February 12

February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 322 days remaining until the end of the year (323 in leap years).

Events

• 881 – Pope John VIII crowns Charles the Fat, the King of Italy: Holy Roman Emperor
• 1429 – English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans from attack by the Comte de Clermont and Sir John Stewart of Darnley in the Battle of Rouvray (also known as the Battle of the Herrings).
• 1502 – Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on his second voyage to India.
• 1541 – Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia.
• 1554 – A year after claiming the throne of England for nine days, Lady Jane Grey is beheaded for treason.
• 1593 – Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju.
• 1689 – The Convention Parliament declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication.
• 1733 – Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, and its first city at Savannah (known as Georgia Day).
• 1771 – Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden.
• 1814 – Battle of Château-Thierry (1814)
• 1816 – The Teatro di San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is destroyed by fire.
• 1817 – An Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeats Spanish troops on the Battle of Chacabuco.
• 1818 – Bernardo O'Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile.
• 1825 – The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government by the Treaty of Indian Springs, and migrate west.
• 1832 – Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands.
• 1851 – Edward Hargraves announces that he has found gold in Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, starting the Australian gold rushes.
• 1855 – Michigan State University is established.
• 1894 – Anarchist Émile Henry hurls a bomb into the Cafe Terminus in Paris, France, killing one and wounding 20.
• 1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.
• 1909 – New Zealand's worst maritime disaster of the 20th century happens when the SS Penguin, an inter-island ferry, sinks and explodes at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.
• 1912 – The Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China, abdicates.
• 1914 – In Washington, D.C., the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
• 1924 – George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue received its premiere in a concert titled "An Experiment in Modern Music," in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Paul Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano.
• 1934 – The Austrian Civil War begins.
• 1934 – In Spain the national council of Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista decides to merge the movement with the Falange Española.
• 1935 – USS Macon, one of the two largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sinks.
• 1946 – World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats.
• 1946 – African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes. The incident later galvanizes the Civil Rights Movement and partially inspires Orson Welles' film Touch of Evil.
• 1947 – A meteor creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union.
• 1947 – Christian Dior unveils a "New Look", helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.
• 1961 – Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
• 1963 – Construction begins on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
• 1968 – Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre.
• 1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
• 1983 – 100 women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's proposed Law of Evidence. The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law.
• 1990 – Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia.
• 1992 – The current Constitution of Mongolia comes into effect.
• 1994 – Four men break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream.
• 1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
• 2001 – NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
• 2002 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, begins at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. He dies four years later before its conclusion.
• 2002 – An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport, killing 119.
• 2004 – The city of San Francisco, California begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
• 2009 – Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all on board and one on the ground.

Births

• 41 – Britannicus, Roman son of Claudius (d. 55)
• 661 – Princess Ōku of Japan (d. 702)
• 1074 – Conrad II of Italy (d. 1101)
• 1218 – Kujō Yoritsune, Japanese shogun (d. 1256)
• 1567 – Thomas Campion, English composer and poet (d. 1620)
• 1584 – Caspar Barlaeus, Dutch historian, poet, and theologian (d. 1648)
• 1606 – John Winthrop the Younger, English-American politician, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1676)
• 1637 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist (d. 1680)
• 1663 – Cotton Mather, American minister (d. 1728)
• 1665 – Rudolf Jakob Camerarius, German botanist and physician (d. 1721)
• 1704 – Charles Pinot Duclos, French author (d. 1772)
• 1728 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (d. 1799)
• 1752 – Dorothea Ackermann, German actress (d. 1821)
• 1752 – Josef Reicha, Czech cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1795)
• 1753 – François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, French admiral (d. 1798)
• 1761 – Jan Ladislav Dussek, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1812)
• 1768 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1835)
• 1775 – Louisa Adams, American wife of John Quincy Adams, 6th First Lady of the United States (d. 1852)
• 1777 – Bernard Courtois, French chemist (d. 1838)
• 1777 – Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German author and poet (d. 1843)
• 1785 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist (d. 1838)
• 1787 – Norbert Provencher, Canadian clergyman and missionary (d. 1853)
• 1788 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (d. 1869)
• 1791 – Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (d. 1883)
• 1794 – Alexander Petrov, Russian chess player (d. 1867)
• 1804 – Heinrich Lenz, German physicist (d. 1865)
• 1809 – Charles Darwin, English geologist and theorist (d. 1882)
• 1809 – Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 16th President of the United States (d. 1865)
• 1828 – George Meredith, English author (d. 1909)
• 1843 – John Graham Chambers, English race walker (d. 1883)
• 1857 – Eugène Atget, French photographer (d. 1927)
• 1857 – Bobby Peel, English cricketer (d. 1943)
• 1861 – Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-German psychoanalyst and author (d. 1937)
• 1865 – Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Polish poet and author (d. 1940)
• 1869 – Kien Phuc, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1884)
• 1870 – Marie Lloyd, English actress and singer (d. 1922)
• 1872 – Oscar Stribolt, Danish actor (d. 1927)
• 1872 – Guillermo Hayden Wright, Mexican polo player (d. 1949)
• 1876 – 13th Dalai Lama (d. 1933)
• 1877 – Louis Renault, French businessman, co-founded Renault (d. 1944)
• 1880 – George Preca, Maltese priest and saint (d. 1962)
• 1880 – John L. Lewis, American union leader (d. 1969)
• 1881 – Anna Pavlova, Russian ballerina (d. 1931)
• 1884 – Max Beckmann, German painter and sculptor (d. 1950)
• 1884 – Johan Laidoner, Estonian-Russian general (d. 1953)
• 1884 – Alice Roosevelt Longworth, American daughter of Theodore Roosevelt (d. 1980)
• 1884 – Marie Vassilieff, Russian painter (d. 1957)
• 1885 – Julius Streicher, German publisher, founded Der Stürmer (d. 1946)
• 1889 – Bhante Dharmawara, Cambodian monk, lawyer, and judge (d. 1999)
• 1893 – Omar Bradley, American general (d. 1981)
• 1893 – Samuel Foster Damon, American academic, critic, poet and William Blake scholar (d. 1971)
• 1893 – Fred Albert Shannon, American historian and author (d. 1963)
• 1895 – Kristian Djurhuus, Faroese politician, 2nd Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1984)
• 1897 – Vola Vale, American actress (d. 1970)
• 1898 – Wallace Ford, English-American actor (d. 1966)
• 1900 – Roger J. Traynor, American jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (d. 1983)
• 1902 – William Collier, Jr., American actor (d. 1987)
• 1903 – Joseph F. Biroc, American cinematographer (d. 1996)
• 1903 – Chick Hafey, American baseball player (d. 1973)
• 1904 – Ted Mack, American radio and television host (d. 1976)
• 1907 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (d. 1962)
• 1907 – Clifton C. Edom, American educator (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Jean Effel, French painter and journalist (d. 1982)
• 1908 – Jacques Herbrand, French mathematician (d. 1931)
• 1908 – August Neo, Estonian wrestler (d. 1982)
• 1908 – Paul Winterton, English journalist and crime novelist (d. 2001)
• 1909
  • Sigmund Rascher, German physician (d. 1945)
  • Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter (d. 2005)
• 1911 – Charles Mathiesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1994)
• 1911 – Stephen H. Sholes, American record producer (d. 1968)
• 1912 – R. F. Delderfield, English author (d. 1972)
• 1914 – Tex Beneke, American singer, saxophonist, and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra) (d. 2000)
• 1914 – Arvid Pardo, Italian-Maltese diplomat (d. 1999)
• 1915 – Andrew Goodpaster, American general (d. 2005)
• 1915 – Lorne Greene, Canadian actor (d. 1987)
• 1916 – Joseph Alioto, American politician, 36th Mayor of San Francisco (d. 1998)
• 1917 – Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (d. 2009)
• 1917 – Raizo Matsuno, Japanese politician (d. 2006)
• 1918 – Julian Schwinger, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
• 1919 – Forrest Tucker, American actor (d. 1986)
• 1920 – Pran, Indian actor (d. 2013)
• 1920 – William Roscoe Estep, American historian and educator (d. 2000)
• 1920 – Yoshiko Ōtaka, Chinese-Japanese actress, singer, and politician (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Hussein Onn, Malaysian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1990)
• 1922 – Guy F. Tozzoli, American architect (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Chaskel Besser, Polish-American rabbi (d. 2010)
• 1923 – Alan Dugan, American poet (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director, producer, and politician
• 1925 – Anthony Berry, English politician (d. 1984)
• 1926 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Joe Garagiola, Sr., American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1926 – Charles Van Doren, American academic
• 1928 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (MFSB and Salsoul Orchestra) (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Donald Kingsbury, American-Canadian mathematician, academic, and author
• 1930 – John Doyle, Irish hurler (d. 2010)
• 1930 – Arlen Specter, American politician (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Janwillem van de Wetering, Dutch author (d. 2008)
• 1932 – Maurice Filion, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
• 1932 – Axel Jensen, Norwegian author (d. 2003)
• 1932 – Julian Simon, American economist and author (d. 1998)
• 1933 – Costa-Gavras, Greek-French director and producer
• 1934 – Annette Crosbie, Scottish actress
• 1934 – Anne Osborn Krueger, American economist and academic
• 1934 – Bill Russell, American basketball player
• 1935 – Gene McDaniels, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
• 1935 – John Quimby, American politician (d. 2012)
• 1936 – Joe Don Baker, American actor
• 1936 – Paul Shenar, American actor (d. 1989)
• 1937 – Charles Dumas, American high jumper (d. 2004)
• 1938 – Judy Blume, American author
• 1938 – Peter Temple-Morris, Baron Temple-Morris, Welsh politician
• 1939 – Akbar Adibi, Iranian engineer (d. 2000)
• 1939 – Ray Manzarek, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (The Doors, Rick & the Ravens, Manzarek–Krieger, and Nite City) (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Ralph Bates, English actor (d. 1991)
• 1940 – Richard Lynch, American actor (d. 2012)
• 1941 – Dominguinhos, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 2013)
• 1941 – Naomi Uemura, Japanese explorer (d. 1984)
• 1942 – David Aukin, English lawyer, producer, and manager
• 1942 – Ehud Barak, Israeli politician, 10th Prime Minister of Israel
• 1942 – Pat Dobson, American baseball player (d. 2006)
• 1942 – Lionel Grigson, English pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1994)
• 1942 – Norma Major, English wife of John Major, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1943 – Christine Hancock, English nurse
• 1944 – Moe Bandy, American singer and guitarist
• 1945 – Maud Adams, Swedish actress
• 1945 – Cliff DeYoung, American actor and singer (Clear Light)
• 1945 – David D. Friedman, American economist
• 1945 – David Small, American author and illustrator
• 1946 – Jean Eyeghé Ndong, Gabonese politician, Prime Minister of Gabon
• 1946 – Ajda Pekkan, Turkish singer-songwriter and actress
• 1947 – Jim Durham, American sportscaster (d. 2012)
• 1948 – Alex Carlile, Baron Carlile of Berriew, English lawyer and politician
• 1948 – Ray Kurzweil, American engineer and author
• 1948 – Mike Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
• 1948 – Nicholas Soames, English politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
• 1949 – Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu, Canadian politician
• 1949 – Enzo Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2013)
• 1949 – Joaquín Sabina, Spanish singer-songwriter
• 1949 – Fergus Slattery, Irish rugby union player
• 1950 – Angelo Branduardi, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 – Steve Hackett, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Genesis, Quiet World, and GTR)
• 1950 – Michael Ironside, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1951 – Howard Davies, English economist
• 1951 – Steven Parent, American murder victim (d. 1969)
• 1952 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
• 1952 – Michael McDonald, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers)
• 1953 – Joanna Kerns, American actress and director
• 1953 – Nabil Shaban, Jordanian-English actor, founded the Graeae Theatre Company
• 1953 – Robin Thomas, American actor
• 1954 – Joseph Jordania, Georgian-Australian musicologist
• 1954 – Tzimis Panousis, Greek comedian, singer, and author
• 1954 – Phil Zimmermann, American programmer, created Pretty Good Privacy
• 1955 – Bill Laswell, American bass player and producer (Massacre, Material, Tabla Beat Science, Painkiller, and Praxis)
• 1955 – Chet Lemon, American baseball player
• 1956 – Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host
• 1956 – Ad Melkert, Dutch politician
• 1956 – Brian Robertson, Scottish guitarist and songwriter (Thin Lizzy, Motörhead, and Wild Horses)
• 1958 – Grant McLennan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Go-Betweens and Jack Frost) (d. 2006)
• 1958 – Bobby Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1958 – Peter Stilsbury, Australian wrestler
• 1959 – Larry Nance, American basketball player
• 1959 – Dan Puric, Romanian actor and director
• 1959 – Sigrid Thornton, Australian actress
• 1960 – George Gray, American wrestler
• 1961 – Tonnie Dirks, Dutch runner
• 1961 – Jim Harris, Canadian environmentalist and politician
• 1961 – Michel Martelly, Haitian singer and politician, 56th President of Haiti
• 1962 – Jimmy Kirkwood, Irish cricketer and field hockey player
• 1963 – Ed Lover, American rapper and actor
• 1963 – Jacqueline Woodson, American author
• 1964 – Michel Petit, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1965 – Rubén Amaro, Jr., American baseball player
• 1965 – Christine Elise, American actress
• 1965 – John Michael Higgins, American actor
• 1965 – David Westlake, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Servants)
• 1966 – Paul Crook, American guitarist (Anthrax)
• 1967 – Chris McKinstry, Canadian computer scientist (d. 2006)
• 1967 – N. Ravikiran, Indian singer-songwriter
• 1968 – Josh Brolin, American actor
• 1968 – Gregory Charles, Canadian singer, dancer, pianist, and actor
• 1968 – Christopher McCandless, American adventurer (d. 1992)
• 1968 – Chynna Phillips, American singer and actress (Wilson Phillips)
• 1969 – Meja, Swedish singer-songwriter
• 1969 – Darren Aronofsky, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Alemayehu Atomsa, Ethiopian politician (d. 2014)
• 1969 – Steve Backley, English javelin thrower
• 1969 – Dean Bergeron, Canadian sprinter
• 1969 – Johnny Mowlem, English race car driver
• 1969 – Hong Myung-Bo, South Korean footballer
• 1969 – Brad Werenka, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1970 – Jim Creeggan, Canadian singer-songwriter and bass player (Barenaked Ladies and the Brothers Creeggan)
• 1970 – Bryan Roy, Dutch footballer
• 1970 – Judd Winick, American author and illustrator
• 1971 – Scott Menville, American actor
• 1972 – Ajay Naidu, American actor
• 1972 – Owen Nolan, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1972 – Sophie Zelmani, Swedish singer-songwriter
• 1973 – Gianni Romme, Dutch speed skater
• 1973 – Tara Strong, Canadian voice actress and singer
• 1974 – Naseem Hamed, English boxer
• 1974 – Toranosuke Takagi, Japanese race car driver
• 1975 – Cliff Bleszinski, American video game designer
• 1975 – Scot Pollard, American basketball player
• 1976 – Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby player
• 1976 – Silvia Saint, Czech porn actress
• 1977 – Raylene, American porn actress
• 1977 – Jimmy Conrad, American soccer player
• 1978 – Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby player
• 1978 – Gethin Jones, Welsh television host
• 1978 – Silver Meikar, Estonian politician
• 1979 – Antonio Chatman, American football player
• 1979 – Matt Mauck, American football player
• 1979 – Jesse Spencer, Australian actor and violinist (Band from TV)
• 1980 – Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
• 1980 – Sarah Lancaster, American actress
• 1980 – Christina Ricci, American actress
• 1981 – Lisa Hannigan, Irish singer-songwriter
• 1982 – Jonas Hiller, Swiss ice hockey player
• 1982 – Louis Tsatoumas, Greek long jumper
• 1982 – Anthony Tuitavake, New Zealand rugby player
• 1983 – Carlton Brewster, American football player
• 1983 – Hidetoshi Wakui, Japanese footballer
• 1984 – Lolly Badcock, English porn actress and model
• 1984 – Veera Baranova, Estonian triple jumper
• 1984 – Alo Bärengrub, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Alexandra Dahlström, Swedish actress
• 1984 – Tony Ferguson, American mixed martial artist
• 1984 – Brad Keselowski, American race car driver
• 1984 – Aylar Lie, Iranian-Norwegian porn actress and model
• 1984 – Tobias Schlauderer, German footballer
• 1984 – Andrei Sidorenkov, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Peter Vanderkaay, American swimmer
• 1985 – Saskia Burmeister, Australian actress
• 1987 – Pille Raadik, Estonian footballer
• 1988 – Nana Eikura, Japanese actress
• 1988 – DeMarco Murray, American football player
• 1988 – Mike Posner, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1990 – Robert Griffin III, American football player
• 1990 – Moussa Koné, Ivorian footballer
• 1991 – Casey Abrams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1991 – Patrick Herrmann, German footballer
• 1991 – Michael Schimpelsberger, Austrian footballer
• 1992 – Faisal bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahraini prince (d. 2006)
• 1992 – Vladimir Malinin, Russian footballer
• 1993 – Beatrice Cedermark, Swedish tennis player
• 1993 – Jennifer Stone, American actress
• 1994 – Alex Galchenyuk, American ice hockey player
• 1996 – Doménica González, Ecuadorian tennis player

Deaths

• 821 – Benedict of Aniane, French monk and saint (b. 747)
• 1538 – Albrecht Altdorfer, German painter (b. 1480)
• 1554 – Lord Guildford Dudley, English husband of Lady Jane Grey (b. 1536)
• 1554 – Lady Jane Grey, English daughter of Frances Grey, Duchess of Suffolk (b. 1537)
• 1571 – Nicholas Throckmorton, English diplomat and politician (b. 1515)
• 1590 – François Hotman, French lawyer and author (b. 1524)
• 1624 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist, founded the George Heriot's School (b. 1563)
• 1630 – Fynes Moryson, English explorer and author (b. 1566)
• 1692 – Hendrick Hamel, Dutch sailor and bookkeeper (b. 1630)
• 1700 – Aleksei Shein, Russian general and politician (b. 1662)
• 1713 – Jahandar Shah, Mughal emperor (b. 1664)
• 1724 – Elkanah Settle, English poet and playwright (b. 1648)
• 1728 – Agostino Steffani, Italian diplomat and composer (b. 1653)
• 1762 – Laurent Belissen, French composer (b. 1693)
• 1763 – Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (b. 1688)
• 1771 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (b. 1710)
• 1789 – Ethan Allen, American farmer, general, and politician (b. 1738)
• 1799 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist (b. 1729)
• 1804 – Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (b. 1724)
• 1834 – Friedrich Schleiermacher, German philosopher and scholar (b. 1768)
• 1886 – Randolph Caldecott, English-American painter and illustrator (b. 1846)
• 1894 – Hans von Bülow, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1830)
• 1896 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer (b. 1811)
• 1915 – Émile Waldteufel, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1837)
• 1916 – Richard Dedekind, German mathematician (b. 1831)
• 1920 – Aurore Gagnon, Canadian victim of child abuse (b. 1909)
• 1929 – Lillie Langtry, English singer and actress (b. 1853)
• 1931 – Samad bey Mehmandarov, Azerbaijani-Russian general (b. 1855)
• 1933 – Henri Duparc, French composer (b. 1848)
• 1935 – Auguste Escoffier, French chef and author (b. 1846)
• 1942 – Eugene Esmonde, English lieutenant and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1909)
• 1942 – Avraham Stern, Polish-Israeli militant leader (b. 1907)
• 1942 – Grant Wood, American painter (b. 1891)
• 1943 – Claude Jameson, American soccer player (b. 1886)
• 1945 – Walraven van Hall, Dutch banker (b. 1906)
• 1945 – Antonio Villa-Real, Filipino jurist (b. 1880)
• 1947 – Moses Gomberg, Russian-American chemist (b. 1866)
• 1949 – Hassan al-Banna, Egyptian educator founded the Muslim Brotherhood (b. 1906)
• 1954 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1896)
• 1957 – Eric Alfred Knudsen, American lawyer and politician (b. 1872)
• 1958 – Douglas Hartree, English physicist (b. 1897)
• 1960 – Oskar Anderson, German-Russian mathematician (b. 1887)
• 1960 – Jean-Michel Atlan, French painter (b. 1913)
• 1961 – Branko Miljković, Serbian poet (b. 1934)
• 1969 – Paltiel Daykan, Russian-Israeli jurist (b. 1885)
• 1970 – Ishman Bracey, American singer and guitarist (b. 1901)
• 1970 – Clare Turlay Newberry, American author and illustrator (b. 1903)
• 1971 – James Cash Penney, American businessman, founded J. C. Penney (b. 1875)
• 1976 – Sal Mineo, American actor (b. 1939)
• 1977 – Herman Dooyeweerd, Dutch philosopher and scholar (b. 1894)
• 1979 – Jean Renoir, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
• 1980 – Muriel Rukeyser, American poet (b. 1913)
• 1982 – Victor Jory, Canadian actor (b. 1902)
• 1983 – Eubie Blake, American pianist and composer (b. 1887)
• 1983 – Jan Klaassens, Dutch footballer (b. 1931)
• 1984 – Anna Anderson, Polish impostor, claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1896)
• 1984 – Julio Cortázar, Argentinian author (b. 1914)
• 1985 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (b. 1924)
• 1988 – S. Nadarajah, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (b. 1916)
• 1989 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian playwright and author (b. 1931)
• 1991 – Roger Patterson, American bass player (Atheist) (b. 1968)
• 1992 – Roy Slemon, Canadian air marshal (b. 1904)
• 1992 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (b. 1907)
• 1994 – Sue Rodriguez, Canadian activist (b. 1950)
• 1995 – Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (Iron Butterfly) (b. 1952)
• 1996 – Ernest Samuels, American author and lawyer (b. 1903)
• 1998 – Gardner Ackley, American economist (b. 1915)
• 1999 – Toni Fisher, American singer (b. 1931)
• 2000 – Oliver, American singer (b. 1945)
• 2000 – Screamin' Jay Hawkins, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1929)
• 2000 – Tom Landry, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Andy Lewis, Australian bass player (The Whitlams) (b. 1967)
• 2000 – Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist, created Peanuts (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Tiberio Mitri, Italian boxer (b. 1926)
• 2001 – Kristina Söderbaum, German actress (b. 1912)
• 2002 – John Eriksen, Danish footballer (b. 1957)
• 2003 – Vali Myers, Australian painter (b. 1930)
• 2005 – Sammi Smith, American singer-songwriter (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Dorothy Stang, American-Brazilian nun (b. 1931)
• 2005 – Rafael Vidal, Venezuelan swimmer (b. 1964)
• 2007 – Peggy Gilbert, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1905)
• 2007 – Randy Stone, American actor (b. 1958)
• 2007 – Eldee Young, American bassist (Young-Holt Unlimited) (b. 1936)
• 2008 – Oscar Brodney, American lawyer and screenwriter (b. 1907)
• 2009 – victims of Colgan Air Flight 3407:
  • Alison Des Forges, American historian and activist (b. 1942)
  • Beverly Eckert, American activist (b. 1951)
  • Mat Mathews, Dutch accordion player (b. 1924)
  • Coleman Mellett, American guitarist (b. 1974)
  • Gerry Niewood, American saxophonist (b. 1943)
  • Claude Nollier, French actress (b. 1919)
• 2010 – Nodar Kumaritashvili, Georgian luger (b. 1988)
• 2011 – Peter Alexander, Austrian singer and actor (b. 1926)
• 2011 – Mato Damjanović, Croatian chess player (b. 1927)
• 2011 – Fedor den Hertog, Dutch cyclist (b. 1946)
• 2011 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1919)
• 2011 – Kenneth Mars, American actor (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Galal Amer, Egyptian journalist (b. 1952)
• 2012 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Denis Flannery, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Adrian Foley, 8th Baron Foley, English pianist and composer (b. 1923)
• 2012 – David Kelly, Irish actor (b. 1929)
• 2012 – John Severin, American illustrator (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Howard Zimmerman, American chemist and academic (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1941)
• 2013 – Bill Bell, English businessman (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Barnaby Conrad, American author (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Christopher Dorner, American lieutenant and police officer (b. 1979)
• 2013 – Brian Langford, English cricketer (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Jimmy Mulroy, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1940)
• 2013 – Tarmizi Taher, Indonesian admiral and politician (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Reginald Turnill, English journalist (b. 1915)
• 2013 – Hennadiy Udovenko, Ukrainian politician, 2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ukraine (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Sid Caesar, American actor and singer (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Maggie Estep, American poet (b. 1963)
• 2014 – Santiago Feliú, Cuban singer-songwriter (b. 1962)
• 2014 – John Pickstone, English historian and author (b. 1944)
• 2014 – John Poppitt, English footballer (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Josef Röhrig, German footballer (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Martyrs of Abitinae
  • Damian of Alexandria
  • Julian the Hospitaller
  • February 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Darwin Day (International)
• Georgia Day (Georgia)
• Lincoln's Birthday (United States)
• National Freedom to Marry Day, unofficial (United States)
• Red Hand Day (United Nations)
• Union Day (Myanmar)
• Youth Day (Venezuela)

External links

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