- 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to make sacrifices to the Roman gods.
- 1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
- 1653 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.
- 1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
- 1749 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark’s oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.
- 1777 – American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
- 1815 – Austria, the United Kingdom, and France form a secret defensive alliance against Prussia and Russia.
- 1833 – The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
- 1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of Liberia.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.
- 1868 – Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.
- 1870 – Construction work begins on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, United States.
- 1871 – In the Battle of Bapaume, an engagement in the Franco-Prussian War, General Louis Faidherbe’s forces bring about a Prussian retreat.
- 1885 – Sino-French War: Beginning of the Battle of Núi Bop
- 1911 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.
- 1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.
- 1913 – An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.
- 1925 – Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.
- 1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first woman to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
- 1938 – The March of Dimes is established as a foundation to combat infant polio by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1944 – World War II: Top Ace Major Greg “Pappy” Boyington is shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
- 1945 – World War II: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan.
- 1946 – Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf dies in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.
- 1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.
- 1949 – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, is established.
- 1953 – Frances P. Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
- 1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
- 1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
- 1958 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
- 1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
- 1961 – Cold War: The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba over the latter’s nationalization of American assets.
- 1961 – The SL-1 nuclear reactor is destroyed by a steam explosion in the only reactor incident in the United States to cause immediate fatalities.
- 1961 – A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.
- 1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
- 1976 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, comes into force.
- 1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.
- 1990 – United States invasion of Panama: Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces.
- 1993 – In Moscow, Russia, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
- 1994 – More than seven million people from the former apartheid Homelands receive South African citizenship.
- 1994 – Baikal Airlines Flight 130 crashes near Irkutsk, Russia, resulting in 125 deaths.
- 1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.
- 2000 – Final daily edition of the Peanuts comic strip.
- 2002 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.
- 2004 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history.
- 2009 – The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, was established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.
- 2015 – Boko Haram militants raze the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria, starting the Baga massacre and killing as many as 2,000 people.
- 2016 – Following the fallout caused by the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Iran ends its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
- 2019 – Chang’e 4 makes the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, deploying the Yutu-2 lunar rover.
- 2020 – Iranian General Qasem Soleimani is killed by an American airstrike near Baghdad International Airport.
Births on January 3
- 106 BC – Cicero, Roman philosopher, lawyer, and politician (d. 43 BC)
- 169 – Lü Bu, Chinese general and warlord (d. 199)
- 1196 – Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1231)
- 1509 – Gian Girolamo Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1591)
- 1611 – James Harrington, English political theorist (d. 1677)
- 1698 – Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet and songwriter (d. 1782)
- 1710 – Richard Gridley, American soldier and engineer (d. 1796)
- 1722 – Fredrik Hasselqvist, Swedish biologist and explorer (d. 1752)
- 1731 – Angelo Emo, Venetian admiral and statesman (d. 1792)
- 1760 – Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Indian ruler (d. 1799)
- 1775 – Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont (d. 1863)
- 1778 – Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish archbishop (d. 1861)
- 1793 – Lucretia Mott, American activist (d. 1880)
- 1802 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (d. 1898)
- 1803 – Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (d. 1857)
- 1806 – Henriette Sontag, German soprano and actress (d. 1854)
- 1810 – Antoine Thomson d’Abbadie, French geographer, ethnologist, linguist, and astronomer (d. 1897)
- 1816 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (d. 1891)
- 1819 – Charles Piazzi Smyth, Italian-Scottish astronomer and academic (d. 1900)
- 1821 – Karel Dežman, Slovenian archaeologist, botanist, and politician, Mayor of Ljubljana (d. 1889)
- 1831 – Savitribai Phule, Indian poet, educator, and activist (d. 1897)
- 1836 – Sakamoto Ryōma, Japanese samurai and rebel leader (d. 1867)
- 1840 – Father Damien, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1889)
- 1847 – Ettore Marchiafava, Italian physician (d. 1935)
- 1853 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish writer (d. 1921)
- 1855 – Hubert Bland, English businessman (d. 1914)
- 1861 – Ernest Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1899)
- 1861 – William Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1904)
- 1862 – Matthew Nathan, English soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Queensland (d. 1939)
- 1865 – Henry Lytton, English actor (d. 1936)
- 1870 – Henry Handel Richardson, Australian-English author (d. 1946)
- 1873 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman and art collector, founded the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (d. 1957)
- 1875 – Alexandros Diomidis, Greek banker and politician, 145th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1950)
- 1876 – Wilhelm Pieck, German carpenter and politician, 1st President of the German Democratic Republic (d. 1960)
- 1877 – Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957)
- 1880 – Francis Browne, Irish Jesuit priest and photographer (d. 1960)
- 1883 – Clement Attlee, English soldier, lawyer, and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1967)
- 1883 – Duncan Gillis, Canadian discus thrower and hammer thrower (d. 1963)
- 1884 – Raoul Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1948)
- 1885 – Harry Elkins Widener, American businessman (d. 1912)
- 1886 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet and author (d. 1950)
- 1886 – Arthur Mailey, Australian cricketer (d. 1967)
- 1887 – August Macke, German-French painter (d. 1914)
- 1892 – J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer, poet, and philologist (d. 1973)
- 1894 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)
- 1897 – Marion Davies, American actress and comedian (d. 1961)
- 1898 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (d. 1990)
- 1898 – Carlos Keller, Chilean historian, academic, and politician (d. 1974)
- 1900 – Donald J. Russell, American businessman (d. 1985)
- 1901 – Ngô Đình Diệm, Vietnamese lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Vietnam (d. 1963)
- 1905 – Dante Giacosa, Italian engineer (d. 1996)
- 1905 – Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)
- 1907 – Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 1986)
- 1909 – Victor Borge, Danish-American pianist and conductor (d. 2000)
- 1910 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (d. 2000)
- 1911 – John Sturges, American director and producer (d. 1992)
- 1912 – Federico Borrell García, Spanish soldier (d. 1936)
- 1912 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2002)
- 1912 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Jack Levine, American painter and soldier (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Betty Furness, American actress and television journalist (d. 1994)
- 1916 – Fred Haas, American golfer (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Albert Mol, Dutch author and actor (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Vernon A. Walters, American general and diplomat, 17th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American journalist and publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux (d. 2004)
- 1919 – Herbie Nichols, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
- 1920 – Siegfried Buback, German lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Germany (d. 1977)
- 1920 – Renato Carosone, Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2001)
- 1921 – Chetan Anand, Indian director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
- 1921 – Isabella Bashmakova, Russian historian of mathematics (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Hank Stram, American football coach and sportscaster (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Otto Beisheim, German businessman and philanthropist, founded Metro AG (d. 2013)
- 1924 – André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and educator (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Jill Balcon, English actress (d. 2009)
- 1926 – W. Michael Blumenthal, American economist and politician, 64th United States Secretary of the Treasury
- 1926 – George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2016)
- 1928 – Abdul Rahman Ya’kub, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Sarawak (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
- 1929 – Ernst Mahle, German-Brazilian composer and conductor
- 1929 – Gordon Moore, American businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation
- 1930 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (d. 2015)
- 1932 – Dabney Coleman, American actor
- 1932 – Eeles Landström, Finnish pole vaulter and politician
- 1933 – Geoffrey Bindman, English lawyer
- 1933 – Anne Stevenson, American-English poet and author
- 1934 – Marpessa Dawn, American-French actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2008)
- 1934 – Carla Anderson Hills, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- 1935 – Raymond Garneau, Canadian businessman and politician
- 1937 – Glen A. Larson, American director, producer, and screenwriter, created Battlestar Galactica (d. 2014)
- 1938 – Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, English academic and politician
- 1938 – K. Ganeshalingam, Sri Lankan accountant and politician, Mayor of Colombo (d. 2006)
- 1939 – Arik Einstein, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2013)
- 1939 – Bobby Hull, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1940 – Leo de Berardinis, Italian actor and director (d. 2008)
- 1940 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2007)
- 1941 – Malcolm Dick, New Zealand rugby player
- 1942 – John Marsden, Australian lawyer and activist (d. 2006)
- 1942 – John Thaw, English actor and producer, played Inspector Morse (d. 2002)
- 1943 – Van Dyke Parks, American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, author, and actor
- 1944 – Blanche d’Alpuget, Australian author
- 1945 – Stephen Stills, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1946 – John Paul Jones, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1946 – Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (d. 2002)
- 1947 – Fran Cotton, English rugby player
- 1947 – Zulema, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Ian Nankervis, Australian footballer
- 1950 – Victoria Principal, American actress and businesswoman
- 1950 – Linda Steiner, American journalist and academic
- 1950 – Vesna Vulović, Serbian plane crash survivor and Guinness World Record holder
- 1951 – Linda Dobbs, English lawyer and judge
- 1951 – Gary Nairn, Australian surveyor and politician, 14th Special Minister of State
- 1952 – Esperanza Aguirre, Spanish civil servant and politician, 3rd President of the Community of Madrid
- 1952 – Gianfranco Fini, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1952 – Jim Ross, American professional wrestling commentator
- 1953 – Justin Fleming, Australian playwright and author
- 1953 – Mohammed Waheed Hassan, Maldivian educator and politician, 5th President of the Maldives
- 1953 – Peter Taylor, English football winger and manager
- 1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1958 – Shim Hyung-rae, South Korean actor, director, and producer
- 1960 – Russell Spence, English racing driver
- 1962 – Darren Daulton, American baseball player (d. 2017)
- 1962 – Gavin Hastings, Scottish rugby player
- 1963 – Stewart Hosie, Scottish businessman and politician
- 1963 – Aamer Malik, Pakistani cricketer
- 1963 – Alex Wheatle, English author and playwright
- 1964 – Bruce LaBruce, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1964 – Cheryl Miller, American basketball player and coach
- 1966 – Chetan Sharma, Indian cricketer
- 1969 – Michael Caines, English chef
- 1969 – Lorenzo Fertitta, American entrepreneur, casino executive and sports promoter
- 1969 – Jarmo Lehtinen, Finnish racing driver
- 1969 – Michael Schumacher, German racing driver
- 1969 – Gerda Weissensteiner, Italian luger and bobsledder
- 1971 – Cory Cross, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1971 – Lee Il-hwa, South Korean actress
- 1973 – Dan Harmon, American screenwriter and producer
- 1974 – Robert-Jan Derksen, Dutch golfer
- 1974 – Alessandro Petacchi, Italian cyclist
- 1975 – Jason Marsden, American actor
- 1975 – Thomas Bangalter, French DJ, musician (Daft Punk), and producer
- 1975 – Danica McKellar, American actress, writer, and mathematician
- 1976 – Angelos Basinas, Greek footballer
- 1976 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor and producer
- 1977 – Lee Bowyer, English footballer and coach
- 1977 – A. J. Burnett, American baseball player
- 1977 – Mayumi Iizuka, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1978 – Dimitra Kalentzou, Greek basketball player
- 1978 – Dominic Wood, English comedian and former magician
- 1980 – Bryan Clay, American decathlete
- 1980 – Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey player
- 1980 – David Tyree, American football player
- 1980 – Kurt Vile, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1980 – Mary Wineberg, American sprinter
- 1981 – Eli Manning, American football playe
- 1982 – Peter Clarke, English footballer
- 1982 – Lasse Nilsson, Swedish footballer
- 1982 – Park Ji-yoon, South Korean singer and actress
- 1984 – Billy Mehmet, English-Irish footballer
- 1985 – Linas Kleiza, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1985 – Evan Moore, American football player
- 1986 – Dana Hussain, Iraqi sprinter
- 1986 – Greg Nwokolo, Indonesian footballer
- 1986 – Dmitry Starodubtsev, Russian pole vaulter
- 1987 – Reto Berra, Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender
- 1987 – Kim Ok-bin, South Korean actress and singer
- 1988 – Ikechi Anya, Scottish-Nigerian footballer
- 1988 – Matt Frattin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – J. R. Hildebrand, American racing driver
- 1989 – Ben Matulino, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1989 – Kōhei Uchimura, Japanese artistic gymnast
- 1990 – Yoichiro Kakitani, Japanese footballer
- 1991 – Jerson Cabral, Dutch footballer
- 1991 – Özgür Çek, Turkish footballer
- 1991 – Sébastien Faure, French footballer
- 1991 – Dane Gagai, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Isaquias Queiroz, Brazilian sprint canoeist
- 1997 – Kyron McMaster, British Virgin Islands hurdler
- 2003 – Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist
Deaths on January 3
- 236 – Anterus, the pope of the Catholic Church
- 323 – Yuan of Yin, Chinese emperor (b. 276)
- 1027 – Fujiwara no Yukinari, Japanese calligrapher (b. 972)
- 1028 – Fujiwara no Michinaga, Japanese nobleman (b. 966)
- 1098 – Walkelin, Norman bishop of Winchester
- 1322 – Philip V, king of France (b. 1292)
- 1437 – Catherine of Valois, queen consort of Henry V (b. 1401)
- 1501 – Ali-Shir Nava’i, Turkic poet, linguist, and mystic (b. 1441)
- 1543 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer and navigator (b. 1499)
- 1571 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1505)
- 1641 – Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomer and mathematician (b. 1618)
- 1656 – Mathieu Molé, French politician (b. 1584)
- 1670 – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1608)
- 1701 – Louis I, prince of Monaco (b. 1642)
- 1705 – Luca Giordano, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1634)
- 1743 – Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian painter and architect (b. 1657)
- 1777 – William Leslie, Scottish captain (b. 1751)
- 1779 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and lawyer (b. 1712)
- 1785 – Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)
- 1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (b. 1730)
- 1826 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general (b. 1770)
- 1871 – Kuriakose Elias Chavara, Indian priest and saint (b. 1805)
- 1875 – Pierre Larousse, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1817)
- 1882 – William Harrison Ainsworth, English author (b. 1805)
- 1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman, co-founded Currier and Ives (b. 1824)
- 1903 – Alois Hitler, Austrian civil servant (b. 1837)
- 1911 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (b. 1851)
- 1915 – James Elroy Flecker, English poet, author, and playwright (b. 1884)
- 1916 – Grenville M. Dodge, American general and politician (b. 1831)
- 1922 – Wilhelm Voigt, German criminal (b. 1849)
- 1923 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech journalist and author (b. 1883)
- 1927 – Carl David Tolmé Runge, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1856)
- 1931 – Joseph Joffre, French general (b. 1852)
- 1933 – Wilhelm Cuno, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- 1933 – Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1896)
- 1943 – Walter James, Australian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1863)
- 1944 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (b. 1873)
- 1945 – Edgar Cayce, American psychic and author (b. 1877)
- 1945 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and explorer (b. 1879)
- 1946 – William Joyce, American-British pro-Axis propaganda broadcaster (b. 1906)
- 1956 – Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1864)
- 1956 – Dimitrios Vergos, Greek wrestler, weightlifter, and shot putter (b. 1886)
- 1956 – Joseph Wirth, German educator and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- 1958 – Cafer Tayyar Eğilmez, Turkish general (b. 1877)
- 1959 – Edwin Muir, Scottish poet, author, and translator (b. 1887)
- 1960 – Eric P. Kelly, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1884)
- 1962 – Hermann Lux, German footballer and manager (b. 1893)
- 1965 – Milton Avery, American painter (b. 1885)
- 1966 – Sammy Younge Jr., American civil rights activist (b. 1944)
- 1967 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (b. 1874)
- 1967 – Reginald Punnett, British scientist (b. 1875)
- 1967 – Jack Ruby, American businessman and murderer (b. 1911)
- 1969 – Jean Focas, Greek-French astronomer (b. 1909)
- 1969 – Tzavalas Karousos, Greek-French actor (b. 1904)
- 1970 – Gladys Aylward, English missionary and humanitarian (b. 1902)
- 1972 – Mohan Rakesh, Indian author and playwright (b. 1925)
- 1975 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1880)
- 1975 – James McCormack, American general (b. 1910)
- 1977 – William Gropper, American lithographer, cartoonist, and painter (b. 1897)
- 1979 – Conrad Hilton, American businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (b. 1887)
- 1980 – Joy Adamson, Austrian-Kenyan author (b. 1910)
- 1980 – George Sutherland Fraser, Scottish poet and academic (b. 1915)
- 1981 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (b. 1883)
- 1988 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-German poet and author (b. 1901)
- 1989 – Sergei Sobolev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1909)
- 1992 – Judith Anderson, British actress (b. 1897)
- 2002 – Satish Dhawan, Indian engineer (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Jimmy Stewart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1931)
- 2005 – Koo Chen-fu, Taiwanese businessman and diplomat (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Egidio Galea, Maltese Roman Catholic priest, missionary, and educator (b. 1918)
- 2005 – Jyotindra Nath Dixit, Indian diplomat, 2nd Indian National Security Adviser (b. 1936)
- 2006 – Steve Rogers, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1954)
- 2006 – Bill Skate, Papua New Guinean politician, 5th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)
- 2007 – János Fürst, Hungarian violinist and conductor (b. 1935)
- 2007 – William Verity, Jr., American businessman and politician, 27th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Choi Yo-sam, South Korean boxer (b. 1972)
- 2009 – Betty Freeman, American philanthropist and photographer (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Pat Hingle, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
- 2010 – Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt, Chilean-German composer and academic (b. 1925)
- 2010 – Mary Daly, American theologian and scholar (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Robert L. Carter, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Winifred Milius Lubell, American author and illustrator (b. 1914)
- 2012 – Josef Škvorecký, Czech-Canadian author and publisher (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Bob Weston, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1947)
- 2013 – Alfie Fripp, English soldier and pilot (b. 1913)
- 2013 – Ivan Mackerle, Czech cryptozoologist, explorer, and author (b. 1942)
- 2013 – William Maxson, American general (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romanian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Phil Everly, American singer and guitarist (b. 1939)
- 2014 – George Goodman, American economist and author (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Saul Zaentz, American film producer (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Martin Anderson, American economist and academic (b. 1936)
- 2015 – Edward Brooke, American captain and politician, 47th Massachusetts Attorney General (b. 1919)
- 2016 – Paul Bley, Canadian-American pianist and composer (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Peter Naur, Danish computer scientist, astronomer, and academic (b. 1928)
- 2016 – Bill Plager, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1945)
- 2016 – Igor Sergun, Russian general and diplomat (b. 1957)
- 2017 – H. S. Mahadeva Prasad, Indian politician (b. 1958)
- 2018 – Colin Brumby, Australian composer (b. 1933)
- 2019 – Herb Kelleher, American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Airlines (b. 1931)
- 2020 – Qasem Soleimani, Iranian major general, commander of the Iranian Quds Force (b. 1957)
Holidays and observances on January 3
- Anniversary of the 1966 Coup d’état (Burkina Faso)
- Christian feast day:
- Daniel of Padua
- Genevieve
- Holy Name of Jesus
- Kuriakose Elias Chavara (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
- Pope Anterus
- William Passavant (Episcopal Church)
- January 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Ministry of Religious Affairs Day (Indonesia)
- Tamaseseri Festival (Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan)
- The first day of Nakhatsenendyan toner, celebrated until January 5 (Armenia).
- The tenth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)