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1858

February 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 660 BC – Traditional date for the foundation of Japan by Emperor Jimmu.
  • AD 55 – The death under mysterious circumstances of Tiberius Claudius Caesar Britannicus, heir to the Roman empire, on the eve of his coming of age clears the way for Nero to become Emperor.
  • 1534 – Henry VIII of England is recognized as supreme head of the Church of England.
  • 1659 – The assault on Copenhagen by Swedish forces is beaten back with heavy losses.
  • 1794 – First session of United States Senate opens to the public.
  • 1808 – Jesse Fell burns anthracite on an open grate as an experiment in heating homes with coal.
  • 1812 – Massachusetts governor Elbridge Gerry is accused of “gerrymandering” for the first time.
  • 1823 – Carnival tragedy of 1823: About 110 boys are killed during a stampede at the Convent of the Minori Osservanti in Valletta, Malta.
  • 1826 – University College London is founded as University of London.
  • 1840 – Gaetano Donizetti’s opera La fille du régiment receives its first performance in Paris, France.
  • 1843 – Giuseppe Verdi’s opera I Lombardi alla prima crociata receives its first performance in Milan, Italy.
  • 1855 – Kassa Hailu is crowned Tewodros II, Emperor of Ethiopia.
  • 1856 – The Kingdom of Awadh is annexed by the British East India Company and Wajid Ali Shah, the king of Awadh, is deposed.
  • 1858 – Bernadette Soubirous’s first vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes, France.
  • 1861 – American Civil War: The United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.
  • 1873 – King Amadeo I of Spain abdicates.
  • 1889 – Meiji Constitution of Japan is adopted.
  • 1903 – Anton Bruckner’s 9th Symphony receives its first performance in Vienna, Austria.
  • 1906 – Pope Pius X publishes the encyclical Vehementer Nos.
  • 1919 – Friedrich Ebert (SPD), is elected President of Germany.
  • 1929 – Kingdom of Italy and the Vatican sign the Lateran Treaty.
  • 1937 – The Flint sit-down strike ends when General Motors recognizes the United Auto Workers trade union.
  • 1938 – BBC Television produces the world’s first ever science fiction television programme, an adaptation of a section of the Karel Čapek play R.U.R., that coined the term “robot”.
  • 1942 – World War II: Second day of the Battle of Bukit Timah is fought in Singapore.
  • 1953 – Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower denies all appeals for clemency for Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
  • 1953 – The Soviet Union breaks off diplomatic relations with Israel.
  • 1959 – The Federation of Arab Emirates of the South is created as a protectorate of the United Kingdom.
  • 1970 – Japan launches Ohsumi, becoming the fourth nation to put an object into orbit using its own booster.
  • 1971 – Cold War: the Seabed Arms Control Treaty opened for signature outlawing nuclear weapons on the ocean floor in international waters.
  • 1979 – The Iranian Revolution establishes an Islamic theocracy under the leadership of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
  • 1990 – Nelson Mandela is released from Victor Verster Prison outside Cape Town, South Africa after 27 years as a political prisoner.
  • 1990 – Buster Douglas, a 42:1 underdog, knocks out Mike Tyson in ten rounds at Tokyo to win boxing’s world Heavyweight title.
  • 1997 – Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on a mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope.
  • 1999 – Pluto crosses Neptune’s orbit, ending a nearly 20-year period when it was closer to the Sun than the gas giant; Pluto is not expected to interact with Neptune’s orbit again until 2231.
  • 2001 – A Dutch programmer launched the Anna Kournikova virus infecting millions of emails via a trick photo of the tennis star.
  • 2008 – Rebel East Timorese soldiers seriously wound President José Ramos-Horta. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado is killed in the attack.
  • 2011 – Arab Spring: The first wave of the Egyptian revolution culminates in the resignation of Hosni Mubarak and the transfer of power to the Supreme Military Council after 17 days of protests.
  • 2013 – The Vatican confirmed that Pope Benedict XVI would resign the papacy as a result of his advanced age.
  • 2014 – A military transport plane crashes in a mountainous area of Oum El Bouaghi Province in eastern Algeria, killing 77 people.
  • 2015 – A university student was murdered as she resisted an attempted rape in Turkey, sparking nationwide protests and public outcry against harassment and violence against women.
  • 2016 – A man shoots six people dead at an education center in Jizan Province, Saudi Arabia.
  • 2017 – North Korea test fires a ballistic missile across the Sea of Japan.
  • 2018 – Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashes near Moscow, Russia with 71 deaths and no survivors.

Births on February 11

  • 1380 – Poggio Bracciolini, Italian scholar and translator (d. 1459)
  • 1466 – Elizabeth of York (d. 1503)
  • 1535 – Pope Gregory XIV (d. 1591)
  • 1568 – Honoré d’Urfé, French author and playwright (d. 1625)
  • 1649 – William Carstares, Scottish minister and academic (d. 1715)
  • 1657 – Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, French poet and playwright (d. 1757)
  • 1708 – Egidio Duni, Italian composer (d. 1775)
  • 1764 – Joseph Chénier, French poet and playwright (d. 1811)
  • 1776 – Ioannis Kapodistrias, Greek politician, 1st Governor of Greece (d. 1831)
  • 1800 – Henry Fox Talbot, English photographer and politician, invented the calotype (d. 1877)
  • 1802 – Lydia Maria Child, American journalist, author, and activist (d. 1880)
  • 1805 – Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, Native American-French Canadian explorer (d. 1866)
  • 1812 – Alexander H. Stephens, American lawyer and politician, Vice President of the Confederate States of America (d. 1883)
  • 1813 – Otto Ludwig, German author, playwright, and critic (d. 1865)
  • 1821 – Auguste Mariette, French archaeologist and scholar (d. 1881)
  • 1830 – Hans Bronsart von Schellendorff, Prussian pianist and composer (d. 1913)
  • 1833 – Melville Fuller, American lawyer and jurist, Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1910)
  • 1839 – Josiah Willard Gibbs, American physicist (d. 1903)
  • 1845 – Ahmet Tevfik Pasha, Ottoman soldier and politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1936)
  • 1847 – Thomas Edison, American engineer and businessman, developed the light bulb and phonograph (d. 1931)
  • 1855 – Ellen Day Hale, American painter and author (b. 1855)
  • 1860 – Rachilde, French author and playwright (d. 1953)
  • 1863 – John F. Fitzgerald, American politician; Mayor of Boston (d. 1950)
  • 1864 – Louis Bouveault, French chemist (d. 1909)
  • 1869 – Helene Kröller-Müller, German-Dutch art collector and philanthropist, founded the Kröller-Müller Museum (d. 1939)
  • 1869 – Else Lasker-Schüler, German poet and author (d. 1945)
  • 1874 – Elsa Beskow, Swedish author and illustrator (d. 1953)
  • 1881 – Carlo Carrà, Italian painter (d. 1966)
  • 1897 – Emil Leon Post, Polish-American mathematician and logician (d.1954)
  • 1898 – Leo Szilard, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (d. 1964)
  • 1900 – Ellen Broe, Danish nurse, pioneer in nursing education (d. 1994)
  • 1900 – Hans-Georg Gadamer, German philosopher and scholar (d. 2002)
  • 1900 – Jōsei Toda, Japanese educator and activist (d. 1958)
  • 1902 – Arne Jacobsen, Danish architect, designed Radisson Blu Royal Hotel (d. 1971)
  • 1904 – Keith Holyoake, New Zealand farmer and politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1983)
  • 1904 – Lucile Randon, French Supercentenarian
  • 1908 – Philip Dunne, American screenwriter (d. 1992)
  • 1908 – Vivian Fuchs, English explorer (d. 1999)
  • 1909 – Max Baer, American boxer and actor (d. 1959)
  • 1909 – Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1993)
  • 1912 – Rudolf Firkušný, Czech-American pianist and educator (d. 1994)
  • 1914 – Matt Dennis, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2002)
  • 1914 – Josh White, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1969)
  • 1915 – Patrick Leigh Fermor, English soldier, author, and scholar (d. 2011)
  • 1915 – Richard Hamming, American mathematician and academic (d. 1998)
  • 1917 – Sidney Sheldon, American author and screenwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1920 – Farouk I, King of Egypt (d. 1965)
  • 1920 – Daniel F. Galouye, American author (d. 1976)
  • 1920 – Billy Halop, American actor (d. 1976)
  • 1920 – Daniel James, Jr., American general and pilot (d. 1978)
  • 1921 – Lloyd Bentsen, American colonel and politician, United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 2006)
  • 1921 – Ottavio Missoni, Italian hurdler and fashion designer, founded Missoni (d. 2013)
  • 1923 – Antony Flew, English philosopher and academic (d. 2010)
  • 1924 – Budge Patty, American tennis player
  • 1925 – Virginia E. Johnson, American psychologist and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1925 – Kim Stanley, American actress (d. 2001)
  • 1926 – Paul Bocuse, French chef (d. 2018)
  • 1926 – Leslie Nielsen, Canadian-American actor and producer (d. 2010)
  • 1930 – Roy De Forest, American painter and academic (d. 2007).
  • 1932 – Dennis Skinner, English miner and politician
  • 1934 – Mel Carnahan, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, Governor of Missouri (d. 2000)
  • 1934 – Tina Louise, American actress and singer
  • 1934 – Manuel Noriega, Panamanian general and politician, Military leader of Panama (d. 2017)
  • 1934 – Mary Quant, British fashion designer
  • 1934 – David Taylor, English veterinarian and television host (d. 2013)
  • 1935 – Gene Vincent, American singer and guitarist (d. 1971)
  • 1936 – Burt Reynolds, American actor and director (d. 2018)
  • 1937 – Ian Gow, British Member of Parliament who was assassinated by the IRA (d. 1990)
  • 1937 – Bill Lawry, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1937 – Eddie Shack, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1937 – Phillip Walker, American singer and guitarist (d. 2010)
  • 1938 – Bevan Congdon, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2018)
  • 1939 – Gerry Goffin, American songwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1940 – Mick Staton, American soldier and politician (d. 2014)
  • 1941 – Sérgio Mendes, Brazilian pianist and composer
  • 1942 – Otis Clay, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
  • 1943 – Joselito, Spanish singer and actor
  • 1943 – Alan Rubin, American trumpet player (d. 2011)
  • 1944 – Mike Oxley, American lawyer and politician (d. 2016)
  • 1944 – Joy Williams, American novelist, short story writer, and essayist
  • 1946 – Ian Porterfield, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2007)
  • 1947 – Yukio Hatoyama, Japanese engineer and politician and Prime Minister of Japan
  • 1947 – Derek Shulman, Scottish singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1951 – Mike Leavitt, American politician, 14th Governor of Utah
  • 1953 – Philip Anglim, American actor
  • 1953 – Jeb Bush, American banker, politician and Governor of Florida
  • 1953 – Tom Veryzer, American baseball player (d. 2014)
  • 1954 – Wesley Strick, American director and screenwriter
  • 1956 – Didier Lockwood, French violinist (d. 2018)
  • 1959 – Roberto Moreno, Brazilian race car driver
  • 1960 – Richard Mastracchio, American engineer and astronaut
  • 1962 – Tammy Baldwin, American lawyer and politician
  • 1962 – Sheryl Crow, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1964 – Sarah Palin, American journalist, politician and Governor of Alaska
  • 1964 – Ken Shamrock, American martial artist and wrestler
  • 1965 – Vicki Wilson, Australian netball player
  • 1968 – Mo Willems, American author and illustrator
  • 1969 – Jennifer Aniston, American actress and producer
  • 1969 – Andreas Hilfiker, Swiss footballer
  • 1969 – John Salako, Nigerian-English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
  • 1971 – Damian Lewis, English actor
  • 1972 – Steve McManaman, English footballer
  • 1973 – Varg Vikernes, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter
  • 1974 – Nick Barmby, English international footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1974 – D’Angelo, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1974 – Jaroslav Špaček, Czech ice hockey player and coach
  • 1975 – Andy Lally, American race car driver
  • 1975 – Callum Thorp, Australian cricketer
  • 1975 – Jacque Vaughn, American basketball player and coach
  • 1976 – Tony Battie, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1979 – Brandy Norwood, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1982 – Ľubomíra Kalinová, Slovak biathlete
  • 1982 – Neil Robertson, Australian snooker player
  • 1983 – Rafael van der Vaart, Dutch international footballer, midfielder
  • 1984 – Maarten Heisen, Dutch sprinter
  • 1984 – Marco Marcato, Italian cyclist
  • 1984 – Maxime Talbot, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Šárka Strachová, Czech skier
  • 1987 – Luca Antonelli, Italian footballer
  • 1987 – Juanmi Callejón, Spanish footballer
  • 1987 – Ellen van Dijk, Dutch cyclist
  • 1987 – Brian Matusz, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Jan Smeekens, Dutch speed skater
  • 1988 – Vlad Moldoveanu, Romanian basketball player
  • 1990 – Javier Aquino, Mexican footballer
  • 1991 – Nikola Mirotic, Spanish basketball player
  • 1992 – Lasse Norman Hansen, Danish track and road cyclist
  • 1993 – Ben McLemore, American basketball player
  • 1994 – Dansby Swanson, American baseball player
  • 1996 – Jonathan Tah, German footballer

Deaths on February 11

  • AD 55 – Britannicus, Roman son of Claudius (b. 41)
  • 244 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (b. 225)
  • 641 – Heraclius, Byzantine emperor (b. 575)
  • 731 – Pope Gregory II (b. 669)
  • 824 – Pope Paschal I
  • 1141 – Hugh of Saint Victor, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1096)
  • 1503 – Elizabeth of York (b. 1466)
  • 1626 – Pietro Cataldi, Italian mathematician and astronomer (b. 1548)
  • 1650 – René Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1596)
  • 1755 – Francesco Scipione, marchese di Maffei, Italian archaeologist, playwright, and critic (b. 1675)
  • 1763 – William Shenstone, English poet and gardener (b. 1714)
  • 1795 – Carl Michael Bellman, Swedish poet and composer (b. 1740)
  • 1829 – Alexander Griboyedov, Russian poet, playwright, and composer (b. 1795)
  • 1862 – Elizabeth Siddal, English poet and artist’s model (b. 1829)
  • 1868 – Léon Foucault, French physicist and academic (b. 1819)
  • 1898 – Félix María Zuloaga, Mexican general and unconstitutional interim president (1858 and 1860-1862) (b. 1813)
  • 1901 – Milan I of Serbia (b. 1855)
  • 1917 – Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician and epidemiologist (b. 1872)
  • 1918 – Alexey Kaledin, Russian general (b. 1861)
  • 1931 – Charles Algernon Parsons, English-Irish engineer, invented the steam turbine (b. 1854)
  • 1940 – John Buchan, Scottish-Canadian historian and politician, Governor General of Canada (b. 1875)
  • 1940 – Ellen Day Hale, American painter and author (b. 1855)
  • 1942 – Jamnalal Bajaj, Indian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1884)
  • 1947 – Martin Klein, Estonian wrestler and coach (b. 1884)
  • 1948 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1898)
  • 1949 – Axel Munthe, Swedish doctor (b. 1857)
  • 1958 – Ernest Jones, Welsh neurologist and psychoanalyst (b. 1879)
  • 1963 – John Olof Dahlgren, Swedish-American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1872)
  • 1963 – Sylvia Plath, American poet, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1932)
  • 1967 – A. J. Muste, Dutch-American minister and activist (b. 1885)
  • 1968 – Howard Lindsay, American playwright (b. 1889)
  • 1973 – J. Hans D. Jensen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
  • 1975 – Richard Ratsimandrava, Malagasy colonel and politician, President of Madagascar (b. 1931)
  • 1976 – Lee J. Cobb, American actor (b. 1911)
  • 1976 – Alexander Lippisch, German pilot and engineer (b. 1894)
  • 1977 – Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, Indian lawyer and politician, President of India (b. 1905)
  • 1977 – Louis Beel, Dutch academic and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1902)
  • 1978 – James Bryant Conant, American chemist and academic (b. 1893)
  • 1978 – Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist, essayist, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
  • 1982 – Eleanor Powell, American actress and dancer (b. 1912)
  • 1985 – Henry Hathaway, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1898)
  • 1986 – Frank Herbert, American journalist and author (b. 1920)
  • 1989 – George O’Hanlon, American actor and voice artist (b. 1912)
  • 1993 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
  • 1994 – Neil Bonnett, American race car driver (b. 1946)
  • 1994 – Sorrell Booke, American lieutenant, actor, and director (b. 1930)
  • 1994 – William Conrad, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1920)
  • 1994 – Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-Swiss philosopher and academic (b. 1924)
  • 1996 – Amelia Rosselli, Italian poet and author (b. 1930)
  • 2000 – Lord Kitchner, Trinidadian singer (b. 1922)
  • 2000 – Roger Vadim, French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1928)
  • 2002 – Frankie Crosetti, American baseball player and coach (b. 1910)
  • 2002 – Barry Foster, English actor (b. 1931)
  • 2004 – Shirley Strickland, Australian runner (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Jack L. Chalker, American author (b. 1944)
  • 2006 – Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter (b. 1940)
  • 2006 – Ken Fletcher, Australian tennis player (b. 1940)
  • 2006 – Jackie Pallo, English wrestler and actor (b. 1926)
  • 2008 – Tom Lantos, American lawyer and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2008 – Frank Piasecki, American engineer (b. 1919)
  • 2009 – Estelle Bennett, American singer (b. 1941)
  • 2009 – Willem Johan Kolff, Dutch-American physician and academic (b. 1911)
  • 2010 – Heward Grafftey, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2010 – Alexander McQueen, English fashion designer, founder of his eponymous brand (b. 1969)
  • 2011 – Chuck Tanner, American baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
  • 2012 – Siri Bjerke, Norwegian politician, Norwegian Minister of the Environment (b. 1958)
  • 2012 – Aharon Davidi, Israeli general (b. 1927)
  • 2012 – Whitney Houston, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (b. 1963)
  • 2013 – Rick Huxley, English bass player (b. 1940)
  • 2014 – Alice Babs, Swedish singer and actress (b. 1924)
  • 2014 – Tito Canepa, Dominican-American painter (b. 1916)
  • 2014 – Fernando González Pacheco, Colombian journalist and actor (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Roger Hanin, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
  • 2015 – Bob Simon, American journalist (b. 1941)
  • 2015 – Jerry Tarkanian, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
  • 2016 – Kevin Randleman, American mixed martial artist and wrestler (b. 1971)
  • 2016 – Zeng Xuelin, Thai-Chinese footballer and manager (b. 1929)
  • 2017 – Fab Melo, Brazilian basketball player (b. 1990)
  • 2017 – Jaap Rijks, Dutch Olympian (b. 1919)
  • 2018 – Vic Damone, American singer, songwriter and actor (b. 1928)
  • 2018 – Asma Jahangir, Pakistani human-rights lawyer and social activist (b. 1952)
  • 2018 – Jan Maxwell, American stage and television actress (b. 1956)
  • 2018 – Qazi Wajid, Pakistani drama actor, writer and artist (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances on February 11

  • Christian feast day:
    • Blaise Eastern Orthodox liturgics
    • Cædmon, first recorded Christian poet in England, circa 680 CE (Anglicanism)
    • Gobnait
    • Gregory II
    • Lazarus of Milan
  • European 112 Day (European Union)
  • Armed Forces Day (Liberia)
  • Evelio Javier Day (Panay Island, the Philippines)
  • Feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes (Catholic Church), and its related observance
    • World Day of the Sick (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Inventors’ Day (United States)
  • National Foundation Day (Japan)
  • Youth Day (Cameroon)
  • International Day of Women and Girls in Science (UN Women)

February 11 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1258 – Mongol invasions: Baghdad falls to the Mongols, bringing the Islamic Golden Age to an end.
  • 1306 – In front of the high altar of Greyfriars Church in Dumfries, Robert the Bruce murders John Comyn sparking the revolution in the Wars of Scottish Independence.
  • 1355 – The St Scholastica Day riot breaks out in Oxford, England, leaving 63 scholars and perhaps 30 locals dead in two days.
  • 1502 – Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, on his second voyage to India.
  • 1567 – Lord Darnley, second husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, is found strangled following an explosion at the Kirk o’ Field house in Edinburgh, Scotland, a suspected assassination.
  • 1712 – Huilliches in Chiloé rebel against Spanish encomenderos.
  • 1763 – French and Indian War: The Treaty of Paris ends the war and France cedes Quebec to Great Britain.
  • 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: The Battle of Champaubert ends in French victory over the Russians and the Prussians.
  • 1840 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom marries Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
  • 1846 – First Anglo-Sikh War: Battle of Sobraon: British defeat Sikhs in the final battle of the war.
  • 1861 – Jefferson Davis is notified by telegraph that he has been chosen as provisional President of the Confederate States of America.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: A Union naval flotilla destroys the bulk of the Confederate Mosquito Fleet in the Battle of Elizabeth City on the Pasquotank River in North Carolina.
  • 1906 – HMS Dreadnought, the first of a revolutionary new breed of battleships is christened and launched by King Edward VII.
  • 1920 – Józef Haller de Hallenburg performs symbolic wedding of Poland to the sea, celebrating restitution of Polish access to open sea.
  • 1920 – About 75 % of the population in Zone I votes to join Denmark in the 1920 Schleswig plebiscites.
  • 1923 – Texas Tech University is founded as Texas Technological College in Lubbock, Texas
  • 1930 – The Việt Nam Quốc Dân Đảng launches the failed Yên Bái mutiny in hope to overthrow French protectorate over Vietnam.
  • 1933 – In round 13 of a boxing match at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, Primo Carnera knocks out Ernie Schaaf. Schaaf dies four days later.
  • 1936 – Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italian troops launched the Battle of Amba Aradam against Ethiopian defenders.
  • 1939 – Spanish Civil War: The Nationalists conclude their conquest of Catalonia and seal the border with France.
  • 1940 – The Soviet Union begins mass deportations of Polish citizens from occupied eastern Poland to Siberia.
  • 1940 – Cartoon characters Tom and Jerry make their debut with Puss Gets the Boot.
  • 1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Army capture Banjarmasin, capital of Borneo in Dutch East Indies.
  • 1943 – World War II: Attempting to completely lift the Siege of Leningrad, the Soviet Red Army engages German troops and Spanish volunteers in the Battle of Krasny Bor.
  • 1947 – The Paris Peace Treaties are signed by Italy, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Finland and the Allies of World War II.
  • 1954 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower warns against United States intervention in Vietnam.
  • 1962 – Cold War: Captured American U2 spy-plane pilot Gary Powers is exchanged for captured Soviet spy Rudolf Abel.
  • 1962 – Roy Lichtenstein’s first solo exhibition opened, and it included Look Mickey, which featured his first employment of Ben-Day dots, speech balloons and comic imagery sourcing, all of which he is now known for.
  • 1964 – Melbourne–Voyager collision: The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne collides with and sinks the destroyer HMAS Voyager off the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, killing 82.
  • 1967 – The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.
  • 1972 – Ras Al Khaimah joins the United Arab Emirates, now making up seven emirates.
  • 1984 – Kenyan soldiers kill an estimated 5000 ethnic Somali Kenyans in the Wagalla massacre.
  • 1989 – Ron Brown is elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee becoming the first African American to lead a major American political party.
  • 1996 – IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in chess for the first time.
  • 2003 – France and Belgium break the NATO procedure of silent approval concerning the timing of protective measures for Turkey in case of a possible war with Iraq.
  • 2007 – Then Illinois senator Barack Obama announces his candidacy for president in the 2008 elections, which he later goes on to win.
  • 2009 – The communications satellites Iridium 33 and Kosmos 2251 collide in orbit, destroying both.
  • 2013 – Thirty-six people are killed and 39 others are injured in a stampede in Allahabad, India, during the Kumbh Mela festival.
  • 2016 – South Korea decides to stop the operation of the Kaesong joint industrial complex with North Korea in response to the launch of Kwangmyŏngsŏng-4.
  • 2018 – 19 people are killed and 66 injured when a Kowloon Motor Bus double-decker on route 872 in Hong Kong overturns.

Births on February 10

  • 1486 – George of the Palatinate, German bishop (d. 1529)
  • 1499 – Thomas Platter, Swiss author and scholar (d. 1582)
  • 1514 – Domenico Bollani, Bishop of Milan (d. 1579)
  • 1606 – Christine of France, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1663)
  • 1609 – John Suckling, English poet and playwright (d. 1642)
  • 1627 – Cornelis de Bie, Flemish poet and jurist (d. 1715)
  • 1685 – Aaron Hill, English poet and playwright (d. 1750)
  • 1696 – Johann Melchior Molter, German violinist and composer (d. 1765)
  • 1744 – William Cornwallis, English admiral and politician (d. 1819)
  • 1766 – Benjamin Smith Barton, American botanist and physician (d. 1815)
  • 1775 – Charles Lamb, English poet and essayist (d. 1834)
  • 1785 – Claude-Louis Navier, French physicist and engineer (d. 1836)
  • 1795 – Ary Scheffer, Dutch-French painter and academic (d. 1858)
  • 1797 – George Chichester, 3rd Marquess of Donegall (d. 1883)
  • 1821 – Roberto Bompiani, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1908)
  • 1824 – Samuel Plimsoll, English merchant and politician (d. 1898)
  • 1842 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (d. 1907)
  • 1843 – Adelina Patti, Italian-French opera singer (d. 1919)
  • 1846 – Lord Charles Beresford, Irish admiral and politician (d. 1919)
  • 1846 – Ira Remsen, American chemist and academic (d. 1927)
  • 1847 – Nabinchandra Sen, Bangladeshi poet and author (d. 1909)
  • 1859 – Alexandre Millerand, French lawyer and politician, 12th President of France (d. 1943)
  • 1867 – Robert Garran, Australian lawyer and public servant (d. 1957)
  • 1868 – Prince Waldemar of Prussia (d. 1879)
  • 1868 – William Allen White, American journalist and author (d. 1944)
  • 1869 – Royal Cortissoz, American art critic (d. 1948)
  • 1879 – Ernst Põdder, Estonian general (d. 1932)
  • 1881 – Pauline Brunius, Swedish actress and director (d. 1954)
  • 1883 – Edith Clarke, American electrical engineer (d. 1959)
  • 1883 – H.V. Hordern, Australian cricketer (d. 1938)
  • 1889 – Cevdet Sunay, Turkish general and politician, 5th President of Turkey (d. 1982)
  • 1890 – Fanny Kaplan, Ukrainian-Russian activist (d. 1918)
  • 1890 – Boris Pasternak, Russian poet, novelist, and literary translator Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1960)
  • 1892 – Alan Hale Sr., American actor and director (d. 1950)
  • 1893 – Jimmy Durante, American actor, singer, and pianist (d. 1980)
  • 1893 – Bill Tilden, American tennis player and coach (d. 1953)
  • 1894 – Harold Macmillan, English captain and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1986)
  • 1897 – Judith Anderson, Australian actress (d. 1992)
  • 1897 – John Franklin Enders, American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
  • 1898 – Bertolt Brecht, German director, playwright, and poet (d. 1956)
  • 1898 – Joseph Kessel, French journalist and author (d. 1979)
  • 1901 – Stella Adler, American actress and educator (d. 1992)
  • 1902 – Walter Houser Brattain, Chinese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
  • 1903 – Waldemar Hoven, German physician (d. 1948)
  • 1903 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (d. 1939)
  • 1904 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1963)
  • 1905 – Walter A. Brown, American businessman, founded the Boston Celtics (d. 1964)
  • 1905 – Chick Webb, American drummer and bandleader (d. 1939)
  • 1906 – Lon Chaney Jr., American actor (d. 1973)
  • 1907 – Anthony Cottrell, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1988)
  • 1908 – Jean Coulthard, Canadian composer and educator (d. 2000)
  • 1909 – Min Thu Wun, Burmese poet, scholar, and politician (d. 2004)
  • 1910 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
  • 1914 – Larry Adler, American harmonica player, composer, and actor (d. 2001)
  • 1915 – Vladimir Zeldin, Russian actor (d. 2016)
  • 1919 – Ioannis Charalambopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece (d. 2014)
  • 1920 – Alex Comfort, English physician and author (d. 2000)
  • 1920 – Neva Patterson, American actress (d. 2010)
  • 1920 – José Manuel Castañón, Spanish lawyer and author (d. 2001)
  • 1922 – Árpád Göncz, Hungarian author, playwright, and politician, 1st President of Hungary (d. 2015)
  • 1922 – José Gabriel da Costa later known as Mestre Gabriel, Brazilian spiritual leader, founder of the União do Vegetal (d. 1971)
  • 1923 – Allie Sherman, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
  • 1924 – Max Ferguson, Canadian radio host and actor (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2005)
  • 1925 – Pierre Mondy, French actor and director (d. 2012)
  • 1926 – Sidney Bryan Berry, American general (d. 2013)
  • 1926 – Danny Blanchflower, Northern Irish soldier, footballer and manager (d. 1993)
  • 1927 – Leontyne Price, American operatic soprano
  • 1929 – Jerry Goldsmith, American composer and conductor (d. 2004)
  • 1929 – Jim Whittaker, American mountaineer
  • 1929 – Lou Whittaker, American mountaineer
  • 1930 – E. L. Konigsburg, American author and illustrator (d. 2013)
  • 1930 – Robert Wagner, American actor and producer
  • 1931 – James Edward Maceo West, American inventor and acoustician
  • 1932 – Barrie Ingham, English-American actor (d. 2015)
  • 1933 – Richard Schickel, American journalist, author, and critic (d. 2017)
  • 1933 – Faramarz Payvar, Iranian santur player and composer (d. 2009)
  • 1935 – Theodore Antoniou, Greek composer and conductor (d. 2018)
  • 1937 – Anne Anderson, Scottish physiologist and academic (d. 1983)
  • 1937 – Roberta Flack, American singer-songwriter and pianist
  • 1939 – Adrienne Clarkson, Hong Kong-Canadian journalist and politician, 26th Governor General of Canada
  • 1939 – Deolinda Rodríguez de Almeida, Angolan nationalist (d. 1967)
  • 1940 – Mary Rand, English sprinter and long jumper
  • 1940 – Kenny Rankin, American singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
  • 1941 – Michael Apted, English director and producer
  • 1944 – Peter Allen, Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (d. 1992)
  • 1944 – Frank Keating, American lawyer and politician, 25th Governor of Oklahoma
  • 1944 – Frances Moore Lappé, American author and activist
  • 1944 – Rufus Reid, American bassist and composer
  • 1945 – Delma S. Arrigoitia, Puerto Rican historian, author, educator and lawyer
  • 1947 – Louise Arbour, Canadian lawyer and jurist
  • 1947 – Butch Morris, American cornet player, composer, and conductor (d. 2013)
  • 1947 – Nicholas Owen, English journalist
  • 1949 – Nigel Olsson, English rock drummer and singer-songwriter
  • 1950 – Luis Donaldo Colosio, Mexican economist and politician (d. 1994)
  • 1950 – Mark Spitz, American swimmer
  • 1951 – Bob Iger, American media executive
  • 1952 – Lee Hsien Loong, Singaporean general and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Singapore
  • 1955 – Jim Cramer, American television personality, pundit, and author
  • 1955 – Greg Norman, Australian golfer and sportscaster
  • 1956 – Enele Sopoaga, Tuvaluan politician, 12th Prime Minister of Tuvalu
  • 1957 – Katherine Freese, American astrophysicist and academic
  • 1959 – John Calipari, American basketball player and coach
  • 1960 – Jim Kent, American biologist, computer programmer, academic
  • 1961 – Alexander Payne, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1961 – George Stephanopoulos, American television journalist
  • 1962 – Randy Velischek, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1962 – Cliff Burton, American heavy metal bassist (d. 1986)
  • 1963 – Lenny Dykstra, American baseball player
  • 1964 – Glenn Beck, American journalist, producer, and author
  • 1966 – Natalie Bennett, Australian-English journalist and politician
  • 1966 – Daryl Johnston, American football player and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Laura Dern, American actress, director, and producer
  • 1967 – Jacky Durand, French cyclist and sportscaster
  • 1967 – Vince Gilligan, American director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1968 – Peter Popovic, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
  • 1968 – Garrett Reisman, American engineer and astronaut
  • 1969 – Joe Mangrum, American painter and sculptor
  • 1969 – James Small, South African rugby player (d. 2019)
  • 1970 – Melissa Doyle, Australian journalist and author
  • 1970 – Noureddine Naybet, Moroccan international footballer, central defender and manager
  • 1970 – Åsne Seierstad, Norwegian journalist and author
  • 1971 – Lorena Rojas, Mexican actress and singer (d. 2015)
  • 1972 – Michael Kasprowicz, Australian cricketer
  • 1973 – Martha Lane Fox, Baroness Lane-Fox of Soho, English businesswoman and politician
  • 1974 – Elizabeth Banks, American actress
  • 1974 – Ty Law, American football player
  • 1974 – Ivri Lider, Israeli singer
  • 1974 – Henry Paul, New Zealand rugby player and coach
  • 1976 – Lance Berkman, American baseball player and coach
  • 1976 – Keeley Hawes, English actress
  • 1977 – Salif Diao, Senegalese footballer
  • 1979 – Joey Hand, American race car driver
  • 1980 – César Izturis, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1980 – Enzo Maresca, Italian footballer
  • 1980 – Mike Ribeiro, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1981 – Uzo Aduba, American actress
  • 1981 – Stephanie Beatriz, American actress
  • 1981 – Andrew Johnson, English international footballer, forward and club ambassador
  • 1981 – Holly Willoughby, English model and television host
  • 1982 – Justin Gatlin, American sprinter
  • 1982 – Tarmo Neemelo, Estonian footballer
  • 1982 – Hamad Al-Tayyar, Kuwaiti footballer
  • 1982 – Iafeta Paleaaesina, New Zealand rugby league player
  • 1983 – Vic Fuentes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1984 – Greg Bird, Australian rugby league player
  • 1984 – Alex Gordon, American baseball player
  • 1984 – Kim Hyo-jin, South Korean actress
  • 1985 – Selçuk İnan, Turkish footballer
  • 1985 – Paul Millsap, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Jeff Adrien, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Josh Akognon, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Radamel Falcao, Colombian footballer
  • 1986 – Roberto Jiménez Gago, Spanish footballer
  • 1986 – Viktor Troicki, Serbian tennis player
  • 1987 – Jakub Kindl, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1987 – Facundo Roncaglia, Argentinian footballer
  • 1988 – Francesco Acerbi, Italian footballer
  • 1989 – Liam Hendriks, Australian baseball player
  • 1990 – Barbara Guarischi, Italian cyclist
  • 1990 – Choi Soo-young, South Korean singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer
  • 1991 – Rebecca Dempster, Scottish footballer
  • 1991 – Emma Roberts, American actress
  • 1992 – Haruka Nakagawa, Japanese singer and actress
  • 1992 – Reinhold Yabo, German footballer
  • 1993 – Max Kepler, German baseball player
  • 1993 – Filip Twardzik, Czech footballer
  • 1993 – Luis Madrigal, Mexican footballer
  • 1994 – Kang Seul-gi, South Korean singer and member of Red Velvet
  • 1995 – Carolane Soucisse, Canadian ice dancer
  • 1996 – Emanuel Mammana, Argentinian footballer
  • 1997 – Lilly King, American swimmer
  • 1997 – Chloë Grace Moretz, American actress
  • 1997 – Nadia Podoroska, Argentinian tennis player
  • 2000 – Yara Shahidi, American actress and model

Deaths on February 10

  • 547 – Scholastica, Christian nun
  • 1127 – William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 1071)
  • 1163 – Baldwin III of Jerusalem (b. 1130)
  • 1242 – Emperor Shijō of Japan (b. 1231)
  • 1242 – Saint Verdiana, Italian recluse (b. 1182)
  • 1280 – Margaret II, Countess of Flanders (b. 1202)
  • 1306 – John “the Red” Comyn, Scottish nobleman
  • 1307 – Temür Khan, Emperor Chengzong of Yuan (b. 1265)
  • 1346 – Blessed Clare of Rimini (b. 1282)
  • 1471 – Frederick II, Margrave of Brandenburg (b. 1413)
  • 1524 – Catherine of Saxony, Archduchess of Austria (b. 1468)
  • 1526 – John V, Count of Oldenburg, German noble (b. 1460)
  • 1567 – Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, consort of Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1545)
  • 1576 – Wilhelm Xylander, German scholar, translator, and academic (b. 1532)
  • 1686 – William Dugdale, English genealogist and historian (b. 1605)
  • 1755 – Montesquieu, French lawyer and philosopher (b. 1689)
  • 1782 – Friedrich Christoph Oetinger, German theologian and author (b. 1702)
  • 1829 – Pope Leo XII (b. 1760)
  • 1837 – Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet and author (b. 1799)
  • 1854 – José Joaquín de Herrera, Mexican politician and general. President three times (1844–1854) (b. 1792)
  • 1857 – David Thompson, English-Canadian surveyor and explorer (b. 1770)
  • 1865 – Heinrich Lenz, Estonian-Italian physicist and academic (b. 1804)
  • 1879 – Honoré Daumier, French illustrator and painter (b. 1808)
  • 1887 – Ellen Wood, English author (b. 1814)
  • 1891 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (b. 1850)
  • 1904 – John A. Roche, American lawyer and politician, 30th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1844)
  • 1906 – Ezra Butler Eddy, American-Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1827)
  • 1912 – Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, English surgeon and academic (b. 1827)
  • 1913 – Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, Greek long jumper (b. 1888)
  • 1917 – John William Waterhouse, English soldier and painter (b. 1849)
  • 1918 – Abdul Hamid II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1842)
  • 1918 – Ernesto Teodoro Moneta, Italian soldier and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1833)
  • 1920 – Henry Strangways, English-Australian politician, 12th Premier of South Australia (b. 1832)
  • 1923 – Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
  • 1928 – José Sánchez del Río, Mexican martyr and saint (b. 1913)
  • 1932 – Edgar Wallace, English author and screenwriter (b. 1875)
  • 1939 – Pope Pius XI (b. 1857)
  • 1944 – E. M. Antoniadi, Greek-French astronomer and chess player (b. 1870)
  • 1945 – Anacleto Díaz, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1878)
  • 1950 – Marcel Mauss, French sociologist and anthropologist (b. 1872)
  • 1956 – Leonora Speyer, American poet and violinist (b. 1872)
  • 1956 – Emmanouil Tsouderos, Greek banker and politician, 132nd Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1882)
  • 1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American author (b. 1867)
  • 1960 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (b. 1898)
  • 1966 – Billy Rose, American composer and songwriter (b. 1899)
  • 1967 – Dionysios Kokkinos, Greek historian and author (b. 1884)
  • 1975 – Nikos Kavvadias, Greek sailor and poet (b. 1910)
  • 1979 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1910)
  • 1992 – Alex Haley, American soldier, journalist, and author (b. 1921)
  • 1993 – Fred Hollows, New Zealand-Australian ophthalmologist and academic (b. 1929)
  • 1995 – Paul Monette, American author, poet, and activist (b. 1945)
  • 1997 – Brian Connolly, Scottish musician, lead singer The Sweet (b. 1945)
  • 2000 – Jim Varney, American actor, comedian and writer (b. 1949)
  • 2001 – Abraham Beame, American academic and politician, 104th Mayor of New York City (b. 1906)
  • 2001 – Buddy Tate, American saxophonist and clarinet player (b. 1913)
  • 2002 – Dave Van Ronk, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
  • 2003 – Edgar de Evia, Mexican-American photographer (b. 1910)
  • 2003 – Albert J. Ruffo, American lawyer and politician, Mayor of San Jose (b. 1908)
  • 2003 – Ron Ziegler, American politician, 14th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
  • 2005 – Arthur Miller, American actor, playwright, and author (b. 1915)
  • 2006 – James Yancey, American record producer and rapper (b. 1974)
  • 2008 – Roy Scheider, American actor and boxer (b. 1932)
  • 2010 – Fred Schaus, American basketball player and coach (b. 1925)
  • 2010 – Charles Wilson, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1933)
  • 2011 – Trevor Bailey, English cricketer and journalist (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Lloyd Morrison, New Zealand banker and businessman, founded H. R. L. Morrison & Co (b. 1957)
  • 2012 – Jeffrey Zaslow, American journalist and author (b. 1958)
  • 2013 – W. Watts Biggers, American author, screenwriter, and animator (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – David Hartman, American-Israeli rabbi and philosopher, founded the Shalom Hartman Institute (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Stuart Hall, Jamaican-English sociologist and theorist (b. 1932)
  • 2014 – Shirley Temple, American actress and diplomat (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Naseer Aruri, Palestinian scholar and activist (b. 1934)
  • 2015 – Karl Josef Becker, German cardinal and theologian (b. 1928)
  • 2015 – Deng Liqun, Chinese theorist and politician (b. 1915)
  • 2016 – Fatima Surayya Bajia, Indian-Pakistani author and playwright (b. 1930)
  • 2017 – Mike Ilitch, American businessman (b. 1929)
  • 2019 – Carmen Argenziano, American actor (b. 1943)
  • 2019 – Jan-Michael Vincent, American actor (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on February 10

  • Christian feast day:
    • Austrebertha
    • Charalambos
    • José Sánchez del Río
    • Scholastica
    • February 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Feast of St. Paul’s Shipwreck (Malta)
  • Fenkil Day (Eritrea)
  • Kurdish Authors Union Day (Iraqi Kurdistan)
  • National Memorial Day of the Exiles and Foibe (Italy)

February 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /

February 6 in History

  • AD 60 – The earliest date for which the day of the week is known. A graffito in Pompeii identifies this day as a dies Solis (Sunday). In modern reckoning, this date would have been a Wednesday.
  • 1579 – The Archdiocese of Manila is made a diocese by a papal bull with Domingo de Salazar being its first bishop.
  • 1685 – James II of England and VII of Scotland is proclaimed King upon the death of his brother Charles II.
  • 1694 – The warrior queen Dandara, leader of the runaway slaves in Quilombo dos Palmares, Brazil, is captured and commits suicide rather than be returned to a life of slavery.
  • 1778 – American Revolutionary War: In Paris the Treaty of Alliance and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce are signed by the United States and France signaling official recognition of the new republic.
  • 1778 –New York became the third state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
  • 1788 – Massachusetts becomes the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
  • 1806 – Battle of San Domingo: British naval victory against the French in the Caribbean.
  • 1819 – Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founds Singapore.
  • 1820 – The first 86 African American immigrants sponsored by the American Colonization Society depart New York to start a settlement in present-day Liberia.
  • 1833 – Otto becomes the first modern King of Greece.
  • 1840 – Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, establishing New Zealand as a British colony.
  • 1843 – The first minstrel show in the United States, The Virginia Minstrels, opens (Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City).
  • 1851 – The largest Australian bushfires in a populous region in recorded history take place in the state of Victoria.
  • 1862 – American Civil War: Forces under the command of Ulysses S. Grant and Andrew H. Foote give the Union its first victory of the war, capturing Fort Henry, Tennessee in the Battle of Fort Henry.
  • 1899 – Spanish–American War: The Treaty of Paris, a peace treaty between the United States and Spain, is ratified by the United States Senate.
  • 1900 – The Permanent Court of Arbitration, an international arbitration court at The Hague, is created when the Senate of the Netherlands ratifies an 1899 peace conference decree.
  • 1918 – British women over the age of 30 who meet minimum property qualifications, get the right to vote when Representation of the People Act 1918 is passed by Parliament.
  • 1919 – The American Legion is founded.
  • 1919 – The five-day Seattle General Strike begins, as more than 65,000 workers in the city of Seattle, Washington, walk off the job.
  • 1922 – The Washington Naval Treaty is signed in Washington, D.C., limiting the naval armaments of United States, Britain, Japan, France, and Italy.
  • 1934 – Far-right leagues rally in front of the Palais Bourbon in an attempted coup against the French Third Republic, creating a political crisis in France.
  • 1951 – The Canadian Army enters combat in the Korean War.
  • 1951 – The Broker, a Pennsylvania Railroad passenger train derails near Woodbridge Township, New Jersey. The accident kills 85 people and injures over 500 more. The wreck is one of the worst rail disasters in American history.
  • 1952 – Elizabeth II becomes Queen of the United Kingdom and her other Realms and Territories and Head of the Commonwealth upon the death of her father, George VI. At the exact moment of succession, she was in a tree house at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya.
  • 1958 – Eight Manchester United F.C. players and 15 other passengers are killed in the Munich air disaster.
  • 1959 – Jack Kilby of Texas Instruments files the first patent for an integrated circuit.
  • 1959 – At Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile is accomplished.
  • 1976 – In testimony before a United States Senate subcommittee, Lockheed Corporation president Carl Kotchian admits that the company had paid out approximately $3 million in bribes to the office of Japanese Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka.
  • 1978 – The Blizzard of 1978, one of the worst Nor’easters in New England history, hit the region, with sustained winds of 65 mph and snowfall of four inches an hour.
  • 1981 – The National Resistance Army of Uganda launches an attack on a Ugandan Army installation in the central Mubende District to begin the Ugandan Bush War.
  • 1987 – Justice Mary Gaudron becomes the first woman to be appointed to the High Court of Australia.
  • 1988 – Michael Jordan makes his signature slam dunk from the free throw line inspiring Air Jordan and the Jumpman logo.
  • 1989 – The Round Table Talks start in Poland, thus marking the beginning of the overthrow of communism in Eastern Europe.
  • 1996 – Willamette Valley Flood: Floods in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, United States, causes over US$500 million in property damage throughout the Pacific Northwest.
  • 1996 – Birgenair Flight 301 crashed off the coast of the Dominican Republic, killing all 189 people on board. This is the deadliest aviation accident involving a Boeing 757.
  • 1998 – Washington National Airport is renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport.
  • 2000 – Second Chechen War: Russia captures Grozny, Chechnya, forcing the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria government into exile.
  • 2006 – Stephen Harper becomes Prime Minister of Canada.
  • 2016 – An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 strikes southern Taiwan, killing 117 people.
  • 2018 – SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy, a super heavy launch vehicle, makes its maiden flight.

Births on February 6

  • 885 – Emperor Daigo of Japan (d. 930)
  • 1402 – Louis I, Landgrave of Hesse, Landgrave of Hesse (d. 1458)
  • 1452 – Joanna, Princess of Portugal (d. 1490)
  • 1453 – Girolamo Benivieni, Florentine poet (d. 1542)
  • 1465 – Scipione del Ferro, Italian mathematician and theorist (d. 1526)
  • 1536 – Sassa Narimasa, Japanese samurai (d. 1588)
  • 1577 – Beatrice Cenci, Italian murderer (d. 1599)
  • 1582 – Mario Bettinus, Italian mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (d. 1657)
  • 1608 – António Vieira, Portuguese priest and philosopher (d. 1697)
  • 1611 – Chongzhen Emperor of China (d. 1644)
  • 1612 – Antoine Arnauld, French mathematician, theologian, and philosopher (d. 1694)
  • 1643 – Johann Kasimir Kolbe von Wartenberg, Prussian politician, 1st Minister President of Prussia (d. 1712)
  • 1649 – Augusta Marie of Holstein-Gottorp, German noblewoman (d. 1728)
  • 1664 – Mustafa II, Ottoman sultan (d. 1703)
  • 1665 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland (d. 1714)
  • 1665 – Anne, Queen of Great Britain (d. 1714)
  • 1695 – Nicolaus II Bernoulli, Swiss-Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1726)
  • 1719 – Alberto Pullicino, Maltese painter (d. 1759)
  • 1726 – Patrick Russell, Scottish surgeon and zoologist (d. 1805)
  • 1732 – Charles Lee, English-American general (d. 1782)
  • 1736 – Franz Xaver Messerschmidt, German-Austrian sculptor (d. 1783)
  • 1744 – Pierre-Joseph Desault, French anatomist and surgeon (d. 1795)
  • 1748 – Adam Weishaupt, German philosopher and academic, founded the Illuminati (d. 1830)
  • 1753 – Évariste de Parny, French poet and author (d. 1814)
  • 1756 – Aaron Burr, American colonel and politician, 3rd Vice President of the United States (d. 1836)
  • 1758 – Julian Ursyn Niemcewicz, Belarusian-Polish poet, playwright, and politician (d. 1841)
  • 1769 – Ludwig von Wallmoden-Gimborn, Austrian general (d. 1862)
  • 1772 – George Murray, Scottish general and politician, Secretary of State for War and the Colonies (d. 1830)
  • 1778 – Ugo Foscolo, Italian author and poet (d. 1827)
  • 1781 – John Keane, 1st Baron Keane, Irish general and politician, Governor of Saint Lucia (d. 1844)
  • 1796 – John Stevens Henslow, English botanist and geologist (d. 1861)
  • 1797 – Joseph von Radowitz, Prussian general and politician, Foreign Minister of Prussia (d. 1853)
  • 1799 – Imre Frivaldszky, Hungarian botanist and entomologist (d. 1870)
  • 1800 – Achille Devéria, French painter and lithographer (d. 1857)
  • 1802 – Charles Wheatstone, English-French physicist and cryptographer (d. 1875)
  • 1811 – Henry Liddell, English priest, author, and academic (d. 1898)
  • 1814 – Auguste Chapdelaine, French missionary and saint (d. 1856)
  • 1818 – William M. Evarts, American lawyer and politician, 27th United States Secretary of State (d. 1901)
  • 1820 – Thomas C. Durant, American railroad tycoon (d. 1885)
  • 1829 – Joseph Auguste Émile Vaudremer, French architect, designed the La Santé Prison and Saint-Pierre-de-Montrouge (d. 1914)
  • 1832 – John Brown Gordon, American general and politician, 53rd Governor of Georgia (d. 1904)
  • 1833 – José María de Pereda, Spanish author and academic (d. 1906)
  • 1833 – J. E. B. Stuart, American general (d. 1864)
  • 1834 – Edwin Klebs, German-Swiss pathologist and academic (d. 1913)
  • 1834 – Ema Pukšec, Croatian-German soprano (d. 1889)
  • 1834 – Wilhelm von Scherff, German general and author (d. 1911)
  • 1838 – Henry Irving, English actor and manager (d. 1905)
  • 1838 – Israel Meir Kagan, Lithuanian-Polish rabbi and author (d. 1933)
  • 1839 – Eduard Hitzig, German neurologist and psychiatrist (d. 1907)
  • 1842 – Alexandre Ribot, French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1923)
  • 1843 – Inoue Kowashi, Japanese scholar and politician (d. 1895)
  • 1843 – Frederic William Henry Myers, English poet and philologist, co-founded the Society for Psychical Research (d. 1901)
  • 1845 – Isidor Straus, German-American businessman and politician (d. 1912)
  • 1847 – Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, American architect, designed the Plaza Hotel (d. 1918)
  • 1852 – C. Lloyd Morgan, English zoologist and psychologist (d. 1936)
  • 1852 – Vasily Safonov, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1918)
  • 1861 – Nikolay Zelinsky, Russian chemist and academic (d. 1953)
  • 1864 – John Henry Mackay, Scottish-German philosopher and author (d. 1933)
  • 1866 – Karl Sapper, German linguist and explorer (d. 1945)
  • 1872 – Robert Maillart, Swiss engineer, designed the Salginatobel Bridge and Schwandbach Bridge (d. 1940)
  • 1874 – Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, Indian religious leader, founded the Gaudiya Math (d. 1937)
  • 1875 – Leonid Gobyato, Russian general (d. 1915)
  • 1876 – Henry Blogg, English fisherman and sailor (d. 1954)
  • 1879 – Othon Friesz, French painter (d. 1949)
  • 1879 – Magnús Guðmundsson, Icelandic lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1937)
  • 1879 – Edwin Samuel Montagu, English politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (d. 1924)
  • 1879 – Carl Ramsauer, German physicist and author (d. 1955)
  • 1880 – Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna (d. 1931)
  • 1884 – Marcel Cohen, French linguist and scholar (d. 1974)
  • 1887 – Josef Frings, German cardinal (d. 1978)
  • 1890 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pakistani activist and politician (d. 1988)
  • 1890 – James McGirr, Australian politician, 28th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1957)
  • 1892 – Maximilian Fretter-Pico, German general (d. 1984)
  • 1892 – William P. Murphy, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
  • 1893 – Muhammad Zafarullah Khan, Pakistani politician and diplomat, 1st Minister of Foreign Affairs for Pakistan (d. 1985)
  • 1894 – Eric Partridge, New Zealand-English lexicographer and academic (d. 1979)
  • 1894 – Kirpal Singh, Indian spiritual master (d. 1974)
  • 1895 – Robert La Follette Jr., American politician (d. 1953)
  • 1895 – María Teresa Vera, Cuban singer, guitarist and composer (d. 1965)
  • 1895 – Babe Ruth, American baseball player and coach (d. 1948)
  • 1898 – Harry Haywood, American soldier and politician (d. 1985)
  • 1899 – Ramon Novarro, Mexican-American actor, singer, and director (d. 1968)
  • 1901 – Ben Lyon, American actor (d. 1979)
  • 1902 – George Brunies, American trombonist (d. 1974)
  • 1903 – Claudio Arrau, Chilean pianist and composer (d. 1991)
  • 1905 – Władysław Gomułka, Polish politician (d. 1982)
  • 1905 – Jan Werich, Czech actor and playwright (d. 1980)
  • 1906 – Joseph Schull, Canadian playwright and historian (d. 1980)
  • 1908 – Amintore Fanfani, Italian journalist and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Italy (d. 1999)
  • 1908 – Edward Lansdale, American general and CIA agent (d. 1987)
  • 1908 – Geo Bogza, Romanian poet and journalist (d. 1993)
  • 1908 – Michael Maltese, American actor, screenwriter, and composer (d. 1981)
  • 1910 – Roman Czerniawski, Polish air force officer and spy (d. 1985)
  • 1910 – Irmgard Keun, German author (d. 1982)
  • 1910 – Carlos Marcello, Tunisian-American gangster (d. 1993)
  • 1911 – Ronald Reagan, American actor and politician, 40th President of the United States (d. 2004)
  • 1912 – Eva Braun, German wife of Adolf Hitler (d. 1945)
  • 1912 – Christopher Hill, English historian and author (d. 2003)
  • 1913 – Mary Leakey, English-Kenyan archaeologist and anthropologist (d. 1996)
  • 1914 – Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor and singer (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Kavi Pradeep, Indian poet and songwriter (d. 1998)
  • 1916 – John Crank, English mathematician and physicist (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Louis-Philippe de Grandpré, Canadian lawyer and jurist (d. 2008)
  • 1917 – Zsa Zsa Gabor, Hungarian-American actress and socialite (d. 2016)
  • 1918 – Lothar-Günther Buchheim, German author and painter (d. 2007)
  • 1919 – Takashi Yanase, Japanese poet and illustrator, created Anpanman (d. 2013)
  • 1921 – Carl Neumann Degler, American historian and author (d. 2014)
  • 1921 – Bob Scott, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2012)
  • 1922 – Patrick Macnee, English-American actor and costume designer (d. 2015)
  • 1922 – Denis Norden, English actor, screenwriter, and television host (d. 2018)
  • 1922 – Haskell Wexler, American director, producer, and cinematographer (d. 2015)
  • 1923 – Gyula Lóránt, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1981)
  • 1924 – Billy Wright, English footballer and manager (d. 1994)
  • 1924 – Jin Yong, Hong Kong author and publisher, founded Ming Pao (d. 2018)
  • 1925 – Walker Edmiston, American actor and puppeteer (d. 2007)
  • 1927 – Gerard K. O’Neill, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1992)
  • 1928 – Allan H. Meltzer, American economist and academic (d. 2017)
  • 1929 – Colin Murdoch, New Zealand pharmacist and veterinarian, invented the tranquilliser gun (d. 2008)
  • 1929 – Oscar Sambrano Urdaneta, Venezuelan author and critic (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Valentin Yanin, Russian historian and author (d. 2020)
  • 1930 – Jun Kondo, Japanese physicist and academic
  • 1931 – Rip Torn, American actor (d. 2019)
  • 1931 – Fred Trueman, English cricketer (d. 2006)
  • 1931 – Mamie Van Doren, American actress and model
  • 1931 – Ricardo Vidal, Filipino cardinal (d. 2017)
  • 1932 – Camilo Cienfuegos, Cuban soldier and anarchist (d. 1959)
  • 1932 – François Truffaut, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1984)
  • 1933 – Leslie Crowther, English comedian, actor, and game show host (d. 1996)
  • 1936 – Kent Douglas, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2009)
  • 1938 – Fred Mifflin, Canadian admiral and politician, 19th Minister of Veterans Affairs (d. 2013)
  • 1939 – Jean Beaudin, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2019)
  • 1939 – Mike Farrell, American actor, director, producer, activist and public speaker
  • 1939 – Jair Rodrigues, Brazilian singer (d. 2014)
  • 1940 – Tom Brokaw, American journalist and author
  • 1940 – Petr Hájek, Czech mathematician and academic (d. 2016)
  • 1940 – Jimmy Tarbuck, English comedian and actor
  • 1941 – Stephen Albert, American pianist and composer (d. 1992)
  • 1941 – Dave Berry, English pop singer
  • 1941 – Gigi Perreau, American actress and director
  • 1942 – Sarah Brady, American activist and author (d. 2015)
  • 1942 – Charlie Coles, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
  • 1942 – Ahmad-Jabir Ahmadov Ismail oghlu, Azerbaijani philosopher and academic
  • 1942 – James Loewen, American sociologist and historian
  • 1942 – Tommy Roberts, English fashion designer (d. 2012)
  • 1943 – Fabian Forte, American pop singer and actor
  • 1943 – Gayle Hunnicutt, American actress
  • 1944 – Christine Boutin, French politician, French Minister of Housing and Urban Development
  • 1944 – Willie Tee, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2007)
  • 1944 – Michael Tucker, American actor and producer
  • 1945 – Bob Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1981)
  • 1946 – Richie Hayward, American drummer and songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1946 – Kate McGarrigle, Canadian musician and singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1946 – Jim Turner, American captain and politician
  • 1947 – Bill Staines, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1947 – Charlie Hickcox, American swimmer (d .2010)
  • 1949 – Mike Batt, English singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1949 – Manuel Orantes, Spanish tennis player
  • 1949 – Jim Sheridan, Irish director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1950 – Natalie Cole, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2015)
  • 1950 – Timothy M. Dolan, American cardinal
  • 1950 – Punky Meadows, American rock guitarist and songwriter
  • 1952 – Ric Charlesworth, Australian cricketer, coach, and politician
  • 1952 – Viktor Giacobbo, Swiss actor, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1952 – Ricardo La Volpe, Argentinian footballer, manager, and coach
  • 1955 – Avram Grant, Israeli football manager
  • 1955 – Michael Pollan, American journalist, author, and academic
  • 1955 – Bruno Stolorz, French rugby player and coach
  • 1956 – Jerry Marotta, American drummer
  • 1957 – Andres Lipstok, Estonian economist and politician, Estonian Minister of Economic Affairs
  • 1957 – Kathy Najimy, American actress and comedian
  • 1957 – Simon Phillips, English drummer and producer
  • 1957 – Robert Townsend, American actor and director
  • 1958 – Cecily Adams, American actress and casting director (d. 2004)
  • 1960 – Jeremy Bowen, Welsh journalist
  • 1960 – Megan Gallagher, American actress
  • 1961 – Michael Bolt, Australian rugby league player
  • 1961 – Cam Cameron, American football player and coach
  • 1961 – Bill Lester, American race car driver
  • 1961 – Yury Onufriyenko, Ukrainian-Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1962 – Stavros Lambrinidis, Greek lawyer and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for Greece
  • 1962 – Axl Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1963 – David Capel, English cricketer
  • 1963 – Scott Gordon, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1963 – Quentin Letts, English journalist and critic
  • 1964 – Laurent Cabannes, French rugby player
  • 1964 – Gordon Downie, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2017)
  • 1964 – Colin Miller, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
  • 1964 – Andrey Zvyagintsev, Russian actor and director
  • 1965 – Jan Svěrák, Czech actor, director, and screenwriter
  • 1966 – Rick Astley, English singer-songwriter
  • 1967 – Anita Cochran, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1967 – Izumi Sakai, Japanese singer-songwriter (d. 2007)
  • 1968 – Adolfo Valencia, Colombian footballer
  • 1968 – Akira Yamaoka, Japanese composer and producer
  • 1969 – David Hayter, American actor and screenwriter
  • 1969 – Masaharu Fukuyama, Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1969 – Tim Sherwood, English international footballer midfielder and manager
  • 1969 – Bob Wickman, American baseball player
  • 1970 – Per Frandsen, Danish footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Tim Herron, American golfer
  • 1971 – Brad Hogg, Australian cricketer
  • 1971 – Carlos Rogers, American basketball player
  • 1972 – Stefano Bettarini, Italian footballer
  • 1972 – David Binn, American football player
  • 1974 – Aljo Bendijo, Filipino journalist
  • 1975 – Chad Allen, American baseball player and coach
  • 1975 – Orkut Büyükkökten, Turkish computer scientist and engineer, created Orkut
  • 1975 – Tomoko Kawase, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1976 – Tanja Frieden, Swiss snowboarder and educator
  • 1976 – Kim Zmeskal, American gymnast and coach
  • 1977 – Josh Stewart, American actor
  • 1978 – Yael Naim, French-Israeli singer-songwriter
  • 1979 – Dan Bălan, Moldovan singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1980 – Kerry Jeremy, Antiguan cricketer
  • 1980 – Kim Poirier, Canadian actress, singer, and producer
  • 1980 – Luke Ravenstahl, American politician, 58th Mayor of Pittsburgh
  • 1981 – Ricky Barnes, American golfer
  • 1981 – Calum Best, American-English model and actor
  • 1981 – Shim Eun-jin, South Korean singer and actress
  • 1981 – Alison Haislip, American actress and producer
  • 1981 – Jens Lekman, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1981 – Ty Warren, American football player
  • 1982 – Tank, Taiwanese singer-songwriter
  • 1982 – Alice Eve, English actress
  • 1982 – Elise Ray, American gymnast
  • 1983 – Melrose Bickerstaff, American model and fashion designer
  • 1983 – Brodie Croyle, American football player
  • 1983 – Dimas Delgado, Spanish footballer
  • 1983 – S. Sreesanth, Indian cricketer
  • 1983 – Jamie Whincup, Australian race car driver
  • 1984 – Darren Bent, English international footballer, forward
  • 1984 – Piret Järvis, Estonian singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1984 – Antoine Wright, American basketball player
  • 1985 – Ben Creagh, Australian rugby league player
  • 1985 – Kris Humphries, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Dane DeHaan, American actor
  • 1986 – Yunho, South Korean singer and actor
  • 1988 – Bailey Hanks, American actress, singer, and dancer
  • 1989 – Craig Cathcart, Northern Irish footballer
  • 1989 – Jonny Flynn, American basketball player
  • 1990 – Adam Henrique, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Jermaine Kearse, American football player
  • 1990 – Aida Rybalko, Lithuanian figure skater
  • 1991 – Tobias Eisenbauer, Austrian ice dancer
  • 1991 – Ida Njåtun, Norwegian speed skater
  • 1991 – Eva Wacanno, Dutch tennis player
  • 1991 – Fei Yu, Chinese footballer
  • 1992 – Víctor Mañón, Mexican footballer
  • 1993 – Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011
  • 1993 – Tinashe, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
  • 1994 – Charlie Heaton, British actor and musician
  • 1995 – Leon Goretzka, German footballer
  • 1995 – Sam McQueen, English footballer

Deaths on February 6

  • 743 – Hisham ibn Abd al-Malik, Umayyad caliph (b. 691)
  • 797 – Donnchad Midi, Irish king (b. 733)
  • 891 – Photios I of Constantinople (b. 810)
  • 1140 – Thurstan, Archbishop of York
  • 1155 – King Sigurd II of Norway (b. 1133)
  • 1215 – Hōjō Tokimasa, Japanese shikken of the Kamakura bakufu (b. 1138)
  • 1378 – Joanna of Bourbon (b. 1338)
  • 1411 – Esau de’ Buondelmonti, ruler of Epirus
  • 1497 – Johannes Ockeghem, Flemish composer and educator (b. 1410)
  • 1515 – Aldus Manutius, Italian publisher, founded the Aldine Press (b. 1449)
  • 1519 – Lorenz von Bibra, Prince-Bishop of the Bishopric of Würzburg (b. 1459)
  • 1539 – John III, Duke of Cleves (b. 1491)
  • 1585 – Edmund Plowden, English lawyer and scholar (b. 1518)
  • 1593 – Jacques Amyot, French author and translator (b. 1513)
  • 1593 – Emperor Ōgimachi of Japan (b. 1517)
  • 1597 – Franciscus Patricius, Italian philosopher and scientist (b. 1529)
  • 1612 – Christopher Clavius, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1538)
  • 1617 – Prospero Alpini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1553)
  • 1625 – Philipp Julius, Duke of Pomerania (b. 1584)
  • 1685 – Charles II of England (b. 1630)
  • 1695 – Ahmed II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1643)
  • 1740 – Pope Clement XII (b. 1652)
  • 1775 – William Dowdeswell, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1721)
  • 1783 – Capability Brown, English gardener and architect (b. 1716)
  • 1793 – Carlo Goldoni, Italian-French playwright (b. 1707)
  • 1804 – Joseph Priestley, English chemist and theologian (b. 1733)
  • 1807 – John Reid, Scottish general (b. 1721)
  • 1833 – Pierre André Latreille, French zoologist and entomologist (b. 1762)
  • 1834 – Richard Lemon Lander, English explorer (b. 1804)
  • 1865 – Isabella Beeton, English author of Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (b. 1836)
  • 1899 – Alfred, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (b. 1874)
  • 1899 – Leo von Caprivi, German general and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1831)
  • 1902 – John Colton, English-Australian politician, 13th Premier of South Australia (b. 1823)
  • 1916 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan poet, journalist, and diplomat (b. 1867)
  • 1918 – Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter and illustrator (b. 1862)
  • 1929 – Maria Christina of Austria (b. 1858)
  • 1931 – Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (b. 1861)
  • 1932 – John Earle, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1865)
  • 1938 – Marianne von Werefkin, Russian-Swiss painter (b. 1860)
  • 1942 – Jaan Soots, Estonian general and politician, 7th Estonian Minister of War (b. 1880)
  • 1951 – Gabby Street, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1882)
  • 1952 – George VI of the United Kingdom (b. 1895)
  • 1958 – victims of the Munich air disaster
    • – Geoff Bent, English footballer (b. 1932)
    • – Roger Byrne, English footballer (b. 1929)
    • – Eddie Colman, English footballer (b. 1936)
    • – Walter Crickmer, English footballer and manager (b. 1900)
    • – Mark Jones, English footballer (b. 1933)
    • – David Pegg, English footballer (b. 1935)
    • – Frank Swift, English footballer and journalist (b. 1913)
    • – Tommy Taylor, English footballer (b. 1932)
  • 1963 – Piero Manzoni, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1933)
  • 1964 – Emilio Aguinaldo, Filipino general and politician, 1st President of the Philippines (b. 1869)
  • 1967 – Martine Carol, French actress (b. 1920)
  • 1972 – Julian Steward, American anthropologist (b. 1902)
  • 1976 – Ritwik Ghatak, Bangladeshi-Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1925)
  • 1976 – Vince Guaraldi, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1928)
  • 1981 – Hugo Montenegro, American composer and conductor (b. 1925)
  • 1982 – Ben Nicholson, British painter (b. 1894)
  • 1985 – James Hadley Chase, English-Swiss soldier and author (b. 1906)
  • 1986 – Frederick Coutts, Scottish 8th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1899)
  • 1986 – Dandy Nichols, English actress (b. 1907)
  • 1986 – Minoru Yamasaki, American architect, designed the World Trade Center (b. 1912)
  • 1987 – Julien Chouinard, Canadian lawyer and jurist (b. 1929)
  • 1989 – Barbara W. Tuchman, American historian and author (b. 1912)
  • 1990 – Jimmy Van Heusen, American pianist and composer (b. 1913)
  • 1991 – Salvador Luria, Italian biologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
  • 1991 – Danny Thomas, American actor, producer, and humanitarian (b. 1914)
  • 1993 – Arthur Ashe, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1943)
  • 1994 – Joseph Cotten, American actor (b. 1905)
  • 1994 – Jack Kirby, American author and illustrator (b. 1917)
  • 1995 – James Merrill, American poet and playwright (b. 1926)
  • 1998 – Falco, Austrian pop-rock musician (b. 1957)
  • 1999 – Don Dunstan, Australian lawyer and politician, 35th Premier of South Australia (b. 1926)
  • 1999 – Jimmy Roberts, American tenor (b. 1924)
  • 2000 – Phil Walters, American race car driver (b. 1916)
  • 2001 – Filemon Lagman, Filipino theoretician and activist (b. 1953)
  • 2002 – Max Perutz, Austrian-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
  • 2004 – Gerald Bouey, Canadian lieutenant and economist (b. 1920)
  • 2005 – Karl Haas, German-American pianist, conductor, and radio host (b. 1913)
  • 2007 – Lew Burdette, American baseball player and coach (b. 1926)
  • 2007 – Frankie Laine, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1913)
  • 2007 – Willye White, American runner and long jumper (b. 1939)
  • 2008 – Tony Rolt, English race car driver and engineer (b. 1918)
  • 2009 – Philip Carey, American actor (b. 1925)
  • 2009 – James Whitmore, American actor (b. 1921)
  • 2011 – Gary Moore, Irish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1952)
  • 2012 – David Rosenhan, American psychologist and academic (b. 1929)
  • 2012 – Antoni Tàpies, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – Janice E. Voss, American engineer and astronaut (b. 1956)
  • 2013 – Chokri Belaid, Tunisian lawyer and politician (b. 1964)
  • 2013 – Menachem Elon, German-Israeli academic and jurist (b. 1923)
  • 2014 – Vasiľ Biľak, Slovak politician (b. 1917)
  • 2014 – Ralph Kiner, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Maxine Kumin, American author and poet (b. 1925)
  • 2014 – Vaçe Zela, Albanian-Swiss singer and guitarist (b. 1939)
  • 2015 – André Brink, South African author and playwright (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Alan Nunnelee, American lawyer and politician (b. 1958)
  • 2015 – Pedro León Zapata, Venezuelan cartoonist (b. 1929)
  • 2016 – Dan Gerson, American screenwriter (b. 1966)
  • 2016 – Dan Hicks, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
  • 2017 – Irwin Corey, American comedian and actor (b. 1914)
  • 2017 – Inge Keller, German actress (b. 1923)
  • 2017 – Alec McCowen, English actor (b. 1925)
  • 2017 – Joost van der Westhuizen, South African rugby union footballer (b. 1971)

Holidays and observances on February 6

  • Christian feast day:
    • Amand
    • Dorothea of Caesarea
    • Hildegund, O.Praem.
    • Jacut
    • Mateo Correa Magallanes (one of Saints of the Cristero War)
    • Mél of Ardagh
    • Paul Miki and Twenty-six Martyrs of Japan
    • Relindis (Renule) of Maaseik
    • Vedastus
    • February 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • International Day of Zero Tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (United Nations)
  • Ronald Reagan Day (California, United States)
  • Sami National Day (Russia, Finland, Norway and Sweden)
  • Waitangi Day, celebrates the founding of New Zealand in 1840.

February 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of “Roman law”.
  • 880 – Battle of Lüneburg Heath: King Louis III is defeated by the Norse Great Heathen Army at Lüneburg Heath in Saxony.
  • 962 – Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years.
  • 1032 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes king of Burgundy.
  • 1141 – The Battle of Lincoln, at which Stephen, King of England is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda.
  • 1207 – Terra Mariana, eventually comprising present-day Latvia and Estonia, is established.
  • 1438 – Nine leaders of the Transylvanian peasant revolt are executed at Torda.
  • 1461 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer’s Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England.
  • 1536 – Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • 1645 – Scotland in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Inverlochy.
  • 1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated.
  • 1709 – Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring Daniel Defoe’s adventure book Robinson Crusoe.
  • 1848 – Mexican–American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed.
  • 1850 – Brigham Young declares war on Timpanogos in the Battle at Fort Utah.
  • 1868 – Pro-Imperial forces captured Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burned it to the ground.
  • 1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed.
  • 1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed.
  • 1899 – The Australian Premiers’ Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia’s capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne.
  • 1901 – Funeral of Queen Victoria.
  • 1909 – The Paris Film Congress opens. An attempt by European producers to form an equivalent to the MPCC cartel in the United States.
  • 1913 – Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City.
  • 1920 – The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia.
  • 1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce is published.
  • 1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
  • 1934 – The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated.
  • 1935 – Leonarde Keeler administers polygraph tests to two murder suspects, the first time polygraph evidence was admitted in U.S. courts.
  • 1942 – The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling.
  • 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last organized German troops in the city.
  • 1959 – Nine experienced ski hikers in the northern Ural Mountains in the Soviet Union die under mysterious circumstances.
  • 1966 – Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
  • 1971 – Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda.
  • 1971 – The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran.
  • 1980 – Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation.
  • 1982 – Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama.
  • 1987 – After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution.
  • 1989 – Soviet–Afghan War: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul.
  • 1990 – Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela.
  • 2000 – First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments.
  • 2002 – Wedding of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, and Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti
  • 2004 – Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men’s singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks.
  • 2005 – The Government of Canada introduces the Civil Marriage Act. This legislation would become law on July 20, 2005, legalizing same-sex marriage.
  • 2007 – Police officer Filippo Raciti is killed when a clash breaks out in the Sicily derby between Catania and Palermo, in the Serie A, the top flight of Italian football. This event led to major changes in stadium regulations in Italy.
  • 2012 – The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 146-165 dead.

Births on February 2

  • 1208 – James I of Aragon (d. 1276)
  • 1282 – Maud Chaworth, Countess of Leicester (d. 1322).
  • 1425 (or 1426) – Eleanor of Navarre, Queen regnant of Navarre (d. 1479)
  • 1443 – Elisabeth of Bavaria, Electress of Saxony (d. 1486)
  • 1455 – John, King of Denmark (d. 1513)
  • 1457 – Peter Martyr d’Anghiera, Italian-Spanish historian and author (d. 1526)
  • 1467 – Columba of Rieti, Italian Dominican sister (d. 1501)
  • 1494 – Bona Sforza, queen of Sigismund I of Poland (d. 1557)
  • 1502 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher and historian (d. 1574)
  • 1506 – René de Birague, Italian-French cardinal and politician (d. 1583)
  • 1509 – John of Leiden, Dutch Anabaptist leader (d. 1536)
  • 1522 – Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1565)
  • 1536 – Piotr Skarga, Polish writer (d. 1612)
  • 1551 – Nicolaus Reimers, German astronomer (d. 1600)
  • 1576 – Alix Le Clerc, French Canoness Regular and foundress (d. 1622)
  • 1585 – Judith Quiney, William Shakespeare’s youngest daughter (d. 1662)
  • 1585 – Hamnet Shakespeare, William Shakespeare’s only son (baptised; d. 1596)
  • 1588 – Georg II of Fleckenstein-Dagstuhl, German nobleman (d. 1644)
  • 1600 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653)
  • 1611 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (d. 1633)
  • 1613 – Noël Chabanel, French missionary and saint (d. 1649)
  • 1621 – Johannes Schefferus, Swedish author and hymn-writer (d. 1679)
  • 1650 – Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730)
  • 1650 – Nell Gwyn, English actress, mistress of King Charles II of England (d. 1687)
  • 1651 – William Phips, Royal governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1695)
  • 1669 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (d. 1732)
  • 1677 – Jean-Baptiste Morin, French composer (d. 1745)
  • 1695 – William Borlase, English geologist and archaeologist (d. 1772)
  • 1695 – François de Chevert, French general (d. 1769)
  • 1700 – Johann Christoph Gottsched, German author and critic (d. 1766)
  • 1711 – Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (d. 1794)
  • 1714 – Gottfried August Homilius, German organist and composer (d. 1785)
  • 1717 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790)
  • 1754 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1838)
  • 1782 – Henri de Rigny, French admiral and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1835)
  • 1786 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1856)
  • 1802 – Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist and academic (d. 1887)
  • 1803 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (d. 1862)
  • 1829 – Alfred Brehm, German zoologist and illustrator (d. 1884)
  • 1829 – William Stanley, English engineer and philanthropist (d. 1909)
  • 1841 – François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss limnologist and hydrologist (d. 1912)
  • 1842 – Julian Sochocki, Polish-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1927)
  • 1849 – Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet and playwright (d. 1921)
  • 1851 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican illustrator and engraver (d. 1913)
  • 1856 – Frederick William Vanderbilt, American railway magnate (d. 1938)
  • 1856 – Makar Yekmalyan, Armenian composer (d. 1905)
  • 1857 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (d. 1918)
  • 1860 – Curtis Guild, Jr., American journalist and politician, 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915)
  • 1861 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (d. 1949)
  • 1862 – Émile Coste, French fencer (d. 1927)
  • 1862 – Cornelius McKane, American physician, educator, and hospital founder (d. 1912)
  • 1866 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and academic (d. 1927)
  • 1873 – Leo Fall, Austrian composer (d. 1925)
  • 1873 – Konstantin von Neurath, German politician and diplomat, 13th German Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1956)
  • 1875 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (d. 1962)
  • 1877 – Frank L. Packard, Canadian author (d. 1942)
  • 1878 – Joe Lydon, American boxer (d. 1937)
  • 1880 – Frederick Lane, Australian swimmer (d. 1969)
  • 1881 – Orval Overall, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947)
  • 1882 – Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (d. 1944)
  • 1882 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (d. 1941)
  • 1883 – Johnston McCulley, American author and screenwriter, created Zorro (d. 1958)
  • 1883 – Julia Nava de Ruisánchez, Mexican activist and writer (d. 1964)
  • 1886 – William Rose Benét, American poet and author (d. 1950)
  • 1887 – Ernst Hanfstaengl, German businessman (d. 1975)
  • 1889 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (d. 1952)
  • 1890 – Charles Correll, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1972)
  • 1892 – Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (d. 1959)
  • 1893 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1974)
  • 1893 – Raoul Riganti, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1970)
  • 1893 – Damdin Sükhbaatar, Mongolian soldier and politician (d. 1924)
  • 1895 – George Halas, American football player and coach (d. 1983)
  • 1895 – Robert Philipp, American painter (d. 1981)
  • 1895 – George Sutcliffe, Australian public servant (d. 1964)
  • 1896 – Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980)
  • 1897 – Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson’s (d. 1972)
  • 1897 – Gertrude Blanch, Russian-American mathematician (d. 1996)
  • 1900 – Anni Frind, German lyric soprano (d. 1987)
  • 1900 – Willie Kamm, American baseball player and manager (d. 1988)
  • 1901 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-born American violinist and educator (d. 1987)
  • 1902 – Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
  • 1902 – John Tonkin, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1995)
  • 1904 – Bozorg Alavi, Iranian author and activist (d. 1997)
  • 1905 – Ayn Rand, Russian-born American novelist and philosopher (d. 1982)
  • 1908 – Wes Ferrell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
  • 1909 – Frank Albertson, American actor (d. 1964)
  • 1911 – Jack Pizzey, Australian politician, 29th Premier of Queensland (d. 1968)
  • 1912 – Millvina Dean, English civil servant and cartographer (d. 2009)
  • 1912 – Burton Lane, American songwriter and composer (d. 1997)
  • 1913 – Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor and singer (d. 1985)
  • 1914 – Eric Kierans, Canadian economist and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2004)
  • 1915 – Abba Eban, South African-Israeli politician and diplomat, 1st Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
  • 1915 – Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (d. 2005)
  • 1915 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (d. 2014)
  • 1916 – Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1985)
  • 1917 – Mary Ellis, British World War II ferry pilot (d. 2018)
  • 1917 – Đỗ Mười, Vietnamese politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam (d. 2018)
  • 1918 – Hella Haasse, Indonesian-Dutch author (d. 2011)
  • 1919 – Lisa Della Casa, Swiss soprano and actress (d. 2012)
  • 1919 – Georg Gawliczek, German footballer and manager (d. 1999)
  • 1920 – George Hardwick, English footballer and coach (d. 2004)
  • 1920 – John Russell, American Olympic equestrian
  • 1920 – Arthur Willis, English footballer, full-back, player-manager (d. 1987)
  • 1922 – Kunwar Digvijay Singh, Indian field hockey player (d. 1978)
  • 1922 – Robert Chef d’Hôtel, French athlete (d. 2019)
  • 1922 – James L. Usry, American politician, first African-American mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2002)
  • 1922 – Stoyanka Mutafova, Bulgarian actress (d. 2019)
  • 1923 – Jean Babilée, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2014)
  • 1923 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (d. 1997)
  • 1923 – Svetozar Gligorić, Serbian and Yugoslav chess grandmaster (d.2012)
  • 1923 – Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (d. 1988)
  • 1923 – Red Schoendienst, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2018)
  • 1923 – Liz Smith, American journalist and author (d. 2017)
  • 1923 – Clem Windsor, Australian rugby player and surgeon (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian-American singer, pianist, producer (d. 2007)
  • 1924 – Sonny Stitt, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1982)
  • 1925 – Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
  • 1926 – Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, French academic and politician, 20th President of France
  • 1927 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (d. 1991)
  • 1927 – Doris Sams, American baseball player (d. 2012)
  • 1928 – Ciriaco De Mita, 47th Prime minister of Italy
  • 1928 – Jay Handlan, American basketball player and engineer (d. 2013)
  • 1928 – Tommy Harmer, English footballer, inside forward, youth team coach (d. 2007)
  • 1929 – Sheila Matthews Allen, American actress and producer (d. 2013)
  • 1929 – George Band, English engineer and mountaineer (d. 2011)
  • 1929 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – John Henry Holland, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Waldemar Kmentt, Austrian operatic tenor (d. 2015)
  • 1931 – Dries van Agt, Dutch politician, diplomat and jurist, Prime Minister of the Netherlands
  • 1931 – Les Dawson, English comedian and author (d. 1993)
  • 1931 – Glynn Edwards, Malaysian-English actor (d. 2018)
  • 1931 – John Paul Harney, Canadian educator and politician
  • 1931 – Judith Viorst, American journalist and author
  • 1932 – Arthur Lyman, American jazz vibraphone and marimba player (d. 2002)
  • 1932 – Robert Mandan, American actor (d. 2018)
  • 1933 – M’el Dowd, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
  • 1933 – Tony Jay, English-American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1933 – Orlando “Cachaíto” López, Cuban bassist and composer (d. 2009)
  • 1933 – Than Shwe, Burmese general and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma
  • 1935 – Pete Brown, American golfer (d. 2015)
  • 1935 – Evgeny Velikhov, Russian physicist and academic
  • 1936 – Duane Jones, American actor (d. 1988)
  • 1936 – Metin Oktay, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 1991)
  • 1937 – Don Buford, American baseball player and coach
  • 1937 – Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer and politician, President of Panama (d. 2015)
  • 1937 – Anthony Haden-Guest, British journalist, poet, and critic
  • 1937 – Remak Ramsay, American actor
  • 1937 – Tom Smothers, American comedian, actor, and activist
  • 1937 – Alexandra Strelchenko, Russian Singer (d. 2019)
  • 1938 – Norman Fowler, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
  • 1938 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
  • 1939 – Jackie Burroughs, English-born Canadian actress (d. 2010)
  • 1939 – Mary-Dell Chilton, American chemist and inventor and one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology
  • 1939 – Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
  • 1940 – Alan Caddy, English guitarist and producer (d. 2000)
  • 1940 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (d. 2008)
  • 1940 – Wayne Fontes, American football player and coach
  • 1940 – David Jason, English actor, director, and producer
  • 1941 – Terry Biddlecombe, English jockey (d. 2014)
  • 1942 – Bo Hopkins, American actor
  • 1942 – Graham Nash, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1944 – Andrew Davis, English organist and conductor
  • 1944 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (d. 2012)
  • 1944 – Ursula Oppens, American pianist and educator
  • 1945 – John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, English economist and academic
  • 1946 – John Armitt, English engineer and businessman
  • 1946 – Alpha Oumar Konaré, Malian academic and politician, 3rd President of Mali
  • 1946 – Constantine Papadakis, Greek-American businessman and academic (d. 2009)
  • 1947 – Greg Antonacci, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
  • 1947 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (d. 2009)
  • 1948 – Ina Garten, American chef and author
  • 1948 – Al McKay, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
  • 1948 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (d. 1973)
  • 1949 – Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
  • 1949 – Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (d. 1996)
  • 1949 – Brent Spiner, American actor and singer
  • 1949 – Ross Valory, American rock bass player and songwriter
  • 1950 – Osamu Kido, Japanese wrestler
  • 1950 – Libby Purves, British journalist and author
  • 1950 – Barbara Sukowa, German actress
  • 1950 – Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese wrestler
  • 1951 – Vangelis Alexandris, Greek basketball player and coach
  • 1951 – Ken Bruce, Scottish radio host
  • 1952 – John Cornyn, American lawyer and politician, 49th Attorney General of Texas
  • 1952 – Rick Dufay, French-American guitarist and songwriter
  • 1952 – Park Geun-hye, South Korean politician, 11th President of South Korea
  • 1952 – Ralph Merkle, American computer scientist and academic
  • 1952 – Carol Ann Susi, American actress (d. 2014)
  • 1953 – Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter
  • 1953 – Jerry Sisk, Jr., American gemologist, co-founded Jewelry Television (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – Christie Brinkley, American actress, model, and businesswoman
  • 1954 – Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian skier and actor
  • 1954 – Nelson Ne’e, Solomon Islander politician (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – John Tudor, American baseball player
  • 1955 – Leszek Engelking, Polish poet and author
  • 1955 – Bob Schreck, American author
  • 1955 – Michael Talbott, American actor
  • 1955 – Kim Zimmer, American actress
  • 1956 – Adnan Oktar, Turkish theorist and author
  • 1957 – Phil Barney, Algerian-French singer-songwriter
  • 1958 – Michel Marc Bouchard, Canadian playwright
  • 1961 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (d. 2013)
  • 1961 – Lauren Lane, American actress and academic
  • 1962 – Philippe Claudel, French author, director, and screenwriter
  • 1962 – Andy Fordham, English darts player
  • 1962 – Paul Kilgus, American baseball player
  • 1962 – Kate Raison, Australian actress
  • 1962 – Michael T. Weiss, American actor
  • 1963 – Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (d. 1996)
  • 1963 – Kjell Dahlin, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1963 – Andrej Kiska, Slovak entrepreneur and philanthropist, President of Slovakia
  • 1963 – Philip Laats, Belgian martial artist
  • 1963 – Vigleik Storaas, Norwegian pianist
  • 1965 – Carl Airey, English footballer
  • 1965 – Naoki Sano, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
  • 1966 – Andrei Chesnokov, Russian tennis player and coach
  • 1966 – Robert DeLeo, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
  • 1966 – Adam Ferrara, American actor and comedian
  • 1966 – Michael Misick, Caicos Islander politician, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands
  • 1967 – Artūrs Irbe, Latvian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1967 – Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general
  • 1968 – Sean Elliott, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Scott Erickson, American baseball player and coach
  • 1969 – Dana International, Israeli singer-songwriter
  • 1969 – Valeri Karpin, Estonian-Russian footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Roar Strand, Norwegian footballer
  • 1970 – Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress and singer
  • 1971 – Michelle Gayle, English singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1971 – Arly Jover, Spanish actress
  • 1971 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer and sportscaster (d. 2014)
  • 1971 – Jason Taylor, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1971 – Hwang Seok-jeong, South Korean actress
  • 1972 – Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1972 – Aleksey Naumov, Russian footballer
  • 1973 – Andrei Luzgin, Estonian tennis player and coach
  • 1973 – Aleksander Tammert, Estonian discus thrower
  • 1973 – Marissa Jaret Winokur, American actress and singer
  • 1975 – Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1975 – Donald Driver, American football player
  • 1975 – Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer
  • 1976 – Ryan Farquhar, Northern Irish motorcycle racer
  • 1976 – James Hickman, English swimmer
  • 1976 – Ana Roces, Filipino actress
  • 1977 – Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
  • 1977 – Libor Sionko, Czech footballer
  • 1978 – Adam Christopher, New Zealand writer
  • 1978 – Eden Espinosa, American actress and singer
  • 1978 – Annabel Ellwood, Australian tennis player
  • 1978 – Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager
  • 1978 – Rich Sommer, American actor
  • 1978 – Faye White, English footballer
  • 1979 – Urmo Aava, Estonian race car driver
  • 1979 – Fani Chalkia, Greek hurdler and sprinter
  • 1979 – Christine Lampard, Irish television host
  • 1979 – Klaus Mainzer, German rugby player
  • 1979 – Shamita Shetty, Indian actress
  • 1979 – Irini Terzoglou, Greek shot putter
  • 1980 – Angela Finger-Erben, German journalist
  • 1980 – Teddy Hart, Canadian wrestler
  • 1980 – Oleguer Presas, Spanish footballer
  • 1981 – Emre Aydın, Turkish singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Michelle Bass, English model and singer
  • 1981 – Salem al-Hazmi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 77 (d. 2001)
  • 1982 – Sergio Castaño Ortega, Spanish footballer
  • 1982 – Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player
  • 1982 – Kan Mi-youn, South Korean singer, model, and host
  • 1983 – Ronny Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1983 – Carolina Klüft, Swedish heptathlete and jumper
  • 1983 – Jordin Tootoo, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1983 – Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Estonian footballer
  • 1983 – Alex Westaway, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1984 – Brian Cage, American wrestler
  • 1984 – Mao Miyaji, Japanese actress
  • 1984 – Rudi Wulf, New Zealand rugby player
  • 1985 – Masoud Azizi, Afghan sprinter
  • 1985 – Renn Kiriyama, Japanese actor
  • 1985 – Kristo Saage, Estonian basketball player
  • 1985 – Silvestre Varela, Portuguese footballer
  • 1986 – Gemma Arterton, English actress and singer
  • 1986 – Miwa Asao, Japanese volleyball player
  • 1987 – Anthony Fainga’a, Australian rugby player
  • 1987 – Saia Fainga’a, Australian rugby player
  • 1987 – Faydee, Australian singer
  • 1987 – Athena Imperial, Filipino journalist, Miss Earth-Water 2011
  • 1987 – Mimi Page, American singer-songwriter and composer
  • 1987 – Gerard Piqué, Spanish footballer
  • 1987 – Javon Ringer, American football player
  • 1987 – Jill Scott, English footballer
  • 1987 – Victoria Song, Chinese singer and actress
  • 1987 – Martin Spanjers, American actor and producer
  • 1988 – Zosia Mamet, American actress
  • 1989 – Harrison Smith, American football player
  • 1989 – Southside, American record producer
  • 1991 – Nathan Delfouneso, English footballer
  • 1991 – Gregory Mertens, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
  • 1991 – Shohei Nanba, Japanese actor
  • 1992 – Lammtarra, American race horse (d. 2014)
  • 1992 – Joonas Tamm, Estonian footballer
  • 1993 – Ravel Morrison, English footballer
  • 1993 – Bobby Decordova-Reid, English born Jamaican international footballer, forward
  • 1995 – Paul Digby, English footballer
  • 1995 – Aleksander Jagiełło, Polish footballer
  • 1995 – Arfa Karim, Pakstani student and computer prodigy (d. 2012)
  • 1996 – Harry Winks, English international footballer, midfielder

Deaths on February 2

  • 619 – Laurence of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint
  • 880 – Bruno, duke of Saxony
  • 1124 – Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1064)
  • 1218 – Konstantin of Rostov (b. 1186)
  • 1237 – Joan, Lady of Wales
  • 1250 – Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216)
  • 1294 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1229)
  • 1347 – Thomas Bek, Bishop of Lincoln, was the bishop of Lincoln (b. 1282)
  • 1348 – Narymunt, Prince of Pinsk
  • 1435 – Joan II of Naples, Queen of Naples (b. 1371)
  • 1446 – Vittorino da Feltre, Italian humanist (b. 1378)
  • 1448 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1372)
  • 1461 – Owen Tudor, Welsh founder of the Tudor dynasty (b. c. 1400)
  • 1512 – Hatuey, Caribbean tribal chief
  • 1529 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian soldier and diplomat (b. 1478)
  • 1580 – Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese daimyō (b. 1558)
  • 1594 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer and educator (b. 1525)
  • 1648 – George Abbot, English author and politician (b. 1603)
  • 1660 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans (b. 1608)
  • 1660 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615)
  • 1661 – Lucas Holstenius, German geographer and historian (b. 1596)
  • 1675 – Ivan Belostenec, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (b. 1594)
  • 1688 – Abraham Duquesne, French admiral (b. 1610)
  • 1704 – Guillaume de l’Hôpital, French mathematician and academic (b. 1661)
  • 1712 – Martin Lister, English physician and geologist (b. 1639)
  • 1714 – John Sharp, English archbishop (b. 1643)
  • 1723 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (b. 1666)
  • 1768 – Robert Smith, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1689)
  • 1769 – Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693)
  • 1802 – Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1713)
  • 1804 – George Walton, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Georgia (b. 1749)
  • 1831 – Vincenzo Dimech, Maltese sculptor (b. 1768)
  • 1836 – Letizia Ramolino, Italian noblewoman (b. 1750)
  • 1861 – Théophane Vénard, French Catholic missionary (b. 1829)
  • 1881 – Henry Parker, English-Australian politician, 3rd Premier of New South Wales (b. 1808)
  • 1904 – Ernest Cashel, American-Canadian criminal (b. 1882)
  • 1904 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1841)
  • 1905 – Henri Germain, French banker and politician, founded Le Crédit Lyonnais (b. 1824)
  • 1907 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (b. 1834)
  • 1909 – Carlo Acton, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1829)
  • 1913 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer (b. 1845)
  • 1918 – John L. Sullivan, American boxer (b. 1858)
  • 1919 – Julius Kuperjanov, Estonian lieutenant (b. 1894)
  • 1925 – Antti Aarne, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1867)
  • 1925 – Jaap Eden, Dutch speed skater and cyclist (b. 1873)
  • 1926 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general and politician (b. 1848)
  • 1932 – Agha Petros, Assyrian general and politician (b. 1880)
  • 1939 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (b. 1879)
  • 1942 – Ado Birk, Estonian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1883)
  • 1942 – Daniil Kharms, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1905)
  • 1942 – Hugh D. McIntosh, Australian businessman (b. 1876)
  • 1945 – Alfred Delp, German priest and philosopher (b. 1907)
  • 1945 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German economist and politician (b. 1884)
  • 1945 – Johannes Popitz, German lawyer and politician (b. 1884)
  • 1948 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1870)
  • 1948 – Bevil Rudd, South African runner and journalist (b. 1894)
  • 1950 – Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician and academic (b. 1873)
  • 1952 – Callistratus of Georgia, Georgian patriarch (b. 1866)
  • 1954 – Hella Wuolijoki, Estonian-Finnish author and politician (b. 1886)
  • 1956 – Charley Grapewin, American actor (b. 1869)
  • 1956 – Truxtun Hare, American football player and hammer thrower (b. 1878)
  • 1956 – Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876)
  • 1957 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1890)
  • 1962 – Shlomo Hestrin, Canadian-Israeli biochemist and academic (b. 1914)
  • 1966 – Hacı Ömer Sabancı, Turkish businessman (b. 1906)
  • 1968 – Tullio Serafin, Italian conductor and director (b. 1878)
  • 1969 – Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887)
  • 1970 – Lawrence Gray, American actor (b. 1898)
  • 1970 – Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1872)
  • 1972 – Natalie Clifford Barney, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1876)
  • 1973 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian academic and politician, 9th Mayor of Ghent (b. 1902)
  • 1974 – Imre Lakatos, Hungarian-English mathematician and philosopher (b. 1922)
  • 1975 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1883)
  • 1979 – Jim Burke, Australian cricketer (b. 1930)
  • 1979 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (b. 1957)
  • 1980 – William Howard Stein, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
  • 1982 – Paul Desruisseaux, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1905)
  • 1983 – Sam Chatmon, American singer and guitarist (b. 1897)
  • 1986 – Anita Cobby, Australian murder victim (b. 1959)
  • 1986 – Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957)
  • 1987 – Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1927)
  • 1987 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 1988 – Marcel Bozzuffi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
  • 1989 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (b. 1951)
  • 1989 – Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand minister and politician, 30th New Zealand Minister of Finance (b. 1901)
  • 1990 – Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (b. 1905)
  • 1990 – Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (b. 1934)
  • 1992 – Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality; Miss America telecast presenter (b. 1914)
  • 1993 – François Reichenbach, French director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
  • 1994 – Marija Gimbutas, Lithuanian-American archeologist (b. 1921)
  • 1995 – Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor (b. 1917)
  • 1995 – Fred Perry, English-Australian tennis player (b. 1909)
  • 1995 – Donald Pleasence, English-French actor (b. 1919)
  • 1996 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, dancer, and director (b. 1912)
  • 1997 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913)
  • 1997 – Sanford Meisner, American actor and coach (b. 1904)
  • 1998 – Haroun Tazieff, German-French geologist and cinematographer (b. 1914)
  • 1999 – David McComb, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1962)
  • 2002 – Paul Baloff, American singer-songwriter (b. 1960)
  • 2002 – Claude Brown, American author (b. 1937)
  • 2003 – Lou Harrison, American composer and educator (b. 1917)
  • 2004 – Bernard McEveety, American director and producer (b. 1924)
  • 2005 – Birgitte Federspiel, Danish actress (b. 1925)
  • 2005 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)
  • 2007 – Vijay Arora, Indian actor (b. 1944)
  • 2007 – Billy Henderson, American singer (b. 1939)
  • 2007 – Joe Hunter, American pianist (b. 1927)
  • 2007 – Filippo Raciti, Italian police officer (b. 1967)
  • 2007 – Eric Von Schmidt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931)
  • 2007 – Masao Takemoto, Japanese gymnast (b. 1919)
  • 2008 – Barry Morse, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
  • 2008 – Katoucha Niane, Guinean model and author (b. 1960)
  • 2011 – Edward Amy, Canadian general (b. 1918)
  • 2011 – Defne Joy Foster, Turkish actress (b. 1975)
  • 2011 – Margaret John, Welsh actress (b. 1926)
  • 2012 – Joyce Barkhouse, Canadian author (b. 1913)
  • 2012 – Frederick William Danker, American lexicographer and scholar (b. 1920)
  • 2012 – George Esper, American journalist and academic (b. 1932)
  • 2012 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (b. 1923)
  • 2012 – James F. Lloyd, American pilot and politician (b. 1922)
  • 2013 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (b. 1961)
  • 2013 – John Kerr, American actor and lawyer (b. 1931)
  • 2013 – Chris Kyle, American soldier and sniper (b. 1974)
  • 2013 – Lino Oviedo, Paraguayan general and politician (b. 1943)
  • 2013 – Pepper Paire, American baseball player (b. 1924)
  • 2013 – P. Shanmugam, Indian politician, 13th Chief Minister of Puducherry (b. 1927)
  • 2013 – Walt Sweeney, American football player (b. 1941)
  • 2013 – Guy F. Tozzoli, American architect (b. 1922)
  • 2014 – Gerd Albrecht, German conductor (b. 1935)
  • 2014 – Tommy Aquino, American motorcycle racer (b. 1992)
  • 2014 – Nicholas Brooks, English historian (b. 1941)
  • 2014 – Eduardo Coutinho, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1933)
  • 2014 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1967)
  • 2014 – Luis Raúl, Puerto Rican comedian and actor (b. 1962)
  • 2014 – Bunny Rugs, Jamaican singer (b. 1948)
  • 2014 – Nigel Walker, English footballer (b. 1959)
  • 2015 – Joseph Alfidi, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1949)
  • 2015 – Dave Bergman, American baseball player (b. 1953)
  • 2015 – Andriy Kuzmenko, Ukrainian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1968)
  • 2015 – Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
  • 2015 – Stewart Stern, American screenwriter (b. 1922)
  • 2015 – The Jacka, American rapper and producer (b. 1977)
  • 2016 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances on February 2

  • Anniversary of Treaty of Tartu (Estonia)
  • Christian Feast Day:
    • Adalbard
    • Cornelius the Centurion
    • Martyrs of Ebsdorf
    • February 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Constitution Day (Philippines)
  • Day of Youth (Azerbaijan)
  • Earliest day on which Shrove Monday can fall, while March 8 is the latest; celebrated on Monday before Ash Wednesday (Christianity), and its related observances:
    • Bun Day (Iceland)
    • Fastelavn (Denmark/Norway)
    • Nickanan Night (Cornwall)
    • Rosenmontag (Germany)
  • Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple or Candlemas (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
    • A quarter day in the Christian calendar (due to Candlemas). (Scotland)
    • Celebration of Yemanja or Our Lady of Navigators (Candomblé)
    • Le Jour des Crêpes (France)
    • Our Lady of the Candles (Filipino Catholics)
    • Virgin of Candelaria (Tenerife, Spain)
  • Groundhog Day (United States and Canada), and its related observances:
    • Marmot Day (Alaska)
  • Inventor’s Day (Thailand)
  • Trader’s Day (Poland)
  • Victory of the Battle of Stalingrad (Russia)
  • World Wetlands Day

February 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on February 1

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

Deaths on February 1

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

Holidays and observances on February 1

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

February 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 1018 – Poland and the Holy Roman Empire conclude the Peace of Bautzen.
  • 1287 – King Wareru founds the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, and proclaims independence from the Pagan Kingdom.
  • 1607 – An estimated 200 square miles (51,800 ha) along the coasts of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary in England are destroyed by massive flooding, resulting in an estimated 2,000 deaths.
  • 1648 – Eighty Years’ War: The Treaty of Münster and Osnabrück is signed, ending the conflict between the Netherlands and Spain.
  • 1661 – Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, is ritually executed more than two years after his death, on the 12th anniversary of the execution of the monarch he himself deposed.
  • 1703 – The Forty-seven rōnin, under the command of Ōishi Kuranosuke, avenge the death of their master, by killing Kira Yoshinaka.
  • 1789 – Tây Sơn forces emerge victorious against Qing armies and liberate the capital Thăng Long.
  • 1806 – The original Lower Trenton Bridge (also called the Trenton Makes the World Takes Bridge), which spans the Delaware River between Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey, is opened.
  • 1820 – Edward Bransfield sights the Trinity Peninsula and claims the discovery of Antarctica.
  • 1826 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, considered the world’s first modern suspension bridge, connecting the Isle of Anglesey to the north West coast of Wales, is opened.
  • 1835 – In the first assassination attempt against a President of the United States, Richard Lawrence attempts to shoot president Andrew Jackson, but fails and is subdued by a crowd, including several congressmen as well as Jackson himself.
  • 1847 – Yerba Buena, California is renamed San Francisco, California.
  • 1858 – The first Hallé concert is given in Manchester, England, marking the official founding of The Hallé orchestra as a full-time, professional orchestra.
  • 1862 – The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor is launched.
  • 1889 – Archduke Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown, is found dead with his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera in the Mayerling.
  • 1902 – The first Anglo-Japanese Alliance is signed in London.
  • 1908 – Indian pacifist and leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is released from prison by Jan C. Smuts after being tried and sentenced to two months in jail earlier in the month.
  • 1911 – The destroyer USS Terry makes the first airplane rescue at sea saving the life of Douglas McCurdy ten miles from Havana, Cuba.
  • 1925 – The Government of Turkey expels Patriarch Constantine VI from Istanbul.
  • 1930 – The Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the extermination of the Kulaks.
  • 1933 – Adolf Hitler is sworn in as Chancellor of Germany.
  • 1942 – World War II: Battle of Ambon. Japanese forces invade the island of Ambon in the Dutch East Indies. Some 300 captured Allied troops are massacred at Laha airfield. Three-fourths of remaining POWs will not have survived by the end of the war, including 250 men who will be shipped to Hainan Island in South China Sea and never returned.
  • 1944 – World War II: The Battle of Cisterna, part of Operation Shingle, begins in central Italy.
  • 1945 – World War II: The Wilhelm Gustloff, overfilled with German refugees, sinks in the Baltic Sea after being torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, killing approximately 9,500 people.
  • 1945 – World War II: Raid at Cabanatuan: One hundred twenty-six American Rangers and Filipino resistance fighters liberate over 500 Allied prisoners from the Japanese-controlled Cabanatuan POW camp.
  • 1948 – British South American Airways’ Tudor IV Star Tiger disappears over the Bermuda Triangle.
  • 1956 – African-American civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.’s home is bombed in retaliation for the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
  • 1959 – The forces of the Sultanate of Muscat occupy the last strongholds of the Imamate of Oman, Saiq and Shuraijah, marking the end of Jebel Akhdar War in Oman.
  • 1959 – MS Hans Hedtoft, said to be the safest ship afloat and “unsinkable” like the RMS Titanic, strikes an iceberg on her maiden voyage and sinks, killing all 95 aboard.
  • 1960 – The African National Party is founded in Chad, through the merger of traditionalist parties.
  • 1964 – In a bloodless coup, General Nguyễn Khánh overthrows General Dương Văn Minh’s military junta in South Vietnam.
  • 1968 – Vietnam War: Tet Offensive launch by forces of the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army against South Vietnam, the United States, and their allies.
  • 1969 – The Beatles’ last public performance, on the roof of Apple Records in London. The impromptu concert is broken up by the police.
  • 1972 – The Troubles: Bloody Sunday: British paratroopers open fire on anti-internment marchers in Derry, Northern Ireland, killing 13 people; another person later dies of injuries sustained.
  • 1972 – Pakistan leaves the Commonwealth of Nations in protest of its recognition of breakaway Bangladesh.
  • 1975 – The Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is established as the first United States National Marine Sanctuary.
  • 1979 – A Varig Boeing 707-323C freighter, flown by the same commander as Flight 820, disappears over the Pacific Ocean 30 minutes after taking off from Tokyo.
  • 1982 – Richard Skrenta writes the first PC virus code, which is 400 lines long and disguised as an Apple boot program called “Elk Cloner”.
  • 1989 – The American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan is closed.
  • 1995 – Workers from the National Institutes of Health announce the success of clinical trials testing the first preventive treatment for sickle-cell disease.
  • 2000 – Kenya Airways Flight 431 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Ivory Coast, killing 169.
  • 2013 – Naro-1 becomes the first carrier rocket launched by South Korea.

Births on January 30

  • 58 BC – Livia, Roman wife of Augustus (d. 29)
  • 133 – Didius Julianus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 193)
  • 1410 – William Calthorpe, English knight (d. 1494)
  • 1520  – William More, English courtier (d. 1600)
  • 1563 – Franciscus Gomarus, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1641)
  • 1573 – Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach (d. 1638)
  • 1580 – Gundakar, Prince of Liechtenstein, court official in Vienna (d. 1658)
  • 1590 – Lady Anne Clifford, 14th Baroness de Clifford (d. 1676)
  • 1628 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (d. 1687)
  • 1661 – Charles Rollin, French historian and educator (d. 1741)
  • 1697 – Johann Joachim Quantz, German flute player and composer (d. 1773)
  • 1703 – François Bigot, French politician (d. 1778)
  • 1720 – Charles De Geer, Swedish entomologist and archaeologist (d. 1778)
  • 1754 – John Lansing, Jr., American lawyer and politician (d. 1829)
  • 1775 – Walter Savage Landor, English poet and author (d. 1864)
  • 1781 – Adelbert von Chamisso, German botanist and poet (d. 1838)
  • 1816 – Nathaniel P. Banks, American general and politician, 24th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1894)
  • 1822 – Franz Ritter von Hauer, Austrian geologist and curator (d. 1899)
  • 1841 – Félix Faure, French politician, 7th President of France (d. 1899)
  • 1844 – Richard Theodore Greener, American lawyer, academic, and diplomat (d. 1922)
  • 1846 – Angela of the Cross, Spanish nun and saint (d. 1932)
  • 1859 – Tony Mullane, Irish-American baseball player and manager (d. 1944)
  • 1861 – Charles Martin Loeffler, German-American violinist and composer (d. 1935)
  • 1862 – Walter Damrosch, German-American conductor and composer (d. 1950)
  • 1866 – Gelett Burgess, American author, poet, and critic (d. 1951)
  • 1878 – Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Estonian author (d. 1940)
  • 1882 – Franklin D. Roosevelt, American lawyer and politician, 32nd President of the United States (d. 1945)
  • 1889 – Jaishankar Prasad, Indian poet and playwright (d. 1937)
  • 1899 – Max Theiler, South African-American virologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1972)
  • 1900 – Martita Hunt, Argentine-born British actress (d. 1969)
  • 1901 – Rudolf Caracciola, German race car driver (d. 1959)
  • 1902 – Nikolaus Pevsner, German-English historian and scholar (d. 1983)
  • 1910 – Chidambaram Subramaniam, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Defence (d. 2000)
  • 1911 – Roy Eldridge, American jazz trumpet player (d. 1989)
  • 1912 – Werner Hartmann, German physicist and academic (d. 1988)
  • 1912 – Francis Schaeffer, American pastor and theologian (d. 1984)
  • 1912 – Barbara W. Tuchman, American historian and author (d. 1989)
  • 1914 – Luc-Marie Bayle, French commander and painter (d. 2000)
  • 1914 – John Ireland, Canadian-American actor and director (d. 1992)
  • 1914 – David Wayne, American actor (d. 1995)
  • 1915 – Joachim Peiper, German SS officer (d. 1976)
  • 1915 – John Profumo, English soldier and politician, Secretary of State for War (d. 2006)
  • 1917 – Paul Frère, Belgian race car driver and journalist (d. 2008)
  • 1918 – David Opatoshu, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1996)
  • 1919 – Fred Korematsu, American activist (d. 2005)
  • 1920 – Michael Anderson, English director and producer (d. 2018)
  • 1920 – Patrick Heron, British painter (d. 1999)
  • 1920 – Delbert Mann, American director and producer (d. 2007)
  • 1922 – Dick Martin, American comedian, actor, and director (d. 2008)
  • 1923 – Marianne Ferber, Czech-American economist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – S. N. Goenka, Burmese-Indian author and educator (d. 2013)
  • 1924 – Lloyd Alexander, American soldier and author (d. 2007)
  • 1925 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Olof Palme, Swedish statesman, 26th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1986)
  • 1928 – Harold Prince, American director and producer (d. 2019)
  • 1929 – Lois Hole, Canadian businesswoman and politician, 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (d. 2005)
  • 1929 – Hugh Tayfield, South African cricketer (d. 1994)
  • 1929 – Lucille Teasdale-Corti, Canadian-Italian physician and humanitarian (d. 1996)
  • 1930 – Gene Hackman, American actor and author
  • 1930 – Magnus Malan, South African general and politician, South African Minister of Defence (d. 2011)
  • 1931 – John Crosbie, Canadian lawyer and politician, 34th Canadian Minister of Justice (d. 2020)
  • 1931 – Shirley Hazzard, Australian-American novelist, short story writer, and essayist (d. 2016)
  • 1932 – Knock Yokoyama, Japanese comedian and politician (d. 2007)
  • 1934 – Tammy Grimes, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
  • 1935 – Richard Brautigan, American novelist, poet, and short story writer (d. 1984)
  • 1935 – Tubby Hayes, English saxophonist and composer (d. 1973)
  • 1936 – Horst Jankowski, German pianist and composer (d. 1998)
  • 1937 – Vanessa Redgrave, English actress
  • 1937 – Boris Spassky, Russian chess player and theoretician
  • 1938 – Islam Karimov, Uzbek politician, 1st President of Uzbekistan (d. 2016)
  • 1941 – Gregory Benford, American astrophysicist and author
  • 1941 – Dick Cheney, American businessman and politician, 46th Vice President of the United States, 17th US Secretary of Defense
  • 1941 – Tineke Lagerberg, Dutch swimmer
  • 1942 – Marty Balin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2018)
  • 1943 – Davey Johnson, American baseball player and manager
  • 1944 – Lynn Harrell, American cellist and academic
  • 1944 – Colin Rimer, English lawyer and judge
  • 1945 – Meir Dagan, Israeli military officer and intelligence official, Director of Mossad (2002–11) (d. 2016)
  • 1945 – Michael Dorris, American author and scholar (d. 1997)
  • 1946 – John Bird, Baron Bird, English publisher, founded The Big Issue
  • 1947 – Les Barker, English poet and author
  • 1947 – Steve Marriott, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)
  • 1948 – Nick Broomfield, English director and producer
  • 1948 – Miles Reid, English mathematician and academic
  • 1949 – Peter Agre, American physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1950 – Jack Newton, Australian golfer
  • 1951 – Phil Collins, English drummer, singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
  • 1951 – Charles S. Dutton, American actor and director
  • 1951 – Bobby Stokes, English footballer (d. 1995)
  • 1952 – Doug Falconer, Canadian football player and producer
  • 1953 – Fred Hembeck, American author and illustrator
  • 1955 – John Baldacci, American politician, 73rd Governor of Maine
  • 1955 – Tom Izzo, American basketball player and coach
  • 1955 – Curtis Strange, American golfer and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Payne Stewart, American golfer (d. 1999)
  • 1958 – Derek White, Scottish rugby player
  • 1959 – Cynthia Carter, Welsh journalist, author, and academic
  • 1959 – Steve Folkes, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2018)
  • 1959 – Jody Watley, American entertainer
  • 1962 – Abdullah II of Jordan
  • 1964 – Otis Smith, American basketball player, coach, and manager
  • 1965 – Kevin Moore, Australian rugby league player and coach
  • 1966 – Danielle Goyette, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1968 – Felipe VI of Spain
  • 1969 – Justin Skinner, English footballer, midfielder and manager
  • 1971 – Kimo von Oelhoffen, American football player
  • 1972 – Jill McGill, American golfer
  • 1972 – Chris Simon, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1973 – Jalen Rose, American basketball player and sportscaster
  • 1974 – Christian Bale, Welsh actor
  • 1974 – Olivia Colman, English actress
  • 1975 – Juninho Pernambucano, Brazilian footballer
  • 1975 – Yumi Yoshimura, Japanese musician and singer
  • 1976 – Andy Milonakis, American entertainer
  • 1977 – Dan Hinote, American ice hockey player and coach
  • 1978 – Carmen Küng, Swiss curler
  • 1978 – John Patterson, American baseball player
  • 1979 – Trevor Gillies, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980 – João Soares de Almeida Neto, Brazilian footballer
  • 1980 – Georgios Vakouftsis, Greek footballer
  • 1980 – Wilmer Valderrama, American actor and producer
  • 1981 – Jonathan Bender, American basketball player
  • 1981 – Dimitar Berbatov, Bulgarian footballer
  • 1981 – Afonso Alves, Brazilian footballer
  • 1981 – Peter Crouch, English footballer
  • 1981 – Mathias Lauda, Austrian race car driver
  • 1982 – Jorge Cantú, Mexican baseball player
  • 1984 – Kotoshōgiku Kazuhiro, Japanese sumo wrestler
  • 1984 – Arthur Chu, Asian-American columnist and former Jeopardy! contestant
  • 1984 – Kid Cudi, American entertainer
  • 1985 – Gisela Dulko, Argentinian tennis player
  • 1985 – Torrey Mitchell, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Trae Williams, American football player
  • 1986 – Nick Evans, American baseball player
  • 1987 – Ben Cutting, Australian cricketer
  • 1987 – Lance Franklin, Australian footballer
  • 1987 – Phil Lester, English Internet celebrity
  • 1987 – Becky Lynch, Irish wrestler
  • 1987 – Renato Santos, Brazilian footballer
  • 1987 – Arda Turan, Turkish footballer
  • 1988 – Rob Pinkston, American actor and director
  • 1989 – Tomás Mejías, Spanish footballer
  • 1989 – Girish Kumar, Indian film actor
  • 1990 – Yoon Bo-ra, South Korean singer
  • 1990 – Joe Colborne, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Andrew McCullough, Australian rugby league player
  • 1990 – Nils Miatke, German footballer
  • 1990 – Luca Sbisa, Swiss ice hockey player
  • 1990 – Mitchell Starc, Australian cricketer
  • 1990 – Phillip Supernaw, American football player
  • 1991 – Stefan Elliott, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1993 – Katy Marchant, English track cyclist
  • 1995 – Jack Laugher, English diver
  • 1995 – Víctor Sánchez, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2015)

Deaths on January 30

  • 680 – Balthild, Frankish queen (b. 626)
  • 970 – Peter I of Bulgaria
  • 1030 – William V, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 969)
  • 1181 – Emperor Takakura of Japan (b. 1161)
  • 1240 – Pelagio Galvani, Leonese lawyer and cardinal (b. 1165)
  • 1314 – Nicholas III of Saint Omer
  • 1344 – William Montacute, 1st Earl of Salisbury (b. 1301)
  • 1384 – Louis II, Count of Flanders (b. 1330)
  • 1497 – Lê Thánh Tông, King of Vietnam (b. 1442)
  • 1574 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese historian and philosopher (b. 1502)
  • 1606 – Everard Digby, English criminal (b. 1578)
  • 1606 – John Grant, English conspirator (b. 1570)
  • 1606 – Robert Wintour, English conspirator (b. 1565)
  • 1649 – Charles I of England (b. 1600)
  • 1664 – Cornelis de Graeff, Dutch mayor (b. 1599)
  • 1730 – Peter II of Russia (b. 1715)
  • 1770 – Giovanni Pietro Francesco Agius de Soldanis, Maltese linguist, historian and cleric (b. 1712)
  • 1836 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress, said to have designed the American Flag (b. 1752)
  • 1838 – Osceola, American tribal leader (b. 1804)
  • 1858 – Coenraad Jacob Temminck, Dutch zoologist and ornithologist (b. 1778)
  • 1867 – Emperor Kōmei of Japan (b. 1831)
  • 1869 – William Carleton, Irish author (b. 1794)
  • 1881 – Arthur O’Shaughnessy, English poet and herpetologist (b. 1844)
  • 1889 – Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, heir apparent to the throne of Austria-Hungary (b. 1858)
  • 1926 – Barbara La Marr, American actress (b. 1896)
  • 1928 – Johannes Fibiger, Danish physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
  • 1929 – La Goulue, French model and dancer (b. 1866)
  • 1934 – Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher, founded the Doubleday Publishing Company (b. 1862)
  • 1947 – Frederick Blackman, English botanist and physiologist (b. 1866)
  • 1948 – Arthur Coningham, Australian air marshal (b. 1895)
  • 1948 – Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement against British rule (b. 1869)
  • 1948 – Orville Wright, American pilot and engineer, co-founded the Wright Company (b. 1871)
  • 1951 – Ferdinand Porsche, Austrian-German engineer and businessman, founded Porsche (b. 1875)
  • 1958 – Jean Crotti, Swiss painter (b. 1878)
  • 1958 – Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman; founded the Heinkel Aircraft Company (b. 1888)
  • 1962 – Manuel de Abreu, Brazilian physician and engineer (b. 1894)
  • 1963 – Francis Poulenc, French pianist and composer (b. 1899)
  • 1966 – Jaan Hargel, Estonian flute player, conductor, and educator (b. 1912)
  • 1968 – Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Indian poet, playwright, and journalist (b. 1889)
  • 1969 – Dominique Pire, Belgian friar, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1910)
  • 1973 – Elizabeth Baker, American economist and academic (b. 1885)
  • 1974 – Olav Roots, Estonian pianist and composer (b. 1910)
  • 1977 – Paul Marais de Beauchamp, French zoologist (b. 1883)
  • 1980 – Professor Longhair, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1918)
  • 1982 – Lightnin’ Hopkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1912)
  • 1991 – John Bardeen, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
  • 1991 – Clifton C. Edom, American photographer and educator (b. 1907)
  • 1994 – Pierre Boulle, French soldier and author (b. 1912)
  • 1999 – Huntz Hall, American actor (b. 1919)
  • 1999 – Ed Herlihy, American journalist (b. 1909)
  • 2001 – Jean-Pierre Aumont, French soldier and actor (b. 1911)
  • 2001 – Johnnie Johnson, English air marshal and pilot (b. 1915)
  • 2001 – Joseph Ransohoff, American surgeon and educator (b. 1915)
  • 2005 – Martyn Bennett, Canadian-Scottish violinist (b. 1971)
  • 2006 – Coretta Scott King, American author and activist (b. 1927)
  • 2006 – Wendy Wasserstein, American playwright and academic (b. 1950)
  • 2007 – Sidney Sheldon, American author and screenwriter (b. 1917)
  • 2008 – Marcial Maciel, Mexican-American priest, founded the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi (b. 1920)
  • 2009 – H. Guy Hunt, American soldier, pastor, and politician, 49th Governor of Alabama (b. 1933)
  • 2010 – Fadil Ferati, Kosovar accountant and politician (b. 1960)
  • 2011 – John Barry, English composer and conductor (b. 1933)
  • 2012 – Frank Aschenbrenner, American football player and soldier (b. 1925)
  • 2012 – Doeschka Meijsing, Dutch author (b. 1947)
  • 2013 – Gamal al-Banna, Egyptian author and scholar (b. 1920)
  • 2013 – Patty Andrews, American singer (b. 1918)
  • 2013 – George Witt, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
  • 2014 – Stefan Bałuk, Polish general and photographer (b. 1914)
  • 2014 – The Mighty Hannibal, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1939)
  • 2014 – William Motzing, American composer and conductor (b. 1937)
  • 2014 – Arthur Rankin, Jr., American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1924)
  • 2015 – Carl Djerassi, Austrian-American chemist, author, and playwright (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – Ülo Kaevats, Estonian academic, philosopher, and politician (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Geraldine McEwan, English actress (b. 1932)
  • 2015 – Gerrit Voorting, Dutch cyclist (b. 1923)
  • 2015 – Zhelyu Zhelev, Bulgarian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of Bulgaria (b. 1935)
  • 2016 – Frank Finlay, English actor (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Francisco Flores Pérez, Salvadorian politician, President of El Salvador (b. 1959)
  • 2016 – Georgia Davis Powers, American activist and politician (b. 1923)
  • 2018 – Mark Salling, American actor and musician (b. 1982)
  • 2019 – Dick Miller, American actor (b. 1928)

Holidays and observances on January 30

  • Christian Feast Day:
    • Adelelmus of Burgos
    • Aldegonde
    • Anthony the Great (Coptic Church)
    • Armentarius of Pavia
    • Balthild
    • Charles, King and Martyr (various provinces of the Anglican Communion)
    • Hippolytus of Rome
    • Hyacintha Mariscotti
    • Martina
    • Matthias of Jerusalem
    • Mutien-Marie Wiaux
    • Savina
    • Three Holy Hierarchs (Eastern Orthodox), and its related observances:
      • Teacher’s Day (Greece)
    • January 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Day of Azerbaijani customs (Azerbaijan)
  • Day of Saudade (Brazil)
  • Fred Korematsu Day (California, Florida, Hawaii, Virginia)
  • Martyrdom of Mahatma Gandhi, and its related observances:
    • Martyrs’ Day (India)
    • School Day of Non-violence and Peace (Spain)
    • Start of the Season for Nonviolence January 30 – April 4

January 30 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on January 29

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

Deaths on January 29

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

Holidays and observances on January 29

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

January 29 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day /
  • 814 – The death of Charlemagne, the first Holy Roman Emperor, brings about the accession of his son Louis the Pious as ruler of the Frankish Empire.
  • 1069 – Robert de Comines, appointed Earl of Northumbria by William the Conqueror, rides into Durham, England, where he is defeated and killed by rebels. This incident leads to the Harrying of the North.
  • 1077 – Walk to Canossa: The excommunication of Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor, is lifted after he humbles himself before Pope Gregory VII at Canossa in Italy.
  • 1521 – The Diet of Worms begins, lasting until May 25.
  • 1547 – Edward VI, the nine-year-old son of Henry VIII, becomes King of England on his father’s death.
  • 1568 – The Edict of Torda prohibited the persecution of individuals on the religious ground in John Sigismund Zápolya’s Eastern Hungarian Kingdom.
  • 1573 – Articles of the Warsaw Confederation are signed, sanctioning freedom of religion in Poland.
  • 1624 – Sir Thomas Warner founds the first British colony in the Caribbean, on the island of Saint Kitts.
  • 1671 – Original city of Panama (founded in 1519) was destroyed by a fire when privateer Henry Morgan sacked and set fire to it. The site of the previously devastated city is still in ruins (see Panama Viejo).
  • 1724 – The Russian Academy of Sciences is founded in St. Petersburg by Peter the Great, and implemented by Senate decree. It is called the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences until 1917.
  • 1754 – Sir Horace Walpole coins the word serendipity in a letter to a friend.
  • 1813 – Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
  • 1846 – The Battle of Aliwal, India, is won by British troops commanded by Sir Harry Smith.
  • 1851 – Northwestern University becomes the first chartered university in Illinois.
  • 1855 – A locomotive on the Panama Canal Railway runs from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean for the first time.
  • 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: The Siege of Paris ends in French defeat and an armistice.
  • 1878 – Yale Daily News becomes the first independent daily college newspaper in the United States.
  • 1896 – Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent, becomes the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined one shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 8 mph (13 km/h), thereby exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 2 mph (3.2 km/h).
  • 1902 – The Carnegie Institution of Washington is founded in Washington, D.C. with a $10 million gift from Andrew Carnegie.
  • 1908 – Members of the Portuguese Republican Party fail in their attempted coup d’état against the administrative dictatorship of Prime Minister João Franco.
  • 1909 – United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish–American War.
  • 1915 – An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard as a branch of the United States Armed Forces.
  • 1918 – Finnish Civil War: The Red Guard rebels seize control of the capital, Helsinki; members of the Senate of Finland go underground.
  • 1920 – Foundation of the Spanish Legion.
  • 1922 – Knickerbocker Storm, Washington D.C.’s biggest snowfall, causes the city’s greatest loss of life when the roof of the Knickerbocker Theatre collapses.
  • 1932 – Japanese forces attack Shanghai.
  • 1933 – The name Pakistan is coined by Choudhry Rahmat Ali Khan and is accepted by Indian Muslims who then thereby adopted it further for the Pakistan Movement seeking independence.
  • 1935 – Iceland becomes the first Western country to legalize therapeutic abortion.
  • 1938 – The World Land Speed Record on a public road is broken by Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 kilometres per hour (268.9 mph).
  • 1941 – Franco-Thai War: Final air battle of the conflict. A Japanese-mediated armistice goes into effect later in the day.
  • 1945 – World War II: Supplies begin to reach the Republic of China over the newly reopened Burma Road.
  • 1956 – Elvis Presley makes his first national television appearance.
  • 1958 – The Lego company patents the design of its Lego bricks, still compatible with bricks produced today.
  • 1960 – The National Football League announced expansion teams for Dallas to start in the 1960 NFL season and Minneapolis-St. Paul for 1961 NFL season.
  • 1964 – An unarmed United States Air Force T-39 Sabreliner on a training mission is shot down over Erfurt, East Germany, by a Soviet MiG-19.
  • 1965 – The current design of the Flag of Canada is chosen by an act of Parliament.
  • 1977 – The first day of the Great Lakes Blizzard of 1977 which dumps 10 feet (3.0 m) of snow in one day in Upstate New York, with Buffalo, Syracuse, Watertown, and surrounding areas are most affected.
  • 1980 – USCGC Blackthorn collides with the tanker Capricorn while leaving Tampa, Florida and capsizes, killing 23 Coast Guard crewmembers.
  • 1981 – Ronald Reagan lifts remaining domestic petroleum price and allocation controls in the United States helping to end the 1979 energy crisis and begin the 1980s oil glut.
  • 1982 – US Army general James L. Dozier is rescued by Italian anti-terrorism forces from captivity by the Red Brigades.
  • 1984 – Tropical Storm Domoina makes landfall in southern Mozambique, eventually causing 214 deaths and some of the most severe flooding so far recorded in the region.
  • 1985 – Supergroup USA for Africa (United Support of Artists for Africa) records the hit single We Are the World, to help raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.
  • 1986 – Space Shuttle program: STS-51-L mission: Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrates after liftoff, killing all seven astronauts on board.
  • 1988 – In R v Morgentaler the Supreme Court of Canada strikes down all anti-abortion laws.
  • 2002 – TAME Flight 120, a Boeing 727-100 crashes in the Andes mountains in southern Colombia, killing 94.
  • 2006 – The roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair in Poland collapses due to the weight of snow, killing 65 and injuring more than 170 others.

Births on January 28

  • 1312 – Joan II, queen of Navarre (d. 1349)
  • 1368 – Razadarit, king of Hanthawaddy (d. 1421)
  • 1457 – Henry VII, king of England (d. 1509)
  • 1533 – Paul Luther, German scientist (d. 1593)
  • 1540 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German-Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1610)
  • 1582 – John Barclay, French-Scottish poet and author (d. 1621)
  • 1600 – Clement IX, pope of the Catholic Church (d. 1669)
  • 1608 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (d. 1679)
  • 1611 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (d. 1687)
  • 1622 – Adrien Auzout, French astronomer and instrument maker (d. 1691)
  • 1693 – Gregor Werner, Austrian composer (d. 1766)
  • 1701 – Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (d. 1774)
  • 1706 – John Baskerville, English printer and typographer (d. 1775)
  • 1712 – Tokugawa Ieshige, Japanese shōgun (d. 1761)
  • 1717 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1774)
  • 1719 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German poet and critic (d. 1749)
  • 1726 – Christian Felix Weiße, German poet and playwright (d. 1802)
  • 1755 – Samuel Thomas von Sömmerring, Polish-German physician, anthropologist, and paleontologist (d. 1830)
  • 1784 – George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Scottish politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1860)
  • 1797 – Charles Gray Round, English lawyer and politician (d. 1867)
  • 1818 – George S. Boutwell, American lawyer and politician, 28th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1905)
  • 1822 – Alexander Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian soldier, journalist, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1892)
  • 1833 – Charles George Gordon, English general and politician (d. 1885)
  • 1841 – Henry Morton Stanley, Welsh-American explorer and journalist (d. 1904)
  • 1843 – Mihkel Veske, Estonian poet and linguist (d. 1890)
  • 1853 – José Martí, Cuban journalist, poet, and theorist (d. 1895)
  • 1853 – Vladimir Solovyov, Russian philosopher, poet, and critic (d. 1900)
  • 1855 – William Seward Burroughs I, American businessman, founded the Burroughs Corporation (d. 1898)
  • 1858 – Tannatt William Edgeworth David, Welsh-Australian geologist and explorer (d. 1934)
  • 1861 – Julián Felipe, Filipino composer and educator (d. 1944)
  • 1863 – Ernest William Christmas, Australian-American painter (d. 1918)
  • 1864 – Charles Williams Nash, American businessman, founded Nash Motors (d. 1948)
  • 1865 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian author and politician (d. 1928)
  • 1865 – Kaarlo Juho Ståhlberg, Finnish lawyer, judge, and politician, 1st President of Finland (d. 1952)
  • 1873 – Colette, French novelist and journalist (d. 1954)
  • 1873 – Monty Noble, Australian cricketer (d. 1940)
  • 1874 – Alex Smith, Scottish golfer (d. 1930)
  • 1875 – Julián Carrillo, Mexican violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1965)
  • 1878 – Walter Kollo, German composer and conductor (d. 1940)
  • 1880 – Herbert Strudwick, English cricketer and coach (d. 1970)
  • 1884 – Auguste Piccard, Swiss physicist and explorer (d. 1962)
  • 1885 – Vahan Terian, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1920)
  • 1886 – Marthe Bibesco, Romanian-French author and poet (d. 1973)
  • 1886 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese engineer and academic (d. 1976)
  • 1887 – Arthur Rubinstein, Polish-American pianist and educator (d. 1982)
  • 1897 – Valentin Kataev, Russian author and playwright (d. 1986)
  • 1900 – Alice Neel, American painter (d. 1984)
  • 1903 – Aleksander Kamiński, Polish author and educator (d. 1978)
  • 1903 – Kathleen Lonsdale, Irish crystallographer and 1st female FRS (d. 1971)
  • 1906 – Pat O’Callaghan, Irish athlete (d. 1991)
  • 1906 – Markos Vafiadis, Greek general and politician (d. 1992)
  • 1908 – Paul Misraki, Turkish-French composer and historian (d. 1998)
  • 1909 – John Thomson, Scottish footballer (d. 1931)
  • 1910 – John Banner, Austrian actor (d. 1973)
  • 1911 – Johan van Hulst, Dutch politician, academic and author, Yad Vashem recipient (d. 2018)
  • 1912 – Jackson Pollock, American painter (d. 1956)
  • 1918 – Harry Corbett, English puppeteer, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
  • 1918 – Trevor Skeet, New Zealand-English lawyer and politician (d. 2004)
  • 1919 – Gabby Gabreski, American colonel and pilot (d. 2002)
  • 1921 – Vytautas Norkus, Lithuanian–American basketball player (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Anna Gordy Gaye, American songwriter and producer, co-founded Anna Records (d. 2014)
  • 1922 – Robert W. Holley, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
  • 1924 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (d. 1976)
  • 1925 – Raja Ramanna, Indian physicist and politician (d. 2004)
  • 1926 – Jimmy Bryan, American race car driver (d. 1960)
  • 1927 – Per Oscarsson, Swedish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2010)
  • 1927 – Ronnie Scott, English saxophonist (d. 1996)
  • 1927 – Hiroshi Teshigahara, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2001)
  • 1927 – Vera Williams, American author and illustrator (d. 2015)
  • 1929 – Acker Bilk, English singer and clarinet player (d. 2014)
  • 1929 – Nikolai Parshin, Russian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
  • 1929 – Claes Oldenburg, Swedish-American sculptor and illustrator
  • 1929 – Edith M. Flanigen, American chemist
  • 1930 – Kurt Biedenkopf, German academic and politician, 54th President of the German Bundesrat
  • 1930 – Roy Clarke, English screenwriter, comedian and soldier
  • 1933 – Jack Hill, American director and screenwriter
  • 1934 – Juan Manuel Bordeu, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1990)
  • 1935 – David Lodge, English author and critic
  • 1936 – Alan Alda, American actor, director, and writer
  • 1937 – Karel Čáslavský, Czech historian and television host (d. 2013)
  • 1938 – Tomas Lindahl, Swedish-English biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1938 – Leonid Zhabotinsky, Ukrainian weightlifter and coach (d. 2016)
  • 1939 – John M. Fabian, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1940 – Carlos Slim, Mexican businessman and philanthropist, founded Grupo Carso
  • 1942 – Sjoukje Dijkstra, Dutch figure skater
  • 1942 – Erkki Pohjanheimo, Finnish director and producer
  • 1943 – Dick Taylor, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1944 – Rosalía Mera, Spanish businesswoman, co-founded Inditex and Zara (d. 2013)
  • 1944 – John Tavener, English composer (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Frank Doubleday, American actor (d. 2018)
  • 1945 – Maxwell Fuller, Australian chess player (d. 2013)
  • 1945 – Marthe Keller, Swiss actress and director
  • 1945 – John Perkins, American author and activist
  • 1947 – Jeanne Shaheen, American educator and politician, 78th Governor of New Hampshire
  • 1948 – Bob Moses, American drummer
  • 1948 – Charles Taylor, Liberian politician, 22nd President of Liberia
  • 1949 – Mike Moore, New Zealand union leader and politician, 34th Prime Minister of New Zealand
  • 1949 – Gregg Popovich, American basketball player and coach
  • 1950 – Barbi Benton, American actress, singer and model
  • 1950 – Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, Bahraini king
  • 1950 – David C. Hilmers, American colonel, physician, and astronaut
  • 1950 – Naila Kabeer, Bangladeshi-English economist and academic
  • 1951 – Brian Bilbray, American politician
  • 1951 – Leonid Kadeniuk, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut
  • 1951 – Billy Bass Nelson, American R&B/funk bass player
  • 1952 – Richard Glatzer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2015)
  • 1953 – Colin Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1954 – Peter Lampe, German theologian and historian
  • 1954 – Bruno Metsu, French footballer and manager (d. 2013)
  • 1954 – Rick Warren, American pastor and author
  • 1955 – Vinod Khosla, Indian-American businessman, co-founded Sun Microsystems
  • 1955 – Nicolas Sarkozy, French lawyer and politician, 23rd President of France
  • 1956 – Richard Danielpour, American composer and educator
  • 1956 – Peter Schilling, German singer-songwriter
  • 1957 – Mark Napier, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
  • 1957 – Nick Price, Zimbabwean-South African golfer
  • 1957 – Frank Skinner, English comedian, actor, and author
  • 1959 – Frank Darabont, American director and producer
  • 1960 – Loren Legarda, Filipino journalist and politician
  • 1961 – Normand Rochefort, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
  • 1962 – Sam Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1964 – David Lawrence, English cricketer
  • 1966 – Seiji Mizushima, Japanese director and producer
  • 1967 – Billy Brownless, Australian footballer and sportscaster
  • 1968 – Sarah McLachlan, Canadian singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
  • 1968 – Rakim, American rapper
  • 1969 – Giorgio Lamberti, Italian swimmer
  • 1969 – Mo Rocca, American comedian and television journalist
  • 1969 – Linda Sánchez, American lawyer and politician
  • 1972 – Mark Regan, English rugby player
  • 1972 – Nicky Southall, English footballer and manager
  • 1972 – Léon van Bon, Dutch cyclist
  • 1974 – Tony Delk, American basketball player and coach
  • 1974 – Jermaine Dye, American baseball player
  • 1974 – Ramsey Nasr, Dutch author and poet
  • 1974 – Magglio Ordóñez, Venezuelan baseball player and politician
  • 1975 – Pedro Pinto, Portuguese-American journalist
  • 1975 – Junior Spivey, American baseball player and coach
  • 1976 – Sireli Bobo, Fijian rugby player
  • 1976 – Mark Madsen, American basketball player and coach
  • 1976 – Rick Ross, American rapper and producer
  • 1976 – Miltiadis Sapanis, Greek footballer
  • 1977 – Sandis Buškevics, Latvian basketball player and coach
  • 1977 – Daunte Culpepper, American football player
  • 1977 – Joey Fatone, American singer, dancer, and television personality
  • 1977 – Takuma Sato, Japanese race car driver
  • 1978 – Gianluigi Buffon, Italian footballer
  • 1978 – Jamie Carragher, English footballer and sportscaster
  • 1978 – Papa Bouba Diop, Senegalese footballer
  • 1978 – Stephen Farrelly, Irish professional wrestler
  • 1978 – Big Freedia, New Orleans musician, “Queen of Bounce”
  • 1980 – Nick Carter, American singer-songwriter and actor
  • 1980 – Yasuhito Endō, Japanese footballer
  • 1980 – Michael Hastings, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
  • 1980 – Brian Fallon, American singer-songwriter
  • 1981 – Elijah Wood, American actor and producer
  • 1984 – Ben Clucas, English race car driver
  • 1984 – Stephen Gostkowski, American football player
  • 1984 – Andre Iguodala, American basketball player
  • 1984 – Anne Panter, English field hockey player
  • 1985 – J. Cole, American singer
  • 1985 – Daniel Carcillo, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Lauris Dārziņš, Latvian ice hockey player
  • 1985 – Arnold Mvuemba, French footballer
  • 1985 – Libby Trickett, Australian swimmer
  • 1986 – Jessica Ennis-Hill, English heptathlete and hurdler
  • 1986 – Nathan Outteridge, Australian sailor
  • 1986 – Asad Shafiq, Pakistani cricketer
  • 1988 – Paul Henry, English footballer
  • 1988 – Seiya Sanada, Japanese wrestler
  • 1989 – Siem de Jong, Dutch footballer
  • 1991 – Carl Klingberg, Swedish ice hockey player
  • 1992 – Sergio Araujo, Argentinian footballer
  • 1998 – Ariel Winter, American actress

Deaths on January 28

  • 592 – Guntram, French king (b. 532)
  • 814 – Charlemagne, Holy Roman emperor (pleurisy; b. 742)
  • 919 – Zhou Dewei, Chinese general
  • 929 – Gao Jixing, founder of Chinese Jingnan (b. 858)
  • 947 – Jing Yanguang, Chinese general (b. 892)
  • 1061 – Spytihněv II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1031)
  • 1142 – Yue Fei, Chinese general (b. 1103)
  • 1256 – William II, Count of Holland, King of Germany (b. 1227)
  • 1271 – Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France (b. 1247)
  • 1290 – Dervorguilla of Galloway, Scottish noble, mother of king John Balliol of Scotland (b. c. 1210)
  • 1443 – Robert le Maçon, French diplomat (b. 1365)
  • 1501 – John Dynham, 1st Baron Dynham, English baron and Lord High Treasurer (b. 1433)
  • 1547 – Henry VIII, king of England (b. 1491)
  • 1613 – Thomas Bodley, English diplomat and scholar, founded the Bodleian Library (b. 1545)
  • 1621 – Pope Paul V (b. 1550)
  • 1666 – Tommaso Dingli, Maltese architect and sculptor (b. 1591)
  • 1672 – Pierre Séguier, French politician, Lord Chancellor of France (b. 1588)
  • 1681 – Richard Allestree, English priest and academic (b. 1619)
  • 1687 – Johannes Hevelius, Polish astronomer and politician (b. 1611)
  • 1688 – Ferdinand Verbiest, Flemish Jesuit missionary in China (b. 1623)
  • 1697 – Sir John Fenwick, 3rd Baronet, English general and politician (b. 1645)
  • 1754 – Ludvig Holberg, Norwegian-Danish historian and philosopher (b. 1684)
  • 1782 – Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville, French geographer and cartographer (b. 1697)
  • 1832 – Augustin Daniel Belliard, French general (b. 1769)
  • 1859 – F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1782)
  • 1864 – Émile Clapeyron, French physicist and engineer (b. 1799)
  • 1873 – John Hart, English-Australian politician, 10th Premier of South Australia (b. 1809)
  • 1903 – Augusta Holmès, French pianist and composer (b. 1847)
  • 1912 – Gustave de Molinari, Belgian economist and theorist (b. 1819)
  • 1918 – John McCrae, Canadian soldier, physician, and author (b. 1872)
  • 1921 – Mustafa Suphi, Turkish journalist and politician (b. 1883)
  • 1930 – Emmy Destinn, Czech soprano and poet (b. 1878)
  • 1935 – Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Russian composer and conductor (b. 1859)
  • 1937 – Anastasios Metaxas, Greek architect and target shooter (b. 1862)
  • 1938 – Bernd Rosemeyer, German race car driver (b. 1909)
  • 1939 – W. B. Yeats, Irish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
  • 1942 – Edward Siegler, American gymnast and triathlete (b. 1881)
  • 1945 – Roza Shanina, Russian sergeant and sniper (b. 1924)
  • 1947 – Reynaldo Hahn, Venezuelan-French composer, conductor, and critic (b. 1875)
  • 1948 – Hans Aumeier, German SS officer (b. 1906)
  • 1949 – Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (b. 1908)
  • 1950 – Nikolai Luzin, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1883)
  • 1953 – James Scullin, Australian journalist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1876)
  • 1953 – Neyzen Tevfik, Turkish philosopher and poet (b. 1879)
  • 1959 – Walter Beall, American baseball player (b. 1899)
  • 1960 – Zora Neale Hurston, American novelist, short story writer, and folklorist (b. 1891)
  • 1963 – Gustave Garrigou, French cyclist (b. 1884)
  • 1965 – Tich Freeman, English cricketer (b. 1888)
  • 1965 – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (b. 1867)
  • 1971 – Donald Winnicott, English paediatrician and psychoanalyst (b. 1896)
  • 1973 – John Banner, Austrian actor (b. 1910)
  • 1976 – Marcel Broodthaers, Belgian painter and poet (b. 1924)
  • 1978 – Ward Moore, American author (b. 1903)
  • 1983 – Billy Fury. English pop star (b. 1940)
  • 1983 – Frank Forde, Australian educator and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1890)
  • 1986 – Space Shuttle Challenger crew
    • Gregory Jarvis, American captain, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1944)
    • Christa McAuliffe, American educator and astronaut (b. 1948)
    • Ronald McNair, American physicist and astronaut (b. 1950)
    • Ellison Onizuka, American engineer and astronaut (b. 1946)
    • Judith Resnik, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1949)
    • Dick Scobee, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1939)
    • Michael J. Smith, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1945)
  • 1988 – Klaus Fuchs, German physicist and politician (b. 1911)
  • 1989 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (b. 1938)
  • 1993 – Helen Sawyer Hogg, Canadian astronomer and academic (b. 1905)
  • 1996 – Joseph Brodsky, Russian-American poet and essayist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1940)
  • 1996 – Burne Hogarth, American cartoonist and author (b. 1911)
  • 1996 – Jerry Siegel, American author and illustrator, co-created Superman (b. 1914)
  • 1998 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese author and illustrator (b. 1938)
  • 1999 – Valery Gavrilin, Russian composer (b. 1939)
  • 2001 – Ranko Marinković, Croatian author and playwright (b. 1913)
  • 2002 – Gustaaf Deloor, Belgian cyclist and soldier (b. 1913)
  • 2002 – Astrid Lindgren, Swedish author and screenwriter (b. 1907)
  • 2002 – Ayşe Nur Zarakolu, Turkish author and activist (b. 1946)
  • 2003 – Mieke Pullen, Dutch runner (b. 1957)
  • 2004 – Lloyd M. Bucher, American captain (b. 1927)
  • 2004 – Mel Pritchard, English drummer (b. 1948)
  • 2005 – Jim Capaldi, English singer-songwriter and drummer (b. 1944)
  • 2007 – Carlo Clerici, Swiss cyclist (b. 1929)
  • 2007 – Robert Drinan, American priest, lawyer, and politician (b. 1920)
  • 2007 – Yelena Romanova, Russian runner (b. 1963)
  • 2007 – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer (b. 1938)
  • 2009 – Billy Powell, American keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1952)
  • 2012 – Roman Juszkiewicz, Polish astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1952)
  • 2012 – Don Starkell, Canadian adventurer and author (b. 1932)
  • 2013 – Florentino Fernández, Cuban-American boxer and coach (b. 1936)
  • 2013 – Hattie N. Harrison, American educator and politician (b. 1928)
  • 2013 – Oldřich Kulhánek, Czech painter, illustrator, and stage designer (b. 1940)
  • 2014 – John Cacavas, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Harry Gamble, American football player, coach, and manager (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Dwight Gustafson, American composer and conductor (b. 1930)
  • 2014 – Nigel Jenkins, Welsh poet, journalist, and geographer (b. 1949)
  • 2014 – Jorge Obeid, Argentinian engineer and politician, Governor of Santa Fe (b. 1947)
  • 2015 – Suraj Abdurrahman, Nigerian general, architect, and engineer (b. 1954)
  • 2015 – Yves Chauvin, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1930)
  • 2015 – Lionel Gilbert, Australian historian, author, and academic (b. 1924)
  • 2016 – Signe Toly Anderson, American singer (b. 1941)
  • 2016 – Paul Kantner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
  • 2016 – Franklin Gene Bissell, American football player and coach (b. 1926)
  • 2016 – Buddy Cianci, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Mayor of Providence (b. 1941)
  • 2016 – Bob Tizard, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 6th Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1924)
  • 2017 – Alexander Chancellor, British journalist (b. 1940)
  • 2017 – Geoff Nicholls, British musician (b. 1948)
  • 2019 – Pepe Smith, Filipino rock musician (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances on January 28

  • Christian feast day:
    • Joseph Freinademetz
    • Julian of Cuenca
    • Thomas Aquinas
    • January 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • Army Day (Armenia)
  • Data Privacy Day

January 28 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on January 27

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

Deaths on January 27

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

Holidays and observances on January 27

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

January 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

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

Births on January 25

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

Deaths onJanuary 25

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

Holidays and observances on January 25

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

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