February 17

February 17 is the 48th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 317 days remaining until the end of the year (318 in leap years).

Events

• 364 – Emperor Jovian dies after a reign of eight months. He is found dead in his tent at Tyana (Asia Minor) en route back to Constantinople in suspicious circumstances.
• 1370 – Northern Crusades: Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Teutonic Knights meet in the Battle of Rudau.
• 1411 – Following the successful campaigns during the Ottoman Interregnum, Musa Çelebi, one of the sons of Bayezid I, becomes Sultan with the support of Mircea I of Wallachia.
• 1500 – Duke Friedrich and Duke Johann attempt to subdue the peasantry of Dithmarschen, Denmark, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt.
• 1600 – The philosopher Giordano Bruno is burned alive, for heresy, at Campo de' Fiori in Rome.
• 1621 – Myles Standish is appointed as first commander of Plymouth colony.
• 1753 – In Sweden February 17 is followed by March 1 as the country moves from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar.
• 1801 – An electoral tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr is resolved when Jefferson is elected President of the United States and Burr Vice President by the United States House of Representatives.
• 1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: The Battle of Mormans.
• 1819 – The United States House of Representatives passes the Missouri Compromise for the first time.
• 1838 – Weenen massacre: Hundreds of Voortrekkers along the Blaukraans River, Natal are killed by Zulus.
• 1854 – The United Kingdom recognizes the independence of the Orange Free State.
• 1863 – A group of citizens of Geneva founded an International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, which later became known as the International Committee of the Red Cross.
• 1864 – American Civil War: The  H. L. Hunley becomes the first submarine to engage and sink a warship, the USS Housatonic.
• 1865 – American Civil War: Columbia, South Carolina, is burned as Confederate forces flee from advancing Union forces.
• 1871 – The victorious Prussian Army parades through Paris, France after the end of the Siege of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War.
• 1904 – Madama Butterfly receives its première at La Scala in Milan.
• 1913 – The Armory Show opens in New York City, displaying works of artists who are to become some of the most influential painters of the early 20th century.
• 1933 – The Blaine Act ends Prohibition in the United States.
• 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Eniwetok Atoll begins. The battle ends in an American victory on February 22.
• 1944 – World War II: Operation Hailstone begins. U.S. naval air, surface, and submarine attack against Truk Lagoon, Japan's main base in the central Pacific, in support of the Eniwetok invasion.
• 1949 – Chaim Weizmann begins his term as the first President of Israel.
• 1959 – Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2 – The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
• 1964 – In Wesberry v. Sanders the Supreme Court of the United States rules that congressional districts have to be approximately equal in population.
• 1964 – Gabonese president Leon M'ba is toppled by a coup and his rival, Jean-Hilaire Aubame, is installed in his place.
• 1965 – Project Ranger: The Ranger 8 probe launches on its mission to photograph the Mare Tranquillitatis region of the Moon in preparation for the manned Apollo missions. Mare Tranquillitatis or the "Sea of Tranquility" would become the site chosen for the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
• 1968 – In Springfield, Massachusetts, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame opens.
• 1972 – Sales of the Volkswagen Beetle exceed those of the Ford Model-T.
• 1974 – Robert K. Preston, a disgruntled U.S. Army private, buzzes the White House in a stolen helicopter.
• 1978 – The Troubles: The Provisional IRA detonates an incendiary bomb at the La Mon restaurant, near Belfast, killing 12 and seriously injuring 30.
• 1979 – The Sino-Vietnamese War begins.
• 1980 – Mount Everest, 1st Winter Ascent by Krzysztof Wielicki and Leszek Cichy.
• 1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Armenian troops massacre more than 20 Azerbaijani civilians in the village of Qaradağlı
• 1995 – The Cenepa War between Peru and Ecuador ends on a cease-fire brokered by the UN.
• 1996 – In Philadelphia, world champion Garry Kasparov beats the Deep Blue supercomputer in a chess match.
• 1996 – NASA's Discovery Program begins as the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lifts off on the first mission ever to orbit and land on an asteroid, 433 Eros.
• 2003 – The London Congestion Charge scheme begins.
• 2006 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
• 2008 – Kosovo declares independence as the Republic of Kosovo.
• 2011 – Libyan protests begin. In Bahrain, security forces launched a deadly pre-dawn raid on protesters in Pearl Roundabout in Manama, the day is locally known as Bloody Thursday.

Births

• 624 – Wu Zetian, Chinese empress (d. 705)
• 1490 – Charles III, Duke of Bourbon (d. 1527)
• 1519 – Francis, Duke of Guise (d. 1563)
• 1524 – Charles, Cardinal of Lorraine (d. 1574)
• 1581 – Fausto Poli, Italian cardinal (d. 1653)
• 1646 – Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert, French economist (d. 1714)
• 1653 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1713)
• 1718 – Matthew Tilghman, American politician (d. 1790)
• 1723 – Tobias Mayer, German astronomer (d. 1762)
• 1740 – Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, Swiss physicist (d. 1799)
• 1752 – Friedrich Maximilian Klinger, German author and playwright (d. 1831)
• 1754 – Nicolas Baudin, French cartographer and explorer (d. 1803)
• 1781 – René Laennec, French physician, invented the stethoscope (d. 1826)
• 1796 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician (d. 1866)
• 1816 – Haller Nutt, American planter (d. 1864)
• 1817 – Édouard Thilges, Luxembourgian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1904)
• 1820 – Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, Canadian cardinal (d. 1898)
• 1820 – Henri Vieuxtemps, Belgian violinist and composer (d. 1881)
• 1821 – Lola Montez, Irish actress and dancer (d. 1861)
• 1836 – Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish poet (d. 1870)
• 1844 – Aaron Montgomery Ward, American businessman, founded Montgomery Ward (d. 1913)
• 1848 – Albert Gustaf Dahlman, Swedish executioner (d. 1920)
• 1848 – Louisa Lawson, Australian poet and publisher (d. 1920)
• 1854 – Friedrich Alfred Krupp, German businessman, founded Krupp (d. 1902)
• 1860 – Tom Seeberg, Norwegian target shooter (d. 1938)
• 1861 – Princess Helena of Waldeck and Pyrmont (d. 1922)
• 1862 – Mori Ōgai, Japanese author and poet (d. 1922)
• 1862 – Eugen Schmidt, Danish tug of war competitor (d. 1931)
• 1863 – Fyodor Sologub, Russian author and poet (d. 1927)
• 1864 – Jozef Murgaš, Slovak priest, botanist, and painter (d. 1929)
• 1864 – Banjo Paterson, Australian poet (d. 1941)
• 1874 – Thomas J. Watson, American businessman (d. 1956)
• 1877 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and author (d. 1904)
• 1877 – André Maginot, French sergeant and politician (d. 1932)
• 1877 – Isidora Sekulić, Serbian author (d. 1958)
• 1880 – Ernest Linton, Scottish-Canadian soccer player (d. 1957)
• 1883 – George Edwin Cooke, American soccer player (d. 1969)
• 1885 – Steve Evans, American baseball player (d. 1943)
• 1887 – Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (d. 1947)
• 1887 – Joseph Bech, Luxembourgish politician, 15th Prime Minister of Luxembourg (d. 1975)
• 1888 – Otto Stern, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
• 1890 – Ronald Fisher, English statistician, biologist, and geneticist (d. 1962)
• 1891 – Abraham Fraenkel, German-Israeli mathematician (d. 1965)
• 1892 – Marjorie Fielding, English actress (d. 1956)
• 1893 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player (d. 1965)
• 1899 – Jibanananda Das, Indian poet, writer, novelist and essayist in Bengali (d. 1954)
• 1900 – Ruth Clifford, American actress (d. 1998)
• 1903 – Sadegh Hedayat, Iranian author (d. 1951)
• 1904 – Hans Morgenthau, German philosopher (d. 1980)
• 1905 – Osvald Käpp, Estonian wrestler (d. 1995)
• 1906 – Mary Brian, American actress (d. 2002)
• 1907 – Yevgeniy Abalakov, Russian mountaineer and sculptor (d. 1948)
• 1908 – Red Barber, American sportscaster (d. 1992)
• 1908 – Ants Eskola, Estonian actor and singer (d. 1989)
• 1908 – Bo Yibo, Chinese politician, Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (d. 2007)
• 1910 – Arthur Hunnicutt, American actor (d. 1979)
• 1911 – Sydney Chedgzoy, English professional association footballer (d. 1983)
• 1911 – Oskar Seidlin, German-American author, poet, and scholar (d. 1984)
• 1911 – Orrin Tucker, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2011)
• 1912 – Andre Norton, American author (d. 2005)
• 1912 – Virginia Sorensen, American author (d. 1991)
• 1913 – Jean Le Moyne, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 1996)
• 1913 – Russel B. Nye, American author (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Arthur Kennedy, American actor (d. 1990)
• 1914 – Wayne Morris, American actor (d. 1959)
• 1916 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian rugby player (d. 1940)
• 1916 – Raf Vallone, Italian footballer and actor (d. 2002)
• 1917 – Abdel Rahman Badawi, Egyptian philosopher and poet (d. 2002)
• 1917 – Guillermo González Camarena, Mexican engineer (d. 1965)
• 1918 – William Bronk, American poet (d. 1999)
• 1918 – Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, Ukrainian politician (d. 1990)
• 1919 – J. M. S. Careless, Canadian historian (d. 2009)
• 1919 – Kathleen Freeman, American actress (d. 2001)
• 1920 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (d. 2001)
• 1920 – Curt Swan, American illustrator (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Duane Gish, American biochemist (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Enrico Banducci, American businessman (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Tommy Edwards, American singer-songwriter (d. 1969)
• 1922 – Valentino Mazzia, American physician (d. 1999)
• 1923 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (d. 1988)
• 1923 – Alden W. Clausen, American banker (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Buddy DeFranco, American clarinet player
• 1924 – Margaret Truman, American author (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (d. 2003)
• 1925 – Hal Holbrook, American actor and director
• 1928 – Marta Romero, Puerto Rican actress and singer (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Paul Meger, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1929 – Chaim Potok, American author (d. 2002)
• 1929 – Nicholas Ridley, Baron Ridley of Liddesdale, English politician (d. 1993)
• 1929 – Patricia Routledge, English actress and singer
• 1930 – Roger Craig, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1930 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Doug Hoyle, Baron Hoyle, English politician
• 1930 – Ruth Rendell, English author
• 1930 – Frank Wappat, English singer and radio host (d. 2014)
• 1933 – Bobby Lewis, American singer
• 1931 – Jiřina Jirásková, Czech actress (d. 2013)
• 1933 – Larry Jennings, American magician and author (d. 1997)
• 1933 – Craig L. Thomas, American politician (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Alan Bates, English actor (d. 2003)
• 1934 – Barry Humphries, Australian comedian, actor, and author
• 1935 – Christina Pickles, English-American actress
• 1936 – Jim Brown, American football player and actor
• 1938 – Martha Henry, American-Canadian actress
• 1938 – Yvonne Romain, English actress
• 1938 – Buck Trent, American banjo player
• 1939 – John Leyton, English actor and singer
• 1939 – Mary Ann Mobley, American actress, Miss America 1959
• 1939 – Clément Richard, Canadian businessman and politician
• 1940 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
• 1941 – Julia McKenzie, English actress, singer, and director
• 1942 – Huey P. Newton, American activist, co-founded the Black Panther Party (d. 1989)
• 1943 – Costas Azariadis, Greek economist
• 1943 – Claire Malis, American actress (d. 2012)
• 1943 – Joe Medjuck, Canadian actor and producer
• 1944 – Bruce Fogle, Canadian veterinarian and author
• 1944 – Nick Hewer, English television host
• 1944 – Karl Jenkins, Welsh saxophonist, keyboard player, and composer (Soft Machine)
• 1945 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (d. 2012)
• 1945 – Brenda Fricker, Irish actress
• 1945 – Linda Kitson, English illustrator
• 1946 – Dodie Stevens, American singer
• 1946 – Shahrnush Parsipur, Iranian author
• 1948 – José José, Mexican singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
• 1948 – Rick Majerus, American basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
• 1948 – Don Scardino, American actor and director
• 1949 – Fred Frith, English guitarist and songwriter (Henry Cow, Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew)
• 1950 – Rickey Medlocke, American guitarist (Blackfoot and Lynyrd Skynyrd)
• 1950 – Graham Stringer, English politician
• 1951 – Rashid Minhas, Pakistani pilot (d. 1971)
• 1952 – Karin Janz, German gymnast
• 1952 – Vladimír Padrůněk, Czech bass player (Energit and Etc...) (d. 1991)
• 1953 – Norman Pace, English actor
• 1954 – Miki Berkovich, Israeli basketball player
• 1954 – Rene Russo, American actress
• 1955 – Mo Yan, Chinese author, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1956 – Richard Karn, American actor
• 1957 – Loreena McKennitt, Canadian singer-songwriter, accordion player, and pianist
• 1958 – Steve Fox, English footballer (d. 2012)
• 1958 – Alan Wiggins, American baseball player (d. 1991)
• 1959 – Aryeh Deri, Moroccan-Israeli rabbi and politician
• 1959 – Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer
• 1959 – Neil Lomax, American football player
• 1960 – Shunji Kosugi, Japanese wrestler
• 1961 – Chris Champion, American wrestler
• 1961 – Angela Eagle, English politician
• 1961 – Maria Eagle, English politician
• 1961 – Panna Rittikrai, Thai actor, director, and stuntman (d. 2014)
• 1962 – David McComb, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Triffids and The Blackeyed Susans) (d. 1999)
• 1962 – Lou Diamond Phillips, American actor and director
• 1962 – Sarah Wollaston, English politician
• 1963 – Larry the Cable Guy, American comedian and actor
• 1963 – Alison Hargreaves, English mountaineer (d. 1995)
• 1963 – Jen-Hsun Huang, Taiwanese-American businessman, co-founded Nvidia
• 1963 – Michael Jordan, American basketball player and actor
• 1963 – Rene Syler, American journalist
• 1964 – Buster Olney, American journalist
• 1965 – Michael Bay, American director and producer
• 1965 – Samuel Bayer, American director and cinematographer
• 1966 – Quorthon, Swedish guitarist and songwriter (Bathory) (d. 2004)
• 1966 – Michael Lepond, American bass player (Symphony X and Seven Witches)
• 1966 – Robert Reid, Scottish race car driver
• 1966 – Luc Robitaille, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 – Chanté Moore, American singer-songwriter
• 1968 – Wu'erkaixi, Chinese journalist and activist
• 1968 – Bryan Cox, American football player
• 1969 – David Douillet, French martial artist and politician
• 1969 – Tuesday Knight, American actress and singer
• 1969 – Willi Kronhardt, German footballer
• 1970 – Tommy Moe, American skier
• 1970 – Dominic Purcell, English-Australian actor
• 1971 – Martyn Bennett, Canadian-Scottish composer (d. 2005)
• 1971 – Cynthia Cleese, English actress
• 1971 – Jeremy Edwards, English actor
• 1971 – SaRenna Lee, American porn actress
• 1971 – Denise Richards, American model and actress
• 1972 – Yuki, Japanese singer-songwriter (Mean Machine, Judy and Mary, and NiNa)
• 1972 – Billie Joe Armstrong, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and producer (Green Day, Pinhead Gunpowder, The Network, and Foxboro Hot Tubs)
• 1972 – Philippe Candeloro, French figure skater
• 1972 – Taylor Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and drummer (Foo Fighters and Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders)
• 1972 – Ralphie May, American comedian and actor
• 1972 – Valeria Mazza, Argentinian model
• 1972 – Lars Göran Petrov, Swedish singer and drummer (Entombed and Morbid)
• 1973 – Drew Barry, American basketball player
• 1973 – Raphaël Ibañez, French rugby player
• 1974 – Kaoru, Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Dir en grey)
• 1974 – Jerry O'Connell, American actor
• 1974 – Bryan White, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1975 – Harisu, South Korean singer and actress
• 1975 – Kaspars Astašenko, Latvian ice hockey player (d. 2012)
• 1975 – Todd Harvey, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Vaclav Prospal, Czech ice hockey player
• 1976 – Kelly Carlson, American actress
• 1976 – Lefteris Fafalis, Greek skier
• 1976 – William Roussel, French singer-songwriter and guitarist (Mütiilation)
• 1976 – Scott Williamson, American baseball player
• 1977 – Wong Choong Hann, Malaysian badminton player
• 1977 – Bob Katsionis, Greek musician
• 1978 – Jacob Wetterling, American kidnapping victim
• 1979 – Josh Willingham, American baseball player
• 1980 – Aya Endō, Japanese voice actress
• 1980 – Al Harrington, American basketball player
• 1980 – Jason Ritter, American actor
• 1980 – Klemi Saban, Israeli footballer
• 1981 – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, American actor, director, and producer
• 1981 – Paris Hilton, American model, actress, and singer
• 1981 – Pontus Segerström, Swedish footballer (d. 2014)
• 1981 – Andrew Stephenson, English politician
• 1982 – Brian Bruney, American baseball player
• 1982 – Daniel Merriweather, Australian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1982 – Deyvid Oprja, Estonian skier
• 1982 – Adriano Leite Ribeiro, Brazilian footballer
• 1983 – Gérald Cid, French footballer
• 1983 – Marios Kaperonis, Greek boxer
• 1983 – Nguyen Tien Minh, Vietnamese badminton player
• 1983 – Kevin Rudolf, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1984 – Sadha, Indian actress
• 1984 – AB de Villiers, South African cricketer
• 1984 – Jimmy Jacobs, American wrestler
• 1984 – Stefan Jarosch, German footballer
• 1984 – Kenta Kamakari, Japanese actor and singer
• 1984 – Drew Miller, American ice hockey player
• 1984 – Marcin Gortat, Polish basketball player
• 1985 – Sivakarthikeyan, Indian actor and singer
• 1985 – Anne Curtis, Australian-Filipino actress and singer
• 1985 – Anders Jacobsen, Norwegian ski jumper
• 1986 – Rod Michael, American singer (B3)
• 1986 – Joey O'Brien, Irish footballer
• 1986 – Ricardo Rodriguez, American wrestler and ring announcer
• 1987 – Thomas Ayasse, French footballer
• 1987 – Danny Farquhar, American baseball player
• 1987 – Aseem Trivedi, Indian cartoonist and activist
• 1987 – Tiquan Underwood, American football player
• 1988 – Natascha Kampusch, Austrian kidnapping victim
• 1989 – Rebecca Adlington, English swimmer
• 1989 – Ina Demireva, Bulgarian ice dancer
• 1989 – Stacey McClean, English singer and actress (S Club 8)
• 1989 – Chord Overstreet, American actor and singer
• 1990 – Marianne St-Gelais, Canadian speed skater
• 1991 – Sam Oldham, English gymnast
• 1991 – Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1991 – Bonnie Wright, English actress
• 1992 – Meaghan Martin, American actress and singer
• 1993 – Nicola Leali, Italian footballer
• 1993 – Marc Márquez, Spanish motorcycle racer
• 1993 – AJ Perez, Filipino actor (d. 2011)
• 1993 – Philip Wiegratz, German actor
• 1994 – Angie Miller, American singer-songwriter
• 1996 – Sasha Pieterse American actress

Deaths

• 364 – Jovian, Roman emperor (b. 331)
• 440 – Mesrop Mashtots, Armenian monk, linguist, and theologian (b. 360)
• 661 – Finan of Lindisfarne, Irish monk and bishop
• 1339 – Otto, Duke of Austria (b. 1301)
• 1371 – Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria
• 1596 – Friedrich Sylburg, German scholar (b. 1536)
• 1600 – Giordano Bruno, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (b. 1548)
• 1609 – Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1549)
• 1624 – Juan de Mariana, Spanish priest and historian (b. 1536)
• 1652 – Gregorio Allegri, Italian composer (b. 1582)
• 1659 – Abel Servien, French diplomat (b. 1593)
• 1673 – Molière, French playwright and actor (b. 1622)
• 1680 – Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, English politician (b. 1599)
• 1680 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist (b. 1637)
• 1715 – Antoine Galland, French archaeologist (b. 1646)
• 1732 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (b. 1669)
• 1768 – Arthur Onslow, English politician (b. 1691)
• 1780 – Andreas Felix von Oefele, German historian and librarian (b. 1706)
• 1841 – Ferdinando Carulli, Italian guitarist and composer (b. 1770)
• 1854 – John Martin, English painter (b. 1789)
• 1856 – Heinrich Heine, German journalist and poet (b. 1797)
• 1874 – Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian astronomer, mathematician, and sociologist (b. 1796)
• 1883 – Vasudev Balwant Phadke, Indian activist (b. 1845)
• 1890 – Christopher Latham Sholes, American publisher, politician, and inventor (b. 1819)
• 1905 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, leader in the Latter Day Saint movement (b. 1815)
• 1909 – Geronimo, American tribal leader (b. 1829)
• 1912 – Edgar Evans, Welsh sailor and explorer (b. 1876)
• 1918 – Milan Neralić, Croatian fencer (b. 1875)
• 1919 – Wilfrid Laurier, Canadian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1841)
• 1934 – Albert I of Belgium (b. 1875)
• 1934 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player (b. 1862)
• 1939 – Willy Hess, German violinist (b. 1859)
• 1943 – Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (b. 1872)
• 1943 – Armand J. Piron, American violinist and composer (b. 1888)
• 1946 – Dorothy Gibson, American actress and singer (b. 1889)
• 1950 – William Dickey, American diver (b. 1883)
• 1958 – Hugh McCrae, Australian author (b. 1876)
• 1961 – Nita Naldi, American actress (b. 1897)
• 1962 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (b. 1907)
• 1962 – Bruno Walter, German-American conductor (b. 1876)
• 1968 – Marquard Schwarz, American swimmer (b. 1887)
• 1970 – Shmuel Yosef Agnon, Ukrainian-Israeli author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
• 1970 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (b. 1900)
• 1976 – Jean Servais, Belgian actor (b. 1910)
• 1977 – Janani Luwum, Ugandan archbishop (b. 1922)
• 1979 – K. Alvapillai, Sri Lankan civil servant (b. 1905)
• 1982 – Nestor Chylak, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1922)
• 1982 – Thelonious Monk, American pianist and composer (b. 1917)
• 1982 – Lee Strasberg, Austrian-American actor and director (b. 1901)
• 1986 – Jiddu Krishnamurti, Indian-American philosopher and author (b. 1895)
• 1988 – John M. Allegro, English archaeologist and scholar (b. 1923)
• 1988 – Karpoori Thakur, Indian politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (b. 1924)
• 1989 – Lefty Gomez, American baseball player (b. 1908)
• 1990 – Jean-Marc Boivin, French mountaineer (b. 1951)
• 1990 – Hap Day, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (b. 1901)
• 1990 – Erik Rhodes, American actor and singer (b. 1906)
• 1990 – Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, Ukrainian politician (b. 1917)
• 1994 – Randy Shilts, American author and journalist (b. 1951)
• 1996 – Hervé Bazin, French author (b. 1911)
• 1997 – Joe Kieyoomia, American soldier (b. 1919)
• 1998 – Ernst Jünger, German author (b. 1895)
• 1998 – Bob Merrill, American composer and songwriter (b. 1921)
• 1999 – Sunshine Parker, American actor (b. 1927)
• 2001 – Barry Burman, English painter (b. 1943)
• 2001 – Bob Geary, Canadian football player, coach, and manager (b. 1933)
• 2001 – Khalid Abdul Muhammad, American activist (b. 1948)
• 2003 – Steve Bechler, American baseball player (b. 1979)
• 2004 – José López Portillo, Mexican politician, 51st President of Mexico (b. 1920)
• 2005 – Dan O'Herlihy, Irish actor (b. 1919)
• 2005 – Omar Sívori, Argentinian footballer and manager (b. 1935)
• 2006 – Ray Barretto, American drummer (b. 1929)
• 2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Cowsills) (b. 1948)
• 2007 – Mike Awesome, American wrestler (b. 1965)
• 2007 – Jurga Ivanauskaitė, Lithuanian author (b. 1961)
• 2007 – Dermot O'Reilly, Irish-Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Ryan's Fancy) (b. 1943)
• 2007 – Maurice Papon, French civil servant (b. 1910)
• 2008 – Brian Harris, English footballer (b. 1935)
• 2009 – Conchita Cintrón, Chilean bullfighter (b. 1922)
• 2009 – Gazanfer Özcan, Turkish actor (b. 1931)
• 2009 – Mike Whitmarsh, American volleyball player (b. 1962)
• 2010 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and singer (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Robert Carr, English engineer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Clarence Dart, American captain and pilot (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Michael Davis, American singer-songwriter and bass player (MC5) (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn, Dutch mathematician and theorist (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Ulric Neisser, German-American psychologist and academic (b. 1928)
• 2012 – Howie Nunn, American baseball player (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Derek Batey, English game show host (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Richard Briers, English actor and singer (b. 1934)
• 2013 – André Gingras, Canadian dancer and choreographer (b. 1966)
• 2013 – Phil Henderson, American basketball player and coach (b. 1968)
• 2013 – Shmulik Kraus, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (The High Windows) (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Sophie Kurys, American baseball player (b. 1925)
• 2013 – Mindy McCready, American singer-songwriter (b. 1975)
• 2013 – Seán Óg Ó Ceallacháin, Irish footballer, hurler, and sportscaster (b. 1923)
• 2013 – Mike Westhues, American-Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1949)
• 2014 – Bob Casale, American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (Devo) (b. 1952)
• 2014 – Peter Florin, German politician and diplomat, President of the United Nations General Assembly (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Frankie Kao, Taiwanese singer (b. 1950)
• 2014 – Don Safran, American screenwriter, producer, and critic (b. 1930)
• 2014 – Wayne Smith, Jamaican singer (b. 1965)
• 2014 – R. K. Srikantan, Indian singer (b. 1920)
• 2014 – Frank Wappat, English singer and radio host (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Seven Founders of the Servite Order
    • Alexis Falconieri
  • Constabilis
  • Fintan of Clonenagh
  • Janani Luwum (Anglican Communion)
  • Lommán of Trim
  • February 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence declaration of Kosovo in 2008, still under dispute.
• Quirinalia, in honor of Quirinus (Roman Empire)

External links

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