What happened on February 22 ?

1040 - Rashi, French rabbi and commentator (d. 1105)

1403 - King Charles VII of France (d. 1461)

1440 - King Ladislaus Posthumus of Bohemia and Hungary (d. 1457)

1500 - Cardinal Rodolfo Pio da Carpi, Italian humanist (d. 1564)

1612 - George Digby, 2nd Earl of Bristol, English statesman (d. 1677)

1705 - Peter Artedi, Swedish naturalist (d. 1735)

1714 - Louis-Georges de Bréquigny, French historian (d. 1795)

1732 (N.S.) - George Washington, first President of the United States, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. (d. 1799)

1778 - Rembrandt Peale, American artist (d. 1860)

1788 - Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (d. 1860)

1796 - Alexis Bachelot, French missionary (d. 1838)

1796 - Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet, Belgian mathematician (d. 1874)

1806 - Józef Kremer, Polish messianistic philosopher (d. 1875)

1817 - Carl Wilhelm Borchardt, German mathematician (d. 1880)

1819 - James Russell Lowell, American poet and essayist (d. 1891)

1825 - Jean Baptiste Salpointe, second Archbishop of Santa Fe (d. 1898)

1839 - Francis Pharcellus Church, American editor and publisher (d. 1906)

1840 - August Bebel, German politician (d. 1913)

1849 - Nikolay Yakovlevich Sonin, Russian mathematician (d. 1915)

1857 - Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, English founder of the Boy Scouts (d. 1941) (also of his wife - see 1889)

1857 - Heinrich Hertz, German physicist (d. 1894)

1878 - Walter Ritz, Swiss physicist (d. 1909)

1880 - Frigyes Riesz, Hungarian mathematician (d. 1956)

1882 - Eric Gill, British sculptor and writer (d. 1940)

1883 - Marguerite Clark, American silent film actress (d. 1940)

1886 - Hugo Ball, German author and poet (d. 1927)

1887 - Ksawery Tartakower, Polish chess player (d. 1956)

1889 - Lady Olave Baden-Powell, English Chief Girl Guide (d. 1977) (also of her husband - see 1857)

1892 - Edna St. Vincent Millay, American writer (d. 1950)

1897 - Karol ?wierczewski, Polish general (d. 1947)

1899 - Dwight Frye, American actor (d. 1943)

1899 - George O'Hara, American actor (d. 1966)

1899 - Dechko Uzunov, Bulgarian painter (d. 1986)

1900 - Luis Buñuel, Spanish-born film director (d. 1983)

1902 - Fritz Strassmann, German physicist (d. 1980)

1903 - Morley Callaghan, Canadian writer (d. 1990)

1907 - Sheldon Leonard, American actor, writer, director, and producer (d. 1997)

1907 - Robert Young, American actor (d. 1998)

1908 - Sir John Mills, English actor (d. 2005)

1914 - Renato Dulbecco, Italian-born virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1918 - Sid Abel, Canadian hockey player (d. 2000)

1918 - Charlie Finley, American sports entrepreneur (d. 1996)

1918 - Don Pardo, American radio and television announcer

1918 - Robert Wadlow, tallest person in history (d. 1940)

1921 - Jean-Bédel Bokassa, ruler of the Central African Republic (d. 1996)

1921 - Wayne Booth, American literary critic (d. 2005)

1925 - Edward Gorey, American illustrator (d. 2000)

1926 - Kenneth Williams, English actor (d. 1988)

1926 - Bud Yorkin, American film director

1928 - Paul Dooley, American actor

1928 - Bruce Forsyth, British entertainer

1929 - Rebecca Schull, American actress

1930 - Marni Nixon, American singer

1932 - Ted Kennedy, U.S. senator from Massachusetts

1933 - Katharine, The Duchess of Kent

1934 - Sparky Anderson, American baseball manager

1936 - J. Michael Bishop, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

1938 - Ishmael Reed, American writer

1941 - Hipólito Mejía, President of the Dominican Republic

1944 - Jonathan Demme, American director

1944 - Robert Kardashian, American lawyer

1944 - Tom Okker, Dutch tennis player

1945 - Leslie Charleson, American actress

1949 - Niki Lauda, Austrian race car driver

1949 - Olga Morozova, Russian tennis player

1950 - Julius Erving, American basketball player

1950 - Ellen Greene, American actress

1950 - Miou-Miou, French actress

1950 - Julie Walters, English actress

1950 - Lenny Kuhr, Dutch singer and Eurovision Song Contest winner

1952 - Bill Frist, U.S. senator from Tennessee

1955 - Tim Young, Canadian ice hockey player

1959 - Kyle MacLachlan, American actor

1962 - Steve Irwin, Australian herpetologist and television personality

1963 - Vijay Singh, Fijian golfer

1965 - Pat LaFontaine, American ice hockey player

1966 - Rachel Dratch, American actress and comedienne

1966 - Brian Greig, Australian politician

1966 - Aiden Shaw, British pornographic actor

1967 - Alf Poier, Austrian comedian

1968 - Bradley Nowell, American musician and singer for Sublime (d. 1996)

1968 - Jeri Ryan, American actress

1969 - Byron Stroud, American bassist (Fear Factory)

1971 - Lea Salonga, Filipina actress and singer

1972 - Claudia Pechstein, German speed skater

1972 - Michael Chang, American tennis player

1974 - James Blunt, British musician

1974 - Chris Moyles, British DJ

1975 - Drew Barrymore, American actress

1976 - Faan Rautenbach, South African rugby player

1979 - Brett Emerton, Australian footballer

1982 - Jenna Haze, American pornographic actress

1986 - Miko Hughes, American actor

1989 - Anna Sundstrand, Swedish singer and model (Play)

1983 - Miro Demirbago, common person