Notable Deaths on February 17

Q: Who died on February 17?

Notable people who died on February 17 include: Jovian, Mesrop Mashtots, Al-Tabari, Evermode of Ratzeburg, Theobald I.

Q: What is Ray Barretto known for?

Ray Barretto, American drummer (born 1929)

98 people 364 – 2026

February 17 has seen 98 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 364 – 2026. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · February 17 — Wikipedia

2006 — Ray Barretto

American drummer (born 1929)

Did you know

His first hit, "El Watusi", was recorded by his Charanga Moderna in 1962, becoming the most successful pachanga song in the United States

Did you know

In the late 1960s, Barretto became one of the leading exponents of boogaloo and what would later be known as salsa

Did you know

He then formed the New World Spirit jazz ensemble and continued to tour and record until his death in 2006

Did you know

His success continued into the 1970s with songs such as "Cocinando" and "Indestructible"

Did you know

His last album for Fania Records, Soy dichoso, was released in 1990

Jovian

Roman emperor (born 331)

Jovian was Roman emperor from June 363 to February 364. As part of the imperial bodyguard, he accompanied Julian on his Persian expedition. Julian was killed in battle, and the exhausted and ill-provisioned Roman army…

364

Mesrop Mashtots

Armenian monk, linguist, and theologian (born 360)

Mesrop Mashtots was an Armenian linguist, composer, theologian, statesman, and hymnologist. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic Church.

440

Al-Tabari

Persian scholar (born 839)

Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī, commonly known as al-Ṭabarī, was a Sunni Muslim scholar, polymath, historian, exegete, jurist, and theologian from Amol, Tabaristan, present-day Iran. Among the most…

923

Evermode of Ratzeburg

bishop of Ratzeburg

Evermode, or Evermod, was one of the first Premonstratensian canons regular, and became the lifelong companion of Norbert of Xanten, who founded the order in France in 1120. He is sometimes referred to as the "Apostle…

1178

Theobald I

Duke of Lorraine

Theobald I was the duke of Lorraine from 1213 to his death. He was the son and successor of Frederick II and Agnes of Bar.

1220

Otto

Duke of Austria (born 1301)

Otto, known as the Merry, was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1330, as well as Duke of Carinthia from 1335 until his death. A member of the House of Habsburg, he ruled jointly with his elder brother Duke Albert II.

1339

Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria

Ivan Alexander, also sometimes anglicized as John Alexander, ruled as Emperor (Tsar) of Bulgaria from 1331 to 1371, during the Second Bulgarian Empire. The date of his birth is unknown. He died on 17 February 1371.

1371

Adolph

Count of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst, German noble (born before 1463)

Adolph, Count of Oldenburg-Delmenhorst was a Count of Oldenburg from 1482 until his death.

1500

Giordano Bruno

Italian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (born 1548)

Giordano Bruno was an Italian philosopher, poet, alchemist, astronomer, cosmological theorist, and esotericist. He is known for his cosmological theories, which conceptually extended to include the then-novel Copernican…

1600

Ferdinando I de' Medici

Grand Duke of Tuscany (born 1549)

Ferdinando I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany was Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1587 to 1609, having succeeded his older brother Francesco I. He expanded the culture of Tuscany, which included presenting the opera…

1609

Juan de Mariana

Spanish priest and historian (born 1536)

Juan de Mariana was a Spanish Jesuit priest, Scholastic, historian, and member of the Monarchomachs.

1624

Abel Servien

French politician, French Minister of Finance (born 1593)

Abel Servien, marquis de Sablé et de Boisdauphin and Comte de La Roche des Aubiers was a French diplomat who served Cardinal Mazarin and signed for the French the Treaty of Westphalia. He was an early member of the…

1659

Molière

French actor and playwright (born 1622)

Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the great writers in the French language and world literature. His extant works include…

1673

Denzil Holles

1st Baron Holles, English politician (born 1599)

Colonel Denzil Holles, 1st Baron Holles, was an English politician and army officer who was one of the Five Members whose attempted arrest by Charles I in January 1642 sparked the First English Civil War. When fighting…

1680

Jan Swammerdam

Dutch biologist, zoologist, and entomologist (born 1637)

Jan Swammerdam was a Dutch biologist and microscopist. His work on insects demonstrated that the various phases during the life of an insect—egg, larva, pupa, and adult—are different forms of the same animal. As part of…

1680

Antoine Galland

French orientalist and archaeologist (born 1646)

Antoine Galland was a French orientalist and archaeologist, most famous as the first European translator of One Thousand and One Nights, which he called Les mille et une nuits. His version of the tales appeared in…

1715

Louis Marchand

French organist and composer (born 1669)

Louis Marchand was a French organist, harpsichordist and composer. Born into an organist's family, Marchand was a child prodigy and quickly established himself as one of the best known French virtuosos of his time. He…

1732

Arthur Onslow

English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (born 1691)

Arthur Onslow was an English politician. He set a record for length of service when repeatedly elected to serve as Speaker of the House of Commons, where he was known for his integrity.

1768

Ferdinando Carulli

Italian guitarist and composer (born 1770)

Ferdinando Maria Meinrado Francesco Pascale Rosario Carulli was an Italian composer for classical guitar and the author of the influential Méthode complète pour guitare ou lyre, op. 27 (1810), which contains music still…

1841

María de las Mercedes Barbudo

Puerto Rican political activist, the first woman Independentista in the island (born 1773)

María de las Mercedes Barbudo was a Puerto Rican political activist, the first woman Independentista in the island, and a "Freedom Fighter". At the time, the Puerto Rican independence movement had ties with the…

1849

John Martin

English painter, engraver, and illustrator (born 1789)

John Martin was an English Romanticist painter, engraver, and illustrator. He was known for his typically vast and dramatic paintings of religious subjects and fantastic compositions, populated with minute figures…

1854

Heinrich Heine

German journalist and poet (born 1797)

Christian Johann Heinrich Heine was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of Lieder by composers such as Felix…

1856

Gomburza

Filipino priests:

José Apolonio Burgos y García was a Filipino Catholic priest, accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th century. He was tried and executed in Manila along with two other…

1872

Gomburza

Filipino priests:

Mariano Gómes de los Ángeles, often known by his birth name Mariano Gómez y Custodio or Mariano Gomez in modern orthography, was a Filipino Catholic priest who was falsely accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial…

1872

Gomburza

Filipino priests:

Jacinto Zamora y del Rosario was a Filipino Catholic priest, part of the Gomburza, a trio of priests who were falsely accused of mutiny by the Spanish colonial authorities in the Philippines in the 19th century.

1872

Adolphe Quetelet

Belgian astronomer, mathematician, and sociologist (born 1796)

Lambert Adolphe Jacques Quetelet was a Belgian astronomer, mathematician, statistician, and sociologist who founded and directed the Brussels Observatory and was influential in introducing statistical methods to the…

1874

Christopher Latham Sholes

American publisher and politician (born 1819)

Christopher Latham Sholes was an American inventor who invented the QWERTY keyboard, and, along with Samuel W. Soule, Carlos Glidden and John Pratt, has been contended to be one of the inventors of the first typewriter…

1890

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia

fifth son and seventh child of Tsar Alexander II (born 1857)

Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich of Russia was the fifth son and seventh child of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. He was an influential figure during the reigns of his brother Emperor Alexander III of Russia and his…

1905

William Bickerton

English-American religious leader, leader in the Latter Day Saint movement (born 1815)

William Bickerton was a leader in the Latter Day Saint movement after the 1844 succession crisis. In 1862, Bickerton became the founding president of the church now known as The Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonite),…

1905

Geronimo

American tribal leader (born 1829)

Gerónimo was a military leader and medicine man from the Bedonkohe band of the Ndendahe Apache people. From 1850 to 1886, Geronimo joined with members of three other Central Apache bands – the Tchihende, the Tsokanende…

1909

Edgar Evans

Welsh sailor and explorer (born 1876)

Petty Officer Edgar Evans was a Welsh Royal Navy petty officer and member of the "Polar Party" in Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition to the South Pole in 1911–1912. This group of five men, personally…

1912

Wilfrid Laurier

Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Canada (born 1841)

Sir Henri Charles Wilfrid Laurier was the seventh prime minister of Canada from 1896 to 1911. The first French Canadian prime minister, his 15-year tenure remains the longest uninterrupted term of office among Canadian…

1919

Oskar Merikanto

Finnish composer (born 1868)

Oskar Merikanto was a Finnish composer, music critic, pianist, and organist.

1924

Albert I of Belgium (born 1875)

Albert I was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. He is popularly referred to as the Knight King or Soldier King in Belgium in reference to his role during World War I.

1934

Siegbert Tarrasch

German chess player and theoretician (born 1862)

Siegbert Tarrasch was a German chess player, considered to have been among the strongest players and most influential theoreticians of the late 19th and early 20th century.

1934

Willy Hess

German violinist and educator (born 1859)

Willy Hess was a German violinist and violin teacher.

1939

Dorothy Gibson

American actress and singer (born 1889)

Dorothy Gibson was an American actress, socialite and artist's model, active in the early 20th century. She survived the sinking of the Titanic and starred in the first motion picture based on the disaster.

1946

Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din

Imam of Yemen (born 1904)

Yahya Muhammad Hamid ed-Din was the first king of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen from 1918 until his assassination in 1948. He became Imam of the Zaydis, a branch of Shia Islam, in 1904 after the death of his…

1948

Lütfi Kırdar

Turkish physician and politician, Turkish Minister of Health (born 1887)

Mehmet Lütfi Kırdar was a Turkish physician, civil servant, politician and Minister of Health and Social Security. He is best remembered for his long-term position as the Governor and Mayor of Istanbul.

1961

Nita Naldi

American actress (born 1894)

Nita Naldi was an American stage performer and silent film actress. She was often cast in theatrical and screen productions as a vamp, a type of character first popularized by actress Theda Bara.

1961

Joseph Kearns

American actor (born 1907)

Joseph Sherrard Kearns was an American actor, who is best remembered for his role as George Wilson on the CBS television series Dennis the Menace from 1959 until his death in 1962. He was also a prolific radio actor,…

1962

Bruno Walter

German-American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1876)

Bruno Walter was a German-born conductor, pianist, and composer. Born in Berlin, he left Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the United States in 1939. He worked closely…

1962

Mijo Mirković

Croatian economist and author (born 1898)

Mijo (Miho) Mirković, also known by his pen name Mate Balota, was a prominent Croatian poet, novelist and economist. Considered one of the most prominent Croatian poets of the 20th century and often credited as the…

1963

Hans Hofmann

German-American painter (born 1880)

Hans Hofmann was a German-born American painter, renowned as both an artist and teacher. His career spanned two generations and two continents, and is considered to have both preceded and influenced Abstract…

1966

Berry L. Cannon

American aquanaut (born 1935)

Berry Louis Cannon was an American aquanaut who served on the SEALAB II and III projects of the United States Navy. Cannon died while attempting to repair SEALAB III. A U.S. Navy Board of Inquiry concluded that Cannon…

1969

Shmuel Yosef Agnon

Ukrainian-Israeli novelist, short story writer, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1888)

Shmuel Yosef Agnon was an Austro-Hungarian-born Israeli novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was one of the central figures of modern Hebrew literature. In Hebrew, he is known by the nom de plume Shai Agnon. In…

1970

Alfred Newman

American composer and conductor (born 1900)

Alfred Newman was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music. From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Academy Awards and…

1970

Friday Hassler

American race car driver (born 1935)

Raymond Lee "Friday" Hassler was a NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series driver.

1972

Janani Luwum

Ugandan archbishop and saint (born 1922)

Janani Jakaliya Luwum was a Ugandan Anglican bishop. He was the archbishop of the Church of Uganda from 1974 to 1977 and one of the most influential leaders of the modern church in Africa. He was arrested in February…

1977

William Gargan

American actor (born 1905)

William Dennis Gargan was an American film, television and radio actor. He was the 5th recipient of the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award in 1967, and in 1941, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best…

1979

Nestor Chylak

American baseball player and umpire (born 1922)

Nestor George Chylak Jr. was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the American League from 1954 to 1978. He umpired in three ALCS, serving as crew chief in 1969 and 1973. He also called five World…

1982

Thelonious Monk

American pianist and composer (born 1917)

Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk",…

1982

Lee Strasberg

American actor and director (born 1901)

Lee Strasberg was an American acting coach and actor. Born in Budzanów, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, he immigrated to the United States in 1909. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and…

1982

Jiddu Krishnamurti

Indian-American philosopher and author (born 1895)

Jiddu Krishnamurti was an Indian spiritual figure, speaker, and writer. Adopted by members of the Theosophical Society as a child, Krishnamurti was raised to fill the mantle of the prophesied World Teacher, a role…

1986

John M. Allegro

English archaeologist and scholar (born 1923)

John Marco Allegro was an English archaeologist and Dead Sea Scrolls scholar. He was a populariser of the Dead Sea Scrolls through his books and radio broadcasts. He was the editor of some of the most famous and…

1988

Karpoori Thakur

Indian educator and politician, 11th Chief Minister of Bihar (born 1924)

Karpoori Thakur was an Indian politician who twice served as the 11th Chief Minister of Bihar, first from December 1970 to June 1971, and then from June 1977 to April 1979. He was popularly known as Jan Nayak. On 26…

1988

Lefty Gomez

American baseball player (born 1908)

Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Gomez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1930 and 1943 for the New York Yankees and the Washington Senators and…

1989

Jean-Marc Boivin

French mountaineer, skier, and pilot (born 1951)

Jean-Marc Boivin was a French mountaineer, extreme skier, hang glider and paraglider pilot, speleologist, BASE jumper, film maker and author. The holder of several altitude records for hang gliding and paragliding, the…

1990

Randy Shilts

American journalist and author (born 1951)

Randy Shilts was an American journalist and author. After studying journalism at the University of Oregon, Shilts began working as a reporter for both The Advocate and the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as for San…

1994

Ernst Jünger

German soldier, philosopher, and author (born 1895)

Ernst Jünger was a German author, soldier, philosopher, and entomologist who became publicly known for his World War I memoir Storm of Steel. A prolific writer of over forty books, Jünger wrote particularly in the…

1998

Steve Bechler

American baseball player (born 1979)

Steven Scott Bechler was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles.

2003

José López Portillo

Mexican lawyer and politician, 51st President of Mexico (born 1920)

José Guillermo Abel López Portillo y Pacheco was a Mexican writer, lawyer, and politician affiliated with the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) who served as the 58th president of Mexico from 1976 to 1982. López…

2004

Dan O'Herlihy

Irish-American actor (born 1919)

Daniel Peter O'Herlihy was an Irish actor. His best-known roles included his Oscar-nominated portrayal of the title character in Luis Buñuel's Robinson Crusoe (1954), Brigadier General Warren A. Black in Fail Safe…

2005

Omar Sívori

Argentinian footballer and manager (born 1935)

Enrique Omar Sívori was an Argentine-Italian football player and manager who played as a forward. At club level, he is known for his successful time with Italian side Juventus during the late 1950s and early 1960s,…

2005

Conchita Cintrón

Chilean bullfighter and journalist (born 1922)

Concepción Cintrón Verrill, also known as Conchita Cintrón or La Diosa de Oro, was a Chile-born Peruvian torera, perhaps the most famous in the history of bullfighting. In the ring Cintrón was said to display particular…

2009

Kathryn Grayson

American actress and singer (born 1922)

Kathryn Grayson was an American actress and coloratura soprano.

2010

Robert Carr

English engineer and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1916)

Leonard Robert Carr, Baron Carr of Hadley, was a British Conservative Party politician who served as Home Secretary from 1972 to 1974. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for 26 years, and later served in the House…

2012

Michael Davis

American singer-songwriter and bass player (born 1943)

Michael Davis was an American bass guitarist, singer, songwriter and music producer, best known as a member of the MC5.

2012

Nicolaas Govert de Bruijn

Dutch mathematician and theorist (born 1918)

Nicolaas Govert "Dick" de Bruijn was a Dutch mathematician, noted for his many contributions in the fields of analysis, number theory, combinatorics and logic.

2012

Ulric Neisser

German-American psychologist and academic (born 1928)

Ulric Richard Gustav Neisser (December 8, 1928 – February 17, 2012) was a German-American psychologist, Cornell University professor, and member of the US National Academy of Sciences. He has been referred to as the…

2012

Richard Briers

English actor (born 1934)

Richard David Briers was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television.

2013

Shmulik Kraus

Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (born 1935)

Shmuel 'Shmulik' Kraus was an Israeli pop-rock singer, composer, and actor. Kraus, one of the pioneers of Israeli music, underwent various personal crises in the course of his career. He appeared in several films,…

2013

Sophie Kurys

American baseball player (born 1925)

Sophie Kurys was a former second basewoman who played from 1943 through 1952 in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). Listed at 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m), 115 lb (52 kg), Kurys batted and threw…

2013

Mindy McCready

American singer-songwriter (born 1975)

Malinda Gayle McCready was an American country music singer. Active from 1995 until her suicide in 2013, she recorded a total of five studio albums. Her debut album, 1996's Ten Thousand Angels, was released on BNA…

2013

Bob Casale

American guitarist, keyboard player, and producer (born 1952)

Robert Edward Casale Jr., or "Bob 2", was an American musician, composer and record producer. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the rhythm guitarist and keyboardist of the new wave band Devo, which released a…

2014

Peter Florin

German politician and diplomat, President of the United Nations General Assembly (born 1921)

Peter Florin was an East German politician and diplomat.

2014

Wayne Smith

Jamaican singer (born 1965)

Wayne Smith was a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician best known for his 1985 hit "Under Me Sleng Teng", which is regarded as the track which initiated the digital era of reggae.

2014

John Barrow

American-Canadian football player and manager (born 1935)

John B. Barrow was an American college and professional football player who was an offensive and defensive tackle in the Canadian Football League (CFL) for fourteen seasons in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Barrow played…

2015

Cathy Ubels-Veen

Dutch politician (born 1928)

Catharina "Cathy" Ubels-Veen was a Dutch politician. She was a member of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands between 1982 and 1986 for the Evangelical People's Party.

2015

Liu Yudi

Chinese general and pilot (born 1923)

Liu Yudi was a MiG-15 pilot of the People's Liberation Army Air Force of China. According to Chinese state source Xinhua, Liu was a flying ace during the Korean War, with 6 shootdowns. He later served as commander of…

2015

Andy Ganteaume

Trinidadian cricketer (born 1921)

Andrew Gordon Ganteaume was a Trinidadian cricketer who played one Test match for the West Indies in 1948 as a batsman. He scored 112 in his only Test innings which left him with the highest Test batting average in…

2016

Mohamed Hassanein Heikal

Egyptian journalist (born 1923)

Mohamed Hassanein Heikal was an Egyptian journalist. For 17 years (1957–1974), he was editor-in-chief of the Cairo newspaper Al-Ahram and was a commentator on Middle East affairs for more than 50 years.

2016

Claude Jeancolas

French historian, author, and journalist (born 1949)

Claude Jeancolas was a French writer, art historian, and journalist. He is best known for his work on Arthur Rimbaud.

2016

Tony Phillips

American baseball player (born 1959)

Keith Anthony Phillips was an American professional baseball utility player who had an 18-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career from 1982 to 1999. He played regularly at second base, but also had significant time as a…

2016

Andrzej Żuławski

Polish film director (born 1940)

Andrzej Żuławski was a Polish film director and writer best known for his 1981 psychological horror film Possession. Żuławski often went against mainstream commercialism in his films, and enjoyed success mostly with…

2016

Robert H. Michel

American politician (born 1923)

Robert Henry Michel was an American Republican Party politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives for 38 years. He represented central Illinois's 18th congressional district and was the GOP…

2017

Michael Novak

American Roman Catholic theologian (born 1933)

Michael John Novak Jr. was an American Catholic philosopher, journalist, novelist, and diplomat. The author of more than forty books on the philosophy and theology of culture, Novak is most widely known for his book The…

2017

Rush Limbaugh

American talk show host and author (born 1951)

Rush Hudson Limbaugh III was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of The Rush Limbaugh Show, which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM radio stations from 1988 until…

2021

Seif Sharif Hamad

Tanzanian politician (born 1943)

Seif Sharif Hamad was a Tanzanian politician who served as the First Vice President of Zanzibar and as Party Chairman of ACT Wazalendo.

2021

Gamini Jayawickrama Perera

Sri Lankan politician (born 1941)

Mallawa Arachchige Gamini Jayawickrama Perera was a Sri Lankan politician. He was a United National Party member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka for the Kurunegala District between 1994 and 2020, and had previously…

2024

Josette Molland

WWII French Resistance member and artist (born 1923)

Josette Molland, also known as Josette Molland-Ilinsky, was a painter and member of the French Resistance in World War II.

2024

Paquita la del Barrio

Mexican singer, songwriter and actress (born 1947)

Francisca Viveros Barradas, known professionally as Paquita la del Barrio, was a Mexican singer. She was a Grammy-nominated performer of rancheras, boleros and other traditional and contemporary Mexican musical genres.

2025

Frits Bolkestein

Dutch politician (born 1933)

Frederik "Frits" Bolkestein was a Dutch politician and energy executive who served as Leader of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD) from 1990 to 1998 and European Commissioner for Internal Market from…

2025

Rick Buckler

English drummer, songwriter, and producer (born 1955)

Paul Richard Buckler was an English musician who was the drummer of the rock band the Jam.

2025

James Harrison

Australian blood plasma donor (born 1936)

James Christopher Harrison was an Australian blood donor known as the "Man with the Golden Arm" for his prolific history of donations, 1,173 times between the ages 18 to 81.

2025

Jesse Jackson

American civil rights leader, activist, and politician (born 1941)

Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. was an American civil rights activist, LGBTQ rights activist, politician, and ordained Baptist minister. A protégé of Martin Luther King Jr. and James Bevel during the civil rights movement, he…

2026

Shinya Yamada

Japanese musician (born 1970)

Shinya Yamada was a Japanese musician, media personality and businessman. He is best known as the drummer of the rock band Luna Sea from 1989 to their disbandment in 2000, and again from their 2010 reunion until his…

2026

Notable deaths

Who died on February 17?

Ray Barretto — Puerto Rican jazz musician (1929–2006)

FeaturedRay Barretto

Death year2006

Known forThroughout his career as a percussionist, he played a wide variety of Latin music styles, as well as Latin jazz

Deaths on this date98 (364 – 2026)

Explore February 17

Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.

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Also on February 17 in History

2016

Military vehicles explode outside a Turkish Armed Forces barracks in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least 29 people and injuring 61 others. Wikipedia →

2015

Eighteen people are killed and 78 injured in a stampede at a Mardi Gras parade in Haiti. Wikipedia →

2011

Arab Spring: Libyan protests against Muammar Gaddafi's regime begin. Wikipedia →

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