• 1504 -France     cedesNaplestoAragon.
• 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes      is executed for his plotting against Parliament and James I ofEngland.
• 1747 – The first venereal      diseases clinic opens atLondon     LockHospital.
• 1814 – Gervasio Antonio de      Posadas becomes Supreme Director ofArgentina.
• 1846 – After the Milwaukee Bridge      War, Juneautown and Kilbourntown unified as the City of Milwaukee,      Wisconsin.
• 1849 – Corn Laws are abolished in      theUnited Kingdom     (following legislation in 1846).
• 1865 – American Civil War:      Confederate General Robert E. Lee becomes general-in-chief.
•  1867 – Maronite nationalist leader      Youssef Karam leavesLebanon     on board of a French ship forAlgeria.
• 1876 – TheUnited Statesorders all      Native Americans to move into reservations.
• 1891 – The first attempt of a      Portuguese republican revolution brakes out in the northern city ofPorto.
• 1895 – José      Martí & others leaveNew York        CityNYfor      invasion of Spanish Cuba.
• 1900 – Datu Muhammad Salleh is      assassinated in Kampung Teboh, Tambuan, ending the Mat Salleh Rebellion.
• 1901 – Chekhov’s      “Three Sisters” opens at theMoscowArt     Theater.
• 1905 – First      auto to exceed 100 mph (161 kph), A G MacDonald,Daytona Beach.
• 1905 – Carroll      Wright appointed firstUS     Commissioner of Labor.
• 1906 – Strongest      instrumentally recorded earthquake,Colombia, 8.6 Richter scale.
• 1911 – Congress      namesSan FranciscoasPanama       Canalopening celebration site
• 1915 – World War I:Germanyuses poison gas againstRussia
• 1917 – World War I:Germany     announces its U-boats will engage in unrestricted submarine warfare.
• 1918 – A series of accidental      collisions on a misty Scottish night leads to the loss of two Royal Navy      submarines with over a hundred lives, and damage to another five British warships.
• 1919 – The Battle of George      Square takes place inGlasgow,      Scotland.
• 1929 – The Soviet Union exiles      Leon Trotsky toTurkey.
• 1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch      Tape.
• 1936 – The Green Hornet radio      show debuts.
• 1941 – Layforce set sail.
• 1944 – World War II: American      forces land on Kwajalein Atoll and other islands in the Japanese-heldMarshall Islands.
• 1944 – World War II: During Anzio      campaign 1st Ranger Battalion (Darby’s Rangers) was destroyed behind enemy      lines in a heavily outnumbered encounter at Battle of Cisterna,Italy.
• 1945 -USArmy private Eddie Slovik      is executed, the first American soldier since the Civil War to be executed      for desertion.
• 1946 -Yugoslavia’s      new constitution, modeling the Soviet Union, establishes six constituent      republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina,Croatia,Macedonia,     Montenegro,SerbiaandSlovenia).
• 1948 – J. D.      Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Banana Fish” appears in NY.
• 1948 – Magnetic      tape recorder developed by Wireway.
• 1949 – First      daytime soap on TV “These Are My Children” (NBC inChicago).
• 1950 – President Harry S. Truman      announces a program to develop the hydrogen bomb.
• 1953 – A North Sea flood causes      over 1,800 deaths in theNetherlands.
• 1956 – Juscelino      Kubitschek becomes President of Brazil.
• 1956 – Guy Mollet becomes Prime      Minister of France.
• 1957 – Eight people on the ground      inPacoima,Californiaare killed following the      mid-air collision between a Douglas DC-7 airliner and a Northrop F-89      Scorpion fighter jet.
• 1958 – Explorer program: Explorer      1 - The first successful launch of an American satellite into orbit.
• 1958 – James Van Allen discovers      the Van Allen radiation belt.
• 1961 – Project Mercury:      Mercury-Redstone 2 – Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
• 1968 – Viet Cong attack theUnited Statesembassy inSaigon.
• 1968 -Nauru     declares independence fromAustralia.
• 1970 – A Saskatchewan Court      convicts 17-year-old hippie David Milgaard of murder; he is sentenced to      life in prison. He spent 23 years in jail until April 14, 1992 when DNA evidence      proves him innocent of all charges.
• 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14      Mission – Astronauts Alan Shepard, Stuart Roosa, and Edgar Mitchell,      aboard a Saturn V, lift off for a mission to the Fra Mauro Highlands on      the Moon.
• 1971 – The Winter Soldier      Investigation, organized by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War to      publicize war crimes and atrocities by Americans and allies inVietnam, begin inDetroit,Michigan.
• 1974 –      MacDonald’s founder Ray Kroc buys San Diego Padres.
• 1975 – Barry      Manilow’s “Mandy” goes gold.
• 1975 – UCLA wins      NCAA basketball championship.
• 1976 –      “Love Rollercoaster” by Ohio Players hits #1.
• 1980 – Thirty-nine people burn to      death in the occupation of the Spanish Embassy inGuatemala.
• 1981 – “The      Tide Is High” by Blondie hits #1.
• 1984 – Edwin Newman      retires from NBC News after 35 years with the network.
• 1986 – Mary      Lund, ofMinnesota,      is first female recipient of an artificial heart.
• 1988 – Barge      sinks nearAnacortesWA, spills 70,000 gallons of oil.
• 1990 – First      McDonalds inRussia     opens inMoscow,      world’s biggest McDonalds.
• 1992 –      Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires.
• 1994 – Dow Jones      hits a record 3,978.36
• 1995 – President Bill Clinton      authorizes a $20 billion loan toMexicoto stabilize its economy.
• 1996 – An explosives-filled truck      rams into the gates of the Central Bank ofSri       LankainColombo,      Sri Lanka     killing at least 86 and injuring 1,400.
• 2000 – Alaska Airlines flight 261      MD-83, experiencing horizontal stabilizer problems, crashes in the Pacific      Ocean off the coast of Point Mugu,California,      killing all 88 persons aboard.
• 2001 – In theNetherlandsa Scottish court convicts a      Libyan and acquits another for their part in the bombing of Pan Am Flight      103 which crashed intoLockerbie,      Scotland     in 1988.
• 2003 – The Waterfall train disaster      occurs nearWaterfall,      New South Wales,Australia.
• 2007 – Suspects are arrested inBirminghamin theUK,      accused of plotting the kidnap, holding and eventual beheading of a      serving Muslim British soldier inIraq.
• 2008 – The MS Riverdance is      beached atBlackpoolafter its cargo      shifts. The ship had been hit broadside by a wave in theIrish       Sea.

January 31 – Birthdays:

• 877 – Taejo of Goryeo, ruler ofKorea     (d. 943)
• 1512 – King Henry ofPortugal     (d. 1580)
• 1543 – Tokugawa Ieyasu, Shogun of     Japan     (d. 1616)
• 1550 – Henry I, Duke of Guise,      French Catholic leader (d. 1588)
• 1597 – John Francis Regis, French      saint (d. 1640)
• 1624 – Arnold Geulincx, Flemish      philosopher (d. 1669)
• 1673 – Louis de Montfort, French      catholic priest and saint (d. 1716)
• 1686 – Hans Egede, Norwegian      Lutheran missionary (d. 1758)
• 1752 – Gouverneur Morris,      American lawmaker and diplomat (d. 1816)
• 1759 – François Devienne, French      composer (d. 1803)
• 1797 – Franz Schubert, Austrian      composer (d. 1828)
• 1820 – William B. Washburn, 28th      Governor ofMassachusetts     (d. 1887)
• 1857 – George Jackson Churchward,      Great Western Railway Chief mechanical engineer. (d. 1933)
• 1865 – Henri Desgrange, Founder      of the Tour-de-France (d. 1940)
• 1865 – Shastriji Maharaj, Indian      spiritual leader (d. 1951)
• 1866 – Lev Shestov, Russian      philosopher (d. 1938)
• 1868 – Theodore William Richards,      American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1928)
• 1872 – Zane Grey, American      Western writer (d. 1939)
• 1881 – Irving Langmuir, American      chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1957)
• 1881 – Anna Pavlova, Russian      ballerina (d. 1931)
• 1884 – Theodor Heuss, 1st      President ofGermany     (Bundespräsident) (d. 1963)
• 1889 – Frank Foster, English      cricketer (d. 1958)
• 1892 – Eddie Cantor, American      actor and singer (d. 1964)
• 1894 – Isham Jones, American      musician (d. 1956)
• 1896 – Sofya Yanovskaya, Russian      mathematician (d. 1966)
• 1902 – Tallulah Bankhead,      American actress (d. 1968)
• 1902 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish      politician, Nobel laureate (d. 1986)
• 1905 – John O’Hara, American      writer (d. 1970)
• 1911 – Eddie Byrne, British actor      (d. 1981)
• 1913 – Don Hutson, American      football player (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Carey Loftin, American      actor and stuntman (d. 1997)
• 1914 – Sri Daya Mata, Hindu      religious figure
• 1914 – Jersey Joe Walcott,      American boxer (d. 1994)
• 1915 – Alan Lomax, American      musicologist (d. 2002)
• 1915 – Thomas Merton, American      author and monk (d. 1968)
• 1915 – Garry Moore, American      comedian (d. 1993)
• 1919 – Jackie Robinson, American      baseball player, and the first black player in Major League Baseball (d.      1972)
• 1921 – John Agar, American actor      (d. 2002)
• 1921 – Carol Channing, American      actress and singer
• 1921 – E. Fay Jones, American      architect (d. 2004)
• 1921 – Mario Lanza, American      singer (d. 1959)
• 1922 – Joanne Dru, American      actress (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Norman Mailer, American      writer and journalist (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Benjamin Hooks, American      civil rights leader
• 1926 – Tom Alston, American      baseball player (d. 1993)
• 1928 – Chuck Willis, American      singer and songwriter (d. 1958)
• 1929 – Rudolf Mössbauer, German      physicist, Nobel laureate
• 1929 – Jean Simmons, English      actress
• 1930 – Lynn Carlin, American      actress
• 1930 – Joakim Bonnier, Swedish      racecar driver (d. 1972)
• 1931 – Ernie Banks, American      baseball player
• 1931 – Christopher Chataway,      English athlete, newscaster and politician
• 1933 – Camille Henry, Canadian      ice hockey player (d. 1997)
• 1933 – Bernardo Provenzano ,      Mafia Boss
• 1934 – James Franciscus, American      actor (d. 1991)
• 1934 – Bob Turner, Canadian ice      hockey player (d. 2005)
• 1935 – Kenzaburo Oe, Japanese      writer, Nobel laureate
• 1937 – Regimantas Adomaitis,      Lithuanian actor
• 1937 – Andrée Boucher, Canadian      politician (d. 2007)
• 1937 – Philip Glass, American      composer
• 1937 – Suzanne Pleshette,      American actress (d. 2008)
• 1938 – Queen Beatrix of theNetherlands
• 1938 – James G. Watt, American      politician
• 1939 – Claude Gauthier, Canadian      singer and songwriter
• 1940 – Kitch Christie, South      African rugby union coach (d. 1998)
• 1941 – Richard A. Gephardt,      American politician
• 1941 – Jessica Walter, American      actress
• 1942 – Daniela Bianchi, Italian      actress
• 1942 – Derek Jarman, British      director and writer (d. 1994)
• 1944 – Charlie Musselwhite,      American musician
• 1945 – Joseph Kosuth, American      conceptual artist
• 1946 – Terry Kath, American      musician (Chicago)      (d. 1978)
• 1947 – Jonathan Banks, American      actor
• 1947 – Nolan Ryan, American      baseball player
• 1948 – Muneo Suzuki, Japanese      politician
• 1949 – Johan Derksen, Dutch      footballer and sports journalist
• 1949 – Ken Wilber, American      philosopher
• 1950 – Alexander Korzhakov, Boris      Yeltsin’s bodyguard
• 1951 – Dave Benton, Aruban-born      singer
• 1951 – Harry Wayne Casey,      American singer and musician (KC and the Sunshine Band)
• 1951 – Phil Manzanera, English      guitarist (Roxy Music, Quiet Sun, 801)
• 1952 – Nadya Rusheva, Russian      painter (d. 1969)
• 1954 – Adrian Vandenberg, Dutch      musician (Whitesnake)
• 1956 – John Lydon aka Johnny      Rotten, English singer (Sex Pistols, Public Image Ltd.)
• 1959 – Anthony LaPaglia,      Australian actor
• 1959 – Kelly Lynch, American      actress
• 1959 – Kelly Moore, American      stock car driver
• 1960 – Grant Morrison, British      comic book author
• 1961 – Lloyd Cole, British singer
• 1964 -Sylvie Bernier,Quebec     diver
• 1964 – Jeff Hanneman, American      musician (Slayer)
• 1964 – Billey Shamrock, Swedish      singer
• 1966 – Dr Umar Alisha, A Sufi      Master was Born at Pithapuram.
• 1967 – Fat Mike, American      musician
• 1967 – Irene Wan,Hong Kongactress
• 1967 – Joey Wong, Taiwanese      actress
• 1970 – Minnie Driver, British      actress
• 1971 – Lee Young Ae, South Korean      actress
• 1971 – Patrick Kielty, Northern      Irish comedian
• 1971 – Dimitris Markos, Greek      footballer
• 1973 – Portia de Rossi,      Australian actress
• 1974 – Wil Anderson, Australian      comedian
• 1974 – Ariel Pestano, Cuban      baseball player
• 1975 – Fred Coleman, former      National Football League wide receiver
• 1975 – Jackie O, Australian radio      host
• 1975 – Preity Zinta, Indian      actress
• 1976 – Traianos Dellas, Greek      footballer
• 1976 – Buddy Rice, American race      car driver
• 1977 – Mark Dutiaume, National      Hockey League player
• 1977 – Shingo Katori, Japanese      actor and singer (SMAP)
• 1977 – Jim Kleinsasser, National      Football League tight end
• 1977 – Kate Shindle, American      actress
• 1977 – Kerry Washington, American      actress
• 1978 – Fabián Caballero,      Argentine footballer
• 1978 – Brad Rutter, Jeopardy! Champion
• 1978 – Ray Shah, Irish DJ, TV,      radio presenter
• 1979 – Daniel Tammet, British      autistic savant
• 1980 – Ryan Kienle, American      musician
• 1980 – Tiffany Limos, American      actress
• 1981 – Julio Arca, Argentinian      football player
• 1981 – Justin Timberlake,      American singer
• 1982 – Yuniesky Betancourt, Major      League Baseball shortstop
• 1982 – Andreas Görlitz, German      football player
• 1982 – Bruno Nogueira, Portuguese      actor, comedian and TV host
• 1982 – Elena Paparizou, Greek      singer
• 1982 – Janis Sprukts, National      Hockey League player
• 1982 – Brad Thompson, Major      League Baseball player
• 1983 – James Sutton, British      television actor
• 1984 – Jeremy Wariner, American      400m runner
• 1985 – Adam Federici, Australian      footballer

January 31 – Deaths:

• 743 – Muhammad al-Baqir, Shia      Imam (b. 676)
• 1398 – Emperor Suko (b. 1334)
• 1435 – Xuande, Emperor ofChina     (b. 1398)
• 1561 – Bairam Khan, Great Mughal      General, regent for Akbar
• 1561 – Menno Simons, Dutch      Mennonite leader (b. 1496)
• 1580 – Henry ofPortugal(b. 1512)
• 1606 – Gunpowder Plot      conspirators:
• Guy Fawkes (b.       1570)
• Ambrose       Rokewood (b. c. 1578)
• Thomas Wintour       (b. 1571)
• 1615 – Claudio Aquaviva, Italian      Jesuit (b. 1543)
• 1632 – Joost Bürgi, Swiss      clockmaker and mathematician (b. 1552)
• 1665 – Johannes Clauberg, German      theologian and philosopher (b. 1622)
• 1686 – Jean Mairet, French      dramatist (b. 1604)
• 1720 – Thomas Grey, 2nd Earl of      Stamford, English privy councillor (c. 1654)
• 1729 – Jakob Roggeveen, Dutch      explorer (b. 1659)
• 1736 – Filippo Juvara, Italian architect      (b. 1678)
• 1788 – Charles Edward Stuart,      pretender to the British throne (b. 1720)
• 1790 – Thomas Lewis, Irish-bornVirginiasettler      (b. 1718)
• 1794 – Marriott Arbuthnot,      British admiral (b. 1711)
• 1815 – José Félix Ribas,      Venezuelan independentist leader (b. 1775)
• 1828 – Alexander Ypsilantis,      Phanariot Greek military commander and national hero of the Greek War of      Independence (b.1792
• 1844 – Henri Gratien, Comte      Bertrand, French general (b. 1773)
• 1888 – John Bosco, Italian      priest, youth worker, educator, founder of the Salesian Society (b. 1815)
• 1892 – Charles Spurgeon, English      preacher and evangelist (b. 1834)
• 1907 – Timothy Eaton, Canadian      department store founder (b. 1834)
• 1923 – Eligiusz Niewiadomski,      assassin of Gabriel Narutowicz (b. 1869)
• 1933 – John Galsworthy, English      writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1867)
• 1942 – Henry Larkin, Baseball      player (b. 1860)
• 1944 – Jean Giraudoux, French      writer (b. 1882)
• 1945 – Eddie Slovik, American      soldier (b. 1920)
• 1954 – Edwin Howard Armstrong,      American electrical engineer and inventor of the FM radio (b. 1890)
• 1955 – John Mott, American YMCA      leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1865)
• 1956 – A. A. Milne, English      author (b. 1882)
• 1966 – General Arthur Ernest      Percival, British Army Officer (b. 1887)
• 1967 – Eddie Tolan, American      athlete (b. 1908)
• 1969 – Meher Baba, Indian guru      (b. 1894)
• 1970 – Slim Harpo, American      singer (b. 1924)
• 1971 – Viktor Maksimovich      Zhirmunsky, Russian literary historian, linguist (b. 1891)
• 1973 – Ragnar Anton Kittil      Frisch, Norwegian economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1895)
• 1974 – Samuel Goldwyn,      Polish-born film studio executive (b. 1882)
• 1976 – Ernesto Miranda, American      litigant (b. 1941)
• 1981 – Cozy Cole, American jazz      drummer (b. 1909)
• 1987 – Yves Allégret, French film      director (b. 1907)
• 1990 – Rashad Khalifa,      Egyptian-born imam (b. 1935)
• 1995 – George Abbott, American      stage director and producer (b. 1887)
• 1997 – John Joseph Scanlan, Irish      Catholic prelate (b. 1930)
• 1999 – Norm Zauchin, American      baseball player (b. 1929)
• 2000 – Gil Kane, Latvian-born      comic book writer (b. 1926)
• 2001 – Gordon R. Dickson,      Canadian writer (b. 1923)
• 2002 – Francis Gabreski, American      fighter pilot (b. 1919)
• 2004 – Eleanor Holm, American      swimmer (b. 1913)
• 2006 – Moira Shearer, Scottish      actress (The Red Shoes) and ballerina (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Kirka Babitzin, Finnish      singer (b. 1950)
• 2007 – Molly Ivins, American      political columnist and author (b. 1944)
• 2007 – Lee Bergere, American      actor (b. 1924)
• 2007 – Adelaide Tambo, South      African activist and wife of Oliver Tambo (b. 1929)

January 31 – Holidays:

• Catholicism – Feast day of St.      John Bosco, patron saint of Christian apprentices, editors, and publishers
• Saint Pedro Nolasco
• Saint Marcella
• Saint Geminianus
• Blessed Ludovica

• 1648 – Eighty Years’ War: The      Treaty of Münster is signed, ending the conflict between theNetherlandsandSpain.
• 1649 – King Charles I ofEnglandis      beheaded.
• 1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord      Protector of theCommonwealth      ofEnglandis ritually      executed after having been dead for two years.
• 1790 – The first boat      specializing as a lifeboat is tested on the River Tyne.
• 1806 – The original Lower Trenton      Bridge (also called the Trenton Makes the World Takes Bridge), which spans      the Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New      Jersey, is opened.
• 1820 – Edward Bransfield sights      theTrinityPeninsula     and claims the discovery ofAntarctica.
• 1826 – TheMenai    Suspension Bridge, considered the      world’s first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to      thenorth Westcoast ofWalesis      opened.
• 1835 – In the first assassination      attempt against a President of theUnited States, Richard Lawrence      attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson.
• 1841 – A fire destroys two-thirds      of Mayagüez,Puerto Rico.
• 1847 -Yerba       Buena,Californiais renamedSan Francisco.
• 1858 – The first Hallé concert is      given inManchester,England, marking the official founding      of the Hallé Orchestra as a full-time, professional orchestra.
• 1862 – The first American      ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched.
• 1889 – Archduke Crown Prince      Rudolf ofAustria,      heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress      Baroness Mary Vetsera in Mayerling.
• 1894 – Pneumatic      hammer patented by Charles King ofDetroit
• 1911 – The destroyer USS Terry      (DD-25) makes the first airplane rescue at sea saving the life of      James McCurdy 10 miles fromHavana,      Cuba.
• 1911 – The Canadian Naval Service      becomes the Royal Canadian Navy.
• 1913 – TheUnited Kingdom’s      House of Lords rejects the Irish Home Rule Bill.
• 1925 – The Government ofTurkeythrows Patriarch Constantine VI out      ofIstanbul.
• 1930 – The world’s first      radiosonde is launched inPavlovsk,      USSR.
• 1933 “The      Lone Ranger” premiers on ABC radio
• 1933 – Adolf Hitler is sworn in      as Chancellor of Germany.
• 1943 – World War II: Second day      of the Battle of Rennell Island. TheUSS Chicago (CA- 29) is sunk      and aU.S.      destroyer is heavily damaged by Japanese torpedoes.
• 1943 – Holocaust inLetychiv,Ukraine: The Nazi Gestapo      commences mass shootings of Jews from Letychiv Ghetto. 200 surviving Jews      from Letychiv slave labor camp are ordered to undress and are shot with a      machine-gun into a ravine. Some 7,000 Jews were murdered in Letychiv.
• 1944 – World War II:United States     troops land on Majuro.
• 1945 – The Wilhelm Gustloff,      overfilled with refugees, sinks in theBaltic Sea      after being torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, leading to the deadliest      maritime disaster in known history, killing roughly 9,000 people.
• 1945 – World War II: Raid atCabanatuan: 126      American Rangers and Filipino resistance liberate 500 prisoners from the      Cabanatuan POW camp.
• 1945 – World War II: Hitler gives      his last ever public address, a radio address on the 12^th anniversary      of his coming to power.
• 1948 – Indian pacifist and leader      Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is assassinated by Nathuram Godse, a Hindu      extremist.
• 1948 – 5th      Winter Olympic games open inSt        Moritz,Switzerland.
• 1956 – American civil rights      leader Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home is bombed in retaliation for the      Montgomery Bus Boycott.
• 1958 – House of      Lords passes bill allowing women
• 1962 – Two of the high-wire      Flying Wallendas are killed when their seven-person pyramid collapses      during a performance inDetroit,      Michigan.
• 1964 – Ranger program: Ranger 6      is launched.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: The Tet      Offensive begins when Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks      inSouth Vietnam.
• 1969 – The Beatles’ last public      performance, on the roof of Apple Records inLondon. The impromptu concert is broken      up by the police.
• 1972 – Bloody Sunday: United      Kingdom British Paratroopers kill fourteen civil rights/anti internment      marchers inNorthern        Ireland.
• 1972 -Pakistan     withdraws from theCommonwealth of Nations.
• 1973 – Jury      finds Watergate defendants Liddy & McCord guilty on all count.
• 1975 – The first faroese stamp is      issued.
• 1976 – George H. W. Bush becomes      the 11th director of the CIA.
• 1982 – Richard Skrenta writes the      first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot      program called “Elk Cloner.”
• 1983 – Super      Bowl XVII-Washington Redskins-27, Miami Dolphins-17
• 1989 – The American embassy inKabul,Afghanistan     closes.
• 1994 – Péter Lékó becomes the      youngest chess grand master.
• 1995 – Workers from the National      Institutes of Health announce the success of clinical trials testing the      first preventive treatment for sickle-cell disease.
• 1996 – Gino Gallagher, the      suspected leader of the Irish National Liberation Army, is killed while      waiting in line for his unemployment benefit.
• 1996 – Comet Hyakutake is      discovered by Japanese amateur astronomer Yuji Hyakutake.
• 2000 – Off the coast ofIvory Coast, Kenya Airways Flight 431      crashes into theAtlantic Ocean, killing      169.
• 2003 -Belgiumlegally recognizes same-sex      marriage.

January 30 – Birthdays:

• 133 – Marcus Severus Didius      Julianus, Roman Emperor (d. 193)
• 1505 – Thomas Tallis, English      composer (d. 1585)
• 1563 – Franciscus Gomarus, Dutch      theologian (d. 1641)
• 1615 – Thomas Rolfe, American      colonial settler and only child of Pocahontas and John Rolfe (d. 1675)
• 1661 – Charles Rollin, French      historian (d. 1741)
• 1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann,      German architect (d. 1753)
• 1697 – Johann Joachim Quantz,      German flautist and composer (d. 1773)
• 1720 – Charles De Geer, Swedish      industrialist and entomologist (d. 1778)
• 1754 – John Lansing, Jr.,      American statesman (d. 1829)
• 1781 – Adelbert von Chamisso,      German writer (d. 1838)
• 1816 – Nathaniel Prentice Banks,      24th Governor ofMassachusetts     (d. 1894)
• 1822 – Franz Ritter von Hauer,      Austrian geologist (d. 1899)
• 1832 – Infanta Luisa Fernanda,      Duchess of Montpensier (d. 1897)
• 1841 – Félix Faure, 6th President      of theFrench     ThirdRepublic     (d. 1899)
• 1859 – Tony Mullane, Irish-born      American baseball player (d. 1944)
• 1861 – Charles Martin Loeffler,      German-born composer (d. 1935)
• 1873 – Georges Ricard-Cordingley,      painter (d. 1939)
• 1878 – Anton Hansen Tammsaare,      Estonian author (d. 1940)
• 1882 -Franklin     D. Roosevelt, 32nd President of theUnited States(d. 1945)
• 1889 – Jaishankar Prasad, Hindi      poet, dramatist and novelist (d. 1937)
• 1894 – Tsar Boris III ofBulgaria     (d. 1943)
• 1899 – Max Theiler, South African      virologist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1972)
• 1901 – Rudolf Caracciola, German      race car driver (d. 1959)
• 1902 – Nikolaus Pevsner,      German-born art historian (d. 1983)
• 1910 – C Subramaniam, Indian      politician (d. 2000)
• 1911 – Roy Eldridge, American      musician (d. 1989)
• 1912 – Werner Hartmann, German      physicist (d. 1988)
• 1912 – Francis Schaeffer,      American Evangelical theologian and pastor (d. 1984)
• 1912 – Barbara W. Tuchman,      American historian (d. 1989)
• 1913 – Percy Thrower, British      Television Gardener (d. 1988)
• 1914 – John Ireland, Canadian      actor (d. 1992)
• 1914 – David Wayne, American      actor (d. 1995)
• 1915 – Joachim Peiper, German SS      officer (d. 1976, by assassination)
• 1915 – John Profumo, British      cabinet minister (d. 2006)
• 1917 – Paul Frère, Belgian racing      driver and motorsport journalist d. 2008)
• 1918 – David Opatoshu, American      television actor (d. 1996)
• 1919 – Nikolay Glazkov, Russian      poet (d. 1979)
• 1920 – Carwood Lipton, American      WWII veteran (d. 2001)
• 1920 – Delbert Mann, American      film director
• 1922 – Dick Martin, American      comedian
• 1924 – Lloyd Alexander, American      writer (d. 2007)
• 1925 – Douglas Engelbart, American      computer scientist
• 1925 – Dorothy Malone, American      actress
• 1927 – Olof Palme, Prime Minister      ofSweden     (d. 1986)
• 1928 – Hal Prince, American stage      producer and director
• 1929 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti,      Canadian surgeon and international aid worker (d. 1996)
• 1930 – Sandy Amorós, Cuban      baseball player (d. 1992)
• 1930 – Samuel J. Byck, American      attempted assassin of Richard Nixon (d. 1974)
• 1930 – Gene Hackman, American      actor
• 1930 – Magnus Malan, South      African politician
• 1931 – John Crosbie, Canadian      politician
• 1931 – Allan W. Eckert, American      historian, naturalist, and author
• 1931 – Shirley Hazzard,      Australian-born author
• 1932 – Knock Yokoyama, Japanese      comedian and politician
• 1933 – Louis Rukeyser, American      journalist (d. 2006)
• 1935 – Richard Brautigan,      American writer and poet (d. 1984)
• 1936 – F. Vernon Boozer, American      politician
• 1936 – Patrick Caulfield, British      painter and printmaker (d. 2005)
• 1936 – Horst Jankowski, German      popular pianist (d. 1998)
• 1937 – Ed Hansen, American film      director and editor (d. 2005)
• 1937 – Vanessa Redgrave, English      actress
• 1937 – Boris Spassky, Russian      chess player
• 1938 – Islom Karimov, President      ofUzbekistan
• 1941 – Gregory Benford, American      author and scientist
• 1941 – Dick Cheney, 46th Vice      President of theUnited        States
• 1941 – Tineke Lagerberg, Dutch      swimmer
• 1942 – Marty Balin, American      musician
• 1943 – Davey Johnson, American      baseball player and manager
• 1945 – Michael Dorris, American      author (d. 1997)
• 1947 – Les Barker, English poet
• 1947 – Steve Marriott, English      musician (The Small Faces) (d. 1991)
• 1948 – Nick Broomfield, English      film- and documentary-maker
• 1948 – Paul Magee, Provisional      Irish Republican Army member
• 1949 – Peter Agre, American      biologist, Nobel laureate
• 1950 – Trinidad Silva, American      actor (d. 1988)
• 1951 – Phil Collins, English      musician
• 1951 – Charles S. Dutton,      American actor
• 1951 – Bobby Stokes, English      former footballer (d. 1995)
• 1952 – Doug Falconer, Canadian      football player
• 1955 – Curtis Strange, American      golfer
• 1955 – Judith Tarr, American      author
• 1956 – Jeremy Gittins, English      actor
• 1956 – Keiichi Tsuchiya, Japanese      racing driver
• 1957 – Payne Stewart, American      golfer (d. 1999)
• 1958 – Brett Butler, American      actress and comedian
• 1959 – Mark Eitzel, American singer      and musician (American Music Club)
• 1959 – Jody Watley, American      singer
• 1961 – Dexter Scott King,      American actor and son of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott King
• 1962 – King Abdullah II ofJordan
• 1962 – Mary Kay Letourneau,      American convicted statutory rapist
• 1965 – Julie McCullough, American      model and actress
• 1966 -Danielle Goyette,Quebec     female ice hockey player
• 1968 – Trevor Dunn, American      musician (Mr. Bungle, Fantômas, Secret Chiefs 3)
• 1968 – Prince Felipe ofSpain
• 1969 – Carolyn Kepcher, American      businesswoman and reality TV show star
• 1971 – Darren Boyd, British actor
• 1971 – Kimo von Oelhoffen,      American football player
• 1972 – Lupillo Rivera, Mexican      singer
• 1972 – Chris Simon, Canadian ice      hockey player
• 1973 – Jalen Rose, American      basketball player
• 1974 – Christian Bale, Welsh      actor
• 1974 – Olivia Colman, English      actress
• 1974 – Jemima Khan, British      socialite
• 1975 – Juninho Pernambucano,      Brazilian footballer
• 1975 – Yumi Yoshimura, Japanese      singer (Puffy Amiyumi)
• 1976 – Andy Milonakis, American      comedian
• 1977 – Deltha O’Neal, American      football player
• 1978 – John Patterson, American      baseball player
• 1980 – Leilani Dowding, British      glamour model
• 1980 – Wilmer Valderrama,      American actor
• 1980 – Pavel Ponomaryov,      Russian-Estonian actor
• 1981 – Dimitar Berbatov,      Bulgarian footballer
• 1981 – Peter Crouch, English      footballer
• 1981 – Josh Kelley, American      musician
• 1981 – Mathias Lauda, Austrian      racing driver
• 1982 – Jorge Cantu, Mexican      baseball player
• 1984 – Jeremy Hermida, American      baseball player
• 1984 – Josh Harris, American      Videographer/Musician
• 1985 – Aaadietya Pandey, Indian      astrologer
• 1986 – Sam Duckworth, British      singer-songwriter
• 1987 – Rebecca Knox, Irish      professional wrestler
• 1988 – Rob Pinkston, American      actor
• 1989 – Khleo Thomas, American      actor and rapper
• 1990 – Jake Thomas, American      actor
• 1991 – Matthew Werkmeister,      Australian actor
• 2005 – Prince Hashem bin Al      Abdullah II, ofJordan

January 30 – Deaths:

• 1030 – William V, Duke ofAquitaine(b. 969)
• 1181 – Emperor Takakura ofJapan(b.      1161)
• 1384 – Louis II ofFlanders(b. 1330)
• 1574 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese      philosopher (b. 1502)
• 1606 – Everard Digby, English      conspirator (b. 1578)
• 1649 – King Charles I ofEngland     (executed) (b. 1600)
• 1730 – Tsar Peter II ofRussia(b.      1715)
• 1836 – Betsy Ross, American      seamstress (b. 1752)
• 1858 – Coenraad Jacob Temminck,      Dutch zoologist (b. 1778)
• 1867 – Emperor Komei ofJapan(b.      1831)
• 1869 – William Carleton, Irish      novelist (b. 1794)
• 1889 – Crown Prince Rudolph ofAustria     (b. 1858)
• 1926 – Barbara La Marr, American      actress (b. 1896)
• 1928 – Johannes Andreas Grib      Fibiger, Danish scientist, Nobel laureate (b. 1867)
• 1929 – La Goulue, French Cancan      dancer (b. 1866)
• 1934 – Frank Nelson Doubleday,      American publisher (b. 1862)
• 1948 – Mohandas Karamchand      Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi, Indian freedom fighter (b. 1869)
• 1948 – Orville Wright, American      aviation pioneer (b. 1871)
• 1951 – Ferdinand Porsche,      Austrian automotive engineer (b. 1875)
• 1958 – Jean Crotti, Swiss artist      (b. 1878)
• 1958 – Ernst Heinkel, German      aviation engineer (b. 1888)
• 1962 – Manuel de Abreu, Brazilian      physician (b. 1894)
• 1963 – Francis Poulenc, French      composer (b. 1899)
• 1969 – Georges Pire, Belgian      monk, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)
• 1980 – Professor Longhair,      American musician (b. 1918)
• 1982 – Lightnin’ Hopkins,      American musician (b. 1912)
• 1991 – John Bardeen, American      physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1908)
• 1991 – John McIntire, American      actor (b. 1907)
• 1994 – Pierre Boulle, French      author (b. 1912)
• 1995 – Gerald Durrell, British      naturalist, zookeeper, author, and television presenter (b. 1925)
• 1998 – Richard Cassilly, American      tenor (b. 1927)
• 1999 – Huntz Hall, American actor      (b. 1919)
• 1999 – Ed Herlihy, American      broadcaster (b. 1909)
• 2001 – Jean-Pierre Aumont, French      actor (b. 1911)
• 2001 – Johnnie Johnson, British      fighter pilot (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Joseph Ransohoff, the      father of modern neurosurgery (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Martyn Bennet, Canadian      musician (b. 1971)
• 2005 – Wes Wehmiller, American      musician (b. 1971)
• 2006 – Coretta Scott King,      American activist and wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Nikos Kourkoulos, Greek      actor, artistic director of the Greek National Theater (b. 1934)
• 2007 – Sidney Sheldon, American      author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Jeremy Beadle, British      Television Host, (b. 1948)
• 2008 – Roland Selmeczi, Hungarian      actor (b. 1969)

January 30 – Holidays:

• St. Mutien-Marie Wiaux
• St. Hippolytus
• St. Hyacintha Mariscotti
• St. Aldegonde
• St. Bathild
• St. Martina, Virgin and Martyr
• St. Savina, martyred under      Emperor Diocletian
• St. Anthony the Great’s feast in      the Coptic Church
• King Charles the      Martyr (Anglicanism)
• Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic      Church: Feast of the Three Holy Hierarchs

• 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

• 1077 – Walk toCanossa:      The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor is lifted.
• 1521 – The Diet ofWormsbegins, lasting      until May 25.
• 1547 – Henry VIII dies. His nine      year old son, Edward VI becomes King, and the first Protestant ruler ofEngland.
• 1573 – Articles of Warsaw      Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion inPoland.
• 1754 – Horace Walpole, in a      letter to Horace Mann, coins the word serendipity.
• 1624 – Sir Thomas Warner founds      the first British colony in theCaribbean,      on Saint Kitts.
• 1724 – TheRussian    Academyof Sciences was founded      inSt. Petersburg     by Peter the
• Great, and implemented in the      Senate decree. It was called St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until      1917.
• 1760 -Pownal,Vermont     created by Benning Wentworth as one of the New Hampshire Grants.
• 1807 -London’sPall Mall     isfirst street     lit by gaslight.
• 1813 – Pride and Prejudice is      first published in theUnited        Kingdom.
• 1820 – Russian expedition led by      Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev      discovered the Antarctic continent approaching the Antarctic coast.
• 1846 – Battle ofAliwal,Indiawon by British troops      commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
• 1848 – King ofNaplesgrants his      subjects a constitution.
• 1851 – Northwestern      University (Chicago) chartered.
• 1855 – The first locomotive runs      from the Atlantic Ocean to thePacific Ocean     on the Panama Railway.
• 1860 -Britainformally returns Mosquito Coast toNicaragua.
• 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: Siege      of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
• 1878 – Yale Daily News becomes      the first daily, college newspaper in theUnited States.
• 1887 – In a snowstorm atFort Keogh,Montana,      the world’s largest snowflakes are reported, being 15 inches (38 cm) wide      and 8 inches (20 cm) thick.
• 1902 – The Carnegie Institution      is founded inWashington,      DCwith a $10 million gift      from Andrew Carnegie.
• 1909 -United       Statestroops leaveCubawith the exception of      Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish-American      War.
• 1915 – An act of the U.S.      Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.
• 1916 – Louis D. Brandeis becomes      the first Jew appointed to the United States Supreme Court.
• 1917 – Municipally owned      streetcars take to the streets ofSan        Francisco,California.
• 1918 – Finnish Civil War: Rebels      seized control of the capital,Helsinki,      and members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
• 1921 – A symbolic Tomb of the      Unknown Soldier is installed beneath the Arc de Triomphe inParisto honor the      unknown dead ofWorldWarI.
• 1922 – American      Pro Football Association renamed “National Football League.”
• 1922 – Knickerbocker Storm,WashingtonD.C.’s      biggest snowfall, causes the city’s greatest loss of life when the roof of      the Knickerbocker Theater collapses.
• 1928 – Christopher      Hornsrud chosen PM ofNorway     at age 101.
• 1932 – Japanese forces attackShanghai.
• 1933 – The namePakistanis coined by Choudhary Rehmat Ali Khan and is accepted by the Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
• 1934 – The first ski tow in theUnited Statesbegins operation inVermont.
• 1935 -Icelandbecomes the first      Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
• 1938 – TheWorldLand     Speed Record on a public road is broken by driver Rudolf Caracciola in the      Mercedes-Benz W195.
• 1945 – World War II: Supplies      begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopenedBurma Road.
• 1953 – Derek Bentley hanged for a      murder carried out by Christopher Craig.
• 1958 – Charles Starkweather and      Caril Ann Fugate begin their murder spree with the killings of her parents      and infant sister.
• 1958 – The Lego company patented      their design of Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
• 1958 –      Construction began on first private thorium-uranium nuclear reactor.
• 1959 -Soviet Unionwins 62-37 for first international      basketball loss by US.
• 1960 – NFL      announces Dallas Cowboys (1960) & Minnesota Vikings (1961) franchises.
• 1961 -RepublicofRwandaproclaimed.
• 1962 – Johanne      Relleke gets stung by bees 2,443 times inRhodesia& survives.
• 1973 –      “Barnaby Jones” premiers on CBS TV.
• 1978 – “FantasyIsland” starring Ricardo      Montalban premiers on ABC TV.
• 1980 – USCGC Blackthorn (WLB-391)      collides with the tanker Capricorn while leavingTampaFlorida     and capsizes killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
• 1981 – Ronald Reagan lifts      remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in theUnited States     helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
• 1981 – William      J. Casey becomes director of the CIA.
• 1981 – Olympic      Glory tanker atGalveston Bay,      Texas, spills 1 million      gallons of oil in a ship collision.
• 1982 -USArmy general James L.      Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity under      the Red Brigades.
• 1984 – Los      Angeles Kings stop Wayne Gretsky 51 game scoring streak.
• 1984 – Mr. Glynn      Wolfe marries for non-bigamous record 26th time,Las Vegas.
• 1984 – Record      295,000 dominoes toppled,Fuerth,      West Germany
• 1986 – Space Shuttle program:      STS-51-L mission (Space Shuttle Challenger disaster) – Space Shuttle      Challenger breaks apart after liftoff killing all seven astronauts      onboard.
• 1990 – Defending      champion Ivan Lendl beats Stefan Edberg for Australian Open.
• 1990 – East      German agreement to form all-party government.
• 1994 – The first trial of accused      murderer Lyle Menendez ends in a mistrial. He and his brother Erik are      later found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
• 1998 – Gunmen hold at least 400      children and teachers hostage for several hours at an elementary school in     Manila,Philippines.
• 2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing      727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southernColombiakilling 92.
• 2004 – Lord Hutton publishes his      report into the death of U.N. weapons inspector Dr. David Kelly.

January 28 – Birthdays:

• 1225 – Saint Thomas Aquinas (d.      1274)
• 1312 – Queen Joan II ofNavarre     (d. 1349)
• 1457 – King Henry VII ofEngland     (d. 1509)
• 1540 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German      mathematician (d. 1610)
• 1582 – John Barclay, Scottish      writer (d. 1621)
• 1600 – Pope Clement IX (d. 1669)
• 1608 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli,      Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
• 1611 – Johannes Hevelius,      astronomer (d. 1687)
• 1622 – Adrien Auzout, French      astronomer (d. 1691)
• 1701 – Charles Marie de La      Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
• 1706 – John Baskerville, English      printer (d. 1775)
• 1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese      shogun (d. 1761)
• 1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman      Sultan (d. 1774)
• 1719 – Johann Elias Schlegel,      German critic and poet (d. 1749)
• 1755 – Samuel Thomas von      Sömmering, German physician (d. 1830)
• 1784 – George Hamilton GordonAberdeen, Prime Minister of theUnited Kingdom(d. 1860)
• 1818 – George S. Boutwell, 20th      Governor ofMassachusetts     (d. 1905)
• 1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd      Prime Minister ofCanada     (d. 1892)
• 1833 – Charles George ‘Chinese’      Gordon, British soldier and administrator (d. 1885)
• 1841 – Henry Morton Stanley,      Welsh-born explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
• 1853 – José Martí, Cuban      revolutionary (d. 1895)
• 1855 – William Seward Burroughs      I, American inventor (d. 1898)
• 1863 – Ernst William Christmas,      Australian painter (d. 1918)
• 1864 – Charles W. Nash,      co-founder of Nash Motors, which would become American Motors as well as      co-founder of Buick (d. 1948)
• 1864 – Herbert Akroyd Stuart,      English engineer – inventor of the first compression ignition engine (d.      1927)
• 1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian      freedom fighter (d. 1928)
• 1865 – Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg,      first president ofFinland     (d. 1952)
• 1873 – Colette, French writer (d.      1954)
• 1874 – Vsevolod Meyerhold,      Russian theatre director (d. 1940)
• 1879 – Francis Picabia,      French-born painter and poet (d. 1953)
• 1880 – Herbert Strudwick, English      cricketer (d. 1970)
• 1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss      physicist (d. 1962)
• 1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian      writer (d. 1973)
• 1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish      pianist and conductor (d. 1982)
• 1890 – Robert Stroud, American      convict, the Birdman of Alcatraz (d. 1963)
• 1891 – Bill Doak, American      baseball player (d. 1954)
• 1892 – Ernst Lubitsch,      German-born film director (d. 1947)
• 1897 – Valentin Kataev, Russian      writer (d. 1986)
• 1899 – Elias Simojoki, Finnish      clergyman and politician (d. 1940)
• 1903 – Aleksander Kaminski,      Polish writer (d. 1978)
• 1908 – Paul Misraki, French      composer and songwriter (d. 1998)
• 1909 – John Thomson, Scottish      footballer (d. 1931)
• 1910 – John Banner, Austrian      actor (d. 1973)
• 1910 – Arnold Moss, American      actor (d. 1989)
• 1910 – Verda Bryant, American      author
• 1912 – Jackson Pollock, American      painter (d. 1956)
• 1918 – Harry Corbett, English      puppeteer (Sooty) (d. 1989)
• 1918 – Trevor Skeet, New      Zealand-born British politician (d. 2004)
• 1919 – Francis Gabreski, American      fighter pilot (d. 2002)
• 1922 – Robert W. Holley, American      biochemist, Nobel Laureate (d. 1993)
• 1927 – Ronnie Scott, British jazz      tenor saxophonist and jazz club owner (d. 1996)
• 1927 – Hiroshi Teshigahara,      Japanese director (d. 2001)
• 1929 – Acker Bilk, English jazz      clarinetist
• 1929 – Claes Oldenburg,      Swedish-born artist
• 1933 – Jack Hill, American film      director
• 1934 – Juan Manuel Bordeu,      Argentine racing driver (d. 1990)
• 1934 – Mitr Chaibancha, Thai      actor (d. 1970)
• 1935 – David Lodge, English      author
• 1936 – Ismail Kadare, Albanian      writer
• 1936 – Alan Alda, American actor,      writer, and director
• 1938 – Leonid Zhabotynsky,      Ukrainian weightlifter
• 1940 – Carlos Slim Helú, Mexican      businessman
• 1941 – Joel Crothers, American      actor (d. 1985)
• 1943 – Paul Henderson, Canadian      ice hockey player
• 1943 – Dick Taylor, English      musician (The Rolling Stones and The Pretty Things)
• 1944 – Susan Howard, American      actress
• 1944 – John Tavener, English      composer
• 1945 – Robert Wyatt, English      musician
• 1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov,      Russian dancer
• 1948 – Charles Taylor, President      ofLiberia
• 1949 – Gregg Popovich, NBA Basketball      Coach
• 1950 – Barbi Benton, American      actress
• 1950 – Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifah,      King of Bahrain
• 1951 – Brian Bilbray, American      politician
• 1951 – Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian      cosmonaut
• 1953 – Colin Campbell, Canadian      ice hockey player and executive
• 1953 – Chris Carter, English      musician (Throbbing Gristle, Chris & Cosey)
• 1954 – Rick Warren, American      pastor and author
• 1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, President      ofFrance
• 1957 – Frank Skinner English      comedian
• 1957 – Mark Napier, Canadian ice      hockey player
• 1959 – Frank Darabont, American      filmmaker
• 1959 – Burkhard Dallwitz,      German-born composer
• 1959 – Randi Rhodes, AirAmerica     radio personality
• 1959 – Dave Sharp, Welsh      guitarist (The Alarm)
• 1960 – Robert von Dassanowsky,      American cultural historian, writer, and producer
• 1961 – Normand Rochefort,      Canadian ice hockey player
• 1962 – Keith Hamilton Cobb,      American actor
• 1962 – Sam Phillips, American      singer
• 1963 – Dan Spitz, American      musician, guitarist for Anthrax
• 1965 – Lynda Boyd, American      actress
• 1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian      singer and songwriter
• 1968 – DJ Muggs, American      musician (Cypress Hill)
• 1968 – Rakim, born William      Michael Griffin Jr., American rapper
• 1969 – Kathryn Morris, American      actress
• 1969 – Mo Rocca, American writer      and comedian
• 1969 – Linda Sanchez, American      politician
• 1971 – Anthony Hamilton, American      soul singer
• 1972 – Nicky Southall, English      footballer
• 1974 – Tony Delk, American      basketball player
• 1974 – Jermaine Dye, American      baseball player
• 1974 – Magglio Ordóñez,      Venezuelan baseball player
• 1975 – David Zingler, American      writer
• 1975 – Anne Montminy, Canadian      Olympic diver
• 1975 – Lee Latchford-Evans,      English singer
• 1975 – Junior Spivey, American      baseball player
• 1975 – Terri Colombino, American      Actress
• 1976 – Mark Madsen, American      basketball player
• 1976 – Jarrod Montague, American      drummer (Taproot)
• 1976 – Lee Ingleby, British actor
• 1976 – Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek      footballer
• 1976 – Emiko Kado, Japanese      professional wrestler (d. 1999)
• 1977 – Daunte Culpepper, American      football player
• 1977 – Joey Fatone, American      singer (*NSYNC)
• 1977 – Matt DeVries, American      guitarist (Chimaira)
• 1977 – Takuma Sato, Japanese      Formula One driver
• 1977 -LyleOverbay,      American baseball player
• 1978 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian      footballer
• 1978 – Jamie Carragher, English      footballer
• 1978 – Papa Bouba Diop,      Senegalese footballer
• 1979 – Pixie, English model
• 1979 – Ali Boulala, Swedish      skateboarder
• 1980 – Nick Carter, American      singer (Backstreet Boys)
• 1980 – Jesse James Hollywood,      American drug dealer and fugitive
• 1981 – Rick Razzano, American      football player
• 1981 – Elijah Wood, American      actor
• 1984 – Andre Iguodala, American      basketball player
• 1985 – Arnold Mvuemba, French      footballer
• 1986 – Jessica Ennis, English      heptathlete
• 1986 – Shruti Haasan, Indian      actress
• 1987 – Sophia Larkin, English      artist
• 1988 – Henry Mortensen (actor),      American actor

January 28 – Deaths:

• 814 – Charlemagne (b. 742)
• 1061 – Duke Spytihnev II ofBohemia(b. 1031)
• 1271 – Isabella of Aragon, queen      of Philip III ofFrance     (b. 1247)
• 1443 – Robert le Maçon,      Chancellor of France
• 1547 – King Henry VIII ofEngland     (b. 1491)
• 1596 – Sir Francis Drake, English      explorer and soldier
• 1599 – Cristofano Malvezzi,      Italian composer (b. 1547)
• 1613 – Thomas Bodley, English      diplomat and library founder (b. 1545)
• 1621 – Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
• 1681 – Richard Allestree, English      royalist churchman (b. 1619)
• 1672 – Pierre Séguier, Chancellor      ofFrance     (b. 1588)
• 1687 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish      astronomer (b. 1611)
• 1697 – John Fenwick, English      conspirator
• 1725 – Tsar Peter I ofRussia,      (b. 1672)
• 1754 – Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian      historian and writer (b. 1684)
• 1832 – Augustin Daniel Belliard,      French general (b. 1769)
• 1859 – Frederick John Robinson,      1st Viscount Goderich, Prime Minister of theUnited Kingdom(b. 1782)
• 1864 – Émile Clapeyron, French      engineer and physicist (b. 1799)
• 1903 – Augusta Holmès, French      composer (b. 1847)
• 1912 – Gustave de Molinari,      Belgian economist (b. 1819)
• 1915 – Nikolay Umov, Russian      physicist (b. 1846)
• 1918 – John McCrae, Canadian poet      (b. 1872)
• 1935 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov,      Russian composer (b. 1859)
• 1937 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek      architect and shooter (b. 1862)
• 1938 – Bernd Rosemeyer, German      racecar driver (b. 1909)
• 1939 – William Butler Yeats,      Irish writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1865)
• 1947 – Reynaldo Hahn, French      composer (b. 1875)
• 1949 – Jean-Pierre Wimille,      French race car driver (b. 1908)
• 1950 – Nikolai Luzin, Russian      mathematician (b. 1883)
• 1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil      Mannerheim, president ofFinland     (b.1867)
• 1953 – James Scullin, 9th Prime      Minister ofAustralia     (b. 1876)
• 1953 – Derek Bentley (b. 1933)      (executed)
• 1960 – Zora Neale Hurston,      American author (b. 1891)
• 1963 – Gustave Garrigou, French      cyclist (b. 1884)
• 1965 – Tich Freeman, English      cricketer (b. 1888)
• 1965 – Maxime Weygand, French      soldier (b. 1867)
• 1971 – Donald Winnicott, British      psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
• 1973 – John Banner, Austrian      actor (b. 1910)
• 1983 – Billy Fury, British singer      (b. 1940)
• 1983 – Frank Forde, 15th Prime      Minister ofAustralia     (b. 1890)
• 1986 – Crew of Space Shuttle      Challenger:
• Greg Jarvis (b.       1944)
• Christa       McAuliffe (b. 1948)
• Ronald McNair       (b. 1950)
• Ellison Onizuka       (b. 1946)
• Judith Resnik       (b. 1949)
• Francis R.       Scobee (b. 1939)
• Michael J. Smith       (b. 1945)
• 1988 – Klaus Fuchs, German      physicist (b. 1911)
• 1991 – Red Grange, American      football player (b. 1903)
• 1994 – Hal Smith, American actor      (b. 1916)
• 1996 – Joseph Brodsky,      Russian-born poet, Nobel Laureate (b. 1940)
• 1996 – Jerry Siegel, American      cartoonist (b. 1914)
• 1996 – Burne Hogarth, American      cartoonist (b. 1911)
• 1999 – Markey Robinson, Irish      painter (b. 1918)
• 1999 – Torgny T:son Segerstedt,      Swedish sociologist and philosopher (b. 1908)
• 2001 – Curt Blefary, American      baseball player (b. 1943)
• 2002 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish      author (b. 1907)
• 2004 – Lloyd M. Bucher, U.S. Navy      officer (b. 1927)
• 2004 – Don Cholito, Puerto Rican      radio host (b. 1923)
• 2004 – Elroy Hirsch, American      football player (b. 1923)
• 2004 – Don Stansauk, American      professional wrestler (b. 1936)
• 2004 – Joe Viterelli, American      actor (b. 1937)
• 2005 – Jim Capaldi, English      singer and songwriter (b. 1944)
• 2005 – Karen Lancaume, French      actress (suicide) (b. 1973)
• 2005 – Jacques Villeret, French      actor (b. 1951)
• 2006 – Yitzchak Kaduri, rabbi (b.      around 1900)
• 2006 – Henry McGee, English      comedian (b. 1929)
• 2007 – Carlo Clerici, Swiss      professional road racing cyclist (b. 1929)
• 2007 – Father Robert Drinan,      Roman Catholic Priest and American politician (b. 1920)
• 2007 – Karel Svoboda, Czech      composer of popular music (b. 1938)
• 2007 – Hsu Wei Lun, Taiwanese      actress (b. 1978)
• 2007 – Yelena Romanova, Russian      athlete (b. 1963)
• 2007 – Emma Tillman, the world’s      oldest living person from January 24-28, 2007 (b. 1892)
• 2008 – Christodoulos, Archbishop      ofAthensand AllGreece(b. 1939)
• 2008 – Bengt Lindström, Swedish      artist (b. 1925)

January 28 – Holidays:

• Catholicism – Feast day of St.      Thomas Aquinas
• World Leprosy Day

• 98 – Trajan becomes Roman Emperor after the death of Nerva.
• 1142 – Wrongful execution of noted Song Dynasty General Yue Fei.
• 1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, weds Constance of Sicily.
• 1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the Bull Unigenitus.
• 1593 – Vatican opens 7 year trial against scholar Giordano Bruno.
• 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, and ending in their execution on January 31.
• 1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his death in 1703.
• 1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
• 1825 – U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the “Trail of Tears.”
• 1870 – The first women’s fraternity,Kappa Alpha Theta, is formed at DePauw University.
• 1888 – In Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Society is founded.
• 1909 – The Young Left is founded in Norway.
• 1918 – The first hostilities occurred in the Finnish Civil War.
• 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
• 1944 – World War II: The two-year Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
• 1945 – World War II: The Red Army arrives at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Poland.
• 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with a one-kiloton bomb dropped on the Frenchman Flats.
• 1951 – David Morrissey, Australian anthropologist, artist, and humanitarian activist is born.
• 1967 – Apollo program: Apollo 1 – Astronauts Gus Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of the spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center.
• 1967 – More than sixty nations sign the Outer Space Treaty banning nuclear weapons in space.
• 1973 – Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde falls, becoming the conflict’s last recorded American combat casualty.
• 1983 – Pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world’s longest subaqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshu and Hokkaido breaks through.
• 1996 – Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane, in a military coup.
• 1996 – Germany first observes International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

January 27 – Birthdays:

• 1443 – Albert, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
• 1546 – Joachim Friedrich, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
• 1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
• 1603 – Harbottle Grimston, English politician (d. 1685)
• 1621 – Thomas Willis, English physician (d. 1675)
• 1662 – Richard Bentley, English classical scholar (d. 1742)
• 1687 – Balthasar Neumann, German architect (d. 1753)
• 1701 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian (d. 1790)
• 1708 – Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
• 1720 – Samuel Foote, English dramatist (d. 1777)
• 1741 – Hester Thrale, Welsh diarist (d. 1821)
• 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (d. 1791)
• 1805 – Samuel Palmer, English artist (d. 1881)
• 1805 – Sophie of Bavaria, archduchess of Austria (d. 1872)
• 1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria, queen consort of Saxony (d. 1877)
• 1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer (d. 1826)
• 1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect (d. 1879)
• 1823 – Edouard Lalo, French composer (d. 1892)
• 1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian writer (d. 1889)
• 1826 – Richard Taylor, American Confederate general (d. 1879)
• 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English author (d. 1898)
• 1836 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian writer (d. 1895)
• 1841 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Russian painter (d. 1910)
• 1848 – Togo Heihachiro, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
• 1850 – Samuel Gompers, American labor leader (d. 1924)
• 1850 – Edward J. Smith, English captain of the Titanic (d. 1912)
• 1859 – Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany (d. 1941)
• 1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer (d. 1945)
• 1885 – Eduard Künneke, German composer (d. 1953)
• 1885 – Maeda Seison, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
• 1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian writer (d. 1967)
• 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese wife of Sun Yat-sen (d. 1981)
• 1895 – Harry Ruby, American composer (d. 1974)
• 1900 – Hyman Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
• 1901 – Art Rooney, American football team owner (d. 1988)
• 1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
• 1903 – John Carew Eccles, Australian neuropsychologist, Nobel Laureate (d. 1997)
• 1905 – Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
• 1908 – Oran Page, American musician (d. 1954)
• 1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American newspaper magnate (d. 1993)
• 1912 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher
• 1918 – Skitch Henderson, English bandleader (d. 2005)
• 1918 – Elmore James, American blues musician (d. 1963)
• 1918 – William Seawell, United States Army Brigadier General (d. 2005)
• 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, American musician (d. 1972)
• 1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist (d. 2002)
• 1920 – John Box, British film production designer and art director (d. 2005)
• 1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
• 1924 – Sabu Dastagir, Indian actor (d. 1963)
• 1924 – Rauf Denktas, founder of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
• 1926 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian journalist (d. 2003)
• 1926 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
• 1928 – Michael Craig, British actor
• 1928 – Hans Modrow, a German politician, premier of East Germany
• 1929 – Gastón Suárez, Bolivian novelist (d. 1984)
• 1930 – Bobby Blue Bland, American singer
• 1931 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author (d. 2001)
• 1932 – Boris Shakhlin, Soviet gymnast
• 1933 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian billionaire businessman
• 1934 – George Follmer, American race car driver
• 1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
• 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist, Nobel Laureate
• 1937 – John Ogdon, English pianist (d. 1989)
• 1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
• 1940 – Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1942 – John Witherspoon, American actor
• 1942 – Kate Wolf, American folk singer and songwriter (d. 1986)
• 1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian religious leader
• 1944 – Mairéad Corrigan, Irish activist, Nobel Prize Laureate
• 1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer (Pink Floyd)
• 1945 – Harold Cardinal, Cree political leader (d. 2005)
• 1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer (Ronettes)
• 1947 – Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer (d. 1999)
• 1947 – Vyron Polydoras, Greek politician
• 1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
• 1949 – Ethan Mordden, American author
• 1950 – Amos Grunebaum, Israeli-born physician
• 1950 – Derek Acorah, English spirit medium
• 1951 – Brian Downey, Irish musician (Thin Lizzy)
• 1951 – David Morrissey Australian anthropologist, artist, and humanitarian
• involved in forwarding the cause of CSR
• 1952 – Billy “White Shoes” Johnson, American football player
• 1954 – Peter Laird, American comic-book artist
• 1954 – Joko Ninomiya, Japanese martial artist
• 1955 – Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1955 – John G. Roberts, 17th Chief Justice of the United States
• 1955 – Alexander Stuart, British author
• 1955 – Koji Ushikubo, Japanese racing driver
• 1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
• 1957 – Janick Gers, British guitarist (Iron Maiden)
• 1957 – Frank Miller, American comic book artist and writer and film director
• 1958 – James Grippando, American novelist
• 1958 – Kadri Mälk, Estonian artist and jewelry designer
• 1959 – Keith Olbermann, American news presenter
• 1959 – Göran Hägglund, Swedish politician
• 1959 – Cris Collinsworth, American football player
• 1961 – Margo Timmins, Canadian singer (Cowboy Junkies)
• 1961 – Dina Bonnevie, Filipino actress
• 1961 – Gillian Gilbert, British musician (New Order)
• 1961 – Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
• 1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
• 1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish actor
• 1965 – Mike Newell, English football manager
• 1967 – Bobby Deol, Indian actor
• 1967 – Byron Mann, Hong Kong actor
• 1967 – Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1968 – Patrick Blondeau, former French International footballer
• 1968 – Mike Patton, American singer (Faith No More)
• 1968 – Tricky, English rapper
• 1969 – Cornelius, Japanese musician and producer (Flipper’s Guitar)
• 1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer (James)
• 1969 – Patton Oswalt, American actor and writer
• 1970 – Jon Douglas Rainey, American TV personality
• 1970 – Emmanuel Pahud, French-Swiss flautist
• 1971 – Fann Wong, Singapore entertainer (Shanghai Knights)
• 1971 – Lil Jon, American rapper and producer
• 1971 – Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1972 – Guillermo, Mexican-born American TV personality
• 1972 – Keith Wood, Irish rugby player
• 1972 – Mark Owen, English pop singer
• 1972 – Janine Ilitch, Australian netballer
• 1974 – Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1974 – Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player
• 1976 – Clint Ford, American voice actor
• 1976 – Ahn Jung-Hwan, Korean football player
• 1976 – Ruby Lin, Taiwanese actress and singer
• 1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian baseball player
• 1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer
• 1979 – Rosamund Pike, British actress
• 1979 – Mario Fatafehi, American-born Canadian Football League player
• 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player
• 1980 – Chanda Gunn, ice hockey player
• 1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player
• 1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
• 1983 – Mike Zagurski, American baseball player
• 1984 – Davetta Sherwood, American actress
• 1987 – Lily Donaldson, British model
• 1987 – Katy Rose, American pop singer
• 1987 – Zuleidy Spanish inventor, famous for inventing the tooth brush
• 1988 – Kerlon Moura Souza, Brazilian footballer

January 27 – Deaths:

• 98 – Nerva, Roman Emperor (b. 35)
• 1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (b. 1435)
• 1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German composer (b. 1560)
• 1638 – Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish novelist
• 1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian musical instrument maker (b. 1655)
• 1740 – Louis Henri, Duc de Bourbon, Prime Minister of France (b. 1692)
• 1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1762)
• 1816 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, British admiral (b. 1724)
• 1851 – John James Audubon, French-born naturalist and ornithologist (b. 1789)
• 1857 – Dorothea Lieven, Russian noblewoman (b. 1785)
• 1860 – János Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician (b. 1802)
•  1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, English architect (b. 1830)
• 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
• 1910 – Thomas Crapper, English inventor (b. 1836)
• 1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian poet (b. 1877)
• 1921 – Maurice Vincent Buckley, Australian soldier (b. 1891)
• 1927 – Georgios Grivas, Cyprus-born general in the Greek Army
• 1927 – Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevicius (Matulewicz), Lithuanian bishop
• 1940 – Isaac Babel, Ukrainian writer (b. 1894)
• 1956 – Erich Kleiber, Argentine conductor (b. 1890)
• 1967 – Crew of Apollo 1:
  • Roger Chaffee (b. 1935)
  • Virgil “Gus” Grissom (b. 1926)
  • Edward White (b. 1930)
  • 1967 – Alphonse Juin, Marshal of France (b. 1888)
  • 1970 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (b. 1908)
  • 1971 – Jacobo Arbenz, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
  • 1972 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
  • 1972 – Richard Courant, German-American mathematician (b. 1888)
  • 1973 – William Nolde, last American combat casualty of Vietnam War (b. 1929)
  • 1975 – Bill Walsh, American producer and writer (b. 1913)
  • 1979 – Qalander Ba Ba Auliya, Sufi master (b. 1898)
  • 1983 – Louis de Funès, French actor (b. 1914)
  • 1986 – Lilli Palmer, German-born actress (b. 1914)
  • 1988 – Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian author (b. 1938)
  • 1989 – Thomas Sopwith, British aviation pioneer (b. 1888)
  • 1993 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
  • 1994 – Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1918)
  • 1996 – Ralph Yarborough, American politician (b. 1903)
  • 1997 – Gerald Marks, American songwriter (All of Me) (b. 1900)
  • 2000 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist (b. 1930)
  • 2001 – Stavros Damianides, Greek musician (b. 1941)
  • 2003 – Henryk Jablonski, President of Poland (b. 1909)
  • 2003 – Louis Archambault, Quebec sculptor (b. 1915)
  • 2004 – Jack Paar, American television show host (b. 1918)
  • 2004 – Salvador Laurel, Vice President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
  • 2006 – Johannes Rau, 8th President of Germany (b. 1931)
  • 2006 – Gene McFadden, American singer and songwriter (b. 1948)
  • 2006 – Jean-Christophe Lafaille, French mountaineer (disappeared) (b. 1965)
  • 2007 – Tige Andrews, American actor (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese athlete (b. 1933)
  • 2008 – Suharto, President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
  • 2008 – Louie Welch, mayor of Houston (b. 1918)

January 27 – Holidays:

• UN — International Holocaust Remembrance Day
• United Kingdom — Holocaust Memorial Day.
• Germany — Gedenktag für die Opfer des Nationalsozialismus (Commemoration Day for the Victims of National Socialism).
• Poland — Dzien Pamieci Ofiar Nazizmu (Memorial Day for the Victims of Nazism).
• Italy — Giorno della Memoria (Memorial Day).
• Catholicism — Catholic Schools Week.
• Serbia — St. Sava Day.
• Denmark — Auschwitzdag (Auschwitz Day; commemoration day for the victims of the Holocaust and other genocide).
• Monaco, day of Saint Devota, patron saint

• 1340 – King Edward III of England is declared King of France.
• 1500 – Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil.
• 1531 – Lisbon, Portugal hit by an earthquake–thousands die.
• 1564 – The Council of Trent issued its conclusions in the Tridentinum, establishing a distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
• 1565 – Battle of Talikota, fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Islamic sultanates of the Deccan, leads to the subjugation, and eventual destruction of the last Hindu kingdom in India, and the consolidation of Islamic rule over much of the Indian subcontinent.
• 1589 – Job is elected as Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
• 1699 – Treaty of Carlowitz signed.
• 1700 – The magnitude 9 Cascadia Earthquake took place off the west coast of the North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.
• 1736 – Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.
• 1788 – The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Sydney Harbour to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on the continent. Commemorated as Australia Day.
• 1808 – Rum Rebellion, the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in Australia.
• 1837 – Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
• 1838 – Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States
• 1841 – The United Kingdom formally occupies Hong Kong, which China later formally ceded.
• 1855 – Point No Point Treaty signed in Washington Territory.
• 1856 – First Battle of Seattle (1856). Marines from the USS Decatur drive off American Indian attackers after all day battle with settlers.
• 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union.
• 1863 – American Civil War: General Ambrose Burnside is relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac after the disastrous Fredericksburg campaign. He is replaced by Joseph Hooker.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Massachusetts Governor receives permission from Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
• 1870 – American Civil War: Virginia rejoins the Union.
• 1885 – Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum.
• 1905 – The Cullinan Diamond is found near Pretoria, South Africa at the Premier Mine.
• 1907 – The Short Magazine Lee-Enfield Mk III is officially introduced into British Military Service, and remains the oldest military rifle still in official use.
• 1911 – Glenn H. Curtiss flies the first successful seaplane.
• 1911 – Richard Strauss’ opera Der Rosenkavalier receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
• 1920 – Former Ford Motor Co. executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
• 1930 – The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj (Complete Independence) which occurred 20 years later.
• 1934 – The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
• 1934 – German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact is signed.
• 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
• 1942 – World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe landing in Northern Ireland.
• 1950 – India promulgates its constitution forming a republic and Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first president Republic Day.
• 1952 – Black Saturday in Egypt: riots burn Cairo’s central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
• 1958 – Japanese ferry Nankai Maru capsized off southern Awaji Island, Japan, 167 killed.
• 1961 – John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be his physician. This is the first time a woman holds this appointment.
• 1962 – Ranger program: Ranger 3 is launched to study the moon. The space probe later missed the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
• 1965 – Hindi becomes the official language of India.
• 1966 – The Beaumont Children go missing from Glenelg Beach near Adelaide, South Australia.
• 1980 – Israel and Egypt establish diplomatic relations.
• 1988 – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera has its first performance on Broadway at the Majestic Theatre in New York.
• 1991 – Mohamed Siad Barre is removed in Somalia, ending centralized government
• 1992 – Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia is going to stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.
• 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had “sexual relations” with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
• 2000 – Rap-metal band Rage Against the Machine plays in front of Wall Street, prompting an early closing of trading due to the crowds.
• 2001 – An earthquake hits Gujarat, India, causing more than 20,000 deaths.
• 2004 – President Hamid Karzai signs the new constitution of Afghanistan.
• 2004 – A whale explodes in the town of Tainan, Taiwan. A build-up of gas in the decomposing Sperm whale is suspected of causing the explosion.
• 2005 – Glendale train crash: Two trains derail killing 11 and injuring 200 in Glendale, California, near Los Angeles.
• 2005 – Condoleezza Rice is sworn in as U.S. Secretary of State, becoming the first African American woman to hold the post.
• 2006 – Western Union discontinues use of its telegram service.

January 26 – Birthdays:

• 1497 – Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (d. 1557)
• 1541 – Florent Chrestien, French writer (d. 1596)
• 1714 – Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (d. 1785)
• 1716 – George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, British soldier and politician (d. 1785)
• 1722 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish church leader (d. 1805)
• 1763 – Charles XIV John of Sweden, Napoleonic general (d. 1844)
• 1781 – Achim von Arnim, German poet (d. 1831)
• 1813 – Juan Pablo Duarte, Dominican founding father (d. 1876
• 1826 – Julia Dent Grant, First Lady of the United States (d. 1902)
• 1832 – George Shiras Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice (d. 1924)
• 1842 – François Coppée, French poet and novelist (d. 1908)
• 1852 – Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (Pietro Paolo Savorgnan di Brazzà), explorer (d. 1905)
• 1857 – the 12th Dalai Lama (d. 1875)
• 1868 – Juventino Rosas, Mexican composer (d. 1894)
• 1880 – Douglas MacArthur, American general and Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
• 1887 – François Faber, Luxembourgian cyclist (d. 1915)
• 1887 – Marc Mitscher, American Navy Admiral (d. 1947)
• 1891 – Frank Costello, Italian-born gangster (d. 1973)
• 1891 – Wilder Penfield, American-born Canadian neurosurgeon (d. 1976)
• 1892 – Zara Cully, American actress (d. 1978)
• 1892 – Bessie Coleman, American pioneer aviator (d. 1926)
• 1893 – Giuseppe Genco Russo, Sicilian mafioso (d. 1976)
• 1900 – Karl Ristenpart, German conductor (d. 1967)
• 1901 – Stuart Symington, American politician (d. 1988)
• 1902 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author and polemicist (d. 1940)
• 1904 – Ancel Keys, American scientist (d. 2004)
• 1904 – Seán MacBride, Irish statesman, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1988)
• 1905 – Charles Lane, American actor (d. 2007)
• 1905 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-born singer (d. 1987)
• 1908 – Stéphane Grappelli, French jazz violinist (d. 1997)
• 1908 – Jill Esmond, English actress (d. 1990)
• 1910 – Jean Image, Hungarian-born French animator (d. 1989)
• 1911 – Polykarp Kusch, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1993)
• 1911 – Norbert Schultze, German composer and songwriter (d. 2002)
• 1913 – Jimmy Van Heusen, American songwriter (d. 1990)
• 1914 – Princess Hadice Hayriye Ayshe Dürrühsehvar (d. 2006)
• 1915 – William Hopper, American actor (d. 1970)
• 1918 – Nicolae Ceausescu, Romanian dictator (d. 1989)
• 1918 – Philip José Farmer, American writer
• 1921 – Akio Morita, Japanese businessman (d. 1999)
• 1921 – Eddie Barclay, French producer (Barclay Records) (d. 2005)
• 1922 – Michael Bentine, British comedian (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Anne Jeffreys, American actress
• 1924 – Rauf Denktash, Cypriot politician
• 1924 – Annette Strauss, American philanthropist and politician (d. 1998)
• 1924 – Alice Babs, Swedish singer
• 1925 – Joan Leslie, American actress
• 1925 – Paul Newman, American actor, philanthropist, race car driver and race team owner (d. 2009)
• 1925 – Claude Ryan, Quebec newspaper editor (d. 2004)
• 1926 – Farman Fatehpuri, Pakistani scholar
• 1927 – José Azcona del Hoyo, President of Honduras (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Bob Nieman, American baseball player (d. 1985)
• 1928 – Roger Vadim, French film director and actor (d. 2000)
• 1929 – Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist and writer
• 1929 – Gordon Solie, American wrestling commentator (d. 2000)
• 1931 – Mary Murphy, American film actress
• 1932 – Coxsone Dodd, Jamaican record producer
• 1933 – Ercole Baldini, Italian cyclist
• 1934 – Roger Landry, Quebec businessman and newspaper publisher
• 1935 – Bob Uecker, American baseball player and broadcaster
• 1937 – Joseph Saidu Momoh, Sierra Leone political leader (d. 2003)
• 1941 – Scott Glenn, American actor
• 1941 – Henry Jaglom, English director
• 1943 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Jean Knight, American singer
• 1943 – Austin “Jack” Warner,Trinidadian FIFA Vice-President and CONCACAF President
• 1944 – Angela Davis, American feminist and activist
• 1945 – Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
• 1946 – Gene Siskel, American film critic (d. 1999)
• 1947 – Michel Sardou, French singer
• 1947 – Patrick Dewaere, French actor (d. 1982)
• 1949 – Jonathan Carroll, American author
• 1949 – David Strathairn, American actor
• 1950 – Janet Lupo, American model
• 1953 – Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Prime Minister of Denmark
• 1953 – Lucinda Williams, American singer
• 1954 – Kim Hughes, Australian cricketer
• 1955 – Eddie Van Halen, Dutch musician
• 1958 – Anita Baker, American singer
• 1958 – Ellen DeGeneres, American actress and comedian
• 1958 – Salvador Sánchez, Mexican boxer
• 1960 – Road Warrior Animal, American professional wrestler
• 1960 – Charlie Gillingham, American musician (Counting Crows)
• 1961 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1962 – Oscar Ruggeri, Argentine footballer
• 1963 – José Mourinho, Portuguese football manager
• 1963 – Andrew Ridgeley, English musician
• 1964 – Paul Johansson, American actor
• 1965 – Natalia Yurchenko, Soviet gymnast
• 1965 – Thomas Östros, Swedish politician
• 1967 – Pradip Somasundaran, Indian playback singer
• 1968 – Ravi Teja, Tollywood film actor
• 1970 – Kirk Franklin, American singer
• 1971 – Bryan Callen, American actor
• 1971 – Dorian Gregory, American actor
• 1973 – Mayu Shinjo, Japanese mangaka
• 1974 – Shannon Hale, American author
• 1976 – Frankie Rayder, American model
• 1976 – Willie Adler, American guitar player
• 1977 – Vince Carter, American basketball player
• 1977 – Justin Gimelstob, American tennis player
• 1978 – Estéban Germán, Dominican baseball player
• 1978 – Corina Morariu, American tennis player
• 1978 – Kelly Stables, American actress
• 1979 – Sara Rue, American actress
• 1981 – Juan Jose Haedo, Argentinian Cyclist
• 1984 – Layla Kayleigh, British television personality
• 1984 – Iain Turner, Scottish footballer
• 1984 – Luo Xuejuan, Chinese swimmer
• 1986 – Gerald Green, American basketball player
• 1986 – Matt Heafy, American musician (Trivium)
• 1986 – Shantelle Taylor, Canadian professional wrestler
• 1987 – Vladimir Garin, Russian actor (d. 2003)
• 1988 – Mia Rose, British-Portuguese singer
• 1989 – Emily Hughes, American figure skater
• 1993 – Cameron Bright, Canadian actor

January 26 – Deaths:

• 946 – Eadgyth, German Queen
• 1567 – Nicholas Wotton, English diplomat
• 1630 – Henry Briggs, English mathematician (b. 1556)
• 1636 – Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul, French diplomat (b. 1552)
• 1697 – Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician (b. 1640)
• 1744 – Ludwig Andreas Graf Khevenhüller, Austrian field marshal (b. 1683)
• 1750 – Albert Schultens, Dutch philologist (b. 1686)
• 1795 – Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German composer (b. 1732)
• 1799 – Gabriel Christie, British general (b. 1722)
• 1823 – Edward Jenner, English physician (b. 1749)
• 1824 – Théodore Géricault, French painter (b. 1791)
• 1855 – Gérard de Nerval, French writer (b. 1808)
• 1869 – Duncan Gordon Boyes, English recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1846)
• 1870 – Victor, 3rd duc de Broglie, French statesman and diplomat (b. 1785)
• 1885 – Edward Davy, English inventor (b. 1806)
• 1885 – Charles George Gordon, British general (b. 1833)
• 1886 – David Rice Atchison, American politician (b. 1807)
• 1891 – Nikolaus August Otto, German inventor (b. 1833)
• 1893 – Abner Doubleday, credited inventor of baseball (b. 1819)
• 1904 – Whitaker Wright, English mining tycoon (b. 1846)
• 1926 – John Flannagan, 2nd president of St. Ambrose University
• 1932 – William Wrigley Jr., American industrialist (b. 1861)
• 1933 – Alva Belmont, American socialite (b. 1853)
• 1942 – Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician (b. 1868)
• 1943 – Harry H. Laughlin, American eugenicist (b. 1880)
• 1943 – Nikolai Vavilov, Russian botanist (b. 1887)
• 1946 – Adriaan van Maanen, Dutch-American astronomer (b. 1884)
• 1947 – Grace Moore, American soprano (b. 1898)
• 1947 – Prince Gustaf Adolf, Duke of Västerbotten, (b. 1906)
• 1952 – Khorloogiin Choibalsan, leader of Mongolia (b. 1895)
• 1953 – Athanase David, French Canadian politician and businessman (b. 1882)
• 1961 – Stan Nichols, English cricketer (b. 1900)
• 1962 – Lucky Luciano, American mobster (b. 1897)
• 1968 – Merrill C. Meigs, American newspaper publisher (b. 1883)
• 1968 – Yvor Winters, American poet (b. 1900)
• 1973 – Edward G. Robinson, American actor (b. 1893)
• 1976 – João Branco Núncio, Portuguese Bullfighter (b. 1901)
• 1979 – Nelson Rockefeller, 41st Vice President of the United States (b. 1908)
• 1983 – Paul “Bear” Bryant, American football coach (b. 1913)
• 1990 – Lewis Mumford, American historian (b. 1895)
• 1990 – Bob Gerard, British racing driver (b. 1914)
• 1992 – José Ferrer, Puerto Rican actor (b. 1912)
• 1993 – Jan Gies, Dutch resistance leader (b. 1905)
• 1993 – Jeanne Sauvé, Governor-General of Canada (b. 1922)
• 1996 – Harold Brodkey, American author (b. 1930)
• 1996 – Dave Schultz, American wrestler (b. 1959)
• 1997 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer (b. 1904)
• 1998 – Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese music teacher (b. 1898)
• 2000 – Don Budge, American tennis player (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Kathleen Hale, British author (b. 1898)
• 2000 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-born author (b. 1912)
• 2001 – Al McGuire, American basketball coach (b. 1928)
• 2003 – Valeriy Brumel, Soviet Olympic athlete (b. 1942)
• 2003 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, English historian (b. 1917)
• 2003 – George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, British politician (b. 1931)
• 2004 – Fred Haas, American golfer (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Pakistani opposition leader and Pashtun nationalist (b. 1917)
• 2006 – Len Carlson, Canadian actor (b. 1937)
• 2007 – Hans J. Wegner, Danish furniture designer (b. 1914)
• 2007 – Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Christian Brando, actor and son of Marlon Brando (b 1958)

January 26 – Holidays:

• Australia – Australia Day.
• Roman Empire – third day of the Sementivae in honor of Ceres and Terra.
• Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
  • Timothy and Titus
  • Saint Paula
  • Saint Alberic
  • Saint Margaret of Hungary
  • India – Republic Day – One of only three national holidays in India, celebrated with pomp and a military parade in New Delhi & across Nation.
  • Uganda – Liberation Day.

• 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate.
• 1327 – Edward III becomes King of England.
• 1494 – Alfonso II becomes King of Naples.
• 1533 – Henry VIII of England secretly marries his second wife Anne Boleyn.
• 1554 – Founding of São Paulo city, Brazil.
• 1573 – Battle of Mikatagahara, in Japan; Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu.
• 1755 – Moscow University established on Tatiana Day.
• 1787 – American Daniel Shays leads rebellion to seize Federal arsenal to protest debtor’s prisons.
• 1791 – The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act of 1791 and splits the old province of Quebec into Upper and Lower Canada.
• 1792 – The London Corresponding Society is founded.
• 1858 – The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn becomes a popular wedding recessional after it is played on this day at the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia.
• 1879 – The Bulgarian National Bank is founded.
• 1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company.
• 1890 – Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.
• 1909 – Richard Strauss’ opera Elektra receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
• 1915 – Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates U.S. transcontinental telephone service.
• 1917 – The Danish West Indies is sold to the United States for $25 million.
• 1919 – The League of Nations is founded.
• 1924 – The 1924 Winter Olympics open in Chamonix, France (in the French Alps), inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games.
• 1937 – The Guiding Light airs on radio for the first time. Also went to television making this show the longest running broadcast program in United States radio and television history.
• 1941 – Pope Pius XII elevates the Apostolic Vicariate of the Hawaiian Islands to the dignity of a diocese. It becomes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
• 1942 – World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.
• 1945 – World War II: Battle of the Bulge ends.
• 1946 – The United Mine Workers rejoins the American Federation of Labor.
• 1949 – At the Hollywood Athletic Club the first Emmy Awards are presented.
• 1949 – The first Israeli election — David Ben-Gurion becomes Prime Minister.
• 1955 – Soviet Union ends state of war with Germany.
• 1959 – Pope John XXIII proclaims upcoming Second Vatican Council.
• 1960 – The National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the Payola scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accepted money for playing particular records.
• 1961 – In Washington, D.C. John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential television news conference.
• 1971 – Charles Manson and three female “Family” members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders.
• 1971 – Idi Amin leads a coup deposing Milton Obote and becomes Uganda’s president.
• 1971 – Himachal Pradesh becomes the 18th Indian state.
• 1981 – Jiang Qing, the widow of Mao Zedong, is sentenced to death.
• 1981 – 52 Americans held hostage by Iran for 444 days arrived back in US.
• 1981 – Super Bowl XV-Oakland Raiders-27, Philadelphia Eagles-10.
• 1983 – Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie arrested in Bolivia.
• 1985 – “We are the World” is recorded.
• 1986 – The National Resistance Movement topple the government of Tito Okello in Uganda.
• 1987 – NY Giants defeat Denver Broncos, 39-20, to win Super Bowl XXI.
• 1990 – The Burns’ Day storm hits northwestern Europe.
• 1990 – Honduras becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
• 1990 – Avianca Flight 52 crashes, killing 73 passengers.
• 1993 – Five people were shot outside CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia resulting in two murders.
• 1994 – The Clementine space probe launches.
• 1995 – The Norwegian Rocket Incident: Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile.
• 1998 – During a historic visit to Cuba Pope John Paul II demands the release of political prisoners and political reforms while condemning US attempts to isolate the country.
• 1998 – Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide attack on Sri Lanka’s Temple of the Tooth, killing 8 people injuring 25 others.
• 1999 – A 6.0 Richter scale earthquake hits western Colombia killing at least 1,000.
• 2001 – A 50-year-old Douglas DC-3 crashes near Ciudad Bolivar, Venezuela killing 24.
• 2002 – Wikipedia switches to the new version of its software (“Phase II”) aka Magnus Manske Day.
• 2004 – Opportunity rover (MER-B) lands on surface of Mars.
• 2005 – A stampede at the Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi in India kills at least 258.
• 2006 – Three independent observing campaigns announce the discovery of OGLE-2005-
• BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing, the first cool rocky/icy extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star.

January 25 – Birthdays:

• 750 – Leo IV the Khazar, Byzantine Emperor
• 1477 – Anna, Duchess of Brittany, wife of Charles VIII of France (d. 1514)
• 1509 – Giovanni Morone, Italian cardinal (d. 1580)
• 1615 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
• 1627 – Robert Boyle, Irish chemist (d. 1691)
• 1634 – Gaspar Fagel, Dutch statesman (d. 1688)
• 1640 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and statesman (d. 1707)
• 1688 – Juraj Jánošík, famous Slovak outlaw (d. 1713)
• 1736 – Joseph Louis Lagrange, Italian-born mathematician (d. 1813)
• 1741 – Benedict Arnold, American general notorious for treason (d. 1801)
• 1739 – Charles François Dumouriez, French general (d. 1823)
• 1759 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet (d. 1796)
• 1794 – François-Vincent Raspail, French chemist (d. 1878)
• 1796 – William MacGillivray, Scottish naturalist and ornithologist (d. 1852)
• 1825 – George Pickett, American Confederate General (d. 1875)
• 1841 – Jackie Fisher, British First Sea Lord (d. 1920)
• 1858 – Kokichi Mikimoto, Japanese pearl farm pioneer (d. 1954)
• 1860 – Charles Curtis, 31st Vice President of the United States (d. 1936)
• 1864 – Julije Kempf, Croatian historian and writer (d. 1934)
• 1874 – W. Somerset Maugham, English writer (d. 1965)
• 1878 – Ernst Alexanderson, Swedish-born television pioneer (d. 1975)
• 1882 – Virginia Woolf, English writer (d. 1941)
• 1885 – Kitahara Hakushu, Japanese poets and children’s writers (d. 1942)
• 1886 – Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (d. 1954)
• 1899 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian politician (d. 1972)
• 1900 – Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian-American geneticist and biologist (d. 1975)
• 1900 – Yojiro Ishizaka, Japanese writer (d. 1986)
• 1901 – Martin De Alzaga, Argentine racing driver (d. 1982)
• 1905 – Maurice Roy, French Canadian Roman Catholic cardinal, archbishop of Quebec (d. 1985)
• 1913 – Witold Lutoslawski, Polish composer (d. 1994)
• 1913 – Luis Marden, American photojournalist (d. 2003)
• 1916 – Frank “Pop” Ivy, American and Canadian football coach (d. 2003)
• 1917 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian scientist Nobel Laureate (d. 2003)
• 1917 – Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician (d. 1992)
• 1918 – Ernie Harwell, American baseball sportscaster
• 1919 – Edwin Newman, American journalist and writer
• 1923 – Rusty Draper, American country and pop singer (d. 2003)
• 1923 – Shirley Mason, American psychiatric patient (Commonly known as “Sybil”) (d. 1998)
• 1924 – Lou Groza, American football player (d. 2000)
• 1924 – Speedy West, Country Hall of Fame steel guitar player (d. 2003)
• 1925 – Giorgos Zampetas, Greek musician and songwriter (d. 1992)
• 1927 – Antonio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian musician (d. 1994)
• 1928 – Eduard Shevardnadze, President of Georgia
• 1928 – Jérôme Choquette, Quebec lawyer and politician
• 1929 – Benny Golson, American jazz musician
• 1930 – Tanya Savicheva, Russian diarist (d. 1944)
• 1931 – Dean Jones, American actor
• 1933 – Corazon Aquino, President of the Philippines
• 1935 – António Ramalho Eanes, 17 President of Portugal
• 1936 – Diana Hyland, American actress (d. 1977)
• 1937 – Ange-Félix Patassé, President of the Central African Republic
• 1937 – Judith Ann Mayotte, American humanitarian, author.
• 1938 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese manga author (d. 1998)
• 1938 – Leiji Matsumoto, sJapanese creator of anime.
• 1938 – Etta James, American singer
• 1938 – Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian poet (d. 1980)
• 1939 – Gabriel Romanus, Swedish politician
• 1941 – Buddy Baker, American race car driver
• 1941 – Gregory Sierra, American actor
• 1942 – Carl Eller, American football player
• 1942 – Eusébio, Portuguese footballer
• 1943 – Tobe Hooper, American film director
• 1944 – Anita Pallenberg, Italian model
• 1945 – Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress
• 1947 – Tostão, Brazilian footballer
• 1947 – Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer
• 1948 – Ros Kelly, Australian politician
• 1949 – John Cooper Clarke, English punk-poet
• 1949 – Paul Nurse, English biochemist, Nobel Laureate
• 1951 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (d. 1975)
• 1952 – Sara Mandiano, French singer and songwriter
• 1952 – Timothy White, American journalist (d. 2002)
• 1953 – The Honky Tonk Man, American professional wrestler
• 1953 – Mark Weil, Uzbek theatre director (d. 2007)
• 1954 – Ricardo Bochini, Argentinian footballer
• 1954 – Richard Finch, American bass player (KC and the Sunshine Band)
• 1954 – Kim Gandy, American feminist
• 1955 – Terry Chimes, English musician (The Clash)
• 1956 – Andy Cox, English musician (The Beat, Fine Young Cannibals)
• 1957 – Jenifer Lewis, American actress
• 1957 – Eskil Erlandsson, Swedish politician
• 1957 – Andrew P. Harris, American politician
• 1958 – Dinah Manoff, American actress
• 1961 – Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean politician
• 1961 – Willie Revillame, Filipino game show host and comedian
• 1962 – Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player
• 1965 – Esa Tikkanen, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1967 – Randy McKay, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 – Mark Bamford, American writer/director
• 1969 – Kina, American singer
• 1971 – Luca Badoer, Italian race car driver
• 1971 – China Kantner, American actress
• 1971 – Ana Ortiz, American actress and singer
• 1973 – Geoff Johns, American comic book writer
• 1973 – Chris Guy, American professional wrestler
• 1974 – Robert Budreau, Canadian film director
• 1975 – Mia Kirshner, Canadian actress
• 1975 – Tim Montgomery, American athlete
• 1975 – Dat Phan, Vietnamese stand-up comedian
• 1976 – Mario Haberfeld, Brazilian racing car driver
• 1978 – Denis Menchov, Russian cyclist
• 1978 – Jason Roberts, English-born footballer
• 1978 – Derrick Turnbow, Major League Baseball Player
• 1979 – Pi Hongyan, French badminton player
• 1979 – Gabe Jennings, American distance runner
• 1979 – Rodrigo Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver
• 1979 – Christine Lakin, American actress
• 1980 – Michelle McCool, American professional wrestler
• 1980 – Xavi, Catalan Spanish footballer
• 1980 – Efstathios Tavlaridis, Greek footballer
• 1981 – Tose Proeski, Macedonian Singer (d. 2007)
• 1981 – Francis Jeffers, English footballer
• 1981 – Alicia Keys, American singer
• 1982 – Sho Sakurai, Japanese singer and actor
• 1982 – The-Dream, singer
• 1982 – Shawna Waldron, American actress
• 1983 – Andrée Watters, Canadian singer
• 1984 – Robinho, Brazilian footballer
• 1985 – Tina Karol, Ukrainian singer
• 1985 – Acie Law IV, National Basketball Association player
• 1986 – Chris O’Grady, English footballer
• 1986 – Shahriar Nafees, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1987 – Maria Kirilenko, Russian tennis player
• 1988 – Tatiana Golovin, French tennis player

January 25 – Deaths:

• 389 – Gregory Nazianzus, theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 329)
• 477 – Geiseric, King of the Vandals and Alans
• 844 – Pope Gregory IV
• 1067 – Emperor Yingzong of China (b. 1032)
• 1366 – Henry Suso, German mystic
• 1431 – Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1364)
• 1494 – King Ferdinand I of Naples (b. 1423)
• 1559 – King Christian II of Denmark, Sweden and Norway (b. 1481)
• 1573 – Hirate Hirohide, Japanese samurai (b. 1553)
• 1586 – Lucas Cranach the Younger, German painter (b. 1515)
• 1640 – Robert Burton, English scholar (b. 1577)
• 1670 – Nicholas II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1612)
• 1726 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (b. 1675)
• 1733 – Gilbert Heathcote, Mayor of London (b. 1652)
• 1751 – Paul Dudley, Attorney-General of Massachusetts (b. 1675)
• 1852 – Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian explorer (b. 1778)
• 1881 – Konstantin Thon, Russian architect (b. 1794)
• 1907 – René Pottier, French cyclist (b. 1879)
• 1908 – Mikhail Chigorin, Russian chess player (b. 1850)
• 1908 – Ouida, English writer (b. 1839)
• 1912 – Dmitry Milyutin, Russian Field Marshal (b. 1816)
• 1925 – Ivan Vucetic, Croatian anthropologist (b. 1858)
• 1940 – Elias Simojoki, Finnish clergyman and politician (b. 1899)
• 1947 – Al Capone, American gangster (b. 1899)
• 1949 – Makino Nobuaki, Japanese statesman (b. 1861)
• 1957 – Kiyoshi Shiga, Japanese physician and bacteriologist (b. 1871)
• 1957 – Ichizo Kobayashi, Japanese industrialist and Minister of Commerce and Industry (b. 1873)
• 1963 – Wilson Kettle, Guinness World Record holder for most living descendants (b. 1860)
• 1969 – Irene Castle, English dancer (b. 1887)
• 1970 – Jane Bathori, French mezzo-soprano (b. 1877)
• 1970 – Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese television writer and producer (Ultraman) (b. 1901)
• 1972 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (b. 1892)
• 1975 – Charlotte Whitton, Canadian politician, mayor of Ottawa (b. 1896)
• 1976 – Chris Kenner, American singer and songwriter (b. 1929)
• 1980 – Queenie Watts, English actress (b. 1926)
• 1981 – Adele Astaire, American dancer (b. 1897)
• 1982 – Mikhail Suslov, Soviet politician (b. 1902)
• 1990 – Ava Gardner, American actress (b. 1922)
• 1994 – Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician (b. 1909)
• 1995 – Cal Jammer, American actor (b. 1960)
• 1996 – Jonathan Larson, American composer (b. 1960)
• 1999 – Sarah “Sadie” Delany, American author (b. 1889)
• 1999 – Ted Mallie, American radio and television announcer (b. 1924)
• 1999 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (b. 1916)
• 2003 – Samuel Weems, Arkansas judge (b. 1936)
• 2004 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch athlete (b. 1918)
• 2004 – Miklós Fehér, Hungarian footballer (b. 1979)
• 2005 – Stanislaw Albinowski, Polish economist and journalist (b. 1923)
• 2005 – William Augustus Bootle, American judge (b. 1902)
• 2005 – Philip Johnson, American architect (b. 1906)
• 2005 – Ray Peterson, American singer (b. 1935)
• 2005 – Nettie Witziers-Timmer, Dutch athlete (b. 1923)
• 2006 – Anna Malle, adult film star (b. 1967)
• 2008 – Christopher Allport, American actor (b. 1947)
• 2008 – Evelyn Barbirolli,English musician (b. 1911)

January 25 – Holidays:

• Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul celebrated by the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, which concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
• Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Church: Feast of Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople.
• Christian ecumenism — Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ends.
• Burns Night – Burns suppers are held in many parts of the world around this date. (Originated in Scotland)
• Roman Empire – second day of the Sementivae in honour of Ceres and Terra
• St. Dwynwen’s Day – Welsh celebration of love Diwrnod Santes Dwynwen.
• Tatiana Day, celebrated as the Day of Russian students since 1755, when the Moscow University was founded.

• 41 – Gaius Caesar (Caligula),      known for his eccentricity and cruel despotism, is assassinated by his      disgruntled Praetorian Guards. Claudius succeeds his nephew.
• 1438 – The Council ofBaselsuspends Pope Eugene IV as Prelate of Ethiopia,      arrives at Massawa fromGoa.
• 1568 – In theNetherlands,      Duke of Alva declares William of Orange an outlaw.
• 1634 – Emperor      Ferdinand II declares Wallenstein a traitor.
• 1679 – King Charles II ofEngland     disbands Parliament.
• 1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes      Holy Roman Emperor.
• 1776 – Henry Knox arrives atCambridge,Massachusetts     with the artillery that he has transported fromFortTiconderoga.
• 1826 -Mississippi    Collegeis founded inClinton, becoming the first college in the state ofMississippi.
• 1848 – California Gold Rush:      James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter’s Mill nearSacramento.
• 1857 – TheUniversity     ofCalcuttais formally founded      as the first full-fledged university in southAsia.
• 1859 – Political union ofMoldaviaandWallachia;      Alexandru Ioan Cuza is elected as ruler.
• 1862 -Bucharest     proclaimed capital ofRomania.
• 1878 – The revolutionary Vera      Zasulich shoots at Fyodor Trepov, the Governor of Saint Petersburg.
• 1887 -Battleof Dogali: Abyssinian troops      defeat Italians.
• 1899 – Rubber      heel patented by Humphrey O’Sullivan.
• 1900 – Newcastle      Badminton Club, world’s oldest, formed inEngland.
• 1907 – Robert Baden-Powell founds      the Boy Scout movement.
• 1916 – In Brushaber v. Union      Pacific Railroad, the Supreme Court of theUnited Statesdeclares the      federal income tax constitutional.
• 1918 – The Gregorian calendar      introduced inRussia     by decree of the Council of People’s Commissars effective from February      14(NS)
• 1922 – Eskimo      Pie patented by Christian K. Nelson ofIowa.
• 1923 -Aztec Ruins National Monument,NMestablished.
• 1924 – Petrograd, formerly St. Petersburg, Russia,      is renamed Leningrad.
• 1927 – Director Alfred Hitchcock      releases his first film, The Pleasure Garden, inEngland.
• 1935 – Beer      first sold in cans,Richmond,      VA.
• 1936 – Albert Sarraut becomes      Prime Minister of France.
• 1939 – 30,000      killed by earthquake in Concepcion Chile.
• 1943 – World War II: Franklin D.      Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference inCasablanca.
• 1952 – Vincent Massey is sworn in      as the first Canadian-born Governor-General of Canada.
• 1966 – An Air India Boeing 707      jet crashes on Mont Blanc, on the border betweenFranceandItaly, killing 117.
• 1964 – CBS      purchases 1964 & 1965 NFL TV rights for $28.2 million.
• 1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi      Yokoi is found hiding in aGuamjungle,      where he had been since the end of World War II.
• 1977 – Massacre of Atocha inMadrid, during the      Spanish transition to democracy.
• 1978 – Soviet satellite Cosmos      954 burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, scattering debris overCanada’sNorthwest Territories.
• 1978 – Rose Dugdale and Eddie      Gallagher become the first convicted prisoners to marry in prison in the      history of theRepublic      ofIreland.
• 1982 –San Francisco49′ers win their first Super Bowl (XVI)      beatingCincinnati,      26-21
• 1984 – The first Apple Macintosh      goes on sale.
• 1986 – Voyager 2 passes within      81,500 km (50,680 miles) of Uranus, finds new moons.
• 1993 – Turkish journalist and      writer Ugur Mumcu is assassinated by a car bomb inAnkara.
• 1996 – Polish Premier Jozef Oleksy      resigns amid charges that he spied forMoscow.
• 2003 – The United States      Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.

January 24 – Birthdays:

• 76 – Hadrian, Roman Emperor (d.      138)
• 1287 – Richard Aungerville,      English bishop (d. 1345)
• 1444 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza,      Duke ofMilan     (d. 1476)
• 1540 – Edmund Campion, English      Jesuit (d. 1581)
• 1638 – Charles Sackville, 6th      Earl of Dorset, English poet (d. 1706)
• 1670 – William Congreve, English      playwright (d. 1729)
• 1674 – Thomas Tanner, English      bishop (d. 1735)
• 1679 – Christian Wolff, German      philosopher (d. 1754)
• 1705 – Farinelli, Italian      castrato (d. 1782)
• 1712 – King Frederick II ofPrussia     (d. 1786)
• 1724 – Frances Brooke, English      writer (d. 1789)
• 1732 – Pierre-Augustin Caron de      Beaumarchais, French playwright (d. 1799)
• 1742 – Anne, Duchess ofCumberlandand      Strathearn (d. 1808)
• 1752 – Muzio Clementi, Italian      composer (d. 1832)
• 1754 – Andrew Ellicott, American      surveyor (d. 1820)
• 1763 – Louis Alexandre Andrault      de Langeron, Russian general (d. 1831)
• 1776 – E.T.A. Hoffmann, German      writer (d. 1822)
• 1779 – Elizabeth Alexeievna      (Louise of Baden), Russian tsarina (d. 1826)
• 1848 – Vasily Surikov, Russian      painter (d. 1916)
• 1862 – Edith Wharton, American      writer (d. 1937)
• 1864 – Marguerite Durand, French      feminist leader (d. 1936)
• 1872 – Konstantin Bogaevsky,      Russian painter (d. 1943)
• 1873 – Leon Czolgosz, American      anarchist, assassin of U.S. President William McKinley (d. 1901)
• 1886 – Henry King, American film      director (d. 1982
• 1888 – Vicki Baum, Austrian      writer (d. 1960)
• 1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German      aircraft designer (d. 1958)
• 1891 – Walter Model, German field      marshal (d. 1945)
• 1895 – Eugen Roth, German writer      (d. 1976)
• 1898 – Cliff Heathcote, American      baseball player (d. 1939)
• 1901 – Harry Calder, South      African cricketer (d. 1995)
• 1902 – E. A. Speiser, American      Bible scholar (d. 1965)
• 1905 – J. Howard Marshall,      American billionaire (d. 1995)
• 1907 – Maurice Couve de Murville,      French politician (d. 1999)
• 1909 – Martin Lings, English      Islamic scholar (d. 2005)
• 1909 – Ann Todd, English actress      (d. 1993)
• 1913 – Norman Dello Joio,      American composer
• 1915 – Robert Motherwell,      American painter (d. 1991)
• 1916 – Jack Brickhouse, American      sports broadcaster (d. 1998)
• 1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American      actor
• 1918 – Oral Roberts, American      evangelist
• 1919 – Coleman Francis, American      film director
• 1920 – Jerry Maren, American      actor
• 1922 – Charles Socarides,      American psychiatrist (d. 2005)
• 1925 – Maria Tallchief, American      ballerina
• 1926 – Georges Lautner, French      director and screenwriter
• 1927 – Sir Patrick Macnaghten,      11th Baronet, British aristocrat (d. 2007)
• 1928 – Desmond Morris, British      anthropologist
• 1928 – Michel Serrault, French      actor (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Stanislaw Grochowiak,      Polish poet (d. 1976)
• 1936 – Doug Kershaw, American      musician
• 1939 – Ray Stevens, American      musician
• 1941 – Neil Diamond, American      singer
• 1941 – Aaron Neville, American      singer
• 1943 – Subhash Ghai, Indian film      director
• 1943 – Sharon Tate, American      actress and Manson murder victim (d. 1969)
• 1944 – Klaus Nomi, German singer      (d. 1983)
• 1945 – John Garamendi, American      politician
• 1946 – Michael Ontkean, Canadian      actor
• 1947 – Warren Zevon, American      musician (d. 2003)
• 1947 – Masashi Ozaki, Japanese      golfer
• 1948 – Michael Des Barres,      British actor and rock singer
• 1949 – John Belushi, American      actor (d. 1982)
• 1950 – Gerald Brisco, American      professional wrestler
• 1950 – Benjamin Urrutia,      Ecuadorian writer
• 1950 – Daniel Auteuil, French      actor
• 1951 – Yakov Smirnoff,      Ukrainian-born American comedian
• 1954 – Jo Gartner, Austrian      racing driver (d. 1986)
• 1956 – Hanne Krogh, Norwegian      singer (Bobbysocks)
• 1957 – Adrian Edmondson, British      comedian
• 1958 – Neil Allen, American      baseball player
• 1958 – Jools Holland, British      musician
• 1959 – Vic Reeves, English      comedian
• 1959 – David Mills, American      author
• 1961 – Nastassja Kinski,      German-born actress
• 1961 – Vince Russo, American      writer
• 1963 – Martyn Grimley, English      field hockey player
• 1963 – Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch      boxer
• 1965 – Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian      director
• 1965 – Mike Awesome, American      professional wrestler (d. 2007)
• 1966 – Jimeoin, Northern Irish      comedian
• 1967 – Mark Kozelek, American      singer/songwriter (Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon)
• 1967 – Phil LaMarr, American      voice actor
• 1967 – John Myung, American      musician (Dream Theater)
• 1968 – Michael Kiske, German      musician
• 1968 – Mary Lou Retton, American      gymnast
• 1969 – Hilmir Snær Guðnason,      Icelandic actor
• 1970 – Matthew Lillard, American      actor
• 1971 – Cory Bailey, Major League      Baseball Player
• 1971 – Andrea Mackris, American      television producer
• 1972 – Naoshi Mizuta, Japanese      composer
• 1974 – Shii Ann Huang, American      game show contestant
• 1974 – Ed Helms, American actor
• 1975 – Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican      soccer player
• 1976 – Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian      ice dancer with Victor Kraatz
• 1979 – Tatyana Ali, American      actress and singer
• 1979 – Tom Kostopoulos, Canadian      ice hockey player
• 1980 – Rocky Boiman, National      Football League outside linebacker
• 1980 – Nicole Marie Lenz,      American actress
• 1981 – Travis Hanson, Major      League Baseball player
• 1983 – Shaun Maloney, Scottish      soccer player
• 1983 – Scott Speed, American race      car driver
• 1984 -Benoît Huot,Quebec     paralympic swimmer
• 1984 – Scott Kazmir, Major League      Baseball pitcher
• 1984 – Witold Kieltyka, Polish      drummer (Decapitated) (d. 2007)
• 1986 – Mischa Barton,      English-born American actress
• 1986 – Raviv Ullman, Israeli-born      American actor

January 24 – Deaths:

• 41 – Caligula, Emperor ofRome(b. 12)
• 772 – Pope Stephen III (b. 720)
• 1002 – Otto III, Holy Roman      Emperor (b. 980)
• 1125 – David IV ofGeorgia     (b. 1073)
• 1366 – Alfonso IV ofAragon     (b. 1299)
• 1376 – Richard FitzAlan, 10th      Earl of Arundel, English military leader
• 1473 – Conrad Paumann, German      composer
• 1595 – Ferdinand II ofAustria     (b. 1529)
• 1626 – Samuel Argall, English      adventurer and naval officer (b. 1580)
• 1639 – Georg Jenatsch, Swiss      politician (b. 1596)
• 1666 – Johann Andreas Herbst,      German composer (b. 1588)
• 1709 – George Rooke, English      admiral (b. 1650)
• 1769 – François de Chevert,      French general (b. 1695)
• 1856 – Rabbi Yechezkel of Kuzmir,      Polish Hasidic leader (b. 1775)
• 1877 – Johann Christian      Poggendorff, German physicist (b. 1796)
• 1882 – Levi Boone, Mayor ofChicago(b. 1808)
• 1883 – Friedrich von Flotow,      German composer (b. 1812)
• 1895 – Lord Randolph Churchill,      British politician (b. 1849)
• 1911 – David Graham Phillips,      American journalist and novelist (b. 1867)
• 1920 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian      painter and sculptor (b. 1884)
• 1924 – Marie-Adélaïde, Grand      Duchess ofLuxembourg     (b. 1894)
• 1932 – Alfred Yarrow, English      shipbuilder (b. 1842)
• 1939 – Maximilian Bircher-Benner,      Swiss physician and nutritionist (b. 1867)
• 1943 – John Burns, English      politician (b. 1858)
• 1948 – Maria Mandel,CampLeader     atAuschwitz(b. 1912)
• 1948 – Arthur Liebehenschel,      Commandant atAuschwitzconcentration      camp (b. 1901)
• 1955 – Ira Hayes, American World      War II hero (b. 1923)
• 1960 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss      pianist and conductor (b. 1886)
• 1961 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert,      American swimmer and inventor (b. 1884)
• 1962 – Stanley Lord, captain of      the SS Californian the night of the Titanic disaster (b. 1877)
• 1962 – André Lhote, french      painter.
• 1965 – Winston Churchill,      soldier, politician, historian, Prime Minister of theUnited Kingdomand Nobel      laureate (b. 1874)
• 1966 – Homi J. Bhabha, Indian      physicist (b. 1909)
• 1970 – Caresse Crosby, American      poet (b. 1891)
• 1971 – Bill W., American      co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895)
• 1973 – J. Carrol Naish, American      actor (b. 1897)
• 1975 – Larry Fine, American actor      and comedian (b. 1902)
• 1978 – Herta Oberheuser, German      doctor (b. 1911)
• 1982 – Alfredo Ovando Candía,      Bolivian president and dictator (b. 1918)
• 1983 – George Cukor, American      film director (b. 1899)
• 1986 – L. Ron Hubbard, American science      fiction writer and founder of Scientology cult (b. 1911)
• 1986 – Flo Hyman, American      volleyball player (b. 1954)
• 1986 – Gordon MacRae, American      actor and singer (b. 1921)
• 1988 – Werner Fenchel, German      mathematician (b. 1905)
• 1989 – Ted Bundy, American serial      killer (b. 1946)
• 1989 – George Knudson, Canadian      golfer (b. 1937)
• 1990 – Madge Bellamy, American      actress (b. 1899)
• 1991 – John M. Kelly, Irish      politician and academic (b. 1931)
• 1992 – Ken Darby, American      composer, arranger and conductor (b. 1909)
• 1992 – Ricky Ray Rector, American      murderer (b. 1950)
• 1993 -Thurgood Marshall,U.S.     Supreme Court Justice (b. 1908)
• 1993 – Ugur Mumcu, Turkish      journalist and writer (b. 1942)
• 1994 – Yves Navarre, French      writer (b. 1940)
• 1998 – Walter D. Edmonds,      American author (b. 1903)
• 2000 – Bobby Duncum, Jr.,      American professional wrestler (b. 1965)
• 2002 – Peter Gzowski, Canadian      broadcaster, writer and reporter (b. 1934)
• 2002 – Elie Hobeika, Lebanese      Forces militia commander (b. 1956)
• 2003 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian      auto executive (b. 1921)
• 2004 – Leônidas da Silva,      Brazilian footballer (b. 1913)
• 2005 – June Bronhill, Australian      singer (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Vladimir Savchenko,      Ukrainian writer (b. 1933)
• 2005 – Chalkie White, English      rugby union coach (b. 1929)
• 2006 – Fayard Nicholas, American      tap dancer, one-half of The Nicholas Brothers (b. 1914)
• 2006 – Schafik Handal,      Salvadorean politician
• 2006 – Chris Penn, American actor      (b. 1965)
• 2007 – Krystyna Feldman, Polish      actress (b. 1916)
• 2007 – Guadalupe Larriva,      Ecuadorian politician (b. 1956)
• 2007 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro,      World’s Oldest Military Veteran (b. 1891)
• 2008 – Randy Salerno, co-anchor      ofChicago’s      CBS 2 News (b. 1963)

January 24 – Holidays:

• Roman Empire- first day of      the Sementivae in honor of Ceres and Terra
• Roman Catholic Church – Feasts of      St. Francis de Sales and Our Lady of Peace
• Wales- Saint Cadoc

• 393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I      proclaims his nine year old son Honorius coemperor.
• 971 – InChina, the      war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by      crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops. The Southern Han state is forced      to submit to the Song Dynasty, ending not only Southern Han rule, but also      the first regular war elephant corps employed in a Chinese army that had      gained the Southern Han victories throughout the 10th century.
• 1368 – In a coronation ceremony,      Zhu Yuanzhang ascends to the throne ofChina     as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming Dynasty rule overChinathat would last for      three centuries.
• 1492 –      “Pentateuch” (Jewish holy book) first printed.
• 1510 – Henry VIII ofEngland, then 18 years old, appears      incognito in the lists atRichmond,      and is applauded for his jousting before he reveals his identity.
• 1533 – Anne Boleyn, second wife      of Henry VIII of England,      discovers herself pregnant.
• 1546 – Having published nothing      for eleven years, Francois Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his      sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.
• 1556 – The deadliest earthquake      in history, theShaanxiearthquake, hitsShaanxiprovince,China. The death toll may have      been as high as 830,000.
• 1570 – The assassination of regent      James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray throwsScotlandinto civil war.
• 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens      inLondon.
• 1579 – The Union of Utrecht forms      a Protestant republic in theNetherlands.
• 1656 – Blaise Pascal publishes      the first of his Lettres provinciales.
• 1719 – The Principality of      Liechtenstein is created within theHoly Roman Empire.
• 1789 -Georgetown    Collegebecomes the first Roman      Catholic college in theUnited States     in the city ofWashington,      D.C.
• 1793 -Russia     andPrussiapartitionPoland.
• 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell is      awarded her M.D. by the Medical Institute of Geneva,New       York, becoming theUnited States’ first female      doctor.
• 1855 – The first bridge over the      Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, a crossing      made today by the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge.
• 1870 – InMontana,     U.S.     cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in the      Marias Massacre.
• 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle      of Rorke’s Drift ends.
• 1879 – National      Archery Association formed, Crawfordsville IN.
• 1894 – G.W.      Bunbury ofDublin     sets shorthand record of 250 words per minute for 10 minutes.
• 1897 – Elva Zona Heaster is found      dead inGreenbrier County,      West Virginia. The resulting      murder trial of her husband is perhaps the only case inUnited Stateshistory where      the alleged testimony of a ghost helped secure a conviction.
• 1899 – Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn      in as President of the First Philippine Republic.
• 1904 – Ålesund Fire: the      Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000      people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the      rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
• 1907 – Charles Curtis ofKansasbecomes the      first Native American U.S. Senator.
• 1912 – The International Opium      Convention is signed atThe Hague.
• 1920 – TheNetherlandsrefuses to surrender ex-Kaiser      Wilhelm II ofGermany     to the Allies.
• 1924 – Ramsey      MacDonald forms first Labour government inBritain.
• 1930 -George Washington Birthplace National        Monument,Virginia     established.
• 1937 – InMoscow, 17 leading Communists go on      trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow      Joseph Stalin’s regime and assassinate its leaders.
• 1941 – Charles Lindbergh      testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that theUnited States     negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
• 1943 – World War II: British      forces captureTripoliinLibyafrom the Nazis.
• 1943 – Jewish-led Warsaw Ghetto      Uprising.
• 1943 – World War II: Australian      and American forces finally defeat the Japanese army in Papua. This      turning point in the Pacific War marks the beginning of the end of      Japanese aggression.
• 1943 – Duke Ellington plays at      Carnegie Hall inNew York City     for the first time.
• 1945 – World War II: Karl Dönitz      launches Operation Hannibal.
• 1950 – The Knesset passes a      resolution that statesJerusalemis the      capital ofIsrael.
• 1953 – NFL      Dallas Texans become Baltimore Colts (now Indianapolis Colts).
• 1958 – Overthrow inVenezuela     of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
• 1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste      breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 m (35,798 feet)in thePacific Ocean.
• 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the      United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national      elections, is ratified.
• 1967 – The diplomatic relations      between the Soviet Union andIvory Coastwere established.
• 1968 – North Koreaseizes the USS Pueblo,      claiming the ship had violated their territorial waters while spying.
• 1973 – President Richard Nixon      announces that a peace accord has been reached inVietnam.
• 1973 – A volcano eruption      devastates Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar chain of islands off the south      coast ofIceland.
• 1975 –      “Barney Miller” premiers on ABC TV.
• 1975 – Ralph      Kiner elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame.
• 1977 –      Miniseries “Roots” premiers on ABC.
• 1978 -Swedenbecomes the first      nation in the world to ban aerosol sprays, believed to be damaging to      earth’s ozone layer.
• 1983 –      “A-Team” with Mr. T premiers on NBC.
• 1983 – Bjorn      Borg announces his retirement from tennis.
• 1985 – O.J. Simpson becomes the      first Heisman Trophy winner elected to the Football Hall of Fame.
• 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of      Fame inducts its first members: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles,      Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis      Presley.
• 1996 – The first version of the      Java programming language was released.
• 1997 – Madeleine Albright becomes      the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
• 2001 – The Chinese Communist      Party stages a self-immolation inTiananmen Square     to frame Falun Gong and escalate the persecution.
• 2002 – “American      Taliban” John Walker Lindh returns to theUnited Statesin Federal Bureau      of Investigation custody.
• 2002 – Reporter Daniel Pearl was      kidnapped inKarachi,Pakistan. He was subsequently murdered      .
• 2003 – Final communication      between Earth and Pioneer 10

January 23 – Birthdays:

• 1350 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish      missionary and saint (d. 1419)
• 1688 – Queen Ulrika Eleonora ofSweden     (d. 1741)
• 1719 – John Landen, English      mathematician (d. 1790)
• 1737 – John Hancock, American      statesman (d. 1793)
• 1745 – William Jessop, English      canal engineer (d. 1814)
• 1783 – Stendhal, French writer      (d. 1842)
• 1786 – Auguste de Montferrand,      French architect (d. 1858)
• 1813 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian      writer and feminist (d. 1895)
• 1827 – Takamori Saigo, Samurai,      leader of Satsuma rebellion (d. 1877)
• 1832 – Edouard Manet, French      artist (d. 1883)
• 1840 – Ernst Abbe, German      physicist (d. 1905)
• 1855 – John Moses Browning,      American inventor (d. 1926)
• 1857 – Andrija Mohorovicic,      Croatian seismologist (d. 1936)
• 1862 – David Hilbert, German      mathematician (d. 1943)
• 1872 – Goce Delchev, a      revolutionary from the Balkans – leader of the Internal Macedonian      Revolutionary Organization (d. 1903)
• 1872 – Paul Langevin, French physicist      (d. 1946)
• 1872 – Joze Plecnik, Slovenian      architect (d. 1957)
• 1876 – Otto Diels, German      chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1954)
• 1884 – Ralph DePalma,      Italian-American race car driver (d. 1956)
• 1891 – Italian Marxist Antonio      Gramsci. He is renowned for his concept of cultural hegemony as a means of      maintaining the state in a capitalist society. (d. 1937)
• 1896 – Charlotte, Grand Duchess      ofLuxembourg     (d. 1985)
• 1897 – Subhas Chandra Bose,      Indian independence fighter (d. 1945)
• 1897 – Sir William Samuel Stephenson,      Canadian soldier, W.W.II codename, Intrepid. Inspiration for James Bond.      (d. 1989)
• 1897 – Margarete      Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (d. 2000)
• 1897 – Netaji Subhash Chandra      Bose, Indian Leader and Freedom Fighter (d. Unknown, Disputed)
• 1898 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian      film director (d. 1948)
• 1898 – Freda Utley, British      scholar and author (d. 1978)
• 1898 – Randolph Scott, American      actor (d. 1987)
• 1899 – Glen Kidston, British      aviator and racing driver (d. 1931)
• 1900 – William Ifor Jones, Welsh      conductor and organist (d. 1988)
• 1903 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán,      Colombian politician (d. 1948)
• 1907 – Dan Duryea, American actor      (d. 1968)
• 1907 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese      physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1981)
• 1910 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian      guitarist (d. 1953)
• 1915 – Potter Stewart, U.S.      Supreme Court Justice (d. 1985)
• 1915 – Arthur Lewis, British      economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
• 1916 – Airey Neave, British      Major, politician and indictment server at the Nuremberg Trials (d. 1979)
• 1916 – David Douglas Duncan,      American photo-journalist
• 1918 – Gertrude B. Elion,      American scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Ernie Kovacs, American      comedian (d. 1962)
• 1919 – Bob Paisley, English      Football player and manager. (d. 1996)
• 1919 – Hans Hass, Austrian      zoologist and underwater scientist
• 1923 – Walter M. Miller, Jr.,      American writer (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Cot Deal, major league      baseball player and coach
• 1924 – Bal Thackeray, founder and      president of Indian political party Shiv Sena.
• 1927 – Lars-Eric Lindblad,      Swedish-American entrepreneur and explorer (d. 1994)
• 1928 – Chico Carrasquel,      Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1928 – Jeanne Moreau, French      actress
• 1929 – Patriarch Filaret      (Mykhailo Denysenko) of Ukrainian Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate
• 1929 – John Charles Polanyi,      Canadian chemist, Nobel laureate
• 1930 – Derek Walcott, West Indian      writer, Nobel laureate
• 1930 – Teresa Zylis-Gara, Polish      singer
• 1933 – Chita Rivera, Puerto Rican      actress and dancer
• 1934 -Pierre Bourgault,Quebec     politician and essayist (d. 2003)
• 1936 – Jerry Kramer, American      football player
• 1938 – Shohei Baba, Japanese      professional wrestler (d. 1999)
• 1938 – Georg Baselitz, German      painter and sculptor
• 1939 – SonnyChiba, Japanese actor and martial artist
• 1939 – Arlene Golonka, American      actress
• 1940 – Johnny Russell, American      country singer and songwriter (d. 2001)
• 1940 – Ben Gallagher, prolific      woodturner
• 1942 – Razzak, Bangladeshi actor      and director
• 1943 – Gary Burton, American jazz      vibraphonist
• 1943 – Gil Gerard, American actor
• 1943 – Millie Jackson, American      singer
• 1944 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor
• 1945 – Mike Harris, Canadian      politician, Premier of Ontario
• 1946 – Arnoldo Alemán,      ex-president ofNicaragua
• 1946 – Don Whittington, American      businessman, car & airplane racer and convicted felon
• 1947 – Thomas R. Carper, American      politician.
• 1947 – Megawati Sukarnoputri, 5th      President ofIndonesia
• 1948 – Anita Pointer, American      singer (Pointer Sisters)
• 1950 – Richard Dean Anderson,      American actor
• 1950 – Danny Federici, American      musician (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band)
• 1950 – John Greaves, English      musician (Henry Cow, National Health)
• 1953 – Antonio Villaraigosa,      Hispanic-American 52nd Mayor ofLos        Angeles
• 1953 – Robin Zander, American      singer (Cheap Trick)
• 1954 – Franco De Vita, Venezuelan      singer and songwriter
• 1954 – Edward Ka-Spel, English      musician (Legendary Pink Dots)
• 1957 – Princess Caroline ofMonaco
• 1957 – Lou Schuler, American      fitness journalist
• 1959 – Clive Bull, English radio      talk show host
• 1960 – Patrick de Gayardon,      French skydiver and skysurfing pioneer (d. 1998)
• 1960 – Jean-Francois Sauve,      Canadian ice hockey player
• 1962 – Elvira Lindo, Spanish      writer and journalist1962 – Vasia Panayopoulou, Greek actress
• 1963 – Gail O’Grady, American      actress
• 1964 – Mariska Hargitay, American      actress
• 1964 – Mario Roberge, Canadian      ice hockey player
• 1967 – Naim Süleymanoglu,      Bulgaria-born Turkish weightlifter
• 1968 – Petr Korda, Czech tennis      player
• 1969 – Ariadna Gil, Spanish      actress
• 1969 – Andrei Kanchelskis,      Ukrainian-Russian footballer
• 1969 – Brendan Shanahan, Canadian      ice hockey player
• 1970 – Spiridon Vasdekis, Greek      long jumper
• 1971 – Kevin Mawae, American      football player
• 1972 – Ewen Bremner, Scottish      actor
• 1972 – Mark Curry, American      rapper
• 1972 – Marcel Wouda, Dutch      swimmer
• 1973 – Lanei Chapman, American      actress
• 1974 – Joel Bouchard, Canadian      ice hockey player
• 1974 – Rebekah Elmaloglou,      Australian actress
• 1974 – Yosvani Pérez, Cuban      baseball player
• 1974 – Richard T. Slone, British      artist
• 1974 – Tiffani Thiessen, American      actress
• 1975 – Tito Ortiz, American UFC      fighter
• 1976 – Brandon Duckworth,      American baseball player
• 1976 – Angelica Lee, Taiwanese      actress and singer
• 1976 – Nigel McGuinness, English      professional wrestler
• 1979 – Sampsa Astala, Finnish      musician (Lordi)
• 1979 – Larry Hughes, American      basketball player
• 1979 – Juan Rincón, Venezuelan      baseball player
• 1981 – Greg Smith, American UFC      fighter
• 1982 – Wily Mo Peña, Dominican      baseball player
• 1983 – David Firth, British      animator
• 1984 – Arjen Robben, Dutch      footballer
• 1985 – Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese      footballer
• 1985 – Doutzen Kroes, Dutch      supermodel
• 1986 – José Enrique Sánchez,      Spanish footballer
• 1986 – Steven Taylor, English      footballer
• 1987 – Felicia Brandström,      Swedish singer

January 23 – Deaths:

• 1199 – Yaqub, Almohad Caliph (b.      1160)
• 1548 – Bernardo Pisano, Italian      composer (b. 1490)
• 1549 – Johannes Honter,      Transylvanian Saxon humanist and theologian (b. 1498)
• 1567 – Jiajing, Emperor ofChina     (b. 1507)
• 1570 – James Stewart, Earl of      Moray, regent ofScotland     (assassinated)
• 1622 – William Baffin, English      explorer (b. 1584)
• 1744 – Giambattista Vico, Italian      philosopher and historian (b. 1668)
• 1785 – Matthew Stewart, Scottish      mathematician (b. 1717)
• 1789 – Frances Brooke, English      writer (b. 1724)
• 1789 – John Cleland, English      novelist (b. 1709)
• 1800 – Edward Rutledge, American      statesman (b. 1749)
• 1803 – Arthur Guinness, Irish      brewer (b. 1725)
• 1805 – Claude Chappe, French      telecommunications pioneer (b. 1763)
• 1806 – William Pitt the Younger,      Prime Minister of theUnited        Kingdom(b. 1759)
• 1812 – Robert Craufurd, British      general (b. 1764)
• 1820 – Prince Edward Augustus,      Duke of Kent and Strathearn
• 1833 – Edward Pellew, 1st      Viscount Exmouth, British admiral (b. 1757)
• 1837 – John Field, Irish composer      (b. 1782)
• 1866 – Thomas Love Peacock,      English satirist (b. 1785)
• 1875 – Charles Kingsley English      writer (b. 1819)
• 1883 – Gustave Doré, French      artist, engraver, and illustrator (b. 1832)
• 1893 – Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus      Lamar, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1825)
• 1922 – Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian      conductor (b. 1855)
• 1923 – Max Nordau, Austrian      author, philosopher, and Zionist leader (b. 1849)
• 1931 – Anna Pavlova, Russian      ballerina (b. 1881)
• 1937 – Orso Mario Corbino,      Italian physicist (b. 1876)
• 1939 – Matthias Sindelar,      Austrian footballer (b. 1903)
• 1943 – Alexander Woollcott,      American actor, author, and bon vivant (b. 1887)
• 1944 – Edvard Munch, Norwegian      painter (b. 1863)
• 1944 – Viktor Gusev, Russian poet      (b. 1909)
• 1956 – Alexander Korda,      Hungarian/British film director (b. 1893)
• 1958 – Nikolaos Georgantas, Greek      discus thrower (b. 1880)
• 1971 – Fritz Feigl, Austria-born      chemist (b. 1871)
• 1973 – Alexander Onassis, Greek      heir of the Onassis family (b. 1948)
• 1973 – Kid Ory, American jazz      trombonist (b. 1886)
• 1976 – Paul Dupuis, French      Canadian film and television actor (b. 1913)
• 1976 – Paul Robeson, American      actor, singer, and social activist (b. 1898)
• 1977 – TootsShor,New York     restaurateur (b. 1903)
• 1978 – Terry Kath, American      musician (Chicago)      (b. 1946)
• 1978 – Jack Oakie, American actor      (b. 1903)
• 1978 – Vic Ames, American singer      (Ames Brothers) (b. 1925)
• 1981 – Samuel Barber, American      composer (b. 1910)
• 1983 – Fred Bakewell, English      cricketer (b. 1908)
• 1984 – Mu’in Bseiso, Palestinian      poet (b. 1926)
• 1986 – Joseph Beuys, German      artist (b. 1921)
• 1986 – Yvonne Lefébure, French      virtuoso pianist (b. 1898)
• 1988 – Charles Glen King,      American biochemist (b. 1896)
• 1989 – Salvador Dalí, Catalan artist      (b. 1904)
• 1990 – Allen Collins, American      guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (b. 1952)
• 1991 – Northrop Frye, Canadian      writer and critic (b. 1912)
• 1992 – Freddie Bartholomew, Irish      actor (b. 1924)
• 1993 – Thomas A. Dorsey, American      singer (b. 1899)
• 1994 – Nikolai Ogarkov, Soviet      field marshal (b. 1917)
• 1994 – Brian Redhead, English      journalist and broadcaster (b. 1929)
• 1997 – Richard Berry, American      composer and musician (b. 1935)
• 1999 – Jay Pritzker, American      businessman (b. 1922)
• 1999 – Prince Lincoln Thompson,      Jamaican musician (b. 1949)
• 2002 – Pierre Bourdieu, French      sociologist (b. 1930)
• 2002 – Paul Aars, American      racecar driver (b. 1934)
• 2002 – Robert Nozick, American      philosopher (b. 1938)
• 2003 – Nell Carter, American      singer and actress (b. 1948)
• 2004 – Bob Keeshan, American      actor (b. 1927)
• 2004 – Helmut Newton, German-born      photographer (b. 1920)
• 2005 – Morys George Lyndhurst      Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, British politician (b. 1921)
• 2005 – Johnny Carson, American      television host (b. 1925)
• 2006 – Chris McKinstry, Canadian      scientist (b. 1967)
• 2007 – E. Howard Hunt, American      Watergate figure (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Ryszard Kapuscinski,      Polish journalist and writer (b. 1932)

January 23 – Holidays:

• St. Abakuh, an Egyptian Christian      martyr
• Bounty Day, celebrating the      burning of HMAV Bounty in 1790,Pitcairn Island
• St. Raymond of Peñafort,      confessor, d. 1275 (Roman Catholic calendar of saints)
• St. Emerentiana, virgin and      martyr, d. 305 (Roman Catholic calendar of saints)
• Blessed Marianne ofMolokai

• 565 – Eutychius is deposed as      Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus.
• 1506 – The first contingent of      150 Swiss Guards arrive at theVatican.
• 1517 – Turks      conquerCairo.
• 1521 – Emperor Charles V opens      the Diet of Worms.
• 1673 – Postal      service betweenNew York&Bostoninaugurated.
• 1771 -Spain     cedes Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands toEngland.
• 1824 -Ashantisdefeat British forces      in the Gold Coast.
• 1840 – British colonists reachNew Zealand.
• 1859 – Brahms’      first piano concerto (in D minor) premiers, Hanover.
• 1863 – The January Uprising      breaks out inPoland,LithuaniaandBelarus. The aim of the national      movement is to regainPolish-Lithuanian-Ruthenian    Commonwealthfrom occupation ofRussia.
• 1877 – Arthur Tooth, an Anglican      clergyman is taken into custody after being prosecuted for using ritualist      practices.
• 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of      Isandlwana – Zulu troops defeat British troops.
• 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War:Battleof Rorke’s      Drift – 139 British soldiers successfully defend their garrison against an      intense assault by four to five thousand Zulu warriors.
• 1889 – Columbia Phonograph was      formed inWashington,D.C.
• 1890 – The United Mine Workers of      America was founded inColumbus,      Ohio.
• 1899 – Leaders of six Australian      colonies meet inMelbourne     to discuss confederation.
• 1901 – Edward VII becomes King      after his mother, Queen Victoria of theUnited Kingdom, dies.
• 1905 – Bloody Sunday inSt. Petersburg,      beginning of the 1905 revolution.
• 1906 – SS Valencia runs aground      on rocks onVancouver Island,      British Columbia, killing more      than 130.
• 1917 – World War I: President      Woodrow Wilson calls for “peace without victory” inEurope.
• 1919 – Act Zluky is signed,      unifying the Ukrainian People’s Republic and theWestUkrainian     NationalRepublic.
• 1924 – Ramsay MacDonald becomes      the first Labour Prime Minister.
• 1927 – First live radio      commentary of a football match anywhere in the world with the Arsenal F.C.      vs. the Sheffield United at Highbury.
• 1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn      in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
• 1941 – World War II: The United      Kingdom captures Tobruk from Nazi forces.
• 1944 – World War II: The Allies      commence Operation Shingle which was an assault onAnzio,Italy.
• 1946 -Iran:      Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people’s Republic of Mahabad atChuwarchira Square     in the Kurdish city ofMahabad.      He is the new president; Hadschi Baba Scheich is the prime minister.
• 1946 – Creation of the Central      Intelligence Group, forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.
• 1947 – KTLA, the first commercial      television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation inHollywood,California.
• 1952 – The first Jet airliner,      the de Havilland Comet, enters service for BOAC.
• 1957 -Israel     withdraws from theSinai Peninsula.
• 1957 – TheNew       York City”Mad Bomber,” George P. Metesky, was      arrested inWaterbury,      Connecticutand was charged      with planting more than 30 bombs.
• 1962 – The Organization of      American States suspendsCuba’s      membership.
• 1963 – The Elysée treaty of      cooperation betweenFrance     andGermany     was signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer.
• 1964 – World’s      largest cheese (15,723 kg) manufactured,Wisconsin.
• 1968 –      “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” premiers on NBC.
• 1968 – Apollo 5 launched      to Moon; unmanned lunar module tests made.
• 1969 – Orbiting      Solar Observatory 5 launched into earth orbit.
• 1970 – First      commercial Boeing 747 flight, NY toLondon.
• 1972 –      “Emergency” with Robert Fuller premiers on NBC TV.
  1973 – George Foreman beats Joe Frazier for world heavyweight boxing      title.
• 1973 – The Supreme Court of theUnited States     delivers its decision in Roe v. Wade striking down state laws restricting      abortion during the first six months of pregnancy.
• 1973 – A chartered Boeing 707 explodes      in flames upon landing atKano        Airport,Nigeria     killing 176.
• 1980 – Andrei Sakharov is      arrested inMoscow.
• 1980 – PGA      begins a senior golf tour.
• 1981 – O.A.      “Bum” Phillips becomes head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
• 1984 – Annette      Kennedy of SUNY sets women’s basketball record with 70 points.
• 1984 Oakland      Raiders beat Washington Redskins, 38-9, in Super Bowl XVIII.
• 1984 – The Apple Macintosh, the      first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical      user interface, was introduced during Super Bowl XVIII with its famous “1984″      television commercial.
• 1987 -Pennsylvaniapolitician R. Budd Dwyer      shoots and kills himself at a press conference on live national      television, leading to debates on boundaries in journalism.
• 1988 –      Heavyweight champ Mike Tyson KOs former champ Larry Holmes in 4.
• 1989 – Super      Bowl XXIII-San Francisco 49ers-20,Cincinnati     Bengels-16
• 1990 – Radio Borders[1] became      the first station of the new decade to hit theUKairwaves. Robert Tappan      Morris, Jr. is convicted of releasing the 1988 Internet worm.
• 1991 – Gulf War. Three SCUDs and      one Patriot missile hitRamat GaninIsrael,      injuring 96 people. Three elderly people die of heart attacks.
• 1992 – Rebel forces occupyZaire’s national radio station inKinshasaand      broadcast a demand for the government’s resignation.
• 1992 – Space Shuttle program:      STS-42 Mission – Dr. Roberta Bondar becomes the first Canadian woman in      space.
• 1995 – Israeli-Palestinian      conflict: In centralIsrael,      two suicide bombers from the Gaza Strip blow themselves up at a military      transit point killing 19 Israelis.
• 1999 – Australian missionary      Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical Hindus while      sleeping in their car inEastern India.
• 2002 – Kmart Corp becomes the largest      retailer inUnited        Stateshistory to file for Chapter 11      bankruptcy protection.
• 2003 – Last successful contact      with the spacecraft Pioneer 10, one of the most distant man-made objects.
• 2006 – Evo Morales is inaugurated      as President of Bolivia, becoming the country’s first indigenous      president.
• 2007 – The jury portion of the      trial against Robert Pickton, accused of beingCanada’s      worst serial killer, opens inNew        Westminster,British Columbia,      Canada.

January 22 – Birthdays:

• 1263 – Ibn Taymiya, Islamic      scholar (d. 1328)
• 1440 – Ivan III ofRussia     (d. 1505)
• 1553 – Mori Terumoto, Japanese      warrior (d. 1625)
• 1561 – Sir Francis Bacon, English      philosopher (d. 1626)
• 1570 – Sir Robert Bruce Cotton,      English politician (d. 1631)
• 1592 – Pierre Gassendi, French      philosopher, mathematician, and scientist (d. 1655)
• 1654 – Richard Blackmore, English      physician and writer (d. 1729)
• 1690 – Nicolas Lancret, French      painter (d. 1743)
• 1729 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing,      German author and philosopher (d. 1781)
• 1733 – Philip Carteret, British      Naval Officer
• 1781 – François Antoine Habeneck,      French violinist (d. 1849)
• 1788 – George Gordon Byron, 6th      Baron Byron (Lord Byron), English poet (d. 1824)
• 1796 – Karl Claus, Russian      chemist (d. 1864)
• 1797 – Maria Leopoldina ofAustria, Empress ofBrazil(d. 1826)
• 1799 – Ludger Duvernay, Canadian      printer and publisher (d. 1852)
• 1820 – Joseph Wolf, German artist      (d. 1899)
• 1840 – Ernest Roland Wilberforce,      English bishop (d. 1907)
• 1849 – August Strindberg, Swedish      writer (d. 1912)
• 1858 – Beatrice Webb, English      economist (d. 1943)
• 1869 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian      monk (d. 1916)
• 1874 – Edward Harkness, American      philanthropist (d. 1940)
• 1875 – D. W. Griffith, American      film director (d. 1948)
• 1882 – Theodore Kosloff,      Russian-born actor, ballet dancer and choreographer (d. 1956)
• 1886 – Roman Ungern von      Sternberg, Russian counter-revolutionary (d. 1921)
• 1887 – Helen Hoyt, American poet      (d. 1972)
• 1889 – Henri Pélissier, French      cyclist (d. 1935)
• 1890 – Fred M. Vinson, 13th Chief      Justice of theUnited        States(d. 1953)
• 1890 – Vinko Zganec, Croatian      ethnomusicologist (d. 1976)
• 1892 – Marcel Dassault, French      industrialist (d. 1986)
• 1893 – Conrad Veidt, German actor      (d. 1943)
• 1897 – Rosa Ponselle, American      soprano (d. 1981)
• 1900 – Ernst Busch, German singer      and actor (d. 1980)
• 1902 – Daniel Kinsey, American      hurdler (d. 1970)
• 1903 – Fritz Houtermans, Polish      physicist (d. 1966)
• 1904 – George Balanchine, Russian      choreographer (d. 1983)
• 1904 – Arkady Gaidar, Russian      children’s writer (d. 1941)
• 1906 – Joe Gladwin, English actor      (d. 1987)
• 1906 – Robert E. Howard, American      author (d. 1936)
• 1907 – Douglas Corrigan, American      pilot (d. 1995)
• 1907 – Dixie Dean, English      footballer (d. 1980)
• 1907 – Mary Dresselhuys, Dutch      actress (d. 2004)
• 1908 – Lev Landau, Soviet      physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1968)
• 1909 – Porfirio Rubirosa,      Dominican diplomat and international playboy (d. 1965)
• 1909 – Ann Sothern, American      actress (d. 2001)
• 1909 – U Thant, Burmese 3rd      United Nations Secretary General (d. 1974)
• 1911 – Bruno Kreisky, Chancellor      ofAustria     (d. 1990)
• 1913 – William Cardinal Conway,      Northern Irish clergyman (d. 1977)
• 1913 – Carl F. H. Henry, American      theologian and publisher (d. 2003)
• 1914 – Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek      composer (d. 2001)
• 1915 – Heinrich Albertz, German      theologian and politician (d. 1993)
• 1916 – Bill Durnan, Canadian ice      hockey player (d. 1972)
• 1916 – Henri Dutilleux, French      composer
• 1918 – Elmer Lach, Canadian ice      hockey player
• 1920 – Sir Alf Ramsey, English      football manager (d. 1999)
• 1922 – Howard Moss, American      poet, dramatist, and critic (d. 1987)
• 1924 – J. J. Johnson, American      jazz trombonist and composer (d. 2001)
• 1927 – Lou Creekmur, American      football player
• 1928 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese      historian (d. 2004)
• 1931 – Sam Cooke, American singer      (d. 1964)
• 1932 – Berthold Grünfeld,      Norwegian psychiatrist and former sexologist
• 1932 – Piper Laurie, American      actress
• 1934 – Bill Bixby, American actor      (d. 1993)
• 1934 – Graham Kerr, British-born      chef
• 1935 – Seymour Cassel, American      actor
• 1936 – Alan J. Heeger, American      chemist, Nobel laureate
• 1937 – Edén Pastora, Nicaraguan      rebel leader
• 1937 – Joseph Wambaugh, American      author
• 1938 – Altair, Brazilian      footballer
• 1939 – Jeff Smith, American chef      (d. 2004)
• 1939 – Jean-Claude Tremblay,      Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1994)
• 1940 – Addie “Micki”      Harris, singer (Shirelles) (d. 1982)
• 1940 – John Hurt, English actor
• 1940 – George Seifert, American      football coach
• 1942 – Mimis Domazos, Greek      footballer
• 1943 – Marília Pêra, Brazilian      actress
• 1945 – Arthur Beetson, Australian      rugby league footballer and coach
• 1946 – Malcolm McLaren, English      impresario, musician and self-publicist
• 1946 – Serge Savard, Canadian ice      hockey player
• 1948 – Gilbert Levine, American      conductor
• 1949 – Mike Caldwell, American      baseball player
• 1949 – Phil Miller, English      guitarist (National Health, In Cahoots, Matching Mole)
• 1949 – Steve Perry, American      singer and musician (Journey)
• 1951 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak      figure skater (d. 1989)
• 1952 – Teddy Gentry, American      musician (Alabama)
• 1952 – Ace Vergel, Filipino actor      (d. 2007)
• 1953 – Jim Jarmusch, American      director
• 1954 – Tully Blanchard, American      professional wrestler
• 1954 – Chris Lemmon, American      actor
• 1954 – Peter Pilz, Austrian politician
• 1955 – Timothy R. Ferguson,      American politician
• 1956 – John Wesley Shipp,      American actor
• 1957 – Mike Bossy, Canadian ice      hockey player
• 1957 – Francis Wheen, English      writer and journalist
• 1958 – Nikos Anastopoulos, Greek      football player and manager
• 1959 – Linda Blair, American      actress
• 1960 – Michael Hutchence,      Australian singer (INXS) (d. 1997)
• 1961 – Daniel Johnston, American      singer-songwriter and artist
• 1962 – Choi Min-sik, South Korean      actor
• 1962 – Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin      of Terengganu, Yang di-Pertuan Agong ofMalaysia
• 1963 – Andrei Tchmil,      Ukrainian-Belgian cyclist
• 1965 – Steven Adler, American      drummer (Guns N’ Roses)
• 1965 – DJ Jazzy Jeff, American      rapper and actor
• 1965 – Diane Lane, American      actress
• 1965 – Brian McCardie, Scottish      actor
• 1965 – Andrew Roachford, English      singer and songwriter
• 1965 – Chintara Sukapatana, Thai      actress
• 1966 – Ecaterina Szabo, Romanian      gymnast
• 1967 – Manabu Nakanishi, Japanese      professional wrestler
• 1968 – Heath, Japanese bass      guitarist (X Japan)
• 1968 – Frank Leboeuf, French      footballer
• 1968 – Mauricio Serna, Colombian      footballer
• 1969 – Olivia d’Abo, English      actress
• 1969 – John Linton Roberson,      American cartoonist
• 1970 – Abraham Olano, Spanish      cyclist
• 1970 – Alex Ross, American comic      book painter (Marvels, Kingdom Come)
• 1971 – Stan Collymore, English      footballer
• 1972 – Gabriel Macht, American      actor
• 1972 – Romi Paku, Japanese seiyu      (voice actress)
• 1972 – Gonzalo Rodríguez,      Uruguayan racing driver (d. 1999)
• 1973 – Rogerio Ceni, Brazilian      footballer
• 1974 – Cameron McConville,      Australian racing driver
• 1975 – Balthazar Getty, American      actor
• 1975 – Felipe Giaffone, Brazilian      racing driver
• 1975 – ZP Theart, South African      singer
• 1975 – David Výborný, Czech ice      hockey player
• 1976 – James Dearth, American      football player
• 1976 – Mikko Luoma, Finnish ice      hockey player
• 1977 -Jono Gibbes,New        Zealandrugby union footballer
• 1977 – Hidetoshi Nakata, Japanese      footballer
• 1978 – Chone Figgins, American      baseball player
• 1980 – Jake Grove, American football      player
• 1980 – Christopher Masterson,      American actor
• 1980 – Ben Moody, American      guitarist (Evanescence)
• 1980 – Jonathan Woodgate, English      footballer
• 1981 – Willa Ford, American      singer
• 1981 – Beverley Mitchell,      American actress
• 1981 – Ibrahima Sonko, French      footballer
• 1982 – Fabricio Coloccini,      Argentine footballer
• 1982 – Jason Peters, American      football player
• 1983 – Shaun Cody, American      football player
• 1983 – Robert Steinhäuser, German      perpetrator of theErfurt     massacre (d. 2002)
• 1984 – Ben Eager, Canadian ice      hockey player
• 1984 – Raica Oliveira, Brazilian      supermodel
• 1984 – Leon Powe, American      basketball player
• 1984 – Maceo Rigters, Dutch      footballer
• 1985 – Mohamed Sissoko, Malian      footballer
• 1986 – Lee Pa-ni, South Korean      model
• 1986 – Robert O’Connor, Irish      singer-songwriter, actor and model
• 1986 – Rhys Barker, British      Model, Musician
• 1987 – Astrid Jacobsen, Norwegian      cross-country skier
• 1988 – Greg Oden, American      basketball player

January 22 – Deaths:

• 1536 – Bernhard Knipperdolling,      German religious leader (b. 1495)
• 1599 – Cristofano Malvezzi,      Italian composer (b. 1547)
• 1666 – Shah Jahan, Mughal Emperor      ofIndia     (b. 1592)
• 1750 – Franz Xaver Josef von      Unertl, Bavarian politician (b. 1675)
• 1763 – John Carteret, 2nd Earl      Granville, English statesman (b. 1690)
• 1767 – Johann Gottlob Lehmann,      German minterologist and geologist (b. 1719)
• 1779 – Jeremiah Dixon, English      surveyor and astronomer (b. 1733)
• 1779 – Claudius Smith, American      Revolutionary War loyalist (b. 1736)
• 1840 – Johann Friedrich      Blumenbach, German anthropologist (b. 1752)
• 1892 – Joseph Philo Bradley, U.S.      Supreme Court Justice (b. 1813)
• 1900 – David E. Hughes, American      musician (b. 1831)
• 1901 – Queen Victoria of theUnited Kingdom     (b. 1819)
• 1921 – Captain George Streeter,      American riverboat captain and circus owner (b. 1837)
• 1922 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish      politician and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1837)
• 1922 – Pope Benedict XV (b. 1854)
• 1922 – Camille Jordan, French      mathematician (b. 1838)
• 1931 – Alma Rubens, American      actress (b. 1897)
• 1945 – Else Lasker-Schuler,      German-born poet (b. 1869)
• 1949 – William Thomas Walsh,      American author (b. 1891)
• 1950 – Alan Hale, Sr., American      actor (b. 1892)
• 1951 – Karl Nessler, inventor of      the perm (b. 1872)
• 1959 – Mike Hawthorn, English      race car driver and one-time F1 world champion (b. 1929)
• 1966 – Herbert Marshall, English      actor (b. 1890)
• 1967 – Robert Henriques, English      writer (b. 1905)
• 1968 – Duke Kahanamoku, American      swimmer (b. 1890)
• 1973 – Lyndon B. Johnson, 36th      President of theUnited        States(b. 1908)
• 1975 – Andrew George Burry,      Swiss-born manufacturer and businessman (b. 1873)
• 1978 – Oliver Leese, British      World War II general (b. 1894)
• 1978 – Herbert Sutcliffe, English      cricketer (b. 1894)
• 1981 – Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi,      Pakistani historian and educationist (b. 1903)
• 1982 – Tommy Tucker, American      singer and pianist (b. 1933)
• 1987 – Budd Dwyer, American      politician (b. 1939)
• 1988 – Parker Fennelly, American      comedian and actor (b. 1891)
• 1991 – Robert Choquette, French      Canadian novelist, poet and diplomat (b. 1905)
• 1993 – Abe Kobo, Japanese writer      (b. 1924)
• 1994 – Jean-Louis Barrault,      French actor and director (b. 1910)
• 1994 – Rhett Forrester, American      singer (Riot) (b. 1956)
• 1994 – Telly Savalas, American      actor (b. 1924)
• 1995 – Jerry Blackwell, American      professional wrestler (b. 1949)
• 1995 – Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy,      matriarch of the Kennedy family (b. 1890)
• 1997 – Ron Holden, American      singer (b. 1939)
• 1997 – Billy Mackenzie, Scottish      musician (Associates) (b. 1957)
• 1997 – Wally Whyton, English      musician (b. 1929)
• 1999 – Graham Staines, Australian      missionary (b. 1941)
• 2000 – Craig Claiborne, American      writer and editor (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Anne Hébert, French      Canadian author and poet (Kamouraska) (b. 1916)
• 2001 – Tommie Agee, American      baseball player (b. 1942)
• 2001 – Roy Brown, American clown      (b. 1932)
• 2002 – Stanley Marcus, American      business executive (b. 1905)
• 2003 – Bill Mauldin, American      World War II cartoonist (b. 1921)
• 2004 – Billy May, American      composer and musician (b. 1916)
• 2004 – Thomas Mead, Australian      politician and journalist (b. 1918)
• 2004 – Ann Miller, American      actress and dancer (b. 1923)
• 2005 – César Gutiérrez,      Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Carlo Orelli, Italian      veteran of World War I (b. 1894)
• 2005 – Consuelo Velázquez,      Mexican songwriter (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Rose Mary Woods, American      Watergate scandal figure (b. 1917)
• 2007 – Doug Blasdell, American      personal trainer
• 2007 – Disco D, American music      producer (b. 1980)
• 2007 – Ngô Quang Tru?ng, South      Vietnamese general (b. 1929)
• 2007 – Abbé Pierre, French priest      (b. 1912)
• 2008 – Heath Ledger, Australian      Hollywood actor (b. 1979)

January 22 – Holidays:

• Christianity – Feast day ofSt. Vincent, Anastasius of Persia.

• 1189 – Philip II of France and Richard I of England begin to assemble troops to wage the Third Crusade.
• 1287 – The treaty of San Agayz is signed. Minorca is conquered by King Alfons III of Aragon.
• 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz’s mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
• 1643 – Abel Tasman was the first European to reach Tonga.
• 1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
• 1749 – The Verona Philharmonic Theatre was destoyed by fire. It was rebuilt in 1754.
• 1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, is printed in Boston, Massachusetts.
• 1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France was executed by the guillotine.
• 1799 – Edward Jenner’s smallpox vaccination is introduced.
• 1853 – Envelope-folding machine patented by Russell Hawes, Worcester, MA.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
• 1864 – The Tauranga Campaign starts during the Maori Wars.
• 1887 – Brisbane receives a daily rainfall of 465 millimetres (18.3 inches), a record for any Australian capital city.
• 1893 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, was formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate which is now Botswana.
• 1899 – Opel manufactured its first automobile.
• 1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
• 1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally.
• 1915 – Kiwanis International was founded in Detroit, Michigan.
• 1919 – Meeting of the First Dáil Éireann in the Mansion House Dublin, Sinn Féin adopts Ireland’s first constitution. The first engagement of Irish War of Independence, Sologhead Beg, County Tipperary.
• 1921 – The Italian Communist Party was founded at Livorno.
• 1922 – First slalom ski race run, Murren, Switzerland.
• 1924 – Vladimir Lenin dies; a lengthy power struggle emerges between Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin begins, culminating to the latter’s consolidation of power c. 1928.
• 1925 – Albania declares itself a republic.
• 1941 – World War II: Australian and British forces attack Tobruk, Libya.
• 1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time, over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Quebec Flag Day.
• 1950 – Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
• 1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, then the First Lady of the United States.
• 1958 – The last Fokker C.X in military service, the Finnish Air Force FK-111 target tower, crashed, killing the pilot and winch-operator.
• 1960 – Rock fall traps 437 at Coalbrook South Africa; 417 die of methane poisoning.
• 1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh – One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
• 1969 – An experimental underground nuclear reactor at Lucens Vad, Switzerland, released radiation into a cavern, which was then sealed.
• 1971 – “Alias Smith & Jones” premiers on ABC TV.
• 1972 – Tripura becomes a full-fledged state in India.
• 1974 – Gold hits record $161.31 an ounce in London.
• 1974 – Silver hits record $3.97 an ounce in London.
• 1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
• 1977 – President Jimmy Carter pardons nearly all American Vietnam War draft evaders, some of whom had emigrated to Canada.
• 1978 – Bee Gees’ “Saturday Night Fever” album goes #1 for 24 weeks.
• 1979 – Steelers beat Cowboys (35-31), first team to win 3 Super Bowls (XIII).
• 1980 – Gold hits record $850 an ounce.
• 1986 – 100 participate in Nude Olympics race in 38 degrees F (3 degrees C), Indiana.
• 1987 – B.B. King donates his 7,000 record collection to University of Mississippi
• 1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kgs (9,500 pounds) of cocaine on board.
• 2002 – The Canadian Dollar sets all-time low against the US Dollar (US$0.6179).
• 2004 – Canada: The residence of reporter Juliet O’Neill is searched by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigating leaks concerning the deportation of Maher Arar.
• 2005 – In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government’s new taxes erupts into riots.
• 2008 – Black Monday in worldwide stock markets. FTSE 100 had its biggest ever one-day points fall, European stocks closed with their worst result since 9/11, and Asian stocks drop as much as 15%.
• 2008 – The Eyak language in Alaska becomes extinct as its last native speaker dies.

January 21 – Birthdays:

• 1338 – King Charles V of France (d. 1380)
• 1721 – James Murray, British military officer, governor of Quebec (d. 1794)
• 1804 – Eliza Roxcy Snow, American poet (d. 1887)
• 1813 – John C. Frémont, American army officer, explorer and presidential candidate (d. 1890)
• 1815 – John Bingham, American politician and lawyer (d. 1900)
• 1824 – Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, American, Confederate army general (d. 1863)
• 1825 – Imre Madách, Hungarian writer (d. 1864)
• 1827 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician (d. 1900)
• 1829 – King Oscar II of Sweden and Norway (d. 1907)
• 1848 – Henri Duparc, French composer (d. 1933)
• 1860 – Karl Staaff, Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1915)
• 1867 – Ludwig Thoma, German writer (d. 1921)
• 1867 – Maxime Weygand, French general (d. 1965)
• 1882 – Pavel Florensky, Russian mathematician (d. 1937)
• 1883 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet (d. 1929)
• 1884 – Roger Baldwin, American social activist (d. 1981)
• 1885 – Umberto Nobile, Italian politician (d. 1978)
• 1887 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1926)
• 1895 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish couturier (d. 1972)
• 1897 – René Iché, French sculptor (d. 1954)
• 1899 – Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian born American composer (d. 1977)
• 1901 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer (d. 1978)
• 1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer (d. 1957)
• 1905 – Karl Wallenda, German acrobat (d. 1978)
• 1906 – Igor Moiseyev, Russian choreographer (d. 2007)
• 1909 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer (d. 2004)
• 1910 – Eua Sunthornsanan, Thai composer and bandleader (d. 1981)
• 1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, German-born biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2000)
• 1918 – Richard D. Winters, American war hero
• 1921 – Howard Unruh, American mass murderer
• 1922 – Paul Scofield, English actor
• 1923 – Lola Flores, Spanish singer (d. 1995)
• 1924 – Benny Hill, English actor, comedian, and singer (d. 1992)
• 1924 – Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)
• 1926 – Steve Reeves, American actor (d. 2000)
• 1927 – Clive Churchill, Australian rugby league footballer (d. 1985)
• 1932 – John Chaney, American basketball coach
• 1933 – Joseph W. Eschbach, American doctor (d. 2007)
• 1934 – Audrey Dalton, Irish actress
• 1936 – Koji Hashimoto, Japanese film director (d. 2005)
• 1937 – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria
• 1938 – Wolfman Jack, American disk jockey and actor (d. 1995)
• 1938 – John Savident, British actor
• 1940 – Jack Nicklaus, American golfer
• 1941 – Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor
• 1941 – Stathis Giallelis, Greek actor
• 1941 – Richie Havens, American musician
• 1941 – Mike Medavoy, American film producer
• 1941 – Ivan Putski, Polish-born American professional wrestler
• 1942 – Edwin Starr, American singer (d. 2003)
• 1942 – Mac Davis, American musician
• 1946 – Johnny Oates, American baseball player and manager (d. 2004)
• 1947 – Jill Eikenberry, American actress
• 1947 – Pye Hastings, English singer and musician (Caravan)
• 1947 – Michel Jonasz, French singer and composer
• 1950 – Billy Ocean, West Indian musician
• 1952 – Marco Camenisch, Swiss environmental activist
• 1952 – Louis Menand, American writer and critic
• 1953 – Paul Allen, American entrepreneur
• 1955 – Jeff Koons, American artist
• 1956 – Robby Benson, American actor
• 1956 – Geena Davis, American actress
• 1957 – Greg Ryan, American soccer coach
• 1958 – Michael Wincott, Canadian actor
• 1959 – Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1962 – Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
• 1962 – Tyler Cowen, American economist
• 1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-born American basketball player
• 1963 – Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player
• 1965 – Jam Master Jay, American disc jockey (d. 2002)
• 1966 – Robert Del Naja, English musician
• 1966 – Candi Milo, American voice actress
• 1968 – Ulrica Messing, Swedish politician
• 1968 – Charlotte Ross, American actress
• 1969 – Karina Lombard, American actress
• 1969 – Tsubaki Nekoi, Japanese manga artist
• 1970 – Ken Leung, American actor
• 1970 – Mark Trojanowski, American musician (Sister Hazel)
• 1971 – Alan McManus, Scottish snooker player
• 1971 – Doug Weight, American ice hockey player
• 1972 – Alan Benes, American baseball player
• 1972 – Yasunori Mitsuda, Japanese composer
• 1972 – Cat Power (Chan Marshall), American musician
• 1974 – Rove McManus, Australian television host and comedian
• 1974 – Alex Sperafico, Brazilian racing driver
• 1975 – Ito, Spanish footballer
• 1975 – Nicky Butt, English footballer
• 1975 – Casey FitzRandolph, American speed skater
• 1975 – Yuji Ide, Japanese racing driver
• 1976 – Emma Bunton, English singer (Spice Girls)
• 1977 – Al Baxter, Australian rugby union footballer
• 1977 – Phil Neville, English footballer
• 1977 – Rick Ross, American rapper
• 1978 – Bryan Gilmore, National Football League player
• 1978 – Tamir “Nokio” Ruffin, American Singer
• 1978 – Faris al-Sultan, German-Iraqi triathlete
• 1978 – Phil Stacey, American Idol finalist
• 1978 – Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
• 1979 – Byung-Hyun Kim, Korean baseball player
• 1979 – Spider Loc, American rapper, member of G-Unit
• 1979 – Brian O’Driscoll, Irish rugby union footballer
• 1980 – Dave Kitson, English footballer
• 1980 – Nana Mizuki, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1981 – Gillian Chung Yan-tung, Hong Kong singer (Twins)
• 1981 – Jamie Dalrymple, English cricketer
• 1981 – Ivan Ergic, Serbian footballer
• 1981 – Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Andy Lee, Korean rapper (Shinhwa)
• 1981 – Izabella Miko, Polish-born actress and model
• 1981 – Alex Ubago, Spanish-Basque singer-songwriter
• 1982 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
• 1983 – Maryse Ouellet, French-Canadian model and professional wrestler
• 1983 – Moritz Volz, German footballer
• 1983 – Peter Philipakos, Greek-American soccer player
• 1985 – Alex Pérez, Spanish footballer
• 1985 – Sasha Pivovarova, Russian Model
• 1985 – Matt Unicomb, Australian basketball player
• 1987 – Joe Ledley, Welsh footballer
• 1988 – William Johansson, Swedish composer
• 1990 – Jacob Smith, American actor
• 2004 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway

January 21 – Deaths:

• 304 – Saint Agnes (martyred) (b. 291)
• 917 – Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (c. 880)
• 1118 – Pope Paschal II
• 1519 – Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Spanish explorer (b. 1475)
• 1527 – Juan de Grijalva, Spanish conquistador (c. 1489)
• 1546 – Azai Sukemasa, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1491)
• 1609 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French Protestant scholar (b. 1540)
• 1638 – Ignazio Donati, Italian composer (c. 1570)
• 1683 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, British politician (b. 1621)
• 1699 – Obadiah Walker, English writer (b. 1616)
• 1706 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (b. 1649)
• 1710 – Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic (b. 1638)
• 1722 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English supporter of William III of England (b. 1661)
• 1731 – Thomas Woolston, English theologian (b. 1669)
• 1766 – James Quin, English actor (b. 1693)
• 1773 – Alexis Piron, French writer (b. 1689)
• 1774 – Mustafa III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1717)
• 1775 – Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian rebel (b. 1740 or 1742)
• 1793 – King Louis XVI of France (executed) (b. 1754)
• 1795 – Samuel Wallis, English navigator (b. 1728)
• 1809 – Josiah Hornblower, American statesman (b. 1729)
• 1814 – Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French writer and botanist (b. 1737)
• 1823 – Cayetano José Rodríguez, Argentine cleric, journalist and poet (b. 1761)
• 1831 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet (b. 1781)
• 1851 – Albert Lortzing, German composer (b. 1801)
• 1870 – Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (b. 1812)
• 1872 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian writer (b. 1791)
• 1881 – Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss Federal Councilor (b. 1802)
• 1891 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian composer (b. 1842)
• 1901 – Elisha Gray, American inventor (b. 1835)
• 1914 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian artist (b. 1857)
• 1919 – Gojong of Joseon, Emperor of Korea (b. 1852)
• 1924 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian revolutionary (b. 1870)
• 1926 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician, recipient of the Nobel laureate (b. 1843)
• 1928 – George Goethals, American army engineer (b. 1858)
• 1931 – Felix Blumenfeld, Russian composer (b. 1863)
• 1932 – Giles Lytton Strachey, British writer (b. 1880)
• 1933 – George A. Moore, Irish novelist (b. 1852)
• 1937 – Marie Prevost, Canadian actress (b. 1898)
• 1948 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer (b. 1876)
• 1950 – George Orwell, British writer (b. 1903)
• 1955 – Archie Hahn, American athlete (b. 1880)
• 1956 – Sam Langford, Canadian boxer (b. 1883)
• 1959 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director (b. 1881)
• 1959 – Carl Switzer, American actor (b. 1927)
• 1961 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss writer (b. 1887)
• 1967 – Ann Sheridan, American actress (b. 1915)
• 1968 – Will Lang Jr., American magazine executive (b. 1914)
• 1977 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet (b. 1906)
• 1978 – Freda Utley, British scholar and author. (b. 1898)
• 1984 – Giannis Skaribas, Greek writer, dramatist, and poet (b. 1893)
• 1984 – Jackie Wilson, American musician (b. 1934)
• 1985 – James Beard, American chef and author (b. 1903)
• 1985 – Eddie Graham, American professional wrestler and promoter (b. 1930)
• 1987 – Charles Goodell, American politician (b. 1926)
• 1989 – Billy Tipton, American musician (b. 1914)
• 1989 – Carl Furillo, American Baseball player (b. 1922)
• 1993 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player (b. 1903)
• 1996 – René Marc Jalbert, sergeant-at-Arms at the National Assembly of Quebec (b. 1921)
• 1997 – Colonel Tom Parker, American manager of Elvis Presley (b. 1909)
• 1998 – Jack Lord, American actor (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Charles Brown, American blues singer and pianist (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)
• 2001 – Byron De La Beckwith, American white supremacist (b. 1921)
• 2002 – Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)
• 2003 – Paul Haines, American-born Canadian poet (b. 1933)
• 2004 – Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian writer (b. 1929)
• 2005 – Theun de Vries, Dutch writer (b. 1907)
• 2005 – John L. Hess, American journalist (b. 1917)
• 2005 – Parveen Babi, Indian actress (b. 1955)
• 2006 – Ibrahim Rugova, President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
• 2007 – Maria Cioncan, Romanian athlete (b. 1977)
• 2007 – U;Nee, Korean pop artist (b. 1981)
• 2008 – Pam Barrett, Canadian politician (b. 1953)
• 2008 – Marie Smith Jones, last native speaker of the Eyak language (b. 1918)

January 21 – Holidays:

• Flag Day – Quebec
• International Spicy Food Day
• Wellington Anniversary – New Zealand
• Saint Agnes
• Meinrad of Einsiedeln
• Dominican Republic – Our Lady of Altagracia

• 250 – Emperor Decius begins a widespread persecution of Christians in Rome. Pope Fabian was martyred. Afterwards the Donatist controversy over readmitting lapsed Christians disaffects many in North Africa.
• 1156 – According to legend, freeholder Lalli slays English crusader Bishop Henry with an axe on the ice of lake Köyliönjärvi in Finland.
• 1265 – In Westminster, the first English parliament conducts its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now also known as the “Houses of Parliament.”
• 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
• 1356 – Edward Balliol abdicates as King of Scotland.
• 1502 – The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro is first explored.
• 1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
• 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almansa.
• 1649 – Charles I of England goes on trial for treason and other “high crimes.”
• 1667 – The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth cedes Kiev, Smolensk, and left-bank Ukraine to Imperial Russia in the treaty of Andrusovo.
• 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signs a peace treaty with France and Spain, officially ending hostilities in the Revolutionary War.
• 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides Botany Bay is unsuitable for location of a penal colony, and decides to move to Port Jackson.
• 1801 – John Marshall is appointed the Chief Justice of the United States.
• 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats a Peruvian and Bolivian alliance.
• 1840 – Dumont D’Urville discovers Adélie Land, Antarctica.
• 1840 – Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands.
• 1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
• 1885 – L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
• 1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
• 1892 – At the YMCA in Springfield, Massachusetts, the first official basketball game is played.
• 1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union is founded.
• 1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
• 1929 – In Old Arizona, the first full-length talking film filmed outdoors, is released.
• 1936 – Edward VIII becomes King of the United Kingdom.
• 1937 – Franklin Roosevelt is inaugurated for a second term as President of the United States. This is the first inauguration scheduled on January 20, following adoption of the 20th Amendment. Previous inaugurations were scheduled on March 4.
• 1942 – World War II: Nazis at the Wannsee conference in Berlin agree on the “final solution to the Jewish problem.”
• 1944 – World War II: The Royal Air Force drops 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin.
• 1945 – Hungary ends its involvement in the Second World War, agreeing to an armistice with the Allies.
• 1954 – The National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
• 1960 – Hendrik Verwoerd announces a plebiscite on whether South Africa should become a Republic.
• 1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated.
• 1968 – The Houston Cougars defeat the UCLA Bruins 71-69 to win the Game of the Century.
• 1969 – The first pulsar is discovered, in the Crab Nebula.
• 1980 – President Jimmy Carter announces US boycott of Olympics in Moscow.
• 1980 – Super Bowl XIV-Pittsburgh Steelers-31, Los Angeles Rams-19.
• 1981 – Iran releases 52 American hostages twenty minutes after Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as U.S. President.
• 1985 – Super Bowl XIX-San Francisco 49′ers-38, Miami Dolphins-16.
• 1986 – Martin Luther King, Jr., day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
• 1986 – The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel.
• 1987 – Church of England envoy Terry Waite is kidnapped in Lebanon.
• 1990 – Black January – crackdown of Azerbaijani pro-independence demonstrations by Soviet army in Baku.
• 1991 – Sudan’s government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim north and Christian south.
• 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148 crashes near Strasbourg, France, killing 82 passengers and 5 crew.
• 1999 – The China News Service announces new government restrictions on Internet use aimed especially at Internet cafés.
• 2001 – Philippine president Joseph Estrada is ousted in the EDSA II Revolution and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

January 20 – Birthdays:

• 225 – Gordian III, Roman Emperor (d. 244)
• 1292 – Elisabeth I of Bohemia (d. 1330)
• 1358 – Eleanor of Aragon, wife of John I of Castile (d. 1382)
• 1435 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shogun (d. 1490)
• 1554 – King Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
• 1586 – Johann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
• 1664 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian writer and jurist (d. 1718)
• 1716 – King Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
• 1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French writer and numismatist (d. 1795)
• 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist (d. 1836)
• 1781 – Joseph Hormayr Freiherr zu Hortenburg, Austrian politician (d. 1848)
• 1783 – Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
• 1798 – Anson Jones, 5th and last President of Texas (d. 1858)
• 1804 – Eugène Sue, French novelist (d. 1857)
• 1812 – Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
• 1834 – George D. Robinson, 34 Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
• 1837 – David Josiah Brewer, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1910)
• 1855 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
• 1867 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
• 1873 – Johannes Vilhelm Jensen, Danish Nobel laureate (d. 1950)
• 1876 – Józef Hofmann, Polish pianist (d. 1967)
• 1878 – Finlay Currie, British actor (d. 1968)
• 1878 – Ruth St. Denis, dancer (d. 1968)
• 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
• 1889 – Allan H. Loughead, American aviation pioneer (Lockheed Corporation; d. 1969)
• 1891 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian born violinist (d. 1967)
• 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish athlete (d. 1946)
• 1894 – Walter Piston, American composer (d. 1976)
• 1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian (d. 1996)
• 1896 – Isabel Withers, American actress (d. 1968)
• 1898 – U Razak, Burmese politician (d. 1947)
• 1899 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese development of television (d. 1990)
• 1900 – Colin Clive, British actor (d. 1937)
• 1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1907 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress (d. 2000)
• 1910 – Joy Adamson, Austrian naturalist and writer (d. 1980)
• 1915 – Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
• 1919 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican bandleader (d. 2002)
• 1920 – Federico Fellini, Italian film director (d. 1993)
• 1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
• 1920 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian author and ski jumper (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Telmo Zarraonaindía, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
• 1922 – Ray Anthony, American trumpeter, bandleader, songwriter and actor
• 1923 – Nora Brockstedt, Norwegian singer
• 1924 – Slim Whitman, American singer
• 1925 – Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan theologian and author and politician
• 1926 – Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, essayist and columnist
• 1926 – Qurratulain Hyder, Indian novelist (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress
• 1926 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
• 1929 – Jimmy Cobb, American jazz drummer
• 1929 – Bob Denard, French mercenary
• 1929 – Arte Johnson, American actor
• 1929 – Glenn “Fireball” Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
• 1930 – Edwin Eugene “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., astronaut
• 1931 – David Lee, American physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate
• 1932 – Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1933 – Ron Townson, American singer (The Fifth Dimension) (d. 2001)
• 1934 – Tom Baker, British actor
• 1937 – Dorothy Provine, American singer, dancer and actress
• 1938 – William Berger, Austrian actor (d. 1993)
• 1938 – Derek Dougan, Northern Irish footballer (d. 2007)
• 1939 – Paul Coverdell, American politician (d. 2000)
• 1940 – Carol Heiss, American figure skater
• 1940 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
• 1941 – Pierre Lalonde, Quebec singer and television host
• 1943 – Farhad Mehrad, Iranian musician
• 1944 – José Luis Garci, Spanish filmmaker
• 1945 – Robert Olen Butler, American writer
• 1945 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, cricket commentator and correspondent
• 1945 – Eric Stewart, English musician and songwriter (10cc)
• 1946 – David Lynch, American film director
• 1947 – Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist
• 1948 – Natan Sharansky, Russian-born physicist and politician
• 1949 – Göran Persson, Prime Minister of Sweden
• 1950 – Liza Goddard, British actress
• 1950 – Edward Hirsch. American poet
• 1950 – Chuck Lefley, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1950 – Mahamane Ousmane, President of Niger
• 1951 – Ivan Fischer, Hungarian conductor
• 1951 – Ian Hill, British musician (Judas Priest)
• 1952 – Paul Stanley, American musician (Kiss)
• 1955 – Wyatt Knight, American actor
• 1955 – Joe Doherty, Provisional Irish Republican Army member
• 1955 – Hiromi Ota, Japanese singer
• 1956 – Maria Larsson, Swedish politician
• 1956 – Bill Maher, American actor, comedian, and political analyst
• 1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor
• 1960 – Scott Thunes, American musician (Frank Zappa)
• 1960 – Will Wright, American computer game designer
• 1963 – James Denton, American actor
• 1964 – Kazushige Nojima, Japanese game scenario writer
• 1965 – Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer
• 1965 – Greg Kriesel, American bassist (The Offspring)
• 1965 – Sophie, The Countess of Wessex, the wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
• 1965 – John Michael Montgomery, American singer
• 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
• 1966 – Stacey Dash, American actress
• 1966 – Tracii Guns, American guitarist
• 1968 – Melissa Rivers, American reporter and actress
• 1968 – Rainn Wilson, American actor
• 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker
• 1969 – Nicky Wire, British Musician (Manic Street Preachers)
• 1970 – Mitch Benn, UK comedian, songwriter, actor
• 1970 – Kerri Kenney-Silver, American actress
• 1970 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
• 1971 – Derrick Green, American singer (Sepultura)
• 1971 – Gary Barlow, English singer, pianist, songwriter, band member of Take That and
• producer.
• 1971 – Brian Giles, American baseball player
• 1973 – Princess Mathilde, Duchess of Brabant
• 1975 – David Eckstein, American baseball player
• 1975 – Norberto Fontana, Argentine racing driver
• 1976 – Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
• 1977 – Melody, a Belgian singer
• 1978 – Joy Giovanni, American actress and glamour model
• 1978 – Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
• 1978 – Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
• 1979 – Rob Bourdon, American musician (Linkin Park)
• 1979 – Asaka Kubo, Japanese gravure idol of 20th Century
• 1979 – Will Young, British singer
• 1980 – Matthew Tuck, Welsh guitarist (Bullet for My Valentine)
• 1980 – Philippe Cousteau Jr. Oceanographer/Environmentalist, grandson of Jacques Cousteau
• 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
• 1981 – Christine Bleakley, BBC Television Host
• 1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English international footballer
• 1981 – Crystal Lowe, Canadian actress
• 1983 – Paula Taylor, English-Thai actress, model and presenter
• 1984 – Olivia Hallinan, English Actress
• 1984 – Toni Gonzaga, Filipina Actress and Singer

January 20 – Deaths:

• 1156 – Bishop Henry, patron saint of Finland
• 1191 – Frederick VI, Duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
• 1479 – King John II of Aragon (b. 1397)
• 1568 – Myles Coverdale, English Bible translator
• 1612 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
• 1666 – Anna of Austria, wife of Louis XIII of France and regent (b. 1601)
• 1707 – Humphrey Hody, English theologian (b. 1659)
• 1709 – François de la Chaise, French confessor of Louis XIV of France (b. 1624)
• 1739 – Francesco Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/designer (b. 1659)
• 1751 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b. 1665)
• 1770 – Charles Yorke, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722)
• 1779 – David Garrick, English actor (b. 1717)
• 1810 – Benjamin Chew, Chief Justice of colonial Pennsylvania (b. 1722)
• 1819 – King Charles IV of Spain (b. 1748)
• 1848 – Christian VIII of Denmark (b. 1786)
• 1850 – Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet (b. 1779)
• 1873 – The Venerable Father Basil Anthony Marie Moreau, Founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross (b. 1799)
• 1875 – Jean-François Millet, French painter (b. 1814)
• 1891 – David Kalakaua, King of Hawaii (b. 1836)
• 1900 – John Ruskin, art critic (b. 1819)
• 1901 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer (b. 1826)
• 1920 – Georg Lurich, Estonian wrestler (b. 1876)
• 1936 – King George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
• 1940 – Omar Bundy, U.S. army general (b. 1861)
• 1944 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist (b. 1860)
• 1947 – Josh Gibson, African-American baseball player (b. 1911)
• 1954 – Fred Root, English cricketer (b. 1890)
• 1962 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet (b. 1887)
• 1965 – Alan Freed, American disk jockey (b. 1922)
• 1971 – Gilbert M. ‘Broncho Billy’ Anderson, American actor, director, writer, and producer (b. 1880)
• 1973 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician (b. 1885)
• 1979 – Gustav Winckler, Danish singer (b. 1925)
• 1983 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
• 1984 – Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
• 1988 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pashtun Nationalist & non-violent freedom fighter (b. 1890)
• 1988 – Dora Stratou, Greek choreographer and folklorist (b. 1903)
• 1989 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi film director (b. 1938)
• 1990 – Hayedeh, Persian singer (b. 1942)
• 1990 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
• 1993 – Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (b. 1929)
• 1994 – Sir Matt Busby, Scottish football player and coach (b. 1909)
• 1996 – Gerry Mulligan, American musician (b. 1927)
• 1997 – Curt Flood, baseball player (b. 1938)
• 1998 – Bobo Brazil, American professional wrestler (b. 1924)
• 2002 – Carrie Hamilton, actress and singer (b. 1963)
• 2003 – Al Hirschfeld, American caricaturist (b. 1903)
• 2003 – Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
• 2003 – Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (b. 1947)
• 2004 – Guinn Smith, American athlete (b. 1920)
• 2005 – Per Borten, Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Roland Frye, American literary critic and theologian (b. 1921)
• 2005 – Jan Nowak-Jezioranski, Polish journalist, writer, and politician (b. 1913)
• 2005 – Miriam Louisa Rothschild, British zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)

January 20 – Holidays:

• Presidential Inauguration Day in the United States, held every four years since 1937.
• Astrology: First day of sun sign Aquarius.
• Ati-Atihan Festival in the Philippines
• Sinulog Festival in the Philippines (2008)
• Religious feasts:
  • Feast day of the following saints in the Roman Catholic Church:
    • Sebastian
    • Saint Fabian
    • Euthymius the Great
    • Desiderius
    • Meinrad
• The Eve of St. Agnes
• Abadios

• 1419 – Hundred Years’ War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England completing his reconquest of Normandy.
• 1493 – France cedes Roussillon & Cerdagne to Spain by treaty of Barcelona.
• 1511 – Mirandola surrenders to the French.
• 1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, the Regent of Sweden, was mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund.
• 1764 – John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
• 1788 – Second group of ships of the First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay.
• 1795 – Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands. End of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
• 1806 – The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope.
• 1812 – Peninsular War: After a ten day siege, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, orders British soldiers of the Light and third divisions to storm Ciudad Rodrigo.
• 1817 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru.
• 1825 – Ezra Daggett & nephew Thomas Kensett patent food storage in tin cans.
• 1829 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust Part 1 premieres.
• 1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden.
• 1840 – Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what became known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
• 1853 – Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Il Trovatore premieres in Rome.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs – The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.
• 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of St. Quentin is fought, resulting in a decisive Prussian victory.
• 1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
• 1893 – Henrik Ibsen’s play The Master Builder premieres in Berlin.
• 1898 – Brown defeats Harvard 6-0 in first intercollegiate hockey game.
• 1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
• 1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
• 1915 – World War I: German zeppelins bomb the cities of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn in the United Kingdom killing more than 20, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.
• 1917 – German Foreign Secretary Arthur Zimmermann sends the Zimmermann Telegram to Mexico, proposing a German-Mexican alliance against the United States.
• 1917 – Silvertown explosion: 73 are killed and 400 injured in an explosion in a munitions plant in London.
• 1918 – Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
• 1920 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
• 1935 – Coopers Inc. sells the world’s first briefs.
• 1937 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles, California to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
• 1937 – Cy Young, Tris Speaker & Nap Lajorie elected to Baseball Hall of Fame.
• 1939 – Ernest Hausen of Wisconsin sets chicken-plucking record 4.4 seconds.
• 1941 – World War II: British troops attack Italian-held Eritrea.
• 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces invade Burma.
• 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces liberate the ghetto of Lódz. Out of 230,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived Nazi occupation.
• 1946 – General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
• 1949 – Cuba recognizes Israel.
• 1952 – PGA approves allowing black participants.
• 1953 – Jesse Owens named Illinois Athletic Commission secretary.
• 1953 – 68% of all television sets in the United States are tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
• 1955 – “The Millionaire” TV program premiers on CBS.
• 1955 – First Presidential news conference filmed for TV (Eisenhower).
• 1961 – First episode for “The Dick Van Dyke Show” is filmed.
• 1966 – Indira Gandhi is elected Prime Minister of India.
• 1969 – Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire 3 days earlier in Prague’s Wenceslas Square to protest the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turned into another major protest.
• 1971 – The revival of No, No, Nanette premieres at the 46th Street Theatre, in New York City.
• 1972 – Sandy Koufax, Yogi Berra, & Early Wynn elected to Hall of Fame.
• 1974 – Notre Dame beats UCLA, ends NCAA-record 88-game basketball win streak.
• 1975 – Triple J begins broadcasting in Sydney, Australia.
• 1977 – President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D’Aquino (a.k.a. “Tokyo Rose”).
• 1977 – Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snowfall has occurred. It also fell in the Bahamas.
• 1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW’s plant in Emden.  Beetle production in Latin America would continue until 2003.
• 1981 – Iran Hostage Crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
• 1983 – Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia.
• 1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.
• 1991 – The Party of the Alliance of Youth, Workers and Farmers of Angola is founded in Luanda, Angola.
• 1992 – Decree time is restored in Russia after its previous abolition in March 1991.
• 1997 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
• 2006 – Terrorist blows himself up in Tel Aviv, killing only himself but injuring 20 people, one of them seriously.
• 2006 – A Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crashes in Hungary.
• 2006 – The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto.
• 2006 – Jet Airways announces its purchase of Air Sahara, creating the largest domestic airline in India.

January 19 – Birthdays:

• 399 – Pulcheria, Byzantine empress (d. 453)
• 1544 – King Francis II of France (d. 1560)
• 1736 – James Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1819)
• 1739 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (d. 1808)
• 1757 – Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf, German Princess (d. 1831)
• 1807 – Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general (d. 1870)
• 1808 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher (d. 1887)
• 1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet (d. 1849)
• 1813 – Sir Henry Bessemer, English inventor (d. 1898)
• 1832 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist (d. 1875)
• 1833 – Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician (d. 1872)
• 1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
• 1848 – John F. Stairs, Canadian businessman (d. 1904)
• 1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer (d. 1922)
• 1863 – Werner Sombart, German sociologist (d. 1941)
• 1878 – Herbert Chapman, English football player and manager (d. 1934)
• 1879 – Boris Savinkov, Russian writer (d. 1925)
• 1887 – Alexander Woollcott, American intellectual (d. 1943)
• 1892 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic politician (d. 1964)
• 1905 – Stanley Hawes, British-born Australian film producer, director and administrator (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician (d. 1971)
• 1909 – Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (d. 2003)
• 1912 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
• 1913 – Rex Ingamells, Australian poet (d. 1955)
• 1913 – “Minnesota Fats”, American billiards player (d. 1996)
• 1914 – Bob Gerard, British racing driver (d. 1990)
• 1917 – John Raitt, American singer and actor (d. 2005)
• 1918 – John H. Johnson, American publisher (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian United Nations Secretary General
• 1921 – “Billy Batts” Devino, American gangster (d. 1970)
• 1921 – Patricia Highsmith, American author (d. 1995)
• 1922 – Guy Madison, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Markus Wolf, German spy (d. 2006)
• 1923 – Jean Stapleton, American actress
• 1924 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor (d. 1985)
• 1924 – Jean-François Revel, French author (d. 2006)
• 1926 – Fritz Weaver, American actor
• 1930 – Tippi Hedren, American actress
• 1931 – Robert MacNeil, Canadian journalist
• 1932 – Richard Lester, British director
• 1936 – Ziaur Rahman, President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)
• 1939 – Phil Everly, American musician
• 1940 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian magistrate (d. 1992)
• 1940 – Mike Reid, English comedian (d. 2007)
• 1941 – Tony Anholt, British actor (d. 2002)
• 1941 – Colin Gunton, British theologian (d. 2003)
• 1942 – Michael Crawford, British singer and actor
• 1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer (d. 1970)
• 1943 – Petchara Chaowarat, Thai film actress
• 1943 – Larry Clark, American film director
• 1943 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
• 1944 – Shelley Fabares, American actress
• 1944 – Laurie London, English singer
• 1944 – Peter Lynch, American investor
• 1944 – Dan Reeves, American football coach
• 1946 – Julian Barnes, English author
• 1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer and actress
• 1947 – Ann Compton, American news reporter
• 1947 – Paula Deen, American chef and restaurateur
• 1947 – Rod Evans, British musician (Deep Purple)
• 1948 – Frank McKenna, Canadian politician
• 1949 – Robert Palmer, English singer and guitarist (d. 2003)
• 1949 – Dennis Taylor, Northern Irish snooker player
• 1950 – Sébastien Dhavernas, Quebec actor
• 1950 – Grant Nordman, Canadian politician
• 1951 – Dewey Bunnell, American singer and songwriter (America)
• 1953 – Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor
• 1953 – Linda Hayden, English actress
• 1953 – Richard Legendre, Canadian politician
• 1954 – Ted DiBiase, American professional wrestler
• 1954 – Katey Sagal, American actress
• 1954 – Cindy Sherman, American artist
• 1954 – Katharina Thalbach, German actress and film director
• 1955 – Simon Rattle, English conductor
• 1955 – Paul Rodriguez, Mexican-born actor and comedian
• 1956 – Carman Licciardello, American Christian singer
• 1957 – Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican politician
• 1962 – Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist
• 1963 – Michael Adams, American basketball player
• 1963 – Martin Bashir, Pakistani-born reporter
• 1963 – Caron Wheeler, British singer (Soul II Soul)
• 1964 – Janine Antoni, Bahamian artist
• 1964 – Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer
• 1966 – Floris Jan Bovelander, Dutch field hockey player
• 1966 – Sylvain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1966 – Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player
• 1966 – Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer
• 1967 – Javier Cámara, Spanish actor
• 1969 – Edwidge Danticat, Haitian-born American author
• 1969 – Predrag Mijatovic, Yugoslavian footballer
• 1969 – Junior Seau, American football player
• 1969 – Steve Staunton, Irish footballer
• 1969 – Luc Longley, Australian basketball player
• 1970 – Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian
• 1971 – Shawn Wayans, American actor and producer
• 1971 – John Wozniak, American singer and songwriter (Marcy Playground)
• 1972 – Joana Benedek, Mexican actress
• 1972 – Elena Kaliská, Slovak slalom canoer
• 1972 – Ron Killings, American professional wrestler
• 1972 – Princess Kalina of Bulgaria, titular Bulgarian royal family
• 1972 – Troy Wilson, Australian racing driver and AFL player
• 1973 – Drea de Matteo, American actress
• 1973 – Antero Manninen, Finnish Cellist
• 1974 – Frank Caliendo, American comedian
• 1974 – Ian Laperrière, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 – Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer
• 1976 – Tarso Marques, Brazilian racing driver
• 1977 – Lauren Etame Mayer, Cameroonian footballer
• 1977 – Nicole, Chilean singer
• 1977 – Cocco, Ryukyuan singer
• 1979 – Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast
• 1979 – Josu Sarriegi, Spanish/Basque footballer
• 1979 – Wiley, English Rapper (Grime)
• 1980 – Jenson Button, English Formula One driver
• 1981 – Asier Del Horno, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Lucho González, Argentine footballer
• 1982 – Angela Chang, Taiwanese singer and actress
• 1982 – Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player
• 1982 – Jodie Sweetin, American child actress
• 1983 – Utada Hikaru, American-born Japanese singer and songwriter
• 1984 – Karun Chandhok, Indian racing driver
• 1984 – Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player
• 1985 – Esteban Guerrieri, Argentine racing driver
• 1985 – Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
• 1987 – Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer
• 1991 – Erin Sanders, American child actress

January 19 – Deaths:

• 639 – Dagobert I, King of the Franks (c. 603)
• 1526 – Isabella of Burgundy, wife of Christian II of Denmark (b. 1501)
• 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1517)
• 1576 – Hans Sachs, German Meistersinger (b. 1494)
• 1661 – Thomas Venner, Fifth Monarchist (executed) (b. 1799)
• 1729 – William Congreve, English playwright (b. 1670)
• 1757 – Thomas Ruddiman, Scottish classical scholar (b. 1674)
• 1766 – Giovanni Niccolo Servandoni, Italian-born French architect and painter (b. 1695)
• 1785 – Jonathan Toup, English classical scholar and critic (b. 1713)
• 1833 – Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold, French composer (b. 1791)
• 1847 – Charles Bent, New Mexico pioneer (assassinated)
• 1851 – Esteban Echeverría, Argentine writer (b. 1805)
• 1865 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and anarchist (b. 1809)
• 1869 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (b. 1788)
• 1874 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (b. 1798)
• 1878 – Henri Victor Regnault French physicist and chemist (b. 1810)
• 1905 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (b. 1817)
• 1927 – Empress Carlotta of Mexico (b. 1840)
• 1929 – Liang Qichao, Chinese scholar (b. 1873)
• 1939 – Cliff Heathcote, American baseball player (b. 1898)
• 1948 – Tony Garnier, French architect (b. 1869)
• 1954 – Theodor Kaluza, German scientist (b. 1885)
• 1957 – József Dudás, Romanian/Hungarian resistance fighter (b. 1912)
• 1964 – Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist (b. 1886)
• 1968 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver (b. 1879)
• 1969 – Jan Palach, Czech student and political activist (suicide) (b. 1948)
• 1971 – Harry Shields, American musician (b. 1899)
• 1972 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (b. 1936)
• 1973 – Max Adrian, Northern Irish actor (b. 1903)
• 1975 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter (b. 1889)
• 1980 – William O. Douglas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1898)
• 1982 – Elis Regina, Brazilian singer (b. 1945)
• 1984 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1920)
• 1990 – Rajneesh, Indian religious leader (b. 1931)
• 1990 – Semprini, English musician (b. 1908)
• 1990 – Herbert Wehner, German politician (b. 1906)
• 1991 – John Russell, American actor (b. 1921)
• 1991 – Marcel Chaput, Quebec politician (b. 1918)
• 1995 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian composer and singer (b. 1938)
• 1996 – Don Simpson, American film producer (b. 1943)
• 1997 – James Dickey, American writer (b. 1923)
• 1997 – Adriana Caselotti, American actress (b 1916)
• 1998 – Carl Perkins, American guitarist (b. 1932)
• 1999 – Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby union footballer (b. 1967)
• 2000 – Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)
• 2000 – Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born actress (b. 1913)
• 2001 – Dario Vittori, Argentinean actor (b. 1921)
• 2003 – Françoise Giroud, French writer and journalist (b. 1916)
• 2004 – Harry E. Claiborne, American judge (suicide) (b. 1917)
• 2004 – David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)
• 2005 – Bill Andersen, New Zealand communist and trade union leader (b. 1924)
• 2005 – K. Sello Duiker, South African novelist (b. 1974)
• 2006 – Anthony Franciosa, American actor (b. 1928)
• 2006 – Wilson Pickett, American singer (b. 1941)
• 2006 – Aoun Al-Sharif Qasim, Sudanese writer and Islamic scholar (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricket player (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Scott “Bam Bam” Bigelow, American professional wrestler (b. 1961)
• 2007 – Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor (b. 1954)
• 2007 – Denny Doherty, Canadian singer (The Mamas and the Papas) (b. 1940)
• 2007 – Murat Nasyrov, Russian singer and composer (b. 1969)
• 2008 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)
• 2008 – John Stewart, American musician (The Kingston Trio) (b. 1939)
• 2008 – Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster for CBC (b. 1936)

January 19 – Holidays:

• Confederate Heroes Day in Texas.
• The Poe Toaster commemorates the birthday of Edgar Allan Poe at his grave in Baltimore.
• Religious feasts:
  • Maris, Martha, Abachum and Audifax
  • Canute IV of Denmark
  • Henry of Uppsala
  • Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester
  • Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy — Julian Calendar Theophany (Epiphany).
  • St. Mark of Ephesus feast day.

• 350 – Generallus Magnentius deposes Roman Emperor Constans and proclaims himself Emperor.
• 474 – Leo II briefly becomes Byzantine emperor.
• 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail.
• 1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.
• 1486 – King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV.
• 1520 – King Christian II of Denmark and Norway defeats the Swedes at Lake Åsunden.
• 1535 – Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro founded Lima, the capital of Peru.
• 1562 – Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
• 1670 – Henry Morgan captures Panama.
• 1701 – Frederick I becomes King of Prussia.
• 1777 – Representatives of the New Hampshire Grants declare the independence of the Vermont Republic from Britain.
• 1777 – San Jose, CA founded.
• 1778 – James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the “Sandwich Islands.”
• 1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from England to Australia arrives at Botany Bay.
• 1861 – American Civil War – Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in seceding from the United States.
• 1871 – Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed the first German Emperor in the ‘Hall of Mirrors’ of the Palace of Versailles towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. The empire was known as The Second Reich to the Germans.
• 1884 – Dr. William Price attempts to cremate the body of his infant son, Jesus Christ Price, setting a legal precedent for cremation in the United Kingdom.
• 1886 – Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
• 1896 – The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time.
• 1903 – President Theodore Roosevelt sends a radio message to King Edward VII: the first transatlantic radio transmission originating in the United States.
• 1911 – Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco harbor, marking the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
• 1912 – British explorer Robert Falcon Scott arrives at the South Pole only to find that Roald Amundsen, the Norwegian explorer, had preceded them by just over a month.
• 1913 – A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos during the First Balkan War, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.
• 1915 – Japan issues the “Twenty-One Demands” to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
• 1916 – A 611 gram chondrite type meteorite stikes a house near the village of Baxter in Stone County, Missouri.
• 1919 – World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.
• 1919 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
• 1919 – Bentley Motors Limited is founded.
• 1943 – Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
• 1944 – The Metropolitan Opera House in New York City hosts a jazz concert for the first time. The performers were Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Artie Shaw, Roy Eldridge and Jack Teagarden.
• 1944 – Soviet forces liberate Leningrad, effectively ending a three year Nazi siege, known as the Siege of Leningrad.
• 1945 – Liberation of the Budapest ghetto by the Red Army.
• 1955 – Battle of Yijiangshan occurred.
• 1958 – Willie O’Ree, the first African Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut.
• 1967 – Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler,” is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life in prison.
• 1967 – Yellowknife replaces Ottawa as capital of NW Territories, Canada.
• 1969 – United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay resulting in the loss of all 32 passengers and six crew members.
• 1974 – A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.
• 1974 – “The $6 Million Man” starring Lee Majors premiers on ABC TV.
• 1975 – “The Jeffersons,” spin-off from “All in the Family,” premiers on CBS.
• 1976 – Pittsburgh Steelers defeat Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl X.
• 1977 – Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires’ disease.
• 1977 – Australia’s worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.
• 1978 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
• 1979 – Peter Jenkins finishes “A Walk Across America”, Florence, OR.
• 1980 – Gold reaches $1,000 an ounce.
• 1980 – Pink Floyd’s “The Wall” hits #1.
• 1981 – Iran accepts US offer of $7.9 billion in frozen assets.
• 1983 – The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe’s Olympic medals to his family.
• 1986 – An Aerovias aircraft crashes into San Benito Peten jungle in Guatemala (close to the Mayan Ruins of Tikal) resulting in the loss of all 110 passengers, mainly tourists from all over the world, including the Venezuelan politician Aristides Calvani and members of his family.
• 1989 – Otis Redding, Dion, Rolling Stones, Temptations & Stevie Wonder inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
• 1990 – Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry was arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
• 1991 – Eastern Air Lines goes out of business after 62 years, citing financial problems.
• 1993 – For the first time, Martin Luther King Day is officially observed in all 50 states.
• 1994 – The Cando event, a possible bolide impact in Cando, Spain. Witnesses claim to have seen a fireball in the sky lasting for almost one minute.
• 1995 – Cave paintings and engravings over 17,000 years old are discovered in southern France near Vallon-Pont-d’Arc.
• 1997 – In north west Rwanda, Hutu militia members kill 3 Spanish aid workers, 3 soldiers and seriously wound one other.
• 1997 – Boerge Ousland of Norway becomes the first person to cross Antarctica alone and unaided.
• 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair story on his website The Drudge Report.
• 2000 – The Tagish Lake meteorite impacts the Earth.
• 2002 – Sierra Leone Civil War was finally declared over.
• 2003 – A bushfire kills 4 people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
• 2005 – A United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction in Kobe, Japan begins.
• 2007 – The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people, Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Hurricane Kyrill, causes at least 44 deaths across 20  countries in Western Europe. Other losses include the Container Ship MSC Napoli destroyed by the storm off the coast of Devon, England.

January 18 – Birthdays:

• 885 – Daigo, Emperor of Japan (d. 930)
• 1519 – Isabella Jagiello, queen of Hungary (d. 1559)
• 1543 – (baptised) Alfonso Ferrabosco (I), Italian composer (d. 1588)
• 1641 – François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French war minister (d. 1691)
• 1672 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French writer (d. 1731)
• 1688 – Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1765)
• 1689 – Montesquieu, French writer (d. 1755)
• 1779 – Peter Roget, British lexicographer (d. 1869)
• 1782 – Daniel Webster, American statesman (d. 1852)
• 1795 – Anna Pavlovna of Russia, queen of The Netherlands (d. 1865)
• 1813 – Joseph Glidden, American farmer who patented barbed wire (d. 1906)
• 1815 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German biblical scholar (d. 1874)
• 1840 – Henry Austin Dobson, English poet (d. 1921)
• 1841 – Emmanuel Chabrier, French composer (d. 1894)
• 1842 – Albert Alonzo Ames, Mayor of Minneapolis (d. 1911)
• 1848 – Ioan Slavici, Transylvanian writer (d. 1925)
• 1849 – Edmund Barton, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
• 1850 – Seth Low, American politician (d. 1916)
• 1854 – Thomas Watson, American telephone pioneer (d. 1934)
• 1856 – Daniel Hale Williams, African-American surgeon (d. 1931)
• 1867 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan Journalist, Diplomat, Poet (d. 1916)
• 1877 – Samuel Zemurray, U.S. businessman (d.1961)
• 1879 – Henri Giraud, French general (d. 1949)
• 1881 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher (d. 1975)
• 1882 – A. A. Milne, English author (d. 1956)
• 1886 – Clara Nordström, German writer and translator (d. 1962)
• 1888 – Thomas Sopwith, British aviation pioneer (d. 1989)
• 1892 – Oliver Hardy, American comedian and actor (d. 1957)
• 1892 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon (d. 1956)
• 1901 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1973)
• 1904 – Cary Grant, English actor (d. 1986)
• 1904 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordionist (d. 2006)
• 1905 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster (d. 2002)
• 1908 – Jacob Bronowski, Polish-born mathematician, poet, and physicist (d. 1974)
• 1908 – Princess Sibylla of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1972)
• 1910 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist (d. 1983)
• 1913 – Danny Kaye, American actor (d. 1987)
• 1914 – Arno Schmidt, German author (d. 1979)
• 1915 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer and songwriter (d. 1984)
• 1917 – Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese businessman
• 1918 – Gustave Gingras, French Canadian physician (d. 1996)
• 1922 – Bob Bell, American clown (d. 1997)
• 1925 – Gilles Deleuze, French philosopher (d. 1995)
• 1927 – Sundaram Balachander, Indian veena player (d. 1990)
• 1931 – Chun Doo-hwan, President of South Korea
• 1932 – Robert Anton Wilson, American author (d. 2007)
• 1933 – John Boorman, Irish film director
• 1933 – Ray Dolby, American inventor (Dolby noise reduction system)
• 1934 – Raymond Briggs, English writer and illustrator
• 1935 – Albert Millaire, Quebec actor and theatre director
• 1935 – Jon Stallworthy, English poet
• 1935 – Gad Yaacobi, Israeli minister (d. 2007)
• 1937 – John Hume, Northern Irish politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998
• 1938 – Curt Flood, American baseball player (d. 1997)
• 1940 – Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican racing driver (d. 1971)
• 1941 – Denise Bombardier, Quebec journalist, television host and novelist
• 1941 – Bobby Goldsboro, American country/pop singer
• 1941 – David Ruffin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1991)
• 1943 – Kay Granger, American politician
• 1944 – Paul Keating, twenty-fourth Prime Minister of Australia
• 1944 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (d. 1983)
• 1945 – José Luis Perales, Spanish singer
• 1946 – Joseph Deiss, Swiss Federal Councilor
• 1947 – Takeshi Kitano, Japanese actor and director
• 1949 – Philippe Starck, French designer
• 1949 – Bill Keller, American newspaper editor
• 1950 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
• 1951 – Bob Latchford, English footballer
• 1951 – Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist (d. 1982)
• 1952 – R. Stevie Moore, American singer, songwriter, and home recording pioneer
• 1953 – Brett Hudson, American actor
• 1955 – Kevin Costner, American actor
• 1955 – Fergus Martin, Irish artist
• 1956 – Sharon Mitchell, American porn actress
• 1956 – Tom Bailey, English singer (Thompson Twins)
• 1961 – Mark Messier, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1961 – Jeff Yagher, American actor
• 1962 – Alison Arngrim, American actress
• 1963 – Maxime Bernier, French Canadian politician
• 1963 – Martin O’Malley, Governor of Maryland
• 1963 – Yury Zakharevich, Soviet Olympic Weightlifter
• 1964 – Jane Horrocks, British actress
• 1964 – Enrico Lo Verso, Italian actor
• 1965 – Dave Attell, American writer and comedian
• 1966 – Alexander Khalifman, Russian chess player
• 1966 – André Ribeiro, Brazilian racing driver
• 1967 – Kim Perrot, American basketball player (d. 1999)
• 1967 – Iván Zamorano, Chilean footballer
• 1968 – Frank Quitely, Scottish comic book artist
• 1969 – Jesse L. Martin, American actor and singer
• 1969 – Batista, American professional wrestler
• 1969 – Jim O’Rourke, American musician and producer (Loose Fur and Wilco)
• 1970 – DJ Quik, American rapper
• 1970 – Peter van Petegem, Belgian cyclist
• 1971 – Jonathan Davis, American singer (Ko?n)
• 1971 – Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
• 1971 – Josep Guardiola, Spanish footballer
• 1971 – Seamus O’Regan, Canadian broadcast journalist
• 1972 – Mike Lieberthal, American baseball player
• 1973 – Anthony Koutoufides, Australian rules footballer
• 1973 – Crispian Mills, British musician (The Jeevas and Kula Shaker)
• 1974 – Michael Tunn, Australian television and radio
• 1974 – Christian Burns, English musician (BBMak)
• 1974 – Devon Odessa, American actress
• 1974 – Maulik Pancholy, American actor
• 1974 – Princess Claire of Belgium
• 1976 – Damien Leith, Australian Idol 2006
• 1977 – Curtis Cregan, American actor
• 1977 – Alina Jidkova, Russian tennis player
• 1978 – Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player
• 1979 – Jay Chou, Taiwanese singer and producer
• 1979 – Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
• 1979 – Brian Gionta, American ice hockey player
• 1979 – Kenyatta Jones, former National Football League player
• 1980 – Robert Green, English footballer
• 1980 – Julius Peppers, National Football League defensive end
• 1981 – Kang Dong-won, South Korean model and actor
• 1981 – Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer
• 1982 – Joanna Newsom, American harpist/singer-songwriter
• 1983 – Samantha Mumba, Irish singer and actress
• 1984 – Benji Schwimmer, American dancer
• 1984 – Michael Kearney, American child prodigy
• 1984 – Maarja Kivi, Estonian singer
• 1985 – Dale Begg-Smith, Australian freestyle skier
• 1985 – Riccardo Montolivo, Italian soccer player
• 1988 – Ronald Guglielmone Jr., American singer-songwriter
• 1993 – Morgan York, American Actress

January 18 – Deaths:

• 52 BC – Publius Clodius Pulcher (murdered)
• 474 – Leo I, Byzantine Emperor (b. 401)
• 1367 – King Peter I of Portugal (b. 1320)
• 1425 – Edmund de Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, English politician (b. 1391)
• 1471 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (b. 1419)
• 1586 – Margaret of Austria, regent of The Netherlands (b. 1522)
• 1664 – Moses Amyraut, French theologian (b. 1596)
• 1677 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch merchant (b. 1619)
• 1803 – Ippolit Bogdanovich, Russian poet (b. 1743)
• 1862 – John Tyler, 10th President of the United States (b. 1790)
• 1873 – Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English author (b. 1803)
• 1878 – Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist (b. 1788)
• 1892 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1819)
• 1896 – Charles Floquet, French statesman (b. 1828)
• 1923 – Wallace Reid, Actor (b. 1891)
• 1936 – Rudyard Kipling, British writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1865)
• 1940 – Kazimierz Tetmajer, Polish writer (b. 1865)
• 1952 – Curly Howard, American actor and comedian (b. 1903)
• 1954 – Sydney Greenstreet, English actor (b. 1879)
• 1963 – Hugh Gaitskell, leader of the British Labour Party (b. 1906)
• 1966 – Kathleen Norris, American writer (b. 1880)
• 1967 – Goose Tatum, American basketball player (b. 1921)
• 1969 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist (b. 1887)
• 1970 – David O. McKay, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1873)
• 1978 – Hasan Askari, Pakistani philosopher, critic and writer (b. 1919)
• 1978 – Carl Betz, American film and television actor (b. 1921)
• 1980 – Sir Cecil Beaton, English fashion designer (b. 1904)
• 1984 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer and songwriter (b. 1915)
• 1985 – Wilfrid Brambell, Irish actor (b. 1912)
• 1989 – Bruce Chatwin, English novelist (b. 1940)
• 1990 – Rusty Hamer, American actor (b. 1947)
• 1993 – Eleanor Hibbert, British author (b. 1906)
• 1995 – Adolf Butenandt, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1903)
• 1995 – Ron Luciano, American baseball umpire (b. 1937)
• 1996 – Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao, Indian actor (b. 1923)
• 1997 – Paul Tsongas, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts (b. 1941)
• 2000 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (b. 1897)
• 2001 – Al Waxman, Canadian actor (b. 1935)
• 2003 – Edward “The Sheik” Farhat, American professional wrestler (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Lamont Bentley, American actor (b. 1973)
• 2006 – Jan Twardowski, Polish poet (b. 1915)
• 2007 – Brent Liles, American musician (Agent Orange/Social Distortion) (b. 1963)
• 2008 – Georgia Frontiere, American football team owner (b. 1927)
• 2008 – Frank Lewin, American composer and music theorist (b. 1925)
• 2008 – John Stroger, first African-American Cook County Board President (b. 1929)

January 18 – Holidays:

• Paryaya festival at Udupi held every alternate year — 2006, 2008, 2010 etc.
• Religious observances:
  • Saint Margaret of Hungary
  • The Feast of the Confession of Peter observed in Eastern Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches.
  • Feast day of Saint Athanasius (Eastern Orthodox)
  • Feast day of Saint Cyril of Alexandria
  • Feast day of Saint Volusianus