Events

• 457 – Leo I becomes emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

• 1074 – Pandulf IV of Benevento is killed battling the invading Normans at the Battle of Montesarchio.

• 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.

• 1301 – Edward of Caernarvon (later King Edward II of England) becomes the first English Prince of Wales.

• 1795 – The 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.

• 1807 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Eylau – Napoléon's French Empire begins fighting against Russian and Prussian forces of the Fourth Coalition at Eylau, Poland.

• 1812 – The strongest in a series of earthquakes strikes New Madrid, Missouri.

• 1819 – Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles leaves Singapore after just taking it over, leaving it in the hands of William Farquhar.

• 1842 – Battle of Debre Tabor: Ras Ali Alula, Regent of the Emperor of Ethiopia defeats warlord Wube Haile Maryam of Semien.

• 1856 – The Kingdom of Awadh is annexed by the British East India Company after a peaceful abdication of Wajid Ali Shah, the king of Awadh.

• 1856 – The colonial Tasmanian Parliament passes the first piece of legislation (the Electoral Act of 1856) anywhere in the world providing for elections by way of a secret ballot.

• 1863 – HMS Orpheus sinks off the coast of Auckland, New Zealand, killing 189.

• 1882 – The last heavyweight boxing championship bare-knuckle fight takes place in Mississippi City, Mississippi.

• 1894 – The Cripple Creek miner's strike, led by the Western Federation of Miners, begins in Cripple Creek, Colorado.

• 1898 – Émile Zola is brought to trial for libel for publishing J'Accuse.

• 1904 – A fire in Baltimore, Maryland destroys over 1,500 buildings in 30 hours.

• 1907 – The Mud March is the first large procession organized by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).

• 1943 – Imperial Japanese naval forces complete the evacuation of Imperial Japanese Army troops from Guadalcanal during Operation Ke, ending Japanese attempts to retake the island from Allied forces in the Guadalcanal Campaign.

• 1944 – World War II: In Anzio, Italy, German forces launch a counteroffensive during the Allied Operation Shingle

• 1962 – The United States bans all Cuban imports and exports.

• 1967 – A fire at a restaurant in Montgomery, Alabama kills 25 people.

• 1967 – Serious bushfires in southern Tasmania claim 62 lives and destroy 2,642.7 square kilometres (653,025.4 acres) of land.

• 1974 – Grenada gains independence from the United Kingdom.

• 1979 – Pluto moves inside Neptune's orbit for the first time since either was discovered.

• 1984 – Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B Mission – Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).

• 1986 – Twenty-eight years of one-family rule end in Haiti, when President Jean-Claude Duvalier flees the Caribbean nation.

• 1990 – Collapse of the Soviet Union: The Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party agrees to give up its monopoly on power.

• 1991 – Haiti's first democratically-elected president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, is sworn in.

• 1991 – The IRA launches a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street during a cabinet meeting.

• 1992 – The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union.

• 1995 – Ramzi Yousef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, is arrested in Islamabad, Pakistan.

• 1999 – Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the King of Jordan on the death of his father, King Hussein.

• 2009 – Bushfires in Victoria left 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.

Births

• 1102 – Empress Matilda, Princess of England and wife of Henry V of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1169)

• 1478 – Sir Thomas More, English statesman, humanist, and author (d. 1535)

• 1612 – Thomas Killigrew, English dramatist (d. 1683)

• 1693 – Empress Anna of Russia (d. 1740)

• 1804 – John Deere, American manufacturer (Deere & Company) (d. 1886)

• 1812 – Charles Dickens, English novelist (d. 1870)

• 1842 – Alexandre Ribot, French statesman (d. 1923)

• 1837 – Sir James Murray, Scottish lexicographer and philologist (d. 1915)

• 1867 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (d. 1957)

• 1870 – Alfred Adler, Austrian psychologist (d. 1937)

• 1877 – Godfrey Harold Hardy, English mathematician (d. 1947)

• 1885 – Sinclair Lewis, American writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1951)

• 1885 – Hugo Sperrle, German field marshal (d. 1953)

• 1887 – Eubie Blake, American musician and composer (d. 1983)

• 1889 – Harry Nyquist, important contributor to information theory (d. 1976)

• 1891 – Ann Little, American actress (d. 1984)

• 1895 – Anita Stewart, American film actress (d. 1961)

• 1898 – Dock Boggs, American musician (d. 1971)

• 1901 – Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand politician (d. 1989)

• 1905 – Ulf von Euler, Swedish physiologist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1983)

• 1905 – Paul Nizan, French author (d. 1940)

• 1906 – Oleg Antonov, Soviet aircraft designer (d. 1984)

• 1906 – Puyi, Emperor of China (d. 1967)

• 1907 – Yevgeniy Abalakov, Soviet mountaineer (d. 1948)

• 1908 – Buster Crabbe, American swimmer and actor (d. 1983)

• 1909 – Hélder Câmara, Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1999)

• 1909 – Wilhelm Freddie, Danish painter (d. 1995)

• 1909 – Amedeo Guillet, former officer of the Italian Army

• 1909 – Silvio Zavala, Mexican historian

• 1912 – Russell Drysdale, Australian Artist (d. 1981)

• 1912 – Roberta McCain, mother of John McCain

• 1914 – Ramón Mercader, Spanish assassin of Leon Trotsky (d. 1978)

• 1915 – Eddie Bracken, American actor (d. 2002)

• 1915 – Teoctist, Ex-Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church (d. 2007)

• 1918 – Markey Robinson, Northern Irish painter (d. 1999)

• 1920 – An Wang, Chinese-born computer pioneer (d. 1990)

• 1920 – Oscar Brand, Canadian folk musicologist

• 1922 – Hattie Jacques, English actress (d. 1980)

• 1923 – Martha Holmes, American photographer (d. 2006)

• 1926 – Konstantin Feoktistov, cosmonaut

• 1926 – John Frank Davidson, British chemical engineer and Royal Medal holder

• 1927 – Juliette Greco, French singer and actor

• 1927 – Vladimir Kuts, Russian runner (d. 1975)

• 1932 – Gay Talese, American author

• 1932 – Al Worden, American astronaut

• 1933 – John Anderton, English footballer

• 1934 – Earl King, American musician (d. 2003)

• 1934 – Eddie Fenech Adami, President of Malta

• 1934 – King Curtis, American saxophonist (d. 1971)

• 1935 – Herbert Kohl, American politician

• 1937 – Juan Pizarro, Major League Baseball pitcher

• 1938 – S. Ramachandran Pillai, Indian communist leader

• 1939 – Ray Taliaferro, American radio talkshow host

• 1941 – Peter Foxhall, Australian evangelist

• 1943 – Gareth Hunt, English actor (d. 2007)

• 1945 – Gerald Davies, Welsh rugby player

• 1945 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor

• 1945 – Ian Jack, Scottish journalist

• 1946 – Hector Babenco, Brazilian film director

• 1947 – Joe Shea, American journalist

• 1947 – Wayne Allwine, American voice artist (d. 2009)

• 1949 – Joe English, American drummer

• 1949 – Paulo César Carpegiani, Brazilian footballer and coach

• 1951 – Benny Ayala, baseball player

• 1952 – Vasco Rossi, Italian singer

• 1953 – Dan Quisenberry, baseball player (d. 1998)

• 1954 – Dieter Bohlen German composer

• 1954 – Brian Morton, Scottish writer

• 1955 – Rolf Benirschke, American football player

• 1955 – Mario Coutinho, Brazilian physician

• 1955 – Miguel Ferrer, American actor

• 1956 – Emo Philips, American comedian

• 1956 – Mark St. John, American musician (Kiss) (d. 2007)

• 1957 – Carney Lansford, American baseball player

• 1957 – Richard Cook, British jazz writer (d. 2007)

• 1958 – Matt Ridley, British science writer

• 1960 – James Spader, American actor

• 1962 – Garth Brooks, American singer

• 1962 – Eddie Izzard, British actor and comedian

• 1962 – David Bryan, American musician (Bon Jovi)

• 1964 – Ray Mears, British survival expert and TV presenter

• 1965 – Jason Gedrick, American actor

• 1965 – Chris Rock, American comedian and actor

• 1967 – Richie Burnett, Welsh darts player

• 1967 – Cheung Man, Hong Kong actress

• 1968 – Peter Bondra, Slovak ice hockey player

• 1968 – Sully Erna, American singer (Godsmack)

• 1969 – Yves Racine, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1970 – Stanley Roberts, American basketball player

• 1972 – Essence Atkins, American actress

• 1972 – Alex Bassi, American race car driver

• 1972 – Robyn Lively, American actress

• 1972 – Amon Tobin, Canadian/Brazilian musician

• 1973 – Irina Björklund, Finnish actress

• 1973 – Juwan Howard, American basketball player

• 1974 – Steve Nash, Canadian basketball player

• 1974 – J Dilla, American record producer (d. 2006)

• 1974 – Danny Goffey, British musician (Supergrass)

• 1975 – Wes Borland, American guitarist (Limp Bizkit)

• 1975 – Alexandre Daigle, American ice hockey player

• 1976 – Sreto Ristić, German footballer

• 1977 – Paul Comrie, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1977 – Mariusz Pudzianowski, Polish strongman competitor

• 1978 – Ashton Kutcher, American actor

• 1978 – Daniel Van Buyten, Belgian footballer

• 1978 – Endy Chávez, baseball player

• 1978 – David Aebischer, American ice hockey player

• 1979 – Cerina Vincent, American actress

• 1979 – Jon Leicester, American baseball player

• 1982 – Osamu Mukai, Japanese actor

• 1982 – Mickael Pietrus, French-born basketball player

• 1983 – Christian Klien, Austrian racing driver

• 1983 – Teshome Getu, Ethiopian footballer

• 1983 – Georgios Gougoulias, Greek footballer

• 1985 – Tina Majorino, American actress

• 1986 – Michael Orozco, American footballer

• 1987 – Kerli, Estonian singer

• 1988 – Ai Kago, Japanese singer

• 1988 – Matthew Stafford, American college football player

• 1989 – Louisa Lytton – British actress

• 1990 – Steven Stamkos, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1990 – Anna Abreu, Finnish singer

• 1992 – Maimi Yajima, Japanese singer

• 1993 – David Dorfman, American actor

• 1993 – Philip Wiegratz, German actor

• 1996 – Mai Hagiwara, Japanese singer

Deaths

• 198 – Lü Bu, minor warlord during the late Eastern Han Dynasty

• 999 – Boleslaus II of Bohemia

• 1045 – Emperor Go-Suzaku of Japan (b. 1009)

• 1317 – Robert, Count of Clermont, French founder of the House of Bourbon (b. 1256)

• 1560 – Bartolomeo Bandinelli, Italian sculptor (b. 1493)

• 1626 – William V, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1548)

• 1642 – William Bedell, English clergyman (b. 1571)

• 1652 – Gregorio Allegri, Italian composer (b. 1582)

• 1690 – William Morice, English royalist statesman

• 1693 – Paul Pellisson, French writer (b. 1624)

• 1736 – Stephen Gray, English astronomer and scientist (b. 1666)

• 1779 – William Boyce, English composer (b. 1711)

• 1799 – Qianlong, Emperor of China (b. 1711)

• 1801 – Daniel Chodowiecki, Polish painter (b. 1726)

• 1823 – Ann Radcliffe, English novelist (b. 1764)

• 1837 – King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (b. 1778)

• 1839 – Karl August Nicander, Swedish poet (b. 1799)

• 1862 – Francisco de Paula Martinez de la Rosa, Spanish statesman and dramatist (b. 1787)

• 1871 – Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, piano manufacturer (Steinway & Sons) (b. 1797)

• 1873 – Sheridan Le Fanu, Irish writer (b. 1814)

• 1878 – Blessed Pope Pius IX (b. 1792)

• 1897 – Galileo Ferraris, Italian physicist (b. 1847)

• 1919 – William Halford, American naval officer and Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1841)

• 1920 – Aleksandr Vasilevich Kolchak, Russian military commander (b. 1874)

• 1937 – Elihu Root, American statesman and diplomat, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1845)

• 1938 – Harvey Firestone, American manufacturer (b. 1868)

• 1939 – Boris Grigoriev, Russian painter (b. 1886)

• 1942 – Ivan Bilibin, Russian illustrator (b. 1876)

• 1944 – Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano (b. 1874)

• 1952 – Pete Henry, American professional American Football player and coach (b. 1897)

• 1959 – Nap Lajoie, American baseball player (b. 1874)

• 1959 – D.F. Malan, South African Prime Minister, father of Apartheid policy (b. 1874)

• 1959 – Guitar Slim, American blues guitarist (b. 1926)

• 1960 – Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist (b. 1903)

• 1962 – Clara Nordström, German writer and translator (b. 1886)

• 1963 – Learco Guerra, Italian cyclist (b. 1902)

• 1964 – Sophoklis Venizelos, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1894)

• 1968 – Nick Adams, American actor (b. 1931)

• 1979 – Dr. Josef Mengele, German, accused Nazi war criminal (b. 1911)

• 1980 – Secondo Campini, Italian jet pioneer (b. 1904)

• 1981 – Frederika of Hanover, Queen of Greece (b. 1917)

• 1985 – Matt Monro, English singer (b. 1932)

• 1986 – Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegalese historian (b. 1923)

• 1990 – Alfredo M. Santos, First Four-star General of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, World War II hero (b. 1905)

• 1990 – Jimmy Van Heusen, American songwriter (b. 1913)

• 1991 – Amos Yarkoni, Israeli soldier, Medal of Distinguished Service recipient (b. 1920)

• 1991 – Jean-Paul Mousseau, Quebec painter, member of Les Automatistes (b. 1927)

• 1992 – Buzz Sawyer, wrestler (b. 1959)

• 1994 – Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer (b. 1913)

• 1994 – Stephen Milligan, British journalist and politician (b. 1948)

• 1994 – Arnold Smith, Canadian diplomat (b. 1915)

• 1996 – Phillip Davidson, US Army general (b. 1915)

• 1998 – Lawrence Sanders, American author (b. 1920)

• 1999 – King Hussein of Jordan (b. 1935)

• 1999 – José Silva, author of Silva Method and the Silva UltraMind ESP System (b. 1914)

• 1999 – Bobby Troup, American musician and actor (b. 1918)

• 2000 – Shiho Niiyama, Japanese voice actress (b. 1970)

• 2000 – Big Pun, Puerto Rican-American rapper (b. 1971)

• 2000 – Doug Henning, Canadian magician (b. 1947)

• 2000 – Dave Peverett, English musician (Foghat, Savoy Brown) (b. 1943)

• 2001 – Dale Evans, American actress and singer (b. 1912)

• 2001 – Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American author and aviator (b. 1906)

• 2002 – Jack Fairman, British racing driver (b. 1913)

• 2003 – Augusto Monterroso, Guatemalan author (b. 1921)

• 2003 – John Reading, Mayor of Oakland, California (b. 1917)

• 2005 – Bob Turner, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1934)

• 2006 – Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar (b. 1914)

• 2008 – Tamara Desni, German-born British actress (b. 1913)

• 2009 – Brian Naylor (broadcaster), Australian television presenter (b. 1931)

Holidays and observances

• Grenada – Independence Day

• Saint Chrysolius

• Blessed Eugenia Smet (d. 1871)

• Blessed Pope Pius IX (d.1878)

• February 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Amber Encarnacion (d. 1992)