February 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

197 – Emperor Septimius Severus defeats usurper Clodius Albinus in the Battle of Lugdunum, the bloodiest battle between Roman armies.
356 – Emperor Constantius II issues a decree closing all pagan temples in the Roman Empire.
1594 – Having already been elected to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1587, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa is crowned King of Sweden, having succeeded his father John III of Sweden in 1592.
1600 – The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina explodes in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America.
1649 – The Second Battle of Guararapes takes place, effectively ending Dutch colonization efforts in Brazil.
1674 – England and the Netherlands sign the Treaty of Westminster, ending the Third Anglo-Dutch War. A provision of the agreement transfers the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam to England, and it is renamed New York.
1726 – The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
1807 – Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama and confined to Fort Stoddert.
1819 – British explorer William Smith discovers the South Shetland Islands and claims them in the name of King George III.
1836 – King William IV signs Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia.
1846 – In Austin, Texas the newly formed Texas state government is officially installed. The Republic of Texas government officially transfers power to the State of Texas government following the annexation of Texas by the United States.
1847 – The first group of rescuers reaches the Donner Party.
1859 – Daniel E. Sickles, a New York Congressman, is acquitted of murder on grounds of temporary insanity.
1878 – Thomas Edison patents the phonograph.
1884 – More than sixty tornadoes strike the Southern United States, one of the largest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history.
1913 – Pedro Lascuráin becomes President of Mexico for 45 minutes; this is the shortest term to date of any person as president of any country.
1915 – World War I: The first naval attack on the Dardanelles begins when a strong Anglo-French task force bombards Ottoman artillery along the coast of Gallipoli.
1937 – Yekatit 12: During a public ceremony at the Viceregal Palace (the former Imperial residence) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, two Ethiopian nationalists of Eritrean origin attempt to kill viceroy Rodolfo Graziani with a number of grenades.
1942 – World War II: Nearly 250 Japanese warplanes attack the northern Australian city of Darwin, killing 243 people.
1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs executive order 9066, allowing the United States military to relocate Japanese Americans to internment camps.
1943 – World War II: Battle of Kasserine Pass in Tunisia begins.
1945 – World War II: Battle of Iwo Jima: About 30,000 United States Marines land on the island of Iwo Jima.
1948 – The Conference of Youth and Students of Southeast Asia Fighting for Freedom and Independence convenes in Calcutta.
1949 – Ezra Pound is awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry by the Bollingen Foundation and Yale University.
1953 – Book censorship in the United States: The Georgia Literature Commission is established.
1954 – Transfer of Crimea: The Soviet Politburo of the Soviet Union orders the transfer of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR.
1959 – The United Kingdom grants Cyprus independence, which is formally proclaimed on August 16, 1960.
1960 – China successfully launches the T-7, its first sounding rocket.
1963 – The publication of Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique reawakens the feminist movement in the United States as women’s organizations and consciousness raising groups spread.
1965 – Colonel Phạm Ngọc Thảo of the Army of the Republic of Vietnam, and a communist spy of the North Vietnamese Viet Minh, along with Generals Lâm Văn Phát and Trần Thiện Khiêm, all Catholics, attempt a coup against the military junta of the Buddhist Nguyễn Khánh.
1976 – Executive Order 9066, which led to the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps, is rescinded by President Gerald Ford’s Proclamation 4417.
1978 – Egyptian forces raid Larnaca International Airport in an attempt to intervene in a hijacking, without authorisation from the Republic of Cyprus authorities. The Cypriot National Guard and Police forces kill 15 Egyptian commandos and destroy the Egyptian C-130 transport plane in open combat.
1985 – William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital.
1985 – Iberia Airlines Boeing 727 crashes into Mount Oiz in Spain, killing 148.
1986 – Akkaraipattu massacre: the Sri Lankan Army massacres 80 Tamil farm workers in eastern Sri Lanka.
1989 – Flying Tiger Line flight 66 crashes into a hill near Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Malaysia, killing four.
2002 – NASA’s Mars Odyssey space probe begins to map the surface of Mars using its thermal emission imaging system.
2003 – An Ilyushin Il-76 military aircraft crashes near Kerman, Iran, killing 275.
2006 – A methane explosion in a coal mine near Nueva Rosita, Mexico, kills 65 miners.
2011 – The debut exhibition of the Belitung shipwreck, containing the largest collection of Tang dynasty artifacts found in one location, begins in Singapore.
2012 – Forty-four people are killed in a prison brawl in Apodaca, Nuevo León, Mexico.

Births on February 19

1461 – Domenico Grimani, Italian cardinal (d. 1523)
1473 – Nicolaus Copernicus, Polish mathematician and astronomer (d. 1543)
1497 – Matthäus Schwarz, German fashion writer (d. 1574)
1519 – Froben Christoph of Zimmern, German author of the Zimmern Chronicle (d. 1566)
1526 – Carolus Clusius, Flemish botanist and academic (d. 1609)
1532 – Jean-Antoine de Baïf, French poet (d. 1589)
1552 – Melchior Klesl, Austrian cardinal (d. 1630)
1594 – Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales (d. 1612)
1611 – Andries de Graeff, Dutch politician (d. 1678)
1630 – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Indian warrior king and the founder of Maratha Empire
1660 – Friedrich Hoffmann, German physician and chemist (d. 1742)
1717 – David Garrick, English actor, playwright, and producer (d. 1779)
1743 – Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1805)
1798 – Allan MacNab, Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, Premier of Canada West (d. 1862)
1800 – Émilie Gamelin, Canadian nun and social worker, founded the Sisters of Providence (d. 1851)
1804 – Carl von Rokitansky, German physician, pathologist, and philosopher (d. 1878)
1821 – August Schleicher, German linguist and academic (d. 1868)
1833 – Élie Ducommun, Swiss journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1906)
1838 – Lydia Thompson, British burlesque performer (d. 1908)
1841 – Elfrida Andrée, Swedish organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1929)
1855 – Nishinoumi Kajirō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 16th Yokozuna (d. 1908)
1859 – Svante Arrhenius, Swedish physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1927)
1865 – Sven Hedin, Swedish geographer and explorer (d. 1952)
1869 – Hovhannes Tumanyan, Armenian-Russian poet and author (d. 1923)
1872 – Johan Pitka, Estonian admiral (d. 1944)
1876 – Constantin Brâncuși, Romanian-French sculptor, painter, and photographer (d. 1957)
1877 – Gabriele Münter, German painter (d. 1962)
1878 – Harriet Bosse, Swedish–Norwegian actress (d. 1961)
1880 – Álvaro Obregón, Mexican general and politician, 39th President of Mexico (d. 1928)
1886 – José Abad Santos, Filipino lawyer and jurist, 5th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (d. 1942)
1888 – José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian lawyer and poet (d. 1928)
1893 – Cedric Hardwicke, English actor and director (d. 1964)
1895 – Louis Calhern, American actor (d. 1956)
1896 – André Breton, French poet and author (d. 1966)
1897 – Alma Rubens, American actress (d. 1931)
1899 – Lucio Fontana, Argentinian-Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1968)
1902 – Kay Boyle, American novelist, short story writer, and educator (d. 1992)
1904 – Havank, Dutch journalist and author (d. 1964)
1904 – Elisabeth Welch, American-English singer and actress (d. 2003)
1911 – Merle Oberon, Indian-American actress (d. 1979)
1912 – Dorothy Janis, American actress (d. 2010)
1912 – Saul Chaplin, American composer (d. 1997)
1913 – Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza (d. 2007)
1913 – Frank Tashlin, American animator and screenwriter (d. 1972)
1914 – Thelma Kench, New Zealand Olympic sprinter (d. 1985)
1915 – John Freeman, English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States (d. 2014)
1916 – Eddie Arcaro, American jockey and sportscaster (d. 1997)
1917 – Carson McCullers, American novelist, short story writer, playwright, and essayist (d. 1967)
1918 – Fay McKenzie, American actress (d. 2019)
1920 – C. Z. Guest, American actress, fashion designer, and author (d. 2003)
1920 – Jaan Kross, Estonian author and poet (d. 2007)
1920 – George Rose, English actor and singer (d. 1988)
1922 – Władysław Bartoszewski, Polish journalist and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
1924 – David Bronstein, Ukrainian chess player and theoretician (d. 2006)
1924 – Lee Marvin, American actor (d. 1987)
1926 – György Kurtág, Hungarian composer and academic
1927 – Philippe Boiry, French journalist (d. 2014)
1929 – Jacques Deray, French director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
1930 – John Frankenheimer, American director and producer (d. 2002)
1930 – Kasinathuni Viswanath, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter
1932 – Joseph P. Kerwin, American captain, physician, and astronaut
1935 – Dave Niehaus, American sportscaster (d. 2010)
1935 – Russ Nixon, American MLB catcher and coach (d. 2016)
1936 – Sam Myers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
1936 – Frederick Seidel, American poet
1937 – Terry Carr, American author and educator (d. 1987)
1937 – Norm O’Neill, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2008)
1938 – Choekyi Gyaltsen, 10th Panchen Lama (d. 1989)
1939 – Erin Pizzey, English activist and author, founded Refuge
1940 – Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (d. 2006)
1940 – Smokey Robinson, American singer-songwriter and producer
1940 – Bobby Rogers, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
1941 – David Gross, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1941 – Jenny Tonge, Baroness Tonge, English politician
1942 – Cyrus Chothia, English biochemist and emeritus scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology (d. 2019)
1942 – Paul Krause, American football player and politician
1942 – Howard Stringer, Welsh businessman
1942 – Will Provine, American biologist, historian, and academic (d. 2015)
1943 – Lou Christie, American singer-songwriter
1943 – Homer Hickam, American author and engineer
1943 – Tim Hunt, English biochemist and academic, Nobel laureate
1944 – Les Hinton, English-American journalist and businessman
1945 – Yuri Antonov, Uzbek-Russian singer-songwriter
1946 – Paul Dean, Canadian guitarist
1946 – Peter Hudson, Australian footballer and coach
1946 – Karen Silkwood, American technician and activist (d. 1974)
1947 – Jackie Curtis, American actress and playwright (d. 1985)
1947 – Tim Shadbolt, New Zealand businessman and politician, 42nd Mayor of Invercargill
1948 – Mark Andes, American singer-songwriter and bass player
1948 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (d. 2002)
1948 – Tony Iommi, English guitarist and songwriter
1949 – Danielle Bunten Berry, American game designer and programmer (d. 1998)
1949 – Eddie Hardin, English singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2015)
1949 – Barry Lloyd, English footballer, midfielder and manager
1949 – William Messner-Loebs, American author and illustrator
1950 – Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
1950 – Andy Powell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1951 – Muhammad Tahir-ul-Qadri, Pakistani scholar and politician, founder of Minhaj-ul-Quran
1952 – Ryū Murakami, Japanese novelist and filmmaker
1952 – Rodolfo Neri Vela, Mexican engineer and astronaut
1952 – Gary Seear, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2018)
1952 – Dave Cheadle, American baseball player (d. 2012)
1952 – Amy Tan, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
1952 – Danilo Türk, Slovene academic and politician, 3rd President of Slovenia
1953 – Corrado Barazzutti, Italian tennis player
1953 – Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Argentine lawyer and politician, former President of Argentina and current Vice President of Argentina
1953 – Massimo Troisi, Italian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1954 – Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager (d. 2011)
1954 – Francis Buchholz, German bass player
1954 – Michael Gira, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1955 – Jeff Daniels, American actor and playwright
1956 – Kathleen Beller, American actress
1956 – Peter Holsapple, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1956 – Roderick MacKinnon, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1956 – Dave Wakeling, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1957 – Falco, Austrian singer-songwriter, rapper, and musician (d. 1998)
1957 – Dave Stewart, American baseball player and coach
1957 – Ray Winstone, English actor
1958 – Tommy Cairo, American wrestler
1958 – Helen Fielding, English author and screenwriter
1958 – Steve Nieve, English keyboard player and composer
1959 – Roger Goodell, American businessman
1960 – Prince Andrew, Duke of York
1960 – John Paul Jr., American race car driver
1961 – Justin Fashanu, English footballer (d. 1998)
1961 – Ernie Gonzalez, American golfer
1962 – Hana Mandlíková, Czech-Australian tennis player and coach
1963 – Seal, English singer-songwriter
1963 – Jessica Tuck, American actress
1964 – Doug Aldrich, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – Jonathan Lethem, American novelist, essayist, and short story writer
1965 – Jon Fishman, American drummer
1965 – Clark Hunt, American businessman
1965 – Leroy, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1966 – Justine Bateman, American actress and producer
1966 – Paul Haarhuis, Dutch tennis player and coach
1966 – Eduardo Xol, American designer and author
1967 – Benicio del Toro, Puerto Rican-American actor, director, and producer
1968 – Frank Watkins, American bass player (d. 2015)
1968 – Prince Markie Dee, American rapper and actor
1969 – Burton C. Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1969 – Helena Guergis, Canadian businesswoman and politician
1970 – Joacim Cans, Swedish singer-songwriter
1971 – Miguel Batista, Dominican baseball player and poet
1971 – Richard Green, Australian golfer
1971 – Jeff Kinney, American author and illustrator
1972 – Francine Fournier, American wrestler and manager
1972 – Sunset Thomas, American pornographic actress
1975 – Daniel Adair, Canadian drummer and producer
1975 – Daewon Song, South Korean-American skateboarder, co-founded Almost Skateboards
1977 – Ola Salo, Swedish singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1977 – Andrew Ross Sorkin, American journalist and author
1977 – Gianluca Zambrotta, Italian footballer and manager
1978 – Ben Gummer, English scholar and politician
1978 – Immortal Technique, Peruvian-American rapper
1979 – Steve Cherundolo, American soccer player and manager
1980 – Dwight Freeney, American football player
1980 – Ma Lin, Chinese table tennis player
1980 – Mike Miller, American basketball player
1981 – Beth Ditto, American singer
1983 – Kotoōshū Katsunori, Bulgarian sumo wrestler
1983 – Mika Nakashima, Japanese singer and actress
1983 – Ryan Whitney, American ice hockey player
1984 – Chris Richardson, American singer-songwriter
1985 – Haylie Duff, American actress and singer
1986 – Kyle Chipchura, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Marta, Brazilian footballer
1986 – Maria Mena, Norwegian singer-songwriter
1986 – Michael Schwimer, American baseball player
1987 – Anna Cappellini, Italian ice dancer
1988 – Shawn Matthias, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Seth Morrison, American guitarist
1989 – Sone Aluko, Anglo-Nigerian international footballer, forward/winger
1991 – Christoph Kramer, German national footballer
1991 – Trevor Bayne, American race car driver
1992 – Camille Kostek, American model
1993 – Mauro Icardi, Argentinian footballer
1993 – Victoria Justice, American actress and singer
1994 – Sam Lisone, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player
1994 – Tiina Trutsi, Estonian footballer
1995 – Nikola Jokić, Serbian basketball player
1998 – Katharina Gerlach, German tennis player
2001 – David Mazouz, American actor
2004 – Millie Bobby Brown, English actress

Deaths on February 19

197 – Clodius Albinus, Roman usurper (b. 150)
446 – Leontius of Trier, Bishop of Trier
1133 – Irene Doukaina, Byzantine wife of Alexios I Komnenos (b. 1066)
1275 – Lal Shahbaz Qalandar, Sufi philosopher and poet (b. 1177)
1300 – Munio of Zamora, General of the Dominican Order
1408 – Thomas Bardolf, 5th Baron Bardolf, English rebel
1414 – Thomas Arundel, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1353)
1445 – Leonor of Aragon, queen of Portugal (b. 1402)
1491 – Enno I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (b. 1460)
1553 – Erasmus Reinhold, German astronomer and mathematician (b. 1511)
1602 – Philippe Emmanuel, Duke of Mercœur (b. 1558)
1605 – Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (b. 1550)
1622 – Henry Savile, English scholar and politician (b. 1549)
1672 – Charles Chauncy, English-American minister, theologian, and academic (b. 1592)
1709 – Tokugawa Tsunayoshi, Japanese shōgun (b. 1646)
1716 – Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (b. 1634)
1785 – Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (b. 1701)
1789 – Nicholas Van Dyke, American lawyer and politician, 7th Governor of Delaware (b. 1738)
1799 – Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (b. 1733)
1806 – Elizabeth Carter, English poet and translator (b. 1717)
1837 – Georg Büchner, German-Swiss poet and playwright (b. 1813)
1837 – Thomas Burgess, English bishop and philosopher (b. 1756)
1887 – Multatuli, Dutch-German author and civil servant (b. 1820)
1897 – Karl Weierstrass, German mathematician and academic (b. 1815)
1915 – Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Indian philosopher and politician (b. 1866)
1916 – Ernst Mach, Austrian-Czech physicist and philosopher (b. 1838)
1927 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (b. 1847)
1928 – George Howard Earle Jr., American lawyer and businessman (b. 1856)
1936 – Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (b. 1879)
1945 – John Basilone, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1916)
1951 – André Gide, French novelist, essayist, and dramatist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1869)
1952 – Knut Hamsun, Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
1953 – Richard Rushall, British businessman (b. 1864)
1957 – Maurice Garin, Italian-French cyclist (b. 1871)
1959 – Willard Miller, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1877)
1962 – Georgios Papanikolaou, Greek-American pathologist, invented the Pap smear (b. 1883)
1969 – Madge Blake, American actress (b. 1899)
1970 – Ralph Edward Flanders, (b. 1890) US Senator from Vermont.
1972 – John Grierson, Scottish director and producer (b. 1898)
1972 – Lee Morgan, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1938)
1973 – Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (b. 1892)
1977 – Anthony Crosland, English captain and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (b. 1918)
1977 – Mike González, Cuban baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1890)
1980 – Bon Scott, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
1983 – Alice White, American actress (b. 1904)
1988 – André Frédéric Cournand, French-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1895)
1992 – Tojo Yamamoto, American wrestler and manager (b. 1927)
1994 – Derek Jarman, English director and set designer (b. 1942)
1996 – Charlie Finley, American businessman (b. 1918)
1997 – Leo Rosten, Polish-American author and academic (b. 1908)
1997 – Deng Xiaoping, Chinese politician, 1st Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1904)
1998 – Grandpa Jones, American singer-songwriter and banjo player (b. 1913)
1999 – Mohammad Mohammad Sadeq al-Sadr, Iraqi cleric (b. 1943)
2000 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian-New Zealand painter and illustrator (b. 1928)
2001 – Stanley Kramer, American director and producer (b. 1913)
2001 – Charles Trenet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
2002 – Sylvia Rivera, American transgender LGBT activist (b. 1951)
2003 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1938)
2007 – Janet Blair, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
2007 – Celia Franca, English-Canadian dancer and director, founded the National Ballet of Canada (b. 1921)
2008 – Yegor Letov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1964)
2008 – Lydia Shum, Chinese-Hong Kong actress and singer (b. 1945)
2009 – Kelly Groucutt, English singer and bass player (b. 1945)
2011 – Ollie Matson, American sprinter and football player (b. 1930)
2012 – Ruth Barcan Marcus, American philosopher and logician (b. 1921)
2012 – Jaroslav Velinský, Czech author and songwriter (b. 1932)
2012 – Vitaly Vorotnikov, Russian politician, 27th Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1926)
2013 – Armen Alchian, American economist and academic (b. 1914)
2013 – Park Chul-soo, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
2013 – Robert Coleman Richardson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1937)
2013 – Donald Richie, American-Japanese author and critic (b. 1924)
2013 – Eugene Whelan, Canadian farmer and politician, 22nd Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1924)
2014 – Kresten Bjerre, Danish footballer and manager (b. 1946)
2014 – Dale Gardner, American captain and astronaut (b. 1948)
2014 – Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1935)
2015 – Harold Johnson, American boxer (b. 1928)
2015 – Nirad Mohapatra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1947)
2015 – Harris Wittels, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1984)
2016 – Umberto Eco, Italian novelist, literary critic, and philosopher (b. 1932)
2016 – Harper Lee, American author (b. 1926)
2016 – Chiaki Morosawa, Japanese anime screenwriter (b. 1959)
2016 – Samuel Willenberg, Polish-Israeli sculptor and painter (b. 1923)
2017 – Larry Coryell, American jazz guitarist (b. 1943)
2019 – Clark Dimond, American musician and author (b. 1941)
2019 – Karl Lagerfeld, German fashion designer (b. 1933)
2020 – José Mojica Marins, Brazilian filmmaker, actor, composer, screenwriter, and television horror host Coffin Joe. (b. 1936)
2020 – Pop Smoke, American rapper (b. 1999)

Holidays and observances on February 19

Armed Forces Day (Mexico)
Brâncuși Day (Romania)
Christian feast day:
- Barbatus of Benevento
- Boniface of Brussels
- Conrad of Piacenza
- Lucy Yi Zhenmei (one of Martyrs of Guizhou)
- February 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Commemoration of Vasil Levski (Bulgaria)
Flag Day (Turkmenistan)
Shivaji Jayanti (Maharashtra, India)9

February 19 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

February 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1112 – Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona, and Douce I, Countess of Provence, marry, uniting the fortunes of those two states.
1451 – Sultan Mehmed II inherits the throne of the Ottoman Empire.
1488 – Bartolomeu Dias of Portugal lands in Mossel Bay after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, becoming the first known European to travel so far south.
1509 – The Portuguese navy defeats a joint fleet of the Ottoman Empire, the Republic of Venice, the Sultan of Gujarat, the Mamlûk Burji Sultanate of Egypt, the Zamorin of Calicut, and the Republic of Ragusa at the Battle of Diu in Diu, India.
1661 – Maratha forces under Chattrapati Shivaji defeat the Mughals in the Battle of Umberkhind.
1690 – The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in the Americas.
1706 – During the Battle of Fraustadt Swedish forces defeat a superior Saxon-Polish-Russian force by deploying a double envelopment.
1781 – American Revolutionary War: British forces seize the Dutch-owned Caribbean island Sint Eustatius.
1783 – Spain–United States relations are first established.
1787 – Militia led by General Benjamin Lincoln crush the remnants of Shays’ Rebellion in Petersham, Massachusetts.
1807 – A British military force, under Brigadier-General Sir Samuel Auchmuty captures the Spanish Empire city of Montevideo, now the capital of Uruguay.
1809 – The Territory of Illinois is created by the 10th United States Congress.
1813 – José de San Martín defeats a Spanish royalist army at the Battle of San Lorenzo, part of the Argentine War of Independence.
1830 – The London Protocol of 1830 establishes the full independence and sovereignty of Greece from the Ottoman Empire as the final result of the Greek War of Independence.
1834 – Wake Forest University is established (as Wake Forest Institute) in North Carolina, United States.
1870 – The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, guaranteeing voting rights to male citizens regardless of race.
1913 – The Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, authorizing the Federal government to impose and collect an income tax.
1916 – The Centre Block of the Parliament buildings in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada burns down with the loss of 7 lives.
1917 – First World War: The American entry into World War I begins when diplomatic relations with Germany are severed due to its unrestricted submarine warfare.
1918 – The Twin Peaks Tunnel in San Francisco, California begins service as the longest streetcar tunnel in the world at 11,920 feet (3,633 meters) long.
1930 – Communist Party of Vietnam is founded at a “Unification Conference” held in Kowloon, British Hong Kong.
1931 – The Hawke’s Bay earthquake, New Zealand’s worst natural disaster, kills 258.
1933 – Adolf Hitler announces that the expansion of Lebensraum into Eastern Europe, and its ruthless Germanisation, are the ultimate geopolitical objectives of Third Reich foreign policy.
1943 – The SS Dorchester is sunk by a German U-boat. Only 230 of 902 men aboard survive.
1944 – World War II: During the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, U.S. Army and Marine forces seize Kwajalein Atoll from the defending Japanese garrison.
1945 – World War II: As part of Operation Thunderclap, 1,000 B-17s of the Eighth Air Force bomb Berlin, a raid which kills between 2,500 and 3,000 and dehouses another 120,000.
1945 – World War II: The United States and the Philippine Commonwealth begin a month-long battle to retake Manila from Japan.
1953 – The Batepá massacre occurred in São Tomé when the colonial administration and Portuguese landowners unleashed a wave of violence against the native creoles known as forros.
1958 – Founding of the Benelux Economic Union, creating a testing ground for a later European Economic Community.
1959 – Rock and roll musicians Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. “The Big Bopper” Richardson are killed in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa.
1960 – British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan speaks of “a wind of change”, signalling that his Government was likely to support decolonisation.
1961 – The United States Air Forces begins Operation Looking Glass, and over the next 30 years, a “Doomsday Plane” is always in the air, with the capability of taking direct control of the United States’ bombers and missiles in the event of the destruction of the SAC’s command post.
1966 – The Soviet Union’s Luna 9 becomes the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon, and the first spacecraft to take pictures from the surface of the Moon.
1971 – New York Police Officer Frank Serpico is shot during a drug bust in Brooklyn and survives to later testify against police corruption.
1972 – The first day of the seven-day 1972 Iran blizzard, which would kill at least 4,000 people, making it the deadliest snowstorm in history.
1984 – John Buster and the research team at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center announce history’s first embryo transfer, from one woman to another resulting in a live birth.
1984 – Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B is launched using Space Shuttle Challenger.
1989 – After a stroke two weeks previously, South African President P. W. Botha resigns as leader of the National Party, but stays on as president for six more months.
1989 – A military coup overthrows Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay since 1954.
1994 – Space Shuttle program: STS-60 is launched, carrying Sergei Krikalev, the first Russian cosmonaut to fly aboard the Shuttle.
1995 – Astronaut Eileen Collins becomes the first woman to pilot the Space Shuttle as mission STS-63 gets underway from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
1998 – Cavalese cable car disaster: a United States military pilot causes the death of 20 people when his low-flying plane cuts the cable of a cable-car near Trento, Italy.
2007 – A Baghdad market bombing kills at least 135 people and injures a further 339.
2014 – Two people are shot and killed and 29 students are taken hostage at a high school in Moscow, Russia.

Births on February 3

1338 – Joanna of Bourbon (d. 1378)
1392 – Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland, English nobleman and military commander (d. 1455)
1428 – Helena Palaiologina, Queen of Cyprus (d. 1458)
1478 – Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham (d. 1521)
1504 – Scipione Rebiba, Italian cardinal (d. 1577)
1677 – Jan Santini Aichel, Czech architect, designed the Karlova Koruna Chateau (d. 1723)
1689 – Blas de Lezo, Spanish admiral (d. 1741)
1690 – Richard Rawlinson, English minister and historian (d. 1755)
1721 – Friedrich Wilhelm von Seydlitz, Prussian general (d. 1773)
1736 – Johann Georg Albrechtsberger, Austrian composer and theorist (d. 1809)
1747 – Samuel Osgood, American soldier and politician, 1st United States Postmaster General (d. 1813)
1757 – Joseph Forlenze, Italian ophthalmologist and surgeon (d. 1833)
1763 – Caroline von Wolzogen, German author (d. 1847)
1777 – John Cheyne, Scottish physician and author (d. 1836)
1790 – Gideon Mantell, English scientist (d. 1852)
1795 – Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan general and politician, 2nd President of Bolivia (d. 1830)
1807 – Joseph E. Johnston, American general and politician (d. 1891)
1809 – Felix Mendelssohn, German pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1847)
1811 – Horace Greeley, American journalist and politician (d. 1872)
1816 – Ram Singh Kuka, Indian credited with starting the Non-cooperation movement
1817 – Achille Ernest Oscar Joseph Delesse, French geologist and mineralogist (d. 1881)
1817 – Émile Prudent, French pianist and composer (d. 1863)
1821 – Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician and educator (d. 1910)
1824 – Ranald MacDonald, American explorer and educator (d. 1894)
1826 – Walter Bagehot, English journalist and businessman (d. 1877)
1830 – Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1903)
1842 – Sidney Lanier, American composer and poet (d. 1881)
1843 – William Cornelius Van Horne, American-Canadian businessman (d. 1915)
1857 – Giuseppe Moretti, Italian sculptor, designed the Vulcan statue (d. 1935)
1859 – Hugo Junkers, German engineer, designed the Junkers J 1 (d. 1935)
1862 – James Clark McReynolds, American lawyer and judge (d. 1946)
1867 – Charles Henry Turner, American biologist, educator and zoologist (d. 1923)
1872 – Lou Criger, American baseball player and manager (d. 1934)
1874 – Gertrude Stein, American novelist, poet, playwright, (d. 1946)
1878 – Gordon Coates, New Zealand soldier and politician, 21st Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1943)
1887 – Georg Trakl, Austrian pharmacist and poet (d. 1914)
1889 – Artur Adson, Estonian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1977)
1889 – Carl Theodor Dreyer, Danish director and screenwriter (d. 1968)
1892 – Juan Negrín, Spanish physician and politician, 67th Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1956)
1893 – Gaston Julia, Algerian-French mathematician and academic (d. 1978)
1894 – Norman Rockwell, American painter and illustrator (d. 1978)
1898 – Alvar Aalto, Finnish architect, designed the Finlandia Hall and Aalto Theatre (d. 1976)
1899 – Café Filho, Brazilian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 18th President of Brazil (d. 1970)
1900 – Mabel Mercer, English-American singer (d. 1984)
1903 – Douglas Douglas-Hamilton, 14th Duke of Hamilton, Scottish soldier, pilot, and politician (d. 1973)
1904 – Pretty Boy Floyd, American gangster (d. 1934)
1905 – Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (d. 1990)
1905 – Arne Beurling, Swedish-American mathematician and academic (d. 1986)
1906 – George Adamson, Indian-English author and activist (d. 1989)
1907 – James A. Michener, American author and philanthropist (d. 1997)
1909 – André Cayatte, French lawyer and director (d. 1989)
1909 – Simone Weil, French mystic and philosopher (d. 1943)
1911 – Jehan Alain, French organist and composer (d. 1940)
1912 – Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist and politician (d. 1990)
1914 – Mary Carlisle, American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2018)
1915 – Johannes Kotkas, Estonian wrestler and hammer thrower (d. 1998)
1917 – Shlomo Goren, Polish-Israeli rabbi and general (d. 1994)
1918 – Joey Bishop, American actor and producer (d. 2007)
1918 – Helen Stephens, American runner, baseball player, and manager (d. 1994)
1920 – Russell Arms, American actor and singer (d. 2012)
1920 – Tony Gaze, Australian race car driver and pilot (d. 2013)
1920 – Henry Heimlich, American physician and author (d. 2016)
1924 – E. P. Thompson, English historian and author (d. 1993)
1924 – Martial Asselin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 25th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (d. 2013)
1925 – Shelley Berman, American actor and comedian (d. 2017)
1925 – John Fiedler, American actor (d. 2005)
1926 – Hans-Jochen Vogel, German soldier and politician, 8th Mayor of Berlin
1927 – Kenneth Anger, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1927 – Blas Ople, Filipino journalist and politician, 21st President of the Senate of the Philippines (d. 2003)
1933 – Paul Sarbanes, American lawyer and politician
1934 – Juan Carlos Calabró, Argentinian actor and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1935 – Johnny “Guitar” Watson, American blues, soul, and funk singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1996)
1936 – Elizabeth Peer, American journalist (d. 1984)
1936 – Bob Simpson, Australian cricketer and coach
1937 – Billy Meier, Swiss author and photographer
1938 – Victor Buono, American actor (d. 1982)
1938 – Emile Griffith, American boxer and trainer (d. 2013)
1939 – Michael Cimino, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1940 – Fran Tarkenton, American football player and sportscaster
1941 – Dory Funk, Jr., American wrestler and trainer
1941 – Howard Phillips, American lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
1943 – Blythe Danner, American actress
1943 – Dennis Edwards, American soul/R&B singer (d. 2018)
1943 – Eric Haydock, English bass player (d. 2019)
1943 – Shawn Phillips, American-South African singer-songwriter and guitarist
1945 – Johnny Cymbal, Scottish-American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1993)
1945 – Bob Griese, American football player and sportscaster
1947 – Paul Auster, American novelist, essayist, and poet
1947 – Stephen McHattie, Canadian actor and director
1948 – Henning Mankell, Swedish author and playwright (d. 2015)
1949 – Jim Thorpe, American golfer
1950 – Morgan Fairchild, American actress
1950 – Grant Goldman, Australian radio and television host (d. 2020)
1951 – Eugenijus Riabovas, Lithuanian footballer and manager
1951 – Michael Ruppert, American journalist and author (d. 2014)
1952 – Fred Lynn, American baseball player and sportscaster
1954 – Tiger Williams, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1956 – John Jefferson, American football player and coach
1956 – Nathan Lane, American actor and comedian
1957 – Eric Lander, American mathematician, geneticist, and academic
1958 – Joe F. Edwards, Jr., American commander, pilot, and astronaut
1958 – Douglas Holtz-Eakin, American economist
1958 – Greg Mankiw, American economist and academic
1959 – Óscar Iván Zuluaga, Colombian economist and politician, 67th Colombian Minister of Finance
1960 – Tim Chandler, American bass player (d. 2018)
1960 – Marty Jannetty, American wrestler and trainer
1960 – Joachim Löw, German footballer and manager
1960 – Kerry Von Erich, American wrestler (d. 1993)
1961 – Linda Eder, American singer and actress
1963 – Raghuram Rajan, Indian economist and academic
1964 – Indrek Tarand, Estonian historian, journalist, and politician
1965 – Maura Tierney, American actress and producer
1966 – Frank Coraci, American director and screenwriter
1966 – Danny Morrison, New Zealand cricketer and sportscaster
1967 – Tim Flowers, English footballer and coach
1967 – Mixu Paatelainen, Finnish footballer and coach
1968 – Vlade Divac, Serbian-American basketball player and sportscaster
1968 – Marwan Khoury, Lebanese singer, songwriter, and composer
1969 – Beau Biden, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 44th Attorney General of Delaware (d. 2015)
1969 – Retief Goosen, South African golfer
1970 – Óscar Córdoba, Colombian footballer
1970 – Warwick Davis, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
1971 – Hong Seok-cheon, South Korean actor
1972 – Jesper Kyd, Danish pianist and composer
1973 – Ilana Sod, Mexican journalist and producer
1976 – Isla Fisher, Omani-Australian actress
1977 – Daddy Yankee, American-Puerto Rican singer, songwriter, rapper, actor and record producer
1977 – Marek Židlický, Czech ice hockey player
1978 – Joan Capdevila, Spanish footballer
1979 – Paul Franks, English cricketer and coach
1982 – Becky Bayless, American wrestler
1982 – Marie-Ève Drolet, Canadian speed skater
1984 – Elizabeth Holmes, American fraudster, founder of Theranos
1985 – Angela Fong, Canadian wrestler and actress
1985 – Andrei Kostitsyn, Belarusian ice hockey player
1986 – Lucas Duda, American baseball player
1986 – Mathieu Giroux, Canadian speed skater
1986 – Kanako Yanagihara, Japanese actress
1988 – Cho Kyuhyun, South Korean singer
1989 – Slobodan Rajković, Serbian footballer
1990 – Sean Kingston, American-Jamaican singer-songwriter
1990 – Martin Taupau, New Zealand rugby league player
1991 – Corey Norman, Australian rugby league player
1992 – Olli Aitola, Finnish ice hockey player

Deaths on February 3

AD 6 – Ping, emperor of the Han Dynasty (b. 9 BC)
456 – Sihyaj Chan K’awiil II, ruler of Tikal
639 – K’inich Yo’nal Ahk I, ruler of Piedras Negras
699 – Werburgh, English nun and saint
865 – Ansgar, Frankish archbishop (b. 801)
929 – Guy, margrave of Tuscany
938 – Zhou Ben, Chinese general (b. 862)
994 – William IV, duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
1014 – Sweyn Forkbeard, king of Denmark and England (b. 960)
1116 – Coloman, king of Hungary
1161 – Inge I, king of Norway (b. 1135)
1252 – Sviatoslav III, Russian Grand Prince (b. 1196)
1399 – John of Gaunt, Belgian-English politician, Lord High Steward (b. 1340)
1428 – Ashikaga Yoshimochi, Japanese shōgun (b. 1386)
1451 – Murad II, Ottoman sultan (b. 1404)
1468 – Johannes Gutenberg, German publisher, invented the Printing press (b. 1398)
1537 – Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare (b. 1513)
1566 – George Cassander, Flemish theologian and author (b. 1513)
1618 – Philip II, duke of Pomerania (b. 1573)
1619 – Henry Brooke, 11th Baron Cobham, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (b. 1564)
1737 – Tommaso Ceva, Italian mathematician and academic (b. 1648)
1802 – Pedro Rodríguez, Spanish statesman and economist (b. 1723)
1813 – Juan Bautista Cabral, Argentinian sergeant (b. 1789)
1820 – Gia Long, Vietnamese emperor (b. 1762)
1832 – George Crabbe, English surgeon and poet (b. 1754)
1862 – Jean-Baptiste Biot, French physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (b. 1774)
1866 – François-Xavier Garneau, Canadian poet, author, and historian (b. 1809)
1873 – Isaac Baker Brown, English gynecologist and surgeon (b. 1811)
1922 – John Butler Yeats, Irish painter and illustrator (b. 1839)
1924 – Woodrow Wilson, American historian, academic, and politician, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
1929 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician and engineer (b. 1878)
1935 – Hugo Junkers, German engineer, designed the Junkers J 1 (b. 1859)
1944 – Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (b. 1865)
1945 – Roland Freisler, German lawyer and judge (b. 1893)
1947 – Marc Mitscher, American admiral and pilot (b. 1887)
1952 – Harold L. Ickes, American journalist and politician, 32nd United States Secretary of the Interior (b. 1874)
1955 – Vasily Blokhin, Russian general (b. 1895)
1956 – Émile Borel, French mathematician and academic (b. 1871)
1956 – Johnny Claes, English-Belgian race car driver and trumpet player (b. 1916)
1959 – The Day the Music Died
- The Big Bopper, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1930)
- Buddy Holly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1936)
- Ritchie Valens, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1941)
1960 – Fred Buscaglione, Italian singer and actor (b. 1921)
1961 – William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil, Scottish-Australian captain and politician, 14th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1893)
1961 – Anna May Wong, American actress (b. 1905)
1963 – Benjamin R. Jacobs (b. 1879)
1967 – Joe Meek, English songwriter and producer (b. 1929)
1969 – C. N. Annadurai, Indian journalist and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Madras State (b. 1909)
1969 – Eduardo Mondlane, Mozambican activist and academic (b. 1920)
1975 – William D. Coolidge, American physicist and engineer (b. 1873)
1975 – Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1904)
1985 – Frank Oppenheimer, American physicist and academic (b. 1912)
1989 – John Cassavetes, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
1989 – Lionel Newman, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1916)
1991 – Nancy Kulp, American actress (b. 1921)
1993 – Françoys Bernier, Canadian pianist and conductor (b. 1927)
1996 – Audrey Meadows, American actress and banker (b. 1922)
1999 – Gwen Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1950)
2005 – Zurab Zhvania, Georgian biologist and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963)
2005 – Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (b. 1904)
2006 – Al Lewis, American actor and activist (b. 1923)
2009 – Sheng-yen, Chinese monk and scholar, founded the Dharma Drum Mountain (b. 1930)
2010 – Dick McGuire, American basketball player and coach (b. 1926)
2010 – Frances Reid, American actress (b. 1914)
2011 – Maria Schneider, French actress (b. 1952)
2012 – Toh Chin Chye, Singaporean academic and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (b. 1921)
2012 – Ben Gazzara, American actor and director (b. 1930)
2012 – Terence Hildner, American general (b. 1962)
2012 – Raj Kanwar, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1961)
2012 – Zalman King, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1942)
2012 – Andrzej Szczeklik, Polish physician and academic (b. 1938)
2013 – Cardiss Collins, American politician (b. 1931)
2013 – Oscar Feltsman, Ukrainian-Russian composer and producer (b. 1921)
2013 – James Muri, American soldier and pilot (b. 1918)
2013 – Jam Mohammad Yousaf, Pakistani politician, Chief Minister of Balochistan (b. 1954)
2015 – Martin Gilbert, English historian, author, and academic (b. 1936)
2015 – Mary Healy, American actress and singer (b. 1918)
2015 – Charlie Sifford, American golfer (b. 1922)
2015 – Nasim Hasan Shah, Pakistani lawyer and judge, 12th Chief Justice of Pakistan (b. 1929)
2016 – Balram Jakhar, Indian lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of Madhya Pradesh (b. 1923)
2016 – József Kasza, Serbian politician and economist (b. 1945)
2016 – Saulius Sondeckis, Lithuanian violinist and conductor (b. 1928)
2017 – Dritëro Agolli, Albanian poet, writer and politician (b. 1931)
2019 – Julie Adams, American actress (b. 1926)
2019 – Kristoff St. John, American actor (b. 1966)
2020 – George Steiner, French-American philosopher, author, and critic (b. 1929)

Holidays and observances on February 3

Christian feast day:
- Aaron the Illustrious (Syriac Orthodox Church)
- Ansgar
- Berlinda of Meerbeke
- Blaise
- Celsa and Nona
- Claudine Thévenet
- Dom Justo Takayama (Philippines and Japan)
- Hadelin
- Margaret of England
- Werburgh
- February 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Day of the Virgin of Suyapa (Honduras)
Earliest day on which Shrove Tuesday can fall, while March 9 is the latest; celebrated on Tuesday before Ash Wednesday (Christianity)
Four Chaplains Day (United States, also considered a Feast Day by the Episcopal Church)
Communist Party of Vietnam Foundation Anniversary (Vietnam)
Heroes’ Day (Mozambique)
Martyrs’ Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)
Setsubun (Japan)
Veterans’ Day (Thailand)

February 3 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

AD 98 – Trajan succeeds his adoptive father Nerva as Roman emperor; under his rule, the Roman Empire will reach its maximum extent.
1186 – Henry VI, the son and heir of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I, marries Constance of Sicily.
1302 – Dante Alighieri is exiled from Florence.
1343 – Pope Clement VI issues the papal bull Unigenitus to justify the power of the pope and the use of indulgences. Nearly 200 years later, Martin Luther would protest this.
1606 – Gunpowder Plot: The trial of Guy Fawkes and other conspirators begins, ending with their execution on January 31.
1695 – Mustafa II becomes the Ottoman sultan and Caliph of Islam in Istanbul on the death of Ahmed II. Mustafa rules until his abdication in 1703.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: Henry Knox’s “noble train of artillery” arrives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1785 – The University of Georgia is founded, the first public university in the United States.
1820 – A Russian expedition led by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev discovers the Antarctic continent, approaching the Antarctic coast.
1825 – The U.S. Congress approves Indian Territory (in what is present-day Oklahoma), clearing the way for forced relocation of the Eastern Indians on the “Trail of Tears”.
1868 – Boshin War: The Battle of Toba–Fushimi begins, between forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and pro-Imperial factions; it will end in defeat for the shogunate, and is a pivotal point in the Meiji Restoration.
1869 – Boshin War: Tokugawa rebels establish the Ezo Republic in Hokkaidō.
1880 – Thomas Edison receives a patent for his incandescent lamp.
1916 – World War I: The British government passed a legislation that introduced conscription in the United Kingdom.
1918 – Beginning of the Finnish Civil War.
1927 – Ibn Saud takes the title of King of Nejd.
1939 – First flight of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning.
1943 – World War II: The Eighth Air Force sorties ninety-one B-17s and B-24s to attack the U-boat construction yards at Wilhelmshaven, Germany. This was the first American bombing attack on Germany.
1944 – World War II: The 900-day Siege of Leningrad is lifted.
1945 – World War II: The Soviet 322nd Rifle Division liberates the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
1951 – Nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site begins with Operation Ranger.
1961 – The Soviet submarine S-80 sinks when its snorkel malfunctions, flooding the boat.
1967 – Apollo program: Astronauts Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee are killed in a fire during a test of their Apollo 1 spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida.
1967 – Cold War: The Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom sign the Outer Space Treaty in Washington, D.C., banning deployment of nuclear weapons in space, and limiting use of the Moon and other celestial bodies to peaceful purposes.
1973 – The Paris Peace Accords officially end the Vietnam War. Colonel William Nolde is killed in action becoming the conflict’s last recorded American combat casualty.
1980 – Through cooperation between the U.S. and Canadian governments, six American diplomats secretly escape hostilities in Iran in the culmination of the Canadian Caper.
1983 – The pilot shaft of the Seikan Tunnel, the world’s longest sub-aqueous tunnel (53.85 km) between the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō, breaks through.
1996 – In a military coup, Colonel Ibrahim Baré Maïnassara deposes the first democratically elected president of Niger, Mahamane Ousmane.
1996 – Germany first observes the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
2002 – An explosion at a military storage facility in Lagos, Nigeria, kills at least 1,100 people and displaces over 20,000 others.
2003 – The first selections for the National Recording Registry are announced by the Library of Congress.
2010 – The 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis ends when Porfirio Lobo Sosa becomes the new President of Honduras.
2011 – Arab Spring: The Yemeni Revolution begins as over 16,000 protestors demonstrate in Sana’a.
2013 – Two hundred and forty-two people die in a nightclub fire in the Brazilian city of Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul.

Births on January 27

1365 – Edward of Angoulême, English noble (d. 1370)
1443 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (d. 1500)
1546 – Joachim III Frederick, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1608)
1571 – Abbas I of Persia (d. 1629)
1585 – Hendrick Avercamp, Dutch painter (d. 1634)
1603 – Sir Harbottle Grimston, 2nd Baronet, English lawyer and politician, Speaker of the House of Commons (d. 1685)
1603 – Humphrey Mackworth, English politician, lawyer and judge (d. 1654)
1621 – Thomas Willis, English physician and anatomist (d. 1675)
1662 – Richard Bentley, English scholar and theologian (d. 1742)
1663 – George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington, Royal Navy admiral (d. 1733)
1687 – Johann Balthasar Neumann, German engineer and architect, designed Würzburg Residence and Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers (d. 1753)
1701 – Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim, German historian and theologian (d. 1790)
1708 – Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia (d. 1728)
1741 – Hester Thrale, Welsh author (d. 1821)
1756 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1791)
1775 – Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling, German-Swiss philosopher and academic (d. 1854)
1790 – Juan Álvarez, Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1867)
1795 – Eli Whitney Blake, American engineer, invented the Mortise lock (d. 1886)
1803 – Eunice Hale Waite Cobb, American writer, public speaker, and activist (d. 1880)
1805 – Maria Anna of Bavaria (d. 1877)
1805 – Samuel Palmer, English painter and etcher (d. 1881)
1806 – Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga, Spanish composer and educator (d. 1826)
1808 – David Strauss, German theologian and author (d. 1874)
1814 – Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, French architect, designed the Lausanne Cathedral (d. 1879)
1821 – John Chivington, American colonel and pastor (d. 1892)
1823 – Édouard Lalo, French violinist and composer (d. 1892)
1824 – Urbain Johnson, Canadian farmer and political figure (d. 1917)
1826 – Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin, Russian journalist and author (d. 1889)
1826 – Richard Taylor, American general, historian, and politician (d. 1879)
1832 – Lewis Carroll, English novelist, poet, and mathematician (d. 1898)
1832 – Carl Friedrich Schmidt, Estonian-Russian geologist and botanist (d. 1908)
1836 – Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, Austrian journalist and author (d. 1895)
1842 – Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ukrainian-Russian painter (d. 1910)
1848 – Tōgō Heihachirō, Japanese admiral (d. 1934)
1850 – John Collier, English painter and author (d. 1934)
1850 – Samuel Gompers, English-American labor leader (d. 1924)
1850 – Edward Smith, English captain (d. 1912)
1858 – Neel Doff, Dutch-Belgian author (d. 1942)
1859 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (d. 1941)
1869 – Will Marion Cook, American violinist and composer (d. 1944)
1878 – Dorothy Scarborough, American author (d. 1935)
1885 – Jerome Kern, American composer and songwriter (d. 1945)
1885 – Seison Maeda, Japanese painter (d. 1977)
1886 – Radhabinod Pal, Indian academic and jurist (d. 1967)
1889 – Balthasar van der Pol, Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1959)
1891 – Ilya Ehrenburg, Russian journalist and author (d. 1967)
1893 – Soong Ching-ling, Chinese politician, Honorary President of the People’s Republic of China (d. 1981)
1895 – Joseph Rosenstock, Polish-American conductor and manager (d. 1985)
1895 – Harry Ruby, American composer and screenwriter (d. 1974)
1900 – Hyman G. Rickover, American admiral (d. 1986)
1901 – Willy Fritsch, German actor (d. 1973)
1901 – Art Rooney, American football player and coach, founded the Pittsburgh Steelers (d. 1988)
1903 – John Eccles, Australian-Swiss neurophysiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
1903 – Otto P. Weyland, American general (d. 1979)
1904 – James J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic (d. 1979)
1905 – Howard McNear, American actor (d. 1969)
1908 – William Randolph Hearst, Jr., American journalist and publisher (d. 1993)
1910 – Edvard Kardelj, Slovene general, economist, and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of Yugoslavia (d. 1979)
1912 – Arne Næss, Norwegian philosopher and environmentalist (d. 2009)
1912 – Francis Rogallo, American engineer, invented the Rogallo wing (d. 2009)
1915 – Jules Archer, American historian and author (d. 2008)
1915 – Jacques Hnizdovsky, Ukrainian-American painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 1985)
1918 – Skitch Henderson, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2005)
1918 – Elmore James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1963)
1918 – William Seawell, American general (d. 2005)
1919 – Tom Addington, English captain (d. 2011)
1919 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created Alvin and the Chipmunks (d. 1972)
1920 – Hiroyoshi Nishizawa, Japanese lieutenant and pilot (d. 1944)
1920 – Helmut Zacharias, German violinist and composer (d. 2002)
1921 – Donna Reed, American actress (d. 1986)
1924 – Rauf Denktaş, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 1st President of Northern Cyprus (d. 2012)
1924 – Brian Rix, English actor, producer, and politician (d. 2016)
1924 – Harvey Shapiro, American poet (d. 2013)
1926 – Fritz Spiegl, Austrian flute player and journalist (d. 2003)
1926 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (d. 2004)
1928 – Michael Craig, Indian-English actor and screenwriter
1928 – Hans Modrow, Polish-German lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of East Germany
1929 – Mohamed Al-Fayed, Egyptian-Swiss businessman
1929 – Gastón Suárez, Bolivian author and playwright (d. 1984)
1930 – Bobby “Blue” Bland, American blues singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
1931 – Mordecai Richler, Canadian author and screenwriter (d. 2001)
1931 – Nigel Vinson, Baron Vinson, English lieutenant and businessman
1932 – Boris Shakhlin, Russian-Ukrainian gymnast (d. 2008)
1933 – Jerry Buss, American chemist and businessman (d. 2013)
1934 – Édith Cresson, French politician and diplomat, 160th Prime Minister of France
1934 – George Follmer, American race car driver
1935 – Steve Demeter, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2013)
1936 – Troy Donahue, American actor (d. 2001)
1936 – Samuel C. C. Ting, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1937 – Fred Åkerström, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1985)
1940 – Ahmet Kurtcebe Alptemoçin, Turkish engineer and politician, 35th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs
1940 – James Cromwell, American actor
1940 – Terry Harper, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1940 – Petru Lucinschi, Romanian activist and politician, 2nd President of Moldova
1940 – Reynaldo Rey, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2015)
1941 – Beatrice Tinsley, New Zealand astronomer and cosmologist (d. 1981)
1942 – Maki Asakawa, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2010)
1942 – Tasuku Honjo, Japanese immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine
1942 – John Witherspoon, American actor and comedian (d. 2019)
1942 – Kate Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1986)
1943 – Julia Cumberlege, Baroness Cumberlege, English businesswoman and politician
1944 – Peter Akinola, Nigerian archbishop
1944 – Mairead Maguire, Northern Irish activist, Nobel Prize laureate
1944 – Nick Mason, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
1945 – Harold Cardinal, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2005)
1946 – Christopher Hum, English academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to China
1946 – Nedra Talley, American singer
1947 – Björn Afzelius, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1999)
1947 – Vyron Polydoras, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister for Public Order
1947 – Cal Schenkel, American painter and illustrator
1947 – Philip Sugden, English historian and author (d. 2014)
1947 – Perfecto Yasay Jr., Filipino lawyer and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines
1948 – Mikhail Baryshnikov, Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and actor
1948 – Jean-Philippe Collard, French pianist
1951 – Seth Justman, American keyboard player and songwriter
1951 – Cees van der Knaap, Dutch soldier and politician
1952 – Brian Gottfried, American tennis player
1952 – Billy Johnson, American football player and coach
1952 – Tam O’Shaughnessy, American tennis player, psychologist, and academic
1952 – G. E. Smith, American guitarist and songwriter
1954 – Peter Laird, American author and illustrator
1954 – Ed Schultz, American talk show host and sportscaster (d. 2018)
1955 – Brian Engblom, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1955 – John Roberts, American lawyer and judge, 17th Chief Justice of the United States
1956 – Mimi Rogers, American actress
1957 – Janick Gers, English guitarist and songwriter
1957 – Frank Miller, American illustrator, director, producer, and screenwriter
1958 – James Grippando, American lawyer and author
1958 – Alan Milburn, English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
1959 – Cris Collinsworth, American football player and sportscaster
1959 – Göran Hägglund, Swedish lawyer and politician, 28th Swedish Minister for Social Affairs
1959 – Keith Olbermann, American journalist and author
1960 – Fiona O’Donnell, Canadian-Scottish politician
1961 – Narciso Rodriguez, American fashion designer
1961 – Margo Timmins, Canadian singer-songwriter
1962 – Roberto Paci Dalò, Italian director and composer
1963 – George Monbiot, English-Welsh author and activist
1964 – Patrick van Deurzen, Dutch composer and academic
1964 – Bridget Fonda, American actress
1964 – Shahin Shahablou, Iranian photographer (d. 2020)
1965 – Alan Cumming, Scottish-American actor
1965 – Mike Newell, English footballer and manager
1965 – Ignacio Noé, Argentinian author and illustrator
1965 – Attila Sekerlioglu, Austrian footballer and manager
1966 – Tamlyn Tomita, Japanese-American actress and singer
1967 – Dave Manson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1968 – Tracy Lawrence, American country singer
1968 – Mike Patton, American singer, composer, and voice artist
1968 – Matt Stover, American football player
1969 – Michael Kulas, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
1969 – Patton Oswalt, American comedian and actor
1969 – Shane Thomson, New Zealand cricketer
1970 – Bradley Clyde, Australian rugby league player
1970 – Dean Headley, English cricketer and coach
1971 – Patrice Brisebois, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1972 – Bibi Gaytán, Mexican singer and actress
1973 – Valyantsin Byalkevich, Belarusian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1974 – Ole Einar Bjørndalen, Norwegian skier and biathlete
1974 – Andrei Pavel, Romanian tennis player and coach
1974 – Chaminda Vaas, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach
1976 – Ahn Jung-hwan, South Korean footballer
1976 – Clint Ford, American actor, voice actor and novelist
1976 – Danielle George MBE FIET, Professor of Radio frequency engineering at the University of Manchester
1976 – Fred Taylor, American football player
1976 – Michael K. Winder, American businessman and politician
1978 – Pete Laforest, Canadian-American baseball player and manager
1979 – Rosamund Pike, English actress
1979 – Daniel Vettori, New Zealand cricketer and coach
1980 – Chanda Gunn, American ice hockey player and coach
1980 – Marat Safin, Russian tennis player and politician
1981 – Alicia Molik, Australian tennis player and sportscaster
1981 – Tony Woodcock, New Zealand rugby player
1982 – Eva Asderaki, Greek tennis umpire
1983 – Carlo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Paulo Colaiacovo, Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Gavin Floyd, American baseball player
1987 – Katy Rose, American singer-songwriter and producer
1987 – Anton Shunin, Russian footballer
1987 – Ashley Grace, American singer-songwriter
1988 – Kerlon, Brazilian footballer
1989 – Alberto Botía, Spanish footballer
1991 – Christian Bickel, German footballer
1991 – Sebastine Ikahihifo, New Zealand rugby league player
1992 – Stefano Pettinari, Italian footballer
1995 – Harrison Reed, English footballer midfielder

Deaths on January 27

AD 98 – Nerva, Roman emperor (b. 35)
457 – Marcian, Byzantine emperor (b. 392)
555 – Yuan Di, emperor of the Liang Dynasty (b. 508)
672 – Pope Vitalian
847 – Pope Sergius II (b. 790)
906 – Liu Can, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
931 – Ruotger, archbishop of Trier
947 – Zhang Yanze, Chinese general and governor
1062 – Adelaide of Hungary, (b. c. 1040)
1311 – Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong of Yuan
1377 – Frederick the Simple, King of Sicily
1490 – Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Japanese shōgun (b. 1435)
1504 – Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo (b. 1438)
1540 – Angela Merici, Italian educator and saint, founded the Company of St. Ursula (b. 1474)
1592 – Gian Paolo Lomazzo, Italian painter (b. 1538)
1596 – Francis Drake, English captain and explorer (b. 1540)
1629 – Hieronymus Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1560)
1638 – Gonzalo de Céspedes y Meneses, Spanish author and poet (b. 1585)
1651 – Abraham Bloemaert, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1566)
1689 – Robert Aske, English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1619)
1731 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the Piano (b. 1655)
1733 – Thomas Woolston, English theologian and author (b. 1669)
1740 – Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1692)
1770 – Philippe Macquer, French historian (b. 1720)
1794 – Antoine Philippe de La Trémoille, French general (b. 1765)
1812 – John Perkins, Anglo-Jamaican captain
1814 – Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher and academic (b. 1762)
1816 – Samuel Hood, 1st Viscount Hood, English admiral and politician (b. 1724)
1851 – John James Audubon, French-American ornithologist and painter (b. 1789)
1860 – János Bolyai, Romanian-Hungarian mathematician and academic (b. 1802)
1880 – Edward Middleton Barry, English architect and academic, co-designed the Halifax Town Hall and the Royal Opera House (b. 1830)
1901 – Giuseppe Verdi, Italian composer (b. 1813)
1910 – Thomas Crapper, English plumber and businessman (b. 1836)
1919 – Endre Ady, Hungarian poet and journalist (b. 1877)
1921 – Maurice Buckley, Australian sergeant (b. 1891)
1922 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (b. 1864)
1927 – Jurgis Matulaitis-Matulevičius, Lithuanian bishop (b. 1871)
1931 – Nishinoumi Kajirō II, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 25th Yokozuna (b. 1880)
1940 – Isaac Babel, Russian short story writer, journalist, and playwright (b. 1894)
1942 – Kaarel Eenpalu, Estonian journalist and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1888)
1951 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish field marshal and politician, 6th President of Finland (b. 1867)
1956 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director (b. 1890)
1961 – Bernard Friedberg, Austrian scholar and author (b. 1876)
1963 – John Farrow, Australian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1904)
1965 – Abraham Walkowitz, American painter (b. 1878)
1967 – crew of Apollo 1
- Roger B. Chaffee, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1935)
- Gus Grissom, American pilot and astronaut (b. 1926)
- Ed White, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
1967 – Alphonse Juin, Algerian-French general (b. 1888)
1970 – Rocco D’Assunta, Italian actor, comedian and playwright (b. 1904)
1971 – Jacobo Árbenz, Guatemalan captain and politician, President of Guatemala (b. 1913)
1972 – Mahalia Jackson, American singer (b. 1911)
1973 – William Nolde, American colonel (b. 1929)
1974 – Georgios Grivas, Cypriot general (b. 1898)
1975 – Bill Walsh, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1913)
1983 – Louis de Funès, French actor and screenwriter (b. 1914)
1986 – Lilli Palmer, German-American actress (b. 1914)
1987 – Norman McLaren, Scottish-Canadian animator and director (b. 1914)
1988 – Massa Makan Diabaté, Malian historian, author, and playwright (b. 1938)
1989 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player and pilot (b. 1888)
1993 – André the Giant, French professional wrestler and actor (b. 1946)
1994 – Claude Akins, American actor (b. 1918)
1996 – Ralph Yarborough, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1903)
2000 – Friedrich Gulda, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1930)
2003 – Henryk Jabłoński, Polish historian and politician, President of Poland (b. 1909)
2004 – Salvador Laurel, Filipino lawyer and politician, 10th Vice President of the Philippines (b. 1928)
2004 – Jack Paar, American talk show host and author (b. 1918)
2006 – Gene McFadden, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
2006 – Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, 8th President of Germany (b. 1931)
2007 – Yang Chuan-kwang, Taiwanese decathlete, long jumper, and hurdler (b. 1933)
2008 – Suharto, Indonesian general and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
2008 – Gordon B. Hinckley, American religious leader and author, 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1910)
2008 – Louie Welch, American businessman and politician, 54th Mayor of Houston (b. 1918)
2009 – John Updike, American novelist, short story writer, and critic (b. 1932)
2009 – R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th President of India (b. 1910)
2010 – Zelda Rubinstein, American actress (b. 1933)
2010 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (b. 1919)
2010 – Howard Zinn, American historian, author, and activist (b. 1922)
2011 – Charlie Callas, American comedian and musician (b. 1927)
2012 – Greg Cook, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1946)
2012 – Ted Dicks, English composer and screenwriter (b. 1928)
2012 – Jeannette Hamby, American nurse and politician (b. 1933)
2012 – Kevin White, American politician, 51st Mayor of Boston (b. 1929)
2013 – Ivan Bodiul, Ukrainian-Russian politician (b. 1918)
2013 – Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (b. 1925)
2014 – Pete Seeger, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist (b. 1919)
2014 – Epimaco Velasco, Filipino lawyer and politician, Governor of Cavite (b. 1935)
2014 – Paul Zorner, German soldier and pilot (b. 1920)
2015 – Rocky Bridges, American baseball player and coach (b. 1927)
2015 – David Landau, English-Israeli journalist (b. 1947)
2015 – Joseph Rotman, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935)
2015 – Charles Hard Townes, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
2015 – Larry Winters, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1956)
2016 – Carlos Loyzaga, Filipino basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
2017 – Emmanuelle Riva, French actress (b. 1927)
2017 – Arthur H. Rosenfeld, American physicist (b. 1926)
2018 – Ingvar Kamprad, Founder of IKEA (b. 1926)
2018 – Mort Walker, American cartoonist (b. 1923)
2019 – Countess Maya von Schönburg-Glauchau, German socialite (b. 1958)

Holidays and observances on January 27

Christian feast day:
- Angela Merici
- Blessed Paul Joseph Nardini
- Devota (Monaco)
- Enrique de Ossó y Cercelló
- John Chrysostom (translation of relics) (Anglican, Lutheran, Eastern Orthodox)
- Sava (Serbia)
- January 27 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Day of the lifting of the siege of Leningrad (Russia)
Liberation of the remaining inmates of Auschwitz-related observances:
- Holocaust Memorial Day (UK)
- International Holocaust Remembrance Day
- Memorial Day (Italy)
- Other Holocaust Memorial Days observances

January 27 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

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 18 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

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

Births on January 17

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

Deaths on January 17

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

Holidays and observances on January 17

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

January 17 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

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

Births on January 13

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

Deaths on January 13

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

Holidays and observances on January 13

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

January 13 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

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 10 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1325 – Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal.
1558 – French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, the last continental possession of England.
1608 – Fire destroys Jamestown, Virginia.
1610 – Galileo Galilei makes his first observation of the four Galilean moons: Ganymede, Callisto, Io and Europa, although he is not able to distinguish the last two until the following day.
1738 – A peace treaty is signed between Peshwa Bajirao and Jai Singh II following Maratha victory in the Battle of Bhopal.
1782 – The first American commercial bank, the Bank of North America, opens.
1785 – Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries travel from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in a gas balloon.
1835 – HMS Beagle, with Charles Darwin on board, drops anchor off the Chonos Archipelago.
1894 – Thomas Edison makes a kinetoscopic film of someone sneezing. On the same day, his employee, William Kennedy Dickson, receives a patent for motion picture film.
1904 – The distress signal “CQD” is established only to be replaced two years later by “SOS”.
1919 – Montenegrin guerrilla fighters rebel against the planned annexation of Montenegro by Serbia, but fail.
1920 – The New York State Assembly refuses to seat five duly elected Socialist assemblymen.
1922 – Dáil Éireann ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by a 64–57 vote.
1927 – The first transatlantic telephone service is established from New York City to London.
1928 – A disastrous flood of the River Thames kills 14 people and causes extensive damage to much of riverside London.
1931 – Guy Menzies flies the first solo non-stop trans-Tasman flight (from Australia to New Zealand) in 11 hours and 45 minutes, crash-landing on New Zealand’s west coast.
1935 – Benito Mussolini and French Foreign minister Pierre Laval sign the Franco-Italian Agreement.
1940 – Winter War: Battle of Raate Road – The Finnish 9th Division finally defeat the numerically superior Soviet forces on the Raate-Suomussalmi road.
1948 – Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Thomas Mantell crashes while in pursuit of a supposed UFO.
1954 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York at the head office of IBM.
1955 – Contralto Marian Anderson becomes the first person of color to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in Giuseppe Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera.
1959 – The United States recognizes the new Cuban government of Fidel Castro.
1968 – Surveyor Program: Surveyor 7, the last spacecraft in the Surveyor series, lifts off from launch complex 36A, Cape Canaveral.
1973 – In his second shooting spree of the week, Mark Essex fatally shoots seven people and wounds five others at Howard Johnson’s Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, before being shot to death by police officers.
1979 – Third Indochina War: Cambodian–Vietnamese War: Phnom Penh falls to the advancing Vietnamese troops, driving out Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.
1980 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter authorizes legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.
1984 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
1985 – Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency launches Sakigake, Japan’s first interplanetary spacecraft and the first deep space probe to be launched by any country other than the United States or the Soviet Union.
1991 – Roger Lafontant, former leader of the Tonton Macoute in Haiti under François Duvalier, attempts a coup d’état, which ends in his arrest.
1993 – The Fourth Republic of Ghana is inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings as President.
1993 – Bosnian War: The Bosnian Army executes a surprise attack at the village of Kravica in Srebrenica.
1999 – The Senate trial in the impeachment of U.S. President Bill Clinton begins.
2012 – A hot air balloon crashes near Carterton, New Zealand, killing all 11 people on board.
2015 – Two gunmen commit mass murder at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, shooting twelve people execution style, and wounding eleven others.
2015 – A car bomb explodes outside a police college in the Yemeni capital Sana’a with at least 38 people reported dead and more than 63 injured.
2020 – The 6.4M_w  2019–20 Puerto Rico earthquakes kill four and injure nine in southern Puerto Rico.

Births on January 7

889 – Li Bian, emperor of Southern Tang (d. 943)
1355 – Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester, English politician, Lord High Constable of England (d. 1397)
1502 – Pope Gregory XIII (d. 1585)
1634 – Adam Krieger, German organist and composer (d. 1666)
1647 – William Louis, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1677)
1685 – Jonas Alströmer, Swedish agronomist and businessman (d. 1761)
1706 – Johann Heinrich Zedler, German publisher (d. 1751)
1713 – Giovanni Battista Locatelli, Italian director and manager (d. 1785)
1718 – Israel Putnam, American general (d. 1790)
1746 – George Elphinstone, 1st Viscount Keith, Scottish admiral and politician (d. 1823)
1768 – Joseph Bonaparte, Italian king (d. 1844)
1797 – Mariano Paredes, Mexican general and 16th president (1845-1846) (d. 1849)
1800 – Millard Fillmore, American politician, 13th President of the United States (d. 1874)
1814 – Robert Nicoll, Scottish poet (d.1837)
1815 – Elizabeth Louisa Foster Mather, American writer (d.1882)
1827 – Sandford Fleming, Scottish-Canadian engineer, created Universal Standard Time (d. 1915)
1830 – Albert Bierstadt, American painter (d. 1902)
1831 – Heinrich von Stephan, German postman, founded the Universal Postal Union (d. 1897)
1832 – James Munro, Scottish-Australian publisher and politician, 15th Premier of Victoria (d. 1908)
1834 – Johann Philipp Reis, German physicist and academic, invented the Reis telephone (d. 1874)
1837 – Thomas Henry Ismay, English businessman, founded the White Star Line Shipping Company (d. 1899)
1844 – Bernadette Soubirous, French nun and saint (d. 1879)
1858 – Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, Belarusian lexicographer and journalist (d. 1922)
1863 – Anna Murray Vail, American botanist and first librarian of the New York Botanical Garden (d. 1955)
1871 – Émile Borel, French mathematician and politician (d. 1956)
1873 – Charles Péguy, French poet and journalist (d. 1914)
1873 – Adolph Zukor, Hungarian-American film producer, co-founded Paramount Pictures (d. 1976)
1875 – Gustav Flatow, German gymnast (d. 1945)
1876 – William Hurlstone, English pianist and composer (d. 1906)
1877 – William Clarence Matthews, American baseball player, coach, and lawyer (d. 1928)
1889 – Vera de Bosset, Russian-American ballerina (d. 1982)
1891 – Zora Neale Hurston, American novelist, short story writer, and folklorist (d. 1960)
1895 – Hudson Fysh, Australian pilot and businessman, co-founded Qantas Airways Limited (d. 1974)
1899 – Al Bowlly, Mozambican-English singer-songwriter (disputed; d. 1941)
1899 – Francis Poulenc, French pianist and composer (d. 1963)
1900 – John Brownlee, Australian actor and singer (d. 1969)
1906 – Red Allen, American trumpet player (d. 1967)
1910 – Orval Faubus, American soldier and politician, 36th Governor of Arkansas (d. 1994)
1912 – Charles Addams, American cartoonist, created The Addams Family (d. 1988)
1913 – Johnny Mize, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1993)
1916 – W. L. Jeyasingham, Sri Lankan geographer and academic (d. 1989)
1916 – Babe Pratt, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1988)
1920 – Vincent Gardenia, Italian-American actor (d. 1992)
1921 – Esmeralda Arboleda Cadavid, Colombian politician (d. 1997)
1921 – Chester Kallman, American poet and translator (d. 1975)
1922 – Alvin Dark, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
1922 – Jean-Pierre Rampal, French flute player (d. 2000)
1923 – Hugh Kenner, Canadian scholar and critic (d. 2003)
1925 – Gerald Durrell, Indian-English zookeeper, conservationist and author, founded Durrell Wildlife Park (d. 1995)
1926 – Kim Jong-pil, South Korean lieutenant and politician, 11th Prime Minister of South Korea (d. 2018)
1928 – William Peter Blatty, American author and screenwriter (d. 2017)
1929 – Robert Juniper, Australian painter and sculptor (d. 2012)
1929 – Terry Moore, American actress
1931 – Mirja Hietamies, Finnish skier (d. 2013)
1933 – Elliott Kastner, American-English film producer (d. 2010)
1934 – Jean Corbeil, Canadian lawyer and politician, 29th Canadian Minister of Labour (d. 2002)
1934 – Tassos Papadopoulos, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 5th President of Cyprus (d. 2008)
1935 – Li Shengjiao, Chinese diplomat and international jurist (d. 2017)
1935 – Kenny Davern, American clarinet player and saxophonist (d. 2006)
1935 – Valeri Kubasov, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2014)
1941 – Iona Brown, English violinist and conductor (d. 2004)
1941 – John E. Walker, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1942 – Vasily Alekseyev, Russian-German weightlifter and coach (d. 2011)
1943 – Sadako Sasaki, Japanese survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, known for one thousand origami cranes (d. 1955)
1944 – Mike McGear, British performing artist and rock photographer
1944 – Kotaro Suzumura, Japanese economist and academic (d. 2020)
1945 – Raila Odinga, Kenyan engineer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Kenya
1946 – Jann Wenner, American publisher, co-founded Rolling Stone
1947 – Tony Elliott, English publisher, founded Time Out
1948 – Kenny Loggins, American singer-songwriter
1948 – Ichirou Mizuki, Japanese singer-songwriter
1950 – Juan Gabriel, Mexican singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
1952 – Sammo Hung, Hong Kong actor, director, producer, and martial artist
1953 – Robert Longo, American painter and sculptor
1954 – Alan Butcher, English cricketer and coach
1955 – Mamata Shankar, Indian-Bengali actress
1956 – David Caruso, American actor
1957 – Katie Couric, American television journalist, anchor, and author
1959 – Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon, English accountant and politician
1959 – Kathy Valentine, American bass player and songwriter
1960 – Loretta Sanchez, American politician
1961 – John Thune, American lawyer and politician
1962 – Aleksandr Dugin, Russian political analyst and strategist known for his fascist views
1962 – Ron Rivera, American football player and coach
1964 – Nicolas Cage, American actor
1965 – Alessandro Lambruschini, Italian runner
1967 – Nick Clegg, English academic and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1969 – Marco Simone, Italian footballer and manager
1970 – Andy Burnham, English politician
1971 – Jeremy Renner, American actor
1972 – Donald Brashear, American-Canadian ice hockey player and mixed martial artist
1974 – Alenka Bikar, Slovenian sprinter and politician
1976 – Vic Darchinyan, Armenian-Australian boxer
1976 – Alfonso Soriano, Dominican baseball player
1977 – Sofi Oksanen, Finnish author and playwright
1979 – Aloe Blacc, American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, businessman and philanthropist.
1982 – Francisco Rodríguez, Venezuelan baseball player
1982 – Hannah Stockbauer, German swimmer
1983 – Edwin Encarnación, Dominican baseball player
1985 – Lewis Hamilton, English racing driver
1986 – Wayne Routledge, English footballer winger
1987 – Stefan Babović, Serbian footballer
1987 – Lyndsy Fonseca, American actress
1987 – Davide Astori, Italian footballer (d. 2018)
1990 – Gregor Schlierenzauer, Austrian ski jumper
1991 – Eden Hazard, Belgian footballer
1991 – Caster Semenya, South African sprinter

Deaths on January 7

312 – Lucian of Antioch, Christian martyr, saint, and theologian (b. 240)
838 – Babak Khorramdin, Iranian leader of the Khurramite uprising against the Abbasid Caliphate
856 – Aldric, bishop of Le Mans
1131 – Canute Lavard, Danish prince and saint (b. 1096)
1285 – Charles I of Naples (b. 1226)
1325 – Denis of Portugal (b. 1261)
1355 – Inês de Castro, Castilian noblewoman (b. 1325)
1400 – John Montagu, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English Earl (b. 1350)
1451 – Amadeus VIII of Savoy a.k.a. Antipope Felix V (b. 1383)
1529 – Peter Vischer the Elder, German sculptor (b. 1455)
1536 – Catherine of Aragon (b. 1485)
1566 – Louis de Blois, Flemish monk and author (b. 1506)
1619 – Nicholas Hilliard, English painter and goldsmith (b. 1547)
1625 – Ruggiero Giovannelli, Italian composer and author (b. 1560)
1655 – Pope Innocent X (b. 1574)
1658 – Theophilus Eaton, American farmer and politician, 1st Governor of the New Haven Colony (b. 1590)
1694 – Charles Gerard, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire (b. 1618)
1700 – Raffaello Fabretti, Italian scholar and author (b. 1618)
1715 – François Fénelon, French archbishop, theologian, and poet (b. 1651)
1758 – Allan Ramsay, Scottish poet and playwright (b. 1686)
1767 – Thomas Clap, American minister and academic (b. 1703)
1770 – Carl Gustaf Tessin, Swedish politician and diplomat (b. 1695)
1812 – Joseph Dennie, American journalist and author (b. 1768)
1830 – John Thomas Campbell, Irish-Australian public servant and politician (b. 1770)
1830 – Thomas Lawrence, English painter and educator (b. 1769)
1858 – Mustafa Reşid Pasha, Ottoman politician, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1800)
1864 – Caleb Blood Smith, American journalist and politician, 6th U.S. Secretary of the Interior (b. 1808)
1892 – Tewfik Pasha, Egyptian ruler (b. 1852)
1893 – Josef Stefan, Slovenian physicist and mathematician (b. 1835)
1919 – Henry Ware Eliot, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Washington University in St. Louis (b. 1843)
1920 – Edmund Barton, Australian judge and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1849)
1927 – Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos, Greek politician, 99th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1851)
1931 – Edward Channing, American historian and author (b. 1856)
1932 – André Maginot, French sergeant and politician (b. 1877)
1936 – Guy d’Hardelot, French pianist and composer (b. 1858)
1941 – Charles Finger, English journalist and author (b. 1869)
1943 – Nikola Tesla, Serbian-American physicist and engineer (b. 1856)
1951 – René Guénon, French-Egyptian philosopher and author (b. 1886)
1960 – Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers, English tennis player and coach (b. 1878)
1963 – Arthur Edward Moore, New Zealand-Australian farmer and politician, 23rd Premier of Queensland (b. 1876)
1964 – Reg Parnell, English racing driver and manager (b. 1911)
1967 – David Goodis, American author and screenwriter (b. 1917)
1967 – Carl Schuricht, German-Swiss conductor (b. 1880)
1968 – J. L. B. Smith, South African chemist and academic (b. 1897)
1972 – John Berryman, American poet and scholar (b. 1914)
1981 – Alvar Lidell, English journalist and radio announcer(b. 1908)
1981 – Eric Robinson, Australian businessman and politician, 2nd Australian Minister for Finance (b. 1926)
1984 – Alfred Kastler, German-French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
1986 – Juan Rulfo, Mexican author, screenwriter, and photographer (b. 1917)
1988 – Zara Cisco Brough, American Nipmuc Indian chief and fashion designer (b.1919)
1988 – Trevor Howard, English actor (b. 1913)
1989 – Hirohito, Japanese emperor (b. 1901)
1990 – Bronko Nagurski, Canadian-American football player and wrestler (b. 1908)
1992 – Richard Hunt, American puppeteer and voice actor (b. 1951)
1995 – Murray Rothbard, American economist, historian, and theorist (b. 1926)
1996 – Károly Grósz, Hungarian politician, 51st Prime Minister of Hungary (b. 1930)
1998 – Owen Bradley, American record producer (b. 1915)
1998 – Vladimir Prelog, Croatian-Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
2000 – Gary Albright, American wrestler (b. 1963)
2001 – James Carr, American singer (b. 1942)
2002 – Avery Schreiber, American comedian and actor (b. 1935)
2004 – Ingrid Thulin, Swedish actress (b. 1926)
2005 – Pierre Daninos, French author (b. 1913)
2006 – Heinrich Harrer, Austrian mountaineer, geographer, and author (b. 1912)
2007 – Bobby Hamilton, American race car driver and businessman (b. 1957)
2007 – Magnus Magnusson, Icelandic journalist, author, and academic (b. 1929)
2008 – Alwyn Schlebusch, South African academic and politician, Vice State President of South Africa (b. 1917)
2012 – Tony Blankley, British-born American child actor, journalist and pundit (b. 1948)
2014 – Run Run Shaw, Chinese-Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist, founded Shaw Brothers Studio and TVB (b. 1907)
2015 – Mompati Merafhe, Botswana general and politician, Vice-President of Botswana (b. 1936)
2015 – Rod Taylor, Australian-American actor and screenwriter (b. 1930)
2015 – Georges Wolinski, Tunisian-French cartoonist (b. 1934)
2016 – Bill Foster, American basketball player and coach (b. 1929)
2016 – John Johnson, American basketball player (b. 1947)
2016 – Kitty Kallen, American singer (b. 1921)
2016 – Judith Kaye, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1938)
2016 – Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Home Affairs (b. 1936)
2017 – Mário Soares, Portuguese politician; 16th President of Portugal (b. 1924)
2018 – Jim Anderton, Former New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister (b. 1938)
2018 – France Gall, French singer (b. 1947)

Holidays and observances on January 7

Christian Feast Day:
- André Bessette (Canada)
- Canute Lavard
- Charles of Sezze
- Felix and Januarius
- Lucian of Antioch
- Raymond of Penyafort
- Synaxis of John the Forerunner & Baptist (Julian Calendar)
- January 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Christmas (Eastern Orthodox Churches and Oriental Orthodox Churches using the Julian Calendar, Rastafari)
- Christmas in Russia
- Christmas in Ukraine
- Remembrance Day of the Dead (Armenia)
Distaff Day (medieval Europe)
Earliest day on which Plough Monday can fall, while January 13 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after Epiphany (Europe).
Nanakusa no sekku (Japan)
Pioneer’s Day (Liberia)
Tricolour day or Festa del Tricolore (Italy)
Victory from Genocide Day (Cambodia)

January 7 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

World General Knowledge MCQs (Solved) Geographical Epithets (Countries and Cities)

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A, World / admin

Geographical MCQs (Countries)

1. Which country is called the ‘Buffer state of Asia’?
(a) Afghanistan
(b) Pakistan
(c) India
(d) China
Answer: a

2. Which country is called ‘Land of fertile fields’?
(a) Algeria
(b) Sri Lanka
(c) Pakistan
(d) England
Answer: a

3. Which country is called ‘Island continent’?
(a) Austria
(b) Australia
(c) US
(d) England
Answer: b

4. Which country is called ‘Land of golden fleece’?
(a) US
(b) England
(c) Australia
(d) Germany
Answer: c

5. Which country is called ‘Remnant of a mighty empire’?
(a) Australia
(b) Austria
(c) India
(d) Iraq
Answer: b

6. Which country is called ‘Isle of June’?
(a) Bahamas
(b) Bahrain
(c) Belgium
(d) Cuba
Answer: a

7. Which country is called ‘Isle of pearls’?
(a) Egypt
(b) Iraq
(c) Iran
(d) Bahrain
Answer: d

8. Which country is called the ‘Land of Golden Fibre’?
(a) Sri Lanka
(b) Bangladesh
(c) Iran
(d) Pakistan
Answer: b

9. Which country is called ‘Cockpit of Europe’?
(a) Belgium
(b) Canada
(c) Colombia
(d) England
Answer: a

10. Which country is called ‘Crossroads of Europe’?
(a) Belgium
(b) Canada
(c) France
(d) Egypt
Answer: a

11. Which country is called ‘Land of lilies’?
(a) Canada
(b) Belgium
(c) Norway
(d) Sweden
Answer: a

12. Which country is called ‘Land of contrasts’?
(a) Canada
(b) Cuba
(c) Colombia
(d) England
Answer:. c

13. Which country is called ‘Pearl of Antilles’?
(a) England
(b) Cuba
(c) Egypt
(d) Denmark
Answer: b

14. Which country is called ‘Homeland of the Viking Empire’?
(a) Cuba
(b) England
(c) Denmark
(d) US
Answer: c

15. Which country is called ‘Gift of the Nile’?
(a) Iran
(b) Egypt
(c) Finland
(d) Iraq
Answer: b

16. Which country is called ‘Land of the Queen of Sheba’?
(a) Egypt
(b) Yemen
(c) Ghana
(d) Austria
Answer: b

17. Which country is called ‘Land of thousand lakes’?
(a) France
(b) Finland
(c) China
(d) Iraq
Answer: b

18. Which country is called ‘Key to the Mediterranean?
(a) Gibraltar
(b) Egypt
(c) Indonesia
(d) Iraq
Answer: a

19. Which country is called ‘Pillars of Hercules’?
(a) Gibraltar
(b) China
(c) Egypt
(d) Afghanistan
Answer: a

20. Which country is called ‘Whiteman’s grave’?
(a) Guinea
(b) Haiti
(c) Iraq
(d) Afghanistan
Answer: a

21. Which country is called ‘Island of Hispaniola?
(a) Hong Kong
(b) Haiti
(c) Iceland
(d) Malta
Answer: b

22. Which is called ‘The sorrow of China’?
(a) Hwang Hoo
(b) Beijing
(c) Peking
(d) Shangai
Answer: a

23. Which country is called ‘Land of thousand islands’?
(a) China
(b) Nepal
(c) Indonesia
(d) Cyprus
Answer: c

24. Which country is called ‘Site of ancient civilisations’?
(a) Iraq
(b) Iran
(c) Egypt
(d) India
Answer: a

25. Which country is called ‘Emerald Island’?
(a) Japan
(b) Ireland
(c) Iraq
(d) Iran
Answer: b

26. Which country is called ‘Great Britain of the Pacific’?
(a) Ireland
(b) Japan
(c) Korea
(d) China
Answer: b

27. Which country is called the ‘Land of rising sun’?
(a) Japan
(b) China
(c) Norway
(d) Sweden
Answer:. a

28. Which country is called the ‘Land of morning calm’?
(a) China
(b) South Korea
(c) Pakistan
(d) Nepal
Answer: b

29. Which country is called the ‘Land of milk and honey’?
(a) Iran
(b) Iraq
(c) Lebanon
(d) Nepal
Answer: c

30. Which country is called the ‘Land of amber’?
(a) Korea
(b) Lithuania
(c) Lebanon
(d) Nepal
Answer: b

31. Which country is called ‘George Cross Island’?
(a) Korea
(b) Malta
(c) China
(d) Nepal
Answer: b

32. Which country is called ‘Land of rice and teak’?
(a) Myanmar
(b) Korea
(c) China
(d) Nepal
Answer: a

33. Which country is called the ‘Land of mountains’?
(a) US
(b) Nepal
(c) China
(d) Korea
Answer: b

34. Which country is called ‘Land of Druk-yul’?
(a) Korea
(b) China
(c) Bhutan
(d) Malta
Answer: c

35. Which country is called the ‘Flower garden of Europe’?
(a) Netherlands
(b) Switzerland
(c) US
(d) England
Answer: a

36. Which country is called the ‘Britain of the South’?
(a) Norway
(b) New Zealand
(c) Canada
(d) Austria
Answer: b

37. Which country is called the ‘Land of Cakes’?
(a) Scotland
(b) England
(c) Netherlands
(d) None of these
Answer: a

38. Which country is called ‘Land of the midnight sun’?
(a) Sweden
(b) Norway
(c) Denmark
(d) Canada
Answer: b

39. Which country is called the ‘Land of pure people’?
(a) Norway
(b) Pakistan
(c) China
(d) Korea
Answer: b

40. Which country is called ‘Horn of Africa’?
(a) Norway
(b) China
(c) Ghana
(d) Somalia
Answer: d

41. Which country is called ‘Switzerland of Africa’?
(a) Swaziland
(b) Mozambique
(c) South Africa
(d) Somalia
Answer: a

42. Which country is called the ‘Playground of Europe’?
(a) Switzerland
(b) Thailand
(c) Egypt
(d) China
Answer: a

43. Which country is called the ‘Land of white elephants’?
(a) Korea
(b) Thailand
(c) US
(d) Russia
Answer: b

44. Which country is called the ‘Land of free people’?
(a) Thailand
(b) Korea
(c) China
(d) Japan
Answer: a

45. Which country is called the ‘Land of Smiles’?
(a) Thailand
(b) US
(c) India
(d) South Africa
Answer: a

Geographical MCQs (Cities)

46. Which city is called the ‘Granite city’?
(a) Aberdeen (Scotland)
(b) London
(c) Tehran
(d) Baghdad
Answer: a

47. Which city is called the ‘City of Eagles’?
(a) Sialkot
(b) Lahore
(c) Karachi
(d) None of these
Answer: a

48. Which city is called the ‘City of Golden Temple’?
(a) Amritsar
(b) Lahore
(c) Delhi
(d) Hassanabdal
Answer: a

49. Which city is called the ‘City of Water’?
(a) Venice
(b) Tehran
(c) Cairo
(d) Dhaka
Answer: a

50. Which city is called the ‘City of Angels’?
(a) Los Angeles
(b) London
(c) Delhi
(d) Baghdad
Answer: a

51. Which city is called the ‘Gateway to the East’?
(a) Beirut
(b) Bangkok
(c) Amritsar
(d) Cairo
Answer: a

52. Which city is called the ‘Little Pakistan’?
(a) Jeddah
(b) Bradford
(c) Chicago
(d) Dhaka
Answer: b

53. Which city is called the ‘City of bazaars’?
(a) Cairo
(b) Chicago
(c) Dhaka
(d) Amritsar
Answer: a

54. Which city is called the ‘Pyramid city’?
(a) Chicago
(b) Cairo
(c) London
(d) New York
Answer: b

55. Which city is called ‘City of space flights’?
(a) Cairo
(b) Lahore
(c) Cape Kennedy
(d) London
Answer: c

56. Which city is called the ‘Manchester of Pakistan’?
(a) Lahore
(b) Karachi
(c) Faisalabad
(d) Peshawar
Answer: c

57. Which city is called the ‘City of Conferences’?
(a) Mumbai
(b) Geneva
(c) Moscow
(d) London
Answer: b

58. Which city is called ‘City of Rams’?
(a) Guangzhou
(b) Multan
(c) Amritsar
(d) Colombo
Answer: a

59. Which city is called ‘Brasilia of Pakistan’?
(a) Karachi
(b) Islamabad
(c) Faisalabad
(d) Quetta
Answer: b

60. Which city is called the ‘Gateway of Pakistan’?
(a) Islamabad
(b) Karachi
(c) Multan
(d) Lahore
Answer: b

61. Which city is called the ‘City of Canals’?
(a) Venice
(b) Paris
(c) London
(d) None of these
Answer: a

62. Which city is called the ‘City of Palaces’?
(a) Lahore
(b) Mexico City
(c) Kiev
(d) Paris
Answer: b

63. Which city is called ‘Forbidden city’?
(a) Lhasa
(b) Moscow
(c) Rome
(d) Beruit
Answer: a

64. Which city is called the ‘Gateway of India’?
(a) Mumbai
(b) Agra
(c) Kolkata
(d) Hyderabad
64. a

65. Which city is called the ‘City of Cosmonauts’?
(a) New York
(b) Moscow
(c) Lahore
(d) Karachi
Answer: b

66. Which city is called the ‘City of skyscrapers’?
(a) Washington
(b) New York
(c) London
(d) Rome
Answer: b

67. Which city is called the ‘City of eternal spring’?
(a) New York
(b) Quito
(c) Rome
(d) Paris
Answer: b

68. Which city is called the ‘City of Popes’?
(a) Rome
(b) Vatican City
(c) London
(d) Cairo
Answer: b

69. Which city is called the ‘Land of seven hills’?
(a) Rome
(b) Venice
(c) Shiraz
(d) Baghdad
Answer: a

70. Which city is called the ‘The Golden Gate City’?
(a) San Francisco
(b) New York
(c) London
(d) Venice
Answer: a

71. Which city is called the ‘City of roses and nightingales’?
(a) Shiraz
(b) Rome
(c) Mumbai
(d) New York
Answer: a

72. Which city is called the ‘Queen of the Baltic’?
(a) Rome
(b) Stockholm
(c) Paris
(d) Karachi
Answer: b

73. Which city is called the ‘City of Gondolas’?
(a) Venice
(b) Rome
(c) Shiraz
(d) Lahore
Answer: A

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General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A, World

General Knowledge about Cities Famous Second Names

General Knowledge / admin

• Brasilia of Pakistan is called to *Islamabad.*
• City of angles is called to *Bangkok.*
• City of bazaars is called to *Cairo.*
• City of colleges is called to *Lahore.*
• City of conference is called to *Geneva.*
• City of cosmonauts is called to *Moscow.*
• City of eternal spring is called to *Quito.*
• City of golden temple is called to *Amritsar.*
• City of Golden Gate is called to *San Francisco.*
• City of mosques is called to *Dhaka.*
• City of parks is called to *Kiev.*
• City of pope is called to *Rome.*
• City of space flights is called to *Cape Kennedy.*
• Forbidden City is called to *Lahaska.*
• Gateway to the east is called to *Beirut.*
• Gateway to the gulf is called to *Abu Dhabi.*
• Gateway to India is called to *Bombay.*
• Gateway to Pakistan is called to *Karachi.*
• Little Pakistan is called to *Bradford.*
• *Manchester of Pakistan is called to *Faisalabad.*
• Rose pink city is called to *Jaipur.*
• Windy city is called to *Chicago.*
• Lusitanian is the alternative name of *Portugal.*
• Emerald Island is called to *Ireland.*
• Land of Prophets is called to *Palestine.*
• *Yellow River* is known as China’s Sorrow because of devastating floods.
• Gibraltar of the west is said to *Quebec.*
• Zambia is known as *”country of Copper”*
• Albania means *the “Land of Eagles”.*
• Argentian means *“Like Silver”.*
• Bahrain means *two seas*.
• Brazil means
*“Red wood”.*
• Costa Rica means
*“Rich coast”.*
• Cyprus means
*“Land of copper”.*
• Guuatnemala mean
*“Land of Eagles”.*
• Jamaica means
*“Good water”.*
• Kuwait means
*“Fort”.*
• Liberia means
*“Land of free people”.*
• Netherlands means
*“low land”.*
• Nigeria means
*“A great river”.*
• Sierra Leone means
*“Lion Mountains”.*
• Singapore means
*”city of lions”.*
• Sudan means
*“Land of black people”.*
• Which country is popularly called ‘The Land of the Maple Leaf’?
*Canada*
• Mistress of the Eastern Seas is epithet referred to *Sri Lanka.*
• Hong Kong is called as *Pearl

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General Knowledge