February 8

February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 326 days remaining until the end of the year (327 in leap years).

Events

• 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
• 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
• 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al Mansurah.
• 1347 – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–47 ends with a power-sharing agreement between John VI Kantakouzenos and John V Palaiologos.
• 1575 – Leiden University is founded, and given the motto Praesidium Libertatis.
• 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
• 1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Queen Elizabeth I – the revolt is quickly crushed.
• 1693 – The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.
• 1726 – The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
• 1807 – Battle of Eylau – Napoleon defeats Russians under General Bennigsen and the Prussians under L'Estocq
• 1817 – Las Heras crosses the Andes with an army to join San Martín and liberate Chile from Spain.
• 1837 – Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
• 1855 – The Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon.
• 1856 – Barbu Dimitrie Știrbei abolishes slavery in Wallachia.
• 1865 – In the United States, Delaware voters reject the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and vote to continue the practice of slavery. (Delaware finally ratifies the amendment on February 12, 1901.)
• 1879 – Sandford Fleming first proposes adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute.
• 1879 – The Lord Harris is attacked during a riot during a match in Sydney.
• 1885 – The first government-approved Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii.
• 1887 – The Dawes Act authorizes the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
• 1904 – Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
• 1910 – The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
• 1915 – D. W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
• 1922 – United States President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio set in the White House.
• 1924 – Capital punishment: The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber takes place in Nevada.
• 1942 – World War II: Japan invades Singapore.
• 1945 – World War II: The United Kingdom and Canada commence Operation Veritable to occupy the west bank of the Rhine.
• 1946 – The first portion of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first serious challenge to the popularity of the Authorized King James Version, is published.
• 1948 – The formal creation of the Korean People's Army of North Korea is announced.
• 1949 – Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary is sentenced for treason.
• 1950 – The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, is established.
• 1952 – Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the United Kingdom.
• 1955 – The Government of Sindh, Pakistan, abolishes the Jagirdari system in the province. One million acres (4000 km²) of land thus acquired is to be distributed among the landless peasants.
• 1960 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issues an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
• 1960 – The first eight brass star plaques are installed in the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
• 1962 – Charonne massacre. Nine trade unionists are killed by French police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Paris Prefecture of Police.
• 1963 – Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
• 1963 – The first full color television program in the world, publicly advertised, is broadcast in Mexico City by XHGC-TV, Channel 5, due to technical breakthrough advances made by Mexican engineer Guillermo González Camarena.
• 1963 – The regime of Prime Minister of Iraq, Brigadier General Abd al-Karim Qasim is overthrown by the Ba'ath Party.
• 1965 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean and explodes, killing everyone aboard.
• 1968 – American civil rights movement: The Orangeburg massacre: An attack on black students from South Carolina State University who are protesting racial segregation at the town's only bowling alley, leaves three or four dead in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
• 1969 – Allende meteorite falls near Pueblito de Allende, Chihuahua, Mexico.
• 1971 – The NASDAQ stock market index opens for the first time.
• 1971 – South Vietnamese ground troops launch an incursion into Laos to try to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop communist infiltration.
• 1974 – After 84 days in space, the crew of Skylab 4, the last crew to visit American space station Skylab, returns to Earth.
• 1974 – Military coup in Upper Volta.
• 1978 – Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
• 1981 – Twenty-one association football spectators are trampled to death at Karaiskakis Stadium in Neo Faliro, Greece, after a football match between Olympiacos F.C. and AEK Athens F.C.
• 1983 – The Melbourne dust storm hits Australia's second largest city. The result of the worst drought on record and a day of severe weather conditions, a 320 metres (1,050 ft) deep dust cloud envelops the city, turning day to night.
• 1986 – Hinton train collision: Twenty-three people are killed when a VIA Rail passenger train collides with a 118-car Canadian National freight train near the town of Hinton, Alberta, west of Edmonton. It is the worst rail accident in Canada until the Lac-Mégantic, Quebec derailment in 2013 which killed forty-seven people.
• 1993 – General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
• 1996 – The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
• 1996 – The massive Internet collaboration 24 Hours in Cyberspace takes place.
• 2010 – A freak storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan triggers a series of at least 36 avalanches, burying over two miles of road, killing at least 172 people and trapping over 2,000 travelers.
• 2013 – A blizzard disrupts transportation and leaves hundreds of thousands of people without electricity in the Northeastern United States and parts of Canada.
• 2014 – A hotel fire in Medina, Saudi Arabia kills 15 Egyptian pilgrims with 130 also injured.

Births

• 120 – Vettius Valens, Greek astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer (d. 175)
• 412 – Proclus, Greek mathematician and philosopher (d. 485)
• 882 – Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, Egyptian commander and politician, Abbasid Governor of Egypt (d. 946)
• 1191 – Yaroslav II of Vladimir (d. 1246)
• 1291 – Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
• 1405 – Constantine XI Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1453)
• 1487 – Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)
• 1552 – Agrippa d'Aubigné, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)
• 1577 – Robert Burton, English priest, physician, and scholar (d. 1640)
• 1685 – Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian and author (d. 1770)
• 1700 – Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1782)
• 1708 – Václav Jan Kopřiva, Bohemian organist and composer (d. 1789)
• 1720 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
• 1741 – André Grétry, Belgian-French organist and composer (d. 1813)
• 1762 – Gia Long, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1820)
• 1764 – Joseph Leopold Eybler, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1846)
• 1792 – Caroline Augusta of Bavaria (d. 1873)
• 1798 – Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia (d. 1849)
• 1804 – Richard Lemon Lander, English explorer (d. 1834)
• 1807 – Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and zoologist (d. 1889)
• 1819 – John Ruskin, English author, critic, and academic (d. 1900)
• 1820 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (d. 1891)
• 1822 – Maxime Du Camp, French photographer and journalist (d. 1894)
• 1825 – Henry Walter Bates, English geographer, biologist, and explorer (d. 1892)
• 1828 – Jules Verne, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1905)
• 1829 – Vital-Justin Grandin, French-Canadian bishop and missionary (d. 1902)
• 1834 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (d. 1907)
• 1850 – Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)
• 1866 – Moses Gomberg, Ukrainian-American chemist and academic (d. 1947)
• 1878 – Martin Buber, Austrian-Israeli philosopher and academic (d. 1965)
• 1880 – Franz Marc, German soldier and painter (d. 1916)
• 1880 – Viktor Schwanneke, German actor and director (d. 1931)
• 1882 – Thomas Selfridge, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1908)
• 1883 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech-American economist and political scientist (d. 1950)
• 1884 – Reginald Baker, Australian boxer, rugby player, and actor (d. 1953)
• 1886 – Charlie Ruggles, American actor and singer (d. 1970)
• 1888 – Edith Evans, English actress (d. 1976)
• 1890 – Claro M. Recto, Filipino lawyer, jurist, and politician (d. 1960)
• 1893 – Ba Maw, Burmese politician, Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1977)
• 1894 – Ludwig Marcuse, German philosopher and author (d. 1971)
• 1894 – King Vidor, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
• 1897 – Zakir Hussain, Indian academic and politician, 3rd president of India (d. 1969)
• 1899 – Lonnie Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
• 1900 – Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Russian animator and director (d. 1987)
• 1902 – Demchugdongrub, Mongolian activist (d. 1966)
• 1903 – Greta Keller, Austrian-American singer and actress (d. 1977)
• 1903 – Aleksander Mitt, Estonian speed skater (d. 1942)
• 1906 – Chester Carlson, American physicist and lawyer, invented Xerography (d. 1968)
• 1909 – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian philanthropist (d. 2012)
• 1911 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet and short-story writer (d. 1979)
• 1913 – Betty Field, American actress (d. 1973)
• 1913 – Danai Stratigopoulou, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
• 1914 – Bill Finger, American screenwriter and author (d. 1974)
• Georges Guétary, Egyptian-French singer, dancer, and actor (d. 1997)
• 1918 – Freddie Blassie, American wrestler and manager (d. 2003)
• 1921 – Barney Danson, Canadian colonel and politician, 21st Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2011)
• 1921 – Lana Turner, American actress and singer (d. 1995)
• 1922 – Audrey Meadows, American actress and singer (d. 1996)
• 1924 – Lisel Mueller, German-American poet and academic
• 1925 – Jack Lemmon, American actor, singer, and director (d. 2001)
• 1926 – Neal Cassady, American author and poet (d. 1968)
• 1928 – Osian Ellis, Welsh harp player and composer
• 1928 – Jack Larson, American actor, producer, and playwright (d. 2015)
• 1928 – Gene Lees, Canadian journalist and songwriter (d. 2010)
• 1929 – Claude Rich, French actor and screenwriter
• 1930 – James Deetz, American anthropologist and academic (d. 2000)
• 1930 – Alejandro Rey, Argentinian-American actor and director (d. 1987)
• 1930 – Arlan Stangeland, American farmer and politician (d. 2013)
• 1931 – James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
• 1932 – Cliff Allison, English race car driver (d. 2005)
• 1932 – Vladas Garastas, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
• 1932 – John Williams, American pianist, composer, and conductor
• 1933 – Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
• 1937 – Manfred Krug, German actor and singer
• 1937 – Joe Raposo, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
• 1939 – Ken Iman, American football player and coach (d. 2010)
• 1939 – Jose Maria Sison, Filipino activist and theorist
• 1940 – Ted Koppel, English-American journalist
• 1941 – Nick Nolte, American actor and producer
• 1941 – Tom Rush, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1941 – Jagjit Singh, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
• 1942 – Robert Klein, American comedian, actor, and singer
• 1942 – Terry Melcher, American singer-songwriter and producer (Bruce & Terry) (d. 2004)
• 1943 – Creed Bratton, American actor and singer (The Grass Roots)
• 1943 – Pirzada Qasim, Pakistani poet and academic
• 1944 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (d. 2014)
• 1944 – Tony Minson, English virologist and academic
• 1944 – Barbro Hedvall
• 1948 – Lynda Lyon Block, American murderer (d. 2002)
• 1948 – Dan Seals, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (England Dan & John Ford Coley) (d. 2009)
• 1948 – Ron Tyson, American singer-songwriter (The Temptations)
• 1949 – Brooke Adams, American actress and producer
• 1949 – Niels Arestrup, French actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1950 – Cristina Ferrare, American model and actress
• 1951 – Z'EV, American poet and drummer
• 1952 – Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
• 1952 – Daisuke Gōri, Japanese actor (d. 2010)
• 1953 – Mary Steenburgen, American actress, singer, and producer
• 1955 – John Grisham, American lawyer and author
• 1955 – Jim Neidhart, American wrestler
• 1956 – Marques Johnson, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1956 – Dave Meros, American bass player (Spock's Beard)
• 1956 – Kostas Triantafyllopoulos, Greek actor
• 1957 – Katherine Freese, American astrophysicist
• 1958 – Sherri Martel, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
• 1960 – Benigno Aquino III, Filipino politician, 15th President of the Philippines
• 1960 – Dino Ciccarelli, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1960 – Stuart Hamm, American bass player
• 1961 – Vince Neil, American singer-songwriter and actor (Mötley Crüe)
• 1961 – Bruce Timm, American animator and producer
• 1962 – Daniel Levy, English businessman
• 1962 – Dennis Padilla, Filipino actor
• 1963 – Mohammad Azharuddin, Indian cricketer and politician
• 1963 – Joshua Kadison, American singer-songwriter and pianist
• 1964 – Robert Nebřenský, Czech actor and singer
• 1964 – Trinny Woodall, English fashion designer and author
• 1965 – Dicky Cheung, Hong Kong actor and singer (Big Four)
• 1965 – Miguel Pardeza, Spanish footballer
• 1966 – Bruno Labbadia, German footballer and manager
• 1966 – Sarah Montague, English journalist and radio host
• 1966 – Kirk Muller, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1966 – Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
• 1967 – Rachel Cusk, Canadian-English author
• 1968 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)
• 1969 – Mary Robinette Kowal, American puppeteer and author
• 1969 – Mary McCormack, American actress and producer
• 1969 – Shiva Rose, American actress
• 1970 – John Filan, Australian footballer and coach
• 1970 – Alonzo Mourning, American basketball player
• 1970 – Zoubin Ghahramani, Professor of Information Engineering, University of Cambridge
• 1971 – Andre El Haddad, Lebanese footballer and referee
• 1971 – Mika Karppinen, Swedish-Finnish drummer (HIM and To Separate the Flesh from the Bones)
• 1971 – Andrus Veerpalu, Estonian skier
• 1971 – Aidy Boothroyd, English footballer and manager
• 1972 – Big Show, American wrestler and actor
• 1972 – Hiroshi Tsuchida, Japanese voice actor and actor
• 1973 – Keith McDonald, Japanese-American baseball player
• 1973 – Project Pat, American rapper
• 1974 – Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, French DJ and producer (Daft Punk and Darlin')
• 1974 – Ulises de la Cruz, Ecuadorian footballer and politician
• 1974 – Seth Green, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1974 – Kimbo Slice, Bahamian-American boxer, mixed martial artist, and actor
• 1974 – Chris Waitt, English singer and director
• 1976 – Khaled Mashud, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1976 – Adam Piatt, American baseball player
• 1976 – Abi Titmuss, English model and actress
• 1976 – Nicolas Vouilloz, French race car driver and biker
• 1977 – Barry Hall, Australian footballer
• 1977 – Bridgette Kerkove, American porn actress, director, and producer
• 1977 – Roman Kostomarov, Russian ice dancer
• 1977 – Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan-American poet and graphic designer
• 1977 – Christian Vasquez, Filipino model and actor
• 1979 – Aaron Cook, American baseball player
• 1979 – Josh Keaton, American actor and singer
• 1980 – Ralf Little, English footballer and actor
• 1980 – Jenny Miller, Canadian-Filipino actress
• 1980 – Cameron Muncey, Australian singer and guitarist (Jet)
• 1980 – Conor O'Brian, American wrestler
• 1981 – Sophie Choudry, English actress and singer
• 1981 – Myriam Montemayor Cruz, Mexican singer
• 1982 – Carlene Aguilar, Filipino model and actress, Miss Philippines Earth 2001
• 1982 – Liam McIntyre, Australian actor
• 1982 – Sousuke Takaoka, Japanese actor
• 1982 – Danny Tamberelli, American actor
• 1982 – Erik Rhodes, American porn actor and director (d. 2012)
• 1983 – Jermaine Anderson, Canadian basketball player
• 1983 – Cory Jane, New Zealand rugby player
• 1983 – Elina Partõka, Estonian swimmer
• 1983 – Olga Syahputra, Indonesian actor and singer (d. 2015)
• 1983 – Jim Verraros, American singer and actor
• 1984 – Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Canadian skier
• 1984 – Cecily Strong, American actress
• 1984 – Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, Greek basketball player
• 1985 – Petra Cetkovská, Czech tennis player
• 1985 – Jeremy Davis, American bass player and songwriter (Paramore)
• 1985 – Nao Matsushita, Japanese actress and singer
• 1987 – Javi García, Spanish footballer
• 1987 – Carolina Kostner, Italian figure skater
• 1988 – Rucha Hasabnis, Indian actress
• 1988 – Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1988 – Ryan Pinkston, American actor
• 1988 – Nozomi Sasaki, Japanese model
• 1989 – Zac Guildford, New Zealand rugby player
• 1989 – Dani Harmer, English actress and singer
• 1989 – JaJuan Johnson, American basketball player
• 1989 – Courtney Vandersloot, American basketball player
• 1990 – Trần Thị Thùy Dung, Vietnamese model, Miss Vietnam 2008
• 1990 – Bethany Hamilton, American surfer
• 1990 – Jonathan Page, English footballer
• 1990 – Daniel Vidot, Australian rugby league footballer
• 1991 – Aristidis Soiledis, Greek footballer
• 1991 – Roberto Soriano, Italian footballer
• 1991 – Nam Woo-hyun, South Korean singer, dancer and actor (Infinite and Toheart)
• 1992 – Carl Jenkinson, English-Finnish footballer
• 1994 – Nikki Yanofsky, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1995 – Ksenia Gaydarzhi, Russian tennis player
• 1995 – Yao Jinnan, Chinese gymnast
• 1995 – Jordan Todosey, Canadian actress
• 1997 – Kathryn Newton, American actress
• 1998 – Šarlote Lēnmane, Latvian singer-songwriter

Deaths

• 1204 – Alexios IV Angelos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1182)
• 1250 – Robert I, Count of Artois (b. 1216)
• 1250 – William II Longespée, English martyr (b. 1212)
• 1265 – Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
• 1296 – Przemysł II of Poland (b. 1257)
• 1572 – Cho Shik, Korean poet, scholar, and educator (b. 1501)
• 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1542)
• 1599 – Robert Rollock, Scottish theologian and academic (b. 1555)
• 1676 – Alexis of Russia (b. 1629)
• 1623 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (b. 1546)
• 1696 – Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
• 1709 – Giuseppe Torelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1658)
• 1725 – Peter the Great, Russian emperor (b. 1672)
• 1749 – Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
• 1750 – Aaron Hill, English playwright and poet (b. 1685)
• St Leonard's and St Botolph's Aldgate (b. 1695)
• 1772 – Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (b. 1719)
• 1847 – Theodor Valentin Volkmar, German politician, 1st Lord Mayor of Marburg (b. 1781)
• 1849 – François Habeneck, French violinist and conductor (b. 1781)
• 1849 – France Prešeren, Slovenian poet and lawyer (b. 1800)
• 1856 – Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist and academic (b. 1773)
• 1907 – Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1854)
• 1910 – Hans Jæger, Norwegian philosopher and activist (b. 1854)
• 1915 – François Langelier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1838)
• George Formby Snr, English actor and singer (b. 1876)
• 1921 – Peter Kropotkin, Russian zoologist, geographer, and philologist (b. 1842)
• 1924 – Gee Jon, Chinese-American criminal (b. 1895)
• 1932 – Mad Dog Coll, Irish-American mob boss (b. 1908)
• 1932 – Yordan Milanov, Bulgarian architect, designed the Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church (b. 1867)
• 1935 – Eemil Nestor Setälä, Finnish linguist and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1864)
• 1936 – Charles Curtis, American lawyer and politician, 31st Vice President of the United States (b. 1860)
• 1945 – Italo Santelli, Italian fencer (b. 1866)
• 1956 – Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (b. 1862)
• 1957 – Walther Bothe, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
• 1957 – John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
• 1960 – J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic (b. 1911)
• 1960 – Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect and engineer, designed the Red telephone box and Liverpool Cathedral (b. 1880)
• George Dolenz, Italian-American actor (b. 1908)
• 1964 – Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist and author (b. 1888)
• 1972 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1905)
• Robert Robinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
• 1977 – Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and theorist (b. 1901)
• 1979 – Dennis Gabor, Hungarian-English physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
• 1980 – Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
• 1982 – John Hay Whitney, American financier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1904)
• 1984 – Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (b. 1903)
• 1985 – William Lyons, English businessman, co-founded Swallow Sidecar Company (b. 1901)
• 1985 – Marvin Miller, American actor (b. 1913)
• 1987 – Harriet E. MacGibbon, American actress (b. 1905)
• 1990 – Del Shannon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
• 1992 – Stanley Armour Dunham, American sergeant (b. 1918)
• 1993 – Nagalingam Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan politician (b. 1920)
• 1994 – Raymond Scott, American pianist and composer (b. 1908)
• 1996 – Del Ennis, American baseball player (b. 1925)
• 1997 – Robert Ridgely American actor and singer (b. 1931)
• 1998 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
• 1998 – Enoch Powell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health (b. 1912)
• 1998 – Julian Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
• 1999 – Iris Murdoch, Irish-English philosopher and author (b. 1919)
• 2000 – Sid Abel, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1918)
• 2000 – Derrick Thomas, American football player (b. 1967)
• 2001 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Ong Teng Cheong, Singaporean architect and politician, 5th President of Singapore (b. 1936)
• 2002 – Joachim Hoffmann, German historian and author (b. 1930)
• 2004 – Cem Karaca, Turkish singer and guitarist (b. 1945)
• 2004 – Julius Schwartz, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Keith Knudsen, American singer-songwriter and drummer (The Doobie Brothers and Southern Pacific) (b. 1948)
• 2006 – Elton Dean, English saxophonist (Soft Machine) (b. 1945)
• 2006 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
• 2007 – Anna Nicole Smith, American model and actress (b. 1967)
• 2007 – Ian Stevenson, Canadian-American psychiatrist and academic (b. 1918)
• 2008 – Chua Ek Kay, Chinese-Singaporean painter (b. 1947)
• 2008 – Phyllis A. Whitney, Japanese-American author (b. 1903)
• 2009 – Marian Cozma, Romanian handball player (b. 1982)
• 2010 – John Murtha, American colonel and politician (b. 1932)
• 2011 – Tony Malinosky, American baseball player and soldier (b. 1909)
• 2012 – Wando, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Phil Bruns, American actor (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Laurie Main, Australian-American actor (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi and author (b. 1912)
• 2012 – Jimmy Sabater, American singer and timbales player (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinean singer-songwriter (Almendra, Pescado Rabioso, and Invisible) (b. 1950)
• 2013 – Ralph Braun, American businessman (b. 1940)
• 2013 – Chris Brinker, American director and producer (b. 1970)
• 2013 – Giovanni Cheli, Italian cardinal (b. 1918)
• 2013 – James DePreist, American conductor and educator (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Alan Sharp, Scottish-American screenwriter and author (b. 1934)
• 2014 – Dick Berk, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Els Borst, Dutch physician and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1932)
• 2014 – Maicon Pereira de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer (b. 1988)
• 2014 – Nancy Holt, American sculptor and painter (b. 1938)
• 2014 – Keith Hughes, American basketball player and coach (b. 1968)
• 2014 – Abe Woodson, American football player and minister (b. 1934)
• 2015 – Rauni-Leena Luukanen-Kilde, Finnish physician and parapsychologist (b. 1939)
• 2015 – Andrew Rosenfeld, English businessman, co-founded Minerva (b. 1962)
• 2015 – Müzeyyen Senar, Turkish singer-songwriter (b. 1918)
• 2015 – Mario Vázquez Raña, Mexican businessman (b. 1932)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Cuthmann of Steyning
  • Gerolamo Emiliani
  • Josephine Bakhita
  • Juventius of Pavia
  • Meingold of Huy
  • Stephen of Muret
  • February 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which Feast of Orthodoxy can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated 42 days before Easter. (Orthodoxy)
• Nirvana Day (Mahayana Buddhism)
• Prešeren Day (Slovenia)
• Propose Day

External links

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