Events

• 1138 – Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected Antipope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II.

• 1639 – Harvard College is named for clergyman John Harvard.

• 1781 – William Herschel discovers Uranus.

• 1809 – Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden is disposed in a coup d'état.

• 1845 – Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto receives its première performance in Leipzig with Ferdinand David as soloist.

• 1862 – American Civil War: The U.S. federal government forbids all Union army officers from returning fugitive slaves, thus effectively annulling the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and setting the stage for the Emancipation Proclamation.

• 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate States of America agree to the use of African American troops.

• 1873 – David Swinson Maynard Founder of Seattle, Washington, United States dies

• 1881 – Alexander II of Russia is killed near his palace when a bomb is thrown at him. (Gregorian date: it was March 1 in the Julian calendar then in use in Russia.)

• 1884 – The siege of Khartoum, Sudan begins, ending on January 26, 1885.

• 1897 – San Diego State University is founded.

• 1900 – Second Boer War: British forces occupy Bloemfontein, Orange Free State.

• 1900 – In France the length of the workday for women and children is limited by law to 11 hours.

• 1920 – The Kapp Putsch briefly ousts the Weimar Republic government from Berlin.

• 1921 – Mongolia, under Baron Roman Ungern von Sternberg, declares its independence from China.

• 1925 – Scopes Trial: A law in Tennessee prohibits the teaching of evolution.

• 1930 – The news of the discovery of Pluto is telegraphed to the Harvard College Observatory.

• 1933 – Great Depression: Banks in the U.S. begin to re-open after President Franklin D. Roosevelt mandates a "bank holiday".

• 1938 – World News Roundup is broadcast for the first time on CBS Radio in the United States.

• 1938 – Anschluss of Austria to the Third Reich.

• 1940 – The Russo-Finnish Winter War ends.

• 1943 – World War II: In Bougainville, Japanese troops end their assault on American forces at Hill 700.

• 1943 – The Holocaust: German forces liquidate the Jewish ghetto in Kraków.

• 1954 – Battle of Điện Biên Phủ: Viet Minh forces attack the French.

• 1957 – Cuban student revolutionaries storm the presidential palace in Havana in a failed attempt on the life of President Fulgencio Batista.

• 1962 – Lyman Lemnitzer, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, delivers a proposal, called Operation Northwoods, regarding performing terrorist attacks upon Guantánamo Bay Naval Base, to Secretary of Defense Robert Mcnamara. The proposal is scrapped and President John F. Kennedy removes Lemnitzer from his position.

• 1969 – Apollo program: Apollo 9 returns safely to Earth after testing the Lunar Module.

• 1979 – The New Jewel Movement, headed by Maurice Bishop, ousts Prime Minister Eric Gairy in a nearly bloodless coup d'etat in Grenada.

• 1986 – Microsoft has its initial public offering.

• 1989 – A geomagnetic storm causes the collapse of the Hydro-Québec power grid. Six million people are left without power for nine hours.

• 1991 – The United States Department of Justice announces that Exxon has agreed to pay $1 billion for the clean-up of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.

• 1992 – An earthquake registering 6.8 on the Richter scale kills over 500 in Erzincan, eastern Turkey.

• 1996 – Dunblane massacre: in Dunblane, Scotland, 16 children and 1 teacher are shot dead by a spree killer, Thomas Watt Hamilton who then committed suicide.

• 1997 – India's Missionaries of Charity chooses Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as its leader.

• 1997 – The Phoenix lights are seen over Phoenix, Arizona by hundreds of people, and by millions on television.

• 2003 – Human evolution: The journal Nature reports that 350,000-year-old footprints of an upright-walking human have been found in Italy.

• 2005 – Terry Ratzmann shoots and kills six members of the Living Church of God and the minister at Sheraton Inn in Brookfield, Wisconsin before killing himself.

• 2008 – Gold prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit $1,000 per ounce for the first time.

Births

• 1372 – Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans, brother of Charles VI of France (d. 1407)

• 1615 – Pope Innocent XII (d. 1700)

• 1683 – John Theophilus Desaguliers, French-British philosopher (d. 1744)

• 1700 – Michel Blavet, French flutist (d. 1768)

• 1719 – John Griffin Whitwell, 4th Baron Howard de Walden, British field marshal (d. 1797)

• 1720 – Charles Bonnet, Swiss naturalist and writer (d. 1793)

• 1733 – Joseph Priestley, English scientist and minister (d. 1804)

• 1741 – Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1790)

• 1753 – Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon, great heiress and wife of Philippe Égalité (d. 1821)

• 1763 – Guillaume Marie Anne Brune, French marshal (d. 1815)

• 1764 – Earl Grey, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1845)

• 1770 – Daniel Lambert, Englishman famous for his obesity (d. 1809)

• 1777 – Charles Lot Church, Nova Scotia politician (d. 1864)

• 1781 – Karl Friedrich Schinkel, German architect (d. 1841)

• 1798 – Abigail Fillmore, First Lady of the United States (d. 1853)

• 1815 – James Curtis Hepburn, American missionary and linguist (d. 1911)

• 1825 – Hans Gude, Norwegian romanticist landscape painter (d. 1903)

• 1855 – Percival Lowell, American astronomer (d. 1916)

• 1855 – B. H. Roberts, Mormon leader, historian, and politician (d. 1933)

• 1860 – Hugo Wolf, Austrian composer (d. 1903)

• 1864 – Alexej von Jawlensky, Russian painter (d. 1941)

• 1870 – Albert Meyer, member of the Swiss Federal Council in the 1930s (d. 1953)

• 1883 – Enrico Toselli, Italian (Florentine) composer and pianist(d. 1926)

• 1884 – Sir Hugh Walpole, English novelist (d. 1941)

• 1890 – Fritz Busch, German conductor (d. 1951)

• 1897 – Dan Gordon, American animator (d. 1969)

• 1898 – Henry Hathaway, American film director and producer (d. 1985)

• 1899 – John Hasbrouck van Vleck, American physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1980)

• 1899 – Jan Lechoń, Polish poet (d. 1956)

• 1900 – Béla Guttman, Hungarian footballer (d. 1981)

• 1900 – Giorgos Seferis, Greek poet, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)

• 1907 – Mircea Eliade, Romanian historian of religions and writer (d. 1986)

• 1908 – Walter Annenberg, American publisher and philanthropist (d. 2002)

• 1910 – Karl Gustav Ahlefeldt, Danish actor (d. 1985)

• 1910 – Sammy Kaye, American musician (d. 1987)

• 1911 – L. Ron Hubbard, American science fiction author and founder of Scientology (d. 1986)

• 1913 – William Casey, American CIA director (d. 1987)

• 1913 – Lambros Konstantaras, Greek actor (d. 1985)

• 1913 – Sergey Mikhalkov, Russian writer (d. 2009)

• 1914 – Edward O'Hare, American pilot (d. 1943)

• 1914 – W.O. Mitchell, Canadian writer (d. 1998)

• 1921 – Al Jaffee, American cartoonist

• 1923 – William F. Bolger, 65th Postmaster General of the United States (d. 1989)

• 1923 – Dimitrios Ioannidis, Greek military officer who was involved in the Greek military junta

• 1925 – Roy Haynes, American jazz drummer

• 1926 – Carlos Roberto Reina, President of Honduras (d. 2003)

• 1927 – Robert Denning, American interior designer (d. 2005)

• 1929 – Peter Breck, American actor

• 1929 – Joseph Mascolo, American actor

• 1930 – Jan Howard, American singer

• 1933 – Mike Stoller, American songwriter

• 1934 – Barry Hughart, American author

• 1935 – Leslie Parrish, American actress

• 1935 – Michael Walzer, American philosopher

• 1938 – Erma Franklin, American singer (d. 2002)

• 1939 – Neil Sedaka, American singer and songwriter

• 1941 – Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian prominent poet and writer of prose.(d. 2008)

• 1942 – Dave Cutler, American software engineer

• 1942 – Geoffrey Hayes, English television presenter and actor

• 1942 – Scatman John, (real name John Larkin) American singer (d. 1999)

• 1943 – André Téchiné, French film director and screenwriter

• 1945 – Anatoly Timofeevich Fomenko, Russian mathematician

• 1946 – Yonatan Netanyahu, Israeli soldier (d. 1976)

• 1947 – Beat Richner, Swiss physician and cellist

• 1948 – Robert S. Woods, American actor

• 1949 – Hiroshi Kazato, Japanese racing driver (d. 1974)

• 1949 – Julia Migenes, American soprano

• 1950 – Charles Krauthammer, American political commentator

• 1950 – William H. Macy, American actor

• 1951 – Fred Berry, American actor and dancer (d. 2003)

• 1952 – Wolfgang Rihm, German composer

• 1953 – Deborah Raffin, American actress

• 1955 – Bruno Conti, Italian footballer

• 1955 – Glenne Headly, American actress

• 1956 – Dana Delany, American actress

• 1957 – Steve Lake, American baseball player

• 1957 – John Hoeven, American politician, governor of North Dakota

• 1958 – Linda Robson, English actress.

• 1959 – Kathy Hilton, socialite-Hilton Hotels, mother of Nikki Hilton and Paris Hilton

• 1960 – Yuri Andrukhovych, Ukrainian writer, poet and political essayist

• 1960 – Adam Clayton, Irish bassist (U2)

• 1960 – Joe Ranft, American animator (d. 2005)

• 1963 – Fito Páez, Argentine musician and songwriter

• 1964 – Will Clark, American baseball player

• 1967 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (d. 1994)

• 1968 – Akira Nogami, Japanese professional wrestler

• 1970 – Tim Story, American film director

• 1971 – Annabeth Gish, American actress

• 1971 – Robert Lanham, American author and satirist

• 1972 – Common, American rapper

• 1973 – Edgar Davids, Dutch footballer

• 1973 – David Draiman, American musician and songwriter (Disturbed)

• 1973 – Bobby Jackson, American basketballer

• 1974 – Thomas Enqvist, Swedish tennis player

• 1974 – Vampeta, Brazilian footballer

• 1976 – James Dewees, American musician

• 1976 – Troy Hudson, American basketball player

• 1976 – Danny Masterson, American actor

• 1977 – Ed Sloan, American musician (Crossfade)

• 1977 – Momo Sylla, Guinean footballer

• 1977 – Kay Tse, Hong Kong singer

• 1978 – Tom Danielson, American cyclist

• 1978 – Karina Smirnoff, Ukrainian dancer

• 1978 – Kenny Watson, American football player

• 1979 – Johan Santana, Venezuelan baseball player

• 1979 – Spanky G, American musician (Bloodhound Gang)

• 1979 – Cedric Van Branteghem, Belgian athlete

• 1980 – Caron Butler, American basketballer

• 1980 – Molly Stanton, American actress

• 1981 – Stephen Maguire, Scottish snooker player

• 1981 – April Matson, American Actress and singer

• 1982 – Jeremy Curl, British explorer

• 1982 – Nicole Ohlde, WNBA basketball player

• 1983 – Kaitlin Sandeno, American swimmer

• 1984 – Rachael Bella, actress

• 1984 – Pieter Custers, Dutch athlete

• 1984 – Steve Darcis, Belgian tennis player

• 1984 – Noel Fisher, Canadian actor

• 1984 – Matthew Randazzo V, American writer

• 1984 – Yuuka Nanri, Japanese seiyū

• 1984 – Marc Zwiebler, German badminton player

• 1985 – Emile Hirsch, American actor

• 1985 – Austin Scott, American football player

• 1985 – Alcides, Brazilian football player

• 1986 – Chiaki Kyan, Japanese gravure idol

• 1987 – Marco Andretti, American racecar driver (grandson of Mario Andretti, son of Michael Andretti)

• 1989 – Harry Melling, British actor

• 1999 – Wiktoria Gąsiewska, Polish actress

Deaths

• 1271 – Henry of Almain, English crusader (b. 1235)

• 1395 – John Barbour, Scottish poet

• 1516 – King Ladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary (b. 1456)

• 1569 – Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, French Huguenot general (b. 1530)

• 1573 – Michel de l'Hôpital, French statesman (b. 1507)

• 1604 – Arnaud d'Ossat, French diplomat and writer (b. 1537)

• 1619 – Richard Burbage, English actor (b. 1567)

• 1711 – Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, French poet and critic (b. 1636)

• 1767 – Maria Josepha of Saxony, Dauphine of France, mother of Louis XVI (b.1731)

• 1773 – Philibert Commerçon, French naturalist and explorer (b. 1727)

• 1778 – Charles le Beau, French historian (b. 1701)

• 1803 – William Emes, English landscape architect (b. 1729 or 1730)

• 1808 – King Christian VII of Denmark (b. 1749)

• 1842 – Henry Shrapnel, British soldier and inventor (b. 1761)

• 1854 – Jean-Baptiste Guillaume Joseph, comte de Villèle, French statesman (b. 1773)

• 1873 – David Swinson Maynard, Founder of Seattle, Washington, United States (b. 1808)

• 1879 – Adolf Anderssen, German chess player (b. 1818)

• 1881 – Tsar Alexander II of Russia (b. 1818)

• 1884 – Leland Stanford, Jr., son of American railroad magnate, Stanford University named for him (b. 1868)

• 1901 – Benjamin Harrison, 23rd President of the United States (b. 1833)

• 1906 – Susan B. Anthony, American women's suffrage activist (b. 1820)

• 1911 – John J. Toffey, American Civil War Medal of Honor Recipient (b. 1844)

• 1918 – César Cui, Russian composer (b. 1835)

• 1925 – Lucille Ricksen, American actress (b. 1909)

• 1938 – Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin, Russian politician and intellectual (b. 1888)

• 1938 – Clarence Darrow, American attorney (b. 1857)

• 1941 – Elizabeth Madox Roberts, American poet and novelist (b. 1881)

• 1943 – Stephen Vincent Benét, American author (b. 1898)

• 1949 – Henri Giraud, French general (b. 1879)

• 1955 – King Tribhuvan of Nepal (b. 1906)

• 1963 – Austin Dobson, British racing driver (b. 1912)

• 1964 – Kitty Genovese, American murder victim (b. 1935)

• 1965 – Corrado Gini, Italian statistician (b. 1884)

• 1965 – Fan S. Noli, Albanian bishop, poet, and politician (b. 1882)

• 1965 – Vittorio Jano, Italian engineer (b. 1891)

• 1972 – Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (b. 1941)

• 1975 – Ivo Andrić, Serbo-Croatian writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1892)

• 1983 – Louison Bobet, French cyclist (b. 1925)

• 1988 – John Holmes, American porn star (b. 1944)

• 1990 – Bruno Bettelheim, American psychiatrist (b. 1903)

• 1990 – Karl Münchinger, German conductor (b. 1915)

• 1995 – Leon Day, American baseball player (b. 1916)

• 1995 – Odette, French-born WWII heroine (b. 1912)

• 1996 – Krzysztof Kieślowski, Polish film director (b. 1941)

• 1998 – Bill Reid, Canadian artist (b. 1920)

• 1998 – Hans von Ohain, German engineer (b. 1911)

• 1999 – Lee Falk, American cartoonist (b. 1911)

• 1999 – Garson Kanin, American writer and director (b. 1912)

• 1999 – Bidu Sayão, Brazilian born soprano (b. 1902)

• 2001 – Encarnacion Alzona, Filipino historian (b. 1895)

• 2002 – Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher (b. 1900)

• 2004 – Franz König, Austrian Catholic Archbishop of Vienna (b. 1905)

• 2006 – Jimmy Johnstone, Scottish footballer (b. 1944)

• 2006 – Maureen Stapleton, American actress (b. 1925)

• 2006 – Robert C. Baker, Inventor of the chicken nugget (b. 1921)

• 2006 – Peter Tomarken, American game show host (Press Your Luck) (b. 1942)

• 2007 – Arnold Skaaland, American professional wrestler (b. 1925)

• 2009 – Andrew Martin, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1975)

• 2009 – Betsy Blair, American actress of film and stage, (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances

• In the Roman Catholic Church:

• *Saint Gerald of Mayo

• *Saint Nicephorus

• *Saint Roderick

• *Saint Leticia

• *Sabinus of Hermopolis

• *Euphrasia of Constantinople

• In the Greek Orthodox Church

• *Saint Nicephorus