1001

  • April 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 769 – The Lateran Council condemned the Council of Hieria and anathematized its iconoclastic rulings.
    • 1071 – Bari, the last Byzantine possession in southern Italy, is surrendered to Robert Guiscard.
    • 1395 – Timur defeats Tokhtamysh of the Golden Horde at the Battle of the Terek River. The Golden Horde capital city, Sarai, is razed to the ground and Timur installs a puppet ruler on the throne.
    • 1450 – Battle of Formigny: Toward the end of the Hundred Years’ War, the French attack and nearly annihilate English forces, ending English domination in Northern France.
    • 1632 – Battle of Rain: Swedes under Gustavus Adolphus defeat the Holy Roman Empire during the Thirty Years’ War.
    • 1642 – Irish Confederate Wars: A Confederate Irish militia is routed in the Battle of Kilrush when it attempts to halt the progress of a Royalist Army.
    • 1715 – The Pocotaligo Massacre triggers the start of the Yamasee War in colonial South Carolina.
    • 1736 – Foundation of the Kingdom of Corsica.
    • 1738 – Serse, an Italian opera by George Frideric Handel receives its premiere performance in London, England.
    • 1755 – Samuel Johnson’s A Dictionary of the English Language is published in London.
    • 1783 – Preliminary articles of peace ending the American Revolutionary War (or American War of Independence) are ratified.
    • 1817 – Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc founded the American School for the Deaf, the first American school for deaf students, in Hartford, Connecticut.
    • 1861 – President Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000 Volunteers to quell the insurrection that soon became the American Civil War.
    • 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln dies after being shot the previous evening by actor John Wilkes Booth. Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President upon Lincoln’s death.
    • 1892 – The General Electric Company is formed.
    • 1896 – Closing ceremony of the Games of the I Olympiad in Athens, Greece.
    • 1900 – Philippine–American War: Filipino guerrillas launch a surprise attack on U.S. infantry and begin a four-day siege of Catubig, Philippines.
    • 1907 – Triangle Fraternity is founded at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
    • 1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic at 2:20 a.m., two hours and forty minutes after hitting an iceberg. Only 710 of 2,227 passengers and crew on board survive.
    • 1920 – Two security guards are murdered during a robbery in South Braintree, Massachusetts. Anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti would be convicted of and executed for the crime, amid much controversy.
    • 1922 – U.S. Senator John B. Kendrick of Wyoming introduces a resolution calling for an investigation of a secret land deal, which leads to the discovery of the Teapot Dome scandal.
    • 1923 – Insulin becomes generally available for use by people with diabetes.
    • 1924 – Rand McNally publishes its first road atlas.
    • 1936 – First day of the Arab revolt in Mandatory Palestine.
    • 1941 – In the Belfast Blitz, two-hundred bombers of the German Luftwaffe attack Belfast, killing around one thousand people.
    • 1942 – The George Cross is awarded “to the island fortress of Malta” by King George VI.
    • 1945 – Bergen-Belsen concentration camp is liberated.
    • 1947 – Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers, breaking baseball’s color line.
    • 1952 – First flight of the Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.
    • 1955 – McDonald’s restaurant dates its founding to the opening of a franchised restaurant by Ray Kroc, in Des Plaines, Illinois.
    • 1960 – At Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina, Ella Baker leads a conference that results in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, one of the principal organizations of the civil rights movement in the 1960s.
    • 1969 – The EC-121 shootdown incident: North Korea shoots down a United States Navy aircraft over the Sea of Japan, killing all 31 onboard.
    • 1970 – During the Cambodian Civil War, massacre of the Vietnamese minority results in 800 bodies flowing down the Mekong river into South Vietnam.
    • 1986 – The United States launches Operation El Dorado Canyon, its bombing raids against Libyan targets in response to a discotheque bombing in West Germany that killed two U.S. servicemen.
    • 1989 – Hillsborough disaster: A human crush occurs at Hillsborough Stadium, home of Sheffield Wednesday, in the FA Cup Semi-final, resulting in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans.
    • 1989 – Upon Hu Yaobang’s death, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 begin in China.
    • 1994 – Marrakesh Agreement relating to foundation of World Trade Organization is adopted.
    • 2013 – Two bombs explode near the finish line at the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts, killing three people and injuring 264 others.
    • 2013 – A wave of bombings across Iraq kills at least 75 people.
    • 2014 – In the worst massacre of the South Sudanese Civil War, at least 200 civilians were gunned down after seeking refuge in houses of worship as well as hospitals.
    • 2019 – The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire.

    Births on April 15

    • 68 BC – Gaius Maecenas, Roman politician (d. 8 BC)
    • 1282 – Frederick IV, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1329)
    • 1367 – Henry IV of England (d. 1413)
    • 1442 – John Paston, English noble (d. 1479)
    • 1452 – Leonardo da Vinci, Italian painter, sculptor, and architect (d. 1519)
    • 1469 – Guru Nanak, the first Sikh guru (d. 1539)
    • 1552 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (d. 1626)
    • 1563 – Guru Arjan Dev, fifth Sikh leader (d. 1606)
    • 1588 – Claudius Salmasius, French author and scholar (d. 1653)
    • 1592 – Francesco Maria Brancaccio, Catholic cardinal (d. 1675)
    • 1641 – Robert Sibbald, Scottish physician and geographer (d. 1722)
    • 1642 – Suleiman II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1691)
    • 1646 – Christian V of Denmark (d. 1699)
    • 1684 – Catherine I of Russia (d. 1727)
    • 1688 – Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer (d. 1758)
    • 1707 – Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1783)
    • 1710 – William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (d. 1790)
    • 1741 – Charles Willson Peale, American painter and soldier (d. 1827)
    • 1771 – Nicolas Chopin, French-Polish educator (d. 1844)
    • 1772 – Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, French biologist and zoologist (d. 1844)
    • 1793 – Friedrich Georg Wilhelm von Struve, German astronomer and academic (d. 1864)
    • 1795 – Maria Schicklgruber, mother of Alois Hitler and the paternal grandmother of Adolf Hitler (d.1847)
    • 1800 – James Clark Ross, English captain and explorer (d. 1862)
    • 1808 – William Champ, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1892)
    • 1809 – Hermann Grassmann, German linguist and mathematician (d. 1877)
    • 1817 – William Crowther, Dutch-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1885)
    • 1828 – Jean Danjou, French captain (d. 1863)
    • 1832 – Wilhelm Busch, German poet, painter, and illustrator (d. 1908)
    • 1841 – Mary Grant Roberts, Australian zoo owner (d. 1921)
    • 1841 – Joseph E. Seagram, Canadian businessman and politician, founded the Seagram Company Ltd (d. 1919)
    • 1843 – Henry James, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1916)
    • 1856 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (d. 1910)
    • 1858 – Émile Durkheim, French sociologist, psychologist, and philosopher (d. 1917)
    • 1861 – Bliss Carman, Canadian-British poet and playwright (d. 1929)
    • 1863 – Ida Freund, Austrian-born chemist and educator (d. 1914)
    • 1874 – George Harrison Shull, American botanist and geneticist (d. 1954)
    • 1874 – Johannes Stark, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
    • 1875 – James J. Jeffries, American boxer and promoter (d. 1953)
    • 1877 – Georg Kolbe, German sculptor (d. 1947)
    • 1878 – Robert Walser, Swiss author and playwright (d. 1956)
    • 1879 – Melville Henry Cane, American lawyer and poet (d. 1980)
    • 1883 – Stanley Bruce, Australian captain and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
    • 1885 – Tadeusz Kutrzeba, Polish general (d. 1947)
    • 1886 – Nikolay Gumilyov, Russian poet and critic (d. 1921)
    • 1887 – William Forgan Smith, Scottish-Australian politician, 24th Premier of Queensland (d. 1953)
    • 1888 – Maximilian Kronberger, German poet and author (d. 1904)
    • 1889 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator (d. 1975)
    • 1889 – A. Philip Randolph, American activist (d. 1979)
    • 1890 – Percy Shaw, English businessman, invented the cat’s eye (d. 1976)
    • 1892 – Theo Osterkamp, German general and pilot (d. 1975)
    • 1892 – Corrie ten Boom, Dutch-American clocksmith, Nazi resister, and author (d. 1983)
    • 1894 – Nikita Khrushchev, Russian general and politician, 7th Premier of the Soviet Union (d. 1971)
    • 1894 – Bessie Smith, African-American singer and actress (d. 1937)
    • 1895 – Clark McConachy, New Zealand snooker player (d. 1980)
    • 1895 – Abigail Mejia, Dominican feminist activist, nationalist, literary critic and educator (d. 1941)
    • 1896 – Nikolay Semyonov, Russian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
    • 1898 – Harry Edward, Guyanese-English sprinter (d. 1973)
    • 1901 – Joe Davis, English snooker player (d. 1978)
    • 1901 – Ajoy Mukherjee, Indian politician, Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 1986)
    • 1901 – René Pleven, French businessman and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1993)
    • 1902 – Fernando Pessa, Portuguese journalist (d. 2002)
    • 1903 – John Williams, English-American actor (d. 1983)
    • 1904 – Arshile Gorky, Armenian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1948)
    • 1907 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
    • 1908 – eden ahbez, Scottish-American songwriter and recording artist (d. 1995)
    • 1908 – Lita Grey, American actress (d. 1995)
    • 1910 – Sulo Bärlund, Finnish shot putter (d. 1986)
    • 1910 – Miguel Najdorf, Polish-Argentinian chess player and theoretician (d. 1997)
    • 1912 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1998)
    • 1912 – Kim Il-sung, North Korean general and politician, 1st Supreme Leader of North Korea (d. 1994)
    • 1915 – Elizabeth Catlett, African-American sculptor and illustrator (d. 2012)
    • 1916 – Alfred S. Bloomingdale, American businessman (d. 1982)
    • 1916 – Helene Hanff, American author and screenwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1917 – Hans Conried, American actor (d. 1982)
    • 1917 – Elmer Gedeon, American baseball player and bomber pilot (d. 1944)
    • 1917 – James Kee, American lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
    • 1918 – Hans Billian, German film director, screenwriter, and actor (d. 2007)
    • 1919 – Alberto Breccia, Uruguayan-Argentinian author and illustrator (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – Godfrey Stafford, English-South African physicist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Thomas Szasz, Hungarian-American psychiatrist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Richard von Weizsäcker, German soldier and politician, 6th President of Germany (d. 2015)
    • 1921 – Georgy Beregovoy, Ukrainian-Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1995)
    • 1921 – Angelo DiGeorge, American physician and endocrinologist (d. 2009)
    • 1922 – Michael Ansara, Syrian-American actor (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Hasrat Jaipuri, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Harold Washington, American lawyer and politician, 51st Mayor of Chicago (d. 1987)
    • 1922 – Graham Whitehead, English racing driver (d. 1981)
    • 1923 – Artur Alliksaar, Estonian poet and author (d. 1966)
    • 1923 – Robert DePugh, American activist, founded the Minutemen (an anti-Communist organization) (d. 2009)
    • 1924 – M. Canagaratnam, Sri Lankan politician (d. 1980)
    • 1924 – Rikki Fulton, Scottish comedian (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Neville Marriner, English violinist and conductor (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Robert Mills, American physicist and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1929 – Gérald Beaudoin, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Adrian Cadbury, English rower and businessman (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Georges Descrières, French actor (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, Icelandic educator and politician, 4th President of Iceland
    • 1931 – Kenneth Bloomfield, Northern Irish civil servant
    • 1931 – Tomas Tranströmer, Swedish poet, translator, and psychologist Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
    • 1933 – Roy Clark, American musician and television personality (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – David Hamilton, English-French photographer and director (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Elizabeth Montgomery, American actress and producer (d. 1995)
    • 1935 – Stavros Paravas, Greek actor and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1936 – Raymond Poulidor, French cyclist
    • 1937 – Bob Luman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)
    • 1938 – Claudia Cardinale, Italian actress
    • 1938 – Hso Khan Pha, Burmese-Canadian geologist and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – Marty Wilde, English singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1939 – Desiré Ecaré, Ivorian filmmaker (d. 2009)
    • 1940 – Jeffrey Archer, English author, playwright, and politician
    • 1940 – Penelope Coelen, South African actress, model, beauty queen and 1958 Miss World
    • 1940 – Willie Davis, American baseball player and actor (d. 2010)
    • 1940 – Robert Lacroix, Canadian economist and academic
    • 1941 – Howard Berman, American lawyer and politician
    • 1942 – Francis X. DiLorenzo, American bishop (d. 2017)
    • 1942 – Walt Hazzard, American basketball player and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1942 – Kenneth Lay, American businessman (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – Tim Lankester, English economist and academic
    • 1943 – Pınar Kür, Turkish author, playwright, and academic
    • 1943 – Robert Lefkowitz, American physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1943 – Veronica Linklater, Baroness Linklater, English politician
    • 1943 – Hugh Thompson, Jr., American soldier and pilot (d. 2006)
    • 1944 – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Russian-Chechen general and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (d. 1996)
    • 1944 – Dave Edmunds, Welsh singer, guitarist, and producer
    • 1946 – John Lloyd, Scottish journalist and author
    • 1946 – Pete Rouse, American politician, White House Chief of Staff
    • 1947 – Linda Bloodworth-Thomason, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1947 – Martin Broughton, English businessman
    • 1947 – Lois Chiles, American model and actress
    • 1947 – David Omand, English civil servant and academic
    • 1947 – Cristina Husmark Pehrsson, Swedish nurse and politician, Swedish Minister for Social Security
    • 1947 – Woolly Wolstenholme, English singer and keyboard player (d. 2010)
    • 1948 – Christopher Brown, English historian, curator, and academic
    • 1948 – Michael Kamen, American composer and conductor (d. 2003)
    • 1948 – Phil Mogg, English singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1949 – Alla Pugacheva, Russian singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1949 – Craig Zadan, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1950 – Josiane Balasko, French actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1950 – Amy Wright, American actress
    • 1950 – Karel Kroupa, Czech football player
    • 1951 – Heloise, American journalist and author
    • 1951 – John L. Phillips, American captain and astronaut
    • 1951 – Stuart Prebble, English journalist and producer
    • 1951 – Marsha Ivins, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1952 – Kym Gyngell, Australian actor, comedian, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Brian Muir, English sculptor and set designer
    • 1952 – Avital Ronell, Czech-American philosopher and academic
    • 1955 – Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer (d. 1997)
    • 1955 – Joice Mujuru, Zimbabwean politician
    • 1956 – Michael Cooper, American basketball player and coach
    • 1957 – Evelyn Ashford, American runner and coach
    • 1958 – Keith Acton, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1958 – John Bracewell, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1958 – Memos Ioannou, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1958 – Benjamin Zephaniah, English actor, author, poet, and playwright
    • 1959 – Fruit Chan, Chinese director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1959 – Kevin Lowe, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
    • 1959 – Emma Thompson, English actress, comedian, author, activist and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Pierre Aubry, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1960 – Susanne Bier, Danish director and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Pedro Delgado, Spanish cyclist and sportscaster
    • 1960 – Tony Jones, English snooker player
    • 1961 – Neil Carmichael, English academic and politician
    • 1961 – Carol W. Greider, American molecular biologist
    • 1961 – Dawn Wright, American geographer and oceanographer
    • 1962 – Nawal El Moutawakel, Moroccan athlete and politician
    • 1962 – Tom Kane, American voice actor
    • 1963 – Alex Crawford, Nigerian-South African journalist
    • 1963 – Manzoor Elahi, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1963 – Manoj Prabhakar, Indian cricketer and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Andre Joubert, South African rugby player
    • 1964 – Lee Kernaghan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1965 – Linda Perry, American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer
    • 1965 – Kevin Stevens, American ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Samantha Fox, English singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1966 – Mott Green, American businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1967 – Frankie Poullain, Scottish bass player and songwriter
    • 1967 – Dara Torres, American swimmer and journalist
    • 1968 – Ben Clarke, English rugby player and coach
    • 1968 – Brahim Lahlafi, Moroccan-French runner
    • 1968 – Ed O’Brien, English guitarist
    • 1969 – Jeromy Burnitz, American baseball player
    • 1969 – Kaisa Roose, Estonian pianist and conductor
    • 1969 – Jimmy Waite, Canadian-German ice hockey player and coach
    • 1970 – Chris Huffins, American decathlete and coach
    • 1971 – Philippe Carbonneau, French rugby player
    • 1971 – Finidi George, Nigerian footballer
    • 1971 – Jason Sehorn, American football player
    • 1971 – Josia Thugwane, South African runner
    • 1971 – Karl Turner, English lawyer and politician
    • 1972 – Arturo Gatti, Italian-Canadian boxer (d. 2009)
    • 1972 – Lou Romano, American animator and voice actor
    • 1974 – Kim Min-kyo, South Korean actor and director
    • 1974 – Danny Pino, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Mike Quinn, American football player
    • 1974 – Douglas Spain, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1974 – Tim Thomas, American ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Sarah Teichmann, German-American biophysicist and immunologist
    • 1976 – Jason Bonsignore, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1976 – Darius Regelskis, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1976 – Kęstutis Šeštokas, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1976 – Steve Williams, English rower
    • 1977 – Sudarsan Pattnaik, Indian sculptor
    • 1977 – Brian Pothier, American ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Milton Bradley, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Tim Corcoran, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Luis Fonsi, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter and dancer
    • 1978 – Chris Stapleton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1980 – Patrick Carney, American drummer, musician, and producer
    • 1980 – James Foster, English cricketer
    • 1980 – Raül López, Spanish basketball player
    • 1980 – Willie Mason, New Zealand-Australian rugby league player
    • 1980 – Aida Mollenkamp, American chef and author
    • 1980 – Billy Yates, American football player
    • 1981 – Andrés D’Alessandro, Argentinian footballer
    • 1982 – Michael Aubrey, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Anthony Green, American singer-songwriter
    • 1982 – Seth Rogen, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Alice Braga, Brazilian actress
    • 1983 – Matt Cardle, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1983 – Dudu Cearense, Brazilian footballer
    • 1983 – Andreas Fransson, Swedish skier (d. 2014)
    • 1983 – Ilya Kovalchuk, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Martin Pedersen, Danish cyclist
    • 1984 – Antonio Cromartie, American football player
    • 1984 – Cam Janssen, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Daniel Paille, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Ryan Hamilton, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Tom Heaton, English footballer
    • 1986 – Sylvain Marveaux, French footballer
    • 1988 – Blake Ayshford, Australian rugby league player
    • 1988 – Steven Defour, Belgian footballer
    • 1988 – Chris Tillman, American baseball pitcher
    • 1989 – Darren Nicholls, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Emma Watson, English actress
    • 1991 – Daiki Arioka, Japanese idol, singer, and actor
    • 1991 – Javier Fernández López, Spanish figure skater
    • 1992 – Jeremy McGovern, Australian rules football player
    • 1994 – Brodie Grundy, Australian rules football player
    • 1994 – Shaunae Miller-Uibo, Bahamian sprinter
    • 1995 – Leander Dendoncker, Belgian footballer
    • 1999 – Denis Shapovalov, Canadian tennis player
    • 2001 – Shanti Dope, Filipino rapper

    Deaths on April 15

    • 628 – Suiko, emperor of Japan (b. 554)
    • 943 – Liu Bin, emperor of Southern Han (b. 920)
    • 956 – Lin Yanyu, Chinese court official and eunuch
    • 1053 – Godwin, Earl of Wessex (b. 1001)
    • 1136 – Richard Fitz Gilbert de Clare (b. 1094)
    • 1220 – Adolf of Altena, German archbishop (b. 1157)
    • 1237 – Richard Poore, English ecclesiastic
    • 1415 – Manuel Chrysoloras, Greek philosopher and translator (b. 1355)
    • 1446 – Filippo Brunelleschi, Italian sculptor and architect (b. 1377)
    • 1502 – John IV of Chalon-Arlay, Prince of Orange (b. 1443)
    • 1558 – Roxelana, wife of Suleiman the Magnificent (b. c. 1500)
    • 1610 – Robert Persons, English Jesuit priest, insurrectionist, and author (b. 1546)
    • 1632 – George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, English politician, English Secretary of State (b. 1580)
    • 1652 – Patriarch Joseph of Moscow, Russian patriarch
    • 1659 – Simon Dach, German poet and hymnwriter (b. 1605)
    • 1719 – Françoise d’Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon, French wife of Louis XIV of France (b. 1635)
    • 1754 – Jacopo Riccati, Italian mathematician and academic (b. 1676)
    • 1761 – Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord President of the Court of Session (b. 1682)
    • 1761 – William Oldys, English historian and author (b. 1696)
    • 1764 – Peder Horrebow, Danish astronomer and mathematician (b. 1679)
    • 1765 – Mikhail Lomonosov, Russian chemist and physicist (b. 1711)
    • 1788 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711)
    • 1793 – Ignacije Szentmartony, Croatian priest, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1718)
    • 1854 – Arthur Aikin, English chemist and mineralogist (b. 1773)
    • 1861 – Sylvester Jordan, Austrian-German lawyer and politician (b. 1792)
    • 1865 – Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States (b. 1809)
    • 1888 – Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic (b. 1822)
    • 1889 – Father Damien, Belgian priest and saint (b. 1840)
    • 1898 – Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui, New Zealand commander and politician
    • 1912 – Victims of the Titanic disaster:
      • Thomas Andrews, Irish shipbuilder (b. 1873)
      • John Jacob Astor IV, American colonel, businessman, and author (b. 1864)
      • Archibald Butt, American general and journalist (b. 1865)
      • Jacques Futrelle, American journalist and author (b. 1875)
      • Benjamin Guggenheim, American businessman (b. 1865)
      • Henry B. Harris, American producer and manager (b. 1866)
      • Wallace Hartley, English violinist and bandleader (b. 1878)
      • James Paul Moody, English Sixth Officer (b. 1887)
      • William McMaster Murdoch, Scottish First Officer (b. 1873)
      • Jack Phillips, English telegraphist (b. 1887)
      • Edward Smith, English Captain (b. 1850)
      • William Thomas Stead, English journalist (b. 1849)
      • Ida Straus, German-American businesswoman (b. 1849)
      • Isidor Straus, German-American businessman and politician (b. 1845)
      • John B. Thayer, American business and sportsman (b. 1862)
      • Henry Tingle Wilde, English chief officer (b. 1872)
    • 1917 – János Murkovics, Slovene author, poet, and educator (b. 1839)
    • 1927 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (b. 1868)
    • 1938 – César Vallejo, Peruvian journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1892)
    • 1942 – Robert Musil, Austrian-Swiss author and playwright (b. 1880)
    • 1943 – Aristarkh Lentulov, Russian painter and set designer (b. 1882)
    • 1944 – Nikolai Fyodorovich Vatutin, Russian general (b. 1901)
    • 1945 – Hermann Florstedt, German SS officer (b. 1895)
    • 1948 – Radola Gajda, Montenegrin-Czech general and politician (b. 1892)
    • 1949 – Wallace Beery, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
    • 1962 – Clara Blandick, American actress (b. 1880)
    • 1962 – Arsenio Lacson, Filipino journalist and politician, Mayor of Manila (b. 1912)
    • 1963 – Edward Greeves, Jr., Australian footballer (b. 1903)
    • 1966 – Habibullah Bahar Chowdhury, Bengali politician, writer, journalist, first health minister of East Pakistan
    • 1967 – Totò, Italian comedian (b. 1898)
    • 1971 – Gurgen Boryan, Armenian poet and playwright (b. 1915)
    • 1971 – Friedebert Tuglas, Estonian author and critic (b. 1886)
    • 1979 – David Brand, Australian politician, 19th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1912)
    • 1980 – Raymond Bailey, American actor and soldier (b. 1904)
    • 1980 – Jean-Paul Sartre, French philosopher and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
    • 1982 – Arthur Lowe, English actor (b. 1915)
    • 1984 – Tommy Cooper, Welsh comedian and magician (b. 1921)
    • 1986 – Jean Genet, French novelist, poet, and playwright (b. 1910)
    • 1988 – Kenneth Williams, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 1989 – Hu Yaobang, Chinese soldier and politician, former General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (b. 1915)
    • 1990 – Greta Garbo, Swedish-American actress (b. 1905)
    • 1993 – Leslie Charteris, English author and screenwriter (b. 1907)
    • 1993 – John Tuzo Wilson, Canadian geophysicist and geologist (b. 1908)
    • 1998 – William Congdon, American-Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1912)
    • 1998 – Pol Pot, Cambodian general and politician, 29th Prime Minister of Cambodia (b. 1925)
    • 1999 – Harvey Postlethwaite, English engineer (b. 1944)
    • 2000 – Edward Gorey, American poet and illustrator (b. 1925)
    • 2001 – Joey Ramone, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
    • 2002 – Damon Knight, American author and critic (b. 1922)
    • 2002 – Byron White, American football player, lawyer, and jurist, 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (b. 1917)
    • 2004 – Mitsuteru Yokoyama, Japanese illustrator (b. 1934)
    • 2007 – Brant Parker, American illustrator (b. 1920)
    • 2008 – Krister Stendahl, Swedish bishop, theologian, and scholar (b. 1921)
    • 2009 – Clement Freud, German-English journalist, academic, and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – László Tisza, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (b. 1907)
    • 2009 – Salih Neftçi, Turkish economist and author (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Jack Herer, American author and activist (b. 1939)
    • 2010 – Michael Pataki, American actor and director (b. 1938)
    • 2011 – Vittorio Arrigoni, Italian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1975)
    • 2012 – Paul Bogart, American director and producer (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Dwayne Schintzius, American basketball player (b. 1968)
    • 2013 – Benjamin Fain, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Richard LeParmentier, American-English actor and screenwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Jean-François Paillard, French conductor (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – John Houbolt, American engineer and academic (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Eliseo Verón, Argentinian sociologist and academic (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Jonathan Crombie, Canadian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1966)
    • 2015 – Surya Bahadur Thapa, Nepalese politician, 24th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1928)
    • 2017 – Clifton James, American actor (b. 1920)
    • 2017 – Emma Morano, Italian supercentenarian, last person verified born in the 1800s (b. 1899)
    • 2018 – R. Lee Ermey, American actor (b. 1944)
    • 2018 – Vittorio Taviani, Italian film director and screenwriter (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on April 15

    • Christian feast day:
      • Abbo II of Metz
      • Father Damien (The Episcopal Church)
      • Hunna
      • Paternus of Avranches
      • April 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the Sun (North Korea)
    • Earliest day on which Sechseläuten can fall, while April 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in April. (Zürich)
    • Father Damien Day (Hawaii)
    • Hillsborough Disaster Memorial (Liverpool, England)
    • Jackie Robinson Day (United States)
    • National American Sign Language Day (United States)
    • One Boston Day (United States)
    • Poila Boishakh (Bengali New Year)
    • Tax Day, the official deadline for filing an individual tax return (or requesting an extension). (United States, Philippines)
    • Universal Day of Culture
    • World Art Day

  • March 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 845 – Paris is sacked by Viking raiders, probably under Ragnar Lodbrok, who collects a huge ransom in exchange for leaving.
    • 1430 – The Ottoman Empire under Murad II captures Thessalonica from the Republic of Venice.
    • 1461 – Battle of Towton: Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Edward IV of England, bringing a temporary stop to the Wars of the Roses.
    • 1500 – Cesare Borgia is given the title of Captain-General and Gonfalonier by his father Rodrigo Borgia after returning from his conquests in the Romagna.
    • 1549 – The city of Salvador da Bahia, the first capital of Brazil, is founded.
    • 1632 – Treaty of Saint-Germain is signed returning Quebec to French control after the English had seized it in 1629.
    • 1792 – King Gustav III of Sweden dies after being shot in the back at a midnight masquerade ball at Stockholm’s Royal Opera 13 days earlier. He is succeeded by Gustav IV Adolf.
    • 1806 – Construction is authorized of the Great National Pike, better known as the Cumberland Road, becoming the first United States federal highway.
    • 1809 – King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden abdicates after a coup d’état. At the Diet of Porvoo, Finland’s four Estates pledge allegiance to Alexander I of Russia, commencing the secession of the Grand Duchy of Finland from Sweden.
    • 1831 – Great Bosnian uprising: Bosniaks rebel against Turkey.
    • 1847 – Mexican–American War: United States forces led by General Winfield Scott take Veracruz after a siege.
    • 1849 – The United Kingdom annexes the Punjab.
    • 1857 – Sepoy Mangal Pandey of the 34th Regiment, Bengal Native Infantry mutinies against the East India Company’s rule in India and inspires the protracted Indian Rebellion of 1857, also known as the Sepoy Mutiny.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Federal forces under Major General Philip Sheridan move to flank Confederate forces under Robert E. Lee as the Appomattox Campaign begins.
    • 1867 – Queen Victoria gives Royal Assent to the British North America Act which establishes Canada on July 1.
    • 1871 – Royal Albert Hall is opened by Queen Victoria.
    • 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: Battle of Kambula: British forces defeat 20,000 Zulus.
    • 1882 – The Knights of Columbus is established.
    • 1886 – John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta.
    • 1911 – The M1911 .45 ACP pistol becomes the official U.S. Army side arm.
    • 1927 – Sunbeam 1000hp breaks the land speed record at Daytona Beach, Florida.
    • 1930 – Heinrich Brüning is appointed German Reichskanzler.
    • 1936 – Adolf Hitler receives 99% of the votes in the 1936 German parliamentary election and referendum.
    • 1941 – The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement goes into effect at 03:00 local time.
    • 1941 – World War II: British Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy forces defeat those of the Italian Regia Marina off the Peloponnesian coast of Greece in the Battle of Cape Matapan.
    • 1942 – The Bombing of Lübeck in World War II is the first major success for the RAF Bomber Command against Germany and a German city.
    • 1945 – World War II: Last day of V-1 flying bomb attacks on England.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German 4th Army is almost destroyed by the Soviet Red Army.
    • 1946 – Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, one of Mexico’s leading universities, is founded.
    • 1947 – Malagasy Uprising against French colonial rule in Madagascar.
    • 1951 – Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage.
    • 1957 – The New York, Ontario and Western Railway makes its final run, the first major U.S. railroad to be abandoned in its entirety.
    • 1961 – The Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, allowing residents of Washington, D.C., to vote in presidential elections.
    • 1962 – Arturo Frondizi, the president of Argentina, is overthrown in a military coup by Argentina’s armed forces, ending an 11​1⁄2 day constitutional crisis.
    • 1971 – My Lai Massacre: Lieutenant William Calley is convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life in prison.
    • 1973 – Vietnam War: The last United States combat soldiers leave South Vietnam.
    • 1973 – Operation Barrel Roll, a covert American bombing campaign in Laos to stop communist infiltration of South Vietnam, ends.
    • 1974 – NASA’s Mariner 10 becomes the first space probe to fly by Mercury.
    • 1974 – Terracotta Army was discovered in Shaanxi province, China.
    • 1982 – The Canada Act 1982 receives the Royal Assent from Queen Elizabeth II, setting the stage for the Queen of Canada to proclaim the Constitution Act, 1982.
    • 1984 – The Baltimore Colts load its possessions onto fifteen Mayflower moving trucks in the early morning hours and transfer its operations to Indianapolis.
    • 1990 – The Czechoslovak parliament is unable to reach an agreement on what to call the country after the fall of Communism, sparking the so-called Hyphen War.
    • 1993 – Catherine Callbeck becomes premier of Prince Edward Island and the first woman to be elected in a general election as premier of a Canadian province.
    • 1999 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above the 10,000 mark (10,006.78) for the first time, during the height of the dot-com bubble.
    • 1999 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake in India strikes the Chamoli district in Uttar Pradesh, killing 103.
    • 2002 – In reaction to the Passover massacre two days prior, Israel launches Operation Defensive Shield against Palestinian militants, its largest military operation in the West Bank since the 1967 Six-Day War.
    • 2004 – Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia join NATO as full members.
    • 2010 – Two suicide bombers hit the Moscow Metro system at the peak of the morning rush hour, killing 40.
    • 2013 – At least 36 people are killed when a 16-floor building collapses in the commercial capital Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
    • 2014 – The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales are performed.

    Births on March 29

    • 1001 – Sokkate, king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (d. 1044)
    • 1187 – Arthur I, Duke of Brittany (d. 1203)
    • 1373 – Marie d’Alençon, French princess (d. 1417)
    • 1517 – Carlo Carafa, Italian cardinal (d. 1561)
    • 1553 – Vitsentzos Kornaros, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1614)
    • 1561 – Santorio Santorio, Italian biologist (d. 1636)
    • 1584 – Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron, English general and politician (d. 1648)
    • 1602 – John Lightfoot, English priest, scholar, and academic (d. 1675)
    • 1620 – Edward Digges, English barrister and colonist
    • 1629 – Alexis of Russia, Tsar of Russia (d. 1676)
    • 1713 – John Ponsonby, Irish politician (d. 1789)
    • 1735 – Johann Karl August Musäus, German author (d. 1787)
    • 1747 – Johann Wilhelm Hässler, German pianist and composer (d. 1822)
    • 1769 – Nicolas Jean-de-Dieu Soult, French general and politician, 12th Prime Minister of France (d. 1851)
    • 1780 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish adventurer (d. 1841)
    • 1790 – John Tyler, American lawyer and politician, 10th President of the United States (d. 1862)
    • 1799 – Edward Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1869)
    • 1802 – Johann Moritz Rugendas, German landscape painter of Spanish America (d. 1858)
    • 1816 – 10th Dalai Lama (d. 1837)
    • 1824 – Ludwig Büchner, German physiologist, physician, and philosopher (d. 1899)
    • 1826 – Wilhelm Liebknecht, German journalist and politician (d. 1900)
    • 1862 – Adolfo Müller-Ury, Swiss-American painter (d. 1947)
    • 1863 – Walter James, Australian politician, 5th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1943)
    • 1867 – Cy Young, American baseball player and manager (d. 1955)
    • 1869 – Aleš Hrdlička, Czech-American anthropologist and scholar (d. 1943)
    • 1869 – Sir Edwin Lutyens, British architect (d. 1944)
    • 1870 – Pavlos Melas, French-Greek captain (d. 1904)
    • 1871 – Tom Hayward, English cricketer (d. 1939)
    • 1872 – Hal Colebatch, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1953)
    • 1873 – Tullio Levi-Civita, Jewish-Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
    • 1874 – Lou Henry Hoover, American wife of Herbert Hoover, 33rd First Lady of the United States (d. 1944)
    • 1876 – Friedrich Traun, German sprinter and tennis player (d. 1908)
    • 1884 – Ed Archibald, Canadian pole vaulter (d. 1965)
    • 1885 – Dezső Kosztolányi, Hungarian author and poet (d. 1936)
    • 1888 – Enea Bossi, Sr., Italian-American engineer, designed the Budd BB-1 Pioneer and Bossi-Bonomi Pedaliante (d. 1963)
    • 1889 – Warner Baxter, American actor (d. 1951)
    • 1889 – Howard Lindsay, American producer, playwright, librettist, director and actor (d. 1968)
    • 1890 – Bert Bliss, English international footballer, inside forward (d. 1968)
    • 1891 – Yvan Goll, French-German poet and playwright (d. 1950)
    • 1891 – Alfred Neubauer, Austrian race car driver and manager (d. 1980)
    • 1892 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (d. 1975)
    • 1893 – Astrid Holm, Danish actress (d. 1961)
    • 1895 – Ernst Jünger, German philosopher and author (d. 1998)
    • 1896 – Wilhelm Ackermann, German mathematician (d. 1962)
    • 1899 – Lavrentiy Beria, Georgian-Russian general and politician (d. 1953)
    • 1900 – Bill Aston, English race car driver (d. 1974)
    • 1900 – John McEwen, Australian farmer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1980)
    • 1902 – Marcel Aymé, French author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
    • 1902 – Don Miller, American football player and coach (d. 1979)
    • 1902 – William Walton, English composer (d. 1983)
    • 1903 – Douglas Harkness, Canadian colonel and politician, 14th Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 1999)
    • 1906 – James Bausch, American decathlete and football player (d. 1974)
    • 1907 – Braguinha, Brazilian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2006)
    • 1908 – Arthur O’Connell, American actor (d. 1981)
    • 1908 – Dennis O’Keefe, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
    • 1909 – Moon Mullican, American country and western singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1967)
    • 1912 – Hanna Reitsch, German soldier and pilot (d. 1979)
    • 1914 – Phil Foster, American actor (d. 1985)
    • 1914 – Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (d. 2014)
    • 1916 – Peter Geach, English philosopher and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1916 – Eugene McCarthy, American poet and politician (d. 2005)
    • 1917 – Tommy Holmes, American baseball player (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Pearl Bailey, American actress and singer (d. 1990)
    • 1918 – Lê Văn Thiêm, Vietnamese mathematician and academic (d. 1991)
    • 1918 – Sam Walton, American businessman, founded Walmart and Sam’s Club (d. 1992)
    • 1919 – Eileen Heckart, American actress (d. 2001)
    • 1920 – John M. Belk, American businessman and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – Clarke Fraser, American-Canadian geneticist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1920 – Pierre Moinot, French author (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – Theodore Trautwein, American lawyer and judge (d. 2000)
    • 1921 – Sam Loxton, Australian cricketer, footballer, and politician (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Geoff Duke, English-Manx motorcycle racer (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Betty Binns Fletcher, American lawyer and judge (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – Bob Haymes, American singer-songwriter, and actor (d. 1989)
    • 1926 – Moshe Sanbar, Hungarian-Israeli banker and economist (d. 2012)
    • 1927 – John McLaughlin, American journalist and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – John Vane, English pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
    • 1928 – Romesh Bhandari, Pakistani-Indian politician, 13th Foreign Secretary of India (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Keith Botsford, Belgian-American journalist, author, and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1928 – Vincent Gigante, American boxer and mobster (d. 2005)
    • 1929 – Sheila Kitzinger, English activist, author, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Richard Lewontin, American biologist, geneticist, and academic
    • 1929 – Lennart Meri, Estonian director and politician, 2nd President of Estonia (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Utpal Dutt, Indian Bengali actor, director and playwright (d. 1993)
    • 1930 – Anerood Jugnauth, Mauritian lawyer and politician, 4th President of Mauritius
    • 1931 – Ștefan Andrei, Romanian politician, 87th Romanian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Sopubek Begaliev, Kyrgyzstani economist and politician (d. 2002)
    • 1931 – Aleksei Gubarev, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Norman Tebbit, English journalist and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
    • 1933 – Jacques Brault, Canadian poet and academic
    • 1934 – Shahryar Khan, Indian-Pakistani politician and diplomat, 20th Foreign Secretary of Pakistan
    • 1936 – Richard Rodney Bennett, English-American composer and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1936 – Mogens Camre, Danish politician (d. 2016)
    • 1936 – John A. Durkin, American lawyer and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1936 – Judith Guest, American author and screenwriter
    • 1936 – Joseph P. Teasdale, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Missouri (d. 2014)
    • 1937 – Roberto Chabet, Filipino painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Smarck Michel, Haitian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Haiti (d. 2012)
    • 1937 – Gordon Milne, English footballer
    • 1938 – Bert de Vries, Dutch politician
    • 1939 – Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (d. 2008)
    • 1939 – Terence Hill, Italian actor, director, and producer
    • 1939 – Hanumant Singh, Indian cricketer (d. 2006)
    • 1940 – Ray Davis, American bass singer (d. 2005)
    • 1940 – Astrud Gilberto, Brazilian singer-songwriter
    • 1940 – John Suchet, English journalist and game show host
    • 1941 – Joseph Hooton Taylor Jr., American astrophysicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1942 – Bob Lurtsema, American football player
    • 1942 – Scott Wilson, American actor (d. 2018)
    • 1943 – Vangelis, Greek keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1943 – Chad Allan, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Eric Idle, English actor and comedian
    • 1943 – John Major, English banker and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
    • 1944 – Terry Jacks, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1944 – Denny McLain, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1944 – Lynne Segal, Australian-British feminist academic and activist
    • 1945 – Walt Frazier, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1945 – Speedy Keen, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2002)
    • 1946 – Billy Thorpe, English-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2007)
    • 1946 – Segun Bucknor, Nigerian musician and journalist (d. 2017)
    • 1947 – Inge Bödding, German sprinter
    • 1947 – Robert Gordon, American singer and actor
    • 1947 – Bobby Kimball, American singer-songwriter
    • 1948 – Bud Cort, American actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1948 – Piet Souer, Dutch record producer, songwriter and arranger
    • 1949 – Michael Brecker, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2007)
    • 1949 – Dave Greenfield, English musician (d. 2020)
    • 1949 – Pauline Marois, Canadian social worker and politician, 30th Premier of Quebec
    • 1949 – Keith Simpson, English historian and politician
    • 1951 – William Clarke, American harmonica player (d. 1996)
    • 1951 – Geoff Howarth, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1951 – Tina Monzon-Palma, Filipino journalist
    • 1952 – Rainer Bonhof, German footballer
    • 1952 – Russell Fairfax, Australian rugby player and coach
    • 1952 – John Hendricks, American businessman, founded Discovery Communications
    • 1952 – Teófilo Stevenson, Cuban boxer and engineer (d. 2012)
    • 1953 – Tõnis Palts, Estonian politician, 39th Mayor of Tallinn
    • 1955 – Earl Campbell, American football player
    • 1955 – Brendan Gleeson, Irish actor
    • 1955 – Marina Sirtis, British-American actress
    • 1956 – Patty Donahue, American singer (d. 1996)
    • 1957 – Elizabeth Hand, American author
    • 1957 – Christopher Lambert, American-born French actor
    • 1958 – Pedro Bial, Brazilian journalist and producer
    • 1958 – Travis Childers, American businessman and politician
    • 1958 – Nouriel Roubini, Turkish-American economist and academic
    • 1958 – Victor Salva, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Marc Silvestri, American publisher, founded Top Cow Productions
    • 1959 – Barry Blanchard, Canadian mountaineer
    • 1959 – Perry Farrell, American singer-songwriter
    • 1959 – Brad McCrimmon, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1960 – Wayne Pearce, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Gary Brabham, English-Australian race car driver
    • 1961 – Mike Kingery, American baseball player
    • 1961 – Amy Sedaris, American actress and comedian
    • 1961 – Michael Winterbottom, English director and producer
    • 1962 – Billy Beane, American baseball player and manager
    • 1962 – Ted Failon, Filipino journalist and politician
    • 1962 – Kirk Triplett, American golfer
    • 1964 – Catherine Cortez Masto, American attorney and politician
    • 1964 – Jill Goodacre, American model and actress
    • 1964 – Elle Macpherson, Australian model and actress
    • 1964 – Ming Tsai, American chef and television host
    • 1965 – Emilios T. Harlaftis, Greek astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (d. 2005)
    • 1965 – William Oefelein, American commander, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1965 – Voula Patoulidou, Greek hurdler, long jumper, and politician
    • 1966 – Krasimir Balakov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Jeroen Dijsselbloem, Dutch politician
    • 1966 – Eric Gunderson, American baseball player
    • 1966 – Sigrid Kirchmann, Austrian high jumper
    • 1967 – Ainars Bagatskis, Latvian basketball player and coach
    • 1967 – Michel Hazanavicius, French director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Brian Jordan, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Lucy Lawless, New Zealand actress
    • 1969 – Kim Batten, American hurdler
    • 1969 – Shinichi Mochizuki, Japanese mathematician
    • 1969 – Jimmy Spencer, American football player and coach
    • 1971 – Robert Gibbs, American political adviser, 28th White House Press Secretary
    • 1971 – Lara Logan, South African television and radio journalist and war correspondent
    • 1971 – Hidetoshi Nishijima, Japanese actor
    • 1972 – Rui Costa, Portuguese footballer
    • 1972 – Piet-Hein Geeris, Dutch field hockey player
    • 1972 – Alex Ochoa, Cuban-American baseball player and coach
    • 1972 – Priti Patel, British Indian politician, Secretary of State for the Home Department
    • 1973 – Marc Overmars, Dutch footballer and coach
    • 1973 – Sebastiano Siviglia, Italian footballer
    • 1973 – Steve Smith, English high jumper
    • 1974 – Miguel Gómez, Colombian-American photographer and educator
    • 1976 – Igor Astarloa, Spanish cyclist
    • 1976 – Jennifer Capriati, American tennis player
    • 1978 – Aaron Persico, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
    • 1980 – Bill Demong, American skier
    • 1980 – Bruno Silva, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1981 – Jlloyd Samuel, Trinidadian footballer (d. 2018)
    • 1982 – Jēkabs Rēdlihs, Latvian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Darius Draudvila, Lithuanian decathlete
    • 1984 – Juan Mónaco, Argentinian tennis player
    • 1985 – Fernando Amorebieta, Venezuelan international footballer, central defender
    • 1985 – Maxim Lapierre, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1985 – Mickey Pimentel, American football player
    • 1986 – Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, English footballer
    • 1986 – Ivan Ukhov, Russian high jumper
    • 1987 – Gianluca Freddi, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Dimitri Payet, French footballer
    • 1987 – Romain Hamouma, French footballer
    • 1988 – Esther Cremer, German runner
    • 1988 – Jesús Molina, Mexican footballer
    • 1988 – Jürgen Zopp, Estonian tennis player
    • 1989 – James Tomkins, English footballer
    • 1990 – Carlos Peña, Mexican footballer
    • 1990 – Teemu Pukki, Finnish footballer
    • 1990 – Lyle Taylor, English footballer
    • 1991 – Irene, South Korean idol, actress and television host
    • 1991 – Fabio Borini, Italian footballer
    • 1991 – N’Golo Kanté, French footballer
    • 1993 – Thorgan Hazard, Belgian footballer

    Deaths on March 29

    • 87 BC – Emperor Wu of Han of China (b. 157 BC)
    • AD 57 – Emperor Guangwu of Han (b. 5 BC)
    • 500 – Gwynllyw, Welsh king and religious figure
    • 1058 – Pope Stephen IX (b. 1020)
    • 1075 – Ottokar I of Styria, German noble
    • 1368 – Emperor Go-Murakami of Japan (b. 1328)
    • 1461 – Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, English politician (b. 1421)
    • 1461 – Lionel de Welles, 6th Baron Welles
    • 1467 – Matthew Palaiologos Asen, Byzantine aristocrat and official
    • 1578 – Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (b. 1527)
    • 1578 – Arthur Champernowne, English admiral and politician (b. 1524)
    • 1628 – Tobias Matthew, English archbishop and academic (b. 1546)
    • 1629 – Jacob de Gheyn II, Dutch painter and engraver (b. 1565)
    • 1692 – Nicolaus Bruhns, Danish-German organist, violinist, and composer (b. 1665)
    • 1703 – George Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, (b. 1678)
    • 1751 – Thomas Coram, English captain and philanthropist, founded Foundling Hospital (b. 1668)
    • 1772 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish astronomer, philosopher, and theologian (b. 1688)
    • 1788 – Charles Wesley, English missionary and poet (b. 1707)
    • 1792 – Gustav III of Sweden (b. 1746)
    • 1800 – Marc René, marquis de Montalembert, French general and engineer (b. 1714)
    • 1803 – Gottfried van Swieten, Dutch-Austrian librarian and diplomat (b. 1733)
    • 1826 – Johann Heinrich Voss, German poet, translator, and academic (b. 1751)
    • 1829 – Cornelio Saavedra, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1759)
    • 1848 – John Jacob Astor, German-American businessman (b. 1763)
    • 1855 – Henri Druey, Swiss politician, 2nd President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1799)
    • 1873 – Francesco Zantedeschi, Italian priest and physicist (b. 1797)
    • 1877 – Inazuma Raigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 7th Yokozuna (b. 1802)
    • 1888 – Charles-Valentin Alkan, French pianist and composer (b. 1813)
    • 1891 – John Plankinton, American businessman and industrialist, also noted for philanthropy (b. 1820)
    • 1891 – Georges Seurat, French painter (b. 1859)
    • 1900 – Cyrus K. Holliday, American businessman (b. 1826)
    • 1905 – William Plankinton, American businessman, industrialist and banker (b. 1843)
    • 1906 – Slava Raškaj, Croatian painter (b. 1878)
    • 1911 – Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (b. 1837)
    • 1912 – Henry Robertson Bowers, Scottish lieutenant and explorer (b. 1883)
    • 1912 – Robert Falcon Scott, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1868)
    • 1912 – Edward Adrian Wilson, English physician and explorer (b. 1872)
    • 1924 – Charles Villiers Stanford, Irish composer and conductor (b. 1852)
    • 1934 – Otto Hermann Kahn, German-American banker and philanthropist (b. 1867)
    • 1937 – Karol Szymanowski, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1882)
    • 1940 – Alexander Obolensky, Russian-English rugby player and soldier (b. 1916)
    • 1948 – Harry Price, English parapsychologist and author (b. 1881)
    • 1957 – Joyce Cary, Anglo-Irish novelist (b. 1888)
    • 1959 – Barthélemy Boganda, African priest and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1910)
    • 1963 – Gaspard Fauteux, Canadian dentist and politician, 19th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1898)
    • 1963 – August Rei, Estonian soldier, journalist, and politician, 12th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1886)
    • 1970 – Anna Louise Strong, American journalist and author (b. 1885)
    • 1971 – Dhirendranath Datta, Pakistani lawyer and politician (b. 1886)
    • 1972 – J. Arthur Rank, English businessman, founded Rank Organisation (b. 1888)
    • 1980 – Mantovani, Italian-English conductor and composer (b. 1905)
    • 1981 – Eric Williams, Trinidadian historian and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1911)
    • 1982 – Walter Hallstein, German academic and politician, 1st President of the European Commission (b. 1901)
    • 1982 – Carl Orff, German composer and educator (b. 1895)
    • 1982 – Nathan Farragut Twining, American general (b. 1897)
    • 1985 – Luther Terry, American physician and academic, 9th Surgeon General of the United States (b. 1911)
    • 1988 – Maurice Blackburn, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Ted Kluszewski, American baseball player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 1991 – Guy Bourdin, French photographer (b. 1928)
    • 1992 – Paul Henreid, American actor (b. 1908)
    • 1994 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
    • 1995 – Mort Meskin, American illustrator (b. 1916)
    • 1995 – Terry Moore, American baseball player and coach (b. 1912)
    • 1996 – Frank Daniel, Czech-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 1996 – Bill Goldsworthy, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1944)
    • 1997 – Hans-Walter Eigenbrodt, German footballer and coach (b. 1935)
    • 1999 – Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian footballer (b. 1915)
    • 1999 – Joe Williams, American jazz singer (b. 1918)
    • 2001 – Helge Ingstad, Norwegian lawyer, academic, and explorer (b. 1899)
    • 2001 – John Lewis, American pianist and composer (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Carlo Urbani, Italian physician and microbiologist (b. 1956)
    • 2004 – Lise de Baissac, Mauritian-born SOE agent, war hero (b. 1905)
    • 2004 – Joel Feinberg, American philosopher and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2005 – Miltos Sachtouris, Greek poet and author (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – Salvador Elizondo, Mexican author and poet (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – Larry L’Estrange, English rugby player and soldier (b. 1934)
    • 2009 – Vladimir Fedotov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1943)
    • 2009 – Andy Hallett, American actor and singer (b. 1975)
    • 2011 – Ângelo de Sousa, Portuguese painter and sculptor (b. 1938)
    • 2011 – Iakovos Kambanellis, Greek author, poet, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Pap Cheyassin Secka, Gambian lawyer and politician (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Bill Jenkins, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Reginald Gray, Irish-French painter (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Brian Huggins, English-Canadian journalist and actor (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Liu Kang, Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1961)
    • 2013 – Ralph Klein, Canadian journalist and politician, 12th Premier of Alberta (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Art Phillips, Canadian businessman and politician, 32nd Mayor of Vancouver (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Marc Platt, American actor and dancer (b. 1913)
    • 2014 – Ruth A. M. Schmidt, American geologist and paleontologist (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – William Delafield Cook, Australian-English painter (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Gerry Hardstaff, English cricketer (b. 1940)
    • 2016 – Patty Duke, American actress (b. 1946)
    • 2017 – Alexei Alexeyevich Abrikosov, Russian physicist (b. 1928)
    • 2019 – Agnès Varda, French film director (b. 1928)

    Holidays and observances on March 29

    • Christian feast day:
      • Berthold
      • Eustace of Luxeuil
      • Gwladys
      • Gwynllyw
      • Hans Nielsen Hauge (Lutheran)
      • John Keble (commemoration, Anglicanism)
      • March 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which the Octave Day of Easter can fall, while May 2 is the latest; observed on the Sunday after Easter. (Christianity)
    • Boganda Day (Central African Republic)
    • Commemoration of the 1947 Rebellion (Madagascar)
    • National Vietnam War Veterans Day (United States of America)
    • Day of the Young Combatant (Chile)
    • Youth Day (Taiwan)

  • March 17- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 45 BC – In his last victory, Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger in the Battle of Munda.
    • 180 – Commodus becomes sole emperor of the Roman Empire at the age of eighteen, following the death of his father, Marcus Aurelius.
    • 455 – Petronius Maximus becomes, with support of the Roman Senate, emperor of the Western Roman Empire; he forces Licinia Eudoxia, the widow of his predecessor, Valentinian III, to marry him.
    • 1001 – The Raja of Butuan in what is now the Philippines sends a tributary mission to the Song dynasty.
    • 1337 – Edward, the Black Prince is made Duke of Cornwall, the first Duchy in England.
    • 1452 – The Battle of Los Alporchones is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the Emirate of Granada and the combined forces of the Kingdom of Castile and Murcia resulting in a Christian victory.
    • 1560 – Fort Coligny on Villegagnon Island in Rio de Janeiro is attacked and destroyed during the Portuguese campaign against France Antarctique.
    • 1677 – The Siege of Valenciennes, during the Franco-Dutch War, ends with France’s taking of the city.
    • 1776 – American Revolution: The British Army evacuates Boston, ending the Siege of Boston, after George Washington and Henry Knox place artillery in positions overlooking the city.
    • 1780 – American Revolution: George Washington grants the Continental Army a holiday “as an act of solidarity with the Irish in their fight for independence”.
    • 1805 – The Italian Republic, with Napoleon as president, becomes the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon as King of Italy.
    • 1824 – The Anglo-Dutch Treaty is signed in London, dividing the Malay archipelago. As a result, the Malay Peninsula is dominated by the British, while Sumatra and Java and surrounding areas are dominated by the Dutch.
    • 1842 – The Relief Society of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is formed.
    • 1852 – Annibale De Gasparis discovers in Naples the asteroid Psyche from the north dome of the Astronomical Observatory of Capodimonte
    • 1860 – The First Taranaki War begins in Taranaki, New Zealand, a major phase of the New Zealand Wars.
    • 1861 – The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed.
    • 1891 – SS Utopia collides with HMS Anson in the Bay of Gibraltar and sinks, killing 562 of the 880 passengers on board.
    • 1921 – The Second Polish Republic adopts the March Constitution.
    • 1939 – Second Sino-Japanese War: Battle of Nanchang between the Kuomintang and Japan begins.
    • 1941 – In Washington, D.C., the National Gallery of Art is officially opened by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    • 1942 – Holocaust: The first Jews from the Lvov Ghetto are gassed at the Belzec death camp in what is today eastern Poland.
    • 1945 – The Ludendorff Bridge in Remagen, Germany, collapses, ten days after its capture.
    • 1947 – First flight of the B-45 Tornado strategic bomber.
    • 1948 – Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Brussels, a precursor to the North Atlantic Treaty establishing NATO.
    • 1950 – Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley announce the creation of element 98, which they name “californium”.
    • 1957 – A plane crash in Cebu, Philippines kills Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay and 24 others.
    • 1958 – The United States launches the first solar-powered satellite.
    • 1960 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the National Security Council directive on the anti-Cuban covert action program that will ultimately lead to the Bay of Pigs Invasion.
    • 1963 – Mount Agung erupted on Bali killing more than 1,100 people.
    • 1966 – Off the coast of Spain in the Mediterranean, the DSV Alvin submarine finds a missing American hydrogen bomb.
    • 1968 – As a result of nerve gas testing by the U.S. Army Chemical Corps in Skull Valley, Utah, over 6,000 sheep are found dead.
    • 1969 – Golda Meir becomes the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
    • 1973 – The Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family, which came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
    • 1979 – The Penmanshiel Tunnel collapses during engineering works, killing two workers.
    • 1985 – Serial killer Richard Ramirez, aka the “Night Stalker”, commits the first two murders in his Los Angeles murder spree.
    • 1988 – A Colombian Boeing 727 jetliner, Avianca Flight 410, crashes into a mountainside near the Venezuelan border killing 143.
    • 1988 – Eritrean War of Independence: The Nadew Command, an Ethiopian army corps in Eritrea, is attacked on three sides by military units of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front in the opening action of the Battle of Afabet.
    • 1992 – Israeli Embassy attack in Buenos Aires: Car bomb attack kills 29 and injures 242.
    • 1992 – A referendum to end apartheid in South Africa is passed 68.7% to 31.2%.
    • 2000 – Five hundred and thirty members of the Ugandan cult Movement for the Restoration of the Ten Commandments of God die in a fire, considered to be a mass murder or suicide orchestrated by leaders of the cult. Elsewhere another 248 members are later found dead.
    • 2003 – Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook, resigns from the British Cabinet in disagreement with government plans for the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
    • 2004 – Unrest in Kosovo: More than 22 are killed and 200 wounded. Thirty-five Serbian Orthodox shrines in Kosovo and two mosques in Serbia are destroyed.

    Births on March 17

    • 763 – Harun al-Rashid, Abbasid caliph (d. 809)
    • 1231 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (d. 1242)
    • 1473 – James IV of Scotland (d. 1513)
    • 1523 – Giovanni Francesco Commendone, Catholic cardinal (d. 1584)
    • 1537 – Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Japanese daimyō (d. 1598)
    • 1611 – Robert Douglas, Count of Skenninge, Swedish field marshal (d. 1662)
    • 1665 – Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre, French harpsichord player and composer (d. 1729)
    • 1676 – Thomas Boston, Scottish philosopher and theologian (d. 1732)
    • 1686 – Jean-Baptiste Oudry, French painter and engraver (d. 1755)
    • 1725 – Lachlan McIntosh, Scottish-American general and politician (d. 1806)
    • 1777 – Patrick Brontë, Irish-English priest and author (d. 1861)
    • 1777 – Roger B. Taney, American politician and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1864)
    • 1780 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish minister, economist, and educator (d. 1847)
    • 1781 – Ebenezer Elliott, English poet and educator (d. 1849)
    • 1804 – Jim Bridger, American fur trader and explorer (d. 1881)
    • 1806 – Norbert Rillieux, African American inventor and chemical engineer (d. 1894)
    • 1820 – Jean Ingelow, English poet and author (d. 1897)
    • 1834 – Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (d. 1900)
    • 1839 – Josef Rheinberger, Liechtensteiner-German organist and composer (d. 1901)
    • 1846 – Kate Greenaway, English author and illustrator (d. 1901)
    • 1849 – Charles F. Brush, American businessman and philanthropist, co-invented the Arc lamp (d. 1929)
    • 1849 – Cornelia Clapp, American marine biologist (d. 1934)
    • 1856 – Mikhail Vrubel, Russian painter (d. 1910)
    • 1862 – Silvio Gesell, Belgian merchant and economist (d. 1930)
    • 1864 – Joseph Baptista, Indian engineer, lawyer, and politician (d. 1930)
    • 1866 – Pierce Butler, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1939)
    • 1867 – Patrice Contamine de Latour, Spanish poet (d. 1926)
    • 1877 – Edith New, British militant suffragette (d. 1951)
    • 1877 – Otto Gross, Austrian-German psychoanalyst and philosopher (d. 1920)
    • 1880 – Patrick Hastings, English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1952)
    • 1880 – Lawrence Oates, English lieutenant and explorer (d. 1912)
    • 1881 – Walter Rudolf Hess, Swiss physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
    • 1884 – Alcide Nunez, American clarinet player (d. 1934)
    • 1885 – Ralph Rose, American track and field athlete (d. 1913)
    • 1886 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (d. 1974)
    • 1888 – Paul Ramadier, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1961)
    • 1889 – Harry Clarke, Irish stained-glass artist and book illustrator (d. 1931)
    • 1891 – Ross McLarty, Australian politician, 17th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1962)
    • 1892 – Sayed Darwish, Egyptian singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1923)
    • 1894 – Paul Green, American playwright and academic (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Lloyd Rees, Australian painter (d. 1988)
    • 1901 – Alfred Newman, American composer and conductor (d. 1970)
    • 1902 – Bobby Jones, American golfer and lawyer (d. 1971)
    • 1904 – Chaim Gross, Austrian-American sculptor and educator (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Brigitte Helm, German-Swiss actress (d. 1996)
    • 1907 – Jean Van Houtte, Belgian academic and politician, 50th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1991)
    • 1907 – Takeo Miki, Japanese politician, 41st Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1988)
    • 1910 – Sonny Werblin, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1991)
    • 1912 – Bayard Rustin, American activist (d. 1987)
    • 1914 – Sammy Baugh, American football player and coach (d. 2008)
    • 1915 – Robert S. Arbib Jr., American ornithologist, writer and conservationist (d. 1987)
    • 1915 – Ray Ellington, English drummer and bandleader (d. 1985)
    • 1915 – Bill Roycroft, Australian equestrian rider (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Nat King Cole, American singer, pianist, and television host (d. 1965)
    • 1920 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladeshi politician, 1st President of Bangladesh (d. 1975)
    • 1921 – Meir Amit, Israeli general and politician, 12th Israeli Minister of Communications (d. 2009)
    • 1922 – Patrick Suppes, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Stephen Dodgson, English composer and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian actor (d. 2015)
    • 1926 – Siegfried Lenz, Polish-German author and playwright (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – Betty Allen, American soprano and educator (d. 2009)
    • 1928 – William John McKeag, Canadian businessman and politician, 17th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Paul Horn, American-Canadian flute player and saxophonist (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – James Irwin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1991)
    • 1931 – Patricia Breslin, American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1931 – David Peakall, English-American chemist and toxicologist (d. 2001)
    • 1933 – Myrlie Evers-Williams, American journalist and activist
    • 1933 – Penelope Lively, English author
    • 1935 – Fred T. Mackenzie, American biologist and academic
    • 1935 – Adam Wade, American singer, drummer, and actor
    • 1936 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Ladislav Kupkovič, Slovakian composer and conductor (d. 2016)
    • 1936 – Ken Mattingly, American admiral, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1937 – Galina Samsova, Russian ballerina
    • 1938 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (d. 1993)
    • 1938 – Keith O’Brien, Northern Ireland-born Scottish cleric, theologian, and cardinal (d. 2018)
    • 1938 – Zola Taylor, American singer (d. 2007)
    • 1939 – Jim Gary, American sculptor (d. 2006)
    • 1939 – Bill Graham, Canadian academic and politician, 4th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1939 – Robin Knox-Johnston, English sailor and first person to perform a single-handed non-stop circumnavigation of the globe
    • 1939 – Giovanni Trapattoni, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1940 – Mark White, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Texas (d. 2017)
    • 1941 – Wang Jin-pyng, Taiwanese soldier and politician
    • 1941 – Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
    • 1941 – Max Stafford-Clark, English director and academic
    • 1942 – John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer and rapist (d. 1994)
    • 1943 – Jeff Banks, Welsh fashion designer
    • 1943 – Andrew Brook, Canadian philosopher, author, and academic
    • 1944 – Pattie Boyd, English model, author, and photographer
    • 1944 – Cito Gaston, American baseball player and manager
    • 1944 – John Sebastian, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1945 – Michael Hayden, American general, 20th Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
    • 1947 – Dennis Bond, English footballer, midfielder
    • 1947 – Yury Chernavsky, Russian-American songwriter and producer
    • 1948 – William Gibson, American-Canadian author and screenwriter
    • 1948 – Alex MacDonald, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1949 – Patrick Duffy, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1949 – Pat Rice, Irish footballer and coach
    • 1949 – Stuart Rose, English businessman
    • 1951 – Scott Gorham, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Craig Ramsay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1951 – Kurt Russell, American actor and producer
    • 1952 – Barry Horne, English activist (d. 2001)
    • 1953 – Filemon Lagman, Filipino activist (d. 2001)
    • 1953 – Chuck Muncie, American football player (d. 2013)
    • 1954 – Lesley-Anne Down, English actress
    • 1955 – Cynthia McKinney, American activist and politician
    • 1955 – Paul Overstreet, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1955 – Gary Sinise, American actor, director, and bass player
    • 1956 – Patrick McDonnell, American author and illustrator
    • 1956 – Rory McGrath, British comedian, television personality, and writer
    • 1957 – Michael Kelly, American journalist and author (d. 2003)
    • 1958 – Christian Clemenson, American actor
    • 1959 – Danny Ainge, American baseball and basketball player
    • 1959 – Paul Black, American singer-songwriter and drummer
    • 1960 – Arye Gross, American actor
    • 1960 – Vicki Lewis, American actress and singer
    • 1961 – Sam Bowie, American basketball player
    • 1961 – Dana Reeve, American actress, singer, and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1961 – Casey Siemaszko, American actor
    • 1962 – Carsten Almqvist, Swedish business executive
    • 1962 – Ank Bijleveld, Dutch politician
    • 1962 – Janet Gardner, American singer and guitarist
    • 1962 – Clare Grogan, Scottish singer and actress
    • 1962 – Rob Sitch, Australian actor, director, and producer
    • 1963 – Roger Harper, Guyanese cricketer and coach
    • 1964 – Stefano Borgonovo, Italian footballer (d. 2013)
    • 1964 – Lee Dixon, English footballer and journalist
    • 1964 – Rob Lowe, American actor and producer
    • 1964 – Jacques Songo’o, Cameroonian footballer and coach
    • 1965 – Andrew Hudson, South African cricketer
    • 1966 – Andrew Rosindell, English journalist and politician
    • 1967 – Jason Alchin, Australian rugby league player
    • 1967 – Billy Corgan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, pianist, and producer
    • 1967 – Barry Minkow, American pastor and businessman
    • 1968 – Eri Nitta, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1968 – Mathew St. Patrick, American actor and producer
    • 1969 – Edgar Grospiron, French skier
    • 1969 – Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founded own eponymous brand (d. 2010)
    • 1970 – Patrick Lebeau, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1970 – Gene Ween, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1971 – Bill Mueller, American baseball player and coach
    • 1972 – Melissa Auf der Maur, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1972 – Torquil Campbell, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1972 – Mia Hamm, American soccer player
    • 1973 – Rico Blanco, Filipino singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
    • 1973 – Caroline Corr, Irish singer and drummer
    • 1973 – Vance Wilson, American baseball player and manager
    • 1974 – Mark Dolan, English comedian and television host
    • 1975 – Justin Hawkins, English singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Puneeth Rajkumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer
    • 1975 – Test, Canadian-American wrestler (d. 2009)
    • 1975 – Natalie Zea, American actress
    • 1976 – Scott Downs, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Stephen Gately, Irish singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2009)
    • 1976 – Álvaro Recoba, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1977 – Tamar Braxton, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1978 – Zachery Kouwe, American journalist
    • 1979 – Stormy Daniels, born Stephanie Gregory, American adult film actress
    • 1979 – Andrew Ference, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Stephen Kramer Glickman, Canadian-American actor, director, producer, and fashion designer
    • 1979 – Samoa Joe, American professional wrestler
    • 1980 – Danny Califf, American soccer player
    • 1980 – Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, Pakistani tennis player
    • 1981 – Aaron Baddeley, American-Australian golfer
    • 1981 – Servet Çetin, Turkish footballer
    • 1981 – Kyle Korver, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Nicky Jam, American-Puerto-Rican singer and songwriter
    • 1982 – Steven Pienaar, South African footballer
    • 1983 – James Heath, English golfer
    • 1983 – Raul Meireles, Portuguese footballer
    • 1983 – Attila Vajda, Hungarian sprint canoeist
    • 1984 – Ryan Rottman, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1985 – Tuğba Karademir, Turkish-Canadian figure skater
    • 1986 – Chris Davis, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Edin Džeko, Bosnian footballer
    • 1986 – Miles Kane, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1986 – Silke Spiegelburg, German pole vaulter
    • 1987 – Federico Fazio, Argentinian international footballer, centre backland rugby league player
    • 1987 – Ryan Parent, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Bobby Ryan, American ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Emmanuel Sanders, American football player
    • 1988 – Rasmus Elm, Swedish footballer
    • 1988 – Fraser Forster, English footballer
    • 1988 – Grimes, Canadian artist, musician and music video director
    • 1988 – Ryan White, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Shinji Kagawa, Japanese footballer
    • 1990 – Hozier, Irish singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1990 – Saina Nehwal, Indian badminton player
    • 1991 – Jack De Belin, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Patrick Cantlay, American golfer
    • 1992 – John Boyega, English actor
    • 1993 – Matteo Bianchetti, Italian footballer
    • 1994 – Dean Britt, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Ashley Taylor, Australian rugby league player
    • 1997 – Katie Ledecky, American swimmer

    Deaths on March 17

    • 45 BC – Titus Labienus, Roman general (b. 100 BC)
    • 45 BC – Publius Attius Varus, Roman governor of Africa
    • 180 – Marcus Aurelius, Roman emperor (b. 121)
    • 624 – Amr ibn Hishām, Arab polytheist
    • 659 – Gertrude of Nivelles, Frankish abbess
    • 836 – Haito, bishop of Basel
    • 905 – Li Yu, Prince of De, prince and emperor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 1008 – Kazan, emperor of Japan (b. 968)
    • 1040 – Harold Harefoot, king of England
    • 1058 – Lulach, king of Scotland
    • 1199 – Jocelin of Glasgow, Scottish monk and bishop (b. 1130)
    • 1267 – Pierre de Montreuil, French architect
    • 1270 – Philip of Montfort, French knight and nobleman
    • 1272 – Go-Saga, emperor of Japan (b. 1220)
    • 1361 – An-Nasir Hasan, Mamluk sultan of Egypt
    • 1394 – Louis of Enghien, French nobleman
    • 1406 – Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian sociologist, historian, and scholar (b. 1332)
    • 1425 – Ashikaga Yoshikazu, Japanese shōgun (b. 1407)
    • 1516 – Giuliano de’ Medici, Italian nobleman (b. 1479)
    • 1527 – Rana Sanga, Indian ruler (b. 1482)
    • 1565 – Alexander Ales, Scottish theologian and academic (b. 1500)
    • 1611 – Sophia of Sweden, duchess of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1547)
    • 1620 – John Sarkander, Polish-Moravian priest and saint (b. 1576)
    • 1640 – Philip Massinger, English playwright (b. 1583)
    • 1649 – Gabriel Lalemant, French missionary and saint (b. 1610)
    • 1663 – Jerome Weston, 2nd Earl of Portland, English diplomat (b. 1605)
    • 1680 – François de La Rochefoucauld, French author (b. 1613)
    • 1704 – Menno van Coehoorn, Dutch soldier and engineer (b. 1641)
    • 1715 – Gilbert Burnet, Scottish bishop and historian (b. 1643)
    • 1741 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet and playwright (b. 1671)
    • 1764 – George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, English astronomer and politician (b. 1695)
    • 1782 – Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-Swiss mathematician and physicist (b. 1700)
    • 1828 – James Edward Smith, English botanist and entomologist (b. 1759)
    • 1829 – Sophia Albertina, princess-abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1753)
    • 1830 – Laurent de Gouvion Saint-Cyr, French general and politician (b. 1764)
    • 1846 – Friedrich Bessel, German astronomer, mathematician, and physicist (b. 1784)
    • 1849 – William II, Dutch sovereign prince and king (b. 1792)
    • 1853 – Christian Doppler, Austrian physicist and mathematician (b. 1803)
    • 1871 – Robert Chambers, Scottish geologist and publisher, co-founded Chambers Harrap (b. 1802)
    • 1875 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1832)
    • 1893 – Jules Ferry, French lawyer and politician, 44th Prime Minister of France (b. 1832)
    • 1917 – Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (b. 1838)
    • 1926 – Aleksei Brusilov, Georgian-Russian general (b. 1853)
    • 1937 – Austen Chamberlain, English politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1863)
    • 1940 – Philomène Belliveau, Canadian artist (b. 1854)
    • 1946 – Dai Li, Chinese general (b. 1897)
    • 1949 – Aleksandra Ekster, Russian-French painter and set designer (b. 1882)
    • 1956 – Fred Allen, American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and author (b. 1894)
    • 1956 – Irène Joliot-Curie, French physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
    • 1957 – Ramon Magsaysay, Filipino captain and politician, 7th President of the Philippines (b. 1907)
    • 1958 – John Pius Boland, Irish tennis player and politician (b. 1870)
    • 1958 – Bertha De Vriese, Belgian physician (b. 1877)
    • 1961 – Susanna M. Salter, American activist and politician (b. 1860)
    • 1965 – Amos Alonzo Stagg, American football player and coach (b. 1862)
    • 1974 – Louis Kahn, American architect and academic, designed Jatiyo Sangsad Bhaban (b. 1901)
    • 1976 – Luchino Visconti, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1906)
    • 1981 – Paul Dean, American baseball player (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Haldan Keffer Hartline, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1983 – Louisa E. Rhine, American botanist and parapsychologist (b. 1891)
    • 1986 – Clarence D. Lester, African-American fighter pilot (b.1923)
    • 1990 – Capucine, French model and actress (b. 1928)
    • 1992 – Grace Stafford, American actress (b. 1903)
    • 1993 – Helen Hayes, American actress (b. 1900)
    • 1994 – Mai Zetterling, Swedish-English actress and director (b. 1925)
    • 1996 – René Clément, French director and screenwriter (b. 1913)
    • 1996 – Terry Stafford, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
    • 1997 – Jermaine Stewart, American singer-songwriter and dancer (b. 1957)
    • 1999 – Ernest Gold, Austrian-American composer (b. 1921)
    • 1999 – Jean Pierre-Bloch, French activist (b. 1905)
    • 2002 – Rosetta LeNoire, American actress and producer (b. 1911)
    • 2002 – Văn Tiến Dũng, Vietnamese general and politician, 6th Minister of Defence for Vietnam (b. 1917)
    • 2002 – Sylvester “Pat” Weaver, American television broadcaster and producer (b. 1908)
    • 2005 – Royce Frith, Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat, Canadian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – George F. Kennan, American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (b. 1904)
    • 2005 – Andre Norton, American author (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Oleg Cassini, French-American fashion designer (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – Ray Meyer, American basketball player and coach (b. 1913)
    • 2006 – İstemihan Taviloğlu, Turkish composer and educator (b. 1945)
    • 2007 – John Backus, American mathematician and computer scientist, designed Fortran (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Roger Bennett, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1959)
    • 2008 – Roland Arnall, French-American businessman and diplomat, 63rd United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (b. 1939)
    • 2009 – Clodovil Hernandes, Brazilian television host and politician (b. 1937)
    • 2010 – Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1950)
    • 2010 – Sid Fleischman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – Michael Gough, English actor (b. 1916)
    • 2011 – Ferlin Husky, American country music singer (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Shenouda III, pope of Alexandria (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Margaret Whitlam, Australian swimmer and author (b. 1919)
    • 2013 – William B. Caldwell III, American general (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Lawrence Fuchs, American scholar and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – A.B.C. Whipple, American journalist and historian (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Marek Galiński, Polish cyclist (b. 1974)
    • 2014 – Joseph Kerman, American musicologist and critic (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Rachel Lambert Mellon, American gardener, philanthropist, art collector and political patron (b. 1910)
    • 2015 – Frank Perris, Canadian motorcycle racer (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Meir Dagan, Israeli general (b. 1945)
    • 2016 – Zoltán Kamondi, Hungarian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1960)
    • 2018 – Mike MacDonald, Canadian comedian (b. 1954)
    • 2018 – Phan Văn Khải, the fifth Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1933)

    Holidays and observances on March 17

    • Children’s Day (Bangladesh)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexius of Rome (Eastern Church)
      • Gertrude of Nivelles
      • John Sarkander
      • Joseph of Arimathea (Western Church)
      • Patrick of Ireland
      • March 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Evacuation Day (Suffolk County, Massachusetts)
    • Saint Patrick’s Day, a public holiday in Ireland, Montserrat and the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, widely celebrated in the English-speaking world and to a lesser degree in other parts of the world.

  • January 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 532 – The Nika riots break out, during the racing season at the Hippodrome in Constantinople, as a result of discontent with the rule of the Emperor Justinian I.
    • 1435 – Sicut Dudum, forbidding the enslavement of the Guanche natives in Canary Islands by the Spanish, is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV.
    • 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, is sentenced to death for treason, on the grounds of having quartered his arms to make them similar to those of the King, Henry VIII of England.
    • 1793 – Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville, representative of Revolutionary France, lynched by a mob in Rome
    • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany ends with the French vessel running aground, resulting in over 900 deaths.
    • 1815 – War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state.
    • 1822 – The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
    • 1833 – United States President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina’s defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
    • 1840 – The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
    • 1842 – Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
    • 1847 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican–American War in California.
    • 1849 – Establishment of the Colony of Vancouver Island.
    • 1849 – Second Anglo-Sikh War – Battle of Chillianwala: British forces retreat from the Sikhs.
    • 1879 – In Mozart Gardens Brooklyn Ada Anderson completed a great feat of pedestrianism – 2700 quarter miles in 2700 quarter hours, earning her $8000.
    • 1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.
    • 1893 – The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom holds its first meeting.
    • 1893 – U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
    • 1895 – First Italo-Ethiopian War: the war’s opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory.
    • 1898 – Émile Zola’s J’accuse…! exposes the Dreyfus affair.
    • 1908 – The Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people.
    • 1910 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the operas Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci are sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
    • 1915 – The 6.7 Mw  Avezzano earthquake shakes the Province of L’Aquila in Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 29,978–32,610.
    • 1920 – The Reichstag Bloodbath of January 13, 1920, the bloodiest demonstration in German history.
    • 1935 – A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
    • 1939 – The Black Friday bushfires burn 20,000 square kilometers of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
    • 1942 – Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
    • 1942 – World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
    • 1950 – British submarine HMS Truculent collides with an oil tanker in the Thames Estuary, killing 64 men.
    • 1950 – Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
    • 1951 – First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins.
    • 1953 – An article appears in Pravda accusing some of the most prestigious and prominent doctors, mostly Jews, in the Soviet Union of taking part in a vast plot to poison members of the top Soviet political and military leadership.
    • 1958 – The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
    • 1963 – Coup d’état in Togo results in the assassination of president Sylvanus Olympio.
    • 1964 – Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, resulting in 100 deaths.
    • 1964 – In Manchester, New Hampshire, fourteen-year-old Pamela Mason is murdered. Edward Coolidge is tried and convicted of the crime, but the conviction is set aside by the landmark Fourth Amendment case Coolidge v. New Hampshire (1971).
    • 1966 – Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
    • 1968 – Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison.
    • 1972 – Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
    • 1978 – United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled “paid” or “volunteer” donors.
    • 1982 – Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet, crashes into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists.
    • 1985 – A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
    • 1986 – A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
    • 1988 – Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China.
    • 1990 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
    • 1991 – Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1000 others.
    • 1993 – Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
    • 1993 – The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is signed.
    • 1998 – Alfredo Ormando sets himself on fire in St. Peter’s Square, protesting against homophobia.
    • 2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
    • 2012 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino’s negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.
    • 2018 – A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii caused widespread panic in the state.
    • 2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines spews lava fountains while erupting in the crater.

    Births on January 13

    • 5 BC – Guangwu of Han, Chinese emperor (d. 57)
    • 101 – Lucius Aelius, Roman adopted son of Hadrian (d. 138)
    • 915 – Al-Hakam II, Umayyad caliph (d. 976)
    • 1334 – Henry II, king of Castile and León (d. 1379)
    • 1338 – Jeong Mong-ju, Korean civil minister, diplomat and scholar (d. 1392)
    • 1400 – Infante John, Constable of Portugal (d. 1442)
    • 1477 – Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland (d. 1527)
    • 1505 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1571)
    • 1562 – Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet and soldier (d. 1601)
    • 1596 – Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter and illustrator (d. 1656)
    • 1610 – Maria Anna of Bavaria, archduchess of Austria (d. 1665)
    • 1616 – Antoinette Bourignon, French-Flemish mystic and author (d. 1680)
    • 1651 – Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English soldier and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1694)
    • 1683 – Christoph Graupner, German harpsichord player and composer (d. 1760)
    • 1720 – Richard Hurd, English bishop (d. 1808)
    • 1749 – Maler Müller, German poet, painter, and playwright (d. 1825)
    • 1787 – John Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1854)
    • 1804 – Paul Gavarni, French illustrator (d. 1866)
    • 1805 – Thomas Dyer, American lawyer and politician, 18th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
    • 1808 – Salmon P. Chase, American jurist and politician, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1873)
    • 1810 – Ernestine Rose, American suffragist, abolitionist, and freethinker (d. 1892)
    • 1812 – Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (d. 1883)
    • 1832 – Horatio Alger, Jr., American novelist and journalist (d. 1899)
    • 1845 – Félix Tisserand, French astronomer and academic (d. 1896)
    • 1858 – Oskar Minkowski, Lithuanian-German biologist and academic (d. 1931)
    • 1859 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1943)
    • 1861 – Max Nonne, German neurologist and academic (d. 1959)
    • 1864 – Wilhelm Wien, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
    • 1865 – Princess Marie of Orléans (d. 1908)
    • 1866 – Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian bassoon player and composer (d. 1901)
    • 1866 – George Gurdjieff, Russian-French mystic and philosopher (d. 1949)
    • 1869 – Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta (d. 1931)
    • 1870 – Ross Granville Harrison, American biologist and anatomist (d. 1959)
    • 1878 – Lionel Groulx, Canadian priest and historian (d. 1967)
    • 1881 – Essington Lewis, Australian engineer and businessman (d. 1961)
    • 1883 – Nathaniel Cartmell, American runner and coach (d. 1967)
    • 1885 – Alfred Fuller, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Fuller Brush Company (d. 1973)
    • 1886 – Art Ross, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1964)
    • 1887 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer and actress (d. 1966)
    • 1890 – Jüri Uluots, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1945)
    • 1892 – Ermanno Aebi, Italian-Swiss footballer (d. 1976)
    • 1893 – Charles Arnison, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 1974)
    • 1893 – Roy Cazaly, Australian footballer and coach (d. 1963)
    • 1893 – Clark Ashton Smith, American poet, sculptor, painter, and author (d. 1961)
    • 1893 – Chaim Soutine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1943)
    • 1900 – Shimizugawa Motokichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1967)
    • 1900 – Gertrude Mary Cox, American mathematician (d. 1978)
    • 1901 – A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist, screenwriter, historian (d. 1991)
    • 1901 – Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish priest and historian (d. 1978)
    • 1902 – Karl Menger, Austrian-American mathematician from the Vienna Circle (d. 1985)
    • 1904 – Richard Addinsell, English composer (d. 1977)
    • 1904 – Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian-American violinist and composer (d. 1992)
    • 1904 – Dick Rowley, Irish footballer, centre forward (d. 1984)
    • 1905 – Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)
    • 1905 – Jack London, English sprinter and pianist (d. 1966)
    • 1906 – Zhou Youguang, Chinese linguist, sinologist, and academic (d. 2017)
    • 1909 – Helm Glöckler, German race car driver (d. 1993)
    • 1910 – Yannis Tsarouchis, Greek painter and illustrator (d. 1989)
    • 1911 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, New Zealand-Australian farmer and politician, 31st Premier of Queensland (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (d. 2006)
    • 1914 – Ted Willis, Baron Willis, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1919 – Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)
    • 1921 – Necati Cumalı, Greek-Turkish author and poet (d. 2001)
    • 1921 – Dachine Rainer, American-English author and poet (d. 2000)
    • 1921 – Arthur Stevens, English footballer, outside right (d. 2007}
    • 1922 – Albert Lamorisse, French director and producer (d. 1970)
    • 1923 – Daniil Shafran, Russian cellist (d. 1997)
    • 1923 – Willem Slijkhuis, Dutch runner (d. 2003)
    • 1924 – Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – Roland Petit, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2011)
    • 1925 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Vanita Smythe, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
    • 1925 – Ron Tauranac, Australian engineer and businessman
    • 1925 – Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
    • 1926 – Michael Bond, English soldier and author, created Paddington Bear (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American author and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1926 – Melba Liston, American trombonist and composer (d. 1999)
    • 1927 – Brock Adams, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Transportation (d. 2004)
    • 1927 – Liz Anderson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1927 – Sydney Brenner, South African biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Joe Pass, American guitarist and composer (d. 1994)
    • 1930 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress
    • 1931 – Ian Hendry, English actor (d. 1984)
    • 1931 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, director, game show panelist, and television personality (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Barry Bishop, American mountaineer, photographer, and scholar (d. 1994)
    • 1933 – Tom Gola, American basketball player, coach, and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Rip Taylor, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Renato Bruson, Italian opera singer
    • 1937 – Guy Dodson, New Zealand-English biochemist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Cabu, French cartoonist (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Daevid Allen, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Richard Anthony, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Dave Edwards, American captain and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1938 – Tord Grip, Swedish footballer and manager
    • 1938 – Anna Home, English screenwriter and producer
    • 1939 – Edgardo Cozarinsky, Argentinian author, screenwriter, and director
    • 1939 – Jacek Gmoch, Polish footballer and coach
    • 1939 – Cesare Maniago, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1940 – Edmund White, American novelist, memoirist, and essayist
    • 1941 – Pasqual Maragall, Spanish academic and politician, 127th President of the Generalitat de Catalunya
    • 1941 – Meinhard Nehmer, German bobsledder
    • 1943 – William Duckworth, American composer and author (d. 2012)
    • 1943 – Richard Moll, American actor
    • 1945 – Gordon McVie, English oncologist and author
    • 1945 – Peter Simpson, English footballer
    • 1946 – Ordal Demokan, Turkish physicist and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1946 – Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish saxophonist, composer, and conductor
    • 1947 – John Lees, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Jacek Majchrowski, Polish historian, lawyer, and politician
    • 1947 – Carles Rexach, Spanish footballer and coach
    • 1948 – Gaj Singh, Indian lawyer and politician
    • 1949 – Rakesh Sharma, Indian commander, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1949 – Brandon Tartikoff, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
    • 1950 – Clive Betts, English economist and politician
    • 1950 – Bob Forsch, American baseball player (d. 2011)
    • 1950 – Gholam Hossein Mazloumi, Iranian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1952 – Stephen Glover, English journalist, co-founded The Independent
    • 1953 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Richard Blackford, English composer
    • 1954 – Trevor Rabin, South African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1955 – Paul Kelly, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1955 – Jay McInerney, American novelist and critic
    • 1955 – Anne Pringle, English diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia
    • 1957 – Claudia Emerson, American poet and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1957 – Mary Glindon, English lawyer and politician
    • 1957 – Mark O’Meara, American golfer
    • 1957 – Lorrie Moore, American short story writer
    • 1958 – Francisco Buyo, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Juan Pedro de Miguel, Spanish handball player (d. 2016)
    • 1959 – Winnie Byanyima, Ugandan engineer, politician, and diplomat
    • 1960 – Eric Betzig, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1960 – Matthew Bourne, English choreographer and director
    • 1961 – Wayne Coyne, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1961 – Kelly Hrudey, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress, comedian, and producer
    • 1962 – Trace Adkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Paul Higgins, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1964 – Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
    • 1966 – Patrick Dempsey, American actor and race car driver
    • 1966 – Leo Visser, Dutch speed skater and pilot
    • 1968 – Mike Whitlow, English footballer and coach
    • 1969 – Stefania Belmondo, Italian skier
    • 1969 – Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player and journalist
    • 1970 – Frank Kooiman, Dutch footballer
    • 1970 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
    • 1970 – Shonda Rhimes, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1972 – Mark Bosnich, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Nicole Eggert, American actress
    • 1972 – Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast
    • 1973 – Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Gigi Galli, Italian race driver
    • 1974 – Sergei Brylin, Russian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1975 – Rune Eriksen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
    • 1975 – Mailis Reps, Estonian academic and politician, 31st Estonian Minister of Education and Research
    • 1975 – Andrew Yang, American entrepreneur, founder of Venture for America, and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate
    • 1976 – Mario Yepes, Colombian footballer
    • 1977 – Orlando Bloom, English actor and producer
    • 1977 – Mi-Hyun Kim, South Korean golfer
    • 1977 – Elliot Mason, English trombonist and keyboard player
    • 1977 – James Posey, American basketball player and coach
    • 1978 – Nate Silver, American journalist and statistician, developed PECOTA
    • 1979 – Katy Brand, English actress and screenwriter
    • 1980 – Krzysztof Czerwiński, Polish organist and conductor
    • 1980 – Nils-Eric Johansson, Swedish footballer
    • 1980 – Akira Kaji, Japanese footballer
    • 1980 – Wolfgang Loitzl, Austrian ski jumper
    • 1980 – Mirko Soltau, German footballer
    • 1981 – Reggie Brown, American football player
    • 1981 – Darrell Rasner, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Yujiro Takahashi, Japanese wrestler
    • 1982 – Kamran Akmal, Pakistan cricketer
    • 1982 – Guillermo Coria, Argentinian tennis player
    • 1982 – Constantinos Makrides, Cypriot footballer
    • 1982 – Ruth Wilson, English actress
    • 1983 – Ender Arslan, Turkish basketball player
    • 1983 – Sebastian Kneißl, German footballer
    • 1983 – Mauricio Martín Romero, Argentinian footballer
    • 1984 – Matteo Cavagna, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – Kamghe Gaba, German sprinter
    • 1984 – Nick Mangold, American football player
    • 1985 – Luke Robinson, American wrestler
    • 1986 – Joannie Rochette, Canadian figure skater
    • 1987 – Stefano Del Sante, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Jack Johnson, American ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Florica Leonida, Romanian gymnast
    • 1987 – Steven Michaels, Australian rugby league player
    • 1987 – Daniel Oss, Italian cyclist
    • 1987 – Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Sven Wetzel, German rugby player
    • 1988 – Josh Freeman, American football player
    • 1989 – Morgan Burnett, American football player
    • 1989 – Doug Martin, American football player
    • 1990 – Vincenzo Fiorillo, Italian footballer
    • 1990 – Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
    • 1991 – Rob Kiernan, English-Irish footballer
    • 1992 – Adam Matthews, Welsh footballer
    • 1992 – Dinah Pfizenmaier, German tennis player
    • 1993 – Max Whitlock, English artistic gymnast
    • 1997 – Micah Hart, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1997 – Connor McDavid, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1997 – Ivan Provorov, Russian ice hockey player

    Deaths on January 13

    • 86 BC – Gaius Marius, Roman general and politician (b. 157 BC)
    • 533 – Remigius, French bishop and saint (b. 437)
    • 614 – Mungo, English-Scottish bishop and saint
    • 703 – Jitō, Japanese emperor (b. 645)
    • 858 – Æthelwulf, king of Wessex
    • 888 – Charles the Fat, Frankish king and emperor (b. 839)
    • 927 – Berno of Cluny, Frankish monk and abbot
    • 1001 – Fujiwara no Teishi, Japanese empress (b. 977)
    • 1147 – Robert de Craon, Grand Master of the Knights Templar
    • 1151 – Suger, French historian and politician (b. 1081)
    • 1177 – Henry II, count palatine and duke of Austria (b. 1107)
    • 1321 – Bonacossa Borri, Italian noblewoman (b. 1254)
    • 1330 – Frederick I, duke and king of Germany
    • 1363 – Meinhard III, German nobleman (b. 1344)
    • 1400 – Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester, English politician (b. 1373)
    • 1599 – Edmund Spenser, English poet, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1552)
    • 1612 – Jane Dormer, English lady-in-waiting (b. 1538)
    • 1625 – Jan Brueghel the Elder, Flemish painter (b. 1568)
    • 1684 – Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk, English nobleman (b. 1628)
    • 1691 – George Fox, English religious leader, founded the Religious Society of Friends (b. 1624)
    • 1717 – Maria Sibylla Merian, German entomologist and illustrator (b. 1647)
    • 1775 – Johann Georg Walch, German theologian and author (b. 1693)
    • 1790 – Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, French admiral (b. 1712)
    • 1796 – John Anderson, Scottish philosopher and educator (b. 1726)
    • 1832 – Thomas Lord, English cricketer, founded Lord’s Cricket Ground (b. 1755)
    • 1838 – Ferdinand Ries, German pianist and composer (b. 1784)
    • 1860 – William Mason, American surgeon and politician (b. 1786)
    • 1864 – Stephen Foster, American composer and songwriter (b. 1826)
    • 1872 – William Scamp, English architect and engineer (b. 1801)
    • 1882 – Wilhelm Mauser, German engineer and businessman, co-founded the Mauser Company (b. 1834)
    • 1885 – Schuyler Colfax, American journalist and politician, 17th Vice President of the United States (b. 1823)
    • 1889 – Solomon Bundy, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
    • 1905 – George Thorn, Australian farmer and politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
    • 1906 – Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1859)
    • 1907 – Jakob Hurt, Estonian theologist and linguist (b. 1839)
    • 1915 – Mary Slessor, Scottish-Nigerian missionary (b. 1848)
    • 1916 – Victoriano Huerta, Mexican military officer and president, 1913–1914 (b. 1850)
    • 1923 – Alexandre Ribot, French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1842)
    • 1924 – Georg Hermann Quincke, German physicist and academic (b. 1834)
    • 1929 – Wyatt Earp, American police officer (b. 1848)
    • 1929 – H. B. Higgins, Irish-Australian judge and politician, 3rd Attorney-General for Australia (b. 1851)
    • 1934 – Paul Ulrich Villard, French physicist and chemist (b. 1860)
    • 1941 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (b. 1882)
    • 1943 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (b. 1889)
    • 1956 – Lyonel Feininger, German-American painter and illustrator (b. 1871)
    • 1957 – A. E. Coppard English poet and short story writer (b. 1878)
    • 1958 – Jesse L. Lasky, American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures (b. 1880)
    • 1962 – Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (b. 1919)
    • 1963 – Sylvanus Olympio, Togolese businessman and politician, President of Togo (b. 1902)
    • 1967 – Anatole de Grunwald, Russian-English screenwriter and producer (b. 1910)
    • 1971 – Robert Still, English composer and educator (b. 1910)
    • 1973 – Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, Turkish screenwriter and producer (b. 1908)
    • 1974 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (b. 1906)
    • 1974 – Salvador Novo, Mexican playwright and poet (b. 1904)
    • 1976 – Margaret Leighton, English actress (b. 1922)
    • 1977 – Henri Langlois, Turkish-French historian, co-founded the Cinémathèque Française (b. 1914)
    • 1978 – Hubert Humphrey, American pharmacist, academic, and politician, 38th Vice President of the United States (b. 1911)
    • 1978 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1887)
    • 1979 – Donny Hathaway, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1945)
    • 1979 – Marjorie Lawrence, Australian-American soprano (b. 1907)
    • 1980 – Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-American conductor (b. 1901)
    • 1982 – Marcel Camus, French director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
    • 1983 – René Bonnet, French race car driver and engineer (b. 1904)
    • 1986 – Abdul Fattah Ismail, Yemeni educator and politician, 4th President of South Yemen (b. 1939)
    • 1986 – Kevin Longbottom, Australian rugby league player (b. 1940)
    • 1988 – Chiang Ching-kuo, Chinese politician, President of the Republic of China (b. 1910)
    • 1993 – Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer and conductor (b. 1907)
    • 1995 – Max Harris, Australian journalist, poet, and author (b. 1921)
    • 2002 – Frank Shuster, Canadian actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1916)
    • 2003 – Norman Panama, American director and screenwriter (b. 1914)
    • 2004 – Arne Næss, Jr., Norwegian businessman and mountaineer (b. 1937)
    • 2005 – Earl Cameron, Canadian journalist (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and actress (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Frank Fixaris, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1934)
    • 2006 – Marc Potvin, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1967)
    • 2007 – Michael Brecker, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1949)
    • 2007 – Danny Oakes, American race car driver (b. 1911)
    • 2008 – Johnny Podres, American baseball player and coach (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Dai Llewellyn, Welsh humanitarian activist and politician (b. 1946)
    • 2009 – Patrick McGoohan, Irish-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
    • 2009 – Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese poet, composer, and producer (b. 1925)
    • 2009 – W. D. Snodgrass, American poet (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Nancy Bird Walton, Australian pilot (b. 1915)
    • 2010 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
    • 2011 – Albert Heijn, Dutch businessman (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Rauf Denktaş, Turkish-Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Guido Dessauer, German physicist and engineer (b. 1915)
    • 2012 – Miljan Miljanić, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Diogenes Allen, American philosopher and theologian (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Rodney Mims Cook, Sr., American lieutenant and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Chia-Chiao Lin, Chinese-American mathematician and academic (b. 1916)
    • 2014 – Bobby Collins, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Randal Tye Thomas, American journalist and politician (b. 1978)
    • 2014 – Waldemar von Gazen, German general and lawyer (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Mark Juddery, Australian journalist and author (b. 1971)
    • 2015 – Robert White, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Paraguay (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Brian Bedford, English-American actor and director (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Giorgio Gomelsky, Georgian-American director, producer, songwriter, and manager (b. 1934)
    • 2016 – Lawrence Phillips, American football player (b. 1975)
    • 2017 – Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, English photographer and sometime member of the British royal family (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Dick Gautier, American actor (b. 1931)
    • 2017 – Magic Alex, Greek electronics engineer (b. 1942)
    • 2019 – Phil Masinga, South African footballer (b. 1969)

    Holidays and observances on January 13

    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed Veronica of Milan
      • Elian
      • Hilary of Poitiers
      • Mungo
      • St. Knut’s Day or Tjugondag Knut, the last day of Christmas. (Sweden and Finland)
      • January 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Constitution Day (Mongolia)
    • Democracy Day (Cape Verde)
    • Korean-American Day (Korean-American community, United States)
    • Liberation Day (Togo)
    • Old New Year’s Eve (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska, North Macedonia), and its related observances:
      • Malanka (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus)
    • Sidereal winter solstice’s eve celebrations in South and Southeast Asian cultures; the last day of the six-month Dakshinayana period (see January 14):
      • Bhogi (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu)
      • Lohri (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh)
      • Uruka (Assam)
    • Stephen Foster Memorial Day (United States)
    • Yennayer (Berbers)

  • January 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    During the Middle Ages under the influence of the Catholic Church, many countries in western Europe decided to move the start of the year to one of several important Christian festivals – December 25 (the Nativity of Jesus), March 1, March 25 (the Annunciation), or even Easter. The Byzantine Empire began its numbered year on September 1.

    In England, January 1 was celebrated as the New Year festival, but from the 12th century to 1752 the year in England began on March 25 (Lady Day). So, for example, the Parliamentary record notes the execution of Charles I as occurring on January 30, 1648, (as the year did not end until March 24), although modern histories adjust the start of the year to January 1 and record the execution as occurring in 1649.

    Most western European countries changed the start of the year to January 1 before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. For example, Scotland changed the start of the Scottish New Year to January 1 in 1600. England, Ireland and the British colonies changed the start of the year to January 1 in 1752. Later that year in September, the Gregorian calendar was introduced throughout Britain and the British colonies. These two reforms were implemented by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.

    January 1 became the official start of the year as follows:

    Julian calendar:

    • 1544 Holy Roman Empire (Germany)
    • 1556 Spain, Portugal
    • 1559 Prussia, Sweden
    • 1564 France
    • 1576 Southern Netherlands
    • 1579 Duchy of Lorraine
    • 1583 Northern Netherlands
    • 1600 Scotland
    • 1700 Russia
    • 1752 Great Britain (excluding Scotland) and its colonies
    • 1804 Serbia

    Gregorian calendar:

    • 1750 Tuscany
    • 1797 Republic of Venice
    • 1918 Ottoman Empire
    • 1941 Thailand

    Events on January 1

    Pre-Julian Roman calendar

    • 153 BC – For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1.

    Early Julian calendar (before Augustus’ leap year correction)

    • 45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year.
    • 42 BC – The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar.

    Julian calendar

    • 193 – The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emper]or.
    • 404 – Saint Telemachus tries to stop a gladiatorial fight in a Roman amphitheatre, and is stoned to death by the crowd. This act impresses the Christian Emperor Honorius, who issues a historic ban on gladiatorial fights.
    • 417 – Emperor Honorius forces Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his famous general (magister militum) (probable).
    • 1001 – Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II (probable).
    • 1068 – Romanos IV Diogenes marries Eudokia Makrembolitissa and is crowned Byzantine Emperor.
    • 1259 – Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris.
    • 1438 – Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.
    • 1502 – The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is first explored by the Portuguese.
    • 1515 – Twenty-year-old Francis, Duke of Brittany, succeeds to the French throne following the death of his father-in-law, Louis XII.
    • 1527 – Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I of Austria as King of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin.
    • 1583 to 1700 – see January 11
    • 1600 – Scotland recognises January 1 as the start of the year, instead of March 25.
    • 1651 – Charles II is crowned King of Scotland.
    • 1700 – Russia begins using the Anno Domini era instead of the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1701 to 1800 – see January 12
    • 1801 to 1900 – see January 13
    • 1901 to 2100 – see January 14

    Gregorian calendar

    • 1707 – John V is proclaimed King of Portugal and the Algarves in Lisbon.
    • 1739 – Bouvet Island, the world’s remotest island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.
    • 1772 – The first traveler’s cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, were issued by the London Credit Exchange Company.
    • 1773 – The hymn that became known as “Amazing Grace”, then titled “1 Chronicles 17:16–17” is first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Norfolk, Virginia is burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action.
    • 1776 – General George Washington hoists the first United States flag; the Grand Union Flag at Prospect Hill.
    • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: One thousand five hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne’s command rebel against the Continental Army’s winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781.
    • 1788 – First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
    • 1801 – The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is proclaimed.
    • 1801 – Ceres, the largest and first known object in the Asteroid belt, is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.
    • 1803 – Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam.
    • 1804 – French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black-majority republic and second independent country in North America after the United States.
    • 1806 – The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
    • 1808 – The United States bans the importation of slaves.
    • 1810 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales.
    • 1822 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
    • 1847 – The world’s first “Mercy” Hospital is founded in Pittsburgh, United States, by a group of Sisters of Mercy from Ireland; the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world.
    • 1860 – The first Polish stamp is issued, replacing the Russian stamps previously in use.
    • 1861 – Liberal forces supporting Benito Juárez enter Mexico City.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory.
    • 1877 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.
    • 1885 – Twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming’s proposal for standard time (and also, time zones).
    • 1890 – Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government
    • 1892 – Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States.
    • 1898 – New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
    • 1899 – Spanish rule ends in Cuba.
    • 1901 – Nigeria becomes a British protectorate
    • 1901 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister
    • 1902 – The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California.
    • 1910 – Captain David Beatty is promoted to Rear admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal family members) since Horatio Nelson.
    • 1912 – The Republic of China is established.
    • 1914 – The SPT Airboat Line becomes the world’s first scheduled airline to use a winged aircraft.
    • 1923 – Britain’s Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS.
    • 1927 – New Mexican oil legislation goes into effect, leading to the formal outbreak of the Cristero War.
    • 1928 – Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran. He is the only assistant of Joseph Stalin’s secretariat to have defected from the Eastern Bloc.
    • 1929 – The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver.
    • 1932 – The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth.
    • 1934 – Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay becomes a United States federal prison.
    • 1934 – A “Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring” comes into effect in Nazi Germany.
    • 1942 – The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.
    • 1945 – World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops kill 60 German POWs at Chenogne.
    • 1945 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow.
    • 1947 – Cold War: The American and British occupation zones in Allied-occupied Germany, after World War II, merge to form the Bizone, which later (with the French zone) became part of West Germany.
    • 1947 – The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens.Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
    • 1948 – The British railway network is nationalized to form British Railways.
    • 1949 – United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
    • 1956 – Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom.
    • 1957 – George Town, Penang, is made a city by a royal charter of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
    • 1958 – European Economic Community is established.
    • 1959 – Cuban Revolution: Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro’s forces.
    • 1960 – Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom.
    • 1962 – Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
    • 1964 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
    • 1965 – The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
    • 1970 – The defined beginning of Unix time, at 00:00:00.
    • 1971 – Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.
    • 1973 – Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom are admitted into the European Economic Community.
    • 1976 – A bomb explodes on board Middle East Airlines Flight 438 over Qaisumah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 81 people on board.
    • 1978 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747, crashes into the Arabian Sea, due to instrument failure, spatial disorientation, and pilot error, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing all 213 people on board.
    • 1979 – Normal diplomatic relations are established between the People’s Republic of China and the United States.
    • 1981 – Greece is admitted into the European Community.
    • 1982 – Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
    • 1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet.
    • 1984 – The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.
    • 1984 – Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
    • 1985 – The first British mobile phone call is made by Michael Harrison to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone.
    • 1987 – The Isleta Pueblo tribe elect Verna Williamson to be their first female governor.
    • 1988 – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
    • 1989 – The Montreal Protocol comes into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion.
    • 1990 – David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City’s first black mayor.
    • 1993 – Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.
    • 1994 – The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
    • 1994 – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect.
    • 1995 – The World Trade Organization comes into being.
    • 1995 – The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.
    • 1995 – Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU.
    • 1998 – Following a currency reform, Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
    • 1999 – Euro currency is introduced in 11 member nations of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden; Greece later adopts the euro).
    • 2004 – In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is “deemed to be elected” to the office of President until October 2007.
    • 2007 – Bulgaria and Romania join the EU.
    • 2007 – Adam Air Flight 574 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes near the Makassar Strait, Indonesia killing all 102 people on board.
    • 2009 – Sixty-six people die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
    • 2010 – A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more.
    • 2011 – A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.
    • 2011 – Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country.
    • 2013 – At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
    • 2015 – The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
    • 2017 – An attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year’s celebrations, kills at least 39 people and injures more than 60 others

    Births on January 1

    • 766 – Ali al-Ridha (d. 818) 8th Imam of Twelver Shia Islam
    • 1431 – Pope Alexander VI (d. 1503)
    • 1449 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian politician (d. 1492)
    • 1467 – Sigismund I the Old, Polish king (d. 1548)
    • 1484 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss pastor and theologian (d. 1531)
    • 1511 – Henry, Duke of Cornwall, first-born child of Henry VIII of England (d. 1511)
    • 1557 – Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1606)
    • 1600 – Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1649)
    • 1628 – Christoph Bernhard, German composer and theorist (d. 1692)
    • 1655 – Christian Thomasius, German jurist and philosopher (d. 1728)
    • 1684 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch scholar and author (d. 1748)
    • 1704 – Soame Jenyns, English author, poet, and politician (d. 1787)
    • 1711 – Baron Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (d. 1749)
    • 1714 – Giovanni Battista Mancini, Italian soprano and author (d. 1800)
    • 1714 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (d. 1780)
    • 1735 – Paul Revere, American silversmith and engraver (d. 1818)
    • 1745 – Anthony Wayne, American general and politician (d. 1796)
    • 1752 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress, credited with designing the Flag of the United States (d. 1836)
    • 1768 – Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish author (d. 1849)
    • 1769 – Marie-Louise Lachapelle, French obstetrician (d. 1821)
    • 1774 – André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist and academic (d. 1860)
    • 1779 – William Clowes, English publisher (d. 1847)
    • 1803 – Edward Dickinson, American politician and father of poet Emily Dickinson (d. 1874)
    • 1806 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (d. 1853)
    • 1809 – Achille Guenée, French lawyer and entomologist (d. 1880)
    • 1813 – George Bliss, American politician (d. 1868)
    • 1814 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebellion leader and king (d. 1864)
    • 1818 – William Gamble, Irish-born American general (d. 1866)
    • 1819 – Arthur Hugh Clough, English-Italian poet and academic (d. 1861)
    • 1819 – George Foster Shepley, American general (d. 1878)
    • 1823 – Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet and activist (d. 1849)
    • 1833 – Robert Lawson, Scottish-New Zealand architect, designed the Otago Boys’ High School and Knox Church (d. 1902)
    • 1834 – Ludovic Halévy, French author and playwright (d. 1908)
    • 1839 – Ouida, English-Italian author and activist (d. 1908)
    • 1848 – John W. Goff, Irish-American lawyer and politician (d. 1924)
    • 1852 – Eugène-Anatole Demarçay, French chemist and academic (d. 1904)
    • 1854 – James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist and academic (d. 1941)
    • 1854 – Thomas Waddell, Irish-Australian politician, 15th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1940)
    • 1857 – Tim Keefe, American baseball player (d. 1933)
    • 1859 – Michael Joseph Owens, American inventor (d. 1923)
    • 1859 – Thibaw Min, Burmese king (d. 1916)
    • 1860 – Michele Lega, Italian cardinal (d. 1935)
    • 1863 – Pierre de Coubertin, French historian, and educator, founded the International Olympic Committee (d. 1937)
    • 1864 – Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, and curator (d. 1946)
    • 1864 – Qi Baishi, Chinese painter (d. 1957)
    • 1867 – Mary Ackworth Evershed, English astronomer and scholar (d. 1949)
    • 1874 – Frank Knox, American publisher, and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1944)
    • 1874 – Gustave Whitehead, German-American pilot and engineer (d. 1927)
    • 1877 – Alexander von Staël-Holstein, German sinologist and orientalist (d. 1937)
    • 1878 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician, statistician, and engineer (d. 1929)
    • 1879 – E. M. Forster, English author and playwright (d. 1970)
    • 1879 – William Fox, Hungarian-American screenwriter and producer, founded the Fox Film Corporation and Fox Theatres (d. 1952)
    • 1883 – William J. Donovan, American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1959)
    • 1884 – Chikuhei Nakajima, Japanese lieutenant, engineer, and politician, founded Nakajima Aircraft Company (d. 1949)
    • 1887 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (d. 1945)
    • 1888 – Georgios Stanotas, Greek general (d. 1965)
    • 1888 – John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand rifle (d. 1974)
    • 1889 – Charles Bickford, American actor (d. 1967)
    • 1890 – Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer and academic (d. 1966)
    • 1891 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 3rd Governor of Rajasthan (d. 1969)
    • 1892 – Mahadev Desai, Indian author and activist (d. 1942)
    • 1892 – Manuel Roxas, Filipino lawyer and politician, 5th President of the Philippines (d. 1948)
    • 1893 – Mordechai Frizis, Greek colonel (d. 1940)
    • 1894 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist, and mathematician (d. 1974)
    • 1894 – Edward Joseph Hunkeler, American clergyman (d. 1970)
    • 1895 – J. Edgar Hoover, American law enforcement official; 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (d. 1972)
    • 1900 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese soldier and diplomat (d. 1986)
    • 1900 – Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1990)
    • 1902 – Buster Nupen, Norwegian-South African cricketer and lawyer (d. 1977)
    • 1902 – Hans von Dohnányi, German jurist and political dissident (d. 1945)
    • 1904 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (d. 1982)
    • 1905 – Stanisław Mazur, Ukrainian-Polish mathematician and theorist (d. 1981)
    • 1906 – Manuel Silos, Filipino filmmaker, and actor (d. 1988)
    • 1907 – Kinue Hitomi, Japanese sprinter and long jumper (d. 1931)
    • 1909 – Dana Andrews, American actor (d. 1992)
    • 1909 – Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian soldier and politician (d. 1959)
    • 1911 – Audrey Wurdemann, American poet and author (d. 1960)
    • 1911 – Basil Dearden, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1971)
    • 1911 – Hank Greenberg, American baseball player (d. 1986)
    • 1911 – Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist and educator (d. 2012)
    • 1912 – Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko, Russian mathematician and historian (d. 1995)
    • 1912 – Kim Philby, British spy (d. 1988)
    • 1912 – Nikiforos Vrettakos, Greek poet and academic (d. 1991)
    • 1914 – Noor Inayat Khan, British SOE agent (d. 1944)
    • 1917 – Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
    • 1918 – Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2000)
    • 1918 – Willy den Ouden, Dutch swimmer (d. 1997)
    • 1919 – Carole Landis, American actress (d. 1948)
    • 1919 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (d. 2010)
    • 1919 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer and actor (d. 1990)
    • 1920 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – César Baldaccini, French sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1921 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (d. 1986)
    • 1921 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Ernest Hollings, American soldier, and politician, 106th Governor of South Carolina (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – Valentina Cortese, Italian actress (d. 2019)
    • 1923 – Milt Jackson, American jazz vibraphonist and composer (d. 1999)
    • 1924 – Francisco Macías Nguema, Equatorial Guinean politician, 1st President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (d. 1979)
    • 1925 – Matthew Beard, American child actor (d. 1981)
    • 1925 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat, 1st Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2005)
    • 1926 – Kazys Petkevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (d. 2008)
    • 1927 – Doak Walker, American football player and businessman (d. 1998)
    • 1927 – James Reeb, American clergyman and political activist (d. 1965)
    • 1927 – Maurice Béjart, French-Swiss dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 2007)
    • 1927 – Vernon L. Smith, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1928 – Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
    • 1928 – Gerhard Weinberg, German-American historian, author, and academic
    • 1929 – Larry L. King, American journalist, author, and playwright (d. 2012)
    • 1930 – Frederick Wiseman, American director and producer
    • 1930 – Gaafar Nimeiry, Egyptian-Sudanese politician, 4th President of the Sudan (d. 2009)
    • 1932 – Giuseppe Patanè, Italian conductor (d. 1989)
    • 1933 – James Hormel, American philanthropist and diplomat.
    • 1933 – Joe Orton, English dramatist (d. 1967)
    • 1934 – Alan Berg, American lawyer and radio host (d. 1984
    • 1934 – Lakhdar Brahimi, Algerian politician, Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1935 – Om Prakash Chautala, Indian politician
    • 1936 – James Sinegal, American businessman, co-founded Costco
    • 1939 – Michèle Mercier, French actress
    • 1939 – Phil Read, English motorcycle racer and businessman
    • 1939 – Senfronia Thompson, American politician
    • 1941 – Younoussi Touré, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali
    • 1942 – Alassane Ouattara, Ivorian economist and politician, President of the Ivory Coast (doubtful)
    • 1942 – Anthony Hamilton-Smith, 3rd Baron Colwyn, English dentist and politician
    • 1942 – Country Joe McDonald, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1942 – Dennis Archer, American lawyer and politician, 67th Mayor of Detroit
    • 1942 – Gennadi Sarafanov, Russian pilot and cosmonaut (d. 2005)
    • 1943 – Don Novello, American comedian, screenwriter and producer.
    • 1943 – Tony Knowles, American soldier and politician, 7th Governor of Alaska.
    • 1943 – Vladimir Šeks, Croatian lawyer and politician, 16th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament
    • 1944 – Mati Unt, Estonian author, playwright, and director (d. 2005)
    • 1944 – Omar al-Bashir, Sudanese field marshal and politician, 7th President of Sudan
    • 1944 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Pakistani field hockey player and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Pakistan
    • 1945 – Jacky Ickx, Belgian racing driver
    • 1945 – Victor Ashe, American politician and former United States Ambassador to Poland
    • 1946 – Claude Steele, American social psychologist and academic
    • 1946 – Rivellino, Brazilian footballer and manager
    • 1947 – Jon Corzine, American sergeant and politician, 54th Governor of New Jersey
    • 1948 – Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish economist, academic, and politician, 57th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
    • 1948 – Dick Quax, New Zealand runner and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1948 – Pavel Grachev, Russian general and politician, 1st Russian Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
    • 1949 – Borys Tarasyuk, Ukrainian politician and diplomat
    • 1952 – Shaji N. Karun, Indian director and cinematographer
    • 1953 – Gary Johnson, American businessman and politician, 29th Governor of New Mexico
    • 1954 – Bob Menendez, American lawyer and politician
    • 1954 – Dennis O’Driscoll, Irish poet and critic (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Yannis Papathanasiou, Greek engineer and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
    • 1955 – LaMarr Hoyt, American baseball player
    • 1955 – Mary Beard, English classicist, academic and presenter
    • 1956 – Sergei Avdeyev, Russian engineer and astronaut
    • 1956 – Christine Lagarde, French lawyer and politician; Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
    • 1957 – Evangelos Venizelos, Greek lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece
    • 1958 – Grandmaster Flash, Barbadian rapper and DJ
    • 1959 – Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghan colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1959 – Azali Assoumani, Comorian colonel and politician, President of the Comoros
    • 1959 – Panagiotis Giannakis, Greek basketball player and coach
    • 1962 – Anton Muscatelli, Italian-Scottish economist and academic
    • 1963 – Jean-Marc Gounon, French racing driver
    • 1964 – Dedee Pfeiffer, American actress
    • 1966 – Anna Burke, Australian businesswoman and politician, 28th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
    • 1966 – Ivica Dačić, Serbian journalist and politician, 95th Prime Minister of Serbia
    • 1966 – Tihomir Orešković, Croatian–Canadian businessman, 11th Prime Minister of Croatia
    • 1968 – Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
    • 1971 – Bobby Holík, Czech-American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1971 – Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician
    • 1971 – Sammie Henson, American wrestler and coach
    • 1972 – Lilian Thuram, French footballer
    • 1974 – Christian Paradis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Industry
    • 1975 – Becky Kellar-Duke, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Chris Anstey, Australian basketball player and coach
    • 1975 – Fernando Tatís, Dominican baseball player
    • 1975 – Joe Cannon, American soccer player and sportscaster
    • 1979 – Vidya Balan, Indian actress
    • 1981 – Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian racing driver
    • 1981 – Mladen Petrić, Croatian footballer
    • 1982 – David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
    • 1982 – Egidio Arévalo Ríos, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1983 – Melaine Walker, Jamaican hurdler
    • 1983 – Park Sung-hyun, South Korean archer
    • 1983 – Calum Davenport, English footballer
    • 1984 – Paolo Guerrero, Peruvian footballer
    • 1985 – Steven Davis, Northern Irish footballer
    • 1985 – Tiago Splitter, Brazilian basketball player
    • 1986 – Pablo Cuevas, Uruguayan tennis player
    • 1986 – Ramses Barden, American football player
    • 1987 – Meryl Davis, American ice dancer1987 – Patric Hörnqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Marcel Gecov, Czech footballer
    • 1989 – Jason Pierre-Paul, American football player
    • 1991 – Darius Slay, American football player

    Deaths on January 1

    • 138 – Lucius Aelius, adopted son and intended successor of Hadrian (b. 101)
    • 404 – Telemachus, Christian monk and martyr
    • 466 – Qianfei, Chinese emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty (b. 449)
    • 898 – Odo I, Frankish king (b. 860)
    • 951 – Ramiro II, king of León and Galicia1031 – William of Volpiano, Italian abbot (b. 962)
    • 1189 – Henry of Marcy, Cistercian abbot (b. c. 1136)
    • 1204 – Haakon III, king of Norway (b. 1182)
    • 1387 – Charles II, king of Navarre (b. 1332)
    • 1496 – Charles d’Orléans, count of Angoulême (b. 1459)
    • 1515 – Louis XII, king of France (b. 1462)
    • 1559 – Christian III, king of Denmark (b. 1503)
    • 1560 – Joachim du Bellay, French poet and critic (b. 1522)
    • 1617 – Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1558)
    • 1697 – Filippo Baldinucci, Florentine historian and author (b. 1625)
    • 1716 – William Wycherley, English playwright and poet (b. 1641)
    • 1748 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (b. 1667)
    • 1780 – Johann Ludwig Krebs, German organist and composer (b. 1713)
    • 1782 – Johann Christian Bach, German composer (b. 1735)
    • 1789 – Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English lawyer and politician, British Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1716)
    • 1793 – Francesco Guardi, Italian painter and educator (b. 1712)
    • 1817 – Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist and academic (b. 1743)
    • 1846 – John Torrington, English sailor and explorer (b. 1825)
    • 1853 – Gregory Blaxland, Australian farmer and explorer (b. 1778)
    • 1862 – Mikhail Ostrogradsky, Ukrainian mathematician and physicist (b. 1801)
    • 1881 – Louis Auguste Blanqui, French activist (b. 1805)
    • 1892 – Roswell B. Mason, American lawyer and politician, 25th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
    • 1894 – Heinrich Hertz, German physicist and academic (b. 1857)
    • 1896 – Alfred Ely Beach, American publisher and lawyer, created the Beach Pneumatic Transit (b. 1826)
    • 1906 – Hugh Nelson, Scottish-Australian farmer and politician, 11th Premier of Queensland (b. 1833)
    • 1918 – William Wilfred Campbell, Canadian poet and author (b. 1858)
    • 1921 – Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, German lawyer and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1856)
    • 1929 – Mustafa Necati, Turkish civil servant and politician, Turkish Minister of Environment and Urban Planning (b. 1894)
    • 1931 – Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (b. 1851)
    • 1937 – Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Indian religious leader, founded the Gaudiya Math (b. 1874)
    • 1940 – Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian author and educator (b. 1865)
    • 1944 – Edwin Lutyens, English architect, designed the Castle Drogo and Thiepval Memorial (b. 1869)
    • 1944 – Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (b. 1862)
    • 1953 – Hank Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1923)
    • 1954 – Duff Cooper, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1890)
    • 1954 – Leonard Bacon, American poet and critic (b. 1887)
    • 1955 – Arthur C. Parker, American archaeologist and historian (b. 1881)
    • 1960 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress (b. 1909)
    • 1966 – Vincent Auriol, French journalist and politician, 16th President of the French Republic (b. 1884)
    • 1969 – Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright and screenwriter (b. 1902)
    • 1971 – Amphilochius of Pochayiv, Ukrainian saint (b. 1894)
    • 1972 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer (b. 1888)
    • 1978 – Carle Hessay, German-Canadian painter (b. 1911)
    • 1980 – Pietro Nenni, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1891)
    • 1981 – Hephzibah Menuhin, American-Australian pianist (b. 1920)
    • 1982 – Victor Buono, American actor (b. 1938)
    • 1984 – Alexis Korner, French-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
    • 1992 – Grace Hopper, American computer scientist and admiral, co-developed COBOL (b. 1906)
    • 1994 – Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt, New Zealand physician and politician, 11th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1900)
    • 1994 – Cesar Romero, American actor (b. 1907)
    • 1994 – Edward Arthur Thompson, Irish historian and academic (b. 1914)
    • 1995 – Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 1996 – Arleigh Burke, American admiral (b. 1901)
    • 1996 – Arthur Rudolph, German-American engineer (b. 1906)
    • 1997 – Townes Van Zandt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
    • 1998 – Helen Wills, American tennis player and coach (b. 1905)
    • 2000 – Betty Archdale, English-Australian cricketer and educator (b. 1907)
    • 2001 – Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (b. 1944)
    • 2003 – Joe Foss, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Shirley Chisholm, American educator and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Harry Magdoff, American economist and journalist (b. 1913)
    • 2007 – Roland Levinsky, South African-English biochemist and academic (b. 1943)
    • 2007 – Tillie Olsen, American short story writer (b. 1912)
    • 2008 – Pratap Chandra Chunder, Indian educator and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2009 – Claiborne Pell, American politician (b. 1918)
    • 2010 – Lhasa de Sela, American-Mexican singer-songwriter (b. 1972)
    • 2012 – Kiro Gligorov, Bulgarian-Macedonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Nay Win Maung, Burmese physician, businessman, and activist (b. 1962)
    • 2012 – Tommy Mont, American football player and coach (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist (b. 1945)
    • 2013 – Patti Page, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (b. 1910)
    • 2014 – Juanita Moore, American actress (b. 1914)
    • 2014 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (b. 1950)
    • 2015 – Boris Morukov, Russian physician and astronaut (b. 1950)
    • 2015 – Donna Douglas, American actress (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York (b. 1932)
    • 2015 – Omar Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 58th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1934)
    • 2016 – Dale Bumpers, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1925)
    • 2016 – Fazu Aliyeva, Russian poet and journalist (b. 1932)
    • 2016 – Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer and producer (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Derek Parfit, British philosopher (b. 1942)
    • 2017 – Tony Atkinson, British economist (b. 1944)
    • 2017 – Yvon Dupuis, Canadian politician (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Robert Mann, American violinist (b. 1920)
    • 2019 – Pegi Young, American singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist (b. 1952)
    • 2019 – Paul Neville, Australian politician (b. 1940)
    • 2020 – David Stern, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1942)
    • 2020 – Alexander Frater, British travel writer and journalist (b. 1937)
    • 2020 – Barry McDonald, Australian rugby union player (b. 1940)

    Holidays and observances on January 1

    • Christian feast day:
      • Adalard of Corbie
      • Basil the Great (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
        • Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)
        • Feast of Fools (Medieval Europe)
      • Fulgentius of Ruspe
      • Giuseppe Maria Tomasi
      • Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Octave Day of Christmas, considered a holy day of obligation in some countries (Catholic Church); and its related observances:
        • World Day of Peace
      • Telemachus
      • Zygmunt Gorazdowski
      • January 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Handsel Monday can fall, while January 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of the year (Scotland)
    • The second day of Hogmanay (Scotland) December 31-January 1, in some cases until January 2.
    • The last day of Kwanzaa (African-Americans)
    • The eighth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
    • Constitution Day (Italy)
    • Dissolution of Czechoslovakia-related observances:
      • Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
      • Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State (Czech Republic)
    • Emancipation Day (United States)
    • Euro Day (European Union)
    • Flag Day (Lithuania) commemorates raising of the Lithuanian flag on Gediminas’ Tower in 1919
    • Founding Day (Taiwan) commemorates the establishment of the Provisional Government in Nanjing
    • Global Family Day
    • Independence Day (Brunei, Cameroon, Haiti, Sudan)
    • International Nepali Dhoti and Nepali Topi Day
    • Jump-up Day (Montserrat)
    • Kalpataru Day (Ramakrishna Movement)
    • Kamakura Ebisu, January 1–3 (Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan)
    • National Bloody Mary Day (United States)
    • National Tree Planting Day (Tanzania)
    • New Year’s Day (Gregorian calendar)
      • Japanese New Year
      • Novy God Day (Russia)
      • Sjoogwachi (Okinawa Islands)
    • Polar Bear Swim Day (Canada and United States)
    • Public Domain Day (multiple countries)
    • Triumph of the Revolution (Cuba)