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 January 23 in History
- 393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.
- 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.
- 1264 – In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour of Henry that later leads to the Second Barons’ War.
- 1368 – In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries.
- 1546 – Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.
- 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
- 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.
- 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London.
- 1579 – The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
- 1656 – Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales.
- 1719 – The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1789 – Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.).
- 1793 – Second Partition of Poland.
- 1795 – After an extraordinary charge across the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry captured 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns, in a rare occurrence of a battle between ships and cavalry.
- 1846 – Slavery in Tunisia is abolished.
- 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States’ first female doctor.
- 1870 – In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre.
- 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Rorke’s Drift ends.
- 1899 – The Malolos Constitution is inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic. Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as its first President.
- 1900 – Second Boer War: The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces ends in a British defeat.
- 1904 – Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
- 1909 – RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day.
- 1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.
- 1920 – The Netherlands refuses to surrender the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.
- 1937 – The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin’s regime.
- 1941 – Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Rabaul commences Japan’s invasion of Australia’s Territory of New Guinea.
- 1943 – World War II: Troops of the British Eighth Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German–Italian Panzer Army.
- 1945 – World War II: German admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal.
- 1950 – The Knesset resolves that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
- 1957 – American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the “Frisbee”.
- 1958 – After a general uprising and rioting in the streets, President Marcos Pérez Jiménez leaves Venezuela.
- 1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 metres (35,797 ft) in the Pacific Ocean.
- 1961 – The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by opponents of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is overthrown.
- 1963 – The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese army stationed in Tite.
- 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
- 1967 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Ivory Coast are established.
- 1967 – Milton Keynes (England) is founded as a new town by Order in Council, with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people. Its initial designated area enclosed three existing towns and twenty one villages. The area to be developed was largely farmland, with evidence of continuous settlement dating back to the Bronze Age.
- 1968 – USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is attacked and seized by naval forces of North Korea.
- 1973 – United States President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
- 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
- 1997 – Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
- 1998 – Netscape announced Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source.
- 2001 – Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Communist Party of China to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.
- 2002 – U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered.
- 2003 – A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted.
- 2018 – A 7.9 Mw  earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities.
- 2018 – A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds “dozens” of others. The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials.
 Births on January 23
- 599 – Tai Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 649)
- 1350 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (d. 1419)
- 1378 – Louis III, Elector Palatine (d. 1436)
- 1514 – Hai Rui, Chinese politician (d. 1587)
- 1585 – Mary Ward, English Catholic Religious Sister (d. 1645)
- 1622 – Abraham Diepraam, Dutch painter (d. 1670)
- 1719 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (d. 1790)
- 1737 – John Hancock, American general and politician, 1st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1793)
- 1745 – William Jessop, English engineer, built the Cromford Canal (d. 1814)
- 1752 – Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1832)
- 1780 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (d. 1827)
- 1783 – Stendhal, French novelist (d. 1842)
- 1786 – Auguste de Montferrand, French-Russian architect, designed Saint Isaac’s Cathedral and Alexander Column (d. 1858)
- 1799 – Alois Negrelli, Tyrolean engineer and railroad pioneer active in the Austrian Empire (d. 1858)
- 1809 – Surendra Sai, Indian activist (d. 1884)
- 1813 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian novelist and activist (d. 1895)
- 1828 – Saigō Takamori, Japanese samurai (d. 1877)
- 1832 – Édouard Manet, French painter (d. 1883)
- 1833 – Muthu Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1879)
- 1838 – Marianne Cope, German-American nun and saint (d. 1918)
- 1840 – Ernst Abbe, German physicist and engineer (d. 1905)
- 1846 – Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist and mathematician (d. 1915)
- 1855 – John Browning, American weapons designer, founded the Browning Arms Company (d. 1926)
- 1857 – Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian meteorologist and seismologist (d. 1936)
- 1862 – David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1943)
- 1862 – Frank Shuman, American inventor and engineer (d. 1918)
- 1872 – Paul Langevin, French physicist and academic (d. 1946)
- 1872 – Jože Plečnik, Slovenian architect, designed Plečnik Parliament (d. 1957)
- 1876 – Otto Diels, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
- 1878 – Rutland Boughton, English composer (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, Mexican politician (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Claribel Kendall, American mathematician (d.1965)
- 1894 – Jyotirmoyee Devi, Indian author (d. 1988)
- 1896 – Alf Blair, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1944)
- 1896 – Alf Hall, English-South African cricketer (d. 1964)
- 1897 – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian activist and politician (d. 1945)
- 1897 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (d. 2000)
- 1897 – Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author (d. 1978)
- 1897 – William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (d. 1989)
- 1898 – Georg Kulenkampff, German violinist (d. 1948)
- 1898 – Randolph Scott, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (d. 1978)
- 1899 – Glen Kidston, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1931)
- 1900 – William Ifor Jones, Welsh organist and conductor (d. 1988)
- 1901 – Arthur Wirtz, American businessman (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Minister of National Education of Colombia (d. 1948)
- 1905 – Erich Borchmeyer, German sprinter (d. 2000)
- 1907 – Dan Duryea, American actor and singer (d. 1968)
- 1907 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
- 1910 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (d. 1953)
- 1912 – Boris Pokrovsky, Russian director and manager (d. 2009)
- 1913 – Jean-Michel Atlan, Algerian-French painter (d. 1960)
- 1913 – Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (d. 2007)
- 1915 – Herma Bauma, Austrian javelin thrower and handball player (d. 2003)
- 1915 – W. Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian-Barbadian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
- 1915 – Potter Stewart, American lawyer and judge (d. 1985)
- 1916 – David Douglas Duncan, American photographer and journalist (d. 2018)
- 1916 – Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (d. 1979)
- 1918 – Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Florence Rush, American social worker and theorist (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Frances Bay, Canadian-American actress (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Hans Hass, Austrian biologist and diver (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (d. 1962)
- 1919 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Gottfried Böhm, German architect
- 1920 – Henry Eriksson, Swedish runner (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Leon Golub, American painter and academic (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Horace Ashenfelter, American runner (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Cot Deal, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Walter M. Miller, Jr., American soldier and author (d. 1996)
- 1924 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier, businessman, and politician (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Marty Paich, American pianist, composer, producer, and conductor (d. 1995)
- 1926 – Bal Thackeray, Indian journalist, cartoonist, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American businessman and explorer (d. 1994)
- 1927 – Fred Williams, Australian painter (d. 1982)
- 1928 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress (d. 2017)
- 1929 – Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Phillip Knightley, Australian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2016)
- 1929 – John Polanyi, German-Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 – Filaret, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan
- 1930 – Mervyn Rose, Australian tennis player (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
- 1932 – George Allen, English footballer (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Larri Thomas, American actress and dancer (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Bill Hayden, Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia
- 1933 – Chita Rivera, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1934 – Pierre Bourgault, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (d. 2016)
- 1935 – Tom Reamy, American author (d. 1977)
- 1935 – Teresa Żylis-Gara, Polish operatic soprano
- 1936 – Brian Howe, Australian minister and politician, 8th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
- 1936 – Jerry Kramer, American football player and sportscaster
- 1936 – Cécile Ousset, French pianist
- 1938 – Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (d. 1999)
- 1938 – Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor
- 1939 – Ed Roberts, American disability rights activist (d. 1995)
- 1940 – Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Joe Dowell, American pop singer (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Jock R. Anderson, Australian economist and academic
- 1941 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Laurie Mayne, Australian cricketer
- 1942 – Herman Tjeenk Willink, Dutch judge and politician
- 1942 – Phil Clarke, New Zealand rugby union player
- 1943 – Gary Burton, American vibraphone player and composer
- 1943 – Özhan Canaydın, Turkish basketball player and businessman (d. 2010)
- 1943 – Gil Gerard, American actor and producer
- 1944 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (d. 2019)
- 1945 – Mike Harris, Canadian politician, 22nd Premier of Ontario
- 1946 – Arnoldo Alemán, Nicaraguan lawyer and politician, President of Nicaragua
- 1946 – Boris Berezovsky, Russian-English businessman and mathematician (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Zvonko Bušić, Croatian terrorist, hijacker of TWA Flight 355 (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Don Whittington, American race car driver
- 1947 – Tom Carper, American captain and politician, 71st Governor of Delaware
- 1947 – Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesian politician, 5th President of Indonesia
- 1948 – Anita Pointer, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor, producer, and composer
- 1950 – Bill Cunningham, American bass and keyboard player
- 1950 – Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (d. 2018)
- 1950 – Suzanne Scotchmer, American economist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (d. 2012)
- 1951 – Margaret Bailes, American sprinter
- 1951 – Chesley Sullenberger, American captain and pilot
- 1952 – Omar Henry, South African cricketer
- 1953 – John Luther Adams, American composer
- 1953 – Alister McGrath, Irish priest, historian, and theologian
- 1953 – Antonio Villaraigosa, American politician, 41st Mayor of Los Angeles
- 1953 – Robin Zander, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Trevor Hohns, Australian cricketer
- 1957 – Caroline, Princess of Hanover
- 1958 – Sergey Litvinov, Russian hammer thrower (d. 2018)
- 1959 – Clive Bull, English radio host
- 1960 – Jean-François Sauvé, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 – Greg Ritchie, Australian cricketer
- 1961 – Neil Henry, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1961 – Yelena Sinchukova, Russian long jumper
- 1962 – David Arnold, English composer
- 1962 – Aivar Lillevere, Estonian footballer and coach
- 1962 – Elvira Lindo, Spanish journalist and author
- 1964 – Jonatha Brooke, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – Mariska Hargitay, American actress and producer
- 1964 – Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyanese economist and politician, 7th President of Guyana
- 1964 – Mario Roberge, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 – Louie Clemente, American drummer
- 1966 – Damien Hardman, Australian surfer
- 1966 – Haywoode Workman, American basketball player and referee
- 1967 – Owen Cunningham, Australian rugby league player
- 1968 – Taro Hakase, Japanese violinist and composer
- 1968 – Petr Korda, Czech-Monacan tennis player
- 1969 – Andrei Kanchelskis, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
- 1969 – Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player and actor
- 1969 – Susen Tiedtke, German long jumper
- 1970 – Spyridon Vasdekis, Greek long jumper
- 1971 – Scott Gibbs, Welsh-South African rugby player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Kevin Mawae, American football player and coach
- 1971 – Marc Nelson, American singer-songwriter
- 1971 – Adam Parore, New Zealand cricketer and mountaineer
- 1971 – Claire Rankin, Canadian actress
- 1971 – Lisa Snowdon, English television and radio presenter and fashion model
- 1972 – Ewen Bremner, Scottish actor
- 1973 – Tomas Holmström, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1974 – Glen Chapple, English cricketer
- 1974 – Rebekah Elmaloglou, Australian actress
- 1974 – Yosvani Pérez, Cuban baseball player
- 1974 – Richard T. Slone, English painter
- 1974 – Tiffani Thiessen, American actress
- 1975 – Nick Harmer, German musician
- 1975 – Phil Dawson, American football player
- 1976 – Brandon Duckworth, American baseball player and scout
- 1976 – Anne Margrethe Hausken, Norwegian orienteering competitor
- 1976 – Alex Shaffer, American skier
- 1979 – Larry Hughes, American basketball player
- 1979 – Dawn O’Porter, Scottish-English fashion designer and journalist
- 1979 – Juan Rincón, Venezuelan baseball player and coach
- 1981 – Rob Friend, Canadian soccer player
- 1982 – Wily Mo Peña, Dominican baseball player
- 1982 – Oceana Mahlmann, German singer and songwriter
- 1982 – Andrew Rock, American sprinter
- 1983 – Irving Saladino, Panamanian long jumper
- 1984 – Robbie Farah, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Arjen Robben, Dutch footballer
- 1985 – Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese footballer
- 1985 – Doutzen Kroes, Dutch model and actress
- 1985 – Yevgeny Lukyanenko, Russian pole vaulter
- 1985 – Aselefech Mergia, Ethiopian runner
- 1985 – Jeff Samardzija, American baseball player
- 1985 – San E, South Korean rapper
- 1986 – Gelete Burka, Ethiopian runner
- 1986 – Marc Laird, Scottish footballer
- 1986 – José Enrique, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Michael Stevens, American YouTuber and educator
- 1986 – Steven Taylor, English footballer
- 1986 – Sandro Viletta, Swiss skier
- 1987 – Leo Komarov, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
- 1990 – Şener Özbayraklı, Turkish footballer
- 1990 – Alex Silva, Canadian wrestler
- 1990 – Martyn Waghorn, English footballer
- 1992 – Reina Triendl, Japanese model and actress
- 1994 – Addison Russell, American baseball player
- 1995 – Luke Bateman, Australian rugby league player
- 1995 – Tuimoala Lolohea, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1998 – XXXTentacion, American rapper (d. 2018)
 Deaths on January 23
- 667 – Ildefonsus, bishop of Toledo
- 989 – Adalbero, archbishop of Reims
- 1002 – Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)
- 1199 – Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, Moroccan caliph (b. 1160)
- 1252 – Isabella, Queen of Armenia
- 1297 – Florent of Hainaut, Prince of Achaea (b. c. 1255)
- 1423 – Margaret of Bavaria, Burgundian regent (b. 1363)
- 1516 – Ferdinand II of Aragon (b. 1452)
- 1548 – Bernardo Pisano, Italian priest, scholar, and composer (b. 1490)
- 1549 – Johannes Honter, Romanian-Hungarian cartographer and theologian (b. 1498)
- 1567 – Jiajing Emperor of China (b. 1507)
- 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Scottish politician (b. 1531)
- 1620 – John Croke, English politician and judge (b. 1553)
- 1622 – William Baffin, English explorer and navigator (b. 1584)
- 1650 – Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke (b. 1584)
- 1744 – Giambattista Vico, Italian historian and philosopher (b. 1668)
- 1785 – Matthew Stewart, Scottish mathematician and academic (b. 1717)
- 1789 – Frances Brooke, English author and playwright (b. 1724)
- 1789 – John Cleland, English author (b. 1709)
- 1800 – Edward Rutledge, American captain and politician, 39th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1749)
- 1803 – Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer, founded Guinness (b. 1725)
- 1805 – Claude Chappe, French engineer (b. 1763)
- 1806 – William Pitt the Younger, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
- 1810 – Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German chemist and physicist (b. 1776)
- 1812 – Robert Craufurd, Scottish general and politician (b. 1764)
- 1820 – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (b. 1767)
- 1833 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (b. 1757)
- 1837 – John Field, Irish pianist and composer (b. 1782)
- 1866 – Thomas Love Peacock, English author and poet (b. 1785)
- 1875 – Charles Kingsley English priest and author (b. 1819)
- 1883 – Gustave Doré, French engraver and illustrator (b. 1832)
- 1893 – Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, American lawyer and politician, 16th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1825)
- 1893 – José Zorrilla, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1817)
- 1921 – Mykola Leontovych, Ukrainian composer and conductor (b. 1877)
- 1922 – René Beeh, Alsatian painter and draughtsman (b. 1886)
- 1922 – Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor and academic (b. 1855)
- 1923 – Max Nordau, Austrian physician and author (b. 1849)
- 1931 – Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina (b. 1881)
- 1937 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (b. 1876)
- 1939 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (b. 1903)
- 1943 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (b. 1887)
- 1944 – Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1863)
- 1947 – Pierre Bonnard, French painter (b. 1867)
- 1956 – Alexander Korda, Hungarian-English director and producer (b. 1893)
- 1963 – Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor (b. 1908)
- 1966 – T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1895)
- 1971 – Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (b. 1871)
- 1973 – Alexander Onassis, American-Greek businessman (b. 1948)
- 1973 – Kid Ory, American trombonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1886)
- 1976 – Paul Robeson, American actor, singer, and activist (b. 1898)
- 1977 – Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor’s Restaurant (b. 1903)
- 1978 – Terry Kath, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1946)
- 1978 – Jack Oakie, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1980 – Giovanni Michelotti, Italian engineer (b. 1921)
- 1981 – Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)
- 1983 – Fred Bakewell, English cricketer and coach (b. 1908)
- 1984 – Muin Bseiso, Palestinian-Egyptian poet and critic (b. 1926)
- 1985 – James Beard, American chef and cookbook author for whom the James Beard Foundation Awards are named (b.1905)
- 1986 – Joseph Beuys, German sculptor and painter (b. 1921)
- 1988 – Charles Glen King, American biochemist and academic (b. 1896)
- 1989 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish race car driver (b. 1961)
- 1990 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1952)
- 1991 – Northrop Frye, Canadian author and critic (b. 1912)
- 1992 – Freddie Bartholomew, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1993 – Keith Laumer, American soldier, author, and diplomat (b. 1925)
- 1994 – Nikolai Ogarkov, Russian field marshal (b. 1917)
- 1994 – Brian Redhead, English journalist and author (b. 1929)
- 1999 – Joe D’Amato, Italian director and cinematographer (b. 1936)
- 1999 – Jay Pritzker, American businessman, co-founded the Hyatt Corporation (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Paul Aars, American race car driver (b. 1934)
- 2002 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (b. 1930)
- 2002 – Robert Nozick, American philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1938)
- 2003 – Nell Carter, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
- 2004 – Bob Keeshan, American television personality and producer (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Helmut Newton, German-Australian photographer (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Johnny Carson, American talk show host, television personality, and producer (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Syed Hussein Alatas, Malaysian sociologist and politician (b. 1928)
- 2007 – E. Howard Hunt, American CIA officer (b. 1918)
- 2007 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1932)
- 2009 – Robert W. Scott, American farmer and politician, 67th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1929)
- 2010 – Kermit Tyler, American colonel and pilot (b. 1913)
- 2010 – Earl Wild, American pianist and composer (b. 1915)
- 2011 – Jack LaLanne, American fitness instructor, author, and television host (b. 1914)
- 2012 – Wesley E. Brown, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1907)
- 2012 – Maurice Meisner, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Bingham Ray, American businessman, co-founded October Films (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Józef Glemp, Polish cardinal (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Peter van der Merwe, South African cricketer and referee (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Jean-Félix-Albert-Marie Vilnet, French bishop (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Yuri Izrael, Russian meteorologist and journalist (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Riz Ortolani, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Prosper Ego, Dutch activist, founded the Oud-Strijders Legioen (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Jimmy Bain, Scottish bassist (b. 1947)
- 2016 – Bobby Wanzer, American basketball player and coach (b. 1921)
- 2017 – Bobby Freeman, American singer, songwriter and record producer (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (b. 1941)
- 2018 – Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, composer and singer (b. 1939)
- 2018 – Nicanor Parra, Chilean poet (b. 1914)
- 2018 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American civil rights activist and pastor (b. 1928)
 Holidays and observances on January 23
- Bounty Day (Pitcairn Islands)
- Christian feast day:
- Abakuh
- Marianne of Molokai
- Emerentiana
- Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Ildefonsus of Toledo
- Phillips Brooks (Episcopal Church (USA))
- January 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Jayanti (Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal, India)
- World Freedom Day (Taiwan and South Korea)
 
 
 
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		January 9 in History
- 475 – Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople, and his general, Basiliscus gains control of the empire.
- 681 – Twelfth Council of Toledo: King Erwig of the Visigoths initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain.
- 1127 – Jin–Song Wars: Invading Jurchen soldiers from the Jin dynasty besiege and sack Bianjing (Kaifeng), the capital of the Song dynasty of China, and abduct Emperor Qinzong of Song and others, ending the Northern Song dynasty.
- 1349 – The Jewish population of Basel, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing Black Death, is rounded up and incinerated.
- 1431 – The trial of Joan of Arc begins in Rouen.
- 1760 – Ahmad Shah Durrani defeats the Marathas in the Battle of Barari Ghat.<refFrançois Xavier Wendel (1991). Wendel’s memoirs on the origin, growth and present state of Jat power in Hindustan (1768). Institut français de Pondichéry. p. 61.</ref>
- 1788 – Connecticut becomes the fifth state to ratify the Constitution.
- 1792 – Treaty of Jassy between Russian and Ottoman Empire is signed.
- 1793 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first person to fly in a balloon in the United States.
- 1799 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound to raise funds for Great Britain’s war effort in the Napoleonic Wars.
- 1806 – Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred in St Paul’s Cathedral.
- 1816 – Humphry Davy tests his safety lamp for miners at Hebburn Colliery.
- 1822 – The Portuguese prince Pedro I of Brazil decides to stay in Brazil against the orders of the Portuguese King João VI, beginning the Brazilian independence process.
- 1839 – The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process.
- 1857 – The 7.9 Mw  Fort Tejon earthquake shakes Central and Southern California with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent).
- 1858 – Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide.
- 1861 – American Civil War: “Star of the West” incident occurs near Charleston, South Carolina.
- 1861 – Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union before the outbreak of the American Civil War.
- 1878 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy.
- 1894 – New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts.
- 1903 – Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, son of the poet Alfred Tennyson, becomes the second Governor-General of Australia.
- 1909 – Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, plants the British flag 97 nautical miles (180 km; 112 mi) from the South Pole, the farthest anyone had ever reached at that time.
- 1914 – The Phi Beta Sigma fraternity is founded by African-American students at Howard University in Washington D.C., United States.
- 1916 – World War I: The Battle of Gallipoli concludes with an Ottoman Empire victory when the last Allied forces are evacuated from the peninsula.
- 1917 – World War I: The Battle of Rafa is fought near the Egyptian border with Palestine.
- 1918 – Battle of Bear Valley: The last battle of the American Indian Wars.
- 1921 – Greco-Turkish War: The First Battle of İnönü, the first battle of the war, begins near Eskişehir in Anatolia.
- 1923 – Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogyro flight.
- 1923 – Lithuanian residents of the Memel Territory rebel against the League of Nations’ decision to leave the area as a mandated region under French control.
- 1927 – A fire at the Laurier Palace movie theatre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, kills 78 children.
- 1941 – World War II: First flight of the Avro Lancaster.
- 1945 – World War II: The Sixth United States Army begins the invasion of Lingayen Gulf.
- 1957 – British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden resigns from office following his failure to retake the Suez Canal from Egyptian sovereignty.
- 1960 – President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser opens construction on the Aswan Dam by detonating ten tons of dynamite to demolish twenty tons of granite on the east bank of the Nile.
- 1961 – British authorities announce they have uncovered the Soviet Portland Spy Ring in London.
- 1964 – Martyrs’ Day: Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag in the U.S.-controlled Panama Canal Zone, leading to fighting between U.S. military and Panamanian civilians.
- 1965 – The Mirzapur Cadet College formally opens for academic activities in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh).
- 1991 – Representatives from the United States and Iraq meet at the Geneva Peace Conference to try to find a peaceful resolution to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.
- 1992 – The Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina proclaims the creation of Republika Srpska, a new state within Yugoslavia.
- 1992 – The first discoveries of extrasolar planets are announced by astronomers Aleksander Wolszczan and Dale Frail. They discovered two planets orbiting the pulsar PSR 1257+12.
- 1996 – First Chechen War: Chechen separatists launch a raid against the helicopter airfield and later a civilian hospital in the city of Kizlyar in the neighboring Dagestan, which turns into a massive hostage crisis involving thousands of civilians.
- 2004 – An inflatable boat carrying illegal Albanian emigrants stalls near the Karaburun Peninsula en route to Brindisi, Italy; exposure to the elements kills 28. This is the second deadliest marine disaster in Albanian history.
- 2005 – Mahmoud Abbas wins the election to succeed Yasser Arafat as President of the Palestinian National Authority, replacing interim president Rawhi Fattouh.
- 2005 – The Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the Government of Sudan sign the Comprehensive Peace Agreement to end the Second Sudanese Civil War.
- 2007 – Apple CEO Steve Jobs introduces the original iPhone at a Macworld keynote in San Francisco.
- 2011 – Iran Air Flight 277 crashes near Urmia in the northwest of the country, killing 77 people.
- 2014 – An explosion at a Mitsubishi Materials chemical plant in Yokkaichi, Japan, kills at least five people and injures 17 others.
- 2015 – The perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo shooting in Paris two days earlier are both killed after a hostage situation; a second hostage situation, related to the Charlie Hebdo shooting, occurs at a Jewish market in Vincennes.
- 2015 – A mass poisoning at a funeral in Mozambique involving beer that was contaminated with Burkholderia gladioli leaves 75 dead and over 230 people ill.
 Births on January 9
- 727 – Emperor Daizong of Tang (d. 779)
- 1418 – Juan Ramón Folch III de Cardona, Aragonese admiral (d. 1485)
- 1475 – Crinitus, Italian scholar and author (d. 1507)
- 1554 – Pope Gregory XV (d. 1623)
- 1571 – Charles Bonaventure de Longueval, Count of Bucquoy, French commander (d. 1621)
- 1590 – Simon Vouet, French painter (d. 1649)
- 1606 – William Dugard, English printer (d. 1662)
- 1624 – Empress Meishō of Japan (d. 1696)
- 1645 – Sir William Villiers, 3rd Baronet, English noble and politician (d. 1712)
- 1674 – Reinhard Keiser, German composer (d. 1739)
- 1685 – Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist and critic (d. 1766)
- 1728 – Thomas Warton, English poet, historian, and critic (d. 1790)
- 1735 – John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent, English admiral and politician (d. 1823)
- 1745 – Caleb Strong, American lawyer and politician, 6th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1819)
- 1753 – Luísa Todi, Portuguese soprano and actress (d. 1833)
- 1773 – Cassandra Austen, English painter and illustrator (d. 1845)
- 1778 – Hammamizade İsmail Dede Efendi, Turkish Ney player and composer (d. 1846)
- 1811 – Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, English journalist and author (d. 1856)
- 1818 – Antoine Samuel Adam-Salomon, French sculptor and photographer (d. 1881)
- 1819 – James Francis, English-Australian businessman and politician, 9th Premier of Victoria (d. 1884)
- 1822 – Carol Benesch, Czech-Romanian architect, designed the Peleș Castle (d. 1896)
- 1823 – Friedrich von Esmarch, German surgeon and academic (d. 1908)
- 1829 – Thomas William Robertson, English director and playwright (d. 1871)
- 1829 – Adolf Schlagintweit, German botanist and explorer (d. 1857)
- 1832 – Félix-Gabriel Marchand, Canadian journalist and politician, 11th Premier of Quebec (d. 1900)
- 1839 – John Knowles Paine, American composer and academic (d. 1906)
- 1848 – Princess Frederica of Hanover (d. 1926)
- 1849 – John Hartley, English tennis player (d. 1935)
- 1854 – Lady Randolph Churchill, American-born wife of Lord Randolph Churchill, mother of Sir Winston Churchill (d. 1921)
- 1856 – Anton Aškerc, Slovenian priest and poet (d. 1912)
- 1859 – Carrie Chapman Catt, American activist, founded the League of Women Voters and International Alliance of Women (d. 1947)
- 1864 – Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician and physicist (d. 1926)
- 1868 – S. P. L. Sørensen, Danish chemist and academic (d. 1939)
- 1870 – Joseph Strauss, American engineer, co-designed the Golden Gate Bridge (d. 1938)
- 1873 – Hayim Nahman Bialik, Ukrainian-Austrian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1934)
- 1873 – Thomas Curtis, American sprinter and hurdler (d. 1944)
- 1873 – John Flanagan, Irish-American hammer thrower (d. 1938)
- 1875 – Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American sculptor and art collector, founded the Whitney Museum of American Art (d. 1942)
- 1879 – John B. Watson, American psychologist and academic (d. 1958)
- 1881 – Lascelles Abercrombie, English poet and critic (d. 1938)
- 1881 – Giovanni Papini, Italian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1956)
- 1885 – Charles Bacon, American runner and hurdler (d. 1968)
- 1886 – Lloyd Loar, American sound engineer and instrument designer (d. 1943)
- 1889 – Vrindavan Lal Verma, Indian author and playwright (d. 1969)
- 1890 – Karel Čapek, Czech author and playwright (d. 1938)
- 1890 – Kurt Tucholsky, German-Swedish journalist and author (d. 1935)
- 1891 – August Gailit, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1960)
- 1892 – Eva Bowring, American lawyer and politician (d. 1985)
- 1893 – Edwin Baker, Canadian soldier and educator, co-founded the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (d. 1968)
- 1896 – Warwick Braithwaite, New Zealand-English conductor and director (d. 1971)
- 1897 – Karl Löwith, German philosopher, author, and academic (d. 1973)
- 1898 – Gracie Fields, English actress and singer (d. 1979)
- 1899 – Harald Tammer, Estonian journalist and weightlifter (d. 1942)
- 1900 – Richard Halliburton, American journalist and author (d. 1939)
- 1901 – Vilma Bánky, Hungarian-American actress (d. 1991)
- 1901 – Chic Young, American cartoonist (d. 1973)
- 1902 – Rudolf Bing, American impresario and businessman (d. 1997)
- 1902 – Josemaría Escrivá, Spanish priest and saint, founded Opus Dei (d. 1975)
- 1907 – Eldred G. Smith, American patriarch (d. 2013)
- 1907 – Earl W. Renfroe, African American orthodontist, educator, and activist (d. 2000)
- 1908 – Simone de Beauvoir, French philosopher and author (d. 1986)
- 1909 – Anthony Mamo, Maltese lawyer and politician, 1st President of Malta (d. 2008)
- 1909 – Patrick Peyton, Irish-American priest, television personality, and activist (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Tom Evenson, English runner (d. 1997)
- 1912 – Ralph Tubbs, English architect, designed the Dome of Discovery (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Richard Nixon, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 37th President of the United States (d. 1994)
- 1914 – Kenny Clarke, American jazz drummer and bandleader (d. 1985)
- 1915 – Anita Louise, American actress (d. 1970)
- 1916 – Fernando Lamas, Argentinian-American actor, singer, and director (d. 1982)
- 1916 – Vic Mizzy, American soldier, pianist, and composer (d. 2009)
- 1918 – Alma Ziegler, American baseball player and golfer (d. 2005)
- 1919 – William Morris Meredith, Jr., American poet and academic (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Clive Dunn, English actor (d. 2012)
- 1920 – Hakim Said, Pakistani scholar and politician, 20th Governor of Sindh (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Ágnes Keleti, Hungarian Olympic gymnast
- 1921 – Lister Sinclair, Indian-Canadian broadcaster and playwright (d. 2006)
- 1922 – Har Gobind Khorana, Indian-American biochemist and academic, Nobel laureate (d. 2011)
- 1922 – Ahmed Sékou Touré, Guinean politician, 1st President of Guinea (d. 1984)
- 1924 – Sergei Parajanov, Georgian-Armenian director and screenwriter (d. 1990)
- 1925 – Len Quested, English footballer defender and manager (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Lee Van Cleef, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1926 – Jean-Pierre Côté, Canadian lawyer and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2002)
- 1928 – Judith Krantz, American novelist (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Domenico Modugno, Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and politician (d. 1994)
- 1929 – Brian Friel, Irish author, playwright, and director (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Heiner Müller, German poet, playwright, and director (d. 1995)
- 1931 – Algis Budrys, Lithuanian-American author and critic (d. 2008)
- 1933 – Robert García, American soldier and politician (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Roy Dwight, English footballer, outside forward
- 1933 – Wilbur Smith, Zambian-English journalist and author
- 1934 – Bart Starr, American football player and coach (d. 2019)
- 1935 – Bob Denver, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1935 – Dick Enberg, American sportscaster (d. 2017)
- 1935 – John Graham, New Zealand rugby player and educator (d. 2017)
- 1935 – Brian Harradine, Australian politician (d. 2014)
- 1936 – Anne Rivers Siddons, American author
- 1936 – Marko Veselica, Croatian academic and politician (d. 2017)
- 1938 – Claudette Boyer, Canadian educator and politician (d. 2013)
- 1939 – Susannah York, English actress and activist (d. 2011)
- 1940 – Barbara Buczek, Polish composer (d. 1993)
- 1940 – Ruth Dreifuss, Swiss journalist and politician, 86th President of the Swiss Confederation
- 1941 – Joan Baez, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist
- 1941 – Gilles Vaillancourt, Canadian politician
- 1942 – John Dunning, American author
- 1942 – Judy Malloy, American poet and author
- 1943 – Robert Drewe, Australian author and playwright
- 1943 – Elmer MacFadyen, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2007)
- 1943 – Scott Walker, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (d. 2019)
- 1944 – Harun Farocki, German filmmaker (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Jimmy Page, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1944 – Mihalis Violaris, Cypriot singer-songwriter and actor
- 1945 – Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Syrian-Armenian scholar and politician, 1st President of Armenia
- 1946 – Mohammad Ishaq Khan, Indian historian and academic (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Mogens Lykketoft, Danish politician, 45th Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1947 – Ronnie Landfield, American painter and educator
- 1948 – Bill Cowsill, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
- 1948 – Jan Tomaszewski, Polish footballer, manager, and politician
- 1950 – Alec Jeffreys, English geneticist and academic
- 1950 – David Johansen, American musician and actor
- 1950 – Sandy Martin, American actress
- 1951 – Crystal Gayle, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1952 – Kaushik Basu, Indian economist and academic
- 1952 – Hugh Bayley, English politician
- 1952 – Mike Capuano, American lawyer and politician
- 1953 – Javad Alizadeh, Iranian cartoonist and painter
- 1954 – Philippa Gregory, Kenyan-English author and academic
- 1955 – Michiko Kakutani, American journalist and critic
- 1955 – J.K. Simmons, American actor
- 1956 – Waltraud Meier, German soprano and actress
- 1956 – Imelda Staunton, English actress and singer
- 1958 – Stephen Neale, English philosopher and academic
- 1959 – Mark Martin, American race car driver and coach
- 1959 – Rigoberta Menchú, Guatemalan activist and politician, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1959 – Otis Nixon, American baseball player
- 1960 – Lisa Walters, Canadian golfer
- 1961 – Didier Camberabero, French rugby player
- 1961 – Oliver Goldstick, American screenwriter and producer
- 1961 – Henry Omaga-Diaz, Filipino journalist
- 1962 – Ray Houghton, Scottish-born footballer
- 1963 – Irwin McLean, Northern Irish biologist and academic
- 1964 – Stan Javier, Dominican baseball player and manager
- 1965 – Iain Dowie, English-Northern Irish footballer and coach
- 1965 – Eric Erlandson, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1965 – Haddaway, Trinidadian-German singer and musician
- 1965 – Andrei Nazarov, Estonian decathlete and coach
- 1965 – Joely Richardson, English actress
- 1966 – Stephen Metcalfe, English politician
- 1967 – Matt Bevin, American politician, 62nd governor of Kentucky
- 1967 – Claudio Caniggia, Argentinian footballer
- 1967 – Dave Matthews, South African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1967 – Gary Teichmann, South African rugby player
- 1968 – Jimmy Adams, Jamaican cricketer and coach
- 1968 – Joey Lauren Adams, American actress
- 1968 – Mardi Lunn, Australian golfer
- 1968 – Giorgos Theofanous, Greek-Cypriot composer and producer
- 1970 – Lara Fabian, Belgian-Italian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1971 – Angie Martinez, American rapper, actress, and radio host
- 1971 – Hal Niedzviecki, Canadian author and critic
- 1971 – Scott Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 – Jay Powell, American baseball player
- 1972 – Rawson Stovall, American video game producer and author
- 1973 – Sean Paul, Jamaican rapper, singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor
- 1975 – James Beckford, Jamaican long jumper
- 1976 – Radek Bonk, Czech ice hockey player
- 1978 – Mathieu Garon, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Gennaro Gattuso, Italian footballer and manager
- 1978 – Chad Johnson, American football player and actor
- 1978 – AJ McLean, American singer
- 1980 – Édgar Álvarez, Honduran footballer
- 1980 – Sergio García, Spanish golfer
- 1980 – Luke Patten, Australian rugby league player and referee
- 1980 – Francisco Pavón, Spanish footballer
- 1980 – Wang Zulan, Hong Kong singer
- 1981 – Euzebiusz Smolarek, Polish footballer and manager
- 1982 – Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
- 1984 – Drew Brown, American musician and songwriter
- 1984 – Benjamin Danso, German rugby player
- 1985 – Juan Francisco Torres, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Jéferson Gomes, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Uwe Hünemeier, German footballer
- 1986 – Amanda Mynhardt, South African netball player
- 1987 – Sam Bird, English race car driver
- 1987 – Lucas Leiva, Brazilian footballer
- 1987 – Paolo Nutini, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1987 – Jami Puustinen, Finnish footballer
- 1988 – Katherine Copely, American ice dancer
- 1988 – Marc Crosas, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Lee Yeon-hee, South Korean actress
- 1989 – Michael Beasley, American basketball player
- 1989 – Nina Dobrev, Bulgarian-Canadian actress
- 1989 – Michaëlla Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
- 1989 – Yana Maksimava, Belarusian heptathlete
- 1989 – Chris Sandow, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Jordan Turner, English rugby league player
- 1990 – Justin Blackmon, American football player
- 1991 – Edon Hasani, Albanian football player
- 1991 – Alvaro Soler, Spanish singer-songwriter
- 1993 – Katarina Johnson-Thompson, English long jumper and heptathlete
- 1993 – Marcus Peters, American football player
- 1993 – Kevin Korjus, Estonian race car driver
- 1995 – Braden Uele, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1999 – Shannon Tavarez, American actress (d. 2010)
 Deaths on January 9
- 710 – Adrian of Canterbury, abbot and scholar
- 1150 – Emperor Xizong of Jin (b. 1119)
- 1202 – Birger Brosa, Jarl of Sweden
- 1282 – Abû ‘Uthmân Sa’îd ibn Hakam al Qurashi, Minorcan ruler (b. 1204)
- 1283 – Wen Tianxiang, Chinese general and scholar (b. 1236)
- 1367 – Giulia della Rena, Italian saint (b. 1319)
- 1450 – Adam Moleyns, Bishop of Chichester
- 1463 – William Neville, 1st Earl of Kent, English soldier (b. 1405)
- 1499 – John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1455)
- 1511 – Demetrios Chalkokondyles, Greek scholar and academic (b. 1423)
- 1514 – Anne of Brittany, queen of Charles VIII of France and Louis XII of France (b. 1477)
- 1529 – Wang Yangming, Chinese Neo-Confucian scholar (b. 1472)
- 1534 – Johannes Aventinus, Bavarian historian and philologist (b. 1477)
- 1543 – Guillaume du Bellay, French general and diplomat (b. 1491)
- 1561 – Amago Haruhisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1514)
- 1571 – Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon, French admiral (b. 1510)
- 1598 – Jasper Heywood, English poet and scholar (b. 1553)
- 1612 – Leonard Holliday, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1550)
- 1622 – Alix Le Clerc, French Canoness Regular and foundress (b. 1576)
- 1757 – Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, French author, poet, and playwright (b. 1657)
- 1762 – Antonio de Benavides, colonial governor of Florida (b. 1678)
- 1766 – Thomas Birch, English historian and author (b. 1705)
- 1799 – Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian mathematician and philosopher (b. 1718)
- 1800 – Jean Étienne Championnet, French general (b. 1762)
- 1805 – Noble Wimberly Jones, American physician and politician (b. 1723)
- 1843 – William Hedley, English engineer (b. 1773)
- 1848 – Caroline Herschel, German-English astronomer (b. 1750)
- 1856 – Neophytos Vamvas, Greek cleric and educator (b. 1770)
- 1858 – Anson Jones, American physician and politician; 4th President of the Republic of Texas (b. 1798)
- 1873 – Napoleon III, French politician, 1st President of France (b. 1808)
- 1876 – Samuel Gridley Howe, American physician and activist (b. 1801)
- 1878 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (b. 1820)
- 1895 – Aaron Lufkin Dennison, American-English businessman (b. 1812)
- 1901 – Richard Copley Christie, English lawyer and academic (b. 1830)
- 1908 – Wilhelm Busch, German poet, illustrator, and painter (b. 1832)
- 1908 – Abraham Goldfaden, Russian actor, playwright, and author (b. 1840)
- 1911 – Edwin Arthur Jones, American violinist and composer (b. 1853)
- 1911 – Edvard Rusjan, Italian-Slovene pilot and engineer (b. 1886)
- 1917 – Luther D. Bradley, American cartoonist (b. 1853)
- 1918 – Charles-Émile Reynaud, French scientist and educator, invented the Praxinoscope (b. 1844)
- 1923 – Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand novelist, short story writer, and essayist (b. 1888)
- 1924 – Ponnambalam Arunachalam, Sri Lankan civil servant and politician (b. 1853)
- 1927 – Houston Stewart Chamberlain, English-German philosopher and author (b. 1855)
- 1930 – Edward Bok, Dutch-American journalist and author (b. 1863)
- 1931 – Wayne Munn, American football player and wrestler (b. 1896)
- 1936 – John Gilbert, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1899)
- 1939 – Johann Strauss III, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1866)
- 1941 – Dimitrios Golemis, Greek runner (b. 1874)
- 1945 – Shigekazu Shimazaki, Japanese admiral and pilot (b. 1908)
- 1945 – Jüri Uluots, Estonian journalist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1890)
- 1945 – Osman Cemal Kaygılı, Turkish journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1890)
- 1946 – Countee Cullen, American poet and playwright (b. 1903)
- 1947 – Karl Mannheim, Hungarian-English sociologist and academic (b. 1893)
- 1960 – Elsie J. Oxenham, English author and educator (b. 1880)
- 1961 – Emily Greene Balch, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
- 1964 – Halide Edib Adıvar, Turkish author and academic (b. 1884)
- 1971 – Elmer Flick, American baseball player and scout (b. 1876)
- 1972 – Ted Shawn, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1891)
- 1975 – Pierre Fresnay, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1897)
- 1975 – Pyotr Novikov, Russian mathematician and theorist (b. 1901)
- 1979 – Pier Luigi Nervi, Italian engineer and architect, designed the Tour de la Bourse and Pirelli Tower (b. 1891)
- 1981 – Kazimierz Serocki, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1922)
- 1984 – Bob Dyer, American-Australian radio and television host (b. 1909)
- 1985 – Robert Mayer, German-English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1879)
- 1987 – Arthur Lake, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1988 – Peter L. Rypdal, Norwegian fiddler and composer (b. 1909)
- 1989 – Bill Terry, American baseball player and manager (b. 1898)
- 1990 – Spud Chandler, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1907)
- 1990 – Cemal Süreya, Turkish poet and journalist (b. 1931)
- 1992 – Steve Brodie, American actor (b. 1919)
- 1992 – Bill Naughton, English playwright and screenwriter (b. 1910)
- 1993 – Paul Hasluck, Australian historian and politician, 17th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1905)
- 1994 – Johnny Temple, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1927)
- 1995 – Souphanouvong, Laotian politician, 1st President of Laos (b. 1909)
- 1995 – Peter Cook, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 1996 – Walter M. Miller, Jr., American soldier and author (b. 1923)
- 1996 – Abdullah al-Qasemi, Saudi atheist, writer, and intellectual (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Edward Osóbka-Morawski, Polish politician, Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1909)
- 1997 – Jesse White, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1998 – Kenichi Fukui, Japanese chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 1998 – Imi Lichtenfeld, Slovakian-Israeli martial artist, founded Krav Maga (b. 1910)
- 2000 – Arnold Alexander Hall, English engineer and academic (b. 1915)
- 2000 – Nigel Tranter, Scottish historian and author (b. 1909)
- 2001 – Maurice Prather, American photographer and director (b. 1926)
- 2003 – Will McDonough, American journalist (b. 1935)
- 2004 – Norberto Bobbio, Italian philosopher and academic (b. 1909)
- 2006 – Andy Caldecott, Australian motorcycle racer (b. 1964)
- 2006 – W. Cleon Skousen, American author and academic (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (b. 1977)
- 2007 – Jean-Pierre Vernant, French anthropologist and historian (b. 1914)
- 2008 – Johnny Grant, American radio host and producer (b. 1923)
- 2008 – John Harvey-Jones, English businessman and television host (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Rob Gauntlett, English mountaineer and explorer (b. 1987)
- 2009 – T. Llew Jones, Welsh author and poet (b. 1914)
- 2011 – Makinti Napanangka, Australian painter (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Brian Curvis, Welsh boxer (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Augusto Gansser-Biaggi, Swiss geologist and academic (b. 1910)
- 2012 – William G. Roll, German-American psychologist and parapsychologist (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Malam Bacai Sanhá, Guinea-Bissau politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1947)
- 2012 – László Szekeres, Hungarian physician and academic (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Brigitte Askonas, Austrian-English immunologist and academic (b. 1923)
- 2013 – James M. Buchanan, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Robert L. Rock, American businessman and politician, 42nd Lieutenant Governor of Indiana (b. 1927)
- 2013 – John Wise, Canadian farmer and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1935)
- 2014 – Amiri Baraka, American poet, playwright, and academic (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Josep Maria Castellet, Spanish poet and critic (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Paul du Toit, South African painter and sculptor (b. 1965)
- 2014 – Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Michel Jeury, French author (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Robert V. Keeley, Lebanese-American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Greece (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Józef Oleksy, Polish economist and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1946)
- 2015 – Bud Paxson, American broadcaster and businessman, founded the Home Shopping Network and Pax TV (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Abdul Rahman Ya’kub, Malaysian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Sarawak (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Roy Tarpley, American basketball player (b. 1964)
- 2016 – John Harvard, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (b. 1938)
- 2016 – Angus Scrimm, American actor and author (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Zygmunt Bauman, Polish sociologist (b. 1925)
- 2018 – Kato Ottio, Papua New Guinean rugby league player (b. 1994)
- 2019 – Verna Bloom, American actress (b. 1938)
- 2019 – Paul Koslo, German-Canadian actor (b. 1944)
 Holidays and observances on January 9
- Christian feast day:
- Adrian of Canterbury
- Berhtwald
- Translation of the Black Nazarene (Manila, Philippines)
- Philip II, Metropolitan of Moscow
- Julia Chester Emery (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Stephen (old calendar Eastern Orthodox)
- January 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- Start of Hōonkō (Nishi Honganji) January 9–16 (Jōdo Shinshū Buddhism)
- Martyrs’ Day (Panama)
- Non-Resident Indian Day (India)