (b. 1505)
    • 1590 – Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1517)
    • 1615 – Giambattista della Porta, Italian playwright and scholar (b. 1535)
    • 1617 – Lodewijk Elzevir, Dutch publisher, co-founded the House of Elzevir (b. 1546)
    • 1713 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (b. 1671)
    • 1774 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (b. 1701)
    • 1781 – Josef Mysliveček, Czech composer (b. 1737)
    • 1799 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect and educator (b. 1728)
    • 1843 – Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general (b. 1770)
    • 1891 – Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos, Roman Catholic archbishop and Mexican politician who served as regent during the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (b. 1816)
    • 1905 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (b. 1841)
    • 1926 – İskilipli Âtıf Hodja, Turkish author and scholar (b. 1875)
    • 1928 – Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
    • 1933 – Archibald Sayce, English linguist and educator (b. 1846)
    • 1940 – Nikolai Yezhov, Russian police officer and politician (b. 1895)
    • 1943 – Frank Calder, English-Canadian ice hockey player and journalist (b. 1877)
    • 1944 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (b. 1872)
    • 1956 – Savielly Tartakower, Russian-French chess player, journalist, and author (b. 1887)
    • 1958 – Henry Kuttner, American author and screenwriter (b. 1915)
    • 1959 – Una O’Connor, Irish-American actress (b. 1880)
    • 1968 – Neal Cassady, American novelist and poet (b. 1926)
    • 1970 – Louise Bogan, American poet and critic (b. 1897)
    • 1974 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist, mathematician, and academic (b. 1894)
    • 1975 – Louis Jordan, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (b. 1908)
    • 1982 – Alex Harvey, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1935)
    • 1982 – Georg Konrad Morgen, German lawyer and judge (b. 1909)
    • 1983 – Karen Carpenter, American singer (b. 1950)
    • 1987 – Liberace, American singer-songwriter and pianist, (b. 1919)
    • 1987 – Meena Keshwar Kamal, Afghan activist, founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (b. 1956)
    • 1987 – Carl Rogers, American psychologist and academic (b. 1902)
    • 1990 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1915)
    • 1992 – John Dehner, American actor (b. 1915)
    • 1995 – Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1921)
    • 2000 – Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1908)
    • 2002 – Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg (b. 1907)
    • 2003 – Benyoucef Benkhedda, Algerian pharmacist and politician (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Ossie Davis, American actor, director, and playwright (b. 1917)
    • 2006 – Betty Friedan, American author and activist (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – José Carlos Bauer, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Ilya Kormiltsev, Russian-English poet and translator (b. 1959)
    • 2007 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (b. 1934)
    • 2007 – Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter and sculptor (b. 1922)
    • 2008 – Augusta Dabney, American actress (b. 1918)
    • 2008 – Stefan Meller, Polish academic and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (b. 1942)
    • 2010 – Kostas Axelos, Greek-French philosopher and author (b. 1924)
    • 2010 – Helen Tobias-Duesberg, Estonian-American composer (b. 1919)
    • 2011 – Martial Célestin, Haitian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Haiti (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – István Csurka, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Florence Green, English soldier (b. 1901)
    • 2012 – Robert Daniel, American farmer, soldier, and politician (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Mike deGruy, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1951)
    • 2013 – Donald Byrd, American trumpet player (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
    • 2014 – Keith Allen, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Eugenio Corti, Italian soldier, author, and playwright (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Dennis Lota, Zambian footballer (b. 1973)
    • 2015 – Wes Cooley, American soldier and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Fitzhugh L. Fulton, American colonel and pilot (b. 1925)
    • 2016 – Edgar Mitchell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Steve Lang, Canadian bass player (b. 1949)
    • 2017 – Bano Qudsia, Pakistani writer (b. 1928)
    • 2018 – John Mahoney, English-American actor, voice artist, and comedian (b. 1940)
    • 2019 – Matti Nykänen, Finnish Olympic-winning ski jumper and singer (b. 1963)

    Holidays and observances on February 4

    • Christian feast day:
      • Andrew Corsini
      • Gilbert of Sempringham
      • John de Brito
      • Blessed Rabanus Maurus
      • Rimbert
      • Veronica
      • February 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the Armed Struggle (Angola)
    • Earliest day on which Ash Wednesday can fall, while March 10 is the latest; celebrated on the first day of Lent (Christianity)
    • Independence Day (Sri Lanka)
    • Rosa Parks Day (California and Missouri, United States)
    • World Cancer Day

  • February 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1327 – The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
    • 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).
    • 1662 – The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
    • 1713 – The Kalabalik or Skirmish at Bender results from the Ottoman sultan’s order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.
    • 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
    • 1796 – The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.
    • 1814 – Mayon in the Philippines erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano.
    • 1835 – Slavery is abolished in Mauritius.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
    • 1864 – Second Schleswig War: Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig, starting the war.
    • 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    • 1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
    • 1893 – Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.
    • 1895 – Fountains Valley, Pretoria, the oldest nature reserve in Africa, is proclaimed by President Paul Kruger.
    • 1896 – La bohème premieres in Turin at the Teatro Regio (Turin), conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini.
    • 1897 – Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.
    • 1908 – Lisbon Regicide: King Carlos I of Portugal and Infante Luis Filipe are shot dead in Lisbon.
    • 1918 – Russia adopts the Gregorian calendar.
    • 1924 – Russia–United Kingdom relations are restored, over six years after the Communist revolution.
    • 1942 – World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.
    • 1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls–Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.
    • 1942 – Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers.
    • 1942 – Mao Zedong makes a speech on “Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature”, which puts into motion the Yan’an Rectification Movement.
    • 1946 – Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary-General.
    • 1946 – The Parliament of Hungary abolishes the monarchy after nine centuries, and proclaims the Hungarian Republic.
    • 1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
    • 1964 – The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is recorded on motion picture film, as well as in an iconic still photograph taken by Eddie Adams.
    • 1968 – Canada’s three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.
    • 1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form Penn Central Transportation.
    • 1972 – Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
    • 1974 – A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.
    • 1979 – Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile.
    • 1989 – The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder.
    • 1991 – A runway collision between USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport results in the deaths of 34 people, and injuries to 30 others.
    • 1992 – The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal disaster case.
    • 1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
    • 1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne becomes the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.
    • 2002 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, kidnapped January 23, 2002, is beheaded and mutilated by his captors.
    • 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
    • 2004 – Hajj pilgrimage stampede: In a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured.
    • 2005 – King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d’état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.
    • 2009 – The first cabinet of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was formed in Iceland, making her the country’s first female prime minister and the world’s first openly gay head of government.
    • 2012 – Seventy-four people are killed and over 500 injured as a result of clashes between fans of Egyptian football teams Al Masry and Al Ahly in the city of Port Said.
    • 2013 – The Shard, the sixth-tallest building in Europe, is opened to the public.

    Births on February 1

    • 1261 – Walter de Stapledon, English bishop and politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1326)
    • 1435 – Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy (d. 1472)
    • 1447 – Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1504)
    • 1459 – Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar (d. 1508)
    • 1462 – Johannes Trithemius, German lexicographer, historian, and cryptographer (d. 1516)
    • 1552 – Edward Coke, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1634)
    • 1561 – Henry Briggs, British mathematician (d. 1630)
    • 1635 – Marquard Gude, German archaeologist and scholar (d. 1689)
    • 1648 – Elkanah Settle, English poet and playwright (d. 1724)
    • 1659 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (d. 1729)
    • 1663 – Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, Filipino nun, founded the Religious of the Virgin Mary (d. 1748)
    • 1666 – Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, Princess of Conti and titular queen of Poland (d.1732)
    • 1687 – Johann Adam Birkenstock, German violinist and composer (d. 1733)
    • 1690 – Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1768)
    • 1701 – Johan Agrell, Swedish-German pianist and composer (d. 1765)
    • 1761 – Christiaan Hendrik Persoon, South African-French mycologist and academic (d. 1836)
    • 1763 – Thomas Campbell, Irish minister and theologian (d. 1854)
    • 1796 – Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss minister, poet, and educator (d. 1865)
    • 1801 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher (d. 1881)
    • 1820 – George Hendric Houghton, American clergyman and theologian (d. 1897)
    • 1836 – Emil Hartmann, Danish organist and composer (d. 1898)
    • 1844 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and academic (d. 1924)
    • 1851 – Durham Stevens, American lawyer and diplomat (d. 1908)
    • 1858 – Ignacio Bonillas, Mexican diplomat (d. 1942)
    • 1859 – Victor Herbert, Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1924)
    • 1866 – Agda Meyerson, Swedish nurse and healthcare activist (d. 1924)
    • 1868 – Ștefan Luchian, Romanian painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
    • 1870 – Erik Adolf von Willebrand, Finnish physician (d. 1949)
    • 1872 – Clara Butt, English opera singer (d. 1936)
    • 1872 – Jerome F. Donovan, American lawyer and politician (d. 1949)
    • 1873 – John Barry, Irish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1901)
    • 1874 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1929)
    • 1878 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer and architect, designed the Grand Hotel Aranybika (d. 1955)
    • 1878 – Milan Hodža, Slovak journalist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (d. 1944)
    • 1881 – Tip Snooke, South African cricketer (d. 1966)
    • 1882 – Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1973)
    • 1884 – Bradbury Robinson, American football player and physician (d. 1949)
    • 1884 – Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1937)
    • 1887 – Charles Nordhoff, English-American lieutenant, pilot, and author (d. 1947)
    • 1890 – Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1942)
    • 1894 – John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (d. 1955)
    • 1895 – Conn Smythe, Canadian businessman (d. 1980)
    • 1897 – Denise Robins, English journalist and author (d. 1985)
    • 1898 – Leila Denmark, American pediatrician and author (d. 2012)
    • 1901 – Frank Buckles, American soldier (d. 2011)
    • 1901 – Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)
    • 1902 – Therese Brandl, German concentration camp guard (d. 1947)
    • 1902 – Langston Hughes, American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright (d. 1967)
    • 1904 – S.J. Perelman, American humorist and screenwriter (d. 1979)
    • 1905 – Emilio G. Segrè, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
    • 1906 – Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigerian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of Nigeria (d. 1993)
    • 1907 – Günter Eich, German author and songwriter (d. 1972)
    • 1907 – Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian pianist and composer (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – Louis Rasminsky, Canadian economist and banker (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1910 – Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Chinese general and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1915 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
    • 1917 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player and soldier (d. 1944)
    • 1918 – Muriel Spark, Scottish playwright and poet (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Ignacy Tokarczuk, Polish archbishop (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Mike Scarry, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Zao Wou-Ki, Chinese-French painter (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Teresa Mattei, Italian feminist partisan and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Peter Sallis, English actor (d. 2017)
    • 1921 – Patricia Robins, British writer and WAAF officer (d. 2016).
    • 1922 – Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano and actress (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (d. 2008)
    • 1924 – Richard Hooker, American novelist (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Emmanuel Scheffer, German-Israeli footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1927 – Galway Kinnell, American poet and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Sam Edwards, Welsh physicist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Tom Lantos, Hungarian-American academic and politician (d. 2008)
    • 1930 – Shahabuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi judge and politician, 12th President of Bangladesh
    • 1930 – Hussain Muhammad Ershad, Indian-Bangladeshi general and politician, 10th President of Bangladesh (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese activist and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1934 – Nicolae Breban, Romanian author, poet, and playwright
    • 1936 – Tuncel Kurtiz, Turkish actor, playwright, and director (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Azie Taylor Morton, American educator and politician, 36th Treasurer of the United States (d. 2003)
    • 1937 – Don Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1937 – Garrett Morris, American actor and comedian
    • 1938 – Jimmy Carl Black, American drummer and singer (d. 2008)
    • 1938 – Jacky Cupit, American golfer
    • 1938 – Sherman Hemsley, American actor and singer (d. 2012)
    • 1939 – Fritjof Capra, Austrian physicist, author, and academic
    • 1939 – Claude François, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (d. 1978)
    • 1939 – Paul Gillmor, American lawyer and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1939 – Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina (d. 2009)
    • 1939 – Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1941 – Jerry Spinelli, American author
    • 1942 – Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
    • 1942 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2020)
    • 1942 – David Sincock, Australian cricketer
    • 1944 – Petru Popescu, Romanian-American director, producer, and author
    • 1944 – Burkhard Ziese, German footballer and manager (d. 2010)
    • 1945 – Serge Joyal, Canadian lawyer and politician, 50th Secretary of State for Canada
    • 1945 – Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Mary Jane Reoch, American cyclist (d. 1993)
    • 1946 – Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (d. 2011)
    • 1946 – Karen Krantzcke, Australian tennis player (d. 1977)
    • 1947 – Adam Ingram, Scottish computer programmer and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
    • 1947 – Normie Rowe, Australian singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1947 – Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983)
    • 1948 – Rick James, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1950 – Mike Campbell, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1950 – Ali Haydar Konca, Turkish politician, 4th Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs
    • 1950 – Rich Williams, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1951 – Sonny Landreth, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1952 – Owoye Andrew Azazi, Nigerian general (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Chuck Dukowski, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1956 – Exene Cervenka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Saudi Arabian businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1957 – Gilbert Hernandez, American author and illustrator
    • 1958 – Luther Blissett, Jamaican-English footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Eleanor Laing, Scottish lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
    • 1961 – Volker Fried, German field hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Daniel M. Tani, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1961 – Kaduvetti Guru, Indian politician (d. 2018)
    • 1962 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2004)
    • 1962 – Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Takashi Murakami, Japanese painter and sculptor
    • 1964 – Jani Lane, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
    • 1964 – Mario Pelchat, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1964 – Linus Roache, English actor
    • 1965 – Stéphanie of Monaco, designer, singer and princess
    • 1965 – Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (d. 1993)
    • 1965 – Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
    • 1966 – Michelle Akers, American soccer player
    • 1967 – Meg Cabot, American author and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Lisa Marie Presley, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1968 – Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1969 – Gabriel Batistuta, Argentinian footballer
    • 1969 – Andrew Breitbart, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 2012)
    • 1969 – Brian Krause, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Franklyn Rose, Jamaican cricketer
    • 1969 – Patrick Wilson, American drummer
    • 1970 – Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese racing driver
    • 1970 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player and actor (d. 2000)
    • 1971 – Harald Brattbakk, Norwegian footballer and pilot
    • 1971 – Michael C. Hall, American actor and producer
    • 1972 – Christian Ziege, German footballer
    • 1973 – Andrew DeClercq, American basketball player and coach
    • 1973 – Óscar Pérez Rojas, Mexican footballer
    • 1974 – Walter McCarty, American basketball player and coach
    • 1975 – Martijn Reuser, Dutch footballer
    • 1976 – Phil Ivey, American poker player
    • 1976 – Mat Rogers, Australian rugby player
    • 1977 – Lari Ketner, American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1977 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (d. 2011)
    • 1978 – Tim Harding, Australian singer and actor
    • 1978 – K’naan, Somali-Canadian hip-hop artist
    • 1979 – Valentín Elizalde, Mexican singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1979 – Jason Isbell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Juan Silveira dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
    • 1980 – Héctor Luna, Dominican baseball player
    • 1980 – Moisés Muñoz, Mexican footballer
    • 1980 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2005)
    • 1981 – Hins Cheung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Christian Giménez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1981 – Graeme Smith, South African cricketer
    • 1982 – Gavin Henson, Welsh rugby player
    • 1982 – Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1983 – Heather DeLoach, American actress
    • 1983 – Kevin Martin, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Jurgen Van den Broeck, Belgian cyclist
    • 1984 – Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer
    • 1985 – Dean Shiels, Irish footballer
    • 1986 – Jorrit Bergsma, Dutch speed skater
    • 1986 – Lauren Conrad, American fashion designer and author
    • 1987 – Sebastian Boenisch, Polish footballer
    • 1987 – Moises Henriques, Portuguese-Australian cricketer
    • 1987 – Austin Jackson, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Ronda Rousey, American mixed martial artist and actress
    • 1987 – Giuseppe Rossi, Italian footballer
    • 1988 – Brett Anderson, American baseball player
    • 1989 – Ricky Pinheiro, Portuguese footballer
    • 1991 – Kyle Palmieri, American hockey player
    • 1993 – Diego Mella, Italian footballer
    • 1994 – Joe Boyce, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Harry Styles, English singer-songwriter

    Deaths on February 1

    • 583 – Kan B’alam I, ruler of Palenque (b. 524)
    • 772 – Pope Stephen III (b. 720)
    • 850 – Ramiro I, king of Asturias
    • 992 – Jawhar as-Siqilli, Fatimid statesman
    • 1222 – Alexios Megas Komnenos, first Emperor of Trebizond
    • 1248 – Henry II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1207)
    • 1328 – Charles IV of France (b. 1294)
    • 1501 – Sigismund of Bavaria (b. 1439)
    • 1542 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian cardinal (b. 1480)
    • 1563 – Menas of Ethiopia
    • 1590 – Lawrence Humphrey, English theologian and academic (b. 1527)
    • 1691 – Pope Alexander VIII (b. 1610)
    • 1718 – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1660)
    • 1733 – Augustus II the Strong, Polish king (b. 1670)
    • 1734 – John Floyer, English physician and author (b. 1649)
    • 1743 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian organist and composer (b. 1657)
    • 1750 – Bakar of Georgia (b. 1699)
    • 1761 – Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French priest and historian (b. 1682)
    • 1768 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (b. 1685)
    • 1793 – William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1717)
    • 1832 – Archibald Murphey, American judge and politician (b. 1777)
    • 1851 – Mary Shelley, English novelist and playwright (b. 1797)
    • 1871 – Alexander Serov, Russian composer and critic (b. 1820)
    • 1893 – George Henry Sanderson, American lawyer and politician, 22nd Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1824)
    • 1897 – Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist (b. 1826)
    • 1903 – Sir George Stokes, Anglo-Irish physicist, mathematician, and politician (b. 1819)
    • 1907 – Léon Serpollet, French businessman (b. 1858)
    • 1908 – Carlos I of Portugal (b. 1863)
    • 1922 – William Desmond Taylor, American actor and director (b. 1872)
    • 1924 – Maurice Prendergast, American painter (b. 1858)
    • 1928 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
    • 1936 – Georgios Kondylis, Greek general and politician, 128th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878)
    • 1940 – Philip Francis Nowlan, American author, created Buck Rogers (b. 1888)
    • 1940 – Zacharias Papantoniou, Greek journalist and critic (b. 1877)
    • 1944 – Piet Mondrian, Dutch-American painter (b. 1872)
    • 1949 – Nicolae Dumitru Cocea, Romanian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1880)
    • 1949 – Herbert Stothart, American conductor and composer (b. 1885)
    • 1957 – Friedrich Paulus, German general (b. 1890)
    • 1958 – Clinton Davisson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
    • 1959 – Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (b. 1873)
    • 1966 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and journalist (b. 1885)
    • 1966 – Buster Keaton, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1895)
    • 1968 – Echol Cole and Robert Walker – sparking the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike
    • 1970 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
    • 1976 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
    • 1976 – George Whipple, American physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
    • 1979 – Abdi İpekçi, Turkish journalist and activist (b. 1929)
    • 1981 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American engineer and businessman, founded the Douglas Aircraft Company (b. 1892)
    • 1981 – Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian pianist and composer (b. 1908)
    • 1986 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 1987 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1900)
    • 1989 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (b. 1918)
    • 1992 – Jean Hamburger, French physician and surgeon (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Ray Crawford, American race car driver, pilot, and businessman (b. 1915)
    • 1997 – Herb Caen, American journalist and author (b. 1916)
    • 1999 – Paul Mellon, American art collector and philanthropist (b. 1907)
    • 2001 – André D’Allemagne, Canadian political scientist and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2002 – Aykut Barka, Turkish geologist and academic (b. 1951)
    • 2002 – Hildegard Knef, German actress and singer (b. 1925)
    • 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia crew
      • Michael P. Anderson, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1959)
      • David M. Brown, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1956)
      • Kalpana Chawla, Indian-American engineer and astronaut (b. 1961)
      • Laurel Clark, American captain, surgeon, and astronaut (b. 1961)
      • Rick Husband, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1957)
      • William C. McCool, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1961)
      • Ilan Ramon, Israeli colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1954)
    • 2003 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer and bandleader (b. 1922)
    • 2004 – Suha Arın, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2005 – John Vernon, Canadian-American actor (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-American playwright and composer (b. 1911)
    • 2008 – Beto Carrero, Brazilian actor and businessman (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Don Cornelius, American television host and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Helene Hale, American politician (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Ed Koch, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 105th Mayor of New York City (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Shanu Lahiri, Indian painter and educator (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Cecil Womack, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2014 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Vasily Petrov, Russian marshal (b. 1917)
    • 2014 – Rene Ricard, American poet, painter, and critic (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Maximilian Schell, Austrian-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Aldo Ciccolini, Italian-French pianist (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, manager, and sportscaster (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Monty Oum, American animator, director, and screenwriter (b. 1981)
    • 2016 – Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, Guatemalan general and politician, 27th President of Guatemala (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Desmond Carrington, British actor and broadcaster (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Barys Kit, Belarusian rocket scientist (b. 1910)
    • 2018 – Mowzey Radio, Ugandan singer and songwriter (b. 1985)
    • 2019 – Jeremy Hardy, English comedian, radio host and panelist (b. 1961)
    • 2019 – Clive Swift, English actor (b. 1936)
    • 2019 – Wade Wilson, American football player and coach (b. 1959)

    Holidays and observances on February 1

    • Abolition of Slavery Day (Mauritius)
    • Air Force Day (Nicaragua)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Astina (Syrian Church)
      • Blessed Candelaria of San José
      • Brigid, patron saint of Ireland (Saint Brigid’s Day)
      • Verdiana
      • February 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Constitution Day can fall, while February 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in February. (Mexico)
    • Federal Territory Day (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, Malaysia)
    • Heroes Day (Rwanda)
    • Imbolc (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, and some Neopagan groups in the Northern hemisphere)
    • Memorial Day of the Republic (Hungary)
    • National Freedom Day (United States)
    • The start of Black History Month (United States and Canada)

  • January 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.
    • 1069 – Robert de Comines, appointed Earl of Northumbria by William the Conqueror, rides into Durham, England, where he is defeated and killed by rebels. This incident leads to the Harrying of the North.
    • 1077 – Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is lifted after he humbles himself before Pope Gregory VII at Canossa in Italy.
    • 1521 – The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
    • 1547 – Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father’s death.
    • 1568 – The Edict of Torda prohibited the persecution of individuals on the religious ground in John Sigismund Zápolya’s Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
    • 1573 – Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
    • 1624 – Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on the island of Saint Kitts.
    • 1671 – Original city of Panama (founded in 1519) was destroyed by a fire when privateer Henry Morgan sacked and set fire to it. The site of the previously devastated city is still in ruins (see Panama Viejo).
    • 1724 – The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
    • 1754 – Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.
    • 1813 – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
    • 1846 – The Battle of Aliwal, India, is won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
    • 1851 – Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois.
    • 1855 – A locomotive on the Panama Canal Railway runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
    • 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
    • 1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first independent daily college newspaper in the United States.
    • 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).
    • 1902 – The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
    • 1908 – Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d’état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco.
    • 1909 – United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish–American War.
    • 1915 – An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces.
    • 1918 – Finnish Civil War: The Red Guard rebels seize control of the capital, Helsinki; members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
    • 1920 – Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
    • 1922 – Knickerbocker Storm, Washington D.C.’s biggest snowfall, causes the city’s greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre collapses.
    • 1932 – Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
    • 1933 – The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali Khan and is accepted by Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
    • 1935 – Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
    • 1938 – The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph).
    • 1941 – Franco-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. A Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
    • 1945 – World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
    • 1956 – Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance.
    • 1958 – The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
    • 1960 – The National Football League announced expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for 1961 NFL season.
    • 1964 – An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission is shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
    • 1965 – The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament.
    • 1977 – The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 which dumps 10 feet (3.0 m) of snow in one day in Upstate New York, with Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown, and surrounding areas are most affected.
    • 1980 – USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
    • 1981 – Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
    • 1982 – US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
    • 1984 – Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.
    • 1985 – Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
    • 1986 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
    • 1988 – In R v Morgentaler the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down all anti-abortion laws.
    • 2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia, killing 94.
    • 2006 – The roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair in Poland collapses due to the weight of snow, killing 65 and injuring more than 170 others.

    Births on January 28

    • 1312 – Joan II, queen of Navarre (d. 1349)
    • 1368 – Razadarit, king of Hanthawaddy (d. 1421)
    • 1457 – Henry VII, king of England (d. 1509)
    • 1533 – Paul Luther, German scientist (d. 1593)
    • 1540 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German-Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1610)
    • 1582 – John Barclay, French-Scottish poet and author (d. 1621)
    • 1600 – Clement IX, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1669)
    • 1608 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
    • 1611 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (d. 1687)
    • 1622 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (d. 1691)
    • 1693 – Gregor Werner, Austrian composer (d. 1766)
    • 1701 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
    • 1706 – John Baskerville, English printer and typographer (d. 1775)
    • 1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shōgun (d. 1761)
    • 1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1774)
    • 1719 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German poet and critic (d. 1749)
    • 1726 – Christian Felix Weiße, German poet and playwright (d. 1802)
    • 1755 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, Polish-German physician, anthropologist, and paleontologist (d. 1830)
    • 1784 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
    • 1797 – Charles Gray Round, English lawyer and politician (d. 1867)
    • 1818 – George S. Boutwell, American lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1905)
    • 1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian soldier, journalist, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
    • 1833 – Charles George Gordon, English general and politician (d. 1885)
    • 1841 – Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-American explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
    • 1843 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1890)
    • 1853 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and theorist (d. 1895)
    • 1853 – Vladimir Solovyov, Russian philosopher, poet, and critic (d. 1900)
    • 1855 – William Seward Burroughs I, American businessman, founded the Burroughs Corporation (d. 1898)
    • 1858 – Tannatt William Edgeworth David, Welsh-Australian geologist and explorer (d. 1934)
    • 1861 – Julián Felipe, Filipino composer and educator (d. 1944)
    • 1863 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian-American painter (d. 1918)
    • 1864 – Charles Williams Nash, American businessman, founded Nash Motors (d. 1948)
    • 1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian author and politician (d. 1928)
    • 1865 – Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, Finnish lawyer, judge, and politician, 1st President of Finland (d. 1952)
    • 1873 – Colette, French novelist and journalist (d. 1954)
    • 1873 – Monty Noble, Australian cricketer (d. 1940)
    • 1874 – Alex Smith, Scottish golfer (d. 1930)
    • 1875 – Julián Carrillo, Mexican violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1965)
    • 1878 – Walter Kollo, German composer and conductor (d. 1940)
    • 1880 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer and coach (d. 1970)
    • 1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (d. 1962)
    • 1885 – Vahan Terian, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1920)
    • 1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian-French author and poet (d. 1973)
    • 1886 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese engineer and academic (d. 1976)
    • 1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-American pianist and educator (d. 1982)
    • 1897 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (d. 1986)
    • 1900 – Alice Neel, American painter (d. 1984)
    • 1903 – Aleksander Kamiński, Polish author and educator (d. 1978)
    • 1903 – Kathleen Lonsdale, Irish crystallographer and 1st female FRS (d. 1971)
    • 1906 – Pat O’Callaghan, Irish athlete (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek general and politician (d. 1992)
    • 1908 – Paul Misraki, Turkish-French composer and historian (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931)
    • 1910 – John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)
    • 1911 – Johan van Hulst, Dutch politician, academic and author, Yad Vashem recipient (d. 2018)
    • 1912 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
    • 1918 – Harry Corbett, English puppeteer, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1918 – Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1919 – Gabby Gabreski, American colonel and pilot (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Vytautas Norkus, Lithuanian–American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Anna Gordy Gaye, American songwriter and producer, co-founded Anna Records (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
    • 1924 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (d. 1976)
    • 1925 – Raja Ramanna, Indian physicist and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1926 – Jimmy Bryan, American race car driver (d. 1960)
    • 1927 – Per Oscarsson, Swedish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Ronnie Scott, English saxophonist (d. 1996)
    • 1927 – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1927 – Vera Williams, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Acker Bilk, English singer and clarinet player (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Nikolai Parshin, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1929 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-American sculptor and illustrator
    • 1929 – Edith M. Flanigen, American chemist
    • 1930 – Kurt Biedenkopf, German academic and politician, 54th President of the German Bundesrat
    • 1930 – Roy Clarke, English screenwriter, comedian and soldier
    • 1933 – Jack Hill, American director and screenwriter
    • 1934 – Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1990)
    • 1935 – David Lodge, English author and critic
    • 1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, director, and writer
    • 1937 – Karel Čáslavský, Czech historian and television host (d. 2013)
    • 1938 – Tomas Lindahl, Swedish-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1938 – Leonid Zhabotinsky, Ukrainian weightlifter and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – John M. Fabian, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1940 – Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman and philanthropist, founded Grupo Carso
    • 1942 – Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater
    • 1942 – Erkki Pohjanheimo, Finnish director and producer
    • 1943 – Dick Taylor, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1944 – Rosalía Mera, Spanish businesswoman, co-founded Inditex and Zara (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – John Tavener, English composer (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Frank Doubleday, American actor (d. 2018)
    • 1945 – Maxwell Fuller, Australian chess player (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Marthe Keller, Swiss actress and director
    • 1945 – John Perkins, American author and activist
    • 1947 – Jeanne Shaheen, American educator and politician, 78th Governor of New Hampshire
    • 1948 – Bob Moses, American drummer
    • 1948 – Charles Taylor, Liberian politician, 22nd President of Liberia
    • 1949 – Mike Moore, New Zealand union leader and politician, 34th Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1949 – Gregg Popovich, American basketball player and coach
    • 1950 – Barbi Benton, American actress, singer and model
    • 1950 – Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahraini king
    • 1950 – David C. Hilmers, American colonel, physician, and astronaut
    • 1950 – Naila Kabeer, Bangladeshi-English economist and academic
    • 1951 – Brian Bilbray, American politician
    • 1951 – Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1951 – Billy Bass Nelson, American R&B/funk bass player
    • 1952 – Richard Glatzer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1953 – Colin Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1954 – Peter Lampe, German theologian and historian
    • 1954 – Bruno Metsu, French footballer and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – Rick Warren, American pastor and author
    • 1955 – Vinod Khosla, Indian-American businessman, co-founded Sun Microsystems
    • 1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, French lawyer and politician, 23rd President of France
    • 1956 – Richard Danielpour, American composer and educator
    • 1956 – Peter Schilling, German singer-songwriter
    • 1957 – Mark Napier, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1957 – Nick Price, Zimbabwean-South African golfer
    • 1957 – Frank Skinner, English comedian, actor, and author
    • 1959 – Frank Darabont, American director and producer
    • 1960 – Loren Legarda, Filipino journalist and politician
    • 1961 – Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1962 – Sam Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1964 – David Lawrence, English cricketer
    • 1966 – Seiji Mizushima, Japanese director and producer
    • 1967 – Billy Brownless, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1968 – Rakim, American rapper
    • 1969 – Giorgio Lamberti, Italian swimmer
    • 1969 – Mo Rocca, American comedian and television journalist
    • 1969 – Linda Sánchez, American lawyer and politician
    • 1972 – Mark Regan, English rugby player
    • 1972 – Nicky Southall, English footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Léon van Bon, Dutch cyclist
    • 1974 – Tony Delk, American basketball player and coach
    • 1974 – Jermaine Dye, American baseball player
    • 1974 – Ramsey Nasr, Dutch author and poet
    • 1974 – Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player and politician
    • 1975 – Pedro Pinto, Portuguese-American journalist
    • 1975 – Junior Spivey, American baseball player and coach
    • 1976 – Sireli Bobo, Fijian rugby player
    • 1976 – Mark Madsen, American basketball player and coach
    • 1976 – Rick Ross, American rapper and producer
    • 1976 – Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer
    • 1977 – Sandis Buškevics, Latvian basketball player and coach
    • 1977 – Daunte Culpepper, American football player
    • 1977 – Joey Fatone, American singer, dancer, and television personality
    • 1977 – Takuma Sato, Japanese race car driver
    • 1978 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
    • 1978 – Jamie Carragher, English footballer and sportscaster
    • 1978 – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
    • 1978 – Stephen Farrelly, Irish professional wrestler
    • 1978 – Big Freedia, New Orleans musician, “Queen of Bounce”
    • 1980 – Nick Carter, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1980 – Yasuhito Endō, Japanese footballer
    • 1980 – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1980 – Brian Fallon, American singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor and producer
    • 1984 – Ben Clucas, English race car driver
    • 1984 – Stephen Gostkowski, American football player
    • 1984 – Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Anne Panter, English field hockey player
    • 1985 – J. Cole, American singer
    • 1985 – Daniel Carcillo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Lauris Dārziņš, Latvian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
    • 1985 – Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
    • 1986 – Jessica Ennis-Hill, English heptathlete and hurdler
    • 1986 – Nathan Outteridge, Australian sailor
    • 1986 – Asad Shafiq, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1988 – Paul Henry, English footballer
    • 1988 – Seiya Sanada, Japanese wrestler
    • 1989 – Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer
    • 1991 – Carl Klingberg, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Sergio Araujo, Argentinian footballer
    • 1998 – Ariel Winter, American actress

    Deaths on January 28

    • 592 – Guntram, French king (b. 532)
    • 814 – Charlemagne, Holy Roman emperor (pleurisy; b. 742)
    • 919 – Zhou Dewei, Chinese general
    • 929 – Gao Jixing, founder of Chinese Jingnan (b. 858)
    • 947 – Jing Yanguang, Chinese general (b. 892)
    • 1061 – Spytihněv II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1031)
    • 1142 – Yue Fei, Chinese general (b. 1103)
    • 1256 – William II, Count of Holland, King of Germany (b. 1227)
    • 1271 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France (b. 1247)
    • 1290 – Dervorguilla of Galloway, Scottish noble, mother of king John Balliol of Scotland (b. c. 1210)
    • 1443 – Robert le Maçon, French diplomat (b. 1365)
    • 1501 – John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham, English baron and Lord High Treasurer (b. 1433)
    • 1547 – Henry VIII, king of England (b. 1491)
    • 1613 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (b. 1545)
    • 1621 – Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
    • 1666 – Tommaso Dingli, Maltese architect and sculptor (b. 1591)
    • 1672 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
    • 1681 – Richard Allestree, English priest and academic (b. 1619)
    • 1687 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (b. 1611)
    • 1688 – Ferdinand Verbiest, Flemish Jesuit missionary in China (b. 1623)
    • 1697 – Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet, English general and politician (b. 1645)
    • 1754 – Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian-Danish historian and philosopher (b. 1684)
    • 1782 – Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville, French geographer and cartographer (b. 1697)
    • 1832 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (b. 1769)
    • 1859 – F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
    • 1864 – Émile Clapeyron, French physicist and engineer (b. 1799)
    • 1873 – John Hart, English-Australian politician, 10th Premier of South Australia (b. 1809)
    • 1903 – Augusta Holmès, French pianist and composer (b. 1847)
    • 1912 – Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist and theorist (b. 1819)
    • 1918 – John McCrae, Canadian soldier, physician, and author (b. 1872)
    • 1921 – Mustafa Suphi, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1883)
    • 1930 – Emmy Destinn, Czech soprano and poet (b. 1878)
    • 1935 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1859)
    • 1937 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and target shooter (b. 1862)
    • 1938 – Bernd Rosemeyer, German race car driver (b. 1909)
    • 1939 – W. B. Yeats, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
    • 1942 – Edward Siegler, American gymnast and triathlete (b. 1881)
    • 1945 – Roza Shanina, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1924)
    • 1947 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan-French composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1875)
    • 1948 – Hans Aumeier, German SS officer (b. 1906)
    • 1949 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
    • 1950 – Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1883)
    • 1953 – James Scullin, Australian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
    • 1953 – Neyzen Tevfik, Turkish philosopher and poet (b. 1879)
    • 1959 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (b. 1899)
    • 1960 – Zora Neale Hurston, American novelist, short story writer, and folklorist (b. 1891)
    • 1963 – Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (b. 1884)
    • 1965 – Tich Freeman, English cricketer (b. 1888)
    • 1965 – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (b. 1867)
    • 1971 – Donald Winnicott, English paediatrician and psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
    • 1973 – John Banner, Austrian actor (b. 1910)
    • 1976 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (b. 1924)
    • 1978 – Ward Moore, American author (b. 1903)
    • 1983 – Billy Fury. English pop star (b. 1940)
    • 1983 – Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
    • 1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger crew
      • Gregory Jarvis, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1944)
      • Christa McAuliffe, American educator and astronaut (b. 1948)
      • Ronald McNair, American physicist and astronaut (b. 1950)
      • Ellison Onizuka, American engineer and astronaut (b. 1946)
      • Judith Resnik, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1949)
      • Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1939)
      • Michael J. Smith, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1945)
    • 1988 – Klaus Fuchs, German physicist and politician (b. 1911)
    • 1989 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (b. 1938)
    • 1993 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, Canadian astronomer and academic (b. 1905)
    • 1996 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1940)
    • 1996 – Burne Hogarth, American cartoonist and author (b. 1911)
    • 1996 – Jerry Siegel, American author and illustrator, co-created Superman (b. 1914)
    • 1998 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese author and illustrator (b. 1938)
    • 1999 – Valery Gavrilin, Russian composer (b. 1939)
    • 2001 – Ranko Marinković, Croatian author and playwright (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Gustaaf Deloor, Belgian cyclist and soldier (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author and screenwriter (b. 1907)
    • 2002 – Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, Turkish author and activist (b. 1946)
    • 2003 – Mieke Pullen, Dutch runner (b. 1957)
    • 2004 – Lloyd M. Bucher, American captain (b. 1927)
    • 2004 – Mel Pritchard, English drummer (b. 1948)
    • 2005 – Jim Capaldi, English singer-songwriter and drummer (b. 1944)
    • 2007 – Carlo Clerici, Swiss cyclist (b. 1929)
    • 2007 – Robert Drinan, American priest, lawyer, and politician (b. 1920)
    • 2007 – Yelena Romanova, Russian runner (b. 1963)
    • 2007 – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer (b. 1938)
    • 2009 – Billy Powell, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1952)
    • 2012 – Roman Juszkiewicz, Polish astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1952)
    • 2012 – Don Starkell, Canadian adventurer and author (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Florentino Fernández, Cuban-American boxer and coach (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Hattie N. Harrison, American educator and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – John Cacavas, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Harry Gamble, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Nigel Jenkins, Welsh poet, journalist, and geographer (b. 1949)
    • 2014 – Jorge Obeid, Argentinian engineer and politician, Governor of Santa Fe (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Suraj Abdurrahman, Nigerian general, architect, and engineer (b. 1954)
    • 2015 – Yves Chauvin, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Lionel Gilbert, Australian historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Signe Toly Anderson, American singer (b. 1941)
    • 2016 – Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
    • 2016 – Franklin Gene Bissell, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Buddy Cianci, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Mayor of Providence (b. 1941)
    • 2016 – Bob Tizard, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 6th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1924)
    • 2017 – Alexander Chancellor, British journalist (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Geoff Nicholls, British musician (b. 1948)
    • 2019 – Pepe Smith, Filipino rock musician (b. 1947)

    Holidays and observances on January 28

    • Christian feast day:
      • Joseph Freinademetz
      • Julian of Cuenca
      • Thomas Aquinas
      • January 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Army Day (Armenia)
    • Data Privacy Day

  • January 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • AD 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule, the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
    • 1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.
    • 1302 – Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.
    • 1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the papal bull Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences. Nearly 200 years later, Martin Luther would protest this.
    • 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31.
    • 1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan and Caliph of Islam in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Henry Knox’s “noble train of artillery” arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
    • 1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
    • 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast.
    • 1825 – The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the “Trail of Tears”.
    • 1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi begins, between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions; it will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration.
    • 1869 – Boshin War: Tokugawa rebels establish the Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō.
    • 1880 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his incandescent lamp.
    • 1916 – World War I: The British government passed a legislation that introduced conscription in the United Kingdom.
    • 1918 – Beginning of the Finnish Civil War.
    • 1927 – Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd.
    • 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Eighth Air Force sorties ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-boat construction yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany.
    • 1944 – World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Soviet 322nd Rifle Division liberates the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
    • 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger.
    • 1961 – The Soviet submarine S-80 sinks when its snorkel malfunctions, flooding the boat.
    • 1967 – Apollo program: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
    • 1967 – Cold War: The Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
    • 1973 – The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict’s last recorded American combat casualty.
    • 1980 – Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.
    • 1983 – The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world’s longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
    • 1996 – In a military coup, Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.
    • 1996 – Germany first observes the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
    • 2002 – An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.
    • 2003 – The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress.
    • 2010 – The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.
    • 2011 – Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution begins as over 16,000 protestors demonstrate in Sana’a.
    • 2013 – Two hundred and forty-two people die in a nightclub fire in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.

    Births on January 27

    • 1365 – Edward of Angoulême, English noble (d. 1370)
    • 1443 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
    • 1546 – Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
    • 1571 – Abbas I of Persia (d. 1629)
    • 1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
    • 1603 – Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 1685)
    • 1603 – Humphrey Mackworth, English politician, lawyer and judge (d. 1654)
    • 1621 – Thomas Willis, English physician and anatomist (d. 1675)
    • 1662 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (d. 1742)
    • 1663 – George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1733)
    • 1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann, German engineer and architect, designed Würzburg Residence and Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (d. 1753)
    • 1701 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian and theologian (d. 1790)
    • 1708 – Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
    • 1741 – Hester Thrale, Welsh author (d. 1821)
    • 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1791)
    • 1775 – Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1854)
    • 1790 – Juan Álvarez, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1867)
    • 1795 – Eli Whitney Blake, American engineer, invented the Mortise lock (d. 1886)
    • 1803 – Eunice Hale Waite Cobb, American writer, public speaker, and activist (d. 1880)
    • 1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria (d. 1877)
    • 1805 – Samuel Palmer, English painter and etcher (d. 1881)
    • 1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer and educator (d. 1826)
    • 1808 – David Strauss, German theologian and author (d. 1874)
    • 1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect, designed the Lausanne Cathedral (d. 1879)
    • 1821 – John Chivington, American colonel and pastor (d. 1892)
    • 1823 – Édouard Lalo, French violinist and composer (d. 1892)
    • 1824 – Urbain Johnson, Canadian farmer and political figure (d. 1917)
    • 1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1889)
    • 1826 – Richard Taylor, American general, historian, and politician (d. 1879)
    • 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English novelist, poet, and mathematician (d. 1898)
    • 1832 – Carl Friedrich Schmidt, Estonian-Russian geologist and botanist (d. 1908)
    • 1836 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1895)
    • 1842 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ukrainian-Russian painter (d. 1910)
    • 1848 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
    • 1850 – John Collier, English painter and author (d. 1934)
    • 1850 – Samuel Gompers, English-American labor leader (d. 1924)
    • 1850 – Edward Smith, English captain (d. 1912)
    • 1858 – Neel Doff, Dutch-Belgian author (d. 1942)
    • 1859 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (d. 1941)
    • 1869 – Will Marion Cook, American violinist and composer (d. 1944)
    • 1878 – Dorothy Scarborough, American author (d. 1935)
    • 1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer and songwriter (d. 1945)
    • 1885 – Seison Maeda, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
    • 1886 – Radhabinod Pal, Indian academic and jurist (d. 1967)
    • 1889 – Balthasar van der Pol, Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1959)
    • 1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian journalist and author (d. 1967)
    • 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese politician, Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Joseph Rosenstock, Polish-American conductor and manager (d. 1985)
    • 1895 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1974)
    • 1900 – Hyman G. Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
    • 1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
    • 1901 – Art Rooney, American football player and coach, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers (d. 1988)
    • 1903 – John Eccles, Australian-Swiss neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
    • 1903 – Otto P. Weyland, American general (d. 1979)
    • 1904 – James J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic (d. 1979)
    • 1905 – Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
    • 1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (d. 1993)
    • 1910 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general, economist, and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1979)
    • 1912 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher and environmentalist (d. 2009)
    • 1912 – Francis Rogallo, American engineer, invented the Rogallo wing (d. 2009)
    • 1915 – Jules Archer, American historian and author (d. 2008)
    • 1915 – Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-American painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1985)
    • 1918 – Skitch Henderson, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2005)
    • 1918 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
    • 1918 – William Seawell, American general (d. 2005)
    • 1919 – Tom Addington, English captain (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks (d. 1972)
    • 1920 – Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Japanese lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
    • 1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
    • 1924 – Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Brian Rix, English actor, producer, and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Harvey Shapiro, American poet (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian flute player and journalist (d. 2003)
    • 1926 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
    • 1928 – Michael Craig, Indian-English actor and screenwriter
    • 1928 – Hans Modrow, Polish-German lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of East Germany
    • 1929 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian-Swiss businessman
    • 1929 – Gastón Suárez, Bolivian author and playwright (d. 1984)
    • 1930 – Bobby “Blue” Bland, American blues singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1931 – Nigel Vinson, Baron Vinson, English lieutenant and businessman
    • 1932 – Boris Shakhlin, Russian-Ukrainian gymnast (d. 2008)
    • 1933 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Édith Cresson, French politician and diplomat, 160th Prime Minister of France
    • 1934 – George Follmer, American race car driver
    • 1935 – Steve Demeter, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
    • 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Fred Åkerström, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1985)
    • 1940 – Ahmet Kurtcebe Alptemoçin, Turkish engineer and politician, 35th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
    • 1940 – Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1940 – Petru Lucinschi, Romanian activist and politician, 2nd President of Moldova
    • 1940 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1941 – Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (d. 1981)
    • 1942 – Maki Asakawa, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1942 – Tasuku Honjo, Japanese immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine
    • 1942 – John Witherspoon, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Kate Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1986)
    • 1943 – Julia Cumberlege, Baroness Cumberlege, English businesswoman and politician
    • 1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian archbishop
    • 1944 – Mairead Maguire, Northern Irish activist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
    • 1945 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2005)
    • 1946 – Christopher Hum, English academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to China
    • 1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer
    • 1947 – Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
    • 1947 – Vyron Polydoras, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for Public Order
    • 1947 – Cal Schenkel, American painter and illustrator
    • 1947 – Philip Sugden, English historian and author (d. 2014)
    • 1947 – Perfecto Yasay Jr., Filipino lawyer and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines
    • 1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor
    • 1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
    • 1951 – Seth Justman, American keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1951 – Cees van der Knaap, Dutch soldier and politician
    • 1952 – Brian Gottfried, American tennis player
    • 1952 – Billy Johnson, American football player and coach
    • 1952 – Tam O’Shaughnessy, American tennis player, psychologist, and academic
    • 1952 – G. E. Smith, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1954 – Peter Laird, American author and illustrator
    • 1954 – Ed Schultz, American talk show host and sportscaster (d. 2018)
    • 1955 – Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1955 – John Roberts, American lawyer and judge, 17th Chief Justice of the United States
    • 1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
    • 1957 – Janick Gers, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1957 – Frank Miller, American illustrator, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – James Grippando, American lawyer and author
    • 1958 – Alan Milburn, English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
    • 1959 – Cris Collinsworth, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1959 – Göran Hägglund, Swedish lawyer and politician, 28th Swedish Minister for Social Affairs
    • 1959 – Keith Olbermann, American journalist and author
    • 1960 – Fiona O’Donnell, Canadian-Scottish politician
    • 1961 – Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
    • 1961 – Margo Timmins, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1962 – Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian director and composer
    • 1963 – George Monbiot, English-Welsh author and activist
    • 1964 – Patrick van Deurzen, Dutch composer and academic
    • 1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
    • 1964 – Shahin Shahablou, Iranian photographer (d. 2020)
    • 1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish-American actor
    • 1965 – Mike Newell, English footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Ignacio Noé, Argentinian author and illustrator
    • 1965 – Attila Sekerlioglu, Austrian footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Tamlyn Tomita, Japanese-American actress and singer
    • 1967 – Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1968 – Tracy Lawrence, American country singer
    • 1968 – Mike Patton, American singer, composer, and voice artist
    • 1968 – Matt Stover, American football player
    • 1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1969 – Patton Oswalt, American comedian and actor
    • 1969 – Shane Thomson, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1970 – Bradley Clyde, Australian rugby league player
    • 1970 – Dean Headley, English cricketer and coach
    • 1971 – Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1972 – Bibi Gaytán, Mexican singer and actress
    • 1973 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1974 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian skier and biathlete
    • 1974 – Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player and coach
    • 1974 – Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach
    • 1976 – Ahn Jung-hwan, South Korean footballer
    • 1976 – Clint Ford, American actor, voice actor and novelist
    • 1976 – Danielle George MBE FIET, Professor of Radio frequency engineering at the University of Manchester
    • 1976 – Fred Taylor, American football player
    • 1976 – Michael K. Winder, American businessman and politician
    • 1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian-American baseball player and manager
    • 1979 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
    • 1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer and coach
    • 1980 – Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player and politician
    • 1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1982 – Eva Asderaki, Greek tennis umpire
    • 1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1987 – Anton Shunin, Russian footballer
    • 1987 – Ashley Grace, American singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Kerlon, Brazilian footballer
    • 1989 – Alberto Botía, Spanish footballer
    • 1991 – Christian Bickel, German footballer
    • 1991 – Sebastine Ikahihifo, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1992 – Stefano Pettinari, Italian footballer
    • 1995 – Harrison Reed, English footballer midfielder

    Deaths on January 27

    • AD 98 – Nerva, Roman emperor (b. 35)
    • 457 – Marcian, Byzantine emperor (b. 392)
    • 555 – Yuan Di, emperor of the Liang Dynasty (b. 508)
    • 672 – Pope Vitalian
    • 847 – Pope Sergius II (b. 790)
    • 906 – Liu Can, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 931 – Ruotger, archbishop of Trier
    • 947 – Zhang Yanze, Chinese general and governor
    • 1062 – Adelaide of Hungary, (b. c. 1040)
    • 1311 – Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong of Yuan
    • 1377 – Frederick the Simple, King of Sicily
    • 1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (b. 1435)
    • 1504 – Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo (b. 1438)
    • 1540 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint, founded the Company of St. Ursula (b. 1474)
    • 1592 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (b. 1538)
    • 1596 – Francis Drake, English captain and explorer (b. 1540)
    • 1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1560)
    • 1638 – Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish author and poet (b. 1585)
    • 1651 – Abraham Bloemaert, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1566)
    • 1689 – Robert Aske, English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1619)
    • 1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the Piano (b. 1655)
    • 1733 – Thomas Woolston, English theologian and author (b. 1669)
    • 1740 – Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1692)
    • 1770 – Philippe Macquer, French historian (b. 1720)
    • 1794 – Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, French general (b. 1765)
    • 1812 – John Perkins, Anglo-Jamaican captain
    • 1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (b. 1762)
    • 1816 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, English admiral and politician (b. 1724)
    • 1851 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (b. 1789)
    • 1860 – János Bolyai, Romanian-Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1802)
    • 1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, English architect and academic, co-designed the Halifax Town Hall and the Royal Opera House (b. 1830)
    • 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
    • 1910 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber and businessman (b. 1836)
    • 1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian poet and journalist (b. 1877)
    • 1921 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant (b. 1891)
    • 1922 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
    • 1927 – Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Lithuanian bishop (b. 1871)
    • 1931 – Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna (b. 1880)
    • 1940 – Isaac Babel, Russian short story writer, journalist, and playwright (b. 1894)
    • 1942 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1888)
    • 1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish field marshal and politician, 6th President of Finland (b. 1867)
    • 1956 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director (b. 1890)
    • 1961 – Bernard Friedberg, Austrian scholar and author (b. 1876)
    • 1963 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
    • 1965 – Abraham Walkowitz, American painter (b. 1878)
    • 1967 – crew of Apollo 1
      • Roger B. Chaffee, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1935)
      • Gus Grissom, American pilot and astronaut (b. 1926)
      • Ed White, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
    • 1967 – Alphonse Juin, Algerian-French general (b. 1888)
    • 1970 – Rocco D’Assunta, Italian actor, comedian and playwright (b. 1904)
    • 1971 – Jacobo Árbenz, Guatemalan captain and politician, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
    • 1972 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
    • 1973 – William Nolde, American colonel (b. 1929)
    • 1974 – Georgios Grivas, Cypriot general (b. 1898)
    • 1975 – Bill Walsh, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1914)
    • 1986 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (b. 1914)
    • 1987 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator and director (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian historian, author, and playwright (b. 1938)
    • 1989 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player and pilot (b. 1888)
    • 1993 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
    • 1994 – Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – Ralph Yarborough, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1903)
    • 2000 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – Henryk Jabłoński, Polish historian and politician, President of Poland (b. 1909)
    • 2004 – Salvador Laurel, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Vice President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
    • 2004 – Jack Paar, American talk show host and author (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
    • 2006 – Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th President of Germany (b. 1931)
    • 2007 – Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese decathlete, long jumper, and hurdler (b. 1933)
    • 2008 – Suharto, Indonesian general and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader and author, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1910)
    • 2008 – Louie Welch, American businessman and politician, 54th Mayor of Houston (b. 1918)
    • 2009 – John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th President of India (b. 1910)
    • 2010 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (b. 1919)
    • 2010 – Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist (b. 1922)
    • 2011 – Charlie Callas, American comedian and musician (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Greg Cook, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
    • 2012 – Ted Dicks, English composer and screenwriter (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Jeannette Hamby, American nurse and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Kevin White, American politician, 51st Mayor of Boston (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Ivan Bodiul, Ukrainian-Russian politician (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Epimaco Velasco, Filipino lawyer and politician, Governor of Cavite (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Paul Zorner, German soldier and pilot (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Rocky Bridges, American baseball player and coach (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – David Landau, English-Israeli journalist (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Joseph Rotman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Larry Winters, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1956)
    • 2016 – Carlos Loyzaga, Filipino basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (b. 1927)
    • 2017 – Arthur H. Rosenfeld, American physicist (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Mort Walker, American cartoonist (b. 1923)
    • 2019 – Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau, German socialite (b. 1958)

    Holidays and observances on January 27

    • Christian feast day:
      • Angela Merici
      • Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini
      • Devota (Monaco)
      • Enrique de Ossó y Cercelló
      • John Chrysostom (translation of relics) (Anglican, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox)
      • Sava (Serbia)
      • January 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad (Russia)
    • Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
      • Holocaust Memorial Day (UK)
      • International Holocaust Remembrance Day
      • Memorial Day (Italy)
      • Other Holocaust Memorial Days observances