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
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)
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)
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):