1963

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

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

    Births on February 19

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

    Deaths on February 19

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

    Holidays and observances on February 19

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

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

    • 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
    • 1268 – The Battle of Wesenberg is fought between the Livonian Order and Dovmont of Pskov.
    • 1332 – Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces.
    • 1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is executed in private at the Tower of London.
    • 1637 – Eighty Years’ War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.
    • 1781 – Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: Captain Thomas Shirley opens his expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghana).
    • 1791 – Congress passes a law admitting the state of Vermont to the Union, effective 4 March, after that state had existed for 14 years as a de facto independent largely unrecognized state.
    • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Sir Ralph Abercromby and a fleet of 18 British warships invade Trinidad.
    • 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Montereau.
    • 1861 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
    • 1861 – With Italian unification almost complete, Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy.
    • 1873 – Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities.
    • 1878 – John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
    • 1885 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.
    • 1906 – Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels.
    • 1911 – The first official flight with airmail takes place from Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) away.
    • 1930 – While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.
    • 1930 – Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft and also the first cow to be milked in an aircraft.
    • 1932 – The Empire of Japan creates the independent state of Manzhouguo (the obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) free from the Republic of China and installed former Chinese Emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi as Chief Executive of the State.
    • 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: During the Nanking Massacre, the Nanking Safety Zone International Committee is renamed “Nanking International Rescue Committee”, and the safety zone in place for refugees falls apart.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army begins the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement.
    • 1943 – World War II: Joseph Goebbels delivers his Sportpalast speech.
    • 1946 – Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay harbour, from where the action spreads throughout the Provinces of British India, involving 78 ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors
    • 1947 – First Indochina War: The French gain complete control of Hanoi after forcing the Viet Minh to withdraw to mountains.
    • 1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles.
    • 1955 – Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot “Wasp” is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series.
    • 1957 – Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is executed by the British colonial government.
    • 1957 – Walter James Bolton becomes the last person legally executed in New Zealand.
    • 1965 – The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
    • 1970 – The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
    • 1972 – The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson, (6 Cal.3d 628) invalidates the state’s death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life imprisonment.
    • 1977 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight” on top of a Boeing 747.
    • 1979 – Richard Petty wins a then-record sixth Daytona 500 after leaders Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crash on the final lap of the first NASCAR race televised live flag-to-flag.
    • 1983 – Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee massacre in Seattle. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history.
    • 1991 – The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
    • 2001 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
    • 2001 – Sampit conflict: Inter-ethnic violence between Dayaks and Madurese breaks out in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, ultimately resulting in more than 500 deaths and 100,000 Madurese displaced from their homes.
    • 2003 – Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea.
    • 2004 – Up to 295 people, including nearly 200 rescue workers, die near Nishapur, Iran, when a runaway freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertilizer catches fire and explodes.
    • 2007 – Samjhauta Express bombings occurred around midnight in Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of New Delhi, India.
    • 2010 – WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier now known as Chelsea Manning.
    • 2013 – Armed robbers steal a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
    • 2014 – At least 76 people are killed and hundreds are injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Kiev, Ukraine.

    Births on February 18

    • 1201 – Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Persian scientist and writer (d. 1274)
    • 1372 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (d. 1448)
    • 1486 – Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Indian monk and saint (d. 1534)
    • 1516 – Mary I of England (d. 1558)
    • 1530 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese daimyō (d. 1578)
    • 1543 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
    • 1547 – Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī, founder of Isfahan School of Islamic Philosophy (d. 1621)
    • 1559 – Isaac Casaubon, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1614)
    • 1589 – Henry Vane the Elder, English politician (d. 1655)
    • 1589 – Maarten Gerritsz Vries, Dutch explorer (d. 1646)
    • 1602 – Per Brahe the Younger, Swedish soldier and politician, Governor-General of Finland (d. 1680)
    • 1609 – Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, English historian and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1674)
    • 1626 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician (d. 1697)
    • 1632 – Giovanni Battista Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1692)
    • 1642 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (d. 1698)
    • 1658 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French philosopher and author (d. 1743)
    • 1732 – Johann Christian Kittel, German organist and composer (d. 1809)
    • 1745 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist, invented the battery (d. 1827)
    • 1814 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (d. 1900)
    • 1817 – Lewis Armistead, American general (d. 1863)
    • 1836 – Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Indian mystic and yogi (d. 1886)
    • 1838 – Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1916)
    • 1846 – Wilson Barrett, English actor, playwright, and manager (d. 1904)
    • 1848 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (d. 1933)
    • 1849 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician (d. 1906)
    • 1850 – George Henschel, German-English singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (d. 1934)
    • 1855 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French historian, author, and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (d. 1932)
    • 1860 – Anders Zorn, Swedish artist (d. 1920)
    • 1862 – Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (d. 1939)
    • 1867 – Hedwig Courths-Mahler, German writer (d. 1950)
    • 1870 – William Laurel Harris, American painter and author (d. 1924)
    • 1871 – Harry Brearley, English inventor (d. 1948)
    • 1883 – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek philosopher, author, and playwright (d. 1957)
    • 1885 – Henri Laurens, French sculptor and illustrator (d. 1954)
    • 1893 – Maksim Haretski, Belarusian prose writer, journalist and activist (d. 1938)
    • 1890 – Edward Arnold, American actor (d. 1956)
    • 1890 – Adolphe Menjou, American actor (d. 1963)
    • 1892 – Wendell Willkie, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 1944)
    • 1896 – Li Linsi, Chinese educator and diplomat (d. 1970)
    • 1898 – Enzo Ferrari, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded Ferrari (d. 1988)
    • 1898 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet and politician, 1st Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (d. 1980)
    • 1899 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (d. 1985)
    • 1903 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (d. 1983)
    • 1905 – Queenie Leonard, English actress (d. 2002)
    • 1906 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and academic (d. 1980)
    • 1909 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1993)
    • 1914 – Pee Wee King, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2000)
    • 1915 – Phyllis Calvert, English actress (d. 2002)
    • 1916 – Jean Drapeau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1999)
    • 1919 – Jack Palance, American boxer and actor (d. 2006)
    • 1920 – Bill Cullen, American game show panelist and host (d. 1990)
    • 1920 – Rolande Falcinelli, French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (d. 1998)
    • 1921 – Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Eric Gairy, Grenadan politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 1997)
    • 1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Allan Melvin, American actor (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – George Kennedy, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1925 – Halit Kıvanç, Turkish journalist and sportscaster
    • 1925 – Ghafar Baba, Malaysian politician (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (d. 1976)
    • 1927 – Luis Arroyo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, manager, and scout (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Fazal Mahmood, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2005)
    • 1927 – John Warner, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 61st United States Secretary of the Navy
    • 1928 – Rex Mossop, Australian rugby player and sportscaster (d. 2011)
    • 1929 – Len Deighton, English historian and author
    • 1929 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 1968)
    • 1931 – Johnny Hart, American cartoonist, co-created The Wizard of Id (d. 2007)
    • 1931 – Toni Morrison, American novelist and editor, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019).
    • 1931 – Swraj Paul, Baron Paul, Indian-English businessman and philanthropist
    • 1931 – John Ryden, Scottish footballer, centre half (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Bob St. Clair, American football player (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Miloš Forman, Czech-American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-American multimedia artist and musician
    • 1933 – Bobby Robson, English international footballer, inside forward and international manager (d. 2009)
    • 1933 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (d. 1975)
    • 1934 – Skip Battin, American singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2003)
    • 1934 – Dave Dunmore, English footballer, centre forward
    • 1934 – Audre Lorde, American poet, essayist, memoirist, and activist (d. 1992)
    • 1934 – Paco Rabanne, Spanish-French fashion designer
    • 1936 – Jean M. Auel, American author
    • 1938 – Manny Mota, Dominican baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1938 – Sadanoyama Shinmatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 50th Yokozuna (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – István Szabó, Hungarian director and screenwriter
    • 1939 – Claude Ake, Nigerian political scientist and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1939 – Bobby Hart, American singer-songwriter
    • 1939 – Marlos Nobre, Brazilian composer
    • 1940 – Fabrizio De André, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
    • 1940 – Prue Leith, English restaurateur and journalist
    • 1941 – Herman Santiago, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
    • 1941 – Irma Thomas, American singer
    • 1943 – Graeme Garden, Scottish comedian, actor, and author
    • 1944 – Pat Bowlen, American businessman (d. 2019)
    • 1945 – Judy Rankin, American golfer and sportscaster
    • 1946 – Michael Buerk, English journalist
    • 1947 – Dennis DeYoung, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1947 – Eliot Engel, American educator and politician
    • 1948 – Sinéad Cusack, Irish actress
    • 1948 – Bruce Francis, Australian cricketer
    • 1948 – Keith Knudsen, American singer-songwriter and drummer (d. 2005)
    • 1949 – Gary Ridgway, American criminal, Green River Killer
    • 1950 – Nana Amba Eyiaba I, Ghanaian queen mother and advocate
    • 1950 – Cristina Ferrare, American model, actress, author, and television host
    • 1950 – John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1950 – Cybill Shepherd, American actress and singer
    • 1951 – Queen Komal of Nepal
    • 1951 – Isabel Preysler, Filipino-Spanish journalist
    • 1952 – Randy Crawford, American jazz and R&B singer
    • 1952 – Maurice Lucas, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
    • 1952 – Juice Newton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1952 – Bernard Valcourt, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1953 – Robbie Bachman, Canadian rock drummer
    • 1953 – Derek Pellicci, English-Australian drummer
    • 1954 – Charlie Fowler, American mountaineer, author, and photographer (d. 2006)
    • 1954 – Paul Rendall, English rugby player
    • 1954 – John Travolta, American actor and producer
    • 1955 – Cheetah Chrome, American musician
    • 1955 – Miles Tredinnick, English singer-songwriter and playwright
    • 1955 – Lisa See, American writer and novelist
    • 1956 – Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1956 – Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian businessman and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Georgia
    • 1957 – Marita Koch, German sprinter
    • 1957 – Vanna White, American model and game show host
    • 1959 – Jayne Atkinson, English-American actress
    • 1959 – James Metzger, American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1960 – Andy Moog, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1960 – Greta Scacchi, Italian-Australian actress
    • 1963 – Rob Andrew, English rugby player and cricketer
    • 1964 – Matt Dillon, American actor and director
    • 1964 – Paul Hanley, English drummer and songwriter
    • 1965 – Dr. Dre, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1966 – Phillip DeFreitas, Dominican-English cricketer
    • 1967 – Roberto Baggio, Italian footballer
    • 1967 – Colin Jackson, Welsh sprinter and hurdler
    • 1968 – Molly Ringwald, American actress
    • 1969 – Tomaž Humar, Slovenian mountaineer (d. 2009)
    • 1969 – Alexander Mogilny, Russian-American ice hockey player
    • 1970 – Susan Egan, American actress and singer
    • 1970 – James H. Fowler, American political scientist and author
    • 1970 – Raine Maida, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1970 – Massimo Taibi, Italian footballer
    • 1971 – Thomas Bjorn, Danish golfer
    • 1971 – Merritt Gant, American guitarist
    • 1972 – Fabian Picardo, Gibraltarian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Gibraltar
    • 1973 – Shawn Estes, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Claude Makélélé, French footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Carrie Ann Baade, American painter and academic
    • 1974 – Jamey Carroll, American baseball player
    • 1974 – Radek Černý, Czech international footballer, goalkeeper
    • 1974 – Ruby Dhalla, Canadian chiropractor and politician
    • 1974 – Julia Butterfly Hill, American environmentalist and author
    • 1974 – Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russian tennis player
    • 1974 – Jillian Michaels, American fitness trainer and author
    • 1975 – Gary Neville, English footballer and coach
    • 1976 – Leilani Munter, American race car driver and environmentalist
    • 1976 – Chanda Rubin, American tennis player
    • 1976 – Bernadette Sembrano, Filipino journalist
    • 1978 – Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer
    • 1979 – Tinu Yohannan, Indian cricketer
    • 1980 – Aivar Anniste, Estonian footballer
    • 1980 – Nik Antropov, Kazakhstani-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Regina Spektor, Russian-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1981 – Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player
    • 1981 – Alex Ríos, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Ivan Sproule, Northern Irish footballer
    • 1981 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (d. 2011)
    • 1982 – Juelz Santana, American rapper and actor
    • 1982 – Christian Tiffert, German footballer
    • 1983 – Jermaine Jenas, English international footballer, midfielder, pundit
    • 1984 – Carlos Kameni, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1985 – Anton Ferdinand, English footballer
    • 1985 – Lee Boyd Malvo, Jamaican-American murderer
    • 1985 – Jos van Emden, Dutch cyclist
    • 1986 – Robert DeLong, American singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Marc Torrejón, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Cristian Tănase, Romanian footballer
    • 1988 – Changmin, South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
    • 1990 – Didi Gregorius, Dutch baseball player
    • 1990 – Cody Hodgson, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Sebastian Neumann, German footballer
    • 1991 – Henry Surtees, English race car driver (d. 2009)
    • 1994 – Jake Trbojevic, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – J-Hope, South Korean rapper, dancer, singer-songwriter

    Deaths on February 18

    • 675 – Colmán, bishop of Lindisfarne
    • 814 – Angilbert, Frankish monk and diplomat (b. 760)
    • 901 – Thābit ibn Qurra, Arab astronomer and physician (b. 826)
    • 999 – Gregory V, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 972)
    • 1139 – Yaropolk II, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1082)
    • 1218 – Berthold V, duke of Zähringen (b. 1160)
    • 1225 – Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, Norman nobleman
    • 1294 – Kublai Khan, Mongol emperor (b. 1215)
    • 1379 – Albert II, duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1318)
    • 1397 – Enguerrand VII, French nobleman (b. 1340)
    • 1405 – Timur, Turco-Mongol ruler (b. 1336)
    • 1455 – Fra Angelico, Italian priest and painter (b. 1395)
    • 1478 – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, English nobleman (b. 1449)
    • 1502 – Hedwig Jagiellon, duchess of Bavaria (b. 1457)
    • 1535 – Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German magician, astrologer, and theologian (b. 1486)
    • 1546 – Martin Luther, German priest and theologian, leader of the Protestant Reformation (b. 1483)
    • 1564 – Michelangelo, Italian sculptor and painter (b. 1475)
    • 1654 – Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, French author (b. 1594)
    • 1658 – John Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck, English courtier (b. c. 1591)
    • 1683 – Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch painter (b. 1620)
    • 1695 – William Phips, governor of Massachusetts (b. 1650)
    • 1712 – Louis, Dauphin of France, (b. 1682)
    • 1743 – Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, Italian noble (b. 1667)
    • 1748 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1677)
    • 1772 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician (b. 1712)
    • 1778 – Joseph Marie Terray, French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1715)
    • 1780 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (b. 1714)
    • 1788 – John Whitehurst, English geologist and clockmaker (b. 1713)
    • 1803 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet and educator (b. 1719)
    • 1851 – Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician and academic (b. 1804)
    • 1873 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian activist, founded the Internal Revolutionary Organization (b. 1837)
    • 1880 – Nikolay Zinin, Russian organic chemist (b. 1812)
    • 1893 – Serranus Clinton Hastings, American lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Justice of California (b. 1814)
    • 1902 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (b. 1812)
    • 1906 – John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company (b. 1830)
    • 1910 – Lucy Stanton, American activist (b. 1831)
    • 1911 – Billy Murdoch, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
    • 1915 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (b. 1843)
    • 1923 – Alois Rašín, Czech economist and politician (b. 1867)
    • 1931 – Milan Šufflay, Croatian historian, author, and politician (b. 1879)
    • 1931 – Louis Wolheim, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1880)
    • 1933 – James J. Corbett, American boxer and actor (b. 1866)
    • 1938 – David King Udall, American missionary and politician (b. 1851)
    • 1942 – Albert Payson Terhune, American journalist and author (b. 1872)
    • 1945 – Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian general (b. 1906)
    • 1956 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer (b. 1860)
    • 1957 – Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan rebel leader (b. 1920)
    • 1957 – Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer, astrophysicist, and academic (b. 1877)
    • 1960 – Gertrude Vanderbilt, American stage actress (b. c. 1885)
    • 1964 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founded Bombardier Inc. (b. 1907)
    • 1966 – Robert Rossen, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1967 – J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (b. 1904)
    • 1969 – Dragiša Cvetković, Serbian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1893)
    • 1973 – Frank Costello, Italian-American gangster (b. 1891)
    • 1976 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 1977 – Andy Devine, American actor (b. 1905)
    • 1978 – Maggie McNamara, American actress (b. 1928)
    • 1981 – Jack Northrop, American engineer and businessman, founded the Northrop Corporation (b. 1895)
    • 1982 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (b. 1895)
    • 1989 – Mildred Burke, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1915)
    • 1990 – Richard de Zoysa, Sri Lankan journalist (b. 1958)
    • 1993 – Jacqueline Hill, English actress (b. 1929)
    • 1995 – Eddie Gilbert, American wrestler (b. 1961)
    • 1995 – Bob Stinson, American guitarist (b. 1959)
    • 1997 – Emily Hahn, American journalist and author (b. 1905)
    • 1998 – Harry Caray, American sportscaster (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Balthus, Polish-Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1908)
    • 2001 – Dale Earnhardt, American stock car racer and team owner (b. 1951)
    • 2001 – Eddie Mathews, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2003 – Isser Harel, Belarusian-Israeli intelligence officer (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer and guitarist (b. 1948)
    • 2008 – Alain Robbe-Grillet, French director, screenwriter, and novelist (b. 1922)
    • 2009 – Tayeb Salih, Sudanese journalist and author (b. 1929)
    • 2009 – Miika Tenkula, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1974)
    • 2010 – John Babcock, Canadian soldier (b. 1900)
    • 2012 – George Brizan, Grenadian politician, 9th Prime Minister of Grenada (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Elizabeth Connell, South African-English soprano (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Kevin Ayers, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
    • 2013 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Mavis Gallant, Canadian-French author and playwright (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Kristof Goddaert, Belgian cyclist (b. 1986)
    • 2014 – Nikhil Baran Sengupta, Indian art director and production designer (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1914)
    • 2015 – Cass Ballenger, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Jerome Kersey, American basketball player and coach (b. 1962)
    • 2016 – Abdul Rashid Khan, Indian singer-songwriter (b. 1908)
    • 2016 – Pantelis Pantelidis, Greek singer (b. 1983)
    • 2017 – Ivan Koloff, Canadian wrestler (b. 1942)
    • 2017 – Norma McCorvey, American abortion rights activist; Plaintiff, Roe v. Wade (b. 1947)
    • 2017 – Clyde Stubblefield, American drummer (b. 1943)
    • 2019 – Alessandro Mendini, Italian designer and architect (b.1931)

    Holidays and observances on February 18

    • Christian feast day:
      • Bernadette Soubirous (France)
      • Colmán of Lindisfarne
      • Flavian of Constantinople
      • Geltrude Comensoli
      • Simeon of Jerusalem (Western Christianity)
      • February 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Dialect Day (Amami Islands, Japan)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Gambia from the United Kingdom in 1965.
    • Kurdish Students Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
    • National Democracy Day, celebrates the 1951 overthrow of the Rana dynasty (Nepal)
    • Wife’s Day (Konudagur) (Iceland)

  • February 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    February 17 in History

    • 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
    • 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
    • 1500 – Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
    • 1600 – On his way to be burned at the stake for heresy, at Campo de’ Fiori in Rome, the philosopher Giordano Bruno has a wooden vise put on his tongue to prevent him continuing to speak.
    • 1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first military commander of the English Plymouth Colony in North America.
    • 1676 – Sixteen men of Pascual de Iriate’s expedition are lost at Evangelistas Islets at the western end of the Strait of Magellan.
    • 1739 – The Battle of Vasai commences as the Marathas move to invade Portuguese-occupied territory.
    • 1753 – In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
    • 1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr, Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
    • 1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormant.
    • 1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
    • 1838 – Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
    • 1854 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
    • 1859 – Cochinchina Campaign: The French Navy captured the Citadel of Saigon, a fortress that was manned by 1,000 Nguyễn dynasty soldiers, en route to conquering Saigon and other regions of southern Viet Nam.
    • 1863 – A group of citizens of Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
    • 1867 – The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.
    • 1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France, after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
    • 1904 – Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
    • 1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
    • 1919 – The Ukrainian People’s Republic asks Entente and the US for help fighting the Bolsheviks.
    • 1933 – Newsweek magazine is first published.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok begins: The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
    • 1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins: U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan’s main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
    • 1949 – Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
    • 1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
    • 1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
    • 1964 – Gabonese president Léon M’ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
    • 1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the “Sea of Tranquility” would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
    • 1968 – In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
    • 1972 – Cumulative sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model T.
    • 1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
    • 1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30 others, all Protestants.
    • 1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
    • 1980 – First winter ascent of Mount Everest by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.
    • 1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians during the Capture of Garadaghly.
    • 1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a ceasefire brokered by the UN.
    • 1996 – In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
    • 1996 – NASA’s Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
    • 1996 – The 8.2 Mw  Biak earthquake shakes the Papua province of eastern Indonesia with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). A large tsunami followed, leaving one-hundred sixty-six people dead or missing and 423 injured.
    • 2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
    • 2008 – Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.
    • 2011 – Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi’s regime begin. In Bahrain, security forces launched a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.
    • 2015 – Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti.
    • 2016 – Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others.

    Births on February 17

    • 624 – Wu Zetian, Chinese empress consort (d. 705)
    • 1028 – Al-Juwayni, Persian scholar and imam (d. 1085)
    • 1490 – Charles III, duke of Bourbon (d. 1527)
    • 1519 – Francis, French Grand Chamberlain (d. 1563)
    • 1524 – Charles de Lorraine, French cardinal (d. 1574)
    • 1646 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
    • 1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1713)
    • 1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (d. 1762)
    • 1740 – Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist and meteorologist (d. 1799)
    • 1752 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German author and playwright (d. 1831)
    • 1754 – Nicolas Baudin, French cartographer and explorer (d. 1803)
    • 1758 – John Pinkerton, Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist and historian (d. 1826)
    • 1781 – René Laennec, French physician, invented the stethoscope (d. 1826)
    • 1796 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician and botanist (d. 1866)
    • 1817 – Édouard Thilges, Luxembourgian jurist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1904)
    • 1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1881)
    • 1821 – Lola Montez, Irish-American actress and dancer (d. 1861)
    • 1832 – Richard Henry Park, American sculptor (d. 1902)
    • 1836 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1870)
    • 1843 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, founded Montgomery Ward (d. 1913)
    • 1848 – Louisa Lawson, Australian poet and publisher (d. 1920)
    • 1854 – Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German businessman (d. 1902)
    • 1861 – Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont, duchess of Albany (d. 1922)
    • 1862 – Mori Ōgai, Japanese general, author, and poet (d. 1922)
    • 1864 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak priest, botanist, and painter (d. 1929)
    • 1864 – Banjo Paterson, Australian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1941)
    • 1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American businessman (d. 1956)
    • 1877 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and author (d. 1904)
    • 1877 – André Maginot, French sergeant and politician (d. 1932)
    • 1881 – Mary Carson Breckinridge, American nurse midwife, founded Frontier Nursing Service (d. 1965)
    • 1887 – Joseph Bech, Luxembourgian lawyer and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1975)
    • 1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer and critic (d. 1947)
    • 1888 – Otto Stern, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
    • 1890 – Ronald Fisher, English-Australian statistician, biologist, and geneticist (d. 1962)
    • 1891 – Abraham Fraenkel, German-Israeli mathematician and academic (d. 1965)
    • 1893 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player and journalist (d. 1965)
    • 1899 – Jibanananda Das, Bangladeshi-Indian poet and author (d. 1954)
    • 1900 – Ruth Clifford, American actress (d. 1998)
    • 1903 – Sadegh Hedayat, Iranian-French author and translator (d. 1951)
    • 1904 – Hans Morgenthau, German-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1980)
    • 1905 – Ruth Baldwin, British socialite (d. 1937)
    • 1905 – Rózsa Politzer, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1977)
    • 1906 – Mary Brian, American actress (d. 2002)
    • 1908 – Red Barber, American sportscaster (d. 1992)
    • 1908 – Bo Yibo, Chinese general and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 2007)
    • 1910 – Marc Lawrence, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1911 – Oskar Seidlin, German-American author, poet, and scholar (d. 1984)
    • 1912 – Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
    • 1914 – Wayne Morris, American actor and producer (d. 1959)
    • 1916 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian rugby player and pilot (d. 1940)
    • 1916 – Don Tallon, Australian cricketer (d. 1984)
    • 1916 – Raf Vallone, Italian footballer and actor (d. 2002)
    • 1918 – William Bronk, American poet and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Jacqueline Ferrand, French mathematician (d. 2014)
    • 1919 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian and academic (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
    • 1919 – Joe Hunt, American tennis player (d. 1945)
    • 1920 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1920 – Annie Castor, American disability and communication disorder advocate (d. 2020)
    • 1920 – Curt Swan, American soldier and illustrator (d. 1996)
    • 1921 – Duane Gish, American biochemist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Tommy Edwards, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 1969)
    • 1923 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (d. 1988)
    • 1923 – Buddy DeFranco, American clarinet player and bandleader (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Margaret Truman, American singer and author (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor and director
    • 1928 – Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Alejandro Jodorowsky, Chilean-French director and screenwriter
    • 1929 – Chaim Potok, American rabbi and author (d. 2002)
    • 1929 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (d. 1993)
    • 1929 – Patricia Routledge, English actress and singer
    • 1930 – Roger Craig, American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1930 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Ruth Rendell, English author (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Jiřina Jirásková, Czech actress and singer (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Buddy Ryan, American football coach (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1934 – Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
    • 1934 – Barry Humphries (Dame Edna Everage), Australian comedian, actor, and author
    • 1935 – Christina Pickles, English-American actress
    • 1936 – Jim Brown, American football player and actor
    • 1937 – Mary Ann Mobley, American model and actress, Miss America 1959 (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Vicente Fernández, Mexican singer-songwriter, actor, and producer
    • 1941 – Julia McKenzie, English actress, singer, and director
    • 1941 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Huey P. Newton, American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party (d. 1989)
    • 1944 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh saxophonist, keyboard player, and composer (Soft Machine)
    • 1945 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2012)
    • 1945 – Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
    • 1946 – Shahrnush Parsipur, Iranian-American author and academic
    • 1948 – José José, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1948 – Rick Majerus, American basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1949 – Fred Frith, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1949 – Dennis Green, American football player and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1951 – Rashid Minhas, Pakistani soldier and pilot (d. 1971)
    • 1952 – Karin Büttner-Janz, German gymnast and physician
    • 1952 – Vladimír Padrůněk, Czech bass player (d. 1991)
    • 1954 – Lou Ann Barton, American blues singer-songwriter
    • 1954 – Miki Berkovich, Israeli basketball player
    • 1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
    • 1955 – Mo Yan, Chinese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1956 – Richard Karn, American actor and game show host
    • 1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian singer-songwriter, accordion player, and pianist
    • 1959 – Aryeh Deri, Moroccan-Israeli rabbi and politician, Israeli Minister of Internal Affairs
    • 1959 – Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Lindy Ruff, Canadian hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Angela Eagle, English politician, Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
    • 1961 – Maria Eagle, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
    • 1961 – Andrey Korotayev, Russian anthropologist, historian, and sociologist
    • 1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor and director
    • 1963 – Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian and voice actor
    • 1963 – Alison Hargreaves, English mountaineer (d. 1995)
    • 1963 – Jen-Hsun Huang, Taiwanese-American businessman, co-founded Nvidia
    • 1963 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player and actor
    • 1964 – Sherry Hawco, Canadian gymnast (d. 1991)
    • 1965 – Michael Bay, American director and producer
    • 1965 – Danny Lee, Australian rugby league player
    • 1966 – Quorthon, Swedish guitarist and songwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1966 – Luc Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player, manager, and actor
    • 1968 – Wu’erkaixi, Chinese journalist and activist
    • 1968 – Giuseppe Signori, Italian footballer
    • 1969 – David Douillet, French martial artist and politician
    • 1969 – Vasily Kudinov, Russian handball player (d. 2017)
    • 1970 – Dominic Purcell, English-born Irish-Australian actor and producer
    • 1971 – Denise Richards, American model and actress
    • 1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and producer
    • 1972 – Philippe Candeloro, French figure skater
    • 1972 – Taylor Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1972 – Valeria Mazza, Argentinian model and businesswoman
    • 1972 – Lars Göran Petrov, Swedish singer and drummer
    • 1973 – Goran Bunjevčević, Serbian FR Yugoslavia international footballer, defender (d. 2018)
    • 1973 – Raphaël Ibañez, French rugby player
    • 1974 – Kaoru, Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1974 – Jerry O’Connell, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1975 – Václav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Rory Kinnear, English actor and playwright
    • 1980 – Al Harrington, American basketball player
    • 1980 – Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
    • 1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1981 – Paris Hilton, American model, media personality, actress, singer, DJ, author and businesswoman
    • 1981 – Pontus Segerström, Swedish footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1982 – Adriano, Brazilian footballer
    • 1982 – Brian Bruney, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Daniel Merriweather, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Kevin Rudolf, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1984 – AB de Villiers, South African cricketer
    • 1984 – Jimmy Jacobs, American wrestler
    • 1984 – Katie Hill, Australian 3.0 point wheelchair basketball player
    • 1984 – Drew Miller, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Marcin Gortat, Polish basketball player
    • 1985 – Anders Jacobsen, Norwegian ski jumper
    • 1988 – Vasyl Lomachenko, Ukrainian boxer
    • 1989 – Rebecca Adlington, English swimmer
    • 1989 – Chord Overstreet, American actor and singer
    • 1990 – Marianne St-Gelais, Canadian speed skater
    • 1991 – Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1991 – Bonnie Wright, English actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1993 – Nicola Leali, Italian footballer
    • 1993 – Marc Márquez, Spanish motorcycle racer

    Deaths on February 17

    • 364 – Jovian, Roman emperor (b. 331)
    • 440 – Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian monk, linguist, and theologian (b. 360)
    • 923 – Al-Tabari, Persian scholar (b. 839)
    • 1178 – Evermode of Ratzeburg, bishop of Ratzeburg
    • 1220 – Theobald I, Duke of Lorraine
    • 1339 – Otto, Duke of Austria (b. 1301)
    • 1371 – Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
    • 1500 – Adolph, Count of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst, German noble (b. before 1463)
    • 1600 – Giordano Bruno, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (b. 1548)
    • 1609 – Ferdinando I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1549)
    • 1624 – Juan de Mariana, Spanish priest and historian (b. 1536)
    • 1659 – Abel Servien, French politician, French Minister of Finance (b. 1593)
    • 1673 – Molière, French actor and playwright (b. 1622)
    • 1680 – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English politician (b. 1599)
    • 1680 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist, zoologist, and entomologist (b. 1637)
    • 1715 – Antoine Galland, French orientalist and archaeologist (b. 1646)
    • 1732 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (b. 1669)
    • 1768 – Arthur Onslow, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1691)
    • 1841 – Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist and composer (b. 1770)
    • 1849 – María de las Mercedes Barbudo, Puerto Rican political activist, the first woman Independentista in the island (b. 1773)
    • 1854 – John Martin, English painter, engraver, and illustrator (b. 1789)
    • 1856 – Heinrich Heine, German journalist and poet (b. 1797)
    • 1874 – Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian astronomer, mathematician, and sociologist (b. 1796)
    • 1890 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American publisher and politician (b. 1819)
    • 1905 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, leader in the Latter Day Saint movement (b. 1815)
    • 1909 – Geronimo, American tribal leader (b. 1829)
    • 1912 – Edgar Evans, Welsh sailor and explorer (b. 1876)
    • 1919 – Wilfrid Laurier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1841)
    • 1934 – Albert I of Belgium (b. 1875)
    • 1934 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player and theoretician (b. 1862)
    • 1939 – Willy Hess, German violinist and educator (b. 1859)
    • 1946 – Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (b. 1889)
    • 1961 – Lütfi Kırdar, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (b. 1887)
    • 1961 – Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1894)
    • 1962 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (b. 1907)
    • 1962 – Bruno Walter, German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1876)
    • 1966 – Hans Hofmann, German-American painter (b. 1880)
    • 1970 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrainian-Israeli novelist, short story writer, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
    • 1970 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (b. 1900)
    • 1972 – Friday Hassler, American race car driver (b. 1935)
    • 1977 – Janani Luwum, Ugandan archbishop and saint (b. 1922)
    • 1979 – William Gargan, American actor (b. 1905)
    • 1982 – Nestor Chylak, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1922)
    • 1982 – Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (b. 1917)
    • 1982 – Lee Strasberg, American actor and director (b. 1901)
    • 1986 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (b. 1895)
    • 1988 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (b. 1923)
    • 1988 – Karpoori Thakur, Indian educator and politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1924)
    • 1989 – Lefty Gomez, American baseball player (b. 1908)
    • 1990 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French mountaineer, skier, and pilot (b. 1951)
    • 1994 – Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (b. 1951)
    • 1998 – Ernst Jünger, German soldier, philosopher, and author (b. 1895)
    • 2003 – Steve Bechler, American baseball player (b. 1979)
    • 2004 – José López Portillo, Mexican lawyer and politician, 51st President of Mexico, 1976-1982 (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Dan O’Herlihy, Irish-American actor (b. 1919)
    • 2005 – Omar Sívori, Argentinian footballer and manager (b. 1935)
    • 2006 – Ray Barretto, American drummer (b. 1929)
    • 2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1948)
    • 2009 – Conchita Cintrón, Chilean bullfighter and journalist (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Robert Carr, English engineer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1916)
    • 2012 – Michael Davis, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn, Dutch mathematician and theorist (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Ulric Neisser, German-American psychologist and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Richard Briers, English actor (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Shmulik Kraus, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Sophie Kurys, American baseball player (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Mindy McCready, American singer-songwriter (b. 1975)
    • 2014 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1952)
    • 2014 – Peter Florin, German politician and diplomat, President of the United Nations General Assembly (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Wayne Smith, Jamaican singer (b. 1965)
    • 2015 – John Barrow, American-Canadian football player and manager (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Cathy Ubels-Veen, Dutch politician (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Liu Yudi, Chinese general and pilot (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – Andy Ganteaume, Trinidadian cricketer (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Egyptian journalist (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – Claude Jeancolas, French historian, author, and journalist (b. 1949)
    • 2016 – Tony Phillips, American baseball player (b. 1959)
    • 2016 – Andrzej Żuławski, Polish film director (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Robert H. Michel, American politician (b. 1923)
    • 2017 – Michael Novak, American Roman Catholic theologian (b. 1933)
    • 2020 – Ror Wolf, German writer, poet, and artist (b. 1932)

    Holidays and observances on February 17

    • Christian feast day:
      • Seven Founders of the Servite Order
        • Alexis Falconieri
      • Constabilis
      • Donatus, Romulus, Secundian, and Companions
      • Fintan of Clonenagh
      • Janani Luwum (Anglican Communion)
      • Lommán of Trim
      • February 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Kosovo in 2008, still partially recognized.
    • Revolution Day (Libya)

  • February 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances 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 14 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

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

    Births on February 14

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

    Deaths on February 14

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

    Holidays and observances on February 14

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

  • February 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances 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 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
    • AD 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, on the eve of his coming of age clears the way for Nero to become Emperor.
    • 1534 – Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.
    • 1659 – The assault on Copenhagen by Swedish forces is beaten back with heavy losses.
    • 1794 – First session of United States Senate opens to the public.
    • 1808 – Jesse Fell burns anthracite on an open grate as an experiment in heating homes with coal.
    • 1812 – Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry is accused of “gerrymandering” for the first time.
    • 1823 – Carnival tragedy of 1823: About 110 boys are killed during a stampede at the Convent of the Minori Osservanti in Valletta, Malta.
    • 1826 – University College London is founded as University of London.
    • 1840 – Gaetano Donizetti’s opera La fille du régiment receives its first performance in Paris, France.
    • 1843 – Giuseppe Verdi’s opera I Lombardi alla prima crociata receives its first performance in Milan, Italy.
    • 1855 – Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia.
    • 1856 – The Kingdom of Awadh is annexed by the British East India Company and Wajid Ali Shah, the king of Awadh, is deposed.
    • 1858 – Bernadette Soubirous’s first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: The United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.
    • 1873 – King Amadeo I of Spain abdicates.
    • 1889 – Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted.
    • 1903 – Anton Bruckner’s 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna, Austria.
    • 1906 – Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer Nos.
    • 1919 – Friedrich Ebert (SPD), is elected President of Germany.
    • 1929 – Kingdom of Italy and the Vatican sign the Lateran Treaty.
    • 1937 – The Flint sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers trade union.
    • 1938 – BBC Television produces the world’s first ever science fiction television programme, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Čapek play R.U.R., that coined the term “robot”.
    • 1942 – World War II: Second day of the Battle of Bukit Timah is fought in Singapore.
    • 1953 – Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower denies all appeals for clemency for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
    • 1953 – The Soviet Union breaks off diplomatic relations with Israel.
    • 1959 – The Federation of Arab Emirates of the South is created as a protectorate of the United Kingdom.
    • 1970 – Japan launches Ohsumi, becoming the fourth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.
    • 1971 – Cold War: the Seabed Arms Control Treaty opened for signature outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.
    • 1979 – The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
    • 1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner.
    • 1990 – Buster Douglas, a 42:1 underdog, knocks out Mike Tyson in ten rounds at Tokyo to win boxing’s world Heavyweight title.
    • 1997 – Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.
    • 1999 – Pluto crosses Neptune’s orbit, ending a nearly 20-year period when it was closer to the Sun than the gas giant; Pluto is not expected to interact with Neptune’s orbit again until 2231.
    • 2001 – A Dutch programmer launched the Anna Kournikova virus infecting millions of emails via a trick photo of the tennis star.
    • 2008 – Rebel East Timorese soldiers seriously wound President José Ramos-Horta. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado is killed in the attack.
    • 2011 – Arab Spring: The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 17 days of protests.
    • 2013 – The Vatican confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI would resign the papacy as a result of his advanced age.
    • 2014 – A military transport plane crashes in a mountainous area of Oum El Bouaghi Province in eastern Algeria, killing 77 people.
    • 2015 – A university student was murdered as she resisted an attempted rape in Turkey, sparking nationwide protests and public outcry against harassment and violence against women.
    • 2016 – A man shoots six people dead at an education center in Jizan Province, Saudi Arabia.
    • 2017 – North Korea test fires a ballistic missile across the Sea of Japan.
    • 2018 – Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashes near Moscow, Russia with 71 deaths and no survivors.

    Births on February 11

    • 1380 – Poggio Bracciolini, Italian scholar and translator (d. 1459)
    • 1466 – Elizabeth of York (d. 1503)
    • 1535 – Pope Gregory XIV (d. 1591)
    • 1568 – Honoré d’Urfé, French author and playwright (d. 1625)
    • 1649 – William Carstares, Scottish minister and academic (d. 1715)
    • 1657 – Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, French poet and playwright (d. 1757)
    • 1708 – Egidio Duni, Italian composer (d. 1775)
    • 1764 – Joseph Chénier, French poet and playwright (d. 1811)
    • 1776 – Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greek politician, 1st Governor of Greece (d. 1831)
    • 1800 – Henry Fox Talbot, English photographer and politician, invented the calotype (d. 1877)
    • 1802 – Lydia Maria Child, American journalist, author, and activist (d. 1880)
    • 1805 – Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, Native American-French Canadian explorer (d. 1866)
    • 1812 – Alexander H. Stephens, American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1883)
    • 1813 – Otto Ludwig, German author, playwright, and critic (d. 1865)
    • 1821 – Auguste Mariette, French archaeologist and scholar (d. 1881)
    • 1830 – Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff, Prussian pianist and composer (d. 1913)
    • 1833 – Melville Fuller, American lawyer and jurist, Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1910)
    • 1839 – Josiah Willard Gibbs, American physicist (d. 1903)
    • 1845 – Ahmet Tevfik Pasha, Ottoman soldier and politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1936)
    • 1847 – Thomas Edison, American engineer and businessman, developed the light bulb and phonograph (d. 1931)
    • 1855 – Ellen Day Hale, American painter and author (b. 1855)
    • 1860 – Rachilde, French author and playwright (d. 1953)
    • 1863 – John F. Fitzgerald, American politician; Mayor of Boston (d. 1950)
    • 1864 – Louis Bouveault, French chemist (d. 1909)
    • 1869 – Helene Kröller-Müller, German-Dutch art collector and philanthropist, founded the Kröller-Müller Museum (d. 1939)
    • 1869 – Else Lasker-Schüler, German poet and author (d. 1945)
    • 1874 – Elsa Beskow, Swedish author and illustrator (d. 1953)
    • 1881 – Carlo Carrà, Italian painter (d. 1966)
    • 1897 – Emil Leon Post, Polish-American mathematician and logician (d.1954)
    • 1898 – Leo Szilard, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (d. 1964)
    • 1900 – Ellen Broe, Danish nurse, pioneer in nursing education (d. 1994)
    • 1900 – Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher and scholar (d. 2002)
    • 1900 – Jōsei Toda, Japanese educator and activist (d. 1958)
    • 1902 – Arne Jacobsen, Danish architect, designed Radisson Blu Royal Hotel (d. 1971)
    • 1904 – Keith Holyoake, New Zealand farmer and politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1983)
    • 1904 – Lucile Randon, French Supercentenarian
    • 1908 – Philip Dunne, American screenwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1908 – Vivian Fuchs, English explorer (d. 1999)
    • 1909 – Max Baer, American boxer and actor (d. 1959)
    • 1909 – Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
    • 1912 – Rudolf Firkušný, Czech-American pianist and educator (d. 1994)
    • 1914 – Matt Dennis, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2002)
    • 1914 – Josh White, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1969)
    • 1915 – Patrick Leigh Fermor, English soldier, author, and scholar (d. 2011)
    • 1915 – Richard Hamming, American mathematician and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1917 – Sidney Sheldon, American author and screenwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – Farouk I, King of Egypt (d. 1965)
    • 1920 – Daniel F. Galouye, American author (d. 1976)
    • 1920 – Billy Halop, American actor (d. 1976)
    • 1920 – Daniel James, Jr., American general and pilot (d. 1978)
    • 1921 – Lloyd Bentsen, American colonel and politician, United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Ottavio Missoni, Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Antony Flew, English philosopher and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1924 – Budge Patty, American tennis player
    • 1925 – Virginia E. Johnson, American psychologist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Kim Stanley, American actress (d. 2001)
    • 1926 – Paul Bocuse, French chef (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Leslie Nielsen, Canadian-American actor and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1930 – Roy De Forest, American painter and academic (d. 2007).
    • 1932 – Dennis Skinner, English miner and politician
    • 1934 – Mel Carnahan, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, Governor of Missouri (d. 2000)
    • 1934 – Tina Louise, American actress and singer
    • 1934 – Manuel Noriega, Panamanian general and politician, Military leader of Panama (d. 2017)
    • 1934 – Mary Quant, British fashion designer
    • 1934 – David Taylor, English veterinarian and television host (d. 2013)
    • 1935 – Gene Vincent, American singer and guitarist (d. 1971)
    • 1936 – Burt Reynolds, American actor and director (d. 2018)
    • 1937 – Ian Gow, British Member of Parliament who was assassinated by the IRA (d. 1990)
    • 1937 – Bill Lawry, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1937 – Eddie Shack, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1937 – Phillip Walker, American singer and guitarist (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Bevan Congdon, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Gerry Goffin, American songwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Mick Staton, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1941 – Sérgio Mendes, Brazilian pianist and composer
    • 1942 – Otis Clay, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1943 – Joselito, Spanish singer and actor
    • 1943 – Alan Rubin, American trumpet player (d. 2011)
    • 1944 – Mike Oxley, American lawyer and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1944 – Joy Williams, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist
    • 1946 – Ian Porterfield, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2007)
    • 1947 – Yukio Hatoyama, Japanese engineer and politician and Prime Minister of Japan
    • 1947 – Derek Shulman, Scottish singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1951 – Mike Leavitt, American politician, 14th Governor of Utah
    • 1953 – Philip Anglim, American actor
    • 1953 – Jeb Bush, American banker, politician and Governor of Florida
    • 1953 – Tom Veryzer, American baseball player (d. 2014)
    • 1954 – Wesley Strick, American director and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Didier Lockwood, French violinist (d. 2018)
    • 1959 – Roberto Moreno, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1960 – Richard Mastracchio, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1962 – Tammy Baldwin, American lawyer and politician
    • 1962 – Sheryl Crow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1964 – Sarah Palin, American journalist, politician and Governor of Alaska
    • 1964 – Ken Shamrock, American martial artist and wrestler
    • 1965 – Vicki Wilson, Australian netball player
    • 1968 – Mo Willems, American author and illustrator
    • 1969 – Jennifer Aniston, American actress and producer
    • 1969 – Andreas Hilfiker, Swiss footballer
    • 1969 – John Salako, Nigerian-English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Damian Lewis, English actor
    • 1972 – Steve McManaman, English footballer
    • 1973 – Varg Vikernes, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter
    • 1974 – Nick Barmby, English international footballer, midfielder and manager
    • 1974 – D’Angelo, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1974 – Jaroslav Špaček, Czech ice hockey player and coach
    • 1975 – Andy Lally, American race car driver
    • 1975 – Callum Thorp, Australian cricketer
    • 1975 – Jacque Vaughn, American basketball player and coach
    • 1976 – Tony Battie, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1979 – Brandy Norwood, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1982 – Ľubomíra Kalinová, Slovak biathlete
    • 1982 – Neil Robertson, Australian snooker player
    • 1983 – Rafael van der Vaart, Dutch international footballer, midfielder
    • 1984 – Maarten Heisen, Dutch sprinter
    • 1984 – Marco Marcato, Italian cyclist
    • 1984 – Maxime Talbot, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Šárka Strachová, Czech skier
    • 1987 – Luca Antonelli, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Juanmi Callejón, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Ellen van Dijk, Dutch cyclist
    • 1987 – Brian Matusz, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Jan Smeekens, Dutch speed skater
    • 1988 – Vlad Moldoveanu, Romanian basketball player
    • 1990 – Javier Aquino, Mexican footballer
    • 1991 – Nikola Mirotic, Spanish basketball player
    • 1992 – Lasse Norman Hansen, Danish track and road cyclist
    • 1993 – Ben McLemore, American basketball player
    • 1994 – Dansby Swanson, American baseball player
    • 1996 – Jonathan Tah, German footballer

    Deaths on February 11

    • AD 55 – Britannicus, Roman son of Claudius (b. 41)
    • 244 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (b. 225)
    • 641 – Heraclius, Byzantine emperor (b. 575)
    • 731 – Pope Gregory II (b. 669)
    • 824 – Pope Paschal I
    • 1141 – Hugh of Saint Victor, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1096)
    • 1503 – Elizabeth of York (b. 1466)
    • 1626 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1548)
    • 1650 – René Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1596)
    • 1755 – Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist, playwright, and critic (b. 1675)
    • 1763 – William Shenstone, English poet and gardener (b. 1714)
    • 1795 – Carl Michael Bellman, Swedish poet and composer (b. 1740)
    • 1829 – Alexander Griboyedov, Russian poet, playwright, and composer (b. 1795)
    • 1862 – Elizabeth Siddal, English poet and artist’s model (b. 1829)
    • 1868 – Léon Foucault, French physicist and academic (b. 1819)
    • 1898 – Félix María Zuloaga, Mexican general and unconstitutional interim president (1858 and 1860-1862) (b. 1813)
    • 1901 – Milan I of Serbia (b. 1855)
    • 1917 – Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician and epidemiologist (b. 1872)
    • 1918 – Alexey Kaledin, Russian general (b. 1861)
    • 1931 – Charles Algernon Parsons, English-Irish engineer, invented the steam turbine (b. 1854)
    • 1940 – John Buchan, Scottish-Canadian historian and politician, Governor General of Canada (b. 1875)
    • 1940 – Ellen Day Hale, American painter and author (b. 1855)
    • 1942 – Jamnalal Bajaj, Indian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1884)
    • 1947 – Martin Klein, Estonian wrestler and coach (b. 1884)
    • 1948 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1898)
    • 1949 – Axel Munthe, Swedish doctor (b. 1857)
    • 1958 – Ernest Jones, Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst (b. 1879)
    • 1963 – John Olof Dahlgren, Swedish-American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1872)
    • 1963 – Sylvia Plath, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1932)
    • 1967 – A. J. Muste, Dutch-American minister and activist (b. 1885)
    • 1968 – Howard Lindsay, American playwright (b. 1889)
    • 1973 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
    • 1975 – Richard Ratsimandrava, Malagasy colonel and politician, President of Madagascar (b. 1931)
    • 1976 – Lee J. Cobb, American actor (b. 1911)
    • 1976 – Alexander Lippisch, German pilot and engineer (b. 1894)
    • 1977 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, President of India (b. 1905)
    • 1977 – Louis Beel, Dutch academic and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1902)
    • 1978 – James Bryant Conant, American chemist and academic (b. 1893)
    • 1978 – Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist, essayist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
    • 1982 – Eleanor Powell, American actress and dancer (b. 1912)
    • 1985 – Henry Hathaway, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1898)
    • 1986 – Frank Herbert, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
    • 1989 – George O’Hanlon, American actor and voice artist (b. 1912)
    • 1993 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
    • 1994 – Neil Bonnett, American race car driver (b. 1946)
    • 1994 – Sorrell Booke, American lieutenant, actor, and director (b. 1930)
    • 1994 – William Conrad, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1920)
    • 1994 – Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-Swiss philosopher and academic (b. 1924)
    • 1996 – Amelia Rosselli, Italian poet and author (b. 1930)
    • 2000 – Lord Kitchner, Trinidadian singer (b. 1922)
    • 2000 – Roger Vadim, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
    • 2002 – Frankie Crosetti, American baseball player and coach (b. 1910)
    • 2002 – Barry Foster, English actor (b. 1931)
    • 2004 – Shirley Strickland, Australian runner (b. 1925)
    • 2005 – Jack L. Chalker, American author (b. 1944)
    • 2006 – Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter (b. 1940)
    • 2006 – Ken Fletcher, Australian tennis player (b. 1940)
    • 2006 – Jackie Pallo, English wrestler and actor (b. 1926)
    • 2008 – Tom Lantos, American lawyer and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2008 – Frank Piasecki, American engineer (b. 1919)
    • 2009 – Estelle Bennett, American singer (b. 1941)
    • 2009 – Willem Johan Kolff, Dutch-American physician and academic (b. 1911)
    • 2010 – Heward Grafftey, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2010 – Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founder of his eponymous brand (b. 1969)
    • 2011 – Chuck Tanner, American baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Siri Bjerke, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of the Environment (b. 1958)
    • 2012 – Aharon Davidi, Israeli general (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Whitney Houston, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (b. 1963)
    • 2013 – Rick Huxley, English bass player (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Alice Babs, Swedish singer and actress (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Tito Canepa, Dominican-American painter (b. 1916)
    • 2014 – Fernando González Pacheco, Colombian journalist and actor (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Roger Hanin, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Bob Simon, American journalist (b. 1941)
    • 2015 – Jerry Tarkanian, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – Kevin Randleman, American mixed martial artist and wrestler (b. 1971)
    • 2016 – Zeng Xuelin, Thai-Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1929)
    • 2017 – Fab Melo, Brazilian basketball player (b. 1990)
    • 2017 – Jaap Rijks, Dutch Olympian (b. 1919)
    • 2018 – Vic Damone, American singer, songwriter and actor (b. 1928)
    • 2018 – Asma Jahangir, Pakistani human-rights lawyer and social activist (b. 1952)
    • 2018 – Jan Maxwell, American stage and television actress (b. 1956)
    • 2018 – Qazi Wajid, Pakistani drama actor, writer and artist (b. 1930)

    Holidays and observances on February 11

    • Christian feast day:
      • Blaise Eastern Orthodox liturgics
      • Cædmon, first recorded Christian poet in England, circa 680 CE (Anglicanism)
      • Gobnait
      • Gregory II
      • Lazarus of Milan
    • European 112 Day (European Union)
    • Armed Forces Day (Liberia)
    • Evelio Javier Day (Panay Island, the Philippines)
    • Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes (Catholic Church), and its related observance
      • World Day of the Sick (Roman Catholic Church)
    • Inventors’ Day (United States)
    • National Foundation Day (Japan)
    • Youth Day (Cameroon)
    • International Day of Women and Girls in Science (UN Women)

  • February 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end.
    • 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn sparking the revolution in the Wars of Scottish Independence.
    • 1355 – The St Scholastica Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead in two days.
    • 1502 – Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on his second voyage to India.
    • 1567 – Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, is found strangled following an explosion at the Kirk o’ Field house in Edinburgh, Scotland, a suspected assassination.
    • 1712 – Huilliches in Chiloé rebel against Spanish encomenderos.
    • 1763 – French and Indian War: The Treaty of Paris ends the war and France cedes Quebec to Great Britain.
    • 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Champaubert ends in French victory over the Russians and the Prussians.
    • 1840 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom marries Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
    • 1846 – First Anglo-Sikh War: Battle of Sobraon: British defeat Sikhs in the final battle of the war.
    • 1861 – Jefferson Davis is notified by telegraph that he has been chosen as provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: A Union naval flotilla destroys the bulk of the Confederate Mosquito Fleet in the Battle of Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River in North Carolina.
    • 1906 – HMS Dreadnought, the first of a revolutionary new breed of battleships is christened and launched by King Edward VII.
    • 1920 – Józef Haller de Hallenburg performs symbolic wedding of Poland to the sea, celebrating restitution of Polish access to open sea.
    • 1920 – About 75 % of the population in Zone I votes to join Denmark in the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites.
    • 1923 – Texas Tech University is founded as Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas
    • 1930 – The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng launches the failed Yên Bái mutiny in hope to overthrow French protectorate over Vietnam.
    • 1933 – In round 13 of a boxing match at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Primo Carnera knocks out Ernie Schaaf. Schaaf dies four days later.
    • 1936 – Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italian troops launched the Battle of Amba Aradam against Ethiopian defenders.
    • 1939 – Spanish Civil War: The Nationalists conclude their conquest of Catalonia and seal the border with France.
    • 1940 – The Soviet Union begins mass deportations of Polish citizens from occupied eastern Poland to Siberia.
    • 1940 – Cartoon characters Tom and Jerry make their debut with Puss Gets the Boot.
    • 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Army capture Banjarmasin, capital of Borneo in Dutch East Indies.
    • 1943 – World War II: Attempting to completely lift the Siege of Leningrad, the Soviet Red Army engages German troops and Spanish volunteers in the Battle of Krasny Bor.
    • 1947 – The Paris Peace Treaties are signed by Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland and the Allies of World War II.
    • 1954 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam.
    • 1962 – Cold War: Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
    • 1962 – Roy Lichtenstein’s first solo exhibition opened, and it included Look Mickey, which featured his first employment of Ben-Day dots, speech balloons and comic imagery sourcing, all of which he is now known for.
    • 1964 – Melbourne–Voyager collision: The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collides with and sinks the destroyer HMAS Voyager off the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, killing 82.
    • 1967 – The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.
    • 1972 – Ras Al Khaimah joins the United Arab Emirates, now making up seven emirates.
    • 1984 – Kenyan soldiers kill an estimated 5000 ethnic Somali Kenyans in the Wagalla massacre.
    • 1989 – Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee becoming the first African American to lead a major American political party.
    • 1996 – IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in chess for the first time.
    • 2003 – France and Belgium break the NATO procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq.
    • 2007 – Then Illinois senator Barack Obama announces his candidacy for president in the 2008 elections, which he later goes on to win.
    • 2009 – The communications satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 collide in orbit, destroying both.
    • 2013 – Thirty-six people are killed and 39 others are injured in a stampede in Allahabad, India, during the Kumbh Mela festival.
    • 2016 – South Korea decides to stop the operation of the Kaesong joint industrial complex with North Korea in response to the launch of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4.
    • 2018 – 19 people are killed and 66 injured when a Kowloon Motor Bus double-decker on route 872 in Hong Kong overturns.

    Births on February 10

    • 1486 – George of the Palatinate, German bishop (d. 1529)
    • 1499 – Thomas Platter, Swiss author and scholar (d. 1582)
    • 1514 – Domenico Bollani, Bishop of Milan (d. 1579)
    • 1606 – Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1663)
    • 1609 – John Suckling, English poet and playwright (d. 1642)
    • 1627 – Cornelis de Bie, Flemish poet and jurist (d. 1715)
    • 1685 – Aaron Hill, English poet and playwright (d. 1750)
    • 1696 – Johann Melchior Molter, German violinist and composer (d. 1765)
    • 1744 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (d. 1819)
    • 1766 – Benjamin Smith Barton, American botanist and physician (d. 1815)
    • 1775 – Charles Lamb, English poet and essayist (d. 1834)
    • 1785 – Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist and engineer (d. 1836)
    • 1795 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter and academic (d. 1858)
    • 1797 – George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall (d. 1883)
    • 1821 – Roberto Bompiani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1908)
    • 1824 – Samuel Plimsoll, English merchant and politician (d. 1898)
    • 1842 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (d. 1907)
    • 1843 – Adelina Patti, Italian-French opera singer (d. 1919)
    • 1846 – Lord Charles Beresford, Irish admiral and politician (d. 1919)
    • 1846 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1847 – Nabinchandra Sen, Bangladeshi poet and author (d. 1909)
    • 1859 – Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (d. 1943)
    • 1867 – Robert Garran, Australian lawyer and public servant (d. 1957)
    • 1868 – Prince Waldemar of Prussia (d. 1879)
    • 1868 – William Allen White, American journalist and author (d. 1944)
    • 1869 – Royal Cortissoz, American art critic (d. 1948)
    • 1879 – Ernst Põdder, Estonian general (d. 1932)
    • 1881 – Pauline Brunius, Swedish actress and director (d. 1954)
    • 1883 – Edith Clarke, American electrical engineer (d. 1959)
    • 1883 – H.V. Hordern, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
    • 1889 – Cevdet Sunay, Turkish general and politician, 5th President of Turkey (d. 1982)
    • 1890 – Fanny Kaplan, Ukrainian-Russian activist (d. 1918)
    • 1890 – Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1960)
    • 1892 – Alan Hale Sr., American actor and director (d. 1950)
    • 1893 – Jimmy Durante, American actor, singer, and pianist (d. 1980)
    • 1893 – Bill Tilden, American tennis player and coach (d. 1953)
    • 1894 – Harold Macmillan, English captain and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1986)
    • 1897 – Judith Anderson, Australian actress (d. 1992)
    • 1897 – John Franklin Enders, American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
    • 1898 – Bertolt Brecht, German director, playwright, and poet (d. 1956)
    • 1898 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and author (d. 1979)
    • 1901 – Stella Adler, American actress and educator (d. 1992)
    • 1902 – Walter Houser Brattain, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
    • 1903 – Waldemar Hoven, German physician (d. 1948)
    • 1903 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (d. 1939)
    • 1904 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1963)
    • 1905 – Walter A. Brown, American businessman, founded the Boston Celtics (d. 1964)
    • 1905 – Chick Webb, American drummer and bandleader (d. 1939)
    • 1906 – Lon Chaney Jr., American actor (d. 1973)
    • 1907 – Anthony Cottrell, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1988)
    • 1908 – Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and educator (d. 2000)
    • 1909 – Min Thu Wun, Burmese poet, scholar, and politician (d. 2004)
    • 1910 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
    • 1914 – Larry Adler, American harmonica player, composer, and actor (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Vladimir Zeldin, Russian actor (d. 2016)
    • 1919 – Ioannis Charalambopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2014)
    • 1920 – Alex Comfort, English physician and author (d. 2000)
    • 1920 – Neva Patterson, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1920 – José Manuel Castañón, Spanish lawyer and author (d. 2001)
    • 1922 – Árpád Göncz, Hungarian author, playwright, and politician, 1st President of Hungary (d. 2015)
    • 1922 – José Gabriel da Costa later known as Mestre Gabriel, Brazilian spiritual leader, founder of the União do Vegetal (d. 1971)
    • 1923 – Allie Sherman, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Max Ferguson, Canadian radio host and actor (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
    • 1925 – Pierre Mondy, French actor and director (d. 2012)
    • 1926 – Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Danny Blanchflower, Northern Irish soldier, footballer and manager (d. 1993)
    • 1927 – Leontyne Price, American operatic soprano
    • 1929 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
    • 1929 – Jim Whittaker, American mountaineer
    • 1929 – Lou Whittaker, American mountaineer
    • 1930 – E. L. Konigsburg, American author and illustrator (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Robert Wagner, American actor and producer
    • 1931 – James Edward Maceo West, American inventor and acoustician
    • 1932 – Barrie Ingham, English-American actor (d. 2015)
    • 1933 – Richard Schickel, American journalist, author, and critic (d. 2017)
    • 1933 – Faramarz Payvar, Iranian santur player and composer (d. 2009)
    • 1935 – Theodore Antoniou, Greek composer and conductor (d. 2018)
    • 1937 – Anne Anderson, Scottish physiologist and academic (d. 1983)
    • 1937 – Roberta Flack, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1939 – Adrienne Clarkson, Hong Kong-Canadian journalist and politician, 26th Governor General of Canada
    • 1939 – Deolinda Rodríguez de Almeida, Angolan nationalist (d. 1967)
    • 1940 – Mary Rand, English sprinter and long jumper
    • 1940 – Kenny Rankin, American singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1941 – Michael Apted, English director and producer
    • 1944 – Peter Allen, Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 1992)
    • 1944 – Frank Keating, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Oklahoma
    • 1944 – Frances Moore Lappé, American author and activist
    • 1944 – Rufus Reid, American bassist and composer
    • 1945 – Delma S. Arrigoitia, Puerto Rican historian, author, educator and lawyer
    • 1947 – Louise Arbour, Canadian lawyer and jurist
    • 1947 – Butch Morris, American cornet player, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
    • 1947 – Nicholas Owen, English journalist
    • 1949 – Nigel Olsson, English rock drummer and singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican economist and politician (d. 1994)
    • 1950 – Mark Spitz, American swimmer
    • 1951 – Bob Iger, American media executive
    • 1952 – Lee Hsien Loong, Singaporean general and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore
    • 1955 – Jim Cramer, American television personality, pundit, and author
    • 1955 – Greg Norman, Australian golfer and sportscaster
    • 1956 – Enele Sopoaga, Tuvaluan politician, 12th Prime Minister of Tuvalu
    • 1957 – Katherine Freese, American astrophysicist and academic
    • 1959 – John Calipari, American basketball player and coach
    • 1960 – Jim Kent, American biologist, computer programmer, academic
    • 1961 – Alexander Payne, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – George Stephanopoulos, American television journalist
    • 1962 – Randy Velischek, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1962 – Cliff Burton, American heavy metal bassist (d. 1986)
    • 1963 – Lenny Dykstra, American baseball player
    • 1964 – Glenn Beck, American journalist, producer, and author
    • 1966 – Natalie Bennett, Australian-English journalist and politician
    • 1966 – Daryl Johnston, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1967 – Laura Dern, American actress, director, and producer
    • 1967 – Jacky Durand, French cyclist and sportscaster
    • 1967 – Vince Gilligan, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Peter Popovic, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
    • 1968 – Garrett Reisman, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1969 – Joe Mangrum, American painter and sculptor
    • 1969 – James Small, South African rugby player (d. 2019)
    • 1970 – Melissa Doyle, Australian journalist and author
    • 1970 – Noureddine Naybet, Moroccan international footballer, central defender and manager
    • 1970 – Åsne Seierstad, Norwegian journalist and author
    • 1971 – Lorena Rojas, Mexican actress and singer (d. 2015)
    • 1972 – Michael Kasprowicz, Australian cricketer
    • 1973 – Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, English businesswoman and politician
    • 1974 – Elizabeth Banks, American actress
    • 1974 – Ty Law, American football player
    • 1974 – Ivri Lider, Israeli singer
    • 1974 – Henry Paul, New Zealand rugby player and coach
    • 1976 – Lance Berkman, American baseball player and coach
    • 1976 – Keeley Hawes, English actress
    • 1977 – Salif Diao, Senegalese footballer
    • 1979 – Joey Hand, American race car driver
    • 1980 – César Izturis, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1980 – Enzo Maresca, Italian footballer
    • 1980 – Mike Ribeiro, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Uzo Aduba, American actress
    • 1981 – Stephanie Beatriz, American actress
    • 1981 – Andrew Johnson, English international footballer, forward and club ambassador
    • 1981 – Holly Willoughby, English model and television host
    • 1982 – Justin Gatlin, American sprinter
    • 1982 – Tarmo Neemelo, Estonian footballer
    • 1982 – Hamad Al-Tayyar, Kuwaiti footballer
    • 1982 – Iafeta Paleaaesina, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1983 – Vic Fuentes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1984 – Greg Bird, Australian rugby league player
    • 1984 – Alex Gordon, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Kim Hyo-jin, South Korean actress
    • 1985 – Selçuk İnan, Turkish footballer
    • 1985 – Paul Millsap, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Jeff Adrien, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Josh Akognon, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Radamel Falcao, Colombian footballer
    • 1986 – Roberto Jiménez Gago, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Viktor Troicki, Serbian tennis player
    • 1987 – Jakub Kindl, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Facundo Roncaglia, Argentinian footballer
    • 1988 – Francesco Acerbi, Italian footballer
    • 1989 – Liam Hendriks, Australian baseball player
    • 1990 – Barbara Guarischi, Italian cyclist
    • 1990 – Choi Soo-young, South Korean singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer
    • 1991 – Rebecca Dempster, Scottish footballer
    • 1991 – Emma Roberts, American actress
    • 1992 – Haruka Nakagawa, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1992 – Reinhold Yabo, German footballer
    • 1993 – Max Kepler, German baseball player
    • 1993 – Filip Twardzik, Czech footballer
    • 1993 – Luis Madrigal, Mexican footballer
    • 1994 – Kang Seul-gi, South Korean singer and member of Red Velvet
    • 1995 – Carolane Soucisse, Canadian ice dancer
    • 1996 – Emanuel Mammana, Argentinian footballer
    • 1997 – Lilly King, American swimmer
    • 1997 – Chloë Grace Moretz, American actress
    • 1997 – Nadia Podoroska, Argentinian tennis player
    • 2000 – Yara Shahidi, American actress and model

    Deaths on February 10

    • 547 – Scholastica, Christian nun
    • 1127 – William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 1071)
    • 1163 – Baldwin III of Jerusalem (b. 1130)
    • 1242 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (b. 1231)
    • 1242 – Saint Verdiana, Italian recluse (b. 1182)
    • 1280 – Margaret II, Countess of Flanders (b. 1202)
    • 1306 – John “the Red” Comyn, Scottish nobleman
    • 1307 – Temür Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan (b. 1265)
    • 1346 – Blessed Clare of Rimini (b. 1282)
    • 1471 – Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg (b. 1413)
    • 1524 – Catherine of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria (b. 1468)
    • 1526 – John V, Count of Oldenburg, German noble (b. 1460)
    • 1567 – Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1545)
    • 1576 – Wilhelm Xylander, German scholar, translator, and academic (b. 1532)
    • 1686 – William Dugdale, English genealogist and historian (b. 1605)
    • 1755 – Montesquieu, French lawyer and philosopher (b. 1689)
    • 1782 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and author (b. 1702)
    • 1829 – Pope Leo XII (b. 1760)
    • 1837 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet and author (b. 1799)
    • 1854 – José Joaquín de Herrera, Mexican politician and general. President three times (1844–1854) (b. 1792)
    • 1857 – David Thompson, English-Canadian surveyor and explorer (b. 1770)
    • 1865 – Heinrich Lenz, Estonian-Italian physicist and academic (b. 1804)
    • 1879 – Honoré Daumier, French illustrator and painter (b. 1808)
    • 1887 – Ellen Wood, English author (b. 1814)
    • 1891 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (b. 1850)
    • 1904 – John A. Roche, American lawyer and politician, 30th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1844)
    • 1906 – Ezra Butler Eddy, American-Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1827)
    • 1912 – Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, English surgeon and academic (b. 1827)
    • 1913 – Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek long jumper (b. 1888)
    • 1917 – John William Waterhouse, English soldier and painter (b. 1849)
    • 1918 – Abdul Hamid II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1842)
    • 1918 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian soldier and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1833)
    • 1920 – Henry Strangways, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of South Australia (b. 1832)
    • 1923 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
    • 1928 – José Sánchez del Río, Mexican martyr and saint (b. 1913)
    • 1932 – Edgar Wallace, English author and screenwriter (b. 1875)
    • 1939 – Pope Pius XI (b. 1857)
    • 1944 – E. M. Antoniadi, Greek-French astronomer and chess player (b. 1870)
    • 1945 – Anacleto Díaz, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1878)
    • 1950 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (b. 1872)
    • 1956 – Leonora Speyer, American poet and violinist (b. 1872)
    • 1956 – Emmanouil Tsouderos, Greek banker and politician, 132nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1882)
    • 1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (b. 1867)
    • 1960 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (b. 1898)
    • 1966 – Billy Rose, American composer and songwriter (b. 1899)
    • 1967 – Dionysios Kokkinos, Greek historian and author (b. 1884)
    • 1975 – Nikos Kavvadias, Greek sailor and poet (b. 1910)
    • 1979 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1910)
    • 1992 – Alex Haley, American soldier, journalist, and author (b. 1921)
    • 1993 – Fred Hollows, New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist and academic (b. 1929)
    • 1995 – Paul Monette, American author, poet, and activist (b. 1945)
    • 1997 – Brian Connolly, Scottish musician, lead singer The Sweet (b. 1945)
    • 2000 – Jim Varney, American actor, comedian and writer (b. 1949)
    • 2001 – Abraham Beame, American academic and politician, 104th Mayor of New York City (b. 1906)
    • 2001 – Buddy Tate, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Dave Van Ronk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
    • 2003 – Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer (b. 1910)
    • 2003 – Albert J. Ruffo, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of San Jose (b. 1908)
    • 2003 – Ron Ziegler, American politician, 14th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
    • 2005 – Arthur Miller, American actor, playwright, and author (b. 1915)
    • 2006 – James Yancey, American record producer and rapper (b. 1974)
    • 2008 – Roy Scheider, American actor and boxer (b. 1932)
    • 2010 – Fred Schaus, American basketball player and coach (b. 1925)
    • 2010 – Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2011 – Trevor Bailey, English cricketer and journalist (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Lloyd Morrison, New Zealand banker and businessman, founded H. R. L. Morrison & Co (b. 1957)
    • 2012 – Jeffrey Zaslow, American journalist and author (b. 1958)
    • 2013 – W. Watts Biggers, American author, screenwriter, and animator (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – David Hartman, American-Israeli rabbi and philosopher, founded the Shalom Hartman Institute (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Stuart Hall, Jamaican-English sociologist and theorist (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Shirley Temple, American actress and diplomat (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Naseer Aruri, Palestinian scholar and activist (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Karl Josef Becker, German cardinal and theologian (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Deng Liqun, Chinese theorist and politician (b. 1915)
    • 2016 – Fatima Surayya Bajia, Indian-Pakistani author and playwright (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Mike Ilitch, American businessman (b. 1929)
    • 2019 – Carmen Argenziano, American actor (b. 1943)
    • 2019 – Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (b. 1944)

    Holidays and observances on February 10

    • Christian feast day:
      • Austrebertha
      • Charalambos
      • José Sánchez del Río
      • Scholastica
      • February 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck (Malta)
    • Fenkil Day (Eritrea)
    • Kurdish Authors Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
    • National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe (Italy)

  • February 9 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    February 9 in History

    • 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
    • 1555 – Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake.
    • 1621 – Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation.
    • 1654 – The Capture of Fort Rocher takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
    • 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion.
    • 1778 – Rhode Island becomes the fourth US state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
    • 1788 – The Habsburg Empire joins the Russo-Turkish War in the Russian camp.
    • 1825 – After no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the US presidential election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.
    • 1849 – The new Roman Republic is declared.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.
    • 1870 – US president Ulysses S. Grant signs a joint resolution of Congress establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau.
    • 1889 – US president Grover Cleveland signs a bill elevating the United States Department of Agriculture to a Cabinet-level agency.
    • 1895 – William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.
    • 1900 – The Davis Cup competition is established.
    • 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Port Arthur concludes.
    • 1907 – The Mud March is the first large procession organised by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).
    • 1913 – A group of meteors is visible across much of the eastern seaboard of North and South America, leading astronomers to conclude the source had been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
    • 1920 – Under the terms of the Svalbard Treaty, international diplomacy recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Arctic archipelago Svalbard, and designates it as demilitarized.
    • 1922 – Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
    • 1934 – The Balkan Entente is formed.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa, Italy, is struck by a bomb which fails to detonate.
    • 1942 – World War II: Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
    • 1942 – Year-round Daylight saving time (aka War Time) is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.
    • 1943 – World War II: Allied authorities declare Guadalcanal secure after Imperial Japan evacuates its remaining forces from the island, ending the Battle of Guadalcanal.
    • 1945 – World War II: Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Venturer sinks U-864 off the coast of Fedje, Norway, in a rare instance of submarine-to-submarine combat.
    • 1945 – World War II: A force of Allied aircraft unsuccessfully attacked a German destroyer in Førdefjorden, Norway.
    • 1950 – Second Red Scare: US Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with Communists.
    • 1951 – Korean War: The two-day Geochang massacre begins as a battalion of the 11th Division of the South Korean Army kills 719 unarmed citizens in Geochang, in the South Gyeongsang district of South Korea
    • 1959 – The R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR.
    • 1964 – The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a “record-busting” audience of 73 million viewers across the USA.
    • 1965 – The United States Marine Corps sends a MIM-23 Hawk missile battalion to South Vietnam, the first American troops in-country without an official advisory or training mission.
    • 1971 – The 6.5–6.7 Mw  Sylmar earthquake hits the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 64 and injuring 2,000.
    • 1971 – Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the USA’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
    • 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing.
    • 1975 – The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.
    • 1976 – Aeroflot Flight 3739, a Tupolev Tu-104, crashes during takeoff from Irkutsk Airport, killing 24.
    • 1978 – The Budd Company unveils its first SPV-2000 self-propelled railcar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    • 1986 – Halley’s Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System.
    • 1991 – Voters in Lithuania vote for independence.
    • 1996 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares the end to its 18-month ceasefire and explodes a large bomb in London’s Canary Wharf, killing two people.
    • 1996 – Copernicium is discovered, by Sigurd Hofmann, Victor Ninov et al.
    • 2016 – Two passenger trains collided in the German town of Bad Aibling in the state of Bavaria. Twelve people died, and 85 others were injured.
    • 2018 – Winter Olympics: Opening ceremony is performed in Pyeongchang County in South Korea.

    Births on February 9

    • 1060 – Honorius II, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1130)
    • 1274 – Louis of Toulouse, French bishop (d. 1297)
    • 1313 – Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile, Portuguese infanta (d. 1357)
    • 1344 – Meinhard III, count of Tyrol (d. 1363)
    • 1441 – Ali-Shir Nava’i, Turkic poet, linguist, and painter (d. 1501)
    • 1533 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyō (d. 1611)
    • 1579 – Johannes Meursius, Dutch classical scholar (d. 1639)
    • 1651 – Procopio Cutò, French entrepreneur (d. 1727)
    • 1666 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Scottish field marshal (d. 1737)
    • 1711 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Spanish sailor and commander (d. 1762)
    • 1737 – Thomas Paine, English-American philosopher, author, and activist (d. 1809)
    • 1741 – Henri-Joseph Rigel, German-French composer (d. 1799)
    • 1748 – Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet, English admiral and politician, Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1817)
    • 1763 – Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden (d. 1830)
    • 1769 – George W. Campbell, Scottish-American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1848)
    • 1773 – William Henry Harrison, American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (d. 1841)
    • 1775 – Farkas Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1856)
    • 1781 – Johann Baptist von Spix, German biologist and explorer (d. 1826)
    • 1783 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet and translator (d. 1852)
    • 1789 – Franz Xaver Gabelsberger, German engineer, invented Gabelsberger shorthand (d. 1849)
    • 1800 – Hyrum Smith, American religious leader (d. 1844)
    • 1814 – Samuel J. Tilden, American lawyer and politician, 28th Governor of New York (d. 1886)
    • 1815 – Federico de Madrazo, Spanish painter (d.1894)
    • 1834 – Felix Dahn, German lawyer, historian, and author (d. 1912)
    • 1826 – Keʻelikōlani, Hawaiian royal and governor (d. 1883)
    • 1837 – José Burgos, Filipino priest and revolutionary (d. 1872)
    • 1839 – Silas Adams, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (d. 1896)
    • 1846 – Wilhelm Maybach, German engineer and businessman, founded Maybach (d. 1929)
    • 1846 – Whitaker Wright, English businessman and financier (d. 1904)
    • 1847 – Hugh Price Hughes, Welsh-English clergyman and theologian (d. 1902)
    • 1854 – Aletta Jacobs, Dutch physician and suffrage activist (d. 1929)
    • 1856 – Hara Takashi, Japanese politician, 10th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1921)
    • 1859 – Akiyama Yoshifuru, Japanese general (d. 1930)
    • 1863 – Anthony Hope, English author and playwright (d. 1933)
    • 1864 – Miina Härma, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1941)
    • 1865 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, English-French actress (d. 1940)
    • 1865 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (d. 1949)
    • 1867 – Natsume Sōseki, Japanese author and poet (d. 1916)
    • 1871 – Howard Taylor Ricketts, American pathologist and physician (d. 1910)
    • 1874 – Amy Lowell, American poet, critic, and educator (d. 1925)
    • 1876 – Arthur Edward Moore, New Zealand-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of Queensland (d. 1963)
    • 1878 – Jack Kirwan, Irish international footballer (d. 1959)
    • 1880 – Lipót Fejér, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
    • 1883 – Jules Berry, French actor and director (d. 1951)
    • 1885 – Alban Berg, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1935)
    • 1885 – Clarence H. Haring, American historian and author (d. 1960)
    • 1889 – Larry Semon, American actor, producer, director and screenwriter (d. 1928)
    • 1891 – Ronald Colman, English-American actor (d. 1958)
    • 1892 – Peggy Wood, American actress (d. 1978)
    • 1893 – Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas, Greek lawyer and politician, 163rd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1987)
    • 1895 – Hermann Brill, German lawyer and politician, 8th Minister-President of Thuringia (d. 1959)
    • 1896 – Alberto Vargas, Peruvian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1982)
    • 1897 – Charles Kingsford Smith, Australian captain and pilot (d. 1935)
    • 1898 – Jūkichi Yagi, Japanese poet and educator (d. 1927)
    • 1901 – Brian Donlevy, American actor (d. 1972)
    • 1901 – James Murray, American actor (d. 1936)
    • 1905 – David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, English hurdler and politician (d. 1981)
    • 1906 – André Kostolany, Hungarian-French economist and journalist (d. 1999)
    • 1907 – Trường Chinh, Vietnamese politician, 4th President of Vietnam (d. 1988)
    • 1907 – Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1909 – Heather Angel, English-American actress (d. 1986)
    • 1909 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1955)
    • 1909 – Dean Rusk, American colonel and politician, 54th United States Secretary of State (d. 1994)
    • 1910 – Jacques Monod, French biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
    • 1911 – William Orlando Darby, American general (d. 1945)
    • 1912 – Futabayama Sadaji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna (d. 1968)
    • 1912 – Ginette Leclerc, French actress (d. 1992)
    • 1914 – Ernest Tubb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
    • 1916 – Tex Hughson, American baseball player (d. 1993)
    • 1918 – Lloyd Noel Ferguson, African American chemist (d. 2011)
    • 1920 – Fred Allen, New Zealand rugby player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and soprano (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Jim Laker, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1986)
    • 1922 – C. P. Krishnan Nair, Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Robert E. Ogren, American zoologist (d. 2005)
    • 1923 – Brendan Behan, Irish rebel, poet, and playwright (d. 1964)
    • 1923 – Tonie Nathan, American radio host, producer, and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – John B. Cobb, American philosopher and theologian
    • 1925 – Burkhard Heim, German physicist and academic (d. 2001)
    • 1926 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2011)
    • 1927 – Richard A. Long, American historian and author (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Frank Frazetta, American painter and illustrator (d. 2010)
    • 1928 – Rinus Michels, Dutch footballer and coach (d. 2005)
    • 1928 – Roger Mudd, American journalist
    • 1929 – A. R. Antulay, Indian social worker and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Clement Meadmore, Australian-American sculptor (d. 2005)
    • 1930 – Garner Ted Armstrong, American evangelist and author (d. 2003)
    • 1931 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1989)
    • 1931 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Robert Morris, American sculptor and painter (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – Tatsuro Hirooka, Japanese baseball player and manager
    • 1932 – Gerhard Richter, German painter and photographer
    • 1935 – Lionel Fanthorpe, English-Welsh priest, journalist, and author
    • 1936 – Clive Swift, English actor and singer-songwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
    • 1938 – Ron Logan, Disney theatrical producer and professor
    • 1939 – Mahala Andrews, British vertebrae palaeontologist (d. 1997)
    • 1939 – Barry Mann, American pianist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1939 – Janet Suzman, South African-British actress and director
    • 1940 – Brian Bennett, English drummer and songwriter
    • 1940 – J. M. Coetzee, South African-Australian novelist, essayist, and linguist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1941 – Kermit Gosnell, American abortionist and serial killer
    • 1941 – Sheila Kuehl, American actress, lawyer, gay rights activist, and politician
    • 1942 – Carole King, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1943 – Barbara Lewis, American soul/R&B singer-songwriter
    • 1943 – Joe Pesci, American actor
    • 1943 – Joseph Stiglitz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1944 – Derryn Hinch, New Zealand-Australian radio and television host and politician
    • 1944 – Alice Walker, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
    • 1945 – Mia Farrow, American actress, activist, and former fashion model
    • 1945 – Yoshinori Ohsumi, Japanese cell biologist, 2016 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
    • 1945 – Carol Wood, American mathematician and academic
    • 1946 – Bob Eastwood, American golfer
    • 1946 – Vince Papale, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1946 – Jim Webb, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of the Navy
    • 1947 – Carla Del Ponte, Swiss lawyer and diplomat
    • 1947 – Joe Ely, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Major Harris, American R&B singer (d. 2012)
    • 1947 – Alexis Smirnoff, Canadian-American wrestler and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1948 – Guy Standing, English economist and academic
    • 1949 – Bernard Gallacher, Scottish golfer and journalist
    • 1949 – Judith Light, American actress
    • 1950 – Richard F. Colburn, American sergeant and politician
    • 1951 – David Pomeranz, American singer, musician, and composer
    • 1952 – Danny White, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1953 – Ciarán Hinds, Irish actor
    • 1953 – Ezechiele Ramin, Italian missionary, priest, and martyr (d. 1985)
    • 1953 – Gabriel Rotello, American journalist and author, founded OutWeek
    • 1954 – Jo Duffy, American author
    • 1954 – Chris Gardner, American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1954 – Kevin Warwick, English cybernetics scientist
    • 1955 – Jerry Beck, American historian and author
    • 1955 – Jimmy Pursey, English singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1955 – Charles Shaughnessy, English actor
    • 1956 – Mookie Wilson, American baseball player and coach
    • 1957 – Terry McAuliffe, American businessman and politician, 72nd Governor of Virginia
    • 1957 – Gordon Strachan, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Sandy Lyle, Scottish golfer
    • 1958 – Chris Nilan, American ice hockey player, coach, and radio host
    • 1960 – Holly Johnson, English singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1960 – David Simon, American journalist, author, screenwriter, and television producer
    • 1960 – Peggy Whitson, American biochemist and astronaut
    • 1961 – John Kruk, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1962 – Anik Bissonnette, Canadian ballerina
    • 1963 – Brian Greene, American physicist
    • 1963 – Peter Rowsthorn, Australian comedian and actor
    • 1963 – Travis Tritt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1964 – Debrah Miceli, Italian-American wrestler and manager
    • 1964 – Dewi Morris, English rugby player
    • 1964 – Ernesto Valverde, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1964 – Alejandro Ávila, Mexican telenovela actor
    • 1964 – Ernesto Valverde, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Dieter Baumann, German runner
    • 1966 – Harald Eia, Norwegian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Todd Pratt, American baseball player and coach
    • 1967 – Dan Shulman, Canadian sportscaster
    • 1967 – Gaston Browne, Antiguan and Barbudan Prime Minister
    • 1968 – Alejandra Guzmán, Mexican singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1968 – Derek Strong, American basketball player and race car driver
    • 1968 – Gloria Trevi, Mexican singer and actress
    • 1969 – Jimmy Smith, American football player
    • 1970 – Glenn McGrath, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Matt Gogel, American golfer
    • 1971 – Johan Mjällby, Swedish footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Darren Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Svetlana Boginskaya, Belarusian gymnast
    • 1973 – Colin Egglesfield, American actor
    • 1973 – Makoto Shinkai, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Jordi Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Brad Maynard, American football player
    • 1974 – Amber Valletta, American model
    • 1974 – John Wallace, American basketball player and coach
    • 1975 – Kurt Asle Arvesen, Norwegian cyclist and coach
    • 1975 – Clinton Grybas, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
    • 1975 – Vladimir Guerrero, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1976 – Charlie Day, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1978 – A. J. Buckley, Irish-Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1979 – Akinori Iwamura, Japanese baseball player
    • 1979 – Irina Slutskaya, Russian figure skater
    • 1980 – Angelos Charisteas, Greek footballer
    • 1980 – Margarita Levieva, Russian-American actress
    • 1980 – Manu Raju, American journalist
    • 1981 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor, producer, and musical performer
    • 1981 – Daisuke Sekimoto, Japanese wrestler
    • 1982 – Domingo Cisma, Spanish footballer
    • 1982 – Jameer Nelson, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Ami Suzuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1982 – Chris Weale, English footballer and manager
    • 1983 – Mikel Arruabarrena, Spanish footballer
    • 1984 – Maurice Ager, American basketball player, singer, and producer
    • 1984 – Shōhōzan Yūya, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1985 – David Gallagher, American actor
    • 1987 – Sam Coulson, English guitarist
    • 1987 – Michael B. Jordan, American actor
    • 1987 – Davide Lanzafame, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Magdalena Neuner, German biathlete
    • 1988 – Lotte Friis, Danish swimmer
    • 1989 – Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, Canadian skier
    • 1990 – Tariq Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
    • 1991 – Logan Ryan, American football player
    • 1992 – Kyle Feldt, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Mitchell Frei, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Avan Jogia, Canadian actor
    • 1993 – Niclas Füllkrug, German footballer
    • 1995 – André Burakovsky, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1995 – Mario Pašalić, Croatian footballer
    • 1997 – Saquon Barkley, American football player

    Deaths on February 9

    • 966 – Ono no Michikaze, Japanese calligrapher (b. 894)
    • 967 – Sayf al-Dawla, emir of Aleppo (b. 916)
    • 978 – Luitgarde, duchess consort of Normandy
    • 1011 – Bernard I, Duke of Saxony
    • 1014 – Yang Yanzhao, Chinese general
    • 1135 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1075)
    • 1199 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shōgun (b. 1147)
    • 1251 – Matthias II, duke of Lorraine
    • 1407 – William I, margrave of Meissen (b. 1343)
    • 1450 – Agnès Sorel, French mistress of Charles VII of France (b. 1421)
    • 1555 – John Hooper, English bishop and martyr (b. 1495)
    • 1555 – Rowland Taylor, English priest and martyr (b. 1510)
    • 1588 – Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral (b. 1526)
    • 1600 – John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania (b. 1542)
    • 1619 – Lucilio Vanini, Italian physician and philosopher (b. 1585)
    • 1640 – Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1612)
    • 1670 – Frederick III of Denmark (b. 1609)
    • 1675 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (b. 1613)
    • 1709 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (b. 1664)
    • 1777 – Seth Pomeroy, American general and gunsmith (b. 1706)
    • 1803 – Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French soldier, poet, and philosopher (b. 1716)
    • 1857 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and translator (b. 1798)
    • 1874 – Jules Michelet, French historian, philosopher, and academic (b. 1798)
    • 1881 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and philosopher (b. 1821)
    • 1891 – Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter (b. 1819)
    • 1903 – Charles Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Victoria (b. 1816)
    • 1906 – Paul Laurence Dunbar, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1872)
    • 1928 – William Gillies, Australian politician, 21st Premier of Queensland (b. 1868)
    • 1930 – Richard With, Norwegian captain and businessman, founded Hurtigruten (b. 1846)
    • 1932 – Junnosuke Inoue, Japanese businessman and banker (b. 1869)
    • 1932 – A.K. Golam Jilani, Bangladeshi soldier and activist (b. 1904)
    • 1945 – Ella D. Barrier, American educator (b. 1852)
    • 1950 – Ted Theodore, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Queensland (b. 1884)
    • 1951 – Eddy Duchin, American pianist, bandleader, and actor (b. 1910)
    • 1957 – Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (b. 1868)
    • 1960 – Alexandre Benois, Russian painter and critic (b. 1870)
    • 1960 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1877)
    • 1965 – Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah, Bangladeshi theologian and educator (b. 1874)
    • 1966 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer (b. 1884)
    • 1969 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor and singer (b. 1885)
    • 1976 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1908)
    • 1977 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer and businessman, founded the Ilyushin Design Company (b. 1894)
    • 1978 – Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist and coach (b. 1893)
    • 1979 – Allen Tate, American poet and academic (b. 1899)
    • 1980 – Tom Macdonald, Welsh journalist and author (b. 1900)
    • 1981 – M. C. Chagla, Indian jurist and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1900)
    • 1981 – Bill Haley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1925)
    • 1984 – Yuri Andropov, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1914)
    • 1989 – Osamu Tezuka, Japanese illustrator, animator, and producer (b. 1928)
    • 1994 – Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
    • 1995 – J. William Fulbright, American lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
    • 1995 – David Wayne, American actor (b. 1914)
    • 1998 – Maurice Schumann, French journalist and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1911)
    • 2001 – Herbert A. Simon, American political scientist, economist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
    • 2002 – Isabelle Holland, Swiss-American author (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2004 – Claude Ryan, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2005 – Robert Kearns, American engineer, invented the windscreen wiper (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Freddie Laker, English pilot and businessman, founded Laker Airways (b. 1922)
    • 2007 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1922)
    • 2007 – Ian Richardson, Scottish actor (b. 1934)
    • 2008 – Christopher Hyatt, American occultist and author (b. 1943)
    • 2008 – Jazeh Tabatabai, Iranian painter, poet, and sculptor (b. 1931)
    • 2009 – Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Cuban bassist and composer (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek lawyer and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – O. P. Dutta, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – John Hick, English philosopher and academic (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Joe Moretti, Scottish-South African guitarist and songwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Richard Artschwager, American painter, illustrator, and sculptor (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist and trainer (b. 1913)
    • 2013 – Jimmy Smyth, Irish hurler (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Gabriel Axel, Danish actor, director, and producer (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Hal Herring, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Logan Scott-Bowden, English general (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Liu Han, Chinese businessman and philanthropist (b. 1965)
    • 2015 – Ed Sabol, American film producer, co-founded NFL Films (b. 1916)
    • 2016 – Sushil Koirala, Nepalese politician, 37th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Zdravko Tolimir, Bosnian Serb military commander (b. 1948)
    • 2017 – André Salvat, French Army colonel (b. 1920)
    • 2018 – Reg E. Cathey, American actor of stage, film, and television (b. 1958)
    • 2018 – Nebojša Glogovac, Serbian actor (b. 1969)
    • 2018 – Jóhann Jóhannsson, Icelandic composer (b. 1969)
    • 2018 – John Gavin, American actor and United States ambassador to Mexico (b. 1931)
    • 2020 – Sergiy Vilkomir, Ukrainian-born computer scientist (b. 1956)

    Holidays and observances on February 9

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alto of Altomünster
      • Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
      • Ansbert of Rouen
      • Apollonia
      • Bracchio
      • Blessed Leopold of Alpandeire
      • Maron (Maronite Church)
      • Miguel Febres Cordero
      • Nebridius
      • Sabinus of Canosa
      • Teilo (Wales)
      • February 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Clean Monday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of Great Lent. (Eastern Christianity)
    • Earliest day on which People’s Sunday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent. (Malta)
    • St. Maroun’s Day (public holiday in Lebanon)

  • February 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    February 8 in History

    • 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
    • 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
    • 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al Mansurah.
    • 1347 – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–47 ends with a power-sharing agreement between John VI Kantakouzenos and John V Palaiologos.
    • 1575 – Leiden University is founded, and given the motto Praesidium Libertatis.
    • 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
    • 1590 – Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva is tortured by the Inquisition in Mexico, charged with concealing the practice Judaism of his sister and her children.
    • 1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Queen Elizabeth I and the revolt is quickly crushed.
    • 1693 – The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.
    • 1807 – After two days of bitter fighting, the Russians under Bennigsen and the Prussians under L’Estocq concede the Battle of Eylau to Napoleon.
    • 1817 – Las Heras crosses the Andes with an army to join San Martín and liberate Chile from Spain.
    • 1837 – Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
    • 1865 – Delaware refuses to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Slavery was outlawed in the United States, including Delaware, when the Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states on December 6, 1865. Delaware ratified the Thirteenth Amendment on February 12, 1901, which was the ninety-second anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.
    • 1879 – Sandford Fleming first proposes adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute.
    • 1879 – The England cricket team led by Lord Harris is attacked in a riot during a match in Sydney.
    • 1885 – The first government-approved Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii.
    • 1887 – The Dawes Act authorizes the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
    • 1904 – Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
    • 1904 – Aceh War: Dutch Colonial Army’s Marechaussee regiment led by General G.C.E. van Daalen launch military campaign to capture Gayo Highland, Alas Highland, and Batak Highland in Dutch East Indies’ Northern Sumatra region, which ends with genocide to Acehnese and Bataks people.
    • 1910 – The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
    • 1915 – D. W. Griffith’s controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
    • 1922 – United States President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio set in the White House.
    • 1924 – Capital punishment: The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber takes place in Nevada.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japan invades Singapore.
    • 1942 – World War II: Dutch Colonial Army General Destruction Unit (AVC, Algemene Vernielings Corps) burns Banjarmasin, South Borneo to avoid Japanese capture.
    • 1945 – World War II: The United Kingdom and Canada commence Operation Veritable to occupy the west bank of the Rhine.
    • 1945 – World War II: Mikhail Devyataev escapes with nine other Soviet inmates from a Nazi concentration camp in Peenemünde on the island of Usedom by hijacking the camp commandant’s Heinkel He 111.
    • 1946 – The first portion of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first serious challenge to the popularity of the Authorized King James Version, is published.
    • 1946 – The People’s Republic of Korea is dissolved in the North, establishing the communist-controlled Provisional People’s Committee of North Korea.
    • 1950 – Cold War: The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, is established.
    • 1955 – The Government of Sindh, Pakistan, abolishes the Jagirdari system in the province. One million acres (4000 km2) of land thus acquired is to be distributed among the landless peasants.
    • 1960 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issues an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name Mountbatten-Windsor.
    • 1962 – Charonne massacre. Nine trade unionists are killed by French police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Paris Prefecture of Police.
    • 1963 – Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
    • 1963 – The regime of Prime Minister of Iraq, Brigadier General Abd al-Karim Qasim is overthrown by the Ba’ath Party.
    • 1965 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean and explodes, killing everyone aboard.
    • 1968 – American civil rights movement: The Orangeburg massacre: An attack on black students from South Carolina State University who are protesting racial segregation at the town’s only bowling alley, leaves three or four dead in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
    • 1971 – The NASDAQ stock market index opens for the first time.
    • 1971 – South Vietnamese ground troops launch an incursion into Laos to try to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop communist infiltration.
    • 1974 – After 84 days in space, the crew of Skylab 4, the last crew to visit American space station Skylab, returns to Earth.
    • 1978 – Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
    • 1981 – Twenty-one association football spectators are trampled to death at Karaiskakis Stadium in Neo Faliro, Greece, after a football match between Olympiacos F.C. and AEK Athens F.C.
    • 1983 – The Melbourne dust storm hits Australia’s second largest city. The result of the worst drought on record and a day of severe weather conditions, a 320 metres (1,050 ft) deep dust cloud envelops the city, turning day to night.
    • 1986 – Hinton train collision: Twenty-three people are killed when a VIA Rail passenger train collides with a 118-car Canadian National freight train near the town of Hinton, Alberta, west of Edmonton. It is the worst rail accident in Canada until the Lac-Mégantic, Quebec derailment in 2013 which killed forty-seven people.
    • 1989 – Independent Air Flight 1851 strikes Pico Alto mountain while on approach to Santa Maria Airport (Azores) killing all 144 passengers on board.
    • 1993 – General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
    • 1993 – An Iran Air Tours Tupolev Tu-154 and an Iranian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 collide in mid-air near Qods, Iran, killing all 133 people on board both aircraft.
    • 1996 – The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
    • 2005 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former MP A. Chandranehru dies of injuries sustained in an ambush the previous day.
    • 2010 – A freak storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan triggers a series of at least 36 avalanches, burying over two miles of road, killing at least 172 people and trapping over 2,000 travelers.
    • 2013 – A blizzard disrupts transportation and leaves hundreds of thousands of people without electricity in the Northeastern United States and parts of Canada.
    • 2014 – A hotel fire in Medina, Saudi Arabia kills 15 Egyptian pilgrims with 130 others injured.

    Births on February 8

    • 120 – Vettius Valens, Greek astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer (probable; d. 175)
    • 412 – Proclus, Greek mathematician and philosopher (probable; d. 485)
    • 882 – Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, Egyptian commander and politician, Abbasid Governor of Egypt (d. 946)
    • 1191 – Yaroslav II of Vladimir (d. 1246)
    • 1291 – Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
    • 1405 – Constantine XI Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1453)
    • 1487 – Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)
    • 1514 – Daniele Barbaro, Venetian churchman, diplomat and scholar (d. 1570)
    • 1552 – Agrippa d’Aubigné, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)
    • 1577 – Robert Burton, English priest, physician, and scholar (d. 1640)
    • 1591 – Guercino, Italian painter (d. 1666)
    • 1685 – Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian and author (d. 1770)
    • 1700 – Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1782)
    • 1720 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
    • 1741 – André Grétry, Belgian-French organist and composer (d. 1813)
    • 1762 – Gia Long, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1820)
    • 1764 – Joseph Leopold Eybler, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1846)
    • 1792 – Caroline Augusta of Bavaria (d. 1873)
    • 1798 – Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia (d. 1849)
    • 1807 – Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and zoologist (d. 1889)
    • 1817 – Richard S. Ewell, American general (d. 1872)
    • 1819 – John Ruskin, English author, critic, and academic (d. 1900)
    • 1820 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (d. 1891)
    • 1822 – Maxime Du Camp, French photographer and journalist (d. 1894)
    • 1825 – Henry Walter Bates, English geographer, biologist, and explorer (d. 1892)
    • 1828 – Jules Verne, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1905)
    • 1829 – Vital-Justin Grandin, French-Canadian bishop and missionary (d. 1902)
    • 1830 – Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1876)
    • 1834 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (d. 1907)
    • 1850 – Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)
    • 1860 – Adella Brown Bailey, American politician and suffragist (d. 1937)
    • 1866 – Moses Gomberg, Ukrainian-American chemist and academic (d. 1947)
    • 1876 – Paula Modersohn-Becker, German painter (d. 1907)
    • 1878 – Martin Buber, Austrian-Israeli philosopher and academic (d. 1965)
    • 1880 – Franz Marc, German soldier and painter (d. 1916)
    • 1880 – Viktor Schwanneke, German actor and director (d. 1931)
    • 1882 – Thomas Selfridge, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1908)
    • 1883 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech-American economist and political scientist (d. 1950)
    • 1884 – Snowy Baker, Australian boxer, rugby player, and actor (d. 1953)
    • 1886 – Charlie Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)
    • 1888 – Edith Evans, English actress (d. 1976)
    • 1888 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, Egyptian-Italian soldier, journalist, and poet (d. 1970)
    • 1890 – Claro M. Recto, Filipino lawyer, jurist, and politician (d. 1960)
    • 1893 – Ba Maw, Burmese lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1977)
    • 1894 – King Vidor, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
    • 1897 – Zakir Hussain, Indian academic and politician, 3rd president of India (d. 1969)
    • 1899 – Lonnie Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
    • 1903 – Greta Keller, Austrian-American singer and actress (d. 1977)
    • 1903 – Tunku Abdul Rahman, 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1990)
    • 1906 – Chester Carlson, American physicist and lawyer, invented Xerography (d. 1968)
    • 1909 – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian philanthropist (d. 2012)
    • 1911 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet and author (d. 1979)
    • 1913 – Betty Field, American actress (d. 1973)
    • 1913 – Danai Stratigopoulou, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1914 – Bill Finger, American author and screenwriter, co-created Batman (d. 1974)
    • 1915 – Georges Guétary, Egyptian-French singer, dancer, and actor (d. 1997)
    • 1918 – Freddie Blassie, American wrestler and manager (d. 2003)
    • 1921 – Barney Danson, Canadian colonel and politician, 21st Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2011)
    • 1921 – Nexhmije Hoxha, Albanian politician (d. 2020)
    • 1921 – Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
    • 1922 – Audrey Meadows, American actress and banker (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – Jack Lemmon, American actor (d. 2001)
    • 1926 – Neal Cassady, American author and poet (d. 1968)
    • 1926 – Birgitte Reimer, Danish film actress
    • 1930 – Alejandro Rey, Argentinian-American actor and director (d. 1987)
    • 1931 – James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
    • 1932 – Cliff Allison, English racing driver and businessman (d. 2005)
    • 1932 – John Williams, American pianist, composer, and conductor
    • 1933 – Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
    • 1937 – Joe Raposo, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
    • 1937 – Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – Jose Maria Sison, Filipino activist and theorist
    • 1940 – Sophie Lihau-Kanza, Congolese politician (d. 1999)
    • 1940 – Ted Koppel, English-American journalist
    • 1941 – Nick Nolte, American actor and producer
    • 1941 – Tom Rush, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1941 – Jagjit Singh, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1942 – Robert Klein, American comedian, actor, and singer
    • 1942 – Terry Melcher, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1944 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Sebastião Salgado, Brazilian photographer and journalist
    • 1947 – J. Richard Gott, American astronomer and academic
    • 1948 – Dan Seals, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
    • 1949 – Brooke Adams, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1949 – Niels Arestrup, French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1953 – Mary Steenburgen, American actress
    • 1954 – Joe Maddon, American baseball coach and manager
    • 1955 – John Grisham, American lawyer and author
    • 1955 – Jim Neidhart, American wrestler (d. 2018)
    • 1956 – Marques Johnson, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1957 – Karine Chemla, French historian of mathematics and sinologist
    • 1958 – Sherri Martel, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
    • 1958 – Marina Silva, Brazilian environmentalist and politician
    • 1959 – Heinz Gunthardt, Swiss tennis player
    • 1959 – Andrew Hoy, Australian equestrian rider
    • 1959 – Mauricio Macri, Argentinian businessman and politician, President of Argentina
    • 1960 – Benigno Aquino III, Filipino politician, 15th President of the Philippines
    • 1960 – Dino Ciccarelli, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1961 – Vince Neil, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1963 – Mohammad Azharuddin, Indian cricketer and politician
    • 1964 – Arlie Petters, Belizean-American mathematical physicist and academic
    • 1964 – Santosh Sivan, Indian director, cinematographer, producer, and actor
    • 1964 – Trinny Woodall, English fashion designer and author
    • 1966 – Kirk Muller, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1966 – Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)
    • 1969 – Pauly Fuemana, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
    • 1969 – Mary Robinette Kowal, American puppeteer and author
    • 1969 – Mary McCormack, American actress and producer
    • 1970 – Stephanie Courtney, American actress and comedian
    • 1970 – John Filan, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1970 – Alonzo Mourning, American basketball player and executive
    • 1971 – Aidy Boothroyd, English footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Mika Karppinen, Swedish-Finnish drummer and songwriter
    • 1972 – Big Show, American wrestler and actor
    • 1974 – Seth Green, American actor, voice artist, comedian, producer, writer, and director
    • 1976 – Khaled Mashud, Bangladeshi cricketer
    • 1976 – Nicolas Vouilloz, French rally driver and mountain biker
    • 1977 – Roman Kostomarov, Russian ice dancer
    • 1978 – Mick de Brenni, Australian politician
    • 1979 – Aaron Cook, American baseball player
    • 1980 – William Jackson Harper, American actor
    • 1981 – Steve Gohouri, Ivorian footballer (d. 2015)
    • 1981 – Myriam Montemayor Cruz, Mexican singer
    • 1983 – Jermaine Anderson, Canadian basketball player
    • 1983 – Cory Jane, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1983 – Jim Verraros, American singer and actor
    • 1984 – Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Canadian skier
    • 1984 – Cecily Strong, American actress
    • 1984 – Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, Greek basketball player
    • 1985 – Petra Cetkovská, Czech tennis player
    • 1985 – Jeremy Davis, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1987 – Javi García, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Carolina Kostner, Italian figure skater
    • 1988 – Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1989 – Zac Guildford, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1989 – Julio Jones, American football player
    • 1989 – Courtney Vandersloot, American basketball player
    • 1990 – Emily Scarratt, English rugby union player
    • 1990 – Klay Thompson, American professional basketball player
    • 1991 – Aristidis Soiledis, Greek footballer
    • 1991 – Roberto Soriano, Italian footballer
    • 1991 – Nam Woo-hyun, South Korean singer and actor with the boy band Infinite.
    • 1992 – Bruno Martins Indi, Portuguese-Dutch footballer
    • 1992 – Carl Jenkinson, English-Finnish footballer
    • 1994 – Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Turkish footballer
    • 1994 – Nikki Yanofsky, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1995 – Joshua Kimmich, German footballer
    • 1996 – Kenedy, Brazilian footballer

    Deaths on February 8

    • 538 – Severus of Antioch, patriarch of Antioch
    • 1135 – Elvira of Castile, Queen of Sicily (b.c. 1100)
    • 1204 – Alexios IV Angelos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1182)
    • 1229 – Ali ibn Hanzala, sixth Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq of Tayyibi Isma’ilism
    • 1250 – Robert I, Count of Artois (b. 1216)
    • 1250 – William II Longespée, English martyr (b. 1212)
    • 1265 – Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
    • 1285 – Theodoric of Landsberg (b. 1242)
    • 1296 – Przemysł II of Poland (b. 1257)
    • 1314 – Helen of Anjou, queen of Serbia (b. 1236)
    • 1382 – Blanche of France, Duchess of Orléans (b. 1328)
    • 1537 – Saint Gerolamo Emiliani, Italian humanitarian (b. 1481)
    • 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1542)
    • 1599 – Robert Rollock, Scottish theologian and academic (b. 1555)
    • 1623 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (b. 1546)
    • 1676 – Alexis of Russia (b. 1629)
    • 1696 – Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
    • 1709 – Giuseppe Torelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1658)
    • 1725 – Peter the Great, Russian emperor (b. 1672)
    • 1749 – Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
    • 1750 – Aaron Hill, English playwright and poet (b. 1685)
    • 1768 – George Dance the Elder, English architect, designed St Leonard’s and St Botolph’s Aldgate (b. 1695)
    • 1772 – Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (b. 1719)
    • 1849 – François Habeneck, French violinist and conductor (b. 1781)
    • 1849 – France Prešeren, Slovenian poet and lawyer (b. 1800)
    • 1856 – Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist and academic (b. 1773)
    • 1907 – Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1854)
    • 1910 – Hans Jæger, Norwegian philosopher and activist (b. 1854)
    • 1914 – Dayrolles Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, 4th Baron Ventry, Irish hereditary peer (b. 1828)
    • 1915 – François Langelier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1838)
    • 1921 – George Formby Sr, English actor and singer (b. 1876)
    • 1921 – Peter Kropotkin, Russian zoologist, geographer, and philologist (b. 1842)
    • 1928 – Theodor Curtius, German chemist (b. 1857)
    • 1932 – Yordan Milanov, Bulgarian architect, designed the Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church (b. 1867)
    • 1935 – Eemil Nestor Setälä, Finnish linguist and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1864)
    • 1936 – Charles Curtis, American lawyer and politician, 31st Vice President of the United States (b. 1860)
    • 1945 – Italo Santelli, Italian fencer and coach (b. 1866)
    • 1956 – Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (b. 1862)
    • 1957 – Walther Bothe, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
    • 1957 – John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
    • 1959 – William J. Donovan, American head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (b. 1883)
    • 1960 – J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic (b. 1911)
    • 1960 – Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect and engineer, designed the Red telephone box and Liverpool Cathedral (b. 1880)
    • 1963 – George Dolenz, Italian-American actor (b. 1908)
    • 1964 – Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist and author (b. 1888)
    • 1968 – Maurice Maillot, French actor (b. 1906)
    • 1972 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1905)
    • 1975 – Robert Robinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
    • 1977 – Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and theorist (b. 1901)
    • 1979 – Dennis Gabor, Hungarian-English physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
    • 1980 – Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
    • 1982 – John Hay Whitney, American financier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1904)
    • 1985 – William Lyons, English businessman, co-founded Swallow Sidecar Company (b. 1901)
    • 1987 – Harriet E. MacGibbon, American actress (b. 1905)
    • 1990 – Del Shannon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
    • 1992 – Stanley Armour Dunham, American sergeant (b. 1918)
    • 1992 – Denny Wright, British guitarist (b. 1924)
    • 1994 – Raymond Scott, American pianist and composer (b. 1908)
    • 1996 – Del Ennis, American baseball player (b. 1925)
    • 1997 – Corey Scott, American motorcycle stunt rider (b. 1968)
    • 1998 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 1998 – Enoch Powell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health (b. 1912)
    • 1998 – Julian Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
    • 1999 – Iris Murdoch, Irish-born British novelist and philosopher (b. 1919)
    • 2000 – Sid Abel, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1918)
    • 2000 – Derrick Thomas, American football player (b. 1967)
    • 2001 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Ong Teng Cheong, Singaporean architect and politician, 5th President of Singapore (b. 1936)
    • 2004 – Julius Schwartz, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – A. Chandranehru, Sri Lankan sailor and politician (b. 1944)
    • 2006 – Elton Dean, English saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1945)
    • 2006 – Thierry Fortineau, French actor (b. 1953)
    • 2006 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
    • 2007 – Anna Nicole Smith, American model and actress (b. 1967)
    • 2007 – Ian Stevenson, Canadian-American psychiatrist and academic (b. 1918)
    • 2008 – Ruby Garrard Woodson, American educator and cultural historian (b. 1931)
    • 2010 – John Murtha, American colonel and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2011 – Tony Malinosky, American baseball player and soldier (b. 1909)
    • 2012 – Wando, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
    • 2012 – Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi and author (b. 1912)
    • 2012 – Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
    • 2013 – Giovanni Cheli, Italian cardinal (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – James DePreist, American conductor and educator (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Maureen Dragone, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Nevin Scrimshaw, American scientist (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Els Borst, Dutch physician and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Maicon Pereira de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer (b. 1988)
    • 2014 – Nancy Holt, American sculptor and painter (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Rauni-Leena Luukanen-Kilde, Finnish physician and parapsychologist (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Amelia Bence, Argentine actress (b. 1914)
    • 2016 – Nida Fazli, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2016 – Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (b. 1938)
    • 2016 – Violette Verdy, French ballerina (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Peter Mansfield, English physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Rina Matsuno, Japanese idol singer (Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku) (b. 1998)
    • 2017 – Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, English socialite, television presenter, model, and charity patron (b. 1971)
    • 2017 – Alan Simpson, English scriptwriter (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on February 8

    • Christian feast day:
      • Cuthmann of Steyning
      • Elffled of Whitby
      • Gerolamo Emiliani
      • Josephine Bakhita
      • Juventius of Pavia
      • Meingold of Huy
      • Stephen of Muret
      • February 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Feast of Orthodoxy can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated 42 days before Easter. (Orthodoxy)
    • Parinirvana Day (some Mahayana Buddhism traditions, most celebrate on February 15)
    • Prešeren Day (Slovenia)
    • Propose Day