American chemist

  • March 11- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 222 – Alexander Severus becomes emperor of Rome, replacing his cousin, 18-year-old Elagabalus. The bodies of the assassinated emperor and his mother, Julia Soaemias, are dragged through the streets of the city and thrown into the Tiber.
    • 1387 – Battle of Castagnaro: English condottiero Sir John Hawkwood leads Padova to victory in a factional clash with Verona.
    • 1641 – Guaraní forces living in the Jesuit reductions defeat bandeirantes loyal to the Portuguese Empire at the Battle of Mbororé in present-day Panambí, Argentina.
    • 1649 – The Frondeurs and the French sign the Peace of Rueil.
    • 1702 – The Daily Courant, England’s first national daily newspaper, is published for the first time.
    • 1708 – Queen Anne withholds Royal Assent from the Scottish Militia Bill, the last time a British monarch vetoes legislation.
    • 1784 – The signing of the Treaty of Mangalore brings the Second Anglo-Mysore War to an end.
    • 1811 – During André Masséna’s retreat from the Lines of Torres Vedras, a division led by French Marshal Michel Ney fights off a combined Anglo-Portuguese force to give Masséna time to escape.
    • 1824 – The United States Department of War creates the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
    • 1845 – Flagstaff War: Unhappy with translational differences regarding the Treaty of Waitangi, chiefs Hone Heke, Kawiti and Māori tribe members chop down the British flagpole for a fourth time and drive settlers out of Kororareka, New Zealand.
    • 1848 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine and Robert Baldwin become the first Prime Ministers of the Province of Canada to be democratically elected under a system of responsible government.
    • 1851 – The first performance of Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi takes place in Venice.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.
    • 1864 – The Great Sheffield Flood kills 238 people in Sheffield, England.
    • 1872 – Construction of the Seven Sisters Colliery, South Wales, begins; located on one of the richest coal sources in Britain.
    • 1879 – Shō Tai formally abdicated his position of King of Ryūkyū, under orders from Tokyo, ending the Ryukyu Kingdom.
    • 1888 – The Great Blizzard of 1888 begins along the eastern seaboard of the United States, shutting down commerce and killing more than 400.
    • 1917 – World War I: Mesopotamian campaign: Baghdad falls to Anglo-Indian forces commanded by General Stanley Maude.
    • 1927 – In New York City, Samuel Roxy Rothafel opens the Roxy Theatre.
    • 1931 – Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR, abbreviated as GTO, is introduced in the Soviet Union.
    • 1941 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs the Lend-Lease Act into law, allowing American-built war supplies to be shipped to the Allies on loan.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy attempts a large-scale kamikaze attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet anchored at Ulithi atoll in Operation Tan No. 2.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Empire of Vietnam, a short-lived Japanese puppet state, is established with Bảo Đại as its ruler.
    • 1946 – Rudolf Höss, the first commandant of Auschwitz concentration camp, is captured by British troops.
    • 1975 – Vietnam War: North Vietnamese and Viet Cong guerrilla forces establish control over Buôn Ma Thuột commune from the South Vietnamese army.
    • 1977 – The 1977 Hanafi Siege: More than 130 hostages held in Washington, D.C., by Hanafi Muslims are set free after ambassadors from three Islamic nations join negotiations.
    • 1978 – Coastal Road massacre: At least 37 are killed and more than 70 are wounded when Fatah hijack an Israeli bus, prompting Israel’s Operation Litani.
    • 1981 – Hundreds of students protest in the University of Pristina in Kosovo, then part of Yugoslavia, to give their province more political rights. The protests then became a nationwide movement.
    • 1983 – Pakistan successfully conducts a cold test of a nuclear weapon.
    • 1983 – Bob Hawke is appointed Prime Minister of Australia.
    • 1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev is elected to the position of General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union making Gorbachev the USSR’s de facto, and last, head of state.
    • 1990 – Lithuania declares itself independent from the Soviet Union.
    • 1990 – Patricio Aylwin is sworn in as the first democratically elected President of Chile since 1970.
    • 1993 – Janet Reno is confirmed by the United States Senate and sworn in the next day, becoming the first female Attorney General of the United States.
    • 1999 – Infosys becomes the first Indian company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.
    • 2004 – Madrid train bombings: Simultaneous explosions on rush-hour trains in Madrid, Spain, killing 192 people.
    • 2006 – Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as first female president of Chile.
    • 2007 – Georgia claims Russian helicopters attacked the Kodori Valley in Abkhazia, an accusation that Russia categorically denies later.
    • 2009 – Winnenden school shooting: Sixteen are killed and 11 are injured before recent-graduate Tim Kretschmer shoots and kills himself, leading to tightened weapons restrictions in Germany.
    • 2010 – Economist and businessman Sebastián Piñera is sworn in as President of Chile, while three earthquakes, the strongest measuring magnitude 6.9 and all centered next to Pichilemu, capital of Cardenal Caro province, hit central Chile during the ceremony.
    • 2011 – An earthquake measuring 9.0 in magnitude strikes 130 km (81 mi) east of Sendai, Japan, triggering a tsunami killing thousands of people. This event also triggered the second largest nuclear accident in history, and one of only two events to be classified as a Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale.
    • 2012 – A U.S. soldier kills 16 civilians in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan near Kandahar.
    • 2016 – At least 21 people are killed by flooding and mudslides in and around São Paulo, Brazil, following heavy rain.
    • 2020 – The World Health Organization (WHO) declares a pandemic due to the COVID-19 virus.

    Births on March 11

    • 1279 – Mary of Woodstock, daughter of Edward I of England (d. c.1332)
    • 1503 – George Harper, English politician (d. 1558)
    • 1530 – Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (d. 1573)
    • 1544 – Torquato Tasso, Italian poet and educator (d. 1595)
    • 1634 – Nicholas Gassaway, English colonial military and political leader (d. 1691)
    • 1738 – Benjamin Tupper, American general (d. 1792)
    • 1745 – Bodawpaya, Burmese king (d. 1819)
    • 1785 – John McLean, American jurist and politician, 6th United States Postmaster General (d. 1861)
    • 1787 – Ivan Nabokov, Russian general (d. 1852)
    • 1806 – Louis Boulanger, French Romantic painter, lithographer and illustrator (d. 1867)
    • 1811 – Urbain Le Verrier, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1877)
    • 1815 – Anna Bochkoltz, German operatic soprano, voice teacher and composer (d. 1879)
    • 1818 – Marius Petipa, French-Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1910)
    • 1819 – Henry Tate, English businessman and philanthropist, founded Tate & Lyle (d. 1899)
    • 1822 – Joseph Louis François Bertrand, French mathematician, economist, and academic (d. 1900)
    • 1854 – Jane Meade Welch, American journalist and lecturer (d. 1931)
    • 1863 – Andrew Stoddart, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1915)
    • 1870 – Louis Bachelier, French mathematician and theorist (d. 1946)
    • 1872 – Kathleen Clarice Groom, Australian-English author and screenwriter (d. 1954)
    • 1873 – David Horsley, English-American film producer, co-founded Universal Studios (d. 1933)
    • 1876 – Carl Ruggles, American pianist and composer (d. 1971)
    • 1878 – Umegatani Tōtarō II, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1927)
    • 1880 – Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenicist and sociologist (d. 1943)
    • 1884 – Lewi Pethrus, Swedish minister and hymn-writer (d. 1974)
    • 1884 – Ömer Seyfettin, Turkish soldier, author, and educator (d. 1920)
    • 1885 – Malcolm Campbell, English race car driver and journalist (d. 1948)
    • 1887 – Raoul Walsh, American actor and director (d. 1980)
    • 1887 – Kâzım Orbay, Turkish general and politician (d. 1964)
    • 1890 – Vannevar Bush, American engineer and academic (d. 1974)
    • 1893 – Wanda Gág, American author and illustrator (d. 1946)
    • 1895 – Shemp Howard, American actor (d. 1955)
    • 1896 – Olivério Pinto, Brazilian zoologist and physician (d. 1981)
    • 1897 – Henry Cowell, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)
    • 1898 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (d. 1968)
    • 1899 – James H. Douglas, Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of Defense (d. 1988)
    • 1899 – Frederick IX of Denmark (d. 1972)
    • 1900 – Hanna Bergas, German teacher who contributed to the rescue of Jewish children during WWII (d. 1987)
    • 1903 – Ronald Syme, New Zealand historian and scholar (d. 1989)
    • 1903 – Lawrence Welk, American accordion player and bandleader (d. 1992)
    • 1907 – Jessie Matthews, English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1981)
    • 1908 – Matti Sippala, Finnish javelin thrower (d. 1997)
    • 1910 – Robert Havemann, German chemist and academic (d. 1982)
    • 1911 – Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 1st Baronet, Egyptian-Scottish general and politician (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – Wolf-Dietrich Wilcke, German colonel and pilot (d. 1944)
    • 1915 – Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer (d. 2004)
    • 1915 – J. C. R. Licklider, American computer scientist and psychologist (d. 1990)
    • 1916 – Ezra Jack Keats, American author and illustrator (d. 1983)
    • 1916 – Harold Wilson, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
    • 1920 – Nicolaas Bloembergen, Dutch-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
    • 1921 – Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (d. 2005)
    • 1921 – Jeff Stollmeyer, Trinidadian cricketer (d. 1989)
    • 1921 – Astor Piazzolla, Argentine tango composer and bandoneon player (d. 1992)
    • 1922 – Cornelius Castoriadis, Greek economist and philosopher (d. 1997)
    • 1922 – José Luis López Vázquez, Spanish actor and director (d. 2009)
    • 1922 – Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1976)
    • 1923 – Louise Brough, American tennis player (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American biochemist and academic (d. 1983)
    • 1925 – İlhan Selçuk, Turkish lawyer, journalist, and author (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – Ralph Abernathy, American minister and activist (d. 1990)
    • 1927 – Joachim Fuchsberger, German actor and television host (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Col Geelan, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1996)
    • 1927 – Freda Meissner-Blau, Austrian activist and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Robert Mosbacher, American sailor, businessman, and politician, 25th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Josep Maria Subirachs, Spanish sculptor and painter (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Albert Salmi, American actor (d. 1990)
    • 1929 – Timothy Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
    • 1929 – Jackie McGlew, South African cricketer (d. 1998)
    • 1930 – David Gentleman, English illustrator and engraver
    • 1930 – Claude Jutra, Canadian actor, director and screenwriter (d. 1986)
    • 1931 – Janosch, Polish-German author and illustrator
    • 1931 – Marisa Del Frate, Italian actress and singer (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Rupert Murdoch, Australian-American businessman and media magnate
    • 1932 – Leroy Jenkins, American violinist and composer (Revolutionary Ensemble) (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Nigel Lawson, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
    • 1934 – Sam Donaldson, American journalist
    • 1936 – Hollis Frampton, American director, screenwriter, and photographer (d. 1984)
    • 1936 – Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 2016)
    • 1938 – Joseph Brooks, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (d. 2011)
    • 1939 – Lorraine Hunt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Lieutenant Governor of Nevada
    • 1939 – Orlando Quevedo, Filipino cardinal
    • 1940 – Alberto Cortez, Argentinian-Spanish singer-songwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian and author (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Joel Steiger, American director, producer and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Arturo Merzario, Italian race car driver
    • 1945 – Dock Ellis, American baseball player and coach (d. 2008)
    • 1945 – Harvey Mandel, American guitarist
    • 1946 – Mark Metcalf, American actor and producer
    • 1947 – Geoff Hunt, Australian squash player
    • 1947 – Tristan Murail, French composer and educator
    • 1948 – Roy Barnes, American lawyer and politician, 80th Governor of Georgia
    • 1949 – Griselda Pollock, South African-English historian and academic
    • 1950 – Sam Kekovich, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1950 – Bobby McFerrin, American singer-songwriter, producer, and conductor
    • 1950 – Jerry Zucker, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1951 – Andres Metspalu, Estonian geneticist and academic
    • 1951 – Dominique Sanda, French model and actress
    • 1952 – Douglas Adams, English author and playwright (d. 2001)
    • 1953 – László Bölöni, Romanian-Hungarian footballer and manager
    • 1953 – Derek Daly, Irish-American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1953 – Jimmy Iovine, American record producer and businessman, co-founded Interscope Records and Beats Electronics
    • 1953 – Bernie LaBarge, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – David Newman, American composer and conductor
    • 1954 – Gale Norton, American lawyer and politician, 48th United States Secretary of the Interior
    • 1955 – Leslie Cliff, Canadian swimmer
    • 1955 – Nina Hagen, German singer and actress
    • 1955 – D. J. MacHale, American author, director, and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Willie Banks, American triple jumper
    • 1956 – Curtis Brown, American colonel, pilot and astronaut
    • 1956 – Helen Rollason, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 1999)
    • 1957 – The Lady Chablis, American drag queen performer (d. 2016)
    • 1958 – Ian Horrocks, English computer scientist and academic
    • 1958 – Tetsurō Oda, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1958 – James Pinkerton, American journalist and author
    • 1958 – Anissa Jones, American child actress (d. 1976)
    • 1958 – Flemming Rose, Danish journalist and author
    • 1959 – Manuel Negrete Arias, Mexican footballer and coach
    • 1959 – Nina Hartley, American pornographic actress/director, sex educator, sex-positive feminist, and author
    • 1959 – Margus Oopkaup, Estonian actor
    • 1959 – Dejan Stojanović, Serbian-American journalist and poet
    • 1960 – Christophe Gans, French director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Junichi Sato, Japanese animator and director
    • 1960 – Warwick Taylor, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1961 – Elias Koteas, Canadian actor
    • 1961 – Bruce Watson, Canadian-Scottish guitarist
    • 1962 – Mary Gauthier, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Matt Mead, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of Wyoming
    • 1963 – Gary Barnett, English footballer and manager
    • 1963 – Alex Kingston, English actress
    • 1963 – David LaChapelle, American photographer and director
    • 1964 – Peter Berg, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Vinnie Paul, American drummer, songwriter and producer (d. 2018)
    • 1964 – Shane Richie, English actor and singer
    • 1965 – Nigel Adkins, English footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Jesse Jackson, Jr., American lawyer and politician
    • 1965 – Wallace Langham, American actor
    • 1965 – Jenny Packham, English fashion designer
    • 1965 – Allan Vainola, Estonian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1966 – Robbie Brookside, English wrestler and trainer
    • 1966 – John Thompson III, American basketball player and coach
    • 1966 – Ilias Zouros, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1967 – John Barrowman, Scottish-American actor and singer
    • 1967 – Brad Carson, American lawyer and politician, United States Under Secretary of the Army
    • 1967 – Renzo Gracie, Brazilian-American mixed martial artist and trainer
    • 1967 – Cynthia Klitbo, Mexican actress
    • 1968 – Stéphane Bédard, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1968 – Simone Buchanan, Australian actress
    • 1968 – Lisa Loeb, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actress
    • 1969 – Terrence Howard, American actor and producer
    • 1969 – Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2006)
    • 1970 – Andre Nickatina, American rapper and producer
    • 1971 – Johnny Knoxville, American actor, stuntman, and producer
    • 1971 – Martin Ručinský, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1972 – Paolo Ponzo, Italian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1973 – Martin Hiden, Austrian footballer and coach
    • 1974 – Bobby Abreu, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1975 – João Barbosa, Portuguese racing driver
    • 1975 – Shawn Springs, American football player
    • 1976 – Thomas Gravesen, Danish footballer
    • 1976 – Kotomitsuki Keiji, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1977 – Becky Hammon, American-Russian basketball player and coach
    • 1978 – Scott Calderwood, English-Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Didier Drogba, Ivorian footballer
    • 1978 – Albert Luque, Spanish footballer
    • 1979 – Elton Brand, American basketball player
    • 1979 – Fred Jones, American basketball player
    • 1979 – Benji Madden, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Joel Madden, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1979 – Keren Peles, Israeli singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1979 – Kirk Reynoldson, Australian rugby league player
    • 1980 – Paul Scharner, Austrian footballer
    • 1980 – Dan Uggla, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Heidi Cortez, American businesswoman and author
    • 1981 – Luke Johnson, English drummer and songwriter
    • 1981 – LeToya Luckett, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1982 – Brian Anderson, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Thora Birch, American actress
    • 1982 – Hasan Raza, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1983 – Lucy DeVito, American actress
    • 1985 – Paul Bissonnette, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Daniel Vázquez Evuy, Equatoguinean footballer
    • 1985 – Cassandra Fairbanks, American journalist and activist
    • 1985 – Luis Hernández, Mexican figure skater
    • 1985 – Stelios Malezas, Greek footballer
    • 1985 – Ajantha Mendis, Sri Lankan cricketer
    • 1985 – Derek Schouman, American football player
    • 1985 – Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Australian footballer
    • 1985 – Hakuhō Shō, Mongolian sumo wrestler, the 69th Yokozuna
    • 1986 – Dario Cologna, Swiss skier
    • 1986 – Mariko Shinoda, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1987 – Marc-André Gragnani, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Tanel Kangert, Estonian cyclist
    • 1987 – Ngonidzashe Makusha, Zimbabwean sprinter and long jumper
    • 1987 – Colin Munro, South African-New Zealand cricketer
    • 1988 – Fábio Coentrão, Portuguese footballer
    • 1988 – Cecil Lolo, South African footballer (d. 2015)
    • 1988 – Katsuhiko Nakajima, Japanese wrestler
    • 1989 – Anton Yelchin, Russian-born American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1990 – Ayumi Morita, Japanese tennis player
    • 1991 – Kamohelo Mokotjo, South African footballer
    • 1992 – Austin Swift, American actor
    • 1992 – KZ Tandingan, Filipina singer and rapper
    • 1993 – Jodie Comer, British actress
    • 1993 – Anthony Davis, American basketball player
    • 1994 – Andrew Robertson, Scottish footballer

    Deaths on March 11

    • 222 – Elagabalus, Roman emperor (b. 203)
    • 452 – Tai Wu Di, emperor of Northern Wei (b. 408)
    • 638 – Sophronius of Jerusalem (b. 560)
    • 857 – Eulogius of Córdoba, Spanish martyr and saint (b. 819)
    • 1198 – Marie of France, Countess of Champagne (b. 1145)
    • 1296 – John le Romeyn, Archbishop of York
    • 1353 – Theognostus, metropolitan of Kiev and Moscow
    • 1486 – Albrecht III Achilles, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1414)
    • 1514 – Donato Bramante, Italian architect, designed the San Pietro in Montorio (b. 1444)
    • 1575 – Matthias Flacius, Croatian theologian and reformer (b. 1520)
    • 1602 – Emilio de’ Cavalieri, Italian organist and composer (b. 1550)
    • 1607 – Giovanni Maria Nanino, Italian composer and educator (b. 1543)
    • 1646 – Stanisław Koniecpolski, Polish soldier and statesman (b. c. 1592)
    • 1665 – Clemente Tabone, Maltese landowner and militia member (b. c. 1575)
    • 1722 – John Toland, Irish philosopher and theorist (b. 1670)
    • 1759 – John Forbes, Scottish general (b. 1710)
    • 1820 – Benjamin West, American-English painter and academic (b. 1738)
    • 1851 – Marie Louise Coidavid, Queen of Haiti (b. 1778)
    • 1851 – George McDuffie, American lawyer and politician, 55th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1790)
    • 1854 – Willard Richards, American journalist and religious leader (b. 1804)
    • 1863 – Sir James Outram, 1st Baronet, English general (b. 1803)
    • 1869 – Vladimir Odoyevsky, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1803)
    • 1870 – Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho (b. 1786)
    • 1874 – Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician (b. 1811)
    • 1898 – William Rosecrans, American general and politician (b. 1819)
    • 1898 – Tigran Chukhajian, Armenian composer and conductor (b. 1837)
    • 1907 – Jean Casimir-Perier, French lawyer and politician, 6th President of France (b. 1847)
    • 1908 – Edmondo De Amicis, Italian journalist and author (b. 1846)
    • 1908 – Benjamin Waugh, American minister and activist (b. 1839)
    • 1915 – Thomas Alexander Browne, English-Australian author (b. 1826)
    • 1920 – Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer, mathematician, and engineer (b. 1865)
    • 1927 – Xenophon Stratigos, Greek general and politician, Greek Minister of Transport (b. 1869)
    • 1931 – F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1888)
    • 1937 – Joseph S. Cullinan, American businessman, co-founded Texaco (b. 1860)
    • 1944 – Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-American journalist and historian (b. 1882)
    • 1944 – Edgar Zilsel, Austrian historian and philosopher of science, linked to the Vienna Circle (b. 1891)
    • 1949 – Anastasios Charalambis, Greek general and politician, 109th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1862)
    • 1949 – Henri Giraud, French general and politician (b. 1879)
    • 1952 – Pierre Renoir, French actor and director (b. 1885)
    • 1955 – Alexander Fleming, Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, and botanist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
    • 1955 – Oscar F. Mayer, German-American businessman, founded Oscar Mayer (b. 1859)
    • 1957 – Richard E. Byrd, American admiral and explorer (b. 1888)
    • 1958 – Ole Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman, founded The Lego Group (b. 1891)
    • 1959 – Lester Dent, American author (b. 1904)
    • 1960 – Roy Chapman Andrews, American paleontologist and explorer (b. 1884)
    • 1965 – Harry Altham, English cricketer, historian and coach (b. 1888)
    • 1967 – Geraldine Farrar, American soprano and actress (b. 1882)
    • 1968 – Haşim İşcan, Turkish educator and politician, 18th Mayor of İstanbul (b. 1898)
    • 1969 – John Daly, Irish runner (b. 1880)
    • 1969 – John Wyndham, English soldier and author (b. 1903)
    • 1970 – Erle Stanley Gardner, American lawyer and author (b. 1889)
    • 1971 – Philo Farnsworth, American inventor (b. 1906)
    • 1971 – Whitney Young, American activist (b. 1921)
    • 1977 – Ulysses S. Grant IV, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1893)
    • 1978 – Claude François, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1939)
    • 1980 – Chandra Bhanu Gupta, Indian politician, 4th Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (b. 1902)
    • 1982 – Edmund Cooper, English poet and author (b. 1926)
    • 1982 – Horace Gregory, American poet, translator, and academic (b. 1898)
    • 1983 – Will Glickman, American playwright (b. 1910)
    • 1984 – Kostas Roukounas, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1903)
    • 1986 – Sonny Terry, American singer and harmonica player (b. 1911)
    • 1989 – James Kee, American lawyer and politician (b. 1917)
    • 1989 – John J. McCloy, American lawyer and banker (b. 1895)
    • 1992 – Richard Brooks, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1912)
    • 1995 – Myfanwy Talog, Welsh actress and singer (b. 1945)
    • 1996 – Vince Edwards, American actor and director (b. 1928)
    • 1999 – Herbert Jasper, Canadian psychologist, anatomist, and neurologist (b. 1906)
    • 1999 – Camille Laurin, Canadian psychiatrist and politician (b. 1922)
    • 2002 – James Tobin, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2006 – Slobodan Milošević, Serbian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (b. 1941)
    • 2007 – Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Nils Taube, Estonian-English businessman (b. 1928)
    • 2009 – Charles Lewis, Jr., American businessman, co-founded Tapout Clothing (b. 1963)
    • 2010 – John Hill, Canadian-American wrestler (b. 1941)
    • 2010 – Merlin Olsen, American football player and actor (b. 1940)
    • 2010 – T. Somasekaram, Sri Lankan geographer and politician, 37th Surveyor General of Sri Lanka (b. 1934)
    • 2010 – Hans van Mierlo, Dutch journalist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1931)
    • 2011 – Gary Wichard, American football player and agent (b. 1950)
    • 2012 – Henry Adefope, Nigerian physician and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Nigeria (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Sid Couchey, American author and illustrator (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – James B. Morehead, American colonel and pilot (b. 1916)
    • 2012 – Gösta Schwarck, German-Danish pianist and composer (b. 1915)
    • 2013 – Erica Andrews, Mexican-American drag queen performer (b. 1969)
    • 2013 – Martin Adolf Bormann, German priest and theologian (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Doug Christie, Canadian lawyer and activist (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Simón Alberto Consalvi, Venezuelan journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Venezuela (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Florian Siwicki, Polish general and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Dean Bailey, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1967)
    • 2014 – Joel Brinkley, American journalist and academic (b. 1952)
    • 2015 – Walter Burkert, German philologist and scholar (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Jimmy Greenspoon, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (b. 1948)
    • 2015 – Gerald Hurst, American chemist and academic (b. 1937)
    • 2016 – Iolanda Balaș, Romanian high jumper and educator (b. 1936)
    • 2016 – Keith Emerson, English musician and composer. (b. 1944)
    • 2016 – Doreen Massey, English geographer and academic (b. 1944)
    • 2018 – Mary Rosenblum, American science fiction and mystery author (b. 1952)

    Holidays and observances on March 11

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alberta of Agen
      • Áurea of San Millán
      • Benedict of Milan
      • Constantine
      • Eulogius of Córdoba
      • Blessed John Righi
      • Óengus of Tallaght
      • Sophronius of Jerusalem
      • Vindicianus
    • Day of Restoration of Independence from the Soviet Union in 1990 (Lithuania)
    • Johnny Appleseed Day (United States)
    • Moshoeshoe Day (Lesotho)

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

    • 241 BC – First Punic War: Battle of the Aegates: The Romans sink the Carthaginian fleet bringing the First Punic War to an end.
    • 298 – Roman Emperor Maximian concludes his campaign in North Africa and makes a triumphal entry into Carthage.
    • 947 – The Later Han is founded by Liu Zhiyuan. He declares himself emperor.
    • 1607 – Susenyos I defeats the combined armies of Yaqob and Abuna Petros II at the Battle of Gol in Gojjam, making him Emperor of Ethiopia.
    • 1629 – Charles I dissolves the Parliament of England, beginning the eleven-year period known as the Personal Rule.
    • 1735 – An agreement between Nader Shah and Russia is signed near Ganja, Azerbaijan and Russian troops are withdrawn from occupied territories.
    • 1762 – French Huguenot Jean Calas, who had been wrongly convicted of killing his son, dies after being tortured by authorities; the event inspired Voltaire to begin a campaign for religious tolerance and legal reform.
    • 1814 – Emperor Napoleon I is defeated at the Battle of Laon in France.
    • 1830 – The Royal Netherlands East Indies Army is created.
    • 1848 – The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is ratified by the United States Senate, ending the Mexican–American War.
    • 1861 – El Hadj Umar Tall seizes the city of Ségou, destroying the Bamana Empire of Mali.
    • 1873 – The first Azerbaijani play “The Adventures of the Vizier of the Khan of Lenkaran” prepared by Akhundov was performed by Hassan-bey Zardabi and dramatist and Najaf-bey Vezirov.
    • 1876 – The first successful test of a telephone is made by Alexander Graham Bell.
    • 1891 – Almon Strowger patents the Strowger switch, a device which led to the automation of telephone circuit switching.
    • 1906 – The Courrières mine disaster, Europe’s worst ever, kills 1099 miners in northern France.
    • 1909 – By signing the Anglo-Siamese Treaty of 1909, Thailand relinquishes its sovereignty over the Malay states of Kedah, Kelantan, Perlis and Terengganu, which become British protectorates.
    • 1922 – Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in India, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years in prison, only to be released after nearly two years for an appendicitis operation.
    • 1933 – The Long Beach earthquake affects the Greater Los Angeles Area leaving around 108 people dead.
    • 1944 – Greek Civil War: The Political Committee of National Liberation is established in Greece by the National Liberation Front.
    • 1945 – World War II: The U.S. Army Air Force firebombs Tokyo, and the resulting conflagration kills more than 100,000 people, mostly civilians.
    • 1949 – Mildred Gillars (“Axis Sally”) is convicted of treason.
    • 1952 – Fulgencio Batista leads a successful coup in Cuba.
    • 1959 – Tibetan uprising: Fearing an abduction attempt by China, thousands of Tibetans surround the Dalai Lama’s palace to prevent his removal.
    • 1966 – Military Prime Minister of South Vietnam Nguyễn Cao Kỳ sacked rival General Nguyễn Chánh Thi, precipitating large-scale civil and military dissension in parts of the nation.
    • 1969 – In Memphis, Tennessee, James Earl Ray pleads guilty to assassinating Martin Luther King, Jr. He later unsuccessfully attempts to recant.
    • 1970 – Vietnam War: Captain Ernest Medina is charged by the U.S. military with My Lai war crimes.
    • 1975 – Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh Campaign: North Vietnamese troops attack Ban Mê Thuột in the South on their way to capturing Saigon in the final push for victory over South Vietnam.
    • 1977 – Astronomers discover the rings of Uranus.
    • 1990 – In Haiti, Prosper Avril is ousted 18 months after seizing power in a coup.
    • 2006 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars.
    • 2017 – The impeachment of President Park Geun-hye of South Korea in response to a major political scandal is unanimously upheld by the country’s Constitutional Court, ending her presidency.
    • 2019 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 MAX, crashes, leading to all 737 MAX aircraft being grounded worldwide.

    Births on March 10

    • 1452 – Ferdinand II, king of Castile and León (d. 1516)
    • 1503 – Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1564)
    • 1536 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (d. 1572)
    • 1604 – Johann Rudolf Glauber, German-Dutch alchemist and chemist (d. 1670)
    • 1628 – François Girardon, French sculptor (d. 1715)
    • 1628 – Marcello Malpighi, Italian physician and biologist (d. 1694)
    • 1656 – Giacomo Serpotta, Italian Rococo sculptor (d. 1732)
    • 1653 – John Benbow, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1702)
    • 1709 – Georg Wilhelm Steller, German botanist, zoologist, physician, and explorer (d. 1746)
    • 1749 – Lorenzo Da Ponte, Italian-American priest and poet (d. 1838)
    • 1769 – Joseph Williamson, English businessman and philanthropist (d. 1840)
    • 1772 – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, German poet and critic (d. 1829)
    • 1777 – Louis Hersent, French painter (d. 1860)
    • 1787 – Francisco de Paula Martínez de la Rosa y Berdejo, Spanish playwright and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1862)
    • 1787 – William Etty, English painter and academic (d. 1849)
    • 1788 – Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff, German author, poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1857)
    • 1788 – Edward Hodges Baily, English sculptor (d. 1867)
    • 1789 – Manuel de la Peña y Peña, Mexican lawyer and 20th President (1847) (d. 1850)
    • 1795 – Joseph Légaré, Canadian painter and glazier, artist, seigneur and political figure (d. 1855)
    • 1810 – Samuel Ferguson, Irish poet and lawyer (d. 1886)
    • 1844 – Pablo de Sarasate, Spanish violinist and composer (d. 1908)
    • 1844 – Marie Euphrosyne Spartali, British Pre-Raphaelite painter (d. 1927)
    • 1845 – Alexander III of Russia (d. 1894)
    • 1846 – Edward Baker Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1850)
    • 1849 – Hallie Quinn Brown, African-American educator, writer and activist (d. 1949)
    • 1850 – Spencer Gore, English tennis player and cricketer (d. 1906)
    • 1853 – Thomas Mackenzie, Scottish-New Zealand cartographer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1930)
    • 1867 – Hector Guimard, French-American architect (d. 1942)
    • 1867 – Lillian Wald, American nurse, humanitarian, and author, founded the Henry Street Settlement (d. 1940)
    • 1870 – David Riazanov, Russian theorist and politician (d. 1938)
    • 1873 – Jakob Wassermann, German-Austrian soldier and author (d. 1934)
    • 1876 – Anna Hyatt Huntington, American sculptor (d. 1973)
    • 1877 – Pascual Ortiz Rubio, Mexican diplomat and president (1930-1932) (d. 1963)
    • 1881 – Jessie Boswell, English painter (d. 1956)
    • 1888 – Barry Fitzgerald, Irish actor (d. 1961)
    • 1890 – Albert Ogilvie, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1939)
    • 1892 – Arthur Honegger, French composer and educator (d. 1955)
    • 1892 – Gregory La Cava, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1952)
    • 1896 – Frederick Coulton Waugh, British cartoonist, painter, teacher and author (d. 1973)
    • 1900 – Violet Brown, Jamaican supercentenarian, oldest Jamaican ever (d. 2017)
    • 1900 – Pandelis Pouliopoulos, Greek lawyer and politician (d. 1943)
    • 1901 – Michel Seuphor, Belgian painter (d. 1999)
    • 1903 – Bix Beiderbecke, American cornet player, pianist, and composer (d. 1931)
    • 1903 – Clare Boothe Luce, American playwright, journalist, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (d. 1987)
    • 1903 – Edward Bawden, British artist and illustrator (d. 1989)
    • 1914 – Chandler Harper, American golfer (d. 2004)
    • 1914 – K. P. Ratnam, Sri Lankan academic and politician (d. 2010)
    • 1915 – Harry Bertoia, Italian-American sculptor and furniture designer (d. 1978)
    • 1915 – Joža Horvat, Croatian writer (d. 2012)
    • 1916 – Davie Fulton, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 2000)
    • 1917 – David Hare, American Surrealist artist, sculptor, photographer and painter (d. 1992)
    • 1918 – Günther Rall, German general and pilot (d. 2009)
    • 1919 – Marion Hutton, American singer and actress (d. 1987)
    • 1920 – Alfred Peet, Dutch-American businessman, founded Peet’s Coffee & Tea (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – Boris Vian, French author and playwright (d. 1959)
    • 1922 – Kiyoshi Yamashita, Japanese painter (d. 1971)
    • 1923 – Val Logsdon Fitch, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Judith Jones, American literary and cookbook editor (d. 2017)
    • 1925 – Bob Lanier, American lawyer, banker, and politician, 58th Mayor of Houston (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Marques Haynes, American basketball player (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Claude Laydu, Belgian-French actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1927 – Paul Wunderlich, German painter, sculptor and graphic artist (d. 2010)
    • 1928 – Sara Montiel, Spanish actress (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – James Earl Ray, American criminal; assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (d. 1998)
    • 1929 – Sam Steiger, American journalist and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Sándor Iharos, Hungarian runner (d. 1996)
    • 1931 – Georges Dor, Canadian author, playwright, and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1932 – Marcia Falkender, Baroness Falkender, English politician (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Udupi Ramachandra Rao, Indian physicist and engineer (d. 2017)
    • 1933 – Perunchithiranar, Tamil poet (d. 1995)
    • 1933 – Elizabeth Azcona Cranwell, Argentinian poet and translator (d. 2004)
    • 1934 – Gergely Kulcsár, Hungarian javelin thrower and coach
    • 1935 – Graham Farmer, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Sepp Blatter, Swiss businessman
    • 1936 – Alfredo Zitarrosa, Uruguayan singer-songwriter and journalist (d. 1989)
    • 1938 – Norman Blake, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1938 – Ieronymos II of Athens, Greek archbishop
    • 1939 – Asghar Ali Engineer, Indian activist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Hugh Johnson, English author and critic
    • 1939 – Irina Press, Ukrainian-Russian hurdler and pentathlete (d. 2004)
    • 1940 – Chuck Norris, American actor, producer, and martial artist
    • 1940 – David Rabe, American playwright and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Peter Berresford Ellis, English historian and author
    • 1944 – Gail North-Saunders, Bahamian historian, archivist, and author who established the Bahamian National Archives
    • 1945 – Katharine Houghton, American actress and playwright
    • 1945 – Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician, Indian Minister of Railways (d. 2001)
    • 1946 – Gérard Garouste, French contemporary artist
    • 1946 – Mike Hollands, Australian animator and director, founded Act3animation
    • 1946 – Jim Valvano, American basketball player and coach (d. 1993)
    • 1947 – Kim Campbell, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Canada
    • 1947 – Tom Scholz, American rock musician (Boston), songwriter, inventor, and engineer
    • 1948 – Austin Carr, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1949 – Bill Buxton, Canadian computer scientist and academic
    • 1949 – Barbara Corcoran, American businesswoman and television personality
    • 1950 – Catherine Pugh, American politician, 50th mayor of Baltimore
    • 1952 – Morgan Tsvangirai, Zimbabwean politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (d. 2018)
    • 1953 – Paul Haggis, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Didier Barbelivien, French singer-songwriter
    • 1955 – Toshio Suzuki, Japanese race car driver
    • 1956 – Robert Llewellyn, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Larry Myricks, American long jumper and sprinter
    • 1957 – Osama bin Laden, Saudi Arabian terrorist, founded al-Qaeda (d. 2011)
    • 1958 – Garth Crooks, English footballer forward and sportscaster
    • 1958 – Steve Howe, American baseball player (d. 2006)
    • 1958 – Sharon Stone, American actress and producer
    • 1961 – Laurel Clark, American captain, physician, and astronaut (d. 2003)
    • 1961 – Bobby Petrino, American football player and coach
    • 1962 – Jasmine Guy, American actress, singer, and director
    • 1962 – Seiko Matsuda, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1963 – Jeff Ament, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1963 – Felipe Ramos, Mexican footballer and referee
    • 1963 – Rick Rubin, American record producer, founded Def Jam Recordings
    • 1964 – Neneh Cherry, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1964 – Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
    • 1964 – Jojo Lastimosa, Filipino basketball player and coach
    • 1964 – Nikola Mladenov, Macedonian journalist (d. 2013)
    • 1964 – Toni Polster, Austrian footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Jillian Richardson, Canadian sprinter
    • 1965 – Rod Woodson, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1966 – Edie Brickell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1966 – Mike Timlin, American baseball player
    • 1968 – Thio Li-ann, Singaporean lawyer and academic
    • 1968 – Pavel Srníček, Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1971 – Jon Hamm, American actor and director
    • 1972 – Timbaland, American rapper and producer
    • 1973 – Jason Croker, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1973 – Chris Sutton, English footballer
    • 1973 – Mauricio Taricco, Argentinian footballer, full back and assistant manager
    • 1976 – Barbara Schett, Austrian tennis player
    • 1978 – Camille, French singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1978 – Benjamin Burnley, American musician
    • 1981 – Samuel Eto’o, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1981 – Steven Reid, English-Irish footballer
    • 1982 – Kwame Brown, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Étienne Boulay, Canadian football player
    • 1983 – Rafe Spall, English actor
    • 1983 – Janet Mock, American journalist, author, and activist
    • 1983 – Carrie Underwood, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1984 – Ben May, English footballer
    • 1987 – Martellus Bennett, American football player
    • 1987 – Greg Eastwood, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1987 – Māris Štrombergs, Latvian BMX racer
    • 1988 – Josh Hoffman, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1988 – Ivan Rakitić, Croatian football player
    • 1992 – Neeskens Kebano, French-born Congolese international footballer
    • 1993 – Jack Butland, English footballer
    • 1995 – DaeSean Hamilton, American football player
    • 1995 – Zach LaVine, American basketball player
    • 1995 – Sergey Mozgov, Russian ice dancer
    • 1997 – Belinda Bencic, Swiss tennis player

    Deaths on March 10

    • 483 – Pope Simplicius
    • 933 – Li Renfu, Chinese warlord and governor
    • 948 – Liu Zhiyuan, Shatuo founder of the Later Han dynasty (b. 895)
    • 1039 – Eudes, Duke of Gascony
    • 1222 – Johan Sverkersson, king of Sweden since 1216 (b. 1201)
    • 1289 – Maud de Lacy, Countess of Hertford and Gloucester, English noble (b. 1223)
    • 1291 – Arghun, Mongol ruler in Persia
    • 1315 – Agnes Blannbekin, Austrian mystic (b. c.1244)
    • 1391 – Tvrtko I of Bosnia (b. 1338)
    • 1476 – Richard West, 7th Baron De La Warr (b. 1430)
    • 1510 – Johann Geiler von Kaisersberg, Swiss priest and theologian (b. 1445)
    • 1513 – John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford, English commander and politician, Lord High Constable of England (b. 1443)
    • 1527 – Nam Gon, Korean writer and prime minister (b. 1471)
    • 1528 – Balthasar Hübmaier, influential German/Moravian Anabaptist leader (b. 1480)
    • 1572 – William Paulet, 1st Marquess of Winchester (b. c. 1483)
    • 1585 – Rembert Dodoens, Flemish physician and botanist (b. 1517)
    • 1588 – Theodor Zwinger, Swiss physician and scholar (b. 1533)
    • 1670 – Johann Rudolf Glauber, German-Dutch chemist and engineer (b. 1604)
    • 1682 – Jacob van Ruisdael, Dutch painter and etcher (b. 1628)
    • 1724 – Urban Hjärne, Swedish chemist, geologist, and physician (b. 1641)
    • 1776 – Élie Catherine Fréron, French author and critic (b. 1719)
    • 1792 – John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1713)
    • 1823 – George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith, Scottish admiral and politician (b. 1746)
    • 1826 – John Pinkerton, Scottish antiquarian, cartographer, author, numismatist and historian (b. 1758)
    • 1832 – Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1752)
    • 1861 – Taras Shevchenko, Ukrainian poet, playwright, and ethnographer (b. 1814)
    • 1872 – Giuseppe Mazzini, Italian journalist and politician (b. 1805)
    • 1898 – Marie-Eugénie de Jésus, French nun and saint, founded the Religious of the Assumption (b. 1817)
    • 1895 – Charles Frederick Worth, English-French fashion designer, founded the House of Worth (b. 1826)
    • 1897 – Savitribai Phule, Indian poet and activist (b. 1831)
    • 1910 – Karl Lueger, Austrian lawyer and politician Mayor of Vienna (b. 1844)
    • 1910 – Carl Reinecke, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1824)
    • 1913 – Harriet Tubman, American nurse and activist (b. c.1820)
    • 1925 – Myer Prinstein, Polish-American jumper and lawyer (b. 1878)
    • 1930 – Misuzu Kaneko, Japanese poet and songwriter (b. 1903)
    • 1937 – Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian journalist and author (b. 1884)
    • 1940 – Mikhail Bulgakov, Russian novelist and playwright (b. 1891)
    • 1942 – Wilbur Scoville, American pharmacist and chemist (b. 1865)
    • 1948 – Zelda Fitzgerald, American author, poet, and dancer (b. 1900)
    • 1948 – Jan Masaryk, Czech soldier and politician (b. 1886)
    • 1951 – Kijūrō Shidehara, Japanese lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1872)
    • 1965 – Archibald Frazer-Nash, English engineer, founded Frazer Nash (b. 1889)
    • 1966 – Frits Zernike, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
    • 1966 – Frank O’Connor, Irish short story writer, novelist, and poet (b. 1903)
    • 1977 – E. Power Biggs, English-American organist and composer (b. 1906)
    • 1982 – Minoru Shirota, Japanese physician and microbiologist, invented Yakult (b. 1899)
    • 1985 – Konstantin Chernenko, Russian soldier and politician, 8th Head of State of The Soviet Union (b. 1911)
    • 1985 – Bob Nieman, American baseball player and scout (b. 1927)
    • 1986 – Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (b. 1905)
    • 1988 – Andy Gibb, Manx-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1958)
    • 1989 – Kermit Beahan, American colonel and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 1990 – Pat McDonald, Australian actress (b. 1921)
    • 1992 – Giorgos Zampetas, Greek bouzouki player and composer (b. 1925)
    • 1995 – Agepê, Brazilian singer/composer (b. 1942)
    • 1996 – Ross Hunter, American film producer (b. 1926)
    • 1997 – LaVern Baker, American singer and actress (b. 1929)
    • 1998 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor and director (b. 1913)
    • 1999 – Oswaldo Guayasamín, Ecuadorian painter and sculptor (b. 1919)
    • 2001 – Massimo Morsello, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1958)
    • 2004 – Renos Apostolidis, Greek philologist, author, and critic (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Dave Allen, Irish-English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
    • 2006 – Anna Moffo, American soprano (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – Ernie Ladd, American football player and wrestler (b. 1938)
    • 2010 – Muhammad Sayyid Tantawy, Egyptian scholar and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2010 – Corey Haim, Canadian actor (b. 1971)
    • 2011 – Bill Blackbeard, American author and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Bert R. Bulkin, American engineer (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Jean Giraud, French author and illustrator (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – Mykola Plaviuk, Ukrainian politician, President Ukrainian People’s Republic in Exile (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Frank Sherwood Rowland, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Tan Boon Teik, Malaysian-Singaporean lawyer and politician, Attorney-General of Singapore (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Richard Glatzer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1952)
    • 2016 – Ken Adam, German-English production designer and art director (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – Roberto Perfumo, Argentinian footballer and sportscaster (b. 1942)
    • 2016 – Jovito Salonga, Filipino lawyer and politician, 14th President of the Senate of the Philippines (b. 1920)
    • 2016 – Anita Brookner, English novelist and art historian (b. 1928)

    Holidays and observances  on March 10

    • Christian feast day
      • Attala
      • Harriet Tubman (Lutheran)
      • John Ogilvie
      • Macarius of Jerusalem
      • Marie-Eugénie de Jésus
      • Pope Simplicius
      • Sojourner Truth (Lutheran)
      • March 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Harriet Tubman Day (United States of America)
    • Holocaust Remembrance Day (Bulgaria)
    • National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day (United States)
    • Tibetan Uprising Day (Tibetan independence movement)

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

    • 1010 – Ferdowsi completes his epic poem Shahnameh.
    • 1126 – Following the death of his mother Urraca, Alfonso VII is proclaimed king of Castile and León.
    • 1262 – Battle of Hausbergen between bourgeois militias and the army of the bishop of Strasbourg.
    • 1576 – Spanish explorer Diego García de Palacio first sights the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Copán.
    • 1618 – Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion.
    • 1655 – John Casor becomes the first legally-recognized slave in England’s North American colonies where a crime was not committed.
    • 1658 – Treaty of Roskilde: After a devastating defeat in the Northern Wars (1655–1661), Frederick III, the King of Denmark–Norway is forced to give up nearly half his territory to Sweden to save the rest.
    • 1702 – Queen Anne, the younger sister of Mary II, becomes Queen regnant of England, Scotland, and Ireland
    • 1722 – The Safavid Empire of Iran is defeated by an army from Afghanistan at the Battle of Gulnabad, pushing Iran into anarchy.
    • 1736 – Nader Shah, founder of the Afsharid dynasty, is crowned Shah of Iran.
    • 1775 – An anonymous writer, thought by some to be Thomas Paine, publishes “African Slavery in America”, the first article in the American colonies calling for the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery.
    • 1777 – Regiments from Ansbach and Bayreuth, sent to support Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War, mutiny in the town of Ochsenfurt.
    • 1782 – Gnadenhutten massacre: Ninety-six Native Americans in Gnadenhutten, Ohio, who had converted to Christianity, are killed by Pennsylvania militiamen in retaliation for raids carried out by other Indian tribes.
    • 1801 – War of the Second Coalition: At the Battle of Abukir, a British force under Sir Ralph Abercromby lands in Egypt with the aim of ending the French campaign in Egypt and Syria.
    • 1817 – The New York Stock Exchange is founded.
    • 1844 – King Oscar I ascends to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: The Naval Battle of Hampton Roads begins.
    • 1868 – Sakai incident: Japanese samurai kill 11 French sailors in the port of Sakai, Osaka.
    • 1910 – French aviator Raymonde de Laroche becomes the first woman to receive a pilot’s license.
    • 1914 – First flights (for the Royal Thai Air Force) at Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok.
    • 1916 – World War I: A British force unsuccessfully attempts to relieve the siege of Kut (present-day Iraq) in the Battle of Dujaila.
    • 1917 – International Women’s Day protests in St. Petersburg mark the beginning of the February Revolution (February 23rd in the Julian calendar).
    • 1917 – The United States Senate votes to limit filibusters by adopting the cloture rule.
    • 1920 – The Arab Kingdom of Syria, the first modern Arab state to come into existence, is established.
    • 1921 – Spanish Prime Minister Eduardo Dato Iradier is assassinated while exiting the parliament building in Madrid.
    • 1924 – A mine disaster kills 172 coal miners near Castle Gate, Utah.
    • 1936 – Daytona Beach and Road Course holds its first oval stock car race.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: The Battle of Guadalajara begins.
    • 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces gave an ultimatum to Dutch East Indies Governor General Jonkheer Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer and KNIL Commander in Chief Lieutenant General Hein Ter Poorten, to unconditionally surrender.
    • 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces captured Rangoon, Burma from British.
    • 1947 – Thirteen thousand troops of the Republic of China Army arrive in Taiwan after the February 28 Incident and launch crackdowns which kill thousands of people, including many elites. This turns into a major root of the Taiwan independence movement.
    • 1949 – President of France Vincent Auriol and ex-emperor of Annam Bảo Đại sign the Élysée Accords, giving Vietnam greater independence from France and creating the State of Vietnam to oppose Viet Minh-led Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
    • 1957 – Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal after the Suez Crisis.
    • 1957 – The 1957 Georgia Memorial to Congress, which petitions the U.S. Congress to declare the ratification of the 14th and 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution null and void, is adopted by the U.S. state of Georgia.
    • 1963 – The Ba’ath Party comes to power in Syria in a coup d’état by a clique of quasi-leftist Syrian Army officers calling themselves the National Council of the Revolutionary Command.
    • 1965 – Thirty-five hundred United States Marines are the first American land combat forces committed during the Vietnam War.
    • 1966 – Nelson’s Pillar in Dublin, Ireland, destroyed by a bomb.
    • 1971 – The Fight of the Century between Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali commences. Frazier wins in 15 rounds via unanimous decision.
    • 1974 – Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
    • 1979 – Philips demonstrates the compact disc publicly for the first time.
    • 1983 – Cold War: While addressing a convention of Evangelicals, U.S. President Ronald Reagan labels the Soviet Union an “evil empire”.
    • 1985 – A supposed failed assassination attempt on Islamic cleric Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah in Beirut, Lebanon kills at least 45 and injures 175 others.
    • 2004 – A new constitution is signed by Iraq’s Governing Council.
    • 2014 – Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying a total of 239 people, disappears en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
    • 2017 – The Azure Window, a natural arch on the Maltese island of Gozo, collapses in stormy weather.

    Births on March 8

    • 1286 – John III, Duke of Brittany (d. 1341)
    • 1293 – Beatrice of Castile (d. 1359)
    • 1495 – John of God, Portuguese friar and saint (d. 1550)
    • 1514 – Amago Haruhisa, Japanese daimyō (d. 1562)
    • 1518 – Sidonie of Saxony, Duchess of Brunswick-Calenberg (d. 1575)
    • 1550 – William Drury, English politician (d. 1590)
    • 1658 – Thomas Trevor, 1st Baron Trevor, British Baron (d. 1730)
    • 1566 – Carlo Gesualdo, Italian lute player and composer (d. 1613)
    • 1712 – John Fothergill, English physician and botanist (d. 1780)
    • 1714 – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German pianist and composer (d. 1788)
    • 1726 – Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, English admiral and politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1799)
    • 1746 – André Michaux, French botanist and explorer (d. 1802)
    • 1748 – William V, Prince of Orange (d. 1806)
    • 1761 – Jan Potocki, Polish ethnologist, historian, linguist, and author (d. 1815)
    • 1799 – Simon Cameron, American journalist and politician, 26th United States Secretary of War (d. 1889)
    • 1804 – Alvan Clark, American astronomer and optician (d. 1887)
    • 1822 – Ignacy Łukasiewicz, Polish inventor and businessman, invented the Kerosene lamp (d. 1882)
    • 1826 – Johann Köler, Estonian painter and academic (d. 1899)
    • 1827 – Wilhelm Bleek, German linguist and anthropologist (d. 1875)
    • 1830 – João de Deus, Portuguese poet and educator (d. 1896)
    • 1839 – Josephine Cochrane, American inventor (d. 1913)
    • 1841 – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and jurist (d. 1935)
    • 1848 – LaMarcus Adna Thompson, American engineer and businessman, developed the roller coaster (d. 1917)
    • 1856 – Bramwell Booth, English 2nd General of The Salvation Army (d. 1929)
    • 1856 – Colin Campbell Cooper, American painter and academic (d. 1937)
    • 1859 – Kenneth Grahame, Scottish-English banker and author (d. 1932)
    • 1865 – Frederic Goudy, American type designer, created Copperplate Gothic and Goudy Old Style (d. 1947)
    • 1879 – Otto Hahn, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
    • 1886 – Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
    • 1892 – Juana de Ibarbourou, Uruguayan poet and author (d. 1979)
    • 1896 – Charlotte Whitton, Canadian journalist and politician, 46th Mayor of Ottawa (d. 1975)
    • 1899 – Elmer Keith, American gun designer and author (d. 1984)
    • 1900 – Howard H. Aiken, American physicist and computer scientist, created the Harvard Mark I (d. 1973)
    • 1902 – Louise Beavers, American actress and singer (d. 1962)
    • 1902 – Jennings Randolph, American journalist and politician (d. 1998)
    • 1907 – Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Greece (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – Beatrice Shilling, English motorcycle racer and engineer (d. 1990)
    • 1909 – Paula Strasberg, American actress and acting coach (d. 1966)
    • 1910 – Claire Trevor, American actress (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – Alan Hovhaness, Armenian-American pianist and composer (d. 2000)
    • 1912 – Preston Smith, American businessman and politician, 40th Governor of Texas (d. 2003)
    • 1912 – Meldrim Thomson, Jr., American publisher and politician, 73rd Governor of New Hampshire (d. 2001)
    • 1914 – Yakov Borisovich Zel’dovich, Belarusian-Russian physicist and astronomer (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – Eileen Herlie, Scottish-American actress (d. 2008)
    • 1920 – Douglass Wallop, American author and playwright (d. 1985)
    • 1921 – Alan Hale, Jr., American actor (d. 1990)
    • 1921 – Sahir Ludhianvi, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1980)
    • 1922 – Ralph H. Baer, German-American video game designer, created the Magnavox Odyssey (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Cyd Charisse, American actress and dancer (d. 2008)
    • 1922 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (d. 1989)
    • 1922 – Yevgeny Matveyev, Russian actor and director (d. 2003)
    • 1922 – Shigeru Mizuki, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Anthony Caro, English sculptor and illustrator (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Georges Charpak, Ukrainian-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)
    • 1924 – Sean McClory, Irish-American actor and director (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Warren Bennis, American scholar, author, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1929 – Hebe Camargo, Brazilian actress and singer (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Bob Grim, American baseball player (d. 1996)
    • 1930 – Douglas Hurd, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
    • 1931 – Neil Adcock, South African cricketer (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – John McPhee, American author and educator
    • 1931 – Gerald Potterton, English-Canadian animator, director, and producer
    • 1931 – Neil Postman, American author and critic (d. 2003)
    • 1934 – Marv Breeding, American baseball player and scout (d. 2006)
    • 1935 – George Coleman, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader
    • 1936 – Sue Ane Langdon, American actress and singer
    • 1936 – Gábor Szabó, Hungarian guitarist and composer (d. 1982)
    • 1937 – Richard Fariña, American singer-songwriter and author (d. 1966)
    • 1937 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan politician, 2nd President of Rwanda (d. 1994)
    • 1938 – Pete Dawkins, American football player, colonel, and politician
    • 1939 – Jim Bouton, American baseball player and journalist (d. 2019)
    • 1939 – Lynn Seymour, Canadian ballerina and choreographer
    • 1939 – Lidiya Skoblikova, Russian speed skater and coach
    • 1939 – Robert Tear, Welsh tenor and conductor (d. 2011)
    • 1941 – Norman Stone, Scottish-English historian, author, and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Dick Allen, American baseball player and tenor
    • 1942 – Ann Packer, English sprinter, hurdler, and long jumper
    • 1943 – Susan Clark, Canadian actress and producer
    • 1943 – Michael Grade, English businessman
    • 1943 – Lynn Redgrave, English-American actress and singer (d. 2010)
    • 1943 – Dionysis Simopoulos, Greek physicist and astronomer
    • 1944 – Sergey Nikitin, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Jim Chapman, American lawyer and politician
    • 1945 – Micky Dolenz, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
    • 1945 – Anselm Kiefer, German painter and sculptor
    • 1945 – Sylvia Wiegand, American mathematician
    • 1946 – Robert Jaworski, Filipino basketball player, coach, and politician
    • 1946 – Randy Meisner, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1947 – Carole Bayer Sager, American singer-songwriter and painter
    • 1947 – Michael S. Hart, American author, founded Project Gutenberg (d. 2011)
    • 1947 – Vladimír Mišík, Czech singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Florentino Pérez, Spanish engineer and businessman
    • 1948 – Robert W. Boyd, American physicist and academic
    • 1948 – Gyles Brandreth, German-English actor, screenwriter, and politician
    • 1948 – Mel Galley, English rock singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
    • 1948 – Sam Lacey, American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1948 – Peggy March, American pop singer
    • 1948 – Jonathan Sacks, English rabbi, philosopher, and scholar
    • 1949 – Teofilo Cubillas, Peruvian footballer
    • 1951 – Phil Edmonds, Zambian-English cricketer and businessman
    • 1951 – Dianne Walker, American tap dancer
    • 1952 – George Allen, American lawyer and politician, 67th Governor of Virginia
    • 1953 – Jim Rice, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1954 – Steve James, American documentary filmmaker
    • 1954 – David Wilkie, Sri Lankan-Scottish swimmer
    • 1956 – Laurie Cunningham, English footballer (d. 1989)
    • 1956 – David Malpass, American economist and government official
    • 1957 – Clive Burr, English rock drummer (d. 2013)
    • 1957 – William Edward Childs, American pianist and composer
    • 1957 – Bob Stoddard, American baseball player
    • 1958 – Andy McDonald, English lawyer and politician
    • 1958 – Gary Numan, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1959 – Aidan Quinn, Irish-American actor
    • 1960 – Jeffrey Eugenides, American author and academic
    • 1960 – Irek Mukhamedov, Russian ballet dancer
    • 1960 – Buck Williams, American basketball player and coach
    • 1961 – Camryn Manheim, American actress
    • 1961 – Larry Murphy, Canadian ice hockey player and journalist
    • 1962 – Leon Robinson, American actor and producer
    • 1964 – Kate Betts, American journalist and author
    • 1965 – Kenny Smith, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1966 – Greg Barker, Baron Barker of Battle, English politician
    • 1966 – Jaime Levy, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1967 – Joel Johnston, American baseball player
    • 1968 – Michael Bartels, German race car driver
    • 1968 – Shawn Mullins, American singer-songwriter
    • 1969 – Juan de Dios Ramírez Perales, Mexican footballer
    • 1970 – Jason Elam, American football player
    • 1971 – Kit Symons, English-Welsh footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Georgios Georgiadis, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Matthew Nable, Australian rugby player and actor
    • 1972 – Lena Sundström, Swedish journalist and author
    • 1973 – Boris Kodjoe, Austrian-born American actor and producer
    • 1973 – Anneke van Giersbergen, Dutch singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1975 – Mauro Briano, Italian footballer
    • 1976 – Gaz Coombes, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1976 – Juan Encarnación, Dominican baseball player
    • 1976 – Freddie Prinze, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1977 – James Van Der Beek, American actor
    • 1977 – Johann Vogel, Swiss footballer
    • 1978 – Nick Zano, American actor and producer
    • 1979 – Apathy, American rapper and producer
    • 1979 – Tom Chaplin, English singer-songwriter
    • 1979 – Andy Ross, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1980 – Stephen Milne, Australian footballer
    • 1981 – Michael Beauchamp, Australian footballer
    • 1981 – Timothy Jordan II, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1981 – Joost Posthuma, Dutch cyclist
    • 1982 – Nicolas Armindo, French racing driver
    • 1982 – Leonidas Kampantais, Greek footballer
    • 1982 – Isak Strand, Norwegian drummer, composer, and producer
    • 1983 – André Santos, Brazilian footballer
    • 1983 – Mark Worrell, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Rafik Djebbour, Algerian footballer
    • 1984 – Ross Taylor, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1984 – Sasha Vujačić, Slovenian basketball player
    • 1987 – Jonathan Wright, Australian rugby league player
    • 1988 – Benny Blanco, American rapper and producer
    • 1990 – Asier Illarramendi, Spanish footballer
    • 1990 – Petra Kvitová, Czech tennis player
    • 1990 – Nico Salva, Filipino basketball player
    • 1990 – Ben Tozer, English footballer
    • 1991 – Miriam Bryant, Swedish-Finnish singer-songwriter
    • 1991 – Tom English, Australian rugby player
    • 1992 – Uki Satake, Japanese singer, actress, and radio host
    • 1994 – Pablo Dyego, Brazilian footballer
    • 1994 – Claire Emslie, Scottish footballer
    • 1994 – Dylan Tombides, Australian footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1996 – Matthew Hammelmann, Australian rules footballer
    • 1998 – Tali Darsigny, Canadian weightlifter

    Deaths on March 8

    • 865 – Rudolf of Fulda, German theologian
    • 1126 – Urraca of León and Castile (b. 1079)
    • 1137 – Adela of Normandy, by marriage countess of Blois (b. c. 1067)
    • 1144 – Pope Celestine II
    • 1223 – Wincenty Kadłubek, Polish bishop and historian (b. 1161)
    • 1365 – Queen Noguk of Korea
    • 1403 – Bayezid I, Ottoman sultan (b. 1360)
    • 1441 – Margaret of Burgundy, Duchess of Bavaria
    • 1466 – Francesco I Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1401)
    • 1550 – John of God, Portuguese friar and saint (b. 1495)
    • 1619 – Veit Bach, German baker and miller (b. 1550)
    • 1641 – Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer and explorer (b. 1587)
    • 1702 – William III of England (b. 1650)
    • 1717 – Abraham Darby I, English blacksmith (b. 1678)
    • 1723 – Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St. Paul’s Cathedral (b. 1632)
    • 1731 – Ferdinand Brokoff, Czech sculptor (b. 1688)
    • 1771 – Louis August le Clerc, French-Danish sculptor and academic (b. 1688)
    • 1819 – Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1739)
    • 1844 – Charles XIV John of Sweden (b. 1763)
    • 1869 – Hector Berlioz, French composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1803)
    • 1872 – Cornelius Krieghoff, Dutch-Canadian painter (b. 1815)
    • 1874 – Millard Fillmore, American lawyer and politician, 13th President of the United States (b. 1800)
    • 1887 – Henry Ward Beecher, American minister and activist (b. 1813)
    • 1887 – James Buchanan Eads, American engineer, designed the Eads Bridge (b. 1820)
    • 1889 – John Ericsson, Swedish-American engineer, designed the USS Monitor (b. 1803)
    • 1917 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and businessman, founded the Zeppelin Company (b. 1838)
    • 1923 – Krišjānis Barons, Latvian linguist and author (b. 1835)
    • 1923 – Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1837)
    • 1930 – William Howard Taft, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, 27th President of the United States (b. 1857)
    • 1930 – Edward Terry Sanford, American lawyer, jurist, and politician, United States Assistant Attorney General (b. 1865)
    • 1935 – Hachikō, Japanese dog (b. 1923)
    • 1937 – Howie Morenz, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1902)
    • 1941 – Sherwood Anderson, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1876)
    • 1942 – José Raúl Capablanca, Cuban chess player and theoretician (b. 1888)
    • 1944 – Fredy Hirsch, German Jewish athlete who helped thousands of Jewish children in the Holocaust (b. 1916)
    • 1945 – Frederick Bligh Bond, English archaeologist and architect (b. 1864)
    • 1948 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and scientist (b. 1889)
    • 1957 – Othmar Schoeck, Swiss composer and conductor (b. 1886)
    • 1961 – Thomas Beecham, English conductor and composer (b. 1879)
    • 1971 – Harold Lloyd, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1893)
    • 1973 – Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1945)
    • 1975 – George Stevens, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
    • 1976 – Alfons Rebane, Estonian colonel (b. 1908)
    • 1983 – Chabuca Granda, Peruvian-American singer-songwriter (b. 1920)
    • 1983 – Alan Lennox-Boyd, 1st Viscount Boyd of Merton, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1904)
    • 1983 – William Walton, English composer (b. 1902)
    • 1985 – Edward Andrews, American actor (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Amar Singh Chamkila, Indian singer-songwriter (b. 1961)
    • 1988 – Werner Hartmann, German physicist and academic (b. 1912)
    • 1991 – John Bellairs, American author and academic (b. 1938)
    • 1993 – Billy Eckstine, American trumpet player (b. 1914)
    • 1996 – Jack Churchill, British colonel (b. 1906)
    • 1997 – Gershon Liebman, French rabbi (b. 1905)
    • 1998 – Ray Nitschke, American football player and actor (b. 1936)
    • 1999 – Adolfo Bioy Casares, Argentinian journalist and author (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Peggy Cass, American actress and comedian (b. 1924)
    • 1999 – Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player and coach (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Edward Winter, American actor (b. 1937)
    • 2003 – Adam Faith, English singer (b. 1940)
    • 2003 – Karen Morley, American actress (b. 1909)
    • 2004 – Muhammad Zaidan, Syrian terrorist, founded the Palestine Liberation Front (b. 1948)
    • 2005 – César Lattes, Brazilian physicist and academic (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen commander and politician, 3rd President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (b. 1951)
    • 2007 – John Inman, English actor (b. 1935)
    • 2007 – John Vukovich, American baseball player and coach (b. 1947)
    • 2009 – Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1918)
    • 2009 – Zbigniew Religa, Polish surgeon and politician, Polish Minister of Health (b. 1938)
    • 2011 – Mike Starr, American bass player (b. 1966)
    • 2012 – Simin Daneshvar, Iranian author and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Minoru Mori, Japanese businessman, founded the Mori Art Museum (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Steven Rubenstein, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1962)
    • 2013 – Haseeb Ahsan, Pakistani cricketer and manager (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – John O’Connell, Irish journalist and politician, 17th Irish Minister of Health (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist-Schmenzin, German soldier and publisher (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Leo Bretholz, Austrian-American Holocaust survivor and author (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – William Guarnere, American sergeant (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Tjol Lategan, South African rugby player (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Sam Simon, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1955)
    • 2016 – Aldo Ferrer, Argentinian economist and diplomat (b. 1927)
    • 2016 – Ross Hannaford, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1950)
    • 2016 – George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Kate Wilhelm, American author (b. 1928)
    • 2019 – Marshall Brodien, American actor (b. 1934)
    • 2019 – Cedrick Hardman, American football player and actor (b. 1948)
    • 2020 – Max von Sydow, Swedish actor (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on March 8

    • Christian feast day:
      • Edward King (Church of England)
      • Felix of Burgundy
      • Geoffrey Studdert Kennedy (the Church of England, The Episcopal Church (USA))
      • John of God
      • Philemon the actor
      • March 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Canberra Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in March (Australian Capital Territory)
    • Earliest day on which Commonwealth Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in March (Commonwealth of Nations)
    • Earliest day on which Decoration Day can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Wednesday in March (Liberia)
    • Earliest day on which Passion Sunday can fall, while April 17 is the latest; observed on the fifth Sunday of Lent (Christianity)
    • International Women’s Day, and its related observances:
      • International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day

  • March 7- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 161 – Marcus Aurelius and L. Commodus (who changes his name to Lucius Verus) become joint emperors of Rome on the death of Antoninus Pius.
    • 1277 – The University of Paris issues the last in a series of condemnations of various philosophical and theological theses.
    • 1573 – A peace treaty is signed between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice, ending the Ottoman–Venetian War and leaving Cyprus in Ottoman hands.
    • 1799 – Napoleon Bonaparte captures Jaffa in Palestine and his troops proceed to kill more than 2,000 Albanian captives.
    • 1814 – Emperor Napoleon I of France wins the Battle of Craonne.
    • 1827 – Brazilian marines unsuccessfully attack the temporary naval base of Carmen de Patagones, Argentina.
    • 1827 – Shrigley abduction: Ellen Turner is abducted by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a future politician in colonial New Zealand.
    • 1850 – Senator Daniel Webster gives his “Seventh of March” speech endorsing the Compromise of 1850 in order to prevent a possible civil war.
    • 1862 – American Civil War: Union forces engage Confederate troops at the Pea Ridge in northwestern Arkansas.
    • 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the “telephone”.
    • 1900 – The German liner SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse becomes the first ship to send wireless signals to shore.
    • 1902 – Second Boer War: Boers, led by Koos de la Rey, inflict the biggest defeat upon the British since the beginning of the war, at Tweebosch.
    • 1914 – Prince William of Wied arrives in Albania to begin his reign as King.
    • 1936 – Prelude to World War II: In violation of the Locarno Pact and the Treaty of Versailles, Germany reoccupies the Rhineland.
    • 1941 – Günther Prien and the crew of German submarine U-47, one of the most successful U-boats of World War II, disappear without a trace.
    • 1945 – World War II: American troops seize the Ludendorff Bridge over the Rhine river at Remagen.
    • 1950 – Cold War: The Soviet Union issues a statement denying that Klaus Fuchs served as a Soviet spy.
    • 1951 – Korean War: Operation Ripper: United Nations troops led by General Matthew Ridgway begin an assault against Chinese forces.
    • 1951 – Iranian prime minister Ali Razmara is assassinated by Khalil Tahmasebi, a member of the Islamic fundamentalist Fada’iyan-e Islam, inside a mosque in Tehran.
    • 1965 – Bloody Sunday: A group of 600 civil rights marchers is brutally attacked by state and local police in Selma, Alabama.
    • 1967 – The Majelis Permusyawaratan Rakyat Sementara (MPRS), Indonesia’s provisional parliament, revoked Sukarno’s mandate as President of Indonesia.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: The United States and South Vietnamese military begin Operation Truong Cong Dinh to root out Viet Cong forces from the area surrounding Mỹ Tho.
    • 1971 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, political leader of then East Pakistan (present day-Bangladesh), delivers his historic 7th March speech in the Racecourse Field (Now Suhrawardy Udyan) in Dhaka.
    • 1986 – Challenger Disaster: Divers from the USS Preserver locate the crew cabin of Challenger on the ocean floor.
    • 1987 – Lieyu massacre: Taiwanese military massacre of 19 unarmed Vietnamese refugees at Donggang, Lieyu, Kinmen.
    • 1989 – Iran and the United Kingdom break diplomatic relations after a fight over Salman Rushdie and his controversial novel, The Satanic Verses.
    • 1993 – The tugboat Thomas Hebert sank off the coast of New Jersey, USA.
    • 2006 – The terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba coordinates a series of bombings in Varanasi, India.
    • 2007 – The British House of Commons votes to make the upper chamber, the House of Lords, 100% elected.
    • 2009 – The Real Irish Republican Army kills two British soldiers and injures two other soldiers and two civilians at Massereene Barracks, the first British military deaths in Northern Ireland since the end of The Troubles.

    Births on March 7

    • 189 – Publius Septimius Geta, Roman emperor (d. 211)
    • 942 – Mu’ayyad al-Dawla, Buyid emir (d. 983)
    • 1437 – Anna of Saxony, Electress of Brandenburg (d. 1512)
    • 1481 – Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter (d. 1537)
    • 1482 – Fray Thomas de San Martín, Roman Catholic prelate and bishop (d. 1555)
    • 1543 – John Casimir of the Palatinate-Simmern, German prince and reigning count palatine of Simmern (d. 1592)
    • 1556 – Guillaume du Vair, French lawyer and author (d. 1621)
    • 1671 – Rob Roy MacGregor, Scottish outlaw (d. 1734)
    • 1678 – Filippo Juvarra, Italian architect, designed the Basilica of Superga (d. 1736)
    • 1693 – Clement XIII, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1769)
    • 1715 – Ewald Christian von Kleist, German soldier and poet (d. 1759)
    • 1723 – Prince Vittorio Amedeo Theodore of Savoy (d. 1725)
    • 1730 – Louis Auguste Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, French soldier and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1807)
    • 1765 – Nicéphore Niépce, French inventor, invented photography (d. 1833)
    • 1785 – Alessandro Manzoni, Italian author and poet (d. 1873)
    • 1788 – Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist and biochemist (d. 1878)
    • 1792 – John Herschel, English mathematician and astronomer (d. 1871)
    • 1811 – Increase A. Lapham, American botanist and author (d. 1875)
    • 1837 – Henry Draper, American physician and astronomer (d. 1882)
    • 1839 – Ludwig Mond, German-born chemist and British industrialist who discovered the metal carbonyls (d. 1909)
    • 1841 – William Rockhill Nelson, American businessman and publisher, founded The Kansas City Star (d. 1915)
    • 1843 – Marriott Henry Brosius, American senator (d. 1901)
    • 1849 – Luther Burbank, American botanist and author (d. 1926)
    • 1850 – Champ Clark, American lawyer and politician, 41st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1921)
    • 1850 – Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Austrian-Czech sociologist and politician, 1st President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1937)
    • 1857 – Julius Wagner-Jauregg, Austrian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940)
    • 1872 – Piet Mondrian, Dutch-American painter (d. 1944)
    • 1873 – Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (d. 1959)
    • 1875 – Maurice Ravel, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1937)
    • 1878 – Boris Kustodiev, Russian painter and stage designer (d. 1927)
    • 1885 – Milton Avery, American painter (d. 1965)
    • 1885 – John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey, English admiral (d. 1971)
    • 1886 – Virginia Pearson, American actress (d. 1958)
    • 1886 – G. I. Taylor, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1975)
    • 1886 – Wilson Dallam Wallis, American anthropologist (d. 1970)
    • 1888 – William L. Laurence, Lithuanian-American journalist and author (d. 1977)
    • 1888 – Alidius Tjarda van Starkenborgh Stachouwer, Dutch lawyer and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1978)
    • 1894 – Ana María O’Neill, Puerto Rican scholar and activist (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Dorothy de Rothschild, English philanthropist and activist (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Heinz Rühmann, German actor (d. 1994)
    • 1903 – Maud Lewis, Canadian folk artist (d. 1970)
    • 1904 – Ivar Ballangrud, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1969)
    • 1904 – Reinhard Heydrich, German SS officer (d. 1942)
    • 1908 – Anna Magnani, Italian actress (d. 1973)
    • 1910 – Will Glickman, American playwright (d. 1983)
    • 1911 – Sachchidananda Vatsyayan, Indian modern poet, journalist and author (d. 1987)
    • 1911 – Stefan Kisielewski, Polish libertarian writer and politician (d. 1991)
    • 1912 – Adile Ayda, Turkish engineer and diplomat (d. 1992)
    • 1913 – Dollard Ménard, Canadian general (d. 1997)
    • 1915 – Jacques Chaban-Delmas, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2000)
    • 1917 – Janet Collins, American ballerina and choreographer (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Betty Holberton, American engineer and programmer (d. 2001)
    • 1922 – Olga Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1922 – Mochtar Lubis, Indonesian journalist and author (d. 2004)
    • 1922 – Peter Murphy, English footballer, inside left (d. 1975)
    • 1922 – Andy Phillip, American basketball player and coach (d. 2001)
    • 1924 – Morton Bard, American psychologist (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Bill Boedeker, American football player (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Rene Gagnon, American soldier (d. 1979)
    • 1925 – Richard Vernon, British actor (d. 1997)
    • 1927 – James Broderick, American actor and director (d. 1982)
    • 1929 – Dan Jacobson, South African-English author and critic (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, English photographer and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Robert Trotter, Scottish actor and photographer (d. 2013)
    • 1933 – Jackie Blanchflower, Northern Irish footballer and accountant (d. 1998)
    • 1933 – Ed Bouchee, American baseball player (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Willard Scott, American television personality and actor
    • 1936 – Florentino Fernández, Cuban-American boxer and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Georges Perec, French author and screenwriter (d. 1982)
    • 1938 – David Baltimore, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1938 – Janet Guthrie, American professional race car driver, first woman to qualify and compete in both the Indianapolis 500 and the Daytona 500
    • 1939 – Danyel Gérard, French singer-songwriter
    • 1940 – Daniel J. Travanti, American actor
    • 1941 – Piers Paul Read, English historian and author
    • 1942 – Michael Eisner, American businessman
    • 1942 – Tammy Faye Messner, American evangelist, television personality, and talk show host (d. 2007)
    • 1943 – Chris White, English singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1944 – Ranulph Fiennes, English soldier and explorer
    • 1944 – Townes Van Zandt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
    • 1945 – Bob Herbert, American journalist
    • 1945 – Arthur Lee, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2006)
    • 1945 – Elizabeth Moon, American lieutenant and author
    • 1946 – John Heard, American actor and producer (d. 2017)
    • 1947 – Helen Eadie, Scottish politician (d. 2013)
    • 1947 – Walter Röhrl, German race car driver
    • 1949 – Ghulam Nabi Azad, Indian politician, Indian Minister of Health and Family Welfare
    • 1950 – Billy Joe DuPree, American football player
    • 1950 – Franco Harris, American football player and businessman
    • 1950 – J. R. Richard, American baseball player and minister
    • 1952 – William Boyd, Ghanaian-English author and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Ernie Isley, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1952 – Viv Richards, Antiguan cricketer and footballer
    • 1952 – Lynn Swann, American football player, sportscaster, and politician
    • 1954 – Eva Brunne, Swedish bishop
    • 1955 – Tommy Kramer, American football player
    • 1956 – Bryan Cranston, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1956 – Andrea Levy, English author (d. 2019)
    • 1957 – Robert Harris, English journalist and author
    • 1957 – Mark Richards, Australian surfer
    • 1957 – Tomás Yarrington, Mexican economist and politician, Governor of Tamaulipas
    • 1958 – Rick Bass, American author and environmentalist
    • 1958 – Rik Mayall, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1958 – Merv Neagle, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1959 – Tom Lehman, American golfer
    • 1959 – Donna Murphy, American actress and singer
    • 1960 – Joe Carter, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Ivan Lendl, Czech tennis player and coach
    • 1960 – Jim Spivey, American runner and coach
    • 1961 – David Rutley, English businessman and politician
    • 1961 – Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, French politician
    • 1962 – Taylor Dayne, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1963 – Mike Eagles, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1963 – E. L. James, English author
    • 1964 – Bret Easton Ellis, American author and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Wanda Sykes, American comedian, actress, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Steve Beuerlein, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1965 – Jesper Parnevik, Swedish golfer
    • 1966 – Terry Carkner, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1966 – Tony Daly, Australian rugby player
    • 1967 – Muhsin al-Ramli, Iraqi author, poet, translator, and academic
    • 1967 – Ruthie Henshall, English actress, singer, and dancer
    • 1967 – Ai Yazawa, Japanese author and illustrator
    • 1968 – Jeff Kent, American baseball player
    • 1969 – Massimo Lotti, Italian footballer
    • 1969 – Hideki Noda, Japanese race car driver
    • 1970 – Rachel Weisz, English-American actress and producer
    • 1971 – Peter Sarsgaard, American actor
    • 1971 – Matthew Vaughn, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1972 – Craig Polla-Mounter, Australian rugby league player
    • 1973 – Jason Bright, Australian race car driver
    • 1973 – Sébastien Izambard, French tenor and producer
    • 1973 – Işın Karaca, English-Turkish singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1974 – Jenna Fischer, American actress
    • 1974 – Facundo Sava, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1977 – Ronan O’Gara, Irish rugby player and coach
    • 1977 – Paul Cattermole, British singer and actor
    • 1978 – Jaqueline Jesus, Brazilian psychologist and activist
    • 1979 – Rodrigo Braña, Argentinian footballer
    • 1979 – Amanda Somerville, American singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Murat Boz, Turkish singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Eric Godard, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Laura Prepon, American actress
    • 1981 – Brent Kite, Australian rugby league player
    • 1983 – Manucho, Angolan footballer
    • 1983 – Sebastián Viera, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1984 – Mathieu Flamini, French footballer
    • 1984 – Lindsay McCaul, American singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Andre Fluellen, American football player
    • 1985 – Cameron Prosser, Australian swimmer
    • 1985 – Gerwyn Price, Welsh darts player
    • 1986 – Ben Griffin, Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Hatem Ben Arfa, French footballer
    • 1987 – Niclas Bergfors, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Larry Asante, American football player
    • 1991 – Michele Rigione, Italian footballer
    • 1994 – Chase Kalisz, American swimmer
    • 1995 – Jerome Binnom-Williams, English footballer
    • 1995 – Aboubakar Kamara, French footballer, forward
    • 1996 – Liam Donnelly, Northern Irish footballer

    Deaths on March 7

    • 161 – Antoninus Pius, Roman emperor (b. 86)
    • 413 – Heraclianus, Roman politician and failed usurper
    • 851 – Nominoe, King (or duke) of Brittany
    • 974 – John of Gorze, Frankish abbot and diplomat
    • 1226 – William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English commander (b. 1176)
    • 1274 – Saint Thomas Aquinas, Italian priest and philosopher (b. 1225)
    • 1393 – Bogislaw VI, Duke of Pomerania (b.c. 1350)
    • 1407 – Francesco I Gonzaga, ruler of Mantua
    • 1517 – Maria of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (b. 1482)
    • 1550 – William IV, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1493)
    • 1578 – Margaret Douglas, English daughter of Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus (b. 1515)
    • 1625 – Johann Bayer, German lawyer and cartographer (b. 1572)
    • 1724 – Pope Innocent XIII (b. 1655)
    • 1767 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, Canadian politician, 2nd Colonial Governor of Louisiana (b. 1680)
    • 1778 – Charles De Geer, Swedish entomologist and archaeologist (b. 1720)
    • 1809 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard, French inventor, best known as a pioneer in balloon flight (b. 1753)
    • 1810 – Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood, English admiral (b. 1750)
    • 1838 – Robert Townsend, American spy (b. 1753)
    • 1897 – Harriet Ann Jacobs, African American Abolitionist and author (b. 1813)
    • 1904 – Ferdinand André Fouqué, French geologist and petrologist (b. 1828)
    • 1913 – Pauline Johnson, Canadian poet and author (b. 1861)
    • 1920 – Jaan Poska, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1866)
    • 1928 – Robert Abbe, American surgeon and radiologist (b. 1851)
    • 1932 – Aristide Briand, French journalist and politician, Prime Minister of France, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
    • 1934 – Ernst Enno, Estonian poet and author (b. 1875)
    • 1938 – Andreas Michalakopoulos, Greek politician, 116th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1876)
    • 1947 – Lucy Parsons, American communist anarchist labor organizer (b. c 1853)
    • 1949 – Bradbury Robinson, American football player, physician, and politician (b. 1884)
    • 1952 – Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru and philosopher (b. 1893)
    • 1954 – Otto Diels, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1876)
    • 1957 – Wyndham Lewis, English painter and critic (b. 1882)
    • 1961 – Govind Ballabh Pant, Indian lawyer and politician, 2nd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (b. 1887)
    • 1967 – Alice B. Toklas, American writer (b. 1877)
    • 1971 – Richard Montague, American mathematician and philosopher (b. 1930)
    • 1973 – Lalo Ríos, Mexican actor (b. 1927)
    • 1975 – Mikhail Bakhtin, Russian philosopher and critic (b. 1895)
    • 1976 – Wright Patman, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1893)
    • 1981 – Kirill Kondrashin, Russian conductor (b. 1914)
    • 1982 – Ida Barney, American astronomer, mathematician, and academic (b. 1886)
    • 1983 – Igor Markevitch, Ukrainian conductor and composer (b. 1912)
    • 1986 – Jacob K. Javits, American colonel and politician, 58th New York State Attorney General (b. 1904)
    • 1988 – Divine, American drag queen and film actor (b. 1945)
    • 1991 – Cool Papa Bell, American baseball player (b. 1903)
    • 1993 – Tony Harris, South African cricketer (b. 1916)
    • 1993 – J. Merrill Knapp, American musicologist (b. 1914)
    • 1993 – Martti Larni, Finnish writer (b. 1909)
    • 1993 – Carlo Mazzarella, Italian actor and journalist (b. 1919)
    • 1993 – Angelo Piccaluga, Italian footballer (b. 1906)
    • 1993 – Eleanor Sanger, American television producer (b. 1929)
    • 1993 – Josef Steindl, Austrian economist (b. 1912)
    • 1993 – Frank Wells, Australian rules footballer (b. 1909)
    • 1997 – Edward Mills Purcell, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
    • 1999 – Sidney Gottlieb, American chemist and theorist (b. 1918)
    • 1999 – Stanley Kubrick, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
    • 2000 – Pee Wee King, American singer-songwriter (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Frankie Carle, American pianist and bandleader (b. 1903)
    • 2004 – Paul Winfield, American actor (b. 1941)
    • 2005 – John Box, English production designer and art director (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Debra Hill, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1950)
    • 2006 – Gordon Parks, American photographer, director, and composer (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Ali Farka Touré, Malian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
    • 2007 – Ronnie Wells, American singer and educator (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – Ravi, Indian director and composer (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Włodzimierz Smolarek, Polish footballer and manager (b. 1957)
    • 2013 – Peter Banks, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Sybil Christopher, Welsh actress (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Damiano Damiani, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Frederick B. Karl, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Claude King, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Anatoly Borisovich Kuznetsov, Russian actor and director (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Ned O’Gorman, American poet and educator (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Victor Shem-Tov, Israeli lawyer and politician, 8th Israeli Minister of Health (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – G. Karthikeyan, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – F. Ray Keyser, Jr., American lawyer and politician, 72nd Governor of Vermont (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Yoshihiro Tatsumi, Japanese author and illustrator (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Adrian Hardiman, Irish lawyer and judge (b. 1951)
    • 2017 – Lynne Stewart, American attorney and activist (b. 1939)

    Holidays and observances on March 7

    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed José Olallo
      • Blessed Leonid Feodorov (Russian Greek Catholic Church)
      • Perpetua and Felicity
      • Pierre-Henri Dorie, Siméon-François Berneux (part of The Korean Martyrs)
      • March 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Liberation of Sulaymaniyah (Iraqi Kurdistan)
    • Teacher’s Day (Albania)

  • March 4- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • AD 51 – Nero, later to become Roman emperor, is given the title princeps iuventutis (head of the youth).
    • 306 – Martyrdom of Saint Adrian of Nicomedia.
    • 852 – Croatian Knez Trpimir I issues a statute, a document with the first known written mention of the Croats name in Croatian sources.
    • 938 – Translation of the relics of martyr Wenceslaus I, Duke of Bohemia, Prince of the Czechs.
    • 1152 – Frederick I Barbarossa is elected King of Germany.
    • 1238 – The Battle of the Sit River is fought in the northern part of the present-day Yaroslavl Oblast of Russia between the Mongol hordes of Batu Khan and the Russians under Yuri II of Vladimir-Suzdal during the Mongol invasion of Rus’.
    • 1351 – Ramathibodi becomes King of Siam.
    • 1386 – Władysław II Jagiełło (Jogaila) is crowned King of Poland.
    • 1461 – Wars of the Roses in England: Lancastrian King Henry VI is deposed by his House of York cousin, who then becomes King Edward IV.
    • 1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrives back in Lisbon, Portugal, aboard his ship Niña from his voyage to what are now The Bahamas and other islands in the Caribbean.
    • 1519 – Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.
    • 1628 – The Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter.
    • 1665 – English King Charles II declares war on the Netherlands marking the start of the Second Anglo-Dutch War.
    • 1675 – John Flamsteed is appointed the first Astronomer Royal of England.
    • 1681 – Charles II grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Continental Army fortifies Dorchester Heights with cannon, leading the British troops to abandon the Siege of Boston.
    • 1789 – In New York City, the first Congress of the United States meets, putting the United States Constitution into effect. The United States Bill of Rights is written and proposed to Congress.
    • 1790 – France is divided into 83 départements, cutting across the former provinces in an attempt to dislodge regional loyalties based on ownership of land by the nobility.
    • 1791 – The Constitutional Act of 1791 is introduced by the British House of Commons in London which envisages the separation of Canada into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario).
    • 1791 – Vermont is admitted to the United States as the fourteenth state.
    • 1794 – The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is passed by the U.S. Congress.
    • 1797 – John Adams is inaugurated as the 2nd President of the United States of America, becoming the first President to begin his presidency on March 4.
    • 1804 – Castle Hill Rebellion: Irish convicts rebel against British colonial authority in the Colony of New South Wales.
    • 1813 – Cyril VI of Constantinople is elected Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
    • 1814 – Americans defeat British forces at the Battle of Longwoods between London, Ontario and Thamesville, near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
    • 1837 – The city of Chicago is incorporated.
    • 1848 – Carlo Alberto di Savoia signs the Statuto Albertino that will later represent the first constitution of the Regno d’Italia.
    • 1849 – President-Elect Zachary Taylor and Vice President-Elect Millard Fillmore did not take their respective oaths of office (they did so the following day), leading to the erroneous theory that outgoing President pro tempore of the United States Senate David Rice Atchison had assumed the role of acting president for one day.
    • 1861 – The first national flag of the Confederate States of America (the “Stars and Bars”) is adopted.
    • 1865 – The third and final national flag of the Confederate States of America is adopted by the Confederate Congress.
    • 1882 – Britain’s first electric trams run in east London.
    • 1890 – The longest bridge in Great Britain, the Forth Bridge in Scotland, measuring 1,710 feet (520 m) long, is opened by the Duke of Rothesay, later King Edward VII.
    • 1899 – Cyclone Mahina sweeps in north of Cooktown, Queensland, with a 12 metres (39 ft) wave that reaches up to 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) inland, killing over 300.
    • 1908 – The Collinwood school fire, Collinwood near Cleveland, Ohio, kills 174 people.
    • 1909 – U.S. President William Taft used what became known as a Saxbe fix, a mechanism to avoid the restriction of the U.S. Constitution’s Ineligibility Clause, to appoint Philander C. Knox as U.S. Secretary of State.
    • 1913 – First Balkan War: The Greek army engages the Turks at Bizani, resulting in victory two days later.
    • 1913 – The United States Department of Labor is formed.
    • 1917 – Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
    • 1933 – Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the 32nd President of the United States.
    • 1933 – Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, the first female member of the United States Cabinet.
    • 1933 – The Parliament of Austria is suspended because of a quibble over procedure – Chancellor Engelbert Dollfuss initiates an authoritarian rule by decree.
    • 1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom launches Operation Claymore on the Lofoten Islands; the first large scale British Commando raid.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of the Bismarck Sea in the south-west Pacific comes to an end.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Fardykambos, one of the first major battles between the Greek Resistance and the occupying Royal Italian Army, begins. It ends on 6 March with the surrender of an entire Italian battalion and the liberation of the town of Grevena.
    • 1944 – World War II: After the success of Big Week, the USAAF begins a daylight bombing campaign of Berlin.
    • 1957 – The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
    • 1960 – The French freighter La Coubre explodes in Havana, Cuba, killing 100.
    • 1962 – A Caledonian Airways Douglas DC-7 crashes shortly after takeoff from Cameroon, killing 111 – the worst crash of a DC-7.
    • 1966 – A Canadian Pacific Air Lines DC-8-43 explodes on landing at Tokyo International Airport, killing 64 people.
    • 1966 – In an interview in the London Evening Standard, The Beatles’ John Lennon declares that the band is “more popular than Jesus now”.
    • 1970 – French submarine Eurydice explodes underwater, resulting in the loss of the entire 57-man crew.
    • 1974 – People magazine is published for the first time in the United States as People Weekly.
    • 1976 – The Northern Ireland Constitutional Convention is formally dissolved in Northern Ireland resulting in direct rule of Northern Ireland from London by the British parliament.
    • 1977 – The 1977 Vrancea earthquake in eastern and southern Europe kills more than 1,500, mostly in Bucharest, Romania.
    • 1980 – Nationalist leader Robert Mugabe wins a sweeping election victory to become Zimbabwe’s first black prime minister.
    • 1985 – The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS infection, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
    • 1986 – The Soviet Vega 1 begins returning images of Halley’s Comet and the first images of its nucleus.
    • 1990 – American basketball player Hank Gathers dies after collapsing during the semifinals of a West Coast Conference Tournament game.
    • 1996 – A derailed train in Weyauwega, Wisconsin (USA) causes the emergency evacuation of 2,300 people for 16 days.
    • 1998 – Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services, Inc.: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
    • 2001 – BBC bombing: A massive car bomb explodes in front of the BBC Television Centre in London, seriously injuring one person; the attack was attributed to the Real IRA.
    • 2002 – Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers and 200 Al-Qaeda Fighters are killed as American forces attempt to infiltrate the Shah-i-Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
    • 2009 – The International Criminal Court (ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002.
    • 2012 – A series of explosions is reported at a munitions dump in Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo, killing at least 250 people.
    • 2015 – At least 34 miners die in a suspected gas explosion at the Zasyadko coal mine in the rebel-held Donetsk region of Ukraine.
    • 2018 – Former MI6 spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter are poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, causing a diplomatic uproar that results in mass-expulsions of diplomats from all countries involved.
    • 2019 – The Indian Attack submarine was spotted by the Pakistan Navy.
    • 2020 – Former Daredevil Nik Wallenda is the first person to walk over the Masaya Volcano in Nicaragua.

    Births on March 4

    • 895 – Liu Zhiyuan, founder of the Later Han Dynasty (d. 948)
    • 977 – Al-Musabbihi, Fatimid historian and official (d. 1030)
    • 1188 – Blanche of Castile, French queen consort (d. 1252)
    • 1394 – Henry the Navigator, Portuguese explorer (d. 1460)
    • 1484 – George, margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1543)
    • 1492 – Francesco de Layolle, Italian organist and composer (d. 1540)
    • 1502 – Elisabeth of Hesse, princess of Saxony (d. 1557)
    • 1519 – Hindal Mirza, Mughal emperor (d. 1551)
    • 1526 – Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon (d. 1596)
    • 1602 – Kanō Tan’yū, Japanese painter (d. 1674)
    • 1634 – Kazimierz Łyszczyński, Polish philosopher (d. 1689)
    • 1651 – John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, English lawyer, jurist, and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1716)
    • 1655 – Fra Galgario, Italian painter (d. 1743)
    • 1665 – Philip Christoph von Königsmarck, Swedish soldier (d. 1694)
    • 1678 – Antonio Vivaldi, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1741)
    • 1702 – Jack Sheppard, English criminal (d. 1724)
    • 1706 – Lauritz de Thurah, Danish architect, designed the Hermitage Hunting Lodge and Gammel Holtegård (d. 1759)
    • 1715 – James Waldegrave, 2nd Earl Waldegrave, English historian and politician (d. 1763)
    • 1719 – George Pigot, 1st Baron Pigot, English politician (d. 1777)
    • 1729 – Anne d’Arpajon, French wife of Philippe de Noailles (d. 1794)
    • 1745 – Charles Dibdin, English actor, playwright, and composer (d. 1814)
    • 1745 – Casimir Pulaski, Polish-American general (d. 1779)
    • 1756 – Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter and educator (d. 1823)
    • 1760 – William Payne, English painter (d. 1830)
    • 1760 – Hugh Ronalds, British nurseryman who cultivated and documented 300 varieties of apples (d. 1833)
    • 1769 – Muhammad Ali, Ottoman military leader and pasha (d. 1849)
    • 1770 – Joseph Jacotot, French philosopher and academic (d. 1840)
    • 1778 – Robert Emmet, Irish commander (d. 1803)
    • 1781 – Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)
    • 1782 – Johann Rudolf Wyss, Swiss philosopher, author, and academic (d. 1830)
    • 1792 – Isaac Lea, American conchologist, geologist, and publisher (d. 1886)
    • 1793 – Karl Lachmann, German philologist and critic (d. 1851)
    • 1814 – Napoleon Collins, Rear Admiral of the United States Navy during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War (d. 1875)
    • 1817 – Edwards Pierrepont, American lawyer and politician, 34th United States Attorney General (d. 1892)
    • 1820 – Francesco Bentivegna, Italian rebel leader (d. 1856)
    • 1822 – Jules Antoine Lissajous, French mathematician and academic (d. 1880)
    • 1823 – George Caron, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1902)
    • 1826 – August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein, German linguist, ethnographer, and theologian (d. 1907)
    • 1826 – John Buford, American general (d. 1863)
    • 1826 – Elme Marie Caro, French philosopher and academic (d. 1887)
    • 1826 – Theodore Judah, American engineer, founded the Central Pacific Railroad (d. 1863)
    • 1828 – Owen Wynne Jones, Welsh clergyman and poet (d. 1870)
    • 1838 – Paul Lacôme, French pianist, cellist, and composer (d. 1920)
    • 1847 – Carl Josef Bayer, Austrian chemist and academic (d. 1904)
    • 1851 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (d. 1911)
    • 1854 – Napier Shaw, English meteorologist and academic (d. 1945)
    • 1856 – Alfred William Rich, English painter, author, and educator (d. 1921)
    • 1861 – Arthur Cushman McGiffert, American theologian and author (d. 1933)
    • 1862 – Jacob Robert Emden, Swiss astrophysicist and meteorologist (d. 1940)
    • 1863 – R. I. Pocock, English zoologist and archaeologist (d. 1947)
    • 1863 – John Henry Wigmore, American academic and jurist (d. 1943)
    • 1864 – David W. Taylor, American admiral, architect, and engineer (d. 1940)
    • 1866 – Eugène Cosserat, French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1931)
    • 1867 – Jacob L. Beilhart, American activist, founded the Spirit Fruit Society (d. 1908)
    • 1867 – Charles Pelot Summerall, senior United States Army officer (d. 1955)
    • 1870 – Thomas Sturge Moore, English author and poet (d. 1944)
    • 1871 – Boris Galerkin, Russian mathematician and engineer (d. 1945)
    • 1873 – Guy Wetmore Carryl, American journalist and poet (d. 1904)
    • 1873 – John H. Trumbull, American colonel and politician, 70th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1961)
    • 1875 – Mihály Károlyi, Hungarian politician, President of the Hungary (d. 1955)
    • 1875 – Enrique Larreta, Argentinian historian and author (d. 1961)
    • 1876 – Léon-Paul Fargue, French poet and author (d. 1947)
    • 1876 – Theodore Hardeen, Hungarian-American magician (d. 1945)
    • 1877 – Alexander Goedicke, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1957)
    • 1877 – Fritz Graebner, German geographer and ethnologist (d. 1934)
    • 1877 – Garrett Morgan, African-American inventor (d. 1963)
    • 1878 – Takeo Arishima, Japanese author and critic (d. 1923)
    • 1878 – Egbert Van Alstyne, American pianist and songwriter (d. 1951)
    • 1879 – Bernhard Kellermann, German author and poet (d. 1951)
    • 1880 – Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)
    • 1881 – Todor Aleksandrov, Bulgarian educator and activist (d. 1924)
    • 1881 – Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American lawyer and author (d. 1965)
    • 1881 – Richard C. Tolman, American physicist and chemist (d. 1948)
    • 1882 – Nicolae Titulescu, Romanian academic and politician, 61st Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1941)
    • 1883 – Maude Fealy, American actress and screenwriter (d. 1971)
    • 1883 – Robert Emmett Keane, American actor (d. 1981)
    • 1883 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (d. 1956)
    • 1884 – Red Murray, American baseball player (d. 1958)
    • 1884 – Lee Shumway, American actor (d. 1959)
    • 1886 – Paul Bazelaire, French cellist and composer (d. 1958)
    • 1888 – Rafaela Ottiano, Italian-American actress (d. 1942)
    • 1888 – Jeff Pfeffer, American baseball player (d. 1972)
    • 1888 – Emma Richter, German paleontologist (d. 1956)
    • 1888 – Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
    • 1889 – Oscar Chisini, Italian mathematician and statistician (d. 1967)
    • 1889 – Oren E. Long, American soldier and politician, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawaii (d. 1965)
    • 1889 – Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)
    • 1889 – Robert William Wood, English-American painter (d. 1979)
    • 1890 – Norman Bethune, Canadian soldier and physician (d. 1939)
    • 1891 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (d. 1961)
    • 1893 – Charles Herbert Colvin, American engineer, co-founded the Pioneer Instrument Company (d. 1985)
    • 1893 – Adolph Lowe, German sociologist and economist (d. 1995)
    • 1894 – Charles Corm, Lebanese businessman and philanthropist (d. 1963)
    • 1895 – Milt Gross, American animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1953)
    • 1896 – Kai Holm, Danish actor and director (d. 1985)
    • 1897 – Lefty O’Doul, American baseball player and manager (d. 1969)
    • 1898 – Georges Dumézil, French philologist and academic (d. 1986)
    • 1898 – Hans Krebs, German general (d. 1945)
    • 1899 – Peter Illing, Austrian born, British film and television actor (d. 1966)
    • 1899 – Emilio Prados, Spanish poet and author (d. 1962)
    • 1900 – Herbert Biberman, American director and screenwriter (d. 1971)
    • 1901 – Wilbur R. Franks, Canadian scientist, invented the g-suit (d. 1986)
    • 1901 – Charles Goren, American bridge player and author (d. 1991)
    • 1901 – Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo, Malagasy-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1937)
    • 1902 – Rachel Messerer, Lithuanian-Russian actress (d. 1993)
    • 1902 – Russell Reeder, American soldier and author (d. 1998)
    • 1903 – William C. Boyd, American immunologist and chemist (d. 1983)
    • 1903 – Malcolm Dole, American chemist and academic (d. 1990)
    • 1903 – Dorothy Mackaill, English-American actress and singer (d. 1990)
    • 1903 – John Scarne, American magician and author (d. 1985)
    • 1904 – Luis Carrero Blanco, Spanish admiral and politician, 69th President of the Government of Spain (d. 1973)
    • 1904 – George Gamow, Ukrainian-American physicist and cosmologist (d. 1968)
    • 1904 – Joseph Schmidt, Austrian-Hungarian tenor and actor (d. 1942)
    • 1906 – Meindert DeJong, Dutch-American soldier and author (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Avery Fisher, American violinist and engineer, founded Fisher Electronics (d. 1994)
    • 1906 – Georges Ronsse, Belgian cyclist and manager (d. 1969)
    • 1907 – Edgar Barrier, American actor (d. 1964)
    • 1908 – T. R. M. Howard, American surgeon and activist (d. 1976)
    • 1908 – Thomas Shaw, American singer and guitarist (d. 1977)
    • 1909 – Harry Helmsley, American businessman (d. 1997)
    • 1909 – George Edward Holbrook, American chemist and engineer (d. 1987)
    • 1910 – Tancredo Neves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Brazil (d. 1985)
    • 1911 – Charles Greville, 7th Earl of Warwick, English actor (d. 1984)
    • 1912 – Afro Basaldella, Italian painter and academic (d. 1976)
    • 1912 – Ferdinand Leitner, German conductor and composer (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Carl Marzani, Italian-American activist and publisher (d. 1994)
    • 1913 – Taos Amrouche, Algerian singer and author (d. 1976)
    • 1913 – John Garfield, American actor and singer (d. 1952)
    • 1914 – Barbara Newhall Follett, American author (d. 1939)
    • 1914 – Ward Kimball, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)
    • 1914 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor, and architect (d. 2000)
    • 1915 – László Csatáry, Hungarian art dealer (d. 2013)
    • 1915 – Frank Sleeman, Australian lieutenant and politician, Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2000)
    • 1915 – Carlos Surinach, Spanish-Catalan composer and conductor (d. 1997)
    • 1916 – William Alland, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)
    • 1916 – Giorgio Bassani, Italian author and poet (d. 2000)
    • 1916 – Hans Eysenck, German-English psychologist and theorist (d. 1997)
    • 1917 – Clyde McCullough, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1982)
    • 1918 – Kurt Dahlmann, German pilot, lawyer, and journalist (d. 2017)
    • 1918 – Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – Buck Baker, American race car driver (d. 2002)
    • 1919 – Tan Chee Khoon, Malaysian physician and politician (d. 1996)
    • 1920 – Jean Lecanuet, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – Alan MacNaughtan, Scottish-English actor (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Halim El-Dabh, Egyptian-American composer and educator (d. 2017)
    • 1921 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (d. 1987)
    • 1921 – Dinny Pails, English-Australian tennis player (d. 1986)
    • 1922 – Richard E. Cunha, American director and cinematographer (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Dina Pathak, Indian actor and director (d. 2002)
    • 1923 – Russell Freeburg, American journalist and author
    • 1923 – Francis King, English author and poet (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Patrick Moore, English astronomer and television host (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Kenneth O’Donnell, American soldier and politician (d. 1977)
    • 1925 – Alan R. Battersby, English chemist and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1925 – Paul Mauriat, French conductor and composer (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Henri de Contenson, French archaeologist and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1926 – Prince Michel of Bourbon-Parma, French businessman, soldier and race car driver (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Richard DeVos, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Amway (d. 2018)
    • 1926 – Pascual Pérez, Argentinian boxer (d. 1977)
    • 1926 – Don Rendell, English saxophonist and flute player (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Phil Batt, American soldier and politician, 29th Governor of Idaho
    • 1927 – Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)
    • 1927 – Jacques Dupin, French poet and critic (d. 2012)
    • 1927 – Robert Orben, American magician and author
    • 1927 – Dick Savitt, American tennis player and businessman
    • 1928 – Samuel Adler, German-American composer and conductor
    • 1928 – Alan Sillitoe, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Bernard Haitink, Dutch violinist and conductor
    • 1929 – Peter Swerling, American theoretician and engineer (d. 2000)
    • 1931 – Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)
    • 1931 – Bob Johnson, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1991)
    • 1931 – William Henry Keeler, American cardinal (d. 2017)
    • 1931 – Alice Rivlin, American economist and politician (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Sigurd Jansen, Norwegian pianist, composer, and conductor
    • 1932 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist, photographer, and poet (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Miriam Makeba, South African singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2008)
    • 1932 – Ed Roth, American illustrator (d. 2001)
    • 1932 – Frank Wells, American businessman (d. 1994)
    • 1933 – Nino Vaccarella, Italian race car driver
    • 1934 – Mario Davidovsky, Argentinian-American composer and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1934 – John Duffey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
    • 1934 – Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)
    • 1934 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)
    • 1934 – Sandra Reynolds, South African tennis player
    • 1934 – Janez Strnad, Slovenian physicist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1935 – Edward Dębicki, Ukrainian-Polish poet and composer
    • 1935 – Bent Larsen, Danish chess player and author (d. 2010)
    • 1936 – Eric Allandale, Dominican trombonist and songwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1936 – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver (d. 1968)
    • 1936 – Aribert Reimann, German pianist and composer
    • 1937 – José Araquistáin, Spanish footballer
    • 1937 – William Deverell, Canadian lawyer, author, and activist
    • 1937 – Graham Dowling, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1937 – Leslie H. Gelb, American journalist and author (d. 2019)
    • 1937 – Yuri Senkevich, Russian physician and explorer (d. 2003)
    • 1937 – Barney Wilen, French saxophonist and composer (d. 1996)
    • 1937 – Richard B. Wright, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – Anton Balasingham, Sri Lankan-English negotiator (d. 2006)
    • 1938 – Alpha Condé, Guinean politician, President of Guinea
    • 1938 – Allan Kornblum, American police officer and judge (d. 2010)
    • 1938 – Angus MacLise, American drummer and composer (d. 1979)
    • 1938 – Don Perkins, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1938 – Paula Prentiss, American actress
    • 1938 – Adam Daniel Rotfeld, Polish academic and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1939 – Jack Fisher, American baseball player
    • 1939 – Robert Shaye, American film producer
    • 1940 – Wolfgang Hoffmann-Riem, German scholar and judge
    • 1940 – David Plante, American novelist
    • 1941 – John Hancock, American film and television actor (d. 1992)
    • 1941 – Adrian Lyne, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1941 – James Zagel, American lawyer and judge
    • 1942 – Gloria Gaither, American singer-songwriter
    • 1942 – Charles C. Krulak, American general
    • 1942 – David Matthews, American keyboard player and composer
    • 1942 – Lynn Sherr, American journalist and author
    • 1942 – James Gustave Speth, American lawyer and politician
    • 1942 – Zorán Sztevanovity, Serbian-Hungarian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Lucio Dalla, Italian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2012)
    • 1943 – Aldo Rico, Argentinian commander and politician
    • 1944 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (d. 1999)
    • 1944 – Anthony Ichiro Sanda, Japanese-American physicist and academic
    • 1944 – Len Walker, English footballer and manager
    • 1944 – Bobby Womack, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
    • 1945 – Tommy Svensson, Swedish footballer and manager
    • 1945 – Gary Williams, American basketball player and coach
    • 1946 – Michael Ashcroft, English businessman and politician
    • 1946 – Danny Frisella, American baseball player (d. 1977)
    • 1946 – Haile Gerima, Ethiopian born US filmmaker
    • 1946 – Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, American journalist and author
    • 1947 – David Franzoni, American screenwriter and film producer
    • 1947 – Jan Garbarek, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
    • 1947 – Bob Lewis, American guitarist
    • 1947 – Pēteris Plakidis, Latvian pianist and composer (d. 2017)
    • 1948 – Lindy Chamberlain-Creighton, New Zealand-Australian author
    • 1948 – James Ellroy, American writer
    • 1948 – Tom Grieve, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Mike Moran, English musician, songwriter and record producer
    • 1948 – Jean O’Leary, American nun and activist (d. 2005)
    • 1948 – Chris Squire, English singer-songwriter and bass guitarist (d. 2015)
    • 1948 – Shakin’ Stevens, British singer-songwriter
    • 1949 – Sergei Bagapsh, Abkhazian politician, 2nd President of Abkhazia (d. 2011)
    • 1949 – Carroll Baker, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Ofelia Medina, Mexican actress and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Rick Perry, American captain and politician, 47th Governor of Texas
    • 1950 – Safet Plakalo, Bosnian author and playwright (d. 2015)
    • 1951 – Edelgard Bulmahn, German educator and politician, German Federal Minister of Education and Research
    • 1951 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, South Korean-American author, director, and producer (d. 1982)
    • 1951 – Kenny Dalglish, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1951 – Pete Haycock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
    • 1951 – Peter O’Sullivan, Welsh international footballer, winger
    • 1951 – Sam Perlozzo, American baseball player and manager
    • 1951 – Chris Rea, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Glenis Willmott, English scientist and politician
    • 1951 – Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (d. 2013)
    • 1952 – Peter Kuhfeld, English painter
    • 1952 – Ronn Moss, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1952 – Svend Robinson, American-Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1952 – Umberto Tozzi, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1953 – John Edwards, Australian director and producer
    • 1953 – Emilio Estefan, Cuban-American drummer and producer
    • 1953 – Paweł Janas, Polish footballer and manager
    • 1953 – Ray Price, Australian rugby player and sportscaster
    • 1953 – Reinhold Roth, German motorcycle racer
    • 1953 – Chris Smith, American lawyer and politician
    • 1953 – Agustí Villaronga, Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1953 – Daniel Woodrell, American novelist and short story writer
    • 1954 – Timur Apakidze, Russian general and pilot (d. 2001)
    • 1954 – Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Korean American author (d. 1982)
    • 1954 – François Fillon, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France
    • 1954 – Peter Jacobsen, American golfer and sportscaster
    • 1954 – Catherine O’Hara, Canadian-American actress and comedian
    • 1954 – Irina Ratushinskaya, Russian poet and author (d. 2017)
    • 1955 – Tim Costello, Australian minister and politician
    • 1955 – Joey Jones, Welsh footballer and manager
    • 1957 – Nicholas Coleridge, English journalist and businessman
    • 1957 – Ron Fassler, American film and television actor and author
    • 1957 – Mykelti Williamson, American actor and director
    • 1958 – Patricia Heaton, American actress
    • 1958 – Massimo Mascioletti, Italian rugby player and coach
    • 1958 – Tina Smith, American politician, junior senator of Minnesota
    • 1959 – Rick Ardon, Australian journalist
    • 1959 – Plamen Getov, Bulgarian footballer
    • 1960 – Chonda Pierce, American comedian
    • 1961 – Ray Mancini, American boxer
    • 1961 – Steven Weber, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1961 – Roger Wessels, South African golfer and educator
    • 1962 – Simon Bisley, English author and illustrator
    • 1962 – Paul Canoville, English footballer
    • 1962 – Stephan Reimertz, German historian and author
    • 1963 – Jason Newsted, American heavy metal singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1964 – Dave Colclough, Welsh computer programmer and poker player (d. 2016)
    • 1964 – Brian Crowley, Irish lawyer and politician
    • 1964 – Tom Lampkin, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Paolo Virzì, Italian director and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Greg Alexander, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
    • 1965 – Paul W. S. Anderson, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Andrew Collins, English journalist and screenwriter
    • 1965 – Khaled Hosseini, Afghan-born American novelist
    • 1965 – Yury Lonchakov, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1965 – John Murphy British film composer
    • 1966 – Emese Hunyady, Hungarian speed skater
    • 1966 – Kevin Johnson, American basketball player and politician, 55th Mayor of Sacramento
    • 1966 – Fiona Ma, American accountant and politician
    • 1966 – Helmut Mayer, Austrian skier
    • 1966 – Glen Nissen, Australian rugby league player
    • 1966 – Dav Pilkey, American author and illustrator
    • 1966 – Grand Puba, American rapper
    • 1966 – Mike Small, American golfer and coach
    • 1967 – Daryll Cullinan, South African cricketer and coach
    • 1967 – Evan Dando, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1967 – Ivan Lewis, English lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
    • 1967 – Terry Matterson, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1967 – Dave Rayner, English cyclist (d. 1994)
    • 1967 – Sam Taylor-Johnson, English filmmaker and photographer
    • 1967 – Kubilay Türkyilmaz, Swiss footballer
    • 1967 – Tim Vine, English comedian, actor, and author
    • 1968 – Giovanni Carrara, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1968 – Jorge Celedón, Colombian singer
    • 1968 – Patsy Kensit, English model and actress
    • 1968 – Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Greek banker and politician, Prime Minister of Greece
    • 1968 – Graham Westley, English footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Pierluigi Casiraghi, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Wayne Collins, English footballer, midfielder
    • 1969 – Annie Yi, Taiwanese singer, actress, and writer
    • 1970 – Àlex Crivillé, Spanish motorcycle racer
    • 1970 – Will Keen, English actor
    • 1970 – Caroline Vis, Dutch tennis player
    • 1971 – Iain Baird, Canadian soccer player and manager
    • 1971 – Claire Baker, Scottish politician
    • 1971 – Emily Bazelon, American journalist
    • 1971 – Jason Croot, English actor and director
    • 1971 – Anders Kjølholm, Danish bass player
    • 1971 – Satoshi Motoyama, Japanese race car driver
    • 1971 – Geraldine O’Rawe, Northern Irish actress
    • 1972 – Katherine Center, American journalist and author
    • 1972 – Nocturno Culto, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1972 – Robert Smith, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Ivy Queen, Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, rapper, actress and record producer
    • 1972 – Jos Verstappen, Dutch race car driver
    • 1972 – Alison Wheeler, English singer-songwriter
    • 1973 – Massimo Brambilla, Italian footballer and coach
    • 1973 – Phillip Daniels, American football player and coach
    • 1973 – Valery Kobelev, Russian ski jumper
    • 1973 – Penny Mordaunt, English lieutenant and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
    • 1973 – Linus of Hollywood, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1973 – Len Wiseman, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Chandra Sekhar Yeleti, Indian director and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Crowbar, American wrestler
    • 1974 – Mladen Krstajić, Serbian footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Karol Kučera, Slovak tennis player
    • 1974 – Ariel Ortega, Argentinian footballer
    • 1974 – Tommy Phelps, South Korean-American baseball player and coach
    • 1974 – ICS Vortex, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1974 – David Wagner, American tennis player and educator
    • 1974 – Bill Young, Australian rugby player
    • 1975 – Mats Eilertsen, Norwegian bassist and composer
    • 1975 – Patrick Femerling, German basketball player
    • 1975 – Antti Aalto, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Kristi Harrower, Australian basketball player
    • 1975 – Hawksley Workman, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Robbie Blake, English footballer
    • 1976 – Tommy Jönsson, Swedish footballer
    • 1977 – Nacho Figueras, Argentinian polo player and model
    • 1977 – Traver Rains, American fashion designer and photographer
    • 1978 – Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Denis Dallan, Italian rugby player and singer
    • 1978 – Jean-Marc Pelletier, American ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Sarah Stock, Canadian wrestler and trainer
    • 1980 – Rohan Bopanna, Indian tennis player
    • 1980 – Omar Bravo, Mexican footballer
    • 1980 – Suzanna Choffel, American singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Giedrius Gustas, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1980 – Scott Hamilton, New Zealand rugby player and coach
    • 1980 – Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
    • 1980 – Michael Henrich, American ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Phil McGuire, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1980 – Aja Volkman, American singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Ariza Makukula, Portuguese footballer
    • 1981 – Helen Wyman, English cyclist
    • 1982 – Landon Donovan, American soccer player and coach
    • 1982 – Cate Edwards, American lawyer and author
    • 1982 – Ludmila Ezhova, Russian gymnast
    • 1982 – Yasemin Mori, Turkish singer
    • 1983 – Samuel Contesti, French-Italian figure skater
    • 1983 – Adam Deacon, English film actor, rapper, writer and director
    • 1983 – Jaque Fourie, South African rugby player
    • 1983 – Drew Houston, American billionaire and Internet entrepreneur
    • 1984 – Josh Bowman, English actor
    • 1984 – Tamir Cohen, Israeli footballer
    • 1984 – Anders Grøndal, Norwegian race car driver
    • 1984 – Spencer Larsen, American football player
    • 1984 – Jeremy Loops, South African singer-songwriter and record producer
    • 1984 – Raven Quinn, American singer-songwriter
    • 1984 – Zak Whitbread, American-English footballer
    • 1985 – Jake Buxton, English footballer
    • 1985 – Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
    • 1985 – Whitney Port, American fashion designer and author
    • 1986 – Steven Burke, English road and track cyclist
    • 1986 – Tom De Mul, Belgian footballer
    • 1986 – Mike Krieger, Brazilian-American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
    • 1986 – Siim Roops, Estonian footballer
    • 1986 – Bohdan Shust, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1986 – Manu Vatuvei, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1986 – Margo Harshman, American actress
    • 1987 – Ben McKinley, Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Cameron Wood, Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Tamzin Merchant, English actress
    • 1988 – Gal Mekel, Israeli basketball player
    • 1988 – Laura Siegemund, German tennis player
    • 1988 – Adam Watts, English footballer
    • 1989 – Benjamin Kiplagat, Ugandan long-distance runner
    • 1990 – Andrea Bowen, American actress
    • 1990 – Draymond Green, American basketball player
    • 1990 – Paddy Madden, Irish footballer
    • 1990 – Fran Mérida, Spanish footballer
    • 1992 – Nick Castellanos, American baseball player
    • 1992 – Erik Lamela, Argentinian international footballer, midfielder
    • 1992 – Bernd Leno, German footballer
    • 1992 – Karl Mööl, Estonian footballer
    • 1993 – Bobbi Kristina Brown, American singer and actress (d. 2015)
    • 1993 – Richard Peniket, English footballer
    • 1994 – Callum Harriott, English footballer
    • 1994 – AJ Tracey, British hip-hop artist and record producer
    • 1995 – Chlöe Howl, British singer-songwriter
    • 1995 – Bill Milner, English actor
    • 1996 – Lukas Webb, Australian rules footballer
    • 2002 – Jacob Hopkins, American actor

    Deaths on March 4

    • 306 – Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia, Christian martyrs
    • 480 – Landry of Sées, French bishop and saint
    • 561 – Pelagius I, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 934 – Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah, Fatimid caliph (b. 873)
    • 1172 – Stephen III, king of Hungary (b. 1147)
    • 1193 – Saladin, founder of the Ayyubid Sultanate (b. 1137)
    • 1238 – Joan of England, queen of Scotland (b. 1210)
    • 1238 – Yuri II, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1189)
    • 1303 – Daniel of Moscow, Russian Grand Duke (b. 1261)
    • 1314 – Jakub Świnka, Polish priest and archbishop
    • 1371 – Jeanne d’Évreux, queen consort of France (b. 1310)
    • 1388 – Thomas Usk, English author
    • 1484 – Saint Casimir, Polish prince (b. 1458)
    • 1496 – Sigismund, archduke of Austria (b. 1427)
    • 1583 – Bernard Gilpin, English priest and theologian (b. 1517)
    • 1604 – Fausto Sozzini, Italian theologian and educator (b. 1539)
    • 1615 – Hans von Aachen, German painter and educator (b. 1552)
    • 1710 – Louis III, duke of Bourbon (b. 1668)
    • 1733 – Claude de Forbin, French admiral and politician (b. 1656)
    • 1744 – John Anstis, English historian and politician (b. 1669)
    • 1762 – Johannes Zick, German painter (b. 1702)
    • 1793 – Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, Duke of Penthièvre (b. 1725)
    • 1795 – John Collins, American politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1717)
    • 1805 – Jean-Baptiste Greuze, French painter (b. 1725)
    • 1807 – Abraham Baldwin, American minister, lawyer, and politician (b. 1754)
    • 1811 – Mariano Moreno, Argentinian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1778)
    • 1832 – Jean-François Champollion, French philologist and scholar (b. 1790)
    • 1851 – James Richardson, English explorer (b. 1809)
    • 1852 – Nikolai Gogol, Ukrainian-Russian short story writer, novelist, and playwright (b. 1809)
    • 1853 – Thomas Bladen Capel, English admiral (b. 1776)
    • 1853 – Christian Leopold von Buch, German geologist and paleontologist (b. 1774)
    • 1858 – Matthew C. Perry, American naval commander (b. 1794)
    • 1864 – Thomas Starr King, American minister and politician (b. 1824)
    • 1866 – Alexander Campbell, Irish-American minister and theologian (b. 1788)
    • 1872 – Carsten Hauch, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1790)
    • 1883 – Alexander H. Stephens, American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812)
    • 1888 – Amos Bronson Alcott, American philosopher and educator (b. 1799)
    • 1903 – Joseph Henry Shorthouse, English author (b. 1834)
    • 1906 – John Schofield, American general and politician, 28th United States Secretary of War (b. 1831)
    • 1915 – William Willett, English inventor, founded British Summer Time (b. 1856)
    • 1916 – Franz Marc, German painter (b. 1880)
    • 1925 – Moritz Moszkowski, Polish-German pianist and composer (b. 1854)
    • 1925 – James Ward, English psychologist and philosopher (b. 1843)
    • 1925 – John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player and manager (b. 1860)
    • 1927 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (b. 1846)
    • 1938 – George Foster Peabody, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1852)
    • 1938 – Jack Taylor, American baseball player (b. 1874)
    • 1940 – Hamlin Garland, American novelist, poet, essayist, and short story writer (b. 1860)
    • 1941 – Ludwig Quidde, German activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1858)
    • 1944 – Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and activist (b. 1855)
    • 1944 – Louis Buchalter, American mob boss (b. 1897)
    • 1944 – Louis Capone, Italian-American gangster (b. 1896)
    • 1944 – René Lefebvre, French businessman (b. 1879)
    • 1945 – Lucille La Verne, American actress (b. 1872)
    • 1945 – Mark Sandrich, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1900)
    • 1948 – Antonin Artaud, French actor and director (b. 1896)
    • 1949 – Clarence Kingsbury, English cyclist (b. 1882)
    • 1952 – Charles Scott Sherrington, English neurophysiologist and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
    • 1954 – Noel Gay, English composer and songwriter (b. 1898)
    • 1960 – Herbert O’Conor, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 51st Governor of Maryland (b. 1896)
    • 1963 – William Carlos Williams, American poet, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Nicholas Schenck, Russian-American businessman (b. 1881)
    • 1972 – Harold Barrowclough, New Zealand general, lawyer, and politician, 8th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1894)
    • 1972 – Charles Biro, American author and illustrator (b. 1911)
    • 1974 – Adolph Gottlieb, American painter and sculptor (b. 1903)
    • 1976 – John Marvin Jones, American judge and politician (b. 1882)
    • 1976 – Walter H. Schottky, Swiss-German physicist and engineer (b. 1886)
    • 1977 – Anatol E. Baconsky, Romanian poet, author, and critic (b. 1925)
    • 1977 – Nancy Tyson Burbidge, Australian botanist and curator (b. 1912)
    • 1977 – Andrés Caicedo, Colombian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1951)
    • 1977 – William Paul, American lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
    • 1977 – Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, German jurist and politician, German Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1887)
    • 1978 – Wesley Bolin, American businessman and politician, 15th Governor of Arizona (b. 1909)
    • 1978 – Joe Marsala, American clarinet player and songwriter (b. 1907)
    • 1979 – Willi Unsoeld, American mountaineer and educator (b. 1926)
    • 1980 – Alan Hardaker, English lieutenant and businessman (b. 1912)
    • 1981 – Torin Thatcher, American actor (b. 1905)
    • 1981 – Karl-Jesko von Puttkamer, German admiral (b. 1900)
    • 1986 – Albert L. Lehninger, American biochemist and academic (b. 1917)
    • 1986 – Richard Manuel, Canadian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1943)
    • 1986 – Elizabeth Smart, Canadian poet and author (b. 1913)
    • 1987 – Seibo Kitamura, Japanese sculptor (b. 1884)
    • 1988 – Beatriz Guido, Argentine author and screenwriter (b. 1924)
    • 1989 – Tiny Grimes, American guitarist (b. 1916)
    • 1990 – Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967)
    • 1991 – Godfrey Bryan, English cricketer (b. 1902)
    • 1992 – Art Babbitt, American animator and director (b. 1907)
    • 1992 – Pare Lorentz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
    • 1993 – Art Hodes, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (b. 1904)
    • 1993 – Tomislav Ivčić, Croatian singer-songwriter and politician (b. 1953)
    • 1993 – Izaak Kolthoff, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1894)
    • 1993 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English lieutenant and politician, Secretary of State for the Environment (b. 1929)
    • 1994 – John Candy, Canadian comedian and actor (b. 1950)
    • 1994 – George Edward Hughes, Irish-Scottish philosopher and author (b. 1918)
    • 1995 – Matt Urban, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
    • 1996 – Minnie Pearl, American entertainer (b. 1912)
    • 1996 – John Sauer, American football player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1925)
    • 1997 – Joe Baker-Cresswell, English captain (b. 1901)
    • 1997 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1916)
    • 1998 – Ivan Dougherty, Australian general (b. 1907)
    • 1999 – Harry Blackmun, American lawyer and judge (b. 1908)
    • 1999 – Del Close, American actor and educator (b. 1934)
    • 1999 – Miłosz Magin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1929)
    • 2000 – Hermann Brück, German-Scottish physicist and astronomer (b. 1905)
    • 2000 – Michael Noonan, New Zealand-Australian author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 2000 – Ta-You Wu, Chinese physicist and academic (b. 1907)
    • 2001 – Gerardo Barbero, Argentinian chess player (b. 1961)
    • 2001 – Jean René Bazaine, French painter and author (b. 1904)
    • 2001 – Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
    • 2001 – Jim Rhodes, American businessman and politician, 61st Governor of Ohio (b. 1909)
    • 2001 – Harold Stassen, American educator and politician, 25th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1907)
    • 2002 – Ugnė Karvelis, Lithuanian author and translator (b. 1935)
    • 2002 – Elyne Mitchell, Australian skier and author (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Velibor Vasović, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1939)
    • 2003 – Jaba Ioseliani, Georgian playwright, academic, and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2003 – Sébastien Japrisot, French author, screenwriter, and director (b. 1931)
    • 2004 – Claude Nougaro, French singer-songwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2005 – Nicola Calipari, Italian general (b. 1953)
    • 2005 – Yuriy Kravchenko, Ukrainian police officer and politician (b. 1951)
    • 2005 – Carlos Sherman, Uruguayan-Belarusian author and activist (b. 1934)
    • 2006 – John Reynolds Gardiner, American author and engineer (b. 1944)
    • 2006 – Edgar Valter, Estonian author and illustrator (b. 1929)
    • 2007 – Thomas Eagleton, American lawyer and politician, 38th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri (b. 1929)
    • 2007 – Tadeusz Nalepa, Polish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
    • 2007 – Ian Wooldridge, English journalist (b. 1932)
    • 2008 – Gary Gygax, American game designer, co-created Dungeons & Dragons (b. 1938)
    • 2008 – Leonard Rosenman, American composer and conductor (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – Yvon Cormier, Canadian wrestler (b. 1938)
    • 2009 – Horton Foote, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1916)
    • 2009 – George McAfee, American football player (b. 1918)
    • 2010 – Raimund Abraham, Austrian architect and educator, designed the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – Johnny Alf, Brazilian pianist and composer (b. 1929)
    • 2010 – Vladislav Ardzinba, Abkhazian historian and politician, 1st President of Abkhazia (b. 1945)
    • 2010 – Fred Wedlock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
    • 2011 – Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, Nepalese journalist and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1924)
    • 2011 – Vivienne Harris, English journalist and publisher, co-founded the Jewish Telegraph (b. 1921)
    • 2011 – Ed Manning, American basketball player and coach (b. 1943)
    • 2011 – Arjun Singh, Indian politician (b. 1930)
    • 2011 – Alenush Terian, Iranian astronomer and physicist (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – Simon van der Meer, Dutch-Swiss physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Paul McBride, Scottish lawyer and politician (b. 1965)
    • 2012 – Don Mincher, American baseball player (b. 1938)
    • 2013 – Lillian Cahn, Hungarian-American businesswoman, co-founded Coach, Inc. (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Mickey Moore, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – Toren Smith, Canadian businessman, founded Studio Proteus (b. 1960)
    • 2014 – Mark Freidkin, Russian author and poet (b. 1953)
    • 2014 – Elaine Kellett-Bowman, English lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Jack Kinzler, American engineer (b. 1920)
    • 2014 – Wu Tianming, Chinese director and producer (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Dušan Bilandžić, Croatian historian and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Ray Hatton, English-American runner, author, and academic (b. 1932)
    • 2016 – Bud Collins, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929)
    • 2016 – Pat Conroy, American author (b. 1945)
    • 2016 – P. A. Sangma, Indian lawyer and politician, Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1947)
    • 2016 – Zhou Xiaoyan, Chinese soprano and educator (b. 1917)
    • 2017 – Clayton Yeutter, American politician (b. 1930)
    • 2018 – Davide Astori, Italian soccer player (b. 1987)
    • 2019 – Keith Flint, English singer (The Prodigy) (b. 1969)
    • 2019 – Luke Perry, American actor (b. 1966)
    • 2020 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat

    Holidays and observances on March 4

    • Christian feast day:
      • Adrian of Nicomedia
      • Casimir
      • Felix of Rhuys
      • Giovanni Antonio Farina (Catholic Church)
      • Blessed Humbert III, Count of Savoy (Roman Catholic Church)
      • Paul Cuffee (Episcopal Church)
      • Peter of Pappacarbone
      • Blessed Zoltán Meszlényi
      • March 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • St Casimir’s Day (Poland and Lithuania)

  • 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)
  • |

    February 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 380 – Edict of Thessalonica: Emperor Theodosius I and his co-emperors Gratian and Valentinian II declare their wish that all Roman citizens convert to Nicene Christianity.
    • 425 – The University of Constantinople is founded by Emperor Theodosius II at the urging of his wife Aelia Eudocia.
    • 907 – Abaoji, a Khitan chieftain, is enthroned as Emperor Taizu, establishing the Liao dynasty in northern China.
    • 1560 – The Treaty of Berwick, which would expel the French from Scotland, is signed by England and the Lords of the Congregation of Scotland.
    • 1594 – Henry IV is crowned King of France.
    • 1617 – Sweden and Russia sign the Treaty of Stolbovo, ending the Ingrian War and shutting Russia out of the Baltic Sea.
    • 1626 – Yuan Chonghuan is appointed Governor of Liaodong, after leading the Chinese into a great victory against the Manchurians under Nurhaci.
    • 1700 – The island of New Britain is discovered by Europeans.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Moore’s Creek Bridge in North Carolina breaks up a Loyalist militia.
    • 1782 – American Revolutionary War: The House of Commons of Great Britain votes against further war in America.
    • 1801 – Pursuant to the District of Columbia Organic Act of 1801, Washington, D.C. is placed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Congress.
    • 1809 – Action of 27 February 1809: Captain Bernard Dubourdieu captures HMS Proserpine.
    • 1812 – Argentine War of Independence: Manuel Belgrano raises the Flag of Argentina in the city of Rosario for the first time.
    • 1812 – Poet Lord Byron gives his first address as a member of the House of Lords, in defense of Luddite violence against Industrialism in his home county of Nottinghamshire.
    • 1844 – The Dominican Republic gains independence from Haiti.
    • 1860 – Abraham Lincoln makes a speech at Cooper Union in the city of New York that is largely responsible for his election to the Presidency.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: The first Northern prisoners arrive at the Confederate prison at Andersonville, Georgia.
    • 1870 – The current flag of Japan is first adopted as the national flag for Japanese merchant ships.
    • 1881 – First Boer War: The Battle of Majuba Hill takes place.
    • 1898 – King George I of Greece survives an assassination attempt.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: In South Africa, British military leaders receive an unconditional notice of surrender from Boer General Piet Cronjé at the Battle of Paardeberg.
    • 1900 – The British Labour Party is founded.
    • 1900 – Fußball-Club Bayern München is founded.
    • 1902 – Second Boer War: Australian soldiers Harry “Breaker” Morant and Peter Handcock are executed in Pretoria after being convicted of war crimes.
    • 1916 – Ocean liner SS Maloja strikes a mine near Dover and sinks with the loss of 155 lives.
    • 1921 – The International Working Union of Socialist Parties is founded in Vienna.
    • 1922 – A challenge to the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, allowing women the right to vote, is rebuffed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Leser v. Garnett.
    • 1933 – Reichstag fire: Germany’s parliament building in Berlin, the Reichstag, is set on fire; Marinus van der Lubbe, a young Dutch Communist claims responsibility.
    • 1939 – United States labor law: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in NLRB v. Fansteel Metallurgical Corp. that the National Labor Relations Board has no authority to force an employer to rehire workers who engage in sit-down strikes.
    • 1940 – Martin Kamen and Sam Ruben discover carbon-14.
    • 1942 – World War II: During the Battle of the Java Sea, an Allied strike force is defeated by a Japanese task force in the Java Sea in the Dutch East Indies.
    • 1943 – The Smith Mine #3 in Bearcreek, Montana, explodes, killing 74 men.
    • 1943 – In Berlin, the Gestapo arrest 1,800 Jewish men with German wives, leading to the Rosenstrasse protest.
    • 1951 – The Twenty-second Amendment to the United States Constitution, limiting Presidents to two terms, is ratified.
    • 1961 – The first congress of the Spanish Trade Union Organisation is inaugurated.
    • 1962 – Two dissident Republic of Vietnam Air Force pilots bomb the Independence Palace in Saigon in a failed attempt to assassinate South Vietnam President Ngô Đình Diệm.
    • 1963 – The Dominican Republic receives its first democratically elected president, Juan Bosch, since the end of the dictatorship led by Rafael Trujillo.
    • 1964 – The Government of Italy asks for help to keep the Leaning Tower of Pisa from toppling over.
    • 1971 – Doctors in the first Dutch abortion clinic (the Mildredhuis in Arnhem) start performing artificially-induced abortions.
    • 1973 – The American Indian Movement occupies Wounded Knee in protest of the federal government.
    • 1976 – The formerly Spanish territory of Western Sahara, under the auspices of the Polisario Front declares independence as the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
    • 1988 – Sumgait pogrom: The Armenian community in Sumgait, Azerbaijan is targeted in a violent pogrom.
    • 1991 – Gulf War: U.S. President George H. W. Bush announces that “Kuwait is liberated”.
    • 2002 – Ryanair Flight 296 catches fire at London Stansted Airport. Subsequent investigations criticize Ryanair’s handling of the evacuation.
    • 2002 – Godhra train burning: A Muslim mob torches a train returning from Ayodhya, killing 59 Hindu pilgrims.
    • 2004 – A bombing of a Superferry by Abu Sayyaf in the Philippines’ worst terrorist attack kills 116.
    • 2004 – Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, is sentenced to death for masterminding the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack.
    • 2007 – The Chinese Correction: The Shanghai Stock Exchange falls 9%, the largest drop in ten years.
    • 2010 – An earthquake measuring 8.8 on the moment magnitude scale strikes central parts of Chile leaving over 500 victims, and thousands injured. The quake triggers a tsunami which strikes Hawaii shortly after.
    • 2013 – A shooting takes place at a factory in Menznau, Switzerland, in which five people (including the perpetrator) are killed and five others injured.
    • 2015 – Russian politician Boris Nemtsov is assassinated.

    Births on February 27

    • 272 – Constantine the Great, Roman emperor (d. 337)
    • 1343 – Alberto d’Este, Marquis of Ferrara (d. 1393)
    • 1427 – Ruprecht, Archbishop of Cologne (d. 1480)
    • 1500 – João de Castro, Portuguese nobleman and fourth viceroy of Portuguese India (d. 1548)
    • 1535 – Min Phalaung, Burmese monarch (d. 1593)
    • 1567 – William Alabaster, English poet (d. 1640)
    • 1572 – Francis II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1632)
    • 1575 – John Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1616)
    • 1622 – Carel Fabritius, Dutch painter (d. 1654)
    • 1630 – Roche Braziliano, Dutch pirate (d. 1671)
    • 1659 – William Sherard, English botanist (d. 1728)
    • 1667 – Ludwika Karolina Radziwiłł, Prussian-Lithuanian wife of Charles III Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1695)
    • 1689 – Pietro Gnocchi, Italian composer, director, historian, and geographer (d. 1775)
    • 1703 – Lord Sidney Beauclerk, English politician (d. 1744)
    • 1711 – Constantine Mavrocordatos, Ottoman ruler (d. 1769)
    • 1724 – Frederick Michael, Count Palatine of Zweibrücken (d. 1767)
    • 1732 – Jean de Dieu-Raymond de Cucé de Boisgelin, French cardinal (d. 1804)
    • 1746 – Louis-Jérôme Gohier, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 1830)
    • 1748 – Anders Sparrman, Swedish physician and activist (d. 1820)
    • 1767 – Jacques-Charles Dupont de l’Eure, French lawyer and politician, 24th Prime Minister of France (d. 1855)
    • 1779 – Thomas Hazlehurst, English businessman, founded Hazlehurst & Sons (d. 1842)
    • 1789 – Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza, Chilean lawyer and politician, Chilean Minister of National Defense (d. 1818)
    • 1795 – José Antonio Navarro, American merchant and politician (d. 1871)
    • 1799 – Edward Belcher, British naval officer, hydrographer, and explorer (d. 1877)
    • 1799 – Frederick Catherwood, British artist, architect and explorer (d. 1854)
    • 1807 – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet and educator (d. 1882)
    • 1809 – Jean-Charles Cornay, French missionary and saint (d. 1837)
    • 1816 – William Nicholson, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Victoria (d. 1865)
    • 1847 – Ellen Terry, English actress (d. 1928)
    • 1848 – Hubert Parry, English composer and historian (d. 1918)
    • 1859 – Bertha Pappenheim, Austrian-German activist and author (d. 1936)
    • 1863 – Joaquín Sorolla, Spanish painter (d. 1923)
    • 1863 – George Herbert Mead, American sociologist and philosopher (d. 1930)
    • 1864 – Eemil Nestor Setälä, Finnish linguist and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1935)
    • 1867 – Irving Fisher, American economist and statistician (d. 1947)
    • 1867 – Wilhelm Peterson-Berger, Swedish composer and critic (d. 1942)
    • 1869 – Alice Hamilton, American physician and academic (d. 1970)
    • 1872 – Alexandru Vaida-Voevod, Romanian politician, Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1950)
    • 1875 – Vladimir Filatov, Russian-Ukrainian ophthalmologist and surgeon (d. 1956)
    • 1877 – Adela Verne, English pianist and composer (d. 1952)
    • 1877 – Joseph Grinnell, American zoologist and biologist (d. 1939)
    • 1878 – Alvan T. Fuller, American businessman and politician, 50th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
    • 1880 – Xenophon Kasdaglis, Greek-Egyptian tennis player (d. 1943)
    • 1881 – Sveinn Björnsson, Danish-Icelandic lawyer and politician, 1st President of Iceland (d. 1952)
    • 1881 – L. E. J. Brouwer, Dutch mathematician, philosopher, and academic (d. 1966)
    • 1886 – Hugo Black, American captain, jurist, and politician (d. 1971)
    • 1887 – Pyotr Nesterov, Russian captain, pilot, and engineer (d. 1914)
    • 1888 – Roberto Assagioli, Italian psychiatrist and psychologist (d. 1974)
    • 1888 – Lotte Lehmann, German-American soprano and actress (d. 1976)
    • 1890 – Mabel Keaton Staupers, American nurse and advocate (d. 1989)
    • 1891 – David Sarnoff, American businessman, founded RCA (d. 1971)
    • 1892 – William Demarest, American actor (d. 1983)
    • 1895 – Miyagiyama Fukumatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1943)
    • 1897 – Marian Anderson, American singer (d. 1993)
    • 1899 – Charles Herbert Best, American-Canadian physiologist and biochemist, co-discovered Insulin (d. 1978)
    • 1901 – Marino Marini, Italian sculptor and academic (d. 1980)
    • 1901 – Kotama Okada, Japanese religious leader (d. 1974)
    • 1902 – Lúcio Costa, French-Brazilian architect and engineer, designed Gustavo Capanema Palace (d. 1998)
    • 1902 – Gene Sarazen, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 1999)
    • 1902 – John Steinbeck, American journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
    • 1903 – Reginald Gardiner, English-American actor and singer (d. 1980)
    • 1903 – Hans Rohrbach, German mathematician (d. 1993)
    • 1903 – Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Belorussian-American rabbi and philosopher (d. 1993)
    • 1904 – James T. Farrell, American author and poet (d. 1979)
    • 1904 – André Leducq, French cyclist (d. 1980)
    • 1904 – Yulii Borisovich Khariton, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Franchot Tone, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1968)
    • 1907 – Mildred Bailey, American singer (d. 1951)
    • 1907 – Momčilo Đujić, Serbian-American priest and commander (d. 1999)
    • 1910 – Joan Bennett, American actress (d. 1990)
    • 1910 – Peter De Vries, American journalist and author (d. 1993)
    • 1910 – Genrikh Kasparyan, Armenian chess player and composer (d. 1995)
    • 1910 – Kelly Johnson, American engineer, co-founded Skunk Works (d. 1990)
    • 1911 – Oscar Heidenstam, English bodybuilder (d. 1991)
    • 1912 – Kusumagraj, Indian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1999)
    • 1912 – Lawrence Durrell, Indian-French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1990)
    • 1913 – Paul Ricœur, French philosopher and academic (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Kazimierz Sabbat, Polish soldier and politician, President of Poland (d. 1989)
    • 1913 – Irwin Shaw, American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
    • 1915 – Denis Whitaker, Canadian general, football player, and businessman (d. 2001)
    • 1917 – John Connally, American lieutenant and politician, 61st United States Secretary of Treasury (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – Reg Simpson, English cricketer (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Theodore Van Kirk, American soldier, pilot, and navigator (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Hans Rookmaaker, Dutch historian, author, and scholar (d. 1977)
    • 1923 – Dexter Gordon, American saxophonist, composer, and actor (d. 1990)
    • 1925 – Pia Sebastiani, Argentine pianist and composer (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Kenneth Koch, American poet, playwright and professor (d. 2002)
    • 1926 – David H. Hubel, Canadian-American neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Peter Whittle, English-New Zealand mathematician and theorist
    • 1928 – René Clemencic, Austrian composer, recorder player, harpsichordist, conductor and clavichord player
    • 1929 – Jack Gibson, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Djalma Santos, Brazilian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1929 – Patricia Ward Hales, British tennis player (d. 1985)
    • 1930 – Jovan Krkobabić, Serbian politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Peter Stone, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2003)
    • 1930 – Paul von Ragué Schleyer, American chemist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Joanne Woodward, American actress
    • 1932 – Dame Elizabeth Taylor, English-American actress and humanitarian (d. 2011)
    • 1932 – David Young, Baron Young of Graffham, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
    • 1933 – Raymond Berry, American football player and coach
    • 1933 – Malcolm Wallop, American politician (d. 2011)
    • 1934 – Vincent Fourcade, French interior designer (d. 1992)
    • 1934 – Ralph Nader, American lawyer, politician, and activist
    • 1935 – Mirella Freni, Italian soprano and actress (d. 2020)
    • 1935 – Uri Shulevitz, American author and illustrator
    • 1936 – Sonia Johnson, American feminist activist and author
    • 1936 – Ron Barassi, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1936 – Roger Mahony, American cardinal
    • 1937 – Barbara Babcock, American actress
    • 1938 – Jake Thackray, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist (d. 2002)
    • 1939 – Don McKinnon, English-New Zealand farmer and politician, 12th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1939 – Peter Revson, American race car driver (d. 1974)
    • 1940 – Pierre Duchesne, Canadian lawyer and politician, 28th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
    • 1940 – Howard Hesseman, American actor
    • 1940 – Bill Hunter, Australian actor (d. 2011)
    • 1941 – Paddy Ashdown, British captain and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1942 – Jimmy Burns, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1942 – Robert H. Grubbs, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1942 – Charlayne Hunter-Gault, American journalist
    • 1942 – Klaus-Dieter Sieloff, German footballer (d. 2011)
    • 1943 – Mary Frann, American actress (d. 1998)
    • 1943 – Morten Lauridsen, American composer and conductor
    • 1943 – Carlos Alberto Parreira, Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1944 – Ken Grimwood, American author (d. 2003)
    • 1944 – Graeme Pollock, South African cricketer and coach
    • 1944 – Sir Roger Scruton, English philosopher and writer (d. 2020)
    • 1947 – Alan Guth, American physicist and cosmologist
    • 1947 – Gidon Kremer, Latvian violinist and conductor
    • 1950 – Annabel Goldie, Scottish lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – Julia Neuberger, Baroness Neuberger, English rabbi and politician
    • 1951 – Carl A. Anderson, 13th Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus
    • 1951 – Lee Atwater, American journalist, activist and political strategist (d. 1991)
    • 1951 – Walter de Silva, Italian car designer
    • 1951 – Steve Harley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1953 – Gavin Esler, Scottish journalist and author
    • 1953 – Ian Khama, English-Botswanan lieutenant and politician, 4th President of Botswana
    • 1953 – Stelios Kouloglou, Greek journalist, author, director and politician
    • 1954 – Neal Schon, American rock guitarist and singer-songwriter
    • 1956 – Belus Prajoux, Chilean tennis player
    • 1957 – Danny Antonucci, Canadian animator, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Kevin Curran, American screenwriter and television producer (d. 2016)
    • 1957 – Robert de Castella, Australian runner
    • 1957 – Adrian Smith, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1957 – Timothy Spall, English actor
    • 1958 – Naas Botha, South African rugby player and sportscaster
    • 1958 – Maggie Hassan, American politician, 81st Governor and United States Senator of New Hampshire
    • 1960 – Andrés Gómez, Ecuadorian tennis player
    • 1960 – Johnny Van Zant, American singer-songwriter
    • 1961 – James Worthy, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1962 – Adam Baldwin, American actor
    • 1963 – Nasty Suicide, Finnish musician and pharmacist
    • 1964 – Jeffrey Pasley, American educator and academic
    • 1965 – Noah Emmerich, American actor
    • 1965 – Pedro Chaves, Portuguese race car driver
    • 1966 – Donal Logue, Canadian actor and director
    • 1966 – Oliver Reck, German footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Baltasar Kormákur, Icelandic actor, director, and producer
    • 1967 – Dănuț Lupu, Romanian footballer
    • 1967 – Jony Ive, English industrial designer, former chief design officer (CDO) of Apple
    • 1968 – Matt Stairs, Canadian baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1969 – Gareth Llewellyn, Welsh rugby union player
    • 1969 – Juan E. Gilbert, American computer scientist, inventor, and academic
    • 1970 – Kent Desormeaux, American jockey
    • 1970 – Patricia Petibon, French soprano and actress
    • 1971 – Sara Blakely, American businesswoman, founded Spanx
    • 1971 – Derren Brown, English magician and painter
    • 1971 – David Rikl, Czech-English tennis player
    • 1971 – Roman Giertych, Polish lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland
    • 1971 – Rozonda Thomas, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (TLC)
    • 1973 – Peter Andre, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1973 – Mark Taylor, Welsh rugby player and manager
    • 1974 – Carte Goodwin, American lawyer and politician
    • 1975 – Aitor González, Spanish racing driver
    • 1975 – Prodromos Korkizoglou, Greek decathlete
    • 1976 – Sergei Semak, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Ludovic Capelle, Belgian cyclist
    • 1978 – James Beattie, English footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Kakha Kaladze, Georgian footballer and politician
    • 1978 – Emelie Öhrstig, Swedish skier and cyclist
    • 1978 – Simone Di Pasquale, Italian ballet dancer
    • 1980 – Chelsea Clinton, American journalist and academic
    • 1980 – Scott Prince, Australian rugby league player
    • 1981 – Josh Groban, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1981 – Natalie Grandin, English-South African tennis player
    • 1981 – Élodie Ouédraogo, Belgian sprinter
    • 1982 – Ali Bastian, English actress
    • 1982 – Pat Richards, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Bruno Soares, Brazilian tennis player
    • 1983 – Devin Harris, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Kate Mara, American actress
    • 1984 – Aníbal Sánchez, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Lotta Schelin, Swedish footballer
    • 1984 – Akseli Kokkonen, Norwegian ski jumper
    • 1985 – Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Russian footballer
    • 1985 – Braydon Coburn, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Vladislav Kulik, Ukrainian-Russian footballer
    • 1985 – Asami Abe, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1985 – Thiago Neves, Brazilian footballer
    • 1985 – Brett Stewart, Australian rugby league player
    • 1986 – Yovani Gallardo, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Jonathan Moreira, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Sandeep Singh, Indian field hockey player
    • 1987 – Scott Davies, English footballer
    • 1987 – Bridie Kean, Australian wheelchair basketball player
    • 1987 – Florence Kiplagat, Kenyan runner
    • 1987 – Sandy Paillot, French footballer
    • 1987 – Valeriy Andriytsev, Ukrainian wrestler
    • 1987 – Maximiliano Moralez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1988 – Iain Ramsay, Australian footballer
    • 1988 – Dustin Jeffrey, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – David Button, English footballer, goalkeeper
    • 1989 – Lloyd Rigby, English footballer
    • 1990 – Elijah Taylor, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1991 – Azeem Rafiq, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1992 – Ty Dillon, American race car driver
    • 1992 – Meyers Leonard, American basketball player
    • 1992 – Filip Krajinović, Serbian tennis player
    • 1992 – Ioannis Potouridis, Greek footballer
    • 1992 – Jonjo Shelvey, English footballer
    • 1995 – Laura Gulbe, Latvian tennis player
    • 1998 – Todd Cantwell, English footballer

    Deaths on February 27

    • 640 – Pepin of Landen, Frankish lord (b. 580)
    • 906 – Conrad the Elder, Frankish nobleman
    • 956 – Theophylact, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 917)
    • 1167 – Robert of Melun, English theologian and bishop
    • 1416 – Eleanor of Castile, queen consort of Navarre (b. c. 1363)
    • 1425 – Prince Vasily I of Moscow (b. 1371)
    • 1483 – William VIII of Montferrat (b. 1420)
    • 1558 – Johann Faber of Heilbronn, controversial Catholic preacher (b. 1504)
    • 1558 – Kunigunde of Brandenburg-Kulmbach, German Noblewoman (b. 1524)
    • 1659 – Henry Dunster, English-American clergyman and academic (b. 1609)
    • 1699 – Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Hampshire (b. 1625)
    • 1706 – John Evelyn, English gardener and author (b. 1620)
    • 1712 – Sir William Villiers, 3rd Baronet, English politician (b. 1645)
    • 1720 – Samuel Parris, English-American minister (b. 1653)
    • 1735 – John Arbuthnot, Scottish physician and polymath (b. 1667)
    • 1784 – Count of St. Germain, European adventurer (b. 1710)
    • 1795 – Tanikaze Kajinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler (b. 1750)
    • 1844 – Nicholas Biddle, American banker and politician (b. 1786)
    • 1887 – Alexander Borodin, Russian composer and chemist (b. 1833)
    • 1892 – Louis Vuitton, French fashion designer and businessman, founded Louis Vuitton (b. 1821)
    • 1902 – Harry “Breaker” Morant, English-Australian lieutenant (b. 1864)
    • 1921 – Schofield Haigh, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1871)
    • 1931 – Chandra Shekhar Azad, Indian revolutionary (b. 1906)
    • 1936 – Joshua W. Alexander, American judge and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1852)
    • 1936 – Ivan Pavlov, Russian physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1849)
    • 1937 – Hosteen Klah, Navajo artist, medicine man, and weaver (b. 1867)
    • 1937 – Emily Malbone Morgan, American saint, foundress of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross (b. 1862)
    • 1943 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet and playwright (b. 1859)
    • 1956 – Ganesh Vasudev Mavalankar, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Speaker of the Lok Sabha (b. 1888)
    • 1964 – Orry-Kelly, Australian-American costume designer (b. 1897)
    • 1968 – Frankie Lymon, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
    • 1969 – Marius Barbeau, Canadian ethnographer and academic (b. 1883)
    • 1973 – Bill Everett, American author and illustrator (b. 1917)
    • 1977 – John Dickson Carr, American author and playwright (b. 1905)
    • 1980 – George Tobias, American actor (b. 1901)
    • 1985 – Ray Ellington, English singer and drummer (b. 1916)
    • 1985 – Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., American politician and diplomat, 3rd United States Ambassador to the United Nations (b. 1902)
    • 1985 – J. Pat O’Malley, English-American actor and singer (b. 1904)
    • 1986 – Jacques Plante, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1929)
    • 1987 – Bill Holman, American cartoonist (b. 1903)
    • 1987 – Joan Greenwood, English actress (b. 1921)
    • 1989 – Konrad Lorenz, Austrian zoologist, ethologist, and ornithologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1992 – S. I. Hayakawa, Canadian-American linguist and politician (b. 1906)
    • 1993 – Lillian Gish, American actress (b. 1893)
    • 1998 – George H. Hitchings, American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
    • 1998 – J. T. Walsh, American actor (b. 1943)
    • 1999 – Horace Tapscott, American pianist and composer (b. 1934)
    • 2002 – Spike Milligan, Irish soldier, actor, comedian, and author (b. 1918)
    • 2003 – John Lanchbery, English-Australian composer and conductor (b. 1923)
    • 2003 – Fred Rogers, American minister and television host (b. 1928)
    • 2004 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historian and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2004 – Paul Sweezy, American economist and journalist (b. 1910)
    • 2006 – Otis Chandler, American publisher (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Robert Lee Scott, Jr., American general and author (b. 1908)
    • 2006 – Linda Smith, English comedian and author (b. 1958)
    • 2007 – Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven, German general (b. 1914)
    • 2008 – William F. Buckley, Jr., American author and journalist, founded the National Review (b. 1925)
    • 2008 – Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1929)
    • 2008 – Ivan Rebroff, German vocalist of Russian descent with four and a half octave range (b. 1931)
    • 2010 – Nanaji Deshmukh, Indian educator and activist (b. 1916)
    • 2011 – Frank Buckles, American soldier (b. 1901)
    • 2011 – Necmettin Erbakan, Turkish engineer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Duke Snider, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Gary Winick, American director and producer (b. 1961)
    • 2012 – Ma Jiyuan, Chinese general (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Tina Strobos, Dutch physician and psychiatrist (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Helga Vlahović, Croatian journalist and producer (b. 1945)
    • 2013 – Van Cliburn, American pianist (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Ramon Dekkers, Dutch mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (b. 1969)
    • 2013 – Dale Robertson, American actor (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Adolfo Zaldívar, Chilean lawyer and politician (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Aaron Allston, American game designer and author (b. 1960)
    • 2014 – Terry Rand, American basketball player (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Boris Nemtsov, Russian academic and politician, First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1959)
    • 2015 – Leonard Nimoy, American actor (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Julio César Strassera, Argentinian lawyer and jurist (b. 1933)
    • 2016 – Yi Cheol-seung, South Korean lawyer and politician (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – James Z. Davis, American lawyer and judge (b. 1943)
    • 2018 – Steve Folkes, Australian rugby league player and coach (b. 1959)
    • 2019 – France-Albert René, Seychellois politician, 2nd President of Seychelles (b. 1935)

    Holidays and observances on February 27

    • Christian feast day:
      • Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows
      • George Herbert (Anglicanism)
      • Honorina
      • Leander
      • February 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The second day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Note: this observance is only on this date in the Gregorian calendar if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it does not in all years)
    • Doctors’ Day (Vietnam)
    • Independence Day (Dominican Republic), celebrates the first independence of Dominican Republic from Haiti in 1844.
    • Majuba Day (some Afrikaners in South Africa)
    • Marathi Language Day (Maharashtra, India)
    • World NGO Day
    • International Polar Bear Day

  • February 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 747 BC – Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy’s Nabonassar Era.
    • 364 – Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman emperor
    • 1233 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols capture Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty, after besieging it for months.
    • 1266 – Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.
    • 1365 – The Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava (Inwa) founded by King Thado Minbya
    • 1606 – The Janszoon voyage of 1605–06 becomes the first European expedition to set foot on Australia, although it is mistaken as a part of New Guinea.
    • 1616 – Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.
    • 1775 – The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates
    • 1794 – The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.
    • 1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.
    • 1876 – Japan and Korea sign a treaty granting Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights, opening three ports to Japanese trade, and ending Korea’s status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.
    • 1909 – Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
    • 1914 – HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
    • 1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park.
    • 1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signs an executive order establishing the 96,000 acre Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
    • 1935 – Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
    • 1935 – Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.
    • 1936 – In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.
    • 1952 – Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.
    • 1960 – A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.
    • 1966 – Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket
    • 1971 – U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
    • 1979 – The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
    • 1980 – Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.
    • 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
    • 1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Khojaly Massacre: Armenian armed forces open fire on Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead.
    • 1993 – World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand people.
    • 1995 – The UK’s oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after a rogue securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
    • 2008 – The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this is the first event of its kind to take place in North Korea.
    • 2012 – Trayvon Martin was shot and killed at the age of 17 in Sanford, Florida.
    • 2012 – A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.
    • 2013 – A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.

    Births on February 26

    • 1361 – Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (d. 1419)
    • 1416 – Christopher of Bavaria (d. 1448)
    • 1564 – Christopher Marlowe, English playwright, poet and translator (d. 1593)
    • 1584 – Albert VI, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1666)
    • 1587 – Stefano Landi, Italian composer and educator (d. 1639)
    • 1629 – Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, Scottish peer (d. 1685)
    • 1651 – Quirinus Kuhlmann, German Baroque poet and mystic (d. 1689)
    • 1671 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (d. 1713)
    • 1672 – Antoine Augustin Calmet, French monk and theologian (d. 1757)
    • 1677 – Nicola Fago, Italian composer and teacher (d. 1745)
    • 1718 – Johan Ernst Gunnerus, Norwegian bishop, botanist and zoologist (d. 1773)
    • 1720 – Gian Francesco Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1803)
    • 1746 – Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma (d. 1806)
    • 1770 – Anton Reicha, Bohemian composer and flautist (d. 1836)
    • 1777 – Matija Nenadović, Serbian priest, historian, and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 1854)
    • 1786 – François Arago, French mathematician and politician, 25th Prime Minister of France (d. 1853)
    • 1799 – Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron, French physicist and engineer (d. 1864)
    • 1802 – Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1885)
    • 1808 – Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879)
    • 1808 – Nathan Kelley, American architect, designed the Ohio Statehouse (d. 1871)
    • 1829 – Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (d. 1902)
    • 1842 – Camille Flammarion, French astronomer and author (d. 1925)
    • 1846 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (d. 1917)
    • 1852 – John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes (d. 1943)
    • 1857 – Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (d. 1926)
    • 1861 – Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
    • 1861 – Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian soldier and politician (d. 1939)
    • 1866 – Herbert Henry Dow, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company (d. 1930)
    • 1877 – Henry Barwell, Australian politician, 28th Premier of South Australia (d. 1959)
    • 1877 – Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (d. 1968)
    • 1879 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (d. 1941)
    • 1880 – Kenneth Edgeworth, Irish astronomer (d. 1972)
    • 1881 – Janus Djurhuus, Faroese poet (d. 1948)
    • 1882 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d. 1968)
    • 1885 – Aleksandras Stulginskis, Lithuanian farmer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania (d. 1969)
    • 1887 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player and coach (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (d. 1966)
    • 1887 – Stefan Grabiński, Polish author and educator (d. 1936)
    • 1893 – Wallace Fard Muhammad, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (disappeared 1934)
    • 1893 – Dorothy Whipple, English novelist (d. 1966)
    • 1896 – Andrei Zhdanov, Ukrainian-Russian civil servant and politician (d. 1948)
    • 1899 – Max Petitpierre, Swiss jurist and politician, 54th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1994)
    • 1900 – Halina Konopacka, Polish discus thrower and poet (d. 1989)
    • 1900 – Fritz Wiessner, German-American mountaineer (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Jean Bruller, French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit (d. 1991)
    • 1903 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
    • 1903 – Orde Wingate, English general (d. 1944)
    • 1906 – Madeleine Carroll, English actress (d. 1987)
    • 1908 – Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – Nestor Mesta Chayres, Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist (d. 1971)
    • 1908 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d. 1949)
    • 1909 – Fanny Cradock, English chef, author, and critic (d. 1994)
    • 1909 – Talal of Jordan (d. 1972)
    • 1910 – Vic Woodley, English footballer (d. 1978)
    • 1911 – Tarō Okamoto, Japanese painter and sculptor (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Dane Clark, American actor and director (d. 1998)
    • 1913 – George Barker, English author and poet (d. 1991)
    • 1914 – Robert Alda, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1986)
    • 1916 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – Otis R. Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Pyotr Masherov, Leader of Soviet Belarus (d. 1980)
    • 1918 – Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (d. 1985)
    • 1919 – Mason Adams, American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Danny Gardella, American baseball player and trainer (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Tony Randall, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Bill Johnston, Australian cricketer and businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Margaret Leighton, English actress (d. 1976)
    • 1924 – Noboru Takeshita, Japanese soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Marc Bucci, American composer, lyricist, and dramatist (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Everton Weekes, Barbadian cricketer and referee
    • 1926 – Doris Belack, American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Verne Gagne, American football player, wrestler, and trainer (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Tom Kennedy, American game show host and actor
    • 1928 – Fats Domino, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1931 – Robert Novak, American journalist and author (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Josephine Tewson, English actress
    • 1932 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2003)
    • 1933 – James Goldsmith, French-British businessman and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1934 – Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, Algerian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1936 – José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (d. 2014)
    • 1937 – Paul Dickson, American football player and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1939 – Chuck Wepner, American professional boxer
    • 1940 – Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Jozef Adamec, Slovak footballer and manager (d. 2018)
    • 1943 – Paul Cotton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Bill Duke, American actor and director
    • 1943 – Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer
    • 1943 – Bob “The Bear” Hite, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1981)
    • 1944 – Christopher Hope, South African author and poet
    • 1944 – Ronald Lauder, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Austria
    • 1945 – Peter Brock, Australian race car driver (d. 2006)
    • 1945 – Marta Kristen, Norwegian-American actress
    • 1945 – Mitch Ryder, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Colin Bell, English footballer
    • 1946 – Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1947 – Sandie Shaw, English singer and psychotherapist
    • 1948 – Sharyn McCrumb, American author
    • 1949 – Simon Crean, Australian trade union leader and politician, 14th Australian Minister for the Arts
    • 1949 – Elizabeth George, American author and educator
    • 1949 – Emma Kirkby, English soprano
    • 1950 – Jonathan Cain, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1950 – Helen Clark, New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1951 – Steve Bell, English cartoonist
    • 1951 – Wayne Goss, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Premier of Queensland (d. 2014)
    • 1953 – Michael Bolton, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1954 – Prince Ernst August of Hanover
    • 1954 – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish politician, 12th President of Turkey
    • 1955 – Andreas Maislinger, Austrian historian and academic, founded the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
    • 1956 – Michel Houellebecq, French author, poet, screenwriter, and director
    • 1957 – David Beasley, American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina
    • 1957 – Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1957 – Keena Rothhammer, American swimmer
    • 1958 – Paul Ackford, English rugby player
    • 1958 – Greg Germann, American actor and director
    • 1958 – Susan Helms, American general, engineer, and astronaut
    • 1958 – Tim Kaine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Virginia
    • 1959 – Rolando Blackman, American basketball player and coach
    • 1959 – Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey
    • 1960 – Jaz Coleman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1962 – Ahn Cheol-soo, South Korean physician, academic, and politician
    • 1963 – Chase Masterson, American actress, singer, and activist
    • 1965 – James Mitchell, American wrestler and manager
    • 1966 – Garry Conille, Haitian physician and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Haiti
    • 1966 – Marc Fortier, French-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
    • 1967 – Mark Carroll, Australian rugby league player
    • 1967 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese footballer
    • 1968 – Tim Commerford, American bass player
    • 1969 – Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer and producer
    • 1970 – Mark Harper, English accountant and politician, Minister of State for Immigration
    • 1970 – Scott Mahon, Australian rugby league player
    • 1971 – Erykah Badu, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1971 – Max Martin, Swedish-American record producer and songwriter
    • 1971 – Hélène Segara, French singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1973 – Marshall Faulk, American football player
    • 1973 – Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
    • 1974 – Sébastien Loeb, French race car driver
    • 1974 – Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Filipina television actress, host and equestrienne
    • 1976 – Nalini Anantharaman, French mathematician
    • 1976 – Chad Urmston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1977 – Tim Thomas, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Shane Williams, Welsh rugby union player
    • 1978 – Abdoulaye Faye, Senegalese footballer
    • 1979 – Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Steve Evans, Welsh footballer
    • 1979 – Pedro Mendes, Portuguese international footballer, midfielder
    • 1980 – Steve Blake, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Kertus Davis, American race car driver
    • 1981 – Oh Seung-bum, South Korean footballer
    • 1982 – Li Na, Chinese tennis player
    • 1982 – Matt Prior, South African-English cricketer
    • 1982 – Nate Ruess, American singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Jerome Harrison, American football player
    • 1983 – Pepe, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer
    • 1984 – Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese international footballer, forward
    • 1984 – Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer-songwriter
    • 1984 – Beren Saat, Turkish actress
    • 1985 – Fernando Llorente, Spanish international footballer, striker
    • 1986 – Hannah Kearney, American skier
    • 1989 – Gabriel Obertan, French footballer
    • 1990 – Kateřina Cachová, Czech heptathlete
    • 1990 – Takanoiwa Yoshimori, Mongolian sumo wrestler
    • 1991 – Lee Chae-rin, South Korean singer
    • 1992 – Mikael Granlund, Finnish professional hockey player
    • 1992 – Michael Chee Kam, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1997 – Reghan Tumilty, Scottish footballer

    Deaths on February 26

    • 420 – Porphyry of Gaza, Greek bishop and saint (b. 347)
    • 943 – Muirchertach mac Néill, king of Ailech (Ireland)
    • 1154 – Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)
    • 1266 – Manfred, King of Sicily (b. 1232)
    • 1275 – Margaret of England, Queen consort of Scots (b. 1240)
    • 1349 – Fatima bint al-Ahmar, Nasrid princess in the Emirate of Granada (b. c.1260)
    • 1360 – Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English commander (b. 1328)
    • 1462 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, English politician (b. 1408)
    • 1548 – Lorenzino de’ Medici, Italian writer and assassin (b. 1514)
    • 1577 – Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
    • 1603 – Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, spouse of Maximilian II (b. 1528)
    • 1608 – John Still, English bishop (b. 1543)
    • 1611 – Antonio Possevino, Italian priest and diplomat (b. 1533)
    • 1625 – Anna Vasa of Sweden, Polish and Swedish princess (b. 1568)
    • 1630 – William Brade, English violinist and composer (b. 1560)
    • 1638 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician and linguist (b. 1581)
    • 1723 – Thomas d’Urfey, English poet and playwright (b. 1653)
    • 1726 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1662)
    • 1770 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1692)
    • 1790 – Joshua Rowley, English admiral (b. 1730)
    • 1802 – Esek Hopkins, American admiral (b. 1718)
    • 1806 – Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, Haitian-French general (b. 1762)
    • 1813 – Robert R. Livingston, American lawyer and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs (b. 1746)
    • 1815 – Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. 1737)
    • 1821 – Joseph de Maistre, French lawyer and diplomat (b. 1753)
    • 1864 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Canadian jurist and politician, 3rd Premier of Canada East (b. 1807)
    • 1883 – Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek lawyer and politician, 56th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
    • 1887 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, First Indian women physician (b. 1865)
    • 1889 – Karl Davydov, Russian cellist and composer (b. 1838)
    • 1903 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American engineer, invented the Gatling gun (b. 1818)
    • 1906 – Jean Lanfray, Swiss convicted murderer (b. 1874)
    • 1913 – Felix Draeseke, German composer and academic (b. 1835)
    • 1921 – Carl Menger, Polish-Austrian economist and academic (b. 1840)
    • 1930 – Mary Whiton Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (b. 1863)
    • 1931 – Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1847)
    • 1936 – February 26 Incident:
      • Takahashi Korekiyo, Japanese accountant and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1854)
      • Saitō Makoto, Japanese admiral and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1858)
      • Jōtarō Watanabe, Japanese general (b. 1874)
    • 1943 – Theodor Eicke, German general (b. 1892)
    • 1945 – Sándor Szurmay, Minister of Defence of the Hungarian portion of Austria-Hungary (b. 1860)
    • 1947 – Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss judge and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1868)
    • 1950 – Harry Lauder, Scottish comedian and singer (b. 1870)
    • 1951 – Sabiha Kasimati, Albanian ichthyologist (b. 1912) executed with 20 others
    • 1952 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (b. 1878)
    • 1961 – Karl Albiker, German sculptor, lithographer, and educator (b. 1878)
    • 1961 – Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)
    • 1966 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian poet and politician (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Levi Eshkol, Israeli soldier and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895)
    • 1969 – Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (b. 1883)
    • 1981 – Robert Aickman, English author and activist (b. 1914)
    • 1981 – Howard Hanson, American composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1896)
    • 1985 – Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch-American economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
    • 1989 – Roy Eldridge, American trumpet player (b. 1911)
    • 1993 – Constance Ford, American model and actress (b. 1923)
    • 1994 – Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)
    • 1995 – Jack Clayton, English director and producer (b. 1921)
    • 1997 – David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)
    • 1998 – Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 2000 – George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
    • 2004 – Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (b. 1905)
    • 2004 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956)
    • 2005 – Jef Raskin, American computer scientist, created Macintosh (b. 1943)
    • 2006 – Georgina Battiscombe, British biographer (b. 1905)
    • 2008 – Bodil Udsen, Danish actress (b. 1925)
    • 2009 – Johnny Kerr, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Wendy Richard, English actress (b. 1943)
    • 2009 – Norm Van Lier, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Jun Seba, also known as “Nujabes”, Japanese record producer, DJ, composer and arranger (b. 1974)
    • 2011 – Arnošt Lustig, Czech author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Richard Carpenter, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Marie-Claire Alain, French organist and educator (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Stéphane Hessel, German-French diplomat and author (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Simon Li, Hong Kong judge and politician (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Sorel Etrog, Romanian-Canadian sculptor, painter, and illustrator (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Phyllis Krasilovsky, American author and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Sheppard Frere, English historian and archaeologist (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, educator, and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Tom Schweich, American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (b. 1960)
    • 2016 – Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
    • 2016 – Don Getty, Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Joseph Wapner, American lieutenant and judge (b. 1919)

    Holidays and observances on February 26

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexander of Alexandria
      • Emily Malbone Morgan (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Isabelle of France
      • Li Tim-Oi (Anglican Church of Canada)
      • Porphyry of Gaza
      • February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The first 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)
    • Day of Remembrance for Victims of Khojaly Massacre (Azerbaijan)
    • Liberation Day (Kuwait)
    • Saviours’ Day (Nation of Islam)

  • February 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 138 – Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor
    • 628 – Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II
    • 1336 – Four thousand defenders of Pilenai commit mass suicide rather than be taken captive by the Teutonic Knights.
    • 1797 – Colonel William Tate and his force of 1000–1500 soldiers surrender after the Last invasion of Britain.
    • 1831 – Battle of Olszynka Grochowska, part of Polish November Uprising against Russian Empire.
    • 1836 – Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for the Colt revolver.
    • 1843 – Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain in the Paulet Affair (1843).
    • 1848 – Provisional government in revolutionary France, by Louis Blanc’s motion, guarantees workers’ rights.
    • 1856 – A Peace conference opens in Paris after the Crimean War.
    • 1866 – Miners in Calaveras County, California, discover what is now called the Calaveras Skull – human remains that supposedly indicated that man, mastodons, and elephants had co-existed.
    • 1870 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in the U.S. Congress.
    • 1875 – Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi’s regency.
    • 1901 – J. P. Morgan incorporates the United States Steel Corporation.
    • 1912 – Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
    • 1916 – World War I: The Germans capture Fort Douaumont during the Battle of Verdun.
    • 1918 – German occupation of Estonia during World War I: Pernau, Reval, and Pskov are captured.
    • 1919 – Oregon places a one cent per U.S. gallon tax on gasoline, becoming the first U.S. state to levy a gasoline tax.
    • 1921 – Tbilisi, capital of the Democratic Republic of Georgia, is occupied by Bolshevist Russia.
    • 1928 – Charles Jenkins Laboratories of Washington, D.C. becomes the first holder of a broadcast license for television from the Federal Radio Commission.
    • 1932 – Adolf Hitler obtains German citizenship by naturalization, which allows him to run in the 1932 election for Reichspräsident.
    • 1933 – The USS Ranger is launched. It is the first US Navy ship to be designed from the start of construction as an aircraft carrier.
    • 1939 – The first of 2​1⁄2 million Anderson air raid shelters appeared in North London.
    • 1941 – February strike: In the occupied Amsterdam, a general strike is declared in response to increasing anti-Jewish measures instituted by the Nazis.
    • 1947 – The formal abolition of Prussia is proclaimed by the Allied Control Council. The Prussian government had already been abolished by the Preußenschlag of 1932.
    • 1948 – Cold War: The Communist Party takes control of government in Czechoslovakia and the period of the Third Republic ends.
    • 1951 – The first Pan American Games were officially opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina by President Juan Perón.
    • 1954 – Gamal Abdel Nasser is made premier of Egypt.
    • 1956 – Cold War: In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union denounces the cult of personality of Joseph Stalin.
    • 1964 – North Korean Prime Minister Kim Il-sung calls for the removal of feudalistic land ownership aimed at turning all cooperative farms into state-run ones.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: One hundred thirty-five unarmed citizens of Hà My village in South Vietnam’s Qu?ng Nam Province are killed and buried en masse by South Korean troops in what would come to be known as the Hà My massacre.
    • 1980 – The government of Suriname is overthrown by a military coup led by Dési Bouterse.
    • 1986 – People Power Revolution: President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos flees the nation after 20 years of rule; Corazon Aquino becomes the Philippines’ first woman president.
    • 1987 – Southern Methodist University’s football program is the first college football program to be banned from competition by the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions.
    • 1991 – Gulf War: An Iraqi scud missile hits an American military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia killing 28 U.S. Army Reservists from Pennsylvania.
    • 1991 – Cold War: The Warsaw Pact is abolished.
    • 1992 – Khojaly massacre: About 613 civilians are killed by Armenian armed forces during the conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
    • 1994 – Mosque of Abraham massacre: In the Cave of the Patriarchs in the West Bank city of Hebron, Baruch Goldstein opens fire with an automatic rifle, killing 29 Palestinian worshippers and injuring 125 more before being subdued and beaten to death by survivors.
    • 1997 – Yi Han-yong, a North Korean defector, was murdered by unidentified assailants in Bundang, South Korea.
    • 2009 – Soldiers of the Bangladesh Rifles mutiny at their headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka, Bangladesh, resulting in 74 deaths, including 57 army officials.
    • 2009 – Turkish Airlines Flight 1951 crashed during landing at the Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Netherlands, primarily due to a faulty radio altimeter, resulting in the death of nine passengers and crew including all three pilots.
    • 2015 – At least 310 people are killed in avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan.
    • 2016 – Three people are killed and fourteen others injured in a series of shootings in the small Kansas cities of Newton and Hesston.

    Births on February 25

    • 1259 – Infanta Branca of Portugal, daughter of King Afonso III of Portugal and Urraca of Castile (d. 1321)
    • 1337 – Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg (d. 1383)
    • 1475 – Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, last male member of the House of York (d. 1499)
    • 1540 – Henry Howard, 1st Earl of Northampton, English aristocrat and courtier (d. 1614)
    • 1543 – Sharaf Khan Bidlisi, Emir of Bitlis (d. 1603)
    • 1591 – Friedrich Spee, German poet and author (d. 1635)
    • 1643 – Ahmed II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1695)
    • 1663 – Peter Anthony Motteux, French-English author, playwright and translator (d. 1718)
    • 1670 – Maria Margarethe Kirch, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1720)
    • 1682 – Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist and pathologist (d. 1771)
    • 1707 – Carlo Goldoni, Italian playwright and composer (d. 1793)
    • 1714 – René Nicolas Charles Augustin de Maupeou, French lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of France (d. 1792)
    • 1728 – John Wood, the Younger, English architect, designed the Royal Crescent (d. 1782)
    • 1752 – John Graves Simcoe, English-Canadian general and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (d. 1806)
    • 1755 – François René Mallarmé, French lawyer and politician (d. 1835)
    • 1778 – José de San Martín, Argentinian general and politician, 1st President of Peru (d. 1850)
    • 1806 – Emma Catherine Embury, American author and poet (d. 1863)
    • 1809 – John Hart, English-Australian politician, 10th Premier of South Australia (d. 1873)
    • 1812 – Carl Christian Hall, Danish lawyer and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1888)
    • 1816 – Giovanni Morelli, Italian historian and critic (d. 1891)
    • 1833 – John St. John, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Kansas (d. 1916)
    • 1841 – Pierre-Auguste Renoir, French painter and sculptor (d. 1919)
    • 1842 – Karl May, German author, poet, and playwright (d. 1912)
    • 1845 – George Reid, Scottish-Australian lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1918)
    • 1855 – Cesário Verde, Portuguese poet and author (d. 1886)
    • 1856 – Karl Gotthard Lamprecht, German historian and academic (d. 1915)
    • 1856 – Mathias Zdarsky, Czech-Austrian skier, painter, and sculptor (d. 1940)
    • 1857 – Robert Bond, Canadian politician; first Prime Minister of Newfoundland (d. 1927)
    • 1860 – William Ashley, English historian and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1865 – Andranik, Armenian general (d. 1927)
    • 1866 – Benedetto Croce, Italian philosopher and politician (d. 1952)
    • 1869 – Phoebus Levene, Russian-American biochemist and physician (d. 1940)
    • 1873 – Enrico Caruso, Italian-American tenor; the most popular operatic tenor of the early 20th century and the first great recording star. (d. 1921)
    • 1877 – Erich von Hornbostel, Austrian musicologist and scholar (d. 1935)
    • 1881 – William Z. Foster, American union leader and politician (d. 1961)
    • 1881 – Alexei Rykov, Russian politician, Premier of Russia (d. 1938)
    • 1883 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (d. 1981)
    • 1885 – Princess Alice of Battenberg, mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (d. 1969)
    • 1888 – John Foster Dulles, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 52nd United States Secretary of State (d. 1959)
    • 1890 – Myra Hess, English pianist and educator (d. 1965)
    • 1894 – Meher Baba, Indian spiritual master (d. 1969)
    • 1898 – William Astbury, physicist and molecular biologist (d. 1961)
    • 1901 – Vince Gair, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Queensland (d. 1980)
    • 1901 – Zeppo Marx, American comedian (the youngest of the Marx Brothers) and theatrical agent (d. 1979)
    • 1903 – King Clancy, Canadian ice hockey player, referee, and coach; rated one of the 100 greatest NHL players (d. 1986)
    • 1905 – Perry Miller, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1963)
    • 1906 – Mary Coyle Chase, American journalist and playwright; author of Harvey (d. 1981)
    • 1907 – Sabahattin Ali, Turkish journalist, author, and poet (d. 1948)
    • 1908 – Mary Locke Petermann, cellular biochemist (d. 1975)
    • 1908 – Frank G. Slaughter, American physician and author (d. 2001)
    • 1910 – Millicent Fenwick, American journalist and politician (d. 1992)
    • 1913 – Jim Backus, American actor and screenwriter; the voice of Mr. Magoo (d. 1989)
    • 1913 – Gert Fröbe, German actor; title role in Goldfinger (d. 1988)
    • 1917 – Anthony Burgess, English author, playwright, and critic (d. 1993)
    • 1918 – Bobby Riggs, American tennis player; winner of three major titles, 1939–1941 (d. 1995)
    • 1919 – Monte Irvin, American baseball player and executive (d. 2016)
    • 1920 – Philip Habib, American academic and diplomat, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs (d. 1992)
    • 1921 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1970)
    • 1921 – Andy Pafko, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Molly Reilly, Canadian aviator (d. 1980)
    • 1924 – Hugh Huxley, English-American biologist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Shehu Shagari, former President of Nigeria (d. 2018)
    • 1925 – Lisa Kirk, American actress and singer (d. 1990)
    • 1926 – Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic; noted for contributions to algebraic number theory (d. 2003)
    • 1927 – Ralph Stanley, American bluegrass singer and banjo player; member of International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame (d. 2016)
    • 1928 – Paul Elvstrøm, Danish yachtsman; winner of four Olympic gold medals, 1948–1960 (d. 2016)
    • 1928 – A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., prominent African-American civil rights advocate, author, and federal court judge (d. 1998)
    • 1928 – Larry Gelbart, American author and screenwriter; creator and producer of M*A*S*H TV series (d. 2009)
    • 1928 – Richard G. Stern, American author and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1932 – Tony Brooks, English racing driver; six Formula One victories, second in 1959 World Championship
    • 1932 – Faron Young, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist; member of Country Music Hall of Fame (d. 1996)
    • 1934 – Tony Lema, American golfer; winner of the 1964 Open Championship (d. 1966)
    • 1935 – Oktay Sinanoglu, Turkish physical chemist and molecular biophysicist; two-time nominee for the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (d. 2015)
    • 1937 – Tom Courtenay, award-winning English actor
    • 1937 – Bob Schieffer, American political author, journalist and TV interviewer
    • 1938 – Herb Elliott, Australian 1500 metres runner; 1960 Olympic champion and world record holder
    • 1938 – Farokh Engineer, Indian international cricketer; successful as batsman and wicketkeeper
    • 1940 – Ron Santo, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2010)
    • 1941 – David Puttnam, English film producer and academic
    • 1943 – George Harrison, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and film producer; lead guitarist of The Beatles (d. 2001)
    • 1944 – François Cevert, French racing driver (d. 1973)
    • 1946 – Jean Todt, French racing driver and team manager; FIA President, 2009–2021
    • 1947 – Lee Evans, American sprinter and athletics coach; two gold medals and world 400m record at 1968 Olympics
    • 1949 – Amin Maalouf, Lebanese-French journalist and author
    • 1950 – Francisco Fernández Ochoa, Spanish skier; 1972 Olympic slalom champion (d. 2006)
    • 1950 – Neil Jordan, Irish film director, screenwriter and author
    • 1950 – Néstor Kirchner, Argentinian politician; 51st President of Argentina, 2003–2007 (d. 2010)
    • 1951 – Don Quarrie, Jamaican sprinter and coach; four Olympic medals and two world records
    • 1952 – Joey Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle road racing champion; holds record for most wins (26) at the Isle of Man TT (d. 2000)
    • 1953 – José María Aznar, Spanish politician; Prime Minister of Spain, 1996–2004
    • 1958 – Kurt Rambis, American basketball player and coach; four-time NBA Finals champion
    • 1962 – Birgit Fischer, German kayaker; winner of eight Olympic gold medals
    • 1963 – Paul O’Neill, American baseball player and sportscaster; five-time World Series champion
    • 1967 – Ed Balls, British politician; Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
    • 1968 – Oumou Sangaré, Grammy Award-winning Malian Wassoulou musician
    • 1971 – Sean Astin, American actor, director and producer
    • 1974 – Dominic Raab, British politician; First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
    • 1981 – Park Ji-sung, South Korean footballer; the most successful Asian player with 19 career trophies
    • 1982 – Flavia Pennetta, Italian tennis player; winner of the 2015 US Open
    • 1988 – Tom Marshall, British photo colouriser and artist
    • 1999 – Gianluigi Donnarumma, Italian international footballer; youngest goalkeeper to play for Italy

    Deaths on February 25

    • 806 – Tarasios, patriarch of Constantinople
    • 891 – Fujiwara no Mototsune, Japanese regent (b. 836)
    • 944 – Lin Ding, Chinese official and chancellor
    • 1246 – Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Welsh king (b. 1212)
    • 1321 – Beatrice d’Avesnes, consort of Henry VI, Count of Luxembourg
    • 1495 – Sultan Cem, Ottoman politician (b. 1459)
    • 1522 – William Lily, English scholar and educator (b. 1468)
    • 1536 – Berchtold Haller, German-Swiss theologian and reformer (b. 1492)
    • 1536 – Jacob Hutter, founder of the Hutterites
    • 1547 – Vittoria Colonna, marchioness of Pescara (b. 1490)
    • 1558 – Eleanor of Austria (b. 1498)
    • 1600 – Sebastian de Aparicio, Spanish colonial industrialist and saint (b. 1502)
    • 1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1566)
    • 1634 – Albrecht von Wallenstein, Austrian general and politician (b. 1583)
    • 1655 – Daniel Heinsius, Flemish poet and scholar (b. 1580)
    • 1682 – Alessandro Stradella, Italian composer (b. 1639)
    • 1710 – Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut, French soldier and explorer (b. 1639)
    • 1713 – Frederick I of Prussia (b. 1657)
    • 1723 – Christopher Wren, English architect, designed St Paul’s Cathedral (b. 1632)
    • 1756 – Eliza Haywood, English actress and poet (b. 1693)
    • 1796 – Samuel Seabury, American bishop (b. 1729)
    • 1798 – Louis Jules Mancini Mazarini, French poet and diplomat (b. 1716)
    • 1805 – Thomas Pownall, English politician, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (b. 1722)
    • 1819 – Francisco Manoel de Nascimento, Portuguese-French poet and educator (b. 1734)
    • 1822 – William Pinkney, American politician and diplomat, 7th United States Attorney General (b. 1764)
    • 1831 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German author and playwright (b. 1752)
    • 1841 – Philip Pendleton Barbour, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 12th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1783)
    • 1850 – Daoguang Emperor of China (b. 1782)
    • 1852 – Thomas Moore, Irish poet and lyricist (b. 1779)
    • 1865 – Otto Ludwig, German author, playwright, and critic (b. 1813)
    • 1870 – Henrik Hertz, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1797)
    • 1875 – Thomas Reynolds, English-Australian politician, 5th Premier of South Australia (b. 1818)
    • 1877 – Jung Bahadur Rana, Nepalese ruler (b. 1816)
    • 1878 – Townsend Harris, American merchant, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan (b. 1804)
    • 1888 – Josif Pancic, Serbian botanist and academic (b. 1814)
    • 1899 – Paul Reuter, German-English journalist and businessman, founded Reuters (b. 1816)
    • 1906 – Anton Arensky, Russian pianist and composer (b. 1861)
    • 1910 – Worthington Whittredge, American painter and educator (b. 1820)
    • 1911 – Friedrich Spielhagen, German author, theorist, and translator (b. 1829)
    • 1912 – William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg (b. 1852)
    • 1914 – John Tenniel, English illustrator (b. 1820)
    • 1915 – Charles Edwin Bessey, American botanist, author, and academic (b. 1845)
    • 1916 – David Bowman, Australian politician (b. 1860)
    • 1920 – Marcel-Auguste Dieulafoy, French archaeologist and engineer (b. 1844)
    • 1922 – Henri Désiré Landru, French serial killer (b. 1869)
    • 1928 – William O’Brien, Irish journalist and politician (b. 1852)
    • 1934 – Elizabeth Gertrude Britton, American botanist and academic (b. 1857)
    • 1934 – John McGraw, American baseball player and manager (b. 1873)
    • 1945 – Mário de Andrade, Brazilian author, poet, and photographer (b. 1893)
    • 1950 – George Minot, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
    • 1953 – Sergei Winogradsky, Ukrainian-Russian microbiologist and ecologist (b. 1856)
    • 1957 – Mark Aldanov, Russian author and critic (b. 1888)
    • 1957 – Bugs Moran, American mob boss (b. 1893)
    • 1963 – Melville J. Herskovits, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1895)
    • 1964 – Alexander Archipenko, Ukrainian sculptor and illustrator (b. 1887)
    • 1964 – Hinrich Lohse, German politician (b. 1896)
    • 1964 – Grace Metalious, American author (b. 1924)
    • 1970 – Mark Rothko, Latvian-American painter and academic (b. 1903)
    • 1971 – Theodor Svedberg, Swedish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1884)
    • 1972 – Gottfried Fuchs, German-Canadian Olympic soccer player (b. 1889)
    • 1975 – Elijah Muhammad, American religious leader (b. 1897)
    • 1978 – Daniel James, Jr., American general and pilot (b. 1920)
    • 1980 – Robert Hayden, American poet and academic (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Tennessee Williams, American playwright, and poet (b. 1911)
    • 1996 – Haing S. Ngor, Cambodian-American physician and author (b. 1940)
    • 1997 – Andrei Sinyavsky, Russian journalist and publisher (b. 1925)
    • 1998 – W. O. Mitchell, Canadian author and playwright (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Glenn T. Seaborg, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
    • 2001 – A. R. Ammons, American poet and critic (b. 1926)
    • 2001 – Donald Bradman, Australian international cricketer; holder of world record batting average (b. 1908)
    • 2005 – Peter Benenson, English lawyer, founded Amnesty International (b. 1921)
    • 2010 – Ihsan Dogramaci, Turkish pediatrician and academic (b. 1915)
    • 2012 – Louisiana Red, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Harve Bennett, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Eugenie Clark, American biologist and academic; noted ichthyologist (b. 1922)
    • 2020 – Dmitry Yazov, last Marshal of the Soviet Union (b. 1924)

    Holidays and observance on February 25

    Christian feast day

    Further information: February 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Æthelberht of Kent
    • Blessed Ciriaco María Sancha y Hervás
    • Gerland of Agrigento
    • John Roberts, writer and missionary
    • Blessed Maria Adeodata Pisani
    • Saint Walpurga (she was canonised on 1 May and Walpurgis Night is celebrated 30 April)

  • February 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 303 – Roman emperor Diocletian orders the destruction of the Christian church in Nicomedia, beginning eight years of Diocletianic Persecution.
    • 532 – Byzantine emperor Justinian I orders the building of a new Orthodox Christian basilica in Constantinople – the Hagia Sophia.
    • 1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.
    • 1554 – Mapuche forces, under the leadership of Lautaro, score a victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Marihueñu in Chile.
    • 1653 – The Ballet Royal de la Nuit is first performed at the Salle du Petit-Bourbon in Paris
    • 1739 – At York Castle, the outlaw Dick Turpin is identified by his former schoolteacher. Turpin had been using the name Richard Palmer.
    • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.
    • 1820 – Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.
    • 1836 – Texas Revolution: The Siege of the Alamo (prelude to the Battle of the Alamo) begins in San Antonio, Texas.
    • 1847 – Mexican–American War: Battle of Buena Vista: In Mexico, American troops under future president General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
    • 1854 – The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.
    • 1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.
    • 1870 – Reconstruction Era: Post-U.S. Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.
    • 1883 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an anti-trust law.
    • 1885 – Sino-French War: French Army gains an important victory in the Battle of Đồng Đăng in the Tonkin region of Vietnam.
    • 1886 – Charles Martin Hall produced the first samples of aluminium from the electrolysis of aluminium oxide, after several years of intensive work. He was assisted in this project by his older sister, Julia Brainerd Hall.
    • 1887 – The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.
    • 1898 – Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing J’Accuse…!, a letter accusing the French government of antisemitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: During the Battle of the Tugela Heights, the first British attempt to take Hart’s Hill fails.
    • 1903 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States “in perpetuity”.
    • 1905 – Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world’s first service club.
    • 1909 – The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.
    • 1917 – First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution (March 8 in the Gregorian calendar).
    • 1927 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs a bill by Congress establishing the Federal Radio Commission (later replaced by the Federal Communications Commission) which was to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.
    • 1927 – German theoretical physicist Werner Heisenberg writes a letter to fellow physicist Wolfgang Pauli, in which he describes his uncertainty principle for the first time.
    • 1934 – Leopold III becomes King of Belgium.
    • 1941 – Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japanese submarines fire artillery shells at the coastline near Santa Barbara, California.
    • 1943 – A fire breaks out at Saint Joseph’s Orphanage, County Cavan, Ireland, killing 35 children and one adult.
    • 1943 – Greek Resistance: The United Panhellenic Organization of Youth is founded in Greece.
    • 1944 – The Soviet Union begins the forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.
    • 1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag.
    • 1945 – World War II: The 11th Airborne Division, with Filipino guerrillas, free all 2,147 captives of the Los Baños internment camp, in what General Colin Powell later would refer to as “the textbook airborne operation for all ages and all armies.”
    • 1945 – World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by combined Filipino and American forces.
    • 1945 – World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is annihilated in a raid by 379 British bombers.
    • 1947 – International Organization for Standardization is founded.
    • 1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.
    • 1966 – In Syria, Ba’ath Party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin al-Hafiz, also a Baathist.
    • 1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.
    • 1980 – Iran hostage crisis: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran’s parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.
    • 1981 – In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d’état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
    • 1983 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.
    • 1987 – Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
    • 1991 – In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d’état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.
    • 1998 – In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42 people.
    • 1999 – Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.
    • 2007 – A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 88. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.
    • 2008 – A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit bomber crashes on Guam, marking the first operational loss of a B-2.
    • 2010 – Unknown criminals pour more than 2​1⁄2 million liters of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in northern Italy, sparking an environmental disaster.
    • 2012 – A series of attacks across Iraq leave at least 83 killed and more than 250 injured.
    • 2017 – The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army captures Al-Bab from ISIL.
    • 2019 – Atlas Air Flight 3591, a Boeing 767 freighter, crashes into Trinity Bay near Anahuac, Texas, killing all three people on board.

    Births on February 23

    • 1417 – Pope Paul II (d. 1471)
    • 1417 – Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1479)
    • 1443 – Matthias Corvinus, Hungarian king (d. 1490)
    • 1529 – Onofrio Panvinio, Italian historian (d. 1568)
    • 1539 – Henry XI of Legnica, thrice Duke of Legnica (d. 1588)
    • 1539 – Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (d. 1612)
    • 1583 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French mathematician, astrologer, and astronomer (d. 1656)
    • 1592 – Balthazar Gerbier, Dutch painter (d. 1663)
    • 1633 – Samuel Pepys, English diarist and politician (d. 1703)
    • 1646 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (d. 1709)
    • 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, Canadian politician, 2nd Colonial Governor of Louisiana (d. 1767)
    • 1685 – George Frideric Handel, German-English organist and composer (d. 1759)
    • 1723 – Richard Price, Welsh-English minister and philosopher (d. 1791)
    • 1744 – Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German banker and businessman (d. 1812)
    • 1792 – José Joaquín de Herrera, Mexican politician and general. President three times (1844–1854) (d. 1854)
    • 1831 – Hendrik Willem Mesdag, Dutch painter (d. 1915)
    • 1840 – Carl Menger, Austrian economist and educator (d. 1921)
    • 1842 – Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher and author (d. 1906)
    • 1850 – César Ritz, Swiss businessman, founded The Ritz Hotel, London and Hôtel Ritz Paris (d. 1918)
    • 1868 – W. E. B. Du Bois, American sociologist, historian, and activist (d. 1963)
    • 1868 – Anna Hofman-Uddgren, Swedish actress, singer, and director (d. 1947)
    • 1873 – Liang Qichao, Chinese journalist, philosopher, and scholar (d. 1929)
    • 1874 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of Estonia (d. 1956)
    • 1878 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian painter and theorist (d. 1935)
    • 1883 – Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (d. 1969)
    • 1883 – Guy C. Wiggins, American painter (d. 1962)
    • 1889 – Musidora, French actress and director (d. 1957)
    • 1889 – Cyril Delevanti, English-American actor (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – Victor Fleming, American director, cinematographer, and producer (d. 1949)
    • 1889 – John Gilbert Winant, American captain, pilot, and politician, 60th Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1947)
    • 1892 – Kathleen Harrison, English actress (d. 1995)
    • 1892 – Agnes Smedley, American journalist and writer (d. 1950)
    • 1894 – Harold Horder, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1978)
    • 1899 – Erich Kästner, German author and poet (d. 1974)
    • 1899 – Norman Taurog, American director and screenwriter (d. 1981)
    • 1904 – Terence Fisher, English director and screenwriter (d. 1980)
    • 1904 – William L. Shirer, American journalist and historian (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – William McMahon, Australian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1988)
    • 1915 – Jon Hall, American actor and director (d. 1979)
    • 1915 – Paul Tibbets, American general and pilot (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Johnny Carey, Irish footballer and manager (d. 1995)
    • 1920 – Paul Gérin-Lajoie, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Harry Clarke, English international footballer, defender (d. 2000)
    • 1923 – Ioannis Grivas, Greek judge and politician, 176th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Dante Lavelli, American football player (d. 2009)
    • 1923 – Clarence D. Lester, African-American fighter pilot (d.1986)
    • 1923 – Mary Francis Shura, American author (d. 1991)
    • 1924 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South-African-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
    • 1925 – Louis Stokes, American lawyer and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Régine Crespin, French soprano and actress (d. 2007)
    • 1928 – Hans Herrmann, German race car driver
    • 1928 – Vasily Lazarev, Russian colonel, physician, and astronaut (d. 1990)
    • 1929 – Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Elston Howard, American baseball player and coach (d. 1980)
    • 1930 – Paul West, English-American author, poet, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Tom Wesselmann, American painter and sculptor (d. 2004)
    • 1932 – Majel Barrett, American actress and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1937 – Tom Osborne, American football player, coach, and politician
    • 1938 – Sylvia Chase, American broadcast journalist (d. 2019)
    • 1938 – Paul Morrissey, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1938 – Diane Varsi, American actress (d. 1992)
    • 1940 – Peter Fonda, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
    • 1940 – Jackie Smith, American football player
    • 1941 – Ron Hunt, American baseball player
    • 1943 – Fred Biletnikoff, American football player and coach
    • 1943 – Bobby Mitchell, American golfer (d. 2018)
    • 1944 – Bernard Cornwell, English author and educator
    • 1944 – Florian Fricke, German keyboard player and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1944 – Johnny Winter, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1945 – Allan Boesak, South African cleric and politician
    • 1946 – Rusty Young, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Pia Kjærsgaard, Danish politician, Speaker of the Danish Parliament
    • 1947 – Anton Mosimann, Swiss chef and author
    • 1948 – Bill Alexander, English director and producer
    • 1948 – Trevor Cherry, English footballer (d. 2020)
    • 1948 – Steve Priest, English singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1949 – César Aira, Argentinian author and translator
    • 1949 – Marc Garneau, Canadian engineer, astronaut, and politician
    • 1950 – Rebecca Goldstein, American philosopher and author
    • 1951 – Eddie Dibbs, American tennis player
    • 1951 – Debbie Friedman, American singer-songwriter of Jewish melodies (d. 2011)
    • 1951 – Ed “Too Tall” Jones, American football player and boxer
    • 1951 – Patricia Richardson, American actress
    • 1952 – Brad Whitford, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1953 – Kenny Bee, Hong Kong singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1953 – Satoru Nakajima, Japanese race car driver
    • 1954 – Rajini Thiranagama, Sri Lankan physician and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1954 – Viktor Yushchenko, Ukrainian captain and politician, 3rd President of Ukraine
    • 1955 – Howard Jones, English singer-songwriter
    • 1955 – Flip Saunders, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1956 – Sandra Osborne, Scottish politician
    • 1958 – David Sylvian, English singer-songwriter
    • 1959 – Clayton Anderson, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1959 – Nick de Bois, English politician
    • 1959 – Ian Liddell-Grainger, Scottish soldier and politician
    • 1959 – Linda Nolan, Irish singer and actress
    • 1960 – Naruhito, Emperor of Japan
    • 1962 – Michael Wilton, American guitarist
    • 1963 – Bobby Bonilla, American baseball player
    • 1963 – Radosław Sikorski, Polish journalist and politician, 11th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
    • 1964 – John Norum, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter
    • 1965 – Michael Dell, American businessman
    • 1965 – Helena Suková, Czech-Monacan tennis player
    • 1967 – Steve Stricker, American golfer
    • 1967 – Chris Vrenna, American drummer, songwriter, and producer
    • 1969 – Michael Campbell, New Zealand golfer
    • 1969 – Martine Croxall, English journalist and television news presenter
    • 1969 – Daymond John, American fashion designer and businessman, founded FUBU
    • 1970 – Niecy Nash, American actress and producer
    • 1971 – Carin Koch, Swedish golfer
    • 1971 – Melinda Messenger, English model and television host
    • 1971 – Joe-Max Moore, American soccer player
    • 1972 – Alessandro Sturba, Italian footballer
    • 1972 – Rondell White, American baseball player
    • 1973 – Jeff Nordgaard, American-Polish basketball player
    • 1974 – Herschelle Gibbs, South African cricketer
    • 1974 – Robbi Kempson, South African rugby player
    • 1975 – Michael Cornacchia, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1975 – Ryan McCourt, Canadian artist
    • 1976 – Scott Elarton, American baseball player and coach
    • 1976 – Kelly Macdonald, Scottish actress
    • 1976 – Jeff O’Neill, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1977 – Kristina Šmigun-Vähi, Estonian skier
    • 1978 – Residente, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
    • 1978 – Dan Snyder, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2003)
    • 1979 – S. E. Cupp, American journalist and author
    • 1981 – Gareth Barry, English footballer
    • 1981 – Josh Gad, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1981 – Charles Tillman, American football player
    • 1982 – Adam Hann-Byrd, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Mido, Egyptian footballer, striker, manager and sportscaster
    • 1983 – Aziz Ansari, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Emily Blunt, English actress
    • 1986 – Emerson Conceição, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Skylar Grey, American singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Kazuya Kamenashi, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1986 – Jerod Mayo, American football player
    • 1986 – Ola Svensson, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Ab-Soul, American rapper
    • 1987 – Theophilus London, Trinidadian-American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1987 – Zak Kirkup, Member of the Parliament of Western Australia
    • 1988 – Nicolás Gaitán, Argentinian footballer
    • 1989 – Evan Bates, American ice dancer
    • 1989 – Jérémy Pied, French footballer
    • 1990 – Kevin Connauton, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1990 – Terry Hawkridge, English footballer
    • 1990 – Marco Scandella, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Casemiro, Brazilian footballer
    • 1992 – Kyriakos Papadopoulos, Greek footballer
    • 1993 – Chris Grevsmuhl, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Dakota Fanning, American actress
    • 1995 – Andrew Wiggins, Canadian basketball player
    • 1996 – D’Angelo Russell, American basketball player
    • 1997 – Jamal Murray, Canadian basketball player

    Deaths on February 23

    • 715 – Al-Walid I, Umayyad caliph (b. 668)
    • 908 – Li Keyong, Shatuo military governor during the Tang Dynasty in China (b. 856)
    • 943 – Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, (b. 884)
    • 943 – David I, prince of Tao-Klarjeti (Georgia)
    • 1011 – Willigis, German archbishop (b. 940)
    • 1100 – Emperor Zhezong of Song (b. 1076)
    • 1270 – Isabel of France (b. 1225)
    • 1447 – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)
    • 1447 – Pope Eugene IV (b. 1383)
    • 1464 – Emperor Yingzong of Ming (b. 1427)
    • 1473 – Arnold, Duke of Gelderland (b. 1410)
    • 1526 – Diego Colón, Spanish Viceroy of the Indies (b. c. 1479)
    • 1554 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire (b. 1515)
    • 1603 – Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (b. 1519)
    • 1603 – Franciscus Vieta, French mathematician (b. 1540)
    • 1620 – Nicholas Fuller, English politician (b. 1543)
    • 1704 – Georg Muffat, French organist and composer (b. 1653)
    • 1766 – Stanisław Leszczyński, Polish king (b. 1677)
    • 1781 – George Taylor, Irish-American blacksmith and politician (b. 1716)
    • 1792 – Joshua Reynolds, English painter and academic (b. 1723)
    • 1821 – John Keats, English poet (b. 1795)
    • 1848 – John Quincy Adams, American politician, 6th President of the United States (b. 1767)
    • 1855 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (b. 1777)
    • 1859 – Zygmunt Krasiński, Polish poet and playwright (b. 1812)
    • 1879 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and politician, 10th Minister President of Prussia (b. 1803)
    • 1897 – Woldemar Bargiel, German composer and educator (b. 1828)
    • 1900 – Ernest Dowson, English poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1867)
    • 1908 – Friedrich von Esmarch, German surgeon and academic (b. 1823)
    • 1918 – Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1882)
    • 1930 – Horst Wessel, German SA officer (b. 1907)
    • 1931 – Nellie Melba, Australian soprano and actress (b. 1861)
    • 1934 – Edward Elgar, English composer and academic (b. 1857)
    • 1944 – Leo Baekeland, Belgian-American chemist and engineer (b. 1863)
    • 1946 – Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese general (b. 1885)
    • 1948 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-American publisher and educator (b. 1866)
    • 1955 – Paul Claudel, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)
    • 1965 – Stan Laurel, English actor and comedian (b. 1890)
    • 1969 – Madhubala, Indian actress and producer (b. 1933)
    • 1969 – Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, 2nd King of Saudi Arabia (b. 1902)
    • 1973 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
    • 1974 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (b. 1895)
    • 1976 – L. S. Lowry, English painter (b. 1887)
    • 1979 – W. A. C. Bennett, Canadian businessman and politician, 25th Premier of British Columbia (b. 1900)
    • 1983 – Herbert Howells, English organist and composer (b. 1892)
    • 1990 – José Napoleón Duarte, Salvadoran engineer and politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1925)
    • 1995 – James Herriot, English veterinarian and author (b. 1916)
    • 1997 – Tony Williams, American drummer, composer, and producer (b. 1945)
    • 1998 – Philip Abbott, American actor and director (b. 1924)
    • 1999 – The Renegade, American wrestler (b. 1965)
    • 2000 – Ofra Haza, Israeli singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1957)
    • 2000 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (b. 1915)
    • 2003 – Howie Epstein, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (b. 1955)
    • 2003 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist and academic (b. 1910)
    • 2004 – Vijay Anand, Indian director, producer, screenwriter, and actor (b. 1934)
    • 2004 – Sikander Bakht, Indian politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – John Ritchie, English footballer (b. 1941)
    • 2008 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian economist and politician, 2nd President of Slovenia (b. 1950)
    • 2008 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and journalist (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Orlando Zapata, Cuban plumber and activist (b. 1967)
    • 2011 – Nirmala Srivastava, Indian religious leader, founded Sahaja Yoga (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – William Raggio, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – David Sayre, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Kazimierz Żygulski, Polish sociologist and activist (b. 1919)
    • 2013 – Eugene Bookhammer, American soldier and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Joseph Friedenson, Holocaust survivor, Holocaust historian, Yiddish writer, lecturer and editor (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Julien Ries, Belgian cardinal (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Lotika Sarkar, Indian lawyer and academic (b. 1945)
    • 2014 – Alice Herz-Sommer, Czech-English Holocaust survivor, pianist and educator (b. 1903)
    • 2014 – Roger Hilsman, American soldier, academic, and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – James Aldridge, Australian-English journalist and author (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Rana Bhagwandas, Pakistani lawyer and judge, Chief Justice of Pakistan (b. 1942)
    • 2015 – W. E. “Bill” Dykes, American soldier and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2016 – Peter Lustig, German television host and author (b. 1937)
    • 2016 – Jacqueline Mattson, American baseball player (b. 1928)
    • 2019 – Katherine Helmond, American actress (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on February 23

    • Christian feast day:
      • Polycarp of Smyrna
      • Serenus the Gardener
      • February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The Emperor’s Birthday, birthday of Naruhito, the current Emperor of Japan (Japan)
    • Mashramani-Republic Day (Guyana)
    • Meteņi (Latvia)
    • National Day (Brunei)
    • Red Army Day or Day of Soviet Army and Navy in the former Soviet Union, also held in various former Soviet republics:
      • Defender of the Fatherland Day (Russia)
      • Defender of the Fatherland and Armed Forces day (Belarus)
      • Armed Forces Day (Tajikistan) (Tajikistan)