- 1499 Thomas Platter, Swiss humanist (d. 1582)
- 1524 Albrecht Giese, German politician and diplomat (d. 1580)
- 1606 Christine Marie of France, regent of Savoy (d. 1663)
- 1609 John Suckling, English Cavalier poet/dramatist/courtier
- 1637 Henriette Catharina van Nassau, Dutch daughter of Frederick Henry
- 1670 Norbert van Flowers, [Cephalus], Flemish painter
- 1670 William Congreve, England, writer (Old Bachelor, Way of the World)
- 1685 Aaron Hill, English playwright/poet (Tragedy of Zara)
- 1686 Johann F Gronovius, Dutch physician/botany
- 1775 Charles Lamb, British critic/poet/essayist (Essays of Elia), born in London, England (d. 1834)
- 1785 Claude-Louis Navier, French engineer and physicist who specialized in mechanics (Navier–Stokes equations), born in Dijon, France (d. 1836)
- 1795 Ary Scheffer, Dutch painter/etcher/sculptor
- 1807 Abner Clark Harding, American politician and Civil War Brigadier General (Union Army), born in East Hampton, Connecticut (d. 1874)
- 1818 Isham Green Harris, Gov (Confederacy), (d. 1897)
- 1821 William Read Scurry, (Confederate Army Brigadier General, (d. 1864))
- 1824 Samuel Plimsoll, inventor (Plimsoll line for ships), born in Bristol, England
- 1827 Peter J Savelberg, Dutch Limburgs monastery founder
- 1846 Mildred Childe Lee, daughter of confederate General Robert E. Lee
- 1846 Charles Beresford, British admiral and politician (d. 1919)
- 1846 Ira Remsen, American chemist (d. 1927)
- 1859 Alexandre Millerand, French President (d. 1943)
- 1866 Rafael Altamira Crevea, Spanish lawyer/historian
- 1868 William Allen White, Emporia KS, editor (Pulitzer 1942)
- 1870 Fritz Klimsch, German sculptor/painter
- 1872 Anne Anema, Dutch lawyer/journalist/politician (ARP)
- 1880 Jesse G Vincent, Arkansas, engineer designed 1st V-12 engine
- 1884 Frederick Hawksworth, GWR Chief mechanical engineer. (d. 1976)
- 1887 [Fran J] Vital Celen, Flemish literary/author [or Feb 9]
- 1888 Giuseppe Ungaretti, Italian poet (Hermeticism) and journalist, born in Alexandria (d. 1970)
- 1889 Howard Spring, British author/novelist/writer/critic (O Absalom)
Boris Pasternak
1890 Boris Pasternak, Russian novelist and poet (Doctor Zhivago, Nobel 1958), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1960)
Boris Pasternak
Harold Macmillan
1894 Harold Macmillan, British Conservative politician and Prime Minister (1957-63), born in London (d. 1986)
Harold Macmillan
Walter Houser Brattain
1902 Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist and Nobel laureate for his work on transistors, born in Amoy, China (d. 1987)
Walter Houser Brattain
- 1903 Waldemar Hoven, German physician (d. 1948)
- 1905 Max Schubert, a pioneering Australian winemaker
- 1906 Henry Phelps Brown, British historian and economist, born in Calne (d. 1994)
- 1906 Walraven (Wally) van Hall, Dutch banker/resisted Nazis
- 1907 Grace Hamilton, 1st African American member of Georgia state legislature
- 1909 George Douglass Milne, British peer, soldier and artist, born at Lichfield (d. 2005)
- 1910 Dominique Pire, Belgian educator, aided WW II refugees (Nobel 1958)
- 1912 Lord Orr-Ewing [Charles Ian], great-grandson of Sir Archibald Orr-Ewing, Bt
- 1913 Ragnhild Marie Hatton, Norwegian historian, born in Bergen, Norway (d. 1995)
- 1914 Larry Adler, Balt, hamonicist (Harmonicats) (blacklisted performer)
- 1916 Edward R. Roybal, American politician (Rep-D-CA, 1963-93), born in Pecos, New Mexico (d. 2005)
- 1918 Gordon Pirie, English Group Captain and politician, born in Oxford (d. 2003)
- 1918 Idwal Pugh, British ombudsman
- 1920 Alexander Comfort, English poet/writer (Wreath for the Living)
- 1920 J Heslop-Harrison, botanist
- 1922 Harold Hughes, American politician, Governor of Iowa (D) and US Senator, born in Ida County, Iowa (d. 1996)
- 1922 Árpád Göncz, Hungarian politician, 1st post-communist President (1990-2000), born in Budapest (d. 2015)
- 1927 Jakov Lind, German/British author (Counting My Footsteps)
- 1927 Nigel Bagnall, British field marshal
- 1927 Viscount Cowdray, British financier/multi-millionaire
- 1928 Gene Taylor, (Rep-D-St Louis, 1973- )
- 1929 Henk Heidweiler, Surinam ambassador (in Netherlands)
- 1929 Jim Whittacker, mountain climber (1st American to climb Mt Everest)
- 1931 Thomas Bernhard, Austrian novelist, playwright and poet whose work some describe as "the most significant literary achievement since World War II", born in Heerlen, Netherlands (d. 1989)
- 1932 Donald Hilton, Moderator (General Assembly of United Reformed Church)
- 1934 Fleur Adcock, New Zealand poet
- 1935 Conrad Klapheck, German painter (typewriters)
- 1936 Olwyn Bowey, British artist, born in Stockton-on-Tees, Durham
- 1936 Sylvia Williams, museum director/curator
- 1937 Lord Justice Rose, former judge on the Court of Appeal of England and Wales
- 1939 Adrienne Clarkson, 26th Governor General of Canada
- 1940 Peter Middleton, CEO (Lloyd's)
- 1942 Michael Bishop, British CEO (British Midland Airways), born in Bowdon, Cheshire
- 1944 Frank Keating, American politician
- 1945 John Hayes, secretary-general (British Law Society)
- 1947 Louise Arbour, Canadian judge
- 1947 Nicholas Owen, English newsreader
- 1948 Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (d. 1994)
- 1950 Gail Rebuck, CEO (Random House)
- 1951 Roxanne Pulitzer, author (Prize Pulitzer), born in Glendale, California
- 1951 Zeudi Araya, Asmara Ethiopia, Miss Ethiopia (1969)
Lee Hsien Loong
1952 Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of Singapore (People's Action Party: 2004-present), born in Singapore
Lee Hsien Loong
- 1953 John Shirley, American sci-fi author (Eclipse Penumbra, Eclipse Corona)
- 1959 Lisa McPherson, former Scientologist (d. 1995)
- 1961 George Stephanopoulos, American journalist, political commentator, and political advisor (Clinton), born in Fall River, Massachusetts
- 1964 Mir Aimal Kansi, Pakistani perpretrator of the 1993 shootings at CIA Headquarters, born in Quetta, Pakistan (d. 2002)
- 1964 Arthur Lenk, Israeli diplomat, born in Paterson, New Jersey
- 1969 Joe Mangrum, American artist, born in Florissant, Missouri
- 1970 Åsne Seierstad, Norwegian journalist, born in Oslo, Norway
- 1970 Myrea Pettit, British illustrator
- 1974 Tanoai Reed, American stunt performer, born in Honolulu, Hawaii
- 1975 Amber Frey, American witness in the Scott Peterson case
- 1978 Lorna Bailey, English ceramic designer
February in History
![2,000-year-old Glass Treasure Shattered by a Drunk]()
2,000-year-old Glass Treasure Shattered by a Drunk
One of the British Museum's treasured pieces of Roman antiquity was shattered on this day by a drunken visitor.
February 7, 1845![Earthquakes and a Book Rock London]()
Earthquakes and a Book Rock London
In the 18th Century, Englishmen went into a panic when London, of all places, was hit by earthquakes. But was there a stronger force than Mother Nature at work?
February 8, 1750![Why 'SuperMac' was Banished From Number 10]()
Why 'SuperMac' was Banished From Number 10
War hero, Edwardian gentleman, academic, friend of the Kennedys, former Prime Minister Harold Macmillan was born on this day.
February 10, 1894![Ancient Dresden Reduced to Rubble]()
Ancient Dresden Reduced to Rubble
The blanket bombing of Dresden in East Germany which began on this day, cost thousands of lives and remains highly controversial.
February 13, 1945
