Birthdays in History on February 12

  • February
  • 1074 Conrad, King of Germany and Italy (d. 1101)
  • 1211 Henry VII, Roman catholic German king (1220-35)
  • 1218 Kujo Yoritsune, Japanese shogun (d. 1256)
  • 1438 Adolf van Egmond, duke of Gelre/earl of Zutphen
  • 1474 Lorenzo Campeggi(o), archbishop of Bologna/diplomat
  • 1584 Casparus Barleaus, Flemish theologist/poet (Muiderkring)
  • 1585 Caspar Bartholin the Elder, Danish physician, theologian, writer on anatomy, born in Malmö, Denmark (modern Sweden) (d. 1629)
  • 1606 John Winthrop, the Younger, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1676)
  • 1636 Herman Witsius, [Wits], Dutch reformed theologist
  • 1637 Jan Swammerdam, Amsterdam, Dutch anatomist/entomologist (Bible of Nature)

Person of interestCotton Mather

1663 Cotton Mather, American Puritan minister (Salem witchcraft trials), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1728)

Puritan Minister Cotton Mather
Puritan Minister
Cotton Mather
  • 1665 Rudolph J Camerarius, German botanist/physician (sexuality plant)
  • 1704 Charles Pinot Duclos, French writer (d. 1772)
  • 1706 Josef Christian, German sculptor
  • 1728 Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (d. 1799)
  • 1753 François-Paul Brueys D'Aigalliers, French admiral (d. 1798)

  • 1768 Francis II, Florence Italy, last Holy Roman emperor (1792-1806)
  • 1775 Louisa Adams, US First Lady (1825-29), born in London (d. 1852)
  • 1777 Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German poet (d. 1843)
  • 1785 Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist (d. 1838)
  • 1791 Jan D Zocher Jr, Dutch garden architect (Vondelpark, Amsterdam)
  • 1791 Peter Cooper, American industrialist, inventor and philanthropist (Cooper Union, steam locomotive), born in NYC, New York (d. 1883)
  • 1792 Ferdinand de Braekeleer, Belgian painter
  • 1804 Heinrich Lenz, German physicist (d. 1865)

Person of interestAbraham Lincoln

1809 Abraham Lincoln, American politician (R) 16th President (1861-65), born in Hardin County, Kentucky (d. 1865)

16th US President Abraham Lincoln
16th US President
Abraham Lincoln

Person of interestCharles Darwin

1809 Charles Darwin, English naturalist (Origin of the Species) conceived the theory of evolution by natural selection, born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire (d. 1882)

Naturalist Charles Darwin
Naturalist
Charles Darwin
  • 1815 Edward Forbes, Douglas Isle of Man, English Naturalist and pioneer in the field of biogeography
  • 1818 Otto Ludwig, German writer (Die Heiterethei)
  • 1824 Arya Samaj Maha Rishi Dayanand Sarsvati, Indian hindu leader
  • 1828 George Meredith, England, poet/novelist (Shaving of Shagpat)
  • 1828 Robert Ransom Jr, Major General (Confederate Army), (d. 1892)
  • 1838 Charles C. Walcutt, American general in the Union Army during the American Civil War, born in Columbus, Ohio (d. 1898)
  • 1841 Gijsbert van Tienhoven, Dutch mayor (Amsterdam) and Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1891-1894
  • 1850 Amaat Vyncke, Flemish missionary (Flemish Flag)
  • 1852 Hendrik Blink, geographer (Van de Eems tot de Schelde)
  • 1861 Lou [Andreas-]Salome, Russian/German author (Im Kampf um Gott)
  • 1865 Kazimierz P Tetmajer, Polish writer/poet (Young Poland)
  • 1867 Hedwig Courths-Mahler, German author (Warbride) [or Febr 18]
  • 1868 Jan Schaper, Dutch publicist and politician (SDAP)
  • 1869 Hendrik P Marchant, Dutch minister of Education/Arts (VVD)
  • 1876 Thubten Gyatso, 13th Dalai Lama, born in Thakpo Langdun (d. 1933)

  • 1877 Louis Renault, French automobile executive, born in Paris, France (d. 1944)
  • 1880 John Llewellyn Lewis, union leader (United Mine Workers, 1920-60)
  • 1882 Walter Vaes, Flemish painter/etcher
  • 1884 Max Beckmann, German painter and graphic artist
  • 1884 Marie Vassilieff, Russian artist (d. 1957)
  • 1884 Johan Laidoner, Estonian military commander (d. 1953)
  • 1893 Marcel G J Minnaert, Dutch astronomer

Person of interestOmar Bradley

1893 Omar Bradley, American WWII General (Invasion of Normandy) and 1st Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1949-53), born in Clark, Missouri (d. 1981)

US WWII General Omar Bradley
US WWII General
Omar Bradley
  • 1907 Clifton C. Edom, American photojournalism educator (d. 1991)
  • 1908 Jacques Herbrand, French logician and mathematician (d. 1931)
  • 1908 Jean Effel, French painter and journalist (d. 1982)
  • 1910 Forsyth Hardy, documentary film pioneer
  • 1910 Lee Byung Chull, Korean industrialist/founder (Samsung Business)
  • 1911 Frank Hercules, writer
  • 1911 Sylvstre A Guzman Fernandez, president (Dominican Republic)
  • 1911 Stephen H. Sholes, American recording executive (d. 1968)
  • 1912 R. F. Delderfield, English author (d. 1972)
  • 1913 Pedro Gastao de Orleans e Braganca, grandson of Emperor Pedro I
  • 1914 Nello Celio, Swiss politician, born in Quinto, Switzerland (d. 1995)
  • 1914 Arvid Pardo, Maltese diplomat, a.k.a "Father of the Law of the Sea Conference", born in Rome, Italy (d. 1999)
  • 1915 Andrew J Goodpaster, American general/supreme commander (NATO-Europe)
  • 1916 Joseph L Alioto, American politician (Mayor-San Francisco), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1998)
  • 1917 Raizo Matsuno, Japanese politician (d. 2006)
  • 1918 Julian S Schwinger, US physicist
  • 1920 William Roscoe Estep, Baptist historian and professor (d. 2000)
  • 1923 Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director (Romeo & Juliet), born in Florence, Italy (d. 2019)
  • 1923 James Abdnor, (Sen-R-SD, 1981-87), (d. 2012)
  • 1923 Chaskel Besser, Orthodox rabbi
  • 1923 James Chichester-Clark, Irish politician, Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (1969-71), born in Moyola Park, Londonderry (d. 2002)
  • 1924 Hans Berghuis, Dutch author/poet (3 Women, Adam)
  • 1925 Sir Anthony Berry, British politician (d. 1984)
  • 1925 Joan Mitchell, Chicago USA, American painter and printmaker
  • 1926 Paul Hamlyn, English publisher/multi-millionaire (Octopus)
  • 1926 Charles Van Doren, American quiz show contestant (Twenty-One), born in New York City
  • 1930 Arlen Specter, American Senator (Republican-PA, 1981- 2011), born in Wichita, Kansas (d. 2012)
  • 1931 Constance A Morella, (Rep-R-Maryland)
  • 1931 Janwillem van de Wetering, Dutch author
  • 1932 Axel Jensen, Norwegian author (d. 2003)
  • 1933 Costa-Gavras, director
  • 1933 Ivan Nikolayevich Anikeyev, Russian cosmonaut
  • 1933 Juanita [Ruth] Coulson, sci-fi author (Web of Wizardry, Space Trap)
  • 1934 Anne Krueger, American economist
  • 1936 Fang Lizhi, Chinese astrophysicist/dissident (Tiananmen Square, 1989), born in Beijing, China (d. 2012)
  • 1938 Judy Blume, author (Wifey)
  • 1940 Hank Brown, (Rep-R-CO, 1981-88)
  • 1941 Naomi Uemura, mountain climber (1st Japanese to scale Everest)
  • 1942 Chananjit Vohra, Kenyan/British hotel magnate/multi-millionaire
  • 1942 Ehud Barak, Prime Minister of Israel
  • 1944 Desmond Nuttall, English educator
  • 1944 Jackie Torrence, story teller/artist
  • 1945 David D Friedman, American economist, physicist, legal scholar, and libertarian theorist (The Machinery of Freedom), born in NYC, New York
  • 1947 Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Indian leader of Damdami Taksal (d. 1984)
  • 1948 Raymond Kurzweil, American inventor and author (Kurzweil reading machine, text-to-speech synthesis), born in NYC, New York
  • 1951 Steven Parent, Manson murder victim (d. 1969)
  • 1954 Philip Zimmermann, US cryptographer, born in Camden, New Jersey
  • 1956 Ad P Melkert, Dutch minister of Social Affairs (1994- ), born in Gouda, Netherlands
  • 1959 Nancy Remy, reporter (NYC's Shadow Traffic)
  • 1961 Jim Harris, Canadian author, environmentalist, and politician, born in Toronto, Canada
  • 1963 Ed Lover, US radio personality, born in Hollis, New York
  • 1965 Brett Kavanaugh, American judge, born in Washington, D.C.
  • 1966 Boty Goodwin, British artist (d. 1995)
  • 1967 Chris McKinstry, Canadian computer scientist, born in Winnipeg, Canada (d. 2006)
  • 1968 Christopher McCandless, US nomad, subject of biography Into the Wild, born in El Segundo, California (d. 1992)
  • 1969 Darren Aronofsky, American director and writer, born in Brooklyn, New York
  • 1970 Judd Winick, American writer and artist, born in Long Island, New York
  • 1974 Fonzworth Bentley, US hip-hop artist, born in Atlanta, Georgia
  • 1978 Silver Meikar, Estonian human rights activist and politician, born in Tartu, Estonia
  • 1991 Faisal bin Hamad Al Khalifa, prince of Bahrain, born in Riffa, Bahrain (d. 2006)

February in History