What happened on February 8 ?

412 - Proclus, Greek philosopher (d. 487)

1191 - Yaroslav II of Russia (d. 1246)

1291 - King Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)

1487 - Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)

1552 - Agrippa d'Aubigné, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)

1577 - Robert Burton, English cleric and writer (d. 1640)

1586 - Jacob Praetorius, German composer (d. 1651)

1649 - Gabriel Daniel, French Jesuit historian (d. 1728)

1677 - Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (d. 1756)

1685 - Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian (d. 1770)

1700 - Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-born mathematician (d. 1782)

1720 - Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)

1804 - Richard Lemon Lander, British explorer (d. 1834)

1807 - Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and naturalist (d. 1889)

1819 - John Ruskin, English author

1820 - William Tecumseh Sherman, American Union general (d. 1891)

1828 - Jules Verne, French author (d. 1905)

1834 - Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (d. 1907)

1847 - Hugh Price Hughes, English social reformer (d. 1902)

1851 - Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)

1878 - Martin Buber, German philosopher (d. 1965)

1880 - Franz Marc, German painter (d. 1916)

1883 - Joseph Alois Schumpeter, Austrian economist (d. 1950)

1886 - Charles Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)

1888 - Dame Edith Evans, British actress (d. 1976)

1890 - Claro M. Recto, Filipino nationalist (d. 1960)

1894 - Ludwig Marcuse, German author and philosopher (d. 1971)

1895 - King Vidor, American film director (d. 1982)

1902 - Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (d. 1966)

1903 - Greta Keller, Austrian-born cabaret singer and actress (d. 1977)

1906 - Chester Carlson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1968)

1911 - Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (d. 1979)

1911 - Big Joe Turner, American singer (d. 1985)

1918 - Fred Blassie, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)

1920 - Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)

1925 - Jack Lemmon, American actor and film director (d. 2001)

1926 - Neal Cassady, American writer (d. 1968)

1926 - Audrey Meadows, American actress (d. 1996)

1930 - Alejandro Rey, Argentine actor (d. 1987)

1931 - James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)

1932 - John Williams, American composer and conductor

1933 - Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano

1933 - Jack Larson, American actor

1937 - Manfred Krug, German actor

1940 - Ted Koppel, American journalist

1941 - Nick Nolte, American actor

1941 - Tom Rush, American singer and songwriter

1942 - Robert Klein, American comedian

1942 - Terry Melcher, American musician and record producer (d. 2004)

1948 - John Ford Coley, American singer

1948 - Lynda Lyon Block, convicted murderer (d. 2002)

1949 - Brooke Adams, American actress

1950 - Dan Seals, American singer

1950 - Cristina Ferrare, American former supermodel and actress

1951 - Z'EV, American Text/Sound artist (born Stefan Weisser)

1953 - Mary Steenburgen, American actress

1953 - Roger Clavet, Quebecois politician

1955 - John Grisham, American writer

1960 - Dino Ciccarelli, Canadian hockey player

1961 - Vince Neil, American musician

1966 - Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian footballer

1966 - Kirk Muller, Canadian hockey player

1968 - Gary Coleman, American actor

1968 - Claudette Pace, Maltese singer

1971 - Gas, H.I.M drum player

1972 - Paul Wight, American professional wrestler

1974 - Seth Green, American actor

1974 - Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, French disc jockey (Daft Punk)

1977 - Bridgette Kerkove, American actress

1977 - Dave Farrell, American musician (Linkin Park)

1977 - Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist

1981 - IBM launches PC

1982 - Eric Alexander, American football player

1983 - Jim Verraros, American singer

1988 - Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer