20. February
The February 20 is the 51th day of the Gregorian calendar , so stay 314 days (in leap years 315 days) by year end.
Historical anniversaries January · February · March |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Events
Politics and world events
- 1547 : Edward VI. from the House of Tudor is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey as the successor to his late father Henry VIII .
- 1720 : The peace treaty in The Hague ends the war of the Quadruple Alliance , in which Spain was opposed to the overwhelming power of its four allies Great Britain , France , Austria and the Netherlands .
- 1797 : After having been deported to the island of Baliceaux the year before, Great Britain relocates the Garifuna ("Black Caribs") to the island of Roatan off the Honduran coast.
- 1809 : The second siege of Saragossa during the Napoleonic Wars on the Iberian Peninsula ends with a success for the French. The Spaniards surrender after three weeks of house- to- house fighting .
- 1810 : The Tyrolean landlord Andreas Hofer , freedom fighter against Napoleonic France and Bavaria, allied with it, is shot in Mantua after a court martial. The event is later reflected in the Tyrolean national anthem .
- 1827 : In the battle of Ituzaingó , Brazil is defeated in the Argentine-Brazilian War .
- 1865 : In the Triple Alliance War , Brazilian troops take the Uruguayan capital Montevideo . They support Venancio Flores as provisional president .
- 1890 : In the election for the 8th German Reichstag, the so-called " cartel parties " suffer a devastating defeat. The Social Democrats get the most votes for the first time. However, due to the strong distortions resulting from the majority voting system, which puts the densely populated regions at a severe disadvantage, they can only win 35 seats.
- 1910 : The Egyptian Prime Minister Boutros Ghali , unpopular for his pro-British policies , is killed in an assassination attempt.
- 1913 : Home Secretary King O'Malley breaks in the first surveying post for the future Australian capital of Canberra .
- 1919 : Habibullah Khan , the 15th emir of Afghanistan, is murdered on a hunting expedition. A few weeks after the death of the ruler it comes under his successor Amanullah Khan to third Anglo-Afghan war , which the Treaty of Rawalpindi recognition of the Emirate of Afghanistan brings as an independent state by the British.
- 1929 : American Samoa is a territory of the United States .
- 1933 : At a secret meeting , Adolf Hitler and Hermann Göring negotiate with major German industrialists campaign aid amounting to 3 million Reichsmarks for the NSDAP for the upcoming Reichstag election .
- 1933 : The US Senate passes the 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution . This supersedes the 18th amendment that introduced the alcohol ban in the USA in 1920 . When it comes into effect on December 5, the prohibition period in the United States ends .
- 1935 : The customs border between Saarland and the German Reich is lifted.
- 1938 : In a referendum , the Swiss decide to recognize Romansh as the fourth national language.
- 1942 : Japan defeats the Allied ABDA fleet in the naval battle of the Strait of Badung in the Pacific War on the night of February 19 .
- 1942 : Japanese troops land in the night of February 20th in both the Dutch West Timor and the actually neutral Portuguese Timor . It is the beginning of the battle for Timor .
- 1952 : The German MP Franz Richter ( SRP ) is the Federal Palace arrested on charges, in truth, the former NSDAP - Gauhauptstellenleiter of Saxony , Fritz Roessler to be. The suspicion is later confirmed.
- 1956 : The SPD politician Fritz Steinhoff is elected Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia in place of Karl Arnold (CDU) by means of a constructive vote of no confidence .
- 1967 : The People's Chamber of the German Democratic Republic decides to introduce the GDR's own citizenship .
- 1974 : The German Bundestag ratifies the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty .
- 1987 : The former union territory of Mizoram receives the status of a federal state in India .
- 1991 : Protesters overturn the statue of the former Albanian long-term dictator Enver Hoxha in Tirana .
- 1994 : In Switzerland , the federal popular initiative “ to protect the Alpine region from transit traffic ” is adopted. Since then, the policy of relocating goods from heavy traffic to the railroad has been part of the Swiss federal constitution .
- 2004 : After thousands of liberal candidates have been expelled , voter turnout in the Iranian parliamentary elections drops to 50.57%, according to official figures.
- 2005 : UN High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers resigns after an internal investigation report into sexual harassment is published.
- 2005 : In a referendum, a majority of Spanish voters approve the planned European constitution.
- 2005 : In the early elections to the Assembleia da República in Portugal , the socialists under José Sócrates win a landslide and achieve an absolute majority. The Partido Social Democrata becomes only the second largest party.
economy
- 1811 : Austria goes bankrupt . Due to a financial patent from Emperor Franz I, the paper money in circulation is only exchanged for a fifth of its value.
- 1857 : The businessmen Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann found the shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd in Bremen .
- 1915 : The Panama-Pacific International Exposition , a world exposition to mark the completion of the Panama Canal a year earlier , opens in San Francisco , California. It lasts until December 4th and is also intended to show that the city has recovered from the Great Earthquake in 1906 .
- 1926 : The first Green Week opens in Berlin to combine the traditional winter conference of the German Agricultural Society in Berlin with an agricultural exhibition. The fair lasts until February 28th.
- 1979 : The European Court of Justice pronounces the Cassis-de-Dijon decision on the free movement of goods . The quantitative import restriction of liqueurs by the federal monopoly administration for spirits is not compatible with EU law.
science and technology
- 1883 : With the help of the Bertillonage system he developed, Alphonse Bertillon succeeds in identifying a criminal based on the size of the relapsed person.
- 1941 : The US newspaper Washington Daily News mentions an off-road vehicle Jeep in its edition . A copy of the Willys MB was demonstrated to MPs and the press on the steps of the United States Capitol .
- 1947 : Series production of the Soviet-Russian AK-47 assault rifle begins in the state-owned Ischmasch works .
- 1962 : John Glenn launches from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida from the mission Mercury-Atlas 6 to be the first Americans in the earth all to circle.
- 1965 : NASA 's US space probe Ranger 8 hits the moon as planned and transmits 7,300 images beforehand.
- 1993 : New Scientist magazine reports on the discovery of the youngest star ever observed. The protostar VLA 1623 is about 10,000 years old.
Culture
- 1724 : Giulio Cesare , an Italian opera by Georg Friedrich Händel with the libretto by Nicola Francesco Haym , has its world premiere at King's Theater on London's Haymarket.
- 1816 : The opera The Barber of Seville by Gioachino Rossini under the direction of the composer is premiered at the Teatro Argentina in Rome under the name Almaviva o sia L'inutile precauzione . The opera with the libretto by Cesare Sterbini based on the play Le Barbier de Seville by Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais fails the audience. Only the second performance is a great success.
- 1818 : The Minin and Poscharsky monument in memory of "Citizen Minin and Prince Poscharsky ", the leaders of the popular uprising against the Polish intervention in 1611, is unveiled on Moscow's Red Square .
- 1834 : At the Theater in der Josefstadt , the fairy tale is The Spendthrift of Ferdinand Raimund with music by Conradin Kreutzer premiered. The poet plays the role of Valentine himself.
- 1837 : The first performance of the comic opera Die Two Schützen by Albert Lortzing takes place at the City Theater in Leipzig . Based on the literary model Les Méprises par ressemblance by André-Ernest-Modeste Grétry, the play is a great success and encourages Lortzing to compose further works for music theater.
- 1852 : The comic opera Waldblume by Johann Friedrich Kittl has its world premiere.
- 1872 : The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City .
- 1886 : The premiere of the opera Urvasi by Wilhelm Kienzl takes place in Dresden .
- 1903 : Edmund Eysler's operetta Brother Straubinger is premiered at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna .
- 1907 : The world premiere of the opera The Legend of the Invisible City Kitesch and the Virgin Fewronija (Orig .: Skasani je o newidimom grade Kiteshe i dewe Febronii ) by Nikolai Andrejewitsch Rimsky-Korsakow takes place at the court opera in Saint Petersburg .
- 1909 : Filippo Tommaso Marinetti publishes his Futurist Manifesto in the Parisian newspaper Le Figaro , thereby founding Futurism .
- 1911 : The first edition of the magazine Die Aktion , magazine for liberal politics and literature by Franz Pfemfert appears. It will help Expressionism to break through.
- 1943 : The opera Die Kluge by Carl Orff , based on the fairy tale The Brothers Grimm's The Clever Farmer's Daughter , premieres in Frankfurt am Main.
- 1954 : At the Nuremberg Opera House is the third wish , a magic play with music in eight pictures of Nico Dostal , premiered. It is based on motifs from the fairy tale Vom Fischer and his wife the Brothers Grimm .
- 1963 : The premiere of the play The Deputy by Rolf Hochhuth takes place in the Free Volksbühne in Berlin, directed by Erwin Piscator .
- 1995 : The French film director Bertrand Tavernier wins the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival .
- 2000 : The American film director Paul Thomas Anderson wins the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival .
society
- 1868 : In Vienna the Bavarian Prince Ludwig marries the Archduchess Marie Therese of Austria-Este .
- 2006 : The British Holocaust denier David Irving is sentenced to three years' imprisonment without parole by the Vienna District Court for Criminal Matters for being punished by the 1947 Prohibition Act .
religion
- 1529 : The council of the free imperial city of Strasbourg , which was open to Lutheranism, abolishes Holy Mass .
Disasters
- 1305 : The 40 meter high Subiaco dam, dating from the time of Emperor Nero (54–68), collapses in Lazio and causes severe flooding.
- 1799 : The Blackbrook Dam at Blackbrook and Shepshed in Leicestershire , UK breaks and floods the entire area.
- 1835 : The city of Concepción in Chile is completely destroyed in an earthquake . Because the three-minute earthquake occurs at 11:30 a.m., fewer than 100 people have died in the city. In total, however, around 5,000 people die from the forces of nature, because houses collapse in seventy surrounding villages and a subsequent tsunami washed the fishing port of Talcahuano into the sea.
- 1946 : 405 people are killed in an explosion at a depth of 930 m in the Grimberg 3/4 Monopol colliery in Bergkamen in Germany. It cannot be found out whether the worst mining disaster in German history can be traced back to a firedamp explosion or a coal dust explosion .
- 1966 : The tanker Anne Mildred Brøvig loses approx. 20,000 t of oil after a collision with the British Pentland in the North Sea near Heligoland.
- 2002 : In a train accident near the Egyptian capital Cairo , over 370 people are killed.
- 2003 : In the American town of West Warwick , the fire disaster at The Station nightclub kills 100 people and injures 230.
Minor accidents are listed in the sub-articles of Catastrophe .
nature and environment
- 1943 : The Paricutín volcano is formed in Mexico . After one day it is 10 meters high, after three days 50 meters, now 424 meters.
Sports
- 1976 : Muhammad Ali wins his boxing match and world heavyweight title against Jean-Pierre Coopman at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum, Río Piedras , Puerto Rico, by knockout
- 1986 : The media entrepreneur Silvio Berlusconi acquires the majority of the shares in the soccer club AC Milan and becomes its president.
- 1998 : At the figure skating competition of the XVIII. At the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, the 15-year-old American Tara Lipinski wins the gold medal, making her the youngest ever Olympic champion at the Winter Games .
- 1999 : In the team competition at the Nordic World Ski Championships in Ramsau , Austria, the German team wins the gold medal in ski jumping with 1.9 points ahead of Japan. Austria is third.
Entries of athletics world records can be found under the respective discipline under athletics .
Born
Before the 18th century
- 1375 : Ruprecht Pipan , Elector Palatinate
- 1469 : Thomas Cajetan , Italian general of the Dominicans, cardinal
- 1523 : Jan Blahoslav , Czech humanist, grammarian and composer
- 1582 : Valentin Riemer , German legal scholar
- 1604 : Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham , English nobleman, politician and military man
- 1617 : Detlev von Ahlefeldt , Danish officer, diplomat and writer
- 1678 : Johann Friedrich Riederer , German poet
- 1680 : Friedrich Wilhelm I. Adolf , Prince of Nassau-Siegen
18th century
- 1705 : Nicolas Chédeville , French composer and oboist
- 1726 : William Prescott , American colonel
- 1733 : Ahasverus van den Berg , Dutch Reformed theologian and poet
- 1734 : Allard Hulshoff , Dutch Reformed theologian
- 1742 : James Gandon , British architect
- 1745 : Johann Peter Salomon , German violinist, composer, conductor and music impresario (baptism date)
- 1748 : Euchar Adam , German head of the Vicariate General in the diocese of Eichstätt
- 1749 : Georg Karl von Fechenbach , German bishop
- 1751 : Johann Heinrich Voss , German poet and translator
- 1759 : Johann Christian Reil , German physician (city physician) and professor in Halle and Berlin
- 1761 : Ludwig Abeille , German pianist and composer
- 1764 : Augusta von Goldstein , German writer
- 1768 : Vinzenz Ferrerius von Bianchi , Duke of Casalanza, Austrian general
- 1772 : Isaac Chauncey , American naval officer
- 1775 : Victor Guy Duperré , French baron and admiral
- 1779 : Augustus Wall Callcott , British painter
- 1784 : Mathias Aberle , Austrian physician
- 1785 : Karl von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen , German nobleman
- 1789 : Carl Gustav Jochmann , German publicist
- 1794 : William Carleton , Irish writer
- 1797 : Johann Jakob Wolfensberger , Swiss painter
19th century
1801-1850
- 1802 : Charles-Auguste de Bériot , Belgian violinist, music teacher and composer
- 1803 : Friedrich Theodor Fröhlich , Swiss composer
- 1804 : Johann Anton Friedrich Baudri , auxiliary bishop and vicar general in Cologne
- 1810 : Henri Martin , French historian and politician
- 1811 : Henry Hastings Sibley , American politician, member of the United States House of Representatives for Wisconsin and Minnesota, governor of Minnesota
- 1812 : Ludwig Steub , German writer
- 1819 : Alfred Escher , Swiss politician and railway pioneer
- 1819 : Ludwig Simon , German politician
- 1821 : Nils Johan Andersson , Swedish botanist
- 1825 : Geoffrey Thomas Phipps Hornby , British admiral
- 1828 : Charles Wimar , German-American painter
- 1829 : Antonio Guzmán Blanco , Venezuelan general and politician, President
- 1835 : Eleonore zu Stolberg-Wernigerode , German song poet
- 1842 : Joseph Victor Widmann , Swiss writer and journalist
- 1843 : Emmerich Andresen , German sculptor and porcelain designer
- 1844 : Joshua Slocum , Canadian seaman and travel writer
- 1844 : Ludwig Boltzmann , Austrian physicist
- 1844 : Mihály von Munkácsy , Hungarian painter
- 1845 : Georg Andresen , German pedagogue and classical philologist
- 1850 : Wilhelm Braune , German Germanist
1851-1900
- 1851 : Ernst von Heydebrand and der Lasa , German lawyer and politician, MdR
- 1851 : Richard Weitbrecht , German theologian and writer
- 1852 : Charles Erskine Scott Wood , American officer, lawyer, and writer
- 1856 : Jean Fernand-Lafargue , French writer
- 1858 : Howard Atwood Kelly , American gynecologist
- 1860 : Matyáš Lerch , Czech mathematician
- 1866 : Carl Westman , Swedish architect
- 1867 : Dionisio Anzilotti , Italian lawyer
- 1868 : Richard Hesse , German zoologist
- 1874 : Alfredo Bevilacqua , Argentine tango musician
- 1874 : Otto Lauffer , German folklorist and cultural historian
- 1875 : Marie Marvingt , French pilot
- 1878 : Gustav Rau , German hurdler
- 1880 : Jacques d'Adelswärd-Fersen , French aristocrat, author and poet
- 1882 : Margarethe Faas-Hardegger , Swiss women's rights activist and trade unionist
- 1882 : Anny Hannewald , German actress
- 1883 : Lucie Höflich , German actress
- 1885 : Zdeňka Baldová , Czech actress
- 1885 : Otto Meyer-Amden , Swiss painter and graphic artist
- 1886 : Béla Kun , Hungarian politician
- 1888 : Georges Bernanos , French writer
- 1889 : Levko Rewuzkyj , Ukrainian composer
- 1890 : Ferdinand Herbst , German Protestant theologian
- 1890 : Georg Thomas , German general
- 1894 : Curt Corrinth , German poet, novelist, playwright and screenwriter
- 1894 : Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz , Polish writer
- 1894 : Rudolf Jehle , Liechtenstein sport shooter
- 1895 : Karl Pinnow , German resistance fighter against National Socialism
- 1895 : Louis Zborowski , British automobile racing driver and engineer
- 1896 : Henri de Lubac , German theologian and Jesuit
- 1896 : Olindo Raggi , Italian motorcycle racer
- 1897 : Hans von Ahlfen , German military
- 1897 : Gerhart Eisler , Austrian-German journalist and politician in the GDR
- 1898 : Jimmy Yancey , American musician
- 1899 : Emmy Meyer-Laule , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
20th century
1901-1925
- 1901 : César Geoffray , French composer and choir director
- 1901 : Franz Wanderer , German marathon runner
- 1902 : Ansel Adams , American photographer
- 1902 : Ludwig Adenauer , German civil servant
- 1902 : Bertus Freese , Dutch football player
- 1902 : Wilhelm Guddorf , German journalist and resistance fighter against National Socialism
- 1903 : Ella Maillart , Swiss athlete and travel writer
- 1903 : Joseph Schröffer , German priest, theologian, Bishop of Eichstätt and Cardinal of the Curia
- 1904 : Herbert Brownell Jr. , American politician and attorney general
- 1905 : Herminio Giménez , Paraguayan composer
- 1906 : John Hibbett DeWitt , American electrical engineer
- 1906 : Gale Gordon , American actor
- 1907 : Malcolm Atterbury , American actor
- 1907 : Nadine Conner , American singer
- 1907 : Erich Klabunde , German politician, Member of the Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag
- 1907 : Ernst Schellenberg , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1908 : Jean-Marie Beaudet , Canadian conductor, pianist and organist
- 1908 : Alexander Elbrächter , German politician, Member of the Bundestag, MEP
- 1908 : Heino Gaze , German composer and lyricist
- 1909 : Franz Hildebrandt , German pastor and theologian
- 1909 : Grigori Jakowlewitsch Bakhtschiwandschi , Soviet test pilot
- 1909 : Heinz Erhardt , German comedian, musician, entertainer, actor and poet
- 1909 : Lorenzo Alvary , American opera singer (bass)
- 1911 : Robert McBride , American composer
- 1911 : Peter Paul , German actor
- 1911 : Hans Scholz , German writer, journalist and painter
- 1912 : Pierre Boulle , French writer
- 1912 : Muriel Humphrey , American Senator and Vice President's Wife ( Second Lady )
- 1913 : Abd ar-Rahman al-Bazzaz , Iraqi politician
- 1913 : Rolf Italiaander , German-Dutch author
- 1914 : Arnold Denker , American chess player
- 1914 : Hans Pischner , German harpsichordist and musicologist
- 1915 : Hans Christian Blech , German actor
- 1915 : Danuta Szaflarska , Polish actress
- 1916 : Julius Juzeliūnas , Lithuanian composer and music teacher
- 1917 : Josef Haiböck , Austrian general
- 1918 : Lukas Aurednik , Austrian football player
- 1918 : Lorand Fenyves , American violinist and music teacher of Hungarian-Jewish origin
- 1919 : Jesco von Puttkamer , German publicist and diplomat
- 1920 : Karl Albrecht , German entrepreneur, co-founder of the Aldi group, richest man in Germany
- 1920 : Yevgeny Fyodorowitsch Dragunow , Soviet weapons designer
- 1920 : Siegfried Jordan , German composer, lyricist, arranger, musician, singer, orchestra director, editor, presenter and producer
- 1920 : Senta Kapoun , Austrian translator
- 1920 : Kathleen Cavendish , sister of John F. Kennedy
- 1920 : Bob Richards , American pole vaulter, Olympic champion
- 1921 : Les Anderson , American country musician
- 1921 : Robert Andras , Canadian entrepreneur and politician
- 1921 : Packiam Arokiaswamy , Archbishop of India
- 1923 : Victor G. Atiyeh , American politician
- 1923 : Forbes Burnham , Guyanese politician, president
- 1924 : Jürgen Runzheimer , German historian, local researcher and author
- 1924 : Zehdi Labib Terzi , Palestinian politician and diplomat
- 1925 : Hans Urwyler , Chief Apostle of the New Apostolic Church
- 1925 : Robert Altman , American director, author, and television producer
- 1925 : Heinz Kluncker , German trade unionist, chairman of the ÖTV
- 1925 : Gianfranco Parolini , Italian film director
1926-1950
- 1926 : Bobby Jaspar , Belgian jazz musician
- 1926 : Richard Matheson , American SF and screenwriter
- 1926 : Ken Olsen , American engineer and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC)
- 1926 : Hans Timmermann , German director, actor and translator
- 1927 : Gerhard Audorf , German athlete and civil engineer
- 1927 : Heinz Aulfes , German politician
- 1927 : Carl Damm , German politician and Member of the Bundestag
- 1927 : Aloys Felke , German entrepreneur and politician, MdL
- 1927 : Ibrahim Ferrer , Cuban musician
- 1927 : Hubert de Givenchy , French fashion designer
- 1927 : Sidney Poitier , Bahamian-American actor and director, first African-American Oscar winner for a leading role
- 1928 : Osvaldo Berlingieri , Argentine tango pianist and composer
- 1928 : Jean Kennedy Smith , American diplomat
- 1928 : Friedrich Wetter , German priest and theologian, Bishop of Speyer, Archbishop of Munich-Freising, Cardinal
- 1929 : Amanda Blake , American actress
- 1929 : Toshirō Mayuzumi , Japanese composer and professor
- 1929 : Floralba del Monte , Dominican pianist and music teacher
- 1929 : Peter Schubert , German painter
- 1929 : Uriella , Swiss leader of the Fiat Lux order
- 1930 : Pierre Gabaye , French composer
- 1931 : Harold Keck , American racing car driver
- 1931 : John Willard Milnor , American professor of mathematics
- 1932 : Karl Veit Riedel , German folklorist and theater scholar
- 1933 : Charles Kynard , American church organist and Hammond organ player (soul jazz)
- 1933 : Humberto Maschio , Argentine-Italian football player
- 1934 : Dieter Augustin , German actor
- 1934 : Bobby Unser , American racing car driver
- 1934 : Kurt Wölfflin , Austrian writer
- 1935 : Ellen Gilchrist , American writer
- 1935 : Gottfried Tröger , German politician, MdL, MdB
- 1936 : Lars Arnesson , Swedish football player and coach
- 1936 : Larry Hovis , American actor and singer
- 1937 : David Acevedo , Argentine soccer player
- 1937 : Nancy Wilson , American singer
- 1937 : Robert Huber , German chemist and Nobel Prize winner
- 1938 : Inocêncio Cani , a Guinea-Bissau officer, is believed to have murdered the Cape Verdean politician Amílcar Cabrals
- 1938 : Inge Lønning , Norwegian theologian and politician
- 1938 : Richard Beymer , American actor
- 1939 : Gerhard Zickenrott , German trade unionist and politician
- 1940 : Rudolf Edlinger , Austrian politician
- 1940 : Christoph Eschenbach , German pianist and conductor
- 1940 : Jimmy Greaves , English football player
- 1941 : Giuseppe Arzilli , head of state of San Marino
- 1941 : Alexander Gauland , German lawyer, publicist and politician
- 1941 : Dave Manders , American football player
- 1941 : Buffy Sainte-Marie , Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1942 : Claude Miller , French film director and screenwriter
- 1942 : Phil Esposito , Canadian ice hockey player
- 1942 : Mitch McConnell , American Senator
- 1943 : Diana L. Paxson , American writer
- 1943 : Mike Leigh , British theater and film writer, director
- 1944 : Christian Pfeiffer , German criminologist, Minister of Justice of Lower Saxony
- 1944 : Lew Soloff , American jazz trumpeter
- 1944 : Willem van Hanegem , Dutch football player and coach
- 1945 : Jürg Acklin , Swiss psychoanalyst and writer
- 1945 : Johannes Biebl , German rock musician and singer
- 1945 : Bärbel Braun , German handball player
- 1945 : Brion James , American actor
- 1945 : George Smoot , American astrophysicist and Nobel Prize winner
- 1946 : Brenda Blethyn , British actress
- 1946 : J. Geils , American musician ( J. Geils Band )
- 1947 : Henry Hübchen , German film and theater actor
- 1947 : Peter Strauss , American actor
- 1948 : Christopher Pissarides , Cypriot-British economist
- 1949 : Mario Lega , Italian motorcycle racer
- 1949 : Bernhard Suttner , German politician
- 1949 : Ivana Trump , Czech-American entrepreneur, skier and model
- 1949 : Stefan Waggershausen , German singer, composer and author
- 1950 : Bernhard R. Appel , German musicologist
- 1950 : Ruslan Nuraliyevich Ashuraliyev , Soviet wrestler
- 1950 : Walter Becker , American musician ( Steely Dan )
- 1950 : Jean-Paul Dubois , French writer
- 1950 : Tony Wilson , British music manager, nightclub operator and television journalist
1951-1975
- 1951 : Gordon Brown , British politician, treasurer, prime minister
- 1951 : Randy California , American rock guitarist
- 1951 : Günter Jankowiak , German actor and playwright
- 1951 : Heidemarie Wright , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1952 : Udo Böbel , German handball player and handball trainer
- 1952 : Abdalá Bucaram , Ecuadorian lawyer and president
- 1952 : Hans-Jürgen Irmer , German politician, MdL
- 1953 : Riccardo Chailly , Italian conductor
- 1953 : Cindy McTee , American composer and music teacher
- 1953 : Reinhard van der Heusen , German handball player
- 1954 : Patty Hearst , American actress and terrorist
- 1954 : Abida Parveen , Pakistani singer and musician
- 1955 : Bryan Gregory , American musician
- 1955 : Bärbel Grygier , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1955 : Tim Lee-Davey , British racing driver and team owner
- 1958 : Sabine Kaack , German actress
- 1960 : Paul Arpin , French long-distance runner
- 1960 : Tatjana Kruse , German writer
- 1960 : Hardy Mertens , Dutch composer and conductor
- 1961 : Steffen Bukold , German economist
- 1961 : Emanuela von Frankenberg , Swiss actress and singer (soprano)
- 1961 : Imogen Stubbs , British actress
- 1963 : Charles Barkley , American basketball player
- 1963 : Ian Brown , British musician
- 1963 : Aymo Brunetti , Swiss economist
- 1963 : Oliver Mark , German photographer
- 1963 : Joakim Nyström , Swedish tennis player
- 1964 : Juan Manuel González Sandoval , Mexican bishop
- 1964 : Young-su An , South Korean boxer
- 1965 : Thomas Kemmerich , German politician, Prime Minister of Thuringia
- 1965 : Silvius von Kessel , German cathedral organist
- 1965 : Dirk Schulz , German draftsman and comic illustrator
- 1966 : Cindy Crawford , American supermodel, actress, and presenter
- 1966 : Dennis Mitchell , American athlete, Olympic champion
- 1966 : Rudolf Nierlich , Austrian ski racer
- 1966 : Constantin Seibt , Swiss journalist
- 1966 : Tim Wilde , German actor
- 1967 : Paul Accola , Swiss ski racer
- 1967 : Damian Adamus , German-Polish ice hockey player
- 1967 : Kurt Cobain , American musician ( Nirvana )
- 1967 : Lili Taylor , American actress
- 1968 : Dirk Dufner , German football functionary
- 1968 : Camilla Gibb , Canadian writer of British descent
- 1968 : Wolfgang Richter , German chess player
- 1968 : Paweł Wypych , Polish politician
- 1968 : Eva Grünbauer , German television presenter
- 1969 : Siniša Mihajlović , Serbian football player and coach
- 1970 : Cheyenne Brando , Tahitian model
- 1970 : Julia Franck , German writer
- 1970 : Markus Kauczinski , German soccer coach
- 1970 : Roderick Krauss , Dutch jazz violist and violinist
- 1971 : Theresa Hübchen , German actress
- 1971 : Jari Litmanen , Finnish football player
- 1971 : George Simonis , Romanian composer and music teacher
- 1972 : Laith Al-Deen , German musician
- 1972 : Uroš Pavlovčič , Slovenian ski racer
- 1973 : Kimberley Davies , Australian actress
- 1975 : Hans Achorner , Austrian biathlete
- 1975 : Brian Littrell , American musician ( Backstreet Boys )
1976-2000
- 1976 : Marek Nikl , Czech football player
- 1976 : Jan Delay , German musician
- 1977 : Bartosz Kizierowski , Polish swimmer
- 1977 : Stephon Marbury , American basketball player
- 1978 : Jay Hernández , American actor
- 1978 : Julia Jentsch , German actress
- 1978 : Lauren Ambrose , American actress
- 1980 : Arthur Abraham , German boxer
- 1980 : Thomas Andergassen , German gymnast
- 1980 : Artur Boruc , Polish football player
- 1980 : Guillermo Ariel Pereyra , Italian-Argentine soccer player
- 1980 : Anne Poleska , German swimmer
- 1981 : Sally Brown , British coastal researcher
- 1981 : Elisabeth Görgl , Austrian ski racer
- 1983 : Jeremy Foley , American film actor
- 1983 : Emad Moteab , Egyptian soccer player
- 1984 : Trevor Noah , South African cabaret artist
- 1985 : Petter Andersson , Swedish soccer player
- 1985 : Charlie Kimball , American racing driver
- 1985 : Hafizullah Qadami , Afghan soccer player
- 1985 : Julija Olegowna Wolkowa , Russian singer ( tATu )
- 1986 : Rasmus Andresen , German politician
- 1986 : Salome Clausen , Swiss singer
- 1986 : Jessica Helleberg , Swedish handball player
- 1987 : Daniella Pineda , American-Mexican actress
- 1987 : Patrick Tischler , Austrian football goalkeeper
- 1988 : Cédric Anton , French football player
- 1988 : Moreno Costanzo , Swiss football player
- 1988 : DCVDNS , German rapper

Rihanna (* 1988)
- 1988 : Rihanna , Barbadian R&B singer
- 1989 : Jasna Fritzi Bauer , Swiss actress
- 1990 : Ciro Immobile , Italian football player
- 1991 : Hidilyn Diaz , Filipino weightlifter
- 1991 : Peniel Mlapa , German soccer player
- 1991 : Christoph Siefkes , German soccer player
- 1991 : Hanna Yttereng , Norwegian handball player
- 1993 : Niklas Kreuzer , German soccer player
- 1994 : Stephanie Brunner , Austrian ski racer
- 1994 : Giorgia Lo Bue , Italian rower
- 1996 : Lennart Betzgen , German actor
- 1996 : Dennis Lippert , German soccer player
- 1997 : Sturla Holm Lægreid , Norwegian biathlete
- 1999 : Valentino Vujinović , German soccer player
- 2000 : Dennis Jastrzembski , German-Polish soccer player
- 2000 : Josh Sargent , American soccer player
Died
Before the 16th century
- 738 : Eucherius of Orléans , Bishop of Orléans
- 1043 : Alexios I Studites , Patriarch of Constantinople
- 1054 : Yaroslav the Wise , Grand Duke of Kiev
- 1078 : Hermann , Bishop of Ramsbury and Sherborne
- 1097 : Minamoto no Tsunenobu , Japanese statesman, poet and musician
- 1147 : Arnold I , Count of Kleve
- 1162 : Muhammad ibn Buzurg-Umid , leader of the Nizarites (assassins)
- 1183 : Petrus Cellensis , Abbot of Saint-Remi in Reims and Bishop of Chartres
- 1194 : Tankred of Lecce , King of Sicily and Naples
- 1236 : Heinrich II. , Count of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg
- 1243 : Romano Bonaventura , Italian cardinal, Cardinal Bishop of Porto e Santa Rufina, legate for France
- 1252 : Amicia de Montfort , French founder of the monastery
- 1258 : al-Musta'sim bi-'llah , thirty-seventh Abbasid caliph
- 1346 : Gilbert Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot , English nobleman
- 1408 : Johann von Kittlitz , Bishop of Fürstenwalde and Meißen
- 1414 : Arnold von Bärenfels , Swiss knight and mayor
- 1431 : Martin V , Pope
- 1437 : James I , King of Scotland
- 1446 : Elisabeth von Hanau , Countess of Dhaun-Kyrburg
- 1448 : Johannes Bonrade , Lübeck lawyer, university professor and cathedral dean
- 1458 : Lazar Branković , Serbian despot
- 1462 : Aubrey de Vere , English knight
16th to 18th century
- 1513 : John I , King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden
- 1524 : Tecun Uman , last king of the Maya Quiché people
- 1550 : Thomas Burgh, 1st Baron Burgh , English nobleman and politician
- 1570 : Johann Scheubel , German mathematician
- 1575 : Maria von Jever , last regent of the Jever rule
- 1579 : Nicholas Bacon , English lawyer, judge and Lord Chancellor
- 1595 : Ernst of Austria , Archduke of Austria
- 1600 : Markus Tegginger , German clergyman, university professor and founder
- 1604 : Mateu Fletxa el Jove , Catalan composer
- 1612 : Johannes Gottsleben , German master's degree, professor and Protestant theologian
- 1618 : Philipp Wilhelm of Orange-Nassau , Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau
- 1626 : John Dowland , English Renaissance composer
- 1653 : Paul Marquard Schlegel , German medic and botanist
- 1664 : Bartholomäus Khöll , Austrian imperial stonemason master, subordinate of the Wiener Bauhütte
- 1676 : Georg Ludwig Agricola , German musician
- 1684 : Ignace Ardieux , Swiss missionary
- 1685 : Gottfried Olearius , German Protestant theologian
- 1694 : Georg Franz Kolschitzky , Polish soldier and interpreter
- 1695 : Johann Ambrosius Bach , German musician
- 1696 : Ambrosius Ferrethi , Italian-Austrian imperial court stonemason master
- 1705 : Lorenz Beger , German lawyer, archivist and numismatist
- 1711 : Alexander Artschilowitsch Imeretinski , Georgian prince of the Kingdom of Imeretia
- 1731 : Antoine I , Prince of Monaco
- 1760 : Diane-Adélaïde de Mailly-Nesle , French nobleman and mistress of Louis XV.
- 1762 : Tobias Mayer , German cartographer, geographer, mathematician, physicist and astronomer
- 1773 : Karl Emanuel III. , King of Sardinia-Piedmont and Duke of Savoy
- 1776 : Philipp Ernst Kern , general superintendent in Hildburghausen
- 1778 : Laura Bassi , Italian philosopher, Europe's first female professor of physics
- 1790 : Joseph II , Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Croatia and Hungary
- 1799 : Jean-Charles de Borda , French mathematician and seaman
- 1799 : Georg Christian Unger , German architect and builder of Frederick the Great
19th century
- 1803 : Marie Dumesnil , French actress
- 1810 : Andreas Hofer , Austrian innkeeper, leader of the Tyrolean uprising of 1809 and freedom fighter
- 1810 : Peter Mayr , Austrian innkeeper, Tyrolean freedom fighter
- 1811 : Johann Carl Friedrich Meyer , German pharmacist and chemist
- 1813 : Franz Michael Senn , Austrian district judge, member of the Tyrolean state parliament and freedom fighter
- 1815 : Johann Christoph Georg Adler , German lawyer
- 1816 : Johann Erich Biester , German popular philosopher
- 1824 : Bogislav Friedrich Emanuel von Tauentzien , Prussian infantry general
- 1826 : Matthew Murray , English engineer
- 1837 : Ernst Häußler , German singer, composer and music teacher
- 1837 : Franz Anton von Neveu , German forest master and landowner
- 1838 : Karl Friedrich Heinrich , German classical philologist
- 1840 : Wilhelm Gotthelf Lohrmann , German geodesist, topographer, astronomer and meteorologist
- 1841 : Friedrich Sertürner , German pharmacist and discoverer of morphine
- 1846 : Friedrich August Unger , German Protestant clergyman
- 1850 : Hermann Biow , German photographer
- 1851 : Pierre Roll , French composer
- 1855 : Joseph Hume , British politician
- 1860 : Henry Drummond , British banker, member of the House of Commons, co-founder and apostle of the Catholic Apostolic Congregations
- 1861 : Eugène Scribe , French playwright
- 1868 : Julie Pfannenschmidt , German writer
- 1871 : Paul Kane , Canadian painter
- 1883 : Bertrando Spaventa , Italian philosopher
- 1892 : Hermann Kopp , German chemist and chemical historian
- 1893 : Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard , American Confederate General in the American Civil War ( Napoleon in Gray )
- 1895 : Frederick Douglass , American abolitionist and writer
- 1899 : Heinrich Böckeler , German priest and church musician
20th century
1901-1950
- 1902 : Wilhelm Asmus , German writer
- 1907 : Henri Moissan , French chemist, Nobel Prize winner
- 1908 : Ludwig von Schwabe , German classical philologist and archaeologist
- 1909 : Eginhard von Barfus , German writer
- 1909 : Rodolphe Lindt , Swiss chocolate producer
- 1910 : Boutros Ghali , Egyptian politician
- 1913 : Robert von Lieben , Austrian physicist
- 1916 : Klas Pontus Arnoldson , Swedish journalist, politician and Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- 1919 : Habibullah Khan , Emir of Afghanistan
- 1920 : Jacinta Marto , Portuguese child, blessed, witness of a presumed apparition of Mary
- 1920 : Robert Edwin Peary , American engineer and polar explorer
- 1922 : Jordan Mai , German Franciscan
- 1922 : Reinhard Mannesmann , German inventor and entrepreneur
- 1925 : Marco Enrico Bossi , Italian organist and composer
- 1928 : Antonio Abetti , Italian astronomer
- 1928 : Josef Arbesser von Rastburg , Austrian landscape and architecture painter
- 1929 : Edward Leicester Atkinson , British parasitologist, doctor and polar explorer
- 1929 : John Grenfell Maxwell , British General, Commander in Chief in Ireland
- 1929 : Carl Sonnenschein , German theologian
- 1936 : Max Schreck , German actor
- 1939 : August Leonhard Bernoulli , Swiss physicist
- 1940 : Abdullah Abdurahman , South African politician
- 1940 : Heinrich Seufferheld , German draftsman, painter and etcher
- 1941 : Mary Bolduc , Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1941 : Arthur Erich Haas , Austrian physicist
- 1942 : Juliusz Bursche , Polish evangelical clergyman, publisher and regional bishop of Poland
- 1945 : Hermann Jansen , German architect and urban planner
- 1945 : Willem Karel Mertens , Dutch doctor and hygienist
- 1945 : Margarethe von Sydow , pseudonym Franz Rosen, German writer
- 1948 : Bertha Eckstein-Diener , Austrian writer and travel journalist
- 1948 : Robert P. Lamont , American politician
- 1949 : Alexander Bittorf , German internal physician and pathologist
- 1950 : Carl Burger , German sculptor
1951-2000
- 1951 : Ernst von Angerer , German physicist
- 1951 : Howard Brockway , American composer
- 1951 : Karl Rüdiger , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1952 : Carlos Julio Arosemena Tola , Ecuadorian banker and president
- 1952 : Wilhelm Knothe , German politician, Member of the Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag
- 1953 : Emmy Andriesse , Dutch photographer
- 1955 : Eugen Schmalenbach , German professor of business administration
- 1956 : Heinrich Barkhausen , German physicist
- 1957 : Sadri Maksudi Arsal , Tatar statesman, legal scholar, thinker and scientist
- 1958 : Isidore Philipp , Hungarian-French pianist and music teacher
- 1959 : Otto Bartning , German architect and architectural theorist
- 1960 : Philipp Wehr , German politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 1961 : Percy Grainger , Australian composer and professor
- 1962 : Otto Auerswald , German resistance fighter
- 1962 : Halliwell Hobbes , British actor
- 1963 : Jakow Andrejewitsch Eschpai , Russian composer and educator
- 1963 : Ferenc Fricsay , Hungarian conductor
- 1965 : Masao Yamakawa , Japanese writer
- 1966 : Arnold Hörburger , Dutch football player
- 1966 : Chester W. Nimitz , US Navy Admiral, Commander in Chief in the Pacific, Chief of Naval Operations
- 1966 : Paul Zielinski , German soccer player
- 1967 : Karl Aichhorn , Austrian politician
- 1968 : Anthony Asquith , British film director
- 1969 : Ernest Ansermet , Swiss conductor
- 1970 : Friedhelm Dohmann , German politician and Member of the Bundestag
- 1970 : João Café Filho , President of Brazil
- 1970 : Gaston Modot , French film actor
- 1970 : Tüdel Weller , German journalist and writer
- 1971 : Ricardo Joaquín Alfaro Jované , 15th President of Panama
- 1972 : Maria Goeppert-Mayer , German-American physicist, Nobel Prize winner
- 1972 : Herbert Menges , English composer and conductor
- 1975 : Kurt Batt , German literary scholar, critic and editor
- 1975 : Ernest Haley , British athlete
- 1976 : Hans Luckey , Baptist theologian and pastor and free church historian
- 1976 : René Cassin , French lawyer, diplomat, author of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate
- 1979 : Nereo Rocco , Italian football coach
- 1980 : Joseph Banks Rhine , American psychologist
- 1981 : Hans Fleischer , German composer
- 1981 : Athanasios Toutoungi , Syrian Archbishop
- 1882 : Emil Kraft , German politician, MdL
- 1984 : Fikrət Əmirov , Azerbaijani composer
- 1984 : Giuseppe Colombo , Italian engineer and mathematician
- 1985 : Isaac Kashdan , American grandmaster and writer in chess
- 1985 : Nakano Yoshio , Japanese literary scholar and translator
- 1986 : Hans Geiger , German trade unionist and politician, Member of the Bundestag, Member of the Bundestag
- 1987 : Adrian Cruft , British composer and professor
- 1987 : EP Jacobs , Belgian comic artist ( Blake and Mortimer )
- 1987 : Joseph Parecattil , Indian Archbishop of Ernakulam and Cardinal
- 1989 : Erika Köth , German chamber singer and soprano
- 1991 : Isabelle Delorme , Canadian music teacher and composer
- 1992 : Muhammad Asad , Islamic scholar
- 1992 : William Ayres Arrowsmith , American philologist and literary scholar
- 1992 : Eugene Robert Black , American banker, third President of the World Bank
- 1993 : Ferruccio Lamborghini , Italian engineer, entrepreneur, winemaker and automobile designer ( Lamborghini )
- 1994 : Gaston Bertrand , Belgian painter
- 1994 : Józef Michał Chomiński , Polish musicologist
- 1994 : Franz Zauner , Austrian priest, Bishop of Linz
- 1996 : Solomon Asch , Polish-American gestalt psychologist and pioneer of social psychology
- 1996 : Gheorghe Dumitrescu , Romanian composer
- 1996 : Tōru Takemitsu , Japanese composer
- 1997 : Affonso Guimarães da Silva , Brazilian soccer player
- 1998 : Wolfgang Arnold , Austrian writer
- 1999 : Sarah Kane , British director
21st century
- 2001 : Karl Hasel , German forest scientist
- 2003 : Maurice Blanchot , French writer
- 2003 : Orville Freeman , American politician
- 2003 : Cornelius Kweku Ganyo , Ghanaian percussionist and dancer
- 2003 : Willi Hoss , German trade unionist and politician, Member of the Bundestag
- 2003 : Ulrich Roski , German songwriter and cabaret artist
- 2004 : Ana Ariel , Brazilian actress
- 2005 : Rachel Bissex , American folk singer and singer-songwriter
- 2005 : Sandra Dee , American actress
- 2005 : Witali Grossmann , German-Kazakh ice hockey player
- 2005 : Dalene Matthee , South African writer
- 2005 : Raymond Mhlaba , South African politician and civil rights activist
- 2005 : Hunter S. Thompson , American writer and reporter
- 2005 : Karl Weschke , German-British painter
- 2005 : Jimmy Young , American boxer
- 2006 : Hans-Joachim Arnold , German mathematician and university professor
- 2006 : Paul Casimir Marcinkus , Catholic Archbishop, Head of the Vatican Bank
- 2006 : Ray Pickrell , British motorcycle racer
- 2007 : Peter Ackermann , German painter and graphic artist
- 2007 : Carl-Henning Pedersen , Danish painter
- 2007 : Zilla Huma Usman , Pakistani politician and women's rights activist
- 2008 : Helmut Sturm , German painter
- 2008 : Allen Strange , American composer, musicologist and musician
- 2008 : Bobby Lee Trammell , American rockabilly musician and politician
- 2009 : Friedrich Berentzen , German spirits manufacturer
- 2009 : Fats Sadi , Belgian jazz musician and composer
- 2010 : Johanna Dohnal , Austrian politician
- 2010 : Alexander Haig , American general and politician, NATO commander in chief in Europe and foreign minister
- 2011 : Helmut Ringelmann , German film producer
- 2012 : Renato Dulbecco , Italian-American biologist, Nobel Prize winner
- 2012 : Imanuel Geiss , German historian
- 2012 : Annemarie Griesinger , German social politician, MdL and state minister
- 2012 : Vera Marzot , Italian costume designer
- 2015 : Patricia Norris , American costume designer
- 2015 : Friedrich Zawrel , Austrian Nazi victim
- 2016 : Ove Verner Hansen , Danish actor and singer
- 2016 : Walter Spagerer , German politician and football official
- 2017 : Karl Oppenrieder , German stonemason and sculptor
- 2017 : Witali Ivanovich Tschurkin , Russian diplomat
- 2018 : Herbert Ehrenberg , German politician
- 2018 : Marietheres List , German theater director
- 2019 : Claude Goretta , Swiss film director
Holidays and memorial days
- Church memorial days
- Friedrich Weißler , German lawyer and martyr, first victim of the Confessing Church in the fight against National Socialism (Protestant)
- Agatho , Roman monk and Pope (Orthodox)
- Corona , Roman martyr and patron saint (Catholic)
- Anniversaries of international organizations
- World Social Justice Day (UN) (since 2009)
The list of days of remembrance and action contains further entries .
Commons : February 20th - Collection of images, videos and audio files