March 12- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

538 – Vitiges, king of the Ostrogoths ends his siege of Rome and retreats to Ravenna, leaving the city in the hands of the victorious Byzantine general, Belisarius.
1622 – Ignatius of Loyola and Francis Xavier, founders of the Society of Jesus, are canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
1689 – James II of England landed at Kinsale, starting the Williamite War in Ireland.
1811 – Peninsular War: A day after a successful rearguard action, French Marshal Michel Ney once again successfully delays the pursuing Anglo-Portuguese force at the Battle of Redinha.
1912 – The Girl Guides (later renamed the Girl Scouts of the USA) are founded in the United States.
1913 – The future capital of Australia is officially named Canberra.
1918 – Moscow becomes the capital of Russia again after Saint Petersburg held this status for most of the period since 1713.
1920 – The Kapp Putsch begins when the Marinebrigade Ehrhardt is ordered to march on Berlin.
1928 – In California, the St. Francis Dam fails; the resulting floods kill 431 people.
1930 – Mahatma Gandhi begins the Salt March, a 200-mile march to the sea to protest the British monopoly on salt in India.
1933 – Great Depression: Franklin D. Roosevelt addresses the nation for the first time as President of the United States. This is also the first of his “fireside chats”.
1938 – Anschluss: German troops occupy and absorb Austria.
1940 – Winter War: Finland signs the Moscow Peace Treaty with the Soviet Union, ceding almost all of Finnish Karelia.
1942 – The Battle of Java ends with the surrender of the American-British-Dutch-Australian Command to the Japanese Empire in Bandung, West Java, Dutch East Indies.
1947 – Cold War: The Truman Doctrine is proclaimed to help stem the spread of Communism.
1950 – The Llandow air disaster kills 80 people when the aircraft they are travelling in crashes near Sigingstone, Wales. At the time this was the world’s deadliest air disaster.
1967 – Suharto takes power from Sukarno when the People’s Consultative Assembly inaugurate him as Acting President of Indonesia.
1968 – Mauritius achieves independence from the United Kingdom.
1971 – The 1971 Turkish military memorandum is sent to the Süleyman Demirel government of Turkey and the government resigns.
1989 – Sir Tim Berners-Lee submits his proposal to CERN for an information management system, which subsequently develops into the world wide web.
1992 – Mauritius becomes a republic while remaining a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
1993 – Several bombs explode in Mumbai, India, killing about 300 people and injuring hundreds more.
1993 – North Korea announces that it will withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and refuses to allow inspectors access to its nuclear sites.
1999 – Former Warsaw Pact members the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland join NATO.
2003 – Zoran Đinđić, Prime Minister of Serbia, is assassinated in Belgrade.
2003 – The World Health Organization officially release a global warning of outbreaks of Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
2004 – The President of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, is impeached by its National Assembly: the first such impeachment in the nation’s history.
2009 – Financier Bernard Madoff pleads guilty to one of the largest frauds in Wall Street’s history.
2011 – A reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant explodes and releases radioactivity into the atmosphere a day after the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
2014 – A gas explosion in the New York City neighborhood of East Harlem kills eight and injures 70 others.
2019 – In the House of Commons, the revised EU Withdrawal Bill was rejected by a margin of 149 votes.

Births on March 12

1270 – Charles, Count of Valois (d. 1325)
1515 – Caspar Othmayr, German Lutheran pastor and composer (d. 1553)
1607 – Paul Gerhardt, German poet and composer (d. 1676)
1613 – André Le Nôtre, French gardener and architect (d. 1700)
1626 – John Aubrey, English historian and philosopher (d. 1697)
1637 – Anne Hyde, Duchess of York and Albany (d. 1671)
1672 – Richard Steele, Irish-Welsh journalist and politician (d. 1729)
1685 – George Berkeley, Irish bishop and philosopher (d. 1753)
1710 – Thomas Arne, English composer (d. 1778)
1735 – François-Emmanuel Guignard, comte de Saint-Priest, French politician and diplomat (d. 1821)
1753 – Jean Denis, French politician, lawyer, jurist, journalist, and historian (d. 1827)
1766 – Claudius Buchanan, Scottish theologian (d. 1815)
1781 – Frederica of Baden, Queen consort to Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (d. 1826)
1784 – William Buckland, English geologist and paleontologist; Dean of Westminster (d. 1856)
1795 – William Lyon Mackenzie, Scottish-Canadian journalist and politician, 1st Mayor of Toronto (d. 1861)
1795 – George Tyler Wood, American military officer and politician (d. 1858)
1806 – Jane Pierce, American wife of Franklin Pierce, 15th First Lady of the United States (d. 1863)
1807 – James Abbott, Indian Army officer (d. 1896)
1815 – Louis-Jules Trochu, French military leader and politician (d. 1896)
1821 – John Abbott, Canadian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Canada (d. 1893)
1821 – Medo Pucić, Croatian writer and politician (d. 1882)
1823 – Katsu Kaishū, Japanese statesman (d. 1899)
1824 – Gustav Kirchhoff, Russian-German physicist and academic (d. 1887)
1832 – Charles Boycott, English farmer and agent (d. 1897)
1834 – Hilary A. Herbert, Secretary of the Navy (d. 1919)
1835 – Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (d. 1909)
1837 – Alexandre Guilmant, French organist and composer (d. 1911)
1838 – William Henry Perkin, English chemist and academic (d. 1907)
1843 – Gabriel Tarde, French sociologist and criminologist (d. 1904)
1855 – Eduard Birnbaum, Polish-born German cantor (d. 1920)
1857 – William V. Ranous, American actor and director (d. 1915)
1858 – Adolph Ochs, American publisher (d. 1935)
1859 – Ernesto Cesàro, Italian mathematician (d. 1906)
1860 – Eric Stenbock, Estonian poet and author (d. 1895)
1863 – Gabriele D’Annunzio, Italian soldier, journalist, poet, and playwright (d. 1938)
1863 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian and Ukrainian mineralogist and chemist (d. 1945)
1864 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (d. 1922)
1874 – Edmund Eysler, Austrian composer (d. 1949)
1877 – Wilhelm Frick, German lawyer and politician, German Federal Minister of the Interior (d. 1946)
1878 – Gemma Galgani, Italian mystic and saint (d. 1903)
1880 – Henry Drysdale Dakin, English-American chemist and academic (d. 1952)
1881 – Väinö Tanner, Finnish politician of Social Democratic Party of Finland (d. 1966)
1882 – Carlos Blanco Galindo, Bolivian politician (d. 1943)
1883 – Sándor Jávorka, Hungarian botanist (d. 1961)
1888 – Walter Hermann Bucher, German-American geologist and paleontologist (d. 1965)
1888 – Hans Knappertsbusch, German conductor (d. 1965)
1890 – Evert Taube, Swedish singer-songwriter and lute player (d. 1976)
1896 – Jesse Fuller, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1976)
1898 – Tian Han, Chinese playwright (d. 1968)
1898 – Luitpold Steidle, German army officer and politician (d. 1984)
1899 – Ramón Muttis, Argentine footballer (d. 1955)
1900 – Rinus van den Berge, Dutch athlete (d. 1972)
1900 – Gustavo Rojas Pinilla, 19th President of Colombia (d. 1975)
1904 – Lyudmila Keldysh, Russian mathematician (d. 1976)
1905 – Takashi Shimura, Japanese actor (d. 1982)
1907 – Dorrit Hoffleit, American astronomer and academic (d. 2007)
1908 – Rita Angus, New Zealand painter (d. 1970)
1908 – David Marshall, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Singapore (d. 1995)
1909 – Petras Cvirka, Lithuanian author (d. 1947)
1910 – Masayoshi Ōhira, Japanese politician, 68th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1980)
1910 – László Lékai, Archbishop of Esztergom and Cardinal (d. 1986)
1911 – Gustavo Díaz Ordaz, Mexican academic and politician, 49th President of Mexico (d. 1979)
1912 – Willie Hall, English international footballer (d. 1967)
1912 – Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (d. 2006)
1913 – Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of India (d. 1984)
1913 – Agathe von Trapp, Hungarian-American singer and author (d. 2010)
1915 – Alberto Burri, Italian painter and sculptor (d. 1995)
1915 – Jiří Mucha, Czech journalist (d. 1991)
1917 – Leonard Chess, American record company executive, co-founder of Chess Records (d. 1969)
1917 – Millard Kaufman, American author and screenwriter (d. 2009)
1917 – Googie Withers, Indian-Australian actress (d. 2011)
1918 – Pádraig Faulkner, Irish Fianna Fáil politician (d. 2012)
1918 – Elaine de Kooning, American painter and academic (d. 1989)
1921 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (d. 2001)
1921 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (d. 1986)
1922 – Jack Kerouac, American author and poet (d. 1969)
1922 – Lane Kirkland, American sailor and union leader (d. 1999)
1923 – Hjalmar Andersen, Norwegian speed skater and cyclist (d. 2013)
1923 – Norbert Brainin, Austrian violinist (d. 2005)
1923 – Wally Schirra, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2007)
1923 – Mae Young, American wrestler (d. 2014)
1925 – Leo Esaki, Japanese physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1925 – Harry Harrison, American author and illustrator (d. 2012)
1926 – George Ariyoshi, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Hawaii
1926 – Arthur A. Hartman, American career diplomat (d. 2015)
1926 – John Clellon Holmes, American author and professor (d. 1988)
1926 – David Nadien, American violinist (d. 2014)
1927 – Raúl Alfonsín, Argentinian lawyer and politician, 46th President of Argentina (d. 2009)
1927 – Emmett Leith, professor of electrical engineering and co-inventor of three-dimensional holography (d. 2005)
1927 – Sudharmono, 5th Vice President of Indonesia (d. 2006)
1928 – Edward Albee, American director and playwright (d. 2016)
1929 – Win Tin, Burmese journalist and politician, co-founded the National League for Democracy (d. 2014)
1930 – Antony Acland, British former diplomat and Provost of Eton College
1931 – Józef Tischner, Polish priest and philosopher (d. 2000)
1932 – Bob Houbregs, Canadian basketball player (d. 2014)
1932 – Andrew Young, American pastor and politician, 14th United States Ambassador to the United Nations
1933 – Myrna Fahey, American actress (d. 1973)
1933 – Barbara Feldon, American actress
1934 – Francisco J. Ayala, Spanish-American evolutionary biologist and philosopher
1936 – Virginia Hamilton, American children’s books author (d. 2002)
1936 – Michał Heller, Polish professor of philosophy
1936 – Eddie Sutton, American basketball player and coach
1937 – Zoltán Horvath, Hungarian sabre fencer
1937 – Zurab Sotkilava, Georgian operatic tenor (d. 2017)
1938 – Vladimir Msryan, Armenian actor, (d. 2010)
1938 – Johnny Rutherford, American race car driver and sportscaster
1938 – Juan Horacio Suárez, Argentine bishop
1940 – Al Jarreau, American singer (d. 2017)
1941 – Josip Skoblar, former Croatian footballer
1942 – Jimmy Wynn, American baseball player (d. 2020)
1943 – Ratko Mladić, Serbian general
1944 – Erwin Mueller, former American basketball player (d. 2018)
1945 – Anne Summers, Australian feminist writer, editor, publisher and public servant
1946 – Dean Cundey, American cinematographer and film director
1946 – Liza Minnelli, American actress, singer and dancer
1946 – Frank Welker, American voice actor and singer
1947 – Peter Harry Carstensen, German educator and politician
1947 – Jan-Erik Enestam, Finland-Swedish politician
1947 – David Rigert, Soviet Olympic weightlifter
1947 – Mitt Romney, American businessman and politician, 70th Governor of Massachusetts
1948 – Virginia Bottomley, Scottish social worker and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
1948 – Kent Conrad, American politician
1948 – James Taylor, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1949 – Rob Cohen, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1949 – David Mellor, British politician
1950 – Javier Clemente, Spanish footballer and manager
1952 – André Comte-Sponville, French philosopher
1952 – Yasuhiko Okudera, former Japanese footballer
1952 – John Mitchell, English footballer, forward
1953 – Pavel Pinigin, former Soviet wrestler and Olympic champion
1954 – Anish Kapoor, Indian-English sculptor
1956 – Ove Aunli, former Norwegian cross-country skier
1956 – Stanisław Bobak, Polish ski jumper (d. 2010)
1956 – Steve Harris, English bass player and songwriter
1956 – Lesley Manville, English actress
1956 – Dale Murphy, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster
1956 – Pim Verbeek, Dutch football manager (d. 2019)
1957 – Patrick Battiston, French footballer and coach
1957 – Marlon Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer
1957 – Andrey Lopatov, Soviet basketball player
1958 – Phil Anderson, English-Australian cyclist
1959 – Milorad Dodik, Bosnian Serb politician and president of Republika Srpska
1959 – Luenell, American comedian and actress
1959 – Michael Walter, German luger (d. 2016)
1960 – Jason Beghe, American actor
1960 – Courtney B. Vance, American actor and painter
1961 – Titus Welliver, American actor
1962 – Julia Campbell, American actress
1962 – Andreas Köpke, former German footballer
1962 – Chris Sanders, American illustrator and voice actor
1962 – Darryl Strawberry, American baseball player and minister
1963 – John Andretti, American race car driver (d. 2020)
1963 – Candy Costie, American swimmer
1963 – Joaquim Cruz, Brazilian runner and coach
1963 – Reiner Gies, German boxer
1963 – Ian Holloway, English footballer and manager
1963 – Paul Way, English golfer
1964 – Dieter Eckstein, retired German footballer
1964 – Umirzak Shukeyev, Kazakh chairman of Samruk-Kazyna
1965 – Steve Finley, American baseball player
1965 – Ivari Padar, former Minister of Finance and Minister of Agriculture of the Estonian Social Democratic Party
1966 – David Daniels, American countertenor
1966 – Grant Long, American basketball player and sportscaster
1967 – Julio Dely Valdés, Panamanian footballer and manager
1968 – Tammy Duckworth, Thai-American colonel, pilot, and politician
1968 – Aaron Eckhart, American actor and producer
1969 – Graham Coxon, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1969 – Jake Tapper, American journalist and author
1970 – Karen Bradley, British politician
1970 – Dave Eggers, American author and screenwriter
1970 – Mathias Grönberg, Swedish golfer
1970 – Rex Walters, American basketball player and coach
1971 – Isaiah Rider, American basketball player and rapper
1971 – Dragutin Topić, Serbian high jumper
1972 – Doron Sheffer, Israeli basketball player
1974 – Charles Akonnor, former Ghanaian footballer
1974 – Walid Badir, former Israeli footballer
1975 – Nicolae Grigore, former Romanian footballer
1975 – Edgaras Jankauskas, former Lithuanian footballer
1975 – Srđan Pecelj, Bosnian footballer
1976 – Deron Quint, American ice hockey defenseman
1976 – Zhao Wei, Chinese actress, film director, producer and pop singer
1977 – Michelle Burgher, track and field athlete
1977 – Ramiro Corrales, American soccer player
1977 – Amdy Faye, former Senegalese footballer
1977 – Brent Johnson, American ice hockey player
1978 – Casey Mears, American race car driver
1978 – Marco Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
1978 – Arina Tanemura, Japanese author and illustrator
1979 – Rhys Coiro, American actor
1979 – Pete Doherty, English musician, songwriter, actor, poet, writer, and artist
1979 – Jamie Dwyer, Australian field hockey player and coach
1979 – Gerard López, former Spanish footballer
1979 – Ben Sandford, New Zealand skeleton racer
1979 – Tim Wieskötter, German sprint canoer
1979 – Edwin Villafuerte, Ecuadorian goalkeeper
1980 – Césinha, Brazilian footballer
1980 – Becky Holliday, American pole vaulter
1980 – Jens Mouris, Dutch cyclist
1980 – Douglas Murray, Swedish ice hockey player
1981 – Kenta Kobayashi, Japanese wrestler and kick-boxer
1981 – Katarina Srebotnik, Slovenian tennis player
1981 – Holly Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1982 – Lili Bordán, Hungarian-American actress
1982 – Samm Levine, American actor and comedian
1982 – Ilya Nikulin, Russian ice hockey player
1982 – Hisato Satō, Japanese footballer
1982 – Yūto Satō, Japanese footballer
1982 – Tobias Schweinsteiger, German footballer
1983 – Atif Aslam, Pakistani singer and actor
1984 – Shreya Ghoshal, Indian singer
1984 – Jaimie Alexander, American actress
1985 – Marco Bonanomi, Italian racing driver
1985 – Aleksandr Bukharov, Russian footballer
1985 – Ed Clancy, English track and road cyclist
1985 – Andriy Tovt, Ukrainian footballer
1986 – Martynas Andriuškevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
1986 – Oleh Dopilka, Ukrainian footballer
1986 – Danny Jones, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1986 – Ben Offereins, Australian runner
1986 – František Rajtoral, Czech footballer (d. 2017)
1987 – Manuele Boaro, Italian cyclist
1987 – Jessica Hardy, American swimmer
1987 – Maxwell Holt, American volleyball player
1987 – Teimour Radjabov, Azerbaijani chess player
1987 – Chris Seitz, American soccer player
1987 – Vadim Shipachyov, Russian ice hockey player
1987 – Pablo Velázquez, Paraguayan footballer
1988 – Sebastian Brendel, German canoe racer
1988 – Kostas Mitroglou, Greek footballer
1988 – Cristian Chagas Tarouco, Brazilian footballer
1989 – Jordan Adéoti, French footballer
1989 – Vytautas Černiauskas, Lithuanian footballer
1989 – Tyler Clary, former American swimmer
1989 – Richard Eckersley, English footballer
1989 – Chen Jianghua, Chinese basketball player
1989 – Siim Luts, Estonian footballer
1990 – Alexander Kröckel, German skeleton racer
1990 – Irakli Kvekveskiri, Georgian footballer
1990 – Dawid Kubacki, Polish ski jumper
1990 – Matias Myttynen, Finnish ice hockey player
1990 – Ilija Nestorovski, Macedonian footballer
1990 – Milena Raičević, Montenegrin handballer
1990 – Mikko Sumusalo, Finnish footballer
1991 – Felix Kroos, German footballer
1991 – Niclas Heimann, German footballer
1991 – Leandro Fernandez, Argentine footballer
1992 – Daniele Baselli, Italian footballer
1992 – Jordan Ferri, French footballer
1992 – Ciara Mageean, Irish middle-distance runner
1992 – Jiří Skalák, Czech footballer
1993 – Shehu Abdullahi, Nigerian footballer
1993 – Amjad Attwan, Iraqi footballer
1993 – Anton Shramchenko, Belarusian footballer
1994 – Katie Archibald, Scottish track cyclist
1994 – Jerami Grant, American basketball player
1994 – Christina Grimmie, American singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
1996 – Sehrou Guirassy, French footballer
1996 – Karim Hafez, Egyptian footballer
1996 – Robert Murić, Croatian footballer
1997 – Dean Henderson, English footballer
1997 – Allan Saint-Maximin, French footballer
1997 – Felipe Vizeu, Brazilian footballer
1998 – Mecole Hardman, American football player
1998 – Daniel Samohin, Israeli figure skater
1998 – Elizaveta Ukolova, Czech figure skater

Deaths on March 12

417 – Innocent I, pope of the Catholic Church
604 – Gregory I, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 540)
1022 – Symeon the New Theologian (b. 949)
1316 – Stefan Dragutin (b. c. 1244)
1539 – Thomas Boleyn, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English diplomat and politician (b.1477)
1648 – Tirso de Molina, Spanish monk and poet (b. 1571)
1699 – Peder Griffenfeld, Danish politician (b. 1635)
1898 – Zachris Topelius, Finnish-Swedish journalist, historian, and author (b. 1818)
1916 – Marie von Ebner-Eschenbach, Austrian author (b. 1830)
1925 – Sun Yat-sen, Chinese physician and politician, 1st President of the Republic of China (b. 1866)
1929 – Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman and politician, 44th Mayor of Atlanta (b. 1851)
1935 – Mihajlo Pupin, Serbian-American physicist and chemist (b. 1858)
1942 – William Henry Bragg, English physicist, chemist, and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
1943 – Gustav Vigeland, Norwegian sculptor (b. 1869)
1946 – Ferenc Szálasi, Hungarian soldier and politician, Head of State of Hungary (b. 1897)
1949 – Wilhelm Steinkopf, German chemist (b. 1879)
1954 – Marianne Weber, German sociologist and suffragist (b. 1870)
1955 – Charlie Parker, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1920)
1955 – Theodor Plievier, German author best known for his anti-war novel (b. 1892)
1957 – Josephine Hull, American actress (b. 1877)
1971 – Eugene Lindsay Opie, American physician and pathologist (b. 1873)
1973 – Frankie Frisch, American baseball player and manager (b. 1898)
1974 – George D. Sax, American banker and businessman (b. 1904)
1985 – Eugene Ormandy, Hungarian-American violinist and conductor (b. 1899)
1989 – Maurice Evans, English-American actor (b. 1901)
1991 – Ragnar Granit, Finnish-Swedish neuroscientist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1900)
1991 – William Heinesen, Faroese author, poet, and author (b. 1900)
1992 – Lucy M. Lewis, American potter (b. 1890)
1998 – Beatrice Wood, American painter and potter (b. 1893)
1999 – Yehudi Menuhin, American-Swiss violinist and conductor (b. 1916)
1999 – Bidu Sayão, Brazilian-American soprano (b. 1902)
2000 – Aleksandar Nikolić, Yugoslav basketball coach (b. 1924)
2001 – Morton Downey Jr., American singer-songwriter, actor, and talk show host (b. 1933)
2001 – Robert Ludlum, American author (b. 1927)
2001 – Victor Westhoff, Dutch botanist and academic (b. 1916)
2002 – Spyros Kyprianou, Cypriot lawyer and politician, 2nd President of Cyprus (b. 1932)
2002 – Jean-Paul Riopelle, Canadian painter and sculptor (b. 1923)
2003 – Zoran Đinđić, Serbian philosopher and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Serbia (b. 1952)
2003 – Howard Fast, American novelist and screenwriter (b. 1914)
2003 – Lynne Thigpen, American actress and singer (b. 1948)
2004 – Milton Resnick, Russian-American painter (b. 1917)
2006 – Victor Sokolov, Russian-American priest and journalist (b. 1947)
2008 – Jorge Guinzburg, Argentinian journalist and producer (b. 1949)
2008 – Lazare Ponticelli, Italian-French soldier and supercentenarian (b. 1897)
2010 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish journalist and author (b. 1920)
2011 – Nilla Pizzi, Italian singer (b. 1919)
2012 – Dick Harter, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
2012 – Michael Hossack, American drummer (b. 1946)
2012 – Friedhelm Konietzka, German-Swiss footballer and manager (b. 1938)
2013 – Clive Burr, English drummer and songwriter (b. 1957)
2013 – Michael Grigsby, English director and producer (b. 1936)
2013 – Ganesh Pyne, Indian painter and illustrator (b. 1937)
2014 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929)
2014 – Paul C. Donnelly, American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
2014 – José Policarpo, Portuguese cardinal (b. 1936)
2015 – Willie Barrow, American minister and activist (b. 1924)
2015 – Michael Graves, American architect and academic, designed the Portland Building and the Humana Building (b. 1934)
2015 – Ada Jafri, Pakistani poet and author (b. 1924)
2015 – Terry Pratchett, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1948)
2016 – Rafiq Azad, Bangladeshi poet and author (b. 1942)
2016 – Felix Ibru, Nigerian architect and politician, Governor of Delta State (b. 1935)
2016 – Lloyd Shapley, American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances on March 12

Arbor Day (China)
Arbor Day (Taiwan)
Aztec New Year
Christian feast day:
- Alphege
- Bernard of Carinola (or of Capua)
- Gorgonius, Peter Cubicularius and Dorotheus of Nicomedia
- Mura (McFeredach)
- Fina
- Maximilian of Tebessa
- Paul Aurelian
- Pope Gregory I (Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Catholic Church, and Anglican Communion)
- Theophanes the Confessor
- March 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
National Day (Mauritius)
World Day Against Cyber Censorship
Youth Day (Zambia)

March 12- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gives him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.
649 – Conquest of Kucha: The forces of Kucha surrender after a forty-day siege led by Tang dynasty general Ashina She’er, establishing Tang control over the northern Tarim Basin in Xinjiang.
1419 – Hundred Years’ War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, completing his reconquest of Normandy.
1511 – The Italian city-fortress of Mirandola surrenders to the French.
1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, the Regent of Sweden, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund and dies on February 3.
1607 – San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines.
1764 – John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
1764 – Bolle Willum Luxdorph records in his diary that a mail bomb, possibly the world’s first, has severely injured the Danish Colonel Poulsen, residing at Børglum Abbey.
1788 – The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrive at Botany Bay.
1795 – The Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands, bringing to an end the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
1806 – Britain occupies the Dutch Cape Colony after the Battle of Blaauwberg.
1817 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru.
1829 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy receives its premiere performance.
1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden.
1853 – Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Il trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.
1861 – American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in declaring secession from the United States.
1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs: The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.
1871 – Franco-Prussian War: In the Siege of Paris, Prussia wins the Battle of St. Quentin. Meanwhile, the French attempt to break the siege in the Battle of Buzenval will end unsuccessfully the following day.
1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
1915 – German strategic bombing during World War I: German zeppelins bomb the towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn in the United Kingdom killing at least 20 people, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.
1917 – Silvertown explosion: A blast at a munitions factory in London kills 73 and injures over 400. The resulting fire causes over £2,000,000 worth of damage.
1920 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
1920 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is founded.
1937 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
1940 – You Nazty Spy!, the first Hollywood film of any kind to satirize Adolf Hitler and the Nazis premieres, starring The Three Stooges, with Moe Howard as the character “Moe Hailstone” satirizing Hitler.
1941 – World War II: HMS Greyhound and other escorts of convoy AS-12 sink Italian submarine Neghelli with all hands 40 miles (64 km) northeast of Falkonera.
1942 – World War II: The Japanese conquest of Burma begins.
1945 – World War II: Soviet forces liberate the Łódź Ghetto. Of more than 200,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived the Nazi occupation.
1946 – General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
1953 – Almost 72 percent of all television sets in the United States are tuned into I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
1960 – Japan and the United States sign the US–Japan Mutual Security Treaty
1969 – Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire three days earlier in Prague’s Wenceslas Square to protest about the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turns into another major protest.
1974 – China gains control over all the Paracel Islands after a military engagement between the naval forces of China and South Vietnam
1977 – President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D’Aquino (a.k.a. “Tokyo Rose”).
1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW’s plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
1981 – Iran hostage crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
1983 – Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia.
1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.
1986 – The first IBM PC computer virus is released into the wild. A boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, it was created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter unauthorized copying of the software they had written.
1991 – Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.
1993 – Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations.
1995 – After being struck by lightning the crew of Bristow Flight 56C are forced to ditch. All 18 aboard are later rescued.
1996 – The barge North Cape oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
1997 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
1999 – British Aerospace agrees to acquire the defence subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, forming BAE Systems in November 1999.
2007 – Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is assassinated in front of his newspaper’s Istanbul office by 17-year-old Turkish ultra-nationalist Ogün Samast.
2007 – Four-man Team N2i, using only skis and kites, completes a 1,093-mile (1,759 km) trek to reach the Antarctic pole of inaccessibility for the first time since 1965 and for the first time ever without mechanical assistance.
2012 – The Hong Kong-based file-sharing website Megaupload is shut down by the FBI.
2014 – A bomb attack on an army convoy in the city of Bannu kills at least 26 Pakistani soldiers and injures 38 others.

Births on January 19

399 – Pulcheria, Byzantine empress and saint (d. 453)
1200 – Dōgen Zenji, founder of Sōtō Zen (d. 1253)
1544 – Francis II of France (d. 1560)
1617 – Lucas Faydherbe, Flemish sculptor and architect (d. 1697)
1628 – Charles Stanley, 8th Earl of Derby, English noble (d. 1672)
1676 – John Weldon, English organist and composer (d. 1736)
1721 – Jean-Philippe Baratier, German scholar and author (d. 1740)
1736 – James Watt, Scottish-English chemist and engineer (d. 1819)
1737 – Giuseppe Millico, Italian soprano, composer, and educator (d. 1802)
1739 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect, designed Longford Hall and Barrells Hall (d. 1808)
1752 – James Morris III, American captain (d. 1820)
1757 – Countess Augusta Reuss of Ebersdorf (d. 1831)
1788 – Pavel Kiselyov, Russian general and politician (d. 1874)
1790 – Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish poet and academic (d. 1855)
1798 – Auguste Comte, French economist, sociologist, and philosopher (d. 1857)
1807 – Robert E. Lee, American general and academic (d. 1870)
1808 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher and author (d. 1887)
1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American short story writer, poet, and critic (d. 1849)
1810 – Talhaiarn, Welsh poet and architect (d.1869)
1813 – Henry Bessemer, English engineer and businessman (d. 1898)
1832 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1875)
1833 – Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician and academic (d. 1872)
1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
1848 – Arturo Graf, Italian poet, of German ancestry (d. 1913).
1848 – John Fitzwilliam Stairs, Canadian businessman and politician (d. 1904)
1848 – Matthew Webb, English swimmer and diver (d. 1883)
1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 1922)
1852 – Thomas Price, Welsh-Australian politician, 24th Premier of South Australia (d. 1909)
1863 – Werner Sombart, German economist and sociologist (d. 1941)
1866 – Harry Davenport, American stage and film actor (d. 1949)
1871 – Dame Gruev, Bulgarian educator and activist, co-founded the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (d. 1906)
1874 – Hitachiyama Taniemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 19th Yokozuna (d. 1922)
1876 – Wakashima Gonshirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 21st Yokozuna (d. 1943)
1876 – Dragotin Kette, Slovenian poet and author (d. 1899)
1878 – Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (d. 1934)
1879 – Boris Savinkov, Russian soldier and author (d. 1925)
1882 – John Cain Sr., Australian politician, 34th Premier of Victoria (d. 1957)
1883 – Hermann Abendroth, German conductor (d. 1956)
1887 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, playwright, and critic (d. 1943)
1889 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
1892 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1964)
1893 – Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian pianist and educator (d. 1986)
1903 – Boris Blacher, German composer and playwright (d. 1975)
1905 – Stanley Hawes, English-Australian director and producer (d. 1991)
1907 – Briggs Cunningham, American race car driver, sailor, and businessman (d. 2003)
1908 – Ish Kabibble, American comedian and cornet player (d. 1994)
1908 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician and theorist (d. 1971)
1911 – Choor Singh, Indian-Singaporean lawyer and judge (d. 2009)
1912 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
1913 – Rex Ingamells, Australian author and poet (d. 1955)
1913 – Rudolf Wanderone, American professional pocket billiards player (d. 1996)
1918 – John H. Johnson, American publisher, founded the Johnson Publishing Company (d. 2005)
1920 – Bernard Dunstan, English painter and educator (d. 2017)
1920 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian politician and diplomat, 135th Prime Minister of Peru (d. 2020)
1921 – Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1995)
1922 – Arthur Morris, Australian cricketer and journalist (d. 2015)
1922 – Miguel Muñoz, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1990)
1923 – Jean Stapleton, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
1924 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor and director (d. 1985)
1924 – Jean-François Revel, French philosopher (d. 2006)
1925 – Nina Bawden, English author (d. 2012)
1926 – Hans Massaquoi, German-American journalist and author (d. 2013)
1926 – Fritz Weaver, American actor (d. 2016)
1930 – Tippi Hedren, American model, actress, and animal rights-welfare activist
1930 – John Waite, South African cricketer (d. 2011)
1931 – Robert MacNeil, Canadian-American journalist and author
1932 – Russ Hamilton, English singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
1932 – Richard Lester, American-English director, producer, and screenwriter
1932 – Harry Lonsdale, American chemist, businessman, and politician (d. 2014)
1933 – George Coyne, American priest, astronomer, and theologian
1935 – Johnny O’Keefe, Australian singer-songwriter (d. 1978)
1936 – Ziaur Rahman, Bangladeshi general and politician, 7th President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)
1936 – Willie “Big Eyes” Smith, American singer, harmonica player, and drummer (d. 2011)
1936 – Fred J. Lincoln, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1937 – John Lions, Australian computer scientist and academic (d. 1998)
1939 – Phil Everly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
1940 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian lawyer and judge (d. 1992)
1940 – Mike Reid, English comedian, actor, and author (d. 2007)
1941 – Colin Gunton, English theologian and academic (d. 2003)
1941 – Pat Patterson, Canadian wrestler, trainer, and referee
1942 – Michael Crawford, English actor and singer
1942 – Paul-Eerik Rummo, Estonian poet and politician
1943 – Larry Clark, American director, producer, and screenwriter
1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer-songwriter (d. 1970)
1943 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
1944 – Shelley Fabares, American actress and singer
1944 – Thom Mayne, American architect and academic, designed the San Francisco Federal Building and Phare Tower
1944 – Dan Reeves, American football player and coach
1945 – Trevor Williams, English singer-songwriter and bass player
1946 – Julian Barnes, English novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic
1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress
1947 – Frank Aarebrot, Norwegian political scientist and academic (d. 2017)
1947 – Paula Deen, American chef and author
1947 – Rod Evans, English singer-songwriter
1948 – Nancy Lynch, American computer scientist and academic
1948 – Frank McKenna, Canadian politician and diplomat, 27th Premier of New Brunswick
1948 – Mal Reilly, English rugby league player and coach
1949 – Arend Langenberg, Dutch voice actor and radio host (d. 2012)
1949 – Robert Palmer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
1950 – Sébastien Dhavernas, Canadian actor
1951 – Martha Davis, American singer
1952 – Dewey Bunnell, British-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1952 – Nadiuska, German television actress
1952 – Bruce Jay Nelson, American computer scientist (d. 1999)
1953 – Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor and singer
1953 – Richard Legendre, Canadian tennis player and politician
1953 – Wayne Schimmelbusch, Australian footballer and coach
1954 – Katey Sagal, American actress and singer
1954 – Cindy Sherman, American photographer and director
1954 – Esther Shkalim, Israeli poet and Mizrahi feminist
1955 – Paul Rodriguez, Mexican-American comedian and actor
1956 – Carman, American singer-songwriter, actor, and television host
1956 – Susan Solomon, American atmospheric chemist
1957 – Ottis Anderson, American football player and sportscaster
1957 – Roger Ashton-Griffiths, English actor, screenwriter and film director
1957 – Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican public servant and politician, 22nd Secretary of State of Puerto Rico
1958 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter (d. 2012)
1959 – Danese Cooper, American computer scientist and programmer
1959 – Jeff Pilson, American bass player, songwriter, and actor
1961 – William Ragsdale, American actor
1961 – Wayne Hemingway, English fashion designer, co-founded Red or Dead
1962 – Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist
1962 – Chris Sabo, American baseball player and coach
1962 – Jeff Van Gundy, American basketball player and coach
1963 – Michael Adams, American basketball player and coach
1963 – Martin Bashir, English journalist
1963 – John Bercow, English politician, Speaker of the House of Commons
1964 – Janine Antoni, Bahamian sculptor and photographer
1964 – Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer-songwriter and basketball player
1966 – Sylvain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
1966 – Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player and coach
1966 – Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer-songwriter
1968 – David Bartlett, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of Tasmania
1968 – Whitfield Crane, American singer-songwriter
1969 – Edwidge Danticat, Haitian-American novelist and short story writer
1969 – Luc Longley, Australian basketball player and coach
1969 – Predrag Mijatović, Montenegrin footballer and manager
1969 – Junior Seau, American football player (d. 2012)
1969 – Steve Staunton, Irish footballer and manager
1970 – Steffen Freund, German footballer defensive midfielder and manager
1970 – Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete
1970 – Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian and singer
1971 – Phil Nevin, American baseball player
1971 – Shawn Wayans, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1971 – John Wozniak, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1972 – Ron Killings, American wrestler and rapper
1972 – Troy Wilson, Australian footballer and race car driver
1972 – Sergei Zjukin, Estonian chess player and coach
1972 – Yoon Hae-young, South Korean actress
1973 – Antero Manninen, Finnish cellist
1973 – Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer and coach
1974 – Dainius Adomaitis, Lithuanian basketball player and coach
1974 – Frank Caliendo, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
1974 – Ian Laperrière, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1974 – Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer and manager
1975 – Natalie Cook, Australian volleyball player
1975 – Zdeňka Málková, Czech tennis player
1976 – Natale Gonnella, Italian footballer
1976 – Tarso Marques, Brazilian race car driver
1977 – Benjamin Ayres, Canadian actor, director, and photographer
1979 – Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast and sportscaster
1979 – Josu Sarriegi, Spanish footballer
1979 – Wiley, English rapper and producer
1980 – Jenson Button, English race car driver
1980 – Pasha Kovalev, Russian-American dancer and choreographer
1980 – Luke Macfarlane, Canadian-American actor and singer
1980 – Arvydas Macijauskas, Lithuanian basketball player
1980 – Michael Vandort, Sri Lankan cricketer
1981 – Paolo Bugia, Filipino basketball player
1981 – Asier del Horno, Spanish footballer
1981 – Lucho González, Argentinian footballer
1982 – Pete Buttigieg, American politician
1982 – Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player
1982 – Jodie Sweetin, American actress and singer
1982 – Shane Tronc, Australian rugby league player
1982 – Kim Yoo-suk, South Korean pole vaulter
1982 – Robin tom Rink, German singer-songwriter
1983 – Hikaru Utada, American-Japanese singer-songwriter and producer
1984 – Fabio Catacchini, Italian footballer
1984 – Karun Chandhok, Indian race car driver
1984 – Jimmy Kébé, Malian footballer
1984 – Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player
1985 – Jake Allen, American football player
1985 – Pascal Behrenbruch, German decathlete
1985 – Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player
1985 – Esteban Guerrieri, Argentinian race car driver
1985 – Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer and actress
1985 – Elliott Ward, English footballer
1985 – Aleksandr Yevgenyevich Nikulin, Russian footballer
1986 – Claudio Marchisio, Italian footballer
1986 – Oleksandr Miroshnychenko, Ukrainian footballer
1986 – Moussa Sow, Senegalese footballer
1987 – Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer
1988 – JaVale McGee, American basketball player
1988 – Tyler Breeze, Canadian wrestler
1990 – Tatiana Búa, Argentine tennis player
1991 – Petra Martić, Croatian tennis player
1991 – Erin Sanders, American actress
1992 – Shawn Johnson, American gymnast
1992 – Logan Lerman, American actor
1992 – Mac Miller, American rapper (d. 2018)
1993 – Erick Torres Padilla, Mexican footballer
1994 – Matthias Ginter, German footballer
1994 – Alfie Mawson, English footballer, centre back

Deaths on January 19

520 – John of Cappadocia, patriarch of Constantinople
639 – Dagobert I, Frankish king (b. 603)
914 – García I, king of León
1003 – Kilian of Cologne, Irish abbot
1302 – Al-Hakim I, caliph of Cairo
1401 – Robert Bealknap, British justice
1526 – Isabella of Austria, Danish queen (b. 1501)
1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1516)
1565 – Diego Laynez, Spanish Jesuit theologian (b. 1512)
1571 – Paris Bordone, Venetian painter (b. 1495)
1576 – Hans Sachs, German poet and playwright (b. 1494)
1636 – Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Flemish painter (b.1561)
1661 – Thomas Venner, English rebel leader (b. 1599)
1729 – William Congreve, English playwright and poet (b. 1670)
1755 – Jean-Pierre Christin, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1683)
1757 – Thomas Ruddiman, Scottish scholar and academic (b. 1674)
1766 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-French architect and painter (b. 1695)
1785 – Jonathan Toup, English scholar and critic (b. 1713)
1833 – Ferdinand Hérold, French pianist and composer (b. 1791)
1847 – Charles Bent, American soldier and politician, 1st Governor of New Mexico (b. 1799)
1847 – Athanasios Christopoulos, Greek poet (b. 1772)
1851 – Esteban Echeverría, Argentinian poet and author (b. 1805)
1853 – Karl Faber, German historian and academic (b. 1773)
1865 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and politician (b. 1809)
1869 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (b. 1788)
1874 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet and scholar (b. 1798)
1878 – Henri Victor Regnault, French physicist and chemist (b. 1810)
1905 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher and author (b. 1817)
1906 – Bartolomé Mitre, Argentinian historian and politician, 6th President of Argentina (b. 1821)
1908 – Roberto Bompiani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1821)
1929 – Liang Qichao, Chinese journalist, philosopher, and scholar (b. 1873)
1930 – Frank P. Ramsey, British mathematician, philosopher and economist (b. 1903)
1938 – Branislav Nušić, Serbian author, playwright, and journalist (b. 1864)
1945 – Gustave Mesny, French general (b. 1886)
1948 – Tony Garnier, French architect and urban planner, designed the Stade de Gerland (b. 1869)
1954 – Theodor Kaluza, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1885)
1957 – József Dudás, Romanian-Hungarian activist and politician (b. 1912)
1963 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (b. 1884)
1964 – Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist (b. 1886)
1965 – Arnold Luhaäär, Estonian weightlifter (b. 1905)
1968 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver and engineer (b. 1879)
1972 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (b. 1936)
1973 – Max Adrian, Irish-English actor (b. 1903)
1975 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter and educator (b. 1889)
1976 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese engineer and academic (b. 1886)
1979 – Moritz Jahn, German novelist and poet (b. 1884)
1980 – William O. Douglas, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1898)
1981 – Francesca Woodman, American photographer (b. 1958)
1982 – Elis Regina, Brazilian soprano (b. 1945)
1984 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1920)
1987 – Lawrence Kohlberg, American psychologist and academic (b. 1927)
1990 – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian guru and mystic (b. 1931)
1990 – Alberto Semprini, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1908)
1990 – Herbert Wehner, German politician, 6th Minister of Intra-German Relations (b. 1906)
1991 – Marcel Chaput, Canadian biochemist and journalist (b. 1918)
1995 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
1996 – Don Simpson, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1943)
1997 – James Dickey, American poet and novelist (b. 1923)
1998 – Carl Perkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1932)
1999 – Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby player (b. 1967)
2000 – Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, Bahá’í Hand of the Cause of God and wife of Shoghi Effendi (b. 1910)
2000 – Bettino Craxi, Italian lawyer and politician, 45th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)
2000 – Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-American actress, singer, and mathematician (b. 1913)
2001 – Dario Vittori, Italian-Argentinian actor and producer (b. 1921)
2002 – Vavá, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1934)
2003 – Milton Flores, Honduran footballer (b. 1974)
2003 – Françoise Giroud, French journalist, screenwriter, and politician, French Minister of Culture (b. 1916)
2004 – Harry E. Claiborne, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
2004 – David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)
2005 – K. Sello Duiker, South African author and screenwriter (b. 1974)
2006 – Anthony Franciosa, American actor (b. 1928)
2006 – Wilson Pickett, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
2006 – Awn Alsharif Qasim, Sudanese author and scholar (b. 1933)
2006 – Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricketer and pilot (b. 1921)
2007 – Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian journalist and activist (b. 1954)
2007 – Denny Doherty, Canadian singer-songwriter (b. 1940)
2007 – Murat Nasyrov, Russian singer-songwriter (b. 1969)
2008 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)
2008 – John Stewart, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939)
2008 – Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1936)
2010 – Bill McLaren, Scottish rugby player and sportscaster (b. 1923)
2012 – Peter Åslin, Swedish ice hockey player (b. 1962)
2012 – Sarah Burke, Canadian skier (b. 1982)
2012 – Winston Riley, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1943)
2012 – Rudi van Dantzig, Dutch ballet dancer and choreographer (b. 1933)
2013 – Taihō Kōki, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 48th Yokozuna (b. 1940)
2013 – Stan Musial, American baseball player and manager (b. 1920)
2013 – Frank Pooler, American conductor and composer (b. 1926)
2013 – Earl Weaver, American baseball player and manager (b. 1930)
2013 – Toktamış Ateş, Turkish academician, political commentator, columnist and writer (b. 1944)
2014 – Azaria Alon, Ukrainian-Israeli environmentalist, co-founded the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (b. 1918)
2014 – Christopher Chataway, English runner, journalist, and politician (b. 1931)
2015 – Justin Capră, Romanian engineer and academic (b. 1933)
2015 – Michel Guimond, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1953)
2015 – Ward Swingle, American-French singer-songwriter and conductor (b. 1927)
2016 – Richard Levins, American ecologist and geneticist (b. 1930)
2016 – Ettore Scola, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1931)
2016 – Sheila Sim, English actress (b. 1922)
2017 – Miguel Ferrer, American actor (b. 1955)

Holidays and observances on January 19

Birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (commemorated by the Poe Toaster at his grave in Baltimore)
Christian feast day:
- Bassianus of Lodi
- Henry of Uppsala
- Marius, Martha, Audifax, and Abachum
- Mark of Ephesus (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Pontianus of Spoleto
- Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester
- January 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Confederate Heroes Day (Texas), and its related observance:
- Robert E. Lee Day (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi)
Feast of Sultán (Sovereignty), first day of the 17th month of the Bahá’í calendar (Bahá’í Faith) (only if Nowruz falls on March 21, otherwise the dates shifts)
Husband’s Day (Iceland)
Kokborok Day (Tripura, India)
Theophany / Epiphany (Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy), and its related observances:
- Timkat, or 20 during Leap Year (Ethiopian Orthodox)
- Vodici or Baptism of Jesus (North Macedonia)

January 19 – 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 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

During the Middle Ages under the influence of the Catholic Church, many countries in western Europe decided to move the start of the year to one of several important Christian festivals – December 25 (the Nativity of Jesus), March 1, March 25 (the Annunciation), or even Easter. The Byzantine Empire began its numbered year on September 1.

In England, January 1 was celebrated as the New Year festival, but from the 12th century to 1752 the year in England began on March 25 (Lady Day). So, for example, the Parliamentary record notes the execution of Charles I as occurring on January 30, 1648, (as the year did not end until March 24), although modern histories adjust the start of the year to January 1 and record the execution as occurring in 1649.

Most western European countries changed the start of the year to January 1 before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. For example, Scotland changed the start of the Scottish New Year to January 1 in 1600. England, Ireland and the British colonies changed the start of the year to January 1 in 1752. Later that year in September, the Gregorian calendar was introduced throughout Britain and the British colonies. These two reforms were implemented by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.

January 1 became the official start of the year as follows:

Julian calendar:

1544 Holy Roman Empire (Germany)
1556 Spain, Portugal
1559 Prussia, Sweden
1564 France
1576 Southern Netherlands
1579 Duchy of Lorraine
1583 Northern Netherlands
1600 Scotland
1700 Russia
1752 Great Britain (excluding Scotland) and its colonies
1804 Serbia

Gregorian calendar:

1750 Tuscany
1797 Republic of Venice
1918 Ottoman Empire
1941 Thailand

Events on January 1

Pre-Julian Roman calendar

153 BC – For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1.

Early Julian calendar (before Augustus’ leap year correction)

45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year.
42 BC – The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar.

Julian calendar

193 – The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emper]or.
404 – Saint Telemachus tries to stop a gladiatorial fight in a Roman amphitheatre, and is stoned to death by the crowd. This act impresses the Christian Emperor Honorius, who issues a historic ban on gladiatorial fights.
417 – Emperor Honorius forces Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his famous general (magister militum) (probable).
1001 – Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II (probable).
1068 – Romanos IV Diogenes marries Eudokia Makrembolitissa and is crowned Byzantine Emperor.
1259 – Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris.
1438 – Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.
1502 – The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is first explored by the Portuguese.
1515 – Twenty-year-old Francis, Duke of Brittany, succeeds to the French throne following the death of his father-in-law, Louis XII.
1527 – Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I of Austria as King of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin.
1583 to 1700 – see January 11
1600 – Scotland recognises January 1 as the start of the year, instead of March 25.
1651 – Charles II is crowned King of Scotland.
1700 – Russia begins using the Anno Domini era instead of the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire.
1701 to 1800 – see January 12
1801 to 1900 – see January 13
1901 to 2100 – see January 14

Gregorian calendar

1707 – John V is proclaimed King of Portugal and the Algarves in Lisbon.
1739 – Bouvet Island, the world’s remotest island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.
1772 – The first traveler’s cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, were issued by the London Credit Exchange Company.
1773 – The hymn that became known as “Amazing Grace”, then titled “1 Chronicles 17:16–17” is first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.
1776 – American Revolutionary War: Norfolk, Virginia is burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action.
1776 – General George Washington hoists the first United States flag; the Grand Union Flag at Prospect Hill.
1781 – American Revolutionary War: One thousand five hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne’s command rebel against the Continental Army’s winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781.
1788 – First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
1801 – The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is proclaimed.
1801 – Ceres, the largest and first known object in the Asteroid belt, is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.
1803 – Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam.
1804 – French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black-majority republic and second independent country in North America after the United States.
1806 – The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
1808 – The United States bans the importation of slaves.
1810 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales.
1822 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
1847 – The world’s first “Mercy” Hospital is founded in Pittsburgh, United States, by a group of Sisters of Mercy from Ireland; the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world.
1860 – The first Polish stamp is issued, replacing the Russian stamps previously in use.
1861 – Liberal forces supporting Benito Juárez enter Mexico City.
1863 – American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory.
1877 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.
1885 – Twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming’s proposal for standard time (and also, time zones).
1890 – Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government
1892 – Ellis Island begins processing immigrants into the United States.
1898 – New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
1899 – Spanish rule ends in Cuba.
1901 – Nigeria becomes a British protectorate
1901 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister
1902 – The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California.
1910 – Captain David Beatty is promoted to Rear admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal family members) since Horatio Nelson.
1912 – The Republic of China is established.
1914 – The SPT Airboat Line becomes the world’s first scheduled airline to use a winged aircraft.
1923 – Britain’s Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS.
1927 – New Mexican oil legislation goes into effect, leading to the formal outbreak of the Cristero War.
1928 – Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran. He is the only assistant of Joseph Stalin’s secretariat to have defected from the Eastern Bloc.
1929 – The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver.
1932 – The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington’s birth.
1934 – Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay becomes a United States federal prison.
1934 – A “Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring” comes into effect in Nazi Germany.
1942 – The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.
1945 – World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops kill 60 German POWs at Chenogne.
1945 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow.
1947 – Cold War: The American and British occupation zones in Allied-occupied Germany, after World War II, merge to form the Bizone, which later (with the French zone) became part of West Germany.
1947 – The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens.Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
1948 – The British railway network is nationalized to form British Railways.
1949 – United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
1956 – Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom.
1957 – George Town, Penang, is made a city by a royal charter of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.
1958 – European Economic Community is established.
1959 – Cuban Revolution: Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro’s forces.
1960 – Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom.
1962 – Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
1964 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
1965 – The People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
1970 – The defined beginning of Unix time, at 00:00:00.
1971 – Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.
1973 – Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom are admitted into the European Economic Community.
1976 – A bomb explodes on board Middle East Airlines Flight 438 over Qaisumah, Saudi Arabia, killing all 81 people on board.
1978 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747, crashes into the Arabian Sea, due to instrument failure, spatial disorientation, and pilot error, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing all 213 people on board.
1979 – Normal diplomatic relations are established between the People’s Republic of China and the United States.
1981 – Greece is admitted into the European Community.
1982 – Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using TCP/IP, the Internet Protocol, effectively creating the Internet.
1984 – The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.
1984 – Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
1985 – The first British mobile phone call is made by Michael Harrison to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone.
1987 – The Isleta Pueblo tribe elect Verna Williamson to be their first female governor.
1988 – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
1989 – The Montreal Protocol comes into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion.
1990 – David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City’s first black mayor.
1993 – Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Czech Republic and Slovak Republic.
1994 – The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas.
1994 – The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) comes into effect.
1995 – The World Trade Organization comes into being.
1995 – The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.
1995 – Austria, Finland and Sweden join the EU.
1998 – Following a currency reform, Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
1999 – Euro currency is introduced in 11 member nations of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden; Greece later adopts the euro).
2004 – In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, is “deemed to be elected” to the office of President until October 2007.
2007 – Bulgaria and Romania join the EU.
2007 – Adam Air Flight 574 breaks apart in mid-air and crashes near the Makassar Strait, Indonesia killing all 102 people on board.
2009 – Sixty-six people die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
2010 – A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more.
2011 – A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.
2011 – Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the 17th Eurozone country.
2013 – At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
2015 – The Eurasian Economic Union comes into effect, creating a political and economic union between Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
2017 – An attack on a nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, during New Year’s celebrations, kills at least 39 people and injures more than 60 others

Births on January 1

766 – Ali al-Ridha (d. 818) 8th Imam of Twelver Shia Islam
1431 – Pope Alexander VI (d. 1503)
1449 – Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian politician (d. 1492)
1467 – Sigismund I the Old, Polish king (d. 1548)
1484 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss pastor and theologian (d. 1531)
1511 – Henry, Duke of Cornwall, first-born child of Henry VIII of England (d. 1511)
1557 – Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1606)
1600 – Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1649)
1628 – Christoph Bernhard, German composer and theorist (d. 1692)
1655 – Christian Thomasius, German jurist and philosopher (d. 1728)
1684 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch scholar and author (d. 1748)
1704 – Soame Jenyns, English author, poet, and politician (d. 1787)
1711 – Baron Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (d. 1749)
1714 – Giovanni Battista Mancini, Italian soprano and author (d. 1800)
1714 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (d. 1780)
1735 – Paul Revere, American silversmith and engraver (d. 1818)
1745 – Anthony Wayne, American general and politician (d. 1796)
1752 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress, credited with designing the Flag of the United States (d. 1836)
1768 – Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish author (d. 1849)
1769 – Marie-Louise Lachapelle, French obstetrician (d. 1821)
1774 – André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist and academic (d. 1860)
1779 – William Clowes, English publisher (d. 1847)
1803 – Edward Dickinson, American politician and father of poet Emily Dickinson (d. 1874)
1806 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (d. 1853)
1809 – Achille Guenée, French lawyer and entomologist (d. 1880)
1813 – George Bliss, American politician (d. 1868)
1814 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebellion leader and king (d. 1864)
1818 – William Gamble, Irish-born American general (d. 1866)
1819 – Arthur Hugh Clough, English-Italian poet and academic (d. 1861)
1819 – George Foster Shepley, American general (d. 1878)
1823 – Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet and activist (d. 1849)
1833 – Robert Lawson, Scottish-New Zealand architect, designed the Otago Boys’ High School and Knox Church (d. 1902)
1834 – Ludovic Halévy, French author and playwright (d. 1908)
1839 – Ouida, English-Italian author and activist (d. 1908)
1848 – John W. Goff, Irish-American lawyer and politician (d. 1924)
1852 – Eugène-Anatole Demarçay, French chemist and academic (d. 1904)
1854 – James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist and academic (d. 1941)
1854 – Thomas Waddell, Irish-Australian politician, 15th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1940)
1857 – Tim Keefe, American baseball player (d. 1933)
1859 – Michael Joseph Owens, American inventor (d. 1923)
1859 – Thibaw Min, Burmese king (d. 1916)
1860 – Michele Lega, Italian cardinal (d. 1935)
1863 – Pierre de Coubertin, French historian, and educator, founded the International Olympic Committee (d. 1937)
1864 – Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer, and curator (d. 1946)
1864 – Qi Baishi, Chinese painter (d. 1957)
1867 – Mary Ackworth Evershed, English astronomer and scholar (d. 1949)
1874 – Frank Knox, American publisher, and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1944)
1874 – Gustave Whitehead, German-American pilot and engineer (d. 1927)
1877 – Alexander von Staël-Holstein, German sinologist and orientalist (d. 1937)
1878 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician, statistician, and engineer (d. 1929)
1879 – E. M. Forster, English author and playwright (d. 1970)
1879 – William Fox, Hungarian-American screenwriter and producer, founded the Fox Film Corporation and Fox Theatres (d. 1952)
1883 – William J. Donovan, American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1959)
1884 – Chikuhei Nakajima, Japanese lieutenant, engineer, and politician, founded Nakajima Aircraft Company (d. 1949)
1887 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (d. 1945)
1888 – Georgios Stanotas, Greek general (d. 1965)
1888 – John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand rifle (d. 1974)
1889 – Charles Bickford, American actor (d. 1967)
1890 – Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer and academic (d. 1966)
1891 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 3rd Governor of Rajasthan (d. 1969)
1892 – Mahadev Desai, Indian author and activist (d. 1942)
1892 – Manuel Roxas, Filipino lawyer and politician, 5th President of the Philippines (d. 1948)
1893 – Mordechai Frizis, Greek colonel (d. 1940)
1894 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist, and mathematician (d. 1974)
1894 – Edward Joseph Hunkeler, American clergyman (d. 1970)
1895 – J. Edgar Hoover, American law enforcement official; 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (d. 1972)
1900 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese soldier and diplomat (d. 1986)
1900 – Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1990)
1902 – Buster Nupen, Norwegian-South African cricketer and lawyer (d. 1977)
1902 – Hans von Dohnányi, German jurist and political dissident (d. 1945)
1904 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (d. 1982)
1905 – Stanisław Mazur, Ukrainian-Polish mathematician and theorist (d. 1981)
1906 – Manuel Silos, Filipino filmmaker, and actor (d. 1988)
1907 – Kinue Hitomi, Japanese sprinter and long jumper (d. 1931)
1909 – Dana Andrews, American actor (d. 1992)
1909 – Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian soldier and politician (d. 1959)
1911 – Audrey Wurdemann, American poet and author (d. 1960)
1911 – Basil Dearden, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1971)
1911 – Hank Greenberg, American baseball player (d. 1986)
1911 – Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist and educator (d. 2012)
1912 – Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko, Russian mathematician and historian (d. 1995)
1912 – Kim Philby, British spy (d. 1988)
1912 – Nikiforos Vrettakos, Greek poet and academic (d. 1991)
1914 – Noor Inayat Khan, British SOE agent (d. 1944)
1917 – Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
1918 – Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2000)
1918 – Willy den Ouden, Dutch swimmer (d. 1997)
1919 – Carole Landis, American actress (d. 1948)
1919 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (d. 2010)
1919 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer and actor (d. 1990)
1920 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (d. 2007)
1921 – César Baldaccini, French sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
1921 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (d. 1986)
1921 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (d. 2013)
1922 – Ernest Hollings, American soldier, and politician, 106th Governor of South Carolina (d. 2019)
1923 – Valentina Cortese, Italian actress (d. 2019)
1923 – Milt Jackson, American jazz vibraphonist and composer (d. 1999)
1924 – Francisco Macías Nguema, Equatorial Guinean politician, 1st President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (d. 1979)
1925 – Matthew Beard, American child actor (d. 1981)
1925 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat, 1st Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2005)
1926 – Kazys Petkevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (d. 2008)
1927 – Doak Walker, American football player and businessman (d. 1998)
1927 – James Reeb, American clergyman and political activist (d. 1965)
1927 – Maurice Béjart, French-Swiss dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 2007)
1927 – Vernon L. Smith, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1928 – Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
1928 – Gerhard Weinberg, German-American historian, author, and academic
1929 – Larry L. King, American journalist, author, and playwright (d. 2012)
1930 – Frederick Wiseman, American director and producer
1930 – Gaafar Nimeiry, Egyptian-Sudanese politician, 4th President of the Sudan (d. 2009)
1932 – Giuseppe Patanè, Italian conductor (d. 1989)
1933 – James Hormel, American philanthropist and diplomat.
1933 – Joe Orton, English dramatist (d. 1967)
1934 – Alan Berg, American lawyer and radio host (d. 1984
1934 – Lakhdar Brahimi, Algerian politician, Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1935 – Om Prakash Chautala, Indian politician
1936 – James Sinegal, American businessman, co-founded Costco
1939 – Michèle Mercier, French actress
1939 – Phil Read, English motorcycle racer and businessman
1939 – Senfronia Thompson, American politician
1941 – Younoussi Touré, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali
1942 – Alassane Ouattara, Ivorian economist and politician, President of the Ivory Coast (doubtful)
1942 – Anthony Hamilton-Smith, 3rd Baron Colwyn, English dentist and politician
1942 – Country Joe McDonald, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1942 – Dennis Archer, American lawyer and politician, 67th Mayor of Detroit
1942 – Gennadi Sarafanov, Russian pilot and cosmonaut (d. 2005)
1943 – Don Novello, American comedian, screenwriter and producer^.
1943 – Tony Knowles, American soldier and politician, 7th Governor of Alaska^.
1943 – Vladimir Šeks, Croatian lawyer and politician, 16th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament
1944 – Mati Unt, Estonian author, playwright, and director (d. 2005)
1944 – Omar al-Bashir, Sudanese field marshal and politician, 7th President of Sudan
1944 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (d. 2013)
1944 – Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Pakistani field hockey player and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Pakistan
1945 – Jacky Ickx, Belgian racing driver
1945 – Victor Ashe, American politician and former United States Ambassador to Poland
1946 – Claude Steele, American social psychologist and academic
1946 – Rivellino, Brazilian footballer and manager
1947 – Jon Corzine, American sergeant and politician, 54th Governor of New Jersey
1948 – Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish economist, academic, and politician, 57th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
1948 – Dick Quax, New Zealand runner and politician (d. 2018)
1948 – Pavel Grachev, Russian general and politician, 1st Russian Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
1949 – Borys Tarasyuk, Ukrainian politician and diplomat
1952 – Shaji N. Karun, Indian director and cinematographer
1953 – Gary Johnson, American businessman and politician, 29th Governor of New Mexico
1954 – Bob Menendez, American lawyer and politician
1954 – Dennis O’Driscoll, Irish poet and critic (d. 2012)
1954 – Yannis Papathanasiou, Greek engineer and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
1955 – LaMarr Hoyt, American baseball player
1955 – Mary Beard, English classicist, academic and presenter
1956 – Sergei Avdeyev, Russian engineer and astronaut
1956 – Christine Lagarde, French lawyer and politician; Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
1957 – Evangelos Venizelos, Greek lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece
1958 – Grandmaster Flash, Barbadian rapper and DJ
1959 – Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghan colonel, pilot, and astronaut
1959 – Azali Assoumani, Comorian colonel and politician, President of the Comoros
1959 – Panagiotis Giannakis, Greek basketball player and coach
1962 – Anton Muscatelli, Italian-Scottish economist and academic
1963 – Jean-Marc Gounon, French racing driver
1964 – Dedee Pfeiffer, American actress
1966 – Anna Burke, Australian businesswoman and politician, 28th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
1966 – Ivica Dačić, Serbian journalist and politician, 95th Prime Minister of Serbia
1966 – Tihomir Orešković, Croatian–Canadian businessman, 11th Prime Minister of Croatia
1968 – Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
1971 – Bobby Holík, Czech-American ice hockey player and coach
1971 – Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician
1971 – Sammie Henson, American wrestler and coach
1972 – Lilian Thuram, French footballer
1974 – Christian Paradis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Industry
1975 – Becky Kellar-Duke, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Chris Anstey, Australian basketball player and coach
1975 – Fernando Tatís, Dominican baseball player
1975 – Joe Cannon, American soccer player and sportscaster
1979 – Vidya Balan, Indian actress
1981 – Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian racing driver
1981 – Mladen Petrić, Croatian footballer
1982 – David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
1982 – Egidio Arévalo Ríos, Uruguayan footballer
1983 – Melaine Walker, Jamaican hurdler
1983 – Park Sung-hyun, South Korean archer
1983 – Calum Davenport, English footballer
1984 – Paolo Guerrero, Peruvian footballer
1985 – Steven Davis, Northern Irish footballer
1985 – Tiago Splitter, Brazilian basketball player
1986 – Pablo Cuevas, Uruguayan tennis player
1986 – Ramses Barden, American football player
1987 – Meryl Davis, American ice dancer1987 – Patric Hörnqvist, Swedish ice hockey player
1988 – Marcel Gecov, Czech footballer
1989 – Jason Pierre-Paul, American football player
1991 – Darius Slay, American football player

Deaths on January 1

138 – Lucius Aelius, adopted son and intended successor of Hadrian (b. 101)
404 – Telemachus, Christian monk and martyr
466 – Qianfei, Chinese emperor of the Liu Song Dynasty (b. 449)
898 – Odo I, Frankish king (b. 860)
951 – Ramiro II, king of León and Galicia1031 – William of Volpiano, Italian abbot (b. 962)
1189 – Henry of Marcy, Cistercian abbot (b. c. 1136)
1204 – Haakon III, king of Norway (b. 1182)
1387 – Charles II, king of Navarre (b. 1332)
1496 – Charles d’Orléans, count of Angoulême (b. 1459)
1515 – Louis XII, king of France (b. 1462)
1559 – Christian III, king of Denmark (b. 1503)
1560 – Joachim du Bellay, French poet and critic (b. 1522)
1617 – Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1558)
1697 – Filippo Baldinucci, Florentine historian and author (b. 1625)
1716 – William Wycherley, English playwright and poet (b. 1641)
1748 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (b. 1667)
1780 – Johann Ludwig Krebs, German organist and composer (b. 1713)
1782 – Johann Christian Bach, German composer (b. 1735)
1789 – Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English lawyer and politician, British Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1716)
1793 – Francesco Guardi, Italian painter and educator (b. 1712)
1817 – Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist and academic (b. 1743)
1846 – John Torrington, English sailor and explorer (b. 1825)
1853 – Gregory Blaxland, Australian farmer and explorer (b. 1778)
1862 – Mikhail Ostrogradsky, Ukrainian mathematician and physicist (b. 1801)
1881 – Louis Auguste Blanqui, French activist (b. 1805)
1892 – Roswell B. Mason, American lawyer and politician, 25th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
1894 – Heinrich Hertz, German physicist and academic (b. 1857)
1896 – Alfred Ely Beach, American publisher and lawyer, created the Beach Pneumatic Transit (b. 1826)
1906 – Hugh Nelson, Scottish-Australian farmer and politician, 11th Premier of Queensland (b. 1833)
1918 – William Wilfred Campbell, Canadian poet and author (b. 1858)
1921 – Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, German lawyer and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1856)
1929 – Mustafa Necati, Turkish civil servant and politician, Turkish Minister of Environment and Urban Planning (b. 1894)
1931 – Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (b. 1851)
1937 – Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Indian religious leader, founded the Gaudiya Math (b. 1874)
1940 – Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian author and educator (b. 1865)
1944 – Edwin Lutyens, English architect, designed the Castle Drogo and Thiepval Memorial (b. 1869)
1944 – Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (b. 1862)
1953 – Hank Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1923)
1954 – Duff Cooper, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1890)
1954 – Leonard Bacon, American poet and critic (b. 1887)
1955 – Arthur C. Parker, American archaeologist and historian (b. 1881)
1960 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress (b. 1909)
1966 – Vincent Auriol, French journalist and politician, 16th President of the French Republic (b. 1884)
1969 – Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright and screenwriter (b. 1902)
1971 – Amphilochius of Pochayiv, Ukrainian saint (b. 1894)
1972 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer (b. 1888)
1978 – Carle Hessay, German-Canadian painter (b. 1911)
1980 – Pietro Nenni, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1891)
1981 – Hephzibah Menuhin, American-Australian pianist (b. 1920)
1982 – Victor Buono, American actor (b. 1938)
1984 – Alexis Korner, French-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
1992 – Grace Hopper, American computer scientist and admiral, co-developed COBOL (b. 1906)
1994 – Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt, New Zealand physician and politician, 11th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1900)
1994 – Cesar Romero, American actor (b. 1907)
1994 – Edward Arthur Thompson, Irish historian and academic (b. 1914)
1995 – Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
1996 – Arleigh Burke, American admiral (b. 1901)
1996 – Arthur Rudolph, German-American engineer (b. 1906)
1997 – Townes Van Zandt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
1998 – Helen Wills, American tennis player and coach (b. 1905)
2000 – Betty Archdale, English-Australian cricketer and educator (b. 1907)
2001 – Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)
2002 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (b. 1944)
2003 – Joe Foss, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1915)
2005 – Shirley Chisholm, American educator and politician (b. 1924)
2006 – Harry Magdoff, American economist and journalist (b. 1913)
2007 – Roland Levinsky, South African-English biochemist and academic (b. 1943)
2007 – Tillie Olsen, American short story writer (b. 1912)
2008 – Pratap Chandra Chunder, Indian educator and politician (b. 1919)
2009 – Claiborne Pell, American politician (b. 1918)
2010 – Lhasa de Sela, American-Mexican singer-songwriter (b. 1972)
2012 – Kiro Gligorov, Bulgarian-Macedonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1917)
2012 – Nay Win Maung, Burmese physician, businessman, and activist (b. 1962)
2012 – Tommy Mont, American football player and coach (b. 1922)
2013 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist (b. 1945)
2013 – Patti Page, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
2014 – Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (b. 1910)
2014 – Juanita Moore, American actress (b. 1914)
2014 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (b. 1950)
2015 – Boris Morukov, Russian physician and astronaut (b. 1950)
2015 – Donna Douglas, American actress (b. 1932)
2015 – Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York (b. 1932)
2015 – Omar Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 58th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1934)
2016 – Dale Bumpers, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1925)
2016 – Fazu Aliyeva, Russian poet and journalist (b. 1932)
2016 – Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer and producer (b. 1930)
2017 – Derek Parfit, British philosopher (b. 1942)
2017 – Tony Atkinson, British economist (b. 1944)
2017 – Yvon Dupuis, Canadian politician (b. 1926)
2018 – Robert Mann, American violinist (b. 1920)
2019 – Pegi Young, American singer, songwriter, environmentalist, educator and philanthropist (b. 1952)
2019 – Paul Neville, Australian politician (b. 1940)
2020 – David Stern, American lawyer and businessman (b. 1942)
2020 – Alexander Frater, British travel writer and journalist (b. 1937)
2020 – Barry McDonald, Australian rugby union player (b. 1940)

Holidays and observances on January 1

Christian feast day:
- Adalard of Corbie
- Basil the Great (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
  - Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (Anglican Communion, Lutheran Church)
  - Feast of Fools (Medieval Europe)
- Fulgentius of Ruspe
- Giuseppe Maria Tomasi
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Octave Day of Christmas, considered a holy day of obligation in some countries (Catholic Church); and its related observances:
  - World Day of Peace
- Telemachus
- Zygmunt Gorazdowski
- January 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Handsel Monday can fall, while January 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of the year (Scotland)
The second day of Hogmanay (Scotland) December 31-January 1, in some cases until January 2.
The last day of Kwanzaa (African-Americans)
The eighth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
Constitution Day (Italy)
Dissolution of Czechoslovakia-related observances:
- Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic (Slovakia)
- Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State (Czech Republic)
Emancipation Day (United States)
Euro Day (European Union)
Flag Day (Lithuania) commemorates raising of the Lithuanian flag on Gediminas’ Tower in 1919
Founding Day (Taiwan) commemorates the establishment of the Provisional Government in Nanjing
Global Family Day
Independence Day (Brunei, Cameroon, Haiti, Sudan)
International Nepali Dhoti and Nepali Topi Day
Jump-up Day (Montserrat)
Kalpataru Day (Ramakrishna Movement)
Kamakura Ebisu, January 1–3 (Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan)
National Bloody Mary Day (United States)
National Tree Planting Day (Tanzania)
New Year’s Day (Gregorian calendar)
- Japanese New Year
- Novy God Day (Russia)
- Sjoogwachi (Okinawa Islands)
Polar Bear Swim Day (Canada and United States)
Public Domain Day (multiple countries)
Triumph of the Revolution (Cuba)

January 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

General Knowledge, World’s Longest, Largest and Smallest

General Knowledge, History, World / admin

● Largest Airport : King Abdul Khalid International Airport (Saudi Arabia)
● Highest Airport : Lhasa Airport, Tibet
● Tallest Animal : Giraffe
● Largest Animal : Blue Bottom whale
● Largest Bay : Hudson Bay, Canada.
● Largest Bird : Ostrich
● Smallest Bird : Humming bird
● Longest Bridge : Huey P. Long Bridge (USA)
● Tallest Building : Dubai Burj (Dubai)
● Longest Canal : Baltic sea White Canal
● Largest Cathedral : Cathedral Church of New York
● Largest Cemetry : Ohlsdorf Cemetry (Hamburg, Germany)
● Largest Church : Balisca of St. Peter in the Vatican City, Rome.
● Largest Continent : Asia
● Smallest Continent : Australia
● Largest Country (Area) : Russia
● Smallest Country (Area) : Vatican City
● Biggest Cinema House : Roxy, New York
● Highest City : Wenchuan, China
● Most Populous City : Tokyo
● Longest Day : June 21
● Shortest Day : December 22
● Largest Delta : Sunderban (India)
● Largest Desert : Sahara, North Africa

● Biggest Dome : Gol Gumbaz (Bijapur), India
● Largest Dams : Grand Coulee Dam, USA
● Tallest Fountain : Fountain Hills, Arizona
● Largest Gulf : Gulf of Mexico
● Largest Hotel : Excalibur Hotel (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)
● Largest Island : Greenland
● Largest Lake : Caspian Sea.
● Deepest Lake : Baikal (Siberia)
● Highest Lake : Titicaca (Bolivia)
● Largest Library : United States Library of Congress, Washington
● Largest Mosque : Jama Masjid, Delhi (India)
● Highest Mountain Peak : Mount Everest (Nepal)
● Highest Mountain Range : Himalayas, Asia.
● Largest Mountain Range : Andes (South America)
● Biggest Museum : American Museum of Natural History (New York).
● Largest Minaret : Sultan Hassan Mosque (Egypt)
● Tallest Minaret : Qutub Minar, Delhi (India)
● Biggest Oceans : Pacific Ocean
● Deepest Oceans : Pacific Ocean
● Biggest Palace : Vatican (Rome)
● Largest Palace : Imperial Palace (China)
● Largest Park : National Park of North-Eastern (Greenland)
● Largest Peninsula : Arabia
● Highest Plateau : Pamir (Tibet)
● Longest Platform : Kharagpur, W. Bengal (India)
● Largest Platform : Grand Central Terminal, (Rly. Station), New York (USA)
● Biggest Planet : Jupiter
● Smallest Planet : Mercury
● Brightest Planet : Venus
● Coldest Planet : Neptune
● Nearest Planet (to the Sun) : Mercury
● Farthest Planet (from the Sun) : Neptune
● Longest River : Nile, Africa
● Longest River Dam : Hirakud Dam, India
● Largest Sea : South China Sea
● Largest Stadium : Starhove Stadium, Prague (Czech Republic)
● Brightest Star : Sirius A
● Tallest Statue : Motherland (Russia)
● Largest Sea-bird : Albatross
● Biggest Telescope : Mt. Palomar (USA)
● Longest Train : Flying Scotsman
● Largest Temple : Angkorwat in Combodia.
● Oldest Theatre : Teatro Olimpico (Itlay)
● Tallest Tower : C. N. Tower, Toronto (Canada)
● Longest Wall : Great Wall of China
● Highest Waterfall : Angel (Venezuela)
● Widest Waterfall : Khone Falls (Laos)
● Lowest Water Level : Dead Sea
● Longest Epic : Mahabharata
● Hottest Place : Azizia (Libya)
● Rainiest Place : Mosinram, near Cherrapunji (India)
● Highest Road : Leh-Nobra, Ladakh division India.
● Highest Village : Andean (Chile)
● Highest Volcano : Ojos del Salado, (Argentina) Chile
● Largest Volcano : Manuna Lea (Hawai)
● Lightest Gas : Hydrogen
● Fastest Animal : Cheetah
● Biggest Flower : Rafflesia (Java)
● Longest Corridor : Rameshwaram Temple (India)
● Largest Democracy : India
● Highest Cable Car Project : Gulmarg (Jammu-Kashmir)
● Biggest Airbus : Double Decker A-380
● Highest Rail Track : Kwinghai- Tibbet Railway (China)

General Knowledge, World’s Longest, Largest and Smallest Read More »

General Knowledge, History, World

List Of Country , Capital & Currencies Quiz

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

List Of Country , Capital & Currencies Quiz

1. The Currency of Antigua and Barbuda is – East Caribbean dollar

2. The Capital of Andorra is – Andorra la Vella

3. The Capital of Belorussian ruble is – Belorussian

4. The Capital of the Country Belize is – Belmopan

5. The Currency of Bhutan is – Ngultrum

6. The Country Name of the Capital Sarajevo is – Bosnia and Herzegovina

7. The Capital of Brunei is – Bandar Seri Begawan

8. The Capital of Sofia is – Bulgaria

9. The Capital of Burkina Faso is – Ouagadougou

10. The Currency of Phnom Penh is – Riel

11. The Country of Yaounde is – Cameroon

12. The Currency of Ottawa is – Canadian dollar

13. The Country of Bangui is – Central African Republic

14. The Capital of Chad is – N’Djamena

15. The Currency of Santiago is – Chilean Peso

16. The Currency of Beijing is – Yuan/Renminbi

17. The Country of Colombian Peso is – Colombia

18. The Currency of Brazzaville is – CFA Franc

19. The Capital of Congolese franc is – Kinshasa

20. The Capital of Yamoussoukro is – Cote d’Ivoire

21. The Currency of Croatia is – Kuna

22. The Capital of Cuba is – Havana

23. The Country of Cyprus pound is – Cyprus

24. The Capital of Prague is – Czech Republic

25. The Capital of Copenhagen is – Denmark

26. The Currency of Djibouti is – Djibouti franc

27. The Capital of Prague East Caribbean dollar is – Roseau

28. The Capital of Dominican Republic is – Santo Domingo

29. The Currency of East Timor is – U.S. dollar

30. The Country of Egyptian pound is – Egypt

31. The Capital of El Salvador is – San Salvador

32. The Country of Malabo is – Equatorial Guinea

33. The Currency of Asmara is – Nakfa

34. The Country of Tallinn is – Estonia

35. The Country of Addis Ababa is – Ethiopia

36. The Currency of Suva is – Fiji dollar

37. The Country of Helsinki is – Finland

38. The Currency of France is – Euro

39. The Country of Libreville is – Gabon

40. The Country of Banjul is – The Gambia

41. The Capital of Georgia is – Tbilisi

42. The Capital of Germany is – Berlin

43. The Capital of Ghana is – Accra

44. The Country of Athens is – Greece

45. The Currency of Saint George’s is – East Caribbean dollar

46. The Capital of Guatemala City is – Guatemala

47. The Currency of Conakry is – Guinean franc

48.The Country of Bissau is – Guinea-Bissau

49. The Capital of Guyana is – Georgetown

50. The Country of Port-au-Prince is – Haiti

51. The Capital of Indonesia is – Jakarta

52. The Capital of Honduras is – Tegucigalpa

53. The Currency of Budapest is – Forint

54. The Capital of Icelandic króna is – Reykjavik

55. The Currency of Tehran is – Rial

56. The Currency of Baghdad is – Iraqi Dinar

57. The Capital of Dublin is – Ireland

58. The Capital of Israel is – Jerusalem

59. The Currency of Kingston is – Jamaican dollar

60. The Capital of Jordanian dinar is – Amman

61. The Currency of Kazakhstan is – Tenge

62. The Capital of Kenya shilling is – Nairobi

63. The Country of Tarawa Atoll is – Kiribati

64. The Currency of Pyongyang is – Won

65. The Country of Pristina is – Kosovo

66. The Currency of Kuwait City is – Kuwaiti dinar

67. The Country of Bishkek is – Kyrgyzstan

68. The Capital of Laos is – Vientiane

69. The Currency of Latviis – Lats

70. The Currency of Beirut is – Lebanese pound

71. The Country of Maseru is – Lesotho

72. The Currency of Monrovia is – Liberian dollar

73. The Country of Tripoli is – Libya

74. The Currency of Liechtenstein is – Swiss franc

75. The Capital of Lithuania is – Vilnius

76. The Currency of Luxembourg is – Euro

77. The Capital of Macedonia is – Skopje

78. The Country of Antananarivo is – Madagascar

79. The Currency of Lilongwe is – Kwacha

80. The Capital of Malaysia is – Kuala Lumpur

81. The Country of Rufiya is – Maldives

82. The Currency of Bamako is – CFA Franc

83. The Currency of Valletta is – Maltese lira

84.The Country of Nouakchott is – Mauritania

85.The Capital of Port Louis is – Mauritius

86. The Currency of Mexico City is – Mexican peso

87. The Country of Palikir is – Micronesia

88. The Capital of Moldova is – Chisinau

89. The Currency of Monaco is – Euro

90. The Country of Ulaanbaatar is – Mongolia

91. The Capital of Montenegro is – Podgorica

92. The Currency of Rabat is – Dirham

93. The Capital of Maputo is – Mozambique

94. The Currency of Rangoon is – Kyat

95. The Country of Windhoek is – Namibia

96. The Country of Australian dollar is – Nauru

97. The Currency of Kathmandu is – Nepalese rupee

98. The Country of Amsterdam is – Netherlands

99. The Currency of Wellington is – New Zealand dollar

100. The Capital of Gold cordoba is – Managua

List Of Country , Capital & Currencies Quiz Read More »

General Knowledge, MCQs / Q&A, World

Slovakia Quiz

MCQs / Q&A, World / admin

Slovakia Quiz Questions

Flag of Slovakia

1. When did Slovakia become independent?
a) 1 January 1993
b) 24 May 1983
c) 12 September 1949
d) 14 November 1951

2. When did Slovakia join EU and NATO?
a) 1961
b) 1954
c) 2004
d) 1945

3. With which country was Slovakia in federation in 1918-1992?
a) Belarus
b) Czech Republic
c) Macedonia
d) Ukraine

4. Which country is to the south of Slovakia?
a) Austria
b) Hungary
c) Poland
d) Germany

5. Which is the capital of Slovakia?
a) Nitra
b) Bratislava
c) Presov
d) Zilina

6. Who was Slovakia’s president in 1996?
a) Michal Kovac
b) Ivan Lexa
c) Ludovit Hudek
d) Tatiana Repkova

7. Who was Slovakia’s prime minister in 2005?
a) Lubomer Lintner
b) Mikulas Dzurinda
c) Pavol Rusko
d) Rudolf Chmel

8. What is the height of Gerlachovsky Peak?
a) 5,234 feet
b) 4,162 feet
c) 9,603 feet
d) 8,711 feet

9. Which is the official language of Slovakia?
a) German
b) Italian
c) Slovak
d) French

10. What is the area of Slovakia?
a) 17,266 sq. mi.
b) 18,933 sq. mi.
c) 24,506 sq. mi.
d) 32,465 sq. mi.

Slovakia Quiz Questions with Answers

1. When did Slovakia become independent?
a) 1 January 1993

2. When did Slovakia join EU and NATO?
c) 2004

3. With which country was Slovakia in federation in 1918-1992?
b) Czech Republic

4. Which country is to the south of Slovakia?
b) Hungary

5. Which is the capital of Slovakia?
b) Bratislava

6. Who was Slovakia’s president in 1996?
a) Michal Kovac

7. Who was Slovakia’s prime minister in 2005?
b) Mikulas Dzurinda

8. What is the height of Gerlachovsky Peak?
d) 8,711 feet

9. Which is the official language of Slovakia?
c) Slovak

10. What is the area of Slovakia?
b) 18,933 sq. mi.

Slovakia Quiz Read More »

MCQs / Q&A, World

PPSC JUNIOR PATROL OFFICER PAST PAPERS 2017

MCQs / Q&A, Past Papers / admin

JUNIOR PATROL OFFICER PAST PAPERS PPSC 2017

Tarbela Dam is on ______ River.

Indus

Jhelum

Ravi

None of these

Who is Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtoon Khawah (KPK)?

Pavez Khatak

Imran Khan

Ameer Haidar Khan Hoti

None of these

Which personality represented Pakistan in UNO?

Patras Bukhari

Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Perveen Shakar

Munir Niazi

Durand Line is between

Pakistan and Afghanistan

Pakistan and China

Pakistan and Iran

Pakistan and India

How many Round Table Conferences were held?

Who wrote “Friends, Not Masters”?

Ayub Khan

Zia-ul-Haq

Zulifqar Ali Bhutto

Quaid-e-Azam

Youm-e-Takbeer is celebrated on the 28th of May each year in commemoration of

Nuclear Test

Independence Day

Day of Deliverance

None of these

When first constitution of Pakistan was enacted?

1956

1962

1973

None of these

Indus Basin Treaty was held in the reign of

Ayub Khan

Zia-ul-Haq

Yahya Khan

Zulifqar Ali Bhutto

Dia Mir Bhasha Day is in

Gilgit

Chitral

Mansehra

Peshawar

Quran revealed in _________ years.

When Holy Prophet (PBUH) died?

632 AD

633 AD

635 AD

630 AD

Who founded Baghdad?

Al-Mansur

Haroon-ur-Rashid

Mamoon-ur-Rashid

None of these

Who wrote Spirit of Islam?

Syed Ameer Ali

Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Ch. Rehmat Ali

Which province of Pakistan is least populated?

Balochistan

Punjab

Sindh

Khybar Pakhtoon Khawa

Who introduced “Basic Democracy” for the first time in Pakistan?

Ayub Khan

Yahya Khan

Zulifqar Ali Bhutto

Zia-ul-Haq

Which of the following was the Ottoman capital?

Constantinople

Baghdad

Cairo

None of these

The tribe of Hazrat Usman (R.A) was

Omayyad

Adi

Banu Tameem

None of these

Who was called Conqueror of Egypt (Fateh Misr)?

Hazrat Sa’ad Bin Abi Waqas (R.A)

Hazrat Ali (R.A)

Hazrat Khalid Bin Walid (R.A)

Hazrat Umar (R.A)

Najashi was the king of

Ethiopia

Iran

Syria

Yemen

Muhammad Bin Qasim is closely related to

Hajjaj Bin Yousaf

Haroon Rashid

Mamoon Rashid

Salah-ud-Din Ayubi

How many chapters (Parahs) in Quran?

114

Who was the first Muslim King of India?

Qutab-ud-Din Aibak

Muhammad bin Qasim

Babar

None of these

River Tigris is in

Iraq

Iran

Egypt

Syria

Ushr is

1/10th

1/20th

1/25th

1/40th

Who wrote Kitab-ul-Hind?

Al-Beroni

Ibn-ul-Haitham

Ibn-e-Batoota

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Who was named as Saif-Ullah?

Hazrat Khalid Bin Waleed (R.A)

Hazrat Ali (R.A)

Hazrat Umar (R.A)

Hazrat Sa’ad Bin Abi Waqas (R.A)

Nature of Novels of Nasim Hijazi is

Historical

Political

Romantic

Social

Native country of Alexander is

Macedonia

Iraq

Abyssinia

Syria

Theory of Evolution is associated with

Darwin

Mandal

Robin

None of these

Sherlock Holmes is associated with

Arthur Conan Doyle

Jonathan Aims

Nancy Drew

Tom Swift

Taliban recently opened their office in

Doha

Abu Dhabi

Dubai

Muscat

American President Barrack Obama’s political party is

Democrates

Republican

Labour

None of these

Currently, GST in Pakistan is

17%

15%

16%

18%

Who has portfolio of Defense?

Nawaz Sharif

Sartaj Aziz

Zahid Hamid

Ch. Nisar Ali Khan

Who is president of Iran?

Hussan Rohani

Mahmoud Ahmdinejad

Ali Khameni

None of these

Al-Taqseem Square is in

Istanbul

Cairo

Islamabad

Tunis City

ICC Championship was played in

England

India

Sri Lank

West Indies

Titanic is

Ship

Aeroplan

Supersonic Fighter Jet

Bullet Train

Who was the president of America, during the American Civil War?

Abraham Lincoln

George Washington

J.F Kennedy

George W. Bush Senior

Third Marshal Law in Pakistan was imposed on

5 July 1977

4 July 1977

6 July 1977

7 July 1977

Which of the following Muslims was Pan-Islamism during 19th Century?

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Syed Ameer Ali

Maulana Muhammad Ali Johar

Sir Agha Kan

Who is president of Syria?

Bashar al-Assad

Abdul Halim Khaddam

Husni Mubarak

Muhammad Mursi

Which of the following American presidents was killed?

F. Kennedy

Richard Nixon

George Washington

None of these

Aswan Dam is in

Egypt

Iran

Iraq

Saudi Arabia

Who gifted Statue of Liberity to the United States of America

France

Germany

Israel

Great Britain

Prague is capital of

Czech Republic

Poland

Hungry

Iceland

Which of following Islamic countries has 2500 islands?

Indonesia

Malaysia

Sudan

Saudi Arabia

Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated in

War of Waterloo

War of Buxor

War of Plassey

None of these

Who is incumbent British Prime Minister?

David Cameron

Tony Blair

Barack Obama

None of these

Who compiled Guru Granth?

Guru Nanak

Guru Amardas

Guru Ramdas

Guru Karishn

Who compiled Guru Granth?

Guru Nanak

Guru Amardas

Guru Ramdas

Guru Karishn

Mother Teresa was

Social Worker

Politician

Musician

President

Which of the following kings was assassinated?

Martin Luther King

Julius Caesar

Alexander

Napoleon Bonaparte

By profession, Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh is

Economist

Scientist

Doctor

Lawyer

Which was the capital of British Indian before Delhi?

Kolkata

Mumbai

Madras

Bangal

Torah is associated with

Hazrat Musa A.S

Hazrat Dawood A.S

Hazrat Musa A.S

None of these

Who is founder of All India Congress?

O Hume

Nehro

Gandhi

None of these

Naqsh-e-Faryadi is written by

Faiz Ahmad Faiz

Ahmad Sarfraz

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

Allama Iqbal

Yen is currency of

Japan

China

Hong Kong

South Korea

Pelle was famous player of

Footbal

Hockey

Cricket

Tannis

Old name of Netherlands is

Holland

Iceland

Federland

Land of Republic

In Roman counting, XV is

Confucius is ancient philosopher of

China

Greek

Russia

America

UNO Head quarter is located in

New York

Washington

London

Paris

Mohanjo Daro is in

Sindh

Punjab

KPK

Balochistan

Who introduced the Law of Motion?

Newton

Feraday

Fleming

Einstein

Dermatology is disease of

Skin

Lungs

Heart

Brain

Who introduced Principle of Gravity?

Newton

Einstein

Mandal

Ashamedas

Solar eclipse occurs when

Moon comes between Earth and Sun

Earth comes between Moon and Sun

Earth, Moon and Sun are in same line

None of these

Who was the first man at moon?

Neil Armstrong

Yuri Gagarin

Buzz Aldrin

None of these

Rain fall in measured with

Rain Gauge

Rain Rode

Rain Meter

Hydro Meter

Who is inventor of computer operating system “Windows”?

Bill Gates

Malinda Gates

Steve Jobs

Larry Page

Bronchitis is associated with

Lungs

Heart

Brain

Respirator Cavity

A person or group made to bear the blame for others or to suffer in their place

Scapegoat

Sufferer

Victim

None of these

On doing it daily, the task soon became a leisurely.

Routine

Programme

Task

Work

Pick up the nearly associated word of “To be at arm’s length”

Distance

Work

Sight

Body

Turn on one’s heel mean to return

Quickly

Sharply

Instantly

None of these

Shortsightedness is

Myopia

Hydrophobia

Hyperopia

None of these

Calculate: 9999+8888+777-?=19700

Calculate: 0.8+0.05+0.369+0.7683=?

1.9873

1.9573

1.7398

1.9078

Calculate: 6.837+3.1469=?

9.9839

8.2445

Calculate: 15-6.837-3.1469=?

5.0161

4.0161

6.0161

Ali earns Rs. 20.56 on first day, Rs. 32.90 on second and Rs. 20.78 on third day of week. If he spend half of the amount he earned in first three days of week, find out the remaining amount.

Rs. 37.12

Rs. 37

Rs. 35.12

Rs.36.12

Solve: Under Root of 10 x Under Root of 250

100

Find out the highest ratio

7:15

9:15

25:29

18:24

If 314 men print 6594 papers in 10 minutes, then find out the average printing of each man in 1 minute.

2.1

3.1

Calculate: 4.56+3.82+5.06=?

13.44

14.44

12.44

11.44

Solve: 0.8/10=?

0.08

How many figures up to 100 can be divided by 7?

Water is _________ for life.

Indispensable

Inevitable

Needed

Required

Objective Resolution was passed in

1949

1940

1950

1947

First General Elections were held on in Pakistan in

1970

1985

1998

1957

Deficit Financing is

Printing new currency

Paying back loan

Brain drain

None of these

Alexander’s native land is

Macedonia

Germany

Italy

Britain

There are how many planets in universe?

Jabir Bin Hayan was a famous Muslim __________.

Chemist

Physicist

Discoverer

Teacher

I will not join Army as it is against my

Creed

Ethics

Beliefs

Taste

I will not be ________ to the mistakes made by him.

Answerable

Indispensable

Reliable

Accountable

PPSC JUNIOR PATROL OFFICER PAST PAPERS 2017 Read More »

MCQs / Q&A, Past Papers

czech republic

March 12- History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

March 12 in History

Births on March 12

Deaths on March 12

Holidays and observances on March 12

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

January 19 in History

Births on January 19

Deaths on January 19

Holidays and observances on January 19

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

January 17 in History

Births on January 17

Deaths on January 17

Holidays and observances on January 17

January 1 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

January 1 in History

Julian calendar:

Gregorian calendar:

Events on January 1

Pre-Julian Roman calendar

Early Julian calendar (before Augustus’ leap year correction)

Julian calendar

Gregorian calendar

Births on January 1

Deaths on January 1

Holidays and observances on January 1

General Knowledge, World’s Longest, Largest and Smallest

Slovakia Quiz

Slovakia Quiz Questions

Slovakia Quiz Questions with Answers

PPSC JUNIOR PATROL OFFICER PAST PAPERS 2017

JUNIOR PATROL OFFICER PAST PAPERS PPSC 2017