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1835

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

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

Births on February 20

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

Deaths on February 20

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

Holidays and observances on February 20

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

February 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
  • 1270 – Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Karuse.
  • 1630 – Dutch forces led by Hendrick Lonck capture Olinda in what was to become part of Dutch Brazil.
  • 1646 – Battle of Torrington, Devon: The last major battle of the first English Civil War.
  • 1699 – First Leopoldine Diploma is issued by the Holy Roman Emperor, recognizing the Greek Catholic clergy enjoyed the same privileges as Roman Catholic priests in the Principality of Transylvania.
  • 1742 – Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister.
  • 1796 – Colombo in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) falls to the British, completing their invasion of Ceylon.
  • 1804 – First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate USS Philadelphia.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
  • 1866 – Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War.
  • 1881 – The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated by Act of Parliament at Ottawa (44th Vic., c.1).
  • 1899 – Iceland’s first football club, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, is founded.
  • 1918 – The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state.
  • 1923 – Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
  • 1930 – The Romanian Football Federation joins FIFA.
  • 1934 – The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republikanischer Schutzbund.
  • 1936 – The Popular Front wins the 1936 Spanish general election.
  • 1937 – Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon.
  • 1940 – World War II: Altmark incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. 299 British prisoners are freed.
  • 1943 – World War II: In the early phases of the Third Battle of Kharkov, Red Army troops re-enter the city.
  • 1945 – World War II: American forces land on Corregidor Island in the Philippines.
  • 1959 – Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
  • 1960 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Triton begins Operation Sandblast, setting sail from New London, Connecticut, to begin the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
  • 1961 – Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched.
  • 1962 – Flooding in the coastal areas of West Germany kills 315 and destroys the homes of about 60,000 people.
  • 1968 – In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.
  • 1978 – The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago).
  • 1983 – The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia kill 75.
  • 1985 – Hezbollah is founded.
  • 1986 – The Soviet liner MS Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.
  • 1986 – China Airlines Flight 2265 crashes into the Pacific Ocean near Penghu Airport in Taiwan, killing all 13 aboard.
  • 1991 – Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua.
  • 1996 – A Chicago-bound Amtrak train, the Capitol Limited, collides with a MARC commuter train bound for Washington, D.C., killing 11 people.
  • 1998 – China Airlines Flight 676 crashes into a road and residential area near Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan, killing all 196 aboard and seven more on the ground.
  • 2005 – The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.
  • 2005 – The National Hockey League cancels the entire 2004–05 regular season and playoffs.
  • 2006 – The last Mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.
  • 2013 – A bomb blast at a market in Hazara Town, Quetta, Pakistan kills more than 80 people and injures 190 others.

Births on February 16

  • 1222 – Nichiren, founder of Nichiren Buddhism (d. 1282)
  • 1304 – Jayaatu Khan Tugh Temür, Chinese emperor (d. 1332)
  • 1331 – Coluccio Salutati, Italian political leader (d. 1406)
  • 1419 – John I, Duke of Cleves (d. 1481)
  • 1470 – Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1540)
  • 1471 – Krishnadevaraya, emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire (d. 1529)
  • 1497 – Philip Melanchthon, German astronomer, theologian, and academic (d. 1560)
  • 1514 – Georg Joachim Rheticus, Austrian cartographer and instrument maker (d. 1574)
  • 1519 – Gaspard II de Coligny, French admiral (d. 1572)
  • 1543 – Kanō Eitoku, Japanese painter and educator (d. 1590)
  • 1620 – Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1688)
  • 1643 – John Sharp, English archbishop (d. 1714)
  • 1698 – Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician, geophysicist, and astronomer (d. 1758)
  • 1727 – Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Austrian botanist, chemist, and mycologist (d. 1817)
  • 1740 – Giambattista Bodoni, Italian publisher and engraver (d. 1813)
  • 1761 – Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (d. 1804)
  • 1774 – Pierre Rode, French violinist and composer (d. 1830)
  • 1786 – Maria Pavlovna, Russian Grand Duchess (d. 1859)
  • 1802 – Phineas Quimby, American mystic and philosopher (d. 1866)
  • 1804 – Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist and zoologist (d. 1885)
  • 1812 – Henry Wilson, American colonel and politician, 18th Vice President of the United States (d. 1875)
  • 1821 – Heinrich Barth, German explorer and scholar (d. 1865)
  • 1822 – Francis Galton, English biologist and statistician (d. 1911)
  • 1824 – Peter Kosler, Slovenian lawyer, geographer, and cartographer (d. 1879)
  • 1826 – Joseph Victor von Scheffel, German poet and author (d. 1886)
  • 1830 – Lars Hertervig, Norwegian painter (d. 1902)
  • 1831 – Nikolai Leskov, Russian author, playwright, and journalist (d. 1895)
  • 1834 – Ernst Haeckel, German biologist, physician, and philosopher (d. 1919)
  • 1838 – Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (d. 1918)
  • 1841 – Armand Guillaumin, French painter (d. 1927)
  • 1843 – Henry M. Leland, American engineer and businessman, founded Cadillac and Lincoln (d. 1932)
  • 1845 – George Kennan, American journalist and explorer (d. 1924)
  • 1848 – Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist, geneticist, and academic (d. 1935)
  • 1848 – Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, novelist, and playwright (d. 1917)
  • 1856 – Ossian Everett Mills, American academic, founded Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (d. 1920)
  • 1866 – Billy Hamilton, American baseball player and manager (d. 1940)
  • 1868 – Edward S. Curtis, American ethnologist and photographer (d. 1952)
  • 1873 – Radoje Domanović, Serbian journalist and author (d. 1908)
  • 1876 – G. M. Trevelyan, English historian and academic (d. 1962)
  • 1878 – Pamela Colman Smith, English occultist and illustrator (d. 1951)
  • 1878 – James Colosimo, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1920)
  • 1884 – Robert J. Flaherty, German-Irish American director and producer (d. 1951)
  • 1886 – Andy Ducat, English international footballer (forward and manager) and Cricketer (d. 1942)
  • 1887 – Kathleen Clifford, American actress (d. 1962)
  • 1891 – Hans F. K. Günther, German eugenicist and academic (d. 1968)
  • 1893 – Katharine Cornell, American actress and producer (d. 1974)
  • 1896 – Eugénie Blanchard, French super-centenarian (d. 2010)
  • 1901 – Wayne King, American singer-songwriter and conductor (d. 1985)
  • 1901 – Chester Morris, American actor (d. 1970)
  • 1902 – Cyril Vincent, South African cricketer (d. 1968)
  • 1903 – Edgar Bergen, Swedish-American ventriloquist and actor (d. 1978)
  • 1904 – James Baskett, African-American actor and singer (d. 1948)
  • 1904 – George F. Kennan, Scotch-Irish American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (d. 2005)
  • 1905 – Henrietta Barnett, British Women’s Royal Air Force officer (d. 1985)
  • 1906 – Vera Menchik, British-Czechoslovak-Russian chess player (d. 1944)
  • 1909 – Hugh Beaumont, American actor and director (d. 1982)
  • 1909 – Richard McDonald, Irish-American businessman, co-founded McDonald’s (d. 1998)
  • 1914 – Jimmy Wakely, American country music singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1982)
  • 1916 – Bill Doggett, African-American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1919 – Georges Ulmer, Danish-French actor and composer (d. 1989)
  • 1920 – Anna Mae Hays, American general (d. 2018)
  • 1921 – Vera-Ellen, German-American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1981)
  • 1921 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (d. 1959)
  • 1921 – John Galbraith Graham, English priest and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1922 – Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, German soldier and pilot (d. 1950)
  • 1923 – Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – Margot Frank, German-Dutch holocaust victim (d. 1945)
  • 1926 – John Schlesinger, English actor and director (d. 2003)
  • 1927 – June Brown, English actress
  • 1929 – Gerhard Hanappi, Austrian footballer and architect (d. 1980)
  • 1929 – Peter Porter, Australian-English poet and educator (d. 2010)
  • 1931 – Otis Blackwell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2002)
  • 1931 – Ken Takakura, Japanese actor and singer (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Sierra Leonean economist, lawyer, and politician, 3rd President of Sierra Leone (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Gretchen Wyler, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – August Coppola, American author and academic (d. 2009)
  • 1934 – Marlene Hagge, American golfer
  • 1935 – Brian Bedford, English-American actor and director (d. 2016)
  • 1935 – Sonny Bono, American actor, singer, and politician (d. 1998)
  • 1935 – Stephen Gaskin, American activist, co-founded The Farm (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Bradford Parkinson, American colonel and engineer
  • 1935 – Kenneth Price, American painter and sculptor (d. 2012)
  • 1937 – Paul Bailey, British novelist, critic, and biographer
  • 1937 – Yuri Manin, Russian-German mathematician and academic
  • 1938 – John Corigliano, American composer and academic
  • 1939 – Adolfo Azcuna, Filipino lawyer and judge
  • 1940 – Hannelore Schmatz, German mountaineer (d. 1979)
  • 1941 – Kim Jong-il, North Korean commander and politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea (d. 2011)
  • 1942 – Richard Williams, American tennis player and coach
  • 1944 – Glyn Davies, Welsh farmer and politician
  • 1944 – Richard Ford, American novelist and short story writer
  • 1944 – Sigiswald Kuijken, Belgian violinist, violist, and conductor
  • 1944 – António Mascarenhas Monteiro, Cape Verdean politician, 2nd President of Cape Verde (d. 2016)
  • 1947 – Jaroslav Kubera, Czech politician (d. 2020)
  • 1948 – Kaiketsu Masateru, Japanese sumo wrestler and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1949 – Bob O’Reilly, Australian rugby league player
  • 1950 – Peter Hain, Kenyan-Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales
  • 1951 – Barry Foote, American baseball player and coach
  • 1952 – William Katt, American actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Peter Kitchen, English footballer, striker
  • 1952 – James Ingram, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2019)
  • 1953 – John Bradbury, English drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 2015)
  • 1953 – Lanny McDonald, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1953 – Roberta Williams, American video game designer, co-founded Sierra Entertainment
  • 1954 – Iain Banks, Scottish author and playwright (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – Margaux Hemingway, American model and actress (d. 1996)
  • 1954 – Michael Holding, Jamaican cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Vincent Ward, New Zealand director and screenwriter
  • 1957 – LeVar Burton, German-born American actor, director, and producer
  • 1958 – Natalie Angier, American author
  • 1958 – Ice-T, American rapper and actor
  • 1958 – Oscar Schmidt, Brazilian basketball player
  • 1958 – Herb Williams, American basketball player and coach
  • 1959 – John McEnroe, German-American tennis player and sportscaster
  • 1959 – Kelly Tripucka, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Pete Willis, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1961 – Des Hasler, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1961 – Liu Kang, Chinese footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1961 – Andy Taylor, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1962 – John Balance, English singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
  • 1964 – Bebeto, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1964 – Christopher Eccleston, English actor
  • 1965 – Dave Lombardo, Cuban-American drummer
  • 1967 – Keith Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1968 – Warren Ellis, English author and screenwriter
  • 1970 – Angelo Peruzzi, Italian footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Michael Avenatti, American attorney and pundit
  • 1971 – Craig Laundy, Australian politician
  • 1972 – Jerome Bettis, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1972 – Zoran Čampara, Bosnian football player
  • 1972 – Sarah Clarke, American actress
  • 1972 – Naomi Nishida, Japanese actress
  • 1972 – Darrell Trindall, Australian rugby league player
  • 1973 – Cathy Freeman, Australian sprinter
  • 1974 – Mahershala Ali, American actor
  • 1974 – José Dominguez, Portuguese international footballer, winger and manager
  • 1976 – Eric Byrnes, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1976 – Kyo, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1977 – Ian Clarke, Irish-American computer scientist, founded Freenet
  • 1977 – Ahman Green, American football player
  • 1978 – Tia Hellebaut, Belgian high jumper and chemist
  • 1978 – Wasim Jaffer, Indian cricketer
  • 1978 – John Tartaglia, American actor, singer, and puppeteer
  • 1979 – Stéphane Dalmat, French footballer, midfielder
  • 1979 – Eric Mun, American-South Korean singer and actor
  • 1979 – Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcycle racer
  • 1980 – Longineu W. Parsons III, French-American drummer
  • 1981 – Jay Howard, English race car driver
  • 1981 – Jerry Owens, American baseball player
  • 1981 – Qyntel Woods, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Aleksandr Dmitrijev, Estonian footballer
  • 1982 – Rickie Lambert, English footballer
  • 1982 – Lupe Fiasco, American rapper
  • 1983 – Agyness Deyn, English model, actress, and singer
  • 1984 – Sofia Arvidsson, Swedish tennis player
  • 1984 – Oussama Mellouli, Tunisian swimmer
  • 1985 – Simon Francis, English footballer
  • 1985 – Stacy Lewis, American golfer
  • 1985 – Ron Vlaar, Dutch footballer
  • 1986 – Diego Godín, Uruguayan footballer
  • 1987 – Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
  • 1987 – Theresa Goh, Singaporean swimmer
  • 1987 – Hasheem Thabeet, Tanzanian basketball player
  • 1988 – Diego Capel, Spanish footballer
  • 1988 – Zhang Jike, Chinese table tennis player
  • 1988 – Denílson Pereira Neves, Brazilian footballer
  • 1988 – Andrea Ranocchia, Italian footballer
  • 1988 – Kim Soo-hyun, South Korean actor and singer
  • 1989 – Elizabeth Olsen, American actress
  • 1990 – Dunamis Lui, Australian-Samoan rugby league player
  • 1990 – The Weeknd, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1991 – Sergio Canales, Spanish footballer
  • 1992 – Nicolai Boilesen, Danish footballer
  • 1992 – Zsófia Susányi, Hungarian tennis player
  • 1994 – Annika Beck, German tennis player
  • 1994 – Federico Bernardeschi, Italian footballer
  • 1994 – Ava Max, American singer and songwriter
  • 1995 – Katy Dunne, English tennis player
  • 1995 – Carina Witthöft, a German tennis player

Deaths on February 16

  • 549 – Zhu Yi, Chinese general (b. 483)
  • 902 – Mary the Younger, Byzantine saint (b. 875)
  • 1184 – Richard of Dover, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1247 – Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (b. 1204)
  • 1279 – Afonso III of Portugal (b. 1210)
  • 1281 – Gertrude of Hohenberg, queen consort of Germany (b. c.1225)
  • 1390 – Rupert I, Elector Palatine (b. 1309)
  • 1391 – John V Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1332)
  • 1531 – Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1452)
  • 1560 – Jean du Bellay, French cardinal and diplomat (b. 1493)
  • 1579 – Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, Spanish explorer (b. 1509)
  • 1645 – Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general and politician, 24th Governor of the Duchy of Milan (b. 1585)
  • 1710 – Esprit Fléchier, French bishop and author (b. 1632)
  • 1721 – James Craggs the Younger, English politician, Secretary of State for the Southern Department (b. 1686)
  • 1754 – Richard Mead, English physician (b. 1673)
  • 1820 – Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish general (b. 1758)
  • 1862 – William Pennington American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of New Jersey, 23rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1796)
  • 1898 – Thomas Bracken, Irish-New Zealand journalist, poet, and politician (b. 1843)
  • 1899 – Félix Faure, French merchant and politician, 7th President of France (b. 1841)
  • 1907 – Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1835)
  • 1912 – Nicholas of Japan, Russian-Japanese monk and saint (b. 1836)
  • 1917 – Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, novelist, and playwright ( (b. 1848)
  • 1919 – Vera Kholodnaya, Ukrainian actress (b. 1893)
  • 1928 – Eddie Foy Sr., American actor and dancer (b. 1856)
  • 1932 – Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1841)
  • 1932 – Edgar Speyer, American-English financier and philanthropist (b. 1862)
  • 1944 – Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1870)
  • 1957 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (b. 1876)
  • 1961 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (b. 1891)
  • 1967 – Smiley Burnette, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1911)
  • 1974 – John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand Rifle(b. 1888)
  • 1975 – Morgan Taylor, American hurdler and coach (b. 1903)
  • 1977 – Janani Luwum, bishop, Church of Uganda, martyr (b. c.1922)
  • 1977 – Rózsa Péter, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1905)
  • 1980 – Erich Hückel, German physicist and chemist (b. 1895)
  • 1984 – M. A. G. Osmani, Bangladeshi general (b. 1918)
  • 1990 – Keith Haring, American painter and activist (b. 1958)
  • 1991 – Enrique Bermúdez, Nicaraguan lieutenant and engineer (b. 1932)
  • 1992 – Angela Carter, English novelist, short story writer (b. 1940)
  • 1992 – Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician, 22nd President of Brazil (b. 1917)
  • 1992 – Herman Wold, Norwegian-Swedish economist and statistician (b. 1908)
  • 1996 – Roberto Aizenberg, Argentinian painter and sculptor (b. 1922)
  • 1996 – Roger Bowen, American actor and author (b. 1932)
  • 1996 – Pat Brown, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of California (b. 1905)
  • 1996 – Brownie McGhee, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1915)
  • 1997 – Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American physicist and academic (b. 1912)
  • 1998 – Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (b. 1908)
  • 2000 – Marceline Day, American actress (b. 1908)
  • 2000 – Lila Kedrova, Russian-French actress and singer
  • 2000 – Karsten Solheim, Norwegian-American businessman, founded PING (b. 1911)
  • 2001 – Howard W. Koch, American director and producer (b. 1916)
  • 2001 – William Masters, American gynecologist and sexologist (b. 1915)
  • 2002 – Walter Winterbottom, English footballer and manager (b. 1913)
  • 2003 – Rusty Magee, American actor and composer (b. 1955)
  • 2004 – Doris Troy, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
  • 2006 – Johnny Grunge, American wrestler (b. 1966)
  • 2006 – Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (b. 1925)
  • 2009 – Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, South Korean cardinal (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Len Lesser, American actor (b. 1922)
  • 2011 – Justinas Marcinkevičius, Lithuanian poet and playwright (b. 1930)
  • 2012 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (b. 1954)
  • 2012 – Elyse Knox, American model, actress, and fashion designer (b. 1917)
  • 2012 – John Macionis, American swimmer and lieutenant (b. 1916)
  • 2012 – Anthony Shadid, American journalist (b. 1968)
  • 2013 – Colin Edwards, Guyanese footballer (b. 1991)
  • 2013 – Grigory Pomerants, Russian philosopher and author (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Tony Sheridan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
  • 2014 – Ken Farragut, American football player (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Gert Krawinkel, German guitarist (b. 1947)
  • 2014 – Michael Shea, American author (b. 1946)
  • 2015 – Lasse Braun, Algerian-Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
  • 2015 – Lesley Gore, American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
  • 2015 – R. R. Patil, Indian lawyer and politician, Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1957)
  • 2015 – Lorena Rojas, Mexican actress and singer (b. 1971)
  • 2016 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Egyptian politician and diplomat, 6th Secretary-General of the United Nations (b. 1922)
  • 2019 – Bruno Ganz, Swiss actor (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances on February 16

  • Christian feast day:
    • Abda of Edessa
    • Elias and companions
    • Juliana of Nicomedia (Catholic Church)
    • Onesimus
    • Charles Todd Quintard (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • February 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of the Shining Star (Kim Jong-il’s Birthday) (North Korea)
  • Restoration of Lithuania’s Statehood Day, celebrate the independence of Lithuania from Russia and Germany in 1918 (Lithuania)

February 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

February 15 in History

  • 590 – Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia.
  • 706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.
  • 1002 – At an assembly at Pavia of Lombard nobles, Arduin of Ivrea is restored to his domains and crowned King of Italy.
  • 1113 – Pope Paschal II issues Pie Postulatio Voluntatis, recognizing the Order of Hospitallers.
  • 1214 – During the Anglo-French War (1213–1214), an English invasion force led by John, King of England, lands at La Rochelle in France.
  • 1493 – While on board the Niña, Christopher Columbus writes an open letter (widely distributed upon his return to Portugal) describing his discoveries and the unexpected items he came across in the New World.
  • 1637 – Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1690 – Constantin Cantemir, Prince of Moldavia, and the Holy Roman Empire sign a secret treaty in Sibiu, stipulating that Moldavia would support the actions led by the House of Habsburg against the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1764 – The city of St. Louis is established in Spanish Louisiana (now in Missouri, USA).
  • 1798 – The Roman Republic is proclaimed after Louis-Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had invaded the city of Rome five days earlier.
  • 1835 – Serbia’s Sretenje Constitution briefly comes into effect.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Confederates commanded by Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd attack General Ulysses S. Grant’s Union forces Fort Donelson, Tennessee. Unable to break the fort’s encirclement, Lloyd surrenders the following day.
  • 1870 – Stevens Institute of Technology is founded in New Jersey, USA and offers the first Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering.
  • 1879 – Women’s rights: US President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • 1891 – Allmänna Idrottsklubben (AIK) (Swedish Sports Club) is founded.
  • 1898 – The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing 274. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.
  • 1901 – The association football club Alianza Lima is founded in Lima, Peru, under the name Sport Alianza.
  • 1909 – The Flores Theater fire in Acapulco, Mexico kills 250.
  • 1921 – Kingdom of Romania establishes its legation in Helsinki.
  • 1923 – Greece becomes the last European country to adopt the Gregorian calendar.
  • 1925 – The 1925 serum run to Nome: The second delivery of serum arrives in Nome, Alaska.
  • 1933 – In Miami, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate US President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6, 1933.
  • 1942 – World War II: Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.
  • 1944 – World War II: The assault on Monte Cassino, Italy begins.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Narva Offensive begins.
  • 1945 – World War II: Third day of bombing in Dresden.
  • 1946 – ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
  • 1949 – Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux begin excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they will eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
  • 1952 – King George VI of the United Kingdom is buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
  • 1954 – Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska.
  • 1961 – Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team along with several of their coaches and family members.
  • 1965 – A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.
  • 1971 – The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.
  • 1972 – Sound recordings are granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time.
  • 1972 – José María Velasco Ibarra, serving as President of Ecuador for the fifth time, is overthrown by the military for the fourth time.
  • 1982 – The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 workers.
  • 1989 – Soviet–Afghan War: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan.
  • 1991 – The Visegrád Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
  • 1992 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.
  • 1992 – Air Transport International Flight 805 crashes near Toledo Express Airport in Ohio, killing all four people on board.
  • 1996 – At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3 rocket, carrying an Intelsat 708, crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing many people.
  • 2001 – The first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature.
  • 2003 – Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between eight million to 30 million people participate, making this the largest peace demonstration in history.
  • 2010 – Two trains collide in the Halle train collision in Halle, Belgium, killing 19 and injuring 171 people.
  • 2012 – Three hundred sixty people die in a fire at a Honduran prison in the city of Comayagua.
  • 2013 – A meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blows out windows and rocks buildings. This happens unexpectedly only hours before the expected closest ever approach of the larger and unrelated asteroid 2012 DA14.

Births on February 15

  • 1377 – Ladislaus of Naples (d. 1414)
  • 1458 – Ivan the Young, son of Ivan III of Russia (d. 1490)
  • 1471 – Piero the Unfortunate, Italian ruler (d. 1503)
  • 1506 – Juliana of Stolberg, German countess (d. 1580)
  • 1519 – Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, first Spanish Governor of Florida (d. 1574)
  • 1557 – Alfonso Fontanelli, Italian composer (d. 1622)
  • 1564 – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (d. 1642)
  • 1571 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (probable; d. 1621)
  • 1612 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, French soldier, founded Montreal (d. 1676)
  • 1627 – Charles Morton, Cornish nonconformist minister (d. 1698)
  • 1638 – Zeb-un-Nissa, Mughal princess and poet (d. 1702)
  • 1705 – Charles-André van Loo, French painter (d. 1765)
  • 1710 – Louis XV of France (d. 1774)
  • 1725 – Abraham Clark, American surveyor, lawyer, and politician (d. 1794)
  • 1734 – William Stacy, American colonel (d. 1802)
  • 1739 – Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect, designed the Paris Bourse (d. 1813)
  • 1748 – Jeremy Bentham, English jurist and philosopher (d. 1832)
  • 1759 – Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist and critic (d. 1824)
  • 1760 – Jean-François Le Sueur, French composer and educator (d. 1837)
  • 1797 – Henry E. Steinway, German-American businessman, founded Steinway & Sons (d. 1871)
  • 1809 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (d. 1857)
  • 1809 – Cyrus McCormick, American journalist and businessman, co-founded International Harvester (d. 1884)
  • 1810 – Mary S. B. Shindler, American poet, writer, and editor (d. 1883)
  • 1811 – Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Argentinian journalist and politician, 7th President of Argentina (d. 1888)
  • 1812 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (d. 1902)
  • 1820 – Susan B. Anthony, American suffragist and activist (d. 1906)
  • 1825 – Carter Harrison, Sr., American lawyer and politician, 29th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1893)
  • 1834 – V. A. Urechia, Moldavian-Romanian historian, author, and playwright (d. 1901)
  • 1835 – Demetrius Vikelas, Greek businessman and philanthropist (d. 1908)
  • 1840 – Titu Maiorescu, Romanian philosopher, academic, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1917)
  • 1841 – Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Brazil (d. 1913)
  • 1845 – Elihu Root, American lawyer and politician, 38th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
  • 1847 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1927)
  • 1849 – Rickman Godlee, English surgeon and academic (d. 1925)
  • 1850 – Sophie Bryant, Irish mathematician, academic and activist (d. 1922)
  • 1851 – Spiru Haret, Romanian mathematician, astronomer, and politician, 55th Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs (d. 1912)
  • 1856 – Emil Kraepelin, German psychiatrist and academic (d. 1926)
  • 1861 – Martin Burns, American wrestler and coach (d. 1937)
  • 1861 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
  • 1861 – Alfred North Whitehead, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1947)
  • 1873 – Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
  • 1874 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish captain and explorer (d. 1922)
  • 1883 – Sax Rohmer, English-American author (d. 1959)
  • 1890 – Robert Ley, German politician (d. 1945)
  • 1892 – James Forrestal, American lieutenant and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)
  • 1892 – Roy Rene, Australian comedian (d. 1954)
  • 1893 – Roman Najuch, Polish professional tennis player (d. 1967)
  • 1896 – Arthur Shields, Irish republican and actor (d. 1970)
  • 1897 – Gerrit Kleerekoper, Jewish-Dutch gymnast and coach (d. 1943)
  • 1898 – Totò, Italian actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
  • 1899 – Georges Auric, French composer (d. 1983)
  • 1899 – Gale Sondergaard, Danish-American actress (d. 1985)
  • 1904 – Mary Adshead, English painter (d. 1995)
  • 1904 – Antonin Magne, French cyclist and manager (d. 1983)
  • 1905 – Harold Arlen, Jewish-American composer (d. 1986)
  • 1907 – Jean Langlais, French organist and composer (d. 1991)
  • 1907 – Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)
  • 1908 – Sarto Fournier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 38th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1980)
  • 1909 – Miep Gies, Austrian-Dutch humanitarian, helped hide Anne Frank and her family (d. 2010)
  • 1910 – Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and humanitarian, Righteous Gentile (d. 2008)
  • 1912 – George Mikes, Jewish Hungarian-English journalist and author (d. 1987)
  • 1913 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Hale Boggs, American lawyer and politician (d. 1972)
  • 1914 – Kevin McCarthy, Jewish-Irish American actor (d. 2010)
  • 1916 – Mary Jane Croft, American actress (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Allan Arbus, Jewish-American actor and photographer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Ducky Detweiler, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Endicott Peabody, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1997)
  • 1920 – Eio Sakata, Japanese Go player (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – John B. Anderson, Swedish-American lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1923 – Yelena Bonner, Jewish Soviet-Russian activist (d. 2011)
  • 1924 – Robert Drew, American director and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Angella D. Ferguson, American pediatrician
  • 1927 – Frank Dunlop, English actor and director
  • 1927 – Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian (d. 2008)
  • 1927 – Yehoshua Neuwirth, Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Norman Bridwell, American author and illustrator, created Clifford the Big Red Dog (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Graham Hill, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1975)
  • 1929 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Bruce Dawe, Australian poet and academic
  • 1931 – Claire Bloom, English actress
  • 1931 – Jonathan Steele, English journalist and author
  • 1934 – Jimmy Bloomfield, English footballer and manager (d. 1983)
  • 1934 – Graham Kennedy, Australian television host and actor (d. 2005)
  • 1934 – Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist, created the Pascal programming language
  • 1934 – Abe Woodson, American football player and minister (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Susan Brownmiller, American journalist and author
  • 1935 – Roger B. Chaffee, American lieutenant, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
  • 1935 – Gene Hickerson, American football player (d. 2008)
  • 1937 – Gregory Mcdonald, American author (d. 2008)
  • 1937 – Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
  • 1940 – İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2007)
  • 1940 – John Hadl, American football player and coach
  • 1940 – Hamzah Haz, Indonesian journalist and politician, 9th Vice President of Indonesia
  • 1940 – Vaino Vahing, Estonian psychiatrist, author, and playwright (d. 2008)
  • 1941 – Florinda Bolkan, Brazilian actress
  • 1941 – Brian Holland, American songwriter and producer
  • 1944 – Mick Avory, English drummer
  • 1945 – Jack Dann, American-Australian author and poet
  • 1945 – John Helliwell, English saxophonist and keyboard player
  • 1945 – Douglas Hofstadter, American author and academic
  • 1946 – Clare Short, English civil servant and politician, Secretary of State for International Development
  • 1947 – John Adams, American composer
  • 1947 – Marisa Berenson, American model and actress
  • 1948 – Art Spiegelman, Swedish-American cartoonist and critic
  • 1949 – Ken Anderson, American football quarterback and coach
  • 1951 – Markku Alén, Finnish race car driver
  • 1951 – Melissa Manchester, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1951 – Jane Seymour, English-American actress, producer, and jewelry designer
  • 1952 – Tomislav Nikolić, Serbian politician, 4th President of Serbia
  • 1952 – Nikolai Sorokin, Russian actor and director (d. 2013)
  • 1953 – Tony Adams, Irish-American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)
  • 1953 – Ernie Howe, English footballer, defender and manager
  • 1954 – Matt Groening, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Janice Dickinson, American model, agent, and author
  • 1955 – Christopher McDonald, American actor
  • 1956 – Desmond Haynes, Barbadian cricketer and coach
  • 1956 – Ann Westin, Swedish comedian
  • 1957 – Jake E. Lee, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1957 – Jimmy Spencer, American race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1958 – Chrystine Brouillet, Canadian author
  • 1958 – Tony McKegney, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1958 – Matthew Ward, American singer-songwriter
  • 1959 – Adam Boulton, English journalist
  • 1959 – Ali Campbell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1959 – Brian Propp, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1959 – Martin Rowson, English author and illustrator
  • 1959 – Hugo Savinovich, Ecuadorian wrestler and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Darrell Green, American football player
  • 1960 – Jock Hobbs, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2012)
  • 1962 – Milo Đukanović, Montenegrin politician, 29th Prime Minister of Montenegro
  • 1964 – Chris Farley, American comedian and actor (d. 1997)
  • 1964 – Leland D. Melvin, American engineer and astronaut
  • 1964 – Mark Price, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Craig Matthews, South African cricketer
  • 1967 – Jane Child, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1967 – Syed Kamall, English academic and politician
  • 1967 – Craig Simpson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Birdman, American rapper and producer
  • 1970 – Shepard Fairey, American artist and activist
  • 1971 – Alex Borstein, American actress, voice artist, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Renee O’Connor, American actress, director, and producer
  • 1972 – Jaromír Jágr, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Kateřina Neumannová, Czech skier
  • 1973 – Amy van Dyken, American swimmer
  • 1974 – Miranda July, American actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1974 – Alexander Wurz, Austrian race car driver and businessman
  • 1975 – Serge Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1975 – Annemarie Kramer, Dutch sprinter
  • 1975 – Brendon Small, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and actor
  • 1976 – Brandon Boyd, American singer-songwriter
  • 1976 – Óscar Freire, Spanish cyclist
  • 1979 – Josh Low, English footballer
  • 1979 – Hamish Marshall, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1979 – James Marshall, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1979 – Scott Severin, Scottish footballer
  • 1979 – Gordon Shedden, Scottish race car driver
  • 1980 – Conor Oberst, American singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Heurelho Gomes, Brazilian international footballer, goalkeeper
  • 1981 – Matt Hoopes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Rita Jeptoo, Kenyan runner
  • 1981 – Diego Martínez, Mexican footballer
  • 1981 – Vivek Shraya, Canadian singer and songwriter
  • 1982 – Shameka Christon, American basketball player
  • 1982 – James Yap, Filipino basketball player
  • 1983 – Don Cowie, Scottish footballer
  • 1983 – David Degen, Swiss footballer
  • 1983 – Philipp Degen, Swiss footballer
  • 1983 – Alan Didak, Australian footballer
  • 1983 – Russell Martin, Canadian baseball player
  • 1985 – Serkan Kırıntılı, Turkish footballer
  • 1986 – Valeri Bojinov, Bulgarian footballer
  • 1986 – Johnny Cueto, Dominican baseball player
  • 1986 – Laura Sallés, Andorran judoka
  • 1987 – Jarrod Sammut, Australian rugby league player
  • 1988 – Jarryd Hayne, Australian rugby league player and football player
  • 1988 – Hironori Kusano, Japanese singer and actor
  • 1988 – Tim Mannah, Australian-born Lebanese rugby league player
  • 1988 – Rui Patrício, Portuguese footballer
  • 1990 – Charles Pic, French race car driver
  • 1991 – Ángel Sepúlveda, Mexican footballer
  • 1993 – Ravi, South Korean rapper

Deaths on February 15

  • 670 – Oswiu, king of Northumbria (b. c. 612)
  • 706 – Leontios, Byzantine emperor
  • 706 – Tiberios III, Byzantine emperor
  • 956 – Su Yugui, Chinese chancellor (b. 895)
  • 1043 – Gisela of Swabia, Holy Roman Empress (b. 990)
  • 1145 – Lucius II, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 1152 – Conrad III, king of Germany (b. 1093)
  • 1382 – William de Ufford, 2nd Earl of Suffolk (b. c. 1339)
  • 1417 – Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, English commander (b. 1385)
  • 1508 – Giovanni II Bentivoglio, tyrant of Bologna (b. 1443)
  • 1600 – José de Acosta, Spanish Jesuit missionary and naturalist (b. 1540)
  • 1621 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1571)
  • 1637 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1578)
  • 1738 – Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (b. 1684)
  • 1781 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German philosopher, author, and critic (b. 1729)
  • 1818 – Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (b. 1746)
  • 1835 – Henry Hunt, English farmer and politician (b. 1773)
  • 1839 – François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian rebel (b. 1803)
  • 1842 – Archibald Menzies, Scottish surgeon and botanist (b. 1754)
  • 1844 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1757)
  • 1847 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (b. 1794)
  • 1848 – Hermann von Boyen, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (b. 1771)
  • 1849 – Pierre François Verhulst, Belgian mathematician and theorist (b. 1804)
  • 1857 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (b. 1804)
  • 1869 – Ghalib, Indian poet and educator (b. 1796)
  • 1885 – Gregor von Helmersen, Estonian-Russian geologist and engineer (b. 1803)
  • 1897 – Dimitrie Ghica, Romanian lawyer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1816)
  • 1905 – Lew Wallace, American author, general, and politician, 11th Governor of New Mexico Territory (b. 1827)
  • 1911 – Theodor Escherich, German-Austrian pediatrician and academic (b. 1859)
  • 1924 – Lionel Monckton, English composer (b. 1861)
  • 1928 – H. H. Asquith, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1852)
  • 1932 – Minnie Maddern Fiske, American actress and playwright (b. 1865)
  • 1933 – Pat Sullivan, Australian animator and producer, co-created Felix the Cat (b. 1887)
  • 1935 – Basil Hall Chamberlain, English-Swiss historian, author, and academic (b. 1850)
  • 1939 – Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Russian painter and author (b. 1878)
  • 1956 – Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French lawyer and politician (b. 1878)
  • 1959 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
  • 1961 – Laurence Owen, American figure skater (b. 1944)
  • 1965 – Nat King Cole, American singer and pianist (b. 1919)
  • 1966 – Gerard Antoni Ciołek, Polish architect and historian (b. 1909)
  • 1966 – Camilo Torres Restrepo, Colombian priest and theologian (b. 1929)
  • 1967 – Antonio Moreno, Spanish-American actor and director (b. 1887)
  • 1970 – Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, Scottish air marshal (b. 1882)
  • 1973 – Wally Cox, American actor (b. 1924)
  • 1973 – Tim Holt, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 1974 – Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer and engineer (b. 1887)
  • 1981 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1943)
  • 1981 – Karl Richter, German organist and conductor (b. 1926)
  • 1984 – Avon Long, American actor and singer (b. 1910)
  • 1984 – Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (b. 1908)
  • 1988 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
  • 1992 – María Elena Moyano, Peruvian activist (b. 1960)
  • 1992 – William Schuman, American composer and academic (b. 1910)
  • 1996 – McLean Stevenson, American actor (b. 1929)
  • 1998 – Martha Gellhorn, American journalist and author (b. 1908)
  • 1999 – Henry Way Kendall, American physicist and mountaineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
  • 1999 – Big L, American rapper (b. 1974)
  • 2000 – Angus MacLean, Canadian commander and politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist and actor (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)
  • 2004 – Jens Evensen, Norwegian lawyer, judge, and politician, Norwegian Minister of Trade (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
  • 2005 – Samuel T. Francis, American historian and journalist (b. 1947)
  • 2007 – Walker Edmiston, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2007 – Ray Evans, American songwriter (b. 1915)
  • 2008 – Johnny Weaver, American wrestler and sportscaster (b. 1935)
  • 2010 – Jeanne M. Holm, American general (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Cyril Domb, English-Israel physicist and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Sanan Kachornprasart, Thai general and politician (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Ahmed Rajib Haider, Bangladeshi atheist blogger
  • 2014 – Thelma Estrin, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Christopher Malcolm, Scottish-Canadian actor, director, and producer (b. 1946)
  • 2015 – Haron Amin, Afghan diplomat, Afghan Ambassador to Japan (b. 1969)
  • 2015 – Arnaud de Borchgrave, American journalist and author (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1979)
  • 2016 – George Gaynes, Finnish-American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2016 – Vanity, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (b. 1959)
  • 2017 – Stuart McLean, Canadian radio broadcaster (b. 1948)
  • 2019 – Lee Radziwill, American socialite (b. 1933)
  • 2020 – Caroline Flack, English Actress and TV Presenter (b. 1979)

Holidays and observances on February 15

  • Christian feast day:
    • Blessed Michał Sopoćko
    • Claude de la Colombière
    • Faustinus and Jovita
    • Oswiu
    • Quinidius
    • Sigfrid of Sweden
    • Thomas Bray (Episcopal Church)
    • Walfrid
    • February 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Family Day can fall, while February 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in February. (parts of Canada)
  • Earliest day on which Washington’s Birthday can fall, while February 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in February. (United States)
  • Traditionally the feast day for the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia
  • International Duties Memorial Day (Russia, regional)
  • John Frum Day (Vanuatu)
  • Liberation Day (Afghanistan)
  • National Flag of Canada Day (Canada)
  • Parinirvana Day, also celebrated on February 8. (Mahayana Buddhism)
  • Singles Awareness Day
  • Statehood Day (Serbia)
  • Susan B. Anthony Day (Florida, United States)
  • The ENIAC Day (Philadelphia, United States)
  • Total Defence Day (Singapore)

February 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on February 14

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

Deaths on February 14

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

Holidays and observances on February 14

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

February 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

February 13 in History

  • 951 – Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou.
  • 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum, recognizing John as ruler of Rome.
  • 1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th.
  • 1462 – The Treaty of Westminster is finalised between Edward IV of England and the Scottish Lord of the Isles.
  • 1503 – Challenge of Barletta: Tournament between 13 Italian and 13 French knights near Barletta.
  • 1542 – Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, is executed for adultery.
  • 1633 – Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition.
  • 1660 – With the accession of young Charles XI of Sweden, his regents begin negotiations to end the Second Northern War.
  • 1689 – William and Mary are proclaimed co-rulers of England.
  • 1692 – Massacre of Glencoe: Almost 80 Macdonalds at Glen Coe, Scotland are killed early in the morning for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new king, William of Orange.
  • 1726 – Parliament of Negrete between Mapuche and Spanish authorities in Chile bring an end to the Mapuche uprising of 1723–26.
  • 1755 – Treaty of Giyanti signed by VOC, Pakubuwono III and Prince Mangkubumi. The treaty divides the Javanese kingdom of Mataram into 2: Sunanate of Surakarta and Sultanate of Yogyakarta.
  • 1849 – The delegation headed by Metropolitan bishop Andrei Șaguna hands out to the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria the General Petition of Romanian leaders in Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina, which demands that the Romanian nation be recognized.
  • 1861 – Italian unification: The Siege of Gaeta ends with the capitulation of the defending fortress, effectively bringing an end of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
  • 1867 – Work begins on the covering of the Senne, burying Brussels’s primary river and creating the modern central boulevards.
  • 1880 – Thomas Edison observes Thermionic emission.
  • 1913 – The 13th Dalai Lama proclaims Tibetan independence following a period of domination by Manchu Qing dynasty and initiated a period of almost four decades of independence.
  • 1914 – Copyright: In New York City the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
  • 1920 – The Negro National League is formed.
  • 1931 – The British Raj completes its transfer from Calcutta to New Delhi.
  • 1935 – A jury in Flemington, New Jersey finds Bruno Hauptmann guilty of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, the son of Charles Lindbergh.
  • 1945 – World War II: The siege of Budapest concludes with the unconditional surrender of German and Hungarian forces to the Red Army.
  • 1945 – World War II: Royal Air Force bombers are dispatched to Dresden, Germany to attack the city with a massive aerial bombardment.
  • 1951 – Korean War: Battle of Chipyong-ni, which represented the “high-water mark” of the Chinese incursion into South Korea, commences.
  • 1954 – Frank Selvy becomes the only NCAA Division I basketball player ever to score 100 points in a single game.
  • 1955 – Israel obtains four of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
  • 1960 – With the success of a nuclear test codenamed “Gerboise Bleue”, France becomes the fourth country to possess nuclear weapons.
  • 1960 – Black college students stage the first of the Nashville sit-ins at three lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee.
  • 1961 – An allegedly 500,000-year-old rock is discovered near Olancha, California, US, that appears to anachronistically encase a spark plug.
  • 1967 – American researchers discover the Madrid Codices by Leonardo da Vinci in the National Library of Spain.
  • 1975 – Fire at One World Trade Center (North Tower) of the World Trade Center in New York.
  • 1978 – Hilton bombing: a bomb explodes in a refuse truck outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two refuse collectors and a policeman.
  • 1979 – An intense windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a ​1⁄2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.
  • 1981 – A series of sewer explosions destroys more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky.
  • 1983 – A cinema fire in Turin, Italy, kills 64 people.
  • 1984 – Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
  • 1990 – German reunification: An agreement is reached on a two-stage plan to reunite Germany.
  • 1991 – Gulf War: Two laser-guided “smart bombs” destroy the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad. Allied forces said the bunker was being used as a military communications outpost, but over 400 Iraqi civilians inside were killed.
  • 1996 – The Nepalese Civil War is initiated in the Kingdom of Nepal by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre).
  • 1999 – The last hockey game is played in Maple Leaf Gardens: the Toronto Maple Leafs lose 6–2 to the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • 2001 – An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter magnitude scale hits El Salvador, killing at least 944.
  • 2004 – The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces the discovery of the universe’s largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093. Astronomers named this star “Lucy” after The Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.
  • 2007 – Taiwan opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigns as the chairman of the Kuomintang party after being indicted on charges of embezzlement during his tenure as the mayor of Taipei; Ma also announces his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.
  • 2008 – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes a historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.
  • 2010 – A bomb explodes in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India, killing 17 and injuring 60 more.
  • 2011 – For the first time in more than 100 years the Umatilla, an American Indian tribe, are able to hunt and harvest a bison just outside Yellowstone National Park, restoring a centuries-old tradition guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1855.
  • 2012 – The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted the first launch of the European Vega rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
  • 2017 – Kim Jong-nam, brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, is assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Births on February 13

  • 1440 – Hartmann Schedel, German physician (d. 1514)
  • 1457 – Mary of Burgundy, Sovereign Duchess regnant of Burgundy, married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1482)
  • 1469 – Elia Levita, Renaissance Hebrew grammarian (d. 1549)
  • 1480 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian cardinal (d. 1542)
  • 1523 – Valentin Naboth, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1593)
  • 1539 – Elisabeth of Hesse, Electress Palatine (d. 1582)
  • 1569 – Johann Reinhard I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1625)
  • 1599 – Pope Alexander VII (d. 1667)
  • 1602 – William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1637)
  • 1672 – Étienne François Geoffroy, French physician and chemist (d. 1731)
  • 1683 – Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Italian painter (d. 1754)
  • 1719 – George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, English admiral and politician (d. 1792)
  • 1721 – John Reid, Scottish general (d. 1807)
  • 1728 – John Hunter, Scottish surgeon and anatomist (d. 1793)
  • 1766 – Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist and scholar (d. 1834)
  • 1768 – Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, French general and politician, 15th Prime Minister of France (d. 1835)
  • 1769 – Ivan Krylov, Russian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1844)
  • 1805 – Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician and academic (d. 1859)
  • 1811 – François Achille Bazaine, French general (d. 1888)
  • 1815 – Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American anthologist, editor, poet and critic (d. 1857)
  • 1831 – John Aaron Rawlins, American general and politician, 29th United States Secretary of War (d. 1869)
  • 1834 – Heinrich Caro, Sephardic Jewish Polish-German chemist and academic (d. 1910)
  • 1835 – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Indian religious leader (d. 1908)
  • 1849 – Lord Randolph Churchill, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1895)
  • 1855 – Paul Deschanel, Belgian-French politician, 11th President of France (d. 1922)
  • 1863 – Hugo Becker, German cellist and composer (d. 1941)
  • 1867 – Harold Mahony, Scottish-Irish tennis player (d. 1905)
  • 1870 – Leopold Godowsky, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1938)
  • 1873 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (d. 1938)
  • 1876 – Fritz Buelow, German-American baseball player and umpire (d. 1933)
  • 1879 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian poet and activist (d. 1949)
  • 1880 – Dimitrie Gusti, Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1955)
  • 1881 – Eleanor Farjeon, Jewish-English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1965)
  • 1883 – Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947)
  • 1883 – Yevgeny Vakhtangov, Russian-Armenian actor and director (d. 1922)
  • 1884 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and businessman, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company (d. 1961)
  • 1885 – Bess Truman, American wife of Harry S. Truman, 35th First Lady of the United States (d. 1982)
  • 1887 – Géza Csáth, Hungarian playwright and critic (d. 1919)
  • 1888 – Georgios Papandreou, Greek lawyer, economist, and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)
  • 1889 – Leontine Sagan, Austrian actress and director (d. 1974)
  • 1891 – Kate Roberts, Welsh author and activist (d. 1985)
  • 1891 – Grant Wood, American painter and academic (d. 1942)
  • 1892 – Robert H. Jackson, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 57th United States Attorney General (d. 1954)
  • 1898 – Hubert Ashton, English cricketer and politician (d. 1979)
  • 1900 – Barbara von Annenkoff, Russian-born German film and stage actress (d. 1979)
  • 1901 – Paul Lazarsfeld, Austrian-American sociologist and academic (d. 1976)
  • 1902 – Harold Lasswell, American political scientist and theorist (d. 1978)
  • 1903 – Georgy Beriev, Georgian-Russian engineer, founded the Beriev Aircraft Company (d. 1979)
  • 1903 – Georges Simenon, Belgian-Swiss author (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – Agostinho da Silva, Portuguese philosopher and author (d. 1994)
  • 1907 – Katy de la Cruz, Filipino-American singer and actress (d. 2004)
  • 1910 – William Shockley, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
  • 1911 – Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Indian-Pakistani poet and journalist (d. 1984)
  • 1911 – Jean Muir, American actress and educator (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – Harald Riipalu, Russian-Estonian commander (d. 1961)
  • 1912 – Margaretta Scott, English actress (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Khalid of Saudi Arabia (d. 1982)
  • 1915 – Lyle Bettger, American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1915 – Aung San, Burmese general and politician, 5th Premier of British Crown Colony of Burma (d. 1947)
  • 1916 – Dorothy Bliss, American invertebrate zoologist (d. 1987)
  • 1919 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (d. 1991)
  • 1919 – Eddie Robinson, American football player and coach (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Boudleaux Bryant, American songwriter (d. 1987)
  • 1920 – Eileen Farrell, American soprano and educator (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Jeanne Demessieux, French pianist and composer (d. 1968)
  • 1921 – Aung Khin, Burmese painter (d. 1996)
  • 1922 – Francis Pym, Baron Pym, Welsh soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2008)
  • 1922 – Gordon Tullock, American economist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American soldier, judge, and politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Chuck Yeager, American general and pilot; first test pilot to break the sound barrier
  • 1924 – Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French journalist and politician (d. 2006)
  • 1926 – Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, American nuclear physicist (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Gerald Regan, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian commander and politician, Military Leader of Panama (d. 1981)
  • 1930 – Ernst Fuchs, Austrian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Israel Kirzner, English-American economist, author, and academic
  • 1932 – Susan Oliver, American actress (d. 1990)
  • 1933 – Paul Biya, Cameroon politician, 2nd President of Cameroon
  • 1933 – Kim Novak, American actress
  • 1933 – Emanuel Ungaro, French fashion designer (d. 2019)
  • 1934 – George Segal, American actor
  • 1937 – Ali El-Maak, Sudanese author and academic (d. 1992)
  • 1937 – Angelo Mosca, American-Canadian football player and wrestler
  • 1938 – Oliver Reed, English actor (d. 1999)
  • 1940 – Bram Peper, Dutch sociologist and politician, Mayor of Rotterdam
  • 1941 – Sigmar Polke, German painter and photographer (d. 2010)
  • 1941 – Bo Svenson, Swedish-American actor, director, and producer
  • 1942 – Carol Lynley, American model and actress (d. 2019)
  • 1942 – Peter Tork, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor (d. 2019)
  • 1942 – Donald E. Williams, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2016)
  • 1943 – Elaine Pagels, American theologian and academic
  • 1944 – Stockard Channing, American actress
  • 1944 – Jerry Springer, English-American television host, actor, and politician, 56th Mayor of Cincinnati
  • 1945 – Marian Dawkins, English biologist and academic
  • 1945 – King Floyd, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1945 – Simon Schama, English historian and author
  • 1945 – William Sleator, American author and composer (d. 2011)
  • 1946 – Richard Blumenthal, American sergeant and politician, 23rd Attorney General of Connecticut
  • 1946 – Janet Finch, English sociologist and academic
  • 1946 – Colin Matthews, English composer and educator
  • 1947 – Stephen Hadley, American soldier and diplomat, 21st United States National Security Advisor
  • 1947 – Mike Krzyzewski, American basketball player and coach
  • 1947 – Bogdan Tanjević, Montenegrin-Bosnian professional basketball coach
  • 1947 – Kevin Bloody Wilson, Australian comedian, singer-songwriter, and guitarist
  • 1949 – Peter Kern, Austrian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1950 – Vera Baird, English lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – Peter Gabriel, English singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1952 – Ed Gagliardi, American bass player (d. 2014)
  • 1953 – Akio Sato, Japanese wrestler and manager
  • 1954 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (d. 1989)
  • 1955 – Joe Birkett, American lawyer, judge, and politician
  • 1956 – Peter Hook, English singer, songwriter, bass player, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer
  • 1957 – Denise Austin, American fitness trainer and author
  • 1958 – Pernilla August, Swedish actress
  • 1958 – Marc Emery, Canadian publisher and activist
  • 1958 – Jean-François Lisée, Canadian journalist and politician
  • 1958 – Derek Riggs, English painter and illustrator
  • 1958 – Øivind Elgenes, Norwegian vocalist, guitarist and composer
  • 1959 – Gaston Gingras, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1960 – Pierluigi Collina, Italian footballer and referee
  • 1960 – John Healey, English journalist and politician
  • 1960 – Gary Patterson, American football player and coach
  • 1960 – Artur Yusupov, Russian-German chess player and author
  • 1961 – Marc Crawford, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1961 – cEvin Key, Canadian singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1961 – Henry Rollins, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1962 – Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Puerto Rican lawyer and politician
  • 1962 – Baby Doll, American wrestler and manager
  • 1962 – Michele Greene, American actress
  • 1964 – Stephen Bowen, American engineer, captain, and astronaut
  • 1964 – Ylva Johansson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Employment
  • 1965 – Peter O’Neill, Papua New Guinean accountant and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
  • 1966 – Neal McDonough, American actor and producer
  • 1966 – Jeff Waters, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1966 – Freedom Williams, American rapper and singer
  • 1967 – Stanimir Stoilov, Bulgarian footballer and coach
  • 1968 – Kelly Hu, American actress
  • 1969 – Joyce DiDonato, American soprano and actress
  • 1970 – Karoline Krüger, Norwegian singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1971 – Sonia Evans, English singer-songwriter
  • 1971 – Mats Sundin, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1971 – Todd Williams, American baseball player
  • 1972 – Virgilijus Alekna, Lithuanian discus thrower
  • 1972 – Charlie Garner, American football player
  • 1974 – Fonzworth Bentley, American rapper and actor
  • 1974 – Robbie Williams, English singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Ben Collins, English race car driver
  • 1975 – Katie Hopkins, English media personality and columnist
  • 1976 – Jörg Bergmeister, German race car driver
  • 1976 – Shannon Nevin, Australian rugby league player
  • 1977 – Randy Moss, American football player and coach
  • 1978 – Niklas Bäckström, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Philippe Jaroussky, French countertenor
  • 1979 – Anders Behring Breivik, Norwegian murderer
  • 1979 – Rafael Márquez, Mexican footballer
  • 1979 – Rachel Reeves, English economist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
  • 1979 – Mena Suvari, American actress and fashion designer
  • 1980 – Carlos Cotto, Puerto Rican-American wrestler and boxer
  • 1981 – Luisão, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Even Helte Hermansen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
  • 1982 – Michael Turner, American football player
  • 1983 – Mike Nickeas, Canadian baseball player
  • 1983 – Anna Watkins, English rower
  • 1984 – Hinkelien Schreuder, Dutch swimmer
  • 1985 – Kwak Ji-min, South Korean actress
  • 1986 – Luke Moore, English footballer
  • 1986 – Aqib Talib, American football player
  • 1987 – Eljero Elia, Dutch footballer
  • 1988 – Ryan Goins, American baseball player
  • 1988 – Eddy Pettybourne, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player
  • 1989 – Rodrigo Possebon, Brazilian footballer
  • 1991 – Eliaquim Mangala, French footballer
  • 1991 – Junior Roqica, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Vianney, French singer
  • 1994 – Memphis Depay, Dutch footballer

Deaths on February 13

  • 106 – Emperor He of Han (Han Hedi) of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty (b. AD 79)
  • 721 – Chilperic II, Frankish king (b. 672)
  • 858 – Kenneth MacAlpin, Scottish king (probable; b. 810)
  • 921 – Vratislaus I, duke of Bohemia
  • 936 – Xiao Wen, empress of the Liao Dynasty
  • 942 – Muhammad ibn Ra’iq, Abbasid emir and regent
  • 988 – Adalbert Atto, Lombard nobleman
  • 1021 – Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, Fatimid caliph (b. 985)
  • 1130 – Honorius II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1060
  • 1141 – Béla II, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1110)
  • 1199 – Stefan Nemanja, Serbian grand prince (b. 1113)
  • 1219 – Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shōgun (b. 1192)
  • 1332 – Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1259)
  • 1351 – Kō no Morofuyu, Japanese general
  • 1539 – Isabella d’Este, Italian noblewoman (b. 1474)
  • 1542 – Catherine Howard, English wife of Henry VIII of England (executed;b. 1521)
  • 1571 – Benvenuto Cellini, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1500)
  • 1585 – Alfonso Salmeron, Spanish priest and scholar (b. 1515)
  • 1602 – Alexander Nowell, English clergyman and theologian (b. 1507)
  • 1660 – Charles X Gustav, king of Sweden (b. 1622)
  • 1662 – Elizabeth Stuart, queen of Bohemia (b. 1596)
  • 1693 – Johann Caspar Kerll, German organist and composer (b. 1627)
  • 1727 – William Wotton, English linguist and scholar (b. 1666)
  • 1728 – Cotton Mather, American minister and author (b. 1663)
  • 1732 – Charles-René d’Hozier, French historian and author (b. 1640)
  • 1741 – Johann Joseph Fux, Austrian composer and theorist (b. 1660)
  • 1787 – Roger Joseph Boscovich, Croatian physicist, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1711)
  • 1787 – Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French lawyer and politician, Foreign Minister of France (b. 1717)
  • 1813 – Samuel Ashe, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1725)
  • 1818 – George Rogers Clark, American general (b. 1752)
  • 1826 – Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen, Russian general and politician, Governor-General of Baltic provinces (b. 1745)
  • 1831 – Edward Berry, English admiral (b. 1768)
  • 1837 – Mariano José de Larra, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1809)
  • 1845 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian-German philosopher and poet (b. 1773)
  • 1877 – Costache Caragiale, Romanian actor and manager (b. 1815)
  • 1883 – Richard Wagner, German composer (b. 1813)
  • 1888 – Jean-Baptiste Lamy, French-American archbishop (b. 1814)
  • 1892 – Provo Wallis, Canadian-English admiral (b. 1791)
  • 1893 – Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, Mexican intellectual and journalist (b. 1834)
  • 1905 – Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter (b. 1844)
  • 1906 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (b. 1866)
  • 1934 – József Pusztai, Slovene-Hungarian poet and journalist (b. 1864)
  • 1942 – Otakar Batlička, Czech journalist (b. 1895)
  • 1942 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian lawyer, judge, and politician, 11th President of Brazil (b. 1865)
  • 1950 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian-English novelist and short story writer (b. 1875)
  • 1951 – Lloyd C. Douglas, American minister and author (b. 1877)
  • 1952 – Josephine Tey, Scottish author and playwright (b. 1896)
  • 1954 – Agnes Macphail, Canadian educator and politician (b. 1890)
  • 1956 – Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish mathematician and philosopher (b. 1878)
  • 1958 – Christabel Pankhurst, English activist, co-founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (b. 1880)
  • 1958 – Georges Rouault, French painter and illustrator (b. 1871)
  • 1964 – Paulino Alcántara, Filipino-Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1896)
  • 1964 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1902)
  • 1967 – Yoshisuke Aikawa, entrepreneur, businessman, and politician, founded Nissan Motor Company (b. 1880)
  • 1967 – Abelardo L. Rodríguez, substitute president of Mexico (1932-1934) (b. 1889)
  • 1968 – Mae Marsh, American actress (b. 1895)
  • 1968 – Portia White, Canadian opera singer (b. 1911)
  • 1973 – Marinus Jan Granpré Molière, Dutch architect and educator (b. 1883)
  • 1975 – André Beaufre, French general (b. 1902)
  • 1976 – Murtala Mohammed, Nigerian general and politician, 4th President of Nigeria (b. 1938)
  • 1976 – Lily Pons, French-American soprano and actress (b. 1904)
  • 1980 – David Janssen, American actor (b. 1931)
  • 1984 – Cheong Eak Chong, Singaporean entrepreneur (b. 1888)
  • 1986 – Yuri Ivask, Russian-American poet and critic (b. 1907)
  • 1989 – Wayne Hays, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1911)
  • 1991 – Arno Breker, German sculptor and illustrator (b. 1900)
  • 1992 – Nikolay Bogolyubov, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and physicist (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Martin Balsam, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 1997 – Robert Klark Graham, American eugenicist and businessman (b. 1906)
  • 1997 – Mark Krasnosel’skii, Russian-Ukrainian mathematician and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Anders Aalborg, Canadian educator and politician (b. 1914)
  • 2000 – James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (b. 1921)
  • 2000 – John Leake, English soldier (b. 1949)
  • 2002 – Waylon Jennings, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
  • 2003 – Kid Gavilán, Cuban-American boxer (b. 1926)
  • 2003 – Walt Whitman Rostow, American economist; 7th United States National Security Advisor (b. 1916)
  • 2004 – François Tavenas, Canadian engineer and academic (b. 1942)
  • 2004 – Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, Chechen politician, 2nd President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (b. 1952)
  • 2005 – Nelson Briles, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1943)
  • 2005 – Lúcia Santos, Portuguese nun (b. 1907)
  • 2006 – P. F. Strawson, English philosopher and author (b. 1919)
  • 2007 – Elizabeth Jolley, English-Australian author and academic (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Charlie Norwood, American captain and politician (b. 1941)
  • 2007 – Richard Gordon Wakeford, English air marshal (b. 1922)
  • 2008 – Kon Ichikawa, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
  • 2009 – Edward Upward, English author and educator (b. 1903)
  • 2010 – Lucille Clifton, American poet and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2010 – Dale Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Russell Arms, American actor and singer (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Louise Cochrane, American-English screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Daniel C. Gerould, American playwright and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Gerry Day, American journalist and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Miles J. Jones, American pathologist and physician (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Pieter Kooijmans, Dutch judge and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for The Netherlands (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Andrée Malebranche, Haitian artist (b. 1916)
  • 2013 – Yuko Tojo, Japanese activist and politician (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Balu Mahendra, Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Richard Møller Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Ralph Waite, American actor and activist (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Faith Bandler, Australian activist and author (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Stan Chambers, American journalist and actor (b. 1923)
  • 2016 – O. N. V. Kurup, Indian poet and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2016 – Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and judge, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (b. 1936)
  • 2017 – Ricardo Arias Calderón, Panamanian politician, Vice President (1990–1992) (b. 1933)
  • 2017 – Aileen Hernandez, American union organizer and activist (b. 1926)
  • 2017 – Seijun Suzuki, Japanese filmmaker (b. 1923)
  • 2017 – Kim Jong-nam, North Korean politician (b. 1971)
  • 2017 – E-Dubble, American rapper (b. 1982)
  • 2018 – Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark, French-born Danish royal (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances on February 13

  • Children’s Day (Myanmar)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Absalom Jones (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Beatrice of Ornacieux
    • Castor of Karden
    • Catherine of Ricci
    • Ermenilda of Ely
    • Fulcran
    • Jordan of Saxony
    • Polyeuctus (Roman Catholic Church)
    • February 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • World Radio Day

February 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1429 – English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans in the Battle of the Herrings.
  • 1502 – Isabella I issues an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity.
  • 1541 – Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia.
  • 1593 – Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju.
  • 1689 – The Convention Parliament declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication.
  • 1733 – Georgia Day: Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, by settling at Savannah.
  • 1771 – Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden.
  • 1817 – An Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeats Spanish troops at the Battle of Chacabuco.
  • 1818 – Bernardo O’Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile.
  • 1825 – The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government by the Treaty of Indian Springs, and migrate west.
  • 1832 – Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands.
  • 1855 – Michigan State University is established.
  • 1894 – Anarchist Émile Henry hurls a bomb into the Cafe Terminus in Paris, killing one person and wounding 20.
  • 1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.
  • 1909 – New Zealand’s worst maritime disaster of the 20th century happens when the SS Penguin, an inter-island ferry, sinks and explodes at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.
  • 1912 – The Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China, abdicates.
  • 1915 – In Washington, D.C., the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
  • 1921 – Bolsheviks launch a revolt in Georgia as a preliminary to the Red Army invasion of Georgia.
  • 1924 – George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue received its premiere in a concert titled “An Experiment in Modern Music”, in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Paul Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano.
  • 1935 – USS Macon, one of the two largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sinks.
  • 1946 – World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats.
  • 1946 – African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes. The incident later galvanizes the civil rights movement and partially inspires Orson Welles’ film Touch of Evil.
  • 1947 – The largest observed iron meteorite until that time creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union.
  • 1947 – Christian Dior unveils a “New Look”, helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.
  • 1961 – The Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
  • 1963 – Construction begins on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • 1965 – Malcolm X visits Smethwick in Birmingham following the racially-charged 1964 United Kingdom general election.
  • 1968 – Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre.
  • 1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
  • 1983 – One hundred women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq’s proposed Law of Evidence. The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law.
  • 1988 – Cold War: The 1988 Black Sea bumping incident: The U.S. missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG-48) is intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy in the Soviet territorial waters, while Yorktown claims innocent passage.
  • 1990 – Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia.
  • 1992 – The current Constitution of Mongolia comes into effect.
  • 1993 – Two-year-old James Bulger is abducted from New Strand Shopping Centre by two ten-year-old boys, who later torture and murder him.
  • 1994 – Four thieves break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal Edvard Munch’s iconic painting The Scream.
  • 1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
  • 2001 – NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the “saddle” region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
  • 2002 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, begins at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. He dies four years later before its conclusion.
  • 2002 – An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport, killing 119.
  • 2004 – The city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
  • 2009 – Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all on board and one on the ground.
  • 2016 – Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.
  • 2019 – The country known as the Republic of Macedonia renames itself the Republic of North Macedonia in accordance with the Prespa agreement, settling a long-standing naming dispute with Greece.

Births on February 12

  • AD 41 – Britannicus, Roman son of Claudius (d. 55)
  • 528 – Daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, nominal empress regnant of Northern Wei
  • 661 – Princess Ōku of Japan (d. 702)
  • 1074 – Conrad II of Italy (d. 1101)
  • 1218 – Kujo Yoritsune, Japanese shōgun (d. 1256)
  • 1322 – John Henry, Margrave of Moravia (d. 1375)
  • 1443 – Giovanni II Bentivoglio, Italian noble (d. 1508)
  • 1480 – Frederick II of Legnica, Duke of Legnica (d. 1547)
  • 1540 – Won Gyun, Korean general and admiral (d. 1597)
  • 1567 – Thomas Campion, English composer, poet, and physician (d. 1620)
  • 1584 – Caspar Barlaeus, Dutch historian, poet, and theologian (d. 1648)
  • 1602 – Michelangelo Cerquozzi, Italian painter (d. 1660)
  • 1606 – John Winthrop the Younger, English-American lawyer and politician, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1676)
  • 1608 – Daniello Bartoli, Italian Jesuit priest (d. 1685)
  • 1637 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist and zoologist (d. 1680)
  • 1663 – Cotton Mather, English-American minister and author (d. 1728)
  • 1665 – Rudolf Jakob Camerarius, German botanist and physician (d. 1721)
  • 1704 – Charles Pinot Duclos, French author (d. 1772)
  • 1706 – Johann Joseph Christian, German Baroque sculptor and woodcarver (d. 1777)
  • 1728 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (d. 1799)
  • 1753 – François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, French admiral (d. 1798)
  • 1761 – Jan Ladislav Dussek, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1812)
  • 1768 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1835)
  • 1775 – Louisa Adams, English-American wife of John Quincy Adams, 6th First Lady of the United States (d. 1852)
  • 1777 – Bernard Courtois, French chemist and academic (d. 1838)
  • 1777 – Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German author and poet (d. 1843)
  • 1785 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist and chemist (d. 1838)
  • 1787 – Norbert Provencher, Canadian bishop and missionary (d. 1853)
  • 1788 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (d. 1869)
  • 1791 – Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (d. 1883)
  • 1794 – Alexander Petrov, Russian chess player and composer (d. 1867)
  • 1794 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843-1844) (d. 1850)
  • 1804 – Heinrich Lenz, German-Italian physicist and academic (d. 1865)
  • 1809 – Charles Darwin, English geologist and theorist (d. 1882)
  • 1809 – Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 16th President of the United States (d. 1865)
  • 1819 – William Wetmore Story, American sculptor, architect, poet and editor
  • 1824 – Dayananda Saraswati, Indian monk and philosopher, founded Arya Samaj (d. 1883)
  • 1828 – George Meredith, English novelist and poet (d. 1909)
  • 1837 – Thomas Moran, British-American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School (d. 1926)
  • 1857 – Eugène Atget, French photographer (d. 1927)
  • 1857 – Bobby Peel, English cricketer and coach (d. 1943)
  • 1861 – Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-German psychoanalyst and author (d. 1937)
  • 1866 – Lev Shestov, Russian philosopher (d. 1938)
  • 1869 – Kiến Phúc, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1884)
  • 1870 – Marie Lloyd, English actress and singer (d. 1922)
  • 1876 – 13th Dalai Lama (d. 1933)
  • 1877 – Louis Renault, French engineer and businessman, co-founded Renault (d. 1944)
  • 1880 – George Preca, Maltese priest and saint (d. 1962)
  • 1880 – John L. Lewis, American miner and union leader (d. 1969)
  • 1881 – Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina and actress (d. 1931)
  • 1882 – Walter Nash, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1968)
  • 1884 – Max Beckmann, German painter and sculptor (d. 1950)
  • 1884 – Johan Laidoner, Estonian-Russian general (d. 1953)
  • 1884 – Alice Roosevelt Longworth, American author (d. 1980)
  • 1884 – Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (d. 1957)
  • 1885 – Julius Streicher, German publisher, founded Der Stürmer (d. 1946)
  • 1889 – Bhante Dharmawara, Cambodian monk, lawyer, and judge (d. 1999)
  • 1893 – Omar Bradley, American general (d. 1981)
  • 1895 – Kristian Djurhuus, Faroese lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1984)
  • 1897 – Charles Groves Wright Anderson, South African-Australian colonel and politician (d. 1988)
  • 1897 – Lincoln LaPaz, American astronomer and academic (d. 1985)
  • 1898 – Wallace Ford, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
  • 1900 – Roger J. Traynor, American lawyer and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (d. 1983)
  • 1902 – William Collier, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1987)
  • 1903 – Jorge Basadre, Peruvian historian (d. 1980)
  • 1903 – Chick Hafey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1973)
  • 1904 – Ted Mack, American radio and television host (d. 1976)
  • 1907 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (d. 1962)
  • 1908 – Jean Effel, French painter, caricaturist, illustrator and journalist (d. 1982)
  • 1908 – Jacques Herbrand, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1931)
  • 1909 – Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter and illustrator (d. 2005)
  • 1909 – Sigmund Rascher, German physician (d. 1945)
  • 1911 – Charles Mathiesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – R. F. Delderfield, English author and playwright (d. 1972)
  • 1914 – Tex Beneke, American singer, saxophonist, and bandleader (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – Johanna von Caemmerer, German mathematician (d. 1971)
  • 1915 – Lorne Greene, Canadian-American actor (d. 1987)
  • 1915 – Olivia Hooker, African-American sailor (d. 2018)
  • 1916 – Joseph Alioto, American lawyer and politician, 36th Mayor of San Francisco (d. 1998)
  • 1917 – Al Cervi, American basketball player and coach (d. 2009)
  • 1917 – Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (d. 2009)
  • 1918 – Norman Farberow, American psychologist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1918 – Julian Schwinger, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
  • 1919 – Forrest Tucker, American actor (d. 1986)
  • 1920 – Raymond Mhlaba, South African anti-apartheid and ANC activist (d. 2005)
  • 1922 – Hussein Onn, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1990)
  • 1923 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director, producer, and politician (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Sir Anthony Berry, British Conservative politician (d. 1984)
  • 1925 – Joan Mitchell, American-French painter (d. 1992)
  • 1926 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Joe Garagiola, Sr., American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – Charles Van Doren, American academic (d. 2019)
  • 1928 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – John Doyle, Irish hurler and politician (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Arlen Specter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
  • 1931 – Janwillem van de Wetering, Dutch-American author and translator (d. 2008)
  • 1932 – Axel Jensen, Norwegian author and poet (d. 2003)
  • 1932 – Julian Simon, American economist, author, and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1933 – Costa-Gavras, Greek-French director and producer
  • 1933 – Brian Carlson, Australian rugby league player (d. 1987)
  • 1934 – Annette Crosbie, Scottish actress
  • 1934 – Anne Osborn Krueger, American economist and academic
  • 1934 – Bill Russell, American basketball player and coach
  • 1935 – Gene McDaniels, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
  • 1936 – Alan Ebringer, Australian immunologist, professor at King’s College in the University of London
  • 1938 – Judy Blume, Jewish-American author and educator
  • 1939 – Leon Kass, American physician, scientist, and educator
  • 1939 – Ray Manzarek, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1941 – Hubert Marcoux, Canadian solo sailor and author (d. 2009)
  • 1941 – Dominguinhos, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 2013)
  • 1941 – Naomi Uemura, Japanese mountaineer and explorer (d. 1984)
  • 1942 – Ehud Barak, Israeli general and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Israel
  • 1942 – Pat Dobson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2006)
  • 1945 – Maud Adams, Swedish model and actress
  • 1945 – David D. Friedman, American economist, physicist, and scholar
  • 1946 – Jean Eyeghé Ndong, Gabonese politician, Prime Minister of Gabon
  • 1946 – Ajda Pekkan, Turkish singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1948 – Ray Kurzweil, American computer scientist and engineer
  • 1948 – Nicholas Soames, English politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
  • 1950 – Angelo Branduardi, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1950 – Steve Hackett, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1950 – Michael Ironside, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1952 – Michael McDonald, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
  • 1953 – Joanna Kerns, American actress and director
  • 1954 – Joseph Jordania, Georgian-Australian musicologist and academic
  • 1954 – Tzimis Panousis, Greek comedian, singer, and author (d. 2018)
  • 1954 – Phil Zimmermann, American cryptographer and programmer
  • 1955 – Bill Laswell, American bass player and producer
  • 1955 – Chet Lemon, American baseball player and coach
  • 1956 – Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host
  • 1956 – Ad Melkert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment
  • 1956 – Brian Robertson, Scottish rock guitarist and songwriter
  • 1958 – Outback Jack, Australian-American wrestler
  • 1961 – Jim Harris, Canadian environmentalist and politician
  • 1961 – Michel Martelly, Haitian singer and politician, 56th President of Haiti
  • 1961 – Di Farmer, Queensland Member of Parliament
  • 1964 – Omar Hakim, American drummer, producer, arranger, and composer
  • 1965 – Rubén Amaro, Jr., American baseball player and manager
  • 1965 – Christine Elise, American actress and producer
  • 1965 – David Westlake, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1966 – Paul Crook, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1968 – Josh Brolin, American actor
  • 1968 – Chynna Phillips, American singer and actress
  • 1969 – Darren Aronofsky, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Alemayehu Atomsa, Ethiopian educator and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1969 – Steve Backley, English javelin thrower
  • 1969 – Anneli Drecker, Norwegian singer and actress
  • 1969 – Hong Myung-bo, South Korean footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Jim Creeggan, Canadian singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1970 – Bryan Roy, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Judd Winick, American author and illustrator
  • 1971 – Scott Menville, American voice actor, singer, actor and musician
  • 1973 – Gianni Romme, Dutch speed skater
  • 1973 – Tara Strong, Canadian voice actress and singer
  • 1974 – Naseem Hamed, English boxer
  • 1976 – Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1977 – Jimmy Conrad, American soccer player and manager
  • 1978 – Paul Anderson, English actor
  • 1978 – Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1979 – Antonio Chatman, American football player
  • 1979 – Jesse Spencer, Australian actor and violinist
  • 1980 – Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
  • 1980 – Sarah Lancaster, American actress
  • 1980 – Christina Ricci, American actress and producer
  • 1980 – Gucci Mane, American rapper
  • 1981 – Wade McKinnon, Australian rugby league player
  • 1982 – Jonas Hiller, Swiss ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Louis Tsatoumas, Greek long jumper
  • 1982 – Anthony Tuitavake, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1983 – Carlton Brewster, American football player and coach
  • 1984 – Brad Keselowski, American race car driver
  • 1984 – Andrei Sidorenkov, Estonian footballer
  • 1984 – Peter Vanderkaay, American swimmer
  • 1988 – DeMarco Murray, American football player
  • 1988 – Nicolás Otamendi, Argentine footballer
  • 1988 – Mike Posner, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1990 – Robert Griffin III, American football player
  • 1991 – Patrick Herrmann, German footballer
  • 1994 – Arman Hall, American sprinter
  • 1999 – Maggie Coles-Lyster, Canadian cyclist
  • 2000 – Kim Ji-min, South Korean actress

Deaths on February 12

  • 821 – Benedict of Aniane, French monk and saint (b. 747)
  • 890 – Henjō, Japanese priest and poet (b. 816)
  • 981 – Ælfstan, bishop of Ramsbury
  • 901 – Antony II, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 914 – Li, empress of Yan
  • 941 – Wulfhelm, Archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1247 – Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg, ruler (b. 1185)
  • 1266 – Amadeus of the Amidei, Italian saint
  • 1517 – Catherine of Navarre (b. 1468)
  • 1538 – Albrecht Altdorfer, German painter, engraver, and architect (b. 1480)
  • 1554 – Lord Guildford Dudley, English son of Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland (b. 1536; executed)
  • 1554 – Lady Jane Grey, de facto monarch of England and Ireland for nine days (b. 1537; executed)
  • 1571 – Nicholas Throckmorton, English politician and diplomat (b. 1515)
  • 1590 – François Hotman, French lawyer and author (b. 1524)
  • 1600 – Edward Denny, Knight Banneret of Bishop’s Stortford, English soldier, privateer and adventurer (b. 1547)
  • 1612 – Jodocus Hondius, Flemish cartographer (b. 1563)
  • 1624 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist, founded George Heriot’s School (b. 1563)
  • 1713 – Jahandar Shah, Mughal emperor (b. 1664)
  • 1728 – Agostino Steffani, Italian priest and composer (b. 1653)
  • 1763 – Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (b. 1688)
  • 1771 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (b. 1710)
  • 1789 – Ethan Allen, American farmer, general, and politician (b. 1738)
  • 1799 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist and physiologist (b. 1729)
  • 1804 – Immanuel Kant, German anthropologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1724)
  • 1834 – Friedrich Schleiermacher, German philosopher and scholar (b. 1768)
  • 1886 – Randolph Caldecott, English-American painter and illustrator (b. 1846)
  • 1894 – Hans von Bülow, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1830)
  • 1896 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer and academic (b. 1811)
  • 1912 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (b. 1841)
  • 1915 – Émile Waldteufel, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1837)
  • 1916 – Richard Dedekind, German mathematician, philosopher, and academic (b. 1831)
  • 1929 – Lillie Langtry, English singer and actress (b. 1853)
  • 1931 – Samad bey Mehmandarov, Azerbaijani-Russian general and politician, 3rd Azerbaijani Minister of Defense (b. 1855)
  • 1935 – Auguste Escoffier, French chef and author (b. 1846)
  • 1942 – Eugene Esmonde, Irish-English lieutenant and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1909)
  • 1942 – Avraham Stern, Polish-Israeli militant leader (b. 1907)
  • 1942 – Grant Wood, American painter and academic (b. 1891)
  • 1947 – Moses Gomberg, Ukrainian-American chemist and academic (b. 1866)
  • 1949 – Hassan al-Banna, Egyptian educator, founded the Muslim Brotherhood (b. 1906)
  • 1954 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1896)
  • 1958 – Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1897)
  • 1960 – Oskar Anderson, Bulgarian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1887)
  • 1970 – Clare Turlay Newberry, American author and illustrator (b. 1903)
  • 1971 – James Cash Penney, American businessman and philanthropist, founded J. C. Penney (b. 1875)
  • 1975 – Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (b. 1895)
  • 1976 – Sal Mineo, American actor (b. 1939)
  • 1977 – Herman Dooyeweerd, Dutch philosopher and scholar (b. 1894)
  • 1979 – Jean Renoir, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
  • 1980 – Muriel Rukeyser, American poet and activist (b. 1913)
  • 1982 – Victor Jory, Canadian-American actor (b. 1902)
  • 1983 – Eubie Blake, American pianist and composer (b. 1887)
  • 1984 – Anna Anderson, Polish-American woman, who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1896)
  • 1984 – Julio Cortázar, Belgian-Argentinian author and poet (b. 1914)
  • 1985 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (b. 1924)
  • 1989 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian playwright and author (b. 1931)
  • 1991 – Roger Patterson, American bass player (b. 1968)
  • 1992 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (b. 1907)
  • 1994 – Donald Judd, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
  • 1995 – Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (b. 1952)
  • 1998 – Gardner Ackley, American economist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (b. 1915)
  • 2000 – Tom Landry, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
  • 2000 – Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist, created Peanuts (b. 1922)
  • 2001 – Kristina Söderbaum, Swedish-German actress and producer (b. 1912)
  • 2002 – John Eriksen, Danish footballer (b. 1957)
  • 2005 – Dorothy Stang, American-Brazilian nun and missionary (b. 1931)
  • 2007 – Ann Barzel, American writer and dance critic (b. 1905)
  • 2007 – Peggy Gilbert, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1905)
  • 2008 – David Groh, American actor (b. 1939)
  • 2009 – victims of Colgan Air Flight 3407:
    • Alison Des Forges, American historian and activist (b. 1942)
    • Beverly Eckert, American activist (b. 1951)
    • Mat Mathews, Dutch accordion player (b. 1924)
    • Coleman Mellett, American guitarist (b. 1974)
    • Gerry Niewood, American saxophonist (b. 1943)
  • 2010 – Nodar Kumaritashvili, Georgian luger (b. 1988)
  • 2011 – Peter Alexander, Austrian singer and actor (b. 1926)
  • 2011 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1919)
  • 2011 – Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (b. 1935)
  • 2012 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – Denis Flannery, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – David Kelly, Irish actor (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – John Severin, American illustrator (b. 1921)
  • 2013 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1941)
  • 2013 – Reginald Turnill, English journalist and author (b. 1915)
  • 2013 – Hennadiy Udovenko, Ukrainian politician and diplomat, 2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ukraine (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Sid Caesar, American actor and comedian (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – John Pickstone, English historian and author (b. 1944)
  • 2015 – Movita Castaneda, American actress and singer (b. 1916)
  • 2015 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Gary Owens, American radio host and voice actor (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Steve Strange, Welsh singer (b. 1959)
  • 2016 – Dominique D’Onofrio, Italian-Belgian footballer and coach (b. 1953)
  • 2016 – Yannis Kalaitzis, Greek cartoonist (b. 1945)
  • 2016 – Yan Su, Chinese general and composer (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Al Jarreau, American singer (b. 1940)
  • 2017 – Anna Marguerite McCann, first female American underwater archaeologist (b. 1933)
  • 2017 – Ren Xinmin, Chinese rocket scientist (b. 1915)
  • 2019 – Gordon Banks, English footballer (b. 1937)
  • 2019 – Lyndon LaRouche, American political activist (b. 1922)
  • 2019 – Pedro Morales, Puerto Rican professional wrestler and commentator (b. 1942)
  • 2020 – Christie Blatchford, Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster (b. 1951)

Holidays and observances on February 12

  • Christian feast day:
    • Benedict of Aniane
    • Damian of Alexandria
    • Julian the Hospitaller
    • Martyrs of Abitinae
    • February 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Darwin Day (International)
  • Georgia Day (Georgia (U.S. state))
  • Lincoln’s Birthday (United States)
  • National Freedom to Marry Day (United States)
  • Red Hand Day (United Nations)
  • Union Day (Myanmar)
  • Youth Day (Venezuela)

February 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of “Roman law”.
  • 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.
  • 962 – Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.
  • 1032 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy.
  • 1141 – The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda.
  • 1207 – Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established.
  • 1438 – Nine leaders of the Transylvanian peasant revolt are executed at Torda.
  • 1461 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer’s Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England.
  • 1536 – Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • 1645 – Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Inverlochy.
  • 1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
  • 1709 – Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe’s adventure book Robinson Crusoe.
  • 1848 – Mexican–American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
  • 1850 – Brigham Young declares war on Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah.
  • 1868 – Pro-Imperial forces captured Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burned it to the ground.
  • 1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
  • 1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.
  • 1899 – The Australian Premiers’ Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia’s capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.
  • 1901 – Funeral of Queen Victoria.
  • 1909 – The Paris Film Congress opens. An attempt by European producers to form an equivalent to the MPCC cartel in the United States.
  • 1913 – Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.
  • 1920 – The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.
  • 1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
  • 1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
  • 1934 – The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.
  • 1935 – Leonarde Keeler administers polygraph tests to two murder suspects, the first time polygraph evidence was admitted in U.S. courts.
  • 1942 – The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last organized German troops in the city.
  • 1959 – Nine experienced ski hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union die under mysterious circumstances.
  • 1966 – Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
  • 1971 – Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.
  • 1971 – The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran.
  • 1980 – Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
  • 1982 – Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama.
  • 1987 – After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.
  • 1989 – Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.
  • 1990 – Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
  • 2000 – First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.
  • 2002 – Wedding of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, and Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti
  • 2004 – Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men’s singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.
  • 2005 – The Government of Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage.
  • 2007 – Police officer Filippo Raciti is killed when a clash breaks out in the Sicily derby between Catania and Palermo, in the Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. This event led to major changes in stadium regulations in Italy.
  • 2012 – The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 146-165 dead.

Births on February 2

  • 1208 – James I of Aragon (d. 1276)
  • 1282 – Maud Chaworth, Countess of Leicester (d. 1322).
  • 1425 (or 1426) – Eleanor of Navarre, Queen regnant of Navarre (d. 1479)
  • 1443 – Elisabeth of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (d. 1486)
  • 1455 – John, King of Denmark (d. 1513)
  • 1457 – Peter Martyr d’Anghiera, Italian-Spanish historian and author (d. 1526)
  • 1467 – Columba of Rieti, Italian Dominican sister (d. 1501)
  • 1494 – Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (d. 1557)
  • 1502 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher and historian (d. 1574)
  • 1506 – René de Birague, Italian-French cardinal and politician (d. 1583)
  • 1509 – John of Leiden, Dutch Anabaptist leader (d. 1536)
  • 1522 – Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1565)
  • 1536 – Piotr Skarga, Polish writer (d. 1612)
  • 1551 – Nicolaus Reimers, German astronomer (d. 1600)
  • 1576 – Alix Le Clerc, French Canoness Regular and foundress (d. 1622)
  • 1585 – Judith Quiney, William Shakespeare’s youngest daughter (d. 1662)
  • 1585 – Hamnet Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s only son (baptised; d. 1596)
  • 1588 – Georg II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl, German nobleman (d. 1644)
  • 1600 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653)
  • 1611 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (d. 1633)
  • 1613 – Noël Chabanel, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
  • 1621 – Johannes Schefferus, Swedish author and hymn-writer (d. 1679)
  • 1650 – Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730)
  • 1650 – Nell Gwyn, English actress, mistress of King Charles II of England (d. 1687)
  • 1651 – William Phips, Royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1695)
  • 1669 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (d. 1732)
  • 1677 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French composer (d. 1745)
  • 1695 – William Borlase, English geologist and archaeologist (d. 1772)
  • 1695 – François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769)
  • 1700 – Johann Christoph Gottsched, German author and critic (d. 1766)
  • 1711 – Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (d. 1794)
  • 1714 – Gottfried August Homilius, German organist and composer (d. 1785)
  • 1717 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)
  • 1754 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1838)
  • 1782 – Henri de Rigny, French admiral and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1835)
  • 1786 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1856)
  • 1802 – Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist and academic (d. 1887)
  • 1803 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (d. 1862)
  • 1829 – Alfred Brehm, German zoologist and illustrator (d. 1884)
  • 1829 – William Stanley, English engineer and philanthropist (d. 1909)
  • 1841 – François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss limnologist and hydrologist (d. 1912)
  • 1842 – Julian Sochocki, Polish-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1927)
  • 1849 – Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet and playwright (d. 1921)
  • 1851 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican illustrator and engraver (d. 1913)
  • 1856 – Frederick William Vanderbilt, American railway magnate (d. 1938)
  • 1856 – Makar Yekmalyan, Armenian composer (d. 1905)
  • 1857 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (d. 1918)
  • 1860 – Curtis Guild, Jr., American journalist and politician, 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)
  • 1861 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (d. 1949)
  • 1862 – Émile Coste, French fencer (d. 1927)
  • 1862 – Cornelius McKane, American physician, educator, and hospital founder (d. 1912)
  • 1866 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and academic (d. 1927)
  • 1873 – Leo Fall, Austrian composer (d. 1925)
  • 1873 – Konstantin von Neurath, German politician and diplomat, 13th German Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1956)
  • 1875 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (d. 1962)
  • 1877 – Frank L. Packard, Canadian author (d. 1942)
  • 1878 – Joe Lydon, American boxer (d. 1937)
  • 1880 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969)
  • 1881 – Orval Overall, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947)
  • 1882 – Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (d. 1944)
  • 1882 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1941)
  • 1883 – Johnston McCulley, American author and screenwriter, created Zorro (d. 1958)
  • 1883 – Julia Nava de Ruisánchez, Mexican activist and writer (d. 1964)
  • 1886 – William Rose Benét, American poet and author (d. 1950)
  • 1887 – Ernst Hanfstaengl, German businessman (d. 1975)
  • 1889 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (d. 1952)
  • 1890 – Charles Correll, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1972)
  • 1892 – Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (d. 1959)
  • 1893 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1974)
  • 1893 – Raoul Riganti, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1970)
  • 1893 – Damdin Sükhbaatar, Mongolian soldier and politician (d. 1924)
  • 1895 – George Halas, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
  • 1895 – Robert Philipp, American painter (d. 1981)
  • 1895 – George Sutcliffe, Australian public servant (d. 1964)
  • 1896 – Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980)
  • 1897 – Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson’s (d. 1972)
  • 1897 – Gertrude Blanch, Russian-American mathematician (d. 1996)
  • 1900 – Anni Frind, German lyric soprano (d. 1987)
  • 1900 – Willie Kamm, American baseball player and manager (d. 1988)
  • 1901 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born American violinist and educator (d. 1987)
  • 1902 – Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
  • 1902 – John Tonkin, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1995)
  • 1904 – Bozorg Alavi, Iranian author and activist (d. 1997)
  • 1905 – Ayn Rand, Russian-born American novelist and philosopher (d. 1982)
  • 1908 – Wes Ferrell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
  • 1909 – Frank Albertson, American actor (d. 1964)
  • 1911 – Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (d. 1968)
  • 1912 – Millvina Dean, English civil servant and cartographer (d. 2009)
  • 1912 – Burton Lane, American songwriter and composer (d. 1997)
  • 1913 – Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor and singer (d. 1985)
  • 1914 – Eric Kierans, Canadian economist and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2004)
  • 1915 – Abba Eban, South African-Israeli politician and diplomat, 1st Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
  • 1915 – Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (d. 2014)
  • 1916 – Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1985)
  • 1917 – Mary Ellis, British World War II ferry pilot (d. 2018)
  • 1917 – Đỗ Mười, Vietnamese politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (d. 2018)
  • 1918 – Hella Haasse, Indonesian-Dutch author (d. 2011)
  • 1919 – Lisa Della Casa, Swiss soprano and actress (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Georg Gawliczek, German footballer and manager (d. 1999)
  • 1920 – George Hardwick, English footballer and coach (d. 2004)
  • 1920 – John Russell, American Olympic equestrian
  • 1920 – Arthur Willis, English footballer, full-back, player-manager (d. 1987)
  • 1922 – Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey player (d. 1978)
  • 1922 – Robert Chef d’Hôtel, French athlete (d. 2019)
  • 1922 – James L. Usry, American politician, first African-American mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2002)
  • 1922 – Stoyanka Mutafova, Bulgarian actress (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – Jean Babilée, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (d. 1997)
  • 1923 – Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster (d.2012)
  • 1923 – Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (d. 1988)
  • 1923 – Red Schoendienst, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2018)
  • 1923 – Liz Smith, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
  • 1923 – Clem Windsor, Australian rugby player and surgeon (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American singer, pianist, producer (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Sonny Stitt, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1982)
  • 1925 – Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, French academic and politician, 20th President of France
  • 1927 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (d. 1991)
  • 1927 – Doris Sams, American baseball player (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Ciriaco De Mita, 47th Prime minister of Italy
  • 1928 – Jay Handlan, American basketball player and engineer (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Tommy Harmer, English footballer, inside forward, youth team coach (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Sheila Matthews Allen, American actress and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – George Band, English engineer and mountaineer (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – John Henry Holland, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Waldemar Kmentt, Austrian operatic tenor (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Dries van Agt, Dutch politician, diplomat and jurist, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
  • 1931 – Les Dawson, English comedian and author (d. 1993)
  • 1931 – Glynn Edwards, Malaysian-English actor (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – John Paul Harney, Canadian educator and politician
  • 1931 – Judith Viorst, American journalist and author
  • 1932 – Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (d. 2002)
  • 1932 – Robert Mandan, American actor (d. 2018)
  • 1933 – M’el Dowd, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Tony Jay, English-American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1933 – Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Cuban bassist and composer (d. 2009)
  • 1933 – Than Shwe, Burmese general and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma
  • 1935 – Pete Brown, American golfer (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Evgeny Velikhov, Russian physicist and academic
  • 1936 – Duane Jones, American actor (d. 1988)
  • 1936 – Metin Oktay, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 1991)
  • 1937 – Don Buford, American baseball player and coach
  • 1937 – Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer and politician, President of Panama (d. 2015)
  • 1937 – Anthony Haden-Guest, British journalist, poet, and critic
  • 1937 – Remak Ramsay, American actor
  • 1937 – Tom Smothers, American comedian, actor, and activist
  • 1937 – Alexandra Strelchenko, Russian Singer (d. 2019)
  • 1938 – Norman Fowler, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
  • 1938 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
  • 1939 – Jackie Burroughs, English-born Canadian actress (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Mary-Dell Chilton, American chemist and inventor and one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology
  • 1939 – Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
  • 1940 – Alan Caddy, English guitarist and producer (d. 2000)
  • 1940 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (d. 2008)
  • 1940 – Wayne Fontes, American football player and coach
  • 1940 – David Jason, English actor, director, and producer
  • 1941 – Terry Biddlecombe, English jockey (d. 2014)
  • 1942 – Bo Hopkins, American actor
  • 1942 – Graham Nash, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1944 – Andrew Davis, English organist and conductor
  • 1944 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (d. 2012)
  • 1944 – Ursula Oppens, American pianist and educator
  • 1945 – John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, English economist and academic
  • 1946 – John Armitt, English engineer and businessman
  • 1946 – Alpha Oumar Konaré, Malian academic and politician, 3rd President of Mali
  • 1946 – Constantine Papadakis, Greek-American businessman and academic (d. 2009)
  • 1947 – Greg Antonacci, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1947 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1948 – Ina Garten, American chef and author
  • 1948 – Al McKay, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1948 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (d. 1973)
  • 1949 – Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
  • 1949 – Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (d. 1996)
  • 1949 – Brent Spiner, American actor and singer
  • 1949 – Ross Valory, American rock bass player and songwriter
  • 1950 – Osamu Kido, Japanese wrestler
  • 1950 – Libby Purves, British journalist and author
  • 1950 – Barbara Sukowa, German actress
  • 1950 – Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese wrestler
  • 1951 – Vangelis Alexandris, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1951 – Ken Bruce, Scottish radio host
  • 1952 – John Cornyn, American lawyer and politician, 49th Attorney General of Texas
  • 1952 – Rick Dufay, French-American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1952 – Park Geun-hye, South Korean politician, 11th President of South Korea
  • 1952 – Ralph Merkle, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1952 – Carol Ann Susi, American actress (d. 2014)
  • 1953 – Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter
  • 1953 – Jerry Sisk, Jr., American gemologist, co-founded Jewelry Television (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – Christie Brinkley, American actress, model, and businesswoman
  • 1954 – Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian skier and actor
  • 1954 – Nelson Ne’e, Solomon Islander politician (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – John Tudor, American baseball player
  • 1955 – Leszek Engelking, Polish poet and author
  • 1955 – Bob Schreck, American author
  • 1955 – Michael Talbott, American actor
  • 1955 – Kim Zimmer, American actress
  • 1956 – Adnan Oktar, Turkish theorist and author
  • 1957 – Phil Barney, Algerian-French singer-songwriter
  • 1958 – Michel Marc Bouchard, Canadian playwright
  • 1961 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (d. 2013)
  • 1961 – Lauren Lane, American actress and academic
  • 1962 – Philippe Claudel, French author, director, and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Andy Fordham, English darts player
  • 1962 – Paul Kilgus, American baseball player
  • 1962 – Kate Raison, Australian actress
  • 1962 – Michael T. Weiss, American actor
  • 1963 – Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1963 – Kjell Dahlin, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1963 – Andrej Kiska, Slovak entrepreneur and philanthropist, President of Slovakia
  • 1963 – Philip Laats, Belgian martial artist
  • 1963 – Vigleik Storaas, Norwegian pianist
  • 1965 – Carl Airey, English footballer
  • 1965 – Naoki Sano, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
  • 1966 – Andrei Chesnokov, Russian tennis player and coach
  • 1966 – Robert DeLeo, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1966 – Adam Ferrara, American actor and comedian
  • 1966 – Michael Misick, Caicos Islander politician, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • 1967 – Artūrs Irbe, Latvian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1967 – Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general
  • 1968 – Sean Elliott, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Scott Erickson, American baseball player and coach
  • 1969 – Dana International, Israeli singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Valeri Karpin, Estonian-Russian footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer
  • 1970 – Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress and singer
  • 1971 – Michelle Gayle, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1971 – Arly Jover, Spanish actress
  • 1971 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer and sportscaster (d. 2014)
  • 1971 – Jason Taylor, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1971 – Hwang Seok-jeong, South Korean actress
  • 1972 – Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1972 – Aleksey Naumov, Russian footballer
  • 1973 – Andrei Luzgin, Estonian tennis player and coach
  • 1973 – Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower
  • 1973 – Marissa Jaret Winokur, American actress and singer
  • 1975 – Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Donald Driver, American football player
  • 1975 – Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer
  • 1976 – Ryan Farquhar, Northern Irish motorcycle racer
  • 1976 – James Hickman, English swimmer
  • 1976 – Ana Roces, Filipino actress
  • 1977 – Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1977 – Libor Sionko, Czech footballer
  • 1978 – Adam Christopher, New Zealand writer
  • 1978 – Eden Espinosa, American actress and singer
  • 1978 – Annabel Ellwood, Australian tennis player
  • 1978 – Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1978 – Rich Sommer, American actor
  • 1978 – Faye White, English footballer
  • 1979 – Urmo Aava, Estonian race car driver
  • 1979 – Fani Chalkia, Greek hurdler and sprinter
  • 1979 – Christine Lampard, Irish television host
  • 1979 – Klaus Mainzer, German rugby player
  • 1979 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
  • 1979 – Irini Terzoglou, Greek shot putter
  • 1980 – Angela Finger-Erben, German journalist
  • 1980 – Teddy Hart, Canadian wrestler
  • 1980 – Oleguer Presas, Spanish footballer
  • 1981 – Emre Aydın, Turkish singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Michelle Bass, English model and singer
  • 1981 – Salem al-Hazmi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 77 (d. 2001)
  • 1982 – Sergio Castaño Ortega, Spanish footballer
  • 1982 – Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Kan Mi-youn, South Korean singer, model, and host
  • 1983 – Ronny Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1983 – Carolina Klüft, Swedish heptathlete and jumper
  • 1983 – Jordin Tootoo, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Estonian footballer
  • 1983 – Alex Westaway, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1984 – Brian Cage, American wrestler
  • 1984 – Mao Miyaji, Japanese actress
  • 1984 – Rudi Wulf, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1985 – Masoud Azizi, Afghan sprinter
  • 1985 – Renn Kiriyama, Japanese actor
  • 1985 – Kristo Saage, Estonian basketball player
  • 1985 – Silvestre Varela, Portuguese footballer
  • 1986 – Gemma Arterton, English actress and singer
  • 1986 – Miwa Asao, Japanese volleyball player
  • 1987 – Anthony Fainga’a, Australian rugby player
  • 1987 – Saia Fainga’a, Australian rugby player
  • 1987 – Faydee, Australian singer
  • 1987 – Athena Imperial, Filipino journalist, Miss Earth-Water 2011
  • 1987 – Mimi Page, American singer-songwriter and composer
  • 1987 – Gerard Piqué, Spanish footballer
  • 1987 – Javon Ringer, American football player
  • 1987 – Jill Scott, English footballer
  • 1987 – Victoria Song, Chinese singer and actress
  • 1987 – Martin Spanjers, American actor and producer
  • 1988 – Zosia Mamet, American actress
  • 1989 – Harrison Smith, American football player
  • 1989 – Southside, American record producer
  • 1991 – Nathan Delfouneso, English footballer
  • 1991 – Gregory Mertens, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1991 – Shohei Nanba, Japanese actor
  • 1992 – Lammtarra, American race horse (d. 2014)
  • 1992 – Joonas Tamm, Estonian footballer
  • 1993 – Ravel Morrison, English footballer
  • 1993 – Bobby Decordova-Reid, English born Jamaican international footballer, forward
  • 1995 – Paul Digby, English footballer
  • 1995 – Aleksander Jagiełło, Polish footballer
  • 1995 – Arfa Karim, Pakstani student and computer prodigy (d. 2012)
  • 1996 – Harry Winks, English international footballer, midfielder

Deaths on February 2

  • 619 – Laurence of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint
  • 880 – Bruno, duke of Saxony
  • 1124 – Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1064)
  • 1218 – Konstantin of Rostov (b. 1186)
  • 1237 – Joan, Lady of Wales
  • 1250 – Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)
  • 1294 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1229)
  • 1347 – Thomas Bek, Bishop of Lincoln, was the bishop of Lincoln (b. 1282)
  • 1348 – Narymunt, Prince of Pinsk
  • 1435 – Joan II of Naples, Queen of Naples (b. 1371)
  • 1446 – Vittorino da Feltre, Italian humanist (b. 1378)
  • 1448 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1372)
  • 1461 – Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty (b. c. 1400)
  • 1512 – Hatuey, Caribbean tribal chief
  • 1529 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian soldier and diplomat (b. 1478)
  • 1580 – Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese daimyō (b. 1558)
  • 1594 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer and educator (b. 1525)
  • 1648 – George Abbot, English author and politician (b. 1603)
  • 1660 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans (b. 1608)
  • 1660 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615)
  • 1661 – Lucas Holstenius, German geographer and historian (b. 1596)
  • 1675 – Ivan Belostenec, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (b. 1594)
  • 1688 – Abraham Duquesne, French admiral (b. 1610)
  • 1704 – Guillaume de l’Hôpital, French mathematician and academic (b. 1661)
  • 1712 – Martin Lister, English physician and geologist (b. 1639)
  • 1714 – John Sharp, English archbishop (b. 1643)
  • 1723 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (b. 1666)
  • 1768 – Robert Smith, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1689)
  • 1769 – Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693)
  • 1802 – Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1713)
  • 1804 – George Walton, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Georgia (b. 1749)
  • 1831 – Vincenzo Dimech, Maltese sculptor (b. 1768)
  • 1836 – Letizia Ramolino, Italian noblewoman (b. 1750)
  • 1861 – Théophane Vénard, French Catholic missionary (b. 1829)
  • 1881 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1808)
  • 1904 – Ernest Cashel, American-Canadian criminal (b. 1882)
  • 1904 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1841)
  • 1905 – Henri Germain, French banker and politician, founded Le Crédit Lyonnais (b. 1824)
  • 1907 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (b. 1834)
  • 1909 – Carlo Acton, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1829)
  • 1913 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer (b. 1845)
  • 1918 – John L. Sullivan, American boxer (b. 1858)
  • 1919 – Julius Kuperjanov, Estonian lieutenant (b. 1894)
  • 1925 – Antti Aarne, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1867)
  • 1925 – Jaap Eden, Dutch speed skater and cyclist (b. 1873)
  • 1926 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general and politician (b. 1848)
  • 1932 – Agha Petros, Assyrian general and politician (b. 1880)
  • 1939 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (b. 1879)
  • 1942 – Ado Birk, Estonian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1883)
  • 1942 – Daniil Kharms, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1905)
  • 1942 – Hugh D. McIntosh, Australian businessman (b. 1876)
  • 1945 – Alfred Delp, German priest and philosopher (b. 1907)
  • 1945 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German economist and politician (b. 1884)
  • 1945 – Johannes Popitz, German lawyer and politician (b. 1884)
  • 1948 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1870)
  • 1948 – Bevil Rudd, South African runner and journalist (b. 1894)
  • 1950 – Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician and academic (b. 1873)
  • 1952 – Callistratus of Georgia, Georgian patriarch (b. 1866)
  • 1954 – Hella Wuolijoki, Estonian-Finnish author and politician (b. 1886)
  • 1956 – Charley Grapewin, American actor (b. 1869)
  • 1956 – Truxtun Hare, American football player and hammer thrower (b. 1878)
  • 1956 – Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
  • 1957 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1890)
  • 1962 – Shlomo Hestrin, Canadian-Israeli biochemist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 1966 – Hacı Ömer Sabancı, Turkish businessman (b. 1906)
  • 1968 – Tullio Serafin, Italian conductor and director (b. 1878)
  • 1969 – Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887)
  • 1970 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (b. 1898)
  • 1970 – Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1872)
  • 1972 – Natalie Clifford Barney, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1876)
  • 1973 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian academic and politician, 9th Mayor of Ghent (b. 1902)
  • 1974 – Imre Lakatos, Hungarian-English mathematician and philosopher (b. 1922)
  • 1975 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1883)
  • 1979 – Jim Burke, Australian cricketer (b. 1930)
  • 1979 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (b. 1957)
  • 1980 – William Howard Stein, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
  • 1982 – Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
  • 1983 – Sam Chatmon, American singer and guitarist (b. 1897)
  • 1986 – Anita Cobby, Australian murder victim (b. 1959)
  • 1986 – Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)
  • 1987 – Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1927)
  • 1987 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 1988 – Marcel Bozzuffi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
  • 1989 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (b. 1951)
  • 1989 – Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand minister and politician, 30th New Zealand Minister of Finance (b. 1901)
  • 1990 – Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (b. 1905)
  • 1990 – Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (b. 1934)
  • 1992 – Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality; Miss America telecast presenter (b. 1914)
  • 1993 – François Reichenbach, French director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 1994 – Marija Gimbutas, Lithuanian-American archeologist (b. 1921)
  • 1995 – Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor (b. 1917)
  • 1995 – Fred Perry, English-Australian tennis player (b. 1909)
  • 1995 – Donald Pleasence, English-French actor (b. 1919)
  • 1996 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, dancer, and director (b. 1912)
  • 1997 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913)
  • 1997 – Sanford Meisner, American actor and coach (b. 1904)
  • 1998 – Haroun Tazieff, German-French geologist and cinematographer (b. 1914)
  • 1999 – David McComb, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1962)
  • 2002 – Paul Baloff, American singer-songwriter (b. 1960)
  • 2002 – Claude Brown, American author (b. 1937)
  • 2003 – Lou Harrison, American composer and educator (b. 1917)
  • 2004 – Bernard McEveety, American director and producer (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Birgitte Federspiel, Danish actress (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)
  • 2007 – Vijay Arora, Indian actor (b. 1944)
  • 2007 – Billy Henderson, American singer (b. 1939)
  • 2007 – Joe Hunter, American pianist (b. 1927)
  • 2007 – Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967)
  • 2007 – Eric Von Schmidt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)
  • 2007 – Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919)
  • 2008 – Barry Morse, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – Katoucha Niane, Guinean model and author (b. 1960)
  • 2011 – Edward Amy, Canadian general (b. 1918)
  • 2011 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish actress (b. 1975)
  • 2011 – Margaret John, Welsh actress (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Joyce Barkhouse, Canadian author (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Frederick William Danker, American lexicographer and scholar (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – George Esper, American journalist and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – James F. Lloyd, American pilot and politician (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (b. 1961)
  • 2013 – John Kerr, American actor and lawyer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Chris Kyle, American soldier and sniper (b. 1974)
  • 2013 – Lino Oviedo, Paraguayan general and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – Pepper Paire, American baseball player (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – P. Shanmugam, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Puducherry (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Walt Sweeney, American football player (b. 1941)
  • 2013 – Guy F. Tozzoli, American architect (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Gerd Albrecht, German conductor (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Tommy Aquino, American motorcycle racer (b. 1992)
  • 2014 – Nicholas Brooks, English historian (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Eduardo Coutinho, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1967)
  • 2014 – Luis Raúl, Puerto Rican comedian and actor (b. 1962)
  • 2014 – Bunny Rugs, Jamaican singer (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Nigel Walker, English footballer (b. 1959)
  • 2015 – Joseph Alfidi, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1949)
  • 2015 – Dave Bergman, American baseball player (b. 1953)
  • 2015 – Andriy Kuzmenko, Ukrainian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1968)
  • 2015 – Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Stewart Stern, American screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – The Jacka, American rapper and producer (b. 1977)
  • 2016 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances on February 2

  • Anniversary of Treaty of Tartu (Estonia)
  • Christian Feast Day:
    • Adalbard
    • Cornelius the Centurion
    • Martyrs of Ebsdorf
    • February 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Philippines)
  • Day of Youth (Azerbaijan)
  • Earliest day on which Shrove Monday can fall, while March 8 is the latest; celebrated on Monday before Ash Wednesday (Christianity), and its related observances:
    • Bun Day (Iceland)
    • Fastelavn (Denmark/Norway)
    • Nickanan Night (Cornwall)
    • Rosenmontag (Germany)
  • Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple or Candlemas (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
    • A quarter day in the Christian calendar (due to Candlemas). (Scotland)
    • Celebration of Yemanja or Our Lady of Navigators (Candomblé)
    • Le Jour des Crêpes (France)
    • Our Lady of the Candles (Filipino Catholics)
    • Virgin of Candelaria (Tenerife, Spain)
  • Groundhog Day (United States and Canada), and its related observances:
    • Marmot Day (Alaska)
  • Inventor’s Day (Thailand)
  • Trader’s Day (Poland)
  • Victory of the Battle of Stalingrad (Russia)
  • World Wetlands Day

February 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on February 1

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

Deaths on February 1

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

Holidays and observances on February 1

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

February 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as a successor to the late Pope Miltiades.
  • 1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the throne as King Eric X of Sweden.
  • 1504 – The Treaty of Lyon ends the Italian War, confirming French domination of northern Italy, while Spain receives the Kingdom of Naples.
  • 1578 – Eighty Years’ War and Anglo-Spanish War: The Battle of Gembloux is a victory for Spanish forces led by Don John of Austria over a rebel army of Dutch, Flemish, English, Scottish, German, French and Walloons.
  • 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: Four of the conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, are executed for treason by hanging, drawing and quartering, for plotting against Parliament and King James.
  • 1747 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.
  • 1814 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina).
  • 1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge War, the United States towns of Juneautown and Kilbourntown unify to create the City of Milwaukee.
  • 1848 – John C. Frémont is court-martialed for mutiny and disobeying orders.
  • 1862 – Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an 18.5-inch (47 cm) telescope now located at Northwestern University.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery and submits it to the states for ratification.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
  • 1891 – History of Portugal: The first attempt at a Portuguese republican revolution breaks out in the northern city of Porto.
  • 1897 – Czechoslav Trade Union Association is founded in Prague.
  • 1900 – Datu Muhammad Salleh is killed in Kampung Teboh, Tambunan, ending the Mat Salleh Rebellion.
  • 1915 – World War I: Germany is the first to make large-scale use of poison gas in warfare in the Battle of Bolimów against Russia.
  • 1917 – World War I: Germany announces that its U-boats will resume unrestricted submarine warfare after a two-year hiatus.
  • 1918 – A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
  • 1919 – The Battle of George Square takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, during a campaign for shorter working hours.
  • 1928 – Leon Trotsky is exiled to Alma-Ata.
  • 1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape.
  • 1942 – World War II: Allied forces are defeated by the Japanese at the Battle of Malaya and retreat to Singapore.
  • 1943 – World War II: German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to the Soviets at Stalingrad, followed 2 days later by the remainder of his Sixth Army, ending one of the war’s fiercest battles.
  • 1944 – World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
  • 1944 – World War II: During the Anzio campaign, the 1st Ranger Battalion (Darby’s Rangers) is destroyed behind enemy lines in a heavily outnumbered encounter at Battle of Cisterna, Italy.
  • 1945 – US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed for desertion, the first such execution of an American soldier since the Civil War.
  • 1945 – World War II: About 3,000 inmates from the Stutthof concentration camp are forcibly marched into the Baltic Sea at Palmnicken (now Yantarny, Russia) and executed.
  • 1945 – World War II: The end of fighting in the Battle of Hill 170 during the Burma Campaign, in which the British 3 Commando Brigade repulsed a Japanese counterattack on their positions and precipitated a general retirement from the Arakan Peninsula.
  • 1946 – Cold War: Yugoslavia’s new constitution, modeling that of the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
  • 1946 – The Democratic Republic of Vietnam introduces the đồng to replace the French Indochinese piastre at par.
  • 1949 – These Are My Children, the first television daytime soap opera, is broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago.
  • 1950 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
  • 1951 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 90 relating to Korean War is adopted.
  • 1953 – A North Sea flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands and over 300 in the United Kingdom.
  • 1957 – Eight people (5 total crew from 2 aircraft and 3 on the ground) in Pacoima, California are killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet.
  • 1958 – Cold War: Space Race: The first successful American satellite detects the Van Allen radiation belt.
  • 1961 – Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2: Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
  • 1966 – The Soviet Union launches the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft as part of the Luna program.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong guerrillas attack the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive.
  • 1968 – Nauru gains independence from Australia.
  • 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14: Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.
  • 1971 – The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begins in Detroit.
  • 1978 – The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) goes on public display after being returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.
  • 1996 – An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in Colombo, killing at least 86 people and injuring 1,400.
  • 2000 – Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crash: An MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu, California, killing all 88 aboard.
  • 2001 – In the Netherlands, a Scottish court convicts Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and acquits another Libyan citizen for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
  • 2009 – In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.
  • 2018 – Both a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse occur.
  • 2019 – Abdullah of Pahang is sworn in as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
  • 2020 – The United Kingdom’s membership within the European Union ceases in accordance with Article 50, after 47 years of being a member state.

Births on January 31

  • 1512 – Henry, King of Portugal (d. 1580)
  • 1543 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1616)
  • 1583 – Peter Bulkley, English and later American Puritan (d. 1659)
  • 1597 – John Francis Regis, French priest and saint (d. 1640)
  • 1607 – James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby (d. 1651)
  • 1624 – Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher and academic (d. 1669)
  • 1673 – Louis de Montfort, French priest and saint (d. 1716)
  • 1686 – Hans Egede, Norwegian missionary and explorer (d. 1758)
  • 1752 – Gouverneur Morris, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to France (d. 1816)
  • 1759 – François Devienne, French flute player and composer (d. 1803)
  • 1769 – André-Jacques Garnerin, French balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute (d. 1823)
  • 1785 – Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová, Czech cook book author (d. 1845)
  • 1797 – Franz Schubert, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1828)
  • 1799 – Rodolphe Töpffer, Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist (d. 1846)
  • 1820 – William B. Washburn, American politician, 28th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1887)
  • 1835 – Lunalilo of Hawaii (d. 1874)
  • 1854 – David Emmanuel, Romanian mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
  • 1865 – Henri Desgrange, French cyclist and journalist (d. 1940)
  • 1865 – Shastriji Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader, founded BAPS (d. 1951)
  • 1868 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
  • 1872 – Zane Grey, American author (d. 1939)
  • 1881 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
  • 1884 – Theodor Heuss, German journalist and politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Germany (d. 1963)
  • 1884 – Mammad Amin Rasulzade, Azerbaijani scholar and politician, 1st President of The Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (d. 1955)
  • 1889 – Frank Foster, English cricketer (d. 1958)
  • 1892 – Eddie Cantor, American singer-songwriter, actor, and dancer (d. 1964)
  • 1894 – Isham Jones, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1956)
  • 1896 – Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian mathematician and historian (d. 1966)
  • 1900 – Betty Parsons, American artist, art dealer and collector (d. 1982)
  • 1902 – Nat Bailey, Canadian businessman, founded White Spot (d. 1978)
  • 1902 – Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
  • 1902 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
  • 1902 – Julian Steward, American anthropologist (d. 1972)
  • 1905 – John O’Hara, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1970)
  • 1909 – Miron Grindea, Romanian-English journalist (d. 1995)
  • 1913 – Don Hutson, American football player and coach (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer and police officer (d. 1994)
  • 1915 – Bobby Hackett, American trumpet player and cornet player (d. 1976)
  • 1915 – Alan Lomax, American historian, author, and scholar (d. 2002)
  • 1915 – Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)
  • 1915 – Garry Moore, American comedian and game show host (d. 1993)
  • 1916 – Frank Parker, American tennis player (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Fred Bassetti, American architect and academic, founded Bassetti Architects (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Jackie Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1972)
  • 1920 – Stewart Udall, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 37th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 2010)
  • 1920 – Bert Williams, English footballer (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Carol Channing, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – E. Fay Jones, American architect, designed the Thorncrown Chapel (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – Mario Lanza, American tenor and actor (d. 1959)
  • 1922 – Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
  • 1923 – Norman Mailer, American journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1925 – Benjamin Hooks, American minister, lawyer, and activist (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Tom Alston, American baseball player (d. 1993)
  • 1926 – Chuck Willis, American singer-songwriter (d. 1958)
  • 1927 – Norm Prescott, American animator, producer, and composer, co-founded Filmation Studios (d. 2005)
  • 1928 – Irma Wyman, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Joakim Bonnier, Swedish race car driver (d. 1972)
  • 1930 – Al De Lory, American composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1931 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Christopher Chataway, English runner, journalist, and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Miron Babiak, Polish sea captain (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Camille Henry, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1997)
  • 1933 – Morton Mower, American cardiologist and inventor
  • 1934 – Ernesto Brambilla, Italian motorcycle racer and race car driver
  • 1934 – Gene DeWeese, American author (d. 2012)
  • 1934 – James Franciscus, American actor and producer (d. 1991)
  • 1934 – Bob Turner, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1935 – Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1936 – Can Bartu, Turkish former basketball and football player
  • 1937 – Regimantas Adomaitis, Lithuanian actor
  • 1937 – Andrée Boucher, Canadian educator and politician, 39th Mayor of Quebec City (d. 2007)
  • 1937 – Philip Glass, American composer
  • 1937 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Beatrix of the Netherlands
  • 1938 – Lynn Carlin, American actress
  • 1938 – James G. Watt, American lawyer and politician, 43rd United States Secretary of the Interior
  • 1940 – Kitch Christie, South African rugby player and coach (d. 1998)
  • 1940 – Stuart Margolin, American actor and director
  • 1941 – Dick Gephardt, American lawyer and politician
  • 1941 – Gerald McDermott, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
  • 1941 – Jessica Walter, American actress
  • 1942 – Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
  • 1942 – Derek Jarman, English director, stage designer, and author (d. 1994)
  • 1944 – John Inverarity, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1945 – Rynn Berry, American historian and author (d. 2014)
  • 1945 – Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, English lawyer, judge, and academic
  • 1945 – Joseph Kosuth, American sculptor and theorist
  • 1946 – Terry Kath, American guitarist and singer-songwriter (Chicago) (d. 1978)
  • 1946 – Medin Zhega, Albanian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1947 – Nolan Ryan, American baseball player
  • 1947 – Matt Minglewood, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Glynn Turman, American actor
  • 1948 – Volkmar Groß, German footballer (d. 2014)
  • 1948 – Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
  • 1949 – Johan Derksen, Dutch footballer and journalist
  • 1949 – Norris Church Mailer, American model and educator (d. 2010)
  • 1949 – Ken Wilber, American sociologist, philosopher, and author
  • 1950 – Denise Fleming, American author and illustrator
  • 1950 – Alexander Korzhakov, Russian general and bodyguard
  • 1950 – Janice Rebibo, American-Israeli author and poet (d. 2015)
  • 1951 – Harry Wayne Casey, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1954 – Faoud Bacchus, Guyanese cricketer
  • 1954 – Adrian Vandenberg, Dutch guitarist and songwriter
  • 1955 – Virginia Ruzici, Romanian tennis player and manager
  • 1956 – Guido van Rossum, Dutch programmer, creator of the Python programming language
  • 1956 – John Lydon, English singer-songwriter
  • 1957 – Shirley Babashoff, American swimmer
  • 1958 – Armin Reichel, German footballer and manager
  • 1959 – Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor and producer
  • 1959 – Kelly Lynch, American model and actress
  • 1960 – Akbar Ganji, Iranian journalist and author
  • 1960 – Grant Morrison, Scottish author and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Željko Šturanović, Montenegrin politician, 31st Prime Minister of Montenegro (d. 2014)
  • 1961 – Elizabeth Barker, Baroness Barker, English politician
  • 1961 – Fatou Bensouda, Gambian lawyer and judge
  • 1961 – Lloyd Cole, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1963 – Craig Coleman, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1963 – Gwen Graham, American lawyer and politician
  • 1964 – Martha MacCallum, American journalist
  • 1964 – Dawn Prince-Hughes, American scientist
  • 1965 – Giorgos Gasparis, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Ofra Harnoy, Israeli-Canadian cellist
  • 1965 – Peter Sagal, American author and radio host
  • 1966 – Umar Alisha, Indian journalist and philanthropist
  • 1966 – Thant Myint-U, Myanmar historian, diplomat, conservationist, and former presidential advisor.
  • 1966 – Dexter Fletcher, English actor and director
  • 1967 – Fat Mike, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
  • 1968 – John Collins, Scottish footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1968 – Matt King, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Ulrica Messing, Swedish politician, 2nd Swedish Minister for Infrastructure
  • 1968 – Patrick Stevens, Belgian sprinter
  • 1969 – Dov Charney, Canadian-American fashion designer and businessman, founded American Apparel
  • 1969 – Daniel Moder, American cinematographer
  • 1970 – Minnie Driver, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1970 – Danny Michel, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1971 – Patricia Velásquez, Venezuelan model and actress
  • 1973 – Portia de Rossi, Australian-American actress
  • 1974 – Othella Harrington, American basketball player and coach
  • 1974 – Ariel Pestano, Cuban baseball player
  • 1975 – Fred Coleman, American football player and coach
  • 1975 – Preity Zinta, Indian actress, producer, and television host
  • 1976 – Traianos Dellas, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Buddy Rice, American race car driver
  • 1976 – Paul Scheer, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Suchitra Singh, Indian cricketer
  • 1977 – Kerry Washington, American actress
  • 1978 – Fabián Caballero, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1979 – Daniel Tammet, English author and educator
  • 1980 – James Adomian, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Gary Doherty, Irish footballer, centre forward
  • 1980 – Shim Yi-young, South Korean actress
  • 1981 – Julio Arca, Argentinian footballer
  • 1981 – Mark Cameron, Australian cricketer
  • 1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
  • 1982 – Maret Ani, Estonian tennis player
  • 1982 – Yuniesky Betancourt, Cuban baseball player
  • 1982 – Andreas Görlitz, German footballer
  • 1982 – Salvatore Masiello, Italian footballer
  • 1982 – Allan McGregor, Scottish footballer
  • 1982 – Jānis Sprukts, Latvian ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Yukimi Nagano, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1982 – Brad Thompson, American baseball player
  • 1983 – James Sutton, English actor
  • 1983 – Fabio Quagliarella, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Vernon Davis, American football player
  • 1984 – Josh Johnson, Canadian-American baseball player
  • 1984 – Jeremy Wariner, American runner
  • 1984 – Alessandro Zanni, Italian rugby player
  • 1985 – Adam Federici, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Mario Williams, American football player
  • 1986 – Walter Dix, American sprinter
  • 1986 – Megan Ellison, American film producer, founded Annapurna Pictures
  • 1986 – George Elokobi, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1986 – Yves Ma-Kalambay, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Pauline Parmentier, French tennis player
  • 1987 – Marcus Mumford, American-English singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Brett Pitman, English footballer
  • 1988 – Taijo Teniste, Estonian footballer
  • 1990 – Jacopo Fortunato, Italian footballer
  • 1990 – Jacob Markström, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Kota Yabu, Japanese idol, singer-songwriter, model, actor

Deaths on January 31

  • 632 – Máedóc of Ferns, Irish bishop and saint (b. 550)
  • 876 – Hemma of Altdorf, Frankish queen
  • 985 – Ryōgen, Japanese monk and abbot (b. 912)
  • 1030 – William V, duke of Aquitaine (b. 969)
  • 1216 – Theodore II, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 1398 – Sukō, emperor of Japan (b. 1334)
  • 1418 – Mircea I, prince of Wallachia (b. 1355)
  • 1435 – Xuande, emperor of China (b. 1398)
  • 1561 – Bairam Khan, Mughalan general (b. 1501)
  • 1561 – Menno Simons, Dutch minister and theologian (b. 1496)
  • 1580 – Henry, king of Portugal (b. 1512)
  • 1606 – Guy Fawkes, English conspirator, leader of the Gunpowder Plot (b. 1570)
  • 1606 – Ambrose Rookwood, English Gunpowder Plot conspirator (b. 1578)
  • 1606 – Thomas Wintour, English Gunpowder Plot conspirator (b. 1571)
  • 1615 – Claudio Acquaviva, Italian priest, 5th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1543)
  • 1632 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker and mathematician (b. 1552)
  • 1665 – Johannes Clauberg, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1622)
  • 1686 – Jean Mairet, French playwright (b. 1604)
  • 1720 – Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1654)
  • 1729 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (b. 1659)
  • 1736 – Filippo Juvarra, Italian architect and set designer, designed the Basilica of Superga (b. 1678)
  • 1790 – Thomas Lewis, Irish-born American lawyer and surveyor (b. 1718)
  • 1794 – Mariot Arbuthnot, English admiral and politician, 12th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (b. 1711)
  • 1811 – Manuel Alberti, Argentinian priest and journalist (b. 1763)
  • 1815 – José Félix Ribas, Venezuelan soldier (b. 1775)
  • 1828 – Alexander Ypsilantis, Greek general (b. 1792)
  • 1836 – John Cheyne, English physician and author (b. 1777)
  • 1844 – Henri Gatien Bertrand, French general (b. 1773)
  • 1856 – 11th Dalai Lama (b. 1838)
  • 1870 – Cilibi Moise, Moldavian-Romanian journalist and author (b. 1812)
  • 1888 – John Bosco, Italian priest and educator, founded the Salesian Society (b. 1815)
  • 1892 – Charles Spurgeon, English pastor and author (b. 1834)
  • 1900 – John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, Scottish nobleman (b. 1844)
  • 1907 – Timothy Eaton, Canadian businessman, founded Eaton’s (b. 1834)
  • 1923 – Eligiusz Niewiadomski, Polish painter and critic (b. 1869)
  • 1933 – John Galsworthy, English novelist and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
  • 1942 – Henry Larkin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1860)
  • 1944 – Jean Giraudoux, French author and playwright (b. 1882)
  • 1954 – Edwin Howard Armstrong, American engineer, invented FM radio (b. 1890)
  • 1954 – Vivian Woodward, English captain and footballer (b. 1879)
  • 1955 – John Mott, American activist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
  • 1956 – A. A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright, created Winnie-the-Pooh (b. 1882)
  • 1958 – Karl Selter, Estonian politician, 14th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1898)
  • 1960 – Auguste Herbin, French painter (b. 1882)
  • 1961 – Krishna Singh, Indian politician, 1st Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1887)
  • 1966 – Arthur Percival, English general (b. 1887)
  • 1967 – Eddie Tolan, American sprinter and educator (b. 1908)
  • 1969 – Meher Baba, Indian spiritual master (b. 1894)
  • 1971 – Viktor Zhirmunsky, Russian historian and linguist (b. 1891)
  • 1973 – Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
  • 1974 – Samuel Goldwyn, Polish-American film producer, co-founded Goldwyn Pictures (b. 1882)
  • 1976 – Ernesto Miranda, American criminal (b. 1941)
  • 1976 – Evert Taube, Swedish author and composer (b. 1890)
  • 1985 – Reginald Baker, English-Australian film producer (b. 1896)
  • 1985 – Tatsuzō Ishikawa, Japanese author (b. 1905)
  • 1987 – Yves Allégret, French director and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1989 – William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (b. 1896)
  • 1990 – Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus, German zoologist and academic (b. 1901)
  • 1990 – Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-American biochemist and academic (b. 1935)
  • 1995 – George Abbott, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1887)
  • 1997 – John Joseph Scanlan, Irish-American bishop (b. 1930)
  • 1999 – Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and trainer, co-founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (b. 1938)
  • 1999 – Norm Zauchin, American baseball player (b. 1929)
  • 2000 – Gil Kane, Latvian-American author and illustrator (b. 1926)
  • 2001 – Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian-American author (b. 1923)
  • 2002 – Gabby Gabreski, American colonel and pilot (b. 1919)
  • 2004 – Eleanor Holm, American swimmer and actress (b. 1913)
  • 2004 – Suraiya, Indian actress and playback singer (b. 1929)
  • 2006 – Moira Shearer, Scottish actress and ballerina (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Molly Ivins, American journalist and author (b. 1944)
  • 2007 – Adelaide Tambo, South African activist and politician (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – František Čapek, Czechoslovakian canoeist (b. 1914)
  • 2011 – Bartolomeu Anania, Romanian bishop and poet (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Mark Ryan, English guitarist and playwright (b. 1959)
  • 2012 – Mani Ram Bagri, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Anthony Bevilacqua, American cardinal (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Tristram Potter Coffin, American author, scholar, and academic (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Dorothea Tanning, American painter and sculptor (b. 1910)
  • 2013 – Rubén Bonifaz Nuño, Mexican poet and scholar (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Hassan Habibi, Iranian lawyer and politician, 1st Vice President of Iran (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Francis M. Fesmire, American cardiologist and physician (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – Anna Gordy Gaye, American songwriter and producer, co-founded Anna Records (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Abdirizak Haji Hussein, Somalian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Miklós Jancsó, Hungarian director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Christopher Jones, American actor (b. 1941)
  • 2015 – Vic Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, coach, and journalist (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Lizabeth Scott, American actress (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Richard von Weizsäcker, German captain and politician, 6th President of Germany (b. 1920)
  • 2016 – Gil Carmichael, American businessman and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2016 – Terry Wogan, Irish-British radio and television host (b. 1938)
  • 2017 – Rob Stewart, Canadian filmmaker (b. 1979)
  • 2018 – Rasual Butler, American professional basketball player (b. 1979)
  • 2018 – Leah LaBelle, American singer (b. 1986)

Holidays and observances on January 31

  • Christian feast day:
    • Domitius (Domice) of Amiens
    • Francis Xavier Bianchi
    • Geminianus
    • John Bosco
    • Julius of Novara
    • Blessed Ludovica
    • Máedóc (Mogue, Aiden)
    • Marcella
    • Samuel Shoemaker (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Tysul
    • Ulphia
    • Wilgils
    • January 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Amartithi (Meherabad, India, followers of Meher Baba)
  • Independence Day (Nauru), celebrates independence from Australia in 1968.
  • Street Children’s Day (Austria)

January 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
  • 1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
  • 1607 – An estimated 200 square miles (51,800 ha) along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in England are destroyed by massive flooding, resulting in an estimated 2,000 deaths.
  • 1648 – Eighty Years’ War: The Treaty of Münster and Osnabrück is signed, ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain.
  • 1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed more than two years after his death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed.
  • 1703 – The Forty-seven rōnin, under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master, by killing Kira Yoshinaka.
  • 1789 – Tây Sơn forces emerge victorious against Qing armies and liberate the capital Thăng Long.
  • 1806 – The original Lower Trenton Bridge (also called the Trenton Makes the World Takes Bridge), which spans the Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey, is opened.
  • 1820 – Edward Bransfield sights the Trinity Peninsula and claims the discovery of Antarctica.
  • 1826 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, considered the world’s first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the north West coast of Wales, is opened.
  • 1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson, but fails and is subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen as well as Jackson himself.
  • 1847 – Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco, California.
  • 1858 – The first Hallé concert is given in Manchester, England, marking the official founding of The Hallé orchestra as a full-time, professional orchestra.
  • 1862 – The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched.
  • 1889 – Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in the Mayerling.
  • 1902 – The first Anglo-Japanese Alliance is signed in London.
  • 1908 – Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is released from prison by Jan C. Smuts after being tried and sentenced to two months in jail earlier in the month.
  • 1911 – The destroyer USS Terry makes the first airplane rescue at sea saving the life of Douglas McCurdy ten miles from Havana, Cuba.
  • 1925 – The Government of Turkey expels Patriarch Constantine VI from Istanbul.
  • 1930 – The Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the extermination of the Kulaks.
  • 1933 – Adolf Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.
  • 1942 – World War II: Battle of Ambon. Japanese forces invade the island of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies. Some 300 captured Allied troops are massacred at Laha airfield. Three-fourths of remaining POWs will not have survived by the end of the war, including 250 men who will be shipped to Hainan Island in South China Sea and never returned.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Cisterna, part of Operation Shingle, begins in central Italy.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Wilhelm Gustloff, overfilled with German refugees, sinks in the Baltic Sea after being torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, killing approximately 9,500 people.
  • 1945 – World War II: Raid at Cabanatuan: One hundred twenty-six American Rangers and Filipino resistance fighters liberate over 500 Allied prisoners from the Japanese-controlled Cabanatuan POW camp.
  • 1948 – British South American Airways’ Tudor IV Star Tiger disappears over the Bermuda Triangle.
  • 1956 – African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
  • 1959 – The forces of the Sultanate of Muscat occupy the last strongholds of the Imamate of Oman, Saiq and Shuraijah, marking the end of Jebel Akhdar War in Oman.
  • 1959 – MS Hans Hedtoft, said to be the safest ship afloat and “unsinkable” like the RMS Titanic, strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sinks, killing all 95 aboard.
  • 1960 – The African National Party is founded in Chad, through the merger of traditionalist parties.
  • 1964 – In a bloodless coup, General Nguyễn Khánh overthrows General Dương Văn Minh’s military junta in South Vietnam.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: Tet Offensive launch by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies.
  • 1969 – The Beatles’ last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.
  • 1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Sunday: British paratroopers open fire on anti-internment marchers in Derry, Northern Ireland, killing 13 people; another person later dies of injuries sustained.
  • 1972 – Pakistan leaves the Commonwealth of Nations in protest of its recognition of breakaway Bangladesh.
  • 1975 – The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is established as the first United States National Marine Sanctuary.
  • 1979 – A Varig Boeing 707-323C freighter, flown by the same commander as Flight 820, disappears over the Pacific Ocean 30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo.
  • 1982 – Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot program called “Elk Cloner”.
  • 1989 – The American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan is closed.
  • 1995 – Workers from the National Institutes of Health announce the success of clinical trials testing the first preventive treatment for sickle-cell disease.
  • 2000 – Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ivory Coast, killing 169.
  • 2013 – Naro-1 becomes the first carrier rocket launched by South Korea.

Births on January 30

  • 58 BC – Livia, Roman wife of Augustus (d. 29)
  • 133 – Didius Julianus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 193)
  • 1410 – William Calthorpe, English knight (d. 1494)
  • 1520  – William More, English courtier (d. 1600)
  • 1563 – Franciscus Gomarus, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1641)
  • 1573 – Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (d. 1638)
  • 1580 – Gundakar, Prince of Liechtenstein, court official in Vienna (d. 1658)
  • 1590 – Lady Anne Clifford, 14th Baroness de Clifford (d. 1676)
  • 1628 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1687)
  • 1661 – Charles Rollin, French historian and educator (d. 1741)
  • 1697 – Johann Joachim Quantz, German flute player and composer (d. 1773)
  • 1703 – François Bigot, French politician (d. 1778)
  • 1720 – Charles De Geer, Swedish entomologist and archaeologist (d. 1778)
  • 1754 – John Lansing, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1829)
  • 1775 – Walter Savage Landor, English poet and author (d. 1864)
  • 1781 – Adelbert von Chamisso, German botanist and poet (d. 1838)
  • 1816 – Nathaniel P. Banks, American general and politician, 24th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1894)
  • 1822 – Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist and curator (d. 1899)
  • 1841 – Félix Faure, French politician, 7th President of France (d. 1899)
  • 1844 – Richard Theodore Greener, American lawyer, academic, and diplomat (d. 1922)
  • 1846 – Angela of the Cross, Spanish nun and saint (d. 1932)
  • 1859 – Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player and manager (d. 1944)
  • 1861 – Charles Martin Loeffler, German-American violinist and composer (d. 1935)
  • 1862 – Walter Damrosch, German-American conductor and composer (d. 1950)
  • 1866 – Gelett Burgess, American author, poet, and critic (d. 1951)
  • 1878 – Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Estonian author (d. 1940)
  • 1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (d. 1945)
  • 1889 – Jaishankar Prasad, Indian poet and playwright (d. 1937)
  • 1899 – Max Theiler, South African-American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Martita Hunt, Argentine-born British actress (d. 1969)
  • 1901 – Rudolf Caracciola, German race car driver (d. 1959)
  • 1902 – Nikolaus Pevsner, German-English historian and scholar (d. 1983)
  • 1910 – Chidambaram Subramaniam, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Defence (d. 2000)
  • 1911 – Roy Eldridge, American jazz trumpet player (d. 1989)
  • 1912 – Werner Hartmann, German physicist and academic (d. 1988)
  • 1912 – Francis Schaeffer, American pastor and theologian (d. 1984)
  • 1912 – Barbara W. Tuchman, American historian and author (d. 1989)
  • 1914 – Luc-Marie Bayle, French commander and painter (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – John Ireland, Canadian-American actor and director (d. 1992)
  • 1914 – David Wayne, American actor (d. 1995)
  • 1915 – Joachim Peiper, German SS officer (d. 1976)
  • 1915 – John Profumo, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for War (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and journalist (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – David Opatoshu, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1996)
  • 1919 – Fred Korematsu, American activist (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Michael Anderson, English director and producer (d. 2018)
  • 1920 – Patrick Heron, British painter (d. 1999)
  • 1920 – Delbert Mann, American director and producer (d. 2007)
  • 1922 – Dick Martin, American comedian, actor, and director (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Marianne Ferber, Czech-American economist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – S. N. Goenka, Burmese-Indian author and educator (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Lloyd Alexander, American soldier and author (d. 2007)
  • 1925 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Olof Palme, Swedish statesman, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1986)
  • 1928 – Harold Prince, American director and producer (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Lois Hole, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (d. 2005)
  • 1929 – Hugh Tayfield, South African cricketer (d. 1994)
  • 1929 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian-Italian physician and humanitarian (d. 1996)
  • 1930 – Gene Hackman, American actor and author
  • 1930 – Magnus Malan, South African general and politician, South African Minister of Defence (d. 2011)
  • 1931 – John Crosbie, Canadian lawyer and politician, 34th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 2020)
  • 1931 – Shirley Hazzard, Australian-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Knock Yokoyama, Japanese comedian and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Tammy Grimes, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
  • 1935 – Richard Brautigan, American novelist, poet, and short story writer (d. 1984)
  • 1935 – Tubby Hayes, English saxophonist and composer (d. 1973)
  • 1936 – Horst Jankowski, German pianist and composer (d. 1998)
  • 1937 – Vanessa Redgrave, English actress
  • 1937 – Boris Spassky, Russian chess player and theoretician
  • 1938 – Islam Karimov, Uzbek politician, 1st President of Uzbekistan (d. 2016)
  • 1941 – Gregory Benford, American astrophysicist and author
  • 1941 – Dick Cheney, American businessman and politician, 46th Vice President of the United States, 17th US Secretary of Defense
  • 1941 – Tineke Lagerberg, Dutch swimmer
  • 1942 – Marty Balin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
  • 1943 – Davey Johnson, American baseball player and manager
  • 1944 – Lynn Harrell, American cellist and academic
  • 1944 – Colin Rimer, English lawyer and judge
  • 1945 – Meir Dagan, Israeli military officer and intelligence official, Director of Mossad (2002–11) (d. 2016)
  • 1945 – Michael Dorris, American author and scholar (d. 1997)
  • 1946 – John Bird, Baron Bird, English publisher, founded The Big Issue
  • 1947 – Les Barker, English poet and author
  • 1947 – Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)
  • 1948 – Nick Broomfield, English director and producer
  • 1948 – Miles Reid, English mathematician and academic
  • 1949 – Peter Agre, American physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1950 – Jack Newton, Australian golfer
  • 1951 – Phil Collins, English drummer, singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1951 – Charles S. Dutton, American actor and director
  • 1951 – Bobby Stokes, English footballer (d. 1995)
  • 1952 – Doug Falconer, Canadian football player and producer
  • 1953 – Fred Hembeck, American author and illustrator
  • 1955 – John Baldacci, American politician, 73rd Governor of Maine
  • 1955 – Tom Izzo, American basketball player and coach
  • 1955 – Curtis Strange, American golfer and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Payne Stewart, American golfer (d. 1999)
  • 1958 – Derek White, Scottish rugby player
  • 1959 – Cynthia Carter, Welsh journalist, author, and academic
  • 1959 – Steve Folkes, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2018)
  • 1959 – Jody Watley, American entertainer
  • 1962 – Abdullah II of Jordan
  • 1964 – Otis Smith, American basketball player, coach, and manager
  • 1965 – Kevin Moore, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1966 – Danielle Goyette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1968 – Felipe VI of Spain
  • 1969 – Justin Skinner, English footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1971 – Kimo von Oelhoffen, American football player
  • 1972 – Jill McGill, American golfer
  • 1972 – Chris Simon, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Jalen Rose, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1974 – Christian Bale, Welsh actor
  • 1974 – Olivia Colman, English actress
  • 1975 – Juninho Pernambucano, Brazilian footballer
  • 1975 – Yumi Yoshimura, Japanese musician and singer
  • 1976 – Andy Milonakis, American entertainer
  • 1977 – Dan Hinote, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1978 – Carmen Küng, Swiss curler
  • 1978 – John Patterson, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Trevor Gillies, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – João Soares de Almeida Neto, Brazilian footballer
  • 1980 – Georgios Vakouftsis, Greek footballer
  • 1980 – Wilmer Valderrama, American actor and producer
  • 1981 – Jonathan Bender, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgarian footballer
  • 1981 – Afonso Alves, Brazilian footballer
  • 1981 – Peter Crouch, English footballer
  • 1981 – Mathias Lauda, Austrian race car driver
  • 1982 – Jorge Cantú, Mexican baseball player
  • 1984 – Kotoshōgiku Kazuhiro, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1984 – Arthur Chu, Asian-American columnist and former Jeopardy! contestant
  • 1984 – Kid Cudi, American entertainer
  • 1985 – Gisela Dulko, Argentinian tennis player
  • 1985 – Torrey Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Trae Williams, American football player
  • 1986 – Nick Evans, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Ben Cutting, Australian cricketer
  • 1987 – Lance Franklin, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Phil Lester, English Internet celebrity
  • 1987 – Becky Lynch, Irish wrestler
  • 1987 – Renato Santos, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Arda Turan, Turkish footballer
  • 1988 – Rob Pinkston, American actor and director
  • 1989 – Tomás Mejías, Spanish footballer
  • 1989 – Girish Kumar, Indian film actor
  • 1990 – Yoon Bo-ra, South Korean singer
  • 1990 – Joe Colborne, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Andrew McCullough, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Nils Miatke, German footballer
  • 1990 – Luca Sbisa, Swiss ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Mitchell Starc, Australian cricketer
  • 1990 – Phillip Supernaw, American football player
  • 1991 – Stefan Elliott, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1993 – Katy Marchant, English track cyclist
  • 1995 – Jack Laugher, English diver
  • 1995 – Víctor Sánchez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2015)

Deaths on January 30

  • 680 – Balthild, Frankish queen (b. 626)
  • 970 – Peter I of Bulgaria
  • 1030 – William V, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 969)
  • 1181 – Emperor Takakura of Japan (b. 1161)
  • 1240 – Pelagio Galvani, Leonese lawyer and cardinal (b. 1165)
  • 1314 – Nicholas III of Saint Omer
  • 1344 – William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury (b. 1301)
  • 1384 – Louis II, Count of Flanders (b. 1330)
  • 1497 – Lê Thánh Tông, King of Vietnam (b. 1442)
  • 1574 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese historian and philosopher (b. 1502)
  • 1606 – Everard Digby, English criminal (b. 1578)
  • 1606 – John Grant, English conspirator (b. 1570)
  • 1606 – Robert Wintour, English conspirator (b. 1565)
  • 1649 – Charles I of England (b. 1600)
  • 1664 – Cornelis de Graeff, Dutch mayor (b. 1599)
  • 1730 – Peter II of Russia (b. 1715)
  • 1770 – Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis, Maltese linguist, historian and cleric (b. 1712)
  • 1836 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress, said to have designed the American Flag (b. 1752)
  • 1838 – Osceola, American tribal leader (b. 1804)
  • 1858 – Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist and ornithologist (b. 1778)
  • 1867 – Emperor Kōmei of Japan (b. 1831)
  • 1869 – William Carleton, Irish author (b. 1794)
  • 1881 – Arthur O’Shaughnessy, English poet and herpetologist (b. 1844)
  • 1889 – Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, heir apparent to the throne of Austria-Hungary (b. 1858)
  • 1926 – Barbara La Marr, American actress (b. 1896)
  • 1928 – Johannes Fibiger, Danish physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
  • 1929 – La Goulue, French model and dancer (b. 1866)
  • 1934 – Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher, founded the Doubleday Publishing Company (b. 1862)
  • 1947 – Frederick Blackman, English botanist and physiologist (b. 1866)
  • 1948 – Arthur Coningham, Australian air marshal (b. 1895)
  • 1948 – Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule (b. 1869)
  • 1948 – Orville Wright, American pilot and engineer, co-founded the Wright Company (b. 1871)
  • 1951 – Ferdinand Porsche, Austrian-German engineer and businessman, founded Porsche (b. 1875)
  • 1958 – Jean Crotti, Swiss painter (b. 1878)
  • 1958 – Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman; founded the Heinkel Aircraft Company (b. 1888)
  • 1962 – Manuel de Abreu, Brazilian physician and engineer (b. 1894)
  • 1963 – Francis Poulenc, French pianist and composer (b. 1899)
  • 1966 – Jaan Hargel, Estonian flute player, conductor, and educator (b. 1912)
  • 1968 – Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Indian poet, playwright, and journalist (b. 1889)
  • 1969 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
  • 1973 – Elizabeth Baker, American economist and academic (b. 1885)
  • 1974 – Olav Roots, Estonian pianist and composer (b. 1910)
  • 1977 – Paul Marais de Beauchamp, French zoologist (b. 1883)
  • 1980 – Professor Longhair, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1918)
  • 1982 – Lightnin’ Hopkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1912)
  • 1991 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
  • 1991 – Clifton C. Edom, American photographer and educator (b. 1907)
  • 1994 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (b. 1912)
  • 1999 – Huntz Hall, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 1999 – Ed Herlihy, American journalist (b. 1909)
  • 2001 – Jean-Pierre Aumont, French soldier and actor (b. 1911)
  • 2001 – Johnnie Johnson, English air marshal and pilot (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Joseph Ransohoff, American surgeon and educator (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Martyn Bennett, Canadian-Scottish violinist (b. 1971)
  • 2006 – Coretta Scott King, American author and activist (b. 1927)
  • 2006 – Wendy Wasserstein, American playwright and academic (b. 1950)
  • 2007 – Sidney Sheldon, American author and screenwriter (b. 1917)
  • 2008 – Marcial Maciel, Mexican-American priest, founded the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi (b. 1920)
  • 2009 – H. Guy Hunt, American soldier, pastor, and politician, 49th Governor of Alabama (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – Fadil Ferati, Kosovar accountant and politician (b. 1960)
  • 2011 – John Barry, English composer and conductor (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Frank Aschenbrenner, American football player and soldier (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Doeschka Meijsing, Dutch author (b. 1947)
  • 2013 – Gamal al-Banna, Egyptian author and scholar (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Patty Andrews, American singer (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – George Witt, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Stefan Bałuk, Polish general and photographer (b. 1914)
  • 2014 – The Mighty Hannibal, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – William Motzing, American composer and conductor (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Arthur Rankin, Jr., American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Carl Djerassi, Austrian-American chemist, author, and playwright (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – Ülo Kaevats, Estonian academic, philosopher, and politician (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Geraldine McEwan, English actress (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Gerrit Voorting, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – Zhelyu Zhelev, Bulgarian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of Bulgaria (b. 1935)
  • 2016 – Frank Finlay, English actor (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Francisco Flores Pérez, Salvadorian politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1959)
  • 2016 – Georgia Davis Powers, American activist and politician (b. 1923)
  • 2018 – Mark Salling, American actor and musician (b. 1982)
  • 2019 – Dick Miller, American actor (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on January 30

  • Christian Feast Day:
    • Adelelmus of Burgos
    • Aldegonde
    • Anthony the Great (Coptic Church)
    • Armentarius of Pavia
    • Balthild
    • Charles, King and Martyr (various provinces of the Anglican Communion)
    • Hippolytus of Rome
    • Hyacintha Mariscotti
    • Martina
    • Matthias of Jerusalem
    • Mutien-Marie Wiaux
    • Savina
    • Three Holy Hierarchs (Eastern Orthodox), and its related observances:
      • Teacher’s Day (Greece)
    • January 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of Azerbaijani customs (Azerbaijan)
  • Day of Saudade (Brazil)
  • Fred Korematsu Day (California, Florida, Hawaii, Virginia)
  • Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, and its related observances:
    • Martyrs’ Day (India)
    • School Day of Non-violence and Peace (Spain)
    • Start of the Season for Nonviolence January 30 – April 4

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