- 155 Polycarp, disciple of Apostle John, arrested & burned at stake
- 943 Herbert II, Count of Vermandois, (b. 884)
- 1011 Willigis, Archbishop of Mainz
- 1100 Emperor Zhezong of China (b. 1076)
- 1447 Eugene IV, [Gabriele Condulmer], Italian Pope (1431-47), dies
- 1447 Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester (b. 1390)
- 1464 Zhu Qizhen, Chinese Emperor Yingzong of Ming (1435-49 and 1457-64), dies at 36 but not before giving an order to end the practice of burying alive concubines and palace maids so that they could follow emperors to the next world
- 1507 Gentile Bellini, Venetian painter (Sultan Mohammed II), dies at about 78 (burial date)
- 1526 Diego Colón, Spanish Viceroy of the Indies
- 1526 Diego Columbus, Portuguese navigator, son of Christopher Columbus, and 2nd Viceroy of the Indies (1511-1526), dies at 45
- 1554 Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk, Lady Jane Grey's father, executed
- 1603 Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician and botanist, dies at 83
- 1607 Herman Herbertsz, vicar, dies at about 60
- 1669 Lieuwe van Aitzema, Frisian historian, dies at 68
- 1679 Anne Conway, English philosopher, dies at 47
- 1682 Abraham de Wicquefort, Dutch diplomat/historian, dies at 75
- 1718 Francois Fagel, Dutch field marshal/mayor of Nimegen, dies at 63
- 1719 Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg, German Lutheran missionary to India, dies at 36
- 1766 Stanislaw Leszcynski, duke of Lutherans/king of Poland, dies
- 1781 George Taylor, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (bc. 1716)
- 1792 Joshua Reynolds, English portrait painter (Simplicity), dies at 68
- 1800 Joseph Warton, English literary critic (b. 1722)
John Keats
1821 John Keats, English Romantic poet (Ode to a Grecian Urn), dies of tuberculosis at 25
John Keats
- 1821 Marie-Anne Collot, French sculptor, dies
John Quincy Adams
1848 John Quincy Adams, 6th US President (1825-1829), dies of a stroke at 80
John Quincy Adams
- 1851 Joanna Baillie, Scottish poet and playwright, dies at 88
Carl Friedrich Gauss
1855 Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician considered one of the greatest of all time (Gaussian distribution, fundamental theorem of algebra), dies at 77
Carl Friedrich Gauss
- 1859 Zygmunt Krasiński, Polish Romantic poet (b. 1812)
- 1879 Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and statesman (Minister of War), dies at 75
- 1884 Jimmy Tambo, Australian aboriginal, US circus attraction, dies at 23
- 1900 William Butterfield, architect of the Gothic revival, dies
- 1900 Ernest Dowson, British poet (Decorations in Verse and Prose), dies at 32
- 1902 Samuel R Gardiner, British historian (Oliver Cromwell), dies at 72
- 1904 Mahendralal Sarkar, Indian homeopath doctor and founder of the Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, dies at 70
- 1906 Johann Hoch, US murderer, executed
- 1908 Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch, German surgeon (b. 1823)
- 1915 Robert Smalls, African-American congressman (1875-87), dies at 75
- 1922 Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish physicist (b. 1845)
- 1934 Augusto Sandino, Nicaraguan patriot, assassinated by National Guard
- 1935 Jan Duiker, Dutch architect (Hotel Gooiland), dies at 44
- 1942 Stefan Zweig, Austrian poet, essayist and dramatist (Beware of Pity), dies at 60
Leo Baekeland
1944 Leo Baekeland, Belgian-American chemist and inventor (bakelite plastics), dies at 80
Leo Baekeland
- 1945 Aleksei Tolstoi, Russian poet and writer (Pjotr Peroyj), dies at 62
- 1945 Aubrey Cousins, Canadian sergeant (Victoria Cross), dies in battle
- 1946 Tomoyuki Yamashita [Yamashita Tomobumi], Imperial Japanese general dubbed "Tiger of Malaya," executed for war crimes by hanging at 60
- 1948 John Robert Gregg, Irish-born publisher and inventor (b. 1866)
- 1955 Paul Claudel, French poet/playwright (L'otage), dies at 86
- 1957 John Friend Mahoney, American physician who pioneered the treatment of syphilis with penicillin, dies at 67
- 1968 Fannie Hurst, American author (Anatomy of Me), dies at 78
- 1971 King Lockwood, dies of stroke at 73
- 1973 Dickinson W. Richards, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1895)
- 1976 L. S. Lowry, British painter of industrial scenes, dies at 88
- 1979 W.A.C. Bennett, Canadian politician, dies at 78
- 1980 Robert Vandekerckhove, Belgian politician, dies at 62
- 1989 Hans Hellmut Kirst, German author (The Lieutenant Must Be Mad), dies at 74
- 1990 Annelien Kappeyne van de Coppello, Dutch lawyer and politician (Liberal), dies at 53
- 1990 James Gavin, US 82nd Airborne Division General (Sicily/Normandy), dies at 82
- 1990 Jose Napoleon Duarte, president of Salvador (1984-89), dies at 62
- 1992 Markos Vafiades, leader (ELAS, 1943-49), dies
- 1994 Stuart Berger, doctor (Immune Power Diet), dies from obesity at 40
- 1995 Art Kane, photographer, dies at 69
James Herriot
1995 James Herriot [Alfred Wight], Scottish author (All Creatures Great & Small), dies at 78
James Herriot
- 1995 Norman Hunter, English children's writer (Professor Branestawm), dies at 95
- 1995 Peter Wykeham, Royal Air Force fighter pilot, dies at 79
- 1996 Joseph Walker Barr, banker/politician, dies at 78
- 1997 Oscar Lewenstein, impressario, dies at 80
- 1999 Carlos Hathcock, USMC Sniper, 93 Confirmed Kills (b. 1942)
- 2000 Albrecht Goes, German writer and theologian, dies at 91
- 2003 Robert K. Merton, American sociologist (b. 1910)
- 2004 Sikander Bakht, Indian politician, Governor of Kerala, dies at 85
- 2008 Janez Drnovšek, Slovenian prime minister and president (b. 1950)
- 2008 Douglas Fraser, Scottish pilot, first to land at Newfoundland Airport on January 11, 1938 (b. 1916)
- 2008 Denis Lazure, Canadian physician and politician, dies at 82
- 2008 Roger Foulon, Belgian writer (Un été dans la Fagne), dies at 84
- 2017 Lord David Waddington, British politician (Home Secretary 1989-90), dies at 87
February in History
![Buried at Sea: The Casket That Carried JFK]()
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]()
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]()
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]()
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
