Today! February 10th. In History.

Births

• 1499 – Thomas Platter, Swiss humanist (d. 1582)
• 1524 – Albrecht Giese, German politician and diplomat (d. 1580)
• 1606 – Christine Marie of France, regent of Savoy (d. 1663)
• 1609 – John Suckling, English poet (d. 1642)
• 1685 – Aaron Hill, English writer (d. 1750)
• 1696 – Johann Melchior Molter, German baroque composer and violinist (d. 1765)
• 1744 – William Cornwallis, Royal Navy admiral (d.1819)
• 1775 – Charles Lamb, English essayist (d. 1834)
• 1783 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, Russian painter (d. 1873)
• 1785 – Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist (d. 1836)
• 1795 – Ary Scheffer, French painter (d. 1858)
• 1824 – Samuel Plimsoll, British politician and social reformer
• 1846 – Charles Beresford, British admiral and politician (d. 1919)
• 1846 – Ira Remsen, American chemist (d. 1927)
• 1847 – Nabinchandra Sen, famous Bengali poet (d. 1909)
• 1859 – Alexandre Millerand, French politician (d. 1943)
• 1868 – Prince Waldemar of Prussia, son of Emperor Frederick III (d. 1879)
• 1884 – Frederick Hawksworth, British railroad mechanical engineer (d. 1976)
• 1890 –Fanny Kaplan, Russian political revolutionary and attempted assassin of Vladimir Lenin (d. 1918)
• 1890 – Boris Pasternak, Russian writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1960)
• 1892 – Alan Hale Sr., American actor (d. 1950)
• 1893 – Jimmy Durante, American actor and comedian (d. 1980)
• 1893 – Bill Tilden, American tennis player (d. 1953)
• 1894 – Harold Macmillan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, 1957-1963 (d. 1986)
• 1897 – Dame Judith Anderson, Australian actress (d. 1992)
• 1897 – John Franklin Enders, American scientist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1985)
• 1898 – Bertolt Brecht, German author (d. 1956)
• 1898 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and novelist (d. 1979)
• 1901 – Stella Adler, American actress (d. 1992)
• 1902 – Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1987)
• 1903 – Waldemar Hoven, German physician (d. 1948)
• 1903 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer (d. 1939)
• 1904 – John Farrow, American film director (d. 1963)
• 1905 – Walter A. Brown, American professional sports team owner and executive (d. 1964)
• 1905 – William Henry "Chick" Webb, American drummer and swing band leader (d. 1939)
• 1906 – Lon Chaney Jr., American actor (d. 1973)
• 1906 – Erik Rhodes, American actor (d. 1990)
• 1908 – Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and music educator (d. 2000)
• 1910 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate (d. 1969)
• 1910 – Sofia Vembo, Greek singer and actress (d. 1978)
• 1913 – Douglas Slocombe, British cinematographer
• 1914 – Larry Adler, American harmonica player (d. 2001)
• 1920 – Alex Comfort, British physician and writer (d. 2000)
• 1920 – Neva Patterson, American actress (d. 2010)
• 1920 – José Manuel Castañón, Spanish writer (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Árpád Göncz, former President of Hungary
• 1924 – Bud Poile, Canadian hockey player and executive (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Pierre Mondy, French actor and director
• 1926 – Danny Blanchflower, Northern Irish footballer (d. 1993)
• 1927 – Leontyne Price, American soprano
• 1927 – Brian Priestman, British conductor
• 1927 – William Tetley, Canadian professor of law and politician
• 1929 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer (d. 2004)
• 1929 – Jim Whittaker, American mountaineer
• 1929 – Lou Whittaker, American mountaineer
• 1930 – E. L. Konigsburg, American author and illustrator of children's and young adult fiction
• 1930 – Robert Wagner, American actor
• 1931 – Doug Young, American voice actor
• 1933 – Richard Schickel, American film critic
• 1934 – Fleur Adcock, New Zealand poet
• 1935 – John Alcorn, American designer and illustrator (d. 1992)
• 1935 – Theodore Antoniou, Greek composer
• 1937 – Roberta Flack, American singer
• 1939 – Adrienne Clarkson, the Right Honourable 26th Governor-General of Canada
• 1939 – Peter Purves, British actor and television presenter
• 1940 – Kenny Rankin, American pop and jazz singer and songwriter (d. 2009)
• 1940 – Mary Rand, British athlete, former world record holder in the long jump
• 1941 – Michael Apted, British director
• 1943 – Ral Donner, American singer (d. 1984)
• 1943 – Bill Laskey, American football player
• 1944 – Peter Allen, Australian singer and actor (d. 1992)
• 1944 – Frank Keating, American politician and 25th Governor of Oklahoma
• 1944 – Frances Moore Lappe, American writer and activist
• 1944 – Rufus Reid, American jazz bassist
• 1944 – Vernor Vinge, American novelist
• 1946 – Eliot Wald, American comedy writer
• 1947 – Louise Arbour, Canadian jurist
• 1947 – Butch Morris, American jazz cornetist and composer
• 1947 – Nicholas Owen, English journalist
• 1948 – Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican politician (d. 1994)
• 1949 – Jim Corcoran, Canadian singer and songwriter
• 1949 – Maxime Le Forestier, French singer
• 1949 – Nigel Olsson, English drummer
• 1949 – Harold Sylvester, American actor
• 1950 – Mark Spitz, American swimmer
• 1951 – Robert Iger, American entertainment executive
• 1952 – Lee Hsien Loong, Singaporean politician
• 1954 – Larry McWilliams, American baseball player
• 1955 – Christopher Adams, British wrestler and judoka (d. 2001)
• 1955 – Jim Cramer, American television personality
• 1955 – Greg Norman, Australian golfer
• 1956 – Enele Sopoaga, Tuvaluan politician and diplomat
• 1958 – Michael Weiss, American jazz pianist
• 1959 – John Calipari, American basketball coach
• 1959 – Dennis Gentry, American football player
• 1959 – Lisa McPherson, American Scientologist (d. 1995)
• 1960 – Robert Addie, British actor (d. 2003)
• 1961 – Alexander Payne, American film director
• 1961 – George Stephanopoulos, American political commentator
• 1962 – Cliff Burton, American bass player (Metallica) (d. 1986)
• 1962 – Bobby Czyz, American boxer
• 1962 – Piero Pelù, Italian singer and songwriter (Litfiba)
• 1962 – Randy Velischek, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1963 – Lenny Dykstra, American baseball player
• 1963 – Philip Glenister, English actor
• 1964 – Glenn Beck, American author, radio and television host
• 1964 – Victor Davis, Canadian swimmer (d. 1989)
• 1964 – Arthur Lenk, Israeli diplomat
• 1964 – Francesca Neri, Italian actress
• 1965 – Mario Jean, Quebec comedian and television actor
• 1966 – Daryl Johnston, American football player
• 1966 – Ioannis Kalitzakis, Greek footballer
• 1967 – Laura Dern, American actress
• 1967 – Jacky Durand, French cyclist
• 1967 – Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby player (d. 1999)
• 1967 – Armand Serrano, Filipino animator
• 1968 – Matthias Hamann, German footballer
• 1968 – Peter Popovic, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1968 – Garrett Reisman, American astronaut
• 1968 – Atika Suri, Indonesian television newscaster
• 1969 – Laurie Dhue, American television personality
• 1969 – Joe Mangrum, American artist
• 1970 – Alberto Castillo, Dominican baseball player
• 1970 – Melissa Doyle, Australian TV personality
• 1970 – Nobushige Kumakubo, Japanese racing driver
• 1970 – Noureddine Naybet, Moroccan footballer
• 1970 – Åsne Seierstad, Norwegian journalist
• 1971 – Louie Spicolli, American wrestler (d. 1998)
• 1971 – Lisa Marie Varon, American wrestler
• 1974 – Elizabeth Banks, American actress
• 1974 – Ty Law, American football player
• 1974 – Ivri Lider, Israeli singer
• 1974 – Tanoai Reed, American stunt performer
• 1975 – Hiroki Kuroda, Japanese baseball player
• 1975 – Kool Savas, German rapper
• 1976 – Lance Berkman, American baseball player
• 1976 – Keeley Hawes, English actress
• 1976 – Vedran Runje, Croatian footballer
• 1977 – Salif Diao, Senegalese footballer
• 1978 – Lorna Bailey, English ceramic designer
• 1978 – Don Omar, Puerto Rican singer
• 1979 – Joey Hand, American race car driver
• 1979 – Jumaine Jones, American basketball player
• 1979 – Daryl Palumbo, American musician
• 1979 – Ross Powers, American snowboarder
• 1980 – César Izturis, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1980 – Enzo Maresca, Italian footballer
• 1980 – Mike Ribeiro, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1980 – Bruno Sundov, Croatian basketball player
• 1981 – Andrew Johnson, English footballer
• 1981 – Natasha St-Pier, Canadian singer
• 1981 – Holly Willoughby, British TV presenter
• 1982 – Keith Dunne, Irish footballer
• 1982 – Justin Gatlin, American sprinter
• 1982 – Iafeta Paleaaesina, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1983 – Bless, Canadian rapper
• 1983 – Daiane dos Santos, Brazilian gymnast
• 1983 – James Ryan, New Zealand rugby player
• 1984 – Alex Gordon, American baseball player
• 1984 – Kim Hyo-jin, South Korean actress
• 1986 – Jeff Adrien, American basketball player
• 1986 – Viktor Troicki, Serbian tennis player
• 1986 – Roberto Jiménez Gago, Spanish footballer
• 1986 – Yui Ichikawa, Japanese actress and model
• 1986 – Radamel Falcao, Colombian footballer
• 1987 – Choi Siwon, South Korean singer (Super Junior)
• 1987 – Erin Burger, South African netballer
• 1989 – Bunmi Mojekwu, British actress
• 1990 – Sooyoung (Choi Soo-young), South Korean singer (Girls' Generation)
• 1991 – Emma Roberts, American actress
• 1992 – Reinhold Yabo, German footballer
• 1994 – Makenzie Vega, American actress
• 1995 – Haruna Kawaguchi, Japanese model and actress
• 1996 – Christina Parie, Australian singer/songwriter
• 1997 – Chloë Moretz, American actress

Deaths

• 1126 – William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 1071)
• 1162 – King Baldwin III of Jerusalem (b. 1130)
• 1242 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (b. 1231)
• 1278 – Margaret II of Flanders (b. 1202)
• 1576 – Guilielmus Xylander, German classical scholar (b. 1532)
• 1645 – Dorothea Sophia, Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1587)
• 1686 – William Dugdale, English antiquarian (b. 1605)
• 1722 – Bartholomew Roberts, Welsh pirate (b. 1682)
• 1755 – Montesquieu, French writer (b. 1689)
• 1758 – Thomas Ripley, English architect (b. 1682)
• 1782 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian (b. 1702)
• 1829 – Pope Leo XII (b. 1760)
• 1837 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet and novelist (b. 1799)
• 1857 – David Thompson, Canadian explorer (b. 1770)
• 1865 – Heinrich Lenz, German physicist (b. 1804)
• 1891 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian mathematician (b. 1850)
• 1904 – John A. Roche, American politician (b. 1844)
• 1906 – Ezra Butler Eddy, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1827)
• 1912 – Joseph Lister, British surgeon (b. 1827)
• 1913 – Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek athlete and Olympic champion (b. 1888)
• 1917 – John William Waterhouse, Italian-born artist (b. 1849)
• 1918 – Abdul Hamid II Ottoman Sultan (b. 1842)
• 1918 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian pacifist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1833)
• 1923 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1845)
• 1932 – Edgar Wallace, English novelist and screenwriter (b. 1875)
• 1939 – Pope Pius XI (b. 1857)
• 1944 – Eugène Michel Antoniadi, Greek astronomer (b. 1870)
• 1945 – Anacleto Diaz, Filipino jurist (b. 1878)
• 1950 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist (b. 1872)
• 1952 – Henry Drysdale Dakin, British-American biochemist (b. 1880)
• 1956 – Wilbert Coffin, Canadian prospector convicted of murder of 3 American hunters (b. 1915)
• 1956 – Emmanouil Tsouderos, Greek banker and politician (b. 1882)
• 1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (b. 1867)
• 1960 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (b. 1898)
• 1964 – Eugen Sänger, Austrian aerospace engineer (b. 1905)
• 1966 – Billy Rose, American composer and band leader (b. 1899)
• 1975 – Nikos Kavvadias, Greek poet and writer (b. 1910)
• 1979 – Edvard Kardelj, Yugoslav communist leader (b. 1910)
• 1984 – David Von Erich, American professional wrestler (b. 1958)
• 1985 – Johnny Mokan, baseball player (b. 1895)
• 1987 – Syed Sadequain Ahmed Naqvi, Pakistani calligrapher and artist (b. 1930)
• 1990 – Bill Sherwood, American filmmaker/composer (b. 1952)
• 1992 – Alex Haley, American author (b. 1921)
• 1993 – Fred Hollows, New Zealand ophthalmologist (b. 1929)
• 1995 – Paul Monette, American author and gay rights activist (b. 1945)
• 1997 – Matthew Eappen of Newton Massachusetts (b. 1996)
• 1998 – Yorgos Vrasivanopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Jim Varney, American actor (b. 1949)
• 2001 – Abraham Beame, American politician (b. 1906)
• 2001 – George Holmes "Buddy" Tate, American jazz saxophonist and clarinetist (b. 1913)
• 2002 – Traudl Junge, Adolf Hitler's secretary (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Dave Van Ronk, American folk singer/songwriter (b. 1936)
• 2003 – Edgar de Evia, American photographer (b. 1910)
• 2003 – Curt Hennig, American professional wrestler (b. 1959)
• 2003 – Clark MacGregor, American politician (b. 1922)
• 2003 – Al Ruffo, American politician (b. 1908)
• 2003 – Ron Ziegler, American press secretary to Richard Nixon (b. 1939)
• 2004 – Guy Provost, Quebec actor (b. 1925)
• 2005 – Arthur Miller, American playwright (b. 1915)
• 2006 – J Dilla, American rapper/producer (b. 1974)
• 2006 – Dick Harmon, American golf instructor (b. 1947)
• 2006 – Beko Ransome-Kuti, Nigerian doctor and activist (b. 1940)
• 2007 – Ned Austin, American character actor (b. 1925)
• 2007 – Jeong Da-bin, South Korean actress (b. 1980)
• 2008 – Roy Scheider, American actor (b. 1932)
• 2008 – Steve Gerber, American comics writer (b. 1947)
• 2008 – Adeline Jay Geo-Karis, American politician (b. 1918)
• 2009 – Leila Hadley, American travel writer and socialite (b. 1926)
• 2009 – Jeremy Lusk, American freestyle motocross racer (b. 1984)
• 2010 – Fred Schaus, American basketball coach and executive (b. 1925)
• 2010 – Charles Wilson, American politician (b. 1933)