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Pre-1600

*
1339 Year 1339 ( MCCCXXXIX) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * June – Battle of Laupen: The Canton of Bern defeats the forces of Fribourg. ...
– The
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
ese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of
Lodrisio Visconti Lodrisio Visconti (c. 1280 – 1364) was an Italian condottiero. Biography He was the son of Pietro, of the powerful Visconti of Milan, and Antiochia Crivelli. After military training under his father, he helped his cousin Matteo Visconti and ...
clash in the
Battle of Parabiago __NOTOC__The Battle of Parabiago was fought in February 1339 near Parabiago, in Lombardy, northern Italy, between the Milanese army and the St. George's (San Giorgio) Mercenaries of Lodrisio Visconti. A renowned condottiero, the latter was an e ...
; Visconti is defeated. *
1472 Year 1472 ( MCDLXXII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * February 20 – Orkney and Shetland are returned by Norway to Scotland, as a resul ...
Orkney and Shetland are pawned by Norway to Scotland in lieu of a
dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...
for Margaret of Denmark. *
1521 1521 ( MDXXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1521st year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 521st year of the 2nd millennium, the 21st year ...
Juan Ponce de León sets out from Spain for Florida with about 200 prospective colonists. *
1547 Year 1547 ( MDXLVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 8 – The first Lithuanian-language book, a ''Catechism'' (, Simple Words ...
Edward VI of England Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first ...
is crowned King of England at
Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...
.


1601–1900

*
1685 Events January–March * January 6 – American-born British citizen Elihu Yale, for whom Yale University in the U.S. is named, completes his term as the first leader of the Madras Presidency in India, administering the colony ...
René-Robert Cavelier establishes Fort St. Louis at Matagorda Bay thus forming the basis for France's claim to
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
. *
1792 Events January–March * January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea. * February 18 – Thomas Holcroft produces the comedy '' The Road to Ruin'' in London. * February ...
– The
Postal Service Act The Postal Service Act was a piece of United States federal legislation that established the United States Post Office Department. It was signed into law by President George Washington on February 20, 1792. History William Goddard, a Patrio ...
, establishing the
United States Post Office Department The United States Post Office Department (USPOD; also known as the Post Office or U.S. Mail) was the predecessor of the United States Postal Service, in the form of a Cabinet department, officially from 1872 to 1971. It was headed by the postma ...
, is signed by United States President
George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...
. *
1798 Events January–June * January – Eli Whitney contracts with the U.S. federal government for 10,000 muskets, which he produces with interchangeable parts. * January 4 – Constantine Hangerli enters Bucharest, as Prince of ...
Louis-Alexandre Berthier Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram, was a French Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minis ...
removes Pope Pius VI from power. *
1813 Events January–March * January 18–January 23 – War of 1812: The Battle of Frenchtown is fought in modern-day Monroe, Michigan between the United States and a British and Native American alliance. * January 24 – T ...
Manuel Belgrano Manuel José Joaquín del Corazón de Jesús Belgrano y González (3 June 1770 – 20 June 1820), usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano (), was an Argentine public servant, economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader. He ...
defeats the
royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governm ...
army of Pío de Tristán during the
Battle of Salta The Battle of Salta took place on February 20, 1813 on the plains of Castañares, north of the present-day Argentine city of Salta, during the Argentine War of Independence. The Army of the North, under the command of general Manuel Belgrano, ...
. *
1816 This year was known as the ''Year Without a Summer'', because of low temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere, possibly the result of the Mount Tambora volcanic eruption in Indonesia in 1815, causing severe global cooling, catastrophic in s ...
Rossini's opera ''
The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...
'' premieres at the
Teatro Argentina The Teatro Argentina (directly translating to "Theatre Argentina") is an opera house and theatre located in Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. One of the oldest theatres in Rome, it was constructed in 1731 and inaugurated on 31 J ...
in Rome. *
1835 Events January–March * January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as naturalist. * January 8 – The United States public debt contracts to zero, for the only time in history. ...
– The
1835 Concepción earthquake The 1835 Concepción earthquake occurred near the neighboring cities of Concepción and Talcahuano in Chile on 20 February at 11:30 local time (15:30 UTC) and has an estimated magnitude of about 8.5 . The earthquake triggered a tsunami which ...
destroys Concepción, Chile. *
1846 Events January–March * January 5 – The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Country with the United Kingdom. * January 13 – The Milan–Venice railway's bridge, over the Venetian Lagoon between ...
– Polish insurgents lead an uprising in Kraków to incite a fight for national independence. * 1864
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
:
Battle of Olustee The Battle of Olustee or Battle of Ocean Pond was fought in Baker County, Florida on February 20, 1864, during the American Civil War. It was the largest battle fought in Florida during the war. Union General Truman Seymour had landed troops ...
: The largest battle fought in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
during the war. * 1865 – End of the
Uruguayan War The Uruguayan War (10 August 1864 – 20 February 1865) was fought between Uruguay's governing Blanco Party and an alliance consisting of the Empire of Brazil and the Uruguayan Colorado Party, covertly supported by Argentina. Since its i ...
, with a peace agreement between President
Tomás Villalba Tomás Villalba y Albin (9 December 1805 – 12 July 1886) was a Uruguayan politician who served as interim President for five days (15 February to 20 February 1865), at the end of the Uruguayan War, which had begun on 10 August 1864. The war wa ...
and rebel leader
Venancio Flores Venancio Flores Barrios (18 May 1808 – 19 February 1868) was a Uruguayan political leader and general. Flores was President of Uruguay from 1854 to 1855 (interim) and from 1865 to 1868. Background and early career In 1839, he was made politic ...
, setting the scene for the destructive
War of the Triple Alliance The Paraguayan War, also known as the War of the Triple Alliance, was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It was the deadlies ...
. *
1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...
– The
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
opens in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. *
1877 Events January–March * January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . * January 8 – Great ...
Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
's ballet '' Swan Lake'' receives its premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.


1901–present

*
1901 Events January * January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...
– The legislature of
Hawaii Territory The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory (Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ''Panalāʻau o Hawaiʻi'') was an organized incorporated territories of the United States, organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from Ap ...
convenes for the first time. *
1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...
– The
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
upholds the constitutionality of
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
's mandatory
smallpox vaccination The smallpox vaccine is the first vaccine to be developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with the relatively mild cowpox virus conferred immunity against the deadly smallpox ...
program in '' Jacobson v. Massachusetts''. *
1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * Jan ...
– Publication of the
Futurist Manifesto The ''Manifesto of Futurism'' (Italian: ''Manifesto del Futurismo'') is a manifesto written by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti and published in 1909. Marinetti expresses an artistic philosophy called Futurism that was a rejection of th ...
in the French journal ''
Le Figaro ''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of r ...
''. *
1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...
King O'Malley King O'Malley (2 July 1858? – 20 December 1953) was an American-born Australian politician who served in the House of Representatives from 1901 to 1917, and served two terms as Minister for Home Affairs (1910–1913; 1915–16). He is remember ...
drives in the first
survey Survey may refer to: Statistics and human research * Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population * Survey (human research), including opinion polls Spatial measurement * Surveying, the techniq ...
peg to mark commencement of work on the construction of Canberra. * 1920An earthquake kills between 114 and 130 in
Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...
and heavily damages the town of Gori. *
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
– The
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
approves the construction of the
San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, known locally as the Bay Bridge, is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay in California. As part of Interstate 80 and the direct road between San Francisco and Oakland, it carries about 260,000 ...
by the state of
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
. * 1931 – An anarchist uprising in Encarnación briefly transforms the city into a revolutionary commune. * 1933 – The
U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
approves the
Blaine Act The Blaine Act, formally titled Joint Resolution Proposing the Twenty-First Amendment to the United States Constitution, is a joint resolution adopted by the United States Congress on February 20, 1933, initiating repeal of the 18th Amendment to ...
to repeal federal Prohibition in the United States, sending the
Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution The Twenty-first Amendment (Amendment XXI) to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide prohibition on alcohol. The Twenty-first Amendment was proposed by ...
to
state ratifying conventions State ratifying conventions are one of the two methods established by Article V of the United States Constitution for '' ratifying'' proposed constitutional amendments. The only amendment that has been ratified through this method thus far is th ...
for approval. * 1933 –
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
's upcoming election campaign. * 1935
Caroline Mikkelsen Caroline Mikkelsen (20 November 1906 – 15 September 1998, later married Mandel) was a Danish-Norwegian explorer who on 20 February 1935 was the first woman to set foot on Antarctica, although whether this was on the mainland or an island ...
becomes the first woman to set foot in Antarctica. *
1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...
– Lieutenant
Edward O'Hare Lieutenant Commander Edward Henry O'Hare (March 13, 1914 – November 26, 1943) was an American naval aviator of the United States Navy, who on February 20, 1942, became the Navy's first fighter ace of the war when he single-handedly attacked a ...
becomes America's first World War II
flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...
. *
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...
– American movie studio executives agree to allow the
Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and other ...
to censor movies. * 1943 – ''
The Saturday Evening Post ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...
'' publishes the first of
Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...
's ''
Four Freedoms The Four Freedoms were goals articulated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Monday, January 6, 1941. In an address known as the Four Freedoms speech (technically the 1941 State of the Union address), he proposed four fundamental freed ...
'' in support of United States President Franklin Roosevelt's 1941
State of the Union address The State of the Union Address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of each calendar year on the current conditi ...
theme of
Four Freedoms The Four Freedoms were goals articulated by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Monday, January 6, 1941. In an address known as the Four Freedoms speech (technically the 1941 State of the Union address), he proposed four fundamental freed ...
. *
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
: The " Big Week" began with American bomber raids on German aircraft manufacturing centers. * 1944 – World War II: The United States takes
Eniwetok Atoll Enewetak Atoll (; also spelled Eniwetok Atoll or sometimes Eniewetok; mh, Ānewetak, , or , ; known to the Japanese as Brown Atoll or Brown Island; ja, ブラウン環礁) is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with it ...
. *
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
Emmett Ashford becomes the first
African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per'', ...
in organized
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...
by being authorized to be a substitute umpire in the Southwestern International League. *
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...
– The
United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchant ...
becomes a permanent Service Academy. *
1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
– The
Avro Arrow The Avro Canada CF-105 Arrow was a delta-winged interceptor aircraft designed and built by Avro Canada. The CF-105 held the promise of Mach 2 speeds at altitudes exceeding and was intended to serve as the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) p ...
program to design and manufacture supersonic jet fighters in Canada is cancelled by the
Diefenbaker John George Diefenbaker ( ; September 18, 1895 – August 16, 1979) was the 13th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1957 to 1963. He was the only Progressive Conservative party leader between 1930 and 1979 to lead the party to an electio ...
government amid much political debate. *
1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
Mercury program Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet Un ...
: While aboard ''
Friendship 7 Mercury-Atlas 6 (MA-6) was the first crewed American orbital spaceflight, which took place on February 20, 1962. Piloted by astronaut John Glenn and operated by NASA as part of Project Mercury, it was the fifth human spaceflight, preceded by Sovi ...
'', John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, making three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes. * 1965
Ranger 8 Ranger 8 was a lunar probe in the Ranger program, a robotic spacecraft series launched by NASA in the early-to-mid-1960s to obtain the first close-up images of the Moon's surface. These pictures helped select landing sites for Apollo missions an ...
crashes into the Moon after a successful mission of photographing possible landing sites for the Apollo program astronauts. *
1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...
– The
China Academy of Space Technology The China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) () is a Chinese space agency and subordinate of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC). The agency was founded on 20 February 1968, and is the main spacecraft development and prod ...
, China's main arm for the research, development, and creation of space satellites, is established in
Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
. * 1971 – The United States
Emergency Broadcast System The Emergency Broadcast System (EBS), sometimes called the Emergency Broadcasting System or the Emergency Action Notification System (EANS), was an emergency warning system used in the United States. It replaced the previous CONELRAD system an ...
is accidentally activated in an erroneous national alert. *
1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
– An
earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, fr ...
cracks open the ''Sinila''
volcanic crater A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an und ...
on the
Dieng Plateau The Dieng Plateau is a marshy plateau that forms the floor of a caldera complex on the Dieng Volcanic Complex in Wonosobo and Banjarnegara Regencies, Central Java Province, Indonesia. Referred to as "Dieng" by Indonesians, it sits at above sea l ...
, releasing poisonous H2S gas and killing 149 villagers in the
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n province of Central Java. *
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...
– The
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
launches its
Mir ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
spacecraft. Remaining in orbit for 15 years, it is occupied for ten of those years. *
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
– The
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), DQMV, hy, Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ, ԼՂԻՄ was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its cap ...
votes to secede from
Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of t ...
and join
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
, triggering the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. *
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
– In the Albanian capital
Tirana Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
, a gigantic statue of
Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
's long-time leader, Enver Hoxha, is brought down by mobs of angry protesters. *
1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
– American figure skater
Tara Lipinski Tara Kristen Lipinski (born June 10, 1982) is an American former competitive figure skater, actress, sports commentator and documentary film producer. A former competitor in women's singles, she is the 1998 Olympic champion, the 1997 World ...
, at the age of 15, becomes the youngest Olympic figure skating gold-medalist at the
1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 ( ja, 長野1998), was a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Japan, with some events taking place in the ...
in
Nagano Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Universi ...
, Japan. * 2003 – During a Great White concert in
West Warwick, Rhode Island West Warwick is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 31,012 at the 2020 census. West Warwick was incorporated in 1913, making it the youngest town in the state. Prior to 1913, the town, situated on the wester ...
, a pyrotechnics display sets the Station nightclub ablaze, killing 100 and injuring over 200 others. * 2005 – Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout. * 2009Two Tamil Tigers aircraft packed with C4 explosives en route to the national airforce headquarters are shot down by the Sri Lankan military before reaching their target, in a
kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending t ...
style attack. * 2010 – In Madeira Island, Portugal, heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, resulting in at least 43 deaths, in the worst disaster in the history of the archipelago. *
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
– Dozens of Euromaidan anti-government protesters died in Ukraine's capital
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...
, many reportedly killed by snipers. * 2015 – Two trains collide in the Swiss town of
Rafz Rafz is a municipality in the district of Bülach in the northwest of the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. Rafz was first mentioned in 1413 as ''Rafsa''. Geography Rafz has an area of . Of this area, 52% is used for agricultural purposes, whi ...
resulting in as many as 49 people injured and Swiss Federal Railways cancelling some services. *
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
– Six people are killed and two injured in multiple shooting incidents in Kalamazoo County, Michigan.


Births


Pre-1600

*
1358 Year 1358 ( MCCCLVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * January 10 – Muhammad II as Said becomes ruler of the Marinid dynasty in modern ...
Eleanor of Aragon, queen of
John I of Castile John I ( es, Juan I; 24 August 1358 – 9 October 1390) was King of Castile and León from 1379 until 1390. He was the son of Henry II and of his wife Juana Manuel of Castile. Biography His first marriage, to Eleanor of Aragon on 18 June 137 ...
(d. 1382) *
1469 Year 1469 ( MCDLXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * February 4 – Battle of Qarabagh: Uzun Hasan decisively defeats the Timurids ...
Thomas Cajetan Thomas Cajetan (; 20 February 14699 August 1534), also known as Gaetanus, commonly Tommaso de Vio or Thomas de Vio, was an Italian philosopher, theologian, cardinal (from 1517 until his death) and the Master of the Order of Preachers 1508 to 151 ...
, Italian philosopher (d. 1534) *
1523 Year 1523 ( MDXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 20 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway. ...
Jan Blahoslav Jan Blahoslav (20 February 1523 – 24 November 1571) was a Czech humanistic writer, poet, translator, etymologist, hymnographer, grammarian, music theorist and composer. He was a Unity of the Brethren bishop, and translated the New Testament i ...
, Czech writer (d. 1571) *
1549 __NOTOC__ Year 1549 ( MDXLIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Kingdom of England, it was known as "The Year of the Many-Headed Monster", because of the unusually high ...
Francesco Maria II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino Francesco Maria II della Rovere (20 February 1549 – 23 April 1631) was the last Duchy of Urbino, Duke of Urbino. Biography Born at Pesaro, Francesco Maria was the son of Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, Count of Montefeltro and ...
, last Duke of Urbino (d. 1631) *
1552 __NOTOC__ Year 1552 ( MDLII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 15 – Henry II of France and Maurice, Elector of Saxony, sign the Tr ...
Sengoku Hidehisa , childhood name Gonbei (権兵衛) was a samurai warrior of the Sengoku period and the Edo period. He was the head of the Komoro Domain in Shinano Province. Papinot, Jacques Edmond Joseph. (1906). ''Dictionnaire d'histoire et de géographie du J ...
, Daimyō (d. 1614)


1601–1900

*
1608 Events January–June *January – In the Colony of Virginia, Powhatan releases Captain John Smith. *January 2 – The first of the Jamestown supply missions returns to the Colony of Virginia with Christopher Newport commanding ...
Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell (20 February 16089 March 1649), of Hadham Hall and Cassiobury House, Watford, both in Hertfordshire, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he was raised to the peera ...
(d. 1649) *
1631 Events January–March * January 23 – Thirty Years' War: Sweden and France sign the Treaty of Bärwalde, a military alliance in which France provides funds for the Swedish army invading northern Germany. * February 5 &ndash ...
Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, (20 February 1632 – 26 July 1712), was a prominent English politician. Under King Charles II (and known at the time as Lord Danby), he was the leading figure in the government for around five years i ...
, English politician,
Treasurer of the Navy The Treasurer of the Navy, originally called Treasurer of Marine Causes or Paymaster of the Navy, was a civilian officer of the Royal Navy, one of the principal commissioners of the Navy Board responsible for naval finance from 1524 to 1832. ...
(d. 1712) *
1633 Events January–March * January 20 – Galileo Galilei, having been summoned to Rome on orders of Pope Urban VIII, leaves for Florence for his journey. His carriage is halted at Ponte a Centino at the border of Tuscany, w ...
Jan de Baen Jan de Baen (20 February 1633 – 1702) was a Dutch portrait painter who lived during the Dutch Golden Age. He was a pupil of the painter Jacob Adriaensz Backer in Amsterdam from 1645 to 1648. He worked for Charles II of England in his Dutch exil ...
, Dutch painter (d. 1702) * 1705
Nicolas Chédeville Nicolas Chédeville (20 February 1705 – 6 August 1782) was a French composer, musette player and musette maker. Biography Nicolas Chédeville was born in Serez, Normandy; musicians Pierre Chédeville (1694–1725) and Esprit Philippe Chéde ...
, French
musette Musette may refer to: Music * Musette de cour, or baroque musette, a musical instrument of the bagpipe family * Musette bechonnet, a type of French bagpipe * Musette bressane, a type of French bagpipe * Oboe musette, or piccolo oboe, the small ...
player and composer (d. 1782) *
1726 Events January–March * January 23 – (January 12 Old Style) The Conventicle Act (''Konventikelplakatet'') is adopted in Sweden, outlawing all non-Lutheran religious meetings outside of church services. * January 26 – ...
William Prescott William Prescott (February 20, 1726 – October 13, 1795) was an American colonel in the Revolutionary War who commanded the patriot forces in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Prescott is known for his order to his soldiers, "Do not fire until ...
, American colonel (d. 1795) *
1745 Events January–March * January 7 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Austrian Army, under the command of Field Marshal Károly József Batthyány, makes a surprise attack at Amberg and the winter quarters of the Bavari ...
Henry James Pye Henry James Pye (; 20 February 1745 – 11 August 1813) was an English poet, and Poet Laureate from 1790 until his death. His appointment owed nothing to poetic achievement, and was probably a reward for political favours. Pye was merely a ...
, English poet and politician (d. 1813) *
1748 Events January–March * January 12 – Ahmad Shah Durrani captures Lahore. * January 27 – A fire at the prison and barracks at Kinsale, in Ireland, kills 54 of the prisoners of war housed there. An estimated 500 pri ...
Luther Martin Luther Martin (February 20, 1748, New Brunswick, New Jersey – July 10, 1826, New York, New York) was a politician and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, who left the Constitutional Convention early because he felt the Cons ...
, American politician (d. 1826) * 1751
Johann Heinrich Voss Johann Heinrich Voss (german: Johann Heinrich Voß, ; 20 February 1751 – 29 March 1826) was a German classicist and poet, known mostly for his translation of Homer's ''Odyssey'' (1781) and ''Iliad'' (1793) into German. Life Voss was born at S ...
, German poet, translator, and academic (d. 1826) *
1753 Events January–March * January 3 – King Binnya Dala of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom orders the burning of Ava, the former capital of the Kingdom of Burma. * January 29 – After a month's absence, Elizabeth Canning returns ...
Louis-Alexandre Berthier Louis-Alexandre Berthier (20 November 1753 – 1 June 1815), Prince of Neuchâtel and Valangin, Prince of Wagram, was a French Marshal of the Empire who served during the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was twice Minis ...
, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1815) *
1756 Events January–March * January 16 – The Treaty of Westminster is signed between Great Britain and Prussia, guaranteeing the neutrality of the Kingdom of Hanover, controlled by King George II of Great Britain. *February 7 ...
Angelica Schuyler Church Angelica Church (née Schuyler ; February 20, 1756 – March 6, 1814) was an American socialite. She was the eldest daughter of Continental Army General Philip Schuyler, and a sister of Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton and sister-in-law of Alexand ...
, American socialite, sister-in-law to Alexander Hamilton (d. 1814) *
1759 In Great Britain, this year was known as the ''Annus Mirabilis'', because of British victories in the Seven Years' War. Events January–March * January 6 – George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis. * January 11 &nda ...
Johann Christian Reil Johann Christian Reil (20 February 1759 – 22 November 1813) was a German physician, physiologist, anatomist, and psychiatrist. He coined the term psychiatry – ''Psychiatrie'' in German – in 1808. Medical conditions and anatomical feature ...
, German physician, physiologist, and anatomist (d. 1813) * 1774Vicente Sebastián Pintado, Spanish cartographer, engineer, military officer and land surveyor of
Spanish Louisiana Spanish Louisiana ( es, link=no, la Luisiana) was a governorate and administrative district of the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1762 to 1801 that consisted of a vast territory in the center of North America encompassing the western basin of t ...
and
Spanish West Florida Spanish West Florida (Spanish: ''Florida Occidental'') was a province of the Spanish Empire from 1783 until 1821, when both it and East Florida were ceded to the United States. The region of West Florida initially had the same borders as the er ...
(d. 1829)La obra del canario Pintado en la Biblioteca del Congreso
(in Spanish: The work of the Canarian Pintado in the Library of Congress). Eric Beerman.
*
1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Bri ...
Judith Montefiore Judith, Lady Montefiore (née Barent Cohen; 20 February 1784 – 24 September 1862) was a British linguist, musician, travel writer, and philanthropist. She was the wife of Sir Moses Montefiore. She authored the first Jewish cook book written i ...
, British linguist, travel writer, philanthropist (d. 1862) *
1792 Events January–March * January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea. * February 18 – Thomas Holcroft produces the comedy '' The Road to Ruin'' in London. * February ...
Eliza Courtney Elizabeth Courtney (20 February 1792 – 2 May 1859) was the illegitimate daughter of the Whig politician and future Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, and socialite Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, while Georgiana was married t ...
, French daughter of
Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (née Spencer; ; 7 June 1757 – 30 March 1806), was an English aristocrat, socialite, political organiser, author, and activist. Born into the Spencer family, married into the Cavendish family, she wa ...
(d. 1859) *
1794 Events January–March * January 1 – The Stibo Group is founded by Niels Lund as a printing company in Aarhus (Denmark). * January 13 – The U.S. Congress enacts a law providing for, effective May 1, 1795, a United Stat ...
William Carleton William Carleton (4 March 1794, Prolusk (often spelt as Prillisk as on his gravestone), Clogher, County Tyrone – 30 January 1869, Sandford Road, Ranelagh, Dublin) was an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his ''Traits and St ...
, Irish author (d. 1869) *
1802 Events January–March * January 5 – Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, begins removal of the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens, claiming they were at risk of destruction during the O ...
Charles Auguste de Bériot, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1870) *
1819 Events January–March * January 2 – The Panic of 1819, the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States, begins. * January 25 – Thomas Jefferson founds the University of Virginia. * January 29 – Si ...
Alfred Escher Johann Heinrich Alfred Escher vom Glas, known as Alfred Escher (20 February 1819 – 6 December 1882) was a Swiss politician, business leader and railways pioneer. Thanks to his numerous political posts and his significant role in the foundat ...
, Swiss businessman and politician (d. 1882) *
1839 Events January–March * January 2 – The first photograph of the Moon is taken, by French photographer Louis Daguerre. * January 6 – Night of the Big Wind: Ireland is struck by the most damaging cyclone in 300 years. * January 9 – ...
Benjamin Waugh Benjamin Waugh (20 February 183911 March 1908) was a Victorian social reformer and campaigner who founded the UK charity, the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) in the late 19th century, and also wrote various hy ...
, English activist, founded the
NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Yor ...
(d. 1908) * 1844
Ludwig Boltzmann Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann (; 20 February 1844 – 5 September 1906) was an Austrian physicist and philosopher. His greatest achievements were the development of statistical mechanics, and the statistical explanation of the second law of ther ...
, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1906) * 1844 – Joshua Slocum, Canadian sailor and adventurer (d. 1909) *
1848 1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...
E. H. Harriman Edward Henry Harriman (February 20, 1848 – September 9, 1909) was an American financier and railroad executive. Early life Harriman was born on February 20, 1848, in Hempstead, New York, the son of Orlando Harriman Sr., an Episcopal clergyman ...
, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1909) * 1857A. P. Lucas, English cricketer (d. 1923) *
1866 Events January–March * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman t ...
Carl Westman Ernst Carl Westman (20 February 1866 – 23 January 1936) was a Swedish architect and interior designer. He was an early adopter of the National Romantic Style, but turned later to the neo-classical style of the 1920s. Biography Carl Westman ...
, Swedish architect, designed the Stockholm Court House and Röhsska Museum (d. 1936) *
1867 Events January–March * January 1 – The Covington–Cincinnati Suspension Bridge opens between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky, in the United States, becoming the longest single-span bridge in the world. It was renamed a ...
Louise, Princess Royal Louise, Princess Royal and Duchess of Fife (Louise Victoria Alexandra Dagmar; 20 February 1867 – 4 January 1931) was the third child and eldest daughter of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom; she was a younger sister o ...
of England (d. 1931) *
1870 Events January–March * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the ...
Jay Johnson Morrow Jay Johnson Morrow (February 20, 1870 – April 16, 1937) was Chief Engineer of the United States First Army and as Deputy Chief Engineer of the American Expeditionary Force during World War I and Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1921 to 1 ...
, American engineer and politician, 3rd
Governor of the Panama Canal Zone The following is a list of governors of the Panama Canal Zone while it was under U.S. control. Military governors (1904–1914) Military and civil governors (1914–1924) Civil governors (1924–1979) See also *Panama Canal Zone Notes E ...
(d. 1937) * 1874
Mary Garden A Mary garden is a small sacred garden enclosing a statue or shrine of the Virgin Mary, who is known to many Christians as the Blessed Virgin, Our Lady, or the Mother of God. In the New Testament, Mary is the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Mary ...
, Scottish-American soprano and actress (d. 1967) * 1879
Hod Stuart William Hodgson "Hod" Stuart (February 20, 1879 – June 23, 1907) was a Canadian professional ice hockey cover-point (now known as a defenceman) who played nine seasons for several teams in different leagues. He also played briefly for the ...
, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1907) *
1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February ...
Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen Baron Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen (20 February 1880 – 5 November 1923) was a French novelist and poet. His life forms the basis of a fictionalised 1959 novel by Roger Peyrefitte entitled '' The Exile of Capri'' ''(L'exilé de Capri)''. In 190 ...
, French author and poet (d. 1923) *
1882 Events January–March * January 2 ** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates. ** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in t ...
Elie Nadelman Elie Nadelman (born Eliasz Nadelman; February 20, 1882 – December 28, 1946) was a Polish-American sculptor, draughtsman and collector of folk art. Early years Nadelman was born and studied briefly in Warsaw and then visited Munich in 1902 ...
, Polish-American sculptor (d. 1946) *
1887 Events January–March * January 11 – Louis Pasteur's anti-rabies treatment is defended in the Académie Nationale de Médecine, by Dr. Joseph Grancher. * January 20 ** The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl ...
Vincent Massey Charles Vincent Massey (February 20, 1887December 30, 1967) was a Canadian lawyer and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 18th since Confederation. Massey was the first governor general of Canada who was born in Canada after ...
, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th
Governor General of Canada The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, ...
(d. 1967) *
1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...
Georges Bernanos Louis Émile Clément Georges Bernanos (; 20 February 1888 – 5 July 1948) was a French author, and a soldier in World War I. A Catholic with monarchist leanings, he was critical of elitist thought and was opposed to what he identified as defe ...
, French soldier and author (d. 1948) *
1889 Events January–March * January 1 ** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada. ** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in t ...
Hulusi Behçet Hulusi Behçet (Ottoman Turkish: خلوصی بهجت), (; ; 20 February 1889 – 8 March 1948) was a Turkish dermatologist and scientist. He described a disease of inflamed blood vessels in 1937, which is named after him as Behçet's disease. H ...
, Turkish dermatologist and physician (d. 1948) *
1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...
Elizabeth Holloway Marston Sarah Elizabeth Marston ( Holloway; February 20, 1893 – March 27, 1993) was an American attorney and psychologist. She is credited, with her husband William Moulton Marston, with the development of the systolic blood pressure measurement us ...
, American psychologist and author (d. 1993) *
1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...
Louis Zborowski Louis Vorow Zborowski (20 February 1895 – 19 October 1924) was an English racing driver and automobile engineer, best known for creating a series of aero-engined racing cars known as the "Chitty-Bang-Bangs", which provided the inspiration for ...
, English race car driver and engineer (d. 1924) *
1897 Events January–March * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puni ...
Ivan Albright Ivan Le Lorraine Albright (February 20, 1897 – November 18, 1983) was an American painter, sculptor and print-maker most renowned for his self-portraits, character studies, and still lifes. Due to his technique and dark subject matter, he is of ...
, American painter (d. 1983) *
1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...
Ante Ciliga Ante Ciliga (20 February 1898 – 21 October 1992) was a Croatian politician, writer and publisher. Ciliga was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Yugoslavia (KPJ). Imprisoned in Stalin's Gulags in the 1930s, he later became an ardent ...
, Croatian politician, writer and publisher (d. 1992) * 1898 –
Enzo Ferrari Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari (; 20 February 1898 – 14 August 1988) was an Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, the founder of the Scuderia Ferrari Grand Prix motor racing team, and subsequently of the Ferrari automobil ...
, Italian motor racing driver and entrepreneur, founder of Scuderia Ferrari and Ferrari (d. 1988) *
1899 Events January 1899 * January 1 ** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas. ** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City. * January 2 – **Bolivia sets up a c ...
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Cornelius "Sonny" Vanderbilt Whitney (February 20, 1899 – December 13, 1992) was an American businessman, film producer, government official, writer and philanthropist. He was also a polo player and the owner of a significant stable of Thorough ...
, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1992)


1901–present

*
1901 Events January * January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...
René Dubos René Jules Dubos (February 20, 1901 – February 20, 1982) was a French-American microbiologist, experimental pathologist, environmentalist, humanist, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book ''So Human An Animal ...
, French-American biologist and author (d. 1982) * 1901 –
Louis Kahn Louis Isadore Kahn (born Itze-Leib Schmuilowsky; – March 17, 1974) was an Estonian-born American architect based in Philadelphia. After working in various capacities for several firms in Philadelphia, he founded his own atelier in 1935. Whi ...
, American architect, designed the
Salk Institute The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a scientific research institute located in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California, U.S. The independent, non-profit institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vacci ...
, the
Kimbell Art Museum The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts an art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, w ...
and the Bangladesh Parliament Building (d. 1974) * 1901 –
Muhammad Naguib Mohamed Bey Naguib Youssef Qutb El-Qashlan ( ar, الرئيس اللواء محمد بك نجيب يوسف قطب القشلان, ; 19 February 1901 – 28 August 1984), also known as Mohamed Naguib, was an Egyptian revolutionary, and, along ...
, Egyptian general and politician, 1st
President of Egypt The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the E ...
(d. 1984) * 1901 – Ramakrishna Ranga Rao of Bobbili, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th Chief Minister of Madras Presidency (d. 1978) *
1902 Events January * January 1 ** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...
Ansel Adams, American photographer and environmentalist (d. 1984) *
1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...
Gale Gordon Gale Gordon (born Charles Thomas Aldrich Jr., February 20, 1906 – June 30, 1995) was an American character actor perhaps best remembered as Lucille Ball's longtime television foil—and particularly as cantankerously combustible, tightfiste ...
, American actor (d. 1995) * 1912
Pierre Boulle Pierre François Marie Louis Boulle (20 February 1912 – 30 January 1994) was a French novelist best known for two works, '' The Bridge over the River Kwai'' (1952) and ''Planet of the Apes'' (1963), that were both made into award-winning films. ...
, French soldier and author (d. 1994) * 1912 – Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
(d. 2006) *
1913 Events January * January 5 – First Balkan War: Battle of Lemnos – Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it will not venture for the rest of the ...
Tommy Henrich Thomas David Henrich (February 20, 1913 – December 1, 2009), nicknamed "The Clutch" and "Old Reliable", was an American professional baseball player of German descent. He played his entire Major League Baseball career as a right fielder an ...
, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2009) *
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
John Charles Daly John Charles Patrick Croghan Daly (February 20, 1914 – February 24, 1991) was an American journalist, host, radio and television personality, ABC News executive, TV anchor, and game show host, best known for his work on the CBS panel game show ...
, South African–American journalist and game show host (d. 1991) *
1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...
Jean Erdman Jean Erdman (February 20, 1916 – May 4, 2020) was an American dancer and choreographer of modern dance as well as an avant-garde theater director. Biography Early years and background Erdman was born in Honolulu. Erdman's father, John Piney ...
, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2020) * 1918
Leonore Annenberg Leonore Cohn Annenberg (February 20, 1918 – March 12, 2009), also known as Lee Annenberg, was an American businesswoman, diplomat, and philanthropist. She was noted for serving as Chief of Protocol of the United States from 1981 to 1982. Annenb ...
, American businesswoman and diplomat (d. 2009) *
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...
James O'Meara James Joseph "Orange" O'Meara, (20 February 1919 – 5 July 1974) was a Royal Air Force officer and fighter pilot of the Second World War. He became a flying ace during the Battle of Britain while flying the Supermarine Spitfire, and by war's ...
, English soldier and pilot (d. 1974) * 1920
Karl Albrecht Karl Hans Albrecht (; 20 February 1920 – 16 July 2014) was a German entrepreneur who founded the discount supermarket chain Aldi with his brother Theo. He was for many years the richest person in Germany. In February 2014, he was ranked the ...
, German businessman, co-founded
Aldi Aldi (stylised as ALDI) is the common company brand name of two German multinational family-owned discount supermarket chains operating over 10,000 stores in 20 countries. The chain was founded by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946, when ...
(d. 2014) * 1921Buddy Rogers, American wrestler (d. 1992) *
1923 Events January–February * January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory). * January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
Victor G. Atiyeh, American businessman and politician, 32nd
Governor of Oregon The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...
(d. 2014) * 1923 –
Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister of Guyana, Prime Minister from 1964 ...
, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 2nd
President of Guyana The president of Guyana is the head of state and the head of government of Guyana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic, according to the Constitution of Guyana. The president is also the chancellor of the Or ...
(d. 1985) * 1923 –
Rena Vlahopoulou Irene "Rena" Vlahopoulou (Greek: Ειρήνη (Ρένα) Βλαχοπούλου; 28 July 1917 – 29 July 2004) was a Greeks, Greek actress and singer. She starred in theatre, musical, and Greek cinema productions, including ''The Gambler'' an ...
, Greek actress (d. 2004) *
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
Gloria Vanderbilt, American actress, fashion designer, and socialite (d. 2019) *
1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...
Robert Altman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2006) * 1925 –
Tochinishiki Kiyotaka was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Tokyo. He was the sport's 44th ''yokozuna''. He won ten top division ''yūshō'' or tournament championships and was a rival of fellow ''yokozuna'' Wakanohana I. He became the head coach of Kasuga ...
, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th
Yokozuna , or , is the top division of the six divisions of professional sumo. Its size is fixed at 42 wrestlers (''rikishi''), ordered into five ranks according to their ability as defined by their performance in previous tournaments. This is the on ...
(d. 1990) *
1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...
Matthew Bucksbaum Matthew Bucksbaum (February 20, 1926 – November 24, 2013) was an American businessman and philanthropist. Matthew and his brothers Martin and Maurice co-founded General Growth Properties (). Early life and education Bucksbaum was born to a Je ...
, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded
General Growth Properties GGP Inc. (an initialism of General Growth Properties) was an American commercial real estate company and the second-largest shopping mall operator in the United States. It was founded by brothers Martin, Matthew and Maurice Bucksbaum in Ceda ...
(d. 2013) * 1926 –
Gillian Lynne Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne (née Pyrke; 20 February 1926 – 1 July 2018) was an English ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theatre-television director, noted for her theatre choreography associated with two of the longest-runnin ...
, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 2018) * 1926 –
Richard Matheson Richard Burton Matheson (February 20, 1926 – June 23, 2013) was an American author and screenwriter, primarily in the fantasy, horror, and science fiction genres. He is best known as the author of '' I Am Legend'', a 1954 science fictio ...
, American author and screenwriter (d. 2013) * 1926 –
Bob Richards Robert Eugene Richards (born February 20, 1926) is an American retired athlete, minister, and politician. He made three U.S. Olympic Teams in two events: the 1948, 1952, and 1956 Summer Olympics as a pole vaulter and as a decathlete in 1956. He ...
, American Olympic track and field athlete * 1926 – María de la Purísima Salvat Romero, Spanish Roman Catholic nun; later canonized (d. 1998) *
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...
Roy Cohn, American lawyer and political activist (d. 1986) * 1927 –
Ibrahim Ferrer Ibrahim Ferrer (February 20, 1927 – August 6, 2005) was a Cuban singer who played with Los Bocucos for nearly forty years. He also performed with Conjunto Sorpresa, Chepín y su Orquesta Oriental and Mario Patterson. After his retirement in ...
, Cuban singer and musician (d. 2005) * 1927 – Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, director, and diplomat (d. 2022) *
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...
Jean Kennedy Smith Jean Ann Kennedy Smith (February 20, 1928June 17, 2020) was an American diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and author who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. She was a member of the Kennedy family, the eighth of nine c ...
, American diplomat, 25th
United States Ambassador to Ireland The United States Ambassador to Ireland is the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the United States of America to Ireland. It is considered a highly prestigious position within the United States Foreign Service. The current ambassa ...
(d. 2020) *
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
Amanda Blake, American actress (d. 1989) *
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
John Milnor John Willard Milnor (born February 20, 1931) is an American mathematician known for his work in differential topology, algebraic K-theory and low-dimensional holomorphic dynamical systems. Milnor is a distinguished professor at Stony Brook Univ ...
, American mathematician and academic *
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
Adrian Cristobal Adrian E. Cristobal (February 20, 1932 – December 22, 2007) was a Filipino writer who frequently touched on political and historical themes. Perhaps best known to the public for his "Breakfast Table" newspaper column, he was also a Palanca Award- ...
, Filipino journalist and author (d. 2007) *
1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...
Bobby Unser Robert William Unser (February 20, 1934 – May 2, 2021) was an American automobile racer. At his induction into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1994, he had the fourth most IndyCar Series wins at 35 (behind his brother Al, A. J. F ...
, American race car driver (d. 2021) * 1935
Ellen Gilchrist Ellen Gilchrist (born February 20, 1935) is an American novelist, short story writer, and poet. She won a National Book Award for her 1984 collection of short stories, ''Victory Over Japan''. Life Gilchrist was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, a ...
, American novelist, short story writer, and poet *
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
Marj Dusay Marjorie Ellen Mahoney Dusay (; née Mahoney; February 20, 1936 – January 28, 2020) was an American actress known for her roles on American soap operas. She was especially known for her role as Alexandra Spaulding on ''Guiding Light'', a role ...
, American actress (d. 2020) * 1936 –
Larry Hovis Larry Hovis (February 20, 1936 – September 9, 2003) was an American singer and actor best known for the 1960s television sitcom '' Hogan's Heroes''. Early life and career Hovis was born in Wapato, Washington, and moved to Houston, Texas, as a ...
, American actor and singer (d. 2003) * 1936 –
Shigeo Nagashima is a Japanese former professional baseball player and manager. Biography Nagashima played baseball at his local high school, and on the Rikkyo University baseball team from 1954–1957. He joined the Yomiuri Giants in 1958. His jersey number ...
, Japanese baseball player and coach * 1937
Robert Huber Robert Huber (; born 20 February 1937) is a German biochemist and Nobel laureate. known for his work crystallizing an intramembrane protein important in photosynthesis and subsequently applying X-ray crystallography to elucidate the protein's st ...
, German biochemist and academic,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureate * 1937 –
Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937) is an American businessman and entrepreneur involved in professional auto racing and a retired professional auto racing driver. He is most famous for his ownership of Team Penske, DJR Team Penske, t ...
, American race car driver and businessman * 1937 – Nancy Wilson, American singer and actress (d. 2018) * 1939Herbert Kohler Jr., American businessman (d. 2022) *
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...
Jimmy Greaves James Peter Greaves (20 February 1940 – 19 September 2021) was an English professional footballer who played as a forward. Greaves is regarded as one of England’s best ever players. He is England's fifth-highest international goalscorer ...
, English international footballer and TV pundit (d. 2021) * 1941
Lim Kit Siang Lim Kit Siang (; born 20 February 1941) is a Malaysian politician. He is the longest-serving leader of the opposition in Malaysia, having held the position for a total of 29 years on three separate occasions. He is also former Secretary-Genera ...
, Malaysian lawyer and politician * 1941 –
Buffy Sainte-Marie Buffy Sainte-Marie, (born Beverly Sainte-Marie, February 20, 1941) is an Indigenous Canadian-American ( Piapot Cree Nation) singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. While working in these ...
, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer *
1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...
Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in ...
, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager * 1942 – Mitch McConnell, American lawyer and politician * 1942 –
Claude Miller Claude Miller (20 February 1942 – 4 April 2012) was a French film director, producer and screenwriter. Life and career Claude Miller was born to a Jewish family. A student at Paris' IDHEC film school from 1962 through 1963, Miller had his fi ...
, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012) *
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...
Antonio Inoki, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and politician (d. 2022) * 1943 –
Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...
, English director and screenwriter *
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
Robert de Cotret Jean Robert René de Cotret, (February 20, 1944 – July 9, 1999) was a Canadian politician. Robert de Cotret was the President and CEO of The Conference Board of Canada from 1976-78 before being elected to the House of Commons of Canada i ...
, Canadian economist and politician, 56th
Secretary of State for Canada The Secretary of State for Canada, established in 1867 with a corresponding department, was a Canadian Cabinet position that served as the official channel of communication between the Dominion of Canada and the Imperial government in London. Scot ...
(d. 1999) * 1944 –
Lew Soloff Lewis Michael Soloff (February 20, 1944–March 8, 2015) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and actor. Biography From his birth place of New York City, United States, he studied trumpet at the Eastman School of Music and the Juilliard Sc ...
, American trumpet player, composer, and actor (d. 2015) * 1944 –
Willem van Hanegem Willem "Wim" van Hanegem (; born 20 February 1944) is a Dutch former football player and coach who played as a midfielder. In a playing career spanning over 20 years, he won several domestic honours in the Netherlands, as well as a European Cu ...
, Dutch footballer and coach *
1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...
Alan Hull James Alan Hull (20 February 1945 – 17 November 1995) was an English singer-songwriter and founding member of the Tyneside folk rock band Lindisfarne. Career Hull was born at 68 Sutton's Dwellings, Adelaide Terrace, Benwell, Newcastle upon ...
, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1995) * 1946Brenda Blethyn, English actress * 1946 –
Sandy Duncan Sandra Kay Duncan (born February 20, 1946) is an American actress, comedian, dancer and singer. She is known for her performances in the Broadway revival of ''Peter Pan'' and in the sitcom ''The Hogan Family''. Duncan has been nominated for thr ...
, American actress, singer, and dancer * 1946 – J. Geils, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2017) * 1947
Peter Osgood Peter Leslie Osgood (20 February 1947 – 1 March 2006) was an English footballer who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. He is best remembered for representing Chelsea and Southampton at club level, and was also capped four times by Englan ...
, English footballer (d. 2006) * 1947 –
Peter Strauss Peter Lawrence Strauss (born February 20, 1947) is an American television and film actor, known for his roles in several television miniseries in the 1970s and 1980s. He is five-time Golden Globe Awards nominee. Early life Strauss was born in C ...
, American actor and producer * 1948Pierre Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster * 1948 –
Jennifer O'Neill Jennifer O'Neill (born February 20, 1948) is a Brazilian-born American actress, model, author, and activist. She is known for her modeling and spokesperson work for CoverGirl cosmetics starting in 1963, and her starring role in the Oscar-winn ...
, American model and actress * 1949Eddie Hemmings, English cricketer * 1949 –
Ivana Trump Ivana Marie Trump (, ; February 20, 1949 – July 14, 2022) was a Czech-American businesswoman, media personality, socialite, fashion designer, author, and model. Ivana lived in Canada in the 1970s before relocating to the United States and m ...
, Czech-American socialite and model (d. 2022) *
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...
Walter Becker Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen t ...
, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017) * 1950 –
Peter Marinello Peter Marinello (born 20 February 1950) is a Scottish former footballer. Career Hibernian Marinello started his career at Hibernian, and could play either as a centre forward or right winger. He was regarded as being talented enough there tha ...
, Scottish footballer * 1950 –
Tony Wilson Anthony Howard Wilson (20 February 1950 – 10 August 2007) was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television, the BBC and Channel 4. As a co-founder o ...
, English journalist and businessman (d. 2007) *
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...
Edward Albert Edward Laurence Albert (February 20, 1951 – September 22, 2006) was an American actor. The son of actor Eddie Albert and Mexican actress Margo, he starred opposite Goldie Hawn in ''Butterflies Are Free'' (1972), a role for which he won a ...
, American actor (d. 2006) * 1951 –
Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...
, Scottish politician,
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...
* 1951 –
Randy California Randy Craig Wolfe (February 20, 1951 – January 2, 1997), known as Randy California, was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter, and one of the original members of the rock group Spirit, formed in 1967. Life and career California was b ...
, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997) * 1951 –
Phil Neal Philip George Neal (born 20 February 1951) is an English retired footballer who played for Northampton Town, Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers as a full back. He is one of the most successful English players of all time, having won seven First D ...
, English footballer and manager *
1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...
Poison Ivy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer * 1954Jon Brant, American bass player * 1954 –
Anthony Head Anthony Stewart Head (born 20 February 1954) is an English actor and singer. Primarily a performer in musical theatre, he rose to fame in the UK in the 1980s following his role in the Gold Blend couple television advertisements for Nescafé, w ...
, English actor * 1954 – Patty Hearst, American actress and author *
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
Glen Hanlon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach *
1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
Scott Brayton Scott Everts Brayton (February 20, 1959 – May 17, 1996) was an American race car driver on the American open-wheel circuit. He competed in 14 Indianapolis 500s, beginning with the 1981 event. Brayton was killed in practice after qualifying ...
, American race car driver (d. 1996) * 1959 –
David Corn David Corn (born February 20, 1959) is an American political journalist and author. He is the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for '' Mother Jones'' and is best known as a cable television commentator. Corn worked at ''The Nation'' from 1987 to 20 ...
, American journalist and author * 1959 –
Bill Gullickson William Lee Gullickson (born February 20, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played professionally in Canada, the U.S. and Japan, during an 18-year professional career, of which 14 seasons were spent in MLB. MLB career ...
, American baseball player *
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...
Joel Hodgson Joel Hodgson (born February 20, 1960) is an American writer, comedian and television actor. He is best known for creating '' Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K'') and starring in it as the character Joel Robinson. In 2007, ''MST3K'' was list ...
, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter * 1960 –
Cándido Muatetema Rivas Cándido Muatetema Rivas (20 February 1960 – 16 June 2014) was a political figure in Equatorial Guinea who was Prime Minister from 2001 to 2004. Rivas was born in Batete, a village in southern Fernando Po (today Bioko) near Luba.
, Equatoguinean politician and diplomat, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (d. 2014) *
1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
Steve Lundquist Stephen K. Lundquist (born February 20, 1961) is an American former competition swimmer who is an Olympic gold medalist and former world record-holder. At the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, he won gold medals in the 100-meter breaststroke ...
, American swimmer *
1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television, known for producing and writing the animated series '' Static Shock'', '' Damage Control'', ''Justice League Unlimited'' and '' Ben ...
, American author, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded
Milestone Media Milestone Media is a company best known for creating Milestone Comics, which were published and distributed by DC Comics and the ''Static Shock'' animated series. It was founded in 1993 by a coalition of African-American artists and writers, con ...
(d. 2011) *
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons ...
, American basketball player and sportscaster * 1963 – Ian Brown, English singer-songwriter and musician * 1963 –
Joakim Nystrom Joakim or Joacim is a male given name primarily used in North Germanic languages, Scandinavian languages and Finnish. It is derived from a transliteration of the Hebrew language, Hebrew יהוֹיָקִים, and literally means "lifted by Jehovah ...
, Swedish tennis player * 1963 –
Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou Mariliza Xenogiannakopoulou ( el, Μαριλίζα Ξενογιαννακοπούλου, ) (born 1963) is a Greek politician and lawyer. She was Minister for Health and Social Solidarity (2009–2010), Alternate Minister for Foreign Affairs, res ...
, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Health * 1963 –
Cui Yongyuan Cui Yongyuan (; born February 20, 1963) is a Chinese television personality, producer, and social media commentator. He is known for leaking information regarding the Chinese film industry's yin-yang contracts leading to Fan Bingbing's removal fr ...
, Chinese former anchor *
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
Willie Garson William Garson Paszamant (February 20, 1964September 21, 2021) was an American actor. He appeared in over 75 films and more than 300 TV episodes. He was known for playing Stanford Blatch on the HBO series ''Sex and the City'', in the related ...
, American actor and director (d. 2021) * 1964 – Tom Harris, Scottish journalist and politician * 1964 –
Jeff Maggert Jeffrey Allan Maggert (born February 20, 1964) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions. Early life Maggert was born in Columbia, Missouri. He was raised on a golf course in The Woodlands, Texas where ...
, American golfer * 1964 –
French Stewart Milton French-Stewart IV (born February 20, 1964), known professionally as French Stewart, is an American actor, best known for playing Harry Solomon on the NBC sitcom ''3rd Rock from the Sun''. He also played Marv Murchins in ''Home Alone 4'', In ...
, American actor * 1966
Cindy Crawford Cynthia Ann Crawford (born February 20, 1966) is an American model, actress and television personality. During the 1980s and 1990s, she was among the most popular supermodels and a ubiquitous presence on magazine covers, runways, as well as fash ...
, American model and businesswoman *
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
Paul Accola Paul Accola (born 20 February 1967 in Davos) is a Swiss former Alpine skier. He came in first in the overall World Cup in 1992, and won a total of four medals at the Winter Olympics and World Championships in the combined event. By the end of ...
, Swiss alpine skier * 1967 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1994) * 1967 – David Herman, American comedian and actor * 1967 –
Andrew Shue Andrew Eppley Shue (born February 20, 1967) is an American actor, known for his role as Billy Campbell on the television series ''Melrose Place'' (1992–1999). Shue played soccer professionally for several years. He co-founded and served on the ...
, American actor and activist, founded
Do Something DoSomething (also DoSomething.org) is a global nonprofit organization with the goal of motivating young people to make positive change both online and offline through campaigns. The organization's CEO is DeNora Getachew. History The organizatio ...
* 1967 –
Lili Taylor Lili Anne Taylor (born February 20, 1967) is an American actress. She came to prominence with supporting parts in the films ''Mystic Pizza'' (1988) and '' Say Anything...'' (1989), before establishing herself as one of the key figures of 1990s i ...
, American actress * 1967 –
Tom Waddle Gregory Thomas Waddle (born February 20, 1967) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL). Waddle is currently a co-host of ''"Waddle and Silvy"'' on ''ESPN 1000'', and a fo ...
, American football player and sportscaster *
1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
Kjell Ove Hauge, Norwegian school principal and track and field athlete * 1969 –
Siniša Mihajlović Siniša Mihajlović ( sr-Cyrl, Синиша Михајловић, ; 20 February 1969 – 16 December 2022) was a Serbian professional football player and manager. During his career as a footballer, he played as a defender or midfielder. He won ...
, Serbian footballer and manager (d. 2022) * 1969 –
Danis Tanović Danis Tanović (born 20 February 1969) is a Bosnian film director and screenwriter. He is best known for having directed and written the script for the 2001 Bosnian movie ''No Man's Land'' which won him many awards, including an Academy Award f ...
, Bosnian director and screenwriter * 1971
Jari Litmanen Jari Olavi Litmanen (; born 20 February 1971) is a Finnish former footballer. He was the first-choice captain of the Finland national team between 1996 and 2008 in an international career that ran from 1989 to 2010. Litmanen is widely consider ...
, Finnish footballer * 1971 –
Joost van der Westhuizen Joost Heystek van der Westhuizen (20 February 1971 – 6 February 2017) was a South African professional rugby union player who made 89 appearances in test matches for the national team, scoring 38 tries. He mostly played as a scrum-half and ...
, South African rugby player (d. 2017) * 1974
Karim Bagheri Karim Bagheri ( fa, ; born 20 February 1974) is an Iranian professional football coach and former player. He played over half of his professional career for Persepolis in the Persian Gulf Pro League. He is an assistant coach for Persepolis and t ...
, Iranian footballer and manager *
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
Liván Hernández Eisler Liván Hernández Carrera (; born February 20, 1975) is a Cuban-born former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball. Over a 17-year career, he played for nine different teams and was named to two All-Star Games. He was nam ...
, Cuban baseball player * 1975 –
Brian Littrell Brian Thomas Littrell (born February 20, 1975) is an American singer and a member of the Backstreet Boys. He is also a contemporary Christian music artist, and released the solo album '' Welcome Home'' in 2006. He is the father of country singer ...
, American singer-songwriter and actor *
1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
Stephon Marbury Stephon Xavier Marbury (born February 20, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach in the Chinese Basketball Association. After his freshman year with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, he was selected as th ...
, American basketball player * 1977 –
Gail Kim Gail Kim-Irvine (born February 20, 1977) is a Canadian-American retired professional wrestler, currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where she serves as a producer. In Impact Wrestling she was the inaugural and record setting seven-time Knockou ...
, Canadian professional wrestler * 1980
Imanol Harinordoquy Imanol Harinordoquy, . (born 20 February 1980) is a French former rugby union player. He typically played as a number 8 for Stade Toulousain at club level in the Top 14 and for France internationally. Before signing with Biarritz ahead of the 2 ...
, French rugby player * 1980 –
Luis Gabriel Rey Luis Gabriel Rey Villamizar (February 20, 1980) is a Colombian former professional footballer who last played for Liga MX club Monarcas Morelia on loan from Club América. A classical left-footed striker, Rey arrived to Mexico in 2001 and h ...
, Colombian footballer *
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
Tony Hibbert Anthony James Hibbert (born 20 February 1981) is an English footballer, currently playing for French amateur side ES Louzy. Originally a midfielder, Hibbert converted to play at right-back. He spent his entire professional career with Everton, ...
, English footballer * 1982
Jason Hirsh Jason Michael Hirsh (born February 20, 1982) is an American former starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. In his career, he pitched for the Houston Astros and the Colorado Rockies. He stands at 6' 8" and weighs . He batted and threw right-ha ...
, American baseball player *
1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
Jose Morales, Puerto Rican-American baseball player * 1983 –
Justin Verlander Justin Brooks Verlander ( ; born February 20, 1983) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros. From Manakin-Sabot, ...
, American baseball player *
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
Brian McCann, American baseball player * 1984 –
Trevor Noah Trevor Noah (born 20 February 1984) is a South African-born comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and former television host. He was the host of ''The Daily Show'', an American late-night talk show and satirical news progra ...
, South African comedian, actor, and television host * 1984 – Ramzee Robinson, American football player *
1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
Ryan Sweeney, American baseball player * 1985 –
Julia Volkova Yulia Olegovna Volkova (russian: Юлия Олеговна Волкова; born 20 February 1985), better known by the alternative spelling of Julia, is a Russian singer best known for being a member of the Russian girl group t.A.T.u., along ...
, Russian singer and actress * 1985 – TJ Kirk, American YouTube personality and podcast host *
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
Luke Burgess, English rugby league player * 1987 –
Miles Teller Miles Teller (born February 20, 1987) is an American actor. He played a jazz drummer in '' Whiplash'' and a supporting pilot in '' Top Gun: Maverick''. Teller made his feature film debut in 2010 and gained recognition for his starring role in ...
, American actor *
1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
Kealoha Pilares Kealoha Pilares (born February 20, 1988) is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Professi ...
, American football player * 1988 –
Ki Bo-bae Ki Bo-bae (Hangul: 기보배; or ; born February 20, 1988) is a South Korean recurve archer and three-time Olympic gold medalist. She was the winner of the women's team and women's individual events at the 2012 Summer Olympics and of the wo ...
, South Korean archer * 1988 – Rihanna, Barbadian-American singer-songwriter and actress * 1988 –
Jiah Khan Nafisa Rizvi Khan (20 February 1988 – 3 June 2013), better known as Jiah Khan, was an English-American actress and singer who worked in Indian films. She appeared in three Hindi films from 2007 to 2010. Born in New York City to Indian parent ...
, Indian singer and actress (d. 2013) *
1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...
Daly Cherry-Evans Daly Cherry-Evans (born 20 February 1989) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the NRL and Australia at international level. He captains Manly and won the 2011 NRL Grand ...
, Australian rugby league player *
1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
Ciro Immobile Ciro Immobile (born 20 February 1990) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Lazio, which he captains, and the Italy national team. Immobile began his career at Sorrento. In 2009, he was purchased by Juv ...
, Italian footballer *
1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
Hidilyn Diaz Hidilyn Francisco Diaz-Naranjo (; born February 20, 1991) is a Filipino World and Olympic champion weightlifter and airwoman, the first Filipino to ever win an Olympic gold medal for the Philippines. She is also an Olympic weightlifting reco ...
, Filipino weightlifter * 1991 –
Angelique van der Meet Angelique van der Meet (born 20 February 1991) is a former professional Dutch tennis player. Van der Meet won four singles and three doubles titles on the ITF Circuit in her career. On 5 August 2013, she reached her best singles ranking of wo ...
, Dutch tennis player * 1992Kyle Turner, Australian rugby league player *
1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
Kateryna Baindl, Ukrainian tennis player * 2003
Olivia Rodrigo Olivia Isabel Rodrigo (born February 20, 2003) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She gained recognition in the late 2010s with her lead roles on the Disney television programs '' Bizaardvark'' and '' High School Musical: The Musi ...
, American actress and singer


Deaths


Pre-1600

*
789 __NOTOC__ Year 789 ( DCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 789 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calenda ...
Leo of Catania Saint Leo of Catania, nicknamed the ''Thaumaturgus'', also known as St Leo the Wonderworker in Sicily (May 703 or 709 – 20 February 789), was the fifteenth bishop of Catania, famed also for his love and care toward the poor. His feast day occu ...
, saint and bishop of Catania (b. 709) *
922 __NOTOC__ Year 922 ( CMXXII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Summer – Battle of Constantinople: Emperor Romanos I sends Byza ...
Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...
, Byzantine empress *
1054 Year 1054 ( MLIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Sultan Tughril leads a large Seljuk army out of Azerbaijan into Armenia, poss ...
Yaroslav the Wise Yaroslav the Wise or Yaroslav I Vladimirovich; russian: Ярослав Мудрый, ; uk, Ярослав Мудрий; non, Jarizleifr Valdamarsson; la, Iaroslaus Sapiens () was the Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 until his death. He was al ...
, grand prince of
Veliky Novgorod Veliky Novgorod ( rus, links=no, Великий Новгород, t=Great Newtown, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪj ˈnovɡərət), also known as just Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the ...
and
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...
(b. 978) *
1154 Year 1154 ( MCLIV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Levant * April 18 – Nur al-Din, Seljuk ruler (''atabeg'') of Aleppo, encamps before Damascus ...
– Saint
Wulfric of Haselbury Wulfric of Haselbury (c. 1080 20 February 1154) was an anchorite and miracle worker in Wiltshire and Somerset, England, frequently visited by King Stephen. His feast day is 20 February. Life Wulfric was born at Compton Martin, ten miles sou ...
(b. c. 1080) *
1171 Year 1171 ( MCLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 12 – Emperor Manuel I (Komnenos) orders the arrest of all Venetia ...
Conan IV, Duke of Brittany Conan IV ( 1138 – February 20, 1171), called the Young, was the Duke of Brittany from 1156 to 1166. He was the son of Bertha, Duchess of Brittany, and her first husband, Alan, Earl of Richmond. Conan IV was his father's heir as Earl of Richmo ...
(b. 1138) *
1194 Year 1194 ( MCXCIV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place England * February 4 – King Richard I (the Lionheart) is ransomed for an amount of 150,000 ...
Tancred, King of Sicily Tancred ( it, Tancredi; 113820 February 1194) was King of Sicily from 1189 to 1194. He was born in Lecce an illegitimate son of Roger III, Duke of Apulia (the eldest son of King Roger II) by his mistress Emma, a daughter of Achard II, Count of ...
(b. 1138) * 1258
Al-Musta'sim Abu Ahmad Abdallah ibn al-Mustansir Billah (; 1213 – 20 February 1258), better known by his regnal name al-Musta'sim Billah ( ar, المستعصم بالله, al-Mustaʿṣim billāh, label=none) was the 37th and last caliph of the Abbasid dynas ...
, Iraqi caliph (b. 1213) *
1408 Year 1408 ( MCDVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * February 19 – Battle of Bramham Moor: A royalist army defeats the last remnants o ...
Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, 4th Baron Percy, titular King of Mann, KG, Lord Marshal (10 November 134120 February 1408) was the son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy, and a descendant of Henry III of England. His mother was Mary ...
, English politician,
Earl Marshal Earl marshal (alternatively marschal or marischal) is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England (then, following the Act of Union 1800, in the U ...
of the United Kingdom (b. 1342) * 1431Pope Martin V (b. 1368) *
1458 Year 1458 ( MCDLVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, the 1458th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 458th year of the 2nd millennium, the 58th year ...
Lazar Branković Lazar Branković ( sr-cyr, Лазар Бранковић; c. 1421 – 20 February 1458) was a Serbian despot, prince of Rascia from 1456 to 1458. He was the third son of Đurađ Branković and his wife Eirene Kantakouzene. He was succeeded by hi ...
, Despot of
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
*
1513 Year 1513 ( MDXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * March 9 – Pope Leo X (layman Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici) succeeds Pope Julius ...
King John of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (b. 1455) *
1524 __NOTOC__ Year 1524 ( MDXXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 17 – Florentine explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, on board ''La ...
Tecun Uman Tecun UmanAlternate transliterations include Tecún Umán, Tecúm Umán, Tecúm Umam, Tekun Umam, etc. (1500? – February 20, 1524) was one of the last rulers of the K'iche' Maya people, in the Highlands of what is now Guatemala. According to ...
, Mayan ruler (b. 1500) *
1579 Year 1579 ( MDLXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar, and a common year starting on Monday of the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. Events January–June * January 6 ...
Nicholas Bacon, English politician (b. 1509)


1601–1900

*
1618 Events January–June * February 26 – Osman II deposes his uncle Mustafa I as Ottoman sultan (until 1622). * March 8 – Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (after some initial calculations, he soon ...
Philip William, Prince of Orange Philip William, Prince of Orange (19 December 1554 in Buren, Gelderland – 20 February 1618) was the eldest son of William the Silent by his first wife Anna van Egmont. He became Prince of Orange in 1584 and Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1599. ...
(b. 1554) *
1626 Events January–March * January 7 – Polish-Swedish War: Battle of Wallhof in Latvia – Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, defeats a Polish army. * January 9 – Peter Minuit sails from Texel Island for America's Ne ...
John Dowland John Dowland (c. 1563 – buried 20 February 1626) was an English Renaissance composer, lutenist, and singer. He is best known today for his melancholy songs such as "Come, heavy sleep", " Come again", "Flow my tears", " I saw my Lady weepe", ...
, English lute player and composer (b. 1563) * 1762
Tobias Mayer Tobias Mayer (17 February 172320 February 1762) was a German astronomer famous for his studies of the Moon. He was born at Marbach, in Württemberg, and brought up at Esslingen in poor circumstances. A self-taught mathematician, he earned a l ...
, German astronomer and academic (b. 1723) *
1771 Events January– March * January 5 – The Great Kalmyk ( Torghut) Migration is led by Ubashi Khan, from the east bank of the Lower Volga River back to the homeland of Dzungaria, at this time under Qing Dynasty rule. * January ...
Jean-Jacques d'Ortous de Mairan, French geophysicist and astronomer (b. 1678) *
1773 Events January–March * January 1 – The hymn that becomes known as '' Amazing Grace'', at this time titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17", is first used to accompany a sermon led by curate John Newton in the town of Olney, Bucki ...
Charles Emmanuel III of Sardinia Charles Emmanuel III (27 April 1701 – 20 February 1773) was Duke of Savoy and King of Sardinia from 1730 until his death. Biography He was born in Turin to Victor Amadeus II of Savoy and his first wife the French Anne Marie d'Orléans. H ...
(b. 1701) *
1778 Events January–March * January 18 – Third voyage of James Cook: Captain James Cook, with ships HMS ''Resolution'' and HMS ''Discovery'', first views Oahu then Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands of the Pacific Ocean, which he na ...
Laura Bassi Laura Maria Caterina Bassi Veratti (29 October 1711 – 20 February 1778) was an Italian physicist and academic. Recognized and depicted as "Minerva" (goddess of wisdom), she was the first woman to have a doctorate in science, and the second wo ...
, Italian physicist and scholar (b. 1711) *
1790 Events January–March * January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. * January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took ...
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1741) * 1806
Lachlan McIntosh Lachlan McIntosh (March 17, 1725 – February 20, 1806) was a Scottish American military and political leader during the American Revolution and the early United States. In a 1777 duel, he fatally shot Button Gwinnett, a signer of the Declaratio ...
, Scottish-American general and politician (b. 1725) *
1810 Events January–March * January 1 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales. * January 4 – Australian seal hunter Frederick Hasselborough discovers Campbell Island, in the Subantarctic. * Jan ...
Andreas Hofer Andreas Hofer (22 November 1767 – 20 February 1810) was a Tyrolean innkeeper and drover, who in 1809 became the leader of the Tyrolean Rebellion against the Napoleonic and Bavarian invasion during the War of the Fifth Coalition. He was subs ...
, Tyrolean rebel leader (b. 1767) *
1850 Events January–June * April ** Pope Pius IX returns from exile to Rome. ** Stephen Foster's parlor ballad "Ah! May the Red Rose Live Alway" is published in the United States. * April 4 – Los Angeles is incorporated as a city ...
Valentín Canalizo Valentín Canalizo (14 January 1794 – 20 February 1850), was a Mexican general and statesman who served twice as interim president during the Centralist Republic of Mexico and was later made Minister of War during the Mexican American War. A ...
, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843–1844) (b. 1794) * 1862
William Wallace Lincoln William Wallace "Willie" Lincoln (December 21, 1850 – February 20, 1862) was the third son of President Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln. He was named after Mary's brother-in-law, Dr. William Smith Wallace. He died of typhoid fever at the White H ...
, American son of Abraham Lincoln (b. 1850) *1871 – Paul Kane, Irish-Canadian painter (b. 1810) *
1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...
– P. G. T. Beauregard, American general (b. 1818) *
1895 Events January–March * January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island. * January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...
– Frederick Douglass, American author and activist (b. c. 1818) *1900 – Washakie, American tribal leader (b. 1798)


1901–present

*1907 – Henri Moissan, French chemist and academic,
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureate (b. 1852) *1910 – Boutros Ghali, Egyptian educator and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1846) *
1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...
– Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish journalist and politician, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844) * 1920 – Jacinta and Francisco Marto, Jacinta Marto, Portuguese saint (b. 1910) * 1920 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (b. 1856) * 1933 – Takiji Kobayashi, Japanese writer (b. 1903) *
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
– Max Schreck, German actor (b. 1879) *
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
– Sadri Maksudi Arsal, Turkish scholar and politician (b. 1878) *
1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
– Percy Grainger, Australian-American pianist and composer (b. 1882) *
1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...
– Jacob Gade, Danish violinist and composer(b. 1879) * 1966 – Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (b. 1885) *
1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Janu ...
– Anthony Asquith, English director and screenwriter (b. 1902) *
1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
– Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor (b. 1883) *1972 – Maria Goeppert-Mayer, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize in Physics, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906) * 1972 – Walter Winchell, American journalist and actor (b. 1897) *1976 – René Cassin, French lawyer and judge, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887) * 1976 – Kathryn Kuhlman, healing evangelist, known for belief in Holy Spirit (b. 1907) *
1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
– Nicolas de Gunzburg, French-American banker and publisher (b. 1904) *
1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
– Wayne Boring, American illustrator (b. 1905) * 1992 – A. J. Casson, Canadian painter (b. 1898) * 1992 – Dick York, American actor (b. 1928) *1993 – Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian businessman, founded Lamborghini (b. 1916) * 1993 – Ernest L. Massad, American general (b. 1908) *1996 – Solomon Asch, American psychologist and academic (b. 1907) * 1996 – Audrey Munson, American model (b. 1891) * 1996 – Toru Takemitsu, Japanese pianist, guitarist, and composer (b. 1930) *1999 – Sarah Kane, English playwright (b. 1971) * 1999 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and critic (b. 1946) *2001 – Rosemary DeCamp, American actress (b. 1910) * 2001 – Donella Meadows, American environmentalist, author, and academic (b. 1941) * 2003 – Mushaf Ali Mir, Pakistani air marshal (b. 1947) * 2003 – Maurice Blanchot, French philosopher and author (b. 1907) * 2003 – Orville Freeman, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 29th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1918) * 2005 – Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1942) * 2005 – Josef Holeček (canoeist), Josef Holeček, Czechoslovakian canoeist (b. 1921) * 2005 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (b. 1917) * 2005 – Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist and author (b. 1937) *2006 – Curt Gowdy, American sportscaster (b. 1919) * 2006 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (b. 1920) *2008 – Emily Perry (English actress), Emily Perry, English actress and dancer (b. 1907) * 2009 – Larry H. Miller, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1944) * 2010 – Alexander Haig, American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (b. 1924) *2012 – Knut Torbjørn Eggen, Norwegian footballer and manager (b. 1960) * 2012 – Katie Hall (American politician), Katie Hall, American educator and politician (b. 1938) *2013 – Kenji Eno, Japanese game designer and composer (b. 1970) * 2013 – David S. McKay, American biochemist and geologist (b. 1936) * 2013 – Antonio Roma, Argentinian footballer (b. 1932) *
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
– Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan jurist and politician, List of Presidents of Uruguay, President of Uruguay (b. 1923) * 2014 – Walter D. Ehlers, American lieutenant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1921) * 2014 – Garrick Utley, American journalist (b. 1939) * 2015 – Govind Pansare, Indian author and activist (b. 1933) * 2015 – Henry Segerstrom, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1923) * 2015 – John C. Willke, American physician, author, and activist (b. 1925) *
2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
– Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest and politician (b. 1934) *2017 – Vitaly Churkin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (b. 1952) * 2017 – Mildred Dresselhaus, American physicist (b. 1930) * 2017 – Steve Hewlett (journalist), Steve Hewlett, British journalist (b. 1958) *2020 – Joaquim Pina Moura, Portuguese Ministry of Economy (Portugal), Minister of Economy and Treasury and Assembly of the Republic (Portugal), MP (b. 1952) *2021 – Nurul Haque Miah, Bangladeshi professor and writer (b.
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...
) * 2021 – Mauro Bellugi, Italian footballer (b. 1950)


Holidays and observances

*Christian feast day: **Eleutherius of Tournai **Eucherius of Orléans **Francisco and Jacinta Marto, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto **Frederick Douglass (Episcopal Church (USA)) **
Wulfric of Haselbury Wulfric of Haselbury (c. 1080 20 February 1154) was an anchorite and miracle worker in Wiltshire and Somerset, England, frequently visited by King Stephen. His feast day is 20 February. Life Wulfric was born at Compton Martin, ten miles sou ...
**February 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) *List of people killed during Euromaidan, Day of Heavenly Hundred Heroes (Ukraine) *World Day of Social Justice


References


External links


BBC: On This Day
*
Historical Events on February 20
{{months Days of the year February