Knute Rockne (March 4, 1888 – March 31, 1931) was a Norwegian-American football player and coach. He played the sport at Notre Dame from 1910 to 1913 and then played for the Akron Indians for one year and the Massillon Tigers for two more. While still playing in Massillon, Ohio he was also the assistant coach at Notre Dame. He took over the head coach position there in 1918 and during his time as head coach his overall record was 105 – 12 – 5 and his team took three national championships (1924, 1929, 1930). He was killed in a plane crash leaving the world to mourn one of the greatest college football coaches of all time.

Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was a Scottish born American inventor, scientist, and engineer. He is credited with inventing and patenting America’s first practical phone and co-founded the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T). He considered the phone to be an intrusion and refused to have one in his office. He and Elisha Gray fought over primacy of the invention of the phone for some time after the patent was awarded. Bell was a strong believer in eugenics, as well.

Mikhail Gorbachev (March 2, 1931 ) is a Russian and Soviet politician, serving as the eighth and final leader of the Soviet Union. He held several different political offices in the USSR from October 1988 until Christmas Day 1991 when the office of President of the Soviet Union position was abolished and Boris Yeltsin took over as President of Russia. He was committed to preserving the Soviet state, but understood much reform was needed. He is one of the most significant figures of the second half of the twentieth century.

Photo By Acroterion – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8001541

Glenn Miller (March 1, 1904 – disappeared December 15, 1944) was an American big band trombonist. He was a composer, arranger, and bandleader of the swing era. Some of his biggest hits include “Chattanooga Choo Choo”, “Moonlight Serenade”, and “Tuxedo Junction”. In four years, he had 16 number one hits and 69 top ten hits, higher numbers than either Elvis or The Beatles had. He was flying to France to entertain the troops when his plane went missing over the English Channel.

John Byrom (February 29, 1692 – September 26, 1763) was an English poet and the inventor of a revolutionary system of shorthand. This was a system officially taught at both Oxford and Cambridge Universities. It was also used by the clerk of the House of Lords. He was also the author of the Anglican hymn Christians Awake! which is said to have been a Christmas present for his daughter.

Rae Dawn Chong (February 28, 1961) is a Canadian-American actress and the daughter of Tommy Chong of Cheech & Chong. Rae has starred in both television roles and in feature films. She won the Genie Award for Best Performance for her starring role in Quest of Fire. She has also appeared in music videos and directed films, and in her debut movie, gave Chris Pratt his beginning movie role.

Constantine I or Constantine the Great (February 27, 272 – May 22, 337) was a Roman Emperor who ruled from 306 until his death. His father was an Army officer who rose to the position of deputy emperor in the west. Constantine was sent east to become a military tribune under the co-rulers Diocletian and Galarius. From there he rose to Augustus. He is famous for converting to Christianity, the first Roman Emperor to do so.

Christopher Marlowe (February 26, 1564 – May 30 1593) was an English playwright, poet, and translator. He was the preeminent Elizabethan tragedian and greatly influenced William Shakespeare who was born the same year as Marlowe but only came to fame after Marlowe’s early mysterious death. A warrant was issued for his arrest and he was to appear in court on May 20. It is thought the charge may have been for blasphemy. Marlowe did not show on that day or the ten days that followed. Ingram Fizer stabbed him to death but it is not known if it was associated with his legal problems.

Ric Flair (February 25, 1949) was born Richard Morgan Fliehr in Tennessee. He was a professional wrestler in the WWE and later became a professional wrestling manager. His career spanned four decades and he is rated by both journalists and his peers as one of the all time greats of the sport. He is officially recognized by WWE as a 16 time world champion (eight with NWA, six with WCW, and twice with WWF).

Bettino Craxi (February 24, 1934 – January 19, 2000) was an Italian politician. He was the leader of the Italian Socialist Party from 1976 to 1993 and served at the Prime Minister of Italy from 1983 to 1987. He is considered to be one of the most powerful politicians of the First Republic. He came under investigation and in Milan, was convicted of corruption and illegal financing of the PSI. His defense was that “everybody does this” which did not earn him points with the citizenry.