Did you know
Robert Selden Duvall was an American actor, filmmaker, and producer, best known for his roles in films of the later 20th century.
Notable Deaths on February 15
2026 — Robert Duvall
American actor and filmmaker (born 1931)
February 15 has 88 recorded notable deaths across history, from 670 to 2026. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
88 source records
670 – 2026
Today in history
Major events on February 15
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 2003 Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between eight million and 30 million people participate, making this the largest peace demonstration in history. Source
- 1879 Women's rights: US President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. Source
- 1949 Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux begin excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they will eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls. Source
- 2001 The first draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature. Source
Did you know
Welch first gained attention for her role in Fantastic Voyage (1966), after which she signed a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox.
Did you know
Feynman developed a pictorial representation scheme for the mathematical expressions describing the behavior of subatomic particles, which later became known as Feynman diagrams and remains widely used.
Did you know
Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theater, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage.
Did you know
Ferdinand II was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637.
More major people who died on February 15
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
2023
Raquel Welch
American actress and singer (born 1940)
Jo Raquel Welch was an American actress. Welch first gained attention for her role in Fantastic Voyage (1966), after which she signed a long-term contract with 20th Century Fox.
1988
Richard Feynman
American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American theoretical physicist.
1984
Ethel Merman
American actress and singer (born 1908)
Ethel Merman was an American singer and actress. Known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and her leading roles in musical theater, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Variety…
1637
Ferdinand II
Holy Roman Emperor (born 1578)
Ferdinand II was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria, who were devout Catholics.
1981
Mike Bloomfield
American guitarist and songwriter (born 1943)
Michael Bernard Bloomfield was an American blues guitarist and composer.
1869
Ghalib
Indian poet and educator (born 1796)
Mirza Asadullah Beg Khan, commonly known as Mirza Ghalib, was an Indian poet and letter writer of the Mughal Empire.
2005
Sam Francis
American historian and journalist (born 1947)
Samuel Todd Francis was an American writer and academic. He was a columnist and editor for the conservative Washington Times until he was dismissed in 1995 after making racist remarks at the American Renaissance…
2025
Muhsin Hendricks
South African imam, Islamic scholar and LGBT activist (born 1967)
Muhsin Hendricks was a South African imam, Islamic scholar and LGBTQ activist. He was involved in various LGBTQ Muslim advocacy groups and was an advocate for greater acceptance of LGBTQ people within Islam.
706
Tiberios III
Byzantine emperor
Tiberius III, born Apsimar, was Eastern Roman emperor from 698 to 705. Little is known about his early life, other than that he was a droungarios, a mid-level commander, who served in the Cibyrrhaeot Theme.
1961
Laurence Owen
American figure skater (born 1944)
Laurence Rochon "Laurie" Owen was an American figure skater. She was the 1961 U.S. National Champion and represented the United States at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where she placed sixth.
2014
Thelma Estrin
American computer scientist and engineer (born 1924)
Thelma Estrin was an American computer scientist and engineer who did pioneering work in the fields of expert systems and biomedical engineering.
1932
Minnie Maddern Fiske
American actress and playwright (born 1865)
Minnie Maddern Fiske, but often billed simply as Mrs. Fiske, was one of the leading American actresses of the late 19th and early 20th century.
1939
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
Russian painter and author (born 1878)
Kuzma Sergeyevich Petrov-Vodkin was a Russian and Soviet painter.
2017
Stuart McLean
Canadian radio broadcaster (born 1948)
Andrew Stuart McLean, was a Canadian radio broadcaster, humorist, monologist, and author, best known as the host of the CBC Radio program The Vinyl Cafe.
1043
Gisela of Swabia
Holy Roman Empress (born 990)
Gisela of Swabia, was queen of Germany from 1024 to 1039 and empress of the Holy Roman Empire from 1027 to 1039 by her third marriage with Emperor Conrad II. She was the mother of Emperor Henry III.
1145
Lucius II
pope of the Catholic Church
Pope Lucius II, born Gherardo Caccianemici dal Orso, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1144 to his death in 1145.
706
Leontios
Byzantine emperor
Leontius was Byzantine emperor under the regnal name Leo from 695 to 698. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was born in Isauria in Asia Minor.
1835
Henry Hunt
English farmer and politician (born 1773)
Henry "Orator" Hunt was an English radical speaker and agitator remembered as a pioneer of working-class radicalism and an important influence on the later Chartist movement.
2022
Bappi Lahiri
Indian singer, composer and record producer (born 1952)
Bappi Aparesh Lahiri, also known as Bappi Da, was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and sang some of his own compositions.