Events
- 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states.
- 1377 - more than 2,000 people of the Italian city of Cesena are slaughtered by Papal Troops (Cesena Bloodbath).
- 1451 - Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire.
- 1488 - Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, becoming the first known European to travel so far south.
- 1509 - The Battle of Diu, between Portugal and the Ottoman Empire takes place in Diu, India.
- 1690 - The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in America.
- 1706 - During the Battle of Fraustadt Swedish forces defeat a superior Saxon-Polish-Russian force by deploying a double envelopment.
- 1783 - American Revolutionary War: Spain recognizes United States independence.
- 1787 - Shays' Rebellion is crushed.
- 1807 - A British military force, under Brig-Gen. Sir Samuel Auchmuty captures the city of Montevideo, then part of the Spanish Empire now capital of Uruguay.
- 1809 - The Illinois Territory is created.
- 1830 - The sovereignty of Greece was confirmed in a London Protocol.
- 1834 - Wake Forest University is established.
- 1867 - Emperor Meiji becomes the 122nd emperor of Japan.
- 1870 - The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, granting voting rights to citizens regardless of race.
- 1900 - Gubernatorial candidate William Goebel is assassinated in Frankfort, Kentucky.
- 1913 - The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an income tax.
- 1916 - Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Canada burn down.
- 1917 - World War I: The United States breaks off diplomatic relations with Germany a day after Germany announces a new policy of unrestricted submarine warfare.
- 1918 - The Twin Peaks Tunnel begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world at 11,920 feet (3,633 meters) long.
- 1923 - The Alpha Zeta chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia founded at Pennsylvania State University.
- 1930 - The Communist Party of Vietnam is established.
- 1931 - The Napier earthquake, New Zealand's worst natural disaster, kills 258.
- 1941 - World War II: Nazi Germany forcibly restores Pierre Laval to office in occupied Vichy, France.
- 1944 - World War II: United States troops capture the Marshall Islands.
- 1945 - World War II: The Soviet Union agrees to enter the Pacific Theatre conflict against Japan.
- 1945 - World War II: As part of Operation Thunderclap, 1,000 B-17's of the Eighth Air Force bomb Berlin.
- 1947 - The lowest temperature in North America is recorded in Snag, Yukon, Alaska.
- 1957 - Senegalese political party Democratic Rally merges into the Senegalese Party of Socialist Action (PSAS).
- 1959 - A plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa kills Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and The Big Bopper.
- 1966 - The unmanned Soviet Luna 9 spacecraft makes the first controlled rocket-assisted landing on the Moon.
- 1967 - Ronald Ryan, the last person to be executed in Australia, is hanged in Pentridge Prison, Melbourne.
- 1969 - In Cairo, Yasser Arafat is appointed Palestine Liberation Organization leader at the Palestinian National Congress.
- 1974 - Science fiction author Philip K. Dick reportedly has a gnostic religious experience or theophany, later recounted in his books Valis and Radio Free Albemuth.
- 1984 - Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B Mission - Astronauts, Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make first untethered spacewalks using the Manned Maneuvering Unit.
- 1988 - Iran-Contra Affair: The United States House of Representatives rejects President Ronald Reagan's request for $36.25 million to aid Nicaraguan Contras.
- 1989 - After a stroke, P.W. Botha resigns party leadership and the presidency of South Africa.
- 1989 - A military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay since 1954.
- 1991 - The Italian Communist Party dissolves and splits into the Democratic Party of the Left and the Communist Refoundation Party.
- 1997 - Pakistan's sixth general election is held.
- 1998 - Karla Faye Tucker is executed in Texas becoming the first woman executed in the United States since 1984.
- 1998 - Cavalese cable-car disaster: a United States Military pilot causes the death of 20 people when his low-flying plane cuts the cable of a cable-car near Trento, Italy.
- 1999 - In Jammu and Kashmir the political party Democratic Janata Dal (Jammu and Kashmir) is revived.
- 2004 - Jóannes Eidesgaard becomes Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands.
- 2007 - A Baghdad market bombing kills at least 135 people and injures a further 339.
- 1338 - Jeanne de Bourbon, wife of Charles V of France (d. 1378)
- 1677 - Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect (d. 1723)
- 1690 - Richard Rawlinson, English minister (d. 1755)
- 1721 - Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (d. 1773)
- 1747 - Samuel Osgood, American patriot (d. 1813)
- 1754 - George Crabbe, English naturalist (d. 1832)
- 1795 - Antonio José de Sucre, South American independence leader (d. 1830)
- 1807 - Joseph E. Johnston, Confederate general (d. 1891)
- 1808 - Princess Marie of Saxe-Weimar, Princess of Prussia (d. 1877)
- 1809 - Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (d. 1847)
- 1811 - Horace Greeley, American journalist, editor, and publisher (d. 1872)
- 1817 - Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse, French geologist (d. 1881)
- 1821 - Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician (d. 1910)
- 1830 - Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1903)
- 1842 - Sidney Lanier, American writer (d. 1881)
- 1843 - William Cornelius Van Horne, American-born railway pioneer and executive (d. 1915)
- 1859 - Hugo Junkers, German aircraft designer (d. 1935)
- 1862 - James Clark McReynolds, American Supreme Court Justice (d. 1946)
- 1872 - Lou Criger, American baseball player (d. 1934)
- 1874 - Gertrude Stein, American writer (d. 1946)
- 1876 - William Tedmarsh, silent movie actor (d. 1937)
- 1887 - Juan NegrÃÂn, Spanish Prime Minister (d. 1956)
- 1887 - Georg Trakl, Austrian poet (d. 1914)
- 1893 - Gaston Julia, French mathematician (d. 1978)
- 1894 - Norman Rockwell, American illustrator (d. 1978)
- 1898 - Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect (d. 1976)
- 1899 - Lao She, Chinese writer (d. 1966)
- 1899 - João Café Filho, Brazilian president (m.1970)
- 1899 - Doris Speed, English actress (d.1994)
- 1904 - Luigi Dallapiccola, Italian composer (d. 1975)
- 1904 - Pretty Boy Floyd, American gangster (d. 1934)
- 1905 - Arne Beurling, American mathematician(d. 1986)
- 1907 - James Michener, American author (d. 1997)
- 1909 - Simone Weil, French philosopher (d. 1943)
- 1909 - André Cayatte, French filmmaker (d. 1989)
- 1911 - Robert Earl Jones, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1911 - Jehan Alain, French organist and composer (d. 1940)
- 1912 - Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist (d. 1990)
- 1913 - Richard Seaman, British racing driver (d. 1939)
- 1918 - Joey Bishop, American entertainer, member of the Rat Pack (d. 2007)
- 1918 - Helen Stephens, American runner
- 1920 - Henry Heimlich, American physician
- 1920 - Tony Gaze, Australian racing driver
- 1923 - Alys Robi, Quebec singer
- 1924 - Martial Asselin, French Canadian politician and lieutenant governor of Quebec
- 1925 - John Fiedler, American voice actor (d. 2005)
- 1925 - Keith Dunstan, Australian author and journalist
- 1925 - Leon Schlumpf, member of the Swiss Federal Council
- 1926 - Shelley Berman, American comedian
- 1926 - Hans-Jochen Vogel, German politician
- 1927 - Val Doonican, Irish singer and entertainer
- 1927 - Joan Lowery Nixon, American writer (d. 2003)
- 1927 - Kenneth Anger, American Underground Filmmaker
- 1930 - Gillian Ayres, English painter
- 1932 - Peggy Ann Garner, American actress (d. 1984)
- 1933 - Paul Sarbanes, American politician
- 1938 - Victor Buono, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1938 - Emile Griffith, US Virgin Islands professional boxer
- 1939 - Michael Cimino, American film director
- 1940 - Fran Tarkenton, American football player
- 1941 - Neil Bogart, American record executive (d. 1982)
- 1943 - Blythe Danner, American actress
- 1943 - Dennis Edwards, American singer (The Temptations)
- 1943 - Shawn Phillips, American singer, guitarist and songwriter
- 1944 - Trisha Noble, Australian singer and actress
- 1945 - Bob Griese, American football player
- 1945 - Johnny Cymbal, American singer and songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1947 - Paul Auster, American novelist
- 1947 - Dave Davies, British musician (The Kinks)
- 1947 - Melanie Safka, American singer-songwriter
- 1948 - Carlos Felipe Ximenes Belo, East Timor politician, Nobel Peace laureate
- 1948 - Henning Mankell, Swedish author
- 1949 - Hennie Kuiper, Dutch cyclist
- 1950 - Morgan Fairchild, American actress
- 1951 - Eugenijus Riabovas, Lithuanian football manager
- 1952 - Fred Lynn, American baseball player
- 1953 - Savvas Tsitouridis, Greek politician
- 1954 - Tiger Williams, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1955 - Stephen Euin Cobb, American novelist
- 1955 - Kirsty Wark, British broadcast journalist
- 1956 - Nathan Lane, American actor
- 1956 - John Jefferson, American football player
- 1956 - Lee Ranaldo, American musician (Sonic Youth)
- 1957 - Chico Serra, Brazilian racing driver
- 1957 - Steven Stapleton, British musician (Nurse With Wound)
- 1958 - N. Gregory Mankiw, American economist
- 1959 - Thomas Calabro, American actor
- 1959 - Laurence Tolhurst, British musician (The Cure)
- 1959 - Yasuharu Konishi, Japanese musician (Pizzicato Five)
- 1960 - Kerry Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1993)
- 1961 - Keith Gordon, American actor
- 1961 - Jay Adams, American skateboarder
- 1962 - Michele Greene, American actress
- 1965 - Maura Tierney, American actress
- 1965 - Karlous Marx Shinohamba, Namibian politician
- 1967 - Bob Taylor, English footballer
- 1968 - Vlade Divac, Serbian professional basketball player
- 1969 - Retief Goosen, professional golfer
- 1970 - Warwick Davis, British actor
- 1970 - Oscar Cordoba, Colombian footballer
- 1971 - Elisa Donovan, American actress
- 1971 - Sarah Kane, English playwright (d. 1999)
- 1971 - Hong Seok-cheon, South Korean actor
- 1971 - Sean Dawkins, former American football wide receiver
- 1972 - Mart Poom, Estonian football player
- 1973 - Ilana Sod, Mexican journalist
- 1974 - Miriam Yeung, Hong Kong actress
- 1974 - Konrad Gałka, Polish swimmer
- 1976 - Mathieu Dandenault, Canadian hockey player
- 1976 - Isla Fisher, Australian actress
- 1976 - Dwayne Rudd, American football player
- 1977 - Daddy Yankee , reggaeton singer/rapper.
- 1978 - Adrian R'Mante, American actor
- 1978 - Eliza Schneider, American actress and singer
- 1980 - Sarah Lewitinn, American writer
- 1981 - Maurice Ross, English footballer
- 1982 - Jessica Harp, American singer (The Wreckers)
- 1982 - Alan Gurr, Australian V8 Supercar driver
- 1983 - Silambarasan Rajendar,famous south Indian actor
- 1989 - Ryne Sanborn, American actor
- 1989 - Slobodan Rajković, Serbian footballer
- 1990 - Sean Kingston, American reggae rapper
- 1991 - Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, British racing driver
- 619 - Laurence of Canterbury, 2nd Archbishop of Canterbury
- 699 - Saint Werburgh
- 1014 - King Sweyn I of Denmark
- 1116 - King Coloman of Hungary (b. 1070)
- 1399 - John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (b. 1340)
- 1428 - Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shogun (b. 1386)
- 1451 - Murad II, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1404)
- 1468 - Johannes Gutenberg, German publisher
- 1566 - George Cassander, Flemish theologian (b. 1513)
- 1619 - Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham, English conspirator (b. 1564)
- 1737 - Tommaso Ceva, Italian Mathematician (b. 1648)
- 1802 - Pedro RodrÃÂguez, Conde de Campomanes, Spanish statesman (b. 1723)
- 1862 - Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist (b. 1774)
- 1866 - François-Xavier Garneau, French Canadian poet and historian (b. 1809)
- 1874 - Lunalilo, Hawaiian monarch (b. 1835)
- 1889 - Belle Starr, American outlaw (b. 1848)
- 1922 - John Butler Yeats, Northern Irish artist (b. 1839)
- 1924 - Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the United States, Nobel laureate (b. 1856)
- 1929 - Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish scientist (b. 1878)
- 1935 - Hugo Junkers, German engineer (b. 1859)
- 1936 - Sophie of Schönburg-Waldenburg, consort of William of Wied, Prince of Albania (b.1885)
- 1945 - Roland Freisler, Nazi leader (b. 1893)
- 1947 - Marc Mitscher, American Navy Admiral (b. 1887)
- 1956 - Émile Borel, French mathematician (b. 1871)
- 1956 - Johnny Claes, Belgian racing driver (b. 1916)
- 1959 - Also known as The Day the Music Died because of the deaths of:
- Buddy Holly, American singer (b. 1936)
- Ritchie Valens, American singer (b. 1941)
- J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, American singer (b. 1930)
- 1960 - Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (b. 1921)
- 1964 - Sir Albert Richardson, English architect (b. 1880)
- 1967 - Joe Meek, English record producer (b. 1929)
- 1969 - Eduardo Mondlane Mozambique independence founder (b. 1920)
- 1975 - Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer (b. 1904)
- 1985 - Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist (b. 1912)
- 1989 - John Cassavetes, American actor (b. 1929)
- 1989 - Lionel Newman, American movie music orchestra leader, composer and arranger (b. 1916)
- 1991 - Harry Ackerman, American TV executive producer (b. 1912)
- 1991 - Nancy Kulp, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1993 - Paul Emery, British racing driver (b. 1916)
- 1996 - Audrey Meadows, American actress (b. 1926)
- 1998 - Karla Faye Tucker, American murderer (b. 1959)
- 2000 - Richard Kleindienst, American politician (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Lana Clarkson, American actress (b. 1962)
- 2004 - Jason Raize, American musical theatre actor (b. 1975)
- 2005 - Corrado Cardinal Bafile, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1903)
- 2005 - Ernst Mayr, German-born biologist (b. 1904)
- 2005 - Zurab Zhvania, Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963)
- 2006 - Al Lewis, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2007 - Pedro Knight, Cuban-American musician, husband of legendary singer Celia Cruz (b. 1921)
- 2007 - Ralph de Toledano, Moroccan-born American political columnist and author (b. 1916)
- 2007 - George Becker, American president of United Steelworkers (1993–2001) (b. 1928)
- Japan - the festival of Setsubun before spring.
- Mozambique - Heroes' Day.
- United States - Four Chaplains Day.
- United States - the earliest calendar day that Mardi Gras can occur.
- Saint Blaise, Catholics visit churches to have their throats blessed.
- Aaron the Illustrious, saint of the Syriac Orthodox Church[SUP][1][/SUP]
- Saint Ansgar, patron saint of Denmark
- Saint Hadelin
- Saint Werburgh
- Saint Berlindis
- Saint Nona and Saint Celsa
- February 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)