February 2

February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 332 days remain until the end of the year (333 in leap years).

Events

Pre-1600

• 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths, promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of "Roman law".
• 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III of France is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.
• 962 – Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.
• 1032 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy.
• 1141 – The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda.
• 1207 – Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established.
• 1438 – Nine leaders of the Transylvanian peasant revolt are executed at Torda.
• 1461 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer's Cross results in the death of Owen Tudor.
• 1536 – Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.

1601–1900

• 1645 – Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Inverlochy.
• 1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
• 1709 – Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe's adventure book Robinson Crusoe.
• 1814 – The last of the River Thames frost fairs comes to an end.
• 1848 – Mexican–American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
• 1850 – Brigham Young declares war on Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah.
• 1868 – Pro-Imperial forces capture Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burn it to the ground.
• 1870 – The Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä), a novel by Finnish author Aleksis Kivi, is published first time in several thin booklets.
• 1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
• 1881 – The sentences of the trial of the warlocks of Chiloé are imparted.
• 1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day is observed.
• 1899 – The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.
• 1900 – Six cities, Boston, Detroit, Milwaukee, Baltimore, Chicago and St. Louis, agree to form baseball's American League.

1901–present

• 1901 – Funeral of Queen Victoria.
• 1909 – The Paris Film Congress opens, an attempt by European producers to form an equivalent to the MPCC cartel in the United States.
• 1913 – Grand Central Terminal opens in New York City.
• 1920 – The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.
• 1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
• 1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
• 1934 – The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.
• 1935 – Leonarde Keeler administers polygraph tests to two murder suspects, the first time polygraph evidence was admitted in U.S. courts.
• 1942 – The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.
• 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last organized German troops in the city.
• 1959 – Nine experienced ski hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union die under mysterious circumstances.
• 1966 – Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
• 1971 – Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.
• 1971 – The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran.
• 1980 – Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
• 1982 – Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama.
• 1987 – After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.
• 1989 – Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.
• 1990 – Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
• 1998 – Cebu Pacific Flight 387 crashes into to Mount Sumagaya in the Philippines, killing all 104 people on board.
• 2000 – First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.
• 2004 – Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men's singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.
• 2005 – The Government of Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage.
• 2007 – Police officer Filippo Raciti is killed when a clash breaks out in the Sicily derby between Catania and Palermo, in the Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. This event led to major changes in stadium regulations in Italy.
• 2012 – The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 146–165 dead.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1208 – James I of Aragon (d. 1276)
• 1425 (or 1426) – Eleanor of Navarre, Queen regnant of Navarre (d. 1479)
• 1443 – Elisabeth of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (d. 1486)
• 1455 – John, King of Denmark (d. 1513)
• 1457 – Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, Italian-Spanish historian and author (d. 1526)
• 1467 – Columba of Rieti, Italian Dominican sister (d. 1501)
• 1494 – Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (d. 1557)
• 1502 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher and historian (d. 1574)
• 1506 – René de Birague, Italian-French cardinal and politician (d. 1583)
• 1509 – John of Leiden, Dutch Anabaptist leader (d. 1536)
• 1522 – Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1565)
• 1536 – Piotr Skarga, Polish writer (d. 1612)
• 1551 – Nicolaus Reimers, German astronomer (d. 1600)
• 1576 – Alix Le Clerc, French Canoness Regular and foundress (d. 1622)
• 1585 – Judith Quiney, William Shakespeare's youngest daughter (d. 1662)
• 1585 – Hamnet Shakespeare, William Shakespeare's only son (baptised; d. 1596)
• 1588 – Georg II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl, German nobleman (d. 1644)
• 1600 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653)

1601–1900

• 1611 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (d. 1633)
• 1613 – Noël Chabanel, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
• 1621 – Johannes Schefferus, Swedish author and hymn-writer (d. 1679)
• 1650 – Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730)
• 1650 – Nell Gwyn, English actress, mistress of King Charles II of England (d. 1687)
• 1651 – William Phips, Royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1695)
• 1669 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (d. 1732)
• 1677 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French composer (d. 1745)
• 1695 – William Borlase, English geologist and archaeologist (d. 1772)
• 1695 – François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769)
• 1700 – Johann Christoph Gottsched, German author and critic (d. 1766)
• 1711 – Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (d. 1794)
• 1714 – Gottfried August Homilius, German organist and composer (d. 1785)
• 1717 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)
• 1754 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1838)
• 1782 – Henri de Rigny, French admiral and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1835)
• 1786 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1856)
• 1802 – Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist and academic (d. 1887)
• 1803 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (d. 1862)
• 1829 – Alfred Brehm, German zoologist and illustrator (d. 1884)
• 1829 – William Stanley, English engineer and philanthropist (d. 1909)
• 1841 – François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss limnologist and hydrologist (d. 1912)
• 1842 – Julian Sochocki, Polish-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1927)
• 1849 – Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet and playwright (d. 1921)
• 1851 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican illustrator and engraver (d. 1913)
• 1856 – Frederick William Vanderbilt, American railway magnate (d. 1938)
• 1856 – Makar Yekmalyan, Armenian composer (d. 1905)
• 1857 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (d. 1918)
• 1860 – Curtis Guild, Jr., American journalist and politician, 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)
• 1861 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (d. 1949)
• 1862 – Émile Coste, French fencer (d. 1927)
• 1862 – Cornelius McKane, American physician, educator, and hospital founder (d. 1912)
• 1866 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and academic (d. 1927)
• 1873 – Leo Fall, Austrian composer (d. 1925)
• 1873 – Konstantin von Neurath, German politician and diplomat, 13th German Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1956)
• 1875 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (d. 1962)
• 1877 – Frank L. Packard, Canadian author (d. 1942)
• 1878 – Joe Lydon, American boxer (d. 1937)
• 1880 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969)
• 1881 – Orval Overall, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947)
• 1882 – Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (d. 1944)
• 1882 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1941)
• 1883 – Johnston McCulley, American author and screenwriter, created Zorro (d. 1958)
• 1883 – Julia Nava de Ruisánchez, Mexican activist and writer (d. 1964)
• 1886 – William Rose Benét, American poet and author (d. 1950)
• 1887 – Ernst Hanfstaengl, German businessman (d. 1975)
• 1889 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (d. 1952)
• 1890 – Charles Correll, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1972)
• 1892 – Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (d. 1959)
• 1893 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1974)
• 1893 – Raoul Riganti, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1970)
• 1893 – Damdin Sükhbaatar, Mongolian soldier and politician (d. 1924)
• 1895 – George Halas, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
• 1895 – Robert Philipp, American painter (d. 1981)
• 1895 – George Sutcliffe, Australian public servant (d. 1964)
• 1896 – Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980)
• 1897 – Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson's (d. 1972)
• 1897 – Gertrude Blanch, Russian-American mathematician (d. 1996)
• 1900 – Willie Kamm, American baseball player and manager (d. 1988)

1901–present

• 1901 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born American violinist and educator (d. 1987)
• 1902 – Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
• 1902 – John Tonkin, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1995)
• 1904 – Bozorg Alavi, Iranian author and activist (d. 1997)
• 1905 – Ayn Rand, Russian-born American novelist and philosopher (d. 1982)
• 1908 – Wes Ferrell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
• 1909 – Frank Albertson, American actor (d. 1964)
• 1911 – Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (d. 1968)
• 1912 – Millvina Dean, English civil servant and cartographer (d. 2009)
• 1912 – Burton Lane, American songwriter and composer (d. 1997)
• 1913 – Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor and singer (d. 1985)
• 1914 – Eric Kierans, Canadian economist and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2004)
• 1915 – Abba Eban, South African-Israeli politician and diplomat, 1st Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (d. 2005)
• 1915 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (d. 2014)
• 1916 – Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1985)
• 1917 – Mary Ellis, British World War II ferry pilot (d. 2018)
• 1917 – Đỗ Mười, Vietnamese politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (d. 2018)
• 1918 – Hella Haasse, Indonesian-Dutch author (d. 2011)
• 1919 – Lisa Della Casa, Swiss soprano and actress (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Georg Gawliczek, German footballer and manager (d. 1999)
• 1920 – George Hardwick, English footballer and coach (d. 2004)
• 1920 – John Russell, American Olympic equestrian (d. 2020)
• 1920 – Arthur Willis, English footballer player-manager (d. 1987)
• 1922 – Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey player (d. 1978)
• 1922 – Robert Chef d'Hôtel, French athlete (d. 2019)
• 1922 – James L. Usry, American politician, first African-American mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2002)
• 1922 – Stoyanka Mutafova, Bulgarian actress (d. 2019)
• 1923 – Jean Babilée, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
• 1923 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (d. 1997)
• 1923 – Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster (d.2012)
• 1923 – Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (d. 1988)
• 1923 – Red Schoendienst, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2018)
• 1923 – Liz Smith, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
• 1923 – Clem Windsor, Australian rugby player and surgeon (d. 2007)
• 1924 – Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American singer, pianist, producer (d. 2007)
• 1924 – Sonny Stitt, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1982)
• 1925 – Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French academic and politician, 20th President of France (d. 2020)
• 1927 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (d. 1991)
• 1927 – Doris Sams, American baseball player (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Ciriaco De Mita, 47th Prime minister of Italy
• 1928 – Jay Handlan, American basketball player and engineer (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Tommy Harmer, English footballer and youth team coach (d. 2007)
• 1929 – Sheila Matthews Allen, American actress and producer (d. 2013)
• 1929 – George Band, English engineer and mountaineer (d. 2011)
• 1929 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
• 1929 – John Henry Holland, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2015)
• 1929 – Waldemar Kmentt, Austrian operatic tenor (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Dries van Agt, Dutch politician, diplomat and jurist, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
• 1931 – Les Dawson, English comedian and author (d. 1993)
• 1931 – Glynn Edwards, Malaysian-English actor (d. 2018)
• 1931 – John Paul Harney, Canadian educator and politician
• 1931 – Judith Viorst, American journalist and author
• 1932 – Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (d. 2002)
• 1932 – Robert Mandan, American actor (d. 2018)
• 1933 – M'el Dowd, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
• 1933 – Tony Jay, English-American actor (d. 2006)
• 1933 – Orlando "Cachaíto" López, Cuban bassist and composer (d. 2009)
• 1933 – Than Shwe, Burmese general and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma
• 1934 – Khalil Ullah Khan, Bangladeshi actor (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Pete Brown, American golfer (d. 2015)
• 1935 – Evgeny Velikhov, Russian physicist and academic
• 1936 – Metin Oktay, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 1991)
• 1937 – Don Buford, American baseball player and coach
• 1937 – Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer and politician, President of Panama (d. 2015)
• 1937 – Anthony Haden-Guest, British journalist, poet, and critic
• 1937 – Remak Ramsay, American actor
• 1937 – Tom Smothers, American comedian, actor, and activist
• 1937 – Alexandra Strelchenko, Ukrainian actress and singer (d. 2019)
• 1938 – Norman Fowler, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
• 1938 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
• 1939 – Jackie Burroughs, English-born Canadian actress (d. 2010)
• 1939 – Mary-Dell Chilton, American chemist and inventor and one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology
• 1939 – Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
• 1940 – Alan Caddy, English guitarist and producer (d. 2000)
• 1940 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (d. 2008)
• 1940 – Wayne Fontes, American football player and coach
• 1940 – David Jason, English actor, director, and producer
• 1941 – Terry Biddlecombe, English jockey (d. 2014)
• 1942 – Bo Hopkins, American actor
• 1942 – Graham Nash, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1944 – Andrew Davis, English organist and conductor
• 1944 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (d. 2012)
• 1944 – Ursula Oppens, American pianist and educator
• 1945 – John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, English economist and academic
• 1946 – John Armitt, English engineer and businessman
• 1946 – Blake Clark, American comedian and actor
• 1946 – Alpha Oumar Konaré, Malian academic and politician, 3rd President of Mali
• 1946 – Constantine Papadakis, Greek-American businessman and academic (d. 2009)
• 1947 – Greg Antonacci, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
• 1947 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (d. 2009)
• 1948 – Ina Garten, American chef and author
• 1948 – Al McKay, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1948 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (d. 1973)
• 1949 – Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
• 1949 – Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (d. 1996)
• 1949 – Brent Spiner, American actor and singer
• 1949 – Ross Valory, American rock bass player and songwriter
• 1950 – Osamu Kido, Japanese wrestler
• 1950 – Libby Purves, British journalist and author
• 1950 – Bárbara Rey, Spanish singer and actress
• 1950 – Barbara Sukowa, German actress
• 1950 – Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese wrestler
• 1951 – Vangelis Alexandris, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1951 – Ken Bruce, Scottish radio host
• 1952 – John Cornyn, American lawyer and politician, 49th Attorney General of Texas
• 1952 – Park Geun-hye, South Korean politician, 11th President of South Korea
• 1952 – Ralph Merkle, American computer scientist and academic
• 1952 – Carol Ann Susi, American actress (d. 2014)
• 1953 – Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter
• 1953 – Jerry Sisk, Jr., American gemologist, co-founded Jewelry Television (d. 2013)
• 1954 – Christie Brinkley, American actress, model, and businesswoman
• 1954 – Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian skier and actor
• 1954 – Nelson Ne'e, Solomon Islander politician (d. 2013)
• 1954 – John Tudor, American baseball player
• 1955 – Leszek Engelking, Polish poet and author
• 1955 – Bob Schreck, American author
• 1955 – Michael Talbott, American actor
• 1955 – Kim Zimmer, American actress
• 1956 – Adnan Oktar, Turkish theorist and author
• 1957 – Phil Barney, Algerian-French singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Michel Marc Bouchard, Canadian playwright
• 1961 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (d. 2013)
• 1961 – Lauren Lane, American actress and academic
• 1962 – Philippe Claudel, French author, director, and screenwriter
• 1962 – Andy Fordham, English darts player (d. 2021)
• 1962 – Paul Kilgus, American baseball player
• 1962 – Kate Raison, Australian actress
• 1962 – Michael T. Weiss, American actor
• 1963 – Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (d. 1996)
• 1963 – Kjell Dahlin, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1963 – Andrej Kiska, Slovak entrepreneur and philanthropist, President of Slovakia
• 1963 – Philip Laats, Belgian martial artist
• 1963 – Vigleik Storaas, Norwegian pianist
• 1965 – Carl Airey, English footballer
• 1965 – Naoki Sano, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
• 1966 – Andrei Chesnokov, Russian tennis player and coach
• 1966 – Robert DeLeo, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
• 1966 – Adam Ferrara, American actor and comedian
• 1966 – Michael Misick, Caicos Islander politician, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands
• 1967 – Artūrs Irbe, Latvian ice hockey player and coach
• 1967 – Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general
• 1968 – Sean Elliott, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1968 – Scott Erickson, American baseball player and coach
• 1969 – Dana International, Israeli singer-songwriter
• 1969 – Valeri Karpin, Estonian-Russian footballer and manager
• 1970 – Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer
• 1970 – Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress and singer
• 1971 – Michelle Gayle, English singer-songwriter and actress
• 1971 – Arly Jover, Spanish actress
• 1971 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer and sportscaster (d. 2014)
• 1971 – Jason Taylor, Australian rugby league player and coach
• 1971 – Hwang Seok-jeong, South Korean actress
• 1972 – Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1972 – Aleksey Naumov, Russian footballer
• 1972 – Hisashi Tonomura, Japanese musician
• 1973 – Andrei Luzgin, Estonian tennis player and coach
• 1973 – Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower
• 1973 – Marissa Jaret Winokur, American actress and singer
• 1975 – Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Donald Driver, American football player
• 1975 – Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer
• 1976 – Ryan Farquhar, Northern Irish motorcycle racer
• 1976 – James Hickman, English swimmer
• 1976 – Ana Roces, Filipino actress
• 1977 – Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1977 – Libor Sionko, Czech footballer
• 1978 – Adam Christopher, New Zealand writer
• 1978 – Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1978 – Lee Ji-ah, South Korean actress
• 1978 – Faye White, English footballer
• 1979 – Urmo Aava, Estonian race car driver
• 1979 – Fani Chalkia, Greek hurdler and sprinter
• 1979 – Christine Lampard, Irish television host
• 1979 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
• 1979 – Irini Terzoglou, Greek shot putter
• 1980 – Teddy Hart, Canadian wrestler
• 1980 – Zhang Jingchu, Chinese actress
• 1980 – Oleguer Presas, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Emre Aydın, Turkish singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Michelle Bass, English model and singer
• 1981 – Salem al-Hazmi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 77 (d. 2001)
• 1982 – Sergio Castaño Ortega, Spanish footballer
• 1982 – Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player
• 1982 – Kan Mi-youn, South Korean singer, model, and host
• 1983 – Ronny Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1983 – Carolina Klüft, Swedish heptathlete and jumper
• 1983 – Jordin Tootoo, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Estonian footballer
• 1983 – Alex Westaway, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1984 – Brian Cage, American wrestler
• 1984 – Chin-Lung Hu, Taiwanese baseball player
• 1984 – Mao Miyaji, Japanese actress
• 1984 – Rudi Wulf, New Zealand rugby player
• 1985 – Masoud Azizi, Afghan sprinter
• 1985 – Renn Kiriyama, Japanese actor
• 1985 – Kristo Saage, Estonian basketball player
• 1985 – Silvestre Varela, Portuguese footballer
• 1986 – Gemma Arterton, English actress and singer
• 1986 – Miwa Asao, Japanese volleyball player
• 1987 – Anthony Fainga'a, Australian rugby player
• 1987 – Saia Fainga'a, Australian rugby player
• 1987 – Faydee, Australian singer
• 1987 – Athena Imperial, Filipino journalist, Miss Earth-Water 2011
• 1987 – Mimi Page, American singer-songwriter and composer
• 1987 – Gerard Piqué, Spanish footballer
• 1987 – Javon Ringer, American football player
• 1987 – Jill Scott, English footballer
• 1987 – Martin Spanjers, American actor and producer
• 1988 – JuJu Chan, Hong Kong-born American actress, martial artist, model, singer, taekwondo athlete and writer
• 1988 – Zosia Mamet, American actress
• 1989 – Southside, American record producer
• 1991 – Nathan Delfouneso, English footballer
• 1991 – Gregory Mertens, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
• 1991 – Shohei Nanba, Japanese actor
• 1992 – Lammtarra, American race horse (d. 2014)
• 1992 – Joonas Tamm, Estonian footballer
• 1993 – Ravel Morrison, English footballer
• 1993 – Bobby Decordova-Reid, English born Jamaican international footballer
• 1994 – Caterina Bosetti, Italian volleyball player
• 1995 – Paul Digby, English footballer
• 1995 – Aleksander Jagiełło, Polish footballer
• 1995 – Arfa Karim, Pakistani student and computer prodigy (d. 2012)
• 1996 – Harry Winks, English international footballer
• 1998 – Shiho Katō, Japanese idol
• 2000 – Munetaka Murakami, Japanese baseball player

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 619 – Laurence of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint
• 880 – Bruno, duke of Saxony
• 1124 – Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1064)
• 1218 – Konstantin of Rostov (b. 1186)
• 1237 – Joan, Lady of Wales
• 1250 – Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)
• 1294 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1229)
• 1347 – Thomas Bek, Bishop of Lincoln, was the bishop of Lincoln (b. 1282)
• 1348 – Narymunt, Prince of Pinsk
• 1416 – Racek Kobyla of Dvorce
• 1435 – Joan II of Naples, Queen of Naples (b. 1371)
• 1446 – Vittorino da Feltre, Italian humanist (b. 1378)
• 1448 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1372)
• 1461 – Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty (b. c. 1400)
• 1512 – Hatuey, Caribbean tribal chief
• 1529 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian soldier and diplomat (b. 1478)
• 1580 – Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese daimyō (b. 1558)
• 1594 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer and educator (b. 1525)

1601–1900

• 1648 – George Abbot, English author and politician (b. 1603)
• 1660 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans (b. 1608)
• 1660 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615)
• 1661 – Lucas Holstenius, German geographer and historian (b. 1596)
• 1675 – Ivan Belostenec, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (b. 1594)
• 1688 – Abraham Duquesne, French admiral (b. 1610)
• 1704 – Guillaume de l'Hôpital, French mathematician and academic (b. 1661)
• 1712 – Martin Lister, English physician and geologist (b. 1639)
• 1714 – John Sharp, English archbishop (b. 1643)
• 1723 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (b. 1666)
• 1768 – Robert Smith, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1689)
• 1769 – Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693)
• 1798 – Ferdinand Ashmall, English centenarian, Catholic priest, died in 73rd year of his ministry (b. 1695)
• 1802 – Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1713)
• 1804 – George Walton, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Georgia (b. 1749)
• 1831 – Vincenzo Dimech, Maltese sculptor (b. 1768)
• 1836 – Letizia Ramolino, Italian noblewoman (b. 1750)
• 1861 – Théophane Vénard, French Catholic missionary (b. 1829)
• 1881 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1808)

1901–present

• 1904 – Ernest Cashel, American-Canadian criminal (b. 1882)
• 1904 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1841)
• 1905 – Henri Germain, French banker and politician, founded Le Crédit Lyonnais (b. 1824)
• 1907 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (b. 1834)
• 1909 – Carlo Acton, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1829)
• 1913 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer (b. 1845)
• 1918 – John L. Sullivan, American boxer (b. 1858)
• 1919 – Julius Kuperjanov, Estonian lieutenant (b. 1894)
• 1925 – Antti Aarne, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1867)
• 1925 – Jaap Eden, Dutch speed skater and cyclist (b. 1873)
• 1926 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general and politician (b. 1848)
• 1932 – Agha Petros, Assyrian general and politician (b. 1880)
• 1939 – Amanda McKittrick Ros, Irish author and poet (d. 1860)
• 1939 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (b. 1879)
• 1942 – Ado Birk, Estonian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1883)
• 1942 – Daniil Kharms, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1905)
• 1942 – Hugh D. McIntosh, Australian businessman (b. 1876)
• 1945 – Alfred Delp, German priest and philosopher (b. 1907)
• 1945 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German economist and politician (b. 1884)
• 1945 – Johannes Popitz, German lawyer and politician (b. 1884)
• 1948 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1870)
• 1948 – Bevil Rudd, South African runner and journalist (b. 1894)
• 1950 – Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician and academic (b. 1873)
• 1952 – Callistratus of Georgia, Georgian patriarch (b. 1866)
• 1954 – Hella Wuolijoki, Estonian-Finnish author and politician (b. 1886)
• 1956 – Charley Grapewin, American actor (b. 1869)
• 1956 – Truxtun Hare, American football player and hammer thrower (b. 1878)
• 1956 – Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
• 1957 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1890)
• 1962 – Shlomo Hestrin, Canadian-Israeli biochemist and academic (b. 1914)
• 1966 – Hacı Ömer Sabancı, Turkish businessman (b. 1906)
• 1968 – Tullio Serafin, Italian conductor and director (b. 1878)
• 1969 – Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887)
• 1970 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (b. 1898)
• 1970 – Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1872)
• 1972 – Natalie Clifford Barney, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1876)
• 1973 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian academic and politician, 9th Mayor of Ghent (b. 1902)
• 1974 – Imre Lakatos, Hungarian-English mathematician and philosopher (b. 1922)
• 1975 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1883)
• 1979 – Jim Burke, Australian cricketer (b. 1930)
• 1979 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (b. 1957)
• 1980 – William Howard Stein, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
• 1982 – Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
• 1983 – Sam Chatmon, American singer and guitarist (b. 1897)
• 1986 – Anita Cobby, Australian murder victim (b. 1959)
• 1986 – Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)
• 1987 – Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1927)
• 1987 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 1988 – Marcel Bozzuffi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
• 1989 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (b. 1951)
• 1989 – Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand minister and politician, 30th New Zealand Minister of Finance (b. 1901)
• 1990 – Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (b. 1905)
• 1990 – Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (b. 1934)
• 1992 – Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality; Miss America telecast presenter (b. 1914)
• 1993 – François Reichenbach, French director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
• 1994 – Marija Gimbutas, Lithuanian-American archeologist (b. 1921)
• 1995 – Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor (b. 1917)
• 1995 – Fred Perry, English tennis player (b. 1909)
• 1995 – Donald Pleasence, English-French actor (b. 1919)
• 1996 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, dancer, and director (b. 1912)
• 1997 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913)
• 1997 – Sanford Meisner, American actor and coach (b. 1904)
• 1998 – Haroun Tazieff, German-French geologist and cinematographer (b. 1914)
• 1999 – David McComb, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1962)
• 2002 – Paul Baloff, American singer-songwriter (b. 1960)
• 2002 – Claude Brown, American author (b. 1937)
• 2003 – Lou Harrison, American composer and educator (b. 1917)
• 2004 – Bernard McEveety, American director and producer (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Birgitte Federspiel, Danish actress (b. 1925)
• 2005 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)
• 2007 – Vijay Arora, Indian actor (b. 1944)
• 2007 – Billy Henderson, American singer (b. 1939)
• 2007 – Joe Hunter, American pianist (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967)
• 2007 – Eric Von Schmidt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919)
• 2008 – Barry Morse, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
• 2008 – Katoucha Niane, Guinean model and author (b. 1960)
• 2011 – Edward Amy, Canadian general (b. 1918)
• 2011 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish actress (b. 1975)
• 2011 – Margaret John, Welsh actress (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Joyce Barkhouse, Canadian author (b. 1913)
• 2012 – Frederick William Danker, American lexicographer and scholar (b. 1920)
• 2012 – George Esper, American journalist and academic (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (b. 1923)
• 2012 – James F. Lloyd, American pilot and politician (b. 1922)
• 2013 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (b. 1961)
• 2013 – John Kerr, American actor and lawyer (b. 1931)
• 2013 – Chris Kyle, American soldier and sniper (b. 1974)
• 2013 – Lino Oviedo, Paraguayan general and politician (b. 1943)
• 2013 – Pepper Paire, American baseball player (b. 1924)
• 2013 – P. Shanmugam, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Puducherry (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Walt Sweeney, American football player (b. 1941)
• 2013 – Guy F. Tozzoli, American architect (b. 1922)
• 2014 – Gerd Albrecht, German conductor (b. 1935)
• 2014 – Tommy Aquino, American motorcycle racer (b. 1992)
• 2014 – Nicholas Brooks, English historian (b. 1941)
• 2014 – Eduardo Coutinho, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1933)
• 2014 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1967)
• 2014 – Luis Raúl, Puerto Rican comedian and actor (b. 1962)
• 2014 – Bunny Rugs, Jamaican singer (b. 1948)
• 2014 – Nigel Walker, English footballer (b. 1959)
• 2015 – Joseph Alfidi, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1949)
• 2015 – Dave Bergman, American baseball player (b. 1953)
• 2015 – Andriy Kuzmenko, Ukrainian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1968)
• 2015 – Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Stewart Stern, American screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 2015 – The Jacka, American rapper and producer (b. 1977)
• 2016 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
• 2020 – Bernard Ebbers, Canadian businessman, the co-founder and CEO of WorldCom (b. 1941)
• 2021 – Captain Sir Tom Moore, British Army officer and charity campaigner (b. 1920)

Holidays and observances

Mosaic of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple

• Groundhog Day
• Anniversary of Treaty of Tartu (Estonia)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Adalbard
  • Cornelius the Centurion
  • Martyrs of Ebsdorf
  • February 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day (Philippines)
• Day of Youth (Azerbaijan)
• Earliest day on which Shrove Monday can fall, while March 8 is the latest; celebrated on Monday before Ash Wednesday (Christianity), and its related observances:
  • Bun Day (Iceland)
  • Fastelavn (Denmark/Norway)
  • Nickanan Night (Cornwall)
  • Rosenmontag (Germany)
• Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple or Candlemas (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
  • A quarter day in the Christian liturgical calendar (due to Candlemas). (Scotland)
  • Celebration of Yemanja or Our Lady of Navigators (Candomblé)
  • Le Jour des Crêpes (France)
  • Our Lady of the Candles (Filipino Catholics)
  • Virgin of Candelaria (Tenerife, Spain)
• Victory of the Battle of Stalingrad (Russia)
• World Wetlands Day

External links

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

• Historical Events on February 2
• Today in Canadian History