February 2

February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 332 days remaining until the end of the year (333 in leap years).

Events

• 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of "Roman law".
• 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 King Stephen is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda, presenting her with an opportunity to become the first queen of medieval England; this fails to occur, however.
• 1207 – Terra Mariana, comprising present-day Estonia and Latvia, is established.
• 1461 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer's Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England.
• 1536 – Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• 1542 – Portuguese forces under Cristóvão da Gama capture a Muslim-occupied hill fort in northern Ethiopia in the Battle of Baçente.
• 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 the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.
• 1848 – Mexican–American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
• 1848 – California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese immigrants arrives in San Francisco.
• 1868 – Pro-Imperial forces captured Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burned it to the ground.
• 1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
• 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 – Funeral of Queen Victoria.
• 1913 – Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.
• 1914 – Charlie Chaplin's first film appearance, Making a Living premieres.
• 1920 – The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.
• 1920 – France occupies Memel.
• 1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
• 1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
• 1933 – Working as maids, the sisters Christine and Léa Papin murder their employer's wife and daughter in Le Mans, France. The case is the subject of a number of French films and plays.
• 1934 – The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.
• 1935 – Leonarde Keeler tests the first polygraph machine.
• 1942 – Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of Resistance [against the German occupation of Norway] when Østbanehallen (at present-day Oslo Central Station) was blown up to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.
• 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to conclusion as Soviet troops accept the surrender of 91,000 remnants of the Axis forces.
• 1957 – Iskander Mirza of Pakistan lays the foundation-stone of the Guddu Barrage.
• 1959 – Dyatlov Pass incident
• 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.
• 1972 – The British embassy in Dublin is destroyed in protest at Bloody Sunday.
• 1976 – The Groundhog Day gale hits the north-eastern United States and south-eastern Canada.
• 1980 – Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
• 1982 – 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.
• 1988 – Auntie Anne's is founded by Anne F. Beiler in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
• 1989 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: 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.
• 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.
• 2007 – The worst flooding in Indonesia in 300 years begins.
• 2012 – The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 300 people missing.

Births

• 1208 – James I of Aragon (d. 1276)
• 1455 – John, King of Denmark (d. 1513)
• 1457 – Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, Italian-Spanish historian and author (d. 1526)
• 1494 – Bona Sforza, Italian wife of Sigismund I the Old (d. 1557)
• 1502 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher and historian (d. 1574)
• 1506 – René de Birague, Italian-French cardinal and politician (d. 1583)
• 1522 – Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1565)
• 1600 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653)
• 1613 – Noël Chabanel, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
• 1621 – Johannes Schefferus, Swedish author and hymn-writer (d. 1679)
• 1650 – Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730)
• 1650 – Nell Gwyn, English actress (d. 1687)
• 1669 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (d. 1732)
• 1677 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French composer (d. 1745)
• 1695 – William Borlase, English geologist and archaeologist (d. 1772)
• 1695 – François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769)
• 1700 – Johann Christoph Gottsched, German author and critic (d. 1766)
• 1711 – Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (d. 1794)
• 1714 – Gottfried August Homilius, German organist and composer (d. 1785)
• 1717 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)
• 1754 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1838)
• 1782 – Henri de Rigny, French admiral and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1835)
• 1786 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1856)
• 1802 – Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist and academic (d. 1887)
• 1803 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (d. 1862)
• 1829 – Alfred Brehm, German zoologist and illustrator (d. 1884)
• 1829 – William Stanley, English engineer and philanthropist (d. 1909)
• 1841 – François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss limnologist and hydrologist (d. 1912)
• 1842 – Julian Sochocki, Polish-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1927)
• 1849 – Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet and playwright (d. 1921)
• 1851 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican illustrator and engraver (d. 1913)
• 1860 – Curtis Guild, Jr., American journalist and politician, 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)
• 1861 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (d. 1949)
• 1862 – Émile Coste, French fencer (d. 1927)
• 1866 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and academic (d. 1927)
• 1872 – Clara Butt, English contralto (d. 1936)
• 1873 – Leo Fall, Austrian composer (d. 1925)
• 1873 – Konstantin von Neurath, German politician and diplomat, 13th German Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1956)
• 1875 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (d. 1962)
• 1878 – Joe Lydon, American boxer and soccer player (d. 1937)
• 1880 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969)
• 1881 – Orval Overall, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947)
• 1882 – Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (d. 1944)
• 1882 – James Joyce, Irish author and poet (d. 1941)
• 1883 – Johnston McCulley, American author and screenwriter, created Zorro (d. 1958)
• 1886 – William Rose Benét, American poet and author (d. 1950)
• 1887 – Ernst Hanfstaengl, German businessman (d. 1975)
• 1887 – Pat Sullivan, Australian-American animator and producer (d. 1933)
• 1889 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (d. 1952)
• 1890 – Charles Correll, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1972)
• 1892 – Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (d. 1959)
• 1893 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1974)
• 1893 – Raoul Riganti, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1970)
• 1893 – Damdin Sükhbaatar, Mongolian military leader (d. 1924)
• George Halas, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
• 1895 – Robert Philipp, American painter (d. 1981)
• 1895 – George Sutcliffe, Australian public servant (d. 1964)
• 1896 – Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980)
• 1897 – Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson's (d. 1972)
• 1900 – Willie Kamm, American baseball player and manager (d. 1988)
• 1901 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian violinist and educator (d. 1987)
• 1902 – Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
• Bozorg Alavi, Iranian author and activist (d. 1997)
• 1905 – Ayn Rand, Russian-born American author and philosopher (d. 1982)
• 1908 – Wes Ferrell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
• 1909 – Frank Albertson, American actor and singer (d. 1964)
• 1912 – Millvina Dean, English civil servant and cartographer; last survivor of the RMS Titanic (d. 2009)
• 1912 – Burton Lane, American songwriter and composer (d. 1997)
• 1913 – Ohn Maung, Burmese martyr (d. 1947)
• 1913 – Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor and singer (d. 1985)
• 1914 – Eric Kierans, Canadian economist and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2004)
• 1915 – Abba Eban, South African-Israeli politician and diplomat, 1st Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (d. 2005)
• 1915 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (d. 2014)
• 1916 – Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1985)
• 1917 – Đỗ Mười, Vietnamese politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam
• 1918 – Hella Haasse, Indonesian-Dutch author (d. 2011)
• 1919 – Lisa Della Casa, Swiss soprano and actress (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Georg Gawliczek, German footballer and manager (d. 1999)
• 1923 – Jean Babilée, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
• 1923 – James Dickey, American poet and author (d. 1997)
• 1923 – Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (d. 1988)
• 1923 – Red Schoendienst, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1923 – Liz Smith, American journalist and author
• 1923 – Clem Windsor, Australian rugby player and surgeon (d. 2007)
• 1924 – Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American singer, pianist, producer (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French academic and politician, 20th President of France
• 1927 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (d. 1991)
• 1927 – Doris Sams, American baseball player (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Jay Handlan, American basketball player and engineer (d. 2013)
• 1928 – A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American judge, author, and activist (d. 1998)
• 1929 – Sheila Matthews Allen, American actress and producer (d. 2013)
• 1929 – George Band, English engineer and mountaineer (d. 2011)
• 1929 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Waldemar Kmentt, Austrian operatic tenor (d. 2015)
• 1929 – John Henry Holland, American computer scientist (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Dries van Agt, Dutch lawyer, jurist, and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
• 1931 – Les Dawson, English comedian and author (d. 1993)
• 1931 – Glynn Edwards, Malaysian-English actor
• 1931 – John Paul Harney, Canadian educator and politician
• 1931 – Judith Viorst, American journalist and author
• 1932 – Arthur Lyman, American vibraphone player (d. 2002)
• 1932 – Robert Mandan, American actor
• 1933 – M'el Dowd, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
• 1933 – Tony Jay, English actor and singer (d. 2006)
• 1933 – Orlando "Cachaíto" López, Cuban bassist (Buena Vista Social Club) (d. 2009)
• 1933 – Than Shwe, Burmese politician
• 1934 – Khalil Ullah Khan, Bangladeshi actor (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Evgeny Velikhov, Russian physicist and academic
• 1936 – Duane Jones, American actor (d. 1988)
• 1936 – Metin Oktay, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 1991)
• 1937 – Don Buford, American baseball player and coach
• 1937 – Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer and politician, President of Panama (d. 2015)
• 1937 – Anthony Haden-Guest French-English journalist, poet, and critic
• 1937 – Remak Ramsay, American actor
• 1937 – Tom Smothers, American comedian, actor, and singer (Smothers Brothers)
• 1938 – Norman Fowler, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
• 1938 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
• 1939 – Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
• 1940 – Alan Caddy, English guitarist and producer (d. 2000)
• 1940 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (d. 2008)
• 1940 – Wayne Fontes, American football player and coach
• 1940 – David Jason, English actor, director, and producer
• 1941 – Terry Biddlecombe, English jockey (d. 2014)
• 1941 – Lee Redmond, American woman with the longest fingernails
• 1941 – Cory Wells, American singer (Three Dog Night) (d. 2015)
• 1942 – Bo Hopkins, American actor
• 1942 – Graham Nash, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1942 – Jang Sung-taek, North Korean politician (d. 2013)
• 1943 – Susan Hanson, English actress
• 1944 – Andrew Davis, English organist and conductor
• 1944 – Karen Foss, American journalist
• 1944 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (d. 2012)
• 1944 – Ursula Oppens, American pianist and educator
• 1945 – John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, English economist and academic
• 1945 – Kerem Yılmazer, Turkish actor and singer (d. 2003)
• 1946 – John Armitt, English engineer and businessman
• 1946 – Blake Clark, American actor
• 1946 – Alpha Oumar Konaré, Malian academic and politician, 3rd President of Mali
• 1946 – Constantine Papadakis, Greek-American businessman and academic (d. 2009)
• 1947 – Greg Antonacci, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1947 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (d. 2009)
• 1948 – Ina Garten, American chef and author
• 1948 – Al McKay, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Earth, Wind & Fire)
• 1948 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (d. 1973)
• 1949 – Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
• 1949 – Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (d. 1996)
• 1949 – Brent Spiner, American actor
• 1949 – Ross Valory, American bass player
• 1950 – Osamu Kido, Japanese wrestler
• 1950 – Libby Purves, English journalist and author
• 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 – John Cornyn, American lawyer and politician, 49th Attorney General of Texas
• 1952 – Rick Dufay, French-American guitarist and songwriter
• 1952 – Park Geun-hye, South Korean politician, 11th President of South Korea
• 1952 – Carol Ann Susi, American actress (d. 2014)
• 1953 – Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter
• 1953 – Jerry Sisk, Jr., American gemologist, co-founded Jewelry Television (d. 2013)
• 1954 – Christie Brinkley, American model and actress
• 1954 – Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian skier, actor, and singer
• 1954 – John Tudor, American baseball player
• 1955 – Leszek Engelking, Polish poet and author
• 1955 – Virginia Leng, Maltese horse rider
• 1955 – Bob Schreck, American author
• 1955 – Kim Zimmer, American actress
• 1956 – Adnan Oktar, Turkish theorist and author
• 1957 – Phil Barney, Algerian-French singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Michel Marc Bouchard, Canadian playwright
• 1960 – Jari Porttila, Finnish journalist
• 1961 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (d. 2013)
• 1961 – Lauren Lane, American actress and academic
• 1961 – Steve Penney, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1962 – Philippe Claudel, French author, director, and screenwriter
• 1962 – Andy Fordham, English darts player
• 1962 – Luke Johnson, English businessman
• 1962 – Paul Kilgus, American baseball player
• 1962 – Michael T. Weiss, American actor
• 1963 – Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (d. 1996)
• 1963 – Kjell Dahlin, Swedish ice hockey player
• 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 – 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 – Sean Elliott, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1968 – Scott Erickson, American baseball player and coach
• 1968 – Thomas Teige, German martial artist and actor
• 1968 – Simon Wickham-Smith, English singer, astrologer, and academic
• 1969 – Valeri Karpin, Estonian-Russian footballer and manager
• 1970 – C. Ernst Harth, Canadian actor and producer
• 1970 – Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer
• 1970 – Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress, singer and writer
• 1971 – Rockwilder, American rapper and producer
• 1971 – Michelle Gayle, English singer-songwriter and actress
• 1971 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer and sportscaster (d. 2014)
• 1972 – Dana International, Israeli pop singer
• 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 – Naomi Grossman, American actress
• 1975 – Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer
• 1976 – Lori Beth Denberg, American actress
• 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 – Eden Espinosa, American actress and singer
• 1978 – Annabel Ellwood, Australian tennis player
• 1978 – Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1978 – Rich Sommer, American actor
• 1978 – Faye White, English footballer
• 1979 – Urmo Aava, Estonian race car driver
• 1979 – Christine Bleakley, Irish television host
• 1979 – Fani Chalkia, Greek hurdler and sprinter
• 1979 – Klaus Mainzer, German rugby player
• 1979 – Irini Terzoglou, Greek shot putter
• 1980 – Angela Finger-Erben, German journalist
• 1980 – Teddy Hart, Canadian wrestler
• 1980 – Gucci Mane, American rapper, producer, and actor
• 1980 – Oleguer Presas, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Salem al-Hazmi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 77 (d. 2001)
• 1981 – Emre Aydın, Turkish singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Michelle Bass, English model and singer
• 1981 – Gemma Collins, English television personality
• 1982 – Sergio Castaño Ortega, Spanish footballer
• 1982 – Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player
• 1982 – Brandy Talore, American porn actress
• 1983 – Ronny Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1983 – Carolina Klüft, Swedish heptathlete and jumper
• 1983 – Jordin Tootoo, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Estonian footballer
• 1983 – Alex Westaway, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1984 – Brian Cage, American wrestler
• 1984 – Mao Miyaji, Japanese actress
• 1984 – Rudi Wulf, New Zealand rugby 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 – Athena Imperial, Filipino journalist; Miss Earth-Water 2011
• 1987 – Mimi Page, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1987 – Gerard Piqué, Spanish footballer
• 1987 – Javon Ringer, American football player
• 1987 – Jill Scott, English footballer
• 1987 – Victoria Song, Chinese singer and actress
• 1987 – Martin Spanjers, American actor and producer
• 1988 – Zosia Mamet, American actress and singer
• 1991 – Nathan Delfouneso, English footballer
• 1991 – Gregory Mertens, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
• 1992 – Lammtarra, American race horse (d. 2014)
• 1992 – Joonas Tamm, Estonian footballer
• 1992 – Danielle White, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1993 – Jake Cassidy, Welsh footballer
• 1993 – Ravel Morrison, English footballer
• 1995 – Paul Digby, English footballer
• 1995 – Aleksander Jagiełło, Polish footballer
• 1995 – Arfa Karim, Pakistani student and computer programmer (d. 2012)

Deaths

• 619 – Laurence of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint
• 1124 – Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1064)
• 1218 – Konstantin of Rostov (b. 1186)
• 1250 – Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)
• 1294 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1229)
• 1448 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1372)
• 1512 – Hatuey, Caribbean tribal chief
• 1529 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian soldier and diplomat (b. 1478)
• 1580 – Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese daimyo (b. 1558)
• 1594 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer and educator (b. 1525)
• George Abbot, English author and politician (b. 1603)
• 1660 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans (b. 1608)
• 1660 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615)
• 1661 – Lucas Holstenius, German geographer and historian (b. 1596)
• 1675 – Ivan Belostenec, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (b. 1594)
• 1688 – Abraham Duquesne, French admiral (b. 1610)
• 1704 – Guillaume de l'Hôpital, French mathematician and academic (b. 1661)
• 1712 – Martin Lister, English physician and geologist (b. 1639)
• 1714 – John Sharp, English archbishop (b. 1643)
• 1723 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (b. 1666)
• 1768 – Robert Smith, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1689)
• 1769 – Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693)
• 1802 – Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1713)
• Governor of Georgia (b. 1749)
• 1904 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician; 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1841)
• 1904 – Ernest Cashel, American-Canadian criminal (b. 1882)
• 1905 – Henri Germain, French banker and politician, founded Le Crédit Lyonnais (b. 1824)
• 1907 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (b. 1834)
• 1909 – Carlo Acton, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1829)
• 1913 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer (b. 1845)
• 1918 – John L. Sullivan, American boxer (b. 1858)
• 1919 – Julius Kuperjanov, Estonian lieutenant (b. 1894)
• 1925 – Antti Aarne, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1867)
• 1925 – Jaap Eden, Dutch speed skater and cyclist (b. 1873)
• 1926 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (b. 1848)
• 1932 – Agha Petros, Assyrian general and politician (b. 1880)
• 1939 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (b. 1879)
• 1942 – Ado Birk, Estonian lawyer and politician; 3rd Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1883)
• 1942 – Daniil Kharms, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1905)
• 1942 – Hugh D. McIntosh, Australian businessman (b. 1876)
• 1945 – Alfred Delp, German priest and philosopher (b. 1907)
• 1945 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German economist and politician (b. 1884)
• 1945 – Johannes Popitz, Prussian politician (b. 1884)
• 1948 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1870)
• 1948 – Bevil Rudd, South African runner and journalist (b. 1894)
• 1950 – Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician and academic (b. 1873)
• Callistratus of Georgia, Georgian patriarch (b. 1866)
• 1954 – Hella Wuolijoki, Estonian-Finnish author and politician (b. 1886)
• 1956 – Charley Grapewin, American actor and singer (b. 1869)
• 1956 – Truxtun Hare, American football player and hammer thrower (b. 1878)
• 1956 – Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
• 1957 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1890)
• 1960 – André Alerme, French actor (b. 1877)
• 1962 – Shlomo Hestrin, Canadian-Israeli biochemist and academic (b. 1914)
• 1966 – Hacı Ömer Sabancı, Turkish businessman (b. 1906)
• 1968 – Tullio Serafin, Italian conductor and director (b. 1878)
• 1969 – Boris Karloff, English actor and singer (b. 1887)
• 1970 – Lawrence Gray, American actor and singer (b. 1898)
• 1970 – Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher; Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1872)
• 1972 – Natalie Clifford Barney, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1876)
• 1973 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian academic and politician; 9th Mayor of Ghent (b. 1902)
• 1974 – Imre Lakatos, Hungarian-English mathematician and philosopher (b. 1922)
• 1975 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1883)
• 1979 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (b. 1957)
• 1980 – William Howard Stein, American biochemist and academic; Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
• 1982 – Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
• 1983 – Sam Chatmon, American singer and guitarist (b. 1897)
• 1986 – Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)
• 1987 – Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1927)
• 1987 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish-German author and screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 1988 – Marcel Bozzuffi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 1989 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (b. 1951)
• 1989 – Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand minister and politician; 30th New Zealand Minister of Finance (b. 1901)
• 1990 – Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (b. 1905)
• 1990 – Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (b. 1934)
• 1992 – Bert Parks, American actor and singer (b. 1914)
• 1993 – François Reichenbach, French director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
• 1995 – Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor (b. 1917)
• 1995 – Fred Perry, English-Australian tennis player (b. 1909)
• 1995 – Donald Pleasence, English-French actor and singer (b. 1919)
• 1996 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, dancer, and director (b. 1912)
• 1997 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913)
• 1997 – Sanford Meisner, American actor (b. 1904)
• 1998 – Haroun Tazieff, German-French geologist and cinematographer (b. 1914)
• 1999 – David McComb, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1962)
• 2002 – Paul Baloff, American singer-songwriter (Exodus) (b. 1960)
• 2002 – Claude Brown, American author (b. 1937)
• 2003 – Lou Harrison, American composer and educator (b. 1917)
• 2004 – Bernard McEveety, American film director and producer (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Birgitte Federspiel, Danish actress (b. 1925)
• 2005 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)
• 2007 – Vijay Arora, Indian actor (b. 1944)
• 2007 – Billy Henderson, American singer (b. 1939)
• 2007 – Joe Hunter, American pianist (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967)
• 2007 – Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919)
• 2007 – Eric Von Schmidt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)
• 2008 – Barry Morse, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
• 2008 – Katoucha Niane, Guinean model and author (b. 1960)
• 2011 – Edward Amy, Canadian soldier (b. 1918)
• 2011 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish actress (b. 1975)
• 2011 – Margaret John, Welsh actress (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Joyce Barkhouse, Canadian author (b. 1913)
• 2012 – Frederick William Danker, American lexicographer and scholar (b. 1920)
• 2012 – George Esper, American journalist and academic (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (b. 1923)
• 2012 – James F. Lloyd, American pilot and politician (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (b. 1961)
• 2013 – John Kerr, American actor and lawyer (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Chris Kyle, American soldier and sniper (b. 1974)
• 2013 – Lino Oviedo, Paraguayan general and politician (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Pepper Paire, American baseball player (b. 1924)
• 2014 – Gerd Albrecht, German conductor (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Tommy Aquino, American motorcycle racer (b. 1992)
• 2014 – Nicholas Brooks, English historian (b. 1941)
• 2014 – Eduardo Coutinho, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1967)
• 2014 – Bunny Rugs, Jamaican singer (b. 1948)
• 2014 – Werner Husemann, German soldier and pilot (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Luis Raúl, Puerto Rican comedian and actor (b. 1962)
• 2015 – Joseph Alfidi, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1949)
• 2015 – Dave Bergman, American baseball player (b. 1953)
• 2015 – The Jacka, American rapper and producer (Mob Figaz) (b. 1977)
• 2015 – Andriy Kuzmenko, Ukrainian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1968)
• 2015 – Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances

• Anniversary of Treaty of Tartu (Estonia)
• Christian feast day:
  • Cornelius the Centurion
  • Théophane Vénard (one of Vietnamese Martyrs)
  • February 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day (Philippines)
• Day of Youth (Azerbaijan)

• Earliest day on which Shrove Monday can fall, while March 8 is the latest; celebrated on Monday before Ash Wednesday (Christianity), and its related observances:
  • Bun Day (Iceland)
  • Fastelavn (Denmark/Norway)
  • Rosenmontag (Germany)

• Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple (or Candlemas) (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
  • A quarter day in the Christian calendar (due to Candlemas) (Scotland)
  • Celebration of Yemanja (Candomblé)
  • La Chandeleur or Crêpe Day (France)
  • Our Lady of Navigators (Brazil)
  • Virgin of Candelaria (Tenerife, Spain)
• Groundhog Day (United States and Canada)
• Inventor's Day (Thailand)
• World Wetlands Day (International)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• : On This DayThe New York Times
• On This Day in Canada