532 – The Nika riots break out, during the racing season at the Hippodrome in Constantinople, as a result of discontent with the rule of the Emperor Justinian I.
1435 – Sicut Dudum, forbidding the enslavement of the Guanche natives in Canary Islands by the Spanish, is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV.
1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, is sentenced to death for treason, on the grounds of having quartered his arms to make them similar to those of the King, Henry VIII of England.
1793 – Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville, representative of Revolutionary France, lynched by a mob in Rome
1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany ends with the French vessel running aground, resulting in over 900 deaths.
1815 – War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state.
1822 – The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
1833 – United States President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina’s defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
1840 – The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
1842 – Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
1847 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican–American War in California.
1849 – Establishment of the Colony of Vancouver Island.
1849 – Second Anglo-Sikh War – Battle of Chillianwala: British forces retreat from the Sikhs.
1879 – In Mozart Gardens Brooklyn Ada Anderson completed a great feat of pedestrianism – 2700 quarter miles in 2700 quarter hours, earning her $8000.
1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.
1893 – The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom holds its first meeting.
1893 – U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
1895 – First Italo-Ethiopian War: the war’s opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory.
1898 – Émile Zola’s J’accuse…! exposes the Dreyfus affair.
1908 – The Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people.
1910 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the operas Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci are sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
1915 – The 6.7 Mw Avezzano earthquake shakes the Province of L’Aquila in Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 29,978–32,610.
1920 – The Reichstag Bloodbath of January 13, 1920, the bloodiest demonstration in German history.
1935 – A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
1939 – The Black Friday bushfires burn 20,000 square kilometers of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
1942 – Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
1942 – World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
1950 – British submarine HMS Truculent collides with an oil tanker in the Thames Estuary, killing 64 men.
1950 – Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
1951 – First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins.
1953 – An article appears in Pravda accusing some of the most prestigious and prominent doctors, mostly Jews, in the Soviet Union of taking part in a vast plot to poison members of the top Soviet political and military leadership.
1958 – The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
1963 – Coup d’état in Togo results in the assassination of president Sylvanus Olympio.
1964 – Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, resulting in 100 deaths.
1964 – In Manchester, New Hampshire, fourteen-year-old Pamela Mason is murdered. Edward Coolidge is tried and convicted of the crime, but the conviction is set aside by the landmark Fourth Amendment case Coolidge v. New Hampshire (1971).
1966 – Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
1968 – Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison.
1972 – Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
1978 – United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled “paid” or “volunteer” donors.
1982 – Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet, crashes into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists.
1985 – A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
1986 – A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
1988 – Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China.
1990 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
1991 – Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1000 others.
1993 – Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
1993 – The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is signed.
1998 – Alfredo Ormando sets himself on fire in St. Peter’s Square, protesting against homophobia.
2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
2012 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino’s negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.
2018 – A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii caused widespread panic in the state.
2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines spews lava fountains while erupting in the crater.
Births on January 13
5 BC – Guangwu of Han, Chinese emperor (d. 57)
101 – Lucius Aelius, Roman adopted son of Hadrian (d. 138)
915 – Al-Hakam II, Umayyad caliph (d. 976)
1334 – Henry II, king of Castile and León (d. 1379)
1338 – Jeong Mong-ju, Korean civil minister, diplomat and scholar (d. 1392)
1400 – Infante John, Constable of Portugal (d. 1442)
1477 – Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland (d. 1527)
1505 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1571)
1562 – Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet and soldier (d. 1601)
1596 – Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter and illustrator (d. 1656)
1610 – Maria Anna of Bavaria, archduchess of Austria (d. 1665)
1616 – Antoinette Bourignon, French-Flemish mystic and author (d. 1680)
1651 – Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English soldier and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1694)
1683 – Christoph Graupner, German harpsichord player and composer (d. 1760)
1720 – Richard Hurd, English bishop (d. 1808)
1749 – Maler Müller, German poet, painter, and playwright (d. 1825)
1787 – John Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1854)
1804 – Paul Gavarni, French illustrator (d. 1866)
1805 – Thomas Dyer, American lawyer and politician, 18th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
1808 – Salmon P. Chase, American jurist and politician, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1873)
1810 – Ernestine Rose, American suffragist, abolitionist, and freethinker (d. 1892)
1812 – Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (d. 1883)
1832 – Horatio Alger, Jr., American novelist and journalist (d. 1899)
1845 – Félix Tisserand, French astronomer and academic (d. 1896)
1858 – Oskar Minkowski, Lithuanian-German biologist and academic (d. 1931)
1859 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1943)
1861 – Max Nonne, German neurologist and academic (d. 1959)
1864 – Wilhelm Wien, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
1865 – Princess Marie of Orléans (d. 1908)
1866 – Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian bassoon player and composer (d. 1901)
1866 – George Gurdjieff, Russian-French mystic and philosopher (d. 1949)
1869 – Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta (d. 1931)
1870 – Ross Granville Harrison, American biologist and anatomist (d. 1959)
1878 – Lionel Groulx, Canadian priest and historian (d. 1967)
1881 – Essington Lewis, Australian engineer and businessman (d. 1961)
1883 – Nathaniel Cartmell, American runner and coach (d. 1967)
1885 – Alfred Fuller, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Fuller Brush Company (d. 1973)
1886 – Art Ross, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1964)
1887 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer and actress (d. 1966)
1890 – Jüri Uluots, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1945)
1892 – Ermanno Aebi, Italian-Swiss footballer (d. 1976)
1893 – Charles Arnison, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 1974)
1893 – Roy Cazaly, Australian footballer and coach (d. 1963)
1893 – Clark Ashton Smith, American poet, sculptor, painter, and author (d. 1961)
1893 – Chaim Soutine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1943)
1900 – Shimizugawa Motokichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1967)
1900 – Gertrude Mary Cox, American mathematician (d. 1978)
1901 – A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist, screenwriter, historian (d. 1991)
1901 – Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish priest and historian (d. 1978)
1902 – Karl Menger, Austrian-American mathematician from the Vienna Circle (d. 1985)
1904 – Richard Addinsell, English composer (d. 1977)
1904 – Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian-American violinist and composer (d. 1992)
1904 – Dick Rowley, Irish footballer, centre forward (d. 1984)
1905 – Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)
1905 – Jack London, English sprinter and pianist (d. 1966)
1906 – Zhou Youguang, Chinese linguist, sinologist, and academic (d. 2017)
1909 – Helm Glöckler, German race car driver (d. 1993)
1910 – Yannis Tsarouchis, Greek painter and illustrator (d. 1989)
1911 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, New Zealand-Australian farmer and politician, 31st Premier of Queensland (d. 2005)
1914 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (d. 2006)
1914 – Ted Willis, Baron Willis, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
1919 – Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)
1921 – Necati Cumalı, Greek-Turkish author and poet (d. 2001)
1921 – Dachine Rainer, American-English author and poet (d. 2000)
1921 – Arthur Stevens, English footballer, outside right (d. 2007}
1922 – Albert Lamorisse, French director and producer (d. 1970)
1923 – Daniil Shafran, Russian cellist (d. 1997)
1923 – Willem Slijkhuis, Dutch runner (d. 2003)
1924 – Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
1924 – Roland Petit, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2011)
1925 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (d. 2014)
1925 – Vanita Smythe, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
1925 – Ron Tauranac, Australian engineer and businessman
1925 – Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
1926 – Michael Bond, English soldier and author, created Paddington Bear (d. 2017)
1926 – Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American author and academic (d. 2003)
1926 – Melba Liston, American trombonist and composer (d. 1999)
1927 – Brock Adams, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Transportation (d. 2004)
1927 – Liz Anderson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
1927 – Sydney Brenner, South African biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
1929 – Joe Pass, American guitarist and composer (d. 1994)
1930 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress
1931 – Ian Hendry, English actor (d. 1984)
1931 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, director, game show panelist, and television personality (d. 2007)
1932 – Barry Bishop, American mountaineer, photographer, and scholar (d. 1994)
1933 – Tom Gola, American basketball player, coach, and politician (d. 2014)
1935 – Rip Taylor, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
1936 – Renato Bruson, Italian opera singer
1937 – Guy Dodson, New Zealand-English biochemist and academic (d. 2012)
1938 – Cabu, French cartoonist (d. 2015)
1938 – Daevid Allen, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
1938 – Richard Anthony, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
1938 – Dave Edwards, American captain and politician (d. 2013)
1938 – Tord Grip, Swedish footballer and manager
1938 – Anna Home, English screenwriter and producer
1939 – Edgardo Cozarinsky, Argentinian author, screenwriter, and director
1939 – Jacek Gmoch, Polish footballer and coach
1939 – Cesare Maniago, Canadian ice hockey player
1940 – Edmund White, American novelist, memoirist, and essayist
1941 – Pasqual Maragall, Spanish academic and politician, 127th President of the Generalitat de Catalunya
1941 – Meinhard Nehmer, German bobsledder
1943 – William Duckworth, American composer and author (d. 2012)
1943 – Richard Moll, American actor
1945 – Gordon McVie, English oncologist and author
1945 – Peter Simpson, English footballer
1946 – Ordal Demokan, Turkish physicist and academic (d. 2004)
1946 – Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish saxophonist, composer, and conductor
1947 – John Lees, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1947 – Jacek Majchrowski, Polish historian, lawyer, and politician
1947 – Carles Rexach, Spanish footballer and coach
1948 – Gaj Singh, Indian lawyer and politician
1949 – Rakesh Sharma, Indian commander, pilot, and astronaut
1949 – Brandon Tartikoff, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
1950 – Clive Betts, English economist and politician
1950 – Bob Forsch, American baseball player (d. 2011)
1950 – Gholam Hossein Mazloumi, Iranian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1952 – Stephen Glover, English journalist, co-founded The Independent
1953 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (d. 2012)
1954 – Richard Blackford, English composer
1954 – Trevor Rabin, South African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1955 – Paul Kelly, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1955 – Jay McInerney, American novelist and critic
1955 – Anne Pringle, English diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia
1957 – Claudia Emerson, American poet and academic (d. 2014)
1957 – Mary Glindon, English lawyer and politician
1957 – Mark O’Meara, American golfer
1957 – Lorrie Moore, American short story writer
1958 – Francisco Buyo, Spanish footballer and manager
1958 – Juan Pedro de Miguel, Spanish handball player (d. 2016)
1959 – Winnie Byanyima, Ugandan engineer, politician, and diplomat
1960 – Eric Betzig, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
1960 – Matthew Bourne, English choreographer and director
1961 – Wayne Coyne, American singer-songwriter and musician
1961 – Kelly Hrudey, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1961 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress, comedian, and producer
1962 – Trace Adkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Paul Higgins, Canadian ice hockey player
1964 – Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
1966 – Patrick Dempsey, American actor and race car driver
1966 – Leo Visser, Dutch speed skater and pilot
1968 – Mike Whitlow, English footballer and coach
1969 – Stefania Belmondo, Italian skier
1969 – Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player and journalist
1970 – Frank Kooiman, Dutch footballer
1970 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
1970 – Shonda Rhimes, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
1972 – Mark Bosnich, Australian footballer and sportscaster
1972 – Nicole Eggert, American actress
1972 – Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast
1973 – Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian ice hockey player
1973 – Gigi Galli, Italian race driver
1974 – Sergei Brylin, Russian ice hockey player and coach
1975 – Rune Eriksen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
1975 – Mailis Reps, Estonian academic and politician, 31st Estonian Minister of Education and Research
1975 – Andrew Yang, American entrepreneur, founder of Venture for America, and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate
1976 – Mario Yepes, Colombian footballer
1977 – Orlando Bloom, English actor and producer
1977 – Mi-Hyun Kim, South Korean golfer
1977 – Elliot Mason, English trombonist and keyboard player
1977 – James Posey, American basketball player and coach
1978 – Nate Silver, American journalist and statistician, developed PECOTA
1979 – Katy Brand, English actress and screenwriter
1980 – Krzysztof Czerwiński, Polish organist and conductor
1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned since his election in June 1523.
1554 – Bayinnaung, who would go on to assemble the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, is crowned King of Burma.
1616 – The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta, by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco.
1808 – John Rennie’s scheme to defend St Mary’s Church, Reculver, founded in 669, from coastal erosion is abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture and sculpture.
1808 – The organizational meeting leading to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
1848 – The Palermo rising takes place in Sicily against the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
1866 – The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.
1872 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.
1895 – The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom.
1911 – The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees.
1915 – The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to require states to give women the right to vote.
1916 – Both Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft, receive the German Empire’s highest military award, the Pour le Mérite as the first German aviators to earn it.
1918 – The Minnie Pit Disaster coal mining accident occurs in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys die.
1921 – Acting to restore confidence in baseball after the Black Sox Scandal, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis is elected as Major League Baseball’s first commissioner.
1932 – Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board.
1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins the Vistula–Oder Offensive.
1962 – Vietnam War: Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the war, takes place.
1964 – Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaim a republic.
1966 – Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.
1967 – Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.
1969 – The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
1970 – Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian Civil War.
1971 – The Harrisburg Seven: Rev. Philip Berrigan and five other activists are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
1976 – The United Nations Security Council votes 11–1 to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).
1986 – Space Shuttle program: Congressman Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Columbia on mission STS-61-C as a payload specialist.
1990 – A seven-day pogrom breaks out against the Armenian civilian population of Baku, Azerbaijan, during which Armenians were beaten, tortured, murdered, and expelled from the city.
1991 – Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
1998 – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.
2001 – Downtown Disney opens to the public as part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
2004 – The world’s largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage.
2005 – Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II rocket.
2006 – A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims.
2010 – An earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince.
2012 – Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu’s economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers.
2015 – Government raids kill 143 Boko Haram fighters in Kolofata, Cameroon.
2016 – Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupts, and kills 39 people.
Births on January 12
1483 – Henry III of Nassau-Breda (d. 1538)
1562 – Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1630)
1576 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch historian and scholar (d. 1660)
1577 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist and physician (d. 1644)
1588 – John Winthrop, English lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (d. 1649)
1591 – Jusepe de Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
1597 – François Duquesnoy, Flemish sculptor and educator (d. 1643)
1598 – Jijabai Shahaji Bhosale, venerated mother of Indian king Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (d. 1674)
1628 – Charles Perrault, French author and academic (d. 1703)
1673 – Rosalba Carriera, Italian painter (d. 1757)
1711 – Gaetano Latilla, Italian composer (d. 1788)
1715 – Jacques Duphly, French organist and composer (d. 1789)
1716 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general and politician, 1st Spanish Governor of Louisiana (d. 1795)
1721 – Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1792)
1723 – Samuel Langdon, American minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1797)
1724 – Frances Brooke, English author and playwright (d. 1789)
1729 – Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1797)
1746 – Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss philosopher and educator (d. 1827)
1751 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
1772 – Mikhail Speransky, Russian academic and politician (d. 1839)
1786 – Sir Robert Inglis, 2nd Baronet, English politician (d. 1855)
1792 – Johan August Arfwedson, Swedish chemist and academic (d. 1841)
1797 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and author (d. 1873)
1799 – Priscilla Susan Bury, British botanist (d. 1872)
1822 – Étienne Lenoir, Belgian engineer, designed the internal combustion engine (d. 1900)
1837 – Adolf Jensen, German pianist and composer (d. 1879)
1849 – Jean Béraud, Russian-French painter and academic (d. 1935)
1853 – Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, Italian mathematician (d. 1925)
1856 – John Singer Sargent, American painter and academic (d. 1925)
1863 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian monk and philosopher (d. 1902)
1869 – Bhagwan Das, Indian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1958)
1873 – Spyridon Louis, Greek runner (d. 1940)
1874 – Laura Adams Armer, American author and photographer (d. 1963)
1876 – Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of the Turkish Provisional Government (d. 1950)
1876 – Jack London, American novelist and journalist (d. 1916)
1876 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (d. 1948)
1877 – Frank J. Corr, American lawyer and politician, 45th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1934)
1878 – Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian-American author and playwright (d. 1952)
1879 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver and engineer (d. 1968)
1879 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th Mayor of Tallinn (d. 1942)
1882 – Milton Sills, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1930)
1884 – Texas Guinan, American entertainer and bootlegger (d. 1933)
1971 – John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey, English admiral (b. 1885)
1973 – Roy Franklin Nichols, American historian and academic (b. 1896)
1974 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (b. 1886)
1976 – Agatha Christie, English crime novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1890)
1977 – Henri-Georges Clouzot, French director and screenwriter (b. 1907)
1983 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (b. 1903)
1988 – Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
1988 – Piero Taruffi, Italian racing driver and motorcycle racer (b. 1906)
1990 – Laurence J. Peter, Canadian-American author and educator (b. 1919)
1991 – Robert Jackson, Australian public servant and diplomat (b. 1911)
1992 – Kumar Gandharva, a Hindustani classical singer (b. 1924)
1994 – Gustav Naan, Estonian physicist and philosopher (b. 1919)
1996 – Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
1997 – Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (b. 1936)
1997 – Charles Brenton Huggins, Canadian-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
1998 – Roger Clark, English racing driver (b. 1939)
1999 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1961)
2000 – Marc Davis, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1913)
2000 – Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
2001 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
2001 – William Redington Hewlett, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (b. 1913)
2002 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
2003 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist and author (b. 1912)
2003 – Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
2003 – Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentine general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (b. 1926)
2003 – Maurice Gibb, Manx-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1949)
2003 – Alan Nunn May, English physicist and spy (b. 1911)
2004 – Olga Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
2005 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
2006 – Pablita Velarde, Santa Clara Pueblo (Native American) painter (b. 1918)
2007 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (b. 1937)
2007 – James Killen, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1925)
2008 – Max Beck, American intersex advocate (b. 1966)
2009 – Claude Berri, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
2010 – Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and author (b. 1946)
2010 – Hasib Sabbagh, Palestinian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Consolidated Contractors Company (b. 1920)
2012 – Bjørn G. Andersen, Norwegian geologist and academic (b. 1924)
2012 – Glenda Dickerson, American director, choreographer, and educator (b. 1945)
2012 – Bill Janklow, American lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1939)
2012 – Charles H. Price II, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1931)
2012 – Jim Stanley, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
2013 – Precious Bryant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
2013 – Eugene Patterson, American journalist and activist (b. 1923)
2014 – Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (b. 1946)
2014 – Connie Binsfeld, American educator and politician, 58th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (b. 1924)
2014 – George Dement, American soldier, businessman, and politician (b. 1922)
2015 – Trevor Colbourn, American historian and academic (b. 1927)
2015 – Robert Gover, American journalist and author (b. 1929)
2015 – Carl Long, American baseball player (b. 1935)
2015 – Elena Obraztsova, Russian soprano and actress (b. 1939)
2015 – Inge Vermeulen, Brazilian-Dutch field hockey player (b. 1985)
2017 – William Peter Blatty, American writer and filmmaker (b. 1928)
2017 – Graham Taylor, former Grimsby Town player and former manager of the England football team. (b. 1944)
2018 – Keith Jackson, American sports commentator and journalist (b. 1928)
2020 – Sir Roger Scruton, English philosopher, and writer (b. 1944)
Holidays and observances on January 12
Christian feast day:
Aelred of Rievaulx
Benedict Biscop
Bernard of Corleone
Marguerite Bourgeoys
Tatiana
January 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Lee–Jackson Day can fall while January 18 is the latest, celebrated on the Friday before Martin Luther King Day. (Commonwealth of Virginia)
532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence.
630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, Quraysh surrender.
947 – Emperor Tai Zong of the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty invades the Later Jin, resulting in the destruction of the Later Jin.
1055 – Theodora is crowned empress of the Byzantine Empire.
1158 – Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia becomes King of Bohemia.
1569 – First recorded lottery in England.
1571 – Austrian nobility is granted freedom of religion.
1654 – Arauco War: A Spanish army is defeated by local Mapuche-Huilliches as it tries to cross Bueno River in Southern Chile.
1693 – A powerful earthquake destroys parts of Sicily and Malta.
1759 – The first American life insurance company, the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and of the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of the Presbyterian Ministers (now part of Unum Group), is incorporated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1779 – Ching-Thang Khomba is crowned King of Manipur.
1787 – William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus.
1805 – The Michigan Territory is created.
1861 – American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the United States.
1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Arkansas Post: General John McClernand and Admiral David Dixon Porter capture the Arkansas River for the Union.
1863 – American Civil War: CSS Alabama encounters and sinks the USS Hatteras off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas.
1879 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins.
1908 – Grand Canyon National Monument is created.
1912 – Immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, go on strike when wages are reduced in response to a mandated shortening of the work week.
1917 – The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs as a result of sabotage.
1922 – First use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient.
1923 – Occupation of the Ruhr: Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to make its World War I reparation payments.
1927 – Louis B. Mayer, head of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announces the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California.
1935 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
1942 – World War II: Japanese forces capture Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States.
1942 – World War II: Japanese forces attack Tarakan in Borneo, Netherlands Indies (Battle of Tarakan)
1943 – The Republic of China agrees to the Sino-British New Equal Treaty and the Sino-American New Equal Treaty.
1943 – Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City.
1946 – Enver Hoxha, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Albania, declares the People’s Republic of Albania with himself as head of state.
1949 – The first “networked” television broadcasts took place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming.
1957 – The African Convention is founded in Dakar, Senegal.
1961 – Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City’s boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic.
1962 – Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.
1962 – An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths.
1964 – Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts.
1972 – East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.
1973 – Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.
1986 – The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened.
1994 – The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.
1996 – Space Shuttle program: STS-72 launches from the Kennedy Space Center marking the start of the 74th Space Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of Endeavour.
1998 – Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria.
2003 – Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois’s death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.
2013 – One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia.
Births on January 11
347 – Theodosius I, Roman emperor (d. 395)
889 – Abd-ar-Rahman III, first Caliph of Córdoba (d. 961)
1113 – Wang Chongyang, Chinese religious leader and poet (d. 1170)
1209 – Möngke Khan, Mongolian emperor (d. 1259)
1322 – Emperor Kōmyō of Japan (d. 1380)
1359 – Emperor Go-En’yū of Japan (d. 1393)
1395 – Michele of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France (d. 1422)
1503 – Parmigianino, Italian artist (d. 1540)
1589 – William Strode, English politician (d. 1666)
1591 – Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire (d. 1646)
1624 – Bastiaan Govertsz van der Leeuw, Dutch painter (d. 1680)
1630 – John Rogers, English-American minister, physician, and academic (d. 1684)
1638 – Nicolas Steno, Danish bishop and anatomist (d. 1686)
1642 – Johann Friedrich Alberti, German organist and composer (d. 1710)
1650 – Diana Glauber, Dutch-German painter (d. 1721)
1671 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French general and diplomat (d. 1745)
1755 – Alexander Hamilton, Nevisian-American general, economist and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1804)
1757 – Samuel Bentham, English engineer and architect (d. 1831)
1760 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1833)
1777 – Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader (d. 1837)
1786 – Joseph Jackson Lister, English physicist (d. 1869)
1788 – William Thomas Brande, English chemist and academic (d. 1866)
1800 – Ányos Jedlik, Hungarian physicist and engineer (d. 1895)
1807 – Ezra Cornell, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Western Union and Cornell University (d. 1874)
1814 – James Paget, English surgeon and pathologist (d. 1899)
1815 – John A. Macdonald, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1891)
1825 – Bayard Taylor, American poet, author, and critic (d. 1878)
1839 – Eugenio María de Hostos, Puerto Rican lawyer, philosopher, and sociologist (d. 1903)
1842 – William James, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 1910)
1843 – Adolf Eberle, German painter (d. 1914)
1845 – Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1912)
1850 – Joseph Charles Arthur, American pathologist and mycologist (d. 1942)
1852 – Constantin Fehrenbach, German lawyer and politician, 4th Chancellor of Weimar Germany (d. 1926)
1853 – Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter and sculptor (d. 1932)
1856 – Christian Sinding, Norwegian pianist and composer (d. 1941)
1857 – Fred Archer, English jockey (d. 1886)
1858 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-English businessman, founded Selfridges (d. 1947)
1859 – George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (d. 1925)
1864 – Thomas Dixon, Jr., American minister, lawyer, and politician (d. 1946)
1867 – Edward B. Titchener, English psychologist and academic (d. 1927)
1868 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1940)
1870 – Alexander Stirling Calder, American sculptor and educator (d. 1945)
1872 – G. W. Pierce, American physicist and academic (d. 1956)
1873 – John Callan O’Laughlin, American soldier and journalist (d. 1949)
1875 – Reinhold Glière, Russian composer and academic (d. 1956)
1876 – Elmer Flick, American baseball player (d. 1971)
1876 – Thomas Hicks, American runner (d. 1952)
1878 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (d. 1952)
1885 – Alice Paul, American activist and suffragist (d. 1977)
1887 – Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author (d. 1948)
1888 – Joseph B. Keenan, American jurist and politician (d. 1954)
1889 – Calvin Bridges, American geneticist and academic (d. 1938)
1890 – Max Carey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
1890 – Oswald de Andrade, Brazilian poet and critic (d. 1954)
1891 – Andrew Sockalexis, American runner (d. 1919)
1893 – Ellinor Aiki, Estonian painter (d. 1969)
1893 – Charles Fraser, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1981)
1893 – Anthony M. Rud, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
1895 – Laurens Hammond, American engineer and businessman, founded the Hammond Clock Company (d. 1973)
1897 – Bernard DeVoto, American historian and author (d. 1955)
1897 – August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (d. 1979)
1899 – Eva Le Gallienne, English-American actress, director, and producer (d. 1991)
1901 – Kwon Ki-ok, Korean pilot (d. 1988)
1902 – Maurice Duruflé, French organist and composer (d. 1986)
1903 – Alan Paton, South African author and activist (d. 1988)
1905 – Clyde Kluckhohn, American anthropologist and theorist (d. 1960)
1906 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist and academic, discoverer of LSD (d. 2008)
1907 – Pierre Mendès France, French lawyer and politician, 142nd Prime Minister of France (d. 1982)
1907 – Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-American rabbi, theologian, and philosopher (d. 1972)
1908 – Lionel Stander, American actor and activist (d. 1994)
1910 – Arthur Lambourn, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1999)
1910 – Shane Paltridge, Australian soldier and politician (d. 1966)
1911 – Tommy Duncan, American singer-songwriter (d. 1967)
1911 – Nora Heysen, Australian painter (d. 2003)
1911 – Zenkō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 70th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2004)
1912 – Don “Red” Barry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1980)
1913 – Karl Stegger, Danish actor (d. 1980)
1915 – Luise Krüger, German javelin thrower (d. 2001)
1915 – Paddy Mayne, British colonel and lawyer (d. 1955)
1916 – Bernard Blier, Argentinian-French actor (d. 1989)
1917 – John Robarts, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Ontario (d. 1982)
1918 – Robert C. O’Brien, American author and journalist (d. 1973)
1920 – Mick McManus, English wrestler (d. 2013)
1921 – Gory Guerrero, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
1921 – Juanita M. Kreps, American economist and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 2010)
1923 – Jerome Bixby, American author and screenwriter (d. 1998)
1923 – Ernst Nolte, German historian and philosopher (d. 2016)
1923 – Carroll Shelby, American race car driver, engineer, and businessman, founded Carroll Shelby International (d. 2012)
1924 – Roger Guillemin, French-American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate
1924 – Sam B. Hall, Jr., American lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1994)
1924 – Slim Harpo, American blues singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1970)
1925 – Grant Tinker, American television producer, co-founded MTM Enterprises (d. 2016)
1926 – Lev Dyomin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1998)
1928 – David L. Wolper, American director and producer (d. 2010)
1929 – Dmitri Bruns, Estonian architect and theorist (d. 2020)
1930 – Ron Mulock, Australian lawyer and politician, 10th Deputy Premier of New South Wales (d. 2014)
1930 – Rod Taylor, Australian-American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1931 – Betty Churcher, Australian painter, historian, and curator (d. 2015)
1931 – Mary Rodgers, American composer and author (d. 2014)
1932 – Alfonso Arau, Mexican actor and director
1933 – Goldie Hill, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
1934 – Jean Chrétien, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Canada
1936 – Eva Hesse, German-American sculptor and educator (d. 1970)
1938 – Arthur Scargill, English miner, activist, and politician
1939 – Anne Heggtveit, Canadian alpine skier
1940 – Andres Tarand, Estonian geographer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Estonia
1941 – Gérson, Brazilian footballer
1942 – Bud Acton, American basketball player
1942 – Clarence Clemons, American saxophonist and actor (d. 2011)
1944 – Mohammed Abdul-Hayy, Sudanese poet and academic (d. 1989)
1944 – Shibu Soren, Indian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Jharkhand
1945 – Christine Kaufmann, German actress, author, and businesswoman (d. 2017)
1946 – Naomi Judd, American singer-songwriter and actress
1946 – Tony Kaye, English progressive rock keyboard player and songwriter (Yes)
1946 – John Piper, American theologian and author
1947 – Hamish Macdonald, New Zealand rugby player
1948 – Fritz Bohla, German footballer and manager
1948 – Joe Harper, Scottish footballer and manager
1948 – Madeline Manning, American runner and coach
1948 – Wajima Hiroshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 54th Yokozuna
1948 – Terry Williams, Welsh drummer
1949 – Daryl Braithwaite, Australian singer-songwriter
1949 – Mohammad Reza Rahimi, Iranian lawyer and politician, 2nd Vice President of Iran
1951 – Charlie Huhn, American rock singer and guitarist
1951 – Willie Maddren, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
1951 – Philip Tartaglia, Scottish archbishop
1952 – Bille Brown, Australian actor and playwright (d. 2013)
1952 – Ben Crenshaw, American golfer and architect
1952 – Michael Forshaw, Australian lawyer and politician
1952 – Diana Gabaldon, American author
1952 – Lee Ritenour, American guitarist, composer, and producer
1953 – Graham Allen, English politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
1953 – Kostas Skandalidis, Greek engineer and politician, Greek Minister of Agricultural Development and Food
1954 – Jaak Aaviksoo, Estonian physicist and politician, 26th Estonian Minister of Defence
1954 – Kailash Satyarthi, Indian engineer, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
1956 – Big Bank Hank, American rapper (d. 2014)
1957 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
1957 – Peter Moore, Australian rules footballer and coach
1957 – Bryan Robson, English footballer and manager
1958 – Vicki Peterson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1959 – Brett Bodine, American NASCAR driver
1959 – Rob Ramage, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1961 – Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish racing driver (d. 1989)
1962 – Chris Bryant, Welsh politician, Minister of State for Europe
1962 – Susan Lindauer, American journalist and activist
307 – Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying
871 – Alfred the Great leads a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings.
1297 – François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, leads his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco
1454 – The papal bull Romanus Pontifex awards the Kingdom of Portugal exclusive trade and colonization rights to all of Africa south of Cape Bojador
1499 – Louis XII of France marries Anne of Brittany in accordance with a law set by his predecessor, Charles VIII.
1547 – The first Lithuanian-language book, the Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas, is published in Königsberg.
1735 – The premiere of George Frideric Handel’s Ariodante takes place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
1746 – Second Jacobite rising: Bonnie Prince Charlie occupies Stirling.
1790 – George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address in New York City.
1806 – Cape Colony in southern Africa becomes a British colony as a result of the Battle of Blaauwberg.
1811 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes in the north American settlements of St. Charles and St. James, Louisiana.
1815 – War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British.
1828 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organized.
1835 – The United States national debt is zero for the only time.
1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Springfield.
1867 – African American men are granted the right to vote in Washington, D.C.
1877 – Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle against the United States Cavalry at Wolf Mountain, Montana Territory.
1889 – Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the ‘Art of Applying Statistics’ — his punched card calculator.
1904 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
1912 – The African National Congress is founded, under the name South African Native National Congress (SANNC).
1918 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces his “Fourteen Points” for the aftermath of World War I.
1920 – The steel strike of 1919 ends in failure for the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers labor union.
1926 – Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuỵ ascends the throne to become the last monarch of Vietnam.
1926 – Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
1936 – Kashf-e hijab decree is made and immediately enforced by Reza Shah, Iran’s head of state, banning the wearing of Islamic veils in public.
1940 – World War II: Britain introduces food rationing.
1945 – World War II: Philippine Commonwealth troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units enter the province of Ilocos Sur in Northern Luzon and attack Japanese Imperial forces.
1956 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Huaorani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.
1959 – Charles de Gaulle is proclaimed as the first President of the French Fifth Republic.
1961 – In France a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle’s policies in Algeria.
1963 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a “War on Poverty” in the United States.
1972 – Bowing to international pressure, President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto releases Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison, who had been arrested after declaring the independence of Bangladesh.
1973 – Soviet space mission Luna 21 is launched.
1973 – Watergate scandal: The trial of seven men accused of illegal entry into Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate begins.
1975 – Ella T. Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first woman to serve as a Governor in the United States other than by succeeding her husband.
1977 – Three bombs explode in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
1981 – A local farmer reports a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence, France, claimed to be “perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time”.
1982 – Breakup of the Bell System: AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions.
1989 – Kegworth air disaster: British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737-400, crashes into the M1 motorway, killing 47 of the 126 people on board.
1994 – Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He would stay on the space station until March 22, 1995, for a record 437 days in space.
1996 – An Antonov An-32 cargo aircraft crashes into a crowded market in Kinshasa, Zaire, killing up to 223 on the ground; two of six crew members are also killed.
2002 – President George W. Bush signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act.
2003 – Turkish Airlines Flight 634 crashes near Diyarbakır Airport, Turkey, killing the entire crew and 70 of the 75 passengers.
2003 – Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte-Douglas Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people on board.
2004 – The RMS Queen Mary 2, then the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by her namesake’s granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
2005 – The nuclear sub USS San Francisco collides at full speed with an undersea mountain south of Guam. One man is killed, but the sub surfaces and is repaired.
2009 – A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in northern Costa Rica kills 15 people and injures 32.
2010 – Gunmen from an offshoot the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda attack a bus carrying the Togo national football team on its way to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, killing three.
2011 – The attempted assassination of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords and subsequent shooting in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in which five people were shot dead.
2016 – Joaquín Guzmán, widely regarded as the world’s most powerful drug trafficker, is recaptured following his escape from a maximum security prison in Mexico.
2020 – Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashes immediately after takeoff at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport; all 176 on board are killed. The plane was shot down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile.
Births on January 8
1037 – Su Dongpo, Chinese calligrapher and poet (d. 1101)
1345 – Kadi Burhan al-Din, poet, kadi, and ruler of Sivas (d. 1398)
1462 – Walraven II van Brederode, Dutch nobleman (d. 1531)
1529 – John Frederick II, duke of Saxony (d. 1595)
1556 – Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese daimyō (d. 1623)
1583 – Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1643)
1587 – Johannes Fabricius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1616)
1587 – Jan Pieterszoon Coen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1629
1589 – Ivan Gundulić, Croatian poet and playwright (d. 1638)
1601 – Baltasar Gracián, Spanish priest and author (d. 1658)
1628 – François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (d. 1695)
1632 – Samuel von Pufendorf, German economist and jurist (d. 1694)
1635 – Luis Manuel Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish cardinal (d. 1709)
1638 – Elisabetta Sirani, Italian painter (d. 1665)
1735 – John Carroll, American archbishop, founder of Georgetown University (d. 1815)
1763 – Edmond-Charles Genêt, French-American translator and diplomat (d. 1834)
1786 – Nicholas Biddle, American banker and financier (d. 1844)
1788 – Rudolf of Austria, Austrian archduke and archbishop (d. 1831)
1792 – Lowell Mason, American composer and educator (d. 1872)
1805 – John Bigler, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, 3rd Governor of California (d. 1871)
1805 – Orson Hyde, American religious leader, 3rd President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (d. 1878)
1812 – Sigismond Thalberg, Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1871)
1817 – Theophilus Shepstone, English-South African politician (d. 1893)
1821 – James Longstreet, American general and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Turkey (d. 1904)
1823 – Alfred Russel Wallace, Welsh geographer, biologist, and explorer (d. 1913)
1824 – Wilkie Collins, English novelist, playwright, and short story writer (d. 1889)
1824 – Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet and composer (d. 1861)
1830 – Hans von Bülow, German pianist and composer (d. 1894)
1836 – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-English painter and academic (d. 1912)
1843 – Frederick Abberline, English police officer (d. 1929)
1843 – Karl Eduard Heusner, German admiral (d. 1891)
1852 – James Milton Carroll, American pastor and author (d. 1931)
1854 – Fanny Bullock Workman, American mountaineer, geographer, and cartographer (d. 1925)
1860 – Emma Booth, English author (d. 1903)
1862 – Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher, founded the Doubleday Publishing Company (d. 1934)
1864 – Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (d. 1892)
1865 – Winnaretta Singer, American philanthropist (d. 1943)
1866 – William G. Conley, American educator and politician, 18th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1940)
1867 – Emily Greene Balch, American economist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
1870 – Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1930)
1871 – James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, Irish captain and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 1940)
1873 – Iuliu Maniu, Romanian lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1953)
1876 – Arturs Alberings, Latvian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Latvia (d. 1934)
1879 – Charles Bryant, English-American actor and director (d. 1948)
1881 – Henrik Shipstead, American dentist and politician (d. 1960)
1881 – Linnie Marsh Wolfe, American librarian and author (d. 1945)
1883 – Pavel Filonov, Russian painter and poet (d. 1941)
1883 – Patrick J. Hurley, American general, politician, and diplomat, 51st United States Secretary of War (d. 1963)
1885 – John Curtin, Australian journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1945)
1885 – Mór Kóczán, Hungarian javelin thrower and pastor (d. 1972)
1885 – A. J. Muste, Dutch-American pastor and activist (d. 1967)
1888 – Richard Courant, German-American mathematician and academic (d. 1972)
1891 – Walther Bothe, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
1891 – Storm Jameson, English journalist and author (d. 1986)
1891 – Bronislava Nijinska, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1972) name=”Jöckle1995″>Clemens Jöckle (1995). Encyclopedia of Saints. Alpine Fine Arts Collection. p. 319. ISBN 978-0-88168-226-7.</ref>
1896 – Jaromír Weinberger, Czech-American composer and academic (d. 1967)
1897 – Dennis Wheatley, English soldier and author (d. 1977)
1899 – S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (d. 1959)
1900 – Dorothy Adams, American character actress (d. 1988)
1900 – Merlyn Myer, Australian philanthropist (d. 1982)
1902 – Georgy Malenkov, Russian engineer and politician (d. 1988)
1902 – Carl Rogers, American psychologist and academic (d. 1987)
1904 – Karl Brandt, German physician and SS officer (d. 1948)
1904 – Tampa Red, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1981)
1905 – Carl Gustav Hempel, German philosopher from the Vienna and the Berlin Circle (d. 1997)
1905 – Giacinto Scelsi, Italian composer and poet (d. 1988)
1906 – Serge Poliakoff, Russian-French painter (d. 1969)
1907 – Keizō Hayashi, Japanese general and civil servant (d. 1991)
1908 – Fearless Nadia, Australian-Indian actress and stuntwoman (d. 1996)
1908 – William Hartnell, English actor (d. 1975)
1909 – Ashapoorna Devi, Indian author and poet (d. 1995)
1909 – Willy Millowitsch, German actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
1909 – Bruce Mitchell, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
1909 – Evelyn Wood, American author and educator (d. 1995)
1910 – Galina Ulanova, Russian actress and ballerina (d. 1998)
1911 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress, dancer, and author (d. 1970)
1912 – José Ferrer, Puerto Rican-American actor and director (d. 1992)
1912 – Lawrence Walsh, Canadian-American lawyer, judge, and politician, 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (d. 2014)
1915 – Walker Cooper, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
1917 – Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1994)
1922 – Dale D. Myers, American engineer (d. 2015)
1923 – Larry Storch, American actor and comedian
1923 – Giorgio Tozzi, American opera singer and actor (d. 2011)
1923 – Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (d. 1985)
1923 – Joseph Weizenbaum, German-American computer scientist and author (d. 2008)
1924 – Benjamin Lees, Chinese-American soldier and composer (d. 2010)
1924 – Ron Moody, English actor and singer (d. 2015)
1925 – Mohan Rakesh, Indian author and playwright (d. 1972)
1926 – Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano (d. 2012)
1926 – Lazzaro Donati, Italian artist (d. 1977)
1926 – Kerwin Mathews, American actor (d. 2007)
1926 – Kelucharan Mohapatra, Indian dancer and choreographer (d. 2004)
1926 – Hanae Mori, Japanese fashion designer
1926 – Soupy Sales, American comedian and actor (d. 2009)
1927 – Charles Tomlinson, English poet and academic (d. 2015)
1928 – Slade Gorton, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 14th Attorney General of Washington
1928 – Gaston Miron, Canadian poet and author (d. 1996)
1928 – Luther Perkins, American country guitarist (d. 1968)
1929 – Saeed Jaffrey, Indian-British actor (d. 2015)
1931 – Bill Graham, German-American businessman (d. 1991)
1931 – Clarence Benjamin Jones, American lawyer and scholar
1933 – Nolan Miller, American fashion and jewelry designer (d. 2012)
1933 – Charles Osgood, American soldier and journalist
1933 – Jean-Marie Straub, French director and screenwriter
1933 – Willie Tasby, American baseball player
1934 – Jacques Anquetil, French cyclist (d. 1987)
1934 – Gene Freese, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
1934 – Roy Kinnear, British actor (d. 1988)
1934 – Alexandra Ripley, American author (d. 2004)
1935 – Lewis H. Lapham, American publisher, founded Lapham’s Quarterly
1935 – Elvis Presley, American singer, guitarist, and actor (d. 1977)
1936 – Zdeněk Mácal, Czech-American conductor
1936 – Robert May, Baron May of Oxford, Australian-English zoologist, ecologist, and academic (d. 2020)
1937 – Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer
1938 – Bob Eubanks, American game show host and producer
1938 – Yevgeny Nesterenko, Russian opera singer and educator
1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England.
1205 – Philip of Swabia undergoes a second coronation as King of the Romans.
1322 – Stephen Uroš III is crowned King of Serbia, having defeated his half-brother Stefan Konstantin in battle. His son is crowned “young king” in the same ceremony.
1355 – Charles IV of Bohemia is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy in Milan.
1449 – Constantine XI is crowned Byzantine Emperor at Mystras.
1492 – The Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella enter Granada at the conclusion of the Granada War.
1536 – The first European school of higher learning in the Americas, Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, is founded by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and Bishop Juan de Zumárraga in Mexico City.
1540 – King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves.
1579 – The Union of Arras unites the southern Netherlands under the Duke of Parma (Ottavio Farnese), governor in the name of King Philip II of Spain.
1641 – Arauco War: The first Parliament of Quillín is celebrated, putting a temporary hold on hostilities between Mapuches and Spanish in Chile.
1661 – English Restoration: The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London, England. The revolt is suppressed after a few days.
1721 – The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings, revealing details of fraud among company directors and corrupt politicians.
1781 – In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeat the last attempt by France to invade Jersey in the Channel Islands.
1809 – Combined British, Portuguese and colonial Brazilian forces begin the Invasion of Cayenne during the Napoleonic Wars.
1838 – Alfred Vail and colleagues demonstrate a telegraph system using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code).
1839 – The Night of the Big Wind, the most damaging storm in 300 years, sweeps across Ireland, damaging or destroying more than 20% of the houses in Dublin.
1847 – Samuel Colt obtains his first contract for the sale of revolver pistols to the United States government.
1870 – The inauguration of the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.
1893 – The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
1900 – Second Boer War: Having already besieged the fortress at Ladysmith, Boer forces attack it, but are driven back by British defenders.
1907 – Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working-class children in Rome, Italy.
1912 – New Mexico is admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state.
1912 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift.
1929 – King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country’s constitution (the January 6th Dictatorship).
1929 – Mother Teresa arrives by sea in Calcutta, India, to begin her work among India’s poorest and sick people.
1930 – The first diesel-powered automobile trip is completed, from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York, New York.
1941 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech in the State of the Union address.
1946 – The first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
1947 – Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to offer a round-the-world ticket.
1950 – The United Kingdom recognizes the People’s Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with the UK in response.
1951 – Korean War: Beginning of the Ganghwa massacre, in the course of which an estimated 200–1,300 South Korean communist sympathizers are slaughtered.
1960 – National Airlines Flight 2511 is destroyed in mid-air by a bomb, while en route from New York City to Miami.
1960 – The Associations Law comes into force in Iraq, allowing registration of political parties
1967 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch “Operation Deckhouse Five” in the Mekong River delta.
1974 – In response to the 1973 oil crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
1989 – Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh are sentenced to death for conspiracy in the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; the two men are executed the same day.
1992 – President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia flees the country as a result of the military coup.
1993 – Indian Border Security Force units kill 55 Kashmiri civilians in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, in revenge after militants ambushed a BSF patrol.
1994 – American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked and injured by an assailant hired by her rival Tonya Harding’s ex-husband during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships that they were both taking part in.
1995 – A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.
2005 – American Civil Rights Movement: Edgar Ray Killen is indicted for the 1964 murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner.
2005 – A train collision in Graniteville, South Carolina, United States, releases about 60 tons of chlorine gas.
2012 – Twenty-six people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blows himself up at a police station in Damascus.
2017 – Five people are killed and six others injured in a mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida.
2019 – Forty people are killed in a gold mine collapse in northern Afghanistan.
Births on January 6
1256 – Gertrude the Great, German mystic (d. 1302)
1367 – Richard II of England (d. 1400)
1384 – Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent (d. 1408)
1412 – Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (d. 1431)
1486 – Martin Agricola, German composer and theorist (d. 1556)
1488 – Helius Eobanus Hessus, German poet (d. 1540)
1493 – Olaus Petri, Swedish clergyman (d. 1552)
1500 – John of Ávila, Spanish mystic and saint (d. 1569)
1525 – Caspar Peucer, German physician and scholar (d. 1602)
1538 – Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria (d. 1612)
1561 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (d. 1656)
1587 – Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares (d. 1645)
1595 – Claude Favre de Vaugelas, French educator and courtier (d. 1650)
1617 – Christoffer Gabel, Danish politician (d. 1673)
1632 – Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, Scottish peeress (d. 1716)
1655 – Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg (d. 1720)
1673 – James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, English academic and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire (d. 1744)
1695 – Giuseppe Sammartini, Italian oboe player and composer (d. 1750)
1702 – José de Nebra, Spanish composer (d. 1768)
1714 – Percivall Pott, English surgeon (d. 1788)
1745 – Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, French co-inventor of the hot air balloon (d. 1799)
1766 – José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Paraguayan lawyer and politician, first dictator of Paraguay (d. 1840)
1785 – Andreas Moustoxydis, Greek historian and philologist (d. 1860)
1793 – James Madison Porter, American lawyer and politician, 18th United States Secretary of War (d. 1862)
1795 – Anselme Payen, French chemist and academic (d. 1871)
1799 – Jedediah Smith, American hunter, explorer, and author (d. 1831)
1803 – Henri Herz, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1888)
1807 – Joseph Petzval, German-Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1891)
1808 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American conchologist and paleontologist (d. 1864)
1811 – Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician (d. 1874)
1822 – Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist and businessman (d. 1890)
1832 – Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)
1838 – Max Bruch, German composer and conductor (d. 1920)
1842 – Clarence King, American geologist, mountaineer, and critic (d. 1901)
1856 – Giuseppe Martucci, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1909)
1857 – Hugh Mahon, Irish-Australian publisher and politician, 10th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1931)
1857 – William Russell, American lawyer and politician, 37th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
1859 – Samuel Alexander, Australian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1938)
1861 – Victor Horta, Belgian architect, designed Hôtel van Eetvelde (d. 1947)
1861 – George Lloyd, English-Canadian bishop and theologian (d. 1940)
1870 – Gustav Bauer, German journalist and politician, 11th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1944)
1872 – Alexander Scriabin, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1915)
1874 – Fred Niblo, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1948)
1878 – Adeline Genée, Danish-born British ballerina (d. 1970)
1878 – Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)
1880 – Tom Mix, American cowboy and actor (d. 1940)
1881 – Ion Minulescu, Romanian author, poet, and critic (d. 1944)
1882 – Fan S. Noli, Albanian-American bishop and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1965)
1882 – Sam Rayburn, American lawyer and politician, 48th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1961)
1883 – Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher (d. 1931)
1898 – James Fitzmaurice, Irish soldier and pilot (d. 1965)
1899 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (d. 1968)
1900 – Maria of Yugoslavia, Queen of Yugoslavia from 1922 to 1934 (d. 1961)
1903 – Maurice Abravanel, Greek-American pianist and conductor (d. 1993)
1910 – Wright Morris, American author and photographer (d. 1998)
1910 – Yiannis Papaioannou, Greek composer and educator (d. 1989)
1912 – Jacques Ellul, French philosopher and critic (d. 1994)
1912 – Danny Thomas, American actor, comedian, producer and humanitarian (d. 1991)
1913 – Edward Gierek, Polish lawyer and politician (d. 2001)
1913 – Loretta Young, American actress (d. 2000)
1914 – Godfrey Edward Arnold, Austrian-American physician and academic (d. 1989)
1915 – Don Edwards, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2015)
1915 – John C. Lilly, American psychoanalyst, physician, and philosopher (d. 2001)
1915 – Alan Watts, English-American philosopher and author (d. 1973)
1916 – Park Mok-wol, influential Korean poet and academic (d. 1978)
1917 – Koo Chen-fu, Taiwanese businessman and diplomat (d. 2005)
1920 – John Maynard Smith, English biologist and geneticist (d. 2004)
1920 – Sun Myung Moon, Korean religious leader; founder of the Unification Church (d. 2012)
1920 – Early Wynn, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1999)
1921 – Marianne Grunberg-Manago, Russian-French biochemist and academic (d. 2013)
1921 – Cary Middlecoff, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 1998)
1923 – Vladimir Kazantsev, Russian runner (d. 2007)
1923 – Norman Kirk, New Zealand engineer and politician, 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1974)
1923 – Jacobo Timerman, Argentinian journalist and author (d. 1999)
1924 – Kim Dae-jung, South Korean soldier and politician, 8th President of South Korea, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
1924 – Earl Scruggs, American banjo player (d. 2012)
1925 – John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman, founded the DeLorean Motor Company (d. 2005)
1926 – Ralph Branca, American baseball player (d. 2016)
1926 – Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-American actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006)
1927 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, American physician and academic, 11th Surgeon General of the United States (d. 2014)
1928 – Capucine, French actress and model (d. 1990)
1931 – E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (d. 2015)
1931 – Graeme Hole, Australian cricketer (d. 1990)
1931 – Dickie Moore, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman (d. 2015)
1932 – Stuart A. Rice, American chemist and academic
1933 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2003)
1934 – Sylvia Syms, English actress
1935 – Nino Tempo, American musician, singer, and actor
1936 – Darlene Hard, American tennis player
1936 – Julio María Sanguinetti, Uruguayan journalist, lawyer and politician, 29th President of Uruguay
1937 – Ludvík Daněk, Czech discus thrower (d. 1998)
1937 – Lou Holtz, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
1937 – Doris Troy, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
1938 – Adriano Celentano, Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and director
1938 – Adrienne Clarke, Australian botanist and academic
1938 – Larisa Shepitko, Soviet film director, screenwriter, and actress (d. 1979)
1939 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 2002)
1939 – Murray Rose, English-Australian swimmer and sportscaster (d. 2012)
1940 – Van McCoy, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1979)
1943 – Terry Venables, English footballer and manager
1944 – Bonnie Franklin, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
1944 – Alan Stivell, French singer-songwriter and harp player
1944 – Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1945 – Barry John, Welsh rugby player
1946 – Syd Barrett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
1947 – Sandy Denny, English folk-rock singer-songwriter (d 1978)
1948 – Guy Gardner, American colonel and astronaut
1948 – Dayle Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer
1949 – Mike Boit, Kenyan runner and academic (estimated date)
1949 – Carolyn D. Wright, American poet and academic (d. 2016)
1950 – Louis Freeh, American lawyer and jurist, 10th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
1951 – Don Gullett, American baseball player and coach
1951 – Kim Wilson, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player
1953 – Malcolm Young, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
1954 – Anthony Minghella, English director and screenwriter (d. 2008)
1955 – Rowan Atkinson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
1956 – Elizabeth Strout, American novelist and short story writer
1956 – Justin Welby, English archbishop
1956 – Clive Woodward, English rugby player and coach
1957 – Michael Foale, British-American astrophysicist and astronaut
1957 – Nancy Lopez, American golfer and sportscaster
1959 – Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer
1960 – Paul Azinger, American golfer and sportscaster
1960 – Kari Jalonen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
1960 – Nigella Lawson, English chef and author
1960 – Howie Long, American football player and sports commentator
1961 – Georges Jobé, Belgian motocross racer (d. 2012)
1961 – Peter Whittle, British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster
1963 – Norm Charlton, American baseball player and coach
1963 – Paul Kipkoech, Kenyan runner (d. 1995)
1964 – Jacqueline Moore, American wrestler and manager
1965 – Bjørn Lomborg, Danish author and academic
1966 – Sharon Cuneta, Filipino singer and actress
1966 – Attilio Lombardo, Italian footballer and manager
1967 – A. R. Rahman, Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician and philanthropist
1968 – John Singleton, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
1969 – Norman Reedus, American actor and model
1970 – Julie Chen, American television journalist, presenter, and producer
1970 – Radoslav Látal, Czech footballer and manager
1973 – Vasso Karantasiou, Greek beach volleyball player
1976 – Richard Zedník, Slovak ice hockey player
1981 – Asante Samuel, American football player
1982 – Eddie Redmayne, English actor and model
1984 – Kate McKinnon, American actress and comedian
1986 – Paul McShane, Irish footballer
1986 – Petter Northug, Norwegian skier
1989 – Andy Carroll, English footballer
1991 – Will Barton, American basketball player
1994 – Lim Jae-beom, South Korean singer and actor (Got7)
Deaths on January 6
786 – Abo of Tiflis, Iraqi martyr and saint (b. 756)
1088 – Berengar of Tours, French scholar and theologian (b. 999)
1148 – Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke (b. 1100)
1233 – Matilda of Chester, Countess of Huntingdon, Anglo-Norman noblewoman (b. 1171)
1275 – Raymond of Penyafort, Catalan archbishop and saint (b. 1175)
1350 – Giovanni I di Murta, second doge of the Republic of Genoa
1358 – Gertrude van der Oosten, Beguine mystic
1406 – Roger Walden, English bishop
1448 – Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (b. 1418)
1477 – Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme
1481 – Ahmed Khan bin Küchük, Mongolian ruler
1537 – Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence (b. 1510)
1537 – Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter, designed the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne (b. 1481)
1616 – Philip Henslowe, English impresario (b. 1550)
1646 – Elias Holl, German architect, designed the Augsburg Town Hall (b. 1573)
1689 – Seth Ward, English bishop, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1617)
1693 – Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (b. 1642)
1711 – Philips van Almonde, Dutch admiral (b. 1646)
1718 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian lawyer and jurist (b. 1664)
1725 – Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japanese actor and playwright (b. 1653)
1731 – Étienne François Geoffroy, French physician and chemist (b. 1672)
1734 – John Dennis, English playwright and critic (b. 1657)
1813 – Louis Baraguey d’Hilliers, French general (b. 1764)
1829 – Josef Dobrovský, Czech philologist and historian (b. 1753)
1831 – Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1766)
1840 – Frances Burney, English author and playwright (b. 1752)
1852 – Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (b. 1809)
1855 – Giacomo Beltrami, Italian jurist, explorer, and author (b. 1779)
1882 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1815)
1884 – Gregor Mendel, Czech geneticist and botanist (b. 1822)
1885 – Bharatendu Harishchandra, Indian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1850)
1896 – Thomas W. Knox, American journalist and author (b. 1835)
1902 – Lars Hertervig, Norwegian painter (b. 1830)
1913 – Frederick Hitch, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1856)
1917 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch economist and historian (b. 1834)
1918 – Georg Cantor, German mathematician and philosopher (b. 1845)
1919 – Theodore Roosevelt, American colonel and politician, 26th President of the United States (b. 1858)
1921 – Devil Anse Hatfield, American guerrilla leader (b. 1839)
1922 – Jakob Rosanes, Ukrainian-German mathematician and chess player (b. 1842)
1928 – Alvin Kraenzlein, American hurdler and long jumper (b. 1876)
1933 – Vladimir de Pachmann, Ukrainian-German pianist (b. 1848)
1934 – Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (b. 1878)
1937 – André Bessette, Canadian saint (b. 1845)
1939 – Gustavs Zemgals, Latvian journalist and politician, 2nd President of Latvia (b. 1871)
1941 – Charley O’Leary, American baseball player and coach (b. 1882)
1942 – Emma Calvé, French soprano and actress (b. 1858)
1942 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian businessman, 3rd President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1876)
1944 – Jacques Rosenbaum, Estonian-German architect (b. 1878)
1944 – Ida Tarbell, American journalist, reformer, and educator (b. 1857)
1945 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist and chemist (b. 1863)
1949 – Victor Fleming, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1883)
1966 – Jean Lurçat, French painter (b. 1892)
1972 – Chen Yi, Chinese general and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1901)
1974 – David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican painter (b. 1896)
1978 – Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer (b. 1899)
1981 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish physician and author (b. 1896)
1984 – Ernest Laszlo, Hungarian-American cinematographer (b. 1898)
1990 – Ian Charleson, Scottish-English actor (b. 1949)
1990 – Pavel Cherenkov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
1993 – Dizzy Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player (b. 1917)
1993 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (b. 1938)
1995 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
1999 – Michel Petrucciani, French-American pianist (b. 1962)2000 – Don Martin, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
2004 – Pierre Charles, Dominican educator and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Dominica (b. 1954)
2004 – Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (b. 1921)
2005 – Eileen Desmond, Irish civil servant and politician, 12th Irish Minister for Health (b. 1932)
2005 – Lois Hole, Canadian academic and politician, 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (b. 1929)
2005 – Tarquinio Provini, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1933)
2005 – Louis Robichaud, Canadian lawyer and politician, 25th Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1925)
2006 – Lou Rawls, American singer-songwriter (b. 1933)
2007 – Roberta Wohlstetter, American political scientist, historian, and academic (b. 1912)
2008 – Shmuel Berenbaum, Rabbi of Mir Yeshiva (Brooklyn)
2009 – Ron Asheton, American guitarist, songwriter, and actor (probable; b. 1948)
46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.
1649 – English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
1717 – The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance in an attempt to maintain the Treaty of Utrecht; Britain having signed a preliminary alliance with France on November 28 (November 17, 1716).
1762 – Great Britain declares war on Spain, thus entering the Seven Years’ War.
1798 – Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.
1853 – After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.
1854 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
1863 – The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.
1878 – Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule and designated the capital of Liberated Bulgaria.
1884 – The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.
1885 – Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
1896 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
1903 – Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy’s death.
1912 – The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Empire by the royal charter.
1918 – The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.
1944 – World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
1948 – Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom becoming an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu its first Prime Minister.
1951 – Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.
1956 – The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
1958 – Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.
1959 – Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
1972 – Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK.
1976 – The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The next day, gunmen would shoot dead ten Protestant civilians nearby in retaliation.
1987 – The Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, United States, killing 16 people.
1989 – Second Gulf of Sidra incident: A pair of Libyan MiG-23 “Floggers” are shot down by a pair of US Navy F-14 Tomcats during an air-to-air confrontation.
1990 – In Pakistan’s deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.
1998 – A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
1999 – Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States.
2004 – Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
2004 – Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
2006 – Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.
2007 – The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
2010 – The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai.
2013 – A gunman kills eight people in a house-to-house rampage in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.
2018 – Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash: A passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collides with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa. Twenty people are killed and 260 injured.
Births on January 4
659 – Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (d.680)
1077 – Emperor Zhezong of China (d. 1100)
1334 – Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (d. 1383)
1467 – Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode (d. 1538)
1581 – James Ussher, Irish archbishop and historian (d. 1656)
1643 – Isaac Newton, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1727)
1654 – Lars Roberg, Swedish physician and academic (d. 1742)
1672 – Hugh Boulter, English-Irish archbishop (d. 1742)
1710 – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist, and organist (d. 1736)
1720 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (d. 1774)
1785 – Jacob Grimm, German philologist and mythologist (d. 1863)
1809 – Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (d. 1852)
1813 – Isaac Pitman, English linguist and educator (d. 1897)
1832 – George Tryon, English admiral (d. 1893)
1838 – General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (d. 1883)
1839 – Carl Humann, German archaeologist, architect, and engineer (d. 1896)
1848 – Katsura Tarō, Japanese general and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1913)
1858 – Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1946)
1864 – Clara Emilia Smitt, Swedish doctor and author (d. 1928)
1869 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1960)
1874 – Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1935)
1877 – Marsden Hartley, American painter and poet (d. 1943)
1878 – A. E. Coppard, English poet and short story writer (d. 1957)
1878 – Augustus John, Welsh painter and illustrator (d. 1961)
1881 – Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (d. 1919)
1883 – Max Eastman, American author and poet (d. 1969)
1883 – Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch pathologist and academic (d. 1961)
1884 – Guy Pène du Bois, American painter, critic, and educator (d. 1958)
1889 – M. Patanjali Sastri, Indian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of India (d. 1963)
1891 – Edward Brooker, English-Australian sergeant and politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948)
1895 – Leroy Grumman, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. (d. 1982)
1896 – Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
1896 – André Masson, French painter and illustrator (d. 1987)
1897 – Chen Cheng, Chinese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China (d. 1965)
1900 – James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1989)
1901 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and theorist (d. 1989)
1902 – John A. McCone, American businessman and politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991)
1905 – Sterling Holloway, American actor (d. 1992)
1913 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (d. 2007)
1916 – Lionel Newman, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
1916 – Robert Parrish, American actor and director (d. 1995)
1920 – William Colby, American intelligence officer, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1996)
1924 – Marianne Werner, German shot putter
1925 – Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier and technician (d. 2003)
1927 – Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
1927 – Barbara Rush, American actress
1929 – Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (d. 2015)
1930 – Sorrell Booke, American actor and director (d. 1994)
1930 – Don Shula, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
1931 – William Deane, Australian judge and politician, 22nd Governor-General of Australia
1931 – Nora Iuga, Romanian poet, writer and translator
1931 – Coşkun Özarı, Turkish footballer and coach (d. 2011)
1932 – Clint Hill, American secret service agent and author
1932 – Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter
1934 – Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia
1935 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
1937 – Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano
1937 – Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
1940 – Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate
1940 – Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1941 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2005)
1941 – Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (d. 1999)
1942 – Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician
1942 – John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
1943 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author
1943 – Hwang Sok-yong, South Korean author and educator
1945 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1946 – Arthur Conley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
1947 – Marie-Thérèse Letablier, French sociologist and academic
1948 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (d. 1992)
1948 – Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, Malian civil servant and politician, Prime Minister of Mali
1950 – Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (d. 2013)
1953 – Norberto Alonso, Argentinian footballer
1954 – Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, founded House of Deréon
1956 – Ann Magnuson, American actress and performance artist
1956 – Zehava Gal-On, Israeli politician
1956 – Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1957 – Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1958 – Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor
1960 – Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer
1963 – Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director, and producer
1963 – Martina Proeber, German diver
1964 – Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash player
1965 – Guy Forget, French tennis player
1965 – Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer, choreographer, and director
1965 – Julia Ormond, English actress and producer
1966 – Deana Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1967 – David Toms, American golfer and philanthropist
1975 – Paul Watson, English footballer and physiotherapist
1978 – Dominik Hrbatý, Slovak tennis player
1980 – Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
1985 – Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Norwegian handball player
1985 – Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer
1985 – Al Jefferson, American basketball player
1986 – James Milner, English footballer
1986 – Younès Kaboul, French footballer
1989 – Graham Rahal, American race car driver
1990 – Toni Kroos, German footballer
1992 – Kris Bryant, American baseball player
1994 – Derrick Henry, American football player
1997 – Ante Žižić, Croatian basketball player
1998 – Liza Soberano, Filipina actress
Deaths on January 4
871 – Æthelwulf, Saxon ealdorman
874 – Hasan al-Askari, eleventh of the Twelve Imams (probable; b. 846)
1248 – Sancho II of Portugal (b. 1209)
1344 – Robert de Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle, English peer (b. 1288)
1399 – Nicholas Eymerich, Catalan theologian and inquisitor
1424 – Muzio Sforza, Italian condottiero
1428 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1370)
1584 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1539)
1604 – Ferenc Nádasdy, Hungarian noble (b. 1555)
1695 – François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (b. 1628)
1752 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (b. 1704)
1761 – Stephen Hales, English clergyman and physiologist (b. 1677)
1782 – Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect, designed École Militaire (b. 1698)
1786 – Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher, and theologian (b. 1729)
1804 – Charlotte Lennox, English author and poet (b. 1730)
1821 – Elizabeth Ann Seton, American nun and saint (b. 1774)
1825 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (b. 1751)
1863 – Roger Hanson, American general (b. 1827)
1874 – Thomas Gregson, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798)
1877 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1794)
1880 – Anselm Feuerbach, German painter and educator (b. 1829)
1880 – Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (b. 1811)
1882 – John William Draper, English-American physician, chemist, and photographer (b. 1811)
1883 – Antoine Chanzy, French general (b. 1823)
1891 – Antoine Labelle, Canadian priest (b. 1833)
1896 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German bishop and academic (b. 1821)
1900 – Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (b. 1827)
1901 – Nikolaos Gyzis, Greek painter and academic (b. 1842)
1904 – Anna Winlock, American astronomer and academic (b. 1857)
1910 – Léon Delagrange, French pilot and sculptor (b. 1873)
1912 – Clarence Dutton, American geologist and soldier (b. 1841)
1919 – Georg von Hertling, German academic and politician, 7th Chancellor of the German Empire (b. 1843)
