1430 – Joan of Arc is captured by the Burgundians while leading an army to raise the Siege of Compiègne.
1498 – Girolamo Savonarola is burned at the stake in Florence, Italy.
1533 – The marriage of King Henry VIII to Catherine of Aragon is declared null and void.
1568 – Dutch rebels led by Louis of Nassau, defeat Jean de Ligne, Duke of Arenberg, and his loyalist troops in the Battle of Heiligerlee, opening the Eighty Years’ War.
1609 – Official ratification of the Second Virginia Charter takes place.
1618 – The Second Defenestration of Prague precipitates the Thirty Years’ War.
1701 – After being convicted of piracy and of murdering William Moore, Captain William Kidd is hanged in London.
1706 – John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, defeats a French army under Marshal François de Neufville, duc de Villeroy at the Battle of Ramillies.
1788 – South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution as the eighth American state.
1793 – Battle of Famars during the Flanders Campaign of the War of the First Coalition.
1829 – Accordion patent granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna, Austrian Empire.
1844 – Declaration of the Báb the evening before the 23rd: A merchant of Shiraz announces that he is a Prophet and founds a religious movement that would later be brutally crushed by the Persian government. He is considered to be a forerunner of the Bahá’í Faith; Bahá’ís celebrate the day as a holy day.
1846 – Mexican–American War: President Mariano Paredes of Mexico unofficially declares war on the United States.
1863 – The General German Workers’ Association, a precursor of the modern Social Democratic Party of Germany, is founded in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony.
1873 – The Canadian Parliament establishes the North-West Mounted Police, the forerunner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
1900 – American Civil War: Sergeant William Harvey Carney is awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism in the Assault on the Battery Wagner in 1863.
1907 – The unicameral Parliament of Finland gathers for its first plenary session.
1911 – The New York Public Library is dedicated.
1915 – World War I: Italy joins the Allies, fulfilling its part of the Treaty of London.
1932 – In Brazil, four students are shot and killed during a manifestation against the Brazilian dictator Getúlio Vargas, which resulted in the outbreak of the Constitutionalist Revolution several weeks later.
1934 – Infamous American bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.
1934 – The Auto-Lite strike culminates in the “Battle of Toledo”, a five-day melée between 1,300 troops of the Ohio National Guard and 6,000 picketers.
1939 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Squalus sinks off the coast of New Hampshire during a test dive, causing the death of 24 sailors and two civilian technicians. The remaining 32 sailors and one civilian naval architect are rescued the following day.
1945 – World War II: Heinrich Himmler, head of the Schutzstaffel, commits suicide while in Allied custody.
1945 – World War II: Germany’s Flensburg Government under Karl Dönitz is dissolved when its members are arrested by British forces.
1948 – Thomas C. Wasson, the US Consul-General, is assassinated in Jerusalem, Israel.
1949 – Cold War: The Western occupying powers approve the Basic Law and establish a new German state, the Federal Republic of Germany.
1951 – Tibetans sign the Seventeen Point Agreement with China.
1960 – A tsunami caused by an earthquake in Chile the previous day kills 61 people in Hilo, Hawaii.
1992 – Italy’s most prominent anti-mafia judge Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards are killed by the Corleonesi clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. His friend and colleague Paolo Borsellino will be assassinated less than two months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions.
1995 – The first version of the Java programming language is released.
1998 – The Good Friday Agreement is accepted in a referendum in Northern Ireland with roughly 75% voting yes.
2002 – The “55 parties” clause of the Kyoto Protocol is reached after its ratification by Iceland.
2006 – Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
2008 – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca (Pulau Batu Puteh) to Singapore, ending a 29-year territorial dispute between the two countries.
2013 – A freeway bridge carrying Interstate 5 over the Skagit River collapses in Mount Vernon, Washington.
2014 – Seven people, including the perpetrator, are killed and another 14 injured in a killing spree near the campus of University of California, Santa Barbara.
2015 – At least 46 people are killed as a result of floods caused by a tornado in Texas and Oklahoma.
2016 – Two suicide bombings, conducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, killed at least 45 potential army recruits in Aden, Yemen.
2016 – Eight bombings were carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria in Jableh and Tartus, coastline cities in Syria. One hundred eighty-four people were killed and at least 200 people injured.
2017 – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte declared martial law in Mindanao, following the Maute’s attack in Marawi.
Births on May 23
635 – K’inich Kan Bahlam II, Mayan king (d. 702)
675 – Perumbidugu Mutharaiyar II, King of Mutharaiyar dynasty, Tamil Nadu, India
1052 – Philip I of France (d. 1108)
1100 – Emperor Qinzong of Song (d. 1161)
1127 – Uijong of Goryeo, Korean monarch of the Goryeo dynasty (d. 1173)
1330 – Gongmin of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 1374)
1586 – Paul Siefert, German composer and organist (d. 1666)
1606 – Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish mathematician and philosopher (d. 1682)
1614 – Bertholet Flemalle, Flemish Baroque painter (d. 1675)
1617 – Elias Ashmole, English astrologer and politician (d. 1692)
1629 – William VI, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, noble of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1663)
1707 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist (d. 1778)
1718 – William Hunter, Scottish-English anatomist and physician (d. 1783)
1729 – Giuseppe Parini, Italian poet and educator (d. 1799)
1730 – Prince Augustus Ferdinand of Prussia, Prussian prince and general (d. 1813)
1734 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologer (d. 1815)
1741 – Andrea Luchesi, Italian organist and composer (d. 1801)
1789 – Franz Schlik, Austrian earl and general (d. 1862)
1790 – Jules Dumont d’Urville, French admiral and explorer (d. 1842)
1790 – James Pradier, French neoclassical sculptor (d. 1852)
1794 – Ignaz Moscheles, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1870)
1795 – Charles Barry, English architect, designed the Upper Brook Street Chapel and Halifax Town Hall (d. 1860)
1800 – Rómulo Díaz de la Vega, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1877)
1810 – Margaret Fuller, American journalist and critic (d. 1850)
1817 – Manuel Robles Pezuela, Unconstitutional Mexican interim president (d. 1862)
1820 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (d. 1887)
1820 – Lorenzo Sawyer, American lawyer and judge (d. 1891)
1824 – Ambrose Burnside, American general and politician, 30th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1881)
1834 – Jānis Frīdrihs Baumanis, Latvian architect (d. 1891)
1834 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (d. 1890)
1837 – Anatole Mallet, Swiss mechanical engineer and inventor (d. 1919)
1837 – Józef Wieniawski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1912)
1838 – Amaldus Nielsen, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)
1840 – George Throssell, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Western Australia (d. 1910)
1844 – `Abdu’l-Bahá, Iranian religious leader (d. 1921)
1848 – Otto Lilienthal, German pilot and engineer (d. 1896)
1855 – Isabella Ford, English author and activist (d. 1924)
1861 – József Rippl-Rónai, Hungarian painter (d. 1927)
1863 – Władysław Horodecki, Polish architect (d. 1930)
1864 – William O’Connor, American fencer (d. 1939)
1865 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian jurist and politician, 11th President of Brazil (d. 1942)
1875 – Alfred P. Sloan, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1966)
1882 – William Halpenny, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1960)
1883 – Douglas Fairbanks, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1939)
1884 – Corrado Gini, Italian sociologist and demographer (d. 1965)
1887 – Thoralf Skolem, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1963)
1887 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian sailor and captain (d. 1951)
1888 – Adriaan Roland Holst, Dutch writer (d. 1976)
1888 – Zack Wheat, American baseball player and police officer (d. 1972)
1889 – Ernst Niekisch, German educator and politician (d. 1967)
1890 – Herbert Marshall, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
1891 – Pär Lagerkvist, Swedish novelist, playwright, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
1892 – Albert Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer, British peer and grandfather of Diana Spencer (d. 1975)
1896 – Felix Steiner, Russian-German SS officer (d. 1966)
1897 – Jimmie Guthrie, Scottish motorcycle racer (d. 1937)
1898 – Scott O’Dell, American soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1989)
1898 – Josef Terboven, German soldier and politician (d. 1945)
1899 – Jeralean Talley, American super-centenarian (d. 2015)
1900 – Hans Frank, German lawyer and politician (d. 1946)
1900 – Franz Leopold Neumann, German lawyer and theorist (d. 1954)
1908 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
1908 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (d. 1934)
1910 – Margaret Wise Brown, American author and educator (d. 1952)
1910 – Hugh Casson, English architect and academic (d. 1999)
1910 – Scatman Crothers, American actor and comedian (d. 1986)
1910 – Franz Kline, American painter and academic (d. 1962)
1910 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2004)
1911 – Lou Brouillard, Canadian boxer (d. 1984)
1911 – Paul Augustin Mayer, German cardinal (d. 2010)
1911 – Betty Nuthall, English tennis player (d. 1983)
1912 – Jean Françaix, French pianist and composer (d. 1997)
1912 – John Payne, American actor (d. 1989)
1914 – Harold Hitchcock, English visionary landscape artist (d. 2009)
1914 – Celestine Sibley, American journalist and author (d. 1999)
1914 – Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, English economist, journalist, and prominent Catholic layperson (d. 1981)
1915 – S. Donald Stookey, American physicist and chemist, invented CorningWare (d. 2014)
1917 – Edward Norton Lorenz, American mathematician and meteorologist (d. 2008)
1918 – Denis Compton, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1997)
1919 – Robert Bernstein, American author and playwright (d. 1988)
1919 – Ruth Fernández, Puerto Rican contralto and a member of the Puerto Rican Senate (d. 2012)
1919 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2011)
1920 – Helen O’Connell, American singer (d. 1993)
1923 – Alicia de Larrocha, Catalan-Spanish pianist (d. 2009)
1923 – Irving Millman, American virologist and microbiologist (d. 2012)
1924 – Karlheinz Deschner, German author and activist (d. 2014)
1925 – Joshua Lederberg, American biologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2008)
1926 – Basil Salvadore D’Souza, Indian bishop (d. 1996)
1926 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African activist and politician (d. 1995)
1928 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (d. 2002)
1928 – Nigel Davenport, English actor (d. 2013)
1928 – Nina Otkalenko, Russian runner (d. 2015)
1929 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish-Austrian actress (d. 1982)
1930 – Friedrich Achleitner, German poet and critic (d. 2019)
1931 – Barbara Barrie, American actress
1932 – Kevork Ajemian, Syrian-French journalist and author (d. 1998)
1933 – Joan Collins, English actress
1933 – Ove Fundin, Swedish motorcycle racer
1934 – Robert Moog, electronic engineer and inventor of the Moog synthesizer (d. 2005)
1935 – Lasse Strömstedt, Swedish author (d. 2009)
1936 – Ingeborg Hallstein, German soprano and actress
1936 – Charles Kimbrough, American actor
1939 – Michel Colombier, French-American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
1939 – Reinhard Hauff, German director and screenwriter
1940 – Bjorn Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist (d. 2002)
1940 – Gérard Larrousse, French race car driver
1940 – Cora Sadosky, Argentinian mathematician and academic (d. 2010)
1941 – Zalman King, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1941 – Rod Thorn, American basketball player, coach, and executive
1942 – Gabriel Liiceanu, Romanian philosopher, author, and academic
1942 – Kovelamudi Raghavendra Rao, Indian director, screenwriter, and choreographer
1943 – Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (d. 2016)
1944 – John Newcombe, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
1945 – Padmarajan, Indian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 1991)
1946 – David Graham, Australian golfer
1947 – Jane Kenyon, American poet and translator (d. 1995)
1948 – Myriam Boyer, French actress, director, and producer
1949 – Daniel DiNardo, American cardinal
1949 – Alan García, Peruvian lawyer and politician, 61st and 64th President of Peru (d. 2019)
1950 – Martin McGuinness, Irish republican and Sinn Féin politician, Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 2017)
1951 – Anatoly Karpov, Russian chess player
1951 – Antonis Samaras, Greek economist and politician, 185th Prime Minister of Greece
1952 – Martin Parr, English photographer and journalist
1954 – Gerry Armstrong, Northern Irish international footballer, striker
1954 – Marvelous Marvin Hagler, American boxer and actor
1955 – Luka Bloom, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1956 – Andrea Pazienza, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 1988)
1956 – Ursula Plassnik, Austrian politician and diplomat, Foreign Minister of Austria
1956 – Buck Showalter, American baseball player, coach, and manager
1958 – Mitch Albom, American journalist, author, and screenwriter
1958 – Drew Carey, American actor, game show host, and entrepreneur
1958 – Lea DeLaria, American actress and singer
1959 – Marcella Mesker, Dutch tennis player and sportscaster
1960 – Linden Ashby, American actor
1961 – Daniele Massaro, Italian footballer and manager
1961 – Norrie May-Welby, Scottish Australian gender activist
1962 – Karen Duffy, American actress
1963 – Viviane Baladi, Swiss mathematician
1964 – Ruth Metzler, Swiss lawyer and politician
1965 – Manuel Sanchís Hontiyuelo, Spanish footballer
1965 – Tom Tykwer, German director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
1965 – Melissa McBride, American actress
1965 – Paul Sironen, Australian rugby league player
1966 – Graeme Hick, Zimbabwean-English cricketer and coach
1966 – Gary Roberts, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1967 – Luís Roberto Alves, Mexican footballer
1967 – Anna Ibrisagic, Swedish politician
1968 – Guinevere Turner, American actress and screenwriter
1970 – Bryan Herta, American race car driver and businessman, co-founded Bryan Herta Autosport
1971 – George Osborne, English journalist and politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer
1972 – Rubens Barrichello, Brazilian race car driver
1972 – Martin Saggers, English cricketer and umpire
1973 – Maxwell, American singer-songwriter and producer
1974 – Jewel, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, and poet
1974 – Manuela Schwesig, German politician, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs
1976 – Ricardinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
1977 – Ilia Kulik, Russian figure skater
1978 – Scott Raynor, American drummer
1979 – Rasual Butler, American basketball player (d. 2018)
1979 – Brian Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player
1980 – Theofanis Gekas, Greek footballer
1980 – Ben Ross, Australian rugby league player
1983 – Silvio Proto, Belgian-Italian footballer
1984 – Hugo Almeida, Portuguese footballer
1985 – Sebastián Fernández, Uruguayan footballer
1985 – Teymuraz Gabashvili, Russian tennis player
1985 – Wim Stroetinga, Dutch cyclist
1985 – Ross Wallace, Scottish footballer
1986 – Ryan Coogler, American film director and screenwriter
590 – Emperor Maurice proclaims his son Theodosius as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
1027 – Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor.
1169 – Saladin becomes the emir of Egypt.
1344 – The Siege of Algeciras, one of the first European military engagements where gunpowder was used, comes to an end.
1351 – Combat of the Thirty: Thirty Breton knights call out and defeat thirty English knights.
1484 – William Caxton prints his translation of Aesop’s Fables.
1552 – Guru Amar Das becomes the Third Sikh guru.
1636 – Utrecht University is founded in the Netherlands.
1697 – Safavid government troops take control of Basra
1812 – An earthquake devastates Caracas, Venezuela.
1812 – A political cartoon in the Boston Gazette coins the term “gerrymander” to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.
1830 – The Book of Mormon is published in Palmyra, New York.
1839 – The first Henley Royal Regatta is held.
1871 – The elections of Commune council of the Paris Commune are held.
1885 – The Métis people of the District of Saskatchewan under Louis Riel begin the North-West Rebellion against Canada.
1913 – First Balkan War: Bulgarian forces capture Adrianople.
1915 – The Vancouver Millionaires win the 1915 Stanley Cup Finals, the first championship played between the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the National Hockey Association.
1917 – World War I: First Battle of Gaza: British troops are halted after 17,000 Turks block their advance.
1922 – The German Social Democratic Party is founded in Poland.
1931 – Swissair is founded as the national airline of Switzerland.
1931 – Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is founded in Vietnam.
1934 – The United Kingdom driving test is introduced.
1939 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists begin their final offensive of the war.
1942 – World War II: The first female prisoners arrive at Auschwitz concentration camp in German-occupied Poland.
1945 – World War II: The Battle of Iwo Jima ends as the island is officially secured by American forces.
1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Romeo shot of Operation Castle is detonated at Bikini Atoll. Yield: 11 megatons.
1958 – The United States Army launches Explorer 3.
1958 – The African Regroupment Party is launched at a meeting in Paris.
1967 – Ten thousand people gather for one of many Central Park be-ins in New York City.
1970 – South Vietnamese President Nguyễn Văn Thiệu implements a land reform program to solve the problem of land tenancy.
1971 – East Pakistan declares its independence from Pakistan to form Bangladesh and the Bangladesh Liberation War begins.
1975 – The Biological Weapons Convention comes into force.
1979 – Anwar al-Sadat, Menachem Begin and Jimmy Carter sign the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty in Washington, D.C.
1981 – Social Democratic Party (UK) is founded as a party.
1982 – A groundbreaking ceremony for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is held in Washington, D.C.
1991 – Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay sign the Treaty of Asunción, establishing Mercosur, the South Common Market.
1997 – Thirty-nine bodies are found in the Heaven’s Gate mass suicides.
1998 – During the Algerian Civil War, the Oued Bouaicha massacre sees fifty-two people, mostly infants, killed with axes and knives.
2005 – Around 200,000 to 300,000 Taiwanese demonstrate in Taipei in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of China.
2010 – The South Korean Navy corvette Cheonan is torpedoed, killing 46 sailors. After an international investigation, the President of the United Nations Security Council blames North Korea.
2017 – Russia-wide anti-corruption protests in 99 cities. The Levada Center survey showed that 38% of surveyed Russians supported protests and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption.
Births on March 26
1031 – Malcolm III, king of Scotland (d. 1093)
1516 – Conrad Gessner, Swiss botanist and zoologist (d. 1565)
1554 – Charles of Lorraine, duke of Mayenne (d. 1611)
1584 – John II, duke of Zweibrücken (d. 1635)
1633 – Mary Beale, British artist (d. 1699)
1634 – Domenico Freschi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1710)
1656 – Nicolaas Hartsoeker, Dutch mathematician and physicist (d. 1725)
1687 – Sophia Dorothea of Hanover, queen consort of Prussia (d. 1757)
1698 – Prokop Diviš, Czech priest, scientist and inventor (d. 1765)
1749 – William Blount, American politician (d. 1800)
1753 – Benjamin Thompson, American-French physicist and politician, Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1814)
1773 – Nathaniel Bowditch, American mathematician and navigator (d. 1838)
1794 – Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, German painter (d. 1872)
1804 – David Humphreys Storer, American physician and academic (d. 1891)
1824 – Julie-Victoire Daubié, French journalist (d. 1874)
1829 – Théodore Aubanel, French poet (d. 1886)
1842 – Alexandre Saint-Yves d’Alveydre, French occultist (d. 1909)
1850 – Edward Bellamy, American author, socialist, and utopian visionary (d. 1898)
1852 – Élémir Bourges, French author (d. 1925)
1854 – Maurice Lecoq, French target shooter (d. 1925)
1856 – William Massey, Irish-New Zealand farmer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1925)
1857 – Théodore Tuffier, French surgeon (d. 1929)
1859 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (d. 1936)
1859 – Adolf Hurwitz, Jewish German-Swiss mathematician and academic (d. 1919)
1860 – André Prévost, French tennis player (d. 1919)
1866 – Fred Karno, English producer and manager (d. 1941)
1868 – King Fuad I of Egypt (d. 1936)
1873 – Dorothea Bleek, South African-German anthropologist and philologist (d. 1948)
1874 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (d. 1963)
1875 – Max Abraham, Polish-German physicist and academic (d. 1922)
1875 – Syngman Rhee, South Korean journalist and politician, 1st President of South Korea (d. 1965)
1876 – William of Wied, prince of Albania (d. 1945)
1876 – Kate Richards O’Hare, American Socialist Party activist and editor (d. 1948)
1879 – Othmar Ammann, Swiss-American engineer, designed the George Washington Bridge and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge (d. 1965)
1879 – Waldemar Tietgens, German rower (d. 1917)
1881 – Guccio Gucci, Italian fashion designer, founded Gucci (d. 1953)
1882 – Hermann Obrecht, Swiss politician (d. 1940)
1884 – Wilhelm Backhaus, German pianist and educator (d. 1969)
1884 – Georges Imbert, French chemical engineer and inventor (d. 1950)
1886 – Hugh Mulzac, Vincentian-American soldier and politician (d. 1971)
1888 – Elsa Brändström, Swedish nurse and philanthropist (d. 1948)
1893 – James Bryant Conant, American chemist, academic, and diplomat, 1st United States Ambassador to West Germany (d. 1978)
1893 – Palmiro Togliatti, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Justice (d. 1964)
1894 – Viorica Ursuleac, Ukrainian-Romanian soprano and actress (d. 1985)
1895 – Vilho Tuulos, Finnish triple jumper (d. 1967)
1898 – Rudolf Dassler, German businessman, founded Puma SE (d. 1974)
1898 – Charles Shadwell, English conductor and bandleader (d. 1979)
1900 – Angela Maria Autsch, German nun, died in Auschwitz helping Jewish prisoners (d. 1941)
1904 – Joseph Campbell, American mythologist and author (d. 1987)
1904 – Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1986)
1904 – Attilio Ferraris, Italian footballer (d. 1947)
1905 – Monty Berman, English cinematographer and producer (d. 2006)
1905 – André Cluytens, Belgian-French conductor and director (d. 1967)
1905 – Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1997)
1906 – Rafael Méndez, Mexican trumpet player and composer (d. 1981)
1907 – Azellus Denis, Canadian lawyer and politician, Postmaster General of Canada (d. 1991)
1907 – Mahadevi Varma, Indian poet and activist (d. 1987)
1908 – Franz Stangl, Austrian-German SS officer (d. 1971)
1909 – Chips Rafferty, Australian actor (d. 1971)
1910 – K. W. Devanayagam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 10th Sri Lankan Minister of Justice (d. 2002)
1911 – Lennart Atterwall, Swedish javelin thrower (d. 2001)
1911 – J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic (d. 1960)
1911 – Bernard Katz, German-English biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
1911 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (d. 1983)
1913 – Jacqueline de Romilly, Jewish Franco-Greek philologist, author, and scholar (d. 2010)
1913 – Paul Erdős, Hungarian-Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1996)
1914 – Toru Kumon, Japanese mathematician and academic (d. 1995)
1914 – William Westmoreland, American general (d. 2005)
1915 – Lennart Strandberg, Swedish sprinter (d. 1989)
1915 – Hwang Sun-won, North Korean author and poet (d. 2000)
1916 – Christian B. Anfinsen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
1916 – Bill Edrich, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1986)
1916 – Sterling Hayden, American actor and author (d. 1986)
1917 – Rufus Thomas, American R&B singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
1919 – Strother Martin, American actor (d. 1980)
1919 – Roger Leger, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1965)
1920 – Sergio Livingstone, Chilean footballer and journalist (d. 2012)
1922 – William Milliken, American politician, 44th Governor of Michigan (d. 2019)
1922 – Oscar Sala, Italian-Brazilian physicist and academic (d. 2010)
1922 – Guido Stampacchia, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1978)
1923 – Gert Bastian, German general and politician (d. 1992)
1923 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1925 – Maqsood Ahmed, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1999)
1925 – Pierre Boulez, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2016)
1925 – Vesta Roy, American politician, Governor of New Hampshire (d. 2002)
1925 – Edward Graham, Baron Graham of Edmonton, English soldier and politician (d. 2020)
1925 – Ben Mondor, Canadian-American businessman (d. 2010)
1925 – James Moody, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2010)
1927 – Harold Chapman, English photographer
1929 – Edward Sorel, American illustrator and caricaturist
1929 – Edwin Turney, American businessman, co-founded Advanced Micro Devices (d. 2008)
1930 – Sandra Day O’Connor, American lawyer and jurist
1930 – Gregory Corso, American poet (d. 2001)
1931 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (d. 2015)
1932 – Leroy Griffith, American businessman
1932 – James Andrew Harris, American chemist and academic (d. 2000)
1933 – Tinto Brass, Italian director and screenwriter
1934 – Alan Arkin, American actor
1934 – Edvaldo Alves de Santa Rosa, Brazilian footballer (d. 2002)
1937 – Wayne Embry, American basketball player and manager
1937 – Barbara Jones, American sprinter
1937 – James Lee, Canadian businessman and politician, 26th Premier of Prince Edward Island
1938 – Norman Ackroyd, English painter and illustrator
1938 – Anthony James Leggett, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1940 – James Caan, American actor and singer
1940 – Nancy Pelosi, American lawyer and politician, 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
1941 – Richard Dawkins, Kenyan-English ethologist, biologist, and academic
1941 – Lella Lombardi, Italian racing driver (d. 1992)
1942 – Erica Jong, American novelist and poet
1943 – Mustafa Kalemli, Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of the Interior
1943 – Bob Woodward, American journalist and author
1944 – Diana Ross, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1945 – Paul Bérenger, Mauritian politician, Prime Minister of Mauritius
1945 – Mikhail Voronin, Russian gymnast and coach (d. 2004)
1946 – Johnny Crawford, American actor and singer
1946 – Alain Madelin, French politician, French Minister of Finance
1947 – Subhash Kak, Indian-American professor and author
1947 – John Rowles, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
1948 – Kyung-wha Chung, South Korean violinist and educator
1948 – Richard Tandy, English pianist and keyboard player (Electric Light Orchestra)
1948 – Steven Tyler, American singer-songwriter and actor
1949 – Jon English, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2016)
1949 – Rudi Koertzen, South African cricketer and umpire
1949 – Vicki Lawrence, American actress, comedian, talk show host, and singer
1949 – Fran Sheehan, American bass player
1949 – Patrick Süskind, German author and screenwriter
1949 – Ernest Lee Thomas, American actor
1950 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
1950 – Graham Barlow, English cricketer
1950 – Martin Short, Canadian-American actor, screenwriter, and producer
1950 – Alan Silvestri, American composer and conductor
1951 – Željko Pavličević, Croatian professional basketball coach and former professional player
1951 – Carl Wieman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1952 – Didier Pironi, French racing driver (d. 1987)
1953 – Lincoln Chafee, American academic and politician, 74th Governor of Rhode Island
1953 – Elaine Chao, Taiwanese-American banker and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Labor
1953 – Tatyana Providokhina, Russian runner
1954 – Clive Palmer, Australian businessman and politician
1954 – Curtis Sliwa, American talk show host and activist, founded Guardian Angels
1954 – Dorothy Porter, Australian poet and playwright (d. 2008)
1956 – Charly McClain, American country singer
1956 – Park Won-soon, South Korean lawyer and politician, 35th Mayor of Seoul
1957 – Fiona Bruce, Scottish lawyer and politician
1957 – Leeza Gibbons, American talk show host and television personality
1957 – Paul Morley, English journalist, producer, and author
1957 – Shirin Neshat, Iranian visual artist
1958 – Elio de Angelis, Italian racing driver (d. 1986)
1960 – Marcus Allen, American football player and sportscaster
1960 – Jennifer Grey, American actress and dancer
1960 – Graeme Rutjes, Australian-Dutch footballer
1961 – William Hague, English historian and politician, First Secretary of State
1962 – Richard Coles, English pianist, saxophonist, and priest
1962 – Kevin Seitzer, American baseball player and coach
1962 – Yuri Gidzenko, Russian pilot and cosmonaut
1962 – John Stockton, American basketball player and coach
1962 – Eric Allan Kramer, American-Canadian actor
1963 – Natsuhiko Kyogoku, Japanese author
1964 – Martin Bella, Australian rugby league player
1964 – Martin Donnelly, Irish racing driver
1964 – Maria Miller, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
1964 – Ulf Samuelsson, Swedish-American ice hockey player and coach
1965 – Trey Azagthoth, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1965 – Violeta Szekely, Romanian runner
1966 – Michael Imperioli, American actor and screenwriter
1967 – Jason Chaffetz, American politician
1968 – Laurent Brochard, French cyclist
1968 – Kenny Chesney, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1968 – James Iha, American guitarist and songwriter
1969 – Alessandro Moscardi, Italian rugby player
1970 – Paul Bosvelt, Dutch footballer
1970 – Jelle Goes, Dutch footballer and coach
1970 – Thomas Kyparissis, Greek footballer
1970 – Martin McDonagh, English-born Irish playwright, screenwriter, and director
1971 – Behzad Ghorbani, Iranian zoologist
1971 – Martyn Day, Scottish politician
1971 – Erick Morillo, Colombian-American DJ and producer
1971 – Rennae Stubbs, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
1971 – Paul Williams, English footballer and manager
1972 – Leslie Mann, American actress
1972 – Jason Maxwell, American baseball player
1973 – Larry Page, American computer scientist and businessman, co-founder of Google
1973 – T. R. Knight, American actor
1973 – Matt Burke, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
1974 – Irina Spîrlea, Romanian tennis player
1974 – Vadimas Petrenko, Lithuanian footballer
1974 – Michael Peca, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1976 – Amy Smart, American actress and former model
1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George’s (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.
1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France’s claim to Texas.
1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington.
1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta.
1816 – Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile.
1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence.
1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
1865 – End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance.
1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.
1877 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
1913 – King O’Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.
1920 – An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori.
1931 – The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
1933 – The U.S. Congress approves the Blaine Act to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution to state ratifying conventions for approval.
1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party’s upcoming election campaign.
1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
1942 – Lieutenant Edward O’Hare becomes America’s first World War II flying ace.
1943 – American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.
1944 – World War II: The “Big Week” began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.
1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.
1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.
1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
1979 – An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java.
1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.
1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania’s long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters.
1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
2009 – Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack.
2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago.
2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, many reportedly killed by snipers.
2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.
2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.
Births on February 20
1358 – Eleanor of Aragon, queen of John I of Castile (d. 1382)
1469 – Thomas Cajetan, Italian philosopher (d. 1534)
1523 – Jan Blahoslav, Czech writer (d. 1571)
1549 – Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, last Duke of Urbino (d. 1631)
1552 – Sengoku Hidehisa, Daimyō (d. 1614)
1608 – Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (d. 1649)
1631 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1712)
1633 – Jan de Baen, Dutch painter (d. 1702)
1705 – Nicolas Chédeville, French musette player and composer (d. 1782)
1726 – William Prescott, American colonel (d. 1795)
1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (d. 1813)
1751 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (d. 1826)
1753 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1815)
1759 – Johann Christian Reil, German physician, physiologist, and anatomist (d. 1813)
1774 – Vicente Sebastián Pintado, Spanish cartographer, engineer, military officer and land surveyor of Spanish Louisiana and Spanish West Florida (d. 1829)
1784 – Judith Montefiore, British linguist, travel writer, philanthropist (d. 1862)
1792 – Eliza Courtney, French daughter of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1859)
1794 – William Carleton, Irish author (d. 1869)
1802 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1870)
1819 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (d. 1882)
1839 – Benjamin Waugh, English activist, founded the NSPCC (d. 1908)
1844 – Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1906)
1844 – Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909)
1848 – E. H. Harriman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1909)
1857 – A. P. Lucas, English cricketer (d. 1923)
1866 – Carl Westman, Swedish architect, designed the Stockholm Court House and Röhsska Museum (d. 1936)
1867 – Louise, Princess Royal of England (d. 1931)
1870 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (d. 1937)
1874 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
1879 – Hod Stuart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1907)
1880 – Jacques d’Adelswärd-Fersen, French author and poet (d. 1923)
1882 – Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor (d. 1946)
1887 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
1888 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (d. 1948)
1889 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and physician (d. 1948)
1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1993)
1895 – Louis Zborowski, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1924)
1897 – Ivan Albright, American painter (d. 1983)
1898 – Ante Ciliga, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (d. 1992)
1899 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1992)
1901 – René Dubos, French-American biologist and author (d. 1982)
1901 – Louis Kahn, American architect, designed the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Bangladesh Parliament Building (d. 1974)
1901 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian general and politician, 1st President of Egypt (d. 1984)
1901 – Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (d. 1978)
1902 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (d. 1984)
1904 – Alexei Kosygin, Russian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1980)
1906 – Gale Gordon, American actor (d. 1995)
1912 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (d. 1994)
1912 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace of the Second World War (d. 2006)
1913 – Tommy Henrich, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
1914 – John Charles Daly, South African–American journalist and game show host (d. 1991)
1916 – Jean Erdman, American dancer and choreographer
1918 – Leonore Annenberg, American businesswoman and diplomat (d. 2009)
1919 – James O’Meara, English soldier and pilot (d. 1974)
1920 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (d. 2014)
1921 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 1992)
1923 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (d. 2014)
1923 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Guyana (d. 1985)
1923 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress (d. 2004)
1924 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress, fashion designer, and socialite (d. 2019)
1925 – Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
1925 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (d. 1990)
1926 – Matthew Bucksbaum, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded General Growth Properties (d. 2013)
1926 – Gillian Lynne, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2018)
1926 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1926 – Bob Richards, American Olympic track and field athlete
1926 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1998)
1927 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer and political activist (d. 1986)
1927 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer and musician (d. 2005)
1927 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat
1928 – Roy Face, American baseball player and carpenter
1928 – Jean Kennedy Smith, American diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to Ireland
1929 – Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
1931 – John Milnor, American mathematician and academic
1932 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and author (d. 2007)
1934 – Bobby Unser, American race car driver
1935 – Ellen Gilchrist, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
1936 – Marj Dusay, American actress (d. 2020)
1936 – Larry Hovis, American actor and singer (d. 2003)
1936 – Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach
1937 – David Ackles, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
1937 – Robert Huber, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1937 – Roger Penske, American race car driver and businessman
1937 – Robert Evans, Australian minister and amateur astronomer
1937 – Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
1938 – Richard Beymer, American actor, director, and cinematographer
1940 – Jimmy Greaves, English international footballer, forward and TV pundit
1941 – Lim Kit Siang, Malaysian lawyer and politician
1941 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
1942 – Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
1942 – Mitch McConnell, American lawyer, and politician
1942 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1943 – Antonio Inoki, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician
1943 – Mike Leigh, English director and screenwriter
1944 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian economist and politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1999)
1944 – Lew Soloff, American trumpet player, composer, and actor (d. 2015)
1944 – Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
1945 – Alan Hull, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
1946 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
1946 – Sandy Duncan, American actress, singer, and dancer
1946 – J. Geils, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
1947 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
1947 – Peter Strauss, American actor and producer
1948 – Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1948 – Jennifer O’Neill, American model and actress
1949 – Eddie Hemmings, English cricketer
1949 – Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite and model
1950 – Walter Becker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
1950 – Peter Marinello, Scottish footballer, forward
1950 – Tony Wilson, English journalist and businessman (d. 2007)
1951 – Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
1951 – Gordon Brown, Scottish historian and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1951 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
1951 – Phil Neal, English footballer and manager
1953 – Poison Ivy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1954 – Jon Brant, American bass player
1954 – Anthony Head, English actor
1954 – Patty Hearst, American actress and author
1957 – Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1959 – Scott Brayton, American race car driver (d. 1996)
1959 – David Corn, American journalist and author
1959 – Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
1960 – Joel Hodgson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1960 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas, Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (d. 2014)
1961 – Steve Lundquist, American swimmer
1962 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded Milestone Media (d. 2011)
1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player and sportscaster
1963 – Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter and musician
1963 – Joakim Nystrom, Swedish tennis player
1963 – Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health
1963 – Cui Yongyuan, Chinese former anchor
1964 – Willie Garson, American actor and director
1964 – Tom Harris, Scottish journalist and politician
1964 – Jeff Maggert, American golfer
1964 – French Stewart, American actor
1966 – Cindy Crawford, American model and businesswoman
1967 – Paul Accola, Swiss alpine skier
1967 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994)
1967 – David Herman, American comedian and actor
1967 – Andrew Shue, American actor and activist, founded Do Something
1967 – Lili Taylor, American actress
1967 – Tom Waddle, American football player and sportscaster
1969 – Kjell Ove Hauge, Norwegian school principal and track and field athlete
1969 – Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer and manager
1969 – Danis Tanović, Bosnian director and screenwriter
1971 – Calpernia Addams, American actress, author, and activist
1971 – Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
1971 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby player (d. 2017)
1972 – Neil Primrose, Scottish drummer
1974 – Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer and manager
1975 – Liván Hernández, Cuban baseball player
1975 – Brian Littrell, American singer-songwriter and actor
1975 – Niclas Wallin, Swedish ice hockey player
1977 – Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
1977 – Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler
1978 – Lauren Ambrose, American actress and producer
1980 – Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
1980 – Luis Gabriel Rey, Colombian footballer
1981 – Tony Hibbert, English footballer
1981 – Fred Jackson, American football player
1982 – Jason Hirsh, American baseball player
1983 – Jose Morales, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
1983 – Justin Verlander, American baseball player
1984 – Brian McCann, American baseball player
1984 – Trevor Noah, South African comedian, actor, and television host
1984 – Ramzee Robinson, American football player
1985 – Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
1985 – Julia Volkova, Russian singer and actress
1985 – TJ Kirk, American YouTube personality and podcast host
1987 – Luke Burgess, English rugby league player
1987 – Miles Teller, American actor
1988 – Kealoha Pilares, American football player
1988 – Ki Bo-bae, South Korean archer
1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian-American singer-songwriter and actress
1988 – Jiah Khan, Indian singer and actress (d. 2013)
1989 – Daly Cherry-Evans, Australian rugby league player
1990 – Ciro Immobile, Italian footballer
1991 – Hidilyn Diaz, Filipino weightlifter
1991 – Giovanni Kyeremateng, Italian footballer
1991 – Angelique van der Meet, Dutch tennis player
1991 – Antonio Pedroza, English-Mexican footballer
1991 – Jocelyn Rae, English-Scottish tennis player
1992 – Kyle Turner, Australian rugby league player
1994 – Elseid Hysaj, Albanian footballer
Deaths on February 20
789 – Leo of Catania, saint and bishop of Catania (b. 709)
922 – Theodora, Byzantine empress
1054 – Yaroslav the Wise, grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and Kiev (b. 978)
1154 – Saint Wulfric of Haselbury (b. c. 1080)
1171 – Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
1194 – Tancred, King of Sicily (b. 1138)
1258 – Al-Musta’sim, Iraqi caliph (b. 1213)
1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
1431 – Pope Martin V (b. 1368)
1458 – Lazar Branković, Despot of Serbia
1513 – King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1455)
1524 – Tecun Uman, Mayan ruler (b. 1500)
1579 – Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)
1618 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (b. 1554)
1626 – John Dowland, English lute player and composer (b. 1563)
1762 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (b. 1723)
1771 – Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist and astronomer (b. 1678)
1773 – Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (b. 1701)
1778 – Laura Bassi, Italian physicist and scholar (b. 1711)
1790 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
1806 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (b. 1725)
1810 – Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean rebel leader (b. 1767)
1850 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843–1844) (b. 1794)
1862 – William Wallace Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850)
1871 – Paul Kane, Irish-Canadian painter (b. 1810)
1893 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (b. 1818)
1895 – Frederick Douglass, American author and activist (b. 1818)
1900 – Washakie, American tribal leader (b. 1798)
1907 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
1910 – Boutros Ghali, Egyptian educator and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1846)
1916 – Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish journalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844)
1920 – Jacinta Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1910)
1920 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (b. 1856)
1933 – Takiji Kobayashi, Japanese writer (b. 1903)
