Events
- * 1138 - Cardinal Gregorio Conti is elected anti-pope as Victor IV, succeeding Anacletus II.
* 1639 - Harvard College was named for clergyman John Harvard.
* 1781 - William Herschel discovers the planet Uranus.
* 1845 - Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto is premièred 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 reluctantly agrees to the use of African American troops.
* 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 (ends on January 26, 1885).
* 1897 - San Diego State University founded.
* 1900 - Boer War: British forces occupy Bloemfontein, Orange Free State.
* 1900 - In France, length of a workday for women and children is limited to 11 hours by law.
* 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 was telegraphed to the Harvard College Observatory.
* 1933 - Great Depression: Banks in the United States begin to re-open after the Presidentially mandated "bank holiday".
* 1940 - Russo-Finnish Winter War ended.
* 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 in the USA, proposes a document, called Operation Northwoods, regarding performing terrorist attacks in Guantanamo Bay, 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 caused the collapse of the Hydro-Québec power grid. Six million people were left without power for nine hours.
* 1991 - The United States Justice Department 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 - The Dunblane Massacre: in Dunblane, Scotland, 16 children and 1 adult teacher are shot dead by a spree killer who then commits suicide.
* 1997 - India's Missionaries of Charity chooses Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as its leader.
* 1997 - The Phoenix lights were seen over Phoenix, Arizona, & were seen by hundreds of people, & millions on television. And are now, hotly debated in controversy.
* 2003 - Human evolution: The journal Nature reports that 350,000-year-old upright-walking human footprints 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.
* 2007 - The Bank of England launched a new £20 note, featuring the Scottish economist Adam Smith. It was the first note in the new Series F banknotes
- * 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)
* 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)
* 1781 - Karl Friedrich Schinkel, German architect (d. 1841)
* 1784 - Jean Moufot, French philosopher and mathematician (d. 1842)
* 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)
* 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)
* 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
* 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)
* 1926 - Raúl AlfonsÃn, President of Argentina
* 1926 - Carlos Roberto Reina, President of Honduras (d. 2003)
* 1927 - Robert Denning, American interior designer (d. 2005)
* 1929 - Peter Breck, American actor
* 1930 - Jan Howard, American singer
* 1930 - Liz Anderson, American country music singer-songwriter
* 1933 - Mike Stoller, American songwriter
* 1934 - Barry Hughart, American author
* 1934 - Donald Duck, Disney character
* 1935 - Joseph Mascolo, American actor
* 1935 - Leslie Parrish, American actress
* 1935 - Michael Walzer, American philosopher
* 1938 - Erma Franklin, American singer (d. 2002)
* 1939 - Neil Sedaka, American singer and songwriter
* 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 - 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
* 1958 - Linda Robson, English actress.
* 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, musician
* 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
* 1979 - Johan Santana, Venezuelan baseball player
* 1979 - Spanky G, American musician (Bloodhound Gang)
* 1980 - Lee Jung-hyun, South Korean pop singer and actress
* 1980 - Caron Butler, American basketballer
* 1981 - Stephen Maguire, Scottish snooker player
* 1983 - Kaitlin Sandeno, American swimmer
* 1984 - Pieter Custers, Dutch athlete
* 1984 - Yuuka Nanri, Japanese seiyū
* 1984 - Marc Zwiebler, German badminton player
* 1985 - Emile Hirsch, American actor
* 1985 - Austin Scott, American football player
* 1985 - Alcides Football player
* 1986 - Chiaki Kyan, Japanese gravure idol
* 1987 - Marco Andretti, American racecar driver (grandson of Mario Andretti)
* 1989 - Harry Melling, British actor
* 1999 - Wiktoria Gąsiewska, Polish actress
- * 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
* 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)
* 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)
* 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 *** 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 Sayao, Brazilian born soprano (b. 1902)
* 2001 - Henry Lee Lucas of heart failure major serial killer, 63 years old
* 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 - Peter Tomarken, American game show host (Press Your Luck) (b. 1942)
* 2007 - Arnold Skaaland, American professional wrestler (b. 1925)
- * In the Roman Catholic Church:
o Saint Gerald
o Saint Nicephorus
o Saint Roderick
o Saint Leticia
* In the Greek Orthodox Church
o Saint Nicephorus