February 9 is the 40th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar . There are 325 days remaining until the end of the year (326 in leap years ). This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday (58 in 400 years each) than on Sunday or Monday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Wednesday or Friday (56).
474 – Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire .
1555 – Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake .
1621 – Gregory XV becomes Pope , the last Pope elected by acclamation .
1654 – The Capture of Fort Rocher takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War .
1775 – American Revolutionary War : The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion.
1788 – The Habsburg Empire joins the Russo-Turkish War in the Russian camp.
1825 – After no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the US presidential election of 1824 , the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.
1849 – New Roman Republic established
1861 – American Civil War : Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama .
1870 – US president Ulysses S. Grant signs a joint resolution of Congress establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau .
1889 – US president Grover Cleveland signs a bill elevating the United States Department of Agriculture to a Cabinet -level agency.
1895 – William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette , which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball .
1900 – The Davis Cup competition is established.
1904 – Russo-Japanese War : Battle of Port Arthur concludes.
1913 – A group of meteors is visible across much of the eastern seaboard of North and South America, leading astronomers to conclude the source had been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
1920 – Under the terms of the Svalbard Treaty , international diplomacy recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Arctic archipelago Svalbard , and designates it as demilitarized .
1922 – Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
1934 – The Balkan Entente is formed.
1941 – World War II : The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa , Italy is struck by a bomb which fails to detonate.
1942 – World War II : Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
1942 – Year-round Daylight saving time is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.
1943 – World War II: Allied authorities declare Guadalcanal secure after Imperial Japan evacuates its remaining forces from the island, ending the Battle of Guadalcanal .
1945 – World War II: The Battle of the Atlantic : HMS Venturer sinks U-864 off the coast of Fedje , Norway, in a rare instance of submarine-to-submarine combat.
1945 – World War II: A force of Allied aircraft unsuccessfully attacked a German destroyer in Førdefjorden , Norway.
1950 – Second Red Scare : US Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with Communists .
1951 – Korean War : Geochang massacre
1959 – The R-7 Semyorka , the first intercontinental ballistic missile , becomes operational at Plesetsk , USSR .
1964 – The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show , performing before a "record-busting" audience of 73 million viewers across the USA.
1965 – The United States Marine Corps sends a MIM-23 Hawk missile battalion to South Vietnam , the first American troops in-country without an official advisory or training mission.
1969 – First test flight of the Boeing 747 .
1971 – The 6.5–6.7 Mw Sylmar earthquake hits the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme ), killing 64 and injuring 2,000.
1971 – Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the USA's Baseball Hall of Fame .
1971 – Apollo program : Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing.
1975 – The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.
1986 – Halley's Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System .
1991 – Voters in Lithuania vote for independence .
1996 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares the end to its 18-month ceasefire and explodes a large bomb in London's Canary Wharf .
2016 – Two passenger trains collided in the German town of Bad Aibling in the state of Bavaria . Twelve people died, and 85 people were injured.
1441 – Ali-Shir Nava'i , Turkish poet, linguist, and painter (d. 1501)
1533 – Shimazu Yoshihisa , Japanese daimyo (d. 1611)
1666 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney , Scottish field marshal (d. 1737)
1711 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla , Spanish sailor and commander (d. 1762)
1737 – Thomas Paine , English-American philosopher, author, and activist (d. 1809)
1741 – Henri-Joseph Rigel , German-French composer (d. 1799)
1747 – Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet , English admiral and politician, Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1817)
1763 – Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden (d. 1830)
1769 – George W. Campbell , Scottish-American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1848)
1773 – William Henry Harrison , American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (d. 1841)
1775 – Farkas Bolyai , Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1856)
1781 – Johann Baptist von Spix , German biologist and explorer (d. 1826)
1783 – Vasily Zhukovsky , Russian poet and translator (d. 1852)
1789 – Franz Xaver Gabelsberger , German engineer, invented Gabelsberger shorthand (d. 1849)
1800 – Hyrum Smith , American religious leader (d. 1844)
1814 – Samuel J. Tilden , American lawyer and politician, 28th Governor of New York (d. 1886)
1815 – Federico de Madrazo , Spanish painter (d.1894)
1834 – Felix Dahn , German lawyer, historian, and author (d. 1912)
1837 – José Burgos , Filipino priest and revolutionary (d. 1872)
1839 – Silas Adams , American colonel, lawyer, and politician (d. 1896)
1846 – Wilhelm Maybach , German engineer and businessman, founded Maybach (d. 1929)
1846 – Whitaker Wright , English businessman and financier (d. 1904)
1847 – Hugh Price Hughes , Welsh-English clergyman and theologian (d. 1902)
1856 – Hara Takashi , Japanese politician, 10th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1921)
1859 – Akiyama Yoshifuru , Japanese general (d. 1930)
1863 – Anthony Hope , English author and playwright (d. 1933)
1864 – Miina Härma , Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1941)
1865 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell , English-French actress (d. 1940)
1865 – Erich von Drygalski , German geographer and geophysicist (d. 1949)
1867 – Natsume Sōseki , Japanese author and poet (d. 1916)
1871 – Howard Taylor Ricketts , American pathologist and physician (d. 1910)
1874 – Amy Lowell , American poet, critic, and educator (d. 1925)
1880 – Lipót Fejér , Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
1883 – Jules Berry , French actor and director (d. 1951)
1885 – Alban Berg , Austrian composer and educator (d. 1935)
1885 – Clarence H. Haring , American historian and author (d. 1960)
1889 – Larry Semon , American actor, producer, director and screenwriter (d. 1928)
1891 – Ronald Colman , English-American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1958)
1892 – Peggy Wood , American actress and singer (d. 1978)
1893 – Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas , Greek lawyer and politician, 163rd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1987)
1895 – Hermann Brill , German lawyer and politician, 8th Minister-President of Thuringia (d. 1959)
1896 – Alberto Vargas , Peruvian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1982)
1897 – Charles Kingsford Smith , Australian captain and pilot (d. 1935)
1898 – Jūkichi Yagi , Japanese poet and educator (d. 1927)
1901 – Brian Donlevy , American actor (d. 1972)
1901 – James Murray , American actor (d. 1936)
1902 – Gertrud Scholtz-Klink , German activist (d. 1999)
1906 – André Kostolany , Hungarian-French economist and journalist (d. 1999)
1907 – Trường Chinh , Vietnamese politician, 4th President of Vietnam (d. 1988)
1907 – Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter , English-Canadian mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
1909 – Heather Angel , English-American actress (d. 1986)
1909 – Carmen Miranda , Portuguese-Brazilian actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1955)
1909 – Dean Rusk , American colonel and politician, 54th United States Secretary of State (d. 1994)
1910 – Jacques Monod , French biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
1911 – William Orlando Darby , American general (d. 1945)
1912 – Futabayama Sadaji , Japanese sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna (d. 1968)
1912 – Ginette Leclerc , French actress (d. 1992)
1914 – Ernest Tubb , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
1914 – Bill Veeck , American businessman (d. 1986)
1916 – Tex Hughson , American baseball player (d. 1993)
1920 – Fred Allen , New Zealand rugby player and coach (d. 2012)
1922 – Kathryn Grayson , American actress and soprano (d. 2010)
1922 – Jim Laker , English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1986)
1922 – C. P. Krishnan Nair , Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (d. 2014)
1922 – Robert E. Ogren , American zoologist (d. 2005)
1923 – Brendan Behan , Irish author, rebel, poet-playwright (d. 1964)
1923 – Tonie Nathan , American radio host, producer, and politician (d. 2014)
1925 – John B. Cobb , American philosopher and theologian
1925 – Burkhard Heim , German physicist and academic (d. 2001)
1926 – Garret FitzGerald , Irish lawyer and politician, 7th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2011)
1927 – Richard A. Long , American historian and author (d. 2013)
1928 – Frank Frazetta , American painter and illustrator (d. 2010)
1928 – Rinus Michels , Dutch footballer and coach (d. 2005)
1928 – Roger Mudd , American journalist
1929 – A. R. Antulay , Indian social worker and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2014)
1929 – Clement Meadmore , Australian-American sculptor (d. 2005)
1930 – Garner Ted Armstrong , American evangelist and author (d. 2003)
1931 – Thomas Bernhard , Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1989)
1931 – Josef Masopust , Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
1931 – Robert Morris , American sculptor and painter
1932 – Tatsuro Hirooka , Japanese baseball player and manager
1932 – Gerhard Richter , German painter and photographer
1933 – Loris Azzaro , Tunisian-French fashion designer (d. 2003)
1934 – John Ziegler, Jr. , American lawyer and businessman
1935 – Lionel Fanthorpe , English-Welsh priest, journalist, and author
1936 – Stompin' Tom Connors , Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1936 – Clive Swift , English actor and songwriter
1937 – Clete Boyer , American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
1939 – Barry Mann , American pianist, songwriter, and producer
1939 – Janet Suzman , South African-British actress and director
1940 – Brian Bennett , English drummer and songwriter
1940 – J. M. Coetzee , South African-Australian linguist and author, Nobel Prize laureate
1941 – Sheila Kuehl , American actress, lawyer, gay rights activist, and politician
1942 – Carole King , American singer-songwriter and pianist
1943 – Barbara Lewis , American singer-songwriter
1943 – Jonny Nilsson , Swedish speed skater
1943 – Joe Pesci , American actor
1943 – Joseph Stiglitz , American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1944 – Derryn Hinch , New Zealand-Australian radio and television host
1944 – Alice Walker , American author and poet
1945 – Mia Farrow , American actress and activist
1945 – Yoshinori Ohsumi , Japanese cell biologist, 2016 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
1946 – Vince Papale , American football player and sportscaster
1946 – Jim Webb , American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of the Navy
1947 – Carla Del Ponte , Swiss lawyer and diplomat
1947 – Joe Ely , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1947 – Major Harris , American singer (d. 2012)
1947 – Alexis Smirnoff , Canadian-American wrestler and actor
1948 – Guy Standing , English economist and academic
1949 – Bernard Gallacher , Scottish golfer and journalist
1949 – Judith Light , American actress
1950 – Richard F. Colburn , American sergeant and politician
1951 – David Pomeranz , American singer, musician, and composer
1952 – Danny White , American football player and sportscaster
1953 – Thierry Fortineau , French actor (d. 2006)
1953 – Ciarán Hinds , Irish actor
1953 – Ezechiele Ramin , Italian missionary, priest, and martyr (d. 1985)
1953 – Gabriel Rotello , American journalist and author, founded OutWeek
1954 – Jo Duffy , American author
1954 – Chris Gardner , American businessman and philanthropist, founded Gardner Rich & Co
1954 – Gina Rinehart , Australian businesswoman
1954 – Kevin Warwick , English engineer and academic
1955 – Jerry Beck , American historian and author
1955 – Jimmy Pursey , English singer-songwriter and producer
1955 – Charles Shaughnessy , English actor
1956 – Mookie Wilson , American baseball player and coach
1957 – Terry McAuliffe , American businessman and politician, 72nd Governor of Virginia
1957 – Gordon Strachan , Scottish footballer and manager
1958 – Sandy Lyle , Scottish golfer
1958 – Chris Nilan , American ice hockey player, coach, and radio host
1960 – Holly Johnson , English singer-songwriter and bass player
1960 – Peggy Whitson , American biochemist and astronaut
1961 – John Kruk , American baseball player and sportscaster
1962 – Anik Bissonnette , Canadian ballerina
1963 – Brian Greene , American physicist
1963 – Travis Tritt , American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1964 – Debrah Miceli , Italian-American wrestler and manager
1965 – Dieter Baumann , German runner
1965 – Stephin Merritt , American singer-songwriter
1966 – Harald Eia , Norwegian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1967 – Todd Pratt , American baseball player and coach
1968 – Alejandra Guzmán , Mexican singer-songwriter and actress
1968 – Derek Strong , American basketball player and race car driver
1969 – Jimmy Smith , American football player
1970 – Glenn McGrath , Australian cricketer and sportscaster
1971 – Johan Mjällby , Swedish footballer and manager
1972 – Darren Ferguson , Scottish footballer and manager
1973 – Svetlana Boginskaya , Belarusian gymnast
1973 – Colin Egglesfield , American actor
1974 – Brad Maynard , American football player
1974 – Amber Valletta , American model
1974 – John Wallace , American basketball player and coach
1975 – Kurt Asle Arvesen , Norwegian cyclist and coach
1975 – Clinton Grybas , Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
1975 – Vladimir Guerrero , Dominican-American baseball player
1976 – Charlie Day , American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1978 – A. J. Buckley , Irish-Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
1978 – Erin O'Connor , English model and actress
1979 – Akinori Iwamura , Japanese baseball player
1979 – Irina Slutskaya , Russian figure skater
1979 – Zhang Ziyi , Chinese actress, singer, and producer
1980 – Angelos Charisteas , Greek footballer
1980 – Margarita Levieva , Russian-American actress and gymnast
1981 – Tom Hiddleston , English actor
1981 – The Rev , American singer-songwriter and drummer (d. 2009)
1981 – Daisuke Sekimoto , Japanese wrestler
1982 – Domingo Cisma , Spanish footballer
1982 – Jameer Nelson , American basketball player
1982 – Ami Suzuki , Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
1982 – Chris Weale , English footballer and manager
1983 – Mikel Arruabarrena , Spanish footballer
1984 – Maurice Ager , American basketball player, singer, and producer
1984 – Dioner Navarro , Venezuelan baseball player
1985 – David Gallagher , American actor
1987 – Sam Coulson , English guitarist
1987 – Michael B. Jordan , American actor
1987 – Davide Lanzafame , Italian footballer
1987 – Rose Leslie , Scottish actress
1987 – Magdalena Neuner , German biathlete
1988 – Lotte Friis , Danish swimmer
1989 – Gia Farrell , American singer-songwriter
1989 – Maxime Dufour-Lapointe , Canadian skier
1992 – Avan Jogia , Canadian actor, singer, and dancer
1993 – Niclas Füllkrug , German footballer
1995 – André Burakovsky , Swedish ice hockey player
967 – Sayf al-Dawla , Syrian ruler (b. 916)
1011 – Bernard I, Duke of Saxony (b. 950)
1135 – Emperor Taizong of Jin (b. 1075)
1199 – Minamoto no Yoritomo , Japanese shogun (b. 1147)
1450 – Agnès Sorel , French mistress of Charles VII of France (b. 1421)
1555 – John Hooper , English bishop and martyr (b. 1495)
1555 – Rowland Taylor , English priest and martyr (b. 1510)
1588 – Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz , Spanish admiral (b. 1526)
1619 – Lucilio Vanini , Italian physician and philosopher (b. 1585)
1670 – Frederick III of Denmark (b. 1609)
1675 – Gerrit Dou , Dutch painter (b. 1613)
1709 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (b. 1664)
1777 – Seth Pomeroy , American general and gunsmith (b. 1706)
1803 – Jean François de Saint-Lambert , French soldier, poet, and philosopher (b. 1716)
1857 – Dionysios Solomos , Greek poet and translator (b. 1798)
1874 – Jules Michelet , French historian, philosopher, and academic (b. 1798)
1881 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky , Russian philosopher, journalist, and author (b. 1821)
1891 – Johan Jongkind , Dutch painter (b. 1819)
1906 – Paul Laurence Dunbar , American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1872)
1930 – Richard With , Norwegian captain and businessman, founded Hurtigruten (b. 1846)
1932 – Junnosuke Inoue , Japanese businessman and banker (b. 1869)
1932 – A.K. Golam Jilani , Bangladeshi soldier and activist (b. 1904)
1951 – Eddy Duchin , American pianist, bandleader, and actor (b. 1910)
1957 – Miklós Horthy , Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (b. 1868)
1960 – Alexandre Benois , Russian painter and critic (b. 1870)
1960 – Ernő Dohnányi , Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1877)
1965 – Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah , Bangladeshi theologian and educator (b. 1874)
1966 – Sophie Tucker , Russian-born American singer (b. 1884)
1969 – George "Gabby" Hayes , American actor and singer (b. 1885)
1976 – Percy Faith , Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1908)
1977 – Alia al-Hussein , Egyptian wife of Hussein of Jordan (b. 1948)
1977 – Sergey Ilyushin , Russian engineer and businessman, founded the Ilyushin Design Company (b. 1894)
1978 – Costante Girardengo , Italian cyclist and coach (b. 1893)
1978 – Julio Jaramillo , Ecuadorian singer and guitarist (b. 1935)
1979 – Allen Tate , American poet and academic (b. 1899)
1980 – Tom Macdonald , Welsh journalist and author (b. 1900)
1981 – M. C. Chagla , Indian jurist and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1900)
1981 – Bill Haley , American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1925)
1984 – Yuri Andropov , Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1914)
1989 – Osamu Tezuka , Japanese illustrator, animator, and producer (b. 1928)
1991 – James Cleveland , American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1931)
1994 – Howard Martin Temin , American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
1995 – J. William Fulbright , American lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
1995 – David Wayne , American actor (b. 1914)
1997 – Barry Evans , English actor (b. 1943)
1998 – Maurice Schumann , French journalist and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1911)
1999 – Bryan Mosley , English actor (b. 1931)
2001 – Herbert A. Simon , American political scientist, economist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
2002 – Isabelle Holland , Swiss-American author (b. 1920)
2002 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (b. 1930)
2003 – Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda , Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
2004 – Claude Ryan , Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1925)
2005 – Robert Kearns , American engineer, invented the windscreen wiper (b. 1927)
2006 – Freddie Laker , English pilot and businessman, founded Laker Airways (b. 1922)
2007 – Hank Bauer , American baseball player and manager (b. 1922)
2007 – Ian Richardson , Scottish-English actor (b. 1934)
2008 – Christopher Hyatt American occultist and author (b. 1943)
2008 – Jazeh Tabatabai , Iranian painter, poet, and sculptor (b. 1931)
2009 – Orlando "Cachaíto" López , Cuban bassist and composer (b. 1933)
2010 – Walter Frederick Morrison , American businessman, invented the Frisbee (b. 1920)
2011 – Miltiadis Evert , Greek lawyer and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (b. 1939)
2012 – O. P. Dutta , Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
2012 – John Hick , English philosopher and academic (b. 1922)
2012 – Joe Moretti , Scottish-South African guitarist and songwriter (b. 1938)
2013 – Richard Artschwager , American painter, illustrator, and sculptor (b. 1923)
2013 – Keiko Fukuda , Japanese-American martial artist and trainer (b. 1913)
2013 – Jimmy Smyth , Irish hurler (b. 1931)
2014 – Gabriel Axel , Danish actor, director, and producer (b. 1918)
2014 – Hal Herring , American football player and coach (b. 1924)
2014 – Logan Scott-Bowden , English general (b. 1920)
2015 – Abdul Rauf Aliza , Afghan commander (b. 1981)
2015 – Liu Han , Chinese businessman and philanthropist (b. 1965)
2015 – Ed Sabol , American film producer, co-founded NFL Films (b. 1916)
2016 – Sushil Koirala , Nepalese politician, 37th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1939)
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