Notable Deaths on February 9

Keiko Fukuda was a Japanese-American martial artist. She was the highest-ranked female judoka in history, holding the rank of 9th dan from the Kodokan (2006), and 10th dan from USA Judo and from the United States Judo Federation (USJF), and was the last surviving student of Kanō Jigorō, founder of judo. She was a renowned pioneer of women's judo, and in 1972 together with her senpai Masako Noritomi (1913–1982) was one of the first two women promoted to 6th dan. In 2006, the Kodokan promoted Fukuda to 9th dan, making her the first woman to hold this rank from any recognized judo organization. She is also the first and, so far, only woman to have been promoted to 10th dan in judo, which occurred in 2011. After completing her formal education in Japan, Fukuda visited the United States to teach in the 1950s and 1960s, and eventually settled there. She continued to teach her art in the San Francisco Bay Area until her death in 2013.

Dionysios Solomos was a Greek poet from Zakynthos, who is considered to be Greece's national poet. He is best known for writing the Hymn to Liberty, which was set to music by Nikolaos Mantzaros and became the Greek and Cypriot national anthem in 1865 and 1966 respectively. He was the central figure of the Heptanese School of poetry. He is considered the national poet of Greece, not only because he wrote the national anthem, but also because he contributed to the preservation of earlier poetic tradition and highlighted its usefulness to modern literature. Other notable poems include Ὁ Κρητικός, Ἐλεύθεροι Πολιορκημένοι. A characteristic of his work is that no poem except the Hymn to Liberty was completed, and almost nothing was published during his lifetime.

Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky was a Russian philosopher, novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influential masterpieces. Dostoevsky's literary works explore the human condition in the troubled political, social and spiritual atmospheres of 19th-century Russia, and engage with a variety of philosophical and religious themes. His most acclaimed novels include Crime and Punishment (1866), The Idiot (1869), Demons (1872), The Adolescent (1875) and The Brothers Karamazov (1880). His Notes from Underground, a novella published in 1864, is considered one of the first works of existentialist literature.

Osamu Tezuka was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist and animator. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential cartoonists of all time, his prolific output, pioneering techniques and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the Father of Manga" , "the Godfather of Manga" and "the God of Manga" . Additionally, he is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during Tezuka's formative years. Though this phrase praises the quality of his early manga works for children and animations, it also blurs the significant influence of his later, more literary, gekiga works.

Jules Michelet was a French historian and writer, best known for his multi-volume work Histoire de France, which chronicles the history of France from its earliest origins to the French Revolution. Michelet was influenced by Giambattista Vico, particularly by his emphasis on the role of ordinary people and their customs in shaping historical narratives, which contrasted with the traditional focus on political and military elites. Michelet also drew inspiration from Vico's concept of the corsi e ricorsi—the cyclical nature of history—in which societies rise and fall in a recurring pattern.

Robert "Bob" Diry was an Austrian middleweight world champion 1908 in wrestling. In 1910, he trained in Jiu-Jitsu under T.Tobari of the Tenshin-Shin-Yo-ryu and Kodokan Judo at the Vienna Athletics Club which helped him win a lightweight wrestling title. After his migration to America he tried boxing, making him versed in all 3 areas common to modern MMA. He was defeated by George Ashe (boxer) in 1913 in a knockout. Bob would continue wrestling in the US and coached at the New York Athletics club around the years of 1930.

Henry Albert Bauer was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees (1948–1959) and Kansas City Athletics (1960–1961); he batted and threw right-handed. He served as the manager of the Athletics in both Kansas City (1961–62) and in Oakland (1969), as well as the Baltimore Orioles (1964–68), guiding the Orioles to the World Series title in 1966 in a four-game sweep over the heavily favored Los Angeles Dodgers, which was the first world championship in the history of the Orioles franchise.

Percy Faith was a Canadian-American bandleader, orchestrator, composer and conductor, known for his lush arrangements of instrumental ballads and Christmas standards. He is often credited with popularizing the "easy listening" or "mood music" format. He became a staple of American popular music in the 1950s and continued well into the 1960s. Although his professional orchestra-leading career began at the height of the swing era, he refined and rethought orchestration techniques, including use of large string sections, to soften and fill out the brass-dominated popular music of the 1940s.

Costante Girardengo was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, considered by many to be one of the finest riders in the history of the sport. He was the first rider to be declared a "Campionissimo" or "champion of champions" by the Italian media and fans. At the height of his career, in the 1920s, he was said to be more popular than Mussolini and it was decreed that all express trains should stop in his home town Novi Ligure, an honour only normally awarded to heads of state.

James William Fulbright was an American politician, academic, and statesman who served as a United States Senator from Arkansas from 1945 until his resignation in 1974. As of 2023, Fulbright is the longest-serving chairman in the history of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best known for his strong multilateralist positions on international issues, opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War, and the creation of the international fellowship program bearing his name, the Fulbright Program.

Emperor Taizong of Jin, personal name Wuqimai, sinicised name Wanyan Sheng, was the second emperor of the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty of China. His era name was "Tianhui" (天會). During his reign, the Jin dynasty conquered the Khitan-led Liao dynasty. He then led the Jin in their campaigns against the Song dynasty, captured the Northern Song capital in 1127 and went on to rule most of northern China. After his death, he was posthumously honoured with the temple name Taizong by his successor, Emperor Xizong.

François Louis de Bourbon, le Grand Conti, was a French nobleman who held the title Prince de Conti, succeeding his brother, Louis Armand de Bourbon, in 1685. Until this date, he used the title of Prince of La Roche-sur-Yon. He was proclaimed as the King of Poland in 1697. He is the most famous member of the Conti family, a cadet branch of the Princes of Condé. As a member of the reigning House of Bourbon, he was a prince du sang.

William John Clifton Haley was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-selling hits such as "Rock Around the Clock", "See You Later, Alligator", "Shake, Rattle and Roll", "Rocket 88", "Skinny Minnie", and "Razzle Dazzle". Haley has sold over 60 million records worldwide. In 1987, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Ian William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Conservative politician Francis Urquhart in the BBC Television trilogy House of Cards (1990–1995), as well as Bill Haydon in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (1979). His other notable screen work included a portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the television films The Sign of Four and The Hound of the Baskervilles, as well as significant roles in Brazil (1985), M. Butterfly (1993), and Dark City (1998).

Åke Kalevi Keihänen was a Finnish travel agency entrepreneur, director of Keihäsmatkat and a groundbreaking figure in Finnish tourism. Keihänen became known for his extravagant behaviour, long hair and unique style of dress – in advertisement photography, he wore a chinchilla fur coat with only a pair of swimming trunks underneath. The coat was said to have cost him 120,000 markka. Keihänen was said to have copied his style of dress from the Danish travel agency entrepreneur Simon Spies.

Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, was a Spanish admiral and nobleman. He took part, among others, in the seizure of the rock of Vélez de la Gomera (1564), the relief to the besieged during the sieges of Oran (1563) and Malta (1565), the Battle of Lepanto (1571), the conquest of Tunis (1573), the incorporation of Portugal to the Spanish monarchy (1580), and the conquest of Terceira (1582).

Paul Laurence Dunbar was an American poet, novelist, and short story writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in Dayton, Ohio, to parents who had been enslaved in Kentucky before the American Civil War, Dunbar began writing stories and verse when he was a child. He published his first poems at the age of 16 in a Dayton newspaper, and served as president of his high school's literary society.

Lucilio Vanini, who, in his works, styled himself Giulio Cesare Vanini, was an Italian philosopher, physician and free-thinker, who was one of the first significant representatives of intellectual libertinism. He was among the first modern thinkers who viewed the universe as an entity governed by natural laws. He was also an early literate proponent of biological evolution, maintaining that humans and other apes have common ancestors. He was executed in Toulouse.

Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and the only sibling of Queen Elizabeth II. Born when her parents were the Duke and Duchess of York, she became second in line to the British throne after her father's accession in 1936, though her place in the succession declined as her sister's children and grandchildren were born.

John Gavin was an American actor and diplomat who was the president of the Screen Actors Guild (1971–1973) and the United States Ambassador to Mexico (1981–1986). Among the films in which he appeared were A Time to Love and a Time to Die (1958), Imitation of Life (1959), Spartacus (1960), Psycho (1960), Midnight Lace (1960), and Thoroughly Modern Millie (1967), playing leading roles for producer Ross Hunter.

Sir Frederick Alfred Laker was an English airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982. Known as Freddie Laker, he was one of the first airline owners to adopt the "low cost / no-frills" airline business model that has since proven to be successful worldwide when employed by companies such as Ryanair, Southwest Airlines, easyJet, Norwegian Air, and AirAsia.

Reginald Eurias Cathey was an American character actor. He was best known for various roles on the children's math show Square One Television, as well as Norman Wilson in The Wire, Martin Querns in Oz, and Freddy Hayes in House of Cards. The latter garnered him three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, including a win in 2015.

Herbert Alexander Simon was an American scholar whose work influenced the fields of computer science, economics, and cognitive psychology. His primary research interest was decision-making within organizations and he is best known for the theories of "bounded rationality" and "satisficing". He and Allen Newell received the ACM Turing Award in 1975, and he received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1978.

Sushil Prasad Koirala was a Nepalese politician and the Prime Minister of Nepal from 11 February 2014 to 10 October 2015. He was also President of the Nepali Congress from 2010 to 2016, having earlier served in various capacities in the party. He is also known as the "Father of Constitution" due to his major role in promulgation of The Constitution of Nepal.

Zdravko Tolimir was a Bosnian Serb military commander and war criminal, convicted of genocide, conspiracy to commit genocide, extermination, murder, persecution on ethnic grounds and forced transfer. Tolimir was a commander of the Army of Republika Srpska during the Bosnian War. He was Assistant Commander of Intelligence and Security for the Bosnian Serb army and reported directly to the commander, General Ratko Mladić.

Agnès Sorel, known by the sobriquet Dame de beauté, was a favourite and chief mistress of King Charles VII of France, by whom she bore four daughters. She is considered the first officially recognized royal mistress of a French king. She was the subject of several contemporary paintings and works of art, including Jean Fouquet's Virgin and Child Surrounded by Angels.

Candelario Orlando López Vergara, better known as Cachaíto, was a Cuban bassist and composer, who gained international fame after his involvement in the Buena Vista Social Club recordings. He was nicknamed Cachaíto after his uncle, the famous bassist and innovator of mambo music Israel "Cachao" López. His father and Cachao's older brother was Orestes López, also a famous bassist/multi-instrumentalist and composer.

John Orley Allen Tate, known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Among his best known works are the poems "Ode to the Confederate Dead" (1928) and "The Mediterranean" (1933), and his only novel The Fathers (1938). He is associated with New Criticism, the Fugitives and the Southern Agrarians.

Thomas Eugene Robbins was an American novelist. His most notable works are "seriocomedies". His 1976 novel Even Cowgirls Get the Blues was adapted into the 1993 film version by Gus Van Sant. His last work, published in 2014, was Tibetan Peach Pie, a self-declared "un-memoir". From 1970, Robbins lived in La Conner, Washington, where he wrote nine of his books.

Robert William Kearns was an American mechanical engineer, educator, and inventor who invented the most common intermittent windshield wiper systems used on most automobiles from 1969 to the present. His first patent for the invention was filed on December 1, 1964, after a few previous designs by other inventors had failed to gain any traction in manufacturing.

David Wayne was an American actor and singer, with a stage and screen career spanning over 50 years. He was a recipient of two Tony Awards, Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Finian's Rainbow and Best Actor in a Play for The Teahouse of the August Moon, with a third nomination for The Happy Time.

Ono no Michikaze or Ono no Tōfū was a prominent shodōka during the Heian period (794–1185). One of the so-called Sanseki 三跡, along with Fujiwara no Sukemasa and Fujiwara no Yukinari, Michikaze is considered the founder of Japanese-style calligraphy or wayōshodō (和様書道). He is popularly extolled in Japan as the "reincarnation of Wang Xizhi".

George Francis "Gabby" Hayes was an American actor. He began as something of a leading man and a character player, but he was best known for his numerous appearances in B-Western film series as the bewhiskered, cantankerous, but ever-loyal and brave comic sidekick of the cowboy stars William Boyd, Roy Rogers and John Wayne.

Christopher Hyatt, born Alan Ronald Miller, was an American psychologist, occultist, and writer. He was founder and president of New Falcon Publications, an independent publisher specializing in psychedelic and occult literature; Hyatt's press published work by several well-known champions of consciousness expansion, including Israel Regardie, Timothy Leary, Robert Anton Wilson, and Antero Alli.

Minamoto no Yoritomo was a samurai, daimyo and the founder and the first shogun of the Kamakura shogunate, ruling from 1192 until 1199, also the first shogun in the history of Japan to hold de-facto power over Japan. He was married to Hōjō Masako, who acted as regent (shikken) after his death.

Sophie Tucker was a Jewish-American singer, comedian, actress, and radio personality. Known for her powerful delivery of comical and risqué songs, she was one of the most popular entertainers in the U.S. during the first half of the 20th century. She was known by the nickname "the Last of the Red-Hot Mamas".

Gerrit Dou, also known as Gerard Douw or Dow, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, whose small, highly polished paintings are typical of the Leiden fijnschilders. He specialised in genre scenes and is noted for his trompe-l'œil "niche" paintings and candlelit night-scenes with strong chiaroscuro. He was a student of Rembrandt.

Sergey Vladimirovich Ilyushin was a Soviet aircraft designer who founded the Ilyushin aircraft design bureau. He designed the Il-2 Shturmovik, which made its maiden flight in 1939. It is the most produced warplane, and remains the second most-produced aircraft in history, with some 36,000+ built, behind the US Cessna 172.

Claude Ryan was a Canadian journalist and politician. He was the director of the newspaper Le Devoir from 1964 to 1978, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1978 to 1982, National Assembly of Quebec member for Argenteuil from 1979 to 1994 and Minister of Education from 1985 to 1989.

Liu Han was a Chinese billionaire businessman, the former chairman of the conglomerate Hanlong Group, with interests in power generation and mining. His assets were officially valued at 40 billion yuan. He was convicted of murder, running a mafia-style gang, and many other charges, and executed in February 2015.

Alexandre (Alexander) Nikolayevich Benois was a Russian artist, art critic, historian, preservationist and founding member of Mir iskusstva, an art movement and magazine. As a designer for the Ballets Russes under Sergei Diaghilev, Benois exerted what is considered a seminal influence on the modern ballet and stage design.

Jazeh Tabatabai was an Iranian avant-garde painter, poet, and sculptor. He was the founder and director of the Iran Modern Art Gallery in Tehran, Iran. Tabatabai's fame is mostly due to his creative figures and metal sculptures which he assembled with parts from old machinery and cars.

Junnosuke Inoue was a Japanese financier and statesman of the Taisho and Showa eras. He was the 9th and 11th Governor of the Bank of Japan (BOJ), and Minister of Finance in 1923-1924 and 1929-1931. He was assassinated during the League of Blood Incident in 1932.

Sir Charles Gavan Duffy KCMG, PC was an Irish poet, politician and journalist, Young Irelander and tenant-rights activist. After emigrating to Australia in 1856 he entered the politics of Victoria on a platform of land reform, and in 1871–1872 served as the colony's 8th Premier.

Maurice Schumann was a French politician, journalist, writer, and hero of the Second World War who served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under Georges Pompidou from 22 June 1969 to 15 March 1973. Schumann was a member of the Christian democratic Popular Republican Movement.

Yang Yanzhao, named Yang Yanlang (楊延朗) before 1012, was a military general in ancient China's Northern Song dynasty. For over two decades he defended Song's northern border against the Khitan-ruled Liao dynasty, helping Song thwart Liao's repeated invasion attempts between 999 and 1004.

John Roy Hooper was an English churchman, Anglican Bishop of Gloucester, later of Worcester and Gloucester, a Protestant reformer and a Protestant martyr. A proponent of the English Reformation, he was executed for heresy by burning during the reign of Queen Mary I.

Tom Macdonald was a Welsh journalist and novelist, whose most significant publication was his highly evocative account of growing up in the north of Cardiganshire in the years before the Great War, which was published in 1975 as The White Lanes of Summer.

Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov was a Soviet politician who served as the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from late 1982 until his death in 1984. He previously served as the chairman of the KGB from 1967 until 1982.

ʿAlī ibn ʾAbū'l-Hayjāʾ ʿAbdallāh ibn Ḥamdān ibn Ḥamdūn ibn al-Ḥārith al-Taghlibī, more commonly known simply by his honorific of Sayf al-Dawla, was the founder of the Emirate of Aleppo, encompassing most of northern Syria and parts of the western Jazira.

Howard Martin Temin was an American geneticist and virologist. He discovered reverse transcriptase in the 1970s at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, for which he shared the 1975 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Renato Dulbecco and David Baltimore.

William I, the One-Eyed was Margrave of Meissen. His nickname is related to the legend that Saint Benno appeared to him because of his disputes with the Church in a dream and he had an eye gouged out.

Carm Lino Spiteri, also known by his nickname Iċ-Ċumpaqq, was a Maltese architect and politician. He was a member of the House of Representatives with the Nationalist Party between 1971 and 1987, and again between 1992 and 1996.

Frederick III was King of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death in 1670. He also governed under the name Frederik II as diocesan administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Verden, and the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen (1635–45).

Edward Granville Theodore was an Australian politician who served as Premier of Queensland from 1919 to 1925, as leader of the state Labor Party. He later entered federal politics, serving as Treasurer in the Scullin Labor government.

Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was a Hungarian admiral and statesman who was the regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar period and most of World War II, from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944.

Jóhann Gunnar Jóhannsson was an Icelandic composer who wrote music for a wide array of media including theatre, dance, television, and film. His work is stylised by its blending of traditional orchestration with contemporary electronic elements.

Edwin Milton Sabol was an American filmmaker and the founder of NFL Films. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 as a contributor, due to his works with NFL Films.

Lauri Kristian Relander was the president of Finland (1925–1931). A prominent member of the Agrarian League, he served as a member of Parliament, and as Speaker, before his election as president.

Bernard I was the Duke of Saxony between 973 and 1011, the second of the Billung dynasty, a son of Duke Herman and Oda. He extended his father's power considerably.

Richard Bernhard With was a Norwegian ship captain, businessman, and politician for the Liberal Left Party. He is known as the founder of the shipping companies Vesteraalens Dampskibsselskab and Hurtigruten.

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader, and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba", and "Windows" are considered jazz standards.

Matthias II was Duke of Lorraine from 1220 to his death. He was the son of Duke Frederick II and Agnes of Bar and succeeded his brother, Theobald I.

Axel Gabriel Erik Mørch better known as Gabriel Axel was a Danish film director, actor, writer and producer, best known for Babette's Feast (1987), which he wrote and directed.

John Harwood Hick was an English philosopher and theologian, known for his contributions in the areas of theodicy, eschatology, Christology, epistemology of religion, and religious pluralism.

Johan Barthold Jongkind was a Dutch painter and printmaker. He painted marine landscapes in a free manner and is regarded as a forerunner of impressionism.

Edwin Frank Duchin, commonly known as Eddy Duchin or alternatively Eddie Duchin, was an American popular music pianist and bandleader during the 1930s and 1940s.

Mahommedali Currim Chagla was an Indian jurist, diplomat, and Cabinet Minister who served as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court from 1947 to 1958.

John Frederick was Duke of Pomerania from 1560 to 1600, and Bishop of Cammin (Kamień) from 1556 to 1574. Elected bishop in 1556 and heir of the duchy in 1560, he remained under the tutelage of his great-uncle Barnim XI until he took on his offices in 1567.

André Salvat was a colonel in the French Army. He was a veteran of World War II, the First Indochina War and the Algerian War. He was made a Companion of the Liberation for his World War II service.

Rowland Taylor was an English Protestant martyr during the Marian Persecutions.

Jean François de Saint-Lambert was a French poet, philosopher and military officer.

William Neal Gillies was an Australian Labor politician in Queensland who served as premier of Queensland from February to October 1925.

A. K. Golam Jilani was a Bengali revolutionary of the Indian independence movement from the Nawabganj Upazila, Dhaka in present-day Bangladesh.

Ella D. Barrier was an American educator and clubwoman. Her younger sister was Fannie Barrier Williams.

Ernst von Dohnányi was a Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor. He used the German form of his name on most published compositions.

Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah was a Pakistani educator, litterateur, Islamic theologist and social reformer of pre-partition India.

Masatoşi Gündüz İkeda, was a Japanese-born Turkish mathematician known for his contributions to the field of algebraic number theory.

Walter Frederick Morrison was an American inventor and entrepreneur, who invented the Frisbee.