Skip to content
-
January 18 in History
- 474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later.
- 532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail.
- 1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.
- 1486 – King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York.
- 1562 – Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
- 1591 – King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Mingyi Swa of Burma in single combat, for which this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
- 1670 – Henry Morgan captures Panama.
- 1701 – Frederick I crowns himself King of Prussia in Königsberg.
- 1778 – James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the “Sandwich Islands”.
- 1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrive at Botany Bay.
- 1806 – Jan Willem Janssens surrenders the Dutch Cape Colony to the British.
- 1866 – Wesley College is established in Melbourne, Australia.
- 1871 – Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed Kaiser Wilhelm in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles (France) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Wilhelm already had the title of German Emperor since the constitution of 1 January 1871, but he had hesitated to accept the title.
- 1886 – Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
- 1896 – An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H. L. Smith.
- 1911 – Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
- 1913 – First Balkan War: A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.
- 1915 – Japan issues the “Twenty-One Demands” to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
- 1919 – World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.
- 1919 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
- 1941 – World War II: British troops launch a general counter-offensive against Italian East Africa.
- 1943 – Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
- 1945 – World War II: Liberation of Kraków, Poland by the Red Army.
- 1958 – Willie O’Ree, the first Black Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.
- 1960 – Capital Airlines Flight 20 crashes into a farm in Charles City County, Virginia, killing all 50 aboard, the third fatal Capital Airlines crash in as many years.
- 1967 – Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler”, is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment.
- 1969 – United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay killing all 32 passengers and six crew members.
- 1974 – A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.
- 1976 – Lebanese Christian militias kill at least 1,000 in Karantina, Beirut.
- 1977 – Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires’ disease.
- 1977 – Australia’s worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.
- 1977 – SFR Yugoslavia’s Prime minister, Džemal Bijedić, his wife and six others are killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- 1978 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom’s government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
- 1981 – Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
- 1983 – The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe’s Olympic medals to his family.
- 1990 – Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
- 1993 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in all 50 US states.
- 2002 – The Sierra Leone Civil War is declared over.
- 2003 – A bushfire kills four people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
- 2005 – The Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France
- 2007 – The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people and Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Cyclone Kyrill causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe.
- 2008 – The Euphronios Krater is unveiled in Rome after being returned to Italy by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
- 2018 – A bus catches fire on the Samara–Shymkent road in Yrgyz District, Aktobe, Kazakhstan. The fire kills 52 passengers, with three passengers and two drivers escaping.
Births on January 18
- 1404 – Sir Philip Courtenay, British noble (d. 1463)
- 1457 – Antonio Trivulzio, seniore, Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1508)
- 1519 – Isabella Jagiellon, Queen of Hungary (d. 1559)
- 1540 – Catherine, Duchess of Braganza (d. 1614)
- 1641 – François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French politician, Secretary of State for War (d. 1691)
- 1659 – Damaris Cudworth Masham, English philosopher and theologian (d. 1708)
- 1672 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French author (d. 1731)
- 1688 – Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1765)
- 1689 – Montesquieu, French lawyer and philosopher (d. 1755)
- 1701 – Johann Jakob Moser, German jurist (d. 1785)
- 1743 – Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, French mystic and philosopher (d. 1803)
- 1751 – Ferdinand Kauer, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1831)
- 1752 – John Nash, English architect (d. 1835)
- 1764 – Samuel Whitbread, English politician (d. 1815)
- 1779 – Peter Mark Roget, English physician, lexicographer, and theologian (d. 1869)
- 1782 – Daniel Webster, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)
- 1793 – Pratap Singh Bhosle, Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1847)
- 1815 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German theologian and scholar (d. 1874)
- 1835 – César Cui, Russian general, composer, and critic (d. 1918)
- 1840 – Henry Austin Dobson, English poet and author (d. 1921)
- 1841 – Emmanuel Chabrier, French pianist and composer (d. 1894)
- 1842 – A. A. Ames, American physician and politician, Mayor of Minneapolis (d. 1911)
- 1848 – Ioan Slavici, Romanian journalist and author (d. 1925)
- 1849 – Edmund Barton, Australian judge and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
- 1850 – Seth Low, American academic and politician, 92nd Mayor of New York City (d. 1916)
- 1853 – Marthinus Nikolaas Ras, South African farmer, soldier, and gun-maker (d. 1900)
- 1854 – Thomas A. Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934)
- 1856 – Daniel Hale Williams, American surgeon and cardiologist (d. 1931)
- 1867 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan poet, journalist, and diplomat (d. 1916)
- 1868 – Kantarō Suzuki, Japanese admiral and politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
- 1877 – Sam Zemurray, Russian-American businessman, founded the Cuyamel Fruit Company (d. 1961)
- 1879 – Henri Giraud, French general and politician (d. 1949)
- 1880 – Paul Ehrenfest, Austrian-Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1933)
- 1880 – Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, Italian cardinal (d. 1954)
- 1881 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (d. 1975)
- 1882 – A. A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
- 1886 – Clara Nordström, Swedish-German author and translator (d. 1962)
- 1888 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player, sailor, and pilot (d. 1989)
- 1892 – Oliver Hardy, American actor and comedian (d. 1957)
- 1892 – Bill Meanix, American hurdler and coach (d. 1957)
- 1892 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon and academic (d. 1956)
- 1893 – Jorge Guillén, Spanish poet, critic, and academic (d. 1984)
- 1894 – Toots Mondt, American wrestler and promoter (d. 1976)
- 1896 – C. M. Eddy Jr., American author (d. 1967)
- 1896 – Ville Ritola, Finnish-American runner (d. 1982)
- 1898 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1978)
- 1901 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1973)
- 1903 – Berthold Goldschmidt, German pianist and composer (d. 1996)
- 1904 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordion player and composer (d. 2006)
- 1904 – Cary Grant, English-American actor (d. 1986)
- 1905 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-American mob boss (d. 2002)
- 1907 – János Ferencsik, Hungarian conductor (d. 1984)
- 1908 – Jacob Bronowski, Polish-English mathematician, historian, and television host (d. 1974)
- 1910 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist and academic (d. 1993)
- 1911 – José María Arguedas, Peruvian anthropologist, author, and poet (d. 1969)
- 1911 – Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
- 1913 – Carroll Cloar, American artist (d. 1993)
- 1913 – Giannis Papaioannou, Greek composer (d. 1972)
- 1914 – Arno Schmidt, German author and translator (d. 1979)
- 1914 – Vitomil Zupan, Slovene author, poet, and playwright (d. 1987)
- 1915 – Syl Apps, Canadian pole vaulter, ice hockey player, and politician (d. 1998)
- 1915 – Santiago Carrillo, Spanish soldier and politician (d. 2012)
- 1915 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1984)
- 1917 – Nicholas Oresko, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese-American businessman (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Gustave Gingras, Canadian-English physician and educator (d. 1996)
- 1919 – Toni Turek, German footballer (d. 1984)
- 1921 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
- 1923 – John Graham, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Wales (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Gerrit Voorting, Dutch cyclist (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Gilles Deleuze, French metaphysician and philosopher (d. 1995)
- 1925 – John V. Evans, American soldier and politician, 27th Governor of Idaho (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Sol Yurick, American soldier and author (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Randolph Bromery, American geologist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Sundaram Balachander, Indian actor, singer, and veena player (d. 1990)
- 1928 – Alexander Gomelsky, Soviet and Russian professional basketball coach (d. 2005)
- 1931 – Chun Doo-hwan, South Korean general and politician, 5th President of South Korea
- 1932 – Robert Anton Wilson, American psychologist, author, poet, and playwright (d. 2007)
- 1933 – Emeka Anyaoku, Nigerian politician, 8th Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1933 – David Bellamy, English botanist, author and academic (d. 2019)
- 1933 – John Boorman, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1933 – Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (d. 2013)
- 1933 – William Goodhart, Baron Goodhart, English lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
- 1933 – Frank McMullen, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2004)
- 1933 – Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Raymond Briggs, English author and illustrator
- 1935 – Albert Millaire, Canadian actor and director (d. 2018)
- 1935 – Jon Stallworthy, English poet, critic, and academic (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Gad Yaacobi, Israeli academic and diplomat, 10th Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2007)
- 1936 – David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
- 1937 – John Hume, Northern Irish educator and politician, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1938 – Curt Flood, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1997)
- 1938 – Anthony Giddens, English sociologist and academic
- 1938 – Werner Olk, German footballer and manager
- 1938 – Hargus “Pig” Robbins, American Country Music Hall of Fame session keyboard and piano player
- 1940 – Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican race car driver (d. 1971)
- 1941 – Denise Bombardier, Canadian journalist and author
- 1941 – Bobby Goldsboro, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1941 – David Ruffin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1991)
- 1943 – Paul Freeman, English actor
- 1943 – Kay Granger, American educator and politician
- 1943 – Dave Greenslade, English keyboard player and composer
- 1943 – Charlie Wilson, American businessman and politician (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Paul Keating, Australian economist and politician, 24th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1944 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (d. 1983)
- 1944 – Kei Ogura, Japanese singer-songwriter and composer
- 1944 – Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria
- 1945 – Rocco Forte, English businessman and philanthropist
- 1946 – Perro Aguayo, Mexican wrestler (d. 2019)
- 1946 – Joseph Deiss, Swiss economist and politician, 156th President of the Swiss Confederation
- 1946 – Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseball player and journalist (d. 2018)
- 1947 – Takeshi Kitano, Japanese actor and director
- 1949 – Bill Keller, American journalist
- 1949 – Philippe Starck, French interior designer
- 1950 – Gianfranco Brancatelli, Italian race car driver
- 1950 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
- 1951 – Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist and activist (d. 1982)
- 1951 – Bob Latchford, English footballer
- 1952 – Michael Behe, American biochemist, author, and academic
- 1952 – R. Stevie Moore, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Brett Hudson, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1953 – Peter Moon, Australian comedian and actor
- 1955 – Kevin Costner, American actor, director, and producer
- 1956 – Paul Deighton, Baron Deighton, English banker and politician
- 1960 – Mark Rylance, English actor, director, and playwright
- 1961 – Peter Beardsley, English footballer and manager
- 1961 – Bob Hansen, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1961 – Mark Messier, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1961 – Jeff Yagher, American actor and sculptor
- 1962 – Alison Arngrim, Canadian-American actress
- 1963 – Maxime Bernier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada
- 1963 – Ian Crook, English footballer, central midfielder and manager
- 1963 – Carl McCoy, English singer-songwriter
- 1963 – Martin O’Malley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 61st Governor of Maryland
- 1964 – Brady Anderson, American baseball player
- 1964 – Richard Dunwoody, Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster
- 1964 – Virgil Hill, American boxer
- 1964 – Jane Horrocks, English actress and singer
- 1966 – Alexander Khalifman, Russian chess player and author
- 1966 – Kazufumi Miyazawa, Japanese singer
- 1966 – André Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver
- 1967 – Dean Bailey, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
- 1967 – Iván Zamorano, Chilean footballer
- 1969 – Dave Bautista, American wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
- 1969 – Jesse L. Martin, American actor and singer
- 1969 – Jim O’Rourke, American guitarist and producer
- 1970 – Peter Van Petegem, Belgian cyclist
- 1971 – Amy Barger, American astronomer
- 1971 – Jonathan Davis, American singer-songwriter
- 1971 – Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
- 1971 – Pep Guardiola, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1971 – Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan writer (d. 2019)
- 1972 – Vinod Kambli, Indian cricketer, sportscaster, and actor
- 1972 – Mike Lieberthal, American baseball player
- 1972 – Kjersti Plätzer, Norwegian race walker
- 1973 – Burnie Burns, American actor, director, and producer, co-founded Rooster Teeth Productions
- 1973 – Luke Goodwin, Australian rugby league player and coach
- 1973 – Benjamin Jealous, American civic leader and activist
- 1973 – Anthony Koutoufides, Australian footballer
- 1973 – Crispian Mills, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director
- 1973 – Rolando Schiavi, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1974 – Christian Burns, English singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Leslie Knope, Protagonist of Parks and Recreation (fictional)
- 1976 – Laurence Courtois, Belgian tennis player
- 1976 – Marcelo Gallardo, Argentinian footballer and coach
- 1976 – Damien Leith, Irish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1977 – Richard Archer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player
- 1978 – Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist
- 1978 – Bogdan Lobonț, Romanian footballer
- 1979 – Ruslan Fedotenko, Ukrainian ice hockey player
- 1979 – Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
- 1979 – Brian Gionta, American ice hockey player
- 1979 – Kenyatta Jones, American football player (d. 2018)
- 1980 – Estelle, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1980 – Robert Green, English footballer
- 1980 – Kert Haavistu, Estonian footballer and manager
- 1980 – Julius Peppers, American football player
- 1980 – Jason Segel, American actor and screenwriter
- 1981 – Otgonbayar Ershuu, Mongolian painter and illustrator
- 1981 – Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player
- 1981 – Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer
- 1981 – Kang Dong-won, South Korean actor
- 1982 – Quinn Allman, American guitarist and producer
- 1982 – Mary Jepkosgei Keitany, Kenyan runner
- 1983 – Amir Blumenfeld, Israeli-American comedian, actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1983 – Samantha Mumba, Irish singer-songwriter and actress
- 1984 – Kristy Lee Cook, American singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Ioannis Drymonakos, Greek swimmer
- 1984 – Makoto Hasebe, Japanese footballer
- 1984 – Michael Kearney, American biochemist and academic
- 1984 – Seung-Hui Cho, South Korean student who perpetrated the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech (d. 2007)
- 1984 – Benji Schwimmer, American dancer and choreographer
- 1984 – Viktoria Shklover, Estonian figure skater
- 1985 – Dale Begg-Smith, Canadian-Australian skier
- 1985 – Mark Briscoe, American wrestler
- 1985 – Riccardo Montolivo, Italian footballer
- 1985 – Hyun Woo, South Korean actor
- 1986 – Marya Roxx, Estonian-American singer-songwriter
- 1986 – Ikusaburo Yamazaki, Japanese actor and singer
- 1987 – Johan Djourou, Swiss footballer
- 1987 – Christopher Liebig, German rugby player
- 1987 – Grigoris Makos, Greek footballer
- 1988 – Ronnie Day, American singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Angelique Kerber, German tennis player
- 1988 – Anastasios Kissas, Greek footballer
- 1988 – Boy van Poppel, Dutch cyclist
- 1989 – Rubén Miño, Spanish footballer
- 1990 – Nacho, Spanish footballer
- 1990 – Hayle Ibrahimov, Ethiopian-Azerbaijani runner
- 1990 – Gift Ngoepe, South African baseball player
- 1991 – Diego Simões, Brazilian footballer
- 1992 – Francesco Bardi, Italian footballer
- 1993 – Sean Keenan, Australian actor
- 1994 – Kang Ji-young, South Korean singer
- 1994 – Ilona Kremen, Belarusian tennis player
- 1995 – Bryce Alford, American basketball player
- 1998 – Aitana Bonmatí, Spanish footballer
Deaths on January 18
- 52 BC – Publius Clodius Pulcher, Roman politician (b. 93 BC)
- 474 – Leo I, Byzantine emperor (b. 401)
- 748 – Odilo, duke of Bavaria
- 896 – Khumarawayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun, ruler of the Tulunids, murdered (b. 864)
- 1213 – Tamar of Georgia (b. 1160)
- 1253 – King Henry I of Cyprus (b. 1217)
- 1271 – Saint Margaret of Hungary (b. 1242)
- 1326 – Robert FitzWalter, 1st Baron FitzWalter, English baron (b. 1247)
- 1357 – Maria of Portugal, infanta (b. 1313)
- 1367 – Peter I of Portugal (b. 1320)
- 1411 – Jobst of Moravia, ruler of Moravia, King of the Romans
- 1425 – Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, English politician (b. 1391)
- 1471 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (b. 1419)
- 1479 – Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1417)
- 1547 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal and scholar (b. 1470)
- 1586 – Margaret of Parma (b. 1522)
- 1589 – Magnus Heinason, Faroese naval hero (b. 1545)
- 1677 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch politician, founded Cape Town (b. 1619)
- 1756 – Francis George of Schönborn-Buchheim, Archbishop-Elector of Trier (b. 1682)
- 1783 – Jeanne Quinault, French actress and playwright (b. 1699)
- 1803 – Ippolit Bogdanovich, Russian poet and academic (b. 1743)
- 1849 – Panoutsos Notaras, Greek politician (b. 1752)
- 1862 – John Tyler, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 10th President of the United States (b. 1790)
- 1873 – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, English author, poet, playwright, and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1803)
- 1878 – Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist and academic (b. 1788)
- 1886 – Baldassare Verazzi, Italian painter (b. 1819)
- 1892 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss religious leader, 23rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1819)
- 1896 – Charles Floquet, French lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
- 1923 – Wallace Reid, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1891)
- 1936 – Hermanus Brockmann, Dutch rower (b. 1871)
- 1936 – Rudyard Kipling, English author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
- 1940 – Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Polish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1865)
- 1951 – Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary and humanitarian (b. 1867)
- 1952 – Curly Howard, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1954 – Sydney Greenstreet, English-American actor (b. 1879)
- 1955 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Pakistani author and screenwriter (b. 1912)
- 1956 – Makbule Atadan, Turkish lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
- 1956 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 1st President of Estonia (b. 1874)
- 1963 – Hugh Gaitskell, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1906)
- 1966 – Kathleen Norris, American journalist and author (b. 1880)
- 1967 – Goose Tatum, American basketball player and soldier (b. 1921)
- 1969 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1887)
- 1970 – David O. McKay, American religious leader, 9th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1873)
- 1971 – Virgil Finlay, American illustrator (b. 1914)
- 1973 – Irina Nikolaevna Levchenko, Russian tank commander (b. 1924)
- 1975 – Gertrude Olmstead, American actress (b. 1897)
- 1978 – Hasan Askari, Pakistani philosopher and author (b. 1919)
- 1980 – Cecil Beaton, English fashion designer and photographer (b. 1904)
- 1984 – Panteleimon Ponomarenko, Belarusian general and politician (b. 1902)
- 1984 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1915)
- 1989 – Bruce Chatwin, English-French author (b. 1940)
- 1990 – Melanie Appleby, English singer (b. 1966)
- 1990 – Rusty Hamer, American actor (b. 1947)
- 1993 – Dionysios Zakythinos, Greek historian, academic, and politician (b. 1905)
- 1995 – Adolf Butenandt, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
- 1995 – Ron Luciano, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1937)
- 1996 – N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician, 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (b. 1923)
- 1997 – Paul Tsongas, American lawyer and politician (b. 1941)
- 1998 – Dan Georgiadis, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1922)
- 2000 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (b. 1897)
- 2003 – Ed Farhat, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1924)
- 2003 – Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Indian poet and author (b. 1907)
- 2005 – Lamont Bentley, American actor and rapper (b. 1973)
- 2006 – Jan Twardowski, Polish priest and poet (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Brent Liles, American bass player (b. 1963)
- 2008 – Georgia Frontiere, American businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1927)
- 2008 – Frank Lewin, American composer and theorist (b. 1925)
- 2008 – Lois Nettleton, American actress (b. 1927)
- 2008 – John Stroger, American politician (b. 1929)
- 2009 – Tony Hart, English painter and television host (b. 1925)
- 2009 – Nora Kovach, Hungarian-American ballerina (b. 1931)
- 2009 – Danai Stratigopoulou, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
- 2009 – Grigore Vieru, Romanian poet and author (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Kate McGarrigle, Canadian musician and singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
- 2010 – Robert B. Parker, American author and academic (b. 1932)
- 2011 – Sargent Shriver, American politician and diplomat, 21st United States Ambassador to France (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Anthony Gonsalves, Indian composer and educator (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Georg Lassen, German captain (b. 1915)
- 2012 – Yuri Rasovsky, American playwright and producer, founded The National Radio Theater of Chicago (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Sean Fallon, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Jim Horning, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1942)
- 2013 – Jon Mannah, Australian rugby league player (b. 1989)
- 2013 – Lewis Marnell, Australian skateboarder (b. 1982)
- 2013 – Ron Nachman, Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1942)
- 2014 – Kathryn Abbe, American photographer and author (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Michael Botmang, Nigerian politician, 17th Governor of Plateau State (b. 1938)
- 2014 – Dennis Frederiksen, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
- 2014 – Andy Graver, English footballer (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Sarah Marshall, English actress (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Eugenio Cruz Vargas, Chilean poet and painter (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Alberto Nisman, Argentinian lawyer and prosecutor (b. 1963)
- 2015 – Christine Valmy, Romanian cosmetologist and author (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Piet van der Sanden, Dutch journalist and politician (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Tony Verna, American director and producer, invented instant replay (b. 1933)
- 2016 – Johnny Bach, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
- 2016 – Glenn Frey, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1948)
- 2016 – T. S. Sinnathuray, Judge of the High Court of Singapore (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Michel Tournier, French journalist and author (b. 1924)
- 2017 – Peter Abrahams, South African-Jamaican writer (b. 1919)
- 2017 – David P. Buckson, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Delaware (b. 1920)
- 2017 – Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer, businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1939)
- 2017 – Roberta Peters, American coloratura soprano (b. 1930)
- 2019 – John Coughlin, American figure skater (b. 1985)
Holidays and observances on January 18
- Christian feast day:
- Amy Carmichael (Church of England)
- Athanasius of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Confession of Peter (Eastern Orthodox, some Anglican and Lutheran Churches)
- Cyril of Alexandria
- Deicolus
- Margaret of Hungary
- Prisca
- Volusianus of Tours
- January 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Royal Thai Armed Forces Day (Thailand)
- Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18–25) (Christianity)
-
January 15 in History
- 69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
- 1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the “Holy Catholic faith”.
- 1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
- 1582 – Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- 1759 – The British Museum opens to the public.
- 1777 – American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
- 1782 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
- 1815 – War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
- 1818 – A paper by David Brewster is read to the Royal Society, belatedly announcing his discovery of what we now call the biaxial class of doubly-refracting crystals. On the same day, Augustin-Jean Fresnel signs a “supplement” (submitted four days later) on reflection of polarized light.
- 1822 – Greek War of Independence: Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.
- 1865 – American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
- 1867 – Forty people die when ice covering the boating lake at Regent’s Park, London, collapses.
- 1870 – A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the Democratic Party with a donkey (“A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion” by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly).
- 1876 – The first newspaper in Afrikaans, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, is published in Paarl.
- 1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.
- 1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
- 1908 – The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.
- 1910 – Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 325 ft (99 m).
- 1911 – Palestinian Arabic-language Falastin newspaper founded.
- 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.
- 1919 – Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.
- 1934 – The 8.0 Mw Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people.
- 1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
- 1937 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
- 1943 – World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
- 1943 – The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
- 1947 – The Black Dahlia murder: the dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short was found in Los Angeles.
- 1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
- 1962 – The Derveni papyrus, Europe’s oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.
- 1962 – Netherlands New Guinea Conflict: Indonesian Navy fast patrol boat RI Macan Tutul commanded by Commodore Yos Sudarso sunk in Arafura Sea by the Dutch Navy.
- 1966 – The First Nigerian Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d’état.
- 1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.
- 1969 – The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
- 1970 – Nigerian Civil War: Biafran rebels surrender following an unsuccessful 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria.
- 1970 – Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
- 1973 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
- 1975 – The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.
- 1976 – Gerald Ford’s would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
- 1981 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation from Solidarity (Polish trade union) at the Vatican led by Lech Wałęsa.
- 1991 – The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
- 1991 – Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.
- 2001 – Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
- 2005 – ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the Moon.
- 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
- 2009 – US Airways Flight 1549 ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take-off.
- 2013 – A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others.
- 2015 – The Swiss National Bank abandons the cap on the franc’s value relative to the euro, causing turmoil in international financial markets
- 2016 – The Kenyan Army suffers its worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 Kenyan soldiers are killed in the battle.
- 2019 – Somali militants attack the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi, Kenya killing at least 21 people and injuring 19.
- 2019 – Theresa May’s UK government suffers the biggest government defeat in modern times, when 432 MPs voting against the proposed European Union withdrawal agreement, giving her opponents a majority of 230.
Births on January 15
- 961 – Seongjong of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 997)
- 1432 – Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
- 1462 – Edzard I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1528)
- 1481 – Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shōgun (d. 1511)
- 1538 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
- 1595 – Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, English politician (d. 1661)
- 1622 – Molière, French actor and playwright (d. 1673)
- 1623 – Algernon Sidney, British philosopher (d. 1683)
- 1671 – Abraham de la Pryme, English archaeologist and historian (d. 1704)
- 1674 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French poet and playwright (d. 1762)
- 1716 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (d. 1778)
- 1747 – John Aikin, English surgeon and author (d. 1822)
- 1754 – Richard Martin, Irish activist and politician, co-founded the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (d. 1834)
- 1791 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1872)
- 1795 – Alexander Griboyedov, Russian playwright, composer, and poet (d. 1829)
- 1803 – Marjorie Fleming, Scottish poet and author (d. 1811)
- 1809 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French economist and politician (d. 1865)
- 1812 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian author and scholar (d. 1885)
- 1815 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, 3rd President of the Church of Jesus Christ (d. 1905)
- 1834 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (d. 1911)
- 1841 – Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, English captain and politician, 6th Governor General of Canada (d. 1908)
- 1842 – Josef Breuer, Austrian physician and psychiatrist (d. 1925)
- 1842 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun and saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (d. 1909)
- 1850 – Leonard Darwin, English soldier, eugenicist, and politician (d. 1943)
- 1850 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1889)
- 1850 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1891)
- 1855 – Jacques Damala, Greek-French soldier and actor (d. 1889)
- 1858 – Giovanni Segantini, Italian painter (d. 1899)
- 1859 – Archibald Peake, English-Australian politician, 25th Premier of South Australia (d. 1920)
- 1863 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
- 1866 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, historian, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
- 1869 – Ruby Laffoon, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Kentucky (d. 1941)
- 1869 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish poet, playwright, and painter (d. 1907)
- 1870 – Pierre S. du Pont, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1954)
- 1872 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (d. 1944)
- 1875 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and journalist (d. 1929)
- 1877 – Lewis Terman, American psychologist, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1956)
- 1878 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (d. 1941)
- 1879 – Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1961)
- 1882 – Henry Burr, Canadian singer, radio performer, and producer (d. 1941)
- 1885 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and author (d. 1973)
- 1885 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968)
- 1890 – Michiaki Kamada, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
- 1891 – Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
- 1891 – Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet and translator (d. 1938)
- 1893 – Ivor Novello, Welsh singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1951)
- 1895 – Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
- 1896 – Marjorie Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1982)
- 1902 – Nâzım Hikmet, Greek-Turkish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
- 1902 – Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
- 1903 – Paul A. Dever, American lieutenant and politician, 58th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
- 1907 – Janusz Kusociński, Polish runner and soldier (d. 1940)
- 1908 – Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (d. 2003)
- 1909 – Jean Bugatti, German-French engineer (d. 1939)
- 1909 – Gene Krupa, American drummer, composer, and actor (d. 1973)
- 1912 – Michel Debré, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1996)
- 1913 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (d. 2002)
- 1913 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1913 – Miriam Hyde, Australian pianist and composer (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Alexander Marinesko, Ukrainian-Russian lieutenant (d. 1963)
- 1914 – Stefan Bałuk, Polish general (d. 2014)
- 1914 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian and academic (d. 2003)
- 1917 – K. A. Thangavelu, Indian film actor and comedian (d. 1994)
- 1918 – João Figueiredo, Brazilian general and politician, 30th President of Brazil (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Édouard Gagnon, Canadian cardinal (d. 2007)
- 1918 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (d. 1970)
- 1919 – Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer and politician, French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (d. 2012)
- 1919 – George Cadle Price, Belizean politician, 1st Prime Minister of Belize (d. 2011)
- 1920 – Bob Davies, American basketball player and coach (d. 1990)
- 1920 – Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002)
- 1920 – John O’Connor, American cardinal (d. 2000)
- 1921 – Babasaheb Bhosale, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Frank Thornton, English actor (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Sylvia Lawler, English geneticist (d. 1996)
- 1922 – Eric Willis, Australian sergeant and politician, 34th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish pianist, songwriter, and poet (d. 2006)
- 1923 – Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese-Chinese economist and politician, 4th President of the Republic of China
- 1924 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Ruth Slenczynska, American pianist and composer
- 1925 – Ignacio López Tarso, Mexican actor
- 1926 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Phyllis Coates, American actress
- 1928 – W. R. Mitchell, English journalist and author (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Earl Hooker, American guitarist (d. 1970)
- 1929 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated in 1968)
- 1930 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (d. 1985)
- 1931 – Lee Bontecou, American painter and sculptor
- 1932 – Lou Jones, American sprinter (d. 2006)
- 1933 – Frank Bough, English journalist and radio host
- 1933 – Ernest J. Gaines, American author and academic (d. 2019)
- 1933 – Peter Maitlis, English chemist and academic
- 1934 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian civil servant and politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Margaret O’Brien, American actress and singer
- 1938 – Ashraf Aman, Pakistani engineer and mountaineer
- 1938 – Estrella Blanca, Mexican wrestler
- 1938 – Chuni Goswami, Indian footballer and cricketer
- 1939 – Per Ahlmark, Swedish journalist and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Tony Bullimore, British sailor
- 1941 – Captain Beefheart, American singer-songwriter, musician, and artist (d. 2010)
- 1942 – Frank Joseph Polozola, American academic and judge (d. 2013)
- 1943 – George Ambrum, Australian rugby league player (d. 1986)
- 1943 – Margaret Beckett, English metallurgist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
- 1943 – Stuart E. Eizenstat, American lawyer and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the European Union
- 1943 – Mike Marshall, American baseball player
- 1944 – Jenny Nimmo, English author
- 1945 – Ko Chun-hsiung, Taiwanese actor, director, and politician (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Vince Foster, American lawyer and political figure (d. 1993)
- 1945 – William R. Higgins, American colonel (d. 1990)
- 1945 – Princess Michael of Kent
- 1945 – David Pleat, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
- 1946 – Charles Brown, American actor (d. 2004)
- 1947 – Mary Hogg, English lawyer and judge
- 1947 – Andrea Martin, American-Canadian actress, singer, and screenwriter
- 1948 – Ronnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter (d. 1977)
- 1949 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2001)
- 1949 – Alasdair Liddell, English businessman (d. 2012)
- 1949 – Ian Stewart, Scottish runner
- 1949 – Howard Twitty, American golfer
- 1950 – Marius Trésor, French footballer and coach
- 1952 – Boris Blank, Swiss singer-songwriter
- 1952 – Andrzej Fischer, Polish footballer
- 1953 – Randy White, American football player
- 1954 – Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino poet, author, and screenwriter
- 1955 – Nigel Benson, English author and illustrator
- 1955 – Andreas Gursky, German photographer
- 1955 – Khalid Islambouli, Egyptian lieutenant (d. 1982)
- 1956 – Vitaly Kaloyev, Russian architect
- 1956 – Mayawati, Indian educator and politician, 23rd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
- 1956 – Marc Trestman, American football player and coach
- 1957 – David Ige, American politician
- 1957 – Marty Lyons, American football player and sportscaster
- 1957 – Andrew Tyrie, English journalist and politician
- 1957 – Mario Van Peebles, American actor and director
- 1958 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2016)
- 1958 – Boris Tadić, Serbian psychologist and politician, 16th President of Serbia
- 1959 – Greg Dowling, Australian rugby league player
- 1959 – Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian mountaineer and photographer (d. 2008)
- 1959 – Pete Trewavas, English bass player and songwriter
- 1961 – Serhiy N. Morozov, Ukrainian footballer and coach
- 1961 – Yves Pelletier, Canadian actor and director
- 1963 – Conrad Lant, English singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1963 – Bruce Schneier, American cryptographer and author
- 1964 – Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
- 1965 – Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist
- 1965 – Bernard Hopkins, American boxer and coach
- 1965 – James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
- 1966 – Lisa Lisa, American R&B singer
- 1967 – Ted Tryba, American golfer
- 1968 – Chad Lowe, American actor, director, and producer
- 1969 – Delino DeShields, American baseball player and manager
- 1970 – Shane McMahon, American wrestler and businessman
- 1971 – Regina King, American actress
- 1972 – Shelia Burrell, American heptathlete
- 1972 – Christos Kostis, Greek footballer
- 1972 – Claudia Winkleman, English journalist and critic
- 1973 – Essam El Hadary, Egyptian footballer
- 1973 – Suparno Satpathy, Indian socio-political leader
- 1974 – Séverine Deneulin, international development academic
- 1974 – Ray King, American baseball player
- 1975 – Mary Pierce, Canadian-American tennis player and coach
- 1976 – Doug Gottlieb, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1976 – Iryna Lishchynska, Ukrainian runner
- 1976 – Scott Murray, Scottish rugby player
- 1976 – Florentin Petre, Romanian footballer and manager
- 1978 – Eddie Cahill, American actor
- 1978 – Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
- 1978 – Ryan Sidebottom, English cricketer
- 1979 – Drew Brees, American football player
- 1979 – Michalis Morfis, Cypriot footballer
- 1979 – Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1980 – Matt Holliday, American baseball player
- 1981 – El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese football player
- 1981 – Pitbull, American rapper and producer
- 1981 – Dylan Armstrong, Canadian shot putter and hammer thrower
- 1981 – Vanessa Henke, German tennis player
- 1981 – Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby player
- 1982 – Benjamin Agosto, American skater
- 1982 – Armando Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1982 – Brett Lebda, American ice hockey player
- 1982 – Ari Pulkkinen, Finnish pianist and composer
- 1982 – Francis Zé, Cameroonian footballer
- 1983 – Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
- 1983 – Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer
- 1984 – Ben Shapiro, American author and commentator
- 1985 – René Adler, German footballer
- 1985 – Enrico Patrizio, Italian rugby player
- 1985 – Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer
- 1986 – Fred Davis, American football player
- 1987 – Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player
- 1987 – Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopian runner
- 1987 – David Knight, English footballer
- 1987 – Kelleigh Ryan, Canadian fencer
- 1987 – Michael Seater, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1988 – Daniel Caligiuri, German footballer
- 1988 – Skrillex, American DJ and producer
- 1989 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
- 1990 – Paul Blake, English sprinter
- 1990 – Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
- 1990 – Robert Trznadel, Polish footballer
- 1991 – Marc Bartra, Spanish footballer
- 1991 – Nicolai Jørgensen, Danish footballer
- 1991 – Darya Klishina, Russian long jumper
- 1991 – James Mitchell, Australian basketball player
- 1992 – Joël Veltman, Dutch footballer
- 1994 – Eric Dier, English footballer
- 1998 – Alexandra Eade, Australian artistic gymnast
- 2004 – Grace VanderWaal, American singer-songwriter
Deaths on January 15
- AD 69 – Galba, Roman emperor (b. 3 BC)
- 378 – Chak Tok Ich’aak I, Mayan ruler
- 570 – Íte of Killeedy, Irish nun and saint (b. 475)
- 849 – Theophylact, Byzantine emperor (b. 793)
- 936 – Rudolph of France (b. 880)
- 950 – Wang Jingchong, Chinese general
- 1149 – Berengaria of Barcelona, queen consort of Castile (b. 1116)
- 1568 – Nicolaus Olahus, Romanian archbishop (b. 1493)
- 1569 – Catherine Carey, lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I of England (b. 1524)
- 1584 – Martha Leijonhufvud, Swedish noblewoman (b. 1520)
- 1595 – Murad III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546)
- 1623 – Paolo Sarpi, Italian lawyer, historian, and scholar (b. 1552)
- 1672 – John Cosin, English bishop and academic (b. 1594)
- 1683 – Philip Warwick, English politician (b. 1609)
- 1775 – Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian organist and composer (b. 1700)
- 1790 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1719)
- 1804 – Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (b. 1725)
- 1813 – Anton Bernolák, Slovak linguist and priest (b. 1762)
- 1815 – Emma, Lady Hamilton, English-French mistress of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (b. 1761)
- 1855 – Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (b. 1780)
- 1864 – Isaac Nathan, English-Australian composer and journalist (b. 1792)
- 1866 – Massimo d’Azeglio, Piedmontese-Italian statesman, novelist and painter (b. 1798)
- 1876 – Eliza McCardle Johnson, American wife of Andrew Johnson, 18th First Lady of the United States (b. 1810)
- 1885 – Leopold Damrosch, German-American composer and conductor (b. 1832)
- 1893 – Fanny Kemble, English actress (b. 1809)
- 1896 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (b. 1822)
- 1905 – George Thorn, Australian politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
- 1909 – Arnold Janssen, German priest and missionary (b. 1837)
- 1916 – Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian playwright and translator (b. 1850)
- 1919 – Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871)
- 1919 – Rosa Luxemburg, German economist, theorist, and philosopher (b. 1871)
- 1926 – Enrico Toselli, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1883)
- 1929 – George Cope, American painter (b. 1855)
- 1936 – Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, English cricketer and politician, 7th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1866)
- 1937 – Anton Holban, Romanian author, theoretician, and educator (b. 1902)
- 1945 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (b. 1865)
- 1948 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and diplomat, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1862)
- 1950 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (b. 1886)
- 1951 – Ernest Swinton, British Army officer (b. 1868)
- 1951 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian captain and sailor (b. 1887)
- 1952 – Ned Hanlon, Australian sergeant and politician, 26th Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
- 1955 – Yves Tanguy, French-American painter (b. 1900)
- 1959 – Regina Margareten, Hungarian businesswoman (b. 1863)
- 1964 – Jack Teagarden, American singer-songwriter and trombonist (b. 1905)
- 1967 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (b. 1882)
- 1968 – Bill Masterton, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1938)
- 1970 – Frank Clement, English race car driver (b. 1886)
- 1970 – William T. Piper, American engineer and businessman, founded Piper Aircraft (b. 1881)
- 1972 – Daisy Ashford, English author (b. 1881)
- 1973 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
- 1973 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1901)
- 1974 – Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
- 1981 – Graham Whitehead, English race car driver (b. 1922)
- 1982 – Red Smith, American journalist (b. 1905)
- 1983 – Armin Öpik, Estonian-Australian paleontologist and geologist (b. 1898)
- 1983 – Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
- 1984 – Fazıl Küçük, Cypriot journalist and politician (b. 1906)
- 1987 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
- 1988 – Seán MacBride, Irish republican activist and politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Gordon Jackson, Scottish-English actor (b. 1923)
- 1990 – Peggy van Praagh, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (b. 1910)
- 1993 – Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
- 1994 – Georges Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist and composer (b. 1921)
- 1994 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
- 1994 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (b. 1916)
- 1996 – Les Baxter, American pianist and composer (b. 1922)
- 1996 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
- 1998 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian economist and politician, Prime Minister of India (b. 1898)
- 1998 – Junior Wells, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1934)
- 1999 – Betty Box, English composer and producer (b. 1915)
- 2000 – Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian-Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
- 2001 – Leo Marks, English cryptographer, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
- 2002 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (b. 1913)
- 2003 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Olivia Goldsmith, American author (b. 1949)
- 2005 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Elizabeth Janeway, American author and critic (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1926)
- 2007 – Awad Hamed al-Bandar, Iraqi lawyer and judge (b. 1945)
- 2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Iraqi intelligence officer (b. 1951)
- 2007 – James Hillier, Canadian-American computer scientist and academic, co-invented the electron microscope (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino educator and diplomat (b. 1905)
- 2007 – Bo Yibo, Chinese commander and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1908)
- 2008 – Robert V. Bruce, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1923)
- 2008 – Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)
- 2009 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
- 2011 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (b. 1925)
- 2011 – Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, French soldier, race car driver, and businessman (b. 1908)
- 2011 – Susannah York, English actress and activist (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Ed Derwinski, American soldier and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Xunta of Galicia (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Carlo Fruttero, Italian journalist and author (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Samuel Jaskilka, American general (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Ib Spang Olsen, Danish author and illustrator (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Hulett C. Smith, American lieutenant and politician, 27th Governor of West Virginia (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1932)
- 2013 – John Thomas, American high jumper (b. 1941)
- 2014 – Curtis Bray, American football player and coach (b. 1970)
- 2014 – John Dobson, Chinese-American astronomer and author (b. 1915)
- 2014 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (b. 1944)
- 2015 – Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (b. 1919)
- 2015 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Francisco X. Alarcón, American poet and educator (b. 1954)
- 2016 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1958)
- 2016 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (b. 1943)
- 2017 – Jimmy Snuka, Fijian professional wrestler (b. 1943)
- 2018 – Dolores O’Riordan, Irish pop singer (b. 1971)
- 2019 – Carol Channing, American actress (b. 1921)
- 2019 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (b. 1936)
Holidays and observances on January 15
- Arbor Day (Egypt)
- Armed Forces Day (Nigeria)
- Army Day (India)
- Christian feast day:
- Abeluzius (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
- Arnold Janssen
- Francis Ferdinand de Capillas (one of Martyr Saints of China)
- Ita
- Our Lady of the Poor
- Macarius of Egypt (Western Christianity)
- Maurus and Placidus (Order of Saint Benedict)
- Paul the Hermit
- January 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Martin Luther King Jr. Day can fall (the 15th being his birthday), while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in January. (United States)
- Earliest day on which Sinulog Festival can fall, while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in January. (Philippines)
- John Chilembwe Day (Malawi)
- Korean Alphabet Day (North Korea)
- Ocean Duty Day (Indonesia)
- Sagichō at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. (Kamakura, Japan)
- Teacher’s Day (Venezuela)
- The second day of the sidereal winter solstice festivals in India (see January 14):
- Thai Pongal, Tamil harvest festival
-
January 14 in History
- 1236 – King Henry III of England marries Eleanor of Provence.
- 1301 – Andrew III of Hungary dies, ending the Árpád dynasty in Hungary.
- 1343 – Arnošt of Pardubice becomes the last bishop of Prague and, subsequently, the first Archbishop of Prague.
- 1539 – Spain annexes Cuba.
- 1639 – The “Fundamental Orders”, the first written constitution that created a government, is adopted in Connecticut.
- 1761 – The Third Battle of Panipat is fought in India between the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Marathas.
- 1784 – American Revolutionary War: Ratification Day, United States – Congress ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain.
- 1814 – Treaty of Kiel: Frederick VI of Denmark cedes the Kingdom of Norway to Charles XIII of Sweden in return for Pomerania.
- 1822 – Greek War of Independence: Acrocorinth is captured by Theodoros Kolokotronis and Demetrios Ypsilantis.
- 1858 – Napoleon III of France escapes an assassination attempt made by Felice Orsini and his accomplices in Paris.
- 1907 – An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000 people.
- 1911 – Roald Amundsen’s South Pole expedition makes landfall on the eastern edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.
- 1939 – Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.
- 1943 – World War II: Japan begins Operation Ke, the successful operation to evacuate its forces from Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
- 1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill begin the Casablanca Conference to discuss strategy and study the next phase of the war.
- 1950 – The first prototype of the MiG-17 makes its maiden flight.
- 1952 – NBC’s long-running morning news program Today debuts, with host Dave Garroway.
- 1953 – Josip Broz Tito is inaugurated as the first President of Yugoslavia.
- 1954 – The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation.
- 1957 – Kripalu Maharaj was named fifth Jagadguru (world teacher) after giving seven days of speeches before 500 Hindu scholars.
- 1960 – The Reserve Bank of Australia, the country’s central bank and banknote issuing authority, is established.
- 1967 – Counterculture of the 1960s: The Human Be-In takes place in San Francisco, California’s Golden Gate Park, launching the Summer of Love.
- 1967 – The New York Times reports that the U.S. Army is conducting secret germ warfare experiments.
- 1969 – USS Enterprise fire: An accidental explosion aboard the USS Enterprise near Hawaii kills 28 people.
- 1972 – Queen Margrethe II of Denmark ascends the throne, the first Queen of Denmark since 1412 and the first Danish monarch not named Frederick or Christian since 1513.
- 1973 – Elvis Presley’s concert Aloha from Hawaii is broadcast live via satellite, and sets the record as the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in television history.
- 1993 – In Poland’s worst peacetime maritime disaster, ferry MS Jan Heweliusz sinks off the coast of Rügen, drowning 55 passengers and crew; nine crew-members are saved.
- 2000 – A United Nations tribunal sentences five Roman Catholic Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years in prison for the 1993 killing of more than 100 Bosnian Muslims.
- 2004 – The national flag of the Republic of Georgia, the so-called “five cross flag”, is restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years.
- 2010 – Yemen declares an open war against the terrorist group al-Qaeda.
- 2011 – Former president of Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flees his country to Saudi Arabia after a series of street demonstrations against his regime and corrupt policies, asking for freedom, rights and democracy, considered as the anniversary of the Tunisian Revolution and the birth of the Arab Spring.
Births onJanuary 14
- 83 BC – Mark Antony, Roman general and politician (d. 30 BCE)
- 1131 – Valdemar I of Denmark (d. 1182)
- 1273 – Joan I of Navarre, queen regnant of Navarre, queen consort of France (d. 1305)
- 1451 – Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1522)
- 1477 – Hermann of Wied, German archbishop (d. 1552)
- 1476 – Anne St Leger, Baroness de Ros, English baroness (d. 1526)
- 1507 – Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal (d. 1578)
- 1507 – Luca Longhi, Italian painter (d. 1580)
- 1551 – Abu’l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, Grand vizier of emperor Akbar (d. 1602)
- 1552 – Alberico Gentili, Italian-English academic and jurist (d. 1608)
- 1615 – John Biddle, English minister and theologian (d. 1662)
- 1683 – Gottfried Silbermann, German instrument maker (d. 1753)
- 1684 – Johann Matthias Hase, German mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer (d. 1742)
- 1684 – Jean-Baptiste van Loo, French painter (d. 1745)
- 1699 – Jakob Adlung, German organist, historian, and theorist (d. 1762)
- 1700 – Picander, German poet and playwright (d. 1764)
- 1702 – Emperor Nakamikado of Japan (d. 1737)
- 1705 – Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, French sailor, explorer, and politician (d. 1786)
- 1741 – Benedict Arnold, American-British general (d. 1801)
- 1767 – Maria Theresa of Austria (d. 1827)
- 1780 – Henry Baldwin, American judge and politician (d. 1844)
- 1792 – Christian de Meza, Danish general (d. 1865)
- 1793 – John C. Clark, American lawyer and politician (d. 1852)
- 1798 – Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, Dutch historian, jurist, and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of the Netherlands (d. 1872)
- 1800 – Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, Austrian composer, botanist, and publisher (d. 1877)
- 1806 – Charles Hotham, English-Australian soldier and politician, 1st Governor of Victoria (d. 1855)
- 1806 – Matthew Fontaine Maury, American astronomer, oceanographer, and historian (d. 1873)
- 1818 – Zachris Topelius, Finnish author and journalist (d. 1898)
- 1819 – Dimitrie Bolintineanu, Romanian poet and politician (d. 1872)
- 1824 – Vladimir Stasov, Russian critic (d. 1906)
- 1834 – Duncan Gillies, Scottish-Australian politician, 14th Premier of Victoria (d. 1903)
- 1836 – Henri Fantin-Latour, French painter and lithographer (d. 1904)
- 1841 – Berthe Morisot, French painter (d. 1895)
- 1845 – Henry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 5th Marquess of Lansdowne, English politician, 34th Governor-General of India (d. 1927)
- 1850 – Pierre Loti, French captain and author (d. 1923)
- 1856 – J. F. Archibald, Australian journalist and publisher, co-founded The Bulletin (d. 1919)
- 1861 – Mehmed VI, Ottoman sultan (d. 1926)
- 1862 – Carrie Derick, Canadian botanist and geneticist (d. 1941)
- 1863 – Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa, Portuguese general and politician, 10th President of Portugal (d. 1929)
- 1863 – Richard F. Outcault, American author and illustrator (d. 1928)
- 1869 – Robert Fournier-Sarlovèze, French polo player and politician (d. 1937)
- 1870 – George Pearce, Australian carpenter and politician (d. 1952)
- 1875 – Albert Schweitzer, French-Gabonese physician and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- 1882 – Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-American historian and journalist (d. 1944)
- 1883 – Nina Ricci, Italian-French fashion designer (d. 1970)
- 1886 – Hugh Lofting, English author and poet, created Doctor Dolittle (d. 1947)
- 1887 – Hugo Steinhaus, Polish mathematician and academic (d. 1972)
- 1892 – Martin Niemöller, German pastor and theologian (d. 1984)
- 1892 – Hal Roach, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1992)
- 1892 – George Wilson, English footballer (d. 1961)
- 1894 – Ecaterina Teodoroiu, Romanian soldier and nurse (d. 1917)
- 1896 – John Dos Passos, American novelist, poet, and playwright (d. 1970)
- 1897 – Hasso von Manteuffel, German general and politician (d. 1978)
- 1899 – Carlos P. Romulo, Filipino soldier and politician, President of the United Nations General Assembly (d. 1985)
- 1901 – Bebe Daniels, American actress (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Alfred Tarski, Polish-American mathematician and philosopher (d. 1983)
- 1904 – Cecil Beaton, English photographer, painter, and costume designer (d. 1980)
- 1904 – Emily Hahn, American journalist and author (d. 1997)
- 1904 – Babe Siebert, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1939)
- 1905 – Mildred Albert, American fashion commentator, TV and radio personality, and fashion show producer (d. 1991)
- 1905 – Takeo Fukuda, Japanese politician, 67th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1995)
- 1906 – William Bendix, American actor (d. 1964)
- 1907 – Georges-Émile Lapalme, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1985)
- 1908 – Russ Columbo, American singer, violinist, and actor (d. 1934)
- 1909 – Brenda Forbes, English-American actress (d. 1996)
- 1909 – Joseph Losey, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1984)
- 1911 – Anatoly Rybakov, Russian-American author (d. 1998)
- 1912 – Tillie Olsen, American short story writer (d. 2007)
- 1914 – Harold Russell, Canadian-American soldier and actor (d. 2002)
- 1914 – Selahattin Ülkümen, Turkish diplomat (d. 2003)
- 1915 – Mark Goodson, American game show producer, created Family Feud and The Price Is Right (d. 1992)
- 1919 – Giulio Andreotti, Italian journalist and politician, 41st Prime Minister of Italy (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Andy Rooney, American soldier, journalist, critic, and television personality (d. 2011)
- 1920 – Bertus de Harder, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 1982)
- 1921 – Murray Bookchin, American author and philosopher (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Kenneth Bulmer, American author (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Diana Wellesley, Duchess of Wellington (d. 2010)
- 1923 – Gerald Arpino, American dancer and choreographer (d. 2008)
- 1923 – Fred Beckey, American mountaineer and author (d. 2017)
- 1924 – Carole Cook, American actress and singer
- 1925 – Jean-Claude Beton, Algerian-French engineer and businessman, founded Orangina (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Moscelyne Larkin, American ballerina (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Yukio Mishima, Japanese author, poet, and playwright (d. 1970)
- 1926 – Frank Aletter, American actor (d. 2009)
- 1926 – Warren Mitchell, English actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
- 1926 – Tom Tryon, American actor and author (d. 1991)
- 1927 – Zuzana Růžičková, Czech harpsichord player (d. 2017)
- 1928 – Lars Forssell, Swedish author, poet, and songwriter (d. 2007)
- 1928 – Hans Kornberg, German-English biologist and academic (d. 2019)
- 1928 – Garry Winogrand, American photographer and author (d. 1984)
- 1930 – Johnny Grande, American pianist and accordion player (d. 2006)
- 1930 – Kenny Wheeler, Canadian-English trumpet player and composer (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Frank Costigan, Australian lawyer and politician (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Martin Holdgate, English biologist and academic
- 1932 – Don Garlits, American race car driver and engineer
- 1933 – Stan Brakhage, American director and producer (d. 2003)
- 1934 – Richard Briers, English actor (d. 2013)
- 1934 – Alberto Rodriguez Larreta, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1977)
- 1936 – Clarence Carter, American blues and soul singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer
- 1937 – J. Bernlef, Dutch author and poet (d. 2012)
- 1937 – Ken Higgs, English cricketer and coach (d. 2016)
- 1937 – Leo Kadanoff, American physicist and academic (d. 2015)
- 1937 – Rao Gopal Rao, Indian actor, producer, and politician (d. 1994)
- 1937 – Sonny Siebert, American baseball player
- 1937 – Billie Jo Spears, American country singer (d. 2011)
- 1938 – Morihiro Hosokawa, Japanese journalist and politician, 79th Prime Minister of Japan
- 1938 – Jack Jones, American singer and actor
- 1938 – Allen Toussaint, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (d. 2015)
- 1939 – Kurt Moylan, Guamanian businessman and politician, 1st Lieutenant Governor of Guam
- 1940 – Julian Bond, American academic and politician (d. 2015)
- 1940 – Ron Kostelnik, American football player (d. 1993)
- 1940 – Siegmund Nimsgern, German opera singer
- 1940 – Trevor Nunn, English director and composer
- 1940 – Vasilka Stoeva, Bulgarian discus thrower
- 1941 – Nicholas Brooks, English historian (d. 2014)
- 1941 – Faye Dunaway, American actress and producer
- 1941 – Gibby Gilbert, American golfer
- 1941 – Milan Kučan, Slovenian politician, 1st President of Slovenia
- 1942 – Dave Campbell, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1942 – Gerben Karstens, Dutch cyclist
- 1943 – Angelo Bagnasco, Italian cardinal
- 1943 – Mariss Jansons, Latvian conductor (d. 2019)
- 1943 – Shannon Lucid, American biochemist and astronaut
- 1943 – Holland Taylor, American actress and playwright
- 1944 – Marjoe Gortner, American actor and evangelist
- 1944 – Graham Marsh, Australian golfer and architect
- 1944 – Nina Totenberg, American journalist
- 1945 – Kathleen Chalfant, American actress
- 1945 – Maina Gielgud, English ballerina and director
- 1947 – Taylor Branch, American historian and author
- 1947 – Bev Perdue, American educator and politician, 73rd Governor of North Carolina
- 1947 – Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (d. 2003)
- 1948 – T Bone Burnett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1948 – Muhriz of Negeri Sembilan, Yamtuan Besar of Negeri Sembilan
- 1948 – Carl Weathers, American football player and actor
- 1949 – Lawrence Kasdan, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1949 – Mary Robison, American short story writer and novelist
- 1949 – İlyas Salman, Turkish actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1949 – Lamar Williams, American bass player (d. 1983)
- 1950 – Rambhadracharya, Indian religious leader, scholar, and author
- 1950 – Arthur Byron Cover, American author and screenwriter
- 1951 – O. Panneerselvam, Indian politician, 7th Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
- 1952 – Sydney Biddle Barrows, American businesswoman and author
- 1952 – Maureen Dowd, American journalist and author
- 1952 – Konstantinos Iosifidis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1952 – Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, Romanian engineer and politician, 60th Prime Minister of Romania
- 1953 – David Clary, English chemist and academic
- 1953 – Denzil Douglas, Caribbean educator and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
- 1953 – Hans Westerhoff, Dutch biologist and academic
- 1956 – Étienne Daho, Algerian-French singer-songwriter and producer
- 1957 – Anchee Min, Chinese-American painter, photographer, and author
- 1959 – Geoff Tate, German-American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1961 – Rob Hall, New Zealand mountaineer (d. 1996)
- 1963 – Steven Soderbergh, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1964 – Beverly Kinch, English long jumper and sprinter
- 1964 – Shepard Smith, American television journalist
- 1965 – Marc Delissen, Dutch field hockey player, coach, and lawyer
- 1965 – Bob Essensa, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1965 – Slick Rick, English-American rapper and producer
- 1966 – Rob Flello, English lawyer and politician
- 1966 – Terry Angus, English footballer, central defender
- 1966 – Marco Hietala, Finnish singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
- 1966 – Rene Simpson, Canadian-American tennis player (d. 2013)
- 1966 – Dan Schneider, American TV-producer
- 1967 – Leonardo Ortolani, Italian author and illustrator, created Rat-Man
- 1967 – Emily Watson, English actress
- 1968 – LL Cool J, American rapper and actor
- 1968 – Ruel Fox, English-Montserratian footballer, Midfielder, Manager and Chairman
- 1969 – Jason Bateman, American actor, director, and producer
- 1969 – Martin Bicknell, English cricketer
- 1969 – Dave Grohl, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and drummer
- 1971 – Lasse Kjus, Norwegian skier
- 1971 – Bert Konterman, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1971 – Antonios Nikopolidis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1972 – Kyle Brady, American football player and sportscaster
- 1972 – Dion Forster, South African minister, theologian, and author
- 1972 – James Key, English engineer
- 1973 – Giancarlo Fisichella, Italian race car driver
- 1973 – Paul Tisdale, English footballer and manager
- 1974 – David Flitcroft, English footballer and manager
- 1975 – Georgina Cates, English actress
- 1976 – Vincenzo Chianese, Italian footballer
- 1977 – Narain Karthikeyan, Indian race car driver
- 1977 – Terry Ryan, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Shawn Crawford, American sprinter
- 1979 – Karen Elson, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and model
- 1979 – Evans Soligo, Italian footballer
- 1980 – Clive Clarke, Irish footballer
- 1980 – Cory Gibbs, American soccer player
- 1981 – Abdelmalek Cherrad, Algerian footballer
- 1981 – Hyleas Fountain, American heptathlete
- 1981 – Concepción Montaner, Spanish long jumper
- 1981 – Chiharu Niiyama, Japanese actress and model
- 1981 – Jadranka Đokić, Croatian actress
- 1982 – Braith Anasta, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1982 – Marc Broussard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1982 – Chris Heighington, Australian-English rugby league player
- 1982 – Léo Lima, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Thomas Longosiwa, Kenyan runner
- 1982 – Víctor Valdés, Spanish footballer
- 1983 – Cesare Bovo, Italian footballer
- 1983 – Jason Krejza, Australian cricketer
- 1984 – Erick Aybar, American baseball player
- 1984 – Erika Matsuo, Japanese violinist
- 1984 – Mike Pelfrey, American baseball player
- 1985 – Joel Rosario, Dominican-American jockey
- 1985 – Shawn Sawyer, Canadian figure skater
- 1986 – Yohan Cabaye, French footballer
- 1986 – Alessio Cossu, Italian footballer
- 1987 – Atsushi Hashimoto, Japanese actor
- 1987 – Jess Fishlock, Welsh footballer
- 1988 – Kacey Barnfield, English actress
- 1988 – Jack P. Shepherd, English actor
- 1989 – Frankie Bridge, English singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1989 – Adam Clayton, English footballer
- 1989 – Mattia Marchi, Italian footballer
- 1989 – Liu Xiaodong, Chinese footballer
- 1990 – Lelisa Desisa, Ethiopian runner
- 1990 – Grant Gustin, American actor and singer
- 1990 – Áron Szilágyi, Hungarian fencer
- 1992 – Robbie Brady, Irish footballer
- 1992 – Chieh-Yu Hsu, American tennis player
- 1993 – Daniel Bessa, Brazilian footballer
- 1994 – Kane Elgey, Australian rugby league player
- 1994 – Abi Phillips, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1994 – Kai, South Korean singer, model, actor and dancer
- 1995 – Georgios Diamantakos, Greek basketball player
- 1995 – Alex Johnston, Australian rugby league player
Deaths on January 14
- 769 – Cui Huan, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
- 927 – Wang Yanhan, king of Min (Ten Kingdoms)
- 937 – Zhang Yanlang, Chinese official
- 973 – Ekkehard I, Frankish monk and poet
- 1092 – Vratislaus II of Bohemia
- 1163 – Ladislaus II of Hungary (b. 1131)
- 1236 – Saint Sava, Serbian archbishop and saint (b. 1175)
- 1301 – Andrew III of Hungary (b. 1265)
- 1331 – Odoric of Pordenone, Italian priest and explorer (b. 1286)
- 1465 – Thomas Beckington, English statesman and prelate
- 1476 – John de Mowbray, 4th Duke of Norfolk (b. 1444)
- 1555 – Jacques Dubois, French anatomist (b. 1478)
- 1640 – Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry, English lawyer, judge, and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (b. 1578)
- 1648 – Caspar Barlaeus, Dutch historian, poet, and theologian (b. 1584)
- 1676 – Francesco Cavalli, Italian organist and composer (b. 1602)
- 1679 – Jacques de Billy, French mathematician and academic (b. 1602)
- 1701 – Tokugawa Mitsukuni, Japanese daimyō (b. 1628)
- 1742 – Edmond Halley, English astronomer, geophysicist, mathematician, meteorologist, and physicist (b. 1656)
- 1753 – George Berkeley, Anglo-Irish philosopher and author (b. 1685)
- 1766 – Frederick V of Denmark (b. 1723)
- 1776 – Edward Cornwallis, English general and politician, Governor of Gibraltar (b. 1713)
- 1786 – Michael Arne, English organist and composer (b. 1741)
- 1786 – Meshech Weare, American lawyer and politician, 1st Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1713)
- 1823 – Athanasios Kanakaris, Greek politician (b. 1760)
- 1825 – George Dance the Younger, English architect and surveyor (b. 1741)
- 1833 – Seraphim of Sarov, Russian monk and saint (b. 1759)
- 1867 – Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, French painter and illustrator (b. 1780)
- 1874 – Johann Philipp Reis, German physicist and academic, invented the Reis telephone (b. 1834)
- 1883 – Napoléon Coste, French guitarist and composer (b. 1806)
- 1888 – Stephen Heller, Hungarian pianist and composer (b. 1813)
- 1889 – Ema Pukšec, Croatian soprano (b. 1834)
- 1892 – Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (b. 1864)
- 1892 – Alexander J. Davis, American architect (b. 1803)
- 1898 – Lewis Carroll, English novelist, poet, and mathematician (b. 1832)
- 1901 – Mandell Creighton, English bishop and historian (b. 1843)
- 1901 – Charles Hermite, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1822)
- 1905 – Ernst Abbe, German physicist and engineer (b. 1840)
- 1907 – Sir James Fergusson, 6th Baronet, Scottish soldier and politician, 6th Governor of New Zealand (b. 1832)
- 1908 – Holger Drachmann, Danish poet and playwright (b. 1846)
- 1915 – Richard Meux Benson, English priest and saint, founded the Society of St. John the Evangelist (b. 1824)
- 1919 – Platon, Estonian bishop and saint (b. 1869)
- 1920 – John Francis Dodge, American businessman, co-founded the Dodge Automobile Company (b. 1864)
- 1926 – August Sedláček, Czech historian and author (b. 1843)
- 1934 – Ioan Cantacuzino, Romanian physician and bacteriologist (b. 1863)
- 1937 – Jaishankar Prasad, Indian poet, author, and playwright (b. 1889)
- 1942 – Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian poet and author (b. 1883)
- 1943 – Laura E. Richards, American author and poet (b. 1850)
- 1944 – Mehmet Emin Yurdakul, Turkish author and politician (b. 1869)
- 1949 – Harry Stack Sullivan, American psychiatrist and psychoanalyst (b. 1892)
- 1951 – Gregorios Xenopoulos, Greek author, journalist, and playwright (b. 1867)
- 1952 – Artur Kapp, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1878)
- 1957 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor (b. 1899)
- 1959 – Eivind Berggrav, Norwegian bishop and translator (b. 1884)
- 1961 – Barry Fitzgerald, Irish actor (b. 1888)
- 1962 – M. Visvesvaraya, Indian engineer, scholar, and politician (b. 1860)
- 1965 – Jeanette MacDonald, American actress and singer (b. 1903)
- 1966 – Sergei Korolev, Ukrainian-Russian engineer and academic (b. 1906)
- 1968 – Dorothea Mackellar, Australian poet and author (b. 1885)
- 1970 – William Feller, Croatian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1906)
- 1970 – Asım Gündüz, Turkish general (b. 1880)
- 1972 – Horst Assmy, German footballer (b. 1933)
- 1972 – Frederick IX of Denmark (b. 1899)
- 1976 – Abdul Razak Hussein, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Malaysia (b. 1922)
- 1977 – Anthony Eden, English soldier and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1897)
- 1977 – Peter Finch, English-Australian actor (b. 1916)
- 1977 – Anaïs Nin, French-American essayist and memoirist (b. 1903)
- 1978 – Harold Abrahams, English sprinter, lawyer, and journalist (b. 1899)
- 1978 – Kurt Gödel, Austrian-American mathematician and philosopher (b. 1906)
- 1978 – Robert Heger, German conductor and composer (b. 1886)
- 1978 – Blossom Rock, American actress (b. 1895)
- 1980 – Robert Ardrey, American-South African author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
- 1981 – John O’Grady, Australian author and poet (b. 1907)
- 1981 – G. Lloyd Spencer, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1893)
- 1984 – Ray Kroc, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1902)
- 1986 – Donna Reed, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1987 – Turgut Demirağ, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 1987 – Douglas Sirk, German-Swiss director and screenwriter (b. 1900)
- 1988 – Georgy Malenkov, Russian engineer and politician, 5th Premier of the Soviet Union (b. 1902)
- 1991 – Gordon Bryant, Australian educator and politician (b. 1914)
- 1995 – Alexander Gibson, Scottish conductor (b. 1926)
- 1996 – Onno Tunç, Armenian-Turkish composer (b. 1948)
- 1997 – Dollard Ménard, Canadian general (b. 1913)
- 2000 – Leonard Weisgard, American author and illustrator (b. 1916)
- 2004 – Uta Hagen, German-American actress (b. 1919)
- 2004 – Ron O’Neal, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 2005 – Charlotte MacLeod, Canadian-American author (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Conroy Maddox, English painter and educator (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Rudolph Moshammer, German fashion designer (b. 1940)
- 2005 – Jesús Rafael Soto, Venezuelan sculptor and painter (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Henri Colpi, French director and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 2006 – Jim Gary, American sculptor (b. 1939)
- 2006 – Shelley Winters, American actress (b. 1920)
- 2007 – Vassilis Photopoulos, Greek painter, director, and set designer (b. 1934)
- 2008 – Judah Folkman, American physician, biologist, and academic (b. 1933)
- 2009 – Jan Kaplický, Czech architect, designed the Selfridges Building (b. 1937)
- 2009 – Ricardo Montalbán, Mexican actor (b. 1920)
- 2010 – Antonio Fontán, Spanish journalist and academic (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Georgia Carroll, American singer, model and actress (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Txillardegi, Spanish linguist and politician (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Dan Evins, American businessman, founded Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Arfa Karim, Pakistani student and computer prodigy, youngest Microsoft Certified Professional in 2004 (b. 1995)
- 2012 – Giampiero Moretti, Italian entrepreneur and race car driver (b. 1940)
- 2012 – Rosy Varte, Armenian-French actress (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Conrad Bain, Canadian-American actor (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Jon Bing, Norwegian author, scholar, and academic (b. 1944)
- 2014 – Juan Gelman, Argentinian poet and author (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Flavio Testi, Italian composer and musicologist (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Bob Boyd, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Zhang Wannian, Chinese general (b. 1928)
- 2016 – Alan Rickman, English actor (b. 1946)
- 2017 – Zhou Youguang, Chinese sociologist, (b. 1906)
- 2018 – Spanky Manikan, Filipino veteran actor (b. 1942)
- 2018 – Cyrille Regis, French Guianan-English footballer (b. 1958)
Holidays and observances on January 14
- Christian feast day:
- Barba’shmin
- Blessed Devasahayam Pillai (Latin Church)
- Divina Pastora (Barquisimeto)
- Eivind Berggrav (Lutheran)
- Felix of Nola
- Macrina the Elder
- Odoric of Pordenone
- January 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Defender of the Motherland Day (Uzbekistan)
- Feast of the Ass (Medieval Christianity)
- Flag Day (Georgia)
- National Forest Conservation Day (Thailand)
- Old New Year, and its related observance:
- Azhyrnykhua (Abkhazia)
- Yennayer (Berbers)
- Ratification Day (United States)
- Revolution and Youth Day (Tunisia)
- Sidereal winter solstice celebrations in South and Southeast Asian cultures; marking the transition of the Sun to Capricorn, and the first day of the six months Uttarayana period. (see April 14):
- Magh Bihu (Assam)
- Maghe Sankranti (Nepal)
- Maghi (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh)
- Makar Sankranti (India)
- The first day of Pongal,
- Uttarayan (Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Rajasthan)
-
January 10 in History
- 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war.
- AD 9 – The Western Han dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the beginning of his own, the Xin dynasty.
- AD 69 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is appointed by Galba as deputy Roman Emperor.
- 236 – Pope Fabian succeeds Anterus to become the twentieth pope of Rome.
- 1072 – Robert Guiscard conquers Palermo in Sicily for the Normans.
- 1430 – Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, establishes the Order of the Golden Fleece, the most prestigious, exclusive, and expensive order of chivalry in the world.
- 1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
- 1645 – Archbishop William Laud is beheaded for treason at the Tower of London.
- 1776 – American Revolution: Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense.
- 1791 – The Siege of Dunlap’s Station begins near Cincinnati during the Northwest Indian War.
- 1806 – Two British brigades occupy Cape Town after the Battle of Blaauwberg.
- 1812 – The first steamboat on the Ohio River or the Mississippi River arrives in New Orleans, 82 days after departing from Pittsburgh.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Florida becomes the third state to secede from the Union.
- 1863 – The Metropolitan Railway, the world’s oldest underground railway, opens between Paddington and Farringdon, marking the beginning of the London Underground.
- 1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil.
- 1901 – The first great Texas oil gusher is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
- 1916 – World War I: In the Erzurum Offensive, Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire.
- 1920 – The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending World War I.
- 1920 – League of Nations Covenant enters into force. On January 16 the organization holds its first council meeting, in Paris.
- 1927 – Fritz Lang’s futuristic film Metropolis is released in Germany.
- 1941 – World War II: The Greek army captures Kleisoura.
- 1946 – The first General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London. Fifty-one nations are represented.
- 1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the Moon and receiving the reflected signals.
- 1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea killing 35 people.
- 1962 – Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle, which became known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission.
- 1966 – Tashkent Declaration, a peace agreement between India and Pakistan signed that resolved the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965.
- 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returns to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.
- 1981 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments
- 1984 – Holy See–United States relations: The United States and Holy See (Vatican City) re-establish full diplomatic relations after almost 117 years, overturning the United States Congress’s 1867 ban on public funding for such a diplomatic envoy.
- 1985 – Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.
- 1990 – Time Warner is formed by the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications.
- 2007 – A general strike begins in Guinea in an attempt to get President Lansana Conté to resign.
- 2012 – A bombing in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, kills at least 30 people and 78 others injured.
- 2013 – More than 100 people are killed and 270 injured in several bomb blasts in Pakistan.
- 2015 – A traffic accident between an oil tanker truck and passenger coach en route to Shikarpur from Karachi on the Pakistan National Highway Link Road near Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Karachi, killing at least 62 people.
Births on January 10
- 626 – Husayn ibn Ali the third Shia Imam (d. 680)
- 1392 – Johanna van Polanen, Dutch noblewoman (d. 1445)
- 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1530)
- 1538 – Louis of Nassau (d. 1574)
- 1607 – Isaac Jogues, French priest and missionary (d. 1646)
- 1644 – Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French general (d. 1711)
- 1654 – Joshua Barnes, English historian and scholar (d. 1712)
- 1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
- 1715 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
- 1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian priest, biologist, and physiologist (d. 1799)
- 1745 – Isaac Titsingh, Dutch surgeon, scholar, and diplomat (d. 1812)
- 1750 – Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, Scottish-English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1823)
- 1760 – Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, German composer and conductor (d. 1802)
- 1769 – Michel Ney, French general (d. 1815)
- 1776 – George Birkbeck, English physician and academic, founded Birkbeck, University of London (d. 1841)
- 1780 – Martin Lichtenstein, German physician and explorer (d. 1857)
- 1802 – Carl Ritter von Ghega, Italian-Austrian engineer, designed the Semmering railway (d. 1860)
- 1810 – Ferdinand Barbedienne, French engineer (d. 1892)
- 1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, American jurist and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1883)
- 1810 – William Haines, English-Australian politician, 1st Premier of Victoria (d. 1866)
- 1812 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect and academic (d. 1881)
- 1828 – Herman Koeckemann, German bishop and missionary (d. 1892)
- 1829 – Epameinondas Deligeorgis, Greek lawyer, journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1879)
- 1834 – John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, Italian-English historian and politician (d. 1902)
- 1836 – Charles Ingalls, American farmer and carpenter (d. 1902)
- 1840 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (d. 1925)
- 1842 – Luigi Pigorini, Italian paleontologist, archaeologist, and ethnographer (d. 1925)
- 1843 – Frank James, American soldier and criminal (d. 1915)
- 1848 – Reinhold Sadler, American merchant and politician, 9th Governor of Nevada (d. 1906)
- 1849 – Robert Crosbie, Canadian theosophist, founded the United Lodge of Theosophists (d. 1919)
- 1850 – John Wellborn Root, American architect, designed the Rookery Building and Monadnock Building (d. 1891)
- 1854 – Ramón Corral, Mexican general and politician, 6th Vice President of Mexico (d. 1912)
- 1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
- 1859 – Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Spanish philosopher and academic (d. 1909)
- 1860 – Charles G. D. Roberts, Canadian poet and author (d. 1943)
- 1864 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d. 1931)
- 1873 – Algernon Maudslay, English sailor (d. 1948)
- 1873 – Jack O’Neill, Irish-American baseball player (d. 1935)
- 1873 – George Orton, Canadian runner and hurdler (d. 1958)
- 1875 – Issai Schur, German mathematician and academic (d. 1941)
- 1877 – Frederick Gardner Cottrell, American physical chemist, inventor and philanthropist (d. 1948)
- 1878 – John McLean, American hurdler, football player, and coach (d. 1955)
- 1880 – Manuel Azaña, Spanish jurist and politician, 7th President of Spain (d. 1940)
- 1883 – Francis X. Bushman, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1966)
- 1883 – Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Russian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet and philosopher (d. 1962)
- 1890 – Pina Menichelli, Italian actress (d. 1984)
- 1891 – Heinrich Behmann, German mathematician and academic (d. 1970)
- 1891 – Ann Shoemaker, American actress (d. 1978)
- 1892 – Dumas Malone, American historian and author (d. 1986)
- 1892 – Melchior Wańkowicz, Polish soldier, journalist, and author (d. 1974)
- 1893 – Albert Jacka, Australian captain, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1932)
- 1894 – Pingali Lakshmikantam, Indian poet and author (d. 1972)
- 1895 – Percy Cerutty, Australian athletics coach (d. 1975)
- 1896 – Yong Mun Sen, Malaysian watercolour painter (d. 1962)
- 1898 – Katharine Burr Blodgett, American physicist and engineer (d. 1979)
- 1900 – Violette Cordery, English racing driver (d. 1983)
- 1902 – Dobriša Cesarić, Croatian poet and translator (d. 1980)
- 1903 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Pud Thurlow, Australian cricketer (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (d. 1997)
- 1904 – Ray Bolger, American actor and dancer (d. 1987)
- 1905 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, and playwright (d. 1993)
- 1907 – Gordon Kidd Teal, American engineer and inventor (d. 2003)
- 1908 – Paul Henreid, Italian-American actor and director (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Bangladeshi activist (d. 2013)
- 1911 – Norman Heatley, English biologist and chemist (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Maria Mandl, Austrian SS guard (d. 1948)
- 1913 – Franco Bordoni, Italian racing driver and pilot (d. 1975)
- 1913 – Gustáv Husák, Slovak politician, 9th President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian soldier and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1981)
- 1914 – Pierre Cogan, French cyclist (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Chinese politician, 23rd Premier of the Republic of China (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Dean Dixon, American-Swiss conductor (d. 1976)
- 1915 – Cynthia Freeman, American author (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Eldzier Cortor, American painter (d. 2015)
- 1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Jerry Wexler, American journalist and producer (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Les Bennett, English footballer and manager (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Arthur Chung, Guyanese lawyer and politician, 1st President of Guyana (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Harry Merkel, German racing driver (d. 1995)
- 1919 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (d. 1977)
- 1919 – Milton Parker, American businessman, co-founded the Carnegie Deli (d. 2009)
- 1920 – Rosella Hightower, American ballerina (d. 2008)
- 1920 – Roberto M. Levingston, Argentinian general and politician, 36th President of Argentina (d. 2015)
- 1920 – Max Patkin, American baseball player and clown (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Rodger Ward, American aviator, race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Billy Liddell, Scottish-English footballer (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Earl Bakken, American inventor (d. 2018)
- 1924 – Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Canadian ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 1996)
- 1925 – Billie Sol Estes, American financier and businessman (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Musallam Bseiso, Palestinian journalist and politician (d. 2017)
- 1927 – Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian-American singer and actress (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1990)
- 1927 – Otto Stich, Swiss lawyer and politician, 140th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Philip Levine, American poet and academic (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Peter Mathias, English historian and academic (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Tony Soper, English ornithologist and author
- 1930 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1931 – Rosalind Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids, Grenadian-English academic and politician
- 1931 – Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, Malaysian cleric and politician, 12th Menteri Besar of Kelantan (d. 2015)
- 1931 – John Zizioulas, Greek metropolitan
- 1934 – Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician, 1st President of Ukraine
- 1935 – Ronnie Hawkins, American rockabilly singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1935 – Sherrill Milnes, American opera singer and educator
- 1936 – Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and author (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Walter Bodmer, German-English geneticist and academic
- 1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Daniel Walker Howe, American historian and academic
- 1937 – Thomas Penfield Jackson, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Donald Knuth, American computer scientist and mathematician
- 1938 – Frank Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player and politician
- 1938 – Willie McCovey, American baseball player (d. 2018)
- 1939 – Jared Carter, American poet and author
- 1939 – David Horowitz, American activist and author
- 1939 – William Levy, American-Dutch journalist, author, and poet
- 1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
- 1940 – K. J. Yesudas, Indian singer and music director
- 1940 – Godfrey Hewitt, English geneticist and academic (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Tom Clarke, Scottish politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland
- 1942 – Graeme Gahan, Australian footballer and coach
- 1943 – Jim Croce, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
- 1944 – Jeffrey Catherine Jones, American comics and fantasy artist (d. 2011)
- 1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer and actor (d. 2016)
- 1945 – John Fahey, New Zealand-Australian lawyer and politician, 38th Premier of New South Wales
- 1945 – Rod Stewart, British singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Gunther von Hagens, German anatomist, invented plastination
- 1946 – Aynsley Dunbar, English drummer and songwriter
- 1947 – George Alec Effinger, American author (d. 2002)
- 1947 – James Morris, American opera singer
- 1947 – Peer Steinbrück, German politician, German Minister of Finance
- 1947 – Tiit Vähi, Estonian engineer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Estonia
- 1948 – Donald Fagen, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1948 – Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist and sportscaster
- 1949 – Kemal Derviş, Turkish economist and politician, Turkish Minister of Economy
- 1949 – George Foreman, American boxer, actor, and businessman
- 1949 – Linda Lovelace, American porn actress and activist (d. 2002)
- 1950 – Roy Blunt, American academic and politician
- 1952 – Scott Thurston, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Bobby Rahal, American race car driver
- 1955 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1956 – Shawn Colvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 – Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish author
- 1958 – Eddie Cheever, American race car driver
- 1958 – Anatoly Pisarenko, Ukrainian weightlifter and trainer
- 1959 – Chandra Cheeseborough, American sprinter and coach
- 1959 – Chris Van Hollen, American lawyer and politician
- 1959 – Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter and producer
- 1960 – Gurinder Chadha, Kenyan-English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1960 – Brian Cowen, Irish lawyer and politician, 12th Taoiseach of Ireland
- 1960 – John Mann, English lawyer and politician
- 1960 – Benoît Pelletier, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1961 – Janet Jones, American actress
- 1961 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian-American violinist, author, and educator
- 1962 – Michael Fortier, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1962 – Kathryn S. McKinley, American computer scientist and academic
- 1963 – Malcolm Dunford, New Zealand-Australian footballer
- 1963 – Kira Ivanova, Russian figure skater (d. 2001)
- 1964 – Brad Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Maciej Śliwowski, Polish footballer
- 1969 – Simone Bagel-Trah, German businessperson
- 1970 – Buff Bagwell, American wrestler and actor
- 1970 – Alisa Marić, Serbian chess player and politician, Serbian Minister of Youth and Sports
- 1972 – Mohammed Benzakour, Moroccan-Dutch journalist, poet, and author
- 1973 – Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
- 1973 – Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican-American boxer
- 1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand comedian, actor, and musician
- 1974 – Davide Dionigi, Italian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Steve Marlet, French footballer, forward and coach
- 1974 – Bob Peeters, Belgian footballer and manager
- 1974 – Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
- 1975 – Jake Delhomme, American football player
- 1976 – Adam Kennedy, American baseball player
- 1976 – Ian Poulter, English golfer
- 1978 – Johan van der Wath, South African cricketer
- 1979 – Simone Cavalli, Italian footballer
- 1980 – Sarah Shahi, American actress
- 1980 – DeShaun Foster, American football player
- 1981 – James Coppinger, English footballer
- 1981 – Jared Kushner, American real estate investor and political figure
- 1982 – Julien Brellier, French footballer
- 1982 – Tomasz Brzyski, Polish footballer
- 1984 – Marouane Chamakh, Moroccan footballer
- 1984 – Trent Cutler, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Ariane Friedrich, German high jumper
- 1984 – Kalki Koechlin, Indian actress
- 1986 – Kirsten Flipkens, Belgian tennis player
- 1986 – Hideaki Ikematsu, Japanese footballer
- 1986 – Kenneth Vermeer, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
- 1988 – Leonard Patrick Komon, Kenyan runner
- 1988 – Vladimir Zharkov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Emily Meade, American actress
- 1989 – Kyle Reimers, Australian footballer
- 1990 – Mirko Bortolotti, Italian racing driver
- 1990 – Ishiura Masakatsu, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1990 – Cody Walker, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – John Carlson, American ice hockey player
- 1991 – Chad Townsend, Australian rugby league player
Deaths on January 10
- 259 – Polyeuctus, Roman saint
- 314 – Miltiades, pope of the Catholic Church
- 681 – Agatho, pope of the Catholic Church
- 976 – John I Tzimiskes, Byzantine emperor (b. 925)
- 987 – Pietro I Orseolo, doge of Venice (b. 928)
- 1055 – Bretislav I, duke of Bohemia
- 1094 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Egyptian caliph (b. 1029)
- 1218 – Hugh I, king of Cyprus
- 1276 – Gregory X, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1210)
- 1322 – Petrus Aureolus, scholastic philosopher
- 1358 – Abu Inan Faris, Marinid ruler of Morocco (b. 1329)
- 1552 – Johann Cochlaeus, German humanist and controversialist (b. 1479)
- 1645 – William Laud, English archbishop and academic (b. 1573)
- 1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, physician, and astrologer (b. 1616)
- 1698 – Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, French priest and historian (b. 1637)
- 1754 – Edward Cave, English publisher, founded The Gentleman’s Magazine (b. 1691)
- 1761 – Edward Boscawen, English admiral and politician (b. 1711)
- 1778 – Carl Linnaeus, Swedish botanist and physician (b. 1707)
- 1794 – Georg Forster, German-Polish ethnologist and journalist (b. 1754)
- 1811 – Joseph Chénier, French poet, playwright, and politician (b. 1764)
- 1824 – Victor Emmanuel I, duke of Savoy and king of Sardinia (b. 1759)
- 1828 – François de Neufchâteau, French poet, academic, and politician, French Minister of the Interior (b. 1750)
- 1829 – Gregorio Funes, Argentinian clergyman, historian, and educator (b. 1749)
- 1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1752)
- 1843 – Dimitrie Macedonski, Greek-Romanian captain and politician (b. 1780)
- 1851 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775)
- 1855 – Mary Russell Mitford, English author and playwright (b. 1787)
- 1862 – Samuel Colt, American engineer and businessman, founded Colt’s Manufacturing Company (b. 1814)
- 1863 – Lyman Beecher, American minister and activist, co-founded the American Temperance Society (b. 1775)
- 1895 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American chemist, physicist, and academic (b. 1836)
- 1895 – Benjamin Godard, French violinist and composer (b. 1849)
- 1901 – James Robert Dickson, English-Australian businessman and politician, 1st Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1832)
- 1904 – Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
- 1905 – Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer (b. 1835)
- 1917 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846)
- 1917 – Feliks Leparsky, Russian fencer and captain (b. 1875)
- 1920 – Sali Nivica, Albanian journalist and politician (b. 1890)
- 1922 – Frank Tudor, Australian politician, 6th Australian Minister for Trade and Investment (b. 1866)
- 1926 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet and journalist (b. 1878)
- 1935 – Edwin Flack, Australian tennis player and runner (b. 1873)
- 1935 – Charlie McGahey, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1871)
- 1941 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (b. 1879)
- 1941 – John Lavery, Irish painter and academic (b. 1856)
- 1941 – Joe Penner, Hungarian-American actor (b. 1904)
- 1941 – Issai Schur, Belarusian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1875)
- 1949 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (b. 1865)
- 1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
- 1951 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist and academic (b. 1890)
- 1954 – Chester Wilmot, American journalist and historian (b. 1911)
- 1956 – Zonia Baber, American geographer and geologist (b. 1862)
- 1957 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
- 1957 – Laura Ingalls Wilder, American novelist (b. 1867)
- 1959 – Şükrü Kaya, Turkish jurist and politician, Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
- 1960 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1879)
- 1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American detective novelist and screenwriter (b. 1894)
- 1967 – Charles E. Burchfield, American painter (b. 1893)
- 1968 – Ali Fuat Cebesoy, Turkish general and politician, 6th Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey (b. 1882)
- 1969 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 2nd Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1891)
- 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian pilot and astronaut (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded Chanel (b. 1883)
- 1971 – Ignazio Giunti, Italian race car driver (b. 1941)
- 1972 – Aksel Larsen, Danish lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
- 1976 – Howlin’ Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1910)
- 1978 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist and author (b. 1924)
- 1978 – Don Gillis, American composer and conductor (b. 1912)
- 1978 – Hannah Gluckstein, British painter (b. 1895)
- 1980 – Hughie Critz, American baseball player and scout (b. 1900)
- 1980 – George Meany, American plumber and trade union leader (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Bo Rein, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
- 1981 – Fawn M. Brodie, American historian and author (b. 1915)
- 1984 – Souvanna Phouma, Laotian politician, 8th Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
- 1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech journalist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Marion Hutton, American singer (b. 1919)
- 1987 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Herbert Morrison, American journalist and producer (b. 1905)
- 1990 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (b. 1925)
- 1992 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1919)
- 1995 – Kathleen Tynan, Canadian-English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 1997 – Elspeth Huxley, Kenyan-English journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish-English biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- 1999 – Edward Williams, Australian lieutenant, pilot, and judge (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Sam Jaffe, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1901)
- 2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 2005 – Wasyly, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Jack Horner, American journalist (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (b. 1927)
- 2007 – Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Bradford Washburn, American explorer, photographer, and cartographer (b. 1910)
- 2008 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater and actor (b. 1967)
- 2008 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Patcha Ramachandra Rao, Indian metallurgist, educator and administrator (b. 1942)
- 2011 – Margaret Whiting, American singer (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Jean Pigott, Canadian businesswoman and politician (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Gevork Vartanian, Russian intelligence agent (b. 1924)
- 2013 – George Gruntz, Swiss pianist and composer (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Petr Hlaváček, Czech shoemaker and academic (b. 1950)
- 2014 – Zbigniew Messner, Polish economist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Larry Speakes, American journalist, 16th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
- 2015 – Junior Malanda, Belgian footballer (b. 1994)
- 2015 – Taylor Negron, American actor, playwright, and painter (b. 1957)
- 2015 – Francesco Rosi, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Robert Stone, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1937)
- 2016 – Wim Bleijenberg, Dutch footballer and manager (b. 1930)
- 2016 – David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (b. 1947)
- 2016 – George Jonas, Hungarian-Canadian journalist, author, and poet (b. 1935)
- 2017 – Buddy Greco, American jazz and pop singer and pianist (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Clare Hollingworth, English journalist (b. 1911)
- 2020 – Qaboos bin Said, Ruler Of Oman (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances on January 10
- Christian feast day:
- Gregory of Nyssa
- Leonie Aviat
- Obadiah (Coptic Church)
- Peter Orseolo
- Pope Agatho (Roman Catholic)
- William Laud (Anglican Communion)
- William of Donjeon
- January 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Fête du Vodoun (Benin)
- Margaret Thatcher Day (Falkland Islands)
- Majority Rule Day (Bahamas)
-
January 4 in History
- 46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
- 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.
- 1649 – English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
- 1717 – The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance in an attempt to maintain the Treaty of Utrecht; Britain having signed a preliminary alliance with France on November 28 (November 17, 1716).
- 1762 – Great Britain declares war on Spain, thus entering the Seven Years’ War.
- 1798 – Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.
- 1853 – After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.
- 1854 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
- 1863 – The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.
- 1878 – Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule and designated the capital of Liberated Bulgaria.
- 1884 – The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.
- 1885 – Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
- 1896 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
- 1903 – Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy’s death.
- 1912 – The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Empire by the royal charter.
- 1918 – The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.
- 1944 – World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
- 1948 – Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom becoming an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu its first Prime Minister.
- 1951 – Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.
- 1956 – The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
- 1958 – Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.
- 1959 – Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
- 1972 – Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK.
- 1976 – The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The next day, gunmen would shoot dead ten Protestant civilians nearby in retaliation.
- 1987 – The Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, United States, killing 16 people.
- 1989 – Second Gulf of Sidra incident: A pair of Libyan MiG-23 “Floggers” are shot down by a pair of US Navy F-14 Tomcats during an air-to-air confrontation.
- 1990 – In Pakistan’s deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.
- 1998 – A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
- 1999 – Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States.
- 2004 – Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
- 2004 – Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
- 2006 – Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.
- 2007 – The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
- 2010 – The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai.
- 2013 – A gunman kills eight people in a house-to-house rampage in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.
- 2018 – Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash: A passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collides with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa. Twenty people are killed and 260 injured.
Births on January 4
- 659 – Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (d.680)
- 1077 – Emperor Zhezong of China (d. 1100)
- 1334 – Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (d. 1383)
- 1467 – Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode (d. 1538)
- 1581 – James Ussher, Irish archbishop and historian (d. 1656)
- 1643 – Isaac Newton, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1727)
- 1654 – Lars Roberg, Swedish physician and academic (d. 1742)
- 1672 – Hugh Boulter, English-Irish archbishop (d. 1742)
- 1710 – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist, and organist (d. 1736)
- 1720 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (d. 1774)
- 1785 – Jacob Grimm, German philologist and mythologist (d. 1863)
- 1809 – Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (d. 1852)
- 1813 – Isaac Pitman, English linguist and educator (d. 1897)
- 1832 – George Tryon, English admiral (d. 1893)
- 1838 – General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (d. 1883)
- 1839 – Carl Humann, German archaeologist, architect, and engineer (d. 1896)
- 1848 – Katsura Tarō, Japanese general and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1913)
- 1858 – Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1946)
- 1864 – Clara Emilia Smitt, Swedish doctor and author (d. 1928)
- 1869 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1960)
- 1874 – Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1935)
- 1877 – Marsden Hartley, American painter and poet (d. 1943)
- 1878 – A. E. Coppard, English poet and short story writer (d. 1957)
- 1878 – Augustus John, Welsh painter and illustrator (d. 1961)
- 1881 – Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (d. 1919)
- 1883 – Max Eastman, American author and poet (d. 1969)
- 1883 – Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch pathologist and academic (d. 1961)
- 1884 – Guy Pène du Bois, American painter, critic, and educator (d. 1958)
- 1889 – M. Patanjali Sastri, Indian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of India (d. 1963)
- 1891 – Edward Brooker, English-Australian sergeant and politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948)
- 1895 – Leroy Grumman, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. (d. 1982)
- 1896 – Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
- 1896 – André Masson, French painter and illustrator (d. 1987)
- 1897 – Chen Cheng, Chinese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China (d. 1965)
- 1900 – James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1989)
- 1901 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and theorist (d. 1989)
- 1902 – John A. McCone, American businessman and politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991)
- 1905 – Sterling Holloway, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1913 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (d. 2007)
- 1916 – Lionel Newman, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
- 1916 – Robert Parrish, American actor and director (d. 1995)
- 1920 – William Colby, American intelligence officer, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1996)
- 1924 – Marianne Werner, German shot putter
- 1925 – Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier and technician (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Barbara Rush, American actress
- 1929 – Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (d. 2015)
- 1930 – Sorrell Booke, American actor and director (d. 1994)
- 1930 – Don Shula, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
- 1931 – William Deane, Australian judge and politician, 22nd Governor-General of Australia
- 1931 – Nora Iuga, Romanian poet, writer and translator
- 1931 – Coşkun Özarı, Turkish footballer and coach (d. 2011)
- 1932 – Clint Hill, American secret service agent and author
- 1932 – Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter
- 1934 – Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia
- 1935 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
- 1937 – Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano
- 1937 – Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1940 – Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 – Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1941 – Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (d. 1999)
- 1942 – Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician
- 1942 – John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1943 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author
- 1943 – Hwang Sok-yong, South Korean author and educator
- 1945 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946 – Arthur Conley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1947 – Marie-Thérèse Letablier, French sociologist and academic
- 1948 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (d. 1992)
- 1948 – Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, Malian civil servant and politician, Prime Minister of Mali
- 1950 – Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (d. 2013)
- 1953 – Norberto Alonso, Argentinian footballer
- 1954 – Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, founded House of Deréon
- 1956 – Ann Magnuson, American actress and performance artist
- 1956 – Zehava Gal-On, Israeli politician
- 1956 – Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1957 – Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1958 – Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor
- 1960 – Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1963 – Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director, and producer
- 1963 – Martina Proeber, German diver
- 1964 – Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash player
- 1965 – Guy Forget, French tennis player
- 1965 – Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer, choreographer, and director
- 1965 – Julia Ormond, English actress and producer
- 1966 – Deana Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – David Toms, American golfer and philanthropist
- 1975 – Paul Watson, English footballer and physiotherapist
- 1978 – Dominik Hrbatý, Slovak tennis player
- 1980 – Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
- 1985 – Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Norwegian handball player
- 1985 – Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer
- 1985 – Al Jefferson, American basketball player
- 1986 – James Milner, English footballer
- 1986 – Younès Kaboul, French footballer
- 1989 – Graham Rahal, American race car driver
- 1990 – Toni Kroos, German footballer
- 1992 – Kris Bryant, American baseball player
- 1994 – Derrick Henry, American football player
- 1997 – Ante Žižić, Croatian basketball player
- 1998 – Liza Soberano, Filipina actress
Deaths on January 4
- 871 – Æthelwulf, Saxon ealdorman
- 874 – Hasan al-Askari, eleventh of the Twelve Imams (probable; b. 846)
- 1248 – Sancho II of Portugal (b. 1209)
- 1344 – Robert de Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle, English peer (b. 1288)
- 1399 – Nicholas Eymerich, Catalan theologian and inquisitor
- 1424 – Muzio Sforza, Italian condottiero
- 1428 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1370)
- 1584 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1539)
- 1604 – Ferenc Nádasdy, Hungarian noble (b. 1555)
- 1695 – François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (b. 1628)
- 1752 – Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (b. 1704)
- 1761 – Stephen Hales, English clergyman and physiologist (b. 1677)
- 1782 – Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect, designed École Militaire (b. 1698)
- 1786 – Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher, and theologian (b. 1729)
- 1804 – Charlotte Lennox, English author and poet (b. 1730)
- 1821 – Elizabeth Ann Seton, American nun and saint (b. 1774)
- 1825 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (b. 1751)
- 1863 – Roger Hanson, American general (b. 1827)
- 1874 – Thomas Gregson, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798)
- 1877 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1794)
- 1880 – Anselm Feuerbach, German painter and educator (b. 1829)
- 1880 – Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (b. 1811)
- 1882 – John William Draper, English-American physician, chemist, and photographer (b. 1811)
- 1883 – Antoine Chanzy, French general (b. 1823)
- 1891 – Antoine Labelle, Canadian priest (b. 1833)
- 1896 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German bishop and academic (b. 1821)
- 1900 – Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (b. 1827)
- 1901 – Nikolaos Gyzis, Greek painter and academic (b. 1842)
- 1904 – Anna Winlock, American astronomer and academic (b. 1857)
- 1910 – Léon Delagrange, French pilot and sculptor (b. 1873)
- 1912 – Clarence Dutton, American geologist and soldier (b. 1841)
- 1919 – Georg von Hertling, German academic and politician, 7th Chancellor of the German Empire (b. 1843)
- 1920 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (b. 1843)
- 1924 – Alfred Grünfeld, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1852)
- 1925 – Nellie Cashman, American nurse, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and gold prospector (b. 1845)
- 1927 – Süleyman Nazif, Turkish poet and civil servant (b. 1870)
- 1931 – Art Acord, American actor and stuntman (b. 1890)
- 1931 – Louise, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)
- 1931 – Mohammad Ali Jouhar, Indian journalist, activist, and scholar (b. 1878)
- 1940 – Flora Finch, English-American actress and producer (b. 1867)
- 1941 – Henri Bergson, French philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
- 1943 – Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, Greek-Polish swimmer and water polo player (b. 1911)
- 1944 – Kaj Munk, Danish playwright and pastor (b. 1898)
- 1960 – Albert Camus, French novelist, philosopher, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
- 1961 – Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
- 1962 – Hans Lammers, German jurist and politician (b. 1879)
- 1965 – T. S. Eliot, American-English poet, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
- 1967 – Donald Campbell, English racing driver and world speed record holder (b. 1921)
- 1969 – Paul Chambers, American bassist and composer (b. 1935)
- 1975 – Carlo Levi, Italian painter, author, and activist (b. 1902)
- 1985 – Brian Horrocks, Indian-English general (b. 1895)
- 1986 – Christopher Isherwood, English-American author and academic (b. 1904)
- 1986 – Phil Lynott, Irish singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (b. 1949)
- 1988 – Lily Laskine, French harp player (b. 1893)
- 1990 – Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (b. 1903)
- 1990 – Henry Bolte, Australian sergeant and politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (b. 1908)
- 1994 – R. D. Burman, Indian film composer and music director (b. 1939
- 1995 – Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor and composer (b. 1942)
- 1995 – Sol Tax, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Harry Helmsley, American businessman (b. 1909)
- 1998 – Mae Questel, American actress (b. 1908)
- 1999 – Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman (b. 1904)
- 2000 – Spyros Markezinis, Greek lawyer and politician, 170th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1909)
- 2000 – Tom Fears, Mexican-American football player and coach (b. 1922)
- 2001 – Les Brown, American bandleader and composer (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Brian Gibson, English director and screenwriter (b. 1944)
- 2004 – Joan Aiken, English author (b. 1924)
- 2004 – John Toland, American historian and author (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Humphrey Carpenter, English radio host and author (b. 1946)
- 2005 – Robert Heilbroner, American economist and historian (b. 1919)
- 2006 – Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emirati politician, 1st Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1946)
- 2006 – Milton Himmelfarb, American sociographer, author, and academic (b. 1918)
- 2007 – Helen Hill, American director and producer (b. 1970)
- 2007 – Steve Krantz, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1923)
- 2007 – Marais Viljoen, South African politician, 5th State President of South Africa (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Xavier Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist (b. 1932)
- 2009 – Gert Jonke, Austrian poet, playwright, and author (b. 1946)
- 2010 – Johan Ferrier, Surinamese educator and politician, 1st President of Suriname (b. 1910)
- 2010 – Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese engineer (b. 1916)
- 2011 – Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (b. 1937)
- 2011 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1947)
- 2011 – Salmaan Taseer, Pakistani businessman and politician, 26th Governor of Punjab, Pakistan (b. 1944)
- 2012 – Eve Arnold, American photographer and journalist (b. 1912)
- 2012 – Rod Robbie, English-Canadian architect, designed the Canadian Pavilion and Rogers Centre (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Anwar Shamim, Pakistani general (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (b. 1951)
- 2015 – Pino Daniele, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1955)
- 2016 – S. H. Kapadia, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (b. 1947)
- 2016 – Stephen W. Bosworth, American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Korea (b. 1939)
- 2017 – Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager (b. 1918)
- 2017 – Georges Prêtre, French orchestral and opera conductor (b. 1924)
- 2019 – Harold Brown, 14th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1927)
- 2020 – Tom Long, Australian actor (b. 1968)
Holidays and observances on January 4
- Christian feast day:
- Angela of Foligno
- Elizabeth Ann Seton
- Ferréol of Uzès
- Mavilus
- Pharaildis of Ghent
- Rigobert
- January 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- The eleventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Western Christianity)
- Independence Day (Myanmar), celebrates the independence of Myanmar from the United Kingdom in 1948.
- Colonial Martyrs Repression Day (Angola)
- Day of the Martyrs (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Ogoni Day (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People)
- Tokyo Dome Show: The annual Wrestle Kingdom event run by New Japan Pro Wrestling
- World Braille Day