Anniversaries 2 February

Birth

Hannah More9

English religious writer and philanthropist 1745–1833

Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord12

French diplomat 1754–1838

Ivan Krylov3

Russian writer 1769–1844

William Elford Leach1

English zoologist and marine biologist 1790–1836

Alexandre Auguste Ledru-Rollin1

French politician 1807–1874

Swami Shraddhanand6

Indian monk and philosopher 1856–1926

H. Havelock Ellis31

British physician, writer, and social reformer 1859–1939

Генри Хэвлок Эллис1

British physician, writer, and social reformer 1859–1939

Margot Asquith12

Anglo-Scottish socialite, author and wit 1864–1945

James Joyce191

Irish novelist and poet 1882–1941

Aldo Palazzeschi6

Italian novelist, poet and essayist 1885–1974

Ernst Hanfstaengl9

German businessman 1887–1975

Jascha Heifetz11

Lithuanian violinist 1901–1987

Ayn Rand322

Russian-American novelist and philosopher 1905–1982

Harold Rosenberg29

American writer and art critic 1906–1978

Masanobu Fukuoka6

Japanese farmer and philosopher 1913–2007

Abba Eban5

Israeli diplomat and politician 1915–2002

Khushwant Singh39

Indian novelist and journalist 1915–2014

Xuân Diệu5

Vietnamese poet 1916–1985

James Dickey12

American writer 1923–1997

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing6

President of France 1926–2020

John H. Holland19

US university professor 1929–2015

Desmond Ford1

Australian theologian 1929–2019

Rigby Graham2

British author and illustrator 1931–2015

Judith Viorst4

American writer 1931

Dries van Agt2

Dutch politician 1931

Jane Wagner24

Playwright, actress 1935

Mohammad Emami-Kashani4

Iranian politician 1937

Thomas M. Disch10

Novelist, short story writer, poet 1940–2008

Barry Diller3

American businessman 1942

John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell2

British economist 1945

Isaias Afwerki1

President of Eritrea 1946

Smaragde Mbonyintege2

Rwandan Catholic bishop (born 1947) 1947

Ina Garten1

American author and television presenter 1948

Duncan Bannatyne1

Scottish entrepreneur, philanthropist and author 1949

Park Geun-hye3

eleventh President of South Korea 1952

John Cornyn1

United States Senator from Texas 1952

Ralph Merkle1

American cryptographer 1952

Thomas Berger1

German writer 1952

Dave Logan1

1954

Robert Seldon Lady1

CIA agent 1954

Christie Brinkley3

American model 1954

Kent Thiry10

Business; CEO of DaVita 1956

Harun Yahya51

Turkish author 1956

Fiona Wood4

British–Australian physician and plastic surgeon 1958

Gilbert Garcera3

Roman Catholic archbishop 1959

Rob Sheffield25

American music journalist 1966

R. Scott Bakker18

Canadian writer 1967

Shakira4

Colombian singer 1977

Javon Ringer17

All-American college football player, professional football… 1987

Death

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani1

Egyptian scholar 1372–1449

Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin3

French lawyer, politician and writer 1755–1826

Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster1

British astronomer 1789–1860

David Hunter4

Union Army general 1802–1886

Wendell Phillips23

American abolitionist, advocate for Native Americans, orato… 1811–1884

Уэнделл Филлипс1

1811–1884

Adelaide Anne Procter24

English poet and songwriter 1825–1864

Marko Miljanov1

author from Montenegro 1833–1901

Theo Marzials4

Anglo-French poet and eccentric 1850–1920

Owen Seaman1

Editor of Punch 1861–1936

Bertrand Russell562

logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and politi… 1872–1970

Natalie Clifford Barney8

writer and salonist 1876–1972

Boris Karloff2

English actor 1887–1969

Donald Wills Douglas Sr.4

American businessman 1892–1981

R. P. Blackmur1

American literary critic 1904–1965

Max Schmeling4

German boxer 1905–2005

Raymond Cattell10

British-American psychologist 1905–1998

Earl Butz1

American government official 1909–2008

Fred Perry2

English tennis player 1909–1995

Gene Kelly4

American dancer, actor, singer, director, producer and chor… 1912–1996

Donald Pleasence1

British actor 1919–1995

Imre Lakatos6

Hungarian mathematician, philosopher 1921–1974

Alistair MacLean2

Scottish novelist 1922–1987

Theodoros Stamos1

American artist 1922–1997

Joseph Polchinski3

physicist working on string theory 1954–2018

Sid Vicious9

English bassist and vocalist 1957–1979