January 29 – Events:
- 904 – Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
- 1595 – William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet is probably first performed.
- 1676 – Feodor III becomes Tsar of Russia.
- 1802 – John Beckley ofVirginia appointed first Librarian of Congress.
- 1814 -France defeatsRussiaandPrussia in the Battle of Brienne.
- 1834 -USPresident Andrew Jackson orders first use of federal soldiers to suppress a labor dispute.
- 1845 – “The Raven” by Edgar Allan Poe is published in the New York Evening Mirror.
- 1850 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.
- 1856 – Queen Victoria institutes the Victoria Cross.
- 1861 -Kansas admitted as the 34thU.S. state.
- 1863 -Bear RiverMassacre.
- 1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
- 1891 – Liliuokalani is proclaimed Queen of Hawaii, its last monarch.
- 1900 – The American League is organized inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvaniawith 8 founding teams.
- 1908 – Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, atCornell University, incorporates.
- 1916 – World War I:Parisis first bombed by German zeppelins.
- 1919 – Secretary of state proclaims the 18th amendment (prohibition).
- 1920 – Walt Disney starts first job as an artist; $40 week with KC Slide Co.
- 1921 – Hurricane hitsWashington&Oregon.
- 1922 – Union ofCosta Rica,Guatemala, Honduras & El Salvador dissolved.
- 1924 – Ice cream cone rolling machine patented by Carl Taylor,Cleveland.
- 1929 – Seeing Eye Guide Dog Organization forms.
- 1936 – First players elected to Baseball Hall of Fame-Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Honus Wagner, Christy Mathewson & Walter Johnson.
- 1940 – Three gasoline multiple units carrying factory workers crash and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi station, Yumesaki Line (Nishinari Line), Osaka, Japan, killing at least 181 people and injuring at least 92.
- 1943 – The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, U.S. cruiser Chicago is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.
- 1944 – USS Missouri the last battleship commissioned by the US Navy is launched.
- 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Cisterna takes place in centralItaly.
- 1944 – World War II: About 38 men, women, and children die in the Koniuchy massacre inPoland.
- 1944 – InBologna,Italy, the Anatomical Theatre of the Archiginnasio is destroyed in an air-raid bombing.
- 1951 – Liz Taylor’s first divorce (Conrad Hilton, Jr.)
- 1959 – Sleeping Beauty, an animated feature produced by Walt Disney based upon a fairy tale, is released.
- 1963 – First inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced: Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, and George Halas.
- 1966 – The first of 608 performances of Sweet Charity opens at the Palace Theatre, New York.
- 1978 -Swedenoutlaws aerosol sprays due to their harmful effect on the ozone layer, becoming the first nation to enact such a ban.
- 1979 – Emerson, Lake & Palmer disband after 10 years together.
- 1979 – President Carter commuted Patricia Hearst’s 7 year sentence to 2 years.
- 1979 – Brenda Ann Spencer opens fire at theClevelandElementary Schoolplayground inSan Diego,California, killing two adults and wounding eight children and one police officer.
- 1989 -Hungary establishes diplomatic relations withSouth Korea, making them the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so.
- 1996 – President Jacques Chirac announces a “definitive end” to French nuclear testing.
- 1996 – La Fenice,Venice’s opera house, is destroyed by fire.
- 1998 – InBirmingham,Alabama, a bomb explodes at an abortion clinic, killing one and severely wounding another. Serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph is suspected as the culprit.
- 2001 – Thousands of student protesters inIndonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
- 2005 – The first direct commercial flights from the mainlandChina (fromGuangzhou) toTaiwansince 1949 arrived inTaipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines carrier landed inBeijing.
January 29 – Birthdays:
- 1584 – Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange(d. 1647)
- 1632 – Johann Georg Graevius, German classical scholar and critic (d. 1703)
- 1688 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish scientist and philosopher (d. 1772)
- 1711 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (d. 1788)
- 1715 – Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian composer (d. 1777)
- 1717 – Jeffrey Amherst, British military leader (d. 1797)
- 1718 – Paul Rabaut, French Huguenot pastor (d. 1794)
- 1737 – Thomas Paine, English-born American patriot (d. 1809)
- 1749 – King Christian VII ofDenmark (d. 1808)
- 1754 – Moses Cleaveland, founder of the city ofCleveland (d. 1806)
- 1756 – Henry Lee III, American General
- 1761 – Albert Gallatin, Swiss-AmericanUnited StatesSecretary of the Treasury
- 1782 – Daniel Auber, French composer (d. 1871)
- 1801 – Horatia Nelson, the illegitimate daughter of Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson (d. 1881)
- 1810 – Ernst Kummer, German mathematician (d. 1893)
- 1843 – William McKinley, 25th President of theUnited States(d. 1901)
- 1846 – Karol Olszewski, Polish scientist (d. 1915)
- 1860 – Anton Chekhov, Russian writer (d. 1904)
- 1862 – Frederick Delius, English composer (d. 1934)
- 1866 – Romain Rolland, French writer, Nobel Laureate (d. 1944)
- 1867 – Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Spanish writer (d. 1928)
- 1874 – John D. Rockefeller Jr., American entrepreneur (d. 1960)
- 1876 – Havergal Brian, British composer (d. 1972)
- 1877 – Georges Catroux, French general (d. 1969)
- 1880 – W.C. Fields, American actor (d. 1946)
- 1891 – Elizaveta Gerdt, Russian ballerina (d. 1975)
- 1891 – R. Norris Williams, American tennis player, also a survivor of the RMS Titanic Disaster d. 1968)
- 1895 – Muna Lee, American poet (d. 1965)
- 1901 – Allen B. DuMont, American scientist and inventor (d. 1965)
- 1905 – Barnett Newman, American painter (d. 1970)
- 1910 – Colin Middleton, Irish artist (d. 1983)
- 1911 – Peter von Siemens, German industrialist (d. 1986)
- 1913 – Victor Mature, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1913 – Daniel Taradash, American screenwriter (d. 2003)
- 1913 – Peter von Zahn, German journalist and writer (d. 2001)
- 1915 – John Serry, Sr., American musician, composer, arranger (d. 2003)
- 1918 – John Forsythe, American actor
- 1920 – José Luis de Villalonga, Spanish aristocrat, author, and actor (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Anthony George, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Gerda Steinhoff, Nazi concetration camp supervisor (d. 1946)
- 1923 – Paddy Chayefsky, American writer (d. 1981)
- 1923 – Ivo Robic, Croatian singer and songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1924 – Luigi Nono, Italian composer (d. 1990)
- 1924 -Marcelle Ferron,Quebec painter and stained glass artist (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Peter Voulkos, American artist (d. 2002)
- 1926 – Franco Cerri, Italian musician
- 1926 – Abdus Salam, Pakistani physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1996)
- 1927 – Edward Abbey, American author and environmentalist (d. 1989)
- 1928 – Lee Shau Kee,Hong Kongproperty developer
- 1929 – Gordon Solie, American professional wrestling announcer (d. 2000)
- 1930 – Derek Bailey, English guitar virtuoso (d. 2005)
- 1930 – John Junkin, English radio, television and film performer and scriptwriter (d. 2006)
- 1932 – Tommy Taylor, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1932 – George Allen, English footballer
- 1933 – Sacha Distel, French singer and guitarist (d. 2004)
- 1933 – Ron Townson, American singer (The 5th Dimension) (d. 2001)
- 1936 – James Jamerson, American bass guitarist for Motown Records (d. 1983)
- 1939 – Germaine Greer, Australian writer
- 1940 – Katharine Ross, American actress
- 1940 – Kunimitsu Takahashi, Japanese motorcycle racer and racing driver
- 1942 – Claudine Longet, French singer, dancer and convicted murderer
- 1944 – Yoweri Museveni, President ofUganda
- 1945 – Jim Nicholson, Irish politician
- 1945 – Tom Selleck, American actor
- 1947 – Linda B. Buck, American scientist, Nobel laureate
- 1947 – David Byron, English singer (Uriah Heep) (d. 1985)
- 1947 – Marián Varga, Slovak musician
- 1948 – Cristina Saralegui, American talk-show host
- 1948 – Marc Singer, Canadian-born actor
- 1948 – Pat Kenny, Irish TV presenter & radio host
- 1950 – Ann Jillian, American actress
- 1950 – Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver and one-time F1 world champion
- 1951 – Andy Roberts, West Indian cricketer
- 1952 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-born musician and record producer (The Ramones)
- 1953 -Paulin Bordeleau,Quebec ice hockey player
- 1953 – Hwang Woo-Suk, South Korean biomedical scientist
- 1953 – Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (d. 1995)
- 1953 – Lynne McGranger, Australian actress
- 1954 – Richard “Handsome Dick”Manitoba, American singer (The Dictators and MC5)
- 1954 – Terry Kinney, American actor
- 1954 – Oprah Winfrey, American producer, actress, talk show host, and publisher
- 1954 – Doug Risebrough, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and executive
- 1955 – Lynne McGranger, Australian actress
- 1957 – Grazyna Miller, Italian poet, translator, and journalist
- 1960 – Matthew Ashford, American actor
- 1960 – Gia Carangi, American model (d. 1986)
- 1960 – Sean Kerly, English field hockey player
- 1960 – Greg Louganis, American diver
- 1960 – Steve Sax, American baseball player
- 1960 – J. G. Thirlwell, Australian-born musician
- 1962 – Nicholas Turturro, American actor
- 1963 – Bob Holly, American professional wrestler
- 1964 – Andre Reed, American football player
- 1964 – John Habyan, American baseball player
- 1964 – Roddy Frame, lead singer of Scottish New Wave band Aztec Camera
- 1964 – Anna Ryder Richardson, British interior designer and television presenter.
- 1965 – Dominik Hašek, Czech ice hockey player
- 1965 – Peter Lundgren, Swedish tennis coach
- 1966 – Romário, Brazilian footballer
- 1967 – Cyril Suk, Czech tennis player
- 1967 – Stacey King, American basketball player
- 1968 – Edward Burns, American actor
- 1968 – Susi Erdmann, German bobsledder and luger
- 1968 – Sora Jung, Korean actress
- 1969 – Thomas Jane, American actor
- 1969 – Hyde, Japanese singer1970 – Heather Graham, American actress
- 1970 – Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian shooter
- 1970 – Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer
- 1973 – Jason Schmidt, American baseball player
- 1975 – Sara Gilbert, American actress
- 1976 – Charles Divins, American model-turned-actor
- 1977 – Justin Hartley, American actor
- 1978 – Martin Schmitt, German ski jumper
- 1978 – Rob Bironas, American football player
- 1979 – April Scott, American actress and model
- 1979 – Joseph Todd, Arena Football League player
- 1979 – Sui Feifei, Chinese basketball player
- 1980 – Yael Bar-Zohar, Israeli actress and model
- 1980 – Ivan Klasnic, Croatian football player
- 1981 – Jonny Lang, American musician
- 1981 – Álex Ubago, Spanish musician
- 1982 – Heidi Mueller, American actress
- 1983 – Nedžad Sinanovic, Bosnian basketball player
- 1985 – Athina Onassis, French heiress
- 1985 – Marc Gasol, Spanish basketball player
- 1986 – Drew Tyler Bell, American actor
- 1986 – Mark Howard, English football player
- 1986 – Simon Vukcevic, Montenegrin football player
- 1987 – Spencer Clark, American race car driver (d. 2006)
- 1987 – Matthew Wilson, English world rally driver
- 1988 – Stephanie Gilmore, Australian professional surfer
- 1993 – Michelle Larcher De Brito, Portuguese tennis player.
- 1996 – Megan Jossa, English actress
January 29 – Deaths:
- 1119 – Pope Gelasius II
- 1342 – Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1279)
- 1597 – Elias Ammerbach, German organist (b. 1530)
- 1608 – Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1557)
- 1647 – Francis Meres, English writer (b. 1565)
- 1676 – Tsar Alexis I ofRussia (b. 1629)
- 1678 – Jeronimo Lobo, Portuguese Jesuit missionary (b. 1593)
- 1696 – Ivan V, Russian tsar (b. 1666)
- 1706 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and courtier (b. 1638)
- 1737 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, British soldier (b. 1666)
- 1743 – André-Hercule de Fleury, chief minister under Louis XV ofFrance(b. 1653)
- 1763 – Louis Racine, French poet (b. 1692)
- 1820 – King George III of theUnited Kingdom (b. 1738)
- 1829 – Paul François Jean Nicolas Barras, French politician (b. 1755)
- 1870 – Leopold II, Grand Duke ofTuscany(b. 1797)
- 1871 – Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, French Canadian writer and Seigneur (b. 1786)
- 1899 – Alfred Sisley, British impressionist painter (b. 1839)
- 1901 -Milan I, King ofSerbia (b. 1855)
- 1906 – King Christian IX ofDenmark (b. 1818)
- 1918 – Aleksei Maksimovich Kaledin, Russian counter revolutionary (b. 1861)
- 1928 – Douglas Haig, British soldier (b. 1861)
- 1933 – Sara Teasdale, American poet (b. 1884)
- 1934 – Fritz Haber, German chemist, Nobel Laureate (b. 1868)
- 1941 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and dictator (b. 1871)
- 1946 – Harry Hopkins, 8th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1890)
- 1948 – Tomislav II ofCroatia, 4th Duke of Aosta, Italian aristocrat (b. 1900)
- 1950 – Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir ofKuwait (b. 1885)
- 1951 – Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (b. 1880)
- 1956 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist (b. 1880)
- 1962 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian violinist (b. 1875)
- 1963 – Robert Frost, American poet (b. 1874)
- 1964 – Alan Ladd, American actor (b. 1913)
- 1966 – Pierre Mercure, French Canadian composer (b. 1927)
- 1969 – Allen Dulles, American CIA director (b. 1893)
- 1970 – Basil Liddell Hart, British historian (b. 1895)
- 1977 – Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (b. 1902)
- 1977 – Freddie Prinze, American actor and comedian (b. 1954)
- 1980 – Jimmy Durante, American actor and comedian (b. 1893)
- 1986 – Leif Erickson, American actor (b. 1911)
- 1989 – Halina Konopacka, Polish athlete (b. 1900)
- 1991 – Yasushi Inoue, Japanese historian (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Willie Dixon, American composer and musician (b. 1915)
- 1994 – Ulrike Maier, Austrian alpine skier (b. 1967)
- 1998 – Joseph Alioto, mayor ofSan Francisco(b. 1916)
- 1999 – Lili St. Cyr, American dancer (b. 1918)
- 2002 – Dick “Night Train” Lane, American football player (b. 1928)
- 2002 – Harold Russell, Canadian-born actor (b. 1914)
- 2003 -Frank Moss,United States Senator fromUtah (b. 1911)
- 2004 – M. M. Kaye, British writer (b. 1908)
- 2004 -Janet Frame,New Zealandwriter (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Eric Griffiths, Welsh guitarist (The Quarrymen) (b. 1940)
- 2005 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli satirst (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Barbaro, American thoroughbred racehorse (b. 2003)
- 2007 – Dia Abdul Zahra Kadim, leader of the Iraqi cult Soldiers of Heaven (b. 1970)
- 2008 – Raymond Jacobs, United States Marine Corps F Company Radioman (Iwo Jima) (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Philippe Khorsand, French actor (b. 1948)
January 29 – Holidays:
- Roman Catholic saints – Valerius of Trèves, Saint Juniper
- Gibraltar- Constitution Day
