- 1417 Louis IX, Duke of Bayern (University of Ingolstadt)
- 1484 Joachim I Nestor, elector (Brandenburg, Constitution)
- 1675 Franz Xaver Josef von Unertl, Bavarian politician (d. 1750)
- 1684 Justus van Effen, writer/founder (Holland Spectator)
- 1705 Edward Hawke, 1st Baron Hawke, British naval officer (d. 1781)
- 1710 Willem van Haren, Frisian nobleman/poet (Human Life)
- 1723 Louis-Pierre Anquetil, French historian (d. 1808)
- 1728 Peter III, Kiel Germany, Russian Tsar (1762) and husband of Catherine the Great
- 1730 Charles L Fournier, Flemish writer/painter
- 1744 Eise J Eisinga, Frisia, built planetarium Franeker
- 1779 Friedrich C von Savigny, German lawyer
- 1783 Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter (VP: Imperial Academy of Arts 1828-68), born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1873)
- 1783 Princess Catharina of Württemberg, Queen consort of Westphalia (d. 1835)
- 1785 Karl A Varnhagen von Ense, German officer/author (Die Sterner)
- 1794 Antonio López de Santa Anna, President of Mexico who dominated Mexican history in the first half of the 19th century, born in Xalapa, Veracruz (d. 1876)
- 1800 John Henry Winder, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1865)
- 1801 John Henry Newman, England, cardinal/author (Dream of Gerontius)
- 1802 George Douglas Ramsay, Brevet Major general (Union Army), born in Dumfries, Virginia (d. 1882)
- 1805 David Tod, US diplomat/(Gov-R-Ohio, 1861-63)
- 1815 Ernest Meissonier, French painter/sculptor
- 1817 Jose Zorrilla y Moral, Vallodolid Spain, poet/dramatist (El rey Loco)
- 1829 Johnson Hagood, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1898)
- 1852 [James] Burner Matthews, US playwright/critic (NY Times)
- 1855 Alice Freeman Palmer, educator (Hall of Fame)
- 1856 Hendrik P Berlage, architect (Stock exchange Amsterdam)
- 1857 Jules de Trooz, baron/premier of Belgium (1907)
- 1860 Karel Matěj Čapek-Chod, Czech journalist (d. 1927)
- 1860 Goscombe John, Welsh sculptor (d. 1952)
- 1865 John Haden Badley, English school founder (d. 1967)
- 1875 Jeanne Louise Calment, French world's oldest woman (d. 1997 at 122)
- 1876 Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (d. 1956)
- 1877 Jacob D du Toit [Totius], South African poet/theologist
- 1878 Mirra Richard [The Mother], French-born Indian spiritual leader (Sri Aurobindo), born in Paris, France (d. 1973)
- 1880 Waldemar Bonsels, German writer (d. 1952)
- 1888 Willem Banning, Dutch theologist/sociologist (Religious Build Up)
- 1888 Clemence Dane, British novelist and playwright (d. 1965)
- 1889 Felix Aylmer, British actor (Anastasia, Hamlet, Iron Duke, Macbeth, St Joan), born in Corsham, Wiltshire, England (d. 1979)
- 1895 Carl Peter Henrik Dam Danish biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1976)
- 1896 Sylvain Poons, Dutch cabaret performer (Blue Jackets)
- 1902 Arthur D Nock, English/US historian (St Paul)
- 1902 John Smallenbroek, Dutch minister of Internal Affairs [or 1909]
- 1903 Raymond Queneau, [M Presle], French author (Un Enfant a Dit)
- 1903 Fairfax M. Cone, American advertising executive (d. 1977)
- 1903 Anaïs Nin, French writer (d. 1977)
- 1907 Wystan Hugh Auden, American poet (Age of Anxiety-Pulitzer 1948)
- 1909 Hans Erni, Swiss painter and sculptor, born in Lucerne, Switzerland (d. 2015)
- 1909 Helen O Dickens, [Henderson], US physician/gynaecologist
- 1910 Douglas R S Bader, British pilot (WWII)
- 1910 Carmine Galante, Italian-born gangster (d. 1979)
- 1912 Patrick Murphy, English multi-millionaire
- 1913 Glenn M Anderson, (Rep-D-CA, 1969- )
- 1914 Hermanus P "Piet" Mulder, Dutch journalist (Parool/VARA)
- 1917 Victor G M Marijnen, Dutch premier (1963-65)
Robert Mugabe
1924 Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean revolutionary, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (1980-87) and 1st black President of Zimbabwe (1988-2017), born in Harare, Zimbabwe
Robert Mugabe
- 1926 Hans Andreus, [Johan W van der Zant], Dutch poet (Animal Language)
Hubert de Givenchy
1927 Hubert de Givenchy, French fashion designer (Audrey Hepburn's LBD) and founder of Givenchy (1952), born in Beauvais, France (d. 2018)
Hubert de Givenchy
- 1929 Henry Kloss, American audio engineer (acoustic loudspeaker), born in Altoona, Pennsylvania (d. 2002)
- 1930 Elizabeth Adams, madame
- 1935 Jean Pelletier, French Canadian political operative
- 1936 Barbara Jordan, (Rep-D-Tx, 1972-78), born in Houston, Texas
- 1937 Harald V, King of Norway (1991-present), born in Akershus, Norway
- 1938 Beryl F Anthony Jr, (Rep-D-CA, 1979- )
- 1940 John Lewis, American politician (Rep-D-Georgia) and prominent civil rights leader (Big Six), born in Troy, Alabama
- 1941 Charlie Shelburne, English earl/large landowner
- 1943 Roberto Faenza, director (Cop Killers, Corrupt)
- 1944 Herman de Coninck, Flemish writer/poet (Impossible Work)
- 1946 Tricia Nixon Cox, Richard Milhaus' daughter (or 0202)
- 1946 Vito Rizzuto, Sicilian-born alleged mafia boss
- 1947 Olympia J Snowe, (Rep-R-ME, 1979- )
- 1947 Victor Sokolov, Russian journalist (d. 2006)
- 1950 Sahle-Work Zewde, Ethiopian diplomat, President of Ethiopia (2018-), born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- 1958 Jake Steinfeld, exercise expert (Body by Jake)
- 1962 Chuck Palahniuk, American writer
- 1962 David Foster Wallace, American writer
- 1964 Mark E Kelly, Lt USN/astronaut, born in Orange, New Jersey
- 1964 Jane Tomlinson, British cancer campaigner (d. 2007)
Scott Kelly
1964 Scott Kelly, American astronaut, born in Orange, New Jersey
Scott Kelly
- 1969 Tony Meola, American footballer
- 1983 Daniel Ek, Swedish CEO and co-founder of Spotify, born in Stockholm, Sweden
- 1985 Bob Burton, American speedcuber
- 1986 Amedeo, Belgian son of princess Astrid/arch duke Lorenz
February in History
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
The Man Who Re-wrote 'Offensive' Shakespeare
Thomas Bowdler, the man who re-wrote Shakespeare to remove the "offensive" bits, died on this day and added a new word – bowdlerise – to the language.
February 24, 1825