Events

1338 - Jeanne de Bourbon, wife of Charles V of France (d. 1378)
1677 - Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect (d. 1723)
1690 - Richard Rawlinson, English minister (d. 1755)
1721 - Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (d. 1773)
1747 - Samuel Osgood, American patriot (d. 1813)
1754 - George Crabbe, English naturalist (d. 1832)
1795 - Antonio José de Sucre, South American independence leader (d. 1830)
1807 - Joseph E. Johnston, Confederate general (d. 1891)
1809 - Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (d. 1847)
1811 - Horace Greeley, American journalist, editor, and publisher (d. 1872)
1817 - Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse, French geologist (d. 1881)
1821 - Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician (d. 1910)
1830 - Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1903)
1842 - Sidney Lanier, American writer (d. 1881)
1843 - William Cornelius Van Horne, American-born railway pioneer and executive (d. 1915)
1859 - Hugo Junkers, German aircraft designer (d. 1935)
1862 - James Clark McReynolds, American Supreme Court Justice (d. 1946)
1872 - Lou Criger, American baseball player (d. 1934)
1874 - Gertrude Stein, American writer (d. 1946)
1887 - Juan Negrín, Spanish Prime Minister (d. 1956)
1887 - Georg Trakl, Austrian poet (d. 1914)
1893 - Gaston Julia, French mathematician (d. 1978)
1894 - Norman Rockwell, American illustrator (d. 1978)
1898 - Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (d. 1976)
1899 - Lao She, Chinese writer (d. 1966)
1904 - Luigi Dallapiccola, Italian composer (d. 1975)
1904 - Pretty Boy Floyd, American gangster (d. 1934)
1905 - Arne Beurling, American mathematician(d. 1986)
1907 - James Michener, American author (d. 1997)
1909 - Simone Weil, French philosopher (d. 1943)
1909 - André Cayatte, French filmmaker (d. 1989)
1911 - Robert Earl Jones, American actor (d. 2006)
1911 - Jehan Alain, French organist and composer (d. 1940)
1912 - Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist (d. 1990)
1918 - Joey Bishop, American comedian
1918 - Helen Stephens, American runner
1920 - Henry Heimlich, American physician
1920 - Tony Gaze, Australian racing driver
1923 - Alys Robi, Quebec singer
1924 - Martial Asselin, French Canadian politician and lieutenant governor of Quebec
1925 - John Fiedler, American voice actor (d. 2005)
1925 - Keith Dunstan, Australian author and journalist
1925 - Leon Schlumpf, member of the Swiss Federal Council
1926 - Shelley Berman, American comedian
1926 - Hans-Jochen Vogel, German politician
1927 - Val Doonican, Irish singer and entertainer
1927 - Joan Lowery Nixon, American writer (d. 2003)
1927 - Kenneth Anger, American Underground Filmmaker
1930 - Gillian Ayres, English painter
1932 - Peggy Ann Garner, American actress (d. 1984)
1933 - Paul Sarbanes, American politician
1938 - Victor Buono, American actor (d. 1982)
1938 - Emile Griffith, US Virgin Islands professional boxer
1939 - Michael Cimino, American film director
1940 - Fran Tarkenton, American football player
1941 - Neil Bogart, American record executive (d. 1982)
1943 - Blythe Danner, American actress
1943 - Dennis Edwards, American singer (The Temptations)
1943 - Shawn Phillips, American singer, guitarist and songwriter
1944 - Trisha Noble, Australian singer and actress
1945 - Bob Griese, American football player
1945 - Johnny Cymbal, American singer and songwriter (d. 1993)
1947 - Paul Auster, American novelist
1947 - Dave Davies, British musician (The Kinks)
1947 - Melanie Safka, American singer-songwriter
1948 - Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, East Timor politician, Nobel Peace laureate
1948 - Henning Mankell, Swedish author
1949 - Hennie Kuiper, Dutch cyclist
1950 - Morgan Fairchild, American actress
1951 - Eugenijus Riabovas, Lithuanian football manager
1952 - Fred Lynn, American baseball player
1954 - Tiger Williams, Canadian ice hockey players
1955 - Stephen Euin Cobb, American novelist
1955 - Kirsty Wark, British broadcast journalist
1956 - Nathan Lane, American actor
1956 - John Jefferson, American football player
1956 - Lee Ranaldo, American musician (Sonic Youth)
1957 - Chico Serra, Brazilian racing driver
1958 - N. Gregory Mankiw, American economist
1959 - Thomas Calabro, American actor
1959 - Laurence Tolhurst, British musician (The Cure)
1959 - Yasuharu Konishi, Japanese musician (Pizzicato Five)
1960 - Kerry Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1993)
1961 - Keith Gordon, American actor
1961 - Jay Adams, American skateboarder
1962 - Michele Greene, American actress
1965 - Maura Tierney, American actress
1965 - Karlous Marx Shinohamba, Namibian politician
1967 - Bob Taylor, English footballer
1968 - Vlade Divac, Serbian professional basketball player
1969 - Retief Goosen, professional golfer
1970 - Warwick Davis, British actor
1970 - Oscar Cordoba, Colombian footballer
1971 - Elisa Donovan, American actress
1971 - Sarah Kane, English playwright (d. 1999)
1971 - Hong Seok-cheon, South Korean actor
1972 - Mart Poom, Estonian football player
1973 - Ilana Sod, Mexican journalist
1974 - Miriam Yeung, Hong Kong actress
1974 - Konrad Gałka, Polish swimmer
1976 - Mathieu Dandenault, Canadian hockey player
1976 - Isla Fisher, Australian actress
1976 - Dwayne Rudd, American football player
1977 - Daddy Yankee, Puerto Rican musician
1978 - Adrian R'Mante, American actor
1978 - Eliza Schneider, American actress and singer
1980 - Sarah Lewitinn, American writer
1981 - Maurice Ross, English footballer
1982 - Jessica Harp, American singer (The Wreckers)
1982 - Alan Gurr, Australian V8 Supercar driver
1983 - Hillary Scott, American pornographic actress
1989 - Ryne Sanborn, American actor
1990 - Sean Kingston, American Regae rapper
1991 - Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, British racing driver Births

619 - Laurence of Canterbury, 2nd Archbishop of Canterbury
699 - Saint Werburgh
1014 - King Sweyn I of Denmark
1116 - King Coloman of Hungary (b. 1070)
1399 - John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (b. 1340)
1428 - Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shogun (b. 1386)
1451 - Murad II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1404)
1468 - Johannes Gutenberg, German publisher
1566 - George Cassander, Flemish theologian (b. 1513)
1619 - Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham, English conspirator (b. 1564)
1737 - Tommaso Ceva, Italian Mathematician (b. 1648)
1802 - Pedro Rodríguez, Conde de Campomanes, Spanish statesman (b. 1723)
1862 - Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (b. 1774)
1866 - François-Xavier Garneau, French Canadian poet and historian (b. 1809)
1889 - Belle Starr, American outlaw (b. 1848)
1922 - John Butler Yeats, Northern Irish artist (b. 1839)
1924 - Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, Nobel laureate (b. 1856)
1929 - Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish scientist (b. 1878)
1935 - Hugo Junkers, German engineer (b. 1859)
1945 - Roland Freisler, Nazi leader (b. 1893)
1947 - Marc Mitscher, American Navy Admiral (b. 1887)
1956 - Émile Borel, French mathematician (b. 1871)
1956 - Johnny Claes, Belgian racing driver (b. 1916)
1959 - Also known as The Day the Music Died because of the deaths of:

• Buddy Holly, American singer (b. 1936)
  Ritchie Valens, American singer (b. 1941)
  J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, American singer (b. 1930)
  1960 - Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (b. 1921)
  1964 - Sir Albert Richardson, English architect (b. 1880)
  1967 - Joe Meek, English record producer (b. 1929)
  1969 - Eduardo Mondlane Mozambique independence founder (b. 1920)
  1975 - Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer (b. 1904)
  1985 - Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist (b. 1912)
  1989 - John Cassavetes, American actor (b. 1929)
  1989 - Lionel Newman, American movie music orchestra leader, composer and arranger (b. 1916)
  1991 - Nancy Kulp, American actress (b. 1921)
  1993 - Paul Emery, British racing driver (b. 1916)
  1996 - Audrey Meadows, American actress (b. 1926)
  1998 - Karla Faye Tucker, American murderer (b. 1959)
  2000 - Richard Kleindienst, American politician (b. 1923)
  2003 - Lana Clarkson, American actress (b. 1962)
  2004 - Jason Raize, American musical theatre actor (b. 1975)
  2005 - Corrado Cardinal Bafile, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1903)
  2005 - Ernst Mayr, German-born biologist (b. 1904)
  2005 - Zurab Zhvania, Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963)
  2006 - Al Lewis, American actor (b. 1923)
  2007 - Pedro Knight, Cuban-American musician, husband of legendary singer Celia Cruz (b. 1921)
  2007 - Ralph de Toledano, Moroccan-born American political columnist and author (b. 1916)
  2007 - George Becker, American president of United Steelworkers (1993–2001) (b. 1928) Holidays and observances
  
  Saint Blaise, Catholics visit churches to have their throats blessed.
  Aaron the Illustrious, saint of the Syriac Orthodox Church
  Saint Ansgar, patron saint of Denmark
  Saint Hadelin
  Saint Werburgh
  Saint Berlindis
  Saint Nona and Saint Celsa
  * February 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)