Events
Pre–1600
* 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor1601–1900
* 1703 – In Edo (now Tokyo), all but one of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death. * 1758 – The city of Macapá in Brazil is founded by Sebastião Veiga Cabral. * 1789 –1901–present
* 1932 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Harbin, Manchuria, falls toBirths
Pre–1600
* 1447 – Lodovico Lazzarelli, Italian poet (died 1500) * 1495 – Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan (died 1535) * 1495 – Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (died 1568) * 1505 – Mikołaj Rej, Polish poet and author (died 1580) * 1575 – Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and theologian, founded the French school of spirituality (died 1629)1601–1900
* 1646 – Hans Erasmus Aßmann, German poet and politician (died 1699) * 1677 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (died 1731) * 1688 – Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (died 1763) * 1725 – Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (died 1804) * 1740 – Carl Michael Bellman, Swedish poet and composer (died 1795) * 1778 – Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, Swiss botanist, mycologist, and academic (died 1841) * 1799 – Almeida Garrett, Portuguese journalist and author (died 1854) * 1803 – Antonija Höffern, Slovenian noblewoman (died 1871) * 1818 – Emperor Norton, San Francisco eccentric and visionary (died 1880) * 1831 – Oliver Ames, American financier and politician, 35th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1895) * 1848 – Jean Aicard, French poet, author, and playwright (died 1921) * 1849 – Jean Richepin, French poet, author, and playwright (died 1926) * 1862 – Édouard Estaunié, French novelist (died 1942) * 1865 – Abe Isoo, Japanese minister and politician (died 1949) * 1868 – Constance Markievicz, Irish revolutionary and first woman elected to the UK House of Commons (died 1927) * 1869 – Bill Haywood, American labor organizer (died 1928) * 1871 – Friedrich Ebert, German lawyer and politician, first President of Germany (died 1925) * 1872 – Gotse Delchev, Bulgarian and Macedonian revolutionary activist (died 1903) * 1873 – Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian shot putter and discus thrower (died 1905) * 1875 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist and engineer (died 1953) * 1877 – Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (died 1953) * 1881 – Eulalio Gutiérrez, Mexican general and politician, President of Mexico (died 1939) * 1881 – Fernand Léger, French painter and sculptor (died 1955) * 1881 – Kliment Voroshilov, Soviet politician and Marshal of the Soviet Union, People's Commissar for Defence (died 1969) * 1883 – Reinhold Rudenberg, German-American inventor and a pioneer of electron microscopy (died 1961) * 1891 – M. A. Ayyangar, Indian lawyer and politician, second Speaker of the Lok Sabha (died 1978) * 1892 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and academic (died 1964) * 1893 – Raymond Dart, Australian paleoanthropologist (died 1988) * 1895 – Nigel Bruce, English actor (died 1953) * 1896 – Friedrich Glauser, Austrian-Swiss author (died 1938) * 1896 – Friedrich Hund, German physicist and academic (died 1997) * 1897 – Ludwig Erhard, German soldier and politician, second Chancellor of West Germany (died 1977) * 1899 – Virginia M. Alexander, American physician and founder of the Aspiranto Health Home (died 1949) * 1900 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (died 1977)1901–present
* 1902 – Charles Lindbergh, American pilot and explorer (died 1974) * 1902 – Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, German-English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (died 2003) * 1903 – Alexander Imich, Polish-American chemist, parapsychologist, and academic (died 2014) * 1904 – MacKinlay Kantor, American author and screenwriter (died 1977) * 1904 – Deng Yingchao, Chinese politician, Chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (died 1968) * 1905 – Hylda Baker, English comedian, actress and music hall performer (died 1986) * 1906 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (died 1945) * 1906 – Letitia Dunbar-Harrison, Irish librarian (died 1994) * 1906 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer and academic, discovered Pluto (died 1997) * 1908 – Julian Bell, English poet and academic (died 1937) * 1912 – Ola Skjåk Bræk, Norwegian banker and politician, Norwegian Minister of Industry (died 1999) * 1912 – Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian-American conductor (died 1993) * 1912 – Byron Nelson, American golfer and sportscaster (died 2006) * 1913 – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (died 2005) * 1914 – Alfred Andersch, German-Swiss author and publisher (died 1980) * 1915 – William Talman, American actor and screenwriter (died 1968) * 1915 – Norman Wisdom, English comedian, actor and singer-songwriter (died 2010) * 1917 – Yahya Khan, Pakistan general and politician, third President of Pakistan (died 1980) * 1918 – Ida Lupino, English-American actress and director (died 1995) * 1918 – Luigi Pareyson, Italian philosopher and author (died 1991) * 1920 – Janet Waldo, American actress and voice artist (died 2016) * 1921 – Betty Friedan, American author and feminist (died 2006) * 1921 – Lotfi Zadeh, Iranian-American mathematician and computer scientist and founder of fuzzy logic (died 2017) * 1922 – Bhimsen Joshi, Indian vocalist of the Hindustani classical music tradition (died 2011) * 1923 – Conrad Bain, Canadian-American actor (died 2013) * 1925 – Russell Hoban, American author and illustrator (died 2011) * 1925 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (died 2013) * 1925 – Christopher Zeeman, English mathematician and academic (died 2016) * 1926 – Gyula Grosics, Hungarian footballer and manager (died 2014) * 1927 – Rolf Landauer, German-American physicist and academic (died 1999) * 1928 – Oscar Cabalén, Argentinian racing driver (died 1967) * 1928 – Osmo Antero Wiio, Finnish journalist, academic, and politician (died 2013) * 1929 – Jerry Adler, American actor, director, and producer * 1929 – Paul Burlison, American musician (died 2003) * 1929 – Neil Johnston, American basketball player (died 1978) * 1930 – Tibor Antalpéter, Hungarian volleyball player and diplomat, Hungarian Ambassador to the United Kingdom (died 2012) * 1930 – Arthur E. Chase, American businessman and politician (died 2015) * 1930 – Jim Loscutoff, American basketball player and coach (died 2015) * 1931 – Isabel Perón, Argentinian dancer and politician, 41st President of Argentina * 1932 – Robert Coover, American novelist (died 2024) * 1935 – Wallis Mathias, Pakistani cricketer (died 1994) * 1935 – Martti Talvela, Finnish opera singer (died 1989) * 1935 – Collin Wilcox, American actress (died 2009) * 1936 – David Brenner, American comedian, actor, and author (died 2014) * 1936 – Gary Conway, American actor * 1936 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (died 2013) * 1937 – Birju Maharaj, Indian dancer, composer, singer and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance (died 2022) * 1937 – David Newman, American director and screenwriter (died 2003) * 1938 – Frank J. Dodd, American businessman and politician, president of the New Jersey Senate (died 2010) * 1939 – Stan Lundine, American lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New York * 1940 – George A. Romero, American director and producer (died 2017) * 1940 – John Schuck, American actor * 1941 – Russell Cooper, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of Queensland * 1941 – Ron Rangi, New Zealand rugby player (died 1988) * 1941 – Jiří Raška, Czech skier and coach (died 2012) * 1941 – John Steel, English musician and songwriter * 1943 – Alberto João Jardim, Portuguese journalist and politician, second President of the Regional Government of Madeira * 1943 – Wanda Rutkiewicz, Lithuanian-Polish mountaineer (died 1992) * 1943 – Ken Thompson, American computer scientist and programmer, co-developed the B programming language * 1944 – Florence LaRue, American singer and actress * 1944 – Alan Shields, American artist and ship captain (died 2005) * 1947 – Dennis C. Blair, American admiral and politician, third Director of National Intelligence * 1947 – Dan Quayle, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 44th Vice President of the United States * 1948 – Alice Cooper, American singer-songwriter * 1948 – Mienoumi Tsuyoshi, Japanese sumo wrestler * 1949 – Michael Beck, American actor * 1949 – Rasim Delić, Bosnian general (died 2010) * 1951 – Patrick Bergin, Irish actor * 1952 – Lisa Eichhorn, American actress, writer, and producer * 1952 – Jenny Shipley, New Zealand politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand * 1952 – Thomas Silverstein, American criminal and prisoner (died 2019) * 1955 – Mikuláš Dzurinda, Slovak politician, Prime Minister of Slovakia * 1957 – Matthew Cobb, British zoologist and author * 1958 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (died 2005) * 1959 – Christian Schreier, German footballer and manager * 1959 – Lawrence Taylor, American football player * 1960 – Siobhan Dowd, English author and activist (died 2007) * 1960 – Jonathan Larson, American lyricist, composer, and playwright (died 1996) * 1961 – Denis Savard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach * 1962 – Clint Black, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer * 1962 – Vern Fleming, American basketball player * 1963 – Noodles, American musician and songwriter * 1963 – Pirmin Zurbriggen, Swiss skier * 1964 – Elke Philipp, German Paralympic equestrian * 1965 – Jerome Brown, American football player (died 1992) * 1966 – Viatcheslav Ekimov, Russian cyclist * 1967 – Sergei Grinkov, Russian figure skater (died 1995) * 1970 – Gabrielle Anwar, English-American actress * 1970 – Hunter Biden, American attorney and lobbyist * 1971 – Rob Corddry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter * 1971 – Michael A. Goorjian, American actor, director, and writer * 1972 – Giovanni, Brazilian footballer and manager * 1972 – Dara Ó Briain, Irish comedian and television host * 1973 – Oscar De La Hoya, American boxer * 1975 – Natalie Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter and actress *Deaths
Pre–1600
* 211 –1601–1900
* 1615 – Giambattista della Porta, Italian playwright and scholar (born 1535) * 1617 – Lodewijk Elzevir, Dutch publisher, co-founded the House of Elzevir (born 1546) * 1713 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (born 1671) * 1774 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (born 1701) *1901–present
* 1905 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (born 1841) * 1912 – Franz Reichelt, French tailor and inventor (born 1878) * 1926 – İskilipli Âtıf Hodja, Turkish author and scholar (born 1875) * 1928 – Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1853) * 1933 – Archibald Sayce, English linguist and educator (born 1846) * 1936 – Wilhelm Gustloff, German-Swiss soldier, founded Swiss NSDAP/AO (born 1895) * 1940 – Nikolai Yezhov, Russian police officer and politician (born 1895) * 1943 – Frank Calder, English-Canadian ice hockey player and journalist (born 1877) * 1944 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (born 1872) * 1956 – Savielly Tartakower, Russian-French chess player, journalist, and author (born 1887) * 1958 – Henry Kuttner, American author and screenwriter (born 1915) * 1959 – Una O'Connor, Irish-American actress (born 1880) * 1968 – Neal Cassady, American novelist and poet (born 1926) * 1970 – Louise Bogan, American poet and critic (born 1897) * 1974 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist, mathematician, and academic (born 1894) * 1975 – Louis Jordan, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (born 1908) * 1982 – Alex Harvey, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1935) * 1982 – Georg Konrad Morgen, German lawyer and judge (born 1909) * 1983 – Karen Carpenter, American singer (born 1950) * 1987 – Liberace, American singer-songwriter and pianist, (born 1919) * 1987 – Meena Keshwar Kamal, Afghan activist, founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (born 1956) * 1987 – Carl Rogers, American psychologist and academic (born 1902) * 1990 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (born 1915) * 1992 – John Dehner, American actor (born 1915) * 1995 – Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (born 1921) * 2000 – Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (born 1908) * 2002 – Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg (born 1907) * 2003 – Benyoucef Benkhedda, Algerian pharmacist and politician (born 1920) * 2004 – Hilda Hilst, Brazilian poet, novelist, and playwright (born 1930) * 2005 – Ossie Davis, American actor, director, and playwright (born 1917) * 2006 – Betty Friedan, American author and activist (born 1921) * 2007 – José Carlos Bauer, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1925) * 2007 – Ilya Kormiltsev, Russian-English poet and translator (born 1959) * 2007 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (born 1934) * 2007 – Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter and sculptor (born 1922) * 2007 – Alfred Worm, Austrian journalist, author, and academic (born 1945) * 2008 – Augusta Dabney, American actress (born 1918) * 2008 – Stefan Meller, Polish academic and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (born 1942) * 2010 – Kostas Axelos, Greek-French philosopher and author (born 1924) * 2010 – Helen Tobias-Duesberg, Estonian-American composer (born 1919) * 2011 – Martial Célestin, Haitian lawyer and politician, first Prime Minister of Haiti (born 1913) * 2012 – István Csurka, Hungarian journalist and politician (born 1934) * 2012 – Florence Green, English soldier (born 1901) * 2012 – Robert Daniel, American farmer, soldier, and politician (born 1936) * 2012 – Mike deGruy, American director, producer, and cinematographer (born 1951) * 2012 – Susanne Suba, Hungarian-born watercolorist and illustrator, active in the United States (born 1913) * 2013 – Donald Byrd, American trumpet player (born 1932) * 2013 – Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (born 1941) * 2014 – Keith Allen, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1923) * 2014 – Eugenio Corti, Italian soldier, author, and playwright (born 1921) * 2014 – Dennis Lota, Zambian footballer (born 1973) * 2015 – Fitzhugh L. Fulton, American colonel and pilot (born 1925) * 2016 –Holidays and observances
*Christian feast day: ** Andrew Corsini ** Eduardo Francisco Pironio ** Gilbert of Sempringham ** John de Brito ** Goldrofe of Arganil **Blessed Rabanus Maurus ** Rimbert ** February 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) * Day of the Armed Struggle (References
External links