1743

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

    February 29, also known as leap day or leap year day, is a date added to most years that are divisible by 4, such as 2016, 2020, and 2024. A leap day is added in various solar calendars (calendars based on the Earth’s revolution around the Sun), including the Gregorian calendar standard in most of the world. Lunisolar calendars (whose months are based on the phases of the Moon) instead add a leap or intercalary month

    In the Gregorian calendar, years that are divisible by 100, but not by 400, do not contain a leap day. Thus, 1700, 1800, and 1900 did not contain a leap day; neither will 2100, 2200, and 2300. Conversely, 1600 and 2000 did and 2400 will. Years containing a leap day are called leap years. Years not containing a leap day are called common years. In the Chinese calendar, this day will only occur in years of the monkey, dragon, and rat.

    A leap day is observed because the Earth’s period of orbital revolution around the Sun takes approximately six hours longer than 365 whole days. A leap day compensates for this lag, realigning the calendar with the Earth’s position in the Solar System; otherwise, seasons would occur later than intended in the calendar year. The Julian calendar used in Christendom until the 16th century added a leap day every four years; but this rule adds too many days (roughly three every 400 years), making the equinoxes and solstices shift gradually to earlier dates. By the 16th century the vernal equinox had drifted to March 11, so the Gregorian calendar was introduced both to shift it back by omitting several days, and to reduce the number of leap years via the aforementioned century rule to keep the equinoxes more or less fixed and the date of Easter consistently close to the vernal equinox.

    Leap days can present a particular problem in computing known as the leap year bug when February 29 is not handled correctly in logic that accepts or manipulates dates. For example, this has happened with ATMs and Microsoft’s cloud system Azure.

    Leap years

    Although most modern calendar years have 365 days, a complete revolution around the Sun (one solar year) takes approximately 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 46 seconds (or, for simplicity’s sake, approximately 365 days and 6 hours, or 365.25 days) .An extra 23 hours, 15 minutes, and 4 seconds thus accumulates every four years (again, for simplicity’s sake, approximately an extra 24 hours, or 1 day, every four years), requiring that an extra calendar day be added to align the calendar with the Sun’s apparent position. Without the added day, in future years the seasons would occur later in the calendar, eventually leading to confusion about when to undertake activities dependent on weather, ecology, or hours of daylight.

    Solar years are actually slightly shorter than 365 days and 6 hours (365.25 days), which had been known since the 2nd century BC when Hipparchus stated that it lasted 365 + 1/4 − 1/300 days, but this was ignored by Julius Caesar and his astronomical adviser Sosigenes. The Gregorian calendar corrected this by adopting the length of the tropical year stated in three medieval sources, the Alfonsine tables, De Revolutionibus, and the Prutenic Tables, truncated to two sexagesimal places, 365 14/60 33/3600 days or 365 + 1/4 − 3/400 days or 365.2425 days. The length of the tropical year in 2000 was 365.24217 mean solar daysAdding a calendar day every four years, therefore, results in an excess of around 44 minutes every four years, or about 3 days every 400 years. To compensate for this, three days are removed every 400 years. The Gregorian calendar reform implements this adjustment by making an exception to the general rule that there is a leap year every four years. Instead, a year divisible by 100 is not a leap year unless that year is also divisible by 400. This means that the years 1600, 2000, and 2400 are leap years, while the years 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300, and 2500 are not leap years.

    Modern (Gregorian) calendar

    The Gregorian calendar repeats itself every 400 years, which is exactly 20,871 weeks including 97 leap days (146,097 days). Over this period, February 29 falls on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday 13 times; Friday and Saturday 14 times; and Monday and Wednesday 15 times. Except for a century mark that is not a multiple of 400, consecutive leap days fall in order Sunday, Friday, Wednesday, Monday, Saturday, Thursday, Tuesday, and repeats again.

    Early Roman calendar

    Adding a leap day (after 23 February) shifts the commemorations in the 1962 Roman Missal.

    Main article: Roman calendar

    The calendar of the Roman king Numa Pompilius had only 355 days (even though it was not a lunar calendar) which meant that it would quickly become unsynchronized with the solar year. An earlier Roman solution to this problem was to lengthen the calendar periodically by adding extra days to February, the last month of the year. February consisted of two parts, each with an odd number of days. The first part ended with the Terminalia on the 23rd, which was considered the end of the religious year, and the five remaining days formed the second part. To keep the calendar year roughly aligned with the solar year, a leap month, called Mensis Intercalaris (“intercalary month”), was added from time to time between these two parts of February. The (usual) second part of February was incorporated in the intercalary month as its last five days, with no change either in their dates or the festivals observed on them. This followed naturally because the days after the Ides (13th) of February (in an ordinary year) or the Ides of Intercalaris (in an intercalary year) both counted down to the Kalends of March (i.e. they were known as “the nth day before the Kalends of March”). The Nones (5th) and Ides of Intercalaris occupied their normal positions.

    The third-century writer Censorinus says:

    When it was thought necessary to add (every two years) an intercalary month of 22 or 23 days, so that the civil year should correspond to the natural (solar) year, this intercalation was in preference made in February, between Terminalia [23rd]and Regifugium [24th].

    Julian reform

    Main article: Julian calendar

    The set leap day was introduced in Rome as a part of the Julian reform in the 1st century BCE. As before, the intercalation was made after February 23. The day following the Terminalia (February 23) was doubled, forming the “bis sextum“—literally ‘twice sixth’, since February 24 was ‘the sixth day before the Kalends of March’ using Roman inclusive counting (March 1 was the Kalends of March and was also the first day of the calendar year). Inclusive counting initially caused the Roman priests to add the extra day every three years instead of four; Augustus was compelled to omit leap years for a few decades to return the calendar to its proper position. Although there were exceptions, the first day of the bis sextum (February 24) was usually regarded as the intercalated or “bissextile” day since the 3rd century CE. February 29 came to be regarded as the leap day when the Roman system of numbering days was replaced by sequential numbering in the late Middle Ages, although this has only been formally enacted in Sweden and Finland. In Britain, the extra day added to leap years remains notionally the 24th, although the 29th remains more visible on the calendar.

    Born on February 29

    A person born on February 29 may be called a “leapling”, a “leaper”, or a “leap-year baby”. Some leaplings celebrate their birthday in non-leap years on either February 28 or March 1, while others only observe birthdays on the authentic intercalary date, February 29.

    Legal status: The effective legal date of a leapling’s birthday in non-leap years varies between jurisdictions.

    In the United Kingdom and its former colony Hong Kong, when a person born on February 29 turns 18, they are considered to have their birthday on March 1 in the relevant year.

    In New Zealand, a person born on February 29 is deemed to have their birthday on February 28 in non-leap years, for the purposes of Driver Licensing under §2(2) of the Land Transport (Driver Licensing) Rule 1999. The net result is that for drivers aged 75, or over 80, their driver licence expires at the end of the last day of February, even though their birthday would otherwise fall on the first day in March in non-leap years. Otherwise, New Zealand legislation is silent on when a person born on February 29 has their birthday, although case law would suggest that age is computed based on the number of years elapsed, from the day after the date of birth, and that the person’s birth day then occurs on the last day of the year period. This differs from English common law where a birthday is considered to be the start of the next year, the preceding year ending at midnight on the day preceding the birthday. While a person attains the same age on the same day, it also means that, in New Zealand, if something must be done by the time a person attains a certain age, that thing can be done on the birthday that they attain that age and still be lawful.

    In Taiwan, the legal birthday of a leapling is February 28 in common years:

    If a period fixed by weeks, months, and years does not commence from the beginning of a week, month, or year, it ends with the ending of the day which proceeds the day of the last week, month, or year which corresponds to that on which it began to commence. But if there is no corresponding day in the last month, the period ends with the ending of the last day of the last month.

    Thus, in England and Wales or in Hong Kong, a person born on February 29 will have legally reached 18 years old on March 1. If they were born in Taiwan they legally become 18 on February 28, a day earlier.

    In the United States, according to John Reitz, a professor of law at the University of Iowa, there is no “… statute or general rule that has anything to do with leap day.” Reitz speculates that “March 1 would likely be considered the legal birthday in non-leap years of someone born on leap day,”using the same reasoning as described for the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. However, for the purposes of Social Security, a person attains the next age the day before the anniversary of birth. Therefore, Social Security would recognize February 28 as the change in age for leap year births, not March 1

    In fiction

    There are many instances in children’s literature where a person’s claim to be only a quarter of their actual age turns out to be based on counting only their leap-year birthdays.

    A similar device is used in the plot of Gilbert and Sullivan’s 1879 comic opera The Pirates of Penzance: as a child, Frederic was apprenticed to a band of pirates until his 21st birthday. Having passed his 21st year, he leaves the pirate band and falls in love. However, since he was born on February 29, his 21st birthday will not arrive until he is eighty-eight (since 1900 was not a leap year), so he must leave his fiancée and return to the pirates.

    Since 1967, February 29 has been the official birthday of Superman, but not Clark Kent.

    February 29 in History

    • 1504 – Christopher Columbus uses his knowledge of a lunar eclipse that night to convince Jamaican natives to provide him with supplies.
    • 1644 – Abel Tasman’s second Pacific voyage begins.
    • 1704 – Queen Anne’s War: French forces and Native Americans stage a raid on Deerfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony, killing 56 villagers and taking more than 100 captive.
    • 1712 – February 29 is followed by February 30 in Sweden, in a move to abolish the Swedish calendar for a return to the Julian calendar.
    • 1720 – Ulrika Eleonora, Queen of Sweden abdicates in favour of her husband, who becomes King Frederick I on March 24.
    • 1752 – King Alaungpaya founds Konbaung Dynasty, the last dynasty of Burmese monarchy.
    • 1768 – Polish nobles form the Bar Confederation.
    • 1796 – The Jay Treaty between the United States and Great Britain comes into force, facilitating ten years of peaceful trade between the two nations.
    • 1864 – American Civil War: Kilpatrick–Dahlgren Raid fails: Plans to free 15,000 Union soldiers being held near Richmond, Virginia are thwarted.
    • 1892 – St. Petersburg, Florida is incorporated.
    • 1912 – The Piedra Movediza (Moving Stone) of Tandil falls and breaks.
    • 1916 – Tokelau is annexed by the United Kingdom.
    • 1916 – Child labor: In South Carolina, the minimum working age for factory, mill, and mine workers is raised from 12 to 14 years old.
    • 1920 – Czechoslovak National Assembly adopts the Constitution.
    • 1936 – February 26 Incident in Tokyo ends.
    • 1940 – 12th Academy Awards: For her performance as “Mammy” in Gone with the Wind, Hattie McDaniel becomes the first African American to win an Academy Award.
    • 1940 – Finland initiates Winter War peace negotiations.
    • 1940 – In a ceremony held in Berkeley, California, physicist Ernest Lawrence receives the 1939 Nobel Prize in Physics from Sweden’s Consul General in San Francisco.
    • 1944 – World War II: The Admiralty Islands are invaded in Operation Brewer led by American General Douglas MacArthur.
    • 1960 – The 5.7 Mw  Agadir earthquake shakes coastal Morocco with a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme), destroying Agadir, and leaving 12,000 dead and another 12,000 injured.
    • 1972 – Vietnam War: Vietnamization: South Korea withdraws 11,000 of its 48,000 troops from Vietnam.
    • 1980 – Gordie Howe of the Hartford Whalers makes NHL history as he scores his 800th goal.
    • 1984 – Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister of Canada.
    • 1988 – South African archbishop Desmond Tutu is arrested along with one hundred other clergymen during a five-day anti-apartheid demonstration in Cape Town.
    • 1988 – Svend Robinson becomes the first member of the House of Commons of Canada to come out as gay.
    • 1992 – First day of Bosnia and Herzegovina independence referendum.
    • 1996 – Faucett Flight 251 crashes in the Andes; all 123 passengers and crew die.
    • 1996 – Siege of Sarajevo officially ends.
    • 2000 – Second Chechen War: Eighty-four Russian paratroopers are killed in a rebel attack on a guard post near Ulus Kert.
    • 2004 – Jean-Bertrand Aristide is removed as President of Haiti following a coup.
    • 2008 – The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence decides to withdraw Prince Harry from a tour of Afghanistan “immediately” after a leak leads to his deployment being reported by foreign media.
    • 2008 – Misha Defonseca admits to fabricating her memoir, Misha: A Mémoire of the Holocaust Years, in which she claims to have lived with a pack of wolves in the woods during the Holocaust.
    • 2012 – Tokyo Skytree construction is completed. It is the tallest tower in the world, 634 meters high, and the second-tallest artificial structure on Earth, next to Burj Khalifa.

    Births on February 29

    • 1468 – Pope Paul III (d. 1549)
    • 1528 – Albert V, Duke of Bavaria (d. 1579)
    • 1528 – Domingo Báñez, Spanish theologian (d. 1604)
    • 1572 – Edward Cecil, 1st Viscount Wimbledon (d. 1638)
    • 1576 – Antonio Neri, Florentine priest and glassmaker (d. 1614)
    • 1640 – Benjamin Keach, Particular Baptist preacher and author whose name was given to Keach’s Catechism (d. 1704)
    • 1692 – John Byrom, English poet and educator (d. 1763)
    • 1724 – Eva Marie Veigel, Austrian-English dancer (d. 1822)
    • 1736 – Ann Lee, English-American religious leader, founded the Shakers (d. 1784)
    • 1792 – Gioachino Rossini, Italian composer (d. 1868)
    • 1812 – James Milne Wilson, Scottish-Australian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of Tasmania (d. February 29, 1880)
    • 1828 – Emmeline B. Wells, American journalist, poet, and activist (d. 1921)
    • 1836 – Dickey Pearce, American baseball player and manager (d. 1908)
    • 1852 – Frank Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian lawyer and judge, 4th Chief Justice of Australia (d. 1936)
    • 1860 – Herman Hollerith, American statistician and businessman, co-founded the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (d. 1929)
    • 1876 – William Stewart, Scottish footballer
    • 1884 – Richard S. Aldrich, American lawyer and politician (d. 1941)
    • 1892 – Augusta Savage, American sculptor (d. 1962)
    • 1896 – Morarji Desai, Indian civil servant and politician, 4th Prime Minister of India (d. 1995)
    • 1896 – William A. Wellman, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1975)
    • 1904 – Jimmy Dorsey, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (d. 1957)
    • 1904 – Pepper Martin, American baseball player and manager (d. 1965)
    • 1908 – Balthus, French-Swiss painter and illustrator (d. 2001)
    • 1908 – Dee Brown, American historian and author (d. 2002)
    • 1908 – Alf Gover, English cricketer and coach (d. 2001)
    • 1908 – Louie Myfanwy Thomas, Welsh writer (d. 1968)
    • 1916 – Dinah Shore, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
    • 1916 – James B. Donovan, American lawyer (d. 1970)
    • 1916 – Leonard Shoen, founder of U-Haul Corp. (d. 1999)
    • 1920 – Fyodor Abramov, Russian author and critic (d. 1983)
    • 1920 – Arthur Franz, American actor (d. 2006)
    • 1920 – James Mitchell, American actor and dancer (d. 2010)
    • 1920 – Michèle Morgan, French-American actress and singer (d. 2016)
    • 1920 – Howard Nemerov, American poet and academic (d. 1991)
    • 1920 – Rolland W. Redlin, American lawyer and politician (d. 2011)
    • 1924 – David Beattie, New Zealand judge and politician, 14th Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 2001)
    • 1924 – Carlos Humberto Romero, Salvadoran politician, President of El Salvador (d. 2017)
    • 1924 – Al Rosen, American baseball player and manager (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Joss Ackland, English actor
    • 1928 – Jean Adamson, British writer and illustrator
    • 1928 – Vance Haynes, American archaeologist, geologist, and author
    • 1928 – Seymour Papert, South African mathematician and computer scientist, co-created the Logo programming language (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Gene H. Golub, American mathematician and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Masten Gregory, American race car driver (d. 1985)
    • 1932 – Reri Grist, American soprano and actress
    • 1932 – Jaguar, Brazilian cartoonist
    • 1932 – Gavin Stevens, Australian cricketer
    • 1936 – Jack Lousma, American colonel, astronaut, and politician
    • 1936 – Henri Richard, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2020)
    • 1936 – Alex Rocco, American actor (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Nh. Dini, Indonesian writer (d. 2018)
    • 1940 – Sonja Barend, Dutch talk show host
    • 1940 – Bartholomew I of Constantinople
    • 1940 – William H. Turner, Jr., American horse trainer
    • 1944 – Ene Ergma, Estonian physicist and politician
    • 1944 – Dennis Farina, American police officer and actor (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – Nicholas Frayling, English priest and academic
    • 1944 – Phyllis Frelich, American actress (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Steve Mingori, American baseball player (d. 2008)
    • 1944 – Paolo Eleuteri Serpieri, Italian author and illustrator
    • 1944 – Lennart Svedberg, Swedish ice hockey player (d. 1972).
    • 1948 – Hermione Lee, English author, critic, and academic
    • 1948 – Manoel Maria, Brazilian footballer
    • 1948 – Patricia A. McKillip, American author
    • 1948 – Henry Small, American-born Canadian singer
    • 1952 – Sharon Dahlonega Raiford Bush, American journalist and producer
    • 1952 – Tim Powers, American author and educator
    • 1952 – Raisa Smetanina, Russian cross-country skier
    • 1952 – Bart Stupak, American police officer and politician
    • 1956 – Jonathan Coleman, English-Australian radio and television host
    • 1956 – Bob Speller, Canadian businessman and politician, 30th Canadian Minister of Agriculture
    • 1956 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (d. 2002)
    • 1960 – Lucian Grainge, English businessman
    • 1960 – Khaled, Algerian singer-songwriter
    • 1960 – Richard Ramirez, American serial killer (d. 2013)
    • 1964 – Dave Brailsford, English cyclist and coach
    • 1964 – Lyndon Byers, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host
    • 1964 – Mervyn Warren, American tenor, composer, and producer
    • 1968 – Chucky Brown, American basketball player and coach
    • 1968 – Pete Fenson, American curler and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Naoko Iijima, Japanese actress and model
    • 1968 – Bryce Paup, American football player and coach
    • 1968 – Howard Tayler, American author and illustrator
    • 1968 – Eugene Volokh, Ukrainian-American lawyer and educator
    • 1968 – Frank Woodley, Australian actor, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1972 – Mike Pollitt, English footballer and coach
    • 1972 – Sylvie Lubamba, Italian showgirl
    • 1972 – Antonio Sabàto, Jr., Italian-American model and actor
    • 1972 – Pedro Sánchez, Prime Minister of Spain
    • 1972 – Dave Williams, American singer (d. 2002)
    • 1972 – Saul Williams, American singer-songwriter
    • 1972 – Pedro Zamora, Cuban-American activist and educator (d. 1994)
    • 1976 – Vonteego Cummings, American basketball player
    • 1976 – Gehad Grisha, Egyptian soccer referee
    • 1976 – Katalin Kovács, Hungarian sprint kayaker
    • 1976 – Terrence Long, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Ja Rule, American rapper and actor
    • 1980 – Çağdaş Atan, Turkish footballer and coach
    • 1980 – Chris Conley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1980 – Patrick Côté, Canadian mixed martial artist
    • 1980 – Simon Gagné, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Rubén Plaza, Spanish cyclist
    • 1980 – Peter Scanavino, American actor
    • 1980 – Clinton Toopi, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1980 – Taylor Twellman, American soccer player and sportscaster
    • 1984 – Rica Imai, Japanese model and actress
    • 1984 – Cullen Jones, American swimmer
    • 1984 – Nuria Martínez, Spanish basketball player
    • 1984 – Adam Sinclair, Indian field hockey player
    • 1984 – Rakhee Thakrar, English actress
    • 1984 – Dennis Walger, German rugby player
    • 1984 – Cam Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Mark Foster, American singer, songwriter and musician
    • 1988 – Lena Gercke, German model and television host
    • 1988 – Benedikt Höwedes, German footballer
    • 1988 – Brent Macaffer, Australian Rules footballer
    • 1988 – Bobby Sanguinetti, American ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Milan Melindo, Filipino boxer
    • 1992 – Sean Abbott, Australian cricketer
    • 1992 – Ben Hampton, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Eric Kendricks, American football player
    • 1992 – Caitlin EJ Meyer, American actress
    • 1996 – Nelson Asofa-Solomona, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1996 – Reece Prescod, British sprinter
    • 1996 – Claudia Williams, New Zealand tennis player
    • 2000 – Ferran Torres, Spanish footballer

    Deaths on February 29

    • 468 – Pope Hilarius
    • 992 – Oswald of Worcester, Anglo-Saxon archbishop and saint (b. 925)
    • 1212 – Hōnen, Japanese monk, founded Jōdo-shū (b. 1133)
    • 1460 – Albert III, Duke of Bavaria-Munich (b. 1401)
    • 1528 – Patrick Hamilton, Scottish Protestant reformer and martyr (b. 1504)
    • 1592 – Alessandro Striggio, Italian composer and diplomat (b. 1540)
    • 1600 – Caspar Hennenberger, German pastor, historian and cartographer (b. 1529)
    • 1604 – John Whitgift, English archbishop and academic (b. 1530)
    • 1740 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal (b. 1667)
    • 1744 – John Theophilus Desaguliers, French-English physicist and philosopher (b. 1683)
    • 1792 – Johann Andreas Stein, German piano builder (b. 1728)
    • 1820 – Johann Joachim Eschenburg, German historian and critic (b. 1743)
    • 1848 – Louis-François Lejeune, French general, painter and lithographer (b. 1775)
    • 1852 – Matsudaira Katataka, Japanese daimyō (b. 1806)
    • 1868 – Ludwig I of Bavaria (b. 1786)
    • 1880 – James Milne Wilson, Scottish-Australian soldier and politician, 8th Premier of Tasmania (b. February 29, 1812)
    • 1908
      • Pat Garrett, American sheriff (b. 1850)
      • John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow, Scottish-Australian politician, 1st Governor-General of Australia (b. 1860)
    • 1920 – Ernie Courtney, American baseball player (b. 1875)
    • 1928
      • Adolphe Appia, Swiss architect and theorist (b. 1862)
      • Ina Coolbrith, American poet and librarian (b. 1841)
    • 1940 – E. F. Benson, English archaeologist and author (b. 1867)
    • 1944 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish lawyer, judge and politician, 3rd President of Finland (b. 1861)
    • 1948
      • Robert Barrington-Ward, English lawyer and journalist (b. 1891)
      • Rebel Oakes, American baseball player and manager (b. 1883)
    • 1952 – Quo Tai-chi, Chinese politician and diplomat, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations (b. 1888)
    • 1956 – Elpidio Quirino, Filipino lawyer and politician, 6th President of the Philippines (b. 1890)
    • 1960
      • Melvin Purvis, American police officer and FBI agent (b. 1903)
      • Walter Yust, American journalist and author (b. 1894)
    • 1964 – Frank Albertson, American actor and singer (b. 1909)
    • 1968
      • Lena Blackburne, American baseball player, coach and manager (b. 1886)
      • Tore Ørjasæter, Norwegian poet and educator (b. 1886)
    • 1972 – Tom Davies, American football player and coach (b. 1896)
    • 1976 – Florence P. Dwyer, American politician (b. 1902)
    • 1980
      • Yigal Allon, Israeli general and politician, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1918)
      • Gil Elvgren, American painter and illustrator (b. 1914)
    • 1984 – Ludwik Starski, Polish screenwriter and songwriter (b. 1903)
    • 1988 – Sidney Harmon, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1907)
    • 1992 – Ruth Pitter, English poet and author (b. 1897)
    • 1996
      • Wes Farrell, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1939)
      • Ralph Rowe, American baseball player, coach and manager (b. 1924)
    • 2000 – Dennis Danell, American guitarist (b. 1961)
    • 2004
      • Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (b. 1923)
      • Jerome Lawrence, American playwright and author (b. 1915)
      • Harold Bernard St. John, Barbadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Barbados (b. 1931)
      • Lorrie Wilmot, South African cricketer (b. 1943)
    • 2008
      • Janet Kagan, American author (b. 1946)
      • Erik Ortvad, Danish painter and illustrator (b. 1917)
      • Akira Yamada, Japanese scholar and philosopher (b. 1922)
    • 2012
      • Roland Bautista, American guitarist (b. 1951)
      • Davy Jones, English singer, guitarist and actor (b. 1945)
      • Sheldon Moldoff, American illustrator (b. 1920)
      • P. K. Narayana Panicker, Indian social leader (b. 1930)
    • 2016
      • Wenn V. Deramas, Filipino director and screenwriter (b. 1966)
      • Gil Hill, American police officer, actor and politician (b. 1931)
      • Josefin Nilsson, Swedish singer (b. 1969)
      • Louise Rennison, English author (b. 1951)
      • Mumtaz Qadri, Pakistani assassin (b. 1985)

    Holidays and observances on February 29

    • As a Christian feast day:
      • Auguste Chapdelaine (one of the Martyr Saints of China)
      • Oswald of Worcester (in leap year only)
      • Saint John Cassian
      • February 29 in the Orthodox church
    • The fourth day of Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í Faith) (observed on this date only if Bahá’í Naw-Rúz falls on March 21)
    • Rare Disease Day (in leap years; celebrated in common years on February 28)
    • Bachelor’s Day (Ireland, United Kingdom)

    Folk traditions

    There is a popular tradition known as Bachelor’s Day in some countries allowing a woman to propose marriage to a man on February 29If the man refuses, he then is obliged to give the woman money or buy her a dress. In upper-class societies in Europe, if the man refuses marriage, he then must purchase 12 pairs of gloves for the woman, suggesting that the gloves are to hide the woman’s embarrassment of not having an engagement ring. In Ireland, the tradition is supposed to originate from a deal that Saint Bridget struck with Saint Patrick.

    In the town of Aurora, Illinois, single women are deputized and may arrest single men, subject to a four-dollar fine, every February 29.

    In Greece, it is considered unlucky to marry on a leap day.

  • February 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    For superstitious reasons, when the Romans began to intercalate to bring their calendar into line with the solar year, they chose not to place their extra month of Mercedonius after February but within it. February 24 — known in the Roman calendar as “the sixth day before the Kalends of March” — was replaced by the first day of this month since it followed Terminalia, the festival of the Roman god of boundaries. After the end of Mercedonius, the rest of the days of February were observed and the new year began with the first day of March. The overlaid religious festivals of February were so complicated that Julius Caesar opted not to change it at all during his 46 bc calendar reform. The extra day of his system’s leap years was located in the same place as the old intercalary month but he opted to ignore it as a date. Instead, the sixth day before the Kalends of March was simply said to last for 48 hours and all the other days continued to bear their original names. (The Roman practice of inclusive counting initially caused the priests in charge of the calendar to add the extra hours every three years instead of every four and Augustus was obliged to omit them for a span of decades until the system was back to where it should have been.) When the extra hours finally began to be reckoned as two separate days instead of a doubled sixth (“bissextile”) one, the leap day was still taken to be the one following hard on the February 23 Terminalia. Although February 29 has been popularly understood as the leap day of leap years since the beginning of sequential reckoning of the days of months in the late Middle Ages, in Britain and most other countries, no formal replacement of February 24 as the leap day of the Julian and Gregorian calendars has occurred. The exceptions include Sweden and Finland, who enacted legislation to move the day to February 29. This custom still has some effect around the world, for example with respect to name days in Hungary.

    February 24 in History

    • 484 – King Huneric of the Vandals replaces Nicene bishops with Arian ones, and banishes some to Corsica.
    • 1303 – Battle of Roslin, of the First War of Scottish Independence.
    • 1386 – King Charles III of Naples and Hungary is assassinated at Buda.
    • 1525 – A Spanish-Austrian army defeats a French army at the Battle of Pavia.
    • 1538 – Treaty of Nagyvárad between Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I and King John Zápolya of Hungary and Croatia.
    • 1582 – With the papal bull Inter gravissimas, Pope Gregory XIII announces the Gregorian calendar.
    • 1607 – L’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance.
    • 1711 – The London première of Rinaldo by George Frideric Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage.
    • 1739 – Battle of Karnal: The army of Iranian ruler Nader Shah defeats the forces of the Mughal emperor of India, Muhammad Shah.
    • 1803 – In Marbury v. Madison, the Supreme Court of the United States establishes the principle of judicial review.
    • 1809 – London’s Drury Lane Theatre burns to the ground, leaving owner Richard Brinsley Sheridan destitute.
    • 1821 – Final stage of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain with Plan of Iguala.
    • 1822 – The first Swaminarayan temple in the world, Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad, is inaugurated.
    • 1826 – The signing of the Treaty of Yandabo marks the end of the First Anglo-Burmese War.
    • 1831 – The Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek, the first removal treaty in accordance with the Indian Removal Act, is proclaimed. The Choctaws in Mississippi cede land east of the river in exchange for payment and land in the West.
    • 1848 – King Louis-Philippe of France abdicates the throne.
    • 1854 – A Penny Red with perforations was the first perforated postage stamp to be officially issued for distribution.
    • 1863 – Arizona is organized as a United States territory.
    • 1868 – Andrew Johnson becomes the first President of the United States to be impeached by the United States House of Representatives. He is later acquitted in the Senate.
    • 1875 – The SS Gothenburg hits the Great Barrier Reef and sinks off the Australian east coast, killing approximately 100, including a number of high-profile civil servants and dignitaries.
    • 1881 – China and Russia sign the Sino-Russian Ili Treaty.
    • 1895 – Revolution breaks out in Baire, a town near Santiago de Cuba, beginning the Cuban War of Independence, that ends with the Spanish–American War in 1898.
    • 1916 – The Governor-General of Korea establishes a clinic called Jahyewon in Sorokdo to segregate Hansen’s disease patients.
    • 1917 – World War I: The U.S. ambassador Walter Hines Page to the United Kingdom is given the Zimmermann Telegram, in which Germany pledges to ensure the return of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona to Mexico if Mexico declares war on the United States.
    • 1918 – Estonian Declaration of Independence.
    • 1920 – Nancy Astor becomes the first woman to speak in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom following her election as a Member of Parliament (MP) three months earlier.
    • 1920 – The Nazi Party (NSDAP) was founded by Adolf Hitler in the Hofbräuhaus beer hall in Munich, Germany
    • 1942 – The Battle of Los Angeles: A false alarm led to an anti-aircraft barrage that lasted into the early hours of February 25.
    • 1942 – An order-in-council passed under the Defence of Canada Regulations of the War Measures Act gives the Canadian federal government the power to intern all “persons of Japanese racial origin”.
    • 1944 – Merrill’s Marauders: The Marauders begin their 1,000-mile journey through Japanese-occupied Burma.
    • 1945 – Egyptian Premier Ahmad Mahir Pasha is killed in Parliament after reading a decree.
    • 1946 – Colonel Juan Perón, founder of the political movement that became known as Peronism, is elected to his first term as President of Argentina.
    • 1949 – The Armistice Agreements are signed, to formally end the hostilities of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive is halted; South Vietnam recaptures Hué.
    • 1971 – The All India Forward Bloc holds an emergency central committee meeting after its chairman, Hemantha Kumar Bose, is killed three days earlier. P.K. Mookiah Thevar is appointed as the new chairman.
    • 1976 – The current constitution of Cuba is formally proclaimed.
    • 1978 – The Yuba County Five disappear in California. Four of their bodies are found four months later.
    • 1980 – The United States Olympic hockey team completes its Miracle on Ice by defeating Finland 4–2 to win the gold medal.
    • 1981 – The 6.7 Ms Gulf of Corinth earthquake affected Central Greece with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). Twenty-two people were killed, 400 were injured, and damage totaled $812 million.
    • 1983 – A special commission of the United States Congress condemns the Japanese American internment during World War II.
    • 1984 – Tyrone Mitchell perpetrates the 49th Street Elementary School shooting in Los Angeles, killing two children and injuring 12 more.
    • 1989 – United Airlines Flight 811, bound for New Zealand from Honolulu, rips open during flight, blowing nine passengers out of the business-class section.
    • 1991 – Gulf War: Ground troops cross the Saudi Arabian border and enter Iraq, thus beginning the ground phase of the war.
    • 1996 – Two civilian airplanes operated by the Miami-based group Brothers to the Rescue are shot down in international waters by the Cuban Air Force.
    • 1999 – China Southwest Airlines Flight 4509, a Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft, crashes on approach to Wenzhou Longwan International Airport in Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China. All 61 people on board are killed.
    • 2004 – The 6.3 Mw Al Hoceima earthquake strikes northern Morocco with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). At least 628 people are killed, 926 are injured, and up to 15,000 are displaced.
    • 2006 – Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
    • 2007 – Japan launches its fourth spy satellite, stepping up its ability to monitor potential threats such as North Korea.
    • 2008 – Fidel Castro retires as the President of Cuba and the Council of Ministers after 32 years. He remains as head of the Communist Party for another three years.
    • 2015 – A Metrolink train derails in Oxnard, California following a collision with a truck, leaving more than 30 injured.
    • 2016 – Tara Air Flight 193, a de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, crashed, with 23 fatalities, in Solighopte, Myagdi District, Dhaulagiri Zone, while en route from Pokhara Airport to Jomsom Airport.

    Births on February 24

    • 1103 – Emperor Toba of Japan (d. 1156)
    • 1304 – Ibn Battuta, Moroccan jurist
    • 1413 – Louis, Duke of Savoy (d. 1465)
    • 1463 – Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian philosopher (d. 1494)
    • 1494 – Johan Friis, Danish statesman (d. 1570)
    • 1500 – Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1558)
    • 1536 – Pope Clement VIII (d. 1605)
    • 1545 – John of Austria (d. 1578)
    • 1553 – Cherubino Alberti, Italian engraver and painter (d. 1615)
    • 1557 – Matthias, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1619)
    • 1593 – Henry de Vere, 18th Earl of Oxford, English soldier and courtier (d. 1625)
    • 1595 – Maciej Kazimierz Sarbiewski, Polish author and poet (d. 1640)
    • 1604 – Arcangela Tarabotti, Venetian nun and feminist (d. 1652)
    • 1619 – Charles Le Brun, French painter and theorist (d. 1690)
    • 1622 – Johannes Clauberg, German theologian and philosopher (d. 1665)
    • 1709 – Jacques de Vaucanson, French engineer (d. 1782)
    • 1721 – John McKinly, Irish-American physician and politician, 1st Governor of Delaware (d. 1796)
    • 1723 – John Burgoyne, English general and politician (d. 1792)
    • 1736 – Charles Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1806)
    • 1743 – Joseph Banks, English botanist and explorer (d. 1820)
    • 1762 – Charles Frederick Horn, German-English composer and educator (d. 1830)
    • 1767 – Rama II of Siam (d. 1824)
    • 1774 – Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (d. 1850)
    • 1786 – Martin W. Bates, American lawyer and politician (d. 1869)
    • 1786 – Wilhelm Grimm, German anthropologist, author, and academic (d. 1859)
    • 1788 – Johan Christian Dahl, Norwegian-German painter (d. 1857)
    • 1827 – Lydia Becker, English-French activist (d. 1890)
    • 1831 – Leo von Caprivi, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1899)
    • 1835 – Julius Vogel, English-New Zealand journalist and politician, 8th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1899)
    • 1836 – Winslow Homer, American painter and illustrator (d. 1910)
    • 1837 – Rosalía de Castro, Spanish poet (d. 1885)
    • 1842 – Arrigo Boito, Italian journalist, author, and composer (d. 1918)
    • 1848 – Andrew Inglis Clark, Australian engineer, lawyer, and politician (d. 1907)
    • 1852 – George Moore, Irish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1933)
    • 1868 – Édouard Alphonse James de Rothschild, French financier and polo player (d. 1949)
    • 1869 – Zara DuPont, American suffragist (d. 1946)
    • 1874 – Honus Wagner, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1955)
    • 1877 – Rudolph Ganz, Swiss pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1972)
    • 1877 – Ettie Rout, Australian-New Zealand educator and activist (d. 1936)
    • 1885 – Chester W. Nimitz, American admiral (d. 1966)
    • 1885 – Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz, Polish author, poet, and painter (d. 1939)
    • 1890 – Marjorie Main, American actress (d. 1975)
    • 1896 – Richard Thorpe, American director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
    • 1898 – Kurt Tank, German pilot and engineer (d. 1983)
    • 1900 – Irmgard Bartenieff, German-American dancer and physical therapist, leading pioneer of dance therapy (d. 1981)
    • 1903 – Vladimir Bartol, Italian-Slovene author and playwright (d. 1967)
    • 1908 – Telford Taylor, American general, lawyer, and historian (d. 1998)
    • 1909 – August Derleth, American anthologist and author (d. 1971)
    • 1914 – Ralph Erskine, English-Swedish architect, designed The Ark and Byker Wall (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – Weldon Kees, American author, poet, painter, and pianist (d. 1955)
    • 1915 – Jim Ferrier, Australian golfer (d. 1986)
    • 1919 – John Carl Warnecke, American architect (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Abe Vigoda, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1922 – Richard Hamilton, English painter and academic (d. 2011)
    • 1922 – Steven Hill, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Hal Herring, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Erik Nielsen, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – Bud Day, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Kintaro Ohki, South Korean wrestler (d. 2006)
    • 1930 – Barbara Lawrence, American model and actress (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Dominic Chianese, American actor and singer
    • 1931 – Brian Close, English cricketer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Michel Legrand, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2019)
    • 1932 – Zell Miller, American sergeant and politician, 79th Governor of Georgia (d. 2018)
    • 1932 – John Vernon, Canadian-American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1933 – Judah Folkman, American physician and biologist (d. 2008)
    • 1933 – Ali Mazrui, Kenyan-American political scientist, philosopher, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1933 – David “Fathead” Newman, American saxophonist and composer (d. 2009)
    • 1934 – Bettino Craxi, Italian lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2000)
    • 1934 – Johnny Hills, English footballer, full-back
    • 1934 – Renata Scotto, Italian soprano
    • 1935 – Ryhor Baradulin, Belarusian poet, essayist, and translator (d. 2014)
    • 1936 – Guillermo O’Donnell, Argentine political scientist (d. 2011)
    • 1938 – James Farentino, American actor (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Phil Knight, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Nike, Inc.
    • 1939 – Jamal Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi physicist and cosmologist (d. 2013)
    • 1940 – Pete Duel, American actor (d. 1971)
    • 1940 – Jimmy Ellis, American boxer (d. 2014)
    • 1940 – Denis Law, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
    • 1941 – Joanie Sommers, American singer and actress
    • 1942 – Colin Bond, Australian race car driver
    • 1942 – Paul Jones, English singer, harmonica player, and actor
    • 1942 – Joe Lieberman, American lawyer and politician
    • 1942 – Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Indian philosopher, theorist, and academic
    • 1943 – Kent Haruf, American novelist (d. 2014)
    • 1943 – Gigi Meroni, Italian footballer (d. 1967)
    • 1943 – Pablo Milanés, Cuban singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Terry Semel, American businessman
    • 1944 – Nicky Hopkins, English keyboard player (d. 1994)
    • 1944 – Ivica Račan, Croatian lawyer and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Croatia (d. 2007)
    • 1945 – Barry Bostwick, American actor and singer
    • 1946 – Grigory Margulis, Russian mathematician and academic
    • 1947 – Mike Fratello, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1947 – Rupert Holmes, English-American singer-songwriter and playwright
    • 1947 – Edward James Olmos, American actor and director
    • 1948 – Jayalalithaa, Indian actress and politician, 16th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (d. 2016)
    • 1948 – Walter Smith, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1948 – Tim Staffell, English singer and guitarist
    • 1948 – Dennis Waterman, English actor
    • 1950 – Steve McCurry, American photographer and journalist
    • 1951 – David Ford, Northern Irish social worker and politician
    • 1951 – Derek Randall, English cricketer
    • 1951 – Debra Jo Rupp, American actress
    • 1951 – Helen Shaver, Canadian actress and director
    • 1951 – Laimdota Straujuma, Latvian economist and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Latvia
    • 1953 – Anatoli Kozhemyakin, Soviet footballer (d. 1974)
    • 1954 – Plastic Bertrand, Belgian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1954 – Judith Ortiz Cofer, Puerto Rican American award-winning author (d. 2016)
    • 1954 – Aurora Levins Morales, Puerto Rican Jewish writer and activist
    • 1954 – Sid Meier, Canadian-American game designer and programmer, created the Civilization series
    • 1954 – Mike Pickering, English DJ and saxophonist
    • 1955 – Steve Jobs, American businessman, co-founded Apple Inc. and Pixar (d. 2011)
    • 1955 – Eddie Johnson, American basketball player
    • 1955 – Alain Prost, French race car driver
    • 1956 – Judith Butler, American philosopher, theorist, and author
    • 1956 – Eddie Murray, American baseball player and coach
    • 1956 – Paula Zahn, American journalist and producer
    • 1958 – Sammy Kershaw, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1958 – Mark Moses, American actor
    • 1959 – Beth Broderick, American actress and director
    • 1959 – Mike Whitney, Australian cricketer and television host
    • 1963 – Prince Carlo, Duke of Castro
    • 1963 – Mike Vernon, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1963 – Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Gujarati family, most versatile filmmaker of Hindi cinema.
    • 1964 – Russell Ingall, British-Australian race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1965 – Paul Gruber, American football player
    • 1965 – Jane Swift, American businesswoman and politician, Governor of Massachusetts
    • 1966 – Billy Zane, American actor and producer
    • 1967 – Brian Schmidt, Australian astrophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1968 – Mitch Hedberg, American comedian and actor (d. 2005)
    • 1969 – Kim Seung-woo, South Korean actor
    • 1970 – Jeff Garcia, American football player and coach
    • 1970 – Neil Sullivan, English born Scottish international footballer, goalkeeper and coach
    • 1970 – Jonathan Ward, American actor
    • 1971 – Josh Bernstein, American anthropologist, explorer, and author
    • 1971 – Pedro de la Rosa, Spanish race car driver
    • 1971 – Brian Savage, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1972 – Teodor Currentzis, Greek conductor and composer
    • 1972 – Manon Rhéaume, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1973 – Stubby Clapp, Canadian baseball player and coach
    • 1973 – Chris Fehn, American drummer
    • 1973 – Alexei Kovalev, Russian ice hockey player and pilot
    • 1974 – Chad Hugo, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1974 – Mike Lowell, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Bonnie Somerville, American actress
    • 1975 – Ashley MacIsaac, Canadian singer-songwriter and fiddler
    • 1976 – Crista Flanagan, American actress and screenwriter
    • 1976 – Zach Johnson, American golfer
    • 1976 – Bradley McGee, Australian cyclist and coach
    • 1976 – Matt Skiba, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1976 – Marco Campos, Brazilian Formula 3000 race car driver (d. 1995)
    • 1977 – Jason Akermanis, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1977 – Bronson Arroyo, American baseball player and singer
    • 1977 – Floyd Mayweather, Jr., American boxer
    • 1978 – Gary, South Korean rapper and producer
    • 1978 – Shinya, Japanese drummer and songwriter
    • 1978 – John Nolan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – DeWayne Wise, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Leon Constantine, English footballer
    • 1980 – Shinsuke Nakamura, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
    • 1981 – Felipe Baloy, Panamanian footballer
    • 1981 – Lleyton Hewitt, Australian tennis player
    • 1981 – Mauro Rosales, Argentinian footballer
    • 1981 – Mohammad Sami, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1982 – Nick Blackburn, American baseball player
    • 1982 – Emanuel Villa, Argentinian footballer
    • 1982 – Klára Koukalová, Czech tennis player
    • 1982 – Fala Chen, Chinese actress and singer
    • 1984 – Corey Graves, American wrestler and sportscaster
    • 1985 – Nakash Aziz, Indian playback singer and music composer
    • 1987 – Kim Kyu-jong, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor
    • 1988 – Mathieu Baudry, French footballer
    • 1989 – Trace Cyrus, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1991 – Madison Hubbell, American ice dancer
    • 1991 – Semih Kaya, Turkish footballer
    • 1996 – Royce Freeman, American football player

    Deaths on February 24

    • 616 – Æthelberht of Kent (b. 560)
    • 951 – Liu Yun, Chinese governor (jiedushi)
    • 1018 – Borrell, bishop of Vic
    • 1114 – Thomas, archbishop of York
    • 1386 – Charles III of Naples (b. 1345)
    • 1496 – Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1445)
    • 1525 – Jacques de La Palice, French nobleman and military officer (b. 1470)
    • 1525 – Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet, French soldier (b. c. 1488)
    • 1525 – Richard de la Pole, last Yorkist claimant to the English throne (b. 1480)
    • 1563 – Francis, Duke of Guise (b. 1519)
    • 1580 – Henry FitzAlan, 19th Earl of Arundel, English nobleman (b. 1511)
    • 1588 – Johann Weyer, Dutch physician and occultist (b. 1515)
    • 1666 – Nicholas Lanier, English composer and painter (b. 1588)
    • 1685 – Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Cumberland (b. 1629)
    • 1704 – Marc-Antoine Charpentier, French composer (b. 1643)
    • 1714 – Edmund Andros, English courtier and politician, 4th Colonial Governor of New York (b. 1637)
    • 1721 – John Sheffield, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Normanby, English poet and politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1648)
    • 1732 – Francis Charteris, Scottish soldier (b. 1675)
    • 1777 – Joseph I of Portugal (b. 1714)
    • 1785 – Carlo Buonaparte, Corsican lawyer and politician (b. 1746)
    • 1799 – Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, German physicist and academic (b. 1742)
    • 1810 – Henry Cavendish, French-English physicist and chemist (b. 1731)
    • 1812 – Étienne-Louis Malus, French physicist and mathematician (b. 1775)
    • 1815 – Robert Fulton, American engineer (b. 1765)
    • 1825 – Thomas Bowdler, English physician and philanthropist (b. 1754)
    • 1856 – Nikolai Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1792)
    • 1876 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts, American-Liberian politician, 1st President of Liberia (b. 1809)
    • 1879 – Shiranui Kōemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 11th Yokozuna (b. 1825)
    • 1910 – Osman Hamdi Bey, Greek archaeologist and painter (b. 1842)
    • 1914 – Joshua Chamberlain, American general and politician, 32nd Governor of Maine (b. 1828)
    • 1925 – Hjalmar Branting, Swedish journalist and politician, 16th Prime Minister of Sweden, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1860)
    • 1927 – Edward Marshall Hall, English lawyer and politician (b. 1858)
    • 1929 – André Messager, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1853)
    • 1930 – Hermann von Ihering, German-Brazilian zoologist (b. 1850)
    • 1953 – Robert La Follette Jr., American politician, senator of Wisconsin (b. 1895)
    • 1953 – Gerd von Rundstedt, German field marshal (b. 1875)
    • 1967 – Mir Osman Ali Khan, Last Nizam of Hyderabad State (b. 1886)
    • 1970 – Conrad Nagel, American actor (b. 1897)
    • 1974 – Margaret Leech, American historian and author (b. 1895)
    • 1975 – Hans Bellmer, German artist (b. 1902)
    • 1975 – Nikolai Bulganin, Russian marshal and politician, 6th Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1895)
    • 1978 – Alma Thomas, American painter and educator (b.1891)
    • 1982 – Virginia Bruce, American actress (b. 1910)
    • 1986 – Rukmini Devi Arundale, Indian Bharatnatyam dancer (b. 1904)
    • 1986 – Tommy Douglas, Scottish-Canadian minister and politician, 7th Premier of Saskatchewan (b. 1904)
    • 1990 – Tony Conigliaro, American baseball player (b. 1945)
    • 1990 – Malcolm Forbes, American sergeant and publisher (b. 1917)
    • 1990 – Sandro Pertini, Italian journalist and politician, 7th President of Italy (b. 1896)
    • 1990 – Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1927)
    • 1991 – John Daly, American journalist and game show host (b. 1914)
    • 1991 – George Gobel, American actor (b. 1919)
    • 1991 – Webb Pierce, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1921)
    • 1993 – Danny Gallivan, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1917)
    • 1993 – Bobby Moore, English footballer and manager (b. 1941)
    • 1994 – Jean Sablon, French singer and actor (b. 1906)
    • 1994 – Dinah Shore, American actress and singer (b. 1916)
    • 1998 – Antonio Prohías, Cuban-American cartoonist (b. 1921)
    • 1998 – Henny Youngman, English-American comedian and violinist (b. 1906)
    • 1999 – Andre Dubus, American short story writer, essayist, and memoirist (b. 1936)
    • 2001 – Theodore Marier, American composer and educator, founded the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (b. 1912)
    • 2001 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician, cryptographer, and engineer (b. 1916)
    • 2002 – Leo Ornstein, Ukrainian-American pianist and composer (b. 1893)
    • 2004 – John Randolph, American actor (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Coşkun Kırca, Turkish diplomat, journalist and politician (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Octavia E. Butler, American author and educator (b. 1947)
    • 2006 – Don Knotts, American actor and comedian (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – John Martin, Canadian broadcaster, co-founded MuchMusic (b. 1947)
    • 2006 – Dennis Weaver, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1924)
    • 2007 – Bruce Bennett, American shot putter and actor (b. 1906)
    • 2007 – Damien Nash, American football player (b. 1982)
    • 2008 – Larry Norman, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1947)
    • 2010 – Dawn Brancheau, senior animal trainer at SeaWorld (b. 1969)
    • 2011 – Anant Pai, Indian author and illustrator (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Agnes Allen, American baseball player and therapist (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Oliver Wrong, English nephrologist and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Virgil Johnson, American singer (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Con Martin, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Franny Beecher, American guitarist (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Alexis Hunter, New Zealand-English painter and photographer (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Carlos Páez Vilaró, Uruguayan painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Harold Ramis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – Mefodiy, Ukrainian metropolitan (b. 1949)
    • 2015 – Rakhat Aliyev, Kazakh politician and diplomat (b. 1962)
    • 2016 – Peter Kenilorea, Solomon Islands politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (b. 1943)
    • 2016 – Nabil Maleh, Syrian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1936)
    • 2016 – George C. Nichopoulos, American soldier and physician (b. 1927)
    • 2018 – Sridevi, Indian actress (b. 1963)
    • 2020 – Katherine Johnson, American physicist and mathematician (b. 1918)

    Holidays and observances on February 24

    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed Ascensión Nicol y Goñi
      • Lindel Tsen and Paul Sasaki (Anglican Church of Canada)
      • Modest (bishop of Trier)
      • Sergius of Cappadocia
      • February 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Dragobete (Romania)
    • Engineer’s Day (Iran)
    • Flag Day in Mexico
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Estonia from the Russian Empire in 1918; the Soviet period is considered to have been an illegal annexation.
    • National Artist Day (Thailand)

  • February 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
    • 356 – Emperor Constantius II issues a decree closing all pagan temples in the Roman Empire.
    • 1594 – Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592.
    • 1600 – The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.
    • 1649 – The Second Battle of Guararapes takes place, effectively ending Dutch colonization efforts in Brazil.
    • 1674 – England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, and it is renamed New York.
    • 1726 – The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
    • 1807 – Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama and confined to Fort Stoddert.
    • 1819 – British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands and claims them in the name of King George III.
    • 1836 – King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia.
    • 1846 – In Austin, Texas the newly formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following the annexation of Texas by the United States.
    • 1847 – The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.
    • 1859 – Daniel E. Sickles, a New York Congressman, is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity.
    • 1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
    • 1884 – More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.
    • 1913 – Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.
    • 1915 – World War I: The first naval attack on the Dardanelles begins when a strong Anglo-French task force bombards Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.
    • 1937 – Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Ethiopian nationalists of Eritrean origin attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.
    • 1942 – World War II: Nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin, killing 243 people.
    • 1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps.
    • 1943 – World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.
    • 1945 – World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.
    • 1948 – The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta.
    • 1949 – Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.
    • 1953 – Book censorship in the United States: The Georgia Literature Commission is established.
    • 1954 – Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
    • 1959 – The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
    • 1960 – China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket.
    • 1963 – The publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique reawakens the feminist movement in the United States as women’s organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.
    • 1965 – Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Viet Minh, along with Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Trần Thiện Khiêm, all Catholics, attempt a coup against the military junta of the Buddhist Nguyễn Khánh.
    • 1976 – Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford’s Proclamation 4417.
    • 1978 – Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat.
    • 1985 – William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital.
    • 1985 – Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148.
    • 1986 – Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka.
    • 1989 – Flying Tiger Line flight 66 crashes into a hill near Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Malaysia, killing four.
    • 2002 – NASA’s Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
    • 2003 – An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275.
    • 2006 – A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, kills 65 miners.
    • 2011 – The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artifacts found in one location, begins in Singapore.
    • 2012 – Forty-four people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico.

    Births on February 19

    • 1461 – Domenico Grimani, Italian cardinal (d. 1523)
    • 1473 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (d. 1543)
    • 1497 – Matthäus Schwarz, German fashion writer (d. 1574)
    • 1519 – Froben Christoph of Zimmern, German author of the Zimmern Chronicle (d. 1566)
    • 1526 – Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist and academic (d. 1609)
    • 1532 – Jean-Antoine de Baïf, French poet (d. 1589)
    • 1552 – Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal (d. 1630)
    • 1594 – Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (d. 1612)
    • 1611 – Andries de Graeff, Dutch politician (d. 1678)
    • 1630 – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Indian warrior king and the founder of Maratha Empire
    • 1660 – Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (d. 1742)
    • 1717 – David Garrick, English actor, playwright, and producer (d. 1779)
    • 1743 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
    • 1798 – Allan MacNab, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Premier of Canada West (d. 1862)
    • 1800 – Émilie Gamelin, Canadian nun and social worker, founded the Sisters of Providence (d. 1851)
    • 1804 – Carl von Rokitansky, German physician, pathologist, and philosopher (d. 1878)
    • 1821 – August Schleicher, German linguist and academic (d. 1868)
    • 1833 – Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
    • 1838 – Lydia Thompson, British burlesque performer (d. 1908)
    • 1841 – Elfrida Andrée, Swedish organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1929)
    • 1855 – Nishinoumi Kajirō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 16th Yokozuna (d. 1908)
    • 1859 – Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
    • 1865 – Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer and explorer (d. 1952)
    • 1869 – Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian-Russian poet and author (d. 1923)
    • 1872 – Johan Pitka, Estonian admiral (d. 1944)
    • 1876 – Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer (d. 1957)
    • 1877 – Gabriele Münter, German painter (d. 1962)
    • 1878 – Harriet Bosse, Swedish–Norwegian actress (d. 1961)
    • 1880 – Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and politician, 39th President of Mexico (d. 1928)
    • 1886 – José Abad Santos, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (d. 1942)
    • 1888 – José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian lawyer and poet (d. 1928)
    • 1893 – Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director (d. 1964)
    • 1895 – Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956)
    • 1896 – André Breton, French poet and author (d. 1966)
    • 1897 – Alma Rubens, American actress (d. 1931)
    • 1899 – Lucio Fontana, Argentinian-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
    • 1902 – Kay Boyle, American novelist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1992)
    • 1904 – Havank, Dutch journalist and author (d. 1964)
    • 1904 – Elisabeth Welch, American-English singer and actress (d. 2003)
    • 1911 – Merle Oberon, Indian-American actress (d. 1979)
    • 1912 – Dorothy Janis, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1912 – Saul Chaplin, American composer (d. 1997)
    • 1913 – Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (d. 2007)
    • 1913 – Frank Tashlin, American animator and screenwriter (d. 1972)
    • 1914 – Thelma Kench, New Zealand Olympic sprinter (d. 1985)
    • 1915 – John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (d. 2014)
    • 1916 – Eddie Arcaro, American jockey and sportscaster (d. 1997)
    • 1917 – Carson McCullers, American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and essayist (d. 1967)
    • 1918 – Fay McKenzie, American actress (d. 2019)
    • 1920 – C. Z. Guest, American actress, fashion designer, and author (d. 2003)
    • 1920 – Jaan Kross, Estonian author and poet (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – George Rose, English actor and singer (d. 1988)
    • 1922 – Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
    • 1924 – David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player and theoretician (d. 2006)
    • 1924 – Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1926 – György Kurtág, Hungarian composer and academic
    • 1927 – Philippe Boiry, French journalist (d. 2014)
    • 1929 – Jacques Deray, French director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1930 – John Frankenheimer, American director and producer (d. 2002)
    • 1930 – Kasinathuni Viswanath, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1932 – Joseph P. Kerwin, American captain, physician, and astronaut
    • 1935 – Dave Niehaus, American sportscaster (d. 2010)
    • 1935 – Russ Nixon, American MLB catcher and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1936 – Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1936 – Frederick Seidel, American poet
    • 1937 – Terry Carr, American author and educator (d. 1987)
    • 1937 – Norm O’Neill, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2008)
    • 1938 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (d. 1989)
    • 1939 – Erin Pizzey, English activist and author, founded Refuge
    • 1940 – Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006)
    • 1940 – Smokey Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1940 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – David Gross, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1941 – Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge, English politician
    • 1942 – Cyrus Chothia, English biochemist and emeritus scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Paul Krause, American football player and politician
    • 1942 – Howard Stringer, Welsh businessman
    • 1942 – Will Provine, American biologist, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1943 – Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter
    • 1943 – Homer Hickam, American author and engineer
    • 1943 – Tim Hunt, English biochemist and academic, Nobel laureate
    • 1944 – Les Hinton, English-American journalist and businessman
    • 1945 – Yuri Antonov, Uzbek-Russian singer-songwriter
    • 1946 – Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist
    • 1946 – Peter Hudson, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1946 – Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist (d. 1974)
    • 1947 – Jackie Curtis, American actress and playwright (d. 1985)
    • 1947 – Tim Shadbolt, New Zealand businessman and politician, 42nd Mayor of Invercargill
    • 1948 – Mark Andes, American singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1948 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (d. 2002)
    • 1948 – Tony Iommi, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1949 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (d. 1998)
    • 1949 – Eddie Hardin, English singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2015)
    • 1949 – Barry Lloyd, English footballer, midfielder and manager
    • 1949 – William Messner-Loebs, American author and illustrator
    • 1950 – Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1950 – Andy Powell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1951 – Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani scholar and politician, founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran
    • 1952 – Ryū Murakami, Japanese novelist and filmmaker
    • 1952 – Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican engineer and astronaut
    • 1952 – Gary Seear, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2018)
    • 1952 – Dave Cheadle, American baseball player (d. 2012)
    • 1952 – Amy Tan, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
    • 1952 – Danilo Türk, Slovene academic and politician, 3rd President of Slovenia
    • 1953 – Corrado Barazzutti, Italian tennis player
    • 1953 – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentine lawyer and politician, former President of Argentina and current Vice President of Argentina
    • 1953 – Massimo Troisi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
    • 1954 – Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2011)
    • 1954 – Francis Buchholz, German bass player
    • 1954 – Michael Gira, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1955 – Jeff Daniels, American actor and playwright
    • 1956 – Kathleen Beller, American actress
    • 1956 – Peter Holsapple, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1956 – Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1956 – Dave Wakeling, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Falco, Austrian singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician (d. 1998)
    • 1957 – Dave Stewart, American baseball player and coach
    • 1957 – Ray Winstone, English actor
    • 1958 – Tommy Cairo, American wrestler
    • 1958 – Helen Fielding, English author and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Steve Nieve, English keyboard player and composer
    • 1959 – Roger Goodell, American businessman
    • 1960 – Prince Andrew, Duke of York
    • 1960 – John Paul Jr., American race car driver
    • 1961 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (d. 1998)
    • 1961 – Ernie Gonzalez, American golfer
    • 1962 – Hana Mandlíková, Czech-Australian tennis player and coach
    • 1963 – Seal, English singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Jessica Tuck, American actress
    • 1964 – Doug Aldrich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1964 – Jonathan Lethem, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
    • 1965 – Jon Fishman, American drummer
    • 1965 – Clark Hunt, American businessman
    • 1965 – Leroy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1966 – Justine Bateman, American actress and producer
    • 1966 – Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player and coach
    • 1966 – Eduardo Xol, American designer and author
    • 1967 – Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican-American actor, director, and producer
    • 1968 – Frank Watkins, American bass player (d. 2015)
    • 1968 – Prince Markie Dee, American rapper and actor
    • 1969 – Burton C. Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1969 – Helena Guergis, Canadian businesswoman and politician
    • 1970 – Joacim Cans, Swedish singer-songwriter
    • 1971 – Miguel Batista, Dominican baseball player and poet
    • 1971 – Richard Green, Australian golfer
    • 1971 – Jeff Kinney, American author and illustrator
    • 1972 – Francine Fournier, American wrestler and manager
    • 1972 – Sunset Thomas, American pornographic actress
    • 1975 – Daniel Adair, Canadian drummer and producer
    • 1975 – Daewon Song, South Korean-American skateboarder, co-founded Almost Skateboards
    • 1977 – Ola Salo, Swedish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1977 – Andrew Ross Sorkin, American journalist and author
    • 1977 – Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Ben Gummer, English scholar and politician
    • 1978 – Immortal Technique, Peruvian-American rapper
    • 1979 – Steve Cherundolo, American soccer player and manager
    • 1980 – Dwight Freeney, American football player
    • 1980 – Ma Lin, Chinese table tennis player
    • 1980 – Mike Miller, American basketball player
    • 1981 – Beth Ditto, American singer
    • 1983 – Kotoōshū Katsunori, Bulgarian sumo wrestler
    • 1983 – Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1983 – Ryan Whitney, American ice hockey player
    • 1984 – Chris Richardson, American singer-songwriter
    • 1985 – Haylie Duff, American actress and singer
    • 1986 – Kyle Chipchura, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Marta, Brazilian footballer
    • 1986 – Maria Mena, Norwegian singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Michael Schwimer, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Anna Cappellini, Italian ice dancer
    • 1988 – Shawn Matthias, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Seth Morrison, American guitarist
    • 1989 – Sone Aluko, Anglo-Nigerian international footballer, forward/winger
    • 1991 – Christoph Kramer, German national footballer
    • 1991 – Trevor Bayne, American race car driver
    • 1992 – Camille Kostek, American model
    • 1993 – Mauro Icardi, Argentinian footballer
    • 1993 – Victoria Justice, American actress and singer
    • 1994 – Sam Lisone, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player
    • 1994 – Tiina Trutsi, Estonian footballer
    • 1995 – Nikola Jokić, Serbian basketball player
    • 1998 – Katharina Gerlach, German tennis player
    • 2001 – David Mazouz, American actor
    • 2004 – Millie Bobby Brown, English actress

    Deaths on February 19

    • 197 – Clodius Albinus, Roman usurper (b. 150)
    • 446 – Leontius of Trier, Bishop of Trier
    • 1133 – Irene Doukaina, Byzantine wife of Alexios I Komnenos (b. 1066)
    • 1275 – Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sufi philosopher and poet (b. 1177)
    • 1300 – Munio of Zamora, General of the Dominican Order
    • 1408 – Thomas Bardolf, 5th Baron Bardolf, English rebel
    • 1414 – Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1353)
    • 1445 – Leonor of Aragon, queen of Portugal (b. 1402)
    • 1491 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (b. 1460)
    • 1553 – Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511)
    • 1602 – Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur (b. 1558)
    • 1605 – Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (b. 1550)
    • 1622 – Henry Savile, English scholar and politician (b. 1549)
    • 1672 – Charles Chauncy, English-American minister, theologian, and academic (b. 1592)
    • 1709 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (b. 1646)
    • 1716 – Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (b. 1634)
    • 1785 – Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (b. 1701)
    • 1789 – Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and politician, 7th Governor of Delaware (b. 1738)
    • 1799 – Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (b. 1733)
    • 1806 – Elizabeth Carter, English poet and translator (b. 1717)
    • 1837 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (b. 1813)
    • 1837 – Thomas Burgess, English bishop and philosopher (b. 1756)
    • 1887 – Multatuli, Dutch-German author and civil servant (b. 1820)
    • 1897 – Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician and academic (b. 1815)
    • 1915 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian philosopher and politician (b. 1866)
    • 1916 – Ernst Mach, Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (b. 1838)
    • 1927 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (b. 1847)
    • 1928 – George Howard Earle Jr., American lawyer and businessman (b. 1856)
    • 1936 – Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (b. 1879)
    • 1945 – John Basilone, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1916)
    • 1951 – André Gide, French novelist, essayist, and dramatist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
    • 1952 – Knut Hamsun, Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
    • 1953 – Richard Rushall, British businessman (b. 1864)
    • 1957 – Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (b. 1871)
    • 1959 – Willard Miller, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1877)
    • 1962 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the Pap smear (b. 1883)
    • 1969 – Madge Blake, American actress (b. 1899)
    • 1970 – Ralph Edward Flanders, (b. 1890) US Senator from Vermont.
    • 1972 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (b. 1898)
    • 1972 – Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1938)
    • 1973 – Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (b. 1892)
    • 1977 – Anthony Crosland, English captain and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b. 1918)
    • 1977 – Mike González, Cuban baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
    • 1980 – Bon Scott, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 1983 – Alice White, American actress (b. 1904)
    • 1988 – André Frédéric Cournand, French-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
    • 1992 – Tojo Yamamoto, American wrestler and manager (b. 1927)
    • 1994 – Derek Jarman, English director and set designer (b. 1942)
    • 1996 – Charlie Finley, American businessman (b. 1918)
    • 1997 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (b. 1908)
    • 1997 – Deng Xiaoping, Chinese politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1904)
    • 1998 – Grandpa Jones, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1913)
    • 1999 – Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric (b. 1943)
    • 2000 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-New Zealand painter and illustrator (b. 1928)
    • 2001 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (b. 1913)
    • 2001 – Charles Trenet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender LGBT activist (b. 1951)
    • 2003 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)
    • 2007 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian dancer and director, founded the National Ballet of Canada (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Yegor Letov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1964)
    • 2008 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress and singer (b. 1945)
    • 2009 – Kelly Groucutt, English singer and bass player (b. 1945)
    • 2011 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Ruth Barcan Marcus, American philosopher and logician (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Jaroslav Velinský, Czech author and songwriter (b. 1932)
    • 2012 – Vitaly Vorotnikov, Russian politician, 27th Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (b. 1914)
    • 2013 – Park Chul-soo, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
    • 2013 – Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1937)
    • 2013 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Eugene Whelan, Canadian farmer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – Kresten Bjerre, Danish footballer and manager (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Dale Gardner, American captain and astronaut (b. 1948)
    • 2014 – Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Harold Johnson, American boxer (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Nirad Mohapatra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Harris Wittels, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1984)
    • 2016 – Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (b. 1932)
    • 2016 – Harper Lee, American author (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Chiaki Morosawa, Japanese anime screenwriter (b. 1959)
    • 2016 – Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (b. 1923)
    • 2017 – Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (b. 1943)
    • 2019 – Clark Dimond, American musician and author (b. 1941)
    • 2019 – Karl Lagerfeld, German fashion designer (b. 1933)
    • 2020 – José Mojica Marins, Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and television horror host Coffin Joe. (b. 1936)
    • 2020 – Pop Smoke, American rapper (b. 1999)

    Holidays and observances on February 19

    • Armed Forces Day (Mexico)
    • Brâncuși Day (Romania)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Barbatus of Benevento
      • Boniface of Brussels
      • Conrad of Piacenza
      • Lucy Yi Zhenmei (one of Martyrs of Guizhou)
      • February 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Commemoration of Vasil Levski (Bulgaria)
    • Flag Day (Turkmenistan)
    • Shivaji Jayanti (Maharashtra, India)9

  • February 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1229 – The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, signs a ten-year truce with al-Kamil, regaining Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem with neither military engagements nor support from the papacy.
    • 1268 – The Battle of Wesenberg is fought between the Livonian Order and Dovmont of Pskov.
    • 1332 – Amda Seyon I, Emperor of Ethiopia begins his campaigns in the southern Muslim provinces.
    • 1478 – George, Duke of Clarence, convicted of treason against his older brother Edward IV of England, is executed in private at the Tower of London.
    • 1637 – Eighty Years’ War: Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.
    • 1781 – Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: Captain Thomas Shirley opens his expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa (present-day Ghana).
    • 1791 – Congress passes a law admitting the state of Vermont to the Union, effective 4 March, after that state had existed for 14 years as a de facto independent largely unrecognized state.
    • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: Sir Ralph Abercromby and a fleet of 18 British warships invade Trinidad.
    • 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Montereau.
    • 1861 – In Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
    • 1861 – With Italian unification almost complete, Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia assumes the title of King of Italy.
    • 1873 – Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities.
    • 1878 – John Tunstall is murdered by outlaw Jesse Evans, sparking the Lincoln County War in Lincoln County, New Mexico.
    • 1885 – Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is published in the United States.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: Imperial forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.
    • 1906 – Édouard de Laveleye forms the Belgian Olympic Committee in Brussels.
    • 1911 – The first official flight with airmail takes place from Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) away.
    • 1930 – While studying photographs taken in January, Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.
    • 1930 – Elm Farm Ollie becomes the first cow to fly in a fixed-wing aircraft and also the first cow to be milked in an aircraft.
    • 1932 – The Empire of Japan creates the independent state of Manzhouguo (the obsolete Chinese name for Manchuria) free from the Republic of China and installed former Chinese Emperor Aisin Gioro Puyi as Chief Executive of the State.
    • 1938 – Second Sino-Japanese War: During the Nanking Massacre, the Nanking Safety Zone International Committee is renamed “Nanking International Rescue Committee”, and the safety zone in place for refugees falls apart.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army begins the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Nazis arrest the members of the White Rose movement.
    • 1943 – World War II: Joseph Goebbels delivers his Sportpalast speech.
    • 1946 – Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay harbour, from where the action spreads throughout the Provinces of British India, involving 78 ships, twenty shore establishments and 20,000 sailors
    • 1947 – First Indochina War: The French gain complete control of Hanoi after forcing the Viet Minh to withdraw to mountains.
    • 1954 – The first Church of Scientology is established in Los Angeles.
    • 1955 – Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot “Wasp” is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series.
    • 1957 – Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is executed by the British colonial government.
    • 1957 – Walter James Bolton becomes the last person legally executed in New Zealand.
    • 1965 – The Gambia becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
    • 1970 – The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
    • 1972 – The California Supreme Court in the case of People v. Anderson, (6 Cal.3d 628) invalidates the state’s death penalty and commutes the sentences of all death row inmates to life imprisonment.
    • 1977 – The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight” on top of a Boeing 747.
    • 1979 – Richard Petty wins a then-record sixth Daytona 500 after leaders Donnie Allison and Cale Yarborough crash on the final lap of the first NASCAR race televised live flag-to-flag.
    • 1983 – Thirteen people die and one is seriously injured in the Wah Mee massacre in Seattle. It is said to be the largest robbery-motivated mass-murder in U.S. history.
    • 1991 – The IRA explodes bombs in the early morning at Paddington station and Victoria station in London.
    • 2001 – FBI agent Robert Hanssen is arrested for spying for the Soviet Union. He is ultimately convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.
    • 2001 – Sampit conflict: Inter-ethnic violence between Dayaks and Madurese breaks out in Sampit, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, ultimately resulting in more than 500 deaths and 100,000 Madurese displaced from their homes.
    • 2003 – Nearly 200 people die in the Daegu subway fire in South Korea.
    • 2004 – Up to 295 people, including nearly 200 rescue workers, die near Nishapur, Iran, when a runaway freight train carrying sulfur, petrol and fertilizer catches fire and explodes.
    • 2007 – Samjhauta Express bombings occurred around midnight in Diwana near the Indian city of Panipat, 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of New Delhi, India.
    • 2010 – WikiLeaks publishes the first of hundreds of thousands of classified documents disclosed by the soldier now known as Chelsea Manning.
    • 2013 – Armed robbers steal a haul of diamonds worth $50 million during a raid at Brussels Airport in Belgium.
    • 2014 – At least 76 people are killed and hundreds are injured in clashes between riot police and demonstrators in Kiev, Ukraine.

    Births on February 18

    • 1201 – Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, Persian scientist and writer (d. 1274)
    • 1372 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (d. 1448)
    • 1486 – Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Indian monk and saint (d. 1534)
    • 1516 – Mary I of England (d. 1558)
    • 1530 – Uesugi Kenshin, Japanese daimyō (d. 1578)
    • 1543 – Charles III, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1608)
    • 1547 – Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī, founder of Isfahan School of Islamic Philosophy (d. 1621)
    • 1559 – Isaac Casaubon, Swiss philologist and scholar (d. 1614)
    • 1589 – Henry Vane the Elder, English politician (d. 1655)
    • 1589 – Maarten Gerritsz Vries, Dutch explorer (d. 1646)
    • 1602 – Per Brahe the Younger, Swedish soldier and politician, Governor-General of Finland (d. 1680)
    • 1609 – Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon, English historian and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1674)
    • 1626 – Francesco Redi, Italian physician (d. 1697)
    • 1632 – Giovanni Battista Vitali, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1692)
    • 1642 – Marie Champmeslé, French actress (d. 1698)
    • 1658 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French philosopher and author (d. 1743)
    • 1732 – Johann Christian Kittel, German organist and composer (d. 1809)
    • 1745 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist, invented the battery (d. 1827)
    • 1814 – Samuel Fenton Cary, American lawyer and politician (d. 1900)
    • 1817 – Lewis Armistead, American general (d. 1863)
    • 1836 – Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Indian mystic and yogi (d. 1886)
    • 1838 – Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist and philosopher (d. 1916)
    • 1846 – Wilson Barrett, English actor, playwright, and manager (d. 1904)
    • 1848 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (d. 1933)
    • 1849 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author, playwright, and politician (d. 1906)
    • 1850 – George Henschel, German-English singer-songwriter, pianist, and conductor (d. 1934)
    • 1855 – Jean Jules Jusserand, French historian, author, and diplomat, French Ambassador to the United States (d. 1932)
    • 1860 – Anders Zorn, Swedish artist (d. 1920)
    • 1862 – Charles M. Schwab, American businessman, co-founded Bethlehem Steel (d. 1939)
    • 1867 – Hedwig Courths-Mahler, German writer (d. 1950)
    • 1870 – William Laurel Harris, American painter and author (d. 1924)
    • 1871 – Harry Brearley, English inventor (d. 1948)
    • 1883 – Nikos Kazantzakis, Greek philosopher, author, and playwright (d. 1957)
    • 1885 – Henri Laurens, French sculptor and illustrator (d. 1954)
    • 1893 – Maksim Haretski, Belarusian prose writer, journalist and activist (d. 1938)
    • 1890 – Edward Arnold, American actor (d. 1956)
    • 1890 – Adolphe Menjou, American actor (d. 1963)
    • 1892 – Wendell Willkie, American captain, lawyer, and politician (d. 1944)
    • 1896 – Li Linsi, Chinese educator and diplomat (d. 1970)
    • 1898 – Enzo Ferrari, Italian race car driver and businessman, founded Ferrari (d. 1988)
    • 1898 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican poet and politician, 1st Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (d. 1980)
    • 1899 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (d. 1985)
    • 1903 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (d. 1983)
    • 1905 – Queenie Leonard, English actress (d. 2002)
    • 1906 – Hans Asperger, Austrian pediatrician and academic (d. 1980)
    • 1909 – Wallace Stegner, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1993)
    • 1914 – Pee Wee King, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2000)
    • 1915 – Phyllis Calvert, English actress (d. 2002)
    • 1916 – Jean Drapeau, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1999)
    • 1919 – Jack Palance, American boxer and actor (d. 2006)
    • 1920 – Bill Cullen, American game show panelist and host (d. 1990)
    • 1920 – Rolande Falcinelli, French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Mary Amdur, American toxicologist and public health researcher (d. 1998)
    • 1921 – Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian pianist and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Eric Gairy, Grenadan politician, 1st Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 1997)
    • 1922 – Helen Gurley Brown, American journalist and author (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Allan Melvin, American actor (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – George Kennedy, American actor (d. 2016)
    • 1925 – Halit Kıvanç, Turkish journalist and sportscaster
    • 1925 – Ghafar Baba, Malaysian politician (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (d. 1976)
    • 1927 – Luis Arroyo, Puerto Rican-American baseball player, manager, and scout (d. 2016)
    • 1927 – Fazal Mahmood, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2005)
    • 1927 – John Warner, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 61st United States Secretary of the Navy
    • 1928 – Rex Mossop, Australian rugby player and sportscaster (d. 2011)
    • 1929 – Len Deighton, English historian and author
    • 1929 – André Mathieu, Canadian pianist and composer (d. 1968)
    • 1931 – Johnny Hart, American cartoonist, co-created The Wizard of Id (d. 2007)
    • 1931 – Toni Morrison, American novelist and editor, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019).
    • 1931 – Swraj Paul, Baron Paul, Indian-English businessman and philanthropist
    • 1931 – John Ryden, Scottish footballer, centre half (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Bob St. Clair, American football player (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Miloš Forman, Czech-American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1933 – Yoko Ono, Japanese-American multimedia artist and musician
    • 1933 – Bobby Robson, English international footballer, inside forward and international manager (d. 2009)
    • 1933 – Mary Ure, Scottish-English actress (d. 1975)
    • 1934 – Skip Battin, American singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2003)
    • 1934 – Dave Dunmore, English footballer, centre forward
    • 1934 – Audre Lorde, American poet, essayist, memoirist, and activist (d. 1992)
    • 1934 – Paco Rabanne, Spanish-French fashion designer
    • 1936 – Jean M. Auel, American author
    • 1938 – Manny Mota, Dominican baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1938 – Sadanoyama Shinmatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 50th Yokozuna (d. 2017)
    • 1938 – István Szabó, Hungarian director and screenwriter
    • 1939 – Claude Ake, Nigerian political scientist and academic (d. 1996)
    • 1939 – Bobby Hart, American singer-songwriter
    • 1939 – Marlos Nobre, Brazilian composer
    • 1940 – Fabrizio De André, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
    • 1940 – Prue Leith, English restaurateur and journalist
    • 1941 – Herman Santiago, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter
    • 1941 – Irma Thomas, American singer
    • 1943 – Graeme Garden, Scottish comedian, actor, and author
    • 1944 – Pat Bowlen, American businessman (d. 2019)
    • 1945 – Judy Rankin, American golfer and sportscaster
    • 1946 – Michael Buerk, English journalist
    • 1947 – Dennis DeYoung, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1947 – Eliot Engel, American educator and politician
    • 1948 – Sinéad Cusack, Irish actress
    • 1948 – Bruce Francis, Australian cricketer
    • 1948 – Keith Knudsen, American singer-songwriter and drummer (d. 2005)
    • 1949 – Gary Ridgway, American criminal, Green River Killer
    • 1950 – Nana Amba Eyiaba I, Ghanaian queen mother and advocate
    • 1950 – Cristina Ferrare, American model, actress, author, and television host
    • 1950 – John Hughes, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
    • 1950 – Cybill Shepherd, American actress and singer
    • 1951 – Queen Komal of Nepal
    • 1951 – Isabel Preysler, Filipino-Spanish journalist
    • 1952 – Randy Crawford, American jazz and R&B singer
    • 1952 – Maurice Lucas, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
    • 1952 – Juice Newton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1952 – Bernard Valcourt, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1953 – Robbie Bachman, Canadian rock drummer
    • 1953 – Derek Pellicci, English-Australian drummer
    • 1954 – Charlie Fowler, American mountaineer, author, and photographer (d. 2006)
    • 1954 – Paul Rendall, English rugby player
    • 1954 – John Travolta, American actor and producer
    • 1955 – Cheetah Chrome, American musician
    • 1955 – Miles Tredinnick, English singer-songwriter and playwright
    • 1955 – Lisa See, American writer and novelist
    • 1956 – Ted Gärdestad, Swedish singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1956 – Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgian businessman and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Georgia
    • 1957 – Marita Koch, German sprinter
    • 1957 – Vanna White, American model and game show host
    • 1959 – Jayne Atkinson, English-American actress
    • 1959 – James Metzger, American businessman and philanthropist
    • 1960 – Andy Moog, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1960 – Greta Scacchi, Italian-Australian actress
    • 1963 – Rob Andrew, English rugby player and cricketer
    • 1964 – Matt Dillon, American actor and director
    • 1964 – Paul Hanley, English drummer and songwriter
    • 1965 – Dr. Dre, American rapper, producer, and actor
    • 1966 – Phillip DeFreitas, Dominican-English cricketer
    • 1967 – Roberto Baggio, Italian footballer
    • 1967 – Colin Jackson, Welsh sprinter and hurdler
    • 1968 – Molly Ringwald, American actress
    • 1969 – Tomaž Humar, Slovenian mountaineer (d. 2009)
    • 1969 – Alexander Mogilny, Russian-American ice hockey player
    • 1970 – Susan Egan, American actress and singer
    • 1970 – James H. Fowler, American political scientist and author
    • 1970 – Raine Maida, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1970 – Massimo Taibi, Italian footballer
    • 1971 – Thomas Bjorn, Danish golfer
    • 1971 – Merritt Gant, American guitarist
    • 1972 – Fabian Picardo, Gibraltarian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Gibraltar
    • 1973 – Shawn Estes, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Claude Makélélé, French footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Carrie Ann Baade, American painter and academic
    • 1974 – Jamey Carroll, American baseball player
    • 1974 – Radek Černý, Czech international footballer, goalkeeper
    • 1974 – Ruby Dhalla, Canadian chiropractor and politician
    • 1974 – Julia Butterfly Hill, American environmentalist and author
    • 1974 – Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Russian tennis player
    • 1974 – Jillian Michaels, American fitness trainer and author
    • 1975 – Gary Neville, English footballer and coach
    • 1976 – Leilani Munter, American race car driver and environmentalist
    • 1976 – Chanda Rubin, American tennis player
    • 1976 – Bernadette Sembrano, Filipino journalist
    • 1978 – Josip Šimunić, Croatian footballer
    • 1979 – Tinu Yohannan, Indian cricketer
    • 1980 – Aivar Anniste, Estonian footballer
    • 1980 – Nik Antropov, Kazakhstani-Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Regina Spektor, Russian-American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1981 – Andrei Kirilenko, Russian basketball player
    • 1981 – Alex Ríos, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Ivan Sproule, Northern Irish footballer
    • 1981 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (d. 2011)
    • 1982 – Juelz Santana, American rapper and actor
    • 1982 – Christian Tiffert, German footballer
    • 1983 – Jermaine Jenas, English international footballer, midfielder, pundit
    • 1984 – Carlos Kameni, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1985 – Anton Ferdinand, English footballer
    • 1985 – Lee Boyd Malvo, Jamaican-American murderer
    • 1985 – Jos van Emden, Dutch cyclist
    • 1986 – Robert DeLong, American singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Marc Torrejón, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Cristian Tănase, Romanian footballer
    • 1988 – Changmin, South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
    • 1990 – Didi Gregorius, Dutch baseball player
    • 1990 – Cody Hodgson, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Sebastian Neumann, German footballer
    • 1991 – Henry Surtees, English race car driver (d. 2009)
    • 1994 – Jake Trbojevic, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – J-Hope, South Korean rapper, dancer, singer-songwriter

    Deaths on February 18

    • 675 – Colmán, bishop of Lindisfarne
    • 814 – Angilbert, Frankish monk and diplomat (b. 760)
    • 901 – Thābit ibn Qurra, Arab astronomer and physician (b. 826)
    • 999 – Gregory V, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 972)
    • 1139 – Yaropolk II, Grand Prince of Kiev (b. 1082)
    • 1218 – Berthold V, duke of Zähringen (b. 1160)
    • 1225 – Hugh Bigod, 3rd Earl of Norfolk, Norman nobleman
    • 1294 – Kublai Khan, Mongol emperor (b. 1215)
    • 1379 – Albert II, duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1318)
    • 1397 – Enguerrand VII, French nobleman (b. 1340)
    • 1405 – Timur, Turco-Mongol ruler (b. 1336)
    • 1455 – Fra Angelico, Italian priest and painter (b. 1395)
    • 1478 – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, English nobleman (b. 1449)
    • 1502 – Hedwig Jagiellon, duchess of Bavaria (b. 1457)
    • 1535 – Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa, German magician, astrologer, and theologian (b. 1486)
    • 1546 – Martin Luther, German priest and theologian, leader of the Protestant Reformation (b. 1483)
    • 1564 – Michelangelo, Italian sculptor and painter (b. 1475)
    • 1654 – Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac, French author (b. 1594)
    • 1658 – John Villiers, 1st Viscount Purbeck, English courtier (b. c. 1591)
    • 1683 – Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem, Dutch painter (b. 1620)
    • 1695 – William Phips, governor of Massachusetts (b. 1650)
    • 1712 – Louis, Dauphin of France, (b. 1682)
    • 1743 – Anna Maria Luisa de’ Medici, Italian noble (b. 1667)
    • 1748 – Otto Ferdinand von Abensberg und Traun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1677)
    • 1772 – Count Johann Hartwig Ernst von Bernstorff, Danish politician (b. 1712)
    • 1778 – Joseph Marie Terray, French economist and politician, Controller-General of Finances (b. 1715)
    • 1780 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (b. 1714)
    • 1788 – John Whitehurst, English geologist and clockmaker (b. 1713)
    • 1803 – Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim, German poet and educator (b. 1719)
    • 1851 – Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician and academic (b. 1804)
    • 1873 – Vasil Levski, Bulgarian activist, founded the Internal Revolutionary Organization (b. 1837)
    • 1880 – Nikolay Zinin, Russian organic chemist (b. 1812)
    • 1893 – Serranus Clinton Hastings, American lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Justice of California (b. 1814)
    • 1902 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American businessman, founded Tiffany & Co. (b. 1812)
    • 1906 – John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company (b. 1830)
    • 1910 – Lucy Stanton, American activist (b. 1831)
    • 1911 – Billy Murdoch, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
    • 1915 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (b. 1843)
    • 1923 – Alois Rašín, Czech economist and politician (b. 1867)
    • 1931 – Milan Šufflay, Croatian historian, author, and politician (b. 1879)
    • 1931 – Louis Wolheim, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1880)
    • 1933 – James J. Corbett, American boxer and actor (b. 1866)
    • 1938 – David King Udall, American missionary and politician (b. 1851)
    • 1942 – Albert Payson Terhune, American journalist and author (b. 1872)
    • 1945 – Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Russian general (b. 1906)
    • 1956 – Gustave Charpentier, French composer (b. 1860)
    • 1957 – Dedan Kimathi, Kenyan rebel leader (b. 1920)
    • 1957 – Henry Norris Russell, American astronomer, astrophysicist, and academic (b. 1877)
    • 1960 – Gertrude Vanderbilt, American stage actress (b. c. 1885)
    • 1964 – Joseph-Armand Bombardier, Canadian inventor and businessman, founded Bombardier Inc. (b. 1907)
    • 1966 – Robert Rossen, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1967 – J. Robert Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (b. 1904)
    • 1969 – Dragiša Cvetković, Serbian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1893)
    • 1973 – Frank Costello, Italian-American gangster (b. 1891)
    • 1976 – Wallace Berman, American painter and illustrator (b. 1926)
    • 1977 – Andy Devine, American actor (b. 1905)
    • 1978 – Maggie McNamara, American actress (b. 1928)
    • 1981 – Jack Northrop, American engineer and businessman, founded the Northrop Corporation (b. 1895)
    • 1982 – Ngaio Marsh, New Zealand author (b. 1895)
    • 1989 – Mildred Burke, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1915)
    • 1990 – Richard de Zoysa, Sri Lankan journalist (b. 1958)
    • 1993 – Jacqueline Hill, English actress (b. 1929)
    • 1995 – Eddie Gilbert, American wrestler (b. 1961)
    • 1995 – Bob Stinson, American guitarist (b. 1959)
    • 1997 – Emily Hahn, American journalist and author (b. 1905)
    • 1998 – Harry Caray, American sportscaster (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Balthus, Polish-Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1908)
    • 2001 – Dale Earnhardt, American stock car racer and team owner (b. 1951)
    • 2001 – Eddie Mathews, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2003 – Isser Harel, Belarusian-Israeli intelligence officer (b. 1912)
    • 2006 – Bill Cowsill, American singer and guitarist (b. 1948)
    • 2008 – Alain Robbe-Grillet, French director, screenwriter, and novelist (b. 1922)
    • 2009 – Tayeb Salih, Sudanese journalist and author (b. 1929)
    • 2009 – Miika Tenkula, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1974)
    • 2010 – John Babcock, Canadian soldier (b. 1900)
    • 2012 – George Brizan, Grenadian politician, 9th Prime Minister of Grenada (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Elizabeth Connell, South African-English soprano (b. 1946)
    • 2013 – Kevin Ayers, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1944)
    • 2013 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Mavis Gallant, Canadian-French author and playwright (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Kristof Goddaert, Belgian cyclist (b. 1986)
    • 2014 – Nikhil Baran Sengupta, Indian art director and production designer (b. 1943)
    • 2014 – Maria Franziska von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (b. 1914)
    • 2015 – Cass Ballenger, American lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Jerome Kersey, American basketball player and coach (b. 1962)
    • 2016 – Abdul Rashid Khan, Indian singer-songwriter (b. 1908)
    • 2016 – Pantelis Pantelidis, Greek singer (b. 1983)
    • 2017 – Ivan Koloff, Canadian wrestler (b. 1942)
    • 2017 – Norma McCorvey, American abortion rights activist; Plaintiff, Roe v. Wade (b. 1947)
    • 2017 – Clyde Stubblefield, American drummer (b. 1943)
    • 2019 – Alessandro Mendini, Italian designer and architect (b.1931)

    Holidays and observances on February 18

    • Christian feast day:
      • Bernadette Soubirous (France)
      • Colmán of Lindisfarne
      • Flavian of Constantinople
      • Geltrude Comensoli
      • Simeon of Jerusalem (Western Christianity)
      • February 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Dialect Day (Amami Islands, Japan)
    • Independence Day, celebrates the independence of the Gambia from the United Kingdom in 1965.
    • Kurdish Students Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
    • National Democracy Day, celebrates the 1951 overthrow of the Rana dynasty (Nepal)
    • Wife’s Day (Konudagur) (Iceland)

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

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

    Births on February 1

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

    Deaths on February 1

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

    Holidays and observances on February 1

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

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

    • 904 – Sergius III is consecrated pope, after coming out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed antipope Christopher.
    • 946 – Caliph Al-Mustakfi is blinded and deposed by Emir Mu’izz al-Dawla, ruler of the Buyid Empire. He is succeeded by Al-Muti as caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate.
    • 1258 – First Mongol invasion of Đại Việt: Đại Việt defeats the Mongols at the battle of Đông Bộ Đầu, forcing the Mongols to withdraw from the country.
    • 1814 – War of the Sixth Coalition: France defeats Russia and Prussia in the Battle of Brienne.
    • 1819 – Stamford Raffles lands on the island of Singapore.
    • 1845 – “The Raven” is published in The Evening Mirror in New York, the first publication with the name of the author, Edgar Allan Poe.
    • 1850 – Henry Clay introduces the Compromise of 1850 to the U.S. Congress.
    • 1856 – Queen Victoria issues a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual that establishes the Victoria Cross to recognise acts of valour by British military personnel during the Crimean War.
    • 1861 – Kansas is admitted as the 34th U.S. state.
    • 1863 – The Bear River Massacre: A detachment of California Volunteers led by Colonel Patrick Edward Connor engage the Shoshone at Bear River, Washington Territory, killing hundreds of men, women and children.
    • 1886 – Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
    • 1891 – Liliuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
    • 1907 – Charles Curtis of Kansas becomes the first Native American U.S. Senator.
    • 1911 – Mexican Revolution: Mexicali is captured by the Mexican Liberal Party, igniting the Magonista rebellion of 1911.
    • 1916 – World War I: Paris is first bombed by German zeppelins.
    • 1918 – Ukrainian–Soviet War: The Bolshevik Red Army, on its way to besiege Kiev, is met by a small group of military students at the Battle of Kruty.
    • 1918 – Ukrainian–Soviet War: An armed uprising organized by the Bolsheviks in anticipation of the encroaching Red Army begins at the Kiev Arsenal, which will be put down six days later.
    • 1936 – The first inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame are announced.
    • 1940 – Three trains on the Nishinari Line; present Sakurajima Line, in Osaka, Japan, collide and explode while approaching Ajikawaguchi Station. One hundred and eighty-one people are killed.
    • 1941 – Alexandros Koryzis becomes Prime Minister of Greece upon the sudden death of his predecessor, dictator Ioannis Metaxas.
    • 1943 – World War II: The first day of the Battle of Rennell Island, USS Chicago (CA-29) is torpedoed and heavily damaged by Japanese bombers.
    • 1944 – World War II: Approximately 38 people are killed and about a dozen injured when the Polish village of Koniuchy (present-day Kaniūkai, Lithuania) is attacked by Soviet partisan units.
    • 1944 – In Bologna, Italy, the Anatomical theatre of the Archiginnasio is completely destroyed in an air-raid, during the Second World War.
    • 1948 – The Pakistan Socialist Party is founded in Karachi.
    • 1959 – The first Melodifestivalen is held in Cirkus, Stockholm, Sweden.
    • 1963 – The first inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame are announced.
    • 1967 – The “ultimate high” of the hippie era, the Mantra-Rock Dance, takes place in San Francisco and features Janis Joplin, Grateful Dead, and Allen Ginsberg.
    • 1980 – The Rubik’s Cube makes its international debut at the Ideal Toy Corp. in Earl’s Court, London.
    • 1989 – Cold War: Hungary establishes diplomatic relations with South Korea, making it the first Eastern Bloc nation to do so.
    • 1991 – Gulf War: The Battle of Khafji, the first major ground engagement of the war, as well as its deadliest, begins.
    • 1996 – President Jacques Chirac announces a “definitive end” to French nuclear weapons testing.
    • 2001 – Thousands of student protesters in Indonesia storm parliament and demand that President Abdurrahman Wahid resign due to alleged involvement in corruption scandals.
    • 2002 – In his State of the Union address, President George W. Bush describes “regimes that sponsor terror” as an Axis of evil, in which he includes Iraq, Iran and North Korea.
    • 2005 – The first direct commercial flights from mainland China (from Guangzhou) to Taiwan since 1949 arrived in Taipei. Shortly afterwards, a China Airlines flight lands in Beijing.
    • 2009 – The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt rules that people who do not adhere to one of the three government-recognised religions, while not allowed to list any belief outside of those three, are still eligible to receive government identity documents.
    • 2009 – Governor of Illinois Rod Blagojevich is removed from office following his conviction of several corruption charges, including the alleged solicitation of personal benefit in exchange for an appointment to the United States Senate as a replacement for then-U.S. president-elect Barack Obama.
    • 2013 – SCAT Airlines Flight 760 crashes near the Kazakh city of Almaty, killing 21 people.
    • 2013 – Alabama bunker hostage crisis: After shooting and killing of school bus driver, 66 years old Charles Albert Poland, Jr, by 65 year old Vietnam War era veteran, Jimmy Lee Dykes.
    • 2017 – Quebec City mosque shooting: Alexandre Bissonnette opens fire at mosque in Sainte-Foy, Quebec, killing six and wounding 19 others in a spree shooting.

    Births on January 29

    • 919 – Shi Zong, emperor of the Liao Dynasty (d. 951)
    • 1455 – Johann Reuchlin, German-born humanist and scholar (d. 1522)
    • 1475 – Giuliano Bugiardini, Italian painter (d. 1555)
    • 1499 – Katharina von Bora, wife of Martin Luther; formerly a Roman Catholic nun (d. 1552)
    • 1525 – Lelio Sozzini, Italian humanist and reformer (d. 1562)
    • 1584 – Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange (d. 1647)
    • 1591 – Franciscus Junius, pioneer of Germanic philology (d. 1677)
    • 1602 – Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg (d. 1651)
    • 1632 – Johann Georg Graevius, German scholar and critic (d. 1703)
    • 1650 – Juan de Galavís, Spanish Roman Catholic archbishop of Santo Domingo and Bogotá (d. 1739)
    • 1688 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish astronomer, philosopher, and theologian (d. 1772)
    • 1711 – Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (d. 1788)
    • 1715 – Georg Christoph Wagenseil, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1777)
    • 1717 – Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, English field marshal and politician, 19th Governor General of Canada (d. 1797)
    • 1718 – Paul Rabaut, French pastor (d. 1794)
    • 1737 – Thomas Paine, prominent for publishing Common Sense (1776), which established him as one of the Founding Fathers of the United States (d. 1809)
    • 1749 – Christian VII of Denmark (d. 1808)
    • 1754 – Moses Cleaveland, American general, lawyer, and politician, founded Cleveland, Ohio (d. 1806)
    • 1756 – Henry Lee III, American general and politician, 9th Governor of Virginia (d. 1818)
    • 1761 – Albert Gallatin, Swiss-American ethnologist, linguist, and politician, 4th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1849)
    • 1782 – Daniel Auber, French composer (d. 1871)
    • 1801 – Johannes Bernardus van Bree, Dutch violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1857)
    • 1810 – Ernst Kummer, Polish-German mathematician and academic (d. 1893)
    • 1810 – Mary Whitwell Hale, American teacher, school founder, and hymnwriter (d. 1862)
    • 1843 – William McKinley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 25th President of the United States (d. 1901)
    • 1846 – Karol Olszewski, Polish chemist, mathematician, and physicist (d. 1915)
    • 1852 – Frederic Hymen Cowen, Jamaican-English pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1935)
    • 1858 – Henry Ward Ranger, American painter and academic (d. 1916)
    • 1860 – Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and short story writer (d. 1904)
    • 1861 – Florida Ruffin Ridley, African-American civil rights activist, teacher, editor, and writer (d. 1943)
    • 1862 – Frederick Delius, English composer (d. 1934)
    • 1866 – Julio Peris Brell, Spanish painter (d. 1944)
    • 1866 – Romain Rolland, French historian, author, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1944)
    • 1867 – Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, Spanish journalist and author (d. 1928)
    • 1870 – Süleyman Nazif, Turkish poet and civil servant (d. 1927)
    • 1874 – John D. Rockefeller, Jr., American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1960)
    • 1876 – Havergal Brian, English composer (d. 1972)
    • 1877 – Georges Catroux, French general and diplomat (d. 1969)
    • 1880 – W. C. Fields, American actor, comedian, and screenwriter (d. 1946)
    • 1881 – Alice Catherine Evans, American microbiologist (d. 1975)
    • 1884 – Juhan Aavik, Estonian-Swedish composer and conductor (d. 1982)
    • 1888 – Sydney Chapman, English mathematician and geophysicist (d. 1970)
    • 1888 – Wellington Koo, Chinese statesman (d. 1985)
    • 1891 – Elizaveta Gerdt, Russian ballerina and educator (d. 1975)
    • 1891 – R. Norris Williams, Swiss-American tennis player and banker (d. 1968)
    • 1892 – Ernst Lubitsch, German American film director, producer, writer, and actor (d. 1947)
    • 1895 – Muna Lee, American poet and author (d. 1965)
    • 1901 – Allen B. DuMont, American engineer and broadcaster, founded the DuMont Television Network (d. 1965)
    • 1901 – E. P. Taylor, Canadian businessman and horse breeder (d. 1989)
    • 1903 – Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Russian-Israeli biochemist and philosopher (d. 1994)
    • 1905 – Barnett Newman, American painter and etcher (d. 1970)
    • 1906 – Joe Primeau, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1989)
    • 1913 – Victor Mature, American actor (d. 1999)
    • 1915 – Bill Peet, American author and illustrator (d. 2002)
    • 1915 – John Serry Sr., Italian-American concert accordionist and composer (d.2003)
    • 1917 – John Raitt, American actor and singer (d. 2005)
    • 1918 – John Forsythe, American actor (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Geraldine Pittman Woods, American science administrator and embryologist (d. 1999)
    • 1923 – Jack Burke Jr., American golfer
    • 1923 – Paddy Chayefsky, American author and screenwriter (d. 1981)
    • 1926 – Abdus Salam, Pakistani-British physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1996)
    • 1926 – Amelita Ramos, 11th First Lady of the Philippines
    • 1927 – Edward Abbey, American environmentalist and author (d. 1989)
    • 1929 – Elio Petri, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1982)
    • 1929 – Joseph Kruskal, American mathematician and computer scientist (d. 2010)
    • 1931 – Leslie Bricusse, English playwright and composer
    • 1931 – Ferenc Mádl, Hungarian academic and politician, 2nd President of Hungary (d. 2011)
    • 1932 – Raman Subba Row, English cricketer and referee
    • 1932 – Tommy Taylor, English footballer (d. 1958)
    • 1933 – Sacha Distel, French singer and guitarist (d. 2004)
    • 1934 – Branko Miljković, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1961)
    • 1936 – Veturi Sundararama Murthy, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 2010)
    • 1937 – Hassan Habibi, Iranian lawyer and politician, 1st Vice President of Iran (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Bobby Scott, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 1990)
    • 1939 – Germaine Greer, Australian journalist and author
    • 1940 – Katharine Ross, American actress and author
    • 1940 – Kunimitsu Takahashi, Japanese motorcycle racer and race car driver
    • 1941 – Robin Morgan, American actress, journalist, and author
    • 1943 – Tony Blackburn, English radio and television host
    • 1943 – Pat Quinn, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Andrew Loog Oldham, English record producer and manager
    • 1944 – Patrick Lipton Robinson, Jamaican lawyer and judge
    • 1944 – Pauline van der Wildt, Dutch swimmer
    • 1945 – Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Malian academic and politician, Prime Minister of Mali
    • 1945 – Jim Nicholson, Northern Irish politician
    • 1945 – Tom Selleck, American actor and businessman
    • 1946 – Bettye LaVette, American singer-songwriter
    • 1947 – Linda B. Buck, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1947 – David Byron, English singer-songwriter (d. 1985)
    • 1947 – Marián Varga, Slovak organist and composer
    • 1948 – Raymond Keene, English chess player and author
    • 1949 – doris davenport, American poet and teacher
    • 1949 – Evgeny Lovchev, Russian footballer and manager
    • 1949 – Tommy Ramone, Hungarian-American drummer and producer (d. 2014)
    • 1950 – Ann Jillian, American actress and singer
    • 1950 – Jody Scheckter, South African race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1951 – Fereydoon Forooghi, Iranian singer-songwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1951 – Andy Roberts, Caribbean cricketer
    • 1953 – Peter Baumann, German keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1953 – Charlie Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1953 – Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (d. 1995)
    • 1954 – Christian Bjelland IV, Norwegian businessman and art collector
    • 1954 – Terry Kinney, American actor and director
    • 1954 – Oprah Winfrey, American talk show host, actress, and producer, founded Harpo Productions
    • 1956 – Jan Jakub Kolski, Polish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
    • 1957 – Philippe Dintrans, French rugby player
    • 1957 – Ron Franscell, American author and journalist
    • 1957 – Grażyna Miller, Italian journalist and poet
    • 1959 – Mike Foligno, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1960 – Gia Carangi, American supermodel (d. 1986)
    • 1960 – Greg Louganis, American diver and author
    • 1961 – Petra Thümer, German swimmer and photographer
    • 1962 – Nicholas Turturro, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – John Anthony Gallagher, English-New Zealand rugby player
    • 1965 – Dominik Hašek, Czech ice hockey player
    • 1965 – Peter Lundgren, Swedish tennis player and coach
    • 1966 – Romário, Brazilian footballer, manager, and politician
    • 1967 – Stacey King, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Edward Burns, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1968 – Susi Erdmann, German luger and bobsledder
    • 1970 – Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Indian colonel and politician
    • 1970 – Heather Graham, American actress
    • 1970 – Jörg Hoffmann, German swimmer
    • 1970 – Paul Ryan, American economist and politician, 62nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
    • 1970 – Mohammed Yusuf, Nigerian Islamist leader, founded Boko Haram (d. 2009)
    • 1975 – Sara Gilbert, American actress, producer, and talk show host
    • 1980 – Ivan Klasnic, German-Croatian footballer
    • 1982 – Adam Lambert, American singer, songwriter and actor
    • 1984 – Natalie du Toit, South African swimmer
    • 1984 – Nuno Morais, Portuguese footballer
    • 1985 – Marc Gasol, Spanish basketball player
    • 1987 – José Abreu, Cuban baseball player
    • 1988 – Tatyana Chernova, Russian heptathlete
    • 1988 – Shay Logan, English footballer
    • 1988 – Aydın Yılmaz, Turkish footballer
    • 1989 – Kevin Shattenkirk, American ice hockey player
    • 1993 – Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, Japanese singer

    Deaths on January 29

    • 661 – Ali, cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad (b. 601)
    • 702 – Princess Ōku of Japan (b. 661)
    • 757 – An Lushan, Chinese general (b. 703)
    • 870 – Salih ibn Wasif, Muslim general
    • 1119 – Pope Gelasius II (b. 1060)
    • 1327 – Adolf, Count Palatine of the Rhine (b. 1300)
    • 1465 – Louis, Duke of Savoy (b. 1413)
    • 1597 – Elias Ammerbach, German organist and composer (b. 1530)
    • 1608 – Frederick I, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1557)
    • 1647 – Francis Meres, English priest and author (b. 1565)
    • 1678 – Jerónimo Lobo, Portuguese missionary and author (b. 1593)
    • 1706 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and courtier (b. 1638)
    • 1737 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Scottish-English field marshal and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1666)
    • 1743 – André-Hercule de Fleury, French cardinal (b. 1653)
    • 1763 – Louis Racine, French poet (b. 1692)
    • 1820 – George III of the United Kingdom (b. 1738)
    • 1829 – Paul François Jean Nicolas, vicomte de Barras, French captain and politician (b. 1755)
    • 1829 – István Pauli, Hungarian-Slovenian priest and poet (b. 1760)
    • 1870 – Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1797)
    • 1871 – Philippe-Joseph Aubert de Gaspé, Canadian author (b. 1786)
    • 1888 – Edward Lear, English poet and illustrator (b. 1812)
    • 1899 – Alfred Sisley, French-English painter (b. 1839)
    • 1906 – Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1818)
    • 1928 – Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig, Scottish field marshal (b. 1861)
    • 1931 – Henri Mathias Berthelot, French general during World War I (b. 1861)
    • 1933 – Sara Teasdale, American poet (b. 1884)
    • 1934 – Fritz Haber, Polish-German chemist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1868)
    • 1941 – Ioannis Metaxas, Greek general and politician, 130th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1871)
    • 1944 – William Allen White, American journalist and author (b. 1868)
    • 1946 – Harry Hopkins, American businessman and politician, 8th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1890)
    • 1948 – Prince Aimone, Duke of Aosta (b. 1900)
    • 1950 – Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1885)
    • 1951 – Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer and umpire (b. 1880)
    • 1956 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist and critic (b. 1880)
    • 1959 – Winifred Brunton, South African painter and illustrator (b. 1880)
    • 1962 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (b. 1875)
    • 1963 – Robert Frost, American poet and playwright (b. 1874)
    • 1964 – Alan Ladd, American actor (b. 1913)
    • 1969 – Allen Welsh Dulles, American banker, lawyer, and diplomat, 5th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1893)
    • 1970 – B. H. Liddell Hart, French-English soldier, historian, and journalist (b. 1895)
    • 1977 – Freddie Prinze, American comedian and actor (b. 1954)
    • 1978 – Frank Nicklin, Australian politician, 28th Premier of Queensland (b. 1895)
    • 1980 – Jimmy Durante, American entertainer (b. 1893)
    • 1991 – Yasushi Inoue, Japanese author and poet (b. 1907)
    • 1992 – Willie Dixon, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1915)
    • 1993 – Adetokunbo Ademola, Nigerian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of Nigeria (b. 1906)
    • 1994 – Ulrike Maier, Austrian skier (b. 1967)
    • 1999 – Lili St. Cyr, American model and dancer (b. 1918)
    • 2002 – Harold Russell, Canadian-American soldier and actor (b. 1914)
    • 2003 – Frank Moss, American lawyer and politician (b. 1911)
    • 2004 – Janet Frame, New Zealand author and poet (b. 1924)
    • 2005 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli author, screenwriter, and director (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Nam June Paik, South Korean-American artist, (b. 1932)
    • 2008 – Bengt Lindström, Swedish painter and sculptor (b. 1925)
    • 2008 – Margaret Truman, American singer and author (b. 1924)
    • 2009 – Hélio Gracie, Brazilian martial artist (b. 1913)
    • 2011 – Milton Babbitt, American composer, educator, and theorist (b. 1916)
    • 2012 – Ranjit Singh Dyal, Indian general and politician, 10th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Oscar Luigi Scalfaro, Italian lawyer and politician, 9th President of Italy (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Camilla Williams, American soprano and educator (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – François Cavanna, French journalist and author (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Colleen McCullough, Australian neuroscientist, author, and academic (b. 1937)
    • 2015 – Rod McKuen, American singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1933)
    • 2015 – Alexander Vraciu, American commander and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 2016 – Jean-Marie Doré, Guinean lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Guinea (b. 1938)
    • 2016 – Jacques Rivette, French director, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1928)
    • 2019 – George Fernandes, Indian politician (b. 1930)
    • 2019 – James Ingram, American musician (b. 1952)

    Holidays and observances on January 29

    • Christian feast day:
      • Andrei Rublev (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Aquilinus of Milan
      • Constantius of Perugia
      • Dallán Forgaill
      • Gildas
      • Juniper
      • Sabinian of Troyes
      • Sulpitius I of Bourges
      • Valerius of Trèves
      • January 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Fat Thursday can fall, while March 4 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday before Ash Wednesday. (Christianity)
    • Kansas Day (Kansas, United States)

  • January 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

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

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

    Births on January 22

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

    Deaths on January 22

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

    Holidays and observances on January 22

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

  • January 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later.
    • 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail.
    • 1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.
    • 1486 – King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York.
    • 1562 – Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
    • 1591 – King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Mingyi Swa of Burma in single combat, for which this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
    • 1670 – Henry Morgan captures Panama.
    • 1701 – Frederick I crowns himself King of Prussia in Königsberg.
    • 1778 – James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the “Sandwich Islands”.
    • 1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrive at Botany Bay.
    • 1806 – Jan Willem Janssens surrenders the Dutch Cape Colony to the British.
    • 1866 – Wesley College is established in Melbourne, Australia.
    • 1871 – Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed Kaiser Wilhelm in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles (France) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Wilhelm already had the title of German Emperor since the constitution of 1 January 1871, but he had hesitated to accept the title.
    • 1886 – Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
    • 1896 – An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H. L. Smith.
    • 1911 – Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
    • 1913 – First Balkan War: A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.
    • 1915 – Japan issues the “Twenty-One Demands” to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
    • 1919 – World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.
    • 1919 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
    • 1941 – World War II: British troops launch a general counter-offensive against Italian East Africa.
    • 1943 – Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
    • 1945 – World War II: Liberation of Kraków, Poland by the Red Army.
    • 1958 – Willie O’Ree, the first Black Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.
    • 1960 – Capital Airlines Flight 20 crashes into a farm in Charles City County, Virginia, killing all 50 aboard, the third fatal Capital Airlines crash in as many years.
    • 1967 – Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler”, is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment.
    • 1969 – United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay killing all 32 passengers and six crew members.
    • 1974 – A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.
    • 1976 – Lebanese Christian militias kill at least 1,000 in Karantina, Beirut.
    • 1977 – Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires’ disease.
    • 1977 – Australia’s worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.
    • 1977 – SFR Yugoslavia’s Prime minister, Džemal Bijedić, his wife and six others are killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
    • 1978 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom’s government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
    • 1981 – Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
    • 1983 – The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe’s Olympic medals to his family.
    • 1990 – Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
    • 1993 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in all 50 US states.
    • 2002 – The Sierra Leone Civil War is declared over.
    • 2003 – A bushfire kills four people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
    • 2005 – The Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France
    • 2007 – The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people and Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Cyclone Kyrill causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe.
    • 2008 – The Euphronios Krater is unveiled in Rome after being returned to Italy by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
    • 2018 – A bus catches fire on the Samara–Shymkent road in Yrgyz District, Aktobe, Kazakhstan. The fire kills 52 passengers, with three passengers and two drivers escaping.

    Births on January 18

    • 1404 – Sir Philip Courtenay, British noble (d. 1463)
    • 1457 – Antonio Trivulzio, seniore, Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1508)
    • 1519 – Isabella Jagiellon, Queen of Hungary (d. 1559)
    • 1540 – Catherine, Duchess of Braganza (d. 1614)
    • 1641 – François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French politician, Secretary of State for War (d. 1691)
    • 1659 – Damaris Cudworth Masham, English philosopher and theologian (d. 1708)
    • 1672 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French author (d. 1731)
    • 1688 – Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1765)
    • 1689 – Montesquieu, French lawyer and philosopher (d. 1755)
    • 1701 – Johann Jakob Moser, German jurist (d. 1785)
    • 1743 – Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, French mystic and philosopher (d. 1803)
    • 1751 – Ferdinand Kauer, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1831)
    • 1752 – John Nash, English architect (d. 1835)
    • 1764 – Samuel Whitbread, English politician (d. 1815)
    • 1779 – Peter Mark Roget, English physician, lexicographer, and theologian (d. 1869)
    • 1782 – Daniel Webster, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)
    • 1793 – Pratap Singh Bhosle, Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1847)
    • 1815 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German theologian and scholar (d. 1874)
    • 1835 – César Cui, Russian general, composer, and critic (d. 1918)
    • 1840 – Henry Austin Dobson, English poet and author (d. 1921)
    • 1841 – Emmanuel Chabrier, French pianist and composer (d. 1894)
    • 1842 – A. A. Ames, American physician and politician, Mayor of Minneapolis (d. 1911)
    • 1848 – Ioan Slavici, Romanian journalist and author (d. 1925)
    • 1849 – Edmund Barton, Australian judge and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
    • 1850 – Seth Low, American academic and politician, 92nd Mayor of New York City (d. 1916)
    • 1853 – Marthinus Nikolaas Ras, South African farmer, soldier, and gun-maker (d. 1900)
    • 1854 – Thomas A. Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934)
    • 1856 – Daniel Hale Williams, American surgeon and cardiologist (d. 1931)
    • 1867 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan poet, journalist, and diplomat (d. 1916)
    • 1868 – Kantarō Suzuki, Japanese admiral and politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
    • 1877 – Sam Zemurray, Russian-American businessman, founded the Cuyamel Fruit Company (d. 1961)
    • 1879 – Henri Giraud, French general and politician (d. 1949)
    • 1880 – Paul Ehrenfest, Austrian-Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1933)
    • 1880 – Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, Italian cardinal (d. 1954)
    • 1881 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (d. 1975)
    • 1882 – A. A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
    • 1886 – Clara Nordström, Swedish-German author and translator (d. 1962)
    • 1888 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player, sailor, and pilot (d. 1989)
    • 1892 – Oliver Hardy, American actor and comedian (d. 1957)
    • 1892 – Bill Meanix, American hurdler and coach (d. 1957)
    • 1892 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon and academic (d. 1956)
    • 1893 – Jorge Guillén, Spanish poet, critic, and academic (d. 1984)
    • 1894 – Toots Mondt, American wrestler and promoter (d. 1976)
    • 1896 – C. M. Eddy Jr., American author (d. 1967)
    • 1896 – Ville Ritola, Finnish-American runner (d. 1982)
    • 1898 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1978)
    • 1901 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1973)
    • 1903 – Berthold Goldschmidt, German pianist and composer (d. 1996)
    • 1904 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordion player and composer (d. 2006)
    • 1904 – Cary Grant, English-American actor (d. 1986)
    • 1905 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-American mob boss (d. 2002)
    • 1907 – János Ferencsik, Hungarian conductor (d. 1984)
    • 1908 – Jacob Bronowski, Polish-English mathematician, historian, and television host (d. 1974)
    • 1910 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist and academic (d. 1993)
    • 1911 – José María Arguedas, Peruvian anthropologist, author, and poet (d. 1969)
    • 1911 – Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
    • 1913 – Carroll Cloar, American artist (d. 1993)
    • 1913 – Giannis Papaioannou, Greek composer (d. 1972)
    • 1914 – Arno Schmidt, German author and translator (d. 1979)
    • 1914 – Vitomil Zupan, Slovene author, poet, and playwright (d. 1987)
    • 1915 – Syl Apps, Canadian pole vaulter, ice hockey player, and politician (d. 1998)
    • 1915 – Santiago Carrillo, Spanish soldier and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1915 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1984)
    • 1917 – Nicholas Oresko, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2013)
    • 1917 – Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese-American businessman (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Gustave Gingras, Canadian-English physician and educator (d. 1996)
    • 1919 – Toni Turek, German footballer (d. 1984)
    • 1921 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – John Graham, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Wales (d. 2012)
    • 1923 – Gerrit Voorting, Dutch cyclist (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Gilles Deleuze, French metaphysician and philosopher (d. 1995)
    • 1925 – John V. Evans, American soldier and politician, 27th Governor of Idaho (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Sol Yurick, American soldier and author (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Randolph Bromery, American geologist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1927 – Sundaram Balachander, Indian actor, singer, and veena player (d. 1990)
    • 1928 – Alexander Gomelsky, Soviet and Russian professional basketball coach (d. 2005)
    • 1931 – Chun Doo-hwan, South Korean general and politician, 5th President of South Korea
    • 1932 – Robert Anton Wilson, American psychologist, author, poet, and playwright (d. 2007)
    • 1933 – Emeka Anyaoku, Nigerian politician, 8th Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1933 – David Bellamy, English botanist, author and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1933 – John Boorman, English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1933 – Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (d. 2013)
    • 1933 – William Goodhart, Baron Goodhart, English lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1933 – Frank McMullen, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2004)
    • 1933 – Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (d. 2017)
    • 1934 – Raymond Briggs, English author and illustrator
    • 1935 – Albert Millaire, Canadian actor and director (d. 2018)
    • 1935 – Jon Stallworthy, English poet, critic, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Gad Yaacobi, Israeli academic and diplomat, 10th Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2007)
    • 1936 – David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
    • 1937 – John Hume, Northern Irish educator and politician, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1938 – Curt Flood, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1997)
    • 1938 – Anthony Giddens, English sociologist and academic
    • 1938 – Werner Olk, German footballer and manager
    • 1938 – Hargus “Pig” Robbins, American Country Music Hall of Fame session keyboard and piano player
    • 1940 – Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican race car driver (d. 1971)
    • 1941 – Denise Bombardier, Canadian journalist and author
    • 1941 – Bobby Goldsboro, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1941 – David Ruffin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1991)
    • 1943 – Paul Freeman, English actor
    • 1943 – Kay Granger, American educator and politician
    • 1943 – Dave Greenslade, English keyboard player and composer
    • 1943 – Charlie Wilson, American businessman and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1944 – Paul Keating, Australian economist and politician, 24th Prime Minister of Australia
    • 1944 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (d. 1983)
    • 1944 – Kei Ogura, Japanese singer-songwriter and composer
    • 1944 – Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria
    • 1945 – Rocco Forte, English businessman and philanthropist
    • 1946 – Perro Aguayo, Mexican wrestler (d. 2019)
    • 1946 – Joseph Deiss, Swiss economist and politician, 156th President of the Swiss Confederation
    • 1946 – Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (d. 2013)
    • 1947 – Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseball player and journalist (d. 2018)
    • 1947 – Takeshi Kitano, Japanese actor and director
    • 1949 – Bill Keller, American journalist
    • 1949 – Philippe Starck, French interior designer
    • 1950 – Gianfranco Brancatelli, Italian race car driver
    • 1950 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
    • 1951 – Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist and activist (d. 1982)
    • 1951 – Bob Latchford, English footballer
    • 1952 – Michael Behe, American biochemist, author, and academic
    • 1952 – R. Stevie Moore, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1953 – Brett Hudson, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1953 – Peter Moon, Australian comedian and actor
    • 1955 – Kevin Costner, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1956 – Paul Deighton, Baron Deighton, English banker and politician
    • 1960 – Mark Rylance, English actor, director, and playwright
    • 1961 – Peter Beardsley, English footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Bob Hansen, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Mark Messier, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Jeff Yagher, American actor and sculptor
    • 1962 – Alison Arngrim, Canadian-American actress
    • 1963 – Maxime Bernier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada
    • 1963 – Ian Crook, English footballer, central midfielder and manager
    • 1963 – Carl McCoy, English singer-songwriter
    • 1963 – Martin O’Malley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 61st Governor of Maryland
    • 1964 – Brady Anderson, American baseball player
    • 1964 – Richard Dunwoody, Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Virgil Hill, American boxer
    • 1964 – Jane Horrocks, English actress and singer
    • 1966 – Alexander Khalifman, Russian chess player and author
    • 1966 – Kazufumi Miyazawa, Japanese singer
    • 1966 – André Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1967 – Dean Bailey, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1967 – Iván Zamorano, Chilean footballer
    • 1969 – Dave Bautista, American wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
    • 1969 – Jesse L. Martin, American actor and singer
    • 1969 – Jim O’Rourke, American guitarist and producer
    • 1970 – Peter Van Petegem, Belgian cyclist
    • 1971 – Amy Barger, American astronomer
    • 1971 – Jonathan Davis, American singer-songwriter
    • 1971 – Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1971 – Pep Guardiola, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan writer (d. 2019)
    • 1972 – Vinod Kambli, Indian cricketer, sportscaster, and actor
    • 1972 – Mike Lieberthal, American baseball player
    • 1972 – Kjersti Plätzer, Norwegian race walker
    • 1973 – Burnie Burns, American actor, director, and producer, co-founded Rooster Teeth Productions
    • 1973 – Luke Goodwin, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1973 – Benjamin Jealous, American civic leader and activist
    • 1973 – Anthony Koutoufides, Australian footballer
    • 1973 – Crispian Mills, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director
    • 1973 – Rolando Schiavi, Argentinian footballer and coach
    • 1974 – Christian Burns, English singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Leslie Knope, Protagonist of Parks and Recreation (fictional)
    • 1976 – Laurence Courtois, Belgian tennis player
    • 1976 – Marcelo Gallardo, Argentinian footballer and coach
    • 1976 – Damien Leith, Irish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1977 – Richard Archer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1978 – Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player
    • 1978 – Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist
    • 1978 – Bogdan Lobonț, Romanian footballer
    • 1979 – Ruslan Fedotenko, Ukrainian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
    • 1979 – Brian Gionta, American ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Kenyatta Jones, American football player (d. 2018)
    • 1980 – Estelle, English singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1980 – Robert Green, English footballer
    • 1980 – Kert Haavistu, Estonian footballer and manager
    • 1980 – Julius Peppers, American football player
    • 1980 – Jason Segel, American actor and screenwriter
    • 1981 – Otgonbayar Ershuu, Mongolian painter and illustrator
    • 1981 – Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player
    • 1981 – Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer
    • 1981 – Kang Dong-won, South Korean actor
    • 1982 – Quinn Allman, American guitarist and producer
    • 1982 – Mary Jepkosgei Keitany, Kenyan runner
    • 1983 – Amir Blumenfeld, Israeli-American comedian, actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1983 – Samantha Mumba, Irish singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1984 – Kristy Lee Cook, American singer-songwriter
    • 1984 – Ioannis Drymonakos, Greek swimmer
    • 1984 – Makoto Hasebe, Japanese footballer
    • 1984 – Michael Kearney, American biochemist and academic
    • 1984 – Seung-Hui Cho, South Korean student who perpetrated the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech (d. 2007)
    • 1984 – Benji Schwimmer, American dancer and choreographer
    • 1984 – Viktoria Shklover, Estonian figure skater
    • 1985 – Dale Begg-Smith, Canadian-Australian skier
    • 1985 – Mark Briscoe, American wrestler
    • 1985 – Riccardo Montolivo, Italian footballer
    • 1985 – Hyun Woo, South Korean actor
    • 1986 – Marya Roxx, Estonian-American singer-songwriter
    • 1986 – Ikusaburo Yamazaki, Japanese actor and singer
    • 1987 – Johan Djourou, Swiss footballer
    • 1987 – Christopher Liebig, German rugby player
    • 1987 – Grigoris Makos, Greek footballer
    • 1988 – Ronnie Day, American singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Angelique Kerber, German tennis player
    • 1988 – Anastasios Kissas, Greek footballer
    • 1988 – Boy van Poppel, Dutch cyclist
    • 1989 – Rubén Miño, Spanish footballer
    • 1990 – Nacho, Spanish footballer
    • 1990 – Hayle Ibrahimov, Ethiopian-Azerbaijani runner
    • 1990 – Gift Ngoepe, South African baseball player
    • 1991 – Diego Simões, Brazilian footballer
    • 1992 – Francesco Bardi, Italian footballer
    • 1993 – Sean Keenan, Australian actor
    • 1994 – Kang Ji-young, South Korean singer
    • 1994 – Ilona Kremen, Belarusian tennis player
    • 1995 – Bryce Alford, American basketball player
    • 1998 – Aitana Bonmatí, Spanish footballer

    Deaths on January 18

    • 52 BC – Publius Clodius Pulcher, Roman politician (b. 93 BC)
    • 474 – Leo I, Byzantine emperor (b. 401)
    • 748 – Odilo, duke of Bavaria
    • 896 – Khumarawayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun, ruler of the Tulunids, murdered (b. 864)
    • 1213 – Tamar of Georgia (b. 1160)
    • 1253 – King Henry I of Cyprus (b. 1217)
    • 1271 – Saint Margaret of Hungary (b. 1242)
    • 1326 – Robert FitzWalter, 1st Baron FitzWalter, English baron (b. 1247)
    • 1357 – Maria of Portugal, infanta (b. 1313)
    • 1367 – Peter I of Portugal (b. 1320)
    • 1411 – Jobst of Moravia, ruler of Moravia, King of the Romans
    • 1425 – Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, English politician (b. 1391)
    • 1471 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (b. 1419)
    • 1479 – Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1417)
    • 1547 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal and scholar (b. 1470)
    • 1586 – Margaret of Parma (b. 1522)
    • 1589 – Magnus Heinason, Faroese naval hero (b. 1545)
    • 1677 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch politician, founded Cape Town (b. 1619)
    • 1756 – Francis George of Schönborn-Buchheim, Archbishop-Elector of Trier (b. 1682)
    • 1783 – Jeanne Quinault, French actress and playwright (b. 1699)
    • 1803 – Ippolit Bogdanovich, Russian poet and academic (b. 1743)
    • 1849 – Panoutsos Notaras, Greek politician (b. 1752)
    • 1862 – John Tyler, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 10th President of the United States (b. 1790)
    • 1873 – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, English author, poet, playwright, and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1803)
    • 1878 – Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist and academic (b. 1788)
    • 1886 – Baldassare Verazzi, Italian painter (b. 1819)
    • 1892 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss religious leader, 23rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1819)
    • 1896 – Charles Floquet, French lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
    • 1923 – Wallace Reid, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1891)
    • 1936 – Hermanus Brockmann, Dutch rower (b. 1871)
    • 1936 – Rudyard Kipling, English author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
    • 1940 – Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Polish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1865)
    • 1951 – Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary and humanitarian (b. 1867)
    • 1952 – Curly Howard, American actor (b. 1903)
    • 1954 – Sydney Greenstreet, English-American actor (b. 1879)
    • 1955 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Pakistani author and screenwriter (b. 1912)
    • 1956 – Makbule Atadan, Turkish lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
    • 1956 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 1st President of Estonia (b. 1874)
    • 1963 – Hugh Gaitskell, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1906)
    • 1966 – Kathleen Norris, American journalist and author (b. 1880)
    • 1967 – Goose Tatum, American basketball player and soldier (b. 1921)
    • 1969 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1887)
    • 1970 – David O. McKay, American religious leader, 9th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1873)
    • 1971 – Virgil Finlay, American illustrator (b. 1914)
    • 1973 – Irina Nikolaevna Levchenko, Russian tank commander (b. 1924)
    • 1975 – Gertrude Olmstead, American actress (b. 1897)
    • 1978 – Hasan Askari, Pakistani philosopher and author (b. 1919)
    • 1980 – Cecil Beaton, English fashion designer and photographer (b. 1904)
    • 1984 – Panteleimon Ponomarenko, Belarusian general and politician (b. 1902)
    • 1984 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1915)
    • 1989 – Bruce Chatwin, English-French author (b. 1940)
    • 1990 – Melanie Appleby, English singer (b. 1966)
    • 1990 – Rusty Hamer, American actor (b. 1947)
    • 1993 – Dionysios Zakythinos, Greek historian, academic, and politician (b. 1905)
    • 1995 – Adolf Butenandt, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
    • 1995 – Ron Luciano, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1937)
    • 1996 – N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician, 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (b. 1923)
    • 1997 – Paul Tsongas, American lawyer and politician (b. 1941)
    • 1998 – Dan Georgiadis, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1922)
    • 2000 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (b. 1897)
    • 2003 – Ed Farhat, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1924)
    • 2003 – Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Indian poet and author (b. 1907)
    • 2005 – Lamont Bentley, American actor and rapper (b. 1973)
    • 2006 – Jan Twardowski, Polish priest and poet (b. 1915)
    • 2007 – Brent Liles, American bass player (b. 1963)
    • 2008 – Georgia Frontiere, American businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1927)
    • 2008 – Frank Lewin, American composer and theorist (b. 1925)
    • 2008 – Lois Nettleton, American actress (b. 1927)
    • 2008 – John Stroger, American politician (b. 1929)
    • 2009 – Tony Hart, English painter and television host (b. 1925)
    • 2009 – Nora Kovach, Hungarian-American ballerina (b. 1931)
    • 2009 – Danai Stratigopoulou, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
    • 2009 – Grigore Vieru, Romanian poet and author (b. 1935)
    • 2010 – Kate McGarrigle, Canadian musician and singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 2010 – Robert B. Parker, American author and academic (b. 1932)
    • 2011 – Sargent Shriver, American politician and diplomat, 21st United States Ambassador to France (b. 1915)
    • 2012 – Anthony Gonsalves, Indian composer and educator (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Georg Lassen, German captain (b. 1915)
    • 2012 – Yuri Rasovsky, American playwright and producer, founded The National Radio Theater of Chicago (b. 1944)
    • 2013 – Sean Fallon, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Jim Horning, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Jon Mannah, Australian rugby league player (b. 1989)
    • 2013 – Lewis Marnell, Australian skateboarder (b. 1982)
    • 2013 – Ron Nachman, Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – Kathryn Abbe, American photographer and author (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Michael Botmang, Nigerian politician, 17th Governor of Plateau State (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Dennis Frederiksen, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
    • 2014 – Andy Graver, English footballer (b. 1927)
    • 2014 – Sarah Marshall, English actress (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Eugenio Cruz Vargas, Chilean poet and painter (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – Alberto Nisman, Argentinian lawyer and prosecutor (b. 1963)
    • 2015 – Christine Valmy, Romanian cosmetologist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Piet van der Sanden, Dutch journalist and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2015 – Tony Verna, American director and producer, invented instant replay (b. 1933)
    • 2016 – Johnny Bach, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Glenn Frey, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1948)
    • 2016 – T. S. Sinnathuray, Judge of the High Court of Singapore (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – Michel Tournier, French journalist and author (b. 1924)
    • 2017 – Peter Abrahams, South African-Jamaican writer (b. 1919)
    • 2017 – David P. Buckson, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Delaware (b. 1920)
    • 2017 – Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer, businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1939)
    • 2017 – Roberta Peters, American coloratura soprano (b. 1930)
    • 2019 – John Coughlin, American figure skater (b. 1985)

    Holidays and observances on January 18

    • Christian feast day:
      • Amy Carmichael (Church of England)
      • Athanasius of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)
      • Confession of Peter (Eastern Orthodox, some Anglican and Lutheran Churches)
      • Cyril of Alexandria
      • Deicolus
      • Margaret of Hungary
      • Prisca
      • Volusianus of Tours
      • January 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Royal Thai Armed Forces Day (Thailand)
    • Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18–25) (Christianity)

  • January 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to make sacrifices to the Roman gods.
    • 1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
    • 1653 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.
    • 1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
    • 1749 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark’s oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.
    • 1777 – American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
    • 1815 – Austria, the United Kingdom, and France form a secret defensive alliance against Prussia and Russia.
    • 1833 – The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
    • 1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of Liberia.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.
    • 1868 – Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.
    • 1870 – Construction work begins on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, United States.
    • 1871 – In the Battle of Bapaume, an engagement in the Franco-Prussian War, General Louis Faidherbe’s forces bring about a Prussian retreat.
    • 1885 – Sino-French War: Beginning of the Battle of Núi Bop
    • 1911 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.
    • 1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.
    • 1913 – An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.
    • 1925 – Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.
    • 1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first woman to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
    • 1938 – The March of Dimes is established as a foundation to combat infant polio by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
    • 1944 – World War II: Top Ace Major Greg “Pappy” Boyington is shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
    • 1945 – World War II: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan.
    • 1946 – Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf dies in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.
    • 1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.
    • 1949 – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, is established.
    • 1953 – Frances P. Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
    • 1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
    • 1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
    • 1958 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
    • 1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
    • 1961 – Cold War: The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba over the latter’s nationalization of American assets.
    • 1961 – The SL-1 nuclear reactor is destroyed by a steam explosion in the only reactor incident in the United States to cause immediate fatalities.
    • 1961 – A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.
    • 1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
    • 1976 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, comes into force.
    • 1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.
    • 1990 – United States invasion of Panama: Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces.
    • 1993 – In Moscow, Russia, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
    • 1994 – More than seven million people from the former apartheid Homelands receive South African citizenship.
    • 1994 – Baikal Airlines Flight 130 crashes near Irkutsk, Russia, resulting in 125 deaths.
    • 1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.
    • 2000 – Final daily edition of the Peanuts comic strip.
    • 2002 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.
    • 2004 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history.
    • 2009 – The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, was established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.
    • 2015 – Boko Haram militants raze the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria, starting the Baga massacre and killing as many as 2,000 people.
    • 2016 – Following the fallout caused by the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Iran ends its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
    • 2019 – Chang’e 4 makes the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, deploying the Yutu-2 lunar rover.
    • 2020 – Iranian General Qasem Soleimani is killed by an American airstrike near Baghdad International Airport.

    Births on January 3

    • 106 BC – Cicero, Roman philosopher, lawyer, and politician (d. 43 BC)
    • 169 – Lü Bu, Chinese general and warlord (d. 199)
    • 1196 – Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1231)
    • 1509 – Gian Girolamo Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1591)
    • 1611 – James Harrington, English political theorist (d. 1677)
    • 1698 – Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet and songwriter (d. 1782)
    • 1710 – Richard Gridley, American soldier and engineer (d. 1796)
    • 1722 – Fredrik Hasselqvist, Swedish biologist and explorer (d. 1752)
    • 1731 – Angelo Emo, Venetian admiral and statesman (d. 1792)
    • 1760 – Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Indian ruler (d. 1799)
    • 1775 – Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont (d. 1863)
    • 1778 – Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish archbishop (d. 1861)
    • 1793 – Lucretia Mott, American activist (d. 1880)
    • 1802 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (d. 1898)
    • 1803 – Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (d. 1857)
    • 1806 – Henriette Sontag, German soprano and actress (d. 1854)
    • 1810 – Antoine Thomson d’Abbadie, French geographer, ethnologist, linguist, and astronomer (d. 1897)
    • 1816 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (d. 1891)
    • 1819 – Charles Piazzi Smyth, Italian-Scottish astronomer and academic (d. 1900)
    • 1821 – Karel Dežman, Slovenian archaeologist, botanist, and politician, Mayor of Ljubljana (d. 1889)
    • 1831 – Savitribai Phule, Indian poet, educator, and activist (d. 1897)
    • 1836 – Sakamoto Ryōma, Japanese samurai and rebel leader (d. 1867)
    • 1840 – Father Damien, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1889)
    • 1847 – Ettore Marchiafava, Italian physician (d. 1935)
    • 1853 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish writer (d. 1921)
    • 1855 – Hubert Bland, English businessman (d. 1914)
    • 1861 – Ernest Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1899)
    • 1861 – William Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1904)
    • 1862 – Matthew Nathan, English soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Queensland (d. 1939)
    • 1865 – Henry Lytton, English actor (d. 1936)
    • 1870 – Henry Handel Richardson, Australian-English author (d. 1946)
    • 1873 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman and art collector, founded the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (d. 1957)
    • 1875 – Alexandros Diomidis, Greek banker and politician, 145th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1950)
    • 1876 – Wilhelm Pieck, German carpenter and politician, 1st President of the German Democratic Republic (d. 1960)
    • 1877 – Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957)
    • 1880 – Francis Browne, Irish Jesuit priest and photographer (d. 1960)
    • 1883 – Clement Attlee, English soldier, lawyer, and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1967)
    • 1883 – Duncan Gillis, Canadian discus thrower and hammer thrower (d. 1963)
    • 1884 – Raoul Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1948)
    • 1885 – Harry Elkins Widener, American businessman (d. 1912)
    • 1886 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet and author (d. 1950)
    • 1886 – Arthur Mailey, Australian cricketer (d. 1967)
    • 1887 – August Macke, German-French painter (d. 1914)
    • 1892 – J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer, poet, and philologist (d. 1973)
    • 1894 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)
    • 1897 – Marion Davies, American actress and comedian (d. 1961)
    • 1898 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (d. 1990)
    • 1898 – Carlos Keller, Chilean historian, academic, and politician (d. 1974)
    • 1900 – Donald J. Russell, American businessman (d. 1985)
    • 1901 – Ngô Đình Diệm, Vietnamese lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Vietnam (d. 1963)
    • 1905 – Dante Giacosa, Italian engineer (d. 1996)
    • 1905 – Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)
    • 1907 – Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 1986)
    • 1909 – Victor Borge, Danish-American pianist and conductor (d. 2000)
    • 1910 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (d. 2000)
    • 1911 – John Sturges, American director and producer (d. 1992)
    • 1912 – Federico Borrell García, Spanish soldier (d. 1936)
    • 1912 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2002)
    • 1912 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
    • 1915 – Jack Levine, American painter and soldier (d. 2010)
    • 1916 – Betty Furness, American actress and television journalist (d. 1994)
    • 1916 – Fred Haas, American golfer (d. 2004)
    • 1917 – Albert Mol, Dutch author and actor (d. 2002)
    • 1917 – Vernon A. Walters, American general and diplomat, 17th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
    • 1917 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American journalist and publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux (d. 2004)
    • 1919 – Herbie Nichols, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
    • 1920 – Siegfried Buback, German lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Germany (d. 1977)
    • 1920 – Renato Carosone, Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2001)
    • 1921 – Chetan Anand, Indian director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
    • 1921 – Isabella Bashmakova, Russian historian of mathematics (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – Hank Stram, American football coach and sportscaster (d. 2005)
    • 1924 – Otto Beisheim, German businessman and philanthropist, founded Metro AG (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1997)
    • 1924 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and educator (d. 2005)
    • 1925 – Jill Balcon, English actress (d. 2009)
    • 1926 – W. Michael Blumenthal, American economist and politician, 64th United States Secretary of the Treasury
    • 1926 – George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1928 – Abdul Rahman Ya’kub, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Sarawak (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1929 – Ernst Mahle, German-Brazilian composer and conductor
    • 1929 – Gordon Moore, American businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation
    • 1930 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (d. 2015)
    • 1932 – Dabney Coleman, American actor
    • 1932 – Eeles Landström, Finnish pole vaulter and politician
    • 1933 – Geoffrey Bindman, English lawyer
    • 1933 – Anne Stevenson, American-English poet and author
    • 1934 – Marpessa Dawn, American-French actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2008)
    • 1934 – Carla Anderson Hills, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
    • 1935 – Raymond Garneau, Canadian businessman and politician
    • 1937 – Glen A. Larson, American director, producer, and screenwriter, created Battlestar Galactica (d. 2014)
    • 1938 – Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, English academic and politician
    • 1938 – K. Ganeshalingam, Sri Lankan accountant and politician, Mayor of Colombo (d. 2006)
    • 1939 – Arik Einstein, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Bobby Hull, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1940 – Leo de Berardinis, Italian actor and director (d. 2008)
    • 1940 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2007)
    • 1941 – Malcolm Dick, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1942 – John Marsden, Australian lawyer and activist (d. 2006)
    • 1942 – John Thaw, English actor and producer, played Inspector Morse (d. 2002)
    • 1943 – Van Dyke Parks, American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, author, and actor
    • 1944 – Blanche d’Alpuget, Australian author
    • 1945 – Stephen Stills, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1946 – John Paul Jones, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
    • 1946 – Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (d. 2002)
    • 1947 – Fran Cotton, English rugby player
    • 1947 – Zulema, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1948 – Ian Nankervis, Australian footballer
    • 1950 – Victoria Principal, American actress and businesswoman
    • 1950 – Linda Steiner, American journalist and academic
    • 1950 – Vesna Vulović, Serbian plane crash survivor and Guinness World Record holder
    • 1951 – Linda Dobbs, English lawyer and judge
    • 1951 – Gary Nairn, Australian surveyor and politician, 14th Special Minister of State
    • 1952 – Esperanza Aguirre, Spanish civil servant and politician, 3rd President of the Community of Madrid
    • 1952 – Gianfranco Fini, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1952 – Jim Ross, American professional wrestling commentator
    • 1953 – Justin Fleming, Australian playwright and author
    • 1953 – Mohammed Waheed Hassan, Maldivian educator and politician, 5th President of the Maldives
    • 1953 – Peter Taylor, English football winger and manager
    • 1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – Shim Hyung-rae, South Korean actor, director, and producer
    • 1960 – Russell Spence, English racing driver
    • 1962 – Darren Daulton, American baseball player (d. 2017)
    • 1962 – Gavin Hastings, Scottish rugby player
    • 1963 – Stewart Hosie, Scottish businessman and politician
    • 1963 – Aamer Malik, Pakistani cricketer
    • 1963 – Alex Wheatle, English author and playwright
    • 1964 – Bruce LaBruce, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1964 – Cheryl Miller, American basketball player and coach
    • 1966 – Chetan Sharma, Indian cricketer
    • 1969 – Michael Caines, English chef
    • 1969 – Lorenzo Fertitta, American entrepreneur, casino executive and sports promoter
    • 1969 – Jarmo Lehtinen, Finnish racing driver
    • 1969 – Michael Schumacher, German racing driver
    • 1969 – Gerda Weissensteiner, Italian luger and bobsledder
    • 1971 – Cory Cross, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1971 – Lee Il-hwa, South Korean actress
    • 1973 – Dan Harmon, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1974 – Robert-Jan Derksen, Dutch golfer
    • 1974 – Alessandro Petacchi, Italian cyclist
    • 1975 – Jason Marsden, American actor
    • 1975 – Thomas Bangalter, French DJ, musician (Daft Punk), and producer
    • 1975 – Danica McKellar, American actress, writer, and mathematician
    • 1976 – Angelos Basinas, Greek footballer
    • 1976 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor and producer
    • 1977 – Lee Bowyer, English footballer and coach
    • 1977 – A. J. Burnett, American baseball player
    • 1977 – Mayumi Iizuka, Japanese voice actress and singer
    • 1978 – Dimitra Kalentzou, Greek basketball player
    • 1978 – Dominic Wood, English comedian and former magician
    • 1980 – Bryan Clay, American decathlete
    • 1980 – Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey player
    • 1980 – David Tyree, American football player
    • 1980 – Kurt Vile, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1980 – Mary Wineberg, American sprinter
    • 1981 – Eli Manning, American football playe
    • 1982 – Peter Clarke, English footballer
    • 1982 – Lasse Nilsson, Swedish footballer
    • 1982 – Park Ji-yoon, South Korean singer and actress
    • 1984 – Billy Mehmet, English-Irish footballer
    • 1985 – Linas Kleiza, Lithuanian basketball player
    • 1985 – Evan Moore, American football player
    • 1986 – Dana Hussain, Iraqi sprinter
    • 1986 – Greg Nwokolo, Indonesian footballer
    • 1986 – Dmitry Starodubtsev, Russian pole vaulter
    • 1987 – Reto Berra, Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender
    • 1987 – Kim Ok-bin, South Korean actress and singer
    • 1988 – Ikechi Anya, Scottish-Nigerian footballer
    • 1988 – Matt Frattin, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1988 – J. R. Hildebrand, American racing driver
    • 1989 – Ben Matulino, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1989 – Kōhei Uchimura, Japanese artistic gymnast
    • 1990 – Yoichiro Kakitani, Japanese footballer
    • 1991 – Jerson Cabral, Dutch footballer
    • 1991 – Özgür Çek, Turkish footballer
    • 1991 – Sébastien Faure, French footballer
    • 1991 – Dane Gagai, Australian rugby league player
    • 1994 – Isaquias Queiroz, Brazilian sprint canoeist
    • 1997 – Kyron McMaster, British Virgin Islands hurdler
    • 2003 – Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist

    Deaths on January 3

    • 236 – Anterus, the pope of the Catholic Church
    • 323 – Yuan of Yin, Chinese emperor (b. 276)
    • 1027 – Fujiwara no Yukinari, Japanese calligrapher (b. 972)
    • 1028 – Fujiwara no Michinaga, Japanese nobleman (b. 966)
    • 1098 – Walkelin, Norman bishop of Winchester
    • 1322 – Philip V, king of France (b. 1292)
    • 1437 – Catherine of Valois, queen consort of Henry V (b. 1401)
    • 1501 – Ali-Shir Nava’i, Turkic poet, linguist, and mystic (b. 1441)
    • 1543 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer and navigator (b. 1499)
    • 1571 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1505)
    • 1641 – Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomer and mathematician (b. 1618)
    • 1656 – Mathieu Molé, French politician (b. 1584)
    • 1670 – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1608)
    • 1701 – Louis I, prince of Monaco (b. 1642)
    • 1705 – Luca Giordano, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1634)
    • 1743 – Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian painter and architect (b. 1657)
    • 1777 – William Leslie, Scottish captain (b. 1751)
    • 1779 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and lawyer (b. 1712)
    • 1785 – Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)
    • 1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (b. 1730)
    • 1826 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general (b. 1770)
    • 1871 – Kuriakose Elias Chavara, Indian priest and saint (b. 1805)
    • 1875 – Pierre Larousse, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1817)
    • 1882 – William Harrison Ainsworth, English author (b. 1805)
    • 1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman, co-founded Currier and Ives (b. 1824)
    • 1903 – Alois Hitler, Austrian civil servant (b. 1837)
    • 1911 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (b. 1851)
    • 1915 – James Elroy Flecker, English poet, author, and playwright (b. 1884)
    • 1916 – Grenville M. Dodge, American general and politician (b. 1831)
    • 1922 – Wilhelm Voigt, German criminal (b. 1849)
    • 1923 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech journalist and author (b. 1883)
    • 1927 – Carl David Tolmé Runge, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1856)
    • 1931 – Joseph Joffre, French general (b. 1852)
    • 1933 – Wilhelm Cuno, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
    • 1933 – Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1896)
    • 1943 – Walter James, Australian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1863)
    • 1944 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (b. 1873)
    • 1945 – Edgar Cayce, American psychic and author (b. 1877)
    • 1945 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and explorer (b. 1879)
    • 1946 – William Joyce, American-British pro-Axis propaganda broadcaster (b. 1906)
    • 1956 – Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1864)
    • 1956 – Dimitrios Vergos, Greek wrestler, weightlifter, and shot putter (b. 1886)
    • 1956 – Joseph Wirth, German educator and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
    • 1958 – Cafer Tayyar Eğilmez, Turkish general (b. 1877)
    • 1959 – Edwin Muir, Scottish poet, author, and translator (b. 1887)
    • 1960 – Eric P. Kelly, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1884)
    • 1962 – Hermann Lux, German footballer and manager (b. 1893)
    • 1965 – Milton Avery, American painter (b. 1885)
    • 1966 – Sammy Younge Jr., American civil rights activist (b. 1944)
    • 1967 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (b. 1874)
    • 1967 – Reginald Punnett, British scientist (b. 1875)
    • 1967 – Jack Ruby, American businessman and murderer (b. 1911)
    • 1969 – Jean Focas, Greek-French astronomer (b. 1909)
    • 1969 – Tzavalas Karousos, Greek-French actor (b. 1904)
    • 1970 – Gladys Aylward, English missionary and humanitarian (b. 1902)
    • 1972 – Mohan Rakesh, Indian author and playwright (b. 1925)
    • 1975 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1880)
    • 1975 – James McCormack, American general (b. 1910)
    • 1977 – William Gropper, American lithographer, cartoonist, and painter (b. 1897)
    • 1979 – Conrad Hilton, American businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (b. 1887)
    • 1980 – Joy Adamson, Austrian-Kenyan author (b. 1910)
    • 1980 – George Sutherland Fraser, Scottish poet and academic (b. 1915)
    • 1981 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (b. 1883)
    • 1988 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-German poet and author (b. 1901)
    • 1989 – Sergei Sobolev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1909)
    • 1992 – Judith Anderson, British actress (b. 1897)
    • 2002 – Satish Dhawan, Indian engineer (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Jimmy Stewart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1931)
    • 2005 – Koo Chen-fu, Taiwanese businessman and diplomat (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Egidio Galea, Maltese Roman Catholic priest, missionary, and educator (b. 1918)
    • 2005 – Jyotindra Nath Dixit, Indian diplomat, 2nd Indian National Security Adviser (b. 1936)
    • 2006 – Steve Rogers, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1954)
    • 2006 – Bill Skate, Papua New Guinean politician, 5th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)
    • 2007 – János Fürst, Hungarian violinist and conductor (b. 1935)
    • 2007 – William Verity, Jr., American businessman and politician, 27th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1917)
    • 2008 – Choi Yo-sam, South Korean boxer (b. 1972)
    • 2009 – Betty Freeman, American philanthropist and photographer (b. 1921)
    • 2009 – Pat Hingle, American actor (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
    • 2010 – Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt, Chilean-German composer and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2010 – Mary Daly, American theologian and scholar (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Robert L. Carter, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Winifred Milius Lubell, American author and illustrator (b. 1914)
    • 2012 – Josef Škvorecký, Czech-Canadian author and publisher (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Bob Weston, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1947)
    • 2013 – Alfie Fripp, English soldier and pilot (b. 1913)
    • 2013 – Ivan Mackerle, Czech cryptozoologist, explorer, and author (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – William Maxson, American general (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romanian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Phil Everly, American singer and guitarist (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – George Goodman, American economist and author (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Saul Zaentz, American film producer (b. 1921)
    • 2015 – Martin Anderson, American economist and academic (b. 1936)
    • 2015 – Edward Brooke, American captain and politician, 47th Massachusetts Attorney General (b. 1919)
    • 2016 – Paul Bley, Canadian-American pianist and composer (b. 1932)
    • 2016 – Peter Naur, Danish computer scientist, astronomer, and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2016 – Bill Plager, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1945)
    • 2016 – Igor Sergun, Russian general and diplomat (b. 1957)
    • 2017 – H. S. Mahadeva Prasad, Indian politician (b. 1958)
    • 2018 – Colin Brumby, Australian composer (b. 1933)
    • 2019 – Herb Kelleher, American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Airlines (b. 1931)
    • 2020 – Qasem Soleimani, Iranian major general, commander of the Iranian Quds Force (b. 1957)

    Holidays and observances on January 3

    • Anniversary of the 1966 Coup d’état (Burkina Faso)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Daniel of Padua
      • Genevieve
      • Holy Name of Jesus
      • Kuriakose Elias Chavara (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
      • Pope Anterus
      • William Passavant (Episcopal Church)
      • January 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Ministry of Religious Affairs Day (Indonesia)
    • Tamaseseri Festival (Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan)
    • The first day of Nakhatsenendyan toner, celebrated until January 5 (Armenia).
    • The tenth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)