Notable Deaths on February 2

February 2 has 155 recorded notable deaths across history, from 619 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.

Carl Weathers

2024 — Carl Weathers

American football player and actor (born 1948)

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Notable Deaths 155 source records 619 – 2025

Major events on February 2

See what else happened on this day in history.

  1. 2021 The Burmese military establishes the State Administration Council, the military junta, after deposing the democratically elected government in the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état. Source
  2. 1942 The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling. Source

Did you know about Carl Weathers

Carl Weathers's prominent roles included boxer Apollo Creed in the first four Rocky films (1976–1985), Colonel Al Dillon in Predator (1987), Chubbs Peterson in Happy Gilmore (1996), and Combat Carl in the Toy Story franchise.

Did you know about Boris Karloff

Boris Karloff's portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931), his 82nd film, established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939).

Did you know about Dmitri Mendeleev

Dmitri Mendeleev used the periodic law not only to correct the then-accepted properties of some known elements, such as the valence and atomic weight of uranium, but also to predict the properties of three elements that were yet to be discovered.

Did you know about K. Viswanath

K. Viswanath was honoured with the "Prize of the Public" at the "Besançon Film Festival of France" in 1981.

Did you know about John L. Sullivan

Nicknamed the "Boston Strong Boy" and known as John L. among his admirers, he is recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing, de facto reigning from 7 February 1882 to 7 September 1892.

More major people who died on February 2

Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.

1969 Boris Karloff

Boris Karloff

English actor (born 1887)
William Henry Pratt, known professionally as Boris Karloff, was an English actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film Frankenstein (1931), his 82nd film, established him as a horror icon, and he reprised the role for the sequels Bride of Frankenstein (1935) and Son of Frankenstein (1939). He also appeared as Imhotep in The Mummy (1932), and voiced the Grinch in, as well as narrating, the animated television special of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966), which won him a Grammy Award.
Wikipedia source
1907 Dmitri Mendeleev

Dmitri Mendeleev

Russian chemist and academic (born 1834)
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev was a Russian chemist known for formulating the periodic law and creating a version of the periodic table of elements. He used the periodic law not only to correct the then-accepted properties of some known elements, such as the valence and atomic weight of uranium, but also to predict the properties of three elements that were yet to be discovered. The synthetic element mendelevium is named in his honor. He was one of the founders of the Russian Chemical Society in 1868, and worked on the theory and practice of protectionist trade and on agriculture.
Wikipedia source
2023 K. Viswanath

K. Viswanath

Indian actor, director and screenwriter (born 1930)
Kasinadhuni Viswanath was an Indian film director, screenwriter, lyricist and actor who predominantly worked in Telugu cinema, he received recognition for his works, and is known for blending parallel cinema with mainstream cinema. He was honoured with the "Prize of the Public" at the "Besançon Film Festival of France" in 1981. In 1992, he received the Andhra Pradesh state Raghupathi Venkaiah Award, and the civilian honour Padma Shri for his contribution to the field of arts. In 2016, he was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, the highest award in Indian cinema. He is popularly known as "Kalatapasvi."
Wikipedia source
1918 John L. Sullivan

John L. Sullivan

American boxer (born 1858)
John Lawrence Sullivan was an American professional boxer. Nicknamed the "Boston Strong Boy" and known as John L. among his admirers, he is recognized as the first heavyweight champion of gloved boxing, de facto reigning from 7 February 1882 to 7 September 1892. He is also generally recognized as the last heavyweight champion of bare-knuckle boxing under the London Prize Ring Rules, being a cultural icon of the late 19th century America, arguably the first boxing superstar and one of the world's highest-paid athletes of his era.
Wikipedia source
2020 Bernard Ebbers

Bernard Ebbers

Canadian businessman, the co-founder and CEO of WorldCom (born 1941)
Bernard John Ebbers was a Canadian-American businessman and the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of WorldCom. Under his management, WorldCom grew rapidly but collapsed in 2002 amid revelations of accounting irregularities, making it at the time one of the largest accounting scandals in the United States. Ebbers blamed his subordinates but was convicted of fraud and conspiracy. In December 2019, Ebbers was released from Federal Medical Center, Fort Worth, due to declining health, having served 13 years of his 25-year sentence, and he died just over a month later.
Wikipedia source
1986 Gino Hernandez

Gino Hernandez

American wrestler (born 1957)
Charles Eugene Wolfe Jr. was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Gino Hernandez. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with the Dallas, Texas-based promotion World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) between 1976 until his death in 1986. Hernandez's death was initially ruled a murder case, but police later concluded that he had died of a drug overdose. Despite this conclusion, those close to Hernandez and fans alike continue to speculate about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Wikipedia source
1704 Guillaume de l'Hôpital

Guillaume de l'Hôpital

French mathematician and academic (born 1661)
Guillaume François Antoine, Marquis de l'Hôpital was a French mathematician. His name is firmly associated with l'Hôpital's rule for calculating limits involving indeterminate forms 0/0 and ∞/∞. Although the rule did not originate with l'Hôpital, it appeared in print for the first time in his 1696 treatise on the infinitesimal calculus, entitled Analyse des Infiniment Petits pour l'Intelligence des Lignes Courbes. This book was a first systematic exposition of differential calculus. Several editions and translations to other languages were published and it became a model for subsequent treatments of calculus.
Wikipedia source
2003 Lou Harrison

Lou Harrison

American composer and educator (born 1917)
Lou Silver Harrison was an American composer, music critic, music theorist, painter, and creator of unique musical instruments. Harrison initially wrote in a dissonant, ultramodernist style similar to his former teacher and contemporary, Henry Cowell, but later moved toward incorporating elements of non-Western cultures into his work. Notable examples include a number of pieces written for Javanese style gamelan instruments, inspired after his introduction to noted gamelan musician Kanjeng Notoprojo. Harrison would create his own musical ensembles and instruments with his partner, William Colvig, who are now both considered founders of the American gamelan movement and world music; along with composers Harry Partch and Claude Vivier, and ethnomusicologist Colin McPhee.
Wikipedia source
1723 Antonio Maria Valsalva

Antonio Maria Valsalva

Italian anatomist and physician (born 1666)
Antonio Maria Valsalva was an Italian anatomist born in Imola. His research focused on the anatomy of the ears. He coined the term Eustachian tube and he described the aortic sinuses of Valsalva in his writings, published posthumously in 1740. His name is associated with the Valsalva antrum of the ear and the Valsalva maneuver, which is used as a test of circulatory function. Anatomical structures bearing his name are Valsalva’s muscle and taeniae Valsalvae. He observed that when weakness of one side of the body is caused by a lesion in the brain, the culprit lesion tends to be on the side opposite (contralateral) to the weak side; this finding is named the "Valsalva doctrine" in his honor.
Wikipedia source
619 Laurence of Canterbury

Laurence of Canterbury

English archbishop and saint
Laurence was the second Archbishop of Canterbury, serving from about 604 to 619. He was a member of the Gregorian mission sent from Italy to England to Christianise the Anglo-Saxons from their native Anglo-Saxon paganism, although the date of his arrival is disputed. He was consecrated archbishop by his predecessor, Augustine of Canterbury, during Augustine's lifetime, to ensure continuity in the office. While archbishop, he attempted unsuccessfully to resolve differences with the native British bishops by corresponding with them about points of dispute. Laurence faced a crisis following the death of King Æthelberht of Kent, when the king's successor abandoned Christianity; he eventually reconverted. Laurence was revered as a saint after his death in 619.
Wikipedia source
1954 Hella Wuolijoki

Hella Wuolijoki

Estonian-Finnish author and politician (born 1886)
Hella Maria Wuolijoki, known by the pen name Juhani Tervapää, was an Estonian-born Finnish writer, playwright, parliamentarian, businessperson and farmer. She is best known as a dramatist, particularly for the Niskavuori series of plays and for her collaboration with Bertolt Brecht on Mr Puntila and his Man Matti. Wuolijoki served as the Director General of Yle from April 1945 to June 1949 and was a member of the Parliament of Finland from 1946 to 1948. She also played a private role in the peace negotiations during the Winter War through her friendship with Alexandra Kollontai.
Wikipedia source
2007 Eric Von Schmidt

Eric Von Schmidt

American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1931)
Eric von Schmidt was an American folk musician and painter. He was associated with the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s and was a key part of the Cambridge folk music scene. As a singer and guitarist, he was considered to be the leading specialist in country blues in Cambridge at the time, the counterpart of Greenwich Village's Dave Van Ronk. Von Schmidt co-authored with Jim Rooney Baby, Let Me Follow You Down: The Illustrated Story of the Cambridge Folk Years.
Wikipedia source
2021 Captain Sir Tom Moore

Captain Sir Tom Moore

British Army officer and charity campaigner (born 1920)
Captain Sir Thomas Moore, more popularly known as Captain Tom, was a British Army officer and fundraiser. He made international headlines in April 2020 when he raised money for charity in the run-up to his 100th birthday during the COVID-19 pandemic. He served in India and the Burma campaign during the Second World War, and later became an instructor in armoured warfare. After the war, he worked as managing director of a concrete company and was an avid motorcycle racer.
Wikipedia source
2014 Luis Raúl

Luis Raúl

Puerto Rican comedian and actor (born 1962)
Luis Raúl Martínez Rodríguez, better known as Luis Raúl, was a Puerto Rican actor, comedian and television host. He was known for his stand-up comedy and his various characters. He also hosted TeleOnce's talk and variety show Anda Pa'l Cará from 2001 to 2003 and Telemundo Puerto Rico's game show Pa' Que Te Lo Goces in 2006. He died early in the morning of February 2, 2014, from kidney failure which in turn led to cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Wikipedia source
1995 Fred Perry

Fred Perry

English tennis player (born 1909)
Frederick Towersey Perry was a British tennis and table tennis player and former world No. 1. He won 10 Majors, including eight Grand Slam tournaments and two Pro Slams single titles, as well as six Major doubles titles. Perry was the first player to win a "Career Grand Slam", lifting all four singles titles, which he completed at the age of 26 at the 1935 French Championships. He remains the only British player to achieve this feat.
Wikipedia source
2025 Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy

English comic actor (born 1932)
Brian Trevor John Murphy was an English actor. He was best known as the henpecked husband George Roper in the popular sitcom Man About the House and its spin-off series George and Mildred. He also played Alvin Smedley in Last of the Summer Wine, and other notable roles included Stan the shopkeeper in the 1990s children's series Wizadora, and Maurice in the comedy drama series The Booze Cruise. He also had a prolific career on stage.
Wikipedia source
2024 Don Murray

Don Murray

American actor (born 1929)
Donald Patrick Murray was an American actor, screenwriter, and film director. His debut film role as Bo Decker in Bus Stop (1956), opposite Marilyn Monroe, earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He subsequently had several major leading and supporting roles in films during the 1950s and '60s, including A Hatful of Rain (1957), Shake Hands with the Devil, One Foot in Hell, Advise & Consent, and Baby the Rain Must Fall.
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1448 Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani

Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani

Egyptian jurist and scholar (born 1372)
Ibn Hajar al Asqalani ., or simply ibn Ḥajar, was a classic Islamic scholar "whose life work constitutes the final summation of the science of hadith." He authored some 150 works on hadith, history, biography, exegesis, poetry, and the Shafi'i school of jurisprudence, the most valued of which being his commentary of Sahih al-Bukhari, titled Fath al-Bari. He is known by the honorific epithets Hafiz al-Asr, Shaykh al-Islam, and Amir al-Mu'minin fi al-Hadith.
Wikipedia source
1594 Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

Italian composer and educator (born 1525)
Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina was an Italian composer of late Renaissance music. The central representative of the Roman School, with Orlande de Lassus and Tomás Luis de Victoria, Palestrina is considered the leading composer of late 16th-century Europe. Palestrina was one of the few Renaissance composers never entirely forgotten, but it was the so-called "Palestrinian style" of counterpoint—especially as codified by Johann Joseph Fux—rather than his individual compositions that exerted the greatest influence.
Wikipedia source

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