Events

Pre-1600

• 506 Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths, promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of "Roman law".

• 880 Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III of France is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.

• 962 Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.

• 1032 Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy.

• 1141 The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda.

• 1207 Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established.

• 1347 Byzantine Empress Anna convenes a synod to depose patriarch Joseph XIV in Constantinople. The same night, conspirators let in her rival John VI Kantakouzenos which ends the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347.

• 1428 An intense earthquake struck the Principality of Catalonia, with the epicenter near Camprodon. Widespread destruction and heavy casualties were reported.

• 1438 Nine leaders of the Transylvanian peasant revolt are executed at Torda.

• 1461 Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer's Cross results in the death of Owen Tudor.

• 1536 Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1601–1900

• 1645 Wars of the Three Kingdoms: In Scotland, the Battle of Inverlochy results in a Royalist/Irish victory.

• 1653 New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.

• 1709 Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe's adventure book Robinson Crusoe.

• 1725 J. S. Bach leads the first performance of his chorale cantata Mit Fried und Freud ich fahr dahin, BWV 125, based on Luther's paraphrase of the Nunc dimittis.

• 1797 The siege of Mantua ends after eight months when Count Dagobert Sigmund von Wurmser surrenders the fortress of Mantua to Napoleon Bonaparte. The fall of Mantua secures French control over Northern Italy and marks the beginning of the conclusion of the Italian campaign of 1796-1797, and sets the stage for the end of the War of the First Coalition.

• 1814 The last of the River Thames frost fairs comes to an end.

• 1848 Mexican–American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.

• 1850 Brigham Young declares war on Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah.

• 1868 Pro-Imperial forces capture Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burn it to the ground.

• 1870 The Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä), a novel by Finnish author Aleksis Kivi, is published first time in several thin booklets.

• 1876 The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.

• 1881 The sentences of the trial of the warlocks of Chiloé are imparted.

• 1887 In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day is observed.

• 1899 The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.

1901–present

• 1901 Funeral of Queen Victoria.

• 1909 The Paris Film Congress opens, an attempt by European producers to form an equivalent to the MPPC cartel in the United States.

• 1913 Grand Central Terminal opens in New York City.

• 1920 The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.

• 1922 Ulysses by James Joyce is published.

• 1922 The uprising called the "pork mutiny" starts in the region between Kuolajärvi and Savukoski in Finland.

• 1925 Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.

• 1934 The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.

• 1935 Leonarde Keeler administers polygraph tests to two murder suspects, the first time polygraph evidence was admitted in U.S. courts.

• 1942 The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.

• 1943 World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last organized German troops in the city.

• 1954 The Detroit Red Wings played in the first outdoor hockey game by any NHL team in an exhibition against the Marquette Branch Prison Pirates in Marquette, Michigan.

• 1959 Nine experienced ski hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union die under mysterious circumstances.

• 1966 Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani war of 1965.

• 1971 Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.

• 1971 The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran.

• 1980 Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.

• 1982 Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama.

• 1987 After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.

• 1989 Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.

• 1990 Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.

• 1998 Cebu Pacific Flight 387 crashes into Mount Sumagaya in the Philippines, killing all 104 people on board.

• 2000 First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.

• 2004 Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men's singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.

• 2005 The Government of Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage.

• 2007 Police officer Filippo Raciti is killed when a clash breaks out in the Sicily derby between Catania and Palermo, in the Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. This event led to major changes in stadium regulations in Italy.

• 2012 The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 146–165 dead.

• 2021 The Burmese military establishes the State Administration Council, the military junta, after deposing the democratically elected government in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état.

• 2025 Slovenian NBA player Luka Doncic is traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Anthony Davis in one of the largest trades in American sports history.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1208 James I of Aragon (died 1276)

• 1425 (or 1426) Eleanor of Navarre, Queen regnant of Navarre (died 1479)

• 1443 Elisabeth of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (died 1486)

• 1455 John, King of Denmark (died 1513)

• 1457 Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, Italian-Spanish historian and author (died 1526)

• 1467 Columba of Rieti, Italian Dominican sister (died 1501)

• 1494 Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (died 1557)

• 1502 Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher and historian (died 1574)

• 1509 John of Leiden, Dutch Anabaptist leader (died 1536)

• 1517 Gotthard Kettler, the last Master of the Livonian Order and the first Duke of Courland and Semigallia (died 1587)

• 1522 Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician and academic (died 1565)

• 1536 Piotr Skarga, Polish writer (died 1612)

• 1551 Nicolaus Reimers, German astronomer (died 1600)

• 1576 Alix Le Clerc, French Canoness Regular and foundress (died 1622)

• 1585 Judith Quiney, William Shakespeare's youngest daughter (died 1662)

• 1585 Hamnet Shakespeare, William Shakespeare's only son (baptised; died 1596)

• 1588 Georg II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl, German nobleman (died 1644)

• 1600 Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (died 1653)

1601–1900

• 1611 Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (died 1633)

• 1613 Noël Chabanel, French missionary and saint (died 1649)

• 1621 Johannes Schefferus, Swedish author and hymn-writer (died 1679)

• 1650 Pope Benedict XIII (died 1730)

• 1650 Nell Gwyn, English actress, mistress of King Charles II of England (died 1687)

• 1651 William Phips, Royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (died 1695)

• 1669 Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (died 1732)

• 1677 Jean-Baptiste Morin, French composer (died 1745)

• 1695 William Borlase, English geologist and archaeologist (died 1772)

• 1695 François de Chevert, French general (died 1769)

• 1700 Johann Christoph Gottsched, German author and critic (died 1766)

• 1711 Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (died 1794)

• 1714 Gottfried August Homilius, German organist and composer (died 1785)

• 1717 Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (died 1790)

• 1754 Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1838)

• 1782 Henri de Rigny, French admiral and politician, French Minister of War (died 1835)

• 1786 Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (died 1856)

• 1802 Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist and academic (died 1887)

• 1803 Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (died 1862)

• 1829 Alfred Brehm, German zoologist and illustrator (died 1884)

• 1829 William Stanley, English engineer and philanthropist (died 1909)

• 1841 François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss limnologist and hydrologist (died 1912)

• 1842 Julian Sochocki, Polish-Russian mathematician and academic (died 1927)

• 1849 Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet and playwright (died 1921)

• 1851 José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican illustrator and engraver (died 1913)

• 1856 Frederick William Vanderbilt, American railway magnate (died 1938)

• 1856 Makar Yekmalyan, Armenian composer (died 1905)

• 1857 Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (died 1918)

• 1860 Curtis Guild, Jr., American journalist and politician, 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (died 1915)

• 1861 Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (died 1949)

• 1862 Émile Coste, French fencer (died 1927)

• 1862 Cornelius McKane, American physician, educator, and hospital founder (died 1912)

• 1866 Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and academic (died 1927)

• 1869 Alexander Atabekian, Armenian physician and anarchist publisher (died 1933)

• 1872 Abul Kasem, Bengali politician (died 1936)

• 1873 Leo Fall, Austrian composer (died 1925)

• 1873 Konstantin von Neurath, German politician and diplomat, 13th German Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1956)

• 1875 Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (died 1962)

• 1877 Frank L. Packard, Canadian author (died 1942)

• 1878 Joe Lydon, American boxer (died 1937)

• 1880 Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (died 1969)

• 1881 Orval Overall, American baseball player and manager (died 1947)

• 1882 Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (died 1944)

• 1882 James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (died 1941)

• 1883 Johnston McCulley, American author and screenwriter, created Zorro (died 1958)

• 1883 Julia Nava de Ruisánchez, Mexican activist and writer (died 1964)

• 1885 Mikhail Frunze, Soviet revolutionary, politician, army officer and military theorist (died 1925)

• 1886 William Rose Benét, American poet and author (died 1950)

• 1887 Ernst Hanfstaengl, German businessman (died 1975)

• 1889 Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (died 1952)

• 1890 Charles Correll, American actor and screenwriter (died 1972)

• 1892 Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (died 1959)

• 1893 Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (died 1974)

• 1893 Raoul Riganti, Argentinian race car driver (died 1970)

• 1893 Damdin Sükhbaatar, Mongolian soldier and politician (died 1924)

• 1895 George Halas, American football player and coach (died 1983)

• 1895 Robert Philipp, American painter (died 1981)

• 1895 George Sutcliffe, Australian public servant (died 1964)

• 1896 Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (died 1980)

• 1897 Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson's (died 1972)

• 1897 Gertrude Blanch, Russian-American mathematician (died 1996)

• 1900 Willie Kamm, American baseball player and manager (died 1988)

1901–present

• 1901 Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-American violinist and educator (died 1987)

• 1902 Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (died 1966)

• 1902 John Tonkin, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Western Australia (died 1995)

• 1904 Bozorg Alavi, Iranian author and activist (died 1997)

• 1905 Ayn Rand, Russian-born American novelist and philosopher (died 1982)

• 1908 Wes Ferrell, American baseball player and manager (died 1976)

• 1909 Frank Albertson, American actor (died 1964)

• 1911 Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (died 1968)

• 1912 Millvina Dean, English civil servant and cartographer (died 2009)

• 1912 Burton Lane, American songwriter and composer (died 1997)

• 1913 Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor and singer (died 1985)

• 1914 Eric Kierans, Canadian economist and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Communications (died 2004)

• 1915 Abba Eban, South African-Israeli politician and diplomat, 1st Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (died 2002)

• 1915 Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (died 2005)

• 1915 Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (died 2014)

• 1916 Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet and author (died 1985)

• 1917 Mary Ellis, British World War II ferry pilot (died 2018)

• 1917 Đỗ Mười, Vietnamese politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (died 2018)

• 1918 Hella Haasse, Indonesian-Dutch author (died 2011)

• 1919 Lisa Della Casa, Swiss soprano and actress (died 2012)

• 1919 Georg Gawliczek, German footballer and manager (died 1999)

• 1920 George Hardwick, English footballer and coach (died 2004)

• 1920 John Russell, American Olympic equestrian (died 2020)

• 1920 Arthur Willis, English football player-manager (died 1987)

• 1922 Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey player (died 1978)

• 1922 Robert Chef d'Hôtel, French athlete (died 2019)

• 1922 Stoyanka Mutafova, Bulgarian actress (died 2019)

• 1922 James L. Usry, American politician, first African-American mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey (died 2002)

• 1923 Jean Babilée, French dancer and choreographer (died 2014)

• 1923 James Dickey, American poet and novelist (died 1997)

• 1923 Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster (died 2012)

• 1923 Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (died 1988)

• 1923 Red Schoendienst, American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 2018)

• 1923 Liz Smith, American journalist and author (died 2017)

• 1923 Clem Windsor, Australian rugby player and surgeon (died 2007)

• 1924 Sonny Stitt, American saxophonist and composer (died 1982)

• 1924 Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American singer, pianist, producer (died 2007)

• 1925 Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (died 2014)

• 1926 Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French academic and politician, 20th President of France (died 2020)

• 1927 Stan Getz, American saxophonist (died 1991)

• 1927 Doris Sams, American baseball player (died 2012)

• 1928 Ciriaco De Mita, 47th Prime minister of Italy (died 2022)

• 1928 Gamal Hamdan, Egyptian scholar and geographer (died 1993)

• 1928 Jay Handlan, American basketball player and engineer (died 2013)

• 1928 Tommy Harmer, English footballer and youth team coach (died 2007)

• 1929 Sheila Matthews Allen, American actress and producer (died 2013)

• 1929 George Band, English engineer and mountaineer (died 2011)

• 1929 Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (died 2014)

• 1929 John Henry Holland, American computer scientist and academic (died 2015)

• 1929 Waldemar Kmentt, Austrian operatic tenor (died 2015)

• 1931 Les Dawson, English comedian and author (died 1993)

• 1931 Glynn Edwards, Malaysian-English actor (died 2018)

• 1931 John Paul Harney, Canadian educator and politician (died 2021)

• 1931 Dries van Agt, Dutch politician, diplomat and jurist, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (died 2024)

• 1931 Judith Viorst, American journalist and author

• 1932 Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (died 2002)

• 1932 Robert Mandan, American actor (died 2018)

• 1933 M'el Dowd, American actress and singer (died 2012)

• 1933 Tony Jay, English-American actor (died 2006)

• 1933 Orlando "Cachaíto" López, Cuban bassist and composer (died 2009)

• 1933 Than Shwe, Burmese general and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma

• 1934 Khalil Ullah Khan, Bangladeshi actor (died 2014)

• 1935 Pete Brown, American golfer (died 2015)

• 1935 Evgeny Velikhov, Russian physicist and academic (died 2024)

• 1936 Metin Oktay, Turkish footballer and manager (died 1991)

• 1937 Don Buford, American baseball player and coach

• 1937 Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer and politician, President of Panama (died 2015)

• 1937 Anthony Haden-Guest, British journalist, poet, and critic

• 1937 Remak Ramsay, American actor

• 1937 Tom Smothers, American comedian, actor, and activist (died 2023)

• 1937 Alexandra Strelchenko, Ukrainian actress and singer (died 2019)

• 1938 Norman Fowler, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport

• 1938 Bo Hopkins, American actor (died 2022)

• 1938 Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (died 1995)

• 1939 Jackie Burroughs, English-born Canadian actress (died 2010)

• 1939 Mary-Dell Chilton, American chemist and inventor and one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology

• 1939 Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2014)

• 1940 Alan Caddy, English guitarist and producer (died 2000)

• 1940 Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (died 2008)

• 1940 Wayne Fontes, American football player and coach

• 1940 David Jason, English actor, director, and producer

• 1941 Terry Biddlecombe, English jockey (died 2014)

• 1941 Lee Redmond, American woman with the longest fingernails (died 2023)

• 1941 Cory Wells, American pop-rock singer (died 2015)

• 1942 Graham Nash, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist

• 1944 Andrew Davis, English organist and conductor (died 2024)

• 1944 Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (died 2012)

• 1944 Ursula Oppens, American pianist and educator

• 1945 John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, English economist and academic

• 1946 John Armitt, English engineer and businessman

• 1946 Blake Clark, American comedian and actor

• 1946 Alpha Oumar Konaré, Malian academic and politician, 3rd President of Mali

• 1946 Constantine Papadakis, Greek-American businessman and academic (died 2009)

• 1947 Greg Antonacci, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2017)

• 1947 Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (died 2009)

• 1948 Ina Garten, American chef and author

• 1948 Al McKay, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer

• 1948 Roger Williamson, English race car driver (died 1973)

• 1949 Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish businessman and philanthropist

• 1949 Jack McGee, American actor

• 1949 Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (died 1996)

• 1949 Brent Spiner, American actor and singer

• 1949 Ross Valory, American bass player and songwriter

• 1950 Osamu Kido, Japanese wrestler (died 2023)

• 1950 Libby Purves, British journalist and author

• 1950 Bárbara Rey, Spanish singer and actress

• 1950 Barbara Sukowa, German actress

• 1950 Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese wrestler

• 1951 Vangelis Alexandris, Greek basketball player and coach

• 1951 Ken Bruce, Scottish radio host

• 1952 Dave Casper, American football player

• 1952 John Cornyn, American lawyer and politician, 49th Attorney General of Texas

• 1952 Park Geun-hye, South Korean politician, 11th President of South Korea

• 1952 Ralph Merkle, American computer scientist and academic

• 1952 Carol Ann Susi, American actress (died 2014)

• 1953 Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter

• 1953 Jerry Sisk, Jr., American gemologist, co-founded Jewelry Television (died 2013)

• 1954 Christie Brinkley, American actress, model, and businesswoman

• 1954 Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian skier and actor

• 1954 Nelson Ne'e, Solomon Islander politician (died 2013)

• 1954 John Tudor, American baseball player

• 1955 Leszek Engelking, Polish poet and author (died 2022)

• 1955 Bob Schreck, American author

• 1955 Michael Talbott, American actor

• 1955 Kim Zimmer, American actress

• 1955 Jean-Michel Dupuis, French actor (died 2024)

• 1956 Adnan Oktar, Turkish cult leader

• 1957 Phil Barney, Algerian-French singer-songwriter

• 1958 Michel Marc Bouchard, Canadian playwright

• 1959 Dexter Manley, American football player

• 1961 Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (died 2013)

• 1961 Lauren Lane, American actress and academic

• 1962 Philippe Claudel, French author, director, and screenwriter

• 1962 Andy Fordham, English darts player (died 2021)

• 1962 Luke Johnson, English businessman

• 1962 Paul Kilgus, American baseball player

• 1962 Kate Raison, Australian actress

• 1962 Michael T. Weiss, American actor

• 1963 Ilya Byakin, Russian ice hockey player

• 1963 Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (died 1996)

• 1963 Kjell Dahlin, Swedish ice hockey player

• 1963 Andrej Kiska, Slovak entrepreneur and philanthropist, President of Slovakia

• 1963 Philip Laats, Belgian martial artist

• 1963 Stephen McGann, English actor

• 1963 Vigleik Storaas, Norwegian pianist

• 1965 Carl Airey, English footballer

• 1965 Naoki Sano, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist

• 1966 Andrei Chesnokov, Russian tennis player and coach

• 1966 Robert DeLeo, American bass player, songwriter, and producer

• 1966 Adam Ferrara, American actor and comedian

• 1966 Michael Misick, Caicos Islander politician, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands

• 1967 Artūrs Irbe, Latvian ice hockey player and coach

• 1967 Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general

• 1968 Kenny Albert, American sportscaster

• 1968 Sean Elliott, American basketball player and sportscaster

• 1968 Scott Erickson, American baseball player and coach

• 1969 Dana International, Israeli singer-songwriter

• 1969 Valeri Karpin, Estonian-Russian footballer and manager

• 1970 Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer

• 1970 Erik ten Hag, Dutch footballer and manager

• 1970 Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress and singer

• 1971 Michelle Gayle, English singer-songwriter and actress

• 1971 Arly Jover, Spanish actress

• 1971 Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer and sportscaster (died 2014)

• 1971 Rockwilder, American rapper and producer

• 1971 Hwang Seok-jeong, South Korean actress

• 1971 Jason Taylor, Australian rugby league player and coach

• 1972 Hisashi, Japanese musician

• 1972 Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player

• 1972 Aleksey Naumov, Russian footballer

• 1973 Andrei Luzgin, Estonian tennis player and coach

• 1973 Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower

• 1973 Marissa Jaret Winokur, American actress and singer

• 1975 Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1975 Donald Driver, American football player

• 1975 Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer

• 1976 Ryan Farquhar, Northern Irish motorcycle racer

• 1976 James Hickman, English swimmer

• 1976 Ana Roces, Filipino actress

• 1977 Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress

• 1977 Libor Sionko, Czech footballer

• 1978 Adam Christopher, New Zealand writer

• 1978 Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager

• 1978 Dan Gadzuric, Dutch basketball player

• 1978 Lee Ji-ah, South Korean actress

• 1978 Rich Sommer, American actor

• 1978 Faye White, English footballer

• 1979 Urmo Aava, Estonian race car driver

• 1979 Fani Chalkia, Greek hurdler and sprinter

• 1979 Christine Lampard, Irish television host

• 1979 Shamita Shetty, Indian actress

• 1979 Irini Terzoglou, Greek shot putter

• 1980 Teddy Hart, Canadian wrestler

• 1980 Zhang Jingchu, Chinese actress

• 1980 Oleguer Presas, Spanish footballer

• 1981 Lance Allred, American basketball player and activist

• 1981 Emre Aydın, Turkish singer-songwriter

• 1981 Michelle Bass, English model and singer

• 1981 Salem al-Hazmi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 77 (died 2001)

• 1982 Sergio Castaño Ortega, Spanish footballer

• 1982 Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player

• 1982 Kan Mi-youn, South Korean singer, model, and host

• 1983 Ronny Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player

• 1983 Carolina Klüft, Swedish heptathlete and jumper

• 1983 Jordin Tootoo, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1983 Jason Vargas, American baseball player

• 1983 Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Estonian footballer

• 1983 Alex Westaway, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

• 1984 Brian Cage, American wrestler

• 1984 Chin-Lung Hu, Taiwanese baseball player

• 1984 Mao Miyaji, Japanese actress

• 1984 Rudi Wulf, New Zealand rugby player

• 1985 Morris Almond, American basketball player

• 1985 Masoud Azizi, Afghan sprinter

• 1985 Renn Kiriyama, Japanese actor

• 1985 Kristo Saage, Estonian basketball player

• 1985 Silvestre Varela, Portuguese footballer

• 1986 Gemma Arterton, English actress and singer

• 1986 Miwa Asao, Japanese volleyball player

• 1987 Anthony Fainga'a, Australian rugby player

• 1987 Saia Fainga'a, Australian rugby player

• 1987 Faydee, Australian singer

• 1987 Athena Imperial, Filipino journalist, Miss Earth-Water 2011

• 1987 Mimi Page, American singer-songwriter and composer

• 1987 Gerard Piqué, Spanish footballer

• 1987 Javon Ringer, American football player

• 1987 Jill Scott, English footballer

• 1987 Martin Spanjers, American actor and producer

• 1988 JuJu Chan, Hong Kong-American actress, martial artist, singer, and writer

• 1988 Zosia Mamet, American actress

• 1988 Brad Peacock, American baseball player

• 1989 Harrison Smith, American football player

• 1989 Southside, American record producer

• 1991 Nathan Delfouneso, English footballer

• 1991 Gregory Mertens, Belgian footballer (died 2015)

• 1991 Shohei Nanba, Japanese actor

• 1992 Lammtarra, American race horse (died 2014)

• 1992 Joonas Tamm, Estonian footballer

• 1993 Bobby De Cordova-Reid, English-Jamaican footballer

• 1993 Ravel Morrison, English footballer

• 1994 Caterina Bosetti, Italian volleyball player

• 1995 Paul Digby, English footballer

• 1995 Aleksander Jagiełło, Polish footballer

• 1995 Arfa Karim, Pakistani student and computer prodigy (died 2012)

• 1995 Curtis Lazar, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1995 Remilia, American professional gamer (died 2019)

• 1996 Christian Dvorak, American ice hockey player

• 1996 Paul Mescal, Irish actor

• 1996 Harry Winks, English footballer

• 1997 Ellie Bamber, English actress

• 1998 Shiho Katō, Japanese singer and model

• 1999 Jeff Okudah, American football player

• 2000 Munetaka Murakami, Japanese baseball player

• 2001 Westcol, Colombian online streamer

• 2004 Eleonore Caburet, French rhythmic gymnast

• 2006 Lucas Bergvall, Swedish footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 619 Laurence of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint

• 880 Bruno, duke of Saxony

• 1124 Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia (born 1064)

• 1218 Konstantin of Rostov (born 1186)

• 1237 Joan, Lady of Wales

• 1250 Eric XI of Sweden (born 1216)

• 1294 Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (born 1229)

• 1347 Thomas Bek, Bishop of Lincoln, was the bishop of Lincoln (born 1282)

• 1348 Narymunt, Prince of Pinsk

• 1416 Racek Kobyla of Dvorce

• 1435 Joan II of Naples, Queen of Naples (born 1371)

• 1446 Vittorino da Feltre, Italian humanist (born 1378)

• 1448 Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (born 1372)

• 1461 Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty (born )

• 1512 Hatuey, Caribbean tribal chief

• 1529 Baldassare Castiglione, Italian soldier and diplomat (born 1478)

• 1580 Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese daimyō (born 1558)

• 1594 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer and educator (born 1525)

1601–1900

• 1648 George Abbot, English author and politician (born 1603)

• 1660 Gaston, Duke of Orléans (born 1608)

• 1660 Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (born 1615)

• 1661 Lucas Holstenius, German geographer and historian (born 1596)

• 1675 Ivan Belostenec, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (born 1594)

• 1688 Abraham Duquesne, French admiral (born 1610)

• 1704 Guillaume de l'Hôpital, French mathematician and academic (born 1661)

• 1712 Martin Lister, English physician and geologist (born 1639)

• 1714 John Sharp, English archbishop (born 1643)

• 1723 Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (born 1666)

• 1768 Robert Smith, English mathematician and theorist (born 1689)

• 1769 Pope Clement XIII (born 1693)

• 1798 Ferdinand Ashmall, English centenarian, Catholic priest, died in 73rd year of his ministry (born 1695)

• 1802 Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (born 1713)

• 1804 George Walton, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Georgia (born 1749)

• 1831 Vincenzo Dimech, Maltese sculptor (born 1768)

• 1836 Letizia Ramolino, Italian noblewoman (born 1750)

• 1861 Théophane Vénard, French Catholic missionary (born 1829)

• 1881 Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (born 1808)

1901–present

• 1904 Ernest Cashel, American-Canadian criminal (born 1882)

• 1904 William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (born 1841)

• 1905 Henri Germain, French banker and politician, founded Le Crédit Lyonnais (born 1824)

• 1907 Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (born 1834)

• 1909 Carlo Acton, Italian pianist and composer (born 1829)

• 1913 Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer (born 1845)

• 1918 John L. Sullivan, American boxer (born 1858)

• 1919 Julius Kuperjanov, Estonian lieutenant (born 1894)

• 1925 Antti Aarne, Finnish historian and academic (born 1867)

• 1925 Jaap Eden, Dutch speed skater and cyclist (born 1873)

• 1926 Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general and politician (born 1848)

• 1932 Agha Petros, Assyrian general and politician (born 1880)

• 1939 Amanda McKittrick Ros, Irish author and poet (born 1860)

• 1939 Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (born 1879)

• 1942 Ado Birk, Estonian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Estonia (born 1883)

• 1942 Daniil Kharms, Russian poet and playwright (born 1905)

• 1942 Hugh D. McIntosh, Australian businessman (born 1876)

• 1945 Alfred Delp, German priest and philosopher (born 1907)

• 1945 Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German economist and politician (born 1884)

• 1945 Johannes Popitz, German lawyer and politician (born 1884)

• 1948 Thomas W. Lamont, American banker and philanthropist (born 1870)

• 1948 Bevil Rudd, South African runner and journalist (born 1894)

• 1950 Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician and academic (born 1873)

• 1952 Callistratus of Georgia, Georgian patriarch (born 1866)

• 1954 Hella Wuolijoki, Estonian-Finnish author and politician (born 1886)

• 1956 Charley Grapewin, American actor (born 1869)

• 1956 Truxtun Hare, American football player and hammer thrower (born 1878)

• 1956 Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (born 1876)

• 1957 Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist and academic (born 1890)

• 1962 Shlomo Hestrin, Canadian-Israeli biochemist and academic (born 1914)

• 1966 Hacı Ömer Sabancı, Turkish businessman (born 1906)

• 1968 Tullio Serafin, Italian conductor and director (born 1878)

• 1969 Boris Karloff, English actor (born 1887)

• 1970 Lawrence Gray, American actor (born 1898)

• 1970 Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1872)

• 1970 Hannah Ryggen, Norwegian textile artist (born 1894)

• 1972 Natalie Clifford Barney, American author, poet, and playwright (born 1876)

• 1973 Hendrik Elias, Belgian academic and politician, 9th Mayor of Ghent (born 1902)

• 1974 Imre Lakatos, Hungarian-English mathematician and philosopher (born 1922)

• 1975 Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian and academic (born 1883)

• 1979 Jim Burke, Australian cricketer (born 1930)

• 1979 Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (born 1957)

• 1980 William Howard Stein, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911)

• 1982 Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (born 1905)

• 1983 Sam Chatmon, American singer and guitarist (born 1897)

• 1986 Anita Cobby, Australian murder victim (born 1959)

• 1986 Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (born 1957)

• 1987 Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1927)

• 1987 Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (born 1922)

• 1988 Marcel Bozzuffi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1929)

• 1989 Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (born 1951)

• 1989 Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand minister and politician, 30th New Zealand Minister of Finance (born 1901)

• 1990 Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (born 1905)

• 1990 Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (born 1934)

• 1992 Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality; Miss America telecast presenter (born 1914)

• 1993 François Reichenbach, French director and screenwriter (born 1921)

• 1994 Marija Gimbutas, Lithuanian-American archeologist (born 1921)

• 1995 Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor (born 1917)

• 1995 Fred Perry, English tennis player (born 1909)

• 1995 Donald Pleasence, English-French actor (born 1919)

• 1996 Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, dancer, and director (born 1912)

• 1997 Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (born 1913)

• 1997 Sanford Meisner, American actor and coach (born 1904)

• 1998 Haroun Tazieff, German-French geologist and cinematographer (born 1914)

• 1999 David McComb, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1962)

• 2002 Paul Baloff, American singer-songwriter (born 1960)

• 2002 Claude Brown, American author (born 1937)

• 2003 Lou Harrison, American composer and educator (born 1917)

• 2004 Bernard McEveety, American director and producer (born 1924)

• 2005 Birgitte Federspiel, Danish actress (born 1925)

• 2005 Max Schmeling, German boxer (born 1905)

• 2007 Vijay Arora, Indian actor (born 1944)

• 2007 Billy Henderson, American singer (born 1939)

• 2007 Joe Hunter, American pianist (born 1927)

• 2007 Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (born 1967)

• 2007 Eric Von Schmidt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1931)

• 2007 Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (born 1919)

• 2008 Barry Morse, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter (born 1918)

• 2008 Katoucha Niane, Guinean model and author (born 1960)

• 2011 Edward Amy, Canadian general (born 1918)

• 2011 Defne Joy Foster, Turkish actress (born 1975)

• 2011 Margaret John, Welsh actress (born 1926)

• 2012 Joyce Barkhouse, Canadian author (born 1913)

• 2012 Frederick William Danker, American lexicographer and scholar (born 1920)

• 2012 George Esper, American journalist and academic (born 1932)

• 2012 Dorothy Gilman, American author (born 1923)

• 2012 James F. Lloyd, American pilot and politician (born 1922)

• 2013 Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (born 1961)

• 2013 John Kerr, American actor and lawyer (born 1931)

• 2013 Chris Kyle, American soldier and sniper (born 1974)

• 2013 Lino Oviedo, Paraguayan general and politician (born 1943)

• 2013 Pepper Paire, American baseball player (born 1924)

• 2013 P. Shanmugam, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Puducherry (born 1927)

• 2013 Walt Sweeney, American football player (born 1941)

• 2013 Guy F. Tozzoli, American architect (born 1922)

• 2014 Gerd Albrecht, German conductor (born 1935)

• 2014 Tommy Aquino, American motorcycle racer (born 1992)

• 2014 Nicholas Brooks, English historian (born 1941)

• 2014 Eduardo Coutinho, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1933)

• 2014 Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (born 1967)

• 2014 Luis Raúl, Puerto Rican comedian and actor (born 1962)

• 2014 Bunny Rugs, Jamaican singer (born 1948)

• 2014 Nigel Walker, English footballer (born 1959)

• 2015 Joseph Alfidi, American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1949)

• 2015 Dave Bergman, American baseball player (born 1953)

• 2015 Andriy Kuzmenko, Ukrainian singer-songwriter and actor (born 1968)

• 2015 Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (born 1935)

• 2015 Stewart Stern, American screenwriter (born 1922)

• 2015 The Jacka, American rapper and producer (born 1977)

• 2016 Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (born 1923)

• 2020 Bernard Ebbers, Canadian businessman, the co-founder and CEO of WorldCom (born 1941)

• 2020 Mad Mike Hoare, British-Irish military officer and mercenary (born 1919)

• 2021 Captain Sir Tom Moore, British Army officer and charity campaigner (born 1920)

• 2023 K. Viswanath, Indian actor, director and screenwriter (born 1930)

• 2023 Butch Miles, American jazz drummer (born 1944)

• 2024 – Don Murray, American actor (born 1929)

• 2024 Carl Weathers, American football player and actor (born 1948)

• 2025 Brian Murphy, English comic actor (born 1932)

Holidays and observances

• Groundhog Day

• Anniversary of Treaty of Tartu (Estonia)

Christian Feast Day:

• Adalbard

• Catherine de' Ricci

• Jeanne de Lestonnac

• Martyrs of Ebsdorf

• Presentation of Jesus

• February 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple or Candlemas (Western Christianity), and its related observances:

• A quarter day in the Christian liturgical calendar (due to Candlemas). (Scotland)

• Celebration of Yemanja or Our Lady of Navigators (Candomblé)

• Chandeleur (France)

• Liichtmëssdag (Luxembourg)

• Our Lady of the Candles (Filipino Catholics)

• Virgin of Candelaria (Tenerife, Spain)

• Victory of the Battle of Stalingrad (Russia)

• World Wetlands Day

References

External links

• BBC: On This Day

• Historical Events on February 2