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399 BC - The philosopher Socrates sentenced to death.

590 - Khosrau II crowned as king of Persia

1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.

1764 - The city of St. Louis, Missouri established.

1805 - Harmony Society officially formed.

1852 - Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, London, admits its first patient.

1862 - American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee.

1879 - Women's rights: American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.

1898 - Spanish-American War: The USS ''Maine'' explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing more than 260. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.

1903 - Morris Michtom and his wife Rose introduce the first teddy bear in America.

1906 - The British Labour Party organized.

1933 - In Miami, Florida, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago, Illinois Mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6, 1933.

1942 - World War II: The Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history. The Sook Ching massacre begins.

1944 - World War II: The assault on Monte Cassino, Italy begins.

1950 - The Soviet Union and the People's Republic of China sign a mutual defense treaty.

1952 - King George VI buried in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

1953 - Seventeen-year-old Tenley Albright becomes the first American to win the world figure skating championship.

1961 - Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team and several coaches.

1965 - A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.

1970 - A Dominican DC-9 crashes into the sea during takeoff from Santo Domingo, killing 102.

1971 - Decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.

1971 - Decimalisation of Irish coinage is completed on Decimal Day.

1976 - The 1976 Constitution of Cuba is adopted by the national referendum.

1980 - Television One and Television Two (formerly South Pacific Television) under the newly formed Television New Zealand goes to air for the first time.

1982 - The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 rig workers.

1989 - Soviet Union invasion of Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops had left Afghanistan.

1991 - The Visegrád Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.

1994 - Russia annexed Tartarstan by intergrating it into its so-called federation, start of War of Independence and War of Liberation

1995 - Hacking: Kevin Mitnick is arrested by the FBI and charged with breaking into some of the United States' most "secure" computer systems.

1996 - Mortar attack on the US Embassy in Athens, Greece.

1999 - Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the terrorist organization Kurdistan Workers Party, is arrested in Kenya by Turkish agents.

2000 - Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York State vents a small amount of radioactive steam when a steam generator fails.

2002 - At the Tri-State Crematory in La Fayette, Georgia, investigators find uncremated bodies disposed of in the woods and buildings on the crematorium's property. The discovery reveals one of the worst incidents of abuse in the funeral service industry.

2003 - Protests against the Iraq war occur in over 600 cities worldwide. Estimates from 8,000,000-30,000,000 people took part, making this the largest peace demonstration in history of the world.

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1458 - Ivan the Young, Ruler of Tver (d. 1490)

1471 - Piero di Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of Florence (d. 1503)

1543 - Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)

1564 - Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer and physicist (d. 1642)

1571 - Michael Praetorius, German composer (d. 1621)

1620 - François Charpentier, French archaeologist (d. 1702)

1705 - Charles-André van Loo, French painter (d. 1765)

1710 - King Louis XV of France (d. 1774)

1723 - John Witherspoon, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (d. 1794)

1725 - Abraham Clark, American founding father (d. 1794)

1739 - Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect (d. 1813)

1759 - Friedrich August Wolf, German archaeologist (d. 1824)

1803 - John Sutter, California pioneer (d. 1880)

1809 - Cyrus McCormick, American inventor (d. 1884)

1809 - André Dumont, Belgian geologist (d. 1857)

1812 - Charles Lewis Tiffany, American jeweler (d. 1902)

1815 - Constantin von Tischendorf, German Biblical scholar (d. 1874)

1820 - Susan B. Anthony, American feminist and suffragist (d. 1906)

1825 - Carter Harrison, Sr., Mayor of Chicago (d. 1893)

1835 - Demetrius Vikelas, Greek International Olympic Committee president (d. 1908)

1841 - Manoel Ferraz de Campos Salles, President of Brazil (d. 1913)

1845 - Elihu Root, American statesman and diplomat, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1937)

1847 - Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer (d. 1927)

1856 - Emil Kraepelin, German psychiatrist (d. 1926)

1861 - Charles Edouard Guillaume, French physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1938)

1873 - Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-born chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1964)

1874 - Sir Ernest Shackleton, British polar explorer (d. 1922)

1882 - John Barrymore, American actor (d. 1942)

1883 - Sax Rohmer, English author (d. 1959)

1892 - James Forrestal, American politician, 1st United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)

1895 - Earl Thomson, Canadian athlete (d. 1971)

1896 - Arthur Shields, Irish actor (d. 1970)

1898 - Totò, Italian actor, writer, and composer (d. 1967)

1898 - Allen Woodring, American runner (d. 1982)

1899 - Georges Auric, French composer (d. 1983)

1899 - Gale Sondergaard, American actress (d. 1985)

1904 - Antonin Magne, French cyclist (d. 1983)

1905 - Harold Arlen, American composer (d. 1986)

1907 - Jean Langlais, French composer and organist (d. 1991)

1907 - Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)

1909 - Miep Gies, Dutch biographer of Anne Frank

1909 - Guillermo Gorostiza Paredes, Spanish footballer (d. 1966)

1913 - Erich Eliskases, Austrian/Argentine chess player (d. 1997)

1914 - Hale Boggs, American politician (d. 1972)

1914 - Kevin McCarthy, American actor

1916 - Mary Jane Croft, American actress (d. 1999)

1918 - Allan Arbus, American actor

1919 - Andreas Papandreou, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1996)

1922 - John Bayard Anderson, American politician

1927 - Harvey Korman, American actor and comedian

1929 - Graham Hill, British race car driver (d. 1975)

1929 - James Schlesinger, American politician

1930 - Nico Minardos, American actor

1931 - Claire Bloom, British actress

1931 - Geoff Edwards, American television game show host

1934 - Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist

1934 - Graham Kennedy, Australian television and radio entertainer, and film actor (d. 2005)

1935 - Susan Brownmiller, American feminist and writer

1935 - Roger Chaffee, astronaut (d. 1967)

1939 - Ole Ellefsæter, Norwegian cross-country skier

1940 - John Hadl, American football player

1940 - Hamzah Haz, Indonesian politician

1944 - Mick Avory, British drummer (The Kinks)

1945 - John Helliwell, British musician (Supertramp)

1946 - Marisa Berenson, American actress

1946 - Esko Seppänen, Finnish politician

1947 - John Coolidge Adams, American composer

1947 - Rusty Hamer, American actor (d. 1990)

1947 - David Brown, American musician (Carlos Santana)

1948 - Ron Cey, baseball player

1948 - Art Spiegelman, American cartoonist

1949 - Ken Anderson, American football player

1951 - Melissa Manchester, American singer

1951 - Jane Seymour, British actress

1954 - Matt Groening, American cartoonist

1955 - Christopher McDonald, American actor

1957 - Jimmy Spencer, American race car driver

1957 - Jake E. Lee, Heavy Metal/Blues guitarist

1959 - Ali Campbell, British vocalist/guitarist (UB40)

1959 - Brian Propp, Canadian ice hockey player

1960 - Mikey Craig, British musician (Culture Club)

1964 - Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)

1967 - Jane Child Canadian Dance-pop Singer,Producer and Musician

1971 - Renée O'Connor, American actress and director

1972 - Jaromír Jágr, Czech hockey player

1973 - Kateřina Neumannová, Czech cross country skier

1973 - Amy Van Dyken, American swimmer

1973 - Sarah Wynter, Australian actress

1974 - Seattle Slew, American racehorse (d. 2002)

1974 - Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan Major League Baseball player

1974 - Tomi Putaansuu, Finnish singer (Lordi)

1974 - Alexander Wurz, Austrian Formula 1 driver

1976 - Brandon Boyd, American musician (Incubus)

1976 - Ronnie Vannucci Jr., American musician (The Killers)

1976 - Óscar Freire, Spanish cyclist

1977 - Brooks Wackerman, American drummer

1978 - Tuan Le, American poker player

1978 - Kimberly Goss, American singer and musician (Sinergy)

1979 - Alenka Kejžar, Slovenian swimmer

1979 - Josh Low, English footballer

1980 - Conor Oberst, American singer and songwriter (Bright Eyes)

1981 - Matt Hoopes, American musician (Relient K)

1981 - Olivia Longott, American R&B singer

1981 - Jenna Morasca, American model and Survivor contestant

1983 - Meera Jasmine, Indian actress

1984 - Dorota Rabczewska, Polish singer (Virgin)

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380 - Peter II, Patriarch of Alexandria

1145 - Pope Lucius II

1621 - Michael Praetorius, German composer (b. 1571)

1637 - Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1578)

1738 - Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (b. 1684)

1775 - Peter Dens, Belgian Catholic theologian (b. 1690)

1781 - Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German author and philosopher (b. 1729)

1818 - Friedrich Ludwig, Fürst zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, Prussian general (b. 1746)

1835 - Henry Hunt, British politician (b. 1773)

1844 - Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1757)

1847 - Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician (b. 1794)

1848 - Hermann von Boyen, Prussian field marshal (b. 1771)

1849 - Pierre François Verhulst, Belgian mathematician (b. 1804)

1857 - Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (b. 1804)

1869 - Mirza Ghalib, Indian poet (b. 1796)

1911 - Theodor Escherich, German pediatrician (b. 1859)

1928 - H. H. Asquith, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1852)

1932 - Minnie Maddern Fiske, American actress (b. 1865)

1939 - Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Russian painter (b. 1878)

1959 - Owen Willans Richardson, British physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1879)

1964 - Robert L. Thornton, American businessman, philanthropist, and Mayor of Dallas, Texas (b. 1880)

1965 - Nat King Cole, American singer and musician (b. 1919)

1966 - Gerard Ciołek, Polish architect and historian of gardens (b. 1909)

1973 - Wally Cox, American actor (b. 1924)

1973 - Tim Holt, American actor (b. 1919)

1974 - Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (b. 1887)

1981 - Mike Bloomfield, American musician (b. 1944)

1981 - Karl Richter, German conductor (b. 1926)

1984 - Ethel Merman, American singer and actress (b. 1908)

1988 - Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1918)

1996 - Tommy Rettig, American actor (b. 1941)

1996 - McLean Stevenson, American actor (b. 1929)

1998 - Louie Spicolli, Wrestler

1999 - Big L (Lamont Coleman), American rapper (b. 1974)

1999 - Henry Way Kendall, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1926)

2002 - Howard K. Smith, American journalist (b. 1914)

2002 - Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)

2004 - Jens Evensen, Norwegian minister and International Court of Justice judge (b. 1917)

2004 - Jan Miner, American actress (b. 1917)

2005 - Samuel Francis, American journalist (b. 1947)

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Total Defence Day in Singapore

Flag Day in Canada

National Day in Serbia

John Frum Day in Vanuatu *

Lupercalia

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liturgical feasts

Candlemas in Russia and other Eastern Orthodox countries
Saint Siegfried of Sweden
Saints Faustin and Jovita
Saint Georgia
Blessed Claude de la Colombière