1891

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

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

    Births on January 22

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

    Deaths on January 22

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

    Holidays and observances on January 22

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

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

    • 763 – Following the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa, the Alid rebellion ends with the death of Ibrahim, brother of Isa ibn Musa.
    • 1525 – The Swiss Anabaptist Movement is founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptize each other in the home of Manz’s mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union.
    • 1535 – Following the Affair of the Placards, the French king leads an anti-Protestant procession through Paris.
    • 1720 – Sweden and Prussia sign the Treaty of Stockholm.
    • 1749 – The Teatro Filarmonico in Verona is destroyed by fire, as a result of a torch being left behind in the box of a nobleman after a performance. It is rebuilt in 1754.
    • 1774 – Abdul Hamid I becomes Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam.
    • 1789 – The first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth by William Hill Brown, is printed in Boston.
    • 1793 – After being found guilty of treason by the French National Convention, Louis XVI of France is executed by guillotine.
    • 1854 – The RMS Tayleur sinks off Lambay Island on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Australia with great loss of life.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.
    • 1893 – The Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, is formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana.
    • 1908 – New York City passes the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor.
    • 1911 – The first Monte Carlo Rally takes place.
    • 1915 – Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit.
    • 1919 – A revolutionary Irish parliament is founded and declares the independence of the Irish Republic. One of the first engagements of the Irish War of Independence takes place.
    • 1925 – Albania declares itself a republic.
    • 1931 – Sir Isaac Isaacs is sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia.
    • 1941 – Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania the day before, members of the Iron Guard engaged in a rebellion and pogrom killing 125 Jews.
    • 1948 – The Flag of Quebec is adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Québec Flag Day.
    • 1950 – American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss is convicted of perjury.
    • 1954 – The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched in Groton, Connecticut by Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States.
    • 1960 – Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifts off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board.
    • 1960 – Avianca Flight 671 crashes at Montego Bay, Jamaica airport, killing 37 people.
    • 1960 – A coal mine collapses at Holly Country, South Africa, killing 435 miners.
    • 1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh: One of the most publicized and controversial battles of the war begins.
    • 1968 – A B-52 bomber crashes near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptures. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation is complete.
    • 1971 – The current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, begins transmitting UHF broadcasts.
    • 1976 – Commercial service of Concorde begins with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes.
    • 1980 – Iran Air Flight 291 crashes in the Alborz Mountains while on approach to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran, killing 128 people.
    • 1981 – Production of the iconic DeLorean sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom.
    • 1985 – Galaxy Airlines Flight 203 crashes near Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada, killing 70 people.
    • 1997 – The U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrich for ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined.
    • 1999 – War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guard intercepts a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board.
    • 2000 – Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress is seized by indigenous organizations, Col. Lucio Gutiérrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas depose President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez is later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigns and allows Vice-President Gustavo Noboa to succeed Mahuad.
    • 2003 – A 7.6 magnitude earthquake strikes the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless.
    • 2004 – NASA’s MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceases communication with mission control. The problem lies in the management of its flash memory and is fixed remotely from Earth on February 6.
    • 2005 – In Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government’s new taxes erupts into riots.
    • 2009 – Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, officially ending a three-week war it had with Hamas. However, intermittent fire by both sides continues in the weeks to follow.
    • 2011 – Anti government demonstrations take place in Tirana, Albania. Five people lose their lives from gunshots, allegedly fired from armed police protecting the Prime Minister’s office. To date, no one has been held accountable for the deaths.
    • 2017 – Over 400 cities across America and 160+ countries worldwide participate in a large-scale women’s march, on Donald Trump’s first full day as President of the United States.
    • 2018 – Rocket Lab’s Electron becomes the first rocket to reach orbit using an electric pump-fed engine and deploys three CubeSats.

    Births on January 21

    • 1264 – Alexander, Prince of Scotland (d. 1284)
    • 1277 – Galeazzo I Visconti, lord of Milan
    • 1338 – Charles V of France (d. 1380)
    • 1493 – Giovanni Poggio, Italian cardinal and diplomat (d. 1556)
    • 1598 – Matsudaira Tadamasa, Japanese samurai and daimyō (d. 1645)
    • 1612 – Henry Casimir I of Nassau-Dietz, count of Nassau-Dietz (d. 1640)
    • 1636 – Melchiorre Cafà, Maltese Baroque sculptor (baptised; d. 1667)
    • 1655 – Antonio Molinari, Italian painter (d. 1704)
    • 1659 – Adriaen van der Werff, Dutch painter (d. 1722)
    • 1675 – Duchess Sibylle of Saxe-Lauenburg, Margravine of Baden-Baden (d. 1733)
    • 1714 – Anna Morandi Manzolini, Spanish anatomist (d. 1774)
    • 1717 – Antonio María de Bucareli y Ursúa, Spanish military officer and governor of Cuba (d. 1779)
    • 1721 – James Murray, Scottish-English general and politician, Governor of Minorca (d. 1794)
    • 1724 – Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French rococo painter (d. 1805)
    • 1732 – Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis (d. 1797)
    • 1738 – Ethan Allen, American general (d. 1789)
    • 1741 – Chaim of Volozhin, Orthodox rabbi (d. 1821)
    • 1763 – Augustin Robespierre, younger brother of French Revolutionary leader Maximilien Robespierre (d. 1794)
    • 1775 – Manuel Garcia, Spanish opera singer and composer (d. 1832)
    • 1784 – Peter De Wint, English painter (d. 1849)
    • 1788 – William Henry Smyth, Royal Navy officer, hydrographer, astronomer and numismatist
    • 1796 – Princess Marie of Hesse-Kassel, consort of George, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1880)
    • 1797 – Joseph Méry, French author and journalist (d. 1866)
    • 1800 – Theodor Fliedner, German Lutheran minister (d. 1864)
    • 1801 – John Batman, Australian entrepreneur and explorer (d. 1839)
    • 1804 – Moritz von Schwind, Austrian painter (d. 1871)
    • 1808 – Juan Crisóstomo Torrico, 16th President of Peru (d. 1875)
    • 1810 – Pierre Louis Charles de Failly, French general (d. 1892)
    • 1811 – James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Abercorn, British statesman (d. 1885)
    • 1813 – John C. Frémont, American general, explorer, and politician, 5th Territorial Governor of Arizona (d. 1890)
    • 1813 – Giuseppe Montanelli, Italian statesman and author (d. 1862)
    • 1814 – Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, German bibliographer and historian (d. 1885)
    • 1815 – Horace Wells, American dentist (d. 1848)
    • 1820 – Joseph Wolf, German ornithologist and illustrator (d. 1899)
    • 1820 – Egide Walschaerts, Belgian mechanical engineer (d. 1901)
    • 1824 – Stonewall Jackson, American general (d. 1863)
    • 1827 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1900)
    • 1829 – Oscar II of Sweden (d. 1907)
    • 1839 – Caterina Volpicelli, Italian Roman Catholic nun (d. 1894)
    • 1840 – Sophia Jex-Blake, English physician and feminist (d. 1912)
    • 1841 – Édouard Schuré, French philosopher and author (d. 1929)
    • 1843 – Émile Levassor, French engineer (d. 1897)
    • 1845 – Harriet Backer, Norwegian painter (d. 1932)
    • 1846 – Pieter Hendrik Schoute, Dutch mathematician and academic (d. 1923)
    • 1846 – Albert Lavignac, French music scholar (d. 1916)
    • 1847 – Joseph Achille Le Bel, French chemist (d. 1930)
    • 1848 – Henri Duparc, French soldier and composer (d. 1933)
    • 1851 – Giuseppe Allamano, Italian Roman Catholic priest (d. 1926)
    • 1854 – Karl Julius Beloch, German classical and economic historian (d. 1929)
    • 1854 – Eusapia Palladino, Italian Spiritualist (d. 1918)
    • 1855 – Princess Maria Luisa of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, the youngest daughter of King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1874)
    • 1860 – Karl Staaff, Swedish lawyer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 1915)
    • 1864 – Israel Zangwill, British author (d. 1926)
    • 1865 – Heinrich Albers-Schonberg, German gynecologist and radiologist (d. 1921)
    • 1867 – Ludwig Thoma, German paramedic and author (d. 1921)
    • 1867 – Maxime Weygand, Belgian-French general (d. 1965)
    • 1868 – Felix Hoffmann, German chemist (d. 1946)
    • 1869 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian Mystic (d. 1916)
    • 1871 – Olga Preobrajenska, Russian ballerina (d. 1962)
    • 1873 – Arturo Labriola, Italian revolutionary syndicalist (d. 1959)
    • 1874 – René-Louis Baire, French mathematician (d. 1932)
    • 1875 – Paul E. Kahle, German orientalist (d. 1964)
    • 1877 – Baldassarre Negroni, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1948)
    • 1878 – Vahan Tekeyan, Armenian poet and activist (d. 1948)
    • 1879 – Joseph Roffo, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (d. 1933)
    • 1880 – George Van Biesbroeck, Belgian–American astronomer (d. 1974)
    • 1881 – Ernst Fast, Swedish runner (d. 1959)
    • 1881 – André Godard, French archaeologist, architect and historian (d. 1965)
    • 1881 – Ivan Ribar, Yugoslav politician (d. 1968)
    • 1882 – Pavel Florensky, Russian mathematician and theologian (d. 1937)
    • 1882 – Francis Gailey, Australian-American swimmer (d. 1972)
    • 1883 – Olav Aukrust, Norwegian poet and educator (d. 1929)
    • 1883 – Mathias Hynes, British tug of war competitor (d. 1926)
    • 1885 – Duncan Grant, British painter and designer (d. 1978)
    • 1885 – Umberto Nobile, Italian engineer and explorer (d. 1978)
    • 1885 – Harold A. Wilson, English runner (d. 1932)
    • 1886 – John M. Stahl, American director and producer (d. 1950)
    • 1887 – Wolfgang Köhler, German psychologist and phenomenologist (d. 1967)
    • 1887 – Ernest Holmes, American New Thought writer (d. 1960)
    • 1887 – Georges Vézina, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1926)
    • 1889 – Pitirim Sorokin, American sociologist and political activist (d. 1968)
    • 1891 – Albert Battel, German Army lieutenant and lawyer (d. 1952)
    • 1891 – Francisco Lázaro, Portuguese marathon runner (d. 1912)
    • 1895 – Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer, founded Balenciaga (d. 1972)
    • 1895 – Daniel Chalonge, French astrophysicist and astronomer (d. 1977)
    • 1895 – Noe Itō, Japanese anarchist, author and feminist (d. 1923)
    • 1896 – Guy Gilpatric, American pilot and journalist (d. 1950)
    • 1896 – Paula Hitler, younger sister of Adolf Hitler (d. 1960)
    • 1896 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (d. 1973)
    • 1896 – Masa Perttilä, Finnish wrestler (d. 1968)
    • 1897 – René Iché, French sculptor (d. 1954)
    • 1898 – Rudolph Maté, Polish-Hungarian-American cinematographer, producer and director (d. 1964)
    • 1898 – Ahmad Shah Qajar, Shah of Persia (d. 1930)
    • 1898 – Eduard Zintl, German chemist (d. 1941)
    • 1899 – John Bodkin Adams, British general practitioner and convict (d. 1983)
    • 1899 – Gyula Mándi, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 1969)
    • 1899 – Edith Tolkien, wife and muse of J. R. R. Tolkien (d. 1971)
    • 1899 – Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian-American pianist and composer (d. 1977)
    • 1900 – Elof Ahrle, Swedish actor and director (d. 1965)
    • 1900 – Anselm Franz, Austrian engineer (d. 1994)
    • 1900 – Bernhard Rensch, German evolutionary biologist (d. 1990)
    • 1900 – Fernando Quiroga Palacios, Spanish Cardinal (d. 1971)
    • 1901 – Ricardo Zamora, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1978)
    • 1903 – William Lyon, American film editor (d. 1974)
    • 1903 – Raymond Suvigny, French weightlifter (d. 1945)
    • 1904 – Puck van Heel, Dutch footballer (d. 1984)
    • 1904 – John Porter, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1997)
    • 1905 – Christian Dior, French fashion designer, founded Christian Dior S.A. (d. 1957)
    • 1905 – Karl Wallenda, German-American acrobat and tightrope walker, founded The Flying Wallendas (d. 1978)
    • 1906 – Leo Halle, Dutch footballer (d. 1992)
    • 1906 – Igor Moiseyev, Russian choreographer (d. 2007)
    • 1907 – Carlo Cavagnoli, Italian boxer (d. 1991)
    • 1907 – Jānis Mendriks, Latvian Catholic priest (d. 1953)
    • 1909 – Todor Skalovski, Macedonian composer and conductor (d. 2004)
    • 1909 – Teofilo Spasojević, Serbian footballer (d. 1970)
    • 1910 – Hideo Shinojima, Japanese footballer (d. 1975)
    • 1910 – Albert Rosellini, American lawyer and politician, 15th Governor of Washington (d. 2011)
    • 1910 – Rosa Kellner, German athlete (d. 1984)
    • 1910 – Károly Takács, Hungarian shooter (d. 1976)
    • 1911 – Dick Garrard, Australian wrestler (d. 2003)
    • 1911 – Lee Yoo-hyung, Korean footballer and manager (d. 2003)
    • 1912 – Konrad Emil Bloch, German-American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2000)
    • 1915 – André Lichnerowicz, French mathematician (d. 1998)
    • 1915 – Orazio Mariani, Italian sprinter (d. 1981)
    • 1916 – Pietro Rava, Italian footballer (d. 2006)
    • 1916 – Zypora Spaisman, Polish midwife; American and Yiddish-language actress; producer of the Yiddish stage (d. 2002)
    • 1917 – Erling Persson, H&M founder (d. 2002)
    • 1918 – Jimmy Hagan, English footballer (d. 1998)
    • 1918 – Richard Winters, American soldier (d. 2011)
    • 1918 – Antonio Janigro, Italian cellist and conductor (d. 1989)
    • 1919 – Eric Brown, Scottish-English captain and pilot (d. 2016)
    • 1920 – Errol Barrow, first Prime Minister of Barbados (d. 1987)
    • 1921 – Lincoln Alexander, Canadian lawyer and politician, 23rd Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Telly Savalas, American actor (d. 1994)
    • 1922 – Paul Scofield, English actor (d. 2008)
    • 1922 – Predrag Vranicki, Croatian Marxist Humanist, and member of the Praxis school in the 1960s in Yugoslavia (d. 2002)
    • 1923 – Lola Flores, Spanish singer, dancer, and actress (d. 1995)
    • 1923 – Alberto de Mendoza, Argentine actor (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Pahiño, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Benny Hill, English actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1925 – Charles Aidman, American actor (d. 1993)
    • 1925 – Alex Forbes, Scottish footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Eva Ibbotson, Austrian-English author (d. 2010)
    • 1925 – Arnold Skaaland, American wrestler and manager (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Clive Donner, British director (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – Franco Evangelisti, Italian composer (d. 1980)
    • 1926 – Steve Reeves, American bodybuilder (d. 2000)
    • 1926 – Roger Taillibert, French architect (d. 2019)
    • 1926 – Robert J. White, American neurosurgeon (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Rudolf Kraus, German footballer (d. 2003)
    • 1928 – Gene Sharp, American political scientist and academic, founded the Albert Einstein Institution (d. 2018)
    • 1928 – Reynaldo Bignone, Argentinian general and politician, 41st President of Argentina (d. 2018)
    • 1929 – Radley Metzger, American filmmaker (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Mainza Chona, Zambian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 2001)
    • 1931 – Yoshiko Kuga, Japanese actress
    • 1933 – Habib Thiam, Senegalese politician (d. 2017)
    • 1933 – Tony Marchi, English footballer, wing half
    • 1934 – Audrey Dalton, Irish actress
    • 1934 – Antonio Karmany, Spanish cyclist
    • 1934 – Alfonso Portugal, Mexican footballer (d. 2016)
    • 1934 – Ann Wedgeworth, American actress (d. 2017)
    • 1936 – Dick Davies, American basketball player (d. 2012)
    • 1937 – Judit Ágoston-Mendelényi, Hungarian fencer (d. 2013)
    • 1937 – Prince Max, Duke in Bavaria, the youngest son of Albrecht, Duke of Bavaria
    • 1938 – Sandy Barr, American wrestler and referee (d. 2007)
    • 1938 – Romano Fogli, Italian footballer
    • 1938 – Wolfman Jack, American radio host (d. 1995)
    • 1938 – Nicholas Phillips, Baron Phillips of Worth Matravers, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
    • 1939 – Paul Genevay, French sprinter
    • 1939 – Friedel Lutz, German footballer
    • 1939 – Steve Paxton, American dancer and choreographer
    • 1939 – Viacheslav Platonov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2005)
    • 1940 – Jack Nicklaus, American golfer and sportscaster
    • 1940 – Patrick Robinson, British novelist
    • 1941 – Sattam bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian prince (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Plácido Domingo, Spanish tenor and conductor
    • 1941 – Richie Havens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Mike Medavoy, Chinese-American film producer, co-founded Orion Pictures
    • 1941 – Ivan Putski, Polish-American wrestler and bodybuilder
    • 1941 – Elaine Showalter, American author and critic
    • 1942 – Freddy Breck, German singer, producer, and news anchor (d. 2008)
    • 1942 – Eugène Camara, Prime Minister of Guinea (d. 2019)
    • 1942 – Han Pil-hwa, North Korean speed skater
    • 1942 – Mac Davis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
    • 1942 – Edwin Starr, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
    • 1942 – Michael G. Wilson, American producer and screenwriter
    • 1943 – Zdravko Hebel, Croatian water polo player (d. 2017)
    • 1943 – Arnar Jónsson, Icelandic actor
    • 1943 – Alfons Peeters, Belgian footballer (d. 2015)
    • 1943 – Kenzo Yokoyama, Japanese footballer
    • 1944 – Uto Ughi, Italian violinist
    • 1945 – Pete Kircher, English drummer
    • 1945 – Martin Shaw, English actor and producer
    • 1946 – Ichiro Hosotani, Japanese footballer
    • 1946 – Nella Martinetti, Swiss singer (d. 2011)
    • 1946 – Tomás Pineda, El Salvadoran footballer
    • 1946 – Miguel Reina, Spanish footballer
    • 1947 – Jill Eikenberry, American actress
    • 1947 – Andrzej Bachleda, Polish former alpine skier
    • 1947 – Dorian M. Goldfeld, American mathematician
    • 1947 – Pye Hastings, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Michel Jonasz, French singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1947 – Joseph Nicolosi, American clinical psychologist (d. 2017)
    • 1947 – Giuseppe Savoldi, Italian footballer
    • 1947 – Roberto Zywica, Argentine footballer
    • 1948 – Zygmunt Kukla, Polish footballer (d. 2016)
    • 1948 – Hugo Tocalli, Argentine footballer
    • 1949 – Trương Tấn Sang, Vietnamese politician and 7th President of Vietnam
    • 1949 – Clifford Ray, American basketball coach and player
    • 1950 – Marion Becker, German javelin thrower
    • 1950 – Gary Locke, American politician and diplomat, 36th United States Secretary of Commerce
    • 1950 – José Marín, Spanish racewalker
    • 1950 – Billy Ocean, Trinidadian-English singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Agnes van Ardenne, Dutch politician and diplomat, Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation
    • 1951 – Eric Holder, American lawyer, judge, and politician, 82nd United States Attorney General
    • 1952 – Marco Camenisch, Swiss activist and murderer
    • 1952 – Werner Grissmann, Austrian alpine skier
    • 1952 – Mikhail Umansky, Russian chess player (d. 2010)
    • 1953 – Paul Allen, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Microsoft (d. 2018)
    • 1953 – Felipe Yáñez, Spanish cyclist
    • 1954 – Thomas de Maizière, German politician of the Christian Democratic Union
    • 1954 – Idrissa Ouedraogo, Burkinabé director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2018)
    • 1954 – Phil Thompson, English footballer and coach
    • 1955 – Peter Fleming, American tennis player
    • 1955 – Jeff Koons, American painter and sculptor
    • 1955 – Nello Musumeci, Italian politician and President of Sicily
    • 1956 – Robby Benson, American actor and director
    • 1956 – Geena Davis, American actress and producer
    • 1958 – Matt Salmon, American politician
    • 1958 – Hussein Saeed, Iraqi footballer
    • 1958 – Sergei Walter, Ukrainian politician (d. 2015)
    • 1958 – Michael Wincott, Canadian actor
    • 1959 – Sergei Alifirenko, Russian pistol shooter
    • 1959 – Alex McLeish, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1960 – Sidney Lowe, American basketball player
    • 1960 – Mike Terrana, American hard rock and heavy metal drummer
    • 1961 – Kevin Cramer, American politician
    • 1961 – Cornelia Pröll, Austrian alpine skier
    • 1961 – Ivo Pukanić Croatian journalist (d. 2008)
    • 1961 – Gary Shaw, English footballer
    • 1961 – Piotr Ugrumov, Russian cyclist
    • 1962 – Tyler Cowen, American economist and academic
    • 1962 – Isabelle Nanty, French actress, director and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Gabriele Pin, Italian footballer and coach
    • 1962 – Zoran Thaler, Slovenian politician
    • 1962 – Erik Verlinde, Dutch theoretical physicist
    • 1962 – Marie Trintignant, French actress (d. 2003)
    • 1963 – Hakeem Olajuwon, Nigerian-American basketball player
    • 1963 – Detlef Schrempf, German basketball player and coach
    • 1964 – Andreas Bauer, German ski jumper
    • 1964 – Tony Dolan, English musician and actor
    • 1964 – Gérald Passi, French footballer
    • 1964 – Ricardo Serna, Spanish footballer
    • 1964 – Aleksandar Šoštar, Serbian water polo player
    • 1964 – Danny Wallace, English footballer
    • 1965 – Robert Del Naja, British artist, musician and singer
    • 1965 – Jam Master Jay, American DJ, rapper, and producer (d. 2002)
    • 1965 – Masahiro Wada, Japanese footballer
    • 1967 – Artashes Minasian, Armenian chess player
    • 1967 – Alfred Jermaniš, Slovenian footballer
    • 1967 – Gorō Miyazaki, Japanese film director and landscaper
    • 1968 – Dmitry Fomin, Soviet and Russian volleyball player
    • 1968 – Ilya Smirin, Israeli chess Grandmaster
    • 1968 – Artur Dmitriev, Soviet and Russian ice skater
    • 1968 – Sébastien Lifshitz, French director
    • 1968 – Charlotte Ross, American actress
    • 1969 – John Ducey, American actor
    • 1969 – Eduard Hämäläinen, Finnish-Belarusian decathlete
    • 1969 – Karina Lombard, French-American actress and singer
    • 1969 – Tsubaki Nekoi, Japanese comic artist
    • 1970 – Alen Bokšić, former Croatian footballer
    • 1970 – Marina Foïs, French actress
    • 1970 – Ken Leung, American actor
    • 1970 – Oren Peli, Israeli-American director, producer and screenwriter
    • 1971 – Uni Arge, Faroese footballer and entertainer
    • 1971 – Rafael Berges, Spanish footballer
    • 1971 – Doug Edwards, American basketball player
    • 1971 – Dmitri Khlestov, Russian footballer
    • 1971 – Dylan Kussman, American actor
    • 1971 – Sergey Klevchenya, Russian speed skater
    • 1971 – Doug Weight, American ice hockey player and coach
    • 1972 – Billel Dziri, Algerian footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Rick Falkvinge, Swedish businessman and politician
    • 1972 – Sead Kapetanović, Bosnian footballer
    • 1972 – Yasunori Mitsuda, Japanese composer and producer
    • 1972 – Cat Power, American singer, musician and actress
    • 1972 – Shawn Rojeski, American curler
    • 1972 – Sabina Valbusa, Italian cross-country skier
    • 1973 – Rob Hayles, English cyclist
    • 1973 – Chris Kilmore, American musician and DJ
    • 1973 – Edvinas Krungolcas, Lithuanian modern pentathlete
    • 1973 – Flavio Maestri, Peruvian footballer
    • 1974 – Malena Alterio, Spanish actress
    • 1974 – Maxwell Atoms, American animator, screenwriter and voice actor
    • 1974 – Kim Dotcom, German-Finnish Internet entrepreneur and political activist
    • 1974 – Arthémon Hatungimana, Burundian middle distance runner
    • 1974 – Vincent Laresca, American actor
    • 1974 – Ulrich Le Pen, French footballer
    • 1974 – Marco Zanotti, Italian cyclist
    • 1975 – Nicky Butt, English footballer and coach
    • 1975 – Casey FitzRandolph, American speedskater
    • 1975 – Yuji Ide, Japanese race car driver
    • 1975 – Ito, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1975 – Willem Korsten, Dutch footballer, left winger
    • 1975 – Jason Moran, American jazz pianist, composer and educator
    • 1975 – Florin Șerban, Romanian director
    • 1975 – Alyaksandr Yermakovich, Belarusian footballer and manager
    • 1976 – Aivaras Abromavičius, Lithuanian-Ukrainian banker and politician; 15th Ukrainian Minister of Economic Development
    • 1976 – Raivis Belohvoščiks, Latvian cyclist
    • 1976 – Emma Bunton, English singer
    • 1976 – Lars Eidinger, German actor
    • 1976 – Giorgio Frezzolini, Italian footballer
    • 1976 – Igors Stepanovs, Latvian footballer
    • 1977 – Hussein Abdulghani, Saudi Arabian footballer
    • 1977 – Bradley Carnell, South African footballer
    • 1977 – John DeSantis, Canadian actor
    • 1977 – Kirsten Klose, German hammer thrower
    • 1977 – Denis Lunghi, Italian cyclist
    • 1977 – Ulrike Maisch, German runner
    • 1977 – Phil Neville, English footballer and manager
    • 1977 – Michael Ruffin, American basketball player
    • 1977 – Jerry Trainor, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1978 – Faris Al-Sultan, German triathlete
    • 1978 – Peter von Allmen, Swiss cross-country skier
    • 1978 – Hernán Rodrigo López, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1978 – Andrei Zyuzin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Quinton Jacobs, Namibian footballer
    • 1979 – Byung-hyun Kim, South Korean baseball player
    • 1979 – Spider Loc, American rapper and actor
    • 1979 – Melendi, Spanish singer
    • 1979 – Brian O’Driscoll, Irish rugby player
    • 1979 – Sebastian Schindzielorz, German footballer
    • 1980 – Troy Dumais, American diver
    • 1980 – Karsten Forsterling, Australian rower
    • 1980 – Dave Kitson, English footballer and manager
    • 1980 – Lee Kyung-won, South Korean badminton player
    • 1980 – Kevin McKenna, Canadian soccer player
    • 1980 – Nana Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter and voice actress
    • 1980 – Alexander Os, former Norwegian biathlete
    • 1980 – Xavier Pons, Spanish rally diver
    • 1980 – Mari Possa, El Salvadoran pornographic actress
    • 1980 – Bratislav Ristić, Serbian footballer
    • 1981 – Gillian Chung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1981 – Ivan Ergić, Serbian footballer
    • 1981 – Roberto Guana Italian footballer
    • 1981 – Wu Hanxiong, Chinese fencer
    • 1981 – Dany Heatley, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Andy Lee, South Korean singer and actor
    • 1981 – Izabella Miko, Polish actress, dancer, and producer
    • 1981 – Shawn Redhage, American-Australian basketball player
    • 1981 – Michel Teló, Brazilian singer-songwriter
    • 1981 – Jung Ryeo-won, South Korean actress
    • 1981 – David F. Sandberg, Swedish filmmaker
    • 1982 – Richard José Blanco, Venezuelan footballer
    • 1982 – Adriano Ferreira Martins, Brazilian footballer
    • 1982 – Nicolas Mahut, French tennis player
    • 1982 – Sarah Ourahmoune, French boxer
    • 1982 – Simon Rolfes, German footballer
    • 1982 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
    • 1983 – Alex Acker, American basketball player
    • 1983 – Monique Adamczak, Australian tennis player
    • 1983 – Victor Leandro Bagy, Brazilian footballer
    • 1983 – Ranko Despotović, Serbian footballer
    • 1983 – Svetlana Khodchenkova, Russian actress
    • 1983 – Marieke van den Ham, Dutch water polo player
    • 1983 – Billy Mwanza, Zambian footballer
    • 1983 – Maryse Ouellet, French-Canadian wrestler
    • 1983 – Álvaro Quirós, Spanish golfer
    • 1983 – Francesca Segat, Italian swimmer
    • 1983 – Moritz Volz, German footballer, right back, football pundit and scout
    • 1983 – Kelly VanderBeek, Canadian alpine skier
    • 1984 – Leonardo Burián, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1984 – Luke Grimes, American actor
    • 1984 – Amy Hastings, American track and fielder
    • 1984 – Alex Koslov, Moldovan-American wrestler
    • 1984 – Dejan Milovanović, Serbian footballer
    • 1984 – Wes Morgan, Jamaican footballer
    • 1984 – Haloti Ngata, American footballer
    • 1985 – Markus Berger, Austrian footballer
    • 1985 – Artur Beterbiev, Russian boxer
    • 1985 – Aura Dione, Danish singer and songwriter
    • 1985 – Nick Gehlfuss, American actor
    • 1985 – Salvatore Giunta, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient
    • 1985 – Yumi Hara, Japanese voice actress and singer
    • 1985 – Sasha Pivovarova, Russian model and actress
    • 1985 – Rodrigo San Miguel, Spanish basketball player
    • 1985 – Ri Se-gwang, North Korean artistic gymnast
    • 1985 – Dmitri Sokolov, Russian basketball player
    • 1985 – Ryan Suter, American ice hockey player
    • 1986 – César Arzo, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Edson Barboza, Brazilian mixed martial artist
    • 1986 – João Gomes Júnior, Brazilian swimmer
    • 1986 – Javi López, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Gina Mambrú, volleyball player from Dominican Republic
    • 1986 – Jonathan Quick, American ice hockey player
    • 1986 – Mike Taylor, American basketball player
    • 1986 – Óscar Vílchez, Peruvian footballer
    • 1986 – Sushant Singh Rajput, Indian actor
    • 1987 – Ioannis Athanasoulas, Greek basketball player
    • 1987 – Andrei Cojocari, Moldovan footballer
    • 1987 – Alexander Dercho, German footballer
    • 1987 – Aida Hadzialic, Swedish politician
    • 1987 – Shaun Keeling, South African rower
    • 1987 – Augustine Kiprono Choge, Kenyan runner
    • 1987 – Kevin Kratz, German footballer
    • 1987 – Danny Munyao, Zambian footballer
    • 1987 – Henrico Drost, Dutch footballer
    • 1987 – Darren Helm, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Will Johnson, Canadian footballer
    • 1987 – Mulopo Kudimbana, Congolese footballer
    • 1987 – Nyasha Mushekwi, Zimbabwean footballer
    • 1987 – Dominik Roels, German cyclist
    • 1987 – Maša Zec Peškirič, Slovenian tennis player
    • 1987 – Ikumi Yoshimatsu, Japanese actress
    • 1988 – Glaiza de Castro, Filipino actress and singer
    • 1988 – Ashton Eaton, American decathlete
    • 1988 – Rolands Freimanis, Latvian basketball player
    • 1988 – Vanessa Hessler, Italian-American model and actress
    • 1988 – Aleksandar Lazevski, Macedonian footballer
    • 1988 – Ángel Mena, Ecuadorian footballer
    • 1988 – Valérie Tétreault, Canadian tennis player
    • 1988 – Pieter Timmers, Belgian swimmer
    • 1988 – Nemanja Tomić, Serbian footballer
    • 1988 – Ben Turner, English footballer
    • 1989 – Doğuş Balbay, Turkish basketball player
    • 1989 – Kayla Banwarth, American indoor volleyball player
    • 1989 – Férébory Doré, Congolese footballer
    • 1989 – Sergey Fesikov, Russian swimmer
    • 1989 – Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Armenian footballer
    • 1989 – Matteo Pelucchi, Italian cyclist
    • 1989 – Zhang Shuai, Chinese tennis player
    • 1990 – Arash Afshin, Iranian footballer
    • 1990 – Diogo Amado, Portuguese footballer
    • 1990 – Andriy Bohdanov, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1990 – Kelly Rohrbach, American model and actress
    • 1990 – André Martins, Portuguese footballer
    • 1990 – Knowledge Musona, Zimbabwean footballer
    • 1990 – Jacob Smith, American actor
    • 1990 – Doni Tata Pradita, Indonesian motorcycle racer
    • 1991 – Ali Al-Busaidi, Omani footballer
    • 1991 – Javier Calvo, Spanish actor and director
    • 1991 – Mohammad Ghadir, Arab-Israeli footballer
    • 1991 – Jan Hirt, Czech cyclist
    • 1991 – Mateusz Mika, Polish volleyball player
    • 1991 – Alfredo Ortuño, Spanish footballer
    • 1991 – Marta Pagnini, Italian gymnast
    • 1991 – Craig Roberts, Welsh actor and director
    • 1991 – Luis Alfonso Rodríguez, Mexican footballer
    • 1992 – Verónica Cepede Royg, Paraguayan tennis player
    • 1992 – Sven Erik Bystrøm, Norwegian cyclist
    • 1992 – James Duckworth, Australian tennis player
    • 1992 – Kwame Karikari, Ghanaian footballer
    • 1992 – Nicolás Mezquida, Uruguayan footballer
    • 1992 – Roland Szolnoki, Hungarian footballer
    • 1993 – Clément Mignon, French swimmer
    • 1993 – Muralha, Brazilian footballer
    • 1993 – Chiara Pierobon, Italian cyclist (d. 2015)
    • 1994 – Amin Affane, Swedish footballer
    • 1994 – Laura Robson, Australian-English tennis player
    • 1994 – Kang Seung-yoon, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1994 – Nils Allen “Booboo” Stewart Jr., American actor
    • 1994 – Lim Kim, South Korean singer and actress
    • 1995 – Yulia Belorukova, Russian cross-country skier
    • 1995 – Nguyễn Công Phượng, Vietnamese footballer
    • 1995 – Marine Johannes, French basketball player
    • 1995 – Alanna Kennedy, Australian footballer player
    • 1996 – Marco Asensio, Spanish footballer
    • 1996 – Aldo Kalulu, French footballer
    • 1996 – Cristian Pavón, Argentine footballer
    • 1997 – Jeremy Shada, American actor, musician and singer
    • 1998 – Borna Sosa, Croatian footballer
    • 1999 – Rubina Ali, Indian actress
    • 2003 – Natalie Garcia, rhythmic gymnast
    • 2004 – Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway, 2nd in line for the Norwegian throne

    Deaths on January 21

    • 420 – Yazdegerd I, king of the Sassanid Empire
    • 496 – Epiphanius of Pavia, Italian bishop and saint (b. 438)
    • 917 – Erchanger, Duke of Swabia (b. 880)
    • 918 – Liu Zhijun, Chinese general
    • 939 – Yang Pu, Chinese emperor (b. 900)
    • 942 – An Chongrong, Chinese general (Five Dynasties)
    • 945 – Yang Tan, Chinese general and governor
    • 1118 – Pope Paschal II (b. 1050)
    • 1203 – Agnes II, Abbess of Quedlinburg (b. 1139)
    • 1320 – Árni Helgason, Icelandic bishop (b. c. 1260)
    • 1527 – Juan de Grijalva, Spanish explorer (b. 1489)
    • 1546 – Azai Sukemasa, Japanese daimyō (b. 1491)
    • 1609 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French historian and scholar (b. 1540)
    • 1638 – Ignazio Donati, Italian composer (b. 1570)
    • 1670 – Claude Duval, French highwayman (b. 1643)
    • 1683 – Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1621)
    • 1699 – Obadiah Walker, English historian and academic (b. 1616)
    • 1706 – Adrien Baillet, French scholar and critic (b. 1649)
    • 1710 – Johann Georg Gichtel, German mystic and critic (b. 1638)
    • 1722 – Charles Paulet, 2nd Duke of Bolton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1661)
    • 1731 – Ignjat Đurđević, Croatian poet and translator (b. 1675)
    • 1773 – Alexis Piron, French playwright and author (b. 1689)
    • 1774 – Mustafa III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1717)
    • 1775 – Yemelyan Pugachev, Russian rebel (b. 1742)
    • 1789 – Baron d’Holbach, French-German philosopher and author (b. 1723)
    • 1793 – Louis XVI of France (b. 1754)
    • 1795 – Samuel Wallis, English navigator and explorer (b. 1728)
    • 1809 – Josiah Hornblower, American engineer and politician (b. 1729)
    • 1814 – Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, French botanist and author (b. 1737)
    • 1823 – Cayetano José Rodríguez, Argentinian cleric, journalist, and poet (b. 1761)
    • 1831 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (b. 1781)
    • 1851 – Albert Lortzing, German actor and composer (b. 1801)
    • 1862 – Božena Němcová, Austrian-Czech author and poet (b. 1820)
    • 1870 – Alexander Herzen, Russian philosopher and author (b. 1812)
    • 1872 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian playwright and poet (b. 1791)
    • 1881 – Wilhelm Matthias Naeff, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
    • 1891 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (b. 1842)
    • 1901 – Elisha Gray, American engineer, co-founded Western Electric (b. 1835)
    • 1914 – Theodor Kittelsen, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1857)
    • 1918 – Jan Drozdowski, Polish pianist and music teacher (b. 1857)
    • 1919 – Gojong of Korea (b. 1852)
    • 1919 – Ahmed Muhtar Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 277th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1839)
    • 1924 – Vladimir Lenin, Russian lawyer and politician (b. 1870)
    • 1926 – Camillo Golgi, Italian physician and pathologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1843)
    • 1928 – George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer (b. 1858)
    • 1931 – Felix Blumenfeld, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1863)
    • 1932 – Lytton Strachey, English writer and critic (b. 1880)
    • 1933 – George Moore, Irish author, poet, and critic (b. 1852)
    • 1937 – Marie Prevost, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1898)
    • 1938 – Georges Méliès, French actor, director, and producer (b. 1861)
    • 1945 – Rash Behari Bose, Indian soldier and engineer (b. 1886)
    • 1948 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (b. 1876)
    • 1950 – George Orwell, British novelist, essayist, and critic (b. 1903)
    • 1955 – Archie Hahn, German-American runner and coach (b. 1880)
    • 1956 – Sam Langford, Canadian-American boxer (b. 1883)
    • 1959 – Cecil B. DeMille, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1881)
    • 1959 – Frances Gertrude McGill, pioneering Canadian forensic pathologist (b. 1882)
    • 1959 – Carl Switzer, American child actor and hunting guide (b. 1927)
    • 1960 – Matt Moore, Irish-American actor and director (b. 1888)
    • 1961 – Blaise Cendrars, Swiss author and poet (b. 1887)
    • 1963 – Acharya Shivpujan Sahay, Indian author, poet, and academic (b. 1893)
    • 1963 – Spiros Xenos, Greek-Swedish painter (b. 1881)
    • 1965 – Gwynne Evans, American swimmer and water polo player (b. 1880)
    • 1967 – Ann Sheridan, American actress (b. 1915)
    • 1968 – Will Lang, Jr., American journalist (b. 1914)
    • 1977 – Sandro Penna, Italian poet and journalist (b. 1906)
    • 1978 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (b. 1898)
    • 1983 – Lamar Williams, American bass player (b. 1949)
    • 1984 – Giannis Skarimpas, Greek playwright and poet (b. 1893)
    • 1984 – Jackie Wilson, American singer (b. 1934)
    • 1985 – James Beard, American chef and author (b. 1903)
    • 1985 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (b. 1930)
    • 1987 – Charles Goodell, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1926)
    • 1988 – Vincent Lingiari, Australian Aboriginal rights activist (b. 1919)
    • 1989 – Carl Furillo, American baseball player (b. 1922)
    • 1989 – Billy Tipton, American pianist and saxophonist (b. 1914)
    • 1993 – Charlie Gehringer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1903)
    • 1994 – Bassel al-Assad, Son of the former President of the Syrian Arab Republic Hafez al-Assad (b. 1962)
    • 1998 – Jack Lord, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1920)
    • 1999 – Susan Strasberg, American actress (b. 1938)
    • 2002 – Peggy Lee, American singer (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Paul Haines, American-Canadian poet and songwriter (b. 1933)
    • 2003 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (b. 1916)
    • 2004 – Yordan Radichkov, Bulgarian author and playwright (b. 1929)
    • 2005 – Theun de Vries, Dutch author and poet (b. 1907)
    • 2005 – John L. Hess, American journalist and critic (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Kaljo Raid, Estonian cellist, composer, and pastor (b. 1921)
    • 2006 – Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovo journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
    • 2009 – Krista Kilvet, Estonian journalist, politician and diplomat (b. 1946)
    • 2010 – Paul Quarrington, Canadian author, playwright, guitarist, and composer (b. 1953)
    • 2011 – Theoni V. Aldredge, Greek-American costume designer (b. 1922)
    • 2011 – Dennis Oppenheim, American sculptor and photographer (b. 1938)
    • 2011 – E. V. V. Satyanarayana, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1958)
    • 2013 – Ahmet Mete Işıkara, Turkish geophysicist and academic (b. 1941)
    • 2013 – Chumpol Silpa-archa, Thai academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – Michael Winner, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1935)
    • 2015 – Marcus Borg, American scholar, theologian, and author (b. 1942)
    • 2015 – Leon Brittan, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Johnnie Lewis, Liberian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Justice of Liberia (b. 1946)
    • 2016 – Bill Johnson, American skier (b. 1960)
    • 2016 – Mrinalini Sarabhai, a 1992-Padma Bhushan award winner Indian classical dancer, choreographer and instructor. (b. 1918)
    • 2019 – Kaye Ballard, American actress (b. 1925)
    • 2019 – Henri, Count of Paris, Head of the House of Orléans (b. 1933)
    • 2019 – Emiliano Sala, Argentine footballer (b. 1990)
    • 2019 – Harris Wofford, American politician, author and civil rights activist (b. 1926)
    • 2020 – Terry Jones, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1942)
    • 2020 – Morgan Wootten, American high school basketball coach (b. 1931)

    Holidays and observances on January 21

    • Babinden (Bulgaria, Serbia)
    • Birthday of Princess Ingrid Alexandra (Norway)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Agnes
      • Demiana (Coptic Church)
      • Fructuosus
      • John Yi Yun-il (one of The Korean Martyrs)
      • Meinrad of Einsiedeln
      • January 21 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Errol Barrow Day (Barbados)
    • Flag Day (Quebec)
    • Grandmother’s Day (Poland)
    • Lady of Altagracia Day (Dominican Republic)
    • Lincoln Alexander Day (Canada)

  • January 20 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution.
    • 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom.
    • 1265 – The first English parliament to include not only Lords but also representatives of the major towns holds its first meeting in the Palace of Westminster, now commonly known as the “Houses of Parliament”.
    • 1320 – Duke Wladyslaw Lokietek becomes king of Poland.
    • 1356 – Edward Balliol surrenders his claim to the Scottish throne to Edward III in exchange for an English pension.
    • 1523 – Christian II is forced to abdicate as King of Denmark and Norway.
    • 1567 – Battle of Rio de Janeiro: Portuguese forces under the command of Estácio de Sá definitively drive the French out of Rio de Janeiro.
    • 1576 – The Mexican city of León is founded by order of the viceroy Don Martín Enríquez de Almanza.
    • 1649 – The High Court of Justice for the trial of Charles I begins its proceedings.
    • 1783 – The Kingdom of Great Britain signed preliminary articles of peace with France, setting the stage to the official end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War later that year.
    • 1785 – Invading Siamese forces attempt to exploit the political chaos in Vietnam, but are ambushed and annihilated at the Mekong river by the Tây Sơn in the Battle of Rạch Gầm-Xoài Mút.
    • 1788 – The third and main part of First Fleet arrives at Botany Bay. Arthur Phillip decides that Port Jackson is a more suitable location for a colony.
    • 1839 – In the Battle of Yungay, Chile defeats an alliance between Peru and Bolivia.
    • 1841 – Hong Kong Island is occupied by the British.
    • 1877 – The last day of the Constantinople Conference results in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
    • 1887 – The United States Senate allows the Navy to lease Pearl Harbor as a naval base.
    • 1921 – The British K-class submarine HMS K5 sinks in the English Channel; all 56 on board die.
    • 1921 – The first Constitution of Turkey is adopted, making fundamental changes in the source and exercise of sovereignty by consecrating the principle of national sovereignty.
    • 1929 – The first full-length talking motion picture filmed outdoors, In Old Arizona, is released.
    • 1936 – King George V of the United Kingdom dies. His eldest son succeeds to the throne, becoming Edward VIII. The title Prince of Wales is not used for another 22 years.
    • 1937 – Franklin D. Roosevelt and John Nance Garner are sworn in for their second terms as U.S. President and U.S. Vice President; it is the first time a Presidential Inauguration takes place on January 20 since the 20th Amendment changed the dates of presidential terms.
    • 1941 – A German officer is killed in Bucharest, Romania, sparking a rebellion and pogrom by the Iron Guard, killing 125 Jews and 30 soldiers.
    • 1942 – World War II: At the Wannsee Conference held in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee, senior Nazi German officials discuss the implementation of the “Final Solution to the Jewish question”.
    • 1945 – World War II: The provisional government of Béla Miklós in Hungary agrees to an armistice with the Allies.
    • 1945 – World War II: Germany begins the evacuation of 1.8 million people from East Prussia, a task which will take nearly two months.
    • 1949 – Point Four Program a program for economic aid to poor countries announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address for a full term as President.
    • 1953 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th President of the United States of America.
    • 1954 – In the United States, the National Negro Network is established with 40 charter member radio stations.
    • 1961 – John F. Kennedy is inaugurated the 35th President of the United States of America, becoming the second youngest man to take the office, and the first Catholic.
    • 1969 – Richard Nixon is inaugurated the 37th President of the United States of America.
    • 1972 – Pakistan launched its nuclear weapons program, a few weeks after its defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, as well as the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
    • 1977 – Jimmy Carter is inaugurated the 39th President of the United States of America.
    • 1981 – Ronald Reagan is inaugurated the 40th President of the United States of America. Twenty minutes later, Iran releases 52 American hostages.
    • 1986 – In the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is celebrated as a federal holiday for the first time.
    • 1989 – George H. W. Bush is inaugurated the 41st President of the United States of America.
    • 1990 – Protests in Azerbaijan, part of the Dissolution of the Soviet Union.
    • 1991 – Sudan’s government imposes Islamic law nationwide, worsening the civil war between the country’s Muslim north and Christian south.
    • 1992 – Air Inter Flight 148, an Airbus A320-111, crashes into a mountain near Strasbourg, France killing 87 of the 96 people on board.
    • 1993 – Bill Clinton is inaugurated the 42nd President of the United States of America.
    • 2001 – George W. Bush is inaugurated the 43rd President of the United States of America.
    • 2001 – President of the Philippines Joseph Estrada is ousted in a nonviolent 4-day revolution, and is succeeded by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
    • 2009 – Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States of America, becoming the first African-American President of the United States.
    • 2009 – A protest movement in Iceland culminates as the 2009 Icelandic financial crisis protests start.
    • 2017 – Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States of America, becoming the oldest person to assume the office.
    • 2018 – A group of four or five gunmen attack The Inter-Continental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, sparking a 12-hour battle. The attack kills 40 people and injures many others.

    Births on January 20

    • 225 – Gordian III, Roman emperor (d. 244)
    • 1029 – Alp Arslan, Seljuk sultan (probable; d. 1072)
    • 1292 – Elizabeth of Bohemia, queen consort of Bohemia (d. 1330)
    • 1436 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (d. 1490)
    • 1488 – John George, Marquess of Montferrat, Italian noble (d. 1533)
    • 1488 – Sebastian Münster, German scholar, cartographer, and cosmographer (d. 1552)
    • 1499 – Sebastian Franck, German humanist (probable; d. 1543)
    • 1502 – Sebastian de Aparicio, Spanish-Mexican rancher and missionary (d. 1600)
    • 1526 – Rafael Bombelli, Italian mathematician (d. 1572)
    • 1554 – Sebastian of Portugal (d. 1578)
    • 1569 – Heribert Rosweyde, Jesuit hagiographer (d. 1629)
    • 1573 – Simon Marius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1624)
    • 1586 – Johann Hermann Schein, German composer (d. 1630)
    • 1664 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian lawyer and jurist (d. 1718)
    • 1703 – Joseph-Hector Fiocco, Flemish violinist and composer (d. 1741)
    • 1716 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and numismatist (d. 1795)
    • 1716 – Charles III of Spain (d. 1788)
    • 1732 – Richard Henry Lee, American lawyer and politician, President of the Continental Congress (d. 1794)
    • 1741 – Carl Linnaeus the Younger, Swedish botanist and author (d. 1783)
    • 1755 – Sir Albemarle Bertie, 1st Baronet, English admiral (d. 1824)
    • 1762 – Jérôme-Joseph de Momigny, Belgian-French composer and theorist (d. 1842)
    • 1775 – André-Marie Ampère, French physicist and mathematician (d. 1836)
    • 1781 – Joseph Hormayr, Baron zu Hortenburg, Austrian-German historian and politician (d. 1848)
    • 1783 – Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (d. 1860)
    • 1799 – Anson Jones, American physician and politician, 5th President of the Republic of Texas (d. 1858)
    • 1804 – Eugène Sue, French author and politician (d. 1857)
    • 1812 – Thomas Meik, Scottish engineer (d. 1896)
    • 1814 – David Wilmot, American politician, sponsor of Wilmot Proviso (d. 1868)
    • 1834 – George D. Robinson, American lawyer and politician, 34th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
    • 1855 – Ernest Chausson, French composer (d. 1899)
    • 1856 – Harriot Stanton Blatch, U.S. suffragist and organizer (d. 1940)
    • 1865 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (d. 1944)
    • 1870 – Guillaume Lekeu, Belgian pianist and composer (d. 1894)
    • 1873 – Johannes V. Jensen, Danish author, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
    • 1874 – Steve Bloomer, English footballer and coach (d. 1938)
    • 1876 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (d. 1957)
    • 1878 – Finlay Currie, Scottish-English actor (d. 1968)
    • 1879 – Ruth St. Denis, American dancer and educator (d. 1968)
    • 1880 – Walter W. Bacon, American accountant and politician, 60th Governor of Delaware (d. 1962)
    • 1882 – Johnny Torrio, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1957)
    • 1883 – Enoch L. Johnson, American mob boss (d. 1968)
    • 1883 – Forrest Wilson, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
    • 1888 – Lead Belly, American folk/blues musician and songwriter (d. 1949)
    • 1889 – Allan Haines Loughead, American engineer and businessman, founded the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company (d. 1969)
    • 1891 – Mischa Elman, Ukrainian-American violinist (d. 1967)
    • 1893 – Georg Åberg, Swedish triple jumper (d. 1946)
    • 1894 – Harold Gray, American cartoonist, created Little Orphan Annie (d. 1968)
    • 1894 – Walter Piston, American composer, theorist, and academic (d. 1976)
    • 1895 – Gábor Szegő, Hungarian mathematician and academic (d. 1985)
    • 1896 – George Burns, American actor, comedian, and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1898 – U Razak, Burmese educator and politician (d. 1947)
    • 1899 – Clarice Cliff, English potter (d. 1972)
    • 1899 – Kenjiro Takayanagi, Japanese engineer (d. 1990)
    • 1900 – Dorothy Annan, English painter, potter, and muralist (d. 1983)
    • 1900 – Colin Clive, English actor (d. 1937)
    • 1902 – Leon Ames, American actor (d. 1993)
    • 1902 – Kevin Barry, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 1920)
    • 1906 – Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate (d. 1975)
    • 1907 – Paula Wessely, Austrian actress and producer (d. 2000)
    • 1908 – Fleur Cowles, American author and illustrator (d. 2009)
    • 1909 – Gōgen Yamaguchi, Japanese martial artist (d. 1989)
    • 1910 – Joy Adamson, Austria-born Kenyan painter and author (d. 1980)
    • 1913 – W. Cleon Skousen, American author and academic (d. 2006)
    • 1915 – Ghulam Ishaq Khan, Pakistani businessman and politician, 7th President of Pakistan (d. 2006)
    • 1918 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican pianist, composer, and bandleader (d. 2002)
    • 1918 – Nevin Scrimshaw, American scientist (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Federico Fellini, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1993)
    • 1920 – DeForest Kelley, American actor (d. 1999)
    • 1920 – Thorleif Schjelderup, Norwegian ski jumper and author (d. 2006)
    • 1921 – Telmo Zarra, Spanish footballer (d. 2006)
    • 1922 – Ray Anthony, American trumpet player, composer, bandleader, and actor
    • 1922 – Don Mankiewicz, American author and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Slim Whitman, American country and western singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Yvonne Loriod, French pianist and composer (d. 2010)
    • 1925 – Jamiluddin Aali, Pakistani poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan priest, poet, and politician (d. 2020)
    • 1926 – Patricia Neal, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1926 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (d. 1996)
    • 1927 – Qurratulain Hyder, Indian-Pakistani journalist and academic (d. 2007)
    • 1928 – Antonio de Almeida, French conductor and musicologist (d. 1997)
    • 1929 – Arte Johnson, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Masaharu Kawakatsu, Japanese biologist
    • 1929 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (d. 1964)
    • 1930 – Buzz Aldrin, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1931 – David Lee, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1931 – Hachidai Nakamura, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 1992)
    • 1932 – Lou Fontinato, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2016)
    • 1934 – Hennie Aucamp, South African poet, author, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1934 – Tom Baker, English actor
    • 1935 – Dorothy Provine, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2010)
    • 1937 – Bailey Howell, American basketball player
    • 1938 – Derek Dougan, Irish-English footballer and journalist (d. 2007)
    • 1939 – Paul Coverdell, American captain and politician (d. 2000)
    • 1939 – Chandra Wickramasinghe, Sri Lankan-English mathematician, astronomer, and biologist
    • 1940 – Carol Heiss, American figure skater and actress
    • 1940 – Krishnam Raju, Indian actor and politician
    • 1940 – Mandé Sidibé, Malian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2009)
    • 1942 – Linda Moulton Howe, American journalist and producer
    • 1944 – José Luis Garci, Spanish director and producer
    • 1944 – Farhad Mehrad, Iranian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2002)
    • 1944 – Pat Parker, African American poet
    • 1945 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist and sportscaster (d. 2013)
    • 1945 – Eric Stewart, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1946 – David Lynch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1946 – Vladimír Merta, Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and journalist
    • 1947 – Cyrille Guimard, French cyclist and sportscaster
    • 1948 – Nancy Kress, American author and academic
    • 1948 – Natan Sharansky, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
    • 1949 – Göran Persson, Swedish lawyer and politician, 31st Prime Minister of Sweden
    • 1950 – Daniel Benzali, Brazilian-American actor
    • 1950 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2014)
    • 1950 – Mahamane Ousmane, Nigerien politician, President of Niger
    • 1951 – Iván Fischer, Hungarian conductor and composer
    • 1952 – Nikos Sideris, Greek psychiatrist and poet
    • 1952 – Paul Stanley, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1952 – John Witherow, South African-English journalist and author
    • 1953 – Jeffrey Epstein, American financier and convicted sex offender (d. 2019)
    • 1954 – Alison Seabeck, English lawyer and politician
    • 1955 – McKeeva Bush, Caymanian politician, Premier of the Cayman Islands
    • 1956 – Maria Larsson, Swedish educator and politician, Swedish Minister of Health and Social Affairs
    • 1956 – Bill Maher, American comedian, political commentator, media critic, television host, and producer
    • 1956 – John Naber, American swimmer
    • 1957 – Andy Sheppard, English saxophonist and composer
    • 1958 – Lorenzo Lamas, American actor, director, and producer
    • 1959 – Tami Hoag, American author
    • 1959 – R. A. Salvatore, American author
    • 1960 – Apa Sherpa, Nepalese-American mountaineer
    • 1960 – Scott Thunes, American bass player
    • 1960 – Will Wright, American video game designer, co-founded Maxis
    • 1963 – James Denton, American actor
    • 1963 – Mark Ryden, American painter and illustrator
    • 1964 – Ozzie Guillén, Venezuelan-American baseball player and manager
    • 1964 – Ron Harper, American basketball player and coach
    • 1964 – Jack Lewis, American soldier and author
    • 1964 – Kazushige Nojima, Japanese screenwriter and songwriter
    • 1964 – Aquilino Pimentel III, Filipino lawyer and politician
    • 1964 – Fareed Zakaria, Indian-American journalist and author
    • 1965 – Colin Calderwood, Scottish footballer defender and manager
    • 1965 – Sophie, Countess of Wessex
    • 1965 – Warren Joyce, English footballer and manager
    • 1965 – John Michael Montgomery, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1965 – Anton Weissenbacher, Romanian footballer
    • 1966 – Rainn Wilson, American actor
    • 1967 – Stacey Dash, American actress and television journalist
    • 1967 – Kellyanne Conway, American political strategist and pundit
    • 1968 – Nick Anderson, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1968 – Junior Murray, Grenadian cricketer
    • 1969 – Patrick K. Kroupa, American computer hacker and activist, co-founded MindVox
    • 1969 – Nicky Wire, Welsh singer-songwriter and bass player
    • 1970 – Edwin McCain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1970 – Skeet Ulrich, American actor
    • 1971 – Derrick Green, American singer
    • 1971 – Gary Barlow, English singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
    • 1971 – Ger McDonnell, Irish mountaineer and engineer (d. 2008)
    • 1971 – Jung Woong-in, South Korean actor
    • 1971 – Questlove, American drummer, DJ, and producer
    • 1971 – Wakanohana Masaru, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 66th Yokozuna
    • 1972 – Nikki Haley, American accountant and politician, 116th Governor of South Carolina
    • 1973 – Stephen Crabb, Scottish-Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales
    • 1973 – Queen Mathilde of Belgium
    • 1974 – David Dei, Italian footballer and coach
    • 1975 – Norberto Fontana, Argentinian racing driver
    • 1975 – Zac Goldsmith, English journalist and politician
    • 1976 – Kirsty Gallacher, Scottish journalist and sportscaster
    • 1976 – Michael Myers, American football player
    • 1976 – Gretha Smit, Dutch speed skater
    • 1977 – Paul Adams, South African cricketer and coach
    • 1978 – Salvatore Aronica, Italian footballer
    • 1978 – Sonja Kesselschläger, German heptathlete
    • 1978 – Allan Søgaard, Danish footballer
    • 1979 – Choo Ja-hyun, South Korean actress
    • 1979 – Will Young, English singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1980 – Karl Anderson, American wrestler
    • 1980 – Philippe Cousteau, Jr., American-French oceanographer and journalist
    • 1980 – Philippe Gagnon, Canadian swimmer
    • 1980 – Kim Jeong-hoon, South Korean singer and actor
    • 1980 – Petra Rampre, Slovenian tennis player
    • 1980 – Matthew Tuck, Welsh singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1981 – Freddy Guzmán, Dominican baseball player
    • 1981 – Owen Hargreaves, English footballer
    • 1981 – Jason Richardson, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Ruchi Sanghvi, Indian computer engineer
    • 1982 – Fredrik Strømstad, Norwegian footballer
    • 1983 – Geovany Soto, Puerto Rican-American baseball player
    • 1983 – Mari Yaguchi, Japanese singer and actress
    • 1984 – Malek Jaziri, Tunisian tennis player
    • 1985 – Marina Inoue, Japanese voice actress and singer
    • 1985 – Tanel Sokk, Estonian basketball player
    • 1987 – Janin Lindenberg, German sprinter
    • 1987 – Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2011)
    • 1988 – Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé, Nigerian footballer
    • 1988 – Jeffrén Suárez, Spanish footballer
    • 1989 – Nick Foles, American football player
    • 1989 – Washington Santana da Silva, Brazilian footballer
    • 1989 – Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1990 – Ray Thompson, Australian rugby league player
    • 1991 – Ciara Hanna, American actress and model
    • 1991 – Tom Cairney, Scottish footballer, midfielder
    • 1991 – Polona Hercog, Slovenian tennis player
    • 1991 – Jolyon Palmer, English racing driver
    • 1992 – Jorge Zárate, Mexican footballer
    • 1993 – Lorenzo Crisetig, Italian footballer
    • 1994 – Seán Kavanagh, Irish footballer, defender
    • 1994 – Lucas Piazon, Brazilian footballer
    • 1995 – Joey Badass, American rapper and actor
    • 1995 – Calum Chambers, English footballer, defender

    Deaths on January 20

    • 820 – Al-Shafi‘i, Arab scholar and jurist (b. 767)
    • 842 – Theophilos, Byzantine emperor (b. 813)
    • 882 – Louis the Younger, king of the East Frankish Kingdom
    • 924 – Li Jitao, Chinese general of Later Tang
    • 928 – Zhao Guangfeng, Chinese official and chancellor
    • 1029 – Heonae, Korean queen and regent (b. 964)
    • 1095 – Wulfstan, bishop of Worcester
    • 1156 – Henry, English bishop and saint
    • 1189 – Shi Zong, Chinese emperor of Jin (b. 1123)
    • 1191 – Frederick VI, duke of Swabia (b. 1167)
    • 1191 – Theobald V, count of Blois (b. 1130)
    • 1265 – John Maunsell, English Lord Chancellor
    • 1336 – John de Bohun, 5th Earl of Hereford (b. 1306)
    • 1343 – Robert, king of Naples (b. 1275)
    • 1479 – John II, king of Sicily (b. 1398)
    • 1568 – Myles Coverdale, English bishop and translator (b. 1488)
    • 1612 – Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1552)
    • 1663 – Isaac Ambrose, English minister and author (b. 1604)
    • 1666 – Anne of Austria, Queen and regent of France (b. 1601)
    • 1707 – Humphrey Hody, English scholar and theologian (b. 1659)
    • 1709 – François de la Chaise, French priest (b. 1624)
    • 1751 – John Hervey, 1st Earl of Bristol, English politician (b. 1665)
    • 1770 – Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1722)
    • 1779 – David Garrick, English actor, producer, playwright, and manager (b. 1717)
    • 1810 – Benjamin Chew, American lawyer and judge (b. 1721)
    • 1819 – Charles IV, Spanish king (b. 1748)
    • 1837 – John Soane, English architect, designed the Bank of England (b. 1753)
    • 1841 – Jørgen Jørgensen, Danish explorer (b. 1780)
    • 1841 – Minh Mạng, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1791)
    • 1848 – Christian VIII, Danish king (b. 1786)
    • 1850 – Adam Oehlenschläger, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1779)
    • 1852 – Ōnomatsu Midorinosuke, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 6th Yokozuna (b. 1794)
    • 1873 – Basil Moreau, French priest, founded the Congregation of Holy Cross (b. 1799)
    • 1875 – Jean-François Millet, French painter and educator (b. 1814)
    • 1891 – Kalākaua, king of Hawaii (b. 1836)
    • 1900 – John Ruskin, English painter and critic (b. 1819)
    • 1901 – Zénobe Gramme, Belgian engineer, invented the Gramme machine (b. 1826)
    • 1907 – Agnes Mary Clerke, Irish astronomer and author (b. 1842)
    • 1908 – John Ordronaux, American surgeon and academic (b. 1830)
    • 1913 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican engraver and illustrator (b. 1852)
    • 1915 – Arthur Guinness, 1st Baron Ardilaun, Irish businessman, philanthropist, and politician (b. 1840)
    • 1920 – Georg Lurich, Estonian-Russian wrestler and strongman (b. 1876)
    • 1921 – Mary Watson Whitney, American astronomer and academic (b. 1847)
    • 1924 – Henry “Ivo” Crapp, Australian footballer and umpire (b. 1872)
    • 1936 – George V of the United Kingdom (b. 1865)
    • 1940 – Omar Bundy, American general (b. 1861)
    • 1944 – James McKeen Cattell, American psychologist and academic (b. 1860)
    • 1947 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (b. 1911)
    • 1947 – Andrew Volstead, American member of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1860)
    • 1954 – Warren Bardsley, Australian cricketer (b. 1882)
    • 1954 – Fred Root, English cricketer and umpire (b. 1890)
    • 1955 – Robert P. T. Coffin, American author and poet (b. 1892)
    • 1962 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (b. 1887)
    • 1965 – Alan Freed, American radio host (b. 1922)
    • 1971 – Broncho Billy Anderson, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
    • 1971 – Minanogawa Tōzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 34th Yokozuna (b. 1903)
    • 1973 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and surgeon (b. 1885)
    • 1973 – Amílcar Cabral, Guinea Bissauan-Cape Verdian engineer and politician (b. 1924)
    • 1977 – Dimitrios Kiousopoulos, Greek jurist and politician, 151st Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1892)
    • 1980 – William Roberts, English soldier and painter (b. 1895)
    • 1983 – Garrincha, Brazilian footballer (b. 1933)
    • 1984 – Johnny Weissmuller, American swimmer and actor (b. 1904)
    • 1988 – Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Pakistani activist and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1988 – Dora Stratou, Greek dancer and choreographer (b. 1903)
    • 1989 – Alamgir Kabir, Bangladeshi director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938)
    • 1990 – Barbara Stanwyck, American actress (b. 1907)
    • 1993 – Audrey Hepburn, British actress and humanitarian activist (b. 1929)
    • 1994 – Matt Busby, Scottish footballer and coach (b. 1909)
    • 1994 – Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, first Kenyan Vice-President (b. 1911)
    • 1996 – Gerry Mulligan, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1927)
    • 2002 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and singer (b. 1963)
    • 2003 – Al Hirschfeld, American painter and illustrator (b. 1903)
    • 2003 – Nedra Volz, American actress (b. 1908)
    • 2004 – Alan Brown, English racing driver (b. 1919)
    • 2004 – T. Nadaraja, Sri Lankan lawyer and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2005 – Per Borten, Norwegian lawyer and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – Jan Nowak-Jeziorański, Polish journalist and politician (b. 1913)
    • 2005 – Miriam Rothschild, English zoologist, entomologist, and author (b. 1908)
    • 2009 – Stéphanos II Ghattas, Egyptian patriarch (b. 1920)
    • 2012 – Etta James, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – John Levy, American bassist and manager (b. 1912)
    • 2012 – Ioannis Kefalogiannis, Greek politician, Greek Minister of the Interior (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Alejandro Rodriguez, Venezuelan-American pediatrician and psychiatrist (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (b. 1933)
    • 2013 – Toyo Shibata, Japanese poet and author (b. 1911)
    • 2014 – Claudio Abbado, Italian conductor (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Otis G. Pike, American judge and politician (b. 1921)
    • 2014 – Jonas Trinkūnas, Lithuanian ethnologist and academic (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Edgar Froese, Russian-German keyboard player and songwriter (b. 1944)
    • 2016 – Mykolas Burokevičius, Lithuanian carpenter and politician (b. 1927)
    • 2016 – Edmonde Charles-Roux, French journalist and author (b. 1920)
    • 2018 – Paul Bocuse, French chef (b. 1926)
    • 2018 – Naomi Parker Fraley, American naval machiner (b. 1921)
    • 2020 – Jaroslav Kubera, Czech politician (b. 1947)
    • 2020 – Tom Fisher Railsback, American politician, member of the Illinois and U.S. House of Representatives

    Holidays and observances on January 20

    • Armed Forces Day (Mali)
    • Army Day (Laos)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Abadios
      • Blessed Basil Moreau
      • Eustochia Smeralda Calafato
      • Euthymius the Great
      • Fabian
      • Manchán of Lemanaghan
      • Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception Brando
      • Richard Rolle (Church of England)
      • Sebastian
      • Stephen Min Kuk-ka (one of The Korean Martyrs)
      • January 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Heroes’ Day (Cape Verde)
    • Inauguration Day, held every four years in odd-numbered years immediately following years divisible by 4, except for the public ceremony when January 20 falls on Sunday (the public ceremony is held the following day; however, the terms of offices still begin on the 20th) (United States of America, not a federal holiday for all government employees but only for those working in the Capital region)
    • Martyrs’ Day (Azerbaijan)

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

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

    Births on January 18

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

    Deaths on January 18

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

    Holidays and observances on January 18

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

  • January 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 38 BC – Octavian divorces his wife Scribonia and marries Livia Drusilla, ending the fragile peace between the Second Triumvirate and Sextus Pompey.
    • 1362 – Saint Marcellus’ flood kills at least 25,000 people on the shores of the North Sea.
    • 1377 – Pope Gregory XI reaches Rome, after deciding to move the Papacy back to Rome from Avignon.
    • 1524 – Giovanni da Verrazzano sets sail westward from Madeira to find a sea route to the Pacific Ocean.
    • 1562 – France grants religious toleration to the Huguenots in the Edict of Saint-Germain.
    • 1595 – During the French Wars of Religion, Henry IV of France declares war on Spain.
    • 1608 – Emperor Susenyos I of Ethiopia surprises an Oromo army at Ebenat; his army reportedly kills 12,000 Oromo at the cost of 400 of his men.
    • 1648 – England’s Long Parliament passes the “Vote of No Addresses”, breaking off negotiations with King Charles I and thereby setting the scene for the second phase of the English Civil War.
    • 1773 – Captain James Cook leads the first expedition to sail south of the Antarctic Circle.
    • 1781 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cowpens: Continental troops under Brigadier General Daniel Morgan defeat British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton at the battle in South Carolina.
    • 1799 – Maltese patriot Dun Mikiel Xerri, along with a number of other patriots, is executed.
    • 1811 – Mexican War of Independence: In the Battle of Calderón Bridge, a heavily outnumbered Spanish force of 6,000 troops defeats nearly 100,000 Mexican revolutionaries.
    • 1852 – The United Kingdom signs the Sand River Convention with the South African Republic.
    • 1873 – A group of Modoc warriors defeats the United States Army in the First Battle of the Stronghold, part of the Modoc War.
    • 1885 – A British force defeats a large Dervish army at the Battle of Abu Klea in the Sudan.
    • 1893 – Lorrin A. Thurston, along with the Citizens’ Committee of Public Safety, led the Overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii and the government of Queen Liliʻuokalani.
    • 1899 – The United States takes possession of Wake Island in the Pacific Ocean.
    • 1903 – El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico becomes part of the United States National Forest System as the Luquillo Forest Reserve.
    • 1904 – Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre.
    • 1912 – British polar explorer Captain Robert Falcon Scott reaches the South Pole, one month after Roald Amundsen.
    • 1915 – Russia defeats Ottoman Turkey in the Battle of Sarikamish during the Caucasus Campaign of World War I.
    • 1917 – The United States pays Denmark $25 million for the Virgin Islands.
    • 1918 – Finnish Civil War: The first serious battles take place between the Red Guards and the White Guard.
    • 1920 – Alcohol Prohibition begins in the United States as the Volstead Act goes into effect.
    • 1929 – Popeye the Sailor Man, a cartoon character created by E. C. Segar, first appears in the Thimble Theatre comic strip.
    • 1941 – Franco-Thai War: Vichy French forces inflict a decisive defeat over the Royal Thai Navy.
    • 1943 – World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis captures the 200-ton sailing vessel Agios Stefanos and mans her with part of her crew.
    • 1944 – World War II: Allied forces launch the first of four assaults on Monte Cassino with the intention of breaking through the Winter Line and seizing Rome, an effort that would ultimately take four months and cost 105,000 Allied casualties.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Vistula–Oder Offensive forces German troops out of Warsaw.
    • 1945 – The SS-Totenkopfverbände begin the evacuation of the Auschwitz concentration camp as Soviet forces close in.
    • 1945 – Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg is taken into Soviet custody while in Hungary; he is never publicly seen again.
    • 1946 – The UN Security Council holds its first session.
    • 1948 – The Renville Agreement between the Netherlands and Indonesia is ratified.
    • 1950 – The Great Brink’s Robbery: Eleven thieves steal more than $2 million from an armored car company’s offices in Boston.
    • 1950 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 79 relating to arms control is adopted.
    • 1961 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a televised farewell address to the nation three days before leaving office, in which he warns against the accumulation of power by the “military–industrial complex” as well as the dangers of massive spending, especially deficit spending.
    • 1961 – Former Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba is murdered in circumstances suggesting the support and complicity of the governments of Belgium and the United States.
    • 1966 – Palomares incident: A B-52 bomber collides with a KC-135 Stratotanker over Spain, killing seven airmen, and dropping three 70-kiloton nuclear bombs near the town of Palomares and another one into the sea.
    • 1969 – Black Panther Party members Bunchy Carter and John Huggins are killed during a meeting in Campbell Hall on the campus of UCLA.
    • 1977 – Capital punishment in the United States resumes after a ten-year hiatus, as convicted murderer Gary Gilmore is executed by firing squad in Utah.
    • 1981 – President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos lifts martial law eight years and five months after declaring it.
    • 1991 – Gulf War: Operation Desert Storm begins early in the morning as aircraft strike positions across Iraq, it is also the first major combat sortie for the F-117. LCDR Scott Speicher’s F/A-18C Hornet from VFA-81 is shot down by a Mig-25 and is the first American casualty of the War. Iraq fires eight Scud missiles into Israel in an unsuccessful bid to provoke Israeli retaliation.
    • 1991 – Crown prince Harald V of Norway becomes King Harald V, following the death of his father, King Olav V.
    • 1992 – During a visit to South Korea, Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa apologizes for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery during World War II.
    • 1994 – The 6.7 Mw  Northridge earthquake shakes the Greater Los Angeles Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), leaving 57 people dead and more than 8,700 injured.
    • 1995 – The 6.9 Mw  Great Hanshin earthquake shakes the southern Hyōgo Prefecture with a maximum Shindo of VII, leaving 5,502–6,434 people dead, and 251,301–310,000 displaced.
    • 1996 – The Czech Republic applies for membership of the European Union.
    • 1997 – Cape Canaveral Air Force Station: A Delta II carrying the GPS IIR-1 satellite explodes 13 seconds after launch, dropping 250 tons of burning rocket remains around the launch pad.
    • 1998 – Lewinsky scandal: Matt Drudge breaks the story of the Bill Clinton–Monica Lewinsky affair on his Drudge Report website.
    • 2002 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, displacing an estimated 400,000 people.
    • 2007 – The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea’s nuclear testing.
    • 2010 – Rioting begins between Muslim and Christian groups in Jos, Nigeria, results in at least 200 deaths.

    Births on January 17

    • 1342 – Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1404)
    • 1429 – Antonio del Pollaiolo, Italian artist (d.c. 1498)
    • 1463 – Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (d. 1525)
    • 1463 – Antoine Duprat, French cardinal (d. 1535)
    • 1472 – Guidobaldo da Montefeltro, Italian captain (d. 1508)
    • 1484 – George Spalatin, German priest and reformer (d. 1545)
    • 1501 – Leonhart Fuchs, German physician and botanist (d. 1566)
    • 1504 – Pope Pius V (d. 1572)
    • 1517 – Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Suffolk, English Duke (d. 1554)
    • 1560 – Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist, physician, and academic (d. 1624)
    • 1574 – Robert Fludd, English physician, astrologer, and mathematician (d. 1637)
    • 1593 – William Backhouse, English alchemist and astrologer (d. 1662)
    • 1600 – Pedro Calderón de la Barca, Spanish playwright and poet (d. 1681)
    • 1612 – Thomas Fairfax, English general and politician (d. 1671)
    • 1640 – Jonathan Singletary Dunham, American settler (d. 1724)
    • 1659 – Antonio Veracini, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1745)
    • 1666 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (d. 1723)
    • 1686 – Archibald Bower, Scottish historian and author (d. 1766)
    • 1706 – Benjamin Franklin, American publisher, inventor, and politician, 6th President of Pennsylvania (d. 1790)
    • 1712 – John Stanley, English organist and composer (d. 1786)
    • 1719 – William Vernon, American businessman (d. 1806)
    • 1728 – Johann Gottfried Müthel, German pianist and composer (d. 1788)
    • 1732 – Stanisław August Poniatowski, Polish-Lithuanian king (d. 1798)
    • 1734 – François-Joseph Gossec, French composer and conductor (d. 1829)
    • 1761 – Sir James Hall, 4th Baronet, Scottish geologist and geophysicist (d. 1832)
    • 1789 – August Neander, German historian and theologian (d. 1850)
    • 1793 – Antonio José Martínez, Spanish-American priest, rancher and politician (d. 1867)
    • 1814 – Ellen Wood, English author (d. 1887)
    • 1820 – Anne Brontë, English author and poet (d. 1849)
    • 1828 – Lewis A. Grant, American lawyer and general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1918)
    • 1828 – Ede Reményi, Hungarian violinist and composer (d. 1898)
    • 1832 – Henry Martyn Baird, American historian and academic (d. 1906)
    • 1834 – August Weismann, German biologist, zoologist, and geneticist (d. 1914)
    • 1850 – Joaquim Arcoverde de Albuquerque Cavalcanti, Brazilian cardinal (d. 1930)
    • 1850 – Alexander Taneyev, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1918)
    • 1851 – A. B. Frost, American author and illustrator (d. 1928)
    • 1853 – Alva Belmont, American suffragist (d. 1933)
    • 1852 – T. Alexander Harrison, American painter and academic (d. 1930)
    • 1857 – Wilhelm Kienzl, Austrian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1941)
    • 1857 – Eugene Augustin Lauste, French-American engineer (d. 1935)
    • 1858 – Tomás Carrasquilla, Colombian author (d. 1940)
    • 1860 – Douglas Hyde, Irish academic and politician, 1st President of Ireland (d. 1949)
    • 1863 – David Lloyd George, Welsh lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1945)
    • 1863 – Konstantin Stanislavski, Russian actor and director (d. 1938)
    • 1865 – Sir Charles Fergusson, 7th Baronet, English general and politician, 3rd Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1951)
    • 1867 – Carl Laemmle, German-born American film producer, co-founded Universal Studios (d. 1939)
    • 1867 – Sir Alfred Rawlinson, 3rd Baronet, English colonel, pilot, and polo player (d. 1934)
    • 1871 – David Beatty, 1st Earl Beatty, English admiral (d. 1936)
    • 1871 – Nicolae Iorga, Romanian historian and politician, 34th Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1940)
    • 1875 – Florencio Sánchez, Uruguayan journalist and playwright (d. 1910)
    • 1876 – Frank Hague, American lawyer and politician, 30th Mayor of Jersey City (d. 1956)
    • 1877 – Marie Zdeňka Baborová-Čiháková, Czech botanist and zoologist (d. 1937)
    • 1877 – May Gibbs, English-Australian author and illustrator (d. 1969)
    • 1880 – Mack Sennett, Canadian-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1960)
    • 1881 – Antoni Łomnicki, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
    • 1881 – Harry Price, English psychologist and author (d. 1948)
    • 1882 – Noah Beery, Sr., American actor (d. 1946)
    • 1883 – Compton Mackenzie, English-Scottish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1972)
    • 1886 – Glenn L. Martin, American pilot and businessman, founded the Glenn L. Martin Company (d. 1955)
    • 1887 – Ola Raknes, Norwegian psychoanalyst and philologist (d. 1975)
    • 1888 – Babu Gulabrai, Indian philosopher and author (d. 1963)
    • 1897 – Marcel Petiot, French physician and serial killer (d. 1946)
    • 1898 – Lela Mevorah, Serbian librarian (d. 1972)
    • 1899 – Al Capone, American mob boss (d. 1947)
    • 1899 – Robert Maynard Hutchins, American philosopher and academic (d. 1977)
    • 1899 – Nevil Shute, English engineer and author (d. 1960)
    • 1901 – Aron Gurwitsch, Lithuanian-American philosopher and author (d. 1973)
    • 1904 – Hem Vejakorn, Thai painter and illustrator (d. 1969)
    • 1905 – Ray Cunningham, American baseball player (d. 2005)
    • 1905 – Peggy Gilbert, American saxophonist and bandleader (d. 2007)
    • 1905 – Eduard Oja, Estonian composer, conductor, educator, and critic (d. 1950)
    • 1905 – Guillermo Stábile, Argentinian footballer and manager (d. 1966)
    • 1905 – Jan Zahradníček, Czech poet and translator (d. 1960)
    • 1907 – Henk Badings, Indonesian-Dutch composer and engineer (d. 1987)
    • 1907 – Alfred Wainwright, British fellwalker, guidebook author and illustrator (d. 1991)
    • 1908 – Cus D’Amato, American boxing manager and trainer (d. 1985)
    • 1911 – Busher Jackson, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1966)
    • 1911 – John S. McCain Jr., American admiral (d. 1981)
    • 1911 – George Stigler, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
    • 1914 – Anacleto Angelini, Italian-Chilean businessman (d. 2007)
    • 1914 – Irving Brecher, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
    • 1914 – Paul Royle, Australian lieutenant and pilot (d. 2015)
    • 1914 – William Stafford, American poet and author (d. 1993)
    • 1916 – Peter Frelinghuysen Jr., American lieutenant and politician (d. 2011)
    • 1917 – M. G. Ramachandran, Indian actor, director, and politician, 5th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (d. 1987)
    • 1918 – Keith Joseph, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Education (d. 1994)
    • 1918 – George M. Leader, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Pennsylvania (d. 2013)
    • 1920 – Georges Pichard, French author and illustrator (d. 2003)
    • 1921 – Asghar Khan, Pakistani general and politician (d. 2018)
    • 1921 – Jackie Henderson, Scottish footballer, forward (d. 2005)
    • 1921 – Charlie Mitten, English footballer, outside forward and manager (d. 2002)
    • 1921 – Antonio Prohías, Cuban cartoonist (d. 1998)
    • 1922 – Luis Echeverría, Mexican academic and politician, 50th President of Mexico
    • 1922 – Nicholas Katzenbach, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 65th United States Attorney General (d. 2012)
    • 1922 – Betty White, American actress, game show panelist, television personality, and animal rights activist
    • 1923 – Rangeya Raghav, Indian author and playwright (d. 1962)
    • 1924 – Rik De Saedeleer, Belgian footballer and journalist (d. 2013)
    • 1924 – Jewel Plummer Cobb, American biologist, cancer researcher, and academic (d. 2017)
    • 1925 – Gunnar Birkerts, Latvian-American architect (d. 2017)
    • 1925 – Robert Cormier, American author and journalist (d. 2000)
    • 1925 – Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistani cricketer and author (d. 1996)
    • 1926 – Newton N. Minow, American lawyer and politician
    • 1926 – Moira Shearer, Scottish-English ballerina and actress (d. 2006)
    • 1926 – Clyde Walcott, Barbadian cricketer (d. 2006)
    • 1927 – Thomas Anthony Dooley III, American physician and humanitarian (d. 1961)
    • 1927 – Eartha Kitt, American actress and singer (d. 2008)
    • 1927 – Harlan Mathews, American lawyer and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1927 – E. W. Swackhamer, American director and producer (d. 1994)
    • 1928 – Jean Barraqué, French composer (d. 1973)
    • 1928 – Vidal Sassoon, English-American hairdresser and businessman (d. 2012)
    • 1929 – Jacques Plante, Canadian-Swiss ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1986)
    • 1929 – Tan Boon Teik, Malaysian-Singaporean lawyer and politician, Attorney-General of Singapore (d. 2012)
    • 1931 – James Earl Jones, American actor
    • 1931 – Douglas Wilder, American sergeant and politician, 66th Governor of Virginia
    • 1931 – Don Zimmer, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Sheree North, American actress and dancer (d. 2005)
    • 1933 – Dalida, Egyptian-French singer and actress (d. 1987)
    • 1933 – Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan, French-Pakistani diplomat, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (d. 2003)
    • 1933 – Shari Lewis, American actress, puppeteer/ventriloquist, and television host (d. 1998)
    • 1934 – Donald Cammell, Scottish-American director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
    • 1935 – Ruth Ann Minner, American businesswoman and politician, 72nd Governor of Delaware
    • 1936 – John Boyd, English academic and diplomat, British ambassador to Japan
    • 1936 – A. Thangathurai, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1937 – Alain Badiou, French philosopher and academic
    • 1938 – John Bellairs, American author and academic (d. 1991)
    • 1938 – Toini Gustafsson, Swedish cross country skier
    • 1939 – Christodoulos of Athens, Greek archbishop (d. 2008)
    • 1939 – Maury Povich, American talk show host and producer
    • 1940 – Nerses Bedros XIX Tarmouni, Egyptian-Armenian patriarch (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Kipchoge Keino, Kenyan athlete
    • 1940 – Tabaré Vázquez, Uruguayan physician and politician, 39th President of Uruguay
    • 1941 – István Horthy, Jr., Hungarian physicist and architect
    • 1942 – Muhammad Ali, American boxer and activist (d. 2016)
    • 1942 – Ita Buttrose, Australian journalist and author
    • 1942 – Ulf Hoelscher, German violinist and educator
    • 1942 – Nigel McCulloch, English bishop
    • 1943 – Chris Montez, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – René Préval, Haitian agronomist and politician, 52nd President of Haiti (d. 2017)
    • 1944 – Ann Oakley, English sociologist, author, and academic
    • 1945 – Javed Akhtar, Indian poet, playwright, and composer
    • 1945 – Anne Cutler, Australian psychologist and academic
    • 1948 – Davíð Oddsson, Icelandic politician, 21st Prime Minister of Iceland
    • 1949 – Anita Borg, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1949 – Gyude Bryant, Liberian businessman and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1949 – Augustin Dumay, French violinist and conductor
    • 1949 – Andy Kaufman, American actor and comedian (d. 1984)
    • 1949 – Mick Taylor, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1950 – Luis López Nieves, Puerto Rican-American author and academic
    • 1952 – Tom Deitz, American author (d. 2009)
    • 1952 – Darrell Porter, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2002)
    • 1952 – Ryuichi Sakamoto, Japanese pianist, composer, and producer
    • 1953 – Jeff Berlin, American bass player and educator
    • 1953 – Carlos Johnson, American singer and guitarist
    • 1954 – Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., American lawyer, radio host, activist, and environmentalist
    • 1955 – Steve Earle, American singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, author and actor
    • 1955 – Pietro Parolin, Italian cardinal
    • 1955 – Steve Javie, American basketball player and referee
    • 1956 – Damian Green, English journalist and politician
    • 1956 – Paul Young, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1957 – Steve Harvey, American actor, comedian, television personality and game show host
    • 1957 – Ann Nocenti, American journalist and author
    • 1958 – Tony Kouzarides, English biologist, cancer researcher
    • 1959 – Susanna Hoffs, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
    • 1960 – John Crawford, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1960 – Chili Davis, Jamaican-American baseball player and coach
    • 1961 – Brian Helgeland, American director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1962 – Jun Azumi, Japanese broadcaster and politician, 46th Japanese Minister of Finance
    • 1962 – Jim Carrey, Canadian-American actor and producer
    • 1962 – Sebastian Junger, American journalist and author
    • 1963 – Kai Hansen, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1963 – Colin Gordon, English footballer, striker, agent, manager, chief executive
    • 1964 – Michelle Obama, American lawyer and activist, 46th First Lady of the United States
    • 1964 – John Schuster, Samoan-New Zealand rugby player
    • 1965 – Sylvain Turgeon, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1966 – Trish Johnson, English golfer
    • 1966 – Joshua Malina, American actor
    • 1967 – Richard Hawley, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1968 – Rowan Pelling, English journalist and author
    • 1968 – Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, Dutch author, poet, and scholar
    • 1969 – Naveen Andrews, English actor
    • 1969 – Lukas Moodysson, Swedish director, screenwriter, and author
    • 1969 – Tiësto, Dutch DJ and producer
    • 1970 – Cássio Alves de Barros, Brazilian footballer
    • 1970 – Jeremy Roenick, American ice hockey player and actor
    • 1970 – Genndy Tartakovsky, Russian-American animator, director, and producer
    • 1971 – Giorgos Balogiannis, Greek basketball player
    • 1971 – Richard Burns, English race car driver (d. 2005)
    • 1971 – Kid Rock, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1971 – Sylvie Testud, French actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1973 – Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Mexican footballer and actor
    • 1973 – Chris Bowen, Australian politician, 37th Treasurer of Australia
    • 1973 – Liz Ellis, Australian netball player and sportscaster
    • 1973 – Aaron Ward, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1974 – Yang Chen, Chinese footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Vesko Kountchev, Bulgarian viola player, composer, and producer
    • 1974 – Derrick Mason, American football player
    • 1975 – Freddy Rodriguez, American actor
    • 1978 – Lisa Llorens, Australian Paralympian
    • 1978 – Ricky Wilson, English singer-songwriter
    • 1980 – Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Ukrainian-American dancer and choreographer
    • 1980 – Zooey Deschanel, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1980 – Modestas Stonys, Lithuanian footballer
    • 1981 – Warren Feeney, Northern Irish footballer and manager
    • 1982 – Dwyane Wade, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Amanda Wilkinson, Canadian singer
    • 1983 – Álvaro Arbeloa, Spanish footballer
    • 1983 – Johannes Herber, German basketball player
    • 1983 – Rick Kelly, Australian race car driver
    • 1983 – Marcelo Garcia, Brazilian martial artist
    • 1984 – Calvin Harris, Scottish singer-songwriter, DJ, and producer
    • 1985 – Pablo Barrientos, Argentinian footballer
    • 1985 – Betsy Ruth, American wrestler and manager
    • 1985 – Simone Simons, Dutch singer-songwriter
    • 1987 – Cody Decker, American baseball player
    • 1988 – Andrea Antonelli, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2013)
    • 1988 – Will Genia, Australian rugby player
    • 1988 – Héctor Moreno, Mexican footballer
    • 1989 – Taylor Jordan, American baseball player
    • 1989 – Kelly Marie Tran, American actress
    • 1990 – Santiago Tréllez, Colombian footballer
    • 1991 – Trevor Bauer, American baseball player
    • 1991 – Esapekka Lappi, Finnish Rally Driver
    • 1991 – Slade Griffin, Australian rugby league player
    • 1991 – Alise Post, American BMX rider
    • 1993 – Frankie Cocozza, British singer
    • 1994 – Mark Steketee, Australian cricketer
    • 1998 – Jeff Reine-Adelaide, French footballer
    • 1998 – Sophie Molineux, Australian cricketer
    • 2000 – Devlin DeFrancesco, Canadian race car driver

    Deaths on January 17

    • 395 – Theodosius I, Roman emperor (b. 347)
    • 644 – Sulpitius the Pious, French bishop and saint
    • 764 – Joseph of Freising, German bishop
    • 1040 – Mas’ud I of Ghazni, Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire (b. 998)
    • 1156 – André de Montbard, fifth Grand Master of the Knights Templar
    • 1168 – Thierry, Count of Flanders (b. 1099)
    • 1229 – Albert of Riga, German bishop (b. 1165)
    • 1329 – Saint Roseline, Carthusian nun (b. 1263)
    • 1334 – John of Brittany, Earl of Richmond (b. 1266)
    • 1345 – Henry of Asti, Greek patriarch
    • 1345 – Martino Zaccaria, Genoese Lord of Chios
    • 1369 – Peter I of Cyprus (b. 1328)
    • 1456 – Elisabeth of Lorraine-Vaudémont, French translator (b. 1395)
    • 1468 – Skanderbeg, Albanian soldier and politician (b. 1405)
    • 1588 – Qi Jiguang, Chinese general (b. 1528)
    • 1598 – Feodor I of Russia (b. 1557)
    • 1617 – Fausto Veranzio, Croatian bishop and lexicographer (b. 1551)
    • 1705 – John Ray, English botanist and historian (b. 1627)
    • 1718 – Benjamin Church, American colonel (b. 1639)
    • 1737 – Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann, German architect (b. 1662)
    • 1738 – Jean-François Dandrieu, French organist and composer (b. 1682)
    • 1751 – Tomaso Albinoni, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1671)
    • 1826 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish-French composer (b. 1806)
    • 1834 – Giovanni Aldini, Italian physicist and academic (b. 1762)
    • 1861 – Lola Montez, Irish actress and dancer (b. 1821)
    • 1863 – Horace Vernet, French painter (b. 1789)
    • 1869 – Alexander Dargomyzhsky, Russian composer (b. 1813)
    • 1878 – Edward Shepherd Creasy, English historian and jurist (b. 1812)
    • 1884 – Hermann Schlegel, German ornithologist and herpetologist (b. 1804)
    • 1887 – William Giblin, Australian lawyer and politician, 13th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1840)
    • 1888 – Big Bear, Canadian tribal chief (b. 1825)
    • 1891 – George Bancroft, American historian and politician, 17th United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1800)
    • 1893 – Rutherford B. Hayes, American general, lawyer, and politician, 19th President of the United States (b. 1822)
    • 1903 – Ignaz Wechselmann, Hungarian architect and philanthropist (b. 1828)
    • 1908 – Ferdinand IV, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1835)
    • 1909 – Francis Smith, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 4th Premier of Tasmania (b. 1819)
    • 1911 – Francis Galton, English polymath, anthropologist, and geographer (b. 1822)
    • 1927 – Juliette Gordon Low, American founder of the Girl Scouts of the USA (b. 1860)
    • 1930 – Gauhar Jaan, One of the first performers to record music on 78 rpm records in India. (b. 1873)
    • 1931 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (b. 1864)
    • 1932 – Ahmet Derviş, Turkish general (b. 1881)
    • 1932 – Albert Jacka, Australian captain, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1893)
    • 1933 – Louis Comfort Tiffany, American stained glass artist (b. 1848)
    • 1936 – Mateiu Caragiale, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1885)
    • 1942 – Walther von Reichenau, German field marshal (b. 1884)
    • 1947 – Pyotr Krasnov, Russian historian and general (b. 1869)
    • 1947 – Jean-Marie-Rodrigue Villeneuve, Canadian cardinal (b. 1883)
    • 1951 – Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Indian poet, playwright, and director (b. 1903)
    • 1952 – Walter Briggs Sr., American businessman (b. 1877)
    • 1961 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1925)
    • 1970 – Simon Kovar, Russian-American bassoon player and educator (b. 1890)
    • 1972 – Betty Smith, American author and playwright (b. 1896)
    • 1977 – Dougal Haston, Scottish mountaineer (b. 1940)
    • 1977 – Gary Gilmore, American murderer (b. 1940)
    • 1981 – Loukas Panourgias, Greek footballer and lawyer (b. 1899)
    • 1984 – Kostas Giannidis, Greek pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1903)
    • 1987 – Hugo Fregonese, Argentinian director and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1988 – Percy Qoboza, South African journalist and author (b. 1938)
    • 1991 – Olav V of Norway (b. 1903)
    • 1992 – Frank Pullen, English soldier and businessman (b. 1915)
    • 1993 – Albert Hourani, English-Lebanese historian and academic (b. 1915)
    • 1994 – Yevgeni Ivanov, Russian spy (b. 1926)
    • 1994 – Helen Stephens, American runner, shot putter, and discus thrower (b. 1918)
    • 1996 – Barbara Jordan, American lawyer and politician (b. 1936)
    • 1996 – Sylvia Lawler, English geneticist (b. 1922))
    • 1997 – Bert Kelly, Australian farmer and politician, 20th Australian Minister for the Navy (b. 1912)
    • 1997 – Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer and academic, discovered Pluto (b. 1906)
    • 2000 – Philip Jones, English trumpet player and educator (b. 1928)
    • 2000 – Ion Rațiu, Romanian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
    • 2002 – Camilo José Cela, Spanish author and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
    • 2002 – Roman Personov, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1932)
    • 2003 – Richard Crenna, American actor and director (b. 1926)
    • 2004 – Raymond Bonham Carter, English banker (b. 1929)
    • 2004 – Harry Brecheen, American baseball player and coach (b. 1914)
    • 2004 – Ray Stark, American film producer (b. 1915)
    • 2004 – Noble Willingham, American actor (b. 1931)
    • 2005 – Charlie Bell, Australian businessman (b. 1960)
    • 2005 – Virginia Mayo, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Albert Schatz, American microbiologist and academic (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Zhao Ziyang, Chinese politician, 3rd Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1919)
    • 2006 – Pierre Grondin, Canadian surgeon (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Art Buchwald, American journalist and author (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Yevhen Kushnaryov, Ukrainian engineer and politician (b. 1951)
    • 2008 – Bobby Fischer, American chess player and author (b. 1943)
    • 2008 – Ernie Holmes, American football player, wrestler, and actor (b. 1948)
    • 2009 – Anders Isaksson, Swedish journalist and historian (b. 1943)
    • 2010 – Gaines Adams, American football player (b. 1983)
    • 2010 – Jyoti Basu, Indian politician and CM of West Bengal for 23 years (b. 1914)
    • 2010 – Michalis Papakonstantinou, Greek journalist and politician, Foreign Minister of Greece (b. 1919)
    • 2010 – Erich Segal, American author and screenwriter (b. 1937)
    • 2011 – Don Kirshner, American songwriter and producer (b. 1934)
    • 2012 – Ernie Alexander, American educator and politician (b. 1933)
    • 2012 – Julius Meimberg, German soldier and pilot (b. 1917)
    • 2012 – Johnny Otis, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Marty Springstead, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1937)
    • 2013 – Mehmet Ali Birand, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1941)
    • 2013 – Jakob Arjouni, German author (b. 1964)
    • 2013 – Yves Debay, Belgian journalist (b. 1954)
    • 2013 – John Nkomo, Zimbabwean politician, Vice President of Zimbabwe (b. 1934)
    • 2013 – Lizbeth Webb, English soprano and actress (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, Indian spiritual leader, 52nd Da’i al-Mutlaq (b. 1915)
    • 2014 – Francine Lalonde, Canadian educator and politician (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green, English businessman and politician (b. 1942)
    • 2014 – John J. McGinty III, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1940)
    • 2014 – Sunanda Pushkar, Indian-Canadian businesswoman (b. 1962)
    • 2014 – Suchitra Sen, Indian film actress (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Ken Furphy, English footballer and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Faten Hamama, Egyptian actress and producer (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Don Harron, Canadian actor and screenwriter (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Blowfly, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Melvin Day, New Zealand painter and historian (b. 1923)
    • 2016 – V. Rama Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 12th Governor of Sikkim (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Sudhindra Thirtha, Indian religious leader (b. 1926)
    • 2017 – Tirrel Burton, American football player and coach (b. 1929)
    • 2018 – Jessica Falkholt, Australian actress (b. 1988)
    • 2019 – S. Balakrishnan, Malayalam movie composer (b. 1948)
    • 2020 – Derek Fowlds, British actor (b.1937)

    Holidays and observances on January 17

    • Christian feast day:
      • Anthony the Great
      • Blessed Angelo Paoli
      • Blessed Gamelbert of Michaelsbuch
      • Charles Gore (Church of England)
      • Jenaro Sánchez Delgadillo (one of Saints of the Cristero War)
      • Mildgyth
      • Our Lady of Pontmain
      • Sulpitius the Pious
      • January 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • National Day (Menorca, Spain)
    • The opening ceremony of Patras Carnival, celebrated until Clean Monday. (Patras)

  • January 16 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 27 BCE – Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus is granted the title Augustus by the Roman Senate, marking the beginning of the Roman Empire.
    • 378 – General Siyaj K’ak’ conquers Tikal, enlarging the domain of King Spearthrower Owl of Teotihuacán.
    • 550 – Gothic War: The Ostrogoths, under King Totila, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the Isaurian garrison.
    • 929 – Emir Abd-ar-Rahman III established the Caliphate of Córdoba.
    • 1120 – The Council of Nablus is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem.
    • 1362 – Saint Marcellus’s flood kills at least 25,000 people on the shores of the North Sea.
    • 1412 – The Medici family is appointed official banker of the Papacy.
    • 1492 – The first grammar of the Spanish language (Gramática de la lengua castellana) is presented to Queen Isabella I.
    • 1547 – Grand Duke Ivan IV of Muscovy becomes the first Tsar of Russia, replacing the 264-year-old Grand Duchy of Moscow with the Tsardom of Russia.
    • 1556 – Philip II becomes King of Spain.
    • 1572 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk is tried for treason for his part in the Ridolfi plot to restore Catholicism in England.
    • 1605 – The first edition of El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (Book One of Don Quixote) by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid, Spain.
    • 1707 – The Scottish Parliament ratifies the Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of Great Britain.
    • 1757 – Forces of the Maratha Empire defeat a 5,000-strong army of the Durrani Empire in the Battle of Narela.
    • 1780 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
    • 1786 – Virginia enacts the Statute for Religious Freedom authored by Thomas Jefferson.
    • 1809 – Peninsular War: The British defeat the French at the Battle of La Coruña.
    • 1847 – John C. Frémont is appointed Governor of the new California Territory.
    • 1862 – Hartley Colliery disaster: Two hundred and four men and boys killed in a mining disaster, prompting a change in UK law which henceforth required all collieries to have at least two independent means of escape.
    • 1878 – Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Battle of Philippopolis: Captain Aleksandr Burago with a squadron of Russian Imperial army dragoons liberates Plovdiv from Ottoman rule.
    • 1883 – The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, establishing the United States Civil Service, is enacted by Congress.
    • 1900 – The United States Senate accepts the Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the Samoan islands.
    • 1909 – Ernest Shackleton’s expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.
    • 1919 – Nebraska becomes the 36th state to approve the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. With the necessary three-quarters of the states approving the amendment, Prohibition is constitutionally mandated in the United States one year later.
    • 1920 – Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Incorporated was founded on the campus of Howard University.
    • 1920 – The League of Nations holds its first council meeting in Paris, France.
    • 1921 – The Marxist Left in Slovakia and the Transcarpathian Ukraine holds its founding congress in Ľubochňa.
    • 1942 – Crash of TWA Flight 3, killing all 22 aboard, including film star Carole Lombard.
    • 1945 – Adolf Hitler moves into his underground bunker, the so-called Führerbunker.
    • 1964 – Hello, Dolly! opened on Broadway, beginning a run of 2,844 performances.
    • 1969 – Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, Czechoslovakia, in protest against the Soviets’ crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.
    • 1969 – Soviet spacecraft Soyuz 4 and Soyuz 5 perform the first-ever docking of manned spacecraft in orbit, the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a space walk.
    • 1979 – The last Iranian Shah flees Iran with his family for good and relocates to Egypt.
    • 1991 – Coalition Forces go to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War.
    • 1992 – El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City, Mexico ending the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War that claimed at least 75,000 lives.
    • 2001 – Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is assassinated by one of his own bodyguards.
    • 2001 – US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish–American War.
    • 2002 – The UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the remaining members of the Taliban.
    • 2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. Columbia disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
    • 2006 – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia’s new president. She becomes Africa’s first female elected head of state.
    • 2016 – Thirty-three out of 126 freed hostages are injured and 23 killed in terrorist attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on a hotel and a nearby restaurant.
    • 2018 – Myanmar police open fire on a group of ethnic Rakhine protesters, killing seven and wounding twelve.
    • 2020 – The impeachment of Donald John Trump formally moves into its trial phase in the United States Senate.

    Births on January 16

    • 972 – Sheng Zong, emperor of the Liao Dynasty (d. 1031)
    • 1093 – Isaac Komnenos, son of Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (d. 1152)
    • 1245 – Edmund Crouchback, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1296)
    • 1362 – Robert de Vere, duke of Ireland (d. 1392)
    • 1409 – René of Anjou, king of Naples (d. 1480)
    • 1477 – Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547)
    • 1501 – Anthony Denny, confidant of Henry VIII of England (d. 1559)
    • 1516 – Bayinnaung, king of Burma (d. 1581)
    • 1558 – Jakobea of Baden, Margravine of Baden by birth, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg by marriage (d. 1597)
    • 1616 – François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (d. 1669)
    • 1626 – Lucas Achtschellinck, Belgian painter and educator (d. 1699)
    • 1630 – Guru Har Rai, Sikh Guru (d. 1661)
    • 1634 – Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (d. 1716)
    • 1675 – Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1755)
    • 1691 – Peter Scheemakers, Belgian sculptor and educator (d. 1781)
    • 1728 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer and educator (d. 1800)
    • 1749 – Vittorio Alfieri, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1803)
    • 1757 – Richard Goodwin Keats, English admiral and politician, 3rd Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1834)
    • 1807 – Charles Henry Davis, American admiral (d. 1877)
    • 1815 – Henry Halleck, American lawyer, general, and scholar (d. 1872)
    • 1821 – John C. Breckinridge, American general and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States (d. 1875)
    • 1834 – Robert R. Hitt, American lawyer and politician, 13th United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1906)
    • 1836 – Francis II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1894)
    • 1838 – Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)
    • 1851 – William Hall-Jones, English-New Zealand politician, 16th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1936)
    • 1853 – Johnston Forbes-Robertson, English actor and manager (d. 1937)
    • 1853 – Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, Greek-English general (d. 1947)
    • 1853 – André Michelin, French businessman, co-founded the Michelin Tyre Company (d. 1931)
    • 1870 – Jüri Jaakson, Estonian businessman and politician, State Elder of Estonia (d. 1942)
    • 1872 – Henri Büsser, French organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1973)
    • 1874 – Robert W. Service, English-Canadian poet and author (d. 1958)
    • 1875 – Leonor Michaelis, German biochemist and physician (d. 1949)
    • 1876 – Claude Buckenham, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1937)
    • 1878 – Harry Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1947)
    • 1880 – Samuel Jones, American high jumper (d. 1954)
    • 1882 – Margaret Wilson, American author (d. 1973)
    • 1885 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese author and translator (d. 1967)
    • 1888 – Osip Brik, Russian avant garde writer and literary critic (d. 1945)
    • 1892 – Homer Burton Adkins, American chemist (d. 1949)
    • 1893 – Daisy Kennedy, Australian-English violinist (d. 1981)
    • 1894 – Irving Mills, American publisher (d. 1985)
    • 1895 – Evripidis Bakirtzis, Greek soldier and politician (d. 1947)
    • 1895 – T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
    • 1895 – Nat Schachner, American lawyer, chemist, and author (d. 1955)
    • 1897 – Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet and academic (d. 1977)
    • 1898 – Margaret Booth, American producer and editor (d. 2002)
    • 1898 – Irving Rapper, American film director and producer (d. 1999)
    • 1900 – Kiku Amino, Japanese author and translator (d. 1978)
    • 1900 – Edith Frank, German-Dutch mother of Anne Frank (d. 1945)
    • 1901 – Fulgencio Batista, Cuban colonel and politician, 9th President of Cuba (d. 1973)
    • 1902 – Eric Liddell, Scottish runner, rugby player, and missionary (d. 1945)
    • 1903 – William Grover-Williams, English-French race car driver (d. 1945)
    • 1905 – Ernesto Halffter, Spanish composer and conductor (d. 1989)
    • 1906 – Johannes Brenner, Estonian footballer and pilot (d. 1975)
    • 1906 – Diana Wynyard, English actress (d. 1964)
    • 1907 – Alexander Knox, Canadian-English actor and screenwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1907 – Paul Nitze, American banker and politician, 10th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2004)
    • 1908 – Sammy Crooks, English footballer (d. 1981)
    • 1908 – Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (d. 1984)
    • 1908 – Günther Prien, German captain (d. 1941)
    • 1909 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (d. 1994)
    • 1910 – Dizzy Dean, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1974)
    • 1911 – Ivan Barrow, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1979)
    • 1911 – Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th President of Chile (d. 1982)
    • 1911 – Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (d. 1996)
    • 1914 – Roger Wagner, French-American conductor and educator (d. 1992)
    • 1915 – Leslie H. Martinson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1916 – Eddie Burns, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 2004)
    • 1916 – Philip Lucock, English-Australian minister and politician (d. 1996)
    • 1917 – Carl Karcher, American businessman, founded Carl’s Jr. (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Nel Benschop, Dutch poet and educator (d. 2005)
    • 1918 – Allan Ekelund, Swedish director, producer, and production manager (d. 2009)
    • 1918 – Clem Jones, Australian surveyor and politician, 8th Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2007)
    • 1918 – Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1996)
    • 1919 – Jerome Horwitz, American chemist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – Alberto Crespo, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1991)
    • 1920 – Elliott Reid, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (d. 2004)
    • 1923 – Gene Feist, American director and playwright, co-founded the Roundabout Theatre Company (d. 2014)
    • 1923 – Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
    • 1925 – Peter Hirsch, German-English metallurgist and academic
    • 1925 – James Robinson Risner, American general and pilot (d. 2013)
    • 1928 – William Kennedy, American novelist and journalist
    • 1928 – Pilar Lorengar, Spanish soprano and actress (d. 1996)
    • 1929 – Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Sri Lankan anthropologist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Mary Ann McMorrow, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
    • 1930 – Norman Podhoretz, American journalist and author
    • 1931 – John Enderby, English physicist and academic
    • 1931 – Robert L. Park, American physicist and academic
    • 1931 – Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th Federal President of Germany (d. 2006)
    • 1932 – Victor Ciocâltea, Romanian chess player (d. 1983)
    • 1932 – Dian Fossey, American zoologist and anthropologist (d. 1985)
    • 1933 – Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 2004)
    • 1934 – Bob Bogle, American rock guitarist and bass player (d. 2009)
    • 1934 – Marilyn Horne, American soprano and actress
    • 1935 – A. J. Foyt, American race car driver
    • 1935 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2015)
    • 1936 – Michael White, Scottish actor and producer (d. 2016)
    • 1937 – Luiz Bueno, Brazilian race car driver (d. 2011)
    • 1937 – Francis George, American cardinal (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Marina Vaizey, American journalist and critic
    • 1939 – Ralph Gibson, American photographer
    • 1941 – Christine Truman, English tennis player and sportscaster
    • 1942 – René Angélil, Canadian singer and manager (d. 2016)
    • 1942 – Barbara Lynn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1943 – Gavin Bryars, English bassist and composer
    • 1943 – Ronnie Milsap, American singer and pianist
    • 1944 – Dieter Moebius, Swiss-German keyboard player and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1944 – Jim Stafford, American singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1944 – Jill Tarter, American astronomer and biologist
    • 1944 – Judy Baar Topinka, American journalist and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1945 – Wim Suurbier, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1946 – Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
    • 1946 – Katia Ricciarelli, Italian soprano and actress
    • 1947 – Elaine Murphy, Baroness Murphy, English academic and politician
    • 1947 – Harvey Proctor, English politician
    • 1947 – Laura Schlessinger, American physiologist, talk show host, and author
    • 1948 – John Carpenter, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
    • 1948 – Ants Laaneots, Estonian general
    • 1948 – Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player
    • 1948 – Ruth Reichl, American journalist and critic
    • 1949 – Anne F. Beiler, American businesswoman, founded Auntie Anne’s
    • 1949 – R. F. Foster, Irish historian and academic
    • 1949 – Andrew Refshauge, Australian physician and politician, 13th Deputy Premier of New South Wales
    • 1950 – Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
    • 1950 – Robert Schimmel, American comedian, actor, and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1952 – Fuad II, King of Egypt
    • 1952 – Piercarlo Ghinzani, Italian race car driver and manager
    • 1952 – L. Blaine Hammond, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1952 – Julie Anne Peters, American engineer and author
    • 1953 – Robert Jay Mathews, American militant, founded The Order (d. 1984)
    • 1954 – Wolfgang Schmidt, German discus thrower
    • 1954 – Vasili Zhupikov, Russian footballer and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1955 – Jerry M. Linenger, American captain, physician, and astronaut
    • 1956 – Wayne Daniel, Barbadian cricketer
    • 1956 – Martin Jol, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1956 – Greedy Smith, Australian singer-songwriter and keyboardist (d. 2019)
    • 1957 – Jurijs Andrejevs, Latvian footballer and manager
    • 1957 – Ricardo Darín, Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Mark Pawsey, English businessman and politician
    • 1958 – Anatoli Boukreev, Russian mountaineer and explorer (d. 1997)
    • 1958 – Lena Ek, Swedish lawyer and politician, 9th Swedish Minister for the Environment
    • 1958 – Andris Šķēle, Latvian businessman and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Latvia
    • 1959 – Lisa Milroy, Canadian painter and educator
    • 1959 – Sade, Nigerian-English singer-songwriter and producer
    • 1961 – Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian guitarist and composer (d. 2006)
    • 1962 – Joel Fitzgibbon, Australian electrician and politician, 51st Australian Minister of Defence
    • 1962 – Maxine Jones, American R&B singer–songwriter and actress
    • 1963 – James May, British journalist/co-host of Top Gear
    • 1964 – Gail Graham, Canadian golfer
    • 1966 – Jack McDowell, American baseball player
    • 1968 – Rebecca Stead, American author
    • 1969 – Neil Back, English rugby player and coach
    • 1969 – Marinus Bester, German footballer
    • 1969 – Stevie Jackson, Scottish guitarist and songwriter
    • 1969 – Roy Jones Jr., American boxer
    • 1970 – Ron Villone, American baseball player and coach
    • 1971 – Sergi Bruguera, Spanish tennis player and coach
    • 1971 – Josh Evans, American film producer, screenwriter and actor
    • 1971 – Jonathan Mangum, American actor
    • 1972 – Ruben Bagger, Danish footballer
    • 1972 – Ang Christou, Australian footballer
    • 1972 – Yuri Alekseevich Drozdov, Russian footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Ezra Hendrickson, Vincentian footballer and manager
    • 1972 – Joe Horn, American football player and coach
    • 1974 – Marlon Anderson, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1974 – John Hopoate, Tongan-Australian rugby league player and boxer
    • 1974 – Kate Moss, English model and fashion designer
    • 1976 – Viktor Maslov, Russian race car driver
    • 1976 – Martina Moravcová, Slovak swimmer
    • 1977 – Jeff Foster, American basketball player
    • 1978 – Alfredo Amézaga, Mexican baseball player
    • 1979 – Aaliyah, American singer and actress (d. 2001)
    • 1979 – Brenden Morrow, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1979 – Jason Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Lin-Manuel Miranda, American actor, playwright, and composer
    • 1980 – Albert Pujols, Dominican-American baseball player
    • 1981 – Jamie Lundmark, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1981 – Paul Rofe, Australian cricketer
    • 1981 – Bobby Zamora, English footballer, striker
    • 1982 – Preston, English singer-songwriter
    • 1982 – Tuncay, Turkish footballer
    • 1983 – Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer
    • 1983 – Andriy Rusol, Ukrainian footballer
    • 1984 – Stephan Lichtsteiner, Swiss footballer
    • 1984 – Miroslav Radović, Serbian footballer
    • 1985 – Joe Flacco, American football player
    • 1985 – Jayde Herrick, Australian cricketer
    • 1985 – Gintaras Januševičius, Russian-Lithuanian pianist
    • 1985 – Twins Jonathan and Simon Richter, Danish-Gambian footballers
    • 1985 – Sidharth Malhotra, Indian actor
    • 1986 – Johannes Rahn, German footballer
    • 1986 – Mark Trumbo, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Reto Ziegler, Swiss footballer, left back
    • 1987 – Jake Epstein, Canadian actor
    • 1987 – Charlotte Henshaw, English swimmer
    • 1988 – Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer
    • 1988 – Jorge Torres Nilo, Mexican footballer
    • 1991 – Matt Duchene, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1993 – Hannes Anier, Estonian footballer
    • 1993 – Amandine Hesse, French tennis player
    • 1994 – Chris Smith, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Mikaela Turik, Australian-Canadian cricketer
    • 1998 – Cameron Murray, Australian rugby league player
    • 2003 – Adriana Hernández, Mexican rhythmic gymnast

    Deaths on January 16

    • 654 – Gao Jifu, Chinese politician and chancellor (b. 596)
    • 957 – Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ali al-Madhara’i, Tulunid vizier (b. 871)
    • 970 – Polyeuctus of Constantinople, Byzantine patriarch (b. 956)
    • 1263 – Shinran Shonin, Japanese founder of the Jodo Shinshu branch of Pure Land Buddhism
    • 1289 – Buqa, Mongol minister
    • 1327 – Nikephoros Choumnos, Byzantine monk, scholar, and politician (b. 1250)
    • 1354 – Joanna of Châtillon, duchess of Athens (b. c.1285)
    • 1373 – Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (b. 1342)
    • 1391 – Muhammed V of Granada, Nasrid emir (b. 1338)
    • 1400 – John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (b. 1352)
    • 1443 – Erasmo of Narni, Italian mercenary (b. 1370)
    • 1545 – George Spalatin, German priest and reformer (b. 1484)
    • 1547 – Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477)
    • 1554 – Christiern Pedersen, Danish publisher and scholar (b. 1480)
    • 1585 – Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral and politician (b. 1512)
    • 1595 – Murad III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1546)
    • 1659 – Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580)
    • 1710 – Higashiyama, Japanese emperor (b. 1675)
    • 1711 – Joseph Vaz, Indian-Sri Lankan priest and saint (b. 1651)
    • 1747 – Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet and playwright (b. 1680)
    • 1748 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch lawyer and scholar (b. 1684)
    • 1750 – Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshal and politician (b. 1667)
    • 1752 – Francis Blomefield, English historian and author (b. 1705)
    • 1794 – Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (b. 1737)
    • 1809 – John Moore, Scottish general and politician (b. 1761)
    • 1817 – Alexander J. Dallas, Jamaican-American lawyer and politician, 6th United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1759)
    • 1834 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician and academic (b. 1769)
    • 1856 – Thaddeus William Harris, American entomologist and botanist (b. 1795)
    • 1864 – Anton Schindler, Austrian secretary and author (b. 1795)
    • 1865 – Edmond François Valentin About, French journalist and author (b. 1828)
    • 1879 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian-French poet and bookseller (b. 1827)
    • 1886 – Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer and academic (b. 1834)
    • 1891 – Léo Delibes, French pianist and composer (b. 1836)
    • 1898 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
    • 1901 – Jules Barbier, French poet and playwright (b. 1825)
    • 1901 – Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter and academic (b. 1827)
    • 1901 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, American soldier, minister, and politician (b. 1822)
    • 1906 – Marshall Field, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Marshall Field’s (b. 1834)
    • 1917 – George Dewey, American admiral (b. 1837)
    • 1919 – Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 5th President of Brazil (b. 1848)
    • 1933 – Bekir Sami Kunduh, Turkish politician (b. 1867)
    • 1936 – Albert Fish, American serial killer, rapist and cannibal (b. 1870)
    • 1938 – Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Indian author and playwright (b. 1876)
    • 1942 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (b. 1850)
    • 1942 – Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Estonian poet and linguist (b. 1885)
    • 1942 – Carole Lombard, American actress and comedian (b. 1908)
    • 1942 – Ernst Scheller, German lawyer and politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1899)
    • 1957 – Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, English general and politician, 16th Governor General of Canada (b. 1874)
    • 1957 – Arturo Toscanini, Italian cellist and conductor (b. 1867)
    • 1959 – Phan Khôi, Vietnamese journalist and author (b. 1887)
    • 1960 – Arthur Darby, English rugby player (b. 1876)
    • 1961 – Max Schöne, German swimmer (b. 1880)
    • 1962 – Frank Hurley, Australian photographer, director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1885)
    • 1962 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect, designed the Monument to the Unknown Hero (b. 1883)
    • 1967 – Robert J. Van de Graaff, American physicist and academic (b. 1901)
    • 1968 – Bob Jones Sr., American evangelist, founded Bob Jones University (b. 1883)
    • 1968 – Panagiotis Poulitsas, Greek archaeologist and judge (b. 1881)
    • 1969 – Vernon Duke, Russian-American composer and songwriter (b. 1903)
    • 1971 – Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (b. 1890)
    • 1972 – Teller Ammons, American soldier and politician, 28th Governor of Colorado (b. 1895)
    • 1972 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks (b. 1919)
    • 1973 – Edgar Sampson, American musician and composer (b. 1907)
    • 1975 – Israel Abramofsky, Russian-American painter (b. 1888)
    • 1978 – A. V. Kulasingham, Sri Lankan journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1981 – Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
    • 1983 – Virginia Mauret, American musician and dancer
    • 1986 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)
    • 1987 – Bertram Wainer, Australian physician and activist (b. 1928)
    • 1988 – Andrija Artuković, Croatian politician, war criminal, and Porajmos perpetrator, 1st Minister of Interior of the Independent State of Croatia (b. 1899)
    • 1995 – Eric Mottram, English poet and critic (b. 1924)
    • 1996 – Marcia Davenport, American author and critic (b. 1903)
    • 1996 – Kaye Webb, English journalist and publisher (b. 1914)
    • 1999 – Jim McClelland, Australian lawyer, jurist, and politician, 12th Minister for Industry and Science (b. 1915)
    • 2000 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist and academic (b. 1914)
    • 2001 – Auberon Waugh, English author and journalist (b. 1939)
    • 2002 – Robert Hanbury Brown, English astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
    • 2003 – Richard Wainwright, English politician (b. 1918)
    • 2004 – Kalevi Sorsa, Finnish politician 34th Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)
    • 2005 – Marjorie Williams, American journalist and author (b. 1958)
    • 2006 – Stanley Biber, American soldier and physician (b. 1923)
    • 2007 – Benny Parsons, American race car driver and sportscaster (b. 1941)
    • 2009 – Joe Erskine, American boxer and runner (b. 1930)
    • 2009 – John Mortimer, English lawyer and author (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Andrew Wyeth, American painter (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Glen Bell, American businessman, founded Taco Bell (b. 1923)
    • 2010 – Jyoti Basu, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Chief Minister of West Bengal (b. 1914)
    • 2010 – Takumi Shibano, Japanese author and translator (b. 1926)
    • 2012 – Joe Bygraves, Jamaican-English boxer (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Jimmy Castor, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (b. 1940)
    • 2012 – Sigursteinn Gíslason, Icelandic footballer and manager (b. 1968)
    • 2012 – Lorna Kesterson, American journalist and politician (b. 1925)
    • 2012 – Gustav Leonhardt, Dutch pianist, conductor, and musicologist (b. 1928)
    • 2013 – Wayne D. Anderson, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – André Cassagnes, French technician and toy maker, created the Etch A Sketch (b. 1926)
    • 2013 – Gussie Moran, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1923)
    • 2013 – Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (b. 1918)
    • 2013 – Glen P. Robinson, American businessman, founded Scientific Atlanta (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Gary Arlington, American author and illustrator (b. 1938)
    • 2014 – Ruth Duccini, American actress (b. 1918)
    • 2014 – Dave Madden, Canadian-American actor (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Hiroo Onoda, Japanese lieutenant (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Miriam Akavia, Polish-Israeli author and translator (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Yao Beina, Chinese singer (b. 1981)
    • 2016 – Joannis Avramidis, Greek sculptor (b. 1922)
    • 2016 – Ted Marchibroda, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2017 – Eugene Cernan, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1934)
    • 2018 – Ed Doolan, British radio presenter (b. 1941)
    • 2018 – Oliver Ivanović, Kosovo Serb politician (b. 1953)
    • 2019 – John C. Bogle, American businessman, investor, and philanthropist (b. 1929)
    • 2019 – Lorna Doom, American musician (b. 1958)
    • 2019 – Chris Wilson, Australian musician (b. 1956)
    • 2020 – Christopher Tolkien, British academic and editor (died 2020)

    Holidays and observances on January 16

    • Christian feast day:
      • Pope Benjamin (Coptic)
      • Berard of Carbio
      • Blaise (Armenian Apostolic)
      • Fursey
      • Joseph Vaz
      • Honoratus of Arles
      • Pope Marcellus I
      • Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Coptic Church)
      • Titian of Oderzo
      • Eve of Saint Anthony observed with ritual bonfires in San Bartolomé de Pinares
      • January 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • National Religious Freedom Day (United States)
    • Teacher’s Day (Myanmar)
    • Teachers’ Day (Thailand)

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

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

    Births on January 15

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

    Deaths on January 15

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

    Holidays and observances on January 15

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

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

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

    Births on January 12

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

    Deaths of January 12

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

    Holidays and observances on January 12

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

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

    • 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople: A quarrel between supporters of different chariot teams—the Blues and the Greens—in the Hippodrome escalates into violence.
    • 630 – Conquest of Mecca: The prophet Muhammad and his followers conquer the city, Quraysh surrender.
    • 947 – Emperor Tai Zong of the Khitan-led Liao Dynasty invades the Later Jin, resulting in the destruction of the Later Jin.
    • 1055 – Theodora is crowned empress of the Byzantine Empire.
    • 1158 – Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia becomes King of Bohemia.
    • 1569 – First recorded lottery in England.
    • 1571 – Austrian nobility is granted freedom of religion.
    • 1654 – Arauco War: A Spanish army is defeated by local Mapuche-Huilliches as it tries to cross Bueno River in Southern Chile.
    • 1693 – A powerful earthquake destroys parts of Sicily and Malta.
    • 1759 – The first American life insurance company, the Corporation for Relief of Poor and Distressed Presbyterian Ministers and of the Poor and Distressed Widows and Children of the Presbyterian Ministers (now part of Unum Group), is incorporated in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
    • 1779 – Ching-Thang Khomba is crowned King of Manipur.
    • 1787 – William Herschel discovers Titania and Oberon, two moons of Uranus.
    • 1805 – The Michigan Territory is created.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Alabama secedes from the United States.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Arkansas Post: General John McClernand and Admiral David Dixon Porter capture the Arkansas River for the Union.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: CSS Alabama encounters and sinks the USS Hatteras off Galveston Lighthouse in Texas.
    • 1879 – The Anglo-Zulu War begins.
    • 1908 – Grand Canyon National Monument is created.
    • 1912 – Immigrant textile workers in Lawrence, Massachusetts, go on strike when wages are reduced in response to a mandated shortening of the work week.
    • 1917 – The Kingsland munitions factory explosion occurs as a result of sabotage.
    • 1922 – First use of insulin to treat diabetes in a human patient.
    • 1923 – Occupation of the Ruhr: Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to make its World War I reparation payments.
    • 1927 – Louis B. Mayer, head of film studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), announces the creation of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, at a banquet in Los Angeles, California.
    • 1935 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces capture Kuala Lumpur, the capital of the Federated Malay States.
    • 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces attack Tarakan in Borneo, Netherlands Indies (Battle of Tarakan)
    • 1943 – The Republic of China agrees to the Sino-British New Equal Treaty and the Sino-American New Equal Treaty.
    • 1943 – Italian-American anarchist Carlo Tresca is assassinated in New York City.
    • 1946 – Enver Hoxha, Secretary General of the Communist Party of Albania, declares the People’s Republic of Albania with himself as head of state.
    • 1949 – The first “networked” television broadcasts took place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming.
    • 1957 – The African Convention is founded in Dakar, Senegal.
    • 1961 – Throgs Neck Bridge over the East River, linking New York City’s boroughs of The Bronx and Queens, opens to road traffic.
    • 1962 – Cold War: While tied to its pier in Polyarny, the Soviet submarine B-37 is destroyed when fire breaks out in its torpedo compartment.
    • 1962 – An avalanche on Huascarán in Peru causes around 4,000 deaths.
    • 1964 – Surgeon General of the United States Dr. Luther Terry, M.D., publishes the landmark report Smoking and Health: Report of the Advisory Committee to the Surgeon General of the United States saying that smoking may be hazardous to health, sparking national and worldwide anti-smoking efforts.
    • 1972 – East Pakistan renames itself Bangladesh.
    • 1973 – Major League Baseball owners vote in approval of the American League adopting the designated hitter position.
    • 1986 – The Gateway Bridge, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is officially opened.
    • 1994 – The Irish Government announces the end of a 15-year broadcasting ban on the IRA and its political arm Sinn Féin.
    • 1996 – Space Shuttle program: STS-72 launches from the Kennedy Space Center marking the start of the 74th Space Shuttle mission and the 10th flight of Endeavour.
    • 1998 – Over 100 people are killed in the Sidi-Hamed massacre in Algeria.
    • 2003 – Illinois Governor George Ryan commutes the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois’s death row based on the Jon Burge scandal.
    • 2013 – One French soldier and 17 militants are killed in a failed attempt to free a French hostage in Bulo Marer, Somalia.

    Births on January 11

    • 347 – Theodosius I, Roman emperor (d. 395)
    • 889 – Abd-ar-Rahman III, first Caliph of Córdoba (d. 961)
    • 1113 – Wang Chongyang, Chinese religious leader and poet (d. 1170)
    • 1209 – Möngke Khan, Mongolian emperor (d. 1259)
    • 1322 – Emperor Kōmyō of Japan (d. 1380)
    • 1359 – Emperor Go-En’yū of Japan (d. 1393)
    • 1395 – Michele of Valois, daughter of Charles VI of France (d. 1422)
    • 1503 – Parmigianino, Italian artist (d. 1540)
    • 1589 – William Strode, English politician (d. 1666)
    • 1591 – Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire (d. 1646)
    • 1624 – Bastiaan Govertsz van der Leeuw, Dutch painter (d. 1680)
    • 1630 – John Rogers, English-American minister, physician, and academic (d. 1684)
    • 1638 – Nicolas Steno, Danish bishop and anatomist (d. 1686)
    • 1642 – Johann Friedrich Alberti, German organist and composer (d. 1710)
    • 1650 – Diana Glauber, Dutch-German painter (d. 1721)
    • 1671 – François-Marie, 1st duc de Broglie, French general and diplomat (d. 1745)
    • 1755 – Alexander Hamilton, Nevisian-American general, economist and politician, 1st United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1804)
    • 1757 – Samuel Bentham, English engineer and architect (d. 1831)
    • 1760 – Oliver Wolcott Jr., American lawyer and politician, 2nd United States Secretary of the Treasury, 24th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1833)
    • 1777 – Vincenzo Borg, Maltese merchant and rebel leader (d. 1837)
    • 1786 – Joseph Jackson Lister, English physicist (d. 1869)
    • 1788 – William Thomas Brande, English chemist and academic (d. 1866)
    • 1800 – Ányos Jedlik, Hungarian physicist and engineer (d. 1895)
    • 1807 – Ezra Cornell, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Western Union and Cornell University (d. 1874)
    • 1814 – James Paget, English surgeon and pathologist (d. 1899)
    • 1815 – John A. Macdonald, Scottish-Canadian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1891)
    • 1825 – Bayard Taylor, American poet, author, and critic (d. 1878)
    • 1839 – Eugenio María de Hostos, Puerto Rican lawyer, philosopher, and sociologist (d. 1903)
    • 1842 – William James, American psychologist and philosopher (d. 1910)
    • 1843 – Adolf Eberle, German painter (d. 1914)
    • 1845 – Albert Victor Bäcklund, Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1912)
    • 1850 – Joseph Charles Arthur, American pathologist and mycologist (d. 1942)
    • 1852 – Constantin Fehrenbach, German lawyer and politician, 4th Chancellor of Weimar Germany (d. 1926)
    • 1853 – Georgios Jakobides, Greek painter and sculptor (d. 1932)
    • 1856 – Christian Sinding, Norwegian pianist and composer (d. 1941)
    • 1857 – Fred Archer, English jockey (d. 1886)
    • 1858 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-English businessman, founded Selfridges (d. 1947)
    • 1859 – George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston, English politician, 35th Governor-General of India (d. 1925)
    • 1864 – Thomas Dixon, Jr., American minister, lawyer, and politician (d. 1946)
    • 1867 – Edward B. Titchener, English psychologist and academic (d. 1927)
    • 1868 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1940)
    • 1870 – Alexander Stirling Calder, American sculptor and educator (d. 1945)
    • 1872 – G. W. Pierce, American physicist and academic (d. 1956)
    • 1873 – John Callan O’Laughlin, American soldier and journalist (d. 1949)
    • 1875 – Reinhold Glière, Russian composer and academic (d. 1956)
    • 1876 – Elmer Flick, American baseball player (d. 1971)
    • 1876 – Thomas Hicks, American runner (d. 1952)
    • 1878 – Theodoros Pangalos, Greek general and politician, President of Greece (d. 1952)
    • 1885 – Alice Paul, American activist and suffragist (d. 1977)
    • 1887 – Aldo Leopold, American ecologist and author (d. 1948)
    • 1888 – Joseph B. Keenan, American jurist and politician (d. 1954)
    • 1889 – Calvin Bridges, American geneticist and academic (d. 1938)
    • 1890 – Max Carey, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
    • 1890 – Oswald de Andrade, Brazilian poet and critic (d. 1954)
    • 1891 – Andrew Sockalexis, American runner (d. 1919)
    • 1893 – Ellinor Aiki, Estonian painter (d. 1969)
    • 1893 – Charles Fraser, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1981)
    • 1893 – Anthony M. Rud, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
    • 1895 – Laurens Hammond, American engineer and businessman, founded the Hammond Clock Company (d. 1973)
    • 1897 – Bernard DeVoto, American historian and author (d. 1955)
    • 1897 – August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (d. 1979)
    • 1899 – Eva Le Gallienne, English-American actress, director, and producer (d. 1991)
    • 1901 – Kwon Ki-ok, Korean pilot (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Maurice Duruflé, French organist and composer (d. 1986)
    • 1903 – Alan Paton, South African author and activist (d. 1988)
    • 1905 – Clyde Kluckhohn, American anthropologist and theorist (d. 1960)
    • 1906 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist and academic, discoverer of LSD (d. 2008)
    • 1907 – Pierre Mendès France, French lawyer and politician, 142nd Prime Minister of France (d. 1982)
    • 1907 – Abraham Joshua Heschel, Polish-American rabbi, theologian, and philosopher (d. 1972)
    • 1908 – Lionel Stander, American actor and activist (d. 1994)
    • 1910 – Arthur Lambourn, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1999)
    • 1910 – Shane Paltridge, Australian soldier and politician (d. 1966)
    • 1911 – Tommy Duncan, American singer-songwriter (d. 1967)
    • 1911 – Nora Heysen, Australian painter (d. 2003)
    • 1911 – Zenkō Suzuki, Japanese politician, 70th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2004)
    • 1912 – Don “Red” Barry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1980)
    • 1913 – Karl Stegger, Danish actor (d. 1980)
    • 1915 – Luise Krüger, German javelin thrower (d. 2001)
    • 1915 – Paddy Mayne, British colonel and lawyer (d. 1955)
    • 1916 – Bernard Blier, Argentinian-French actor (d. 1989)
    • 1917 – John Robarts, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Ontario (d. 1982)
    • 1918 – Robert C. O’Brien, American author and journalist (d. 1973)
    • 1920 – Mick McManus, English wrestler (d. 2013)
    • 1921 – Gory Guerrero, American wrestler and trainer (d. 1990)
    • 1921 – Juanita M. Kreps, American economist and politician, 24th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 2010)
    • 1923 – Jerome Bixby, American author and screenwriter (d. 1998)
    • 1923 – Ernst Nolte, German historian and philosopher (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Carroll Shelby, American race car driver, engineer, and businessman, founded Carroll Shelby International (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Roger Guillemin, French-American physician and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1924 – Sam B. Hall, Jr., American lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – Slim Harpo, American blues singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1970)
    • 1925 – Grant Tinker, American television producer, co-founded MTM Enterprises (d. 2016)
    • 1926 – Lev Dyomin, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1998)
    • 1928 – David L. Wolper, American director and producer (d. 2010)
    • 1929 – Dmitri Bruns, Estonian architect and theorist (d. 2020)
    • 1930 – Ron Mulock, Australian lawyer and politician, 10th Deputy Premier of New South Wales (d. 2014)
    • 1930 – Rod Taylor, Australian-American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Betty Churcher, Australian painter, historian, and curator (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Mary Rodgers, American composer and author (d. 2014)
    • 1932 – Alfonso Arau, Mexican actor and director
    • 1933 – Goldie Hill, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2005)
    • 1934 – Jean Chrétien, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Prime Minister of Canada
    • 1936 – Eva Hesse, German-American sculptor and educator (d. 1970)
    • 1938 – Arthur Scargill, English miner, activist, and politician
    • 1939 – Anne Heggtveit, Canadian alpine skier
    • 1940 – Andres Tarand, Estonian geographer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Estonia
    • 1941 – Gérson, Brazilian footballer
    • 1942 – Bud Acton, American basketball player
    • 1942 – Clarence Clemons, American saxophonist and actor (d. 2011)
    • 1944 – Mohammed Abdul-Hayy, Sudanese poet and academic (d. 1989)
    • 1944 – Shibu Soren, Indian politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Jharkhand
    • 1945 – Christine Kaufmann, German actress, author, and businesswoman (d. 2017)
    • 1946 – Naomi Judd, American singer-songwriter and actress
    • 1946 – Tony Kaye, English progressive rock keyboard player and songwriter (Yes)
    • 1946 – John Piper, American theologian and author
    • 1947 – Hamish Macdonald, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1948 – Fritz Bohla, German footballer and manager
    • 1948 – Joe Harper, Scottish footballer and manager
    • 1948 – Madeline Manning, American runner and coach
    • 1948 – Wajima Hiroshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 54th Yokozuna
    • 1948 – Terry Williams, Welsh drummer
    • 1949 – Daryl Braithwaite, Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1949 – Mohammad Reza Rahimi, Iranian lawyer and politician, 2nd Vice President of Iran
    • 1951 – Charlie Huhn, American rock singer and guitarist
    • 1951 – Willie Maddren, English footballer and manager (d. 2000)
    • 1951 – Philip Tartaglia, Scottish archbishop
    • 1952 – Bille Brown, Australian actor and playwright (d. 2013)
    • 1952 – Ben Crenshaw, American golfer and architect
    • 1952 – Michael Forshaw, Australian lawyer and politician
    • 1952 – Diana Gabaldon, American author
    • 1952 – Lee Ritenour, American guitarist, composer, and producer
    • 1953 – Graham Allen, English politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household
    • 1953 – Kostas Skandalidis, Greek engineer and politician, Greek Minister of Agricultural Development and Food
    • 1954 – Jaak Aaviksoo, Estonian physicist and politician, 26th Estonian Minister of Defence
    • 1954 – Kailash Satyarthi, Indian engineer, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1956 – Big Bank Hank, American rapper (d. 2014)
    • 1957 – Darryl Dawkins, American basketball player and coach (d. 2015)
    • 1957 – Peter Moore, Australian rules footballer and coach
    • 1957 – Bryan Robson, English footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Vicki Peterson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1959 – Brett Bodine, American NASCAR driver
    • 1959 – Rob Ramage, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1961 – Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish racing driver (d. 1989)
    • 1962 – Chris Bryant, Welsh politician, Minister of State for Europe
    • 1962 – Susan Lindauer, American journalist and activist
    • 1962 – Brian Moore, English rugby player
    • 1963 – Tracy Caulkins, American-Australian swimmer
    • 1963 – Petra Schneider, German swimmer
    • 1964 – Ralph Recto, Filipino lawyer and politician
    • 1964 – Albert Dupontel, French actor and director
    • 1965 – Mascarita Sagrada, Mexican wrestler
    • 1965 – Aleksey Zhukov, Russian footballer and coach
    • 1966 – Marc Acito, American author and screenwriter
    • 1967 – Michael Healy-Rae, Irish politician
    • 1968 – Anders Borg, Swedish economist and politician, Swedish Minister for Finance
    • 1968 – Tom Dumont, American guitarist and producer
    • 1969 – Manny Acta, Dominican-American baseball player, coach, manager, and sportscaster
    • 1970 – Manfredi Beninati, Italian painter and sculptor
    • 1970 – Chris Jent, American basketball player and coach
    • 1970 – Malcolm D. Lee, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
    • 1970 – Ken Ueno, American composer
    • 1971 – Mary J. Blige, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
    • 1971 – Jeff Orford, Australian rugby league player
    • 1971 – Chris Willsher, English singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor
    • 1972 – Christian Jacobs, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
    • 1972 – Anthony Lledo, Danish composer
    • 1972 – Amanda Peet, American actress and playwright
    • 1973 – Rockmond Dunbar, American actor
    • 1973 – Rahul Dravid, Indian cricketer and captain
    • 1974 – Roman Görtz, German footballer
    • 1974 – Cody McKay, Canadian baseball player
    • 1974 – Jens Nowotny, German footballer
    • 1975 – Rory Fitzpatrick, American ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Dan Luger, English rugby player and coach
    • 1975 – Matteo Renzi, Italian politician, 56th Prime Minister of Italy
    • 1976 – Efthimios Rentzias, Greek basketball player
    • 1977 – Shamari Buchanan, American football player
    • 1977 – Anni Friesinger-Postma, German speed skater
    • 1977 – Olexiy Lukashevych, Ukrainian long jumper
    • 1978 – Vallo Allingu, Estonian basketball player
    • 1978 – Holly Brisley, Australian actress
    • 1978 – Michael Duff, Irish footballer
    • 1978 – Emile Heskey, English footballer
    • 1979 – Darren Lynn Bousman, American director and screenwriter
    • 1979 – Michael Lorenz, German footballer
    • 1979 – Henry Shefflin, Irish hurler
    • 1980 – Josh Hannay, Australian rugby league player
    • 1980 – Mike Williams, American football player
    • 1982 – Tony Allen, American basketball player
    • 1982 – Blake Heron, American actor (d. 2017)
    • 1982 – Son Ye-jin, South Korean actress
    • 1983 – Turner Battle, American basketball player
    • 1983 – André Myhrer, Swedish skier
    • 1983 – Ted Richards, Australian rules footballer
    • 1983 – Adrian Sutil, German racing driver
    • 1984 – Kevin Boss, American football player
    • 1984 – Dario Krešić, Croatian footballer
    • 1984 – Matt Mullenweg, American web developer and businessman, co-created WordPress
    • 1984 – Stijn Schaars, Dutch footballer
    • 1985 – Newton Faulkner, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1985 – Lucy Knisley, American author and illustrator
    • 1987 – Scotty Cranmer, American Professional BMX rider
    • 1987 – Danuta Kozák, Hungarian sprint canoer
    • 1987 – Daniel Semenzato, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Jamie Vardy, English footballer
    • 1987 – Kim Young-kwang, South Korean actor and model
    • 1988 – Rodrigo José Pereira, Brazilian footballer
    • 1989 – Kane Linnett, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – Ryan Griffin, American football player
    • 1991 – Andrea Bertolacci, Italian footballer
    • 1992 – Dani Carvajal, Spanish footballer
    • 1992 – Lee Seung-hoon, South Korean rapper and dancer
    • 1993 – Michael Keane, English footballer
    • 1993 – Will Keane, English footballer
    • 1996 – Leroy Sané, German footballer
    • 1997 – Cody Simpson, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor

    Deaths on January 11

    • 140 – Pope Hyginus, Bishop of Rome (b. 74)
    • 705 – Pope John VI (b. 655)
    • 782 – Emperor Kōnin of Japan (b. 709)
    • 812 – Staurakios, Byzantine emperor
    • 844 – Michael I Rangabe, Byzantine emperor (b. 770)
    • 887 – Boso of Provence, Frankish nobleman
    • 937 – Cao, empress of Later Tang
    • 937 – Li Chongmei, prince of Later Tang
    • 937 – Li Congke, emperor of Later Tang (b. 885)
    • 937 – Liu, empress of Later Tang
    • 1055 – Constantine IX Monomachos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1000)
    • 1068 – Egbert I, Margrave of Meissen
    • 1083 – Otto of Nordheim (b. 1020)
    • 1266 – Swietopelk II, Duke of Pomerania
    • 1344 – Thomas Charlton, Bishop of Hereford and Lord Chancellor of Ireland
    • 1372 – Eleanor of Lancaster, English noblewoman (b. 1318)
    • 1396 – Isidore Glabas, Metropolitan bishop of Thessalonica (b.c. 1341)
    • 1397 – Skirgaila, Grand Duke of Lithuania
    • 1494 – Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian painter (b. 1449)
    • 1495 – Pedro González de Mendoza, Spanish cardinal (b. 1428)
    • 1546 – Gaudenzio Ferrari, Italian painter and sculptor (b. c. 1471)
    • 1547 – Pietro Bembo, Italian poet, scholar, and theorist (b. 1470)
    • 1554 – Min Bin, king of Arakan (b. 1493)
    • 1641 – Juan Martínez de Jáuregui y Aguilar, Spanish poet and painter (b. 1583)
    • 1696 – Charles Albanel, French priest, missionary, and explorer (b. 1616)
    • 1703 – Johann Georg Graevius, German scholar and critic (b. 1632)
    • 1713 – Pierre Jurieu, French priest and theologian (b. 1637)
    • 1735 – Danilo I, Metropolitan of Cetinje (b. 1670)
    • 1753 – Hans Sloane, Irish-English physician and academic (b. 1660)
    • 1757 – Louis Bertrand Castel, French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1688)
    • 1762 – Louis-François Roubiliac, French-English sculptor (b. 1695)
    • 1763 – Caspar Abel, German poet, historian, and theologian (b. 1676)
    • 1771 – Jean-Baptiste de Boyer, Marquis d’Argens, French philosopher and author (b. 1704)
    • 1788 – François Joseph Paul de Grasse, French admiral (b. 1722)
    • 1791 – William Williams Pantycelyn, Welsh composer and poet (b. 1717)
    • 1798 – Heraclius II of Georgia (b. 1720)
    • 1801 – Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer and educator (b. 1749)
    • 1824 – Thomas Mullins, 1st Baron Ventry, Anglo-Irish politician and peer (b. 1736)
    • 1836 – John Molson, Canadian businessman, founded the Molson Brewing Company (b. 1763)
    • 1843 – Francis Scott Key, American lawyer, author, and songwriter (b. 1779)
    • 1866 – Gustavus Vaughan Brooke, Irish actor (b. 1818)
    • 1866 – John Woolley, English minister and academic (b. 1816)
    • 1867 – Stuart Donaldson, English-Australian businessman and politician, 1st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1812)
    • 1882 – Theodor Schwann, German physiologist and biologist (b. 1810)
    • 1891 – Georges-Eugène Haussmann, French urban planner (b. 1809)
    • 1902 – Johnny Briggs, English cricketer and rugby player (b. 1862)
    • 1904 – William Sawyer, Canadian merchant and politician (b. 1815)
    • 1914 – Carl Jacobsen, Danish brewer and philanthropist (b. 1842)
    • 1920 – Steinar Schjøtt, Norwegian philologist and lexicographer (b. 1844)
    • 1923 – Constantine I of Greece (b. 1868)
    • 1928 – Thomas Hardy, English novelist and poet (b. 1840)
    • 1931 – James Milton Carroll, American pastor, historian, and author (b. 1852)
    • 1937 – Nuri Conker, Turkish colonel and politician (b. 1882)
    • 1941 – Emanuel Lasker, German mathematician, philosopher, and chess player (b. 1868)
    • 1944 – Galeazzo Ciano, Italian politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1903)
    • 1947 – Eva Tanguay, Canadian singer (b. 1879)
    • 1952 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (b. 1889)
    • 1952 – Aureliano Pertile, Italian tenor and educator (b. 1885)
    • 1953 – Noe Zhordania, Georgian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1868)
    • 1954 – Oscar Straus, Austrian composer (b. 1870)
    • 1957 – Robert Garran, Australian lawyer and politician, Solicitor-General of Australia (b. 1867)
    • 1958 – Alec Rowley, English organist and composer (b. 1892)
    • 1958 – Edna Purviance, American actress (b. 1895)
    • 1961 – Elena Gerhardt, German soprano and actress (b. 1883)
    • 1963 – Arthur Nock, English-American scholar, theologian, and academic (b. 1902)
    • 1965 – Wally Pipp, American baseball player (b. 1893)
    • 1966 – Alberto Giacometti, Swiss sculptor and painter (b. 1901)
    • 1966 – Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indian academic and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of India (b. 1904)
    • 1968 – Moshe Zvi Segal, Israeli linguist and scholar (b. 1876)
    • 1969 – Richmal Crompton, English author and educator (b. 1890)
    • 1972 – Padraic Colum, Irish poet and playwright (b. 1881)
    • 1975 – Max Lorenz, German tenor and actor (b. 1901)
    • 1980 – Barbara Pym, English author (b. 1913)
    • 1981 – Beulah Bondi, American actress (b. 1889)
    • 1982 – Paul Lynde, American Actor and comedian (b. 1926)
    • 1985 – Edward Buzzell, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1895)
    • 1985 – William McKell, Australian lawyer and politician, 12th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1891)
    • 1986 – Sid Chaplin, English author and screenwriter (b. 1916)
    • 1986 – Andrzej Czok, Polish mountaineer (b. 1948)
    • 1987 – Albert Ferber, Swiss-English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1911)
    • 1988 – Pappy Boyington, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1912)
    • 1988 – Isidor Isaac Rabi, Polish-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1898)
    • 1989 – Ray Moore, English radio host (b. 1942)
    • 1990 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (b. 1898)
    • 1991 – Carl David Anderson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
    • 1994 – Helmut Poppendick, German physician (b. 1902)
    • 1995 – Josef Gingold, Belarusian-American violinist and educator (b. 1909)
    • 1995 – Onat Kutlar, Turkish author and poet (b. 1936)
    • 1995 – Lewis Nixon, U.S. Army captain (b. 1918)
    • 1995 – Theodor Wisch, German general (b. 1907)
    • 1996 – Roger Crozier, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1942)
    • 1999 – Fabrizio De André, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
    • 1999 – Naomi Mitchison, Scottish author and poet (b. 1897)
    • 1999 – Brian Moore, Irish-Canadian author and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 2000 – Ivan Combe, American businessman, invented Clearasil (b. 1911)
    • 2000 – Bob Lemon, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
    • 2001 – Denys Lasdun, English architect, co-designed the Royal National Theatre (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Henri Verneuil, French-Armenian director and playwright (b. 1920)
    • 2003 – Jože Pučnik, Slovenian sociologist and politician (b. 1932)
    • 2007 – Solveig Dommartin, French-German actress (b. 1961)
    • 2007 – Robert Anton Wilson, American psychologist, author, poet, and playwright (b. 1932)
    • 2008 – Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer and explorer (b. 1919)
    • 2008 – Carl Karcher, American businessman, co-founded Carl’s Jr. (b. 1917)
    • 2010 – Miep Gies, Austrian-Dutch humanitarian (b. 1909)
    • 2010 – Éric Rohmer, French director, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1920)
    • 2011 – David Nelson, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2012 – Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, Iranian physicist and academic (b. 1980)
    • 2012 – Gilles Jacquier, French journalist and photographer (b. 1968)
    • 2012 – Edgar Kaiser, Jr, American-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1942)
    • 2012 – Wally Osterkorn, American basketball player (b. 1928)
    • 2012 – Steven Rawlings, English astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic (b. 1961)
    • 2012 – David Whitaker, English composer and conductor (b. 1931)
    • 2013 – Aaron Swartz, American programmer (b. 1986)
    • 2013 – Guido Forti, Italian businessman, founded the Forti Racing Team (b. 1940)
    • 2013 – Nguyễn Khánh, Vietnamese general and politician, 3rd President of South Vietnam (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Mariangela Melato, Italian actress (b. 1941)
    • 2013 – Tom Parry Jones, Welsh chemist, invented the breathalyzer (b. 1935)
    • 2013 – Alemayehu Shumye, Ethiopian runner (b. 1988)
    • 2014 – Keiko Awaji, Japanese actress (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Muhammad Habibur Rahman, Indian-Bangladeshi jurist and politician, Prime Minister of Bangladesh (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Chai Trong-rong, Taiwanese educator and politician (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Ariel Sharon, Israeli general and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Jenő Buzánszky, Hungarian footballer and coach (b. 1925)
    • 2015 – Anita Ekberg, Swedish-Italian model and actress (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Chashi Nazrul Islam, Bangladeshi director and producer (b. 1941)
    • 2015 – Vernon Benjamin Mountcastle, American neuroscientist and academic (b. 1918)
    • 2016 – Monte Irvin, American baseball player (b. 1919)
    • 2016 – David Margulies, American actor (b. 1937)
    • 2017 – Adenan Satem, Malaysian politician and Chief Minister of Sarawak, Malaysia (b. 1944)
    • 2018 – Edgar Ray Killen, American murderer (b.1925)
    • 2019 – Michael Atiyah, British-Lebanese mathematician (b.1929)

    Holidays and observances on January 11

    • Children’s Day (Tunisia)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Anastasius of Suppentonia (Roman Catholic)
      • Leucius of Brindisi (Roman Catholic)
      • Mary Slessor (Church of England)
      • Paulinus II of Aquileia
      • Pope Hyginus
      • Theodosius the Cenobiarch
      • Thomas of Cori
      • Vitalis of Gaza (Roman Catholic)
      • January 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Triodion can fall, while February 14 is the latest; celebrated 70 days before Easter. (Eastern Orthodox)
    • Eugenio María de Hostos Day (Puerto Rico)
    • Independence Resistance Day (Morocco)
    • Kagami biraki (Japan)
    • National Human Trafficking Awareness Day (United States)
    • Republic Day (Albania)
    • Carmentalia (January 11th and January 15th), (Rome)

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

    • 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
    • AD 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the beginning of his own, the Xin dynasty.
    • AD 69 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is appointed by Galba as deputy Roman Emperor.
    • 236 – Pope Fabian succeeds Anterus to become the twentieth pope of Rome.
    • 1072 – Robert Guiscard conquers Palermo in Sicily for the Normans.
    • 1430 – Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, establishes the Order of the Golden Fleece, the most prestigious, exclusive, and expensive order of chivalry in the world.
    • 1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
    • 1645 – Archbishop William Laud is beheaded for treason at the Tower of London.
    • 1776 – American Revolution: Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense.
    • 1791 – The Siege of Dunlap’s Station begins near Cincinnati during the Northwest Indian War.
    • 1806 – Two British brigades occupy Cape Town after the Battle of Blaauwberg.
    • 1812 – The first steamboat on the Ohio River or the Mississippi River arrives in New Orleans, 82 days after departing from Pittsburgh.
    • 1861 – American Civil War: Florida becomes the third state to secede from the Union.
    • 1863 – The Metropolitan Railway, the world’s oldest underground railway, opens between Paddington and Farringdon, marking the beginning of the London Underground.
    • 1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil.
    • 1901 – The first great Texas oil gusher is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
    • 1916 – World War I: In the Erzurum Offensive, Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire.
    • 1920 – The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending World War I.
    • 1920 – League of Nations Covenant enters into force. On January 16 the organization holds its first council meeting, in Paris.
    • 1927 – Fritz Lang’s futuristic film Metropolis is released in Germany.
    • 1941 – World War II: The Greek army captures Kleisoura.
    • 1946 – The first General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London. Fifty-one nations are represented.
    • 1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
    • 1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea killing 35 people.
    • 1962 – Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle, which became known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission.
    • 1966 – Tashkent Declaration, a peace agreement between India and Pakistan signed that resolved the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
    • 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returns to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.
    • 1981 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments
    • 1984 – Holy See–United States relations: The United States and Holy See (Vatican City) re-establish full diplomatic relations after almost 117 years, overturning the United States Congress’s 1867 ban on public funding for such a diplomatic envoy.
    • 1985 – Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.
    • 1990 – Time Warner is formed by the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications.
    • 2007 – A general strike begins in Guinea in an attempt to get President Lansana Conté to resign.
    • 2012 – A bombing in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, kills at least 30 people and 78 others injured.
    • 2013 – More than 100 people are killed and 270 injured in several bomb blasts in Pakistan.
    • 2015 – A traffic accident between an oil tanker truck and passenger coach en route to Shikarpur from Karachi on the Pakistan National Highway Link Road near Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Karachi, killing at least 62 people.

    Births on January 10

    • 626 – Husayn ibn Ali the third Shia Imam (d. 680)
    • 1392 – Johanna van Polanen, Dutch noblewoman (d. 1445)
    • 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1530)
    • 1538 – Louis of Nassau (d. 1574)
    • 1607 – Isaac Jogues, French priest and missionary (d. 1646)
    • 1644 – Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French general (d. 1711)
    • 1654 – Joshua Barnes, English historian and scholar (d. 1712)
    • 1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
    • 1715 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
    • 1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian priest, biologist, and physiologist (d. 1799)
    • 1745 – Isaac Titsingh, Dutch surgeon, scholar, and diplomat (d. 1812)
    • 1750 – Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, Scottish-English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1823)
    • 1760 – Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, German composer and conductor (d. 1802)
    • 1769 – Michel Ney, French general (d. 1815)
    • 1776 – George Birkbeck, English physician and academic, founded Birkbeck, University of London (d. 1841)
    • 1780 – Martin Lichtenstein, German physician and explorer (d. 1857)
    • 1802 – Carl Ritter von Ghega, Italian-Austrian engineer, designed the Semmering railway (d. 1860)
    • 1810 – Ferdinand Barbedienne, French engineer (d. 1892)
    • 1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, American jurist and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1883)
    • 1810 – William Haines, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Victoria (d. 1866)
    • 1812 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect and academic (d. 1881)
    • 1828 – Herman Koeckemann, German bishop and missionary (d. 1892)
    • 1829 – Epameinondas Deligeorgis, Greek lawyer, journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1879)
    • 1834 – John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, Italian-English historian and politician (d. 1902)
    • 1836 – Charles Ingalls, American farmer and carpenter (d. 1902)
    • 1840 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (d. 1925)
    • 1842 – Luigi Pigorini, Italian paleontologist, archaeologist, and ethnographer (d. 1925)
    • 1843 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (d. 1915)
    • 1848 – Reinhold Sadler, American merchant and politician, 9th Governor of Nevada (d. 1906)
    • 1849 – Robert Crosbie, Canadian theosophist, founded the United Lodge of Theosophists (d. 1919)
    • 1850 – John Wellborn Root, American architect, designed the Rookery Building and Monadnock Building (d. 1891)
    • 1854 – Ramón Corral, Mexican general and politician, 6th Vice President of Mexico (d. 1912)
    • 1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
    • 1859 – Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Spanish philosopher and academic (d. 1909)
    • 1860 – Charles G. D. Roberts, Canadian poet and author (d. 1943)
    • 1864 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d. 1931)
    • 1873 – Algernon Maudslay, English sailor (d. 1948)
    • 1873 – Jack O’Neill, Irish-American baseball player (d. 1935)
    • 1873 – George Orton, Canadian runner and hurdler (d. 1958)
    • 1875 – Issai Schur, German mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
    • 1877 – Frederick Gardner Cottrell, American physical chemist, inventor and philanthropist (d. 1948)
    • 1878 – John McLean, American hurdler, football player, and coach (d. 1955)
    • 1880 – Manuel Azaña, Spanish jurist and politician, 7th President of Spain (d. 1940)
    • 1883 – Francis X. Bushman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1966)
    • 1883 – Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Russian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1945)
    • 1887 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (d. 1962)
    • 1890 – Pina Menichelli, Italian actress (d. 1984)
    • 1891 – Heinrich Behmann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1970)
    • 1891 – Ann Shoemaker, American actress (d. 1978)
    • 1892 – Dumas Malone, American historian and author (d. 1986)
    • 1892 – Melchior Wańkowicz, Polish soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1974)
    • 1893 – Albert Jacka, Australian captain, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1932)
    • 1894 – Pingali Lakshmikantam, Indian poet and author (d. 1972)
    • 1895 – Percy Cerutty, Australian athletics coach (d. 1975)
    • 1896 – Yong Mun Sen, Malaysian watercolour painter (d. 1962)
    • 1898 – Katharine Burr Blodgett, American physicist and engineer (d. 1979)
    • 1900 – Violette Cordery, English racing driver (d. 1983)
    • 1902 – Dobriša Cesarić, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1980)
    • 1903 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
    • 1903 – Pud Thurlow, Australian cricketer (d. 1975)
    • 1903 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (d. 1997)
    • 1904 – Ray Bolger, American actor and dancer (d. 1987)
    • 1905 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, and playwright (d. 1993)
    • 1907 – Gordon Kidd Teal, American engineer and inventor (d. 2003)
    • 1908 – Paul Henreid, Italian-American actor and director (d. 1992)
    • 1910 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (d. 1976)
    • 1911 – Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Bangladeshi activist (d. 2013)
    • 1911 – Norman Heatley, English biologist and chemist (d. 2004)
    • 1912 – Maria Mandl, Austrian SS guard (d. 1948)
    • 1913 – Franco Bordoni, Italian racing driver and pilot (d. 1975)
    • 1913 – Gustáv Husák, Slovak politician, 9th President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
    • 1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian soldier and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1981)
    • 1914 – Pierre Cogan, French cyclist (d. 2013)
    • 1914 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Chinese politician, 23rd Premier of the Republic of China (d. 2000)
    • 1915 – Dean Dixon, American-Swiss conductor (d. 1976)
    • 1915 – Cynthia Freeman, American author (d. 1988)
    • 1916 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
    • 1916 – Eldzier Cortor, American painter (d. 2015)
    • 1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
    • 1917 – Jerry Wexler, American journalist and producer (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Les Bennett, English footballer and manager (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Arthur Chung, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 1st President of Guyana (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Harry Merkel, German racing driver (d. 1995)
    • 1919 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (d. 1977)
    • 1919 – Milton Parker, American businessman, co-founded the Carnegie Deli (d. 2009)
    • 1920 – Rosella Hightower, American ballerina (d. 2008)
    • 1920 – Roberto M. Levingston, Argentinian general and politician, 36th President of Argentina (d. 2015)
    • 1920 – Max Patkin, American baseball player and clown (d. 1999)
    • 1921 – Rodger Ward, American aviator, race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2004)
    • 1922 – Billy Liddell, Scottish-English footballer (d. 2001)
    • 1924 – Earl Bakken, American inventor (d. 2018)
    • 1924 – Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Canadian ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 1996)
    • 1925 – Billie Sol Estes, American financier and businessman (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Musallam Bseiso, Palestinian journalist and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1927 – Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian-American singer and actress (d. 2003)
    • 1927 – Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1990)
    • 1927 – Otto Stich, Swiss lawyer and politician, 140th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 2012)
    • 1928 – Philip Levine, American poet and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Peter Mathias, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – Tony Soper, English ornithologist and author
    • 1930 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d. 2009)
    • 1931 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2004)
    • 1931 – Rosalind Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids, Grenadian-English academic and politician
    • 1931 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – John Zizioulas, Greek metropolitan
    • 1934 – Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician, 1st President of Ukraine
    • 1935 – Ronnie Hawkins, American rockabilly singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1935 – Sherrill Milnes, American opera singer and educator
    • 1936 – Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and author (d. 2002)
    • 1936 – Walter Bodmer, German-English geneticist and academic
    • 1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1937 – Daniel Walker Howe, American historian and academic
    • 1937 – Thomas Penfield Jackson, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 2013)
    • 1938 – Donald Knuth, American computer scientist and mathematician
    • 1938 – Frank Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player and politician
    • 1938 – Willie McCovey, American baseball player (d. 2018)
    • 1939 – Jared Carter, American poet and author
    • 1939 – David Horowitz, American activist and author
    • 1939 – William Levy, American-Dutch journalist, author, and poet
    • 1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
    • 1939 – Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
    • 1940 – K. J. Yesudas, Indian singer and music director
    • 1940 – Godfrey Hewitt, English geneticist and academic (d. 2013)
    • 1941 – Tom Clarke, Scottish politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
    • 1942 – Graeme Gahan, Australian footballer and coach
    • 1943 – Jim Croce, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
    • 1944 – Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American comics and fantasy artist (d. 2011)
    • 1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer and actor (d. 2016)
    • 1945 – John Fahey, New Zealand-Australian lawyer and politician, 38th Premier of New South Wales
    • 1945 – Rod Stewart, British singer-songwriter
    • 1945 – Gunther von Hagens, German anatomist, invented plastination
    • 1946 – Aynsley Dunbar, English drummer and songwriter
    • 1947 – George Alec Effinger, American author (d. 2002)
    • 1947 – James Morris, American opera singer
    • 1947 – Peer Steinbrück, German politician, German Minister of Finance
    • 1947 – Tiit Vähi, Estonian engineer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Estonia
    • 1948 – Donald Fagen, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1948 – Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist and sportscaster
    • 1949 – Kemal Derviş, Turkish economist and politician, Turkish Minister of Economy
    • 1949 – George Foreman, American boxer, actor, and businessman
    • 1949 – Linda Lovelace, American porn actress and activist (d. 2002)
    • 1950 – Roy Blunt, American academic and politician
    • 1952 – Scott Thurston, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer-songwriter
    • 1953 – Bobby Rahal, American race car driver
    • 1955 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist, songwriter, and producer
    • 1956 – Shawn Colvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1956 – Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish author
    • 1958 – Eddie Cheever, American race car driver
    • 1958 – Anatoly Pisarenko, Ukrainian weightlifter and trainer
    • 1959 – Chandra Cheeseborough, American sprinter and coach
    • 1959 – Chris Van Hollen, American lawyer and politician
    • 1959 – Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter and producer
    • 1960 – Gurinder Chadha, Kenyan-English director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1960 – Brian Cowen, Irish lawyer and politician, 12th Taoiseach of Ireland
    • 1960 – John Mann, English lawyer and politician
    • 1960 – Benoît Pelletier, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1961 – Janet Jones, American actress
    • 1961 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian-American violinist, author, and educator
    • 1962 – Michael Fortier, Canadian lawyer and politician
    • 1962 – Kathryn S. McKinley, American computer scientist and academic
    • 1963 – Malcolm Dunford, New Zealand-Australian footballer
    • 1963 – Kira Ivanova, Russian figure skater (d. 2001)
    • 1964 – Brad Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1967 – Maciej Śliwowski, Polish footballer
    • 1969 – Simone Bagel-Trah, German businessperson
    • 1970 – Buff Bagwell, American wrestler and actor
    • 1970 – Alisa Marić, Serbian chess player and politician, Serbian Minister of Youth and Sports
    • 1972 – Mohammed Benzakour, Moroccan-Dutch journalist, poet, and author
    • 1973 – Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
    • 1973 – Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican-American boxer
    • 1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand comedian, actor, and musician
    • 1974 – Davide Dionigi, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Steve Marlet, French footballer, forward and coach
    • 1974 – Bob Peeters, Belgian footballer and manager
    • 1974 – Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
    • 1975 – Jake Delhomme, American football player
    • 1976 – Adam Kennedy, American baseball player
    • 1976 – Ian Poulter, English golfer
    • 1978 – Johan van der Wath, South African cricketer
    • 1979 – Simone Cavalli, Italian footballer
    • 1980 – Sarah Shahi, American actress
    • 1980 – DeShaun Foster, American football player
    • 1981 – James Coppinger, English footballer
    • 1981 – Jared Kushner, American real estate investor and political figure
    • 1982 – Julien Brellier, French footballer
    • 1982 – Tomasz Brzyski, Polish footballer
    • 1984 – Marouane Chamakh, Moroccan footballer
    • 1984 – Trent Cutler, Australian rugby league player
    • 1984 – Ariane Friedrich, German high jumper
    • 1984 – Kalki Koechlin, Indian actress
    • 1986 – Kirsten Flipkens, Belgian tennis player
    • 1986 – Hideaki Ikematsu, Japanese footballer
    • 1986 – Kenneth Vermeer, Dutch footballer
    • 1987 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
    • 1988 – Leonard Patrick Komon, Kenyan runner
    • 1988 – Vladimir Zharkov, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1989 – Emily Meade, American actress
    • 1989 – Kyle Reimers, Australian footballer
    • 1990 – Mirko Bortolotti, Italian racing driver
    • 1990 – Ishiura Masakatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler
    • 1990 – Cody Walker, Australian rugby league player
    • 1990 – John Carlson, American ice hockey player
    • 1991 – Chad Townsend, Australian rugby league player

    Deaths on January 10

    • 259 – Polyeuctus, Roman saint
    • 314 – Miltiades, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 681 – Agatho, pope of the Catholic Church
    • 976 – John I Tzimiskes, Byzantine emperor (b. 925)
    • 987 – Pietro I Orseolo, doge of Venice (b. 928)
    • 1055 – Bretislav I, duke of Bohemia
    • 1094 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Egyptian caliph (b. 1029)
    • 1218 – Hugh I, king of Cyprus
    • 1276 – Gregory X, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1210)
    • 1322 – Petrus Aureolus, scholastic philosopher
    • 1358 – Abu Inan Faris, Marinid ruler of Morocco (b. 1329)
    • 1552 – Johann Cochlaeus, German humanist and controversialist (b. 1479)
    • 1645 – William Laud, English archbishop and academic (b. 1573)
    • 1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, physician, and astrologer (b. 1616)
    • 1698 – Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, French priest and historian (b. 1637)
    • 1754 – Edward Cave, English publisher, founded The Gentleman’s Magazine (b. 1691)
    • 1761 – Edward Boscawen, English admiral and politician (b. 1711)
    • 1778 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist and physician (b. 1707)
    • 1794 – Georg Forster, German-Polish ethnologist and journalist (b. 1754)
    • 1811 – Joseph Chénier, French poet, playwright, and politician (b. 1764)
    • 1824 – Victor Emmanuel I, duke of Savoy and king of Sardinia (b. 1759)
    • 1828 – François de Neufchâteau, French poet, academic, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (b. 1750)
    • 1829 – Gregorio Funes, Argentinian clergyman, historian, and educator (b. 1749)
    • 1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1752)
    • 1843 – Dimitrie Macedonski, Greek-Romanian captain and politician (b. 1780)
    • 1851 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775)
    • 1855 – Mary Russell Mitford, English author and playwright (b. 1787)
    • 1862 – Samuel Colt, American engineer and businessman, founded Colt’s Manufacturing Company (b. 1814)
    • 1863 – Lyman Beecher, American minister and activist, co-founded the American Temperance Society (b. 1775)
    • 1895 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American chemist, physicist, and academic (b. 1836)
    • 1895 – Benjamin Godard, French violinist and composer (b. 1849)
    • 1901 – James Robert Dickson, English-Australian businessman and politician, 1st Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1832)
    • 1904 – Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
    • 1905 – Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (b. 1835)
    • 1917 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846)
    • 1917 – Feliks Leparsky, Russian fencer and captain (b. 1875)
    • 1920 – Sali Nivica, Albanian journalist and politician (b. 1890)
    • 1922 – Frank Tudor, Australian politician, 6th Australian Minister for Trade and Investment (b. 1866)
    • 1926 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet and journalist (b. 1878)
    • 1935 – Edwin Flack, Australian tennis player and runner (b. 1873)
    • 1935 – Charlie McGahey, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1871)
    • 1941 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (b. 1879)
    • 1941 – John Lavery, Irish painter and academic (b. 1856)
    • 1941 – Joe Penner, Hungarian-American actor (b. 1904)
    • 1941 – Issai Schur, Belarusian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1875)
    • 1949 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (b. 1865)
    • 1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
    • 1951 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist and academic (b. 1890)
    • 1954 – Chester Wilmot, American journalist and historian (b. 1911)
    • 1956 – Zonia Baber, American geographer and geologist (b. 1862)
    • 1957 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
    • 1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American novelist (b. 1867)
    • 1959 – Şükrü Kaya, Turkish jurist and politician, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
    • 1960 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1879)
    • 1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American detective novelist and screenwriter (b. 1894)
    • 1967 – Charles E. Burchfield, American painter (b. 1893)
    • 1968 – Ali Fuat Cebesoy, Turkish general and politician, 6th Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey (b. 1882)
    • 1969 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 2nd Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1891)
    • 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian pilot and astronaut (b. 1925)
    • 1971 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded Chanel (b. 1883)
    • 1971 – Ignazio Giunti, Italian race car driver (b. 1941)
    • 1972 – Aksel Larsen, Danish lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
    • 1976 – Howlin’ Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1910)
    • 1978 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist and author (b. 1924)
    • 1978 – Don Gillis, American composer and conductor (b. 1912)
    • 1978 – Hannah Gluckstein, British painter (b. 1895)
    • 1980 – Hughie Critz, American baseball player and scout (b. 1900)
    • 1980 – George Meany, American plumber and trade union leader (b. 1894)
    • 1980 – Bo Rein, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
    • 1981 – Fawn M. Brodie, American historian and author (b. 1915)
    • 1984 – Souvanna Phouma, Laotian politician, 8th Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
    • 1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech journalist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
    • 1987 – Marion Hutton, American singer (b. 1919)
    • 1987 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1904)
    • 1989 – Herbert Morrison, American journalist and producer (b. 1905)
    • 1990 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (b. 1925)
    • 1992 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1919)
    • 1995 – Kathleen Tynan, Canadian-English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
    • 1997 – Elspeth Huxley, Kenyan-English journalist and author (b. 1907)
    • 1997 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
    • 1997 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
    • 1999 – Edward Williams, Australian lieutenant, pilot, and judge (b. 1921)
    • 2000 – Sam Jaffe, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1901)
    • 2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1941)
    • 2005 – Wasyly, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop (b. 1909)
    • 2005 – Jack Horner, American journalist (b. 1912)
    • 2005 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (b. 1927)
    • 2007 – Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (b. 1912)
    • 2007 – Bradford Washburn, American explorer, photographer, and cartographer (b. 1910)
    • 2008 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater and actor (b. 1967)
    • 2008 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
    • 2010 – Patcha Ramachandra Rao, Indian metallurgist, educator and administrator (b. 1942)
    • 2011 – Margaret Whiting, American singer (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Jean Pigott, Canadian businesswoman and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Gevork Vartanian, Russian intelligence agent (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – George Gruntz, Swiss pianist and composer (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (b. 1936)
    • 2014 – Petr Hlaváček, Czech shoemaker and academic (b. 1950)
    • 2014 – Zbigniew Messner, Polish economist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Larry Speakes, American journalist, 16th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Junior Malanda, Belgian footballer (b. 1994)
    • 2015 – Taylor Negron, American actor, playwright, and painter (b. 1957)
    • 2015 – Francesco Rosi, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1922)
    • 2015 – Robert Stone, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1937)
    • 2016 – Wim Bleijenberg, Dutch footballer and manager (b. 1930)
    • 2016 – David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1947)
    • 2016 – George Jonas, Hungarian-Canadian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1935)
    • 2017 – Buddy Greco, American jazz and pop singer and pianist (b. 1926)
    • 2017 – Clare Hollingworth, English journalist (b. 1911)
    • 2020 – Qaboos bin Said, Ruler Of Oman (b. 1940)

    Holidays and observances on January 10

    • Christian feast day:
      • Gregory of Nyssa
      • Leonie Aviat
      • Obadiah (Coptic Church)
      • Peter Orseolo
      • Pope Agatho (Roman Catholic)
      • William Laud (Anglican Communion)
      • William of Donjeon
      • January 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Fête du Vodoun (Benin)
    • Margaret Thatcher Day (Falkland Islands)
    • Majority Rule Day (Bahamas)