February 12

Pre-1600

• 1096 – Pope Urban II confirms the foundation of the abbey of La Roë under Robert of Arbrissel as a community of canons regular.
• 1404 – The Italian professor Galeazzo di Santa Sophie performed the first post-mortem autopsy for the purposes of teaching and demonstration at the Heiligen–Geist Spital in Vienna.
• 1429 – English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans in the Battle of the Herrings.
• 1502 – Isabella I issues an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity.
• 1502 – Vasco da Gama sets sail with 15 ships and 800 men from Lisbon, Portugal on his second voyage to India.
• 1541 – Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia.
• 1593 – Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju.

1601–1900

• 1689 – The Convention Parliament declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication.
• 1733 – Georgia Day: Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, by settling at Savannah.
• 1771 – Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden.
• 1817 – An Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeats Spanish troops at the Battle of Chacabuco.
• 1818 – Bernardo O'Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile.
• 1825 – The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government by the Treaty of Indian Springs, and migrate west.
• 1832 – Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands.
• 1889 – Antonín Dvořák's Jakobín is premiered at National Theater in Prague
• 1894 – Anarchist Émile Henry hurls a bomb into the Cafe Terminus in Paris, killing one person and wounding 20.

1901–present

• 1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.
• 1909 – New Zealand's worst maritime disaster of the 20th century happens when the SS Penguin, an inter-island ferry, sinks and explodes at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.
• 1912 – The Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China, abdicates.
• 1919 – The Second Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents is held by the Makhnovshchina at Huliaipole.
• 1921 – Bolsheviks launch a revolt in Georgia as a preliminary to the Red Army invasion of Georgia.
• 1935 – USS Macon, one of the two largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sinks.
• 1945 – A devastating tornado outbreak in Mississippi and Alabama kills 45 people and injures 427 others.
• 1946 – World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats.
• 1946 – African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes. The incident later galvanizes the civil rights movement and partially inspires Orson Welles' film Touch of Evil.
• 1947 – The largest observed iron meteorite until that time creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union.
• 1947 – Christian Dior unveils a "New Look", helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.
• 1961 – The Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
• 1963 – Construction begins on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.
• 1963 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 705 crashes into the Everglades shortly after takeoff from Miami International Airport, killing all 45 people on board.
• 1966 – Rabbi Morris Adler is fatally shot by a disgruntled congregant at Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield, Michigan.
• 1965 – Malcolm X visits Smethwick near Birmingham following the racially-charged 1964 United Kingdom general election.
• 1968 – Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre.
• 1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
• 1983 – One hundred women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq's proposed Law of Evidence. The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law.
• 1988 – Cold War: The 1988 Black Sea bumping incident: The U.S. missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG-48) is intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy in the Soviet territorial waters, while Yorktown claims innocent passage.
• 1990 – Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia.
• 1992 – The current Constitution of Mongolia comes into effect.
• 1993 – Two-year-old James Bulger is abducted from New Strand Shopping Centre by two ten-year-old boys, who later torture and murder him.
• 1994 – Four thieves break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal Edvard Munch's iconic painting The Scream.
• 1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
• 2001 – NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the "saddle" region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
• 2002 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, begins at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. He dies four years later before its conclusion.
• 2002 – An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport, killing 119.
• 2004 – The city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
• 2009 – Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all on board and one on the ground.
• 2016 – Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.
• 2019 – The country known as the Republic of Macedonia renames itself the Republic of North Macedonia in accordance with the Prespa agreement, settling a long-standing naming dispute with Greece.

Pre-1600

• AD 41 – Britannicus, Roman son of Claudius (d. 55)
• 528 – Daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, nominal empress regnant of Northern Wei
• 661 – Princess Ōku of Japan (d. 702)
• 1074 – Conrad II of Italy (d. 1101)
• 1218 – Kujo Yoritsune, Japanese shōgun (d. 1256)
• 1322 – John Henry, Margrave of Moravia (d. 1375)
• 1443 – Giovanni II Bentivoglio, Italian noble (d. 1508)
• 1480 – Frederick II of Legnica, Duke of Legnica (d. 1547)
• 1540 – Won Gyun, Korean general and admiral (d. 1597)
• 1567 – Thomas Campion, English composer, poet, and physician (d. 1620)
• 1584 – Caspar Barlaeus, Dutch historian, poet, and theologian (d. 1648)

1601–1900

• 1606 – John Winthrop the Younger, English-American lawyer and politician, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1676)
• 1608 – Daniello Bartoli, Italian Jesuit priest (d. 1685)
• 1637 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist and zoologist (d. 1680)
• 1663 – Cotton Mather, English-American minister and author (d. 1728)
• 1665 – Rudolf Jakob Camerarius, German botanist and physician (d. 1721)
• 1704 – Charles Pinot Duclos, French author (d. 1772)
• 1706 – Johann Joseph Christian, German Baroque sculptor and woodcarver (d. 1777)
• 1728 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (d. 1799)
• 1753 – François-Paul Brueys d'Aigalliers, French admiral (d. 1798)
• 1761 – Jan Ladislav Dussek, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1812)
• 1768 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1835)
• 1775 – Louisa Adams, 6th First Lady of the United States (d. 1852)
• 1777 – Bernard Courtois, French chemist and academic (d. 1838)
• 1777 – Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German author and poet (d. 1843)
• 1785 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist and chemist (d. 1838)
• 1787 – Norbert Provencher, Canadian bishop and missionary (d. 1853)
• 1788 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (d. 1869)
• 1791 – Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (d. 1883)
• 1794 – Alexander Petrov, Russian chess player and composer (d. 1867)
• 1794 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician (d. 1850)
• 1804 – Heinrich Lenz, German-Italian physicist and academic (d. 1865)
• 1809 – Charles Darwin, English geologist and theorist (d. 1882)
• 1809 – Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer and statesman, 16th President of the United States (d. 1865)
• 1819 – William Wetmore Story, American sculptor, architect, poet and editor (d. 1895)
• 1824 – Dayananda Saraswati, Indian monk and philosopher, founded Arya Samaj (d. 1883)
• 1828 – George Meredith, English novelist and poet (d. 1909)
• 1837 – Thomas Moran, British-American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School (d. 1926)
• 1857 – Eugène Atget, French photographer (d. 1927)
• 1857 – Bobby Peel, English cricketer and coach (d. 1943)
• 1861 – Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-German psychoanalyst and author (d. 1937)
• 1866 – Lev Shestov, Russian philosopher (d. 1938)
• 1869 – Kiến Phúc, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1884)
• 1870 – Marie Lloyd, English actress and singer (d. 1922)
• 1876 – 13th Dalai Lama (d. 1933)
• 1877 – Louis Renault, French engineer and businessman, co-founded Renault (d. 1944)
• 1880 – George Preca, Maltese priest and saint (d. 1962)
• 1880 – John L. Lewis, American miner and union leader (d. 1969)
• 1881 – Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina and actress (d. 1931)
• 1882 – Walter Nash, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1968)
• 1884 – Max Beckmann, German painter and sculptor (d. 1950)
• 1884 – Johan Laidoner, Estonian-Russian general (d. 1953)
• 1884 – Alice Roosevelt Longworth, American author (d. 1980)
• 1884 – Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (d. 1957)
• 1885 – James Scott, American composer (d. 1938)
• 1885 – Julius Streicher, German publisher, founded Der Stürmer (d. 1946)
• 1889 – Bhante Dharmawara, Cambodian monk, lawyer, and judge (d. 1999)
• 1893 – Omar Bradley, American general (d. 1981)
• 1895 – Kristian Djurhuus, Faroese lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1984)
• 1897 – Charles Groves Wright Anderson, South African-Australian colonel and politician (d. 1988)
• 1897 – Lincoln LaPaz, American astronomer and academic (d. 1985)
• 1898 – Wallace Ford, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
• 1900 – Roger J. Traynor, American lawyer and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (d. 1983)

1901–present

• 1902 – William Collier, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1987)
• 1903 – Jorge Basadre, Peruvian historian (d. 1980)
• 1903 – Chick Hafey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1973)
• 1904 – Ted Mack, American radio and television host (d. 1976)
• 1907 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (d. 1962)
• 1908 – Jean Effel, French painter, caricaturist, illustrator and journalist (d. 1982)
• 1908 – Jacques Herbrand, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1931)
• 1909 – Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter and illustrator (d. 2005)
• 1909 – Sigmund Rascher, German physician (d. 1945)
• 1911 – Charles Mathiesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1994)
• 1912 – R. F. Delderfield, English author and playwright (d. 1972)
• 1914 – Tex Beneke, American singer, saxophonist, and bandleader (d. 2000)
• 1914 – Hanna Neumann, German-Canadian mathematician (d. 1971)
• 1915 – Lorne Greene, Canadian-American actor (d. 1987)
• 1915 – Olivia Hooker, American sailor (d. 2018)
• 1916 – Joseph Alioto, American lawyer and politician, 36th Mayor of San Francisco (d. 1998)
• 1917 – Al Cervi, American basketball player and coach (d. 2009)
• 1917 – Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (d. 2009)
• 1918 – Norman Farberow, American psychologist and academic (d. 2015)
• 1918 – Julian Schwinger, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
• 1919 – Forrest Tucker, American actor (d. 1986)
• 1920 – Raymond Mhlaba, South African anti-apartheid and ANC activist (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Hussein Onn, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1990)
• 1923 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director, producer, and politician (d. 2019)
• 1925 – Anthony Berry, English politician (d. 1984)
• 1925 – Joan Mitchell, American-French painter (d. 1992)
• 1926 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (d. 2014)
• 1926 – Joe Garagiola, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2016)
• 1926 – Charles Van Doren, American academic (d. 2019)
• 1928 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (d. 2013)
• 1930 – John Doyle, Irish hurler and politician (d. 2010)
• 1930 – Arlen Specter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
• 1931 – Janwillem van de Wetering, Dutch-American author and translator (d. 2008)
• 1932 – Axel Jensen, Norwegian author and poet (d. 2003)
• 1932 – Julian Simon, American economist, author, and academic (d. 1998)
• 1933 – Ivan Anikeyev, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 1992)
• 1933 – Costa-Gavras, Greek-French director and producer
• 1934 – Annette Crosbie, Scottish actress
• 1934 – Anne Osborn Krueger, American economist and academic
• 1934 – Bill Russell, American basketball player and coach (d. 2022)
• 1935 – Gene McDaniels, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
• 1936 – Joe Don Baker, American actor
• 1936 – Alan Ebringer, Australian immunologist
• 1938 – Judy Blume, American author and educator
• 1939 – Leon Kass, American physician, scientist, and educator
• 1939 – Ray Manzarek, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2013)
• 1941 – Dominguinhos, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 2013)
• 1941 – Naomi Uemura, Japanese mountaineer and explorer (d. 1984)
• 1942 – Ehud Barak, Israeli general and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Israel
• 1942 – Terry Bisson, American science fiction and fantasy author (d. 2024)
• 1942 – Pat Dobson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2006)
• 1945 – Maud Adams, Swedish model and actress
• 1945 – David D. Friedman, American economist, physicist, and scholar
• 1946 – Jean Eyeghé Ndong, Gabonese politician, Prime Minister of Gabon
• 1946 – Ajda Pekkan, Turkish singer-songwriter and actress
• 1948 – Ray Kurzweil, American computer scientist and engineer
• 1948 – Nicholas Soames, English politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
• 1949 – Gundappa Viswanath, Indian cricketer
• 1950 – Angelo Branduardi, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 – Steve Hackett, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1950 – Michael Ironside, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1952 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
• 1952 – Michael McDonald, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
• 1953 – Joanna Kerns, American actress and director
• 1954 – Zach Grenier, American actor
• 1954 – Joseph Jordania, Georgian-Australian musicologist and academic
• 1954 – Tzimis Panousis, Greek comedian, singer, and author (d. 2018)
• 1954 – Phil Zimmermann, American cryptographer and programmer
• 1955 – Bill Laswell, American musician and producer
• 1955 – Chet Lemon, American baseball player and coach
• 1956 – Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host
• 1956 – Ad Melkert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment
• 1956 – Brian Robertson, Scottish musician and songwriter
• 1958 – Bobby Smith, Canadian ice hockey player and executive
• 1959 – Larry Nance, American basketball player
• 1961 – David Graeber, American anthropologist and activist (d. 2020)
• 1961 – Jim Harris, Canadian environmentalist and politician
• 1961 – Michel Martelly, Haitian singer and politician, 56th President of Haiti
• 1963 – John Michael Higgins, American actor and comedian
• 1964 – Omar Hakim, American drummer, producer, arranger, and composer
• 1964 – Raphael Sbarge, American actor and director
• 1965 – Rubén Amaro, Jr., American baseball player and manager
• 1965 – Christine Elise, American actress and producer
• 1965 – Brett Kavanaugh, American lawyer and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
• 1965 – David Westlake, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1966 – Greg Carberry, Australian rugby league player
• 1966 – Paul Crook, American musician, songwriter, and producer
• 1966 – Lochlyn Munro, Canadian actor
• 1968 – Josh Brolin, American actor
• 1968 – Chynna Phillips, American singer and actress
• 1968 – Nathan Rees, Australian politician, 41st Premier of New South Wales
• 1969 – Darren Aronofsky, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Alemayehu Atomsa, Ethiopian educator and politician (d. 2014)
• 1969 – Steve Backley, English javelin thrower
• 1969 – Anneli Drecker, Norwegian singer and actress
• 1969 – Hong Myung-bo, South Korean footballer and manager
• 1970 – Jim Creeggan, Canadian singer-songwriter and musician
• 1970 – Bryan Roy, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1970 – Judd Winick, American author and illustrator
• 1971 – Scott Menville, American voice actor, singer, actor and musician
• 1972 – Owen Nolan, Northern Irish-Canadian ice hockey player
• 1973 – Gianni Romme, Dutch speed skater
• 1973 – Tara Strong, Canadian-American voice actress and singer
• 1974 – Naseem Hamed, English boxer
• 1975 – Scot Pollard, American basketball player and actor
• 1976 – Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby player
• 1977 – Jimmy Conrad, American soccer player and manager
• 1978 – Paul Anderson, English actor
• 1979 – Jesse Spencer, Australian actor and violinist
• 1980 – Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
• 1980 – Sarah Lancaster, American actress
• 1980 – Gucci Mane, American rapper
• 1980 – Christina Ricci, American actress and producer
• 1981 – Wade McKinnon, Australian rugby league player
• 1982 – Jonas Hiller, Swiss ice hockey player
• 1982 – Louis Tsatoumas, Greek long jumper
• 1982 – Anthony Tuitavake, New Zealand rugby player
• 1983 – Carlton Brewster, American football player and coach
• 1984 – Brad Keselowski, American race car driver
• 1984 – Andrei Sidorenkov, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Peter Vanderkaay, American swimmer
• 1985 – Konstantin Pushkaryov, Kazakhstani ice hockey player
• 1986 – Todd Frazier, American baseball player
• 1987 – Jérémy Chardy, French tennis player
• 1987 – Gabriela Mărginean, Romanian basketball player
• 1988 – DeMarco Murray, American football player
• 1988 – Nicolás Otamendi, Argentine footballer
• 1988 – Josh Phegley, American baseball player
• 1988 – Mike Posner, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1989 – Josh Harrellson, American basketball player
• 1990 – Katherine Barrell, Canadian actress, director, writer, and producer
• 1990 – Robert Griffin III, American football player
• 1991 – Patrick Herrmann, German footballer
• 1991 – Kane Richardson, Australian cricketer
• 1992 – Magda Linette, Polish tennis player
• 1993 – Bud Dupree, American football player
• 1993 – Rafinha, Brazilian footballer
• 1993 – Jennifer Stone, American actress
• 1994 – Arman Hall, American sprinter
• 1994 – Paxton Lynch, American football player
• 2000 – Kim Ji-min, South Korean actress
• 2001 – Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Georgian footballer

Pre-1600

• 821 – Benedict of Aniane, French monk and saint (b. 747)
• 890 – Henjō, Japanese priest and poet (b. 816)
• 981 – Ælfstan, bishop of Ramsbury
• 901 – Antony II, patriarch of Constantinople
• 914 – Li, empress of Yan
• 941 – Wulfhelm, Archbishop of Canterbury
• 1247 – Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg, ruler (b. 1185)
• 1266 – Amadeus of the Amidei, Italian saint
• 1517 – Catherine of Navarre (b. 1468)
• 1538 – Albrecht Altdorfer, German painter, engraver, and architect (b. 1480)
• 1554 – Lord Guildford Dudley, English son of Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland (b. 1536; executed)
• 1554 – Lady Jane Grey, de facto monarch of England and Ireland for nine days (b. 1537; executed)
• 1571 – Nicholas Throckmorton, English politician and diplomat (b. 1515)
• 1590 – François Hotman, French lawyer and author (b. 1524)
• 1600 – Edward Denny, Knight Banneret of Bishop's Stortford, English soldier, privateer and adventurer (b. 1547)

1601–1900

• 1612 – Jodocus Hondius, Flemish cartographer (b. 1563)
• 1624 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist, founded George Heriot's School (b. 1563)
• 1713 – Jahandar Shah, Mughal emperor (b. 1664)
• 1728 – Agostino Steffani, Italian priest and composer (b. 1653)
• 1763 – Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (b. 1688)
• 1771 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (b. 1710)
• 1789 – Ethan Allen, American farmer, general, and politician (b. 1738)
• 1804 – Immanuel Kant, German anthropologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1724)
• 1834 – Friedrich Schleiermacher, German philosopher and scholar (b. 1768)
• 1886 – Randolph Caldecott, English-American painter and illustrator (b. 1846)
• 1894 – Hans von Bülow, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1830)
• 1896 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer and academic (b. 1811)

1901–present

• 1912 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (b. 1841)
• 1915 – Émile Waldteufel, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1837)
• 1916 – Richard Dedekind, German mathematician, philosopher, and academic (b. 1831)
• 1929 – Lillie Langtry, English singer and actress (b. 1853)
• 1931 – Samad bey Mehmandarov, Azerbaijani-Russian general and politician, 3rd Azerbaijani Minister of Defense (b. 1855)
• 1935 – Auguste Escoffier, French chef and author (b. 1846)
• 1942 – Eugene Esmonde, Irish-English lieutenant and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1909)
• 1942 – Avraham Stern, Polish-Israeli militant leader (b. 1907)
• 1942 – Grant Wood, American painter and academic (b. 1891)
• 1947 – Moses Gomberg, Ukrainian-American chemist and academic (b. 1866)
• 1949 – Hassan al-Banna, Egyptian educator, founded the Muslim Brotherhood (b. 1906)
• 1954 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1896)
• 1958 – Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1897)
• 1960 – Oskar Anderson, Bulgarian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1887)
• 1970 – Clare Turlay Newberry, American author and illustrator (b. 1903)
• 1971 – James Cash Penney, American businessman and philanthropist, founded J. C. Penney (b. 1875)
• 1975 – Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (b. 1895)
• 1976 – Frank Stagg, Irish Republican died on hunger strike (b. 1941)
• 1976 – Sal Mineo, American actor (b. 1939)
• 1977 – Herman Dooyeweerd, Dutch philosopher and scholar (b. 1894)
• 1979 – Jean Renoir, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
• 1980 – Muriel Rukeyser, American poet and activist (b. 1913)
• 1982 – Victor Jory, Canadian-American actor (b. 1902)
• 1983 – Eubie Blake, American pianist and composer (b. 1887)
• 1984 – Anna Anderson, Polish-American woman, who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1896)
• 1984 – Julio Cortázar, Belgian-Argentinian author and poet (b. 1914)
• 1985 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (b. 1924)
• 1989 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian playwright and author (b. 1931)
• 1991 – Roger Patterson, American bass player (b. 1968)
• 1992 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (b. 1907)
• 1994 – Donald Judd, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
• 1995 – Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (b. 1952)
• 1998 – Gardner Ackley, American economist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Tom Landry, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist, created Peanuts (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Kristina Söderbaum, Swedish-German actress and producer (b. 1912)
• 2002 – John Eriksen, Danish footballer (b. 1957)
• 2005 – Dorothy Stang, American-Brazilian nun and missionary (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Ann Barzel, American writer and dance critic (b. 1905)
• 2007 – Peggy Gilbert, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1905)
• 2008 – David Groh, American actor (b. 1939)
• 2009 – Colgan Air Flight 3407 victims:
  • Alison Des Forges, American historian and activist (b. 1942)
  • Beverly Eckert, American activist (b. 1951)
  • Mat Mathews, Dutch accordion player (b. 1924)
  • Coleman Mellett, American guitarist (b. 1974)
  • Gerry Niewood, American saxophonist (b. 1943)
• 2010 – Nodar Kumaritashvili, Georgian luger (b. 1988)
• 2011 – Peter Alexander, Austrian singer and actor (b. 1926)
• 2011 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1919)
• 2011 – Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Denis Flannery, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1928)
• 2012 – David Kelly, Irish actor (b. 1929)
• 2012 – John Severin, American illustrator (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1941)
• 2013 – Reginald Turnill, English journalist and author (b. 1915)
• 2013 – Hennadiy Udovenko, Ukrainian politician and diplomat, 2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ukraine (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Sid Caesar, American actor and comedian (b. 1922)
• 2014 – John Pickstone, English historian and author (b. 1944)
• 2015 – Movita Castaneda, American actress and singer (b. 1916)
• 2015 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (b. 1931)
• 2015 – Gary Owens, American radio host and voice actor (b. 1934)
• 2015 – Steve Strange, Welsh singer (b. 1959)
• 2016 – Dominique D'Onofrio, Italian-Belgian footballer and coach (b. 1953)
• 2016 – Yannis Kalaitzis, Greek cartoonist (b. 1945)
• 2016 – Yan Su, Chinese general and composer (b. 1930)
• 2017 – Al Jarreau, American singer (b. 1940)
• 2017 – Anna Marguerite McCann, first female American underwater archaeologist (b. 1933)
• 2017 – Ren Xinmin, Chinese rocket scientist (b. 1915)
• 2018 – Bill Crider, American author (b. 1941)
• 2019 – Gordon Banks, English footballer (b. 1937)
• 2019 – Lyndon LaRouche, American political activist (b. 1922)
• 2019 – Pedro Morales, Puerto Rican professional wrestler and commentator (b. 1942)
• 2020 – Christie Blatchford, Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster (b. 1951)
• 2020 – Geert Hofstede, Dutch social psychologist (b. 1928)
• 2022 – Ivan Reitman, Slovak-Canadian actor, director, and producer (b. 1946)

• Christian feast day:
  • Benedict of Aniane
  • Damian (?)
  • Julian the Hospitaller
  • Martyrs of Abitinae
  • February 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Darwin Day (International)
• Georgia Day (Georgia (U.S. state))
• Lincoln's Birthday (United States)
• Red Hand Day (United Nations)
• Union Day (Myanmar)

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Historical Events on February 12