Nicolaus Copernicus
1473 Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer who theorized that planets revolve around the sun (Heliocentric theory), born in Toruń, Royal Prussia, Kingdom of Poland (d. 1543)
Nicolaus Copernicus
- 1526 Charles de L'Ecluse, Flemish botanist (d. 1609)
- 1552 Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal and statesman (d. 1630)
- 1588 Pieter de Carpentier, Flemish gov-gen of Dutch East-Indies
- 1611 Andries de Graeff, mayor of Amsterdam (1657..71)
- 1630 Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Empire, born at Shivneri fort (d. 1680) birth date according to Government of Maharashtra
- 1630 Shivaji Bhonsle, Indian warrior (disputed birth date; 1630-02-19 accepted by Indian government), born in Shivneri Fort, India (d. 1680)
- 1660 Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (d. 1742)
- 1722 Tiphaigne de la Roche, French writer (d. 1774)
- 1751 Cornelis de Gijselaar, Dutch politician and patriot
- 1754 Vincenzo Monti, Italian poet/translator (Al Signor di Montgolfier)
- 1755 Pieter G van Overstraten, governor-general of Neth-Indies
- 1780 Friedrich H von der Hagen, German germanist (Nibelungenlied)
- 1780 Richard McCarty, American politician (d. 1844)
- 1792 Roderick Murchison, Muir of Ord Ross-shire, Scottish Geologist (Silurian system)
- 1802 Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss Federal Councillor (d. 1881)
- 1804 Carl Freiherr von Rokitansky, German physician (d. 1878)
- 1804 David Wark, Canadian politician (d. 1905)
- 1817 Willem III, last male King of the Netherlands (1849-90), born in Brussels, Belgium (d. 1890)
- 1819 Mark Prager Lindo, English/Dutch author/novelist/writer
- 1821 Francis Preston Blair Jr, (Rep-Missouri), born in Lexington, Kentucky (d. 1875)
- 1827 Charles Robert Woods, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Newark, Ohio (d. 1855)
- 1828 Johannes von Miquel, German politician
- 1859 Svante August Arhenius, Swedish physicist/chemist (Nobel 1903)
- 1864 Aritius S Talma, Dutch minister of Agriculture (Work Law of 1911)
- 1865 Adrian van Oordt, Dutch writer (neo-romantic)
- 1865 Sven Hedin, Swedish scientist/explorer (Tibet)
- 1876 Constantin Brancusi, Romanian French sculptor (Princesse X), born in Hobita (d. 1957)
- 1877 Else Berg, German/Dutch painter
- 1877 Gabriele Münter, German painter (d. 1962)
- 1880 Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and President of Mexico (1920-24), born in Alamos, Mexico (d. 1928)
- 1881 Evert Gorter, founder of Dutch medical child care
- 1881 Paul Zech, German writer, born in Briesen, Western Prussia (d. 1946)
- 1888 Aurora Quezon, First Lady of the Philippines (d. 1949)
- 1889 Jose Eustasio Rivera, Colombian poet and novelist (Vortex)
- 1893 Pietro Pancrazi, Italian critic (Scrittori d'Oggi)
- 1898 Lauwrens Voorthuyzen, [Lou de Palingboer], Dutch sect leader
- 1899 Yury Olesha, Russian novelist (d. 1960)
- 1900 Giorgos Seferis, writer
- 1901 Cor[nelis RJ] Kieboom, Dutch resistance fighter/chairman (Feyenoord)
- 1903 Sadiq Hidajat, Persian writer (Blind Person Owl), (d. 1951)
- 1903 Kay Boyle, St. Paul, Minnesota, American novelist (Plagued by Nightingales)
- 1904 Havank, [HF vqan der Kallen], Dutch thriller writer (St Eustache)
- 1912 Adolf Rudnicki, Polish writer (Niekochana)
- 1912 Peter Francis de Sautoy, publisher
- 1917 Carson McCullers, American novelist (Heart Is a Lonely Hunter)
- 1920 Frances K Bairstow, educator/labor relations consultant
- 1920 C. Z. Guest, American socialite (d. 2003)
- 1920 Jaan Kross, Estonian writer (d. 2007)
- 1921 Andries Treurnicht, [Dr No], founder (South African Conservative Party)
- 1922 Beant Singh, politiician
- 1927 Rene Firino-Martell, cognac manufacturer
- 1930 John Frankenheimer, American director (Birdman of Alcatraz), born in NYC, New York
- 1932 Joseph P Kerwin, Capt Med Corps USN/astro (Skylab 2), born in Oak Park, Illinois
- 1934 David Hugh Jones, Poole Dorset England, director (Betrayal)
- 1934 Julian Belfrage, theatre Agent
- 1936 Marin Sorescu, Romanian poet, playwright and artist (Iona, House under surveillance), born in Bulzești, Dolj County (d. 1996)
- 1936 Ione Mylonas Shear, archeologist
- 1940 Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006)
- 1941 Stephen Dobyns, US author/poet (Cold Dog Soup)
- 1942 Ken Kramer [Kenneth Bentley Kramer], former American Republican member of the House of Representatives, born in Chicago, Illinois
- 1943 Homer Hickam, American author and retired NASA engineer
- 1943 Tim Hunt, British biochemist, Nobel laureate
- 1944 Jan Bart Klaster, mythologist (Slogan)
- 1946 Peter Hudson, Australian rules footballer
- 1947 Peter Bird, ocean rower
- 1947 Tim Shadbolt, mayor of Invercargill, New Zealand
- 1947 Ferdousi Priyabhashini, Bangladeshi sculptor (Independence Day Award-2010), born in Khulna District, British India (d. 2018)
- 1948 Byron K Lichtenburg, Stroudsburg Pa, astronaut (STS 9, STS 45)
- 1948 Pim Fortuyn, Dutch politician (d. 2002)
- 1949 Dan Bunten, American software developer (d. 1998)
- 1949 William Messner-Loebs, American comics writer
- 1951 Shaykh-ul-Islam Dr Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri (Db), Pakistani Islamic Sufi Scholar
- 1952 Rudolfo Neri-Vida, Mexican PHD/astronaut (STS 23)
- 1952 Amy Tan, American novelist
- 1953 Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Argentina (2007-2015), born in La Plata, Buenos Aires
- 1956 George David Low, astronaut (STS 32, STS 43), born in Cleveland, Ohio
- 1956 Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist, Nobel laureate
Jeffrey Robert Immelt
1956 Jeffrey Robert Immelt, American chairman of General Electric, born in Cincinnati, Ohio
Jeffrey Robert Immelt
- 1958 Helen Fielding, English writer (Bridget Jones), born in Morley, England
- 1960 Keith Musa[kawukhathi] Zondi, South African head of Inkatha Youth Brigade
- 1960 Prince Andrew, Albert Christian Edward, of Britain/Duke of York
- 1962 John Laroche, American orchid poacher
- 1963 Laurell K. Hamilton, American writer
- 1964 Dmitri Lipskerov, Russian writer
- 1980 Neleh Dennis, American Survivor contestant
- 1989 L A Baby orangutan, at Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle
February in History
A Deadly Bite, Or King Tut's Revenge?
It was one of the most spectacular archaeological finds – but was the disturbed Tutankhamun a sleeping tiger?
February 16, 1923
Buried at Sea: The Casket That Carried JFK
John F. Kennedy's aides struggling to load the casket containing the slain President aboard Air Force One is an enduring image. But what happened to the casket?
February 18, 1966
Final Deadly Performance of a Twisted Actor
From a celebrated family of actors came a young man with a twisted mind whose last performance involved the death of a president.
February 20, 1817
Wonder of Woolworths Begins its Meteoric Rise
It was a simple idea: opening a store where nothing cost more than five cents. The idea caught on so quickly that Woolworth’s became a retail phenomenon.
February 22, 1878