Deaths in History on February 2

  • 672 Chad of Mercia, Ango-Saxon saint credited with introducing Christianity to the Mercian kingdom, dies at about 38
  • 1032 Rudolf III, last independent king of Bourgundy, dies
  • 1124 Bořivoj II of Bohemia, Duke of Bohemia (1100-1107, 1117-1120)
  • 1218 Konstantin of Rostov, Prince of Novgorod (b. 1186)
  • 1250 Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)
  • 1435 Johanna II, Queen of Naples (1414-35), dies at 61
  • 1461 Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty of England
  • 1491 Martin Schongauer, German painter, dies at 40
  • 1512 Hatüey, Taíno chief known as Cuba's First National Hero, is burned alive by Spanish colonialists
  • 1529 Baldassare Castiglione, Italian diplomat and author, dies at 50
  • 1540 George Schenck van Toutenburg, gov/viceroy of Frisia/Groningen
  • 1563 Hans Neusiedler, Hungarian/German luitist/author, dies at approx 54
  • 1580 Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese retainer (b. 1558)
  • 1597 Lucas van Valckenborch, Flemish painter, buried at about 61
  • 1648 George Abbot, English writer
  • 1660 Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (Isaac blesses Jacob), dies at 45

  • 1660 Gaston, Duke of Orleans, brother of French King Louis XIII, dies at 51
  • 1661 Lucas Holstenius, German humanist (b. 1596)
  • 1688 Abraham Duquesne, French naval officer (b. 1610)
  • 1704 Guillaume F A de l'Hospital, French mathematician, dies at about 62
  • 1712 Martin Lister, English naturalist and physician
  • 1723 Antonio M Valsalva, Italian anatomist, dies at 66
  • 1768 Robert Smith, English mathematician (b. 1689)
  • 1769 Clement XIII [Carlo Rezzonico], Pope (1758-69), dies at 75
  • 1793 William Aiton, English botanist (Kew Gardens), dies at 61
  • 1802 Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, British statesman (b. 1713)
  • 1804 Caesar Rodney, US judge (signed Declaration of Independence), dies at 62
  • 1804 George Walton, Signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1749-50)
  • 1828 Frederik Sigismund earl of Bylandt, vice-admiral, dies at 78
  • 1852 Francis Libermann, French religious leader (Congregation of Heart), dies at 49
  • 1867 Forceythe Willson, American poet (The Old Sergeant), dies at 29
  • 1873 Edward Johnson, American Major General (Confederate Army), dies at 56
  • 1881 Aleksej F Pisemski, Russian writer (Clodhopper), dies at 59
  • 1895 Archduke Albert, Austrian general (b. 1817)
  • 1904 William C. Whitney, American financier and 31st United States Secretary of the Navy, dies at 62

Person of interestDmitri Mendeleev

1907 Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and inventor who devised the periodic table of the elements, dies at 72

Chemist and Inventor Dmitri Mendeleev
Chemist and Inventor
Dmitri Mendeleev
  • 1909 Adolf Stoecker, German conservative politician, and reformer who founded the German Christian Social Party, dies at 73
  • 1925 Antti Aarne, Finnish folklorist, dies at 57
  • 1926 Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (b. 1848)
  • 1931 Theodor Batthynyi, Hungarian contra-revolutionary, dies at 71
  • 1932 Agha Petros, Assyrian nationalist leader

  • 1941 Johannes Schlaf, German writer and translator, dies at 78
  • 1942 Daniil Kharms [Yuvatchov], Russian surrealist and absurdist writer, poet, and playwright, dies of starvation during the siege of Leningrad at 36
  • 1945 Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German Leipzig mayor and Nazi regime opponent (20th July plot), hanged at 60
  • 1948 Thomas W. Lamont, American banker; father or Corliss Lamont; great-grandfather of Ned Lamont (b. 1870)
  • 1950 Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician (b. 1873)
  • 1950 George A. Birmingham, Irish clergyman and novelist, dies at 84
  • 1956 Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
  • 1957 Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (b. 1890)
  • 1965 Richard P Blackmur, American critic/publisher (Good European), dies at 61

Person of interestBertrand Russell

1970 Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher (Nobel 1950), dies at 97

Philosopher Bertrand Russell
Philosopher
Bertrand Russell
  • 1972 Natalie Clifford Barney, American writer (b. 1876)
  • 1973 Henry J Elias, Flemish historian/mayor of Gent, dies at 70
  • 1973 Hendrik Elias, Flemish historian and Mayor of Ghent (1941-44), dies at 70
  • 1980 William H. Stein, American biochemist (Nobel 1972), dies at 68
  • 1981 Donald W Douglas, US aircraft pioneer/builder, dies at 88
  • 1981 Jan Donner, Dutch chairman of High Council, dies at 89
  • 1982 Stringfellow Barr, US educationalist (100 Great Books), dies at 85
  • 1982 Paul Desruisseaux, French Canadian lawyer, businessman and politician (b 1905)
  • 1983 Roy Horb, Suriname sergeant/putschist, commits suicide
  • 1987 Alfred Lion, record founder (Blue Note), dies at 78
  • 1987 Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist (b. 1922)
  • 1988 Clive Epstein, brother of Brian Epstein, dies at 51
  • 1988 G Mennen Williams, Supreme Court justice, dies at 76 in Detroit
  • 1989 Infanta Luisa Fernanda, Duchess of Montpensier, dies at 65
  • 1992 Jack [John T] Aitken, British anatomist, dies at 78
  • 1992 Maurice J Hill, writer (Track of Thunder), dies of pneumonia at 89
  • 1992 Maurice L Kusell, dies
  • 1995 Alexis d'Anjou de Bourbon-Condé, French prince/Russian, dies at 47
  • 1995 Andre Frossard, French publicist (Defense of Pope), dies at 80
  • 1995 David Kindersley, British stone letter-carver and typeface designer, dies at 79
  • 1995 Phillip Borsos, Tasmanian/Canadian director (Mean Season), dies
  • 1995 Robert L Haller, coon Dog Trainer, dies at 32
  • 1996 Ray McIntire, American chemical engineer, dies at 77
  • 1997 Godfrey Baseley, British radio executive, dies at 92
  • 2002 Claude Brown, American writer (b. 1937)
  • 2004 Alan Bullock, British historian and author (Hitler: A Study in Tyranny), dies at 89
  • 2007 Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967)
  • 2008 Earl Butz, 18th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (1971-76), dies at 98
  • 2012 Dorothy Gilman, American mystery writer, dies from Alzheimer's disease at 88
  • 2013 Chris Kyle, American sniper, is shot at 38
  • 2016 Intizar Hussain, Pakistani and Urdu writer and columnist, dies in his early 90s
  • 2018 Joseph Polchinski, American leading theoretical physicist (multiverse), dies of brain cancer at 63
  • 2018 Dave Barrett, 26th Premier of British Columbia (1972-75), dies at 87

February in History