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

    • 218 – Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus. He flees but is captured near Chalcedon and later executed in Cappadocia.
    • 793 – Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of Norse activity in the British Isles.
    • 1042 – Edward the Confessor becomes King of England – the country’s penultimate Anglo-Saxon king.
    • 1191 – Richard I arrives in Acre, beginning his crusade.
    • 1663 – Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial ensures Portugal’s independence from Spain.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: American attackers are driven back at the Battle of Trois-Rivières.
    • 1783 – Laki, a volcano in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine.
    • 1789 – James Madison introduces twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress.
    • 1794 – Robespierre inaugurates the French Revolution’s new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, with large organized festivals all across France.
    • 1856 – A group of 194 Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the mutineers of HMS Bounty, arrives at Norfolk Island, commencing the Third Settlement of the Island.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Cross Keys: Confederate forces under General Stonewall Jackson save the Army of Northern Virginia from a Union assault on the James Peninsula led by General George B. McClellan.
    • 1867 – Coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Hungary following the Austro-Hungarian compromise (Ausgleich).
    • 1887 – Herman Hollerith applies for US patent #395,781 for the ‘Art of Compiling Statistics’, which was his punched card calculator.
    • 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value.
    • 1912 – Carl Laemmle incorporates Universal Pictures.
    • 1918 – A solar eclipse is observed at Baker City, Oregon by scientists and an artist hired by the United States Navy.
    • 1928 – Second Northern Expedition: The National Revolutionary Army captures Peking, whose name is changed to Beijing (“Northern Capital”).
    • 1929 – Margaret Bondfield is appointed Minister of Labour. She is the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
    • 1940 – World War II: The completion of Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Allied forces from Narvik at the end of the Norwegian Campaign.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Allies commence the Syria–Lebanon Campaign against the possessions of Vichy France in the Levant.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Japanese imperial submarines I-21 and I-24 shell the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle.
    • 1949 – Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members.
    • 1949 – George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four is published.
    • 1953 – An F5 tornado hits Beecher, Michigan, killing 116, injuring 844, and destroying 340 homes.
    • 1953 – The United States Supreme Court rules in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. that restaurants in Washington, D.C., cannot refuse to serve black patrons.
    • 1959 – USS Barbero and the United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail.
    • 1966 – An F-104 Starfighter collides with XB-70 Valkyrie prototype no. 2, destroying both aircraft during a photo shoot near Edwards Air Force Base. Joseph A. Walker, a NASA test pilot, and Carl Cross, a United States Air Force test pilot, are both killed.
    • 1966 – Topeka, Kansas, is devastated by a tornado that registers as an “F5” on the Fujita scale: The first to exceed US$100 million in damages. Sixteen people are killed, hundreds more injured, and thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.
    • 1966 – The National Football League and American Football League announced a merger effective in 1970.
    • 1967 – Six-Day War: The USS Liberty incident occurs, killing 34 and wounding 171.
    • 1972 – Vietnam War: Nine-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc is burned by napalm, an event captured by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut moments later while the young girl is seen running down a road, in what would become an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo.
    • 1982 – Bluff Cove Air Attacks during the Falklands War: Fifty-six British servicemen are killed by an Argentine air attack on two landing ships, RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram.
    • 1984 – Homosexuality is declared legal in the Australian state of New South Wales.
    • 1987 – New Zealand’s Labour government establishes a national nuclear-free zone under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987.
    • 1992 – The first World Oceans Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
    • 1995 – Downed U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O’Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia.
    • 2001 – Mamoru Takuma kills eight and injures 15 in a mass stabbing at an elementary school in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan.
    • 2004 – The first Venus Transit in well over a century takes place, the previous one being in 1882.
    • 2007 – Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, is hit by the State’s worst storms and flooding in 30 years resulting in the death of nine people and the grounding of a trade ship, the MV Pasha Bulker.
    • 2008 – At least 37 miners go missing after an explosion in a Ukrainian coal mine causes it to collapse.
    • 2008 – At least seven people are killed and ten injured in a stabbing spree in Tokyo, Japan.
    • 2009 – Two American journalists are found guilty of illegally entering North Korea and sentenced to 12 years of penal labour.
    • 2014 – At least 28 people are killed in an attack at Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Pakistan.

    Births on June 8

    • 862 – Emperor Xizong of Tang (d. 888)
    • 1508 – Primož Trubar, Slovenian Protestant reformer (d. 1586)
    • 1552 – Gabriello Chiabrera, Italian poet and author (d. 1638)
    • 1593 – George I Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania (d. 1648)
    • 1625 – Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Italian-French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1712)
    • 1671 – Tomaso Albinoni, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1751)
    • 1717 – John Collins, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1795)
    • 1724 – John Smeaton, English engineer, designed the Coldstream Bridge and Perth Bridge (d. 1794)
    • 1745 – Caspar Wessel, Norwegian-Danish mathematician and cartographer (d. 1818)
    • 1757 – Ercole Consalvi, Italian cardinal (d. 1824)
    • 1788 – Charles A. Wickliffe, American politician, 14th Governor of Kentucky (d. 1869)
    • 1810 – Robert Schumann, German composer and critic (d. 1856)
    • 1829 – John Everett Millais, English painter and illustrator (d. 1896)
    • 1831 – Thomas J. Higgins, Canadian-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1917)
    • 1842 – John Q. A. Brackett, American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1918)
    • 1851 – Jacques-Arsène d’Arsonval, French physician and physicist (d. 1940)
    • 1852 – Guido Banti, Italian physician and pathologist (d. 1925)
    • 1854 – Douglas Cameron, Canadian politician, 8th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 1921)
    • 1855 – George Charles Haité, English painter and illustrator (d. 1924)
    • 1858 – Charlotte Scott, English mathematician (d. 1931)
    • 1859 – Smith Wigglesworth, English evangelist (d. 1947)
    • 1860 – Alicia Boole Stott, Irish-English mathematician and theorist (d. 1940)
    • 1867 – Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (d. 1959)
    • 1868 – Robert Robinson Taylor, American architect (d. 1942)
    • 1872 – Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (d. 1949)
    • 1875 – Ernst Enno, Estonian poet and author (d. 1934)
    • 1876 – Alexandre Tuffère, Greek-French triple jumper (d. 1958)
    • 1885 – Karl Genzken, German physician (d. 1957)
    • 1891 – William Funnell, Australian public servant (d. 1962)
    • 1893 – Ernst Marcus, German zoologist (d. 1968)
    • 1893 – Gaby Morlay, French actress (d. 1964)
    • 1894 – Erwin Schulhoff, Czech composer and pianist (d. 1942)
    • 1895 – Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1978)
    • 1897 – John G. Bennett, English mathematician and technologist (d. 1974)
    • 1899 – Eugène Lapierre, Canadian organist, composer and arts administrator (d. 1970)
    • 1899 – Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (d. 1945)
    • 1900 – Lena Baker, African-American maid executed for capital murder, later pardoned posthumously (d. 1945)
    • 1903 – Ralph Yarborough, American colonel and politician (d. 1996)
    • 1903 – Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian-French author and poet (d. 1987)
    • 1910 – C. C. Beck, American illustrator (d. 1989)
    • 1910 – John W. Campbell, American journalist and author (d. 1971)
    • 1910 – Fernand Fonssagrives, French-American photographer, sculptor, and painter (d. 2003)
    • 1911 – Edmundo Rivero, Argentinian singer-songwriter (d. 1986)
    • 1912 – Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, British abstract painter (d. 2004)
    • 1912 – Maurice Bellemare, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
    • 1912 – Harry Holtzman, American painter (d. 1987)
    • 1915 – Kayyar Kinhanna Rai, Indian journalist, author, and poet (d. 2015)
    • 1916 – Francis Crick, English biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
    • 1916 – Luigi Comencini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2007)
    • 1916 – Richard Pousette-Dart, American painter and educator (d. 1992)
    • 1917 – Byron White, American football player and judge (d. 2002)
    • 1918 – George Edward Hughes, Irish-New Zealand philosopher and logician (d. 1994)
    • 1918 – Robert Preston, American captain, actor, and singer (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – John D. Roberts, American chemist and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1918 – John H. Ross, American captain and pilot (d. 2013)
    • 1919 – John R. Deane, Jr., American general (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Gwen Harwood, Australian poet and playwright (d. 1995)
    • 1921 – Gordon McLendon, American broadcaster and businessman (d. 1986)
    • 1921 – Olga Nardone, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – LeRoy Neiman, American soldier and painter (d. 2012)
    • 1921 – Alexis Smith, Canadian-born American actress and singer (d. 1993)
    • 1921 – Suharto, Indonesian soldier and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (d. 2008)
    • 1924 – Billie Dawe, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Kenneth Waltz, American political scientist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Barbara Bush, American wife of George H. W. Bush, 41st First Lady of the United States (d. 2018)
    • 1927 – Jerry Stiller, American actor, comedian and producer (d. 2020)
    • 1929 – Nada Inada, Japanese psychiatrist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Robert Aumann, German-American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1930 – Marcel Léger, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1993)
    • 1931 – James Goldstone, American director and screenwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1931 – Dana Wynter, British actress (d. 2011)
    • 1932 – Ray Illingworth, English cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1932 – Ian Kirkwood, Lord Kirkwood, Scottish lawyer and judge (d. 2017)
    • 1933 – Rommie Loudd, American football player and coach (d. 1998)
    • 1933 – Joan Rivers, American comedian, actress, and television host (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – Robert Stevens, English lawyer and academic
    • 1934 – Millicent Martin, English actress and singer
    • 1935 – Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – James Darren, American actor
    • 1936 – Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Gillian Clarke, Welsh poet and playwright
    • 1938 – Angelo Amato, Italian cardinal
    • 1939 – Herb Adderley, American football player
    • 1940 – Nancy Sinatra, American singer and actress
    • 1941 – Robert Bradford, Northern Irish politician and activist (d. 1981)
    • 1941 – George Pell, Australian cardinal
    • 1942 – Nikos Konstantopoulos, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior
    • 1942 – Doug Mountjoy, Welsh snooker player
    • 1943 – Colin Baker, English actor
    • 1943 – William Calley, American lieutenant
    • 1943 – Willie Davenport, American colonel and hurdler (d. 2002)
    • 1943 – Peter Eggert, German footballer and manager
    • 1943 – Pierre-André Fournier, Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 2015)
    • 1944 – Mark Belanger, American baseball player (d. 1998)
    • 1944 – Marc Ouellet, Canadian cardinal
    • 1944 – Boz Scaggs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Steven Fromholz, American singer-songwriter, producer, and poet (d. 2014)
    • 1945 – Derek Underwood, English cricketer
    • 1946 – Graham Henry, New Zealand rugby player and coach
    • 1947 – Annie Haslam, English singer-songwriter and painter
    • 1947 – Sara Paretsky, American author
    • 1947 – Eric F. Wieschaus, American biologist, geneticist, and academic Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1949 – Emanuel Ax, Polish-American pianist and educator
    • 1949 – Hildegard Falck, German runner
    • 1950 – Kathy Baker, American actress
    • 1950 – Sônia Braga, Brazilian actress and producer
    • 1951 – Tony Rice, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1951 – Bonnie Tyler, Welsh singer-songwriter
    • 1953 – Billy Hayes, English union leader
    • 1953 – Sandy Nairne, English historian and curator
    • 1953 – Ivo Sanader, Croatian historian and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Croatia
    • 1953 – Olav Stedje, Norwegian singer-songwriter
    • 1954 – Greg Ginn, American punk rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (Black Flag)
    • 1954 – Kiril of Varna, Bulgarian metropolitan (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – Sergei Storchak, Ukrainian-Russian politician
    • 1955 – Tim Berners-Lee, English computer scientist, best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web
    • 1955 – José Antonio Camacho, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1955 – Griffin Dunne, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1956 – Udo Bullmann, German politician
    • 1956 – Jonathan Potter, English psychologist, sociolinguist, and academic
    • 1957 – Scott Adams, American author and illustrator
    • 1957 – Don Robinson, American baseball player and politician
    • 1957 – Sonja Vectomov, Czech/Finnish sculptor
    • 1958 – Louise Richardson, Irish political scientist and academic
    • 1958 – Keenen Ivory Wayans, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1959 – Mohsen Kadivar, Iranian philosopher
    • 1960 – Mick Hucknall, English singer-songwriter
    • 1960 – Terje Gewelt, Norwegian bassist
    • 1960 – Thomas Steen, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Mary Bonauto, American lawyer and gay rights activist
    • 1962 – John Gibbons, American baseball player and manager
    • 1962 – Andreas Keim, German footballer
    • 1962 – Nick Rhodes, English keyboard player and producer
    • 1963 – Karen Kingsbury, American journalist and author
    • 1963 – Antoaneta Todorova, Bulgarian javelin thrower
    • 1964 – Butch Reynolds, American runner and coach
    • 1965 – Kevin Farley, American screenwriter
    • 1965 – Rob Pilatus, German model, dancer and singer (Milli Vanilli) (d. 1998)
    • 1966 – Julianna Margulies, American actress
    • 1966 – Doris Pearson, English singer-songwriter and choreographer
    • 1967 – Dan Futterman, American actor, screenwriter and producer
    • 1967 – Russell E. Morris, Professor of Materials Chemistry at the University of St Andrews
    • 1968 – Rob Ray, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – David Barnhill, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1969 – J. P. Manoux, American actor
    • 1969 – Marcos Siega, American director and producer
    • 1970 – Gabrielle Giffords, American businesswoman, politician and activist
    • 1970 – Kwame Kilpatrick, American educator and politician, 68th Mayor of Detroit
    • 1970 – Steve Renouf, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1970 – Troy Vincent, American football player
    • 1971 – Mark Feuerstein, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1972 – Christian Mayrleb, Austrian footballer
    • 1973 – Lexa Doig, Canadian model and actress
    • 1973 – Bryant Reeves, American basketball player
    • 1974 – Pål Arne Fagernes, Norwegian javelin thrower (d. 2003)
    • 1974 – Lauren Burns, Australian taekwondo practitioner
    • 1974 – Alma Lepina, Latvian figure skater
    • 1975 – Emm Gryner, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Bryan McCabe, Canadian-American ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Mark Ricciuto, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1975 – Shilpa Shetty, Indian actress and producer
    • 1976 – Eion Bailey, American actor
    • 1976 – Kenji Johjima, Japanese baseball player
    • 1976 – Catherine McKinnell, English lawyer and politician
    • 1977 – Kanye West, American rapper, producer, director, and fashion designer
    • 1978 – Eun Ji-won, South Korean rapper, dancer, and producer
    • 1978 – Maria Menounos, American television journalist
    • 1979 – Alexei Kozlov, Estonian figure skater
    • 1979 – Pete Orr, Canadian-American baseball player
    • 1979 – Adine Wilson, New Zealand netball player
    • 1979 – İpek Şenoğlu, Turkish tennis player
    • 1980 – Gustavo Manduca, Brazilian footballer
    • 1980 – Jamie Spencer, Irish jockey
    • 1981 – Alex Band, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1981 – Rachel Held Evans, American Christian author
    • 1981 – Matteo Meneghello, Italian race car driver
    • 1981 – Sara Watkins, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
    • 1982 – Matteo Barbini, Italian rugby player
    • 1982 – Michael Cammalleri, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Dickson Etuhu, Nigerian footballer
    • 1982 – Irina Lăzăreanu, Romanian-Canadian model and singer
    • 1982 – Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis player
    • 1983 – Gaines Adams, American football player (d. 2010)
    • 1983 – Kim Clijsters, Belgian tennis player
    • 1983 – Pantelis Kapetanos, Greek footballer
    • 1983 – Coby Karl, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Javier Mascherano, Argentinian footballer
    • 1985 – Alexandre Despatie, Canadian diver
    • 1985 – Rosanna Pansino, American actress, writer and TV personality
    • 1986 – Patrick Kaleta, American ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Andrej Sekera, Slovak ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Coralie Balmy, French swimmer
    • 1987 – Issiar Dia, Senegalese footballer
    • 1989 – Timea Bacsinszky, Swiss tennis player
    • 1989 – Mitchell Schwartz, American football player
    • 1990 – Todd Barclay, New Zealand politician
    • 1990 – Mickey Bushell, English wheelchair racer
    • 1992 – Sebá, Brazilian footballer
    • 1996 – Doğanay Kılıç, Turkish footballer
    • 1997 – Jeļena Ostapenko, Latvian tennis player

    Deaths on June 8

    • 632 – Muhammad, the central figure of Islam, widely regarded as its founder (b. 570/571)
    • 696 – Chlodulf, bishop of Metz (or 697)
    • 951 – Zhao Ying, Chinese chancellor (b. 885)
    • 1042 – Harthacnut, English-Danish king (b. 1018)
    • 1154 – William of York, English archbishop and saint
    • 1290 – Beatrice Portinari, object of Dante Alighieri’s adoration (b. 1266)
    • 1376 – Edward, the Black Prince, English son of Edward III of England (b. 1330)
    • 1383 – Thomas de Ros, 4th Baron de Ros, English politician (b. 1338)
    • 1384 – Kan’ami, Japanese actor and playwright (b. 1333)
    • 1405 – Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York (b. c.1350)
    • 1405 – Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk (b. 1385)
    • 1476 – George Neville, English archbishop and academic (b. 1432)
    • 1492 – Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of England (b. 1437)
    • 1501 – George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly, Earl of Huntly and Lord Chancellor of Scotland (b. 1440)
    • 1505 – Hongzhi Emperor of China (b. 1470)
    • 1600 – Edward Fortunatus, German nobleman (b. 1565)
    • 1611 – Jean Bertaut, French bishop and poet (b. 1552)
    • 1612 – Hans Leo Hassler, German organist and composer (b. 1562)
    • 1621 – Anne de Xainctonge, French saint, founded the Society of the Sisters of Saint Ursula of the Blessed Virgin (b. 1567)
    • 1628 – Rudolph Goclenius, German lexicographer and philosopher (b. 1547)
    • 1651 – Tokugawa Iemitsu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1604)
    • 1714 – Sophia of Hanover (b. 1630)
    • 1716 – Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, German son of Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (b. 1658)
    • 1727 – August Hermann Francke, German-Lutheran pietist, philanthropist, and scholar (b. 1663)
    • 1768 – Johann Joachim Winckelmann, German archaeologist and scholar (b. 1717)
    • 1771 – George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1716)
    • 1795 – Louis XVII of France (b. 1785)
    • 1809 – Thomas Paine, English-American theorist and author (b. 1737)
    • 1831 – Sarah Siddons, Welsh actress (b. 1755)
    • 1835 – Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Italian economist and jurist (b. 1761)
    • 1845 – Andrew Jackson, American general, judge, and politician, 7th President of the United States (b. 1767)
    • 1846 – Rodolphe Töpffer, Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist (b. 1799)
    • 1857 – Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (b. 1803)
    • 1874 – Cochise, American tribal chief (b. 1805)
    • 1876 – George Sand, French author and playwright (b. 1804)
    • 1885 – Ignace Bourget, Canadian bishop (b. 1799)
    • 1889 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (b. 1844)
    • 1899 – Mary of the Divine Heart, German nun and saint (b. 1863)
    • 1924 – Andrew Irvine, English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1902)
    • 1924 – George Mallory, English lieutenant and mountaineer (b. 1886)
    • 1929 – Bliss Carman, Canadian-American poet and playwright (b. 1861)
    • 1945 – Karl Hanke, Polish-German soldier and politician (b. 1903)
    • 1951 – Eugène Fiset, Canadian physician, general, and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1874)
    • 1951 – Oswald Pohl, German SS officer (b. 1892)
    • 1956 – Marie Laurencin, French painter and sculptor (b. 1883)
    • 1959 – Leslie Johnson, English race car driver (b. 1912)
    • 1965 – Edmondo Rossoni, Italian politician (b. 1884)
    • 1966 – Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer and academic (b. 1890)
    • 1968 – Elizabeth Enright, American author and illustrator (b. 1909)
    • 1968 – Ludovico Scarfiotti, Italian race car driver (b. 1933)
    • 1969 – Arunachalam Mahadeva, Sri Lankan politician and diplomat (b. 1885)
    • 1969 – Robert Taylor, American actor and singer (b. 1911)
    • 1970 – Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic (b. 1908)
    • 1971 – J.I. Rodale, American author and playwright (b. 1898)
    • 1976 – Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe, Norwegian zoologist and psychologist (b. 1894)
    • 1982 – Satchel Paige, American baseball player and coach (b. 1906)
    • 1984 – Gordon Jacob, English composer and academic (b. 1895)
    • 1987 – Alexander Iolas, Egyptian-American art collector (b. 1907)
    • 1997 – George Turner, Australian author and critic (b. 1916)
    • 1997 – Karen Wetterhahn, American chemist and academic (b. 1948)
    • 1998 – Sani Abacha, Nigerian general and politician, 10th President of Nigeria (b. 1943)
    • 1998 – Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (b. 1903)
    • 2000 – Jeff MacNelly, American cartoonist (b. 1948)
    • 2001 – Alex de Renzy, American director and producer (b. 1935)
    • 2004 – Charles Hyder, American astrophysicist and academic (b. 1930)
    • 2004 – Mack Jones, American baseball player (b. 1938)
    • 2006 – Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded Rip Off Press (b. 1941)
    • 2006 – Matta El Meskeen, Egyptian monk, theologian, and author (b. 1919)
    • 2008 – Šaban Bajramović, Serbian singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
    • 2009 – Omar Bongo, Gabonese captain and politician, President of Gabon (b. 1935)
    • 2010 – Crispian St. Peters, English singer-songwriter (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – Pete Brennan, American basketball player (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Charles E. M. Pearce, New Zealand-Australian mathematician and academic (b. 1940)
    • 2012 – Ghassan Tueni, Lebanese journalist, academic, and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Paul Cellucci, American soldier and politician, 69th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter, journalist, and critic (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Taufiq Kiemas, Indonesian politician, 5th First Spouse of Indonesia (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Alexander Imich, Polish-American chemist, parapsychologist, and academic (b. 1903)
    • 2014 – Yoshihito, Prince Katsura of Japan (b. 1948)
    • 2015 – Chea Sim, Cambodian commander and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2017 – Sam Panopoulos, Greek cook (b. 1934)

    Holidays and observances on June 8

    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed Mariam Thresia Chiramel Mankidiyan
      • Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart (Droste zu Vischering)
      • Chlodulf of Metz
      • Jacques Berthieu, S.J.
      • Jadwiga (Hedwig) of Poland
      • Medard
      • Melania the Elder
      • Roland Allen (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Thomas Ken (Church of England)
      • William of York
      • June 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Queen’s Birthday can fall, while June 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in June. (Australia, except Western Australia and Queensland)
    • Bounty Day (Norfolk Island)
    • Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
    • Engineer’s Day (Peru)
    • Pranav Sivakumar Day (Illinois, United States)
    • Primož Trubar Day (Slovenia)
    • World Brain Tumor Day
    • World Oceans Day

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

    • 202 BC – Liu Bang is enthroned as the Emperor of China, beginning four centuries of rule by the Han dynasty.
    • 870 – The Fourth Council of Constantinople closes.
    • 1246 – The siege of Jaén ends in the context of the Spanish Reconquista resulting in the Castilian takeover of the city from the Taifa of Jaen.
    • 1525 – Aztec king Cuauhtémoc is executed on the order of conquistador Hernán Cortés.
    • 1638 – The Scottish National Covenant is signed in Edinburgh.
    • 1700 – Today is followed by March 1 in Sweden, thus creating the Swedish calendar.
    • 1710 – Battle of Helsingborg: 14,000 Danish invaders under Jørgen Rantzau are decisively defeated by an equally sized Swedish force under Magnus Stenbock. This is the last time Swedish and Danish troops meet on Swedish soil.
    • 1728 – Peshwa Bajirao I of the Maratha Empire defeats Asaf Jah I in the Battle of Palkhed.
    • 1827 – The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.
    • 1838 – Robert Nelson, leader of the Patriotes, proclaims the independence of Lower Canada (today Quebec).
    • 1844 – A gun on USS Princeton explodes while the boat is on a Potomac River cruise, killing six people, including two United States Cabinet members.
    • 1847 – The Battle of the Sacramento River during the Mexican–American War is a decisive victory for the United States leading to the capture of Chihuahua.
    • 1849 – Regular steamship service from the east to the west coast of the United States begins with the arrival of the SS California in San Francisco Bay, four months 22 days after leaving New York Harbor.
    • 1867 – Seventy years of Holy See–United States relations are ended by a Congressional ban on federal funding of diplomatic envoys to the Vatican and are not restored until January 10, 1984.
    • 1870 – The Bulgarian Exarchate is established by decree of Sultan Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1874 – One of the longest cases ever heard in an English court ends when the defendant is convicted of perjury for attempting to assume the identity of the heir to the Tichborne baronetcy.
    • 1893 – The USS Indiana, the lead ship of her class and the first battleship in the United States Navy comparable to foreign battleships of the time, is launched.
    • 1897 – Queen Ranavalona III, the last monarch of Madagascar, is deposed by a French military force.
    • 1900 – The Second Boer War: The 118-day “Siege of Ladysmith” is lifted.
    • 1904 – S.L. Benfica is founded in Portugal.
    • 1922 – The United Kingdom ends its protectorate over Egypt through a Unilateral Declaration of Independence.
    • 1925 – The Charlevoix-Kamouraska earthquake strikes northeastern North America.
    • 1933 – Gleichschaltung: The Reichstag Fire Decree is passed in Germany a day after the Reichstag fire.
    • 1935 – DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents nylon.
    • 1939 – The erroneous word “dord” is discovered in the Webster’s New International Dictionary, Second Edition, prompting an investigation.
    • 1940 – Basketball is televised for the first time (Fordham University vs. the University of Pittsburgh in Madison Square Garden).
    • 1942 – The heavy cruiser USS Houston is sunk in the Battle of Sunda Strait with 693 crew members killed, along with HMAS Perth which lost 375 men.
    • 1947 – February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians.
    • 1948 – Christiansborg Cross-Roads shooting in the Gold Coast, when a British police officer opens fire on a march of ex-servicemen, killing three of them and sparking major riots and looting in Accra.
    • 1953 – James Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April’s Nature (pub. April 2).
    • 1954 – The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public.
    • 1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver and 26 children die in what remains one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.
    • 1959 – Discoverer 1, an American spy satellite that is the first object intended to achieve a polar orbit, is launched but fails to achieve orbit.
    • 1966 – A NASA T-38 Talon crashes into the McDonnell Aircraft factory while attempting a poor-visibility landing at Lambert Field, St. Louis, killing astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett.
    • 1972 – China–United States relations: The United States and China sign the Shanghai Communiqué.
    • 1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.
    • 1980 – Andalusia approves its statute of autonomy through a referendum.
    • 1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 106 million viewers. It still holds the record for the highest viewership of a season finale.
    • 1985 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army carries out a mortar attack on the Royal Ulster Constabulary police station at Newry, killing nine officers in the highest loss of life for the RUC on a single day.
    • 1986 – Olof Palme, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden, is assassinated in Stockholm.
    • 1991 – The first Gulf War ends.
    • 1993 – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group’s leader David Koresh. Four ATF agents and six Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.
    • 1995 – Former Australian Liberal party leader John Hewson resigns from the Australian parliament almost two years after losing the 1993 Australian federal election.
    • 1997 – An earthquake in northern Iran is responsible for about 3,000 deaths.
    • 1997 – GRB 970228, a highly luminous flash of gamma rays, strikes the Earth for 80 seconds, providing early evidence that gamma-ray bursts occur well beyond the Milky Way.
    • 1998 – First flight of RQ-4 Global Hawk, the first unmanned aerial vehicle certified to file its own flight plans and fly regularly in U.S. civilian airspace.
    • 1998 – Kosovo War: Serbian police begin the offensive against the Kosovo Liberation Army in Kosovo.
    • 2002 – During the religious violence in Gujarat, the 97 people killed in the Naroda Patiya massacre and 69 in Gulbarg Society massacre.
    • 2004 – Over one million Taiwanese participate in the 228 Hand-in-Hand rally form a 500-kilometre (310 mi) long human chain to commemorate the February 28 Incident in 1947.
    • 2005 – A suicide bombing at a police recruiting centre in Al Hillah, Iraq kills 127.
    • 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII, in 1415.

    Births on February 28

    • 1119 – Emperor Xizong of Jin (d. 1150)
    • 1155 – Henry the Young King, son and heir of Henry II of England (d. 1183)
    • 1261 – Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway (d. 1283)
    • 1518 – Francis III, Duke of Brittany, Duke of Brittany (d. 1536)
    • 1533 – Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher and author (d. 1592)
    • 1535 – Cornelius Gemma, Dutch astronomer and astrologer (d. 1578)
    • 1552 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss mathematician and clockmaker (d. 1632)
    • 1612 – John Pearson, English bishop, theologian, and scholar (d. 1686)
    • 1627 – Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Essex (d. 1703)
    • 1675 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (d. 1726)
    • 1683 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French entomologist and academic (d. 1757)
    • 1704 – Louis Godin, French astronomer and academic (d. 1760)
    • 1712 – Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French general (d. 1759)
    • 1724 – George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, English field marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1807)
    • 1792 – Karl Ernst von Baer, German biologist, meteorologist, and geographer (d. 1876)
    • 1812 – Berthold Auerbach, German poet and author (d. 1882)
    • 1820 – John Tenniel, English illustrator (d. 1914)
    • 1833 – Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal (d. 1913)
    • 1840 – Henri Duveyrier, French explorer (d. 1892)
    • 1848 – Arthur Giry, French historian and academic (d. 1899)
    • 1851 – Samuel W. McCall, American journalist and politician, 47th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1923)
    • 1858 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (d. 1941)
    • 1865 – Wilfred Grenfell, English physician and missionary (d. 1940)
    • 1866 – Vyacheslav Ivanov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1949)
    • 1873 – William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish sailor (d. 1912)
    • 1878 – Pierre Fatou, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1929)
    • 1882 – Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
    • 1882 – José Vasconcelos, Mexican philosopher, lawyer, and politician, Mexican Secretary of Public Education (d. 1959)
    • 1883 – Seán Mac Diarmada, Irish rebel leader (d. 1916)
    • 1884 – Ants Piip, Estonian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1942)
    • 1887 – William Zorach, Lithuanian-American sculptor and painter (d. 1966)
    • 1894 – Ben Hecht, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1964)
    • 1895 – Marcel Pagnol, French author, playwright and director (d. 1974)
    • 1896 – Philip Showalter Hench, American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
    • 1898 – Zeki Rıza Sporel, Turkish footballer (d. 1969)
    • 1900 – Wolf Hirth, German pilot and engineer, co-founded Schempp-Hirth (d. 1959)
    • 1901 – Linus Pauling, American chemist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
    • 1903 – Vincente Minnelli, American director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
    • 1906 – Bugsy Siegel, American gangster (d. 1947)
    • 1907 – Milton Caniff, American cartoonist (d. 1988)
    • 1908 – Billie Bird, American actress (d. 2002)
    • 1909 – Stephen Spender, English author and poet (d. 1995)
    • 1911 – Otakar Vávra, Czech director and screenwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1915 – Ketti Frings, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1981)
    • 1915 – Peter Medawar, Brazilian-English biologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
    • 1915 – Zero Mostel, American actor and comedian (d. 1977)
    • 1916 – Cesar Climaco, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Mayor of Zamboanga City (d. 1984)
    • 1917 – Ernesto Alonso, Mexican actor, director, and producer (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (d. 2013)
    • 1919 – Brian Urquhart, English soldier and diplomat, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations
    • 1920 – Jadwiga Piłsudska, Polish soldier, pilot, and architect (d. 2014)
    • 1921 – Pierre Clostermann, French pilot, engineer, and author (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Yuri Lotman, Russian-Estonian historian and scholar (d. 1993)
    • 1923 – Charles Durning, American soldier and actor (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Uno Prii, Estonian-Canadian architect (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Robert A. Roe, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Harry H. Corbett, Burmese-English actor (d. 1982)
    • 1926 – Svetlana Alliluyeva, Russian-American author and educator (d. 2011)
    • 1928 – Stanley Baker, Welsh actor and producer (d. 1976)
    • 1928 – Tom Aldredge, American actor (d. 2011)
    • 1928 – Sylvia del Villard, actress, dancer, choreographer and Afro-Puerto Rican activist (d. 1990)
    • 1929 – Hayden Fry, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Frank Gehry, Canadian-American architect, designed 8 Spruce Street and Walt Disney Concert Hall
    • 1929 – John Montague, American-Irish poet and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – Rangaswamy Srinivasan, Indian-American physical chemist and inventor
    • 1930 – Leon Cooper, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1931 – Iajuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi academic and politician, 14th President of Bangladesh (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – Peter Alliss, English golfer and sportscaster
    • 1931 – Gavin MacLeod, American actor
    • 1931 – Len Newcombe, Welsh footballer, outside forward and scout (d. 1996)
    • 1931 – Dean Smith, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Don Francks, Canadian actor, singer, and jazz musician (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Rein Taagepera, Estonian political scientist and politician
    • 1934 – Willie Bobo, American Latin Jazz/Afro-Cuban jazz percussionist (d. 1983)
    • 1937 – Jeff Farrell, American swimmer
    • 1938 – Foge Fazio, American football player and coach (d. 2009)
    • 1939 – John Fahey, American guitarist (d. 2001)
    • 1939 – Chögyam Trungpa, Tibetan philosopher and scholar (d. 1987)
    • 1939 – Daniel C. Tsui, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1939 – Tommy Tune, American actor, singer, dancer, and director
    • 1940 – Aldo Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
    • 1940 – Mario Andretti, Italian-American race car driver
    • 1940 – Joe South, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer (d. 2012)
    • 1942 – Brian Jones, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1969)
    • 1942 – Dino Zoff, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1943 – Barbara Acklin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1998)
    • 1943 – Hans Dijkstal, Egyptian-Dutch educator and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 2010)
    • 1943 – Donnie Iris, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1944 – Kelly Bishop, American actress and dancer
    • 1944 – Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Sepp Maier, German footballer and manager
    • 1944 – Storm Thorgerson, English graphic designer (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Mimsy Farmer, American-French actress and sculptor
    • 1945 – Bubba Smith, American football player and actor (d. 2011)
    • 1945 – Linda Preiss Rothschild, American mathematician and academic
    • 1946 – Philip Bailhache, English lawyer and politician
    • 1946 – Robin Cook, Scottish educator and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2005)
    • 1946 – Syreeta Wright, African-American singer songwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1947 – Stephanie Beacham, English actress
    • 1948 – Steven Chu, American physicist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1948 – Mike Figgis, English director, screenwriter, and composer
    • 1948 – Bernadette Peters, American actress, singer, and author
    • 1948 – Mercedes Ruehl, American actress
    • 1948 – Alfred Sant, Maltese politician, 11th Prime Minister of Malta
    • 1951 – Bill Cratty, American dancer and choreographer (d. 1998)
    • 1951 – Debora Green, American physician convicted of murder
    • 1953 – Ingo Hoffmann, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1953 – Paul Krugman, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1953 – Ricky Steamboat, American wrestler, referee, and trainer
    • 1954 – Brian Billick, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1955 – Adrian Dantley, American basketball player and coach
    • 1955 – Gilbert Gottfried, American comedian, actor, and singer
    • 1956 – Terry Leahy, English businessman
    • 1956 – Guy Maddin, Canadian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
    • 1957 – Paul Delph, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1957 – Ainsley Harriott, English chef and author
    • 1957 – Ian Smith, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1957 – John Turturro, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Cindy Wilson, American singer-songwriter
    • 1958 – Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican criminal and narcotics trafficker (d. 2012)
    • 1958 – Natalya Estemirova, Russian journalist and activist (d. 2009)
    • 1958 – Jeanne Mas, Spanish-French singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1958 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (d. 2010)
    • 1959 – Jack Abramoff, American businessman and lobbyist
    • 1959 – Megan McDonald, American librarian and author
    • 1961 – Rae Dawn Chong, Canadian-American actress
    • 1961 – Mark Latham, Australian politician
    • 1961 – Barry McGuigan, Irish-British boxer
    • 1962 – Gary Belcher, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Claudio Chiappucci, Italian cyclist
    • 1964 – Djamolidine Abdoujaparov, Uzbekistan sprinter and cyclist
    • 1965 – Colum McCann, Irish-American author and academic
    • 1965 – Norman Smiley, English-American wrestler and trainer
    • 1966 – Vincent Askew, American basketball player and coach
    • 1966 – Paulo Futre, Portuguese footballer
    • 1966 – Archbishop Jovan VI of Ohrid
    • 1967 – Colin Cooper, English footballer and manager
    • 1967 – Martin Tielli, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1969 – Sean Farrel, English footballer, forward
    • 1969 – Butch Leitzinger, American race car driver
    • 1969 – Robert Sean Leonard, American actor
    • 1969 – Patrick Monahan, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1970 – Daniel Handler, American journalist, author, and accordion player
    • 1970 – Noureddine Morceli, Algerian runner
    • 1971 – Junya Nakano, Japanese pianist and composer
    • 1971 – Peter Stebbings, Canadian actor and director
    • 1972 – Rory Cochrane, American actor
    • 1972 – Ville Haapasalo, Finnish actor and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Eric Lindros, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Scott McLeod, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1973 – Nicolas Minassian, French race car driver
    • 1973 – Masato Tanaka, Japanese wrestler
    • 1974 – Lee Carsley, English-Irish footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Alexander Zickler, German footballer and manager
    • 1975 – Mike Rucker, American football player
    • 1976 – Ali Larter, American actress
    • 1977 – Jason Aldean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Lance Hoyt, American football player and wrestler
    • 1978 – Jeanne Cherhal, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Benjamin Raich, Austrian skier
    • 1978 – Jamaal Tinsley, American basketball player
    • 1978 – Mariano Zabaleta, Argentinian tennis player
    • 1979 – Sébastien Bourdais, French race car driver
    • 1979 – Ivo Karlović, Croatian tennis player
    • 1979 – Primož Peterka, Slovenian ski jumper
    • 1980 – Pascal Bosschaart, Dutch footballer
    • 1980 – Lucian Bute, Romanian-Canadian boxer
    • 1980 – Christian Poulsen, Danish footballer
    • 1980 – Tayshaun Prince, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Brian Bannister, American baseball player and scout
    • 1982 – Natalia Vodianova, Russian-French model and actress
    • 1984 – Noureen DeWulf, American actress
    • 1984 – Karolína Kurková, Czech model and actress
    • 1985 – Tim Bresnan, English cricketer
    • 1985 – Jelena Janković, Serbian tennis player
    • 1985 – Diego Ribas da Cunha, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Travis Stevens, American judoka
    • 1987 – Antonio Candreva, Italian footballer
    • 1988 – Aroldis Chapman, Cuban baseball player
    • 1988 – Markéta Irglová, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1989 – Carlos Dunlap, American football player
    • 1989 – Charles Jenkins, American basketball player
    • 1989 – Kevin Proctor, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1989 – Angelababy, Chinese actress
    • 1990 – Takayasu Akira, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1994 – Jake Bugg, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1994 – Arkadiusz Milik, Polish footballer
    • 1999 – Luka Dončić, Slovenian basketball player

    Deaths on February 28

    • 628 – Khosrow II, Shah of Iran – Sasanian Empire (b. c. 570)
    • 911 – Abu Abdallah al-Shi’i, Muslim Shia imam
    • 1105 – Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse (b. c. 1042)
    • 1261 – Henry III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1230)
    • 1326 – Leopold I, Duke of Austria (b. 1290)
    • 1453 – Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine (b. 1400)
    • 1510 – Juan de la Cosa, Spanish cartographer and explorer (b. 1450)
    • 1551 – Martin Bucer, German Protestant reformer (b. 1491)
    • 1572 – Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian and author (b. 1505)
    • 1621 – Cosimo II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1590)
    • 1648 – Christian IV of Denmark (b. 1577)
    • 1786 – John Gwynn, English architect and engineer (b. 1713)
    • 1788 – Thomas Cushing, American lawyer and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1725)
    • 1857 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (b. 1809)
    • 1869 – Alphonse de Lamartine, French author and poet (b. 1790)
    • 1879 – Hortense Allart, Italian-French author (b. 1801)
    • 1891 – George Hearst, American businessman and politician (b. 1820)
    • 1916 – Henry James, American novelist, short writer, and critic (b. 1843)
    • 1925 – Friedrich Ebert, German politician, 1st President of Germany (b. 1871)
    • 1929 – Clemens von Pirquet, Austrian physician and immunologist (b. 1874)
    • 1932 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer and academic (b. 1851)
    • 1935 – Chiquinha Gonzaga, Brazilian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1847)
    • 1936 – Charles Nicolle, French biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
    • 1941 – Alfonso XIII of Spain (b. 1886)
    • 1942 – Karel Doorman, Dutch admiral (b. 1889)
    • 1959 – Maxwell Anderson, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1888)
    • 1963 – Rajendra Prasad, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st President of India (b. 1884)
    • 1966 – Charles Bassett, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1931)
    • 1966 – Elliot See, American commander, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1927)
    • 1967 – Henry Luce, American publisher, co-founded Time Magazine (b. 1898)
    • 1977 – Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, American actor and comedian (b. 1905)
    • 1978 – Zara Cully, American actress (b. 1892)
    • 1978 – Eric Frank Russell, English author (b. 1905)
    • 1983 – Winifred Atwell, Trinidadian pianist (b. 1910 or 1914)
    • 1987 – Stephen Tennant, English author (b. 1906)
    • 1991 – Wassily Hoeffding, Finnish-American statistician and theorist (b. 1914)
    • 1993 – Ishirō Honda, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1911)
    • 1993 – Ruby Keeler, Canadian-American actress and dancer (b. 1909)
    • 1998 – Dermot Morgan, Irish comedian and actor (b. 1952)
    • 1998 – Arkady Shevchenko, Ukrainian diplomat (b. 1930)
    • 2002 – Mary Stuart, American actress and singer (b. 1926)
    • 2002 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Chris Brasher, Guyanese-English runner and journalist, co-founded the London Marathon (b. 1928)
    • 2003 – Fidel Sánchez Hernández, Salvadorian general and politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1917)
    • 2004 – Daniel J. Boorstin, American historian and librarian (b. 1914)
    • 2004 – Carmen Laforet, Spanish author (b. 1921)
    • 2004 – Andres Nuiamäe, Estonian sergeant (b. 1982)
    • 2005 – Chris Curtis, English singer and drummer (b. 1941)
    • 2006 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
    • 2007 – Charles Forte, Baron Forte, Italian-English businessman, founded the Forte Group (b. 1908)
    • 2007 – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. American historian and critic (b. 1917)
    • 2007 – Billy Thorpe, English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1946)
    • 2008 – Joseph M. Juran, Romanian-American engineer and businessman (b. 1904)
    • 2009 – Paul Harvey, American radio host (b. 1918)
    • 2011 – Annie Girardot, French actress (b. 1931)
    • 2011 – Jane Russell, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Frisner Augustin, Haitian drummer and composer (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Jim Green, American-Canadian educator and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Hal Roach, Irish comedian and author (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Donald A. Glaser, American physicist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Neil McCorkell, English cricketer and coach (b. 1912)
    • 2014 – Hugo Brandt Corstius, Dutch linguist and author (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Lee Lorch, American mathematician and activist (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Alex Johnson, American baseball player (b. 1942)
    • 2015 – Yaşar Kemal, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 2017 – Pierre Pascau, Mauritian-Canadian journalist (b. 1938)
    • 2019 – André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (b. 1929)
    • 2020 – Joe Coulombe, founder of Trader Joe’s (b. 1930)
    • 2020 – Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (b. 1923)
    • 2020 – Sir Lenox Hewitt, Australian public servant (b. 1917)

    Holidays and observances on February 28

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abercius (martyr)
      • Anna Julia Cooper and Elizabeth Evelyn Wright (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Hilarius
      • Mar Abba
      • Oswald of Worcester
      • Romanus of Condat
      • Rufinus
      • February 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Rare Disease Day can fall, while February 29 is the latest; observed on the last day of February (international)
    • The third day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Please note that this observance is only locked into this date the Gregorian calendar on this date if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it doesn’t in all years)
    • Día de Andalucía (Andalusia, Spain)
    • Kalevala Day, the day of Finnish culture. (Finland)
    • National Science Day (India)
    • Peace Memorial Day (Taiwan)
    • Teachers’ Day (Arab states)

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

    • 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
    • 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the “Holy Catholic faith”.
    • 1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
    • 1582 – Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
    • 1759 – The British Museum opens to the public.
    • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
    • 1782 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
    • 1815 – War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
    • 1818 – A paper by David Brewster is read to the Royal Society, belatedly announcing his discovery of what we now call the biaxial class of doubly-refracting crystals. On the same day, Augustin-Jean Fresnel signs a “supplement” (submitted four days later) on reflection of polarized light.
    • 1822 – Greek War of Independence: Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
    • 1867 – Forty people die when ice covering the boating lake at Regent’s Park, London, collapses.
    • 1870 – A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the Democratic Party with a donkey (“A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion” by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly).
    • 1876 – The first newspaper in Afrikaans, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, is published in Paarl.
    • 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.
    • 1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
    • 1908 – The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.
    • 1910 – Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 325 ft (99 m).
    • 1911 – Palestinian Arabic-language Falastin newspaper founded.
    • 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.
    • 1919 – Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.
    • 1934 – The 8.0 Mw  Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people.
    • 1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
    • 1943 – The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
    • 1947 – The Black Dahlia murder: the dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short was found in Los Angeles.
    • 1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
    • 1962 – The Derveni papyrus, Europe’s oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.
    • 1962 – Netherlands New Guinea Conflict: Indonesian Navy fast patrol boat RI Macan Tutul commanded by Commodore Yos Sudarso sunk in Arafura Sea by the Dutch Navy.
    • 1966 – The First Nigerian Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d’état.
    • 1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.
    • 1969 – The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
    • 1970 – Nigerian Civil War: Biafran rebels surrender following an unsuccessful 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria.
    • 1970 – Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
    • 1973 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
    • 1975 – The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.
    • 1976 – Gerald Ford’s would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
    • 1981 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation from Solidarity (Polish trade union) at the Vatican led by Lech Wałęsa.
    • 1991 – The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
    • 1991 – Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.
    • 2001 – Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
    • 2005 – ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the Moon.
    • 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
    • 2009 – US Airways Flight 1549 ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take-off.
    • 2013 – A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others.
    • 2015 – The Swiss National Bank abandons the cap on the franc’s value relative to the euro, causing turmoil in international financial markets
    • 2016 – The Kenyan Army suffers its worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 Kenyan soldiers are killed in the battle.
    • 2019 – Somali militants attack the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi, Kenya killing at least 21 people and injuring 19.
    • 2019 – Theresa May’s UK government suffers the biggest government defeat in modern times, when 432 MPs voting against the proposed European Union withdrawal agreement, giving her opponents a majority of 230.

    Births on January 15

    • 961 – Seongjong of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 997)
    • 1432 – Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
    • 1462 – Edzard I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1528)
    • 1481 – Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shōgun (d. 1511)
    • 1538 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
    • 1595 – Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, English politician (d. 1661)
    • 1622 – Molière, French actor and playwright (d. 1673)
    • 1623 – Algernon Sidney, British philosopher (d. 1683)
    • 1671 – Abraham de la Pryme, English archaeologist and historian (d. 1704)
    • 1674 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French poet and playwright (d. 1762)
    • 1716 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (d. 1778)
    • 1747 – John Aikin, English surgeon and author (d. 1822)
    • 1754 – Richard Martin, Irish activist and politician, co-founded the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (d. 1834)
    • 1791 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1872)
    • 1795 – Alexander Griboyedov, Russian playwright, composer, and poet (d. 1829)
    • 1803 – Marjorie Fleming, Scottish poet and author (d. 1811)
    • 1809 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French economist and politician (d. 1865)
    • 1812 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian author and scholar (d. 1885)
    • 1815 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, 3rd President of the Church of Jesus Christ (d. 1905)
    • 1834 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (d. 1911)
    • 1841 – Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, English captain and politician, 6th Governor General of Canada (d. 1908)
    • 1842 – Josef Breuer, Austrian physician and psychiatrist (d. 1925)
    • 1842 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun and saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (d. 1909)
    • 1850 – Leonard Darwin, English soldier, eugenicist, and politician (d. 1943)
    • 1850 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1889)
    • 1850 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1891)
    • 1855 – Jacques Damala, Greek-French soldier and actor (d. 1889)
    • 1858 – Giovanni Segantini, Italian painter (d. 1899)
    • 1859 – Archibald Peake, English-Australian politician, 25th Premier of South Australia (d. 1920)
    • 1863 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
    • 1866 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, historian, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
    • 1869 – Ruby Laffoon, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Kentucky (d. 1941)
    • 1869 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish poet, playwright, and painter (d. 1907)
    • 1870 – Pierre S. du Pont, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1954)
    • 1872 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (d. 1944)
    • 1875 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and journalist (d. 1929)
    • 1877 – Lewis Terman, American psychologist, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1956)
    • 1878 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (d. 1941)
    • 1879 – Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1961)
    • 1882 – Henry Burr, Canadian singer, radio performer, and producer (d. 1941)
    • 1885 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and author (d. 1973)
    • 1885 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968)
    • 1890 – Michiaki Kamada, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
    • 1891 – Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
    • 1891 – Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet and translator (d. 1938)
    • 1893 – Ivor Novello, Welsh singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1951)
    • 1895 – Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
    • 1896 – Marjorie Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1982)
    • 1902 – Nâzım Hikmet, Greek-Turkish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
    • 1902 – Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
    • 1903 – Paul A. Dever, American lieutenant and politician, 58th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
    • 1907 – Janusz Kusociński, Polish runner and soldier (d. 1940)
    • 1908 – Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1909 – Jean Bugatti, German-French engineer (d. 1939)
    • 1909 – Gene Krupa, American drummer, composer, and actor (d. 1973)
    • 1912 – Michel Debré, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (d. 2002)
    • 1913 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
    • 1913 – Miriam Hyde, Australian pianist and composer (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Alexander Marinesko, Ukrainian-Russian lieutenant (d. 1963)
    • 1914 – Stefan Bałuk, Polish general (d. 2014)
    • 1914 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – K. A. Thangavelu, Indian film actor and comedian (d. 1994)
    • 1918 – João Figueiredo, Brazilian general and politician, 30th President of Brazil (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Édouard Gagnon, Canadian cardinal (d. 2007)
    • 1918 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (d. 1970)
    • 1919 – Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer and politician, French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – George Cadle Price, Belizean politician, 1st Prime Minister of Belize (d. 2011)
    • 1920 – Bob Davies, American basketball player and coach (d. 1990)
    • 1920 – Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002)
    • 1920 – John O’Connor, American cardinal (d. 2000)
    • 1921 – Babasaheb Bhosale, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Frank Thornton, English actor (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Sylvia Lawler, English geneticist (d. 1996)
    • 1922 – Eric Willis, Australian sergeant and politician, 34th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1999)
    • 1923 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish pianist, songwriter, and poet (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese-Chinese economist and politician, 4th President of the Republic of China
    • 1924 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Ruth Slenczynska, American pianist and composer
    • 1925 – Ignacio López Tarso, Mexican actor
    • 1926 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (d. 2005)
    • 1927 – Phyllis Coates, American actress
    • 1928 – W. R. Mitchell, English journalist and author (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Earl Hooker, American guitarist (d. 1970)
    • 1929 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated in 1968)
    • 1930 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (d. 1985)
    • 1931 – Lee Bontecou, American painter and sculptor
    • 1932 – Lou Jones, American sprinter (d. 2006)
    • 1933 – Frank Bough, English journalist and radio host
    • 1933 – Ernest J. Gaines, American author and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1933 – Peter Maitlis, English chemist and academic
    • 1934 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian civil servant and politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Margaret O’Brien, American actress and singer
    • 1938 – Ashraf Aman, Pakistani engineer and mountaineer
    • 1938 – Estrella Blanca, Mexican wrestler
    • 1938 – Chuni Goswami, Indian footballer and cricketer
    • 1939 – Per Ahlmark, Swedish journalist and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Tony Bullimore, British sailor
    • 1941 – Captain Beefheart, American singer-songwriter, musician, and artist (d. 2010)
    • 1942 – Frank Joseph Polozola, American academic and judge (d. 2013)
    • 1943 – George Ambrum, Australian rugby league player (d. 1986)
    • 1943 – Margaret Beckett, English metallurgist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
    • 1943 – Stuart E. Eizenstat, American lawyer and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the European Union
    • 1943 – Mike Marshall, American baseball player
    • 1944 – Jenny Nimmo, English author
    • 1945 – Ko Chun-hsiung, Taiwanese actor, director, and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1945 – Vince Foster, American lawyer and political figure (d. 1993)
    • 1945 – William R. Higgins, American colonel (d. 1990)
    • 1945 – Princess Michael of Kent
    • 1945 – David Pleat, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1946 – Charles Brown, American actor (d. 2004)
    • 1947 – Mary Hogg, English lawyer and judge
    • 1947 – Andrea Martin, American-Canadian actress, singer, and screenwriter
    • 1948 – Ronnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter (d. 1977)
    • 1949 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2001)
    • 1949 – Alasdair Liddell, English businessman (d. 2012)
    • 1949 – Ian Stewart, Scottish runner
    • 1949 – Howard Twitty, American golfer
    • 1950 – Marius Trésor, French footballer and coach
    • 1952 – Boris Blank, Swiss singer-songwriter
    • 1952 – Andrzej Fischer, Polish footballer
    • 1953 – Randy White, American football player
    • 1954 – Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino poet, author, and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Nigel Benson, English author and illustrator
    • 1955 – Andreas Gursky, German photographer
    • 1955 – Khalid Islambouli, Egyptian lieutenant (d. 1982)
    • 1956 – Vitaly Kaloyev, Russian architect
    • 1956 – Mayawati, Indian educator and politician, 23rd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
    • 1956 – Marc Trestman, American football player and coach
    • 1957 – David Ige, American politician
    • 1957 – Marty Lyons, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1957 – Andrew Tyrie, English journalist and politician
    • 1957 – Mario Van Peebles, American actor and director
    • 1958 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1958 – Boris Tadić, Serbian psychologist and politician, 16th President of Serbia
    • 1959 – Greg Dowling, Australian rugby league player
    • 1959 – Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian mountaineer and photographer (d. 2008)
    • 1959 – Pete Trewavas, English bass player and songwriter
    • 1961 – Serhiy N. Morozov, Ukrainian footballer and coach
    • 1961 – Yves Pelletier, Canadian actor and director
    • 1963 – Conrad Lant, English singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1963 – Bruce Schneier, American cryptographer and author
    • 1964 – Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
    • 1965 – Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist
    • 1965 – Bernard Hopkins, American boxer and coach
    • 1965 – James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
    • 1966 – Lisa Lisa, American R&B singer
    • 1967 – Ted Tryba, American golfer
    • 1968 – Chad Lowe, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1969 – Delino DeShields, American baseball player and manager
    • 1970 – Shane McMahon, American wrestler and businessman
    • 1971 – Regina King, American actress
    • 1972 – Shelia Burrell, American heptathlete
    • 1972 – Christos Kostis, Greek footballer
    • 1972 – Claudia Winkleman, English journalist and critic
    • 1973 – Essam El Hadary, Egyptian footballer
    • 1973 – Suparno Satpathy, Indian socio-political leader
    • 1974 – Séverine Deneulin, international development academic
    • 1974 – Ray King, American baseball player
    • 1975 – Mary Pierce, Canadian-American tennis player and coach
    • 1976 – Doug Gottlieb, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Iryna Lishchynska, Ukrainian runner
    • 1976 – Scott Murray, Scottish rugby player
    • 1976 – Florentin Petre, Romanian footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Eddie Cahill, American actor
    • 1978 – Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
    • 1978 – Ryan Sidebottom, English cricketer
    • 1979 – Drew Brees, American football player
    • 1979 – Michalis Morfis, Cypriot footballer
    • 1979 – Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
    • 1980 – Matt Holliday, American baseball player
    • 1981 – El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese football player
    • 1981 – Pitbull, American rapper and producer
    • 1981 – Dylan Armstrong, Canadian shot putter and hammer thrower
    • 1981 – Vanessa Henke, German tennis player
    • 1981 – Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby player
    • 1982 – Benjamin Agosto, American skater
    • 1982 – Armando Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1982 – Brett Lebda, American ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Ari Pulkkinen, Finnish pianist and composer
    • 1982 – Francis Zé, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1983 – Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
    • 1983 – Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer
    • 1984 – Ben Shapiro, American author and commentator
    • 1985 – René Adler, German footballer
    • 1985 – Enrico Patrizio, Italian rugby player
    • 1985 – Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer
    • 1986 – Fred Davis, American football player
    • 1987 – Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player
    • 1987 – Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopian runner
    • 1987 – David Knight, English footballer
    • 1987 – Kelleigh Ryan, Canadian fencer
    • 1987 – Michael Seater, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1988 – Daniel Caligiuri, German footballer
    • 1988 – Skrillex, American DJ and producer
    • 1989 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
    • 1990 – Paul Blake, English sprinter
    • 1990 – Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
    • 1990 – Robert Trznadel, Polish footballer
    • 1991 – Marc Bartra, Spanish footballer
    • 1991 – Nicolai Jørgensen, Danish footballer
    • 1991 – Darya Klishina, Russian long jumper
    • 1991 – James Mitchell, Australian basketball player
    • 1992 – Joël Veltman, Dutch footballer
    • 1994 – Eric Dier, English footballer
    • 1998 – Alexandra Eade, Australian artistic gymnast
    • 2004 – Grace VanderWaal, American singer-songwriter

    Deaths on January 15

    • AD 69 – Galba, Roman emperor (b. 3 BC)
    • 378 – Chak Tok Ich’aak I, Mayan ruler
    • 570 – Íte of Killeedy, Irish nun and saint (b. 475)
    • 849 – Theophylact, Byzantine emperor (b. 793)
    • 936 – Rudolph of France (b. 880)
    • 950 – Wang Jingchong, Chinese general
    • 1149 – Berengaria of Barcelona, queen consort of Castile (b. 1116)
    • 1568 – Nicolaus Olahus, Romanian archbishop (b. 1493)
    • 1569 – Catherine Carey, lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I of England (b. 1524)
    • 1584 – Martha Leijonhufvud, Swedish noblewoman (b. 1520)
    • 1595 – Murad III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546)
    • 1623 – Paolo Sarpi, Italian lawyer, historian, and scholar (b. 1552)
    • 1672 – John Cosin, English bishop and academic (b. 1594)
    • 1683 – Philip Warwick, English politician (b. 1609)
    • 1775 – Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian organist and composer (b. 1700)
    • 1790 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1719)
    • 1804 – Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (b. 1725)
    • 1813 – Anton Bernolák, Slovak linguist and priest (b. 1762)
    • 1815 – Emma, Lady Hamilton, English-French mistress of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (b. 1761)
    • 1855 – Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (b. 1780)
    • 1864 – Isaac Nathan, English-Australian composer and journalist (b. 1792)
    • 1866 – Massimo d’Azeglio, Piedmontese-Italian statesman, novelist and painter (b. 1798)
    • 1876 – Eliza McCardle Johnson, American wife of Andrew Johnson, 18th First Lady of the United States (b. 1810)
    • 1885 – Leopold Damrosch, German-American composer and conductor (b. 1832)
    • 1893 – Fanny Kemble, English actress (b. 1809)
    • 1896 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (b. 1822)
    • 1905 – George Thorn, Australian politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
    • 1909 – Arnold Janssen, German priest and missionary (b. 1837)
    • 1916 – Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian playwright and translator (b. 1850)
    • 1919 – Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871)
    • 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg, German economist, theorist, and philosopher (b. 1871)
    • 1926 – Enrico Toselli, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1883)
    • 1929 – George Cope, American painter (b. 1855)
    • 1936 – Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, English cricketer and politician, 7th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1866)
    • 1937 – Anton Holban, Romanian author, theoretician, and educator (b. 1902)
    • 1945 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (b. 1865)
    • 1948 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and diplomat, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1862)
    • 1950 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (b. 1886)
    • 1951 – Ernest Swinton, British Army officer (b. 1868)
    • 1951 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian captain and sailor (b. 1887)
    • 1952 – Ned Hanlon, Australian sergeant and politician, 26th Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
    • 1955 – Yves Tanguy, French-American painter (b. 1900)
    • 1959 – Regina Margareten, Hungarian businesswoman (b. 1863)
    • 1964 – Jack Teagarden, American singer-songwriter and trombonist (b. 1905)
    • 1967 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (b. 1882)
    • 1968 – Bill Masterton, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1938)
    • 1970 – Frank Clement, English race car driver (b. 1886)
    • 1970 – William T. Piper, American engineer and businessman, founded Piper Aircraft (b. 1881)
    • 1972 – Daisy Ashford, English author (b. 1881)
    • 1973 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
    • 1973 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1901)
    • 1974 – Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
    • 1981 – Graham Whitehead, English race car driver (b. 1922)
    • 1982 – Red Smith, American journalist (b. 1905)
    • 1983 – Armin Öpik, Estonian-Australian paleontologist and geologist (b. 1898)
    • 1983 – Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
    • 1984 – Fazıl Küçük, Cypriot journalist and politician (b. 1906)
    • 1987 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
    • 1988 – Seán MacBride, Irish republican activist and politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
    • 1990 – Gordon Jackson, Scottish-English actor (b. 1923)
    • 1990 – Peggy van Praagh, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (b. 1910)
    • 1993 – Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
    • 1994 – Georges Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist and composer (b. 1921)
    • 1994 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
    • 1994 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (b. 1916)
    • 1996 – Les Baxter, American pianist and composer (b. 1922)
    • 1996 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
    • 1998 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian economist and politician, Prime Minister of India (b. 1898)
    • 1998 – Junior Wells, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1934)
    • 1999 – Betty Box, English composer and producer (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian-Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
    • 2001 – Leo Marks, English cryptographer, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
    • 2002 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (b. 1913)
    • 2003 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
    • 2004 – Olivia Goldsmith, American author (b. 1949)
    • 2005 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Elizabeth Janeway, American author and critic (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1916)
    • 2006 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1926)
    • 2007 – Awad Hamed al-Bandar, Iraqi lawyer and judge (b. 1945)
    • 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Iraqi intelligence officer (b. 1951)
    • 2007 – James Hillier, Canadian-American computer scientist and academic, co-invented the electron microscope (b. 1915)
    • 2007 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino educator and diplomat (b. 1905)
    • 2007 – Bo Yibo, Chinese commander and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1908)
    • 2008 – Robert V. Bruce, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1923)
    • 2008 – Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)
    • 2009 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
    • 2011 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (b. 1925)
    • 2011 – Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, French soldier, race car driver, and businessman (b. 1908)
    • 2011 – Susannah York, English actress and activist (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – Ed Derwinski, American soldier and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Xunta of Galicia (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Carlo Fruttero, Italian journalist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Samuel Jaskilka, American general (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Ib Spang Olsen, Danish author and illustrator (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Hulett C. Smith, American lieutenant and politician, 27th Governor of West Virginia (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – John Thomas, American high jumper (b. 1941)
    • 2014 – Curtis Bray, American football player and coach (b. 1970)
    • 2014 – John Dobson, Chinese-American astronomer and author (b. 1915)
    • 2014 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (b. 1927)
    • 2016 – Francisco X. Alarcón, American poet and educator (b. 1954)
    • 2016 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1958)
    • 2016 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (b. 1943)
    • 2017 – Jimmy Snuka, Fijian professional wrestler (b. 1943)
    • 2018 – Dolores O’Riordan, Irish pop singer (b. 1971)
    • 2019 – Carol Channing, American actress (b. 1921)
    • 2019 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (b. 1936)

    Holidays and observances on January 15

    • Arbor Day (Egypt)
    • Armed Forces Day (Nigeria)
    • Army Day (India)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Abeluzius (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
      • Arnold Janssen
      • Francis Ferdinand de Capillas (one of Martyr Saints of China)
      • Ita
      • Our Lady of the Poor
      • Macarius of Egypt (Western Christianity)
      • Maurus and Placidus (Order of Saint Benedict)
      • Paul the Hermit
      • January 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Martin Luther King Jr. Day can fall (the 15th being his birthday), while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in January. (United States)
    • Earliest day on which Sinulog Festival can fall, while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in January. (Philippines)
    • John Chilembwe Day (Malawi)
    • Korean Alphabet Day (North Korea)
    • Ocean Duty Day (Indonesia)
    • Sagichō at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. (Kamakura, Japan)
    • Teacher’s Day (Venezuela)
    • The second day of the sidereal winter solstice festivals in India (see January 14):
      • Thai Pongal, Tamil harvest festival