Skip to content
-
March 4 in History
- AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
- 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
- 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
- 938 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.
- 1152 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany.
- 1238 – The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus’.
- 1351 – Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.
- 1386 – Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) is crowned King of Poland.
- 1461 – Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his House of York cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
- 1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what are now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
- 1519 – Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.
- 1628 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.
- 1665 – English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
- 1675 – John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
- 1681 – Charles II grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.
- 1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect. The United States Bill of Rights is written and proposed to Congress.
- 1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, cutting across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.
- 1791 – The Constitutional Act of 1791 is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
- 1791 – Vermont is admitted to the United States as the fourteenth state.
- 1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.
- 1797 – John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd President of the United States of America, becoming the first President to begin his presidency on March 4.
- 1804 – Castle Hill Rebellion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.
- 1813 – Cyril VI of Constantinople is elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
- 1814 – Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
- 1837 – The city of Chicago is incorporated.
- 1848 – Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d’Italia.
- 1849 – President-Elect Zachary Taylor and Vice President-Elect Millard Fillmore did not take their respective oaths of office (they did so the following day), leading to the erroneous theory that outgoing President pro tempore of the United States Senate David Rice Atchison had assumed the role of acting president for one day.
- 1861 – The first national flag of the Confederate States of America (the “Stars and Bars”) is adopted.
- 1865 – The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress.
- 1882 – Britain’s first electric trams run in east London.
- 1890 – The longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Bridge in Scotland, measuring 1,710 feet (520 m) long, is opened by the Duke of Rothesay, later King Edward VII.
- 1899 – Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 metres (39 ft) wave that reaches up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland, killing over 300.
- 1908 – The Collinwood school fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.
- 1909 – U.S. President William Taft used what became known as a Saxbe fix, a mechanism to avoid the restriction of the U.S. Constitution’s Ineligibility Clause, to appoint Philander C. Knox as U.S. Secretary of State.
- 1913 – First Balkan War: The Greek army engages the Turks at Bizani, resulting in victory two days later.
- 1913 – The United States Department of Labor is formed.
- 1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
- 1933 – Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States.
- 1933 – Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.
- 1933 – The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure – Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates an authoritarian rule by decree.
- 1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands; the first large scale British Commando raid.
- 1943 – World War II: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea in the south-west Pacific comes to an end.
- 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Fardykambos, one of the first major battles between the Greek Resistance and the occupying Royal Italian Army, begins. It ends on 6 March with the surrender of an entire Italian battalion and the liberation of the town of Grevena.
- 1944 – World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.
- 1957 – The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
- 1960 – The French freighter La Coubre explodes in Havana, Cuba, killing 100.
- 1962 – A Caledonian Airways Douglas DC-7 crashes shortly after takeoff from Cameroon, killing 111 – the worst crash of a DC-7.
- 1966 – A Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
- 1966 – In an interview in the London Evening Standard, The Beatles’ John Lennon declares that the band is “more popular than Jesus now”.
- 1970 – French submarine Eurydice explodes underwater, resulting in the loss of the entire 57-man crew.
- 1974 – People magazine is published for the first time in the United States as People Weekly.
- 1976 – The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London by the British parliament.
- 1977 – The 1977 Vrancea earthquake in eastern and southern Europe kills more than 1,500, mostly in Bucharest, Romania.
- 1980 – Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe’s first black prime minister.
- 1985 – The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
- 1986 – The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Halley’s Comet and the first images of its nucleus.
- 1990 – American basketball player Hank Gathers dies after collapsing during the semifinals of a West Coast Conference Tournament game.
- 1996 – A derailed train in Weyauwega, Wisconsin (USA) causes the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 16 days.
- 1998 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
- 2001 – BBC bombing: A massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring one person; the attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
- 2002 – Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to infiltrate the Shah-i-Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
- 2009 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
- 2012 – A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people.
- 2015 – At least 34 miners die in a suspected gas explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in the rebel-held Donetsk region of Ukraine.
- 2018 – Former MI6 spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, causing a diplomatic uproar that results in mass-expulsions of diplomats from all countries involved.
- 2019 – The Indian Attack submarine was spotted by the Pakistan Navy.
- 2020 – Former Daredevil Nik Wallenda is the first person to walk over the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.
Births on March 4
- 895 – Liu Zhiyuan, founder of the Later Han Dynasty (d. 948)
- 977 – Al-Musabbihi, Fatimid historian and official (d. 1030)
- 1188 – Blanche of Castile, French queen consort (d. 1252)
- 1394 – Henry the Navigator, Portuguese explorer (d. 1460)
- 1484 – George, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1543)
- 1492 – Francesco de Layolle, Italian organist and composer (d. 1540)
- 1502 – Elisabeth of Hesse, princess of Saxony (d. 1557)
- 1519 – Hindal Mirza, Mughal emperor (d. 1551)
- 1526 – Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (d. 1596)
- 1602 – Kanō Tan’yū, Japanese painter (d. 1674)
- 1634 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, Polish philosopher (d. 1689)
- 1651 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English lawyer, jurist, and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1716)
- 1655 – Fra Galgario, Italian painter (d. 1743)
- 1665 – Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694)
- 1678 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1741)
- 1702 – Jack Sheppard, English criminal (d. 1724)
- 1706 – Lauritz de Thurah, Danish architect, designed the Hermitage Hunting Lodge and Gammel Holtegård (d. 1759)
- 1715 – James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, English historian and politician (d. 1763)
- 1719 – George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot, English politician (d. 1777)
- 1729 – Anne d’Arpajon, French wife of Philippe de Noailles (d. 1794)
- 1745 – Charles Dibdin, English actor, playwright, and composer (d. 1814)
- 1745 – Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American general (d. 1779)
- 1756 – Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter and educator (d. 1823)
- 1760 – William Payne, English painter (d. 1830)
- 1760 – Hugh Ronalds, British nurseryman who cultivated and documented 300 varieties of apples (d. 1833)
- 1769 – Muhammad Ali, Ottoman military leader and pasha (d. 1849)
- 1770 – Joseph Jacotot, French philosopher and academic (d. 1840)
- 1778 – Robert Emmet, Irish commander (d. 1803)
- 1781 – Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)
- 1782 – Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss philosopher, author, and academic (d. 1830)
- 1792 – Isaac Lea, American conchologist, geologist, and publisher (d. 1886)
- 1793 – Karl Lachmann, German philologist and critic (d. 1851)
- 1814 – Napoleon Collins, Rear Admiral of the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War (d. 1875)
- 1817 – Edwards Pierrepont, American lawyer and politician, 34th United States Attorney General (d. 1892)
- 1820 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian rebel leader (d. 1856)
- 1822 – Jules Antoine Lissajous, French mathematician and academic (d. 1880)
- 1823 – George Caron, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1902)
- 1826 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist, ethnographer, and theologian (d. 1907)
- 1826 – John Buford, American general (d. 1863)
- 1826 – Elme Marie Caro, French philosopher and academic (d. 1887)
- 1826 – Theodore Judah, American engineer, founded the Central Pacific Railroad (d. 1863)
- 1828 – Owen Wynne Jones, Welsh clergyman and poet (d. 1870)
- 1838 – Paul Lacôme, French pianist, cellist, and composer (d. 1920)
- 1847 – Carl Josef Bayer, Austrian chemist and academic (d. 1904)
- 1851 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (d. 1911)
- 1854 – Napier Shaw, English meteorologist and academic (d. 1945)
- 1856 – Alfred William Rich, English painter, author, and educator (d. 1921)
- 1861 – Arthur Cushman McGiffert, American theologian and author (d. 1933)
- 1862 – Jacob Robert Emden, Swiss astrophysicist and meteorologist (d. 1940)
- 1863 – R. I. Pocock, English zoologist and archaeologist (d. 1947)
- 1863 – John Henry Wigmore, American academic and jurist (d. 1943)
- 1864 – David W. Taylor, American admiral, architect, and engineer (d. 1940)
- 1866 – Eugène Cosserat, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1931)
- 1867 – Jacob L. Beilhart, American activist, founded the Spirit Fruit Society (d. 1908)
- 1867 – Charles Pelot Summerall, senior United States Army officer (d. 1955)
- 1870 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author and poet (d. 1944)
- 1871 – Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)
- 1873 – Guy Wetmore Carryl, American journalist and poet (d. 1904)
- 1873 – John H. Trumbull, American colonel and politician, 70th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1961)
- 1875 – Mihály Károlyi, Hungarian politician, President of the Hungary (d. 1955)
- 1875 – Enrique Larreta, Argentinian historian and author (d. 1961)
- 1876 – Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet and author (d. 1947)
- 1876 – Theodore Hardeen, Hungarian-American magician (d. 1945)
- 1877 – Alexander Goedicke, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1957)
- 1877 – Fritz Graebner, German geographer and ethnologist (d. 1934)
- 1877 – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (d. 1963)
- 1878 – Takeo Arishima, Japanese author and critic (d. 1923)
- 1878 – Egbert Van Alstyne, American pianist and songwriter (d. 1951)
- 1879 – Bernhard Kellermann, German author and poet (d. 1951)
- 1880 – Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)
- 1881 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian educator and activist (d. 1924)
- 1881 – Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American lawyer and author (d. 1965)
- 1881 – Richard C. Tolman, American physicist and chemist (d. 1948)
- 1882 – Nicolae Titulescu, Romanian academic and politician, 61st Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1941)
- 1883 – Maude Fealy, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1971)
- 1883 – Robert Emmett Keane, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1883 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (d. 1956)
- 1884 – Red Murray, American baseball player (d. 1958)
- 1884 – Lee Shumway, American actor (d. 1959)
- 1886 – Paul Bazelaire, French cellist and composer (d. 1958)
- 1888 – Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-American actress (d. 1942)
- 1888 – Jeff Pfeffer, American baseball player (d. 1972)
- 1888 – Emma Richter, German paleontologist (d. 1956)
- 1888 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
- 1889 – Oscar Chisini, Italian mathematician and statistician (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Oren E. Long, American soldier and politician, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 1965)
- 1889 – Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)
- 1889 – Robert William Wood, English-American painter (d. 1979)
- 1890 – Norman Bethune, Canadian soldier and physician (d. 1939)
- 1891 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (d. 1961)
- 1893 – Charles Herbert Colvin, American engineer, co-founded the Pioneer Instrument Company (d. 1985)
- 1893 – Adolph Lowe, German sociologist and economist (d. 1995)
- 1894 – Charles Corm, Lebanese businessman and philanthropist (d. 1963)
- 1895 – Milt Gross, American animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1953)
- 1896 – Kai Holm, Danish actor and director (d. 1985)
- 1897 – Lefty O’Doul, American baseball player and manager (d. 1969)
- 1898 – Georges Dumézil, French philologist and academic (d. 1986)
- 1898 – Hans Krebs, German general (d. 1945)
- 1899 – Peter Illing, Austrian born, British film and television actor (d. 1966)
- 1899 – Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and author (d. 1962)
- 1900 – Herbert Biberman, American director and screenwriter (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Wilbur R. Franks, Canadian scientist, invented the g-suit (d. 1986)
- 1901 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (d. 1991)
- 1901 – Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
- 1902 – Rachel Messerer, Lithuanian-Russian actress (d. 1993)
- 1902 – Russell Reeder, American soldier and author (d. 1998)
- 1903 – William C. Boyd, American immunologist and chemist (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Malcolm Dole, American chemist and academic (d. 1990)
- 1903 – Dorothy Mackaill, English-American actress and singer (d. 1990)
- 1903 – John Scarne, American magician and author (d. 1985)
- 1904 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish admiral and politician, 69th President of the Government of Spain (d. 1973)
- 1904 – George Gamow, Ukrainian-American physicist and cosmologist (d. 1968)
- 1904 – Joseph Schmidt, Austrian-Hungarian tenor and actor (d. 1942)
- 1906 – Meindert DeJong, Dutch-American soldier and author (d. 1991)
- 1906 – Avery Fisher, American violinist and engineer, founded Fisher Electronics (d. 1994)
- 1906 – Georges Ronsse, Belgian cyclist and manager (d. 1969)
- 1907 – Edgar Barrier, American actor (d. 1964)
- 1908 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (d. 1976)
- 1908 – Thomas Shaw, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
- 1909 – Harry Helmsley, American businessman (d. 1997)
- 1909 – George Edward Holbrook, American chemist and engineer (d. 1987)
- 1910 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (d. 1985)
- 1911 – Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, English actor (d. 1984)
- 1912 – Afro Basaldella, Italian painter and academic (d. 1976)
- 1912 – Ferdinand Leitner, German conductor and composer (d. 1996)
- 1912 – Carl Marzani, Italian-American activist and publisher (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Taos Amrouche, Algerian singer and author (d. 1976)
- 1913 – John Garfield, American actor and singer (d. 1952)
- 1914 – Barbara Newhall Follett, American author (d. 1939)
- 1914 – Ward Kimball, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
- 1914 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor, and architect (d. 2000)
- 1915 – László Csatáry, Hungarian art dealer (d. 2013)
- 1915 – Frank Sleeman, Australian lieutenant and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Carlos Surinach, Spanish-Catalan composer and conductor (d. 1997)
- 1916 – William Alland, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)
- 1916 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (d. 2000)
- 1916 – Hans Eysenck, German-English psychologist and theorist (d. 1997)
- 1917 – Clyde McCullough, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1982)
- 1918 – Kurt Dahlmann, German pilot, lawyer, and journalist (d. 2017)
- 1918 – Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Buck Baker, American race car driver (d. 2002)
- 1919 – Tan Chee Khoon, Malaysian physician and politician (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Jean Lecanuet, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1993)
- 1920 – Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish-English actor (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-American composer and educator (d. 2017)
- 1921 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (d. 1987)
- 1921 – Dinny Pails, English-Australian tennis player (d. 1986)
- 1922 – Richard E. Cunha, American director and cinematographer (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Dina Pathak, Indian actor and director (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Russell Freeburg, American journalist and author
- 1923 – Francis King, English author and poet (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Patrick Moore, English astronomer and television host (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Kenneth O’Donnell, American soldier and politician (d. 1977)
- 1925 – Alan R. Battersby, English chemist and academic (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Paul Mauriat, French conductor and composer (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Henri de Contenson, French archaeologist and academic (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma, French businessman, soldier and race car driver (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Richard DeVos, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Amway (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Pascual Pérez, Argentinian boxer (d. 1977)
- 1926 – Don Rendell, English saxophonist and flute player (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Phil Batt, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Idaho
- 1927 – Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1927 – Jacques Dupin, French poet and critic (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Robert Orben, American magician and author
- 1927 – Dick Savitt, American tennis player and businessman
- 1928 – Samuel Adler, German-American composer and conductor
- 1928 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch violinist and conductor
- 1929 – Peter Swerling, American theoretician and engineer (d. 2000)
- 1931 – Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)
- 1931 – Bob Johnson, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1991)
- 1931 – William Henry Keeler, American cardinal (d. 2017)
- 1931 – Alice Rivlin, American economist and politician (d. 2019)
- 1932 – Sigurd Jansen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1932 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist, photographer, and poet (d. 2007)
- 1932 – Miriam Makeba, South African singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Ed Roth, American illustrator (d. 2001)
- 1932 – Frank Wells, American businessman (d. 1994)
- 1933 – Nino Vaccarella, Italian race car driver
- 1934 – Mario Davidovsky, Argentinian-American composer and academic (d. 2019)
- 1934 – John Duffey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
- 1934 – Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)
- 1934 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Sandra Reynolds, South African tennis player
- 1934 – Janez Strnad, Slovenian physicist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1935 – Edward Dębicki, Ukrainian-Polish poet and composer
- 1935 – Bent Larsen, Danish chess player and author (d. 2010)
- 1936 – Eric Allandale, Dominican trombonist and songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1936 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (d. 1968)
- 1936 – Aribert Reimann, German pianist and composer
- 1937 – José Araquistáin, Spanish footballer
- 1937 – William Deverell, Canadian lawyer, author, and activist
- 1937 – Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer
- 1937 – Leslie H. Gelb, American journalist and author (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Yuri Senkevich, Russian physician and explorer (d. 2003)
- 1937 – Barney Wilen, French saxophonist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1937 – Richard B. Wright, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Anton Balasingham, Sri Lankan-English negotiator (d. 2006)
- 1938 – Alpha Condé, Guinean politician, President of Guinea
- 1938 – Allan Kornblum, American police officer and judge (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Angus MacLise, American drummer and composer (d. 1979)
- 1938 – Don Perkins, American football player and sportscaster
- 1938 – Paula Prentiss, American actress
- 1938 – Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1939 – Jack Fisher, American baseball player
- 1939 – Robert Shaye, American film producer
- 1940 – Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, German scholar and judge
- 1940 – David Plante, American novelist
- 1941 – John Hancock, American film and television actor (d. 1992)
- 1941 – Adrian Lyne, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1941 – James Zagel, American lawyer and judge
- 1942 – Gloria Gaither, American singer-songwriter
- 1942 – Charles C. Krulak, American general
- 1942 – David Matthews, American keyboard player and composer
- 1942 – Lynn Sherr, American journalist and author
- 1942 – James Gustave Speth, American lawyer and politician
- 1942 – Zorán Sztevanovity, Serbian-Hungarian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 – Lucio Dalla, Italian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Aldo Rico, Argentinian commander and politician
- 1944 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (d. 1999)
- 1944 – Anthony Ichiro Sanda, Japanese-American physicist and academic
- 1944 – Len Walker, English footballer and manager
- 1944 – Bobby Womack, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1945 – Tommy Svensson, Swedish footballer and manager
- 1945 – Gary Williams, American basketball player and coach
- 1946 – Michael Ashcroft, English businessman and politician
- 1946 – Danny Frisella, American baseball player (d. 1977)
- 1946 – Haile Gerima, Ethiopian born US filmmaker
- 1946 – Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, American journalist and author
- 1947 – David Franzoni, American screenwriter and film producer
- 1947 – Jan Garbarek, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
- 1947 – Bob Lewis, American guitarist
- 1947 – Pēteris Plakidis, Latvian pianist and composer (d. 2017)
- 1948 – Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, New Zealand-Australian author
- 1948 – James Ellroy, American writer
- 1948 – Tom Grieve, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
- 1948 – Mike Moran, English musician, songwriter and record producer
- 1948 – Jean O’Leary, American nun and activist (d. 2005)
- 1948 – Chris Squire, English singer-songwriter and bass guitarist (d. 2015)
- 1948 – Shakin’ Stevens, British singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (d. 2011)
- 1949 – Carroll Baker, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Ofelia Medina, Mexican actress and screenwriter
- 1950 – Rick Perry, American captain and politician, 47th Governor of Texas
- 1950 – Safet Plakalo, Bosnian author and playwright (d. 2015)
- 1951 – Edelgard Bulmahn, German educator and politician, German Federal Minister of Education and Research
- 1951 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, South Korean-American author, director, and producer (d. 1982)
- 1951 – Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1951 – Pete Haycock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1951 – Peter O’Sullivan, Welsh international footballer, winger
- 1951 – Sam Perlozzo, American baseball player and manager
- 1951 – Chris Rea, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Glenis Willmott, English scientist and politician
- 1951 – Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
- 1952 – Peter Kuhfeld, English painter
- 1952 – Ronn Moss, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1952 – Svend Robinson, American-Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1952 – Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1953 – John Edwards, Australian director and producer
- 1953 – Emilio Estefan, Cuban-American drummer and producer
- 1953 – Paweł Janas, Polish footballer and manager
- 1953 – Ray Price, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
- 1953 – Reinhold Roth, German motorcycle racer
- 1953 – Chris Smith, American lawyer and politician
- 1953 – Agustí Villaronga, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1953 – Daniel Woodrell, American novelist and short story writer
- 1954 – Timur Apakidze, Russian general and pilot (d. 2001)
- 1954 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Korean American author (d. 1982)
- 1954 – François Fillon, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France
- 1954 – Peter Jacobsen, American golfer and sportscaster
- 1954 – Catherine O’Hara, Canadian-American actress and comedian
- 1954 – Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian poet and author (d. 2017)
- 1955 – Tim Costello, Australian minister and politician
- 1955 – Joey Jones, Welsh footballer and manager
- 1957 – Nicholas Coleridge, English journalist and businessman
- 1957 – Ron Fassler, American film and television actor and author
- 1957 – Mykelti Williamson, American actor and director
- 1958 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
- 1958 – Massimo Mascioletti, Italian rugby player and coach
- 1958 – Tina Smith, American politician, junior senator of Minnesota
- 1959 – Rick Ardon, Australian journalist
- 1959 – Plamen Getov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1960 – Chonda Pierce, American comedian
- 1961 – Ray Mancini, American boxer
- 1961 – Steven Weber, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Roger Wessels, South African golfer and educator
- 1962 – Simon Bisley, English author and illustrator
- 1962 – Paul Canoville, English footballer
- 1962 – Stephan Reimertz, German historian and author
- 1963 – Jason Newsted, American heavy metal singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1964 – Dave Colclough, Welsh computer programmer and poker player (d. 2016)
- 1964 – Brian Crowley, Irish lawyer and politician
- 1964 – Tom Lampkin, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1964 – Paolo Virzì, Italian director and screenwriter
- 1965 – Greg Alexander, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1965 – Paul W. S. Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Andrew Collins, English journalist and screenwriter
- 1965 – Khaled Hosseini, Afghan-born American novelist
- 1965 – Yury Lonchakov, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1965 – John Murphy British film composer
- 1966 – Emese Hunyady, Hungarian speed skater
- 1966 – Kevin Johnson, American basketball player and politician, 55th Mayor of Sacramento
- 1966 – Fiona Ma, American accountant and politician
- 1966 – Helmut Mayer, Austrian skier
- 1966 – Glen Nissen, Australian rugby league player
- 1966 – Dav Pilkey, American author and illustrator
- 1966 – Grand Puba, American rapper
- 1966 – Mike Small, American golfer and coach
- 1967 – Daryll Cullinan, South African cricketer and coach
- 1967 – Evan Dando, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Ivan Lewis, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- 1967 – Terry Matterson, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1967 – Dave Rayner, English cyclist (d. 1994)
- 1967 – Sam Taylor-Johnson, English filmmaker and photographer
- 1967 – Kubilay Türkyilmaz, Swiss footballer
- 1967 – Tim Vine, English comedian, actor, and author
- 1968 – Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1968 – Jorge Celedón, Colombian singer
- 1968 – Patsy Kensit, English model and actress
- 1968 – Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek banker and politician, Prime Minister of Greece
- 1968 – Graham Westley, English footballer and manager
- 1969 – Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italian footballer and manager
- 1969 – Wayne Collins, English footballer, midfielder
- 1969 – Annie Yi, Taiwanese singer, actress, and writer
- 1970 – Àlex Crivillé, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1970 – Will Keen, English actor
- 1970 – Caroline Vis, Dutch tennis player
- 1971 – Iain Baird, Canadian soccer player and manager
- 1971 – Claire Baker, Scottish politician
- 1971 – Emily Bazelon, American journalist
- 1971 – Jason Croot, English actor and director
- 1971 – Anders Kjølholm, Danish bass player
- 1971 – Satoshi Motoyama, Japanese race car driver
- 1971 – Geraldine O’Rawe, Northern Irish actress
- 1972 – Katherine Center, American journalist and author
- 1972 – Nocturno Culto, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Robert Smith, American football player and sportscaster
- 1972 – Ivy Queen, Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, rapper, actress and record producer
- 1972 – Jos Verstappen, Dutch race car driver
- 1972 – Alison Wheeler, English singer-songwriter
- 1973 – Massimo Brambilla, Italian footballer and coach
- 1973 – Phillip Daniels, American football player and coach
- 1973 – Valery Kobelev, Russian ski jumper
- 1973 – Penny Mordaunt, English lieutenant and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
- 1973 – Linus of Hollywood, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1973 – Len Wiseman, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, Indian director and screenwriter
- 1974 – Crowbar, American wrestler
- 1974 – Mladen Krstajić, Serbian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player
- 1974 – Ariel Ortega, Argentinian footballer
- 1974 – Tommy Phelps, South Korean-American baseball player and coach
- 1974 – ICS Vortex, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 – David Wagner, American tennis player and educator
- 1974 – Bill Young, Australian rugby player
- 1975 – Mats Eilertsen, Norwegian bassist and composer
- 1975 – Patrick Femerling, German basketball player
- 1975 – Antti Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1975 – Kristi Harrower, Australian basketball player
- 1975 – Hawksley Workman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 – Robbie Blake, English footballer
- 1976 – Tommy Jönsson, Swedish footballer
- 1977 – Nacho Figueras, Argentinian polo player and model
- 1977 – Traver Rains, American fashion designer and photographer
- 1978 – Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Denis Dallan, Italian rugby player and singer
- 1978 – Jean-Marc Pelletier, American ice hockey player
- 1979 – Sarah Stock, Canadian wrestler and trainer
- 1980 – Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player
- 1980 – Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
- 1980 – Suzanna Choffel, American singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Giedrius Gustas, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1980 – Scott Hamilton, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1980 – Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
- 1980 – Michael Henrich, American ice hockey player
- 1980 – Phil McGuire, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1980 – Aja Volkman, American singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Ariza Makukula, Portuguese footballer
- 1981 – Helen Wyman, English cyclist
- 1982 – Landon Donovan, American soccer player and coach
- 1982 – Cate Edwards, American lawyer and author
- 1982 – Ludmila Ezhova, Russian gymnast
- 1982 – Yasemin Mori, Turkish singer
- 1983 – Samuel Contesti, French-Italian figure skater
- 1983 – Adam Deacon, English film actor, rapper, writer and director
- 1983 – Jaque Fourie, South African rugby player
- 1983 – Drew Houston, American billionaire and Internet entrepreneur
- 1984 – Josh Bowman, English actor
- 1984 – Tamir Cohen, Israeli footballer
- 1984 – Anders Grøndal, Norwegian race car driver
- 1984 – Spencer Larsen, American football player
- 1984 – Jeremy Loops, South African singer-songwriter and record producer
- 1984 – Raven Quinn, American singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Zak Whitbread, American-English footballer
- 1985 – Jake Buxton, English footballer
- 1985 – Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
- 1985 – Whitney Port, American fashion designer and author
- 1986 – Steven Burke, English road and track cyclist
- 1986 – Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer
- 1986 – Mike Krieger, Brazilian-American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
- 1986 – Siim Roops, Estonian footballer
- 1986 – Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer
- 1986 – Manu Vatuvei, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1986 – Margo Harshman, American actress
- 1987 – Ben McKinley, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Cameron Wood, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Tamzin Merchant, English actress
- 1988 – Gal Mekel, Israeli basketball player
- 1988 – Laura Siegemund, German tennis player
- 1988 – Adam Watts, English footballer
- 1989 – Benjamin Kiplagat, Ugandan long-distance runner
- 1990 – Andrea Bowen, American actress
- 1990 – Draymond Green, American basketball player
- 1990 – Paddy Madden, Irish footballer
- 1990 – Fran Mérida, Spanish footballer
- 1992 – Nick Castellanos, American baseball player
- 1992 – Erik Lamela, Argentinian international footballer, midfielder
- 1992 – Bernd Leno, German footballer
- 1992 – Karl Mööl, Estonian footballer
- 1993 – Bobbi Kristina Brown, American singer and actress (d. 2015)
- 1993 – Richard Peniket, English footballer
- 1994 – Callum Harriott, English footballer
- 1994 – AJ Tracey, British hip-hop artist and record producer
- 1995 – Chlöe Howl, British singer-songwriter
- 1995 – Bill Milner, English actor
- 1996 – Lukas Webb, Australian rules footballer
- 2002 – Jacob Hopkins, American actor
Deaths on March 4
- 306 – Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia, Christian martyrs
- 480 – Landry of Sées, French bishop and saint
- 561 – Pelagius I, pope of the Catholic Church
- 934 – Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, Fatimid caliph (b. 873)
- 1172 – Stephen III, king of Hungary (b. 1147)
- 1193 – Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid Sultanate (b. 1137)
- 1238 – Joan of England, queen of Scotland (b. 1210)
- 1238 – Yuri II, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1189)
- 1303 – Daniel of Moscow, Russian Grand Duke (b. 1261)
- 1314 – Jakub Świnka, Polish priest and archbishop
- 1371 – Jeanne d’Évreux, queen consort of France (b. 1310)
- 1388 – Thomas Usk, English author
- 1484 – Saint Casimir, Polish prince (b. 1458)
- 1496 – Sigismund, archduke of Austria (b. 1427)
- 1583 – Bernard Gilpin, English priest and theologian (b. 1517)
- 1604 – Fausto Sozzini, Italian theologian and educator (b. 1539)
- 1615 – Hans von Aachen, German painter and educator (b. 1552)
- 1710 – Louis III, duke of Bourbon (b. 1668)
- 1733 – Claude de Forbin, French admiral and politician (b. 1656)
- 1744 – John Anstis, English historian and politician (b. 1669)
- 1762 – Johannes Zick, German painter (b. 1702)
- 1793 – Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre (b. 1725)
- 1795 – John Collins, American politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1717)
- 1805 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (b. 1725)
- 1807 – Abraham Baldwin, American minister, lawyer, and politician (b. 1754)
- 1811 – Mariano Moreno, Argentinian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1778)
- 1832 – Jean-François Champollion, French philologist and scholar (b. 1790)
- 1851 – James Richardson, English explorer (b. 1809)
- 1852 – Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, and playwright (b. 1809)
- 1853 – Thomas Bladen Capel, English admiral (b. 1776)
- 1853 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1774)
- 1858 – Matthew C. Perry, American naval commander (b. 1794)
- 1864 – Thomas Starr King, American minister and politician (b. 1824)
- 1866 – Alexander Campbell, Irish-American minister and theologian (b. 1788)
- 1872 – Carsten Hauch, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1790)
- 1883 – Alexander H. Stephens, American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812)
- 1888 – Amos Bronson Alcott, American philosopher and educator (b. 1799)
- 1903 – Joseph Henry Shorthouse, English author (b. 1834)
- 1906 – John Schofield, American general and politician, 28th United States Secretary of War (b. 1831)
- 1915 – William Willett, English inventor, founded British Summer Time (b. 1856)
- 1916 – Franz Marc, German painter (b. 1880)
- 1925 – Moritz Moszkowski, Polish-German pianist and composer (b. 1854)
- 1925 – James Ward, English psychologist and philosopher (b. 1843)
- 1925 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (b. 1860)
- 1927 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (b. 1846)
- 1938 – George Foster Peabody, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1852)
- 1938 – Jack Taylor, American baseball player (b. 1874)
- 1940 – Hamlin Garland, American novelist, poet, essayist, and short story writer (b. 1860)
- 1941 – Ludwig Quidde, German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
- 1944 – Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and activist (b. 1855)
- 1944 – Louis Buchalter, American mob boss (b. 1897)
- 1944 – Louis Capone, Italian-American gangster (b. 1896)
- 1944 – René Lefebvre, French businessman (b. 1879)
- 1945 – Lucille La Verne, American actress (b. 1872)
- 1945 – Mark Sandrich, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
- 1948 – Antonin Artaud, French actor and director (b. 1896)
- 1949 – Clarence Kingsbury, English cyclist (b. 1882)
- 1952 – Charles Scott Sherrington, English neurophysiologist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
- 1954 – Noel Gay, English composer and songwriter (b. 1898)
- 1960 – Herbert O’Conor, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 51st Governor of Maryland (b. 1896)
- 1963 – William Carlos Williams, American poet, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1883)
- 1969 – Nicholas Schenck, Russian-American businessman (b. 1881)
- 1972 – Harold Barrowclough, New Zealand general, lawyer, and politician, 8th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1894)
- 1972 – Charles Biro, American author and illustrator (b. 1911)
- 1974 – Adolph Gottlieb, American painter and sculptor (b. 1903)
- 1976 – John Marvin Jones, American judge and politician (b. 1882)
- 1976 – Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (b. 1886)
- 1977 – Anatol E. Baconsky, Romanian poet, author, and critic (b. 1925)
- 1977 – Nancy Tyson Burbidge, Australian botanist and curator (b. 1912)
- 1977 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1951)
- 1977 – William Paul, American lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
- 1977 – Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German jurist and politician, German Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1887)
- 1978 – Wesley Bolin, American businessman and politician, 15th Governor of Arizona (b. 1909)
- 1978 – Joe Marsala, American clarinet player and songwriter (b. 1907)
- 1979 – Willi Unsoeld, American mountaineer and educator (b. 1926)
- 1980 – Alan Hardaker, English lieutenant and businessman (b. 1912)
- 1981 – Torin Thatcher, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1981 – Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer, German admiral (b. 1900)
- 1986 – Albert L. Lehninger, American biochemist and academic (b. 1917)
- 1986 – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1943)
- 1986 – Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and author (b. 1913)
- 1987 – Seibo Kitamura, Japanese sculptor (b. 1884)
- 1988 – Beatriz Guido, Argentine author and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 1989 – Tiny Grimes, American guitarist (b. 1916)
- 1990 – Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967)
- 1991 – Godfrey Bryan, English cricketer (b. 1902)
- 1992 – Art Babbitt, American animator and director (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Pare Lorentz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
- 1993 – Art Hodes, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (b. 1904)
- 1993 – Tomislav Ivčić, Croatian singer-songwriter and politician (b. 1953)
- 1993 – Izaak Kolthoff, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1894)
- 1993 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment (b. 1929)
- 1994 – John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (b. 1950)
- 1994 – George Edward Hughes, Irish-Scottish philosopher and author (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Matt Urban, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
- 1996 – Minnie Pearl, American entertainer (b. 1912)
- 1996 – John Sauer, American football player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1925)
- 1997 – Joe Baker-Cresswell, English captain (b. 1901)
- 1997 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1916)
- 1998 – Ivan Dougherty, Australian general (b. 1907)
- 1999 – Harry Blackmun, American lawyer and judge (b. 1908)
- 1999 – Del Close, American actor and educator (b. 1934)
- 1999 – Miłosz Magin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1929)
- 2000 – Hermann Brück, German-Scottish physicist and astronomer (b. 1905)
- 2000 – Michael Noonan, New Zealand-Australian author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Ta-You Wu, Chinese physicist and academic (b. 1907)
- 2001 – Gerardo Barbero, Argentinian chess player (b. 1961)
- 2001 – Jean René Bazaine, French painter and author (b. 1904)
- 2001 – Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Jim Rhodes, American businessman and politician, 61st Governor of Ohio (b. 1909)
- 2001 – Harold Stassen, American educator and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1907)
- 2002 – Ugnė Karvelis, Lithuanian author and translator (b. 1935)
- 2002 – Elyne Mitchell, Australian skier and author (b. 1913)
- 2002 – Velibor Vasović, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
- 2003 – Jaba Ioseliani, Georgian playwright, academic, and politician (b. 1926)
- 2003 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter, and director (b. 1931)
- 2004 – Claude Nougaro, French singer-songwriter (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Nicola Calipari, Italian general (b. 1953)
- 2005 – Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian police officer and politician (b. 1951)
- 2005 – Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-Belarusian author and activist (b. 1934)
- 2006 – John Reynolds Gardiner, American author and engineer (b. 1944)
- 2006 – Edgar Valter, Estonian author and illustrator (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Thomas Eagleton, American lawyer and politician, 38th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Tadeusz Nalepa, Polish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
- 2007 – Ian Wooldridge, English journalist (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Leonard Rosenman, American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Yvon Cormier, Canadian wrestler (b. 1938)
- 2009 – Horton Foote, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 2009 – George McAfee, American football player (b. 1918)
- 2010 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect and educator, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (b. 1933)
- 2010 – Johnny Alf, Brazilian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
- 2010 – Vladislav Ardzinba, Abkhazian historian and politician, 1st President of Abkhazia (b. 1945)
- 2010 – Fred Wedlock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
- 2011 – Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Nepalese journalist and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
- 2011 – Vivienne Harris, English journalist and publisher, co-founded the Jewish Telegraph (b. 1921)
- 2011 – Ed Manning, American basketball player and coach (b. 1943)
- 2011 – Arjun Singh, Indian politician (b. 1930)
- 2011 – Alenush Terian, Iranian astronomer and physicist (b. 1920)
- 2011 – Simon van der Meer, Dutch-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Paul McBride, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1965)
- 2012 – Don Mincher, American baseball player (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Lillian Cahn, Hungarian-American businesswoman, co-founded Coach, Inc. (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Mickey Moore, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
- 2013 – Toren Smith, Canadian businessman, founded Studio Proteus (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Mark Freidkin, Russian author and poet (b. 1953)
- 2014 – Elaine Kellett-Bowman, English lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Jack Kinzler, American engineer (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Wu Tianming, Chinese director and producer (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Dušan Bilandžić, Croatian historian and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Ray Hatton, English-American runner, author, and academic (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Bud Collins, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929)
- 2016 – Pat Conroy, American author (b. 1945)
- 2016 – P. A. Sangma, Indian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1947)
- 2016 – Zhou Xiaoyan, Chinese soprano and educator (b. 1917)
- 2017 – Clayton Yeutter, American politician (b. 1930)
- 2018 – Davide Astori, Italian soccer player (b. 1987)
- 2019 – Keith Flint, English singer (The Prodigy) (b. 1969)
- 2019 – Luke Perry, American actor (b. 1966)
- 2020 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat
Holidays and observances on March 4
- Christian feast day:
- Adrian of Nicomedia
- Casimir
- Felix of Rhuys
- Giovanni Antonio Farina (Catholic Church)
- Blessed Humbert III, Count of Savoy (Roman Catholic Church)
- Paul Cuffee (Episcopal Church)
- Peter of Pappacarbone
- Blessed Zoltán Meszlényi
- March 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- St Casimir’s Day (Poland and Lithuania)
-
March 3 in History
- 473 – Gundobad (nephew of Ricimer) nominates Glycerius as emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
- 724 – Empress Genshō abdicates the throne in favor of her nephew Shōmu who becomes emperor of Japan.
- 1575 – Mughal Emperor Akbar defeats Sultan of Bengal Daud Khan Karrani’s army at the Battle of Tukaroi.
- 1585 – The Olympic Theatre, designed by Andrea Palladio, is inaugurated in Vicenza.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The first amphibious landing of the United States Marine Corps begins the Battle of Nassau.
- 1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army is routed at the Battle of Brier Creek near Savannah, Georgia.
- 1799 – The Russo-Ottoman siege of Corfu ends with the surrender of the French garrison.
- 1820 – The U.S. Congress passes the Missouri Compromise.
- 1845 – Florida is admitted as the 27th U.S. state.
- 1849 – The Territory of Minnesota is created.
- 1857 – Second Opium War: France and the United Kingdom declare war on China.
- 1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, concludes.
- 1861 – Alexander II of Russia signs the Emancipation Manifesto, freeing serfs.
- 1865 – Opening of The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, the founding member of the HSBC Group.
- 1873 – Censorship in the United States: The U.S. Congress enacts the Comstock Law, making it illegal to send any “obscene literature and articles of immoral use” through the mail.
- 1875 – Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen receives its première at the Opéra-Comique in Paris.
- 1875 – The first ever organized indoor game of ice hockey is played in Montreal, Quebec, Canada as recorded in the Montreal Gazette.
- 1878 – The Russo-Turkish War ends with Bulgaria regaining its independence from the Ottoman Empire according to the Treaty of San Stefano.
- 1885 – The American Telephone & Telegraph Company is incorporated in New York.
- 1891 – Shoshone National Forest is established as the first national forest in the US and world.
- 1910 – Rockefeller Foundation: John D. Rockefeller Jr. announces his retirement from managing his businesses so that he can devote all his time to philanthropy.
- 1913 – Thousands of women march in the Woman Suffrage Procession in Washington, D.C.
- 1918 – Russia signs the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, agreeing to withdraw from World War I, and conceding German control of the Baltic States, Belarus and Ukraine. It also conceded Turkish control of Ardahan, Kars and Batumi.
- 1923 – TIME magazine is published for the first time.
- 1924 – The 407-year-old Islamic caliphate is abolished, when Caliph Abdülmecid II of the Ottoman Caliphate is deposed. The last remnant of the old regime gives way to the reformed Turkey of Kemal Atatürk.
- 1924 – The Free State of Fiume is annexed by the Kingdom of Italy.
- 1931 – The United States adopts The Star-Spangled Banner as its national anthem.
- 1938 – Oil is discovered in Saudi Arabia.
- 1939 – In Bombay, Mohandas Gandhi begins a hunger strike in protest at the autocratic rule in British India.
- 1940 – Five people are killed in an arson attack on the offices of the communist newspaper Flamman in Luleå, Sweden.
- 1942 – World War II: Ten Japanese warplanes raid Broome, Western Australia, killing more than 100 people.
- 1943 – World War II: In London, 173 people are killed in a crush while trying to enter an air-raid shelter at Bethnal Green tube station.
- 1944 – The Order of Nakhimov and Order of Ushakov are instituted in USSR as the highest naval awards.
- 1945 – World War II: American and Filipino troops recapture Manila.
- 1945 – World War II: The RAF accidentally bombs the Bezuidenhout area of The Hague, Netherlands, killing 511 people.
- 1951 – Jackie Brenston, with Ike Turner and his band, records “Rocket 88”, often cited as “the first rock and roll record”, at Sam Phillips’s recording studios in Memphis, Tennessee.
- 1953 – A De Havilland Comet (Canadian Pacific Air Lines) crashes in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 11.
- 1958 – Nuri al-Said becomes Prime Minister of Iraq for the eighth time.
- 1969 – Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 9 to test the lunar module.
- 1972 – Mohawk Airlines Flight 405 crashes as a result of a control malfunction and insufficient training in emergency procedures.
- 1974 – Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashes at Ermenonville near Paris, France killing all 346 aboard.
- 1980 – The USS Nautilus is decommissioned and stricken from the Naval Vessel Register.
- 1985 – Arthur Scargill declares that the National Union of Mineworkers’ national executive voted to end the longest-running industrial dispute in Great Britain without any peace deal over pit closures.
- 1985 – A magnitude 8.3 earthquake strikes the Valparaíso Region of Chile, killing 177 and leaving nearly a million people homeless.
- 1986 – The Australia Act 1986 commences, causing Australia to become fully independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1991 – An amateur video captures the beating of Rodney King by Los Angeles police officers.
- 2005 – James Roszko murders four Royal Canadian Mounted Police constables during a drug bust at his property in Rochfort Bridge, Alberta, then commits suicide. This is the deadliest peace-time incident for the RCMP since 1885 and the North-West Rebellion.
- 2005 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly an airplane non-stop around the world solo without refueling.
- 2005 – Margaret Wilson is elected as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, beginning a period lasting until August 23, 2006 where all the highest political offices (including Elizabeth II as Head of State), were occupied by women, making New Zealand the first country for this to occur.
- 2013 – A bomb blast in Karachi, Pakistan, kills at least 45 people and injured 180 others in a predominately Shia Muslim area.
Births on March 3
- 1455 – John II of Portugal (d. 1495)
- 1455 – Ascanio Sforza, Catholic cardinal (d. 1505)
- 1506 – Luís of Portugal, Duke of Beja (d. 1555)
- 1520 – Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (d. 1575)
- 1583 – Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English-Welsh soldier, historian, and diplomat (d. 1648)
- 1589 – Gisbertus Voetius, Dutch minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1676)
- 1606 – Edmund Waller, English poet and politician (d. 1687)
- 1652 – Thomas Otway, English playwright and author (d. 1685)
- 1678 – Madeleine de Verchères, Canadian rebel leader (d. 1747)
- 1756 – William Godwin, English journalist and author (d. 1836)
- 1778 – Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1841)
- 1793 – William Macready, English actor and manager (d. 1873)
- 1800 – Heinrich Georg Bronn, German geologist and paleontologist (d. 1862)
- 1803 – Thomas Field Gibson, English manufacturer who aided the welfare of the Spitalfields silk weavers (d. 1889)
- 1805 – Jonas Furrer, Swiss politician (d. 1861)
- 1816 – William James Blacklock, English-Scottish painter (d. 1858)
- 1819 – Gustave de Molinari, Dutch-Belgian economist and theorist (d. 1912)
- 1825 – Shiranui Kōemon, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1879)
- 1831 – George Pullman, American engineer and businessman, founded the Pullman Company (d. 1897)
- 1839 – Jamsetji Tata, Indian businessman, founded Tata Group (d. 1904)
- 1841 – John Murray, Canadian-Scottish oceanographer and biologist (d. 1914)
- 1845 – Georg Cantor, Russian-German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1918)
- 1847 – Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-American engineer and academic, invented the telephone (d. 1922)
- 1860 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (d. 1925)
- 1866 – Fred A. Busse, American lawyer and politician, 39th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1914)
- 1868 – Émile Chartier, French philosopher and journalist (d. 1951)
- 1869 – Henry Wood, English conductor (d. 1944)
- 1871 – Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (d. 1957)
- 1873 – William Green, American union leader and politician (d. 1952)
- 1880 – Florence Auer, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1962)
- 1880 – Yōsuke Matsuoka, Japanese politician, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1946)
- 1882 – Elisabeth Abegg, German anti-Nazi resistance fighter (d. 1974)
- 1882 – Charles Ponzi, Italian businessman (d. 1949)
- 1883 – Cyril Burt, English psychologist and geneticist (d. 1971)
- 1883 – Paul Marais de Beauchamp, French zoologist (d. 1977)
- 1887 – Lincoln J. Beachey, American pilot (d. 1915)
- 1891 – Damaskinos of Athens, Greek archbishop (d. 1949)
- 1893 – Beatrice Wood, American illustrator and potter (d. 1998)
- 1895 – Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1895 – Matthew Ridgway, American general (d. 1993)
- 1898 – Emil Artin, Austrian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1962)
- 1900 – Edna Best, British stage and film actress, appeared on early television in 1938 (d. 1974)
- 1902 – Ruby Dandridge, African-American film and radio actress (d. 1987)
- 1901 – Claude Choules, English-Australian soldier (d. 2011)
- 1903 – Vasily Kozlov, Belarusian general and politician (d. 1967)
- 1906 – Artur Lundkvist, Swedish poet and critic (d. 1991)
- 1911 – Jean Harlow, American actress (d. 1937)
- 1911 – Hugues Lapointe, Canadian lawyer and politician, 22nd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 1982)
- 1913 – Margaret Bonds, American pianist and composer (d. 1972)
- 1913 – Harold J. Stone, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1914 – Asger Jorn, Danish painter and sculptor (d. 1973)
- 1916 – Paul Halmos, Hungarian-American mathematician (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Sameera Moussa, Egyptian physicist and academic (d. 1952)
- 1918 – Arthur Kornberg, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Julius Boros, American golfer and accountant (d. 1994)
- 1920 – James Doohan, Canadian-American actor and soldier (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Ronald Searle, English-French soldier and illustrator (d. 2011)
- 1921 – Diana Barrymore, American actress (d. 1960)
- 1922 – Nándor Hidegkuti, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Barney Martin, American police officer and actor (d. 2005)
- 1923 – Doc Watson, American bluegrass singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Tomiichi Murayama, Japanese soldier and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Japan
- 1926 – James Merrill, American poet and playwright (d. 1995)
- 1927 – Pierre Aubert, Swiss lawyer and politician (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Ion Iliescu, Romanian engineer and politician, 2nd President of Romania
- 1934 – Peter Brooke, Baron Brooke of Sutton Mandeville, English politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- 1934 – Jimmy Garrison, American bassist and educator (d. 1976)
- 1935 – Mal Anderson, Australian tennis player
- 1935 – Michael Walzer, American philosopher and academic
- 1935 – Zhelyu Zhelev, Bulgarian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of Bulgaria (d. 2015)
- 1939 – Larry Burkett, American author and radio host (d. 2003)
- 1939 – M. L. Jaisimha, Indian cricketer (d. 1999)
- 1940 – Germán Castro Caycedo, Colombian author and journalist
- 1940 – Perry Ellis, American fashion designer, founded Perry Ellis (d. 1986)
- 1940 – Jean-Paul Proust, French-Monacan police officer and politician, 21st Minister of State of Monaco (d. 2010)
- 1941 – Mike Pender, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1945 – George Miller, Australian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1945 – Hattie Winston, American actress
- 1947 – Clifton Snider, American author, poet, and critic
- 1947 – Jennifer Warnes, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1948 – Snowy White, English guitarist
- 1949 – Ron Chernow, American historian, journalist, and author
- 1949 – Bonnie J. Dunbar, American engineer, academic, and astronaut
- 1949 – Jesse Jefferson, American baseball player (d. 2011)
- 1950 – Kamal Ahmed Majumder, Bangladeshi politician
- 1951 – Andy Murray, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1951 – Heizō Takenaka, Japanese economist and politician
- 1952 – Rudy Fernandez, Filipino actor and producer (d. 2008)
- 1953 – Robyn Hitchcock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Zico, Brazilian footballer and coach
- 1954 – Keith Fergus, American golfer
- 1954 – John Lilley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Édouard Lock, Moroccan-Canadian dancer and choreographer
- 1955 – Darnell Williams, English-American actor and director
- 1956 – Zbigniew Boniek, Polish footballer and manager
- 1956 – John Fulton Reid, New Zealand cricketer
- 1957 – Stephen Budiansky, American historian, journalist, and author
- 1957 – Thom Hoffman, Dutch actor and photographer
- 1958 – Miranda Richardson, English actress
- 1959 – Ira Glass, American radio host and producer
- 1959 – Duško Vujošević, Montenegrin basketball player and coach
- 1960 – Neal Heaton, American baseball player and coach
- 1961 – Mary Page Keller, American actress and producer
- 1961 – John Matteson, American biographer
- 1961 – Perry McCarthy, English race car driver
- 1961 – Fatima Whitbread, English javelin thrower
- 1962 – Glen E. Friedman, American photographer
- 1962 – Jackie Joyner-Kersee, American heptathlete and long jumper
- 1962 – Herschel Walker, American football player and mixed martial artist
- 1963 – Martín Fiz, Spanish runner
- 1963 – Khaltmaagiin Battulga, 5th President of Mongolia
- 1964 – Raúl Alcalá, Mexican cyclist
- 1964 – Laura Harring, Mexican-American model and actress, Miss USA 1985
- 1964 – Glenn Kulka, Canadian ice hockey player and wrestler
- 1965 – Dragan Stojković, Serbian footballer and manager
- 1966 – Tone Lōc, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1966 – Timo Tolkki, Finnish guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1968 – Brian Cox, English keyboard player and physicist
- 1968 – Brian Leetch, American ice hockey player
- 1970 – Julie Bowen, American actress
- 1970 – Inzamam-ul-Haq, Pakistani cricketer and coach
- 1971 – Charlie Brooker, English journalist, producer, and author
- 1971 – Tyler Florence, American chef and author
- 1972 – Darren Anderton, English international footballer, midfielder and sportscaster
- 1973 – Xavier Bettel, Luxembourger lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Luxembourg
- 1973 – Matthew Marsden, English actor and martial artist
- 1974 – David Faustino, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1976 – Fraser Gehrig, Australian footballer
- 1976 – Isabel Granada, Filipino-Spanish actress (d. 2017)
- 1976 – Keit Pentus-Rosimannus, Estonian politician, 28th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1976 – Kampamba Mulenga Chilumba, Zambian politician
- 1977 – Ronan Keating, Irish singer-songwriter and actor
- 1977 – Stéphane Robidas, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Buddy Valastro, American chef and television host
- 1978 – Matt Diaz, American baseball player
- 1979 – Albert Jorquera, Spanish footballer
- 1980 – Mason Unck, American football player
- 1981 – David Bailey, American basketball player
- 1981 – Julius Malema, South African politician
- 1981 – Emmanuel Pappoe, Ghanaian footballer
- 1982 – Jessica Biel, American actress, singer, and producer
- 1982 – Colton Orr, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Tolu Ogunlesi, Nigerian journalist and writer
- 1982 – Brent Tate, Australian rugby league player
- 1983 – Ashley Hansen, Australian footballer
- 1983 – Sarah Poewe, South African swimmer
- 1984 – Valerio Bernabò, Italian rugby player
- 1984 – Santonio Holmes, American football player
- 1984 – Alexander Semin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Jed Collins, American football player
- 1986 – Stacie Orrico, American singer-songwriter
- 1986 – Mehmet Topal, Turkish footballer
- 1987 – Jesús Padilla, Mexican footballer
- 1987 – Shraddha Kapoor, Indian actress, singer, and designer
- 1988 – Teodora Mirčić, Serbian tennis player
- 1988 – Michael Morrison, English footballer
- 1988 – Jan-Arie van der Heijden, Dutch footballer
- 1988 – Max Waller, English cricketer
- 1989 – Erwin Mulder, Dutch footballer
- 1990 – Vladimir Janković, Greek-Serbian basketball player
- 1991 – Anri Sakaguchi, Japanese actress
- 1991 – Cho-rong, South Korean singer
- 1993 – Gabriela Cé, Brazilian tennis player
- 1993 – Josef Dostál, Czech kayaker
- 1993 – James Roberts, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Umika Kawashima, Japanese singer and actress
- 1996 – Cameron Johnson, American basketball player
- 1997 – Camila Cabello, Cuban-American singer
- 1998 – Jayson Tatum, American basketball player
Deaths on March 3
- 532 – Winwaloe, founder of Landévennec Abbey (b. c. 460)
- 1009 – Abd al-Rahman Sanchuelo, Umayyad chief minister (b. 983)
- 1111 – Bohemond I, Italo-Norman nobleman (b. 1058)
- 1195 – Hugh de Puiset, bishop of Durham (b. c. 1125)
- 1239 – Vladimir IV Rurikovich, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1187)
- 1311 – Antony Bek, bishop of Durham
- 1323 – Andrew Harclay, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English military leader
- 1383 – Hugh III, Italian nobleman
- 1459 – Ausiàs March, Catalan knight and poet (b. 1397)
- 1542 – Arthur Plantagenet, 1st Viscount Lisle, illegitimate son of Edward IV
- 1554 – John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1503)
- 1578 – Sebastiano Venier, doge of Venice (b. 1496)
- 1578 – Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu, Ottoman Greek magnate
- 1588 – Henry XI, duke of Legnica (b. 1539)
- 1592 – Michael Coxcie, Flemish painter (b. 1499)
- 1605 – Clement VIII, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1536)
- 1611 – William Douglas, 10th Earl of Angus, Scottish nobleman (b. 1552)
- 1616 – Matthias de l’Obel, Flemish physician and botanist (b. 1538)
- 1700 – Chhatrapati Rajaram, 3rd Chhatrapati of Maratha Empire (b. 1670)
- 1703 – Robert Hooke, English architect and philosopher (b. 1635)
- 1706 – Johann Pachelbel, German organist and composer (b. 1653)
- 1744 – Jean Barbeyrac, French scholar and jurist (b. 1674)
- 1765 – William Stukeley, English archaeologist and historian (b. 1687)
- 1768 – Nicola Porpora, Italian composer and educator (b. 1686)
- 1792 – Robert Adam, Scottish-English architect and politician, designed the Culzean Castle (b. 1728)
- 1850 – Oliver Cowdery, American religious leader (b. 1806)
- 1894 – Ned Williamson, American baseball player (b. 1857)
- 1901 – George Gilman, American businessman, founded The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company (b. 1826)
- 1905 – Antonio Annetto Caruana, Maltese archaeologist and author (b. 1830)
- 1927 – Mikhail Artsybashev, Ukrainian author and playwright (b. 1878)
- 1927 – J. G. Parry-Thomas, Welsh race car driver and engineer (b. 1884)
- 1929 – Katharine Wright, American educator (b. 1874)
- 1932 – Eugen d’Albert, Scottish-German pianist and composer (b. 1864)
- 1943 – George Thompson, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1877)
- 1959 – Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (b. 1906)
- 1961 – Paul Wittgenstein, Austrian-American pianist (b. 1887)
- 1966 – Joseph Fields, American playwright, director, and producer (b. 1895)
- 1966 – William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (b. 1887)
- 1966 – Alice Pearce, American actress (b. 1917)
- 1981 – Rebecca Lancefield, American microbiologist and researcher (b. 1895)
- 1982 – Firaq Gorakhpuri, Indian poet and critic (b. 1896)
- 1982 – Georges Perec, French author and screenwriter (b. 1936)
- 1983 – Hergé, Belgian author and illustrator (b. 1907)
- 1987 – Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
- 1988 – Henryk Szeryng, Polish-Mexican violinist and composer (b. 1918)
- 1988 – Sewall Wright, American biologist and geneticist (b. 1889)
- 1990 – Charlotte Moore Sitterly, American astronomer (b. 1898)
- 1991 – Arthur Murray, American dancer and educator (b. 1895)
- 1991 – William Penney, Baron Penney, Gibraltar-born English mathematician, physicist, and academic (b. 1909)
- 1993 – Mel Bradford, American author and critic (b. 1934)
- 1993 – Carlos Marcello, Tunisian-American mob boss (b. 1910)
- 1993 – Carlos Montoya, Spanish guitarist and composer (b. 1903)
- 1993 – Albert Sabin, Polish-American physician and virologist (b. 1906)
- 1994 – John Edward Williams, American author and academic (b. 1922)
- 1995 – Howard W. Hunter, American religious leader, 14th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1907)
- 1996 – Marguerite Duras, French author and director (b. 1914)
- 1996 – John Krol, American cardinal (b. 1910)
- 1998 – Fred W. Friendly, American journalist and broadcaster (b. 1915)
- 1999 – Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian chemist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1999 – Lee Philips, American actor and director (b. 1927)
- 2000 – Toni Ortelli, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1904)
- 2001 – Louis Edmonds, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2001 – Eugene Sledge, American soldier, author, and academic (b. 1923)
- 2002 – G. M. C. Balayogi, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1951)
- 2003 – Horst Buchholz, German actor (b. 1933)
- 2003 – Luis Marden, American linguist, photographer, and explorer (b. 1913)
- 2003 – Goffredo Petrassi, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1904)
- 2005 – Max Fisher, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish poet and songwriter (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Else Fisher, Australian-Swedish dancer, choreographer, and director (b. 1918)
- 2006 – William Herskovic, Hungarian-American humanitarian (b. 1914)
- 2007 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (b. 1920)
- 2008 – Giuseppe Di Stefano, Italian tenor and actor (b. 1921)
- 2008 – Norman Smith, English drummer and producer (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Gilbert Parent, Canadian educator and politician, 33rd Speaker of the House of Commons of Canada (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Keith Alexander, English footballer and manager (b. 1956)
- 2010 – Michael Foot, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Employment (b. 1913)
- 2011 – May Cutler, Canadian journalist, author, and politician (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Ralph McQuarrie, American conceptual designer and illustrator (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Ronnie Montrose, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Alex Webster, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Luis Cubilla, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2013 – James Strong, Qantas CEO from 1993 to 2001 (b. 1944)
- 2014 – Robert Ashley, American soldier and composer (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Sherwin B. Nuland, American surgeon, author, and educator (b. 1930)
- 2014 – William R. Pogue, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Ernest Braun, Austrian-English physicist and academic (b. 1925)
- 2015 – M. Stanton Evans, American journalist and author (b. 1934)
- 2016 – Hayabusa, Japanese wrestler (b. 1968)
- 2016 – Berta Cáceres, Honduran environmentalist (b. 1973)
- 2016 – Martin Crowe, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1962)
- 2016 – Thanat Khoman, Thai politician and diplomat, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1914)
- 2016 – Sarah Tait, Australian Olympic rower (b. 1983)
- 2017 – René Préval, Haitian politician (b. 1943)
- 2018 – Roger Bannister, English middle-distance athlete, first man to run a four-minute mile (b. 1929)
- 2018 – Mal Bryce, Australian politician (b. 1943)
- 2018 – Vanessa Goodwin, Australian politician (b. 1969)
- 2018 – David Ogden Stiers, American actor, voice actor and musician (b. 1942)
- 2019 – Peter Hurford OBE, British organist and composer (b. 1930)
- 2020 – Charles J. Urstadt, American real estate executive and investor (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on March 3
- Christian feast day:
- Anselm, Duke of Friuli
- Arthelais
- Cunigunde of Luxembourg
- Katharine Drexel
- John and Charles Wesley (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Marinus and Asterius of Caesarea
- Winwaloe
- March 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Hinamatsuri or “Girl’s Day” (Japan)
- Liberation and Freedom Day (Charlottesville, Virginia, USA)
- Liberation Day (Bulgaria)
- Martyrs’ Day (Malawi)
- Mother’s Day (Georgia)
- Sportsmen’s Day (Egypt)
- Teacher’s Day (Lebanon)
- World Hearing Day
- World Wildlife Day
-
March 2 in History
- 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off.
- 986 – Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
- 1444 – Skanderbeg organizes a group of Albanian nobles to form the League of Lezhë.
- 1458 – George of Poděbrady is chosen as the king of Bohemia.
- 1476 – Burgundian Wars: The Old Swiss Confederacy hands Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a major defeat in the Battle of Grandson in Canton of Neuchâtel.
- 1484 – The College of Arms is formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.
- 1498 – Vasco da Gama’s fleet visits the Island of Mozambique.
- 1561 – Mendoza, Argentina, is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro del Castillo.
- 1657 – Great Fire of Meireki: A fire in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, caused more than 100,000 deaths; it lasted three days
- 1717 – The Loves of Mars and Venus is the first ballet performed in England.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units arrest the Royal Governor of Georgia James Wright and attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in the Battle of the Rice Boats.
- 1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
- 1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
- 1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.
- 1808 – The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
- 1811 – Argentine War of Independence: A royalist fleet defeats a small flotilla of revolutionary ships in the Battle of San Nicolás on the River Plate.
- 1815 – Signing of the Kandyan Convention treaty by British invaders and the leaders of the Kingdom of Kandy.
- 1825 – Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, is defeated in combat and captured by authorities.
- 1836 – Texas Revolution: The Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico is adopted.
- 1855 – Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
- 1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, begins.
- 1865 – East Cape War: The Völkner Incident in New Zealand.
- 1867 – The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act.
- 1877 – Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 U.S. presidential election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote.
- 1882 – Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick McLean in Windsor.
- 1896 – The Battle of Adwa: The Italian Army defeated by the Ethiopian Army in Adwa, Tigray, Ethiopia.
- 1901 – United States Steel Corporation is founded as a result of a merger between Carnegie Steel Company and Federal Steel Company which became the first corporation in the world with a market capital over $1 billion.
- 1901 – The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment limiting the autonomy of Cuba, as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
- 1903 – In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
- 1917 – The enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
- 1919 – The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
- 1933 – The film King Kong opens at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
- 1937 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
- 1939 – Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
- 1941 – World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joins the Axis Pact.
- 1943 – World War II: Allied aircraft defeat a Japanese attempt to ship troops to New Guinea.
- 1946 – Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
- 1949 – Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas, after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
- 1955 – Norodom Sihanouk, king of Cambodia, abdicates the throne in favor of his father, Norodom Suramarit.
- 1961 – John F. Kennedy announces the creation of the Peace Corps in a nationally televised broadcast.
- 1962 – In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup d’état.
- 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
- 1965 – The US and Republic of Vietnam Air Force begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
- 1968 – Baggeridge Colliery closes marking the end of over 300 years of coal mining in the Black Country.
- 1969 – In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
- 1970 – Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
- 1972 – The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
- 1977 – Libya becomes the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as the General People’s Congress adopted the “Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People”.
- 1978 – Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
- 1983 – Compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.
- 1989 – Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
- 1990 – Nelson Mandela is elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
- 1991 – Battle at Rumaila oil field brings an end to the 1991 Gulf War.
- 1992 – Start of the war in Transnistria.
- 1992 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations.
- 1995 – Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.
- 1995 – Yahoo! is incorporated.
- 1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter’s moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
- 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
- 2004 – War in Iraq: Al-Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
- 2012 – A tornado outbreak occurred over a large section of the Southern United States and into the Ohio Valley region, resulting in 40 tornado-related fatalities.
- 2017 – The elements Moscovium, Tennessine, and Oganesson were officially added to the periodic table at a conference in Moscow, Russia.
Births on March 2
- 480 – Benedict of Nursia, Italian Christian saint (d. 543 or 547)
- 1316 – Robert II of Scotland (d. 1390)
- 1409 – Jean II, Duke of Alençon (d. 1476)
- 1432 – Countess Palatine Margaret of Mosbach, countess consort of Hanau (d. 1457)
- 1453 – Johannes Engel, German doctor, astronomer and astrologer (d. 1512)
- 1459 – Pope Adrian VI (d. 1523)
- 1481 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (d. 1523)
- 1545 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (d. 1613)
- 1577 – George Sandys, English traveller, colonist and poet (d. 1644)
- 1628 – Cornelis Speelman, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1684)
- 1651 – Carlo Gimach, Maltese architect, engineer and poet (d. 1730)
- 1705 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1793)
- 1740 – Nicholas Pocock, English naval painter (d.1821)
- 1760 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician (d. 1794)
- 1769 – DeWitt Clinton, American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of New York (d. 1828)
- 1770 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general (d. 1826)
- 1779 – Joel Roberts Poinsett, American physician and politician, 15th United States Secretary of War (d. 1851)
- 1793 – Sam Houston, American soldier and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1863)
- 1800 – Yevgeny Baratynsky, Russian-Italian poet and philosopher (d. 1844)
- 1810 – Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903)
- 1816 – Alexander Bullock, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1882)
- 1817 – János Arany, Hungarian journalist and poet (d. 1882)
- 1820 – Multatuli, Dutch writer (d. 1887)
- 1824 – Bedřich Smetana, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1884)
- 1829 – Carl Schurz, German-American general, lawyer, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1906)
- 1836 – Henry Billings Brown, American lawyer and judge (d. 1913)
- 1842 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer, art collector, and philanthropist (d. 1914)
- 1846 – Marie Roze, French soprano (d. 1926)
- 1849 – Robert Means Thompson, American commander, lawyer, and businessman (d. 1930)
- 1859 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (d. 1916)
- 1860 – Susanna M. Salter, American activist and politician (d. 1961)
- 1862 – John Jay Chapman, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1933)
- 1876 – Pope Pius XII (d. 1958)
- 1878 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, American sailor and race car driver (d. 1944)
- 1886 – Willis H. O’Brien, American animator and director (d. 1962)
- 1886 – Kurt Grelling, German logician and philosopher (d. 1942)
- 1900 – Kurt Weill, German-American pianist and composer (d. 1950)
- 1901 – Grete Hermann, German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1984)
- 1902 – Moe Berg, American baseball player and spy (d. 1972)
- 1902 – Edward Condon, American physicist and academic (d. 1974)
- 1904 – Dr. Seuss, American children’s book writer, poet, and illustrator (d. 1991)
- 1905 – Marc Blitzstein, American composer and songwriter (d. 1964)
- 1905 – Geoffrey Grigson, English poet and critic (d. 1985)
- 1908 – Walter Bruch, German engineer (d. 1990)
- 1909 – Mel Ott, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 1958)
- 1912 – Henry Katzman, American pianist, composer, and painter (d. 2001)
- 1913 – Godfried Bomans, Dutch television host and author (d. 1971)
- 1913 – Mort Cooper, American baseball player (d. 1958)
- 1914 – Martin Ritt, American actor and film director (d. 1990)
- 1915 – John Burton, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to Ceylon (d. 2010)
- 1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1986)
- 1917 – David Goodis, American author and screenwriter (d. 1967)
- 1917 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player and coach (d. 1976)
- 1919 – Jennifer Jones, American actress (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Eddie Lawrence, American actor, singer, and playwright (d. 2014)
- 1919 – Tamara Toumanova, Russian-American ballerina and actress (d. 1996)
- 1921 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Ernst Haas, Austrian-American photographer and journalist (d. 1986)
- 1922 – Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, American saxophonist (d. 1986)
- 1922 – Bill Quackenbush, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1999)
- 1922 – Frances Spence, American computer programmer (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Basil Hume, English cardinal (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Robert H. Michel, American soldier and politician (d. 2017)
- 1923 – Dave Strack, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Cal Abrams, American baseball player (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Renos Apostolidis, Greek philologist, author, and critic (d. 2004)
- 1926 – Bernard Agré, Ivorian cardinal (d. 2014)
- 1926 – Murray Rothbard, American economist and historian (d. 1995)
- 1927 – Roger Walkowiak, French cyclist and economist (d. 2017)
- 1930 – John Cullum, American actor and singer
- 1930 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Tom Wolfe, American journalist and author (d. 2018)
- 1931 – Mikhail Gorbachev, Russian lawyer and politician, President of the Soviet Union, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1932 – Gun Hägglund, Swedish journalist and translator (d. 2011)
- 1934 – Dottie Rambo, American singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
- 1935 – Gene Stallings, American football player and coach
- 1936 – Haroon Ahmed, Pakistani-English engineer and academic
- 1936 – John Tusa, Czech-English journalist and academic
- 1937 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algerian soldier and politician, 5th President of Algeria
- 1938 – Ricardo Lagos, Chilean economist, lawyer, and politician, 33rd President of Chile
- 1938 – Lawrence Payton, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1997)
- 1938 – Clark Gesner, American author and composer (d. 2002)
- 1939 – Jan Howard Finder, American author and academic (d. 2013)
- 1940 – Billy McNeill, Scottish footballer (d. 2019)
- 1941 – John Cornell, Australian actor, director, and producer
- 1941 – David Satcher, American admiral and physician, 16th Surgeon General of the United States
- 1942 – John Irving, American novelist and screenwriter
- 1942 – Claude Larose, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1942 – Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Iranian architect and politician, 79th Prime Minister of Iran
- 1942 – Lou Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Derek Woodley, English footballer (d. 2002)
- 1943 – George Layton, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Peter Straub, American author and poet
- 1943 – Robert Williams, American painter and cartoonist
- 1945 – Derek Watkins, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Nelson Ned, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Harry Redknapp, English footballer and manager
- 1948 – Larry Carlton, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1948 – Rory Gallagher, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1995)
- 1948 – Jeff Kennett, Australian journalist and politician, 43rd Premier of Victoria
- 1948 – Carmen Lawrence, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Western Australia
- 1950 – Karen Carpenter, American singer (d. 1983)
- 1952 – Mark Evanier, American author and screenwriter
- 1952 – Laraine Newman, American actress and comedian
- 1953 – Russ Feingold, American lawyer and politician
- 1954 – Ed Johnstone, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1955 – Dale Bozzio, American pop-rock singer-songwriter
- 1955 – Jay Osmond, American singer, drummer, actor, and TV/film producer
- 1955 – Ken Salazar, American lawyer and politician, 50th United States Secretary of the Interior
- 1955 – Steve Small, Australian cricketer
- 1956 – John Cowsill, American musician, songwriter, and producer
- 1956 – Mark Evans, Australian rock bass player
- 1957 – Hossein Dehghan, Iranian general and politician, Iranian Minister of Defense
- 1957 – Dito Tsintsadze, Georgian film director and screenwriter
- 1957 – Mark Dean, American inventor and computer engineer
- 1958 – Kevin Curren, South African-American tennis player
- 1958 – Ian Woosnam, English-Welsh golfer
- 1959 – Larry Stewart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1961 – Simone Young, Australian conductor, director, and composer
- 1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
- 1962 – Paul Farrelly, English journalist and politician
- 1962 – Tom Nordlie, Norwegian footballer and coach
- 1962 – Brendan O’Connor, Australian politician, Australian Minister for Employment
- 1962 – Raimo Summanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
- 1962 – Gabriele Tarquini, Italian race car driver
- 1963 – Alvin Youngblood Hart, American singer and guitarist
- 1963 – Anthony Albanese, Australian politician, 15th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
- 1963 – Vidyasagar (composer), Indian composer, musician and singer
- 1964 – Laird Hamilton, American surfer and actor
- 1964 – Mike Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1987)
- 1965 – Ron Gant, American baseball player and journalist
- 1965 – Lembit Öpik, Northern Irish politician
- 1966 – Ann Leckie, American author
- 1966 – Simon Reevell, English lawyer and politician
- 1968 – Daniel Craig, English actor and producer
- 1970 – James Purnell, English politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
- 1970 – Ciriaco Sforza, Swiss footballer and manager
- 1970 – Wibi Soerjadi, Dutch pianist and composer
- 1971 – Dave Gorman, English comedian, author and television presenter
- 1971 – Method Man, American rapper, record producer and actor
- 1972 – Mauricio Pochettino, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1973 – Dejan Bodiroga, Serbian basketball player
- 1973 – Trevor Sinclair, English footballer and manager
- 1974 – Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer and television host
- 1975 – Daryl Gibson, New Zealand rugby player
- 1977 – Dominique Canty, American basketball player and coach
- 1977 – Chris Martin, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1977 – Stephen Parry, English swimmer and sportscaster
- 1977 – Andrew Strauss, South African-English cricketer
- 1978 – Gabby Eigenmann, Filipino actor and singer
- 1978 – Lee Hodges, English footballer and manager
- 1978 – Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey player
- 1979 – Damien Duff, Irish international footballer, winger
- 1979 – Gayatri Asokan, Indian playback singer
- 1979 – Jim Troughton, English cricketer
- 1979 – Nicky Weaver, English footballer
- 1980 – Chris Barker, English footballer and manager (d. 2020)
- 1980 – Rebel Wilson, Australian actress and screenwriter
- 1981 – Lance Cade, American wrestler (d. 2010)
- 1981 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
- 1982 – Kevin Kurányi, German footballer
- 1982 – Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1982 – Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
- 1982 – Corey Webster, American football player
- 1983 – Deuce, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1983 – Lisandro López, Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Jay McClement, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Glen Perkins, American baseball player
- 1983 – Ryan Shannon, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – Reggie Bush, American football player
- 1985 – Suso Santana, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Jonathan D’Aversa, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Jonas Jerebko, Swedish basketball player
- 1988 – Édgar Andrade, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – James Arthur, English singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Laura Kaeppeler, Miss America 2012
- 1988 – Matthew Mitcham, Australian diver
- 1988 – Chris Rainey, American football player
- 1988 – Geert Arend Roorda, Dutch footballer
- 1989 – Alemão, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 – Toby Alderweireld, Belgian international footballer, defender
- 1989 – André Bernardes Santos, Portuguese footballer
- 1989 – Marcel Hirscher, Austrian skier
- 1989 – Shane Vereen, American football player
- 1989 – Chris Woakes, English cricketer
- 1990 – Rauno Alliku, Estonian footballer
- 1990 – Malcolm Butler, American football player
- 1990 – Josh McGuire, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Tiger Shroff, Indian actor
- 1991 – Nick Franklin, American baseball player
- 1992 – Jack Stockwell, Australian rugby league player
- 1995 – Ange-Freddy Plumain, French footballer
- 1997 – Becky G, American singer and actress
- 2010 – Hailey Dawson, American with a 3D-printed robotic hand
- 2016 – Prince Oscar, duke of Skåne and prince of Sweden
Deaths on March 2
- 274 – Mani, Persian prophet and founder of Manichaeism (b. 216)
- 672 – Chad of Mercia, English bishop and saint (b. 634)
- 986 – Lothair, king of West Francia (b.941)
- 968 – William, archbishop of Mainz (b. 929)
- 1009 – Mokjong, king of Goryeo (b. 980)
- 1127 – Charles the Good, Count of Flanders (b. 1084)
- 1316 – Marjorie Bruce, Scottish daughter of Robert the Bruce (b. 1296)
- 1333 – Wladyslaw I, king of Poland (b. 1261)
- 1589 – Alessandro Farnese, Italian cardinal and diplomat (b. 1520)
- 1619 – Anne of Denmark, queen of Scotland (b. 1574)
- 1729 – Francesco Bianchini, Italian astronomer and philosopher (b. 1662)
- 1755 – Louis de Rouvroy, French duke and diplomat (b. 1675)
- 1791 – John Wesley, English cleric and theologian (b. 1703)
- 1793 – Carl Gustaf Pilo, Swedish-Danish painter and academic (b. 1711)
- 1797 – Horace Walpole, English historian and politician (b. 1717)
- 1829 – Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, Mexican revolutionary (b. ca. 1773)
- 1830 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, German physician, anatomist, and anthropologist (b. 1755)
- 1835 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1768)
- 1840 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers, German physician and astronomer (b. 1758)
- 1855 – Nicholas I, Russian emperor (b. 1796)
- 1864 – Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel (b. 1842)
- 1865 – Carl Sylvius Völkner, German-New Zealand priest and missionary (b. 1819)
- 1880 – John Benjamin Macneill, Irish engineer (b. 1790)
- 1895 – Berthe Morisot, French painter (b. 1841)
- 1895 – Isma’il Pasha, Egyptian politician (b. 1830)
- 1896 – Jubal Early, American general (b. 1816)
- 1921 – Champ Clark, American lawyer and politician, 41st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1850)
- 1930 – D. H. Lawrence, English novelist, poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1885)
- 1938 – Ben Harney, American pianist and composer (b. 1871)
- 1939 – Howard Carter, English archaeologist and historian (b. 1874)
- 1943 – Gisela Januszewska, Jewish-Austrian physician (b.1867)
- 1944 – Ida Maclean, British biochemist, the first woman admitted to the London Chemical Society (b. 1877)
- 1945 – Emily Carr, Canadian painter and author (b. 1871)
- 1946 – Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1895)
- 1946 – George E. Stewart, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1872)
- 1947 – Frans Johan Louwrens Ghijsels, Dutch architect and urban planner (b. 1882)
- 1949 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian poet and activist (b. 1879)
- 1953 – James Lightbody, American runner (b. 1882)
- 1957 – Selim Sırrı Tarcan, Turkish educator and politician (b. 1874)
- 1958 – Fred Merkle, American baseball player and manager (b. 1888)
- 1962 – Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician and academic (b. 1866)
- 1967 – José Martínez Ruiz, Spanish author and critic (b. 1873)
- 1972 – Léo-Ernest Ouimet, Canadian director and producer (b. 1877)
- 1979 – Christy Ring, Irish hurler (b. 1920)
- 1982 – Philip K. Dick, American philosopher and author (b. 1928)
- 1987 – Randolph Scott, American actor and director (b. 1898)
- 1987 – Lolo Soetoro, Indonesian geographer and academic (b. 1935)
- 1991 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer-songwriter, actor, and director (b. 1928)
- 1992 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (b. 1937)
- 1994 – Anita Morris, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1943)
- 1999 – Dusty Springfield, English singer (b. 1939)
- 2000 – Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler (b. 1963)
- 2003 – Hank Ballard, American singer-songwriter (b. 1927)
- 2003 – Malcolm Williamson, Australian pianist and composer (b. 1931)
- 2004 – Cormac McAnallen, Irish footballer (b. 1980)
- 2004 – Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Marge Schott, American businesswoman (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Martin Denny, American pianist and composer (b. 1911)
- 2007 – Thomas S. Kleppe, American soldier and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1919)
- 2007 – Clem Labine, American baseball player (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Ivan Safronov, Russian colonel and journalist (b. 1956)
- 2007 – Henri Troyat, Russian-French historian and author (b. 1911)
- 2008 – Jeff Healey, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1966)
- 2009 – João Bernardo Vieira, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1939)
- 2010 – Winston Churchill, English journalist and politician (b. 1940)
- 2012 – Lawrence Anthony, South African environmentalist, explorer, and author (b. 1950)
- 2012 – Van T. Barfoot, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Norman St John-Stevas, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1929)
- 2012 – James Q. Wilson, American political scientist and academic (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Peter Harvey, Australian journalist (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Giorgos Kolokithas, Greek basketball player (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Shabnam Shakeel, Pakistani poet and author (b. 1942)
- 2014 – Ryhor Baradulin, Belarusian poet and translator (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Dean Hess, American minister and colonel (b. 1917)
- 2015 – Dave Mackay, Scottish-English footballer and manager (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Mal Peet, English author and illustrator (b. 1947)
- 2016 – Benoît Lacroix, Canadian priest, historian, and philosopher (b. 1915)
- 2016 – Aubrey McClendon, American businessman (b. 1959)
- 2018 – Billy Herrington, American actor (b. 1969)
- 2018 – Lin Hu, Chinese lieutenant general (b. 1927)
- 2019 – Mike Oliver, British sociologist, disability rights activist (b. 1945)
Holidays and observances on March 2
- Air Force Day (Sri Lanka)
- Baloch Culture Day (Balochistan)
- Christian feast day:
- Agnes of Bohemia
- Angela of the Cross
- Blessed Charles the Good, Count of Flanders
- Chad of Mercia (Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church)
- John Maron
- March 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Feast of ‘Alá (Loftiness), First day of the 19th month of the Bahá’í calendar (Bahá’í Faith) and first day of the Baha’i Nineteen Day Fast
- Jamahiriya Day (Libya)
- Peasants’ Day (Myanmar)
- Texas Independence Day
- Victory at Adwa Day (Ethiopia)
-
March 1 in History
- 509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
- 86 BC – Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens, removing the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus ending the Siege of Athens and Piraeus.
- 293 – Emperor Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesars. This is considered the beginning of the Tetrarchy, known as the Quattuor Principes Mundi (“Four Rulers of the World”).
- 317 – Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, are made Caesares.
- 350 – Vetranio is asked by Constantina, sister of Constantius II, to proclaim himself Caesar.
- 834 – Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. After his re-accession to the throne, his eldest son Lothair I flees to Burgundy.
- 1457 – The Unitas Fratrum is established in the village of Kunvald, on the Bohemian-Moravian borderland. It is to date the second oldest Protestant denomination.
- 1476 – Forces of the Catholic Monarchs engage the combined Portuguese-Castilian armies of Afonso V and Prince John at the Battle of Toro.
- 1562 – Sixty-three Huguenots are massacred in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion.
- 1565 – The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded.
- 1628 – Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date.
- 1633 – Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu.
- 1642 – Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), becomes the first incorporated city in the United States.
- 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.
- 1700 – Sweden introduces its own Swedish calendar, in an attempt to gradually merge into the Gregorian calendar, reverts to the Julian calendar on this date in 1712, and introduces the Gregorian calendar on this date in 1753.
- 1713 – The siege and destruction of Fort Neoheroka begins during the Tuscarora War in North Carolina, effectively opening up the colony’s interior to European colonization.
- 1781 – The Articles of Confederation goes into effect in the United States.
- 1790 – The first United States census is authorized.
- 1793 – French Revolutionary War: Battle of Aldenhoven during the Flanders Campaign.
- 1796 – The Dutch East India Company is nationalized by the Batavian Republic.
- 1803 – Ohio becomes the 17th state of The United States.
- 1805 – Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate.
- 1811 – Leaders of the Mamluk dynasty are killed by Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali.
- 1815 – Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba.
- 1815 – Georgetown University’s congressional charter is signed into law by President James Madison.
- 1836 – A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico.
- 1845 – United States President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.
- 1852 – Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
- 1854 – German psychologist Friedrich Eduard Beneke disappears; two years later his remains are found in a canal near Charlottenburg.
- 1867 – Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state; Lancaster, Nebraska is renamed Lincoln and becomes the state capital.
- 1868 – The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity is founded at the University of Virginia.
- 1870 – Marshal F. S. López dies during the Battle of Cerro Corá thus marking the end of the Paraguayan War.
- 1872 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world’s first national park.
- 1873 – E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter.
- 1881 – The first Minnesota State Capitol burns down.
- 1886 – The Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore is founded by Bishop William Oldham.
- 1893 – Electrical engineer Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 1896 – Battle of Adwa: An Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
- 1896 – Henri Becquerel discovers radioactive decay.
- 1901 – The Australian Army is formed.
- 1910 – The deadliest avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people.
- 1914 – The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union.
- 1917 – The Zimmermann Telegram is reprinted in newspapers across the United States after the U.S. government releases its unencrypted text.
- 1919 – March 1st Movement begins in Korea under Japanese rule.
- 1921 – The Australian cricket team captained by Warwick Armstrong becomes the first team to complete a whitewash of The Ashes, something that would not be repeated for 86 years.
- 1921 – Following mass protests in Petrograd demanding greater freedom in the RSFSR, the Kronstadt rebellion began, with sailors and citizens taking up arms against the Bolsheviks.
- 1932 – Charles Lindbergh’s son is kidnapped.
- 1936 – The Hoover Dam is completed.
- 1939 – An Imperial Japanese Army ammunition dump explodes at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, killing 94.
- 1941 – World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact, allying itself with the Axis powers.
- 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces land on Java, the main island of the Dutch East Indies, at Merak and Banten Bay (Banten), Eretan Wetan (Indramayu) and Kragan (Rembang).
- 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalised.
- 1947 – The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations.
- 1949 – Indonesian Army recaptures and occupies for six hours its capital city Yogyakarta from the Dutch.
- 1950 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing top secret atomic bomb data.
- 1953 – Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses; he dies four days later.
- 1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.
- 1954 – Armed Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.
- 1956 – The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
- 1956 – Formation of the East German Nationale Volksarmee.
- 1958 – Samuel Alphonsus Stritch is appointed Pro-Prefect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first U.S. member of the Roman Curia.
- 1961 – United States President John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
- 1961 – Uganda becomes self-governing and holds its first elections.
- 1964 – Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe.
- 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet’s surface.
- 1966 – The Ba’ath Party takes power in Syria.
- 1971 – President of Pakistan Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
- 1972 – The Thai province of Yasothon is created after being split off from the Ubon Ratchathani Province.
- 1973 – Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the assassination of three Western hostages.
- 1974 – Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
- 1981 – Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins his hunger strike in HM Prison Maze.
- 1983 – First collection of twelve Swatch models was introduced in Zürich, Switzerland.
- 1990 – Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
- 1991 – Uprisings against Saddam Hussein begin in Iraq, leading to the death of more than 25,000 people mostly civilian.
- 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
- 1998 – Titanic became the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.
- 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan.
- 2002 – The Envisat environmental satellite successfully launches aboard an Ariane 5 rocket to reach an orbit of 800 km (500 mi) above the Earth, which was the then-largest payload at 10.5 m long and with a diameter of 4.57 m.
- 2003 – Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
- 2003 – The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.
- 2005 – In Roper v. Simmons, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the execution of juveniles found guilty of murder is unconstitutional.
- 2006 – English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station.
- 2007 – Tornadoes break out across the southern United States, killing at least 20 people, including eight at Enterprise High School.
- 2008 – The Armenian police clash with peaceful opposition rally protesting against allegedly fraudulent presidential elections, as a result ten people are killed.
- 2014 – Thirty-five people are killed and 143 injured in a mass stabbing at Kunming Railway Station in China.
Births on March 1
- 1105 – Alfonso VII, king of León and Castile (d. 1157)
- 1261 – Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester (d. 1326)
- 1389 – Antoninus of Florence, Italian archbishop and saint (d. 1459)
- 1432 – Isabella of Coimbra (d. 1455)
- 1456 – Vladislaus II of Hungary (d. 1516)
- 1547 – Rudolph Goclenius, German philosopher and lexicographer (d. 1628)
- 1554 – William Stafford, English courtier and conspirator (d. 1612)
- 1577 – Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland (d. 1635)
- 1597 – Jean-Charles della Faille, Flemish priest and mathematician (d. 1652)
- 1611 – John Pell, English mathematician and linguist (d. 1685)
- 1629 – Abraham Teniers, Flemish painter (d. 1670)
- 1647 – John de Brito, Portuguese Jesuit missionary and martyr (d. 1693)
- 1657 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1740)
- 1683 – Tsangyang Gyatso, sixth Dalai Lama (d. 1706)
- 1683 – Caroline of Ansbach, British queen and regent (d. 1737)
- 1732 – William Cushing, American lawyer and judge (d. 1810)
- 1760 – François Buzot, French lawyer and politician (d. 1794)
- 1769 – François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (d. 1796)
- 1807 – Wilford Woodruff, American religious leader, 4th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1898)
- 1810 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1849)
- 1812 – Augustus Pugin, English architect, co-designed the Palace of Westminster (d. 1852)
- 1817 – Giovanni Duprè, Italian sculptor and educator (d. 1882)
- 1821 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German bishop and academic (d. 1896)
- 1835 – Philip Fysh, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1919)
- 1837 – William Dean Howells, American novelist, playwright, and critic (d. 1920)
- 1842 – Nikolaos Gyzis, Greek painter and academic (d. 1901)
- 1848 – Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Irish-American sculptor and academic (d. 1907)
- 1852 – Théophile Delcassé, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1923)
- 1863 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter and set designer (d. 1930)
- 1870 – E. M. Antoniadi, Greek-French astronomer and academic (d. 1944)
- 1876 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian businessman (d. 1942)
- 1880 – Lytton Strachey, British writer and critic (d. 1932)
- 1886 – Oskar Kokoschka, Austrian-Swiss painter, poet, and playwright (d. 1980)
- 1888 – Ewart Astill, English cricketer and billiards player (d. 1948)
- 1888 – Fanny Walden, English cricketer and umpire, international footballer, outside right (d. 1949)
- 1889 – Tetsuro Watsuji, Japanese historian and philosopher (d. 1960)
- 1890 – Theresa Bernstein, Polish-American painter and author (d. 2002)
- 1891 – Ralph Hitz, Austrian-American hotelier (d. 1940)
- 1892 – Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Japanese author and educator (d. 1927)
- 1893 – Mercedes de Acosta, American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1968)
- 1896 – Dimitri Mitropoulos, Greek pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1960)
- 1896 – Moriz Seeler, German playwright and producer (d. 1942)
- 1899 – Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, German SS officer (d. 1972)
- 1904 – Paul Hartman, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1973)
- 1904 – Glenn Miller, American trombonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1944)
- 1905 – Doris Hare, Welsh-English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2000)
- 1906 – Phạm Văn Đồng, Vietnamese lieutenant and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Vietnam (d. 2000)
- 1909 – Eugene Esmonde, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 1942)
- 1909 – Winston Sharples, American pianist and composer (d. 1978)
- 1910 – Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
- 1910 – David Niven, English soldier and actor (d. 1983)
- 1912 – Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian cardinal (d. 2003)
- 1912 – Boris Chertok, Polish-Russian engineer and academic (d. 2011)
- 1914 – Harry Caray, American sportscaster (d. 1998)
- 1914 – Ralph Ellison, American novelist and literary critic (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Robert Lowell, American poet (d. 1977)
- 1918 – João Goulart, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 24th President of Brazil (d. 1976)
- 1918 – Gladys Spellman, American educator and politician (d. 1988)
- 1920 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
- 1921 – Cameron Argetsinger, American race car driver and lawyer (d. 2008)
- 1921 – Terence Cooke, American cardinal (d. 1983)
- 1921 – Richard Wilbur, American poet, translator, and essayist (d. 2017)
- 1922 – William Gaines, American publisher (d. 1992)
- 1922 – Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli general and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
- 1924 – Arnold Drake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2007)
- 1924 – Deke Slayton, American soldier, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1993)
- 1926 – Robert Clary, French-American actor and author
- 1926 – Cesare Danova, Italian-American actor (d. 1992)
- 1926 – Pete Rozelle, American businessman and commissioner of the National Football League (d. 1996)
- 1926 – Allan Stanley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1927 – George O. Abell, American astronomer, professor at UCLA, science popularizer, and skeptic (d. 1983)
- 1927 – Harry Belafonte, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1927 – Robert Bork, American lawyer and scholar, United States Attorney General (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Jacques Rivette, French director, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian journalist and author (d. 1978)
- 1930 – Gastone Nencini, Italian cyclist (d. 1980)
- 1934 – Jean-Michel Folon, Belgian painter and sculptor (d. 2005)
- 1934 – Joan Hackett, American actress (d. 1983)
- 1935 – Robert Conrad, American actor, radio host and stuntman (d. 2020)
- 1936 – Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (d. 1997)
- 1939 – Leo Brouwer, Cuban guitarist, composer, and conductor
- 1939 – Mustansar Hussain Tarar, Pakistani author
- 1940 – Robin Gray, Australian politician, 37th Premier of Tasmania
- 1940 – Robert Grossman, American painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2018)
- 1941 – Robert Hass, American poet
- 1942 – Richard Myers, American general
- 1943 – Gil Amelio, American businessman
- 1943 – José Ángel Iribar, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1943 – Rashid Sunyaev, Russian-German astronomer and physicist
- 1944 – Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Indian politician, 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal
- 1944 – John Breaux, American lawyer and politician
- 1944 – Roger Daltrey, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1944 – Mike d’Abo, English singer
- 1945 – Dirk Benedict, American actor and director
- 1946 – Gerry Boulet, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1990)
- 1946 – Jim Crace, English author and academic
- 1947 – Alan Thicke, Canadian-American actor and composer (d. 2016)
- 1951 – Sergei Kourdakov, Russian-American KGB agent (d. 1973)
- 1952 – Dave Barr, Canadian golfer
- 1952 – Nevada Barr, American actress and author
- 1952 – Leigh Matthews, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster
- 1952 – Jerri Nielsen, American physician and explorer (d. 2009)
- 1952 – Martin O’Neill, Northern Irish footballer and manager
- 1953 – Sinan Çetin, Turkish actor, director, and producer
- 1953 – Carlos Queiroz, Portuguese footballer and manager
- 1954 – Catherine Bach, American actress
- 1954 – Ron Howard, American actor, director, and producer
- 1954 – Rod Reddy, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1956 – Tim Daly, American actor, director, and producer
- 1956 – Dalia Grybauskaitė, Lithuanian politician, 6th President of Lithuania
- 1958 – Nik Kershaw, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1958 – Wayne B. Phillips, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1959 – Nick Griffin, English politician
- 1961 – Mike Rozier, American football player
- 1962 – Russell Coutts, New Zealand sailor
- 1962 – Mark Gardner, American baseball player
- 1962 – Bill Leen, American bass player and producer
- 1963 – Bryan Batt, American actor and singer
- 1963 – Maurice Benard, American actor
- 1963 – Ron Francis, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1964 – Clinton Gregory, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
- 1964 – Paul Le Guen, French footballer and manager
- 1965 – Booker T, American wrestler and sportscaster
- 1965 – Stewart Elliott, Canadian jockey
- 1966 – Paul Hollywood, English chef
- 1966 – Zack Snyder, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1967 – George Eads, American actor
- 1967 – Aron Winter, Suriname-Dutch footballer and manager
- 1969 – Javier Bardem, Spanish actor and producer
- 1970 – Jason V Brock, American author, filmmaker, artist, scholar and musician
- 1971 – Thomas Adès, English pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1971 – Ivan Cleary, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1973 – Jack Davenport, English actor
- 1973 – Anton Gunn, American academic and politician
- 1973 – Chris Webber, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1974 – Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor
- 1976 – Travis Kvapil, American race car driver
- 1977 – Rens Blom, Dutch pole vaulter
- 1977 – Esther Cañadas, Spanish actress and model
- 1978 – Jensen Ackles, American actor and director
- 1979 – Mikkel Kessler, Danish boxer
- 1979 – Bruno Langlois, Canadian cyclist
- 1980 – Shahid Afridi, Pakistani cricketer
- 1980 – Abhay K, Indian poet and diplomat
- 1980 – Sercan Güvenışık, German-Turkish footballer
- 1980 – Djimi Traoré, Malian footballer
- 1981 – Will Power, Australian race car driver
- 1982 – Juan Manuel Ortiz, Spanish footballer
- 1983 – Daniel Carvalho, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Lupita Nyong’o, Mexican-Kenyan actress
- 1983 – Davey Richards, American wrestler
- 1983 – Anthony Tupou, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Naima Mora, American model and actress
- 1984 – Alexander Steen, Canadian-Swedish ice hockey player
- 1985 – Andreas Ottl, German footballer
- 1986 – Big E, American wrestler
- 1987 – Kesha, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1988 – Yang Hyeon-jong, South Korean baseball player
- 1989 – Tenille Tayla, Australian professional wrestler
- 1989 – Carlos Vela, Mexican footballer
- 1992 – Tom Walsh, New Zealand athlete
- 1993 – Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Michael Conforto, American baseball player
- 1993 – Kurt Mann, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Josh McEachran, English footballer
- 1994 – Justin Bieber, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1994 – Tyreek Hill, American football player
- 1996 – Lizzie Arnot, Scottish footballer
- 1999 – Brogan Hay, Scottish footballer
Deaths on March 1
- 492 – Felix III, pope of the Catholic Church
- 589 – David, Welsh bishop and saint
- 965 – Leo VIII, pope of the Catholic Church
- 977 – Rudesind, Galician bishop (b. 907)
- 991 – En’yū, Japanese emperor (b. 959)
- 1058 – Ermesinde of Carcassonne, countess and regent of Barcelona (b. 972)
- 1131 – Stephen II, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1101)
- 1233 – Thomas, count of Savoy (b. 1178)
- 1244 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr, Welsh noble, son of Llywelyn the Great (b. 1200)
- 1320 – Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan, Chinese emperor (b. 1286)
- 1383 – Amadeus VI, count of Savoy (b. 1334)
- 1510 – Francisco de Almeida, Portuguese soldier and explorer (b. 1450)
- 1546 – George Wishart, Scottish minister and martyr (b. 1513)
- 1620 – Thomas Campion, English poet and composer (b. 1567)
- 1633 – George Herbert, English poet and orator (b. 1593)
- 1643 – Girolamo Frescobaldi, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1583)
- 1661 – Richard Zouch, English judge and politician (b. 1590)
- 1666 – Ecaterina Cercheza, princess consort of Moldavia (b. 1620)
- 1697 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician and poet (b. 1626)
- 1734 – Roger North, English lawyer and author (b. 1653)
- 1768 – Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher and author (b. 1694)
- 1773 – Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect, designed the Palace of Caserta (b. 1700)
- 1792 – Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1747)
- 1792 – Angelo Emo, Venetian admiral and statesman (b. 1731)1841 – Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (b. 1764)
- 1862 – Peter Barlow, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1776)
- 1875 – Tristan Corbière, French poet and educator (b. 1845)
- 1882 – Theodor Kullak, German pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1818)
- 1884 – Isaac Todhunter, English mathematician and academic (b. 1820)
- 1906 – José María de Pereda, Spanish author (b. 1833)
- 1911 – Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff, Dutch-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
- 1914 – Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, English soldier and politician, 8th Governor General of Canada (b. 1845)
- 1920 – John H. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician (b. 1842)
- 1922 – Pichichi, Spanish footballer (b. 1892)
- 1932 – Frank Teschemacher, American Jazz musician (b. 1906)
- 1936 – Mikhail Kuzmin, Russian author and poet (b. 1871)
- 1938 – Gabriele D’Annunzio, Italian journalist and politician (b. 1863)
- 1940 – Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Estonian author (b. 1878)
- 1942 – George S. Rentz, American commander (b. 1882)
- 1943 – Alexandre Yersin, Swiss-French physician and bacteriologist (b. 1863)
- 1952 – Mariano Azuela, Mexican physician and author (b. 1873)
- 1966 – Fritz Houtermans, Polish-German physicist and academic (b. 1903)
- 1974 – Bobby Timmons, American pianist and composer (b. 1935)
- 1976 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (b. 1910)
- 1978 – Paul Scott, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1920)
- 1979 – Mustafa Barzani, Iraqi-Kurdistan politician (b. 1903)
- 1980 – Wilhelmina Cooper, Dutch-American model and businesswoman, founded Wilhelmina Models (b. 1940)
- 1980 – Dixie Dean, English footballer (b. 1907)
- 1983 – Arthur Koestler, Hungarian-English journalist and author (b. 1905)
- 1984 – Jackie Coogan, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1988 – Joe Besser, American comedian and actor (b. 1907)
- 1989 – Vasantdada Patil, Indian politician, 5th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1917)
- 1991 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and businessman, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (b. 1909)
- 1995 – César Rodríguez Álvarez, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1920)
- 1995 – Georges J. F. Köhler, German biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1946)
- 1998 – Archie Goodwin, American author and illustrator (b. 1937)
- 2004 – Mian Ghulam Jilani, Pakistani general (b. 1914)
- 2006 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (b. 1947)
- 2006 – Jack Wild, English actor (b.1952)
- 2010 – Kristian Digby, English television host and director (b. 1977)
- 2012 – Andrew Breitbart, American journalist and publisher (b. 1969)
- 2012 – Germano Mosconi, Italian journalist (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Bonnie Franklin, American actress, dancer, and singer (b. 1944)
- 2014 – Alain Resnais, French director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Minnie Miñoso, Cuban-American baseball player and coach (b. 1922)
- 2018 – María Rubio, Mexican television, film and stage actress (b. 1934)
- 2019 – Mike Willesee, Australian journalist and producer (b. 1942)
Holidays and observances on March 1
- Beer Day, marked the end of beer prohibition in 1989 (Iceland)
- Christian feast day:
- Agnes Tsao Kou Ying (one of the Martyr Saints of China)
- Albin
- David
- Eudokia of Heliopolis
- Pope Felix III
- Leoluca
- Luperculus
- Monan
- Rudesind
- Suitbert
- March 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Commemoration of Mustafa Barzani’s Death (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- Earliest day on which Casimir Pulaski Day can fall, while March 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in March. (Illinois)
- Earliest day on which Children’s Day can fall, while March 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in March. (New Zealand)
- Earliest day on which Grandmother’s Day can fall, while March 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in March. (France)
- Earliest day on which Laetare Sunday can fall, while April 4 is the latest; celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
- Carnaval de la Laetare (Stavelot)
- Mothering Sunday (United Kingdom)
- Heroes’ Day (Paraguay)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992.
- National “Cursed Soldiers” Remembrance Day (Poland)
- National Pig Day (United States)
- Remembrance Day (Marshall Islands)
- Saint David’s Day or Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant (Wales and Welsh communities)
- Samiljeol (South Korea)
- Self-injury Awareness Day
- Southeastern Europe celebration of the beginning of spring:
- Baba Marta Day (Bulgaria)
- Mărțișor (Romania and Moldova)
- The final day (fourth or fifth) of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith)
- World Civil Defence Day
- Yap Day (Yap State)
- Zero Discrimination Day
-
February 27 in History
- 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity.
- 425 – The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia.
- 907 – Abaoji, a Khitan chieftain, is enthroned as Emperor Taizu, establishing the Liao dynasty in northern China.
- 1560 – The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Lords of the Congregation of Scotland.
- 1594 – Henry IV is crowned King of France.
- 1617 – Sweden and Russia sign the Treaty of Stolbovo, ending the Ingrian War and shutting Russia out of the Baltic Sea.
- 1626 – Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after leading the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci.
- 1700 – The island of New Britain is discovered by Europeans.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge in North Carolina breaks up a Loyalist militia.
- 1782 – American Revolutionary War: The House of Commons of Great Britain votes against further war in America.
- 1801 – Pursuant to the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Washington, D.C. is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.
- 1809 – Action of 27 February 1809: Captain Bernard Dubourdieu captures HMS Proserpine.
- 1812 – Argentine War of Independence: Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina in the city of Rosario for the first time.
- 1812 – Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire.
- 1844 – The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
- 1860 – Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
- 1870 – The current flag of Japan is first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships.
- 1881 – First Boer War: The Battle of Majuba Hill takes place.
- 1898 – King George I of Greece survives an assassination attempt.
- 1900 – Second Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronjé at the Battle of Paardeberg.
- 1900 – The British Labour Party is founded.
- 1900 – Fußball-Club Bayern München is founded.
- 1902 – Second Boer War: Australian soldiers Harry “Breaker” Morant and Peter Handcock are executed in Pretoria after being convicted of war crimes.
- 1916 – Ocean liner SS Maloja strikes a mine near Dover and sinks with the loss of 155 lives.
- 1921 – The International Working Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna.
- 1922 – A challenge to the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote, is rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Leser v. Garnett.
- 1933 – Reichstag fire: Germany’s parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is set on fire; Marinus van der Lubbe, a young Dutch Communist claims responsibility.
- 1939 – United States labor law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in NLRB v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. that the National Labor Relations Board has no authority to force an employer to rehire workers who engage in sit-down strikes.
- 1940 – Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14.
- 1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Java Sea, an Allied strike force is defeated by a Japanese task force in the Java Sea in the Dutch East Indies.
- 1943 – The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men.
- 1943 – In Berlin, the Gestapo arrest 1,800 Jewish men with German wives, leading to the Rosenstrasse protest.
- 1951 – The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.
- 1961 – The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.
- 1962 – Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bomb the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate South Vietnam President Ngô Đình Diệm.
- 1963 – The Dominican Republic receives its first democratically elected president, Juan Bosch, since the end of the dictatorship led by Rafael Trujillo.
- 1964 – The Government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
- 1971 – Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (the Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start performing artificially-induced abortions.
- 1973 – The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee in protest of the federal government.
- 1976 – The formerly Spanish territory of Western Sahara, under the auspices of the Polisario Front declares independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
- 1988 – Sumgait pogrom: The Armenian community in Sumgait, Azerbaijan is targeted in a violent pogrom.
- 1991 – Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that “Kuwait is liberated”.
- 2002 – Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair’s handling of the evacuation.
- 2002 – Godhra train burning: A Muslim mob torches a train returning from Ayodhya, killing 59 Hindu pilgrims.
- 2004 – A bombing of a Superferry by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines’ worst terrorist attack kills 116.
- 2004 – Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, is sentenced to death for masterminding the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack.
- 2007 – The Chinese Correction: The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in ten years.
- 2010 – An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale strikes central parts of Chile leaving over 500 victims, and thousands injured. The quake triggers a tsunami which strikes Hawaii shortly after.
- 2013 – A shooting takes place at a factory in Menznau, Switzerland, in which five people (including the perpetrator) are killed and five others injured.
- 2015 – Russian politician Boris Nemtsov is assassinated.
Births on February 27
- 272 – Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (d. 337)
- 1343 – Alberto d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara (d. 1393)
- 1427 – Ruprecht, Archbishop of Cologne (d. 1480)
- 1500 – João de Castro, Portuguese nobleman and fourth viceroy of Portuguese India (d. 1548)
- 1535 – Min Phalaung, Burmese monarch (d. 1593)
- 1567 – William Alabaster, English poet (d. 1640)
- 1572 – Francis II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1632)
- 1575 – John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1616)
- 1622 – Carel Fabritius, Dutch painter (d. 1654)
- 1630 – Roche Braziliano, Dutch pirate (d. 1671)
- 1659 – William Sherard, English botanist (d. 1728)
- 1667 – Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł, Prussian-Lithuanian wife of Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1695)
- 1689 – Pietro Gnocchi, Italian composer, director, historian, and geographer (d. 1775)
- 1703 – Lord Sidney Beauclerk, English politician (d. 1744)
- 1711 – Constantine Mavrocordatos, Ottoman ruler (d. 1769)
- 1724 – Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (d. 1767)
- 1732 – Jean de Dieu-Raymond de Cucé de Boisgelin, French cardinal (d. 1804)
- 1746 – Louis-Jérôme Gohier, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1830)
- 1748 – Anders Sparrman, Swedish physician and activist (d. 1820)
- 1767 – Jacques-Charles Dupont de l’Eure, French lawyer and politician, 24th Prime Minister of France (d. 1855)
- 1779 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English businessman, founded Hazlehurst & Sons (d. 1842)
- 1789 – Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, Chilean lawyer and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1818)
- 1795 – José Antonio Navarro, American merchant and politician (d. 1871)
- 1799 – Edward Belcher, British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer (d. 1877)
- 1799 – Frederick Catherwood, British artist, architect and explorer (d. 1854)
- 1807 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet and educator (d. 1882)
- 1809 – Jean-Charles Cornay, French missionary and saint (d. 1837)
- 1816 – William Nicholson, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Victoria (d. 1865)
- 1847 – Ellen Terry, English actress (d. 1928)
- 1848 – Hubert Parry, English composer and historian (d. 1918)
- 1859 – Bertha Pappenheim, Austrian-German activist and author (d. 1936)
- 1863 – Joaquín Sorolla, Spanish painter (d. 1923)
- 1863 – George Herbert Mead, American sociologist and philosopher (d. 1930)
- 1864 – Eemil Nestor Setälä, Finnish linguist and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1935)
- 1867 – Irving Fisher, American economist and statistician (d. 1947)
- 1867 – Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Swedish composer and critic (d. 1942)
- 1869 – Alice Hamilton, American physician and academic (d. 1970)
- 1872 – Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, Romanian politician, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1950)
- 1875 – Vladimir Filatov, Russian-Ukrainian ophthalmologist and surgeon (d. 1956)
- 1877 – Adela Verne, English pianist and composer (d. 1952)
- 1877 – Joseph Grinnell, American zoologist and biologist (d. 1939)
- 1878 – Alvan T. Fuller, American businessman and politician, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
- 1880 – Xenophon Kasdaglis, Greek-Egyptian tennis player (d. 1943)
- 1881 – Sveinn Björnsson, Danish-Icelandic lawyer and politician, 1st President of Iceland (d. 1952)
- 1881 – L. E. J. Brouwer, Dutch mathematician, philosopher, and academic (d. 1966)
- 1886 – Hugo Black, American captain, jurist, and politician (d. 1971)
- 1887 – Pyotr Nesterov, Russian captain, pilot, and engineer (d. 1914)
- 1888 – Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychiatrist and psychologist (d. 1974)
- 1888 – Lotte Lehmann, German-American soprano and actress (d. 1976)
- 1890 – Mabel Keaton Staupers, American nurse and advocate (d. 1989)
- 1891 – David Sarnoff, American businessman, founded RCA (d. 1971)
- 1892 – William Demarest, American actor (d. 1983)
- 1895 – Miyagiyama Fukumatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1943)
- 1897 – Marian Anderson, American singer (d. 1993)
- 1899 – Charles Herbert Best, American-Canadian physiologist and biochemist, co-discovered Insulin (d. 1978)
- 1901 – Marino Marini, Italian sculptor and academic (d. 1980)
- 1901 – Kotama Okada, Japanese religious leader (d. 1974)
- 1902 – Lúcio Costa, French-Brazilian architect and engineer, designed Gustavo Capanema Palace (d. 1998)
- 1902 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 1999)
- 1902 – John Steinbeck, American journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- 1903 – Reginald Gardiner, English-American actor and singer (d. 1980)
- 1903 – Hans Rohrbach, German mathematician (d. 1993)
- 1903 – Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Belorussian-American rabbi and philosopher (d. 1993)
- 1904 – James T. Farrell, American author and poet (d. 1979)
- 1904 – André Leducq, French cyclist (d. 1980)
- 1904 – Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1996)
- 1905 – Franchot Tone, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1968)
- 1907 – Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)
- 1907 – Momčilo Đujić, Serbian-American priest and commander (d. 1999)
- 1910 – Joan Bennett, American actress (d. 1990)
- 1910 – Peter De Vries, American journalist and author (d. 1993)
- 1910 – Genrikh Kasparyan, Armenian chess player and composer (d. 1995)
- 1910 – Kelly Johnson, American engineer, co-founded Skunk Works (d. 1990)
- 1911 – Oscar Heidenstam, English bodybuilder (d. 1991)
- 1912 – Kusumagraj, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1999)
- 1912 – Lawrence Durrell, Indian-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1990)
- 1913 – Paul Ricœur, French philosopher and academic (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish soldier and politician, President of Poland (d. 1989)
- 1913 – Irwin Shaw, American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
- 1915 – Denis Whitaker, Canadian general, football player, and businessman (d. 2001)
- 1917 – John Connally, American lieutenant and politician, 61st United States Secretary of Treasury (d. 1993)
- 1920 – Reg Simpson, English cricketer (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot, and navigator (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Hans Rookmaaker, Dutch historian, author, and scholar (d. 1977)
- 1923 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer, and actor (d. 1990)
- 1925 – Pia Sebastiani, Argentine pianist and composer (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Kenneth Koch, American poet, playwright and professor (d. 2002)
- 1926 – David H. Hubel, Canadian-American neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Peter Whittle, English-New Zealand mathematician and theorist
- 1928 – René Clemencic, Austrian composer, recorder player, harpsichordist, conductor and clavichord player
- 1929 – Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Patricia Ward Hales, British tennis player (d. 1985)
- 1930 – Jovan Krkobabić, Serbian politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Peter Stone, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2003)
- 1930 – Paul von Ragué Schleyer, American chemist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
- 1932 – Dame Elizabeth Taylor, English-American actress and humanitarian (d. 2011)
- 1932 – David Young, Baron Young of Graffham, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
- 1933 – Raymond Berry, American football player and coach
- 1933 – Malcolm Wallop, American politician (d. 2011)
- 1934 – Vincent Fourcade, French interior designer (d. 1992)
- 1934 – Ralph Nader, American lawyer, politician, and activist
- 1935 – Mirella Freni, Italian soprano and actress (d. 2020)
- 1935 – Uri Shulevitz, American author and illustrator
- 1936 – Sonia Johnson, American feminist activist and author
- 1936 – Ron Barassi, Australian footballer and coach
- 1936 – Roger Mahony, American cardinal
- 1937 – Barbara Babcock, American actress
- 1938 – Jake Thackray, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist (d. 2002)
- 1939 – Don McKinnon, English-New Zealand farmer and politician, 12th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
- 1939 – Peter Revson, American race car driver (d. 1974)
- 1940 – Pierre Duchesne, Canadian lawyer and politician, 28th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
- 1940 – Howard Hesseman, American actor
- 1940 – Bill Hunter, Australian actor (d. 2011)
- 1941 – Paddy Ashdown, British captain and politician (d. 2018)
- 1942 – Jimmy Burns, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1942 – Charlayne Hunter-Gault, American journalist
- 1942 – Klaus-Dieter Sieloff, German footballer (d. 2011)
- 1943 – Mary Frann, American actress (d. 1998)
- 1943 – Morten Lauridsen, American composer and conductor
- 1943 – Carlos Alberto Parreira, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1944 – Ken Grimwood, American author (d. 2003)
- 1944 – Graeme Pollock, South African cricketer and coach
- 1944 – Sir Roger Scruton, English philosopher and writer (d. 2020)
- 1947 – Alan Guth, American physicist and cosmologist
- 1947 – Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist and conductor
- 1950 – Annabel Goldie, Scottish lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Julia Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger, English rabbi and politician
- 1951 – Carl A. Anderson, 13th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus
- 1951 – Lee Atwater, American journalist, activist and political strategist (d. 1991)
- 1951 – Walter de Silva, Italian car designer
- 1951 – Steve Harley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Gavin Esler, Scottish journalist and author
- 1953 – Ian Khama, English-Botswanan lieutenant and politician, 4th President of Botswana
- 1953 – Stelios Kouloglou, Greek journalist, author, director and politician
- 1954 – Neal Schon, American rock guitarist and singer-songwriter
- 1956 – Belus Prajoux, Chilean tennis player
- 1957 – Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, producer, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Kevin Curran, American screenwriter and television producer (d. 2016)
- 1957 – Robert de Castella, Australian runner
- 1957 – Adrian Smith, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1957 – Timothy Spall, English actor
- 1958 – Naas Botha, South African rugby player and sportscaster
- 1958 – Maggie Hassan, American politician, 81st Governor and United States Senator of New Hampshire
- 1960 – Andrés Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player
- 1960 – Johnny Van Zant, American singer-songwriter
- 1961 – James Worthy, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1962 – Adam Baldwin, American actor
- 1963 – Nasty Suicide, Finnish musician and pharmacist
- 1964 – Jeffrey Pasley, American educator and academic
- 1965 – Noah Emmerich, American actor
- 1965 – Pedro Chaves, Portuguese race car driver
- 1966 – Donal Logue, Canadian actor and director
- 1966 – Oliver Reck, German footballer and manager
- 1966 – Baltasar Kormákur, Icelandic actor, director, and producer
- 1967 – Dănuț Lupu, Romanian footballer
- 1967 – Jony Ive, English industrial designer, former chief design officer (CDO) of Apple
- 1968 – Matt Stairs, Canadian baseball player and sportscaster
- 1969 – Gareth Llewellyn, Welsh rugby union player
- 1969 – Juan E. Gilbert, American computer scientist, inventor, and academic
- 1970 – Kent Desormeaux, American jockey
- 1970 – Patricia Petibon, French soprano and actress
- 1971 – Sara Blakely, American businesswoman, founded Spanx
- 1971 – Derren Brown, English magician and painter
- 1971 – David Rikl, Czech-English tennis player
- 1971 – Roman Giertych, Polish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
- 1971 – Rozonda Thomas, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (TLC)
- 1973 – Peter Andre, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
- 1973 – Mark Taylor, Welsh rugby player and manager
- 1974 – Carte Goodwin, American lawyer and politician
- 1975 – Aitor González, Spanish racing driver
- 1975 – Prodromos Korkizoglou, Greek decathlete
- 1976 – Sergei Semak, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
- 1976 – Ludovic Capelle, Belgian cyclist
- 1978 – James Beattie, English footballer and manager
- 1978 – Kakha Kaladze, Georgian footballer and politician
- 1978 – Emelie Öhrstig, Swedish skier and cyclist
- 1978 – Simone Di Pasquale, Italian ballet dancer
- 1980 – Chelsea Clinton, American journalist and academic
- 1980 – Scott Prince, Australian rugby league player
- 1981 – Josh Groban, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1981 – Natalie Grandin, English-South African tennis player
- 1981 – Élodie Ouédraogo, Belgian sprinter
- 1982 – Ali Bastian, English actress
- 1982 – Pat Richards, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Bruno Soares, Brazilian tennis player
- 1983 – Devin Harris, American basketball player
- 1983 – Kate Mara, American actress
- 1984 – Aníbal Sánchez, American baseball player
- 1984 – Lotta Schelin, Swedish footballer
- 1984 – Akseli Kokkonen, Norwegian ski jumper
- 1985 – Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Russian footballer
- 1985 – Braydon Coburn, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Vladislav Kulik, Ukrainian-Russian footballer
- 1985 – Asami Abe, Japanese singer and actress
- 1985 – Thiago Neves, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Brett Stewart, Australian rugby league player
- 1986 – Yovani Gallardo, American baseball player
- 1986 – Jonathan Moreira, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Sandeep Singh, Indian field hockey player
- 1987 – Scott Davies, English footballer
- 1987 – Bridie Kean, Australian wheelchair basketball player
- 1987 – Florence Kiplagat, Kenyan runner
- 1987 – Sandy Paillot, French footballer
- 1987 – Valeriy Andriytsev, Ukrainian wrestler
- 1987 – Maximiliano Moralez, Argentinian footballer
- 1988 – Iain Ramsay, Australian footballer
- 1988 – Dustin Jeffrey, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1989 – David Button, English footballer, goalkeeper
- 1989 – Lloyd Rigby, English footballer
- 1990 – Elijah Taylor, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1991 – Azeem Rafiq, Pakistani cricketer
- 1992 – Ty Dillon, American race car driver
- 1992 – Meyers Leonard, American basketball player
- 1992 – Filip Krajinović, Serbian tennis player
- 1992 – Ioannis Potouridis, Greek footballer
- 1992 – Jonjo Shelvey, English footballer
- 1995 – Laura Gulbe, Latvian tennis player
- 1998 – Todd Cantwell, English footballer
Deaths on February 27
- 640 – Pepin of Landen, Frankish lord (b. 580)
- 906 – Conrad the Elder, Frankish nobleman
- 956 – Theophylact, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 917)
- 1167 – Robert of Melun, English theologian and bishop
- 1416 – Eleanor of Castile, queen consort of Navarre (b. c. 1363)
- 1425 – Prince Vasily I of Moscow (b. 1371)
- 1483 – William VIII of Montferrat (b. 1420)
- 1558 – Johann Faber of Heilbronn, controversial Catholic preacher (b. 1504)
- 1558 – Kunigunde of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, German Noblewoman (b. 1524)
- 1659 – Henry Dunster, English-American clergyman and academic (b. 1609)
- 1699 – Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (b. 1625)
- 1706 – John Evelyn, English gardener and author (b. 1620)
- 1712 – Sir William Villiers, 3rd Baronet, English politician (b. 1645)
- 1720 – Samuel Parris, English-American minister (b. 1653)
- 1735 – John Arbuthnot, Scottish physician and polymath (b. 1667)
- 1784 – Count of St. Germain, European adventurer (b. 1710)
- 1795 – Tanikaze Kajinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1750)
- 1844 – Nicholas Biddle, American banker and politician (b. 1786)
- 1887 – Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and chemist (b. 1833)
- 1892 – Louis Vuitton, French fashion designer and businessman, founded Louis Vuitton (b. 1821)
- 1902 – Harry “Breaker” Morant, English-Australian lieutenant (b. 1864)
- 1921 – Schofield Haigh, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1871)
- 1931 – Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (b. 1906)
- 1936 – Joshua W. Alexander, American judge and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1852)
- 1936 – Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1849)
- 1937 – Hosteen Klah, Navajo artist, medicine man, and weaver (b. 1867)
- 1937 – Emily Malbone Morgan, American saint, foundress of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross (b. 1862)
- 1943 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet and playwright (b. 1859)
- 1956 – Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1888)
- 1964 – Orry-Kelly, Australian-American costume designer (b. 1897)
- 1968 – Frankie Lymon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
- 1969 – Marius Barbeau, Canadian ethnographer and academic (b. 1883)
- 1973 – Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (b. 1917)
- 1977 – John Dickson Carr, American author and playwright (b. 1905)
- 1980 – George Tobias, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1985 – Ray Ellington, English singer and drummer (b. 1916)
- 1985 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American politician and diplomat, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1902)
- 1985 – J. Pat O’Malley, English-American actor and singer (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1929)
- 1987 – Bill Holman, American cartoonist (b. 1903)
- 1987 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (b. 1921)
- 1989 – Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
- 1992 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American linguist and politician (b. 1906)
- 1993 – Lillian Gish, American actress (b. 1893)
- 1998 – George H. Hitchings, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
- 1998 – J. T. Walsh, American actor (b. 1943)
- 1999 – Horace Tapscott, American pianist and composer (b. 1934)
- 2002 – Spike Milligan, Irish soldier, actor, comedian, and author (b. 1918)
- 2003 – John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (b. 1923)
- 2003 – Fred Rogers, American minister and television host (b. 1928)
- 2004 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historian and academic (b. 1928)
- 2004 – Paul Sweezy, American economist and journalist (b. 1910)
- 2006 – Otis Chandler, American publisher (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American general and author (b. 1908)
- 2006 – Linda Smith, English comedian and author (b. 1958)
- 2007 – Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, German general (b. 1914)
- 2008 – William F. Buckley, Jr., American author and journalist, founded the National Review (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929)
- 2008 – Ivan Rebroff, German vocalist of Russian descent with four and a half octave range (b. 1931)
- 2010 – Nanaji Deshmukh, Indian educator and activist (b. 1916)
- 2011 – Frank Buckles, American soldier (b. 1901)
- 2011 – Necmettin Erbakan, Turkish engineer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Duke Snider, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (b. 1926)
- 2011 – Gary Winick, American director and producer (b. 1961)
- 2012 – Ma Jiyuan, Chinese general (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Tina Strobos, Dutch physician and psychiatrist (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Helga Vlahović, Croatian journalist and producer (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Van Cliburn, American pianist (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Ramon Dekkers, Dutch mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (b. 1969)
- 2013 – Dale Robertson, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Adolfo Zaldívar, Chilean lawyer and politician (b. 1943)
- 2014 – Aaron Allston, American game designer and author (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Terry Rand, American basketball player (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Boris Nemtsov, Russian academic and politician, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1959)
- 2015 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Julio César Strassera, Argentinian lawyer and jurist (b. 1933)
- 2016 – Yi Cheol-seung, South Korean lawyer and politician (b. 1922)
- 2016 – James Z. Davis, American lawyer and judge (b. 1943)
- 2018 – Steve Folkes, Australian rugby league player and coach (b. 1959)
- 2019 – France-Albert René, Seychellois politician, 2nd President of Seychelles (b. 1935)
Holidays and observances on February 27
- Christian feast day:
- Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
- George Herbert (Anglicanism)
- Honorina
- Leander
- February 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- The second day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Note: this observance is only on this date in the Gregorian calendar if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it does not in all years)
- Doctors’ Day (Vietnam)
- Independence Day (Dominican Republic), celebrates the first independence of Dominican Republic from Haiti in 1844.
- Majuba Day (some Afrikaners in South Africa)
- Marathi Language Day (Maharashtra, India)
- World NGO Day
- International Polar Bear Day
-
February 11 in History
- 660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
- AD 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, on the eve of his coming of age clears the way for Nero to become Emperor.
- 1534 – Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.
- 1659 – The assault on Copenhagen by Swedish forces is beaten back with heavy losses.
- 1794 – First session of United States Senate opens to the public.
- 1808 – Jesse Fell burns anthracite on an open grate as an experiment in heating homes with coal.
- 1812 – Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry is accused of “gerrymandering” for the first time.
- 1823 – Carnival tragedy of 1823: About 110 boys are killed during a stampede at the Convent of the Minori Osservanti in Valletta, Malta.
- 1826 – University College London is founded as University of London.
- 1840 – Gaetano Donizetti’s opera La fille du régiment receives its first performance in Paris, France.
- 1843 – Giuseppe Verdi’s opera I Lombardi alla prima crociata receives its first performance in Milan, Italy.
- 1855 – Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia.
- 1856 – The Kingdom of Awadh is annexed by the British East India Company and Wajid Ali Shah, the king of Awadh, is deposed.
- 1858 – Bernadette Soubirous’s first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.
- 1873 – King Amadeo I of Spain abdicates.
- 1889 – Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted.
- 1903 – Anton Bruckner’s 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna, Austria.
- 1906 – Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer Nos.
- 1919 – Friedrich Ebert (SPD), is elected President of Germany.
- 1929 – Kingdom of Italy and the Vatican sign the Lateran Treaty.
- 1937 – The Flint sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers trade union.
- 1938 – BBC Television produces the world’s first ever science fiction television programme, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Čapek play R.U.R., that coined the term “robot”.
- 1942 – World War II: Second day of the Battle of Bukit Timah is fought in Singapore.
- 1953 – Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower denies all appeals for clemency for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
- 1953 – The Soviet Union breaks off diplomatic relations with Israel.
- 1959 – The Federation of Arab Emirates of the South is created as a protectorate of the United Kingdom.
- 1970 – Japan launches Ohsumi, becoming the fourth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.
- 1971 – Cold War: the Seabed Arms Control Treaty opened for signature outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.
- 1979 – The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
- 1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner.
- 1990 – Buster Douglas, a 42:1 underdog, knocks out Mike Tyson in ten rounds at Tokyo to win boxing’s world Heavyweight title.
- 1997 – Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.
- 1999 – Pluto crosses Neptune’s orbit, ending a nearly 20-year period when it was closer to the Sun than the gas giant; Pluto is not expected to interact with Neptune’s orbit again until 2231.
- 2001 – A Dutch programmer launched the Anna Kournikova virus infecting millions of emails via a trick photo of the tennis star.
- 2008 – Rebel East Timorese soldiers seriously wound President José Ramos-Horta. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado is killed in the attack.
- 2011 – Arab Spring: The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 17 days of protests.
- 2013 – The Vatican confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI would resign the papacy as a result of his advanced age.
- 2014 – A military transport plane crashes in a mountainous area of Oum El Bouaghi Province in eastern Algeria, killing 77 people.
- 2015 – A university student was murdered as she resisted an attempted rape in Turkey, sparking nationwide protests and public outcry against harassment and violence against women.
- 2016 – A man shoots six people dead at an education center in Jizan Province, Saudi Arabia.
- 2017 – North Korea test fires a ballistic missile across the Sea of Japan.
- 2018 – Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashes near Moscow, Russia with 71 deaths and no survivors.
Births on February 11
- 1380 – Poggio Bracciolini, Italian scholar and translator (d. 1459)
- 1466 – Elizabeth of York (d. 1503)
- 1535 – Pope Gregory XIV (d. 1591)
- 1568 – Honoré d’Urfé, French author and playwright (d. 1625)
- 1649 – William Carstares, Scottish minister and academic (d. 1715)
- 1657 – Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, French poet and playwright (d. 1757)
- 1708 – Egidio Duni, Italian composer (d. 1775)
- 1764 – Joseph Chénier, French poet and playwright (d. 1811)
- 1776 – Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greek politician, 1st Governor of Greece (d. 1831)
- 1800 – Henry Fox Talbot, English photographer and politician, invented the calotype (d. 1877)
- 1802 – Lydia Maria Child, American journalist, author, and activist (d. 1880)
- 1805 – Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, Native American-French Canadian explorer (d. 1866)
- 1812 – Alexander H. Stephens, American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1883)
- 1813 – Otto Ludwig, German author, playwright, and critic (d. 1865)
- 1821 – Auguste Mariette, French archaeologist and scholar (d. 1881)
- 1830 – Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff, Prussian pianist and composer (d. 1913)
- 1833 – Melville Fuller, American lawyer and jurist, Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1910)
- 1839 – Josiah Willard Gibbs, American physicist (d. 1903)
- 1845 – Ahmet Tevfik Pasha, Ottoman soldier and politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1936)
- 1847 – Thomas Edison, American engineer and businessman, developed the light bulb and phonograph (d. 1931)
- 1855 – Ellen Day Hale, American painter and author (b. 1855)
- 1860 – Rachilde, French author and playwright (d. 1953)
- 1863 – John F. Fitzgerald, American politician; Mayor of Boston (d. 1950)
- 1864 – Louis Bouveault, French chemist (d. 1909)
- 1869 – Helene Kröller-Müller, German-Dutch art collector and philanthropist, founded the Kröller-Müller Museum (d. 1939)
- 1869 – Else Lasker-Schüler, German poet and author (d. 1945)
- 1874 – Elsa Beskow, Swedish author and illustrator (d. 1953)
- 1881 – Carlo Carrà, Italian painter (d. 1966)
- 1897 – Emil Leon Post, Polish-American mathematician and logician (d.1954)
- 1898 – Leo Szilard, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (d. 1964)
- 1900 – Ellen Broe, Danish nurse, pioneer in nursing education (d. 1994)
- 1900 – Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher and scholar (d. 2002)
- 1900 – Jōsei Toda, Japanese educator and activist (d. 1958)
- 1902 – Arne Jacobsen, Danish architect, designed Radisson Blu Royal Hotel (d. 1971)
- 1904 – Keith Holyoake, New Zealand farmer and politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1983)
- 1904 – Lucile Randon, French Supercentenarian
- 1908 – Philip Dunne, American screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Vivian Fuchs, English explorer (d. 1999)
- 1909 – Max Baer, American boxer and actor (d. 1959)
- 1909 – Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
- 1912 – Rudolf Firkušný, Czech-American pianist and educator (d. 1994)
- 1914 – Matt Dennis, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2002)
- 1914 – Josh White, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1969)
- 1915 – Patrick Leigh Fermor, English soldier, author, and scholar (d. 2011)
- 1915 – Richard Hamming, American mathematician and academic (d. 1998)
- 1917 – Sidney Sheldon, American author and screenwriter (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Farouk I, King of Egypt (d. 1965)
- 1920 – Daniel F. Galouye, American author (d. 1976)
- 1920 – Billy Halop, American actor (d. 1976)
- 1920 – Daniel James, Jr., American general and pilot (d. 1978)
- 1921 – Lloyd Bentsen, American colonel and politician, United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Ottavio Missoni, Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Antony Flew, English philosopher and academic (d. 2010)
- 1924 – Budge Patty, American tennis player
- 1925 – Virginia E. Johnson, American psychologist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Kim Stanley, American actress (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Paul Bocuse, French chef (d. 2018)
- 1926 – Leslie Nielsen, Canadian-American actor and producer (d. 2010)
- 1930 – Roy De Forest, American painter and academic (d. 2007).
- 1932 – Dennis Skinner, English miner and politician
- 1934 – Mel Carnahan, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, Governor of Missouri (d. 2000)
- 1934 – Tina Louise, American actress and singer
- 1934 – Manuel Noriega, Panamanian general and politician, Military leader of Panama (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Mary Quant, British fashion designer
- 1934 – David Taylor, English veterinarian and television host (d. 2013)
- 1935 – Gene Vincent, American singer and guitarist (d. 1971)
- 1936 – Burt Reynolds, American actor and director (d. 2018)
- 1937 – Ian Gow, British Member of Parliament who was assassinated by the IRA (d. 1990)
- 1937 – Bill Lawry, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1937 – Eddie Shack, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1937 – Phillip Walker, American singer and guitarist (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Bevan Congdon, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Gerry Goffin, American songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Mick Staton, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
- 1941 – Sérgio Mendes, Brazilian pianist and composer
- 1942 – Otis Clay, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
- 1943 – Joselito, Spanish singer and actor
- 1943 – Alan Rubin, American trumpet player (d. 2011)
- 1944 – Mike Oxley, American lawyer and politician (d. 2016)
- 1944 – Joy Williams, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist
- 1946 – Ian Porterfield, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2007)
- 1947 – Yukio Hatoyama, Japanese engineer and politician and Prime Minister of Japan
- 1947 – Derek Shulman, Scottish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1951 – Mike Leavitt, American politician, 14th Governor of Utah
- 1953 – Philip Anglim, American actor
- 1953 – Jeb Bush, American banker, politician and Governor of Florida
- 1953 – Tom Veryzer, American baseball player (d. 2014)
- 1954 – Wesley Strick, American director and screenwriter
- 1956 – Didier Lockwood, French violinist (d. 2018)
- 1959 – Roberto Moreno, Brazilian race car driver
- 1960 – Richard Mastracchio, American engineer and astronaut
- 1962 – Tammy Baldwin, American lawyer and politician
- 1962 – Sheryl Crow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – Sarah Palin, American journalist, politician and Governor of Alaska
- 1964 – Ken Shamrock, American martial artist and wrestler
- 1965 – Vicki Wilson, Australian netball player
- 1968 – Mo Willems, American author and illustrator
- 1969 – Jennifer Aniston, American actress and producer
- 1969 – Andreas Hilfiker, Swiss footballer
- 1969 – John Salako, Nigerian-English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
- 1971 – Damian Lewis, English actor
- 1972 – Steve McManaman, English footballer
- 1973 – Varg Vikernes, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter
- 1974 – Nick Barmby, English international footballer, midfielder and manager
- 1974 – D’Angelo, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1974 – Jaroslav Špaček, Czech ice hockey player and coach
- 1975 – Andy Lally, American race car driver
- 1975 – Callum Thorp, Australian cricketer
- 1975 – Jacque Vaughn, American basketball player and coach
- 1976 – Tony Battie, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1979 – Brandy Norwood, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1982 – Ľubomíra Kalinová, Slovak biathlete
- 1982 – Neil Robertson, Australian snooker player
- 1983 – Rafael van der Vaart, Dutch international footballer, midfielder
- 1984 – Maarten Heisen, Dutch sprinter
- 1984 – Marco Marcato, Italian cyclist
- 1984 – Maxime Talbot, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Šárka Strachová, Czech skier
- 1987 – Luca Antonelli, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Juanmi Callejón, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Ellen van Dijk, Dutch cyclist
- 1987 – Brian Matusz, American baseball player
- 1987 – Jan Smeekens, Dutch speed skater
- 1988 – Vlad Moldoveanu, Romanian basketball player
- 1990 – Javier Aquino, Mexican footballer
- 1991 – Nikola Mirotic, Spanish basketball player
- 1992 – Lasse Norman Hansen, Danish track and road cyclist
- 1993 – Ben McLemore, American basketball player
- 1994 – Dansby Swanson, American baseball player
- 1996 – Jonathan Tah, German footballer
Deaths on February 11
- AD 55 – Britannicus, Roman son of Claudius (b. 41)
- 244 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (b. 225)
- 641 – Heraclius, Byzantine emperor (b. 575)
- 731 – Pope Gregory II (b. 669)
- 824 – Pope Paschal I
- 1141 – Hugh of Saint Victor, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1096)
- 1503 – Elizabeth of York (b. 1466)
- 1626 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1548)
- 1650 – René Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1596)
- 1755 – Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist, playwright, and critic (b. 1675)
- 1763 – William Shenstone, English poet and gardener (b. 1714)
- 1795 – Carl Michael Bellman, Swedish poet and composer (b. 1740)
- 1829 – Alexander Griboyedov, Russian poet, playwright, and composer (b. 1795)
- 1862 – Elizabeth Siddal, English poet and artist’s model (b. 1829)
- 1868 – Léon Foucault, French physicist and academic (b. 1819)
- 1898 – Félix María Zuloaga, Mexican general and unconstitutional interim president (1858 and 1860-1862) (b. 1813)
- 1901 – Milan I of Serbia (b. 1855)
- 1917 – Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician and epidemiologist (b. 1872)
- 1918 – Alexey Kaledin, Russian general (b. 1861)
- 1931 – Charles Algernon Parsons, English-Irish engineer, invented the steam turbine (b. 1854)
- 1940 – John Buchan, Scottish-Canadian historian and politician, Governor General of Canada (b. 1875)
- 1940 – Ellen Day Hale, American painter and author (b. 1855)
- 1942 – Jamnalal Bajaj, Indian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1884)
- 1947 – Martin Klein, Estonian wrestler and coach (b. 1884)
- 1948 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1898)
- 1949 – Axel Munthe, Swedish doctor (b. 1857)
- 1958 – Ernest Jones, Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst (b. 1879)
- 1963 – John Olof Dahlgren, Swedish-American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1872)
- 1963 – Sylvia Plath, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1932)
- 1967 – A. J. Muste, Dutch-American minister and activist (b. 1885)
- 1968 – Howard Lindsay, American playwright (b. 1889)
- 1973 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- 1975 – Richard Ratsimandrava, Malagasy colonel and politician, President of Madagascar (b. 1931)
- 1976 – Lee J. Cobb, American actor (b. 1911)
- 1976 – Alexander Lippisch, German pilot and engineer (b. 1894)
- 1977 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, President of India (b. 1905)
- 1977 – Louis Beel, Dutch academic and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1902)
- 1978 – James Bryant Conant, American chemist and academic (b. 1893)
- 1978 – Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist, essayist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1982 – Eleanor Powell, American actress and dancer (b. 1912)
- 1985 – Henry Hathaway, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1898)
- 1986 – Frank Herbert, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
- 1989 – George O’Hanlon, American actor and voice artist (b. 1912)
- 1993 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
- 1994 – Neil Bonnett, American race car driver (b. 1946)
- 1994 – Sorrell Booke, American lieutenant, actor, and director (b. 1930)
- 1994 – William Conrad, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1920)
- 1994 – Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-Swiss philosopher and academic (b. 1924)
- 1996 – Amelia Rosselli, Italian poet and author (b. 1930)
- 2000 – Lord Kitchner, Trinidadian singer (b. 1922)
- 2000 – Roger Vadim, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
- 2002 – Frankie Crosetti, American baseball player and coach (b. 1910)
- 2002 – Barry Foster, English actor (b. 1931)
- 2004 – Shirley Strickland, Australian runner (b. 1925)
- 2005 – Jack L. Chalker, American author (b. 1944)
- 2006 – Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter (b. 1940)
- 2006 – Ken Fletcher, Australian tennis player (b. 1940)
- 2006 – Jackie Pallo, English wrestler and actor (b. 1926)
- 2008 – Tom Lantos, American lawyer and politician (b. 1928)
- 2008 – Frank Piasecki, American engineer (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Estelle Bennett, American singer (b. 1941)
- 2009 – Willem Johan Kolff, Dutch-American physician and academic (b. 1911)
- 2010 – Heward Grafftey, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founder of his eponymous brand (b. 1969)
- 2011 – Chuck Tanner, American baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Siri Bjerke, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of the Environment (b. 1958)
- 2012 – Aharon Davidi, Israeli general (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Whitney Houston, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (b. 1963)
- 2013 – Rick Huxley, English bass player (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Alice Babs, Swedish singer and actress (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Tito Canepa, Dominican-American painter (b. 1916)
- 2014 – Fernando González Pacheco, Colombian journalist and actor (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Roger Hanin, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Bob Simon, American journalist (b. 1941)
- 2015 – Jerry Tarkanian, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Kevin Randleman, American mixed martial artist and wrestler (b. 1971)
- 2016 – Zeng Xuelin, Thai-Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1929)
- 2017 – Fab Melo, Brazilian basketball player (b. 1990)
- 2017 – Jaap Rijks, Dutch Olympian (b. 1919)
- 2018 – Vic Damone, American singer, songwriter and actor (b. 1928)
- 2018 – Asma Jahangir, Pakistani human-rights lawyer and social activist (b. 1952)
- 2018 – Jan Maxwell, American stage and television actress (b. 1956)
- 2018 – Qazi Wajid, Pakistani drama actor, writer and artist (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances on February 11
- Christian feast day:
- Blaise Eastern Orthodox liturgics
- Cædmon, first recorded Christian poet in England, circa 680 CE (Anglicanism)
- Gobnait
- Gregory II
- Lazarus of Milan
- European 112 Day (European Union)
- Armed Forces Day (Liberia)
- Evelio Javier Day (Panay Island, the Philippines)
- Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes (Catholic Church), and its related observance
- World Day of the Sick (Roman Catholic Church)
- Inventors’ Day (United States)
- National Foundation Day (Japan)
- Youth Day (Cameroon)
- International Day of Women and Girls in Science (UN Women)
-
January 29 in History
- 904 – Sergius III is consecrated pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
- 946 – Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu’izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by Al-Muti as caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate.
- 1258 – First Mongol invasion of Đại Việt: Đại Việt defeats the Mongols at the battle of Đông Bộ Đầu, forcing the Mongols to withdraw from the country.
- 1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.
- 1819 – Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore.
- 1845 – “The Raven” is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.
- 1850 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.
- 1856 – Queen Victoria issues a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that establishes the Victoria Cross to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War.
- 1861 – Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.
- 1863 – The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engage the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men, women and children.
- 1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
- 1891 – Liliuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
- 1907 – Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American U.S. Senator.
- 1911 – Mexican Revolution: Mexicali is captured by the Mexican Liberal Party, igniting the Magonista rebellion of 1911.
- 1916 – World War I: Paris is first bombed by German zeppelins.
- 1918 – Ukrainian–Soviet War: The Bolshevik Red Army, on its way to besiege Kiev, is met by a small group of military students at the Battle of Kruty.
- 1918 – Ukrainian–Soviet War: An armed uprising organized by the Bolsheviks in anticipation of the encroaching Red Army begins at the Kiev Arsenal, which will be put down six days later.
- 1936 – The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.
- 1940 – Three trains on the Nishinari Line; present Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi Station. One hundred and eighty-one people are killed.
- 1941 – Alexandros Koryzis becomes Prime Minister of Greece upon the sudden death of his predecessor, dictator Ioannis Metaxas.
- 1943 – World War II: The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, USS Chicago (CA-29) is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.
- 1944 – World War II: Approximately 38 people are killed and about a dozen injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai, Lithuania) is attacked by Soviet partisan units.
- 1944 – In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio is completely destroyed in an air-raid, during the Second World War.
- 1948 – The Pakistan Socialist Party is founded in Karachi.
- 1959 – The first Melodifestivalen is held in Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden.
- 1963 – The first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced.
- 1967 – The “ultimate high” of the hippie era, the Mantra-Rock Dance, takes place in San Francisco and features Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, and Allen Ginsberg.
- 1980 – The Rubik’s Cube makes its international debut at the Ideal Toy Corp. in Earl’s Court, London.
- 1989 – Cold War: Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so.
- 1991 – Gulf War: The Battle of Khafji, the first major ground engagement of the war, as well as its deadliest, begins.
- 1996 – President Jacques Chirac announces a “definitive end” to French nuclear weapons testing.
- 2001 – Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
- 2002 – In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush describes “regimes that sponsor terror” as an Axis of evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
- 2005 – The first direct commercial flights from mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines flight lands in Beijing.
- 2009 – The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt rules that people who do not adhere to one of the three government-recognised religions, while not allowed to list any belief outside of those three, are still eligible to receive government identity documents.
- 2009 – Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich is removed from office following his conviction of several corruption charges, including the alleged solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate as a replacement for then-U.S. president-elect Barack Obama.
- 2013 – SCAT Airlines Flight 760 crashes near the Kazakh city of Almaty, killing 21 people.
- 2013 – Alabama bunker hostage crisis: After shooting and killing of school bus driver, 66 years old Charles Albert Poland, Jr, by 65 year old Vietnam War era veteran, Jimmy Lee Dykes.
- 2017 – Quebec City mosque shooting: Alexandre Bissonnette opens fire at mosque in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, killing six and wounding 19 others in a spree shooting.
Births on January 29
- 919 – Shi Zong, emperor of the Liao Dynasty (d. 951)
- 1455 – Johann Reuchlin, German-born humanist and scholar (d. 1522)
- 1475 – Giuliano Bugiardini, Italian painter (d. 1555)
- 1499 – Katharina von Bora, wife of Martin Luther; formerly a Roman Catholic nun (d. 1552)
- 1525 – Lelio Sozzini, Italian humanist and reformer (d. 1562)
- 1584 – Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (d. 1647)
- 1591 – Franciscus Junius, pioneer of Germanic philology (d. 1677)
- 1602 – Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg (d. 1651)
- 1632 – Johann Georg Graevius, German scholar and critic (d. 1703)
- 1650 – Juan de Galavís, Spanish Roman Catholic archbishop of Santo Domingo and Bogotá (d. 1739)
- 1688 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish astronomer, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1772)
- 1711 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (d. 1788)
- 1715 – Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1777)
- 1717 – Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, English field marshal and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (d. 1797)
- 1718 – Paul Rabaut, French pastor (d. 1794)
- 1737 – Thomas Paine, prominent for publishing Common Sense (1776), which established him as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States (d. 1809)
- 1749 – Christian VII of Denmark (d. 1808)
- 1754 – Moses Cleaveland, American general, lawyer, and politician, founded Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1806)
- 1756 – Henry Lee III, American general and politician, 9th Governor of Virginia (d. 1818)
- 1761 – Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, and politician, 4th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1849)
- 1782 – Daniel Auber, French composer (d. 1871)
- 1801 – Johannes Bernardus van Bree, Dutch violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1857)
- 1810 – Ernst Kummer, Polish-German mathematician and academic (d. 1893)
- 1810 – Mary Whitwell Hale, American teacher, school founder, and hymnwriter (d. 1862)
- 1843 – William McKinley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 25th President of the United States (d. 1901)
- 1846 – Karol Olszewski, Polish chemist, mathematician, and physicist (d. 1915)
- 1852 – Frederic Hymen Cowen, Jamaican-English pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1935)
- 1858 – Henry Ward Ranger, American painter and academic (d. 1916)
- 1860 – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer (d. 1904)
- 1861 – Florida Ruffin Ridley, African-American civil rights activist, teacher, editor, and writer (d. 1943)
- 1862 – Frederick Delius, English composer (d. 1934)
- 1866 – Julio Peris Brell, Spanish painter (d. 1944)
- 1866 – Romain Rolland, French historian, author, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1944)
- 1867 – Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Spanish journalist and author (d. 1928)
- 1870 – Süleyman Nazif, Turkish poet and civil servant (d. 1927)
- 1874 – John D. Rockefeller, Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1960)
- 1876 – Havergal Brian, English composer (d. 1972)
- 1877 – Georges Catroux, French general and diplomat (d. 1969)
- 1880 – W. C. Fields, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (d. 1946)
- 1881 – Alice Catherine Evans, American microbiologist (d. 1975)
- 1884 – Juhan Aavik, Estonian-Swedish composer and conductor (d. 1982)
- 1888 – Sydney Chapman, English mathematician and geophysicist (d. 1970)
- 1888 – Wellington Koo, Chinese statesman (d. 1985)
- 1891 – Elizaveta Gerdt, Russian ballerina and educator (d. 1975)
- 1891 – R. Norris Williams, Swiss-American tennis player and banker (d. 1968)
- 1892 – Ernst Lubitsch, German American film director, producer, writer, and actor (d. 1947)
- 1895 – Muna Lee, American poet and author (d. 1965)
- 1901 – Allen B. DuMont, American engineer and broadcaster, founded the DuMont Television Network (d. 1965)
- 1901 – E. P. Taylor, Canadian businessman and horse breeder (d. 1989)
- 1903 – Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Russian-Israeli biochemist and philosopher (d. 1994)
- 1905 – Barnett Newman, American painter and etcher (d. 1970)
- 1906 – Joe Primeau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1989)
- 1913 – Victor Mature, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1915 – Bill Peet, American author and illustrator (d. 2002)
- 1915 – John Serry Sr., Italian-American concert accordionist and composer (d.2003)
- 1917 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (d. 2005)
- 1918 – John Forsythe, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1921 – Geraldine Pittman Woods, American science administrator and embryologist (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Jack Burke Jr., American golfer
- 1923 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author and screenwriter (d. 1981)
- 1926 – Abdus Salam, Pakistani-British physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
- 1926 – Amelita Ramos, 11th First Lady of the Philippines
- 1927 – Edward Abbey, American environmentalist and author (d. 1989)
- 1929 – Elio Petri, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1982)
- 1929 – Joseph Kruskal, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2010)
- 1931 – Leslie Bricusse, English playwright and composer
- 1931 – Ferenc Mádl, Hungarian academic and politician, 2nd President of Hungary (d. 2011)
- 1932 – Raman Subba Row, English cricketer and referee
- 1932 – Tommy Taylor, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1933 – Sacha Distel, French singer and guitarist (d. 2004)
- 1934 – Branko Miljković, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1961)
- 1936 – Veturi Sundararama Murthy, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 2010)
- 1937 – Hassan Habibi, Iranian lawyer and politician, 1st Vice President of Iran (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Bobby Scott, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1990)
- 1939 – Germaine Greer, Australian journalist and author
- 1940 – Katharine Ross, American actress and author
- 1940 – Kunimitsu Takahashi, Japanese motorcycle racer and race car driver
- 1941 – Robin Morgan, American actress, journalist, and author
- 1943 – Tony Blackburn, English radio and television host
- 1943 – Pat Quinn, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Andrew Loog Oldham, English record producer and manager
- 1944 – Patrick Lipton Robinson, Jamaican lawyer and judge
- 1944 – Pauline van der Wildt, Dutch swimmer
- 1945 – Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Malian academic and politician, Prime Minister of Mali
- 1945 – Jim Nicholson, Northern Irish politician
- 1945 – Tom Selleck, American actor and businessman
- 1946 – Bettye LaVette, American singer-songwriter
- 1947 – Linda B. Buck, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1947 – David Byron, English singer-songwriter (d. 1985)
- 1947 – Marián Varga, Slovak organist and composer
- 1948 – Raymond Keene, English chess player and author
- 1949 – doris davenport, American poet and teacher
- 1949 – Evgeny Lovchev, Russian footballer and manager
- 1949 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-American drummer and producer (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Ann Jillian, American actress and singer
- 1950 – Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver and sportscaster
- 1951 – Fereydoon Forooghi, Iranian singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1951 – Andy Roberts, Caribbean cricketer
- 1953 – Peter Baumann, German keyboard player and songwriter
- 1953 – Charlie Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1953 – Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (d. 1995)
- 1954 – Christian Bjelland IV, Norwegian businessman and art collector
- 1954 – Terry Kinney, American actor and director
- 1954 – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host, actress, and producer, founded Harpo Productions
- 1956 – Jan Jakub Kolski, Polish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
- 1957 – Philippe Dintrans, French rugby player
- 1957 – Ron Franscell, American author and journalist
- 1957 – Grażyna Miller, Italian journalist and poet
- 1959 – Mike Foligno, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1960 – Gia Carangi, American supermodel (d. 1986)
- 1960 – Greg Louganis, American diver and author
- 1961 – Petra Thümer, German swimmer and photographer
- 1962 – Nicholas Turturro, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1964 – John Anthony Gallagher, English-New Zealand rugby player
- 1965 – Dominik Hašek, Czech ice hockey player
- 1965 – Peter Lundgren, Swedish tennis player and coach
- 1966 – Romário, Brazilian footballer, manager, and politician
- 1967 – Stacey King, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1968 – Edward Burns, American actor, director, and producer
- 1968 – Susi Erdmann, German luger and bobsledder
- 1970 – Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian colonel and politician
- 1970 – Heather Graham, American actress
- 1970 – Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer
- 1970 – Paul Ryan, American economist and politician, 62nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1970 – Mohammed Yusuf, Nigerian Islamist leader, founded Boko Haram (d. 2009)
- 1975 – Sara Gilbert, American actress, producer, and talk show host
- 1980 – Ivan Klasnic, German-Croatian footballer
- 1982 – Adam Lambert, American singer, songwriter and actor
- 1984 – Natalie du Toit, South African swimmer
- 1984 – Nuno Morais, Portuguese footballer
- 1985 – Marc Gasol, Spanish basketball player
- 1987 – José Abreu, Cuban baseball player
- 1988 – Tatyana Chernova, Russian heptathlete
- 1988 – Shay Logan, English footballer
- 1988 – Aydın Yılmaz, Turkish footballer
- 1989 – Kevin Shattenkirk, American ice hockey player
- 1993 – Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Japanese singer
Deaths on January 29
- 661 – Ali, cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad (b. 601)
- 702 – Princess Ōku of Japan (b. 661)
- 757 – An Lushan, Chinese general (b. 703)
- 870 – Salih ibn Wasif, Muslim general
- 1119 – Pope Gelasius II (b. 1060)
- 1327 – Adolf, Count Palatine of the Rhine (b. 1300)
- 1465 – Louis, Duke of Savoy (b. 1413)
- 1597 – Elias Ammerbach, German organist and composer (b. 1530)
- 1608 – Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1557)
- 1647 – Francis Meres, English priest and author (b. 1565)
- 1678 – Jerónimo Lobo, Portuguese missionary and author (b. 1593)
- 1706 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and courtier (b. 1638)
- 1737 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Scottish-English field marshal and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1666)
- 1743 – André-Hercule de Fleury, French cardinal (b. 1653)
- 1763 – Louis Racine, French poet (b. 1692)
- 1820 – George III of the United Kingdom (b. 1738)
- 1829 – Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras, French captain and politician (b. 1755)
- 1829 – István Pauli, Hungarian-Slovenian priest and poet (b. 1760)
- 1870 – Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1797)
- 1871 – Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, Canadian author (b. 1786)
- 1888 – Edward Lear, English poet and illustrator (b. 1812)
- 1899 – Alfred Sisley, French-English painter (b. 1839)
- 1906 – Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1818)
- 1928 – Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, Scottish field marshal (b. 1861)
- 1931 – Henri Mathias Berthelot, French general during World War I (b. 1861)
- 1933 – Sara Teasdale, American poet (b. 1884)
- 1934 – Fritz Haber, Polish-German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1868)
- 1941 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1871)
- 1944 – William Allen White, American journalist and author (b. 1868)
- 1946 – Harry Hopkins, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1890)
- 1948 – Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta (b. 1900)
- 1950 – Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1885)
- 1951 – Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer and umpire (b. 1880)
- 1956 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist and critic (b. 1880)
- 1959 – Winifred Brunton, South African painter and illustrator (b. 1880)
- 1962 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (b. 1875)
- 1963 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (b. 1874)
- 1964 – Alan Ladd, American actor (b. 1913)
- 1969 – Allen Welsh Dulles, American banker, lawyer, and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1893)
- 1970 – B. H. Liddell Hart, French-English soldier, historian, and journalist (b. 1895)
- 1977 – Freddie Prinze, American comedian and actor (b. 1954)
- 1978 – Frank Nicklin, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Queensland (b. 1895)
- 1980 – Jimmy Durante, American entertainer (b. 1893)
- 1991 – Yasushi Inoue, Japanese author and poet (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Willie Dixon, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1915)
- 1993 – Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigerian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of Nigeria (b. 1906)
- 1994 – Ulrike Maier, Austrian skier (b. 1967)
- 1999 – Lili St. Cyr, American model and dancer (b. 1918)
- 2002 – Harold Russell, Canadian-American soldier and actor (b. 1914)
- 2003 – Frank Moss, American lawyer and politician (b. 1911)
- 2004 – Janet Frame, New Zealand author and poet (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli author, screenwriter, and director (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Nam June Paik, South Korean-American artist, (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Bengt Lindström, Swedish painter and sculptor (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Margaret Truman, American singer and author (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist (b. 1913)
- 2011 – Milton Babbitt, American composer, educator, and theorist (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Ranjit Singh Dyal, Indian general and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Italian lawyer and politician, 9th President of Italy (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Camilla Williams, American soprano and educator (b. 1919)
- 2014 – François Cavanna, French journalist and author (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Colleen McCullough, Australian neuroscientist, author, and academic (b. 1937)
- 2015 – Rod McKuen, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Alexander Vraciu, American commander and pilot (b. 1918)
- 2016 – Jean-Marie Doré, Guinean lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Guinea (b. 1938)
- 2016 – Jacques Rivette, French director, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1928)
- 2019 – George Fernandes, Indian politician (b. 1930)
- 2019 – James Ingram, American musician (b. 1952)
Holidays and observances on January 29
- Christian feast day:
- Andrei Rublev (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Aquilinus of Milan
- Constantius of Perugia
- Dallán Forgaill
- Gildas
- Juniper
- Sabinian of Troyes
- Sulpitius I of Bourges
- Valerius of Trèves
- January 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Fat Thursday can fall, while March 4 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before Ash Wednesday. (Christianity)
- Kansas Day (Kansas, United States)
-
January 27 in History
- 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
-
January 24 in History
- AD 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
- 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
- 1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.
- 1458 – Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary.
- 1536 – King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence.
- 1679 – King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.
- 1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1758 – During the Seven Years’ War the leading burghers of Königsberg submit to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).
- 1817 – Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the Action of Picheuta.
- 1835 – Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.
- 1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento.
- 1857 – The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia.
- 1859 – The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
- 1900 – Second Boer War: Boers stop a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.
- 1908 – The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.
- 1915 – World War I: British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper’s battle cruisers in the Battle of Dogger Bank.
- 1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
- 1918 – The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People’s Commissars effective February 14 (New Style).
- 1933 – The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.
- 1939 – The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.
- 1942 – World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.
- 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
- 1946 – The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
- 1960 – Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the “barricades week”, during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
- 1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa.
- 1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
- 1977 – The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.
- 1978 – Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada’s Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
- 1984 – Apple Computer places the Macintosh personal computer on sale in the United States.
- 1989 – Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, is executed by the electric chair at the Florida State Prison.
- 1990 – Japan launches Hiten, the country’s first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
- 2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
- 2009 – Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
- 2011 – At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.
Births on January 24
- AD 76 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (d. 138)
- 1287 – Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1345)
- 1444 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)
- 1540 – Edmund Campion, English priest and martyr (d. 1581)
- 1547 – Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Austrian Archduchess (d. 1578)
- 1602 – Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, English politician (d. 1666)
- 1619 – Yamazaki Ansai, Japanese philosopher (d. 1682)
- 1643 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and politician, Lord Chamberlain of Great Britain (d. 1706)
- 1664 – John Vanbrugh, English architect and dramatist (d. 1726)
- 1670 – William Congreve, English playwright and poet (d. 1729)
- 1672 – Margrave Albert Frederick of Brandenburg-Schwedt, German Lieutenant General (d. 1731)
- 1674 – Thomas Tanner, English bishop (d. 1735)
- 1679 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (d. 1754)
- 1684 – Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, German noble (d. 1737)
- 1705 – Farinelli, Italian castrato singer (d. 1782)
- 1709 – Dom Bédos de Celles, French monk and organist (d. 1779)
- 1712 – Frederick the Great, Prussian king (d. 1786)
- 1732 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and financier (d. 1799)
- 1739 – Jean Nicolas Houchard, French General of the French Revolution (d. 1793)
- 1746 – Gustav III of Sweden (d. 1792)
- 1749 – Charles James Fox, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1806)
- 1754 – Andrew Ellicott, American soldier and surveyor (d. 1820)
- 1761 – Louis Klein, French general (d. 1845)
- 1763 – Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, French-Ukrainian general and politician (d. 1831)
- 1776 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German jurist, author, and composer (d. 1822)
- 1787 – Christian Ludwig Brehm, German pastor and ornithologist (d. 1864)
- 1804 – Delphine de Girardin, French author (d. 1855)
- 1814 – Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, French Crown Princess (d. 1858)
- 1814 – John Colenso, British mathematician (d. 1883)
- 1816 – Wilhelm Henzen, German philologist and epigraphist (d. 1887)
- 1828 – Ferdinand Cohn, German biologist (d. 1898)
- 1829 – Yechiel Michel Epstein, Rabbi and posek (d. 1908)
- 1836 – Signe Rink, Greenland-born Danish writer and ethnologist (d. 1909)
- 1843 – Josip Stadler, Croatian archbishop (d. 1918)
- 1848 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (d. 1916)
- 1850 – Hermann Ebbinghaus, German psychologist (d. 1909)
- 1853 – Sigbert Josef Maria Ganser, German psychiatrist (d. 1931)
- 1856 – Friedrich Grünanger, Transylvanian Hungarian-German architect (d. 1929)
- 1858 – Constance Naden, English poet and philosopher (d. 1889)
- 1862 – Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1937)
- 1863 – August Adler, Czech and Austrian mathematician (d. 1923)
- 1864 – Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (d. 1936)
- 1864 – Gaetano Giardino, Italian soldier and Marshal of Italy (d. 1935)
- 1866 – Jaan Poska, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1920)
- 1870 – Herbert Kilpin, English footballer (d. 1916)
- 1871 – Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic, Czech poet, writer and literary critic (d. 1951)
- 1871 – Thomas Jaggar, American volcanologist (d. 1953)
- 1872 – Yuly Aykhenvald, Russian literary critic (d. 1928)
- 1872 – Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (d. 1943)
- 1872 – Morris Travers, English chemist and academic (d. 1961)
- 1873 – Dmitry Ushakov, Russian philologist and lexicographer (d. 1942)
- 1882 – Harold D. Babcock, American astronomer (d. 1968)
- 1882 – Ödön Bodor, Hungarian athlete (d. 1927)
- 1886 – Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
- 1887 – Jean-Henri Humbert, French botanist (d. 1967)
- 1888 – Vicki Baum, Austrian author and screenwriter (d. 1960)
- 1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman, founded the Heinkel Aircraft Manufacturing Company (d. 1958)
- 1889 – Victor Eftimiu, Romanian poet and playwright (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Charles Hawes, American historian and author (d. 1923)
- 1889 – Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, German general of paratroop forces during World War II (d. 1968)
- 1891 – Walter Model, German field marshal (d. 1945)
- 1892 – Franz Aigner, Austrian weightlifter (d. 1970)
- 1895 – Eugen Roth, German poet and songwriter (d. 1976)
- 1897 – Paul Fejos, Hungarian-born American director (d. 1963)
- 1899 – Hoyt Vandenberg, U.S. Air Force general (d. 1954)
- 1900 – René Guillot, French writer (d. 1969)
- 1901 – Harry Calder, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
- 1901 – Cassandre, French painter (d. 1968)
- 1901 – Edward Turner, English engineer (d. 1973)
- 1905 – J. Howard Marshall, American lawyer and businessman (d. 1995)
- 1906 – Wilfred Jackson, American animator and composer (d. 1988)
- 1907 – Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu, fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 1979)
- 1907 – Maurice Couve de Murville, French soldier and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1999)
- 1907 – Jean Daetwyler, Swiss composer and musician (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Martin Lings, English author and scholar (d. 2005)
- 1910 – Doris Haddock, American political activist (d. 2010)
- 1912 – Frederick Ashworth, American admiral (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Norman Dello Joio, American organist and composer (d. 2008)
- 1913 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1983)
- 1915 – Vítězslava Kaprálová, Czech composer and conductor (d. 1940)
- 1915 – Robert Motherwell, American painter and academic (d. 1991)
- 1916 – Rafael Caldera, Venezuelan lawyer and politician, 65th President of Venezuela (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player and actor (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (d. 2012)
- 1917 – Wilhelmus Demarteau, Dutch prelate of the Roman Catholic Church (d. 2012)
- 1918 – Gottfried von Einem, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1918 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist, founded Oral Roberts University and Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1973)
- 1919 – Leon Kirchner, American composer and educator (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Jimmy Forrest, American saxophonist (d. 1980)
- 1920 – Jerry Maren, American actor (d. 2018)
- 1922 – Daniel Boulanger, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Neil Franklin, English footballer (d. 1996)
- 1923 – Geneviève Asse, French painter
- 1925 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina and actress (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Ruth Asawa, American sculptor (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Sir Patrick Macnaghten, 11th Baronet, Scottish lieutenant (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Paula Hawkins, American politician (d. 2009)
- 1928 – Desmond Morris, English zoologist, ethologist, and painter
- 1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Mahmoud Farshchian, Iranian-Persian painter and academic
- 1930 – John Romita Sr., American comic book artist
- 1931 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician and academic (d. 2012)
- 1931 – Ib Nørholm, Danish composer and organist
- 1932 – Éliane Radigue, French electronic music composer
- 1933 – Kamran Baghirov, the 12th First Secretary of Azerbaijan Communist Party (d. 2000)
- 1933 – Asim Ferhatović, Bosnian footballer (d. 1987)
- 1934 – Leonard Goldberg, American producer (d. 2019)
- 1934 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and dramatist (d. 1976)
- 1935 – Eric Ashton, English rugby player and coach (d. 2008)
- 1935 – Shivabalayogi, Indian religious leader (d. 1994)
- 1936 – Doug Kershaw, American fiddle player and singer
- 1937 – Trevor Edwards, Welsh footballer
- 1938 – Julius Hemphill, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1995)
- 1939 – Renate Garisch-Culmberger, German shot putter
- 1939 – Ray Stevens, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1940 – Vito Acconci, American designer (d. 2017)
- 1940 – Joachim Gauck, German pastor and politician, 11th President of Germany
- 1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1941 – Aaron Neville, American singer
- 1941 – Dan Shechtman, Israeli chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1942 – Ingo Friedrich, German Member of the European Parliament
- 1942 – Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (d. 2008)
- 1943 – Peter Struck, German lawyer and politician, 13th German Federal Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Barry Mealand, English footballer, right back (d. 2013)
- 1943 – Sharon Tate, American model and actress (d. 1969)
- 1943 – Tony Trimmer, English race car driver
- 1943 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (d. 2016)
- 1944 – David Gerrold, American science fiction screenwriter and author
- 1944 – Gian-Franco Kasper, Swiss ski official
- 1945 – John Garamendi, American football player and politician, 1st United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
- 1945 – Subhash Ghai, Indian director, producer and screenwriter
- 1945 – Eva Janko, Austrian javelin thrower
- 1946 – Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor
- 1947 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
- 1947 – Michio Kaku, American physicist and academic
- 1947 – Masashi Ozaki, Japanese baseball player and golfer
- 1947 – Warren Zevon, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1948 – Elliott Abrams, American diplomat, lawyer and political scientist
- 1948 – Michael Des Barres, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1949 – John Belushi, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1982)
- 1949 – Bart Gordon, American lawyer
- 1949 – Nadezhda Ilyina, Russian athlete and mother of Russian tennis player Nadia Petrova (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Rihoko Yoshida, Japanese voice actress
- 1950 – Daniel Auteuil, French actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1951 – Yakov Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American comedian and actor
- 1953 – Yuri Bashmet, Russian violinist, viola player, and conductor
- 1953 – Moon Jae-in, 19th President of South Korea
- 1954 – Jo Gartner, Austrian race car driver (d. 1986)
- 1955 – Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
- 1955 – Alan Sokal, American physicist and author
- 1955 – Lynda Weinman, American businesswoman and author
- 1956 – Agus Martowardojo, governor of Bank Indonesia
- 1957 – Mark Eaton, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1957 – Ade Edmondson, English comedian and musician
- 1958 – Kim Eui-kon, Korean wrestler
- 1958 – Jools Holland, English singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1958 – Frank Ullrich, German biathlete
- 1959 – Akira Maeda, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
- 1959 – Michel Preud’homme, Belgian footballer and manager
- 1961 – Jorge Barrios, Uruguayan footballer
- 1961 – Guido Buchwald, German footballer and manager
- 1961 – Christa Kinshofer, German ski racer
- 1961 – Nastassja Kinski, German-American actress and producer
- 1961 – William Van Dijck, Belgian runner
- 1963 – Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
- 1964 – Annika Dahlman, Swedish cross country skier
- 1965 – Robin Dutt, German footballer
- 1965 – Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Margaret Urlich, New Zealand singer-songwriter
- 1965 – Pagonis Vakalopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
- 1965 – Kim Sung-moon, South Korean wrestler
- 1966 – Julie Dreyfus, French actress
- 1966 – Karin Viard, French actress
- 1967 – Michael Kiske, German singer
- 1967 – Mark Kozelek, American singer and musician
- 1967 – Phil LaMarr, American actor, singer, and screenwriter
- 1967 – John Myung, American bass player and songwriter
- 1968 – Fernando Escartín, Spanish cyclist
- 1968 – Antony Garrett Lisi, American theoretical physicist
- 1968 – Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
- 1968 – Tymerlan Huseynov, Ukrainian footballer
- 1969 – Yoo Ho-jeong, South Korean actress
- 1969 – Carlos Rômulo Gonçalves e Silva, bishop of Montenegro
- 1970 – Roberto Bonano, Argentine footballer
- 1970 – Neil Johnson, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1970 – Matthew Lillard, American actor
- 1971 – José Carlos Fernandez, Bolivian footballer
- 1972 – Beth Hart, American blues-rock singer and piano player
- 1974 – Cyril Despres, French rally racer
- 1974 – Ed Helms, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Melissa Tkautz, Australian actress and singer
- 1974 – Rokia Traoré, Malian singer
- 1975 – Gianluca Basile, Italian former professional basketball player
- 1975 – Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican footballer and manager
- 1975 – Reto Hug, Swiss triathlonist
- 1975 – Henna Raita, Finnish alpine skier
- 1976 – Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer, coach, and choreographer
- 1976 – Cindy Pieters, Belgian cyclist
- 1977 – Andrija Gerić, Serbian volleyball player
- 1977 – Michelle Hunziker, Swiss-Dutch actress, model and singer
- 1978 – Veerle Baetens, Belgian actress and singer
- 1978 – Mark Hildreth, Canadian actor and musician
- 1978 – Kristen Schaal, American actress, voice artist, comedian and writer
- 1979 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
- 1979 – Leandro Desábato, Argentinian footballer
- 1979 – Busy Signal, Jamaican dancehall reggae artist
- 1979 – Nik Wallenda, American acrobat
- 1980 – Jofre Mateu, Spanish footballer
- 1980 – Suzy, Portuguese singer
- 1981 – Mario Eggimann, Swiss footballer
- 1981 – Zaur Hashimov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager
- 1981 – Elena Kolomina, Kazakhstani cross country skier
- 1982 – Céline Deville, French footballer
- 1982 – Daveed Diggs, American actor, rapper and singer
- 1982 – Claudia Heill, Austrian judoka
- 1982 – Aitor Hernández, Spanish racing cyclist
- 1983 – Davide Biondini, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Wyatt Crockett, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 – Evgeny Drattsev, Russian swimmer
- 1983 – Craig Horner, Australian actor and musician
- 1983 – Shaun Maloney, Scottish footballer
- 1983 – Scott Speed, American race car driver
- 1984 – Emerse Faé, French-born Ivorian footballer
- 1984 – Yotam Halperin, Israeli basketball player
- 1984 – Jung Jin-sun, South Korean fencer
- 1984 – Scott Kazmir, American baseball player
- 1984 – Paulo Sérgio Moreira Gonçalves, Portuguese footballer
- 1985 – Fabiana Claudino, Brazilian volleyball player
- 1985 – Trey Gilder, American basketball player
- 1986 – Cristiano Araújo, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1986 – Mohammad Bagheri Motamed, Iranian taekwondo practitioner
- 1986 – Mischa Barton, English-American actress
- 1986 – Vladislav Ivanov, Russian footballer
- 1986 – Michael Kightly, English footballer
- 1986 – Ricky Ullman, Israeli-American actor
- 1987 – Wayne Hennessey, Welsh footballer
- 1987 – Luis Suárez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1987 – Davide Valsecchi, Italian racing driver
- 1987 – Kia Vaughn, American born Czech basketball player
- 1987 – Guan Xin, Chinese basketball player
- 1988 – Selina Jörg, German snowboarder
- 1989 – Serdar Kesimal, Turkish footballer
- 1989 – Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
- 1989 – Ki Sung-yueng, South Korean footballer
- 1990 – Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1991 – Zhan Beleniuk, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler
- 1991 – Tatiana Kashirina, Russian weightlifter
- 1991 – Zé Luís, Cape Verdean footballer
- 1991 – Li Xuerui, Chinese badminton player
- 1992 – Becky Downie, English gymnast
- 1992 – Phiwa Nkambule, South African entrepreneur
- 1992 – Felitciano Zschusschen, Curaçao footballer
- 1994 – Tommie Hoban, English footballer
- 1995 – Dylan Everett, Canadian actor
- 1997 – Nirei Fukuzumi, Japanese racer
- 1999 – Vitalie Damașcan, Moldovan footballer
- 2012 – Princess Athena of Denmark, younger child of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark
Deaths onJanuary 24
- AD 41 – Caligula, Roman emperor (b. 12)
- 817 – Pope Stephen IV (b. 770)
- 901 – Liu Jishu, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 1046 – Eckard II, Margrave of Meissen (b. c. 985)
- 1125 – David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)
- 1336 – Alfonso IV of Aragon (b. 1299)
- 1376 – Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English commander (b. 1306)
- 1473 – Conrad Paumann, German organist and composer (b. 1410)
- 1525 – Franciabigio, Florentine painter (b. 1482)
- 1595 – Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (b. 1529)
- 1626 – Samuel Argall, English captain and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1572)
- 1639 – Jörg Jenatsch, Swiss pastor and politician (b. 1596)
- 1666 – Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer and theorist (b. 1588)
- 1709 – George Rooke, English admiral and politician (b. 1650)
- 1877 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist and journalist (b. 1796)
- 1881 – James Collinson, English painter (b. 1825)
- 1883 – Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (b. 1812)
- 1895 – Lord Randolph Churchill, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1849)
- 1920 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1884)
- 1939 – Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician, created Muesli (b. 1867)
- 1943 – John Burns, English trade union leader and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1858)
- 1960 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1886)
- 1961 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and businessman, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company (b. 1884)
- 1962 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (b. 1885)
- 1962 – Stanley Lord, English naval captain (b. 1877)
- 1962 – Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish author, poet, and scholar (b. 1901)
- 1965 – Winston Churchill, English colonel and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
- 1966 – Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist and academic (b. 1909)
- 1970 – Caresse Crosby, American fashion designer and publisher, co-founded the Black Sun Press (b. 1891)
- 1971 – Bill W., American activist, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895)
- 1973 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (b. 1896)
- 1975 – Larry Fine, American comedian (b. 1902)
- 1982 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (b. 1918)
- 1983 – George Cukor, American director and producer (b. 1899)
- 1986 – L. Ron Hubbard, American religious leader and author, founded the Church of Scientology (b. 1911)
- 1986 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (b. 1921)
- 1988 – Werner Fenchel, German-Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1905)
- 1989 – Ted Bundy, American serial killer (b. 1946)
- 1990 – Madge Bellamy, American actress (b. 1899)
- 1991 – Jack Schaefer, American journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (b. 1909)
- 1993 – Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1908)
- 1993 – Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and jurist, 32nd United States Solicitor General (b. 1908)
- 2002 – Elie Hobeika, Lebanese commander and politician (b. 1956)
- 2003 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Leônidas, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Schafik Handal, Salvadoran politician (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Krystyna Feldman, Polish actress (b. 1916)
- 2007 – İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Guadalupe Larriva, Ecuadorian academic and politician (b. 1956)
- 2007 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican-American soldier (b. 1891)
- 2010 – Pernell Roberts, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (b. 1949)
- 2014 – Shulamit Aloni, Israeli lawyer and politician, 11th Israeli Minister of Education (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Rafael Pineda Ponce, Honduran academic and politician (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (b. 1928)
- 2016 – Marvin Minsky, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Henry Worsley, English colonel and explorer (b. 1960)
- 2017 – Butch Trucks, American drummer (b. 1947)
- 2018 – Mark E. Smith, British singer-songwriter (b. 1957)
- 2019 – Rosemary Bryant Mariner, American United States Naval Aviator (b. 1953)
Holidays and observances on January 24
- Christian feast day:
- Babylas of Antioch
- Cadoc (Wales)
- Exuperantius of Cingoli
- Felician of Foligno
- Francis de Sales
- Pratulin Martyrs (Greek Catholic Church)
- January 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Saturday of Souls can fall, while February 27 (or 28 during Leap Year) is the latest; observed 57 days before Easter. (Eastern Orthodox)
- Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
- Feria de Alasitas (La Paz)
- Unification Day (Romania)
- Uttar Pradesh Day (Uttar Pradesh, India)
-
January 23 in History
- 393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.
- 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.
- 1264 – In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour of Henry that later leads to the Second Barons’ War.
- 1368 – In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries.
- 1546 – Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.
- 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
- 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.
- 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London.
- 1579 – The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
- 1656 – Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales.
- 1719 – The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1789 – Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.).
- 1793 – Second Partition of Poland.
- 1795 – After an extraordinary charge across the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry captured 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns, in a rare occurrence of a battle between ships and cavalry.
- 1846 – Slavery in Tunisia is abolished.
- 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States’ first female doctor.
- 1870 – In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre.
- 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Rorke’s Drift ends.
- 1899 – The Malolos Constitution is inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic. Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as its first President.
- 1900 – Second Boer War: The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces ends in a British defeat.
- 1904 – Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
- 1909 – RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day.
- 1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.
- 1920 – The Netherlands refuses to surrender the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.
- 1937 – The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin’s regime.
- 1941 – Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Rabaul commences Japan’s invasion of Australia’s Territory of New Guinea.
- 1943 – World War II: Troops of the British Eighth Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German–Italian Panzer Army.
- 1945 – World War II: German admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal.
- 1950 – The Knesset resolves that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
- 1957 – American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the “Frisbee”.
- 1958 – After a general uprising and rioting in the streets, President Marcos Pérez Jiménez leaves Venezuela.
- 1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 metres (35,797 ft) in the Pacific Ocean.
- 1961 – The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by opponents of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is overthrown.
- 1963 – The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese army stationed in Tite.
- 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
- 1967 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Ivory Coast are established.
- 1967 – Milton Keynes (England) is founded as a new town by Order in Council, with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people. Its initial designated area enclosed three existing towns and twenty one villages. The area to be developed was largely farmland, with evidence of continuous settlement dating back to the Bronze Age.
- 1968 – USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is attacked and seized by naval forces of North Korea.
- 1973 – United States President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
- 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
- 1997 – Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
- 1998 – Netscape announced Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source.
- 2001 – Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Communist Party of China to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.
- 2002 – U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered.
- 2003 – A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted.
- 2018 – A 7.9 Mw earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities.
- 2018 – A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds “dozens” of others. The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials.
Births on January 23
- 599 – Tai Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 649)
- 1350 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (d. 1419)
- 1378 – Louis III, Elector Palatine (d. 1436)
- 1514 – Hai Rui, Chinese politician (d. 1587)
- 1585 – Mary Ward, English Catholic Religious Sister (d. 1645)
- 1622 – Abraham Diepraam, Dutch painter (d. 1670)
- 1719 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (d. 1790)
- 1737 – John Hancock, American general and politician, 1st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1793)
- 1745 – William Jessop, English engineer, built the Cromford Canal (d. 1814)
- 1752 – Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1832)
- 1780 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (d. 1827)
- 1783 – Stendhal, French novelist (d. 1842)
- 1786 – Auguste de Montferrand, French-Russian architect, designed Saint Isaac’s Cathedral and Alexander Column (d. 1858)
- 1799 – Alois Negrelli, Tyrolean engineer and railroad pioneer active in the Austrian Empire (d. 1858)
- 1809 – Surendra Sai, Indian activist (d. 1884)
- 1813 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian novelist and activist (d. 1895)
- 1828 – Saigō Takamori, Japanese samurai (d. 1877)
- 1832 – Édouard Manet, French painter (d. 1883)
- 1833 – Muthu Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1879)
- 1838 – Marianne Cope, German-American nun and saint (d. 1918)
- 1840 – Ernst Abbe, German physicist and engineer (d. 1905)
- 1846 – Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist and mathematician (d. 1915)
- 1855 – John Browning, American weapons designer, founded the Browning Arms Company (d. 1926)
- 1857 – Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian meteorologist and seismologist (d. 1936)
- 1862 – David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1943)
- 1862 – Frank Shuman, American inventor and engineer (d. 1918)
- 1872 – Paul Langevin, French physicist and academic (d. 1946)
- 1872 – Jože Plečnik, Slovenian architect, designed Plečnik Parliament (d. 1957)
- 1876 – Otto Diels, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
- 1878 – Rutland Boughton, English composer (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, Mexican politician (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Claribel Kendall, American mathematician (d.1965)
- 1894 – Jyotirmoyee Devi, Indian author (d. 1988)
- 1896 – Alf Blair, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1944)
- 1896 – Alf Hall, English-South African cricketer (d. 1964)
- 1897 – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian activist and politician (d. 1945)
- 1897 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (d. 2000)
- 1897 – Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author (d. 1978)
- 1897 – William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (d. 1989)
- 1898 – Georg Kulenkampff, German violinist (d. 1948)
- 1898 – Randolph Scott, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (d. 1978)
- 1899 – Glen Kidston, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1931)
- 1900 – William Ifor Jones, Welsh organist and conductor (d. 1988)
- 1901 – Arthur Wirtz, American businessman (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Minister of National Education of Colombia (d. 1948)
- 1905 – Erich Borchmeyer, German sprinter (d. 2000)
- 1907 – Dan Duryea, American actor and singer (d. 1968)
- 1907 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
- 1910 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (d. 1953)
- 1912 – Boris Pokrovsky, Russian director and manager (d. 2009)
- 1913 – Jean-Michel Atlan, Algerian-French painter (d. 1960)
- 1913 – Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (d. 2007)
- 1915 – Herma Bauma, Austrian javelin thrower and handball player (d. 2003)
- 1915 – W. Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian-Barbadian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
- 1915 – Potter Stewart, American lawyer and judge (d. 1985)
- 1916 – David Douglas Duncan, American photographer and journalist (d. 2018)
- 1916 – Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (d. 1979)
- 1918 – Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Florence Rush, American social worker and theorist (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Frances Bay, Canadian-American actress (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Hans Hass, Austrian biologist and diver (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (d. 1962)
- 1919 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Gottfried Böhm, German architect
- 1920 – Henry Eriksson, Swedish runner (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Leon Golub, American painter and academic (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Horace Ashenfelter, American runner (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Cot Deal, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Walter M. Miller, Jr., American soldier and author (d. 1996)
- 1924 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier, businessman, and politician (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Marty Paich, American pianist, composer, producer, and conductor (d. 1995)
- 1926 – Bal Thackeray, Indian journalist, cartoonist, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American businessman and explorer (d. 1994)
- 1927 – Fred Williams, Australian painter (d. 1982)
- 1928 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress (d. 2017)
- 1929 – Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Phillip Knightley, Australian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2016)
- 1929 – John Polanyi, German-Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 – Filaret, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan
- 1930 – Mervyn Rose, Australian tennis player (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
- 1932 – George Allen, English footballer (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Larri Thomas, American actress and dancer (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Bill Hayden, Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia
- 1933 – Chita Rivera, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1934 – Pierre Bourgault, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (d. 2016)
- 1935 – Tom Reamy, American author (d. 1977)
- 1935 – Teresa Żylis-Gara, Polish operatic soprano
- 1936 – Brian Howe, Australian minister and politician, 8th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
- 1936 – Jerry Kramer, American football player and sportscaster
- 1936 – Cécile Ousset, French pianist
- 1938 – Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (d. 1999)
- 1938 – Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor
- 1939 – Ed Roberts, American disability rights activist (d. 1995)
- 1940 – Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Joe Dowell, American pop singer (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Jock R. Anderson, Australian economist and academic
- 1941 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Laurie Mayne, Australian cricketer
- 1942 – Herman Tjeenk Willink, Dutch judge and politician
- 1942 – Phil Clarke, New Zealand rugby union player
- 1943 – Gary Burton, American vibraphone player and composer
- 1943 – Özhan Canaydın, Turkish basketball player and businessman (d. 2010)
- 1943 – Gil Gerard, American actor and producer
- 1944 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (d. 2019)
- 1945 – Mike Harris, Canadian politician, 22nd Premier of Ontario
- 1946 – Arnoldo Alemán, Nicaraguan lawyer and politician, President of Nicaragua
- 1946 – Boris Berezovsky, Russian-English businessman and mathematician (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Zvonko Bušić, Croatian terrorist, hijacker of TWA Flight 355 (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Don Whittington, American race car driver
- 1947 – Tom Carper, American captain and politician, 71st Governor of Delaware
- 1947 – Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesian politician, 5th President of Indonesia
- 1948 – Anita Pointer, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor, producer, and composer
- 1950 – Bill Cunningham, American bass and keyboard player
- 1950 – Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (d. 2018)
- 1950 – Suzanne Scotchmer, American economist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (d. 2012)
- 1951 – Margaret Bailes, American sprinter
- 1951 – Chesley Sullenberger, American captain and pilot
- 1952 – Omar Henry, South African cricketer
- 1953 – John Luther Adams, American composer
- 1953 – Alister McGrath, Irish priest, historian, and theologian
- 1953 – Antonio Villaraigosa, American politician, 41st Mayor of Los Angeles
- 1953 – Robin Zander, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Trevor Hohns, Australian cricketer
- 1957 – Caroline, Princess of Hanover
- 1958 – Sergey Litvinov, Russian hammer thrower (d. 2018)
- 1959 – Clive Bull, English radio host
- 1960 – Jean-François Sauvé, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 – Greg Ritchie, Australian cricketer
- 1961 – Neil Henry, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1961 – Yelena Sinchukova, Russian long jumper
- 1962 – David Arnold, English composer
- 1962 – Aivar Lillevere, Estonian footballer and coach
- 1962 – Elvira Lindo, Spanish journalist and author
- 1964 – Jonatha Brooke, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – Mariska Hargitay, American actress and producer
- 1964 – Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyanese economist and politician, 7th President of Guyana
- 1964 – Mario Roberge, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 – Louie Clemente, American drummer
- 1966 – Damien Hardman, Australian surfer
- 1966 – Haywoode Workman, American basketball player and referee
- 1967 – Owen Cunningham, Australian rugby league player
- 1968 – Taro Hakase, Japanese violinist and composer
- 1968 – Petr Korda, Czech-Monacan tennis player
- 1969 – Andrei Kanchelskis, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
- 1969 – Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player and actor
- 1969 – Susen Tiedtke, German long jumper
- 1970 – Spyridon Vasdekis, Greek long jumper
- 1971 – Scott Gibbs, Welsh-South African rugby player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Kevin Mawae, American football player and coach
- 1971 – Marc Nelson, American singer-songwriter
- 1971 – Adam Parore, New Zealand cricketer and mountaineer
- 1971 – Claire Rankin, Canadian actress
- 1971 – Lisa Snowdon, English television and radio presenter and fashion model
- 1972 – Ewen Bremner, Scottish actor
- 1973 – Tomas Holmström, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1974 – Glen Chapple, English cricketer
- 1974 – Rebekah Elmaloglou, Australian actress
- 1974 – Yosvani Pérez, Cuban baseball player
- 1974 – Richard T. Slone, English painter
- 1974 – Tiffani Thiessen, American actress
- 1975 – Nick Harmer, German musician
- 1975 – Phil Dawson, American football player
- 1976 – Brandon Duckworth, American baseball player and scout
- 1976 – Anne Margrethe Hausken, Norwegian orienteering competitor
- 1976 – Alex Shaffer, American skier
- 1979 – Larry Hughes, American basketball player
- 1979 – Dawn O’Porter, Scottish-English fashion designer and journalist
- 1979 – Juan Rincón, Venezuelan baseball player and coach
- 1981 – Rob Friend, Canadian soccer player
- 1982 – Wily Mo Peña, Dominican baseball player
- 1982 – Oceana Mahlmann, German singer and songwriter
- 1982 – Andrew Rock, American sprinter
- 1983 – Irving Saladino, Panamanian long jumper
- 1984 – Robbie Farah, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Arjen Robben, Dutch footballer
- 1985 – Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese footballer
- 1985 – Doutzen Kroes, Dutch model and actress
- 1985 – Yevgeny Lukyanenko, Russian pole vaulter
- 1985 – Aselefech Mergia, Ethiopian runner
- 1985 – Jeff Samardzija, American baseball player
- 1985 – San E, South Korean rapper
- 1986 – Gelete Burka, Ethiopian runner
- 1986 – Marc Laird, Scottish footballer
- 1986 – José Enrique, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Michael Stevens, American YouTuber and educator
- 1986 – Steven Taylor, English footballer
- 1986 – Sandro Viletta, Swiss skier
- 1987 – Leo Komarov, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
- 1990 – Şener Özbayraklı, Turkish footballer
- 1990 – Alex Silva, Canadian wrestler
- 1990 – Martyn Waghorn, English footballer
- 1992 – Reina Triendl, Japanese model and actress
- 1994 – Addison Russell, American baseball player
- 1995 – Luke Bateman, Australian rugby league player
- 1995 – Tuimoala Lolohea, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1998 – XXXTentacion, American rapper (d. 2018)
Deaths on January 23
- 667 – Ildefonsus, bishop of Toledo
- 989 – Adalbero, archbishop of Reims
- 1002 – Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)
- 1199 – Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, Moroccan caliph (b. 1160)
- 1252 – Isabella, Queen of Armenia
- 1297 – Florent of Hainaut, Prince of Achaea (b. c. 1255)
- 1423 – Margaret of Bavaria, Burgundian regent (b. 1363)
- 1516 – Ferdinand II of Aragon (b. 1452)
- 1548 – Bernardo Pisano, Italian priest, scholar, and composer (b. 1490)
- 1549 – Johannes Honter, Romanian-Hungarian cartographer and theologian (b. 1498)
- 1567 – Jiajing Emperor of China (b. 1507)
- 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Scottish politician (b. 1531)
- 1620 – John Croke, English politician and judge (b. 1553)
- 1622 – William Baffin, English explorer and navigator (b. 1584)
- 1650 – Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke (b. 1584)
- 1744 – Giambattista Vico, Italian historian and philosopher (b. 1668)
- 1785 – Matthew Stewart, Scottish mathematician and academic (b. 1717)
- 1789 – Frances Brooke, English author and playwright (b. 1724)
- 1789 – John Cleland, English author (b. 1709)
- 1800 – Edward Rutledge, American captain and politician, 39th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1749)
- 1803 – Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer, founded Guinness (b. 1725)
- 1805 – Claude Chappe, French engineer (b. 1763)
- 1806 – William Pitt the Younger, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
- 1810 – Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German chemist and physicist (b. 1776)
- 1812 – Robert Craufurd, Scottish general and politician (b. 1764)
- 1820 – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (b. 1767)
- 1833 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (b. 1757)
- 1837 – John Field, Irish pianist and composer (b. 1782)
- 1866 – Thomas Love Peacock, English author and poet (b. 1785)
- 1875 – Charles Kingsley English priest and author (b. 1819)
- 1883 – Gustave Doré, French engraver and illustrator (b. 1832)
- 1893 – Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, American lawyer and politician, 16th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1825)
- 1893 – José Zorrilla, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1817)
- 1921 – Mykola Leontovych, Ukrainian composer and conductor (b. 1877)
- 1922 – René Beeh, Alsatian painter and draughtsman (b. 1886)
- 1922 – Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor and academic (b. 1855)
- 1923 – Max Nordau, Austrian physician and author (b. 1849)
- 1931 – Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina (b. 1881)
- 1937 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (b. 1876)
- 1939 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (b. 1903)
- 1943 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (b. 1887)
- 1944 – Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1863)
- 1947 – Pierre Bonnard, French painter (b. 1867)
- 1956 – Alexander Korda, Hungarian-English director and producer (b. 1893)
- 1963 – Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor (b. 1908)
- 1966 – T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1895)
- 1971 – Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (b. 1871)
- 1973 – Alexander Onassis, American-Greek businessman (b. 1948)
- 1973 – Kid Ory, American trombonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1886)
- 1976 – Paul Robeson, American actor, singer, and activist (b. 1898)
- 1977 – Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor’s Restaurant (b. 1903)
- 1978 – Terry Kath, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1946)
- 1978 – Jack Oakie, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1980 – Giovanni Michelotti, Italian engineer (b. 1921)
- 1981 – Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)
- 1983 – Fred Bakewell, English cricketer and coach (b. 1908)
- 1984 – Muin Bseiso, Palestinian-Egyptian poet and critic (b. 1926)
- 1985 – James Beard, American chef and cookbook author for whom the James Beard Foundation Awards are named (b.1905)
- 1986 – Joseph Beuys, German sculptor and painter (b. 1921)
- 1988 – Charles Glen King, American biochemist and academic (b. 1896)
- 1989 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish race car driver (b. 1961)
- 1990 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1952)
- 1991 – Northrop Frye, Canadian author and critic (b. 1912)
- 1992 – Freddie Bartholomew, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1993 – Keith Laumer, American soldier, author, and diplomat (b. 1925)
- 1994 – Nikolai Ogarkov, Russian field marshal (b. 1917)
- 1994 – Brian Redhead, English journalist and author (b. 1929)
- 1999 – Joe D’Amato, Italian director and cinematographer (b. 1936)
- 1999 – Jay Pritzker, American businessman, co-founded the Hyatt Corporation (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Paul Aars, American race car driver (b. 1934)
- 2002 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (b. 1930)
- 2002 – Robert Nozick, American philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1938)
- 2003 – Nell Carter, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
- 2004 – Bob Keeshan, American television personality and producer (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Helmut Newton, German-Australian photographer (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Johnny Carson, American talk show host, television personality, and producer (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Syed Hussein Alatas, Malaysian sociologist and politician (b. 1928)
- 2007 – E. Howard Hunt, American CIA officer (b. 1918)
- 2007 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1932)
- 2009 – Robert W. Scott, American farmer and politician, 67th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1929)
- 2010 – Kermit Tyler, American colonel and pilot (b. 1913)
- 2010 – Earl Wild, American pianist and composer (b. 1915)
- 2011 – Jack LaLanne, American fitness instructor, author, and television host (b. 1914)
- 2012 – Wesley E. Brown, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1907)
- 2012 – Maurice Meisner, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Bingham Ray, American businessman, co-founded October Films (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Józef Glemp, Polish cardinal (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Peter van der Merwe, South African cricketer and referee (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Jean-Félix-Albert-Marie Vilnet, French bishop (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Yuri Izrael, Russian meteorologist and journalist (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Riz Ortolani, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Prosper Ego, Dutch activist, founded the Oud-Strijders Legioen (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Jimmy Bain, Scottish bassist (b. 1947)
- 2016 – Bobby Wanzer, American basketball player and coach (b. 1921)
- 2017 – Bobby Freeman, American singer, songwriter and record producer (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (b. 1941)
- 2018 – Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, composer and singer (b. 1939)
- 2018 – Nicanor Parra, Chilean poet (b. 1914)
- 2018 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American civil rights activist and pastor (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances on January 23
- Bounty Day (Pitcairn Islands)
- Christian feast day:
- Abakuh
- Marianne of Molokai
- Emerentiana
- Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Ildefonsus of Toledo
- Phillips Brooks (Episcopal Church (USA))
- January 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Jayanti (Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal, India)
- World Freedom Day (Taiwan and South Korea)