14 February

It is observed in most countries as Valentine's Day.

Events

Pre-1600

* 748 – Abbasid Revolution: The Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad province Khorasan, marking the consolidation of the Abbasid revolt.
* 842 – Charles the Bald and Louis the German swear the Oaths of Strasbourg in the French and German languages.
* 1014 – Pope Benedict VIII crowns Henry of Bavaria, King of Germany and of Italy, as Holy Roman Emperor.
* 1130 – The troubled 1130 papal election exposes a rift within the College of Cardinals.
* 1349 – Several hundred Jews are burned to death by mobs while the remaining Jews are forcibly removed from Strasbourg.
* 1530 – Spanish conquistadores, led by Nuño de Guzmán, overthrow and execute Tangaxuan II, the last independent monarch of the Tarascan state in present-day central Mexico.
*1556 – Having been declared a heretic and laicized by Pope Paul IV on 4 December 1555, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer is publicly defrocked at Christ Church Cathedral.
* 1556 – Coronation of Akbar as ruler of the Mughal Empire.

1601–1900

* 1613 – Wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Frederick V of the Palatinate at Whitehall Palace, London.
*1655 – The Mapuches launch coordinated attacks against the Spanish in Chile beginning the Mapuche uprising of 1655.
*1778 – The United States flag is formally recognized by a foreign naval vessel for the first time, when French Admiral Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte renders a nine gun salute to , commanded by John Paul Jones.
*1779 – American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Kettle Creek is fought in Georgia.
* 1779 – James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii.
* 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Cape St. Vincent: John Jervis, (later 1st Earl of St Vincent) and Horatio Nelson (later 1st Viscount Nelson) lead the British Royal Navy to victory over a Spanish fleet in action near Gibraltar.
*1804 – Karađorđe leads the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire.
*1831 – Ras Marye of Yejju marches into Tigray and defeats and kills Dejazmach Sabagadis in the Battle of Debre Abbay.
*1835 – The original Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in the Latter Day Saint movement, is formed in Kirtland, Ohio.
*1849 – In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
* 1852 – Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, is founded in London.
*1855 – Texas is linked by telegraph to the rest of the United States, with the completion of a connection between New Orleans and Marshall, Texas.
* 1859 – Oregon is admitted as the 33rd U.S. state.
*1876 – Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray.
*1879 – The War of the Pacific breaks out when the Chilean Army occupies the Bolivian port city of Antofagasta.
*1899 – Voting machines are approved by the U.S. Congress for use in federal elections.
*1900 – The British Army begins the Battle of the Tugela Heights in an effort to lift the Siege of Ladysmith.

1901–present

* 1903 – The United States Department of Commerce and Labor is established (later split into the Department of Commerce and the Department of Labor).
*1912 – Arizona is admitted as the 48th and the last contiguous U.S. state.
* 1912 – The U.S. Navy commissions its first class of diesel-powered submarines.
*1918 – Russia adopts the Gregorian calendar.
*1919 – The Polish–Soviet War begins.
*1920 – The League of Women Voters is founded in Chicago.
*1924 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
*1929 – Saint Valentine's Day Massacre: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone's gang, are murdered in Chicago.
*1939 – World War II: German battleship Bismarck is launched.
*1942 – World War II: Battle of Pasir Panjang contributes to the fall of Singapore.
*1943 – World War II: Rostov-on-Don, Russia is liberated.
* 1943 – World War II: Tunisia Campaign: General Hans-Jürgen von Arnim's Fifth Panzer Army launches a counter-attack against Allied positions in Tunisia.
*1944 – World War II: In the action of 14 February 1944, a Royal Navy submarine sinks a German-controlled Italian Regia Marina submarine in the Strait of Malacca.
*1945 – World War II: On the first day of the bombing of Dresden, the British Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Forces begin fire-bombing Dresden.
* 1945 – World War II: Navigational error leads to the mistaken bombing of Prague, Czechoslovakia by a United States Army Air Forces squadron of B-17s assisting in the Soviet Red Army's Vistula–Oder Offensive.
* 1945 – World War II: Mostar is liberated by Yugoslav partisans
* 1945 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt meets King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia aboard the , officially beginning U.S.-Saudi diplomatic relations.
*1946 – The Bank of England is nationalized.
*1947 – The act abolishing all noble ranks and related styles comes into force in Hungary.
*1949 – The Knesset (parliament of Israel) convenes for the first time.
* 1949 – The Asbestos Strike begins in Canada. The strike marks the beginning of the Quiet Revolution in Quebec.
*1954 – First Indochina war - small French garrison at Đắk Đoa is overrun by the Viet Minh after a week's siege.
*1961 – Discovery of the chemical elements: Element 103, Lawrencium, is first synthesized at the University of California.
*1966 – Australian currency is decimalized.
*1979 – In Kabul, Setami Milli militants kidnap the American ambassador to Afghanistan, Adolph Dubs who is later killed during a gunfight between his kidnappers and police.
*1983 – United American Bank of Knoxville, Tennessee collapses. Its president, Jake Butcher, is later convicted of fraud.
*1989 – Union Carbide agrees to pay $470 million to the Indian government for damages it caused in the 1984 Bhopal disaster.
* 1989 – Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of ''The Satanic Verses''.
*1990 – Ninety-two people are killed when Indian Airlines Flight 605 crashes in Bangalore, India.
* 1990 – The ''Voyager 1'' spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth that later becomes famous as '' Pale Blue Dot''.
*1998 – An oil tanker train collides with a freight train in Yaoundé, Cameroon, spilling fuel oil. One person scavenging the oil created a massive explosion which killed 120.
*2000 – The spacecraft ''NEAR Shoemaker'' enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid.
*2003 – Iraq disarmament crisis: UNMOVIC Executive Chairman Hans Blix reports to the United Nations Security Council that disarmament inspectors have found no weapons of mass destruction in Ba'athist Iraq.
*2004 – In a suburb of Moscow, Russia, the roof of the Transvaal water park collapses, killing more than 28 people, and wounding 193 others.
*2005 – In Beirut, 23 people, including former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, are killed when the equivalent of around 1,000 kg of TNT is detonated while Hariri's motorcade drives through the city.
* 2005 – Seven people are killed and 151 wounded in a series of bombings by suspected al-Qaeda-linked militants that hit Makati, Davao City, and General Santos, all in the Philippines.
* 2005 – YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos.
*2008 – Northern Illinois University shooting: A gunman opens fire in a lecture hall of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb County, Illinois, resulting in six fatalities (including the gunman) and 21 injuries.
*2011 – As a part of Arab Spring, the Bahraini uprising begins with a 'Day of Rage'.
*2018 – Jacob Zuma resigns as President of South Africa.
* 2018 – A shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is one of the deadliest school massacres with 17 fatalities and 17 injuries.
*2019 – Pulwama attack takes place in Lethpora in Pulwama district, Jammu and Kashmir, India in which 40 Central Reserve Police Force personnel and a suicide bomber were killed and 35 were injured.
*2020 - At least 22 people are killed in an attack on a village in Northwest Region, Cameroon.

Births

Pre-1600

* 1404 – Leon Battista Alberti, Italian painter, poet, and philosopher (died 1472)
* 1408 – John FitzAlan, 14th Earl of Arundel (died 1435)
* 1452 – Pandolfo Petrucci, tyrant of Siena (died 1512)
* 1468 – Johannes Werner, German priest and mathematician (died 1522)
*1483 – Babur, Moghul emperor (died 1530)
* 1490 – Valentin Friedland, German scholar and educationist of the Reformation (died 1556)
* 1513 – Domenico Ferrabosco, Italian composer (died 1573)
* 1545 – Lucrezia de' Medici, Duchess of Ferrara (died 1561)

1601–1900

*1602 – Francesco Cavalli, Italian composer (died 1676)
*1614 – John Wilkins, English bishop, academic and natural philosopher (died 1672)
*1625 – Countess Palatine Maria Euphrosyne of Zweibrücken, Swedish princess (died 1687)
*1628 – Valentine Greatrakes, Irish faith healer (died 1683)
*1640 – Countess Palatine Anna Magdalena of Birkenfeld-Bischweiler (died 1693)
*1670 – Rajaram Raj Bhonsle, third Chhatrapati of the Maratha Confederacy (died 1700)
* 1679 – Georg Friedrich Kauffmann, German organist and composer (died 1735)
*1692 – Pierre-Claude Nivelle de La Chaussée, French author and playwright (died 1754)
* 1701 – Enrique Flórez, Spanish historian and author (died 1773)
* 1763 – Jean Victor Marie Moreau, French general (died 1813)
*1782 – Eleanora Atherton, English philanthropist (died 1870)
* 1784 – Heinrich Baermann, German clarinetist (died 1847)
*1799 – Walenty Wańkowicz, Polish painter and illustrator (died 1842)
*1800 – Emory Washburn, American historian, lawyer, and politician, 22nd Governor of Massachusetts (died 1877)
*1808 – Michael Costa, Italian-English conductor and composer (died 1884)
*1812 – Fernando Wood, American merchant and politician, 73rd Mayor of New York City (died 1881)
*1813 – Lydia Hamilton Smith, African-American businesswoman (died 1884)
*1819 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American journalist and politician, invented the typewriter (died 1890)
*1824 – Winfield Scott Hancock, American general and politician (died 1886)
*1828 – Edmond François Valentin About, French journalist and author (died 1885)
*1829 – Alfred Iverson Jr., American Confederate Army officer (died 1911)
*1835 – Piet Paaltjens, Dutch minister and poet (died 1894)
*1838 – Margaret E. Knight, American inventor (died 1914)
*1846 – Julian Scott, American soldier and drummer, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1901)
*1847 – Anna Howard Shaw, American physician, minister, and activist (died 1919)
*1848 – Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer and academic (died 1934)
*1855 – Frank Harris, Irish author and journalist (died 1931)
* 1859 – George Washington Gale Ferris Jr., American engineer, inventor of the Ferris wheel (died 1896)
*1860 – Eugen Schiffer, German lawyer and politician, Vice-Chancellor of Germany (died 1954)
*1869 – Charles Thomson Rees Wilson, Scottish physicist and meteorologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1959)
*1878 – Julius Nieuwland, Belgian priest, chemist and academic (died 1936)
* 1882 – John Barrymore, American actor (died 1942)
*1884 – Nils Olaf Chrisander, Swedish actor and director (died 1947)
* 1884 – Kostas Varnalis, Greek poet and playwright (died 1974)
* 1888 – Chandrashekhar Agashe, Indian industrialist (died 1956)
*1890 – Nina Hamnett, Welsh-English painter and author (died 1956)
* 1890 – Dick Richards, Welsh international footballer (died 1934)
* 1891 – Katherine Stinson, American aviator (died 1977)
*1892 – Radola Gajda, Czech commander and politician (died 1948)
* 1894 – Jack Benny, American actor and producer (died 1974)
*1895 – Wilhelm Burgdorf, German general (died 1945)
* 1895 – Max Horkheimer, German philosopher and sociologist (died 1973)
*1898 – Bill Tilman, English mountaineer and explorer (died 1977)
* 1898 – Fritz Zwicky, Swiss-American physicist and astronomer (died 1974)
*1900 – Jessica Dragonette, American singer (died 1980)

1901–present

* 1902 – Thelma Ritter, American actress and singer (died 1969)
* 1903 – Stuart Erwin, American actor (died 1967)
*1907 – Johnny Longden, English-American jockey and trainer (died 2003)
*1911 – Willem Johan Kolff, Dutch physician and inventor (died 2009)
*1912 – Tibor Sekelj, Hungarian lawyer, explorer, and author (died 1988)
*1913 – Mel Allen, American sportscaster (died 1996)
* 1913 – Woody Hayes, American football player and coach (died 1987)
* 1913 – Jimmy Hoffa, American trade union leader (died 1975)
* 1913 – James Pike, American bishop (died 1969)
*1915 – Sally Gray, English actress and singer (died 2006)
*1916 – Marcel Bigeard, French general (died 2010)
* 1916 – Masaki Kobayashi, Japanese director and producer (died 1996)
* 1916 – Edward Platt, American actor (died 1974)
*1917 – Herbert A. Hauptman, American mathematician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2011)
*1921 – Hugh Downs, American journalist, game show host, and producer (died 2020)
* 1921 – Hazel McCallion, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 3rd Mayor of Mississauga (died 2023)
*1923 – Jay Hebert, American golfer (died 1997)
*1924 – Juan Ponce Enrile, Filipino politician
* 1924 – Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma (died 2017)
*1927 – Lois Maxwell, Canadian-Australian model and actress (died 2007)
*1928 – William Allain, American lawyer and politician, 58th Governor of Mississippi (died 2013)
* 1928 – Vicente T. Blaz, American general and politician (died 2014)
*1929 – Vic Morrow, American actor and director (died 1982)
*1931 – Brian Kelly, American actor and director (died 2005)
*1932 – Harriet Andersson, Swedish actress
*1934 – Florence Henderson, American actress and singer (died 2016)
*1935 – David Wilson, Baron Wilson of Tillyorn, Scottish academic and diplomat, 27th Governor of Hong Kong
*1936 – Anna German, Polish singer (died 1982)
*1937 – John MacGregor, Baron MacGregor of Pulham Market, English politician, Secretary of State for Transport
* 1937 – Magic Sam, American singer and guitarist (died 1969)
*1939 – Razzy Bailey, American country music singer-songwriter and musician (died 2021)
* 1939 – Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2016)
* 1939 – Eugene Fama, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
*1941 – Donna Shalala, American academic and politician, 18th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services
* 1941 – Paul Tsongas, American lawyer and politician (died 1997)
*1942 – Michael Bloomberg, American businessman and politician, 108th Mayor of New York City
* 1942 – Andrew Robinson, American actor and director
* 1942 – Ricardo Rodríguez, Mexican racing driver (died 1962)
*1943 – Maceo Parker, American saxophonist
*1944 – Carl Bernstein, American journalist and author
* 1944 – Alan Parker, English director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2020)
* 1944 – Ronnie Peterson, Swedish racing driver (died 1978)
*1945 – Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein
* 1945 – Rod Masterson, American lieutenant and actor (died 2013)
*1946 – Bernard Dowiyogo, Nauru politician, President of Nauru (died 2003)
* 1946 – Gregory Hines, American actor, singer, and dancer (died 2003)
*1947 – Tim Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1975)
* 1947 – Judd Gregg, American lawyer and politician, 76th Governor of New Hampshire
* 1947 – John Quayle, Australian rugby league player and administrator
* 1947 – Phạm Tuân, Vietnamese aviator and cosmonaut
* 1948 – Mayra Gómez Kemp, Cuban-Spanish television host and actress (died 2024)
*1948 – Kitten Natividad, Mexican-American actress and dancer (died 2022)
* 1948 – Pat O'Brien, American journalist and author
* 1948 – Wally Tax, Dutch singer-songwriter (died 2005)
* 1948 – Teller, American magician and actor
*1950 – Roger Fisher, American guitarist and songwriter
*1951 – Terry Gross, American radio host and producer
* 1951 – Kevin Keegan, English footballer and manager
*1952 – Sushma Swaraj, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (died 2019)
*1954 – Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (died 2013)
* 1955 – Carol Kalish, American publisher (died 1991)
*1956 – Howard Davis Jr., American boxer and trainer (died 2015)
* 1956 – Dave Dravecky, American baseball player
* 1956 – Katharina Fritsch, German sculptor and academic
*1957 – Soile Isokoski, Finnish soprano and actress
* 1957 – Alan Smith, English bishop
* 1957 – Ken Wahl, American actor
*1958 – Grant Thomas, Australian footballer and coach
*1959 – Renée Fleming, American soprano and actress
*1960 – Philip Jones, English admiral
* 1960 – Jim Kelly, American football player and businessman
* 1960 – Meg Tilly, American actress and author
* 1961 – D'Wayne Wiggins, American musical artist (died 2025)
*1962 – Sakina Jaffrey, American actress
*1963 – Enrico Colantoni, Canadian actor, director, and producer
*1964 – Gianni Bugno, Italian cyclist and sportscaster
* 1964 – Zach Galligan, American actor
*1966 – Petr Svoboda, Czech ice hockey player and agent
*1967 – Stelios Haji-Ioannou, Greek-English businessman, founded easyJet
* 1967 – Calle Johansson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
* 1967 – Manuela Maleeva, Bulgarian-Swiss tennis player
* 1967 – Bernie Moreno, American politician and businessman
* 1967 – Mark Rutte, Dutch businessman and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
*1968 – Jules Asner, American model and television host
* 1968 – Chris Lewis, Guyanese-English cricketer
* 1968 – Scott McClellan, American civil servant and author, 25th White House Press Secretary
*1969 – Meg Hillier, English journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
*1970 – Giuseppe Guerini, Italian cyclist
* 1970 – Sean Hill, American ice hockey player
* 1970 – Simon Pegg, English actor, director, and producer
* 1970 – Takashi Saito, Japanese baseball player
*1971 – Kris Aquino, Filipino talk show host, actress, and producer
* 1971 – Gheorghe Mureșan, Romanian basketball player
*1972 – Drew Bledsoe, American football player and coach
* 1972 – Musōyama Masashi, Japanese sumo wrestler
* 1972 – Najwa Nimri, Spanish actress and singer
* 1972 – Jaan Tallinn, Estonian computer programmer, co-developed Skype
* 1972 – Rob Thomas, American singer-songwriter
*1973 – H. D. Ackerman, South African cricketer
* 1973 – Annalisa Buffa, Italian mathematician
* 1973 – Tyus Edney, American basketball player and coach
* 1973 – Steve McNair, American football player (died 2009)
*1974 – Valentina Vezzali, Italian fencer and politician
*1975 – Viktor Kozlov, Russian ice hockey player and coach
* 1975 – Dámaso Marte, Dominican baseball player
*1976 – Milan Hejduk, Czech-American ice hockey player
* 1976 – Liv Kristine, Norwegian singer-songwriter
* 1976 – Rie Rasmussen, Danish model, film director, writer, photographer, and actress
*1977 – Anna Erschler, Russian mathematician
* 1977 – Cadel Evans, Australian cyclist
* 1977 – Jim Jefferies, Australian comedian and actor
* 1977 – Darren Purse, English footballer
* 1977 – Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (died 2007)
*1978 – Danai Gurira, American-Zimbabwean actress
*1978 – Richard Hamilton, American basketball player
* 1978 – Darius Songaila, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
*1980 – Josh Senter, American screenwriter and producer
* 1980 – Michelle Ye, Hong Kong actress and producer
*1981 – Matteo Brighi, Italian footballer
* 1981 – Randy de Puniet, French motorcycle racer
* 1981 – Brad Halsey, American baseball player (died 2014)
* 1981 – Kara Lawson, American basketball player and coach
* 1981 – Jared Lorenzen, American football player (died 2019)
*1982 – Marián Gáborík, Slovak ice hockey player
* 1982 – John Halls, English footballer and model
* 1982 – Lenka Tvarošková, Slovak tennis player
*1983 – Callix Crabbe, Virgin Islander baseball player
* 1983 – Rocky Elsom, Australian rugby player
* 1983 – Bacary Sagna, French footballer
*1984 – Matt Barr, American actor
*1985 – Karima Adebibe, English model and actress
* 1985 – Tyler Clippard, American baseball player
* 1985 – Heart Evangelista, Filipino singer and actress
* 1985 – Philippe Senderos, Swiss footballer
* 1985 – Miki Yeung, Hong Kong singer and actress
* 1986 – Michael Ammermüller, German racing driver
* 1986 – Oliver Lee, English actor, director, and screenwriter
* 1986 – Gao Lin, Chinese footballer
* 1986 – Tiffany Thornton, American actress and singer
*1987 – Edinson Cavani, Uruguayan footballer
* 1987 – Tom Pyatt, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1987 – David Wheater, English footballer
* 1987 – Candice Wiggins, American basketball player
* 1988 – Katie Boland, Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
* 1988 – Ángel Di María, Argentinian footballer
* 1988 – Siim Liivik, Estonian ice hockey player
*1989 – Néstor Calderón, Mexican footballer
* 1989 – Adam Matuszczyk, Polish footballer
* 1989 – Emma Miskew, Canadian curler
* 1989 – Byron Mullens, American basketball player
* 1989 – Derek Norris, American baseball player
* 1989 – Brandon Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1989 – Jurij Tepeš, Slovenian ski jumper
* 1989 – Kristian Thomas, English gymnast
*1990 – Chris Babb, American basketball player
* 1990 – Brett Dier, Canadian actor
* 1990 – Bogdan Kiselevich, Russian ice hockey player
* 1990 – Sefa Yılmaz, German-Turkish footballer
*1991 – Daniela Mona Lambin, Estonian footballer
*1992 – Christian Eriksen, Danish footballer
* 1992 – Freddie Highmore, English actor
* 1992 – Petr Mrázek, Czech ice hockey player
*1993 – Jadeveon Clowney, American football player
* 1993 – Alberto Rosende, American actor and singer
*1996 – Nikolaj Ehlers, Danish ice hockey player
* 1996 – Poasa Faamausili, New Zealand rugby league player
* 1996 – Lucas Hernandez, French footballer
*1997 – Jaehyun, South Korean singer and actor
* 1997 – Breel Embolo, Swiss footballer
*1999 – Tyler Adams, American soccer player
*2000 – Gabriel Moreno, Venezuelan baseball player

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 269 – Saint Valentine, Roman saint
* 869 – Cyril, Greek missionary bishop and saint (born 827)
* 945 – Lian Chongyu, Chinese general
* 945 – Zhu Wenjin, Chinese emperor
*1009 – Bruno of Querfurt, German missionary bishop
*1010 – Fujiwara no Korechika, Japanese nobleman (born 974)
* 1140 – Leo I, Armenian prince
* 1140 – Sobĕslav I, duke of Bohemia
* 1164 – Sviatoslav Olgovich, Kievan prince
* 1229 – Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, king of the Isles
*1317 – Margaret of France, queen of England
*1400 – Richard II, king of England (born 1367)
*1440 – Dietrich of Oldenburg, German nobleman
* 1489 – Nicolaus von Tüngen, prince-bishop of Warmia
*1528 – Edzard I, German nobleman (born 1462)
* 1549 – Il Sodoma, Italian painter (born 1477)

1601–1900

*1676 – Abraham Bosse

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases