1204 – Constantinople falls to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire.
1612 – Miyamoto Musashi defeats Sasaki Kojirō at Funajima island.
1613 – Samuel Argall, having captured Native American princess Pocahontas in Passapatanzy, Virginia, sets off with her to Jamestown with the intention of exchanging her for English prisoners held by her father.
1742 – George Frideric Handel’s oratorio Messiah makes its world-premiere in Dublin, Ireland.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces are ambushed and defeated in the Battle of Bound Brook, New Jersey.
1829 – The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 gives Roman Catholics in the United Kingdom the right to vote and to sit in Parliament.
1849 – Lajos Kossuth presents the Hungarian Declaration of Independence in a closed session of the National Assembly.
1861 – American Civil War: Fort Sumter surrenders to Confederate forces.
1865 – American Civil War: Raleigh, North Carolina is occupied by Union Forces.
1870 – The New York City Metropolitan Museum of Art is founded.
1873 – The Colfax massacre, in which more than 60 black men are murdered, takes place.
1909 – The military of the Ottoman Empire reverses the Ottoman countercoup of 1909 to force the overthrow of Sultan Abdul Hamid II.
1919 – Jallianwala Bagh massacre: British Indian Army troops lead by Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer killed approx 379-1000 unarmed demonstrators including men and women in Amritsar, India; and approximately 1,500 injured.
1941 – A pact of neutrality between the USSR and Japan is signed.
1943 – World War II: The discovery of mass graves of Polish prisoners of war killed by Soviet forces in the Katyń Forest Massacre is announced, causing a diplomatic rift between the Polish government-in-exile in London and the Soviet Union, which denies responsibility.
1943 – The Jefferson Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C., on the 200th anniversary of President Thomas Jefferson’s birth.
1944 – Relations between New Zealand and the Soviet Union are established.
1945 – World War II: German troops kill more than 1,000 political and military prisoners in Gardelegen, Germany.
1945 – World War II: Soviet and Bulgarian forces capture Vienna.
1948 – In an ambush, 78 Jewish doctors, nurses and medical students from Hadassah Hospital, and a British soldier, are massacred by Arabs in Sheikh Jarrah. This event came to be known as the Hadassah medical convoy massacre.
1953 – CIA director Allen Dulles launches the mind-control program Project MKUltra.
1958 – American pianist Van Cliburn is awarded first prize at the inaugural International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
1960 – The United States launches Transit 1-B, the world’s first satellite navigation system.
1964 – At the Academy Awards, Sidney Poitier becomes the first African-American male to win the Best Actor award for the 1963 film Lilies of the Field.
1970 – An oxygen tank aboard the Apollo 13 Service Module explodes, putting the crew in great danger and causing major damage to the Apollo command and service module (codenamed “Odyssey“) while en route to the Moon.
1972 – The Universal Postal Union decides to recognize the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate Chinese representative, effectively expelling the Republic of China administering Taiwan.
1972 – Vietnam War: The Battle of An Lộc begins.
1975 – An attack by the Phalangist resistance kills 26 militia members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, marking the start of the 15-year Lebanese Civil War.
1976 – The United States Treasury Department reintroduces the two-dollar bill as a Federal Reserve Note on Thomas Jefferson’s 233rd birthday as part of the United States Bicentennial celebration.
1976 – Forty workers die in an explosion at the Lapua ammunition factory, the deadliest accidental disaster in modern history in Finland.
1992 – Basements throughout the Chicago Loop are flooded, forcing the Chicago Board of Trade Building and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange to close.
1997 – Tiger Woods becomes the youngest golfer to win the Masters Tournament.
2003 – A bus near the Vale of Tempe, Greece was involved in a major vehicle accident with a truck and multiple cars, leaving 21 students in the tenth grade of Makrochori, Imathia High School dead and nine injured during their return to their homes from a trip to Athens.
2017 – The US drops the largest ever non-nuclear weapon on Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan.
Births on April 13
1229 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1294)
1350 – Margaret III, Countess of Flanders (d. 1405)
1506 – Peter Faber, French priest and theologian, co-founded the Society of Jesus (d. 1546)
1519 – Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-French wife of Henry II of France (d. 1589)
1570 – Guy Fawkes, English soldier, planned the Gunpowder Plot (probable; d. 1606)
1573 – Christina of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1625)
1593 – Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1641)
1618 – Roger de Rabutin, Comte de Bussy, French author (d. 1693)
1636 – Hendrik van Rheede, Dutch botanist (d. 1691)
1648 – Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon, French mystic (d. 1717)
1713 – Pierre Jélyotte, French tenor (d. 1797)
1729 – Thomas Percy, Irish bishop and poet (d. 1811)
1732 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1792)
1735 – Isaac Low, American merchant and politician, founded the New York Chamber of Commerce (d. 1791)
1743 – Thomas Jefferson, American lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
1747 – Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (d. 1793)
1764 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1830)
1769 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator (d. 1830)
1771 – Richard Trevithick, Cornish-English engineer and explorer (d. 1833)
1780 – Alexander Mitchell, Irish engineer, invented the Screw-pile lighthouse (d. 1868)
1784 – Friedrich Graf von Wrangel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1877)
1787 – John Robertson, American lawyer and politician (d. 1873)
1794 – Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist and academic (d. 1867)
1802 – Leopold Fitzinger, Austrian zoologist and herpetologist (d. 1884)
1808 – Antonio Meucci, Italian-American engineer (d. 1889)
1810 – Félicien David, French composer (d. 1876)
1824 – William Alexander, Irish archbishop, poet, and theologian (d. 1911)
1825 – Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Irish-Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1868)
1828 – Josephine Butler, English feminist and social reformer (d. 1906)
1828 – Joseph Lightfoot, English bishop and theologian (d. 1889)
1832 – Juan Montalvo, Ecuadorian author and diplomat (d. 1889)
1841 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (d. 1905)
1850 – Arthur Matthew Weld Downing, Irish astronomer (d. 1917)
1851 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist (d. 1928)
1851 – William Quan Judge, Irish occultist and theosophist (d. 1896)
1852 – Frank Winfield Woolworth, American businessman, founded the F. W. Woolworth Company (d. 1919)
1854 – Lucy Craft Laney, Founder of the Haines Normal and Industrial School, Augusta, Georgia (d. 1933)
1860 – James Ensor, English-Belgian painter (d. 1949)
1866 – Butch Cassidy, American criminal (d. 1908)
1872 – John Cameron, Scottish international footballer and manager (d. 1935)
1872 – Alexander Roda Roda, Austrian-Croatian journalist and author (d. 1945)
1873 – John W. Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Solicitor General (d. 1955)
1875 – Ray Lyman Wilbur, American physician, academic, and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1949)
1879 – Edward Bruce, American lawyer and painter (d. 1943)
1879 – Oswald Bruce Cooper, American type designer, lettering artist, graphic designer, and educator (d. 1940)
1880 – Charles Christie, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded the Christie Film Company (d. 1955)
1885 – Vean Gregg, American baseball player (d. 1964)
1885 – Juhan Kukk, Estonian politician, Head of State of Estonia (d. 1942)
1885 – György Lukács, Hungarian philosopher and critic (d. 1971)
1885 – Pieter Sjoerds Gerbrandy, Dutch politician (d. 1961)
1887 – Gordon S. Fahrni, Canadian physician and golfer (d. 1995)
1889 – Herbert Yardley, American cryptologist and author (d. 1958)
1890 – Frank Murphy, American jurist and politician, 56th United States Attorney General (d. 1949)
1890 – Dadasaheb Torne, Indian director and producer (d. 1960)
1891 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1921)
1891 – Nella Larsen, Danish/African-American nurse, librarian, and author (d. 1964)
1891 – Robert Scholl, German accountant and politician (d. 1973)
1892 – Sir Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet, English air marshal (d. 1984)
1892 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented Radar (d. 1973)
1894 – Arthur Fadden, Australian accountant and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1973)
1894 – Joie Ray, American runner (d. 1978)
1896 – Fred Barnett, English footballer (d. 1982)
1897 – Werner Voss, German lieutenant and pilot (d. 1917)
1899 – Alfred Mosher Butts, American architect and game designer, created Scrabble (d. 1993)
1899 – Harold Osborn, American high jumper and decathlete (d. 1975)
1900 – Sorcha Boru, American potter and ceramic sculptor (d. 2006)
1900 – Pierre Molinier, French painter and photographer (d. 1976)
1901 – Jacques Lacan, French psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (d. 1981)
1901 – Alan Watt, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian Ambassador to Japan (d. 1988)
1902 – Philippe de Rothschild, French Grand Prix driver, playwright, and producer (d. 1988)
1902 – Marguerite Henry, American author (d. 1997)
1904 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1987)
1905 – Rae Johnstone, Australian jockey (d. 1964)
1906 – Samuel Beckett, Irish novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
1906 – Bud Freeman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1991)
1907 – Harold Stassen, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2001)
1909 – Eudora Welty, American short story writer and novelist (d. 2001)
1911 – Ico Hitrec, Croatian footballer and manager (d. 1946)
1911 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1994)
1911 – Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (d. 1983)
1913 – Dave Albritton, American high jumper and coach (d. 1994)
1913 – Kermit Tyler, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 2010)
1914 – Orhan Veli Kanık, Turkish poet and author (d. 1950)
1916 – Phyllis Fraser, Welsh-American actress, journalist, and publisher, co-founded Beginner Books (d. 2006)
1917 – Robert Orville Anderson, American businessman, founded Atlantic Richfield Oil Co. (d. 2007)
1917 – Bill Clements, American soldier, engineer, and politician, 15th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 2011)
1919 – Roland Gaucher, French journalist and politician (d. 2007)
1919 – Howard Keel, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
1919 – Madalyn Murray O’Hair, American activist, founded American Atheists (d. 1995)
1920 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (d. 1982)
1920 – Claude Cheysson, French lieutenant and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2012)
1920 – Liam Cosgrave, Irish lawyer and politician, 6th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2017)
1920 – Theodore L. Thomas, American chemical engineer, Patent attorney and writer (d. 2005)
1922 – Heinz Baas, German footballer and manager (d. 1994)
1922 – John Braine, English librarian and author (d. 1986)
1922 – Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian politician and teacher, 1st President of Tanzania (d. 1999)
1922 – Valve Pormeister, Estonian architect (d. 2002)
1923 – Don Adams, American actor and director (d. 2005)
1923 – A. H. Halsey, English sociologist and academic (d. 2014)
1923 – Stanley Tanger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (d. 2010)
1924 – John T. Biggers, American painter (d. 2001)
1924 – Jack T. Chick, American author, illustrator, and publisher (d. 2016)
1924 – Stanley Donen, American film director and choreographer (d. 2019)
1926 – Ellie Lambeti, Greek actress (d. 1983)
1926 – John Spencer-Churchill, 11th Duke of Marlborough, English businessman (d. 2014)
1927 – Rosemary Haughton, English philosopher, theologian, and author
1927 – Antonino Rocca, Italian-American wrestler (d. 1977)
1927 – Maurice Ronet, French actor and director (d. 1983)
1928 – Alan Clark, English historian and politician, Minister of State for Trade (d. 1999)
1928 – Gianni Marzotto, Italian racing driver and businessman (d. 2012)
1929 – Marilynn Smith, American golfer (d. 2019)
1931 – Anita Cerquetti, Italian soprano (d. 2014)
1931 – Robert Enrico, French director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1931 – Dan Gurney, American race car driver and engineer (d. 2018)
1931 – Jon Stone, American composer, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1997)
1932 – Orlando Letelier, Chilean-American economist and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1976)
1933 – Ben Nighthorse Campbell, American soldier and politician
1934 – John Muckler, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
1936 – Pierre Rosenberg, French historian and academic
1937 – Col Joye, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1937 – Edward Fox, English actor
1937 – Lanford Wilson, American playwright, co-founded the Circle Repertory Company (d. 2011)
1938 – Klaus Lehnertz, German pole vaulter
1938 – John Weston, English poet and diplomat
1939 – Seamus Heaney, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
1939 – Paul Sorvino, American actor and singer
1940 – Mike Beuttler, Egyptian-English racing driver (d. 1988)
1940 – Lester Chambers, American singer and musician
1940 – J. M. G. Le Clézio, Breton French-Mauritian author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1940 – Vladimir Cosma, French composer, conductor and violinist
1940 – Jim McNab, Scottish footballer (d. 2006)
1940 – Max Mosley, English racing driver and engineer, co-founded March Engineering, former president of the FIA
303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I orders the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia.
1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.
1554 – Mapuche forces, under the leadership of Lautaro, score a victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Marihueñu in Chile.
1653 – The Ballet Royal de la Nuit is first performed at the Salle du Petit-Bourbon in Paris
1739 – At York Castle, the outlaw Dick Turpin is identified by his former schoolteacher. Turpin had been using the name Richard Palmer.
1778 – American Revolutionary War: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.
1820 – Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.
1836 – Texas Revolution: The Siege of the Alamo (prelude to the Battle of the Alamo) begins in San Antonio, Texas.
1847 – Mexican–American War: Battle of Buena Vista: In Mexico, American troops under future president General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
1854 – The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.
1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.
1870 – Reconstruction Era: Post-U.S. Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
1883 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an anti-trust law.
1885 – Sino-French War: French Army gains an important victory in the Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of Vietnam.
1886 – Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of aluminium from the electrolysis of aluminium oxide, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister, Julia Brainerd Hall.
1887 – The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
1898 – Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J’Accuse…!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
1900 – Second Boer War: During the Battle of the Tugela Heights, the first British attempt to take Hart’s Hill fails.
1903 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States “in perpetuity”.
1905 – Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world’s first service club.
1909 – The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
1917 – First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution (March 8 in the Gregorian calendar).
1927 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.
1927 – German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time.
1934 – Leopold III becomes King of Belgium.
1941 – Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
1942 – World War II: Japanese submarines fire artillery shells at the coastline near Santa Barbara, California.
1943 – A fire breaks out at Saint Joseph’s Orphanage, County Cavan, Ireland, killing 35 children and one adult.
1943 – Greek Resistance: The United Panhellenic Organization of Youth is founded in Greece.
1944 – The Soviet Union begins the forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.
1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag.
1945 – World War II: The 11th Airborne Division, with Filipino guerrillas, free all 2,147 captives of the Los Baños internment camp, in what General Colin Powell later would refer to as “the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies.”
1945 – World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by combined Filipino and American forces.
1945 – World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.
1945 – World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is annihilated in a raid by 379 British bombers.
1947 – International Organization for Standardization is founded.
1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
1966 – In Syria, Ba’ath Party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin al-Hafiz, also a Baathist.
1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
1980 – Iran hostage crisis: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran’s parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
1981 – In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d’état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
1983 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
1987 – Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
1991 – In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d’état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
1998 – In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42 people.
1999 – Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
2007 – A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 88. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.
2008 – A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber crashes on Guam, marking the first operational loss of a B-2.
2010 – Unknown criminals pour more than 21⁄2 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in northern Italy, sparking an environmental disaster.
2012 – A series of attacks across Iraq leave at least 83 killed and more than 250 injured.
2017 – The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army captures Al-Bab from ISIL.
2019 – Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767 freighter, crashes into Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas, killing all three people on board.
Births on February 23
1417 – Pope Paul II (d. 1471)
1417 – Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1479)
1443 – Matthias Corvinus, Hungarian king (d. 1490)
1529 – Onofrio Panvinio, Italian historian (d. 1568)
1539 – Henry XI of Legnica, thrice Duke of Legnica (d. 1588)
1539 – Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (d. 1612)
1583 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French mathematician, astrologer, and astronomer (d. 1656)
1592 – Balthazar Gerbier, Dutch painter (d. 1663)
1633 – Samuel Pepys, English diarist and politician (d. 1703)
1646 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (d. 1709)
1680 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, Canadian politician, 2nd Colonial Governor of Louisiana (d. 1767)
1685 – George Frideric Handel, German-English organist and composer (d. 1759)
1723 – Richard Price, Welsh-English minister and philosopher (d. 1791)
1744 – Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German banker and businessman (d. 1812)
1792 – José Joaquín de Herrera, Mexican politician and general. President three times (1844–1854) (d. 1854)
1831 – Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Dutch painter (d. 1915)
1840 – Carl Menger, Austrian economist and educator (d. 1921)
1842 – Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher and author (d. 1906)
1850 – César Ritz, Swiss businessman, founded The Ritz Hotel, London and Hôtel Ritz Paris (d. 1918)
1868 – W. E. B. Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, and activist (d. 1963)
1868 – Anna Hofman-Uddgren, Swedish actress, singer, and director (d. 1947)
1873 – Liang Qichao, Chinese journalist, philosopher, and scholar (d. 1929)
1874 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Estonia (d. 1956)
1878 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian painter and theorist (d. 1935)
1883 – Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (d. 1969)
1883 – Guy C. Wiggins, American painter (d. 1962)
1889 – Musidora, French actress and director (d. 1957)
1889 – Cyril Delevanti, English-American actor (d. 1975)
1889 – Victor Fleming, American director, cinematographer, and producer (d. 1949)
1889 – John Gilbert Winant, American captain, pilot, and politician, 60th Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1947)
1892 – Kathleen Harrison, English actress (d. 1995)
1892 – Agnes Smedley, American journalist and writer (d. 1950)
1894 – Harold Horder, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1978)
1899 – Erich Kästner, German author and poet (d. 1974)
1899 – Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (d. 1981)
1904 – Terence Fisher, English director and screenwriter (d. 1980)
1904 – William L. Shirer, American journalist and historian (d. 1993)
1908 – William McMahon, Australian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1988)
1915 – Jon Hall, American actor and director (d. 1979)
1915 – Paul Tibbets, American general and pilot (d. 2007)
1919 – Johnny Carey, Irish footballer and manager (d. 1995)
1920 – Paul Gérin-Lajoie, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2018)
1923 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (d. 2014)
1923 – Harry Clarke, English international footballer, defender (d. 2000)
1923 – Ioannis Grivas, Greek judge and politician, 176th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2016)
1923 – Dante Lavelli, American football player (d. 2009)
1923 – Clarence D. Lester, African-American fighter pilot (d.1986)
1923 – Mary Francis Shura, American author (d. 1991)
1924 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South-African-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
1925 – Louis Stokes, American lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
1927 – Régine Crespin, French soprano and actress (d. 2007)
1928 – Hans Herrmann, German race car driver
1928 – Vasily Lazarev, Russian colonel, physician, and astronaut (d. 1990)
1929 – Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow (d. 2008)
1929 – Elston Howard, American baseball player and coach (d. 1980)
1930 – Paul West, English-American author, poet, and academic (d. 2015)
1931 – Tom Wesselmann, American painter and sculptor (d. 2004)
1932 – Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (d. 2008)
1937 – Tom Osborne, American football player, coach, and politician
1938 – Sylvia Chase, American broadcast journalist (d. 2019)
1938 – Paul Morrissey, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1938 – Diane Varsi, American actress (d. 1992)
1940 – Peter Fonda, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
1940 – Jackie Smith, American football player
1941 – Ron Hunt, American baseball player
1943 – Fred Biletnikoff, American football player and coach
1943 – Bobby Mitchell, American golfer (d. 2018)
1944 – Bernard Cornwell, English author and educator
1944 – Florian Fricke, German keyboard player and composer (d. 2001)
1944 – Johnny Winter, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2014)
1945 – Allan Boesak, South African cleric and politician
1946 – Rusty Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1947 – Pia Kjærsgaard, Danish politician, Speaker of the Danish Parliament
1947 – Anton Mosimann, Swiss chef and author
1948 – Bill Alexander, English director and producer
1948 – Trevor Cherry, English footballer (d. 2020)
1948 – Steve Priest, English singer-songwriter and bass player
1949 – César Aira, Argentinian author and translator
1949 – Marc Garneau, Canadian engineer, astronaut, and politician
1950 – Rebecca Goldstein, American philosopher and author
1951 – Eddie Dibbs, American tennis player
1951 – Debbie Friedman, American singer-songwriter of Jewish melodies (d. 2011)
1951 – Ed “Too Tall” Jones, American football player and boxer
1951 – Patricia Richardson, American actress
1952 – Brad Whitford, American guitarist and songwriter
1953 – Kenny Bee, Hong Kong singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1953 – Satoru Nakajima, Japanese race car driver
1954 – Rajini Thiranagama, Sri Lankan physician and academic (d. 1989)
1954 – Viktor Yushchenko, Ukrainian captain and politician, 3rd President of Ukraine
1955 – Howard Jones, English singer-songwriter
1955 – Flip Saunders, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
1956 – Sandra Osborne, Scottish politician
1958 – David Sylvian, English singer-songwriter
1959 – Clayton Anderson, American engineer and astronaut
1959 – Nick de Bois, English politician
1959 – Ian Liddell-Grainger, Scottish soldier and politician
1959 – Linda Nolan, Irish singer and actress
1960 – Naruhito, Emperor of Japan
1962 – Michael Wilton, American guitarist
1963 – Bobby Bonilla, American baseball player
1963 – Radosław Sikorski, Polish journalist and politician, 11th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
1964 – John Norum, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter
1965 – Michael Dell, American businessman
1965 – Helena Suková, Czech-Monacan tennis player
1967 – Steve Stricker, American golfer
1967 – Chris Vrenna, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
1969 – Michael Campbell, New Zealand golfer
1969 – Martine Croxall, English journalist and television news presenter
1969 – Daymond John, American fashion designer and businessman, founded FUBU
1970 – Niecy Nash, American actress and producer
1971 – Carin Koch, Swedish golfer
1971 – Melinda Messenger, English model and television host
1971 – Joe-Max Moore, American soccer player
1972 – Alessandro Sturba, Italian footballer
1972 – Rondell White, American baseball player
1973 – Jeff Nordgaard, American-Polish basketball player
1974 – Herschelle Gibbs, South African cricketer
1974 – Robbi Kempson, South African rugby player
1975 – Michael Cornacchia, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1975 – Ryan McCourt, Canadian artist
1976 – Scott Elarton, American baseball player and coach
1976 – Kelly Macdonald, Scottish actress
1976 – Jeff O’Neill, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1977 – Kristina Šmigun-Vähi, Estonian skier
1978 – Residente, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
1978 – Dan Snyder, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
1979 – S. E. Cupp, American journalist and author
1981 – Gareth Barry, English footballer
1981 – Josh Gad, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1981 – Charles Tillman, American football player
1982 – Adam Hann-Byrd, American actor and screenwriter
1983 – Mido, Egyptian footballer, striker, manager and sportscaster
1983 – Aziz Ansari, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
1983 – Emily Blunt, English actress
1986 – Emerson Conceição, Brazilian footballer
1986 – Skylar Grey, American singer-songwriter
1986 – Kazuya Kamenashi, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
1986 – Jerod Mayo, American football player
1986 – Ola Svensson, Swedish singer-songwriter
1987 – Ab-Soul, American rapper
1987 – Theophilus London, Trinidadian-American singer-songwriter and producer
1987 – Zak Kirkup, Member of the Parliament of Western Australia
1988 – Nicolás Gaitán, Argentinian footballer
1989 – Evan Bates, American ice dancer
1989 – Jérémy Pied, French footballer
1990 – Kevin Connauton, Canadian ice hockey player
1990 – Terry Hawkridge, English footballer
1990 – Marco Scandella, Canadian ice hockey player
1992 – Casemiro, Brazilian footballer
1992 – Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Greek footballer
1993 – Chris Grevsmuhl, Australian rugby league player
1994 – Dakota Fanning, American actress
1995 – Andrew Wiggins, Canadian basketball player
1996 – D’Angelo Russell, American basketball player
1997 – Jamal Murray, Canadian basketball player
Deaths on February 23
715 – Al-Walid I, Umayyad caliph (b. 668)
908 – Li Keyong, Shatuo military governor during the Tang Dynasty in China (b. 856)
943 – Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, (b. 884)
943 – David I, prince of Tao-Klarjeti (Georgia)
1011 – Willigis, German archbishop (b. 940)
1100 – Emperor Zhezong of Song (b. 1076)
1270 – Isabel of France (b. 1225)
1447 – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)
1447 – Pope Eugene IV (b. 1383)
1464 – Emperor Yingzong of Ming (b. 1427)
1473 – Arnold, Duke of Gelderland (b. 1410)
1526 – Diego Colón, Spanish Viceroy of the Indies (b. c. 1479)
1554 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire (b. 1515)
1603 – Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (b. 1519)
1603 – Franciscus Vieta, French mathematician (b. 1540)
1620 – Nicholas Fuller, English politician (b. 1543)
1704 – Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (b. 1653)
1766 – Stanisław Leszczyński, Polish king (b. 1677)
1781 – George Taylor, Irish-American blacksmith and politician (b. 1716)
1792 – Joshua Reynolds, English painter and academic (b. 1723)
1821 – John Keats, English poet (b. 1795)
1848 – John Quincy Adams, American politician, 6th President of the United States (b. 1767)
1855 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (b. 1777)
1859 – Zygmunt Krasiński, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1812)
1879 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and politician, 10th Minister President of Prussia (b. 1803)
1897 – Woldemar Bargiel, German composer and educator (b. 1828)
1900 – Ernest Dowson, English poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1867)
1908 – Friedrich von Esmarch, German surgeon and academic (b. 1823)
1918 – Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1882)
1930 – Horst Wessel, German SA officer (b. 1907)
1931 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (b. 1861)
1934 – Edward Elgar, English composer and academic (b. 1857)
1944 – Leo Baekeland, Belgian-American chemist and engineer (b. 1863)
1946 – Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese general (b. 1885)
1948 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-American publisher and educator (b. 1866)
1955 – Paul Claudel, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)
1965 – Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian (b. 1890)
1969 – Madhubala, Indian actress and producer (b. 1933)
1969 – Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 2nd King of Saudi Arabia (b. 1902)
1973 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
1974 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (b. 1895)
1976 – L. S. Lowry, English painter (b. 1887)
1979 – W. A. C. Bennett, Canadian businessman and politician, 25th Premier of British Columbia (b. 1900)
1983 – Herbert Howells, English organist and composer (b. 1892)
1990 – José Napoleón Duarte, Salvadoran engineer and politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1925)
1995 – James Herriot, English veterinarian and author (b. 1916)
1997 – Tony Williams, American drummer, composer, and producer (b. 1945)
1998 – Philip Abbott, American actor and director (b. 1924)
1999 – The Renegade, American wrestler (b. 1965)
2000 – Ofra Haza, Israeli singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1957)
2000 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (b. 1915)
2003 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1955)
2003 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and academic (b. 1910)
2004 – Vijay Anand, Indian director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1934)
2004 – Sikander Bakht, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1918)
2006 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (b. 1921)
2007 – John Ritchie, English footballer (b. 1941)
2008 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian economist and politician, 2nd President of Slovenia (b. 1950)
2008 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and journalist (b. 1917)
2010 – Orlando Zapata, Cuban plumber and activist (b. 1967)
2011 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (b. 1923)
2012 – William Raggio, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
2012 – David Sayre, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1924)
2012 – Kazimierz Żygulski, Polish sociologist and activist (b. 1919)
2013 – Eugene Bookhammer, American soldier and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (b. 1918)
2013 – Joseph Friedenson, Holocaust survivor, Holocaust historian, Yiddish writer, lecturer and editor (b. 1922)
2013 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (b. 1920)
2013 – Lotika Sarkar, Indian lawyer and academic (b. 1945)
2014 – Alice Herz-Sommer, Czech-English Holocaust survivor, pianist and educator (b. 1903)
2014 – Roger Hilsman, American soldier, academic, and politician (b. 1919)
2015 – James Aldridge, Australian-English journalist and author (b. 1918)
2015 – Rana Bhagwandas, Pakistani lawyer and judge, Chief Justice of Pakistan (b. 1942)
2015 – W. E. “Bill” Dykes, American soldier and politician (b. 1925)
2016 – Peter Lustig, German television host and author (b. 1937)
2016 – Jacqueline Mattson, American baseball player (b. 1928)
2019 – Katherine Helmond, American actress (b. 1929)
Holidays and observances on February 23
Christian feast day:
Polycarp of Smyrna
Serenus the Gardener
February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
The Emperor’s Birthday, birthday of Naruhito, the current Emperor of Japan (Japan)
Mashramani-Republic Day (Guyana)
Meteņi (Latvia)
National Day (Brunei)
Red Army Day or Day of Soviet Army and Navy in the former Soviet Union, also held in various former Soviet republics:
Defender of the Fatherland Day (Russia)
Defender of the Fatherland and Armed Forces day (Belarus)
379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.
649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrender after a forty-day siege led by Tang dynasty general Ashina She’er, establishing Tang control over the northern Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.
1419 – Hundred Years’ War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, completing his reconquest of Normandy.
1511 – The Italian city-fortress of Mirandola surrenders to the French.
1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, the Regent of Sweden, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund and dies on February 3.
1607 – San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines.
1764 – John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
1764 – Bolle Willum Luxdorph records in his diary that a mail bomb, possibly the world’s first, has severely injured the Danish Colonel Poulsen, residing at Børglum Abbey.
1788 – The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrive at Botany Bay.
1795 – The Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands, bringing to an end the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
1806 – Britain occupies the Dutch Cape Colony after the Battle of Blaauwberg.
1817 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru.
1829 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy receives its premiere performance.
1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden.
1853 – Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Il trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.
1861 – American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in declaring secession from the United States.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs: The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.
1871 – Franco-Prussian War: In the Siege of Paris, Prussia wins the Battle of St. Quentin. Meanwhile, the French attempt to break the siege in the Battle of Buzenval will end unsuccessfully the following day.
1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
1915 – German strategic bombing during World War I: German zeppelins bomb the towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn in the United Kingdom killing at least 20 people, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.
1917 – Silvertown explosion: A blast at a munitions factory in London kills 73 and injures over 400. The resulting fire causes over £2,000,000 worth of damage.
1920 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is founded.
1937 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
1940 – You Nazty Spy!, the first Hollywood film of any kind to satirize Adolf Hitler and the Nazis premieres, starring The Three Stooges, with Moe Howard as the character “Moe Hailstone” satirizing Hitler.
1941 – World War II: HMS Greyhound and other escorts of convoy AS-12 sink Italian submarine Neghelli with all hands 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Falkonera.
1942 – World War II: The Japanese conquest of Burma begins.
1945 – World War II: Soviet forces liberate the Łódź Ghetto. Of more than 200,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived the Nazi occupation.
1946 – General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
1953 – Almost 72 percent of all television sets in the United States are tuned into I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
1960 – Japan and the United States sign the US–Japan Mutual Security Treaty
1969 – Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire three days earlier in Prague’s Wenceslas Square to protest about the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turns into another major protest.
1974 – China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam
1977 – President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D’Aquino (a.k.a. “Tokyo Rose”).
1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW’s plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
1981 – Iran hostage crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
1983 – Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia.
1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.
1986 – The first IBM PC computer virus is released into the wild. A boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, it was created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter unauthorized copying of the software they had written.
1991 – Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.
1993 – Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations.
1995 – After being struck by lightning the crew of Bristow Flight 56C are forced to ditch. All 18 aboard are later rescued.
1996 – The barge North Cape oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
1997 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
1999 – British Aerospace agrees to acquire the defence subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, forming BAE Systems in November 1999.
2007 – Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is assassinated in front of his newspaper’s Istanbul office by 17-year-old Turkish ultra-nationalist Ogün Samast.
2007 – Four-man Team N2i, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the Antarctic pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1965 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.
2012 – The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload is shut down by the FBI.
2014 – A bomb attack on an army convoy in the city of Bannu kills at least 26 Pakistani soldiers and injures 38 others.
Births on January 19
399 – Pulcheria, Byzantine empress and saint (d. 453)
1200 – Dōgen Zenji, founder of Sōtō Zen (d. 1253)
1544 – Francis II of France (d. 1560)
1617 – Lucas Faydherbe, Flemish sculptor and architect (d. 1697)
1628 – Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby, English noble (d. 1672)
1676 – John Weldon, English organist and composer (d. 1736)
1721 – Jean-Philippe Baratier, German scholar and author (d. 1740)
1736 – James Watt, Scottish-English chemist and engineer (d. 1819)
1737 – Giuseppe Millico, Italian soprano, composer, and educator (d. 1802)
1739 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect, designed Longford Hall and Barrells Hall (d. 1808)
1752 – James Morris III, American captain (d. 1820)
1757 – Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf (d. 1831)
1788 – Pavel Kiselyov, Russian general and politician (d. 1874)
1790 – Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish poet and academic (d. 1855)
1798 – Auguste Comte, French economist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1857)
1807 – Robert E. Lee, American general and academic (d. 1870)
1808 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher and author (d. 1887)
1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American short story writer, poet, and critic (d. 1849)
1810 – Talhaiarn, Welsh poet and architect (d.1869)
1813 – Henry Bessemer, English engineer and businessman (d. 1898)
1832 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1875)
1833 – Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician and academic (d. 1872)
1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
1848 – Arturo Graf, Italian poet, of German ancestry (d. 1913).
1848 – John Fitzwilliam Stairs, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1904)
1848 – Matthew Webb, English swimmer and diver (d. 1883)
1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1922)
1852 – Thomas Price, Welsh-Australian politician, 24th Premier of South Australia (d. 1909)
1863 – Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (d. 1941)
1866 – Harry Davenport, American stage and film actor (d. 1949)
1871 – Dame Gruev, Bulgarian educator and activist, co-founded the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (d. 1906)
1874 – Hitachiyama Taniemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 19th Yokozuna (d. 1922)
1876 – Wakashima Gonshirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 21st Yokozuna (d. 1943)
1876 – Dragotin Kette, Slovenian poet and author (d. 1899)
1878 – Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1934)
1879 – Boris Savinkov, Russian soldier and author (d. 1925)
1882 – John Cain Sr., Australian politician, 34th Premier of Victoria (d. 1957)
1883 – Hermann Abendroth, German conductor (d. 1956)
1887 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (d. 1943)
1889 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
1892 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1964)
1893 – Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian pianist and educator (d. 1986)
1903 – Boris Blacher, German composer and playwright (d. 1975)
1905 – Stanley Hawes, English-Australian director and producer (d. 1991)
1907 – Briggs Cunningham, American race car driver, sailor, and businessman (d. 2003)
1908 – Ish Kabibble, American comedian and cornet player (d. 1994)
1908 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1971)
1911 – Choor Singh, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and judge (d. 2009)
1912 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
1913 – Rex Ingamells, Australian author and poet (d. 1955)
1913 – Rudolf Wanderone, American professional pocket billiards player (d. 1996)
1918 – John H. Johnson, American publisher, founded the Johnson Publishing Company (d. 2005)
1920 – Bernard Dunstan, English painter and educator (d. 2017)
1920 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat, 135th Prime Minister of Peru (d. 2020)
1921 – Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1995)
1922 – Arthur Morris, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 2015)
1922 – Miguel Muñoz, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1990)
1923 – Jean Stapleton, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
1924 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (d. 1985)
1924 – Jean-François Revel, French philosopher (d. 2006)
1925 – Nina Bawden, English author (d. 2012)
1926 – Hans Massaquoi, German-American journalist and author (d. 2013)
1926 – Fritz Weaver, American actor (d. 2016)
1930 – Tippi Hedren, American model, actress, and animal rights-welfare activist
1930 – John Waite, South African cricketer (d. 2011)
1931 – Robert MacNeil, Canadian-American journalist and author
1932 – Russ Hamilton, English singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
1932 – Richard Lester, American-English director, producer, and screenwriter
1932 – Harry Lonsdale, American chemist, businessman, and politician (d. 2014)
1933 – George Coyne, American priest, astronomer, and theologian
1935 – Johnny O’Keefe, Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1978)
1936 – Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)
1936 – Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, American singer, harmonica player, and drummer (d. 2011)
1936 – Fred J. Lincoln, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1937 – John Lions, Australian computer scientist and academic (d. 1998)
1939 – Phil Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
1940 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
1940 – Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author (d. 2007)
1941 – Colin Gunton, English theologian and academic (d. 2003)
1941 – Pat Patterson, Canadian wrestler, trainer, and referee
1942 – Michael Crawford, English actor and singer
1942 – Paul-Eerik Rummo, Estonian poet and politician
1943 – Larry Clark, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1970)
1943 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
1944 – Shelley Fabares, American actress and singer
1944 – Thom Mayne, American architect and academic, designed the San Francisco Federal Building and Phare Tower
1944 – Dan Reeves, American football player and coach
1945 – Trevor Williams, English singer-songwriter and bass player
1946 – Julian Barnes, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic
1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress
1947 – Frank Aarebrot, Norwegian political scientist and academic (d. 2017)
1947 – Paula Deen, American chef and author
1947 – Rod Evans, English singer-songwriter
1948 – Nancy Lynch, American computer scientist and academic
1948 – Frank McKenna, Canadian politician and diplomat, 27th Premier of New Brunswick
1948 – Mal Reilly, English rugby league player and coach
1949 – Arend Langenberg, Dutch voice actor and radio host (d. 2012)
1949 – Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
1950 – Sébastien Dhavernas, Canadian actor
1951 – Martha Davis, American singer
1952 – Dewey Bunnell, British-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1952 – Nadiuska, German television actress
1952 – Bruce Jay Nelson, American computer scientist (d. 1999)
1953 – Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor and singer
1953 – Richard Legendre, Canadian tennis player and politician
1953 – Wayne Schimmelbusch, Australian footballer and coach
1954 – Katey Sagal, American actress and singer
1954 – Cindy Sherman, American photographer and director
1954 – Esther Shkalim, Israeli poet and Mizrahi feminist
1955 – Paul Rodriguez, Mexican-American comedian and actor
1956 – Carman, American singer-songwriter, actor, and television host
1956 – Susan Solomon, American atmospheric chemist
1957 – Ottis Anderson, American football player and sportscaster
1957 – Roger Ashton-Griffiths, English actor, screenwriter and film director
1957 – Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican public servant and politician, 22nd Secretary of State of Puerto Rico
1958 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter (d. 2012)
1959 – Danese Cooper, American computer scientist and programmer
1959 – Jeff Pilson, American bass player, songwriter, and actor
1961 – William Ragsdale, American actor
1961 – Wayne Hemingway, English fashion designer, co-founded Red or Dead
1962 – Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist
1962 – Chris Sabo, American baseball player and coach
1962 – Jeff Van Gundy, American basketball player and coach
1963 – Michael Adams, American basketball player and coach
1963 – Martin Bashir, English journalist
1963 – John Bercow, English politician, Speaker of the House of Commons
1964 – Janine Antoni, Bahamian sculptor and photographer
1964 – Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer-songwriter and basketball player
1966 – Sylvain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
1966 – Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player and coach
1966 – Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer-songwriter
1968 – David Bartlett, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of Tasmania
1968 – Whitfield Crane, American singer-songwriter
1969 – Edwidge Danticat, Haitian-American novelist and short story writer
1969 – Luc Longley, Australian basketball player and coach
1969 – Predrag Mijatović, Montenegrin footballer and manager
1969 – Junior Seau, American football player (d. 2012)
1969 – Steve Staunton, Irish footballer and manager
1970 – Steffen Freund, German footballer defensive midfielder and manager
1970 – Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete
1970 – Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian and singer
1971 – Phil Nevin, American baseball player
1971 – Shawn Wayans, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1971 – John Wozniak, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1972 – Ron Killings, American wrestler and rapper
1972 – Troy Wilson, Australian footballer and race car driver
1972 – Sergei Zjukin, Estonian chess player and coach
1972 – Yoon Hae-young, South Korean actress
1973 – Antero Manninen, Finnish cellist
1973 – Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer and coach
1974 – Dainius Adomaitis, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
1974 – Frank Caliendo, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1974 – Ian Laperrière, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1974 – Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer and manager
1975 – Natalie Cook, Australian volleyball player
1975 – Zdeňka Málková, Czech tennis player
1976 – Natale Gonnella, Italian footballer
1976 – Tarso Marques, Brazilian race car driver
1977 – Benjamin Ayres, Canadian actor, director, and photographer
1979 – Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast and sportscaster
1979 – Josu Sarriegi, Spanish footballer
1979 – Wiley, English rapper and producer
1980 – Jenson Button, English race car driver
1980 – Pasha Kovalev, Russian-American dancer and choreographer
1980 – Luke Macfarlane, Canadian-American actor and singer
1980 – Arvydas Macijauskas, Lithuanian basketball player
1980 – Michael Vandort, Sri Lankan cricketer
1981 – Paolo Bugia, Filipino basketball player
1981 – Asier del Horno, Spanish footballer
1981 – Lucho González, Argentinian footballer
1982 – Pete Buttigieg, American politician
1982 – Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player
1982 – Jodie Sweetin, American actress and singer
1982 – Shane Tronc, Australian rugby league player
1982 – Kim Yoo-suk, South Korean pole vaulter
1982 – Robin tom Rink, German singer-songwriter
1983 – Hikaru Utada, American-Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
1984 – Fabio Catacchini, Italian footballer
1984 – Karun Chandhok, Indian race car driver
1984 – Jimmy Kébé, Malian footballer
1984 – Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player
1985 – Jake Allen, American football player
1985 – Pascal Behrenbruch, German decathlete
1985 – Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player
1985 – Esteban Guerrieri, Argentinian race car driver
1985 – Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer and actress
1985 – Elliott Ward, English footballer
1985 – Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Nikulin, Russian footballer
2006 – Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricketer and pilot (b. 1921)
2007 – Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian journalist and activist (b. 1954)
2007 – Denny Doherty, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
2007 – Murat Nasyrov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1969)
2008 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)
2008 – John Stewart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
2008 – Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1936)
2010 – Bill McLaren, Scottish rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1923)
2012 – Peter Åslin, Swedish ice hockey player (b. 1962)
2012 – Sarah Burke, Canadian skier (b. 1982)
2012 – Winston Riley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1943)
2012 – Rudi van Dantzig, Dutch ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1933)
2013 – Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (b. 1940)
2013 – Stan Musial, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
2013 – Frank Pooler, American conductor and composer (b. 1926)
2013 – Earl Weaver, American baseball player and manager (b. 1930)
2013 – Toktamış Ateş, Turkish academician, political commentator, columnist and writer (b. 1944)
2014 – Azaria Alon, Ukrainian-Israeli environmentalist, co-founded the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (b. 1918)
2014 – Christopher Chataway, English runner, journalist, and politician (b. 1931)
2015 – Justin Capră, Romanian engineer and academic (b. 1933)
2015 – Michel Guimond, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1953)
2015 – Ward Swingle, American-French singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1927)
2016 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (b. 1930)
2016 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2016 – Sheila Sim, English actress (b. 1922)
2017 – Miguel Ferrer, American actor (b. 1955)
Holidays and observances on January 19
Birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (commemorated by the Poe Toaster at his grave in Baltimore)
Christian feast day:
Bassianus of Lodi
Henry of Uppsala
Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum
Mark of Ephesus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Pontianus of Spoleto
Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester
January 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Confederate Heroes Day (Texas), and its related observance:
Robert E. Lee Day (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi)
Feast of Sultán (Sovereignty), first day of the 17th month of the Bahá’í calendar (Bahá’í Faith) (only if Nowruz falls on March 21, otherwise the dates shifts)
Husband’s Day (Iceland)
Kokborok Day (Tripura, India)
Theophany / Epiphany (Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy), and its related observances:
Timkat, or 20 during Leap Year (Ethiopian Orthodox)
