- 976 Sanjō, Emperor of Japan (d. 1017)
- 1505 Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian (d. 1572)
- 1519 René of Châlon, (d. 1544)
- 1534 Giovanni de' Bardi, Italian writer (d. 1612)
- 1589 Honorat de Brueil seigneur de Racan, French playwright/poet
- 1589 Esteban Manuel de Villegas, Spanish poet (d. 1669)
- 1608 Gaspar Schott, German mathematician (d. 1666)
- 1626 Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (d. 1696)
- 1703 Gilbert Tennent, Irish-born religious leader (d. 1764)
John Witherspoon
1723 John Witherspoon, Scottish-American president of the College of New Jersey who signed the Declaration of Independence, born in Gifford, Scotland (d. 1794)
John Witherspoon
- 1725 James Otis, American lawyer and patriot, born in Barnstable, Massachusetts (d. 1783)
- 1744 John Jeffries, colonial physician and meteorologist
- 1753 Coert L van Beyma thoe Kingma, Frisian regent/patriot
- 1770 Alexandre Brongniart, mineralogist/geologist (Tertiary), born in Paris, France
- 1775 Margaretha J de Neufville, author (Small Pligten)
- 1784 Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1818)
- 1788 Karoly Kisfaludy, Hungarian literary (A Tat rok Magyarorsz gon)
Robert Peel
1788 Robert "Bobbie" Peel, British Prime Minister (Tory/Conservative/Peelite: 1834-35; 1841-46), founder of the British Conservative Party and founder of the modern police force (Bobbies), born in Ramsbottom, England (d. 1850)
Robert Peel
- 1795 Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist (d. 1871)
- 1799 John Lindley, English botanist (Elements of Botany)
- 1804 Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finland, poet
- 1808 Carl Spitzweg, German painter (d. 1885)
- 1837 Dwight Lyman Moody, American evangelist (Student Volunteer Movement)
- 1840 Hiram Stevens Maxim, inventor (automatic single-barrel rifle)
- 1840 John Boyd Dunlop, Scotland, developer (pneumatic rubber tire)
- 1848 Belle Starr [Myra Belle Shirley], US female outlaw (wild west)
- 1848 Joris-Karl Huysmans, French writer (Against the Grain)
- 1848 Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean war hero (d. 1882)
- 1856 Otto Brahm, German critic/founder (Neue Deutsche Rundschau)
- 1866 Arthur Keith, Persley Aberdeenshire, Scottish Anthropologist (human evolution)
- 1867 Casper Andries Lingbeek, Dutch politician and preacher
- 1871 Jovan Ducic, Serb poet (Blue Legends)
- 1878 André Citroën, French automobile pioneer (d. 1935)
- 1881 Frederick Leonard Lonsdale, British playwright (Balkan Princess)
- 1891 Karl L Schmidt, German/Swiss theologist (Urchristentum)
- 1892 George Saiko, Austrian writer, born in Seestadtl, Bohemia (d. 1962)
- 1893 Roman Ingarden, Polish philosopher (Studia philosophica)
- 1897 Dirk U Stikker, director (Heineken)/Dutch foreign minister/NATO
Adlai Stevenson II
1900 Adlai Stevenson II, American politician, US ambassador to UN (1961-65), Governor of Illinois (1949-53) and Democratic presidential candidate (1952, 56), born in Los Angeles, California (d. 1965)
Adlai Stevenson II
- 1903 Nathaniel Owings, architect (Oak Ridge, TN; Sears), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- 1907 Jan Klaasesz, Dutch governor Suriname (1949-56)
- 1907 Norton Simon, American industrialist (Hunts Foods, Norton Simon Museum), born in Portland, Oregon (d. 1993)
- 1907 Pierre E J Pflimlin, premier France
- 1908 Daisy and Violet Hilton, British conjoined twins (d. 1969)
- 1910 Martha van Och-Scholl, German/Dutch resistance fighter (WWII)
- 1910 Charles Leblond, Canadian Cell Biologist (d. 2007)
- 1914 Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British biophysicist (Nobel 1963), born in Banbury (d. 1998)
- 1914 William S Burroughs, novelist (Naked Lunch), born in St. Louis, Missouri
Robert Hofstadter
1915 Robert Hofstadter, American atomic physicist and Nobel laureate (electron scattering in atomic nuclei), born in NYC, New York (d. 1990)
Robert Hofstadter
- 1919 George Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece (1981-89, 1993-96), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA (d. 1996)
- 1923 Doris Bohrer [Sharrar], American WWII spy, born in Basin, Wyoming (d. 2016)
- 1924 Robert Lynn, anarchist
- 1926 Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, American publisher (NY Times), born in NYC, New York
- 1927 Ruth Fertel, American entrepreneur (d. 2002)
- 1928 Andrew M Greeley, author/reverend
- 1928 Pananayiotis Taki Vatikiotis, Middle Eastern scholar (d. 1997)
- 1929 Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician
- 1933 Jorn Donner, Helsinki Finland, director (Anna, Tenderness)
- 1933 Ron Wilson, US percussionist (Joy of Cooking)
- 1935 John J "Jannie" Geldenhuys, supreme commander South African army
- 1937 Gaston Roelants, Belgian world cross-country champion
- 1937 Wang Xuan, Chinese scientist (d. 2006)
- 1940 H R Giger, Swiss artist & special effects designer (Alien), born in Zürich, (d. 2014)
- 1941 Stephen J Cannell, producer (Rockford Files)
- 1941 Kaspar Villiger, Swiss Federal Councilor
- 1942 Susan Hill, English playwright (Magic Apple Tree)
Nolan Bushnell
1943 Nolan Bushnell, American electrical engineer (founded Atari, created Pong), born in Clearfield, Utah
Nolan Bushnell
- 1945 Sarah Weddington, American attorney, born in Abilene, Texas
- 1947 Mary Louise Cleave, PhD/astronaut (STS 61-B, STS 30), born in Southampton, New York
- 1948 Barbara Hershey, [Herzstein], (Stuntman, Shy People), born in Atlanta, Georgia
- 1948 Elco [LC] Brinkman, Dutch minister WVC (CDA)
- 1948 Nigel Tufnel, rocker (Spinal Tap)
- 1949 Maidarjabyn Ganzorig, Mongolia, cosmonaut (Soyuz 39 backup)
- 1956 Betty Ong, flight attendant that died on September 11, 2001, on American Airlines Flight 11
- 1959 Jennifer Granholm American Politician
- 1960 William John Readings, literary theorist
- 1966 Rok Petrovič, Slovenian skier (d. 1993)
- 1972 Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
- 1977 Ben Ainslie, British sailor
- 1980 Jo Swinson, British politician
- 1980 Brad Fitzpatrick, American programmer
- 1980 Prince Peter, American-born Yugoslav royalty
- 2016 Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, heir to throne of Bhutan, born in Thimphu
February in History
River of Dreams Delivers a Writer of Genius
Forced to find a new job when the American Civil War struck the Mississippi river, Samuel Longhorne Clemens turned to writing and Mark Twain was born.
February 2, 1863
I'm Not Gay Insists 'Fruit-Flavoured, Mincing' Liberace
Entertainer Liberace died on this day, going to his grave insisting he was not gay. But his death from AIDS told a different story . . .
February 4, 1987
Soccer Star Dodges TV Trap
How did a 'This Is Your Life' surprise for footballer Danny Blanchflower backfire so badly and end with the Tottenham Hotspur star storming off the set?
February 6, 1961
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