Events Pre-1600 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula. 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt. 1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV. 1458 – Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary. 1536 – King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence.
1601–1900 1651 – Arauco War: Spanish and Mapuche authorities meet in the Parliament of Boroa renewing the fragile peace established at the parliaments of Quillín in 1641 and 1647. 1679 – King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament. 1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor. 1758 – During the Seven Years' War the leading burghers of Königsberg submit to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763). 1817 – Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the action of Picheuta. 1835 – Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later. 1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter's Mill near Sacramento. 1857 – The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia. 1859 – The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza. 1900 – Second Boer War: Boers stop a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.
1901–present 1908 – The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell. 1915 – World War I: British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper's battle cruisers in the Battle of Dogger Bank. 1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional. 1918 – The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People's Commissars effective February 14 (New Style). 1933 – The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices. 1935 – Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company starts selling the first canned beer. 1939 – The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people. 1942 – World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom. 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca. 1946 – The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission. 1960 – Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police. 1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost. 1966 – Air India Flight 101 crashes into Mont Blanc. 1968 – Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa. 1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II. 1977 – The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy. 1978 – Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered. 1986 – The Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to Uranus. 1987 – About 20,000 protestors march in a civil rights demonstration in Forsyth County, Georgia, United States. 1988 – An Aeroflot Yakovlev Yak-40 crashes at Nizhnevartovsk Airport, killing 27 people. 1990 – Japan launches Hiten, the country's first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union's Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States. 2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation. 2009 – Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies. 2011 – At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow's Domodedovo Airport. 2018 – Former doctor Larry Nassar is sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of using his position to sexually abuse female gymnasts. 2024 – An Ilyushin Il-76 crashes in Russia's Korochansky District, killing all 74 people on board. 2026 – At least 70 people are killed and 10 others missing after major landslides in West Java, Indonesia.
Births Pre-1600 76 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (died 138) 1287 – Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (died 1345) 1444 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (died 1476) 1547 – Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Austrian Archduchess (died 1578)
1601–1900 1602 – Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, English politician (died 1666) 1619 – Yamazaki Ansai, Japanese philosopher (died 1682) 1643 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and politician, Lord Chamberlain of Great Britain (died 1706) 1664 – John Vanbrugh, English architect and dramatist (died 1726) 1670 – William Congreve, English playwright and poet (died 1729) 1672 – Margrave Albert Frederick of Brandenburg-Schwedt, German Lieutenant General (died 1731) 1674 – Thomas Tanner, English bishop (died 1735) 1679 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (died 1754) 1684 – Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, German noble (died 1737) 1705 – Farinelli, Italian castrato singer (died 1782) 1709 – Dom Bédos de Celles, French monk and organist (died 1779) 1712 – Frederick the Great, Prussian king (died 1786) 1732 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and financier (died 1799) 1739 – Jean Nicolas Houchard, French General of the French Revolution (died 1793) 1746 – Gustav III of Sweden (died 1792) 1749 – Charles James Fox, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (died 1806) 1754 – Andrew Ellicott, American soldier and surveyor (died 1820) 1763 – Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, French-Ukrainian general and politician (died 1831) 1776 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German jurist, author, and composer (died 1822) 1843 – Josip Stadler, Croatian archbishop (died 1918) 1848 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (died 1916) 1858 – Constance Naden, English poet and philosopher (died 1889) 1862 – Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (died 1937) 1864 – Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (died 1936) 1866 – Jaan Poska, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1920) 1869 – Helena Maud Brown Cobb, American educator and missionary (died 1922) 1885 – Marjory Stephenson, British biochemist (died 1948) 1886 – Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1982) 1887 – Jean-Henri Humbert, French botanist (died 1967) 1888 – Vicki Baum, Austrian author and screenwriter (died 1960) 1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman, founded the Heinkel Aircraft Manufacturing Company (died 1958) 1889 – Victor Eftimiu, Romanian poet and playwright (died 1972) 1889 – Charles Hawes, American historian and author (died 1923) 1889 – Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, German general of paratroop forces during World War II (died 1968) 1891 – Walter Model, German field marshal (died 1945) 1892 – Franz Aigner, Austrian weightlifter (died 1970) 1895 – Eugen Roth, German poet and songwriter (died 1976) 1897 – Paul Fejos, Hungarian-born American director (died 1963) 1899 – Hoyt Vandenberg, U.S. Air Force general (died 1954) 1900 – René Guillot, French writer (died 1969)
1901–present 1901 – Harry Calder, South African cricketer (died 1995) 1901 – Cassandre, French painter (died 1968) 1901 – Edward Turner, English engineer (died 1973) 1905 – J. Howard Marshall, American lawyer and businessman (died 1995) 1906 – Wilfred Jackson, American animator and composer (died 1988) 1907 – Maurice Couve de Murville, French soldier and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1999) 1907 – Jean Daetwyler, Swiss composer and musician (died 1994) 1907 – Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu, fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (died 1979) 1909 – Martin Lings, English author and scholar (died 2005) 1909 – Ester Šimerová-Martinčeková, Slovak painter (died 2005) 1910 – Doris Haddock, American political activist (died 2010) 1913 – Norman Dello Joio, American organist and composer (died 2008) 1913 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1983) 1915 – Vítězslava Kaprálová, Czech composer and conductor (died 1940) 1915 – Robert Motherwell, American painter and academic (died 1991) 1916 – Rafael Caldera, Venezuelan lawyer and politician, 65th President of Venezuela (died 2009) 1916 – Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player and actor (died 2013) 1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (died 2012) 1918 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist, founded Oral Roberts University and Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (died 2009) 1918 – Gottfried von Einem, Austrian pianist and composer (died 1996) 1919 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1973) 1919 – Leon Kirchner, American composer and educator (died 2009) 1920 – Jimmy Forrest, American saxophonist (died 1980) 1920 – Jerry Maren, American actor (died 2018) 1922 – Daniel Boulanger, French actor and screenwriter (died 2014) 1924 – Brian Bevan, Australian rugby league player (died 1991) 1924 – Karpoori Thakur, Indian politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (died 1988) 1925 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2015) 1925 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina and actress (died 2013) 1926 – Ruth Asawa, American sculptor (died 2013) 1926 – Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter (died 2013) 1927 – Paula Hawkins, American politician (died 2009) 1928 – Desmond Morris, English zoologist, ethologist, and painter (died 2026) 1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor (died 2007) 1930 – Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (died 2016) 1930 – Mahmoud Farshchian, Iranian-Persian painter and academic (died 2025) 1930 – John Romita Sr., American comic book artist (died 2023) 1931 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician and academic (died 2012) 1934 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and dramatist (died 1976) 1935 – Shivabalayogi, Indian religious leader (died 1994) 1936 – Doug Kershaw, American fiddle player and singer 1938 – Julius Hemphill, American saxophonist and composer (died 1995) 1939 – Renate Garisch-Culmberger, German shot putter (died 2023) 1939 – Ray Stevens, American singer-songwriter and actor 1940 – Joachim Gauck, German pastor and politician, 11th President of Germany 1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter and guitarist 1941 – Aaron Neville, American singer 1941 – Dan Shechtman, Israeli chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate 1942 – Ingo Friedrich, German Member of the European Parliament 1942 – Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (died 2008) 1943 – Barry Mealand, English footballer (died 2013) 1943 – Peter Struck, German lawyer and politician, 13th German Federal Minister of Defence (died 2012) 1943 – Sharon Tate, American model and actress (died 1969) 1943 – Tony Trimmer, English race car driver 1943 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (died 2016)