Skip to content
		
	
		
	
		
			
				
					- 
	
				
			
		
				
			
	
		
 January 24 in History
- AD 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
- 914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
- 1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.
- 1458 – Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary.
- 1536 – King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence.
- 1679 – King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.
- 1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
- 1758 – During the Seven Years’ War the leading burghers of Königsberg submit to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).
- 1817 – Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the Action of Picheuta.
- 1835 – Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.
- 1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento.
- 1857 – The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia.
- 1859 – The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
- 1900 – Second Boer War: Boers stop a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.
- 1908 – The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.
- 1915 – World War I: British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper’s battle cruisers in the Battle of Dogger Bank.
- 1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
- 1918 – The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People’s Commissars effective February 14 (New Style).
- 1933 – The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.
- 1939 – The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.
- 1942 – World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.
- 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
- 1946 – The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
- 1960 – Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the “barricades week”, during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
- 1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa.
- 1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
- 1977 – The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.
- 1978 – Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada’s Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
- 1984 – Apple Computer places the Macintosh personal computer on sale in the United States.
- 1989 – Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, is executed by the electric chair at the Florida State Prison.
- 1990 – Japan launches Hiten, the country’s first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
- 2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
- 2009 – Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
- 2011 – At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.
 Births on January 24
- AD 76 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (d. 138)
- 1287 – Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1345)
- 1444 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)
- 1540 – Edmund Campion, English priest and martyr (d. 1581)
- 1547 – Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Austrian Archduchess (d. 1578)
- 1602 – Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, English politician (d. 1666)
- 1619 – Yamazaki Ansai, Japanese philosopher (d. 1682)
- 1643 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and politician, Lord Chamberlain of Great Britain (d. 1706)
- 1664 – John Vanbrugh, English architect and dramatist (d. 1726)
- 1670 – William Congreve, English playwright and poet (d. 1729)
- 1672 – Margrave Albert Frederick of Brandenburg-Schwedt, German Lieutenant General (d. 1731)
- 1674 – Thomas Tanner, English bishop (d. 1735)
- 1679 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (d. 1754)
- 1684 – Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, German noble (d. 1737)
- 1705 – Farinelli, Italian castrato singer (d. 1782)
- 1709 – Dom Bédos de Celles, French monk and organist (d. 1779)
- 1712 – Frederick the Great, Prussian king (d. 1786)
- 1732 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and financier (d. 1799)
- 1739 – Jean Nicolas Houchard, French General of the French Revolution (d. 1793)
- 1746 – Gustav III of Sweden (d. 1792)
- 1749 – Charles James Fox, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1806)
- 1754 – Andrew Ellicott, American soldier and surveyor (d. 1820)
- 1761 – Louis Klein, French general (d. 1845)
- 1763 – Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, French-Ukrainian general and politician (d. 1831)
- 1776 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German jurist, author, and composer (d. 1822)
- 1787 – Christian Ludwig Brehm, German pastor and ornithologist (d. 1864)
- 1804 – Delphine de Girardin, French author (d. 1855)
- 1814 – Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, French Crown Princess (d. 1858)
- 1814 – John Colenso, British mathematician (d. 1883)
- 1816 – Wilhelm Henzen, German philologist and epigraphist (d. 1887)
- 1828 – Ferdinand Cohn, German biologist (d. 1898)
- 1829 – Yechiel Michel Epstein, Rabbi and posek (d. 1908)
- 1836 – Signe Rink, Greenland-born Danish writer and ethnologist (d. 1909)
- 1843 – Josip Stadler, Croatian archbishop (d. 1918)
- 1848 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (d. 1916)
- 1850 – Hermann Ebbinghaus, German psychologist (d. 1909)
- 1853 – Sigbert Josef Maria Ganser, German psychiatrist (d. 1931)
- 1856 – Friedrich Grünanger, Transylvanian Hungarian-German architect (d. 1929)
- 1858 – Constance Naden, English poet and philosopher (d. 1889)
- 1862 – Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1937)
- 1863 – August Adler, Czech and Austrian mathematician (d. 1923)
- 1864 – Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (d. 1936)
- 1864 – Gaetano Giardino, Italian soldier and Marshal of Italy (d. 1935)
- 1866 – Jaan Poska, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1920)
- 1870 – Herbert Kilpin, English footballer (d. 1916)
- 1871 – Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic, Czech poet, writer and literary critic (d. 1951)
- 1871 – Thomas Jaggar, American volcanologist (d. 1953)
- 1872 – Yuly Aykhenvald, Russian literary critic (d. 1928)
- 1872 – Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (d. 1943)
- 1872 – Morris Travers, English chemist and academic (d. 1961)
- 1873 – Dmitry Ushakov, Russian philologist and lexicographer (d. 1942)
- 1882 – Harold D. Babcock, American astronomer (d. 1968)
- 1882 – Ödön Bodor, Hungarian athlete (d. 1927)
- 1886 – Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
- 1887 – Jean-Henri Humbert, French botanist (d. 1967)
- 1888 – Vicki Baum, Austrian author and screenwriter (d. 1960)
- 1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman, founded the Heinkel Aircraft Manufacturing Company (d. 1958)
- 1889 – Victor Eftimiu, Romanian poet and playwright (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Charles Hawes, American historian and author (d. 1923)
- 1889 – Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, German general of paratroop forces during World War II (d. 1968)
- 1891 – Walter Model, German field marshal (d. 1945)
- 1892 – Franz Aigner, Austrian weightlifter (d. 1970)
- 1895 – Eugen Roth, German poet and songwriter (d. 1976)
- 1897 – Paul Fejos, Hungarian-born American director (d. 1963)
- 1899 – Hoyt Vandenberg, U.S. Air Force general (d. 1954)
- 1900 – René Guillot, French writer (d. 1969)
- 1901 – Harry Calder, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
- 1901 – Cassandre, French painter (d. 1968)
- 1901 – Edward Turner, English engineer (d. 1973)
- 1905 – J. Howard Marshall, American lawyer and businessman (d. 1995)
- 1906 – Wilfred Jackson, American animator and composer (d. 1988)
- 1907 – Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu, fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 1979)
- 1907 – Maurice Couve de Murville, French soldier and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1999)
- 1907 – Jean Daetwyler, Swiss composer and musician (d. 1994)
- 1909 – Martin Lings, English author and scholar (d. 2005)
- 1910 – Doris Haddock, American political activist (d. 2010)
- 1912 – Frederick Ashworth, American admiral (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Norman Dello Joio, American organist and composer (d. 2008)
- 1913 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1983)
- 1915 – Vítězslava Kaprálová, Czech composer and conductor (d. 1940)
- 1915 – Robert Motherwell, American painter and academic (d. 1991)
- 1916 – Rafael Caldera, Venezuelan lawyer and politician, 65th President of Venezuela (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player and actor (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (d. 2012)
- 1917 – Wilhelmus Demarteau, Dutch prelate of the Roman Catholic Church (d. 2012)
- 1918 – Gottfried von Einem, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1918 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist, founded Oral Roberts University and Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1973)
- 1919 – Leon Kirchner, American composer and educator (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Jimmy Forrest, American saxophonist (d. 1980)
- 1920 – Jerry Maren, American actor (d. 2018)
- 1922 – Daniel Boulanger, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Neil Franklin, English footballer (d. 1996)
- 1923 – Geneviève Asse, French painter
- 1925 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina and actress (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Ruth Asawa, American sculptor (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Sir Patrick Macnaghten, 11th Baronet, Scottish lieutenant (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Paula Hawkins, American politician (d. 2009)
- 1928 – Desmond Morris, English zoologist, ethologist, and painter
- 1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Mahmoud Farshchian, Iranian-Persian painter and academic
- 1930 – John Romita Sr., American comic book artist
- 1931 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician and academic (d. 2012)
- 1931 – Ib Nørholm, Danish composer and organist
- 1932 – Éliane Radigue, French electronic music composer
- 1933 – Kamran Baghirov, the 12th First Secretary of Azerbaijan Communist Party (d. 2000)
- 1933 – Asim Ferhatović, Bosnian footballer (d. 1987)
- 1934 – Leonard Goldberg, American producer (d. 2019)
- 1934 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and dramatist (d. 1976)
- 1935 – Eric Ashton, English rugby player and coach (d. 2008)
- 1935 – Shivabalayogi, Indian religious leader (d. 1994)
- 1936 – Doug Kershaw, American fiddle player and singer
- 1937 – Trevor Edwards, Welsh footballer
- 1938 – Julius Hemphill, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1995)
- 1939 – Renate Garisch-Culmberger, German shot putter
- 1939 – Ray Stevens, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1940 – Vito Acconci, American designer (d. 2017)
- 1940 – Joachim Gauck, German pastor and politician, 11th President of Germany
- 1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1941 – Aaron Neville, American singer
- 1941 – Dan Shechtman, Israeli chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1942 – Ingo Friedrich, German Member of the European Parliament
- 1942 – Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (d. 2008)
- 1943 – Peter Struck, German lawyer and politician, 13th German Federal Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Barry Mealand, English footballer, right back (d. 2013)
- 1943 – Sharon Tate, American model and actress (d. 1969)
- 1943 – Tony Trimmer, English race car driver
- 1943 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (d. 2016)
- 1944 – David Gerrold, American science fiction screenwriter and author
- 1944 – Gian-Franco Kasper, Swiss ski official
- 1945 – John Garamendi, American football player and politician, 1st United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
- 1945 – Subhash Ghai, Indian director, producer and screenwriter
- 1945 – Eva Janko, Austrian javelin thrower
- 1946 – Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor
- 1947 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
- 1947 – Michio Kaku, American physicist and academic
- 1947 – Masashi Ozaki, Japanese baseball player and golfer
- 1947 – Warren Zevon, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1948 – Elliott Abrams, American diplomat, lawyer and political scientist
- 1948 – Michael Des Barres, English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1949 – John Belushi, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1982)
- 1949 – Bart Gordon, American lawyer
- 1949 – Nadezhda Ilyina, Russian athlete and mother of Russian tennis player Nadia Petrova (d. 2013)
- 1949 – Rihoko Yoshida, Japanese voice actress
- 1950 – Daniel Auteuil, French actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1951 – Yakov Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American comedian and actor
- 1953 – Yuri Bashmet, Russian violinist, viola player, and conductor
- 1953 – Moon Jae-in, 19th President of South Korea
- 1954 – Jo Gartner, Austrian race car driver (d. 1986)
- 1955 – Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
- 1955 – Alan Sokal, American physicist and author
- 1955 – Lynda Weinman, American businesswoman and author
- 1956 – Agus Martowardojo, governor of Bank Indonesia
- 1957 – Mark Eaton, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1957 – Ade Edmondson, English comedian and musician
- 1958 – Kim Eui-kon, Korean wrestler
- 1958 – Jools Holland, English singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1958 – Frank Ullrich, German biathlete
- 1959 – Akira Maeda, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
- 1959 – Michel Preud’homme, Belgian footballer and manager
- 1961 – Jorge Barrios, Uruguayan footballer
- 1961 – Guido Buchwald, German footballer and manager
- 1961 – Christa Kinshofer, German ski racer
- 1961 – Nastassja Kinski, German-American actress and producer
- 1961 – William Van Dijck, Belgian runner
- 1963 – Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
- 1964 – Annika Dahlman, Swedish cross country skier
- 1965 – Robin Dutt, German footballer
- 1965 – Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Margaret Urlich, New Zealand singer-songwriter
- 1965 – Pagonis Vakalopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
- 1965 – Kim Sung-moon, South Korean wrestler
- 1966 – Julie Dreyfus, French actress
- 1966 – Karin Viard, French actress
- 1967 – Michael Kiske, German singer
- 1967 – Mark Kozelek, American singer and musician
- 1967 – Phil LaMarr, American actor, singer, and screenwriter
- 1967 – John Myung, American bass player and songwriter
- 1968 – Fernando Escartín, Spanish cyclist
- 1968 – Antony Garrett Lisi, American theoretical physicist
- 1968 – Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
- 1968 – Tymerlan Huseynov, Ukrainian footballer
- 1969 – Yoo Ho-jeong, South Korean actress
- 1969 – Carlos Rômulo Gonçalves e Silva, bishop of Montenegro
- 1970 – Roberto Bonano, Argentine footballer
- 1970 – Neil Johnson, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1970 – Matthew Lillard, American actor
- 1971 – José Carlos Fernandez, Bolivian footballer
- 1972 – Beth Hart, American blues-rock singer and piano player
- 1974 – Cyril Despres, French rally racer
- 1974 – Ed Helms, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Melissa Tkautz, Australian actress and singer
- 1974 – Rokia Traoré, Malian singer
- 1975 – Gianluca Basile, Italian former professional basketball player
- 1975 – Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican footballer and manager
- 1975 – Reto Hug, Swiss triathlonist
- 1975 – Henna Raita, Finnish alpine skier
- 1976 – Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer, coach, and choreographer
- 1976 – Cindy Pieters, Belgian cyclist
- 1977 – Andrija Gerić, Serbian volleyball player
- 1977 – Michelle Hunziker, Swiss-Dutch actress, model and singer
- 1978 – Veerle Baetens, Belgian actress and singer
- 1978 – Mark Hildreth, Canadian actor and musician
- 1978 – Kristen Schaal, American actress, voice artist, comedian and writer
- 1979 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
- 1979 – Leandro Desábato, Argentinian footballer
- 1979 – Busy Signal, Jamaican dancehall reggae artist
- 1979 – Nik Wallenda, American acrobat
- 1980 – Jofre Mateu, Spanish footballer
- 1980 – Suzy, Portuguese singer
- 1981 – Mario Eggimann, Swiss footballer
- 1981 – Zaur Hashimov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager
- 1981 – Elena Kolomina, Kazakhstani cross country skier
- 1982 – Céline Deville, French footballer
- 1982 – Daveed Diggs, American actor, rapper and singer
- 1982 – Claudia Heill, Austrian judoka
- 1982 – Aitor Hernández, Spanish racing cyclist
- 1983 – Davide Biondini, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Wyatt Crockett, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 – Evgeny Drattsev, Russian swimmer
- 1983 – Craig Horner, Australian actor and musician
- 1983 – Shaun Maloney, Scottish footballer
- 1983 – Scott Speed, American race car driver
- 1984 – Emerse Faé, French-born Ivorian footballer
- 1984 – Yotam Halperin, Israeli basketball player
- 1984 – Jung Jin-sun, South Korean fencer
- 1984 – Scott Kazmir, American baseball player
- 1984 – Paulo Sérgio Moreira Gonçalves, Portuguese footballer
- 1985 – Fabiana Claudino, Brazilian volleyball player
- 1985 – Trey Gilder, American basketball player
- 1986 – Cristiano Araújo, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1986 – Mohammad Bagheri Motamed, Iranian taekwondo practitioner
- 1986 – Mischa Barton, English-American actress
- 1986 – Vladislav Ivanov, Russian footballer
- 1986 – Michael Kightly, English footballer
- 1986 – Ricky Ullman, Israeli-American actor
- 1987 – Wayne Hennessey, Welsh footballer
- 1987 – Luis Suárez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1987 – Davide Valsecchi, Italian racing driver
- 1987 – Kia Vaughn, American born Czech basketball player
- 1987 – Guan Xin, Chinese basketball player
- 1988 – Selina Jörg, German snowboarder
- 1989 – Serdar Kesimal, Turkish footballer
- 1989 – Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
- 1989 – Ki Sung-yueng, South Korean footballer
- 1990 – Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1991 – Zhan Beleniuk, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler
- 1991 – Tatiana Kashirina, Russian weightlifter
- 1991 – Zé Luís, Cape Verdean footballer
- 1991 – Li Xuerui, Chinese badminton player
- 1992 – Becky Downie, English gymnast
- 1992 – Phiwa Nkambule, South African entrepreneur
- 1992 – Felitciano Zschusschen, Curaçao footballer
- 1994 – Tommie Hoban, English footballer
- 1995 – Dylan Everett, Canadian actor
- 1997 – Nirei Fukuzumi, Japanese racer
- 1999 – Vitalie Damașcan, Moldovan footballer
- 2012 – Princess Athena of Denmark, younger child of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark
 Deaths onJanuary 24
- AD 41 – Caligula, Roman emperor (b. 12)
- 817 – Pope Stephen IV (b. 770)
- 901 – Liu Jishu, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 1046 – Eckard II, Margrave of Meissen (b. c. 985)
- 1125 – David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)
- 1336 – Alfonso IV of Aragon (b. 1299)
- 1376 – Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English commander (b. 1306)
- 1473 – Conrad Paumann, German organist and composer (b. 1410)
- 1525 – Franciabigio, Florentine painter (b. 1482)
- 1595 – Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (b. 1529)
- 1626 – Samuel Argall, English captain and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1572)
- 1639 – Jörg Jenatsch, Swiss pastor and politician (b. 1596)
- 1666 – Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer and theorist (b. 1588)
- 1709 – George Rooke, English admiral and politician (b. 1650)
- 1877 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist and journalist (b. 1796)
- 1881 – James Collinson, English painter (b. 1825)
- 1883 – Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (b. 1812)
- 1895 – Lord Randolph Churchill, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1849)
- 1920 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1884)
- 1939 – Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician, created Muesli (b. 1867)
- 1943 – John Burns, English trade union leader and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1858)
- 1960 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1886)
- 1961 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and businessman, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company (b. 1884)
- 1962 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (b. 1885)
- 1962 – Stanley Lord, English naval captain (b. 1877)
- 1962 – Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish author, poet, and scholar (b. 1901)
- 1965 – Winston Churchill, English colonel and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
- 1966 – Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist and academic (b. 1909)
- 1970 – Caresse Crosby, American fashion designer and publisher, co-founded the Black Sun Press (b. 1891)
- 1971 – Bill W., American activist, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895)
- 1973 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (b. 1896)
- 1975 – Larry Fine, American comedian (b. 1902)
- 1982 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (b. 1918)
- 1983 – George Cukor, American director and producer (b. 1899)
- 1986 – L. Ron Hubbard, American religious leader and author, founded the Church of Scientology (b. 1911)
- 1986 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (b. 1921)
- 1988 – Werner Fenchel, German-Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1905)
- 1989 – Ted Bundy, American serial killer (b. 1946)
- 1990 – Madge Bellamy, American actress (b. 1899)
- 1991 – Jack Schaefer, American journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (b. 1909)
- 1993 – Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1908)
- 1993 – Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and jurist, 32nd United States Solicitor General (b. 1908)
- 2002 – Elie Hobeika, Lebanese commander and politician (b. 1956)
- 2003 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Leônidas, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Schafik Handal, Salvadoran politician (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Krystyna Feldman, Polish actress (b. 1916)
- 2007 – İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Guadalupe Larriva, Ecuadorian academic and politician (b. 1956)
- 2007 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican-American soldier (b. 1891)
- 2010 – Pernell Roberts, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (b. 1949)
- 2014 – Shulamit Aloni, Israeli lawyer and politician, 11th Israeli Minister of Education (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Rafael Pineda Ponce, Honduran academic and politician (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (b. 1928)
- 2016 – Marvin Minsky, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Henry Worsley, English colonel and explorer (b. 1960)
- 2017 – Butch Trucks, American drummer (b. 1947)
- 2018 – Mark E. Smith, British singer-songwriter (b. 1957)
- 2019 – Rosemary Bryant Mariner, American United States Naval Aviator (b. 1953)
 Holidays and observances on January 24
- Christian feast day:
- Babylas of Antioch
- Cadoc (Wales)
- Exuperantius of Cingoli
- Felician of Foligno
- Francis de Sales
- Pratulin Martyrs (Greek Catholic Church)
- January 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- Earliest day on which Saturday of Souls can fall, while February 27 (or 28 during Leap Year) is the latest; observed 57 days before Easter. (Eastern Orthodox)
- Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
- Feria de Alasitas (La Paz)
 
- Unification Day (Romania)
- Uttar Pradesh Day (Uttar Pradesh, India)
 
 
 
- 
	
				
			
		
				
			
	
		
 January 23 in History
- 393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.
- 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.
- 1264 – In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour of Henry that later leads to the Second Barons’ War.
- 1368 – In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries.
- 1546 – Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.
- 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
- 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.
- 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London.
- 1579 – The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
- 1656 – Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales.
- 1719 – The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1789 – Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.).
- 1793 – Second Partition of Poland.
- 1795 – After an extraordinary charge across the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry captured 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns, in a rare occurrence of a battle between ships and cavalry.
- 1846 – Slavery in Tunisia is abolished.
- 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States’ first female doctor.
- 1870 – In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre.
- 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Rorke’s Drift ends.
- 1899 – The Malolos Constitution is inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic. Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as its first President.
- 1900 – Second Boer War: The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces ends in a British defeat.
- 1904 – Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
- 1909 – RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day.
- 1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.
- 1920 – The Netherlands refuses to surrender the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.
- 1937 – The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin’s regime.
- 1941 – Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Rabaul commences Japan’s invasion of Australia’s Territory of New Guinea.
- 1943 – World War II: Troops of the British Eighth Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German–Italian Panzer Army.
- 1945 – World War II: German admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal.
- 1950 – The Knesset resolves that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
- 1957 – American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the “Frisbee”.
- 1958 – After a general uprising and rioting in the streets, President Marcos Pérez Jiménez leaves Venezuela.
- 1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 metres (35,797 ft) in the Pacific Ocean.
- 1961 – The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by opponents of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is overthrown.
- 1963 – The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese army stationed in Tite.
- 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
- 1967 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Ivory Coast are established.
- 1967 – Milton Keynes (England) is founded as a new town by Order in Council, with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people. Its initial designated area enclosed three existing towns and twenty one villages. The area to be developed was largely farmland, with evidence of continuous settlement dating back to the Bronze Age.
- 1968 – USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is attacked and seized by naval forces of North Korea.
- 1973 – United States President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
- 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
- 1997 – Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
- 1998 – Netscape announced Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source.
- 2001 – Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Communist Party of China to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.
- 2002 – U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered.
- 2003 – A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted.
- 2018 – A 7.9 Mw  earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities.
- 2018 – A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds “dozens” of others. The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials.
 Births on January 23
- 599 – Tai Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 649)
- 1350 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (d. 1419)
- 1378 – Louis III, Elector Palatine (d. 1436)
- 1514 – Hai Rui, Chinese politician (d. 1587)
- 1585 – Mary Ward, English Catholic Religious Sister (d. 1645)
- 1622 – Abraham Diepraam, Dutch painter (d. 1670)
- 1719 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (d. 1790)
- 1737 – John Hancock, American general and politician, 1st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1793)
- 1745 – William Jessop, English engineer, built the Cromford Canal (d. 1814)
- 1752 – Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1832)
- 1780 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (d. 1827)
- 1783 – Stendhal, French novelist (d. 1842)
- 1786 – Auguste de Montferrand, French-Russian architect, designed Saint Isaac’s Cathedral and Alexander Column (d. 1858)
- 1799 – Alois Negrelli, Tyrolean engineer and railroad pioneer active in the Austrian Empire (d. 1858)
- 1809 – Surendra Sai, Indian activist (d. 1884)
- 1813 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian novelist and activist (d. 1895)
- 1828 – Saigō Takamori, Japanese samurai (d. 1877)
- 1832 – Édouard Manet, French painter (d. 1883)
- 1833 – Muthu Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1879)
- 1838 – Marianne Cope, German-American nun and saint (d. 1918)
- 1840 – Ernst Abbe, German physicist and engineer (d. 1905)
- 1846 – Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist and mathematician (d. 1915)
- 1855 – John Browning, American weapons designer, founded the Browning Arms Company (d. 1926)
- 1857 – Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian meteorologist and seismologist (d. 1936)
- 1862 – David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1943)
- 1862 – Frank Shuman, American inventor and engineer (d. 1918)
- 1872 – Paul Langevin, French physicist and academic (d. 1946)
- 1872 – Jože Plečnik, Slovenian architect, designed Plečnik Parliament (d. 1957)
- 1876 – Otto Diels, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
- 1878 – Rutland Boughton, English composer (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, Mexican politician (d. 1967)
- 1889 – Claribel Kendall, American mathematician (d.1965)
- 1894 – Jyotirmoyee Devi, Indian author (d. 1988)
- 1896 – Alf Blair, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1944)
- 1896 – Alf Hall, English-South African cricketer (d. 1964)
- 1897 – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian activist and politician (d. 1945)
- 1897 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (d. 2000)
- 1897 – Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author (d. 1978)
- 1897 – William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (d. 1989)
- 1898 – Georg Kulenkampff, German violinist (d. 1948)
- 1898 – Randolph Scott, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (d. 1978)
- 1899 – Glen Kidston, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1931)
- 1900 – William Ifor Jones, Welsh organist and conductor (d. 1988)
- 1901 – Arthur Wirtz, American businessman (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Minister of National Education of Colombia (d. 1948)
- 1905 – Erich Borchmeyer, German sprinter (d. 2000)
- 1907 – Dan Duryea, American actor and singer (d. 1968)
- 1907 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
- 1910 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (d. 1953)
- 1912 – Boris Pokrovsky, Russian director and manager (d. 2009)
- 1913 – Jean-Michel Atlan, Algerian-French painter (d. 1960)
- 1913 – Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (d. 2007)
- 1915 – Herma Bauma, Austrian javelin thrower and handball player (d. 2003)
- 1915 – W. Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian-Barbadian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
- 1915 – Potter Stewart, American lawyer and judge (d. 1985)
- 1916 – David Douglas Duncan, American photographer and journalist (d. 2018)
- 1916 – Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (d. 1979)
- 1918 – Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Florence Rush, American social worker and theorist (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Frances Bay, Canadian-American actress (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Hans Hass, Austrian biologist and diver (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (d. 1962)
- 1919 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Gottfried Böhm, German architect
- 1920 – Henry Eriksson, Swedish runner (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (d. 2010)
- 1922 – Leon Golub, American painter and academic (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Horace Ashenfelter, American runner (d. 2018)
- 1923 – Cot Deal, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Walter M. Miller, Jr., American soldier and author (d. 1996)
- 1924 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier, businessman, and politician (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Marty Paich, American pianist, composer, producer, and conductor (d. 1995)
- 1926 – Bal Thackeray, Indian journalist, cartoonist, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American businessman and explorer (d. 1994)
- 1927 – Fred Williams, Australian painter (d. 1982)
- 1928 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress (d. 2017)
- 1929 – Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Phillip Knightley, Australian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2016)
- 1929 – John Polanyi, German-Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 – Filaret, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan
- 1930 – Mervyn Rose, Australian tennis player (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
- 1932 – George Allen, English footballer (d. 2016)
- 1932 – Larri Thomas, American actress and dancer (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Bill Hayden, Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia
- 1933 – Chita Rivera, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1934 – Pierre Bourgault, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (d. 2016)
- 1935 – Tom Reamy, American author (d. 1977)
- 1935 – Teresa Żylis-Gara, Polish operatic soprano
- 1936 – Brian Howe, Australian minister and politician, 8th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
- 1936 – Jerry Kramer, American football player and sportscaster
- 1936 – Cécile Ousset, French pianist
- 1938 – Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (d. 1999)
- 1938 – Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor
- 1939 – Ed Roberts, American disability rights activist (d. 1995)
- 1940 – Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Joe Dowell, American pop singer (d. 2016)
- 1941 – Jock R. Anderson, Australian economist and academic
- 1941 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Laurie Mayne, Australian cricketer
- 1942 – Herman Tjeenk Willink, Dutch judge and politician
- 1942 – Phil Clarke, New Zealand rugby union player
- 1943 – Gary Burton, American vibraphone player and composer
- 1943 – Özhan Canaydın, Turkish basketball player and businessman (d. 2010)
- 1943 – Gil Gerard, American actor and producer
- 1944 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (d. 2019)
- 1945 – Mike Harris, Canadian politician, 22nd Premier of Ontario
- 1946 – Arnoldo Alemán, Nicaraguan lawyer and politician, President of Nicaragua
- 1946 – Boris Berezovsky, Russian-English businessman and mathematician (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Zvonko Bušić, Croatian terrorist, hijacker of TWA Flight 355 (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Don Whittington, American race car driver
- 1947 – Tom Carper, American captain and politician, 71st Governor of Delaware
- 1947 – Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesian politician, 5th President of Indonesia
- 1948 – Anita Pointer, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor, producer, and composer
- 1950 – Bill Cunningham, American bass and keyboard player
- 1950 – Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (d. 2018)
- 1950 – Suzanne Scotchmer, American economist and academic (d. 2014)
- 1950 – Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (d. 2012)
- 1951 – Margaret Bailes, American sprinter
- 1951 – Chesley Sullenberger, American captain and pilot
- 1952 – Omar Henry, South African cricketer
- 1953 – John Luther Adams, American composer
- 1953 – Alister McGrath, Irish priest, historian, and theologian
- 1953 – Antonio Villaraigosa, American politician, 41st Mayor of Los Angeles
- 1953 – Robin Zander, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1954 – Trevor Hohns, Australian cricketer
- 1957 – Caroline, Princess of Hanover
- 1958 – Sergey Litvinov, Russian hammer thrower (d. 2018)
- 1959 – Clive Bull, English radio host
- 1960 – Jean-François Sauvé, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1960 – Greg Ritchie, Australian cricketer
- 1961 – Neil Henry, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1961 – Yelena Sinchukova, Russian long jumper
- 1962 – David Arnold, English composer
- 1962 – Aivar Lillevere, Estonian footballer and coach
- 1962 – Elvira Lindo, Spanish journalist and author
- 1964 – Jonatha Brooke, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1964 – Mariska Hargitay, American actress and producer
- 1964 – Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyanese economist and politician, 7th President of Guyana
- 1964 – Mario Roberge, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 – Louie Clemente, American drummer
- 1966 – Damien Hardman, Australian surfer
- 1966 – Haywoode Workman, American basketball player and referee
- 1967 – Owen Cunningham, Australian rugby league player
- 1968 – Taro Hakase, Japanese violinist and composer
- 1968 – Petr Korda, Czech-Monacan tennis player
- 1969 – Andrei Kanchelskis, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
- 1969 – Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player and actor
- 1969 – Susen Tiedtke, German long jumper
- 1970 – Spyridon Vasdekis, Greek long jumper
- 1971 – Scott Gibbs, Welsh-South African rugby player and sportscaster
- 1971 – Kevin Mawae, American football player and coach
- 1971 – Marc Nelson, American singer-songwriter
- 1971 – Adam Parore, New Zealand cricketer and mountaineer
- 1971 – Claire Rankin, Canadian actress
- 1971 – Lisa Snowdon, English television and radio presenter and fashion model
- 1972 – Ewen Bremner, Scottish actor
- 1973 – Tomas Holmström, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1974 – Glen Chapple, English cricketer
- 1974 – Rebekah Elmaloglou, Australian actress
- 1974 – Yosvani Pérez, Cuban baseball player
- 1974 – Richard T. Slone, English painter
- 1974 – Tiffani Thiessen, American actress
- 1975 – Nick Harmer, German musician
- 1975 – Phil Dawson, American football player
- 1976 – Brandon Duckworth, American baseball player and scout
- 1976 – Anne Margrethe Hausken, Norwegian orienteering competitor
- 1976 – Alex Shaffer, American skier
- 1979 – Larry Hughes, American basketball player
- 1979 – Dawn O’Porter, Scottish-English fashion designer and journalist
- 1979 – Juan Rincón, Venezuelan baseball player and coach
- 1981 – Rob Friend, Canadian soccer player
- 1982 – Wily Mo Peña, Dominican baseball player
- 1982 – Oceana Mahlmann, German singer and songwriter
- 1982 – Andrew Rock, American sprinter
- 1983 – Irving Saladino, Panamanian long jumper
- 1984 – Robbie Farah, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Arjen Robben, Dutch footballer
- 1985 – Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese footballer
- 1985 – Doutzen Kroes, Dutch model and actress
- 1985 – Yevgeny Lukyanenko, Russian pole vaulter
- 1985 – Aselefech Mergia, Ethiopian runner
- 1985 – Jeff Samardzija, American baseball player
- 1985 – San E, South Korean rapper
- 1986 – Gelete Burka, Ethiopian runner
- 1986 – Marc Laird, Scottish footballer
- 1986 – José Enrique, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Michael Stevens, American YouTuber and educator
- 1986 – Steven Taylor, English footballer
- 1986 – Sandro Viletta, Swiss skier
- 1987 – Leo Komarov, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1988 – Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
- 1990 – Şener Özbayraklı, Turkish footballer
- 1990 – Alex Silva, Canadian wrestler
- 1990 – Martyn Waghorn, English footballer
- 1992 – Reina Triendl, Japanese model and actress
- 1994 – Addison Russell, American baseball player
- 1995 – Luke Bateman, Australian rugby league player
- 1995 – Tuimoala Lolohea, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1998 – XXXTentacion, American rapper (d. 2018)
 Deaths on January 23
- 667 – Ildefonsus, bishop of Toledo
- 989 – Adalbero, archbishop of Reims
- 1002 – Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)
- 1199 – Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, Moroccan caliph (b. 1160)
- 1252 – Isabella, Queen of Armenia
- 1297 – Florent of Hainaut, Prince of Achaea (b. c. 1255)
- 1423 – Margaret of Bavaria, Burgundian regent (b. 1363)
- 1516 – Ferdinand II of Aragon (b. 1452)
- 1548 – Bernardo Pisano, Italian priest, scholar, and composer (b. 1490)
- 1549 – Johannes Honter, Romanian-Hungarian cartographer and theologian (b. 1498)
- 1567 – Jiajing Emperor of China (b. 1507)
- 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Scottish politician (b. 1531)
- 1620 – John Croke, English politician and judge (b. 1553)
- 1622 – William Baffin, English explorer and navigator (b. 1584)
- 1650 – Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke (b. 1584)
- 1744 – Giambattista Vico, Italian historian and philosopher (b. 1668)
- 1785 – Matthew Stewart, Scottish mathematician and academic (b. 1717)
- 1789 – Frances Brooke, English author and playwright (b. 1724)
- 1789 – John Cleland, English author (b. 1709)
- 1800 – Edward Rutledge, American captain and politician, 39th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1749)
- 1803 – Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer, founded Guinness (b. 1725)
- 1805 – Claude Chappe, French engineer (b. 1763)
- 1806 – William Pitt the Younger, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
- 1810 – Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German chemist and physicist (b. 1776)
- 1812 – Robert Craufurd, Scottish general and politician (b. 1764)
- 1820 – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (b. 1767)
- 1833 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (b. 1757)
- 1837 – John Field, Irish pianist and composer (b. 1782)
- 1866 – Thomas Love Peacock, English author and poet (b. 1785)
- 1875 – Charles Kingsley English priest and author (b. 1819)
- 1883 – Gustave Doré, French engraver and illustrator (b. 1832)
- 1893 – Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, American lawyer and politician, 16th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1825)
- 1893 – José Zorrilla, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1817)
- 1921 – Mykola Leontovych, Ukrainian composer and conductor (b. 1877)
- 1922 – René Beeh, Alsatian painter and draughtsman (b. 1886)
- 1922 – Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor and academic (b. 1855)
- 1923 – Max Nordau, Austrian physician and author (b. 1849)
- 1931 – Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina (b. 1881)
- 1937 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (b. 1876)
- 1939 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (b. 1903)
- 1943 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (b. 1887)
- 1944 – Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1863)
- 1947 – Pierre Bonnard, French painter (b. 1867)
- 1956 – Alexander Korda, Hungarian-English director and producer (b. 1893)
- 1963 – Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor (b. 1908)
- 1966 – T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1895)
- 1971 – Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (b. 1871)
- 1973 – Alexander Onassis, American-Greek businessman (b. 1948)
- 1973 – Kid Ory, American trombonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1886)
- 1976 – Paul Robeson, American actor, singer, and activist (b. 1898)
- 1977 – Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor’s Restaurant (b. 1903)
- 1978 – Terry Kath, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1946)
- 1978 – Jack Oakie, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1980 – Giovanni Michelotti, Italian engineer (b. 1921)
- 1981 – Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)
- 1983 – Fred Bakewell, English cricketer and coach (b. 1908)
- 1984 – Muin Bseiso, Palestinian-Egyptian poet and critic (b. 1926)
- 1985 – James Beard, American chef and cookbook author for whom the James Beard Foundation Awards are named (b.1905)
- 1986 – Joseph Beuys, German sculptor and painter (b. 1921)
- 1988 – Charles Glen King, American biochemist and academic (b. 1896)
- 1989 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish race car driver (b. 1961)
- 1990 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1952)
- 1991 – Northrop Frye, Canadian author and critic (b. 1912)
- 1992 – Freddie Bartholomew, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1993 – Keith Laumer, American soldier, author, and diplomat (b. 1925)
- 1994 – Nikolai Ogarkov, Russian field marshal (b. 1917)
- 1994 – Brian Redhead, English journalist and author (b. 1929)
- 1999 – Joe D’Amato, Italian director and cinematographer (b. 1936)
- 1999 – Jay Pritzker, American businessman, co-founded the Hyatt Corporation (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Paul Aars, American race car driver (b. 1934)
- 2002 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (b. 1930)
- 2002 – Robert Nozick, American philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1938)
- 2003 – Nell Carter, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
- 2004 – Bob Keeshan, American television personality and producer (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Helmut Newton, German-Australian photographer (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Johnny Carson, American talk show host, television personality, and producer (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Syed Hussein Alatas, Malaysian sociologist and politician (b. 1928)
- 2007 – E. Howard Hunt, American CIA officer (b. 1918)
- 2007 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1932)
- 2009 – Robert W. Scott, American farmer and politician, 67th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1929)
- 2010 – Kermit Tyler, American colonel and pilot (b. 1913)
- 2010 – Earl Wild, American pianist and composer (b. 1915)
- 2011 – Jack LaLanne, American fitness instructor, author, and television host (b. 1914)
- 2012 – Wesley E. Brown, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1907)
- 2012 – Maurice Meisner, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Bingham Ray, American businessman, co-founded October Films (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Józef Glemp, Polish cardinal (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Peter van der Merwe, South African cricketer and referee (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Jean-Félix-Albert-Marie Vilnet, French bishop (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Yuri Izrael, Russian meteorologist and journalist (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Riz Ortolani, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Prosper Ego, Dutch activist, founded the Oud-Strijders Legioen (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Jimmy Bain, Scottish bassist (b. 1947)
- 2016 – Bobby Wanzer, American basketball player and coach (b. 1921)
- 2017 – Bobby Freeman, American singer, songwriter and record producer (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (b. 1941)
- 2018 – Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, composer and singer (b. 1939)
- 2018 – Nicanor Parra, Chilean poet (b. 1914)
- 2018 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American civil rights activist and pastor (b. 1928)
 Holidays and observances on January 23
- Bounty Day (Pitcairn Islands)
- Christian feast day:
- Abakuh
- Marianne of Molokai
- Emerentiana
- Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Ildefonsus of Toledo
- Phillips Brooks (Episcopal Church (USA))
- January 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Jayanti (Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal, India)
- World Freedom Day (Taiwan and South Korea)
 
 
 
- 
	
				
			
		
				
			
	
		
 January 22 in History
- 613 – Eight-month-old Constantine is crowned as co-emperor (Caesar) by his father Heraclius at Constantinople.
- 871 – Battle of Basing: The West Saxons led by King Æthelred I are defeated by the Danelaw Vikings at Basing.
- 1506 – The first contingent of 150 Swiss Guards arrives at the Vatican.
- 1517 – The Ottoman Empire under Selim I defeats the Mamluk Sultanate and captures present-day Egypt at the Battle of Ridaniya.
- 1555 – The Ava Kingdom falls to the Taungoo Dynasty in what is now Myanmar.
- 1689 – The Convention Parliament convenes to determine whether James II and VII, the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Ireland and Scotland, had vacated the thrones of England and Ireland when he fled to France in 1688.
- 1808 – The Portuguese royal family arrives in Brazil after fleeing the French army’s invasion of Portugal two months earlier.
- 1824 – The Ashantis defeat British forces in the Gold Coast.
- 1849 – Second Anglo-Sikh War: The Siege of Multan ends after nine months when the last Sikh defenders of Multan, Punjab, surrender.
- 1863 – The January Uprising breaks out in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. The aim of the national movement is to regain Polish–Lithuanian–Ruthenian Commonwealth from occupation by Russia.
- 1879 – The Battle of Isandlwana during the Anglo-Zulu War results in a British defeat.
- 1879 – The Battle of Rorke’s Drift, also during the Anglo-Zulu War and just some 15 km away from Isandlwana, results in a British victory.
- 1889 – Columbia Phonograph is formed in Washington, D.C.
- 1890 – The United Mine Workers of America is founded in Columbus, Ohio.
- 1901 – Edward VII is proclaimed King after the death of his mother, Queen Victoria.
- 1905 – Bloody Sunday in Saint Petersburg, beginning of the 1905 revolution.
- 1906 – SS Valencia runs aground on rocks on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, killing more than 130.
- 1915 – Over 600 people are killed in Guadalajara, Mexico, when a train plunges off the tracks into a deep canyon.
- 1917 – World War I: President Woodrow Wilson of the still-neutral United States calls for “peace without victory” in Europe.
- 1919 – Act Zluky is signed, unifying the Ukrainian People’s Republic and the West Ukrainian National Republic.
- 1924 – Ramsay MacDonald becomes the first Labour Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1927 – Teddy Wakelam gives the first live radio commentary of a football match, between Arsenal F.C. and Sheffield United at Highbury.
- 1941 – World War II: British and Commonwealth troops capture Tobruk from Italian forces during Operation Compass.
- 1943 – World War II: Australian and American forces defeat Japanese army and navy units in the bitterly fought Battle of Buna–Gona.
- 1944 – World War II: The Allies commence Operation Shingle, an assault on Anzio and Nettuno, Italy.
- 1946 – In Iran, Qazi Muhammad declares the independent people’s Republic of Mahabad at Chahar Cheragh Square in the Kurdish city of Mahabad; he becomes the new president and Haji Baba Sheikh becomes the prime minister.
- 1946 – Creation of the Central Intelligence Group, forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency.
- 1947 – KTLA, the first commercial television station west of the Mississippi River, begins operation in Hollywood.
- 1957 – Israel withdraws from the Sinai Peninsula.
- 1957 – The New York City “Mad Bomber”, George P. Metesky, is arrested in Waterbury, Connecticut and charged with planting more than 30 bombs.
- 1963 – The Élysée Treaty of cooperation between France and Germany is signed by Charles de Gaulle and Konrad Adenauer.
- 1968 – Apollo 5 lifts off carrying the first Lunar module into space.
- 1968 – Operation Igloo White, a US electronic surveillance system to stop communist infiltration into South Vietnam begins installation.
- 1970 – The Boeing 747, the world’s first “jumbo jet”, enters commercial service for launch customer Pan American Airways with its maiden voyage from John F. Kennedy International Airport to London Heathrow Airport.
- 1971 – The Singapore Declaration, one of the two most important documents to the uncodified constitution of the Commonwealth of Nations, is issued.
- 1973 – The Supreme Court of the United States delivers its decisions in Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton, legalizing elective abortion in all fifty states.
- 1973 – The crew of Apollo 17 addresses a joint session of Congress after the completion of the final Apollo moon landing mission.
- 1973 – A chartered Boeing 707 explodes in flames upon landing at Kano Airport, Nigeria, killing 176.
- 1973 – In a bout for the world heavyweight boxing championship in Kingston, Jamaica, challenger George Foreman knocks down champion Joe Frazier six times in the first two rounds before the fight is stopped by referee Arthur Mercante.
- 1984 – The Apple Macintosh, the first consumer computer to popularize the computer mouse and the graphical user interface, is introduced during a Super Bowl XVIII television commercial.
- 1987 – Philippine security forces open fire on a crowd of 10,000–15,000 demonstrators at Malacañang Palace, Manila, killing 13.
- 1992 – Rebel forces occupy Zaire’s national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government’s resignation.
- 1992 – Space Shuttle program: the space shuttle Discovery launches on STS-42 carrying Dr. Roberta Bondar, who becomes the first Canadian woman and the first neurologist in space.
- 1995 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Beit Lid massacre: In central Israel, near Netanya, two Gazans blow themselves up at a military transit point, killing 19 Israelis.
- 1998 – Space Shuttle program: space shuttle Endeavor launches on STS-89 to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
- 1999 – Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons are burned alive by radical Hindus while sleeping in their car in Eastern India.
- 2002 – Kmart becomes the largest retailer in United States history to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
- 2006 – Evo Morales is inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country’s first indigenous president.
- 2007 – At least 88 people are killed when two car bombs explode in the Bab Al-Sharqi market in central Baghdad, Iraq.
- 2015 – An explosion near a civilian trolley-bus in Donetsk kills at least thirteen people.
 Births on January 22
- 826 – Emperor Montoku of Japan (d. 858)
- 1263 – Ibn Taymiyyah, Syrian scholar and theologian (d. 1328)
- 1440 – Ivan III of Russia (d. 1505)
- 1522 – Charles II de Valois, Duke of Orléans, (d. 1545)
- 1552 – Walter Raleigh, English poet, soldier, courtier, and explorer (d. 1618)
- 1561 – Francis Bacon, English philosopher and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 1626)
- 1570 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English historian and politician, founded the Cotton library (d. 1631)
- 1573 – John Donne, English poet and cleric in the Church of England, wrote the Holy Sonnets (d. 1631)
- 1592 – Pierre Gassendi, French mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (d. 1655)
- 1645 – William Kidd, Scottish sailor and pirate hunter (probable; d. 1701)
- 1654 – Richard Blackmore, English physician and poet (d. 1729)
- 1690 – Nicolas Lancret, French painter (d. 1743)
- 1729 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German philosopher and author (d. 1781)
- 1733 – Philip Carteret, English admiral and explorer (d. 1796)
- 1740 – Noah Phelps, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 1809)
- 1781 – François Habeneck, French violinist and conductor (d. 1849)
- 1788 – Lord Byron, English poet and playwright (d. 1824)
- 1792 – Lady Lucy Whitmore, English noblewoman, hymn writer (d. 1840)
- 1796 – Karl Ernst Claus, Estonian-Russian chemist, botanist, and academic (d. 1864)
- 1797 – Maria Leopoldina of Austria (d. 1826)
- 1799 – Ludger Duvernay, Canadian journalist, publisher, and politician (d. 1852)
- 1802 – Richard Upjohn, English-American architect (d. 1878)
- 1828 – Dayrolles Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, 4th Baron Ventry, Irish hereditary peer (d. 1914)
- 1831 – Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1917)
- 1840 – Ernest Wilberforce, English bishop (d. 1907)
- 1849 – August Strindberg, Swedish novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1912)
- 1858 – Beatrice Webb, English sociologist and economist (d. 1943)
- 1861 – George Fuller, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1940)
- 1865 – Wilbur Scoville, American chemist and pharmacist (d. 1942)
- 1867 – Gisela Januszewska, Jewish-Austrian physician (d. 1943)
- 1869 – José Vicente de Freitas, Portuguese colonel and politician, 97th Prime Minister of Portugal (d. 1952)
- 1874 – Edward Harkness, American philanthropist (d. 1940)
- 1874 – Jay Hughes, American baseball player and coach (d. 1924)
- 1875 – D. W. Griffith, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1948)
- 1877 – Tom Jones, American baseball player and manager (d. 1923)
- 1879 – Francis Picabia, French painter and poet (d. 1953)
- 1880 – Bill O’Neill, Canadian-American baseball player (d. 1920)
- 1880 – Frigyes Riesz, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1956)
- 1881 – Ira Thomas, American baseball player and manager (d. 1958)
- 1886 – John J. Becker, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1961)
- 1887 – Helen Hoyt, American poet and author (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Henri Pélissier, French cyclist (d. 1935)
- 1889 – Amos Strunk, American baseball player and manager (d. 1979)
- 1890 – Fred M. Vinson, American judge and politician, 13th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1953)
- 1891 – Antonio Gramsci, Italian philosopher and politician (d. 1937)
- 1892 – Marcel Dassault, French businessman, founded Dassault Aviation (d. 1986)
- 1893 – Conrad Veidt, German-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1943)
- 1897 – Rosa Ponselle, American operatic soprano (d. 1981)
- 1897 – Dilipkumar Roy, a Bengali Indian musician, musicologist, novelist, poet and essayist. (d. 1980)
- 1898 – Ross Barnett, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of Mississippi (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director and screenwriter (d. 1948)
- 1898 – Denise Legeay, French actress (d. 1968)
- 1899 – Martti Haavio, Finnish poet and mythologist (d. 1973)
- 1900 – Ernst Busch, German actor and singer (d. 1980)
- 1902 – Daniel Kinsey, American hurdler, coach, and academic (d. 1970)
- 1903 – Fritz Houtermans, Polish-German physicist and academic (d. 1966)
- 1904 – George Balanchine, Georgian-American dancer, choreographer, and director, co-founded the New York City Ballet (d. 1983)
- 1904 – Arkady Gaidar, Russian journalist and author (d. 1941)
- 1905 – Willy Hartner, German physicist, historian, and academic (d. 1981)
- 1906 – Robert E. Howard, American author and poet (d. 1936)
- 1907 – Douglas Corrigan, American pilot and engineer (d. 1995)
- 1907 – Dixie Dean, English footballer (d. 1980)
- 1908 – Lev Landau, Azerbaijani-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- 1908 – Prince Oana, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
- 1909 – Martha Norelius, Swedish-born American swimmer (d. 1955)
- 1909 – Porfirio Rubirosa, Dominican racing driver, polo player, and diplomat (d. 1965)
- 1909 – Ann Sothern, American actress and singer (d. 2001)
- 1909 – U Thant, Burmese educator and diplomat, 3rd United Nations Secretary-General (d. 1974)
- 1911 – Bruno Kreisky, Austrian lawyer and politician, 22nd Chancellor of Austria (d. 1990)
- 1913 – Henry Bauchau, Belgian psychoanalyst and author (d. 2012)
- 1913 – William Conway, Irish cardinal (d. 1977)
- 1913 – Carl F. H. Henry, American theologian and publisher (d. 2003)
- 1914 – Dimitris Dragatakis, Greek violinist and composer (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Heinrich Albertz, German theologian and politician, Mayor of Berlin (d. 1993)
- 1916 – Bill Durnan, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1972)
- 1916 – Henri Dutilleux, French pianist, composer, and educator (d. 2013)
- 1916 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (d. 1994)
- 1918 – Elmer Lach, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
- 1919 – Diomedes Olivo, Dominican baseball player and scout (d. 1977)
- 1920 – Irving Kristol, American journalist, author, and academic, founded The National Interest (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Alf Ramsey, English footballer and coach (d. 1999)
- 1922 – Howard Moss, American poet, playwright and critic (d. 1987)
- 1923 – Diana Douglas, British-American actress (d. 2015)
- 1924 – J. J. Johnson, American trombonist and composer (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Ján Chryzostom Korec, Slovak cardinal (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Charles Lisanby, American production designer and art director (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Johnny Bucha, American baseball player (d. 1996)
- 1925 – Bobby Young, American baseball player (d. 1985)
- 1927 – Lou Creekmur, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2009)
- 1927 – Joe Perry, American footballer (d. 2011)
- 1928 – Yoshihiko Amino, Japanese historian, author, and academic (d. 2004)
- 1929 – Petr Eben, Czech composer, organist and choirmaster (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Mariví Bilbao, Spanish actress (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Éamon de Buitléar, Irish accordion player and director (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Sam Cooke, American singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
- 1931 – Galina Zybina, Russian shot putter and javelin thrower
- 1932 – Berthold Grünfeld, Norwegian psychiatrist and academic (d. 2007)
- 1932 – Piper Laurie, American actress
- 1932 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives
- 1933 – Yuri Chesnokov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1934 – Vijay Anand, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1934 – Bill Bixby, American actor and director (d. 1993)
- 1934 – Graham Kerr, English chef and author
- 1935 – Alexander Men, Russian priest and scholar (d. 1990)
- 1936 – Ong Teng Cheong, Singaporean architect and politician, 5th President of Singapore (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Alan J. Heeger, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Edén Pastora, Nicaraguan politician
- 1937 – Joseph Wambaugh, American police officer and author
- 1938 – Peter Beard, Australian photographer and author (d. 2020)
- 1938 – Joe Esposito, American author (d. 2016)
- 1938 – Altair Gomes de Figueiredo, Brazilian footballer
- 1939 – Jørgen Garde, Danish admiral (d. 1996)
- 1939 – Alfredo Palacio, Ecuadoran physician and politician, President of Ecuador
- 1939 – Luigi Simoni, Italian footballer and manager
- 1939 – J. C. Tremblay, Canadian ice hockey player and scout (d. 1994)
- 1940 – John Hurt, English actor (d. 2017)
- 1940 – George Seifert, American football player and coach
- 1940 – Gillian Shephard, English educator and politician, Secretary of State for Education
- 1941 – Jaan Kaplinski, Estonian poet, philosopher, and critic
- 1942 – Mimis Domazos, Greek footballer
- 1943 – Michael Spicer, English journalist and politician (d. 2019)
- 1944 – Khosrow Golsorkhi, Iranian journalist, poet, and activist (d. 1974)
- 1944 – Uto Ughi, Italian violinist and conductor
- 1945 – Jophery Brown, American baseball player, actor, and stuntman (d. 2014)
- 1945 – Jean-Pierre Nicolas, French racing driver and manager
- 1945 – Christoph Schönborn, Austrian cardinal
- 1945 – Alojz Uran, Slovenian archbishop
- 1946 – Malcolm McLaren, English singer-songwriter and manager (d. 2010)
- 1946 – Serge Savard, Canadian ice hockey player and manager
- 1947 – Vladimir Oravsky, Czech-Swedish author and director
- 1948 – Gilbert Levine, American conductor and academic
- 1949 – Mike Caldwell, American baseball player and coach
- 1949 – J.P. Pennington, American country-rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1949 – Steve Perry, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1950 – Paul Bew, Northern Irish historian and academic
- 1950 – Frank Schade, American basketball player and coach
- 1951 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (d. 1989)
- 1951 – Leon Roberts, American baseball player and manager
- 1952 – Ramón Avilés, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
- 1953 – Winfried Berkemeier, German footballer and manager
- 1953 – Myung-whun Chung, South Korean pianist and conductor
- 1953 – Jim Jarmusch, American director and screenwriter
- 1955 – Thomas David Jones, American captain, pilot, and astronaut
- 1955 – Timothy R. Ferguson, American politician
- 1956 – Steve Riley, American drummer
- 1957 – Mike Bossy, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1957 – Brian Dayett, American baseball player and manager
- 1957 – Godfrey Thoma, Nauruan politician
- 1957 – Francis Wheen, English journalist and author
- 1958 – Nikos Anastopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
- 1958 – Filiz Koçali, Turkish journalist and politician
- 1959 – Linda Blair, American actress
- 1960 – Michael Hutchence, Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1961 – Quintin Dailey, American basketball player (d. 2010)
- 1961 – Daniel Johnston, American musician
- 1962 – Jimmy Herring, American guitarist
- 1962 – Huw Irranca-Davies, Welsh lawyer and politician
- 1962 – Mizan Zainal Abidin of Terengganu, Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia
- 1964 – Nigel Benn, English-Australian boxer
- 1964 – Stojko Vranković, Croatian basketball player
- 1965 – Steven Adler, American rock drummer
- 1965 – DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ and producer
- 1965 – Diane Lane, American actress
- 1965 – Andrew Roachford, English singer-songwriter and keyboard player
- 1966 – Craig Salvatori, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1967 – Nick Gillingham, English swimmer
- 1968 – Guy Fieri, American chef, author, and television host
- 1968 – Heath, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1968 – Frank Leboeuf, French footballer, sportscaster, and actor
- 1968 – Mauricio Serna, Colombian footballer
- 1969 – Olivia d’Abo, English-American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1969 – Keith Gordon, American baseball player and coach
- 1970 – Jason Lowrie, New Zealand rugby league player and coach
- 1970 – Abraham Olano, Spanish cyclist
- 1971 – Stan Collymore, English footballer and sportscaster
- 1972 – Terry Hill, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1973 – Rogério Ceni, Brazilian footballer
- 1974 – Cameron McConville, Australian racing driver and sportscaster
- 1974 – Joseph Muscat, Maltese journalist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Malta
- 1976 – Jimmy Anderson, American baseball player and coach
- 1976 – James Dearth, American football player
- 1977 – Mario Domm, Mexican singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
- 1977 – Anna Linkova, Russian tennis player
- 1977 – Hidetoshi Nakata, Japanese footballer
- 1977 – Luciano Andrade Rissutt, Brazilian footballer
- 1978 – Chone Figgins, American baseball player
- 1979 – Aidan Burley, New Zealand-English politician
- 1979 – Carlos Ruiz, Panamanian baseball player
- 1979 – Chor Boogie, American artist
- 1980 – Jonathan Woodgate, English footballer
- 1981 – Willa Ford, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1981 – Beverley Mitchell, American actress
- 1981 – Ben Moody, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
- 1981 – Ibrahima Sonko, French footballer
- 1981 – Guy Wilks, English racing driver
- 1982 – Fabricio Coloccini, Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Shaun Cody, American football player
- 1984 – Ben Eager, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Ubaldo Jiménez, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 – Leon Powe, American basketball player
- 1984 – Maceo Rigters, Dutch footballer
- 1985 – Fotios Papoulis, Greek footballer
- 1985 – Yan Xu, Singaporean table tennis player
- 1986 – Maher Magri, Tunisian footballer
- 1986 – Matt Simon, Australian footballer
- 1987 – Astrid Jacobsen, Norwegian skier
- 1987 – Shane Long, Irish footballer
- 1988 – Asher Allen, American football player
- 1988 – Greg Oden, American basketball player
- 1988 – Marcel Schmelzer, German footballer
- 1989 – Theo Robinson, English-Jamaican footballer
- 1990 – Alizé Cornet, French tennis player
- 1990 – Dean Whare, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1990 – Logic, American rapper
- 1990 – Phil Wang, British-Malaysian comedian
- 1991 – Stefan Kolb, German footballer
- 1996 – Joshua Ho-Sang, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1998 – Silento, American rapper, singer and songwriter
 Deaths on January 22
- 239 – Cao Rui, Chinese emperor (b. 205)
- 628 – Anastasius of Persia, monk
- 906 – He, empress of the Tang Dynasty
- 935 – Ma, empress of Southern Han
- 1051 – Ælfric Puttoc, archbishop of York
- 1170 – Wang Chongyang, Chinese Daoist and co-founder of the Quanzhen School (b. 1113)
- 1188 – Ferdinand II of León (b. 1137)
- 1341 – Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1279)
- 1517 – Hadım Sinan Pasha, Ottoman politician, 32nd Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. ?)
- 1536 – Bernhard Knipperdolling, German religious leader (b. 1495)
- 1536 – John of Leiden, Anabaptist leader from the Dutch city of Leiden (b. 1509)
- 1552 – Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, English general and politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (b. 1500)
- 1560 – Wang Zhi, Chinese pirate
- 1575 – James Hamilton, Duke of Châtellerault (b. 1516)
- 1599 – Cristofano Malvezzi, Italian organist and composer (b. 1547)
- 1666 – Shah Jahan, Mughal emperor (b. 1592)
- 1750 – Franz Xaver Josef von Unertl, Bavarian politician (b. 1675)
- 1763 – John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1690)
- 1767 – Johann Gottlob Lehmann, German meteorologist and geologist (b. 1719)
- 1779 – Jeremiah Dixon, English surveyor and astronomer (b. 1733)
- 1779 – Claudius Smith, American guerrilla leader (b. 1736)
- 1798 – Lewis Morris, American judge and politician (b. 1726)
- 1840 – Johann Friedrich Blumenbach, German physician, physiologist, and anthropologist (b. 1752)
- 1850 – Vincent Pallotti, Italian missionary and saint (b. 1795)
- 1879 – Anthony Durnford, Irish colonel (b. 1830)
- 1879 – Henry Pulleine, English colonel (b. 1838)
- 1892 – Joseph P. Bradley, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1813)
- 1900 – David Edward Hughes, Welsh-American physicist, co-invented the microphone (b. 1831)
- 1901 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom (b. 1819)
- 1901 – Emil Erlenmeyer, German chemist and academic (b. 1825)
- 1921 – George Streeter, American captain and businessman (b. 1837)
- 1922 – Fredrik Bajer, Danish educator and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1837)
- 1922 – Pope Benedict XV (b. 1854)
- 1922 – Camille Jordan, French mathematician and academic (b. 1838)
- 1925 – Fanny Bullock Workman, American geographer and mountain climber (b. 1859)
- 1927 – James Ford Rhodes, American historian and author (b. 1848)
- 1929 – R. C. Lehmann, English journalist, author, and politician (b. 1856)
- 1930 – Stephen Mather, American businessman and conservationist, co-founded the Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company (b. 1867)
- 1931 – László Batthyány-Strattmann, Hungarian physician and ophthalmologist (b. 1870)
- 1945 – Else Lasker-Schüler, German poet and playwright (b. 1869)
- 1949 – William Thomas Walsh, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1891)
- 1950 – Alan Hale, Sr., American actor and director (b. 1892)
- 1951 – Lawson Robertson, Scottish-American sprinter and high jumper (b. 1883)
- 1955 – Jonni Myyrä, Finnish-American athlete (b. 1892)
- 1957 – Ralph Barton Perry, American philosopher and academic (b. 1876)
- 1959 – Mike Hawthorn, English race car driver (b. 1929)
- 1964 – Marc Blitzstein, American pianist and composer (b. 1905)
- 1966 – Herbert Marshall, English actor (b. 1890)
- 1968 – Duke Kahanamoku, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Harry Frank Guggenheim, American businessman and publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1890)
- 1973 – Lyndon B. Johnson, American lieutenant and politician, 36th President of the United States (b. 1908)
- 1975 – Andrew George Burry, Swiss-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1873)
- 1977 – Ibrahim bin Abdullah Al Suwaiyel, Saudi Arabian diplomat (b. 1916)
- 1978 – Oliver Leese, English general (b. 1894)
- 1978 – Herbert Sutcliffe, English cricketer and soldier (b. 1894)
- 1979 – Ali Hassan Salameh, Palestinian rebel leader (b. 1940)
- 1980 – Yitzhak Baer, German-Israeli historian and academic (b. 1888)
- 1981 – Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi, Pakistani historian and academic (b. 1903)
- 1982 – Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th President of Chile (b. 1911)
- 1985 – Arthur Bryant, English historian and journalist (b. 1899)
- 1987 – R. Budd Dwyer, American educator and politician, 30th Treasurer of Pennsylvania (b. 1939)
- 1989 – S. Vithiananthan, Sri Lankan author and academic (b. 1924)
- 1991 – Robert Choquette, Canadian author, poet and diplomat (b. 1905)
- 1993 – Kōbō Abe, Japanese playwright and photographer (b. 1924)
- 1994 – Jean-Louis Barrault, French actor and director (b. 1910)
- 1994 – Telly Savalas, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1996 – Israel Eldad, Polish-Israeli philosopher and author (b. 1910)
- 1997 – Billy Mackenzie, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1957)
- 1999 – Graham Staines, Australian-Indian missionary and translator (b. 1941)
- 2000 – Craig Claiborne, American journalist, author, and critic (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Anne Hébert, Canadian author and poet (b. 1916)
- 2001 – Tommie Agee, American baseball player (b. 1942)
- 2001 – Roy Brown, American clown and puppeteer (b. 1932)
- 2003 – Bill Mauldin, American soldier and cartoonist (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Billy May, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Tom Mead, Australian journalist and politician (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Ann Miller, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1923)
- 2005 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1943)
- 2005 – Carlo Orelli, Italian soldier (b. 1894)
- 2005 – Consuelo Velázquez, Mexican pianist and songwriter (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Aydın Güven Gürkan, Turkish academic and politician, Turkish Minister of Labor and Social Security (b. 1941)
- 2007 – Ngô Quang Trưởng, Vietnamese general (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Abbé Pierre, French priest and activist (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Liz Renay, American actress, author and performer (b. 1926)
- 2008 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor and director (b. 1979)
- 2008 – Miles Lerman, Polish Holocaust survivor and activist (b. 1920)
- 2009 – Billy Werber, American baseball player (b. 1908)
- 2010 – Louis R. Harlan, American historian and author (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Jean Simmons, English-American actress (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Simon Marsden, English photographer and author (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Joe Paterno, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Clarence Tillenius, Canadian painter and environmentalist (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Dick Tufeld, American actor, announcer, narrator and voice actor (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Robert Bonnaud, French historian and academic (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Hinton Mitchem, American businessman and politician (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Maziar Partow, Iranian cinematographer (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Fabrizio de Miranda, Italian engineer and academic, co-designed the Rande Bridge (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Wendell H. Ford, American lieutenant and politician, 53rd Governor of Kentucky (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Margaret Bloy Graham, Canadian author and illustrator (b. 1920)
- 2016 – Homayoun Behzadi, Iranian footballer and coach (b. 1942)
- 2016 – Cecil Parkinson, English politician (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Lois Ramsey, Australian actress (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Kamer Genç, Turkish politician (b. 1940)
- 2017 – Masaya Nakamura, Japanese businessman (b. 1925)
- 2017 – Yordano Ventura, Dominican baseball player (b. 1991)
- 2018 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American sci-fi and fantasy novelist (b. 1929)
 Holidays and observances on January 22
- Christian feast day:
- Anastasius of Persia
- Gaudentius of Novara
- László Batthyány-Strattmann
- Laura Vicuna
- Vincent Pallotti
- Vincent of Saragossa
- Vincent, Orontius, and Victor
- Blessed William Joseph Chaminade
- January 22 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- Day of Unity of Ukraine (Ukraine)
- Grandfather’s Day (Poland)
 
 
 
- 
	
				
			
		
				
			
	
		
 January 21 in History
- 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
- 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz’s mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
- 1535 – Following the Affair of the Placards, the French king leads an anti-Protestant procession through Paris.
- 1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
- 1749 – The Teatro Filarmonico in Verona is destroyed by fire, as a result of a torch being left behind in the box of a nobleman after a performance. It is rebuilt in 1754.
- 1774 – Abdul Hamid I becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
- 1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston.
- 1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.
- 1854 – The RMS Tayleur sinks off Lambay Island on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Australia with great loss of life.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
- 1893 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.
- 1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
- 1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.
- 1915 – Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit.
- 1919 – A revolutionary Irish parliament is founded and declares the independence of the Irish Republic. One of the first engagements of the Irish War of Independence takes place.
- 1925 – Albania declares itself a republic.
- 1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
- 1941 – Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania the day before, members of the Iron Guard engaged in a rebellion and pogrom killing 125 Jews.
- 1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Québec Flag Day.
- 1950 – American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
- 1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
- 1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board.
- 1960 – Avianca Flight 671 crashes at Montego Bay, Jamaica airport, killing 37 people.
- 1960 – A coal mine collapses at Holly Country, South Africa, killing 435 miners.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
- 1968 – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
- 1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
- 1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
- 1980 – Iran Air Flight 291 crashes in the Alborz Mountains while on approach to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing 128 people.
- 1981 – Production of the iconic DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
- 1985 – Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashes near Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, killing 70 people.
- 1997 – The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
- 1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board.
- 2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutiérrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.
- 2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
- 2004 – NASA’s MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
- 2005 – In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government’s new taxes erupts into riots.
- 2009 – Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, officially ending a three-week war it had with Hamas. However, intermittent fire by both sides continues in the weeks to follow.
- 2011 – Anti government demonstrations take place in Tirana, Albania. Five people lose their lives from gunshots, allegedly fired from armed police protecting the Prime Minister’s office. To date, no one has been held accountable for the deaths.
- 2017 – Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women’s march, on Donald Trump’s first full day as President of the United States.
- 2018 – Rocket Lab’s Electron becomes the first rocket to reach orbit using an electric pump-fed engine and deploys three CubeSats.
 Births on January 21
- 1264 – Alexander, Prince of Scotland (d. 1284)
- 1277 – Galeazzo I Visconti, lord of Milan
- 1338 – Charles V of France (d. 1380)
- 1493 – Giovanni Poggio, Italian cardinal and diplomat (d. 1556)
- 1598 – Matsudaira Tadamasa, Japanese samurai and daimyō (d. 1645)
- 1612 – Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz, count of Nassau-Dietz (d. 1640)
- 1636 – Melchiorre Cafà, Maltese Baroque sculptor (baptised; d. 1667)
- 1655 – Antonio Molinari, Italian painter (d. 1704)
- 1659 – Adriaen van der Werff, Dutch painter (d. 1722)
- 1675 – Duchess Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg, Margravine of Baden-Baden (d. 1733)
- 1714 – Anna Morandi Manzolini, Spanish anatomist (d. 1774)
- 1717 – Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, Spanish military officer and governor of Cuba (d. 1779)
- 1721 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, Governor of Minorca (d. 1794)
- 1724 – Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French rococo painter (d. 1805)
- 1732 – Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis (d. 1797)
- 1738 – Ethan Allen, American general (d. 1789)
- 1741 – Chaim of Volozhin, Orthodox rabbi (d. 1821)
- 1763 – Augustin Robespierre, younger brother of French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre (d. 1794)
- 1775 – Manuel Garcia, Spanish opera singer and composer (d. 1832)
- 1784 – Peter De Wint, English painter (d. 1849)
- 1788 – William Henry Smyth, Royal Navy officer, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist
- 1796 – Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel, consort of George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1880)
- 1797 – Joseph Méry, French author and journalist (d. 1866)
- 1800 – Theodor Fliedner, German Lutheran minister (d. 1864)
- 1801 – John Batman, Australian entrepreneur and explorer (d. 1839)
- 1804 – Moritz von Schwind, Austrian painter (d. 1871)
- 1808 – Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, 16th President of Peru (d. 1875)
- 1810 – Pierre Louis Charles de Failly, French general (d. 1892)
- 1811 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, British statesman (d. 1885)
- 1813 – John C. Frémont, American general, explorer, and politician, 5th Territorial Governor of Arizona (d. 1890)
- 1813 – Giuseppe Montanelli, Italian statesman and author (d. 1862)
- 1814 – Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, German bibliographer and historian (d. 1885)
- 1815 – Horace Wells, American dentist (d. 1848)
- 1820 – Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (d. 1899)
- 1820 – Egide Walschaerts, Belgian mechanical engineer (d. 1901)
- 1824 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (d. 1863)
- 1827 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1900)
- 1829 – Oscar II of Sweden (d. 1907)
- 1839 – Caterina Volpicelli, Italian Roman Catholic nun (d. 1894)
- 1840 – Sophia Jex-Blake, English physician and feminist (d. 1912)
- 1841 – Édouard Schuré, French philosopher and author (d. 1929)
- 1843 – Émile Levassor, French engineer (d. 1897)
- 1845 – Harriet Backer, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)
- 1846 – Pieter Hendrik Schoute, Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
- 1846 – Albert Lavignac, French music scholar (d. 1916)
- 1847 – Joseph Achille Le Bel, French chemist (d. 1930)
- 1848 – Henri Duparc, French soldier and composer (d. 1933)
- 1851 – Giuseppe Allamano, Italian Roman Catholic priest (d. 1926)
- 1854 – Karl Julius Beloch, German classical and economic historian (d. 1929)
- 1854 – Eusapia Palladino, Italian Spiritualist (d. 1918)
- 1855 – Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1874)
- 1860 – Karl Staaff, Swedish lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1915)
- 1864 – Israel Zangwill, British author (d. 1926)
- 1865 – Heinrich Albers-Schonberg, German gynecologist and radiologist (d. 1921)
- 1867 – Ludwig Thoma, German paramedic and author (d. 1921)
- 1867 – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (d. 1965)
- 1868 – Felix Hoffmann, German chemist (d. 1946)
- 1869 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian Mystic (d. 1916)
- 1871 – Olga Preobrajenska, Russian ballerina (d. 1962)
- 1873 – Arturo Labriola, Italian revolutionary syndicalist (d. 1959)
- 1874 – René-Louis Baire, French mathematician (d. 1932)
- 1875 – Paul E. Kahle, German orientalist (d. 1964)
- 1877 – Baldassarre Negroni, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1948)
- 1878 – Vahan Tekeyan, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1948)
- 1879 – Joseph Roffo, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1933)
- 1880 – George Van Biesbroeck, Belgian–American astronomer (d. 1974)
- 1881 – Ernst Fast, Swedish runner (d. 1959)
- 1881 – André Godard, French archaeologist, architect and historian (d. 1965)
- 1881 – Ivan Ribar, Yugoslav politician (d. 1968)
- 1882 – Pavel Florensky, Russian mathematician and theologian (d. 1937)
- 1882 – Francis Gailey, Australian-American swimmer (d. 1972)
- 1883 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet and educator (d. 1929)
- 1883 – Mathias Hynes, British tug of war competitor (d. 1926)
- 1885 – Duncan Grant, British painter and designer (d. 1978)
- 1885 – Umberto Nobile, Italian engineer and explorer (d. 1978)
- 1885 – Harold A. Wilson, English runner (d. 1932)
- 1886 – John M. Stahl, American director and producer (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Wolfgang Köhler, German psychologist and phenomenologist (d. 1967)
- 1887 – Ernest Holmes, American New Thought writer (d. 1960)
- 1887 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1926)
- 1889 – Pitirim Sorokin, American sociologist and political activist (d. 1968)
- 1891 – Albert Battel, German Army lieutenant and lawyer (d. 1952)
- 1891 – Francisco Lázaro, Portuguese marathon runner (d. 1912)
- 1895 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer, founded Balenciaga (d. 1972)
- 1895 – Daniel Chalonge, French astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1977)
- 1895 – Noe Itō, Japanese anarchist, author and feminist (d. 1923)
- 1896 – Guy Gilpatric, American pilot and journalist (d. 1950)
- 1896 – Paula Hitler, younger sister of Adolf Hitler (d. 1960)
- 1896 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1896 – Masa Perttilä, Finnish wrestler (d. 1968)
- 1897 – René Iché, French sculptor (d. 1954)
- 1898 – Rudolph Maté, Polish-Hungarian-American cinematographer, producer and director (d. 1964)
- 1898 – Ahmad Shah Qajar, Shah of Persia (d. 1930)
- 1898 – Eduard Zintl, German chemist (d. 1941)
- 1899 – John Bodkin Adams, British general practitioner and convict (d. 1983)
- 1899 – Gyula Mándi, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1969)
- 1899 – Edith Tolkien, wife and muse of J. R. R. Tolkien (d. 1971)
- 1899 – Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian-American pianist and composer (d. 1977)
- 1900 – Elof Ahrle, Swedish actor and director (d. 1965)
- 1900 – Anselm Franz, Austrian engineer (d. 1994)
- 1900 – Bernhard Rensch, German evolutionary biologist (d. 1990)
- 1900 – Fernando Quiroga Palacios, Spanish Cardinal (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1978)
- 1903 – William Lyon, American film editor (d. 1974)
- 1903 – Raymond Suvigny, French weightlifter (d. 1945)
- 1904 – Puck van Heel, Dutch footballer (d. 1984)
- 1904 – John Porter, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1997)
- 1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founded Christian Dior S.A. (d. 1957)
- 1905 – Karl Wallenda, German-American acrobat and tightrope walker, founded The Flying Wallendas (d. 1978)
- 1906 – Leo Halle, Dutch footballer (d. 1992)
- 1906 – Igor Moiseyev, Russian choreographer (d. 2007)
- 1907 – Carlo Cavagnoli, Italian boxer (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Jānis Mendriks, Latvian Catholic priest (d. 1953)
- 1909 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (d. 2004)
- 1909 – Teofilo Spasojević, Serbian footballer (d. 1970)
- 1910 – Hideo Shinojima, Japanese footballer (d. 1975)
- 1910 – Albert Rosellini, American lawyer and politician, 15th Governor of Washington (d. 2011)
- 1910 – Rosa Kellner, German athlete (d. 1984)
- 1910 – Károly Takács, Hungarian shooter (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Dick Garrard, Australian wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1911 – Lee Yoo-hyung, Korean footballer and manager (d. 2003)
- 1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
- 1915 – André Lichnerowicz, French mathematician (d. 1998)
- 1915 – Orazio Mariani, Italian sprinter (d. 1981)
- 1916 – Pietro Rava, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
- 1916 – Zypora Spaisman, Polish midwife; American and Yiddish-language actress; producer of the Yiddish stage (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Erling Persson, H&M founder (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Jimmy Hagan, English footballer (d. 1998)
- 1918 – Richard Winters, American soldier (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Antonio Janigro, Italian cellist and conductor (d. 1989)
- 1919 – Eric Brown, Scottish-English captain and pilot (d. 2016)
- 1920 – Errol Barrow, first Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 1987)
- 1921 – Lincoln Alexander, Canadian lawyer and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1922 – Paul Scofield, English actor (d. 2008)
- 1922 – Predrag Vranicki, Croatian Marxist Humanist, and member of the Praxis school in the 1960s in Yugoslavia (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer, and actress (d. 1995)
- 1923 – Alberto de Mendoza, Argentine actor (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Pahiño, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
- 1924 – Benny Hill, English actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1925 – Charles Aidman, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1925 – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Eva Ibbotson, Austrian-English author (d. 2010)
- 1925 – Arnold Skaaland, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Clive Donner, British director (d. 2010)
- 1926 – Franco Evangelisti, Italian composer (d. 1980)
- 1926 – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder (d. 2000)
- 1926 – Roger Taillibert, French architect (d. 2019)
- 1926 – Robert J. White, American neurosurgeon (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Rudolf Kraus, German footballer (d. 2003)
- 1928 – Gene Sharp, American political scientist and academic, founded the Albert Einstein Institution (d. 2018)
- 1928 – Reynaldo Bignone, Argentinian general and politician, 41st President of Argentina (d. 2018)
- 1929 – Radley Metzger, American filmmaker (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Mainza Chona, Zambian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 2001)
- 1931 – Yoshiko Kuga, Japanese actress
- 1933 – Habib Thiam, Senegalese politician (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Tony Marchi, English footballer, wing half
- 1934 – Audrey Dalton, Irish actress
- 1934 – Antonio Karmany, Spanish cyclist
- 1934 – Alfonso Portugal, Mexican footballer (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Ann Wedgeworth, American actress (d. 2017)
- 1936 – Dick Davies, American basketball player (d. 2012)
- 1937 – Judit Ágoston-Mendelényi, Hungarian fencer (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, the youngest son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
- 1938 – Sandy Barr, American wrestler and referee (d. 2007)
- 1938 – Romano Fogli, Italian footballer
- 1938 – Wolfman Jack, American radio host (d. 1995)
- 1938 – Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
- 1939 – Paul Genevay, French sprinter
- 1939 – Friedel Lutz, German footballer
- 1939 – Steve Paxton, American dancer and choreographer
- 1939 – Viacheslav Platonov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2005)
- 1940 – Jack Nicklaus, American golfer and sportscaster
- 1940 – Patrick Robinson, British novelist
- 1941 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor and conductor
- 1941 – Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Mike Medavoy, Chinese-American film producer, co-founded Orion Pictures
- 1941 – Ivan Putski, Polish-American wrestler and bodybuilder
- 1941 – Elaine Showalter, American author and critic
- 1942 – Freddy Breck, German singer, producer, and news anchor (d. 2008)
- 1942 – Eugène Camara, Prime Minister of Guinea (d. 2019)
- 1942 – Han Pil-hwa, North Korean speed skater
- 1942 – Mac Davis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1942 – Edwin Starr, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1942 – Michael G. Wilson, American producer and screenwriter
- 1943 – Zdravko Hebel, Croatian water polo player (d. 2017)
- 1943 – Arnar Jónsson, Icelandic actor
- 1943 – Alfons Peeters, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
- 1943 – Kenzo Yokoyama, Japanese footballer
- 1944 – Uto Ughi, Italian violinist
- 1945 – Pete Kircher, English drummer
- 1945 – Martin Shaw, English actor and producer
- 1946 – Ichiro Hosotani, Japanese footballer
- 1946 – Nella Martinetti, Swiss singer (d. 2011)
- 1946 – Tomás Pineda, El Salvadoran footballer
- 1946 – Miguel Reina, Spanish footballer
- 1947 – Jill Eikenberry, American actress
- 1947 – Andrzej Bachleda, Polish former alpine skier
- 1947 – Dorian M. Goldfeld, American mathematician
- 1947 – Pye Hastings, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Michel Jonasz, French singer-songwriter and actor
- 1947 – Joseph Nicolosi, American clinical psychologist (d. 2017)
- 1947 – Giuseppe Savoldi, Italian footballer
- 1947 – Roberto Zywica, Argentine footballer
- 1948 – Zygmunt Kukla, Polish footballer (d. 2016)
- 1948 – Hugo Tocalli, Argentine footballer
- 1949 – Trương Tấn Sang, Vietnamese politician and 7th President of Vietnam
- 1949 – Clifford Ray, American basketball coach and player
- 1950 – Marion Becker, German javelin thrower
- 1950 – Gary Locke, American politician and diplomat, 36th United States Secretary of Commerce
- 1950 – José Marín, Spanish racewalker
- 1950 – Billy Ocean, Trinidadian-English singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Agnes van Ardenne, Dutch politician and diplomat, Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation
- 1951 – Eric Holder, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 82nd United States Attorney General
- 1952 – Marco Camenisch, Swiss activist and murderer
- 1952 – Werner Grissmann, Austrian alpine skier
- 1952 – Mikhail Umansky, Russian chess player (d. 2010)
- 1953 – Paul Allen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft (d. 2018)
- 1953 – Felipe Yáñez, Spanish cyclist
- 1954 – Thomas de Maizière, German politician of the Christian Democratic Union
- 1954 – Idrissa Ouedraogo, Burkinabé director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
- 1954 – Phil Thompson, English footballer and coach
- 1955 – Peter Fleming, American tennis player
- 1955 – Jeff Koons, American painter and sculptor
- 1955 – Nello Musumeci, Italian politician and President of Sicily
- 1956 – Robby Benson, American actor and director
- 1956 – Geena Davis, American actress and producer
- 1958 – Matt Salmon, American politician
- 1958 – Hussein Saeed, Iraqi footballer
- 1958 – Sergei Walter, Ukrainian politician (d. 2015)
- 1958 – Michael Wincott, Canadian actor
- 1959 – Sergei Alifirenko, Russian pistol shooter
- 1959 – Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1960 – Sidney Lowe, American basketball player
- 1960 – Mike Terrana, American hard rock and heavy metal drummer
- 1961 – Kevin Cramer, American politician
- 1961 – Cornelia Pröll, Austrian alpine skier
- 1961 – Ivo Pukanić Croatian journalist (d. 2008)
- 1961 – Gary Shaw, English footballer
- 1961 – Piotr Ugrumov, Russian cyclist
- 1962 – Tyler Cowen, American economist and academic
- 1962 – Isabelle Nanty, French actress, director and screenwriter
- 1962 – Gabriele Pin, Italian footballer and coach
- 1962 – Zoran Thaler, Slovenian politician
- 1962 – Erik Verlinde, Dutch theoretical physicist
- 1962 – Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
- 1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American basketball player
- 1963 – Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player and coach
- 1964 – Andreas Bauer, German ski jumper
- 1964 – Tony Dolan, English musician and actor
- 1964 – Gérald Passi, French footballer
- 1964 – Ricardo Serna, Spanish footballer
- 1964 – Aleksandar Šoštar, Serbian water polo player
- 1964 – Danny Wallace, English footballer
- 1965 – Robert Del Naja, British artist, musician and singer
- 1965 – Jam Master Jay, American DJ, rapper, and producer (d. 2002)
- 1965 – Masahiro Wada, Japanese footballer
- 1967 – Artashes Minasian, Armenian chess player
- 1967 – Alfred Jermaniš, Slovenian footballer
- 1967 – Gorō Miyazaki, Japanese film director and landscaper
- 1968 – Dmitry Fomin, Soviet and Russian volleyball player
- 1968 – Ilya Smirin, Israeli chess Grandmaster
- 1968 – Artur Dmitriev, Soviet and Russian ice skater
- 1968 – Sébastien Lifshitz, French director
- 1968 – Charlotte Ross, American actress
- 1969 – John Ducey, American actor
- 1969 – Eduard Hämäläinen, Finnish-Belarusian decathlete
- 1969 – Karina Lombard, French-American actress and singer
- 1969 – Tsubaki Nekoi, Japanese comic artist
- 1970 – Alen Bokšić, former Croatian footballer
- 1970 – Marina Foïs, French actress
- 1970 – Ken Leung, American actor
- 1970 – Oren Peli, Israeli-American director, producer and screenwriter
- 1971 – Uni Arge, Faroese footballer and entertainer
- 1971 – Rafael Berges, Spanish footballer
- 1971 – Doug Edwards, American basketball player
- 1971 – Dmitri Khlestov, Russian footballer
- 1971 – Dylan Kussman, American actor
- 1971 – Sergey Klevchenya, Russian speed skater
- 1971 – Doug Weight, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1972 – Billel Dziri, Algerian footballer and manager
- 1972 – Rick Falkvinge, Swedish businessman and politician
- 1972 – Sead Kapetanović, Bosnian footballer
- 1972 – Yasunori Mitsuda, Japanese composer and producer
- 1972 – Cat Power, American singer, musician and actress
- 1972 – Shawn Rojeski, American curler
- 1972 – Sabina Valbusa, Italian cross-country skier
- 1973 – Rob Hayles, English cyclist
- 1973 – Chris Kilmore, American musician and DJ
- 1973 – Edvinas Krungolcas, Lithuanian modern pentathlete
- 1973 – Flavio Maestri, Peruvian footballer
- 1974 – Malena Alterio, Spanish actress
- 1974 – Maxwell Atoms, American animator, screenwriter and voice actor
- 1974 – Kim Dotcom, German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur and political activist
- 1974 – Arthémon Hatungimana, Burundian middle distance runner
- 1974 – Vincent Laresca, American actor
- 1974 – Ulrich Le Pen, French footballer
- 1974 – Marco Zanotti, Italian cyclist
- 1975 – Nicky Butt, English footballer and coach
- 1975 – Casey FitzRandolph, American speedskater
- 1975 – Yuji Ide, Japanese race car driver
- 1975 – Ito, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1975 – Willem Korsten, Dutch footballer, left winger
- 1975 – Jason Moran, American jazz pianist, composer and educator
- 1975 – Florin Șerban, Romanian director
- 1975 – Alyaksandr Yermakovich, Belarusian footballer and manager
- 1976 – Aivaras Abromavičius, Lithuanian-Ukrainian banker and politician; 15th Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development
- 1976 – Raivis Belohvoščiks, Latvian cyclist
- 1976 – Emma Bunton, English singer
- 1976 – Lars Eidinger, German actor
- 1976 – Giorgio Frezzolini, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Igors Stepanovs, Latvian footballer
- 1977 – Hussein Abdulghani, Saudi Arabian footballer
- 1977 – Bradley Carnell, South African footballer
- 1977 – John DeSantis, Canadian actor
- 1977 – Kirsten Klose, German hammer thrower
- 1977 – Denis Lunghi, Italian cyclist
- 1977 – Ulrike Maisch, German runner
- 1977 – Phil Neville, English footballer and manager
- 1977 – Michael Ruffin, American basketball player
- 1977 – Jerry Trainor, American actor, director, and producer
- 1978 – Faris Al-Sultan, German triathlete
- 1978 – Peter von Allmen, Swiss cross-country skier
- 1978 – Hernán Rodrigo López, Uruguayan footballer
- 1978 – Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Quinton Jacobs, Namibian footballer
- 1979 – Byung-hyun Kim, South Korean baseball player
- 1979 – Spider Loc, American rapper and actor
- 1979 – Melendi, Spanish singer
- 1979 – Brian O’Driscoll, Irish rugby player
- 1979 – Sebastian Schindzielorz, German footballer
- 1980 – Troy Dumais, American diver
- 1980 – Karsten Forsterling, Australian rower
- 1980 – Dave Kitson, English footballer and manager
- 1980 – Lee Kyung-won, South Korean badminton player
- 1980 – Kevin McKenna, Canadian soccer player
- 1980 – Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress
- 1980 – Alexander Os, former Norwegian biathlete
- 1980 – Xavier Pons, Spanish rally diver
- 1980 – Mari Possa, El Salvadoran pornographic actress
- 1980 – Bratislav Ristić, Serbian footballer
- 1981 – Gillian Chung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
- 1981 – Ivan Ergić, Serbian footballer
- 1981 – Roberto Guana Italian footballer
- 1981 – Wu Hanxiong, Chinese fencer
- 1981 – Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 – Andy Lee, South Korean singer and actor
- 1981 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress, dancer, and producer
- 1981 – Shawn Redhage, American-Australian basketball player
- 1981 – Michel Teló, Brazilian singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Jung Ryeo-won, South Korean actress
- 1981 – David F. Sandberg, Swedish filmmaker
- 1982 – Richard José Blanco, Venezuelan footballer
- 1982 – Adriano Ferreira Martins, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Nicolas Mahut, French tennis player
- 1982 – Sarah Ourahmoune, French boxer
- 1982 – Simon Rolfes, German footballer
- 1982 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
- 1983 – Alex Acker, American basketball player
- 1983 – Monique Adamczak, Australian tennis player
- 1983 – Victor Leandro Bagy, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Ranko Despotović, Serbian footballer
- 1983 – Svetlana Khodchenkova, Russian actress
- 1983 – Marieke van den Ham, Dutch water polo player
- 1983 – Billy Mwanza, Zambian footballer
- 1983 – Maryse Ouellet, French-Canadian wrestler
- 1983 – Álvaro Quirós, Spanish golfer
- 1983 – Francesca Segat, Italian swimmer
- 1983 – Moritz Volz, German footballer, right back, football pundit and scout
- 1983 – Kelly VanderBeek, Canadian alpine skier
- 1984 – Leonardo Burián, Uruguayan footballer
- 1984 – Luke Grimes, American actor
- 1984 – Amy Hastings, American track and fielder
- 1984 – Alex Koslov, Moldovan-American wrestler
- 1984 – Dejan Milovanović, Serbian footballer
- 1984 – Wes Morgan, Jamaican footballer
- 1984 – Haloti Ngata, American footballer
- 1985 – Markus Berger, Austrian footballer
- 1985 – Artur Beterbiev, Russian boxer
- 1985 – Aura Dione, Danish singer and songwriter
- 1985 – Nick Gehlfuss, American actor
- 1985 – Salvatore Giunta, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient
- 1985 – Yumi Hara, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1985 – Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model and actress
- 1985 – Rodrigo San Miguel, Spanish basketball player
- 1985 – Ri Se-gwang, North Korean artistic gymnast
- 1985 – Dmitri Sokolov, Russian basketball player
- 1985 – Ryan Suter, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – César Arzo, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Edson Barboza, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1986 – João Gomes Júnior, Brazilian swimmer
- 1986 – Javi López, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Gina Mambrú, volleyball player from Dominican Republic
- 1986 – Jonathan Quick, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – Mike Taylor, American basketball player
- 1986 – Óscar Vílchez, Peruvian footballer
- 1986 – Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor
- 1987 – Ioannis Athanasoulas, Greek basketball player
- 1987 – Andrei Cojocari, Moldovan footballer
- 1987 – Alexander Dercho, German footballer
- 1987 – Aida Hadzialic, Swedish politician
- 1987 – Shaun Keeling, South African rower
- 1987 – Augustine Kiprono Choge, Kenyan runner
- 1987 – Kevin Kratz, German footballer
- 1987 – Danny Munyao, Zambian footballer
- 1987 – Henrico Drost, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – Darren Helm, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Will Johnson, Canadian footballer
- 1987 – Mulopo Kudimbana, Congolese footballer
- 1987 – Nyasha Mushekwi, Zimbabwean footballer
- 1987 – Dominik Roels, German cyclist
- 1987 – Maša Zec Peškirič, Slovenian tennis player
- 1987 – Ikumi Yoshimatsu, Japanese actress
- 1988 – Glaiza de Castro, Filipino actress and singer
- 1988 – Ashton Eaton, American decathlete
- 1988 – Rolands Freimanis, Latvian basketball player
- 1988 – Vanessa Hessler, Italian-American model and actress
- 1988 – Aleksandar Lazevski, Macedonian footballer
- 1988 – Ángel Mena, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1988 – Valérie Tétreault, Canadian tennis player
- 1988 – Pieter Timmers, Belgian swimmer
- 1988 – Nemanja Tomić, Serbian footballer
- 1988 – Ben Turner, English footballer
- 1989 – Doğuş Balbay, Turkish basketball player
- 1989 – Kayla Banwarth, American indoor volleyball player
- 1989 – Férébory Doré, Congolese footballer
- 1989 – Sergey Fesikov, Russian swimmer
- 1989 – Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian footballer
- 1989 – Matteo Pelucchi, Italian cyclist
- 1989 – Zhang Shuai, Chinese tennis player
- 1990 – Arash Afshin, Iranian footballer
- 1990 – Diogo Amado, Portuguese footballer
- 1990 – Andriy Bohdanov, Ukrainian footballer
- 1990 – Kelly Rohrbach, American model and actress
- 1990 – André Martins, Portuguese footballer
- 1990 – Knowledge Musona, Zimbabwean footballer
- 1990 – Jacob Smith, American actor
- 1990 – Doni Tata Pradita, Indonesian motorcycle racer
- 1991 – Ali Al-Busaidi, Omani footballer
- 1991 – Javier Calvo, Spanish actor and director
- 1991 – Mohammad Ghadir, Arab-Israeli footballer
- 1991 – Jan Hirt, Czech cyclist
- 1991 – Mateusz Mika, Polish volleyball player
- 1991 – Alfredo Ortuño, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Marta Pagnini, Italian gymnast
- 1991 – Craig Roberts, Welsh actor and director
- 1991 – Luis Alfonso Rodríguez, Mexican footballer
- 1992 – Verónica Cepede Royg, Paraguayan tennis player
- 1992 – Sven Erik Bystrøm, Norwegian cyclist
- 1992 – James Duckworth, Australian tennis player
- 1992 – Kwame Karikari, Ghanaian footballer
- 1992 – Nicolás Mezquida, Uruguayan footballer
- 1992 – Roland Szolnoki, Hungarian footballer
- 1993 – Clément Mignon, French swimmer
- 1993 – Muralha, Brazilian footballer
- 1993 – Chiara Pierobon, Italian cyclist (d. 2015)
- 1994 – Amin Affane, Swedish footballer
- 1994 – Laura Robson, Australian-English tennis player
- 1994 – Kang Seung-yoon, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor
- 1994 – Nils Allen “Booboo” Stewart Jr., American actor
- 1994 – Lim Kim, South Korean singer and actress
- 1995 – Yulia Belorukova, Russian cross-country skier
- 1995 – Nguyễn Công Phượng, Vietnamese footballer
- 1995 – Marine Johannes, French basketball player
- 1995 – Alanna Kennedy, Australian footballer player
- 1996 – Marco Asensio, Spanish footballer
- 1996 – Aldo Kalulu, French footballer
- 1996 – Cristian Pavón, Argentine footballer
- 1997 – Jeremy Shada, American actor, musician and singer
- 1998 – Borna Sosa, Croatian footballer
- 1999 – Rubina Ali, Indian actress
- 2003 – Natalie Garcia, rhythmic gymnast
- 2004 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, 2nd in line for the Norwegian throne
 Deaths on January 21
- 420 – Yazdegerd I, king of the Sassanid Empire
- 496 – Epiphanius of Pavia, Italian bishop and saint (b. 438)
- 917 – Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (b. 880)
- 918 – Liu Zhijun, Chinese general
- 939 – Yang Pu, Chinese emperor (b. 900)
- 942 – An Chongrong, Chinese general (Five Dynasties)
- 945 – Yang Tan, Chinese general and governor
- 1118 – Pope Paschal II (b. 1050)
- 1203 – Agnes II, Abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1139)
- 1320 – Árni Helgason, Icelandic bishop (b. c. 1260)
- 1527 – Juan de Grijalva, Spanish explorer (b. 1489)
- 1546 – Azai Sukemasa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1491)
- 1609 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French historian and scholar (b. 1540)
- 1638 – Ignazio Donati, Italian composer (b. 1570)
- 1670 – Claude Duval, French highwayman (b. 1643)
- 1683 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1621)
- 1699 – Obadiah Walker, English historian and academic (b. 1616)
- 1706 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (b. 1649)
- 1710 – Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic and critic (b. 1638)
- 1722 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1661)
- 1731 – Ignjat Đurđević, Croatian poet and translator (b. 1675)
- 1773 – Alexis Piron, French playwright and author (b. 1689)
- 1774 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1717)
- 1775 – Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian rebel (b. 1742)
- 1789 – Baron d’Holbach, French-German philosopher and author (b. 1723)
- 1793 – Louis XVI of France (b. 1754)
- 1795 – Samuel Wallis, English navigator and explorer (b. 1728)
- 1809 – Josiah Hornblower, American engineer and politician (b. 1729)
- 1814 – Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French botanist and author (b. 1737)
- 1823 – Cayetano José Rodríguez, Argentinian cleric, journalist, and poet (b. 1761)
- 1831 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (b. 1781)
- 1851 – Albert Lortzing, German actor and composer (b. 1801)
- 1862 – Božena Němcová, Austrian-Czech author and poet (b. 1820)
- 1870 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (b. 1812)
- 1872 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright and poet (b. 1791)
- 1881 – Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
- 1891 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (b. 1842)
- 1901 – Elisha Gray, American engineer, co-founded Western Electric (b. 1835)
- 1914 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1857)
- 1918 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (b. 1857)
- 1919 – Gojong of Korea (b. 1852)
- 1919 – Ahmed Muhtar Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 277th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1839)
- 1924 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1870)
- 1926 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
- 1928 – George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer (b. 1858)
- 1931 – Felix Blumenfeld, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
- 1932 – Lytton Strachey, English writer and critic (b. 1880)
- 1933 – George Moore, Irish author, poet, and critic (b. 1852)
- 1937 – Marie Prevost, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1898)
- 1938 – Georges Méliès, French actor, director, and producer (b. 1861)
- 1945 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and engineer (b. 1886)
- 1948 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (b. 1876)
- 1950 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (b. 1903)
- 1955 – Archie Hahn, German-American runner and coach (b. 1880)
- 1956 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (b. 1883)
- 1959 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1881)
- 1959 – Frances Gertrude McGill, pioneering Canadian forensic pathologist (b. 1882)
- 1959 – Carl Switzer, American child actor and hunting guide (b. 1927)
- 1960 – Matt Moore, Irish-American actor and director (b. 1888)
- 1961 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss author and poet (b. 1887)
- 1963 – Acharya Shivpujan Sahay, Indian author, poet, and academic (b. 1893)
- 1963 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (b. 1881)
- 1965 – Gwynne Evans, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1880)
- 1967 – Ann Sheridan, American actress (b. 1915)
- 1968 – Will Lang, Jr., American journalist (b. 1914)
- 1977 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet and journalist (b. 1906)
- 1978 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (b. 1898)
- 1983 – Lamar Williams, American bass player (b. 1949)
- 1984 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek playwright and poet (b. 1893)
- 1984 – Jackie Wilson, American singer (b. 1934)
- 1985 – James Beard, American chef and author (b. 1903)
- 1985 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (b. 1930)
- 1987 – Charles Goodell, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1926)
- 1988 – Vincent Lingiari, Australian Aboriginal rights activist (b. 1919)
- 1989 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (b. 1922)
- 1989 – Billy Tipton, American pianist and saxophonist (b. 1914)
- 1993 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1903)
- 1994 – Bassel al-Assad, Son of the former President of the Syrian Arab Republic Hafez al-Assad (b. 1962)
- 1998 – Jack Lord, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)
- 2002 – Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)
- 2003 – Paul Haines, American-Canadian poet and songwriter (b. 1933)
- 2003 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian author and playwright (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Theun de Vries, Dutch author and poet (b. 1907)
- 2005 – John L. Hess, American journalist and critic (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Kaljo Raid, Estonian cellist, composer, and pastor (b. 1921)
- 2006 – Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
- 2009 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician and diplomat (b. 1946)
- 2010 – Paul Quarrington, Canadian author, playwright, guitarist, and composer (b. 1953)
- 2011 – Theoni V. Aldredge, Greek-American costume designer (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Dennis Oppenheim, American sculptor and photographer (b. 1938)
- 2011 – E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1958)
- 2013 – Ahmet Mete Işıkara, Turkish geophysicist and academic (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Chumpol Silpa-archa, Thai academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Michael Winner, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian, and author (b. 1942)
- 2015 – Leon Brittan, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (b. 1946)
- 2016 – Bill Johnson, American skier (b. 1960)
- 2016 – Mrinalini Sarabhai, a 1992-Padma Bhushan award winner Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. (b. 1918)
- 2019 – Kaye Ballard, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2019 – Henri, Count of Paris, Head of the House of Orléans (b. 1933)
- 2019 – Emiliano Sala, Argentine footballer (b. 1990)
- 2019 – Harris Wofford, American politician, author and civil rights activist (b. 1926)
- 2020 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
- 2020 – Morgan Wootten, American high school basketball coach (b. 1931)
 Holidays and observances on January 21
- Babinden (Bulgaria, Serbia)
- Birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra (Norway)
- Christian feast day:
- Agnes
- Demiana (Coptic Church)
- Fructuosus
- John Yi Yun-il (one of The Korean Martyrs)
- Meinrad of Einsiedeln
- January 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- Errol Barrow Day (Barbados)
- Flag Day (Quebec)
- Grandmother’s Day (Poland)
- Lady of Altagracia Day (Dominican Republic)
- Lincoln Alexander Day (Canada)
 
 
 
- 
	
				
			
		
				
			
	
		
 January 19 in History
- 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.
- 649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrender after a forty-day siege led by Tang dynasty general Ashina She’er, establishing Tang control over the northern Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.
- 1419 – Hundred Years’ War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, completing his reconquest of Normandy.
- 1511 – The Italian city-fortress of Mirandola surrenders to the French.
- 1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, the Regent of Sweden, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund and dies on February 3.
- 1607 – San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines.
- 1764 – John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
- 1764 – Bolle Willum Luxdorph records in his diary that a mail bomb, possibly the world’s first, has severely injured the Danish Colonel Poulsen, residing at Børglum Abbey.
- 1788 – The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrive at Botany Bay.
- 1795 – The Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands, bringing to an end the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
- 1806 – Britain occupies the Dutch Cape Colony after the Battle of Blaauwberg.
- 1817 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru.
- 1829 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy receives its premiere performance.
- 1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden.
- 1853 – Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Il trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in declaring secession from the United States.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs: The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.
- 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: In the Siege of Paris, Prussia wins the Battle of St. Quentin. Meanwhile, the French attempt to break the siege in the Battle of Buzenval will end unsuccessfully the following day.
- 1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
- 1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
- 1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
- 1915 – German strategic bombing during World War I: German zeppelins bomb the towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn in the United Kingdom killing at least 20 people, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.
- 1917 – Silvertown explosion: A blast at a munitions factory in London kills 73 and injures over 400. The resulting fire causes over £2,000,000 worth of damage.
- 1920 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
- 1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is founded.
- 1937 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
- 1940 – You Nazty Spy!, the first Hollywood film of any kind to satirize Adolf Hitler and the Nazis premieres, starring The Three Stooges, with Moe Howard as the character “Moe Hailstone” satirizing Hitler.
- 1941 – World War II: HMS Greyhound and other escorts of convoy AS-12 sink Italian submarine Neghelli with all hands 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Falkonera.
- 1942 – World War II: The Japanese conquest of Burma begins.
- 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces liberate the Łódź Ghetto. Of more than 200,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived the Nazi occupation.
- 1946 – General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
- 1953 – Almost 72 percent of all television sets in the United States are tuned into I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
- 1960 – Japan and the United States sign the US–Japan Mutual Security Treaty
- 1969 – Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire three days earlier in Prague’s Wenceslas Square to protest about the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turns into another major protest.
- 1974 – China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam
- 1977 – President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D’Aquino (a.k.a. “Tokyo Rose”).
- 1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW’s plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
- 1981 – Iran hostage crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
- 1983 – Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia.
- 1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.
- 1986 – The first IBM PC computer virus is released into the wild. A boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, it was created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter unauthorized copying of the software they had written.
- 1991 – Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.
- 1993 – Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations.
- 1995 – After being struck by lightning the crew of Bristow Flight 56C are forced to ditch. All 18 aboard are later rescued.
- 1996 – The barge North Cape oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
- 1997 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
- 1999 – British Aerospace agrees to acquire the defence subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, forming BAE Systems in November 1999.
- 2007 – Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is assassinated in front of his newspaper’s Istanbul office by 17-year-old Turkish ultra-nationalist Ogün Samast.
- 2007 – Four-man Team N2i, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the Antarctic pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1965 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.
- 2012 – The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload is shut down by the FBI.
- 2014 – A bomb attack on an army convoy in the city of Bannu kills at least 26 Pakistani soldiers and injures 38 others.
 Births on January 19
- 399 – Pulcheria, Byzantine empress and saint (d. 453)
- 1200 – Dōgen Zenji, founder of Sōtō Zen (d. 1253)
- 1544 – Francis II of France (d. 1560)
- 1617 – Lucas Faydherbe, Flemish sculptor and architect (d. 1697)
- 1628 – Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby, English noble (d. 1672)
- 1676 – John Weldon, English organist and composer (d. 1736)
- 1721 – Jean-Philippe Baratier, German scholar and author (d. 1740)
- 1736 – James Watt, Scottish-English chemist and engineer (d. 1819)
- 1737 – Giuseppe Millico, Italian soprano, composer, and educator (d. 1802)
- 1739 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect, designed Longford Hall and Barrells Hall (d. 1808)
- 1752 – James Morris III, American captain (d. 1820)
- 1757 – Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf (d. 1831)
- 1788 – Pavel Kiselyov, Russian general and politician (d. 1874)
- 1790 – Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish poet and academic (d. 1855)
- 1798 – Auguste Comte, French economist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1857)
- 1807 – Robert E. Lee, American general and academic (d. 1870)
- 1808 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher and author (d. 1887)
- 1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American short story writer, poet, and critic (d. 1849)
- 1810 – Talhaiarn, Welsh poet and architect (d.1869)
- 1813 – Henry Bessemer, English engineer and businessman (d. 1898)
- 1832 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1875)
- 1833 – Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician and academic (d. 1872)
- 1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
- 1848 – Arturo Graf, Italian poet, of German ancestry (d. 1913).
- 1848 – John Fitzwilliam Stairs, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1904)
- 1848 – Matthew Webb, English swimmer and diver (d. 1883)
- 1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1922)
- 1852 – Thomas Price, Welsh-Australian politician, 24th Premier of South Australia (d. 1909)
- 1863 – Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (d. 1941)
- 1866 – Harry Davenport, American stage and film actor (d. 1949)
- 1871 – Dame Gruev, Bulgarian educator and activist, co-founded the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (d. 1906)
- 1874 – Hitachiyama Taniemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 19th Yokozuna (d. 1922)
- 1876 – Wakashima Gonshirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 21st Yokozuna (d. 1943)
- 1876 – Dragotin Kette, Slovenian poet and author (d. 1899)
- 1878 – Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1934)
- 1879 – Boris Savinkov, Russian soldier and author (d. 1925)
- 1882 – John Cain Sr., Australian politician, 34th Premier of Victoria (d. 1957)
- 1883 – Hermann Abendroth, German conductor (d. 1956)
- 1887 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (d. 1943)
- 1889 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
- 1892 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1964)
- 1893 – Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian pianist and educator (d. 1986)
- 1903 – Boris Blacher, German composer and playwright (d. 1975)
- 1905 – Stanley Hawes, English-Australian director and producer (d. 1991)
- 1907 – Briggs Cunningham, American race car driver, sailor, and businessman (d. 2003)
- 1908 – Ish Kabibble, American comedian and cornet player (d. 1994)
- 1908 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1971)
- 1911 – Choor Singh, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and judge (d. 2009)
- 1912 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
- 1913 – Rex Ingamells, Australian author and poet (d. 1955)
- 1913 – Rudolf Wanderone, American professional pocket billiards player (d. 1996)
- 1918 – John H. Johnson, American publisher, founded the Johnson Publishing Company (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Bernard Dunstan, English painter and educator (d. 2017)
- 1920 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat, 135th Prime Minister of Peru (d. 2020)
- 1921 – Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1995)
- 1922 – Arthur Morris, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 2015)
- 1922 – Miguel Muñoz, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1990)
- 1923 – Jean Stapleton, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (d. 1985)
- 1924 – Jean-François Revel, French philosopher (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Nina Bawden, English author (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Hans Massaquoi, German-American journalist and author (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Fritz Weaver, American actor (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Tippi Hedren, American model, actress, and animal rights-welfare activist
- 1930 – John Waite, South African cricketer (d. 2011)
- 1931 – Robert MacNeil, Canadian-American journalist and author
- 1932 – Russ Hamilton, English singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Richard Lester, American-English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1932 – Harry Lonsdale, American chemist, businessman, and politician (d. 2014)
- 1933 – George Coyne, American priest, astronomer, and theologian
- 1935 – Johnny O’Keefe, Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1978)
- 1936 – Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)
- 1936 – Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, American singer, harmonica player, and drummer (d. 2011)
- 1936 – Fred J. Lincoln, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
- 1937 – John Lions, Australian computer scientist and academic (d. 1998)
- 1939 – Phil Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
- 1940 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
- 1940 – Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author (d. 2007)
- 1941 – Colin Gunton, English theologian and academic (d. 2003)
- 1941 – Pat Patterson, Canadian wrestler, trainer, and referee
- 1942 – Michael Crawford, English actor and singer
- 1942 – Paul-Eerik Rummo, Estonian poet and politician
- 1943 – Larry Clark, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1970)
- 1943 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
- 1944 – Shelley Fabares, American actress and singer
- 1944 – Thom Mayne, American architect and academic, designed the San Francisco Federal Building and Phare Tower
- 1944 – Dan Reeves, American football player and coach
- 1945 – Trevor Williams, English singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1946 – Julian Barnes, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic
- 1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1947 – Frank Aarebrot, Norwegian political scientist and academic (d. 2017)
- 1947 – Paula Deen, American chef and author
- 1947 – Rod Evans, English singer-songwriter
- 1948 – Nancy Lynch, American computer scientist and academic
- 1948 – Frank McKenna, Canadian politician and diplomat, 27th Premier of New Brunswick
- 1948 – Mal Reilly, English rugby league player and coach
- 1949 – Arend Langenberg, Dutch voice actor and radio host (d. 2012)
- 1949 – Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
- 1950 – Sébastien Dhavernas, Canadian actor
- 1951 – Martha Davis, American singer
- 1952 – Dewey Bunnell, British-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1952 – Nadiuska, German television actress
- 1952 – Bruce Jay Nelson, American computer scientist (d. 1999)
- 1953 – Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor and singer
- 1953 – Richard Legendre, Canadian tennis player and politician
- 1953 – Wayne Schimmelbusch, Australian footballer and coach
- 1954 – Katey Sagal, American actress and singer
- 1954 – Cindy Sherman, American photographer and director
- 1954 – Esther Shkalim, Israeli poet and Mizrahi feminist
- 1955 – Paul Rodriguez, Mexican-American comedian and actor
- 1956 – Carman, American singer-songwriter, actor, and television host
- 1956 – Susan Solomon, American atmospheric chemist
- 1957 – Ottis Anderson, American football player and sportscaster
- 1957 – Roger Ashton-Griffiths, English actor, screenwriter and film director
- 1957 – Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican public servant and politician, 22nd Secretary of State of Puerto Rico
- 1958 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter (d. 2012)
- 1959 – Danese Cooper, American computer scientist and programmer
- 1959 – Jeff Pilson, American bass player, songwriter, and actor
- 1961 – William Ragsdale, American actor
- 1961 – Wayne Hemingway, English fashion designer, co-founded Red or Dead
- 1962 – Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist
- 1962 – Chris Sabo, American baseball player and coach
- 1962 – Jeff Van Gundy, American basketball player and coach
- 1963 – Michael Adams, American basketball player and coach
- 1963 – Martin Bashir, English journalist
- 1963 – John Bercow, English politician, Speaker of the House of Commons
- 1964 – Janine Antoni, Bahamian sculptor and photographer
- 1964 – Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer-songwriter and basketball player
- 1966 – Sylvain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 – Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player and coach
- 1966 – Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer-songwriter
- 1968 – David Bartlett, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of Tasmania
- 1968 – Whitfield Crane, American singer-songwriter
- 1969 – Edwidge Danticat, Haitian-American novelist and short story writer
- 1969 – Luc Longley, Australian basketball player and coach
- 1969 – Predrag Mijatović, Montenegrin footballer and manager
- 1969 – Junior Seau, American football player (d. 2012)
- 1969 – Steve Staunton, Irish footballer and manager
- 1970 – Steffen Freund, German footballer defensive midfielder and manager
- 1970 – Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete
- 1970 – Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian and singer
- 1971 – Phil Nevin, American baseball player
- 1971 – Shawn Wayans, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – John Wozniak, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Ron Killings, American wrestler and rapper
- 1972 – Troy Wilson, Australian footballer and race car driver
- 1972 – Sergei Zjukin, Estonian chess player and coach
- 1972 – Yoon Hae-young, South Korean actress
- 1973 – Antero Manninen, Finnish cellist
- 1973 – Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer and coach
- 1974 – Dainius Adomaitis, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
- 1974 – Frank Caliendo, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1974 – Ian Laperrière, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1974 – Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer and manager
- 1975 – Natalie Cook, Australian volleyball player
- 1975 – Zdeňka Málková, Czech tennis player
- 1976 – Natale Gonnella, Italian footballer
- 1976 – Tarso Marques, Brazilian race car driver
- 1977 – Benjamin Ayres, Canadian actor, director, and photographer
- 1979 – Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast and sportscaster
- 1979 – Josu Sarriegi, Spanish footballer
- 1979 – Wiley, English rapper and producer
- 1980 – Jenson Button, English race car driver
- 1980 – Pasha Kovalev, Russian-American dancer and choreographer
- 1980 – Luke Macfarlane, Canadian-American actor and singer
- 1980 – Arvydas Macijauskas, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1980 – Michael Vandort, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1981 – Paolo Bugia, Filipino basketball player
- 1981 – Asier del Horno, Spanish footballer
- 1981 – Lucho González, Argentinian footballer
- 1982 – Pete Buttigieg, American politician
- 1982 – Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player
- 1982 – Jodie Sweetin, American actress and singer
- 1982 – Shane Tronc, Australian rugby league player
- 1982 – Kim Yoo-suk, South Korean pole vaulter
- 1982 – Robin tom Rink, German singer-songwriter
- 1983 – Hikaru Utada, American-Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
- 1984 – Fabio Catacchini, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Karun Chandhok, Indian race car driver
- 1984 – Jimmy Kébé, Malian footballer
- 1984 – Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Jake Allen, American football player
- 1985 – Pascal Behrenbruch, German decathlete
- 1985 – Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player
- 1985 – Esteban Guerrieri, Argentinian race car driver
- 1985 – Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer and actress
- 1985 – Elliott Ward, English footballer
- 1985 – Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Nikulin, Russian footballer
- 1986 – Claudio Marchisio, Italian footballer
- 1986 – Oleksandr Miroshnychenko, Ukrainian footballer
- 1986 – Moussa Sow, Senegalese footballer
- 1987 – Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer
- 1988 – JaVale McGee, American basketball player
- 1988 – Tyler Breeze, Canadian wrestler
- 1990 – Tatiana Búa, Argentine tennis player
- 1991 – Petra Martić, Croatian tennis player
- 1991 – Erin Sanders, American actress
- 1992 – Shawn Johnson, American gymnast
- 1992 – Logan Lerman, American actor
- 1992 – Mac Miller, American rapper (d. 2018)
- 1993 – Erick Torres Padilla, Mexican footballer
- 1994 – Matthias Ginter, German footballer
- 1994 – Alfie Mawson, English footballer, centre back
 Deaths on January 19
- 520 – John of Cappadocia, patriarch of Constantinople
- 639 – Dagobert I, Frankish king (b. 603)
- 914 – García I, king of León
- 1003 – Kilian of Cologne, Irish abbot
- 1302 – Al-Hakim I, caliph of Cairo
- 1401 – Robert Bealknap, British justice
- 1526 – Isabella of Austria, Danish queen (b. 1501)
- 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1516)
- 1565 – Diego Laynez, Spanish Jesuit theologian (b. 1512)
- 1571 – Paris Bordone, Venetian painter (b. 1495)
- 1576 – Hans Sachs, German poet and playwright (b. 1494)
- 1636 – Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Flemish painter (b.1561)
- 1661 – Thomas Venner, English rebel leader (b. 1599)
- 1729 – William Congreve, English playwright and poet (b. 1670)
- 1755 – Jean-Pierre Christin, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1683)
- 1757 – Thomas Ruddiman, Scottish scholar and academic (b. 1674)
- 1766 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French architect and painter (b. 1695)
- 1785 – Jonathan Toup, English scholar and critic (b. 1713)
- 1833 – Ferdinand Hérold, French pianist and composer (b. 1791)
- 1847 – Charles Bent, American soldier and politician, 1st Governor of New Mexico (b. 1799)
- 1847 – Athanasios Christopoulos, Greek poet (b. 1772)
- 1851 – Esteban Echeverría, Argentinian poet and author (b. 1805)
- 1853 – Karl Faber, German historian and academic (b. 1773)
- 1865 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and politician (b. 1809)
- 1869 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (b. 1788)
- 1874 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet and scholar (b. 1798)
- 1878 – Henri Victor Regnault, French physicist and chemist (b. 1810)
- 1905 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher and author (b. 1817)
- 1906 – Bartolomé Mitre, Argentinian historian and politician, 6th President of Argentina (b. 1821)
- 1908 – Roberto Bompiani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1821)
- 1929 – Liang Qichao, Chinese journalist, philosopher, and scholar (b. 1873)
- 1930 – Frank P. Ramsey, British mathematician, philosopher and economist (b. 1903)
- 1938 – Branislav Nušić, Serbian author, playwright, and journalist (b. 1864)
- 1945 – Gustave Mesny, French general (b. 1886)
- 1948 – Tony Garnier, French architect and urban planner, designed the Stade de Gerland (b. 1869)
- 1954 – Theodor Kaluza, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1885)
- 1957 – József Dudás, Romanian-Hungarian activist and politician (b. 1912)
- 1963 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (b. 1884)
- 1964 – Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist (b. 1886)
- 1965 – Arnold Luhaäär, Estonian weightlifter (b. 1905)
- 1968 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1879)
- 1972 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (b. 1936)
- 1973 – Max Adrian, Irish-English actor (b. 1903)
- 1975 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator (b. 1889)
- 1976 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese engineer and academic (b. 1886)
- 1979 – Moritz Jahn, German novelist and poet (b. 1884)
- 1980 – William O. Douglas, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1898)
- 1981 – Francesca Woodman, American photographer (b. 1958)
- 1982 – Elis Regina, Brazilian soprano (b. 1945)
- 1984 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1920)
- 1987 – Lawrence Kohlberg, American psychologist and academic (b. 1927)
- 1990 – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian guru and mystic (b. 1931)
- 1990 – Alberto Semprini, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1908)
- 1990 – Herbert Wehner, German politician, 6th Minister of Intra-German Relations (b. 1906)
- 1991 – Marcel Chaput, Canadian biochemist and journalist (b. 1918)
- 1995 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 1996 – Don Simpson, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1943)
- 1997 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (b. 1923)
- 1998 – Carl Perkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1932)
- 1999 – Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby player (b. 1967)
- 2000 – Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, Bahá’í Hand of the Cause of God and wife of Shoghi Effendi (b. 1910)
- 2000 – Bettino Craxi, Italian lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)
- 2000 – Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-American actress, singer, and mathematician (b. 1913)
- 2001 – Dario Vittori, Italian-Argentinian actor and producer (b. 1921)
- 2002 – Vavá, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Milton Flores, Honduran footballer (b. 1974)
- 2003 – Françoise Giroud, French journalist, screenwriter, and politician, French Minister of Culture (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Harry E. Claiborne, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
- 2004 – David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)
- 2005 – K. Sello Duiker, South African author and screenwriter (b. 1974)
- 2006 – Anthony Franciosa, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Wilson Pickett, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 2006 – Awn Alsharif Qasim, Sudanese author and scholar (b. 1933)
- 2006 – Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricketer and pilot (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian journalist and activist (b. 1954)
- 2007 – Denny Doherty, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
- 2007 – Murat Nasyrov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1969)
- 2008 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)
- 2008 – John Stewart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
- 2008 – Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1936)
- 2010 – Bill McLaren, Scottish rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Peter Åslin, Swedish ice hockey player (b. 1962)
- 2012 – Sarah Burke, Canadian skier (b. 1982)
- 2012 – Winston Riley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Rudi van Dantzig, Dutch ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Stan Musial, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
- 2013 – Frank Pooler, American conductor and composer (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Earl Weaver, American baseball player and manager (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Toktamış Ateş, Turkish academician, political commentator, columnist and writer (b. 1944)
- 2014 – Azaria Alon, Ukrainian-Israeli environmentalist, co-founded the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (b. 1918)
- 2014 – Christopher Chataway, English runner, journalist, and politician (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Justin Capră, Romanian engineer and academic (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Michel Guimond, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1953)
- 2015 – Ward Swingle, American-French singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
- 2016 – Sheila Sim, English actress (b. 1922)
- 2017 – Miguel Ferrer, American actor (b. 1955)
 Holidays and observances on January 19
- Birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (commemorated by the Poe Toaster at his grave in Baltimore)
- Christian feast day:
- Bassianus of Lodi
- Henry of Uppsala
- Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum
- Mark of Ephesus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Pontianus of Spoleto
- Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester
- January 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- Confederate Heroes Day (Texas), and its related observance:
- Robert E. Lee Day (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi)
 
- Feast of Sultán (Sovereignty), first day of the 17th month of the Bahá’í calendar (Bahá’í Faith) (only if Nowruz falls on March 21, otherwise the dates shifts)
- Husband’s Day (Iceland)
- Kokborok Day (Tripura, India)
- Theophany / Epiphany (Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy), and its related observances:
- Timkat, or 20 during Leap Year (Ethiopian Orthodox)
- Vodici or Baptism of Jesus (North Macedonia)
 
 
 
 
- 
	
				
			
		
				
			
	
		
 January 18 in History
- 474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later.
- 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail.
- 1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.
- 1486 – King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York.
- 1562 – Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
- 1591 – King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Mingyi Swa of Burma in single combat, for which this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
- 1670 – Henry Morgan captures Panama.
- 1701 – Frederick I crowns himself King of Prussia in Königsberg.
- 1778 – James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the “Sandwich Islands”.
- 1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrive at Botany Bay.
- 1806 – Jan Willem Janssens surrenders the Dutch Cape Colony to the British.
- 1866 – Wesley College is established in Melbourne, Australia.
- 1871 – Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed Kaiser Wilhelm in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles (France) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Wilhelm already had the title of German Emperor since the constitution of 1 January 1871, but he had hesitated to accept the title.
- 1886 – Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
- 1896 – An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H. L. Smith.
- 1911 – Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
- 1913 – First Balkan War: A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.
- 1915 – Japan issues the “Twenty-One Demands” to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
- 1919 – World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.
- 1919 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
- 1941 – World War II: British troops launch a general counter-offensive against Italian East Africa.
- 1943 – Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
- 1945 – World War II: Liberation of Kraków, Poland by the Red Army.
- 1958 – Willie O’Ree, the first Black Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.
- 1960 – Capital Airlines Flight 20 crashes into a farm in Charles City County, Virginia, killing all 50 aboard, the third fatal Capital Airlines crash in as many years.
- 1967 – Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler”, is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment.
- 1969 – United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay killing all 32 passengers and six crew members.
- 1974 – A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.
- 1976 – Lebanese Christian militias kill at least 1,000 in Karantina, Beirut.
- 1977 – Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires’ disease.
- 1977 – Australia’s worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.
- 1977 – SFR Yugoslavia’s Prime minister, Džemal Bijedić, his wife and six others are killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- 1978 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom’s government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
- 1981 – Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
- 1983 – The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe’s Olympic medals to his family.
- 1990 – Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
- 1993 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in all 50 US states.
- 2002 – The Sierra Leone Civil War is declared over.
- 2003 – A bushfire kills four people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
- 2005 – The Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France
- 2007 – The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people and Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Cyclone Kyrill causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe.
- 2008 – The Euphronios Krater is unveiled in Rome after being returned to Italy by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- 2018 – A bus catches fire on the Samara–Shymkent road in Yrgyz District, Aktobe, Kazakhstan. The fire kills 52 passengers, with three passengers and two drivers escaping.
 Births on January 18
- 1404 – Sir Philip Courtenay, British noble (d. 1463)
- 1457 – Antonio Trivulzio, seniore, Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1508)
- 1519 – Isabella Jagiellon, Queen of Hungary (d. 1559)
- 1540 – Catherine, Duchess of Braganza (d. 1614)
- 1641 – François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French politician, Secretary of State for War (d. 1691)
- 1659 – Damaris Cudworth Masham, English philosopher and theologian (d. 1708)
- 1672 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French author (d. 1731)
- 1688 – Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1765)
- 1689 – Montesquieu, French lawyer and philosopher (d. 1755)
- 1701 – Johann Jakob Moser, German jurist (d. 1785)
- 1743 – Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, French mystic and philosopher (d. 1803)
- 1751 – Ferdinand Kauer, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1831)
- 1752 – John Nash, English architect (d. 1835)
- 1764 – Samuel Whitbread, English politician (d. 1815)
- 1779 – Peter Mark Roget, English physician, lexicographer, and theologian (d. 1869)
- 1782 – Daniel Webster, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)
- 1793 – Pratap Singh Bhosle, Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1847)
- 1815 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German theologian and scholar (d. 1874)
- 1835 – César Cui, Russian general, composer, and critic (d. 1918)
- 1840 – Henry Austin Dobson, English poet and author (d. 1921)
- 1841 – Emmanuel Chabrier, French pianist and composer (d. 1894)
- 1842 – A. A. Ames, American physician and politician, Mayor of Minneapolis (d. 1911)
- 1848 – Ioan Slavici, Romanian journalist and author (d. 1925)
- 1849 – Edmund Barton, Australian judge and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
- 1850 – Seth Low, American academic and politician, 92nd Mayor of New York City (d. 1916)
- 1853 – Marthinus Nikolaas Ras, South African farmer, soldier, and gun-maker (d. 1900)
- 1854 – Thomas A. Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934)
- 1856 – Daniel Hale Williams, American surgeon and cardiologist (d. 1931)
- 1867 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan poet, journalist, and diplomat (d. 1916)
- 1868 – Kantarō Suzuki, Japanese admiral and politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
- 1877 – Sam Zemurray, Russian-American businessman, founded the Cuyamel Fruit Company (d. 1961)
- 1879 – Henri Giraud, French general and politician (d. 1949)
- 1880 – Paul Ehrenfest, Austrian-Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1933)
- 1880 – Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, Italian cardinal (d. 1954)
- 1881 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (d. 1975)
- 1882 – A. A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
- 1886 – Clara Nordström, Swedish-German author and translator (d. 1962)
- 1888 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player, sailor, and pilot (d. 1989)
- 1892 – Oliver Hardy, American actor and comedian (d. 1957)
- 1892 – Bill Meanix, American hurdler and coach (d. 1957)
- 1892 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon and academic (d. 1956)
- 1893 – Jorge Guillén, Spanish poet, critic, and academic (d. 1984)
- 1894 – Toots Mondt, American wrestler and promoter (d. 1976)
- 1896 – C. M. Eddy Jr., American author (d. 1967)
- 1896 – Ville Ritola, Finnish-American runner (d. 1982)
- 1898 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1978)
- 1901 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1973)
- 1903 – Berthold Goldschmidt, German pianist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1904 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordion player and composer (d. 2006)
- 1904 – Cary Grant, English-American actor (d. 1986)
- 1905 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-American mob boss (d. 2002)
- 1907 – János Ferencsik, Hungarian conductor (d. 1984)
- 1908 – Jacob Bronowski, Polish-English mathematician, historian, and television host (d. 1974)
- 1910 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist and academic (d. 1993)
- 1911 – José María Arguedas, Peruvian anthropologist, author, and poet (d. 1969)
- 1911 – Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
- 1913 – Carroll Cloar, American artist (d. 1993)
- 1913 – Giannis Papaioannou, Greek composer (d. 1972)
- 1914 – Arno Schmidt, German author and translator (d. 1979)
- 1914 – Vitomil Zupan, Slovene author, poet, and playwright (d. 1987)
- 1915 – Syl Apps, Canadian pole vaulter, ice hockey player, and politician (d. 1998)
- 1915 – Santiago Carrillo, Spanish soldier and politician (d. 2012)
- 1915 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1984)
- 1917 – Nicholas Oresko, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese-American businessman (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Gustave Gingras, Canadian-English physician and educator (d. 1996)
- 1919 – Toni Turek, German footballer (d. 1984)
- 1921 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
- 1923 – John Graham, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Wales (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Gerrit Voorting, Dutch cyclist (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Gilles Deleuze, French metaphysician and philosopher (d. 1995)
- 1925 – John V. Evans, American soldier and politician, 27th Governor of Idaho (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Sol Yurick, American soldier and author (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Randolph Bromery, American geologist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Sundaram Balachander, Indian actor, singer, and veena player (d. 1990)
- 1928 – Alexander Gomelsky, Soviet and Russian professional basketball coach (d. 2005)
- 1931 – Chun Doo-hwan, South Korean general and politician, 5th President of South Korea
- 1932 – Robert Anton Wilson, American psychologist, author, poet, and playwright (d. 2007)
- 1933 – Emeka Anyaoku, Nigerian politician, 8th Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1933 – David Bellamy, English botanist, author and academic (d. 2019)
- 1933 – John Boorman, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1933 – Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (d. 2013)
- 1933 – William Goodhart, Baron Goodhart, English lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Frank McMullen, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2004)
- 1933 – Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Raymond Briggs, English author and illustrator
- 1935 – Albert Millaire, Canadian actor and director (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Jon Stallworthy, English poet, critic, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Gad Yaacobi, Israeli academic and diplomat, 10th Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2007)
- 1936 – David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
- 1937 – John Hume, Northern Irish educator and politician, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1938 – Curt Flood, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1997)
- 1938 – Anthony Giddens, English sociologist and academic
- 1938 – Werner Olk, German footballer and manager
- 1938 – Hargus “Pig” Robbins, American Country Music Hall of Fame session keyboard and piano player
- 1940 – Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican race car driver (d. 1971)
- 1941 – Denise Bombardier, Canadian journalist and author
- 1941 – Bobby Goldsboro, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1941 – David Ruffin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1991)
- 1943 – Paul Freeman, English actor
- 1943 – Kay Granger, American educator and politician
- 1943 – Dave Greenslade, English keyboard player and composer
- 1943 – Charlie Wilson, American businessman and politician (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Paul Keating, Australian economist and politician, 24th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1944 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (d. 1983)
- 1944 – Kei Ogura, Japanese singer-songwriter and composer
- 1944 – Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria
- 1945 – Rocco Forte, English businessman and philanthropist
- 1946 – Perro Aguayo, Mexican wrestler (d. 2019)
- 1946 – Joseph Deiss, Swiss economist and politician, 156th President of the Swiss Confederation
- 1946 – Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseball player and journalist (d. 2018)
- 1947 – Takeshi Kitano, Japanese actor and director
- 1949 – Bill Keller, American journalist
- 1949 – Philippe Starck, French interior designer
- 1950 – Gianfranco Brancatelli, Italian race car driver
- 1950 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
- 1951 – Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist and activist (d. 1982)
- 1951 – Bob Latchford, English footballer
- 1952 – Michael Behe, American biochemist, author, and academic
- 1952 – R. Stevie Moore, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Brett Hudson, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1953 – Peter Moon, Australian comedian and actor
- 1955 – Kevin Costner, American actor, director, and producer
- 1956 – Paul Deighton, Baron Deighton, English banker and politician
- 1960 – Mark Rylance, English actor, director, and playwright
- 1961 – Peter Beardsley, English footballer and manager
- 1961 – Bob Hansen, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1961 – Mark Messier, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1961 – Jeff Yagher, American actor and sculptor
- 1962 – Alison Arngrim, Canadian-American actress
- 1963 – Maxime Bernier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada
- 1963 – Ian Crook, English footballer, central midfielder and manager
- 1963 – Carl McCoy, English singer-songwriter
- 1963 – Martin O’Malley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 61st Governor of Maryland
- 1964 – Brady Anderson, American baseball player
- 1964 – Richard Dunwoody, Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster
- 1964 – Virgil Hill, American boxer
- 1964 – Jane Horrocks, English actress and singer
- 1966 – Alexander Khalifman, Russian chess player and author
- 1966 – Kazufumi Miyazawa, Japanese singer
- 1966 – André Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver
- 1967 – Dean Bailey, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
- 1967 – Iván Zamorano, Chilean footballer
- 1969 – Dave Bautista, American wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
- 1969 – Jesse L. Martin, American actor and singer
- 1969 – Jim O’Rourke, American guitarist and producer
- 1970 – Peter Van Petegem, Belgian cyclist
- 1971 – Amy Barger, American astronomer
- 1971 – Jonathan Davis, American singer-songwriter
- 1971 – Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
- 1971 – Pep Guardiola, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan writer (d. 2019)
- 1972 – Vinod Kambli, Indian cricketer, sportscaster, and actor
- 1972 – Mike Lieberthal, American baseball player
- 1972 – Kjersti Plätzer, Norwegian race walker
- 1973 – Burnie Burns, American actor, director, and producer, co-founded Rooster Teeth Productions
- 1973 – Luke Goodwin, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1973 – Benjamin Jealous, American civic leader and activist
- 1973 – Anthony Koutoufides, Australian footballer
- 1973 – Crispian Mills, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director
- 1973 – Rolando Schiavi, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1974 – Christian Burns, English singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Leslie Knope, Protagonist of Parks and Recreation (fictional)
- 1976 – Laurence Courtois, Belgian tennis player
- 1976 – Marcelo Gallardo, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1976 – Damien Leith, Irish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1977 – Richard Archer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player
- 1978 – Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist
- 1978 – Bogdan Lobonț, Romanian footballer
- 1979 – Ruslan Fedotenko, Ukrainian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
- 1979 – Brian Gionta, American ice hockey player
- 1979 – Kenyatta Jones, American football player (d. 2018)
- 1980 – Estelle, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1980 – Robert Green, English footballer
- 1980 – Kert Haavistu, Estonian footballer and manager
- 1980 – Julius Peppers, American football player
- 1980 – Jason Segel, American actor and screenwriter
- 1981 – Otgonbayar Ershuu, Mongolian painter and illustrator
- 1981 – Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player
- 1981 – Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer
- 1981 – Kang Dong-won, South Korean actor
- 1982 – Quinn Allman, American guitarist and producer
- 1982 – Mary Jepkosgei Keitany, Kenyan runner
- 1983 – Amir Blumenfeld, Israeli-American comedian, actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1983 – Samantha Mumba, Irish singer-songwriter and actress
- 1984 – Kristy Lee Cook, American singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Ioannis Drymonakos, Greek swimmer
- 1984 – Makoto Hasebe, Japanese footballer
- 1984 – Michael Kearney, American biochemist and academic
- 1984 – Seung-Hui Cho, South Korean student who perpetrated the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech (d. 2007)
- 1984 – Benji Schwimmer, American dancer and choreographer
- 1984 – Viktoria Shklover, Estonian figure skater
- 1985 – Dale Begg-Smith, Canadian-Australian skier
- 1985 – Mark Briscoe, American wrestler
- 1985 – Riccardo Montolivo, Italian footballer
- 1985 – Hyun Woo, South Korean actor
- 1986 – Marya Roxx, Estonian-American singer-songwriter
- 1986 – Ikusaburo Yamazaki, Japanese actor and singer
- 1987 – Johan Djourou, Swiss footballer
- 1987 – Christopher Liebig, German rugby player
- 1987 – Grigoris Makos, Greek footballer
- 1988 – Ronnie Day, American singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Angelique Kerber, German tennis player
- 1988 – Anastasios Kissas, Greek footballer
- 1988 – Boy van Poppel, Dutch cyclist
- 1989 – Rubén Miño, Spanish footballer
- 1990 – Nacho, Spanish footballer
- 1990 – Hayle Ibrahimov, Ethiopian-Azerbaijani runner
- 1990 – Gift Ngoepe, South African baseball player
- 1991 – Diego Simões, Brazilian footballer
- 1992 – Francesco Bardi, Italian footballer
- 1993 – Sean Keenan, Australian actor
- 1994 – Kang Ji-young, South Korean singer
- 1994 – Ilona Kremen, Belarusian tennis player
- 1995 – Bryce Alford, American basketball player
- 1998 – Aitana Bonmatí, Spanish footballer
 Deaths on January 18
- 52 BC – Publius Clodius Pulcher, Roman politician (b. 93 BC)
- 474 – Leo I, Byzantine emperor (b. 401)
- 748 – Odilo, duke of Bavaria
- 896 – Khumarawayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun, ruler of the Tulunids, murdered (b. 864)
- 1213 – Tamar of Georgia (b. 1160)
- 1253 – King Henry I of Cyprus (b. 1217)
- 1271 – Saint Margaret of Hungary (b. 1242)
- 1326 – Robert FitzWalter, 1st Baron FitzWalter, English baron (b. 1247)
- 1357 – Maria of Portugal, infanta (b. 1313)
- 1367 – Peter I of Portugal (b. 1320)
- 1411 – Jobst of Moravia, ruler of Moravia, King of the Romans
- 1425 – Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, English politician (b. 1391)
- 1471 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (b. 1419)
- 1479 – Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1417)
- 1547 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal and scholar (b. 1470)
- 1586 – Margaret of Parma (b. 1522)
- 1589 – Magnus Heinason, Faroese naval hero (b. 1545)
- 1677 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch politician, founded Cape Town (b. 1619)
- 1756 – Francis George of Schönborn-Buchheim, Archbishop-Elector of Trier (b. 1682)
- 1783 – Jeanne Quinault, French actress and playwright (b. 1699)
- 1803 – Ippolit Bogdanovich, Russian poet and academic (b. 1743)
- 1849 – Panoutsos Notaras, Greek politician (b. 1752)
- 1862 – John Tyler, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 10th President of the United States (b. 1790)
- 1873 – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, English author, poet, playwright, and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1803)
- 1878 – Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist and academic (b. 1788)
- 1886 – Baldassare Verazzi, Italian painter (b. 1819)
- 1892 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss religious leader, 23rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1819)
- 1896 – Charles Floquet, French lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
- 1923 – Wallace Reid, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1891)
- 1936 – Hermanus Brockmann, Dutch rower (b. 1871)
- 1936 – Rudyard Kipling, English author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
- 1940 – Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Polish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1865)
- 1951 – Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary and humanitarian (b. 1867)
- 1952 – Curly Howard, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1954 – Sydney Greenstreet, English-American actor (b. 1879)
- 1955 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Pakistani author and screenwriter (b. 1912)
- 1956 – Makbule Atadan, Turkish lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
- 1956 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 1st President of Estonia (b. 1874)
- 1963 – Hugh Gaitskell, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1906)
- 1966 – Kathleen Norris, American journalist and author (b. 1880)
- 1967 – Goose Tatum, American basketball player and soldier (b. 1921)
- 1969 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1887)
- 1970 – David O. McKay, American religious leader, 9th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1873)
- 1971 – Virgil Finlay, American illustrator (b. 1914)
- 1973 – Irina Nikolaevna Levchenko, Russian tank commander (b. 1924)
- 1975 – Gertrude Olmstead, American actress (b. 1897)
- 1978 – Hasan Askari, Pakistani philosopher and author (b. 1919)
- 1980 – Cecil Beaton, English fashion designer and photographer (b. 1904)
- 1984 – Panteleimon Ponomarenko, Belarusian general and politician (b. 1902)
- 1984 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1915)
- 1989 – Bruce Chatwin, English-French author (b. 1940)
- 1990 – Melanie Appleby, English singer (b. 1966)
- 1990 – Rusty Hamer, American actor (b. 1947)
- 1993 – Dionysios Zakythinos, Greek historian, academic, and politician (b. 1905)
- 1995 – Adolf Butenandt, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1995 – Ron Luciano, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1937)
- 1996 – N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician, 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (b. 1923)
- 1997 – Paul Tsongas, American lawyer and politician (b. 1941)
- 1998 – Dan Georgiadis, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1922)
- 2000 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (b. 1897)
- 2003 – Ed Farhat, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1924)
- 2003 – Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Indian poet and author (b. 1907)
- 2005 – Lamont Bentley, American actor and rapper (b. 1973)
- 2006 – Jan Twardowski, Polish priest and poet (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Brent Liles, American bass player (b. 1963)
- 2008 – Georgia Frontiere, American businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1927)
- 2008 – Frank Lewin, American composer and theorist (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Lois Nettleton, American actress (b. 1927)
- 2008 – John Stroger, American politician (b. 1929)
- 2009 – Tony Hart, English painter and television host (b. 1925)
- 2009 – Nora Kovach, Hungarian-American ballerina (b. 1931)
- 2009 – Danai Stratigopoulou, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
- 2009 – Grigore Vieru, Romanian poet and author (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Kate McGarrigle, Canadian musician and singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
- 2010 – Robert B. Parker, American author and academic (b. 1932)
- 2011 – Sargent Shriver, American politician and diplomat, 21st United States Ambassador to France (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Anthony Gonsalves, Indian composer and educator (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Georg Lassen, German captain (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Yuri Rasovsky, American playwright and producer, founded The National Radio Theater of Chicago (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Sean Fallon, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Jim Horning, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Jon Mannah, Australian rugby league player (b. 1989)
- 2013 – Lewis Marnell, Australian skateboarder (b. 1982)
- 2013 – Ron Nachman, Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1942)
- 2014 – Kathryn Abbe, American photographer and author (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Michael Botmang, Nigerian politician, 17th Governor of Plateau State (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Dennis Frederiksen, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Andy Graver, English footballer (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Sarah Marshall, English actress (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Eugenio Cruz Vargas, Chilean poet and painter (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Alberto Nisman, Argentinian lawyer and prosecutor (b. 1963)
- 2015 – Christine Valmy, Romanian cosmetologist and author (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Piet van der Sanden, Dutch journalist and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Tony Verna, American director and producer, invented instant replay (b. 1933)
- 2016 – Johnny Bach, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Glenn Frey, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1948)
- 2016 – T. S. Sinnathuray, Judge of the High Court of Singapore (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Michel Tournier, French journalist and author (b. 1924)
- 2017 – Peter Abrahams, South African-Jamaican writer (b. 1919)
- 2017 – David P. Buckson, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Delaware (b. 1920)
- 2017 – Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer, businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1939)
- 2017 – Roberta Peters, American coloratura soprano (b. 1930)
- 2019 – John Coughlin, American figure skater (b. 1985)
 Holidays and observances on January 18
- Christian feast day:
- Amy Carmichael (Church of England)
- Athanasius of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Confession of Peter (Eastern Orthodox, some Anglican and Lutheran Churches)
- Cyril of Alexandria
- Deicolus
- Margaret of Hungary
- Prisca
- Volusianus of Tours
- January 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- Royal Thai Armed Forces Day (Thailand)
- Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18–25) (Christianity)
 
 
 
- 
	
				
			
		
				
			
	
		
 January 17 in History
- 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey.
- 1362 – Saint Marcellus’ flood kills at least 25,000 people on the shores of the North Sea.
- 1377 – Pope Gregory XI reaches Rome, after deciding to move the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon.
- 1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano sets sail westward from Madeira to find a sea route to the Pacific Ocean.
- 1562 – France grants religious toleration to the Huguenots in the Edict of Saint-Germain.
- 1595 – During the French Wars of Religion, Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.
- 1608 – Emperor Susenyos I of Ethiopia surprises an Oromo army at Ebenat; his army reportedly kills 12,000 Oromo at the cost of 400 of his men.
- 1648 – England’s Long Parliament passes the “Vote of No Addresses”, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.
- 1773 – Captain James Cook leads the first expedition to sail south of the Antarctic Circle.
- 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cowpens: Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the battle in South Carolina.
- 1799 – Maltese patriot Dun Mikiel Xerri, along with a number of other patriots, is executed.
- 1811 – Mexican War of Independence: In the Battle of Calderón Bridge, a heavily outnumbered Spanish force of 6,000 troops defeats nearly 100,000 Mexican revolutionaries.
- 1852 – The United Kingdom signs the Sand River Convention with the South African Republic.
- 1873 – A group of Modoc warriors defeats the United States Army in the First Battle of the Stronghold, part of the Modoc War.
- 1885 – A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
- 1893 – Lorrin A. Thurston, along with the Citizens’ Committee of Public Safety, led the Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the government of Queen Liliʻuokalani.
- 1899 – The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
- 1903 – El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico becomes part of the United States National Forest System as the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
- 1904 – Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre.
- 1912 – British polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.
- 1915 – Russia defeats Ottoman Turkey in the Battle of Sarikamish during the Caucasus Campaign of World War I.
- 1917 – The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
- 1918 – Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles take place between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
- 1920 – Alcohol Prohibition begins in the United States as the Volstead Act goes into effect.
- 1929 – Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, first appears in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.
- 1941 – Franco-Thai War: Vichy French forces inflict a decisive defeat over the Royal Thai Navy.
- 1943 – World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis captures the 200-ton sailing vessel Agios Stefanos and mans her with part of her crew.
- 1944 – World War II: Allied forces launch the first of four assaults on Monte Cassino with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome, an effort that would ultimately take four months and cost 105,000 Allied casualties.
- 1945 – World War II: The Vistula–Oder Offensive forces German troops out of Warsaw.
- 1945 – The SS-Totenkopfverbände begin the evacuation of the Auschwitz concentration camp as Soviet forces close in.
- 1945 – Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is taken into Soviet custody while in Hungary; he is never publicly seen again.
- 1946 – The UN Security Council holds its first session.
- 1948 – The Renville Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia is ratified.
- 1950 – The Great Brink’s Robbery: Eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car company’s offices in Boston.
- 1950 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 79 relating to arms control is adopted.
- 1961 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the “military–industrial complex” as well as the dangers of massive spending, especially deficit spending.
- 1961 – Former Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba is murdered in circumstances suggesting the support and complicity of the governments of Belgium and the United States.
- 1966 – Palomares incident: A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, killing seven airmen, and dropping three 70-kiloton nuclear bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea.
- 1969 – Black Panther Party members Bunchy Carter and John Huggins are killed during a meeting in Campbell Hall on the campus of UCLA.
- 1977 – Capital punishment in the United States resumes after a ten-year hiatus, as convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad in Utah.
- 1981 – President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos lifts martial law eight years and five months after declaring it.
- 1991 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning as aircraft strike positions across Iraq, it is also the first major combat sortie for the F-117. LCDR Scott Speicher’s F/A-18C Hornet from VFA-81 is shot down by a Mig-25 and is the first American casualty of the War. Iraq fires eight Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
- 1991 – Crown prince Harald V of Norway becomes King Harald V, following the death of his father, King Olav V.
- 1992 – During a visit to South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
- 1994 – The 6.7 Mw  Northridge earthquake shakes the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 57 people dead and more than 8,700 injured.
- 1995 – The 6.9 Mw  Great Hanshin earthquake shakes the southern Hyōgo Prefecture with a maximum Shindo of VII, leaving 5,502–6,434 people dead, and 251,301–310,000 displaced.
- 1996 – The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union.
- 1997 – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station: A Delta II carrying the GPS IIR-1 satellite explodes 13 seconds after launch, dropping 250 tons of burning rocket remains around the launch pad.
- 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the story of the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky affair on his Drudge Report website.
- 2002 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
- 2007 – The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea’s nuclear testing.
- 2010 – Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, results in at least 200 deaths.
 Births on January 17
- 1342 – Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1404)
- 1429 – Antonio del Pollaiolo, Italian artist (d.c. 1498)
- 1463 – Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1525)
- 1463 – Antoine Duprat, French cardinal (d. 1535)
- 1472 – Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Italian captain (d. 1508)
- 1484 – George Spalatin, German priest and reformer (d. 1545)
- 1501 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (d. 1566)
- 1504 – Pope Pius V (d. 1572)
- 1517 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English Duke (d. 1554)
- 1560 – Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist, physician, and academic (d. 1624)
- 1574 – Robert Fludd, English physician, astrologer, and mathematician (d. 1637)
- 1593 – William Backhouse, English alchemist and astrologer (d. 1662)
- 1600 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish playwright and poet (d. 1681)
- 1612 – Thomas Fairfax, English general and politician (d. 1671)
- 1640 – Jonathan Singletary Dunham, American settler (d. 1724)
- 1659 – Antonio Veracini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1745)
- 1666 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (d. 1723)
- 1686 – Archibald Bower, Scottish historian and author (d. 1766)
- 1706 – Benjamin Franklin, American publisher, inventor, and politician, 6th President of Pennsylvania (d. 1790)
- 1712 – John Stanley, English organist and composer (d. 1786)
- 1719 – William Vernon, American businessman (d. 1806)
- 1728 – Johann Gottfried Müthel, German pianist and composer (d. 1788)
- 1732 – Stanisław August Poniatowski, Polish-Lithuanian king (d. 1798)
- 1734 – François-Joseph Gossec, French composer and conductor (d. 1829)
- 1761 – Sir James Hall, 4th Baronet, Scottish geologist and geophysicist (d. 1832)
- 1789 – August Neander, German historian and theologian (d. 1850)
- 1793 – Antonio José Martínez, Spanish-American priest, rancher and politician (d. 1867)
- 1814 – Ellen Wood, English author (d. 1887)
- 1820 – Anne Brontë, English author and poet (d. 1849)
- 1828 – Lewis A. Grant, American lawyer and general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1918)
- 1828 – Ede Reményi, Hungarian violinist and composer (d. 1898)
- 1832 – Henry Martyn Baird, American historian and academic (d. 1906)
- 1834 – August Weismann, German biologist, zoologist, and geneticist (d. 1914)
- 1850 – Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti, Brazilian cardinal (d. 1930)
- 1850 – Alexander Taneyev, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1918)
- 1851 – A. B. Frost, American author and illustrator (d. 1928)
- 1853 – Alva Belmont, American suffragist (d. 1933)
- 1852 – T. Alexander Harrison, American painter and academic (d. 1930)
- 1857 – Wilhelm Kienzl, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1941)
- 1857 – Eugene Augustin Lauste, French-American engineer (d. 1935)
- 1858 – Tomás Carrasquilla, Colombian author (d. 1940)
- 1860 – Douglas Hyde, Irish academic and politician, 1st President of Ireland (d. 1949)
- 1863 – David Lloyd George, Welsh lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1945)
- 1863 – Konstantin Stanislavski, Russian actor and director (d. 1938)
- 1865 – Sir Charles Fergusson, 7th Baronet, English general and politician, 3rd Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1951)
- 1867 – Carl Laemmle, German-born American film producer, co-founded Universal Studios (d. 1939)
- 1867 – Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet, English colonel, pilot, and polo player (d. 1934)
- 1871 – David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, English admiral (d. 1936)
- 1871 – Nicolae Iorga, Romanian historian and politician, 34th Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1940)
- 1875 – Florencio Sánchez, Uruguayan journalist and playwright (d. 1910)
- 1876 – Frank Hague, American lawyer and politician, 30th Mayor of Jersey City (d. 1956)
- 1877 – Marie Zdeňka Baborová-Čiháková, Czech botanist and zoologist (d. 1937)
- 1877 – May Gibbs, English-Australian author and illustrator (d. 1969)
- 1880 – Mack Sennett, Canadian-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1960)
- 1881 – Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
- 1881 – Harry Price, English psychologist and author (d. 1948)
- 1882 – Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (d. 1946)
- 1883 – Compton Mackenzie, English-Scottish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1972)
- 1886 – Glenn L. Martin, American pilot and businessman, founded the Glenn L. Martin Company (d. 1955)
- 1887 – Ola Raknes, Norwegian psychoanalyst and philologist (d. 1975)
- 1888 – Babu Gulabrai, Indian philosopher and author (d. 1963)
- 1897 – Marcel Petiot, French physician and serial killer (d. 1946)
- 1898 – Lela Mevorah, Serbian librarian (d. 1972)
- 1899 – Al Capone, American mob boss (d. 1947)
- 1899 – Robert Maynard Hutchins, American philosopher and academic (d. 1977)
- 1899 – Nevil Shute, English engineer and author (d. 1960)
- 1901 – Aron Gurwitsch, Lithuanian-American philosopher and author (d. 1973)
- 1904 – Hem Vejakorn, Thai painter and illustrator (d. 1969)
- 1905 – Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1905 – Peggy Gilbert, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2007)
- 1905 – Eduard Oja, Estonian composer, conductor, educator, and critic (d. 1950)
- 1905 – Guillermo Stábile, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1966)
- 1905 – Jan Zahradníček, Czech poet and translator (d. 1960)
- 1907 – Henk Badings, Indonesian-Dutch composer and engineer (d. 1987)
- 1907 – Alfred Wainwright, British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator (d. 1991)
- 1908 – Cus D’Amato, American boxing manager and trainer (d. 1985)
- 1911 – Busher Jackson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1966)
- 1911 – John S. McCain Jr., American admiral (d. 1981)
- 1911 – George Stigler, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
- 1914 – Anacleto Angelini, Italian-Chilean businessman (d. 2007)
- 1914 – Irving Brecher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
- 1914 – Paul Royle, Australian lieutenant and pilot (d. 2015)
- 1914 – William Stafford, American poet and author (d. 1993)
- 1916 – Peter Frelinghuysen Jr., American lieutenant and politician (d. 2011)
- 1917 – M. G. Ramachandran, Indian actor, director, and politician, 5th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (d. 1987)
- 1918 – Keith Joseph, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Education (d. 1994)
- 1918 – George M. Leader, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Pennsylvania (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Georges Pichard, French author and illustrator (d. 2003)
- 1921 – Asghar Khan, Pakistani general and politician (d. 2018)
- 1921 – Jackie Henderson, Scottish footballer, forward (d. 2005)
- 1921 – Charlie Mitten, English footballer, outside forward and manager (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Antonio Prohías, Cuban cartoonist (d. 1998)
- 1922 – Luis Echeverría, Mexican academic and politician, 50th President of Mexico
- 1922 – Nicholas Katzenbach, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 65th United States Attorney General (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Betty White, American actress, game show panelist, television personality, and animal rights activist
- 1923 – Rangeya Raghav, Indian author and playwright (d. 1962)
- 1924 – Rik De Saedeleer, Belgian footballer and journalist (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Jewel Plummer Cobb, American biologist, cancer researcher, and academic (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Gunnar Birkerts, Latvian-American architect (d. 2017)
- 1925 – Robert Cormier, American author and journalist (d. 2000)
- 1925 – Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistani cricketer and author (d. 1996)
- 1926 – Newton N. Minow, American lawyer and politician
- 1926 – Moira Shearer, Scottish-English ballerina and actress (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Clyde Walcott, Barbadian cricketer (d. 2006)
- 1927 – Thomas Anthony Dooley III, American physician and humanitarian (d. 1961)
- 1927 – Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer (d. 2008)
- 1927 – Harlan Mathews, American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
- 1927 – E. W. Swackhamer, American director and producer (d. 1994)
- 1928 – Jean Barraqué, French composer (d. 1973)
- 1928 – Vidal Sassoon, English-American hairdresser and businessman (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Jacques Plante, Canadian-Swiss ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1986)
- 1929 – Tan Boon Teik, Malaysian-Singaporean lawyer and politician, Attorney-General of Singapore (d. 2012)
- 1931 – James Earl Jones, American actor
- 1931 – Douglas Wilder, American sergeant and politician, 66th Governor of Virginia
- 1931 – Don Zimmer, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Sheree North, American actress and dancer (d. 2005)
- 1933 – Dalida, Egyptian-French singer and actress (d. 1987)
- 1933 – Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French-Pakistani diplomat, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (d. 2003)
- 1933 – Shari Lewis, American actress, puppeteer/ventriloquist, and television host (d. 1998)
- 1934 – Donald Cammell, Scottish-American director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
- 1935 – Ruth Ann Minner, American businesswoman and politician, 72nd Governor of Delaware
- 1936 – John Boyd, English academic and diplomat, British ambassador to Japan
- 1936 – A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1997)
- 1937 – Alain Badiou, French philosopher and academic
- 1938 – John Bellairs, American author and academic (d. 1991)
- 1938 – Toini Gustafsson, Swedish cross country skier
- 1939 – Christodoulos of Athens, Greek archbishop (d. 2008)
- 1939 – Maury Povich, American talk show host and producer
- 1940 – Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Egyptian-Armenian patriarch (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan athlete
- 1940 – Tabaré Vázquez, Uruguayan physician and politician, 39th President of Uruguay
- 1941 – István Horthy, Jr., Hungarian physicist and architect
- 1942 – Muhammad Ali, American boxer and activist (d. 2016)
- 1942 – Ita Buttrose, Australian journalist and author
- 1942 – Ulf Hoelscher, German violinist and educator
- 1942 – Nigel McCulloch, English bishop
- 1943 – Chris Montez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1943 – René Préval, Haitian agronomist and politician, 52nd President of Haiti (d. 2017)
- 1944 – Ann Oakley, English sociologist, author, and academic
- 1945 – Javed Akhtar, Indian poet, playwright, and composer
- 1945 – Anne Cutler, Australian psychologist and academic
- 1948 – Davíð Oddsson, Icelandic politician, 21st Prime Minister of Iceland
- 1949 – Anita Borg, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2003)
- 1949 – Gyude Bryant, Liberian businessman and politician (d. 2014)
- 1949 – Augustin Dumay, French violinist and conductor
- 1949 – Andy Kaufman, American actor and comedian (d. 1984)
- 1949 – Mick Taylor, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 – Luis López Nieves, Puerto Rican-American author and academic
- 1952 – Tom Deitz, American author (d. 2009)
- 1952 – Darrell Porter, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
- 1952 – Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese pianist, composer, and producer
- 1953 – Jeff Berlin, American bass player and educator
- 1953 – Carlos Johnson, American singer and guitarist
- 1954 – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., American lawyer, radio host, activist, and environmentalist
- 1955 – Steve Earle, American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, author and actor
- 1955 – Pietro Parolin, Italian cardinal
- 1955 – Steve Javie, American basketball player and referee
- 1956 – Damian Green, English journalist and politician
- 1956 – Paul Young, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Steve Harvey, American actor, comedian, television personality and game show host
- 1957 – Ann Nocenti, American journalist and author
- 1958 – Tony Kouzarides, English biologist, cancer researcher
- 1959 – Susanna Hoffs, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
- 1960 – John Crawford, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Chili Davis, Jamaican-American baseball player and coach
- 1961 – Brian Helgeland, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1962 – Jun Azumi, Japanese broadcaster and politician, 46th Japanese Minister of Finance
- 1962 – Jim Carrey, Canadian-American actor and producer
- 1962 – Sebastian Junger, American journalist and author
- 1963 – Kai Hansen, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1963 – Colin Gordon, English footballer, striker, agent, manager, chief executive
- 1964 – Michelle Obama, American lawyer and activist, 46th First Lady of the United States
- 1964 – John Schuster, Samoan-New Zealand rugby player
- 1965 – Sylvain Turgeon, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 – Trish Johnson, English golfer
- 1966 – Joshua Malina, American actor
- 1967 – Richard Hawley, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1968 – Rowan Pelling, English journalist and author
- 1968 – Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch author, poet, and scholar
- 1969 – Naveen Andrews, English actor
- 1969 – Lukas Moodysson, Swedish director, screenwriter, and author
- 1969 – Tiësto, Dutch DJ and producer
- 1970 – Cássio Alves de Barros, Brazilian footballer
- 1970 – Jeremy Roenick, American ice hockey player and actor
- 1970 – Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-American animator, director, and producer
- 1971 – Giorgos Balogiannis, Greek basketball player
- 1971 – Richard Burns, English race car driver (d. 2005)
- 1971 – Kid Rock, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1971 – Sylvie Testud, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1973 – Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Mexican footballer and actor
- 1973 – Chris Bowen, Australian politician, 37th Treasurer of Australia
- 1973 – Liz Ellis, Australian netball player and sportscaster
- 1973 – Aaron Ward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1974 – Yang Chen, Chinese footballer and manager
- 1974 – Vesko Kountchev, Bulgarian viola player, composer, and producer
- 1974 – Derrick Mason, American football player
- 1975 – Freddy Rodriguez, American actor
- 1978 – Lisa Llorens, Australian Paralympian
- 1978 – Ricky Wilson, English singer-songwriter
- 1980 – Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Ukrainian-American dancer and choreographer
- 1980 – Zooey Deschanel, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1980 – Modestas Stonys, Lithuanian footballer
- 1981 – Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer and manager
- 1982 – Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
- 1982 – Amanda Wilkinson, Canadian singer
- 1983 – Álvaro Arbeloa, Spanish footballer
- 1983 – Johannes Herber, German basketball player
- 1983 – Rick Kelly, Australian race car driver
- 1983 – Marcelo Garcia, Brazilian martial artist
- 1984 – Calvin Harris, Scottish singer-songwriter, DJ, and producer
- 1985 – Pablo Barrientos, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Betsy Ruth, American wrestler and manager
- 1985 – Simone Simons, Dutch singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Cody Decker, American baseball player
- 1988 – Andrea Antonelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2013)
- 1988 – Will Genia, Australian rugby player
- 1988 – Héctor Moreno, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Taylor Jordan, American baseball player
- 1989 – Kelly Marie Tran, American actress
- 1990 – Santiago Tréllez, Colombian footballer
- 1991 – Trevor Bauer, American baseball player
- 1991 – Esapekka Lappi, Finnish Rally Driver
- 1991 – Slade Griffin, Australian rugby league player
- 1991 – Alise Post, American BMX rider
- 1993 – Frankie Cocozza, British singer
- 1994 – Mark Steketee, Australian cricketer
- 1998 – Jeff Reine-Adelaide, French footballer
- 1998 – Sophie Molineux, Australian cricketer
- 2000 – Devlin DeFrancesco, Canadian race car driver
 Deaths on January 17
- 395 – Theodosius I, Roman emperor (b. 347)
- 644 – Sulpitius the Pious, French bishop and saint
- 764 – Joseph of Freising, German bishop
- 1040 – Mas’ud I of Ghazni, Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire (b. 998)
- 1156 – André de Montbard, fifth Grand Master of the Knights Templar
- 1168 – Thierry, Count of Flanders (b. 1099)
- 1229 – Albert of Riga, German bishop (b. 1165)
- 1329 – Saint Roseline, Carthusian nun (b. 1263)
- 1334 – John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond (b. 1266)
- 1345 – Henry of Asti, Greek patriarch
- 1345 – Martino Zaccaria, Genoese Lord of Chios
- 1369 – Peter I of Cyprus (b. 1328)
- 1456 – Elisabeth of Lorraine-Vaudémont, French translator (b. 1395)
- 1468 – Skanderbeg, Albanian soldier and politician (b. 1405)
- 1588 – Qi Jiguang, Chinese general (b. 1528)
- 1598 – Feodor I of Russia (b. 1557)
- 1617 – Fausto Veranzio, Croatian bishop and lexicographer (b. 1551)
- 1705 – John Ray, English botanist and historian (b. 1627)
- 1718 – Benjamin Church, American colonel (b. 1639)
- 1737 – Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, German architect (b. 1662)
- 1738 – Jean-François Dandrieu, French organist and composer (b. 1682)
- 1751 – Tomaso Albinoni, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1671)
- 1826 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish-French composer (b. 1806)
- 1834 – Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1762)
- 1861 – Lola Montez, Irish actress and dancer (b. 1821)
- 1863 – Horace Vernet, French painter (b. 1789)
- 1869 – Alexander Dargomyzhsky, Russian composer (b. 1813)
- 1878 – Edward Shepherd Creasy, English historian and jurist (b. 1812)
- 1884 – Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist and herpetologist (b. 1804)
- 1887 – William Giblin, Australian lawyer and politician, 13th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1840)
- 1888 – Big Bear, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1825)
- 1891 – George Bancroft, American historian and politician, 17th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1800)
- 1893 – Rutherford B. Hayes, American general, lawyer, and politician, 19th President of the United States (b. 1822)
- 1903 – Ignaz Wechselmann, Hungarian architect and philanthropist (b. 1828)
- 1908 – Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1835)
- 1909 – Francis Smith, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 4th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1819)
- 1911 – Francis Galton, English polymath, anthropologist, and geographer (b. 1822)
- 1927 – Juliette Gordon Low, American founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA (b. 1860)
- 1930 – Gauhar Jaan, One of the first performers to record music on 78 rpm records in India. (b. 1873)
- 1931 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (b. 1864)
- 1932 – Ahmet Derviş, Turkish general (b. 1881)
- 1932 – Albert Jacka, Australian captain, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1893)
- 1933 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (b. 1848)
- 1936 – Mateiu Caragiale, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1885)
- 1942 – Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (b. 1884)
- 1947 – Pyotr Krasnov, Russian historian and general (b. 1869)
- 1947 – Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve, Canadian cardinal (b. 1883)
- 1951 – Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Indian poet, playwright, and director (b. 1903)
- 1952 – Walter Briggs Sr., American businessman (b. 1877)
- 1961 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1925)
- 1970 – Simon Kovar, Russian-American bassoon player and educator (b. 1890)
- 1972 – Betty Smith, American author and playwright (b. 1896)
- 1977 – Dougal Haston, Scottish mountaineer (b. 1940)
- 1977 – Gary Gilmore, American murderer (b. 1940)
- 1981 – Loukas Panourgias, Greek footballer and lawyer (b. 1899)
- 1984 – Kostas Giannidis, Greek pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1903)
- 1987 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 1988 – Percy Qoboza, South African journalist and author (b. 1938)
- 1991 – Olav V of Norway (b. 1903)
- 1992 – Frank Pullen, English soldier and businessman (b. 1915)
- 1993 – Albert Hourani, English-Lebanese historian and academic (b. 1915)
- 1994 – Yevgeni Ivanov, Russian spy (b. 1926)
- 1994 – Helen Stephens, American runner, shot putter, and discus thrower (b. 1918)
- 1996 – Barbara Jordan, American lawyer and politician (b. 1936)
- 1996 – Sylvia Lawler, English geneticist (b. 1922))
- 1997 – Bert Kelly, Australian farmer and politician, 20th Australian Minister for the Navy (b. 1912)
- 1997 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer and academic, discovered Pluto (b. 1906)
- 2000 – Philip Jones, English trumpet player and educator (b. 1928)
- 2000 – Ion Rațiu, Romanian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
- 2002 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
- 2002 – Roman Personov, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1932)
- 2003 – Richard Crenna, American actor and director (b. 1926)
- 2004 – Raymond Bonham Carter, English banker (b. 1929)
- 2004 – Harry Brecheen, American baseball player and coach (b. 1914)
- 2004 – Ray Stark, American film producer (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Noble Willingham, American actor (b. 1931)
- 2005 – Charlie Bell, Australian businessman (b. 1960)
- 2005 – Virginia Mayo, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Albert Schatz, American microbiologist and academic (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Zhao Ziyang, Chinese politician, 3rd Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1919)
- 2006 – Pierre Grondin, Canadian surgeon (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Art Buchwald, American journalist and author (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Yevhen Kushnaryov, Ukrainian engineer and politician (b. 1951)
- 2008 – Bobby Fischer, American chess player and author (b. 1943)
- 2008 – Ernie Holmes, American football player, wrestler, and actor (b. 1948)
- 2009 – Anders Isaksson, Swedish journalist and historian (b. 1943)
- 2010 – Gaines Adams, American football player (b. 1983)
- 2010 – Jyoti Basu, Indian politician and CM of West Bengal for 23 years (b. 1914)
- 2010 – Michalis Papakonstantinou, Greek journalist and politician, Foreign Minister of Greece (b. 1919)
- 2010 – Erich Segal, American author and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 2011 – Don Kirshner, American songwriter and producer (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Ernie Alexander, American educator and politician (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Julius Meimberg, German soldier and pilot (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Johnny Otis, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Marty Springstead, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Mehmet Ali Birand, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1941)
- 2013 – Jakob Arjouni, German author (b. 1964)
- 2013 – Yves Debay, Belgian journalist (b. 1954)
- 2013 – John Nkomo, Zimbabwean politician, Vice President of Zimbabwe (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Lizbeth Webb, English soprano and actress (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, Indian spiritual leader, 52nd Da’i al-Mutlaq (b. 1915)
- 2014 – Francine Lalonde, Canadian educator and politician (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green, English businessman and politician (b. 1942)
- 2014 – John J. McGinty III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Sunanda Pushkar, Indian-Canadian businesswoman (b. 1962)
- 2014 – Suchitra Sen, Indian film actress (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Ken Furphy, English footballer and manager (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress and producer (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Don Harron, Canadian actor and screenwriter (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1939)
- 2016 – Melvin Day, New Zealand painter and historian (b. 1923)
- 2016 – V. Rama Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Governor of Sikkim (b. 1935)
- 2016 – Sudhindra Thirtha, Indian religious leader (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Tirrel Burton, American football player and coach (b. 1929)
- 2018 – Jessica Falkholt, Australian actress (b. 1988)
- 2019 – S. Balakrishnan, Malayalam movie composer (b. 1948)
- 2020 – Derek Fowlds, British actor (b.1937)
 Holidays and observances on January 17
- Christian feast day:
- Anthony the Great
- Blessed Angelo Paoli
- Blessed Gamelbert of Michaelsbuch
- Charles Gore (Church of England)
- Jenaro Sánchez Delgadillo (one of Saints of the Cristero War)
- Mildgyth
- Our Lady of Pontmain
- Sulpitius the Pious
- January 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- National Day (Menorca, Spain)
- The opening ceremony of Patras Carnival, celebrated until Clean Monday. (Patras)
 
 
 
- 
	
				
			
		
				
			
	
		
 January 13 in History
- 532 – The Nika riots break out, during the racing season at the Hippodrome in Constantinople, as a result of discontent with the rule of the Emperor Justinian I.
- 1435 – Sicut Dudum, forbidding the enslavement of the Guanche natives in Canary Islands by the Spanish, is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV.
- 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, is sentenced to death for treason, on the grounds of having quartered his arms to make them similar to those of the King, Henry VIII of England.
- 1793 – Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville, representative of Revolutionary France, lynched by a mob in Rome
- 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany ends with the French vessel running aground, resulting in over 900 deaths.
- 1815 – War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state.
- 1822 – The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
- 1833 – United States President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina’s defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
- 1840 – The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
- 1842 – Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
- 1847 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican–American War in California.
- 1849 – Establishment of the Colony of Vancouver Island.
- 1849 – Second Anglo-Sikh War – Battle of Chillianwala: British forces retreat from the Sikhs.
- 1879 – In Mozart Gardens Brooklyn Ada Anderson completed a great feat of pedestrianism – 2700 quarter miles in 2700 quarter hours, earning her $8000.
- 1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.
- 1893 – The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom holds its first meeting.
- 1893 – U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
- 1895 – First Italo-Ethiopian War: the war’s opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory.
- 1898 – Émile Zola’s J’accuse…! exposes the Dreyfus affair.
- 1908 – The Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people.
- 1910 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the operas Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci are sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
- 1915 – The 6.7 Mw  Avezzano earthquake shakes the Province of L’Aquila in Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 29,978–32,610.
- 1920 – The Reichstag Bloodbath of January 13, 1920, the bloodiest demonstration in German history.
- 1935 – A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
- 1939 – The Black Friday bushfires burn 20,000 square kilometers of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
- 1942 – Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
- 1942 – World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
- 1950 – British submarine HMS Truculent collides with an oil tanker in the Thames Estuary, killing 64 men.
- 1950 – Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
- 1951 – First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins.
- 1953 – An article appears in Pravda accusing some of the most prestigious and prominent doctors, mostly Jews, in the Soviet Union of taking part in a vast plot to poison members of the top Soviet political and military leadership.
- 1958 – The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
- 1963 – Coup d’état in Togo results in the assassination of president Sylvanus Olympio.
- 1964 – Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, resulting in 100 deaths.
- 1964 – In Manchester, New Hampshire, fourteen-year-old Pamela Mason is murdered. Edward Coolidge is tried and convicted of the crime, but the conviction is set aside by the landmark Fourth Amendment case Coolidge v. New Hampshire (1971).
- 1966 – Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
- 1968 – Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison.
- 1972 – Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
- 1978 – United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled “paid” or “volunteer” donors.
- 1982 – Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet, crashes into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists.
- 1985 – A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
- 1986 – A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
- 1988 – Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China.
- 1990 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
- 1991 – Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1000 others.
- 1993 – Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
- 1993 – The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is signed.
- 1998 – Alfredo Ormando sets himself on fire in St. Peter’s Square, protesting against homophobia.
- 2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
- 2012 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino’s negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.
- 2018 – A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii caused widespread panic in the state.
- 2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines spews lava fountains while erupting in the crater.
 Births on January 13
- 5 BC – Guangwu of Han, Chinese emperor (d. 57)
- 101 – Lucius Aelius, Roman adopted son of Hadrian (d. 138)
- 915 – Al-Hakam II, Umayyad caliph (d. 976)
- 1334 – Henry II, king of Castile and León (d. 1379)
- 1338 – Jeong Mong-ju, Korean civil minister, diplomat and scholar (d. 1392)
- 1400 – Infante John, Constable of Portugal (d. 1442)
- 1477 – Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland (d. 1527)
- 1505 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1571)
- 1562 – Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet and soldier (d. 1601)
- 1596 – Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter and illustrator (d. 1656)
- 1610 – Maria Anna of Bavaria, archduchess of Austria (d. 1665)
- 1616 – Antoinette Bourignon, French-Flemish mystic and author (d. 1680)
- 1651 – Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English soldier and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1694)
- 1683 – Christoph Graupner, German harpsichord player and composer (d. 1760)
- 1720 – Richard Hurd, English bishop (d. 1808)
- 1749 – Maler Müller, German poet, painter, and playwright (d. 1825)
- 1787 – John Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1854)
- 1804 – Paul Gavarni, French illustrator (d. 1866)
- 1805 – Thomas Dyer, American lawyer and politician, 18th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
- 1808 – Salmon P. Chase, American jurist and politician, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1873)
- 1810 – Ernestine Rose, American suffragist, abolitionist, and freethinker (d. 1892)
- 1812 – Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (d. 1883)
- 1832 – Horatio Alger, Jr., American novelist and journalist (d. 1899)
- 1845 – Félix Tisserand, French astronomer and academic (d. 1896)
- 1858 – Oskar Minkowski, Lithuanian-German biologist and academic (d. 1931)
- 1859 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1943)
- 1861 – Max Nonne, German neurologist and academic (d. 1959)
- 1864 – Wilhelm Wien, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
- 1865 – Princess Marie of Orléans (d. 1908)
- 1866 – Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian bassoon player and composer (d. 1901)
- 1866 – George Gurdjieff, Russian-French mystic and philosopher (d. 1949)
- 1869 – Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta (d. 1931)
- 1870 – Ross Granville Harrison, American biologist and anatomist (d. 1959)
- 1878 – Lionel Groulx, Canadian priest and historian (d. 1967)
- 1881 – Essington Lewis, Australian engineer and businessman (d. 1961)
- 1883 – Nathaniel Cartmell, American runner and coach (d. 1967)
- 1885 – Alfred Fuller, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Fuller Brush Company (d. 1973)
- 1886 – Art Ross, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1964)
- 1887 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer and actress (d. 1966)
- 1890 – Jüri Uluots, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1945)
- 1892 – Ermanno Aebi, Italian-Swiss footballer (d. 1976)
- 1893 – Charles Arnison, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 1974)
- 1893 – Roy Cazaly, Australian footballer and coach (d. 1963)
- 1893 – Clark Ashton Smith, American poet, sculptor, painter, and author (d. 1961)
- 1893 – Chaim Soutine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1943)
- 1900 – Shimizugawa Motokichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1967)
- 1900 – Gertrude Mary Cox, American mathematician (d. 1978)
- 1901 – A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist, screenwriter, historian (d. 1991)
- 1901 – Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish priest and historian (d. 1978)
- 1902 – Karl Menger, Austrian-American mathematician from the Vienna Circle (d. 1985)
- 1904 – Richard Addinsell, English composer (d. 1977)
- 1904 – Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian-American violinist and composer (d. 1992)
- 1904 – Dick Rowley, Irish footballer, centre forward (d. 1984)
- 1905 – Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)
- 1905 – Jack London, English sprinter and pianist (d. 1966)
- 1906 – Zhou Youguang, Chinese linguist, sinologist, and academic (d. 2017)
- 1909 – Helm Glöckler, German race car driver (d. 1993)
- 1910 – Yannis Tsarouchis, Greek painter and illustrator (d. 1989)
- 1911 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, New Zealand-Australian farmer and politician, 31st Premier of Queensland (d. 2005)
- 1914 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (d. 2006)
- 1914 – Ted Willis, Baron Willis, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
- 1919 – Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1921 – Necati Cumalı, Greek-Turkish author and poet (d. 2001)
- 1921 – Dachine Rainer, American-English author and poet (d. 2000)
- 1921 – Arthur Stevens, English footballer, outside right (d. 2007}
- 1922 – Albert Lamorisse, French director and producer (d. 1970)
- 1923 – Daniil Shafran, Russian cellist (d. 1997)
- 1923 – Willem Slijkhuis, Dutch runner (d. 2003)
- 1924 – Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
- 1924 – Roland Petit, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Vanita Smythe, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
- 1925 – Ron Tauranac, Australian engineer and businessman
- 1925 – Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
- 1926 – Michael Bond, English soldier and author, created Paddington Bear (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American author and academic (d. 2003)
- 1926 – Melba Liston, American trombonist and composer (d. 1999)
- 1927 – Brock Adams, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Transportation (d. 2004)
- 1927 – Liz Anderson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
- 1927 – Sydney Brenner, South African biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
- 1929 – Joe Pass, American guitarist and composer (d. 1994)
- 1930 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress
- 1931 – Ian Hendry, English actor (d. 1984)
- 1931 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, director, game show panelist, and television personality (d. 2007)
- 1932 – Barry Bishop, American mountaineer, photographer, and scholar (d. 1994)
- 1933 – Tom Gola, American basketball player, coach, and politician (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Rip Taylor, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
- 1936 – Renato Bruson, Italian opera singer
- 1937 – Guy Dodson, New Zealand-English biochemist and academic (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Cabu, French cartoonist (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Daevid Allen, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Richard Anthony, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1938 – Dave Edwards, American captain and politician (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Tord Grip, Swedish footballer and manager
- 1938 – Anna Home, English screenwriter and producer
- 1939 – Edgardo Cozarinsky, Argentinian author, screenwriter, and director
- 1939 – Jacek Gmoch, Polish footballer and coach
- 1939 – Cesare Maniago, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1940 – Edmund White, American novelist, memoirist, and essayist
- 1941 – Pasqual Maragall, Spanish academic and politician, 127th President of the Generalitat de Catalunya
- 1941 – Meinhard Nehmer, German bobsledder
- 1943 – William Duckworth, American composer and author (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Richard Moll, American actor
- 1945 – Gordon McVie, English oncologist and author
- 1945 – Peter Simpson, English footballer
- 1946 – Ordal Demokan, Turkish physicist and academic (d. 2004)
- 1946 – Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish saxophonist, composer, and conductor
- 1947 – John Lees, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1947 – Jacek Majchrowski, Polish historian, lawyer, and politician
- 1947 – Carles Rexach, Spanish footballer and coach
- 1948 – Gaj Singh, Indian lawyer and politician
- 1949 – Rakesh Sharma, Indian commander, pilot, and astronaut
- 1949 – Brandon Tartikoff, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
- 1950 – Clive Betts, English economist and politician
- 1950 – Bob Forsch, American baseball player (d. 2011)
- 1950 – Gholam Hossein Mazloumi, Iranian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
- 1952 – Stephen Glover, English journalist, co-founded The Independent
- 1953 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Richard Blackford, English composer
- 1954 – Trevor Rabin, South African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1955 – Paul Kelly, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1955 – Jay McInerney, American novelist and critic
- 1955 – Anne Pringle, English diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia
- 1957 – Claudia Emerson, American poet and academic (d. 2014)
- 1957 – Mary Glindon, English lawyer and politician
- 1957 – Mark O’Meara, American golfer
- 1957 – Lorrie Moore, American short story writer
- 1958 – Francisco Buyo, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1958 – Juan Pedro de Miguel, Spanish handball player (d. 2016)
- 1959 – Winnie Byanyima, Ugandan engineer, politician, and diplomat
- 1960 – Eric Betzig, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1960 – Matthew Bourne, English choreographer and director
- 1961 – Wayne Coyne, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1961 – Kelly Hrudey, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1961 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress, comedian, and producer
- 1962 – Trace Adkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1962 – Paul Higgins, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1964 – Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
- 1966 – Patrick Dempsey, American actor and race car driver
- 1966 – Leo Visser, Dutch speed skater and pilot
- 1968 – Mike Whitlow, English footballer and coach
- 1969 – Stefania Belmondo, Italian skier
- 1969 – Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player and journalist
- 1970 – Frank Kooiman, Dutch footballer
- 1970 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
- 1970 – Shonda Rhimes, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1972 – Mark Bosnich, Australian footballer and sportscaster
- 1972 – Nicole Eggert, American actress
- 1972 – Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast
- 1973 – Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1973 – Gigi Galli, Italian race driver
- 1974 – Sergei Brylin, Russian ice hockey player and coach
- 1975 – Rune Eriksen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
- 1975 – Mailis Reps, Estonian academic and politician, 31st Estonian Minister of Education and Research
- 1975 – Andrew Yang, American entrepreneur, founder of Venture for America, and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate
- 1976 – Mario Yepes, Colombian footballer
- 1977 – Orlando Bloom, English actor and producer
- 1977 – Mi-Hyun Kim, South Korean golfer
- 1977 – Elliot Mason, English trombonist and keyboard player
- 1977 – James Posey, American basketball player and coach
- 1978 – Nate Silver, American journalist and statistician, developed PECOTA
- 1979 – Katy Brand, English actress and screenwriter
- 1980 – Krzysztof Czerwiński, Polish organist and conductor
- 1980 – Nils-Eric Johansson, Swedish footballer
- 1980 – Akira Kaji, Japanese footballer
- 1980 – Wolfgang Loitzl, Austrian ski jumper
- 1980 – Mirko Soltau, German footballer
- 1981 – Reggie Brown, American football player
- 1981 – Darrell Rasner, American baseball player
- 1981 – Yujiro Takahashi, Japanese wrestler
- 1982 – Kamran Akmal, Pakistan cricketer
- 1982 – Guillermo Coria, Argentinian tennis player
- 1982 – Constantinos Makrides, Cypriot footballer
- 1982 – Ruth Wilson, English actress
- 1983 – Ender Arslan, Turkish basketball player
- 1983 – Sebastian Kneißl, German footballer
- 1983 – Mauricio Martín Romero, Argentinian footballer
- 1984 – Matteo Cavagna, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Kamghe Gaba, German sprinter
- 1984 – Nick Mangold, American football player
- 1985 – Luke Robinson, American wrestler
- 1986 – Joannie Rochette, Canadian figure skater
- 1987 – Stefano Del Sante, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Jack Johnson, American ice hockey player
- 1987 – Florica Leonida, Romanian gymnast
- 1987 – Steven Michaels, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Daniel Oss, Italian cyclist
- 1987 – Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Sven Wetzel, German rugby player
- 1988 – Josh Freeman, American football player
- 1989 – Morgan Burnett, American football player
- 1989 – Doug Martin, American football player
- 1990 – Vincenzo Fiorillo, Italian footballer
- 1990 – Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
- 1991 – Rob Kiernan, English-Irish footballer
- 1992 – Adam Matthews, Welsh footballer
- 1992 – Dinah Pfizenmaier, German tennis player
- 1993 – Max Whitlock, English artistic gymnast
- 1997 – Micah Hart, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1997 – Connor McDavid, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1997 – Ivan Provorov, Russian ice hockey player
 Deaths on January 13
- 86 BC – Gaius Marius, Roman general and politician (b. 157 BC)
- 533 – Remigius, French bishop and saint (b. 437)
- 614 – Mungo, English-Scottish bishop and saint
- 703 – Jitō, Japanese emperor (b. 645)
- 858 – Æthelwulf, king of Wessex
- 888 – Charles the Fat, Frankish king and emperor (b. 839)
- 927 – Berno of Cluny, Frankish monk and abbot
- 1001 – Fujiwara no Teishi, Japanese empress (b. 977)
- 1147 – Robert de Craon, Grand Master of the Knights Templar
- 1151 – Suger, French historian and politician (b. 1081)
- 1177 – Henry II, count palatine and duke of Austria (b. 1107)
- 1321 – Bonacossa Borri, Italian noblewoman (b. 1254)
- 1330 – Frederick I, duke and king of Germany
- 1363 – Meinhard III, German nobleman (b. 1344)
- 1400 – Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester, English politician (b. 1373)
- 1599 – Edmund Spenser, English poet, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1552)
- 1612 – Jane Dormer, English lady-in-waiting (b. 1538)
- 1625 – Jan Brueghel the Elder, Flemish painter (b. 1568)
- 1684 – Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk, English nobleman (b. 1628)
- 1691 – George Fox, English religious leader, founded the Religious Society of Friends (b. 1624)
- 1717 – Maria Sibylla Merian, German entomologist and illustrator (b. 1647)
- 1775 – Johann Georg Walch, German theologian and author (b. 1693)
- 1790 – Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, French admiral (b. 1712)
- 1796 – John Anderson, Scottish philosopher and educator (b. 1726)
- 1832 – Thomas Lord, English cricketer, founded Lord’s Cricket Ground (b. 1755)
- 1838 – Ferdinand Ries, German pianist and composer (b. 1784)
- 1860 – William Mason, American surgeon and politician (b. 1786)
- 1864 – Stephen Foster, American composer and songwriter (b. 1826)
- 1872 – William Scamp, English architect and engineer (b. 1801)
- 1882 – Wilhelm Mauser, German engineer and businessman, co-founded the Mauser Company (b. 1834)
- 1885 – Schuyler Colfax, American journalist and politician, 17th Vice President of the United States (b. 1823)
- 1889 – Solomon Bundy, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
- 1905 – George Thorn, Australian farmer and politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
- 1906 – Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1859)
- 1907 – Jakob Hurt, Estonian theologist and linguist (b. 1839)
- 1915 – Mary Slessor, Scottish-Nigerian missionary (b. 1848)
- 1916 – Victoriano Huerta, Mexican military officer and president, 1913–1914 (b. 1850)
- 1923 – Alexandre Ribot, French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1842)
- 1924 – Georg Hermann Quincke, German physicist and academic (b. 1834)
- 1929 – Wyatt Earp, American police officer (b. 1848)
- 1929 – H. B. Higgins, Irish-Australian judge and politician, 3rd Attorney-General for Australia (b. 1851)
- 1934 – Paul Ulrich Villard, French physicist and chemist (b. 1860)
- 1941 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (b. 1882)
- 1943 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (b. 1889)
- 1956 – Lyonel Feininger, German-American painter and illustrator (b. 1871)
- 1957 – A. E. Coppard English poet and short story writer (b. 1878)
- 1958 – Jesse L. Lasky, American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures (b. 1880)
- 1962 – Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (b. 1919)
- 1963 – Sylvanus Olympio, Togolese businessman and politician, President of Togo (b. 1902)
- 1967 – Anatole de Grunwald, Russian-English screenwriter and producer (b. 1910)
- 1971 – Robert Still, English composer and educator (b. 1910)
- 1973 – Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, Turkish screenwriter and producer (b. 1908)
- 1974 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (b. 1906)
- 1974 – Salvador Novo, Mexican playwright and poet (b. 1904)
- 1976 – Margaret Leighton, English actress (b. 1922)
- 1977 – Henri Langlois, Turkish-French historian, co-founded the Cinémathèque Française (b. 1914)
- 1978 – Hubert Humphrey, American pharmacist, academic, and politician, 38th Vice President of the United States (b. 1911)
- 1978 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1887)
- 1979 – Donny Hathaway, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1945)
- 1979 – Marjorie Lawrence, Australian-American soprano (b. 1907)
- 1980 – Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-American conductor (b. 1901)
- 1982 – Marcel Camus, French director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
- 1983 – René Bonnet, French race car driver and engineer (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Abdul Fattah Ismail, Yemeni educator and politician, 4th President of South Yemen (b. 1939)
- 1986 – Kevin Longbottom, Australian rugby league player (b. 1940)
- 1988 – Chiang Ching-kuo, Chinese politician, President of the Republic of China (b. 1910)
- 1993 – Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer and conductor (b. 1907)
- 1995 – Max Harris, Australian journalist, poet, and author (b. 1921)
- 2002 – Frank Shuster, Canadian actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 2003 – Norman Panama, American director and screenwriter (b. 1914)
- 2004 – Arne Næss, Jr., Norwegian businessman and mountaineer (b. 1937)
- 2005 – Earl Cameron, Canadian journalist (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and actress (b. 1924)
- 2006 – Frank Fixaris, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1934)
- 2006 – Marc Potvin, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1967)
- 2007 – Michael Brecker, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1949)
- 2007 – Danny Oakes, American race car driver (b. 1911)
- 2008 – Johnny Podres, American baseball player and coach (b. 1932)
- 2009 – Dai Llewellyn, Welsh humanitarian activist and politician (b. 1946)
- 2009 – Patrick McGoohan, Irish-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
- 2009 – Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese poet, composer, and producer (b. 1925)
- 2009 – W. D. Snodgrass, American poet (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Nancy Bird Walton, Australian pilot (b. 1915)
- 2010 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
- 2011 – Albert Heijn, Dutch businessman (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Rauf Denktaş, Turkish-Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Guido Dessauer, German physicist and engineer (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Miljan Miljanić, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Diogenes Allen, American philosopher and theologian (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Rodney Mims Cook, Sr., American lieutenant and politician (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Chia-Chiao Lin, Chinese-American mathematician and academic (b. 1916)
- 2014 – Bobby Collins, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Randal Tye Thomas, American journalist and politician (b. 1978)
- 2014 – Waldemar von Gazen, German general and lawyer (b. 1917)
- 2015 – Mark Juddery, Australian journalist and author (b. 1971)
- 2015 – Robert White, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Paraguay (b. 1926)
- 2016 – Brian Bedford, English-American actor and director (b. 1935)
- 2016 – Giorgio Gomelsky, Georgian-American director, producer, songwriter, and manager (b. 1934)
- 2016 – Lawrence Phillips, American football player (b. 1975)
- 2017 – Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, English photographer and sometime member of the British royal family (b. 1930)
- 2017 – Dick Gautier, American actor (b. 1931)
- 2017 – Magic Alex, Greek electronics engineer (b. 1942)
- 2019 – Phil Masinga, South African footballer (b. 1969)
 Holidays and observances on January 13
- Christian feast day:
- Blessed Veronica of Milan
- Elian
- Hilary of Poitiers
- Mungo
- St. Knut’s Day or Tjugondag Knut, the last day of Christmas. (Sweden and Finland)
- January 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- Constitution Day (Mongolia)
- Democracy Day (Cape Verde)
- Korean-American Day (Korean-American community, United States)
- Liberation Day (Togo)
- Old New Year’s Eve (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska, North Macedonia), and its related observances:
- Malanka (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus)
 
- Sidereal winter solstice’s eve celebrations in South and Southeast Asian cultures; the last day of the six-month Dakshinayana period (see January 14):
- Bhogi (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu)
- Lohri (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh)
- Uruka (Assam)
 
- Stephen Foster Memorial Day (United States)
- Yennayer (Berbers)
 
 
 
- 
	
				
			
		
				
			
	
		
 January 12 in History
- 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)
 
 
 
- 
	
				
			
		
				
			
	
		
 January 10 in History
- 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
- AD 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the beginning of his own, the Xin dynasty.
- AD 69 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is appointed by Galba as deputy Roman Emperor.
- 236 – Pope Fabian succeeds Anterus to become the twentieth pope of Rome.
- 1072 – Robert Guiscard conquers Palermo in Sicily for the Normans.
- 1430 – Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, establishes the Order of the Golden Fleece, the most prestigious, exclusive, and expensive order of chivalry in the world.
- 1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
- 1645 – Archbishop William Laud is beheaded for treason at the Tower of London.
- 1776 – American Revolution: Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense.
- 1791 – The Siege of Dunlap’s Station begins near Cincinnati during the Northwest Indian War.
- 1806 – Two British brigades occupy Cape Town after the Battle of Blaauwberg.
- 1812 – The first steamboat on the Ohio River or the Mississippi River arrives in New Orleans, 82 days after departing from Pittsburgh.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Florida becomes the third state to secede from the Union.
- 1863 – The Metropolitan Railway, the world’s oldest underground railway, opens between Paddington and Farringdon, marking the beginning of the London Underground.
- 1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil.
- 1901 – The first great Texas oil gusher is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
- 1916 – World War I: In the Erzurum Offensive, Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire.
- 1920 – The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending World War I.
- 1920 – League of Nations Covenant enters into force. On January 16 the organization holds its first council meeting, in Paris.
- 1927 – Fritz Lang’s futuristic film Metropolis is released in Germany.
- 1941 – World War II: The Greek army captures Kleisoura.
- 1946 – The first General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London. Fifty-one nations are represented.
- 1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
- 1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea killing 35 people.
- 1962 – Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle, which became known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission.
- 1966 – Tashkent Declaration, a peace agreement between India and Pakistan signed that resolved the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
- 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returns to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.
- 1981 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments
- 1984 – Holy See–United States relations: The United States and Holy See (Vatican City) re-establish full diplomatic relations after almost 117 years, overturning the United States Congress’s 1867 ban on public funding for such a diplomatic envoy.
- 1985 – Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.
- 1990 – Time Warner is formed by the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications.
- 2007 – A general strike begins in Guinea in an attempt to get President Lansana Conté to resign.
- 2012 – A bombing in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, kills at least 30 people and 78 others injured.
- 2013 – More than 100 people are killed and 270 injured in several bomb blasts in Pakistan.
- 2015 – A traffic accident between an oil tanker truck and passenger coach en route to Shikarpur from Karachi on the Pakistan National Highway Link Road near Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Karachi, killing at least 62 people.
 Births on January 10
- 626 – Husayn ibn Ali the third Shia Imam (d. 680)
- 1392 – Johanna van Polanen, Dutch noblewoman (d. 1445)
- 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1530)
- 1538 – Louis of Nassau (d. 1574)
- 1607 – Isaac Jogues, French priest and missionary (d. 1646)
- 1644 – Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French general (d. 1711)
- 1654 – Joshua Barnes, English historian and scholar (d. 1712)
- 1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
- 1715 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
- 1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian priest, biologist, and physiologist (d. 1799)
- 1745 – Isaac Titsingh, Dutch surgeon, scholar, and diplomat (d. 1812)
- 1750 – Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, Scottish-English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1823)
- 1760 – Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, German composer and conductor (d. 1802)
- 1769 – Michel Ney, French general (d. 1815)
- 1776 – George Birkbeck, English physician and academic, founded Birkbeck, University of London (d. 1841)
- 1780 – Martin Lichtenstein, German physician and explorer (d. 1857)
- 1802 – Carl Ritter von Ghega, Italian-Austrian engineer, designed the Semmering railway (d. 1860)
- 1810 – Ferdinand Barbedienne, French engineer (d. 1892)
- 1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, American jurist and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1883)
- 1810 – William Haines, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Victoria (d. 1866)
- 1812 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect and academic (d. 1881)
- 1828 – Herman Koeckemann, German bishop and missionary (d. 1892)
- 1829 – Epameinondas Deligeorgis, Greek lawyer, journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1879)
- 1834 – John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, Italian-English historian and politician (d. 1902)
- 1836 – Charles Ingalls, American farmer and carpenter (d. 1902)
- 1840 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (d. 1925)
- 1842 – Luigi Pigorini, Italian paleontologist, archaeologist, and ethnographer (d. 1925)
- 1843 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (d. 1915)
- 1848 – Reinhold Sadler, American merchant and politician, 9th Governor of Nevada (d. 1906)
- 1849 – Robert Crosbie, Canadian theosophist, founded the United Lodge of Theosophists (d. 1919)
- 1850 – John Wellborn Root, American architect, designed the Rookery Building and Monadnock Building (d. 1891)
- 1854 – Ramón Corral, Mexican general and politician, 6th Vice President of Mexico (d. 1912)
- 1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
- 1859 – Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Spanish philosopher and academic (d. 1909)
- 1860 – Charles G. D. Roberts, Canadian poet and author (d. 1943)
- 1864 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d. 1931)
- 1873 – Algernon Maudslay, English sailor (d. 1948)
- 1873 – Jack O’Neill, Irish-American baseball player (d. 1935)
- 1873 – George Orton, Canadian runner and hurdler (d. 1958)
- 1875 – Issai Schur, German mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
- 1877 – Frederick Gardner Cottrell, American physical chemist, inventor and philanthropist (d. 1948)
- 1878 – John McLean, American hurdler, football player, and coach (d. 1955)
- 1880 – Manuel Azaña, Spanish jurist and politician, 7th President of Spain (d. 1940)
- 1883 – Francis X. Bushman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1966)
- 1883 – Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Russian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (d. 1962)
- 1890 – Pina Menichelli, Italian actress (d. 1984)
- 1891 – Heinrich Behmann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1970)
- 1891 – Ann Shoemaker, American actress (d. 1978)
- 1892 – Dumas Malone, American historian and author (d. 1986)
- 1892 – Melchior Wańkowicz, Polish soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1974)
- 1893 – Albert Jacka, Australian captain, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1932)
- 1894 – Pingali Lakshmikantam, Indian poet and author (d. 1972)
- 1895 – Percy Cerutty, Australian athletics coach (d. 1975)
- 1896 – Yong Mun Sen, Malaysian watercolour painter (d. 1962)
- 1898 – Katharine Burr Blodgett, American physicist and engineer (d. 1979)
- 1900 – Violette Cordery, English racing driver (d. 1983)
- 1902 – Dobriša Cesarić, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1980)
- 1903 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Pud Thurlow, Australian cricketer (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (d. 1997)
- 1904 – Ray Bolger, American actor and dancer (d. 1987)
- 1905 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, and playwright (d. 1993)
- 1907 – Gordon Kidd Teal, American engineer and inventor (d. 2003)
- 1908 – Paul Henreid, Italian-American actor and director (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Bangladeshi activist (d. 2013)
- 1911 – Norman Heatley, English biologist and chemist (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Maria Mandl, Austrian SS guard (d. 1948)
- 1913 – Franco Bordoni, Italian racing driver and pilot (d. 1975)
- 1913 – Gustáv Husák, Slovak politician, 9th President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian soldier and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1981)
- 1914 – Pierre Cogan, French cyclist (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Chinese politician, 23rd Premier of the Republic of China (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Dean Dixon, American-Swiss conductor (d. 1976)
- 1915 – Cynthia Freeman, American author (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Eldzier Cortor, American painter (d. 2015)
- 1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Jerry Wexler, American journalist and producer (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Les Bennett, English footballer and manager (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Arthur Chung, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 1st President of Guyana (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Harry Merkel, German racing driver (d. 1995)
- 1919 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (d. 1977)
- 1919 – Milton Parker, American businessman, co-founded the Carnegie Deli (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Rosella Hightower, American ballerina (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Roberto M. Levingston, Argentinian general and politician, 36th President of Argentina (d. 2015)
- 1920 – Max Patkin, American baseball player and clown (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Rodger Ward, American aviator, race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Billy Liddell, Scottish-English footballer (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Earl Bakken, American inventor (d. 2018)
- 1924 – Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Canadian ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 1996)
- 1925 – Billie Sol Estes, American financier and businessman (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Musallam Bseiso, Palestinian journalist and politician (d. 2017)
- 1927 – Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian-American singer and actress (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1990)
- 1927 – Otto Stich, Swiss lawyer and politician, 140th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Philip Levine, American poet and academic (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Peter Mathias, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Tony Soper, English ornithologist and author
- 1930 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1931 – Rosalind Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids, Grenadian-English academic and politician
- 1931 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (d. 2015)
- 1931 – John Zizioulas, Greek metropolitan
- 1934 – Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician, 1st President of Ukraine
- 1935 – Ronnie Hawkins, American rockabilly singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1935 – Sherrill Milnes, American opera singer and educator
- 1936 – Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and author (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Walter Bodmer, German-English geneticist and academic
- 1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Daniel Walker Howe, American historian and academic
- 1937 – Thomas Penfield Jackson, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Donald Knuth, American computer scientist and mathematician
- 1938 – Frank Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player and politician
- 1938 – Willie McCovey, American baseball player (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Jared Carter, American poet and author
- 1939 – David Horowitz, American activist and author
- 1939 – William Levy, American-Dutch journalist, author, and poet
- 1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
- 1940 – K. J. Yesudas, Indian singer and music director
- 1940 – Godfrey Hewitt, English geneticist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Tom Clarke, Scottish politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1942 – Graeme Gahan, Australian footballer and coach
- 1943 – Jim Croce, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
- 1944 – Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American comics and fantasy artist (d. 2011)
- 1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer and actor (d. 2016)
- 1945 – John Fahey, New Zealand-Australian lawyer and politician, 38th Premier of New South Wales
- 1945 – Rod Stewart, British singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Gunther von Hagens, German anatomist, invented plastination
- 1946 – Aynsley Dunbar, English drummer and songwriter
- 1947 – George Alec Effinger, American author (d. 2002)
- 1947 – James Morris, American opera singer
- 1947 – Peer Steinbrück, German politician, German Minister of Finance
- 1947 – Tiit Vähi, Estonian engineer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Estonia
- 1948 – Donald Fagen, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1948 – Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist and sportscaster
- 1949 – Kemal Derviş, Turkish economist and politician, Turkish Minister of Economy
- 1949 – George Foreman, American boxer, actor, and businessman
- 1949 – Linda Lovelace, American porn actress and activist (d. 2002)
- 1950 – Roy Blunt, American academic and politician
- 1952 – Scott Thurston, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Bobby Rahal, American race car driver
- 1955 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1956 – Shawn Colvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 – Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish author
- 1958 – Eddie Cheever, American race car driver
- 1958 – Anatoly Pisarenko, Ukrainian weightlifter and trainer
- 1959 – Chandra Cheeseborough, American sprinter and coach
- 1959 – Chris Van Hollen, American lawyer and politician
- 1959 – Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter and producer
- 1960 – Gurinder Chadha, Kenyan-English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Brian Cowen, Irish lawyer and politician, 12th Taoiseach of Ireland
- 1960 – John Mann, English lawyer and politician
- 1960 – Benoît Pelletier, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1961 – Janet Jones, American actress
- 1961 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian-American violinist, author, and educator
- 1962 – Michael Fortier, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1962 – Kathryn S. McKinley, American computer scientist and academic
- 1963 – Malcolm Dunford, New Zealand-Australian footballer
- 1963 – Kira Ivanova, Russian figure skater (d. 2001)
- 1964 – Brad Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Maciej Śliwowski, Polish footballer
- 1969 – Simone Bagel-Trah, German businessperson
- 1970 – Buff Bagwell, American wrestler and actor
- 1970 – Alisa Marić, Serbian chess player and politician, Serbian Minister of Youth and Sports
- 1972 – Mohammed Benzakour, Moroccan-Dutch journalist, poet, and author
- 1973 – Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
- 1973 – Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican-American boxer
- 1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand comedian, actor, and musician
- 1974 – Davide Dionigi, Italian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Steve Marlet, French footballer, forward and coach
- 1974 – Bob Peeters, Belgian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
- 1975 – Jake Delhomme, American football player
- 1976 – Adam Kennedy, American baseball player
- 1976 – Ian Poulter, English golfer
- 1978 – Johan van der Wath, South African cricketer
- 1979 – Simone Cavalli, Italian footballer
- 1980 – Sarah Shahi, American actress
- 1980 – DeShaun Foster, American football player
- 1981 – James Coppinger, English footballer
- 1981 – Jared Kushner, American real estate investor and political figure
- 1982 – Julien Brellier, French footballer
- 1982 – Tomasz Brzyski, Polish footballer
- 1984 – Marouane Chamakh, Moroccan footballer
- 1984 – Trent Cutler, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Ariane Friedrich, German high jumper
- 1984 – Kalki Koechlin, Indian actress
- 1986 – Kirsten Flipkens, Belgian tennis player
- 1986 – Hideaki Ikematsu, Japanese footballer
- 1986 – Kenneth Vermeer, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
- 1988 – Leonard Patrick Komon, Kenyan runner
- 1988 – Vladimir Zharkov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Emily Meade, American actress
- 1989 – Kyle Reimers, Australian footballer
- 1990 – Mirko Bortolotti, Italian racing driver
- 1990 – Ishiura Masakatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1990 – Cody Walker, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – John Carlson, American ice hockey player
- 1991 – Chad Townsend, Australian rugby league player
 Deaths on January 10
- 259 – Polyeuctus, Roman saint
- 314 – Miltiades, pope of the Catholic Church
- 681 – Agatho, pope of the Catholic Church
- 976 – John I Tzimiskes, Byzantine emperor (b. 925)
- 987 – Pietro I Orseolo, doge of Venice (b. 928)
- 1055 – Bretislav I, duke of Bohemia
- 1094 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Egyptian caliph (b. 1029)
- 1218 – Hugh I, king of Cyprus
- 1276 – Gregory X, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1210)
- 1322 – Petrus Aureolus, scholastic philosopher
- 1358 – Abu Inan Faris, Marinid ruler of Morocco (b. 1329)
- 1552 – Johann Cochlaeus, German humanist and controversialist (b. 1479)
- 1645 – William Laud, English archbishop and academic (b. 1573)
- 1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, physician, and astrologer (b. 1616)
- 1698 – Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, French priest and historian (b. 1637)
- 1754 – Edward Cave, English publisher, founded The Gentleman’s Magazine (b. 1691)
- 1761 – Edward Boscawen, English admiral and politician (b. 1711)
- 1778 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist and physician (b. 1707)
- 1794 – Georg Forster, German-Polish ethnologist and journalist (b. 1754)
- 1811 – Joseph Chénier, French poet, playwright, and politician (b. 1764)
- 1824 – Victor Emmanuel I, duke of Savoy and king of Sardinia (b. 1759)
- 1828 – François de Neufchâteau, French poet, academic, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (b. 1750)
- 1829 – Gregorio Funes, Argentinian clergyman, historian, and educator (b. 1749)
- 1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1752)
- 1843 – Dimitrie Macedonski, Greek-Romanian captain and politician (b. 1780)
- 1851 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775)
- 1855 – Mary Russell Mitford, English author and playwright (b. 1787)
- 1862 – Samuel Colt, American engineer and businessman, founded Colt’s Manufacturing Company (b. 1814)
- 1863 – Lyman Beecher, American minister and activist, co-founded the American Temperance Society (b. 1775)
- 1895 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American chemist, physicist, and academic (b. 1836)
- 1895 – Benjamin Godard, French violinist and composer (b. 1849)
- 1901 – James Robert Dickson, English-Australian businessman and politician, 1st Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1832)
- 1904 – Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
- 1905 – Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (b. 1835)
- 1917 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846)
- 1917 – Feliks Leparsky, Russian fencer and captain (b. 1875)
- 1920 – Sali Nivica, Albanian journalist and politician (b. 1890)
- 1922 – Frank Tudor, Australian politician, 6th Australian Minister for Trade and Investment (b. 1866)
- 1926 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet and journalist (b. 1878)
- 1935 – Edwin Flack, Australian tennis player and runner (b. 1873)
- 1935 – Charlie McGahey, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1871)
- 1941 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (b. 1879)
- 1941 – John Lavery, Irish painter and academic (b. 1856)
- 1941 – Joe Penner, Hungarian-American actor (b. 1904)
- 1941 – Issai Schur, Belarusian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1875)
- 1949 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (b. 1865)
- 1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
- 1951 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist and academic (b. 1890)
- 1954 – Chester Wilmot, American journalist and historian (b. 1911)
- 1956 – Zonia Baber, American geographer and geologist (b. 1862)
- 1957 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
- 1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American novelist (b. 1867)
- 1959 – Şükrü Kaya, Turkish jurist and politician, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
- 1960 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1879)
- 1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American detective novelist and screenwriter (b. 1894)
- 1967 – Charles E. Burchfield, American painter (b. 1893)
- 1968 – Ali Fuat Cebesoy, Turkish general and politician, 6th Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey (b. 1882)
- 1969 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 2nd Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1891)
- 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian pilot and astronaut (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded Chanel (b. 1883)
- 1971 – Ignazio Giunti, Italian race car driver (b. 1941)
- 1972 – Aksel Larsen, Danish lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
- 1976 – Howlin’ Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1910)
- 1978 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist and author (b. 1924)
- 1978 – Don Gillis, American composer and conductor (b. 1912)
- 1978 – Hannah Gluckstein, British painter (b. 1895)
- 1980 – Hughie Critz, American baseball player and scout (b. 1900)
- 1980 – George Meany, American plumber and trade union leader (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Bo Rein, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
- 1981 – Fawn M. Brodie, American historian and author (b. 1915)
- 1984 – Souvanna Phouma, Laotian politician, 8th Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
- 1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech journalist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Marion Hutton, American singer (b. 1919)
- 1987 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Herbert Morrison, American journalist and producer (b. 1905)
- 1990 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (b. 1925)
- 1992 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1919)
- 1995 – Kathleen Tynan, Canadian-English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 1997 – Elspeth Huxley, Kenyan-English journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- 1999 – Edward Williams, Australian lieutenant, pilot, and judge (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Sam Jaffe, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1901)
- 2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 2005 – Wasyly, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Jack Horner, American journalist (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (b. 1927)
- 2007 – Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Bradford Washburn, American explorer, photographer, and cartographer (b. 1910)
- 2008 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater and actor (b. 1967)
- 2008 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Patcha Ramachandra Rao, Indian metallurgist, educator and administrator (b. 1942)
- 2011 – Margaret Whiting, American singer (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Jean Pigott, Canadian businesswoman and politician (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Gevork Vartanian, Russian intelligence agent (b. 1924)
- 2013 – George Gruntz, Swiss pianist and composer (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Petr Hlaváček, Czech shoemaker and academic (b. 1950)
- 2014 – Zbigniew Messner, Polish economist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Larry Speakes, American journalist, 16th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Junior Malanda, Belgian footballer (b. 1994)
- 2015 – Taylor Negron, American actor, playwright, and painter (b. 1957)
- 2015 – Francesco Rosi, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Robert Stone, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1937)
- 2016 – Wim Bleijenberg, Dutch footballer and manager (b. 1930)
- 2016 – David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1947)
- 2016 – George Jonas, Hungarian-Canadian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1935)
- 2017 – Buddy Greco, American jazz and pop singer and pianist (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Clare Hollingworth, English journalist (b. 1911)
- 2020 – Qaboos bin Said, Ruler Of Oman (b. 1940)
 Holidays and observances on January 10
- Christian feast day:
- Gregory of Nyssa
- Leonie Aviat
- Obadiah (Coptic Church)
- Peter Orseolo
- Pope Agatho (Roman Catholic)
- William Laud (Anglican Communion)
- William of Donjeon
- January 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 
- Fête du Vodoun (Benin)
- Margaret Thatcher Day (Falkland Islands)
- Majority Rule Day (Bahamas)