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

    This day is the midpoint of a common year because there are 182 days before and 182 days after it in common years, and 183 before and 182 after in leap years. The exact time of the middle of the year is at noon. In countries that use summertime the actual exact time of the midpoint in a common year is at 1:00 p.m for locations in the northern hemisphere or 11:00 a.m for locations in the southern hemisphere; this is when 182 days and 12 hours have elapsed and there are 182 days and 12 hours remaining. In a leap year in those countries, the middle of the year is at midnight. In countries that use summer time, the midpoint occurs at 1:00 a.m. on July 2, or 11:00 p.m. on July 1 in the southern hemisphere. This is due to summertime having advanced the time by one hour. It falls on the same day of the week as New Year’s Day in common years.

    • 437 – Emperor Valentinian III begins his reign over the Western Roman Empire. His mother Galla Placidia ends her regency, but continues to exercise political influence at the court in Rome.
    • 626 – Li Shimin, the future Emperor Taizong of Tang, ambushes and kills his rival brothers Li Yuanji and Li Jiancheng in the Xuanwu Gate Incident.
    • 706 – In China, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang inters the bodies of relatives in the Qianling Mausoleum, located on Mount Liang outside Chang’an.
    • 866 – Battle of Brissarthe: The Franks led by Robert the Strong are defeated by a joint Breton-Viking army.
    • 936 – King Henry the Fowler dies in his royal palace in Memleben. He is succeeded by his son Otto I, who becomes the ruler of East Francia.
    • 963 – The Byzantine army proclaims Nikephoros II Phokas Emperor of the Romans on the plains outside Cappadocian Caesarea.
    • 1298 – The Battle of Göllheim is fought between Albert I of Habsburg and Adolf of Nassau-Weilburg.
    • 1494 – The Treaty of Tordesillas is ratified by Spain.
    • 1504 – Bogdan III the One-Eyed becomes Voivode of Moldavia.
    • 1555 – Ottoman Admiral Turgut Reis sacks the Italian city of Paola.
    • 1561 – Menas, emperor of Ethiopia, defeats a revolt in Emfraz.
    • 1582 – Battle of Yamazaki: Toyotomi Hideyoshi defeats Akechi Mitsuhide.
    • 1613 – The first English expedition (from Virginia) against Acadia led by Samuel Argall takes place.
    • 1644 – English Civil War: Battle of Marston Moor.
    • 1645 – Battle of Alford: Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
    • 1698 – Thomas Savery patents the first steam engine.
    • 1776 – American Revolution: The Continental Congress adopts a resolution severing ties with the Kingdom of Great Britain although the wording of the formal Declaration of Independence is not published until July 4.
    • 1816 – The French frigate Méduse strikes the Bank of Arguin and 151 people on board have to be evacuated on an improvised raft, a case immortalised by Géricault’s painting The Raft of the Medusa.
    • 1822 – Thirty-five slaves, including Denmark Vesey, are hanged in South Carolina after being accused of organizing a slave rebellion.
    • 1823 – Bahia Independence Day: The end of Portuguese rule in Brazil, with the final defeat of the Portuguese crown loyalists in the province of Bahia.
    • 1839 – Twenty miles off the coast of Cuba, 53 kidnapped Africans led by Joseph Cinqué mutiny and take over the slave ship Amistad.
    • 1853 – The Russian Army crosses the Pruth river into the Danubian Principalities, Moldavia and Wallachia—providing the spark that will set off the Crimean War.
    • 1871 – Victor Emmanuel II of Italy enters Rome after having conquered it from the Papal States.
    • 1881 – Charles J. Guiteau shoots and fatally wounds U.S. President James A. Garfield (who will die of complications from his wounds on September 19).
    • 1890 – The U.S. Congress passes the Sherman Antitrust Act.
    • 1897 – British-Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi obtains a patent for radio in London.
    • 1900 – The first Zeppelin flight takes place on Lake Constance near Friedrichshafen, Germany.
    • 1900 – Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia receives its première performance in Helsinki with the Helsinki Philharmonic Society conducted by Robert Kajanus.
    • 1921 – World War I: U.S. President Warren G. Harding signs the Knox–Porter Resolution formally ending the war between the United States and Germany.
    • 1934 – The Night of the Long Knives ends with the death of Ernst Röhm.
    • 1937 – Amelia Earhart and navigator Fred Noonan are last heard from over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to make the first equatorial round-the-world flight.
    • 1940 – Indian independence leader Subhas Chandra Bose is arrested and detained in Calcutta.
    • 1940 – The SS Arandora Star is sunk by U-47 in the North Atlantic with the loss of over 800 lives, mostly civilians.
    • 1962 – The first Walmart store, then known as Wal-Mart, opens for business in Rogers, Arkansas.
    • 1964 – Civil rights movement: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1964 meant to prohibit segregation in public places.
    • 1966 – France conducts its first nuclear weapon test in the Pacific, on Moruroa Atoll.
    • 1976 – End of South Vietnam; Communist North Vietnam annexes the former South Vietnam to form the unified Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
    • 1986 – Rodrigo Rojas and Carmen Gloria Quintana are burnt alive during a street demonstration against the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet in Chile.
    • 1990 – In the 1990 Mecca tunnel tragedy, 1,400 Muslim pilgrims are suffocated to death and trampled upon in a pedestrian tunnel leading to the holy city of Mecca.
    • 1994 – USAir Flight 1016 crashes near Charlotte Douglas International Airport, killing 37 of the 57 people on board.
    • 1997 – The Bank of Thailand floats the baht, triggering the Asian financial crisis.
    • 2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is elected the first President of México from an opposition party, the Partido Acción Nacional, after more than 70 years of continuous rule by the Partido Revolucionario Institucional.
    • 2001 – The AbioCor self-contained artificial heart is first implanted.
    • 2002 – Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo around the world nonstop in a balloon.
    • 2005 – The Live 8 benefit concerts takes place in the G8 states and in South Africa. More than 1,000 musicians perform and are broadcast on 182 television networks and 2,000 radio networks.
    • 2008 – Colombian conflict: Íngrid Betancourt, a member of the Chamber of Representatives of Colombia, is released from captivity after being held for six and a half years by FARC.
    • 2010 – The South Kivu tank truck explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo kills at least 230 people.
    • 2013 – The International Astronomical Union names Pluto’s fourth and fifth moons, Kerberos and Styx.
    • 2013 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake strikes Aceh, Indonesia, killing at least 42 people and injuring 420 others.

    Births on July 2

    • 419 – Valentinian III, Roman emperor (d. 455)
    • 1363 – Maria, Queen of Sicily (d. 1401)
    • 1478 – Louis V, Elector Palatine (d. 1544)
    • 1486 – Jacopo Sansovino, Italian sculptor and architect (d. 1570)
    • 1489 – Thomas Cranmer, English archbishop, theologian, and saint (d. 1556)
    • 1492 – Elizabeth Tudor, English daughter of Henry VII of England (d. 1495)
    • 1500 – Federico Cesi (cardinal), Italian cardinal (d. 1565)
    • 1575 – Elizabeth de Vere, Countess of Derby, English noblewoman and head of state of the Isle of Man (d. 1627)
    • 1597 – Theodoor Rombouts, Flemish painter (d. 1637)
    • 1647 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1730)
    • 1648 – Arp Schnitger, German organ builder (d. 1719)
    • 1665 – Samuel Penhallow, English-American soldier and historian (d. 1726)
    • 1667 – Pietro Ottoboni, Italian cardinal and art collector (d. 1740)
    • 1714 – Christoph Willibald Gluck, German composer (d. 1787)
    • 1724 – Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock, German poet and author (d. 1803)
    • 1797 – Francisco Javier Echeverría, Mexican businessman and politician. President of Mexico (1841) (d. 1852)
    • 1819 – Charles-Louis Hanon, French pianist and composer (d. 1900)
    • 1820 – George Law Curry, American publisher and politician, 5th Governor of the Oregon Territory (d. 1878)
    • 1820 – Juan N. Méndez, Mexican general and interim president, 1876-1877 (d. 1894)
    • 1821 – Charles Tupper, Canadian physician and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1915)
    • 1825 – Émile Ollivier, French statesman (d. 1913)
    • 1834 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch economist and historian (d. 1917)
    • 1849 – Maria Theresa of Austria-Este (d. 1919)
    • 1862 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1942)
    • 1865 – Lily Braun, German author and publicist (d. 1916)
    • 1869 – Liane de Pougy, French-Swiss dancer and author (d. 1950)
    • 1876 – Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist and academic (d. 1933)
    • 1876 – Wilhelm Cuno, German businessman and politician, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1933)
    • 1877 – Hermann Hesse, German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1962)
    • 1877 – Rinaldo Cuneo, American artist (“the painter of San Francisco”) (d. 1939)
    • 1881 – Royal Hurlburt Weller, American lawyer and politician (d. 1929)
    • 1884 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist and author (d. 1931)
    • 1893 – Ralph Hancock, Welsh gardener and author (d. 1950)
    • 1900 – Tyrone Guthrie, English actor and director (d. 1971)
    • 1900 – Sophie Harris, English costume and scenic designer for theatre and opera (d. 1966)
    • 1902 – K. Kanapathypillai, Sri Lankan author and academic (d. 1968)
    • 1902 – Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, Dutch-French pianist (d. 1987)
    • 1903 – Alec Douglas-Home, English cricketer and politician, 66th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1995)
    • 1903 – Olav V of Norway (d. 1991)
    • 1904 – René Lacoste, French tennis player and businessman, created the polo shirt (d. 1996)
    • 1906 – Hans Bethe, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
    • 1906 – Károly Kárpáti, Hungarian Jewish wrestler (d. 1996)
    • 1906 – Séra Martin, French middle-distance runner (d. 1993)
    • 1908 – Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and jurist, 32nd Solicitor General of the United States (d. 1993)
    • 1911 – Reg Parnell, English race car driver and manager (d. 1964)
    • 1913 – Max Beloff, Baron Beloff, English historian and academic (d. 1999)
    • 1914 – Frederick Fennell, American conductor and educator (d. 2004)
    • 1914 – Ethelreda Leopold, American actress (d. 1988)
    • 1914 – Mário Schenberg, Brazilian physicist and engineer (d. 1990)
    • 1914 – Erich Topp, German admiral (d. 2005)
    • 1915 – Valerian Wellesley, 8th Duke of Wellington, British peer, politician and soldier (d. 2014)
    • 1916 – Ken Curtis, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
    • 1916 – Hans-Ulrich Rudel, German colonel and pilot (d. 1982)
    • 1916 – Reino Kangasmäki, Finnish wrestler (d. 2010)
    • 1916 – Zélia Gattai, Brazilian author and photographer (d. 2008)
    • 1917 – Leonard J. Arrington, American author and academic, founded the Mormon History Association (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Athos Bulcão, Brazilian painter and sculptor (d. 2008)
    • 1918 – Indumati Bhattacharya, Indian politician
    • 1919 – Jean Craighead George, American author (d. 2012)
    • 1920 – John Kneubuhl, Samoan-American historian, screenwriter, and playwright (d. 1992)
    • 1922 – Pierre Cardin, Italian-French fashion designer
    • 1922 – Paula Valenska, Czech actress
    • 1923 – Cyril M. Kornbluth, American soldier and author (d. 1958)
    • 1923 – Wisława Szymborska, Polish poet and translator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2012)
    • 1925 – Medgar Evers, American soldier and activist (d. 1963)
    • 1925 – Patrice Lumumba, Congolese politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (d. 1961)
    • 1925 – Marvin Rainwater, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
    • 1926 – Octavian Paler, Romanian journalist and politician (d. 2007)
    • 1927 – Lee Allen, American saxophone player (d. 1994)
    • 1927 – James Mackay, Baron Mackay of Clashfern, Scottish lawyer and politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
    • 1927 – Brock Peters, American actor (d. 2005)
    • 1929 – Imelda Marcos, Filipino politician; 10th First Lady of the Philippines
    • 1930 – Carlos Menem, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 50th President of Argentina
    • 1931 – Mohammad Yazdi, Iranian cleric
    • 1932 – Dave Thomas, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Wendy’s (d. 2002)
    • 1933 – Peter Desbarats, Canadian journalist, author, and playwright
    • 1933 – Kenny Wharram, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2017)
    • 1934 – Tom Springfield, English musician
    • 1935 – Gilbert Kalish, American pianist and educator
    • 1936 – Omar Suleiman, Egyptian general and politician, 16th Vice President of Egypt (d. 2012)
    • 1937 – Polly Holliday, American actress
    • 1937 – Richard Petty, American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1938 – David Owen, English physician and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
    • 1939 – Alexandros Panagoulis, Greek poet and politician (d. 1976)
    • 1939 – John H. Sununu, American engineer and politician, 14th White House Chief of Staff
    • 1939 – Paul Williams, American singer and choreographer (d. 1973)
    • 1940 – Kenneth Clarke, English politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
    • 1941 – William Guest, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2015)
    • 1941 – Wendell Mottley, Trinidadian sprinter, economist, and politician
    • 1942 – John Eekelaar, South African-English lawyer and scholar
    • 1942 – Vicente Fox, Mexican businessman and politician, 35th President of Mexico (2000-2006)
    • 1943 – Ivi Eenmaa, Estonian politician, 36th Mayor of Tallinn
    • 1943 – Larry Lake, American-Canadian trumpet player and composer (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Richard Axel, American neuroscientist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1946 – Ron Silver, American actor, director, and political activist (d. 2009)
    • 1947 – Larry David, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1947 – Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, English politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
    • 1948 – Mutula Kilonzo, Kenyan lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1949 – Greg Brown, American musician
    • 1949 – Robert Paquette, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1950 – Lynne Brindley, English librarian and academic
    • 1950 – Jon Trickett, English politician
    • 1952 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender rights activist (d. 2002)
    • 1952 – Anatoliy Solomin, Ukrainian race walker and coach
    • 1954 – Chris Huhne, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
    • 1955 – Kim Carr, Australian educator and politician, 31st Australian Minister for Human Services
    • 1956 – Jerry Hall, American model and actress
    • 1957 – Bret Hart, Canadian wrestler
    • 1957 – Jüri Raidla, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
    • 1957 – Purvis Short, American basketball player
    • 1958 – Pavan Malhotra, Indian actor
    • 1960 – Maria Lourdes Sereno, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 24th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines
    • 1961 – Clark Kellogg, American basketball player and sportscaster
    • 1962 – Neil Williams, English cricketer (d. 2006)
    • 1964 – Jose Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player and mixed martial artist
    • 1964 – Ozzie Canseco, Cuban-American baseball player, coach, and manager
    • 1964 – Joe Magrane, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Alan Tait, English-Scottish rugby player and coach
    • 1965 – Norbert Röttgen, German lawyer and politician
    • 1969 – Tim Rodber, English rugby player
    • 1970 – Derrick Adkins, American hurdler
    • 1970 – Steve Morrow, Northern Irish footballer and manager
    • 1971 – Troy Brown, American football player and actor
    • 1971 – Bryan Redpath, Scottish rugby player and coach
    • 1972 – Darren Shan, English author
    • 1974 – Sean Casey, American baseball player and sportscaster
    • 1975 – Éric Dazé, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1975 – Kristen Michal, Estonian lawyer and politician
    • 1975 – Erik Ohlsson, Swedish singer and guitarist
    • 1975 – Stefan Terblanche, South African rugby player
    • 1976 – Krisztián Lisztes, Hungarian footballer
    • 1976 – Tomáš Vokoun, Czech-American ice hockey player
    • 1977 – Deniz Barış, Turkish footballer
    • 1978 – Jüri Ratas, Estonian politician, 42nd Mayor of Tallinn
    • 1979 – Walter Davis, American triple jumper
    • 1979 – Ahmed al-Ghamdi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of United Airlines Flight 175 (d. 2001)
    • 1979 – Sam Hornish Jr., American race car driver
    • 1979 – Joe Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1980 – Nyjer Morgan, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Nathan Ellington, English footballer
    • 1981 – Carlos Rogers, American football player
    • 1983 – Michelle Branch, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1983 – Kyle Hogg, English cricketer
    • 1984 – Thomas Kortegaard, Danish footballer
    • 1984 – Johnny Weir, American figure skater
    • 1985 – Rhett Bomar, American football player
    • 1985 – Chad Henne, American football player
    • 1985 – Ashley Tisdale, American actress, singer, and producer
    • 1986 – Brett Cecil, American baseball player
    • 1986 – Lindsay Lohan, American actress and singer
    • 1987 – Esteban Granero, Spanish footballer
    • 1988 – Lee Chung-yong, South Korean footballer
    • 1989 – Nadezhda Grishaeva, Russian basketball player
    • 1989 – Alex Morgan, American soccer player
    • 1990 – Kayla Harrison, American judoka
    • 1990 – Merritt Mathias, American soccer player
    • 1990 – Morag McLellan, Scottish field hockey player
    • 1990 – Margot Robbie, Australian actress and producer
    • 1990 – Danny Rose, English footballer
    • 1990 – Bill Tupou, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1992 – Madison Chock, American ice dancer
    • 1993 – Vince Staples, American rapper and actor
    • 1994 – Henrik Kristoffersen, Norwegian skier
    • 1995 – Ryan Murphy, American swimmer
    • 1996 – Julia Grabher, Austrian tennis player

    Deaths on July 2

    • 626 – Li Jiancheng, Chinese prince (b. 589)
    • 626 – Li Yuanji, Chinese prince (b. 603)
    • 649 – Li Jing, Chinese general (b. 571)
    • 862 – Swithun, English bishop and saint (b. 789)
    • 866 – Robert the Strong, Frankish nobleman
    • 936 – Henry the Fowler, German king (b. 876)
    • 1215 – Eisai, Japanese Buddhist priest (b. 1141)
    • 1298 – Adolf of Germany (b. 1220)
    • 1504 – Stephen III of Moldavia (b. 1434)
    • 1566 – Nostradamus, French astrologer and author (b. 1503)
    • 1578 – Thomas Doughty, English explorer
    • 1582 – Akechi Mitsuhide, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1528)
    • 1591 – Vincenzo Galilei, Italian lute player and composer (b. 1520)
    • 1619 – Francis II, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (b. 1547)
    • 1621 – Thomas Harriot, English astronomer, mathematician, and ethnographer (b. 1560)
    • 1656 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-French general (b. 1611)
    • 1674 – Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1614)
    • 1743 – Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1673)
    • 1746 – Thomas Baker, English antiquarian and author (b. 1656)
    • 1778 – Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Swiss philosopher and composer (b. 1712)
    • 1833 – Gervasio Antonio de Posadas, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 1st Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (b. 1757)
    • 1843 – Samuel Hahnemann, German physician and academic (b. 1755)
    • 1850 – Robert Peel, English lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1788)
    • 1857 – Carlo Pisacane, Italian soldier and philosopher (b. 1818)
    • 1903 – Ed Delahanty, American baseball player (b. 1867)
    • 1912 – Tom Richardson, English cricketer (b. 1870)
    • 1914 – Joseph Chamberlain, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1836)
    • 1915 – Porfirio Díaz, Mexican general and politician, 29th President of Mexico (b. 1830)
    • 1920 – William Louis Marshall, American general and engineer (b. 1846)
    • 1926 – Émile Coué, French psychologist and pharmacist (b. 1857)
    • 1929 – Gladys Brockwell, American actress (b. 1894)
    • 1932 – Manuel II of Portugal (b. 1889)
    • 1950 – Thomas William Burgess, English swimmer and water polo player (b. 1872)
    • 1955 – Edward Lawson, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1873)
    • 1961 – Ernest Hemingway, American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
    • 1963 – Alicia Patterson, American publisher, co-founded Newsday (b. 1906)
    • 1964 – Fireball Roberts, American race car driver (b. 1929)
    • 1966 – Jan Brzechwa, Polish poet and author (b. 1900)
    • 1970 – Jessie Street, Australian suffragette and feminist (b. 1889)
    • 1972 – Joseph Fielding Smith, American religious leader, 10th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1876)
    • 1973 – Betty Grable, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1916)
    • 1973 – George McBride, American baseball player and manager (b. 1880)
    • 1973 – Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (b. 1892)
    • 1975 – James Robertson Justice, English actor (b. 1907)
    • 1977 – Vladimir Nabokov, Russian-born novelist and critic (b. 1899)
    • 1978 – Aris Alexandrou, Greek author and poet (b. 1922)
    • 1986 – Peanuts Lowrey, American baseball player and manager (b. 1917)
    • 1988 – Vibert Douglas, Canadian astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1894)
    • 1989 – Andrei Gromyko, Soviet economist and politician, Soviet Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1909)
    • 1990 – Snooky Lanson, American singer (b. 1914)
    • 1991 – Lee Remick, American actress (b. 1935)
    • 1993 – Fred Gwynne, American actor (b. 1926)
    • 1994 – Andrés Escobar, Colombian footballer (b. 1967)
    • 1995 – Lloyd MacPhail, Canadian businessman and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island (b. 1920)
    • 1997 – James Stewart, American actor (b. 1908)
    • 1999 – Mario Puzo, American author and screenwriter (b. 1920)
    • 2000 – Joey Dunlop, Northern Irish motorcycle racer (b. 1952)
    • 2002 – Ray Brown, American bassist and composer (b. 1926)
    • 2003 – Briggs Cunningham, American race car driver and businessman (b. 1907)
    • 2004 – Mochtar Lubis, Indonesian journalist and author (b. 1922)
    • 2005 – Ernest Lehman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Norm Prescott, American actor, composer, and producer, co-founded Filmation Studios (b. 1927)
    • 2006 – Jan Murray, American comedian, actor, and game show host (b. 1916)
    • 2007 – Beverly Sills, American operatic soprano and television personality (b. 1929)
    • 2008 – Natasha Shneider, Russian-American singer, keyboard player, and actress (b. 1956)
    • 2008 – Elizabeth Spriggs, English actress and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 2010 – Beryl Bainbridge, English screenwriter and author (b. 1932)
    • 2011 – Itamar Franco, Brazilian engineer and politician, 33rd President of Brazil (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Maurice Chevit, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1923)
    • 2012 – Julian Goodman, American journalist (b. 1922)
    • 2012 – Angelo Mangiarotti, Italian architect and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Betty Meggers, American archaeologist and academic (b. 1921)
    • 2012 – Ed Stroud, American baseball player (b. 1939)
    • 2013 – Anthony G. Bosco, American bishop (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Douglas Engelbart, American computer scientist, invented the computer mouse (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Armand Gaudreault, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1921)
    • 2013 – Anthony Llewellyn, Welsh-American chemist, academic, and astronaut (b. 1933)
    • 2014 – Emilio Álvarez Montalván, Nicaraguan ophthalmologist and politician (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Manuel Cardona, Spanish physicist and academic (b. 1934)
    • 2014 – Mary Innes-Ker, Duchess of Roxburghe (b. 1915)
    • 2014 – Harold W. Kuhn, American mathematician and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Louis Zamperini, American runner and World War II US Army Air Forces captain (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Ronald Davison, New Zealand lawyer and judge, 10th Chief Justice of New Zealand (b. 1920)
    • 2015 – Charlie Sanders, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
    • 2015 – Jim Weaver, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
    • 2015 – Jacobo Zabludovsky, Mexican journalist (b. 1928)
    • 2016 – Caroline Aherne, English actress and comedian (b. 1963)
    • 2016 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1939)
    • 2016 – Patrick Manning, 4th & 6th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago (b. 1946)
    • 2016 – Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor, activist, and author (b. 1928)
    • 2020 – Ángela Jeria, Chilean archaeologist (b. 1926)
    • 2020 – Byron Bernstein Reckful, gamer, Twitch streamer, investor (b. 1989)

    Holidays and observances on July 2

    • Christian feast day:
      • Aberoh and Atom (Coptic Church)
      • Bernardino Realino
      • Feast of the Visitation (Anglicanism; Levoča at Mariánska hora)
      • Monegundis
      • Otto of Bamberg
      • Oudoceus
      • Martinian and Processus
      • Pishoy (Coptic Church)
      • Stephen III of Moldavia
      • July 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which Unity Day can fall, while July 8 is the latest; celebrated on Tuesday following Heroes’ Day. (Zambia)
    • Flag Day (Curaçao)
    • Palio di Provenzano (Siena, Italy)
    • Police Day (Azerbaijan)

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

    • 532 – The Nika riots break out, during the racing season at the Hippodrome in Constantinople, as a result of discontent with the rule of the Emperor Justinian I.
    • 1435 – Sicut Dudum, forbidding the enslavement of the Guanche natives in Canary Islands by the Spanish, is promulgated by Pope Eugene IV.
    • 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, is sentenced to death for treason, on the grounds of having quartered his arms to make them similar to those of the King, Henry VIII of England.
    • 1793 – Nicolas Jean Hugon de Bassville, representative of Revolutionary France, lynched by a mob in Rome
    • 1797 – French Revolutionary Wars: A naval battle between a French ship of the line and two British frigates off the coast of Brittany ends with the French vessel running aground, resulting in over 900 deaths.
    • 1815 – War of 1812: British troops capture Fort Peter in St. Marys, Georgia, the only battle of the war to take place in the state.
    • 1822 – The design of the Greek flag is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
    • 1833 – United States President Andrew Jackson writes to Vice President Martin Van Buren expressing his opposition to South Carolina’s defiance of federal authority in the Nullification Crisis.
    • 1840 – The steamship Lexington burns and sinks four miles off the coast of Long Island with the loss of 139 lives.
    • 1842 – Dr. William Brydon, an assistant surgeon in the British East India Company Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, becomes famous for being the sole survivor of an army of 4,500 men and 12,000 camp followers when he reaches the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan.
    • 1847 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican–American War in California.
    • 1849 – Establishment of the Colony of Vancouver Island.
    • 1849 – Second Anglo-Sikh War – Battle of Chillianwala: British forces retreat from the Sikhs.
    • 1879 – In Mozart Gardens Brooklyn Ada Anderson completed a great feat of pedestrianism – 2700 quarter miles in 2700 quarter hours, earning her $8000.
    • 1888 – The National Geographic Society is founded in Washington, D.C.
    • 1893 – The Independent Labour Party of the United Kingdom holds its first meeting.
    • 1893 – U.S. Marines land in Honolulu, Hawaii from the USS Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.
    • 1895 – First Italo-Ethiopian War: the war’s opening battle, the Battle of Coatit, occurs; it is an Italian victory.
    • 1898 – Émile Zola’s J’accuse…! exposes the Dreyfus affair.
    • 1908 – The Rhoads Opera House fire in Boyertown, Pennsylvania kills 171 people.
    • 1910 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the operas Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci are sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.
    • 1915 – The 6.7 Mw  Avezzano earthquake shakes the Province of L’Aquila in Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 29,978–32,610.
    • 1920 – The Reichstag Bloodbath of January 13, 1920, the bloodiest demonstration in German history.
    • 1935 – A plebiscite in Saarland shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Nazi Germany.
    • 1939 – The Black Friday bushfires burn 20,000 square kilometers of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.
    • 1942 – Henry Ford patents a plastic automobile, which is 30% lighter than a regular car.
    • 1942 – World War II: First use of an aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.
    • 1950 – British submarine HMS Truculent collides with an oil tanker in the Thames Estuary, killing 64 men.
    • 1950 – Finland forms diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
    • 1951 – First Indochina War: The Battle of Vĩnh Yên begins.
    • 1953 – An article appears in Pravda accusing some of the most prestigious and prominent doctors, mostly Jews, in the Soviet Union of taking part in a vast plot to poison members of the top Soviet political and military leadership.
    • 1958 – The Moroccan Army of Liberation ambushes a Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.
    • 1963 – Coup d’état in Togo results in the assassination of president Sylvanus Olympio.
    • 1964 – Anti-Muslim riots break out in Calcutta, resulting in 100 deaths.
    • 1964 – In Manchester, New Hampshire, fourteen-year-old Pamela Mason is murdered. Edward Coolidge is tried and convicted of the crime, but the conviction is set aside by the landmark Fourth Amendment case Coolidge v. New Hampshire (1971).
    • 1966 – Robert C. Weaver becomes the first African American Cabinet member when he is appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.
    • 1968 – Johnny Cash performs live at Folsom State Prison.
    • 1972 – Prime Minister Kofi Abrefa Busia and President Edward Akufo-Addo of Ghana are ousted in a bloodless military coup by Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong.
    • 1978 – United States Food and Drug Administration requires all blood donations to be labeled “paid” or “volunteer” donors.
    • 1982 – Shortly after takeoff, Air Florida Flight 90, a Boeing 737 jet, crashes into Washington, D.C.’s 14th Street Bridge and falls into the Potomac River, killing 78 including four motorists.
    • 1985 – A passenger train plunges into a ravine in Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst railroad disaster in Africa.
    • 1986 – A month-long violent struggle begins in Aden, South Yemen between supporters of Ali Nasir Muhammad and Abdul Fattah Ismail, resulting in thousands of casualties.
    • 1988 – Lee Teng-hui becomes the first native Taiwanese President of the Republic of China.
    • 1990 – Douglas Wilder becomes the first elected African American governor as he takes office as Governor of Virginia in Richmond, Virginia.
    • 1991 – Soviet Union troops attack Lithuanian independence supporters in Vilnius, killing 14 people and wounding around 1000 others.
    • 1993 – Space Shuttle program: Endeavour heads for space for the third time as STS-54 launches from the Kennedy Space Center.
    • 1993 – The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is signed.
    • 1998 – Alfredo Ormando sets himself on fire in St. Peter’s Square, protesting against homophobia.
    • 2001 – An earthquake hits El Salvador, killing more than 800.
    • 2012 – The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia sinks off the coast of Italy due to the captain Francesco Schettino’s negligence and irresponsibility. There are 32 confirmed deaths.
    • 2018 – A false emergency alert warning of an impending missile strike in Hawaii caused widespread panic in the state.
    • 2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines spews lava fountains while erupting in the crater.

    Births on January 13

    • 5 BC – Guangwu of Han, Chinese emperor (d. 57)
    • 101 – Lucius Aelius, Roman adopted son of Hadrian (d. 138)
    • 915 – Al-Hakam II, Umayyad caliph (d. 976)
    • 1334 – Henry II, king of Castile and León (d. 1379)
    • 1338 – Jeong Mong-ju, Korean civil minister, diplomat and scholar (d. 1392)
    • 1400 – Infante John, Constable of Portugal (d. 1442)
    • 1477 – Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland (d. 1527)
    • 1505 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1571)
    • 1562 – Mark Alexander Boyd, Scottish poet and soldier (d. 1601)
    • 1596 – Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter and illustrator (d. 1656)
    • 1610 – Maria Anna of Bavaria, archduchess of Austria (d. 1665)
    • 1616 – Antoinette Bourignon, French-Flemish mystic and author (d. 1680)
    • 1651 – Henry Booth, 1st Earl of Warrington, English soldier and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1694)
    • 1683 – Christoph Graupner, German harpsichord player and composer (d. 1760)
    • 1720 – Richard Hurd, English bishop (d. 1808)
    • 1749 – Maler Müller, German poet, painter, and playwright (d. 1825)
    • 1787 – John Davis, American lawyer and politician, 14th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1854)
    • 1804 – Paul Gavarni, French illustrator (d. 1866)
    • 1805 – Thomas Dyer, American lawyer and politician, 18th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1862)
    • 1808 – Salmon P. Chase, American jurist and politician, 6th Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1873)
    • 1810 – Ernestine Rose, American suffragist, abolitionist, and freethinker (d. 1892)
    • 1812 – Victor de Laprade, French poet and critic (d. 1883)
    • 1832 – Horatio Alger, Jr., American novelist and journalist (d. 1899)
    • 1845 – Félix Tisserand, French astronomer and academic (d. 1896)
    • 1858 – Oskar Minkowski, Lithuanian-German biologist and academic (d. 1931)
    • 1859 – Kostis Palamas, Greek poet and playwright (d. 1943)
    • 1861 – Max Nonne, German neurologist and academic (d. 1959)
    • 1864 – Wilhelm Wien, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1928)
    • 1865 – Princess Marie of Orléans (d. 1908)
    • 1866 – Vasily Kalinnikov, Russian bassoon player and composer (d. 1901)
    • 1866 – George Gurdjieff, Russian-French mystic and philosopher (d. 1949)
    • 1869 – Prince Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Aosta (d. 1931)
    • 1870 – Ross Granville Harrison, American biologist and anatomist (d. 1959)
    • 1878 – Lionel Groulx, Canadian priest and historian (d. 1967)
    • 1881 – Essington Lewis, Australian engineer and businessman (d. 1961)
    • 1883 – Nathaniel Cartmell, American runner and coach (d. 1967)
    • 1885 – Alfred Fuller, Canadian-American businessman, founded the Fuller Brush Company (d. 1973)
    • 1886 – Art Ross, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1964)
    • 1887 – Sophie Tucker, Russian-born American singer and actress (d. 1966)
    • 1890 – Jüri Uluots, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 7th Prime Minister of Estonia (d. 1945)
    • 1892 – Ermanno Aebi, Italian-Swiss footballer (d. 1976)
    • 1893 – Charles Arnison, English lieutenant and pilot (d. 1974)
    • 1893 – Roy Cazaly, Australian footballer and coach (d. 1963)
    • 1893 – Clark Ashton Smith, American poet, sculptor, painter, and author (d. 1961)
    • 1893 – Chaim Soutine, Belarusian-French painter (d. 1943)
    • 1900 – Shimizugawa Motokichi, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1967)
    • 1900 – Gertrude Mary Cox, American mathematician (d. 1978)
    • 1901 – A. B. Guthrie, Jr., American novelist, screenwriter, historian (d. 1991)
    • 1901 – Mieczysław Żywczyński, Polish priest and historian (d. 1978)
    • 1902 – Karl Menger, Austrian-American mathematician from the Vienna Circle (d. 1985)
    • 1904 – Richard Addinsell, English composer (d. 1977)
    • 1904 – Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian-American violinist and composer (d. 1992)
    • 1904 – Dick Rowley, Irish footballer, centre forward (d. 1984)
    • 1905 – Kay Francis, American actress (d. 1968)
    • 1905 – Jack London, English sprinter and pianist (d. 1966)
    • 1906 – Zhou Youguang, Chinese linguist, sinologist, and academic (d. 2017)
    • 1909 – Helm Glöckler, German race car driver (d. 1993)
    • 1910 – Yannis Tsarouchis, Greek painter and illustrator (d. 1989)
    • 1911 – Joh Bjelke-Petersen, New Zealand-Australian farmer and politician, 31st Premier of Queensland (d. 2005)
    • 1914 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (d. 2006)
    • 1914 – Ted Willis, Baron Willis, English author, playwright, and screenwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1919 – Robert Stack, American actor (d. 2003)
    • 1921 – Necati Cumalı, Greek-Turkish author and poet (d. 2001)
    • 1921 – Dachine Rainer, American-English author and poet (d. 2000)
    • 1921 – Arthur Stevens, English footballer, outside right (d. 2007}
    • 1922 – Albert Lamorisse, French director and producer (d. 1970)
    • 1923 – Daniil Shafran, Russian cellist (d. 1997)
    • 1923 – Willem Slijkhuis, Dutch runner (d. 2003)
    • 1924 – Paul Feyerabend, Austrian-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1994)
    • 1924 – Roland Petit, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2011)
    • 1925 – Rosemary Murphy, American actress (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Vanita Smythe, American singer and actress (d. 1994)
    • 1925 – Ron Tauranac, Australian engineer and businessman
    • 1925 – Gwen Verdon, American actress and dancer (d. 2000)
    • 1926 – Michael Bond, English soldier and author, created Paddington Bear (d. 2017)
    • 1926 – Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American author and academic (d. 2003)
    • 1926 – Melba Liston, American trombonist and composer (d. 1999)
    • 1927 – Brock Adams, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Transportation (d. 2004)
    • 1927 – Liz Anderson, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
    • 1927 – Sydney Brenner, South African biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
    • 1929 – Joe Pass, American guitarist and composer (d. 1994)
    • 1930 – Frances Sternhagen, American actress
    • 1931 – Ian Hendry, English actor (d. 1984)
    • 1931 – Charles Nelson Reilly, American actor, comedian, director, game show panelist, and television personality (d. 2007)
    • 1932 – Barry Bishop, American mountaineer, photographer, and scholar (d. 1994)
    • 1933 – Tom Gola, American basketball player, coach, and politician (d. 2014)
    • 1935 – Rip Taylor, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
    • 1936 – Renato Bruson, Italian opera singer
    • 1937 – Guy Dodson, New Zealand-English biochemist and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Cabu, French cartoonist (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Daevid Allen, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Richard Anthony, Egyptian-French singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
    • 1938 – Dave Edwards, American captain and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1938 – Tord Grip, Swedish footballer and manager
    • 1938 – Anna Home, English screenwriter and producer
    • 1939 – Edgardo Cozarinsky, Argentinian author, screenwriter, and director
    • 1939 – Jacek Gmoch, Polish footballer and coach
    • 1939 – Cesare Maniago, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1940 – Edmund White, American novelist, memoirist, and essayist
    • 1941 – Pasqual Maragall, Spanish academic and politician, 127th President of the Generalitat de Catalunya
    • 1941 – Meinhard Nehmer, German bobsledder
    • 1943 – William Duckworth, American composer and author (d. 2012)
    • 1943 – Richard Moll, American actor
    • 1945 – Gordon McVie, English oncologist and author
    • 1945 – Peter Simpson, English footballer
    • 1946 – Ordal Demokan, Turkish physicist and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1946 – Eero Koivistoinen, Finnish saxophonist, composer, and conductor
    • 1947 – John Lees, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Jacek Majchrowski, Polish historian, lawyer, and politician
    • 1947 – Carles Rexach, Spanish footballer and coach
    • 1948 – Gaj Singh, Indian lawyer and politician
    • 1949 – Rakesh Sharma, Indian commander, pilot, and astronaut
    • 1949 – Brandon Tartikoff, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
    • 1950 – Clive Betts, English economist and politician
    • 1950 – Bob Forsch, American baseball player (d. 2011)
    • 1950 – Gholam Hossein Mazloumi, Iranian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
    • 1952 – Stephen Glover, English journalist, co-founded The Independent
    • 1953 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (d. 2012)
    • 1954 – Richard Blackford, English composer
    • 1954 – Trevor Rabin, South African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1955 – Paul Kelly, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
    • 1955 – Jay McInerney, American novelist and critic
    • 1955 – Anne Pringle, English diplomat, British Ambassador to Russia
    • 1957 – Claudia Emerson, American poet and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1957 – Mary Glindon, English lawyer and politician
    • 1957 – Mark O’Meara, American golfer
    • 1957 – Lorrie Moore, American short story writer
    • 1958 – Francisco Buyo, Spanish footballer and manager
    • 1958 – Juan Pedro de Miguel, Spanish handball player (d. 2016)
    • 1959 – Winnie Byanyima, Ugandan engineer, politician, and diplomat
    • 1960 – Eric Betzig, American physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1960 – Matthew Bourne, English choreographer and director
    • 1961 – Wayne Coyne, American singer-songwriter and musician
    • 1961 – Kelly Hrudey, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
    • 1961 – Julia Louis-Dreyfus, American actress, comedian, and producer
    • 1962 – Trace Adkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1962 – Paul Higgins, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1964 – Penelope Ann Miller, American actress
    • 1966 – Patrick Dempsey, American actor and race car driver
    • 1966 – Leo Visser, Dutch speed skater and pilot
    • 1968 – Mike Whitlow, English footballer and coach
    • 1969 – Stefania Belmondo, Italian skier
    • 1969 – Stephen Hendry, Scottish snooker player and journalist
    • 1970 – Frank Kooiman, Dutch footballer
    • 1970 – Marco Pantani, Italian cyclist (d. 2004)
    • 1970 – Shonda Rhimes, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1972 – Mark Bosnich, Australian footballer and sportscaster
    • 1972 – Nicole Eggert, American actress
    • 1972 – Vitaly Scherbo, Belarusian gymnast
    • 1973 – Nikolai Khabibulin, Russian ice hockey player
    • 1973 – Gigi Galli, Italian race driver
    • 1974 – Sergei Brylin, Russian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1975 – Rune Eriksen, Norwegian guitarist and composer
    • 1975 – Mailis Reps, Estonian academic and politician, 31st Estonian Minister of Education and Research
    • 1975 – Andrew Yang, American entrepreneur, founder of Venture for America, and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate
    • 1976 – Mario Yepes, Colombian footballer
    • 1977 – Orlando Bloom, English actor and producer
    • 1977 – Mi-Hyun Kim, South Korean golfer
    • 1977 – Elliot Mason, English trombonist and keyboard player
    • 1977 – James Posey, American basketball player and coach
    • 1978 – Nate Silver, American journalist and statistician, developed PECOTA
    • 1979 – Katy Brand, English actress and screenwriter
    • 1980 – Krzysztof Czerwiński, Polish organist and conductor
    • 1980 – Nils-Eric Johansson, Swedish footballer
    • 1980 – Akira Kaji, Japanese footballer
    • 1980 – Wolfgang Loitzl, Austrian ski jumper
    • 1980 – Mirko Soltau, German footballer
    • 1981 – Reggie Brown, American football player
    • 1981 – Darrell Rasner, American baseball player
    • 1981 – Yujiro Takahashi, Japanese wrestler
    • 1982 – Kamran Akmal, Pakistan cricketer
    • 1982 – Guillermo Coria, Argentinian tennis player
    • 1982 – Constantinos Makrides, Cypriot footballer
    • 1982 – Ruth Wilson, English actress
    • 1983 – Ender Arslan, Turkish basketball player
    • 1983 – Sebastian Kneißl, German footballer
    • 1983 – Mauricio Martín Romero, Argentinian footballer
    • 1984 – Matteo Cavagna, Italian footballer
    • 1984 – Kamghe Gaba, German sprinter
    • 1984 – Nick Mangold, American football player
    • 1985 – Luke Robinson, American wrestler
    • 1986 – Joannie Rochette, Canadian figure skater
    • 1987 – Stefano Del Sante, Italian footballer
    • 1987 – Jack Johnson, American ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Florica Leonida, Romanian gymnast
    • 1987 – Steven Michaels, Australian rugby league player
    • 1987 – Daniel Oss, Italian cyclist
    • 1987 – Marc Staal, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1987 – Sven Wetzel, German rugby player
    • 1988 – Josh Freeman, American football player
    • 1989 – Morgan Burnett, American football player
    • 1989 – Doug Martin, American football player
    • 1990 – Vincenzo Fiorillo, Italian footballer
    • 1990 – Liam Hemsworth, Australian actor
    • 1991 – Rob Kiernan, English-Irish footballer
    • 1992 – Adam Matthews, Welsh footballer
    • 1992 – Dinah Pfizenmaier, German tennis player
    • 1993 – Max Whitlock, English artistic gymnast
    • 1997 – Micah Hart, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1997 – Connor McDavid, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1997 – Ivan Provorov, Russian ice hockey player

    Deaths on January 13

    • 86 BC – Gaius Marius, Roman general and politician (b. 157 BC)
    • 533 – Remigius, French bishop and saint (b. 437)
    • 614 – Mungo, English-Scottish bishop and saint
    • 703 – Jitō, Japanese emperor (b. 645)
    • 858 – Æthelwulf, king of Wessex
    • 888 – Charles the Fat, Frankish king and emperor (b. 839)
    • 927 – Berno of Cluny, Frankish monk and abbot
    • 1001 – Fujiwara no Teishi, Japanese empress (b. 977)
    • 1147 – Robert de Craon, Grand Master of the Knights Templar
    • 1151 – Suger, French historian and politician (b. 1081)
    • 1177 – Henry II, count palatine and duke of Austria (b. 1107)
    • 1321 – Bonacossa Borri, Italian noblewoman (b. 1254)
    • 1330 – Frederick I, duke and king of Germany
    • 1363 – Meinhard III, German nobleman (b. 1344)
    • 1400 – Thomas le Despenser, 1st Earl of Gloucester, English politician (b. 1373)
    • 1599 – Edmund Spenser, English poet, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1552)
    • 1612 – Jane Dormer, English lady-in-waiting (b. 1538)
    • 1625 – Jan Brueghel the Elder, Flemish painter (b. 1568)
    • 1684 – Henry Howard, 6th Duke of Norfolk, English nobleman (b. 1628)
    • 1691 – George Fox, English religious leader, founded the Religious Society of Friends (b. 1624)
    • 1717 – Maria Sibylla Merian, German entomologist and illustrator (b. 1647)
    • 1775 – Johann Georg Walch, German theologian and author (b. 1693)
    • 1790 – Luc Urbain de Bouëxic, French admiral (b. 1712)
    • 1796 – John Anderson, Scottish philosopher and educator (b. 1726)
    • 1832 – Thomas Lord, English cricketer, founded Lord’s Cricket Ground (b. 1755)
    • 1838 – Ferdinand Ries, German pianist and composer (b. 1784)
    • 1860 – William Mason, American surgeon and politician (b. 1786)
    • 1864 – Stephen Foster, American composer and songwriter (b. 1826)
    • 1872 – William Scamp, English architect and engineer (b. 1801)
    • 1882 – Wilhelm Mauser, German engineer and businessman, co-founded the Mauser Company (b. 1834)
    • 1885 – Schuyler Colfax, American journalist and politician, 17th Vice President of the United States (b. 1823)
    • 1889 – Solomon Bundy, American lawyer and politician (b. 1823)
    • 1905 – George Thorn, Australian farmer and politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
    • 1906 – Alexander Stepanovich Popov, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1859)
    • 1907 – Jakob Hurt, Estonian theologist and linguist (b. 1839)
    • 1915 – Mary Slessor, Scottish-Nigerian missionary (b. 1848)
    • 1916 – Victoriano Huerta, Mexican military officer and president, 1913–1914 (b. 1850)
    • 1923 – Alexandre Ribot, French academic and politician, Prime Minister of France (b. 1842)
    • 1924 – Georg Hermann Quincke, German physicist and academic (b. 1834)
    • 1929 – Wyatt Earp, American police officer (b. 1848)
    • 1929 – H. B. Higgins, Irish-Australian judge and politician, 3rd Attorney-General for Australia (b. 1851)
    • 1934 – Paul Ulrich Villard, French physicist and chemist (b. 1860)
    • 1941 – James Joyce, Irish novelist, short story writer, and poet (b. 1882)
    • 1943 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (b. 1889)
    • 1956 – Lyonel Feininger, German-American painter and illustrator (b. 1871)
    • 1957 – A. E. Coppard English poet and short story writer (b. 1878)
    • 1958 – Jesse L. Lasky, American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures (b. 1880)
    • 1962 – Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (b. 1919)
    • 1963 – Sylvanus Olympio, Togolese businessman and politician, President of Togo (b. 1902)
    • 1967 – Anatole de Grunwald, Russian-English screenwriter and producer (b. 1910)
    • 1971 – Robert Still, English composer and educator (b. 1910)
    • 1973 – Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, Turkish screenwriter and producer (b. 1908)
    • 1974 – Raoul Jobin, Canadian tenor and educator (b. 1906)
    • 1974 – Salvador Novo, Mexican playwright and poet (b. 1904)
    • 1976 – Margaret Leighton, English actress (b. 1922)
    • 1977 – Henri Langlois, Turkish-French historian, co-founded the Cinémathèque Française (b. 1914)
    • 1978 – Hubert Humphrey, American pharmacist, academic, and politician, 38th Vice President of the United States (b. 1911)
    • 1978 – Joe McCarthy, American baseball player and manager (b. 1887)
    • 1979 – Donny Hathaway, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1945)
    • 1979 – Marjorie Lawrence, Australian-American soprano (b. 1907)
    • 1980 – Andre Kostelanetz, Russian-American conductor (b. 1901)
    • 1982 – Marcel Camus, French director and screenwriter (b. 1912)
    • 1983 – René Bonnet, French race car driver and engineer (b. 1904)
    • 1986 – Abdul Fattah Ismail, Yemeni educator and politician, 4th President of South Yemen (b. 1939)
    • 1986 – Kevin Longbottom, Australian rugby league player (b. 1940)
    • 1988 – Chiang Ching-kuo, Chinese politician, President of the Republic of China (b. 1910)
    • 1993 – Camargo Guarnieri, Brazilian composer and conductor (b. 1907)
    • 1995 – Max Harris, Australian journalist, poet, and author (b. 1921)
    • 2002 – Frank Shuster, Canadian actor, comedian, and screenwriter (b. 1916)
    • 2003 – Norman Panama, American director and screenwriter (b. 1914)
    • 2004 – Arne Næss, Jr., Norwegian businessman and mountaineer (b. 1937)
    • 2005 – Earl Cameron, Canadian journalist (b. 1915)
    • 2005 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and actress (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Frank Fixaris, American journalist and sportscaster (b. 1934)
    • 2006 – Marc Potvin, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1967)
    • 2007 – Michael Brecker, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1949)
    • 2007 – Danny Oakes, American race car driver (b. 1911)
    • 2008 – Johnny Podres, American baseball player and coach (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Dai Llewellyn, Welsh humanitarian activist and politician (b. 1946)
    • 2009 – Patrick McGoohan, Irish-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
    • 2009 – Mansour Rahbani, Lebanese poet, composer, and producer (b. 1925)
    • 2009 – W. D. Snodgrass, American poet (b. 1926)
    • 2009 – Nancy Bird Walton, Australian pilot (b. 1915)
    • 2010 – Teddy Pendergrass, American singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
    • 2011 – Albert Heijn, Dutch businessman (b. 1927)
    • 2012 – Rauf Denktaş, Turkish-Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Guido Dessauer, German physicist and engineer (b. 1915)
    • 2012 – Miljan Miljanić, Serbian footballer and manager (b. 1930)
    • 2013 – Diogenes Allen, American philosopher and theologian (b. 1932)
    • 2013 – Rodney Mims Cook, Sr., American lieutenant and politician (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Chia-Chiao Lin, Chinese-American mathematician and academic (b. 1916)
    • 2014 – Bobby Collins, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1931)
    • 2014 – Randal Tye Thomas, American journalist and politician (b. 1978)
    • 2014 – Waldemar von Gazen, German general and lawyer (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Mark Juddery, Australian journalist and author (b. 1971)
    • 2015 – Robert White, American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Paraguay (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – Brian Bedford, English-American actor and director (b. 1935)
    • 2016 – Giorgio Gomelsky, Georgian-American director, producer, songwriter, and manager (b. 1934)
    • 2016 – Lawrence Phillips, American football player (b. 1975)
    • 2017 – Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, English photographer and sometime member of the British royal family (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Dick Gautier, American actor (b. 1931)
    • 2017 – Magic Alex, Greek electronics engineer (b. 1942)
    • 2019 – Phil Masinga, South African footballer (b. 1969)

    Holidays and observances on January 13

    • Christian feast day:
      • Blessed Veronica of Milan
      • Elian
      • Hilary of Poitiers
      • Mungo
      • St. Knut’s Day or Tjugondag Knut, the last day of Christmas. (Sweden and Finland)
      • January 13 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Constitution Day (Mongolia)
    • Democracy Day (Cape Verde)
    • Korean-American Day (Korean-American community, United States)
    • Liberation Day (Togo)
    • Old New Year’s Eve (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Serbia, Montenegro, Republic of Srpska, North Macedonia), and its related observances:
      • Malanka (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus)
    • Sidereal winter solstice’s eve celebrations in South and Southeast Asian cultures; the last day of the six-month Dakshinayana period (see January 14):
      • Bhogi (Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu)
      • Lohri (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh)
      • Uruka (Assam)
    • Stephen Foster Memorial Day (United States)
    • Yennayer (Berbers)

  • January 8 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    January 8 in History

    • 307 – Jin Huaidi becomes emperor of China in succession to his father, Jin Huidi, despite a challenge from his uncle, Sima Ying
    • 871 – Alfred the Great leads a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings.
    • 1297 – François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, leads his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco
    • 1454 – The papal bull Romanus Pontifex awards the Kingdom of Portugal exclusive trade and colonization rights to all of Africa south of Cape Bojador
    • 1499 – Louis XII of France marries Anne of Brittany in accordance with a law set by his predecessor, Charles VIII.
    • 1547 – The first Lithuanian-language book, the Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas, is published in Königsberg.
    • 1735 – The premiere of George Frideric Handel’s Ariodante takes place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
    • 1746 – Second Jacobite rising: Bonnie Prince Charlie occupies Stirling.
    • 1790 – George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address in New York City.
    • 1806 – Cape Colony in southern Africa becomes a British colony as a result of the Battle of Blaauwberg.
    • 1811 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes in the north American settlements of St. Charles and St. James, Louisiana.
    • 1815 – War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British.
    • 1828 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organized.
    • 1835 – The United States national debt is zero for the only time.
    • 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Springfield.
    • 1867 – African American men are granted the right to vote in Washington, D.C.
    • 1877 – Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle against the United States Cavalry at Wolf Mountain, Montana Territory.
    • 1889 – Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the ‘Art of Applying Statistics’ — his punched card calculator.
    • 1904 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
    • 1912 – The African National Congress is founded, under the name South African Native National Congress (SANNC).
    • 1918 – U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces his “Fourteen Points” for the aftermath of World War I.
    • 1920 – The steel strike of 1919 ends in failure for the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers labor union.
    • 1926 – Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuỵ ascends the throne to become the last monarch of Vietnam.
    • 1926 – Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
    • 1936 – Kashf-e hijab decree is made and immediately enforced by Reza Shah, Iran’s head of state, banning the wearing of Islamic veils in public.
    • 1940 – World War II: Britain introduces food rationing.
    • 1945 – World War II: Philippine Commonwealth troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units enter the province of Ilocos Sur in Northern Luzon and attack Japanese Imperial forces.
    • 1956 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Huaorani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.
    • 1959 – Charles de Gaulle is proclaimed as the first President of the French Fifth Republic.
    • 1961 – In France a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle’s policies in Algeria.
    • 1963 – Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
    • 1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a “War on Poverty” in the United States.
    • 1972 – Bowing to international pressure, President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto releases Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison, who had been arrested after declaring the independence of Bangladesh.
    • 1973 – Soviet space mission Luna 21 is launched.
    • 1973 – Watergate scandal: The trial of seven men accused of illegal entry into Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate begins.
    • 1975 – Ella T. Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first woman to serve as a Governor in the United States other than by succeeding her husband.
    • 1977 – Three bombs explode in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
    • 1981 – A local farmer reports a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence, France, claimed to be “perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time”.
    • 1982 – Breakup of the Bell System: AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions.
    • 1989 – Kegworth air disaster: British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737-400, crashes into the M1 motorway, killing 47 of the 126 people on board.
    • 1994 – Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He would stay on the space station until March 22, 1995, for a record 437 days in space.
    • 1996 – An Antonov An-32 cargo aircraft crashes into a crowded market in Kinshasa, Zaire, killing up to 223 on the ground; two of six crew members are also killed.
    • 2002 – President George W. Bush signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act.
    • 2003 – Turkish Airlines Flight 634 crashes near Diyarbakır Airport, Turkey, killing the entire crew and 70 of the 75 passengers.
    • 2003 – Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte-Douglas Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people on board.
    • 2004 – The RMS Queen Mary 2, then the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by her namesake’s granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
    • 2005 – The nuclear sub USS San Francisco collides at full speed with an undersea mountain south of Guam. One man is killed, but the sub surfaces and is repaired.
    • 2009 – A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in northern Costa Rica kills 15 people and injures 32.
    • 2010 – Gunmen from an offshoot the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda attack a bus carrying the Togo national football team on its way to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, killing three.
    • 2011 – The attempted assassination of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords and subsequent shooting in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in which five people were shot dead.
    • 2016 – Joaquín Guzmán, widely regarded as the world’s most powerful drug trafficker, is recaptured following his escape from a maximum security prison in Mexico.
    • 2020 – Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashes immediately after takeoff at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport; all 176 on board are killed. The plane was shot down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile.

    Births on January 8

    • 1037 – Su Dongpo, Chinese calligrapher and poet (d. 1101)
    • 1345 – Kadi Burhan al-Din, poet, kadi, and ruler of Sivas (d. 1398)
    • 1462 – Walraven II van Brederode, Dutch nobleman (d. 1531)
    • 1529 – John Frederick II, duke of Saxony (d. 1595)
    • 1556 – Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese daimyō (d. 1623)
    • 1583 – Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1643)
    • 1587 – Johannes Fabricius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1616)
    • 1587 – Jan Pieterszoon Coen, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1629
    • 1589 – Ivan Gundulić, Croatian poet and playwright (d. 1638)
    • 1601 – Baltasar Gracián, Spanish priest and author (d. 1658)
    • 1628 – François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (d. 1695)
    • 1632 – Samuel von Pufendorf, German economist and jurist (d. 1694)
    • 1635 – Luis Manuel Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish cardinal (d. 1709)
    • 1638 – Elisabetta Sirani, Italian painter (d. 1665)
    • 1735 – John Carroll, American archbishop, founder of Georgetown University (d. 1815)
    • 1763 – Edmond-Charles Genêt, French-American translator and diplomat (d. 1834)
    • 1786 – Nicholas Biddle, American banker and financier (d. 1844)
    • 1788 – Rudolf of Austria, Austrian archduke and archbishop (d. 1831)
    • 1792 – Lowell Mason, American composer and educator (d. 1872)
    • 1805 – John Bigler, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, 3rd Governor of California (d. 1871)
    • 1805 – Orson Hyde, American religious leader, 3rd President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (d. 1878)
    • 1812 – Sigismond Thalberg, Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1871)
    • 1817 – Theophilus Shepstone, English-South African politician (d. 1893)
    • 1821 – James Longstreet, American general and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Turkey (d. 1904)
    • 1823 – Alfred Russel Wallace, Welsh geographer, biologist, and explorer (d. 1913)
    • 1824 – Wilkie Collins, English novelist, playwright, and short story writer (d. 1889)
    • 1824 – Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet and composer (d. 1861)
    • 1830 – Hans von Bülow, German pianist and composer (d. 1894)
    • 1836 – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-English painter and academic (d. 1912)
    • 1843 – Frederick Abberline, English police officer (d. 1929)
    • 1843 – Karl Eduard Heusner, German admiral (d. 1891)
    • 1852 – James Milton Carroll, American pastor and author (d. 1931)
    • 1854 – Fanny Bullock Workman, American mountaineer, geographer, and cartographer (d. 1925)
    • 1860 – Emma Booth, English author (d. 1903)
    • 1862 – Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher, founded the Doubleday Publishing Company (d. 1934)
    • 1864 – Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (d. 1892)
    • 1865 – Winnaretta Singer, American philanthropist (d. 1943)
    • 1866 – William G. Conley, American educator and politician, 18th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1940)
    • 1867 – Emily Greene Balch, American economist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961)
    • 1870 – Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1930)
    • 1871 – James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, Irish captain and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 1940)
    • 1873 – Iuliu Maniu, Romanian lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1953)
    • 1876 – Arturs Alberings, Latvian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Latvia (d. 1934)
    • 1879 – Charles Bryant, English-American actor and director (d. 1948)
    • 1881 – Henrik Shipstead, American dentist and politician (d. 1960)
    • 1881 – Linnie Marsh Wolfe, American librarian and author (d. 1945)
    • 1883 – Pavel Filonov, Russian painter and poet (d. 1941)
    • 1883 – Patrick J. Hurley, American general, politician, and diplomat, 51st United States Secretary of War (d. 1963)
    • 1885 – John Curtin, Australian journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1945)
    • 1885 – Mór Kóczán, Hungarian javelin thrower and pastor (d. 1972)
    • 1885 – A. J. Muste, Dutch-American pastor and activist (d. 1967)
    • 1888 – Richard Courant, German-American mathematician and academic (d. 1972)
    • 1891 – Walther Bothe, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
    • 1891 – Storm Jameson, English journalist and author (d. 1986)
    • 1891 – Bronislava Nijinska, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1972) name=”Jöckle1995″>Clemens Jöckle (1995). Encyclopedia of Saints. Alpine Fine Arts Collection. p. 319. ISBN 978-0-88168-226-7.</ref>
    • 1896 – Jaromír Weinberger, Czech-American composer and academic (d. 1967)
    • 1897 – Dennis Wheatley, English soldier and author (d. 1977)
    • 1899 – S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (d. 1959)
    • 1900 – Dorothy Adams, American character actress (d. 1988)
    • 1900 – Merlyn Myer, Australian philanthropist (d. 1982)
    • 1902 – Georgy Malenkov, Russian engineer and politician (d. 1988)
    • 1902 – Carl Rogers, American psychologist and academic (d. 1987)
    • 1904 – Karl Brandt, German physician and SS officer (d. 1948)
    • 1904 – Tampa Red, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1981)
    • 1905 – Carl Gustav Hempel, German philosopher from the Vienna and the Berlin Circle (d. 1997)
    • 1905 – Giacinto Scelsi, Italian composer and poet (d. 1988)
    • 1906 – Serge Poliakoff, Russian-French painter (d. 1969)
    • 1907 – Keizō Hayashi, Japanese general and civil servant (d. 1991)
    • 1908 – Fearless Nadia, Australian-Indian actress and stuntwoman (d. 1996)
    • 1908 – William Hartnell, English actor (d. 1975)
    • 1909 – Ashapoorna Devi, Indian author and poet (d. 1995)
    • 1909 – Willy Millowitsch, German actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1999)
    • 1909 – Bruce Mitchell, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
    • 1909 – Evelyn Wood, American author and educator (d. 1995)
    • 1910 – Galina Ulanova, Russian actress and ballerina (d. 1998)
    • 1911 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress, dancer, and author (d. 1970)
    • 1912 – José Ferrer, Puerto Rican-American actor and director (d. 1992)
    • 1912 – Lawrence Walsh, Canadian-American lawyer, judge, and politician, 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (d. 2014)
    • 1915 – Walker Cooper, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991)
    • 1917 – Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor, American novelist, short story writer, and playwright (d. 1994)
    • 1922 – Dale D. Myers, American engineer (d. 2015)
    • 1923 – Larry Storch, American actor and comedian
    • 1923 – Giorgio Tozzi, American opera singer and actor (d. 2011)
    • 1923 – Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (d. 1985)
    • 1923 – Joseph Weizenbaum, German-American computer scientist and author (d. 2008)
    • 1924 – Benjamin Lees, Chinese-American soldier and composer (d. 2010)
    • 1924 – Ron Moody, English actor and singer (d. 2015)
    • 1925 – Mohan Rakesh, Indian author and playwright (d. 1972)
    • 1926 – Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano (d. 2012)
    • 1926 – Lazzaro Donati, Italian artist (d. 1977)
    • 1926 – Kerwin Mathews, American actor (d. 2007)
    • 1926 – Kelucharan Mohapatra, Indian dancer and choreographer (d. 2004)
    • 1926 – Hanae Mori, Japanese fashion designer
    • 1926 – Soupy Sales, American comedian and actor (d. 2009)
    • 1927 – Charles Tomlinson, English poet and academic (d. 2015)
    • 1928 – Slade Gorton, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 14th Attorney General of Washington
    • 1928 – Gaston Miron, Canadian poet and author (d. 1996)
    • 1928 – Luther Perkins, American country guitarist (d. 1968)
    • 1929 – Saeed Jaffrey, Indian-British actor (d. 2015)
    • 1931 – Bill Graham, German-American businessman (d. 1991)
    • 1931 – Clarence Benjamin Jones, American lawyer and scholar
    • 1933 – Nolan Miller, American fashion and jewelry designer (d. 2012)
    • 1933 – Charles Osgood, American soldier and journalist
    • 1933 – Jean-Marie Straub, French director and screenwriter
    • 1933 – Willie Tasby, American baseball player
    • 1934 – Jacques Anquetil, French cyclist (d. 1987)
    • 1934 – Gene Freese, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
    • 1934 – Roy Kinnear, British actor (d. 1988)
    • 1934 – Alexandra Ripley, American author (d. 2004)
    • 1935 – Lewis H. Lapham, American publisher, founded Lapham’s Quarterly
    • 1935 – Elvis Presley, American singer, guitarist, and actor (d. 1977)
    • 1936 – Zdeněk Mácal, Czech-American conductor
    • 1936 – Robert May, Baron May of Oxford, Australian-English zoologist, ecologist, and academic (d. 2020)
    • 1937 – Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer
    • 1938 – Bob Eubanks, American game show host and producer
    • 1938 – Yevgeny Nesterenko, Russian opera singer and educator
    • 1939 – Carolina Herrera, Venezuelan-American fashion designer
    • 1939 – Ruth Maleczech, American actress (d. 2013)
    • 1939 – Alan Wilson, English mathematician and academic
    • 1940 – Mark Bretscher, English biologist and academic
    • 1940 – Cristy Lane, American country and gospel singer
    • 1941 – Graham Chapman, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1989)
    • 1942 – Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author (d. 2018)
    • 1942 – Junichirō Koizumi, Japanese politician, 56th Prime Minister of Japan
    • 1942 – Yvette Mimieux, American actress
    • 1942 – Royce Waltman, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1943 – Charles Murray, American political scientist and author
    • 1944 – Terry Brooks, American lawyer and author
    • 1945 – Nancy Bond, American author and academic
    • 1945 – Phil Beal, English footballer, defender
    • 1945 – Kadir Topbaş, Turkish architect and politician, 31st Mayor of Istanbul
    • 1946 – Robby Krieger, American guitarist and songwriter
    • 1946 – Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo, Mexican drug lord
    • 1947 – Don Bendell, American rancher and author
    • 1947 – David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2016)
    • 1947 – David Gates, American journalist and novelist
    • 1947 – Antti Kalliomäki, Finnish pole vaulter and politician
    • 1947 – Luke Williams, New Zealand-American wrestler
    • 1948 – Gillies MacKinnon, Scottish director and screenwriter
    • 1949 – Lawrence Rowe, Jamaican cricketer
    • 1951 – Kenny Anthony, Saint Lucian politician, 5th Prime Minister of Saint Lucia
    • 1951 – Karen Tei Yamashita, American author and academic
    • 1952 – Vladimir Feltsman, Russian-American pianist and educator
    • 1952 – Peter McCullagh, Irish mathematician and academic
    • 1953 – Bruce Sutter, American baseball player
    • 1954 – Konstantinos Kypriotis, Greek martial artist (d. 1995)
    • 1955 – Spiros Livathinos, Greek footballer and coach
    • 1955 – Mike Reno, Canadian singer and drummer
    • 1957 – Nacho Duato, Spanish dancer and choreographer
    • 1958 – Betsy DeVos, American businesswoman and politician, 11th Secretary of Education
    • 1958 – Rey Misterio, Sr., Mexican wrestler, trainer, and actor
    • 1959 – Kim Duk-koo, South Korean boxer (d. 1982)
    • 1959 – Paul Hester, Australian drummer (d. 2005)
    • 1960 – Dave Weckl, American drummer
    • 1961 – Calvin Smith, American sprinter
    • 1966 – Willie Anderson, American basketball player
    • 1966 – Igor Vyazmikin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2009)
    • 1966 – Andrew Wood, American singer-songwriter (d. 1990)
    • 1967 – Torsten Gowitzke, German footballer and manager
    • 1967 – Steven Jacobs, Australian television host and actor
    • 1967 – R. Kelly, American singer-songwriter, record producer, and former professional basketball player
    • 1967 – Tom Watson, English politician
    • 1971 – Jason Giambi, American baseball player
    • 1971 – Jesper Jansson, Swedish footballer
    • 1971 – Pascal Zuberbühler, Swiss footballer and coach
    • 1972 – Paul Clement, English footballer, coach, and manager
    • 1972 – Giuseppe Favalli, Italian footballer
    • 1973 – Mike Cameron, American baseball player
    • 1975 – Harris Jayaraj, Indian composer and producer
    • 1976 – Kenneth Andam, Ghanaian sprinter and businessman
    • 1976 – Carl Pavano, American baseball player
    • 1977 – Amber Benson, American actress, writer, director, and producer
    • 1977 – Francesco Coco, Italian footballer
    • 1979 – Seol Ki-hyeon, South Korean footballer and manager
    • 1979 – Adrian Mutu, Romanian footballer
    • 1979 – Stipe Pletikosa, Croatian footballer
    • 1979 – Sarah Polley, Canadian actress, director, and screenwriter
    • 1980 – Adam Goodes, Australian footballer
    • 1980 – Rachel Nichols, American actress and producer
    • 1981 – Jeff Francis, Canadian baseball player
    • 1981 – Trent Waterhouse, Australian rugby league player
    • 1982 – Gaby Hoffmann, American actress
    • 1983 – Jon Daly, Irish footballer
    • 1984 – Jeff Francoeur, American baseball player
    • 1984 – Jeon Ji-ae, South Korean actress
    • 1984 – Kim Jong-un, North Korean soldier and politician, 3rd Supreme Leader of North Korea (probable)
    • 1986 – David Silva, Spanish footballer
    • 1988 – Adrián López, Spanish footballer
    • 1988 – Michael Mancienne, English footballer
    • 1989 – Aaron Cruden, New Zealand rugby player
    • 1991 – Josh Hazlewood, Australian cricketer
    • 1991 – Stefan Johansen, Norwegian footballer
    • 1991 – Stefan Savić, Montenegrin footballer
    • 1991 – Shin Ji-min, South Korean singer and rapper
    • 1992 – Stefanie Dolson, American basketball player
    • 1992 – Koke, Spanish footballer
    • 1992 – Apostolos Vellios, Greek footballer

    Deaths on January 8

    • 307 – Hui of Jin, Chinese emperor (b. 259)
    • 482 – Severinus of Noricum, Italian apostle and saint
    • 871 – Bagsecg, Viking warrior and leader
    • 926 – Athelm, archbishop of Canterbury
    • 1079 – Adèle of France, countess of Flanders (b. 1009)
    • 1107 – Edgar, king of Scotland (b. 1074)
    • 1198 – Celestine III, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1106)
    • 1332 – Andronikos III, emperor of Trebizond
    • 1337 – Giotto, Italian painter and architect, designed Scrovegni Chapel and Giotto’s Campanile (b. 1266)
    • 1354 – Charles de La Cerda, French nobleman (b. 1327)
    • 1424 – Stephen Zaccaria, archbishop of Patras
    • 1456 – Lawrence Giustiniani, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1381)
    • 1464 – Thomas Ebendorfer, Austrian historian and academic (b. 1385)
    • 1538 – Beatrice of Portugal, duchess of Savoy (b. 1504)
    • 1557 – Albert Alcibiades, margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (b. 1522)
    • 1570 – Philibert de l’Orme, French sculptor and architect, designed the Château d’Anet (b. 1510)
    • 1598 – John George, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1525)
    • 1642 – Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (b. 1564)
    • 1664 – Moses Amyraut, French physician and theologian (b. 1596)
    • 1707 – John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, Scottish soldier and politician, Scottish Secretary of State (b. 1648)
    • 1713 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1653)
    • 1775 – John Baskerville, English printer and type designer (b. 1706)
    • 1789 – Jack Broughton, English boxer (b. 1703)
    • 1794 – Justus Möser, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1720)
    • 1815 – Edward Pakenham, Anglo-Irish general and politician (b. 1778)
    • 1825 – Eli Whitney, American engineer and theorist, invented the cotton gin (b. 1765)
    • 1853 – Mihály Bertalanits, Slovene-Hungarian poet and educator (b. 1788)
    • 1854 – William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, English field marshal and politician, Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance (b. 1768)
    • 1865 – Aimé, duc de Clermont-Tonnerre, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (b. 1779)
    • 1874 – Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, French historian and archaeologist (b. 1814)
    • 1878 – Nikolay Nekrasov, Russian poet and critic (b. 1821)
    • 1878 – Gauchito Gil, Argentinian saint (b. 1847)
    • 1880 – Emperor Norton, English-American businessman (b. 1811)
    • 1883 – Miska Magyarics, Slovene-Hungarian poet (b. 1825)
    • 1896 – William Rainey Marshall, American banker and politician, 5th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1825)
    • 1896 – Paul Verlaine, French poet and writer (b. 1844)
    • 1901 – John Barry, Irish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1873)
    • 1912 – Friedrich Schrempf, German journalist and politician (b. 1858)
    • 1914 – Simon Bolivar Buckner, American general and 30th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1823)
    • 1916 – Rembrandt Bugatti, Italian sculptor (b. 1884)
    • 1916 – Ada Rehan, Irish-American actress (b. 1860)
    • 1918 – Johannes Pääsuke, Estonian photographer and director (b. 1892)
    • 1918 – Ellis H. Roberts, American journalist and politician, 20th Treasurer of the United States (b. 1827)
    • 1920 – Josef Josephi, Polish-born singer and actor (b.1852)
    • 1925 – George Bellows, American painter (b.1882)
    • 1934 – Andrei Bely, Russian novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1880)
    • 1934 – Alexandre Stavisky, Ukrainian-French financier (b. 1886)
    • 1935 – Rauf Yekta, Turkish musicologist and author (b. 1871)
    • 1938 – Johnny Gruelle, American author and illustrator (b. 1880)
    • 1941 – Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, English general (b. 1857)
    • 1942 – Joseph Franklin Rutherford, American lawyer and religious leader (b. 1869)
    • 1943 – Richard Hillary, Australian pilot and author (b. 1919)
    • 1943 – Andres Larka, Estonian general and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of War (b. 1879)
    • 1944 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, American lieutenant and sailor (b. 1878)
    • 1945 – Karl Ernst Krafft, Swiss astrologer and author (b. 1900)
    • 1948 – Kurt Schwitters, German painter and graphic designer (b. 1887)
    • 1950 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech-American economist and academic (b. 1883)
    • 1952 – Antonia Maury, American astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1866)
    • 1953 – Hugh Binney, English admiral and politician, 16th Governor of Tasmania (b. 1883)
    • 1954 – Eduard Wiiralt, Estonian-French painter and illustrator (b. 1898)
    • 1956 – Jim Elliot, American missionary and martyr (b. 1928)
    • 1958 – Mary Colter, American architect, designed the Desert View Watchtower (b. 1869)
    • 1961 – Schoolboy Rowe, American baseball player and coach (b. 1910)
    • 1963 – Kay Sage, American painter (b. 1898)
    • 1969 – Albert Hill, English runner and coach (b. 1889)
    • 1969 – Elmar Kaljot, Estonian footballer and coach (b. 1901)
    • 1970 – Georges Guibourg, French actor, singer, and playwright (b. 1891)
    • 1972 – Kenneth Patchen, American poet and author (b. 1911)
    • 1975 – Richard Tucker, American tenor (b. 1913)
    • 1976 – Zhou Enlai, Chinese soldier and politician, 1st Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1898)
    • 1976 – Robert Forgan, Scottish-English physician and politician (b. 1891)
    • 1979 – Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter and harp player (b. 1898)
    • 1980 – John Mauchly, American physicist and academic (b. 1907)
    • 1981 – Matthew Beard, American actor (b. 1925)
    • 1982 – Grégoire Aslan, Swiss-English actor and screenwriter (b. 1908)
    • 1983 – Gerhard Barkhorn, German general and pilot (b. 1919)
    • 1983 – Tom McCall, American journalist and politician, 30th Governor of Oregon (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Gale Page, American actress (b. 1910)
    • 1984 – Eerik Kumari, Estonian ornithologist and academic (b. 1912)
    • 1986 – Pierre Fournier, French cellist and educator (b. 1906)
    • 1990 – Bernard Krigstein, American illustrator (b. 1919)
    • 1990 – Terry-Thomas, English actor and comedian (b. 1911)
    • 1991 – Steve Clark, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1960)
    • 1994 – Pat Buttram, American actor and comedian (b. 1915)
    • 1994 – Harvey Haddix, American baseball player and coach (b. 1925)
    • 1996 – Metin Göktepe, Turkish photographer and journalist (b. 1968)
    • 1996 – François Mitterrand, French sergeant and politician, 21st President of France (b. 1916)
    • 1996 – Howard Taubman, American author and critic (b. 1907)
    • 1997 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
    • 1998 – Michael Tippett, English composer and conductor (b. 1905)
    • 2002 – Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916)
    • 2002 – Dave Thomas, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Wendy’s (b. 1932)
    • 2003 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (b. 1925)
    • 2004 – John A. Gambling, American radio host (b. 1930)
    • 2006 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Northern Irish broadcaster and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics (b. 1943)
    • 2007 – Jane Bolin, American lawyer and judge (b. 1908)
    • 2007 – Arthur Cockfield, Baron Cockfield, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1916)
    • 2007 – Yvonne De Carlo, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1922)
    • 2007 – David Ervine, Northern Irish politician and activist (b. 1953)
    • 2007 – Iwao Takamoto, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1925)
    • 2008 – George Moore, Australian jockey and trainer (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Lasantha Wickrematunge, Sri Lankan Journalist (b. 1958)
    • 2010 – Art Clokey, American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
    • 2011 – Jiří Dienstbier, Czech journalist and politician (b. 1937)
    • 2011 – Thorbjørn Svenssen, Norwegian footballer (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Dave Alexander, American singer and pianist (b. 1938)
    • 2012 – T. J. Hamblin, English haematologist and academic (b. 1943)
    • 2012 – John Madin, English architect, designed the Birmingham Central Library (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Bernhard Schrader, German chemist and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Alexis Weissenberg, Bulgarian-French pianist and educator (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Kenojuak Ashevak, Canadian sculptor and illustrator (b. 1927)
    • 2013 – Jeanne Manford, American educator and activist, co-founded PFLAG (b. 1920)
    • 2013 – Alasdair Milne, Indian-English director and producer (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Vicente T. Blaz, American general and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2014 – Madeline Gins, American poet and architect (b. 1941)
    • 2014 – Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher, Dutch-Australian swimmer (b. 1925)
    • 2014 – Antonino P. Roman, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1939)
    • 2015 – Andraé Crouch, American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor (b. 1942)
    • 2015 – Kep Enderby, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 23rd Attorney-General for Australia (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Patsy Garrett, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – Maria Teresa de Filippis, Italian racing driver (b. 1926)
    • 2016 – German Moreno, Filipino television host, actor, comedian and talent manager (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – Nicolai Gedda, Swedish operatic tenor (b. 1925)
    • 2017 – James Mancham, Seychellois politician (b. 1939)
    • 2017 – Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iranian politician (b. 1934)
    • 2017 – Peter Sarstedt, Indian-British singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
    • 2020 – Pat Dalton, Australian rules footballer (b. 1942)
    • 2020 – Buck Henry, American actor, screenwriter, and director (b. 1930)

    Holidays and observances on January 8

    • Babinden (Belarus, Russia)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Abo of Tiflis
      • Apollinaris Claudius
      • Blessed Eurosia Fabris
      • Gauchito Gil (Folk Catholicism)
      • Gudula
      • Harriet Bedell (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • Lawrence Giustiniani
      • Lucian of Beauvais
      • Maximus of Pavia
      • Our Lady of Prompt Succor (Roman Catholic Church)
      • Pega (Anglican and Roman Catholic churches)
      • Severinus of Noricum
      • Thorfinn of Hamar
      • January 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Commonwealth Day (Northern Mariana Islands)
    • Earliest day on which Children’s Day can fall, while January 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Saturday in January. (Thailand)
    • Earliest day on which Lee–Jackson Day can fall, while January 14 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. (Virginia)
    • Typing Day (International observance)