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February 10 in History
- 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end.
- 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn sparking the revolution in the Wars of Scottish Independence.
- 1355 – The St Scholastica Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead in two days.
- 1502 – Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on his second voyage to India.
- 1567 – Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, is found strangled following an explosion at the Kirk o’ Field house in Edinburgh, Scotland, a suspected assassination.
- 1712 – Huilliches in Chiloé rebel against Spanish encomenderos.
- 1763 – French and Indian War: The Treaty of Paris ends the war and France cedes Quebec to Great Britain.
- 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Champaubert ends in French victory over the Russians and the Prussians.
- 1840 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom marries Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
- 1846 – First Anglo-Sikh War: Battle of Sobraon: British defeat Sikhs in the final battle of the war.
- 1861 – Jefferson Davis is notified by telegraph that he has been chosen as provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
- 1862 – American Civil War: A Union naval flotilla destroys the bulk of the Confederate Mosquito Fleet in the Battle of Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River in North Carolina.
- 1906 – HMS Dreadnought, the first of a revolutionary new breed of battleships is christened and launched by King Edward VII.
- 1920 – Józef Haller de Hallenburg performs symbolic wedding of Poland to the sea, celebrating restitution of Polish access to open sea.
- 1920 – About 75 % of the population in Zone I votes to join Denmark in the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites.
- 1923 – Texas Tech University is founded as Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas
- 1930 – The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng launches the failed Yên Bái mutiny in hope to overthrow French protectorate over Vietnam.
- 1933 – In round 13 of a boxing match at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Primo Carnera knocks out Ernie Schaaf. Schaaf dies four days later.
- 1936 – Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italian troops launched the Battle of Amba Aradam against Ethiopian defenders.
- 1939 – Spanish Civil War: The Nationalists conclude their conquest of Catalonia and seal the border with France.
- 1940 – The Soviet Union begins mass deportations of Polish citizens from occupied eastern Poland to Siberia.
- 1940 – Cartoon characters Tom and Jerry make their debut with Puss Gets the Boot.
- 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Army capture Banjarmasin, capital of Borneo in Dutch East Indies.
- 1943 – World War II: Attempting to completely lift the Siege of Leningrad, the Soviet Red Army engages German troops and Spanish volunteers in the Battle of Krasny Bor.
- 1947 – The Paris Peace Treaties are signed by Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland and the Allies of World War II.
- 1954 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam.
- 1962 – Cold War: Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
- 1962 – Roy Lichtenstein’s first solo exhibition opened, and it included Look Mickey, which featured his first employment of Ben-Day dots, speech balloons and comic imagery sourcing, all of which he is now known for.
- 1964 – Melbourne–Voyager collision: The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collides with and sinks the destroyer HMAS Voyager off the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, killing 82.
- 1967 – The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.
- 1972 – Ras Al Khaimah joins the United Arab Emirates, now making up seven emirates.
- 1984 – Kenyan soldiers kill an estimated 5000 ethnic Somali Kenyans in the Wagalla massacre.
- 1989 – Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee becoming the first African American to lead a major American political party.
- 1996 – IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in chess for the first time.
- 2003 – France and Belgium break the NATO procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq.
- 2007 – Then Illinois senator Barack Obama announces his candidacy for president in the 2008 elections, which he later goes on to win.
- 2009 – The communications satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 collide in orbit, destroying both.
- 2013 – Thirty-six people are killed and 39 others are injured in a stampede in Allahabad, India, during the Kumbh Mela festival.
- 2016 – South Korea decides to stop the operation of the Kaesong joint industrial complex with North Korea in response to the launch of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4.
- 2018 – 19 people are killed and 66 injured when a Kowloon Motor Bus double-decker on route 872 in Hong Kong overturns.
Births on February 10
- 1486 – George of the Palatinate, German bishop (d. 1529)
- 1499 – Thomas Platter, Swiss author and scholar (d. 1582)
- 1514 – Domenico Bollani, Bishop of Milan (d. 1579)
- 1606 – Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1663)
- 1609 – John Suckling, English poet and playwright (d. 1642)
- 1627 – Cornelis de Bie, Flemish poet and jurist (d. 1715)
- 1685 – Aaron Hill, English poet and playwright (d. 1750)
- 1696 – Johann Melchior Molter, German violinist and composer (d. 1765)
- 1744 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (d. 1819)
- 1766 – Benjamin Smith Barton, American botanist and physician (d. 1815)
- 1775 – Charles Lamb, English poet and essayist (d. 1834)
- 1785 – Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist and engineer (d. 1836)
- 1795 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter and academic (d. 1858)
- 1797 – George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall (d. 1883)
- 1821 – Roberto Bompiani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1908)
- 1824 – Samuel Plimsoll, English merchant and politician (d. 1898)
- 1842 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (d. 1907)
- 1843 – Adelina Patti, Italian-French opera singer (d. 1919)
- 1846 – Lord Charles Beresford, Irish admiral and politician (d. 1919)
- 1846 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (d. 1927)
- 1847 – Nabinchandra Sen, Bangladeshi poet and author (d. 1909)
- 1859 – Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (d. 1943)
- 1867 – Robert Garran, Australian lawyer and public servant (d. 1957)
- 1868 – Prince Waldemar of Prussia (d. 1879)
- 1868 – William Allen White, American journalist and author (d. 1944)
- 1869 – Royal Cortissoz, American art critic (d. 1948)
- 1879 – Ernst Põdder, Estonian general (d. 1932)
- 1881 – Pauline Brunius, Swedish actress and director (d. 1954)
- 1883 – Edith Clarke, American electrical engineer (d. 1959)
- 1883 – H.V. Hordern, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
- 1889 – Cevdet Sunay, Turkish general and politician, 5th President of Turkey (d. 1982)
- 1890 – Fanny Kaplan, Ukrainian-Russian activist (d. 1918)
- 1890 – Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1960)
- 1892 – Alan Hale Sr., American actor and director (d. 1950)
- 1893 – Jimmy Durante, American actor, singer, and pianist (d. 1980)
- 1893 – Bill Tilden, American tennis player and coach (d. 1953)
- 1894 – Harold Macmillan, English captain and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1986)
- 1897 – Judith Anderson, Australian actress (d. 1992)
- 1897 – John Franklin Enders, American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
- 1898 – Bertolt Brecht, German director, playwright, and poet (d. 1956)
- 1898 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and author (d. 1979)
- 1901 – Stella Adler, American actress and educator (d. 1992)
- 1902 – Walter Houser Brattain, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1903 – Waldemar Hoven, German physician (d. 1948)
- 1903 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (d. 1939)
- 1904 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1963)
- 1905 – Walter A. Brown, American businessman, founded the Boston Celtics (d. 1964)
- 1905 – Chick Webb, American drummer and bandleader (d. 1939)
- 1906 – Lon Chaney Jr., American actor (d. 1973)
- 1907 – Anthony Cottrell, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1988)
- 1908 – Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and educator (d. 2000)
- 1909 – Min Thu Wun, Burmese poet, scholar, and politician (d. 2004)
- 1910 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
- 1914 – Larry Adler, American harmonica player, composer, and actor (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Vladimir Zeldin, Russian actor (d. 2016)
- 1919 – Ioannis Charalambopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2014)
- 1920 – Alex Comfort, English physician and author (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Neva Patterson, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1920 – José Manuel Castañón, Spanish lawyer and author (d. 2001)
- 1922 – Árpád Göncz, Hungarian author, playwright, and politician, 1st President of Hungary (d. 2015)
- 1922 – José Gabriel da Costa later known as Mestre Gabriel, Brazilian spiritual leader, founder of the União do Vegetal (d. 1971)
- 1923 – Allie Sherman, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Max Ferguson, Canadian radio host and actor (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Pierre Mondy, French actor and director (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Danny Blanchflower, Northern Irish soldier, footballer and manager (d. 1993)
- 1927 – Leontyne Price, American operatic soprano
- 1929 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
- 1929 – Jim Whittaker, American mountaineer
- 1929 – Lou Whittaker, American mountaineer
- 1930 – E. L. Konigsburg, American author and illustrator (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Robert Wagner, American actor and producer
- 1931 – James Edward Maceo West, American inventor and acoustician
- 1932 – Barrie Ingham, English-American actor (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Richard Schickel, American journalist, author, and critic (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Faramarz Payvar, Iranian santur player and composer (d. 2009)
- 1935 – Theodore Antoniou, Greek composer and conductor (d. 2018)
- 1937 – Anne Anderson, Scottish physiologist and academic (d. 1983)
- 1937 – Roberta Flack, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1939 – Adrienne Clarkson, Hong Kong-Canadian journalist and politician, 26th Governor General of Canada
- 1939 – Deolinda Rodríguez de Almeida, Angolan nationalist (d. 1967)
- 1940 – Mary Rand, English sprinter and long jumper
- 1940 – Kenny Rankin, American singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
- 1941 – Michael Apted, English director and producer
- 1944 – Peter Allen, Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 1992)
- 1944 – Frank Keating, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Oklahoma
- 1944 – Frances Moore Lappé, American author and activist
- 1944 – Rufus Reid, American bassist and composer
- 1945 – Delma S. Arrigoitia, Puerto Rican historian, author, educator and lawyer
- 1947 – Louise Arbour, Canadian lawyer and jurist
- 1947 – Butch Morris, American cornet player, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Nicholas Owen, English journalist
- 1949 – Nigel Olsson, English rock drummer and singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican economist and politician (d. 1994)
- 1950 – Mark Spitz, American swimmer
- 1951 – Bob Iger, American media executive
- 1952 – Lee Hsien Loong, Singaporean general and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore
- 1955 – Jim Cramer, American television personality, pundit, and author
- 1955 – Greg Norman, Australian golfer and sportscaster
- 1956 – Enele Sopoaga, Tuvaluan politician, 12th Prime Minister of Tuvalu
- 1957 – Katherine Freese, American astrophysicist and academic
- 1959 – John Calipari, American basketball player and coach
- 1960 – Jim Kent, American biologist, computer programmer, academic
- 1961 – Alexander Payne, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – George Stephanopoulos, American television journalist
- 1962 – Randy Velischek, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1962 – Cliff Burton, American heavy metal bassist (d. 1986)
- 1963 – Lenny Dykstra, American baseball player
- 1964 – Glenn Beck, American journalist, producer, and author
- 1966 – Natalie Bennett, Australian-English journalist and politician
- 1966 – Daryl Johnston, American football player and sportscaster
- 1967 – Laura Dern, American actress, director, and producer
- 1967 – Jacky Durand, French cyclist and sportscaster
- 1967 – Vince Gilligan, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1968 – Peter Popovic, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Garrett Reisman, American engineer and astronaut
- 1969 – Joe Mangrum, American painter and sculptor
- 1969 – James Small, South African rugby player (d. 2019)
- 1970 – Melissa Doyle, Australian journalist and author
- 1970 – Noureddine Naybet, Moroccan international footballer, central defender and manager
- 1970 – Åsne Seierstad, Norwegian journalist and author
- 1971 – Lorena Rojas, Mexican actress and singer (d. 2015)
- 1972 – Michael Kasprowicz, Australian cricketer
- 1973 – Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, English businesswoman and politician
- 1974 – Elizabeth Banks, American actress
- 1974 – Ty Law, American football player
- 1974 – Ivri Lider, Israeli singer
- 1974 – Henry Paul, New Zealand rugby player and coach
- 1976 – Lance Berkman, American baseball player and coach
- 1976 – Keeley Hawes, English actress
- 1977 – Salif Diao, Senegalese footballer
- 1979 – Joey Hand, American race car driver
- 1980 – César Izturis, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1980 – Enzo Maresca, Italian footballer
- 1980 – Mike Ribeiro, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Uzo Aduba, American actress
- 1981 – Stephanie Beatriz, American actress
- 1981 – Andrew Johnson, English international footballer, forward and club ambassador
- 1981 – Holly Willoughby, English model and television host
- 1982 – Justin Gatlin, American sprinter
- 1982 – Tarmo Neemelo, Estonian footballer
- 1982 – Hamad Al-Tayyar, Kuwaiti footballer
- 1982 – Iafeta Paleaaesina, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1983 – Vic Fuentes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1984 – Greg Bird, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Alex Gordon, American baseball player
- 1984 – Kim Hyo-jin, South Korean actress
- 1985 – Selçuk İnan, Turkish footballer
- 1985 – Paul Millsap, American basketball player
- 1986 – Jeff Adrien, American basketball player
- 1986 – Josh Akognon, American basketball player
- 1986 – Radamel Falcao, Colombian footballer
- 1986 – Roberto Jiménez Gago, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Viktor Troicki, Serbian tennis player
- 1987 – Jakub Kindl, Czech ice hockey player
- 1987 – Facundo Roncaglia, Argentinian footballer
- 1988 – Francesco Acerbi, Italian footballer
- 1989 – Liam Hendriks, Australian baseball player
- 1990 – Barbara Guarischi, Italian cyclist
- 1990 – Choi Soo-young, South Korean singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer
- 1991 – Rebecca Dempster, Scottish footballer
- 1991 – Emma Roberts, American actress
- 1992 – Haruka Nakagawa, Japanese singer and actress
- 1992 – Reinhold Yabo, German footballer
- 1993 – Max Kepler, German baseball player
- 1993 – Filip Twardzik, Czech footballer
- 1993 – Luis Madrigal, Mexican footballer
- 1994 – Kang Seul-gi, South Korean singer and member of Red Velvet
- 1995 – Carolane Soucisse, Canadian ice dancer
- 1996 – Emanuel Mammana, Argentinian footballer
- 1997 – Lilly King, American swimmer
- 1997 – Chloë Grace Moretz, American actress
- 1997 – Nadia Podoroska, Argentinian tennis player
- 2000 – Yara Shahidi, American actress and model
Deaths on February 10
- 547 – Scholastica, Christian nun
- 1127 – William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 1071)
- 1163 – Baldwin III of Jerusalem (b. 1130)
- 1242 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (b. 1231)
- 1242 – Saint Verdiana, Italian recluse (b. 1182)
- 1280 – Margaret II, Countess of Flanders (b. 1202)
- 1306 – John “the Red” Comyn, Scottish nobleman
- 1307 – Temür Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan (b. 1265)
- 1346 – Blessed Clare of Rimini (b. 1282)
- 1471 – Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg (b. 1413)
- 1524 – Catherine of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria (b. 1468)
- 1526 – John V, Count of Oldenburg, German noble (b. 1460)
- 1567 – Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1545)
- 1576 – Wilhelm Xylander, German scholar, translator, and academic (b. 1532)
- 1686 – William Dugdale, English genealogist and historian (b. 1605)
- 1755 – Montesquieu, French lawyer and philosopher (b. 1689)
- 1782 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and author (b. 1702)
- 1829 – Pope Leo XII (b. 1760)
- 1837 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet and author (b. 1799)
- 1854 – José Joaquín de Herrera, Mexican politician and general. President three times (1844–1854) (b. 1792)
- 1857 – David Thompson, English-Canadian surveyor and explorer (b. 1770)
- 1865 – Heinrich Lenz, Estonian-Italian physicist and academic (b. 1804)
- 1879 – Honoré Daumier, French illustrator and painter (b. 1808)
- 1887 – Ellen Wood, English author (b. 1814)
- 1891 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (b. 1850)
- 1904 – John A. Roche, American lawyer and politician, 30th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1844)
- 1906 – Ezra Butler Eddy, American-Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1827)
- 1912 – Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, English surgeon and academic (b. 1827)
- 1913 – Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek long jumper (b. 1888)
- 1917 – John William Waterhouse, English soldier and painter (b. 1849)
- 1918 – Abdul Hamid II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1842)
- 1918 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian soldier and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1833)
- 1920 – Henry Strangways, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of South Australia (b. 1832)
- 1923 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
- 1928 – José Sánchez del Río, Mexican martyr and saint (b. 1913)
- 1932 – Edgar Wallace, English author and screenwriter (b. 1875)
- 1939 – Pope Pius XI (b. 1857)
- 1944 – E. M. Antoniadi, Greek-French astronomer and chess player (b. 1870)
- 1945 – Anacleto Díaz, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1878)
- 1950 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (b. 1872)
- 1956 – Leonora Speyer, American poet and violinist (b. 1872)
- 1956 – Emmanouil Tsouderos, Greek banker and politician, 132nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1882)
- 1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (b. 1867)
- 1960 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (b. 1898)
- 1966 – Billy Rose, American composer and songwriter (b. 1899)
- 1967 – Dionysios Kokkinos, Greek historian and author (b. 1884)
- 1975 – Nikos Kavvadias, Greek sailor and poet (b. 1910)
- 1979 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1910)
- 1992 – Alex Haley, American soldier, journalist, and author (b. 1921)
- 1993 – Fred Hollows, New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist and academic (b. 1929)
- 1995 – Paul Monette, American author, poet, and activist (b. 1945)
- 1997 – Brian Connolly, Scottish musician, lead singer The Sweet (b. 1945)
- 2000 – Jim Varney, American actor, comedian and writer (b. 1949)
- 2001 – Abraham Beame, American academic and politician, 104th Mayor of New York City (b. 1906)
- 2001 – Buddy Tate, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1913)
- 2002 – Dave Van Ronk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
- 2003 – Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer (b. 1910)
- 2003 – Albert J. Ruffo, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of San Jose (b. 1908)
- 2003 – Ron Ziegler, American politician, 14th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
- 2005 – Arthur Miller, American actor, playwright, and author (b. 1915)
- 2006 – James Yancey, American record producer and rapper (b. 1974)
- 2008 – Roy Scheider, American actor and boxer (b. 1932)
- 2010 – Fred Schaus, American basketball player and coach (b. 1925)
- 2010 – Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Trevor Bailey, English cricketer and journalist (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Lloyd Morrison, New Zealand banker and businessman, founded H. R. L. Morrison & Co (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Jeffrey Zaslow, American journalist and author (b. 1958)
- 2013 – W. Watts Biggers, American author, screenwriter, and animator (b. 1927)
- 2013 – David Hartman, American-Israeli rabbi and philosopher, founded the Shalom Hartman Institute (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Stuart Hall, Jamaican-English sociologist and theorist (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Shirley Temple, American actress and diplomat (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Naseer Aruri, Palestinian scholar and activist (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Karl Josef Becker, German cardinal and theologian (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Deng Liqun, Chinese theorist and politician (b. 1915)
- 2016 – Fatima Surayya Bajia, Indian-Pakistani author and playwright (b. 1930)
- 2017 – Mike Ilitch, American businessman (b. 1929)
- 2019 – Carmen Argenziano, American actor (b. 1943)
- 2019 – Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (b. 1944)
Holidays and observances on February 10
- Christian feast day:
- Austrebertha
- Charalambos
- José Sánchez del Río
- Scholastica
- February 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck (Malta)
- Fenkil Day (Eritrea)
- Kurdish Authors Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
- National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe (Italy)
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January 25 in History
- AD 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate.
- 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to overthrow of the dynasty.
- 1348 – A strong earthquake strikes the South Alpine region of Friuli in modern Italy, causing considerable damage to buildings as far away as Rome.
- 1494 – Alfonso II becomes King of Naples.
- 1515 – Coronation of Francis I of France takes place at Reims Cathedral, where the new monarch is anointed with the oil of Clovis and girt with the sword of Charlemagne.
- 1533 – Henry VIII of England secretly marries his second wife Anne Boleyn.
- 1554 – São Paulo, Brazil, is founded by Jesuit priests.
- 1573 – Battle of Mikatagahara: In Japan, Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu.
- 1575 – Luanda, the capital of Angola, is founded by the Portuguese navigator Paulo Dias de Novais.
- 1704 – The Battle of Ayubale results in the destruction of most of the Spanish missions in Florida.
- 1755 – Moscow University is established on Tatiana Day.
- 1765 – Port Egmont, the first British settlement in the Falkland Islands near the southern tip of South America, is founded.
- 1787 – Shays’s Rebellion: The rebellion’s largest confrontation, outside the Springfield Armory, results in the killing of four rebels and the wounding of twenty.
- 1791 – The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act of 1791 and splits the old Province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
- 1792 – The London Corresponding Society is founded.
- 1858 – The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn is played at the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia, and becomes a popular wedding processional.
- 1879 – The Bulgarian National Bank is founded.
- 1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company.
- 1890 – Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.
- 1909 – Richard Strauss’s opera Elektra receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
- 1915 – Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates U.S. transcontinental telephone service, speaking from New York to Thomas Watson in San Francisco.
- 1918 – The Ukrainian People’s Republic declares independence from Soviet Russia.
- 1924 – The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, in the French Alps, inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games.
- 1932 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese National Revolutionary Army begins the defense of Harbin.
- 1937 – The Guiding Light debuts on NBC radio from Chicago. In 1952 it moves to CBS television, where it remains until September 18, 2009.
- 1941 – Pope Pius XII elevates the Apostolic Vicariate of the Hawaiian Islands to the dignity of a diocese. It becomes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
- 1942 – World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.
- 1945 – World War II: The Battle of the Bulge ends.
- 1946 – The United Mine Workers rejoins the American Federation of Labor.
- 1946 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 1 relating to Military Staff Committee is adopted.
- 1947 – Thomas Goldsmith Jr. files a patent for a “Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device”, the first ever electronic game.
- 1949 – The first Emmy Awards are presented; the venue is the Hollywood Athletic Club.
- 1960 – The National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the “payola” scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accept money for playing particular records.
- 1961 – In Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential television news conference.
- 1961 – 101 Dalmatians premiered from Walt Disney Productions.
- 1964 – Blue Ribbon Sports, which would later become Nike, is founded by University of Oregon track and field athletes.
- 1969 – Brazilian Army captain Carlos Lamarca deserts in order to fight against the military dictatorship, taking with him ten machine guns and 63 rifles.
- 1971 – Charles Manson and three female “Family” members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate–LaBianca murders.
- 1971 – Idi Amin leads a coup deposing Milton Obote and becomes Uganda’s president.
- 1979 – Pope John Paul II starts his first official papal visits outside Italy to The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Mexico.
- 1980 – Mother Teresa is honored with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.
- 1986 – The National Resistance Movement topples the government of Tito Okello in Uganda.
- 1993 – Five people are shot outside the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Two are killed and three wounded.
- 1994 – The spacecraft Clementine by BMDO and NASA is launched.
- 1995 – The Norwegian rocket incident: Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile.
- 1996 – Billy Bailey becomes the last person to be hanged in the U.S.A.
- 1998 – During a historic visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II demands political reforms and the release of political prisoners while condemning US attempts to isolate the country.
- 1998 – A suicide attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Sri Lanka’s Temple of the Tooth kills eight and injures 25 others.
- 1999 – A 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits western Colombia killing at least 1,000.
- 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: A group of people leave London, England, for Baghdad, Iraq, to serve as human shields, intending to prevent the U.S.-led coalition troops from bombing certain locations.
- 2005 – A stampede at the Mandhradevi temple in Maharashtra, India kills at least 258.
- 2006 – Mexican professional wrestler Juana Barraza is arrested in connection with the serial killing of at least ten elderly women.
- 2010 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Na’ameh, Lebanon, killing 90.
- 2011 – The first wave of the Egyptian revolution begins throughout the country, marked by street demonstrations, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, riots, labour strikes, and violent clashes.
- 2013 – At least 50 people are killed and 120 people are injured in a prison riot in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
- 2015 – A clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in the Philippines killing 44 members of Special Action Force (SAF), at least 18 from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and five from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
- 2019 – A mining company’s dam collapses in Brumadinho, Brazil, a south-eastern city, killing at least 7 people and leaving 200 missing.
Births on January 25
- 750 – Leo IV the Khazar, Byzantine emperor (d. 780)
- 1408 – Katharina of Hanau, German countess regent (d. 1460)
- 1459 – Paul Hofhaimer, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1537)
- 1477 – Anne of Brittany (probable;d. 1514)
- 1509 – Giovanni Morone, Italian cardinal (d. 1580)
- 1526 – Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1586)
- 1615 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
- 1618 – Nicolaes Visscher I, Dutch engraver and cartographer (d. 1679)
- 1627 – Robert Boyle, Irish-English chemist and physicist (d. 1691)
- 1634 – Gaspar Fagel, Dutch politician and diplomat (d. 1688)
- 1635 – Daniel Casper von Lohenstein, German writer, diplomat and lawyer (d. 1683)
- 1640 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and politician, Lord Steward of the Household (d. 1707)
- 1736 – Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian-French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1813)
- 1739 – Charles François Dumouriez, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1823)
- 1743 – Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, German philosopher and author (d. 1819)
- 1750 – Johann Gottfried Vierling, German organist and composer (d. 1813)
- 1755 – Paolo Mascagni, Italian physician and anatomist (probable;d. 1815)
- 1759 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (d. 1796)
- 1783 – William Colgate, English-American businessman and philanthropist, founded Colgate-Palmolive (d. 1857)
- 1794 – François-Vincent Raspail, French chemist, physician, physiologist, and lawyer (d. 1878)
- 1796 – William MacGillivray, Scottish ornithologist and biologist (d. 1852)
- 1813 – J. Marion Sims, American gynecologist and physician (d. 1883)
- 1816 – Anna Gardner, American abolitionist and teacher (d. 1901)
- 1822 – Charles Reed Bishop, American businessman, philanthropist, and politician, founded the Bishop Museum (d. 1915)
- 1822 – William McDougall, Canadian lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories (d. 1905)
- 1823 – José María Iglesias, Mexican politician and interim President (1876–1877) (d. 1891)
- 1824 – Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Indian poet and playwright (d. 1873)
- 1841 – John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, English admiral (d. 1920)
- 1858 – Mikimoto Kōkichi, Japanese businessman (d. 1954)
- 1860 – Charles Curtis, American lawyer and politician, 31st Vice President of the United States (d. 1936)
- 1864 – Julije Kempf, Croatian historian and author (d. 1934)
- 1868 – Juventino Rosas, Mexican violinist and composer (d. 1894)
- 1874 – W. Somerset Maugham, British playwright, novelist, and short story writer (d. 1965)
- 1878 – Ernst Alexanderson, Swedish-American engineer (d. 1975)
- 1882 – Virginia Woolf, English novelist, essayist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1941)
- 1885 – Kitahara Hakushū, Japanese poet and author (d. 1942)
- 1886 – Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor and composer (d. 1954)
- 1895 – Florence Mills, American singer, dancer, and actress (d. 1927)
- 1899 – Sleepy John Estes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1977)
- 1899 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian lawyer and politician, 46th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1972)
- 1900 – István Fekete, Hungarian author (d. 1970)
- 1900 – Yōjirō Ishizaka, Japanese author and educator (d. 1986)
- 1900 – Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian geneticist and pioneer of evolutionary biology (d. 1975)
- 1901 – Martín de Álzaga, Argentinian race car driver and pilot (d. 1982)
- 1901 – Mildred Dunnock, American actress (d. 1991)
- 1905 – Maurice Roy, Canadian cardinal (d. 1985)
- 1905 – Margery Sharp, English author and educator (d. 1991)
- 1906 – Toni Ulmen, German race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 1976)
- 1908 – Hsieh Tung-min, Taiwanese politicians and Vice President of the Republic of China (d. 2001)
- 1910 – Edgar V. Saks, Estonian historian, author, and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (d. 1984)
- 1913 – Huang Hua, Chinese translator and politician, 5th Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China (d. 2010)
- 1913 – Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer and conductor (d. 1994)
- 1913 – Luis Marden, American photographer and journalist (d. 2003)
- 1914 – William Strickland, American conductor and organist (d. 1991)
- 1915 – Ewan MacColl, English singer-songwriter, actor and producer (d. 1989)
- 1916 – Pop Ivy, American football player and coach (d. 2003)
- 1917 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
- 1917 – Jânio Quadros, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 22nd President of Brazil (d. 1992)
- 1919 – Edwin Newman, American journalist and author (d. 2010)
- 1921 – Samuel T. Cohen, American physicist and academic (d. 2010)
- 1921 – Josef Holeček, Czechoslovakian canoeist (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Raymond Baxter, English television host and pilot (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Arvid Carlsson, Swedish pharmacologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Shirley Ardell Mason, American psychiatric patient (d. 1998)
- 1923 – Sally Starr, American actress and television host (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Jean Taittinger, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Lou Groza, American football player and coach (d. 2000)
- 1924 – Husein Mehmedov, Bulgarian-Turkish wrestler and coach (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Speedy West, American guitarist and producer (d. 2003)
- 1925 – Gordy Soltau, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Giorgos Zampetas, Greek bouzouki player and songwriter (d. 1992)
- 1926 – Dick McGuire, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Antônio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1994)
- 1928 – Jérôme Choquette, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1928 – Eduard Shevardnadze, Georgian general and politician, 2nd President of Georgia (d. 2014)
- 1928 – Cor van der Hart, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Elizabeth Allen, American actress and singer (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Robert Faurisson, English-French author and academic (d. 2018)
- 1929 – Benny Golson, American saxophonist and composer
- 1930 – Tanya Savicheva, Russian child diarist (d. 1944)
- 1931 – Dean Jones, American actor and singer (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (d. 2009)
- 1935 – Conrad Burns, American soldier, journalist, and politician (d. 2016)
- 1935 – António Ramalho Eanes, Portuguese general and politician, 16th President of Portugal
- 1936 – Diana Hyland, American actress (d. 1977)
- 1936 – Onat Kutlar, Turkish author and poet (d. 1995)
- 1937 – Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African engineer and politician, President of the Central African Republic (d. 2011)
- 1938 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 1998)
- 1938 – Etta James, American singer (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Leiji Matsumoto, Japanese author, illustrator, and animator
- 1938 – Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, actor, and poet (d. 1980)
- 1941 – Buddy Baker, American race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Carl Eller, American football player and sportscaster
- 1942 – Eusébio, Mozambican-Portuguese footballer (d. 2014)
- 1943 – Tobe Hooper, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
- 1945 – Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress
- 1945 – Dave Walker, English singer and guitarist
- 1946 – Doc Bundy, American race car driver and technician
- 1947 – Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer (d. 2017)
- 1947 – Tostão, Brazilian footballer, journalist, and physician
- 1948 – Ros Kelly, Australian educator and politician, 1st Australian Minister for Defence Science and Personnel
- 1948 – Georgy Shishkin, Russian painter and illustrator
- 1949 – John Cooper Clarke, English poet and critic
- 1949 – Paul Nurse, English geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1950 – Gloria Naylor, American novelist (d. 2016)
- 1951 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (d. 1975)
- 1952 – Peter Tatchell, Australian-English journalist and activist
- 1952 – Timothy White, American journalist, author, and critic (d. 2002)
- 1954 – Ricardo Bochini, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1954 – Kay Cottee, Australian sailor
- 1954 – Renate Dorrestein, Dutch journalist and author (d. 2018)
- 1956 – Andy Cox, English guitarist
- 1956 – Dinah Manoff, American actress
- 1957 – Eskil Erlandsson, Swedish technologist and politician, Swedish Minister for Rural Affairs
- 1957 – Andrew Harris, American politician
- 1957 – Jenifer Lewis, American actress and singer
- 1958 – Franco Pancheri, Italian footballer and manager
- 1961 – Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean ophthalmologist and politician, Singaporean Ministry of National Development
- 1962 – Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player and manager
- 1963 – Fernando Haddad, Brazilian academic and politician, 61st Mayor of São Paulo
- 1963 – Molly Holzschlag, American computer scientist and author
- 1964 – Billy Andrade, American golfer
- 1964 – Stephen Pate, Australian cyclist
- 1965 – Esa Tikkanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
- 1966 – Chet Culver, American educator and politician, 41st Governor of Iowa
- 1966 – Yiannos Ioannou, Cypriot footballer and manager
- 1967 – Nelson Asaytono, Filipino basketball player
- 1967 – David Ginola, French footballer, forward
- 1967 – Randy McKay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1968 – Eric Orie, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1969 – Sergei Ovchinnikov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1970 – Stephen Chbosky, American author, screenwriter, and director
- 1970 – Chris Mills, American basketball player
- 1970 – Milt Stegall, American football player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Luca Badoer, Italian race car driver
- 1971 – Philip Coppens, Belgian journalist and author (d. 2012)
- 1971 – Ana Ortiz, American actress
- 1972 – Shinji Takehara, Japanese boxer
- 1973 – Geoff Johns, American author, screenwriter, and producer
- 1974 – Robert Budreau, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Emily Haines, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1974 – Attilio Nicodemo, Italian footballer
- 1975 – Duncan Jupp, Anglo-Scottish footballer, defender
- 1975 – Mia Kirshner, Canadian actress
- 1976 – Stephanie Bellars, American wrestler and manager
- 1976 – Mário Haberfeld, Brazilian race car driver
- 1976 – Dimitris Nalitzis, Greek footballer
- 1977 – Michael Brown, English footballer, midfielder, manager and pundit
- 1978 – Ahmet Dursun, Turkish footballer
- 1978 – Denis Menchov, Russian cyclist
- 1978 – Derrick Turnbow, American baseball player
- 1979 – Rodrigo Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver
- 1980 – Alayna Burns, Australian track cyclist
- 1980 – Xavi, Spanish footballer
- 1981 – Francis Jeffers, English footballer
- 1981 – Alicia Keys, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress
- 1981 – Toše Proeski, Macedonian singer (d. 2007)
- 1984 – Stefan Kießling, German footballer
- 1984 – Robinho, Brazilian footballer
- 1984 – Fara Williams, English footballer
- 1985 – Brent Celek, American football player
- 1985 – Patrick Willis, American football player
- 1985 – Hwang Jung-eum, South Korean actress
- 1986 – Chris O’Grady, English footballer
- 1987 – Maria Kirilenko, Russian tennis player
- 1988 – Tatiana Golovin, French tennis player
- 1988 – Ryota Ozawa, Japanese actor
- 1990 – Apostolos Giannou, Greek-Australian footballer
- 1990 – Lee Jun-ho, South Korean singer and actor (2PM)
- 1991 – Nigel Melker, Dutch race car driver
Deaths onJanuary 25
- 390 – Gregory Nazianzus, theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 329)
- 477 – Gaiseric, king of the Vandals (b. 389)
- 750 – Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, Umayyad caliph
- 844 – Pope Gregory IV (b. 795)
- 863 – Charles of Provence, Frankish king (b. 845)
- 951 – Ma Xiguang, ruler of Chu (Ten Kingdoms)
- 1003 – Lothair I, Margrave of the Nordmark
- 1067 – Emperor Yingzong of Song (b. 1032)
- 1138 – Antipope Anacletus II
- 1139 – Godfrey I, Count of Louvain and Duke of Lower Lorraine (as Godfrey VI)
- 1366 – Henry Suso, German priest and mystic (b. 1300)
- 1413 – Maud de Ufford, Countess of Oxford (b. 1345)
- 1431 – Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1364)
- 1492 – Ygo Gales Galama, Frisian warlord and rebel (b. 1443)
- 1494 – Ferdinand I of Naples (b. 1423)
- 1559 – Christian II of Denmark (b. 1481)
- 1578 – Mihrimah Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1522)
- 1586 – Lucas Cranach the Younger, German painter (b. 1515)
- 1640 – Robert Burton, English physician and scholar (b. 1577)
- 1670 – Nicholas Francis, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1612)
- 1726 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (b. 1675)
- 1733 – Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet, English banker and politician, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1652)
- 1751 – Paul Dudley, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (b. 1675)
- 1852 – Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian admiral, cartographer, and explorer (b. 1778)
- 1872 – Richard S. Ewell, American general (b. 1817)
- 1881 – Konstantin Thon, Russian architect, designed the Grand Kremlin Palace and Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (b. 1794)
- 1884 – Périclès Pantazis, Greek-Belgian painter (b. 1849)
- 1891 – Theo van Gogh, Art dealer, the brother of Vincent van Gogh (b. 1857)
- 1900 – Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, German Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein (b. 1835)
- 1907 – René Pottier, French cyclist (b. 1879)
- 1908 – Ouida, English-Italian author (b. 1839)
- 1908 – Mikhail Chigorin, Russian chess player and theoretician (b. 1850)
- 1910 – W. G. Read Mullan, American Jesuit and academic (1860)
- 1912 – Dmitry Milyutin, Russian field marshal and politician (b. 1816)
- 1925 – Juan Vucetich, Croatian-Argentinian anthropologist and police officer (b. 1858)
- 1939 – Charles Davidson Dunbar, Scottish soldier and bagpipe player (b. 1870)
- 1947 – Al Capone, American gangster and mob boss (b. 1899)
- 1949 – Makino Nobuaki, Japanese politician, 15th Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1861)
- 1957 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman, founded Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (b. 1873)
- 1957 – Kiyoshi Shiga, Japanese physician and bacteriologist (b. 1871)
- 1958 – Cemil Topuzlu, Turkish surgeon and politician, Mayor of Istanbul (b. 1866)
- 1958 – Robert R. Young, American businessman and financier (b. 1897)
- 1960 – Diana Barrymore, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1966 – Saul Adler, Belarusian-English microbiologist and parasitologist (b. 1895)
- 1968 – Louie Myfanwy Thomas, Welsh writer (b. 1908)
- 1970 – Jane Bathori, French soprano (b. 1877)
- 1970 – Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese director and producer (b. 1901)
- 1971 – Barry III, Guinean lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
- 1972 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (b. 1892)
- 1975 – Charlotte Whitton, Canadian journalist and politician, 46th Mayor of Ottawa (b. 1896)
- 1978 – Skender Kulenović, Bosnian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1910)
- 1981 – Adele Astaire, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1896)
- 1982 – Mikhail Suslov, Russian economist and politician (b. 1902)
- 1985 – Ilias Iliou, Greek jurist and politician (b. 1904)
- 1987 – Frank J. Lynch, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1922)
- 1988 – Colleen Moore, American actress (b. 1899)
- 1990 – Ava Gardner, American actress (b. 1922)
- 1991 – Frank Soo, English footballer and manager (b. 1914)
- 1992 – Mir Khalil ur Rehman, Founder and editor of the Jang Group of Newspapers (b. 1927)
- 1994 – Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician, computer scientist, and academic (b. 1909)
- 1996 – Jonathan Larson, American playwright and composer (b. 1960)
- 1997 – Dan Barry, American author and illustrator (b. 1923)
- 1999 – Sarah Louise Delany, American author and educator (b. 1889)
- 1999 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Alice Ambrose, American philosopher and logician (b. 1906)
- 2002 – Cliff Baxter, employee at Enron (b. 1958)
- 2003 – Sheldon Reynolds, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
- 2003 – Samuel Weems, American lawyer and author (b. 1936)
- 2004 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch runner and hurdler (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Miklós Fehér, Hungarian footballer (b. 1979)
- 2005 – Stanisław Albinowski, Polish economist and journalist (b. 1923)
- 2005 – William Augustus Bootle, American lawyer and judge (b. 1902)
- 2005 – Philip Johnson, American architect, designed the PPG Place and Crystal Cathedral (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Manuel Lopes, Cape Verdean author and poet (b. 1907)
- 2005 – Netti Witziers-Timmer, Dutch runner (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Eleanor F. Helin, American astronomer (b. 1932)
- 2009 – Ewald Kooiman, Dutch organist and educator (b. 1938)
- 2009 – Kim Manners, American director and producer (b. 1951)
- 2010 – Ali Hassan al-Majid, Iraqi general and politician, Iraqi Minister of Defence (b. 1941)
- 2011 – Vassilis C. Constantakopoulos Greek captain and businessman (b. 1935)
- 2011 – Vincent Cronin, Welsh historian and author (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Paavo Berglund, Finnish violinist and conductor (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Jacques Maisonrouge, French businessman (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Franco Pacini, Italian astrophysicist and academic (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Robert Sheran, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1916)
- 2013 – Martial Asselin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 25th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Kevin Heffernan, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Aase Nordmo Løvberg, Norwegian soprano and actress (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Arthur Doyle, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and flute player (b. 1944)
- 2014 – Heini Halberstam, Czech-English mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Dave Strack, American basketball player and coach (b. 1923)
- 2015 – John Leggett, American author and academic (b. 1917)
- 2015 – Richard McBrien, American priest, theologian, and academic (b. 1936)
- 2015 – Bill Monbouquette, American baseball player and coach (b. 1936)
- 2015 – Demis Roussos, Egyptian-Greek singer (b. 1946)
- 2017 – Stephen P. Cohen, Canadian academic (b. 1945)
- 2017 – Robert Garcia, American politician (b. 1933)
- 2017 – John Hurt, English actor (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Harry Mathews, American novelist and poet (b. 1930)
- 2017 – Marcel Prud’homme, Canadian politician (b. 1934)
- 2017 – Mary Tyler Moore, American actress, dancer, and producer (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Neagu Djuvara, Romanian historian, essayist, philosopher, journalist, novelist and diplomat (b. 1916)
Holidays and observances on January 25
- Burns Night (Scotland and Scottish community)
- Christian feast day:
- Dydd Santes Dwynwen (Wales)
- Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, which concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity)
- Gregory the Theologian (Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Church)
- The last day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Christian ecumenism)
- January 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which the first day of Carnival of Cádiz can fall, while February 28 is the latest; celebrated two Sundays before Ash Wednesday until Ash Wednesday (Cádiz)
- Earliest day on which the Liberation of Auschwitz Memorial can fall, while January 31 is the latest; observed on the last Sunday in January (Netherlands)
- National Nutrition Day (Indonesia)
- National Police Day (Egypt)
- National Voters’ Day (India)
- Revolution Day 2011 (Egypt)
- Tatiana Day or Russian Students Day (Russia, Eastern Orthodox)
-
January 17 in History
- 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)