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March 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

March 1 in History

  • 509 BC – Publius Valerius Publicola celebrates the first triumph of the Roman Republic after his victory over the deposed king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus at the Battle of Silva Arsia.
  • 86 BC – Lucius Cornelius Sulla, at the head of a Roman Republic army, enters Athens, removing the tyrant Aristion who was supported by troops of Mithridates VI of Pontus ending the Siege of Athens and Piraeus.
  • 293 – Emperor Diocletian and Maximian appoint Constantius Chlorus and Galerius as Caesars. This is considered the beginning of the Tetrarchy, known as the Quattuor Principes Mundi (“Four Rulers of the World”).
  • 317 – Crispus and Constantine II, sons of Roman Emperor Constantine I, and Licinius Iunior, son of Emperor Licinius, are made Caesares.
  • 350 – Vetranio is asked by Constantina, sister of Constantius II, to proclaim himself Caesar.
  • 834 – Emperor Louis the Pious is restored as sole ruler of the Frankish Empire. After his re-accession to the throne, his eldest son Lothair I flees to Burgundy.
  • 1457 – The Unitas Fratrum is established in the village of Kunvald, on the Bohemian-Moravian borderland. It is to date the second oldest Protestant denomination.
  • 1476 – Forces of the Catholic Monarchs engage the combined Portuguese-Castilian armies of Afonso V and Prince John at the Battle of Toro.
  • 1562 – Sixty-three Huguenots are massacred in Wassy, France, marking the start of the French Wars of Religion.
  • 1565 – The city of Rio de Janeiro is founded.
  • 1628 – Writs issued in February by Charles I of England mandate that every county in England (not just seaport towns) pay ship tax by this date.
  • 1633 – Samuel de Champlain reclaims his role as commander of New France on behalf of Cardinal Richelieu.
  • 1642 – Georgeana, Massachusetts (now known as York, Maine), becomes the first incorporated city in the United States.
  • 1692 – Sarah Good, Sarah Osborne and Tituba are brought before local magistrates in Salem Village, Massachusetts, beginning what would become known as the Salem witch trials.
  • 1700 – Sweden introduces its own Swedish calendar, in an attempt to gradually merge into the Gregorian calendar, reverts to the Julian calendar on this date in 1712, and introduces the Gregorian calendar on this date in 1753.
  • 1713 – The siege and destruction of Fort Neoheroka begins during the Tuscarora War in North Carolina, effectively opening up the colony’s interior to European colonization.
  • 1781 – The Articles of Confederation goes into effect in the United States.
  • 1790 – The first United States census is authorized.
  • 1793 – French Revolutionary War: Battle of Aldenhoven during the Flanders Campaign.
  • 1796 – The Dutch East India Company is nationalized by the Batavian Republic.
  • 1803 – Ohio becomes the 17th state of The United States.
  • 1805 – Justice Samuel Chase is acquitted at the end of his impeachment trial by the U.S. Senate.
  • 1811 – Leaders of the Mamluk dynasty are killed by Egyptian ruler Muhammad Ali.
  • 1815 – Napoleon returns to France from his banishment on Elba.
  • 1815 – Georgetown University’s congressional charter is signed into law by President James Madison.
  • 1836 – A convention of delegates from 57 Texas communities convenes in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas, to deliberate independence from Mexico.
  • 1845 – United States President John Tyler signs a bill authorizing the United States to annex the Republic of Texas.
  • 1852 – Archibald Montgomerie, 13th Earl of Eglinton, is appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland.
  • 1854 – German psychologist Friedrich Eduard Beneke disappears; two years later his remains are found in a canal near Charlottenburg.
  • 1867 – Nebraska becomes the 37th U.S. state; Lancaster, Nebraska is renamed Lincoln and becomes the state capital.
  • 1868 – The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity is founded at the University of Virginia.
  • 1870 – Marshal F. S. López dies during the Battle of Cerro Corá thus marking the end of the Paraguayan War.
  • 1872 – Yellowstone National Park is established as the world’s first national park.
  • 1873 – E. Remington and Sons in Ilion, New York begins production of the first practical typewriter.
  • 1881 – The first Minnesota State Capitol burns down.
  • 1886 – The Anglo-Chinese School, Singapore is founded by Bishop William Oldham.
  • 1893 – Electrical engineer Nikola Tesla gives the first public demonstration of radio in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • 1896 – Battle of Adwa: An Ethiopian army defeats an outnumbered Italian force, ending the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
  • 1896 – Henri Becquerel discovers radioactive decay.
  • 1901 – The Australian Army is formed.
  • 1910 – The deadliest avalanche in United States history buries a Great Northern Railway train in northeastern King County, Washington, killing 96 people.
  • 1914 – The Republic of China joins the Universal Postal Union.
  • 1917 – The Zimmermann Telegram is reprinted in newspapers across the United States after the U.S. government releases its unencrypted text.
  • 1919 – March 1st Movement begins in Korea under Japanese rule.
  • 1921 – The Australian cricket team captained by Warwick Armstrong becomes the first team to complete a whitewash of The Ashes, something that would not be repeated for 86 years.
  • 1921 – Following mass protests in Petrograd demanding greater freedom in the RSFSR, the Kronstadt rebellion began, with sailors and citizens taking up arms against the Bolsheviks.
  • 1932 – Charles Lindbergh’s son is kidnapped.
  • 1936 – The Hoover Dam is completed.
  • 1939 – An Imperial Japanese Army ammunition dump explodes at Hirakata, Osaka, Japan, killing 94.
  • 1941 – World War II: Bulgaria signs the Tripartite Pact, allying itself with the Axis powers.
  • 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces land on Java, the main island of the Dutch East Indies, at Merak and Banten Bay (Banten), Eretan Wetan (Indramayu) and Kragan (Rembang).
  • 1946 – The Bank of England is nationalised.
  • 1947 – The International Monetary Fund begins financial operations.
  • 1949 – Indonesian Army recaptures and occupies for six hours its capital city Yogyakarta from the Dutch.
  • 1950 – Cold War: Klaus Fuchs is convicted of spying for the Soviet Union by disclosing top secret atomic bomb data.
  • 1953 – Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin suffers a stroke and collapses; he dies four days later.
  • 1954 – Nuclear weapons testing: The Castle Bravo, a 15-megaton hydrogen bomb, is detonated on Bikini Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, resulting in the worst radioactive contamination ever caused by the United States.
  • 1954 – Armed Puerto Rican nationalists attack the United States Capitol building, injuring five Representatives.
  • 1956 – The International Air Transport Association finalizes a draft of the Radiotelephony spelling alphabet for the International Civil Aviation Organization.
  • 1956 – Formation of the East German Nationale Volksarmee.
  • 1958 – Samuel Alphonsus Stritch is appointed Pro-Prefect of the Propagation of Faith and thus becomes the first U.S. member of the Roman Curia.
  • 1961 – United States President John F. Kennedy establishes the Peace Corps.
  • 1961 – Uganda becomes self-governing and holds its first elections.
  • 1964 – Villarrica Volcano begins a strombolian eruption causing lahars that destroy half of the town of Coñaripe.
  • 1966 – Venera 3 Soviet space probe crashes on Venus becoming the first spacecraft to land on another planet’s surface.
  • 1966 – The Ba’ath Party takes power in Syria.
  • 1971 – President of Pakistan Yahya Khan indefinitely postpones the pending national assembly session, precipitating massive civil disobedience in East Pakistan.
  • 1972 – The Thai province of Yasothon is created after being split off from the Ubon Ratchathani Province.
  • 1973 – Black September storms the Saudi embassy in Khartoum, Sudan, resulting in the assassination of three Western hostages.
  • 1974 – Watergate scandal: Seven are indicted for their role in the Watergate break-in and charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice.
  • 1981 – Provisional Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands begins his hunger strike in HM Prison Maze.
  • 1983 – First collection of twelve Swatch models was introduced in Zürich, Switzerland.
  • 1990 – Steve Jackson Games is raided by the United States Secret Service, prompting the later formation of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
  • 1991 – Uprisings against Saddam Hussein begin in Iraq, leading to the death of more than 25,000 people mostly civilian.
  • 1992 – Bosnia and Herzegovina declares its independence from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
  • 1998 – Titanic became the first film to gross over $1 billion worldwide.
  • 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins in eastern Afghanistan.
  • 2002 – The Envisat environmental satellite successfully launches aboard an Ariane 5 rocket to reach an orbit of 800 km (500 mi) above the Earth, which was the then-largest payload at 10.5 m long and with a diameter of 4.57 m.
  • 2003 – Management of the United States Customs Service and the United States Secret Service move to the United States Department of Homeland Security.
  • 2003 – The International Criminal Court holds its inaugural session in The Hague.
  • 2005 – In Roper v. Simmons, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the execution of juveniles found guilty of murder is unconstitutional.
  • 2006 – English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station.
  • 2007 – Tornadoes break out across the southern United States, killing at least 20 people, including eight at Enterprise High School.
  • 2008 – The Armenian police clash with peaceful opposition rally protesting against allegedly fraudulent presidential elections, as a result ten people are killed.
  • 2014 – Thirty-five people are killed and 143 injured in a mass stabbing at Kunming Railway Station in China.

Births on March 1

  • 1105 – Alfonso VII, king of León and Castile (d. 1157)
  • 1261 – Hugh le Despenser, 1st Earl of Winchester (d. 1326)
  • 1389 – Antoninus of Florence, Italian archbishop and saint (d. 1459)
  • 1432 – Isabella of Coimbra (d. 1455)
  • 1456 – Vladislaus II of Hungary (d. 1516)
  • 1547 – Rudolph Goclenius, German philosopher and lexicographer (d. 1628)
  • 1554 – William Stafford, English courtier and conspirator (d. 1612)
  • 1577 – Richard Weston, 1st Earl of Portland (d. 1635)
  • 1597 – Jean-Charles della Faille, Flemish priest and mathematician (d. 1652)
  • 1611 – John Pell, English mathematician and linguist (d. 1685)
  • 1629 – Abraham Teniers, Flemish painter (d. 1670)
  • 1647 – John de Brito, Portuguese Jesuit missionary and martyr (d. 1693)
  • 1657 – Samuel Werenfels, Swiss theologian and author (d. 1740)
  • 1683 – Tsangyang Gyatso, sixth Dalai Lama (d. 1706)
  • 1683 – Caroline of Ansbach, British queen and regent (d. 1737)
  • 1732 – William Cushing, American lawyer and judge (d. 1810)
  • 1760 – François Buzot, French lawyer and politician (d. 1794)
  • 1769 – François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers, French general (d. 1796)
  • 1807 – Wilford Woodruff, American religious leader, 4th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1898)
  • 1810 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1849)
  • 1812 – Augustus Pugin, English architect, co-designed the Palace of Westminster (d. 1852)
  • 1817 – Giovanni Duprè, Italian sculptor and educator (d. 1882)
  • 1821 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German bishop and academic (d. 1896)
  • 1835 – Philip Fysh, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1919)
  • 1837 – William Dean Howells, American novelist, playwright, and critic (d. 1920)
  • 1842 – Nikolaos Gyzis, Greek painter and academic (d. 1901)
  • 1848 – Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Irish-American sculptor and academic (d. 1907)
  • 1852 – Théophile Delcassé, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1923)
  • 1863 – Alexander Golovin, Russian painter and set designer (d. 1930)
  • 1870 – E. M. Antoniadi, Greek-French astronomer and academic (d. 1944)
  • 1876 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian businessman (d. 1942)
  • 1880 – Lytton Strachey, British writer and critic (d. 1932)
  • 1886 – Oskar Kokoschka, Austrian-Swiss painter, poet, and playwright (d. 1980)
  • 1888 – Ewart Astill, English cricketer and billiards player (d. 1948)
  • 1888 – Fanny Walden, English cricketer and umpire, international footballer, outside right (d. 1949)
  • 1889 – Tetsuro Watsuji, Japanese historian and philosopher (d. 1960)
  • 1890 – Theresa Bernstein, Polish-American painter and author (d. 2002)
  • 1891 – Ralph Hitz, Austrian-American hotelier (d. 1940)
  • 1892 – Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Japanese author and educator (d. 1927)
  • 1893 – Mercedes de Acosta, American author, poet, and playwright (d. 1968)
  • 1896 – Dimitri Mitropoulos, Greek pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1960)
  • 1896 – Moriz Seeler, German playwright and producer (d. 1942)
  • 1899 – Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, German SS officer (d. 1972)
  • 1904 – Paul Hartman, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1973)
  • 1904 – Glenn Miller, American trombonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1944)
  • 1905 – Doris Hare, Welsh-English actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2000)
  • 1906 – Phạm Văn Đồng, Vietnamese lieutenant and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Vietnam (d. 2000)
  • 1909 – Eugene Esmonde, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 1942)
  • 1909 – Winston Sharples, American pianist and composer (d. 1978)
  • 1910 – Archer John Porter Martin, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
  • 1910 – David Niven, English soldier and actor (d. 1983)
  • 1912 – Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian cardinal (d. 2003)
  • 1912 – Boris Chertok, Polish-Russian engineer and academic (d. 2011)
  • 1914 – Harry Caray, American sportscaster (d. 1998)
  • 1914 – Ralph Ellison, American novelist and literary critic (d. 1994)
  • 1917 – Robert Lowell, American poet (d. 1977)
  • 1918 – João Goulart, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 24th President of Brazil (d. 1976)
  • 1918 – Gladys Spellman, American educator and politician (d. 1988)
  • 1920 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1984)
  • 1921 – Cameron Argetsinger, American race car driver and lawyer (d. 2008)
  • 1921 – Terence Cooke, American cardinal (d. 1983)
  • 1921 – Richard Wilbur, American poet, translator, and essayist (d. 2017)
  • 1922 – William Gaines, American publisher (d. 1992)
  • 1922 – Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli general and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Israel, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
  • 1924 – Arnold Drake, American author and screenwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Deke Slayton, American soldier, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1993)
  • 1926 – Robert Clary, French-American actor and author
  • 1926 – Cesare Danova, Italian-American actor (d. 1992)
  • 1926 – Pete Rozelle, American businessman and commissioner of the National Football League (d. 1996)
  • 1926 – Allan Stanley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – George O. Abell, American astronomer, professor at UCLA, science popularizer, and skeptic (d. 1983)
  • 1927 – Harry Belafonte, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1927 – Robert Bork, American lawyer and scholar, United States Attorney General (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Jacques Rivette, French director, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2016)
  • 1929 – Georgi Markov, Bulgarian journalist and author (d. 1978)
  • 1930 – Gastone Nencini, Italian cyclist (d. 1980)
  • 1934 – Jean-Michel Folon, Belgian painter and sculptor (d. 2005)
  • 1934 – Joan Hackett, American actress (d. 1983)
  • 1935 – Robert Conrad, American actor, radio host and stuntman (d. 2020)
  • 1936 – Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (d. 1997)
  • 1939 – Leo Brouwer, Cuban guitarist, composer, and conductor
  • 1939 – Mustansar Hussain Tarar, Pakistani author
  • 1940 – Robin Gray, Australian politician, 37th Premier of Tasmania
  • 1940 – Robert Grossman, American painter, sculptor, and author (d. 2018)
  • 1941 – Robert Hass, American poet
  • 1942 – Richard Myers, American general
  • 1943 – Gil Amelio, American businessman
  • 1943 – José Ángel Iribar, Spanish footballer and manager
  • 1943 – Rashid Sunyaev, Russian-German astronomer and physicist
  • 1944 – Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Indian politician, 7th Chief Minister of West Bengal
  • 1944 – John Breaux, American lawyer and politician
  • 1944 – Roger Daltrey, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1944 – Mike d’Abo, English singer
  • 1945 – Dirk Benedict, American actor and director
  • 1946 – Gerry Boulet, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1990)
  • 1946 – Jim Crace, English author and academic
  • 1947 – Alan Thicke, Canadian-American actor and composer (d. 2016)
  • 1951 – Sergei Kourdakov, Russian-American KGB agent (d. 1973)
  • 1952 – Dave Barr, Canadian golfer
  • 1952 – Nevada Barr, American actress and author
  • 1952 – Leigh Matthews, Australian footballer, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1952 – Jerri Nielsen, American physician and explorer (d. 2009)
  • 1952 – Martin O’Neill, Northern Irish footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Sinan Çetin, Turkish actor, director, and producer
  • 1953 – Carlos Queiroz, Portuguese footballer and manager
  • 1954 – Catherine Bach, American actress
  • 1954 – Ron Howard, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1954 – Rod Reddy, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1956 – Tim Daly, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1956 – Dalia Grybauskaitė, Lithuanian politician, 6th President of Lithuania
  • 1958 – Nik Kershaw, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1958 – Wayne B. Phillips, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1959 – Nick Griffin, English politician
  • 1961 – Mike Rozier, American football player
  • 1962 – Russell Coutts, New Zealand sailor
  • 1962 – Mark Gardner, American baseball player
  • 1962 – Bill Leen, American bass player and producer
  • 1963 – Bryan Batt, American actor and singer
  • 1963 – Maurice Benard, American actor
  • 1963 – Ron Francis, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
  • 1964 – Clinton Gregory, American singer-songwriter and fiddler
  • 1964 – Paul Le Guen, French footballer and manager
  • 1965 – Booker T, American wrestler and sportscaster
  • 1965 – Stewart Elliott, Canadian jockey
  • 1966 – Paul Hollywood, English chef
  • 1966 – Zack Snyder, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1967 – George Eads, American actor
  • 1967 – Aron Winter, Suriname-Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Javier Bardem, Spanish actor and producer
  • 1970 – Jason V Brock, American author, filmmaker, artist, scholar and musician
  • 1971 – Thomas Adès, English pianist, composer, and conductor
  • 1971 – Ivan Cleary, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1973 – Jack Davenport, English actor
  • 1973 – Anton Gunn, American academic and politician
  • 1973 – Chris Webber, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1974 – Mark-Paul Gosselaar, American actor
  • 1976 – Travis Kvapil, American race car driver
  • 1977 – Rens Blom, Dutch pole vaulter
  • 1977 – Esther Cañadas, Spanish actress and model
  • 1978 – Jensen Ackles, American actor and director
  • 1979 – Mikkel Kessler, Danish boxer
  • 1979 – Bruno Langlois, Canadian cyclist
  • 1980 – Shahid Afridi, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1980 – Abhay K, Indian poet and diplomat
  • 1980 – Sercan Güvenışık, German-Turkish footballer
  • 1980 – Djimi Traoré, Malian footballer
  • 1981 – Will Power, Australian race car driver
  • 1982 – Juan Manuel Ortiz, Spanish footballer
  • 1983 – Daniel Carvalho, Brazilian footballer
  • 1983 – Lupita Nyong’o, Mexican-Kenyan actress
  • 1983 – Davey Richards, American wrestler
  • 1983 – Anthony Tupou, Australian rugby league player
  • 1984 – Naima Mora, American model and actress
  • 1984 – Alexander Steen, Canadian-Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Andreas Ottl, German footballer
  • 1986 – Big E, American wrestler
  • 1987 – Kesha, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1988 – Yang Hyeon-jong, South Korean baseball player
  • 1989 – Tenille Tayla, Australian professional wrestler
  • 1989 – Carlos Vela, Mexican footballer
  • 1992 – Tom Walsh, New Zealand athlete
  • 1993 – Nathan Brown, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Michael Conforto, American baseball player
  • 1993 – Kurt Mann, Australian rugby league player
  • 1993 – Josh McEachran, English footballer
  • 1994 – Justin Bieber, Canadian singer-songwriter
  • 1994 – Tyreek Hill, American football player
  • 1996 – Lizzie Arnot, Scottish footballer
  • 1999 – Brogan Hay, Scottish footballer

Deaths on March 1

  • 492 – Felix III, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 589 – David, Welsh bishop and saint
  • 965 – Leo VIII, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 977 – Rudesind, Galician bishop (b. 907)
  • 991 – En’yū, Japanese emperor (b. 959)
  • 1058 – Ermesinde of Carcassonne, countess and regent of Barcelona (b. 972)
  • 1131 – Stephen II, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1101)
  • 1233 – Thomas, count of Savoy (b. 1178)
  • 1244 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr, Welsh noble, son of Llywelyn the Great (b. 1200)
  • 1320 – Ayurbarwada Buyantu Khan, Chinese emperor (b. 1286)
  • 1383 – Amadeus VI, count of Savoy (b. 1334)
  • 1510 – Francisco de Almeida, Portuguese soldier and explorer (b. 1450)
  • 1546 – George Wishart, Scottish minister and martyr (b. 1513)
  • 1620 – Thomas Campion, English poet and composer (b. 1567)
  • 1633 – George Herbert, English poet and orator (b. 1593)
  • 1643 – Girolamo Frescobaldi, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1583)
  • 1661 – Richard Zouch, English judge and politician (b. 1590)
  • 1666 – Ecaterina Cercheza, princess consort of Moldavia (b. 1620)
  • 1697 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician and poet (b. 1626)
  • 1734 – Roger North, English lawyer and author (b. 1653)
  • 1768 – Hermann Samuel Reimarus, German philosopher and author (b. 1694)
  • 1773 – Luigi Vanvitelli, Italian architect, designed the Palace of Caserta (b. 1700)
  • 1792 – Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1747)
  • 1792 – Angelo Emo, Venetian admiral and statesman (b. 1731)1841 – Claude Victor-Perrin, Duc de Belluno, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (b. 1764)
  • 1862 – Peter Barlow, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1776)
  • 1875 – Tristan Corbière, French poet and educator (b. 1845)
  • 1882 – Theodor Kullak, German pianist, composer, and educator (b. 1818)
  • 1884 – Isaac Todhunter, English mathematician and academic (b. 1820)
  • 1906 – José María de Pereda, Spanish author (b. 1833)
  • 1911 – Jacobus Henricus van ‘t Hoff, Dutch-German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
  • 1914 – Gilbert Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound, 4th Earl of Minto, English soldier and politician, 8th Governor General of Canada (b. 1845)
  • 1920 – John H. Bankhead, American lawyer and politician (b. 1842)
  • 1922 – Pichichi, Spanish footballer (b. 1892)
  • 1932 – Frank Teschemacher, American Jazz musician (b. 1906)
  • 1936 – Mikhail Kuzmin, Russian author and poet (b. 1871)
  • 1938 – Gabriele D’Annunzio, Italian journalist and politician (b. 1863)
  • 1940 – Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Estonian author (b. 1878)
  • 1942 – George S. Rentz, American commander (b. 1882)
  • 1943 – Alexandre Yersin, Swiss-French physician and bacteriologist (b. 1863)
  • 1952 – Mariano Azuela, Mexican physician and author (b. 1873)
  • 1966 – Fritz Houtermans, Polish-German physicist and academic (b. 1903)
  • 1974 – Bobby Timmons, American pianist and composer (b. 1935)
  • 1976 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (b. 1910)
  • 1978 – Paul Scott, English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1920)
  • 1979 – Mustafa Barzani, Iraqi-Kurdistan politician (b. 1903)
  • 1980 – Wilhelmina Cooper, Dutch-American model and businesswoman, founded Wilhelmina Models (b. 1940)
  • 1980 – Dixie Dean, English footballer (b. 1907)
  • 1983 – Arthur Koestler, Hungarian-English journalist and author (b. 1905)
  • 1984 – Jackie Coogan, American actor (b. 1914)
  • 1988 – Joe Besser, American comedian and actor (b. 1907)
  • 1989 – Vasantdada Patil, Indian politician, 5th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1917)
  • 1991 – Edwin H. Land, American scientist and businessman, co-founded the Polaroid Corporation (b. 1909)
  • 1995 – César Rodríguez Álvarez, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1920)
  • 1995 – Georges J. F. Köhler, German biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1946)
  • 1998 – Archie Goodwin, American author and illustrator (b. 1937)
  • 2004 – Mian Ghulam Jilani, Pakistani general (b. 1914)
  • 2006 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (b. 1947)
  • 2006 – Jack Wild, English actor (b.1952)
  • 2010 – Kristian Digby, English television host and director (b. 1977)
  • 2012 – Andrew Breitbart, American journalist and publisher (b. 1969)
  • 2012 – Germano Mosconi, Italian journalist (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Bonnie Franklin, American actress, dancer, and singer (b. 1944)
  • 2014 – Alain Resnais, French director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Minnie Miñoso, Cuban-American baseball player and coach (b. 1922)
  • 2018 – María Rubio, Mexican television, film and stage actress (b. 1934)
  • 2019 – Mike Willesee, Australian journalist and producer (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances on March 1

  • Beer Day, marked the end of beer prohibition in 1989 (Iceland)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Agnes Tsao Kou Ying (one of the Martyr Saints of China)
    • Albin
    • David
    • Eudokia of Heliopolis
    • Pope Felix III
    • Leoluca
    • Luperculus
    • Monan
    • Rudesind
    • Suitbert
    • March 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Commemoration of Mustafa Barzani’s Death (Iraqi Kurdistan)
  • Earliest day on which Casimir Pulaski Day can fall, while March 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in March. (Illinois)
  • Earliest day on which Children’s Day can fall, while March 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in March. (New Zealand)
  • Earliest day on which Grandmother’s Day can fall, while March 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in March. (France)
  • Earliest day on which Laetare Sunday can fall, while April 4 is the latest; celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent. (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
    • Carnaval de la Laetare (Stavelot)
    • Mothering Sunday (United Kingdom)
  • Heroes’ Day (Paraguay)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina from Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992.
  • National “Cursed Soldiers” Remembrance Day (Poland)
  • National Pig Day (United States)
  • Remembrance Day (Marshall Islands)
  • Saint David’s Day or Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Sant (Wales and Welsh communities)
  • Samiljeol (South Korea)
  • Self-injury Awareness Day
  • Southeastern Europe celebration of the beginning of spring:
    • Baba Marta Day (Bulgaria)
    • Mărțișor (Romania and Moldova)
  • The final day (fourth or fifth) of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith)
  • World Civil Defence Day
  • Yap Day (Yap State)
  • Zero Discrimination Day

March 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 705 – Empress Wu Zetian abdicates the throne, restoring the Tang dynasty.
  • 1316 – The Battle of Picotin, between Ferdinand of Majorca and the forces of Matilda of Hainaut, ends in victory for Ferdinand.
  • 1371 – Robert II becomes King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart dynasty.
  • 1495 – King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city’s throne.
  • 1632 – Ferdinando II de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, the dedicatee, receives the first printed copy of Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems .
  • 1651 – St. Peter’s Flood: A storm surge floods the Frisian coast, drowning 15,000 people.
  • 1744 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Battle of Toulon causes several Royal Navy captains to be court-martialed, and the Articles of War to be amended.
  • 1797 – The last Invasion of Britain begins near Fishguard, Wales.
  • 1819 – By the Adams–Onís Treaty, Spain sells Florida to the United States for five million U.S. dollars.
  • 1821 – Greek War of Independence: Alexander Ypsilantis crosses the Prut river at Sculeni into the Danubian Principalities.
  • 1847 – Mexican–American War: The Battle of Buena Vista: Five thousand American troops defeat 15,000 Mexican troops.
  • 1848 – The French Revolution of 1848, which would lead to the establishment of the French Second Republic, begins.
  • 1853 – Washington University in St. Louis is founded as Eliot Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.
  • 1855 – The Pennsylvania State University is founded in State College, Pennsylvania (as the Farmers’ High School of Pennsylvania).
  • 1856 – The United States Republican Party opens its first national convention in Pittsburgh.
  • 1862 – Jefferson Davis is officially inaugurated for a six-year term as the President of the Confederate States of America in Richmond, Virginia. He was previously inaugurated as a provisional president on February 18, 1861.
  • 1872 – The Prohibition Party holds its first national convention in Columbus, Ohio, nominating James Black as its presidential nominee.
  • 1878 – In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of five-and-dime Woolworth stores.
  • 1889 – President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.
  • 1899 – Filipino forces led by General Antonio Luna launch counterattacks for the first time against the American forces during the Philippine–American War. The Filipinos fail to regain Manila from the Americans.
  • 1904 – The United Kingdom sells a meteorological station on the South Orkney Islands to Argentina; the islands are subsequently claimed by the United Kingdom in 1908.
  • 1909 – The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USS Connecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.
  • 1915 – World War I: The Imperial German Navy institutes unrestricted submarine warfare.
  • 1921 – After Russian forces under Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg drive the Chinese out, the Bogd Khan is reinstalled as the emperor of Mongolia.
  • 1942 – World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as the Japanese victory becomes inevitable.
  • 1943 – World War II: Members of the White Rose resistance, Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl, and Christoph Probst are executed in Nazi Germany.
  • 1944 – World War II: American aircraft mistakenly bomb the Dutch towns of Nijmegen, Arnhem, Enschede and Deventer, resulting in 800 dead in Nijmegen alone.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Soviet Red Army recaptures Krivoi Rog.
  • 1946 – The “Long Telegram”, proposing how the United States should deal with the Soviet Union, arrives from the US embassy in Moscow.
  • 1957 – Ngô Đình Diệm of South Vietnam survives a communist shooting assassination attempt in Buôn Ma Thuột.
  • 1958 – Egypt and Syria join to form the United Arab Republic.
  • 1959 – Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500.
  • 1972 – The Official Irish Republican Army detonates a car bomb at Aldershot barracks, killing seven and injuring nineteen others.
  • 1973 – Cold War: Following President Richard Nixon’s visit to the People’s Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices.
  • 1974 – The Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit begins in Lahore, Pakistan. Thirty-seven countries attend and twenty-two heads of state and government participate. It also recognizes Bangladesh.
  • 1974 – Samuel Byck attempts to hijack an aircraft at Baltimore/Washington International Airport with the intention of crashing it into the White House to assassinate Richard Nixon, but is killed by police.
  • 1980 – Miracle on Ice: In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4–3.
  • 1983 – The notorious Broadway flop Moose Murders opens and closes on the same night at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre.
  • 1984 – President of Bangladesh, H M Ershad upgraded South Sylhet’s sub-division status to a district and renamed it back to Moulvibazar.
  • 1986 – Start of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines.
  • 1994 – Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged by the United States Department of Justice with spying for the Soviet Union.
  • 1995 – The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.
  • 1997 – In Roslin, Midlothian, British scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly has been successfully cloned.
  • 2002 – Angolan political and rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush.
  • 2005 – The 6.4 Mw  Zarand earthquake shakes the Kerman Province of Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 612 people dead and 1,411 injured.
  • 2006 – At least six men stage Britain’s biggest robbery, stealing £53m (about $92.5 million or €78 million) from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent.
  • 2011 – New Zealand’s second deadliest earthquake strikes Christchurch, killing 185 people.
  • 2011 – Bahraini uprising: Tens of thousands of people march in protest against the deaths of seven victims killed by police and army forces during previous protests.
  • 2012 – A train crash in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 51 people and injures 700 others.
  • 2014 – President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine is impeached by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by a vote of 328–0, fulfilling a major goal of the Euromaidan rebellion.
  • 2015 – A ferry carrying 100 passengers capsizes in the Padma River, killing 70 people.
  • 2018 – A man throws a grenade at the U.S embassy in Podgorica, Montenegro. He dies at the scene from a second explosion, with no one else hurt.

Births on February 22

  • 1028 – Al-Juwayni, Persian jurist and theologian (died 1085)
  • 1040 – Rashi, French rabbi and author (d. 1105)
  • 1302 – Gegeen Khan, Emperor Yingzong of Yuan (d. 1323)
  • 1403 – Charles VII of France (d. 1461)
  • 1440 – Ladislaus the Posthumous, Hungarian king (d. 1457)
  • 1500 – Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (d. 1564)
  • 1514 – Tahmasp I, Iranian shah (d. 1576)
  • 1520 – Moses Isserles, Polish rabbi (d. 1572)
  • 1550 – Charles de Ligne, 2nd Prince of Arenberg (d. 1616)
  • 1592 – Nicholas Ferrar, English scholar (d. 1637)
  • 1631 – Peder Syv, Danish historian (d. 1702)
  • 1649 – Bon Boullogne, French painter (d. 1717)
  • 1715 – Charles-Nicolas Cochin, French artist (d. 1790)
  • 1732 – George Washington, American general and politician, 1st President of the United States (d. 1799)
  • 1749 – Johann Nikolaus Forkel, German musicologist and theorist (d. 1818)
  • 1778 – Rembrandt Peale, American painter and curator (d. 1860)
  • 1788 – Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher and author (d. 1860)
  • 1796 – Alexis Bachelot, French priest and missionary (d. 1837)
  • 1796 – Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian mathematician, astronomer, and sociologist (d. 1874)
  • 1805 – Sarah Fuller Flower Adams, English poet and hymnwriter (d. 1848)
  • 1806 – Józef Kremer, Polish historian and philosopher (d. 1875)
  • 1817 – Carl Wilhelm Borchardt, German mathematician and academic (d. 1880)
  • 1819 – James Russell Lowell, American poet and critic (d. 1891)
  • 1824 – Pierre Janssen, French astronomer and mathematician (d. 1907)
  • 1825 – Jean-Baptiste Salpointe, French-American archbishop (d. 1898)
  • 1836 – Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar and academic (d. 1906)
  • 1840 – August Bebel, German theorist and politician (d. 1913)
  • 1849 – Nikolay Yakovlevich Sonin, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1915)
  • 1857 – Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, English general, co-founded The Scout Association (d. 1941)
  • 1857 – Heinrich Hertz, German physicist, philosopher, and academic (d. 1894)
  • 1860 – Mary W. Bacheler, American physician and Baptist medical missionary (d. 1939)
  • 1863 – Charles McLean Andrews, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1943)
  • 1864 – Jules Renard, French author and playwright (d. 1910)
  • 1876 – Zitkala-Sa, American author and activist (d. 1938)
  • 1874 – Bill Klem, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1951)
  • 1879 – Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted, Danish chemist and academic (d. 1947)
  • 1880 – Eric Lemming, Swedish athlete (d. 1930)
  • 1881 – Joseph B. Ely, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1956)
  • 1881 – Albin Prepeluh, Slovenian journalist and politician (d. 1937)
  • 1882 – Eric Gill, English sculptor and illustrator (d. 1940)
  • 1883 – Marguerite Clark, American actress (d. 1940)
  • 1886 – Hugo Ball, German author and poet (d. 1927)
  • 1887 – Savielly Tartakower, Polish journalist, author, and chess player (d. 1956)
  • 1887 – Pat Sullivan, Australian-American animator and producer (d. 1933)
  • 1888 – Owen Brewster, American captain and politician, 54th Governor of Maine (d. 1961)
  • 1889 – Olave Baden-Powell, English scout leader, founded the Girl Guides (d. 1977)
  • 1889 – R. G. Collingwood, English historian and philosopher (d. 1943)
  • 1891 – Vlas Chubar, Russian economist and politician (d. 1939)
  • 1892 – Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet and playwright (d. 1950)
  • 1895 – Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, Peruvian politician (d. 1979)
  • 1897 – Karol Świerczewski, Polish general (d. 1947)
  • 1899 – George O’Hara, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1966)
  • 1900 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish-Mexican director and producer (d. 1983)
  • 1903 – Morley Callaghan, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1990)
  • 1903 – Frank P. Ramsey, English economist, mathematician, and philosopher (d. 1930)
  • 1906 – Constance Stokes, Australian painter (d. 1991)
  • 1907 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1997)
  • 1907 – Robert Young, American actor (d. 1998)
  • 1908 – Rómulo Betancourt, Venezuelan politician, 56th President of Venezuela (d. 1981)
  • 1908 – John Mills, English soldier and actor (d. 2005)
  • 1910 – George Hunt, English international footballer, forward (d. 1996)
  • 1914 – Renato Dulbecco, Italian-American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
  • 1915 – Gus Lesnevich, American boxer (d. 1964)
  • 1917 – Reed Crandall, American illustrator (d. 1982)
  • 1918 – Sid Abel, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2000)
  • 1918 – Don Pardo, American radio and television announcer (d. 2014)
  • 1918 – Robert Wadlow, American man, the tallest person in recorded history (d. 1940)
  • 1921 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa, Central African general and politician, 2nd President of the Central African Republic (d. 1996)
  • 1921 – Giulietta Masina, Italian actress (d. 1994)
  • 1922 – Marshall Teague, American race car driver (d. 1959)
  • 1922 – Joe Wilder, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Bleddyn Williams, Welsh rugby player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
  • 1923 – François Cavanna, French author and editor (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Edward Gorey, American illustrator and poet (d. 2000)
  • 1925 – Gerald Stern, American poet and academic
  • 1926 – Kenneth Williams, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1988)
  • 1927 – Florencio Campomanes, Filipino political scientist and chess player (d. 2010)
  • 1927 – Guy Mitchell, American singer (d. 1999)
  • 1928 – Clarence 13X, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Gods and Earths (d. 1969)
  • 1928 – Texas Johnny Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Paul Dooley, American actor
  • 1928 – Bruce Forsyth, English singer and television host (d. 2017)
  • 1929 – James Hong, American actor and director
  • 1929 – Rebecca Schull, American stage, film, and television actress
  • 1930 – Marni Nixon, American soprano and actress (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Ted Kennedy, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2009)
  • 1932 – Zenaida Manfugás, Cuban-born American-naturalized pianist (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Katharine, Duchess of Kent
  • 1933 – Sheila Hancock, English actress and author
  • 1933 – Ernie K-Doe, American R&B singer (d. 2001)
  • 1933 – Bobby Smith, English international footballer, centre forward (d. 2010)
  • 1934 – Sparky Anderson, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
  • 1936 – J. Michael Bishop, American microbiologist and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1937 – Tommy Aaron, American golfer
  • 1937 – Joanna Russ, American author and activist (d. 2011)
  • 1938 – Steve Barber, American baseball player (d. 2007)
  • 1938 – Tony Macedo, Gibraltarian born English footballer, goalkeeper
  • 1938 – Ishmael Reed, American poet, novelist, essayist
  • 1940 – Judy Cornwell, English actress
  • 1940 – Chet Walker, American basketball player
  • 1941 – Hipólito Mejía, Dominican politician, 52nd President of the Dominican Republic
  • 1942 – Christine Keeler, English model and dancer (d. 2017)
  • 1943 – Terry Eagleton, English philosopher and critic
  • 1943 – Horst Köhler, Polish-German economist and politician, 9th President of Germany
  • 1943 – Dick Van Arsdale, American basketball player
  • 1943 – Tom Van Arsdale, American basketball player
  • 1943 – Otoya Yamaguchi, Japanese assassin of Inejiro Asanuma (d. 1960)
  • 1944 – Jonathan Demme, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1944 – Mick Green, English rock & roll guitarist (d. 2010)
  • 1944 – Robert Kardashian, American lawyer and businessman (d. 2003)
  • 1944 – Christopher Meyer, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States
  • 1944 – Tom Okker, Dutch tennis player and painter
  • 1945 – Oliver, American pop singer (d. 2000)
  • 1946 – Kresten Bjerre, Danish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – Pirjo Honkasalo, Finnish director, cinematographer, and screenwriter
  • 1947 – Harvey Mason, American drummer
  • 1947 – John Radford, English footballer and manager
  • 1947 – Frank Van Dun, Belgian philosopher and theorist
  • 1949 – John Duncan, Scottish footballer, forward and manager
  • 1949 – Niki Lauda, Austrian racing driver (d. 2019)
  • 1949 – Olga Morozova, Russian tennis player and coach
  • 1950 – Julius Erving, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1950 – Lenny Kuhr, Dutch singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – Miou-Miou, French actress
  • 1950 – Genesis P-Orridge, English singer-songwriter (d. 2020)
  • 1950 – Julie Walters, English actress and author
  • 1951 – Ellen Greene, American singer and actress
  • 1952 – Bill Frist, American physician and politician
  • 1952 – Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Treasury and MP (d. 2020)
  • 1953 – Nigel Planer, English actor and screenwriter
  • 1955 – David Axelrod, American journalist and political adviser
  • 1955 – Tim Young, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1957 – Willie Smits, Dutch microbiologist and engineer
  • 1958 – Dave Spitz, American bass player and songwriter
  • 1959 – Jiří Čunek, Czech politician
  • 1959 – Kyle MacLachlan, American actor
  • 1959 – Bronwyn Oliver, Australian sculptor (d. 2006)
  • 1960 – Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde, Scottish politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  • 1961 – Akira Takasaki, Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1962 – Steve Irwin, Australian zoologist and television host (d. 2006)
  • 1963 – Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
  • 1963 – Devon Malcolm, Jamaican-English cricketer
  • 1963 – Vijay Singh, Fijian-American golfer
  • 1964 – Ed Boon, American video game designer, co-created Mortal Kombat
  • 1964 – Diane Charlemagne, English singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1964 – Andy Gray, English footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1965 – Chris Dudley, American basketball player and politician
  • 1965 – Kieren Fallon, Irish jockey
  • 1965 – Pat LaFontaine, American ice hockey player
  • 1966 – Rachel Dratch, American actress and comedian
  • 1966 – Thorsten Kaye, German-English actor
  • 1967 – Psicosis II, Mexican wrestler
  • 1968 – Shawn Graham, Canadian politician, 31st Premier of New Brunswick
  • 1968 – Bradley Nowell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1996)
  • 1968 – Jeri Ryan, American model and actress
  • 1968 – Jayson Williams, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Thomas Jane, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Brian Laudrup, Danish footballer and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Marc Wilmots, Belgian footballer and manager
  • 1971 – Super Caló, Mexican wrestler
  • 1971 – Lea Salonga, Filipino actress and singer
  • 1972 – Michael Chang, American tennis player and coach
  • 1972 – Claudia Pechstein, German speed skater
  • 1973 – Philippe Gaumont, French cyclist (d. 2013)
  • 1973 – Juninho Paulista, Brazilian footballer
  • 1973 – Scott Phillips, American drummer and producer
  • 1974 – James Blunt, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1974 – Chris Moyles, English radio and television host
  • 1975 – Drew Barrymore, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Timo Rose, German actor, director, and producer
  • 1977 – Hakan Yakin, Swiss footballer
  • 1978 – Jenny Frost, English singer and dancer
  • 1979 – Brett Emerton, Australian footballer
  • 1979 – Lee Na-young, South Korean actress
  • 1980 – Shamari Fears, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1980 – Kang Sung-hoon, South Korean singer
  • 1980 – Jeanette Biedermann, German singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1983 – Shaun Tait, Australian cricketer
  • 1984 – Tommy Bowe, Irish rugby player
  • 1984 – Branislav Ivanović, Serbian footballer
  • 1985 – Hameur Bouazza, Algerian international footballer, winger
  • 1985 – Georgios Printezis, Greek basketball player
  • 1986 – Rajon Rondo, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Han Hyo-joo, South Korean actress and model
  • 1987 – Sergio Romero, Argentinian footballer
  • 1988 – Jonathan Borlée, Belgian sprinter
  • 1988 – Efraín Juárez, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – Sebastian Tyrała, Polish-German footballer
  • 1989 – Franco Vázquez, Argentinian footballer
  • 1990 – Luca Profeta, Italian footballer
  • 1992 – Alexander Merkel, Kazakhstani-German footballer
  • 1999 – Harry Brook, English cricketer

Deaths on February 22

  • 556 – Maximianus, bishop of Ravenna (b. 499)
  • 606 – Sabinian, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 793 – Sicga, Anglo-Saxon nobleman and regicide
  • 845 – Wang, Chinese empress dowager
  • 954 – Guo Wei, Chinese emperor (b. 904)
  • 965 – Otto, duke of Burgundy (b. 944)
  • 970 – García I, king of Pamplona
  • 978 – Lambert, count of Chalon (b. 930)
  • 1071 – Arnulf III, count of Flanders
  • 1072 – Peter Damian, Italian cardinal
  • 1079 – John of Fécamp, Italian Benedictine abbot
  • 1111 – Roger Borsa, king of Sicily (b. 1078)
  • 1297 – Margaret of Cortona, Italian penitent (b. 1247)
  • 1371 – David II, king of Scotland (b. 1324)
  • 1452 – William Douglas, 8th Earl of Douglas (b. 1425)
  • 1500 – Gerhard VI, German nobleman (b. 1430)
  • 1511 – Henry, duke of Cornwall (b. 1511)
  • 1512 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian cartographer and explorer (b. 1454)
  • 1627 – Olivier van Noort, Dutch explorer (b. 1558)
  • 1674 – Jean Chapelain, French poet and critic (b. 1595)
  • 1680 – La Voisin, French occultist (b. 1640)
  • 1690 – Charles Le Brun, French painter and theorist (b. 1619)
  • 1731 – Frederik Ruysch, Dutch physician and anatomist (b. 1638)
  • 1732 – Francis Atterbury, English bishop (b. 1663)
  • 1799 – Heshen, Chinese politician (b. 1750)
  • 1816 – Adam Ferguson, Scottish historian and philosopher (b. 1723)
  • 1875 – Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French painter and illustrator (b. 1796)
  • 1875 – Charles Lyell, Scottish-English geologist and lawyer (b. 1797)
  • 1888 – Anna Kingsford, English physician and activist (b. 1846)
  • 1890 – John Jacob Astor III, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1822)
  • 1890 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter and academic (b. 1834)
  • 1897 – Charles Blondin, French tightrope walker and acrobat (b. 1824)
  • 1898 – Heungseon Daewongun, Korean king (b. 1820)
  • 1903 – Hugo Wolf, Austrian composer (b. 1860)
  • 1904 – Leslie Stephen, English historian, author, and critic (b. 1832)
  • 1913 – Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist and author (b. 1857)
  • 1913 – Francisco I. Madero, Mexican president and author (b. 1873)
  • 1923 – Théophile Delcassé, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1852)
  • 1939 – Antonio Machado, Spanish-French poet and author (b. 1875)
  • 1942 – Stefan Zweig, Austrian journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1881)
  • 1943 – Christoph Probst, German activist (b. 1919)
  • 1943 – Hans Scholl, German activist (b. 1918)
  • 1943 – Sophie Scholl, German activist (b. 1921)
  • 1944 – Kasturba Gandhi, Indian activist (b. 1869)
  • 1945 – Osip Brik, Russian avant garde writer and literary critic (b. 1888)
  • 1958 – Abul Kalam Azad, Indian scholar and politician, Indian Minister of Education (b. 1888)
  • 1960 – Paul-Émile Borduas, Canadian-French painter and critic (b. 1905)
  • 1961 – Nick LaRocca, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1889)
  • 1965 – Felix Frankfurter, Austrian-American lawyer and jurist (b. 1882)
  • 1971 – Frédéric Mariotti, French actor (b. 1883)
  • 1973 – Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Canadian lawyer and politician, 21st Premier of Quebec (b. 1916)
  • 1973 – Elizabeth Bowen, Anglo-Irish author (b. 1899)
  • 1973 – Katina Paxinou, Greek actress (b. 1900)
  • 1973 – Winthrop Rockefeller, American colonel and politician, 37th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1912)
  • 1976 – Angela Baddeley, English actress (b. 1904)
  • 1976 – Florence Ballard, American singer (b. 1943)
  • 1980 – Oskar Kokoschka, Austrian painter, poet and playwright (b. 1886)
  • 1982 – Josh Malihabadi, Indian-Pakistani poet and author (b. 1898)
  • 1983 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (b. 1889)
  • 1983 – Romain Maes, Belgian cyclist (b. 1913)
  • 1985 – Salvador Espriu, Spanish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1913)
  • 1985 – Efrem Zimbalist, Russian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1889)
  • 1986 – John Donnelly, Australian rugby league player (b. 1955)
  • 1987 – David Susskind, American talk show host and producer (b. 1920)
  • 1987 – Andy Warhol, American painter and photographer (b. 1928)
  • 1992 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek general and politician (b. 1906)
  • 1994 – Papa John Creach, American violinist (b. 1917)
  • 1995 – Ed Flanders, American actor (b. 1934)
  • 1997 – Joseph Aiuppa, American gangster (b. 1907)
  • 1998 – Abraham A. Ribicoff, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services (b. 1910)
  • 1999 – William Bronk, American poet and academic (b. 1918)
  • 1999 – Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (b. 1964)
  • 2002 – Roden Cutler, Australian lieutenant and politician, 32nd Governor of New South Wales (b. 1916)
  • 2002 – Chuck Jones, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1912)
  • 2002 – Jonas Savimbi, Angolan general, founded UNITA (b. 1934)
  • 2004 – Andy Seminick, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Lee Eun-ju, South Korean actress and singer (b. 1980)
  • 2005 – Simone Simon, French actress (b. 1910)
  • 2007 – George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, English politician, Leader of the House of Lords (b. 1918)
  • 2007 – Dennis Johnson, American basketball player and coach (b. 1954)
  • 2012 – Sukhbir, Indian author and poet (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Frank Carson, Irish-English comedian and actor (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Marie Colvin, American journalist (b. 1956)
  • 2012 – Rémi Ochlik, French photographer and journalist (b. 1983)
  • 2013 – Atje Keulen-Deelstra, Dutch speed skater (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Jean-Louis Michon, French-Swiss scholar and translator (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – Wolfgang Sawallisch, German pianist and conductor (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand–Australian television host (b. 1966)
  • 2014 – Trebor Jay Tichenor, American pianist and composer (b. 1940)
  • 2014 – Leo Vroman, Dutch-American hematologist, poet, and illustrator (b. 1915)
  • 2015 – Chris Rainbow, Scottish singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1946)
  • 2016 – Yolande Fox, American model and singer, Miss America 1951 (b. 1928)
  • 2016 – Sonny James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
  • 2018 – Forges, Spanish cartoonist (b. 1942)
  • 2019 – Brody Stevens, American comedian and actor (b. 1970)
  • 2019 – Morgan Woodward, American actor (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances on February 22

  • Birthday of Scouting and Guiding founder Robert Baden-Powell and Olave Baden-Powell, and its related observance:
    • Founder’s Day or “B.-P. day” (World Organization of the Scout Movement)
    • World Thinking Day (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Baradates
    • Eric Liddell (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter (Roman Catholic Church)
    • Margaret of Cortona
    • February 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Crime Victims Day (Europe)
  • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Saint Lucia from the United Kingdom in 1979.

February 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /

February 15 in History

  • 590 – Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia.
  • 706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.
  • 1002 – At an assembly at Pavia of Lombard nobles, Arduin of Ivrea is restored to his domains and crowned King of Italy.
  • 1113 – Pope Paschal II issues Pie Postulatio Voluntatis, recognizing the Order of Hospitallers.
  • 1214 – During the Anglo-French War (1213–1214), an English invasion force led by John, King of England, lands at La Rochelle in France.
  • 1493 – While on board the Niña, Christopher Columbus writes an open letter (widely distributed upon his return to Portugal) describing his discoveries and the unexpected items he came across in the New World.
  • 1637 – Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
  • 1690 – Constantin Cantemir, Prince of Moldavia, and the Holy Roman Empire sign a secret treaty in Sibiu, stipulating that Moldavia would support the actions led by the House of Habsburg against the Ottoman Empire.
  • 1764 – The city of St. Louis is established in Spanish Louisiana (now in Missouri, USA).
  • 1798 – The Roman Republic is proclaimed after Louis-Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had invaded the city of Rome five days earlier.
  • 1835 – Serbia’s Sretenje Constitution briefly comes into effect.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Confederates commanded by Brig. Gen. John B. Floyd attack General Ulysses S. Grant’s Union forces Fort Donelson, Tennessee. Unable to break the fort’s encirclement, Lloyd surrenders the following day.
  • 1870 – Stevens Institute of Technology is founded in New Jersey, USA and offers the first Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering.
  • 1879 – Women’s rights: US President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
  • 1891 – Allmänna Idrottsklubben (AIK) (Swedish Sports Club) is founded.
  • 1898 – The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing 274. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.
  • 1901 – The association football club Alianza Lima is founded in Lima, Peru, under the name Sport Alianza.
  • 1909 – The Flores Theater fire in Acapulco, Mexico kills 250.
  • 1921 – Kingdom of Romania establishes its legation in Helsinki.
  • 1923 – Greece becomes the last European country to adopt the Gregorian calendar.
  • 1925 – The 1925 serum run to Nome: The second delivery of serum arrives in Nome, Alaska.
  • 1933 – In Miami, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate US President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6, 1933.
  • 1942 – World War II: Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.
  • 1944 – World War II: The assault on Monte Cassino, Italy begins.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Narva Offensive begins.
  • 1945 – World War II: Third day of bombing in Dresden.
  • 1946 – ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
  • 1949 – Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux begin excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they will eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
  • 1952 – King George VI of the United Kingdom is buried in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
  • 1954 – Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska.
  • 1961 – Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team along with several of their coaches and family members.
  • 1965 – A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.
  • 1971 – The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.
  • 1972 – Sound recordings are granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time.
  • 1972 – José María Velasco Ibarra, serving as President of Ecuador for the fifth time, is overthrown by the military for the fourth time.
  • 1982 – The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 workers.
  • 1989 – Soviet–Afghan War: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan.
  • 1991 – The Visegrád Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
  • 1992 – Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer is sentenced in Milwaukee to life in prison.
  • 1992 – Air Transport International Flight 805 crashes near Toledo Express Airport in Ohio, killing all four people on board.
  • 1996 – At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3 rocket, carrying an Intelsat 708, crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing many people.
  • 2001 – The first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature.
  • 2003 – Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between eight million to 30 million people participate, making this the largest peace demonstration in history.
  • 2010 – Two trains collide in the Halle train collision in Halle, Belgium, killing 19 and injuring 171 people.
  • 2012 – Three hundred sixty people die in a fire at a Honduran prison in the city of Comayagua.
  • 2013 – A meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blows out windows and rocks buildings. This happens unexpectedly only hours before the expected closest ever approach of the larger and unrelated asteroid 2012 DA14.

Births on February 15

  • 1377 – Ladislaus of Naples (d. 1414)
  • 1458 – Ivan the Young, son of Ivan III of Russia (d. 1490)
  • 1471 – Piero the Unfortunate, Italian ruler (d. 1503)
  • 1506 – Juliana of Stolberg, German countess (d. 1580)
  • 1519 – Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, first Spanish Governor of Florida (d. 1574)
  • 1557 – Alfonso Fontanelli, Italian composer (d. 1622)
  • 1564 – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (d. 1642)
  • 1571 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (probable; d. 1621)
  • 1612 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, French soldier, founded Montreal (d. 1676)
  • 1627 – Charles Morton, Cornish nonconformist minister (d. 1698)
  • 1638 – Zeb-un-Nissa, Mughal princess and poet (d. 1702)
  • 1705 – Charles-André van Loo, French painter (d. 1765)
  • 1710 – Louis XV of France (d. 1774)
  • 1725 – Abraham Clark, American surveyor, lawyer, and politician (d. 1794)
  • 1734 – William Stacy, American colonel (d. 1802)
  • 1739 – Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect, designed the Paris Bourse (d. 1813)
  • 1748 – Jeremy Bentham, English jurist and philosopher (d. 1832)
  • 1759 – Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist and critic (d. 1824)
  • 1760 – Jean-François Le Sueur, French composer and educator (d. 1837)
  • 1797 – Henry E. Steinway, German-American businessman, founded Steinway & Sons (d. 1871)
  • 1809 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist and academic (d. 1857)
  • 1809 – Cyrus McCormick, American journalist and businessman, co-founded International Harvester (d. 1884)
  • 1810 – Mary S. B. Shindler, American poet, writer, and editor (d. 1883)
  • 1811 – Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Argentinian journalist and politician, 7th President of Argentina (d. 1888)
  • 1812 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (d. 1902)
  • 1820 – Susan B. Anthony, American suffragist and activist (d. 1906)
  • 1825 – Carter Harrison, Sr., American lawyer and politician, 29th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1893)
  • 1834 – V. A. Urechia, Moldavian-Romanian historian, author, and playwright (d. 1901)
  • 1835 – Demetrius Vikelas, Greek businessman and philanthropist (d. 1908)
  • 1840 – Titu Maiorescu, Romanian philosopher, academic, and politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1917)
  • 1841 – Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Brazil (d. 1913)
  • 1845 – Elihu Root, American lawyer and politician, 38th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
  • 1847 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1927)
  • 1849 – Rickman Godlee, English surgeon and academic (d. 1925)
  • 1850 – Sophie Bryant, Irish mathematician, academic and activist (d. 1922)
  • 1851 – Spiru Haret, Romanian mathematician, astronomer, and politician, 55th Romanian Minister of Internal Affairs (d. 1912)
  • 1856 – Emil Kraepelin, German psychiatrist and academic (d. 1926)
  • 1861 – Martin Burns, American wrestler and coach (d. 1937)
  • 1861 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, Swiss-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
  • 1861 – Alfred North Whitehead, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1947)
  • 1873 – Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
  • 1874 – Ernest Shackleton, Anglo-Irish captain and explorer (d. 1922)
  • 1883 – Sax Rohmer, English-American author (d. 1959)
  • 1890 – Robert Ley, German politician (d. 1945)
  • 1892 – James Forrestal, American lieutenant and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)
  • 1892 – Roy Rene, Australian comedian (d. 1954)
  • 1893 – Roman Najuch, Polish professional tennis player (d. 1967)
  • 1896 – Arthur Shields, Irish republican and actor (d. 1970)
  • 1897 – Gerrit Kleerekoper, Jewish-Dutch gymnast and coach (d. 1943)
  • 1898 – Totò, Italian actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
  • 1899 – Georges Auric, French composer (d. 1983)
  • 1899 – Gale Sondergaard, Danish-American actress (d. 1985)
  • 1904 – Mary Adshead, English painter (d. 1995)
  • 1904 – Antonin Magne, French cyclist and manager (d. 1983)
  • 1905 – Harold Arlen, Jewish-American composer (d. 1986)
  • 1907 – Jean Langlais, French organist and composer (d. 1991)
  • 1907 – Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)
  • 1908 – Sarto Fournier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 38th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1980)
  • 1909 – Miep Gies, Austrian-Dutch humanitarian, helped hide Anne Frank and her family (d. 2010)
  • 1910 – Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and humanitarian, Righteous Gentile (d. 2008)
  • 1912 – George Mikes, Jewish Hungarian-English journalist and author (d. 1987)
  • 1913 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Hale Boggs, American lawyer and politician (d. 1972)
  • 1914 – Kevin McCarthy, Jewish-Irish American actor (d. 2010)
  • 1916 – Mary Jane Croft, American actress (d. 1999)
  • 1918 – Allan Arbus, Jewish-American actor and photographer (d. 2013)
  • 1918 – Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Ducky Detweiler, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Endicott Peabody, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1997)
  • 1920 – Eio Sakata, Japanese Go player (d. 2010)
  • 1922 – John B. Anderson, Swedish-American lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1923 – Yelena Bonner, Jewish Soviet-Russian activist (d. 2011)
  • 1924 – Robert Drew, American director and producer (d. 2014)
  • 1925 – Angella D. Ferguson, American pediatrician
  • 1927 – Frank Dunlop, English actor and director
  • 1927 – Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian (d. 2008)
  • 1927 – Yehoshua Neuwirth, Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Norman Bridwell, American author and illustrator, created Clifford the Big Red Dog (d. 2014)
  • 1928 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Graham Hill, English race car driver and businessman (d. 1975)
  • 1929 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2014)
  • 1930 – Bruce Dawe, Australian poet and academic
  • 1931 – Claire Bloom, English actress
  • 1931 – Jonathan Steele, English journalist and author
  • 1934 – Jimmy Bloomfield, English footballer and manager (d. 1983)
  • 1934 – Graham Kennedy, Australian television host and actor (d. 2005)
  • 1934 – Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist, created the Pascal programming language
  • 1934 – Abe Woodson, American football player and minister (d. 2014)
  • 1935 – Susan Brownmiller, American journalist and author
  • 1935 – Roger B. Chaffee, American lieutenant, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
  • 1935 – Gene Hickerson, American football player (d. 2008)
  • 1937 – Gregory Mcdonald, American author (d. 2008)
  • 1937 – Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
  • 1940 – İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2007)
  • 1940 – John Hadl, American football player and coach
  • 1940 – Hamzah Haz, Indonesian journalist and politician, 9th Vice President of Indonesia
  • 1940 – Vaino Vahing, Estonian psychiatrist, author, and playwright (d. 2008)
  • 1941 – Florinda Bolkan, Brazilian actress
  • 1941 – Brian Holland, American songwriter and producer
  • 1944 – Mick Avory, English drummer
  • 1945 – Jack Dann, American-Australian author and poet
  • 1945 – John Helliwell, English saxophonist and keyboard player
  • 1945 – Douglas Hofstadter, American author and academic
  • 1946 – Clare Short, English civil servant and politician, Secretary of State for International Development
  • 1947 – John Adams, American composer
  • 1947 – Marisa Berenson, American model and actress
  • 1948 – Art Spiegelman, Swedish-American cartoonist and critic
  • 1949 – Ken Anderson, American football quarterback and coach
  • 1951 – Markku Alén, Finnish race car driver
  • 1951 – Melissa Manchester, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1951 – Jane Seymour, English-American actress, producer, and jewelry designer
  • 1952 – Tomislav Nikolić, Serbian politician, 4th President of Serbia
  • 1952 – Nikolai Sorokin, Russian actor and director (d. 2013)
  • 1953 – Tony Adams, Irish-American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)
  • 1953 – Ernie Howe, English footballer, defender and manager
  • 1954 – Matt Groening, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1955 – Janice Dickinson, American model, agent, and author
  • 1955 – Christopher McDonald, American actor
  • 1956 – Desmond Haynes, Barbadian cricketer and coach
  • 1956 – Ann Westin, Swedish comedian
  • 1957 – Jake E. Lee, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1957 – Jimmy Spencer, American race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1958 – Chrystine Brouillet, Canadian author
  • 1958 – Tony McKegney, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1958 – Matthew Ward, American singer-songwriter
  • 1959 – Adam Boulton, English journalist
  • 1959 – Ali Campbell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1959 – Brian Propp, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1959 – Martin Rowson, English author and illustrator
  • 1959 – Hugo Savinovich, Ecuadorian wrestler and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Darrell Green, American football player
  • 1960 – Jock Hobbs, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2012)
  • 1962 – Milo Đukanović, Montenegrin politician, 29th Prime Minister of Montenegro
  • 1964 – Chris Farley, American comedian and actor (d. 1997)
  • 1964 – Leland D. Melvin, American engineer and astronaut
  • 1964 – Mark Price, American basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Craig Matthews, South African cricketer
  • 1967 – Jane Child, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1967 – Syed Kamall, English academic and politician
  • 1967 – Craig Simpson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Birdman, American rapper and producer
  • 1970 – Shepard Fairey, American artist and activist
  • 1971 – Alex Borstein, American actress, voice artist, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Renee O’Connor, American actress, director, and producer
  • 1972 – Jaromír Jágr, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Kateřina Neumannová, Czech skier
  • 1973 – Amy van Dyken, American swimmer
  • 1974 – Miranda July, American actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1974 – Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1974 – Alexander Wurz, Austrian race car driver and businessman
  • 1975 – Serge Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1975 – Annemarie Kramer, Dutch sprinter
  • 1975 – Brendon Small, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and actor
  • 1976 – Brandon Boyd, American singer-songwriter
  • 1976 – Óscar Freire, Spanish cyclist
  • 1979 – Josh Low, English footballer
  • 1979 – Hamish Marshall, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1979 – James Marshall, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1979 – Scott Severin, Scottish footballer
  • 1979 – Gordon Shedden, Scottish race car driver
  • 1980 – Conor Oberst, American singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Heurelho Gomes, Brazilian international footballer, goalkeeper
  • 1981 – Matt Hoopes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Rita Jeptoo, Kenyan runner
  • 1981 – Diego Martínez, Mexican footballer
  • 1981 – Vivek Shraya, Canadian singer and songwriter
  • 1982 – Shameka Christon, American basketball player
  • 1982 – James Yap, Filipino basketball player
  • 1983 – Don Cowie, Scottish footballer
  • 1983 – David Degen, Swiss footballer
  • 1983 – Philipp Degen, Swiss footballer
  • 1983 – Alan Didak, Australian footballer
  • 1983 – Russell Martin, Canadian baseball player
  • 1985 – Serkan Kırıntılı, Turkish footballer
  • 1986 – Valeri Bojinov, Bulgarian footballer
  • 1986 – Johnny Cueto, Dominican baseball player
  • 1986 – Laura Sallés, Andorran judoka
  • 1987 – Jarrod Sammut, Australian rugby league player
  • 1988 – Jarryd Hayne, Australian rugby league player and football player
  • 1988 – Hironori Kusano, Japanese singer and actor
  • 1988 – Tim Mannah, Australian-born Lebanese rugby league player
  • 1988 – Rui Patrício, Portuguese footballer
  • 1990 – Charles Pic, French race car driver
  • 1991 – Ángel Sepúlveda, Mexican footballer
  • 1993 – Ravi, South Korean rapper

Deaths on February 15

  • 670 – Oswiu, king of Northumbria (b. c. 612)
  • 706 – Leontios, Byzantine emperor
  • 706 – Tiberios III, Byzantine emperor
  • 956 – Su Yugui, Chinese chancellor (b. 895)
  • 1043 – Gisela of Swabia, Holy Roman Empress (b. 990)
  • 1145 – Lucius II, pope of the Catholic Church
  • 1152 – Conrad III, king of Germany (b. 1093)
  • 1382 – William de Ufford, 2nd Earl of Suffolk (b. c. 1339)
  • 1417 – Richard de Vere, 11th Earl of Oxford, English commander (b. 1385)
  • 1508 – Giovanni II Bentivoglio, tyrant of Bologna (b. 1443)
  • 1600 – José de Acosta, Spanish Jesuit missionary and naturalist (b. 1540)
  • 1621 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1571)
  • 1637 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1578)
  • 1738 – Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (b. 1684)
  • 1781 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German philosopher, author, and critic (b. 1729)
  • 1818 – Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen (b. 1746)
  • 1835 – Henry Hunt, English farmer and politician (b. 1773)
  • 1839 – François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian rebel (b. 1803)
  • 1842 – Archibald Menzies, Scottish surgeon and botanist (b. 1754)
  • 1844 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1757)
  • 1847 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (b. 1794)
  • 1848 – Hermann von Boyen, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (b. 1771)
  • 1849 – Pierre François Verhulst, Belgian mathematician and theorist (b. 1804)
  • 1857 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (b. 1804)
  • 1869 – Ghalib, Indian poet and educator (b. 1796)
  • 1885 – Gregor von Helmersen, Estonian-Russian geologist and engineer (b. 1803)
  • 1897 – Dimitrie Ghica, Romanian lawyer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1816)
  • 1905 – Lew Wallace, American author, general, and politician, 11th Governor of New Mexico Territory (b. 1827)
  • 1911 – Theodor Escherich, German-Austrian pediatrician and academic (b. 1859)
  • 1924 – Lionel Monckton, English composer (b. 1861)
  • 1928 – H. H. Asquith, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1852)
  • 1932 – Minnie Maddern Fiske, American actress and playwright (b. 1865)
  • 1933 – Pat Sullivan, Australian animator and producer, co-created Felix the Cat (b. 1887)
  • 1935 – Basil Hall Chamberlain, English-Swiss historian, author, and academic (b. 1850)
  • 1939 – Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Russian painter and author (b. 1878)
  • 1956 – Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French lawyer and politician (b. 1878)
  • 1959 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
  • 1961 – Laurence Owen, American figure skater (b. 1944)
  • 1965 – Nat King Cole, American singer and pianist (b. 1919)
  • 1966 – Gerard Antoni Ciołek, Polish architect and historian (b. 1909)
  • 1966 – Camilo Torres Restrepo, Colombian priest and theologian (b. 1929)
  • 1967 – Antonio Moreno, Spanish-American actor and director (b. 1887)
  • 1970 – Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, Scottish air marshal (b. 1882)
  • 1973 – Wally Cox, American actor (b. 1924)
  • 1973 – Tim Holt, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 1974 – Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer and engineer (b. 1887)
  • 1981 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1943)
  • 1981 – Karl Richter, German organist and conductor (b. 1926)
  • 1984 – Avon Long, American actor and singer (b. 1910)
  • 1984 – Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (b. 1908)
  • 1988 – Richard Feynman, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
  • 1992 – María Elena Moyano, Peruvian activist (b. 1960)
  • 1992 – William Schuman, American composer and academic (b. 1910)
  • 1996 – McLean Stevenson, American actor (b. 1929)
  • 1998 – Martha Gellhorn, American journalist and author (b. 1908)
  • 1999 – Henry Way Kendall, American physicist and mountaineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
  • 1999 – Big L, American rapper (b. 1974)
  • 2000 – Angus MacLean, Canadian commander and politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist and actor (b. 1914)
  • 2002 – Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)
  • 2004 – Jens Evensen, Norwegian lawyer, judge, and politician, Norwegian Minister of Trade (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
  • 2005 – Samuel T. Francis, American historian and journalist (b. 1947)
  • 2007 – Walker Edmiston, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2007 – Ray Evans, American songwriter (b. 1915)
  • 2008 – Johnny Weaver, American wrestler and sportscaster (b. 1935)
  • 2010 – Jeanne M. Holm, American general (b. 1921)
  • 2012 – Cyril Domb, English-Israel physicist and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Sanan Kachornprasart, Thai general and politician (b. 1935)
  • 2013 – Ahmed Rajib Haider, Bangladeshi atheist blogger
  • 2014 – Thelma Estrin, American computer scientist and engineer (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Christopher Malcolm, Scottish-Canadian actor, director, and producer (b. 1946)
  • 2015 – Haron Amin, Afghan diplomat, Afghan Ambassador to Japan (b. 1969)
  • 2015 – Arnaud de Borchgrave, American journalist and author (b. 1926)
  • 2015 – Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1979)
  • 2016 – George Gaynes, Finnish-American actor (b. 1917)
  • 2016 – Vanity, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (b. 1959)
  • 2017 – Stuart McLean, Canadian radio broadcaster (b. 1948)
  • 2019 – Lee Radziwill, American socialite (b. 1933)
  • 2020 – Caroline Flack, English Actress and TV Presenter (b. 1979)

Holidays and observances on February 15

  • Christian feast day:
    • Blessed Michał Sopoćko
    • Claude de la Colombière
    • Faustinus and Jovita
    • Oswiu
    • Quinidius
    • Sigfrid of Sweden
    • Thomas Bray (Episcopal Church)
    • Walfrid
    • February 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Earliest day on which Family Day can fall, while February 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in February. (parts of Canada)
  • Earliest day on which Washington’s Birthday can fall, while February 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in February. (United States)
  • Traditionally the feast day for the ancient Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia
  • International Duties Memorial Day (Russia, regional)
  • John Frum Day (Vanuatu)
  • Liberation Day (Afghanistan)
  • National Flag of Canada Day (Canada)
  • Parinirvana Day, also celebrated on February 8. (Mahayana Buddhism)
  • Singles Awareness Day
  • Statehood Day (Serbia)
  • Susan B. Anthony Day (Florida, United States)
  • The ENIAC Day (Philadelphia, United States)
  • Total Defence Day (Singapore)

February 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /

February 9 in History

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

Births on February 9

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

Deaths on February 9

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

Holidays and observances on February 9

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

February 9 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

This day marks the approximate midpoint of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and of summer in the Southern Hemisphere (starting the season at the December solstice).

February 4 in History 

  • 211 – Following the death of Rome’s Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarreling sons, Caracalla and Geta, whom he had instructed to make peace.
  • 960 – The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, initiating the Song dynasty period of China that would last more than three centuries.
  • 1169 – A strong earthquake struck the Ionian coast of Sicily, causing tens of thousands of injuries and deaths, especially in Catania.
  • 1454 – In the Thirteen Years’ War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.
  • 1555 – John Rogers is burned at the stake, becoming the first English Protestant martyr under Mary I of England.
  • 1703 – In Edo (now Tokyo), all but one of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master’s death.
  • 1758 – The city of Macapá in Brazil is founded by Sebastião Veiga Cabral.
  • 1789 – George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
  • 1794 – The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French First Republic. It would be reestablished in the French West Indies in 1802.
  • 1797 – The Riobamba earthquake strikes Ecuador, causing up to 40,000 casualties.
  • 1801 – John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
  • 1810 – Napoleonic Wars: Britain seizes Guadeloupe.
  • 1820 – The Chilean Navy under the command of Lord Cochrane completes the two-day long Capture of Valdivia with just 300 men and two ships.
  • 1825 – The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.
  • 1846 – The first Mormon pioneers make their exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, westward towards Salt Lake Valley.
  • 1859 – The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from six break-away U.S. states meet and form the Confederate States of America.
  • 1899 – The Philippine–American War begins with the Battle of Manila.
  • 1932 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Harbin, Manchuria, falls to Japan.
  • 1938 – Adolf Hitler appoints himself as head of the Armed Forces High Command.
  • 1941 – The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
  • 1945 – World War II: Santo Tomas Internment Camp is liberated from Japanese authority.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Yalta Conference between the “Big Three” (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) opens at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea.
  • 1945 – World War II: The British Indian Army and Imperial Japanese Army begin a series of battles known as the Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations.
  • 1948 – Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.
  • 1961 – The Angolan War of Independence and the greater Portuguese Colonial War begin.
  • 1966 – All Nippon Airways Flight 60 plunges into Tokyo Bay, killing 133.
  • 1967 – Lunar Orbiter program: Lunar Orbiter 3 lifts off from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 13 on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft.
  • 1969 – Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
  • 1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
  • 1974 – M62 coach bombing: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) explodes a bomb on a bus carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel in Yorkshire, England. Nine soldiers and three civilians are killed.
  • 1975 – Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale) occurs in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
  • 1976 – In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.
  • 1977 – A Chicago Transit Authority elevated train rear-ends another and derails, killing 11 and injuring 180, the worst accident in the agency’s history.
  • 1992 – A coup d’état is led by Hugo Chávez against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.
  • 1997 – En route to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73.
  • 1998 – The 5.9 Mw  Afghanistan earthquake shakes the Takhar Province with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). With 2,323 killed, and 818 injured, damage is considered extreme.
  • 1999 – Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot 41 times by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race relations in the city.
  • 2000 – The World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium, Charter of Paris is signed by the President of France, Jacques Chirac and the Director General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, initiating World Cancer Day which is held on February 4 every year.
  • 2003 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia adopts a new constitution, becoming a loose confederacy between Montenegro and Serbia.
  • 2004 – Facebook, a mainstream online social networking site, is founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin.
  • 2015 – TransAsia Airways Flight 235 with 58 people on board, en route from the Taiwanese capital Taipei to Kinmen, crashes into the Keelung River just after take-off, killing 43 people.
  • 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic causes all casinos in Macau to be closed down for 15 days.

Births on February 4

  • 1447 – Lodovico Lazzarelli, Italian poet (d. 1500)
  • 1495 – Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1535)
  • 1495 – Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (d. 1568)
  • 1505 – Mikołaj Rej, Polish poet and author (d. 1580)
  • 1575 – Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and theologian, founded the French school of spirituality (d. 1629)
  • 1646 – Hans Erasmus Aßmann, German poet and politician (d. 1699)
  • 1676 – Giacomo Facco, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1753)
  • 1677 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (d. 1731)
  • 1688 – Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (d. 1763)
  • 1725 – Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (d. 1804)
  • 1740 – Carl Michael Bellman, Swedish poet and composer (d. 1795)
  • 1778 – Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, Swiss botanist, mycologist, and academic (d. 1841)
  • 1799 – Almeida Garrett, Portuguese journalist and author (d. 1854)
  • 1818 – Emperor Norton, San Francisco eccentric and visionary (d. 1880)citation needed
  • 1831 – Oliver Ames, American financier and politician, 35th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1895)
  • 1848 – Jean Aicard, French poet, author, and playwright (d. 1921)
  • 1849 – Jean Richepin, French poet, author, and playwright (d. 1926)
  • 1862 – Édouard Estaunié, French novelist (d. 1942)
  • 1865 – Abe Isoo, Japanese minister and politician (d. 1949)
  • 1868 – Constance Markievicz, Irish revolutionary and first woman elected to the UK House of Commons (d. 1927)
  • 1871 – Friedrich Ebert, German lawyer and politician, 1st President of Germany (d. 1925)
  • 1872 – Gotse Delchev, Bulgarian and Macedonian revolutionary activist (d. 1903)
  • 1873 – Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1905)
  • 1875 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist and engineer (d. 1953)
  • 1877 – Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (d. 1953)
  • 1881 – Eulalio Gutiérrez, Mexican general and politician, President of Mexico (d. 1939)
  • 1881 – Fernand Léger, French painter and sculptor (d. 1955)
  • 1883 – Reinhold Rudenberg, German-American inventor and a pioneer of electron microscopy (d. 1961)
  • 1891 – M. A. Ayyangar, Indian lawyer and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Lok Sabha (d. 1978)
  • 1892 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and academic (d. 1964)
  • 1895 – Nigel Bruce, English actor (d. 1953)
  • 1896 – Friedrich Glauser, Austrian-Swiss author (d. 1938)
  • 1896 – Friedrich Hund, German physicist and academic (d. 1997)
  • 1897 – Ludwig Erhard, German soldier and politician, 2nd Chancellor of West Germany (d. 1977)
  • 1899 – Virginia M. Alexander, American physician and founder of the Aspiranto Health Home (d. 1949)
  • 1900 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1902 – Charles Lindbergh, American pilot and explorer (d. 1974)
  • 1902 – Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, German-English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 2003)
  • 1903 – Alexander Imich, Polish-American chemist, parapsychologist, and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1904 – MacKinlay Kantor, American author and screenwriter (d. 1977)
  • 1905 – Hylda Baker, English comedian, actress and music hall performer (d. 1986)
  • 1906 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (d. 1945)
  • 1906 – Letitia Dunbar-Harrison, Irish librarian (d. 1994)
  • 1906 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer and academic, discovered Pluto (d. 1997)
  • 1908 – Julian Bell, English poet and academic (d. 1937)
  • 1912 – Ola Skjåk Bræk, Norwegian banker and politician, Norwegian Minister of Industry (d. 1999)
  • 1912 – Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian-American conductor (d. 1993)
  • 1912 – Byron Nelson, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2006)
  • 1913 – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)
  • 1914 – Alfred Andersch, German-Swiss author and publisher (d. 1980)
  • 1915 – William Talman, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
  • 1915 – Norman Wisdom, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2010)
  • 1917 – Yahya Khan, Pakistan general and politician, 3rd President of Pakistan (d. 1980)
  • 1918 – Ida Lupino, English-American actress and director (d. 1995)
  • 1918 – Luigi Pareyson, Italian philosopher and author (d. 1991)
  • 1920 – Janet Waldo, American actress and voice artist (d. 2016)
  • 1921 – Betty Friedan, American author and feminist (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Lotfi Zadeh, Iranian-American mathematician and computer scientist and founder of fuzzy logic (d. 2017)
  • 1923 – Conrad Bain, Canadian-American actor (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Russell Hoban, American author and illustrator (d. 2011)
  • 1925 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Christopher Zeeman, English mathematician and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1926 – Gyula Grosics, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Dave Sands, Australian boxer (d. 1952)
  • 1927 – Rolf Landauer, German-American physicist and academic (d. 1999)
  • 1928 – Oscar Cabalén, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1967)
  • 1928 – Osmo Antero Wiio, Finnish journalist, academic, and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – Paul Burlison, American rockabilly guitarist (d. 2003)
  • 1929 – Neil Johnston, American basketball player (d. 1978)
  • 1930 – Tibor Antalpéter, Hungarian volleyball player and diplomat, Hungarian Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 2012)
  • 1930 – Arthur E. Chase, American businessman and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Jim Loscutoff, American basketball player (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Isabel Martínez de Perón, Argentinian dancer and politician, 41st President of Argentina
  • 1935 – Wallis Mathias, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1994)
  • 1935 – Martti Talvela, Finnish opera singer (d. 1989)
  • 1935 – Collin Wilcox, American actress (d. 2009)
  • 1936 – David Brenner, American comedian, actor, and author (d. 2014)
  • 1936 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (d. 2013)
  • 1937 – David Newman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1938 – Frank J. Dodd, American businessman and politician, president of the New Jersey Senate (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Stan Lundine, American lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New York
  • 1940 – George A. Romero, American director and producer (d. 2017)
  • 1941 – Russell Cooper, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of Queensland
  • 1941 – Ron Rangi, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1988)
  • 1941 – Jiří Raška, Czech skier and coach (d. 2012)
  • 1943 – Alberto João Jardim, Portuguese journalist and politician, 2nd President of the Regional Government of Madeira
  • 1943 – Wanda Rutkiewicz, Lithuanian-Polish mountaineer (d. 1992)
  • 1943 – Ken Thompson, American computer scientist and programmer, co-developed the B programming language
  • 1944 – Florence LaRue, American singer and actress
  • 1947 – Dennis C. Blair, American admiral and politician, 3rd Director of National Intelligence
  • 1947 – Dan Quayle, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 44th Vice President of the United States
  • 1948 – Alice Cooper, American singer-songwriter
  • 1948 – Rod Grams, American journalist and politician (d. 2013)
  • 1948 – Mienoumi Tsuyoshi, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1949 – Michael Beck, American actor
  • 1949 – Rasim Delić, Bosnian general (d. 2010)
  • 1951 – Patrick Bergin, Irish actor
  • 1951 – Phil Ehart, American rock drummer and songwriter
  • 1952 – Jenny Shipley, New Zealand educator and politician, 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand
  • 1952 – Thomas Silverstein, American prisoner, founder and former leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang (d. 2019)
  • 1955 – Mikuláš Dzurinda, Slovak politician, Prime Minister of Slovakia
  • 1957 – Don Davis, American composer and conductor
  • 1958 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (d. 2005)
  • 1959 – Christian Schreier, German footballer and manager
  • 1959 – Lawrence Taylor, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1960 – Siobhan Dowd, English author and activist (d. 2007)
  • 1960 – Adrienne King, American actress, dancer, and painter
  • 1960 – Jonathan Larson, American composer and playwright (d. 1996)
  • 1961 – Stewart O’Nan, American novelist
  • 1961 – Denis Savard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1962 – Clint Black, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1962 – Stephen Hammond, English banker and politician
  • 1963 – Pirmin Zurbriggen, Swiss skier
  • 1964 – Elke Philipp, German Paralympic equestrian
  • 1965 – Jerome Brown, American football player (d. 1992)
  • 1966 – Tony Butterfield, Australian rugby league player
  • 1966 – Viatcheslav Ekimov, Russian cyclist
  • 1967 – Sergei Grinkov, Russian figure skater (d. 1995)
  • 1970 – Gabrielle Anwar, English actress
  • 1971 – Rob Corddry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Eric Garcetti, American lieutenant and politician, 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles
  • 1972 – Dara Ó Briain, Irish comedian and television host
  • 1972 – Giovanni Silva de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Oscar De La Hoya, American boxer
  • 1973 – James Hird, Australian footballer and coach
  • 1973 – Manny Legace, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Natalie Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1977 – Gavin DeGraw, American singer-songwriter
  • 1979 – Giorgio Pantano, Italian race car driver
  • 1980 – Raimonds Vaikulis, Latvian basketball player
  • 1981 – Jason Kapono, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Johan Vansummeren, Belgian cyclist
  • 1982 – Chris Sabin, American wrestler
  • 1982 – Ivars Timermanis, Latvian basketball player
  • 1982 – Tomas Vaitkus, Lithuanian cyclist
  • 1983 – Lee Stempniak, American ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Rebecca White, Australian politician
  • 1984 – Sandeep Acharya, Indian singer (d. 2013)
  • 1984 – Mauricio Pinilla, Chilean footballer
  • 1986 – Maximilian Götz, German race car driver
  • 1986 – Mahmudullah Riyad, Bangladeshi cricketer
  • 1987 – Darren O’Dea, Irish footballer
  • 1987 – Lucie Šafářová, Czech tennis player
  • 1988 – Carly Patterson, American gymnast and singer
  • 1993 – Bae Noo-ri, South Korean actress
  • 1998 – Maximilian Wöber, Austrian footballer

Deaths on February 4

  • 211 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (b. 145)
  • 708 – Pope Sisinnius (b. 650)
  • 856 – Rabanus Maurus, Frankish archbishop and theologian (b. 780)
  • 870 – Ceolnoth, archbishop of Canterbury
  • 1169 – John of Ajello, Bishop of Catania
  • 1498 – Antonio del Pollaiolo, Italian artist (b. 1429/1433)
  • 1505 – Jeanne de Valois, daughter of Louis XI of France (b. 1464)
  • 1508 – Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar (b. 1459)
  • 1555 – John Rogers, English clergyman and translator (b. 1505)
  • 1590 – Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1517)
  • 1615 – Giambattista della Porta, Italian playwright and scholar (b. 1535)
  • 1617 – Lodewijk Elzevir, Dutch publisher, co-founded the House of Elzevir (b. 1546)
  • 1713 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (b. 1671)
  • 1774 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (b. 1701)
  • 1781 – Josef Mysliveček, Czech composer (b. 1737)
  • 1799 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect and educator (b. 1728)
  • 1843 – Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general (b. 1770)
  • 1891 – Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos, Roman Catholic archbishop and Mexican politician who served as regent during the Second Mexican Empire (1863-1864) (b. 1816)
  • 1905 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (b. 1841)
  • 1926 – İskilipli Âtıf Hodja, Turkish author and scholar (b. 1875)
  • 1928 – Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
  • 1933 – Archibald Sayce, English linguist and educator (b. 1846)
  • 1940 – Nikolai Yezhov, Russian police officer and politician (b. 1895)
  • 1943 – Frank Calder, English-Canadian ice hockey player and journalist (b. 1877)
  • 1944 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (b. 1872)
  • 1956 – Savielly Tartakower, Russian-French chess player, journalist, and author (b. 1887)
  • 1958 – Henry Kuttner, American author and screenwriter (b. 1915)
  • 1959 – Una O’Connor, Irish-American actress (b. 1880)
  • 1968 – Neal Cassady, American novelist and poet (b. 1926)
  • 1970 – Louise Bogan, American poet and critic (b. 1897)
  • 1974 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist, mathematician, and academic (b. 1894)
  • 1975 – Louis Jordan, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (b. 1908)
  • 1982 – Alex Harvey, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1935)
  • 1982 – Georg Konrad Morgen, German lawyer and judge (b. 1909)
  • 1983 – Karen Carpenter, American singer (b. 1950)
  • 1987 – Liberace, American singer-songwriter and pianist, (b. 1919)
  • 1987 – Meena Keshwar Kamal, Afghan activist, founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (b. 1956)
  • 1987 – Carl Rogers, American psychologist and academic (b. 1902)
  • 1990 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1915)
  • 1992 – John Dehner, American actor (b. 1915)
  • 1995 – Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1921)
  • 2000 – Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1908)
  • 2002 – Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg (b. 1907)
  • 2003 – Benyoucef Benkhedda, Algerian pharmacist and politician (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Ossie Davis, American actor, director, and playwright (b. 1917)
  • 2006 – Betty Friedan, American author and activist (b. 1921)
  • 2007 – José Carlos Bauer, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1925)
  • 2007 – Ilya Kormiltsev, Russian-English poet and translator (b. 1959)
  • 2007 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (b. 1934)
  • 2007 – Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter and sculptor (b. 1922)
  • 2008 – Augusta Dabney, American actress (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – Stefan Meller, Polish academic and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (b. 1942)
  • 2010 – Kostas Axelos, Greek-French philosopher and author (b. 1924)
  • 2010 – Helen Tobias-Duesberg, Estonian-American composer (b. 1919)
  • 2011 – Martial Célestin, Haitian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Haiti (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – István Csurka, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Florence Green, English soldier (b. 1901)
  • 2012 – Robert Daniel, American farmer, soldier, and politician (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Mike deGruy, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1951)
  • 2013 – Donald Byrd, American trumpet player (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Keith Allen, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Eugenio Corti, Italian soldier, author, and playwright (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Dennis Lota, Zambian footballer (b. 1973)
  • 2015 – Wes Cooley, American soldier and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Fitzhugh L. Fulton, American colonel and pilot (b. 1925)
  • 2016 – Edgar Mitchell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Steve Lang, Canadian bass player (b. 1949)
  • 2017 – Bano Qudsia, Pakistani writer (b. 1928)
  • 2018 – John Mahoney, English-American actor, voice artist, and comedian (b. 1940)
  • 2019 – Matti Nykänen, Finnish Olympic-winning ski jumper and singer (b. 1963)

Holidays and observances on February 4

  • Christian feast day:
    • Andrew Corsini
    • Gilbert of Sempringham
    • John de Brito
    • Blessed Rabanus Maurus
    • Rimbert
    • Veronica
    • February 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of the Armed Struggle (Angola)
  • Earliest day on which Ash Wednesday can fall, while March 10 is the latest; celebrated on the first day of Lent (Christianity)
  • Independence Day (Sri Lanka)
  • Rosa Parks Day (California and Missouri, United States)
  • World Cancer Day

February 4 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 314 – Pope Sylvester I is consecrated, as a successor to the late Pope Miltiades.
  • 1208 – The Battle of Lena takes place between King Sverker II of Sweden and his rival, Prince Eric, whose victory puts him on the throne as King Eric X of Sweden.
  • 1504 – The Treaty of Lyon ends the Italian War, confirming French domination of northern Italy, while Spain receives the Kingdom of Naples.
  • 1578 – Eighty Years’ War and Anglo-Spanish War: The Battle of Gembloux is a victory for Spanish forces led by Don John of Austria over a rebel army of Dutch, Flemish, English, Scottish, German, French and Walloons.
  • 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: Four of the conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, are executed for treason by hanging, drawing and quartering, for plotting against Parliament and King James.
  • 1747 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.
  • 1814 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas becomes Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina).
  • 1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge War, the United States towns of Juneautown and Kilbourntown unify to create the City of Milwaukee.
  • 1848 – John C. Frémont is court-martialed for mutiny and disobeying orders.
  • 1862 – Alvan Graham Clark discovers the white dwarf star Sirius B, a companion of Sirius, through an 18.5-inch (47 cm) telescope now located at Northwestern University.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery and submits it to the states for ratification.
  • 1865 – American Civil War: Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
  • 1891 – History of Portugal: The first attempt at a Portuguese republican revolution breaks out in the northern city of Porto.
  • 1897 – Czechoslav Trade Union Association is founded in Prague.
  • 1900 – Datu Muhammad Salleh is killed in Kampung Teboh, Tambunan, ending the Mat Salleh Rebellion.
  • 1915 – World War I: Germany is the first to make large-scale use of poison gas in warfare in the Battle of Bolimów against Russia.
  • 1917 – World War I: Germany announces that its U-boats will resume unrestricted submarine warfare after a two-year hiatus.
  • 1918 – A series of accidental collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
  • 1919 – The Battle of George Square takes place in Glasgow, Scotland, during a campaign for shorter working hours.
  • 1928 – Leon Trotsky is exiled to Alma-Ata.
  • 1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape.
  • 1942 – World War II: Allied forces are defeated by the Japanese at the Battle of Malaya and retreat to Singapore.
  • 1943 – World War II: German Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus surrenders to the Soviets at Stalingrad, followed 2 days later by the remainder of his Sixth Army, ending one of the war’s fiercest battles.
  • 1944 – World War II: American forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-held Marshall Islands.
  • 1944 – World War II: During the Anzio campaign, the 1st Ranger Battalion (Darby’s Rangers) is destroyed behind enemy lines in a heavily outnumbered encounter at Battle of Cisterna, Italy.
  • 1945 – US Army private Eddie Slovik is executed for desertion, the first such execution of an American soldier since the Civil War.
  • 1945 – World War II: About 3,000 inmates from the Stutthof concentration camp are forcibly marched into the Baltic Sea at Palmnicken (now Yantarny, Russia) and executed.
  • 1945 – World War II: The end of fighting in the Battle of Hill 170 during the Burma Campaign, in which the British 3 Commando Brigade repulsed a Japanese counterattack on their positions and precipitated a general retirement from the Arakan Peninsula.
  • 1946 – Cold War: Yugoslavia’s new constitution, modeling that of the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent republics (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia).
  • 1946 – The Democratic Republic of Vietnam introduces the đồng to replace the French Indochinese piastre at par.
  • 1949 – These Are My Children, the first television daytime soap opera, is broadcast by the NBC station in Chicago.
  • 1950 – Cold War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
  • 1951 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 90 relating to Korean War is adopted.
  • 1953 – A North Sea flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands and over 300 in the United Kingdom.
  • 1957 – Eight people (5 total crew from 2 aircraft and 3 on the ground) in Pacoima, California are killed following the mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89 Scorpion fighter jet.
  • 1958 – Cold War: Space Race: The first successful American satellite detects the Van Allen radiation belt.
  • 1961 – Project Mercury: Mercury-Redstone 2: Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
  • 1966 – The Soviet Union launches the unmanned Luna 9 spacecraft as part of the Luna program.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong guerrillas attack the United States embassy in Saigon, and other attacks, in the early morning hours, later grouped together as the Tet Offensive.
  • 1968 – Nauru gains independence from Australia.
  • 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14: Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell, aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on the Moon.
  • 1971 – The Winter Soldier Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies in Vietnam, begins in Detroit.
  • 1978 – The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) goes on public display after being returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.
  • 1996 – An explosives-filled truck rams into the gates of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in Colombo, killing at least 86 people and injuring 1,400.
  • 2000 – Alaska Airlines Flight 261 crash: An MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu, California, killing all 88 aboard.
  • 2001 – In the Netherlands, a Scottish court convicts Libyan Abdelbaset al-Megrahi and acquits another Libyan citizen for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988.
  • 2009 – In Kenya, at least 113 people are killed and over 200 injured following an oil spillage ignition in Molo, days after a massive fire at a Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi killed at least 25 people.
  • 2018 – Both a blue moon and a total lunar eclipse occur.
  • 2019 – Abdullah of Pahang is sworn in as the 16th Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
  • 2020 – The United Kingdom’s membership within the European Union ceases in accordance with Article 50, after 47 years of being a member state.

Births on January 31

  • 1512 – Henry, King of Portugal (d. 1580)
  • 1543 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Japanese shōgun (d. 1616)
  • 1583 – Peter Bulkley, English and later American Puritan (d. 1659)
  • 1597 – John Francis Regis, French priest and saint (d. 1640)
  • 1607 – James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby (d. 1651)
  • 1624 – Arnold Geulincx, Flemish philosopher and academic (d. 1669)
  • 1673 – Louis de Montfort, French priest and saint (d. 1716)
  • 1686 – Hans Egede, Norwegian missionary and explorer (d. 1758)
  • 1752 – Gouverneur Morris, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to France (d. 1816)
  • 1759 – François Devienne, French flute player and composer (d. 1803)
  • 1769 – André-Jacques Garnerin, French balloonist and the inventor of the frameless parachute (d. 1823)
  • 1785 – Magdalena Dobromila Rettigová, Czech cook book author (d. 1845)
  • 1797 – Franz Schubert, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1828)
  • 1799 – Rodolphe Töpffer, Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist (d. 1846)
  • 1820 – William B. Washburn, American politician, 28th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1887)
  • 1835 – Lunalilo of Hawaii (d. 1874)
  • 1854 – David Emmanuel, Romanian mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
  • 1865 – Henri Desgrange, French cyclist and journalist (d. 1940)
  • 1865 – Shastriji Maharaj, Indian spiritual leader, founded BAPS (d. 1951)
  • 1868 – Theodore William Richards, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
  • 1872 – Zane Grey, American author (d. 1939)
  • 1881 – Irving Langmuir, American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
  • 1884 – Theodor Heuss, German journalist and politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Germany (d. 1963)
  • 1884 – Mammad Amin Rasulzade, Azerbaijani scholar and politician, 1st President of The Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan (d. 1955)
  • 1889 – Frank Foster, English cricketer (d. 1958)
  • 1892 – Eddie Cantor, American singer-songwriter, actor, and dancer (d. 1964)
  • 1894 – Isham Jones, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1956)
  • 1896 – Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian mathematician and historian (d. 1966)
  • 1900 – Betty Parsons, American artist, art dealer and collector (d. 1982)
  • 1902 – Nat Bailey, Canadian businessman, founded White Spot (d. 1978)
  • 1902 – Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (d. 1968)
  • 1902 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
  • 1902 – Julian Steward, American anthropologist (d. 1972)
  • 1905 – John O’Hara, American author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1970)
  • 1909 – Miron Grindea, Romanian-English journalist (d. 1995)
  • 1913 – Don Hutson, American football player and coach (d. 1997)
  • 1914 – Jersey Joe Walcott, American boxer and police officer (d. 1994)
  • 1915 – Bobby Hackett, American trumpet player and cornet player (d. 1976)
  • 1915 – Alan Lomax, American historian, author, and scholar (d. 2002)
  • 1915 – Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)
  • 1915 – Garry Moore, American comedian and game show host (d. 1993)
  • 1916 – Frank Parker, American tennis player (d. 1997)
  • 1917 – Fred Bassetti, American architect and academic, founded Bassetti Architects (d. 2013)
  • 1919 – Jackie Robinson, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1972)
  • 1920 – Stewart Udall, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 37th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 2010)
  • 1920 – Bert Williams, English footballer (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – John Agar, American actor (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Carol Channing, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2019)
  • 1921 – E. Fay Jones, American architect, designed the Thorncrown Chapel (d. 2004)
  • 1921 – Mario Lanza, American tenor and actor (d. 1959)
  • 1922 – Joanne Dru, American actress (d. 1996)
  • 1923 – Norman Mailer, American journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1925 – Benjamin Hooks, American minister, lawyer, and activist (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – Tom Alston, American baseball player (d. 1993)
  • 1926 – Chuck Willis, American singer-songwriter (d. 1958)
  • 1927 – Norm Prescott, American animator, producer, and composer, co-founded Filmation Studios (d. 2005)
  • 1928 – Irma Wyman, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Rudolf Mössbauer, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Joakim Bonnier, Swedish race car driver (d. 1972)
  • 1930 – Al De Lory, American composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2012)
  • 1931 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Christopher Chataway, English runner, journalist, and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1932 – Miron Babiak, Polish sea captain (d. 2013)
  • 1933 – Camille Henry, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1997)
  • 1933 – Morton Mower, American cardiologist and inventor
  • 1934 – Ernesto Brambilla, Italian motorcycle racer and race car driver
  • 1934 – Gene DeWeese, American author (d. 2012)
  • 1934 – James Franciscus, American actor and producer (d. 1991)
  • 1934 – Bob Turner, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1935 – Kenzaburō Ōe, Japanese author and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1936 – Can Bartu, Turkish former basketball and football player
  • 1937 – Regimantas Adomaitis, Lithuanian actor
  • 1937 – Andrée Boucher, Canadian educator and politician, 39th Mayor of Quebec City (d. 2007)
  • 1937 – Philip Glass, American composer
  • 1937 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (d. 2008)
  • 1938 – Beatrix of the Netherlands
  • 1938 – Lynn Carlin, American actress
  • 1938 – James G. Watt, American lawyer and politician, 43rd United States Secretary of the Interior
  • 1940 – Kitch Christie, South African rugby player and coach (d. 1998)
  • 1940 – Stuart Margolin, American actor and director
  • 1941 – Dick Gephardt, American lawyer and politician
  • 1941 – Gerald McDermott, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
  • 1941 – Jessica Walter, American actress
  • 1942 – Daniela Bianchi, Italian actress
  • 1942 – Derek Jarman, English director, stage designer, and author (d. 1994)
  • 1944 – John Inverarity, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1945 – Rynn Berry, American historian and author (d. 2014)
  • 1945 – Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, English lawyer, judge, and academic
  • 1945 – Joseph Kosuth, American sculptor and theorist
  • 1946 – Terry Kath, American guitarist and singer-songwriter (Chicago) (d. 1978)
  • 1946 – Medin Zhega, Albanian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1947 – Nolan Ryan, American baseball player
  • 1947 – Matt Minglewood, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Glynn Turman, American actor
  • 1948 – Volkmar Groß, German footballer (d. 2014)
  • 1948 – Muneo Suzuki, Japanese politician
  • 1949 – Johan Derksen, Dutch footballer and journalist
  • 1949 – Norris Church Mailer, American model and educator (d. 2010)
  • 1949 – Ken Wilber, American sociologist, philosopher, and author
  • 1950 – Denise Fleming, American author and illustrator
  • 1950 – Alexander Korzhakov, Russian general and bodyguard
  • 1950 – Janice Rebibo, American-Israeli author and poet (d. 2015)
  • 1951 – Harry Wayne Casey, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1954 – Faoud Bacchus, Guyanese cricketer
  • 1954 – Adrian Vandenberg, Dutch guitarist and songwriter
  • 1955 – Virginia Ruzici, Romanian tennis player and manager
  • 1956 – Guido van Rossum, Dutch programmer, creator of the Python programming language
  • 1956 – John Lydon, English singer-songwriter
  • 1957 – Shirley Babashoff, American swimmer
  • 1958 – Armin Reichel, German footballer and manager
  • 1959 – Anthony LaPaglia, Australian actor and producer
  • 1959 – Kelly Lynch, American model and actress
  • 1960 – Akbar Ganji, Iranian journalist and author
  • 1960 – Grant Morrison, Scottish author and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Željko Šturanović, Montenegrin politician, 31st Prime Minister of Montenegro (d. 2014)
  • 1961 – Elizabeth Barker, Baroness Barker, English politician
  • 1961 – Fatou Bensouda, Gambian lawyer and judge
  • 1961 – Lloyd Cole, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1963 – Craig Coleman, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1963 – Gwen Graham, American lawyer and politician
  • 1964 – Martha MacCallum, American journalist
  • 1964 – Dawn Prince-Hughes, American scientist
  • 1965 – Giorgos Gasparis, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1965 – Ofra Harnoy, Israeli-Canadian cellist
  • 1965 – Peter Sagal, American author and radio host
  • 1966 – Umar Alisha, Indian journalist and philanthropist
  • 1966 – Thant Myint-U, Myanmar historian, diplomat, conservationist, and former presidential advisor.
  • 1966 – Dexter Fletcher, English actor and director
  • 1967 – Fat Mike, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
  • 1968 – John Collins, Scottish footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1968 – Matt King, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Ulrica Messing, Swedish politician, 2nd Swedish Minister for Infrastructure
  • 1968 – Patrick Stevens, Belgian sprinter
  • 1969 – Dov Charney, Canadian-American fashion designer and businessman, founded American Apparel
  • 1969 – Daniel Moder, American cinematographer
  • 1970 – Minnie Driver, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1970 – Danny Michel, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1971 – Patricia Velásquez, Venezuelan model and actress
  • 1973 – Portia de Rossi, Australian-American actress
  • 1974 – Othella Harrington, American basketball player and coach
  • 1974 – Ariel Pestano, Cuban baseball player
  • 1975 – Fred Coleman, American football player and coach
  • 1975 – Preity Zinta, Indian actress, producer, and television host
  • 1976 – Traianos Dellas, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1976 – Buddy Rice, American race car driver
  • 1976 – Paul Scheer, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1977 – Suchitra Singh, Indian cricketer
  • 1977 – Kerry Washington, American actress
  • 1978 – Fabián Caballero, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1979 – Daniel Tammet, English author and educator
  • 1980 – James Adomian, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Gary Doherty, Irish footballer, centre forward
  • 1980 – Shim Yi-young, South Korean actress
  • 1981 – Julio Arca, Argentinian footballer
  • 1981 – Mark Cameron, Australian cricketer
  • 1981 – Justin Timberlake, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
  • 1982 – Maret Ani, Estonian tennis player
  • 1982 – Yuniesky Betancourt, Cuban baseball player
  • 1982 – Andreas Görlitz, German footballer
  • 1982 – Salvatore Masiello, Italian footballer
  • 1982 – Allan McGregor, Scottish footballer
  • 1982 – Jānis Sprukts, Latvian ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Yukimi Nagano, Swedish singer-songwriter
  • 1982 – Brad Thompson, American baseball player
  • 1983 – James Sutton, English actor
  • 1983 – Fabio Quagliarella, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – Vernon Davis, American football player
  • 1984 – Josh Johnson, Canadian-American baseball player
  • 1984 – Jeremy Wariner, American runner
  • 1984 – Alessandro Zanni, Italian rugby player
  • 1985 – Adam Federici, Australian footballer
  • 1985 – Mario Williams, American football player
  • 1986 – Walter Dix, American sprinter
  • 1986 – Megan Ellison, American film producer, founded Annapurna Pictures
  • 1986 – George Elokobi, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1986 – Yves Ma-Kalambay, Belgian footballer
  • 1986 – Pauline Parmentier, French tennis player
  • 1987 – Marcus Mumford, American-English singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Brett Pitman, English footballer
  • 1988 – Taijo Teniste, Estonian footballer
  • 1990 – Jacopo Fortunato, Italian footballer
  • 1990 – Jacob Markström, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Kota Yabu, Japanese idol, singer-songwriter, model, actor

Deaths on January 31

  • 632 – Máedóc of Ferns, Irish bishop and saint (b. 550)
  • 876 – Hemma of Altdorf, Frankish queen
  • 985 – Ryōgen, Japanese monk and abbot (b. 912)
  • 1030 – William V, duke of Aquitaine (b. 969)
  • 1216 – Theodore II, patriarch of Constantinople
  • 1398 – Sukō, emperor of Japan (b. 1334)
  • 1418 – Mircea I, prince of Wallachia (b. 1355)
  • 1435 – Xuande, emperor of China (b. 1398)
  • 1561 – Bairam Khan, Mughalan general (b. 1501)
  • 1561 – Menno Simons, Dutch minister and theologian (b. 1496)
  • 1580 – Henry, king of Portugal (b. 1512)
  • 1606 – Guy Fawkes, English conspirator, leader of the Gunpowder Plot (b. 1570)
  • 1606 – Ambrose Rookwood, English Gunpowder Plot conspirator (b. 1578)
  • 1606 – Thomas Wintour, English Gunpowder Plot conspirator (b. 1571)
  • 1615 – Claudio Acquaviva, Italian priest, 5th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1543)
  • 1632 – Jost Bürgi, Swiss clockmaker and mathematician (b. 1552)
  • 1665 – Johannes Clauberg, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1622)
  • 1686 – Jean Mairet, French playwright (b. 1604)
  • 1720 – Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of Stamford, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1654)
  • 1729 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (b. 1659)
  • 1736 – Filippo Juvarra, Italian architect and set designer, designed the Basilica of Superga (b. 1678)
  • 1790 – Thomas Lewis, Irish-born American lawyer and surveyor (b. 1718)
  • 1794 – Mariot Arbuthnot, English admiral and politician, 12th Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia (b. 1711)
  • 1811 – Manuel Alberti, Argentinian priest and journalist (b. 1763)
  • 1815 – José Félix Ribas, Venezuelan soldier (b. 1775)
  • 1828 – Alexander Ypsilantis, Greek general (b. 1792)
  • 1836 – John Cheyne, English physician and author (b. 1777)
  • 1844 – Henri Gatien Bertrand, French general (b. 1773)
  • 1856 – 11th Dalai Lama (b. 1838)
  • 1870 – Cilibi Moise, Moldavian-Romanian journalist and author (b. 1812)
  • 1888 – John Bosco, Italian priest and educator, founded the Salesian Society (b. 1815)
  • 1892 – Charles Spurgeon, English pastor and author (b. 1834)
  • 1900 – John Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry, Scottish nobleman (b. 1844)
  • 1907 – Timothy Eaton, Canadian businessman, founded Eaton’s (b. 1834)
  • 1923 – Eligiusz Niewiadomski, Polish painter and critic (b. 1869)
  • 1933 – John Galsworthy, English novelist and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
  • 1942 – Henry Larkin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1860)
  • 1944 – Jean Giraudoux, French author and playwright (b. 1882)
  • 1954 – Edwin Howard Armstrong, American engineer, invented FM radio (b. 1890)
  • 1954 – Vivian Woodward, English captain and footballer (b. 1879)
  • 1955 – John Mott, American activist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
  • 1956 – A. A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright, created Winnie-the-Pooh (b. 1882)
  • 1958 – Karl Selter, Estonian politician, 14th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1898)
  • 1960 – Auguste Herbin, French painter (b. 1882)
  • 1961 – Krishna Singh, Indian politician, 1st Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1887)
  • 1966 – Arthur Percival, English general (b. 1887)
  • 1967 – Eddie Tolan, American sprinter and educator (b. 1908)
  • 1969 – Meher Baba, Indian spiritual master (b. 1894)
  • 1971 – Viktor Zhirmunsky, Russian historian and linguist (b. 1891)
  • 1973 – Ragnar Frisch, Norwegian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
  • 1974 – Samuel Goldwyn, Polish-American film producer, co-founded Goldwyn Pictures (b. 1882)
  • 1976 – Ernesto Miranda, American criminal (b. 1941)
  • 1976 – Evert Taube, Swedish author and composer (b. 1890)
  • 1985 – Reginald Baker, English-Australian film producer (b. 1896)
  • 1985 – Tatsuzō Ishikawa, Japanese author (b. 1905)
  • 1987 – Yves Allégret, French director and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 1989 – William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (b. 1896)
  • 1990 – Eveline Du Bois-Reymond Marcus, German zoologist and academic (b. 1901)
  • 1990 – Rashad Khalifa, Egyptian-American biochemist and academic (b. 1935)
  • 1995 – George Abbott, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1887)
  • 1997 – John Joseph Scanlan, Irish-American bishop (b. 1930)
  • 1999 – Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and trainer, co-founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (b. 1938)
  • 1999 – Norm Zauchin, American baseball player (b. 1929)
  • 2000 – Gil Kane, Latvian-American author and illustrator (b. 1926)
  • 2001 – Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian-American author (b. 1923)
  • 2002 – Gabby Gabreski, American colonel and pilot (b. 1919)
  • 2004 – Eleanor Holm, American swimmer and actress (b. 1913)
  • 2004 – Suraiya, Indian actress and playback singer (b. 1929)
  • 2006 – Moira Shearer, Scottish actress and ballerina (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Molly Ivins, American journalist and author (b. 1944)
  • 2007 – Adelaide Tambo, South African activist and politician (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – František Čapek, Czechoslovakian canoeist (b. 1914)
  • 2011 – Bartolomeu Anania, Romanian bishop and poet (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Mark Ryan, English guitarist and playwright (b. 1959)
  • 2012 – Mani Ram Bagri, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Anthony Bevilacqua, American cardinal (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Tristram Potter Coffin, American author, scholar, and academic (b. 1922)
  • 2012 – Dorothea Tanning, American painter and sculptor (b. 1910)
  • 2013 – Rubén Bonifaz Nuño, Mexican poet and scholar (b. 1923)
  • 2013 – Hassan Habibi, Iranian lawyer and politician, 1st Vice President of Iran (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Francis M. Fesmire, American cardiologist and physician (b. 1959)
  • 2014 – Anna Gordy Gaye, American songwriter and producer, co-founded Anna Records (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Abdirizak Haji Hussein, Somalian politician, 4th Prime Minister of Somalia (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Miklós Jancsó, Hungarian director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1928)
  • 2014 – Christopher Jones, American actor (b. 1941)
  • 2015 – Vic Howe, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
  • 2015 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, coach, and journalist (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Lizabeth Scott, American actress (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – Richard von Weizsäcker, German captain and politician, 6th President of Germany (b. 1920)
  • 2016 – Gil Carmichael, American businessman and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2016 – Terry Wogan, Irish-British radio and television host (b. 1938)
  • 2017 – Rob Stewart, Canadian filmmaker (b. 1979)
  • 2018 – Rasual Butler, American professional basketball player (b. 1979)
  • 2018 – Leah LaBelle, American singer (b. 1986)

Holidays and observances on January 31

  • Christian feast day:
    • Domitius (Domice) of Amiens
    • Francis Xavier Bianchi
    • Geminianus
    • John Bosco
    • Julius of Novara
    • Blessed Ludovica
    • Máedóc (Mogue, Aiden)
    • Marcella
    • Samuel Shoemaker (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Tysul
    • Ulphia
    • Wilgils
    • January 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Amartithi (Meherabad, India, followers of Meher Baba)
  • Independence Day (Nauru), celebrates independence from Australia in 1968.
  • Street Children’s Day (Austria)

January 31 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.
  • 1069 – Robert de Comines, appointed Earl of Northumbria by William the Conqueror, rides into Durham, England, where he is defeated and killed by rebels. This incident leads to the Harrying of the North.
  • 1077 – Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is lifted after he humbles himself before Pope Gregory VII at Canossa in Italy.
  • 1521 – The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
  • 1547 – Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father’s death.
  • 1568 – The Edict of Torda prohibited the persecution of individuals on the religious ground in John Sigismund Zápolya’s Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
  • 1573 – Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
  • 1624 – Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on the island of Saint Kitts.
  • 1671 – Original city of Panama (founded in 1519) was destroyed by a fire when privateer Henry Morgan sacked and set fire to it. The site of the previously devastated city is still in ruins (see Panama Viejo).
  • 1724 – The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
  • 1754 – Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.
  • 1813 – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
  • 1846 – The Battle of Aliwal, India, is won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
  • 1851 – Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois.
  • 1855 – A locomotive on the Panama Canal Railway runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
  • 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
  • 1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first independent daily college newspaper in the United States.
  • 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).
  • 1902 – The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
  • 1908 – Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d’état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco.
  • 1909 – United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish–American War.
  • 1915 – An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces.
  • 1918 – Finnish Civil War: The Red Guard rebels seize control of the capital, Helsinki; members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
  • 1920 – Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
  • 1922 – Knickerbocker Storm, Washington D.C.’s biggest snowfall, causes the city’s greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre collapses.
  • 1932 – Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
  • 1933 – The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali Khan and is accepted by Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
  • 1935 – Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
  • 1938 – The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph).
  • 1941 – Franco-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. A Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
  • 1945 – World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
  • 1956 – Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance.
  • 1958 – The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
  • 1960 – The National Football League announced expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for 1961 NFL season.
  • 1964 – An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission is shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
  • 1965 – The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament.
  • 1977 – The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 which dumps 10 feet (3.0 m) of snow in one day in Upstate New York, with Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown, and surrounding areas are most affected.
  • 1980 – USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
  • 1981 – Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
  • 1982 – US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
  • 1984 – Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.
  • 1985 – Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
  • 1986 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
  • 1988 – In R v Morgentaler the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down all anti-abortion laws.
  • 2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia, killing 94.
  • 2006 – The roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair in Poland collapses due to the weight of snow, killing 65 and injuring more than 170 others.

Births on January 28

  • 1312 – Joan II, queen of Navarre (d. 1349)
  • 1368 – Razadarit, king of Hanthawaddy (d. 1421)
  • 1457 – Henry VII, king of England (d. 1509)
  • 1533 – Paul Luther, German scientist (d. 1593)
  • 1540 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German-Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1610)
  • 1582 – John Barclay, French-Scottish poet and author (d. 1621)
  • 1600 – Clement IX, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1669)
  • 1608 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
  • 1611 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (d. 1687)
  • 1622 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (d. 1691)
  • 1693 – Gregor Werner, Austrian composer (d. 1766)
  • 1701 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
  • 1706 – John Baskerville, English printer and typographer (d. 1775)
  • 1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shōgun (d. 1761)
  • 1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1774)
  • 1719 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German poet and critic (d. 1749)
  • 1726 – Christian Felix Weiße, German poet and playwright (d. 1802)
  • 1755 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, Polish-German physician, anthropologist, and paleontologist (d. 1830)
  • 1784 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
  • 1797 – Charles Gray Round, English lawyer and politician (d. 1867)
  • 1818 – George S. Boutwell, American lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1905)
  • 1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian soldier, journalist, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
  • 1833 – Charles George Gordon, English general and politician (d. 1885)
  • 1841 – Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-American explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
  • 1843 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1890)
  • 1853 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and theorist (d. 1895)
  • 1853 – Vladimir Solovyov, Russian philosopher, poet, and critic (d. 1900)
  • 1855 – William Seward Burroughs I, American businessman, founded the Burroughs Corporation (d. 1898)
  • 1858 – Tannatt William Edgeworth David, Welsh-Australian geologist and explorer (d. 1934)
  • 1861 – Julián Felipe, Filipino composer and educator (d. 1944)
  • 1863 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian-American painter (d. 1918)
  • 1864 – Charles Williams Nash, American businessman, founded Nash Motors (d. 1948)
  • 1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian author and politician (d. 1928)
  • 1865 – Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, Finnish lawyer, judge, and politician, 1st President of Finland (d. 1952)
  • 1873 – Colette, French novelist and journalist (d. 1954)
  • 1873 – Monty Noble, Australian cricketer (d. 1940)
  • 1874 – Alex Smith, Scottish golfer (d. 1930)
  • 1875 – Julián Carrillo, Mexican violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1965)
  • 1878 – Walter Kollo, German composer and conductor (d. 1940)
  • 1880 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer and coach (d. 1970)
  • 1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (d. 1962)
  • 1885 – Vahan Terian, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1920)
  • 1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian-French author and poet (d. 1973)
  • 1886 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese engineer and academic (d. 1976)
  • 1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-American pianist and educator (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Alice Neel, American painter (d. 1984)
  • 1903 – Aleksander Kamiński, Polish author and educator (d. 1978)
  • 1903 – Kathleen Lonsdale, Irish crystallographer and 1st female FRS (d. 1971)
  • 1906 – Pat O’Callaghan, Irish athlete (d. 1991)
  • 1906 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek general and politician (d. 1992)
  • 1908 – Paul Misraki, Turkish-French composer and historian (d. 1998)
  • 1909 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931)
  • 1910 – John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)
  • 1911 – Johan van Hulst, Dutch politician, academic and author, Yad Vashem recipient (d. 2018)
  • 1912 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
  • 1918 – Harry Corbett, English puppeteer, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
  • 1918 – Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – Gabby Gabreski, American colonel and pilot (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Vytautas Norkus, Lithuanian–American basketball player (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Anna Gordy Gaye, American songwriter and producer, co-founded Anna Records (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
  • 1924 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (d. 1976)
  • 1925 – Raja Ramanna, Indian physicist and politician (d. 2004)
  • 1926 – Jimmy Bryan, American race car driver (d. 1960)
  • 1927 – Per Oscarsson, Swedish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1927 – Ronnie Scott, English saxophonist (d. 1996)
  • 1927 – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1927 – Vera Williams, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Acker Bilk, English singer and clarinet player (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Nikolai Parshin, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1929 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-American sculptor and illustrator
  • 1929 – Edith M. Flanigen, American chemist
  • 1930 – Kurt Biedenkopf, German academic and politician, 54th President of the German Bundesrat
  • 1930 – Roy Clarke, English screenwriter, comedian and soldier
  • 1933 – Jack Hill, American director and screenwriter
  • 1934 – Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1990)
  • 1935 – David Lodge, English author and critic
  • 1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, director, and writer
  • 1937 – Karel Čáslavský, Czech historian and television host (d. 2013)
  • 1938 – Tomas Lindahl, Swedish-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1938 – Leonid Zhabotinsky, Ukrainian weightlifter and coach (d. 2016)
  • 1939 – John M. Fabian, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1940 – Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman and philanthropist, founded Grupo Carso
  • 1942 – Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater
  • 1942 – Erkki Pohjanheimo, Finnish director and producer
  • 1943 – Dick Taylor, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1944 – Rosalía Mera, Spanish businesswoman, co-founded Inditex and Zara (d. 2013)
  • 1944 – John Tavener, English composer (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Frank Doubleday, American actor (d. 2018)
  • 1945 – Maxwell Fuller, Australian chess player (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Marthe Keller, Swiss actress and director
  • 1945 – John Perkins, American author and activist
  • 1947 – Jeanne Shaheen, American educator and politician, 78th Governor of New Hampshire
  • 1948 – Bob Moses, American drummer
  • 1948 – Charles Taylor, Liberian politician, 22nd President of Liberia
  • 1949 – Mike Moore, New Zealand union leader and politician, 34th Prime Minister of New Zealand
  • 1949 – Gregg Popovich, American basketball player and coach
  • 1950 – Barbi Benton, American actress, singer and model
  • 1950 – Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahraini king
  • 1950 – David C. Hilmers, American colonel, physician, and astronaut
  • 1950 – Naila Kabeer, Bangladeshi-English economist and academic
  • 1951 – Brian Bilbray, American politician
  • 1951 – Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1951 – Billy Bass Nelson, American R&B/funk bass player
  • 1952 – Richard Glatzer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1953 – Colin Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1954 – Peter Lampe, German theologian and historian
  • 1954 – Bruno Metsu, French footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – Rick Warren, American pastor and author
  • 1955 – Vinod Khosla, Indian-American businessman, co-founded Sun Microsystems
  • 1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, French lawyer and politician, 23rd President of France
  • 1956 – Richard Danielpour, American composer and educator
  • 1956 – Peter Schilling, German singer-songwriter
  • 1957 – Mark Napier, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Nick Price, Zimbabwean-South African golfer
  • 1957 – Frank Skinner, English comedian, actor, and author
  • 1959 – Frank Darabont, American director and producer
  • 1960 – Loren Legarda, Filipino journalist and politician
  • 1961 – Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1962 – Sam Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1964 – David Lawrence, English cricketer
  • 1966 – Seiji Mizushima, Japanese director and producer
  • 1967 – Billy Brownless, Australian footballer and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1968 – Rakim, American rapper
  • 1969 – Giorgio Lamberti, Italian swimmer
  • 1969 – Mo Rocca, American comedian and television journalist
  • 1969 – Linda Sánchez, American lawyer and politician
  • 1972 – Mark Regan, English rugby player
  • 1972 – Nicky Southall, English footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Léon van Bon, Dutch cyclist
  • 1974 – Tony Delk, American basketball player and coach
  • 1974 – Jermaine Dye, American baseball player
  • 1974 – Ramsey Nasr, Dutch author and poet
  • 1974 – Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player and politician
  • 1975 – Pedro Pinto, Portuguese-American journalist
  • 1975 – Junior Spivey, American baseball player and coach
  • 1976 – Sireli Bobo, Fijian rugby player
  • 1976 – Mark Madsen, American basketball player and coach
  • 1976 – Rick Ross, American rapper and producer
  • 1976 – Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer
  • 1977 – Sandis Buškevics, Latvian basketball player and coach
  • 1977 – Daunte Culpepper, American football player
  • 1977 – Joey Fatone, American singer, dancer, and television personality
  • 1977 – Takuma Sato, Japanese race car driver
  • 1978 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
  • 1978 – Jamie Carragher, English footballer and sportscaster
  • 1978 – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
  • 1978 – Stephen Farrelly, Irish professional wrestler
  • 1978 – Big Freedia, New Orleans musician, “Queen of Bounce”
  • 1980 – Nick Carter, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1980 – Yasuhito Endō, Japanese footballer
  • 1980 – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1980 – Brian Fallon, American singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor and producer
  • 1984 – Ben Clucas, English race car driver
  • 1984 – Stephen Gostkowski, American football player
  • 1984 – Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Anne Panter, English field hockey player
  • 1985 – J. Cole, American singer
  • 1985 – Daniel Carcillo, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Lauris Dārziņš, Latvian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
  • 1985 – Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
  • 1986 – Jessica Ennis-Hill, English heptathlete and hurdler
  • 1986 – Nathan Outteridge, Australian sailor
  • 1986 – Asad Shafiq, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1988 – Paul Henry, English footballer
  • 1988 – Seiya Sanada, Japanese wrestler
  • 1989 – Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer
  • 1991 – Carl Klingberg, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Sergio Araujo, Argentinian footballer
  • 1998 – Ariel Winter, American actress

Deaths on January 28

  • 592 – Guntram, French king (b. 532)
  • 814 – Charlemagne, Holy Roman emperor (pleurisy; b. 742)
  • 919 – Zhou Dewei, Chinese general
  • 929 – Gao Jixing, founder of Chinese Jingnan (b. 858)
  • 947 – Jing Yanguang, Chinese general (b. 892)
  • 1061 – Spytihněv II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1031)
  • 1142 – Yue Fei, Chinese general (b. 1103)
  • 1256 – William II, Count of Holland, King of Germany (b. 1227)
  • 1271 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France (b. 1247)
  • 1290 – Dervorguilla of Galloway, Scottish noble, mother of king John Balliol of Scotland (b. c. 1210)
  • 1443 – Robert le Maçon, French diplomat (b. 1365)
  • 1501 – John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham, English baron and Lord High Treasurer (b. 1433)
  • 1547 – Henry VIII, king of England (b. 1491)
  • 1613 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (b. 1545)
  • 1621 – Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
  • 1666 – Tommaso Dingli, Maltese architect and sculptor (b. 1591)
  • 1672 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
  • 1681 – Richard Allestree, English priest and academic (b. 1619)
  • 1687 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (b. 1611)
  • 1688 – Ferdinand Verbiest, Flemish Jesuit missionary in China (b. 1623)
  • 1697 – Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet, English general and politician (b. 1645)
  • 1754 – Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian-Danish historian and philosopher (b. 1684)
  • 1782 – Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville, French geographer and cartographer (b. 1697)
  • 1832 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (b. 1769)
  • 1859 – F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
  • 1864 – Émile Clapeyron, French physicist and engineer (b. 1799)
  • 1873 – John Hart, English-Australian politician, 10th Premier of South Australia (b. 1809)
  • 1903 – Augusta Holmès, French pianist and composer (b. 1847)
  • 1912 – Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist and theorist (b. 1819)
  • 1918 – John McCrae, Canadian soldier, physician, and author (b. 1872)
  • 1921 – Mustafa Suphi, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1883)
  • 1930 – Emmy Destinn, Czech soprano and poet (b. 1878)
  • 1935 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1859)
  • 1937 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and target shooter (b. 1862)
  • 1938 – Bernd Rosemeyer, German race car driver (b. 1909)
  • 1939 – W. B. Yeats, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
  • 1942 – Edward Siegler, American gymnast and triathlete (b. 1881)
  • 1945 – Roza Shanina, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1924)
  • 1947 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan-French composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1875)
  • 1948 – Hans Aumeier, German SS officer (b. 1906)
  • 1949 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
  • 1950 – Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1883)
  • 1953 – James Scullin, Australian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
  • 1953 – Neyzen Tevfik, Turkish philosopher and poet (b. 1879)
  • 1959 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (b. 1899)
  • 1960 – Zora Neale Hurston, American novelist, short story writer, and folklorist (b. 1891)
  • 1963 – Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (b. 1884)
  • 1965 – Tich Freeman, English cricketer (b. 1888)
  • 1965 – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (b. 1867)
  • 1971 – Donald Winnicott, English paediatrician and psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
  • 1973 – John Banner, Austrian actor (b. 1910)
  • 1976 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (b. 1924)
  • 1978 – Ward Moore, American author (b. 1903)
  • 1983 – Billy Fury. English pop star (b. 1940)
  • 1983 – Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
  • 1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger crew
    • Gregory Jarvis, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1944)
    • Christa McAuliffe, American educator and astronaut (b. 1948)
    • Ronald McNair, American physicist and astronaut (b. 1950)
    • Ellison Onizuka, American engineer and astronaut (b. 1946)
    • Judith Resnik, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1949)
    • Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1939)
    • Michael J. Smith, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1945)
  • 1988 – Klaus Fuchs, German physicist and politician (b. 1911)
  • 1989 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (b. 1938)
  • 1993 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, Canadian astronomer and academic (b. 1905)
  • 1996 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1940)
  • 1996 – Burne Hogarth, American cartoonist and author (b. 1911)
  • 1996 – Jerry Siegel, American author and illustrator, co-created Superman (b. 1914)
  • 1998 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese author and illustrator (b. 1938)
  • 1999 – Valery Gavrilin, Russian composer (b. 1939)
  • 2001 – Ranko Marinković, Croatian author and playwright (b. 1913)
  • 2002 – Gustaaf Deloor, Belgian cyclist and soldier (b. 1913)
  • 2002 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 2002 – Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, Turkish author and activist (b. 1946)
  • 2003 – Mieke Pullen, Dutch runner (b. 1957)
  • 2004 – Lloyd M. Bucher, American captain (b. 1927)
  • 2004 – Mel Pritchard, English drummer (b. 1948)
  • 2005 – Jim Capaldi, English singer-songwriter and drummer (b. 1944)
  • 2007 – Carlo Clerici, Swiss cyclist (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Robert Drinan, American priest, lawyer, and politician (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – Yelena Romanova, Russian runner (b. 1963)
  • 2007 – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer (b. 1938)
  • 2009 – Billy Powell, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2012 – Roman Juszkiewicz, Polish astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1952)
  • 2012 – Don Starkell, Canadian adventurer and author (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Florentino Fernández, Cuban-American boxer and coach (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Hattie N. Harrison, American educator and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (b. 1940)
  • 2014 – John Cacavas, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Harry Gamble, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Nigel Jenkins, Welsh poet, journalist, and geographer (b. 1949)
  • 2014 – Jorge Obeid, Argentinian engineer and politician, Governor of Santa Fe (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Suraj Abdurrahman, Nigerian general, architect, and engineer (b. 1954)
  • 2015 – Yves Chauvin, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Lionel Gilbert, Australian historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)
  • 2016 – Signe Toly Anderson, American singer (b. 1941)
  • 2016 – Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
  • 2016 – Franklin Gene Bissell, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Buddy Cianci, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Mayor of Providence (b. 1941)
  • 2016 – Bob Tizard, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 6th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1924)
  • 2017 – Alexander Chancellor, British journalist (b. 1940)
  • 2017 – Geoff Nicholls, British musician (b. 1948)
  • 2019 – Pepe Smith, Filipino rock musician (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances on January 28

  • Christian feast day:
    • Joseph Freinademetz
    • Julian of Cuenca
    • Thomas Aquinas
    • January 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Army Day (Armenia)
  • Data Privacy Day

January 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
  • 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
  • 1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the “Houses of Parliament”.
  • 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
  • 1356 – Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.
  • 1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
  • 1567 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
  • 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
  • 1649 – The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings.
  • 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signed preliminary articles of peace with France, setting the stage to the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.
  • 1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
  • 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony.
  • 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
  • 1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
  • 1877 – The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
  • 1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
  • 1921 – The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die.
  • 1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
  • 1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released.
  • 1936 – King George V of the United Kingdom dies. His eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII. The title Prince of Wales is not used for another 22 years.
  • 1937 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms.
  • 1941 – A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
  • 1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the “Final Solution to the Jewish question”.
  • 1945 – World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
  • 1945 – World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
  • 1949 – Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
  • 1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States of America.
  • 1954 – In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
  • 1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the second youngest man to take the office, and the first Catholic.
  • 1969 – Richard Nixon is inaugurated the 37th President of the United States of America.
  • 1972 – Pakistan launched its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
  • 1977 – Jimmy Carter is inaugurated the 39th President of the United States of America.
  • 1981 – Ronald Reagan is inaugurated the 40th President of the United States of America. Twenty minutes later, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
  • 1986 – In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
  • 1989 – George H. W. Bush is inaugurated the 41st President of the United States of America.
  • 1990 – Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
  • 1991 – Sudan’s government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim north and Christian south.
  • 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France killing 87 of the 96 people on board.
  • 1993 – Bill Clinton is inaugurated the 42nd President of the United States of America.
  • 2001 – George W. Bush is inaugurated the 43rd President of the United States of America.
  • 2001 – President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
  • 2009 – Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States.
  • 2009 – A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.
  • 2017 – Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, becoming the oldest person to assume the office.
  • 2018 – A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others.

Births on January 20

  • 225 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (d. 244)
  • 1029 – Alp Arslan, Seljuk sultan (probable; d. 1072)
  • 1292 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (d. 1330)
  • 1436 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (d. 1490)
  • 1488 – John George, Marquess of Montferrat, Italian noble (d. 1533)
  • 1488 – Sebastian Münster, German scholar, cartographer, and cosmographer (d. 1552)
  • 1499 – Sebastian Franck, German humanist (probable; d. 1543)
  • 1502 – Sebastian de Aparicio, Spanish-Mexican rancher and missionary (d. 1600)
  • 1526 – Rafael Bombelli, Italian mathematician (d. 1572)
  • 1554 – Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
  • 1569 – Heribert Rosweyde, Jesuit hagiographer (d. 1629)
  • 1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1624)
  • 1586 – Johann Hermann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
  • 1664 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian lawyer and jurist (d. 1718)
  • 1703 – Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Flemish violinist and composer (d. 1741)
  • 1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and numismatist (d. 1795)
  • 1716 – Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
  • 1732 – Richard Henry Lee, American lawyer and politician, President of the Continental Congress (d. 1794)
  • 1741 – Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Swedish botanist and author (d. 1783)
  • 1755 – Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1824)
  • 1762 – Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny, Belgian-French composer and theorist (d. 1842)
  • 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1836)
  • 1781 – Joseph Hormayr, Baron zu Hortenburg, Austrian-German historian and politician (d. 1848)
  • 1783 – Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
  • 1799 – Anson Jones, American physician and politician, 5th President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1858)
  • 1804 – Eugène Sue, French author and politician (d. 1857)
  • 1812 – Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
  • 1814 – David Wilmot, American politician, sponsor of Wilmot Proviso (d. 1868)
  • 1834 – George D. Robinson, American lawyer and politician, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
  • 1855 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
  • 1856 – Harriot Stanton Blatch, U.S. suffragist and organizer (d. 1940)
  • 1865 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
  • 1870 – Guillaume Lekeu, Belgian pianist and composer (d. 1894)
  • 1873 – Johannes V. Jensen, Danish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
  • 1874 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and coach (d. 1938)
  • 1876 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1957)
  • 1878 – Finlay Currie, Scottish-English actor (d. 1968)
  • 1879 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and educator (d. 1968)
  • 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, American accountant and politician, 60th Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
  • 1882 – Johnny Torrio, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1957)
  • 1883 – Enoch L. Johnson, American mob boss (d. 1968)
  • 1883 – Forrest Wilson, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
  • 1888 – Lead Belly, American folk/blues musician and songwriter (d. 1949)
  • 1889 – Allan Haines Loughead, American engineer and businessman, founded the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company (d. 1969)
  • 1891 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (d. 1967)
  • 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1946)
  • 1894 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (d. 1968)
  • 1894 – Walter Piston, American composer, theorist, and academic (d. 1976)
  • 1895 – Gábor Szegő, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1985)
  • 1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1996)
  • 1898 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (d. 1947)
  • 1899 – Clarice Cliff, English potter (d. 1972)
  • 1899 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (d. 1990)
  • 1900 – Dorothy Annan, English painter, potter, and muralist (d. 1983)
  • 1900 – Colin Clive, English actor (d. 1937)
  • 1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
  • 1902 – Kevin Barry, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 1920)
  • 1906 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975)
  • 1907 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress and producer (d. 2000)
  • 1908 – Fleur Cowles, American author and illustrator (d. 2009)
  • 1909 – Gōgen Yamaguchi, Japanese martial artist (d. 1989)
  • 1910 – Joy Adamson, Austria-born Kenyan painter and author (d. 1980)
  • 1913 – W. Cleon Skousen, American author and academic (d. 2006)
  • 1915 – Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Pakistani businessman and politician, 7th President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – Nevin Scrimshaw, American scientist (d. 2013)
  • 1920 – Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
  • 1920 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1922 – Ray Anthony, American trumpet player, composer, bandleader, and actor
  • 1922 – Don Mankiewicz, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – Slim Whitman, American country and western singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist and composer (d. 2010)
  • 1925 – Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2015)
  • 1925 – Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest, poet, and politician (d. 2020)
  • 1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1926 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
  • 1927 – Qurratulain Hyder, Indian-Pakistani journalist and academic (d. 2007)
  • 1928 – Antonio de Almeida, French conductor and musicologist (d. 1997)
  • 1929 – Arte Johnson, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Masaharu Kawakatsu, Japanese biologist
  • 1929 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
  • 1930 – Buzz Aldrin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1931 – David Lee, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1931 – Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 1992)
  • 1932 – Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
  • 1934 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1934 – Tom Baker, English actor
  • 1935 – Dorothy Provine, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2010)
  • 1937 – Bailey Howell, American basketball player
  • 1938 – Derek Dougan, Irish-English footballer and journalist (d. 2007)
  • 1939 – Paul Coverdell, American captain and politician (d. 2000)
  • 1939 – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan-English mathematician, astronomer, and biologist
  • 1940 – Carol Heiss, American figure skater and actress
  • 1940 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
  • 1940 – Mandé Sidibé, Malian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2009)
  • 1942 – Linda Moulton Howe, American journalist and producer
  • 1944 – José Luis Garci, Spanish director and producer
  • 1944 – Farhad Mehrad, Iranian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
  • 1944 – Pat Parker, African American poet
  • 1945 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Eric Stewart, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1946 – David Lynch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1946 – Vladimír Merta, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist
  • 1947 – Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Nancy Kress, American author and academic
  • 1948 – Natan Sharansky, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
  • 1949 – Göran Persson, Swedish lawyer and politician, 31st Prime Minister of Sweden
  • 1950 – Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
  • 1950 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2014)
  • 1950 – Mahamane Ousmane, Nigerien politician, President of Niger
  • 1951 – Iván Fischer, Hungarian conductor and composer
  • 1952 – Nikos Sideris, Greek psychiatrist and poet
  • 1952 – Paul Stanley, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1952 – John Witherow, South African-English journalist and author
  • 1953 – Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and convicted sex offender (d. 2019)
  • 1954 – Alison Seabeck, English lawyer and politician
  • 1955 – McKeeva Bush, Caymanian politician, Premier of the Cayman Islands
  • 1956 – Maria Larsson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Health and Social Affairs
  • 1956 – Bill Maher, American comedian, political commentator, media critic, television host, and producer
  • 1956 – John Naber, American swimmer
  • 1957 – Andy Sheppard, English saxophonist and composer
  • 1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor, director, and producer
  • 1959 – Tami Hoag, American author
  • 1959 – R. A. Salvatore, American author
  • 1960 – Apa Sherpa, Nepalese-American mountaineer
  • 1960 – Scott Thunes, American bass player
  • 1960 – Will Wright, American video game designer, co-founded Maxis
  • 1963 – James Denton, American actor
  • 1963 – Mark Ryden, American painter and illustrator
  • 1964 – Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
  • 1964 – Ron Harper, American basketball player and coach
  • 1964 – Jack Lewis, American soldier and author
  • 1964 – Kazushige Nojima, Japanese screenwriter and songwriter
  • 1964 – Aquilino Pimentel III, Filipino lawyer and politician
  • 1964 – Fareed Zakaria, Indian-American journalist and author
  • 1965 – Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer defender and manager
  • 1965 – Sophie, Countess of Wessex
  • 1965 – Warren Joyce, English footballer and manager
  • 1965 – John Michael Montgomery, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
  • 1966 – Rainn Wilson, American actor
  • 1967 – Stacey Dash, American actress and television journalist
  • 1967 – Kellyanne Conway, American political strategist and pundit
  • 1968 – Nick Anderson, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Junior Murray, Grenadian cricketer
  • 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker and activist, co-founded MindVox
  • 1969 – Nicky Wire, Welsh singer-songwriter and bass player
  • 1970 – Edwin McCain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1970 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
  • 1971 – Derrick Green, American singer
  • 1971 – Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1971 – Ger McDonnell, Irish mountaineer and engineer (d. 2008)
  • 1971 – Jung Woong-in, South Korean actor
  • 1971 – Questlove, American drummer, DJ, and producer
  • 1971 – Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
  • 1972 – Nikki Haley, American accountant and politician, 116th Governor of South Carolina
  • 1973 – Stephen Crabb, Scottish-Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales
  • 1973 – Queen Mathilde of Belgium
  • 1974 – David Dei, Italian footballer and coach
  • 1975 – Norberto Fontana, Argentinian racing driver
  • 1975 – Zac Goldsmith, English journalist and politician
  • 1976 – Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish journalist and sportscaster
  • 1976 – Michael Myers, American football player
  • 1976 – Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
  • 1977 – Paul Adams, South African cricketer and coach
  • 1978 – Salvatore Aronica, Italian footballer
  • 1978 – Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
  • 1978 – Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
  • 1979 – Choo Ja-hyun, South Korean actress
  • 1979 – Will Young, English singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1980 – Karl Anderson, American wrestler
  • 1980 – Philippe Cousteau, Jr., American-French oceanographer and journalist
  • 1980 – Philippe Gagnon, Canadian swimmer
  • 1980 – Kim Jeong-hoon, South Korean singer and actor
  • 1980 – Petra Rampre, Slovenian tennis player
  • 1980 – Matthew Tuck, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
  • 1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
  • 1981 – Jason Richardson, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Ruchi Sanghvi, Indian computer engineer
  • 1982 – Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
  • 1983 – Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1983 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1984 – Malek Jaziri, Tunisian tennis player
  • 1985 – Marina Inoue, Japanese voice actress and singer
  • 1985 – Tanel Sokk, Estonian basketball player
  • 1987 – Janin Lindenberg, German sprinter
  • 1987 – Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011)
  • 1988 – Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé, Nigerian footballer
  • 1988 – Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer
  • 1989 – Nick Foles, American football player
  • 1989 – Washington Santana da Silva, Brazilian footballer
  • 1989 – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1990 – Ray Thompson, Australian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Ciara Hanna, American actress and model
  • 1991 – Tom Cairney, Scottish footballer, midfielder
  • 1991 – Polona Hercog, Slovenian tennis player
  • 1991 – Jolyon Palmer, English racing driver
  • 1992 – Jorge Zárate, Mexican footballer
  • 1993 – Lorenzo Crisetig, Italian footballer
  • 1994 – Seán Kavanagh, Irish footballer, defender
  • 1994 – Lucas Piazon, Brazilian footballer
  • 1995 – Joey Badass, American rapper and actor
  • 1995 – Calum Chambers, English footballer, defender

Deaths on January 20

  • 820 – Al-Shafi‘i, Arab scholar and jurist (b. 767)
  • 842 – Theophilos, Byzantine emperor (b. 813)
  • 882 – Louis the Younger, king of the East Frankish Kingdom
  • 924 – Li Jitao, Chinese general of Later Tang
  • 928 – Zhao Guangfeng, Chinese official and chancellor
  • 1029 – Heonae, Korean queen and regent (b. 964)
  • 1095 – Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester
  • 1156 – Henry, English bishop and saint
  • 1189 – Shi Zong, Chinese emperor of Jin (b. 1123)
  • 1191 – Frederick VI, duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
  • 1191 – Theobald V, count of Blois (b. 1130)
  • 1265 – John Maunsell, English Lord Chancellor
  • 1336 – John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (b. 1306)
  • 1343 – Robert, king of Naples (b. 1275)
  • 1479 – John II, king of Sicily (b. 1398)
  • 1568 – Myles Coverdale, English bishop and translator (b. 1488)
  • 1612 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
  • 1663 – Isaac Ambrose, English minister and author (b. 1604)
  • 1666 – Anne of Austria, Queen and regent of France (b. 1601)
  • 1707 – Humphrey Hody, English scholar and theologian (b. 1659)
  • 1709 – François de la Chaise, French priest (b. 1624)
  • 1751 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b. 1665)
  • 1770 – Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722)
  • 1779 – David Garrick, English actor, producer, playwright, and manager (b. 1717)
  • 1810 – Benjamin Chew, American lawyer and judge (b. 1721)
  • 1819 – Charles IV, Spanish king (b. 1748)
  • 1837 – John Soane, English architect, designed the Bank of England (b. 1753)
  • 1841 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish explorer (b. 1780)
  • 1841 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1791)
  • 1848 – Christian VIII, Danish king (b. 1786)
  • 1850 – Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1779)
  • 1852 – Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 6th Yokozuna (b. 1794)
  • 1873 – Basil Moreau, French priest, founded the Congregation of Holy Cross (b. 1799)
  • 1875 – Jean-François Millet, French painter and educator (b. 1814)
  • 1891 – Kalākaua, king of Hawaii (b. 1836)
  • 1900 – John Ruskin, English painter and critic (b. 1819)
  • 1901 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (b. 1826)
  • 1907 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (b. 1842)
  • 1908 – John Ordronaux, American surgeon and academic (b. 1830)
  • 1913 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver and illustrator (b. 1852)
  • 1915 – Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, Irish businessman, philanthropist, and politician (b. 1840)
  • 1920 – Georg Lurich, Estonian-Russian wrestler and strongman (b. 1876)
  • 1921 – Mary Watson Whitney, American astronomer and academic (b. 1847)
  • 1924 – Henry “Ivo” Crapp, Australian footballer and umpire (b. 1872)
  • 1936 – George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
  • 1940 – Omar Bundy, American general (b. 1861)
  • 1944 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (b. 1860)
  • 1947 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1911)
  • 1947 – Andrew Volstead, American member of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1860)
  • 1954 – Warren Bardsley, Australian cricketer (b. 1882)
  • 1954 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1890)
  • 1955 – Robert P. T. Coffin, American author and poet (b. 1892)
  • 1962 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (b. 1887)
  • 1965 – Alan Freed, American radio host (b. 1922)
  • 1971 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
  • 1971 – Minanogawa Tōzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (b. 1903)
  • 1973 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and surgeon (b. 1885)
  • 1973 – Amílcar Cabral, Guinea Bissauan-Cape Verdian engineer and politician (b. 1924)
  • 1977 – Dimitrios Kiousopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, 151st Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1892)
  • 1980 – William Roberts, English soldier and painter (b. 1895)
  • 1983 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
  • 1984 – Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
  • 1988 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pakistani activist and politician (b. 1890)
  • 1988 – Dora Stratou, Greek dancer and choreographer (b. 1903)
  • 1989 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
  • 1990 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
  • 1993 – Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian activist (b. 1929)
  • 1994 – Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1909)
  • 1994 – Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, first Kenyan Vice-President (b. 1911)
  • 1996 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1927)
  • 2002 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and singer (b. 1963)
  • 2003 – Al Hirschfeld, American painter and illustrator (b. 1903)
  • 2003 – Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
  • 2004 – Alan Brown, English racing driver (b. 1919)
  • 2004 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Per Borten, Norwegian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
  • 2005 – Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist and politician (b. 1913)
  • 2005 – Miriam Rothschild, English zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)
  • 2009 – Stéphanos II Ghattas, Egyptian patriarch (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Etta James, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
  • 2012 – John Levy, American bassist and manager (b. 1912)
  • 2012 – Ioannis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Alejandro Rodriguez, Venezuelan-American pediatrician and psychiatrist (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Toyo Shibata, Japanese poet and author (b. 1911)
  • 2014 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Otis G. Pike, American judge and politician (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Jonas Trinkūnas, Lithuanian ethnologist and academic (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Edgar Froese, Russian-German keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1944)
  • 2016 – Mykolas Burokevičius, Lithuanian carpenter and politician (b. 1927)
  • 2016 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (b. 1920)
  • 2018 – Paul Bocuse, French chef (b. 1926)
  • 2018 – Naomi Parker Fraley, American naval machiner (b. 1921)
  • 2020 – Jaroslav Kubera, Czech politician (b. 1947)
  • 2020 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives

Holidays and observances on January 20

  • Armed Forces Day (Mali)
  • Army Day (Laos)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Abadios
    • Blessed Basil Moreau
    • Eustochia Smeralda Calafato
    • Euthymius the Great
    • Fabian
    • Manchán of Lemanaghan
    • Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception Brando
    • Richard Rolle (Church of England)
    • Sebastian
    • Stephen Min Kuk-ka (one of The Korean Martyrs)
    • January 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Heroes’ Day (Cape Verde)
  • Inauguration Day, held every four years in odd-numbered years immediately following years divisible by 4, except for the public ceremony when January 20 falls on Sunday (the public ceremony is held the following day; however, the terms of offices still begin on the 20th) (United States of America, not a federal holiday for all government employees but only for those working in the Capital region)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Azerbaijan)

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