February 4

Events

Pre–1600

• 211 – Following the death of the Roman Emperor Septimius Severus at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians, the empire is left in the control of his two quarrelling sons, Caracalla and Geta, whom he had instructed to make peace.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 960 – Zhao Kuangyin declares himself Emperor Taizu of Song, ending the Later Zhou and beginning the Song dynasty.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1169 – A strong earthquake strikes the Ionian coast of Sicily, causing tens of thousands of injuries and deaths, especially in Catania.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1454 – Thirteen Years' War: The Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, sparking the Thirteen Years' War.<ref>Template:Cite book; Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1555 – John Rogers is burned at the stake, becoming the first English Protestant martyr under Mary I of England.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

1601–1900

• 1703 – In Edo (now Tokyo), all but one of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1758 – The city of Macapá in Brazil is founded by Sebastião Veiga Cabral.
• 1789 – George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1794 – The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French First Republic.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> It would be reestablished in the French West Indies in 1802.
• 1797 – The Riobamba earthquake strikes Ecuador, causing up to 40,000 casualties.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1801 – John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
• 1810 – Napoleonic Wars: Britain seizes Guadeloupe.
• 1820 – The Chilean Navy under the command of Lord Cochrane completes the two-day long Capture of Valdivia with just 300 men and two ships.
• 1825 – The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1846 – The first Mormon pioneers make their exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, westward towards Salt Lake Valley.
• 1859 – The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1861 – American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from six breakaway U.S. states meet and initiate the process that would form the Confederate States of America on February 8.
• 1899 – The Philippine–American War begins when four Filipino soldiers enter the "American Zone" in Manila, igniting the Battle of Manila.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

1901–present

• 1932 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Harbin, Manchuria, falls to Japan.
• 1938 – Adolf Hitler appoints himself as head of the Armed Forces High Command.
• 1941 – The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
• 1945 – World War II: Santo Tomas Internment Camp is liberated from Japanese authority.
• 1945 – World War II: The Yalta Conference between the "Big Three" (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) opens at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea.
• 1945 – World War II: The British Indian Army and Imperial Japanese Army begin a series of battles known as the Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations.
• 1948 – Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.
• 1961 – The Angolan War of Independence and the greater Portuguese Colonial War begin.
• 1966 – All Nippon Airways Flight 60 plunges into Tokyo Bay, killing 133.
• 1967 – Lunar Orbiter program: Lunar Orbiter 3 lifts off from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 13 on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft.
• 1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
• 1974 – M62 coach bombing: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) explodes a bomb on a bus carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel in Yorkshire, England. Nine soldiers and three civilians are killed.
• 1975 – Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale) occurs in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
• 1976 – In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.
• 1977 – A Chicago Transit Authority elevated train rear-ends another and derails, killing 11 and injuring 180, the worst accident in the agency's history.
• 1992 – A coup d'état is led by Hugo Chávez against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.
• 1997 – En route to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel, killing 73.
• 1997 – The Bojnurd earthquake measuring Template:M 6.5 strikes Iran. With a Mercalli intensity of VIII, it kills at least 88 and damages 173 villages.<ref name=NGDC>National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K</ref>
• 1998 – The 5.9 Template:M Afghanistan earthquake shakes the Takhar Province with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). With 2,323 killed, and 818 injured, damage is considered extreme.
• 1999 – Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot 41 times by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race relations in the city.
• 2000 – The World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium, Charter of Paris is signed by the President of France, Jacques Chirac and the Director General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, initiating World Cancer Day which is held on February 4 every year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2003 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia adopts a new constitution, becoming a loose confederacy between Montenegro and Serbia.
• 2004 – Facebook, a mainstream online social networking site, is founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• 2008 – Civic mobilizations in Colombia against FARC, under the name A million voices against the FARC.<ref name=tiempo>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2015 – TransAsia Airways Flight 235, with 58 people on board, en route from the Taiwanese capital Taipei to Kinmen, crashes into the Keelung River just after takeoff, killing 43 people.
• 2020 – The COVID-19 pandemic causes all casinos in Macau to be closed down for 15 days.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 2025 – Ten people are killed in a mass shooting at an adult education centre in Örebro, Sweden.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Births

Pre–1600

• 1447 – Lodovico Lazzarelli, Italian poet (d. 1500)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1495 – Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1535)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1495 – Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (d. 1568)
• 1505 – Mikołaj Rej, Polish poet and author (d. 1580)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1575 – Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and theologian, founded the French school of spirituality (d. 1629)

1601–1900

• 1646 – Hans Erasmus Aßmann, German poet and politician (d. 1699)<ref>Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie - online version at Wikisource</ref>
• 1677 – Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (d. 1731)
• 1688 – Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (d. 1763)<ref>Template:EB1911</ref>
• 1725 – Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (d. 1804)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
• 1740 – Carl Michael Bellman, Swedish poet and composer (d. 1795)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1778 – Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, Swiss botanist, mycologist, and academic (d. 1841)
• 1799 – Almeida Garrett, Portuguese journalist and author (d. 1854)
• 1818 – Emperor Norton, San Francisco eccentric and visionary (d. 1880)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1831 – Oliver Ames, American financier and politician, 35th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1895)
• 1848 – Jean Aicard, French poet, author, and playwright (d. 1921)
• 1849 – Jean Richepin, French poet, author, and playwright (d. 1926)
• 1862 – Édouard Estaunié, French novelist (d. 1942)
• 1865 – Abe Isoo, Japanese minister and politician (d. 1949)
• 1868 – Constance Markievicz, Irish revolutionary and first woman elected to the UK House of Commons (d. 1927)
• 1869 – Bill Haywood, American labor organizer (d. 1928)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1871 – Friedrich Ebert, German lawyer and politician, first President of Germany (d. 1925)
• 1872 – Gotse Delchev, Bulgarian and Macedonian revolutionary activist (d. 1903)
• 1873 – Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1905)
• 1875 – Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist and engineer (d. 1953)
• 1877 – Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (d. 1953)
• 1881 – Eulalio Gutiérrez, Mexican general and politician, President of Mexico (d. 1939)
• 1881 – Fernand Léger, French painter and sculptor (d. 1955)
• 1881 – Kliment Voroshilov, Soviet politician and Marshal of the Soviet Union, People's Commissar for Defence (d. 1969)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1883 – Reinhold Rudenberg, German-American inventor and a pioneer of electron microscopy (d. 1961)
• 1891 – M. A. Ayyangar, Indian lawyer and politician, second Speaker of the Lok Sabha (d. 1978)
• 1892 – E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and academic (d. 1964)
• 1893 – Raymond Dart, Australian paleoanthropologist (d. 1988)<ref name="dart-nyt">Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1895 – Nigel Bruce, English actor (d. 1953)
• 1896 – Friedrich Glauser, Austrian-Swiss author (d. 1938)
• 1896 – Friedrich Hund, German physicist and academic (d. 1997)
• 1897 – Ludwig Erhard, German soldier and politician, second Chancellor of West Germany (d. 1977)
• 1899 – Virginia M. Alexander, American physician and founder of the Aspiranto Health Home (d. 1949)
• 1900 – Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (d. 1977)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

1901–present

• 1902 – Charles Lindbergh, American pilot and explorer (d. 1974)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1902 – Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, German-English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 2003)
• 1903 – Alexander Imich, Polish-American chemist, parapsychologist, and academic (d. 2014)
• 1904 – MacKinlay Kantor, American author and screenwriter (d. 1977)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1904 – Deng Yingchao, Chinese politician, Chairwoman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (d. 1968)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1905 – Hylda Baker, English comedian, actress and music hall performer (d. 1986)
• 1906 – Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (d. 1945)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1906 – Letitia Dunbar-Harrison, Irish librarian (d. 1994)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1906 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer and academic, discovered Pluto (d. 1997)
• 1908 – Julian Bell, English poet and academic (d. 1937)
• 1912 – Ola Skjåk Bræk, Norwegian banker and politician, Norwegian Minister of Industry (d. 1999)
• 1912 – Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian-American conductor (d. 1993)
• 1912 – Byron Nelson, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2006)<ref name="UPI">Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1913 – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1914 – Alfred Andersch, German-Swiss author and publisher (d. 1980)
• 1915 – William Talman, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
• 1915 – Norman Wisdom, English comedian, actor and singer-songwriter (d. 2010)<ref>Template:Cite ODNB</ref>
• 1917 – Yahya Khan, Pakistan general and politician, third President of Pakistan (d. 1980)
• 1918 – Ida Lupino, English-American actress and director (d. 1995)<ref name="UPI"/>
• 1918 – Luigi Pareyson, Italian philosopher and author (d. 1991)
• 1920 – Janet Waldo, American actress and voice artist (d. 2016)
• 1921 – Betty Friedan, American author and feminist (d. 2006)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1921 – Lotfi Zadeh, Iranian-American mathematician and computer scientist and founder of fuzzy logic (d. 2017)
• 1922 – Bhimsen Joshi, Indian vocalist of the Hindustani classical music tradition (d. 2011)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1923 – Conrad Bain, Canadian-American actor (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Russell Hoban, American author and illustrator (d. 2011)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1925 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Christopher Zeeman, English mathematician and academic (d. 2016)
• 1926 – Gyula Grosics, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
• 1927 – Rolf Landauer, German-American physicist and academic (d. 1999)
• 1928 – Oscar Cabalén, Argentinian racing driver (d. 1967)
• 1928 – Osmo Antero Wiio, Finnish journalist, academic, and politician (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Jerry Adler, American actor, director, and producer<ref name="AP"/>
• 1929 – Paul Burlison, American musician (d. 2003)
• 1929 – Neil Johnston, American basketball player (d. 1978)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1930 – Tibor Antalpéter, Hungarian volleyball player and diplomat, Hungarian Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Arthur E. Chase, American businessman and politician (d. 2015)
• 1930 – Jim Loscutoff, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
• 1931 – Isabel Perón, Argentinian dancer and politician, 41st President of Argentina<ref name="UPI"/>
• 1932 – Robert Coover, American novelist (d. 2024)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1935 – Wallis Mathias, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1994)
• 1935 – Martti Talvela, Finnish opera singer (d. 1989)
• 1935 – Collin Wilcox, American actress (d. 2009)
• 1936 – David Brenner, American comedian, actor, and author (d. 2014)<ref name="UPI"/>
• 1936 – Gary Conway, American actor<ref name="AP"/>
• 1936 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (d. 2013)
• 1937 – Birju Maharaj, Indian dancer, composer, singer and exponent of the Lucknow "Kalka-Bindadin" Gharana of Kathak dance (d. 2022)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1937 – David Newman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
• 1938 – Frank J. Dodd, American businessman and politician, president of the New Jersey Senate (d. 2010)
• 1939 – Stan Lundine, American lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New York<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1940 – George A. Romero, American director and producer (d. 2017)<ref name="UPI"/>
• 1940 – John Schuck, American actor<ref name="UPI"/>
• 1941 – Russell Cooper, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of Queensland
• 1941 – Ron Rangi, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1988)
• 1941 – Jiří Raška, Czech skier and coach (d. 2012)
• 1941 – John Steel, English musician and songwriter<ref name="AP"/>
• 1943 – Alberto João Jardim, Portuguese journalist and politician, second President of the Regional Government of Madeira
• 1943 – Wanda Rutkiewicz, Lithuanian-Polish mountaineer (d. 1992)
• 1943 – Ken Thompson, American computer scientist and programmer, co-developed the B programming language
• 1944 – Florence LaRue, American singer and actress
• 1944 – Alan Shields, American artist and ship captain (d. 2005)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1947 – Dennis C. Blair, American admiral and politician, third Director of National Intelligence
• 1947 – Dan Quayle, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 44th Vice President of the United States<ref name="UPI"/>
• 1948 – Alice Cooper, American singer-songwriter<ref name="AP">Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1948 – Mienoumi Tsuyoshi, Japanese sumo wrestler
• 1949 – Michael Beck, American actor<ref name="AP"/>
• 1949 – Rasim Delić, Bosnian general (d. 2010)
• 1951 – Patrick Bergin, Irish actor
• 1952 – Lisa Eichhorn, American actress, writer, and producer<ref name="AP"/>
• 1952 – Jenny Shipley, New Zealand politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1952 – Thomas Silverstein, American criminal and prisoner (d. 2019)
• 1955 – Mikuláš Dzurinda, Slovak politician, Prime Minister of Slovakia
• 1957 – Matthew Cobb, British zoologist and author<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• 1958 – Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (d. 2005)
• 1959 – Christian Schreier, German footballer and manager
• 1959 – Lawrence Taylor, American football player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1960 – Siobhan Dowd, English author and activist (d. 2007)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1960 – Jonathan Larson, American lyricist, composer, and playwright (d. 1996)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 1961 – Denis Savard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach<ref>Template:Ice hockey stats</ref>
• 1962 – Clint Black, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer<ref name="AP"/>
• 1962 – Vern Fleming, American basketball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1963 – Noodles, American musician and songwriter<ref name="AP"/>
• 1963 – Pirmin Zurbriggen, Swiss skier
• 1964 – Elke Philipp, German Paralympic equestrian<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1965 – Jerome Brown, American football player (d. 1992)
• 1966 – Viatcheslav Ekimov, Russian cyclist
• 1967 – Sergei Grinkov, Russian figure skater (d. 1995)
• 1970 – Gabrielle Anwar, English-American actress<ref name="AP"/>
• 1970 – Hunter Biden, American attorney and lobbyist<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1971 – Rob Corddry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter<ref name="AP"/>
• 1971 – Michael A. Goorjian, American actor, director, and writer<ref name="AP"/>
• 1972 – Giovanni, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1972 – Dara Ó Briain, Irish comedian and television host
• 1973 – Oscar De La Hoya, American boxer<ref name="AP"/>
• 1975 – Natalie Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter and actress<ref name="AP"/>
• 1976 – Cam'ron, American rapper and actor<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1977 – Gavin DeGraw, American singer-songwriter<ref name="AP"/>
• 1979 – Giorgio Pantano, Italian racing driver
• 1980 – Raimonds Vaikulis, Latvian basketball player
• 1981 – Jason Kapono, American basketball player<ref>Template:Basketballstats</ref>
• 1981 – Johan Vansummeren, Belgian cyclist
• 1982 – Ivars Timermanis, Latvian basketball player
• 1983 – Hannibal Buress, American comedian and actor<ref name="UPI"/>
• 1983 – Rebecca White, Australian politician<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1984 – Doug Fister, American baseball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1984 – Mauricio Pinilla, Chilean footballer
• 1986 – Maximilian Götz, German racing driver
• 1986 – Mahmudullah Riyad, Bangladeshi cricketer<ref>Template:Cricinfo</ref>
• 1987 – Darren O'Dea, Irish footballer<ref>Template:NFT</ref>
• 1987 – Lucie Šafářová, Czech tennis player
• 1988 – Charlie Barnett, American actor<ref name="AP"/>
• 1988 – Carly Patterson, American gymnast and singer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1989 – Lavoy Allen, American basketball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1996 – Mohamed Sherif, Egyptian footballer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1998 – Malik Monk, American basketball player<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1998 – Maximilian Wöber, Austrian footballer
• 2003 – Kyla Kenedy, American actress<ref name="AP"/>
• 2003 – Rasmus Højlund, Danish footballer<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Deaths

Pre–1600

• 211 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (b. 145)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 708 – Pope Sisinnius (b. 650)
• 856 – Rabanus Maurus, Frankish archbishop and theologian (b. 780)
• 870 – Ceolnoth, archbishop of Canterbury
• 1169 – John of Ajello, Bishop of Catania
• 1498 – Antonio del Pollaiuolo, Italian artist (b. 1429/1433)
• 1505 – Jeanne de Valois, daughter of Louis XI of France (b. 1464)
• 1508 – Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar (b. 1459)
• 1555 – John Rogers, English clergyman and translator (b. 1505)
• 1590 – Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1517)

1601–1900

• 1615 – Giambattista della Porta, Italian playwright and scholar (b. 1535)
• 1617 – Lodewijk Elzevir, Dutch publisher, co-founded the House of Elzevir (b. 1546)
• 1713 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (b. 1671)
• 1774 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (b. 1701)
• 1781 – Josef Mysliveček, Czech composer (b. 1737)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1799 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect and educator (b. 1728)
• 1843 – Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general (b. 1770)
• 1891 – Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos, Roman Catholic archbishop and Mexican politician who served as regent during the Second Mexican Empire (b. 1816)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1901–present

• 1905 – Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (b. 1841)
• 1912 – Franz Reichelt, French tailor and inventor (b. 1878)<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1926 – İskilipli Âtıf Hodja, Turkish author and scholar (b. 1875)
• 1928 – Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
• 1933 – Archibald Sayce, English linguist and educator (b. 1846)
• 1936 – Wilhelm Gustloff, German-Swiss soldier, founded Swiss NSDAP/AO (b. 1895)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1940 – Nikolai Yezhov, Russian police officer and politician (b. 1895)
• 1943 – Frank Calder, English-Canadian ice hockey player and journalist (b. 1877)
• 1944 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (b. 1872)
• 1956 – Savielly Tartakower, Russian-French chess player, journalist, and author (b. 1887)
• 1958 – Henry Kuttner, American author and screenwriter (b. 1915)
• 1959 – Una O'Connor, Irish-American actress (b. 1880)
• 1968 – Neal Cassady, American novelist and poet (b. 1926)
• 1970 – Louise Bogan, American poet and critic (b. 1897)
• 1974 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist, mathematician, and academic (b. 1894)
• 1975 – Louis Jordan, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (b. 1908)
• 1982 – Alex Harvey, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1935)
• 1982 – Georg Konrad Morgen, German lawyer and judge (b. 1909)
• 1983 – Karen Carpenter, American singer (b. 1950)
• 1987 – Liberace, American singer-songwriter and pianist, (b. 1919)
• 1987 – Meena Keshwar Kamal, Afghan activist, founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (b. 1956)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1987 – Carl Rogers, American psychologist and academic (b. 1902)
• 1990 – Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1915)
• 1992 – John Dehner, American actor (b. 1915)
• 1995 – Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1921)
• 2000 – Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1908)
• 2002 – Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg (b. 1907)
• 2003 – Benyoucef Benkhedda, Algerian pharmacist and politician (b. 1920)
• 2004 – Hilda Hilst, Brazilian poet, novelist, and playwright (b. 1930)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2005 – Ossie Davis, American actor, director, and playwright (b. 1917)
• 2006 – Betty Friedan, American author and activist (b. 1921)
• 2007 – José Carlos Bauer, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1925)
• 2007 – Ilya Kormiltsev, Russian-English poet and translator (b. 1959)
• 2007 – Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (b. 1934)
• 2007 – Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter and sculptor (b. 1922)
• 2007 – Alfred Worm, Austrian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1945)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2008 – Augusta Dabney, American actress (b. 1918)
• 2008 – Stefan Meller, Polish academic and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (b. 1942)
• 2010 – Kostas Axelos, Greek-French philosopher and author (b. 1924)
• 2010 – Helen Tobias-Duesberg, Estonian-American composer (b. 1919)
• 2011 – Martial Célestin, Haitian lawyer and politician, first Prime Minister of Haiti (b. 1913)
• 2012 – István Csurka, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Florence Green, English soldier (b. 1901)
• 2012 – Robert Daniel, American farmer, soldier, and politician (b. 1936)
• 2012 – Mike deGruy, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1951)
• 2012 – Susanne Suba, Hungarian-born watercolorist and illustrator, active in the United States (b. 1913)<ref name="SNAC">Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2013 – Donald Byrd, American trumpet player (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
• 2014 – Keith Allen, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1923)
• 2014 – Eugenio Corti, Italian soldier, author, and playwright (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Dennis Lota, Zambian footballer (b. 1973)
• 2015 – Fitzhugh L. Fulton, American colonel and pilot (b. 1925)
• 2016 – Edgar Mitchell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
• 2017 – Steve Lang, Canadian bass player (b. 1949)
• 2017 – Bano Qudsia, Pakistani writer (b. 1928)
• 2018 – John Mahoney, English-American actor, voice artist, and comedian (b. 1940)<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• 2019 – Matti Nykänen, Finnish Olympic-winning ski jumper and singer (b. 1963)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 2020 – Daniel arap Moi, Former President of Kenya (b. 1924)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 2021 – Millie Hughes-Fulford, American astronaut, molecular biologist and NASA payload specialist (b. 1945)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2022 – Kim In-hyeok, South Korean volleyball player (b. 1995)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 2023 – Vani Jairam, Indian playback singer (b. 1945)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• 2023 – Sherif Ismail, 53rd Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1955)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2024 – Barry John, Welsh rugby player (b. 1945)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2025 – Aga Khan IV, 49th Imam of the Nizari Isma'ili community (b. 1936)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Andrew Corsini
  • Eduardo Francisco Pironio<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
  • Gilbert of Sempringham
  • John de Brito
  • Goldrofe of Arganil<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
  • Blessed Rabanus Maurus
  • Rimbert
  • February 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of the Armed Struggle (Angola)<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• Earliest day on which Ash Wednesday can fall, while March 10 is the latest; celebrated on the first day of Lent (Western Christianity)
• Independence Day (Sri Lanka)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Rosa Parks Day (California and Missouri, United States)
• World Cancer Day
• International Day of Human Fraternity

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• Template:NYT On this day
• Historical Events on February 4