/year

February 13 in history

245 sourced entries recorded on February 13, from 106 CE to 2021 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 528Emperor Justinian I appoints a commission (including the jurist Tribonian) to codify all laws of the Roman Empire that are still in force from Hadrian to the current date; this becomes the Corpus Juris Civilis.source
  • 842Last reported sighting of the comet X/841 Y1 according to the Annals of Fontenelle.source
  • 863Dvin earthquake. It took place in the city of Dvin on 13 February, 863. During the 9th century, Dvin was the only "heavily populated" city in Muslim-dominated Armenia. The city was part of the wider Abbasid Caliphate, and had a multiethnic population.source
  • 951Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou. The 19-year-old Emperor Liu Chengyou is killed after a 3-year reign, ending the short-lived Later Han.source
  • 962Otto I and John XII co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum, confirming John XII as the spiritual head of the Catholic Church. Otto recognizes John XII's secular control over the Papal States – by expanding the domain over the Exarchate of Ravenna, the Duchy of Spoleto, and the Duchy of Benevento.source
  • 1021On one of his habitual night rides in the outskirts of Cairo, the Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah disappears, most likely assassinated by disaffected palace factions, apparently involving his sister, Sitt al-Mulk.source
  • 1122Al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi is formally proclaimed vizier of the Fatimid Caliphate by Caliph al-Amir.source
  • 1141Géza II is crowned King of Hungary and Croatia at age 11, succeeding his father.source
  • 117713 February Joan of England (October 1165 – 4 September 1199) the seventh child of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine married William II of Sicily at Palermo Cathedral.source
  • 1191Muslim forces attack and succeed in breaking the siege lines around Acre. Though the Crusaders seal the breach, Saladin is able to replenish the garrison, by sending reinforcements. For the defenders, this is a temporary respite – and Saladin is having difficulty keeping his army together. Taqi al-Din, Saladin's nephew and one of his most effective commanders, fails to rejoin the siege. He divides his army for his own territorial ambitions in modern southeastern Turkey. Later in the spring, Taqi al-Din brings his forces to support the double-siege at Acre.source
  • 1283February 13–14 – Battle of Thị Nại Bay: A Mongol-led Yuan expeditionary force (some 5,000 men) lands on the beach, near Champa's capital Vijaya in Vietnam. Despite being outnumbered, the Yuan invaders break the Cham defensive line and force King Indravarman V to retreat to the Western Highlands, where he wages a successful guerrilla campaign against the occupying Yuan forces.source
  • 1322The collapse of the central crossing tower of Ely Cathedral in eastern England, possibly as a result of digging foundations for the Lady Chapel, allows the construction of the Octagon that takes its place.source
  • 1327King Charles I of Hungary and King John of Bohemia sign an alliance agreement at Nagyszombat in Bohemia (modern Trnava in the Republic of Slovakia), to proceed against the Austrian Habsburgs who occupy Pressburg (modern Bratislava, capital of Slovakia).source
  • 1327In Bavaria, a large fire breaks out in Munich and is not brought under control for two days. One-third of the buildings in the city are destroyed.source
  • 1352War of the Straits – The Battle of the Bosporus is fought in a stormy sea into the night between the Genoese, Venetian, Aragonese, and Byzantine fleets. The Genoese emerge victorious, as the other fleets withdraw.source
  • 1368Otto VII, Elector of Brandenburg signs the Treaty of Dramburg a treaty with King Casimir III of Poland, returning the town of Wôłcz (no Walcz) to Poland's control.source
  • 1375Pope Gregory XI issues the bull Debitum pastoralis offici, establishing a second ecclesiastical province in the Kingdom of Poland, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Halych.source
  • 1386The Republic of Venice takes control of the island of Corfu.source
  • 1419The University of Rostock is established in Germany by Albert V, Duke of Mecklenburg following approval in a papal bull from Pope Martin V.source
  • 1432The 42 ft tall Statue of Gommateshwara is consecrated by King Veera Pandya in the Indian city of Karkala, capital of the Vijayanagara Empire and now part of the Karnataka state.source
  • 1437In France, English troops led by the Earl of Shrewsbury capture the town of Pontoise, less than 18 mi from Paris, and threaten the royal capital before being forced to abandon their position.source
  • 1462The Treaty of Westminster is agreed upon between King Edward IV of England and the Scotland noble John of Islay, Earl of Ross and Lord of the Isles. The parties sign the treaty on March 17.source
  • 1491A tsunami occurs off of the coast of New Zealand, later believed to be caused by a meteor impact that created what is referred to as the "Mahuika crater" on the New Zealand continental shelf.source
  • 1502The new Viceroy of the New World, Nicolás de Ovando, departs Spain with a fleet of 30 ships and orders to replace Viceroy Francisco de Bobadilla at Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola, and arrives in April.source
  • 1503Challenge of Barletta: Thirteen Italian knights defeat thirteen French knights, near Barletta.source
  • 1503Challenge of Barletta: Thirteen Italian knights defeat thirteen French knights in a duel, near Barletta.source
  • 1561Queen Elizabeth of England summons the Ambassador from Spain, Álvaro de la Quadra, for a private audience to ask how the Spanish government would react if she were to marry Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, who had recently lost his wife Amy Robsart in a questionable accident.source
  • 1565Spanish Conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi lands with his troops on the shores of Cebu Island in the Philippines.source
  • 1572Elizabeth I of England issues a proclamation which revokes all commissions, on account of the frauds which they had fostered.source
  • 1575The formal coronation of Henry III as King of France takes place at the Reims Cathedral. Henry inherited the throne on May 30, 1574, upon the death of his older brother, Charles IX. He marries Louise of Lorraine.source
  • 1578Two days after the Battle of Gembloux, Spanish troops capture the city of Leuven, forcing Willem, Prince of Orange, to flee Brussels and relocate to Antwerp.Geoffrey Parker, The Dutch Revolt (Cornell University Press, 1977) p.186source
  • 1601The first East India Company fleet leaves England on its voyage to the East Indies.source
  • 1633Fire engines are used for the first time in England in order to control and extinguish a fire that breaks out at London Bridge, but not before 43 houses are destroyed.source
  • 1633Fire engines are used for the first time in England to control and extinguish a fire that breaks out at London Bridge, but not before 43 houses are destroyed.source
  • 1633Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition.source
  • 1642Charles assents to the Bishops Exclusion Act thereby removing all bishops from the House of Lords.source
  • 1650Oliver Cromwell's troops sweep through Ireland and bombard the Kiltinan Castle in County Tipperary.source
  • 1660Charles XI becomes king of Sweden at the age of five, upon the death of his father, Charles X Gustavus.source
  • 1660Charles XI of Sweden succeeds Charles X Gustav of Sweden under a regency headed by his mother Queen Dowager Hedvig Eleonora.source
  • 1668In Lisbon, a peace treaty is established between Afonso VI of Portugal and Carlos II of Spain, by mediation of Charles II of England, in which the legitimacy of the Portuguese monarch is recognized. Portugal yields Ceuta to Spain.source
  • 1668Charles II mediates a peace treaty between Spain and Portugal.source
  • 1669The first performance of the Ballet de Flore, a joint collaboration of Jean-Baptiste Lully and Isaac de Benserade is given, premiering at the Palais du Louvre in Paris. King Louis XIV finances the performance and even appears in a minor role in the production as a dancer.source
  • 1689William III and Mary II are proclaimed co-rulers of England, Scotland and Ireland in a ceremony at the Guildhall in the City of London but are not yet recognised in Scotland or Ireland.source
  • 1689the Protestant William, Prince of Orange, and Mary II are proclaimed co-rulers of England, Ireland and Scotland in London following the deposition of the Catholic James II at the end of 1688 but are not yet recognised in Ireland or Scotland.source
  • 1691The Massachusetts Bay Colony issues the first paper money in North America, in lieu of coins, two months after a December 20 law authorizing the printing. The oldest known specimen, for 20 Massachusetts shillings bears the date "Feb. 3, 1690" based on the British old style calendar in use at the time.source
  • 1692Massacre of Glencoe: The forces of Robert Campbell slaughter around 30 members of the Clan MacDonald of Glencoe in Scotland (from whom they have previously accepted hospitality), for delaying to sign an oath of allegiance to King William III of England.source
  • 1706Great Northern War – Battle of Fraustadt: Outnumbered more than 4 to 1 in infantry troops, and more than 2 to 1 overall, Swedish troops under the command of General Carl Gustaf Rehnskiöld defeat a larger force of 20,000 Russian and Saxon infantry and cavalry.source
  • 1726The Parliament of Negrete (between Mapuche and Spanish authorities in Chile) brings an end to the Mapuche uprising of 1723–26.source
  • 1741Sir Robert Walpole, the prime minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a speech in Parliament.source
  • 1741Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister, introduces the term "balance of power" in a speech in Parliament.source
  • 1755Treaty of Giyanti: The kingdom of Mataram on Java is divided in two, creating the sultanate of Yogyakarta and the sunanate of Surakarta.source
  • 1766John Mills is elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, with Benjamin Franklin as one of his sponsors.source
  • 1800Foundation of the Banque de France.source
  • 1810After seizing Jaén, Córdoba, Seville and Granada, Napoleonic troops enter Málaga under the command of General Horace Sebastiani.source
  • 1812The Aurora de Chile prints its first issue.source
  • 1812The first Chilean newspaper Aurora de Chile deals with political philosophy, and stands in favor of the new national government.source
  • 1820The Assassination of the Duke of Berry takes place in Paris. The Duke of Berry, nephew of Louis XVIII, is stabbed to death while attending the Paris Opera.source
  • 1826The American Temperance Society is founded.source
  • 1827The Chilean presidential election, 1827 is held, electing Ramon Frieire as Eyzaguirre's successor.source
  • 1832The King's School opens in Parramattasource
  • 1834Robert Owen organizes the Grand National Consolidated Trades Union in the United Kingdom.source
  • 1837Rowland Hill's government inquiry into postal reform discusses the idea of carrying letters in a separate sheet which folds to become an envelope and the idea of "a bit of paper" which could be affixed to a letter to flag that postage had been prepaid.source
  • 1845Henrik Steffens, philosopher, scientist, and poet (born 1773)source
  • 1848The first non-British ship carrying immigrants to arrive in Victoria was from Germany; the Goddefroy. Many of those on board were political refugees and known as Forty-Eighters.source
  • 1850February 8–17 – Battle at Fort Utah: The Nauvoo Legion kills Timpanogos hostile to the Mormon settlement at Fort Utah on the orders of Brigham Young.source
  • 1854Mexican troops force William Walker and his troops to retreat to Sonora.source
  • 1858Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke become the first Europeans to discover Lake Tanganyika.source
  • 1858Richard Francis Burton and John Hanning Speke become the first Europeans to discover Lake Tanganyika.source
  • 1861Unification of Italy: The Siege of Gaeta, stronghold of the Neapolitan King Francis II, is ended by Piedmontese forces. Francis goes into exile.source
  • 1862February 11–16 – Battle of Fort Donelson – General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee, capturing it on the last day.source
  • 1866The first daylight bank robbery in United States history during peacetime takes place in Liberty, Missouri. This is considered to be the first robbery committed by Jesse James and his gang, although James's role is disputed.source
  • 1867Work starts on Covering of the Sennesource
  • 1867The Covering of the Senne in Brussels begins.source
  • 1868The British War Office sanctions the formation of what becomes the Army Post Office Corps.source
  • 1869A war party of Ngāti Maniapoto led by Wetere Te Rerenga kills all three men, a woman and three children, and also the Wesleyan missionary John Whiteley who arrives shortly afterwards, at the isolated Pukearuhe Redoubt. This is the final act of the Taranaki wars.source
  • 1872Rex, the most famous parade on Mardi Gras, parades for the first time in New Orleans for Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia.source
  • 1881The first issue of the feminist newspaper La Citoyenne is published by Hubertine Auclert in Paris.source
  • 1892The Conservative Party publishes its manifesto.source
  • 1893February 11–19 – White Star Line cargo liner SS Naronic sinks without a trace in heavy seas on the Liverpool–New York transatlantic passage.source
  • 1896The Capsize of the ferry Pearl on the Brisbane River, killing 28source
  • 1897Governor-General Camilo de Polavieja begins his campaign with 16,000 Spanish soldiers to regain Cavite from Filipino revolutionaries.source
  • 1899February 12–14 – Great Blizzard of 1899: Freezing temperatures and snow extend well south into North America, including southern Florida. It is the latest in a series of disasters to Florida's citrus industry.source
  • 1899An earthquake strikes in the U.S. and is felt in Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia and Ohio, but causes no casualties.source
  • 1899A blizzard strikes the east coast of the U.S., shutting down all train service in New York City, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.source
  • 1899In New York, the White Star ocean liner SS Germanic, already laden with ice and snow during its voyage from Liverpool, becomes even more weighed down after disembarking its passengers when the New York City blizzard strikes. With 3,600,000 lbs of added weight, the ship begins to list sideways and additional weight enters cargo doors that have been opened for refuelling. Germanic remains on the bottom of New York Harbor for more than a week while salvaging goes on, then requires refurbishing for three months, but becomes operational again.source
  • 1903Venezuelan crisis: After agreeing to arbitration in Washington, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy reach a settlement with Venezuela resulting in the Washington Protocols. The naval blockade that began in 1902 ends.source
  • 1903Venezuelan crisis. After agreeing to arbitration in Washington, Britain, Germany and Italy reach a settlement with Venezuela, resulting in the Washington Protocols. The naval blockade that began in December 1902 will be lifted, and Venezuela commit 30% of its customs duties to settling claims.source
  • 1913Thubten Gyatso, the 13th Dalai Lama, declares the independence of Tibet from Qing dynasty China.source
  • 1913February 9–19 — Ten Tragic Dayssource
  • 1914February 10–14 large-scale demonstrations erupted in Tokyo in response to the Siemens scandal.source
  • 1917Mata Hari is arrested in Paris for spying.source
  • 1918A magnitude (M w ) 7.2 earthquake shakes the Chinese city of Shantou leaving 1,000 dead and causing a moderate tsunami.source
  • 19181918 Shantou earthquake occurred in Shantou, Kwangtung, Republic of China. It also caused some damage in what was then British Hong Kong.source
  • 1920February 12–24 – Conference of London: Leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Italy meet to discuss the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire.source
  • 1922February 10–17 – Modern Art Week in São Paulo marks the start of Modernism in Brazil.source
  • 1928February 11 – 19 – The 1928 Winter Olympics are held in St. Moritz, Switzerland, the first as a separate event. Sonja Henie of Norway wins her first gold medal, in women's figure skating.source
  • 1934February 12–15 – Austrian Civil War: The Fatherland Front consolidates its power in a series of clashes across the country.source
  • 1934February 12–13: Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista merges with Falange Española to form Falange Española de las Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalistasource
  • 1935Richard Hauptmann is convicted and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. in the United States.source
  • 1936February 10–19 – Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Battle of Amba Aradam – Italian forces gain a decisive tactical victory, effectively neutralizing the army of the Ethiopian Empire.source
  • 1937The funerals of Ion Moța and Vasile Marin take place in Bucharest.source
  • 1938Nineteen people die when Sydney ferry the Rodney, carrying 150 passengers, capsizes in Sydney Harbour while farewelling US Navy cruiser USS Louisville.source
  • 1942February 11–13 – WWII: Operation Cerberus: A Kriegsmarine (German navy) squadron comprising the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen and their escort, dash from Brest through the English Channel to German ports; the British fail to sink any of them.source
  • 1943WWII: Operation Longcloth: Chindit forces (some 3,000 men) of the 77th Indian Infantry Brigade under Brigadier General Orde Wingate cross the Chindwin River and proceed into Burma.source
  • 1944Lasse Efskind, speed skater, medical doctor and writer.source
  • 1945Henrietta Szold (born 1860), American-born Zionist leader, founder of Hadassah.source
  • 1949António Óscar Carmona is re-elected president of Portugal, for lack of an opposing candidate.source
  • 1950British Columbia B-36 crash: The U.S. Air Force loses a Convair B-36 bomber that carried a Mark 4 nuclear bomb off the west coast of Canada, and produces the world's first Broken Arrow.source
  • 1953Transsexual Christine Jorgensen returns to New York after successful sex reassignment surgery in Denmark.source
  • 1955Israel obtains four of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls, which had been discovered in the caves in and around the ruins of the ancient settlement of Khirbet Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea in the Judean Desert.source
  • 1959TAT-2, AT&T's second transatlantic telephone cable goes into operation between Newfoundland and France.source
  • 1960Gerboise Bleue: France tests its first atomic bomb, in the Sahara Desert of Algeria.source
  • 1961The Congo government announces that villagers have killed Patrice Lumumba.source
  • 1962Saunders Lewis gives the Welsh Home Service’s Annual Lecture, entitled Tynged yr Iaith (The Fate of the Language).source
  • 1963The 7.3 Mw Su-ao earthquake occurred off the coast of Yilan County, causing some injuries and deaths.source
  • 1963Daniel Auster (born 1893), Austro-Hungarian (Galicia)-born Israeli politician, the first Jewish Mayor of Jerusalem.source
  • 1967The Cruzeiro Novo, equivalent to one thousand old Cruzeiros, begins to circulate.source
  • 1967American researchers discover the Madrid Codices by Leonardo da Vinci in the National Library of Spain.source
  • 1967Nocturnal explosion at the law courts on Burg Square damages the stained glass windows of the Basilica of the Holy Blood.source
  • 1968February 6–18 – The 1968 Winter Olympics are held in Grenoble, France.source
  • 1969Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) terrorists bomb the Montreal Stock Exchange.source
  • 1969FLQ terrorists bomb the Montreal Stock Exchangesource
  • 1971Jean Hengen replaces the retiring Léon Lommel as Bishop of Luxembourg.source
  • 1972February 3–13 – The 1972 Winter Olympics are held in Sapporo, Japan.source
  • 1975Opening of Glattzentrum, the first large shopping center in Switzerland located on the outskirts of Zurich in Wallisellen, housing several brands like Migros, Globus, and Jelmolisource
  • 1978Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing: A bomb explodes outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing a policeman and two civilians, and injuring several other people.source
  • 1979An intense windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a 1.3 km long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.source
  • 1979The Guardian Angels are formed in New York City as an unarmed organization of young crime fighters.source
  • 1980The 1980 Winter Olympics open in Lake Placid, New York.source
  • 1982February 11-19: the 1982 Amílcar Cabral Cup took place in Praiasource
  • 1983Spyros Kyprianou of the Democratic Party (and also supported by AKEL) won presidential elections, receiving 56.5% of the vote. Voter turnout was 95.0%.source
  • 1983The launching of Ang Iglesia ni Cristo the first religious program on MBS Channel 4 (now PTV-4).source
  • 1984Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.source
  • 1984The Legislative Council of Brunei is dissolved; as a result, a Cabinet is created.source
  • 1984February 8–19 – The 1984 Winter Olympics are held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.source
  • 1985An arson attack on the Regent of Manila, a resort hotel in Pasay, occurs, burning it for four days and killing at least 27 people including more than ten foreigners. Between October 1984 and this month, 65, mostly foreign tourists, die in eight hotel fires in Baguio and Metro Manila; the incident being the sixth.source
  • 1988February 13–28 – The 1988 Winter Olympics are held in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.source
  • 1989National Intelligence Centre (Mexico) and the National Human Rights Commission (Mexico) are founded.source
  • 1990US investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert files for bankruptcy protection, Chapter 11.source
  • 1994Three homeless children, Javier Gonzalez (16), Jairo Murcia (14), “Asprilla” (12), are shot while sleeping and killed in Timiza, Bogotá. They are believed to be victims of the "social cleansing" carried out by armed right-wing gangs and militias.source
  • 1995Twenty-one Bosnian Serb commanders are charged with genocide and crimes against humanity in the United Nations' International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, a tribunal on human rights violations during the Wars in the Balkans.source
  • 1997STS-82: Tune-up and repair work on the Hubble Space Telescope is started by astronauts from the Space Shuttle Discovery.source
  • 1999America's public enemy number one, Osama Bin Laden, is reported missing by his Taliban hosts in Afghanistan.source
  • 2000Final Peanuts comic is printed in newspapers, preceded by author Charles M. Schulz's death the night before. It is the most popular comic strip in history, running for 50 years.source
  • 2001A 6.6-magnitude earthquake hits El Salvador, killing at least 315 people.source
  • 2006In a televised address to the nation, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki announces the resignations of two government ministers in connection with two separate corruption scandals, the "Goldenberg" and "Anglo Leasing" affairs. Energy minister Kiraitu Murungi and education minister George Saitoti both deny any wrongdoing.source
  • 2007North Korea agrees to shut down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon by April 14 as a first step towards complete denuclearization, receiving in return energy aid equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.source
  • 2009At 23:31:30 UTC, the decimal representation of Unix time reached 1234567890 seconds. Celebrations were held around the world, among various technical subcultures, to celebrate the 1234567890th second.source
  • 2014Belgium becomes the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia for terminally ill patients of any age.source
  • 2015Sierra Leone quarantines 700 homes in the Aberdeen district of Freetown following the death of a fisherman.source
  • 2018Former President Alvaro Colom and his entire cabinet were arrested for alleged involved in corruption cases being investigated by the CICIG and detained at the Mariscal Zavala Military Center.source
  • 2018Fiji hit by the Cyclone Gitasource
  • 2020The atoll of Aldabra in the Seychelles is designated an Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA) because of its rare dugong breeding population.source
  • 2020A new metro line will go under the Panama Canal to reach western suburbs of Panama City at a cost of US$2.5 billion. It is part of a $4 billion infrastructure project including a bridge over the canal.source
  • 2020NASA publishes a detailed study of Arrokoth, the most distant body ever explored by a spacecraft.source
  • 2021February 13–February 17 – A major winter storm kills at least 136 people and causes over 9.9 million power outages in the U.S.source

Births

  • 1440Hartmann Schedel, German physician (died 1514)source
  • 1457Mary of Burgundy, sovereign duchess regnant of Burgundy, married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1482)source
  • 1469Elia Levita, Renaissance Hebrew grammarian (died 1549)source
  • 1480Girolamo Aleandro, Italian Catholic cardinal (died 1542)source
  • 1518Antonín Brus of Mohelnice, Moravian Catholic archbishop (died 1580)source
  • 1523Valentin Naboth, German astronomer and mathematician (died 1593)source
  • 1539Elisabeth of Hesse, Electress Palatine by marriage (1576–1582) (died 1582)source
  • 1569Johann Reinhard I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (died 1625)source
  • 1599Pope Alexander VII (died 1667)source
  • 1610Jean de Labadie, French pietist (died 1674)source
  • 1645Vere Fane, 4th Earl of Westmorland, England (died 1693)source
  • 1672Étienne François Geoffroy, French chemist (died 1731)source
  • 1703Robert Dodsley, English bookseller, poet, playwright and miscellaneous writer (died 1764)source
  • 1705Franciszka Urszula Radziwiłłowa, Polish writer and playwright (died 1753)source
  • 1719George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney (died 1792)source
  • 1735Crown Prince Sado of Joseon (died 1762)source
  • 1743Sir Joseph Banks, British naturalist and botanist (died 1820)source
  • 1743Joseph Banks, naturalist and botanist (died 1820).source
  • 1805Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician (died 1859)source
  • 1811François Achille Bazaine, French general (died 1888)source
  • 1835Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, founder of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community (died 1908)source
  • 1849Lord Randolph Churchill, British statesman (died 1895)source
  • 1910William Shockley, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1989)source
  • 1923Chuck Yeager, American test pilot, NASA official (died 2020)source
  • 1950Peter Gabriel, British rock musician, original lead singer of Genesissource
  • 1979Anders Behring Breivik, Norwegian far-right terrorist responsible for the 2011 Norway attackssource
  • 1987Eljero Elia, Dutch footballersource
  • 1996Muhammad Rian Ardianto, Indonesian badminton playersource
  • 2001Kaapo Kakko, ice hockey playersource

Deaths

  • 106He of Han, Chinese emperor of the Han dynasty (born AD 79)source
  • 106Emperor He of Han dies after an 18-year reign. Empress Dowager Deng places her infant son Han Shangdi on the Chinese throne. First and the only year of yanping era.source
  • 721Chilperic II, king of the Frankssource
  • 721King Chilperic II dies at Attigny (Ardennes), after a five-year reign. He is succeeded by Theuderic IV, infant son of Dagobert III, as Merovingian ruler of the Franks, under the control of the mayor of the palace, Charles Martel.source
  • 858King Kenneth I (Cináed mac Ailpín), king of the Scots, dies after a 15-year reign in which he has been crowned at Scone, and united the various parts of Scotland with his native Dál Riata. His 46-year-old brother succeeds as Donald I, king of Alba.source
  • 858Kenneth I, king of Scotland (born 810)source
  • 921Vratislaus I, duke of Bohemiasource
  • 936Xiao Wen, empress of the Liao Dynastysource
  • 942Muhammad ibn Ra'iq, Abbasid de facto regentsource
  • 988Adalbert Atto, Lombard noblemansource
  • 1006Fulcran, bishop of Lodève (France)source
  • 1015Gilbert of Meaux, French bishopsource
  • 1021Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, Fatimid caliph (born 985)source
  • 1044Zhao Yuanyan, Chinese prince of the Song dynasty (born 985)source
  • 1067Geoffrey II, French noblemansource
  • 1116Galon (or Gallo), bishop of Beauvaissource
  • 1130Pope Honorius II (born 1060)source
  • 1141Béla II, King of Hungary and Croatia (born c. 1109)source
  • 1199Stefan Nemanja, Serbian Grand Prince (born 1113)source
  • 1214Theobald I, Count of Bar (or Thibauld), French noblemansource
  • 1214Theobald I, Count of Bar (or Thibauld), French nobleman ( c. 1158)source
  • 1219Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shogun (born 1192)source
  • 1332Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine Emperor (born 1259)source
  • 1351Kō no Morofuyu, Japanese generalsource
  • 1453Sayf al-Din Jaqmaq, Egyptian Mamluk sultansource
  • 1539Isabella d'Este, Marquise of Mantua (born 1474)source
  • 1542Catherine Howard, until recently the Queen consort of England and the wife of King Henry VIII, is executed by beheading, two days after the King gives royal assent to a bill of attainder passed by the English Parliament on February 7. Catherine had been arrested in November on accusations that she had sexual relations with Thomas Culpeper.source
  • 1542Jane Boleyn, Viscountess Rochford, English noblewoman (executed) (born c. 1505)source
  • 1542Catherine Howard, fifth queen of Henry VIII of England (executed) (born c. 1522)source
  • 1543Johann Eck, German Scholastic theologian (born 1486)source
  • 1561Francis I, Duke of Nevers (born 1516)source
  • 1561Francis I, Duke of Nevers, commander in the French Royal Army (born 1516)source
  • 1570Eleonora Gonzaga, Duchess of Urbino, politically active Italian duchess (born 1493)source
  • 1571Benvenuto Cellini, Italian artist (born 1500)source
  • 1596Charles II, the tenth overall and fourth York monarchsource
  • 1602Alexander Nowell, English clergyman (born 1507)source
  • 1608Bess of Hardwick, Countess of Shrewsbury (born 1527)source
  • 1608Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski, Lithuanian prince (born 1526)source
  • 1616Anders Sørensen Vedel, priest and historiographer (born 1542)source
  • 1636Barbara Sophie of Brandenburg, duchess consort and later regent of Württemberg (born 1584)source
  • 1657Erik Juel, noble Privy Councillor (born 1591)source
  • 1660King Charles X Gustav of Sweden (born 1622)source
  • 1660Charles X Gustav dies at the age of 37, while a Riksdag he had convened to address the military situation against Denmark was in session.source
  • 1662Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia (born 1596)source
  • 1674Jean de Labadie, pianist (born 1610)source
  • 1728Cotton Mather, New England Puritan minister (born 1663)source
  • 1741Johann Joseph Fux, Austrian composer (born 1660)source
  • 1741Johann Joseph Fux, Austrian composer (b 1660).source
  • 1787Rudjer Boscovich, Croatian scientist, diplomat (born 1711)source
  • 1787Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French statesman, diplomat (born 1717)source
  • 1818George Rogers Clark, American Revolutionary leader (born 1752)source
  • 1859Eliza Acton, English poet, cookery writer (born 1799)source
  • 1883Richard Wagner, German composer (born 1813)source
  • 1891David Dixon Porter, American admiral (born 1813)source
  • 1945Bombing of Dresden (Germany) by the British Royal Air Force and United States Army Air Forces; 25,000-35,000 are estimated to have died.source
  • 1962Hugh Dalton, British Labour politician (born 1887)source
  • 1976General Murtala Mohammed of Nigeria is assassinated in a military coup.source
  • 2003Walt Whitman Rostow, 86, American political advisor.source
  • 2015Magnus Mwalunyungu, 84, Roman Catholic bishopsource
  • 2017Assassination of Kim Jong-nam: Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and the half-brother of current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is killed after being attacked by two women with VX nerve agent at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malaysia.source