1791

  • February 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    February 13 in History

    • 951 – Guo Wei, a court official, leads a military coup and declares himself emperor of the new Later Zhou.
    • 962 – Emperor Otto I and Pope John XII co-sign the Diploma Ottonianum, recognizing John as ruler of Rome.
    • 1322 – The central tower of Ely Cathedral falls on the night of 12th–13th.
    • 1462 – The Treaty of Westminster is finalised between Edward IV of England and the Scottish Lord of the Isles.
    • 1503 – Challenge of Barletta: Tournament between 13 Italian and 13 French knights near Barletta.
    • 1542 – Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII of England, is executed for adultery.
    • 1633 – Galileo Galilei arrives in Rome for his trial before the Inquisition.
    • 1660 – With the accession of young Charles XI of Sweden, his regents begin negotiations to end the Second Northern War.
    • 1689 – William and Mary are proclaimed co-rulers of England.
    • 1692 – Massacre of Glencoe: Almost 80 Macdonalds at Glen Coe, Scotland are killed early in the morning for not promptly pledging allegiance to the new king, William of Orange.
    • 1726 – Parliament of Negrete between Mapuche and Spanish authorities in Chile bring an end to the Mapuche uprising of 1723–26.
    • 1755 – Treaty of Giyanti signed by VOC, Pakubuwono III and Prince Mangkubumi. The treaty divides the Javanese kingdom of Mataram into 2: Sunanate of Surakarta and Sultanate of Yogyakarta.
    • 1849 – The delegation headed by Metropolitan bishop Andrei Șaguna hands out to the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria the General Petition of Romanian leaders in Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina, which demands that the Romanian nation be recognized.
    • 1861 – Italian unification: The Siege of Gaeta ends with the capitulation of the defending fortress, effectively bringing an end of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
    • 1867 – Work begins on the covering of the Senne, burying Brussels’s primary river and creating the modern central boulevards.
    • 1880 – Thomas Edison observes Thermionic emission.
    • 1913 – The 13th Dalai Lama proclaims Tibetan independence following a period of domination by Manchu Qing dynasty and initiated a period of almost four decades of independence.
    • 1914 – Copyright: In New York City the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers is established to protect the copyrighted musical compositions of its members.
    • 1920 – The Negro National League is formed.
    • 1931 – The British Raj completes its transfer from Calcutta to New Delhi.
    • 1935 – A jury in Flemington, New Jersey finds Bruno Hauptmann guilty of the 1932 kidnapping and murder of the Lindbergh baby, the son of Charles Lindbergh.
    • 1945 – World War II: The siege of Budapest concludes with the unconditional surrender of German and Hungarian forces to the Red Army.
    • 1945 – World War II: Royal Air Force bombers are dispatched to Dresden, Germany to attack the city with a massive aerial bombardment.
    • 1951 – Korean War: Battle of Chipyong-ni, which represented the “high-water mark” of the Chinese incursion into South Korea, commences.
    • 1954 – Frank Selvy becomes the only NCAA Division I basketball player ever to score 100 points in a single game.
    • 1955 – Israel obtains four of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
    • 1960 – With the success of a nuclear test codenamed “Gerboise Bleue”, France becomes the fourth country to possess nuclear weapons.
    • 1960 – Black college students stage the first of the Nashville sit-ins at three lunch counters in Nashville, Tennessee.
    • 1961 – An allegedly 500,000-year-old rock is discovered near Olancha, California, US, that appears to anachronistically encase a spark plug.
    • 1967 – American researchers discover the Madrid Codices by Leonardo da Vinci in the National Library of Spain.
    • 1975 – Fire at One World Trade Center (North Tower) of the World Trade Center in New York.
    • 1978 – Hilton bombing: a bomb explodes in a refuse truck outside the Hilton Hotel in Sydney, Australia, killing two refuse collectors and a policeman.
    • 1979 – An intense windstorm strikes western Washington and sinks a ​1⁄2-mile-long section of the Hood Canal Bridge.
    • 1981 – A series of sewer explosions destroys more than two miles of streets in Louisville, Kentucky.
    • 1983 – A cinema fire in Turin, Italy, kills 64 people.
    • 1984 – Konstantin Chernenko succeeds the late Yuri Andropov as general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
    • 1990 – German reunification: An agreement is reached on a two-stage plan to reunite Germany.
    • 1991 – Gulf War: Two laser-guided “smart bombs” destroy the Amiriyah shelter in Baghdad. Allied forces said the bunker was being used as a military communications outpost, but over 400 Iraqi civilians inside were killed.
    • 1996 – The Nepalese Civil War is initiated in the Kingdom of Nepal by the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist-Centre).
    • 1999 – The last hockey game is played in Maple Leaf Gardens: the Toronto Maple Leafs lose 6–2 to the Chicago Blackhawks.
    • 2001 – An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter magnitude scale hits El Salvador, killing at least 944.
    • 2004 – The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces the discovery of the universe’s largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093. Astronomers named this star “Lucy” after The Beatles’ song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”.
    • 2007 – Taiwan opposition leader Ma Ying-jeou resigns as the chairman of the Kuomintang party after being indicted on charges of embezzlement during his tenure as the mayor of Taipei; Ma also announces his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.
    • 2008 – Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd makes a historic apology to the Indigenous Australians and the Stolen Generations.
    • 2010 – A bomb explodes in the city of Pune, Maharashtra, India, killing 17 and injuring 60 more.
    • 2011 – For the first time in more than 100 years the Umatilla, an American Indian tribe, are able to hunt and harvest a bison just outside Yellowstone National Park, restoring a centuries-old tradition guaranteed by a treaty signed in 1855.
    • 2012 – The European Space Agency (ESA) conducted the first launch of the European Vega rocket from Europe’s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
    • 2017 – Kim Jong-nam, brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, is assassinated at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

    Births on February 13

    • 1440 – Hartmann Schedel, German physician (d. 1514)
    • 1457 – Mary of Burgundy, Sovereign Duchess regnant of Burgundy, married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1482)
    • 1469 – Elia Levita, Renaissance Hebrew grammarian (d. 1549)
    • 1480 – Girolamo Aleandro, Italian cardinal (d. 1542)
    • 1523 – Valentin Naboth, German astronomer and mathematician (d. 1593)
    • 1539 – Elisabeth of Hesse, Electress Palatine (d. 1582)
    • 1569 – Johann Reinhard I, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (d. 1625)
    • 1599 – Pope Alexander VII (d. 1667)
    • 1602 – William V, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel (d. 1637)
    • 1672 – Étienne François Geoffroy, French physician and chemist (d. 1731)
    • 1683 – Giovanni Battista Piazzetta, Italian painter (d. 1754)
    • 1719 – George Brydges Rodney, 1st Baron Rodney, English admiral and politician (d. 1792)
    • 1721 – John Reid, Scottish general (d. 1807)
    • 1728 – John Hunter, Scottish surgeon and anatomist (d. 1793)
    • 1766 – Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist and scholar (d. 1834)
    • 1768 – Édouard Adolphe Casimir Joseph Mortier, French general and politician, 15th Prime Minister of France (d. 1835)
    • 1769 – Ivan Krylov, Russian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1844)
    • 1805 – Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician and academic (d. 1859)
    • 1811 – François Achille Bazaine, French general (d. 1888)
    • 1815 – Rufus Wilmot Griswold, American anthologist, editor, poet and critic (d. 1857)
    • 1831 – John Aaron Rawlins, American general and politician, 29th United States Secretary of War (d. 1869)
    • 1834 – Heinrich Caro, Sephardic Jewish Polish-German chemist and academic (d. 1910)
    • 1835 – Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, Indian religious leader (d. 1908)
    • 1849 – Lord Randolph Churchill, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1895)
    • 1855 – Paul Deschanel, Belgian-French politician, 11th President of France (d. 1922)
    • 1863 – Hugo Becker, German cellist and composer (d. 1941)
    • 1867 – Harold Mahony, Scottish-Irish tennis player (d. 1905)
    • 1870 – Leopold Godowsky, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1938)
    • 1873 – Feodor Chaliapin, Russian opera singer (d. 1938)
    • 1876 – Fritz Buelow, German-American baseball player and umpire (d. 1933)
    • 1879 – Sarojini Naidu, Indian poet and activist (d. 1949)
    • 1880 – Dimitrie Gusti, Romanian sociologist, ethnologist, historian, and philosopher (d. 1955)
    • 1881 – Eleanor Farjeon, Jewish-English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1965)
    • 1883 – Hal Chase, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947)
    • 1883 – Yevgeny Vakhtangov, Russian-Armenian actor and director (d. 1922)
    • 1884 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and businessman, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company (d. 1961)
    • 1885 – Bess Truman, American wife of Harry S. Truman, 35th First Lady of the United States (d. 1982)
    • 1887 – Géza Csáth, Hungarian playwright and critic (d. 1919)
    • 1888 – Georgios Papandreou, Greek lawyer, economist, and politician, 162nd Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1968)
    • 1889 – Leontine Sagan, Austrian actress and director (d. 1974)
    • 1891 – Kate Roberts, Welsh author and activist (d. 1985)
    • 1891 – Grant Wood, American painter and academic (d. 1942)
    • 1892 – Robert H. Jackson, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 57th United States Attorney General (d. 1954)
    • 1898 – Hubert Ashton, English cricketer and politician (d. 1979)
    • 1900 – Barbara von Annenkoff, Russian-born German film and stage actress (d. 1979)
    • 1901 – Paul Lazarsfeld, Austrian-American sociologist and academic (d. 1976)
    • 1902 – Harold Lasswell, American political scientist and theorist (d. 1978)
    • 1903 – Georgy Beriev, Georgian-Russian engineer, founded the Beriev Aircraft Company (d. 1979)
    • 1903 – Georges Simenon, Belgian-Swiss author (d. 1989)
    • 1906 – Agostinho da Silva, Portuguese philosopher and author (d. 1994)
    • 1907 – Katy de la Cruz, Filipino-American singer and actress (d. 2004)
    • 1910 – William Shockley, English-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1989)
    • 1911 – Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Indian-Pakistani poet and journalist (d. 1984)
    • 1911 – Jean Muir, American actress and educator (d. 1996)
    • 1912 – Harald Riipalu, Russian-Estonian commander (d. 1961)
    • 1912 – Margaretta Scott, English actress (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Khalid of Saudi Arabia (d. 1982)
    • 1915 – Lyle Bettger, American actor (d. 2003)
    • 1915 – Aung San, Burmese general and politician, 5th Premier of British Crown Colony of Burma (d. 1947)
    • 1916 – Dorothy Bliss, American invertebrate zoologist (d. 1987)
    • 1919 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (d. 1991)
    • 1919 – Eddie Robinson, American football player and coach (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – Boudleaux Bryant, American songwriter (d. 1987)
    • 1920 – Eileen Farrell, American soprano and educator (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Jeanne Demessieux, French pianist and composer (d. 1968)
    • 1921 – Aung Khin, Burmese painter (d. 1996)
    • 1922 – Francis Pym, Baron Pym, Welsh soldier and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 2008)
    • 1922 – Gordon Tullock, American economist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American soldier, judge, and politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (d. 2002)
    • 1923 – Chuck Yeager, American general and pilot; first test pilot to break the sound barrier
    • 1924 – Jean-Jacques Servan-Schreiber, French journalist and politician (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Fay Ajzenberg-Selove, American nuclear physicist (d. 2012)
    • 1928 – Gerald Regan, Canadian lawyer and politician, 19th Premier of Nova Scotia (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Omar Torrijos, Panamanian commander and politician, Military Leader of Panama (d. 1981)
    • 1930 – Ernst Fuchs, Austrian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Israel Kirzner, English-American economist, author, and academic
    • 1932 – Susan Oliver, American actress (d. 1990)
    • 1933 – Paul Biya, Cameroon politician, 2nd President of Cameroon
    • 1933 – Kim Novak, American actress
    • 1933 – Emanuel Ungaro, French fashion designer (d. 2019)
    • 1934 – George Segal, American actor
    • 1937 – Ali El-Maak, Sudanese author and academic (d. 1992)
    • 1937 – Angelo Mosca, American-Canadian football player and wrestler
    • 1938 – Oliver Reed, English actor (d. 1999)
    • 1940 – Bram Peper, Dutch sociologist and politician, Mayor of Rotterdam
    • 1941 – Sigmar Polke, German painter and photographer (d. 2010)
    • 1941 – Bo Svenson, Swedish-American actor, director, and producer
    • 1942 – Carol Lynley, American model and actress (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Peter Tork, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Donald E. Williams, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2016)
    • 1943 – Elaine Pagels, American theologian and academic
    • 1944 – Stockard Channing, American actress
    • 1944 – Jerry Springer, English-American television host, actor, and politician, 56th Mayor of Cincinnati
    • 1945 – Marian Dawkins, English biologist and academic
    • 1945 – King Floyd, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
    • 1945 – Simon Schama, English historian and author
    • 1945 – William Sleator, American author and composer (d. 2011)
    • 1946 – Richard Blumenthal, American sergeant and politician, 23rd Attorney General of Connecticut
    • 1946 – Janet Finch, English sociologist and academic
    • 1946 – Colin Matthews, English composer and educator
    • 1947 – Stephen Hadley, American soldier and diplomat, 21st United States National Security Advisor
    • 1947 – Mike Krzyzewski, American basketball player and coach
    • 1947 – Bogdan Tanjević, Montenegrin-Bosnian professional basketball coach
    • 1947 – Kevin Bloody Wilson, Australian comedian, singer-songwriter, and guitarist
    • 1949 – Peter Kern, Austrian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1950 – Vera Baird, English lawyer and politician
    • 1950 – Peter Gabriel, English singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1952 – Ed Gagliardi, American bass player (d. 2014)
    • 1953 – Akio Sato, Japanese wrestler and manager
    • 1954 – Donnie Moore, American baseball player (d. 1989)
    • 1955 – Joe Birkett, American lawyer, judge, and politician
    • 1956 – Peter Hook, English singer, songwriter, bass player, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer
    • 1957 – Denise Austin, American fitness trainer and author
    • 1958 – Pernilla August, Swedish actress
    • 1958 – Marc Emery, Canadian publisher and activist
    • 1958 – Jean-François Lisée, Canadian journalist and politician
    • 1958 – Derek Riggs, English painter and illustrator
    • 1958 – Øivind Elgenes, Norwegian vocalist, guitarist and composer
    • 1959 – Gaston Gingras, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1960 – Pierluigi Collina, Italian footballer and referee
    • 1960 – John Healey, English journalist and politician
    • 1960 – Gary Patterson, American football player and coach
    • 1960 – Artur Yusupov, Russian-German chess player and author
    • 1961 – Marc Crawford, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – cEvin Key, Canadian singer-songwriter, drummer, keyboard player, and producer
    • 1961 – Henry Rollins, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1962 – Aníbal Acevedo Vilá, Puerto Rican lawyer and politician
    • 1962 – Baby Doll, American wrestler and manager
    • 1962 – Michele Greene, American actress
    • 1964 – Stephen Bowen, American engineer, captain, and astronaut
    • 1964 – Ylva Johansson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Employment
    • 1965 – Peter O’Neill, Papua New Guinean accountant and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
    • 1966 – Neal McDonough, American actor and producer
    • 1966 – Jeff Waters, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1966 – Freedom Williams, American rapper and singer
    • 1967 – Stanimir Stoilov, Bulgarian footballer and coach
    • 1968 – Kelly Hu, American actress
    • 1969 – Joyce DiDonato, American soprano and actress
    • 1970 – Karoline Krüger, Norwegian singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1971 – Sonia Evans, English singer-songwriter
    • 1971 – Mats Sundin, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1971 – Todd Williams, American baseball player
    • 1972 – Virgilijus Alekna, Lithuanian discus thrower
    • 1972 – Charlie Garner, American football player
    • 1974 – Fonzworth Bentley, American rapper and actor
    • 1974 – Robbie Williams, English singer-songwriter
    • 1975 – Ben Collins, English race car driver
    • 1975 – Katie Hopkins, English media personality and columnist
    • 1976 – Jörg Bergmeister, German race car driver
    • 1976 – Shannon Nevin, Australian rugby league player
    • 1977 – Randy Moss, American football player and coach
    • 1978 – Niklas Bäckström, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1978 – Philippe Jaroussky, French countertenor
    • 1979 – Anders Behring Breivik, Norwegian murderer
    • 1979 – Rafael Márquez, Mexican footballer
    • 1979 – Rachel Reeves, English economist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
    • 1979 – Mena Suvari, American actress and fashion designer
    • 1980 – Carlos Cotto, Puerto Rican-American wrestler and boxer
    • 1981 – Luisão, Brazilian footballer
    • 1982 – Even Helte Hermansen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
    • 1982 – Michael Turner, American football player
    • 1983 – Mike Nickeas, Canadian baseball player
    • 1983 – Anna Watkins, English rower
    • 1984 – Hinkelien Schreuder, Dutch swimmer
    • 1985 – Kwak Ji-min, South Korean actress
    • 1986 – Luke Moore, English footballer
    • 1986 – Aqib Talib, American football player
    • 1987 – Eljero Elia, Dutch footballer
    • 1988 – Ryan Goins, American baseball player
    • 1988 – Eddy Pettybourne, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player
    • 1989 – Rodrigo Possebon, Brazilian footballer
    • 1991 – Eliaquim Mangala, French footballer
    • 1991 – Junior Roqica, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
    • 1991 – Vianney, French singer
    • 1994 – Memphis Depay, Dutch footballer

    Deaths on February 13

    • 106 – Emperor He of Han (Han Hedi) of the Chinese Eastern Han Dynasty (b. AD 79)
    • 721 – Chilperic II, Frankish king (b. 672)
    • 858 – Kenneth MacAlpin, Scottish king (probable; b. 810)
    • 921 – Vratislaus I, duke of Bohemia
    • 936 – Xiao Wen, empress of the Liao Dynasty
    • 942 – Muhammad ibn Ra’iq, Abbasid emir and regent
    • 988 – Adalbert Atto, Lombard nobleman
    • 1021 – Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, Fatimid caliph (b. 985)
    • 1130 – Honorius II, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1060
    • 1141 – Béla II, king of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1110)
    • 1199 – Stefan Nemanja, Serbian grand prince (b. 1113)
    • 1219 – Minamoto no Sanetomo, Japanese shōgun (b. 1192)
    • 1332 – Andronikos II Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1259)
    • 1351 – Kō no Morofuyu, Japanese general
    • 1539 – Isabella d’Este, Italian noblewoman (b. 1474)
    • 1542 – Catherine Howard, English wife of Henry VIII of England (executed;b. 1521)
    • 1571 – Benvenuto Cellini, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1500)
    • 1585 – Alfonso Salmeron, Spanish priest and scholar (b. 1515)
    • 1602 – Alexander Nowell, English clergyman and theologian (b. 1507)
    • 1660 – Charles X Gustav, king of Sweden (b. 1622)
    • 1662 – Elizabeth Stuart, queen of Bohemia (b. 1596)
    • 1693 – Johann Caspar Kerll, German organist and composer (b. 1627)
    • 1727 – William Wotton, English linguist and scholar (b. 1666)
    • 1728 – Cotton Mather, American minister and author (b. 1663)
    • 1732 – Charles-René d’Hozier, French historian and author (b. 1640)
    • 1741 – Johann Joseph Fux, Austrian composer and theorist (b. 1660)
    • 1787 – Roger Joseph Boscovich, Croatian physicist, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1711)
    • 1787 – Charles Gravier, comte de Vergennes, French lawyer and politician, Foreign Minister of France (b. 1717)
    • 1813 – Samuel Ashe, American lawyer and politician, 9th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1725)
    • 1818 – George Rogers Clark, American general (b. 1752)
    • 1826 – Peter Ludwig von der Pahlen, Russian general and politician, Governor-General of Baltic provinces (b. 1745)
    • 1831 – Edward Berry, English admiral (b. 1768)
    • 1837 – Mariano José de Larra, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1809)
    • 1845 – Henrik Steffens, Norwegian-German philosopher and poet (b. 1773)
    • 1877 – Costache Caragiale, Romanian actor and manager (b. 1815)
    • 1883 – Richard Wagner, German composer (b. 1813)
    • 1888 – Jean-Baptiste Lamy, French-American archbishop (b. 1814)
    • 1892 – Provo Wallis, Canadian-English admiral (b. 1791)
    • 1893 – Ignacio Manuel Altamirano, Mexican intellectual and journalist (b. 1834)
    • 1905 – Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter (b. 1844)
    • 1906 – Albert Gottschalk, Danish painter (b. 1866)
    • 1934 – József Pusztai, Slovene-Hungarian poet and journalist (b. 1864)
    • 1942 – Otakar Batlička, Czech journalist (b. 1895)
    • 1942 – Epitácio Pessoa, Brazilian lawyer, judge, and politician, 11th President of Brazil (b. 1865)
    • 1950 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian-English novelist and short story writer (b. 1875)
    • 1951 – Lloyd C. Douglas, American minister and author (b. 1877)
    • 1952 – Josephine Tey, Scottish author and playwright (b. 1896)
    • 1954 – Agnes Macphail, Canadian educator and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1956 – Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish mathematician and philosopher (b. 1878)
    • 1958 – Christabel Pankhurst, English activist, co-founded the Women’s Social and Political Union (b. 1880)
    • 1958 – Georges Rouault, French painter and illustrator (b. 1871)
    • 1964 – Paulino Alcántara, Filipino-Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1896)
    • 1964 – Werner Heyde, German psychiatrist and academic (b. 1902)
    • 1967 – Yoshisuke Aikawa, entrepreneur, businessman, and politician, founded Nissan Motor Company (b. 1880)
    • 1967 – Abelardo L. Rodríguez, substitute president of Mexico (1932-1934) (b. 1889)
    • 1968 – Mae Marsh, American actress (b. 1895)
    • 1968 – Portia White, Canadian opera singer (b. 1911)
    • 1973 – Marinus Jan Granpré Molière, Dutch architect and educator (b. 1883)
    • 1975 – André Beaufre, French general (b. 1902)
    • 1976 – Murtala Mohammed, Nigerian general and politician, 4th President of Nigeria (b. 1938)
    • 1976 – Lily Pons, French-American soprano and actress (b. 1904)
    • 1980 – David Janssen, American actor (b. 1931)
    • 1984 – Cheong Eak Chong, Singaporean entrepreneur (b. 1888)
    • 1986 – Yuri Ivask, Russian-American poet and critic (b. 1907)
    • 1989 – Wayne Hays, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1911)
    • 1991 – Arno Breker, German sculptor and illustrator (b. 1900)
    • 1992 – Nikolay Bogolyubov, Ukrainian-Russian mathematician and physicist (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Martin Balsam, American actor (b. 1919)
    • 1997 – Robert Klark Graham, American eugenicist and businessman (b. 1906)
    • 1997 – Mark Krasnosel’skii, Russian-Ukrainian mathematician and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Anders Aalborg, Canadian educator and politician (b. 1914)
    • 2000 – James Cooke Brown, American sociologist and author (b. 1921)
    • 2000 – John Leake, English soldier (b. 1949)
    • 2002 – Waylon Jennings, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
    • 2003 – Kid Gavilán, Cuban-American boxer (b. 1926)
    • 2003 – Walt Whitman Rostow, American economist; 7th United States National Security Advisor (b. 1916)
    • 2004 – François Tavenas, Canadian engineer and academic (b. 1942)
    • 2004 – Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, Chechen politician, 2nd President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (b. 1952)
    • 2005 – Nelson Briles, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1943)
    • 2005 – Lúcia Santos, Portuguese nun (b. 1907)
    • 2006 – P. F. Strawson, English philosopher and author (b. 1919)
    • 2007 – Elizabeth Jolley, English-Australian author and academic (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Charlie Norwood, American captain and politician (b. 1941)
    • 2007 – Richard Gordon Wakeford, English air marshal (b. 1922)
    • 2008 – Kon Ichikawa, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
    • 2009 – Edward Upward, English author and educator (b. 1903)
    • 2010 – Lucille Clifton, American poet and academic (b. 1936)
    • 2010 – Dale Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Russell Arms, American actor and singer (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Louise Cochrane, American-English screenwriter and producer (b. 1918)
    • 2012 – Daniel C. Gerould, American playwright and academic (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Gerry Day, American journalist and screenwriter (b. 1922)
    • 2013 – Miles J. Jones, American pathologist and physician (b. 1952)
    • 2013 – Pieter Kooijmans, Dutch judge and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for The Netherlands (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Andrée Malebranche, Haitian artist (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Yuko Tojo, Japanese activist and politician (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Balu Mahendra, Sri Lankan-Indian director, cinematographer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
    • 2014 – Richard Møller Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager (b. 1937)
    • 2014 – Ralph Waite, American actor and activist (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Faith Bandler, Australian activist and author (b. 1918)
    • 2015 – Stan Chambers, American journalist and actor (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – O. N. V. Kurup, Indian poet and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2016 – Antonin Scalia, American lawyer and judge, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (b. 1936)
    • 2017 – Ricardo Arias Calderón, Panamanian politician, Vice President (1990–1992) (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Aileen Hernandez, American union organizer and activist (b. 1926)
    • 2017 – Seijun Suzuki, Japanese filmmaker (b. 1923)
    • 2017 – Kim Jong-nam, North Korean politician (b. 1971)
    • 2017 – E-Dubble, American rapper (b. 1982)
    • 2018 – Henrik, Prince Consort of Denmark, French-born Danish royal (b. 1934)

    Holidays and observances on February 13

    • Children’s Day (Myanmar)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Absalom Jones (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Beatrice of Ornacieux
      • Castor of Karden
      • Catherine of Ricci
      • Ermenilda of Ely
      • Fulcran
      • Jordan of Saxony
      • Polyeuctus (Roman Catholic Church)
      • February 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • World Radio Day

  • February 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1429 – English forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orléans in the Battle of the Herrings.
    • 1502 – Isabella I issues an edict outlawing Islam in the Crown of Castile, forcing virtually all her Muslim subjects to convert to Christianity.
    • 1541 – Santiago, Chile is founded by Pedro de Valdivia.
    • 1593 – Japanese invasion of Korea: Approximately 3,000 Joseon defenders led by general Kwon Yul successfully repel more than 30,000 Japanese forces in the Siege of Haengju.
    • 1689 – The Convention Parliament declares that the flight to France in 1688 by James II, the last Roman Catholic British monarch, constitutes an abdication.
    • 1733 – Georgia Day: Englishman James Oglethorpe founds Georgia, the 13th colony of the Thirteen Colonies, by settling at Savannah.
    • 1771 – Gustav III becomes the King of Sweden.
    • 1817 – An Argentine/Chilean patriotic army, after crossing the Andes, defeats Spanish troops at the Battle of Chacabuco.
    • 1818 – Bernardo O’Higgins formally approves the Chilean Declaration of Independence near Concepción, Chile.
    • 1825 – The Creek cede the last of their lands in Georgia to the United States government by the Treaty of Indian Springs, and migrate west.
    • 1832 – Ecuador annexes the Galápagos Islands.
    • 1855 – Michigan State University is established.
    • 1894 – Anarchist Émile Henry hurls a bomb into the Cafe Terminus in Paris, killing one person and wounding 20.
    • 1909 – The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is founded.
    • 1909 – New Zealand’s worst maritime disaster of the 20th century happens when the SS Penguin, an inter-island ferry, sinks and explodes at the entrance to Wellington Harbour.
    • 1912 – The Xuantong Emperor, the last Emperor of China, abdicates.
    • 1915 – In Washington, D.C., the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
    • 1921 – Bolsheviks launch a revolt in Georgia as a preliminary to the Red Army invasion of Georgia.
    • 1924 – George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue received its premiere in a concert titled “An Experiment in Modern Music”, in Aeolian Hall, New York, by Paul Whiteman and his band, with Gershwin playing the piano.
    • 1935 – USS Macon, one of the two largest helium-filled airships ever created, crashes into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California and sinks.
    • 1946 – World War II: Operation Deadlight ends after scuttling 121 of 154 captured U-boats.
    • 1946 – African American United States Army veteran Isaac Woodard is severely beaten by a South Carolina police officer to the point where he loses his vision in both eyes. The incident later galvanizes the civil rights movement and partially inspires Orson Welles’ film Touch of Evil.
    • 1947 – The largest observed iron meteorite until that time creates an impact crater in Sikhote-Alin, in the Soviet Union.
    • 1947 – Christian Dior unveils a “New Look”, helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.
    • 1961 – The Soviet Union launches Venera 1 towards Venus.
    • 1963 – Construction begins on the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri.
    • 1965 – Malcolm X visits Smethwick in Birmingham following the racially-charged 1964 United Kingdom general election.
    • 1968 – Phong Nhị and Phong Nhất massacre.
    • 1974 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1970, is exiled from the Soviet Union.
    • 1983 – One hundred women protest in Lahore, Pakistan against military dictator Zia-ul-Haq’s proposed Law of Evidence. The women were tear-gassed, baton-charged and thrown into lock-up. The women were successful in repealing the law.
    • 1988 – Cold War: The 1988 Black Sea bumping incident: The U.S. missile cruiser USS Yorktown (CG-48) is intentionally rammed by the Soviet frigate Bezzavetnyy in the Soviet territorial waters, while Yorktown claims innocent passage.
    • 1990 – Carmen Lawrence becomes the first female Premier in Australian history when she becomes Premier of Western Australia.
    • 1992 – The current Constitution of Mongolia comes into effect.
    • 1993 – Two-year-old James Bulger is abducted from New Strand Shopping Centre by two ten-year-old boys, who later torture and murder him.
    • 1994 – Four thieves break into the National Gallery of Norway and steal Edvard Munch’s iconic painting The Scream.
    • 1999 – United States President Bill Clinton is acquitted by the United States Senate in his impeachment trial.
    • 2001 – NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the “saddle” region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
    • 2002 – The trial of Slobodan Milošević, the former President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, begins at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands. He dies four years later before its conclusion.
    • 2002 – An Iran Airtour Tupolev Tu-154 crashes in the mountains outside Khorramabad, Iran while descending for a landing at Khorramabad Airport, killing 119.
    • 2004 – The city of San Francisco begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in response to a directive from Mayor Gavin Newsom.
    • 2009 – Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes into a house in Clarence Center, New York while on approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all on board and one on the ground.
    • 2016 – Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill sign an Ecumenical Declaration in the first such meeting between leaders of the Catholic and Russian Orthodox Churches since their split in 1054.
    • 2019 – The country known as the Republic of Macedonia renames itself the Republic of North Macedonia in accordance with the Prespa agreement, settling a long-standing naming dispute with Greece.

    Births on February 12

    • AD 41 – Britannicus, Roman son of Claudius (d. 55)
    • 528 – Daughter of Emperor Xiaoming of Northern Wei, nominal empress regnant of Northern Wei
    • 661 – Princess Ōku of Japan (d. 702)
    • 1074 – Conrad II of Italy (d. 1101)
    • 1218 – Kujo Yoritsune, Japanese shōgun (d. 1256)
    • 1322 – John Henry, Margrave of Moravia (d. 1375)
    • 1443 – Giovanni II Bentivoglio, Italian noble (d. 1508)
    • 1480 – Frederick II of Legnica, Duke of Legnica (d. 1547)
    • 1540 – Won Gyun, Korean general and admiral (d. 1597)
    • 1567 – Thomas Campion, English composer, poet, and physician (d. 1620)
    • 1584 – Caspar Barlaeus, Dutch historian, poet, and theologian (d. 1648)
    • 1602 – Michelangelo Cerquozzi, Italian painter (d. 1660)
    • 1606 – John Winthrop the Younger, English-American lawyer and politician, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1676)
    • 1608 – Daniello Bartoli, Italian Jesuit priest (d. 1685)
    • 1637 – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch biologist and zoologist (d. 1680)
    • 1663 – Cotton Mather, English-American minister and author (d. 1728)
    • 1665 – Rudolf Jakob Camerarius, German botanist and physician (d. 1721)
    • 1704 – Charles Pinot Duclos, French author (d. 1772)
    • 1706 – Johann Joseph Christian, German Baroque sculptor and woodcarver (d. 1777)
    • 1728 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (d. 1799)
    • 1753 – François-Paul Brueys d’Aigalliers, French admiral (d. 1798)
    • 1761 – Jan Ladislav Dussek, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1812)
    • 1768 – Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1835)
    • 1775 – Louisa Adams, English-American wife of John Quincy Adams, 6th First Lady of the United States (d. 1852)
    • 1777 – Bernard Courtois, French chemist and academic (d. 1838)
    • 1777 – Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué, German author and poet (d. 1843)
    • 1785 – Pierre Louis Dulong, French physicist and chemist (d. 1838)
    • 1787 – Norbert Provencher, Canadian bishop and missionary (d. 1853)
    • 1788 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (d. 1869)
    • 1791 – Peter Cooper, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Cooper Union (d. 1883)
    • 1794 – Alexander Petrov, Russian chess player and composer (d. 1867)
    • 1794 – Valentín Canalizo, Mexican general and politician. 14th President (1843-1844) (d. 1850)
    • 1804 – Heinrich Lenz, German-Italian physicist and academic (d. 1865)
    • 1809 – Charles Darwin, English geologist and theorist (d. 1882)
    • 1809 – Abraham Lincoln, American lawyer and politician, 16th President of the United States (d. 1865)
    • 1819 – William Wetmore Story, American sculptor, architect, poet and editor
    • 1824 – Dayananda Saraswati, Indian monk and philosopher, founded Arya Samaj (d. 1883)
    • 1828 – George Meredith, English novelist and poet (d. 1909)
    • 1837 – Thomas Moran, British-American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School (d. 1926)
    • 1857 – Eugène Atget, French photographer (d. 1927)
    • 1857 – Bobby Peel, English cricketer and coach (d. 1943)
    • 1861 – Lou Andreas-Salomé, Russian-German psychoanalyst and author (d. 1937)
    • 1866 – Lev Shestov, Russian philosopher (d. 1938)
    • 1869 – Kiến Phúc, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1884)
    • 1870 – Marie Lloyd, English actress and singer (d. 1922)
    • 1876 – 13th Dalai Lama (d. 1933)
    • 1877 – Louis Renault, French engineer and businessman, co-founded Renault (d. 1944)
    • 1880 – George Preca, Maltese priest and saint (d. 1962)
    • 1880 – John L. Lewis, American miner and union leader (d. 1969)
    • 1881 – Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina and actress (d. 1931)
    • 1882 – Walter Nash, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1968)
    • 1884 – Max Beckmann, German painter and sculptor (d. 1950)
    • 1884 – Johan Laidoner, Estonian-Russian general (d. 1953)
    • 1884 – Alice Roosevelt Longworth, American author (d. 1980)
    • 1884 – Marie Vassilieff, Russian-French painter (d. 1957)
    • 1885 – Julius Streicher, German publisher, founded Der Stürmer (d. 1946)
    • 1889 – Bhante Dharmawara, Cambodian monk, lawyer, and judge (d. 1999)
    • 1893 – Omar Bradley, American general (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Kristian Djurhuus, Faroese lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 1984)
    • 1897 – Charles Groves Wright Anderson, South African-Australian colonel and politician (d. 1988)
    • 1897 – Lincoln LaPaz, American astronomer and academic (d. 1985)
    • 1898 – Wallace Ford, English-American actor and singer (d. 1966)
    • 1900 – Roger J. Traynor, American lawyer and jurist, 23rd Chief Justice of California (d. 1983)
    • 1902 – William Collier, Jr., American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1987)
    • 1903 – Jorge Basadre, Peruvian historian (d. 1980)
    • 1903 – Chick Hafey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1973)
    • 1904 – Ted Mack, American radio and television host (d. 1976)
    • 1907 – Joseph Kearns, American actor (d. 1962)
    • 1908 – Jean Effel, French painter, caricaturist, illustrator and journalist (d. 1982)
    • 1908 – Jacques Herbrand, French mathematician and philosopher (d. 1931)
    • 1909 – Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter and illustrator (d. 2005)
    • 1909 – Sigmund Rascher, German physician (d. 1945)
    • 1911 – Charles Mathiesen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1994)
    • 1912 – R. F. Delderfield, English author and playwright (d. 1972)
    • 1914 – Tex Beneke, American singer, saxophonist, and bandleader (d. 2000)
    • 1914 – Johanna von Caemmerer, German mathematician (d. 1971)
    • 1915 – Lorne Greene, Canadian-American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1915 – Olivia Hooker, African-American sailor (d. 2018)
    • 1916 – Joseph Alioto, American lawyer and politician, 36th Mayor of San Francisco (d. 1998)
    • 1917 – Al Cervi, American basketball player and coach (d. 2009)
    • 1917 – Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (d. 2009)
    • 1918 – Norman Farberow, American psychologist and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1918 – Julian Schwinger, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
    • 1919 – Forrest Tucker, American actor (d. 1986)
    • 1920 – Raymond Mhlaba, South African anti-apartheid and ANC activist (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Hussein Onn, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Malaysia (d. 1990)
    • 1923 – Franco Zeffirelli, Italian director, producer, and politician (d. 2019)
    • 1925 – Sir Anthony Berry, British Conservative politician (d. 1984)
    • 1925 – Joan Mitchell, American-French painter (d. 1992)
    • 1926 – Rolf Brem, Swiss sculptor and illustrator (d. 2014)
    • 1926 – Joe Garagiola, Sr., American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Charles Van Doren, American academic (d. 2019)
    • 1928 – Vincent Montana, Jr., American drummer and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – John Doyle, Irish hurler and politician (d. 2010)
    • 1930 – Arlen Specter, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – Janwillem van de Wetering, Dutch-American author and translator (d. 2008)
    • 1932 – Axel Jensen, Norwegian author and poet (d. 2003)
    • 1932 – Julian Simon, American economist, author, and academic (d. 1998)
    • 1933 – Costa-Gavras, Greek-French director and producer
    • 1933 – Brian Carlson, Australian rugby league player (d. 1987)
    • 1934 – Annette Crosbie, Scottish actress
    • 1934 – Anne Osborn Krueger, American economist and academic
    • 1934 – Bill Russell, American basketball player and coach
    • 1935 – Gene McDaniels, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2011)
    • 1936 – Alan Ebringer, Australian immunologist, professor at King’s College in the University of London
    • 1938 – Judy Blume, Jewish-American author and educator
    • 1939 – Leon Kass, American physician, scientist, and educator
    • 1939 – Ray Manzarek, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Hubert Marcoux, Canadian solo sailor and author (d. 2009)
    • 1941 – Dominguinhos, Brazilian singer-songwriter and accordion player (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Naomi Uemura, Japanese mountaineer and explorer (d. 1984)
    • 1942 – Ehud Barak, Israeli general and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Israel
    • 1942 – Pat Dobson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2006)
    • 1945 – Maud Adams, Swedish model and actress
    • 1945 – David D. Friedman, American economist, physicist, and scholar
    • 1946 – Jean Eyeghé Ndong, Gabonese politician, Prime Minister of Gabon
    • 1946 – Ajda Pekkan, Turkish singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1948 – Ray Kurzweil, American computer scientist and engineer
    • 1948 – Nicholas Soames, English politician, Minister of State for the Armed Forces
    • 1950 – Angelo Branduardi, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1950 – Steve Hackett, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1950 – Michael Ironside, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1952 – Michael McDonald, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1953 – Joanna Kerns, American actress and director
    • 1954 – Joseph Jordania, Georgian-Australian musicologist and academic
    • 1954 – Tzimis Panousis, Greek comedian, singer, and author (d. 2018)
    • 1954 – Phil Zimmermann, American cryptographer and programmer
    • 1955 – Bill Laswell, American bass player and producer
    • 1955 – Chet Lemon, American baseball player and coach
    • 1956 – Arsenio Hall, American actor and talk show host
    • 1956 – Ad Melkert, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs and Employment
    • 1956 – Brian Robertson, Scottish rock guitarist and songwriter
    • 1958 – Outback Jack, Australian-American wrestler
    • 1961 – Jim Harris, Canadian environmentalist and politician
    • 1961 – Michel Martelly, Haitian singer and politician, 56th President of Haiti
    • 1961 – Di Farmer, Queensland Member of Parliament
    • 1964 – Omar Hakim, American drummer, producer, arranger, and composer
    • 1965 – Rubén Amaro, Jr., American baseball player and manager
    • 1965 – Christine Elise, American actress and producer
    • 1965 – David Westlake, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1966 – Paul Crook, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1968 – Josh Brolin, American actor
    • 1968 – Chynna Phillips, American singer and actress
    • 1969 – Darren Aronofsky, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1969 – Alemayehu Atomsa, Ethiopian educator and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1969 – Steve Backley, English javelin thrower
    • 1969 – Anneli Drecker, Norwegian singer and actress
    • 1969 – Hong Myung-bo, South Korean footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Jim Creeggan, Canadian singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1970 – Bryan Roy, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1970 – Judd Winick, American author and illustrator
    • 1971 – Scott Menville, American voice actor, singer, actor and musician
    • 1973 – Gianni Romme, Dutch speed skater
    • 1973 – Tara Strong, Canadian voice actress and singer
    • 1974 – Naseem Hamed, English boxer
    • 1976 – Christian Cullen, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1977 – Jimmy Conrad, American soccer player and manager
    • 1978 – Paul Anderson, English actor
    • 1978 – Brett Hodgson, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1979 – Antonio Chatman, American football player
    • 1979 – Jesse Spencer, Australian actor and violinist
    • 1980 – Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spanish tennis player
    • 1980 – Sarah Lancaster, American actress
    • 1980 – Christina Ricci, American actress and producer
    • 1980 – Gucci Mane, American rapper
    • 1981 – Wade McKinnon, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Jonas Hiller, Swiss ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Louis Tsatoumas, Greek long jumper
    • 1982 – Anthony Tuitavake, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1983 – Carlton Brewster, American football player and coach
    • 1984 – Brad Keselowski, American race car driver
    • 1984 – Andrei Sidorenkov, Estonian footballer
    • 1984 – Peter Vanderkaay, American swimmer
    • 1988 – DeMarco Murray, American football player
    • 1988 – Nicolás Otamendi, Argentine footballer
    • 1988 – Mike Posner, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1990 – Robert Griffin III, American football player
    • 1991 – Patrick Herrmann, German footballer
    • 1994 – Arman Hall, American sprinter
    • 1999 – Maggie Coles-Lyster, Canadian cyclist
    • 2000 – Kim Ji-min, South Korean actress

    Deaths on February 12

    • 821 – Benedict of Aniane, French monk and saint (b. 747)
    • 890 – Henjō, Japanese priest and poet (b. 816)
    • 981 – Ælfstan, bishop of Ramsbury
    • 901 – Antony II, patriarch of Constantinople
    • 914 – Li, empress of Yan
    • 941 – Wulfhelm, Archbishop of Canterbury
    • 1247 – Ermesinde, Countess of Luxembourg, ruler (b. 1185)
    • 1266 – Amadeus of the Amidei, Italian saint
    • 1517 – Catherine of Navarre (b. 1468)
    • 1538 – Albrecht Altdorfer, German painter, engraver, and architect (b. 1480)
    • 1554 – Lord Guildford Dudley, English son of Jane Dudley, Duchess of Northumberland (b. 1536; executed)
    • 1554 – Lady Jane Grey, de facto monarch of England and Ireland for nine days (b. 1537; executed)
    • 1571 – Nicholas Throckmorton, English politician and diplomat (b. 1515)
    • 1590 – François Hotman, French lawyer and author (b. 1524)
    • 1600 – Edward Denny, Knight Banneret of Bishop’s Stortford, English soldier, privateer and adventurer (b. 1547)
    • 1612 – Jodocus Hondius, Flemish cartographer (b. 1563)
    • 1624 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith and philanthropist, founded George Heriot’s School (b. 1563)
    • 1713 – Jahandar Shah, Mughal emperor (b. 1664)
    • 1728 – Agostino Steffani, Italian priest and composer (b. 1653)
    • 1763 – Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (b. 1688)
    • 1771 – Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden (b. 1710)
    • 1789 – Ethan Allen, American farmer, general, and politician (b. 1738)
    • 1799 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist and physiologist (b. 1729)
    • 1804 – Immanuel Kant, German anthropologist, philosopher, and academic (b. 1724)
    • 1834 – Friedrich Schleiermacher, German philosopher and scholar (b. 1768)
    • 1886 – Randolph Caldecott, English-American painter and illustrator (b. 1846)
    • 1894 – Hans von Bülow, German pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1830)
    • 1896 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer and academic (b. 1811)
    • 1912 – Gerhard Armauer Hansen, Norwegian physician (b. 1841)
    • 1915 – Émile Waldteufel, French pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1837)
    • 1916 – Richard Dedekind, German mathematician, philosopher, and academic (b. 1831)
    • 1929 – Lillie Langtry, English singer and actress (b. 1853)
    • 1931 – Samad bey Mehmandarov, Azerbaijani-Russian general and politician, 3rd Azerbaijani Minister of Defense (b. 1855)
    • 1935 – Auguste Escoffier, French chef and author (b. 1846)
    • 1942 – Eugene Esmonde, Irish-English lieutenant and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1909)
    • 1942 – Avraham Stern, Polish-Israeli militant leader (b. 1907)
    • 1942 – Grant Wood, American painter and academic (b. 1891)
    • 1947 – Moses Gomberg, Ukrainian-American chemist and academic (b. 1866)
    • 1949 – Hassan al-Banna, Egyptian educator, founded the Muslim Brotherhood (b. 1906)
    • 1954 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1896)
    • 1958 – Douglas Hartree, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1897)
    • 1960 – Oskar Anderson, Bulgarian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1887)
    • 1970 – Clare Turlay Newberry, American author and illustrator (b. 1903)
    • 1971 – James Cash Penney, American businessman and philanthropist, founded J. C. Penney (b. 1875)
    • 1975 – Carl Lutz, Swiss vice-consul to Hungary during WWII, credited with saving over 62,000 Jews (b. 1895)
    • 1976 – Sal Mineo, American actor (b. 1939)
    • 1977 – Herman Dooyeweerd, Dutch philosopher and scholar (b. 1894)
    • 1979 – Jean Renoir, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
    • 1980 – Muriel Rukeyser, American poet and activist (b. 1913)
    • 1982 – Victor Jory, Canadian-American actor (b. 1902)
    • 1983 – Eubie Blake, American pianist and composer (b. 1887)
    • 1984 – Anna Anderson, Polish-American woman, who claimed to be Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia (b. 1896)
    • 1984 – Julio Cortázar, Belgian-Argentinian author and poet (b. 1914)
    • 1985 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (b. 1924)
    • 1989 – Thomas Bernhard, Austrian playwright and author (b. 1931)
    • 1991 – Roger Patterson, American bass player (b. 1968)
    • 1992 – Bep van Klaveren, Dutch boxer (b. 1907)
    • 1994 – Donald Judd, American painter and sculptor (b. 1928)
    • 1995 – Philip Taylor Kramer, American bass player (b. 1952)
    • 1998 – Gardner Ackley, American economist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Italy (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Tom Landry, American football player and coach (b. 1924)
    • 2000 – Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist, created Peanuts (b. 1922)
    • 2001 – Kristina Söderbaum, Swedish-German actress and producer (b. 1912)
    • 2002 – John Eriksen, Danish footballer (b. 1957)
    • 2005 – Dorothy Stang, American-Brazilian nun and missionary (b. 1931)
    • 2007 – Ann Barzel, American writer and dance critic (b. 1905)
    • 2007 – Peggy Gilbert, American saxophonist and bandleader (b. 1905)
    • 2008 – David Groh, American actor (b. 1939)
    • 2009 – victims of Colgan Air Flight 3407:
      • Alison Des Forges, American historian and activist (b. 1942)
      • Beverly Eckert, American activist (b. 1951)
      • Mat Mathews, Dutch accordion player (b. 1924)
      • Coleman Mellett, American guitarist (b. 1974)
      • Gerry Niewood, American saxophonist (b. 1943)
    • 2010 – Nodar Kumaritashvili, Georgian luger (b. 1988)
    • 2011 – Peter Alexander, Austrian singer and actor (b. 1926)
    • 2011 – Betty Garrett, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1919)
    • 2011 – Kenneth Mars, American actor and comedian (b. 1935)
    • 2012 – Zina Bethune, American actress, dancer, and choreographer (b. 1945)
    • 2012 – Denis Flannery, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – David Kelly, Irish actor (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – John Severin, American illustrator (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (b. 1941)
    • 2013 – Reginald Turnill, English journalist and author (b. 1915)
    • 2013 – Hennadiy Udovenko, Ukrainian politician and diplomat, 2nd Minister of Foreign Affairs for Ukraine (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Sid Caesar, American actor and comedian (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – John Pickstone, English historian and author (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – Movita Castaneda, American actress and singer (b. 1916)
    • 2015 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Gary Owens, American radio host and voice actor (b. 1934)
    • 2015 – Steve Strange, Welsh singer (b. 1959)
    • 2016 – Dominique D’Onofrio, Italian-Belgian footballer and coach (b. 1953)
    • 2016 – Yannis Kalaitzis, Greek cartoonist (b. 1945)
    • 2016 – Yan Su, Chinese general and composer (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Al Jarreau, American singer (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Anna Marguerite McCann, first female American underwater archaeologist (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Ren Xinmin, Chinese rocket scientist (b. 1915)
    • 2019 – Gordon Banks, English footballer (b. 1937)
    • 2019 – Lyndon LaRouche, American political activist (b. 1922)
    • 2019 – Pedro Morales, Puerto Rican professional wrestler and commentator (b. 1942)
    • 2020 – Christie Blatchford, Canadian newspaper columnist, journalist and broadcaster (b. 1951)

    Holidays and observances on February 12

    • Christian feast day:
      • Benedict of Aniane
      • Damian of Alexandria
      • Julian the Hospitaller
      • Martyrs of Abitinae
      • February 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Darwin Day (International)
    • Georgia Day (Georgia (U.S. state))
    • Lincoln’s Birthday (United States)
    • National Freedom to Marry Day (United States)
    • Red Hand Day (United Nations)
    • Union Day (Myanmar)
    • Youth Day (Venezuela)

  • January 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • AD 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule, the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
    • 1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.
    • 1302 – Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.
    • 1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the papal bull Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences. Nearly 200 years later, Martin Luther would protest this.
    • 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31.
    • 1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan and Caliph of Islam in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.
    • 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Henry Knox’s “noble train of artillery” arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
    • 1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
    • 1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast.
    • 1825 – The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the “Trail of Tears”.
    • 1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi begins, between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions; it will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration.
    • 1869 – Boshin War: Tokugawa rebels establish the Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō.
    • 1880 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his incandescent lamp.
    • 1916 – World War I: The British government passed a legislation that introduced conscription in the United Kingdom.
    • 1918 – Beginning of the Finnish Civil War.
    • 1927 – Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd.
    • 1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Eighth Air Force sorties ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-boat construction yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany.
    • 1944 – World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Soviet 322nd Rifle Division liberates the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
    • 1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger.
    • 1961 – The Soviet submarine S-80 sinks when its snorkel malfunctions, flooding the boat.
    • 1967 – Apollo program: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
    • 1967 – Cold War: The Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
    • 1973 – The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict’s last recorded American combat casualty.
    • 1980 – Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.
    • 1983 – The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world’s longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
    • 1996 – In a military coup, Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.
    • 1996 – Germany first observes the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
    • 2002 – An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.
    • 2003 – The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress.
    • 2010 – The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.
    • 2011 – Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution begins as over 16,000 protestors demonstrate in Sana’a.
    • 2013 – Two hundred and forty-two people die in a nightclub fire in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.

    Births on January 27

    • 1365 – Edward of Angoulême, English noble (d. 1370)
    • 1443 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
    • 1546 – Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
    • 1571 – Abbas I of Persia (d. 1629)
    • 1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
    • 1603 – Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 1685)
    • 1603 – Humphrey Mackworth, English politician, lawyer and judge (d. 1654)
    • 1621 – Thomas Willis, English physician and anatomist (d. 1675)
    • 1662 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (d. 1742)
    • 1663 – George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1733)
    • 1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann, German engineer and architect, designed Würzburg Residence and Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (d. 1753)
    • 1701 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian and theologian (d. 1790)
    • 1708 – Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
    • 1741 – Hester Thrale, Welsh author (d. 1821)
    • 1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1791)
    • 1775 – Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1854)
    • 1790 – Juan Álvarez, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1867)
    • 1795 – Eli Whitney Blake, American engineer, invented the Mortise lock (d. 1886)
    • 1803 – Eunice Hale Waite Cobb, American writer, public speaker, and activist (d. 1880)
    • 1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria (d. 1877)
    • 1805 – Samuel Palmer, English painter and etcher (d. 1881)
    • 1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer and educator (d. 1826)
    • 1808 – David Strauss, German theologian and author (d. 1874)
    • 1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect, designed the Lausanne Cathedral (d. 1879)
    • 1821 – John Chivington, American colonel and pastor (d. 1892)
    • 1823 – Édouard Lalo, French violinist and composer (d. 1892)
    • 1824 – Urbain Johnson, Canadian farmer and political figure (d. 1917)
    • 1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1889)
    • 1826 – Richard Taylor, American general, historian, and politician (d. 1879)
    • 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English novelist, poet, and mathematician (d. 1898)
    • 1832 – Carl Friedrich Schmidt, Estonian-Russian geologist and botanist (d. 1908)
    • 1836 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1895)
    • 1842 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ukrainian-Russian painter (d. 1910)
    • 1848 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
    • 1850 – John Collier, English painter and author (d. 1934)
    • 1850 – Samuel Gompers, English-American labor leader (d. 1924)
    • 1850 – Edward Smith, English captain (d. 1912)
    • 1858 – Neel Doff, Dutch-Belgian author (d. 1942)
    • 1859 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (d. 1941)
    • 1869 – Will Marion Cook, American violinist and composer (d. 1944)
    • 1878 – Dorothy Scarborough, American author (d. 1935)
    • 1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer and songwriter (d. 1945)
    • 1885 – Seison Maeda, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
    • 1886 – Radhabinod Pal, Indian academic and jurist (d. 1967)
    • 1889 – Balthasar van der Pol, Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1959)
    • 1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian journalist and author (d. 1967)
    • 1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese politician, Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1981)
    • 1895 – Joseph Rosenstock, Polish-American conductor and manager (d. 1985)
    • 1895 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1974)
    • 1900 – Hyman G. Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
    • 1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
    • 1901 – Art Rooney, American football player and coach, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers (d. 1988)
    • 1903 – John Eccles, Australian-Swiss neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
    • 1903 – Otto P. Weyland, American general (d. 1979)
    • 1904 – James J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic (d. 1979)
    • 1905 – Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
    • 1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (d. 1993)
    • 1910 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general, economist, and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1979)
    • 1912 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher and environmentalist (d. 2009)
    • 1912 – Francis Rogallo, American engineer, invented the Rogallo wing (d. 2009)
    • 1915 – Jules Archer, American historian and author (d. 2008)
    • 1915 – Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-American painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1985)
    • 1918 – Skitch Henderson, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2005)
    • 1918 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
    • 1918 – William Seawell, American general (d. 2005)
    • 1919 – Tom Addington, English captain (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks (d. 1972)
    • 1920 – Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Japanese lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
    • 1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
    • 1924 – Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Brian Rix, English actor, producer, and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1924 – Harvey Shapiro, American poet (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian flute player and journalist (d. 2003)
    • 1926 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
    • 1928 – Michael Craig, Indian-English actor and screenwriter
    • 1928 – Hans Modrow, Polish-German lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of East Germany
    • 1929 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian-Swiss businessman
    • 1929 – Gastón Suárez, Bolivian author and playwright (d. 1984)
    • 1930 – Bobby “Blue” Bland, American blues singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1931 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 2001)
    • 1931 – Nigel Vinson, Baron Vinson, English lieutenant and businessman
    • 1932 – Boris Shakhlin, Russian-Ukrainian gymnast (d. 2008)
    • 1933 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Édith Cresson, French politician and diplomat, 160th Prime Minister of France
    • 1934 – George Follmer, American race car driver
    • 1935 – Steve Demeter, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
    • 1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Fred Åkerström, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1985)
    • 1940 – Ahmet Kurtcebe Alptemoçin, Turkish engineer and politician, 35th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
    • 1940 – Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1940 – Petru Lucinschi, Romanian activist and politician, 2nd President of Moldova
    • 1940 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1941 – Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (d. 1981)
    • 1942 – Maki Asakawa, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1942 – Tasuku Honjo, Japanese immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine
    • 1942 – John Witherspoon, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Kate Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1986)
    • 1943 – Julia Cumberlege, Baroness Cumberlege, English businesswoman and politician
    • 1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian archbishop
    • 1944 – Mairead Maguire, Northern Irish activist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
    • 1945 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2005)
    • 1946 – Christopher Hum, English academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to China
    • 1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer
    • 1947 – Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
    • 1947 – Vyron Polydoras, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for Public Order
    • 1947 – Cal Schenkel, American painter and illustrator
    • 1947 – Philip Sugden, English historian and author (d. 2014)
    • 1947 – Perfecto Yasay Jr., Filipino lawyer and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines
    • 1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor
    • 1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
    • 1951 – Seth Justman, American keyboard player and songwriter
    • 1951 – Cees van der Knaap, Dutch soldier and politician
    • 1952 – Brian Gottfried, American tennis player
    • 1952 – Billy Johnson, American football player and coach
    • 1952 – Tam O’Shaughnessy, American tennis player, psychologist, and academic
    • 1952 – G. E. Smith, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1954 – Peter Laird, American author and illustrator
    • 1954 – Ed Schultz, American talk show host and sportscaster (d. 2018)
    • 1955 – Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1955 – John Roberts, American lawyer and judge, 17th Chief Justice of the United States
    • 1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
    • 1957 – Janick Gers, English guitarist and songwriter
    • 1957 – Frank Miller, American illustrator, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1958 – James Grippando, American lawyer and author
    • 1958 – Alan Milburn, English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
    • 1959 – Cris Collinsworth, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1959 – Göran Hägglund, Swedish lawyer and politician, 28th Swedish Minister for Social Affairs
    • 1959 – Keith Olbermann, American journalist and author
    • 1960 – Fiona O’Donnell, Canadian-Scottish politician
    • 1961 – Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
    • 1961 – Margo Timmins, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1962 – Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian director and composer
    • 1963 – George Monbiot, English-Welsh author and activist
    • 1964 – Patrick van Deurzen, Dutch composer and academic
    • 1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
    • 1964 – Shahin Shahablou, Iranian photographer (d. 2020)
    • 1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish-American actor
    • 1965 – Mike Newell, English footballer and manager
    • 1965 – Ignacio Noé, Argentinian author and illustrator
    • 1965 – Attila Sekerlioglu, Austrian footballer and manager
    • 1966 – Tamlyn Tomita, Japanese-American actress and singer
    • 1967 – Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1968 – Tracy Lawrence, American country singer
    • 1968 – Mike Patton, American singer, composer, and voice artist
    • 1968 – Matt Stover, American football player
    • 1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1969 – Patton Oswalt, American comedian and actor
    • 1969 – Shane Thomson, New Zealand cricketer
    • 1970 – Bradley Clyde, Australian rugby league player
    • 1970 – Dean Headley, English cricketer and coach
    • 1971 – Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1972 – Bibi Gaytán, Mexican singer and actress
    • 1973 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1974 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian skier and biathlete
    • 1974 – Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player and coach
    • 1974 – Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach
    • 1976 – Ahn Jung-hwan, South Korean footballer
    • 1976 – Clint Ford, American actor, voice actor and novelist
    • 1976 – Danielle George MBE FIET, Professor of Radio frequency engineering at the University of Manchester
    • 1976 – Fred Taylor, American football player
    • 1976 – Michael K. Winder, American businessman and politician
    • 1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian-American baseball player and manager
    • 1979 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
    • 1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer and coach
    • 1980 – Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player and politician
    • 1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1982 – Eva Asderaki, Greek tennis umpire
    • 1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
    • 1987 – Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1987 – Anton Shunin, Russian footballer
    • 1987 – Ashley Grace, American singer-songwriter
    • 1988 – Kerlon, Brazilian footballer
    • 1989 – Alberto Botía, Spanish footballer
    • 1991 – Christian Bickel, German footballer
    • 1991 – Sebastine Ikahihifo, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1992 – Stefano Pettinari, Italian footballer
    • 1995 – Harrison Reed, English footballer midfielder

    Deaths on January 27

    • AD 98 – Nerva, Roman emperor (b. 35)
    • 457 – Marcian, Byzantine emperor (b. 392)
    • 555 – Yuan Di, emperor of the Liang Dynasty (b. 508)
    • 672 – Pope Vitalian
    • 847 – Pope Sergius II (b. 790)
    • 906 – Liu Can, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
    • 931 – Ruotger, archbishop of Trier
    • 947 – Zhang Yanze, Chinese general and governor
    • 1062 – Adelaide of Hungary, (b. c. 1040)
    • 1311 – Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong of Yuan
    • 1377 – Frederick the Simple, King of Sicily
    • 1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (b. 1435)
    • 1504 – Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo (b. 1438)
    • 1540 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint, founded the Company of St. Ursula (b. 1474)
    • 1592 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (b. 1538)
    • 1596 – Francis Drake, English captain and explorer (b. 1540)
    • 1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1560)
    • 1638 – Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish author and poet (b. 1585)
    • 1651 – Abraham Bloemaert, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1566)
    • 1689 – Robert Aske, English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1619)
    • 1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the Piano (b. 1655)
    • 1733 – Thomas Woolston, English theologian and author (b. 1669)
    • 1740 – Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1692)
    • 1770 – Philippe Macquer, French historian (b. 1720)
    • 1794 – Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, French general (b. 1765)
    • 1812 – John Perkins, Anglo-Jamaican captain
    • 1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (b. 1762)
    • 1816 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, English admiral and politician (b. 1724)
    • 1851 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (b. 1789)
    • 1860 – János Bolyai, Romanian-Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1802)
    • 1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, English architect and academic, co-designed the Halifax Town Hall and the Royal Opera House (b. 1830)
    • 1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
    • 1910 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber and businessman (b. 1836)
    • 1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian poet and journalist (b. 1877)
    • 1921 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant (b. 1891)
    • 1922 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
    • 1927 – Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Lithuanian bishop (b. 1871)
    • 1931 – Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna (b. 1880)
    • 1940 – Isaac Babel, Russian short story writer, journalist, and playwright (b. 1894)
    • 1942 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1888)
    • 1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish field marshal and politician, 6th President of Finland (b. 1867)
    • 1956 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director (b. 1890)
    • 1961 – Bernard Friedberg, Austrian scholar and author (b. 1876)
    • 1963 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
    • 1965 – Abraham Walkowitz, American painter (b. 1878)
    • 1967 – crew of Apollo 1
      • Roger B. Chaffee, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1935)
      • Gus Grissom, American pilot and astronaut (b. 1926)
      • Ed White, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
    • 1967 – Alphonse Juin, Algerian-French general (b. 1888)
    • 1970 – Rocco D’Assunta, Italian actor, comedian and playwright (b. 1904)
    • 1971 – Jacobo Árbenz, Guatemalan captain and politician, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
    • 1972 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
    • 1973 – William Nolde, American colonel (b. 1929)
    • 1974 – Georgios Grivas, Cypriot general (b. 1898)
    • 1975 – Bill Walsh, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1914)
    • 1986 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (b. 1914)
    • 1987 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator and director (b. 1914)
    • 1988 – Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian historian, author, and playwright (b. 1938)
    • 1989 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player and pilot (b. 1888)
    • 1993 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
    • 1994 – Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – Ralph Yarborough, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1903)
    • 2000 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – Henryk Jabłoński, Polish historian and politician, President of Poland (b. 1909)
    • 2004 – Salvador Laurel, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Vice President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
    • 2004 – Jack Paar, American talk show host and author (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
    • 2006 – Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th President of Germany (b. 1931)
    • 2007 – Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese decathlete, long jumper, and hurdler (b. 1933)
    • 2008 – Suharto, Indonesian general and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
    • 2008 – Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader and author, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1910)
    • 2008 – Louie Welch, American businessman and politician, 54th Mayor of Houston (b. 1918)
    • 2009 – John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th President of India (b. 1910)
    • 2010 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (b. 1933)
    • 2010 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (b. 1919)
    • 2010 – Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist (b. 1922)
    • 2011 – Charlie Callas, American comedian and musician (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Greg Cook, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
    • 2012 – Ted Dicks, English composer and screenwriter (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Jeannette Hamby, American nurse and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Kevin White, American politician, 51st Mayor of Boston (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Ivan Bodiul, Ukrainian-Russian politician (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Epimaco Velasco, Filipino lawyer and politician, Governor of Cavite (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Paul Zorner, German soldier and pilot (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Rocky Bridges, American baseball player and coach (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – David Landau, English-Israeli journalist (b. 1947)
    • 2015 – Joseph Rotman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
    • 2015 – Larry Winters, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1956)
    • 2016 – Carlos Loyzaga, Filipino basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (b. 1927)
    • 2017 – Arthur H. Rosenfeld, American physicist (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Mort Walker, American cartoonist (b. 1923)
    • 2019 – Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau, German socialite (b. 1958)

    Holidays and observances on January 27

    • Christian feast day:
      • Angela Merici
      • Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini
      • Devota (Monaco)
      • Enrique de Ossó y Cercelló
      • John Chrysostom (translation of relics) (Anglican, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox)
      • Sava (Serbia)
      • January 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad (Russia)
    • Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
      • Holocaust Memorial Day (UK)
      • International Holocaust Remembrance Day
      • Memorial Day (Italy)
      • Other Holocaust Memorial Days observances

  • January 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

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

    • AD 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate.
    • 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to overthrow of the dynasty.
    • 1348 – A strong earthquake strikes the South Alpine region of Friuli in modern Italy, causing considerable damage to buildings as far away as Rome.
    • 1494 – Alfonso II becomes King of Naples.
    • 1515 – Coronation of Francis I of France takes place at Reims Cathedral, where the new monarch is anointed with the oil of Clovis and girt with the sword of Charlemagne.
    • 1533 – Henry VIII of England secretly marries his second wife Anne Boleyn.
    • 1554 – São Paulo, Brazil, is founded by Jesuit priests.
    • 1573 – Battle of Mikatagahara: In Japan, Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu.
    • 1575 – Luanda, the capital of Angola, is founded by the Portuguese navigator Paulo Dias de Novais.
    • 1704 – The Battle of Ayubale results in the destruction of most of the Spanish missions in Florida.
    • 1755 – Moscow University is established on Tatiana Day.
    • 1765 – Port Egmont, the first British settlement in the Falkland Islands near the southern tip of South America, is founded.
    • 1787 – Shays’s Rebellion: The rebellion’s largest confrontation, outside the Springfield Armory, results in the killing of four rebels and the wounding of twenty.
    • 1791 – The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act of 1791 and splits the old Province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
    • 1792 – The London Corresponding Society is founded.
    • 1858 – The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn is played at the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia, and becomes a popular wedding processional.
    • 1879 – The Bulgarian National Bank is founded.
    • 1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company.
    • 1890 – Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.
    • 1909 – Richard Strauss’s opera Elektra receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
    • 1915 – Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates U.S. transcontinental telephone service, speaking from New York to Thomas Watson in San Francisco.
    • 1918 – The Ukrainian People’s Republic declares independence from Soviet Russia.
    • 1924 – The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, in the French Alps, inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games.
    • 1932 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese National Revolutionary Army begins the defense of Harbin.
    • 1937 – The Guiding Light debuts on NBC radio from Chicago. In 1952 it moves to CBS television, where it remains until September 18, 2009.
    • 1941 – Pope Pius XII elevates the Apostolic Vicariate of the Hawaiian Islands to the dignity of a diocese. It becomes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
    • 1942 – World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of the Bulge ends.
    • 1946 – The United Mine Workers rejoins the American Federation of Labor.
    • 1946 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 1 relating to Military Staff Committee is adopted.
    • 1947 – Thomas Goldsmith Jr. files a patent for a “Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device”, the first ever electronic game.
    • 1949 – The first Emmy Awards are presented; the venue is the Hollywood Athletic Club.
    • 1960 – The National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the “payola” scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accept money for playing particular records.
    • 1961 – In Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential television news conference.
    • 1961 – 101 Dalmatians premiered from Walt Disney Productions.
    • 1964 – Blue Ribbon Sports, which would later become Nike, is founded by University of Oregon track and field athletes.
    • 1969 – Brazilian Army captain Carlos Lamarca deserts in order to fight against the military dictatorship, taking with him ten machine guns and 63 rifles.
    • 1971 – Charles Manson and three female “Family” members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate–LaBianca murders.
    • 1971 – Idi Amin leads a coup deposing Milton Obote and becomes Uganda’s president.
    • 1979 – Pope John Paul II starts his first official papal visits outside Italy to The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Mexico.
    • 1980 – Mother Teresa is honored with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.
    • 1986 – The National Resistance Movement topples the government of Tito Okello in Uganda.
    • 1993 – Five people are shot outside the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Two are killed and three wounded.
    • 1994 – The spacecraft Clementine by BMDO and NASA is launched.
    • 1995 – The Norwegian rocket incident: Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile.
    • 1996 – Billy Bailey becomes the last person to be hanged in the U.S.A.
    • 1998 – During a historic visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II demands political reforms and the release of political prisoners while condemning US attempts to isolate the country.
    • 1998 – A suicide attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Sri Lanka’s Temple of the Tooth kills eight and injures 25 others.
    • 1999 – A 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits western Colombia killing at least 1,000.
    • 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: A group of people leave London, England, for Baghdad, Iraq, to serve as human shields, intending to prevent the U.S.-led coalition troops from bombing certain locations.
    • 2005 – A stampede at the Mandhradevi temple in Maharashtra, India kills at least 258.
    • 2006 – Mexican professional wrestler Juana Barraza is arrested in connection with the serial killing of at least ten elderly women.
    • 2010 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Na’ameh, Lebanon, killing 90.
    • 2011 – The first wave of the Egyptian revolution begins throughout the country, marked by street demonstrations, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, riots, labour strikes, and violent clashes.
    • 2013 – At least 50 people are killed and 120 people are injured in a prison riot in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
    • 2015 – A clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in the Philippines killing 44 members of Special Action Force (SAF), at least 18 from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and five from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
    • 2019 – A mining company’s dam collapses in Brumadinho, Brazil, a south-eastern city, killing at least 7 people and leaving 200 missing.

    Births on January 25

    • 750 – Leo IV the Khazar, Byzantine emperor (d. 780)
    • 1408 – Katharina of Hanau, German countess regent (d. 1460)
    • 1459 – Paul Hofhaimer, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1537)
    • 1477 – Anne of Brittany (probable;d. 1514)
    • 1509 – Giovanni Morone, Italian cardinal (d. 1580)
    • 1526 – Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1586)
    • 1615 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
    • 1618 – Nicolaes Visscher I, Dutch engraver and cartographer (d. 1679)
    • 1627 – Robert Boyle, Irish-English chemist and physicist (d. 1691)
    • 1634 – Gaspar Fagel, Dutch politician and diplomat (d. 1688)
    • 1635 – Daniel Casper von Lohenstein, German writer, diplomat and lawyer (d. 1683)
    • 1640 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and politician, Lord Steward of the Household (d. 1707)
    • 1736 – Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian-French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1813)
    • 1739 – Charles François Dumouriez, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1823)
    • 1743 – Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, German philosopher and author (d. 1819)
    • 1750 – Johann Gottfried Vierling, German organist and composer (d. 1813)
    • 1755 – Paolo Mascagni, Italian physician and anatomist (probable;d. 1815)
    • 1759 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (d. 1796)
    • 1783 – William Colgate, English-American businessman and philanthropist, founded Colgate-Palmolive (d. 1857)
    • 1794 – François-Vincent Raspail, French chemist, physician, physiologist, and lawyer (d. 1878)
    • 1796 – William MacGillivray, Scottish ornithologist and biologist (d. 1852)
    • 1813 – J. Marion Sims, American gynecologist and physician (d. 1883)
    • 1816 – Anna Gardner, American abolitionist and teacher (d. 1901)
    • 1822 – Charles Reed Bishop, American businessman, philanthropist, and politician, founded the Bishop Museum (d. 1915)
    • 1822 – William McDougall, Canadian lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories (d. 1905)
    • 1823 – José María Iglesias, Mexican politician and interim President (1876–1877) (d. 1891)
    • 1824 – Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Indian poet and playwright (d. 1873)
    • 1841 – John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, English admiral (d. 1920)
    • 1858 – Mikimoto Kōkichi, Japanese businessman (d. 1954)
    • 1860 – Charles Curtis, American lawyer and politician, 31st Vice President of the United States (d. 1936)
    • 1864 – Julije Kempf, Croatian historian and author (d. 1934)
    • 1868 – Juventino Rosas, Mexican violinist and composer (d. 1894)
    • 1874 – W. Somerset Maugham, British playwright, novelist, and short story writer (d. 1965)
    • 1878 – Ernst Alexanderson, Swedish-American engineer (d. 1975)
    • 1882 – Virginia Woolf, English novelist, essayist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1941)
    • 1885 – Kitahara Hakushū, Japanese poet and author (d. 1942)
    • 1886 – Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor and composer (d. 1954)
    • 1895 – Florence Mills, American singer, dancer, and actress (d. 1927)
    • 1899 – Sleepy John Estes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1977)
    • 1899 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian lawyer and politician, 46th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1972)
    • 1900 – István Fekete, Hungarian author (d. 1970)
    • 1900 – Yōjirō Ishizaka, Japanese author and educator (d. 1986)
    • 1900 – Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian geneticist and pioneer of evolutionary biology (d. 1975)
    • 1901 – Martín de Álzaga, Argentinian race car driver and pilot (d. 1982)
    • 1901 – Mildred Dunnock, American actress (d. 1991)
    • 1905 – Maurice Roy, Canadian cardinal (d. 1985)
    • 1905 – Margery Sharp, English author and educator (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Toni Ulmen, German race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 1976)
    • 1908 – Hsieh Tung-min, Taiwanese politicians and Vice President of the Republic of China (d. 2001)
    • 1910 – Edgar V. Saks, Estonian historian, author, and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (d. 1984)
    • 1913 – Huang Hua, Chinese translator and politician, 5th Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China (d. 2010)
    • 1913 – Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer and conductor (d. 1994)
    • 1913 – Luis Marden, American photographer and journalist (d. 2003)
    • 1914 – William Strickland, American conductor and organist (d. 1991)
    • 1915 – Ewan MacColl, English singer-songwriter, actor and producer (d. 1989)
    • 1916 – Pop Ivy, American football player and coach (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Jânio Quadros, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 22nd President of Brazil (d. 1992)
    • 1919 – Edwin Newman, American journalist and author (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Samuel T. Cohen, American physicist and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Josef Holeček, Czechoslovakian canoeist (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Raymond Baxter, English television host and pilot (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Arvid Carlsson, Swedish pharmacologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Shirley Ardell Mason, American psychiatric patient (d. 1998)
    • 1923 – Sally Starr, American actress and television host (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Jean Taittinger, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Lou Groza, American football player and coach (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Husein Mehmedov, Bulgarian-Turkish wrestler and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Speedy West, American guitarist and producer (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Gordy Soltau, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Giorgos Zampetas, Greek bouzouki player and songwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1926 – Dick McGuire, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Antônio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1994)
    • 1928 – Jérôme Choquette, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Eduard Shevardnadze, Georgian general and politician, 2nd President of Georgia (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Cor van der Hart, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Elizabeth Allen, American actress and singer (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Robert Faurisson, English-French author and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1929 – Benny Golson, American saxophonist and composer
    • 1930 – Tanya Savicheva, Russian child diarist (d. 1944)
    • 1931 – Dean Jones, American actor and singer (d. 2015)
    • 1933 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (d. 2009)
    • 1935 – Conrad Burns, American soldier, journalist, and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1935 – António Ramalho Eanes, Portuguese general and politician, 16th President of Portugal
    • 1936 – Diana Hyland, American actress (d. 1977)
    • 1936 – Onat Kutlar, Turkish author and poet (d. 1995)
    • 1937 – Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African engineer and politician, President of the Central African Republic (d. 2011)
    • 1938 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 1998)
    • 1938 – Etta James, American singer (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Leiji Matsumoto, Japanese author, illustrator, and animator
    • 1938 – Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, actor, and poet (d. 1980)
    • 1941 – Buddy Baker, American race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Carl Eller, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1942 – Eusébio, Mozambican-Portuguese footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1943 – Tobe Hooper, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
    • 1945 – Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress
    • 1945 – Dave Walker, English singer and guitarist
    • 1946 – Doc Bundy, American race car driver and technician
    • 1947 – Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer (d. 2017)
    • 1947 – Tostão, Brazilian footballer, journalist, and physician
    • 1948 – Ros Kelly, Australian educator and politician, 1st Australian Minister for Defence Science and Personnel
    • 1948 – Georgy Shishkin, Russian painter and illustrator
    • 1949 – John Cooper Clarke, English poet and critic
    • 1949 – Paul Nurse, English geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1950 – Gloria Naylor, American novelist (d. 2016)
    • 1951 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (d. 1975)
    • 1952 – Peter Tatchell, Australian-English journalist and activist
    • 1952 – Timothy White, American journalist, author, and critic (d. 2002)
    • 1954 – Ricardo Bochini, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1954 – Kay Cottee, Australian sailor
    • 1954 – Renate Dorrestein, Dutch journalist and author (d. 2018)
    • 1956 – Andy Cox, English guitarist
    • 1956 – Dinah Manoff, American actress
    • 1957 – Eskil Erlandsson, Swedish technologist and politician, Swedish Minister for Rural Affairs
    • 1957 – Andrew Harris, American politician
    • 1957 – Jenifer Lewis, American actress and singer
    • 1958 – Franco Pancheri, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean ophthalmologist and politician, Singaporean Ministry of National Development
    • 1962 – Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player and manager
    • 1963 – Fernando Haddad, Brazilian academic and politician, 61st Mayor of São Paulo
    • 1963 – Molly Holzschlag, American computer scientist and author
    • 1964 – Billy Andrade, American golfer
    • 1964 – Stephen Pate, Australian cyclist
    • 1965 – Esa Tikkanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
    • 1966 – Chet Culver, American educator and politician, 41st Governor of Iowa
    • 1966 – Yiannos Ioannou, Cypriot footballer and manager
    • 1967 – Nelson Asaytono, Filipino basketball player
    • 1967 – David Ginola, French footballer, forward
    • 1967 – Randy McKay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1968 – Eric Orie, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Sergei Ovchinnikov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1970 – Stephen Chbosky, American author, screenwriter, and director
    • 1970 – Chris Mills, American basketball player
    • 1970 – Milt Stegall, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Luca Badoer, Italian race car driver
    • 1971 – Philip Coppens, Belgian journalist and author (d. 2012)
    • 1971 – Ana Ortiz, American actress
    • 1972 – Shinji Takehara, Japanese boxer
    • 1973 – Geoff Johns, American author, screenwriter, and producer
    • 1974 – Robert Budreau, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Emily Haines, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1974 – Attilio Nicodemo, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Duncan Jupp, Anglo-Scottish footballer, defender
    • 1975 – Mia Kirshner, Canadian actress
    • 1976 – Stephanie Bellars, American wrestler and manager
    • 1976 – Mário Haberfeld, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1976 – Dimitris Nalitzis, Greek footballer
    • 1977 – Michael Brown, English footballer, midfielder, manager and pundit
    • 1978 – Ahmet Dursun, Turkish footballer
    • 1978 – Denis Menchov, Russian cyclist
    • 1978 – Derrick Turnbow, American baseball player
    • 1979 – Rodrigo Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1980 – Alayna Burns, Australian track cyclist
    • 1980 – Xavi, Spanish footballer
    • 1981 – Francis Jeffers, English footballer
    • 1981 – Alicia Keys, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress
    • 1981 – Toše Proeski, Macedonian singer (d. 2007)
    • 1984 – Stefan Kießling, German footballer
    • 1984 – Robinho, Brazilian footballer
    • 1984 – Fara Williams, English footballer
    • 1985 – Brent Celek, American football player
    • 1985 – Patrick Willis, American football player
    • 1985 – Hwang Jung-eum, South Korean actress
    • 1986 – Chris O’Grady, English footballer
    • 1987 – Maria Kirilenko, Russian tennis player
    • 1988 – Tatiana Golovin, French tennis player
    • 1988 – Ryota Ozawa, Japanese actor
    • 1990 – Apostolos Giannou, Greek-Australian footballer
    • 1990 – Lee Jun-ho, South Korean singer and actor (2PM)
    • 1991 – Nigel Melker, Dutch race car driver

    Deaths onJanuary 25

    • 390 – Gregory Nazianzus, theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 329)
    • 477 – Gaiseric, king of the Vandals (b. 389)
    • 750 – Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, Umayyad caliph
    • 844 – Pope Gregory IV (b. 795)
    • 863 – Charles of Provence, Frankish king (b. 845)
    • 951 – Ma Xiguang, ruler of Chu (Ten Kingdoms)
    • 1003 – Lothair I, Margrave of the Nordmark
    • 1067 – Emperor Yingzong of Song (b. 1032)
    • 1138 – Antipope Anacletus II
    • 1139 – Godfrey I, Count of Louvain and Duke of Lower Lorraine (as Godfrey VI)
    • 1366 – Henry Suso, German priest and mystic (b. 1300)
    • 1413 – Maud de Ufford, Countess of Oxford (b. 1345)
    • 1431 – Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1364)
    • 1492 – Ygo Gales Galama, Frisian warlord and rebel (b. 1443)
    • 1494 – Ferdinand I of Naples (b. 1423)
    • 1559 – Christian II of Denmark (b. 1481)
    • 1578 – Mihrimah Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1522)
    • 1586 – Lucas Cranach the Younger, German painter (b. 1515)
    • 1640 – Robert Burton, English physician and scholar (b. 1577)
    • 1670 – Nicholas Francis, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1612)
    • 1726 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (b. 1675)
    • 1733 – Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet, English banker and politician, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1652)
    • 1751 – Paul Dudley, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (b. 1675)
    • 1852 – Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian admiral, cartographer, and explorer (b. 1778)
    • 1872 – Richard S. Ewell, American general (b. 1817)
    • 1881 – Konstantin Thon, Russian architect, designed the Grand Kremlin Palace and Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (b. 1794)
    • 1884 – Périclès Pantazis, Greek-Belgian painter (b. 1849)
    • 1891 – Theo van Gogh, Art dealer, the brother of Vincent van Gogh (b. 1857)
    • 1900 – Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, German Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein (b. 1835)
    • 1907 – René Pottier, French cyclist (b. 1879)
    • 1908 – Ouida, English-Italian author (b. 1839)
    • 1908 – Mikhail Chigorin, Russian chess player and theoretician (b. 1850)
    • 1910 – W. G. Read Mullan, American Jesuit and academic (1860)
    • 1912 – Dmitry Milyutin, Russian field marshal and politician (b. 1816)
    • 1925 – Juan Vucetich, Croatian-Argentinian anthropologist and police officer (b. 1858)
    • 1939 – Charles Davidson Dunbar, Scottish soldier and bagpipe player (b. 1870)
    • 1947 – Al Capone, American gangster and mob boss (b. 1899)
    • 1949 – Makino Nobuaki, Japanese politician, 15th Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1861)
    • 1957 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman, founded Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (b. 1873)
    • 1957 – Kiyoshi Shiga, Japanese physician and bacteriologist (b. 1871)
    • 1958 – Cemil Topuzlu, Turkish surgeon and politician, Mayor of Istanbul (b. 1866)
    • 1958 – Robert R. Young, American businessman and financier (b. 1897)
    • 1960 – Diana Barrymore, American actress (b. 1921)
    • 1966 – Saul Adler, Belarusian-English microbiologist and parasitologist (b. 1895)
    • 1968 – Louie Myfanwy Thomas, Welsh writer (b. 1908)
    • 1970 – Jane Bathori, French soprano (b. 1877)
    • 1970 – Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese director and producer (b. 1901)
    • 1971 – Barry III, Guinean lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
    • 1972 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (b. 1892)
    • 1975 – Charlotte Whitton, Canadian journalist and politician, 46th Mayor of Ottawa (b. 1896)
    • 1978 – Skender Kulenović, Bosnian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1910)
    • 1981 – Adele Astaire, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1896)
    • 1982 – Mikhail Suslov, Russian economist and politician (b. 1902)
    • 1985 – Ilias Iliou, Greek jurist and politician (b. 1904)
    • 1987 – Frank J. Lynch, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1922)
    • 1988 – Colleen Moore, American actress (b. 1899)
    • 1990 – Ava Gardner, American actress (b. 1922)
    • 1991 – Frank Soo, English footballer and manager (b. 1914)
    • 1992 – Mir Khalil ur Rehman, Founder and editor of the Jang Group of Newspapers (b. 1927)
    • 1994 – Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician, computer scientist, and academic (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Jonathan Larson, American playwright and composer (b. 1960)
    • 1997 – Dan Barry, American author and illustrator (b. 1923)
    • 1999 – Sarah Louise Delany, American author and educator (b. 1889)
    • 1999 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (b. 1916)
    • 2001 – Alice Ambrose, American philosopher and logician (b. 1906)
    • 2002 – Cliff Baxter, employee at Enron (b. 1958)
    • 2003 – Sheldon Reynolds, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
    • 2003 – Samuel Weems, American lawyer and author (b. 1936)
    • 2004 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch runner and hurdler (b. 1918)
    • 2004 – Miklós Fehér, Hungarian footballer (b. 1979)
    • 2005 – Stanisław Albinowski, Polish economist and journalist (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – William Augustus Bootle, American lawyer and judge (b. 1902)
    • 2005 – Philip Johnson, American architect, designed the PPG Place and Crystal Cathedral (b. 1906)
    • 2005 – Manuel Lopes, Cape Verdean author and poet (b. 1907)
    • 2005 – Netti Witziers-Timmer, Dutch runner (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Eleanor F. Helin, American astronomer (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Ewald Kooiman, Dutch organist and educator (b. 1938)
    • 2009 – Kim Manners, American director and producer (b. 1951)
    • 2010 – Ali Hassan al-Majid, Iraqi general and politician, Iraqi Minister of Defence (b. 1941)
    • 2011 – Vassilis C. Constantakopoulos Greek captain and businessman (b. 1935)
    • 2011 – Vincent Cronin, Welsh historian and author (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Paavo Berglund, Finnish violinist and conductor (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Jacques Maisonrouge, French businessman (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Franco Pacini, Italian astrophysicist and academic (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – Robert Sheran, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Martial Asselin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 25th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Kevin Heffernan, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Aase Nordmo Løvberg, Norwegian soprano and actress (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Arthur Doyle, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and flute player (b. 1944)
    • 2014 – Heini Halberstam, Czech-English mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Dave Strack, American basketball player and coach (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – John Leggett, American author and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Richard McBrien, American priest, theologian, and academic (b. 1936)
    • 2015 – Bill Monbouquette, American baseball player and coach (b. 1936)
    • 2015 – Demis Roussos, Egyptian-Greek singer (b. 1946)
    • 2017 – Stephen P. Cohen, Canadian academic (b. 1945)
    • 2017 – Robert Garcia, American politician (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – John Hurt, English actor (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Harry Mathews, American novelist and poet (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Marcel Prud’homme, Canadian politician (b. 1934)
    • 2017 – Mary Tyler Moore, American actress, dancer, and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2018 – Neagu Djuvara, Romanian historian, essayist, philosopher, journalist, novelist and diplomat (b. 1916)

    Holidays and observances on January 25

    • Burns Night (Scotland and Scottish community)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Dydd Santes Dwynwen (Wales)
      • Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, which concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity)
      • Gregory the Theologian (Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Church)
      • The last day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Christian ecumenism)
      • January 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which the first day of Carnival of Cádiz can fall, while February 28 is the latest; celebrated two Sundays before Ash Wednesday until Ash Wednesday (Cádiz)
    • Earliest day on which the Liberation of Auschwitz Memorial can fall, while January 31 is the latest; observed on the last Sunday in January (Netherlands)
    • National Nutrition Day (Indonesia)
    • National Police Day (Egypt)
    • National Voters’ Day (India)
    • Revolution Day 2011 (Egypt)
    • Tatiana Day or Russian Students Day (Russia, Eastern Orthodox)

  • January 21- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

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

    • 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)

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

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

    • 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
    • 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the “Holy Catholic faith”.
    • 1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
    • 1582 – Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
    • 1759 – The British Museum opens to the public.
    • 1777 – American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
    • 1782 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
    • 1815 – War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
    • 1818 – A paper by David Brewster is read to the Royal Society, belatedly announcing his discovery of what we now call the biaxial class of doubly-refracting crystals. On the same day, Augustin-Jean Fresnel signs a “supplement” (submitted four days later) on reflection of polarized light.
    • 1822 – Greek War of Independence: Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.
    • 1865 – American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
    • 1867 – Forty people die when ice covering the boating lake at Regent’s Park, London, collapses.
    • 1870 – A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the Democratic Party with a donkey (“A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion” by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly).
    • 1876 – The first newspaper in Afrikaans, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, is published in Paarl.
    • 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.
    • 1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
    • 1908 – The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.
    • 1910 – Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 325 ft (99 m).
    • 1911 – Palestinian Arabic-language Falastin newspaper founded.
    • 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.
    • 1919 – Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.
    • 1934 – The 8.0 Mw  Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people.
    • 1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
    • 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
    • 1943 – World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
    • 1943 – The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
    • 1947 – The Black Dahlia murder: the dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short was found in Los Angeles.
    • 1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
    • 1962 – The Derveni papyrus, Europe’s oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.
    • 1962 – Netherlands New Guinea Conflict: Indonesian Navy fast patrol boat RI Macan Tutul commanded by Commodore Yos Sudarso sunk in Arafura Sea by the Dutch Navy.
    • 1966 – The First Nigerian Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d’état.
    • 1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.
    • 1969 – The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
    • 1970 – Nigerian Civil War: Biafran rebels surrender following an unsuccessful 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria.
    • 1970 – Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
    • 1973 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
    • 1975 – The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.
    • 1976 – Gerald Ford’s would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
    • 1981 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation from Solidarity (Polish trade union) at the Vatican led by Lech Wałęsa.
    • 1991 – The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
    • 1991 – Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.
    • 2001 – Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
    • 2005 – ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the Moon.
    • 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
    • 2009 – US Airways Flight 1549 ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take-off.
    • 2013 – A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others.
    • 2015 – The Swiss National Bank abandons the cap on the franc’s value relative to the euro, causing turmoil in international financial markets
    • 2016 – The Kenyan Army suffers its worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 Kenyan soldiers are killed in the battle.
    • 2019 – Somali militants attack the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi, Kenya killing at least 21 people and injuring 19.
    • 2019 – Theresa May’s UK government suffers the biggest government defeat in modern times, when 432 MPs voting against the proposed European Union withdrawal agreement, giving her opponents a majority of 230.

    Births on January 15

    • 961 – Seongjong of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 997)
    • 1432 – Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
    • 1462 – Edzard I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1528)
    • 1481 – Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shōgun (d. 1511)
    • 1538 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
    • 1595 – Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, English politician (d. 1661)
    • 1622 – Molière, French actor and playwright (d. 1673)
    • 1623 – Algernon Sidney, British philosopher (d. 1683)
    • 1671 – Abraham de la Pryme, English archaeologist and historian (d. 1704)
    • 1674 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French poet and playwright (d. 1762)
    • 1716 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (d. 1778)
    • 1747 – John Aikin, English surgeon and author (d. 1822)
    • 1754 – Richard Martin, Irish activist and politician, co-founded the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (d. 1834)
    • 1791 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1872)
    • 1795 – Alexander Griboyedov, Russian playwright, composer, and poet (d. 1829)
    • 1803 – Marjorie Fleming, Scottish poet and author (d. 1811)
    • 1809 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French economist and politician (d. 1865)
    • 1812 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian author and scholar (d. 1885)
    • 1815 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, 3rd President of the Church of Jesus Christ (d. 1905)
    • 1834 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (d. 1911)
    • 1841 – Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, English captain and politician, 6th Governor General of Canada (d. 1908)
    • 1842 – Josef Breuer, Austrian physician and psychiatrist (d. 1925)
    • 1842 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun and saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (d. 1909)
    • 1850 – Leonard Darwin, English soldier, eugenicist, and politician (d. 1943)
    • 1850 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1889)
    • 1850 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1891)
    • 1855 – Jacques Damala, Greek-French soldier and actor (d. 1889)
    • 1858 – Giovanni Segantini, Italian painter (d. 1899)
    • 1859 – Archibald Peake, English-Australian politician, 25th Premier of South Australia (d. 1920)
    • 1863 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
    • 1866 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, historian, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
    • 1869 – Ruby Laffoon, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Kentucky (d. 1941)
    • 1869 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish poet, playwright, and painter (d. 1907)
    • 1870 – Pierre S. du Pont, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1954)
    • 1872 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (d. 1944)
    • 1875 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and journalist (d. 1929)
    • 1877 – Lewis Terman, American psychologist, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1956)
    • 1878 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (d. 1941)
    • 1879 – Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1961)
    • 1882 – Henry Burr, Canadian singer, radio performer, and producer (d. 1941)
    • 1885 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and author (d. 1973)
    • 1885 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968)
    • 1890 – Michiaki Kamada, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
    • 1891 – Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
    • 1891 – Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet and translator (d. 1938)
    • 1893 – Ivor Novello, Welsh singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1951)
    • 1895 – Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
    • 1896 – Marjorie Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1982)
    • 1902 – Nâzım Hikmet, Greek-Turkish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
    • 1902 – Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
    • 1903 – Paul A. Dever, American lieutenant and politician, 58th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
    • 1907 – Janusz Kusociński, Polish runner and soldier (d. 1940)
    • 1908 – Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1909 – Jean Bugatti, German-French engineer (d. 1939)
    • 1909 – Gene Krupa, American drummer, composer, and actor (d. 1973)
    • 1912 – Michel Debré, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1996)
    • 1913 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (d. 2002)
    • 1913 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
    • 1913 – Miriam Hyde, Australian pianist and composer (d. 2005)
    • 1913 – Alexander Marinesko, Ukrainian-Russian lieutenant (d. 1963)
    • 1914 – Stefan Bałuk, Polish general (d. 2014)
    • 1914 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – K. A. Thangavelu, Indian film actor and comedian (d. 1994)
    • 1918 – João Figueiredo, Brazilian general and politician, 30th President of Brazil (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Édouard Gagnon, Canadian cardinal (d. 2007)
    • 1918 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (d. 1970)
    • 1919 – Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer and politician, French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (d. 2012)
    • 1919 – George Cadle Price, Belizean politician, 1st Prime Minister of Belize (d. 2011)
    • 1920 – Bob Davies, American basketball player and coach (d. 1990)
    • 1920 – Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002)
    • 1920 – John O’Connor, American cardinal (d. 2000)
    • 1921 – Babasaheb Bhosale, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2007)
    • 1921 – Frank Thornton, English actor (d. 2013)
    • 1922 – Sylvia Lawler, English geneticist (d. 1996)
    • 1922 – Eric Willis, Australian sergeant and politician, 34th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1999)
    • 1923 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish pianist, songwriter, and poet (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese-Chinese economist and politician, 4th President of the Republic of China
    • 1924 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Ruth Slenczynska, American pianist and composer
    • 1925 – Ignacio López Tarso, Mexican actor
    • 1926 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (d. 2005)
    • 1927 – Phyllis Coates, American actress
    • 1928 – W. R. Mitchell, English journalist and author (d. 2015)
    • 1929 – Earl Hooker, American guitarist (d. 1970)
    • 1929 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated in 1968)
    • 1930 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (d. 1985)
    • 1931 – Lee Bontecou, American painter and sculptor
    • 1932 – Lou Jones, American sprinter (d. 2006)
    • 1933 – Frank Bough, English journalist and radio host
    • 1933 – Ernest J. Gaines, American author and academic (d. 2019)
    • 1933 – Peter Maitlis, English chemist and academic
    • 1934 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian civil servant and politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Margaret O’Brien, American actress and singer
    • 1938 – Ashraf Aman, Pakistani engineer and mountaineer
    • 1938 – Estrella Blanca, Mexican wrestler
    • 1938 – Chuni Goswami, Indian footballer and cricketer
    • 1939 – Per Ahlmark, Swedish journalist and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Tony Bullimore, British sailor
    • 1941 – Captain Beefheart, American singer-songwriter, musician, and artist (d. 2010)
    • 1942 – Frank Joseph Polozola, American academic and judge (d. 2013)
    • 1943 – George Ambrum, Australian rugby league player (d. 1986)
    • 1943 – Margaret Beckett, English metallurgist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
    • 1943 – Stuart E. Eizenstat, American lawyer and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the European Union
    • 1943 – Mike Marshall, American baseball player
    • 1944 – Jenny Nimmo, English author
    • 1945 – Ko Chun-hsiung, Taiwanese actor, director, and politician (d. 2015)
    • 1945 – Vince Foster, American lawyer and political figure (d. 1993)
    • 1945 – William R. Higgins, American colonel (d. 1990)
    • 1945 – Princess Michael of Kent
    • 1945 – David Pleat, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1946 – Charles Brown, American actor (d. 2004)
    • 1947 – Mary Hogg, English lawyer and judge
    • 1947 – Andrea Martin, American-Canadian actress, singer, and screenwriter
    • 1948 – Ronnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter (d. 1977)
    • 1949 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2001)
    • 1949 – Alasdair Liddell, English businessman (d. 2012)
    • 1949 – Ian Stewart, Scottish runner
    • 1949 – Howard Twitty, American golfer
    • 1950 – Marius Trésor, French footballer and coach
    • 1952 – Boris Blank, Swiss singer-songwriter
    • 1952 – Andrzej Fischer, Polish footballer
    • 1953 – Randy White, American football player
    • 1954 – Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino poet, author, and screenwriter
    • 1955 – Nigel Benson, English author and illustrator
    • 1955 – Andreas Gursky, German photographer
    • 1955 – Khalid Islambouli, Egyptian lieutenant (d. 1982)
    • 1956 – Vitaly Kaloyev, Russian architect
    • 1956 – Mayawati, Indian educator and politician, 23rd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
    • 1956 – Marc Trestman, American football player and coach
    • 1957 – David Ige, American politician
    • 1957 – Marty Lyons, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1957 – Andrew Tyrie, English journalist and politician
    • 1957 – Mario Van Peebles, American actor and director
    • 1958 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1958 – Boris Tadić, Serbian psychologist and politician, 16th President of Serbia
    • 1959 – Greg Dowling, Australian rugby league player
    • 1959 – Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian mountaineer and photographer (d. 2008)
    • 1959 – Pete Trewavas, English bass player and songwriter
    • 1961 – Serhiy N. Morozov, Ukrainian footballer and coach
    • 1961 – Yves Pelletier, Canadian actor and director
    • 1963 – Conrad Lant, English singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1963 – Bruce Schneier, American cryptographer and author
    • 1964 – Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
    • 1965 – Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist
    • 1965 – Bernard Hopkins, American boxer and coach
    • 1965 – James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
    • 1966 – Lisa Lisa, American R&B singer
    • 1967 – Ted Tryba, American golfer
    • 1968 – Chad Lowe, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1969 – Delino DeShields, American baseball player and manager
    • 1970 – Shane McMahon, American wrestler and businessman
    • 1971 – Regina King, American actress
    • 1972 – Shelia Burrell, American heptathlete
    • 1972 – Christos Kostis, Greek footballer
    • 1972 – Claudia Winkleman, English journalist and critic
    • 1973 – Essam El Hadary, Egyptian footballer
    • 1973 – Suparno Satpathy, Indian socio-political leader
    • 1974 – Séverine Deneulin, international development academic
    • 1974 – Ray King, American baseball player
    • 1975 – Mary Pierce, Canadian-American tennis player and coach
    • 1976 – Doug Gottlieb, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Iryna Lishchynska, Ukrainian runner
    • 1976 – Scott Murray, Scottish rugby player
    • 1976 – Florentin Petre, Romanian footballer and manager
    • 1978 – Eddie Cahill, American actor
    • 1978 – Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
    • 1978 – Ryan Sidebottom, English cricketer
    • 1979 – Drew Brees, American football player
    • 1979 – Michalis Morfis, Cypriot footballer
    • 1979 – Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
    • 1980 – Matt Holliday, American baseball player
    • 1981 – El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese football player
    • 1981 – Pitbull, American rapper and producer
    • 1981 – Dylan Armstrong, Canadian shot putter and hammer thrower
    • 1981 – Vanessa Henke, German tennis player
    • 1981 – Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby player
    • 1982 – Benjamin Agosto, American skater
    • 1982 – Armando Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
    • 1982 – Brett Lebda, American ice hockey player
    • 1982 – Ari Pulkkinen, Finnish pianist and composer
    • 1982 – Francis Zé, Cameroonian footballer
    • 1983 – Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
    • 1983 – Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer
    • 1984 – Ben Shapiro, American author and commentator
    • 1985 – René Adler, German footballer
    • 1985 – Enrico Patrizio, Italian rugby player
    • 1985 – Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer
    • 1986 – Fred Davis, American football player
    • 1987 – Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player
    • 1987 – Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopian runner
    • 1987 – David Knight, English footballer
    • 1987 – Kelleigh Ryan, Canadian fencer
    • 1987 – Michael Seater, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1988 – Daniel Caligiuri, German footballer
    • 1988 – Skrillex, American DJ and producer
    • 1989 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
    • 1990 – Paul Blake, English sprinter
    • 1990 – Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
    • 1990 – Robert Trznadel, Polish footballer
    • 1991 – Marc Bartra, Spanish footballer
    • 1991 – Nicolai Jørgensen, Danish footballer
    • 1991 – Darya Klishina, Russian long jumper
    • 1991 – James Mitchell, Australian basketball player
    • 1992 – Joël Veltman, Dutch footballer
    • 1994 – Eric Dier, English footballer
    • 1998 – Alexandra Eade, Australian artistic gymnast
    • 2004 – Grace VanderWaal, American singer-songwriter

    Deaths on January 15

    • AD 69 – Galba, Roman emperor (b. 3 BC)
    • 378 – Chak Tok Ich’aak I, Mayan ruler
    • 570 – Íte of Killeedy, Irish nun and saint (b. 475)
    • 849 – Theophylact, Byzantine emperor (b. 793)
    • 936 – Rudolph of France (b. 880)
    • 950 – Wang Jingchong, Chinese general
    • 1149 – Berengaria of Barcelona, queen consort of Castile (b. 1116)
    • 1568 – Nicolaus Olahus, Romanian archbishop (b. 1493)
    • 1569 – Catherine Carey, lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I of England (b. 1524)
    • 1584 – Martha Leijonhufvud, Swedish noblewoman (b. 1520)
    • 1595 – Murad III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546)
    • 1623 – Paolo Sarpi, Italian lawyer, historian, and scholar (b. 1552)
    • 1672 – John Cosin, English bishop and academic (b. 1594)
    • 1683 – Philip Warwick, English politician (b. 1609)
    • 1775 – Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian organist and composer (b. 1700)
    • 1790 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1719)
    • 1804 – Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (b. 1725)
    • 1813 – Anton Bernolák, Slovak linguist and priest (b. 1762)
    • 1815 – Emma, Lady Hamilton, English-French mistress of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (b. 1761)
    • 1855 – Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (b. 1780)
    • 1864 – Isaac Nathan, English-Australian composer and journalist (b. 1792)
    • 1866 – Massimo d’Azeglio, Piedmontese-Italian statesman, novelist and painter (b. 1798)
    • 1876 – Eliza McCardle Johnson, American wife of Andrew Johnson, 18th First Lady of the United States (b. 1810)
    • 1885 – Leopold Damrosch, German-American composer and conductor (b. 1832)
    • 1893 – Fanny Kemble, English actress (b. 1809)
    • 1896 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (b. 1822)
    • 1905 – George Thorn, Australian politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
    • 1909 – Arnold Janssen, German priest and missionary (b. 1837)
    • 1916 – Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian playwright and translator (b. 1850)
    • 1919 – Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871)
    • 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg, German economist, theorist, and philosopher (b. 1871)
    • 1926 – Enrico Toselli, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1883)
    • 1929 – George Cope, American painter (b. 1855)
    • 1936 – Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, English cricketer and politician, 7th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1866)
    • 1937 – Anton Holban, Romanian author, theoretician, and educator (b. 1902)
    • 1945 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (b. 1865)
    • 1948 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and diplomat, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1862)
    • 1950 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (b. 1886)
    • 1951 – Ernest Swinton, British Army officer (b. 1868)
    • 1951 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian captain and sailor (b. 1887)
    • 1952 – Ned Hanlon, Australian sergeant and politician, 26th Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
    • 1955 – Yves Tanguy, French-American painter (b. 1900)
    • 1959 – Regina Margareten, Hungarian businesswoman (b. 1863)
    • 1964 – Jack Teagarden, American singer-songwriter and trombonist (b. 1905)
    • 1967 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (b. 1882)
    • 1968 – Bill Masterton, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1938)
    • 1970 – Frank Clement, English race car driver (b. 1886)
    • 1970 – William T. Piper, American engineer and businessman, founded Piper Aircraft (b. 1881)
    • 1972 – Daisy Ashford, English author (b. 1881)
    • 1973 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
    • 1973 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1901)
    • 1974 – Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
    • 1981 – Graham Whitehead, English race car driver (b. 1922)
    • 1982 – Red Smith, American journalist (b. 1905)
    • 1983 – Armin Öpik, Estonian-Australian paleontologist and geologist (b. 1898)
    • 1983 – Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
    • 1984 – Fazıl Küçük, Cypriot journalist and politician (b. 1906)
    • 1987 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
    • 1988 – Seán MacBride, Irish republican activist and politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
    • 1990 – Gordon Jackson, Scottish-English actor (b. 1923)
    • 1990 – Peggy van Praagh, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (b. 1910)
    • 1993 – Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
    • 1994 – Georges Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist and composer (b. 1921)
    • 1994 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
    • 1994 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (b. 1916)
    • 1996 – Les Baxter, American pianist and composer (b. 1922)
    • 1996 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
    • 1998 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian economist and politician, Prime Minister of India (b. 1898)
    • 1998 – Junior Wells, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1934)
    • 1999 – Betty Box, English composer and producer (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian-Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
    • 2001 – Leo Marks, English cryptographer, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2002 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
    • 2002 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (b. 1913)
    • 2003 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
    • 2004 – Olivia Goldsmith, American author (b. 1949)
    • 2005 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Elizabeth Janeway, American author and critic (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1916)
    • 2006 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1926)
    • 2007 – Awad Hamed al-Bandar, Iraqi lawyer and judge (b. 1945)
    • 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Iraqi intelligence officer (b. 1951)
    • 2007 – James Hillier, Canadian-American computer scientist and academic, co-invented the electron microscope (b. 1915)
    • 2007 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino educator and diplomat (b. 1905)
    • 2007 – Bo Yibo, Chinese commander and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1908)
    • 2008 – Robert V. Bruce, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1923)
    • 2008 – Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)
    • 2009 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
    • 2011 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (b. 1925)
    • 2011 – Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, French soldier, race car driver, and businessman (b. 1908)
    • 2011 – Susannah York, English actress and activist (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – Ed Derwinski, American soldier and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Xunta of Galicia (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Carlo Fruttero, Italian journalist and author (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Samuel Jaskilka, American general (b. 1919)
    • 2012 – Ib Spang Olsen, Danish author and illustrator (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Hulett C. Smith, American lieutenant and politician, 27th Governor of West Virginia (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – John Thomas, American high jumper (b. 1941)
    • 2014 – Curtis Bray, American football player and coach (b. 1970)
    • 2014 – John Dobson, Chinese-American astronomer and author (b. 1915)
    • 2014 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (b. 1944)
    • 2015 – Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (b. 1919)
    • 2015 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (b. 1927)
    • 2016 – Francisco X. Alarcón, American poet and educator (b. 1954)
    • 2016 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1958)
    • 2016 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (b. 1943)
    • 2017 – Jimmy Snuka, Fijian professional wrestler (b. 1943)
    • 2018 – Dolores O’Riordan, Irish pop singer (b. 1971)
    • 2019 – Carol Channing, American actress (b. 1921)
    • 2019 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (b. 1936)

    Holidays and observances on January 15

    • Arbor Day (Egypt)
    • Armed Forces Day (Nigeria)
    • Army Day (India)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Abeluzius (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
      • Arnold Janssen
      • Francis Ferdinand de Capillas (one of Martyr Saints of China)
      • Ita
      • Our Lady of the Poor
      • Macarius of Egypt (Western Christianity)
      • Maurus and Placidus (Order of Saint Benedict)
      • Paul the Hermit
      • January 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Martin Luther King Jr. Day can fall (the 15th being his birthday), while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in January. (United States)
    • Earliest day on which Sinulog Festival can fall, while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in January. (Philippines)
    • John Chilembwe Day (Malawi)
    • Korean Alphabet Day (North Korea)
    • Ocean Duty Day (Indonesia)
    • Sagichō at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. (Kamakura, Japan)
    • Teacher’s Day (Venezuela)
    • The second day of the sidereal winter solstice festivals in India (see January 14):
      • Thai Pongal, Tamil harvest festival

  • January 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned since his election in June 1523.
    • 1554 – Bayinnaung, who would go on to assemble the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, is crowned King of Burma.
    • 1616 – The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta, by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco.
    • 1808 – John Rennie’s scheme to defend St Mary’s Church, Reculver, founded in 669, from coastal erosion is abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture and sculpture.
    • 1808 – The organizational meeting leading to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
    • 1848 – The Palermo rising takes place in Sicily against the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
    • 1866 – The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.
    • 1872 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.
    • 1895 – The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom.
    • 1911 – The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees.
    • 1915 – The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to require states to give women the right to vote.
    • 1916 – Both Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft, receive the German Empire’s highest military award, the Pour le Mérite as the first German aviators to earn it.
    • 1918 – The Minnie Pit Disaster coal mining accident occurs in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys die.
    • 1921 – Acting to restore confidence in baseball after the Black Sox Scandal, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis is elected as Major League Baseball’s first commissioner.
    • 1932 – Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
    • 1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins the Vistula–Oder Offensive.
    • 1962 – Vietnam War: Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the war, takes place.
    • 1964 – Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaim a republic.
    • 1966 – Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.
    • 1967 – Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.
    • 1969 – The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
    • 1970 – Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian Civil War.
    • 1971 – The Harrisburg Seven: Rev. Philip Berrigan and five other activists are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
    • 1976 – The United Nations Security Council votes 11–1 to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).
    • 1986 – Space Shuttle program: Congressman Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Columbia on mission STS-61-C as a payload specialist.
    • 1990 – A seven-day pogrom breaks out against the Armenian civilian population of Baku, Azerbaijan, during which Armenians were beaten, tortured, murdered, and expelled from the city.
    • 1991 – Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
    • 1998 – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.
    • 2001 – Downtown Disney opens to the public as part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
    • 2004 – The world’s largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage.
    • 2005 – Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II rocket.
    • 2006 – A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims.
    • 2010 – An earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince.
    • 2012 – Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu’s economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers.
    • 2015 – Government raids kill 143 Boko Haram fighters in Kolofata, Cameroon.
    • 2016 – Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
    • 2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupts, and kills 39 people.

    Births on January 12

    • 1483 – Henry III of Nassau-Breda (d. 1538)
    • 1562 – Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1630)
    • 1576 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch historian and scholar (d. 1660)
    • 1577 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist and physician (d. 1644)
    • 1588 – John Winthrop, English lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (d. 1649)
    • 1591 – Jusepe de Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
    • 1597 – François Duquesnoy, Flemish sculptor and educator (d. 1643)
    • 1598 – Jijabai Shahaji Bhosale, venerated mother of Indian king Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (d. 1674)
    • 1628 – Charles Perrault, French author and academic (d. 1703)
    • 1673 – Rosalba Carriera, Italian painter (d. 1757)
    • 1711 – Gaetano Latilla, Italian composer (d. 1788)
    • 1715 – Jacques Duphly, French organist and composer (d. 1789)
    • 1716 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general and politician, 1st Spanish Governor of Louisiana (d. 1795)
    • 1721 – Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1792)
    • 1723 – Samuel Langdon, American minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1797)
    • 1724 – Frances Brooke, English author and playwright (d. 1789)
    • 1729 – Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1797)
    • 1746 – Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss philosopher and educator (d. 1827)
    • 1751 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
    • 1772 – Mikhail Speransky, Russian academic and politician (d. 1839)
    • 1786 – Sir Robert Inglis, 2nd Baronet, English politician (d. 1855)
    • 1792 – Johan August Arfwedson, Swedish chemist and academic (d. 1841)
    • 1797 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and author (d. 1873)
    • 1799 – Priscilla Susan Bury, British botanist (d. 1872)
    • 1822 – Étienne Lenoir, Belgian engineer, designed the internal combustion engine (d. 1900)
    • 1837 – Adolf Jensen, German pianist and composer (d. 1879)
    • 1849 – Jean Béraud, Russian-French painter and academic (d. 1935)
    • 1853 – Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, Italian mathematician (d. 1925)
    • 1856 – John Singer Sargent, American painter and academic (d. 1925)
    • 1863 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian monk and philosopher (d. 1902)
    • 1869 – Bhagwan Das, Indian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1958)
    • 1873 – Spyridon Louis, Greek runner (d. 1940)
    • 1874 – Laura Adams Armer, American author and photographer (d. 1963)
    • 1876 – Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of the Turkish Provisional Government (d. 1950)
    • 1876 – Jack London, American novelist and journalist (d. 1916)
    • 1876 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (d. 1948)
    • 1877 – Frank J. Corr, American lawyer and politician, 45th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1934)
    • 1878 – Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian-American author and playwright (d. 1952)
    • 1879 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver and engineer (d. 1968)
    • 1879 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th Mayor of Tallinn (d. 1942)
    • 1882 – Milton Sills, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1930)
    • 1884 – Texas Guinan, American entertainer and bootlegger (d. 1933)
    • 1889 – Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, Indian-Pakistani spiritual leader (d. 1965)
    • 1890 – Johannes Vares, Estonian poet, physician, and politician (d. 1946)
    • 1892 – Mikhail Gurevich, Russian engineer and businessman, co-founded the Russian Aircraft Corporation (d. 1976)
    • 1893 – Hermann Göring, German commander, pilot, and politician, Minister President of Prussia (d. 1946)
    • 1893 – Alfred Rosenberg, Estonian-German architect and politician, Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories (d. 1946)
    • 1894 – Georges Carpentier, French boxer and actor (d. 1975)
    • 1895 – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Polish-Israeli scholar and academic (d. 1959)
    • 1896 – David Wechsler, Romanian-American psychologist and author (d. 1981)
    • 1899 – Pierre Bernac, French opera singer and educator (d. 1979)
    • 1899 – Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
    • 1901 – Karl Künstler, German SS officer (d. 1945)
    • 1903 – Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1960)
    • 1903 – Andrew J. Transue, American politician and attorney (Morissette v. United States) (d. 1995)
    • 1904 – Mississippi Fred McDowell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972)
    • 1905 – Nihal Atsız, Turkish author, poet, and philosopher (d. 1975)
    • 1905 – James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist and academic (d. 1997)
    • 1905 – Tex Ritter, American actor and singer (d. 1974)
    • 1906 – Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-French historian, philosopher, and academic (d. 1995)
    • 1907 – Sergei Korolev, Russian colonel and engineer (d. 1966)
    • 1908 – Jean Delannoy, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
    • 1908 – Clement Hurd, American illustrator (d. 1988)
    • 1910 – Patsy Kelly, American actress and comedian (d. 1981)
    • 1910 – Luise Rainer, German-English actress (d. 2014)
    • 1912 – Richard Kuremaa, Estonian footballer (d. 1991)
    • 1914 – Mieko Kamiya, Japanese psychiatrist and psychologist (d. 1979)
    • 1915 – Paul Jarrico, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
    • 1915 – Joseph-Aurèle Plourde, Canadian archbishop and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1916 – Ruth R. Benerito, American chemist and inventor (d. 2013)
    • 1916 – Mary Wilson, Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx, British poet and Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2018)
    • 1916 – P. W. Botha, South African politician, 8th Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 2006)
    • 1917 – Walter Hendl, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Jimmy Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2007)
    • 1920 – James Farmer, American activist, and politician, co-founded Congress of Racial Equality (d. 1999)
    • 1920 – Jerzy Zubrzycki, Polish-Australian sociologist and academic (d. 2009)
    • 1922 – Tadeusz Żychiewicz, Polish journalist and historian (d. 1994)
    • 1923 – Ira Hayes, American marine who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima (d. 1955)
    • 1924 – Olivier Gendebien, Belgian racing driver and businessman (d. 1998)
    • 1925 – Bill Burrud, American television host, producer, and actor (d. 1990)
    • 1926 – Morton Feldman, American composer and academic (d. 1987)
    • 1926 – Ray Price, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – Ruth Brown, American R&B singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish-American philosopher and academic
    • 1929 – Jaakko Hintikka, Finnish philosopher and logician (d. 2015)
    • 1930 – Tim Horton, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman, founded Tim Hortons (d. 1974)
    • 1930 – Jennifer Johnston, Irish author and playwright
    • 1930 – Glenn Yarbrough, American singer and actor (d. 2016)
    • 1933 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Alan Sharp, Scottish-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Mick Sullivan, English rugby player and coach (d. 2016)
    • 1935 – Teresa del Conde, Mexican historian and critic (d. 2017)
    • 1935 – Kreskin, American mentalist
    • 1936 – Jennifer Hilton, Baroness Hilton of Eggardon, English police officer and politician
    • 1936 – Raimonds Pauls, Latvian pianist and composer
    • 1936 – Brajanath Ratha, Indian poet and activist (d. 2014)
    • 1936 – Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Home Affairs (d. 2016)
    • 1937 – Shirley Eaton, English actress
    • 1938 – Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Pakistani scholar and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1940 – Bob Hewitt, Australian-South African tennis player
    • 1940 – Ronald Shannon Jackson, American drummer and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1940 – Dick Motz, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2007)
    • 1941 – Long John Baldry, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and voice actor (d. 2005)
    • 1941 – Fiona Caldicott, English psychiatrist and psychotherapist
    • 1941 – Chet Jastremski, American swimmer and physician (d. 2014)
    • 1942 – Bernardine Dohrn, American domestic terrorist, political activist and academic
    • 1944 – Hans Henning Atrott, German author and theorist
    • 1944 – Joe Frazier, American boxer (d. 2011)
    • 1944 – Cynthia Robinson, American R&B trumpet player and singer (d 2015)
    • 1945 – Maggie Bell, Scottish singer-songwriter
    • 1946 – Hazel Cosgrove, Lady Cosgrove, Scottish lawyer and judge
    • 1946 – George Duke, American keyboard player, composer, and educator (d. 2013)
    • 1947 – Richard Carwardine, English historian and academic
    • 1947 – Tom Dempsey, American football player and educator
    • 1947 – Sally Hamwee, Baroness Hamwee, English politician
    • 1948 – Kenny Allen, English footballer
    • 1948 – Anthony Andrews, English actor and producer
    • 1948 – Gordon Campbell, Canadian educator and politician, 34th Premier of British Columbia
    • 1948 – Brendan Foster, English runner and sportscaster
    • 1948 – William Nicholson, English author and screenwriter
    • 1949 – Kentarō Haneda, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 2007)
    • 1949 – Ottmar Hitzfeld, German footballer and manager
    • 1949 – Hamadi Jebali, Tunisian engineer, journalist, and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Tunisia
    • 1949 – Haruki Murakami, Japanese novelist, short-story writer, and essayist
    • 1950 – Sheila Jackson Lee, American lawyer, judge, and politician
    • 1950 – Göran Lindblad, Swedish dentist and politician
    • 1950 – Bob McEwen, American businessman and politician
    • 1950 – Dorrit Moussaieff, Israeli-Icelandic jewelry designer and businesswoman, 5th First Lady of Iceland
    • 1951 – Kirstie Alley, American actress and producer
    • 1951 – Chris Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)
    • 1951 – Rush Limbaugh, American talk show host and author
    • 1951 – Drew Pearson, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1952 – Phil Perry, American singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1952 – Ricky Van Shelton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1952 – John Walker, New Zealand runner and politician
    • 1952 – Walter Mosley, American novelist
    • 1953 – Mary Harron, Canadian director and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Howard Stern, American radio host, actor, and author
    • 1954 – Martin Kylhammar, Swedish professor of culture and society
    • 1955 – Tom Ardolino, American rock drummer (NRBQ) (d. 2012)
    • 1956 – Nikolai Noskov, Russian rock singer and singer-songwriter
    • 1957 – John Lasseter, American animator, director, and producer
    • 1957 – Jeremy Sams, English director, playwright, and composer
    • 1958 – Christiane Amanpour, English-born Iranian-American journalist
    • 1958 – Curt Fraser, American-Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1959 – B. Brian Blair, American wrestler and politician
    • 1959 – Per Gessle, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1960 – Oliver Platt, Canadian-American actor
    • 1960 – Dominique Wilkins, French-American basketball player and manager
    • 1961 – Simon Russell Beale, Malaysia-born English actor and historian
    • 1962 – Joe Quesada, American author and illustrator
    • 1962 – Richie Richardson, Antiguan cricketer
    • 1962 – Luna Vachon, American-Canadian wrestler and manager (d. 2010)
    • 1963 – François Girard, Canadian director and screenwriter
    • 1963 – Nando Reis, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1964 – Jeff Bezos, American computer scientist and businessman, founded Amazon.com
    • 1965 – Raekwon, American rapper
    • 1965 – Rob Zombie, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
    • 1966 – Olivier Martinez, French actor
    • 1966 – Craig Parry, Australian golfer
    • 1967 – Vendela Kirsebom, Norwegian-Swedish model and actress
    • 1968 – Junichi Masuda, Japanese director, producer, and composer
    • 1968 – Heather Mills, English businesswoman, activist and model
    • 1968 – Mauro Silva, Brazilian footballer
    • 1969 – David Mitchell, English novelist
    • 1969 – Margaret Nagle, American screenwriter and producer
    • 1970 – Zack de la Rocha, American singer-songwriter
    • 1971 – Scott Burrell, American basketball player and coach
    • 1972 – Priyanka Gandhi, Indian politician
    • 1972 – Espen Knutsen, Norwegian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1972 – Paul Wilson, Australian cricketer and umpire
    • 1973 – Brian Culbertson, American pianist and producer
    • 1973 – Hande Yener, Turkish singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1974 – Melanie C, English singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1974 – Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian skier
    • 1975 – Jason Freese, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1975 – Jocelyn Thibault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1977 – Yoandy Garlobo, Cuban baseball player
    • 1978 – Luis Ayala, Mexican baseball player
    • 1978 – Maurizio Zaffiri, Italian rugby player
    • 1979 – Marián Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Lee Bo-young, South Korean actress and model
    • 1979 – Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer
    • 1979 – David Zabriskie, American cyclist
    • 1980 – Bobby Crosby, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Amerie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1981 – João Paulo Daniel, Brazilian footballer
    • 1981 – Dan Klecko, American football player
    • 1981 – Angus Macdonald, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1981 – Luis Ernesto Pérez, Mexican footballer
    • 1982 – Paul-Henri Mathieu, French tennis player
    • 1982 – Hans Van Alphen, Belgian decathlete
    • 1982 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
    • 1982 – Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Daniel Sepulveda, American football player
    • 1984 – Jonathan Zydko, French footballer
    • 1985 – Artem Milevskiy, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1985 – Issa Rae, American actress, writer, director, producer and web series creator
    • 1985 – Borja Valero, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Kehoma Brenner, German rugby player
    • 1986 – Miguel Ángel Nieto, Spanish footballer
    • 1987 – Naya Rivera, American actress and singer
    • 1987 – Salvatore Sirigu, Italian footballer
    • 1988 – Claude Giroux, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Thiemo-Jérôme Kialka, German footballer
    • 1989 – Axel Witsel, Belgian footballer
    • 1991 – Pixie Lott, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
    • 1991 – Matt Srama, Australian rugby league player
    • 1992 – Ishak Belfodil, Algerian footballer
    • 1992 – Samuele Longo, Italian footballer
    • 1993 – Zayn Malik, English singer-songwriter
    • 1993 – Simone Pecorini, Italian footballer
    • 1993 – Do Kyungsoo, South Korean singer and member of boy band EXO
    • 1995 – Sarah Mehain, Canadian Paralympic swimmer
    • 1995 – Alessio Romagnoli, Italian footballer

    Deaths of January 12

    • 690 – Benedict Biscop, English scholar and saint, founded the Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey (b. 628)
    • 914 – Ahmad Samani, Samanid emir
    • 947 – Sang Weihan, Chinese chief of staff (b. 898)
    • 1140 – Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia
    • 1167 – Aelred of Rievaulx, English monk and saint (b. 1110)
    • 1320 – John Dalderby, bishop of Lincoln
    • 1321 – Marie of Brabant, Queen of France (b. 1256)
    • 1405 – Eleanor Maltravers, English noblewoman (b. 1345)
    • 1519 – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1459)
    • 1665 – Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician and lawyer (b. 1601)
    • 1674 – Giacomo Carissimi, Italian priest and composer (b. 1605)
    • 1700 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal (b. 1620)
    • 1720 – William Ashhurst, English banker and politician, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1647)
    • 1732 – John Horsley, English-Scottish historian and author (b. 1685)
    • 1735 – John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
    • 1759 – Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (b. 1709)
    • 1765 – Johann Melchior Molter, German violinist and composer (b. 1696)
    • 1777 – Hugh Mercer, Scottish-American general and physician (b. 1726)
    • 1778 – François Bigot, French politician (b. 1703)
    • 1781 – Richard Challoner, English bishop (b. 1691)
    • 1829 – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, German philosopher, poet, and critic (b. 1772)
    • 1833 – Marie-Antoine Carême, French chef (b. 1784)
    • 1834 – William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
    • 1856 – Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak philologist and politician (b. 1815)
    • 1861 – Václav Hanka, Czech philologist and author (b. 1791)
    • 1892 – James Caulfeild, 3rd Earl of Charlemont, Irish politician, Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone (b. 1820)
    • 1892 – William Reeves, Irish bishop and historian (b. 1815)
    • 1899 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club (b. 1816)
    • 1909 – Hermann Minkowski, Lithuanian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1864)
    • 1911 – Andreas Papagiannakopoulos, Greek journalist, judge, and politician (b. 1845)
    • 1916 – Georgios Theotokis, Greek lawyer and politician, 80th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1844)
    • 1921 – Gervase Elwes, English tenor and actor (b. 1866)
    • 1926 – Austin Chapman, Australian businessman and politician, 4th Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1864)
    • 1934 – Paul Kochanski, Polish violinist and composer (b. 1887)
    • 1938 – Oscar Florianus Bluemner, German-American painter and illustrator (b. 1867)
    • 1940 – Ralph Hitz, Austrian-American hotelier (b. 1891)
    • 1940 – Edward Smith, English lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1898)
    • 1943 – Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and critic (b. 1902)
    • 1944 – Lance C. Wade, American commander and pilot (b. 1915)
    • 1958 – Charles Hatfield, American meteorologist (b. 1875)
    • 1960 – Nevil Shute, English engineer and author (b. 1899)
    • 1962 – Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1869)
    • 1965 – Lorraine Hansberry, American author, playwright, and director (b. 1936)
    • 1967 – Burhan Asaf Belge, Turkish diplomat (b. 1887)
    • 1971 – John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey, English admiral (b. 1885)
    • 1973 – Roy Franklin Nichols, American historian and academic (b. 1896)
    • 1974 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (b. 1886)
    • 1976 – Agatha Christie, English crime novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1890)
    • 1977 – Henri-Georges Clouzot, French director and screenwriter (b. 1907)
    • 1983 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (b. 1903)
    • 1988 – Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
    • 1988 – Piero Taruffi, Italian racing driver and motorcycle racer (b. 1906)
    • 1990 – Laurence J. Peter, Canadian-American author and educator (b. 1919)
    • 1991 – Robert Jackson, Australian public servant and diplomat (b. 1911)
    • 1992 – Kumar Gandharva, a Hindustani classical singer (b. 1924)
    • 1994 – Gustav Naan, Estonian physicist and philosopher (b. 1919)
    • 1996 – Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
    • 1997 – Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (b. 1936)
    • 1997 – Charles Brenton Huggins, Canadian-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
    • 1998 – Roger Clark, English racing driver (b. 1939)
    • 1999 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1961)
    • 2000 – Marc Davis, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1913)
    • 2000 – Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
    • 2001 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
    • 2001 – William Redington Hewlett, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (b. 1913)
    • 2002 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
    • 2003 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist and author (b. 1912)
    • 2003 – Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
    • 2003 – Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentine general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (b. 1926)
    • 2003 – Maurice Gibb, Manx-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1949)
    • 2003 – Alan Nunn May, English physicist and spy (b. 1911)
    • 2004 – Olga Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
    • 2006 – Pablita Velarde, Santa Clara Pueblo (Native American) painter (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (b. 1937)
    • 2007 – James Killen, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1925)
    • 2008 – Max Beck, American intersex advocate (b. 1966)
    • 2009 – Claude Berri, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
    • 2010 – Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and author (b. 1946)
    • 2010 – Hasib Sabbagh, Palestinian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Consolidated Contractors Company (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Bjørn G. Andersen, Norwegian geologist and academic (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Glenda Dickerson, American director, choreographer, and educator (b. 1945)
    • 2012 – Bill Janklow, American lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – Charles H. Price II, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Jim Stanley, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Precious Bryant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
    • 2013 – Eugene Patterson, American journalist and activist (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Connie Binsfeld, American educator and politician, 58th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (b. 1924)
    • 2014 – George Dement, American soldier, businessman, and politician (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Trevor Colbourn, American historian and academic (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Robert Gover, American journalist and author (b. 1929)
    • 2015 – Carl Long, American baseball player (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Elena Obraztsova, Russian soprano and actress (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Inge Vermeulen, Brazilian-Dutch field hockey player (b. 1985)
    • 2017 – William Peter Blatty, American writer and filmmaker (b. 1928)
    • 2017 – Graham Taylor, former Grimsby Town player and former manager of the England football team. (b. 1944)
    • 2018 – Keith Jackson, American sports commentator and journalist (b. 1928)
    • 2020 – Sir Roger Scruton, English philosopher, and writer (b. 1944)

    Holidays and observances on January 12

    • Christian feast day:
      • Aelred of Rievaulx
      • Benedict Biscop
      • Bernard of Corleone
      • Marguerite Bourgeoys
      • Tatiana
      • January 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Lee–Jackson Day can fall while January 18 is the latest, celebrated on the Friday before Martin Luther King Day. (Commonwealth of Virginia)
    • Memorial Day (Turkmenistan)
    • National Youth Day (India)
    • Prosecutor General’s Day (Russia)
    • Zanzibar Revolution Day (Tanzania)