Births
1494 - Johan Friis, chancellor (Denmark, helped formed Lutheranism)
1507 - Gentile Bellini, Italian artist (Sultan Mohammed II)
1523 - Jan Blahoslav, Czech humanist/bishop (Bohemian brothers)
1632 - Thomas Osborne, Duke of Leeds, English PM (1690-94)/founder (Tories)
1633 - Jan de Baen, portrait painter/etcher
1656 - Johannes Schenck, German/Neth composer, baptised
1734 - Franz Ignaz Beck, composer
1745 - Johann Peter Salomon, composer
1751 - J H Voá, writer
1752 - Charles Broche, composer
1763 - Adalbert Gyrowetz, composer
1770 - Ferdinando Carulli, composer
1784 - Adam Black, Edinburgh Scotland, politician/publisher
1791 - Carl Czerny, Vienna Austria, pianist/composer (Schule der Virtuosen)
1796 - Eduard W van Dam van Isselt, Dutch military/liberal politician
1802 - Charles-Auguste de Beriot, Belgian violinist/composer
1803 - Friedrich Theodor Frohlich, composer
1805 - Angelina Grimke, reformer/abolitionist/politician/lawyer
1808 - Daumier, Marseilles France, artist
1809 - Albertus J Duymaer van Twist, gov-gen of Neth-Indies
1809 - Henry Walton Wessells, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1889
1816 - Josef Michal Ksawery Jan Poniatowski, composer
1820 - Mahlon Dickerson Manson, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 189
1827 - Edward Stuyvesant Bragg, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 191
1835 - Allessandro d'Ancona, Italian philologist
1838 - James Barbour Terrill, Brig General (Confederate Army), died in 1864
1844 - Ludwig Eduard Boltzmann, Austria, physicist (statistical mechanics)
1844 - Mih ly von Munk csy, [Michael von Lieb], Hungarian painter
1852 - Nikolai Garin [Michailovski], Russian author (Tjoma Kartashov)
1854 - Louis F M van Westerhoven, actor/singer/opera director (Youth)
1861 - Nicolaas van Meeteren, Cura‡ao, folklorist
1870 - Pieter Cornelis Boutens, Holland, mystic poet/scholar (Verzen)
1874 - Mary Garden, Aberdeen Scotland, opera star
1876 - Fyodor Akimenko, composer
1881 - Pedro Mu¤oz Seca, Spanish playwright (Vengeanza de Don Mendo)
1883 - Shiga Naoya, Japan, novelist (Road Through Dark Night)
1886 - Bela Kun, Czehul Romania, head of Hungarian Soviet Republic (1919)
1887 - David McKinley Williams, composer
1887 - Hesketh Pearson, England, biographer/playwright (Writ for Libel)
1888 - Georges Bernanos, France, novelist (Diary of a Country Priest)
1888 - Marie Rambert, Warsaw, English ballet producer/director/teacher
1889 - Levko Mykolayevich Revutsky, composer
1893 - Russel Crouse, journalist/novelist/playwright (Life with Father)
1895 - Freida Geiken, autobiographer (National Historic Taping)
1896 - Henri de Lubac sj, French theologist/anti-fascist
1897 - Ivan Albright, Illinois, painter (Door, Window)
1898 - Enzo Ferrari, Italy, sportscar manufacturer (Ferrari)
1899 - Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, LI NY, founder (Pan Am Airways)
1899 - Leon Woizikowski, Polish dancer/ballet master (Ballets Russes)
1900 - Antonio Veretti, composer
1900 - Graham Spry, St Thomas Ontario, Canadian radio pioneer
1900 - Jean Negulesco
1901 - Ali Muhammad Naguib, Khartoum, president of Egypt (1952-54)
1901 - Cecil H King, Irish/British daily newspaper publisher (Daily Mirror)
1901 - Henry Eyring, Mexican/US chemist
1901 - Louis I Kahn, Estonia, architect (Bryn Mawr dormitory) [or Dec 20]
1901 - Ren‚ Jules Dubos, France, US microbiologist/author (Health & Disease)
1902 - Ansel Adams, photographer (1966 ASMP Award)
1902 - Ansel Adams
1903 - Ella Maillart, explorer
1903 - Karel Janacek, composer
1903 - Pierre Charles, Belgian heavyweight boxer
1904 - Aleksei N Kosygin, Soviet premier (1964-80)
1904 - Armin Loos, composer
1904 - Bramwell Fletcher, Yorkshire England, actor (White Cargo, Mummy)
1905 - Jascha Golowanjuk, Swedish writer (Acrobat)
1907 - Malcolm Atterbury, Phila, actor (Jonas-Thicker than Water, Apples Way
1907 - Nadine Conner, Calif, soprano (Carmen, Pamina-Magic Flute)
1907 - Owain Jenkins, company director
1908 - Grigori Yakovlevich Bakhchivangi, test pilot (BI-1)
1908 - Rosalind Laura Burke, aviatrix
1910 - Julian Trevelyan, English Surrealist painter/collage maker
1910 - Millicent Fenwick, (Rep-R-NJ 1975-82)
1911 - Margot Grahame
1911 - Robert Guyn McBride, Tucson Arizona, composer (Mexican Rhapsody)
1913 - Jozef Kresanek, composer
1913 - Mary Durack, poet
1913 - Nadine Conner, US, opera singer (Carmen, La Boh‚me)
1913 - Rex Tucker, TV writer/director
1914 - John Daly, S Africa, newscaster/TV game show host (What's My Line)
1914 - Marion Kettlewell, British director (WRNS)
1914 - Willem J H Baart, Dutch vicar (Cuentanan di Nanzi)
1915 - Philip Friend, Horsham England, actor (Vulture, Fur Collar)
1916 - Jackie Gleason, Bkln NY, comedian (Ralph Kramden-Honeymooners)
1916 - Julius Juzeliunas, composer
1916 - Paul Tripp, NYC, TV host (Mr I Magination)
1917 - Frederick Page, CEO (British Aerospace Aircraft Group)
1920 - Armin Schibler, Dutch Swiss composer (Devil in the Winter Palace)
1920 - Liesbeth Tonckens, [Wilhelmina], actress/lecturer (Free People)
1921 - Amanda Blake, [Beverly], Buffalo NY, actress (Kitty Russell-Gunsmoke)
1921 - Joseph Albert Walker, Wash DC, test pilot (X-15)
1921 - Nurv Shiner, singer
1921 - Ruth Gipps, British(?) conductor/composer
1923 - Forbes Burnham, premier Guyana (1964-85)
1924 - Gloria Vanderbilt, don't my jeans look great (poor little rich girl)
1924 - Sidney Poitier, actor (Porgy & Bess, A Raisin in the Sun) or 1927
1924 - Gloria Vanderbilt
1924 - Sidney Poitier
1925 - Robert Altman
1925 - Alex La Guma, Cape Town South Africa, novelist (A Walk in the Night)
1925 - Pramudya Ananta Tur, Javanese author (Anak semua bangsa)
1925 - Robert Altman, Kansas City MO, director (Nashville, M*A*S*H)
1926 - Cameron Rusby, British Vice-Admiral
1926 - Edgar Meuli, cricketer (opened NZ batting in Test v S Africa 1953)
1926 - Kenneth H Olsen, US, engineer/founder (Digital Equipment Corp)
1926 - Robert Eugene Richards, Ill, pole vaulter (Olympic-gold-48, 52, 56)
1927 - Roy Cohn, lawyer, "grand inquisitor" (for Sen Joseph McCarthy)
1928 - Donald Longmore, British cardiac surgeon
1928 - Elroy Face, baseball pitcher (Pittsburgh Pirates)
1929 - Toshiro Mayuzumi, Yokohama Japan, composer (Sphenogramme)
1930 - Bill Walker, British MP
1930 - Patricia Smith, New Haven Ct, actress (Bob Newhart Show)
1933 - Hannes Postma, Dutch graphic artist
1934 - Bobby Unser, auto racer (1968, 75, 81 Indianapolis 500)
1934 - Lady Wharton
1934 - Bobby Unser
1936 - Larry Hovis, Wapito Wash, comedian (Gomer Pyle, Hogan's Heroes)
1936 - Marj Dusay, [Mahoney], Russell Ks, actress (Kate-Bret Maverick)
1936 - Roy Beggs, British MP
1937 - Nancy Wilson
1937 - David Ackles, Illinois, vocalist/songwriter (American Gothic)
1937 - Nancy Wilson, Chillicothe Ohio, jazz vocalist (Feel Like Making Love)
1937 - Robert Huber, Munich Germany, biochemist (Nobel 1988)
1937 - Roger Penske, auto racer
1938 - Jack Bicknell, WLAF head coach (Barcelona Dragons)
1938 - Mona Mitchell, Lady-in-Waiting to Princess Alexandra
1939 - Barbara Ellis, Olympia Wa, rocker (Fleetwoods)
1939 - Roy George Elroy Josephs, jazz dance teacher
1940 - Barbara Laine Ellis, singer
1940 - Christoph Eschenbach, Breslau, Germany, pianist/conductor
1940 - Jimmy Greaves, British broadcaster/soccer player
1940 - RA Weiss, director (Institute of Cancer Research)
1940 - V Payne, British headmistress (Malvern Girls' College)
1941 - Buffy Sainte-Marie, Maine, folksinger (Now That the Buffalo Are Gone)
1941 - Buffy Sainte-Marie
1942 - Charlie Gillett, Lancashire, rock broadcaster (Sound of the City)
1942 - Claude Miller, director (Garde a Vue, Little Thief, Wild Child)
1942 - David O'Dowd, Chief Constable (Northamptonshire)
1942 - Mitch McConnell, (Sen-R-KY, 1985- )
1942 - Peter Strauss, Croton-on-Hudson NY, actor (Rich Man Poor Man)
1942 - Phil Esposito, NHL center/GM (Bruins, Rangers)
1943 - Aleksandr Pavlovich Alexandrov, Russian, cosmonaut (Soyuz T-9, TM-3)
1943 - Antonio Inoki, [Kanji Rikidozan], wrestler (NJPW/JWA)
1943 - Lord McNally
1943 - Mike Leigh, dramatist/director (High Hopes, Secrets & Lies)
1944 - Lew Soloff, Bkln NY, rocker (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
1944 - Roger Knapman, British MP
1944 - Willem van Hanegem, Dutch soccer champ/coach (Feyenoord)
1945 - Alan Hull, singer/composer
1945 - Andrew Bergman, director/screenwriter (Soapdish, Honeymoon in Vegas)
1946 - Brenda Blethyn, actress (Secrets & Lies)
1946 - J[erome] Geils, NYC, rock guitarist (J Geils Band-Centerfold)
1946 - Mieke H A Boers-Wijnberg, Dutch MP (CDA)
1946 - Sandy Duncan, Henderson Tx, actress (Hogan Family)
1946 - Sandy Duncan
1947 - Andr‚ van Duin, [Kyvon], Dutch entertainer (Bloemkoole)
1947 - Jennifer O'Neill, Rio de Janeiro Brazil, actress (Summer of '42)
1948 - A C Fabian, astronomer
1948 - Barry Wordsworth, conductor
1948 - Billy Zoom, musician
1948 - Gerda Boykin, LPGA golfer
1948 - John Browne, group chief executive, British Petroleum Company
1948 - Jennifer O'Neill
1949 - Ivana Trump
1949 - Eddie Hemmings, cricket off-spinner (immense England)
1949 - Ivana Trump, Gottwaldov Cz, ex-wife of Donald Trump (1st Wives Club)
1950 - John Voldstad, Oslo Norway, actor (Darryl-Newhart)
1950 - Walter Becker, NYC, rock bassist (Steely Dan-Peg)
1951 - Bonnie Lauer, LPGA golfer
1951 - Edward Albert, LA Ca, actor (Jeff-Falcon Crest, Butterflies are Free)
1951 - Gordon Brown, British MP
1951 - Kathy Baillie, Morristown NJ, country vocalist (Baille Boys-Oh Heart)
1951 - Phil Neal, English soccer player
1951 - Randy California, [Wolfe], Cal, guitarist (Spirit-I Got a Line on You
1952 - Catherine Cummins, Clintwood Va, 1st of 5 siblings born on 2/20
1953 - Carol Cummins, Clintwood Va, 2nd of 5 siblings born on 2/20
1953 - Riccardo Chailly, Milan Italy, conductor (West Berlin Symph Orch)
1954 - Anthony Stewart Head, actor (Buffy Vampire Slayer)
1954 - Jon Brant, rock bassist (Cheap Trick)
1954 - Patty Hearst Shaw, SF, famous kidnap hostage (Tanya)
1954 - Vasili Vasilyevich Tsibliyev, Rus col/cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-17, TM-25)
1954 - Patty Hearst
1955 - Kelsey Grammer, Virgin Islands, actor (Fraiser Crane-Cheers/Fraiser)
1956 - Charles Cummins, Clintwood Va, 3rd of 5 siblings born on 2/20
1958 - Carol Ficatier, Auscene France, playmate (December, 1985)
1958 - James Wilby, Burma, actor (Howards End, Maurice)
1959 - Bill Gullickson, US baseball pitcher (Detroit Tigers)
1959 - Joel Rifkind, NY serial killer
1959 - Scott Evans Brayton, racing car driver
1960 - Kee Marcello, rocker (Europe-Final Countdown)
1960 - Mark Reilly, [Matt Bianco], rocker (Indio-Big Harvest)
1961 - Claudia Cummins, Clintwood Va, 4th of 5 siblings born on 2/20
1961 - Imogen Stubbs, Rothbury England, actress (Summer Story)
1961 - Steve Lundquist, US swimmer (Olympics-2 gold-1984)
1962 - Adam Schreiber, NFL center/guard (Atlanta Falcons, NY Giants)
1962 - Joel Ellis, rocker
1962 - Ria Coyne, Scranton Penn, comedienne (Betsy-Batman Forever)
1963 - Charles Barkley
1963 - Charles Barkley, Leads Ab, NBA forward (Phoenix, Rockets, Oly-gold-96
1963 - Ian Brown, English rock vocalist (Stone Roses-Made of Stone)
1963 - William Baldwin, NY, actor (Backdraft, Sliver, Flatliners)
1964 - Christian Ruuttu, Lappeenranta FIN, hockey forward (Team Finland)
1964 - French Stewart, NM, actor (Harry Solomon-Third Rock From the Sun)
1964 - Jeffrey Allan Maggert, Columbia MO, PGA golfer (1993 Walt Disney)
1964 - Terry Ilous, rock vocalist (XYZ, Cannibal Jacket) [or Jun 28]
1965 - Federica Moro, Carate Brianza Italy, Miss Italy (1982)
1966 - Britt Hager, NFL linebacker (Denver Broncos, St Louis Rams)
1966 - Cecilia Cummins, Clintwood Va, 5th of 5 siblings born on 2/20
1966 - Cindy Crawford, Dekalb Ill, super model (Sports Illustrated Swimsuit)
1966 - Dennis Allen Mitchell, Cherry Point NC, 100m/200m (Olympics-silver-96
1966 - Derek Lilliquist, US baseball pitcher (Cleveland Indians, Atl Braves)
1966 - Cindy Crawford
1967 - Andrew Shue
1967 - Kurt Cobain
1967 - Andrew Shue, actor (Melrose Place)
1967 - Broderick Thomas, NFL linebacker (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Minn, Cowboys
1967 - Chris Singleton, NFL linebacker (Miami Dolphins)
1967 - Kurt Cobain, rock vocalist (Pearl Jam)/husband of Courtney Love
1967 - Kurt Knudsen, US baseball pitcher (Detroit Tigers)
1967 - Lili Taylor, actress (Ransom, Short Cuts)
1967 - Rebekka Lynn Armstrong, Bakersfield Ca, playmate (Sep, 1986)
1967 - Theresa Luke, Vancouver BC, rower (Olympics-96)
1967 - Tom Waddle, NFL player (Chicago Bears/Cincinnati Bengals)
1968 - Bennie Goods, CFL defensive tackle (Edmonton Eskimos)
1968 - Lorraine Olivia, Geneva Ill, playmate (Nov, 1990)
1969 - Tommy Vardell, NFL running back (Cleve Browns, Detroit Lions)
1969 - [Touchdown] Tommy Vardell, NFL running back (Cleveland Browns)
1970 - Bryan Robinson, defensive end (St Louis Rams)
1970 - Cheyenne Brando, Papeete Tahiti, daughter of Marlon
1970 - Jeff Robinson, NFL defensive end (Denver Broncos, St Louis Rams)
1970 - Leo Stefan, Chelyabinsk RUS, hockey forward (Team Germany)
1971 - Jari Litmanen, soccer player (Ajax)
1971 - Shalanda Burt, US murderess
1972 - Corinna Harney, Bremerhaven Germany, playmate (Aug, 1991)
1972 - Tom Gough, 200« lbs (91 kg) US weightlifter (Olympics-14th-1996)
1973 - Vladimir Iiic, WLAF defensive end (Barcelona Dragons, Rhein Fire)
1974 - Katerina Kroupova, Olomouc Czech, tennis star (1994 Futures-Sofia-BUL
1975 - Brian Littrell
1975 - Brendan Witt, Humboldt, NHL defenseman (Washington Capitals)
1975 - Brian Littrell, singer (Backstreet Boys)
1975 - Ismael Kirui, Marakwet Kenya, 5k runner
1977 - Sarah Ryan, Adelaide SA Australia, swimmer (Olympics-96)
1977 - Stephon Marbury, NBA guard (Minn Timberwolves)
1977 - Veronica Ledesma, Miss Universe-Argentina (1996)
1978 - Andrea Moody, Abbotsford BC, 4X100 swimmer (Olympics-96)
1979 - Jennifer Love Hewitt, actress (Sarah Reeves-Party of Five)
Events
1525 - Swiss & German mercenaries desert François I's army
1547 - King Edward VI of England was enthroned following death of Henry VIII
1613 - Gerard Reynst appointed Dutch gov-gen of East-Indies
1653 - Defeat of Dutch fleet under Adm Van Tromp by Adm Blake off Portsmouth
1673 - 1st recorded wine auction held (London)
1710 - Johan Willem Friso becomes viceroy of Groningen Neth
1725 - 10 sleeping Indians scalped by whites in NH for £100/scalp bounty
1732 - Estates of Holland ratifies Treaty of Vienna
1737 - French minister of Finance, Chauvelin, resigns
1745 - Bonnie Prince Charlies troops occupy Fort August, Scotland
1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlie occupies Castle of Inverness
1768 - 1st American chartered fire insurance company opens (Penn)
1792 - US postal service created; postage 6¢-12½¢, depending on distance
1809 - Supreme Court rules federal govt power greater than any state
1811 - Austria declares bankruptcy
1816 - Rossini's opera "Barber of Seville" premieres in Rome
1823 - English Capt James Weddell reaches 74° 15' S, 1520 km from S pole
1831 - Polish revolutionaries defeat Russians in battle of Growchow
1832 - Charles Darwin visits Fernando Noronha in Atlantic Ocean
1835 - Concepción, Chile destroyed by earthquake; 5,000 die
1839 - Congress prohibits dueling in District of Columbia
1846 - British occupy Sikh citadel of Lahore
1856 - John Rutledge, Liverpool-NY steamer, hits iceberg; many die
1861 - Dept of Navy of Confederacy forms
1861 - Steeple of Chichester Cathedral blown down during a storm
1864 - Civil War battle of Olustee, Florida
1865 - M I T forms 1st US collegiate architectural school
1869 - Tenn Gov W C Brownlow declares martial law in Ku Klux Klan crisis
1872 - Hydraulic electric elevator patented by Cyrus Baldwin
1872 - Luther Crowell patents a machine that manufactures paper bags
1872 - Metropolitan Museum of Art opens (NYC)
1872 - Silas Noble & JP Cooley patents toothpick manufacturing machine
1873 - U of Calif gets its 1st Med School (UC/SF)
1877 - 1st cantilever bridge in US completed, Harrodsburg, Kentucky
1877 - International Association (minor baseball league) organizes
1887 - 1st minor league baseball association organizes (Pittsburgh)
1887 - Germany, Austria-Hungary & France end Triple Alliance
1890 - Amsterdam Theater destroyed by fire
1895 - Congress authorizes a US mint at Denver, Colorodo
1899 - Ill Tel & Tel granted franchise for Chicago freight tunnel system
1901 - 1st territorial legislature of Hawaii convenes
1902 - Heavy surf breaks over Seal Rocks & damages Sutro Baths, SF
1903 - Nick Young remains as NL president as AG Spalding ends challenge
1912 - Argentina beat the MCC in their inaugural cricket 1st-class fixture
1915 - Panama-Pacific International Exposition opens in SF
1917 - Ammunitions ship explodes in Archangelsk harbor, about 1,500 die
1917 - Kern, Bolton & Wodehouse's musical "Oh, Boy!," premieres in NYC
1919 - French premier Clemenceau injured during assassination attempt
1921 - Riza Khan Pahlevi seizes control of Iran
1922 - Marc Connelly & George Kaufman's "To the Ladies," premieres in NYC
1922 - Vilinus, Lithuania, agrees to separate from Poland
1922 - WOR-AM in New York City begins radio transmissions
1923 - Christy Mathewson becomes pres of Boston Braves
1927 - Golfers in SC arrested for violating Sabbath
1929 - American Samoa organizes as territory of US
1929 - Red Sox announce they will play Sunday games at Braves Field
1930 - Capelle soccer team forms
1931 - Congress allows California to build Oakland-Bay Bridge
1932 - Japanese troops occupy Tunhua China
1933 - Curom, Curaçaose Broadcast System starts: Princess Juliana's speech
1933 - House of Reps completes congressional action to repeal Prohibition
1933 - Sidney Howard's "Alien Corn," premieres in NYC
1934 - Virgil Thomson's opera "4 Saints in 3 Acts" opens in NYC
1935 - Karoline Mikkelson is 1st woman on Antarctica
1937 - 1st automobile/airplane combination tested, Santa Monica, Ca
1938 - UK Foreign Sec Eden resigns, says PM Chamberlain appeased Germany
1940 - Larry Clinton & his Orchestra record "Limehouse Blues"
1941 - 1st transport of Jews to concentration camps leave Plotsk Poland
1941 - Nazis order Polish Jews barred from using public transportation
1941 - Romania breaks relations with Netherlands
1942 - Lt E H O'Hare single-handedly shoots down 5 Japanese heavy bombers
1943 - Allied troops occupy Kasserine pass in Tunisia
1943 - New volcano Paracutin erupts in farmer's corn patch (México)
1943 - Phil Wrigley & B Rickey charter All-American Girls Softball League
1944 - Batman & Robin comic strip premieres in newspapers
1944 - US takes Eniwetok Island
1947 - Chemical mixing error causes explosion that destroys 42² blocks in LA
1947 - Lord Mountbatten appointed as last viceroy of India
1948 - Czechoslovakia's non-communist minister resigns
1949 - 1st International Pancake Race held (Liberal Ks)
1950 - Dylan Thomas arrives in NYC for his 1st US poetry reading tour
1950 - WOL-AM in Washington DC swaps calls with WWDC
1952 - "African Queen" opens at Capitol Theater in NYC
1952 - 1st black umpire in organized baseball certified (Emmett Ashford)
1953 - August A Busch buys the Cards for $3.75 million
1953 - US Court of Appeals rules that Organized Baseball is a sport & not a business, affirming the 2
1954 - Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Serbin Golf Open
1954 - General Zahedi wins election in Persia
1955 - Fay Crocker wins LPGA Serbin Golf Open
1956 - WOSU TV channel 34 in Columbus, OH (PBS) begins broadcasting
1957 - Hughie Tayfield takes 9-113 v England, 13 wkts for match
1958 - Jockey Eddie Arcaro rides his 4,000th winner
1958 - LA Coliseum Comm approves 2-yr pact allows Dodgers to use facility
1962 - John Glenn is 1st American to orbit Earth (Friendship 7)
1963 - End of the Test Cricket careers of Neil Harvey & Alan Davidson
1963 - Willie Mays (SF Giants) signs a record $100,000 per year contract
1965 - Beatles record "That Means a Lot"
1965 - Ranger 8 makes hard landing on the Moon, returns photos, other data
1965 - Turkish government of Uergüplü forms
1966 - Author Valery Tarsis banished in USSR
1968 - John Cleese (Monty Python) marries Connie Booth
1968 - State troopers used tear gas to stop demonstration at Alcorn A & M
1971 - Bruin Phil Esposito is NHL's quickest to score 50 goals in a season
1971 - General Idi Amin Dada appointed president of Uganda
1971 - Maj General Idi Amin Dada appoints himself president of Uganda
1971 - Natl Emergency Center erroneously orders US radio & TV stations to go off the air. Mistake was
1972 - 1st time Cleve Cavaliers beat NY Knicks (111-109)
1972 - Ard Schenk becomes world champ skater
1972 - Sicco Mansholt becomes chairman of European Committee
1973 - 10th time Islanders shut-out-4-0 vs Penguins
1974 - Cher files for separation from husband Sonny Bono
1974 - Gordie Howe comes out of retirement for $1M from Houston Aeros, WHA
1975 - Leonard Baichan scores 105* on Test Cricket debut, v Pakistan Lahore
1975 - Margaret Thatcher elected leader of British Conserv Party
1975 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1976 - Muhammad Ali KOs Jan Pierre Coopman in 5 for heavyweight boxing title
1977 - "My Fair Lady" closes at St James Theater NYC after 384 performances
1977 - Judy Rankin wins LPGA Orange Blossom Golf Classic
1978 - 4th People's Choice Awards: Star Wars, Carol Burnett & Bob Hope
1978 - Bob Backland beats Billy Graham in NY, to become WWF wrestling champ
1978 - Egypt announces it is pulling its diplomats out of Cyprus
1978 - Jane Blalock wins LPGA Orange Blossom Golf Classic
1979 - "Comin' Uptown" opens at Winter Garden Theater NYC for 45 performances
1980 - Actress Susan Dey (LA Law) weds producer Bernard Sofronski
1981 - Flight readiness firing of Columbia's main engines; 20 seconds
1981 - James Sanford equals 50m indoor world record (5.61 sec)
1982 - NY Islanders wins then NHL record 15th straight game
1983 - Japan launches Tenma satellite to study x-rays (450/570 km)
1983 - Roland Liboton becomes world champ cross-country cycling
1985 - After defending his WBC flyweight championship, Sot Chitalada's check for $104,000 is stolen b
1986 - LA Dodger Orel Hershiser is 1st to win a $1M salary by arbitration
1986 - Mike Tyson sexually harasses a woman in Albany NY
1987 - Bomb blamed on Unabomber explodes by computer store in Salt Lake City
1987 - David Hartman quits ABC's "Good Morning America," after 11 years
1988 - 500 die in heavy rains in Rio de Janeiro Brazil
1988 - André Hoffmann skates world record 1500m (1:52.06)
1988 - Brian Boitano wins Olympic gold medal in figure skating
1988 - Cornelia Oschkenat hurdles indoor world record 50m (6.58 sec)
1988 - Kelly Hrudy's 5th Islander shut-out win-Hartford 3-0
1988 - Peter Kalikow purchases NY Post from Rupert Murdoch for $37.6 million
1988 - Rob Druppers runs world record indoor 1000m (2:16.2)
1988 - Stefka Kostadinova high jumps indoor world record (2.06 m)
1989 - Members of 1949 Oklahoma football team cancelled an April reunion because of deplorable conduc
1991 - "Taking Steps" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 78 performances
1991 - 33rd Grammy Awards: Another Day in Paradise, Mariah Carey
1992 - "Private Lives" opens at Broadhurst Theater NYC for 37 performances
1992 - Orthodox patriarch Shenouda III visits Netherlands
1992 - Ross Perot says he'll run for President on Larry King Show
1993 - Florida Marlins open their 1st spring training camp
1993 - Lisa Walters wins LPGA Itoki Hawaiian Ladies Golf Open
1993 - NY Islanders retire Billy Smith's number 31
1994 - 3 Afghans take 70 Pakistani children hostage
1994 - Johann Olav Koss skates world record 10 km (13:30.55)
1994 - Pope John Paul II demands juristic discrimination of homosexuals
1997 - "Stanley" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC
1997 - SF Giants Barry Bonds signs record $22.9M 2 year contract
1998 - Tara Lipinski wins Olympic figure skating gold medal
1998 - UN Sec-Gen Kofi Annan lands in Baghdad, for peace negotiations
1998 - US movie box office hits quickest $1 billion for year (51 days)
Deaths
1054 - Yaroslav I, the Wise, ruler (Kiev), dies
1194 - Tancredo of Lecce, King of Sicily, dies
1431 - Martinus V, [Oddo Colonna], Italian Pope, dies
1569 - Mark van Vaernewijck, Flemish nobleman/politician, dies at 50
1595 - Ernst, archduke of Austria, dies at 41
1626 - John Dowland, composer, dies
1628 - Gregor Aichinger, German composer/organist, dies at about 63
1656 - James Ussher, Irish bible scholar/anglican archbishop, dies at 76
1667 - David ben Samuel Halevi, rabbi/author (Shulchan Aruch), dies
1707 - Aurangzeb, Mogul emperor of India (1658-1707), dies
1731 - Frederich Karl Erbach, composer, dies at 50
1737 - Elizabeth Rowe, poet, dies
1746 - Guillaume Coustou Sr, French sculptor (Mary Leszczynska), dies at 68
1773 - Charles Emanuel I, King of Sardinia/Duke of Savoy (CE III), dies at 7
1786 - Johann Wolfgang Kleinknecht, composer, dies at 70
1788 - Gijsbert John van Hardenbroeck, Dutch regent (Utrecht), dies at 68
1790 - Joseph II, Emperor of Holy Roman empire, dies at 48
1809 - Johann Joseph Emmert, composer, dies at 76
1810 - Andreas Hofer, milt leader (fought Napoleon's France), executed at 42
1810 - Johann Friedrich Kranz, composer, dies at 57
1817 - Martin de Ron, composer, dies at 27
1845 - Pavel Ivanovich Dulgorukov, composer, dies at 57
1848 - [Willem] Alexander FCNM, prince of Neth/gen-maj, dies at 29
1851 - Josef Alois Ladurner, composer, dies at 81
1855 - Joseph Hume, social reformer, dies
1860 - Henry Drummond, English banker/religious leader, dies at 69
1892 - Hermann Kopp, German chemist (Law of Kopp), dies at 74
1895 - Frederick Douglass, escaped slave, anti-slavery leader, dies at 77
1904 - Gustav Adolf Heinze, composer, dies at 83
1907 - [Ferdinand-Frederic-]Henri Moissan, chemist (Nobel 1906), dies at 54
1910 - Boetros Ghali, Egyptian premier, murdered
1911 - Alexander Alexandrovich Kopilov, composer, dies at 56
1911 - Peter Nicolai von Wilm, composer, dies at 76
1916 - Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Swedish politician (Nobel 1908), dies at 71
1920 - Robert E Peary, US pole explorer (North Pole, 6/4/1909), dies at 63
1936 - John Hope, president of Atlanta University, dies at 67
1937 - "Barlow" Carkeek, Aust cricket wicketkeeper (1912 series), dies
1942 - Guido Gasperini, composer, dies at 76
1946 - Hugh Allen, musician, dies
1951 - Howard Brockway, composer, dies at 80
1958 - Thurston Hall, actor (Mr Schuyler-Topper), dies at 75
1959 - Ray McDonald, dancer, dies of barbituate overdose at 38
1960 - Leonard Woolley, archaeologist, dies
1961 - Otto E Huiswoud, [Frank Billings], editor (Negro Worker), dies at 67
1961 - Percy Aldridge Grainger, Australian/US composer/pianist, dies at 78
1962 - Halliwell Hobbes, dies at 64
1964 - R T Stanyforth, English cricket wicketkeeper (S Africa 1927-28), dies
1966 - Chester W Nimitz, US admiral (WW II), dies at 80
1968 - Anthony Asquith, dies
1969 - Ernest Ansermet, Swiss conductor/composer, dies at 85
1969 - Jack Ingram, actor (Law of the West), dies of heart attack at 66
1970 - Albert Louis Wolff, composer, dies at 86
1972 - Herbert Menges, composer, dies at 69
1972 - Walter Winchell, writer/actor (Dondi, Love & Hisses), dies at 74
1973 - Brigitte Reimann, writer, dies at 39
1973 - Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian/US violinist, dies at 80
1973 - Maurice Dallimore, actor (Collector), dies at 60
1974 - David Monrad Johansen, composer, dies at 85
1975 - Edgar "Cookie" Fairchild, bandleader (Jerry Colonna Show), dies at 76
1975 - Lillian Fontaine, actress (Suddenly it's Spring), dies at 88
1975 - Robert Strauss, actor (Sgt Gruzewsky-Mona McCluskey), dies at 61
1976 - Kathryn Kuhlman, religious leader/faith healer, dies
1978 - Vitorino Nem‚sio, Portuguese author (Presen‡a), dies at 76
1980 - Alice Longworth Roosevelt, youngest daughter of Theodore, dies at 96
1983 - James G Richardson, (Tim Cassidy-Sierra), dies at 37 in ski accident
1983 - Ray Vitte, actor (Doc, Cody-Quest), killed by police at 33
1984 - Fikret Dzhamil Amirov, composer, dies at 61
1985 - Clarence Nash, voice (Donald Duck), dies at 80 of leukemia, in Calif
1986 - Francisco Paolo Mignone, composer, dies at 88
1986 - Jacobus G Rietkerk, Dutch foreign minister (VVD), dies at 58
1987 - Ivan Brkanovic, composer, dies at 80
1992 - Andrew Schenck, conducter, dies of melanoma at 51
1992 - Dick York, actor (Bewitched), dies of emphysema at 63
1992 - Joan Dixon, actress (Hot Lead, Bunco Squad, Gunplay), dies at 66
1993 - Ferruccio Lamborghini, Italian auto-designer (Miura), dies
1994 - Derek Jarman, English director (Last of England), dies at 52
1994 - Manuel F "Garincha" dos Santos, soccer player (Brazil), dies at 49
1995 - John Humphreys Whitfield, italianist, dies at 88
1995 - Shlomo Averbach, Rabbi, buried in Jerusalem, 250,000 attend
1996 - Jeffrey Kindersley Quill, Test pilot, dies at 83
1996 - Michael Herford Wooller, TV/film producer, dies at 69
1996 - Toru Takemitsu, composer, dies at 65
1996 - Walter Charles Marshall, scientist, dies at 63
488 Events for 20th February