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

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

Births on March 8

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

Deaths on March 8

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

Holidays and observances on March 8

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

March 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 363 – Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sasanian Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death.
  • 1046 – Nasir Khusraw begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama.
  • 1279 – The Livonian Order is defeated in the Battle of Aizkraukle by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
  • 1496 – King Henry VII of England issues letters patent to John Cabot and his sons, authorising them to explore unknown lands.
  • 1616 – Nicolaus Copernicus’s book On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres is added to the Index of Forbidden Books 73 years after it was first published.
  • 1766 – Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans.
  • 1770 – Boston Massacre: Five Americans, including Crispus Attucks, are fatally shot by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence) five years later.
  • 1811 – Peninsular War: A French force under the command of Marshal Victor is routed while trying to prevent an Anglo-Spanish-Portuguese army from lifting the Siege of Cádiz in the Battle of Barrosa.
  • 1824 – First Anglo-Burmese War: The British officially declare war on Burma.
  • 1836 – Samuel Colt patents the first production-model revolver, the .34-caliber.
  • 1850 – The Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait between the island of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales is opened.
  • 1860 – Parma, Tuscany, Modena and Romagna vote in referendums to join the Kingdom of Sardinia.
  • 1868 – Mefistofele, an opera by Arrigo Boito, receives its premiere performance at La Scala.
  • 1872 – George Westinghouse patents the air brake.
  • 1906 – Moro Rebellion: United States Army troops bring overwhelming force against the native Moros in the First Battle of Bud Dajo, leaving only six survivors.
  • 1912 – Italo-Turkish War: Italian forces are the first to use airships for military purposes, employing them for reconnaissance behind Turkish lines.
  • 1931 – The British Raj: Gandhi–Irwin Pact is signed.
  • 1933 – Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party receives 43.9% at the Reichstag elections, which allows the Nazis to later pass the Enabling Act and establish a dictatorship.
  • 1936 – First flight of K5054, the first prototype Supermarine Spitfire advanced monoplane fighter aircraft in the United Kingdom.
  • 1940 – Six high-ranking members of Soviet politburo, including Joseph Stalin, sign an order for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs, in what will become known as the Katyn massacre.
  • 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces capture Batavia, capital of Dutch East Indies, which is left undefended after the withdrawal of the KNIL garrison and Australian Blackforce battalion to Buitenzorg and Bandung.
  • 1943 – First Flight of the Gloster Meteor, Britain’s first combat jet aircraft.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Red Army begins the Uman–Botoșani Offensive in the western Ukrainian SSR.
  • 1946 – Cold War: Winston Churchill coins the phrase “Iron Curtain” in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri.
  • 1953 – Joseph Stalin, the longest serving leader of the Soviet Union, dies at his Volynskoe dacha in Moscow after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage four days earlier.
  • 1960 – Indonesian President Sukarno dismissed the Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat (DPR), 1955 democratically elected parliament, and replaced with DPR-GR, the parliament of his own selected members.
  • 1963 – American country music stars Patsy Cline, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Cowboy Copas and their pilot Randy Hughes are killed in a plane crash in Camden, Tennessee.
  • 1965 – March Intifada: A Leftist uprising erupts in Bahrain against British colonial presence.
  • 1966 – BOAC Flight 911, a Boeing 707 aircraft, breaks apart in mid-air due to clear-air turbulence and crashes into Mount Fuji, Japan, killing all 124 people on board.
  • 1970 – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations.
  • 1974 – Yom Kippur War: Israeli forces withdraw from the west bank of the Suez Canal.
  • 1978 – The Landsat 3 is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
  • 1979 – Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the German-American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by “off the scale” gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters.
  • 1981 – The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, is launched by Sinclair Research and would go on to sell over 1​1⁄2 million units around the world.
  • 1982 – Soviet probe Venera 14 lands on Venus.
  • 2003 – In Haifa, 17 Israeli civilians are killed in the Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing.
  • 2012 – Tropical Storm Irina kills over 75 as it passes through Madagascar.

Births on March 5

  • 1133 – Henry II of England (d. 1189)
  • 1224 – Saint Kinga of Poland (d. 1292)
  • 1324 – David II of Scotland (d. 1371)
  • 1326 – Louis I of Hungary (d. 1382)
  • 1340 – Cansignorio della Scala, Lord of Verona (d. 1375)
  • 1451 – William Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, English Earl (d. 1491)
  • 1512 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish mathematician, cartographer, and philosopher (d. 1594)
  • 1523 – Rodrigo de Castro Osorio, Spanish cardinal (d. 1600)
  • 1527 – Ulrich, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1603)
  • 1539 – Christoph Pezel, German theologian (d. 1604)
  • 1563 – John Coke, English civil servant and politician (d. 1644)
  • 1575 – William Oughtred, English minister and mathematician (d. 1660)
  • 1585 – John George I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1656)
  • 1585 – Frederick I, Landgrave of Hesse-Homburg (d. 1638)
  • 1637 – Jan van der Heyden, Dutch painter and engineer (d. 1712)
  • 1658 – Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, French explorer and politician, 3rd Colonial Governor of Louisiana (d. 1730)
  • 1693 – Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian and scholar (d. 1754)
  • 1696 – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian painter (d. 1770)
  • 1703 – Vasily Trediakovsky, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1768)
  • 1713 – Edward Cornwallis, English general and politician, Governor of Gibraltar (d. 1776)
  • 1713 – Frederick Cornwallis, English archbishop (d. 1783)
  • 1723 – Princess Mary of Great Britain (d. 1773)
  • 1733 – Vincenzo Galeotti, Italian-Danish dancer and choreographer (d. 1816)
  • 1739 – Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, American colonel and physician (d. 1819)
  • 1748 – Jonas Carlsson Dryander, Swedish botanist and biologist (d. 1810)
  • 1748 – William Shield, English violinist and composer (d. 1829)
  • 1750 – Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d’Ansse de Villoison, French scholar and academic (d. 1805)
  • 1751 – Jan Křtitel Kuchař, Czech organist, composer, and educator (d. 1829)
  • 1774 – Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse, Danish organist and composer (d. 1842)
  • 1779 – Benjamin Gompertz, English mathematician and statistician (d. 1865)
  • 1785 – Carlo Odescalchi, Italian cardinal (d. 1841)
  • 1794 – Jacques Babinet, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (d. 1872)
  • 1794 – Robert Cooper Grier, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1870)
  • 1814 – Wilhelm von Giesebrecht, German historian and academic (d. 1889)
  • 1800 – Georg Friedrich Daumer, German poet and philosopher (d. 1875)
  • 1815 – John Wentworth, American journalist and politician, 19th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1888)
  • 1817 – Austen Henry Layard, English archaeologist, academic, and politician, Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (d. 1894)
  • 1830 – Étienne-Jules Marey, French physiologist and chronophotographer (d. 1904)
  • 1830 – Charles Wyville Thomson, Scottish historian and zoologist (d. 1882)
  • 1834 – Félix de Blochausen, Luxembourgian politician, 6th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1915)
  • 1834 – Marietta Piccolomini, Italian soprano (d. 1899)
  • 1853 – Howard Pyle, American author and illustrator (d. 1911)
  • 1862 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player and theoretician (d. 1934)
  • 1867 – Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 14th Premier of Quebec (d. 1952)
  • 1869 – Michael von Faulhaber, German cardinal (d. 1952)
  • 1870 – Frank Norris, American journalist and author (d. 1902)
  • 1870 – Evgeny Paton, French-Ukrainian engineer (d. 1953)
  • 1871 – Rosa Luxemburg, Polish-Russian economist and philosopher (d. 1919)
  • 1871 – Konstantinos Pallis, Greek general and politician, Minister Governor-General of Macedonia (d. 1941)
  • 1873 – Olav Bjaaland, Norwegian skier and explorer (d. 1961)
  • 1874 – Henry Travers, English-American actor (d. 1965)
  • 1875 – Harry Lawson, Australian politician, 27th Premier of Victoria (d. 1952)
  • 1876 – Thomas Inskip, 1st Viscount Caldecote, English lawyer and politician, 8th Lord Chief Justice of England (d. 1947)
  • 1876 – Elisabeth Moore, American tennis player (d. 1959)
  • 1879 – William Beveridge, Bangladeshi-English economist and academic (d. 1963)
  • 1879 – Andres Larka, Estonian general and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of War (d. 1943)
  • 1880 – Sergei Natanovich Bernstein, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1968)
  • 1882 – Dora Marsden, English author and activist (d. 1960)
  • 1883 – Pauline Sperry, American mathematician (d. 1967)
  • 1885 – Marius Barbeau, Canadian ethnographer and academic (d. 1969)
  • 1886 – Dong Biwu, Chinese judge and politician, Chairman of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1975)
  • 1886 – Freddie Welsh, Welsh boxer (d. 1927)
  • 1887 – Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian guitarist and composer (d. 1959)
  • 1894 – Henry Daniell, English-American actor (d. 1963)
  • 1898 – Zhou Enlai, Chinese politician, 1st Premier of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1976)
  • 1898 – Misao Okawa, Japanese super-centenarian (d. 2015)
  • 1900 – Lilli Jahn, Jewish German doctor (d. 1944)
  • 1900 – Johanna Langefeld, German guard and supervisor of three Nazi concentration camps (d. 1974)
  • 1901 – Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg (d. 1971)
  • 1901 – Julian Przyboś, Polish poet, essayist and translator (d. 1970)
  • 1904 – Karl Rahner, German priest and theologian (d. 1984)
  • 1905 – László Benedek, Hungarian-American director and cinematographer (d. 1992)
  • 1908 – Fritz Fischer, German historian and author (d. 1999)
  • 1908 – Irving Fiske, American author and playwright (d. 1990)
  • 1908 – Rex Harrison, English actor (d. 1990)
  • 1910 – Momofuku Ando, Taiwanese-Japanese businessman, founded Nissin Foods (d. 2007)
  • 1910 – Ennio Flaiano, Italian author, screenwriter, and critic (d. 1972)
  • 1912 – Jack Marshall, New Zealand colonel, lawyer, and politician, 28th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1988)
  • 1915 – Henry Hicks, Canadian academic and politician, 16th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 1990)
  • 1915 – Laurent Schwartz, French mathematician and academic (d. 2002)
  • 1918 – Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (d. 2017)
  • 1918 – Red Storey, Canadian football player, referee, and sportscaster (d. 2006)
  • 1918 – James Tobin, American economist and academic (d. 2002)
  • 1920 – José Aboulker, Algerian surgeon and activist (d. 2009)
  • 1920 – Virginia Christine, American actress (d. 1996)
  • 1920 – Rachel Gurney, English actress (d. 2001)
  • 1920 – Wang Zengqi, Chinese writer (d. 1997)
  • 1921 – Elmer Valo, American baseball player and coach (d. 1998)
  • 1922 – James Noble, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1922 – Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1975)
  • 1923 – Juan A. Rivero, Puerto Rican biologist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Laurence Tisch, American businessman, co-founded the Loews Corporation (d. 2003)
  • 1924 – Roger Marche, French footballer (d. 1997)
  • 1927 – Jack Cassidy, American actor and singer (d. 1976)
  • 1927 – Robert Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford, Scottish businessman and politician
  • 1928 – J. Hillis Miller, American academic and critic
  • 1929 – Erik Carlsson, Swedish race car driver (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – J. B. Lenoir, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1967)
  • 1930 – John Ashley, Canadian ice hockey player and referee (d. 2008)
  • 1930 – Del Crandall, American baseball player and manager
  • 1931 – Fred, French author and illustrator (d. 2013)
  • 1931 – Barry Tuckwell, Australian horn player and educator (d. 2020)
  • 1932 – Paul Sand, American actor
  • 1933 – Walter Kasper, German cardinal and theologian
  • 1934 – Daniel Kahneman, Israeli-American economist and psychologist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1935 – Letizia Battaglia, Italian photographer and journalist
  • 1935 – Philip K. Chapman, Australian-American astronaut and engineer
  • 1936 – Canaan Banana, Zimbabwean minister and politician, 1st President of Zimbabwe (d. 2003)
  • 1936 – Dale Douglass, American golfer
  • 1936 – Dean Stockwell, American actor
  • 1937 – Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian general and politician, 5th President of Nigeria
  • 1938 – Paul Evans, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1938 – Lynn Margulis, American biologist and academic (d. 2011)
  • 1938 – Fred Williamson, American football player, actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1939 – Samantha Eggar, English actress
  • 1939 – Tony Rundle, Australian politician, 40th Premier of Tasmania
  • 1939 – Benyamin Sueb, Indonesian actor and comedian (d. 1995)
  • 1939 – Peter Woodcock, Canadian serial killer (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Pierre Wynants, Belgian chef
  • 1940 – Tom Butler, English bishop
  • 1940 – Ken Irvine, Australian rugby league player (d. 1990)
  • 1940 – Graham McRae, New Zealand race car driver
  • 1940 – Sepp Piontek, German footballer and manager
  • 1941 – Des Wilson, New Zealand-English businessman and activist
  • 1942 – Felipe González, Spanish lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Spain
  • 1942 – Mike Resnick, American author and editor (d. 2020)
  • 1942 – David Watkins, Welsh rugby player
  • 1943 – Lucio Battisti, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
  • 1944 – Peter Brandes, Danish painter and sculptor
  • 1944 – Roy Gutman, American journalist and author
  • 1945 – Wilf Tranter, English footballer
  • 1946 – Richard Bell, Canadian pianist (d. 2007)
  • 1946 – Guerrino Boatto, Italian illustrator and painter (d. 2018)
  • 1946 – Graham Hawkins, English footballer and manager (d. 2016)
  • 1946 – Murray Head, English actor and singer
  • 1947 – Clodagh Rodgers, Northern Irish singer and actress
  • 1947 – Kent Tekulve, American baseball player and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Paquirri, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1984)
  • 1948 – Eddy Grant, Guyanese-British singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1948 – Richard Hickox, English conductor and scholar (d. 2008)
  • 1948 – Elaine Paige, English singer and actress
  • 1948 – Jan van Beveren, Dutch footballer and coach (d. 2011)
  • 1949 – Bernard Arnault, French businessman, philanthropist, and art collector
  • 1949 – Franz Josef Jung, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of Defence
  • 1949 – Tom Russell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1951 – Rodney Hogg, Australian cricketer and coach
  • 1952 – Petar Borota, Serbian footballer and coach (d. 2010)
  • 1952 – Mike Squires, American baseball player and scout
  • 1953 – Katarina Frostenson, Swedish poet and author
  • 1953 – Michael J. Sandel, American philosopher and academic
  • 1953 – Tokyo Sexwale, South African businessman and politician, 1st Premier of Gauteng
  • 1954 – Marsha Warfield, American actress
  • 1954 – João Lourenço, Angolan president
  • 1955 – Penn Jillette, American magician, actor, and author
  • 1956 – Teena Marie, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1956 – Christopher Snowden, English engineer and academic
  • 1957 – Mark E. Smith, English singer, songwriter and musician (d. 2018)
  • 1957 – Ray Suarez, American journalist and author
  • 1958 – Volodymyr Bezsonov, Ukrainian footballer and manager
  • 1958 – Bob Forward, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1958 – Andy Gibb, English-Australian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1988)
  • 1959 – Vazgen Sargsyan, Armenian colonel and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 1999)
  • 1960 – Paul Drayson, Baron Drayson, English businessman and politician, Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology
  • 1963 – Joel Osteen, American pastor, author, and television host
  • 1964 – Bertrand Cantat, French singer-songwriter
  • 1964 – Gerald Vanenburg, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1965 – José Semedo, Portuguese footballer and coach
  • 1966 – Oh Eun-sun, South Korean mountaineer
  • 1966 – Bob Halkidis, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1966 – Michael Irvin, American football player, sportscaster, and actor
  • 1966 – Aasif Mandvi, Indian-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Zachery Stevens, American singer-songwriter
  • 1968 – Gordon Bajnai, Hungarian businessman and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Hungary
  • 1968 – Theresa Villiers, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
  • 1969 – Paul Blackthorne, English actor and producer
  • 1969 – Danny King, English author and playwright
  • 1969 – Moussa Saïb, Algerian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – M.C. Solaar, Afro-French rapper
  • 1970 – Mike Brown, American basketball player and coach
  • 1970 – John Frusciante, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1970 – Yuu Watase, Japanese illustrator
  • 1971 – Greg Berry, English footballer and coach
  • 1971 – Jeffrey Hammonds, American baseball player and scout
  • 1971 – Yuri Lowenthal, American voice actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Filip Meirhaeghe, Belgian cyclist
  • 1971 – Mark Protheroe, Australian rugby league player
  • 1973 – Yannis Anastasiou, Greek footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Nelly Arcan, Canadian author (d. 2009)
  • 1973 – Juan Esnáider, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Ryan Franklin, American baseball player
  • 1973 – Nicole Pratt, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
  • 1973 – Špela Pretnar, Slovenian skier
  • 1974 – Kevin Connolly, American actor and director
  • 1974 – Jens Jeremies, German footballer
  • 1974 – Eva Mendes, American model and actress
  • 1975 – Luciano Burti, Brazilian race car driver and sportscaster
  • 1975 – Sasho Petrovski, Australian footballer
  • 1975 – Chris Silverwood, English cricketer and coach
  • 1976 – Neil Jackson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1976 – Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
  • 1976 – Paul Konerko, American baseball player
  • 1976 – Norm Maxwell, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1977 – Taismary Agüero, Cuban-Italian volleyball player
  • 1978 – Jared Crouch, Australian footballer
  • 1978 – Mike Hessman, American baseball player and coach
  • 1978 – Kimberly McCullough, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1978 – Carlos Ochoa, Mexican footballer
  • 1979 – Martin Axenrot, Swedish drummer
  • 1979 – Lee Mears, English rugby player
  • 1980 – Shay Carl, American businessman, co-founded Maker Studios
  • 1981 – Barret Jackman, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Paul Martin, American ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Dan Carter, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1982 – Philipp Haastrup, German footballer
  • 1983 – Édgar Dueñas, Mexican footballer
  • 1984 – Branko Cvetković, Serbian basketball player
  • 1984 – Guillaume Hoarau, French footballer
  • 1985 – David Marshall, Scottish footballer
  • 1985 – Brad Mills, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Kenichi Matsuyama, Japanese actor
  • 1986 – Alexandre Barthe, French footballer
  • 1986 – Matty Fryatt, English footballer
  • 1987 – Anna Chakvetadze, Russian tennis player
  • 1987 – Chris Cohen, English footballer
  • 1988 – Liassine Cadamuro-Bentaïba, Algerian footballer
  • 1990 – Danny Drinkwater, English footballer
  • 1990  – Mason Plumlee, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Alex Smithies, English footballer
  • 1991 – Ramiro Funes Mori, Argentinian footballer
  • 1991 – Daniil Trifonov, Russian pianist and composer
  • 1993 – El Hadji Ba, French footballer
  • 1993 – Joshua Coyne, American violinist and composer
  • 1993 – Harry Maguire, English footballer
  • 1994 – Daria Gavrilova, Russian-Australian tennis player
  • 1994 – Kyle Schwarber, American baseball player
  • 1996 – Taylor Hill, American model
  • 1996 – Emmanuel Mudiay, Congolese basketball player
  • 1997 – Milena Venega, Cuban rower
  • 1998 – Bo Bichette, American baseball player
  • 1999 – Madison Beer, American singer, songwriter and producer.
  • 2007 – Roman Griffin Davis, British actor, second youngest Golden Globe recipient.

Deaths on March 5

  • 254 – Pope Lucius I (b. 200)
  • 824 – Suppo I, Frankish nobleman
  • 1239 – Hermann Balk, German knight
  • 1410 – Matthew of Kraków, Polish reformer (b. 1335)
  • 1417 – Manuel III Megas Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond (b. 1364)
  • 1534 – Antonio da Correggio, Italian painter and educator (b. 1489)
  • 1539 – Nuno da Cunha, Portuguese admiral and politician, Governor of Portuguese India (b. 1487)
  • 1599 – Guido Panciroli, Italian historian and jurist (b. 1523)
  • 1611 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1533)
  • 1622 – Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (b. 1569)
  • 1695 – Henry Wharton, English writer and librarian (b. 1664)
  • 1726 – Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1655)
  • 1770 – Crispus Attucks, American slave (b. 1723)
  • 1778 – Thomas Arne, English composer and educator (b. 1710)
  • 1815 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologist (b. 1734)
  • 1827 – Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician and astronomer (b. 1749)
  • 1827 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1745)
  • 1829 – John Adams, English sailor and mutineer (b. 1766)
  • 1849 – David Scott, Scottish historical painter (b. 1806)
  • 1876 – Marie d’Agoult, German-French historian and author (b. 1805)
  • 1893 – Hippolyte Taine, French historian and critic (b. 1828)
  • 1895 – Nikolai Leskov, Russian author, playwright, and journalist (b. 1831)
  • 1895 – Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet, English general and scholar (b. 1810)
  • 1907 – Friedrich Blass, German philologist, scholar, and academic (b. 1843)
  • 1925 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician and engineer (b. 1859)
  • 1927 – Franz Mertens, Polish-Austrian mathematician and academic (b. 1840)
  • 1929 – David Dunbar Buick, Scottish-American businessman, founded Buick (b. 1854)
  • 1934 – Reşit Galip, Turkish academic and politician, 6th Turkish Minister of National Education (b. 1893)
  • 1935 – Roque Ruaño, Spanish priest and engineer (b. 1877)
  • 1940 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher and academic (b. 1868)
  • 1944 – Max Jacob, French poet and author (b. 1876)
  • 1945 – Lena Baker, African American maid and murderer (b. 1900)
  • 1947 – Alfredo Casella, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1883)
  • 1950 – Edgar Lee Masters, American poet, author, and playwright (b. 1868)
  • 1950 – Roman Shukhevych, Ukrainian general and politician (b. 1907)
  • 1953 – Herman J. Mankiewicz, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1897)
  • 1953 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1891)
  • 1953 – Joseph Stalin, Soviet dictator and politician of Georgian descent, 2nd leader of the Soviet Union (b. 1878)
  • 1955 – Antanas Merkys, Lithuanian lawyer and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Lithuania (b. 1888)
  • 1963 – Patsy Cline, American singer-songwriter (b. 1932)
  • 1963 – Cowboy Copas, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1913)
  • 1963 – Hawkshaw Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1921)
  • 1965 – Chen Cheng, Chinese general and politician, 27th Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1897)
  • 1965 – Pepper Martin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1904)
  • 1966 – Anna Akhmatova, Ukrainian-Russian poet, author, and translator (b. 1889)
  • 1967 – Mischa Auer, Russian-American actor (b. 1905)
  • 1967 – Mohammad Mosaddegh, Iranian political scientist and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1882)
  • 1967 – Georges Vanier, Canadian general and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (b. 1888)
  • 1971 – Allan Nevins, American journalist and author (b. 1890)
  • 1973 – Robert C. O’Brien, American journalist and author (b. 1918)
  • 1974 – John Samuel Bourque, Canadian colonel and politician (b. 1894)
  • 1974 – Billy De Wolfe, American actor (b. 1907)
  • 1974 – Sol Hurok, Ukrainian-American businessman (b. 1888)
  • 1976 – Otto Tief, Estonian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1889)
  • 1977 – Tom Pryce, Welsh race car driver (b. 1949)
  • 1980 – Jay Silverheels, Canadian-American actor (b. 1912)
  • 1981 – Yip Harburg, American songwriter and composer (b. 1896)
  • 1982 – John Belushi, American actor (b. 1949)
  • 1984 – Pierre Cochereau, French organist and composer (b. 1924)
  • 1984 – Tito Gobbi, Italian operatic baritone (b. 1913)
  • 1984 – William Powell, American actor (b. 1892)
  • 1988 – Alberto Olmedo, Argentine comedian and actor (b. 1933)
  • 1990 – Gary Merrill, American actor and director (b. 1915)
  • 1995 – Vivian Stanshall, English singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1943)
  • 1996 – Whit Bissell, American character actor (b. 1909)
  • 1997 – Samm Sinclair Baker, American writer (b. 1909)
  • 1997 – Jean Dréville, French director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
  • 1999 – Richard Kiley, American actor and singer (b. 1922)
  • 2000 – Lolo Ferrari, French dancer, actress and singer (b. 1963)
  • 2005 – David Sheppard, English cricketer and bishop (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – Joseph Weizenbaum, German computer scientist and author (b. 1923)
  • 2010 – Charles B. Pierce, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
  • 2010 – Richard Stapley, British actor and writer (b. 1923)
  • 2011 – Manolis Rasoulis, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
  • 2012 – Paul Haines, New Zealand-Australian author (b. 1970)
  • 2012 – Philip Madoc, Welsh-English actor (b. 1934)
  • 2012 – Robert B. Sherman, American songwriter and screenwriter (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – William O. Wooldridge, American sergeant (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Paul Bearer, American wrestler and manager (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan colonel and politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1954)
  • 2013 – Duane Gish, American biochemist and academic (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Geoff Edwards, American actor and game show host (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Ailsa McKay, Scottish economist and academic (b. 1963)
  • 2014 – Leopoldo María Panero, Spanish poet and translator (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Ola L. Mize, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Vlada Divljan, Serbian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)
  • 2015 – Edward Egan, American cardinal (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese activist and politician (b. 1932)
  • 2016 – Ray Tomlinson, American computer programmer and engineer (b. 1941)
  • 2016 – Al Wistert, American football player and coach (b. 1920)
  • 2017 – Kurt Moll, German opera singer (b. 1938)

Holidays and observances on March 5

  • Christian feast day:
    • Ciarán of Saigir
    • John Joseph of the Cross
    • Piran
    • Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea
    • Thietmar of Minden
    • March 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Custom Chief’s Day (Vanuatu)
  • Day of Physical Culture and Sport (Azerbaijan)
  • Learn from Lei Feng Day (China)
  • St Piran’s Day (Cornwall)

March 5 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on March 4

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

Deaths on March 4

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

Holidays and observances on March 4

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

March 4- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

March 2- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 537 – Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoth army under king Vitiges begins the siege of the capital. Belisarius conducts a delaying action outside the Flaminian Gate; he and a detachment of his bucellarii are almost cut off.
  • 986 – Louis V becomes King of the Franks.
  • 1444 – Skanderbeg organizes a group of Albanian nobles to form the League of Lezhë.
  • 1458 – George of Poděbrady is chosen as the king of Bohemia.
  • 1476 – Burgundian Wars: The Old Swiss Confederacy hands Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, a major defeat in the Battle of Grandson in Canton of Neuchâtel.
  • 1484 – The College of Arms is formally incorporated by Royal Charter signed by King Richard III of England.
  • 1498 – Vasco da Gama’s fleet visits the Island of Mozambique.
  • 1561 – Mendoza, Argentina, is founded by Spanish conquistador Pedro del Castillo.
  • 1657 – Great Fire of Meireki: A fire in Edo (now Tokyo), Japan, caused more than 100,000 deaths; it lasted three days
  • 1717 – The Loves of Mars and Venus is the first ballet performed in England.
  • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Patriot militia units arrest the Royal Governor of Georgia James Wright and attempt to prevent capture of supply ships in the Battle of the Rice Boats.
  • 1791 – Long-distance communication speeds up with the unveiling of a semaphore machine in Paris.
  • 1797 – The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound banknotes.
  • 1807 – The U.S. Congress passes the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves, disallowing the importation of new slaves into the country.
  • 1808 – The inaugural meeting of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
  • 1811 – Argentine War of Independence: A royalist fleet defeats a small flotilla of revolutionary ships in the Battle of San Nicolás on the River Plate.
  • 1815 – Signing of the Kandyan Convention treaty by British invaders and the leaders of the Kingdom of Kandy.
  • 1825 – Roberto Cofresí, one of the last successful Caribbean pirates, is defeated in combat and captured by authorities.
  • 1836 – Texas Revolution: The Declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico is adopted.
  • 1855 – Alexander II becomes Tsar of Russia.
  • 1859 – The two-day Great Slave Auction, the largest such auction in United States history, begins.
  • 1865 – East Cape War: The Völkner Incident in New Zealand.
  • 1867 – The U.S. Congress passes the first Reconstruction Act.
  • 1877 – Just two days before inauguration, the U.S. Congress declares Rutherford B. Hayes the winner of the 1876 U.S. presidential election even though Samuel J. Tilden had won the popular vote.
  • 1882 – Queen Victoria narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Roderick McLean in Windsor.
  • 1896 – The Battle of Adwa: The Italian Army defeated by the Ethiopian Army in Adwa, Tigray, Ethiopia.
  • 1901 – United States Steel Corporation is founded as a result of a merger between Carnegie Steel Company and Federal Steel Company which became the first corporation in the world with a market capital over $1 billion.
  • 1901 – The U.S. Congress passes the Platt Amendment limiting the autonomy of Cuba, as a condition of the withdrawal of American troops.
  • 1903 – In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
  • 1917 – The enactment of the Jones–Shafroth Act grants Puerto Ricans United States citizenship.
  • 1919 – The first Communist International meets in Moscow.
  • 1933 – The film King Kong opens at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.
  • 1937 – The Steel Workers Organizing Committee signs a collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Steel, leading to unionization of the United States steel industry.
  • 1939 – Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli is elected Pope and takes the name Pius XII.
  • 1941 – World War II: First German military units enter Bulgaria after it joins the Axis Pact.
  • 1943 – World War II: Allied aircraft defeat a Japanese attempt to ship troops to New Guinea.
  • 1946 – Ho Chi Minh is elected the President of North Vietnam.
  • 1949 – Captain James Gallagher lands his B-50 Superfortress Lucky Lady II in Fort Worth, Texas, after completing the first non-stop around-the-world airplane flight in 94 hours and one minute.
  • 1955 – Norodom Sihanouk, king of Cambodia, abdicates the throne in favor of his father, Norodom Suramarit.
  • 1961 – John F. Kennedy announces the creation of the Peace Corps in a nationally televised broadcast.
  • 1962 – In Burma, the army led by General Ne Win seizes power in a coup d’état.
  • 1962 – Wilt Chamberlain sets the single-game scoring record in the National Basketball Association by scoring 100 points.
  • 1965 – The US and Republic of Vietnam Air Force begin Operation Rolling Thunder, a sustained bombing campaign against North Vietnam.
  • 1968 – Baggeridge Colliery closes marking the end of over 300 years of coal mining in the Black Country.
  • 1969 – In Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the Anglo-French Concorde is conducted.
  • 1970 – Rhodesia declares itself a republic, breaking its last links with the British crown.
  • 1972 – The Pioneer 10 space probe is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida with a mission to explore the outer planets.
  • 1977 – Libya becomes the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as the General People’s Congress adopted the “Declaration on the Establishment of the Authority of the People”.
  • 1978 – Czech Vladimír Remek becomes the first non-Russian or non-American to go into space, when he is launched aboard Soyuz 28.
  • 1983 – Compact discs and players are released for the first time in the United States and other markets. They had previously been available only in Japan.
  • 1989 – Twelve European Community nations agree to ban the production of all chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) by the end of the century.
  • 1990 – Nelson Mandela is elected deputy President of the African National Congress.
  • 1991 – Battle at Rumaila oil field brings an end to the 1991 Gulf War.
  • 1992 – Start of the war in Transnistria.
  • 1992 – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan join the United Nations.
  • 1995 – Researchers at Fermilab announce the discovery of the top quark.
  • 1995 – Yahoo! is incorporated.
  • 1998 – Data sent from the Galileo spacecraft indicates that Jupiter’s moon Europa has a liquid ocean under a thick crust of ice.
  • 2002 – U.S. invasion of Afghanistan: Operation Anaconda begins, (ending on March 19 after killing 500 Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, with 11 Western troop fatalities).
  • 2004 – War in Iraq: Al-Qaeda carries out the Ashoura Massacre in Iraq, killing 170 and wounding over 500.
  • 2012 – A tornado outbreak occurred over a large section of the Southern United States and into the Ohio Valley region, resulting in 40 tornado-related fatalities.
  • 2017 – The elements Moscovium, Tennessine, and Oganesson were officially added to the periodic table at a conference in Moscow, Russia.

Births on March 2

  • 480 – Benedict of Nursia, Italian Christian saint (d. 543 or 547)
  • 1316 – Robert II of Scotland (d. 1390)
  • 1409 – Jean II, Duke of Alençon (d. 1476)
  • 1432 – Countess Palatine Margaret of Mosbach, countess consort of Hanau (d. 1457)
  • 1453 – Johannes Engel, German doctor, astronomer and astrologer (d. 1512)
  • 1459 – Pope Adrian VI (d. 1523)
  • 1481 – Franz von Sickingen, German knight (d. 1523)
  • 1545 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (d. 1613)
  • 1577 – George Sandys, English traveller, colonist and poet (d. 1644)
  • 1628 – Cornelis Speelman, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1684)
  • 1651 – Carlo Gimach, Maltese architect, engineer and poet (d. 1730)
  • 1705 – William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, Scottish lawyer, judge, and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1793)
  • 1740 – Nicholas Pocock, English naval painter (d.1821)
  • 1760 – Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician (d. 1794)
  • 1769 – DeWitt Clinton, American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of New York (d. 1828)
  • 1770 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general (d. 1826)
  • 1779 – Joel Roberts Poinsett, American physician and politician, 15th United States Secretary of War (d. 1851)
  • 1793 – Sam Houston, American soldier and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1863)
  • 1800 – Yevgeny Baratynsky, Russian-Italian poet and philosopher (d. 1844)
  • 1810 – Pope Leo XIII (d. 1903)
  • 1816 – Alexander Bullock, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1882)
  • 1817 – János Arany, Hungarian journalist and poet (d. 1882)
  • 1820 – Multatuli, Dutch writer (d. 1887)
  • 1824 – Bedřich Smetana, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1884)
  • 1829 – Carl Schurz, German-American general, lawyer, and politician, 13th United States Secretary of the Interior (d. 1906)
  • 1836 – Henry Billings Brown, American lawyer and judge (d. 1913)
  • 1842 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer, art collector, and philanthropist (d. 1914)
  • 1846 – Marie Roze, French soprano (d. 1926)
  • 1849 – Robert Means Thompson, American commander, lawyer, and businessman (d. 1930)
  • 1859 – Sholem Aleichem, Ukrainian-American author and playwright (d. 1916)
  • 1860 – Susanna M. Salter, American activist and politician (d. 1961)
  • 1862 – John Jay Chapman, American lawyer, author, and poet (d. 1933)
  • 1876 – Pope Pius XII (d. 1958)
  • 1878 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, American sailor and race car driver (d. 1944)
  • 1886 – Willis H. O’Brien, American animator and director (d. 1962)
  • 1886 – Kurt Grelling, German logician and philosopher (d. 1942)
  • 1900 – Kurt Weill, German-American pianist and composer (d. 1950)
  • 1901 – Grete Hermann, German mathematician and philosopher (d. 1984)
  • 1902 – Moe Berg, American baseball player and spy (d. 1972)
  • 1902 – Edward Condon, American physicist and academic (d. 1974)
  • 1904 – Dr. Seuss, American children’s book writer, poet, and illustrator (d. 1991)
  • 1905 – Marc Blitzstein, American composer and songwriter (d. 1964)
  • 1905 – Geoffrey Grigson, English poet and critic (d. 1985)
  • 1908 – Walter Bruch, German engineer (d. 1990)
  • 1909 – Mel Ott, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (d. 1958)
  • 1912 – Henry Katzman, American pianist, composer, and painter (d. 2001)
  • 1913 – Godfried Bomans, Dutch television host and author (d. 1971)
  • 1913 – Mort Cooper, American baseball player (d. 1958)
  • 1914 – Martin Ritt, American actor and film director (d. 1990)
  • 1915 – John Burton, Australian public servant and diplomat, Australian High Commissioner to Ceylon (d. 2010)
  • 1917 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1986)
  • 1917 – David Goodis, American author and screenwriter (d. 1967)
  • 1917 – Jim Konstanty, American baseball player and coach (d. 1976)
  • 1919 – Jennifer Jones, American actress (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – Eddie Lawrence, American actor, singer, and playwright (d. 2014)
  • 1919 – Tamara Toumanova, Russian-American ballerina and actress (d. 1996)
  • 1921 – Kazimierz Górski, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Ernst Haas, Austrian-American photographer and journalist (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, American saxophonist (d. 1986)
  • 1922 – Bill Quackenbush, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1999)
  • 1922 – Frances Spence, American computer programmer (d. 2012)
  • 1923 – Basil Hume, English cardinal (d. 1999)
  • 1923 – Robert H. Michel, American soldier and politician (d. 2017)
  • 1923 – Dave Strack, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Cal Abrams, American baseball player (d. 1997)
  • 1924 – Renos Apostolidis, Greek philologist, author, and critic (d. 2004)
  • 1926 – Bernard Agré, Ivorian cardinal (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Murray Rothbard, American economist and historian (d. 1995)
  • 1927 – Roger Walkowiak, French cyclist and economist (d. 2017)
  • 1930 – John Cullum, American actor and singer
  • 1930 – Emma Penella, Spanish actress (d. 2007)
  • 1930 – Tom Wolfe, American journalist and author (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – Mikhail Gorbachev, Russian lawyer and politician, President of the Soviet Union, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1932 – Gun Hägglund, Swedish journalist and translator (d. 2011)
  • 1934 – Dottie Rambo, American singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
  • 1935 – Gene Stallings, American football player and coach
  • 1936 – Haroon Ahmed, Pakistani-English engineer and academic
  • 1936 – John Tusa, Czech-English journalist and academic
  • 1937 – Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Algerian soldier and politician, 5th President of Algeria
  • 1938 – Ricardo Lagos, Chilean economist, lawyer, and politician, 33rd President of Chile
  • 1938 – Lawrence Payton, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1997)
  • 1938 – Clark Gesner, American author and composer (d. 2002)
  • 1939 – Jan Howard Finder, American author and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1940 – Billy McNeill, Scottish footballer (d. 2019)
  • 1941 – John Cornell, Australian actor, director, and producer
  • 1941 – David Satcher, American admiral and physician, 16th Surgeon General of the United States
  • 1942 – John Irving, American novelist and screenwriter
  • 1942 – Claude Larose, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1942 – Mir-Hossein Mousavi, Iranian architect and politician, 79th Prime Minister of Iran
  • 1942 – Lou Reed, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Derek Woodley, English footballer (d. 2002)
  • 1943 – George Layton, English actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1943 – Peter Straub, American author and poet
  • 1943 – Robert Williams, American painter and cartoonist
  • 1945 – Derek Watkins, English trumpet player and composer (d. 2013)
  • 1947 – Nelson Ned, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1947 – Harry Redknapp, English footballer and manager
  • 1948 – Larry Carlton, American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1948 – Rory Gallagher, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1995)
  • 1948 – Jeff Kennett, Australian journalist and politician, 43rd Premier of Victoria
  • 1948 – Carmen Lawrence, Australian politician, 25th Premier of Western Australia
  • 1950 – Karen Carpenter, American singer (d. 1983)
  • 1952 – Mark Evanier, American author and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Laraine Newman, American actress and comedian
  • 1953 – Russ Feingold, American lawyer and politician
  • 1954 – Ed Johnstone, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1955 – Dale Bozzio, American pop-rock singer-songwriter
  • 1955 – Jay Osmond, American singer, drummer, actor, and TV/film producer
  • 1955 – Ken Salazar, American lawyer and politician, 50th United States Secretary of the Interior
  • 1955 – Steve Small, Australian cricketer
  • 1956 – John Cowsill, American musician, songwriter, and producer
  • 1956 – Mark Evans, Australian rock bass player
  • 1957 – Hossein Dehghan, Iranian general and politician, Iranian Minister of Defense
  • 1957 – Dito Tsintsadze, Georgian film director and screenwriter
  • 1957 – Mark Dean, American inventor and computer engineer
  • 1958 – Kevin Curren, South African-American tennis player
  • 1958 – Ian Woosnam, English-Welsh golfer
  • 1959 – Larry Stewart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1961 – Simone Young, Australian conductor, director, and composer
  • 1962 – Jon Bon Jovi, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
  • 1962 – Paul Farrelly, English journalist and politician
  • 1962 – Tom Nordlie, Norwegian footballer and coach
  • 1962 – Brendan O’Connor, Australian politician, Australian Minister for Employment
  • 1962 – Raimo Summanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
  • 1962 – Gabriele Tarquini, Italian race car driver
  • 1963 – Alvin Youngblood Hart, American singer and guitarist
  • 1963 – Anthony Albanese, Australian politician, 15th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
  • 1963 – Vidyasagar (composer), Indian composer, musician and singer
  • 1964 – Laird Hamilton, American surfer and actor
  • 1964 – Mike Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1987)
  • 1965 – Ron Gant, American baseball player and journalist
  • 1965 – Lembit Öpik, Northern Irish politician
  • 1966 – Ann Leckie, American author
  • 1966 – Simon Reevell, English lawyer and politician
  • 1968 – Daniel Craig, English actor and producer
  • 1970 – James Purnell, English politician, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
  • 1970 – Ciriaco Sforza, Swiss footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Wibi Soerjadi, Dutch pianist and composer
  • 1971 – Dave Gorman, English comedian, author and television presenter
  • 1971 – Method Man, American rapper, record producer and actor
  • 1972 – Mauricio Pochettino, Argentinian footballer and manager
  • 1973 – Dejan Bodiroga, Serbian basketball player
  • 1973 – Trevor Sinclair, English footballer and manager
  • 1974 – Hayley Lewis, Australian swimmer and television host
  • 1975 – Daryl Gibson, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1977 – Dominique Canty, American basketball player and coach
  • 1977 – Chris Martin, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1977 – Stephen Parry, English swimmer and sportscaster
  • 1977 – Andrew Strauss, South African-English cricketer
  • 1978 – Gabby Eigenmann, Filipino actor and singer
  • 1978 – Lee Hodges, English footballer and manager
  • 1978 – Tomáš Kaberle, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1979 – Damien Duff, Irish international footballer, winger
  • 1979 – Gayatri Asokan, Indian playback singer
  • 1979 – Jim Troughton, English cricketer
  • 1979 – Nicky Weaver, English footballer
  • 1980 – Chris Barker, English footballer and manager (d. 2020)
  • 1980 – Rebel Wilson, Australian actress and screenwriter
  • 1981 – Lance Cade, American wrestler (d. 2010)
  • 1981 – Bryce Dallas Howard, American actress
  • 1982 – Kevin Kurányi, German footballer
  • 1982 – Henrik Lundqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1982 – Ben Roethlisberger, American football player
  • 1982 – Corey Webster, American football player
  • 1983 – Deuce, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1983 – Lisandro López, Argentinian footballer
  • 1983 – Jay McClement, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Glen Perkins, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Ryan Shannon, American ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Reggie Bush, American football player
  • 1985 – Suso Santana, Spanish footballer
  • 1986 – Jonathan D’Aversa, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Jonas Jerebko, Swedish basketball player
  • 1988 – Édgar Andrade, Mexican footballer
  • 1988 – James Arthur, English singer-songwriter
  • 1988 – Laura Kaeppeler, Miss America 2012
  • 1988 – Matthew Mitcham, Australian diver
  • 1988 – Chris Rainey, American football player
  • 1988 – Geert Arend Roorda, Dutch footballer
  • 1989 – Alemão, Brazilian footballer
  • 1989 – Toby Alderweireld, Belgian international footballer, defender
  • 1989 – André Bernardes Santos, Portuguese footballer
  • 1989 – Marcel Hirscher, Austrian skier
  • 1989 – Shane Vereen, American football player
  • 1989 – Chris Woakes, English cricketer
  • 1990 – Rauno Alliku, Estonian footballer
  • 1990 – Malcolm Butler, American football player
  • 1990 – Josh McGuire, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Tiger Shroff, Indian actor
  • 1991 – Nick Franklin, American baseball player
  • 1992 – Jack Stockwell, Australian rugby league player
  • 1995 – Ange-Freddy Plumain, French footballer
  • 1997 – Becky G, American singer and actress
  • 2010 – Hailey Dawson, American with a 3D-printed robotic hand
  • 2016 – Prince Oscar, duke of Skåne and prince of Sweden

Deaths on March 2

  • 274 – Mani, Persian prophet and founder of Manichaeism (b. 216)
  • 672 – Chad of Mercia, English bishop and saint (b. 634)
  • 986 – Lothair, king of West Francia (b.941)
  • 968 – William, archbishop of Mainz (b. 929)
  • 1009 – Mokjong, king of Goryeo (b. 980)
  • 1127 – Charles the Good, Count of Flanders (b. 1084)
  • 1316 – Marjorie Bruce, Scottish daughter of Robert the Bruce (b. 1296)
  • 1333 – Wladyslaw I, king of Poland (b. 1261)
  • 1589 – Alessandro Farnese, Italian cardinal and diplomat (b. 1520)
  • 1619 – Anne of Denmark, queen of Scotland (b. 1574)
  • 1729 – Francesco Bianchini, Italian astronomer and philosopher (b. 1662)
  • 1755 – Louis de Rouvroy, French duke and diplomat (b. 1675)
  • 1791 – John Wesley, English cleric and theologian (b. 1703)
  • 1793 – Carl Gustaf Pilo, Swedish-Danish painter and academic (b. 1711)
  • 1797 – Horace Walpole, English historian and politician (b. 1717)
  • 1829 – Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez, Mexican revolutionary (b. ca. 1773)
  • 1830 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, German physician, anatomist, and anthropologist (b. 1755)
  • 1835 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1768)
  • 1840 – Heinrich Wilhelm Matthias Olbers, German physician and astronomer (b. 1758)
  • 1855 – Nicholas I, Russian emperor (b. 1796)
  • 1864 – Ulric Dahlgren, American colonel (b. 1842)
  • 1865 – Carl Sylvius Völkner, German-New Zealand priest and missionary (b. 1819)
  • 1880 – John Benjamin Macneill, Irish engineer (b. 1790)
  • 1895 – Berthe Morisot, French painter (b. 1841)
  • 1895 – Isma’il Pasha, Egyptian politician (b. 1830)
  • 1896 – Jubal Early, American general (b. 1816)
  • 1921 – Champ Clark, American lawyer and politician, 41st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1850)
  • 1930 – D. H. Lawrence, English novelist, poet, playwright, and critic (b. 1885)
  • 1938 – Ben Harney, American pianist and composer (b. 1871)
  • 1939 – Howard Carter, English archaeologist and historian (b. 1874)
  • 1943 – Gisela Januszewska, Jewish-Austrian physician (b.1867)
  • 1944 – Ida Maclean, British biochemist, the first woman admitted to the London Chemical Society (b. 1877)
  • 1945 – Emily Carr, Canadian painter and author (b. 1871)
  • 1946 – Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1895)
  • 1946 – George E. Stewart, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1872)
  • 1947 – Frans Johan Louwrens Ghijsels, Dutch architect and urban planner (b. 1882)
  • 1949 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian poet and activist (b. 1879)
  • 1953 – James Lightbody, American runner (b. 1882)
  • 1957 – Selim Sırrı Tarcan, Turkish educator and politician (b. 1874)
  • 1958 – Fred Merkle, American baseball player and manager (b. 1888)
  • 1962 – Charles Jean de la Vallée-Poussin, Belgian mathematician and academic (b. 1866)
  • 1967 – José Martínez Ruiz, Spanish author and critic (b. 1873)
  • 1972 – Léo-Ernest Ouimet, Canadian director and producer (b. 1877)
  • 1979 – Christy Ring, Irish hurler (b. 1920)
  • 1982 – Philip K. Dick, American philosopher and author (b. 1928)
  • 1987 – Randolph Scott, American actor and director (b. 1898)
  • 1987 – Lolo Soetoro, Indonesian geographer and academic (b. 1935)
  • 1991 – Serge Gainsbourg, French singer-songwriter, actor, and director (b. 1928)
  • 1992 – Sandy Dennis, American actress (b. 1937)
  • 1994 – Anita Morris, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1943)
  • 1999 – Dusty Springfield, English singer (b. 1939)
  • 2000 – Sandra Schmirler, Canadian curler (b. 1963)
  • 2003 – Hank Ballard, American singer-songwriter (b. 1927)
  • 2003 – Malcolm Williamson, Australian pianist and composer (b. 1931)
  • 2004 – Cormac McAnallen, Irish footballer (b. 1980)
  • 2004 – Mercedes McCambridge, American actress (b. 1916)
  • 2004 – Marge Schott, American businesswoman (b. 1928)
  • 2005 – Martin Denny, American pianist and composer (b. 1911)
  • 2007 – Thomas S. Kleppe, American soldier and politician, 41st United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1919)
  • 2007 – Clem Labine, American baseball player (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Ivan Safronov, Russian colonel and journalist (b. 1956)
  • 2007 – Henri Troyat, Russian-French historian and author (b. 1911)
  • 2008 – Jeff Healey, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1966)
  • 2009 – João Bernardo Vieira, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1939)
  • 2010 – Winston Churchill, English journalist and politician (b. 1940)
  • 2012 – Lawrence Anthony, South African environmentalist, explorer, and author (b. 1950)
  • 2012 – Van T. Barfoot, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1919)
  • 2012 – Norman St John-Stevas, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – James Q. Wilson, American political scientist and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Peter Harvey, Australian journalist (b. 1944)
  • 2013 – Giorgos Kolokithas, Greek basketball player (b. 1945)
  • 2013 – Shabnam Shakeel, Pakistani poet and author (b. 1942)
  • 2014 – Ryhor Baradulin, Belarusian poet and translator (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Dean Hess, American minister and colonel (b. 1917)
  • 2015 – Dave Mackay, Scottish-English footballer and manager (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Mal Peet, English author and illustrator (b. 1947)
  • 2016 – Benoît Lacroix, Canadian priest, historian, and philosopher (b. 1915)
  • 2016 – Aubrey McClendon, American businessman (b. 1959)
  • 2018 – Billy Herrington, American actor (b. 1969)
  • 2018 – Lin Hu, Chinese lieutenant general (b. 1927)
  • 2019 – Mike Oliver, British sociologist, disability rights activist (b. 1945)

Holidays and observances on March 2

  • Air Force Day (Sri Lanka)
  • Baloch Culture Day (Balochistan)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Agnes of Bohemia
    • Angela of the Cross
    • Blessed Charles the Good, Count of Flanders
    • Chad of Mercia (Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church)
    • John Maron
    • March 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Feast of ‘Alá (Loftiness), First day of the 19th month of the Bahá’í calendar (Bahá’í Faith) and first day of the Baha’i Nineteen Day Fast
  • Jamahiriya Day (Libya)
  • Peasants’ Day (Myanmar)
  • Texas Independence Day
  • Victory at Adwa Day (Ethiopia)

March 2- 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 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

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

Births on February 27

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

Deaths on February 27

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

Holidays and observances on February 27

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

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

On This Day, Uncategorized

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

On This Day /
  • 1245 – Thomas, the first known Bishop of Finland, is granted resignation after confessing to torture and forgery.
  • 1440 – The Prussian Confederation is formed.
  • 1613 – Mikhail I is unanimously elected Tsar by a national assembly, beginning the Romanov dynasty of Imperial Russia.
  • 1797 – A force of 1,400 French soldiers invaded Britain at Fishguard in support of the Society of United Irishmen. They were defeated by 500 British reservists.
  • 1804 – The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales.
  • 1808 – Without a previous declaration of war, Russian troops cross the border to Sweden at Abborfors in eastern Finland, thus beginning the Finnish War, in which Sweden will lose the eastern half of the country (i.e. Finland) to Russia.
  • 1828 – Initial issue of the Cherokee Phoenix is the first periodical to use the Cherokee syllabary invented by Sequoyah.
  • 1842 – John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine.
  • 1848 – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Valverde is fought near Fort Craig in New Mexico Territory.
  • 1866 – Lucy Hobbs Taylor becomes the first American woman to graduate from dental school.
  • 1874 – The Oakland Daily Tribune publishes its first edition.
  • 1878 – The first telephone directory is issued in New Haven, Connecticut.
  • 1885 – The newly completed Washington Monument is dedicated.
  • 1896 – An Englishman raised in Australia, Bob Fitzsimmons, fought an Irishman, Peter Maher, in an American promoted event which technically took place in Mexico, winning the 1896 World Heavyweight Championship in boxing.
  • 1913 – Ioannina is incorporated into the Greek state after the Balkan Wars.
  • 1916 – World War I: In France, the Battle of Verdun begins.
  • 1918 – The last Carolina parakeet dies in captivity at the Cincinnati Zoo.
  • 1919 – German socialist Kurt Eisner is assassinated. His death results in the establishment of the Bavarian Soviet Republic and parliament and government fleeing Munich, Germany.
  • 1921 – Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia adopts the country’s first constitution.
  • 1921 – Rezā Shāh takes control of Tehran during a successful coup.
  • 1925 – The New Yorker publishes its first issue.
  • 1929 – In the first battle of the Warlord Rebellion in northeastern Shandong against the Nationalist government of China, a 24,000-strong rebel force led by Zhang Zongchang was defeated at Zhifu by 7,000 NRA troops.1934 – Augusto Sandino is executed.
  • 1937 – The League of Nations bans foreign national “volunteers” in the Spanish Civil War.
  • 1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, Japanese kamikaze planes sink the escort carrier USS Bismarck Sea and damage the USS Saratoga.
  • 1945 – World War II: the Brazilian Expeditionary Force defeat the German forces in the Battle of Monte Castello on the Italian front.
  • 1947 – In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first “instant camera”, the Polaroid Land Camera, to a meeting of the Optical Society of America.
  • 1948 – NASCAR is incorporated.
  • 1952 – The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to “set the people free”.
  • 1952 – The Bengali Language Movement protests occur at the University of Dhaka in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
  • 1958 – The CND symbol, aka peace symbol, commissioned by the Direct Action Committee in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom.
  • 1965 – Malcolm X is assassinated while giving a talk at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem.
  • 1971 – The Convention on Psychotropic Substances is signed at Vienna.
  • 1972 – United States President Richard Nixon visits the People’s Republic of China to normalize Sino-American relations.
  • 1972 – The Soviet unmanned spaceship Luna 20 lands on the Moon.
  • 1973 – Over the Sinai Desert, Israeli fighter aircraft shoot down Libyan Arab Airlines Flight 114 jet killing 108 people.
  • 1974 – The last Israeli soldiers leave the west bank of the Suez Canal pursuant to a truce with Egypt.
  • 1975 – Watergate scandal: Former United States Attorney General John N. Mitchell and former White House aides H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are sentenced to prison.
  • 1995 – Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.
  • 2013 – At least 17 people are killed and 119 injured following several bombings in the Indian city of Hyderabad.

Births on February 21

  • 921 – Abe no Seimei, Japanese astrologer (d. 1005)
  • 1397 – Isabella of Portugal (d. 1471)
  • 1462 – Joanna la Beltraneja, princess of Castile (d. 1530)
  • 1484 – Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1535)
  • 1498 – Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland, English Earl (d. 1549)
  • 1541 – Philipp V, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1599)
  • 1556 – Sethus Calvisius, German astronomer, composer, and theorist (d. 1615)
  • 1559 – Nurhaci, Manchu emperor (d. 1626)
  • 1609 – Raimondo Montecuccoli, Italian military commander (d. 1680)
  • 1621 – Rebecca Nurse, Massachusetts colonist, executed as a witch (d. 1692)
  • 1705 – Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, English admiral and politician (d. 1781)
  • 1728 – Peter III of Russia (d. 1762)
  • 1783 – Catharina of Württemberg (d. 1835)
  • 1788 – Francis Ronalds, British scientist, inventor and engineer who was knighted for developing the first working electric telegraph (d. 1873)
  • 1791 – Carl Czerny, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1857)
  • 1794 – Antonio López de Santa Anna, Mexican general and politician, 8th President of Mexico (d. 1876)
  • 1801 – John Henry Newman, English cardinal (d. 1890)
  • 1817 – José Zorrilla, Spanish poet and playwright (d. 1893)
  • 1821 – Charles Scribner I, American publisher, founded Charles Scribner’s Sons (d. 1871)
  • 1836 – Léo Delibes, French pianist and composer (d. 1891)
  • 1844 – Charles-Marie Widor, French organist and composer (d. 1937)
  • 1860 – Goscombe John, Welsh-English sculptor and academic (d. 1952)
  • 1865 – John Haden Badley, English author and educator, founded the Bedales School (d. 1967)
  • 1867 – Otto Hermann Kahn, German banker and philanthropist (d. 1934)
  • 1875 – Jeanne Calment, French super-centenarian, oldest verified person ever (d. 1997)
  • 1878 – Mirra Alfassa, French-Indian spiritual leader (d. 1973)
  • 1881 – Kenneth J. Alford, English soldier, bandmaster, and composer (d. 1945)
  • 1885 – Sacha Guitry, Russian-French actor, director, and playwright (d. 1957)
  • 1887 – Korechika Anami, Japanese general and politician, 54th Japanese Minister of War (d. 1945)
  • 1888 – Clemence Dane, English author and playwright (d. 1965)
  • 1892 – Harry Stack Sullivan, American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (d. 1949)
  • 1893 – Celia Lovsky, Austrian-American actress (d. 1979)
  • 1893 – Andrés Segovia, Spanish guitarist (d. 1987)
  • 1894 – Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Indian chemist and academic (d. 1955)
  • 1895 – Henrik Dam, Danish biochemist and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
  • 1896 – Nirala, Indian poet and author (d. 1961)
  • 1900 – Jeanne Aubert, French singer and actress (d. 1988)
  • 1902 – Arthur Nock, English theologian and academic (d. 1963)
  • 1903 – Anaïs Nin, French-American essayist and memoirist (d. 1977)
  • 1903 – Raymond Queneau, French poet and author (d. 1976)
  • 1907 – W. H. Auden, English-American poet, playwright, and composer (d. 1973)
  • 1909 – Hans Erni, Swiss painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2015)
  • 1910 – Douglas Bader, English captain and pilot (d. 1982)
  • 1912 – Arline Judge, American actress and singer (d. 1974)
  • 1914 – Ilmari Juutilainen, Finnish soldier and pilot (d. 1999)
  • 1914 – Zachary Scott, American actor (d. 1965)
  • 1914 – Jean Tatlock, American psychiatrist and physician (d. 1944)
  • 1915 – Claudia Jones, Trinidad-British journalist and activist (d. 1964)
  • 1915 – Ann Sheridan, American actress and singer (d. 1967)
  • 1915 – Anton Vratuša, Prime Minister of Slovenia (1978–1980) (d. 2017)
  • 1917 – Lucille Bremer, American actress and dancer (d. 1996)
  • 1917 – Tadd Dameron, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)
  • 1921 – John Rawls, American philosopher and academic (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Richard T. Whitcomb, American aeronautical engineer (d. 2009)
  • 1924 – Thelma Estrin, American computer scientist and engineer (d. 2014)
  • 1924 – Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean educator and politician, 2nd President of Zimbabwe (d. 2019)
  • 1924 – Dorothy Blum, American computer scientist and cryptanalyst (d. 1980)
  • 1925 – Sam Peckinpah, American director and screenwriter (d. 1984)
  • 1925 – Jack Ramsay, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2014)
  • 1927 – Erma Bombeck, American journalist and author (d. 1996)
  • 1929 – Chespirito, Mexican actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1933 – Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2003)
  • 1934 – Rue McClanahan, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1935 – Richard A. Lupoff, American author
  • 1936 – Barbara Jordan, American lawyer and politician (d. 1996)
  • 1937 – Ron Clarke, Australian runner and politician, Mayor of the Gold Coast (d. 2015)
  • 1937 – Harald V of Norway
  • 1938 – Bobby Charles, American singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Kel Tremain, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1992)
  • 1940 – Peter Gethin, English race car driver (d. 2011)
  • 1940 – John Lewis, American activist and politician
  • 1942 – Tony Martin, Trinidadian-American historian and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Margarethe von Trotta, German actress, director, and screenwriter
  • 1943 – David Geffen, American businessman, co-founded DreamWorks and Geffen Records
  • 1945 – Maurice Bembridge, English golfer
  • 1946 – Tyne Daly, American actress and singer
  • 1946 – Anthony Daniels, English actor and producer
  • 1946 – Alan Rickman, English actor and director (d. 2016)
  • 1946 – Bob Ryan, American journalist and author
  • 1947 – Johnny Echols, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Olympia Snowe, American politician
  • 1948 – Bill Slayback, American baseball player and singer (d. 2015)
  • 1949 – Frank Brunner, American illustrator
  • 1949 – Jerry Harrison, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1949 – Ronnie Hellström, Swedish footballer
  • 1950 – Larry Drake, American actor (d. 2016)
  • 1951 – Vince Welnick, American keyboard player (d. 2006)
  • 1952 – Jean-Jacques Burnel, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1952 – Vitaly Churkin, Russian diplomat, former Ambassador of Russia to the United Nations (d. 2017)
  • 1953 – Christine Ebersole, American actress and singer
  • 1953 – William Petersen, American actor and producer
  • 1954 – Christina Rees, British politician
  • 1955 – Kelsey Grammer, American actor, singer, and producer
  • 1958 – Jake Burns, Northern Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1958 – Mary Chapin Carpenter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1958 – Kim Coates, Canadian actor
  • 1958 – Alan Trammell, American baseball player, coach, and manager
  • 1959 – José María Cano, Spanish singer-songwriter and painter
  • 1960 – Plamen Oresharski, Bulgarian economist and politician, 52nd Prime Minister of Bulgaria
  • 1960 – Steve Wynn, American singer-songwriter
  • 1961 – Christopher Atkins, American actor and businessman
  • 1962 – Chuck Palahniuk, American novelist and journalist
  • 1962 – David Foster Wallace, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 2008)
  • 1963 – William Baldwin, American actor
  • 1963 – Ranking Roger, English singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2019)
  • 1963 – Greg Turner, New Zealand golfer
  • 1964 – Mark Kelly, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1964 – Scott Kelly, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1965 – Mark Ferguson, Australian journalist
  • 1967 – Leroy Burrell, American runner and coach
  • 1967 – Sari Essayah, Finnish athlete and politician
  • 1969 – James Dean Bradfield, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist (Manic Street Preachers)
  • 1969 – Aunjanue Ellis, American actress and producer
  • 1969 – Petra Kronberger, Austrian skier
  • 1969 – Tony Meola, American soccer player and manager
  • 1969 – Cathy Richardson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1970 – Michael Slater, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1970 – Eric Wilson, American bass player and drummer
  • 1971 – Pierre Fulke, Swedish golfer
  • 1972 – Seo Taiji, South Korean singer-songwriter
  • 1973 – Heri Joensen, Faroese singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1973 – Brian Rolston, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1974 – Iván Campo, Spanish footballer
  • 1975 – Scott Miller, Australian swimmer
  • 1976 – Ryan Smyth, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1976 – Michael McIntyre, English comedian, actor and television presenter
  • 1977 – Jonathan Safran Foer, American novelist
  • 1977 – Steve Francis, American basketball player
  • 1977 – Owen King, American author
  • 1977 – Kevin Rose, American businessman and television host, founded Digg
  • 1978 – Kumail Nanjiani, Pakistani-American stand-up comedian, actor, writer and podcast host
  • 1979 – Pascal Chimbonda, Guadeloupean-French footballer, defender
  • 1979 – Shane Gibson, American guitarist (stOrk and Jonathan Davis and the SFA) (d. 2014)
  • 1979 – Jennifer Love Hewitt, American actress and producer
  • 1979 – Carly Colón, Puerto Rican professional wrestler
  • 1979 – Jordan Peele, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1980 – Brad Fast, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – Tiziano Ferro, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1980 – Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, 5th King of Bhutan
  • 1980 – Justin Roiland, American animator, writer and voice actor
  • 1981 – Floor Jansen, Dutch singer, songwriter, and vocal coach
  • 1982 – Andre Barrett, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Chantal Claret, American singer-songwriter
  • 1982 – Tebogo Jacko Magubane, South African DJ and producer
  • 1983 – Braylon Edwards, American football player
  • 1983 – Franklin Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1983 – Mélanie Laurent, French actress
  • 1984 – Andrew Ellis, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1984 – David Odonkor, German footballer
  • 1984 – Marco Paoloni, Italian footballer
  • 1984 – James Wisniewski, American ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Georgios Samaras, Greek footballer
  • 1985 – Jamaal Westerman, American football player
  • 1986 – Charlotte Church, Welsh singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1987 – Ellen Page, Canadian actress
  • 1989 – Corbin Bleu, American actor, model, dancer, film producer and singer-songwriter
  • 1990 – Mattias Tedenby, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1991 – Joe Alwyn, English actor
  • 1991 – Riyad Mahrez, Algerian footballer
  • 1991 – Ji So-yun, South Korean footballer
  • 1991 – Devon Travis, American baseball player
  • 1991 – Suppasit Jongcheveevat, Thai actor
  • 1993 – Steve Leo Beleck, Cameroonian footballer
  • 1993 – Davy Klaassen, Dutch footballer
  • 1993 – Masaki Suda, Japanese actor
  • 1994 – Tang Haochen, Chinese tennis player
  • 1994 – Charalampos Mavrias, Greek footballer
  • 1996 – Sophie Turner, English actress

Deaths on February 21

  • 4 AD – Gaius Caesar, Roman consul and grandson of Augustus (b. 20 BC)
  • 675 – Randoald of Grandval, prior of the Benedictine monastery of Grandval
  • 1184 – Minamoto no Yoshinaka, Japanese shōgun (b. 1154)
  • 1267 – Baldwin of Ibelin, Seneschal of Cyprus
  • 1437 – James I of Scotland (b. 1394; assassinated)
  • 1471 – Jan Rokycana, Czech bishop and theologian (b. 1396)
  • 1513 – Pope Julius II (b. 1443)
  • 1543 – Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi, Somalian general (b. 1507)
  • 1554 – Hieronymus Bock, German botanist and physician (b. 1498)
  • 1572 – Cho Shik, Korean poet and scholar (d. 1501)
  • 1590 – Ambrose Dudley, 3rd Earl of Warwick, English nobleman and general (b. 1528)
  • 1595 – Robert Southwell, English priest and poet (b. 1561)
  • 1677 – Baruch Spinoza, Dutch philosopher and scholar (b. 1632)
  • 1715 – Charles Calvert, 3rd Baron Baltimore, English politician (b. 1637)
  • 1730 – Pope Benedict XIII (b. 1649)
  • 1821 – Georg Friedrich von Martens, German jurist and diplomat (b. 1756)
  • 1824 – Eugène de Beauharnais, French general (b. 1781)
  • 1829 – Kittur Chennamma, Indian queen and freedom fighter (b. 1778)
  • 1846 – Emperor Ninkō of Japan (b. 1800)
  • 1862 – Justinus Kerner, German poet and physician (b. 1786)
  • 1888 – William Weston, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1804)
  • 1891 – James Timberlake, American lieutenant and police officer (b. 1846)
  • 1919 – Kurt Eisner, German journalist and politician, Minister-President of Bavaria (b. 1867)
  • 1926 – Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
  • 1934 – Augusto César Sandino, Nicaraguan rebel leader (b. 1895)
  • 1938 – George Ellery Hale, American astronomer and academic (b. 1868)
  • 1941 – Frederick Banting, Canadian physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
  • 1944 – Ferenc Szisz, Hungarian-French race car driver (b. 1873)
  • 1945 – Eric Liddell, Scottish rugby player and runner (b. 1902)
  • 1946 – José Streel, Belgian journalist (b. 1911)
  • 1958 – Duncan Edwards, English footballer (b. 1936)
  • 1965 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist (b. 1925; assassinated)
  • 1967 – Charles Beaumont, American author and screenwriter (b. 1929)
  • 1968 – Howard Florey, Australian pathologist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
  • 1972 – Zhang Guohua, Chinese general and politician (b. 1914)
  • 1972 – Bronislava Nijinska, Russian-American dancer and choreographer (b. 1891)
  • 1972 – Eugène Tisserant, French cardinal (b. 1884)
  • 1974 – Tim Horton, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman, co-founded Tim Hortons (b. 1930)
  • 1980 – Alfred Andersch, German-Swiss author (b. 1914)
  • 1982 – Gershom Scholem, German-Israeli historian and philosopher (b. 1897)
  • 1984 – Mikhail Sholokhov, Russian novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
  • 1985 – Louis Hayward, South African-American actor (b. 1909)
  • 1986 – Helen Hooven Santmyer, American novelist (b. 1895)
  • 1991 – Dorothy Auchterlonie Green, Australian poet, critic, and academic (b. 1915)
  • 1993 – Inge Lehmann, Danish seismologist and geophysicist (b. 1888)
  • 1994 – Johannes Steinhoff, German general and pilot (b. 1913)
  • 1996 – Morton Gould, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1913)
  • 1999 – Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
  • 1999 – Ilmari Juutilainen, Finnish soldier and pilot (b. 1914)
  • 1999 – Wilmer Mizell, American baseball player and politician (b. 1930)
  • 2002 – John Thaw, English actor and producer (b. 1942)
  • 2004 – John Charles, Welsh footballer and manager (b. 1931)
  • 2005 – Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban author, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1929)
  • 2005 – Zdzisław Beksiński, Polish painter, photographer, and sculptor (b. 1929)
  • 2008 – Ben Chapman, American actor (b. 1928)
  • 2011 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author and screenwriter, co-founded Milestone Media (b. 1962)
  • 2011 – Bernard Nathanson, American physician and activist (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – H. M. Darmstandler, American general (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Hasse Jeppson, Swedish footballer (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Héctor Maestri, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Matthew Robinson, Australian snowboarder (b. 1985)
  • 2014 – Cornelius Schnauber, German–American historian, playwright, and academic (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Aleksei Gubarev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1931)
  • 2015 – Sadeq Tabatabaei, Iranian journalist and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2015 – Clark Terry, American trumpet player, composer, and educator (b. 1920)
  • 2016 – Eric Brown, Scottish-English captain and pilot (b. 1919)
  • 2017 – Jeanne Martin Cissé, Guinean teacher and politician (b. 1926)
  • 2018 – Billy Graham, American evangelist (b. 1918)
  • 2019 – Stanley Donen, American film director (b. 1924)
  • 2019 – Peter Tork, American musician and actor (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances on February 21

  • Armed Forces Day (South Africa)
  • Birthday of King Harald V (Norway)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Felix of Hadrumetum
    • Pepin of Landen
    • Peter Damian
    • Randoald of Grandval
    • February 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Father Lini Day (Vanuatu)
  • Language Movement Day (Bangladesh)
    • International Mother Language Day (UNESCO)
  • The first day of the Birth Anniversary of Fifth Druk Gyalpo, celebrated until February 23. (Bhutan)
  • The first day of the Musikahan Festival, celebrated until February 27. (Tagum City, Philippines)
  • Feralia (Ancient Rome)

February 21 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day /
  • 1339 – The Milanese army and the St. George’s (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti clash in the Battle of Parabiago; Visconti is defeated.
  • 1472 – Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a dowry for Margaret of Denmark.
  • 1547 – Edward VI of England is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey.
  • 1685 – René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France’s claim to Texas.
  • 1792 – The Postal Service Act, establishing the United States Post Office Department, is signed by United States President George Washington.
  • 1798 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier removes Pope Pius VI from power.
  • 1813 – Manuel Belgrano defeats the royalist army of Pío de Tristán during the Battle of Salta.
  • 1816 – Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville premieres at the Teatro Argentina in Rome.
  • 1835 – The 1835 Concepción earthquake destroys Concepción, Chile.
  • 1846 – Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence.
  • 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Olustee: The largest battle fought in Florida during the war.
  • 1865 – End of the Uruguayan War, with a peace agreement between President Tomás Villalba and rebel leader Venancio Flores, setting the scene for the destructive War of the Triple Alliance.
  • 1872 – The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.
  • 1877 – Tchaikovsky’s ballet Swan Lake receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
  • 1901 – The legislature of Hawaii Territory convenes for the first time.
  • 1909 – Publication of the Futurist Manifesto in the French journal Le Figaro.
  • 1913 – King O’Malley drives in the first survey peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra.
  • 1920 – An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in Georgia and heavily damages the town of Gori.
  • 1931 – The U.S. Congress approves the construction of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge by the state of California.
  • 1933 – The U.S. Congress approves the Blaine Act to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution to state ratifying conventions for approval.
  • 1933 – Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party’s upcoming election campaign.
  • 1935 – Caroline Mikkelsen becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica.
  • 1942 – Lieutenant Edward O’Hare becomes America’s first World War II flying ace.
  • 1943 – American movie studio executives agree to allow the Office of War Information to censor movies.
  • 1943 – The Saturday Evening Post publishes the first of Norman Rockwell’s Four Freedoms in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1941 State of the Union address theme of Four Freedoms.
  • 1944 – World War II: The “Big Week” began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers.
  • 1944 – World War II: The United States takes Eniwetok Island.
  • 1952 – Emmett Ashford becomes the first African-American umpire in organized baseball by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League.
  • 1956 – The United States Merchant Marine Academy becomes a permanent Service Academy.
  • 1959 – The Avro Arrow program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the Diefenbaker government amid much political debate.
  • 1962 – Mercury program: While aboard Friendship 7, John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes.
  • 1965 – Ranger 8 crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts.
  • 1971 – The United States Emergency Broadcast System is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert.
  • 1979 – An earthquake cracks open the Sinila volcanic crater on the Dieng Plateau, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the Indonesian province of Central Java.
  • 1986 – The Soviet Union launches its Mir spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years.
  • 1988 – The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast votes to secede from Azerbaijan and join Armenia, triggering the Nagorno-Karabakh War.
  • 1991 – In the Albanian capital Tirana, a gigantic statue of Albania’s long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters.
  • 1998 – American figure skater Tara Lipinski, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan.
  • 2003 – During a Great White concert in West Warwick, Rhode Island, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others.
  • 2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
  • 2009 – Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a kamikaze style attack.
  • 2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago.
  • 2014 – Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine’s capital Kiev, many reportedly killed by snipers.
  • 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of Rafz resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services.
  • 2016 – Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.

Births on February 20

  • 1358 – Eleanor of Aragon, queen of John I of Castile (d. 1382)
  • 1469 – Thomas Cajetan, Italian philosopher (d. 1534)
  • 1523 – Jan Blahoslav, Czech writer (d. 1571)
  • 1549 – Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, last Duke of Urbino (d. 1631)
  • 1552 – Sengoku Hidehisa, Daimyō (d. 1614)
  • 1608 – Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham (d. 1649)
  • 1631 – Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, English politician, Treasurer of the Navy (d. 1712)
  • 1633 – Jan de Baen, Dutch painter (d. 1702)
  • 1705 – Nicolas Chédeville, French musette player and composer (d. 1782)
  • 1726 – William Prescott, American colonel (d. 1795)
  • 1745 – Henry James Pye, English poet and politician (d. 1813)
  • 1751 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (d. 1826)
  • 1753 – Louis-Alexandre Berthier, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1815)
  • 1759 – Johann Christian Reil, German physician, physiologist, and anatomist (d. 1813)
  • 1774 – Vicente Sebastián Pintado, Spanish cartographer, engineer, military officer and land surveyor of Spanish Louisiana and Spanish West Florida (d. 1829)
  • 1784 – Judith Montefiore, British linguist, travel writer, philanthropist (d. 1862)
  • 1792 – Eliza Courtney, French daughter of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (d. 1859)
  • 1794 – William Carleton, Irish author (d. 1869)
  • 1802 – Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1870)
  • 1819 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (d. 1882)
  • 1839 – Benjamin Waugh, English activist, founded the NSPCC (d. 1908)
  • 1844 – Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1906)
  • 1844 – Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909)
  • 1848 – E. H. Harriman, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1909)
  • 1857 – A. P. Lucas, English cricketer (d. 1923)
  • 1866 – Carl Westman, Swedish architect, designed the Stockholm Court House and Röhsska Museum (d. 1936)
  • 1867 – Louise, Princess Royal of England (d. 1931)
  • 1870 – Jay Johnson Morrow, American engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of the Panama Canal Zone (d. 1937)
  • 1874 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (d. 1967)
  • 1879 – Hod Stuart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1907)
  • 1880 – Jacques d’Adelswärd-Fersen, French author and poet (d. 1923)
  • 1882 – Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor (d. 1946)
  • 1887 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (d. 1967)
  • 1888 – Georges Bernanos, French soldier and author (d. 1948)
  • 1889 – Hulusi Behçet, Turkish dermatologist and physician (d. 1948)
  • 1893 – Elizabeth Holloway Marston, American psychologist and author (d. 1993)
  • 1895 – Louis Zborowski, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1924)
  • 1897 – Ivan Albright, American painter (d. 1983)
  • 1898 – Ante Ciliga, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (d. 1992)
  • 1899 – Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1992)
  • 1901 – René Dubos, French-American biologist and author (d. 1982)
  • 1901 – Louis Kahn, American architect, designed the Salk Institute, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Bangladesh Parliament Building (d. 1974)
  • 1901 – Muhammad Naguib, Egyptian general and politician, 1st President of Egypt (d. 1984)
  • 1901 – Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (d. 1978)
  • 1902 – Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (d. 1984)
  • 1904 – Alexei Kosygin, Russian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1980)
  • 1906 – Gale Gordon, American actor (d. 1995)
  • 1912 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (d. 1994)
  • 1912 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace of the Second World War (d. 2006)
  • 1913 – Tommy Henrich, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
  • 1914 – John Charles Daly, South African–American journalist and game show host (d. 1991)
  • 1916 – Jean Erdman, American dancer and choreographer
  • 1918 – Leonore Annenberg, American businesswoman and diplomat (d. 2009)
  • 1919 – James O’Meara, English soldier and pilot (d. 1974)
  • 1920 – Karl Albrecht, German businessman, co-founded Aldi (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 1992)
  • 1923 – Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd Governor of Oregon (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Guyana (d. 1985)
  • 1923 – Rena Vlahopoulou, Greek actress (d. 2004)
  • 1924 – Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress, fashion designer, and socialite (d. 2019)
  • 1925 – Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1925 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (d. 1990)
  • 1926 – Matthew Bucksbaum, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded General Growth Properties (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Gillian Lynne, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Richard Matheson, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Bob Richards, American Olympic track and field athlete
  • 1926 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1998)
  • 1927 – Roy Cohn, American lawyer and political activist (d. 1986)
  • 1927 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer and musician (d. 2005)
  • 1927 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat
  • 1928 – Roy Face, American baseball player and carpenter
  • 1928 – Jean Kennedy Smith, American diplomat, 25th United States Ambassador to Ireland
  • 1929 – Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989)
  • 1931 – John Milnor, American mathematician and academic
  • 1932 – Adrian Cristobal, Filipino journalist and author (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Bobby Unser, American race car driver
  • 1935 – Ellen Gilchrist, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
  • 1936 – Marj Dusay, American actress (d. 2020)
  • 1936 – Larry Hovis, American actor and singer (d. 2003)
  • 1936 – Shigeo Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and coach
  • 1937 – David Ackles, American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1999)
  • 1937 – Robert Huber, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1937 – Roger Penske, American race car driver and businessman
  • 1937 – Robert Evans, Australian minister and amateur astronomer
  • 1937 – Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
  • 1938 – Richard Beymer, American actor, director, and cinematographer
  • 1940 – Jimmy Greaves, English international footballer, forward and TV pundit
  • 1941 – Lim Kit Siang, Malaysian lawyer and politician
  • 1941 – Buffy Sainte-Marie, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1942 – Phil Esposito, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
  • 1942 – Mitch McConnell, American lawyer, and politician
  • 1942 – Claude Miller, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
  • 1943 – Antonio Inoki, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician
  • 1943 – Mike Leigh, English director and screenwriter
  • 1944 – Robert de Cotret, Canadian economist and politician, 56th Secretary of State for Canada (d. 1999)
  • 1944 – Lew Soloff, American trumpet player, composer, and actor (d. 2015)
  • 1944 – Willem van Hanegem, Dutch footballer and coach
  • 1945 – Alan Hull, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995)
  • 1946 – Brenda Blethyn, English actress
  • 1946 – Sandy Duncan, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1946 – J. Geils, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017)
  • 1947 – Peter Osgood, English footballer (d. 2006)
  • 1947 – Peter Strauss, American actor and producer
  • 1948 – Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1948 – Jennifer O’Neill, American model and actress
  • 1949 – Eddie Hemmings, English cricketer
  • 1949 – Ivana Trump, Czech-American socialite and model
  • 1950 – Walter Becker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
  • 1950 – Peter Marinello, Scottish footballer, forward
  • 1950 – Tony Wilson, English journalist and businessman (d. 2007)
  • 1951 – Edward Albert, American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1951 – Gordon Brown, Scottish historian and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
  • 1951 – Randy California, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
  • 1951 – Phil Neal, English footballer and manager
  • 1953 – Poison Ivy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1954 – Jon Brant, American bass player
  • 1954 – Anthony Head, English actor
  • 1954 – Patty Hearst, American actress and author
  • 1957 – Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1959 – Scott Brayton, American race car driver (d. 1996)
  • 1959 – David Corn, American journalist and author
  • 1959 – Bill Gullickson, American baseball player
  • 1960 – Joel Hodgson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
  • 1960 – Cándido Muatetema Rivas, Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (d. 2014)
  • 1961 – Steve Lundquist, American swimmer
  • 1962 – Dwayne McDuffie, American author, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded Milestone Media (d. 2011)
  • 1963 – Charles Barkley, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1963 – Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1963 – Joakim Nystrom, Swedish tennis player
  • 1963 – Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health
  • 1963 – Cui Yongyuan, Chinese former anchor
  • 1964 – Willie Garson, American actor and director
  • 1964 – Tom Harris, Scottish journalist and politician
  • 1964 – Jeff Maggert, American golfer
  • 1964 – French Stewart, American actor
  • 1966 – Cindy Crawford, American model and businesswoman
  • 1967 – Paul Accola, Swiss alpine skier
  • 1967 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994)
  • 1967 – David Herman, American comedian and actor
  • 1967 – Andrew Shue, American actor and activist, founded Do Something
  • 1967 – Lili Taylor, American actress
  • 1967 – Tom Waddle, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1969 – Kjell Ove Hauge, Norwegian school principal and track and field athlete
  • 1969 – Siniša Mihajlović, Serbian footballer and manager
  • 1969 – Danis Tanović, Bosnian director and screenwriter
  • 1971 – Calpernia Addams, American actress, author, and activist
  • 1971 – Jari Litmanen, Finnish footballer
  • 1971 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby player (d. 2017)
  • 1972 – Neil Primrose, Scottish drummer
  • 1974 – Karim Bagheri, Iranian footballer and manager
  • 1975 – Liván Hernández, Cuban baseball player
  • 1975 – Brian Littrell, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1975 – Niclas Wallin, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1977 – Stephon Marbury, American basketball player
  • 1977 – Gail Kim, Canadian professional wrestler
  • 1978 – Lauren Ambrose, American actress and producer
  • 1980 – Imanol Harinordoquy, French rugby player
  • 1980 – Luis Gabriel Rey, Colombian footballer
  • 1981 – Tony Hibbert, English footballer
  • 1981 – Fred Jackson, American football player
  • 1982 – Jason Hirsh, American baseball player
  • 1983 – Jose Morales, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
  • 1983 – Justin Verlander, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Brian McCann, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Trevor Noah, South African comedian, actor, and television host
  • 1984 – Ramzee Robinson, American football player
  • 1985 – Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player
  • 1985 – Julia Volkova, Russian singer and actress
  • 1985 – TJ Kirk, American YouTube personality and podcast host
  • 1987 – Luke Burgess, English rugby league player
  • 1987 – Miles Teller, American actor
  • 1988 – Kealoha Pilares, American football player
  • 1988 – Ki Bo-bae, South Korean archer
  • 1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian-American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1988 – Jiah Khan, Indian singer and actress (d. 2013)
  • 1989 – Daly Cherry-Evans, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Ciro Immobile, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Hidilyn Diaz, Filipino weightlifter
  • 1991 – Giovanni Kyeremateng, Italian footballer
  • 1991 – Angelique van der Meet, Dutch tennis player
  • 1991 – Antonio Pedroza, English-Mexican footballer
  • 1991 – Jocelyn Rae, English-Scottish tennis player
  • 1992 – Kyle Turner, Australian rugby league player
  • 1994 – Elseid Hysaj, Albanian footballer

Deaths on February 20

  • 789 – Leo of Catania, saint and bishop of Catania (b. 709)
  • 922 – Theodora, Byzantine empress
  • 1054 – Yaroslav the Wise, grand prince of Veliky Novgorod and Kiev (b. 978)
  • 1154 – Saint Wulfric of Haselbury (b. c. 1080)
  • 1171 – Conan IV, Duke of Brittany (b. 1138)
  • 1194 – Tancred, King of Sicily (b. 1138)
  • 1258 – Al-Musta’sim, Iraqi caliph (b. 1213)
  • 1408 – Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, English politician, Earl Marshal of the United Kingdom (b. 1342)
  • 1431 – Pope Martin V (b. 1368)
  • 1458 – Lazar Branković, Despot of Serbia
  • 1513 – King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1455)
  • 1524 – Tecun Uman, Mayan ruler (b. 1500)
  • 1579 – Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)
  • 1618 – Philip William, Prince of Orange (b. 1554)
  • 1626 – John Dowland, English lute player and composer (b. 1563)
  • 1762 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer and academic (b. 1723)
  • 1771 – Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist and astronomer (b. 1678)
  • 1773 – Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia (b. 1701)
  • 1778 – Laura Bassi, Italian physicist and scholar (b. 1711)
  • 1790 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741)
  • 1806 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (b. 1725)
  • 1810 – Andreas Hofer, Tyrolean rebel leader (b. 1767)
  • 1850 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843–1844) (b. 1794)
  • 1862 – William Wallace Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850)
  • 1871 – Paul Kane, Irish-Canadian painter (b. 1810)
  • 1893 – P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (b. 1818)
  • 1895 – Frederick Douglass, American author and activist (b. 1818)
  • 1900 – Washakie, American tribal leader (b. 1798)
  • 1907 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
  • 1910 – Boutros Ghali, Egyptian educator and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1846)
  • 1916 – Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish journalist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844)
  • 1920 – Jacinta Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1910)
  • 1920 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (b. 1856)
  • 1933 – Takiji Kobayashi, Japanese writer (b. 1903)
  • 1936 – Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879)
  • 1957 – Sadri Maksudi Arsal, Turkish scholar and politician (b. 1878)
  • 1961 – Percy Grainger, Australian-American pianist and composer (b. 1882)
  • 1963 – Jacob Gade, Danish violinist and composer(b. 1879)
  • 1966 – Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (b. 1885)
  • 1968 – Anthony Asquith, English director and screenwriter (b. 1902)
  • 1969 – Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (b. 1883)
  • 1972 – Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
  • 1972 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and actor (b. 1897)
  • 1976 – René Cassin, French lawyer and judge, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
  • 1976 – Kathryn Kuhlman, healing evangelist, known for belief in Holy Spirit (b. 1907)
  • 1981 – Nicolas de Gunzburg, French-American banker and publisher (b. 1904)
  • 1987 – Wayne Boring, American illustrator (b. 1905)
  • 1992 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (b. 1898)
  • 1992 – Dick York, American actor (b. 1928)
  • 1993 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, founded Lamborghini (b. 1916)
  • 1993 – Ernest L. Massad, American general (b. 1908)
  • 1996 – Solomon Asch, American psychologist and academic (b. 1907)
  • 1996 – Audrey Munson, American model (b. 1891)
  • 1996 – Toru Takemitsu, Japanese pianist, guitarist, and composer (b. 1930)
  • 1999 – Sarah Kane, English playwright (b. 1971)
  • 1999 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and critic (b. 1946)
  • 2000 – Anatoly Sobchak, Russian lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of Saint Petersburg (b. 1937)
  • 2001 – Rosemary DeCamp, American actress (b. 1910)
  • 2001 – Donella Meadows, American environmentalist, author, and academic (b. 1941)
  • 2003 – Mushaf Ali Mir, Pakistani air marshal (b. 1947)
  • 2003 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and author (b. 1907)
  • 2003 – Orville Freeman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 29th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1918)
  • 2005 – Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1942)
  • 2005 – Josef Holeček, Czechoslovakian canoeist (b. 1921)2005 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (b. 1917)
  • 2005 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (b. 1937)
  • 2006 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster (b. 1919)
  • 2006 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (b. 1920)
  • 2008 – Emily Perry, English actress and dancer (b. 1907)
  • 2009 – Larry H. Miller, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1944)
  • 2010 – Alexander Haig, American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (b. 1924)
  • 2012 – Knut Torbjørn Eggen, Norwegian footballer and manager (b. 1960)
  • 2012 – Katie Hall, American educator and politician (b. 1938)
  • 2013 – Kenji Eno, Japanese game designer and composer (b. 1970)
  • 2013 – David S. McKay, American biochemist and geologist (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Antonio Roma, Argentinian footballer (b. 1932)
  • 2014 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, President of Uruguay (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Walter D. Ehlers, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1921)
  • 2014 – Garrick Utley, American journalist (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – Govind Pansare, Indian author and activist (b. 1933)
  • 2015 – Henry Segerstrom, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – John C. Willke, American physician, author, and activist (b. 1925)
  • 2016 – Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician (b. 1934)
  • 2017 – Vitaly Churkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (b. 1952)
  • 2017 – Mildred Dresselhaus, American physicist (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Steve Hewlett, British journalist (b. 1958)
  • 2020 – Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Minister of Economy and Treasury and MP

Holidays and observances on February 20

  • Christian feast day:
    • Eleutherius of Tournai
    • Eucherius of Orléans
    • Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto
    • Frederick Douglass (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Wulfric of Haselbury
    • February 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of Heavenly Hundred Heroes (Ukraine)
  • World Day of Social Justice

February 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

February 13 in History

  • 951 – Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou.
  • 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum, recognizing John as ruler of Rome.
  • 1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th.
  • 1462 – The Treaty of Westminster is finalised between Edward IV of England and the Scottish Lord of the Isles.
  • 1503 – Challenge of Barletta: Tournament between 13 Italian and 13 French knights near Barletta.
  • 1542 – Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, is executed for adultery.
  • 1633 – Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition.
  • 1660 – With the accession of young Charles XI of Sweden, his regents begin negotiations to end the Second Northern War.
  • 1689 – William and Mary are proclaimed co-rulers of England.
  • 1692 – Massacre of Glencoe: Almost 80 Macdonalds at Glen Coe, Scotland are killed early in the morning for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new king, William of Orange.
  • 1726 – Parliament of Negrete between Mapuche and Spanish authorities in Chile bring an end to the Mapuche uprising of 1723–26.
  • 1755 – Treaty of Giyanti signed by VOC, Pakubuwono III and Prince Mangkubumi. The treaty divides the Javanese kingdom of Mataram into 2: Sunanate of Surakarta and Sultanate of Yogyakarta.
  • 1849 – The delegation headed by Metropolitan bishop Andrei Șaguna hands out to the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria the General Petition of Romanian leaders in Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina, which demands that the Romanian nation be recognized.
  • 1861 – Italian unification: The Siege of Gaeta ends with the capitulation of the defending fortress, effectively bringing an end of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
  • 1867 – Work begins on the covering of the Senne, burying Brussels’s primary river and creating the modern central boulevards.
  • 1880 – Thomas Edison observes Thermionic emission.
  • 1913 – The 13th Dalai Lama proclaims Tibetan independence following a period of domination by Manchu Qing dynasty and initiated a period of almost four decades of independence.
  • 1914 – Copyright: In New York City the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
  • 1920 – The Negro National League is formed.
  • 1931 – The British Raj completes its transfer from Calcutta to New Delhi.
  • 1935 – A jury in Flemington, New Jersey finds Bruno Hauptmann guilty of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, the son of Charles Lindbergh.
  • 1945 – World War II: The siege of Budapest concludes with the unconditional surrender of German and Hungarian forces to the Red Army.
  • 1945 – World War II: Royal Air Force bombers are dispatched to Dresden, Germany to attack the city with a massive aerial bombardment.
  • 1951 – Korean War: Battle of Chipyong-ni, which represented the “high-water mark” of the Chinese incursion into South Korea, commences.
  • 1954 – Frank Selvy becomes the only NCAA Division I basketball player ever to score 100 points in a single game.
  • 1955 – Israel obtains four of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
  • 1960 – With the success of a nuclear test codenamed “Gerboise Bleue”, France becomes the fourth country to possess nuclear weapons.
  • 1960 – Black college students stage the first of the Nashville sit-ins at three lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee.
  • 1961 – An allegedly 500,000-year-old rock is discovered near Olancha, California, US, that appears to anachronistically encase a spark plug.
  • 1967 – American researchers discover the Madrid Codices by Leonardo da Vinci in the National Library of Spain.
  • 1975 – Fire at One World Trade Center (North Tower) of the World Trade Center in New York.
  • 1978 – Hilton bombing: a bomb explodes in a refuse truck outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two refuse collectors and a policeman.
  • 1979 – An intense windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a ​1⁄2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.
  • 1981 – A series of sewer explosions destroys more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky.
  • 1983 – A cinema fire in Turin, Italy, kills 64 people.
  • 1984 – Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
  • 1990 – German reunification: An agreement is reached on a two-stage plan to reunite Germany.
  • 1991 – Gulf War: Two laser-guided “smart bombs” destroy the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad. Allied forces said the bunker was being used as a military communications outpost, but over 400 Iraqi civilians inside were killed.
  • 1996 – The Nepalese Civil War is initiated in the Kingdom of Nepal by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre).
  • 1999 – The last hockey game is played in Maple Leaf Gardens: the Toronto Maple Leafs lose 6–2 to the Chicago Blackhawks.
  • 2001 – An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter magnitude scale hits El Salvador, killing at least 944.
  • 2004 – The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces the discovery of the universe’s largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093. Astronomers named this star “Lucy” after The Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.
  • 2007 – Taiwan opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigns as the chairman of the Kuomintang party after being indicted on charges of embezzlement during his tenure as the mayor of Taipei; Ma also announces his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.
  • 2008 – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes a historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.
  • 2010 – A bomb explodes in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India, killing 17 and injuring 60 more.
  • 2011 – For the first time in more than 100 years the Umatilla, an American Indian tribe, are able to hunt and harvest a bison just outside Yellowstone National Park, restoring a centuries-old tradition guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1855.
  • 2012 – The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted the first launch of the European Vega rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
  • 2017 – Kim Jong-nam, brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, is assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Births on February 13

  • 1440 – Hartmann Schedel, German physician (d. 1514)
  • 1457 – Mary of Burgundy, Sovereign Duchess regnant of Burgundy, married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1482)
  • 1469 – Elia Levita, Renaissance Hebrew grammarian (d. 1549)
  • 1480 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian cardinal (d. 1542)
  • 1523 – Valentin Naboth, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1593)
  • 1539 – Elisabeth of Hesse, Electress Palatine (d. 1582)
  • 1569 – Johann Reinhard I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1625)
  • 1599 – Pope Alexander VII (d. 1667)
  • 1602 – William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1637)
  • 1672 – Étienne François Geoffroy, French physician and chemist (d. 1731)
  • 1683 – Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Italian painter (d. 1754)
  • 1719 – George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, English admiral and politician (d. 1792)
  • 1721 – John Reid, Scottish general (d. 1807)
  • 1728 – John Hunter, Scottish surgeon and anatomist (d. 1793)
  • 1766 – Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist and scholar (d. 1834)
  • 1768 – Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, French general and politician, 15th Prime Minister of France (d. 1835)
  • 1769 – Ivan Krylov, Russian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1844)
  • 1805 – Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician and academic (d. 1859)
  • 1811 – François Achille Bazaine, French general (d. 1888)
  • 1815 – Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American anthologist, editor, poet and critic (d. 1857)
  • 1831 – John Aaron Rawlins, American general and politician, 29th United States Secretary of War (d. 1869)
  • 1834 – Heinrich Caro, Sephardic Jewish Polish-German chemist and academic (d. 1910)
  • 1835 – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Indian religious leader (d. 1908)
  • 1849 – Lord Randolph Churchill, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1895)
  • 1855 – Paul Deschanel, Belgian-French politician, 11th President of France (d. 1922)
  • 1863 – Hugo Becker, German cellist and composer (d. 1941)
  • 1867 – Harold Mahony, Scottish-Irish tennis player (d. 1905)
  • 1870 – Leopold Godowsky, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1938)
  • 1873 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (d. 1938)
  • 1876 – Fritz Buelow, German-American baseball player and umpire (d. 1933)
  • 1879 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian poet and activist (d. 1949)
  • 1880 – Dimitrie Gusti, Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1955)
  • 1881 – Eleanor Farjeon, Jewish-English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1965)
  • 1883 – Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947)
  • 1883 – Yevgeny Vakhtangov, Russian-Armenian actor and director (d. 1922)
  • 1884 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and businessman, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company (d. 1961)
  • 1885 – Bess Truman, American wife of Harry S. Truman, 35th First Lady of the United States (d. 1982)
  • 1887 – Géza Csáth, Hungarian playwright and critic (d. 1919)
  • 1888 – Georgios Papandreou, Greek lawyer, economist, and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)
  • 1889 – Leontine Sagan, Austrian actress and director (d. 1974)
  • 1891 – Kate Roberts, Welsh author and activist (d. 1985)
  • 1891 – Grant Wood, American painter and academic (d. 1942)
  • 1892 – Robert H. Jackson, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 57th United States Attorney General (d. 1954)
  • 1898 – Hubert Ashton, English cricketer and politician (d. 1979)
  • 1900 – Barbara von Annenkoff, Russian-born German film and stage actress (d. 1979)
  • 1901 – Paul Lazarsfeld, Austrian-American sociologist and academic (d. 1976)
  • 1902 – Harold Lasswell, American political scientist and theorist (d. 1978)
  • 1903 – Georgy Beriev, Georgian-Russian engineer, founded the Beriev Aircraft Company (d. 1979)
  • 1903 – Georges Simenon, Belgian-Swiss author (d. 1989)
  • 1906 – Agostinho da Silva, Portuguese philosopher and author (d. 1994)
  • 1907 – Katy de la Cruz, Filipino-American singer and actress (d. 2004)
  • 1910 – William Shockley, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
  • 1911 – Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Indian-Pakistani poet and journalist (d. 1984)
  • 1911 – Jean Muir, American actress and educator (d. 1996)
  • 1912 – Harald Riipalu, Russian-Estonian commander (d. 1961)
  • 1912 – Margaretta Scott, English actress (d. 2005)
  • 1913 – Khalid of Saudi Arabia (d. 1982)
  • 1915 – Lyle Bettger, American actor (d. 2003)
  • 1915 – Aung San, Burmese general and politician, 5th Premier of British Crown Colony of Burma (d. 1947)
  • 1916 – Dorothy Bliss, American invertebrate zoologist (d. 1987)
  • 1919 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (d. 1991)
  • 1919 – Eddie Robinson, American football player and coach (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Boudleaux Bryant, American songwriter (d. 1987)
  • 1920 – Eileen Farrell, American soprano and educator (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Jeanne Demessieux, French pianist and composer (d. 1968)
  • 1921 – Aung Khin, Burmese painter (d. 1996)
  • 1922 – Francis Pym, Baron Pym, Welsh soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2008)
  • 1922 – Gordon Tullock, American economist and academic (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American soldier, judge, and politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2002)
  • 1923 – Chuck Yeager, American general and pilot; first test pilot to break the sound barrier
  • 1924 – Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French journalist and politician (d. 2006)
  • 1926 – Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, American nuclear physicist (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Gerald Regan, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian commander and politician, Military Leader of Panama (d. 1981)
  • 1930 – Ernst Fuchs, Austrian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2015)
  • 1930 – Israel Kirzner, English-American economist, author, and academic
  • 1932 – Susan Oliver, American actress (d. 1990)
  • 1933 – Paul Biya, Cameroon politician, 2nd President of Cameroon
  • 1933 – Kim Novak, American actress
  • 1933 – Emanuel Ungaro, French fashion designer (d. 2019)
  • 1934 – George Segal, American actor
  • 1937 – Ali El-Maak, Sudanese author and academic (d. 1992)
  • 1937 – Angelo Mosca, American-Canadian football player and wrestler
  • 1938 – Oliver Reed, English actor (d. 1999)
  • 1940 – Bram Peper, Dutch sociologist and politician, Mayor of Rotterdam
  • 1941 – Sigmar Polke, German painter and photographer (d. 2010)
  • 1941 – Bo Svenson, Swedish-American actor, director, and producer
  • 1942 – Carol Lynley, American model and actress (d. 2019)
  • 1942 – Peter Tork, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor (d. 2019)
  • 1942 – Donald E. Williams, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2016)
  • 1943 – Elaine Pagels, American theologian and academic
  • 1944 – Stockard Channing, American actress
  • 1944 – Jerry Springer, English-American television host, actor, and politician, 56th Mayor of Cincinnati
  • 1945 – Marian Dawkins, English biologist and academic
  • 1945 – King Floyd, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
  • 1945 – Simon Schama, English historian and author
  • 1945 – William Sleator, American author and composer (d. 2011)
  • 1946 – Richard Blumenthal, American sergeant and politician, 23rd Attorney General of Connecticut
  • 1946 – Janet Finch, English sociologist and academic
  • 1946 – Colin Matthews, English composer and educator
  • 1947 – Stephen Hadley, American soldier and diplomat, 21st United States National Security Advisor
  • 1947 – Mike Krzyzewski, American basketball player and coach
  • 1947 – Bogdan Tanjević, Montenegrin-Bosnian professional basketball coach
  • 1947 – Kevin Bloody Wilson, Australian comedian, singer-songwriter, and guitarist
  • 1949 – Peter Kern, Austrian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1950 – Vera Baird, English lawyer and politician
  • 1950 – Peter Gabriel, English singer-songwriter and musician
  • 1952 – Ed Gagliardi, American bass player (d. 2014)
  • 1953 – Akio Sato, Japanese wrestler and manager
  • 1954 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (d. 1989)
  • 1955 – Joe Birkett, American lawyer, judge, and politician
  • 1956 – Peter Hook, English singer, songwriter, bass player, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer
  • 1957 – Denise Austin, American fitness trainer and author
  • 1958 – Pernilla August, Swedish actress
  • 1958 – Marc Emery, Canadian publisher and activist
  • 1958 – Jean-François Lisée, Canadian journalist and politician
  • 1958 – Derek Riggs, English painter and illustrator
  • 1958 – Øivind Elgenes, Norwegian vocalist, guitarist and composer
  • 1959 – Gaston Gingras, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1960 – Pierluigi Collina, Italian footballer and referee
  • 1960 – John Healey, English journalist and politician
  • 1960 – Gary Patterson, American football player and coach
  • 1960 – Artur Yusupov, Russian-German chess player and author
  • 1961 – Marc Crawford, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1961 – cEvin Key, Canadian singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboard player, and producer
  • 1961 – Henry Rollins, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1962 – Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Puerto Rican lawyer and politician
  • 1962 – Baby Doll, American wrestler and manager
  • 1962 – Michele Greene, American actress
  • 1964 – Stephen Bowen, American engineer, captain, and astronaut
  • 1964 – Ylva Johansson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Employment
  • 1965 – Peter O’Neill, Papua New Guinean accountant and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
  • 1966 – Neal McDonough, American actor and producer
  • 1966 – Jeff Waters, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1966 – Freedom Williams, American rapper and singer
  • 1967 – Stanimir Stoilov, Bulgarian footballer and coach
  • 1968 – Kelly Hu, American actress
  • 1969 – Joyce DiDonato, American soprano and actress
  • 1970 – Karoline Krüger, Norwegian singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1971 – Sonia Evans, English singer-songwriter
  • 1971 – Mats Sundin, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1971 – Todd Williams, American baseball player
  • 1972 – Virgilijus Alekna, Lithuanian discus thrower
  • 1972 – Charlie Garner, American football player
  • 1974 – Fonzworth Bentley, American rapper and actor
  • 1974 – Robbie Williams, English singer-songwriter
  • 1975 – Ben Collins, English race car driver
  • 1975 – Katie Hopkins, English media personality and columnist
  • 1976 – Jörg Bergmeister, German race car driver
  • 1976 – Shannon Nevin, Australian rugby league player
  • 1977 – Randy Moss, American football player and coach
  • 1978 – Niklas Bäckström, Finnish ice hockey player
  • 1978 – Philippe Jaroussky, French countertenor
  • 1979 – Anders Behring Breivik, Norwegian murderer
  • 1979 – Rafael Márquez, Mexican footballer
  • 1979 – Rachel Reeves, English economist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
  • 1979 – Mena Suvari, American actress and fashion designer
  • 1980 – Carlos Cotto, Puerto Rican-American wrestler and boxer
  • 1981 – Luisão, Brazilian footballer
  • 1982 – Even Helte Hermansen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
  • 1982 – Michael Turner, American football player
  • 1983 – Mike Nickeas, Canadian baseball player
  • 1983 – Anna Watkins, English rower
  • 1984 – Hinkelien Schreuder, Dutch swimmer
  • 1985 – Kwak Ji-min, South Korean actress
  • 1986 – Luke Moore, English footballer
  • 1986 – Aqib Talib, American football player
  • 1987 – Eljero Elia, Dutch footballer
  • 1988 – Ryan Goins, American baseball player
  • 1988 – Eddy Pettybourne, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player
  • 1989 – Rodrigo Possebon, Brazilian footballer
  • 1991 – Eliaquim Mangala, French footballer
  • 1991 – Junior Roqica, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
  • 1991 – Vianney, French singer
  • 1994 – Memphis Depay, Dutch footballer

Deaths on February 13

  • 106 – Emperor He of Han (Han Hedi) of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty (b. AD 79)
  • 721 – Chilperic II, Frankish king (b. 672)
  • 858 – Kenneth MacAlpin, Scottish king (probable; b. 810)
  • 921 – Vratislaus I, duke of Bohemia
  • 936 – Xiao Wen, empress of the Liao Dynasty
  • 942 – Muhammad ibn Ra’iq, Abbasid emir and regent
  • 988 – Adalbert Atto, Lombard nobleman
  • 1021 – Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, Fatimid caliph (b. 985)
  • 1130 – Honorius II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1060
  • 1141 – Béla II, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1110)
  • 1199 – Stefan Nemanja, Serbian grand prince (b. 1113)
  • 1219 – Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shōgun (b. 1192)
  • 1332 – Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1259)
  • 1351 – Kō no Morofuyu, Japanese general
  • 1539 – Isabella d’Este, Italian noblewoman (b. 1474)
  • 1542 – Catherine Howard, English wife of Henry VIII of England (executed;b. 1521)
  • 1571 – Benvenuto Cellini, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1500)
  • 1585 – Alfonso Salmeron, Spanish priest and scholar (b. 1515)
  • 1602 – Alexander Nowell, English clergyman and theologian (b. 1507)
  • 1660 – Charles X Gustav, king of Sweden (b. 1622)
  • 1662 – Elizabeth Stuart, queen of Bohemia (b. 1596)
  • 1693 – Johann Caspar Kerll, German organist and composer (b. 1627)
  • 1727 – William Wotton, English linguist and scholar (b. 1666)
  • 1728 – Cotton Mather, American minister and author (b. 1663)
  • 1732 – Charles-René d’Hozier, French historian and author (b. 1640)
  • 1741 – Johann Joseph Fux, Austrian composer and theorist (b. 1660)
  • 1787 – Roger Joseph Boscovich, Croatian physicist, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1711)
  • 1787 – Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French lawyer and politician, Foreign Minister of France (b. 1717)
  • 1813 – Samuel Ashe, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1725)
  • 1818 – George Rogers Clark, American general (b. 1752)
  • 1826 – Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen, Russian general and politician, Governor-General of Baltic provinces (b. 1745)
  • 1831 – Edward Berry, English admiral (b. 1768)
  • 1837 – Mariano José de Larra, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1809)
  • 1845 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian-German philosopher and poet (b. 1773)
  • 1877 – Costache Caragiale, Romanian actor and manager (b. 1815)
  • 1883 – Richard Wagner, German composer (b. 1813)
  • 1888 – Jean-Baptiste Lamy, French-American archbishop (b. 1814)
  • 1892 – Provo Wallis, Canadian-English admiral (b. 1791)
  • 1893 – Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, Mexican intellectual and journalist (b. 1834)
  • 1905 – Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter (b. 1844)
  • 1906 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (b. 1866)
  • 1934 – József Pusztai, Slovene-Hungarian poet and journalist (b. 1864)
  • 1942 – Otakar Batlička, Czech journalist (b. 1895)
  • 1942 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian lawyer, judge, and politician, 11th President of Brazil (b. 1865)
  • 1950 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian-English novelist and short story writer (b. 1875)
  • 1951 – Lloyd C. Douglas, American minister and author (b. 1877)
  • 1952 – Josephine Tey, Scottish author and playwright (b. 1896)
  • 1954 – Agnes Macphail, Canadian educator and politician (b. 1890)
  • 1956 – Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish mathematician and philosopher (b. 1878)
  • 1958 – Christabel Pankhurst, English activist, co-founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (b. 1880)
  • 1958 – Georges Rouault, French painter and illustrator (b. 1871)
  • 1964 – Paulino Alcántara, Filipino-Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1896)
  • 1964 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1902)
  • 1967 – Yoshisuke Aikawa, entrepreneur, businessman, and politician, founded Nissan Motor Company (b. 1880)
  • 1967 – Abelardo L. Rodríguez, substitute president of Mexico (1932-1934) (b. 1889)
  • 1968 – Mae Marsh, American actress (b. 1895)
  • 1968 – Portia White, Canadian opera singer (b. 1911)
  • 1973 – Marinus Jan Granpré Molière, Dutch architect and educator (b. 1883)
  • 1975 – André Beaufre, French general (b. 1902)
  • 1976 – Murtala Mohammed, Nigerian general and politician, 4th President of Nigeria (b. 1938)
  • 1976 – Lily Pons, French-American soprano and actress (b. 1904)
  • 1980 – David Janssen, American actor (b. 1931)
  • 1984 – Cheong Eak Chong, Singaporean entrepreneur (b. 1888)
  • 1986 – Yuri Ivask, Russian-American poet and critic (b. 1907)
  • 1989 – Wayne Hays, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1911)
  • 1991 – Arno Breker, German sculptor and illustrator (b. 1900)
  • 1992 – Nikolay Bogolyubov, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and physicist (b. 1909)
  • 1996 – Martin Balsam, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 1997 – Robert Klark Graham, American eugenicist and businessman (b. 1906)
  • 1997 – Mark Krasnosel’skii, Russian-Ukrainian mathematician and academic (b. 1920)
  • 2000 – Anders Aalborg, Canadian educator and politician (b. 1914)
  • 2000 – James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (b. 1921)
  • 2000 – John Leake, English soldier (b. 1949)
  • 2002 – Waylon Jennings, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
  • 2003 – Kid Gavilán, Cuban-American boxer (b. 1926)
  • 2003 – Walt Whitman Rostow, American economist; 7th United States National Security Advisor (b. 1916)
  • 2004 – François Tavenas, Canadian engineer and academic (b. 1942)
  • 2004 – Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, Chechen politician, 2nd President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (b. 1952)
  • 2005 – Nelson Briles, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1943)
  • 2005 – Lúcia Santos, Portuguese nun (b. 1907)
  • 2006 – P. F. Strawson, English philosopher and author (b. 1919)
  • 2007 – Elizabeth Jolley, English-Australian author and academic (b. 1923)
  • 2007 – Charlie Norwood, American captain and politician (b. 1941)
  • 2007 – Richard Gordon Wakeford, English air marshal (b. 1922)
  • 2008 – Kon Ichikawa, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
  • 2009 – Edward Upward, English author and educator (b. 1903)
  • 2010 – Lucille Clifton, American poet and academic (b. 1936)
  • 2010 – Dale Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
  • 2012 – Russell Arms, American actor and singer (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – Louise Cochrane, American-English screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)
  • 2012 – Daniel C. Gerould, American playwright and academic (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Gerry Day, American journalist and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Miles J. Jones, American pathologist and physician (b. 1952)
  • 2013 – Pieter Kooijmans, Dutch judge and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for The Netherlands (b. 1933)
  • 2013 – Andrée Malebranche, Haitian artist (b. 1916)
  • 2013 – Yuko Tojo, Japanese activist and politician (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Balu Mahendra, Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – Richard Møller Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Ralph Waite, American actor and activist (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Faith Bandler, Australian activist and author (b. 1918)
  • 2015 – Stan Chambers, American journalist and actor (b. 1923)
  • 2016 – O. N. V. Kurup, Indian poet and academic (b. 1931)
  • 2016 – Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and judge, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (b. 1936)
  • 2017 – Ricardo Arias Calderón, Panamanian politician, Vice President (1990–1992) (b. 1933)
  • 2017 – Aileen Hernandez, American union organizer and activist (b. 1926)
  • 2017 – Seijun Suzuki, Japanese filmmaker (b. 1923)
  • 2017 – Kim Jong-nam, North Korean politician (b. 1971)
  • 2017 – E-Dubble, American rapper (b. 1982)
  • 2018 – Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark, French-born Danish royal (b. 1934)

Holidays and observances on February 13

  • Children’s Day (Myanmar)
  • Christian feast day:
    • Absalom Jones (Episcopal Church (USA))
    • Beatrice of Ornacieux
    • Castor of Karden
    • Catherine of Ricci
    • Ermenilda of Ely
    • Fulcran
    • Jordan of Saxony
    • Polyeuctus (Roman Catholic Church)
    • February 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • World Radio Day

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