Events

• 1455 – Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed from movable type.

• 1660 – Charles XI becomes King of Sweden.

• 1778 – American Revolution: Baron von Steuben arrives at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania to help to train the Continental Army.

• 1820 – Cato Street Conspiracy: A plot to murder all the British cabinet ministers is exposed.

• 1836 – The Battle of the Alamo begins in San Antonio, Texas.

• 1847 – Mexican-American War: Battle of Buena Vista – In Mexico, American troops under General Zachary Taylor defeat Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna.

• 1854 – The official independence of the Orange Free State is declared.

• 1861 – President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives secretly in Washington, D.C., after the thwarting of an alleged assassination plot in Baltimore, Maryland.

• 1870 – In the United States, post-Civil War military control of Mississippi ends and it is readmitted to the Union.

• 1883 – Alabama becomes the first U.S. state to enact an antitrust law.

• 1887 – The French Riviera is hit by a large earthquake, killing around 2,000.

• 1898 – Émile Zola is imprisoned in France after writing "J'accuse," a letter accusing the French government of anti-Semitism and wrongfully imprisoning Captain Alfred Dreyfus.

• 1900 – In South Africa, the Boers and British troops fight in the Battle of Hart's Hill.

• 1903 – Cuba leases Guantánamo Bay to the United States "in perpetuity".

• 1905 – Chicago attorney Paul Harris and three other businessmen meet for lunch to form the Rotary Club, the world's first service club.

• 1909 – The AEA Silver Dart makes the first powered flight in Canada and the British Empire.

• 1917 – First demonstrations in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The beginning of the February Revolution.

• 1918 – First victory of Red Army over the Kaiser's German troops near Narva and Pskov. In honor of this victory, the date is celebrated from 1923 onward as "Red Army Day"; it is renamed Defender of the Fatherland Day after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and is colloquially known as "Men's Day".

• 1919 – Benito Mussolini forms the Fascist Party in Italy.

• 1927 – The Federal Radio Commission (later renamed the Federal Communications Commission) begins to regulate the use of radio frequencies in the United States.

• 1934 – Léopold III becomes King of Belgium.

• 1941 – Plutonium is first produced and isolated by Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg.

• 1943 – A fire breaks out at St. Joseph's Orphanage, Co Cavan, Ireland, killing 36 people (35 of whom are children).

• 1944 – The Soviet Union begins forced deportation of the Chechen and Ingush people from the North Caucasus to Central Asia.

• 1945 – World War II: During the Battle of Iwo Jima, a group of United States Marines and a commonly forgotten U.S. Navy Corpsman, reach the top of Mount Suribachi on the island and are photographed raising the American flag. The photo would later win a Pulitzer Prize and become the model for the national USMC War Memorial.

• 1945 – World War II: The capital of the Philippines, Manila, is liberated by American forces.

• 1945 – World War II: Capitulation of German garrison in Poznań. The city is liberated by Soviet and Polish forces.

• 1945 – World War II: The German town of Pforzheim is completely destroyed by a raid of 379 British bombers.

• 1945 – World War II: The Verona Philharmonic Theatre is bombed by Allied forces. It would later be re-opened in 1975.

• 1947 – The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is founded.

• 1954 – The first mass inoculation of children against polio with the Salk vaccine begins in Pittsburgh.

• 1955 – First meeting of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO).

• 1957 – The founding congress of the Senegalese Popular Bloc is opened in Dakar.

• 1958 – Cuban rebels kidnap 5-time world driving champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

• 1966 – In Syria, Baath party member Salah Jadid leads an intra-party military coup that replaces the previous government of General Amin Hafiz, also a Baathist.

• 1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army demands $4 million more to release kidnap victim Patty Hearst.

• 1980 – Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini states that Iran's parliament will decide the fate of the American embassy hostages.

• 1981 – In Spain, Antonio Tejero attempts a coup d'état by capturing the Spanish Congress of Deputies.

• 1983 – The Spanish Socialist government of Felipe González and Miguel Boyer nationalizes Rumasa, a holding company founded by entrepreneur José María Ruiz Mateos.

• 1983 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency announces its intent to buy out and evacuate the dioxin-contaminated community of Times Beach, Missouri.

• 1987 – Supernova 1987a is seen in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

• 1991 – Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus starting the ground phase of the war.

• 1991 – In Thailand, General Sunthorn Kongsompong leads a bloodless coup d'état, deposing Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan.

• 1992 – The Socialist Labour Party is founded in the nation of Georgia.

• 1997 – A small fire occurs in the Russian Space station, Mir.

• 1998 – In the United States, tornadoes in central Florida destroy or damage 2,600 structures and kill 42.

• 1998 – Osama bin Laden publishes a fatwa declaring jihad against all Jews and "Crusaders"; the latter term is commonly interpreted to refer to the people of Europe and the United States.

• 1999 – Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Öcalan is charged with treason in Ankara, Turkey.

• 1999 – An avalanche destroys the Austrian village of Galtür, killing 31.

• 2005 – In Slovakia, a two-day meeting dubbed "Slovakia Summit 2005" takes place between U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin. This occasion marks the first visit of a sitting American President to the Slovak Republic since its establishment in 1993.

• 2005 – The controversial French law on colonialism is passed, requiring teachers to teach the "positive values of colonialism". After public outcry, it is repealed at the beginning of 2006.

• 2006 – Dubai Ports World agrees to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism.

• 2007 – A train derails on an evening express service near Grayrigg, Cumbria, England, killing one person and injuring 22. This results in hundreds of points being checked over the UK after a few similar accidents.

• 2008 – A United States Air Force B-2 Spirit crashes on Guam. It is the first operational loss of a B-2.

Births

• 1417 – Pope Paul II (d. 1471)

• 1443 – Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, King of Hungary and Croatia (d. 1490)

• 1583 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French scientist (d. 1656)

• 1633 – Samuel Pepys, English naval administrator and man of letters, posthumously famous as a diarist (d. 1703)

• 1646 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shogun (d. 1709)

• 1648 – Arabella Churchill, English mistress of James II of England (d. 1730)

• 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, French colonizer and Governor of Louisiana (d. 1767)

• 1685 – Georg Friedrich Handel, German/British Baroque composer (d. 1759)

• 1723 – Richard Price, Welsh philosopher (d. 1791)

• 1729 – Josiah Hornblower, American statesman (d. 1809)

• 1743 – Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German-born banker (d. 1812)

• 1809 – William Sprague, American minister and politician from Michigan (d. 1868)

• 1840 – Frederick Wicks, English author and inventor (d. 1910)

• 1842 – Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, German philosopher (d. 1906)

• 1850 – César Ritz, Swiss hotelier (d. 1918)

• 1868 – W. E. B. Du Bois, American civil rights leader (d. 1963)

• 1873 – Liang Qichao, Chinese scholar (d. 1929)

• 1874 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian president (d. 1956)

• 1878 – Kazimir Malevich, Ukrainian painter and art theorist (d. 1935)

• 1883 – Karl Jaspers, German philosopher (d. 1969)

• 1889 – Victor Fleming, American director (d. 1949)

• 1889 – Musidora, French actress and director (d. 1957)

• 1889 – John Gilbert Winant, American politician (d. 1947)

• 1891 – Harold Horder, Australian Rugby League player (d. 1978)

• 1899 – Erich Kästner, German writer (d. 1974)

• 1899 – Norman Taurog, American film director (d. 1981)

• 1901 – Edgar Ende, German painter (d. 1965)

• 1904 – Terence Fisher, English film director (d. 1980)

• 1904 – William L. Shirer, American historian (d. 1993)

• 1904 – Leopold Trepper, Soviet spy (d. 1982)

• 1908 – William McMahon, twentieth Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1988)

• 1914 – Theofiel Middelkamp, Dutch cyclist (d. 2005)

• 1915 – Jon Hall, American actor (d. 1979)

• 1915 – Paul Tibbets, US Air Force retired Brigadier General and Pilot of B-29 "Enola Gay" over Hiroshima (d. 2007)

• 1918 – Richard G. Butler, American fascist (d. 2004)

• 1920 – Paul Gérin-Lajoie, French Canadian politician

• 1923 – Rafael Addiego Bruno, Uruguayan politician

• 1924 – Allan McLeod Cormack, South-African born physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)

• 1924 – Claude Sautet, French film director (d. 2000)

• 1927 – Régine Crespin, French operatic soprano (d. 2007)

• 1928 – Hans Herrmann, German race car driver

• 1928 – Vasili Lazarev, cosmonaut (d. 1990)

• 1929 – Elston Howard, American Baseball Player (d. 1980)

• 1931 – Tom Wesselmann, American collage artist (d. 2004)

• 1932 – Majel Barrett, American actress (d. 2008)

• 1937 – Tom Osborne, American football coach and politician

• 1938 – Diane Varsi, American actress (d. 1992)

• 1940 – Peter Fonda, American actor

• 1941 – Ron Hunt, baseball player

• 1943 – Fred Biletnikoff, American football player and coach

• 1944 – Bernard Cornwell, English historical novelist

• 1944 – John Sandford, American novelist

• 1944 – Johnny Winter, American musician

• 1945 – Allan Boesak, South African activist

• 1946 – Rusty Young, American country-rock guitarist (Poco)

• 1947 – John McWethy, American journalist (d. 2008)

• 1947 – Pia Kjærsgaard, Danish politician

• 1948 – Doug Moench, American comic book writer

• 1949 – Marc Garneau, French Canadian astronaut

• 1950 – Maxi, Irish singer and radio personality

• 1951 – Ed Jones, American football player

• 1951 – Patricia Richardson, American actress

• 1952 – Brad Whitford, American musician (Aerosmith)

• 1953 – Satoru Nakajima, Japanese racing driver

• 1954 – Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine

• 1955 – Tom Bodett, American voice actor, radio personality, and writer

• 1955 – Howard Jones, British pop singer

• 1955 – Flip Saunders, American basketball coach

• 1957 – Ria Brieffies, Dutch singer (d. 2009)

• 1958 – Tony Barrell, English writer and journalist

• 1958 – David Sylvian, English musician (Japan, Nine Horses)

• 1959 – Richard Dodds, British field hockey player

• 1960 – Alan Griffin, Australian politician

• 1960 – Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan

• 1961 – Kelly Hansen, American drummer (Summer Lights)

• 1962 – Michael Wilton, American musician (Queensrÿche)

• 1963 – Bobby Bonilla, former baseball player

• 1963 – Radosław Sikorski, Polish politician

• 1964 – John Norum, Norwegian guitarist (Europe)

• 1965 – Kristin Davis, American actress

• 1965 – David E. Clemmer, American ion mobility-mass spectrometrist, 2006 recipient of Biemann Medal

• 1965 – Michael Dell, American computer manufacturer

• 1965 – Helena Suková, former Czech tennis player

• 1965 – Veronica Webb, American supermodel and actress

• 1966 – Neal McDonough, American actor

• 1967 – Tamsin Greig, English actress

• 1967 – Chris Vrenna, American musician, producer and sound engineer Nine Inch Nails, Tweaker

• 1968 – Justin Bell, British racing driver

• 1969 – Marc Wauters, Belgian cyclist

• 1969 – Michael Campbell, New Zealand golfer

• 1970 – Marie-Josée Croze, French Canadian actress

• 1970 – Niecy Nash, American actress

• 1971 – Jeong Chan, South Korean actor

• 1971 – Don Maxwell, Canadian cricketer

• 1971 – Melinda Messenger, English television presenter

• 1971 – Joe-Max Moore, American soccer player

• 1972 – Steve Holy, American country singer

• 1972 – Rondell White, American baseball player

• 1973 – Jack Case, American artist

• 1973 – Lars-Olof Johansson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans)

• 1974 – Leko, American DJ

• 1974 – Jaime Villarreal, Mexican musician

• 1974 – Herschelle Gibbs, South African cricketer

• 1975 – Michael Cornacchia, American actor

• 1975 – Robert Lopez, American composer

• 1975 – Natalia Verbeke, Argentine actress

• 1976 – Kelly Macdonald, British actress

• 1976 – Scott Elarton, American baseball player

• 1977 – Kristina Šmigun, Estonian cross-country skier

• 1978 – René Pérez, Puerto Rican musician (Calle 13)

• 1978 – Dan Snyder, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2003)

• 1978 – Jo Joyner, English Actress

• 1981 – Gareth Barry, English footballer

• 1981 – Charles Tillman, American football player

• 1982 – Adam Hann-Byrd, American actor

• 1982 – Karan Singh Grover, Indian Television Actor

• 1983 – Mirco Bergamasco, Italian rugby player

• 1983 – Mido, Egyptian footballer

• 1983 – Emily Blunt, British actress

• 1983 – Aziz Ansari, Indian American Comedian

• 1986 – Ola Svensson, Swedish Pop Singer

• 1986 – Holly Brook, American musician

• 1986 – Kazuya Kamenashi, Japanese pop star (KAT-TUN)

• 1986 – Jerod Mayo, American Football player

• 1989 – Evan Bates, American ice dancer

• 1994 – Dakota Fanning, American actress

Deaths

• 943 – Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, (b. 884)

• 1011 – Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz (b. 940)

• 1072 – Peter Damian, theologian and Doctor of the Church (b. 1007)

• 1100 – Emperor Zhezong of China (b. 1076)

• 1270 – Saint Isabel of France, daughter of Louis VIII of France (b. 1225)

• 1447 – Pope Eugene IV (b. 1383)

• 1447 – Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)

• 1464 – Zhengtong, Emperor of China (b. 1427)

• 1526 – Diego Colón, Spanish Viceroy of the Indies

• 1554 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English politician (executed) (b. c.1515)

• 1572 – Pierre Certon, French composer

• 1603 – Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician, and botanist (b. 1519)

• 1669 – Leo Aitzema, Dutch historian and statesman (b. 1600)

• 1704 – Georg Muffat, French composer (b. 1653)

• 1766 – Stanislaw Leszczynski, King of Poland (b. 1677)

• 1781 – George Taylor, American signatory to the Declaration of Independence (b. c.1716)

• 1792 – Joshua Reynolds, English painter (b. 1723)

• 1800 – Joseph Warton, English literary critic (b. 1722)

• 1821 – John Keats, English poet (b. 1795)

• 1848 – John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States (b. 1767)

• 1855 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (b. 1777)

• 1859 – Zygmunt Krasiński, Polish Romantic poet (b. 1812)

• 1879 – Albrecht Graf von Roon, Prime Minister of Prussia (b. 1803)

• 1897 – Woldemar Bargiel, German composer (b. 1828)

• 1908 – Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch, German surgeon (b. 1823)

• 1922 – Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish physicist (b. 1845)

• 1930 – Horst Wessel, Nazi ideologue and composer (b. 1907)

• 1931 – Nellie Melba, Australian opera soprano (b. 1861)

• 1934 – Edward Elgar, English composer (b. 1857)

• 1944 – Leo Hendrik Baekeland, Flemish-American chemist and inventor of the first synthetic plastic, Bakelite (b. 1863)

• 1946 – Tomoyuki Yamashita, Japanese general (hanged) (b. 1885)

• 1948 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-born publisher and inventor (b. 1866)

• 1955 – Paul Claudel, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)

• 1957 – Marika Ninou, Greek singer (b. 1918)

• 1960 – Arthur Legat, Belgian racing driver (b. 1898)

• 1961 – Davey Crockett, American Major League Baseball player (b. 1875)

• 1965 – Stan Laurel, British born actor and comedian (b. 1890)

• 1969 – King Saud of Saudi Arabia (b. 1902)

• 1970 – Hirsch Jacobs, American thoroughbred horse trainer and owner (b. 1904)

• 1973 – Dickinson W. Richards, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1895)

• 1974 – Harry Ruby, American composer and writer (b. 1895)

• 1976 – LS Lowry, English artist (b. 1887)

• 1979 – W.A.C. Bennett, Canadian politician (b. 1900)

• 1983 – Herbert Howells, English composer (b. 1892)

• 1990 – José Napoleón Duarte, President of El Salvador (b. 1925)

• 1992 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek politician (b. 1906)

• 1995 – Melvin Franklin, American singer (The Temptations) (b. 1942)

• 1995 – James Herriot, English writer (b. 1916)

• 1997 – Tony Williams, American jazz drummer (b. 1945)

• 1999 – Carlos Hathcock, USMC Sniper, 93 Confirmed Kills (b. 1942)

• 2000 – Ofra Haza, Israeli singer (b. 1957)

• 2000 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer (b. 1915)

• 2001 – Robert Enrico, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1931)

• 2003 – Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (b. 1910)

• 2003 – Howie Epstein, American bass guitarist (Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers) (b. 1955)

• 2004 – Vijay Anand, Indian film director (b. 1934)

• 2004 – Neil Ardley, English jazz pianist and composer (b. 1937)

• 2004 – Carl Anderson, American singer (b. 1945)

• 2004 – Sikander Bakht, Governor of Kerala (b. 1918)

• 2004 – Don Cornell, American singer (b. 1919)

• 2004 – Carl Liscombe, Canadian hockey player (b. 1915)

• 2006 – Benno Besson, Swiss actor and film director (b. 1922)

• 2006 – Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (b. 1921)

• 2007 – Donnie Brooks, American singer (b. 1936)

• 2007 – John Ritchie, British footballer (b. 1941)

• 2008 – Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian prime minister and president (b. 1950)

• 2008 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and motorsport journalist (b. 1917)

• 2008 – Douglas Fraser, Scottish pilot (b. 1916)

Holidays and observances

• Roman Empire – Terminalia held in honor of Terminus.

• Guyana – Mashramani-Republic Day.

• Former Soviet republics—from the old Soviet holiday on the same day, Red Army Day or Day of Soviet Army and Navy:

• *Russia – Defender of the Fatherland Day

• *Belarus—Fatherland Defenders and Armed Forces Day

• *Tajikistan — National Army Day

• Brunei – National Day.

• February 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Catholicism – Feast day of Saint Polycarp of Smyrna (died 155); Saint Serenus the Gardener (Cerneuf)