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February 9 in History
- 474 – Zeno is crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1003 – Boleslaus III is restored to authority with armed support from Bolesław I the Brave of Poland.
- 1555 – Bishop of Gloucester John Hooper is burned at the stake.
- 1621 – Gregory XV becomes Pope, the last Pope elected by acclamation.
- 1654 – The Capture of Fort Rocher takes place during the Anglo-Spanish War.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: The British Parliament declares Massachusetts in rebellion.
- 1778 – Rhode Island becomes the fourth US state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
- 1788 – The Habsburg Empire joins the Russo-Turkish War in the Russian camp.
- 1825 – After no candidate receives a majority of electoral votes in the US presidential election of 1824, the United States House of Representatives elects John Quincy Adams as President of the United States.
- 1849 – The new Roman Republic is declared.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.
- 1870 – US president Ulysses S. Grant signs a joint resolution of Congress establishing the U.S. Weather Bureau.
- 1889 – US president Grover Cleveland signs a bill elevating the United States Department of Agriculture to a Cabinet-level agency.
- 1895 – William G. Morgan creates a game called Mintonette, which soon comes to be referred to as volleyball.
- 1900 – The Davis Cup competition is established.
- 1904 – Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Port Arthur concludes.
- 1907 – The Mud March is the first large procession organised by the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies (NUWSS).
- 1913 – A group of meteors is visible across much of the eastern seaboard of North and South America, leading astronomers to conclude the source had been a small, short-lived natural satellite of the Earth.
- 1920 – Under the terms of the Svalbard Treaty, international diplomacy recognizes Norwegian sovereignty over Arctic archipelago Svalbard, and designates it as demilitarized.
- 1922 – Brazil becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1934 – The Balkan Entente is formed.
- 1941 – World War II: The Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa, Italy, is struck by a bomb which fails to detonate.
- 1942 – World War II: Top United States military leaders hold their first formal meeting to discuss American military strategy in the war.
- 1942 – Year-round Daylight saving time (aka War Time) is re-instated in the United States as a wartime measure to help conserve energy resources.
- 1943 – World War II: Allied authorities declare Guadalcanal secure after Imperial Japan evacuates its remaining forces from the island, ending the Battle of Guadalcanal.
- 1945 – World War II: Battle of the Atlantic: HMS Venturer sinks U-864 off the coast of Fedje, Norway, in a rare instance of submarine-to-submarine combat.
- 1945 – World War II: A force of Allied aircraft unsuccessfully attacked a German destroyer in Førdefjorden, Norway.
- 1950 – Second Red Scare: US Senator Joseph McCarthy accuses the United States Department of State of being filled with Communists.
- 1951 – Korean War: The two-day Geochang massacre begins as a battalion of the 11th Division of the South Korean Army kills 719 unarmed citizens in Geochang, in the South Gyeongsang district of South Korea
- 1959 – The R-7 Semyorka, the first intercontinental ballistic missile, becomes operational at Plesetsk, USSR.
- 1964 – The Beatles make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, performing before a “record-busting” audience of 73 million viewers across the USA.
- 1965 – The United States Marine Corps sends a MIM-23 Hawk missile battalion to South Vietnam, the first American troops in-country without an official advisory or training mission.
- 1971 – The 6.5–6.7 Mw Sylmar earthquake hits the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing 64 and injuring 2,000.
- 1971 – Satchel Paige becomes the first Negro League player to be voted into the USA’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1971 – Apollo program: Apollo 14 returns to Earth after the third manned Moon landing.
- 1975 – The Soyuz 17 Soviet spacecraft returns to Earth.
- 1976 – Aeroflot Flight 3739, a Tupolev Tu-104, crashes during takeoff from Irkutsk Airport, killing 24.
- 1978 – The Budd Company unveils its first SPV-2000 self-propelled railcar in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
- 1986 – Halley’s Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System.
- 1991 – Voters in Lithuania vote for independence.
- 1996 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army declares the end to its 18-month ceasefire and explodes a large bomb in London’s Canary Wharf, killing two people.
- 1996 – Copernicium is discovered, by Sigurd Hofmann, Victor Ninov et al.
- 2016 – Two passenger trains collided in the German town of Bad Aibling in the state of Bavaria. Twelve people died, and 85 others were injured.
- 2018 – Winter Olympics: Opening ceremony is performed in Pyeongchang County in South Korea.
Births on February 9
- 1060 – Honorius II, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1130)
- 1274 – Louis of Toulouse, French bishop (d. 1297)
- 1313 – Maria of Portugal, Queen of Castile, Portuguese infanta (d. 1357)
- 1344 – Meinhard III, count of Tyrol (d. 1363)
- 1441 – Ali-Shir Nava’i, Turkic poet, linguist, and painter (d. 1501)
- 1533 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyō (d. 1611)
- 1579 – Johannes Meursius, Dutch classical scholar (d. 1639)
- 1651 – Procopio Cutò, French entrepreneur (d. 1727)
- 1666 – George Hamilton, 1st Earl of Orkney, Scottish field marshal (d. 1737)
- 1711 – Luis Vicente de Velasco e Isla, Spanish sailor and commander (d. 1762)
- 1737 – Thomas Paine, English-American philosopher, author, and activist (d. 1809)
- 1741 – Henri-Joseph Rigel, German-French composer (d. 1799)
- 1748 – Sir John Duckworth, 1st Baronet, English admiral and politician, Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1817)
- 1763 – Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden (d. 1830)
- 1769 – George W. Campbell, Scottish-American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1848)
- 1773 – William Henry Harrison, American general and politician, 9th President of the United States (d. 1841)
- 1775 – Farkas Bolyai, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1856)
- 1781 – Johann Baptist von Spix, German biologist and explorer (d. 1826)
- 1783 – Vasily Zhukovsky, Russian poet and translator (d. 1852)
- 1789 – Franz Xaver Gabelsberger, German engineer, invented Gabelsberger shorthand (d. 1849)
- 1800 – Hyrum Smith, American religious leader (d. 1844)
- 1814 – Samuel J. Tilden, American lawyer and politician, 28th Governor of New York (d. 1886)
- 1815 – Federico de Madrazo, Spanish painter (d.1894)
- 1834 – Felix Dahn, German lawyer, historian, and author (d. 1912)
- 1826 – Keʻelikōlani, Hawaiian royal and governor (d. 1883)
- 1837 – José Burgos, Filipino priest and revolutionary (d. 1872)
- 1839 – Silas Adams, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (d. 1896)
- 1846 – Wilhelm Maybach, German engineer and businessman, founded Maybach (d. 1929)
- 1846 – Whitaker Wright, English businessman and financier (d. 1904)
- 1847 – Hugh Price Hughes, Welsh-English clergyman and theologian (d. 1902)
- 1854 – Aletta Jacobs, Dutch physician and suffrage activist (d. 1929)
- 1856 – Hara Takashi, Japanese politician, 10th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1921)
- 1859 – Akiyama Yoshifuru, Japanese general (d. 1930)
- 1863 – Anthony Hope, English author and playwright (d. 1933)
- 1864 – Miina Härma, Estonian organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1941)
- 1865 – Mrs. Patrick Campbell, English-French actress (d. 1940)
- 1865 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (d. 1949)
- 1867 – Natsume Sōseki, Japanese author and poet (d. 1916)
- 1871 – Howard Taylor Ricketts, American pathologist and physician (d. 1910)
- 1874 – Amy Lowell, American poet, critic, and educator (d. 1925)
- 1876 – Arthur Edward Moore, New Zealand-Australian politician, 23rd Premier of Queensland (d. 1963)
- 1878 – Jack Kirwan, Irish international footballer (d. 1959)
- 1880 – Lipót Fejér, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1959)
- 1883 – Jules Berry, French actor and director (d. 1951)
- 1885 – Alban Berg, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1935)
- 1885 – Clarence H. Haring, American historian and author (d. 1960)
- 1889 – Larry Semon, American actor, producer, director and screenwriter (d. 1928)
- 1891 – Ronald Colman, English-American actor (d. 1958)
- 1892 – Peggy Wood, American actress (d. 1978)
- 1893 – Georgios Athanasiadis-Novas, Greek lawyer and politician, 163rd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1987)
- 1895 – Hermann Brill, German lawyer and politician, 8th Minister-President of Thuringia (d. 1959)
- 1896 – Alberto Vargas, Peruvian-American painter and illustrator (d. 1982)
- 1897 – Charles Kingsford Smith, Australian captain and pilot (d. 1935)
- 1898 – Jūkichi Yagi, Japanese poet and educator (d. 1927)
- 1901 – Brian Donlevy, American actor (d. 1972)
- 1901 – James Murray, American actor (d. 1936)
- 1905 – David Cecil, 6th Marquess of Exeter, English hurdler and politician (d. 1981)
- 1906 – André Kostolany, Hungarian-French economist and journalist (d. 1999)
- 1907 – Trường Chinh, Vietnamese politician, 4th President of Vietnam (d. 1988)
- 1907 – Harold Scott MacDonald Coxeter, English-Canadian mathematician and academic (d. 2003)
- 1909 – Heather Angel, English-American actress (d. 1986)
- 1909 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian actress, singer, and dancer (d. 1955)
- 1909 – Dean Rusk, American colonel and politician, 54th United States Secretary of State (d. 1994)
- 1910 – Jacques Monod, French biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
- 1911 – William Orlando Darby, American general (d. 1945)
- 1912 – Futabayama Sadaji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna (d. 1968)
- 1912 – Ginette Leclerc, French actress (d. 1992)
- 1914 – Ernest Tubb, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1984)
- 1916 – Tex Hughson, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1918 – Lloyd Noel Ferguson, African American chemist (d. 2011)
- 1920 – Fred Allen, New Zealand rugby player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Kathryn Grayson, American actress and soprano (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Jim Laker, English cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1986)
- 1922 – C. P. Krishnan Nair, Indian businessman, founded The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Robert E. Ogren, American zoologist (d. 2005)
- 1923 – Brendan Behan, Irish rebel, poet, and playwright (d. 1964)
- 1923 – Tonie Nathan, American radio host, producer, and politician (d. 2014)
- 1925 – John B. Cobb, American philosopher and theologian
- 1925 – Burkhard Heim, German physicist and academic (d. 2001)
- 1926 – Garret FitzGerald, Irish lawyer and politician, 7th Taoiseach of Ireland (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Richard A. Long, American historian and author (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Frank Frazetta, American painter and illustrator (d. 2010)
- 1928 – Rinus Michels, Dutch footballer and coach (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Roger Mudd, American journalist
- 1929 – A. R. Antulay, Indian social worker and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2014)
- 1929 – Clement Meadmore, Australian-American sculptor (d. 2005)
- 1930 – Garner Ted Armstrong, American evangelist and author (d. 2003)
- 1931 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1989)
- 1931 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer and coach (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Robert Morris, American sculptor and painter (d. 2018)
- 1932 – Tatsuro Hirooka, Japanese baseball player and manager
- 1932 – Gerhard Richter, German painter and photographer
- 1935 – Lionel Fanthorpe, English-Welsh priest, journalist, and author
- 1936 – Clive Swift, English actor and singer-songwriter (d. 2019)
- 1937 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player and manager (d. 2007)
- 1938 – Ron Logan, Disney theatrical producer and professor
- 1939 – Mahala Andrews, British vertebrae palaeontologist (d. 1997)
- 1939 – Barry Mann, American pianist, songwriter, and producer
- 1939 – Janet Suzman, South African-British actress and director
- 1940 – Brian Bennett, English drummer and songwriter
- 1940 – J. M. Coetzee, South African-Australian novelist, essayist, and linguist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – Kermit Gosnell, American abortionist and serial killer
- 1941 – Sheila Kuehl, American actress, lawyer, gay rights activist, and politician
- 1942 – Carole King, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1943 – Barbara Lewis, American soul/R&B singer-songwriter
- 1943 – Joe Pesci, American actor
- 1943 – Joseph Stiglitz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1944 – Derryn Hinch, New Zealand-Australian radio and television host and politician
- 1944 – Alice Walker, American novelist, short story writer, and poet
- 1945 – Mia Farrow, American actress, activist, and former fashion model
- 1945 – Yoshinori Ohsumi, Japanese cell biologist, 2016 Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
- 1945 – Carol Wood, American mathematician and academic
- 1946 – Bob Eastwood, American golfer
- 1946 – Vince Papale, American football player and sportscaster
- 1946 – Jim Webb, American captain and politician, 18th United States Secretary of the Navy
- 1947 – Carla Del Ponte, Swiss lawyer and diplomat
- 1947 – Joe Ely, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Major Harris, American R&B singer (d. 2012)
- 1947 – Alexis Smirnoff, Canadian-American wrestler and actor (d. 2019)
- 1948 – Guy Standing, English economist and academic
- 1949 – Bernard Gallacher, Scottish golfer and journalist
- 1949 – Judith Light, American actress
- 1950 – Richard F. Colburn, American sergeant and politician
- 1951 – David Pomeranz, American singer, musician, and composer
- 1952 – Danny White, American football player and sportscaster
- 1953 – Ciarán Hinds, Irish actor
- 1953 – Ezechiele Ramin, Italian missionary, priest, and martyr (d. 1985)
- 1953 – Gabriel Rotello, American journalist and author, founded OutWeek
- 1954 – Jo Duffy, American author
- 1954 – Chris Gardner, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1954 – Kevin Warwick, English cybernetics scientist
- 1955 – Jerry Beck, American historian and author
- 1955 – Jimmy Pursey, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1955 – Charles Shaughnessy, English actor
- 1956 – Mookie Wilson, American baseball player and coach
- 1957 – Terry McAuliffe, American businessman and politician, 72nd Governor of Virginia
- 1957 – Gordon Strachan, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1958 – Sandy Lyle, Scottish golfer
- 1958 – Chris Nilan, American ice hockey player, coach, and radio host
- 1960 – Holly Johnson, English singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1960 – David Simon, American journalist, author, screenwriter, and television producer
- 1960 – Peggy Whitson, American biochemist and astronaut
- 1961 – John Kruk, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1962 – Anik Bissonnette, Canadian ballerina
- 1963 – Brian Greene, American physicist
- 1963 – Peter Rowsthorn, Australian comedian and actor
- 1963 – Travis Tritt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1964 – Debrah Miceli, Italian-American wrestler and manager
- 1964 – Dewi Morris, English rugby player
- 1964 – Ernesto Valverde, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1964 – Alejandro Ávila, Mexican telenovela actor
- 1964 – Ernesto Valverde, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1965 – Dieter Baumann, German runner
- 1966 – Harald Eia, Norwegian comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1967 – Todd Pratt, American baseball player and coach
- 1967 – Dan Shulman, Canadian sportscaster
- 1967 – Gaston Browne, Antiguan and Barbudan Prime Minister
- 1968 – Alejandra Guzmán, Mexican singer-songwriter and actress
- 1968 – Derek Strong, American basketball player and race car driver
- 1968 – Gloria Trevi, Mexican singer and actress
- 1969 – Jimmy Smith, American football player
- 1970 – Glenn McGrath, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1971 – Matt Gogel, American golfer
- 1971 – Johan Mjällby, Swedish footballer and manager
- 1972 – Darren Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1973 – Svetlana Boginskaya, Belarusian gymnast
- 1973 – Colin Egglesfield, American actor
- 1973 – Makoto Shinkai, Japanese animator, director, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Jordi Cruyff, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1974 – Brad Maynard, American football player
- 1974 – Amber Valletta, American model
- 1974 – John Wallace, American basketball player and coach
- 1975 – Kurt Asle Arvesen, Norwegian cyclist and coach
- 1975 – Clinton Grybas, Australian journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
- 1975 – Vladimir Guerrero, Dominican-American baseball player
- 1976 – Charlie Day, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1978 – A. J. Buckley, Irish-Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1979 – Akinori Iwamura, Japanese baseball player
- 1979 – Irina Slutskaya, Russian figure skater
- 1980 – Angelos Charisteas, Greek footballer
- 1980 – Margarita Levieva, Russian-American actress
- 1980 – Manu Raju, American journalist
- 1981 – Tom Hiddleston, English actor, producer, and musical performer
- 1981 – Daisuke Sekimoto, Japanese wrestler
- 1982 – Domingo Cisma, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Jameer Nelson, American basketball player
- 1982 – Ami Suzuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and actress
- 1982 – Chris Weale, English footballer and manager
- 1983 – Mikel Arruabarrena, Spanish footballer
- 1984 – Maurice Ager, American basketball player, singer, and producer
- 1984 – Shōhōzan Yūya, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1985 – David Gallagher, American actor
- 1987 – Sam Coulson, English guitarist
- 1987 – Michael B. Jordan, American actor
- 1987 – Davide Lanzafame, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Magdalena Neuner, German biathlete
- 1988 – Lotte Friis, Danish swimmer
- 1989 – Maxime Dufour-Lapointe, Canadian skier
- 1990 – Tariq Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
- 1991 – Logan Ryan, American football player
- 1992 – Kyle Feldt, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Mitchell Frei, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Avan Jogia, Canadian actor
- 1993 – Niclas Füllkrug, German footballer
- 1995 – André Burakovsky, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1995 – Mario Pašalić, Croatian footballer
- 1997 – Saquon Barkley, American football player
Deaths on February 9
- 966 – Ono no Michikaze, Japanese calligrapher (b. 894)
- 967 – Sayf al-Dawla, emir of Aleppo (b. 916)
- 978 – Luitgarde, duchess consort of Normandy
- 1011 – Bernard I, Duke of Saxony
- 1014 – Yang Yanzhao, Chinese general
- 1135 – Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1075)
- 1199 – Minamoto no Yoritomo, Japanese shōgun (b. 1147)
- 1251 – Matthias II, duke of Lorraine
- 1407 – William I, margrave of Meissen (b. 1343)
- 1450 – Agnès Sorel, French mistress of Charles VII of France (b. 1421)
- 1555 – John Hooper, English bishop and martyr (b. 1495)
- 1555 – Rowland Taylor, English priest and martyr (b. 1510)
- 1588 – Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, Spanish admiral (b. 1526)
- 1600 – John Frederick, Duke of Pomerania (b. 1542)
- 1619 – Lucilio Vanini, Italian physician and philosopher (b. 1585)
- 1640 – Murad IV, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1612)
- 1670 – Frederick III of Denmark (b. 1609)
- 1675 – Gerrit Dou, Dutch painter (b. 1613)
- 1709 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (b. 1664)
- 1777 – Seth Pomeroy, American general and gunsmith (b. 1706)
- 1803 – Jean François de Saint-Lambert, French soldier, poet, and philosopher (b. 1716)
- 1857 – Dionysios Solomos, Greek poet and translator (b. 1798)
- 1874 – Jules Michelet, French historian, philosopher, and academic (b. 1798)
- 1881 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, and philosopher (b. 1821)
- 1891 – Johan Jongkind, Dutch painter (b. 1819)
- 1903 – Charles Gavan Duffy, Irish-Australian politician, 8th Premier of Victoria (b. 1816)
- 1906 – Paul Laurence Dunbar, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1872)
- 1928 – William Gillies, Australian politician, 21st Premier of Queensland (b. 1868)
- 1930 – Richard With, Norwegian captain and businessman, founded Hurtigruten (b. 1846)
- 1932 – Junnosuke Inoue, Japanese businessman and banker (b. 1869)
- 1932 – A.K. Golam Jilani, Bangladeshi soldier and activist (b. 1904)
- 1945 – Ella D. Barrier, American educator (b. 1852)
- 1950 – Ted Theodore, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Queensland (b. 1884)
- 1951 – Eddy Duchin, American pianist, bandleader, and actor (b. 1910)
- 1957 – Miklós Horthy, Hungarian admiral and politician, Regent of Hungary (b. 1868)
- 1960 – Alexandre Benois, Russian painter and critic (b. 1870)
- 1960 – Ernő Dohnányi, Hungarian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1877)
- 1965 – Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah, Bangladeshi theologian and educator (b. 1874)
- 1966 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer (b. 1884)
- 1969 – George “Gabby” Hayes, American actor and singer (b. 1885)
- 1976 – Percy Faith, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1908)
- 1977 – Sergey Ilyushin, Russian engineer and businessman, founded the Ilyushin Design Company (b. 1894)
- 1978 – Costante Girardengo, Italian cyclist and coach (b. 1893)
- 1979 – Allen Tate, American poet and academic (b. 1899)
- 1980 – Tom Macdonald, Welsh journalist and author (b. 1900)
- 1981 – M. C. Chagla, Indian jurist and politician, Indian Minister of External Affairs (b. 1900)
- 1981 – Bill Haley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1925)
- 1984 – Yuri Andropov, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1914)
- 1989 – Osamu Tezuka, Japanese illustrator, animator, and producer (b. 1928)
- 1994 – Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1934)
- 1995 – J. William Fulbright, American lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
- 1995 – David Wayne, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1998 – Maurice Schumann, French journalist and politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1911)
- 2001 – Herbert A. Simon, American political scientist, economist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- 2002 – Isabelle Holland, Swiss-American author (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon (b. 1930)
- 2003 – Masatoshi Gündüz Ikeda, Japanese-Turkish mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
- 2004 – Claude Ryan, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1925)
- 2005 – Robert Kearns, American engineer, invented the windscreen wiper (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Freddie Laker, English pilot and businessman, founded Laker Airways (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Hank Bauer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Ian Richardson, Scottish actor (b. 1934)
- 2008 – Christopher Hyatt, American occultist and author (b. 1943)
- 2008 – Jazeh Tabatabai, Iranian painter, poet, and sculptor (b. 1931)
- 2009 – Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Cuban bassist and composer (b. 1933)
- 2010 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (b. 1920)
- 2011 – Miltiadis Evert, Greek lawyer and politician, 69th Mayor of Athens (b. 1939)
- 2012 – O. P. Dutta, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2012 – John Hick, English philosopher and academic (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Joe Moretti, Scottish-South African guitarist and songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Richard Artschwager, American painter, illustrator, and sculptor (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Keiko Fukuda, Japanese-American martial artist and trainer (b. 1913)
- 2013 – Jimmy Smyth, Irish hurler (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Gabriel Axel, Danish actor, director, and producer (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Hal Herring, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Logan Scott-Bowden, English general (b. 1920)
- 2015 – Liu Han, Chinese businessman and philanthropist (b. 1965)
- 2015 – Ed Sabol, American film producer, co-founded NFL Films (b. 1916)
- 2016 – Sushil Koirala, Nepalese politician, 37th Prime Minister of Nepal (b. 1939)
- 2016 – Zdravko Tolimir, Bosnian Serb military commander (b. 1948)
- 2017 – André Salvat, French Army colonel (b. 1920)
- 2018 – Reg E. Cathey, American actor of stage, film, and television (b. 1958)
- 2018 – Nebojša Glogovac, Serbian actor (b. 1969)
- 2018 – Jóhann Jóhannsson, Icelandic composer (b. 1969)
- 2018 – John Gavin, American actor and United States ambassador to Mexico (b. 1931)
- 2020 – Sergiy Vilkomir, Ukrainian-born computer scientist (b. 1956)
Holidays and observances on February 9
- Christian feast day:
- Alto of Altomünster
- Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich
- Ansbert of Rouen
- Apollonia
- Bracchio
- Blessed Leopold of Alpandeire
- Maron (Maronite Church)
- Miguel Febres Cordero
- Nebridius
- Sabinus of Canosa
- Teilo (Wales)
- February 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Clean Monday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of Great Lent. (Eastern Christianity)
- Earliest day on which People’s Sunday can fall, while March 15 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday of Lent. (Malta)
- St. Maroun’s Day (public holiday in Lebanon)
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February 6 in History
- AD 60 – The earliest date for which the day of the week is known. A graffito in Pompeii identifies this day as a dies Solis (Sunday). In modern reckoning, this date would have been a Wednesday.
- 1579 – The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop.
- 1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death of his brother Charles II.
- 1694 – The warrior queen Dandara, leader of the runaway slaves in Quilombo dos Palmares, Brazil, is captured and commits suicide rather than be returned to a life of slavery.
- 1778 – American Revolutionary War: In Paris the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce are signed by the United States and France signaling official recognition of the new republic.
- 1778 –New York became the third state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
- 1788 – Massachusetts becomes the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
- 1806 – Battle of San Domingo: British naval victory against the French in the Caribbean.
- 1819 – Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founds Singapore.
- 1820 – The first 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society depart New York to start a settlement in present-day Liberia.
- 1833 – Otto becomes the first modern King of Greece.
- 1840 – Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony.
- 1843 – The first minstrel show in the United States, The Virginia Minstrels, opens (Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City).
- 1851 – The largest Australian bushfires in a populous region in recorded history take place in the state of Victoria.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Forces under the command of Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew H. Foote give the Union its first victory of the war, capturing Fort Henry, Tennessee in the Battle of Fort Henry.
- 1899 – Spanish–American War: The Treaty of Paris, a peace treaty between the United States and Spain, is ratified by the United States Senate.
- 1900 – The Permanent Court of Arbitration, an international arbitration court at The Hague, is created when the Senate of the Netherlands ratifies an 1899 peace conference decree.
- 1918 – British women over the age of 30 who meet minimum property qualifications, get the right to vote when Representation of the People Act 1918 is passed by Parliament.
- 1919 – The American Legion is founded.
- 1919 – The five-day Seattle General Strike begins, as more than 65,000 workers in the city of Seattle, Washington, walk off the job.
- 1922 – The Washington Naval Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., limiting the naval armaments of United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy.
- 1934 – Far-right leagues rally in front of the Palais Bourbon in an attempted coup against the French Third Republic, creating a political crisis in France.
- 1951 – The Canadian Army enters combat in the Korean War.
- 1951 – The Broker, a Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train derails near Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. The accident kills 85 people and injures over 500 more. The wreck is one of the worst rail disasters in American history.
- 1952 – Elizabeth II becomes Queen of the United Kingdom and her other Realms and Territories and Head of the Commonwealth upon the death of her father, George VI. At the exact moment of succession, she was in a tree house at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya.
- 1958 – Eight Manchester United F.C. players and 15 other passengers are killed in the Munich air disaster.
- 1959 – Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files the first patent for an integrated circuit.
- 1959 – At Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile is accomplished.
- 1976 – In testimony before a United States Senate subcommittee, Lockheed Corporation president Carl Kotchian admits that the company had paid out approximately $3 million in bribes to the office of Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka.
- 1978 – The Blizzard of 1978, one of the worst Nor’easters in New England history, hit the region, with sustained winds of 65 mph and snowfall of four inches an hour.
- 1981 – The National Resistance Army of Uganda launches an attack on a Ugandan Army installation in the central Mubende District to begin the Ugandan Bush War.
- 1987 – Justice Mary Gaudron becomes the first woman to be appointed to the High Court of Australia.
- 1988 – Michael Jordan makes his signature slam dunk from the free throw line inspiring Air Jordan and the Jumpman logo.
- 1989 – The Round Table Talks start in Poland, thus marking the beginning of the overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe.
- 1996 – Willamette Valley Flood: Floods in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, United States, causes over US$500 million in property damage throughout the Pacific Northwest.
- 1996 – Birgenair Flight 301 crashed off the coast of the Dominican Republic, killing all 189 people on board. This is the deadliest aviation accident involving a Boeing 757.
- 1998 – Washington National Airport is renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport.
- 2000 – Second Chechen War: Russia captures Grozny, Chechnya, forcing the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria government into exile.
- 2006 – Stephen Harper becomes Prime Minister of Canada.
- 2016 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 strikes southern Taiwan, killing 117 people.
- 2018 – SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, a super heavy launch vehicle, makes its maiden flight.
Births on February 6
- 885 – Emperor Daigo of Japan (d. 930)
- 1402 – Louis I, Landgrave of Hesse, Landgrave of Hesse (d. 1458)
- 1452 – Joanna, Princess of Portugal (d. 1490)
- 1453 – Girolamo Benivieni, Florentine poet (d. 1542)
- 1465 – Scipione del Ferro, Italian mathematician and theorist (d. 1526)
- 1536 – Sassa Narimasa, Japanese samurai (d. 1588)
- 1577 – Beatrice Cenci, Italian murderer (d. 1599)
- 1582 – Mario Bettinus, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (d. 1657)
- 1608 – António Vieira, Portuguese priest and philosopher (d. 1697)
- 1611 – Chongzhen Emperor of China (d. 1644)
- 1612 – Antoine Arnauld, French mathematician, theologian, and philosopher (d. 1694)
- 1643 – Johann Kasimir Kolbe von Wartenberg, Prussian politician, 1st Minister President of Prussia (d. 1712)
- 1649 – Augusta Marie of Holstein-Gottorp, German noblewoman (d. 1728)
- 1664 – Mustafa II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1703)
- 1665 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland (d. 1714)
- 1665 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (d. 1714)
- 1695 – Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss-Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1726)
- 1719 – Alberto Pullicino, Maltese painter (d. 1759)
- 1726 – Patrick Russell, Scottish surgeon and zoologist (d. 1805)
- 1732 – Charles Lee, English-American general (d. 1782)
- 1736 – Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, German-Austrian sculptor (d. 1783)
- 1744 – Pierre-Joseph Desault, French anatomist and surgeon (d. 1795)
- 1748 – Adam Weishaupt, German philosopher and academic, founded the Illuminati (d. 1830)
- 1753 – Évariste de Parny, French poet and author (d. 1814)
- 1756 – Aaron Burr, American colonel and politician, 3rd Vice President of the United States (d. 1836)
- 1758 – Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Belarusian-Polish poet, playwright, and politician (d. 1841)
- 1769 – Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn, Austrian general (d. 1862)
- 1772 – George Murray, Scottish general and politician, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies (d. 1830)
- 1778 – Ugo Foscolo, Italian author and poet (d. 1827)
- 1781 – John Keane, 1st Baron Keane, Irish general and politician, Governor of Saint Lucia (d. 1844)
- 1796 – John Stevens Henslow, English botanist and geologist (d. 1861)
- 1797 – Joseph von Radowitz, Prussian general and politician, Foreign Minister of Prussia (d. 1853)
- 1799 – Imre Frivaldszky, Hungarian botanist and entomologist (d. 1870)
- 1800 – Achille Devéria, French painter and lithographer (d. 1857)
- 1802 – Charles Wheatstone, English-French physicist and cryptographer (d. 1875)
- 1811 – Henry Liddell, English priest, author, and academic (d. 1898)
- 1814 – Auguste Chapdelaine, French missionary and saint (d. 1856)
- 1818 – William M. Evarts, American lawyer and politician, 27th United States Secretary of State (d. 1901)
- 1820 – Thomas C. Durant, American railroad tycoon (d. 1885)
- 1829 – Joseph Auguste Émile Vaudremer, French architect, designed the La Santé Prison and Saint-Pierre-de-Montrouge (d. 1914)
- 1832 – John Brown Gordon, American general and politician, 53rd Governor of Georgia (d. 1904)
- 1833 – José María de Pereda, Spanish author and academic (d. 1906)
- 1833 – J. E. B. Stuart, American general (d. 1864)
- 1834 – Edwin Klebs, German-Swiss pathologist and academic (d. 1913)
- 1834 – Ema Pukšec, Croatian-German soprano (d. 1889)
- 1834 – Wilhelm von Scherff, German general and author (d. 1911)
- 1838 – Henry Irving, English actor and manager (d. 1905)
- 1838 – Israel Meir Kagan, Lithuanian-Polish rabbi and author (d. 1933)
- 1839 – Eduard Hitzig, German neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1907)
- 1842 – Alexandre Ribot, French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1923)
- 1843 – Inoue Kowashi, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 1895)
- 1843 – Frederic William Henry Myers, English poet and philologist, co-founded the Society for Psychical Research (d. 1901)
- 1845 – Isidor Straus, German-American businessman and politician (d. 1912)
- 1847 – Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, American architect, designed the Plaza Hotel (d. 1918)
- 1852 – C. Lloyd Morgan, English zoologist and psychologist (d. 1936)
- 1852 – Vasily Safonov, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1918)
- 1861 – Nikolay Zelinsky, Russian chemist and academic (d. 1953)
- 1864 – John Henry Mackay, Scottish-German philosopher and author (d. 1933)
- 1866 – Karl Sapper, German linguist and explorer (d. 1945)
- 1872 – Robert Maillart, Swiss engineer, designed the Salginatobel Bridge and Schwandbach Bridge (d. 1940)
- 1874 – Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Indian religious leader, founded the Gaudiya Math (d. 1937)
- 1875 – Leonid Gobyato, Russian general (d. 1915)
- 1876 – Henry Blogg, English fisherman and sailor (d. 1954)
- 1879 – Othon Friesz, French painter (d. 1949)
- 1879 – Magnús Guðmundsson, Icelandic lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1937)
- 1879 – Edwin Samuel Montagu, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 1924)
- 1879 – Carl Ramsauer, German physicist and author (d. 1955)
- 1880 – Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna (d. 1931)
- 1884 – Marcel Cohen, French linguist and scholar (d. 1974)
- 1887 – Josef Frings, German cardinal (d. 1978)
- 1890 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pakistani activist and politician (d. 1988)
- 1890 – James McGirr, Australian politician, 28th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1957)
- 1892 – Maximilian Fretter-Pico, German general (d. 1984)
- 1892 – William P. Murphy, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1893 – Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, Pakistani politician and diplomat, 1st Minister of Foreign Affairs for Pakistan (d. 1985)
- 1894 – Eric Partridge, New Zealand-English lexicographer and academic (d. 1979)
- 1894 – Kirpal Singh, Indian spiritual master (d. 1974)
- 1895 – Robert La Follette Jr., American politician (d. 1953)
- 1895 – María Teresa Vera, Cuban singer, guitarist and composer (d. 1965)
- 1895 – Babe Ruth, American baseball player and coach (d. 1948)
- 1898 – Harry Haywood, American soldier and politician (d. 1985)
- 1899 – Ramon Novarro, Mexican-American actor, singer, and director (d. 1968)
- 1901 – Ben Lyon, American actor (d. 1979)
- 1902 – George Brunies, American trombonist (d. 1974)
- 1903 – Claudio Arrau, Chilean pianist and composer (d. 1991)
- 1905 – Władysław Gomułka, Polish politician (d. 1982)
- 1905 – Jan Werich, Czech actor and playwright (d. 1980)
- 1906 – Joseph Schull, Canadian playwright and historian (d. 1980)
- 1908 – Amintore Fanfani, Italian journalist and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1999)
- 1908 – Edward Lansdale, American general and CIA agent (d. 1987)
- 1908 – Geo Bogza, Romanian poet and journalist (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Michael Maltese, American actor, screenwriter, and composer (d. 1981)
- 1910 – Roman Czerniawski, Polish air force officer and spy (d. 1985)
- 1910 – Irmgard Keun, German author (d. 1982)
- 1910 – Carlos Marcello, Tunisian-American gangster (d. 1993)
- 1911 – Ronald Reagan, American actor and politician, 40th President of the United States (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Eva Braun, German wife of Adolf Hitler (d. 1945)
- 1912 – Christopher Hill, English historian and author (d. 2003)
- 1913 – Mary Leakey, English-Kenyan archaeologist and anthropologist (d. 1996)
- 1914 – Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and singer (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Kavi Pradeep, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1998)
- 1916 – John Crank, English mathematician and physicist (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Louis-Philippe de Grandpré, Canadian lawyer and jurist (d. 2008)
- 1917 – Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and socialite (d. 2016)
- 1918 – Lothar-Günther Buchheim, German author and painter (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Takashi Yanase, Japanese poet and illustrator, created Anpanman (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Carl Neumann Degler, American historian and author (d. 2014)
- 1921 – Bob Scott, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Patrick Macnee, English-American actor and costume designer (d. 2015)
- 1922 – Denis Norden, English actor, screenwriter, and television host (d. 2018)
- 1922 – Haskell Wexler, American director, producer, and cinematographer (d. 2015)
- 1923 – Gyula Lóránt, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1981)
- 1924 – Billy Wright, English footballer and manager (d. 1994)
- 1924 – Jin Yong, Hong Kong author and publisher, founded Ming Pao (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Walker Edmiston, American actor and puppeteer (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Gerard K. O’Neill, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1992)
- 1928 – Allan H. Meltzer, American economist and academic (d. 2017)
- 1929 – Colin Murdoch, New Zealand pharmacist and veterinarian, invented the tranquilliser gun (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Oscar Sambrano Urdaneta, Venezuelan author and critic (d. 2011)
- 1929 – Valentin Yanin, Russian historian and author (d. 2020)
- 1930 – Jun Kondo, Japanese physicist and academic
- 1931 – Rip Torn, American actor (d. 2019)
- 1931 – Fred Trueman, English cricketer (d. 2006)
- 1931 – Mamie Van Doren, American actress and model
- 1931 – Ricardo Vidal, Filipino cardinal (d. 2017)
- 1932 – Camilo Cienfuegos, Cuban soldier and anarchist (d. 1959)
- 1932 – François Truffaut, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1984)
- 1933 – Leslie Crowther, English comedian, actor, and game show host (d. 1996)
- 1936 – Kent Douglas, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2009)
- 1938 – Fred Mifflin, Canadian admiral and politician, 19th Minister of Veterans Affairs (d. 2013)
- 1939 – Jean Beaudin, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2019)
- 1939 – Mike Farrell, American actor, director, producer, activist and public speaker
- 1939 – Jair Rodrigues, Brazilian singer (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Tom Brokaw, American journalist and author
- 1940 – Petr Hájek, Czech mathematician and academic (d. 2016)
- 1940 – Jimmy Tarbuck, English comedian and actor
- 1941 – Stephen Albert, American pianist and composer (d. 1992)
- 1941 – Dave Berry, English pop singer
- 1941 – Gigi Perreau, American actress and director
- 1942 – Sarah Brady, American activist and author (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Charlie Coles, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Ahmad-Jabir Ahmadov Ismail oghlu, Azerbaijani philosopher and academic
- 1942 – James Loewen, American sociologist and historian
- 1942 – Tommy Roberts, English fashion designer (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Fabian Forte, American pop singer and actor
- 1943 – Gayle Hunnicutt, American actress
- 1944 – Christine Boutin, French politician, French Minister of Housing and Urban Development
- 1944 – Willie Tee, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2007)
- 1944 – Michael Tucker, American actor and producer
- 1945 – Bob Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1981)
- 1946 – Richie Hayward, American drummer and songwriter (d. 2010)
- 1946 – Kate McGarrigle, Canadian musician and singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
- 1946 – Jim Turner, American captain and politician
- 1947 – Bill Staines, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Charlie Hickcox, American swimmer (d .2010)
- 1949 – Mike Batt, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1949 – Manuel Orantes, Spanish tennis player
- 1949 – Jim Sheridan, Irish director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1950 – Natalie Cole, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2015)
- 1950 – Timothy M. Dolan, American cardinal
- 1950 – Punky Meadows, American rock guitarist and songwriter
- 1952 – Ric Charlesworth, Australian cricketer, coach, and politician
- 1952 – Viktor Giacobbo, Swiss actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1952 – Ricardo La Volpe, Argentinian footballer, manager, and coach
- 1955 – Avram Grant, Israeli football manager
- 1955 – Michael Pollan, American journalist, author, and academic
- 1955 – Bruno Stolorz, French rugby player and coach
- 1956 – Jerry Marotta, American drummer
- 1957 – Andres Lipstok, Estonian economist and politician, Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs
- 1957 – Kathy Najimy, American actress and comedian
- 1957 – Simon Phillips, English drummer and producer
- 1957 – Robert Townsend, American actor and director
- 1958 – Cecily Adams, American actress and casting director (d. 2004)
- 1960 – Jeremy Bowen, Welsh journalist
- 1960 – Megan Gallagher, American actress
- 1961 – Michael Bolt, Australian rugby league player
- 1961 – Cam Cameron, American football player and coach
- 1961 – Bill Lester, American race car driver
- 1961 – Yury Onufriyenko, Ukrainian-Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1962 – Stavros Lambrinidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Greece
- 1962 – Axl Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1963 – David Capel, English cricketer
- 1963 – Scott Gordon, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1963 – Quentin Letts, English journalist and critic
- 1964 – Laurent Cabannes, French rugby player
- 1964 – Gordon Downie, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2017)
- 1964 – Colin Miller, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
- 1964 – Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russian actor and director
- 1965 – Jan Svěrák, Czech actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1966 – Rick Astley, English singer-songwriter
- 1967 – Anita Cochran, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1967 – Izumi Sakai, Japanese singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
- 1968 – Adolfo Valencia, Colombian footballer
- 1968 – Akira Yamaoka, Japanese composer and producer
- 1969 – David Hayter, American actor and screenwriter
- 1969 – Masaharu Fukuyama, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1969 – Tim Sherwood, English international footballer midfielder and manager
- 1969 – Bob Wickman, American baseball player
- 1970 – Per Frandsen, Danish footballer and manager
- 1970 – Tim Herron, American golfer
- 1971 – Brad Hogg, Australian cricketer
- 1971 – Carlos Rogers, American basketball player
- 1972 – Stefano Bettarini, Italian footballer
- 1972 – David Binn, American football player
- 1974 – Aljo Bendijo, Filipino journalist
- 1975 – Chad Allen, American baseball player and coach
- 1975 – Orkut Büyükkökten, Turkish computer scientist and engineer, created Orkut
- 1975 – Tomoko Kawase, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
- 1976 – Tanja Frieden, Swiss snowboarder and educator
- 1976 – Kim Zmeskal, American gymnast and coach
- 1977 – Josh Stewart, American actor
- 1978 – Yael Naim, French-Israeli singer-songwriter
- 1979 – Dan Bălan, Moldovan singer-songwriter and producer
- 1980 – Kerry Jeremy, Antiguan cricketer
- 1980 – Kim Poirier, Canadian actress, singer, and producer
- 1980 – Luke Ravenstahl, American politician, 58th Mayor of Pittsburgh
- 1981 – Ricky Barnes, American golfer
- 1981 – Calum Best, American-English model and actor
- 1981 – Shim Eun-jin, South Korean singer and actress
- 1981 – Alison Haislip, American actress and producer
- 1981 – Jens Lekman, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Ty Warren, American football player
- 1982 – Tank, Taiwanese singer-songwriter
- 1982 – Alice Eve, English actress
- 1982 – Elise Ray, American gymnast
- 1983 – Melrose Bickerstaff, American model and fashion designer
- 1983 – Brodie Croyle, American football player
- 1983 – Dimas Delgado, Spanish footballer
- 1983 – S. Sreesanth, Indian cricketer
- 1983 – Jamie Whincup, Australian race car driver
- 1984 – Darren Bent, English international footballer, forward
- 1984 – Piret Järvis, Estonian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1984 – Antoine Wright, American basketball player
- 1985 – Ben Creagh, Australian rugby league player
- 1985 – Kris Humphries, American basketball player
- 1986 – Dane DeHaan, American actor
- 1986 – Yunho, South Korean singer and actor
- 1988 – Bailey Hanks, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1989 – Craig Cathcart, Northern Irish footballer
- 1989 – Jonny Flynn, American basketball player
- 1990 – Adam Henrique, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1990 – Jermaine Kearse, American football player
- 1990 – Aida Rybalko, Lithuanian figure skater
- 1991 – Tobias Eisenbauer, Austrian ice dancer
- 1991 – Ida Njåtun, Norwegian speed skater
- 1991 – Eva Wacanno, Dutch tennis player
- 1991 – Fei Yu, Chinese footballer
- 1992 – Víctor Mañón, Mexican footballer
- 1993 – Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011
- 1993 – Tinashe, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1994 – Charlie Heaton, British actor and musician
- 1995 – Leon Goretzka, German footballer
- 1995 – Sam McQueen, English footballer
Deaths on February 6
- 743 – Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, Umayyad caliph (b. 691)
- 797 – Donnchad Midi, Irish king (b. 733)
- 891 – Photios I of Constantinople (b. 810)
- 1140 – Thurstan, Archbishop of York
- 1155 – King Sigurd II of Norway (b. 1133)
- 1215 – Hōjō Tokimasa, Japanese shikken of the Kamakura bakufu (b. 1138)
- 1378 – Joanna of Bourbon (b. 1338)
- 1411 – Esau de’ Buondelmonti, ruler of Epirus
- 1497 – Johannes Ockeghem, Flemish composer and educator (b. 1410)
- 1515 – Aldus Manutius, Italian publisher, founded the Aldine Press (b. 1449)
- 1519 – Lorenz von Bibra, Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Würzburg (b. 1459)
- 1539 – John III, Duke of Cleves (b. 1491)
- 1585 – Edmund Plowden, English lawyer and scholar (b. 1518)
- 1593 – Jacques Amyot, French author and translator (b. 1513)
- 1593 – Emperor Ōgimachi of Japan (b. 1517)
- 1597 – Franciscus Patricius, Italian philosopher and scientist (b. 1529)
- 1612 – Christopher Clavius, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1538)
- 1617 – Prospero Alpini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1553)
- 1625 – Philipp Julius, Duke of Pomerania (b. 1584)
- 1685 – Charles II of England (b. 1630)
- 1695 – Ahmed II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1643)
- 1740 – Pope Clement XII (b. 1652)
- 1775 – William Dowdeswell, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1721)
- 1783 – Capability Brown, English gardener and architect (b. 1716)
- 1793 – Carlo Goldoni, Italian-French playwright (b. 1707)
- 1804 – Joseph Priestley, English chemist and theologian (b. 1733)
- 1807 – John Reid, Scottish general (b. 1721)
- 1833 – Pierre André Latreille, French zoologist and entomologist (b. 1762)
- 1834 – Richard Lemon Lander, English explorer (b. 1804)
- 1865 – Isabella Beeton, English author of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (b. 1836)
- 1899 – Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1874)
- 1899 – Leo von Caprivi, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1831)
- 1902 – John Colton, English-Australian politician, 13th Premier of South Australia (b. 1823)
- 1916 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan poet, journalist, and diplomat (b. 1867)
- 1918 – Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and illustrator (b. 1862)
- 1929 – Maria Christina of Austria (b. 1858)
- 1931 – Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (b. 1861)
- 1932 – John Earle, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1865)
- 1938 – Marianne von Werefkin, Russian-Swiss painter (b. 1860)
- 1942 – Jaan Soots, Estonian general and politician, 7th Estonian Minister of War (b. 1880)
- 1951 – Gabby Street, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1882)
- 1952 – George VI of the United Kingdom (b. 1895)
- 1958 – victims of the Munich air disaster
- – Geoff Bent, English footballer (b. 1932)
- – Roger Byrne, English footballer (b. 1929)
- – Eddie Colman, English footballer (b. 1936)
- – Walter Crickmer, English footballer and manager (b. 1900)
- – Mark Jones, English footballer (b. 1933)
- – David Pegg, English footballer (b. 1935)
- – Frank Swift, English footballer and journalist (b. 1913)
- – Tommy Taylor, English footballer (b. 1932)
- 1963 – Piero Manzoni, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1933)
- 1964 – Emilio Aguinaldo, Filipino general and politician, 1st President of the Philippines (b. 1869)
- 1967 – Martine Carol, French actress (b. 1920)
- 1972 – Julian Steward, American anthropologist (b. 1902)
- 1976 – Ritwik Ghatak, Bangladeshi-Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 1976 – Vince Guaraldi, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1928)
- 1981 – Hugo Montenegro, American composer and conductor (b. 1925)
- 1982 – Ben Nicholson, British painter (b. 1894)
- 1985 – James Hadley Chase, English-Swiss soldier and author (b. 1906)
- 1986 – Frederick Coutts, Scottish 8th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1899)
- 1986 – Dandy Nichols, English actress (b. 1907)
- 1986 – Minoru Yamasaki, American architect, designed the World Trade Center (b. 1912)
- 1987 – Julien Chouinard, Canadian lawyer and jurist (b. 1929)
- 1989 – Barbara W. Tuchman, American historian and author (b. 1912)
- 1990 – Jimmy Van Heusen, American pianist and composer (b. 1913)
- 1991 – Salvador Luria, Italian biologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
- 1991 – Danny Thomas, American actor, producer, and humanitarian (b. 1914)
- 1993 – Arthur Ashe, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1943)
- 1994 – Joseph Cotten, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1994 – Jack Kirby, American author and illustrator (b. 1917)
- 1995 – James Merrill, American poet and playwright (b. 1926)
- 1998 – Falco, Austrian pop-rock musician (b. 1957)
- 1999 – Don Dunstan, Australian lawyer and politician, 35th Premier of South Australia (b. 1926)
- 1999 – Jimmy Roberts, American tenor (b. 1924)
- 2000 – Phil Walters, American race car driver (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Filemon Lagman, Filipino theoretician and activist (b. 1953)
- 2002 – Max Perutz, Austrian-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
- 2004 – Gerald Bouey, Canadian lieutenant and economist (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Karl Haas, German-American pianist, conductor, and radio host (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Lew Burdette, American baseball player and coach (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Frankie Laine, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Willye White, American runner and long jumper (b. 1939)
- 2008 – Tony Rolt, English race car driver and engineer (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Philip Carey, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2009 – James Whitmore, American actor (b. 1921)
- 2011 – Gary Moore, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1952)
- 2012 – David Rosenhan, American psychologist and academic (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Antoni Tàpies, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Janice E. Voss, American engineer and astronaut (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Chokri Belaid, Tunisian lawyer and politician (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Menachem Elon, German-Israeli academic and jurist (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Vasiľ Biľak, Slovak politician (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Ralph Kiner, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Maxine Kumin, American author and poet (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Vaçe Zela, Albanian-Swiss singer and guitarist (b. 1939)
- 2015 – André Brink, South African author and playwright (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Alan Nunnelee, American lawyer and politician (b. 1958)
- 2015 – Pedro León Zapata, Venezuelan cartoonist (b. 1929)
- 2016 – Dan Gerson, American screenwriter (b. 1966)
- 2016 – Dan Hicks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
- 2017 – Irwin Corey, American comedian and actor (b. 1914)
- 2017 – Inge Keller, German actress (b. 1923)
- 2017 – Alec McCowen, English actor (b. 1925)
- 2017 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby union footballer (b. 1971)
Holidays and observances on February 6
- Christian feast day:
- Amand
- Dorothea of Caesarea
- Hildegund, O.Praem.
- Jacut
- Mateo Correa Magallanes (one of Saints of the Cristero War)
- Mél of Ardagh
- Paul Miki and Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan
- Relindis (Renule) of Maaseik
- Vedastus
- February 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (United Nations)
- Ronald Reagan Day (California, United States)
- Sami National Day (Russia, Finland, Norway and Sweden)
- Waitangi Day, celebrates the founding of New Zealand in 1840.
-
February 5 in History
- AD 62 – Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy.
- 756 – An Lushan, leader of a revolt against the Tang Dynasty, declares himself emperor and establishes the state of Yan.
- 789 – Idris I reaches Volubilis and founds the Idrisid dynasty, ceding Morocco from the Abbasid caliphate and founding the first Moroccan state.
- 1576 – Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion.
- 1597 – A group of early Japanese Christians are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society.
- 1649 – Charles Stuart, the son of King Charles I, is declared King Charles II of England and Scotland by the Scottish Parliament.
- 1778 – South Carolina becomes the second state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
- 1782 – Spanish defeat British forces and capture Menorca.
- 1783 – In Calabria, a sequence of strong earthquakes begins.
- 1807 – HMS Blenheim and HMS Java disappear off the coast of Rodrigues.
- 1810 – Peninsular War: Siege of Cádiz begins.
- 1818 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte ascends to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.
- 1849 – University of Wisconsin–Madison’s first class meets at Madison Female Academy.
- 1852 – The New Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, one of the largest and oldest museums in the world, opens to the public.
- 1859 – Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Prince of Moldavia, is also elected as the prince of Wallachia, joining the two principalities as a personal union called the United Principalities, an autonomous region within the Ottoman Empire, which ushered the birth of the modern Romanian state.
- 1862 – Moldavia and Wallachia formally unite to create the Romanian United Principalities.
- 1869 – The largest alluvial gold nugget in history, called the “Welcome Stranger”, is found in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia.
- 1885 – King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal possession.
- 1905 – In Mexico, the General Hospital of Mexico is inaugurated, started with four basic specialties.
- 1907 – Belgian chemist Leo Baekeland announces the creation of Bakelite, the world’s first synthetic plastic.
- 1913 – Greek military aviators, Michael Moutoussis and Aristeidis Moraitinis perform the first naval air mission in history, with a Farman MF.7 hydroplane.
- 1917 – The current constitution of Mexico is adopted, establishing a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
- 1917 – The Congress of the United States passes the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto.
- 1918 – Stephen W. Thompson shoots down a German airplane; this is the first aerial victory by the U.S. military.
- 1918 – SS Tuscania is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland; it is the first ship carrying American troops to Europe to be torpedoed and sunk.
- 1919 – Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D. W. Griffith launch United Artists.
- 1924 – The Royal Greenwich Observatory begins broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal.
- 1933 – Mutiny on Royal Netherlands Navy warship HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën off the coast of Sumatra, Dutch East Indies.
- 1939 – Generalísimo Francisco Franco becomes the 68th “Caudillo de España“, or Leader of Spain.
- 1941 – World War II: Allied forces begin the Battle of Keren to capture Keren, Eritrea.
- 1945 – World War II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila.
- 1958 – Gamal Abdel Nasser is nominated to be the first president of the United Arab Republic.
- 1958 – A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered.
- 1962 – French President Charles de Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence.
- 1963 – The European Court of Justice’s ruling in Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen establishes the principle of direct effect, one of the most important, if not the most important, decisions in the development of European Union law.
- 1971 – Astronauts land on the moon in the Apollo 14 mission.
- 1975 – Riots break in Lima, Peru after the police forces go on strike the day before. The uprising (locally known as the Limazo) is bloodily suppressed by the military dictatorship.
- 1985 – Ugo Vetere, then the mayor of Rome, and Chedli Klibi, then the mayor of Carthage meet in Tunis to sign a treaty of friendship officially ending the Third Punic War which lasted 2,131 years.
- 1988 – Manuel Noriega is indicted on drug smuggling and money laundering charges.
- 1994 – Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
- 1994 – Markale massacres, more than 60 people are killed and some 200 wounded as a mortar shell explodes in a downtown marketplace in Sarajevo.
- 1997 – The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.
- 2000 – Russian forces massacre at least 60 civilians in the Novye Aldi suburb of Grozny, Chechnya.
- 2004 – Rebels from the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front capture the city of Gonaïves, starting the 2004 Haiti rebellion.
- 2008 – A major tornado outbreak across the Southern United States kills 57.
- 2020 – United States President Donald Trump is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
Births on February 5
- 976 – Sanjō, emperor of Japan (d. 1017)
- 1321 – John II, marquess of Montferrat (d. 1372)
- 1438 – Philip II, duke of Savoy (d. 1497)
- 1505 – Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss statesman and historian (d. 1572)
- 1519 – René of Châlon, prince of Orange (d. 1544)
- 1525 – Juraj Drašković, Croatian Catholic cardinal (d. 1587)
- 1533 – Andreas Dudith, Croatian-Hungarian nobleman and diplomat (d. 1589)
- 1534 – Giovanni de’ Bardi, Italian soldier, composer, and critic (d. 1612)
- 1589 – Esteban Manuel de Villegas, Spanish poet and educator (d. 1669)
- 1594 – Biagio Marini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1663)
- 1605 – Bernard of Corleone, Italian saint (d. 1667)
- 1608 – Gaspar Schott, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1666)
- 1626 – Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (d. 1696)
- 1650 – Anne Jules de Noailles, French general (d. 1708)
- 1703 – Gilbert Tennent, Irish-American minister (d. 1764)
- 1723 – John Witherspoon, Scottish-American minister and academic (d. 1794)
- 1725 – James Otis, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1783)
- 1748 – Christian Gottlob Neefe, German composer and conductor (d. 1798)
- 1788 – Robert Peel, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1850)
- 1795 – Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist, geologist, and physicist (d. 1871)
- 1804 – Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finnish poet and hymn-writer (d. 1877)
- 1808 – Carl Spitzweg, German painter and poet (d. 1885)
- 1810 – Ole Bull, Norwegian violinist and composer (d. 1880)
- 1827 – Peter Lalor, Irish-Australian activist and politician (d. 1889)
- 1837 – Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist and publisher, founded Moody Church, Moody Bible Institute, and Moody Publishers (d. 1899)
- 1840 – John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish businessman, co-founded Dunlop Rubber (d. 1921)
- 1840 – Hiram Maxim, American engineer, invented the Maxim gun (d. 1916)
- 1847 – Eduard Magnus Jakobson, Estonian missionary and engraver (d. 1903)
- 1848 – Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author and critic (d. 1907)
- 1848 – Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean lieutenant (d. 1882)
- 1852 – Terauchi Masatake, Japanese field marshal and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1919)
- 1866 – Domhnall Ua Buachalla, Irish politician, 3rd and last Governor-General of the Irish Free State (d. 1963)
- 1870 – Charles Edmund Brock, British painter and book illustrator (d. 1938)
- 1876 – Ernie McLea, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1931)
- 1878 – André Citroën, French engineer and businessman, founded Citroën (d. 1935)
- 1880 – Gabriel Voisin, French pilot and engineer (d. 1973)
- 1889 – Patsy Hendren, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1962)
- 1889 – Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (d. 1962)
- 1889 – Recep Peker, Turkish officer and politician (d. 1950)
- 1891 – Renato Petronio, Italian rower (d. 1976)
- 1892 – Elizabeth Ryan, American tennis player (d. 1979)
- 1897 – Dirk Stikker, Dutch businessman and politician, 3rd Secretary General of NATO (d. 1979)
- 1900 – Adlai Stevenson II, American soldier, politician, and diplomat, 5th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1965)
- 1903 – Koto Matsudaira, Japanese diplomat, ambassador to the United Nations (d. 1994)
- 1903 – Joan Whitney Payson, American businesswoman and philanthropist (d. 1975)
- 1906 – John Carradine, American actor (d. 1988)
- 1907 – Birgit Dalland, Norwegian politician (d. 2007)
- 1907 – Pierre Pflimlin, French politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 2000)
- 1908 – Marie Baron, Dutch swimmer and diver (d. 1948)
- 1908 – Peg Entwistle, Welsh-American actress (d. 1932)
- 1908 – Daisy and Violet Hilton, English conjoined twins (d. 1969)
- 1908 – Eugen Weidmann, German criminal (d. 1939)
- 1909 – Grażyna Bacewicz, Polish violinist and composer (d. 1969)
- 1910 – Charles Philippe Leblond, French-Canadian biologist and academic (d. 2007)
- 1910 – Francisco Varallo, Argentinian footballer (d. 2010)
- 1911 – Jussi Björling, Swedish tenor (d. 1960)
- 1914 – William S. Burroughs, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 1997)
- 1914 – Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, English physiologist, biophysicist, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1915 – Robert Hofstadter, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
- 1917 – Edward J. Mortola, American academic and president of Pace University (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Isuzu Yamada, Japanese actress (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Red Buttons, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Tim Holt, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1919 – Andreas Papandreou, Greek economist and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1996)
- 1921 – Ken Adam, German-born English production designer and art director (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Claude King, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1923 – James E. Bowman, American physician and academic (d. 2011)
- 1924 – Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy, Indian cardinal (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Robert Allen, American pianist and composer (d. 2000)
- 1927 – Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten, Dutch captain and pilot (d. 1977)
- 1928 – Tage Danielsson, Swedish author, actor, and director (d. 1985)
- 1928 – Andrew Greeley, American priest, sociologist, and author (d. 2013)
- 1928 – P. J. Vatikiotis, Israeli-American historian and political scientist (d. 1997)
- 1929 – Hal Blaine, American session drummer (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Luc Ferrari, French pianist and composer (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician, 19th Chancellor of Austria (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager (d. 2016)
- 1933 – Jörn Donner, Finnish director and screenwriter (d. 2020)
- 1933 – B. S. Johnson, English author, poet, and critic (d. 1973)
- 1934 – Hank Aaron, American baseball player
- 1934 – Don Cherry, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1935 – Alex Harvey, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1982)
- 1935 – Johannes Geldenhuys, South African military commander (d. 2018)
- 1936 – K. S. Nissar Ahmed, Indian poet and academic
- 1937 – Stuart Damon, American actor and singer
- 1937 – Larry Hillman, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1937 – Gaston Roelants, Belgian runner
- 1937 – Alar Toomre, Estonian-American astronomer and mathematician
- 1937 – Wang Xuan, Chinese computer scientist and academic (d. 2006)
- 1938 – Rafael Nieto Navia, Colombian lawyer, jurist, and diplomat
- 1939 – Brian Luckhurst, English cricketer (d. 2005)
- 1940 – H. R. Giger, Swiss painter, sculptor, and set designer (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Luke Graham, American wrestler (d. 2006)
- 1941 – Stephen J. Cannell, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
- 1941 – Henson Cargill, American country music singer (d. 2007)
- 1941 – David Selby, American actor and playwright
- 1941 – Barrett Strong, American soul singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1941 – Kaspar Villiger, Swiss engineer and politician, 85th President of the Swiss Confederation
- 1941 – Cory Wells, American pop-rock singer (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Roger Staubach, American football player, sportscaster, and businessman
- 1943 – Nolan Bushnell, American engineer and businessman, founded Atari, Inc.
- 1943 – Michael Mann, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Craig Morton, American football player and sportscaster
- 1943 – Dušan Uhrin, Czech and Slovak footballer and manager
- 1944 – J. R. Cobb, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1944 – Henfil, Brazilian journalist, author, and illustrator (d. 1988)
- 1944 – Al Kooper, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1944 – Tamanoumi Masahiro, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 51st Yokozuna (d. 1971)
- 1945 – Douglas Hogg, English lawyer and politician, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
- 1946 – Amnon Dankner, Israeli journalist and author (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Charlotte Rampling, English actress
- 1947 – Mary L. Cleave, American engineer and astronaut
- 1947 – Clemente Mastella, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Justice
- 1947 – Darrell Waltrip, American race car driver and sportscaster
- 1948 – Sven-Göran Eriksson, Swedish footballer and manager
- 1948 – Christopher Guest, American actor and director
- 1948 – Barbara Hershey, American actress
- 1948 – Errol Morris, American director and producer
- 1948 – Tom Wilkinson, English actor
- 1949 – Kurt Beck, German politician
- 1949 – Yvon Vallières, Canadian educator and politician
- 1950 – Jonathan Freeman, American actor and singer
- 1950 – Rafael Puente, Mexican footballer
- 1951 – Nikolay Merkushkin, Mordovian engineer and politician, 1st Head of the Republic of Mordovia
- 1952 – Daniel Balavoine, French singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1986)
- 1952 – Vladimir Moskovkin, Ukrainian-Russian geographer, economist, and academic
- 1953 – Freddie Aguilar, Filipino singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – John Beilein, American basketball player and coach
- 1953 – Gustavo Benítez, Paraguayan footballer and manager
- 1954 – Cliff Martinez, American drummer and songwriter
- 1954 – Frank Walker, Australian journalist and author
- 1955 – Mike Heath, American baseball player and manager
- 1956 – Vinnie Colaiuta, American drummer
- 1956 – Héctor Rebaque, Mexican race car driver
- 1956 – David Wiesner, American author and illustrator
- 1956 – Mao Daichi, Japanese actress
- 1957 – Jüri Tamm, Estonian hammer thrower and politician
- 1959 – Jennifer Granholm, Canadian-American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of Michigan
- 1960 – Aris Christofellis, Greek soprano and musicologist
- 1960 – Bonnie Crombie, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 6th Mayor of Mississauga
- 1960 – Micky Hazard, English footballer, central midfielder
- 1961 – Savvas Kofidis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1961 – Tim Meadows, American actor and screenwriter
- 1962 – Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress, screenwriter, producer and director
- 1963 – Steven Shainberg, American film director and producer
- 1964 – Laura Linney, American actress
- 1964 – Ha Seungmoo, Korean Poet, Pastor, Historical theologian
- 1964 – Duff McKagan, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
- 1965 – Tarik Benhabiles, Algerian-French tennis player and coach
- 1965 – Gheorghe Hagi, Romanian footballer and manager
- 1965 – Keith Moseley, American bass player and songwriter
- 1965 – Quique Sánchez Flores, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1966 – José María Olazábal, Spanish golfer
- 1966 – Rok Petrovič, Slovenian skier (d. 1993)
- 1967 – Chris Parnell, American actor and comedian
- 1968 – Roberto Alomar, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
- 1968 – Marcus Grönholm, Finnish race car driver
- 1969 – Bobby Brown, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
- 1969 – Michael Sheen, Welsh actor and director
- 1969 – Derek Stephen Prince, American voice actor
- 1970 – Jean-Marc Jaumin, Belgian basketball player and coach
- 1970 – Darren Lehmann, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1971 – Michel Breistroff, French ice hockey player (d. 1996)
- 1971 – Sara Evans, American country singer
- 1972 – Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
- 1972 – Brad Fittler, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1973 – Richard Matvichuk, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1973 – Trijntje Oosterhuis, Dutch singer-songwriter
- 1973 – Luke Ricketson, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1974 – Michael Maguire, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1975 – Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1976 – John Aloisi, Australian footballer and manager
- 1976 – Abhishek Bachchan, Indian actor
- 1977 – Ben Ainslie, English sailor
- 1977 – Adam Dykes, Australian rugby league player
- 1977 – Adam Everett, American baseball player and coach
- 1978 – Brian Russell, American football player
- 1978 – Samuel Sánchez, Spanish cyclist
- 1979 – Nate Holzapfel, American entrepreneur and television personality
- 1980 – Brad Fitzpatrick, American programmer, created LiveJournal
- 1980 – Jo Swinson, Scottish politician
- 1981 – Mia Hansen-Løve, French director and screenwriter
- 1981 – Loukas Vyntra, Czech-Greek footballer
- 1982 – Laura del Rio, Spanish footballer
- 1982 – Kevin Everett, American football player
- 1982 – Tomáš Kopecký, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1982 – Rodrigo Palacio, Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Anja Hammerseng-Edin, Norwegian handball player
- 1984 – Carlos Tevez, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Lloyd Johansson, Australian rugby player
- 1985 – Laurence Maroney, American football player
- 1985 – Paul Vandervort, American actor, film producer, and former model
- 1985 – Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer
- 1986 – Vedran Ćorluka, Croatian footballer, centre back
- 1986 – Marcos Díaz, Argentinian footballer
- 1986 – Kevin Gates, American rapper, singer, and entrepreneur
- 1986 – Sekope Kepu, Australian rugby player
- 1986 – Billy Sharp, English footballer
- 1986 – Reed Sorenson, American race car driver
- 1986 – Carlos Villanueva, Chilean footballer
- 1987 – Darren Criss, American actor, singer, and entrepreneur
- 1987 – Curtis Jerrells, American basketball player
- 1987 – Alex Kuznetsov, Ukrainian-American tennis player
- 1987 – Linus Omark, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1987 – Donald Sanford, American-Israeli sprinter
- 1988 – Karin Ontiveros, Mexican model
- 1989 – Marina Melnikova, Russian tennis player
- 1990 – Dmitry Andreikin, Russian chess player
- 1990 – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Indian cricketer
- 1990 – Jordan Rhodes, Scottish footballer
- 1991 – Nabil Bahoui, Swedish footballer
- 1991 – Gerald Tusha, Albanian footballer
- 1992 – Stefan de Vrij, Dutch footballer
- 1992 – Neymar, Brazilian footballer
- 1993 – Leilani Latu, Australian rugby league player
- 1993 – Ty Rattie, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1995 – Adnan Januzaj, Belgian-Albanian footballer
- 1996 – Stina Blackstenius, Swedish footballer
- 1997 – Patrick Roberts, English footballer
- 2016 – Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, Bhutanese prince
Deaths on February 5
- 523 – Avitus of Vienne, Gallo-Roman bishop
- 806 – Kanmu, emperor of Japan (b. 736)
- 994 – William IV, duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
- 1015 – Adelaide, German abbess and saint
- 1036 – Alfred Aetheling, Anglo-Saxon prince
- 1146 – Zafadola, Arab emir of Zaragoza
- 1578 – Giovanni Battista Moroni, Italian painter (b. 1520)
- 1661 – Shunzhi, Chinese emperor of the Qing Dynasty (b. 1638)
- 1705 – Philipp Spener, German theologian and author (b. 1635)
- 1751 – Henri François d’Aguesseau, French jurist and politician, Chancellor of France (b. 1668)
- 1754 – Nicolaas Kruik, Dutch astronomer and cartographer (b. 1678)
- 1766 – Count Leopold Joseph von Daun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705)
- 1775 – Eusebius Amort, German theologian and academic (b. 1692)
- 1790 – William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (b. 1710)
- 1807 – Pasquale Paoli, Corsican commander and politician (b. 1725)
- 1818 – Charles XIII, king of Sweden (b. 1748)
- 1881 – Thomas Carlyle, Scottish philosopher, historian, and academic (b. 1795)
- 1882 – Adolfo Rivadeneyra, Spanish orientalist and diplomat (b. 1841)
- 1892 – Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish author (b. 1807)
- 1915 – Ross Barnes, American baseball player and manager (b. 1850)
- 1917 – Jaber II Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1860)
- 1922 – Christiaan de Wet, South African general and politician, State President of the Orange Free State (b. 1854)
- 1922 – Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, Croatian engineer, invented the mechanical pencil (b. 1871)
- 1927 – Inayat Khan, Indian mystic and educator (b. 1882)
- 1931 – Athanasios Eftaxias, Greek politician, 118th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1849)
- 1933 – Josiah Thomas, English-Australian miner and politician (b. 1863)
- 1937 – Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-German psychoanalyst and author (b. 1861)
- 1938 – Hans Litten, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1903)
- 1941 – Banjo Paterson, Australian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1864)
- 1941 – Otto Strandman, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1875)
- 1946 – George Arliss, English actor and playwright (b. 1868)
- 1948 – Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (b. 1883)
- 1952 – Adela Verne, English pianist and composer (b. 1877)
- 1954 – Hossein Sami’i, Iranian politician, diplomat, writer and poet (b. 1876)
- 1955 – Victor Houteff, Bulgarian religious reformer and author (b. 1885)
- 1957 – Sami Ibrahim Haddad, Lebanese surgeon and author (b. 1890)
- 1962 – Jacques Ibert, French-Swiss composer (b. 1890)
- 1967 – Leon Leonwood Bean, American businessman, founded L.L.Bean (b. 1872)
- 1969 – Thelma Ritter, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1970 – Rudy York, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1913)
- 1971 – Lew “Sneaky Pete” Robinson, drag racer (b. 1933)
- 1972 – Marianne Moore, American poet, author, critic, and translator (b. 1887)
- 1976 – Rudy Pompilli, American saxophonist (Bill Haley & His Comets) (b. 1926)
- 1977 – Oskar Klein, Swedish physicist and academic (b. 1894)
- 1981 – Ella T. Grasso, American politician, 83rd Governor of Connecticut (b. 1919)
- 1982 – Neil Aggett, Kenyan-South African physician and union leader (b. 1953)
- 1983 – Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American chemist and academic (b. 1925)
- 1987 – William Collier, Jr., American actor and producer (b. 1902)
- 1989 – Joe Raposo, American pianist and composer (b. 1937)
- 1991 – Dean Jagger, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1992 – Miguel Rolando Covian, Argentinian-Brazilian physiologist and academic (b. 1913)
- 1993 – Seán Flanagan, Irish footballer and politician, 7th Irish Minister for Health (b. 1922)
- 1993 – Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1909)
- 1993 – William Pène du Bois, American author and illustrator (b. 1916)
- 1995 – Doug McClure, American actor (b. 1935)
- 1997 – Pamela Harriman, English-American diplomat, 58th United States Ambassador to France (b. 1920)
- 1997 – René Huyghe, French historian and author (b. 1906)
- 1998 – Tim Kelly, American guitarist (b. 1963)
- 1999 – Wassily Leontief, Russian-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- 2000 – Claude Autant-Lara, French director and screenwriter (b. 1901)
- 2004 – John Hench, American animator (b. 1908)
- 2005 – Gnassingbé Eyadéma, Togolese general and politician, President of Togo (b. 1937)
- 2005 – Michalina Wisłocka, Polish gynecologist and sexologist (b. 1921)
- 2006 – Norma Candal, Puerto Rican-American actress (b. 1927)
- 2007 – Leo T. McCarthy, New Zealand-American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 43rd Lieutenant Governor of California (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Alfred Worm, Austrian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1945)
- 2008 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian guru, founded Transcendental Meditation (b. 1918)
- 2010 – Brendan Burke, Canadian ice hockey player and activist (b. 1988)
- 2010 – Harry Schwarz, South African lawyer, anti-apartheid leader, and diplomat, 13th South Africa Ambassador to United States (b. 1924)
- 2011 – Brian Jacques, English author and radio host (b. 1939)
- 2011 – Peggy Rea, American actress and casting director (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Sam Coppola, American actor (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Al De Lory, American keyboard player, conductor, and producer (b. 1930)
- 2012 – John Turner Sargent, Sr., American publisher (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Jo Zwaan, Dutch sprinter (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Reinaldo Gargano, Uruguayan journalist and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Uruguay (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Egil Hovland, Norwegian composer and conductor (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Tom McGuigan, New Zealand soldier and politician, 23rd New Zealand Minister of Health (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Robert A. Dahl, American political scientist and academic (b. 1915)
- 2015 – K. N. Choksy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, Minister of Finance of Sri Lanka (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Marisa Del Frate, Italian actress and singer (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Val Logsdon Fitch, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Herman Rosenblat, Polish-American author (b. 1929)
- 2016 – Ciriaco Cañete, Filipino martial artist (b. 1919)
- 2020 – Kirk Douglas, American actor (b. 1916)
Holidays and observances on February 5
- Christian feast day:
- Adelaide of Vilich
- Agatha of Sicily
- Avitus of Vienne
- Bertulf (Bertoul) of Renty
- Ingenuinus (Jenewein)
- Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson (Episcopal Church (USA))
- Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan (in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Anglican Church in Japan)
- February 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Mexico)
- Crown Princess Mary’s birthday (Denmark)
- Kashmir Solidarity Day (Pakistan)
- Liberation Day (San Marino)
- Runeberg’s Birthday (Finland)
- Unity Day (Burundi)
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January 29 in History
- 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 26 in History
- 661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph.
- 945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to become monks by Constantine VII, who becomes the sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1500 – Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil.
- 1531 – The 6.4–7.1 Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people.
- 1564 – The Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
- 1564 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tsardom of Russia in the Battle of Ula during the Livonian War.
- 1565 – Battle of Talikota, fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates, leads to the subjugation, and eventual destruction of the last Hindu kingdom in India, and the consolidation of Islamic rule over much of the Indian subcontinent.
- 1699 – For the first time, the Ottoman Empire permanently cedes territory to the Christian powers.
- 1700 – The 8.7–9.2 Cascadia earthquake takes place off the west coast of North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.
- 1736 – Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.
- 1788 – The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on Australia. Commemorated as Australia Day.
- 1808 – The Rum Rebellion is the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in New South Wales.
- 1837 – Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
- 1838 – Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States.
- 1841 – James Bremer takes formal possession of Hong Kong Island at what is now Possession Point, establishing British Hong Kong.
- 1855 – Point No Point Treaty is signed in Washington Territory.
- 1856 – First Battle of Seattle. Marines from the USS Decatur drive off American Indian attackers after all day battle with settlers.
- 1861 – American Civil War: The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union.
- 1863 – American Civil War: General Ambrose Burnside is relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac after the disastrous Fredericksburg campaign. He is replaced by Joseph Hooker.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Governor of Massachusetts John Albion Andrew receives permission from the Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
- 1870 – Reconstruction Era: Virginia rejoins the Union.
- 1885 – Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum, killing the Governor-General Charles George Gordon.
- 1905 – The world’s largest diamond ever, the Cullinan weighing 3,106.75 carats (0.621350 kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
- 1911 – Glenn Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane.
- 1915 – The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
- 1918 – Finnish Civil War: A group of Red Guards hangs a red lantern atop the tower of Helsinki Workers’ Hall to symbolically mark the start of the war.
- 1920 – Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
- 1926 – The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird.
- 1930 – The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj (“Complete Independence”) which occurred 17 years later.
- 1934 – The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
- 1934 – German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact is signed.
- 1939 – Spanish Civil War: Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
- 1942 – World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe landing in Northern Ireland.
- 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins encircling the German Fourth Army near Heiligenbeil in East Prussia, which will end in destruction of the 4th Army two months later.
- 1945 – World War II: Audie Murphy displays valor and bravery in action for which he will later be awarded the Medal of Honor.
- 1949 – The Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory sees first light under the direction of Edwin Hubble, becoming the largest aperture optical telescope (until BTA-6 is built in 1976).
- 1950 – The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India.
- 1952 – Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo’s central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
- 1956 – the Soviet Union cedes Porkkala back to Finland.
- 1961 – John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be the first woman Physician to the President.
- 1962 – Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
- 1965 – Hindi becomes the official language of India.
- 1972 – JAT Fight 367 is destroyed by a terrorist bomb, killing 27 of the 28 people on board the DC-9. Flight attendant Vesna Vulović survives with critical injuries.
- 1980 – Egypt–Israel relations are formally established.
- 1986 – The Ugandan government of Tito Okello is overthrown by the National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni.
- 1991 – Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.
- 1992 – Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.
- 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had “sexual relations” with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
- 2001 – The 7.7 Gujarat earthquake shakes Western India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 13,805–20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured.
- 2009 – Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina.
- 2015 – An aircraft crashes at Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete, Spain, killing 11 people and injuring 21 others.
- 2020 – A Sikorsky S-76B flying from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport crashes in Calabasas, 30 miles west of Los Angeles, killing all nine people on board including former five time NBA champion Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant.
Births on January 26
- 183 – Lady Zhen, wife of Cao Pi (d. 221)
- 1436 – Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, Lancastrian military commander (d. 1464)
- 1467 – Guillaume Budé, French scholar (d. 1540)
- 1495 – Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (d. 1557)
- 1541 – Florent Chrestien, French poet and translator (d. 1596)
- 1549 – Jakob Ebert, German theologian (d. 1614)
- 1582 – Giovanni Lanfranco, Italian painter (d. 1647)
- 1595 – Antonio Maria Abbatini, Italian composer (d. 1679)
- 1624 – George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1705)
- 1657 – William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1737)
- 1708 – William Hayes, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1777)
- 1714 – Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor and educator (d. 1785)
- 1715 – Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d. 1771)
- 1716 – George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1785)
- 1722 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish minister and author (d. 1805)
- 1763 – Charles XIV John of Sweden (d. 1844)
- 1781 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (d. 1831)
- 1813 – Juan Pablo Duarte, Dominican philosopher and poet (d. 1876)
- 1824 – Emil Czyrniański, Polish chemist (d. 1888)
- 1832 – George Shiras, Jr., American lawyer and jurist (d. 1924)
- 1842 – François Coppée, French poet and author (d. 1908)
- 1852 – Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, Italian-French explorer (d. 1905)
- 1857 – 12th Dalai Lama (d. 1875)
- 1861 – Louis Anquetin, French painter (d. 1932)
- 1864 – József Pusztai, Slovene-Hungarian poet and journalist (d. 1934)
- 1866 – John Cady, American golfer (d. 1933)
- 1877 – Kees van Dongen, Dutch painter (d. 1968)
- 1878 – Dave Nourse, English-South African cricketer and coach (d. 1948)
- 1880 – Douglas MacArthur, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
- 1885 – Michael Considine, Irish-Australian politician (d. 1959)
- 1885 – Harry Ricardo, English engineer and academic (d. 1974)
- 1885 – Per Thorén, Swedish figure skater (d. 1962)
- 1887 – François Faber, French-Luxembourgian cyclist (d. 1915)
- 1887 – Marc Mitscher, American admiral and pilot (d. 1947)
- 1887 – Dimitris Pikionis, Greek architect and academic (d. 1968)
- 1891 – Frank Costello, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1973)
- 1891 – August Froehlich, German priest and martyr (d. 1942)
- 1891 – Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian neurosurgeon and academic (d. 1976)
- 1892 – Bessie Coleman, American pilot (d. 1926)
- 1893 – Giuseppe Genco Russo, Italian mob boss (d. 1976)
- 1899 – Günther Reindorff, Russian-Estonian graphic designer and illustrator (d. 1974)
- 1900 – Karl Ristenpart, German conductor (d. 1967)
- 1902 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (d. 1940)
- 1904 – Ancel Keys, American physiologist and nutritionist (d. 2004)
- 1904 – Seán MacBride, Irish lawyer and politician, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
- 1905 – Charles Lane, American actor and singer (d. 2007)
- 1905 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 1987)
- 1907 – Henry Cotton, English golfer (d. 1987)
- 1907 – Dimitrios Holevas, Greek priest and philologist (d. 2001)
- 1908 – Jill Esmond, English actress (d. 1990)
- 1908 – Rupprecht Geiger, German painter and sculptor (d. 2009)
- 1908 – Stéphane Grappelli, French violinist (d. 1997)
- 1910 – Jean Image, Hungarian-French animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
- 1911 – Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
- 1911 – Norbert Schultze, German composer and conductor (d. 2002)
- 1913 – Jimmy Van Heusen, American pianist and composer (d. 1990)
- 1914 – Dürrüşehvar Sultan, Imperial Princess of the Ottoman Empire (d. 2006)
- 1915 – William Hopper, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1917 – Louis Zamperini, American runner and captain (d. 2014)
- 1918 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian dictator, 1st President of Romania (d. 1989)
- 1918 – Philip José Farmer, American author (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Valentino Mazzola, Italian footballer (d. 1949)
- 1919 – Bill Nicholson, English footballer and manager (d. 2004)
- 1919 – Hyun Soong-jong, South Korean politician, 24th Prime Minister of South Korea (d. 2020)
- 1920 – Hans Holzer, Austrian-American paranormal researcher and author (d. 2009)
- 1921 – Eddie Barclay, French record producer, founded Barclay Records (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Akio Morita, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (d. 1999)
- 1922 – Michael Bentine, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1996)
- 1922 – Seán Flanagan, Irish footballer and politician, 7th Irish Minister for Health (d. 1993)
- 1922 – Gil Merrick, English footballer (d. 2010)
- 1923 – Patrick J. Hannifin, American admiral (d. 2014)
- 1923 – Anne Jeffreys, American actress and singer (d. 2017)
- 1924 – Alice Babs, Swedish singer and actress (b. 1924)
- 1924 – Annette Strauss, American philanthropist and politician, Mayor of Dallas (d. 1998)
- 1925 – David Jenkins, English bishop and theologian (d. 2016)
- 1925 – Joan Leslie, American actress (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Paul Newman, American actor, activist, director, race car driver, and businessman, co-founded Newman’s Own (d. 2008)
- 1925 – Ben Pucci, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Claude Ryan, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2004)
- 1926 – Farman Fatehpuri, Pakistani linguist and scholar (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Joseph Bacon Fraser, Jr., American architect and businessman, co-founded the Sea Pines Company (d. 2014)
- 1927 – José Azcona del Hoyo, Honduran businessman and politician, President of Honduras (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Bob Nieman, American baseball player and scout (d. 1985)
- 1927 – Hubert Schieth, German footballer and manager (d. 2013)
- 1928 – Roger Vadim, French actor and director (d. 2000)
- 1929 – Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter, and educator
- 1934 – Roger Landry, Canadian businessman and publisher (d. 2020)
- 1934 – Charles Marowitz, American director, playwright, and critic (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Huey “Piano” Smith, American pianist and songwriter
- 1934 – Bob Uecker, American baseball player, sportscaster and actor
- 1935 – Corrado Augias, Italian journalist and politician
- 1935 – Henry Jordan, American football player (d. 1977)
- 1935 – Paula Rego, Portuguese-born British visual artist
- 1936 – Sal Buscema, American illustrator
- 1937 – Joseph Saidu Momoh, Sierra Leonean soldier and politician, 2nd President of Sierra Leone (d. 2003)
- 1937 – Francisco Gonzales, former 1960 Summer Olympics yachting team member and murderer
- 1938 – Henry Jaglom, English-American director and screenwriter
- 1940 – Séamus Hegarty, Irish bishop
- 1940 – Frank Large, English footballer, centre forward and cricketer (d. 2003)
- 1943 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
- 1943 – Jack Warner, Trinidadian businessman and politician
- 1944 – Angela Davis, American activist, academic, and author
- 1944 – Jerry Sandusky, American football coach and criminal
- 1945 – Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
- 1945 – David Purley, English race car driver (d. 1985)
- 1946 – Christopher Hampton, Portuguese-English director, screenwriter, and playwright
- 1946 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and film critic (d. 1999)
- 1946 – Susan Friedlander, American mathematician
- 1947 – Patrick Dewaere, French actor and composer (d. 1982)
- 1947 – Les Ebdon, English chemist and academic
- 1947 – Redmond Morris, 4th Baron Killanin, Irish director, producer, and production manager
- 1947 – Michel Sardou, French singer-songwriter and actor
- 1948 – Alda Facio, Costa Rican jurist, writer and teacher
- 1949 – Jonathan Carroll, American author
- 1949 – David Strathairn, American actor
- 1950 – Jörg Haider, Austrian lawyer and politician, Governor of Carinthia (d. 2008)
- 1951 – David Briggs, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1951 – Andy Hummel, American singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2010)
- 1951 – Anne Mills, English economist and academic
- 1953 – Alik L. Alik, Micronesian politician, 7th Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia
- 1953 – Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Danish politician and diplomat, 39th Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1953 – Lucinda Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Kim Hughes, Australian cricketer
- 1955 – Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1957 – Road Warrior Hawk, American wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1958 – Anita Baker, American singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Ellen DeGeneres, American comedian, actress, and talk show host
- 1961 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1961 – Tom Keifer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1962 – Guo Jian, Chinese-Australian painter, sculptor, and photographer
- 1962 – Tim May, Australian cricketer
- 1962 – Oscar Ruggeri, Argentinian footballer and manager
- 1963 – José Mourinho, Portuguese footballer and manager
- 1963 – Simon O’Donnell, Australian footballer, cricketer, and sportscaster
- 1963 – Tony Parks, English footballer and manager
- 1963 – Andrew Ridgeley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – Adam Crozier, Scottish businessman
- 1965 – Thomas Östros, Swedish businessman and politician
- 1965 – Natalia Yurchenko, Russian gymnast and coach
- 1966 – Kazushige Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster
- 1967 – Anatoly Komm, Russian chef and businessman
- 1967 – Col Needham, English businessman, co-founded Internet Movie Database
- 1968 – Jupiter Apple, Brazilian singer-songwriter, film director, and actor (d. 2015)
- 1969 – George Dikeoulakos, Greek-Romanian basketball player and coach
- 1970 – Kirk Franklin, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1973 – Larissa Lowing, Canadian artistic gymnast
- 1973 – Melvil Poupaud, French actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Brendan Rodgers, Northern Irish footballer and manager
- 1973 – Mayu Shinjo, Japanese author and illustrator
- 1977 – Vince Carter, American basketball player
- 1977 – Justin Gimelstob, American tennis player and coach
- 1978 – Corina Morariu, American tennis player and sportscaster
- 1981 – José de Jesús Corona, Mexican footballer
- 1981 – Gustavo Dudamel, Venezuelan violinist, composer, and conductor
- 1981 – Juan José Haedo, Argentinian cyclist
- 1981 – Colin O’Donoghue, Irish actor
- 1982 – Reggie Hodges, American football player
- 1983 – Petri Oravainen, Finnish footballer
- 1983 – Eric Werner, American ice hockey player
- 1984 – Ryan Hoffman, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Iain Turner, Scottish footballer
- 1984 – Luo Xuejuan, Chinese swimmer
- 1985 – Heather Stanning, English rower
- 1986 – Gerald Green, American basketball player
- 1986 – Kim Jae-joong, South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, director and designer.
- 1986 – Mustapha Yatabaré, French-Malian footballer
- 1987 – Sebastian Giovinco, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Dimitrios Chondrokoukis, Greek high jumper
- 1989 – MarShon Brooks, American basketball player
- 1989 – Emily Hughes, American figure skater
- 1990 – Sergio Pérez, Mexican race car driver
- 1990 – Peter Sagan, Slovak professional cyclist
- 1990 – Nina Zander, German tennis player
- 1991 – Tom Meechan, English footballer
- 1992 – Sasha Banks, American professional wrestler
- 1993 – Lana Clelland, Scottish footballer
- 1993 – Florian Thauvin, French footballer
- 1995 – Sione Katoa, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1997 – Gedion Zelalem, German-born American soccer player
- 2001 – Latalia Bevan, Welsh artistic gymnast
Deaths on January 26
- 724 – Yazid II, Umayyad caliph (b. 687)
- 738 – John of Dailam, Syrian monk and saint (b. 660)
- 910 – Luo Yin, Chinese statesman and poet
- 946 – Eadgyth, Queen consort of Germany (b.c 910)
- 1186 – Ismat ad-Din Khatun, wife of Saladin
- 1390 – Adolph IX, Count of Holstein-Kiel (b.c 1327)
- 1567 – Nicholas Wotton, English courtier and diplomat (b. 1497)
- 1568 – Lady Catherine Grey, Countess of Hertford (b. 1540)
- 1620 – Amar Singh I, ruler of Mewar (b. 1559)
- 1630 – Henry Briggs, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1556)
- 1636 – Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul, French diplomat (b. 1552)
- 1641 – Lawrence Hyde, English lawyer (b. 1562)
- 1697 – Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician and theorist (b. 1640)
- 1744 – Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller, Austrian field marshal (b. 1683)
- 1750 – Albert Schultens, Dutch philologist and academic (b. 1686)
- 1779 – Thomas Hudson, English painter (b. 1701)
- 1795 – Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German harpsichord player and composer (b. 1732)
- 1799 – Gabriel Christie, Scottish general (b. 1722)
- 1823 – Edward Jenner, English physician and immunologist (b. 1749)
- 1824 – Théodore Géricault, French painter and lithographer (b. 1791)
- 1831 – Sangolli Rayanna, Indian soldier (b. 1798)
- 1831 – Anton Delvig, Russian poet and journalist (b. 1798)
- 1849 – Thomas Lovell Beddoes, English poet, playwright, and physician (b. 1803)
- 1855 – Gérard de Nerval, French poet and translator (b. 1808)
- 1860 – Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, opera singer (b. 1804)
- 1869 – Duncan Gordon Boyes, English soldier; Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1846)
- 1870 – Victor de Broglie, French politician, 9th Prime Minister of France (b. 1785)
- 1885 – Edward Davy, English-Australian physician and engineer (b. 1806)
- 1885 – Charles George Gordon, English general and politician (b. 1833)
- 1886 – David Rice Atchison, American general and politician (b. 1807)
- 1887 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, One of the first female Indian physicians (b. 1865)
- 1891 – Nicolaus Otto, German engineer, invented the Internal combustion engine (b. 1833)
- 1893 – Abner Doubleday, American general (b. 1819)
- 1895 – Arthur Cayley, English mathematician and academic (b. 1825)
- 1904 – Whitaker Wright, English businessman (b. 1846)
- 1926 – John Flannagan, American priest and academic (b. 1860)
- 1932 – William Wrigley, Jr., American businessman, founded the Wrigley Company (b. 1861)
- 1942 – Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician and academic (b. 1868)
- 1943 – Harry H. Laughlin, American sociologist and eugenicist (b. 1880)
- 1943 – Nikolai Vavilov, Russian botanist and geneticist (b. 1887)
- 1946 – Oskar Kallas, Estonian linguist and diplomat (b. 1868)
- 1946 – Adriaan van Maanen, Dutch-American astronomer and academic (b. 1884)
- 1947 – Grace Moore, American soprano and actress (b. 1898)
- 1948 – Kâzım Karabekir, Turkish general and politician, 5th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (b. 1882)
- 1948 – Fred Conrad Koch, American biochemist and endocrinologist (born 1876)
- 1948 – John Lomax, American musicologist and academic (b. 1867)
- 1952 – Khorloogiin Choibalsan, Mongolian general and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Mongolia (b. 1895)
- 1953 – Athanase David, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1882)
- 1957 – Helene Costello, American actress (b. 1906)
- 1962 – Lucky Luciano, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1897)
- 1968 – Merrill C. Meigs, American publisher (b. 1883)
- 1973 – Edward G. Robinson, Romanian-American actor (b. 1893)
- 1975 – Donald Sheldon, American bush pilot (b. 1921)
- 1976 – João Branco Núncio, Portuguese bullfighter (b. 1901)
- 1977 – Filopimin Finos, Greek production manager and producer, founded Finos Film (b. 1908)
- 1979 – Nelson Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 41st Vice President of the United States (b. 1908)
- 1980 – Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian politician, 2nd Vice President of Zambia (b. 1922)
- 1983 – Bear Bryant, American football player and coach (b. 1913)
- 1985 – Kenny Clarke, American jazz drummer and bandleader (b. 1914)
- 1990 – Bob Gerard, English race car driver and businessman (b. 1914)
- 1990 – Lewis Mumford, American sociologist and historian (b. 1895)
- 1992 – José Ferrer, Puerto Rican-American actor (b. 1912)
- 1993 – Jan Gies, Dutch businessman and humanitarian (b. 1905)
- 1993 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and painter (b. 1912)
- 1993 – Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Governor General of Canada (b. 1922)
- 1996 – Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1921)
- 1996 – Harold Brodkey, American author and academic (b. 1930)
- 1996 – Frank Howard, American football player and coach (b. 1909)
- 1996 – Henry Lewis, American bassist and conductor (b. 1932)
- 1997 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer and psychic (b. 1904)
- 2000 – Don Budge, American tennis player and coach (b. 1915)
- 2000 – Kathleen Hale, English author and illustrator (b. 1898)
- 2000 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author (b. 1912)
- 2001 – Al McGuire, American basketball player and coach (b. 1928)
- 2003 – Valeriy Brumel, Russian high jumper (b. 1942)
- 2003 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian and academic (b. 1917)
- 2003 – George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, Scottish banker and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (b. 1931)
- 2004 – Fred Haas, American golfer (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Pakistani politician (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
- 2008 – Viktor Schreckengost, American sculptor and designer (b. 1906)
- 2010 – Louis Auchincloss, American novelist and essayist (b. 1917)
- 2011 – David Kato Kisule, Ugandan teacher and LGBT rights activist, considered a father of Uganda’s gay rights movement (b. 1964)
- 2011 – Charlie Louvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Roberto Mieres, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Stefan Kudelski, Polish-Swiss engineer, invented the Nagra (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Padma Kant Shukla, Indian physicist and academic (b. 1950)
- 2013 – Shōtarō Yasuoka, Japanese author (b. 1920)
- 2014 – Tom Gola, American basketball player, coach, and politician (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Paula Gruden, Slovenian-Australian poet and translator (b. 1921)
- 2014 – José Emilio Pacheco, Mexican poet and author (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Ralph T. Troy, American banker and politician (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Cleven “Goodie” Goudeau, American art director and cartoonist (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Tom Uren, Australian soldier and politician (b. 1921)
- 2016 – Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, Pakistani politician and diplomat, 14th Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1920)
- 2016 – Abe Vigoda, American actor (b. 1921)
- 2017 – Mike Connors, American actor (b. 1925)
- 2017 – Tam Dalyell, Scottish politician (b. 1932)
- 2017 – Lindy Delapenha, Jamaican footballer and sports journalist (b. 1927)
- 2017 – Barbara Hale, American actress (b. 1922)
- 2020 – John Altobelli, American college baseball coach (b. 1963)
- 2020 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (b. 1978)
Holidays and observances on January 26
- Christian feast day:
- Alberic
- Founders of Cîteaux (Alberic of Cîteaux, Robert of Molesme, Stephen Harding)
- Blessed Gabriele Allegra
- Paula
- Timothy and Titus
- January 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Australia Day (Australia)
- Duarte Day (Dominican Republic)
- Engineer’s Day (Panama)
- International Customs Day
- Liberation Day (Uganda)
- Republic Day (India)
-
January 22 in History
- 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 21 in History
- 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
- 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz’s mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
- 1535 – Following the Affair of the Placards, the French king leads an anti-Protestant procession through Paris.
- 1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
- 1749 – The Teatro Filarmonico in Verona is destroyed by fire, as a result of a torch being left behind in the box of a nobleman after a performance. It is rebuilt in 1754.
- 1774 – Abdul Hamid I becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
- 1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston.
- 1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.
- 1854 – The RMS Tayleur sinks off Lambay Island on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Australia with great loss of life.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
- 1893 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.
- 1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
- 1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.
- 1915 – Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit.
- 1919 – A revolutionary Irish parliament is founded and declares the independence of the Irish Republic. One of the first engagements of the Irish War of Independence takes place.
- 1925 – Albania declares itself a republic.
- 1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
- 1941 – Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania the day before, members of the Iron Guard engaged in a rebellion and pogrom killing 125 Jews.
- 1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Québec Flag Day.
- 1950 – American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
- 1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
- 1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board.
- 1960 – Avianca Flight 671 crashes at Montego Bay, Jamaica airport, killing 37 people.
- 1960 – A coal mine collapses at Holly Country, South Africa, killing 435 miners.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
- 1968 – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
- 1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
- 1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
- 1980 – Iran Air Flight 291 crashes in the Alborz Mountains while on approach to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing 128 people.
- 1981 – Production of the iconic DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
- 1985 – Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashes near Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, killing 70 people.
- 1997 – The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
- 1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board.
- 2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutiérrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.
- 2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
- 2004 – NASA’s MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
- 2005 – In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government’s new taxes erupts into riots.
- 2009 – Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, officially ending a three-week war it had with Hamas. However, intermittent fire by both sides continues in the weeks to follow.
- 2011 – Anti government demonstrations take place in Tirana, Albania. Five people lose their lives from gunshots, allegedly fired from armed police protecting the Prime Minister’s office. To date, no one has been held accountable for the deaths.
- 2017 – Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women’s march, on Donald Trump’s first full day as President of the United States.
- 2018 – Rocket Lab’s Electron becomes the first rocket to reach orbit using an electric pump-fed engine and deploys three CubeSats.
Births on January 21
- 1264 – Alexander, Prince of Scotland (d. 1284)
- 1277 – Galeazzo I Visconti, lord of Milan
- 1338 – Charles V of France (d. 1380)
- 1493 – Giovanni Poggio, Italian cardinal and diplomat (d. 1556)
- 1598 – Matsudaira Tadamasa, Japanese samurai and daimyō (d. 1645)
- 1612 – Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz, count of Nassau-Dietz (d. 1640)
- 1636 – Melchiorre Cafà, Maltese Baroque sculptor (baptised; d. 1667)
- 1655 – Antonio Molinari, Italian painter (d. 1704)
- 1659 – Adriaen van der Werff, Dutch painter (d. 1722)
- 1675 – Duchess Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg, Margravine of Baden-Baden (d. 1733)
- 1714 – Anna Morandi Manzolini, Spanish anatomist (d. 1774)
- 1717 – Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, Spanish military officer and governor of Cuba (d. 1779)
- 1721 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, Governor of Minorca (d. 1794)
- 1724 – Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French rococo painter (d. 1805)
- 1732 – Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis (d. 1797)
- 1738 – Ethan Allen, American general (d. 1789)
- 1741 – Chaim of Volozhin, Orthodox rabbi (d. 1821)
- 1763 – Augustin Robespierre, younger brother of French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre (d. 1794)
- 1775 – Manuel Garcia, Spanish opera singer and composer (d. 1832)
- 1784 – Peter De Wint, English painter (d. 1849)
- 1788 – William Henry Smyth, Royal Navy officer, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist
- 1796 – Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel, consort of George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1880)
- 1797 – Joseph Méry, French author and journalist (d. 1866)
- 1800 – Theodor Fliedner, German Lutheran minister (d. 1864)
- 1801 – John Batman, Australian entrepreneur and explorer (d. 1839)
- 1804 – Moritz von Schwind, Austrian painter (d. 1871)
- 1808 – Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, 16th President of Peru (d. 1875)
- 1810 – Pierre Louis Charles de Failly, French general (d. 1892)
- 1811 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, British statesman (d. 1885)
- 1813 – John C. Frémont, American general, explorer, and politician, 5th Territorial Governor of Arizona (d. 1890)
- 1813 – Giuseppe Montanelli, Italian statesman and author (d. 1862)
- 1814 – Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, German bibliographer and historian (d. 1885)
- 1815 – Horace Wells, American dentist (d. 1848)
- 1820 – Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (d. 1899)
- 1820 – Egide Walschaerts, Belgian mechanical engineer (d. 1901)
- 1824 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (d. 1863)
- 1827 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1900)
- 1829 – Oscar II of Sweden (d. 1907)
- 1839 – Caterina Volpicelli, Italian Roman Catholic nun (d. 1894)
- 1840 – Sophia Jex-Blake, English physician and feminist (d. 1912)
- 1841 – Édouard Schuré, French philosopher and author (d. 1929)
- 1843 – Émile Levassor, French engineer (d. 1897)
- 1845 – Harriet Backer, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)
- 1846 – Pieter Hendrik Schoute, Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
- 1846 – Albert Lavignac, French music scholar (d. 1916)
- 1847 – Joseph Achille Le Bel, French chemist (d. 1930)
- 1848 – Henri Duparc, French soldier and composer (d. 1933)
- 1851 – Giuseppe Allamano, Italian Roman Catholic priest (d. 1926)
- 1854 – Karl Julius Beloch, German classical and economic historian (d. 1929)
- 1854 – Eusapia Palladino, Italian Spiritualist (d. 1918)
- 1855 – Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1874)
- 1860 – Karl Staaff, Swedish lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1915)
- 1864 – Israel Zangwill, British author (d. 1926)
- 1865 – Heinrich Albers-Schonberg, German gynecologist and radiologist (d. 1921)
- 1867 – Ludwig Thoma, German paramedic and author (d. 1921)
- 1867 – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (d. 1965)
- 1868 – Felix Hoffmann, German chemist (d. 1946)
- 1869 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian Mystic (d. 1916)
- 1871 – Olga Preobrajenska, Russian ballerina (d. 1962)
- 1873 – Arturo Labriola, Italian revolutionary syndicalist (d. 1959)
- 1874 – René-Louis Baire, French mathematician (d. 1932)
- 1875 – Paul E. Kahle, German orientalist (d. 1964)
- 1877 – Baldassarre Negroni, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1948)
- 1878 – Vahan Tekeyan, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1948)
- 1879 – Joseph Roffo, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1933)
- 1880 – George Van Biesbroeck, Belgian–American astronomer (d. 1974)
- 1881 – Ernst Fast, Swedish runner (d. 1959)
- 1881 – André Godard, French archaeologist, architect and historian (d. 1965)
- 1881 – Ivan Ribar, Yugoslav politician (d. 1968)
- 1882 – Pavel Florensky, Russian mathematician and theologian (d. 1937)
- 1882 – Francis Gailey, Australian-American swimmer (d. 1972)
- 1883 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet and educator (d. 1929)
- 1883 – Mathias Hynes, British tug of war competitor (d. 1926)
- 1885 – Duncan Grant, British painter and designer (d. 1978)
- 1885 – Umberto Nobile, Italian engineer and explorer (d. 1978)
- 1885 – Harold A. Wilson, English runner (d. 1932)
- 1886 – John M. Stahl, American director and producer (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Wolfgang Köhler, German psychologist and phenomenologist (d. 1967)
- 1887 – Ernest Holmes, American New Thought writer (d. 1960)
- 1887 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1926)
- 1889 – Pitirim Sorokin, American sociologist and political activist (d. 1968)
- 1891 – Albert Battel, German Army lieutenant and lawyer (d. 1952)
- 1891 – Francisco Lázaro, Portuguese marathon runner (d. 1912)
- 1895 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer, founded Balenciaga (d. 1972)
- 1895 – Daniel Chalonge, French astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1977)
- 1895 – Noe Itō, Japanese anarchist, author and feminist (d. 1923)
- 1896 – Guy Gilpatric, American pilot and journalist (d. 1950)
- 1896 – Paula Hitler, younger sister of Adolf Hitler (d. 1960)
- 1896 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1896 – Masa Perttilä, Finnish wrestler (d. 1968)
- 1897 – René Iché, French sculptor (d. 1954)
- 1898 – Rudolph Maté, Polish-Hungarian-American cinematographer, producer and director (d. 1964)
- 1898 – Ahmad Shah Qajar, Shah of Persia (d. 1930)
- 1898 – Eduard Zintl, German chemist (d. 1941)
- 1899 – John Bodkin Adams, British general practitioner and convict (d. 1983)
- 1899 – Gyula Mándi, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1969)
- 1899 – Edith Tolkien, wife and muse of J. R. R. Tolkien (d. 1971)
- 1899 – Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian-American pianist and composer (d. 1977)
- 1900 – Elof Ahrle, Swedish actor and director (d. 1965)
- 1900 – Anselm Franz, Austrian engineer (d. 1994)
- 1900 – Bernhard Rensch, German evolutionary biologist (d. 1990)
- 1900 – Fernando Quiroga Palacios, Spanish Cardinal (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1978)
- 1903 – William Lyon, American film editor (d. 1974)
- 1903 – Raymond Suvigny, French weightlifter (d. 1945)
- 1904 – Puck van Heel, Dutch footballer (d. 1984)
- 1904 – John Porter, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1997)
- 1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founded Christian Dior S.A. (d. 1957)
- 1905 – Karl Wallenda, German-American acrobat and tightrope walker, founded The Flying Wallendas (d. 1978)
- 1906 – Leo Halle, Dutch footballer (d. 1992)
- 1906 – Igor Moiseyev, Russian choreographer (d. 2007)
- 1907 – Carlo Cavagnoli, Italian boxer (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Jānis Mendriks, Latvian Catholic priest (d. 1953)
- 1909 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (d. 2004)
- 1909 – Teofilo Spasojević, Serbian footballer (d. 1970)
- 1910 – Hideo Shinojima, Japanese footballer (d. 1975)
- 1910 – Albert Rosellini, American lawyer and politician, 15th Governor of Washington (d. 2011)
- 1910 – Rosa Kellner, German athlete (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Károly Takács, Hungarian shooter (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Dick Garrard, Australian wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Lee Yoo-hyung, Korean footballer and manager (d. 2003)
- 1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
- 1915 – André Lichnerowicz, French mathematician (d. 1998)
- 1915 – Orazio Mariani, Italian sprinter (d. 1981)
- 1916 – Pietro Rava, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
- 1916 – Zypora Spaisman, Polish midwife; American and Yiddish-language actress; producer of the Yiddish stage (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Erling Persson, H&M founder (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Jimmy Hagan, English footballer (d. 1998)
- 1918 – Richard Winters, American soldier (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Antonio Janigro, Italian cellist and conductor (d. 1989)
- 1919 – Eric Brown, Scottish-English captain and pilot (d. 2016)
- 1920 – Errol Barrow, first Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 1987)
- 1921 – Lincoln Alexander, Canadian lawyer and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1922 – Paul Scofield, English actor (d. 2008)
- 1922 – Predrag Vranicki, Croatian Marxist Humanist, and member of the Praxis school in the 1960s in Yugoslavia (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer, and actress (d. 1995)
- 1923 – Alberto de Mendoza, Argentine actor (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Pahiño, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Benny Hill, English actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1925 – Charles Aidman, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1925 – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Eva Ibbotson, Austrian-English author (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Arnold Skaaland, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Clive Donner, British director (d. 2010)
- 1926 – Franco Evangelisti, Italian composer (d. 1980)
- 1926 – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder (d. 2000)
- 1926 – Roger Taillibert, French architect (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Robert J. White, American neurosurgeon (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Rudolf Kraus, German footballer (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Gene Sharp, American political scientist and academic, founded the Albert Einstein Institution (d. 2018)
- 1928 – Reynaldo Bignone, Argentinian general and politician, 41st President of Argentina (d. 2018)
- 1929 – Radley Metzger, American filmmaker (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Mainza Chona, Zambian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 2001)
- 1931 – Yoshiko Kuga, Japanese actress
- 1933 – Habib Thiam, Senegalese politician (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Tony Marchi, English footballer, wing half
- 1934 – Audrey Dalton, Irish actress
- 1934 – Antonio Karmany, Spanish cyclist
- 1934 – Alfonso Portugal, Mexican footballer (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Ann Wedgeworth, American actress (d. 2017)
- 1936 – Dick Davies, American basketball player (d. 2012)
- 1937 – Judit Ágoston-Mendelényi, Hungarian fencer (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, the youngest son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
- 1938 – Sandy Barr, American wrestler and referee (d. 2007)
- 1938 – Romano Fogli, Italian footballer
- 1938 – Wolfman Jack, American radio host (d. 1995)
- 1938 – Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
- 1939 – Paul Genevay, French sprinter
- 1939 – Friedel Lutz, German footballer
- 1939 – Steve Paxton, American dancer and choreographer
- 1939 – Viacheslav Platonov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2005)
- 1940 – Jack Nicklaus, American golfer and sportscaster
- 1940 – Patrick Robinson, British novelist
- 1941 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor and conductor
- 1941 – Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Mike Medavoy, Chinese-American film producer, co-founded Orion Pictures
- 1941 – Ivan Putski, Polish-American wrestler and bodybuilder
- 1941 – Elaine Showalter, American author and critic
- 1942 – Freddy Breck, German singer, producer, and news anchor (d. 2008)
- 1942 – Eugène Camara, Prime Minister of Guinea (d. 2019)
- 1942 – Han Pil-hwa, North Korean speed skater
- 1942 – Mac Davis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1942 – Edwin Starr, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1942 – Michael G. Wilson, American producer and screenwriter
- 1943 – Zdravko Hebel, Croatian water polo player (d. 2017)
- 1943 – Arnar Jónsson, Icelandic actor
- 1943 – Alfons Peeters, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Kenzo Yokoyama, Japanese footballer
- 1944 – Uto Ughi, Italian violinist
- 1945 – Pete Kircher, English drummer
- 1945 – Martin Shaw, English actor and producer
- 1946 – Ichiro Hosotani, Japanese footballer
- 1946 – Nella Martinetti, Swiss singer (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Tomás Pineda, El Salvadoran footballer
- 1946 – Miguel Reina, Spanish footballer
- 1947 – Jill Eikenberry, American actress
- 1947 – Andrzej Bachleda, Polish former alpine skier
- 1947 – Dorian M. Goldfeld, American mathematician
- 1947 – Pye Hastings, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Michel Jonasz, French singer-songwriter and actor
- 1947 – Joseph Nicolosi, American clinical psychologist (d. 2017)
- 1947 – Giuseppe Savoldi, Italian footballer
- 1947 – Roberto Zywica, Argentine footballer
- 1948 – Zygmunt Kukla, Polish footballer (d. 2016)
- 1948 – Hugo Tocalli, Argentine footballer
- 1949 – Trương Tấn Sang, Vietnamese politician and 7th President of Vietnam
- 1949 – Clifford Ray, American basketball coach and player
- 1950 – Marion Becker, German javelin thrower
- 1950 – Gary Locke, American politician and diplomat, 36th United States Secretary of Commerce
- 1950 – José Marín, Spanish racewalker
- 1950 – Billy Ocean, Trinidadian-English singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Agnes van Ardenne, Dutch politician and diplomat, Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation
- 1951 – Eric Holder, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 82nd United States Attorney General
- 1952 – Marco Camenisch, Swiss activist and murderer
- 1952 – Werner Grissmann, Austrian alpine skier
- 1952 – Mikhail Umansky, Russian chess player (d. 2010)
- 1953 – Paul Allen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft (d. 2018)
- 1953 – Felipe Yáñez, Spanish cyclist
- 1954 – Thomas de Maizière, German politician of the Christian Democratic Union
- 1954 – Idrissa Ouedraogo, Burkinabé director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1954 – Phil Thompson, English footballer and coach
- 1955 – Peter Fleming, American tennis player
- 1955 – Jeff Koons, American painter and sculptor
- 1955 – Nello Musumeci, Italian politician and President of Sicily
- 1956 – Robby Benson, American actor and director
- 1956 – Geena Davis, American actress and producer
- 1958 – Matt Salmon, American politician
- 1958 – Hussein Saeed, Iraqi footballer
- 1958 – Sergei Walter, Ukrainian politician (d. 2015)
- 1958 – Michael Wincott, Canadian actor
- 1959 – Sergei Alifirenko, Russian pistol shooter
- 1959 – Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1960 – Sidney Lowe, American basketball player
- 1960 – Mike Terrana, American hard rock and heavy metal drummer
- 1961 – Kevin Cramer, American politician
- 1961 – Cornelia Pröll, Austrian alpine skier
- 1961 – Ivo Pukanić Croatian journalist (d. 2008)
- 1961 – Gary Shaw, English footballer
- 1961 – Piotr Ugrumov, Russian cyclist
- 1962 – Tyler Cowen, American economist and academic
- 1962 – Isabelle Nanty, French actress, director and screenwriter
- 1962 – Gabriele Pin, Italian footballer and coach
- 1962 – Zoran Thaler, Slovenian politician
- 1962 – Erik Verlinde, Dutch theoretical physicist
- 1962 – Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
- 1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American basketball player
- 1963 – Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Andreas Bauer, German ski jumper
- 1964 – Tony Dolan, English musician and actor
- 1964 – Gérald Passi, French footballer
- 1964 – Ricardo Serna, Spanish footballer
- 1964 – Aleksandar Šoštar, Serbian water polo player
- 1964 – Danny Wallace, English footballer
- 1965 – Robert Del Naja, British artist, musician and singer
- 1965 – Jam Master Jay, American DJ, rapper, and producer (d. 2002)
- 1965 – Masahiro Wada, Japanese footballer
- 1967 – Artashes Minasian, Armenian chess player
- 1967 – Alfred Jermaniš, Slovenian footballer
- 1967 – Gorō Miyazaki, Japanese film director and landscaper
- 1968 – Dmitry Fomin, Soviet and Russian volleyball player
- 1968 – Ilya Smirin, Israeli chess Grandmaster
- 1968 – Artur Dmitriev, Soviet and Russian ice skater
- 1968 – Sébastien Lifshitz, French director
- 1968 – Charlotte Ross, American actress
- 1969 – John Ducey, American actor
- 1969 – Eduard Hämäläinen, Finnish-Belarusian decathlete
- 1969 – Karina Lombard, French-American actress and singer
- 1969 – Tsubaki Nekoi, Japanese comic artist
- 1970 – Alen Bokšić, former Croatian footballer
- 1970 – Marina Foïs, French actress
- 1970 – Ken Leung, American actor
- 1970 – Oren Peli, Israeli-American director, producer and screenwriter
- 1971 – Uni Arge, Faroese footballer and entertainer
- 1971 – Rafael Berges, Spanish footballer
- 1971 – Doug Edwards, American basketball player
- 1971 – Dmitri Khlestov, Russian footballer
- 1971 – Dylan Kussman, American actor
- 1971 – Sergey Klevchenya, Russian speed skater
- 1971 – Doug Weight, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1972 – Billel Dziri, Algerian footballer and manager
- 1972 – Rick Falkvinge, Swedish businessman and politician
- 1972 – Sead Kapetanović, Bosnian footballer
- 1972 – Yasunori Mitsuda, Japanese composer and producer
- 1972 – Cat Power, American singer, musician and actress
- 1972 – Shawn Rojeski, American curler
- 1972 – Sabina Valbusa, Italian cross-country skier
- 1973 – Rob Hayles, English cyclist
- 1973 – Chris Kilmore, American musician and DJ
- 1973 – Edvinas Krungolcas, Lithuanian modern pentathlete
- 1973 – Flavio Maestri, Peruvian footballer
- 1974 – Malena Alterio, Spanish actress
- 1974 – Maxwell Atoms, American animator, screenwriter and voice actor
- 1974 – Kim Dotcom, German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur and political activist
- 1974 – Arthémon Hatungimana, Burundian middle distance runner
- 1974 – Vincent Laresca, American actor
- 1974 – Ulrich Le Pen, French footballer
- 1974 – Marco Zanotti, Italian cyclist
- 1975 – Nicky Butt, English footballer and coach
- 1975 – Casey FitzRandolph, American speedskater
- 1975 – Yuji Ide, Japanese race car driver
- 1975 – Ito, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1975 – Willem Korsten, Dutch footballer, left winger
- 1975 – Jason Moran, American jazz pianist, composer and educator
- 1975 – Florin Șerban, Romanian director
- 1975 – Alyaksandr Yermakovich, Belarusian footballer and manager
- 1976 – Aivaras Abromavičius, Lithuanian-Ukrainian banker and politician; 15th Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development
- 1976 – Raivis Belohvoščiks, Latvian cyclist
- 1976 – Emma Bunton, English singer
- 1976 – Lars Eidinger, German actor
- 1976 – Giorgio Frezzolini, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Igors Stepanovs, Latvian footballer
- 1977 – Hussein Abdulghani, Saudi Arabian footballer
- 1977 – Bradley Carnell, South African footballer
- 1977 – John DeSantis, Canadian actor
- 1977 – Kirsten Klose, German hammer thrower
- 1977 – Denis Lunghi, Italian cyclist
- 1977 – Ulrike Maisch, German runner
- 1977 – Phil Neville, English footballer and manager
- 1977 – Michael Ruffin, American basketball player
- 1977 – Jerry Trainor, American actor, director, and producer
- 1978 – Faris Al-Sultan, German triathlete
- 1978 – Peter von Allmen, Swiss cross-country skier
- 1978 – Hernán Rodrigo López, Uruguayan footballer
- 1978 – Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Quinton Jacobs, Namibian footballer
- 1979 – Byung-hyun Kim, South Korean baseball player
- 1979 – Spider Loc, American rapper and actor
- 1979 – Melendi, Spanish singer
- 1979 – Brian O’Driscoll, Irish rugby player
- 1979 – Sebastian Schindzielorz, German footballer
- 1980 – Troy Dumais, American diver
- 1980 – Karsten Forsterling, Australian rower
- 1980 – Dave Kitson, English footballer and manager
- 1980 – Lee Kyung-won, South Korean badminton player
- 1980 – Kevin McKenna, Canadian soccer player
- 1980 – Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress
- 1980 – Alexander Os, former Norwegian biathlete
- 1980 – Xavier Pons, Spanish rally diver
- 1980 – Mari Possa, El Salvadoran pornographic actress
- 1980 – Bratislav Ristić, Serbian footballer
- 1981 – Gillian Chung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
- 1981 – Ivan Ergić, Serbian footballer
- 1981 – Roberto Guana Italian footballer
- 1981 – Wu Hanxiong, Chinese fencer
- 1981 – Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Andy Lee, South Korean singer and actor
- 1981 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress, dancer, and producer
- 1981 – Shawn Redhage, American-Australian basketball player
- 1981 – Michel Teló, Brazilian singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Jung Ryeo-won, South Korean actress
- 1981 – David F. Sandberg, Swedish filmmaker
- 1982 – Richard José Blanco, Venezuelan footballer
- 1982 – Adriano Ferreira Martins, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Nicolas Mahut, French tennis player
- 1982 – Sarah Ourahmoune, French boxer
- 1982 – Simon Rolfes, German footballer
- 1982 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
- 1983 – Alex Acker, American basketball player
- 1983 – Monique Adamczak, Australian tennis player
- 1983 – Victor Leandro Bagy, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Ranko Despotović, Serbian footballer
- 1983 – Svetlana Khodchenkova, Russian actress
- 1983 – Marieke van den Ham, Dutch water polo player
- 1983 – Billy Mwanza, Zambian footballer
- 1983 – Maryse Ouellet, French-Canadian wrestler
- 1983 – Álvaro Quirós, Spanish golfer
- 1983 – Francesca Segat, Italian swimmer
- 1983 – Moritz Volz, German footballer, right back, football pundit and scout
- 1983 – Kelly VanderBeek, Canadian alpine skier
- 1984 – Leonardo Burián, Uruguayan footballer
- 1984 – Luke Grimes, American actor
- 1984 – Amy Hastings, American track and fielder
- 1984 – Alex Koslov, Moldovan-American wrestler
- 1984 – Dejan Milovanović, Serbian footballer
- 1984 – Wes Morgan, Jamaican footballer
- 1984 – Haloti Ngata, American footballer
- 1985 – Markus Berger, Austrian footballer
- 1985 – Artur Beterbiev, Russian boxer
- 1985 – Aura Dione, Danish singer and songwriter
- 1985 – Nick Gehlfuss, American actor
- 1985 – Salvatore Giunta, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient
- 1985 – Yumi Hara, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1985 – Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model and actress
- 1985 – Rodrigo San Miguel, Spanish basketball player
- 1985 – Ri Se-gwang, North Korean artistic gymnast
- 1985 – Dmitri Sokolov, Russian basketball player
- 1985 – Ryan Suter, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – César Arzo, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Edson Barboza, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1986 – João Gomes Júnior, Brazilian swimmer
- 1986 – Javi López, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Gina Mambrú, volleyball player from Dominican Republic
- 1986 – Jonathan Quick, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – Mike Taylor, American basketball player
- 1986 – Óscar Vílchez, Peruvian footballer
- 1986 – Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor
- 1987 – Ioannis Athanasoulas, Greek basketball player
- 1987 – Andrei Cojocari, Moldovan footballer
- 1987 – Alexander Dercho, German footballer
- 1987 – Aida Hadzialic, Swedish politician
- 1987 – Shaun Keeling, South African rower
- 1987 – Augustine Kiprono Choge, Kenyan runner
- 1987 – Kevin Kratz, German footballer
- 1987 – Danny Munyao, Zambian footballer
- 1987 – Henrico Drost, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – Darren Helm, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Will Johnson, Canadian footballer
- 1987 – Mulopo Kudimbana, Congolese footballer
- 1987 – Nyasha Mushekwi, Zimbabwean footballer
- 1987 – Dominik Roels, German cyclist
- 1987 – Maša Zec Peškirič, Slovenian tennis player
- 1987 – Ikumi Yoshimatsu, Japanese actress
- 1988 – Glaiza de Castro, Filipino actress and singer
- 1988 – Ashton Eaton, American decathlete
- 1988 – Rolands Freimanis, Latvian basketball player
- 1988 – Vanessa Hessler, Italian-American model and actress
- 1988 – Aleksandar Lazevski, Macedonian footballer
- 1988 – Ángel Mena, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1988 – Valérie Tétreault, Canadian tennis player
- 1988 – Pieter Timmers, Belgian swimmer
- 1988 – Nemanja Tomić, Serbian footballer
- 1988 – Ben Turner, English footballer
- 1989 – Doğuş Balbay, Turkish basketball player
- 1989 – Kayla Banwarth, American indoor volleyball player
- 1989 – Férébory Doré, Congolese footballer
- 1989 – Sergey Fesikov, Russian swimmer
- 1989 – Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian footballer
- 1989 – Matteo Pelucchi, Italian cyclist
- 1989 – Zhang Shuai, Chinese tennis player
- 1990 – Arash Afshin, Iranian footballer
- 1990 – Diogo Amado, Portuguese footballer
- 1990 – Andriy Bohdanov, Ukrainian footballer
- 1990 – Kelly Rohrbach, American model and actress
- 1990 – André Martins, Portuguese footballer
- 1990 – Knowledge Musona, Zimbabwean footballer
- 1990 – Jacob Smith, American actor
- 1990 – Doni Tata Pradita, Indonesian motorcycle racer
- 1991 – Ali Al-Busaidi, Omani footballer
- 1991 – Javier Calvo, Spanish actor and director
- 1991 – Mohammad Ghadir, Arab-Israeli footballer
- 1991 – Jan Hirt, Czech cyclist
- 1991 – Mateusz Mika, Polish volleyball player
- 1991 – Alfredo Ortuño, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Marta Pagnini, Italian gymnast
- 1991 – Craig Roberts, Welsh actor and director
- 1991 – Luis Alfonso Rodríguez, Mexican footballer
- 1992 – Verónica Cepede Royg, Paraguayan tennis player
- 1992 – Sven Erik Bystrøm, Norwegian cyclist
- 1992 – James Duckworth, Australian tennis player
- 1992 – Kwame Karikari, Ghanaian footballer
- 1992 – Nicolás Mezquida, Uruguayan footballer
- 1992 – Roland Szolnoki, Hungarian footballer
- 1993 – Clément Mignon, French swimmer
- 1993 – Muralha, Brazilian footballer
- 1993 – Chiara Pierobon, Italian cyclist (d. 2015)
- 1994 – Amin Affane, Swedish footballer
- 1994 – Laura Robson, Australian-English tennis player
- 1994 – Kang Seung-yoon, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor
- 1994 – Nils Allen “Booboo” Stewart Jr., American actor
- 1994 – Lim Kim, South Korean singer and actress
- 1995 – Yulia Belorukova, Russian cross-country skier
- 1995 – Nguyễn Công Phượng, Vietnamese footballer
- 1995 – Marine Johannes, French basketball player
- 1995 – Alanna Kennedy, Australian footballer player
- 1996 – Marco Asensio, Spanish footballer
- 1996 – Aldo Kalulu, French footballer
- 1996 – Cristian Pavón, Argentine footballer
- 1997 – Jeremy Shada, American actor, musician and singer
- 1998 – Borna Sosa, Croatian footballer
- 1999 – Rubina Ali, Indian actress
- 2003 – Natalie Garcia, rhythmic gymnast
- 2004 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, 2nd in line for the Norwegian throne
Deaths on January 21
- 420 – Yazdegerd I, king of the Sassanid Empire
- 496 – Epiphanius of Pavia, Italian bishop and saint (b. 438)
- 917 – Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (b. 880)
- 918 – Liu Zhijun, Chinese general
- 939 – Yang Pu, Chinese emperor (b. 900)
- 942 – An Chongrong, Chinese general (Five Dynasties)
- 945 – Yang Tan, Chinese general and governor
- 1118 – Pope Paschal II (b. 1050)
- 1203 – Agnes II, Abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1139)
- 1320 – Árni Helgason, Icelandic bishop (b. c. 1260)
- 1527 – Juan de Grijalva, Spanish explorer (b. 1489)
- 1546 – Azai Sukemasa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1491)
- 1609 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French historian and scholar (b. 1540)
- 1638 – Ignazio Donati, Italian composer (b. 1570)
- 1670 – Claude Duval, French highwayman (b. 1643)
- 1683 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1621)
- 1699 – Obadiah Walker, English historian and academic (b. 1616)
- 1706 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (b. 1649)
- 1710 – Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic and critic (b. 1638)
- 1722 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1661)
- 1731 – Ignjat Đurđević, Croatian poet and translator (b. 1675)
- 1773 – Alexis Piron, French playwright and author (b. 1689)
- 1774 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1717)
- 1775 – Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian rebel (b. 1742)
- 1789 – Baron d’Holbach, French-German philosopher and author (b. 1723)
- 1793 – Louis XVI of France (b. 1754)
- 1795 – Samuel Wallis, English navigator and explorer (b. 1728)
- 1809 – Josiah Hornblower, American engineer and politician (b. 1729)
- 1814 – Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French botanist and author (b. 1737)
- 1823 – Cayetano José Rodríguez, Argentinian cleric, journalist, and poet (b. 1761)
- 1831 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (b. 1781)
- 1851 – Albert Lortzing, German actor and composer (b. 1801)
- 1862 – Božena Němcová, Austrian-Czech author and poet (b. 1820)
- 1870 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (b. 1812)
- 1872 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright and poet (b. 1791)
- 1881 – Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
- 1891 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (b. 1842)
- 1901 – Elisha Gray, American engineer, co-founded Western Electric (b. 1835)
- 1914 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1857)
- 1918 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (b. 1857)
- 1919 – Gojong of Korea (b. 1852)
- 1919 – Ahmed Muhtar Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 277th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1839)
- 1924 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1870)
- 1926 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
- 1928 – George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer (b. 1858)
- 1931 – Felix Blumenfeld, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
- 1932 – Lytton Strachey, English writer and critic (b. 1880)
- 1933 – George Moore, Irish author, poet, and critic (b. 1852)
- 1937 – Marie Prevost, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1898)
- 1938 – Georges Méliès, French actor, director, and producer (b. 1861)
- 1945 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and engineer (b. 1886)
- 1948 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (b. 1876)
- 1950 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (b. 1903)
- 1955 – Archie Hahn, German-American runner and coach (b. 1880)
- 1956 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (b. 1883)
- 1959 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1881)
- 1959 – Frances Gertrude McGill, pioneering Canadian forensic pathologist (b. 1882)
- 1959 – Carl Switzer, American child actor and hunting guide (b. 1927)
- 1960 – Matt Moore, Irish-American actor and director (b. 1888)
- 1961 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss author and poet (b. 1887)
- 1963 – Acharya Shivpujan Sahay, Indian author, poet, and academic (b. 1893)
- 1963 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (b. 1881)
- 1965 – Gwynne Evans, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1880)
- 1967 – Ann Sheridan, American actress (b. 1915)
- 1968 – Will Lang, Jr., American journalist (b. 1914)
- 1977 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet and journalist (b. 1906)
- 1978 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (b. 1898)
- 1983 – Lamar Williams, American bass player (b. 1949)
- 1984 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek playwright and poet (b. 1893)
- 1984 – Jackie Wilson, American singer (b. 1934)
- 1985 – James Beard, American chef and author (b. 1903)
- 1985 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (b. 1930)
- 1987 – Charles Goodell, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1926)
- 1988 – Vincent Lingiari, Australian Aboriginal rights activist (b. 1919)
- 1989 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (b. 1922)
- 1989 – Billy Tipton, American pianist and saxophonist (b. 1914)
- 1993 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1903)
- 1994 – Bassel al-Assad, Son of the former President of the Syrian Arab Republic Hafez al-Assad (b. 1962)
- 1998 – Jack Lord, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)
- 2002 – Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Paul Haines, American-Canadian poet and songwriter (b. 1933)
- 2003 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian author and playwright (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Theun de Vries, Dutch author and poet (b. 1907)
- 2005 – John L. Hess, American journalist and critic (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Kaljo Raid, Estonian cellist, composer, and pastor (b. 1921)
- 2006 – Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
- 2009 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician and diplomat (b. 1946)
- 2010 – Paul Quarrington, Canadian author, playwright, guitarist, and composer (b. 1953)
- 2011 – Theoni V. Aldredge, Greek-American costume designer (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Dennis Oppenheim, American sculptor and photographer (b. 1938)
- 2011 – E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Ahmet Mete Işıkara, Turkish geophysicist and academic (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Chumpol Silpa-archa, Thai academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Michael Winner, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian, and author (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Leon Brittan, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (b. 1946)
- 2016 – Bill Johnson, American skier (b. 1960)
- 2016 – Mrinalini Sarabhai, a 1992-Padma Bhushan award winner Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. (b. 1918)
- 2019 – Kaye Ballard, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2019 – Henri, Count of Paris, Head of the House of Orléans (b. 1933)
- 2019 – Emiliano Sala, Argentine footballer (b. 1990)
- 2019 – Harris Wofford, American politician, author and civil rights activist (b. 1926)
- 2020 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
- 2020 – Morgan Wootten, American high school basketball coach (b. 1931)
Holidays and observances on January 21
- Babinden (Bulgaria, Serbia)
- Birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra (Norway)
- Christian feast day:
- Agnes
- Demiana (Coptic Church)
- Fructuosus
- John Yi Yun-il (one of The Korean Martyrs)
- Meinrad of Einsiedeln
- January 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Errol Barrow Day (Barbados)
- Flag Day (Quebec)
- Grandmother’s Day (Poland)
- Lady of Altagracia Day (Dominican Republic)
- Lincoln Alexander Day (Canada)
-
January 20 in History
- 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
- 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
- 1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the “Houses of Parliament”.
- 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
- 1356 – Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.
- 1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
- 1567 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
- 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
- 1649 – The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings.
- 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signed preliminary articles of peace with France, setting the stage to the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.
- 1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
- 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony.
- 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
- 1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
- 1877 – The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
- 1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
- 1921 – The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die.
- 1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
- 1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released.
- 1936 – King George V of the United Kingdom dies. His eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII. The title Prince of Wales is not used for another 22 years.
- 1937 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms.
- 1941 – A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
- 1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the “Final Solution to the Jewish question”.
- 1945 – World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
- 1945 – World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
- 1949 – Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
- 1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States of America.
- 1954 – In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
- 1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the second youngest man to take the office, and the first Catholic.
- 1969 – Richard Nixon is inaugurated the 37th President of the United States of America.
- 1972 – Pakistan launched its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
- 1977 – Jimmy Carter is inaugurated the 39th President of the United States of America.
- 1981 – Ronald Reagan is inaugurated the 40th President of the United States of America. Twenty minutes later, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
- 1986 – In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
- 1989 – George H. W. Bush is inaugurated the 41st President of the United States of America.
- 1990 – Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
- 1991 – Sudan’s government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim north and Christian south.
- 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France killing 87 of the 96 people on board.
- 1993 – Bill Clinton is inaugurated the 42nd President of the United States of America.
- 2001 – George W. Bush is inaugurated the 43rd President of the United States of America.
- 2001 – President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
- 2009 – Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States.
- 2009 – A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.
- 2017 – Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, becoming the oldest person to assume the office.
- 2018 – A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others.
Births on January 20
- 225 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (d. 244)
- 1029 – Alp Arslan, Seljuk sultan (probable; d. 1072)
- 1292 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (d. 1330)
- 1436 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (d. 1490)
- 1488 – John George, Marquess of Montferrat, Italian noble (d. 1533)
- 1488 – Sebastian Münster, German scholar, cartographer, and cosmographer (d. 1552)
- 1499 – Sebastian Franck, German humanist (probable; d. 1543)
- 1502 – Sebastian de Aparicio, Spanish-Mexican rancher and missionary (d. 1600)
- 1526 – Rafael Bombelli, Italian mathematician (d. 1572)
- 1554 – Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
- 1569 – Heribert Rosweyde, Jesuit hagiographer (d. 1629)
- 1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1624)
- 1586 – Johann Hermann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
- 1664 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian lawyer and jurist (d. 1718)
- 1703 – Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Flemish violinist and composer (d. 1741)
- 1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and numismatist (d. 1795)
- 1716 – Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
- 1732 – Richard Henry Lee, American lawyer and politician, President of the Continental Congress (d. 1794)
- 1741 – Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Swedish botanist and author (d. 1783)
- 1755 – Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1824)
- 1762 – Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny, Belgian-French composer and theorist (d. 1842)
- 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1836)
- 1781 – Joseph Hormayr, Baron zu Hortenburg, Austrian-German historian and politician (d. 1848)
- 1783 – Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
- 1799 – Anson Jones, American physician and politician, 5th President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1858)
- 1804 – Eugène Sue, French author and politician (d. 1857)
- 1812 – Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
- 1814 – David Wilmot, American politician, sponsor of Wilmot Proviso (d. 1868)
- 1834 – George D. Robinson, American lawyer and politician, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
- 1855 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
- 1856 – Harriot Stanton Blatch, U.S. suffragist and organizer (d. 1940)
- 1865 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
- 1870 – Guillaume Lekeu, Belgian pianist and composer (d. 1894)
- 1873 – Johannes V. Jensen, Danish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
- 1874 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and coach (d. 1938)
- 1876 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1957)
- 1878 – Finlay Currie, Scottish-English actor (d. 1968)
- 1879 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and educator (d. 1968)
- 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, American accountant and politician, 60th Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
- 1882 – Johnny Torrio, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1957)
- 1883 – Enoch L. Johnson, American mob boss (d. 1968)
- 1883 – Forrest Wilson, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
- 1888 – Lead Belly, American folk/blues musician and songwriter (d. 1949)
- 1889 – Allan Haines Loughead, American engineer and businessman, founded the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (d. 1967)
- 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1946)
- 1894 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (d. 1968)
- 1894 – Walter Piston, American composer, theorist, and academic (d. 1976)
- 1895 – Gábor Szegő, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1985)
- 1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1996)
- 1898 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (d. 1947)
- 1899 – Clarice Cliff, English potter (d. 1972)
- 1899 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (d. 1990)
- 1900 – Dorothy Annan, English painter, potter, and muralist (d. 1983)
- 1900 – Colin Clive, English actor (d. 1937)
- 1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1902 – Kevin Barry, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 1920)
- 1906 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975)
- 1907 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress and producer (d. 2000)
- 1908 – Fleur Cowles, American author and illustrator (d. 2009)
- 1909 – Gōgen Yamaguchi, Japanese martial artist (d. 1989)
- 1910 – Joy Adamson, Austria-born Kenyan painter and author (d. 1980)
- 1913 – W. Cleon Skousen, American author and academic (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Pakistani businessman and politician, 7th President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
- 1918 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Nevin Scrimshaw, American scientist (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1993)
- 1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1920 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
- 1922 – Ray Anthony, American trumpet player, composer, bandleader, and actor
- 1922 – Don Mankiewicz, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1923 – Slim Whitman, American country and western singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist and composer (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest, poet, and politician (d. 2020)
- 1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1926 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1927 – Qurratulain Hyder, Indian-Pakistani journalist and academic (d. 2007)
- 1928 – Antonio de Almeida, French conductor and musicologist (d. 1997)
- 1929 – Arte Johnson, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Masaharu Kawakatsu, Japanese biologist
- 1929 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
- 1930 – Buzz Aldrin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1931 – David Lee, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1931 – Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 1992)
- 1932 – Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1934 – Tom Baker, English actor
- 1935 – Dorothy Provine, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2010)
- 1937 – Bailey Howell, American basketball player
- 1938 – Derek Dougan, Irish-English footballer and journalist (d. 2007)
- 1939 – Paul Coverdell, American captain and politician (d. 2000)
- 1939 – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan-English mathematician, astronomer, and biologist
- 1940 – Carol Heiss, American figure skater and actress
- 1940 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
- 1940 – Mandé Sidibé, Malian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2009)
- 1942 – Linda Moulton Howe, American journalist and producer
- 1944 – José Luis Garci, Spanish director and producer
- 1944 – Farhad Mehrad, Iranian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
- 1944 – Pat Parker, African American poet
- 1945 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
- 1945 – Eric Stewart, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1946 – David Lynch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Vladimír Merta, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist
- 1947 – Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and sportscaster
- 1948 – Nancy Kress, American author and academic
- 1948 – Natan Sharansky, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
- 1949 – Göran Persson, Swedish lawyer and politician, 31st Prime Minister of Sweden
- 1950 – Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
- 1950 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Mahamane Ousmane, Nigerien politician, President of Niger
- 1951 – Iván Fischer, Hungarian conductor and composer
- 1952 – Nikos Sideris, Greek psychiatrist and poet
- 1952 – Paul Stanley, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1952 – John Witherow, South African-English journalist and author
- 1953 – Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and convicted sex offender (d. 2019)
- 1954 – Alison Seabeck, English lawyer and politician
- 1955 – McKeeva Bush, Caymanian politician, Premier of the Cayman Islands
- 1956 – Maria Larsson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Health and Social Affairs
- 1956 – Bill Maher, American comedian, political commentator, media critic, television host, and producer
- 1956 – John Naber, American swimmer
- 1957 – Andy Sheppard, English saxophonist and composer
- 1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor, director, and producer
- 1959 – Tami Hoag, American author
- 1959 – R. A. Salvatore, American author
- 1960 – Apa Sherpa, Nepalese-American mountaineer
- 1960 – Scott Thunes, American bass player
- 1960 – Will Wright, American video game designer, co-founded Maxis
- 1963 – James Denton, American actor
- 1963 – Mark Ryden, American painter and illustrator
- 1964 – Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
- 1964 – Ron Harper, American basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Jack Lewis, American soldier and author
- 1964 – Kazushige Nojima, Japanese screenwriter and songwriter
- 1964 – Aquilino Pimentel III, Filipino lawyer and politician
- 1964 – Fareed Zakaria, Indian-American journalist and author
- 1965 – Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer defender and manager
- 1965 – Sophie, Countess of Wessex
- 1965 – Warren Joyce, English footballer and manager
- 1965 – John Michael Montgomery, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
- 1966 – Rainn Wilson, American actor
- 1967 – Stacey Dash, American actress and television journalist
- 1967 – Kellyanne Conway, American political strategist and pundit
- 1968 – Nick Anderson, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1968 – Junior Murray, Grenadian cricketer
- 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker and activist, co-founded MindVox
- 1969 – Nicky Wire, Welsh singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1970 – Edwin McCain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1970 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
- 1971 – Derrick Green, American singer
- 1971 – Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1971 – Ger McDonnell, Irish mountaineer and engineer (d. 2008)
- 1971 – Jung Woong-in, South Korean actor
- 1971 – Questlove, American drummer, DJ, and producer
- 1971 – Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
- 1972 – Nikki Haley, American accountant and politician, 116th Governor of South Carolina
- 1973 – Stephen Crabb, Scottish-Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales
- 1973 – Queen Mathilde of Belgium
- 1974 – David Dei, Italian footballer and coach
- 1975 – Norberto Fontana, Argentinian racing driver
- 1975 – Zac Goldsmith, English journalist and politician
- 1976 – Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish journalist and sportscaster
- 1976 – Michael Myers, American football player
- 1976 – Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
- 1977 – Paul Adams, South African cricketer and coach
- 1978 – Salvatore Aronica, Italian footballer
- 1978 – Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
- 1978 – Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
- 1979 – Choo Ja-hyun, South Korean actress
- 1979 – Will Young, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1980 – Karl Anderson, American wrestler
- 1980 – Philippe Cousteau, Jr., American-French oceanographer and journalist
- 1980 – Philippe Gagnon, Canadian swimmer
- 1980 – Kim Jeong-hoon, South Korean singer and actor
- 1980 – Petra Rampre, Slovenian tennis player
- 1980 – Matthew Tuck, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
- 1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
- 1981 – Jason Richardson, American basketball player
- 1982 – Ruchi Sanghvi, Indian computer engineer
- 1982 – Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
- 1983 – Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
- 1983 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
- 1984 – Malek Jaziri, Tunisian tennis player
- 1985 – Marina Inoue, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1985 – Tanel Sokk, Estonian basketball player
- 1987 – Janin Lindenberg, German sprinter
- 1987 – Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011)
- 1988 – Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé, Nigerian footballer
- 1988 – Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer
- 1989 – Nick Foles, American football player
- 1989 – Washington Santana da Silva, Brazilian footballer
- 1989 – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1990 – Ray Thompson, Australian rugby league player
- 1991 – Ciara Hanna, American actress and model
- 1991 – Tom Cairney, Scottish footballer, midfielder
- 1991 – Polona Hercog, Slovenian tennis player
- 1991 – Jolyon Palmer, English racing driver
- 1992 – Jorge Zárate, Mexican footballer
- 1993 – Lorenzo Crisetig, Italian footballer
- 1994 – Seán Kavanagh, Irish footballer, defender
- 1994 – Lucas Piazon, Brazilian footballer
- 1995 – Joey Badass, American rapper and actor
- 1995 – Calum Chambers, English footballer, defender
Deaths on January 20
- 820 – Al-Shafi‘i, Arab scholar and jurist (b. 767)
- 842 – Theophilos, Byzantine emperor (b. 813)
- 882 – Louis the Younger, king of the East Frankish Kingdom
- 924 – Li Jitao, Chinese general of Later Tang
- 928 – Zhao Guangfeng, Chinese official and chancellor
- 1029 – Heonae, Korean queen and regent (b. 964)
- 1095 – Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester
- 1156 – Henry, English bishop and saint
- 1189 – Shi Zong, Chinese emperor of Jin (b. 1123)
- 1191 – Frederick VI, duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
- 1191 – Theobald V, count of Blois (b. 1130)
- 1265 – John Maunsell, English Lord Chancellor
- 1336 – John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (b. 1306)
- 1343 – Robert, king of Naples (b. 1275)
- 1479 – John II, king of Sicily (b. 1398)
- 1568 – Myles Coverdale, English bishop and translator (b. 1488)
- 1612 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
- 1663 – Isaac Ambrose, English minister and author (b. 1604)
- 1666 – Anne of Austria, Queen and regent of France (b. 1601)
- 1707 – Humphrey Hody, English scholar and theologian (b. 1659)
- 1709 – François de la Chaise, French priest (b. 1624)
- 1751 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b. 1665)
- 1770 – Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722)
- 1779 – David Garrick, English actor, producer, playwright, and manager (b. 1717)
- 1810 – Benjamin Chew, American lawyer and judge (b. 1721)
- 1819 – Charles IV, Spanish king (b. 1748)
- 1837 – John Soane, English architect, designed the Bank of England (b. 1753)
- 1841 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish explorer (b. 1780)
- 1841 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1791)
- 1848 – Christian VIII, Danish king (b. 1786)
- 1850 – Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1779)
- 1852 – Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 6th Yokozuna (b. 1794)
- 1873 – Basil Moreau, French priest, founded the Congregation of Holy Cross (b. 1799)
- 1875 – Jean-François Millet, French painter and educator (b. 1814)
- 1891 – Kalākaua, king of Hawaii (b. 1836)
- 1900 – John Ruskin, English painter and critic (b. 1819)
- 1901 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (b. 1826)
- 1907 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (b. 1842)
- 1908 – John Ordronaux, American surgeon and academic (b. 1830)
- 1913 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver and illustrator (b. 1852)
- 1915 – Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, Irish businessman, philanthropist, and politician (b. 1840)
- 1920 – Georg Lurich, Estonian-Russian wrestler and strongman (b. 1876)
- 1921 – Mary Watson Whitney, American astronomer and academic (b. 1847)
- 1924 – Henry “Ivo” Crapp, Australian footballer and umpire (b. 1872)
- 1936 – George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
- 1940 – Omar Bundy, American general (b. 1861)
- 1944 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (b. 1860)
- 1947 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1911)
- 1947 – Andrew Volstead, American member of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1860)
- 1954 – Warren Bardsley, Australian cricketer (b. 1882)
- 1954 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1890)
- 1955 – Robert P. T. Coffin, American author and poet (b. 1892)
- 1962 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (b. 1887)
- 1965 – Alan Freed, American radio host (b. 1922)
- 1971 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
- 1971 – Minanogawa Tōzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (b. 1903)
- 1973 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and surgeon (b. 1885)
- 1973 – Amílcar Cabral, Guinea Bissauan-Cape Verdian engineer and politician (b. 1924)
- 1977 – Dimitrios Kiousopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, 151st Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1892)
- 1980 – William Roberts, English soldier and painter (b. 1895)
- 1983 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
- 1984 – Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
- 1988 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pakistani activist and politician (b. 1890)
- 1988 – Dora Stratou, Greek dancer and choreographer (b. 1903)
- 1989 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
- 1990 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
- 1993 – Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian activist (b. 1929)
- 1994 – Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1909)
- 1994 – Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, first Kenyan Vice-President (b. 1911)
- 1996 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1927)
- 2002 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and singer (b. 1963)
- 2003 – Al Hirschfeld, American painter and illustrator (b. 1903)
- 2003 – Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
- 2004 – Alan Brown, English racing driver (b. 1919)
- 2004 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Per Borten, Norwegian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist and politician (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Miriam Rothschild, English zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)
- 2009 – Stéphanos II Ghattas, Egyptian patriarch (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Etta James, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 2012 – John Levy, American bassist and manager (b. 1912)
- 2012 – Ioannis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Alejandro Rodriguez, Venezuelan-American pediatrician and psychiatrist (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Toyo Shibata, Japanese poet and author (b. 1911)
- 2014 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Otis G. Pike, American judge and politician (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Jonas Trinkūnas, Lithuanian ethnologist and academic (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Edgar Froese, Russian-German keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1944)
- 2016 – Mykolas Burokevičius, Lithuanian carpenter and politician (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (b. 1920)
- 2018 – Paul Bocuse, French chef (b. 1926)
- 2018 – Naomi Parker Fraley, American naval machiner (b. 1921)
- 2020 – Jaroslav Kubera, Czech politician (b. 1947)
- 2020 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives
Holidays and observances on January 20
- Armed Forces Day (Mali)
- Army Day (Laos)
- Christian feast day:
- Abadios
- Blessed Basil Moreau
- Eustochia Smeralda Calafato
- Euthymius the Great
- Fabian
- Manchán of Lemanaghan
- Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception Brando
- Richard Rolle (Church of England)
- Sebastian
- Stephen Min Kuk-ka (one of The Korean Martyrs)
- January 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Heroes’ Day (Cape Verde)
- Inauguration Day, held every four years in odd-numbered years immediately following years divisible by 4, except for the public ceremony when January 20 falls on Sunday (the public ceremony is held the following day; however, the terms of offices still begin on the 20th) (United States of America, not a federal holiday for all government employees but only for those working in the Capital region)
- Martyrs’ Day (Azerbaijan)
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January 19 in History
- 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.
- 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrender after a forty-day siege led by Tang dynasty general Ashina She’er, establishing Tang control over the northern Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.
- 1419 – Hundred Years’ War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, completing his reconquest of Normandy.
- 1511 – The Italian city-fortress of Mirandola surrenders to the French.
- 1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, the Regent of Sweden, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund and dies on February 3.
- 1607 – San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines.
- 1764 – John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
- 1764 – Bolle Willum Luxdorph records in his diary that a mail bomb, possibly the world’s first, has severely injured the Danish Colonel Poulsen, residing at Børglum Abbey.
- 1788 – The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrive at Botany Bay.
- 1795 – The Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands, bringing to an end the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
- 1806 – Britain occupies the Dutch Cape Colony after the Battle of Blaauwberg.
- 1817 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru.
- 1829 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy receives its premiere performance.
- 1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden.
- 1853 – Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Il trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in declaring secession from the United States.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs: The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.
- 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: In the Siege of Paris, Prussia wins the Battle of St. Quentin. Meanwhile, the French attempt to break the siege in the Battle of Buzenval will end unsuccessfully the following day.
- 1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
- 1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
- 1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
- 1915 – German strategic bombing during World War I: German zeppelins bomb the towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn in the United Kingdom killing at least 20 people, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.
- 1917 – Silvertown explosion: A blast at a munitions factory in London kills 73 and injures over 400. The resulting fire causes over £2,000,000 worth of damage.
- 1920 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
- 1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is founded.
- 1937 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
- 1940 – You Nazty Spy!, the first Hollywood film of any kind to satirize Adolf Hitler and the Nazis premieres, starring The Three Stooges, with Moe Howard as the character “Moe Hailstone” satirizing Hitler.
- 1941 – World War II: HMS Greyhound and other escorts of convoy AS-12 sink Italian submarine Neghelli with all hands 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Falkonera.
- 1942 – World War II: The Japanese conquest of Burma begins.
- 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces liberate the Łódź Ghetto. Of more than 200,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived the Nazi occupation.
- 1946 – General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
- 1953 – Almost 72 percent of all television sets in the United States are tuned into I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
- 1960 – Japan and the United States sign the US–Japan Mutual Security Treaty
- 1969 – Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire three days earlier in Prague’s Wenceslas Square to protest about the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turns into another major protest.
- 1974 – China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam
- 1977 – President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D’Aquino (a.k.a. “Tokyo Rose”).
- 1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW’s plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
- 1981 – Iran hostage crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
- 1983 – Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia.
- 1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.
- 1986 – The first IBM PC computer virus is released into the wild. A boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, it was created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter unauthorized copying of the software they had written.
- 1991 – Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.
- 1993 – Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations.
- 1995 – After being struck by lightning the crew of Bristow Flight 56C are forced to ditch. All 18 aboard are later rescued.
- 1996 – The barge North Cape oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
- 1997 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
- 1999 – British Aerospace agrees to acquire the defence subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, forming BAE Systems in November 1999.
- 2007 – Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is assassinated in front of his newspaper’s Istanbul office by 17-year-old Turkish ultra-nationalist Ogün Samast.
- 2007 – Four-man Team N2i, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the Antarctic pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1965 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.
- 2012 – The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload is shut down by the FBI.
- 2014 – A bomb attack on an army convoy in the city of Bannu kills at least 26 Pakistani soldiers and injures 38 others.
Births on January 19
- 399 – Pulcheria, Byzantine empress and saint (d. 453)
- 1200 – Dōgen Zenji, founder of Sōtō Zen (d. 1253)
- 1544 – Francis II of France (d. 1560)
- 1617 – Lucas Faydherbe, Flemish sculptor and architect (d. 1697)
- 1628 – Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby, English noble (d. 1672)
- 1676 – John Weldon, English organist and composer (d. 1736)
- 1721 – Jean-Philippe Baratier, German scholar and author (d. 1740)
- 1736 – James Watt, Scottish-English chemist and engineer (d. 1819)
- 1737 – Giuseppe Millico, Italian soprano, composer, and educator (d. 1802)
- 1739 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect, designed Longford Hall and Barrells Hall (d. 1808)
- 1752 – James Morris III, American captain (d. 1820)
- 1757 – Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf (d. 1831)
- 1788 – Pavel Kiselyov, Russian general and politician (d. 1874)
- 1790 – Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish poet and academic (d. 1855)
- 1798 – Auguste Comte, French economist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1857)
- 1807 – Robert E. Lee, American general and academic (d. 1870)
- 1808 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher and author (d. 1887)
- 1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American short story writer, poet, and critic (d. 1849)
- 1810 – Talhaiarn, Welsh poet and architect (d.1869)
- 1813 – Henry Bessemer, English engineer and businessman (d. 1898)
- 1832 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1875)
- 1833 – Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician and academic (d. 1872)
- 1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
- 1848 – Arturo Graf, Italian poet, of German ancestry (d. 1913).
- 1848 – John Fitzwilliam Stairs, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1904)
- 1848 – Matthew Webb, English swimmer and diver (d. 1883)
- 1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1922)
- 1852 – Thomas Price, Welsh-Australian politician, 24th Premier of South Australia (d. 1909)
- 1863 – Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (d. 1941)
- 1866 – Harry Davenport, American stage and film actor (d. 1949)
- 1871 – Dame Gruev, Bulgarian educator and activist, co-founded the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (d. 1906)
- 1874 – Hitachiyama Taniemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 19th Yokozuna (d. 1922)
- 1876 – Wakashima Gonshirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 21st Yokozuna (d. 1943)
- 1876 – Dragotin Kette, Slovenian poet and author (d. 1899)
- 1878 – Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1934)
- 1879 – Boris Savinkov, Russian soldier and author (d. 1925)
- 1882 – John Cain Sr., Australian politician, 34th Premier of Victoria (d. 1957)
- 1883 – Hermann Abendroth, German conductor (d. 1956)
- 1887 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (d. 1943)
- 1889 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
- 1892 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1964)
- 1893 – Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian pianist and educator (d. 1986)
- 1903 – Boris Blacher, German composer and playwright (d. 1975)
- 1905 – Stanley Hawes, English-Australian director and producer (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Briggs Cunningham, American race car driver, sailor, and businessman (d. 2003)
- 1908 – Ish Kabibble, American comedian and cornet player (d. 1994)
- 1908 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1971)
- 1911 – Choor Singh, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and judge (d. 2009)
- 1912 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
- 1913 – Rex Ingamells, Australian author and poet (d. 1955)
- 1913 – Rudolf Wanderone, American professional pocket billiards player (d. 1996)
- 1918 – John H. Johnson, American publisher, founded the Johnson Publishing Company (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Bernard Dunstan, English painter and educator (d. 2017)
- 1920 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat, 135th Prime Minister of Peru (d. 2020)
- 1921 – Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1995)
- 1922 – Arthur Morris, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 2015)
- 1922 – Miguel Muñoz, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1990)
- 1923 – Jean Stapleton, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (d. 1985)
- 1924 – Jean-François Revel, French philosopher (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Nina Bawden, English author (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Hans Massaquoi, German-American journalist and author (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Fritz Weaver, American actor (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Tippi Hedren, American model, actress, and animal rights-welfare activist
- 1930 – John Waite, South African cricketer (d. 2011)
- 1931 – Robert MacNeil, Canadian-American journalist and author
- 1932 – Russ Hamilton, English singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Richard Lester, American-English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1932 – Harry Lonsdale, American chemist, businessman, and politician (d. 2014)
- 1933 – George Coyne, American priest, astronomer, and theologian
- 1935 – Johnny O’Keefe, Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1978)
- 1936 – Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)
- 1936 – Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, American singer, harmonica player, and drummer (d. 2011)
- 1936 – Fred J. Lincoln, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1937 – John Lions, Australian computer scientist and academic (d. 1998)
- 1939 – Phil Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
- 1940 – Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author (d. 2007)
- 1941 – Colin Gunton, English theologian and academic (d. 2003)
- 1941 – Pat Patterson, Canadian wrestler, trainer, and referee
- 1942 – Michael Crawford, English actor and singer
- 1942 – Paul-Eerik Rummo, Estonian poet and politician
- 1943 – Larry Clark, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1970)
- 1943 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
- 1944 – Shelley Fabares, American actress and singer
- 1944 – Thom Mayne, American architect and academic, designed the San Francisco Federal Building and Phare Tower
- 1944 – Dan Reeves, American football player and coach
- 1945 – Trevor Williams, English singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1946 – Julian Barnes, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic
- 1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1947 – Frank Aarebrot, Norwegian political scientist and academic (d. 2017)
- 1947 – Paula Deen, American chef and author
- 1947 – Rod Evans, English singer-songwriter
- 1948 – Nancy Lynch, American computer scientist and academic
- 1948 – Frank McKenna, Canadian politician and diplomat, 27th Premier of New Brunswick
- 1948 – Mal Reilly, English rugby league player and coach
- 1949 – Arend Langenberg, Dutch voice actor and radio host (d. 2012)
- 1949 – Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
- 1950 – Sébastien Dhavernas, Canadian actor
- 1951 – Martha Davis, American singer
- 1952 – Dewey Bunnell, British-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1952 – Nadiuska, German television actress
- 1952 – Bruce Jay Nelson, American computer scientist (d. 1999)
- 1953 – Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor and singer
- 1953 – Richard Legendre, Canadian tennis player and politician
- 1953 – Wayne Schimmelbusch, Australian footballer and coach
- 1954 – Katey Sagal, American actress and singer
- 1954 – Cindy Sherman, American photographer and director
- 1954 – Esther Shkalim, Israeli poet and Mizrahi feminist
- 1955 – Paul Rodriguez, Mexican-American comedian and actor
- 1956 – Carman, American singer-songwriter, actor, and television host
- 1956 – Susan Solomon, American atmospheric chemist
- 1957 – Ottis Anderson, American football player and sportscaster
- 1957 – Roger Ashton-Griffiths, English actor, screenwriter and film director
- 1957 – Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican public servant and politician, 22nd Secretary of State of Puerto Rico
- 1958 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter (d. 2012)
- 1959 – Danese Cooper, American computer scientist and programmer
- 1959 – Jeff Pilson, American bass player, songwriter, and actor
- 1961 – William Ragsdale, American actor
- 1961 – Wayne Hemingway, English fashion designer, co-founded Red or Dead
- 1962 – Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist
- 1962 – Chris Sabo, American baseball player and coach
- 1962 – Jeff Van Gundy, American basketball player and coach
- 1963 – Michael Adams, American basketball player and coach
- 1963 – Martin Bashir, English journalist
- 1963 – John Bercow, English politician, Speaker of the House of Commons
- 1964 – Janine Antoni, Bahamian sculptor and photographer
- 1964 – Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer-songwriter and basketball player
- 1966 – Sylvain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 – Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player and coach
- 1966 – Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1968 – David Bartlett, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of Tasmania
- 1968 – Whitfield Crane, American singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Edwidge Danticat, Haitian-American novelist and short story writer
- 1969 – Luc Longley, Australian basketball player and coach
- 1969 – Predrag Mijatović, Montenegrin footballer and manager
- 1969 – Junior Seau, American football player (d. 2012)
- 1969 – Steve Staunton, Irish footballer and manager
- 1970 – Steffen Freund, German footballer defensive midfielder and manager
- 1970 – Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete
- 1970 – Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian and singer
- 1971 – Phil Nevin, American baseball player
- 1971 – Shawn Wayans, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – John Wozniak, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Ron Killings, American wrestler and rapper
- 1972 – Troy Wilson, Australian footballer and race car driver
- 1972 – Sergei Zjukin, Estonian chess player and coach
- 1972 – Yoon Hae-young, South Korean actress
- 1973 – Antero Manninen, Finnish cellist
- 1973 – Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer and coach
- 1974 – Dainius Adomaitis, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
- 1974 – Frank Caliendo, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Ian Laperrière, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1974 – Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer and manager
- 1975 – Natalie Cook, Australian volleyball player
- 1975 – Zdeňka Málková, Czech tennis player
- 1976 – Natale Gonnella, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Tarso Marques, Brazilian race car driver
- 1977 – Benjamin Ayres, Canadian actor, director, and photographer
- 1979 – Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast and sportscaster
- 1979 – Josu Sarriegi, Spanish footballer
- 1979 – Wiley, English rapper and producer
- 1980 – Jenson Button, English race car driver
- 1980 – Pasha Kovalev, Russian-American dancer and choreographer
- 1980 – Luke Macfarlane, Canadian-American actor and singer
- 1980 – Arvydas Macijauskas, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1980 – Michael Vandort, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1981 – Paolo Bugia, Filipino basketball player
- 1981 – Asier del Horno, Spanish footballer
- 1981 – Lucho González, Argentinian footballer
- 1982 – Pete Buttigieg, American politician
- 1982 – Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player
- 1982 – Jodie Sweetin, American actress and singer
- 1982 – Shane Tronc, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Kim Yoo-suk, South Korean pole vaulter
- 1982 – Robin tom Rink, German singer-songwriter
- 1983 – Hikaru Utada, American-Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
- 1984 – Fabio Catacchini, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Karun Chandhok, Indian race car driver
- 1984 – Jimmy Kébé, Malian footballer
- 1984 – Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Jake Allen, American football player
- 1985 – Pascal Behrenbruch, German decathlete
- 1985 – Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player
- 1985 – Esteban Guerrieri, Argentinian race car driver
- 1985 – Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer and actress
- 1985 – Elliott Ward, English footballer
- 1985 – Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Nikulin, Russian footballer
- 1986 – Claudio Marchisio, Italian footballer
- 1986 – Oleksandr Miroshnychenko, Ukrainian footballer
- 1986 – Moussa Sow, Senegalese footballer
- 1987 – Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer
- 1988 – JaVale McGee, American basketball player
- 1988 – Tyler Breeze, Canadian wrestler
- 1990 – Tatiana Búa, Argentine tennis player
- 1991 – Petra Martić, Croatian tennis player
- 1991 – Erin Sanders, American actress
- 1992 – Shawn Johnson, American gymnast
- 1992 – Logan Lerman, American actor
- 1992 – Mac Miller, American rapper (d. 2018)
- 1993 – Erick Torres Padilla, Mexican footballer
- 1994 – Matthias Ginter, German footballer
- 1994 – Alfie Mawson, English footballer, centre back
Deaths on January 19
- 520 – John of Cappadocia, patriarch of Constantinople
- 639 – Dagobert I, Frankish king (b. 603)
- 914 – García I, king of León
- 1003 – Kilian of Cologne, Irish abbot
- 1302 – Al-Hakim I, caliph of Cairo
- 1401 – Robert Bealknap, British justice
- 1526 – Isabella of Austria, Danish queen (b. 1501)
- 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1516)
- 1565 – Diego Laynez, Spanish Jesuit theologian (b. 1512)
- 1571 – Paris Bordone, Venetian painter (b. 1495)
- 1576 – Hans Sachs, German poet and playwright (b. 1494)
- 1636 – Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Flemish painter (b.1561)
- 1661 – Thomas Venner, English rebel leader (b. 1599)
- 1729 – William Congreve, English playwright and poet (b. 1670)
- 1755 – Jean-Pierre Christin, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1683)
- 1757 – Thomas Ruddiman, Scottish scholar and academic (b. 1674)
- 1766 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French architect and painter (b. 1695)
- 1785 – Jonathan Toup, English scholar and critic (b. 1713)
- 1833 – Ferdinand Hérold, French pianist and composer (b. 1791)
- 1847 – Charles Bent, American soldier and politician, 1st Governor of New Mexico (b. 1799)
- 1847 – Athanasios Christopoulos, Greek poet (b. 1772)
- 1851 – Esteban Echeverría, Argentinian poet and author (b. 1805)
- 1853 – Karl Faber, German historian and academic (b. 1773)
- 1865 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and politician (b. 1809)
- 1869 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (b. 1788)
- 1874 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet and scholar (b. 1798)
- 1878 – Henri Victor Regnault, French physicist and chemist (b. 1810)
- 1905 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher and author (b. 1817)
- 1906 – Bartolomé Mitre, Argentinian historian and politician, 6th President of Argentina (b. 1821)
- 1908 – Roberto Bompiani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1821)
- 1929 – Liang Qichao, Chinese journalist, philosopher, and scholar (b. 1873)
- 1930 – Frank P. Ramsey, British mathematician, philosopher and economist (b. 1903)
- 1938 – Branislav Nušić, Serbian author, playwright, and journalist (b. 1864)
- 1945 – Gustave Mesny, French general (b. 1886)
- 1948 – Tony Garnier, French architect and urban planner, designed the Stade de Gerland (b. 1869)
- 1954 – Theodor Kaluza, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1885)
- 1957 – József Dudás, Romanian-Hungarian activist and politician (b. 1912)
- 1963 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (b. 1884)
- 1964 – Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist (b. 1886)
- 1965 – Arnold Luhaäär, Estonian weightlifter (b. 1905)
- 1968 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1879)
- 1972 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (b. 1936)
- 1973 – Max Adrian, Irish-English actor (b. 1903)
- 1975 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator (b. 1889)
- 1976 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese engineer and academic (b. 1886)
- 1979 – Moritz Jahn, German novelist and poet (b. 1884)
- 1980 – William O. Douglas, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1898)
- 1981 – Francesca Woodman, American photographer (b. 1958)
- 1982 – Elis Regina, Brazilian soprano (b. 1945)
- 1984 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1920)
- 1987 – Lawrence Kohlberg, American psychologist and academic (b. 1927)
- 1990 – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian guru and mystic (b. 1931)
- 1990 – Alberto Semprini, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1908)
- 1990 – Herbert Wehner, German politician, 6th Minister of Intra-German Relations (b. 1906)
- 1991 – Marcel Chaput, Canadian biochemist and journalist (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 1996 – Don Simpson, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1943)
- 1997 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (b. 1923)
- 1998 – Carl Perkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1932)
- 1999 – Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby player (b. 1967)
- 2000 – Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, Bahá’í Hand of the Cause of God and wife of Shoghi Effendi (b. 1910)
- 2000 – Bettino Craxi, Italian lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)
- 2000 – Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-American actress, singer, and mathematician (b. 1913)
- 2001 – Dario Vittori, Italian-Argentinian actor and producer (b. 1921)
- 2002 – Vavá, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Milton Flores, Honduran footballer (b. 1974)
- 2003 – Françoise Giroud, French journalist, screenwriter, and politician, French Minister of Culture (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Harry E. Claiborne, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
- 2004 – David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)
- 2005 – K. Sello Duiker, South African author and screenwriter (b. 1974)
- 2006 – Anthony Franciosa, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Wilson Pickett, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 2006 – Awn Alsharif Qasim, Sudanese author and scholar (b. 1933)
- 2006 – Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricketer and pilot (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian journalist and activist (b. 1954)
- 2007 – Denny Doherty, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Murat Nasyrov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1969)
- 2008 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)
- 2008 – John Stewart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
- 2008 – Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1936)
- 2010 – Bill McLaren, Scottish rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Peter Åslin, Swedish ice hockey player (b. 1962)
- 2012 – Sarah Burke, Canadian skier (b. 1982)
- 2012 – Winston Riley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Rudi van Dantzig, Dutch ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Stan Musial, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Frank Pooler, American conductor and composer (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Earl Weaver, American baseball player and manager (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Toktamış Ateş, Turkish academician, political commentator, columnist and writer (b. 1944)
- 2014 – Azaria Alon, Ukrainian-Israeli environmentalist, co-founded the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Christopher Chataway, English runner, journalist, and politician (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Justin Capră, Romanian engineer and academic (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Michel Guimond, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1953)
- 2015 – Ward Swingle, American-French singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Sheila Sim, English actress (b. 1922)
- 2017 – Miguel Ferrer, American actor (b. 1955)
Holidays and observances on January 19
- Birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (commemorated by the Poe Toaster at his grave in Baltimore)
- Christian feast day:
- Bassianus of Lodi
- Henry of Uppsala
- Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum
- Mark of Ephesus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Pontianus of Spoleto
- Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester
- January 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Confederate Heroes Day (Texas), and its related observance:
- Robert E. Lee Day (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi)
- Feast of Sultán (Sovereignty), first day of the 17th month of the Bahá’í calendar (Bahá’í Faith) (only if Nowruz falls on March 21, otherwise the dates shifts)
- Husband’s Day (Iceland)
- Kokborok Day (Tripura, India)
- Theophany / Epiphany (Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy), and its related observances:
- Timkat, or 20 during Leap Year (Ethiopian Orthodox)
- Vodici or Baptism of Jesus (North Macedonia)
-
January 18 in History
- 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)