Did you know
Barbara Jean McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an American singer and theater, television, and film actress
Notable Deaths on February 4
82 people
211 – 2025
February 4 has seen 82 notable figures pass away throughout recorded history — from 211 – 2025. Below are the most significant names who died on this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
2007 — Barbara McNair
American singer and actress (born 1934)
Did you know
In 1958, McNair released "Till There Was You", her debut single for Coral Records, which was a commercial success
Did you know
McNair performed all around the world, touring with Nat King Cole and later appearing in his Broadway stage shows I'm with You and The Merry World of Nat King Cole in the early 1960s.
Did you know
McNair's professional career began in music during the late 1950s, singing in the nightclub circuit
Did you know
McNair's career spanned over five decades in television, film, and stage
Roman emperor (born 145)
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna, Libya in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of…
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211
Pope Sisinnius was the bishop of Rome from 15 January 708 to his death on 4 February 708. Besides being Syrian and his father being named John, little is known of Sisinnius' early life or career. At the time of his…
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708
Frankish archbishop and theologian (born 780)
Rabanus Maurus Magnentius, also known as Hrabanus or Rhabanus, was a Frankish Benedictine monk, theologian, poet, encyclopedist and military writer who became archbishop of Mainz in East Francia. He was the author of…
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856
870
Bishop of Catania
John of Ajello was the Bishop of Catania from November 1167 until his death. He was a brother of the chancellor Matthew of Ajello.
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1169
Italian artist (born 1429/1433)
Antonio del Pollaiuolo, also known as Antonio di Jacopo Pollaiuolo or Antonio Pollaiuolo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, engraver, and goldsmith, who made important works in all these media, as well as…
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1498
daughter of Louis XI of France (born 1464)
Joan of France, sometimes called Joan the Lame, was briefly Queen of France as wife of King Louis XII, in between the death of her brother, King Charles VIII, and the annulment of her marriage. After that, she retired…
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1505
German poet and scholar (born 1459)
Conrad Celtes was a German Renaissance humanist scholar and poet of the German Renaissance born in Franconia. He led the theatrical performances at the Viennese court and reformed the syllabi.
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1508
English clergyman and translator (born 1505)
John Rogers was an English clergyman, Bible translator and commentator. He guided the development of the Matthew Bible in vernacular English during the reign of Henry VIII and was the first English Protestant executed…
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1555
Italian composer and theorist (born 1517)
Gioseffo Zarlino was an Italian music theorist and composer of the Renaissance. He made a large contribution to the theory of counterpoint as well as to musical tuning.
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1590
Italian playwright and scholar (born 1535)
Giambattista della Porta, also known as Giovanni Battista Della Porta, was an Italian scholar, polymath and playwright who lived in Naples at the time of the Renaissance, Scientific Revolution and Counter-Reformation.
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1615
Dutch publisher, co-founded the House of Elzevir (born 1546)
Lodewijk Elzevir, originally Lodewijk or Louis Elsevier or Elzevier, was a printer, born in the city of Leuven. He was the founder of the House of Elzevir, which printed works such as "Two New Sciences", written by…
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1617
3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (born 1671)
Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury was an English Whig politician, philosopher and writer.
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1713
French mathematician and geographer (born 1701)
Charles Marie de La Condamine was a French explorer, geographer, and mathematician. He spent ten years in territory which is now Ecuador, measuring the length of a degree of latitude at the equator and preparing the…
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1774
Czech composer (born 1737)
Josef Mysliveček was a Czech composer. He contributed to the formation of late eighteenth-century classicism in music. Mysliveček provided his younger friend Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with significant compositional models…
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1781
French architect and educator (born 1728)
Étienne-Louis Boullée was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects.
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1799
Greek general (born 1770)
Theodoros Kolokotronis was a Greek general and the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire.
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1843
Roman Catholic archbishop and Mexican politician who served as regent during the Second Mexican Empire (born 1816)
José Antonio Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos was a Roman Catholic Mexican prelate, lawyer, and doctor of canon law. He notably served as the Archbishop of Mexico (1863-1891), and was a regent of the Second…
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1891
French sculptor and academic (born 1841)
Louis-Ernest Barrias was a French sculptor of the Beaux-Arts school. In 1865 Barrias won the Prix de Rome for study at the French Academy in Rome.
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1905
French tailor and inventor (born 1878)
Franz Reichelt, also known as Frantz Reichelt or François Reichelt, was an Austro-Hungarian-born French tailor, inventor and parachuting pioneer, now sometimes referred to as the Flying Tailor. He is remembered for…
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1912
Turkish author and scholar (born 1875)
Mehmed Âtıf Hoca was a Turkish Islamist. He was born in the village of Toyhane, in the district of Bayat, Çorum Province, in the Ottoman Empire and went to school there. After a couple of years as an imam in İskilip in…
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1926
Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1853)
Hendrik Antoon Lorentz was a Dutch theoretical physicist who shared the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physics with Pieter Zeeman for their discovery and theoretical explanation of the Zeeman effect. He derived the Lorentz…
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1928
English linguist and educator (born 1846)
Archibald Henry Sayce was a pioneer British Assyriologist and linguist, who held a chair as Professor of Assyriology at the University of Oxford from 1891 to 1919. He was able to write in at least twenty ancient and…
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1933
German-Swiss soldier, founded Swiss NSDAP/AO (born 1895)
Wilhelm Gustloff was a German politician and meteorologist who founded the Swiss branch of the Nazi Party/Foreign Organization (NSDAP/AO) at Davos in 1932. The NSDAP/AO was formed as the wing of the Nazi Party (NSDAP)…
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1936
Russian police officer and politician (born 1895)
Nikolai Ivanovich Yezhov, also spelt Ezhov, was a Soviet secret police official under Joseph Stalin who was head of the NKVD from 1936 to 1938, at the height of the Great Purge. Yezhov organized mass arrests, torture,…
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1940
English-Canadian ice hockey player and journalist (born 1877)
Frank Sellick Calder was a British-born Canadian ice hockey executive, journalist, and athlete.
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1943
Russian author and translator (born 1872)
Arsen Kotsoyev was one of the founders of Ossetic prose, who had a large influence on the formation of the modern Ossetic language and its functional styles. He participated in all of the first Ossetic periodicals, and…
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1944
Russian-French chess player, journalist, and author (born 1887)
Savielly Tartakower was a Austro-Hungarian by birth, then Polish, later naturalised French chess player. He was awarded the title of International Grandmaster in its inaugural year, 1950. Tartakower was also a leading…
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1956
American author and screenwriter (born 1915)
Henry Kuttner was an American author of science fiction, fantasy and horror.
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1958
Irish-American actress (born 1880)
Una O'Connor was an Irish-born American actress who worked extensively in theatre before becoming a character actress in film and in television. She often portrayed comical wives, housekeepers and servants. In 2020, she…
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1959
American novelist and poet (born 1926)
Neal Leon Cassady was an American writer who was a major figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic and counterculture movements of the 1960s.
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1968
American poet and critic (born 1897)
Louise Bogan was an American poet. She was appointed the fourth Poet Laureate to the Library of Congress in 1945, and was the first woman to hold this title. Throughout her life she wrote poetry, fiction, and criticism,…
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1970
Indian physicist, mathematician, and academic (born 1894)
Satyendra Nath Bose was an Indian theoretical physicist and mathematician. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, in developing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statistics, and the theory…
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1974
American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (born 1908)
Louis Thomas Jordan was an American jazz, blues and jump blues saxophonist, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late 1930s to the early 1950s. Known as "the King of the Jukebox", he earned his…
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1975
Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1935)
Alexander James Harvey was a Scottish rock and blues musician. Although his career spanned almost three decades, he is best remembered as the frontman of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, with whom he built a reputation…
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1982
German lawyer and judge (born 1909)
Georg Konrad Morgen was a German SS Investigating Judge and Reich Police Official who investigated members of the SS for corruption and murder, especially in the Nazi concentration and extermination camps. He rose to…
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1982
American singer (born 1950)
Karen Anne Carpenter was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and drummer of the highly successful duo the Carpenters, formed with her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range,…
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1983
1987
Afghan activist, founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (born 1956)
Meena Keshwar Kamal, commonly known as Meena, was an Afghan revolutionary political activist, women's rights activist, and founder of the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA). She was…
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1987
American psychologist and academic (born 1902)
Carl Ransom Rogers was an American psychologist who was one of the founders of humanistic psychology and was known especially for his person-centered psychotherapy. Rogers is widely considered one of the founding…
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1987
Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (born 1915)
William John Potts, was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson. He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and the National…
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1990
American actor (born 1915)
John Dehner Forkum was an American actor. From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, he amassed a long list of performance credits, often in roles as sophisticated con men, shady authority figures, and other smooth-talking…
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1992
American novelist and short story writer (born 1921)
Patricia Highsmith was an American novelist and short story writer widely known for her psychological thrillers, including her series of five novels featuring the character Tom Ripley. She wrote 22 novels and numerous…
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1995
American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (born 1908)
Carl Bert Albert was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977 and represented Oklahoma's 3rd congressional district as a Democrat…
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2000
Sigvard Oscar Fredrik, Prince Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg born as, and until 1934 known as, Prince Sigvard of Sweden, Duke of Uppland, was a member of the Swedish Royal Family and a successful industrial designer.
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2002
Algerian pharmacist and politician (born 1920)
Benyoucef Benkhedda was an Algerian politician. He headed the third GPRA exile government of the National Liberation Front (FLN), acting as a leader during the Algerian War (1954–62). At the end of the war, he was…
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2003
Brazilian poet, novelist, and playwright (born 1930)
Hilda de Almeida Prado Hilst was a Brazilian poet, novelist, and playwright. Her work touches on the themes of mysticism, insanity, the body, eroticism, and female sexual liberation. Hilst greatly revered the work of…
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2004
American actor, director, and playwright (born 1917)
Ossie Davis was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, from 1948 until his death. He received numerous accolades including an Emmy, a Grammy and…
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2005
American author and activist (born 1921)
Betty Friedan was an American feminist writer and activist. A leading figure in the women's movement in the United States, her 1963 book The Feminine Mystique is often credited with sparking the second wave of American…
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2006
Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1925)
José Carlos Bauer, commonly known as Bauer, was a Brazilian football player and manager who played as a midfielder.
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2007
Russian-English poet and translator (born 1959)
Ilya Valeryevich Kormiltsev was a Russian poet, translator, and publisher. Kormiltsev is most famous for working during the 1980s and the 1990s as a songwriter in Nautilus Pompilius, one of the most popular rock bands…
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2007
Ukrainian-American painter and sculptor (born 1922)
Jevel Demikovski, known professionally as Jules Olitski, was an American painter, printmaker, and sculptor.
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2007
Austrian journalist, author, and academic (born 1945)
Alfred Worm was an Austrian journalist, author and vocational high school teacher.
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2007
American actress (born 1918)
Augusta Keith Dabney was an American actress known for her roles on many soap operas, such as the wealthy but kindly matriarch Isabelle Alden on the daytime series Loving. She played the role from 1983 to 1987, from…
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2008
Polish academic and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (born 1942)
Stefan Meller was a Polish diplomat and academician. He served as foreign minister of Poland from 31 October 2005, to 9 May 2006, in the cabinet of Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz.
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2008
Greek-French philosopher and author (born 1924)
Kostas Axelos was a Greek-French philosopher.
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2010
Estonian-American composer (born 1919)
Helen Tobias-Duesberg was an Estonian-American composer.
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2010
Haitian lawyer and politician, first Prime Minister of Haiti (born 1913)
Martial Lavaud Célestin was named Prime Minister of Haïti by President Leslie Manigat in February 1988 under the provisions of the 1987 Constitution, and was approved by the Parliament that formed as a result of the…
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2011
Hungarian journalist and politician (born 1934)
István Csurka was a Hungarian nationalist politician, journalist and writer. He was the founder and inaugural leader of the Hungarian Justice and Life Party (MIÉP) from 1993 until his death. He was also a Member of…
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2012
English soldier (born 1901)
Florence Beatrice Green was an English woman who is thought to have been the last surviving veteran of the First World War from any country. She was a member of the Women's Royal Air Force.
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2012
American farmer, soldier, and politician (born 1936)
Robert Williams Daniel, Jr. was an American farmer, businessman, teacher, and politician from Virginia who served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican. He was first elected in 1972 and served…
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2012
American director, producer, and cinematographer (born 1951)
Michael V. deGruy was an American documentary filmmaker specializing in underwater cinematography. His credits include Life in the Freezer, Trials of Life, The Blue Planet and Pacific Abyss. He was also known for his…
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2012
Hungarian-born watercolorist and illustrator, active in the United States (born 1913)
Susanne Suba (1913–2012) was a Hungarian-born watercolorist and illustrator, active in the United States.
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2012
American trumpet player (born 1932)
Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter, composer and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop musicians who…
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2013
English singer-songwriter (born 1941)
Reginald Maurice Ball, known professionally as Reg Presley, was an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer with the 1960s rock and roll band the Troggs, whose hits included "Wild Thing" and "With a Girl…
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2013
Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1923)
Courtney Keith "Bingo" Allen was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and National Hockey League (NHL) head coach and general manager. He played 28 games in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings during the 1953–54…
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2014
Italian soldier, author, and playwright (born 1921)
Eugenio Corti was an Italian writer born in Besana in Brianza. After participating in the Italian retreat from Russia in World War II, and a period of recovery, he joined the regular Italian army in southern Italy, to…
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2014
2014
American colonel and pilot (born 1925)
Fitzhugh L. "Fitz" Fulton, Jr., , was a civilian research pilot at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, from August 1, 1966, until July 3, 1986, following 23 years of distinguished service as a…
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2015
American captain, pilot, and astronaut (born 1930)
Edgar Dean Mitchell was a United States Navy officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, ufologist, and NASA astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14 in 1971 he spent nine hours working on the lunar…
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2016
Canadian bass player (born 1949)
Stephen Keith Lang was a Canadian bassist best known for his time and work with the rock band April Wine from 1976 to 1984 during the band's most successful years.
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2017
Pakistani writer (born 1928)
Bano Qudsia, also known as Bano Aapa, was a Pakistani novelist, playwright and spiritualist. She wrote literature in Urdu, producing novels, dramas plays and short stories. Qudsia is best recognized for her novel Raja…
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2017
English-American actor, voice artist, and comedian (born 1940)
Charles John Mahoney was an English-born American actor. He played retired police officer Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier from 1993 to 2004, receiving nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime…
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2018
Finnish Olympic-winning ski jumper and singer (born 1963)
Matti Ensio Nykänen was a Finnish ski jumper who competed from 1981 to 1991. Known as "The Flying Finn", he is one of the most successful ski jumpers of all time, having won five Winter Olympic medals, nine World…
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2019
Former President of Kenya (born 1924)
Daniel Toroitich arap Moi was a Kenyan politician who served as the second president of Kenya from 1978 to 2002. He is the country's longest-serving president to date. Moi previously served as the third vice president…
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2020
American astronaut, molecular biologist and NASA payload specialist (born 1945)
Millie Elizabeth Hughes-Fulford was an American medical investigator, molecular biologist, and payload specialist who flew aboard the NASA Space Shuttle Columbia in June 1991.
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2021
South Korean volleyball player (born 1995)
Kim In-hyeok was a South Korean indoor volleyball player. He played as an outside hitter for Suwon KEPCO Vixtorm from 2017 to 2020 and Daejeon Samsung Fire Bluefangs from 2020 until his death in 2022.
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2022
Indian playback singer (born 1945)
Vani Jairam was an Indian playback singer in Indian cinema. She is referred to as the "Meera of modern India" Vani's career started in 1971 and has spanned over five decades. She did playback for over one thousand…
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2023
53rd Prime Minister of Egypt (born 1955)
Sherif Ismail was an Egyptian engineer and politician who served as the 53rd prime minister of Egypt from 2015 to 2018. He was also the minister of petroleum and mineral resources from 2013 to 2015.
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2023
Welsh rugby player (born 1945)
Barry John was a Welsh rugby union fly-half who played in the 1960s and early 1970s during the amateur era of the sport. John began his rugby career as a schoolboy playing for his local team Cefneithin RFC before…
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2024
49th Imam of the Nizari Isma'ili community (born 1936)
Shah Karim al-Hussaini, known simply as Aga Khan IV, was the 49th Imam of Nizari Isma'ili Shia Islam from 1957 until his death in 2025. He inherited the Nizari imamate and the title of Aga Khan at the age of 20 upon the…
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2025
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Notable deaths
Who died on February 4?
Barbara McNair — American singer and actress (1934–2007)
FeaturedBarbara McNair
Death year2007
Known forMcNair's career spanned over five decades in television, film, and stage
Deaths on this date82 (211 – 2025)
Explore February 4
Jump between the main pages for this date to compare events, people, and the daily quiz.
Also on February 4 in History
2025
Ten people are killed in a mass shooting at an adult education centre in Örebro, Sweden. Wikipedia →
2020
The COVID-19 pandemic causes all casinos in Macau to be closed down for 15 days. Wikipedia →
2015
See all events on February 4
TransAsia Airways Flight 235, with 58 people on board, en route from the Taiwanese capital Taipei to Kinmen, crashes into the Keelung River just after takeoff, killing 43 people. Wikipedia →
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