- 806 Tarasius, Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 730)
- 814 Angilbert, Frankish monk and confidant of Charlemagne
- 901 Thabit ibn Qurra, Arab astronomer and mathematician (b. 826)
- 999 Gregory V, [Bruno] 1st German Pope, dies
- 1139 Prince Yaropolk II of Kiev (b. 1082)
- 1217 Alexander Neckam, English theologist and encyclopedist, dies at 59
Kublai Khan
1294 Kublai Khan, Mongol Emperor (1260-94) and founder of the Yuan dynasty in China (1271-94), dies at 78
Kublai Khan
- 1379 Albert II of Mecklenburg (b. 1318)
- 1397 Enguerrand VII, French master of Coucy/count of Soissons, dies at 56
- 1455 Fra Angelico, Italian monk/painter, dies
- 1478 Duke of Clarence, privately executed and reputedly drowned in a butt of Malmsey wine
- 1535 Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, German royal astrologer, physician and theologian, dies at 48
Martin Luther
1546 Martin Luther, German theologian and key figure in the Protestant Reformation, dies at 62
Martin Luther
Michelangelo
1564 Michelangelo, Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance (David, Ceiling of the Sistine Chapel), dies at 88
Michelangelo
- 1583 Antonio Francesco Grazzini, Italian writer (b. 1503)
- 1654 Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, French writer (b. 1594)
- 1660 Judith Jansdochter Leyster, Dutch painter, buried
- 1683 Nicolaes Pietersz Berchem, Dutch landscape painter and etcher, dies at 62
- 1712 Duke of Bourgondie, French King Louis XIV's grandson and heir, dies. B. 1682
- 1718 Pierre Antoine Motteux, French-born English dramatist (b. 1663)
- 1743 Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, last of the Medicis (b. 1667)
- 1748 Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian field marshal, dies at 70
- 1772 Johann Hartwig Ernst, Count von Bernstorff, Danish statesman (b. 1712)
- 1778 Joseph Marie Terray, French statesman (b. 1715)
- 1780 Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian poet (b. 1714)
- 1788 John Whitehurst, English clockmaker and scientist, dies at 75
- 1803 J W L Gleim, writer, dies
- 1807 August G Meissner, German estheticus/literary, dies at 53
- 1807 Sophie von Laroche, German writer (History of Lady Sophia Sternheim), dies at 75
- 1817 Giacomo Quarenghi, Italian-Russian master builder and architect (Hermitage Theater), dies at 72
- 1830 Charles de Merode, Earl of Merode, Mayor of Brussels and French Senator, dies at 67
- 1840 Jeffry Wyatville, English architect and garden designer (alterations and extensions to Chatsworth House and Windsor Castle), dies at 73
- 1842 Thomas Hazlehurst, English soap and alkali manufacturer (b. 1779)
- 1851 Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician, dies at 46
- 1861 Louis C Luzac, Dutch minister of Internal Affairs, dies at 74
- 1878 Peter D Regout, industrialist (Sphinx, Maastricht), dies at 76
- 1890 Gyula Andrássy Sr, Prime Minister of Hungary (1867-71), dies at 66
- 1893 Serranus Clinton Hastings, American politician (b. 1814)
- 1895 Archduke Albrecht of Austria, Duke of Teschen (Battle at Custozza), dies at 77
- 1898 Frances Willard, American educator and founder (Woman's Christian Temperance), dies at 58
- 1899 M Sophus Lie, Norwegian mathematician, dies at 56
- 1900 Clinton L. Merriam, American politician (b. 1824)
- 1900 Eugenio Beltrami, Italian Mathematician (non-Euclidean geometry), dies at 64
- 1902 Charles Lewis Tiffany, American founder of Tiffany & Co. (b. 1812)
- 1905 Jules de Geyter, Belgian poet (International), dies at 75
- 1906 Willem Doorenbos, literary/critic, dies at 85
- 1906 John Batterson Stetson, American hat manufacturer, dies at 75
- 1913 George Washington Custis Lee, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 80
Frank James
1915 Frank James, American outlaw (member of the James-Younger gang), dies at 72
Frank James
- 1917 Charles E Barber, US chief engraver (1879-1917), dies
- 1925 James Lane Allen, American writer (Choir Invisible), dies at 75
- 1931 Milan Šufflay, Croatian historian and politician, dies at 51
- 1932 Frederik Augustus III, King of Saxon (1904-18), dies at 66
- 1938 Edward Anseele, Belgian minister of Rail, dies at 81
- 1938 David King Udall, American politician (b. 1851)
- 1942 Albert Payson Terhune, American author (b. 1872)
- 1943 Henri Polak, Dutch union leader/politician (soc-dem), dies at 74
- 1945 Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian general (youngest ever Soviet general of the army), dies at 38
- 1949 Niceto A Zamora y Torres, premier of Spain (1931-36), dies at 71
- 1950 Voranc Prezikov, [Lovro Kuhar], Slavic author (Jamnica), dies at 56
- 1951 Piet A W Hopmans, bishop of Breda (Crusade), dies at 85
- 1955 Sadako Sasaki, School student(b. 1944)
- 1957 Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan freedom fighter, dies by execution at 36
Joseph Gilbert Hamilton
1957 Joseph G. Hamilton, American Physician who was a pioneer of using radioactive isotopes in disease treatment and diagnosis, dies of radiation induced leukemia at 49
Joseph Gilbert Hamilton
- 1957 Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer (Hertzsprung-Russell diagram), dies at 79
- 1963 Todd "Hugh" Gaitskell, leader British Labour Party, dies at 56
- 1964 Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Quebec inventor and industrialist (b. 1907)
- 1966 Anne Anema, Dutch lawyer/journalist/politician (ARP), dies at 94
- 1966 Grigori Grigoyevich Nelyubov, Russian cosmonaut, dies at 31
Robert Oppenheimer
1967 Robert Oppenheimer, American theoretical physicist known as the father of the atomic bomb (Manhattan Project), dies of throat cancer at 62
Robert Oppenheimer
Frank Costello
1973 Frank Costello, Italian-American gangster (The Prime Minister of the Underworld), dies of a heart attack at 82
Frank Costello
- 1975 Chivu Stoica, [Stoica Chivu), premier of Romania (1955-61), dies at 66
- 1975 Raymond Moley, US advisor to pres Roosevelt "Brain Trust", dies at 88
- 1976 Anton Betzner, writer, dies at 81
- 1977 Maria Realino, teacher (Botany of Curacao), dies at 87
- 1981 John Knudsen Northrop, American aircraft designer (Northrop Air), dies at 85
- 1982 Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand detective writer and producer, dies at 82
- 1993 Edward S "Ted" Haworth, US set designer (Sayonara, Marty), dies at 76
- 1993 Jacqueline Hill, dies of cancer at 63
- 1994 Peter Caddy, founder of the Findhorn Community, dies at 76
- 1996 Brian Daley, writer, dies at 48
- 1996 Jack Thieuloy, French writer, dies at 64
- 1996 Nicholas Beriozoff, ballet master, dies at 89
- 1996 Richard Leslie Hill, historian, dies at 94
- 1997 Emily Hahn, American writer, dies at 92
- 1997 Enrique Peralta Azurdia, Colonel and military President of Guatemala (1963-66), dies at 88
- 1998 Mya Than Tint, Myanmarese author, dies of brain hemorrhage at 69
- 2000 Willy Maltaite, Belgian comics creator (b. 1927
- 2001 Balthus, Polish-born painter (b. 1908)
- 2003 Isser Harel, Israeli Mossad leader (b. 1912)
- 2008 Sir Richard Knowles, British politician (b. 1917)
- 2009 Al-Tayyib Salih, Sudanese novelist and columnist (b. 1929)
- 2010 John Babcock, Last known Canadian veteran of World War I (b. 1900)
- 2017 Norma McCorvey, American abortion activist (Jane Roe in Roe vs Wade) who later became pro-life, dies at 69
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