1328

  • 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)

  • February 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 747 BC – Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy’s Nabonassar Era.
    • 364 – Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman emperor
    • 1233 – Mongol–Jin War: The Mongols capture Kaifeng, the capital of the Jin dynasty, after besieging it for months.
    • 1266 – Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by Manfred, King of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples.
    • 1365 – The Ava Kingdom and the royal city of Ava (Inwa) founded by King Thado Minbya
    • 1606 – The Janszoon voyage of 1605–06 becomes the first European expedition to set foot on Australia, although it is mistaken as a part of New Guinea.
    • 1616 – Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.
    • 1775 – The British East India Company factory on Balambangan Island is destroyed by Moro pirates
    • 1794 – The first Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen burns down.
    • 1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba.
    • 1876 – Japan and Korea sign a treaty granting Japanese citizens extraterritoriality rights, opening three ports to Japanese trade, and ending Korea’s status as a tributary state of Qing dynasty China.
    • 1909 – Kinemacolor, the first successful color motion picture process, is first shown to the general public at the Palace Theatre in London.
    • 1914 – HMHS Britannic, sister to the RMS Titanic, is launched at Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.
    • 1919 – President Woodrow Wilson signs an act of Congress establishing the Grand Canyon National Park.
    • 1929 – President Calvin Coolidge signs an executive order establishing the 96,000 acre Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
    • 1935 – Adolf Hitler orders the Luftwaffe to be re-formed, violating the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles.
    • 1935 – Robert Watson-Watt carries out a demonstration near Daventry which leads directly to the development of radar in the United Kingdom.
    • 1936 – In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government.
    • 1952 – Vincent Massey is sworn in as the first Canadian-born Governor General of Canada.
    • 1960 – A New York-bound Alitalia airliner crashes into a cemetery in Shannon, Ireland, shortly after takeoff, killing 34 of the 52 persons on board.
    • 1966 – Apollo program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket
    • 1971 – U.N. Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day.
    • 1979 – The Superliner railcar enters revenue service with Amtrak.
    • 1980 – Egypt and Israel establish full diplomatic relations.
    • 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff.
    • 1992 – Nagorno-Karabakh War: Khojaly Massacre: Armenian armed forces open fire on Azeri civilians at a military post outside the town of Khojaly leaving hundreds dead.
    • 1993 – World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center explodes, killing six and injuring over a thousand people.
    • 1995 – The UK’s oldest investment banking institute, Barings Bank, collapses after a rogue securities broker Nick Leeson loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts.
    • 2008 – The New York Philharmonic performs in Pyongyang, North Korea; this is the first event of its kind to take place in North Korea.
    • 2012 – Trayvon Martin was shot and killed at the age of 17 in Sanford, Florida.
    • 2012 – A train derails in Burlington, Ontario, Canada killing at least three people and injuring 45.
    • 2013 – A hot air balloon crashes near Luxor, Egypt, killing 19 people.

    Births on February 26

    • 1361 – Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia (d. 1419)
    • 1416 – Christopher of Bavaria (d. 1448)
    • 1564 – Christopher Marlowe, English playwright, poet and translator (d. 1593)
    • 1584 – Albert VI, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1666)
    • 1587 – Stefano Landi, Italian composer and educator (d. 1639)
    • 1629 – Archibald Campbell, 9th Earl of Argyll, Scottish peer (d. 1685)
    • 1651 – Quirinus Kuhlmann, German Baroque poet and mystic (d. 1689)
    • 1671 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (d. 1713)
    • 1672 – Antoine Augustin Calmet, French monk and theologian (d. 1757)
    • 1677 – Nicola Fago, Italian composer and teacher (d. 1745)
    • 1718 – Johan Ernst Gunnerus, Norwegian bishop, botanist and zoologist (d. 1773)
    • 1720 – Gian Francesco Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1803)
    • 1746 – Maria Amalia, Duchess of Parma (d. 1806)
    • 1770 – Anton Reicha, Bohemian composer and flautist (d. 1836)
    • 1777 – Matija Nenadović, Serbian priest, historian, and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Serbia (d. 1854)
    • 1786 – François Arago, French mathematician and politician, 25th Prime Minister of France (d. 1853)
    • 1799 – Benoît Paul Émile Clapeyron, French physicist and engineer (d. 1864)
    • 1802 – Victor Hugo, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1885)
    • 1808 – Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879)
    • 1808 – Nathan Kelley, American architect, designed the Ohio Statehouse (d. 1871)
    • 1829 – Levi Strauss, German-American fashion designer, founded Levi Strauss & Co. (d. 1902)
    • 1842 – Camille Flammarion, French astronomer and author (d. 1925)
    • 1846 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (d. 1917)
    • 1852 – John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes (d. 1943)
    • 1857 – Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (d. 1926)
    • 1861 – Ferdinand I of Bulgaria (d. 1948)
    • 1861 – Nadezhda Krupskaya, Russian soldier and politician (d. 1939)
    • 1866 – Herbert Henry Dow, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Dow Chemical Company (d. 1930)
    • 1877 – Henry Barwell, Australian politician, 28th Premier of South Australia (d. 1959)
    • 1877 – Rudolph Dirks, German-American illustrator (d. 1968)
    • 1879 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (d. 1941)
    • 1880 – Kenneth Edgeworth, Irish astronomer (d. 1972)
    • 1881 – Janus Djurhuus, Faroese poet (d. 1948)
    • 1882 – Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d. 1968)
    • 1885 – Aleksandras Stulginskis, Lithuanian farmer and politician, 2nd President of Lithuania (d. 1969)
    • 1887 – Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player and coach (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – William Frawley, American actor and vaudevillian (d. 1966)
    • 1887 – Stefan Grabiński, Polish author and educator (d. 1936)
    • 1893 – Wallace Fard Muhammad, American religious leader, founded the Nation of Islam (disappeared 1934)
    • 1893 – Dorothy Whipple, English novelist (d. 1966)
    • 1896 – Andrei Zhdanov, Ukrainian-Russian civil servant and politician (d. 1948)
    • 1899 – Max Petitpierre, Swiss jurist and politician, 54th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1994)
    • 1900 – Halina Konopacka, Polish discus thrower and poet (d. 1989)
    • 1900 – Fritz Wiessner, German-American mountaineer (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Jean Bruller, French author and illustrator, co-founded Les Éditions de Minuit (d. 1991)
    • 1903 – Giulio Natta, Italian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1979)
    • 1903 – Orde Wingate, English general (d. 1944)
    • 1906 – Madeleine Carroll, English actress (d. 1987)
    • 1908 – Tex Avery, American animator, producer, and voice actor (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – Nestor Mesta Chayres, Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist (d. 1971)
    • 1908 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d. 1949)
    • 1909 – Fanny Cradock, English chef, author, and critic (d. 1994)
    • 1909 – Talal of Jordan (d. 1972)
    • 1910 – Vic Woodley, English footballer (d. 1978)
    • 1911 – Tarō Okamoto, Japanese painter and sculptor (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Dane Clark, American actor and director (d. 1998)
    • 1913 – George Barker, English author and poet (d. 1991)
    • 1914 – Robert Alda, American actor, singer, and director (d. 1986)
    • 1916 – Jackie Gleason, American actor and singer (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – Otis R. Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (d. 2013)
    • 1918 – Pyotr Masherov, Leader of Soviet Belarus (d. 1980)
    • 1918 – Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (d. 1985)
    • 1919 – Mason Adams, American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Danny Gardella, American baseball player and trainer (d. 2005)
    • 1920 – Tony Randall, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1920 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist and author (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Bill Johnston, Australian cricketer and businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1922 – Margaret Leighton, English actress (d. 1976)
    • 1924 – Noboru Takeshita, Japanese soldier and politician, 74th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Marc Bucci, American composer, lyricist, and dramatist (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Everton Weekes, Barbadian cricketer and referee
    • 1926 – Doris Belack, American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Verne Gagne, American football player, wrestler, and trainer (d. 2015)
    • 1927 – Tom Kennedy, American game show host and actor
    • 1928 – Fats Domino, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (d. 2014)
    • 1931 – Ally MacLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2004)
    • 1931 – Robert Novak, American journalist and author (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Josephine Tewson, English actress
    • 1932 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2003)
    • 1933 – James Goldsmith, French-British businessman and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1934 – Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina, Algerian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1936 – José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (d. 2014)
    • 1937 – Paul Dickson, American football player and coach (d. 2011)
    • 1939 – Chuck Wepner, American professional boxer
    • 1940 – Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (d. 2013)
    • 1942 – Jozef Adamec, Slovak footballer and manager (d. 2018)
    • 1943 – Paul Cotton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Bill Duke, American actor and director
    • 1943 – Dante Ferretti, Italian art director and costume designer
    • 1943 – Bob “The Bear” Hite, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1981)
    • 1944 – Christopher Hope, South African author and poet
    • 1944 – Ronald Lauder, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Austria
    • 1945 – Peter Brock, Australian race car driver (d. 2006)
    • 1945 – Marta Kristen, Norwegian-American actress
    • 1945 – Mitch Ryder, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1946 – Colin Bell, English footballer
    • 1946 – Ahmed Zewail, Egyptian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2016)
    • 1947 – Sandie Shaw, English singer and psychotherapist
    • 1948 – Sharyn McCrumb, American author
    • 1949 – Simon Crean, Australian trade union leader and politician, 14th Australian Minister for the Arts
    • 1949 – Elizabeth George, American author and educator
    • 1949 – Emma Kirkby, English soprano
    • 1950 – Jonathan Cain, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1950 – Helen Clark, New Zealand academic and politician, 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand
    • 1951 – Steve Bell, English cartoonist
    • 1951 – Wayne Goss, Australian lawyer and politician, 34th Premier of Queensland (d. 2014)
    • 1953 – Michael Bolton, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1954 – Prince Ernst August of Hanover
    • 1954 – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish politician, 12th President of Turkey
    • 1955 – Andreas Maislinger, Austrian historian and academic, founded the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service
    • 1956 – Michel Houellebecq, French author, poet, screenwriter, and director
    • 1957 – David Beasley, American lawyer and politician, 113th Governor of South Carolina
    • 1957 – Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1957 – Keena Rothhammer, American swimmer
    • 1958 – Paul Ackford, English rugby player
    • 1958 – Greg Germann, American actor and director
    • 1958 – Susan Helms, American general, engineer, and astronaut
    • 1958 – Tim Kaine, American lawyer and politician, 70th Governor of Virginia
    • 1959 – Rolando Blackman, American basketball player and coach
    • 1959 – Ahmet Davutoğlu, Turkish political scientist, academic, and politician, 37th Prime Minister of Turkey
    • 1960 – Jaz Coleman, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1962 – Ahn Cheol-soo, South Korean physician, academic, and politician
    • 1963 – Chase Masterson, American actress, singer, and activist
    • 1965 – James Mitchell, American wrestler and manager
    • 1966 – Garry Conille, Haitian physician and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Haiti
    • 1966 – Marc Fortier, French-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer
    • 1967 – Mark Carroll, Australian rugby league player
    • 1967 – Kazuyoshi Miura, Japanese footballer
    • 1968 – Tim Commerford, American bass player
    • 1969 – Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer and producer
    • 1970 – Mark Harper, English accountant and politician, Minister of State for Immigration
    • 1970 – Scott Mahon, Australian rugby league player
    • 1971 – Erykah Badu, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1971 – Max Martin, Swedish-American record producer and songwriter
    • 1971 – Hélène Segara, French singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1973 – Marshall Faulk, American football player
    • 1973 – Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer and manager
    • 1973 – Jenny Thompson, American swimmer
    • 1974 – Sébastien Loeb, French race car driver
    • 1974 – Mikee Cojuangco-Jaworski, Filipina television actress, host and equestrienne
    • 1976 – Nalini Anantharaman, French mathematician
    • 1976 – Chad Urmston, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1977 – Tim Thomas, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Shane Williams, Welsh rugby union player
    • 1978 – Abdoulaye Faye, Senegalese footballer
    • 1979 – Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Steve Evans, Welsh footballer
    • 1979 – Pedro Mendes, Portuguese international footballer, midfielder
    • 1980 – Steve Blake, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Kertus Davis, American race car driver
    • 1981 – Oh Seung-bum, South Korean footballer
    • 1982 – Li Na, Chinese tennis player
    • 1982 – Matt Prior, South African-English cricketer
    • 1982 – Nate Ruess, American singer-songwriter
    • 1983 – Jerome Harrison, American football player
    • 1983 – Pepe, Brazilian-Portuguese footballer
    • 1984 – Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese international footballer, forward
    • 1984 – Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer-songwriter
    • 1984 – Beren Saat, Turkish actress
    • 1985 – Fernando Llorente, Spanish international footballer, striker
    • 1986 – Hannah Kearney, American skier
    • 1989 – Gabriel Obertan, French footballer
    • 1990 – Kateřina Cachová, Czech heptathlete
    • 1990 – Takanoiwa Yoshimori, Mongolian sumo wrestler
    • 1991 – Lee Chae-rin, South Korean singer
    • 1992 – Mikael Granlund, Finnish professional hockey player
    • 1992 – Michael Chee Kam, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1997 – Reghan Tumilty, Scottish footballer

    Deaths on February 26

    • 420 – Porphyry of Gaza, Greek bishop and saint (b. 347)
    • 943 – Muirchertach mac Néill, king of Ailech (Ireland)
    • 1154 – Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093)
    • 1266 – Manfred, King of Sicily (b. 1232)
    • 1275 – Margaret of England, Queen consort of Scots (b. 1240)
    • 1349 – Fatima bint al-Ahmar, Nasrid princess in the Emirate of Granada (b. c.1260)
    • 1360 – Roger Mortimer, 2nd Earl of March, English commander (b. 1328)
    • 1462 – John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, English politician (b. 1408)
    • 1548 – Lorenzino de’ Medici, Italian writer and assassin (b. 1514)
    • 1577 – Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533)
    • 1603 – Maria of Austria, Holy Roman Empress, spouse of Maximilian II (b. 1528)
    • 1608 – John Still, English bishop (b. 1543)
    • 1611 – Antonio Possevino, Italian priest and diplomat (b. 1533)
    • 1625 – Anna Vasa of Sweden, Polish and Swedish princess (b. 1568)
    • 1630 – William Brade, English violinist and composer (b. 1560)
    • 1638 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician and linguist (b. 1581)
    • 1723 – Thomas d’Urfey, English poet and playwright (b. 1653)
    • 1726 – Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1662)
    • 1770 – Giuseppe Tartini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1692)
    • 1790 – Joshua Rowley, English admiral (b. 1730)
    • 1802 – Esek Hopkins, American admiral (b. 1718)
    • 1806 – Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, Haitian-French general (b. 1762)
    • 1813 – Robert R. Livingston, American lawyer and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Foreign Affairs (b. 1746)
    • 1815 – Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. 1737)
    • 1821 – Joseph de Maistre, French lawyer and diplomat (b. 1753)
    • 1864 – Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, Canadian jurist and politician, 3rd Premier of Canada East (b. 1807)
    • 1883 – Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek lawyer and politician, 56th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817)
    • 1887 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, First Indian women physician (b. 1865)
    • 1889 – Karl Davydov, Russian cellist and composer (b. 1838)
    • 1903 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American engineer, invented the Gatling gun (b. 1818)
    • 1906 – Jean Lanfray, Swiss convicted murderer (b. 1874)
    • 1913 – Felix Draeseke, German composer and academic (b. 1835)
    • 1921 – Carl Menger, Polish-Austrian economist and academic (b. 1840)
    • 1930 – Mary Whiton Calkins, American philosopher and psychologist (b. 1863)
    • 1931 – Otto Wallach, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1847)
    • 1936 – February 26 Incident:
      • Takahashi Korekiyo, Japanese accountant and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1854)
      • Saitō Makoto, Japanese admiral and politician, 30th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1858)
      • Jōtarō Watanabe, Japanese general (b. 1874)
    • 1943 – Theodor Eicke, German general (b. 1892)
    • 1945 – Sándor Szurmay, Minister of Defence of the Hungarian portion of Austria-Hungary (b. 1860)
    • 1947 – Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss judge and politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1868)
    • 1950 – Harry Lauder, Scottish comedian and singer (b. 1870)
    • 1951 – Sabiha Kasimati, Albanian ichthyologist (b. 1912) executed with 20 others
    • 1952 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (b. 1878)
    • 1961 – Karl Albiker, German sculptor, lithographer, and educator (b. 1878)
    • 1961 – Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909)
    • 1966 – Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian poet and politician (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Levi Eshkol, Israeli soldier and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895)
    • 1969 – Karl Jaspers, German-Swiss psychiatrist and philosopher (b. 1883)
    • 1981 – Robert Aickman, English author and activist (b. 1914)
    • 1981 – Howard Hanson, American composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1896)
    • 1985 – Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch-American economist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
    • 1989 – Roy Eldridge, American trumpet player (b. 1911)
    • 1993 – Constance Ford, American model and actress (b. 1923)
    • 1994 – Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961)
    • 1995 – Jack Clayton, English director and producer (b. 1921)
    • 1997 – David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929)
    • 1998 – Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 2000 – George L. Street III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919)
    • 2004 – Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (b. 1905)
    • 2004 – Boris Trajkovski, Macedonian politician, 2nd President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956)
    • 2005 – Jef Raskin, American computer scientist, created Macintosh (b. 1943)
    • 2006 – Georgina Battiscombe, British biographer (b. 1905)
    • 2008 – Bodil Udsen, Danish actress (b. 1925)
    • 2009 – Johnny Kerr, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Wendy Richard, English actress (b. 1943)
    • 2009 – Norm Van Lier, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Jun Seba, also known as “Nujabes”, Japanese record producer, DJ, composer and arranger (b. 1974)
    • 2011 – Arnošt Lustig, Czech author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Richard Carpenter, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Marie-Claire Alain, French organist and educator (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Stéphane Hessel, German-French diplomat and author (b. 1917)
    • 2013 – Simon Li, Hong Kong judge and politician (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Sorel Etrog, Romanian-Canadian sculptor, painter, and illustrator (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Phyllis Krasilovsky, American author and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Sheppard Frere, English historian and archaeologist (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – Theodore Hesburgh, American priest, theologian, educator, and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Earl Lloyd, American basketball player and coach (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Tom Schweich, American lawyer and politician, 36th State Auditor of Missouri (b. 1960)
    • 2016 – Andy Bathgate, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1932)
    • 2016 – Don Getty, Canadian football player and politician, 11th Premier of Alberta (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Joseph Wapner, American lieutenant and judge (b. 1919)

    Holidays and observances on February 26

    • Christian feast day:
      • Alexander of Alexandria
      • Emily Malbone Morgan (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Isabelle of France
      • Li Tim-Oi (Anglican Church of Canada)
      • Porphyry of Gaza
      • February 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • The first day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (Please note that this observance is only locked into this date the Gregorian calendar on this date if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz takes place on March 21, which it doesn’t in all years)
    • Day of Remembrance for Victims of Khojaly Massacre (Azerbaijan)
    • Liberation Day (Kuwait)
    • Saviours’ Day (Nation of Islam)

  • February 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    February 8 in History

    • 421 – Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
    • 1238 – The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
    • 1250 – Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al Mansurah.
    • 1347 – The Byzantine civil war of 1341–47 ends with a power-sharing agreement between John VI Kantakouzenos and John V Palaiologos.
    • 1575 – Leiden University is founded, and given the motto Praesidium Libertatis.
    • 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots, is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
    • 1590 – Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva is tortured by the Inquisition in Mexico, charged with concealing the practice Judaism of his sister and her children.
    • 1601 – Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Queen Elizabeth I and the revolt is quickly crushed.
    • 1693 – The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.
    • 1807 – After two days of bitter fighting, the Russians under Bennigsen and the Prussians under L’Estocq concede the Battle of Eylau to Napoleon.
    • 1817 – Las Heras crosses the Andes with an army to join San Martín and liberate Chile from Spain.
    • 1837 – Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
    • 1865 – Delaware refuses to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Slavery was outlawed in the United States, including Delaware, when the Amendment was ratified by the requisite number of states on December 6, 1865. Delaware ratified the Thirteenth Amendment on February 12, 1901, which was the ninety-second anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.
    • 1879 – Sandford Fleming first proposes adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute.
    • 1879 – The England cricket team led by Lord Harris is attacked in a riot during a match in Sydney.
    • 1885 – The first government-approved Japanese immigrants arrived in Hawaii.
    • 1887 – The Dawes Act authorizes the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
    • 1904 – Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
    • 1904 – Aceh War: Dutch Colonial Army’s Marechaussee regiment led by General G.C.E. van Daalen launch military campaign to capture Gayo Highland, Alas Highland, and Batak Highland in Dutch East Indies’ Northern Sumatra region, which ends with genocide to Acehnese and Bataks people.
    • 1910 – The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
    • 1915 – D. W. Griffith’s controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
    • 1922 – United States President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio set in the White House.
    • 1924 – Capital punishment: The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber takes place in Nevada.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japan invades Singapore.
    • 1942 – World War II: Dutch Colonial Army General Destruction Unit (AVC, Algemene Vernielings Corps) burns Banjarmasin, South Borneo to avoid Japanese capture.
    • 1945 – World War II: The United Kingdom and Canada commence Operation Veritable to occupy the west bank of the Rhine.
    • 1945 – World War II: Mikhail Devyataev escapes with nine other Soviet inmates from a Nazi concentration camp in Peenemünde on the island of Usedom by hijacking the camp commandant’s Heinkel He 111.
    • 1946 – The first portion of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, the first serious challenge to the popularity of the Authorized King James Version, is published.
    • 1946 – The People’s Republic of Korea is dissolved in the North, establishing the communist-controlled Provisional People’s Committee of North Korea.
    • 1950 – Cold War: The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, is established.
    • 1955 – The Government of Sindh, Pakistan, abolishes the Jagirdari system in the province. One million acres (4000 km2) of land thus acquired is to be distributed among the landless peasants.
    • 1960 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issues an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name Mountbatten-Windsor.
    • 1962 – Charonne massacre. Nine trade unionists are killed by French police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Paris Prefecture of Police.
    • 1963 – Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
    • 1963 – The regime of Prime Minister of Iraq, Brigadier General Abd al-Karim Qasim is overthrown by the Ba’ath Party.
    • 1965 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean and explodes, killing everyone aboard.
    • 1968 – American civil rights movement: The Orangeburg massacre: An attack on black students from South Carolina State University who are protesting racial segregation at the town’s only bowling alley, leaves three or four dead in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
    • 1971 – The NASDAQ stock market index opens for the first time.
    • 1971 – South Vietnamese ground troops launch an incursion into Laos to try to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop communist infiltration.
    • 1974 – After 84 days in space, the crew of Skylab 4, the last crew to visit American space station Skylab, returns to Earth.
    • 1978 – Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
    • 1981 – Twenty-one association football spectators are trampled to death at Karaiskakis Stadium in Neo Faliro, Greece, after a football match between Olympiacos F.C. and AEK Athens F.C.
    • 1983 – The Melbourne dust storm hits Australia’s second largest city. The result of the worst drought on record and a day of severe weather conditions, a 320 metres (1,050 ft) deep dust cloud envelops the city, turning day to night.
    • 1986 – Hinton train collision: Twenty-three people are killed when a VIA Rail passenger train collides with a 118-car Canadian National freight train near the town of Hinton, Alberta, west of Edmonton. It is the worst rail accident in Canada until the Lac-Mégantic, Quebec derailment in 2013 which killed forty-seven people.
    • 1989 – Independent Air Flight 1851 strikes Pico Alto mountain while on approach to Santa Maria Airport (Azores) killing all 144 passengers on board.
    • 1993 – General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
    • 1993 – An Iran Air Tours Tupolev Tu-154 and an Iranian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 collide in mid-air near Qods, Iran, killing all 133 people on board both aircraft.
    • 1996 – The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
    • 2005 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former MP A. Chandranehru dies of injuries sustained in an ambush the previous day.
    • 2010 – A freak storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan triggers a series of at least 36 avalanches, burying over two miles of road, killing at least 172 people and trapping over 2,000 travelers.
    • 2013 – A blizzard disrupts transportation and leaves hundreds of thousands of people without electricity in the Northeastern United States and parts of Canada.
    • 2014 – A hotel fire in Medina, Saudi Arabia kills 15 Egyptian pilgrims with 130 others injured.

    Births on February 8

    • 120 – Vettius Valens, Greek astronomer, mathematician, and astrologer (probable; d. 175)
    • 412 – Proclus, Greek mathematician and philosopher (probable; d. 485)
    • 882 – Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, Egyptian commander and politician, Abbasid Governor of Egypt (d. 946)
    • 1191 – Yaroslav II of Vladimir (d. 1246)
    • 1291 – Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
    • 1405 – Constantine XI Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (d. 1453)
    • 1487 – Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)
    • 1514 – Daniele Barbaro, Venetian churchman, diplomat and scholar (d. 1570)
    • 1552 – Agrippa d’Aubigné, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)
    • 1577 – Robert Burton, English priest, physician, and scholar (d. 1640)
    • 1591 – Guercino, Italian painter (d. 1666)
    • 1685 – Charles-Jean-François Hénault, French historian and author (d. 1770)
    • 1700 – Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1782)
    • 1720 – Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
    • 1741 – André Grétry, Belgian-French organist and composer (d. 1813)
    • 1762 – Gia Long, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1820)
    • 1764 – Joseph Leopold Eybler, Austrian composer and conductor (d. 1846)
    • 1792 – Caroline Augusta of Bavaria (d. 1873)
    • 1798 – Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia (d. 1849)
    • 1807 – Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and zoologist (d. 1889)
    • 1817 – Richard S. Ewell, American general (d. 1872)
    • 1819 – John Ruskin, English author, critic, and academic (d. 1900)
    • 1820 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American general (d. 1891)
    • 1822 – Maxime Du Camp, French photographer and journalist (d. 1894)
    • 1825 – Henry Walter Bates, English geographer, biologist, and explorer (d. 1892)
    • 1828 – Jules Verne, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1905)
    • 1829 – Vital-Justin Grandin, French-Canadian bishop and missionary (d. 1902)
    • 1830 – Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1876)
    • 1834 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (d. 1907)
    • 1850 – Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)
    • 1860 – Adella Brown Bailey, American politician and suffragist (d. 1937)
    • 1866 – Moses Gomberg, Ukrainian-American chemist and academic (d. 1947)
    • 1876 – Paula Modersohn-Becker, German painter (d. 1907)
    • 1878 – Martin Buber, Austrian-Israeli philosopher and academic (d. 1965)
    • 1880 – Franz Marc, German soldier and painter (d. 1916)
    • 1880 – Viktor Schwanneke, German actor and director (d. 1931)
    • 1882 – Thomas Selfridge, American lieutenant and pilot (d. 1908)
    • 1883 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech-American economist and political scientist (d. 1950)
    • 1884 – Snowy Baker, Australian boxer, rugby player, and actor (d. 1953)
    • 1886 – Charlie Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)
    • 1888 – Edith Evans, English actress (d. 1976)
    • 1888 – Giuseppe Ungaretti, Egyptian-Italian soldier, journalist, and poet (d. 1970)
    • 1890 – Claro M. Recto, Filipino lawyer, jurist, and politician (d. 1960)
    • 1893 – Ba Maw, Burmese lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Burma (d. 1977)
    • 1894 – King Vidor, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
    • 1897 – Zakir Hussain, Indian academic and politician, 3rd president of India (d. 1969)
    • 1899 – Lonnie Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
    • 1903 – Greta Keller, Austrian-American singer and actress (d. 1977)
    • 1903 – Tunku Abdul Rahman, 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1990)
    • 1906 – Chester Carlson, American physicist and lawyer, invented Xerography (d. 1968)
    • 1909 – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian philanthropist (d. 2012)
    • 1911 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet and author (d. 1979)
    • 1913 – Betty Field, American actress (d. 1973)
    • 1913 – Danai Stratigopoulou, Greek singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1914 – Bill Finger, American author and screenwriter, co-created Batman (d. 1974)
    • 1915 – Georges Guétary, Egyptian-French singer, dancer, and actor (d. 1997)
    • 1918 – Freddie Blassie, American wrestler and manager (d. 2003)
    • 1921 – Barney Danson, Canadian colonel and politician, 21st Canadian Minister of National Defence (d. 2011)
    • 1921 – Nexhmije Hoxha, Albanian politician (d. 2020)
    • 1921 – Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
    • 1922 – Audrey Meadows, American actress and banker (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – Jack Lemmon, American actor (d. 2001)
    • 1926 – Neal Cassady, American author and poet (d. 1968)
    • 1926 – Birgitte Reimer, Danish film actress
    • 1930 – Alejandro Rey, Argentinian-American actor and director (d. 1987)
    • 1931 – James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
    • 1932 – Cliff Allison, English racing driver and businessman (d. 2005)
    • 1932 – John Williams, American pianist, composer, and conductor
    • 1933 – Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
    • 1937 – Joe Raposo, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
    • 1937 – Harry Wu, Chinese human rights activist (d. 2016)
    • 1939 – Jose Maria Sison, Filipino activist and theorist
    • 1940 – Sophie Lihau-Kanza, Congolese politician (d. 1999)
    • 1940 – Ted Koppel, English-American journalist
    • 1941 – Nick Nolte, American actor and producer
    • 1941 – Tom Rush, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1941 – Jagjit Singh, Indian singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1942 – Robert Klein, American comedian, actor, and singer
    • 1942 – Terry Melcher, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1944 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Sebastião Salgado, Brazilian photographer and journalist
    • 1947 – J. Richard Gott, American astronomer and academic
    • 1948 – Dan Seals, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
    • 1949 – Brooke Adams, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1949 – Niels Arestrup, French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1953 – Mary Steenburgen, American actress
    • 1954 – Joe Maddon, American baseball coach and manager
    • 1955 – John Grisham, American lawyer and author
    • 1955 – Jim Neidhart, American wrestler (d. 2018)
    • 1956 – Marques Johnson, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1957 – Karine Chemla, French historian of mathematics and sinologist
    • 1958 – Sherri Martel, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
    • 1958 – Marina Silva, Brazilian environmentalist and politician
    • 1959 – Heinz Gunthardt, Swiss tennis player
    • 1959 – Andrew Hoy, Australian equestrian rider
    • 1959 – Mauricio Macri, Argentinian businessman and politician, President of Argentina
    • 1960 – Benigno Aquino III, Filipino politician, 15th President of the Philippines
    • 1960 – Dino Ciccarelli, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1961 – Vince Neil, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1963 – Mohammad Azharuddin, Indian cricketer and politician
    • 1964 – Arlie Petters, Belizean-American mathematical physicist and academic
    • 1964 – Santosh Sivan, Indian director, cinematographer, producer, and actor
    • 1964 – Trinny Woodall, English fashion designer and author
    • 1966 – Kirk Muller, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1966 – Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
    • 1968 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)
    • 1969 – Pauly Fuemana, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
    • 1969 – Mary Robinette Kowal, American puppeteer and author
    • 1969 – Mary McCormack, American actress and producer
    • 1970 – Stephanie Courtney, American actress and comedian
    • 1970 – John Filan, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1970 – Alonzo Mourning, American basketball player and executive
    • 1971 – Aidy Boothroyd, English footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Mika Karppinen, Swedish-Finnish drummer and songwriter
    • 1972 – Big Show, American wrestler and actor
    • 1974 – Seth Green, American actor, voice artist, comedian, producer, writer, and director
    • 1976 – Khaled Mashud, Bangladeshi cricketer
    • 1976 – Nicolas Vouilloz, French rally driver and mountain biker
    • 1977 – Roman Kostomarov, Russian ice dancer
    • 1978 – Mick de Brenni, Australian politician
    • 1979 – Aaron Cook, American baseball player
    • 1980 – William Jackson Harper, American actor
    • 1981 – Steve Gohouri, Ivorian footballer (d. 2015)
    • 1981 – Myriam Montemayor Cruz, Mexican singer
    • 1983 – Jermaine Anderson, Canadian basketball player
    • 1983 – Cory Jane, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1983 – Jim Verraros, American singer and actor
    • 1984 – Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Canadian skier
    • 1984 – Cecily Strong, American actress
    • 1984 – Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, Greek basketball player
    • 1985 – Petra Cetkovská, Czech tennis player
    • 1985 – Jeremy Davis, American bass player and songwriter
    • 1987 – Javi García, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Carolina Kostner, Italian figure skater
    • 1988 – Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer
    • 1989 – Zac Guildford, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1989 – Julio Jones, American football player
    • 1989 – Courtney Vandersloot, American basketball player
    • 1990 – Emily Scarratt, English rugby union player
    • 1990 – Klay Thompson, American professional basketball player
    • 1991 – Aristidis Soiledis, Greek footballer
    • 1991 – Roberto Soriano, Italian footballer
    • 1991 – Nam Woo-hyun, South Korean singer and actor with the boy band Infinite.
    • 1992 – Bruno Martins Indi, Portuguese-Dutch footballer
    • 1992 – Carl Jenkinson, English-Finnish footballer
    • 1994 – Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Turkish footballer
    • 1994 – Nikki Yanofsky, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1995 – Joshua Kimmich, German footballer
    • 1996 – Kenedy, Brazilian footballer

    Deaths on February 8

    • 538 – Severus of Antioch, patriarch of Antioch
    • 1135 – Elvira of Castile, Queen of Sicily (b.c. 1100)
    • 1204 – Alexios IV Angelos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1182)
    • 1229 – Ali ibn Hanzala, sixth Dāʿī al-Muṭlaq of Tayyibi Isma’ilism
    • 1250 – Robert I, Count of Artois (b. 1216)
    • 1250 – William II Longespée, English martyr (b. 1212)
    • 1265 – Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
    • 1285 – Theodoric of Landsberg (b. 1242)
    • 1296 – Przemysł II of Poland (b. 1257)
    • 1314 – Helen of Anjou, queen of Serbia (b. 1236)
    • 1382 – Blanche of France, Duchess of Orléans (b. 1328)
    • 1537 – Saint Gerolamo Emiliani, Italian humanitarian (b. 1481)
    • 1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1542)
    • 1599 – Robert Rollock, Scottish theologian and academic (b. 1555)
    • 1623 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (b. 1546)
    • 1676 – Alexis of Russia (b. 1629)
    • 1696 – Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
    • 1709 – Giuseppe Torelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1658)
    • 1725 – Peter the Great, Russian emperor (b. 1672)
    • 1749 – Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
    • 1750 – Aaron Hill, English playwright and poet (b. 1685)
    • 1768 – George Dance the Elder, English architect, designed St Leonard’s and St Botolph’s Aldgate (b. 1695)
    • 1772 – Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha (b. 1719)
    • 1849 – François Habeneck, French violinist and conductor (b. 1781)
    • 1849 – France Prešeren, Slovenian poet and lawyer (b. 1800)
    • 1856 – Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist and academic (b. 1773)
    • 1907 – Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist and academic (b. 1854)
    • 1910 – Hans Jæger, Norwegian philosopher and activist (b. 1854)
    • 1914 – Dayrolles Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, 4th Baron Ventry, Irish hereditary peer (b. 1828)
    • 1915 – François Langelier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1838)
    • 1921 – George Formby Sr, English actor and singer (b. 1876)
    • 1921 – Peter Kropotkin, Russian zoologist, geographer, and philologist (b. 1842)
    • 1928 – Theodor Curtius, German chemist (b. 1857)
    • 1932 – Yordan Milanov, Bulgarian architect, designed the Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Church (b. 1867)
    • 1935 – Eemil Nestor Setälä, Finnish linguist and politician, Finnish Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1864)
    • 1936 – Charles Curtis, American lawyer and politician, 31st Vice President of the United States (b. 1860)
    • 1945 – Italo Santelli, Italian fencer and coach (b. 1866)
    • 1956 – Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (b. 1862)
    • 1957 – Walther Bothe, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1891)
    • 1957 – John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
    • 1959 – William J. Donovan, American head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (b. 1883)
    • 1960 – J. L. Austin, English philosopher and academic (b. 1911)
    • 1960 – Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect and engineer, designed the Red telephone box and Liverpool Cathedral (b. 1880)
    • 1963 – George Dolenz, Italian-American actor (b. 1908)
    • 1964 – Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist and author (b. 1888)
    • 1968 – Maurice Maillot, French actor (b. 1906)
    • 1972 – Markos Vamvakaris, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1905)
    • 1975 – Robert Robinson, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
    • 1977 – Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and theorist (b. 1901)
    • 1979 – Dennis Gabor, Hungarian-English physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
    • 1980 – Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1936)
    • 1982 – John Hay Whitney, American financier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1904)
    • 1985 – William Lyons, English businessman, co-founded Swallow Sidecar Company (b. 1901)
    • 1987 – Harriet E. MacGibbon, American actress (b. 1905)
    • 1990 – Del Shannon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)
    • 1992 – Stanley Armour Dunham, American sergeant (b. 1918)
    • 1992 – Denny Wright, British guitarist (b. 1924)
    • 1994 – Raymond Scott, American pianist and composer (b. 1908)
    • 1996 – Del Ennis, American baseball player (b. 1925)
    • 1997 – Corey Scott, American motorcycle stunt rider (b. 1968)
    • 1998 – Halldór Laxness, Icelandic author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 1998 – Enoch Powell, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Health (b. 1912)
    • 1998 – Julian Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
    • 1999 – Iris Murdoch, Irish-born British novelist and philosopher (b. 1919)
    • 2000 – Sid Abel, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1918)
    • 2000 – Derrick Thomas, American football player (b. 1967)
    • 2001 – Ivo Caprino, Norwegian director and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Ong Teng Cheong, Singaporean architect and politician, 5th President of Singapore (b. 1936)
    • 2004 – Julius Schwartz, American journalist and author (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – A. Chandranehru, Sri Lankan sailor and politician (b. 1944)
    • 2006 – Elton Dean, English saxophonist, songwriter, and producer (b. 1945)
    • 2006 – Thierry Fortineau, French actor (b. 1953)
    • 2006 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
    • 2007 – Anna Nicole Smith, American model and actress (b. 1967)
    • 2007 – Ian Stevenson, Canadian-American psychiatrist and academic (b. 1918)
    • 2008 – Ruby Garrard Woodson, American educator and cultural historian (b. 1931)
    • 2010 – John Murtha, American colonel and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2011 – Tony Malinosky, American baseball player and soldier (b. 1909)
    • 2012 – Wando, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
    • 2012 – Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi and author (b. 1912)
    • 2012 – Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
    • 2013 – Giovanni Cheli, Italian cardinal (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – James DePreist, American conductor and educator (b. 1936)
    • 2013 – Maureen Dragone, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Nevin Scrimshaw, American scientist (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Els Borst, Dutch physician and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1932)
    • 2014 – Maicon Pereira de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer (b. 1988)
    • 2014 – Nancy Holt, American sculptor and painter (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Rauni-Leena Luukanen-Kilde, Finnish physician and parapsychologist (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Amelia Bence, Argentine actress (b. 1914)
    • 2016 – Nida Fazli, Indian poet and songwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2016 – Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (b. 1938)
    • 2016 – Violette Verdy, French ballerina (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Peter Mansfield, English physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Rina Matsuno, Japanese idol singer (Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku) (b. 1998)
    • 2017 – Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, English socialite, television presenter, model, and charity patron (b. 1971)
    • 2017 – Alan Simpson, English scriptwriter (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on February 8

    • Christian feast day:
      • Cuthmann of Steyning
      • Elffled of Whitby
      • Gerolamo Emiliani
      • Josephine Bakhita
      • Juventius of Pavia
      • Meingold of Huy
      • Stephen of Muret
      • February 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Feast of Orthodoxy can fall, while March 14 is the latest; celebrated 42 days before Easter. (Orthodoxy)
    • Parinirvana Day (some Mahayana Buddhism traditions, most celebrate on February 15)
    • Prešeren Day (Slovenia)
    • Propose Day

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

    • 1327 – The teenaged Edward III is crowned King of England, but the country is ruled by his mother Queen Isabella and her lover Roger Mortimer.
    • 1411 – The First Peace of Thorn is signed in Thorn (Toruń), Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights (Prussia).
    • 1662 – The Chinese general Koxinga seizes the island of Taiwan after a nine-month siege.
    • 1713 – The Kalabalik or Skirmish at Bender results from the Ottoman sultan’s order that his unwelcome guest, King Charles XII of Sweden, be seized.
    • 1793 – French Revolutionary Wars: France declares war on the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
    • 1796 – The capital of Upper Canada is moved from Newark to York.
    • 1814 – Mayon in the Philippines erupts, killing around 1,200 people, the most devastating eruption of the volcano.
    • 1835 – Slavery is abolished in Mauritius.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.
    • 1864 – Second Schleswig War: Prussian forces crossed the border into Schleswig, starting the war.
    • 1865 – President Abraham Lincoln signs the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
    • 1884 – The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
    • 1893 – Thomas A. Edison finishes construction of the first motion picture studio, the Black Maria in West Orange, New Jersey.
    • 1895 – Fountains Valley, Pretoria, the oldest nature reserve in Africa, is proclaimed by President Paul Kruger.
    • 1896 – La bohème premieres in Turin at the Teatro Regio (Turin), conducted by the young Arturo Toscanini.
    • 1897 – Shinhan Bank, the oldest bank in South Korea, opens in Seoul.
    • 1908 – Lisbon Regicide: King Carlos I of Portugal and Infante Luis Filipe are shot dead in Lisbon.
    • 1918 – Russia adopts the Gregorian calendar.
    • 1924 – Russia–United Kingdom relations are restored, over six years after the Communist revolution.
    • 1942 – World War II: Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of German-occupied Norway, appoints Vidkun Quisling the Minister President of the National Government.
    • 1942 – World War II: U.S. Navy conducts Marshalls–Gilberts raids, the first offensive action by the United States against Japanese forces in the Pacific Theater.
    • 1942 – Voice of America, the official external radio and television service of the United States government, begins broadcasting with programs aimed at areas controlled by the Axis powers.
    • 1942 – Mao Zedong makes a speech on “Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature”, which puts into motion the Yan’an Rectification Movement.
    • 1946 – Trygve Lie of Norway is picked to be the first United Nations Secretary-General.
    • 1946 – The Parliament of Hungary abolishes the monarchy after nine centuries, and proclaims the Hungarian Republic.
    • 1960 – Four black students stage the first of the Greensboro sit-ins at a lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina.
    • 1964 – The Beatles have their first number one hit in the United States with “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: The execution of Viet Cong officer Nguyễn Văn Lém by South Vietnamese National Police Chief Nguyễn Ngọc Loan is recorded on motion picture film, as well as in an iconic still photograph taken by Eddie Adams.
    • 1968 – Canada’s three military services, the Royal Canadian Navy, the Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force, are unified into the Canadian Forces.
    • 1968 – The New York Central Railroad and the Pennsylvania Railroad are merged to form Penn Central Transportation.
    • 1972 – Kuala Lumpur becomes a city by a royal charter granted by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia.
    • 1974 – A fire in the 25-story Joelma Building in São Paulo, Brazil kills 189 and injures 293.
    • 1979 – Iranian Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini returns to Tehran after nearly 15 years of exile.
    • 1989 – The Western Australian towns of Kalgoorlie and Boulder amalgamate to form the City of Kalgoorlie–Boulder.
    • 1991 – A runway collision between USAir Flight 1493 and SkyWest Flight 5569 at Los Angeles International Airport results in the deaths of 34 people, and injuries to 30 others.
    • 1992 – The Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal court declares Warren Anderson, ex-CEO of Union Carbide, a fugitive under Indian law for failing to appear in the Bhopal disaster case.
    • 1996 – The Communications Decency Act is passed by the U.S. Congress.
    • 1998 – Rear Admiral Lillian E. Fishburne becomes the first female African American to be promoted to rear admiral.
    • 2002 – Daniel Pearl, American journalist and South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, kidnapped January 23, 2002, is beheaded and mutilated by his captors.
    • 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during the reentry of mission STS-107 into the Earth’s atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts aboard.
    • 2004 – Hajj pilgrimage stampede: In a stampede at the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, 251 people are trampled to death and 244 injured.
    • 2005 – King Gyanendra of Nepal carries out a coup d’état to capture the democracy, becoming Chairman of the Councils of ministers.
    • 2009 – The first cabinet of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir was formed in Iceland, making her the country’s first female prime minister and the world’s first openly gay head of government.
    • 2012 – Seventy-four people are killed and over 500 injured as a result of clashes between fans of Egyptian football teams Al Masry and Al Ahly in the city of Port Said.
    • 2013 – The Shard, the sixth-tallest building in Europe, is opened to the public.

    Births on February 1

    • 1261 – Walter de Stapledon, English bishop and politician, Lord High Treasurer (d. 1326)
    • 1435 – Amadeus IX, Duke of Savoy (d. 1472)
    • 1447 – Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1504)
    • 1459 – Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar (d. 1508)
    • 1462 – Johannes Trithemius, German lexicographer, historian, and cryptographer (d. 1516)
    • 1552 – Edward Coke, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1634)
    • 1561 – Henry Briggs, British mathematician (d. 1630)
    • 1635 – Marquard Gude, German archaeologist and scholar (d. 1689)
    • 1648 – Elkanah Settle, English poet and playwright (d. 1724)
    • 1659 – Jacob Roggeveen, Dutch explorer (d. 1729)
    • 1663 – Ignacia del Espíritu Santo, Filipino nun, founded the Religious of the Virgin Mary (d. 1748)
    • 1666 – Marie Thérèse de Bourbon, Princess of Conti and titular queen of Poland (d.1732)
    • 1687 – Johann Adam Birkenstock, German violinist and composer (d. 1733)
    • 1690 – Francesco Maria Veracini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1768)
    • 1701 – Johan Agrell, Swedish-German pianist and composer (d. 1765)
    • 1761 – Christiaan Hendrik Persoon, South African-French mycologist and academic (d. 1836)
    • 1763 – Thomas Campbell, Irish minister and theologian (d. 1854)
    • 1796 – Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss minister, poet, and educator (d. 1865)
    • 1801 – Émile Littré, French lexicographer and philosopher (d. 1881)
    • 1820 – George Hendric Houghton, American clergyman and theologian (d. 1897)
    • 1836 – Emil Hartmann, Danish organist and composer (d. 1898)
    • 1844 – G. Stanley Hall, American psychologist and academic (d. 1924)
    • 1851 – Durham Stevens, American lawyer and diplomat (d. 1908)
    • 1858 – Ignacio Bonillas, Mexican diplomat (d. 1942)
    • 1859 – Victor Herbert, Irish-American cellist, composer, and conductor (d. 1924)
    • 1866 – Agda Meyerson, Swedish nurse and healthcare activist (d. 1924)
    • 1868 – Ștefan Luchian, Romanian painter and illustrator (d. 1917)
    • 1870 – Erik Adolf von Willebrand, Finnish physician (d. 1949)
    • 1872 – Clara Butt, English opera singer (d. 1936)
    • 1872 – Jerome F. Donovan, American lawyer and politician (d. 1949)
    • 1873 – John Barry, Irish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1901)
    • 1874 – Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1929)
    • 1878 – Alfréd Hajós, Hungarian swimmer and architect, designed the Grand Hotel Aranybika (d. 1955)
    • 1878 – Milan Hodža, Slovak journalist and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Czechoslovakia (d. 1944)
    • 1881 – Tip Snooke, South African cricketer (d. 1966)
    • 1882 – Louis St. Laurent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1973)
    • 1884 – Bradbury Robinson, American football player and physician (d. 1949)
    • 1884 – Yevgeny Zamyatin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1937)
    • 1887 – Charles Nordhoff, English-American lieutenant, pilot, and author (d. 1947)
    • 1890 – Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War (d. 1942)
    • 1894 – John Ford, American director and producer (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (d. 1955)
    • 1895 – Conn Smythe, Canadian businessman (d. 1980)
    • 1897 – Denise Robins, English journalist and author (d. 1985)
    • 1898 – Leila Denmark, American pediatrician and author (d. 2012)
    • 1901 – Frank Buckles, American soldier (d. 2011)
    • 1901 – Clark Gable, American actor (d. 1960)
    • 1902 – Therese Brandl, German concentration camp guard (d. 1947)
    • 1902 – Langston Hughes, American poet, social activist, novelist, and playwright (d. 1967)
    • 1904 – S.J. Perelman, American humorist and screenwriter (d. 1979)
    • 1905 – Emilio G. Segrè, Italian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
    • 1906 – Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigerian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of Nigeria (d. 1993)
    • 1907 – Günter Eich, German author and songwriter (d. 1972)
    • 1907 – Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian pianist and composer (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – George Pal, Hungarian-American animator and producer (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – Louis Rasminsky, Canadian economist and banker (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – George Beverly Shea, Canadian-American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1910 – Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Chinese general and politician (d. 2009)
    • 1915 – Stanley Matthews, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
    • 1917 – José Luis Sampedro, Spanish economist and author (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player and soldier (d. 1944)
    • 1918 – Muriel Spark, Scottish playwright and poet (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Ignacy Tokarczuk, Polish archbishop (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Mike Scarry, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Zao Wou-Ki, Chinese-French painter (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Teresa Mattei, Italian feminist partisan and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Peter Sallis, English actor (d. 2017)
    • 1921 – Patricia Robins, British writer and WAAF officer (d. 2016).
    • 1922 – Renata Tebaldi, Italian soprano and actress (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (d. 2008)
    • 1924 – Richard Hooker, American novelist (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Emmanuel Scheffer, German-Israeli footballer, coach, and manager (d. 2012)
    • 1927 – Galway Kinnell, American poet and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Sam Edwards, Welsh physicist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Tom Lantos, Hungarian-American academic and politician (d. 2008)
    • 1930 – Shahabuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi judge and politician, 12th President of Bangladesh
    • 1930 – Hussain Muhammad Ershad, Indian-Bangladeshi general and politician, 10th President of Bangladesh (d. 2019)
    • 1931 – Boris Yeltsin, Russian politician, 1st President of Russia (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Hassan Al-Turabi, Sudanese activist and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1934 – Nicolae Breban, Romanian author, poet, and playwright
    • 1936 – Tuncel Kurtiz, Turkish actor, playwright, and director (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Azie Taylor Morton, American educator and politician, 36th Treasurer of the United States (d. 2003)
    • 1937 – Don Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1937 – Garrett Morris, American actor and comedian
    • 1938 – Jimmy Carl Black, American drummer and singer (d. 2008)
    • 1938 – Jacky Cupit, American golfer
    • 1938 – Sherman Hemsley, American actor and singer (d. 2012)
    • 1939 – Fritjof Capra, Austrian physicist, author, and academic
    • 1939 – Claude François, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter and dancer (d. 1978)
    • 1939 – Paul Gillmor, American lawyer and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1939 – Ekaterina Maximova, Russian ballerina (d. 2009)
    • 1939 – Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (d. 2014)
    • 1941 – Jerry Spinelli, American author
    • 1942 – Bibi Besch, Austrian-American actress (d. 1996)
    • 1942 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2020)
    • 1942 – David Sincock, Australian cricketer
    • 1944 – Petru Popescu, Romanian-American director, producer, and author
    • 1944 – Burkhard Ziese, German footballer and manager (d. 2010)
    • 1945 – Serge Joyal, Canadian lawyer and politician, 50th Secretary of State for Canada
    • 1945 – Ferruccio Mazzola, Italian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Mary Jane Reoch, American cyclist (d. 1993)
    • 1946 – Elisabeth Sladen, English actress (d. 2011)
    • 1946 – Karen Krantzcke, Australian tennis player (d. 1977)
    • 1947 – Adam Ingram, Scottish computer programmer and politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
    • 1947 – Normie Rowe, Australian singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1947 – Jessica Savitch, American journalist (d. 1983)
    • 1948 – Rick James, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2004)
    • 1950 – Mike Campbell, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1950 – Ali Haydar Konca, Turkish politician, 4th Turkish Minister of European Union Affairs
    • 1950 – Rich Williams, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1951 – Sonny Landreth, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1952 – Owoye Andrew Azazi, Nigerian general (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Chuck Dukowski, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1956 – Exene Cervenka, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Mohammed Jamal Khalifa, Saudi Arabian businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1957 – Gilbert Hernandez, American author and illustrator
    • 1958 – Luther Blissett, Jamaican-English footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Eleanor Laing, Scottish lawyer and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
    • 1961 – Volker Fried, German field hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Daniel M. Tani, American engineer and astronaut
    • 1961 – Kaduvetti Guru, Indian politician (d. 2018)
    • 1962 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2004)
    • 1962 – Tomoyasu Hotei, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Takashi Murakami, Japanese painter and sculptor
    • 1964 – Jani Lane, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2011)
    • 1964 – Mario Pelchat, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1964 – Linus Roache, English actor
    • 1965 – Stéphanie of Monaco, designer, singer and princess
    • 1965 – Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (d. 1993)
    • 1965 – Sherilyn Fenn, American actress
    • 1966 – Michelle Akers, American soccer player
    • 1967 – Meg Cabot, American author and screenwriter
    • 1968 – Lisa Marie Presley, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1968 – Mark Recchi, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1969 – Gabriel Batistuta, Argentinian footballer
    • 1969 – Andrew Breitbart, American journalist, author, and publisher (d. 2012)
    • 1969 – Brian Krause, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Franklyn Rose, Jamaican cricketer
    • 1969 – Patrick Wilson, American drummer
    • 1970 – Yasuyuki Kazama, Japanese racing driver
    • 1970 – Malik Sealy, American basketball player and actor (d. 2000)
    • 1971 – Harald Brattbakk, Norwegian footballer and pilot
    • 1971 – Michael C. Hall, American actor and producer
    • 1972 – Christian Ziege, German footballer
    • 1973 – Andrew DeClercq, American basketball player and coach
    • 1973 – Óscar Pérez Rojas, Mexican footballer
    • 1974 – Walter McCarty, American basketball player and coach
    • 1975 – Martijn Reuser, Dutch footballer
    • 1976 – Phil Ivey, American poker player
    • 1976 – Mat Rogers, Australian rugby player
    • 1977 – Lari Ketner, American basketball player (d. 2014)
    • 1977 – Robert Traylor, American basketball player (d. 2011)
    • 1978 – Tim Harding, Australian singer and actor
    • 1978 – K’naan, Somali-Canadian hip-hop artist
    • 1979 – Valentín Elizalde, Mexican singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1979 – Jason Isbell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1979 – Juan Silveira dos Santos, Brazilian footballer
    • 1980 – Héctor Luna, Dominican baseball player
    • 1980 – Moisés Muñoz, Mexican footballer
    • 1980 – Otilino Tenorio, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2005)
    • 1981 – Hins Cheung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Christian Giménez, Argentinian footballer
    • 1981 – Graeme Smith, South African cricketer
    • 1982 – Gavin Henson, Welsh rugby player
    • 1982 – Shoaib Malik, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1983 – Heather DeLoach, American actress
    • 1983 – Kevin Martin, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Jurgen Van den Broeck, Belgian cyclist
    • 1984 – Darren Fletcher, Scottish footballer
    • 1985 – Dean Shiels, Irish footballer
    • 1986 – Jorrit Bergsma, Dutch speed skater
    • 1986 – Lauren Conrad, American fashion designer and author
    • 1987 – Sebastian Boenisch, Polish footballer
    • 1987 – Moises Henriques, Portuguese-Australian cricketer
    • 1987 – Austin Jackson, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Ronda Rousey, American mixed martial artist and actress
    • 1987 – Giuseppe Rossi, Italian footballer
    • 1988 – Brett Anderson, American baseball player
    • 1989 – Ricky Pinheiro, Portuguese footballer
    • 1991 – Kyle Palmieri, American hockey player
    • 1993 – Diego Mella, Italian footballer
    • 1994 – Joe Boyce, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Harry Styles, English singer-songwriter

    Deaths on February 1

    • 583 – Kan B’alam I, ruler of Palenque (b. 524)
    • 772 – Pope Stephen III (b. 720)
    • 850 – Ramiro I, king of Asturias
    • 992 – Jawhar as-Siqilli, Fatimid statesman
    • 1222 – Alexios Megas Komnenos, first Emperor of Trebizond
    • 1248 – Henry II, Duke of Brabant (b. 1207)
    • 1328 – Charles IV of France (b. 1294)
    • 1501 – Sigismund of Bavaria (b. 1439)
    • 1542 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian cardinal (b. 1480)
    • 1563 – Menas of Ethiopia
    • 1590 – Lawrence Humphrey, English theologian and academic (b. 1527)
    • 1691 – Pope Alexander VIII (b. 1610)
    • 1718 – Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury, English politician, Lord High Treasurer (b. 1660)
    • 1733 – Augustus II the Strong, Polish king (b. 1670)
    • 1734 – John Floyer, English physician and author (b. 1649)
    • 1743 – Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni, Italian organist and composer (b. 1657)
    • 1750 – Bakar of Georgia (b. 1699)
    • 1761 – Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix, French priest and historian (b. 1682)
    • 1768 – Sir Robert Rich, 4th Baronet, English field marshal and politician (b. 1685)
    • 1793 – William Barrington, 2nd Viscount Barrington, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1717)
    • 1832 – Archibald Murphey, American judge and politician (b. 1777)
    • 1851 – Mary Shelley, English novelist and playwright (b. 1797)
    • 1871 – Alexander Serov, Russian composer and critic (b. 1820)
    • 1893 – George Henry Sanderson, American lawyer and politician, 22nd Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1824)
    • 1897 – Constantin von Ettingshausen, Austrian geologist and botanist (b. 1826)
    • 1903 – Sir George Stokes, Anglo-Irish physicist, mathematician, and politician (b. 1819)
    • 1907 – Léon Serpollet, French businessman (b. 1858)
    • 1908 – Carlos I of Portugal (b. 1863)
    • 1922 – William Desmond Taylor, American actor and director (b. 1872)
    • 1924 – Maurice Prendergast, American painter (b. 1858)
    • 1928 – Hughie Jennings, American baseball player and manager (b. 1869)
    • 1936 – Georgios Kondylis, Greek general and politician, 128th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1878)
    • 1940 – Philip Francis Nowlan, American author, created Buck Rogers (b. 1888)
    • 1940 – Zacharias Papantoniou, Greek journalist and critic (b. 1877)
    • 1944 – Piet Mondrian, Dutch-American painter (b. 1872)
    • 1949 – Nicolae Dumitru Cocea, Romanian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1880)
    • 1949 – Herbert Stothart, American conductor and composer (b. 1885)
    • 1957 – Friedrich Paulus, German general (b. 1890)
    • 1958 – Clinton Davisson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
    • 1959 – Madame Sul-Te-Wan, American actress (b. 1873)
    • 1966 – Hedda Hopper, American actress and journalist (b. 1885)
    • 1966 – Buster Keaton, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1895)
    • 1968 – Echol Cole and Robert Walker – sparking the Memphis Sanitation Workers Strike
    • 1970 – Alfréd Rényi, Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
    • 1976 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
    • 1976 – George Whipple, American physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
    • 1979 – Abdi İpekçi, Turkish journalist and activist (b. 1929)
    • 1981 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American engineer and businessman, founded the Douglas Aircraft Company (b. 1892)
    • 1981 – Geirr Tveitt, Norwegian pianist and composer (b. 1908)
    • 1986 – Alva Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
    • 1987 – Alessandro Blasetti, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1900)
    • 1989 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (b. 1918)
    • 1992 – Jean Hamburger, French physician and surgeon (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Ray Crawford, American race car driver, pilot, and businessman (b. 1915)
    • 1997 – Herb Caen, American journalist and author (b. 1916)
    • 1999 – Paul Mellon, American art collector and philanthropist (b. 1907)
    • 2001 – André D’Allemagne, Canadian political scientist and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2002 – Aykut Barka, Turkish geologist and academic (b. 1951)
    • 2002 – Hildegard Knef, German actress and singer (b. 1925)
    • 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia crew
      • Michael P. Anderson, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1959)
      • David M. Brown, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1956)
      • Kalpana Chawla, Indian-American engineer and astronaut (b. 1961)
      • Laurel Clark, American captain, surgeon, and astronaut (b. 1961)
      • Rick Husband, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1957)
      • William C. McCool, American commander, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1961)
      • Ilan Ramon, Israeli colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1954)
    • 2003 – Mongo Santamaría, Cuban-American drummer and bandleader (b. 1922)
    • 2004 – Suha Arın, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2005 – John Vernon, Canadian-American actor (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian-American playwright and composer (b. 1911)
    • 2008 – Beto Carrero, Brazilian actor and businessman (b. 1937)
    • 2012 – Don Cornelius, American television host and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Helene Hale, American politician (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Ed Koch, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 105th Mayor of New York City (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Shanu Lahiri, Indian painter and educator (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Cecil Womack, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2014 – Luis Aragonés, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Vasily Petrov, Russian marshal (b. 1917)
    • 2014 – Rene Ricard, American poet, painter, and critic (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Maximilian Schell, Austrian-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2015 – Aldo Ciccolini, Italian-French pianist (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, manager, and sportscaster (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Monty Oum, American animator, director, and screenwriter (b. 1981)
    • 2016 – Óscar Humberto Mejía Victores, Guatemalan general and politician, 27th President of Guatemala (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Desmond Carrington, British actor and broadcaster (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Barys Kit, Belarusian rocket scientist (b. 1910)
    • 2018 – Mowzey Radio, Ugandan singer and songwriter (b. 1985)
    • 2019 – Jeremy Hardy, English comedian, radio host and panelist (b. 1961)
    • 2019 – Clive Swift, English actor (b. 1936)
    • 2019 – Wade Wilson, American football player and coach (b. 1959)

    Holidays and observances on February 1

    • Abolition of Slavery Day (Mauritius)
    • Air Force Day (Nicaragua)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Astina (Syrian Church)
      • Blessed Candelaria of San José
      • Brigid, patron saint of Ireland (Saint Brigid’s Day)
      • Verdiana
      • February 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Constitution Day can fall, while February 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday in February. (Mexico)
    • Federal Territory Day (Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya, Malaysia)
    • Heroes Day (Rwanda)
    • Imbolc (Ireland, Scotland, Isle of Man, and some Neopagan groups in the Northern hemisphere)
    • Memorial Day of the Republic (Hungary)
    • National Freedom Day (United States)
    • The start of Black History Month (United States and Canada)

  • January 22 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (Caesar) by his father Heraclius at Constantinople.
    • 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing.
    • 1506 – The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican.
    • 1517 – The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures present-day Egypt at the Battle of Ridaniya.
    • 1555 – The Ava Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in what is now Myanmar.
    • 1689 – The Convention Parliament convenes to determine whether James II and VII, the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Ireland and Scotland, had vacated the thrones of England and Ireland when he fled to France in 1688.
    • 1808 – The Portuguese royal family arrives in Brazil after fleeing the French army’s invasion of Portugal two months earlier.
    • 1824 – The Ashantis defeat British forces in the Gold Coast.
    • 1849 – Second Anglo-Sikh War: The Siege of Multan ends after nine months when the last Sikh defenders of Multan, Punjab, surrender.
    • 1863 – The January Uprising breaks out in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The aim of the national movement is to regain Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth from occupation by Russia.
    • 1879 – The Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War results in a British defeat.
    • 1879 – The Battle of Rorke’s Drift, also during the Anglo-Zulu War and just some 15 km away from Isandlwana, results in a British victory.
    • 1889 – Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C.
    • 1890 – The United Mine Workers of America is founded in Columbus, Ohio.
    • 1901 – Edward VII is proclaimed King after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.
    • 1905 – Bloody Sunday in Saint Petersburg, beginning of the 1905 revolution.
    • 1906 – SS Valencia runs aground on rocks on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, killing more than 130.
    • 1915 – Over 600 people are killed in Guadalajara, Mexico, when a train plunges off the tracks into a deep canyon.
    • 1917 – World War I: President Woodrow Wilson of the still-neutral United States calls for “peace without victory” in Europe.
    • 1919 – Act Zluky is signed, unifying the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian National Republic.
    • 1924 – Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
    • 1927 – Teddy Wakelam gives the first live radio commentary of a football match, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury.
    • 1941 – World War II: British and Commonwealth troops capture Tobruk from Italian forces during Operation Compass.
    • 1943 – World War II: Australian and American forces defeat Japanese army and navy units in the bitterly fought Battle of Buna–Gona.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Allies commence Operation Shingle, an assault on Anzio and Nettuno, Italy.
    • 1946 – In Iran, Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people’s Republic of Mahabad at Chahar Cheragh Square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad; he becomes the new president and Haji Baba Sheikh becomes the prime minister.
    • 1946 – Creation of the Central Intelligence Group, forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.
    • 1947 – KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood.
    • 1957 – Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula.
    • 1957 – The New York City “Mad Bomber”, George P. Metesky, is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and charged with planting more than 30 bombs.
    • 1963 – The Élysée Treaty of cooperation between France and Germany is signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer.
    • 1968 – Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space.
    • 1968 – Operation Igloo White, a US electronic surveillance system to stop communist infiltration into South Vietnam begins installation.
    • 1970 – The Boeing 747, the world’s first “jumbo jet”, enters commercial service for launch customer Pan American Airways with its maiden voyage from John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.
    • 1971 – The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued.
    • 1973 – The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, legalizing elective abortion in all fifty states.
    • 1973 – The crew of Apollo 17 addresses a joint session of Congress after the completion of the final Apollo moon landing mission.
    • 1973 – A chartered Boeing 707 explodes in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria, killing 176.
    • 1973 – In a bout for the world heavyweight boxing championship in Kingston, Jamaica, challenger George Foreman knocks down champion Joe Frazier six times in the first two rounds before the fight is stopped by referee Arthur Mercante.
    • 1984 – The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during a Super Bowl XVIII television commercial.
    • 1987 – Philippine security forces open fire on a crowd of 10,000–15,000 demonstrators at Malacañang Palace, Manila, killing 13.
    • 1992 – Rebel forces occupy Zaire’s national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government’s resignation.
    • 1992 – Space Shuttle program: the space shuttle Discovery launches on STS-42 carrying Dr. Roberta Bondar, who becomes the first Canadian woman and the first neurologist in space.
    • 1995 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Beit Lid massacre: In central Israel, near Netanya, two Gazans blow themselves up at a military transit point, killing 19 Israelis.
    • 1998 – Space Shuttle program: space shuttle Endeavor launches on STS-89 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
    • 1999 – Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical Hindus while sleeping in their car in Eastern India.
    • 2002 – Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
    • 2006 – Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country’s first indigenous president.
    • 2007 – At least 88 people are killed when two car bombs explode in the Bab Al-Sharqi market in central Baghdad, Iraq.
    • 2015 – An explosion near a civilian trolley-bus in Donetsk kills at least thirteen people.

    Births on January 22

    • 826 – Emperor Montoku of Japan (d. 858)
    • 1263 – Ibn Taymiyyah, Syrian scholar and theologian (d. 1328)
    • 1440 – Ivan III of Russia (d. 1505)
    • 1522 – Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orléans, (d. 1545)
    • 1552 – Walter Raleigh, English poet, soldier, courtier, and explorer (d. 1618)
    • 1561 – Francis Bacon, English philosopher and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1626)
    • 1570 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English historian and politician, founded the Cotton library (d. 1631)
    • 1573 – John Donne, English poet and cleric in the Church of England, wrote the Holy Sonnets (d. 1631)
    • 1592 – Pierre Gassendi, French mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (d. 1655)
    • 1645 – William Kidd, Scottish sailor and pirate hunter (probable; d. 1701)
    • 1654 – Richard Blackmore, English physician and poet (d. 1729)
    • 1690 – Nicolas Lancret, French painter (d. 1743)
    • 1729 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German philosopher and author (d. 1781)
    • 1733 – Philip Carteret, English admiral and explorer (d. 1796)
    • 1740 – Noah Phelps, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 1809)
    • 1781 – François Habeneck, French violinist and conductor (d. 1849)
    • 1788 – Lord Byron, English poet and playwright (d. 1824)
    • 1792 – Lady Lucy Whitmore, English noblewoman, hymn writer (d. 1840)
    • 1796 – Karl Ernst Claus, Estonian-Russian chemist, botanist, and academic (d. 1864)
    • 1797 – Maria Leopoldina of Austria (d. 1826)
    • 1799 – Ludger Duvernay, Canadian journalist, publisher, and politician (d. 1852)
    • 1802 – Richard Upjohn, English-American architect (d. 1878)
    • 1828 – Dayrolles Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, 4th Baron Ventry, Irish hereditary peer (d. 1914)
    • 1831 – Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1917)
    • 1840 – Ernest Wilberforce, English bishop (d. 1907)
    • 1849 – August Strindberg, Swedish novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1912)
    • 1858 – Beatrice Webb, English sociologist and economist (d. 1943)
    • 1861 – George Fuller, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1940)
    • 1865 – Wilbur Scoville, American chemist and pharmacist (d. 1942)
    • 1867 – Gisela Januszewska, Jewish-Austrian physician (d. 1943)
    • 1869 – José Vicente de Freitas, Portuguese colonel and politician, 97th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1952)
    • 1874 – Edward Harkness, American philanthropist (d. 1940)
    • 1874 – Jay Hughes, American baseball player and coach (d. 1924)
    • 1875 – D. W. Griffith, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1948)
    • 1877 – Tom Jones, American baseball player and manager (d. 1923)
    • 1879 – Francis Picabia, French painter and poet (d. 1953)
    • 1880 – Bill O’Neill, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1920)
    • 1880 – Frigyes Riesz, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1956)
    • 1881 – Ira Thomas, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
    • 1886 – John J. Becker, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1961)
    • 1887 – Helen Hoyt, American poet and author (d. 1972)
    • 1889 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (d. 1935)
    • 1889 – Amos Strunk, American baseball player and manager (d. 1979)
    • 1890 – Fred M. Vinson, American judge and politician, 13th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1953)
    • 1891 – Antonio Gramsci, Italian philosopher and politician (d. 1937)
    • 1892 – Marcel Dassault, French businessman, founded Dassault Aviation (d. 1986)
    • 1893 – Conrad Veidt, German-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1943)
    • 1897 – Rosa Ponselle, American operatic soprano (d. 1981)
    • 1897 – Dilipkumar Roy, a Bengali Indian musician, musicologist, novelist, poet and essayist. (d. 1980)
    • 1898 – Ross Barnett, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of Mississippi (d. 1987)
    • 1898 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director and screenwriter (d. 1948)
    • 1898 – Denise Legeay, French actress (d. 1968)
    • 1899 – Martti Haavio, Finnish poet and mythologist (d. 1973)
    • 1900 – Ernst Busch, German actor and singer (d. 1980)
    • 1902 – Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler, coach, and academic (d. 1970)
    • 1903 – Fritz Houtermans, Polish-German physicist and academic (d. 1966)
    • 1904 – George Balanchine, Georgian-American dancer, choreographer, and director, co-founded the New York City Ballet (d. 1983)
    • 1904 – Arkady Gaidar, Russian journalist and author (d. 1941)
    • 1905 – Willy Hartner, German physicist, historian, and academic (d. 1981)
    • 1906 – Robert E. Howard, American author and poet (d. 1936)
    • 1907 – Douglas Corrigan, American pilot and engineer (d. 1995)
    • 1907 – Dixie Dean, English footballer (d. 1980)
    • 1908 – Lev Landau, Azerbaijani-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
    • 1908 – Prince Oana, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
    • 1909 – Martha Norelius, Swedish-born American swimmer (d. 1955)
    • 1909 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican racing driver, polo player, and diplomat (d. 1965)
    • 1909 – Ann Sothern, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
    • 1909 – U Thant, Burmese educator and diplomat, 3rd United Nations Secretary-General (d. 1974)
    • 1911 – Bruno Kreisky, Austrian lawyer and politician, 22nd Chancellor of Austria (d. 1990)
    • 1913 – Henry Bauchau, Belgian psychoanalyst and author (d. 2012)
    • 1913 – William Conway, Irish cardinal (d. 1977)
    • 1913 – Carl F. H. Henry, American theologian and publisher (d. 2003)
    • 1914 – Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek violinist and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Heinrich Albertz, German theologian and politician, Mayor of Berlin (d. 1993)
    • 1916 – Bill Durnan, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1972)
    • 1916 – Henri Dutilleux, French pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1916 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (d. 1994)
    • 1918 – Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1919 – Diomedes Olivo, Dominican baseball player and scout (d. 1977)
    • 1920 – Irving Kristol, American journalist, author, and academic, founded The National Interest (d. 2009)
    • 1920 – Alf Ramsey, English footballer and coach (d. 1999)
    • 1922 – Howard Moss, American poet, playwright and critic (d. 1987)
    • 1923 – Diana Douglas, British-American actress (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – J. J. Johnson, American trombonist and composer (d. 2001)
    • 1924 – Ján Chryzostom Korec, Slovak cardinal (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – Charles Lisanby, American production designer and art director (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Johnny Bucha, American baseball player (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – Bobby Young, American baseball player (d. 1985)
    • 1927 – Lou Creekmur, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
    • 1927 – Joe Perry, American footballer (d. 2011)
    • 1928 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historian, author, and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1929 – Petr Eben, Czech composer, organist and choirmaster (d. 2007)
    • 1930 – Mariví Bilbao, Spanish actress (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Éamon de Buitléar, Irish accordion player and director (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Sam Cooke, American singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
    • 1931 – Galina Zybina, Russian shot putter and javelin thrower
    • 1932 – Berthold Grünfeld, Norwegian psychiatrist and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Piper Laurie, American actress
    • 1932 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives
    • 1933 – Yuri Chesnokov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2010)
    • 1934 – Vijay Anand, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1934 – Bill Bixby, American actor and director (d. 1993)
    • 1934 – Graham Kerr, English chef and author
    • 1935 – Alexander Men, Russian priest and scholar (d. 1990)
    • 1936 – Ong Teng Cheong, Singaporean architect and politician, 5th President of Singapore (d. 2002)
    • 1936 – Alan J. Heeger, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Edén Pastora, Nicaraguan politician
    • 1937 – Joseph Wambaugh, American police officer and author
    • 1938 – Peter Beard, Australian photographer and author (d. 2020)
    • 1938 – Joe Esposito, American author (d. 2016)
    • 1938 – Altair Gomes de Figueiredo, Brazilian footballer
    • 1939 – Jørgen Garde, Danish admiral (d. 1996)
    • 1939 – Alfredo Palacio, Ecuadoran physician and politician, President of Ecuador
    • 1939 – Luigi Simoni, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1939 – J. C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player and scout (d. 1994)
    • 1940 – John Hurt, English actor (d. 2017)
    • 1940 – George Seifert, American football player and coach
    • 1940 – Gillian Shephard, English educator and politician, Secretary of State for Education
    • 1941 – Jaan Kaplinski, Estonian poet, philosopher, and critic
    • 1942 – Mimis Domazos, Greek footballer
    • 1943 – Michael Spicer, English journalist and politician (d. 2019)
    • 1944 – Khosrow Golsorkhi, Iranian journalist, poet, and activist (d. 1974)
    • 1944 – Uto Ughi, Italian violinist and conductor
    • 1945 – Jophery Brown, American baseball player, actor, and stuntman (d. 2014)
    • 1945 – Jean-Pierre Nicolas, French racing driver and manager
    • 1945 – Christoph Schönborn, Austrian cardinal
    • 1945 – Alojz Uran, Slovenian archbishop
    • 1946 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter and manager (d. 2010)
    • 1946 – Serge Savard, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
    • 1947 – Vladimir Oravsky, Czech-Swedish author and director
    • 1948 – Gilbert Levine, American conductor and academic
    • 1949 – Mike Caldwell, American baseball player and coach
    • 1949 – J.P. Pennington, American country-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1949 – Steve Perry, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1950 – Paul Bew, Northern Irish historian and academic
    • 1950 – Frank Schade, American basketball player and coach
    • 1951 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (d. 1989)
    • 1951 – Leon Roberts, American baseball player and manager
    • 1952 – Ramón Avilés, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
    • 1953 – Winfried Berkemeier, German footballer and manager
    • 1953 – Myung-whun Chung, South Korean pianist and conductor
    • 1953 – Jim Jarmusch, American director and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Thomas David Jones, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1955 – Timothy R. Ferguson, American politician
    • 1956 – Steve Riley, American drummer
    • 1957 – Mike Bossy, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1957 – Brian Dayett, American baseball player and manager
    • 1957 – Godfrey Thoma, Nauruan politician
    • 1957 – Francis Wheen, English journalist and author
    • 1958 – Nikos Anastopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Filiz Koçali, Turkish journalist and politician
    • 1959 – Linda Blair, American actress
    • 1960 – Michael Hutchence, Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1961 – Quintin Dailey, American basketball player (d. 2010)
    • 1961 – Daniel Johnston, American musician
    • 1962 – Jimmy Herring, American guitarist
    • 1962 – Huw Irranca-Davies, Welsh lawyer and politician
    • 1962 – Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
    • 1964 – Nigel Benn, English-Australian boxer
    • 1964 – Stojko Vranković, Croatian basketball player
    • 1965 – Steven Adler, American rock drummer
    • 1965 – DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ and producer
    • 1965 – Diane Lane, American actress
    • 1965 – Andrew Roachford, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1966 – Craig Salvatori, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1967 – Nick Gillingham, English swimmer
    • 1968 – Guy Fieri, American chef, author, and television host
    • 1968 – Heath, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1968 – Frank Leboeuf, French footballer, sportscaster, and actor
    • 1968 – Mauricio Serna, Colombian footballer
    • 1969 – Olivia d’Abo, English-American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1969 – Keith Gordon, American baseball player and coach
    • 1970 – Jason Lowrie, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
    • 1970 – Abraham Olano, Spanish cyclist
    • 1971 – Stan Collymore, English footballer and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Terry Hill, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1973 – Rogério Ceni, Brazilian footballer
    • 1974 – Cameron McConville, Australian racing driver and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Joseph Muscat, Maltese journalist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Malta
    • 1976 – Jimmy Anderson, American baseball player and coach
    • 1976 – James Dearth, American football player
    • 1977 – Mario Domm, Mexican singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1977 – Anna Linkova, Russian tennis player
    • 1977 – Hidetoshi Nakata, Japanese footballer
    • 1977 – Luciano Andrade Rissutt, Brazilian footballer
    • 1978 – Chone Figgins, American baseball player
    • 1979 – Aidan Burley, New Zealand-English politician
    • 1979 – Carlos Ruiz, Panamanian baseball player
    • 1979 – Chor Boogie, American artist
    • 1980 – Jonathan Woodgate, English footballer
    • 1981 – Willa Ford, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1981 – Beverley Mitchell, American actress
    • 1981 – Ben Moody, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
    • 1981 – Ibrahima Sonko, French footballer
    • 1981 – Guy Wilks, English racing driver
    • 1982 – Fabricio Coloccini, Argentinian footballer
    • 1983 – Shaun Cody, American football player
    • 1984 – Ben Eager, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Ubaldo Jiménez, Dominican baseball player
    • 1984 – Leon Powe, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Maceo Rigters, Dutch footballer
    • 1985 – Fotios Papoulis, Greek footballer
    • 1985 – Yan Xu, Singaporean table tennis player
    • 1986 – Maher Magri, Tunisian footballer
    • 1986 – Matt Simon, Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Astrid Jacobsen, Norwegian skier
    • 1987 – Shane Long, Irish footballer
    • 1988 – Asher Allen, American football player
    • 1988 – Greg Oden, American basketball player
    • 1988 – Marcel Schmelzer, German footballer
    • 1989 – Theo Robinson, English-Jamaican footballer
    • 1990 – Alizé Cornet, French tennis player
    • 1990 – Dean Whare, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1990 – Logic, American rapper
    • 1990 – Phil Wang, British-Malaysian comedian
    • 1991 – Stefan Kolb, German footballer
    • 1996 – Joshua Ho-Sang, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1998 – Silento, American rapper, singer and songwriter

    Deaths on January 22

    • 239 – Cao Rui, Chinese emperor (b. 205)
    • 628 – Anastasius of Persia, monk
    • 906 – He, empress of the Tang Dynasty
    • 935 – Ma, empress of Southern Han
    • 1051 – Ælfric Puttoc, archbishop of York
    • 1170 – Wang Chongyang, Chinese Daoist and co-founder of the Quanzhen School (b. 1113)
    • 1188 – Ferdinand II of León (b. 1137)
    • 1341 – Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1279)
    • 1517 – Hadım Sinan Pasha, Ottoman politician, 32nd Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. ?)
    • 1536 – Bernhard Knipperdolling, German religious leader (b. 1495)
    • 1536 – John of Leiden, Anabaptist leader from the Dutch city of Leiden (b. 1509)
    • 1552 – Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, English general and politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (b. 1500)
    • 1560 – Wang Zhi, Chinese pirate
    • 1575 – James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault (b. 1516)
    • 1599 – Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1547)
    • 1666 – Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor (b. 1592)
    • 1750 – Franz Xaver Josef von Unertl, Bavarian politician (b. 1675)
    • 1763 – John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1690)
    • 1767 – Johann Gottlob Lehmann, German meteorologist and geologist (b. 1719)
    • 1779 – Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (b. 1733)
    • 1779 – Claudius Smith, American guerrilla leader (b. 1736)
    • 1798 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (b. 1726)
    • 1840 – Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (b. 1752)
    • 1850 – Vincent Pallotti, Italian missionary and saint (b. 1795)
    • 1879 – Anthony Durnford, Irish colonel (b. 1830)
    • 1879 – Henry Pulleine, English colonel (b. 1838)
    • 1892 – Joseph P. Bradley, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1813)
    • 1900 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (b. 1831)
    • 1901 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1819)
    • 1901 – Emil Erlenmeyer, German chemist and academic (b. 1825)
    • 1921 – George Streeter, American captain and businessman (b. 1837)
    • 1922 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish educator and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1837)
    • 1922 – Pope Benedict XV (b. 1854)
    • 1922 – Camille Jordan, French mathematician and academic (b. 1838)
    • 1925 – Fanny Bullock Workman, American geographer and mountain climber (b. 1859)
    • 1927 – James Ford Rhodes, American historian and author (b. 1848)
    • 1929 – R. C. Lehmann, English journalist, author, and politician (b. 1856)
    • 1930 – Stephen Mather, American businessman and conservationist, co-founded the Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company (b. 1867)
    • 1931 – László Batthyány-Strattmann, Hungarian physician and ophthalmologist (b. 1870)
    • 1945 – Else Lasker-Schüler, German poet and playwright (b. 1869)
    • 1949 – William Thomas Walsh, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1891)
    • 1950 – Alan Hale, Sr., American actor and director (b. 1892)
    • 1951 – Lawson Robertson, Scottish-American sprinter and high jumper (b. 1883)
    • 1955 – Jonni Myyrä, Finnish-American athlete (b. 1892)
    • 1957 – Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher and academic (b. 1876)
    • 1959 – Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (b. 1929)
    • 1964 – Marc Blitzstein, American pianist and composer (b. 1905)
    • 1966 – Herbert Marshall, English actor (b. 1890)
    • 1968 – Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1890)
    • 1971 – Harry Frank Guggenheim, American businessman and publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1890)
    • 1973 – Lyndon B. Johnson, American lieutenant and politician, 36th President of the United States (b. 1908)
    • 1975 – Andrew George Burry, Swiss-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1873)
    • 1977 – Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al Suwaiyel, Saudi Arabian diplomat (b. 1916)
    • 1978 – Oliver Leese, English general (b. 1894)
    • 1978 – Herbert Sutcliffe, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1894)
    • 1979 – Ali Hassan Salameh, Palestinian rebel leader (b. 1940)
    • 1980 – Yitzhak Baer, German-Israeli historian and academic (b. 1888)
    • 1981 – Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani historian and academic (b. 1903)
    • 1982 – Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th President of Chile (b. 1911)
    • 1985 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (b. 1899)
    • 1987 – R. Budd Dwyer, American educator and politician, 30th Treasurer of Pennsylvania (b. 1939)
    • 1989 – S. Vithiananthan, Sri Lankan author and academic (b. 1924)
    • 1991 – Robert Choquette, Canadian author, poet and diplomat (b. 1905)
    • 1993 – Kōbō Abe, Japanese playwright and photographer (b. 1924)
    • 1994 – Jean-Louis Barrault, French actor and director (b. 1910)
    • 1994 – Telly Savalas, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 1996 – Israel Eldad, Polish-Israeli philosopher and author (b. 1910)
    • 1997 – Billy Mackenzie, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1957)
    • 1999 – Graham Staines, Australian-Indian missionary and translator (b. 1941)
    • 2000 – Craig Claiborne, American journalist, author, and critic (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (b. 1916)
    • 2001 – Tommie Agee, American baseball player (b. 1942)
    • 2001 – Roy Brown, American clown and puppeteer (b. 1932)
    • 2003 – Bill Mauldin, American soldier and cartoonist (b. 1921)
    • 2004 – Billy May, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1916)
    • 2004 – Tom Mead, Australian journalist and politician (b. 1918)
    • 2004 – Ann Miller, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1943)
    • 2005 – Carlo Orelli, Italian soldier (b. 1894)
    • 2005 – Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican pianist and songwriter (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Aydın Güven Gürkan, Turkish academic and politician, Turkish Minister of Labor and Social Security (b. 1941)
    • 2007 – Ngô Quang Trưởng, Vietnamese general (b. 1929)
    • 2007 – Abbé Pierre, French priest and activist (b. 1912)
    • 2007 – Liz Renay, American actress, author and performer (b. 1926)
    • 2008 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor and director (b. 1979)
    • 2008 – Miles Lerman, Polish Holocaust survivor and activist (b. 1920)
    • 2009 – Billy Werber, American baseball player (b. 1908)
    • 2010 – Louis R. Harlan, American historian and author (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Simon Marsden, English photographer and author (b. 1948)
    • 2012 – Joe Paterno, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Clarence Tillenius, Canadian painter and environmentalist (b. 1913)
    • 2012 – Dick Tufeld, American actor, announcer, narrator and voice actor (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Robert Bonnaud, French historian and academic (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Hinton Mitchem, American businessman and politician (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Maziar Partow, Iranian cinematographer (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Fabrizio de Miranda, Italian engineer and academic, co-designed the Rande Bridge (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Wendell H. Ford, American lieutenant and politician, 53rd Governor of Kentucky (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Margaret Bloy Graham, Canadian author and illustrator (b. 1920)
    • 2016 – Homayoun Behzadi, Iranian footballer and coach (b. 1942)
    • 2016 – Cecil Parkinson, English politician (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Lois Ramsey, Australian actress (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Kamer Genç, Turkish politician (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Masaya Nakamura, Japanese businessman (b. 1925)
    • 2017 – Yordano Ventura, Dominican baseball player (b. 1991)
    • 2018 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American sci-fi and fantasy novelist (b. 1929)

    Holidays and observances on January 22

    • Christian feast day:
      • Anastasius of Persia
      • Gaudentius of Novara
      • László Batthyány-Strattmann
      • Laura Vicuna
      • Vincent Pallotti
      • Vincent of Saragossa
      • Vincent, Orontius, and Victor
      • Blessed William Joseph Chaminade
      • January 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of Unity of Ukraine (Ukraine)
    • Grandfather’s Day (Poland)

  • January 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey.
    • 1362 – Saint Marcellus’ flood kills at least 25,000 people on the shores of the North Sea.
    • 1377 – Pope Gregory XI reaches Rome, after deciding to move the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon.
    • 1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano sets sail westward from Madeira to find a sea route to the Pacific Ocean.
    • 1562 – France grants religious toleration to the Huguenots in the Edict of Saint-Germain.
    • 1595 – During the French Wars of Religion, Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.
    • 1608 – Emperor Susenyos I of Ethiopia surprises an Oromo army at Ebenat; his army reportedly kills 12,000 Oromo at the cost of 400 of his men.
    • 1648 – England’s Long Parliament passes the “Vote of No Addresses”, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.
    • 1773 – Captain James Cook leads the first expedition to sail south of the Antarctic Circle.
    • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cowpens: Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the battle in South Carolina.
    • 1799 – Maltese patriot Dun Mikiel Xerri, along with a number of other patriots, is executed.
    • 1811 – Mexican War of Independence: In the Battle of Calderón Bridge, a heavily outnumbered Spanish force of 6,000 troops defeats nearly 100,000 Mexican revolutionaries.
    • 1852 – The United Kingdom signs the Sand River Convention with the South African Republic.
    • 1873 – A group of Modoc warriors defeats the United States Army in the First Battle of the Stronghold, part of the Modoc War.
    • 1885 – A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
    • 1893 – Lorrin A. Thurston, along with the Citizens’ Committee of Public Safety, led the Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the government of Queen Liliʻuokalani.
    • 1899 – The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
    • 1903 – El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico becomes part of the United States National Forest System as the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
    • 1904 – Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre.
    • 1912 – British polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.
    • 1915 – Russia defeats Ottoman Turkey in the Battle of Sarikamish during the Caucasus Campaign of World War I.
    • 1917 – The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
    • 1918 – Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles take place between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
    • 1920 – Alcohol Prohibition begins in the United States as the Volstead Act goes into effect.
    • 1929 – Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, first appears in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.
    • 1941 – Franco-Thai War: Vichy French forces inflict a decisive defeat over the Royal Thai Navy.
    • 1943 – World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis captures the 200-ton sailing vessel Agios Stefanos and mans her with part of her crew.
    • 1944 – World War II: Allied forces launch the first of four assaults on Monte Cassino with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome, an effort that would ultimately take four months and cost 105,000 Allied casualties.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Vistula–Oder Offensive forces German troops out of Warsaw.
    • 1945 – The SS-Totenkopfverbände begin the evacuation of the Auschwitz concentration camp as Soviet forces close in.
    • 1945 – Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is taken into Soviet custody while in Hungary; he is never publicly seen again.
    • 1946 – The UN Security Council holds its first session.
    • 1948 – The Renville Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia is ratified.
    • 1950 – The Great Brink’s Robbery: Eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car company’s offices in Boston.
    • 1950 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 79 relating to arms control is adopted.
    • 1961 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the “military–industrial complex” as well as the dangers of massive spending, especially deficit spending.
    • 1961 – Former Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba is murdered in circumstances suggesting the support and complicity of the governments of Belgium and the United States.
    • 1966 – Palomares incident: A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, killing seven airmen, and dropping three 70-kiloton nuclear bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea.
    • 1969 – Black Panther Party members Bunchy Carter and John Huggins are killed during a meeting in Campbell Hall on the campus of UCLA.
    • 1977 – Capital punishment in the United States resumes after a ten-year hiatus, as convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad in Utah.
    • 1981 – President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos lifts martial law eight years and five months after declaring it.
    • 1991 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning as aircraft strike positions across Iraq, it is also the first major combat sortie for the F-117. LCDR Scott Speicher’s F/A-18C Hornet from VFA-81 is shot down by a Mig-25 and is the first American casualty of the War. Iraq fires eight Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
    • 1991 – Crown prince Harald V of Norway becomes King Harald V, following the death of his father, King Olav V.
    • 1992 – During a visit to South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
    • 1994 – The 6.7 Mw  Northridge earthquake shakes the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 57 people dead and more than 8,700 injured.
    • 1995 – The 6.9 Mw  Great Hanshin earthquake shakes the southern Hyōgo Prefecture with a maximum Shindo of VII, leaving 5,502–6,434 people dead, and 251,301–310,000 displaced.
    • 1996 – The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union.
    • 1997 – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station: A Delta II carrying the GPS IIR-1 satellite explodes 13 seconds after launch, dropping 250 tons of burning rocket remains around the launch pad.
    • 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the story of the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky affair on his Drudge Report website.
    • 2002 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
    • 2007 – The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea’s nuclear testing.
    • 2010 – Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, results in at least 200 deaths.

    Births on January 17

    • 1342 – Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1404)
    • 1429 – Antonio del Pollaiolo, Italian artist (d.c. 1498)
    • 1463 – Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1525)
    • 1463 – Antoine Duprat, French cardinal (d. 1535)
    • 1472 – Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Italian captain (d. 1508)
    • 1484 – George Spalatin, German priest and reformer (d. 1545)
    • 1501 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (d. 1566)
    • 1504 – Pope Pius V (d. 1572)
    • 1517 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English Duke (d. 1554)
    • 1560 – Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist, physician, and academic (d. 1624)
    • 1574 – Robert Fludd, English physician, astrologer, and mathematician (d. 1637)
    • 1593 – William Backhouse, English alchemist and astrologer (d. 1662)
    • 1600 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish playwright and poet (d. 1681)
    • 1612 – Thomas Fairfax, English general and politician (d. 1671)
    • 1640 – Jonathan Singletary Dunham, American settler (d. 1724)
    • 1659 – Antonio Veracini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1745)
    • 1666 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (d. 1723)
    • 1686 – Archibald Bower, Scottish historian and author (d. 1766)
    • 1706 – Benjamin Franklin, American publisher, inventor, and politician, 6th President of Pennsylvania (d. 1790)
    • 1712 – John Stanley, English organist and composer (d. 1786)
    • 1719 – William Vernon, American businessman (d. 1806)
    • 1728 – Johann Gottfried Müthel, German pianist and composer (d. 1788)
    • 1732 – Stanisław August Poniatowski, Polish-Lithuanian king (d. 1798)
    • 1734 – François-Joseph Gossec, French composer and conductor (d. 1829)
    • 1761 – Sir James Hall, 4th Baronet, Scottish geologist and geophysicist (d. 1832)
    • 1789 – August Neander, German historian and theologian (d. 1850)
    • 1793 – Antonio José Martínez, Spanish-American priest, rancher and politician (d. 1867)
    • 1814 – Ellen Wood, English author (d. 1887)
    • 1820 – Anne Brontë, English author and poet (d. 1849)
    • 1828 – Lewis A. Grant, American lawyer and general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1918)
    • 1828 – Ede Reményi, Hungarian violinist and composer (d. 1898)
    • 1832 – Henry Martyn Baird, American historian and academic (d. 1906)
    • 1834 – August Weismann, German biologist, zoologist, and geneticist (d. 1914)
    • 1850 – Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti, Brazilian cardinal (d. 1930)
    • 1850 – Alexander Taneyev, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1918)
    • 1851 – A. B. Frost, American author and illustrator (d. 1928)
    • 1853 – Alva Belmont, American suffragist (d. 1933)
    • 1852 – T. Alexander Harrison, American painter and academic (d. 1930)
    • 1857 – Wilhelm Kienzl, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1941)
    • 1857 – Eugene Augustin Lauste, French-American engineer (d. 1935)
    • 1858 – Tomás Carrasquilla, Colombian author (d. 1940)
    • 1860 – Douglas Hyde, Irish academic and politician, 1st President of Ireland (d. 1949)
    • 1863 – David Lloyd George, Welsh lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1945)
    • 1863 – Konstantin Stanislavski, Russian actor and director (d. 1938)
    • 1865 – Sir Charles Fergusson, 7th Baronet, English general and politician, 3rd Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1951)
    • 1867 – Carl Laemmle, German-born American film producer, co-founded Universal Studios (d. 1939)
    • 1867 – Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet, English colonel, pilot, and polo player (d. 1934)
    • 1871 – David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, English admiral (d. 1936)
    • 1871 – Nicolae Iorga, Romanian historian and politician, 34th Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1940)
    • 1875 – Florencio Sánchez, Uruguayan journalist and playwright (d. 1910)
    • 1876 – Frank Hague, American lawyer and politician, 30th Mayor of Jersey City (d. 1956)
    • 1877 – Marie Zdeňka Baborová-Čiháková, Czech botanist and zoologist (d. 1937)
    • 1877 – May Gibbs, English-Australian author and illustrator (d. 1969)
    • 1880 – Mack Sennett, Canadian-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1960)
    • 1881 – Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
    • 1881 – Harry Price, English psychologist and author (d. 1948)
    • 1882 – Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (d. 1946)
    • 1883 – Compton Mackenzie, English-Scottish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1972)
    • 1886 – Glenn L. Martin, American pilot and businessman, founded the Glenn L. Martin Company (d. 1955)
    • 1887 – Ola Raknes, Norwegian psychoanalyst and philologist (d. 1975)
    • 1888 – Babu Gulabrai, Indian philosopher and author (d. 1963)
    • 1897 – Marcel Petiot, French physician and serial killer (d. 1946)
    • 1898 – Lela Mevorah, Serbian librarian (d. 1972)
    • 1899 – Al Capone, American mob boss (d. 1947)
    • 1899 – Robert Maynard Hutchins, American philosopher and academic (d. 1977)
    • 1899 – Nevil Shute, English engineer and author (d. 1960)
    • 1901 – Aron Gurwitsch, Lithuanian-American philosopher and author (d. 1973)
    • 1904 – Hem Vejakorn, Thai painter and illustrator (d. 1969)
    • 1905 – Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (d. 2005)
    • 1905 – Peggy Gilbert, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2007)
    • 1905 – Eduard Oja, Estonian composer, conductor, educator, and critic (d. 1950)
    • 1905 – Guillermo Stábile, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1966)
    • 1905 – Jan Zahradníček, Czech poet and translator (d. 1960)
    • 1907 – Henk Badings, Indonesian-Dutch composer and engineer (d. 1987)
    • 1907 – Alfred Wainwright, British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator (d. 1991)
    • 1908 – Cus D’Amato, American boxing manager and trainer (d. 1985)
    • 1911 – Busher Jackson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1966)
    • 1911 – John S. McCain Jr., American admiral (d. 1981)
    • 1911 – George Stigler, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
    • 1914 – Anacleto Angelini, Italian-Chilean businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1914 – Irving Brecher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
    • 1914 – Paul Royle, Australian lieutenant and pilot (d. 2015)
    • 1914 – William Stafford, American poet and author (d. 1993)
    • 1916 – Peter Frelinghuysen Jr., American lieutenant and politician (d. 2011)
    • 1917 – M. G. Ramachandran, Indian actor, director, and politician, 5th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – Keith Joseph, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Education (d. 1994)
    • 1918 – George M. Leader, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Pennsylvania (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Georges Pichard, French author and illustrator (d. 2003)
    • 1921 – Asghar Khan, Pakistani general and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1921 – Jackie Henderson, Scottish footballer, forward (d. 2005)
    • 1921 – Charlie Mitten, English footballer, outside forward and manager (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Antonio Prohías, Cuban cartoonist (d. 1998)
    • 1922 – Luis Echeverría, Mexican academic and politician, 50th President of Mexico
    • 1922 – Nicholas Katzenbach, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 65th United States Attorney General (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Betty White, American actress, game show panelist, television personality, and animal rights activist
    • 1923 – Rangeya Raghav, Indian author and playwright (d. 1962)
    • 1924 – Rik De Saedeleer, Belgian footballer and journalist (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Jewel Plummer Cobb, American biologist, cancer researcher, and academic (d. 2017)
    • 1925 – Gunnar Birkerts, Latvian-American architect (d. 2017)
    • 1925 – Robert Cormier, American author and journalist (d. 2000)
    • 1925 – Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistani cricketer and author (d. 1996)
    • 1926 – Newton N. Minow, American lawyer and politician
    • 1926 – Moira Shearer, Scottish-English ballerina and actress (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Clyde Walcott, Barbadian cricketer (d. 2006)
    • 1927 – Thomas Anthony Dooley III, American physician and humanitarian (d. 1961)
    • 1927 – Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer (d. 2008)
    • 1927 – Harlan Mathews, American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – E. W. Swackhamer, American director and producer (d. 1994)
    • 1928 – Jean Barraqué, French composer (d. 1973)
    • 1928 – Vidal Sassoon, English-American hairdresser and businessman (d. 2012)
    • 1929 – Jacques Plante, Canadian-Swiss ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1986)
    • 1929 – Tan Boon Teik, Malaysian-Singaporean lawyer and politician, Attorney-General of Singapore (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – James Earl Jones, American actor
    • 1931 – Douglas Wilder, American sergeant and politician, 66th Governor of Virginia
    • 1931 – Don Zimmer, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Sheree North, American actress and dancer (d. 2005)
    • 1933 – Dalida, Egyptian-French singer and actress (d. 1987)
    • 1933 – Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French-Pakistani diplomat, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (d. 2003)
    • 1933 – Shari Lewis, American actress, puppeteer/ventriloquist, and television host (d. 1998)
    • 1934 – Donald Cammell, Scottish-American director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1935 – Ruth Ann Minner, American businesswoman and politician, 72nd Governor of Delaware
    • 1936 – John Boyd, English academic and diplomat, British ambassador to Japan
    • 1936 – A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1937 – Alain Badiou, French philosopher and academic
    • 1938 – John Bellairs, American author and academic (d. 1991)
    • 1938 – Toini Gustafsson, Swedish cross country skier
    • 1939 – Christodoulos of Athens, Greek archbishop (d. 2008)
    • 1939 – Maury Povich, American talk show host and producer
    • 1940 – Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Egyptian-Armenian patriarch (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan athlete
    • 1940 – Tabaré Vázquez, Uruguayan physician and politician, 39th President of Uruguay
    • 1941 – István Horthy, Jr., Hungarian physicist and architect
    • 1942 – Muhammad Ali, American boxer and activist (d. 2016)
    • 1942 – Ita Buttrose, Australian journalist and author
    • 1942 – Ulf Hoelscher, German violinist and educator
    • 1942 – Nigel McCulloch, English bishop
    • 1943 – Chris Montez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – René Préval, Haitian agronomist and politician, 52nd President of Haiti (d. 2017)
    • 1944 – Ann Oakley, English sociologist, author, and academic
    • 1945 – Javed Akhtar, Indian poet, playwright, and composer
    • 1945 – Anne Cutler, Australian psychologist and academic
    • 1948 – Davíð Oddsson, Icelandic politician, 21st Prime Minister of Iceland
    • 1949 – Anita Borg, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1949 – Gyude Bryant, Liberian businessman and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1949 – Augustin Dumay, French violinist and conductor
    • 1949 – Andy Kaufman, American actor and comedian (d. 1984)
    • 1949 – Mick Taylor, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1950 – Luis López Nieves, Puerto Rican-American author and academic
    • 1952 – Tom Deitz, American author (d. 2009)
    • 1952 – Darrell Porter, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
    • 1952 – Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese pianist, composer, and producer
    • 1953 – Jeff Berlin, American bass player and educator
    • 1953 – Carlos Johnson, American singer and guitarist
    • 1954 – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., American lawyer, radio host, activist, and environmentalist
    • 1955 – Steve Earle, American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, author and actor
    • 1955 – Pietro Parolin, Italian cardinal
    • 1955 – Steve Javie, American basketball player and referee
    • 1956 – Damian Green, English journalist and politician
    • 1956 – Paul Young, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Steve Harvey, American actor, comedian, television personality and game show host
    • 1957 – Ann Nocenti, American journalist and author
    • 1958 – Tony Kouzarides, English biologist, cancer researcher
    • 1959 – Susanna Hoffs, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1960 – John Crawford, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1960 – Chili Davis, Jamaican-American baseball player and coach
    • 1961 – Brian Helgeland, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Jun Azumi, Japanese broadcaster and politician, 46th Japanese Minister of Finance
    • 1962 – Jim Carrey, Canadian-American actor and producer
    • 1962 – Sebastian Junger, American journalist and author
    • 1963 – Kai Hansen, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1963 – Colin Gordon, English footballer, striker, agent, manager, chief executive
    • 1964 – Michelle Obama, American lawyer and activist, 46th First Lady of the United States
    • 1964 – John Schuster, Samoan-New Zealand rugby player
    • 1965 – Sylvain Turgeon, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Trish Johnson, English golfer
    • 1966 – Joshua Malina, American actor
    • 1967 – Richard Hawley, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1968 – Rowan Pelling, English journalist and author
    • 1968 – Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch author, poet, and scholar
    • 1969 – Naveen Andrews, English actor
    • 1969 – Lukas Moodysson, Swedish director, screenwriter, and author
    • 1969 – Tiësto, Dutch DJ and producer
    • 1970 – Cássio Alves de Barros, Brazilian footballer
    • 1970 – Jeremy Roenick, American ice hockey player and actor
    • 1970 – Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-American animator, director, and producer
    • 1971 – Giorgos Balogiannis, Greek basketball player
    • 1971 – Richard Burns, English race car driver (d. 2005)
    • 1971 – Kid Rock, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1971 – Sylvie Testud, French actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Mexican footballer and actor
    • 1973 – Chris Bowen, Australian politician, 37th Treasurer of Australia
    • 1973 – Liz Ellis, Australian netball player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Aaron Ward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Yang Chen, Chinese footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Vesko Kountchev, Bulgarian viola player, composer, and producer
    • 1974 – Derrick Mason, American football player
    • 1975 – Freddy Rodriguez, American actor
    • 1978 – Lisa Llorens, Australian Paralympian
    • 1978 – Ricky Wilson, English singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Ukrainian-American dancer and choreographer
    • 1980 – Zooey Deschanel, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1980 – Modestas Stonys, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1981 – Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer and manager
    • 1982 – Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Amanda Wilkinson, Canadian singer
    • 1983 – Álvaro Arbeloa, Spanish footballer
    • 1983 – Johannes Herber, German basketball player
    • 1983 – Rick Kelly, Australian race car driver
    • 1983 – Marcelo Garcia, Brazilian martial artist
    • 1984 – Calvin Harris, Scottish singer-songwriter, DJ, and producer
    • 1985 – Pablo Barrientos, Argentinian footballer
    • 1985 – Betsy Ruth, American wrestler and manager
    • 1985 – Simone Simons, Dutch singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Cody Decker, American baseball player
    • 1988 – Andrea Antonelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2013)
    • 1988 – Will Genia, Australian rugby player
    • 1988 – Héctor Moreno, Mexican footballer
    • 1989 – Taylor Jordan, American baseball player
    • 1989 – Kelly Marie Tran, American actress
    • 1990 – Santiago Tréllez, Colombian footballer
    • 1991 – Trevor Bauer, American baseball player
    • 1991 – Esapekka Lappi, Finnish Rally Driver
    • 1991 – Slade Griffin, Australian rugby league player
    • 1991 – Alise Post, American BMX rider
    • 1993 – Frankie Cocozza, British singer
    • 1994 – Mark Steketee, Australian cricketer
    • 1998 – Jeff Reine-Adelaide, French footballer
    • 1998 – Sophie Molineux, Australian cricketer
    • 2000 – Devlin DeFrancesco, Canadian race car driver

    Deaths on January 17

    • 395 – Theodosius I, Roman emperor (b. 347)
    • 644 – Sulpitius the Pious, French bishop and saint
    • 764 – Joseph of Freising, German bishop
    • 1040 – Mas’ud I of Ghazni, Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire (b. 998)
    • 1156 – André de Montbard, fifth Grand Master of the Knights Templar
    • 1168 – Thierry, Count of Flanders (b. 1099)
    • 1229 – Albert of Riga, German bishop (b. 1165)
    • 1329 – Saint Roseline, Carthusian nun (b. 1263)
    • 1334 – John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond (b. 1266)
    • 1345 – Henry of Asti, Greek patriarch
    • 1345 – Martino Zaccaria, Genoese Lord of Chios
    • 1369 – Peter I of Cyprus (b. 1328)
    • 1456 – Elisabeth of Lorraine-Vaudémont, French translator (b. 1395)
    • 1468 – Skanderbeg, Albanian soldier and politician (b. 1405)
    • 1588 – Qi Jiguang, Chinese general (b. 1528)
    • 1598 – Feodor I of Russia (b. 1557)
    • 1617 – Fausto Veranzio, Croatian bishop and lexicographer (b. 1551)
    • 1705 – John Ray, English botanist and historian (b. 1627)
    • 1718 – Benjamin Church, American colonel (b. 1639)
    • 1737 – Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, German architect (b. 1662)
    • 1738 – Jean-François Dandrieu, French organist and composer (b. 1682)
    • 1751 – Tomaso Albinoni, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1671)
    • 1826 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish-French composer (b. 1806)
    • 1834 – Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1762)
    • 1861 – Lola Montez, Irish actress and dancer (b. 1821)
    • 1863 – Horace Vernet, French painter (b. 1789)
    • 1869 – Alexander Dargomyzhsky, Russian composer (b. 1813)
    • 1878 – Edward Shepherd Creasy, English historian and jurist (b. 1812)
    • 1884 – Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist and herpetologist (b. 1804)
    • 1887 – William Giblin, Australian lawyer and politician, 13th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1840)
    • 1888 – Big Bear, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1825)
    • 1891 – George Bancroft, American historian and politician, 17th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1800)
    • 1893 – Rutherford B. Hayes, American general, lawyer, and politician, 19th President of the United States (b. 1822)
    • 1903 – Ignaz Wechselmann, Hungarian architect and philanthropist (b. 1828)
    • 1908 – Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1835)
    • 1909 – Francis Smith, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 4th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1819)
    • 1911 – Francis Galton, English polymath, anthropologist, and geographer (b. 1822)
    • 1927 – Juliette Gordon Low, American founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA (b. 1860)
    • 1930 – Gauhar Jaan, One of the first performers to record music on 78 rpm records in India. (b. 1873)
    • 1931 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (b. 1864)
    • 1932 – Ahmet Derviş, Turkish general (b. 1881)
    • 1932 – Albert Jacka, Australian captain, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1893)
    • 1933 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (b. 1848)
    • 1936 – Mateiu Caragiale, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1885)
    • 1942 – Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (b. 1884)
    • 1947 – Pyotr Krasnov, Russian historian and general (b. 1869)
    • 1947 – Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve, Canadian cardinal (b. 1883)
    • 1951 – Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Indian poet, playwright, and director (b. 1903)
    • 1952 – Walter Briggs Sr., American businessman (b. 1877)
    • 1961 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1925)
    • 1970 – Simon Kovar, Russian-American bassoon player and educator (b. 1890)
    • 1972 – Betty Smith, American author and playwright (b. 1896)
    • 1977 – Dougal Haston, Scottish mountaineer (b. 1940)
    • 1977 – Gary Gilmore, American murderer (b. 1940)
    • 1981 – Loukas Panourgias, Greek footballer and lawyer (b. 1899)
    • 1984 – Kostas Giannidis, Greek pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1903)
    • 1987 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1988 – Percy Qoboza, South African journalist and author (b. 1938)
    • 1991 – Olav V of Norway (b. 1903)
    • 1992 – Frank Pullen, English soldier and businessman (b. 1915)
    • 1993 – Albert Hourani, English-Lebanese historian and academic (b. 1915)
    • 1994 – Yevgeni Ivanov, Russian spy (b. 1926)
    • 1994 – Helen Stephens, American runner, shot putter, and discus thrower (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – Barbara Jordan, American lawyer and politician (b. 1936)
    • 1996 – Sylvia Lawler, English geneticist (b. 1922))
    • 1997 – Bert Kelly, Australian farmer and politician, 20th Australian Minister for the Navy (b. 1912)
    • 1997 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer and academic, discovered Pluto (b. 1906)
    • 2000 – Philip Jones, English trumpet player and educator (b. 1928)
    • 2000 – Ion Rațiu, Romanian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
    • 2002 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
    • 2002 – Roman Personov, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1932)
    • 2003 – Richard Crenna, American actor and director (b. 1926)
    • 2004 – Raymond Bonham Carter, English banker (b. 1929)
    • 2004 – Harry Brecheen, American baseball player and coach (b. 1914)
    • 2004 – Ray Stark, American film producer (b. 1915)
    • 2004 – Noble Willingham, American actor (b. 1931)
    • 2005 – Charlie Bell, Australian businessman (b. 1960)
    • 2005 – Virginia Mayo, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Albert Schatz, American microbiologist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Zhao Ziyang, Chinese politician, 3rd Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – Pierre Grondin, Canadian surgeon (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Art Buchwald, American journalist and author (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Yevhen Kushnaryov, Ukrainian engineer and politician (b. 1951)
    • 2008 – Bobby Fischer, American chess player and author (b. 1943)
    • 2008 – Ernie Holmes, American football player, wrestler, and actor (b. 1948)
    • 2009 – Anders Isaksson, Swedish journalist and historian (b. 1943)
    • 2010 – Gaines Adams, American football player (b. 1983)
    • 2010 – Jyoti Basu, Indian politician and CM of West Bengal for 23 years (b. 1914)
    • 2010 – Michalis Papakonstantinou, Greek journalist and politician, Foreign Minister of Greece (b. 1919)
    • 2010 – Erich Segal, American author and screenwriter (b. 1937)
    • 2011 – Don Kirshner, American songwriter and producer (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Ernie Alexander, American educator and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Julius Meimberg, German soldier and pilot (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Johnny Otis, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Marty Springstead, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1937)
    • 2013 – Mehmet Ali Birand, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1941)
    • 2013 – Jakob Arjouni, German author (b. 1964)
    • 2013 – Yves Debay, Belgian journalist (b. 1954)
    • 2013 – John Nkomo, Zimbabwean politician, Vice President of Zimbabwe (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Lizbeth Webb, English soprano and actress (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, Indian spiritual leader, 52nd Da’i al-Mutlaq (b. 1915)
    • 2014 – Francine Lalonde, Canadian educator and politician (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green, English businessman and politician (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – John J. McGinty III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Sunanda Pushkar, Indian-Canadian businesswoman (b. 1962)
    • 2014 – Suchitra Sen, Indian film actress (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Ken Furphy, English footballer and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress and producer (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Don Harron, Canadian actor and screenwriter (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Melvin Day, New Zealand painter and historian (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – V. Rama Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Governor of Sikkim (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Sudhindra Thirtha, Indian religious leader (b. 1926)
    • 2017 – Tirrel Burton, American football player and coach (b. 1929)
    • 2018 – Jessica Falkholt, Australian actress (b. 1988)
    • 2019 – S. Balakrishnan, Malayalam movie composer (b. 1948)
    • 2020 – Derek Fowlds, British actor (b.1937)

    Holidays and observances on January 17

    • Christian feast day:
      • Anthony the Great
      • Blessed Angelo Paoli
      • Blessed Gamelbert of Michaelsbuch
      • Charles Gore (Church of England)
      • Jenaro Sánchez Delgadillo (one of Saints of the Cristero War)
      • Mildgyth
      • Our Lady of Pontmain
      • Sulpitius the Pious
      • January 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • National Day (Menorca, Spain)
    • The opening ceremony of Patras Carnival, celebrated until Clean Monday. (Patras)