971

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

    • 311 – The Diocletianic Persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire ends.
    • 313 – Battle of Tzirallum: Emperor Licinius defeats Maximinus II and unifies the Eastern Roman Empire.
    • 642 – Chindasuinth is proclaimed king by the Visigothic nobility and bishops.
    • 1315 – Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged at the instigation of Charles, Count of Valois.
    • 1492 – Spain gives Christopher Columbus his commission of exploration.
    • 1513 – Edmund de la Pole, Yorkist pretender to the English throne, is executed on the orders of Henry VIII.
    • 1557 – Mapuche leader Lautaro is killed by Spanish forces at the Battle of Mataquito in Chile.
    • 1598 – Juan de Oñate begins the conquest of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.
    • 1598 – Henry IV of France issues the Edict of Nantes, allowing freedom of religion to the Huguenots.
    • 1636 – Eighty Years’ War: Dutch Republic forces recapture a strategically important fort from Spain after a nine-month siege.
    • 1671 – Petar Zrinski, the Croatian Ban from the Zrinski family, is executed.
    • 1789 – On the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York City, George Washington takes the oath of office to become the first elected President of the United States.
    • 1803 – Louisiana Purchase: The United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, more than doubling the size of the young nation.
    • 1812 – The Territory of Orleans becomes the 18th U.S. state under the name Louisiana.
    • 1838 – Nicaragua declares independence from the Central American Federation.
    • 1863 – A 65-man French Foreign Legion infantry patrol fights a force of nearly 2,000 Mexican soldiers to nearly the last man in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.
    • 1871 – The Camp Grant massacre takes place in Arizona Territory.
    • 1885 – Governor of New York David B. Hill signs legislation creating the Niagara Reservation, New York’s first state park, ensuring that Niagara Falls will not be devoted solely to industrial and commercial use.
    • 1897 – J. J. Thomson of the Cavendish Laboratory announces his discovery of the electron as a subatomic particle, over 1,800 times smaller than a proton (in the atomic nucleus), at a lecture at the Royal Institution in London.
    • 1900 – Hawaii becomes a territory of the United States, with Sanford B. Dole as governor.
    • 1904 – The Louisiana Purchase Exposition World’s Fair opens in St. Louis, Missouri.
    • 1905 – Albert Einstein completes his doctoral thesis at the University of Zurich.
    • 1925 – Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Co. for US$146 million plus $50 million for charity.
    • 1927 – The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women’s federal prison in the United States.
    • 1927 – Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford become the first celebrities to leave their footprints in concrete at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
    • 1937 – The Commonwealth of the Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.
    • 1938 – The animated cartoon short Porky’s Hare Hunt debuts in movie theaters, introducing Happy Rabbit, an early version of Bugs Bunny.
    • 1939 – The 1939–40 New York World’s Fair opens.
    • 1939 – NBC inaugurates its regularly scheduled television service in New York City, broadcasting President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s N.Y. World’s Fair opening day ceremonial address.
    • 1943 – World War II: The British submarine HMS Seraph surfaces near Huelva to cast adrift a dead man dressed as a courier and carrying false invasion plans.
    • 1945 – World War II: Führerbunker: Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun commit suicide after being married for less than 40 hours. Soviet soldiers raise the Victory Banner over the Reichstag building.
    • 1945 – World War II: Stalag Luft I prisoner-of-war camp near Barth, Germany is liberated by Soviet soldiers, freeing nearly 9000 American and British airmen.
    • 1947 – In Nevada, Boulder Dam is renamed Hoover Dam.
    • 1948 – In Bogotá, Colombia, the Organization of American States is established.
    • 1956 – Former Vice President and Democratic Senator Alben Barkley dies during a speech in Virginia.
    • 1957 – Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery entered into force.
    • 1961 – K-19, the first Soviet nuclear submarine equipped with nuclear missiles, is commissioned.
    • 1963 – The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company’s refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
    • 1966 – The Church of Satan is formed in The Black House, San Francisco.
    • 1973 – Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces that White House Counsel John Dean has been fired and that other top aides, most notably H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman, have resigned.
    • 1975 – Fall of Saigon: Communist forces gain control of Saigon. The Vietnam War formally ends with the unconditional surrender of South Vietnamese president Dương Văn Minh.
    • 1980 – Beatrix is inaugurated as Queen of the Netherlands following the abdication of Juliana.
    • 1980 – The Iranian Embassy siege begins in London.
    • 1982 – The Bijon Setu massacre occurs in Calcutta, India.
    • 1993 – CERN announces World Wide Web protocols will be free.
    • 1994 – Formula One racing driver Roland Ratzenberger is killed in a crash during the qualifying session of the San Marino Grand Prix run at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari outside Imola, Italy.
    • 2000 – Canonization of Faustina Kowalska in the presence of 200,000 people and the first Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated worldwide.
    • 2004 – U.S. media release graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
    • 2008 – Two skeletal remains found near Yekaterinburg, Russia are confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei and Anastasia, two of the children of the last Tsar of Russia, whose entire family was executed at Yekaterinburg by the Bolsheviks.
    • 2009 – Chrysler files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
    • 2009 – Seven civilians and the perpetrator are killed and another ten injured at a Queen’s Day parade in Apeldoorn, Netherlands in an attempted assassination on Queen Beatrix.
    • 2012 – An overloaded ferry capsizes on the Brahmaputra River in India killing at least 103 people.
    • 2013 – Willem-Alexander is inaugurated as King of the Netherlands following the abdication of Beatrix.
    • 2014 – A bomb blast in Ürümqi, China kills three people and injures 79 others.

    Births on April 30

    • 1245 – Philip III of France (d. 1285)
    • 1310 – King Casimir III of Poland (d. 1368)
    • 1331 – Gaston III, Count of Foix (d. 1391)
    • 1383 – Anne of Gloucester, English countess, granddaughter of King Edward III of England (d. 1438)
    • 1425 – William III, Landgrave of Thuringia (d. 1482)
    • 1504 – Francesco Primaticcio, Italian painter (d. 1570)
    • 1553 – Louise of Lorraine (d. 1601)
    • 1623 – François de Laval, French-Canadian bishop and saint (d. 1708)
    • 1651 – Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, French priest and saint (d. 1719)
    • 1662 – Mary II of England (d. 1694)
    • 1664 – François Louis, Prince of Conti (d. 1709)
    • 1710 – Johann Kaspar Basselet von La Rosée, Bavarian general (d. 1795)
    • 1723 – Mathurin Jacques Brisson, French zoologist and philosopher (d. 1806)
    • 1758 – Emmanuel Vitale, Maltese commander and politician (d. 1802)
    • 1770 – David Thompson, English-Canadian cartographer and explorer (d. 1857)
    • 1777 – Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician and physicist (d. 1855)
    • 1803 – Albrecht von Roon, Prussian soldier and politician, 10th Minister President of Prussia (d. 1879)
    • 1829 – Ferdinand von Hochstetter, Austrian geologist and academic (d. 1884)
    • 1857 – Eugen Bleuler, Swiss psychiatrist and eugenicist (d. 1940)
    • 1857 – Walter Simon, German banker and philanthropist (d. 1920)
    • 1865 – Max Nettlau, German historian and academic (d. 1944)
    • 1866 – Mary Haviland Stilwell Kuesel, American pioneer dentist (d. 1936)
    • 1869 – Hans Poelzig, German architect, designed the IG Farben Building and Großes Schauspielhaus (d. 1936)
    • 1870 – Franz Lehár, Hungarian composer (d. 1948)
    • 1870 – Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1944)
    • 1874 – Cyriel Verschaeve, Flemish priest and author (d. 1949)
    • 1876 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (d. 1937)
    • 1877 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (d. 1917)
    • 1877 – Alice B. Toklas, American memoirist (d. 1967)
    • 1878 – Władysław Witwicki, Polish psychologist, philosopher, translator, historian (of philosophy and art) and artist (d. 1948)
    • 1880 – Charles Exeter Devereux Crombie, Scottish cartoonist (d. 1967)
    • 1883 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech soldier and author (d. 1923)
    • 1883 – Luigi Russolo, Italian painter and composer (d. 1947)
    • 1884 – Olof Sandborg, Swedish actor (d. 1965)
    • 1888 – John Crowe Ransom, American poet, critic, and academic (d. 1974)
    • 1893 – Harold Breen, Australian public servant (d. 1966)
    • 1893 – Joachim von Ribbentrop, German soldier and politician, 14th German Reich Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1946)
    • 1895 – Philippe Panneton, Canadian physician, academic, and diplomat (d. 1960)
    • 1896 – Reverend Gary Davis, American singer and guitarist (d. 1972)
    • 1896 – Hans List, Austrian scientist and businessman, founded the AVL Engineering Company (d. 1996)
    • 1897 – Humberto Mauro, Brazilian director and screenwriter (d. 1983)
    • 1900 – Erni Krusten, Estonian author and poet (d. 1984)
    • 1901 – Simon Kuznets, Belarusian-American economist, statistician, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
    • 1902 – Theodore Schultz, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
    • 1905 – Sergey Nikolsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2012)
    • 1908 – Eve Arden, American actress (d. 1990)
    • 1908 – Bjarni Benediktsson, Icelandic professor of law and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1970)
    • 1908 – Frank Robert Miller, Canadian air marshal and politician (d. 1997)
    • 1909 – F. E. McWilliam, Irish sculptor and educator (d. 1992)
    • 1909 – Juliana of the Netherlands (d. 2004)
    • 1910 – Levi Celerio, Filipino pianist, violinist, and composer (d. 2002)
    • 1914 – Charles Beetham, American middle-distance runner (d. 1997)
    • 1914 – Dorival Caymmi, Brazilian singer-songwriter, actor, and painter (d. 2008)
    • 1916 – Paul Kuusberg, Estonian journalist and author (d. 2003)
    • 1916 – Claude Shannon, American mathematician and engineer (d. 2001)
    • 1916 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (d. 1999)
    • 1917 – Bea Wain, American singer (d. 2017)
    • 1920 – Duncan Hamilton, Irish-English race car driver and pilot (d. 1994)
    • 1920 – Tom Moore, British army officer and fundraiser
    • 1921 – Roger L. Easton, American scientist, co-invented the GPS (d. 2014)
    • 1922 – Anton Murray, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
    • 1923 – Percy Heath, American bassist (d. 2005)
    • 1923 – Kagamisato Kiyoji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 42nd Yokozuna (d. 2004)
    • 1924 – Uno Laht, Estonian KGB officer and author (d. 2008)
    • 1925 – Corinne Calvet, French actress (d. 2001)
    • 1925 – Johnny Horton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1960)
    • 1926 – Shrinivas Khale, Indian composer (d. 2011)
    • 1926 – Cloris Leachman, American actress and comedian
    • 1928 – Hugh Hood, Canadian author and academic (d. 2000)
    • 1928 – Orlando Sirola, Italian tennis player (d. 1995)
    • 1930 – Félix Guattari, French psychotherapist and philosopher (d. 1992)
    • 1933 – Charles Sanderson, Baron Sanderson of Bowden, English politician
    • 1934 – Jerry Lordan, English singer-songwriter (d. 1995)
    • 1934 – Don McKenney, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1937 – Tony Harrison, English poet and playwright
    • 1938 – Gary Collins, American actor and talk show host (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Juraj Jakubisko, Slovak director and screenwriter
    • 1938 – Larry Niven, American author and screenwriter
    • 1940 – Jeroen Brouwers, Dutch journalist and writer
    • 1940 – Michael Cleary, Australian rugby player and politician
    • 1941 – Stavros Dimas, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs
    • 1941 – Max Merritt, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter
    • 1942 – Sallehuddin of Kedah, Sultan of Kedah
    • 1943 – Frederick Chiluba, Zambian politician, 2nd President of Zambia (d. 2011)
    • 1943 – Bobby Vee, American pop singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
    • 1944 – Jon Bing, Norwegian author, scholar, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1944 – Jill Clayburgh, American actress (d. 2010)
    • 1945 – J. Michael Brady, British radiologist
    • 1945 – Annie Dillard, American novelist, essayist, and poet
    • 1945 – Mimi Fariña, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and activist (d. 2001)
    • 1945 – Michael J. Smith, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 1986)
    • 1946 – King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden
    • 1946 – Bill Plympton, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1946 – Don Schollander, American swimmer
    • 1947 – Paul Fiddes, English theologian and academic
    • 1947 – Finn Kalvik, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1947 – Tom Køhlert, Danish footballer and manager
    • 1947 – Mats Odell, Swedish economist and politician, Swedish Minister for Financial Markets
    • 1948 – Wayne Kramer, American guitarist and singer-songwriter
    • 1948 – Pierre Pagé, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1948 – Margit Papp, Hungarian athlete
    • 1949 – Phil Garner, American baseball player and manager
    • 1949 – António Guterres, Portuguese academic and politician, 114th Prime Minister of Portugal and 9th Secretary-General of the United Nations
    • 1949 – Karl Meiler, German tennis player (d. 2014)
    • 1952 – Jacques Audiard, French director and screenwriter
    • 1952 – Jack Middelburg, Dutch motorcycle racer (d. 1984)
    • 1953 – Merrill Osmond, American singer and bass player
    • 1954 – Jane Campion, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1954 – Kim Darroch, English diplomat, UK Permanent Representative to the European Union
    • 1954 – Frank-Michael Marczewski, German footballer
    • 1955 – Nicolas Hulot, French journalist and environmentalist
    • 1955 – David Kitchin, English lawyer and judge
    • 1955 – Zlatko Topčić, Bosnian writer and screenwriter
    • 1956 – Lars von Trier, Danish director and screenwriter
    • 1957 – Wonder Mike, American rapper and songwriter
    • 1958 – Charles Berling, French actor, director, and screenwriter
    • 1959 – Stephen Harper, Canadian economist and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Canada
    • 1960 – Geoffrey Cox, English lawyer and politician
    • 1960 – Kerry Healey, American academic and politician, 70th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
    • 1961 – Arnór Guðjohnsen, Icelandic footballer
    • 1961 – Isiah Thomas, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1963 – Andrew Carwood, English tenor and conductor
    • 1963 – Michael Waltrip, American race car driver and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Tony Fernandes, Malaysian-Indian businessman, co-founded Tune Group
    • 1964 – Ian Healy, Australian cricketer, coach, and sportscaster
    • 1964 – Lorenzo Staelens, Belgian footballer and manager
    • 1964 – Abhishek Chatterjee, Indian actor
    • 1965 – Daniela Costian, Romanian-Australian discus thrower
    • 1965 – Adrian Pasdar, American actor
    • 1966 – Jeff Brown, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1966 – Dave Meggett, American football player and coach
    • 1967 – Phil Chang, Taiwanese singer-songwriter and actor
    • 1969 – Warren Defever, American bass player and producer
    • 1969 – Justine Greening, English accountant and politician, Secretary of State for International Development
    • 1969 – Paulo Jr., Brazilian bass player
    • 1972 – Takako Tokiwa, Japanese actress
    • 1973 – Leigh Francis, English comedian and actor
    • 1974 – Christian Tamminga, Dutch athlete
    • 1975 – Johnny Galecki, American actor
    • 1976 – Davian Clarke, Jamaican sprinter
    • 1976 – Amanda Palmer, American singer-songwriter and pianist
    • 1976 – Daniel Wagon, Australian rugby league player
    • 1977 – Jeannie Haddaway, American politician
    • 1977 – Meredith L. Patterson, American technologist, journalist, and author
    • 1978 – Liljay, Taiwanese singer
    • 1979 – Gerardo Torrado, Mexican footballer
    • 1980 – Luis Scola, Argentinian basketball player
    • 1980 – Jeroen Verhoeven, Dutch footballer
    • 1981 – Nicole Kaczmarski, American basketball player
    • 1981 – John O’Shea, Irish footballer
    • 1981 – Kunal Nayyar, British-Indian actor
    • 1981 – Justin Vernon, American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer
    • 1982 – Kirsten Dunst, American actress
    • 1982 – Drew Seeley, Canadian-American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
    • 1983 – Chris Carr, American football player
    • 1983 – Tatjana Hüfner, German luger
    • 1983 – Marina Tomić, Slovenian hurdler
    • 1983 – Troy Williamson, American football player
    • 1984 – Seimone Augustus, American basketball player
    • 1984 – Shawn Daivari, American wrestler and manager
    • 1984 – Risto Mätas, Estonian javelin thrower
    • 1984 – Lee Roache, English footballer
    • 1985 – Brandon Bass, American basketball player
    • 1985 – Gal Gadot, Israeli actress and model
    • 1985 – Ashley Alexandra Dupré, American journalist, singer, and prostitute
    • 1986 – Dianna Agron, American actress and singer
    • 1986 – Martten Kaldvee, Estonian biathlete
    • 1987 – Alipate Carlile, Australian footballer
    • 1987 – Chris Morris, South African cricketer
    • 1987 – Rohit Sharma, Indian cricketer
    • 1988 – Andy Allen, Australian chef
    • 1988 – Sander Baart, Dutch field hockey player
    • 1988 – Liu Xijun, Chinese singer
    • 1988 – Oh Hye-ri, South Korean taekwondo athlete
    • 1989 – Jang Wooyoung, South Korean singer and actor
    • 1990 – Jonny Brownlee, English triathlete
    • 1990 – Mac DeMarco, Canadian singer-songwriter
    • 1990 – Kaarel Kiidron, Estonian footballer
    • 1991 – Chris Kreider, American ice hockey player
    • 1992 – Travis Scott, American rapper and producer
    • 1992 – Marc-André ter Stegen, German footballer
    • 1993 – Dion Dreesens, Dutch swimmer
    • 1993 – Martin Fuksa, Czech canoeist
    • 1994 – Chae Seo-jin, South Korean actress
    • 1994 – Wang Yafan, Chinese tennis player
    • 1996 – Luke Friend, English singer
    • 1997 – Adam Ryczkowski, Polish footballer
    • 1999 – Jorden van Foreest, Dutch chess grandmaster
    • 2000 – Yui Hiwatashi, Japanese singer
    • 2003 – Jung Yun-Seok, South Korean actor

    Deaths on April 30

    • AD 65 – Lucan, Roman poet (b. 39)
    • 125 – An, Chinese emperor (b. 94)
    • 535 – Amalasuntha, Ostrogothic queen and regent
    • 783 – Hildegard of the Vinzgau, Frankish queen
    • 1002 – Eckard I, German nobleman
    • 1030 – Mahmud of Ghazni, Ghaznavid emir (b. 971)
    • 1063 – Ren Zong, Chinese emperor (b. 1010)
    • 1131 – Adjutor, French knight and saint
    • 1305 – Roger de Flor, Italian military adventurer (b. 1267)
    • 1341 – John III, duke of Brittany (b. 1286)
    • 1439 – Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick, English commander (b. 1382)
    • 1524 – Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard, French soldier (b. 1473)
    • 1544 – Thomas Audley, 1st Baron Audley of Walden, English lawyer and judge, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1488)
    • 1550 – Tabinshwehti, Burmese king (b. 1516)
    • 1632 – Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, Bavarian general (b. 1559)
    • 1632 – Sigismund III Vasa, Swedish-Polish son of John III of Sweden (b. 1566)
    • 1637 – Niwa Nagashige, Japanese daimyō (b. 1571)
    • 1655 – Eustache Le Sueur, French painter (b. 1617)
    • 1660 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch historian and scholar (b. 1576)
    • 1672 – Marie of the Incarnation, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Ursulines of Quebec (b. 1599)
    • 1696 – Robert Plot, English chemist and academic (b. 1640)
    • 1712 – Philipp van Limborch, Dutch theologian and author (b. 1633)
    • 1736 – Johann Albert Fabricius, German scholar and author (b. 1668)
    • 1758 – François d’Agincourt, French organist and composer (b. 1684)
    • 1792 – John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1718)
    • 1795 – Jean-Jacques Barthélemy, French archaeologist and author (b. 1716)
    • 1806 – Onogawa Kisaburō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 5th Yokozuna (b. 1758)
    • 1841 – Peter Andreas Heiberg, Danish philologist and author (b. 1758)
    • 1847 – Charles, Austrian commander and duke of Teschen (b. 1771)
    • 1863 – Jean Danjou, French captain (b. 1828)
    • 1865 – Robert FitzRoy, English admiral, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (b. 1805)
    • 1870 – Thomas Cooke, Canadian bishop and missionary (b. 1792)
    • 1875 – Jean-Frédéric Waldeck, French explorer, lithographer, and cartographer (b. 1766)
    • 1879 – Emma Smith, American religious leader (b. 1804)
    • 1883 – Édouard Manet, French painter (b. 1832)
    • 1891 – Joseph Leidy, American paleontologist and author (b. 1823)
    • 1900 – Casey Jones, American engineer (b. 1863)
    • 1903 – Emily Stowe, Canadian physician and activist (b. 1831)
    • 1910 – Jean Moréas, Greek poet and critic (b. 1856)
    • 1936 – A. E. Housman, English poet and scholar (b. 1859)
    • 1939 – Frank Haller, American boxer (b. 1883)
    • 1943 – Otto Jespersen, Danish linguist and academic (b. 1860)
    • 1943 – Beatrice Webb, English sociologist and economist (b. 1858)
    • 1953 – Jacob Linzbach, Estonian linguist and author (b. 1874)
    • 1956 – Alben W. Barkley, American lawyer and politician, 35th Vice President of the United States (b. 1877)
    • 1970 – Jacques Presser, Dutch historian, writer and poet (b. 1899)
    • 1970 – Inger Stevens, Swedish-American actress (b. 1934)
    • 1972 – Gia Scala, English-American model and actress (b. 1934)
    • 1973 – Václav Renč, Czech poet and playwright (b. 1911)
    • 1974 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (b. 1900)
    • 1980 – Luis Muñoz Marín, Puerto Rican journalist and politician, 1st Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1898)
    • 1982 – Lester Bangs, American journalist and author (b. 1949)
    • 1983 – George Balanchine, Russian dancer and choreographer (b. 1904)
    • 1983 – Muddy Waters, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and bandleader (b. 1913)
    • 1983 – Edouard Wyss-Dunant, Swiss physician and mountaineer (b. 1897)
    • 1986 – Robert Stevenson, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1905)
    • 1989 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
    • 1993 – Tommy Caton, English footballer (b. 1962)
    • 1994 – Roland Ratzenberger, Austrian race car driver (b. 1960)
    • 1994 – Richard Scarry, American author and illustrator (b. 1919)
    • 1995 – Maung Maung Kha, Burmese colonel and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma (b. 1920)
    • 1998 – Nizar Qabbani, Syrian-English poet, publisher, and diplomat (b. 1926)
    • 2000 – Poul Hartling, Danish politician, 36th Prime Minister of Denmark (b. 1914)
    • 2002 – Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, German philanthropist, founded the Gründerzeit Museum (b. 1928)
    • 2003 – Mark Berger, American economist and academic (b. 1955)
    • 2003 – Possum Bourne, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1956)
    • 2005 – Phil Rasmussen, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1918)
    • 2006 – Jean-François Revel, French philosopher (b. 1924)
    • 2006 – Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Indonesian author and academic (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Kevin Mitchell, American football player (b. 1971)
    • 2007 – Tom Poston, American actor, comedian, and game show panelist (b. 1921)
    • 2007 – Gordon Scott, American film and television actor (b. 1926)
    • 2008 – John Cargher, English-Australian journalist and author (b. 1919)
    • 2008 – Juancho Evertsz, Dutch Antillean politician (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Henk Nijdam, Dutch cyclist (b. 1935)
    • 2011 – Dorjee Khandu, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh (b. 1955)
    • 2011 – Evald Okas, Estonian painter (b. 1915)
    • 2011 – Ernesto Sabato, Argentinian physicist, author, and painter (b. 1911)
    • 2012 – Tomás Borge, Nicaraguan poet and politician, co-founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (b. 1930)
    • 2012 – Alexander Dale Oen, Norwegian swimmer (b. 1985)
    • 2012 – Giannis Gravanis, Greek footballer (b. 1958)
    • 2012 – Benzion Netanyahu, Russian-Israeli historian and academic (b. 1910)
    • 2012 – Sicelo Shiceka, South African politician (b. 1966)
    • 2013 – Roberto Chabet, Filipino painter and sculptor (b. 1937)
    • 2013 – Shirley Firth, Canadian skier (b. 1953)
    • 2013 – Viviane Forrester, French author and critic (b. 1925)
    • 2013 – Mike Gray, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1935)
    • 2014 – Khaled Choudhury, Indian painter and set designer (b. 1919)
    • 2014 – Julian Lewis, English biologist and academic (b. 1946)
    • 2014 – Carl E. Moses, American businessman and politician (b. 1929)
    • 2014 – Ian Ross, Australian journalist (b. 1940)
    • 2015 – Lennart Bodström, Swedish politician (b. 1928)
    • 2015 – Ben E. King, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1938)
    • 2015 – Steven Goldmann, Canadian director and producer (b. 1961)
    • 2016 – Daniel Berrigan, American priest and activist (b. 1921)
    • 2016 – Harry Kroto, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1939)
    • 2019 – Peter Mayhew, English-American actor (b. 1944)
    • 2020 – Tony Allen, Nigerian drummer and composer (b. 1940)

    Holidays and observances on April 30

    • Armed Forces Day (Georgia)
    • Birthday of the King Carl XVI Gustaf, one of the official flag days of Sweden.
    • Camarón Day (French Foreign Legion)
    • Children’s Day (Mexico)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Adjutor
      • Aimo
      • Amator, Peter and Louis
      • Donatus of Evorea
      • Eutropius of Saintes
      • Marie Guyart (Anglican Church of Canada)
      • Marie of the Incarnation (Ursuline)
      • Maximus of Rome
      • Blessed Miles Gerard
      • Pomponius of Naples
      • Pope Pius V
      • Quirinus of Neuss
      • Sarah Josepha Hale (Episcopal Church)
      • Suitbert the Younger
      • April 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Consumer Protection Day (Thailand)
    • Earliest day on which Ascension Day can fall, while June 3 is the latest; celebrated 40 days after Easter (Christianity), and its related observances:
      • Festa della Sensa (Venice)
      • Global Day of Prayer (Western Christianity)
      • Sheep Festival (Cameroon)
    • Honesty Day (United States)
    • International Jazz Day (UNESCO)
    • Martyrs’ Day (Pakistan)
    • May Eve, the eve of the first day of summer in the Northern hemisphere (see May 1):
      • Beltane begins at sunset in the Northern hemisphere, Samhain begins at sunset in the Southern hemisphere. (Neo-Druidic Wheel of the Year)
      • Carodejnice (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
      • Walpurgis Night (Central and Northern Europe)
    • National Persian Gulf Day (Iran)
    • Reunification Day (Vietnam)
    • Russian State Fire Service Day (Russia)
    • Teachers’ Day (Paraguay)
  • January 23 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • 393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight-year-old son Honorius co-emperor.
    • 971 – Using crossbows, Song dynasty troops soundly defeat a war elephant corps of the Southern Han at Shao.
    • 1264 – In the conflict between King Henry III of England and his rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, King Louis IX of France issues the Mise of Amiens, a one-sided decision in favour of Henry that later leads to the Second Barons’ War.
    • 1368 – In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming dynasty rule over China that would last for three centuries.
    • 1546 – Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.
    • 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
    • 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.
    • 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London.
    • 1579 – The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
    • 1656 – Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales.
    • 1719 – The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.
    • 1789 – Georgetown College, the first Catholic university in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.).
    • 1793 – Second Partition of Poland.
    • 1795 – After an extraordinary charge across the frozen Zuiderzee, the French cavalry captured 14 Dutch ships and 850 guns, in a rare occurrence of a battle between ships and cavalry.
    • 1846 – Slavery in Tunisia is abolished.
    • 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States’ first female doctor.
    • 1870 – In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in what becomes known as the Marias Massacre.
    • 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Rorke’s Drift ends.
    • 1899 – The Malolos Constitution is inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic. Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as its first President.
    • 1900 – Second Boer War: The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces ends in a British defeat.
    • 1904 – Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
    • 1909 – RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day.
    • 1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.
    • 1920 – The Netherlands refuses to surrender the exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.
    • 1937 – The trial of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist center sees seventeen mid-level Communists accused of sympathizing with Leon Trotsky and plotting to overthrow Joseph Stalin’s regime.
    • 1941 – Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
    • 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Rabaul commences Japan’s invasion of Australia’s Territory of New Guinea.
    • 1943 – World War II: Troops of the British Eighth Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German–Italian Panzer Army.
    • 1945 – World War II: German admiral Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal.
    • 1950 – The Knesset resolves that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
    • 1957 – American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, which later renames it the “Frisbee”.
    • 1958 – After a general uprising and rioting in the streets, President Marcos Pérez Jiménez leaves Venezuela.
    • 1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 metres (35,797 ft) in the Pacific Ocean.
    • 1961 – The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by opponents of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar is overthrown.
    • 1963 – The Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attack the Portuguese army stationed in Tite.
    • 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
    • 1967 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Ivory Coast are established.
    • 1967 – Milton Keynes (England) is founded as a new town by Order in Council, with a planning brief to become a city of 250,000 people. Its initial designated area enclosed three existing towns and twenty one villages. The area to be developed was largely farmland, with evidence of continuous settlement dating back to the Bronze Age.
    • 1968 – USS Pueblo (AGER-2) is attacked and seized by naval forces of North Korea.
    • 1973 – United States President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
    • 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
    • 1997 – Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
    • 1998 – Netscape announced Mozilla, with the intention to release Communicator code as open source.
    • 2001 – Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Communist Party of China to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.
    • 2002 – U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered.
    • 2003 – A very weak signal from Pioneer 10 is detected for the last time, but no usable data can be extracted.
    • 2018 – A 7.9 Mw  earthquake occurs in the Gulf of Alaska. It is tied as the sixth-largest earthquake ever recorded in the United States, but there are no reports of significant damage or fatalities.
    • 2018 – A double car bombing in Benghazi, Libya, kills at least 33 people and wounds “dozens” of others. The victims include both military personnel and civilians, according to local officials.

    Births on January 23

    • 599 – Tai Zong, emperor of the Tang Dynasty (d. 649)
    • 1350 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (d. 1419)
    • 1378 – Louis III, Elector Palatine (d. 1436)
    • 1514 – Hai Rui, Chinese politician (d. 1587)
    • 1585 – Mary Ward, English Catholic Religious Sister (d. 1645)
    • 1622 – Abraham Diepraam, Dutch painter (d. 1670)
    • 1719 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (d. 1790)
    • 1737 – John Hancock, American general and politician, 1st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1793)
    • 1745 – William Jessop, English engineer, built the Cromford Canal (d. 1814)
    • 1752 – Muzio Clementi, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1832)
    • 1780 – Georgios Karaiskakis, Greek general (d. 1827)
    • 1783 – Stendhal, French novelist (d. 1842)
    • 1786 – Auguste de Montferrand, French-Russian architect, designed Saint Isaac’s Cathedral and Alexander Column (d. 1858)
    • 1799 – Alois Negrelli, Tyrolean engineer and railroad pioneer active in the Austrian Empire (d. 1858)
    • 1809 – Surendra Sai, Indian activist (d. 1884)
    • 1813 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian novelist and activist (d. 1895)
    • 1828 – Saigō Takamori, Japanese samurai (d. 1877)
    • 1832 – Édouard Manet, French painter (d. 1883)
    • 1833 – Muthu Coomaraswamy, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1879)
    • 1838 – Marianne Cope, German-American nun and saint (d. 1918)
    • 1840 – Ernst Abbe, German physicist and engineer (d. 1905)
    • 1846 – Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist and mathematician (d. 1915)
    • 1855 – John Browning, American weapons designer, founded the Browning Arms Company (d. 1926)
    • 1857 – Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian meteorologist and seismologist (d. 1936)
    • 1862 – David Hilbert, Russian-German mathematician and academic (d. 1943)
    • 1862 – Frank Shuman, American inventor and engineer (d. 1918)
    • 1872 – Paul Langevin, French physicist and academic (d. 1946)
    • 1872 – Jože Plečnik, Slovenian architect, designed Plečnik Parliament (d. 1957)
    • 1876 – Otto Diels, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1954)
    • 1878 – Rutland Boughton, English composer (d. 1960)
    • 1880 – Antonio Díaz Soto y Gama, Mexican politician (d. 1967)
    • 1889 – Claribel Kendall, American mathematician (d.1965)
    • 1894 – Jyotirmoyee Devi, Indian author (d. 1988)
    • 1896 – Alf Blair, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1944)
    • 1896 – Alf Hall, English-South African cricketer (d. 1964)
    • 1897 – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian activist and politician (d. 1945)
    • 1897 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (d. 2000)
    • 1897 – Ieva Simonaitytė, Lithuanian author (d. 1978)
    • 1897 – William Stephenson, Canadian captain and spy (d. 1989)
    • 1898 – Georg Kulenkampff, German violinist (d. 1948)
    • 1898 – Randolph Scott, American actor (d. 1987)
    • 1898 – Freda Utley, English scholar and author (d. 1978)
    • 1899 – Glen Kidston, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1931)
    • 1900 – William Ifor Jones, Welsh organist and conductor (d. 1988)
    • 1901 – Arthur Wirtz, American businessman (d. 1983)
    • 1903 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian lawyer and politician, 16th Minister of National Education of Colombia (d. 1948)
    • 1905 – Erich Borchmeyer, German sprinter (d. 2000)
    • 1907 – Dan Duryea, American actor and singer (d. 1968)
    • 1907 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
    • 1910 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist and composer (d. 1953)
    • 1912 – Boris Pokrovsky, Russian director and manager (d. 2009)
    • 1913 – Jean-Michel Atlan, Algerian-French painter (d. 1960)
    • 1913 – Wally Parks, American businessman, founded the National Hot Rod Association (d. 2007)
    • 1915 – Herma Bauma, Austrian javelin thrower and handball player (d. 2003)
    • 1915 – W. Arthur Lewis, Saint Lucian-Barbadian economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
    • 1915 – Potter Stewart, American lawyer and judge (d. 1985)
    • 1916 – David Douglas Duncan, American photographer and journalist (d. 2018)
    • 1916 – Airey Neave, English colonel, lawyer, and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (d. 1979)
    • 1918 – Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
    • 1918 – Florence Rush, American social worker and theorist (d. 2008)
    • 1919 – Frances Bay, Canadian-American actress (d. 2011)
    • 1919 – Hans Hass, Austrian biologist and diver (d. 2013)
    • 1919 – Ernie Kovacs, American actor and game show host (d. 1962)
    • 1919 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (d. 1996)
    • 1920 – Gottfried Böhm, German architect
    • 1920 – Henry Eriksson, Swedish runner (d. 2000)
    • 1920 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American businessman, invented the Frisbee (d. 2010)
    • 1922 – Leon Golub, American painter and academic (d. 2004)
    • 1922 – Tom Lewis, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 2016)
    • 1923 – Horace Ashenfelter, American runner (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Cot Deal, American baseball player and coach (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Walter M. Miller, Jr., American soldier and author (d. 1996)
    • 1924 – Frank Lautenberg, American soldier, businessman, and politician (d. 2013)
    • 1925 – Marty Paich, American pianist, composer, producer, and conductor (d. 1995)
    • 1926 – Bal Thackeray, Indian journalist, cartoonist, and politician (d. 2012)
    • 1927 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American businessman and explorer (d. 1994)
    • 1927 – Fred Williams, Australian painter (d. 1982)
    • 1928 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
    • 1928 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress (d. 2017)
    • 1929 – Myron Cope, American journalist and sportscaster (d. 2008)
    • 1929 – Phillip Knightley, Australian journalist, author, and critic (d. 2016)
    • 1929 – John Polanyi, German-Canadian chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1930 – Filaret, Patriarch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyivan
    • 1930 – Mervyn Rose, Australian tennis player (d. 2017)
    • 1930 – Derek Walcott, Saint Lucian poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
    • 1932 – George Allen, English footballer (d. 2016)
    • 1932 – Larri Thomas, American actress and dancer (d. 2013)
    • 1933 – Bill Hayden, Australian politician, 21st Governor General of Australia
    • 1933 – Chita Rivera, American actress, singer, and dancer
    • 1934 – Pierre Bourgault, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2003)
    • 1935 – Mike Agostini, Trinidadian sprinter (d. 2016)
    • 1935 – Tom Reamy, American author (d. 1977)
    • 1935 – Teresa Żylis-Gara, Polish operatic soprano
    • 1936 – Brian Howe, Australian minister and politician, 8th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia
    • 1936 – Jerry Kramer, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1936 – Cécile Ousset, French pianist
    • 1938 – Giant Baba, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded All Japan Pro Wrestling (d. 1999)
    • 1938 – Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor
    • 1939 – Ed Roberts, American disability rights activist (d. 1995)
    • 1940 – Alan Cheuse, American writer and critic (d. 2015)
    • 1940 – Joe Dowell, American pop singer (d. 2016)
    • 1941 – Jock R. Anderson, Australian economist and academic
    • 1941 – João Ubaldo Ribeiro, Brazilian journalist, author, and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1942 – Laurie Mayne, Australian cricketer
    • 1942 – Herman Tjeenk Willink, Dutch judge and politician
    • 1942 – Phil Clarke, New Zealand rugby union player
    • 1943 – Gary Burton, American vibraphone player and composer
    • 1943 – Özhan Canaydın, Turkish basketball player and businessman (d. 2010)
    • 1943 – Gil Gerard, American actor and producer
    • 1944 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor, director, and producer (d. 2019)
    • 1945 – Mike Harris, Canadian politician, 22nd Premier of Ontario
    • 1946 – Arnoldo Alemán, Nicaraguan lawyer and politician, President of Nicaragua
    • 1946 – Boris Berezovsky, Russian-English businessman and mathematician (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Zvonko Bušić, Croatian terrorist, hijacker of TWA Flight 355 (d. 2013)
    • 1946 – Don Whittington, American race car driver
    • 1947 – Tom Carper, American captain and politician, 71st Governor of Delaware
    • 1947 – Megawati Sukarnoputri, Indonesian politician, 5th President of Indonesia
    • 1948 – Anita Pointer, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter
    • 1950 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor, producer, and composer
    • 1950 – Bill Cunningham, American bass and keyboard player
    • 1950 – Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (d. 2018)
    • 1950 – Suzanne Scotchmer, American economist and academic (d. 2014)
    • 1950 – Luis Alberto Spinetta, Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and poet (d. 2012)
    • 1951 – Margaret Bailes, American sprinter
    • 1951 – Chesley Sullenberger, American captain and pilot
    • 1952 – Omar Henry, South African cricketer
    • 1953 – John Luther Adams, American composer
    • 1953 – Alister McGrath, Irish priest, historian, and theologian
    • 1953 – Antonio Villaraigosa, American politician, 41st Mayor of Los Angeles
    • 1953 – Robin Zander, American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1954 – Trevor Hohns, Australian cricketer
    • 1957 – Caroline, Princess of Hanover
    • 1958 – Sergey Litvinov, Russian hammer thrower (d. 2018)
    • 1959 – Clive Bull, English radio host
    • 1960 – Jean-François Sauvé, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1960 – Greg Ritchie, Australian cricketer
    • 1961 – Neil Henry, Australian rugby league player and coach
    • 1961 – Yelena Sinchukova, Russian long jumper
    • 1962 – David Arnold, English composer
    • 1962 – Aivar Lillevere, Estonian footballer and coach
    • 1962 – Elvira Lindo, Spanish journalist and author
    • 1964 – Jonatha Brooke, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
    • 1964 – Mariska Hargitay, American actress and producer
    • 1964 – Bharrat Jagdeo, Guyanese economist and politician, 7th President of Guyana
    • 1964 – Mario Roberge, Canadian ice hockey player
    • 1965 – Louie Clemente, American drummer
    • 1966 – Damien Hardman, Australian surfer
    • 1966 – Haywoode Workman, American basketball player and referee
    • 1967 – Owen Cunningham, Australian rugby league player
    • 1968 – Taro Hakase, Japanese violinist and composer
    • 1968 – Petr Korda, Czech-Monacan tennis player
    • 1969 – Andrei Kanchelskis, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player and actor
    • 1969 – Susen Tiedtke, German long jumper
    • 1970 – Spyridon Vasdekis, Greek long jumper
    • 1971 – Scott Gibbs, Welsh-South African rugby player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Kevin Mawae, American football player and coach
    • 1971 – Marc Nelson, American singer-songwriter
    • 1971 – Adam Parore, New Zealand cricketer and mountaineer
    • 1971 – Claire Rankin, Canadian actress
    • 1971 – Lisa Snowdon, English television and radio presenter and fashion model
    • 1972 – Ewen Bremner, Scottish actor
    • 1973 – Tomas Holmström, Swedish ice hockey player
    • 1974 – Glen Chapple, English cricketer
    • 1974 – Rebekah Elmaloglou, Australian actress
    • 1974 – Yosvani Pérez, Cuban baseball player
    • 1974 – Richard T. Slone, English painter
    • 1974 – Tiffani Thiessen, American actress
    • 1975 – Nick Harmer, German musician
    • 1975 – Phil Dawson, American football player
    • 1976 – Brandon Duckworth, American baseball player and scout
    • 1976 – Anne Margrethe Hausken, Norwegian orienteering competitor
    • 1976 – Alex Shaffer, American skier
    • 1979 – Larry Hughes, American basketball player
    • 1979 – Dawn O’Porter, Scottish-English fashion designer and journalist
    • 1979 – Juan Rincón, Venezuelan baseball player and coach
    • 1981 – Rob Friend, Canadian soccer player
    • 1982 – Wily Mo Peña, Dominican baseball player
    • 1982 – Oceana Mahlmann, German singer and songwriter
    • 1982 – Andrew Rock, American sprinter
    • 1983 – Irving Saladino, Panamanian long jumper
    • 1984 – Robbie Farah, Australian rugby league player
    • 1984 – Arjen Robben, Dutch footballer
    • 1985 – Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese footballer
    • 1985 – Doutzen Kroes, Dutch model and actress
    • 1985 – Yevgeny Lukyanenko, Russian pole vaulter
    • 1985 – Aselefech Mergia, Ethiopian runner
    • 1985 – Jeff Samardzija, American baseball player
    • 1985 – San E, South Korean rapper
    • 1986 – Gelete Burka, Ethiopian runner
    • 1986 – Marc Laird, Scottish footballer
    • 1986 – José Enrique, Spanish footballer
    • 1986 – Michael Stevens, American YouTuber and educator
    • 1986 – Steven Taylor, English footballer
    • 1986 – Sandro Viletta, Swiss skier
    • 1987 – Leo Komarov, Finnish ice hockey player
    • 1988 – Shaun Kenny-Dowall, Australian-New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1990 – Şener Özbayraklı, Turkish footballer
    • 1990 – Alex Silva, Canadian wrestler
    • 1990 – Martyn Waghorn, English footballer
    • 1992 – Reina Triendl, Japanese model and actress
    • 1994 – Addison Russell, American baseball player
    • 1995 – Luke Bateman, Australian rugby league player
    • 1995 – Tuimoala Lolohea, New Zealand rugby league player
    • 1998 – XXXTentacion, American rapper (d. 2018)

    Deaths on January 23

    • 667 – Ildefonsus, bishop of Toledo
    • 989 – Adalbero, archbishop of Reims
    • 1002 – Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)
    • 1199 – Abu Yusuf Yaqub al-Mansur, Moroccan caliph (b. 1160)
    • 1252 – Isabella, Queen of Armenia
    • 1297 – Florent of Hainaut, Prince of Achaea (b. c. 1255)
    • 1423 – Margaret of Bavaria, Burgundian regent (b. 1363)
    • 1516 – Ferdinand II of Aragon (b. 1452)
    • 1548 – Bernardo Pisano, Italian priest, scholar, and composer (b. 1490)
    • 1549 – Johannes Honter, Romanian-Hungarian cartographer and theologian (b. 1498)
    • 1567 – Jiajing Emperor of China (b. 1507)
    • 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, Scottish politician (b. 1531)
    • 1620 – John Croke, English politician and judge (b. 1553)
    • 1622 – William Baffin, English explorer and navigator (b. 1584)
    • 1650 – Philip Herbert, 4th Earl of Pembroke (b. 1584)
    • 1744 – Giambattista Vico, Italian historian and philosopher (b. 1668)
    • 1785 – Matthew Stewart, Scottish mathematician and academic (b. 1717)
    • 1789 – Frances Brooke, English author and playwright (b. 1724)
    • 1789 – John Cleland, English author (b. 1709)
    • 1800 – Edward Rutledge, American captain and politician, 39th Governor of South Carolina (b. 1749)
    • 1803 – Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer, founded Guinness (b. 1725)
    • 1805 – Claude Chappe, French engineer (b. 1763)
    • 1806 – William Pitt the Younger, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
    • 1810 – Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German chemist and physicist (b. 1776)
    • 1812 – Robert Craufurd, Scottish general and politician (b. 1764)
    • 1820 – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (b. 1767)
    • 1833 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, English admiral and politician (b. 1757)
    • 1837 – John Field, Irish pianist and composer (b. 1782)
    • 1866 – Thomas Love Peacock, English author and poet (b. 1785)
    • 1875 – Charles Kingsley English priest and author (b. 1819)
    • 1883 – Gustave Doré, French engraver and illustrator (b. 1832)
    • 1893 – Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II, American lawyer and politician, 16th United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1825)
    • 1893 – José Zorrilla, Spanish poet and playwright (b. 1817)
    • 1921 – Mykola Leontovych, Ukrainian composer and conductor (b. 1877)
    • 1922 – René Beeh, Alsatian painter and draughtsman (b. 1886)
    • 1922 – Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor and academic (b. 1855)
    • 1923 – Max Nordau, Austrian physician and author (b. 1849)
    • 1931 – Anna Pavlova, Russian-English ballerina (b. 1881)
    • 1937 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist and politician (b. 1876)
    • 1939 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer and manager (b. 1903)
    • 1943 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (b. 1887)
    • 1944 – Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter and illustrator (b. 1863)
    • 1947 – Pierre Bonnard, French painter (b. 1867)
    • 1956 – Alexander Korda, Hungarian-English director and producer (b. 1893)
    • 1963 – Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor (b. 1908)
    • 1966 – T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1895)
    • 1971 – Fritz Feigl, Austrian-Brazilian chemist and academic (b. 1871)
    • 1973 – Alexander Onassis, American-Greek businessman (b. 1948)
    • 1973 – Kid Ory, American trombonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1886)
    • 1976 – Paul Robeson, American actor, singer, and activist (b. 1898)
    • 1977 – Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor’s Restaurant (b. 1903)
    • 1978 – Terry Kath, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1946)
    • 1978 – Jack Oakie, American actor (b. 1903)
    • 1980 – Giovanni Michelotti, Italian engineer (b. 1921)
    • 1981 – Samuel Barber, American pianist and composer (b. 1910)
    • 1983 – Fred Bakewell, English cricketer and coach (b. 1908)
    • 1984 – Muin Bseiso, Palestinian-Egyptian poet and critic (b. 1926)
    • 1985 – James Beard, American chef and cookbook author for whom the James Beard Foundation Awards are named (b.1905)
    • 1986 – Joseph Beuys, German sculptor and painter (b. 1921)
    • 1988 – Charles Glen King, American biochemist and academic (b. 1896)
    • 1989 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1904)
    • 1989 – Lars-Erik Torph, Swedish race car driver (b. 1961)
    • 1990 – Allen Collins, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1952)
    • 1991 – Northrop Frye, Canadian author and critic (b. 1912)
    • 1992 – Freddie Bartholomew, American actor (b. 1924)
    • 1993 – Keith Laumer, American soldier, author, and diplomat (b. 1925)
    • 1994 – Nikolai Ogarkov, Russian field marshal (b. 1917)
    • 1994 – Brian Redhead, English journalist and author (b. 1929)
    • 1999 – Joe D’Amato, Italian director and cinematographer (b. 1936)
    • 1999 – Jay Pritzker, American businessman, co-founded the Hyatt Corporation (b. 1922)
    • 2002 – Paul Aars, American race car driver (b. 1934)
    • 2002 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist, anthropologist, and philosopher (b. 1930)
    • 2002 – Robert Nozick, American philosopher, author, and academic (b. 1938)
    • 2003 – Nell Carter, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
    • 2004 – Bob Keeshan, American television personality and producer (b. 1927)
    • 2004 – Helmut Newton, German-Australian photographer (b. 1920)
    • 2005 – Morys Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, English lieutenant and politician (b. 1921)
    • 2005 – Johnny Carson, American talk show host, television personality, and producer (b. 1925)
    • 2007 – Syed Hussein Alatas, Malaysian sociologist and politician (b. 1928)
    • 2007 – E. Howard Hunt, American CIA officer (b. 1918)
    • 2007 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist and author (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Robert W. Scott, American farmer and politician, 67th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1929)
    • 2010 – Kermit Tyler, American colonel and pilot (b. 1913)
    • 2010 – Earl Wild, American pianist and composer (b. 1915)
    • 2011 – Jack LaLanne, American fitness instructor, author, and television host (b. 1914)
    • 2012 – Wesley E. Brown, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1907)
    • 2012 – Maurice Meisner, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1931)
    • 2012 – Bingham Ray, American businessman, co-founded October Films (b. 1954)
    • 2013 – Józef Glemp, Polish cardinal (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Peter van der Merwe, South African cricketer and referee (b. 1937)
    • 2013 – Jean-Félix-Albert-Marie Vilnet, French bishop (b. 1922)
    • 2014 – Yuri Izrael, Russian meteorologist and journalist (b. 1930)
    • 2014 – Riz Ortolani, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1926)
    • 2015 – Ernie Banks, American baseball player and coach (b. 1931)
    • 2015 – Prosper Ego, Dutch activist, founded the Oud-Strijders Legioen (b. 1927)
    • 2015 – Abdullah of Saudi Arabia (b. 1924)
    • 2016 – Jimmy Bain, Scottish bassist (b. 1947)
    • 2016 – Bobby Wanzer, American basketball player and coach (b. 1921)
    • 2017 – Bobby Freeman, American singer, songwriter and record producer (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Gorden Kaye, English actor (b. 1941)
    • 2018 – Hugh Masekela, South African trumpeter, composer and singer (b. 1939)
    • 2018 – Nicanor Parra, Chilean poet (b. 1914)
    • 2018 – Wyatt Tee Walker, American civil rights activist and pastor (b. 1928)

    Holidays and observances on January 23

    • Bounty Day (Pitcairn Islands)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Abakuh
      • Marianne of Molokai
      • Emerentiana
      • Espousals of the Blessed Virgin Mary
      • Ildefonsus of Toledo
      • Phillips Brooks (Episcopal Church (USA))
      • January 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s Jayanti (Orissa, Tripura, and West Bengal, India)
    • World Freedom Day (Taiwan and South Korea)