February 22

February 22 is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 312 days remaining until the end of the year (313 in leap years).

Events

• 705 – Empress Wu Zetian abdicates the throne, restoring the Tang Dynasty.
• 1316 – Battle of Picotin between Ferdinand of Majorca and the forces of Matilda of Hainaut
• 1371 – Robert II becomes King of Scotland, beginning the Stuart dynasty.
• 1495 – King Charles VIII of France enters Naples to claim the city's throne.
• 1632 – Galileo's Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published.
• 1651 – St. Peter's Flood: A storm surge floods the Frisian coast, drowning 15,000 people.
• 1744 – War of the Austrian Succession: The Battle of Toulon begins.
• 1797 – The Last Invasion of Britain begins near Fishguard, Wales.
• 1819 – By the Adams–Onís Treaty, Spain sells Florida to the United States for five million U.S. dollars.
• 1821 – Greek War of Independence: Alexander Ypsilantis crosses the Prut river at Sculeni into the Danubian Principalities.
• 1847 – Mexican–American War: The Battle of Buena Vista – 5,000 American troops defeat 15,000 Mexicans.
• 1848 – The French Revolution of 1848, which would lead to the establishment of the French Second Republic, begins.
• 1853 – Washington University in St. Louis is founded as Eliot Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.
• 1855 – The Pennsylvania State University is founded in State College, Pennsylvania (as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania)
• 1856 – The Republican Party opens its first national meeting in Pittsburgh.
• 1862 – Jefferson Davis is officially inaugurated for a six-year term as the President of the Confederate States of America in Richmond, Virginia. He was previously inaugurated as a provisional president on February 18, 1861.
• 1872 – The Prohibition Party holds its first national convention in Columbus, Ohio, nominating James Black as its presidential nominee.
• 1879 – In Utica, New York, Frank Woolworth opens the first of many of 5 and dime Woolworth stores.
• 1889 – United States President Grover Cleveland signs a bill admitting North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Washington as U.S. states.
• 1899 – Filipino forces led by General Antonio Luna launch counterattacks for the first time against the American forces during the Philippine–American War. The Filipinos fail to regain Manila from the Americans.
• 1904 – The United Kingdom sells a meteorological station on the South Orkney Islands to Argentina, the islands are subsequently claimed by the United Kingdom in 1908.
• 1909 – The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USS Connecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.
• 1915 – World War I: Germany institutes unrestricted submarine warfare.
• 1921 – After Russian forces under Baron Roman von Ungern-Sternberg drive the Chinese out, the Bogd Khan is reinstalled as the emperor of Mongolia.
• 1924 – U.S. President Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President to deliver a radio broadcast from the White House.
• 1942 – World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders General Douglas MacArthur out of the Philippines as the Japanese victory becomes inevitable.
• 1943 – World War II: Members of the White Rose resistance, Sophie Scholl, Hans Scholl, and Christoph Probst are executed in Nazi Germany.
• 1944 – World War II: American aircraft mistakenly bomb the Dutch towns of Nijmegen, Arnhem, Enschede and Deventer, resulting in 800 dead in Nijmegen alone.
• 1944 – World War II: The Soviet Red Army recaptures Krivoi Rog.
• 1948 – Communist revolution in Czechoslovakia.
• 1957 – Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam survives a communist shooting assassination attempt in Ban Me Thuot.
• 1958 – Egypt and Syria join to form the United Arab Republic.
• 1959 – Lee Petty wins the first Daytona 500.
• 1972 – The Official Irish Republican Army detonates a car bomb at Aldershot barracks, killing seven and injuring nineteen others.
• 1973 – Cold War: Following President Richard Nixon's visit to the People's Republic of China, the two countries agree to establish liaison offices.
• 1974 – The Organisation of the Islamic Conference summit begins in Lahore, Pakistan. Thirty-seven countries attend and twenty-two heads of state and government participate. It also recognizes Bangladesh.
• 1974 – Samuel Byck tries and fails to assassinate U.S. President Richard Nixon.
• 1979 – Independence of Saint Lucia from the United Kingdom.
• 1980 – Miracle on Ice: In Lake Placid, New York, the United States hockey team defeats the Soviet Union hockey team 4–3.
• 1983 – The notorious Broadway flop Moose Murders opens and closes on the same night at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.
• 1986 – Start of the People Power Revolution in the Philippines.
• 1994 – Aldrich Ames and his wife are charged by the United States Department of Justice with spying for the Soviet Union.
• 1995 – The Corona reconnaissance satellite program, in existence from 1959 to 1972, is declassified.
• 1997 – In Roslin, Scotland, scientists announce that an adult sheep named Dolly has been successfully cloned.
• 2002 – Angolan political and rebel leader Jonas Savimbi is killed in a military ambush.
• 2006 – At least six men stage Britain's biggest robbery, stealing £53m (about $92.5 million or €78 million) from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent.
• 2011 – New Zealand's second deadliest earthquake strikes Christchurch, killing 185 people.
• 2011 – Bahraini uprising: Tens of thousands of people march in protest against the deaths of seven victims killed by police and army forces during previous protests.
• 2012 – A train crash in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 51 people and injures 700 others.
• 2014 – President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine is impeached by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by a vote of 328-0, fulfilling a major goal of the Euromaidan rebellion.

Births

• 1300 BC – Ramesses II, Egyptian pharaoh (d. 1213 BC)
• 1040 – Rashi, French rabbi (d. 1105)
• 1403 – Charles VII of France (d. 1461)
• 1440 – Ladislaus the Posthumous, son of Albert II of Germany (d. 1457)
• 1500 – Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian cardinal (d. 1564)
• 1514 – Tahmasp I, Iranian shah (d. 1576)
• 1612 – George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, English politician (d. 1677)
• 1645 – Johann Ambrosius Bach, German violinist and composer (d. 1695)
• 1645 – Johann Christoph Bach, German pianist and composer (d. 1693)
• 1705 – Peter Artedi, Swedish ichthyologist and zoologist (d. 1735)
• 1714 – Louis-Georges de Bréquigny, French scholar (d. 1795)
• 1732 – George Washington, American general and politician, 1st President of the United States (d. 1799)
• 1756 – Georg Friedrich von Martens, German jurist and diplomat (d. 1821)
• 1761 – Erik Tulindberg, Finnish violinist and composer (d. 1814)
• 1778 – Rembrandt Peale, American painter (d. 1860)
• 1788 – Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (d. 1860)
• 1796 – Alexis Bachelot, French priest and missionary (d. 1837)
• 1796 – Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian mathematician, astronomer, and sociologist (d. 1874)
• 1806 – Józef Kremer, Polish philosopher (d. 1875)
• 1810 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1849)
• 1817 – Carl Wilhelm Borchardt, German mathematician (d. 1880)
• 1819 – James Russell Lowell, American poet (d. 1891)
• 1824 – Pierre Janssen, French astronomer (d. 1907)
• 1825 – Jean-Baptiste Salpointe, French-American archbishop (d. 1898)
• 1836 – Mahesh Chandra Nyayratna Bhattacharyya, Indian scholar, academic, and reformer (d. 1906)
• 1839 – Francis Pharcellus Church, American publisher (d. 1906)
• 1840 – August Bebel, German politician (d. 1913)
• 1849 – Nikolay Yakovlevich Sonin, Russian mathematician (d. 1915)
• 1857 – Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, English general and co-founded The Scout Association (d. 1941)
• 1857 – Heinrich Hertz, German physicist (d. 1894)
• 1863 – Charles McLean Andrews, American historian (d. 1943)
• 1864 – Jules Renard, French author (d. 1910)
• 1874 – Bill Klem, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1951)
• 1876 – Zitkala-Sa, American author and activist (d. 1938)
• 1878 – George Bryant, American archer (d. 1938)
• 1878 – Walther Ritz, Swiss physicist (d. 1909)
• 1879 – Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted, Danish chemist (d. 1947)
• 1880 – John Daly, Irish runner (d. 1969)
• 1881 – Joseph B. Ely, American politician, 52nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1956)
• 1881 – Albin Prepeluh, Slovenian journalist and politician (d. 1937)
• 1882 – Eric Gill, English sculptor (d. 1940)
• 1883 – Marguerite Clark, American actress (d. 1940)
• 1886 – Hugo Ball, German author and poet (d. 1927)
• 1887 – Savielly Tartakower, Polish chess player (d. 1956)
• 1888 – Owen Brewster, American politician, 54th Governor of Maine (d. 1961)
• 1888 – Edgar Johan Kuusik, Estonian architect and interior designer (d. 1974)
• 1888 – Raymond Lawler, American soccer player (d. 1946)
• 1889 – Olave Baden-Powell, English scout leader, founded the Girl Guides (d. 1977)
• 1889 – R. G. Collingwood, English historian and philosopher (d. 1943)
• 1890 – Beatriz Michelena, American actress and singer (d. 1942)
• 1891 – Vlas Chubar, Russian politician (d. 1939)
• 1892 – Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet and playwright (d. 1950)
• 1895 – Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre, Peruvian politician (d. 1979)
• 1897 – Karol Świerczewski, Polish general (d. 1947)
• 1898 – Thillaiaadi Valliammai, South African activist (d. 1914)
• 1899 – Dwight Frye, American actor (d. 1943)
• 1899 – George O'Hara, American actor (d. 1966)
• 1899 – Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (d. 1986)
• 1900 – Luis Buñuel, Spanish director and producer (d. 1983)
• 1900 – Seán Ó Faoláin, Irish author (d. 1991)
• 1900 – James Sisnett, Barbadian super-centenarian (d. 2013)
• 1902 – Fritz Strassmann, German physicist (d. 1980)
• 1903 – Morley Callaghan, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1990)
• 1903 – Ain-Ervin Mere, Estonian colonel (d. 1969)
• 1903 – Robert Weede, American opera singer (d. 1972)
• 1906 – Humayun Kabir, Indian educator and politician (d. 1969)
• 1906 – Helge Kjærulff-Schmidt, Danish actor (d. 1982)
• 1907 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor (d. 1997)
• 1907 – Robert Young, American actor (d. 1998)
• 1908 – Rómulo Betancourt, Venezuelan politician, 56th President of Venezuela (d. 1981)
• 1908 – John Mills, English actor (d. 2005)
• 1911 – Bill Baker, American baseball player (d. 2006)
• 1913 – Buddy Tate, American saxophonist and clarinet player (d. 2001)
• 1913 – Ranko Marinković, Croatian author (d. 2001)
• 1914 – Renato Dulbecco, Italian virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
• 1914 – Henry Reed, English poet (d. 1986)
• 1917 – Jane Bowles, American playwright (d. 1973)
• 1917 – Reed Crandall, American illustrator (d. 1982)
• 1918 – Sid Abel, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2000)
• 1918 – Charlie Finley, American businessman (d. 1996)
• 1918 – Don Pardo, American radio and television announcer (d. 2014)
• 1918 – Robert Wadlow, American giant (d. 1940)
• 1921 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa, Central African politician, 2nd President of the Central African Republic (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Wayne C. Booth, American theorist, critic, and academic (d. 2005)
• 1921 – David Greene, English-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2003)
• 1921 – Giulietta Masina, Italian actress (d. 1994)
• 1922 – Jesús Iglesias, Argentinian race car driver (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Apostolos Santas, Greek soldier (d. 2011)
• 1922 – Marshall Teague, American race car driver (d. 1959)
• 1922 – Joe Wilder, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 2014)
• 1923 – Norman Smith, English drummer and producer (d. 2008)
• 1923 – Bleddyn Williams, Welsh rugby player (d. 2009)
• 1925 – Edward Gorey, American illustrator and poet (d. 2000)
• 1925 – Gerald Stern, American poet and academic
• 1926 – Nelson Bunker Hunt, American businessman (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Kenneth Williams, English actor (d. 1988)
• 1926 – Bud Yorkin, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1927 – Florencio Campomanes, Filipino political scientist and chess player (d. 2010)
• 1927 – Donald May, American actor
• 1927 – Guy Mitchell, American singer (d. 1999)
• 1928 – Clarence 13X, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Gods and Earths (d. 1969)
• 1928 – Texas Johnny Brown, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Paul Dooley, American actor
• 1928 – Bruce Forsyth, English television host
• 1928 – Axel Strøbye, Danish actor (d. 2005)
• 1929 – James Hong, American actor and director
• 1929 – Rebecca Schull, American actress
• 1930 – James McGarrell, American painter
• 1930 – Bill Mitchell, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Marni Nixon, American soprano and actress
• 1932 – Ted Kennedy, American politician (d. 2009)
• 1933 – Katharine, Duchess of Kent
• 1933 – Sheila Hancock, English actress and author
• 1933 – Christopher Ondaatje, Sri Lankan-English businessman and philanthropist
• 1933 – Bobby Smith, English footballer (d. 2010)
• 1934 – Sparky Anderson, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
• 1935 – Sven Inge, Swedish painter (d. 2008)
• 1935 – Valdis Muižnieks, Latvian basketball player
• 1936 – J. Michael Bishop, American biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1936 – Ádám Bodor, Hungarian author
• 1936 – Ernie K-Doe, American singer (d. 2001)
• 1936 – Izaly Zemtsovsky, American-Russian musicologist
• 1937 – Joanna Russ, American author and activist (d. 2011)
• 1938 – Steve Barber, American baseball player (d. 2007)
• 1938 – Barry Dennen, American actor and singer
• 1938 – Ishmael Reed, American author, poet, and playwright
• 1938 – Pierre Vallières, Canadian journalist (d. 1995)
• 1939 – Brian Follett, English biologist and academic
• 1940 – Judy Cornwell, English actress
• 1940 – Johnson Mlambo, South African politician
• 1940 – Billy Name, American photographer
• 1940 – Chet Walker, American basketball player
• 1941 – Giorgos Arvanitis, Greek cinematographer and producer
• 1941 – Hipólito Mejía, Dominican politician, 52nd President of the Dominican Republic
• 1942 – Christine Keeler, English model and dancer
• 1943 – Terry Eagleton, English philosopher and critic
• 1943 – Horst Köhler, German politician, 9th President of Germany
• 1943 – Otoya Yamaguchi, Japanese assassin of Inejiro Asanuma (d. 1960)
• 1944 – Jonathan Demme, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1944 – Robert Kardashian, American lawyer and businessman (d. 2003)
• 1944 – Christopher Meyer, English diplomat
• 1944 – Tom Okker, Dutch tennis player
• 1945 – Oliver, American singer (d. 2000)
• 1945 – Leslie Charleson, American actress
• 1945 – Mall Vaasma, Estonian mycologist (d. 2009)
• 1946 – Kresten Bjerre, Danish footballer and manager (d. 2014)
• 1947 – Carol Burns, Australian actress
• 1947 – Harvey Mason, American drummer (Fourplay and The Headhunters)
• 1947 – Richard North Patterson, American author
• 1947 – Hajime Sorayama, Japanese illustrator
• 1948 – John Ashton, American actor
• 1948 – Dennis Awtrey, American basketball player
• 1948 – Brian Kerr, Baron Kerr of Tonaghmore, Irish lawyer, judge, and politician, Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
• 1948 – Linda de Suza, Portuguese-French singer and actress
• 1949 – Niki Lauda, Austrian race car driver
• 1949 – Olga Morozova, Russian tennis player
• 1950 – Julius Erving, American basketball player
• 1950 – Lenny Kuhr, Dutch singer-songwriter
• 1950 – Miou-Miou, French actress
• 1950 – Genesis P-Orridge, English singer-songwriter (Psychic TV, Thee Majesty, Pigface, and Splinter Test)
• 1950 – Julie Walters, English actress
• 1951 – Ellen Greene, American singer and actress
• 1951 – Sivasubramaniam Raveendranath, Sri Lankan academic
• 1952 – Albert Bryant, Jr., American general
• 1952 – Cyrinda Foxe, American model and actress (d. 2002)
• 1952 – Bill Frist, American physician and politician
• 1952 – Bernard Silverman, English minister, statistician, and academic
• 1953 – Graham Lewis, English bass player (Wire and Dome)
• 1953 – Nigel Planer, English actor
• 1955 – David Axelrod, American journalist and political adviser
• 1955 – Gordon Banks, American guitarist and producer
• 1955 – Tim Young, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1956 – Hugh Hewitt, American lawyer, author, and radio host
• 1957 – Willie Smits, Dutch biologist and activist
• 1958 – Dave Spitz, American bass player and songwriter (Black Sabbath, White Lion, Great White, and Impellitteri)
• 1959 – Jiří Čunek, Czech politician
• 1959 – Kyle MacLachlan, American actor
• 1960 – Paul Abbott, English screenwriter and producer
• 1960 – Charles Cullen, American serial killer
• 1960 – Thomas Galbraith, 2nd Baron Strathclyde, Scottish politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
• 1960 – Jean-François Lepage, French photographer
• 1961 – Akira Takasaki, Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Lazy and Loudness)
• 1961 – Lowell Liebermann, American pianist, composer, and conductor
• 1962 – Steve Irwin, Australian zoologist and television host (d. 2006)
• 1962 – Lenda Murray, American bodybuilder
• 1962 – Les Wallace, Scottish darts player
• 1963 – Andrew Adonis, Baron Adonis, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
• 1963 – Donald Braswell II, American tenor and actor
• 1963 – Devon Malcolm, English cricketer
• 1963 – Anna Christina Nobre, Brazilian neuroscientist and broadcaster
• 1963 – Vijay Singh, Fijian golfer
• 1964 – Ed Boon, American game programmer
• 1964 – Gigi Fernández, Puerto Rican tennis player
• 1965 – Chris Dudley, American basketball player
• 1965 – Kieren Fallon, Irish jockey
• 1965 – Dean Karr, American director and photographer
• 1965 – Pat LaFontaine, American ice hockey player
• 1966 – Rachel Dratch, American actress
• 1966 – Brian Greig, Australian politician
• 1966 – Mark David Hall, American political scientist
• 1966 – Thorsten Kaye, German actor
• 1966 – Aiden Shaw, English porn actor
• 1967 – Psicosis II, Mexican wrestler
• 1967 – Anthony Hardwood, Hungarian-American porn actor
• 1967 – Alf Poier, Austrian comedian and actor
• 1967 – Serghei Stroenco, Moldovan footballer and manager (d. 2013)
• 1968 – Shawn Graham, Canadian politician, 31st Premier of New Brunswick
• 1968 – Bradley Nowell, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Sublime) (d. 1996)
• 1968 – Elna Reinach, South African tennis player
• 1968 – Jeri Ryan, American actress
• 1968 – Jayson Williams, American basketball player
• 1969 – Joaquín Cortés, Spanish dancer
• 1969 – Thomas Jane, American actor, director, and producer
• 1969 – Clinton Kelly, American television host
• 1969 – Hans Klok, Dutch magician
• 1969 – Brian Laudrup, Danish footballer
• 1970 – Dominic Roussel, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1970 – Ravi Vakil, Canadian-American mathematician
• 1971 – Super Caló, Mexican wrestler
• 1971 – Lea Salonga, Filipino actress and singer
• 1972 – Michael Chang, American tennis player
• 1972 – Laurence Leboucher, French cyclist
• 1972 – Claudia Pechstein, German speed skater
• 1973 – Philippe Gaumont, French cyclist (d. 2013)
• 1973 – Claus Lundekvam, Norwegian footballer
• 1973 – Juninho Paulista, Brazilian footballer
• 1973 – Scott Phillips, American drummer (Creed, Alter Bridge, and Projected)
• 1973 – Einar Kristian Tveitå, Norwegian discus thrower
• 1974 – James Blunt, English singer-songwriter
• 1974 – Chris Moyles, English radio and television host
• 1975 – Alun Armstrong, English footballer
• 1975 – Drew Barrymore, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1976 – Faan Rautenbach, South African rugby player
• 1977 – Timo Rose, German director and producer
• 1977 – Hakan Yakin, Swiss footballer
• 1978 – Jenny Frost, English singer and dancer (Precious and Atomic Kitten)
• 1979 – Brett Emerton, Australian footballer
• 1979 – Lee Na-young, South Korean actress
• 1979 – Jo Pitt, Scottish horse rider (d. 2013)
• 1980 – Shamari Fears, American singer-songwriter and actress (Blaque)
• 1980 – Kang Sung-hoon, South Korean singer (Sechs Kies)
• 1981 – Jeanette Biedermann, German singer-songwriter and actress
• 1981 – Fredson Câmara Pereira, Brazilian footballer
• 1981 – Adrienne Pickering, Australian actress
• 1982 – Jenna Haze, American porn actress and director
• 1982 – Dichen Lachman, Nepalese-Australian actress and producer
• 1982 – Shawntae Spencer, American football player
• 1982 – Robert Weiner, Jr., American water polo player
• 1983 – Jennifer Ketcham, American porn actress, director, and blogger
• 1983 – Iliza Shlesinger, American comedienne
• 1983 – Shaun Tait, Australian cricketer
• 1984 – Tommy Bowe, Irish rugby player
• 1984 – Branislav Ivanović, Serbian footballer
• 1984 – Georgios Printezis, Greek basketball player
• 1985 – Hameur Bouazza, Algerian footballer
• 1985 – Kein Einaste, Estonian skier
• 1985 – Sean Garballey, American politician
• 1985 – Georgios Printezis, Greek basketball player
• 1985 – Larissa Riquelme, Paraguayan model and actress
• 1985 – Zach Roerig, American actor
• 1986 – Choi Daniel, South Korean actor
• 1986 – Miko Hughes, American actor
• 1986 – Rajon Rondo, American basketball player
• 1987 – Lesley Cantwell, New Zealand race walker (d. 2013)
• 1987 – Han Hyo-joo, South Korean actress and model
• 1987 – Sergio Romero, Argentinian footballer
• 1988 – Jonathan Borlée, Belgian sprinter
• 1988 – Kevin Borlée, Belgian sprinter
• 1988 – Efraín Juárez, Mexican footballer
• 1988 – Ximena Navarrete, Mexican model and actress, Miss Universe 2010
• 1988 – Sebastian Tyrała, Polish footballer
• 1988 – Ana Veselinović, Montenegrin tennis player
• 1989 – Alia Sabur, American academic
• 1989 – Anna Sundstrand, Swedish singer, dancer, and actress (Play)
• 1989 – Franco Vázquez, Argentinian footballer
• 1990 – Luca Profeta, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Scott Winkler, Norwegian ice hockey player (d. 2013)
• 1992 – Alexander Merkel, German footballer

Deaths

• 556 – Maximianus of Ravenna, Italian bishop and saint (b. 499)
• 606 – Pope Sabinian
• 965 – Otto, Duke of Burgundy (b. 944)
• 1071 – Arnulf III, Count of Flanders (b. 1055)
• 1111 – Roger Borsa, Italian son of Robert Guiscard (b. 1060)
• 1371 – David II of Scotland (b. 1324)
• 1511 – Henry, Duke of Cornwall (b. 1511)
• 1512 – Amerigo Vespucci, Italian cartographer and explorer (b. 1454)
• 1627 – Olivier van Noort, Dutch explorer (b. 1558)
• 1674 – Jean Chapelain, French poet and critic (b. 1595)
• 1680 – La Voisin, French occultist (b. 1640)
• 1690 – Charles Le Brun, French painter (b. 1619)
• 1727 – Francesco Gasparini, Italian composer and educator (b. 1661)
• 1731 – Frederik Ruysch, Dutch physician and anatomist (b. 1638)
• 1732 – Francis Atterbury, English bishop (b. 1663)
• 1742 – Charles Rivington, English publisher (b. 1688)
• 1797 – Baron Münchhausen, German captain (b. 1720)
• 1799 – Heshen, Chinese politician (b. 1750)
• 1816 – Adam Ferguson, Scottish historian and philosopher (b. 1723)
• 1875 – Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, French painter (b. 1796)
• 1875 – Charles Lyell, Scottish geologist (b. 1797)
• 1888 – Anna Kingsford, English physician and activist (b. 1846)
• 1890 – John Jacob Astor III, American businessman (b. 1822)
• 1890 – Carl Bloch, Danish painter (b. 1834)
• 1892 – Herman Koeckemann, German bishop (b. 1828)
• 1897 – Charles Blondin, French acrobat (b. 1824)
• 1898 – Heungseon Daewongun, Korean king (b. 1820)
• 1903 – Hugo Wolf, Austrian composer (b. 1860)
• 1904 – Leslie Stephen, English author and critic (b. 1832)
• 1913 – Ferdinand de Saussure, Swiss linguist (b. 1857)
• 1914 – Thillaiaadi Valliammai, South African activist (b. 1898)
• 1921 – Salim Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1864)
• 1923 – Théophile Delcassé, French politician (b. 1852)
• 1930 – William Jeremiah Tuttle, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1882)
• 1934 – Willem Kes, Dutch violinist and conductor (b. 1856)
• 1939 – Antonio Machado, Spanish poet (b. 1875)
• 1942 – Stefan Zweig, Austrian journalist and author (b. 1881)
• 1943 – Christoph Probst, German activist (b. 1919)
• 1943 – Hans Scholl, German activist (b. 1918)
• 1943 – Sophie Scholl, German activist (b. 1921)
• 1944 – Kasturba Gandhi, Indian wife of Mahatma Gandhi (b. 1869)
• 1945 – Osip Brik, Russian author and critic (b. 1888)
• 1956 – Alexandros Svolos, Greek politician (b. 1892)
• 1958 – Abul Kalam Azad, Indian scholar and politician (b. 1888)
• 1960 – Paul-Émile Borduas, Canadian painter (b. 1905)
• 1961 – Nick LaRocca, American trumpet player (Original Dixieland Jass Band) (b. 1889)
• 1965 – Felix Frankfurter, American jurist (b. 1882)
• 1968 – Peter Arno, American cartoonist (b. 1904)
• 1970 – Eddie Selzer American film producer (b. 1893)
• 1973 – Jean-Jacques Bertrand, Canadian politician, 21st Premier of Quebec (b. 1916)
• 1973 – Elizabeth Bowen, Irish-English author (b. 1899)
• 1973 – Katina Paxinou, Greek actress (b. 1900)
• 1973 – Winthrop Rockefeller, American colonel and politician, 37th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1912)
• 1974 – Samuel Byck, American criminal (b. 1930)
• 1976 – Angela Baddeley, English actress (b. 1904)
• 1976 – Florence Ballard, American singer (The Supremes) (b. 1943)
• 1978 – Hal Borland, American author (b. 1900)
• 1978 – Phyllis McGinley, American author and poet (b. 1905)
• 1979 – Sigrid Schauman, Finnish painter (b. 1877)
• 1980 – Oskar Kokoschka, Austrian poet and playwright (b. 1886)
• 1981 – Michael Maltese, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1908)
• 1982 – Josh Malihabadi, Indian-Pakistani poet (b. 1898)
• 1983 – Adrian Boult, English conductor (b. 1889)
• 1983 – Romain Maes, Belgian cyclist (b. 1913)
• 1984 – David Vetter, American SCID victim (b. 1971)
• 1985 – Salvador Espriu, Spanish poet (b. 1913)
• 1985 – Alexander Scourby, American actor (b. 1913)
• 1985 – Efrem Zimbalist, Russian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1889)
• 1987 – Andy Warhol, American painter and photographer (b. 1928)
• 1989 – Moisés da Costa Amaral, East Timorese politician (b. 1938)
• 1990 – Evald Seepere, Estonian boxer (b. 1911)
• 1994 – Papa John Creach, American violinist (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna, and The Dinosaurs) (b. 1917)
• 1995 – Ed Flanders, American actor (b. 1934)
• 1997 – Joseph Aiuppa, American gangster (b. 1907)
• 1998 – Abraham A. Ribicoff, American politician, 80th Governor of Connecticut (b. 1910)
• 1999 – William Bronk, American poet (b. 1918)
• 1999 – Menno Oosting, Dutch tennis player (b. 1964)
• 2000 – Fernando Buesa, Spanish politician (b. 1946)
• 2001 – Les Medley, English footballer (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Roden Cutler, Australian lieutenant and politician, 32nd Governor of New South Wales (b. 1916)
• 2002 – Chuck Jones, American animator, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1912)
• 2002 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist (b. 1963)
• 2002 – Jonas Savimbi, Angolan general, founded UNITA (b. 1934)
• 2003 – Daniel Taradash, American screenwriter (b. 1913)
• 2004 – Roque Máspoli, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1917)
• 2004 – Andy Seminick, American baseball player (b. 1920)
• 2005 – Zdzisław Beksiński, Polish painter and sculptor (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Lee Eun-ju, South Korean actress (b. 1980)
• 2005 – Simone Simon, French actress (b. 1910)
• 2006 – Atwar Bahjat, Iraqi journalist (b. 1976)
• 2006 – Anthony Burger, American pianist and singer (The Kingsmen Quartet) (b. 1961)
• 2007 – George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe, English admiral (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Dennis Johnson, American basketball player (b. 1954)
• 2007 – Samuel Hinga Norman, Sierra Leonean politician (b. 1940)
• 2007 – Howard Ramsey, American soldier (b. 1898)
• 2008 – Henk Bruna, Dutch publisher (b. 1916)
• 2008 – Nunzio Gallo, Italian singer (b. 1928)
• 2009 – Candido Cannavò, Italian journalist (b. 1930)
• 2010 – Fred Chaffart, Belgian businessman (b. 1936)
• 2010 – Robin Davies, Welsh actor (b. 1954)
• 2010 – Steffi Sidney, American actress (b. 1935)
• 2011 – Nicholas Courtney, Egyptian-English actor (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Sukhbir, Indian author and poet (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Frank Carson, Irish-English comedian and actor (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Marie Colvin, American journalist (b. 1956)
• 2012 – Lyudmila Kasatkina, Russian actress (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Thabang Lebese, South African footballer (b. 1973)
• 2012 – Mike Melvoin, American pianist and composer (The Wrecking Crew) (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Rémi Ochlik, French photographer (b. 1983)
• 2012 – Billy Strange, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Wrecking Crew) (b. 1930)
• 2013 – George Ives, American actor (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Atje Keulen-Deelstra, Dutch speed skater (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Neil Mann, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Claude Monteux, American flute player and conductor (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Enver Ören, Turkish businessman, founded İhlas Holding (b. 1939)
• 2013 – Mario Ramírez, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1957)
• 2013 – Wolfgang Sawallisch, German pianist and conductor (b. 1923)
• 2013 – Hari Shankar Singhania, Indian businessman (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Behsat Üvez, Turkish singer-songwriter (b. 1959)
• 2014 – Richard Daugherty, American archaeologist and academic (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Charlotte Dawson, New Zealand–Australian television host (b. 1966)
• 2014 – Grigor Gurzadyan, Armenian astronomer and physicist (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Edith Kramer, Austrian painter (b. 1916)
• 2014 – Trebor Jay Tichenor, American pianist and composer (b. 1940)
• 2014 – Leo Vroman, Dutch-American hematologist, poet, and illustrator (b. 1915)

Holidays and observances

• Birthday of Scouting and Guiding founder Robert Baden-Powell and Olave Baden-Powell, and its related observance:
  • Founder's Day or "B.-P. day" (World Organization of the Scout Movement)
  • World Thinking Day (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts)
• Celebrity Day (Church of Scientology)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Baradates
  • Eric Liddell (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Margaret of Cortona
  • February 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Saint Lucia from the United Kingdom in 1979.

External links

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