January 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

661 – The Rashidun Caliphate is effectively ended with the assassination of Ali, the last caliph.
945 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown and forced to become monks by Constantine VII, who becomes the sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
1500 – Vicente Yáñez Pinzón becomes the first European to set foot on Brazil.
1531 – The 6.4–7.1 M_w Lisbon earthquake kills about thirty thousand people.
1564 – The Council of Trent establishes an official distinction between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism.
1564 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Tsardom of Russia in the Battle of Ula during the Livonian War.
1565 – Battle of Talikota, fought between the Vijayanagara Empire and the Deccan sultanates, leads to the subjugation, and eventual destruction of the last Hindu kingdom in India, and the consolidation of Islamic rule over much of the Indian subcontinent.
1699 – For the first time, the Ottoman Empire permanently cedes territory to the Christian powers.
1700 – The 8.7–9.2 M_w Cascadia earthquake takes place off the west coast of North America, as evidenced by Japanese records.
1736 – Stanislaus I of Poland abdicates his throne.
1788 – The British First Fleet, led by Arthur Phillip, sails into Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour) to establish Sydney, the first permanent European settlement on Australia. Commemorated as Australia Day.
1808 – The Rum Rebellion is the only successful (albeit short-lived) armed takeover of the government in New South Wales.
1837 – Michigan is admitted as the 26th U.S. state.
1838 – Tennessee enacts the first prohibition law in the United States.
1841 – James Bremer takes formal possession of Hong Kong Island at what is now Possession Point, establishing British Hong Kong.
1855 – Point No Point Treaty is signed in Washington Territory.
1856 – First Battle of Seattle. Marines from the USS Decatur drive off American Indian attackers after all day battle with settlers.
1861 – American Civil War: The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union.
1863 – American Civil War: General Ambrose Burnside is relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac after the disastrous Fredericksburg campaign. He is replaced by Joseph Hooker.
1863 – American Civil War: Governor of Massachusetts John Albion Andrew receives permission from the Secretary of War to raise a militia organization for men of African descent.
1870 – Reconstruction Era: Virginia rejoins the Union.
1885 – Troops loyal to The Mahdi conquer Khartoum, killing the Governor-General Charles George Gordon.
1905 – The world’s largest diamond ever, the Cullinan weighing 3,106.75 carats (0.621350 kg), is found at the Premier Mine near Pretoria in South Africa.
1911 – Glenn Curtiss flies the first successful American seaplane.
1915 – The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
1918 – Finnish Civil War: A group of Red Guards hangs a red lantern atop the tower of Helsinki Workers’ Hall to symbolically mark the start of the war.
1920 – Former Ford Motor Company executive Henry Leland launches the Lincoln Motor Company which he later sold to his former employer.
1926 – The first demonstration of the television by John Logie Baird.
1930 – The Indian National Congress declares 26 January as Independence Day or as the day for Poorna Swaraj (“Complete Independence”) which occurred 17 years later.
1934 – The Apollo Theater reopens in Harlem, New York City.
1934 – German-Polish Non-Aggression Pact is signed.
1939 – Spanish Civil War: Catalonia Offensive: Troops loyal to nationalist General Francisco Franco and aided by Italy take Barcelona.
1942 – World War II: The first United States forces arrive in Europe landing in Northern Ireland.
1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins encircling the German Fourth Army near Heiligenbeil in East Prussia, which will end in destruction of the 4th Army two months later.
1945 – World War II: Audie Murphy displays valor and bravery in action for which he will later be awarded the Medal of Honor.
1949 – The Hale telescope at Palomar Observatory sees first light under the direction of Edwin Hubble, becoming the largest aperture optical telescope (until BTA-6 is built in 1976).
1950 – The Constitution of India comes into force, forming a republic. Rajendra Prasad is sworn in as its first President of India. Observed as Republic Day in India.
1952 – Black Saturday in Egypt: rioters burn Cairo’s central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
1956 – the Soviet Union cedes Porkkala back to Finland.
1961 – John F. Kennedy appoints Janet G. Travell to be the first woman Physician to the President.
1962 – Ranger 3 is launched to study the Moon. The space probe later misses the moon by 22,000 miles (35,400 km).
1965 – Hindi becomes the official language of India.
1972 – JAT Fight 367 is destroyed by a terrorist bomb, killing 27 of the 28 people on board the DC-9. Flight attendant Vesna Vulović survives with critical injuries.
1980 – Egypt–Israel relations are formally established.
1986 – The Ugandan government of Tito Okello is overthrown by the National Resistance Army, led by Yoweri Museveni.
1991 – Mohamed Siad Barre is removed from power in Somalia, ending centralized government, and is succeeded by Ali Mahdi.
1992 – Boris Yeltsin announces that Russia will stop targeting United States cities with nuclear weapons.
1998 – Lewinsky scandal: On American television, U.S. President Bill Clinton denies having had “sexual relations” with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
2001 – The 7.7 M_w Gujarat earthquake shakes Western India with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), leaving 13,805–20,023 dead and about 166,800 injured.
2009 – Rioting breaks out in Antananarivo, Madagascar, sparking a political crisis that will result in the replacement of President Marc Ravalomanana with Andry Rajoelina.
2015 – An aircraft crashes at Los Llanos Air Base in Albacete, Spain, killing 11 people and injuring 21 others.
2020 – A Sikorsky S-76B flying from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport crashes in Calabasas, 30 miles west of Los Angeles, killing all nine people on board including former five time NBA champion Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Bryant.

Births on January 26

183 – Lady Zhen, wife of Cao Pi (d. 221)
1436 – Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, Lancastrian military commander (d. 1464)
1467 – Guillaume Budé, French scholar (d. 1540)
1495 – Emperor Go-Nara of Japan (d. 1557)
1541 – Florent Chrestien, French poet and translator (d. 1596)
1549 – Jakob Ebert, German theologian (d. 1614)
1582 – Giovanni Lanfranco, Italian painter (d. 1647)
1595 – Antonio Maria Abbatini, Italian composer (d. 1679)
1624 – George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1705)
1657 – William Wake, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1737)
1708 – William Hayes, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1777)
1714 – Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor and educator (d. 1785)
1715 – Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d. 1771)
1716 – George Germain, 1st Viscount Sackville, English general and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (d. 1785)
1722 – Alexander Carlyle, Scottish minister and author (d. 1805)
1763 – Charles XIV John of Sweden (d. 1844)
1781 – Ludwig Achim von Arnim, German poet and author (d. 1831)
1813 – Juan Pablo Duarte, Dominican philosopher and poet (d. 1876)
1824 – Emil Czyrniański, Polish chemist (d. 1888)
1832 – George Shiras, Jr., American lawyer and jurist (d. 1924)
1842 – François Coppée, French poet and author (d. 1908)
1852 – Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, Italian-French explorer (d. 1905)
1857 – 12th Dalai Lama (d. 1875)
1861 – Louis Anquetin, French painter (d. 1932)
1864 – József Pusztai, Slovene-Hungarian poet and journalist (d. 1934)
1866 – John Cady, American golfer (d. 1933)
1877 – Kees van Dongen, Dutch painter (d. 1968)
1878 – Dave Nourse, English-South African cricketer and coach (d. 1948)
1880 – Douglas MacArthur, American general, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1964)
1885 – Michael Considine, Irish-Australian politician (d. 1959)
1885 – Harry Ricardo, English engineer and academic (d. 1974)
1885 – Per Thorén, Swedish figure skater (d. 1962)
1887 – François Faber, French-Luxembourgian cyclist (d. 1915)
1887 – Marc Mitscher, American admiral and pilot (d. 1947)
1887 – Dimitris Pikionis, Greek architect and academic (d. 1968)
1891 – Frank Costello, Italian-American mob boss (d. 1973)
1891 – August Froehlich, German priest and martyr (d. 1942)
1891 – Wilder Penfield, American-Canadian neurosurgeon and academic (d. 1976)
1892 – Bessie Coleman, American pilot (d. 1926)
1893 – Giuseppe Genco Russo, Italian mob boss (d. 1976)
1899 – Günther Reindorff, Russian-Estonian graphic designer and illustrator (d. 1974)
1900 – Karl Ristenpart, German conductor (d. 1967)
1902 – Menno ter Braak, Dutch author (d. 1940)
1904 – Ancel Keys, American physiologist and nutritionist (d. 2004)
1904 – Seán MacBride, Irish lawyer and politician, Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
1905 – Charles Lane, American actor and singer (d. 2007)
1905 – Maria von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 1987)
1907 – Henry Cotton, English golfer (d. 1987)
1907 – Dimitrios Holevas, Greek priest and philologist (d. 2001)
1908 – Jill Esmond, English actress (d. 1990)
1908 – Rupprecht Geiger, German painter and sculptor (d. 2009)
1908 – Stéphane Grappelli, French violinist (d. 1997)
1910 – Jean Image, Hungarian-French animator, director, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
1911 – Polykarp Kusch, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1993)
1911 – Norbert Schultze, German composer and conductor (d. 2002)
1913 – Jimmy Van Heusen, American pianist and composer (d. 1990)
1914 – Dürrüşehvar Sultan, Imperial Princess of the Ottoman Empire (d. 2006)
1915 – William Hopper, American actor (d. 1970)
1917 – Louis Zamperini, American runner and captain (d. 2014)
1918 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian dictator, 1st President of Romania (d. 1989)
1918 – Philip José Farmer, American author (d. 2009)
1919 – Valentino Mazzola, Italian footballer (d. 1949)
1919 – Bill Nicholson, English footballer and manager (d. 2004)
1919 – Hyun Soong-jong, South Korean politician, 24th Prime Minister of South Korea (d. 2020)
1920 – Hans Holzer, Austrian-American paranormal researcher and author (d. 2009)
1921 – Eddie Barclay, French record producer, founded Barclay Records (d. 2005)
1921 – Akio Morita, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (d. 1999)
1922 – Michael Bentine, English actor and screenwriter (d. 1996)
1922 – Seán Flanagan, Irish footballer and politician, 7th Irish Minister for Health (d. 1993)
1922 – Gil Merrick, English footballer (d. 2010)
1923 – Patrick J. Hannifin, American admiral (d. 2014)
1923 – Anne Jeffreys, American actress and singer (d. 2017)
1924 – Alice Babs, Swedish singer and actress (b. 1924)
1924 – Annette Strauss, American philanthropist and politician, Mayor of Dallas (d. 1998)
1925 – David Jenkins, English bishop and theologian (d. 2016)
1925 – Joan Leslie, American actress (d. 2015)
1925 – Paul Newman, American actor, activist, director, race car driver, and businessman, co-founded Newman’s Own (d. 2008)
1925 – Ben Pucci, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2013)
1925 – Claude Ryan, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2004)
1926 – Farman Fatehpuri, Pakistani linguist and scholar (d. 2013)
1926 – Joseph Bacon Fraser, Jr., American architect and businessman, co-founded the Sea Pines Company (d. 2014)
1927 – José Azcona del Hoyo, Honduran businessman and politician, President of Honduras (d. 2005)
1927 – Bob Nieman, American baseball player and scout (d. 1985)
1927 – Hubert Schieth, German footballer and manager (d. 2013)
1928 – Roger Vadim, French actor and director (d. 2000)
1929 – Jules Feiffer, American cartoonist, playwright, screenwriter, and educator
1934 – Roger Landry, Canadian businessman and publisher (d. 2020)
1934 – Charles Marowitz, American director, playwright, and critic (d. 2014)
1934 – Huey “Piano” Smith, American pianist and songwriter
1934 – Bob Uecker, American baseball player, sportscaster and actor
1935 – Corrado Augias, Italian journalist and politician
1935 – Henry Jordan, American football player (d. 1977)
1935 – Paula Rego, Portuguese-born British visual artist
1936 – Sal Buscema, American illustrator
1937 – Joseph Saidu Momoh, Sierra Leonean soldier and politician, 2nd President of Sierra Leone (d. 2003)
1937 – Francisco Gonzales, former 1960 Summer Olympics yachting team member and murderer
1938 – Henry Jaglom, English-American director and screenwriter
1940 – Séamus Hegarty, Irish bishop
1940 – Frank Large, English footballer, centre forward and cricketer (d. 2003)
1943 – César Gutiérrez, Venezuelan baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
1943 – Jack Warner, Trinidadian businessman and politician
1944 – Angela Davis, American activist, academic, and author
1944 – Jerry Sandusky, American football coach and criminal
1945 – Jacqueline du Pré, English cellist (d. 1987)
1945 – David Purley, English race car driver (d. 1985)
1946 – Christopher Hampton, Portuguese-English director, screenwriter, and playwright
1946 – Gene Siskel, American journalist and film critic (d. 1999)
1946 – Susan Friedlander, American mathematician
1947 – Patrick Dewaere, French actor and composer (d. 1982)
1947 – Les Ebdon, English chemist and academic
1947 – Redmond Morris, 4th Baron Killanin, Irish director, producer, and production manager
1947 – Michel Sardou, French singer-songwriter and actor
1948 – Alda Facio, Costa Rican jurist, writer and teacher
1949 – Jonathan Carroll, American author
1949 – David Strathairn, American actor
1950 – Jörg Haider, Austrian lawyer and politician, Governor of Carinthia (d. 2008)
1951 – David Briggs, Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1951 – Andy Hummel, American singer-songwriter and bass player (d. 2010)
1951 – Anne Mills, English economist and academic
1953 – Alik L. Alik, Micronesian politician, 7th Vice President of the Federated States of Micronesia
1953 – Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Danish politician and diplomat, 39th Prime Minister of Denmark
1953 – Lucinda Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1954 – Kim Hughes, Australian cricketer
1955 – Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
1957 – Road Warrior Hawk, American wrestler (d. 2003)
1958 – Anita Baker, American singer-songwriter
1958 – Ellen DeGeneres, American comedian, actress, and talk show host
1961 – Wayne Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1961 – Tom Keifer, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Guo Jian, Chinese-Australian painter, sculptor, and photographer
1962 – Tim May, Australian cricketer
1962 – Oscar Ruggeri, Argentinian footballer and manager
1963 – José Mourinho, Portuguese footballer and manager
1963 – Simon O’Donnell, Australian footballer, cricketer, and sportscaster
1963 – Tony Parks, English footballer and manager
1963 – Andrew Ridgeley, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – Adam Crozier, Scottish businessman
1965 – Thomas Östros, Swedish businessman and politician
1965 – Natalia Yurchenko, Russian gymnast and coach
1966 – Kazushige Nagashima, Japanese baseball player and sportscaster
1967 – Anatoly Komm, Russian chef and businessman
1967 – Col Needham, English businessman, co-founded Internet Movie Database
1968 – Jupiter Apple, Brazilian singer-songwriter, film director, and actor (d. 2015)
1969 – George Dikeoulakos, Greek-Romanian basketball player and coach
1970 – Kirk Franklin, American singer-songwriter and producer
1973 – Larissa Lowing, Canadian artistic gymnast
1973 – Melvil Poupaud, French actor, director, and screenwriter
1973 – Brendan Rodgers, Northern Irish footballer and manager
1973 – Mayu Shinjo, Japanese author and illustrator
1977 – Vince Carter, American basketball player
1977 – Justin Gimelstob, American tennis player and coach
1978 – Corina Morariu, American tennis player and sportscaster
1981 – José de Jesús Corona, Mexican footballer
1981 – Gustavo Dudamel, Venezuelan violinist, composer, and conductor
1981 – Juan José Haedo, Argentinian cyclist
1981 – Colin O’Donoghue, Irish actor
1982 – Reggie Hodges, American football player
1983 – Petri Oravainen, Finnish footballer
1983 – Eric Werner, American ice hockey player
1984 – Ryan Hoffman, Australian rugby league player
1984 – Iain Turner, Scottish footballer
1984 – Luo Xuejuan, Chinese swimmer
1985 – Heather Stanning, English rower
1986 – Gerald Green, American basketball player
1986 – Kim Jae-joong, South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, director and designer.
1986 – Mustapha Yatabaré, French-Malian footballer
1987 – Sebastian Giovinco, Italian footballer
1988 – Dimitrios Chondrokoukis, Greek high jumper
1989 – MarShon Brooks, American basketball player
1989 – Emily Hughes, American figure skater
1990 – Sergio Pérez, Mexican race car driver
1990 – Peter Sagan, Slovak professional cyclist
1990 – Nina Zander, German tennis player
1991 – Tom Meechan, English footballer
1992 – Sasha Banks, American professional wrestler
1993 – Lana Clelland, Scottish footballer
1993 – Florian Thauvin, French footballer
1995 – Sione Katoa, New Zealand rugby league player
1997 – Gedion Zelalem, German-born American soccer player
2001 – Latalia Bevan, Welsh artistic gymnast

Deaths on January 26

724 – Yazid II, Umayyad caliph (b. 687)
738 – John of Dailam, Syrian monk and saint (b. 660)
910 – Luo Yin, Chinese statesman and poet
946 – Eadgyth, Queen consort of Germany (b.c 910)
1186 – Ismat ad-Din Khatun, wife of Saladin
1390 – Adolph IX, Count of Holstein-Kiel (b.c 1327)
1567 – Nicholas Wotton, English courtier and diplomat (b. 1497)
1568 – Lady Catherine Grey, Countess of Hertford (b. 1540)
1620 – Amar Singh I, ruler of Mewar (b. 1559)
1630 – Henry Briggs, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1556)
1636 – Jean Hotman, Marquis de Villers-St-Paul, French diplomat (b. 1552)
1641 – Lawrence Hyde, English lawyer (b. 1562)
1697 – Georg Mohr, Danish mathematician and theorist (b. 1640)
1744 – Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller, Austrian field marshal (b. 1683)
1750 – Albert Schultens, Dutch philologist and academic (b. 1686)
1779 – Thomas Hudson, English painter (b. 1701)
1795 – Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach, German harpsichord player and composer (b. 1732)
1799 – Gabriel Christie, Scottish general (b. 1722)
1823 – Edward Jenner, English physician and immunologist (b. 1749)
1824 – Théodore Géricault, French painter and lithographer (b. 1791)
1831 – Sangolli Rayanna, Indian soldier (b. 1798)
1831 – Anton Delvig, Russian poet and journalist (b. 1798)
1849 – Thomas Lovell Beddoes, English poet, playwright, and physician (b. 1803)
1855 – Gérard de Nerval, French poet and translator (b. 1808)
1860 – Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient, opera singer (b. 1804)
1869 – Duncan Gordon Boyes, English soldier; Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1846)
1870 – Victor de Broglie, French politician, 9th Prime Minister of France (b. 1785)
1885 – Edward Davy, English-Australian physician and engineer (b. 1806)
1885 – Charles George Gordon, English general and politician (b. 1833)
1886 – David Rice Atchison, American general and politician (b. 1807)
1887 – Anandi Gopal Joshi, One of the first female Indian physicians (b. 1865)
1891 – Nicolaus Otto, German engineer, invented the Internal combustion engine (b. 1833)
1893 – Abner Doubleday, American general (b. 1819)
1895 – Arthur Cayley, English mathematician and academic (b. 1825)
1904 – Whitaker Wright, English businessman (b. 1846)
1926 – John Flannagan, American priest and academic (b. 1860)
1932 – William Wrigley, Jr., American businessman, founded the Wrigley Company (b. 1861)
1942 – Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician and academic (b. 1868)
1943 – Harry H. Laughlin, American sociologist and eugenicist (b. 1880)
1943 – Nikolai Vavilov, Russian botanist and geneticist (b. 1887)
1946 – Oskar Kallas, Estonian linguist and diplomat (b. 1868)
1946 – Adriaan van Maanen, Dutch-American astronomer and academic (b. 1884)
1947 – Grace Moore, American soprano and actress (b. 1898)
1948 – Kâzım Karabekir, Turkish general and politician, 5th Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (b. 1882)
1948 – Fred Conrad Koch, American biochemist and endocrinologist (born 1876)
1948 – John Lomax, American musicologist and academic (b. 1867)
1952 – Khorloogiin Choibalsan, Mongolian general and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Mongolia (b. 1895)
1953 – Athanase David, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1882)
1957 – Helene Costello, American actress (b. 1906)
1962 – Lucky Luciano, Italian-American mob boss (b. 1897)
1968 – Merrill C. Meigs, American publisher (b. 1883)
1973 – Edward G. Robinson, Romanian-American actor (b. 1893)
1975 – Donald Sheldon, American bush pilot (b. 1921)
1976 – João Branco Núncio, Portuguese bullfighter (b. 1901)
1977 – Filopimin Finos, Greek production manager and producer, founded Finos Film (b. 1908)
1979 – Nelson Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 41st Vice President of the United States (b. 1908)
1980 – Simon Kapwepwe, Zambian politician, 2nd Vice President of Zambia (b. 1922)
1983 – Bear Bryant, American football player and coach (b. 1913)
1985 – Kenny Clarke, American jazz drummer and bandleader (b. 1914)
1990 – Bob Gerard, English race car driver and businessman (b. 1914)
1990 – Lewis Mumford, American sociologist and historian (b. 1895)
1992 – José Ferrer, Puerto Rican-American actor (b. 1912)
1993 – Jan Gies, Dutch businessman and humanitarian (b. 1905)
1993 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and painter (b. 1912)
1993 – Jeanne Sauvé, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Governor General of Canada (b. 1922)
1996 – Georg Alexander, Duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1921)
1996 – Harold Brodkey, American author and academic (b. 1930)
1996 – Frank Howard, American football player and coach (b. 1909)
1996 – Henry Lewis, American bassist and conductor (b. 1932)
1997 – Jeane Dixon, American astrologer and psychic (b. 1904)
2000 – Don Budge, American tennis player and coach (b. 1915)
2000 – Kathleen Hale, English author and illustrator (b. 1898)
2000 – A. E. van Vogt, Canadian-American author (b. 1912)
2001 – Al McGuire, American basketball player and coach (b. 1928)
2003 – Valeriy Brumel, Russian high jumper (b. 1942)
2003 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian and academic (b. 1917)
2003 – George Younger, 4th Viscount Younger of Leckie, Scottish banker and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland (b. 1931)
2004 – Fred Haas, American golfer (b. 1916)
2006 – Khan Abdul Wali Khan, Pakistani politician (b. 1917)
2007 – Gump Worsley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1929)
2008 – Viktor Schreckengost, American sculptor and designer (b. 1906)
2010 – Louis Auchincloss, American novelist and essayist (b. 1917)
2011 – David Kato Kisule, Ugandan teacher and LGBT rights activist, considered a father of Uganda’s gay rights movement (b. 1964)
2011 – Charlie Louvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1927)
2012 – Roberto Mieres, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1924)
2013 – Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (b. 1929)
2013 – Stefan Kudelski, Polish-Swiss engineer, invented the Nagra (b. 1929)
2013 – Padma Kant Shukla, Indian physicist and academic (b. 1950)
2013 – Shōtarō Yasuoka, Japanese author (b. 1920)
2014 – Tom Gola, American basketball player, coach, and politician (b. 1933)
2014 – Paula Gruden, Slovenian-Australian poet and translator (b. 1921)
2014 – José Emilio Pacheco, Mexican poet and author (b. 1939)
2014 – Ralph T. Troy, American banker and politician (b. 1935)
2015 – Cleven “Goodie” Goudeau, American art director and cartoonist (b. 1932)
2015 – Tom Uren, Australian soldier and politician (b. 1921)
2016 – Sahabzada Yaqub Khan, Pakistani politician and diplomat, 14th Pakistani Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1920)
2016 – Abe Vigoda, American actor (b. 1921)
2017 – Mike Connors, American actor (b. 1925)
2017 – Tam Dalyell, Scottish politician (b. 1932)
2017 – Lindy Delapenha, Jamaican footballer and sports journalist (b. 1927)
2017 – Barbara Hale, American actress (b. 1922)
2020 – John Altobelli, American college baseball coach (b. 1963)
2020 – Kobe Bryant, American basketball player (b. 1978)

Holidays and observances on January 26

Christian feast day:
- Alberic
- Founders of Cîteaux (Alberic of Cîteaux, Robert of Molesme, Stephen Harding)
- Blessed Gabriele Allegra
- Paula
- Timothy and Titus
- January 26 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Australia Day (Australia)
Duarte Day (Dominican Republic)
Engineer’s Day (Panama)
International Customs Day
Liberation Day (Uganda)
Republic Day (India)

January 26 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

AD 41 – Claudius is proclaimed Roman Emperor by the Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew Caligula.
914 – Start of the First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
1438 – The Council of Basel suspends Pope Eugene IV.
1458 – Matthias Corvinus is elected King of Hungary.
1536 – King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence.
1679 – King Charles II of England dissolves the Cavalier Parliament.
1742 – Charles VII Albert becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
1758 – During the Seven Years’ War the leading burghers of Königsberg submit to Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming Russian Prussia (until 1763).
1817 – Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the Action of Picheuta.
1835 – Slaves in Salvador da Bahia, Brazil, stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.
1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento.
1857 – The University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in South Asia.
1859 – The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
1900 – Second Boer War: Boers stop a British attempt to break the Siege of Ladysmith in the Battle of Spion Kop.
1908 – The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.
1915 – World War I: British Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral Franz von Hipper’s battle cruisers in the Battle of Dogger Bank.
1916 – In Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., the Supreme Court of the United States declares the federal income tax constitutional.
1918 – The Gregorian calendar is introduced in Russia by decree of the Council of People’s Commissars effective February 14 (New Style).
1933 – The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.
1939 – The deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.
1942 – World War II: The Allies bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.
1943 – World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill conclude a conference in Casablanca.
1946 – The United Nations General Assembly passes its first resolution to establish the United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
1960 – Algerian War: Some units of European volunteers in Algiers stage an insurrection known as the “barricades week”, during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.
1968 – Vietnam War: The 1st Australian Task Force launches Operation Coburg against the North Vietnamese Army and Viet Cong during wider fighting around Long Bình and Biên Hòa.
1972 – Japanese Sgt. Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a Guam jungle, where he had been since the end of World War II.
1977 – The Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.
1978 – Soviet satellite Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth’s atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada’s Northwest Territories. Only 1% is recovered.
1984 – Apple Computer places the Macintosh personal computer on sale in the United States.
1989 – Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, is executed by the electric chair at the Florida State Prison.
1990 – Japan launches Hiten, the country’s first lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the Soviet Union’s Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
2003 – The United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
2009 – Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near Bordeaux, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
2011 – At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport.

Births on January 24

AD 76 – Hadrian, Roman emperor (d. 138)
1287 – Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1345)
1444 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1476)
1540 – Edmund Campion, English priest and martyr (d. 1581)
1547 – Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Austrian Archduchess (d. 1578)
1602 – Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, English politician (d. 1666)
1619 – Yamazaki Ansai, Japanese philosopher (d. 1682)
1643 – Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and politician, Lord Chamberlain of Great Britain (d. 1706)
1664 – John Vanbrugh, English architect and dramatist (d. 1726)
1670 – William Congreve, English playwright and poet (d. 1729)
1672 – Margrave Albert Frederick of Brandenburg-Schwedt, German Lieutenant General (d. 1731)
1674 – Thomas Tanner, English bishop (d. 1735)
1679 – Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (d. 1754)
1684 – Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, German noble (d. 1737)
1705 – Farinelli, Italian castrato singer (d. 1782)
1709 – Dom Bédos de Celles, French monk and organist (d. 1779)
1712 – Frederick the Great, Prussian king (d. 1786)
1732 – Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and financier (d. 1799)
1739 – Jean Nicolas Houchard, French General of the French Revolution (d. 1793)
1746 – Gustav III of Sweden (d. 1792)
1749 – Charles James Fox, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (d. 1806)
1754 – Andrew Ellicott, American soldier and surveyor (d. 1820)
1761 – Louis Klein, French general (d. 1845)
1763 – Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, French-Ukrainian general and politician (d. 1831)
1776 – E. T. A. Hoffmann, German jurist, author, and composer (d. 1822)
1787 – Christian Ludwig Brehm, German pastor and ornithologist (d. 1864)
1804 – Delphine de Girardin, French author (d. 1855)
1814 – Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, French Crown Princess (d. 1858)
1814 – John Colenso, British mathematician (d. 1883)
1816 – Wilhelm Henzen, German philologist and epigraphist (d. 1887)
1828 – Ferdinand Cohn, German biologist (d. 1898)
1829 – Yechiel Michel Epstein, Rabbi and posek (d. 1908)
1836 – Signe Rink, Greenland-born Danish writer and ethnologist (d. 1909)
1843 – Josip Stadler, Croatian archbishop (d. 1918)
1848 – Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (d. 1916)
1850 – Hermann Ebbinghaus, German psychologist (d. 1909)
1853 – Sigbert Josef Maria Ganser, German psychiatrist (d. 1931)
1856 – Friedrich Grünanger, Transylvanian Hungarian-German architect (d. 1929)
1858 – Constance Naden, English poet and philosopher (d. 1889)
1862 – Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (d. 1937)
1863 – August Adler, Czech and Austrian mathematician (d. 1923)
1864 – Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (d. 1936)
1864 – Gaetano Giardino, Italian soldier and Marshal of Italy (d. 1935)
1866 – Jaan Poska, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1920)
1870 – Herbert Kilpin, English footballer (d. 1916)
1871 – Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic, Czech poet, writer and literary critic (d. 1951)
1871 – Thomas Jaggar, American volcanologist (d. 1953)
1872 – Yuly Aykhenvald, Russian literary critic (d. 1928)
1872 – Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (d. 1943)
1872 – Morris Travers, English chemist and academic (d. 1961)
1873 – Dmitry Ushakov, Russian philologist and lexicographer (d. 1942)
1882 – Harold D. Babcock, American astronomer (d. 1968)
1882 – Ödön Bodor, Hungarian athlete (d. 1927)
1886 – Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)
1887 – Jean-Henri Humbert, French botanist (d. 1967)
1888 – Vicki Baum, Austrian author and screenwriter (d. 1960)
1888 – Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman, founded the Heinkel Aircraft Manufacturing Company (d. 1958)
1889 – Victor Eftimiu, Romanian poet and playwright (d. 1972)
1889 – Charles Hawes, American historian and author (d. 1923)
1889 – Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, German general of paratroop forces during World War II (d. 1968)
1891 – Walter Model, German field marshal (d. 1945)
1892 – Franz Aigner, Austrian weightlifter (d. 1970)
1895 – Eugen Roth, German poet and songwriter (d. 1976)
1897 – Paul Fejos, Hungarian-born American director (d. 1963)
1899 – Hoyt Vandenberg, U.S. Air Force general (d. 1954)
1900 – René Guillot, French writer (d. 1969)
1901 – Harry Calder, South African cricketer (d. 1995)
1901 – Cassandre, French painter (d. 1968)
1901 – Edward Turner, English engineer (d. 1973)
1905 – J. Howard Marshall, American lawyer and businessman (d. 1995)
1906 – Wilfred Jackson, American animator and composer (d. 1988)
1907 – Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu, fourth Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia (d. 1979)
1907 – Maurice Couve de Murville, French soldier and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1999)
1907 – Jean Daetwyler, Swiss composer and musician (d. 1994)
1909 – Martin Lings, English author and scholar (d. 2005)
1910 – Doris Haddock, American political activist (d. 2010)
1912 – Frederick Ashworth, American admiral (d. 2005)
1913 – Norman Dello Joio, American organist and composer (d. 2008)
1913 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (d. 1983)
1915 – Vítězslava Kaprálová, Czech composer and conductor (d. 1940)
1915 – Robert Motherwell, American painter and academic (d. 1991)
1916 – Rafael Caldera, Venezuelan lawyer and politician, 65th President of Venezuela (d. 2009)
1916 – Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player and actor (d. 2013)
1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (d. 2012)
1917 – Wilhelmus Demarteau, Dutch prelate of the Roman Catholic Church (d. 2012)
1918 – Gottfried von Einem, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1996)
1918 – Oral Roberts, American evangelist, founded Oral Roberts University and Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (d. 2009)
1919 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1973)
1919 – Leon Kirchner, American composer and educator (d. 2009)
1920 – Jimmy Forrest, American saxophonist (d. 1980)
1920 – Jerry Maren, American actor (d. 2018)
1922 – Daniel Boulanger, French actor and screenwriter (d. 2014)
1922 – Neil Franklin, English footballer (d. 1996)
1923 – Geneviève Asse, French painter
1925 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
1925 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina and actress (d. 2013)
1926 – Ruth Asawa, American sculptor (d. 2013)
1926 – Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1927 – Sir Patrick Macnaghten, 11th Baronet, Scottish lieutenant (d. 2007)
1927 – Paula Hawkins, American politician (d. 2009)
1928 – Desmond Morris, English zoologist, ethologist, and painter
1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor (d. 2007)
1930 – Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (d. 2016)
1930 – Mahmoud Farshchian, Iranian-Persian painter and academic
1930 – John Romita Sr., American comic book artist
1931 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician and academic (d. 2012)
1931 – Ib Nørholm, Danish composer and organist
1932 – Éliane Radigue, French electronic music composer
1933 – Kamran Baghirov, the 12th First Secretary of Azerbaijan Communist Party (d. 2000)
1933 – Asim Ferhatović, Bosnian footballer (d. 1987)
1934 – Leonard Goldberg, American producer (d. 2019)
1934 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and dramatist (d. 1976)
1935 – Eric Ashton, English rugby player and coach (d. 2008)
1935 – Shivabalayogi, Indian religious leader (d. 1994)
1936 – Doug Kershaw, American fiddle player and singer
1937 – Trevor Edwards, Welsh footballer
1938 – Julius Hemphill, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1995)
1939 – Renate Garisch-Culmberger, German shot putter
1939 – Ray Stevens, American singer-songwriter and actor
1940 – Vito Acconci, American designer (d. 2017)
1940 – Joachim Gauck, German pastor and politician, 11th President of Germany
1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1941 – Aaron Neville, American singer
1941 – Dan Shechtman, Israeli chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1942 – Ingo Friedrich, German Member of the European Parliament
1942 – Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (d. 2008)
1943 – Peter Struck, German lawyer and politician, 13th German Federal Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
1943 – Barry Mealand, English footballer, right back (d. 2013)
1943 – Sharon Tate, American model and actress (d. 1969)
1943 – Tony Trimmer, English race car driver
1943 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (d. 2016)
1944 – David Gerrold, American science fiction screenwriter and author
1944 – Gian-Franco Kasper, Swiss ski official
1945 – John Garamendi, American football player and politician, 1st United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
1945 – Subhash Ghai, Indian director, producer and screenwriter
1945 – Eva Janko, Austrian javelin thrower
1946 – Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor
1947 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (d. 2012)
1947 – Michio Kaku, American physicist and academic
1947 – Masashi Ozaki, Japanese baseball player and golfer
1947 – Warren Zevon, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
1948 – Elliott Abrams, American diplomat, lawyer and political scientist
1948 – Michael Des Barres, English singer-songwriter and actor
1949 – John Belushi, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1982)
1949 – Bart Gordon, American lawyer
1949 – Nadezhda Ilyina, Russian athlete and mother of Russian tennis player Nadia Petrova (d. 2013)
1949 – Rihoko Yoshida, Japanese voice actress
1950 – Daniel Auteuil, French actor, director, and screenwriter
1951 – Yakov Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American comedian and actor
1953 – Yuri Bashmet, Russian violinist, viola player, and conductor
1953 – Moon Jae-in, 19th President of South Korea
1954 – Jo Gartner, Austrian race car driver (d. 1986)
1955 – Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
1955 – Alan Sokal, American physicist and author
1955 – Lynda Weinman, American businesswoman and author
1956 – Agus Martowardojo, governor of Bank Indonesia
1957 – Mark Eaton, American basketball player and sportscaster
1957 – Ade Edmondson, English comedian and musician
1958 – Kim Eui-kon, Korean wrestler
1958 – Jools Holland, English singer-songwriter and pianist
1958 – Frank Ullrich, German biathlete
1959 – Akira Maeda, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
1959 – Michel Preud’homme, Belgian footballer and manager
1961 – Jorge Barrios, Uruguayan footballer
1961 – Guido Buchwald, German footballer and manager
1961 – Christa Kinshofer, German ski racer
1961 – Nastassja Kinski, German-American actress and producer
1961 – William Van Dijck, Belgian runner
1963 – Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
1964 – Annika Dahlman, Swedish cross country skier
1965 – Robin Dutt, German footballer
1965 – Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1965 – Margaret Urlich, New Zealand singer-songwriter
1965 – Pagonis Vakalopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
1965 – Kim Sung-moon, South Korean wrestler
1966 – Julie Dreyfus, French actress
1966 – Karin Viard, French actress
1967 – Michael Kiske, German singer
1967 – Mark Kozelek, American singer and musician
1967 – Phil LaMarr, American actor, singer, and screenwriter
1967 – John Myung, American bass player and songwriter
1968 – Fernando Escartín, Spanish cyclist
1968 – Antony Garrett Lisi, American theoretical physicist
1968 – Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
1968 – Tymerlan Huseynov, Ukrainian footballer
1969 – Yoo Ho-jeong, South Korean actress
1969 – Carlos Rômulo Gonçalves e Silva, bishop of Montenegro
1970 – Roberto Bonano, Argentine footballer
1970 – Neil Johnson, Zimbabwean cricketer
1970 – Matthew Lillard, American actor
1971 – José Carlos Fernandez, Bolivian footballer
1972 – Beth Hart, American blues-rock singer and piano player
1974 – Cyril Despres, French rally racer
1974 – Ed Helms, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1974 – Melissa Tkautz, Australian actress and singer
1974 – Rokia Traoré, Malian singer
1975 – Gianluca Basile, Italian former professional basketball player
1975 – Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican footballer and manager
1975 – Reto Hug, Swiss triathlonist
1975 – Henna Raita, Finnish alpine skier
1976 – Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer, coach, and choreographer
1976 – Cindy Pieters, Belgian cyclist
1977 – Andrija Gerić, Serbian volleyball player
1977 – Michelle Hunziker, Swiss-Dutch actress, model and singer
1978 – Veerle Baetens, Belgian actress and singer
1978 – Mark Hildreth, Canadian actor and musician
1978 – Kristen Schaal, American actress, voice artist, comedian and writer
1979 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
1979 – Leandro Desábato, Argentinian footballer
1979 – Busy Signal, Jamaican dancehall reggae artist
1979 – Nik Wallenda, American acrobat
1980 – Jofre Mateu, Spanish footballer
1980 – Suzy, Portuguese singer
1981 – Mario Eggimann, Swiss footballer
1981 – Zaur Hashimov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager
1981 – Elena Kolomina, Kazakhstani cross country skier
1982 – Céline Deville, French footballer
1982 – Daveed Diggs, American actor, rapper and singer
1982 – Claudia Heill, Austrian judoka
1982 – Aitor Hernández, Spanish racing cyclist
1983 – Davide Biondini, Italian footballer
1983 – Wyatt Crockett, New Zealand rugby player
1983 – Evgeny Drattsev, Russian swimmer
1983 – Craig Horner, Australian actor and musician
1983 – Shaun Maloney, Scottish footballer
1983 – Scott Speed, American race car driver
1984 – Emerse Faé, French-born Ivorian footballer
1984 – Yotam Halperin, Israeli basketball player
1984 – Jung Jin-sun, South Korean fencer
1984 – Scott Kazmir, American baseball player
1984 – Paulo Sérgio Moreira Gonçalves, Portuguese footballer
1985 – Fabiana Claudino, Brazilian volleyball player
1985 – Trey Gilder, American basketball player
1986 – Cristiano Araújo, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
1986 – Mohammad Bagheri Motamed, Iranian taekwondo practitioner
1986 – Mischa Barton, English-American actress
1986 – Vladislav Ivanov, Russian footballer
1986 – Michael Kightly, English footballer
1986 – Ricky Ullman, Israeli-American actor
1987 – Wayne Hennessey, Welsh footballer
1987 – Luis Suárez, Uruguayan footballer
1987 – Davide Valsecchi, Italian racing driver
1987 – Kia Vaughn, American born Czech basketball player
1987 – Guan Xin, Chinese basketball player
1988 – Selina Jörg, German snowboarder
1989 – Serdar Kesimal, Turkish footballer
1989 – Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
1989 – Ki Sung-yueng, South Korean footballer
1990 – Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
1991 – Zhan Beleniuk, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler
1991 – Tatiana Kashirina, Russian weightlifter
1991 – Zé Luís, Cape Verdean footballer
1991 – Li Xuerui, Chinese badminton player
1992 – Becky Downie, English gymnast
1992 – Phiwa Nkambule, South African entrepreneur
1992 – Felitciano Zschusschen, Curaçao footballer
1994 – Tommie Hoban, English footballer
1995 – Dylan Everett, Canadian actor
1997 – Nirei Fukuzumi, Japanese racer
1999 – Vitalie Damașcan, Moldovan footballer
2012 – Princess Athena of Denmark, younger child of Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark

Deaths onJanuary 24

AD 41 – Caligula, Roman emperor (b. 12)
817 – Pope Stephen IV (b. 770)
901 – Liu Jishu, general of the Tang Dynasty
1046 – Eckard II, Margrave of Meissen (b. c. 985)
1125 – David IV of Georgia (b. 1073)
1336 – Alfonso IV of Aragon (b. 1299)
1376 – Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English commander (b. 1306)
1473 – Conrad Paumann, German organist and composer (b. 1410)
1525 – Franciabigio, Florentine painter (b. 1482)
1595 – Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (b. 1529)
1626 – Samuel Argall, English captain and politician, Colonial Governor of Virginia (b. 1572)
1639 – Jörg Jenatsch, Swiss pastor and politician (b. 1596)
1666 – Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer and theorist (b. 1588)
1709 – George Rooke, English admiral and politician (b. 1650)
1877 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist and journalist (b. 1796)
1881 – James Collinson, English painter (b. 1825)
1883 – Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (b. 1812)
1895 – Lord Randolph Churchill, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1849)
1920 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (b. 1884)
1939 – Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician, created Muesli (b. 1867)
1943 – John Burns, English trade union leader and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1858)
1960 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (b. 1886)
1961 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and businessman, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company (b. 1884)
1962 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (b. 1885)
1962 – Stanley Lord, English naval captain (b. 1877)
1962 – Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish author, poet, and scholar (b. 1901)
1965 – Winston Churchill, English colonel and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
1966 – Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist and academic (b. 1909)
1970 – Caresse Crosby, American fashion designer and publisher, co-founded the Black Sun Press (b. 1891)
1971 – Bill W., American activist, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (b. 1895)
1973 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (b. 1896)
1975 – Larry Fine, American comedian (b. 1902)
1982 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (b. 1918)
1983 – George Cukor, American director and producer (b. 1899)
1986 – L. Ron Hubbard, American religious leader and author, founded the Church of Scientology (b. 1911)
1986 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (b. 1921)
1988 – Werner Fenchel, German-Danish mathematician and academic (b. 1905)
1989 – Ted Bundy, American serial killer (b. 1946)
1990 – Madge Bellamy, American actress (b. 1899)
1991 – Jack Schaefer, American journalist and author (b. 1907)
1992 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (b. 1909)
1993 – Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1908)
1993 – Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and jurist, 32nd United States Solicitor General (b. 1908)
2002 – Elie Hobeika, Lebanese commander and politician (b. 1956)
2003 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (b. 1921)
2004 – Leônidas, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1913)
2006 – Schafik Handal, Salvadoran politician (b. 1930)
2007 – Krystyna Feldman, Polish actress (b. 1916)
2007 – İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1940)
2007 – Guadalupe Larriva, Ecuadorian academic and politician (b. 1956)
2007 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican-American soldier (b. 1891)
2010 – Pernell Roberts, American actor (b. 1928)
2011 – Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (b. 1949)
2014 – Shulamit Aloni, Israeli lawyer and politician, 11th Israeli Minister of Education (b. 1928)
2014 – Rafael Pineda Ponce, Honduran academic and politician (b. 1930)
2015 – Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (b. 1922)
2016 – Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (b. 1928)
2016 – Marvin Minsky, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1927)
2016 – Henry Worsley, English colonel and explorer (b. 1960)
2017 – Butch Trucks, American drummer (b. 1947)
2018 – Mark E. Smith, British singer-songwriter (b. 1957)
2019 – Rosemary Bryant Mariner, American United States Naval Aviator (b. 1953)

Holidays and observances on January 24

Christian feast day:
- Babylas of Antioch
- Cadoc (Wales)
- Exuperantius of Cingoli
- Felician of Foligno
- Francis de Sales
- Pratulin Martyrs (Greek Catholic Church)
- January 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Saturday of Souls can fall, while February 27 (or 28 during Leap Year) is the latest; observed 57 days before Easter. (Eastern Orthodox)
Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
- Feria de Alasitas (La Paz)
Unification Day (Romania)
Uttar Pradesh Day (Uttar Pradesh, India)

January 24 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

474 – Seven-year-old Leo II succeeds his maternal grandfather Leo I as Byzantine emperor. He dies ten months later.
532 – Nika riots in Constantinople fail.
1126 – Emperor Huizong abdicates the Chinese throne in favour of his son Emperor Qinzong.
1486 – King Henry VII of England marries Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV uniting the House of Lancaster and the House of York.
1562 – Pope Pius IV reopens the Council of Trent for its third and final session.
1591 – King Naresuan of Siam kills Crown Prince Mingyi Swa of Burma in single combat, for which this date is now observed as Royal Thai Armed Forces day.
1670 – Henry Morgan captures Panama.
1701 – Frederick I crowns himself King of Prussia in Königsberg.
1778 – James Cook is the first known European to discover the Hawaiian Islands, which he names the “Sandwich Islands”.
1788 – The first elements of the First Fleet carrying 736 convicts from Great Britain to Australia arrive at Botany Bay.
1806 – Jan Willem Janssens surrenders the Dutch Cape Colony to the British.
1866 – Wesley College is established in Melbourne, Australia.
1871 – Wilhelm I of Germany is proclaimed Kaiser Wilhelm in the Hall of Mirrors of the Palace of Versailles (France) towards the end of the Franco-Prussian War. Wilhelm already had the title of German Emperor since the constitution of 1 January 1871, but he had hesitated to accept the title.
1886 – Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England.
1896 – An X-ray generating machine is exhibited for the first time by H. L. Smith.
1911 – Eugene B. Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania anchored in San Francisco Bay, the first time an aircraft landed on a ship.
1913 – First Balkan War: A Greek flotilla defeats the Ottoman Navy in the Naval Battle of Lemnos, securing the islands of the Northern Aegean Sea for Greece.
1915 – Japan issues the “Twenty-One Demands” to the Republic of China in a bid to increase its power in East Asia.
1919 – World War I: The Paris Peace Conference opens in Versailles, France.
1919 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski becomes Prime Minister of the newly independent Poland.
1941 – World War II: British troops launch a general counter-offensive against Italian East Africa.
1943 – Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: The first uprising of Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto.
1945 – World War II: Liberation of Kraków, Poland by the Red Army.
1958 – Willie O’Ree, the first Black Canadian National Hockey League player, makes his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins.
1960 – Capital Airlines Flight 20 crashes into a farm in Charles City County, Virginia, killing all 50 aboard, the third fatal Capital Airlines crash in as many years.
1967 – Albert DeSalvo, the “Boston Strangler”, is convicted of numerous crimes and is sentenced to life imprisonment.
1969 – United Airlines Flight 266 crashes into Santa Monica Bay killing all 32 passengers and six crew members.
1974 – A Disengagement of Forces agreement is signed between the Israeli and Egyptian governments, ending conflict on the Egyptian front of the Yom Kippur War.
1976 – Lebanese Christian militias kill at least 1,000 in Karantina, Beirut.
1977 – Scientists identify a previously unknown bacterium as the cause of the mysterious Legionnaires’ disease.
1977 – Australia’s worst rail disaster occurs at Granville, Sydney killing 83.
1977 – SFR Yugoslavia’s Prime minister, Džemal Bijedić, his wife and six others are killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
1978 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the United Kingdom’s government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture.
1981 – Phil Smith and Phil Mayfield parachute off a Houston skyscraper, becoming the first two people to BASE jump from objects in all four categories: buildings, antennae, spans (bridges), and earth (cliffs).
1983 – The International Olympic Committee restores Jim Thorpe’s Olympic medals to his family.
1990 – Washington, D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is arrested for drug possession in an FBI sting.
1993 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is officially observed for the first time in all 50 US states.
2002 – The Sierra Leone Civil War is declared over.
2003 – A bushfire kills four people and destroys more than 500 homes in Canberra, Australia.
2005 – The Airbus A380, the world’s largest commercial jet, is unveiled at a ceremony in Toulouse, France
2007 – The strongest storm in the United Kingdom in 17 years kills 14 people and Germany sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Cyclone Kyrill causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western Europe.
2008 – The Euphronios Krater is unveiled in Rome after being returned to Italy by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
2018 – A bus catches fire on the Samara–Shymkent road in Yrgyz District, Aktobe, Kazakhstan. The fire kills 52 passengers, with three passengers and two drivers escaping.

Births on January 18

1404 – Sir Philip Courtenay, British noble (d. 1463)
1457 – Antonio Trivulzio, seniore, Roman Catholic cardinal (d. 1508)
1519 – Isabella Jagiellon, Queen of Hungary (d. 1559)
1540 – Catherine, Duchess of Braganza (d. 1614)
1641 – François-Michel le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois, French politician, Secretary of State for War (d. 1691)
1659 – Damaris Cudworth Masham, English philosopher and theologian (d. 1708)
1672 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte, French author (d. 1731)
1688 – Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (d. 1765)
1689 – Montesquieu, French lawyer and philosopher (d. 1755)
1701 – Johann Jakob Moser, German jurist (d. 1785)
1743 – Louis Claude de Saint-Martin, French mystic and philosopher (d. 1803)
1751 – Ferdinand Kauer, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1831)
1752 – John Nash, English architect (d. 1835)
1764 – Samuel Whitbread, English politician (d. 1815)
1779 – Peter Mark Roget, English physician, lexicographer, and theologian (d. 1869)
1782 – Daniel Webster, American lawyer and politician, 14th United States Secretary of State (d. 1852)
1793 – Pratap Singh Bhosle, Chhatrapati of the Maratha Empire (d. 1847)
1815 – Constantin von Tischendorf, German theologian and scholar (d. 1874)
1835 – César Cui, Russian general, composer, and critic (d. 1918)
1840 – Henry Austin Dobson, English poet and author (d. 1921)
1841 – Emmanuel Chabrier, French pianist and composer (d. 1894)
1842 – A. A. Ames, American physician and politician, Mayor of Minneapolis (d. 1911)
1848 – Ioan Slavici, Romanian journalist and author (d. 1925)
1849 – Edmund Barton, Australian judge and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1920)
1850 – Seth Low, American academic and politician, 92nd Mayor of New York City (d. 1916)
1853 – Marthinus Nikolaas Ras, South African farmer, soldier, and gun-maker (d. 1900)
1854 – Thomas A. Watson, American assistant to Alexander Graham Bell (d. 1934)
1856 – Daniel Hale Williams, American surgeon and cardiologist (d. 1931)
1867 – Rubén Darío, Nicaraguan poet, journalist, and diplomat (d. 1916)
1868 – Kantarō Suzuki, Japanese admiral and politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
1877 – Sam Zemurray, Russian-American businessman, founded the Cuyamel Fruit Company (d. 1961)
1879 – Henri Giraud, French general and politician (d. 1949)
1880 – Paul Ehrenfest, Austrian-Dutch physicist and academic (d. 1933)
1880 – Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster, Italian cardinal (d. 1954)
1881 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (d. 1975)
1882 – A. A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright (d. 1956)
1886 – Clara Nordström, Swedish-German author and translator (d. 1962)
1888 – Thomas Sopwith, English ice hockey player, sailor, and pilot (d. 1989)
1892 – Oliver Hardy, American actor and comedian (d. 1957)
1892 – Bill Meanix, American hurdler and coach (d. 1957)
1892 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon and academic (d. 1956)
1893 – Jorge Guillén, Spanish poet, critic, and academic (d. 1984)
1894 – Toots Mondt, American wrestler and promoter (d. 1976)
1896 – C. M. Eddy Jr., American author (d. 1967)
1896 – Ville Ritola, Finnish-American runner (d. 1982)
1898 – Albert Kivikas, Estonian journalist and author (d. 1978)
1901 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1973)
1903 – Berthold Goldschmidt, German pianist and composer (d. 1996)
1904 – Anthony Galla-Rini, American accordion player and composer (d. 2006)
1904 – Cary Grant, English-American actor (d. 1986)
1905 – Joseph Bonanno, Italian-American mob boss (d. 2002)
1907 – János Ferencsik, Hungarian conductor (d. 1984)
1908 – Jacob Bronowski, Polish-English mathematician, historian, and television host (d. 1974)
1910 – Kenneth E. Boulding, English economist and academic (d. 1993)
1911 – José María Arguedas, Peruvian anthropologist, author, and poet (d. 1969)
1911 – Danny Kaye, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1987)
1913 – Carroll Cloar, American artist (d. 1993)
1913 – Giannis Papaioannou, Greek composer (d. 1972)
1914 – Arno Schmidt, German author and translator (d. 1979)
1914 – Vitomil Zupan, Slovene author, poet, and playwright (d. 1987)
1915 – Syl Apps, Canadian pole vaulter, ice hockey player, and politician (d. 1998)
1915 – Santiago Carrillo, Spanish soldier and politician (d. 2012)
1915 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (d. 1984)
1917 – Nicholas Oresko, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2013)
1917 – Wang Yung-ching, Taiwanese-American businessman (d. 2008)
1918 – Gustave Gingras, Canadian-English physician and educator (d. 1996)
1919 – Toni Turek, German footballer (d. 1984)
1921 – Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2015)
1923 – John Graham, General Officer Commanding (GOC) Wales (d. 2012)
1923 – Gerrit Voorting, Dutch cyclist (d. 2015)
1925 – Gilles Deleuze, French metaphysician and philosopher (d. 1995)
1925 – John V. Evans, American soldier and politician, 27th Governor of Idaho (d. 2014)
1925 – Sol Yurick, American soldier and author (d. 2013)
1926 – Randolph Bromery, American geologist and academic (d. 2013)
1927 – Sundaram Balachander, Indian actor, singer, and veena player (d. 1990)
1928 – Alexander Gomelsky, Soviet and Russian professional basketball coach (d. 2005)
1931 – Chun Doo-hwan, South Korean general and politician, 5th President of South Korea
1932 – Robert Anton Wilson, American psychologist, author, poet, and playwright (d. 2007)
1933 – Emeka Anyaoku, Nigerian politician, 8th Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1933 – David Bellamy, English botanist, author and academic (d. 2019)
1933 – John Boorman, English director, producer, and screenwriter
1933 – Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (d. 2013)
1933 – William Goodhart, Baron Goodhart, English lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
1933 – Frank McMullen, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2004)
1933 – Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (d. 2017)
1934 – Raymond Briggs, English author and illustrator
1935 – Albert Millaire, Canadian actor and director (d. 2018)
1935 – Jon Stallworthy, English poet, critic, and academic (d. 2014)
1935 – Gad Yaacobi, Israeli academic and diplomat, 10th Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2007)
1936 – David Howell, Baron Howell of Guildford, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport
1937 – John Hume, Northern Irish educator and politician, Nobel Prize laureate
1938 – Curt Flood, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1997)
1938 – Anthony Giddens, English sociologist and academic
1938 – Werner Olk, German footballer and manager
1938 – Hargus “Pig” Robbins, American Country Music Hall of Fame session keyboard and piano player
1940 – Pedro Rodriguez, Mexican race car driver (d. 1971)
1941 – Denise Bombardier, Canadian journalist and author
1941 – Bobby Goldsboro, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1941 – David Ruffin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1991)
1943 – Paul Freeman, English actor
1943 – Kay Granger, American educator and politician
1943 – Dave Greenslade, English keyboard player and composer
1943 – Charlie Wilson, American businessman and politician (d. 2013)
1944 – Paul Keating, Australian economist and politician, 24th Prime Minister of Australia
1944 – Carl Morton, American baseball player (d. 1983)
1944 – Kei Ogura, Japanese singer-songwriter and composer
1944 – Alexander Van der Bellen, President of Austria
1945 – Rocco Forte, English businessman and philanthropist
1946 – Perro Aguayo, Mexican wrestler (d. 2019)
1946 – Joseph Deiss, Swiss economist and politician, 156th President of the Swiss Confederation
1946 – Henrique Rosa, Bissau-Guinean politician, President of Guinea-Bissau (d. 2013)
1947 – Sachio Kinugasa, Japanese baseball player and journalist (d. 2018)
1947 – Takeshi Kitano, Japanese actor and director
1949 – Bill Keller, American journalist
1949 – Philippe Starck, French interior designer
1950 – Gianfranco Brancatelli, Italian race car driver
1950 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (d. 1982)
1951 – Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist and activist (d. 1982)
1951 – Bob Latchford, English footballer
1952 – Michael Behe, American biochemist, author, and academic
1952 – R. Stevie Moore, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Brett Hudson, American singer-songwriter and producer
1953 – Peter Moon, Australian comedian and actor
1955 – Kevin Costner, American actor, director, and producer
1956 – Paul Deighton, Baron Deighton, English banker and politician
1960 – Mark Rylance, English actor, director, and playwright
1961 – Peter Beardsley, English footballer and manager
1961 – Bob Hansen, American basketball player and sportscaster
1961 – Mark Messier, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and sportscaster
1961 – Jeff Yagher, American actor and sculptor
1962 – Alison Arngrim, Canadian-American actress
1963 – Maxime Bernier, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada
1963 – Ian Crook, English footballer, central midfielder and manager
1963 – Carl McCoy, English singer-songwriter
1963 – Martin O’Malley, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 61st Governor of Maryland
1964 – Brady Anderson, American baseball player
1964 – Richard Dunwoody, Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster
1964 – Virgil Hill, American boxer
1964 – Jane Horrocks, English actress and singer
1966 – Alexander Khalifman, Russian chess player and author
1966 – Kazufumi Miyazawa, Japanese singer
1966 – André Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver
1967 – Dean Bailey, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
1967 – Iván Zamorano, Chilean footballer
1969 – Dave Bautista, American wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
1969 – Jesse L. Martin, American actor and singer
1969 – Jim O’Rourke, American guitarist and producer
1970 – Peter Van Petegem, Belgian cyclist
1971 – Amy Barger, American astronomer
1971 – Jonathan Davis, American singer-songwriter
1971 – Christian Fittipaldi, Brazilian race car driver
1971 – Pep Guardiola, Spanish footballer and manager
1971 – Binyavanga Wainaina, Kenyan writer (d. 2019)
1972 – Vinod Kambli, Indian cricketer, sportscaster, and actor
1972 – Mike Lieberthal, American baseball player
1972 – Kjersti Plätzer, Norwegian race walker
1973 – Burnie Burns, American actor, director, and producer, co-founded Rooster Teeth Productions
1973 – Luke Goodwin, Australian rugby league player and coach
1973 – Benjamin Jealous, American civic leader and activist
1973 – Anthony Koutoufides, Australian footballer
1973 – Crispian Mills, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and director
1973 – Rolando Schiavi, Argentinian footballer and coach
1974 – Christian Burns, English singer-songwriter
1975 – Leslie Knope, Protagonist of Parks and Recreation (fictional)
1976 – Laurence Courtois, Belgian tennis player
1976 – Marcelo Gallardo, Argentinian footballer and coach
1976 – Damien Leith, Irish-Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1977 – Richard Archer, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1978 – Brian Falkenborg, American baseball player
1978 – Thor Hushovd, Norwegian cyclist
1978 – Bogdan Lobonț, Romanian footballer
1979 – Ruslan Fedotenko, Ukrainian ice hockey player
1979 – Paulo Ferreira, Portuguese footballer
1979 – Brian Gionta, American ice hockey player
1979 – Kenyatta Jones, American football player (d. 2018)
1980 – Estelle, English singer-songwriter and producer
1980 – Robert Green, English footballer
1980 – Kert Haavistu, Estonian footballer and manager
1980 – Julius Peppers, American football player
1980 – Jason Segel, American actor and screenwriter
1981 – Otgonbayar Ershuu, Mongolian painter and illustrator
1981 – Olivier Rochus, Belgian tennis player
1981 – Khari Stephenson, Jamaican footballer
1981 – Kang Dong-won, South Korean actor
1982 – Quinn Allman, American guitarist and producer
1982 – Mary Jepkosgei Keitany, Kenyan runner
1983 – Amir Blumenfeld, Israeli-American comedian, actor, director, and screenwriter
1983 – Samantha Mumba, Irish singer-songwriter and actress
1984 – Kristy Lee Cook, American singer-songwriter
1984 – Ioannis Drymonakos, Greek swimmer
1984 – Makoto Hasebe, Japanese footballer
1984 – Michael Kearney, American biochemist and academic
1984 – Seung-Hui Cho, South Korean student who perpetrated the 2007 mass shooting at Virginia Tech (d. 2007)
1984 – Benji Schwimmer, American dancer and choreographer
1984 – Viktoria Shklover, Estonian figure skater
1985 – Dale Begg-Smith, Canadian-Australian skier
1985 – Mark Briscoe, American wrestler
1985 – Riccardo Montolivo, Italian footballer
1985 – Hyun Woo, South Korean actor
1986 – Marya Roxx, Estonian-American singer-songwriter
1986 – Ikusaburo Yamazaki, Japanese actor and singer
1987 – Johan Djourou, Swiss footballer
1987 – Christopher Liebig, German rugby player
1987 – Grigoris Makos, Greek footballer
1988 – Ronnie Day, American singer-songwriter
1988 – Angelique Kerber, German tennis player
1988 – Anastasios Kissas, Greek footballer
1988 – Boy van Poppel, Dutch cyclist
1989 – Rubén Miño, Spanish footballer
1990 – Nacho, Spanish footballer
1990 – Hayle Ibrahimov, Ethiopian-Azerbaijani runner
1990 – Gift Ngoepe, South African baseball player
1991 – Diego Simões, Brazilian footballer
1992 – Francesco Bardi, Italian footballer
1993 – Sean Keenan, Australian actor
1994 – Kang Ji-young, South Korean singer
1994 – Ilona Kremen, Belarusian tennis player
1995 – Bryce Alford, American basketball player
1998 – Aitana Bonmatí, Spanish footballer

Deaths on January 18

52 BC – Publius Clodius Pulcher, Roman politician (b. 93 BC)
474 – Leo I, Byzantine emperor (b. 401)
748 – Odilo, duke of Bavaria
896 – Khumarawayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun, ruler of the Tulunids, murdered (b. 864)
1213 – Tamar of Georgia (b. 1160)
1253 – King Henry I of Cyprus (b. 1217)
1271 – Saint Margaret of Hungary (b. 1242)
1326 – Robert FitzWalter, 1st Baron FitzWalter, English baron (b. 1247)
1357 – Maria of Portugal, infanta (b. 1313)
1367 – Peter I of Portugal (b. 1320)
1411 – Jobst of Moravia, ruler of Moravia, King of the Romans
1425 – Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, English politician (b. 1391)
1471 – Emperor Go-Hanazono of Japan (b. 1419)
1479 – Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1417)
1547 – Pietro Bembo, Italian cardinal and scholar (b. 1470)
1586 – Margaret of Parma (b. 1522)
1589 – Magnus Heinason, Faroese naval hero (b. 1545)
1677 – Jan van Riebeeck, Dutch politician, founded Cape Town (b. 1619)
1756 – Francis George of Schönborn-Buchheim, Archbishop-Elector of Trier (b. 1682)
1783 – Jeanne Quinault, French actress and playwright (b. 1699)
1803 – Ippolit Bogdanovich, Russian poet and academic (b. 1743)
1849 – Panoutsos Notaras, Greek politician (b. 1752)
1862 – John Tyler, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 10th President of the United States (b. 1790)
1873 – Edward Bulwer-Lytton, English author, poet, playwright, and politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1803)
1878 – Antoine César Becquerel, French physicist and academic (b. 1788)
1886 – Baldassare Verazzi, Italian painter (b. 1819)
1892 – Anton Anderledy, Swiss religious leader, 23rd Superior General of the Society of Jesus (b. 1819)
1896 – Charles Floquet, French lawyer and politician, 55th Prime Minister of France (b. 1828)
1923 – Wallace Reid, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1891)
1936 – Hermanus Brockmann, Dutch rower (b. 1871)
1936 – Rudyard Kipling, English author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
1940 – Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer, Polish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1865)
1951 – Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary and humanitarian (b. 1867)
1952 – Curly Howard, American actor (b. 1903)
1954 – Sydney Greenstreet, English-American actor (b. 1879)
1955 – Saadat Hasan Manto, Pakistani author and screenwriter (b. 1912)
1956 – Makbule Atadan, Turkish lawyer and politician (b. 1885)
1956 – Konstantin Päts, Estonian journalist, lawyer, and politician, 1st President of Estonia (b. 1874)
1963 – Hugh Gaitskell, English academic and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1906)
1966 – Kathleen Norris, American journalist and author (b. 1880)
1967 – Goose Tatum, American basketball player and soldier (b. 1921)
1969 – Hans Freyer, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1887)
1970 – David O. McKay, American religious leader, 9th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1873)
1971 – Virgil Finlay, American illustrator (b. 1914)
1973 – Irina Nikolaevna Levchenko, Russian tank commander (b. 1924)
1975 – Gertrude Olmstead, American actress (b. 1897)
1978 – Hasan Askari, Pakistani philosopher and author (b. 1919)
1980 – Cecil Beaton, English fashion designer and photographer (b. 1904)
1984 – Panteleimon Ponomarenko, Belarusian general and politician (b. 1902)
1984 – Vassilis Tsitsanis, Greek singer-songwriter and bouzouki player (b. 1915)
1989 – Bruce Chatwin, English-French author (b. 1940)
1990 – Melanie Appleby, English singer (b. 1966)
1990 – Rusty Hamer, American actor (b. 1947)
1993 – Dionysios Zakythinos, Greek historian, academic, and politician (b. 1905)
1995 – Adolf Butenandt, German biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1903)
1995 – Ron Luciano, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1937)
1996 – N. T. Rama Rao, Indian actor, director, producer, and politician, 10th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (b. 1923)
1997 – Paul Tsongas, American lawyer and politician (b. 1941)
1998 – Dan Georgiadis, Greek footballer and manager (b. 1922)
2000 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (b. 1897)
2003 – Ed Farhat, American wrestler and trainer (b. 1924)
2003 – Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Indian poet and author (b. 1907)
2005 – Lamont Bentley, American actor and rapper (b. 1973)
2006 – Jan Twardowski, Polish priest and poet (b. 1915)
2007 – Brent Liles, American bass player (b. 1963)
2008 – Georgia Frontiere, American businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1927)
2008 – Frank Lewin, American composer and theorist (b. 1925)
2008 – Lois Nettleton, American actress (b. 1927)
2008 – John Stroger, American politician (b. 1929)
2009 – Tony Hart, English painter and television host (b. 1925)
2009 – Nora Kovach, Hungarian-American ballerina (b. 1931)
2009 – Danai Stratigopoulou, Greek singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
2009 – Grigore Vieru, Romanian poet and author (b. 1935)
2010 – Kate McGarrigle, Canadian musician and singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
2010 – Robert B. Parker, American author and academic (b. 1932)
2011 – Sargent Shriver, American politician and diplomat, 21st United States Ambassador to France (b. 1915)
2012 – Anthony Gonsalves, Indian composer and educator (b. 1927)
2012 – Georg Lassen, German captain (b. 1915)
2012 – Yuri Rasovsky, American playwright and producer, founded The National Radio Theater of Chicago (b. 1944)
2013 – Sean Fallon, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1922)
2013 – Jim Horning, American computer scientist and academic (b. 1942)
2013 – Jon Mannah, Australian rugby league player (b. 1989)
2013 – Lewis Marnell, Australian skateboarder (b. 1982)
2013 – Ron Nachman, Israeli lawyer and politician (b. 1942)
2014 – Kathryn Abbe, American photographer and author (b. 1919)
2014 – Michael Botmang, Nigerian politician, 17th Governor of Plateau State (b. 1938)
2014 – Dennis Frederiksen, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
2014 – Andy Graver, English footballer (b. 1927)
2014 – Sarah Marshall, English actress (b. 1933)
2014 – Eugenio Cruz Vargas, Chilean poet and painter (b. 1923)
2015 – Alberto Nisman, Argentinian lawyer and prosecutor (b. 1963)
2015 – Christine Valmy, Romanian cosmetologist and author (b. 1926)
2015 – Piet van der Sanden, Dutch journalist and politician (b. 1924)
2015 – Tony Verna, American director and producer, invented instant replay (b. 1933)
2016 – Johnny Bach, American basketball player and coach (b. 1924)
2016 – Glenn Frey, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1948)
2016 – T. S. Sinnathuray, Judge of the High Court of Singapore (b. 1930)
2016 – Michel Tournier, French journalist and author (b. 1924)
2017 – Peter Abrahams, South African-Jamaican writer (b. 1919)
2017 – David P. Buckson, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Delaware (b. 1920)
2017 – Rachael Heyhoe Flint, Baroness Heyhoe Flint, English cricketer, businesswoman and philanthropist (b. 1939)
2017 – Roberta Peters, American coloratura soprano (b. 1930)
2019 – John Coughlin, American figure skater (b. 1985)

Holidays and observances on January 18

Christian feast day:
- Amy Carmichael (Church of England)
- Athanasius of Alexandria (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Confession of Peter (Eastern Orthodox, some Anglican and Lutheran Churches)
- Cyril of Alexandria
- Deicolus
- Margaret of Hungary
- Prisca
- Volusianus of Tours
- January 18 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Royal Thai Armed Forces Day (Thailand)
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18–25) (Christianity)

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

On This Day

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

On This Day / admin

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

Births on January 17

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

Deaths on January 17

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

Holidays and observances on January 17

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

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

On This Day

January 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

69 – Otho seizes power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, beginning a reign of only three months.
1541 – King Francis I of France gives Jean-François Roberval a commission to settle the province of New France (Canada) and provide for the spread of the “Holy Catholic faith”.
1559 – Elizabeth I is crowned Queen of England in Westminster Abbey, London.
1582 – Truce of Yam-Zapolsky: Russia cedes Livonia to the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1759 – The British Museum opens to the public.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: New Connecticut (present day Vermont) declares its independence.
1782 – Superintendent of Finance Robert Morris addresses the U.S. Congress to recommend establishment of a national mint and decimal coinage.
1815 – War of 1812: American frigate USS President, commanded by Commodore Stephen Decatur, is captured by a squadron of four British frigates.
1818 – A paper by David Brewster is read to the Royal Society, belatedly announcing his discovery of what we now call the biaxial class of doubly-refracting crystals. On the same day, Augustin-Jean Fresnel signs a “supplement” (submitted four days later) on reflection of polarized light.
1822 – Greek War of Independence: Demetrios Ypsilantis is elected president of the legislative assembly.
1865 – American Civil War: Fort Fisher in North Carolina falls to the Union, thus cutting off the last major seaport of the Confederacy.
1867 – Forty people die when ice covering the boating lake at Regent’s Park, London, collapses.
1870 – A political cartoon for the first time symbolizes the Democratic Party with a donkey (“A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion” by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly).
1876 – The first newspaper in Afrikaans, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, is published in Paarl.
1889 – The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, is incorporated in Atlanta.
1892 – James Naismith publishes the rules of basketball.
1908 – The Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority becomes the first Greek-letter organization founded and established by African American college women.
1910 – Construction ends on the Buffalo Bill Dam in Wyoming, United States, which was the highest dam in the world at the time, at 325 ft (99 m).
1911 – Palestinian Arabic-language Falastin newspaper founded.
1919 – Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, two of the most prominent socialists in Germany, are tortured and murdered by the Freikorps at the end of the Spartacist uprising.
1919 – Great Molasses Flood: A wave of molasses released from an exploding storage tank sweeps through Boston, Massachusetts, killing 21 and injuring 150.
1934 – The 8.0 M_w  Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing an estimated 6,000–10,700 people.
1936 – The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: Nationalists and Republican both withdraw after suffering heavy losses, ending the Second Battle of the Corunna Road.
1943 – World War II: The Soviet counter-offensive at Voronezh begins.
1943 – The Pentagon is dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.
1947 – The Black Dahlia murder: the dismembered corpse of Elizabeth Short was found in Los Angeles.
1949 – Chinese Civil War: The Communist forces take over Tianjin from the Nationalist Government.
1962 – The Derveni papyrus, Europe’s oldest surviving manuscript dating to 340 BC, is found in northern Greece.
1962 – Netherlands New Guinea Conflict: Indonesian Navy fast patrol boat RI Macan Tutul commanded by Commodore Yos Sudarso sunk in Arafura Sea by the Dutch Navy.
1966 – The First Nigerian Republic, led by Abubakar Tafawa Balewa is overthrown in a military coup d’état.
1967 – The first Super Bowl is played in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers defeat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.
1969 – The Soviet Union launches Soyuz 5.
1970 – Nigerian Civil War: Biafran rebels surrender following an unsuccessful 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria.
1970 – Muammar Gaddafi is proclaimed premier of Libya.
1973 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.
1975 – The Alvor Agreement is signed, ending the Angolan War of Independence and giving Angola independence from Portugal.
1976 – Gerald Ford’s would-be assassin, Sara Jane Moore, is sentenced to life in prison.
1981 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation from Solidarity (Polish trade union) at the Vatican led by Lech Wałęsa.
1991 – The United Nations deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expires, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.
1991 – Elizabeth II, in her capacity as Queen of Australia, signs letters patent allowing Australia to become the first Commonwealth realm to institute its own Victoria Cross in its honours system.
2001 – Wikipedia, a free wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
2005 – ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the Moon.
2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, former Iraqi intelligence chief and half-brother of Saddam Hussein, and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, former chief judge of the Revolutionary Court, are executed by hanging in Iraq.
2009 – US Airways Flight 1549 ditches safely in the Hudson River after the plane collides with birds less than two minutes after take-off.
2013 – A train carrying Egyptian Army recruits derails near Giza, Greater Cairo, killing 19 and injuring 120 others.
2015 – The Swiss National Bank abandons the cap on the franc’s value relative to the euro, causing turmoil in international financial markets
2016 – The Kenyan Army suffers its worst defeat ever in a battle with Al-Shabaab Islamic insurgents in El-Adde, Somalia. An estimated 150 Kenyan soldiers are killed in the battle.
2019 – Somali militants attack the DusitD2 hotel in Nairobi, Kenya killing at least 21 people and injuring 19.
2019 – Theresa May’s UK government suffers the biggest government defeat in modern times, when 432 MPs voting against the proposed European Union withdrawal agreement, giving her opponents a majority of 230.

Births on January 15

961 – Seongjong of Goryeo, Korean ruler (d. 997)
1432 – Afonso V of Portugal (d. 1481)
1462 – Edzard I, Count of East Frisia, German noble (d. 1528)
1481 – Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shōgun (d. 1511)
1538 – Maeda Toshiie, Japanese general (d. 1599)
1595 – Henry Carey, 2nd Earl of Monmouth, English politician (d. 1661)
1622 – Molière, French actor and playwright (d. 1673)
1623 – Algernon Sidney, British philosopher (d. 1683)
1671 – Abraham de la Pryme, English archaeologist and historian (d. 1704)
1674 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French poet and playwright (d. 1762)
1716 – Philip Livingston, American merchant and politician (d. 1778)
1747 – John Aikin, English surgeon and author (d. 1822)
1754 – Richard Martin, Irish activist and politician, co-founded the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (d. 1834)
1791 – Franz Grillparzer, Austrian author, poet, and playwright (d. 1872)
1795 – Alexander Griboyedov, Russian playwright, composer, and poet (d. 1829)
1803 – Marjorie Fleming, Scottish poet and author (d. 1811)
1809 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French economist and politician (d. 1865)
1812 – Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, Norwegian author and scholar (d. 1885)
1815 – William Bickerton, English-American religious leader, 3rd President of the Church of Jesus Christ (d. 1905)
1834 – Samuel Arza Davenport, American lawyer and politician (d. 1911)
1841 – Frederick Stanley, 16th Earl of Derby, English captain and politician, 6th Governor General of Canada (d. 1908)
1842 – Josef Breuer, Austrian physician and psychiatrist (d. 1925)
1842 – Mary MacKillop, Australian nun and saint, co-founded the Sisters of St Joseph of the Sacred Heart (d. 1909)
1850 – Leonard Darwin, English soldier, eugenicist, and politician (d. 1943)
1850 – Mihai Eminescu, Romanian journalist, author, and poet (d. 1889)
1850 – Sofia Kovalevskaya, Russian-Swedish mathematician and physicist (d. 1891)
1855 – Jacques Damala, Greek-French soldier and actor (d. 1889)
1858 – Giovanni Segantini, Italian painter (d. 1899)
1859 – Archibald Peake, English-Australian politician, 25th Premier of South Australia (d. 1920)
1863 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1946)
1866 – Nathan Söderblom, Swedish archbishop, historian, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931)
1869 – Ruby Laffoon, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Kentucky (d. 1941)
1869 – Stanisław Wyspiański, Polish poet, playwright, and painter (d. 1907)
1870 – Pierre S. du Pont, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1954)
1872 – Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (d. 1944)
1875 – Thomas Burke, American sprinter, coach, and journalist (d. 1929)
1877 – Lewis Terman, American psychologist, eugenicist, and academic (d. 1956)
1878 – Johanna Müller-Hermann, Austrian composer (d. 1941)
1879 – Mazo de la Roche, Canadian author and playwright (d. 1961)
1882 – Henry Burr, Canadian singer, radio performer, and producer (d. 1941)
1885 – Lorenz Böhler, Austrian physician and author (d. 1973)
1885 – Grover Lowdermilk, American baseball player (d. 1968)
1890 – Michiaki Kamada, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
1891 – Ray Chapman, American baseball player (d. 1920)
1891 – Osip Mandelstam, Russian poet and translator (d. 1938)
1893 – Ivor Novello, Welsh singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1951)
1895 – Artturi Ilmari Virtanen, Finnish chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1973)
1896 – Marjorie Bennett, Australian-American actress (d. 1982)
1902 – Nâzım Hikmet, Greek-Turkish author, poet, and playwright (d. 1963)
1902 – Saud of Saudi Arabia (d. 1969)
1903 – Paul A. Dever, American lieutenant and politician, 58th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1958)
1907 – Janusz Kusociński, Polish runner and soldier (d. 1940)
1908 – Edward Teller, Hungarian-American physicist and academic (d. 2003)
1909 – Jean Bugatti, German-French engineer (d. 1939)
1909 – Gene Krupa, American drummer, composer, and actor (d. 1973)
1912 – Michel Debré, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1996)
1913 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (d. 2002)
1913 – Lloyd Bridges, American actor (d. 1998)
1913 – Miriam Hyde, Australian pianist and composer (d. 2005)
1913 – Alexander Marinesko, Ukrainian-Russian lieutenant (d. 1963)
1914 – Stefan Bałuk, Polish general (d. 2014)
1914 – Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian and academic (d. 2003)
1917 – K. A. Thangavelu, Indian film actor and comedian (d. 1994)
1918 – João Figueiredo, Brazilian general and politician, 30th President of Brazil (d. 1999)
1918 – Édouard Gagnon, Canadian cardinal (d. 2007)
1918 – Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egyptian colonel and politician, 2nd President of Egypt (d. 1970)
1919 – Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer and politician, French Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports (d. 2012)
1919 – George Cadle Price, Belizean politician, 1st Prime Minister of Belize (d. 2011)
1920 – Bob Davies, American basketball player and coach (d. 1990)
1920 – Steve Gromek, American baseball player (d. 2002)
1920 – John O’Connor, American cardinal (d. 2000)
1921 – Babasaheb Bhosale, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2007)
1921 – Frank Thornton, English actor (d. 2013)
1922 – Sylvia Lawler, English geneticist (d. 1996)
1922 – Eric Willis, Australian sergeant and politician, 34th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1999)
1923 – Ivor Cutler, Scottish pianist, songwriter, and poet (d. 2006)
1923 – Lee Teng-hui, Taiwanese-Chinese economist and politician, 4th President of the Republic of China
1924 – George Lowe, New Zealand-English mountaineer and explorer (d. 2013)
1925 – Ruth Slenczynska, American pianist and composer
1925 – Ignacio López Tarso, Mexican actor
1926 – Maria Schell, Austrian-Swiss actress (d. 2005)
1927 – Phyllis Coates, American actress
1928 – W. R. Mitchell, English journalist and author (d. 2015)
1929 – Earl Hooker, American guitarist (d. 1970)
1929 – Martin Luther King, Jr., American minister and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (assassinated in 1968)
1930 – Eddie Graham, American wrestler and promoter (d. 1985)
1931 – Lee Bontecou, American painter and sculptor
1932 – Lou Jones, American sprinter (d. 2006)
1933 – Frank Bough, English journalist and radio host
1933 – Ernest J. Gaines, American author and academic (d. 2019)
1933 – Peter Maitlis, English chemist and academic
1934 – V. S. Ramadevi, Indian civil servant and politician, 13th Governor of Karnataka (d. 2013)
1937 – Margaret O’Brien, American actress and singer
1938 – Ashraf Aman, Pakistani engineer and mountaineer
1938 – Estrella Blanca, Mexican wrestler
1938 – Chuni Goswami, Indian footballer and cricketer
1939 – Per Ahlmark, Swedish journalist and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden (d. 2018)
1939 – Tony Bullimore, British sailor
1941 – Captain Beefheart, American singer-songwriter, musician, and artist (d. 2010)
1942 – Frank Joseph Polozola, American academic and judge (d. 2013)
1943 – George Ambrum, Australian rugby league player (d. 1986)
1943 – Margaret Beckett, English metallurgist and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
1943 – Stuart E. Eizenstat, American lawyer and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the European Union
1943 – Mike Marshall, American baseball player
1944 – Jenny Nimmo, English author
1945 – Ko Chun-hsiung, Taiwanese actor, director, and politician (d. 2015)
1945 – Vince Foster, American lawyer and political figure (d. 1993)
1945 – William R. Higgins, American colonel (d. 1990)
1945 – Princess Michael of Kent
1945 – David Pleat, English footballer, manager, and sportscaster
1946 – Charles Brown, American actor (d. 2004)
1947 – Mary Hogg, English lawyer and judge
1947 – Andrea Martin, American-Canadian actress, singer, and screenwriter
1948 – Ronnie Van Zant, American singer-songwriter (d. 1977)
1949 – Luis Alvarado, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2001)
1949 – Alasdair Liddell, English businessman (d. 2012)
1949 – Ian Stewart, Scottish runner
1949 – Howard Twitty, American golfer
1950 – Marius Trésor, French footballer and coach
1952 – Boris Blank, Swiss singer-songwriter
1952 – Andrzej Fischer, Polish footballer
1953 – Randy White, American football player
1954 – Jose Dalisay, Jr., Filipino poet, author, and screenwriter
1955 – Nigel Benson, English author and illustrator
1955 – Andreas Gursky, German photographer
1955 – Khalid Islambouli, Egyptian lieutenant (d. 1982)
1956 – Vitaly Kaloyev, Russian architect
1956 – Mayawati, Indian educator and politician, 23rd Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
1956 – Marc Trestman, American football player and coach
1957 – David Ige, American politician
1957 – Marty Lyons, American football player and sportscaster
1957 – Andrew Tyrie, English journalist and politician
1957 – Mario Van Peebles, American actor and director
1958 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2016)
1958 – Boris Tadić, Serbian psychologist and politician, 16th President of Serbia
1959 – Greg Dowling, Australian rugby league player
1959 – Pavle Kozjek, Slovenian mountaineer and photographer (d. 2008)
1959 – Pete Trewavas, English bass player and songwriter
1961 – Serhiy N. Morozov, Ukrainian footballer and coach
1961 – Yves Pelletier, Canadian actor and director
1963 – Conrad Lant, English singer-songwriter and bass player
1963 – Bruce Schneier, American cryptographer and author
1964 – Osmo Tapio Räihälä, Finnish composer
1965 – Maurizio Fondriest, Italian cyclist
1965 – Bernard Hopkins, American boxer and coach
1965 – James Nesbitt, Northern Irish actor
1966 – Lisa Lisa, American R&B singer
1967 – Ted Tryba, American golfer
1968 – Chad Lowe, American actor, director, and producer
1969 – Delino DeShields, American baseball player and manager
1970 – Shane McMahon, American wrestler and businessman
1971 – Regina King, American actress
1972 – Shelia Burrell, American heptathlete
1972 – Christos Kostis, Greek footballer
1972 – Claudia Winkleman, English journalist and critic
1973 – Essam El Hadary, Egyptian footballer
1973 – Suparno Satpathy, Indian socio-political leader
1974 – Séverine Deneulin, international development academic
1974 – Ray King, American baseball player
1975 – Mary Pierce, Canadian-American tennis player and coach
1976 – Doug Gottlieb, American basketball player and sportscaster
1976 – Iryna Lishchynska, Ukrainian runner
1976 – Scott Murray, Scottish rugby player
1976 – Florentin Petre, Romanian footballer and manager
1978 – Eddie Cahill, American actor
1978 – Franco Pellizotti, Italian cyclist
1978 – Ryan Sidebottom, English cricketer
1979 – Drew Brees, American football player
1979 – Michalis Morfis, Cypriot footballer
1979 – Martin Petrov, Bulgarian footballer
1980 – Matt Holliday, American baseball player
1981 – El Hadji Diouf, Senegalese football player
1981 – Pitbull, American rapper and producer
1981 – Dylan Armstrong, Canadian shot putter and hammer thrower
1981 – Vanessa Henke, German tennis player
1981 – Sean Lamont, Scottish rugby player
1982 – Benjamin Agosto, American skater
1982 – Armando Galarraga, Venezuelan baseball player
1982 – Brett Lebda, American ice hockey player
1982 – Ari Pulkkinen, Finnish pianist and composer
1982 – Francis Zé, Cameroonian footballer
1983 – Jermaine Pennant, English footballer
1983 – Hugo Viana, Portuguese footballer
1984 – Ben Shapiro, American author and commentator
1985 – René Adler, German footballer
1985 – Enrico Patrizio, Italian rugby player
1985 – Kenneth Emil Petersen, Danish footballer
1986 – Fred Davis, American football player
1987 – Greg Inglis, Australian rugby league player
1987 – Tsegaye Kebede, Ethiopian runner
1987 – David Knight, English footballer
1987 – Kelleigh Ryan, Canadian fencer
1987 – Michael Seater, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1988 – Daniel Caligiuri, German footballer
1988 – Skrillex, American DJ and producer
1989 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
1990 – Paul Blake, English sprinter
1990 – Fernando Forestieri, Italian footballer
1990 – Robert Trznadel, Polish footballer
1991 – Marc Bartra, Spanish footballer
1991 – Nicolai Jørgensen, Danish footballer
1991 – Darya Klishina, Russian long jumper
1991 – James Mitchell, Australian basketball player
1992 – Joël Veltman, Dutch footballer
1994 – Eric Dier, English footballer
1998 – Alexandra Eade, Australian artistic gymnast
2004 – Grace VanderWaal, American singer-songwriter

Deaths on January 15

AD 69 – Galba, Roman emperor (b. 3 BC)
378 – Chak Tok Ich’aak I, Mayan ruler
570 – Íte of Killeedy, Irish nun and saint (b. 475)
849 – Theophylact, Byzantine emperor (b. 793)
936 – Rudolph of France (b. 880)
950 – Wang Jingchong, Chinese general
1149 – Berengaria of Barcelona, queen consort of Castile (b. 1116)
1568 – Nicolaus Olahus, Romanian archbishop (b. 1493)
1569 – Catherine Carey, lady-in-waiting to Elizabeth I of England (b. 1524)
1584 – Martha Leijonhufvud, Swedish noblewoman (b. 1520)
1595 – Murad III, Ottoman Sultan (b. 1546)
1623 – Paolo Sarpi, Italian lawyer, historian, and scholar (b. 1552)
1672 – John Cosin, English bishop and academic (b. 1594)
1683 – Philip Warwick, English politician (b. 1609)
1775 – Giovanni Battista Sammartini, Italian organist and composer (b. 1700)
1790 – John Landen, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1719)
1804 – Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (b. 1725)
1813 – Anton Bernolák, Slovak linguist and priest (b. 1762)
1815 – Emma, Lady Hamilton, English-French mistress of Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson (b. 1761)
1855 – Henri Braconnot, French chemist and pharmacist (b. 1780)
1864 – Isaac Nathan, English-Australian composer and journalist (b. 1792)
1866 – Massimo d’Azeglio, Piedmontese-Italian statesman, novelist and painter (b. 1798)
1876 – Eliza McCardle Johnson, American wife of Andrew Johnson, 18th First Lady of the United States (b. 1810)
1885 – Leopold Damrosch, German-American composer and conductor (b. 1832)
1893 – Fanny Kemble, English actress (b. 1809)
1896 – Mathew Brady, American photographer and journalist (b. 1822)
1905 – George Thorn, Australian politician, 6th Premier of Queensland (b. 1838)
1909 – Arnold Janssen, German priest and missionary (b. 1837)
1916 – Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian playwright and translator (b. 1850)
1919 – Karl Liebknecht, German politician (b. 1871)
1919 – Rosa Luxemburg, German economist, theorist, and philosopher (b. 1871)
1926 – Enrico Toselli, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1883)
1929 – George Cope, American painter (b. 1855)
1936 – Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster, English cricketer and politician, 7th Governor-General of Australia (b. 1866)
1937 – Anton Holban, Romanian author, theoretician, and educator (b. 1902)
1945 – Wilhelm Wirtinger, Austrian-German mathematician and theorist (b. 1865)
1948 – Josephus Daniels, American publisher and diplomat, 41st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1862)
1950 – Henry H. Arnold, American general (b. 1886)
1951 – Ernest Swinton, British Army officer (b. 1868)
1951 – Nikolai Vekšin, Estonian-Russian captain and sailor (b. 1887)
1952 – Ned Hanlon, Australian sergeant and politician, 26th Premier of Queensland (b. 1887)
1955 – Yves Tanguy, French-American painter (b. 1900)
1959 – Regina Margareten, Hungarian businesswoman (b. 1863)
1964 – Jack Teagarden, American singer-songwriter and trombonist (b. 1905)
1967 – David Burliuk, Ukrainian author and illustrator (b. 1882)
1968 – Bill Masterton, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1938)
1970 – Frank Clement, English race car driver (b. 1886)
1970 – William T. Piper, American engineer and businessman, founded Piper Aircraft (b. 1881)
1972 – Daisy Ashford, English author (b. 1881)
1973 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1919)
1973 – Ivan Petrovsky, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1901)
1974 – Harold D. Cooley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
1981 – Graham Whitehead, English race car driver (b. 1922)
1982 – Red Smith, American journalist (b. 1905)
1983 – Armin Öpik, Estonian-Australian paleontologist and geologist (b. 1898)
1983 – Shepperd Strudwick, American actor (b. 1907)
1984 – Fazıl Küçük, Cypriot journalist and politician (b. 1906)
1987 – Ray Bolger, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1904)
1988 – Seán MacBride, Irish republican activist and politician, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
1990 – Gordon Jackson, Scottish-English actor (b. 1923)
1990 – Peggy van Praagh, English ballerina, choreographer, and director (b. 1910)
1993 – Sammy Cahn, American songwriter (b. 1913)
1994 – Georges Cziffra, Hungarian-French pianist and composer (b. 1921)
1994 – Harry Nilsson, American singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
1994 – Harilal Upadhyay, Indian author, poet, and astrologist (b. 1916)
1996 – Les Baxter, American pianist and composer (b. 1922)
1996 – Moshoeshoe II of Lesotho (b. 1938)
1998 – Gulzarilal Nanda, Indian economist and politician, Prime Minister of India (b. 1898)
1998 – Junior Wells, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (b. 1934)
1999 – Betty Box, English composer and producer (b. 1915)
2000 – Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian-Dominican priest and sociologist (b. 1903)
2001 – Leo Marks, English cryptographer, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
2002 – Michael Anthony Bilandic, American politician, 49th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
2002 – Eugène Brands, Dutch painter (b. 1913)
2003 – Doris Fisher, American singer-songwriter (b. 1915)
2004 – Olivia Goldsmith, American author (b. 1949)
2005 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish soprano and actress (b. 1923)
2005 – Walter Ernsting, German author (b. 1920)
2005 – Elizabeth Janeway, American author and critic (b. 1913)
2005 – Ruth Warrick, American actress (b. 1916)
2006 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler (b. 1926)
2007 – Awad Hamed al-Bandar, Iraqi lawyer and judge (b. 1945)
2007 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti, Iraqi intelligence officer (b. 1951)
2007 – James Hillier, Canadian-American computer scientist and academic, co-invented the electron microscope (b. 1915)
2007 – Pura Santillan-Castrence, Filipino educator and diplomat (b. 1905)
2007 – Bo Yibo, Chinese commander and politician, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1908)
2008 – Robert V. Bruce, American historian, author, and academic (b. 1923)
2008 – Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)
2009 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (b. 1917)
2011 – Nat Lofthouse, English footballer and manager (b. 1925)
2011 – Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, French soldier, race car driver, and businessman (b. 1908)
2011 – Susannah York, English actress and activist (b. 1939)
2012 – Ed Derwinski, American soldier and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs (b. 1926)
2012 – Manuel Fraga Iribarne, Spanish lawyer and politician, 3rd President of the Xunta of Galicia (b. 1922)
2012 – Carlo Fruttero, Italian journalist and author (b. 1926)
2012 – Samuel Jaskilka, American general (b. 1919)
2012 – Ib Spang Olsen, Danish author and illustrator (b. 1921)
2012 – Hulett C. Smith, American lieutenant and politician, 27th Governor of West Virginia (b. 1918)
2013 – Nagisa Oshima, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1932)
2013 – John Thomas, American high jumper (b. 1941)
2014 – Curtis Bray, American football player and coach (b. 1970)
2014 – John Dobson, Chinese-American astronomer and author (b. 1915)
2014 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor (b. 1944)
2015 – Ervin Drake, American songwriter and composer (b. 1919)
2015 – Kim Fowley, American singer-songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1939)
2015 – Ray Nagel, American football player and coach (b. 1927)
2016 – Francisco X. Alarcón, American poet and educator (b. 1954)
2016 – Ken Judge, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1958)
2016 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (b. 1943)
2017 – Jimmy Snuka, Fijian professional wrestler (b. 1943)
2018 – Dolores O’Riordan, Irish pop singer (b. 1971)
2019 – Carol Channing, American actress (b. 1921)
2019 – Ida Kleijnen, Dutch chef (b. 1936)

Holidays and observances on January 15

Arbor Day (Egypt)
Armed Forces Day (Nigeria)
Army Day (India)
Christian feast day:
- Abeluzius (Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church)
- Arnold Janssen
- Francis Ferdinand de Capillas (one of Martyr Saints of China)
- Ita
- Our Lady of the Poor
- Macarius of Egypt (Western Christianity)
- Maurus and Placidus (Order of Saint Benedict)
- Paul the Hermit
- January 15 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Martin Luther King Jr. Day can fall (the 15th being his birthday), while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Monday in January. (United States)
Earliest day on which Sinulog Festival can fall, while January 21 is the latest; celebrated on the third Sunday in January. (Philippines)
John Chilembwe Day (Malawi)
Korean Alphabet Day (North Korea)
Ocean Duty Day (Indonesia)
Sagichō at Tsurugaoka Hachimangū. (Kamakura, Japan)
Teacher’s Day (Venezuela)
The second day of the sidereal winter solstice festivals in India (see January 14):
- Thai Pongal, Tamil harvest festival

January 15 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1528 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned since his election in June 1523.
1554 – Bayinnaung, who would go on to assemble the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia, is crowned King of Burma.
1616 – The city of Belém, Brazil is founded on the Amazon River delta, by Portuguese captain Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco.
1808 – John Rennie’s scheme to defend St Mary’s Church, Reculver, founded in 669, from coastal erosion is abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of Anglo-Saxon architecture and sculpture.
1808 – The organizational meeting leading to the creation of the Wernerian Natural History Society, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
1848 – The Palermo rising takes place in Sicily against the Bourbon Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
1866 – The Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.
1872 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.
1895 – The National Trust is founded in the United Kingdom.
1911 – The University of the Philippines College of Law is formally established; three future Philippine presidents are among the first enrollees.
1915 – The United States House of Representatives rejects a proposal to require states to give women the right to vote.
1916 – Both Oswald Boelcke and Max Immelmann, for achieving eight aerial victories each over Allied aircraft, receive the German Empire’s highest military award, the Pour le Mérite as the first German aviators to earn it.
1918 – The Minnie Pit Disaster coal mining accident occurs in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys die.
1921 – Acting to restore confidence in baseball after the Black Sox Scandal, Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis is elected as Major League Baseball’s first commissioner.
1932 – Hattie Caraway becomes the first woman elected to the United States Senate.
1942 – World War II: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the National War Labor Board.
1945 – World War II: The Red Army begins the Vistula–Oder Offensive.
1962 – Vietnam War: Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the war, takes place.
1964 – Rebels in Zanzibar begin a revolt known as the Zanzibar Revolution and proclaim a republic.
1966 – Lyndon B. Johnson states that the United States should stay in South Vietnam until Communist aggression there is ended.
1967 – Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.
1969 – The New York Jets of the American Football League defeat the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League to win Super Bowl III in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
1970 – Biafra capitulates, ending the Nigerian Civil War.
1971 – The Harrisburg Seven: Rev. Philip Berrigan and five other activists are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap Henry Kissinger and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in Washington, D.C.
1976 – The United Nations Security Council votes 11–1 to allow the Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).
1986 – Space Shuttle program: Congressman Bill Nelson lifts off from Kennedy Space Center aboard Columbia on mission STS-61-C as a payload specialist.
1990 – A seven-day pogrom breaks out against the Armenian civilian population of Baku, Azerbaijan, during which Armenians were beaten, tortured, murdered, and expelled from the city.
1991 – Persian Gulf War: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait.
1998 – Nineteen European nations agree to forbid human cloning.
2001 – Downtown Disney opens to the public as part of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
2004 – The world’s largest ocean liner, RMS Queen Mary 2, makes its maiden voyage.
2005 – Deep Impact launches from Cape Canaveral on a Delta II rocket.
2006 – A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims.
2010 – An earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital Port-au-Prince.
2012 – Violent protests occur in Bucharest, Romania, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President Traian Băsescu’s economic austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers.
2015 – Government raids kill 143 Boko Haram fighters in Kolofata, Cameroon.
2016 – Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a bombing near the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
2020 – Taal Volcano in the Philippines erupts, and kills 39 people.

Births on January 12

1483 – Henry III of Nassau-Breda (d. 1538)
1562 – Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1630)
1576 – Petrus Scriverius, Dutch historian and scholar (d. 1660)
1577 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist and physician (d. 1644)
1588 – John Winthrop, English lawyer and politician, 2nd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (d. 1649)
1591 – Jusepe de Ribera, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
1597 – François Duquesnoy, Flemish sculptor and educator (d. 1643)
1598 – Jijabai Shahaji Bhosale, venerated mother of Indian king Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (d. 1674)
1628 – Charles Perrault, French author and academic (d. 1703)
1673 – Rosalba Carriera, Italian painter (d. 1757)
1711 – Gaetano Latilla, Italian composer (d. 1788)
1715 – Jacques Duphly, French organist and composer (d. 1789)
1716 – Antonio de Ulloa, Spanish general and politician, 1st Spanish Governor of Louisiana (d. 1795)
1721 – Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Prussian field marshal (d. 1792)
1723 – Samuel Langdon, American minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1797)
1724 – Frances Brooke, English author and playwright (d. 1789)
1729 – Edmund Burke, Irish philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1797)
1746 – Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Swiss philosopher and educator (d. 1827)
1751 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (d. 1825)
1772 – Mikhail Speransky, Russian academic and politician (d. 1839)
1786 – Sir Robert Inglis, 2nd Baronet, English politician (d. 1855)
1792 – Johan August Arfwedson, Swedish chemist and academic (d. 1841)
1797 – Gideon Brecher, Austrian physician and author (d. 1873)
1799 – Priscilla Susan Bury, British botanist (d. 1872)
1822 – Étienne Lenoir, Belgian engineer, designed the internal combustion engine (d. 1900)
1837 – Adolf Jensen, German pianist and composer (d. 1879)
1849 – Jean Béraud, Russian-French painter and academic (d. 1935)
1853 – Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro, Italian mathematician (d. 1925)
1856 – John Singer Sargent, American painter and academic (d. 1925)
1863 – Swami Vivekananda, Indian monk and philosopher (d. 1902)
1869 – Bhagwan Das, Indian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1958)
1873 – Spyridon Louis, Greek runner (d. 1940)
1874 – Laura Adams Armer, American author and photographer (d. 1963)
1876 – Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish field marshal and politician, Prime Minister of the Turkish Provisional Government (d. 1950)
1876 – Jack London, American novelist and journalist (d. 1916)
1876 – Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, Italian composer and educator (d. 1948)
1877 – Frank J. Corr, American lawyer and politician, 45th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1934)
1878 – Ferenc Molnár, Hungarian-American author and playwright (d. 1952)
1879 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver and engineer (d. 1968)
1879 – Anton Uesson, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th Mayor of Tallinn (d. 1942)
1882 – Milton Sills, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1930)
1884 – Texas Guinan, American entertainer and bootlegger (d. 1933)
1889 – Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad, Indian-Pakistani spiritual leader (d. 1965)
1890 – Johannes Vares, Estonian poet, physician, and politician (d. 1946)
1892 – Mikhail Gurevich, Russian engineer and businessman, co-founded the Russian Aircraft Corporation (d. 1976)
1893 – Hermann Göring, German commander, pilot, and politician, Minister President of Prussia (d. 1946)
1893 – Alfred Rosenberg, Estonian-German architect and politician, Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories (d. 1946)
1894 – Georges Carpentier, French boxer and actor (d. 1975)
1895 – Leo Aryeh Mayer, Polish-Israeli scholar and academic (d. 1959)
1896 – David Wechsler, Romanian-American psychologist and author (d. 1981)
1899 – Pierre Bernac, French opera singer and educator (d. 1979)
1899 – Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
1901 – Karl Künstler, German SS officer (d. 1945)
1903 – Igor Kurchatov, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1960)
1903 – Andrew J. Transue, American politician and attorney (Morissette v. United States) (d. 1995)
1904 – Mississippi Fred McDowell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972)
1905 – Nihal Atsız, Turkish author, poet, and philosopher (d. 1975)
1905 – James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist and academic (d. 1997)
1905 – Tex Ritter, American actor and singer (d. 1974)
1906 – Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-French historian, philosopher, and academic (d. 1995)
1907 – Sergei Korolev, Russian colonel and engineer (d. 1966)
1908 – Jean Delannoy, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
1908 – Clement Hurd, American illustrator (d. 1988)
1910 – Patsy Kelly, American actress and comedian (d. 1981)
1910 – Luise Rainer, German-English actress (d. 2014)
1912 – Richard Kuremaa, Estonian footballer (d. 1991)
1914 – Mieko Kamiya, Japanese psychiatrist and psychologist (d. 1979)
1915 – Paul Jarrico, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
1915 – Joseph-Aurèle Plourde, Canadian archbishop and academic (d. 2013)
1916 – Ruth R. Benerito, American chemist and inventor (d. 2013)
1916 – Mary Wilson, Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx, British poet and Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2018)
1916 – P. W. Botha, South African politician, 8th Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 2006)
1917 – Walter Hendl, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2007)
1917 – Jimmy Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2007)
1920 – James Farmer, American activist, and politician, co-founded Congress of Racial Equality (d. 1999)
1920 – Jerzy Zubrzycki, Polish-Australian sociologist and academic (d. 2009)
1922 – Tadeusz Żychiewicz, Polish journalist and historian (d. 1994)
1923 – Ira Hayes, American marine who raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima (d. 1955)
1924 – Olivier Gendebien, Belgian racing driver and businessman (d. 1998)
1925 – Bill Burrud, American television host, producer, and actor (d. 1990)
1926 – Morton Feldman, American composer and academic (d. 1987)
1926 – Ray Price, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
1928 – Ruth Brown, American R&B singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2006)
1929 – Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish-American philosopher and academic
1929 – Jaakko Hintikka, Finnish philosopher and logician (d. 2015)
1930 – Tim Horton, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman, founded Tim Hortons (d. 1974)
1930 – Jennifer Johnston, Irish author and playwright
1930 – Glenn Yarbrough, American singer and actor (d. 2016)
1933 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (d. 2013)
1934 – Alan Sharp, Scottish-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
1934 – Mick Sullivan, English rugby player and coach (d. 2016)
1935 – Teresa del Conde, Mexican historian and critic (d. 2017)
1935 – Kreskin, American mentalist
1936 – Jennifer Hilton, Baroness Hilton of Eggardon, English police officer and politician
1936 – Raimonds Pauls, Latvian pianist and composer
1936 – Brajanath Ratha, Indian poet and activist (d. 2014)
1936 – Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Home Affairs (d. 2016)
1937 – Shirley Eaton, English actress
1938 – Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Pakistani scholar and politician (d. 2013)
1940 – Bob Hewitt, Australian-South African tennis player
1940 – Ronald Shannon Jackson, American drummer and composer (d. 2013)
1940 – Dick Motz, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2007)
1941 – Long John Baldry, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and voice actor (d. 2005)
1941 – Fiona Caldicott, English psychiatrist and psychotherapist
1941 – Chet Jastremski, American swimmer and physician (d. 2014)
1942 – Bernardine Dohrn, American domestic terrorist, political activist and academic
1944 – Hans Henning Atrott, German author and theorist
1944 – Joe Frazier, American boxer (d. 2011)
1944 – Cynthia Robinson, American R&B trumpet player and singer (d 2015)
1945 – Maggie Bell, Scottish singer-songwriter
1946 – Hazel Cosgrove, Lady Cosgrove, Scottish lawyer and judge
1946 – George Duke, American keyboard player, composer, and educator (d. 2013)
1947 – Richard Carwardine, English historian and academic
1947 – Tom Dempsey, American football player and educator
1947 – Sally Hamwee, Baroness Hamwee, English politician
1948 – Kenny Allen, English footballer
1948 – Anthony Andrews, English actor and producer
1948 – Gordon Campbell, Canadian educator and politician, 34th Premier of British Columbia
1948 – Brendan Foster, English runner and sportscaster
1948 – William Nicholson, English author and screenwriter
1949 – Kentarō Haneda, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 2007)
1949 – Ottmar Hitzfeld, German footballer and manager
1949 – Hamadi Jebali, Tunisian engineer, journalist, and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Tunisia
1949 – Haruki Murakami, Japanese novelist, short-story writer, and essayist
1950 – Sheila Jackson Lee, American lawyer, judge, and politician
1950 – Göran Lindblad, Swedish dentist and politician
1950 – Bob McEwen, American businessman and politician
1950 – Dorrit Moussaieff, Israeli-Icelandic jewelry designer and businesswoman, 5th First Lady of Iceland
1951 – Kirstie Alley, American actress and producer
1951 – Chris Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)
1951 – Rush Limbaugh, American talk show host and author
1951 – Drew Pearson, American football player and sportscaster
1952 – Phil Perry, American singer-songwriter and producer
1952 – Ricky Van Shelton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
1952 – John Walker, New Zealand runner and politician
1952 – Walter Mosley, American novelist
1953 – Mary Harron, Canadian director and screenwriter
1954 – Howard Stern, American radio host, actor, and author
1954 – Martin Kylhammar, Swedish professor of culture and society
1955 – Tom Ardolino, American rock drummer (NRBQ) (d. 2012)
1956 – Nikolai Noskov, Russian rock singer and singer-songwriter
1957 – John Lasseter, American animator, director, and producer
1957 – Jeremy Sams, English director, playwright, and composer
1958 – Christiane Amanpour, English-born Iranian-American journalist
1958 – Curt Fraser, American-Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1959 – B. Brian Blair, American wrestler and politician
1959 – Per Gessle, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1960 – Oliver Platt, Canadian-American actor
1960 – Dominique Wilkins, French-American basketball player and manager
1961 – Simon Russell Beale, Malaysia-born English actor and historian
1962 – Joe Quesada, American author and illustrator
1962 – Richie Richardson, Antiguan cricketer
1962 – Luna Vachon, American-Canadian wrestler and manager (d. 2010)
1963 – François Girard, Canadian director and screenwriter
1963 – Nando Reis, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1964 – Jeff Bezos, American computer scientist and businessman, founded Amazon.com
1965 – Raekwon, American rapper
1965 – Rob Zombie, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
1966 – Olivier Martinez, French actor
1966 – Craig Parry, Australian golfer
1967 – Vendela Kirsebom, Norwegian-Swedish model and actress
1968 – Junichi Masuda, Japanese director, producer, and composer
1968 – Heather Mills, English businesswoman, activist and model
1968 – Mauro Silva, Brazilian footballer
1969 – David Mitchell, English novelist
1969 – Margaret Nagle, American screenwriter and producer
1970 – Zack de la Rocha, American singer-songwriter
1971 – Scott Burrell, American basketball player and coach
1972 – Priyanka Gandhi, Indian politician
1972 – Espen Knutsen, Norwegian ice hockey player and coach
1972 – Paul Wilson, Australian cricketer and umpire
1973 – Brian Culbertson, American pianist and producer
1973 – Hande Yener, Turkish singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1974 – Melanie C, English singer-songwriter and actress
1974 – Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian skier
1975 – Jason Freese, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer
1975 – Jocelyn Thibault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1977 – Yoandy Garlobo, Cuban baseball player
1978 – Luis Ayala, Mexican baseball player
1978 – Maurizio Zaffiri, Italian rugby player
1979 – Marián Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player
1979 – Lee Bo-young, South Korean actress and model
1979 – Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer
1979 – David Zabriskie, American cyclist
1980 – Bobby Crosby, American baseball player
1981 – Amerie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
1981 – João Paulo Daniel, Brazilian footballer
1981 – Dan Klecko, American football player
1981 – Angus Macdonald, New Zealand rugby player
1981 – Luis Ernesto Pérez, Mexican footballer
1982 – Paul-Henri Mathieu, French tennis player
1982 – Hans Van Alphen, Belgian decathlete
1982 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
1982 – Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
1984 – Daniel Sepulveda, American football player
1984 – Jonathan Zydko, French footballer
1985 – Artem Milevskiy, Ukrainian footballer
1985 – Issa Rae, American actress, writer, director, producer and web series creator
1985 – Borja Valero, Spanish footballer
1986 – Kehoma Brenner, German rugby player
1986 – Miguel Ángel Nieto, Spanish footballer
1987 – Naya Rivera, American actress and singer
1987 – Salvatore Sirigu, Italian footballer
1988 – Claude Giroux, Canadian ice hockey player
1989 – Thiemo-Jérôme Kialka, German footballer
1989 – Axel Witsel, Belgian footballer
1991 – Pixie Lott, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
1991 – Matt Srama, Australian rugby league player
1992 – Ishak Belfodil, Algerian footballer
1992 – Samuele Longo, Italian footballer
1993 – Zayn Malik, English singer-songwriter
1993 – Simone Pecorini, Italian footballer
1993 – Do Kyungsoo, South Korean singer and member of boy band EXO
1995 – Sarah Mehain, Canadian Paralympic swimmer
1995 – Alessio Romagnoli, Italian footballer

Deaths of January 12

690 – Benedict Biscop, English scholar and saint, founded the Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey (b. 628)
914 – Ahmad Samani, Samanid emir
947 – Sang Weihan, Chinese chief of staff (b. 898)
1140 – Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia
1167 – Aelred of Rievaulx, English monk and saint (b. 1110)
1320 – John Dalderby, bishop of Lincoln
1321 – Marie of Brabant, Queen of France (b. 1256)
1405 – Eleanor Maltravers, English noblewoman (b. 1345)
1519 – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1459)
1665 – Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician and lawyer (b. 1601)
1674 – Giacomo Carissimi, Italian priest and composer (b. 1605)
1700 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal (b. 1620)
1720 – William Ashhurst, English banker and politician, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1647)
1732 – John Horsley, English-Scottish historian and author (b. 1685)
1735 – John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
1759 – Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (b. 1709)
1765 – Johann Melchior Molter, German violinist and composer (b. 1696)
1777 – Hugh Mercer, Scottish-American general and physician (b. 1726)
1778 – François Bigot, French politician (b. 1703)
1781 – Richard Challoner, English bishop (b. 1691)
1829 – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, German philosopher, poet, and critic (b. 1772)
1833 – Marie-Antoine Carême, French chef (b. 1784)
1834 – William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
1856 – Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak philologist and politician (b. 1815)
1861 – Václav Hanka, Czech philologist and author (b. 1791)
1892 – James Caulfeild, 3rd Earl of Charlemont, Irish politician, Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone (b. 1820)
1892 – William Reeves, Irish bishop and historian (b. 1815)
1899 – Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club (b. 1816)
1909 – Hermann Minkowski, Lithuanian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1864)
1911 – Andreas Papagiannakopoulos, Greek journalist, judge, and politician (b. 1845)
1916 – Georgios Theotokis, Greek lawyer and politician, 80th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1844)
1921 – Gervase Elwes, English tenor and actor (b. 1866)
1926 – Austin Chapman, Australian businessman and politician, 4th Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1864)
1934 – Paul Kochanski, Polish violinist and composer (b. 1887)
1938 – Oscar Florianus Bluemner, German-American painter and illustrator (b. 1867)
1940 – Ralph Hitz, Austrian-American hotelier (b. 1891)
1940 – Edward Smith, English lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1898)
1943 – Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and critic (b. 1902)
1944 – Lance C. Wade, American commander and pilot (b. 1915)
1958 – Charles Hatfield, American meteorologist (b. 1875)
1960 – Nevil Shute, English engineer and author (b. 1899)
1962 – Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1869)
1965 – Lorraine Hansberry, American author, playwright, and director (b. 1936)
1967 – Burhan Asaf Belge, Turkish diplomat (b. 1887)
1971 – John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey, English admiral (b. 1885)
1973 – Roy Franklin Nichols, American historian and academic (b. 1896)
1974 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (b. 1886)
1976 – Agatha Christie, English crime novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1890)
1977 – Henri-Georges Clouzot, French director and screenwriter (b. 1907)
1983 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (b. 1903)
1988 – Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
1988 – Piero Taruffi, Italian racing driver and motorcycle racer (b. 1906)
1990 – Laurence J. Peter, Canadian-American author and educator (b. 1919)
1991 – Robert Jackson, Australian public servant and diplomat (b. 1911)
1992 – Kumar Gandharva, a Hindustani classical singer (b. 1924)
1994 – Gustav Naan, Estonian physicist and philosopher (b. 1919)
1996 – Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
1997 – Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (b. 1936)
1997 – Charles Brenton Huggins, Canadian-American physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
1998 – Roger Clark, English racing driver (b. 1939)
1999 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1961)
2000 – Marc Davis, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1913)
2000 – Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
2001 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
2001 – William Redington Hewlett, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (b. 1913)
2002 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
2003 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist and author (b. 1912)
2003 – Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
2003 – Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentine general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (b. 1926)
2003 – Maurice Gibb, Manx-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1949)
2003 – Alan Nunn May, English physicist and spy (b. 1911)
2004 – Olga Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
2005 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
2006 – Pablita Velarde, Santa Clara Pueblo (Native American) painter (b. 1918)
2007 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (b. 1937)
2007 – James Killen, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1925)
2008 – Max Beck, American intersex advocate (b. 1966)
2009 – Claude Berri, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
2010 – Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and author (b. 1946)
2010 – Hasib Sabbagh, Palestinian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Consolidated Contractors Company (b. 1920)
2012 – Bjørn G. Andersen, Norwegian geologist and academic (b. 1924)
2012 – Glenda Dickerson, American director, choreographer, and educator (b. 1945)
2012 – Bill Janklow, American lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1939)
2012 – Charles H. Price II, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1931)
2012 – Jim Stanley, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
2013 – Precious Bryant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
2013 – Eugene Patterson, American journalist and activist (b. 1923)
2014 – Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (b. 1946)
2014 – Connie Binsfeld, American educator and politician, 58th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (b. 1924)
2014 – George Dement, American soldier, businessman, and politician (b. 1922)
2015 – Trevor Colbourn, American historian and academic (b. 1927)
2015 – Robert Gover, American journalist and author (b. 1929)
2015 – Carl Long, American baseball player (b. 1935)
2015 – Elena Obraztsova, Russian soprano and actress (b. 1939)
2015 – Inge Vermeulen, Brazilian-Dutch field hockey player (b. 1985)
2017 – William Peter Blatty, American writer and filmmaker (b. 1928)
2017 – Graham Taylor, former Grimsby Town player and former manager of the England football team. (b. 1944)
2018 – Keith Jackson, American sports commentator and journalist (b. 1928)
2020 – Sir Roger Scruton, English philosopher, and writer (b. 1944)

Holidays and observances on January 12

Christian feast day:
- Aelred of Rievaulx
- Benedict Biscop
- Bernard of Corleone
- Marguerite Bourgeoys
- Tatiana
- January 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Lee–Jackson Day can fall while January 18 is the latest, celebrated on the Friday before Martin Luther King Day. (Commonwealth of Virginia)
Memorial Day (Turkmenistan)
National Youth Day (India)
Prosecutor General’s Day (Russia)
Zanzibar Revolution Day (Tanzania)

January 12 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day Read More »

On This Day

January 6 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

1066 – Following the death of Edward the Confessor on the previous day, the Witan meets to confirm Harold Godwinson as the new King of England; Harold is crowned the same day, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England.
1205 – Philip of Swabia undergoes a second coronation as King of the Romans.
1322 – Stephen Uroš III is crowned King of Serbia, having defeated his half-brother Stefan Konstantin in battle. His son is crowned “young king” in the same ceremony.
1355 – Charles IV of Bohemia is crowned with the Iron Crown of Lombardy as King of Italy in Milan.
1449 – Constantine XI is crowned Byzantine Emperor at Mystras.
1492 – The Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella enter Granada at the conclusion of the Granada War.
1536 – The first European school of higher learning in the Americas, Colegio de Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco, is founded by Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza and Bishop Juan de Zumárraga in Mexico City.
1540 – King Henry VIII of England marries Anne of Cleves.
1579 – The Union of Arras unites the southern Netherlands under the Duke of Parma (Ottavio Farnese), governor in the name of King Philip II of Spain.
1641 – Arauco War: The first Parliament of Quillín is celebrated, putting a temporary hold on hostilities between Mapuches and Spanish in Chile.
1661 – English Restoration: The Fifth Monarchists unsuccessfully attempt to seize control of London, England. The revolt is suppressed after a few days.
1721 – The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble publishes its findings, revealing details of fraud among company directors and corrupt politicians.
1781 – In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeat the last attempt by France to invade Jersey in the Channel Islands.
1809 – Combined British, Portuguese and colonial Brazilian forces begin the Invasion of Cayenne during the Napoleonic Wars.
1838 – Alfred Vail and colleagues demonstrate a telegraph system using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code).
1839 – The Night of the Big Wind, the most damaging storm in 300 years, sweeps across Ireland, damaging or destroying more than 20% of the houses in Dublin.
1847 – Samuel Colt obtains his first contract for the sale of revolver pistols to the United States government.
1870 – The inauguration of the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.
1893 – The Washington National Cathedral is chartered by Congress. The charter is signed by President Benjamin Harrison.
1900 – Second Boer War: Having already besieged the fortress at Ladysmith, Boer forces attack it, but are driven back by British defenders.
1907 – Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working-class children in Rome, Italy.
1912 – New Mexico is admitted to the Union as the 47th U.S. state.
1912 – German geophysicist Alfred Wegener first presents his theory of continental drift.
1929 – King Alexander of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes suspends his country’s constitution (the January 6th Dictatorship).
1929 – Mother Teresa arrives by sea in Calcutta, India, to begin her work among India’s poorest and sick people.
1930 – The first diesel-powered automobile trip is completed, from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York, New York.
1941 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivers his Four Freedoms speech in the State of the Union address.
1946 – The first general election ever in Vietnam is held.
1947 – Pan American Airlines becomes the first commercial airline to offer a round-the-world ticket.
1950 – The United Kingdom recognizes the People’s Republic of China. The Republic of China severs diplomatic relations with the UK in response.
1951 – Korean War: Beginning of the Ganghwa massacre, in the course of which an estimated 200–1,300 South Korean communist sympathizers are slaughtered.
1960 – National Airlines Flight 2511 is destroyed in mid-air by a bomb, while en route from New York City to Miami.
1960 – The Associations Law comes into force in Iraq, allowing registration of political parties
1967 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and ARVN troops launch “Operation Deckhouse Five” in the Mekong River delta.
1974 – In response to the 1973 oil crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early in the United States.
1989 – Satwant Singh and Kehar Singh are sentenced to death for conspiracy in the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi; the two men are executed the same day.
1992 – President of Georgia Zviad Gamsakhurdia flees the country as a result of the military coup.
1993 – Indian Border Security Force units kill 55 Kashmiri civilians in Sopore, Jammu and Kashmir, in revenge after militants ambushed a BSF patrol.
1994 – American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is attacked and injured by an assailant hired by her rival Tonya Harding’s ex-husband during the U.S. Figure Skating Championships that they were both taking part in.
1995 – A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.
2005 – American Civil Rights Movement: Edgar Ray Killen is indicted for the 1964 murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner.
2005 – A train collision in Graniteville, South Carolina, United States, releases about 60 tons of chlorine gas.
2012 – Twenty-six people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blows himself up at a police station in Damascus.
2017 – Five people are killed and six others injured in a mass shooting at Fort Lauderdale–Hollywood International Airport in Broward County, Florida.
2019 – Forty people are killed in a gold mine collapse in northern Afghanistan.

Births on January 6

1256 – Gertrude the Great, German mystic (d. 1302)
1367 – Richard II of England (d. 1400)
1384 – Edmund Holland, 4th Earl of Kent (d. 1408)
1412 – Joan of Arc, French martyr and saint (d. 1431)
1486 – Martin Agricola, German composer and theorist (d. 1556)
1488 – Helius Eobanus Hessus, German poet (d. 1540)
1493 – Olaus Petri, Swedish clergyman (d. 1552)
1500 – John of Ávila, Spanish mystic and saint (d. 1569)
1525 – Caspar Peucer, German physician and scholar (d. 1602)
1538 – Jane Dormer, Duchess of Feria (d. 1612)
1561 – Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (d. 1656)
1587 – Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares (d. 1645)
1595 – Claude Favre de Vaugelas, French educator and courtier (d. 1650)
1617 – Christoffer Gabel, Danish politician (d. 1673)
1632 – Anne Hamilton, 3rd Duchess of Hamilton, Scottish peeress (d. 1716)
1655 – Eleonor Magdalene of Neuburg (d. 1720)
1673 – James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, English academic and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Radnorshire (d. 1744)
1695 – Giuseppe Sammartini, Italian oboe player and composer (d. 1750)
1702 – José de Nebra, Spanish composer (d. 1768)
1714 – Percivall Pott, English surgeon (d. 1788)
1745 – Jacques-Etienne Montgolfier, French co-inventor of the hot air balloon (d. 1799)
1766 – José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, Paraguayan lawyer and politician, first dictator of Paraguay (d. 1840)
1785 – Andreas Moustoxydis, Greek historian and philologist (d. 1860)
1793 – James Madison Porter, American lawyer and politician, 18th United States Secretary of War (d. 1862)
1795 – Anselme Payen, French chemist and academic (d. 1871)
1799 – Jedediah Smith, American hunter, explorer, and author (d. 1831)
1803 – Henri Herz, Austrian pianist and composer (d. 1888)
1807 – Joseph Petzval, German-Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1891)
1808 – Joseph Pitty Couthouy, American conchologist and paleontologist (d. 1864)
1811 – Charles Sumner, American lawyer and politician (d. 1874)
1822 – Heinrich Schliemann, German archaeologist and businessman (d. 1890)
1832 – Gustave Doré, French painter and sculptor (d. 1883)
1838 – Max Bruch, German composer and conductor (d. 1920)
1842 – Clarence King, American geologist, mountaineer, and critic (d. 1901)
1856 – Giuseppe Martucci, Italian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1909)
1857 – Hugh Mahon, Irish-Australian publisher and politician, 10th Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs (d. 1931)
1857 – William Russell, American lawyer and politician, 37th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1896)
1859 – Samuel Alexander, Australian-English philosopher and academic (d. 1938)
1861 – Victor Horta, Belgian architect, designed Hôtel van Eetvelde (d. 1947)
1861 – George Lloyd, English-Canadian bishop and theologian (d. 1940)
1870 – Gustav Bauer, German journalist and politician, 11th Chancellor of Germany (d. 1944)
1872 – Alexander Scriabin, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1915)
1874 – Fred Niblo, American actor, director, and producer (d. 1948)
1878 – Adeline Genée, Danish-born British ballerina (d. 1970)
1878 – Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian (d. 1967)
1880 – Tom Mix, American cowboy and actor (d. 1940)
1881 – Ion Minulescu, Romanian author, poet, and critic (d. 1944)
1882 – Fan S. Noli, Albanian-American bishop and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1965)
1882 – Sam Rayburn, American lawyer and politician, 48th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1961)
1883 – Kahlil Gibran, Lebanese-American poet, painter, and philosopher (d. 1931)
1898 – James Fitzmaurice, Irish soldier and pilot (d. 1965)
1899 – Heinrich Nordhoff, German engineer (d. 1968)
1900 – Maria of Yugoslavia, Queen of Yugoslavia from 1922 to 1934 (d. 1961)
1903 – Maurice Abravanel, Greek-American pianist and conductor (d. 1993)
1910 – Wright Morris, American author and photographer (d. 1998)
1910 – Yiannis Papaioannou, Greek composer and educator (d. 1989)
1912 – Jacques Ellul, French philosopher and critic (d. 1994)
1912 – Danny Thomas, American actor, comedian, producer and humanitarian (d. 1991)
1913 – Edward Gierek, Polish lawyer and politician (d. 2001)
1913 – Loretta Young, American actress (d. 2000)
1914 – Godfrey Edward Arnold, Austrian-American physician and academic (d. 1989)
1915 – Don Edwards, American soldier, lawyer, and politician (d. 2015)
1915 – John C. Lilly, American psychoanalyst, physician, and philosopher (d. 2001)
1915 – Alan Watts, English-American philosopher and author (d. 1973)
1916 – Park Mok-wol, influential Korean poet and academic (d. 1978)
1917 – Koo Chen-fu, Taiwanese businessman and diplomat (d. 2005)
1920 – John Maynard Smith, English biologist and geneticist (d. 2004)
1920 – Sun Myung Moon, Korean religious leader; founder of the Unification Church (d. 2012)
1920 – Early Wynn, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1999)
1921 – Marianne Grunberg-Manago, Russian-French biochemist and academic (d. 2013)
1921 – Cary Middlecoff, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 1998)
1923 – Vladimir Kazantsev, Russian runner (d. 2007)
1923 – Norman Kirk, New Zealand engineer and politician, 29th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1974)
1923 – Jacobo Timerman, Argentinian journalist and author (d. 1999)
1924 – Kim Dae-jung, South Korean soldier and politician, 8th President of South Korea, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
1924 – Earl Scruggs, American banjo player (d. 2012)
1925 – John DeLorean, American engineer and businessman, founded the DeLorean Motor Company (d. 2005)
1926 – Ralph Branca, American baseball player (d. 2016)
1926 – Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-American actor and bodybuilder (d. 2006)
1927 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, American physician and academic, 11th Surgeon General of the United States (d. 2014)
1928 – Capucine, French actress and model (d. 1990)
1931 – E. L. Doctorow, American novelist, playwright, and short story writer (d. 2015)
1931 – Graeme Hole, Australian cricketer (d. 1990)
1931 – Dickie Moore, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman (d. 2015)
1932 – Stuart A. Rice, American chemist and academic
1933 – Oleg Grigoryevich Makarov, Russian engineer and astronaut (d. 2003)
1934 – Sylvia Syms, English actress
1935 – Nino Tempo, American musician, singer, and actor
1936 – Darlene Hard, American tennis player
1936 – Julio María Sanguinetti, Uruguayan journalist, lawyer and politician, 29th President of Uruguay
1937 – Ludvík Daněk, Czech discus thrower (d. 1998)
1937 – Lou Holtz, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
1937 – Doris Troy, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
1938 – Adriano Celentano, Italian singer-songwriter, actor, and director
1938 – Adrienne Clarke, Australian botanist and academic
1938 – Larisa Shepitko, Soviet film director, screenwriter, and actress (d. 1979)
1939 – Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Ukrainian footballer and manager (d. 2002)
1939 – Murray Rose, English-Australian swimmer and sportscaster (d. 2012)
1940 – Van McCoy, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1979)
1943 – Terry Venables, English footballer and manager
1944 – Bonnie Franklin, American actress and singer (d. 2013)
1944 – Alan Stivell, French singer-songwriter and harp player
1944 – Rolf M. Zinkernagel, Swiss immunologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
1945 – Barry John, Welsh rugby player
1946 – Syd Barrett, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)
1947 – Sandy Denny, English folk-rock singer-songwriter (d 1978)
1948 – Guy Gardner, American colonel and astronaut
1948 – Dayle Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer
1949 – Mike Boit, Kenyan runner and academic (estimated date)
1949 – Carolyn D. Wright, American poet and academic (d. 2016)
1950 – Louis Freeh, American lawyer and jurist, 10th Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
1951 – Don Gullett, American baseball player and coach
1951 – Kim Wilson, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player
1953 – Malcolm Young, Scottish-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2017)
1954 – Anthony Minghella, English director and screenwriter (d. 2008)
1955 – Rowan Atkinson, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
1956 – Elizabeth Strout, American novelist and short story writer
1956 – Justin Welby, English archbishop
1956 – Clive Woodward, English rugby player and coach
1957 – Michael Foale, British-American astrophysicist and astronaut
1957 – Nancy Lopez, American golfer and sportscaster
1959 – Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer
1960 – Paul Azinger, American golfer and sportscaster
1960 – Kari Jalonen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
1960 – Nigella Lawson, English chef and author
1960 – Howie Long, American football player and sports commentator
1961 – Georges Jobé, Belgian motocross racer (d. 2012)
1961 – Peter Whittle, British politician, author, journalist and broadcaster
1963 – Norm Charlton, American baseball player and coach
1963 – Paul Kipkoech, Kenyan runner (d. 1995)
1964 – Jacqueline Moore, American wrestler and manager
1965 – Bjørn Lomborg, Danish author and academic
1966 – Sharon Cuneta, Filipino singer and actress
1966 – Attilio Lombardo, Italian footballer and manager
1967 – A. R. Rahman, Indian composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, musician and philanthropist
1968 – John Singleton, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2019)
1969 – Norman Reedus, American actor and model
1970 – Julie Chen, American television journalist, presenter, and producer
1970 – Radoslav Látal, Czech footballer and manager
1973 – Vasso Karantasiou, Greek beach volleyball player
1976 – Richard Zedník, Slovak ice hockey player
1981 – Asante Samuel, American football player
1982 – Eddie Redmayne, English actor and model
1984 – Kate McKinnon, American actress and comedian
1986 – Paul McShane, Irish footballer
1986 – Petter Northug, Norwegian skier
1989 – Andy Carroll, English footballer
1991 – Will Barton, American basketball player
1994 – Lim Jae-beom, South Korean singer and actor (Got7)

Deaths on January 6

786 – Abo of Tiflis, Iraqi martyr and saint (b. 756)
1088 – Berengar of Tours, French scholar and theologian (b. 999)
1148 – Gilbert de Clare, 1st Earl of Pembroke (b. 1100)
1233 – Matilda of Chester, Countess of Huntingdon, Anglo-Norman noblewoman (b. 1171)
1275 – Raymond of Penyafort, Catalan archbishop and saint (b. 1175)
1350 – Giovanni I di Murta, second doge of the Republic of Genoa
1358 – Gertrude van der Oosten, Beguine mystic
1406 – Roger Walden, English bishop
1448 – Christopher of Bavaria, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (b. 1418)
1477 – Jean VIII, Count of Vendôme
1481 – Ahmed Khan bin Küchük, Mongolian ruler
1537 – Alessandro de’ Medici, Duke of Florence (b. 1510)
1537 – Baldassare Peruzzi, Italian architect and painter, designed the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne (b. 1481)
1616 – Philip Henslowe, English impresario (b. 1550)
1646 – Elias Holl, German architect, designed the Augsburg Town Hall (b. 1573)
1689 – Seth Ward, English bishop, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1617)
1693 – Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (b. 1642)
1711 – Philips van Almonde, Dutch admiral (b. 1646)
1718 – Giovanni Vincenzo Gravina, Italian lawyer and jurist (b. 1664)
1725 – Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Japanese actor and playwright (b. 1653)
1731 – Étienne François Geoffroy, French physician and chemist (b. 1672)
1734 – John Dennis, English playwright and critic (b. 1657)
1813 – Louis Baraguey d’Hilliers, French general (b. 1764)
1829 – Josef Dobrovský, Czech philologist and historian (b. 1753)
1831 – Rodolphe Kreutzer, French violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1766)
1840 – Frances Burney, English author and playwright (b. 1752)
1852 – Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (b. 1809)
1855 – Giacomo Beltrami, Italian jurist, explorer, and author (b. 1779)
1882 – Richard Henry Dana, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1815)
1884 – Gregor Mendel, Czech geneticist and botanist (b. 1822)
1885 – Bharatendu Harishchandra, Indian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1850)
1896 – Thomas W. Knox, American journalist and author (b. 1835)
1902 – Lars Hertervig, Norwegian painter (b. 1830)
1913 – Frederick Hitch, English soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1856)
1917 – Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack, Dutch economist and historian (b. 1834)
1918 – Georg Cantor, German mathematician and philosopher (b. 1845)
1919 – Theodore Roosevelt, American colonel and politician, 26th President of the United States (b. 1858)
1921 – Devil Anse Hatfield, American guerrilla leader (b. 1839)
1922 – Jakob Rosanes, Ukrainian-German mathematician and chess player (b. 1842)
1928 – Alvin Kraenzlein, American hurdler and long jumper (b. 1876)
1933 – Vladimir de Pachmann, Ukrainian-German pianist (b. 1848)
1934 – Herbert Chapman, English footballer and manager (b. 1878)
1937 – André Bessette, Canadian saint (b. 1845)
1939 – Gustavs Zemgals, Latvian journalist and politician, 2nd President of Latvia (b. 1871)
1941 – Charley O’Leary, American baseball player and coach (b. 1882)
1942 – Emma Calvé, French soprano and actress (b. 1858)
1942 – Henri de Baillet-Latour, Belgian businessman, 3rd President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1876)
1944 – Jacques Rosenbaum, Estonian-German architect (b. 1878)
1944 – Ida Tarbell, American journalist, reformer, and educator (b. 1857)
1945 – Vladimir Vernadsky, Russian mineralogist and chemist (b. 1863)
1949 – Victor Fleming, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1883)
1966 – Jean Lurçat, French painter (b. 1892)
1972 – Chen Yi, Chinese general and politician, 2nd Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China (b. 1901)
1974 – David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican painter (b. 1896)
1978 – Burt Munro, New Zealand motorcycle racer (b. 1899)
1981 – A. J. Cronin, Scottish physician and author (b. 1896)
1984 – Ernest Laszlo, Hungarian-American cinematographer (b. 1898)
1990 – Ian Charleson, Scottish-English actor (b. 1949)
1990 – Pavel Cherenkov, Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
1993 – Dizzy Gillespie, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player (b. 1917)
1993 – Rudolf Nureyev, Russian-French dancer and choreographer (b. 1938)
1995 – Joe Slovo, Lithuanian-South African lawyer and politician (b. 1926)
1999 – Michel Petrucciani, French-American pianist (b. 1962)2000 – Don Martin, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
2004 – Pierre Charles, Dominican educator and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Dominica (b. 1954)
2004 – Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (b. 1921)
2005 – Eileen Desmond, Irish civil servant and politician, 12th Irish Minister for Health (b. 1932)
2005 – Lois Hole, Canadian academic and politician, 15th Lieutenant Governor of Alberta (b. 1929)
2005 – Tarquinio Provini, Italian motorcycle racer (b. 1933)
2005 – Louis Robichaud, Canadian lawyer and politician, 25th Premier of New Brunswick (b. 1925)
2006 – Lou Rawls, American singer-songwriter (b. 1933)
2007 – Roberta Wohlstetter, American political scientist, historian, and academic (b. 1912)
2008 – Shmuel Berenbaum, Rabbi of Mir Yeshiva (Brooklyn)
2009 – Ron Asheton, American guitarist, songwriter, and actor (probable; b. 1948)
2011 – Uche Okafor, Nigerian footballer, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1967)
2012 – Bob Holness, South African-English radio and television host (b. 1928)
2012 – Spike Pola, Australian footballer and soldier (b. 1914)
2013 – Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Pakistani scholar and politician (b. 1938)
2013 – Ruth Carter Stevenson, American art collector, founded the Amon Carter Museum of American Art (b. 1923)
2013 – Gerard Helders, Dutch jurist and politician (b. 1905)
2013 – Cho Sung-min, South Korean baseball player (b. 1973)
2014 – Marina Ginestà, French Resistance soldier and photographer (b. 1919)
2014 – Nelson Ned, Brazilian singer-songwriter (b. 1947)
2014 – Julian Rotter, American psychologist and academic (b. 1916)
2015 – Arthur Jackson, American lieutenant and target shooter (b. 1918)
2015 – Basil John Mason, English meteorologist and academic (b. 1923)
2016 – Pat Harrington, Jr., American actor and screenwriter (b. 1929)
2016 – Florence King, American journalist and author (b. 1936)
2016 – Christy O’Connor Jnr, Irish golfer and architect (b. 1948)
2016 – Silvana Pampanini, Italian model, actress, and director, Miss Italy 1946 (b. 1925)
2017 – Octavio Lepage, Venezuelan politician, President of Venezuela (b. 1923)
2017 – Om Puri, Indian actor (b. 1950)
2019 – José Ramón Fernández, Cuban revolution leader (b. 1923)
2019 – Lamin Sanneh, Gambian-born American professor (b. 1942)
2019 – W. Morgan Sheppard, British actor (b. 1932)
2019 – Paul Streeten, Austrian-born British economics professor (b. 1917)

Holidays and observances on January 6

Armed Forces Day (Iraq)
Christian Feast day:
- André Bessette (Roman Catholic Church)
- January 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Epiphany or Three Kings’ Day (Western Christianity) or Theophany (Eastern Christianity), and its related observances:
- Befana Day (Italy)
- Christmas (Armenian Apostolic Church)
- Christmas Eve (Russia)
- Christmas Eve (Ukraine)
- Christmas Eve (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Christmas Eve (North Macedonia)
- Little Christmas (Ireland)
- Þrettándinn (Iceland)
- Three Wise Men Day
Pathet Lao Day (Laos)

January 6 – 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

Day by Day Current Affairs (March 30, 2019)

Current Affairs, Sports, World / admin

March 30, 2019
National Current Affairs

1. Pakistan, China warns against politicizing UN anti-terrorism regime

• Pakistan has warned that politicising the UN counterterrorism machinery would only compromise the integrity of the regime, as China also warned against `forcefully moving` a resolution in the UN Security Council.
• Speaking in a Security Council debate on `Preventing and Combating the Financing of Terrorism` on March 29, 2019, Pakistan`s Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said that current structures like FATF and the 1267 Sanctions regimes should not be used as political tools by some to advance their geopolitical goals.
• `There is also a need to make these institutions more inclusive of the wider membership in their decision-making processes,` she added.
• On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing in Beijing that `forcefully moving` a resolution directly in the UNSC undermined the authority of the UN anti-terrorism committee.

2. Ex-IB chief Ijaz made federal minister

• Former chief of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Brigadier (Retd) Ijaz Ahmed Shah MNA has been inducted as Federal Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
• President Dr. Arif Alvi on March 29, 2019 accepted Prime Minister Imran Khan’s request to appoint Ijaz as the federal minister for parliamentary affairs
• He was elected MNA on PTI ticket from NA-118, Nankana Sahib-II in the last general elections held last year.
• The national security adviser’s position has been lying vacant since the PTI came to power.
• Ijaz Shah had served as Director General of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) from 2004 to 2008 in the government of former President General (Retd) Pervez Musharraf.

3. World Bank suspends water resource development project for Balochistan

• The World Bank on March 29, 2019 suspended the Integrated Water Resources Management and Development project for Balochistan over lack of progress in management and funds disbursement.
• In a statement, the WB offered to work with the Balochistan government over the next 30 days to restructure the scope and governance arrangements to more realistically deliver sustainable water management to the province.
• On June 28, 2016, the bank had approved a $200 million credit to strengthen the Balochistan government`s initiative for community-based water management for irrigation in the province.
• The project was designed to boost farmers` incomes through a new irrigation infrastructure and improved on-farm management and rangeland management. An associated objective was building the province`s capacity for long-term water resources planning.

4. Revised disaster response plan launched

• National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) on March 29, 2019 launched National Disaster Response Plan in collaboration with Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre the under Pakistan Resilience Partnership.
• The target of NDRP 2019is to mitigate damages from natural disasters. Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Engineer Ali Mohammad Khan said the government was well cognisant of the threats and challenges posed by climate change and impending disasters.

5. Ex-CJP Jillani wins exceIIence award for promoting justice

• Former chief justice of Pakistan (CJP) Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, who is officiating as an ad hoc judge at the International Court of Justice in The Haque, has been awarded `International Justice Excellence Award` for promoting justice at home and around the world.
• The ceremony to give the award was held at the International Institute for Justice, Netherlands. Mr Jillani was decorated for his outstanding contribution to the elevation of the principles of justice in Pakistan and the international community.
• Mr. Jillani came to prominence as the 21st chief justice of Pakistan for his landmark judgment on a Suo Motu notice on the Sept 22, 2013 bomb attack on a Peshawar church in which 81 people died.

March 30, 2019: International Current Affairs

6. Fears of no-deal BREXIT rise as MPs sink May`s proposal

• Lawmakers rejected Prime Minister Theresa May`s BREXIT deal for a third time on March 29, 2019, sounding its probable death knell and leaving Britain`s withdrawal from the European Union in turmoil on the very day it was supposed to quit the bloc.
• The decision to reject a stripped-down version of May`s divorce deal has left it totally unclear how, when or even whether Britain will leave the EU, and plunges the three-year BREXIT crisis to a deeper level of uncertainty.
• Within minutes of the vote, European Council President and summit chair Donald Tusk said EU leaders would meet on April 10 to discuss Britain`s departure from the bloc.
• A succession of European leaders said there was a very real chance Britain would now leave without a deal, a scenario that businesses fear would cause chaos for the world`s fifth-biggest economy.

7. KSA frees three women’s rights activists

• Saudi Arabia has temporarily released three of the women’s rights activists held in custody for almost a year, state media has said, following a court hearing in which the detainees alleged torture and sexual harassment during interrogation.
• The announcement by the SPA news agency on March 29, 2019 did not identify the three women but several reports named them as blogger Eman al-Nafjan, Aziza al-Youssef, a retired lecturer at King Saud University, and academic Rokaya al-Mohareb.

8. Chinese telescope collects more than 11M spectra

• China has released 11.25 million spectra of celestial objects acquired by the Large Sky Area Multi-Object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) to astronomers worldwide, according to the National Astronomical Observatories of China (NAOC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences March 29, 2019.
• As the world’s largest spectral survey telescope, LAMOST marks the world’s first spectral survey project to obtain more than 10 million spectra. Spectra are key for astronomers to read celestial bodies’ chemical compositions, densities, atmospheres and magnetism. Among the released spectra, there are 9.37 million high-quality spectra, which is twice the total number of other astronomic surveys internationally. There are also 6.36 million stellar spectra, creating the largest stellar parameter catalog in the world. Finished in 2008, LAMOST began regular surveys in 2012. The telescope is located in NAOC’s Xinglong Observatory, in north China’s Hebei Province.The telescope can observe about 4,000 celestial bodies at one time. It can also help calculate the age of more than a million stars, providing basic data to study the evolution of our galaxy

9. Earth Hour being marked today

• ‘Earth Hour’ being marked all over the world on 30th March (today).
• People are on the frontlines of climate change. The Earth Hour reminds us that individual and global community actions can prove to be a milestone to transform the climate challenges and protect the generations to come.
• The lights of the Parliament will be switched off between 8:30pm to 9:30pm to show Parliament’s commitment of joining hands with the world for energy conservation, combating climate change and global warming.
• Pakistan’s Vision 2025 considered climate change as one of the top national priorities and provided a sound basis to integrate climate change budgeting into national development planning.

March 30, 2019: Sports Current Affairs

10. Australia win fourth ODI by six runs

• Australia pulled off a sensational last-over, six-run win despite a debut hundred by Pakistan`s Abid Ali and second career century by Mohammad Rizwan in the fourth one-day international in Dubai on March 29, 2019.
• Needing 278 to win, Pakistan came close to their target through Ali`s 112 and Rizwan`s 104 but in the end, the two hundred were in vain as they failed to score the required 17 runs off Marcus Stoinis`s last over.
• The win gives Australia a 4-0 lead with the last match to be played in Dubai on March 31, 2019.

Day by Day Current Affairs (March 30, 2019) Read More »

Current Affairs, Sports, World

Day by Day Current Affairs (December 08, 2018)

Current Affairs, Sports, Test, World / admin

December 7, 2018: National Current Affairs

1. Pakistan wants `proper ties` with US like its relations with China

• Prime Minister Imran Khan has expressed his desire to have a proper relationship with the United States akin to Islamabad`s ties with Beijing rather than the one where Pakistan is treated like a `hired gun`.
• The prime minister, in his first interview to The Washington Post after assuming office, said: `I would never want to have a relationship where Pakistan is treated like a hired gun given money to fight someone else`s war. It not only cost us human lives, devastation of our tribal areas, but it also cost us our dignity.
• When asked to elaborate on the ideal nature of relationship that he would like to have with Washington, Mr Khan said: `For instance, our relationship with China is not one-dimensional. It`s a trade relationship between two countries. We want a similar relationship with the US.
• The prime minister explained that the country was not `hedging` towards China, but it was rather Washington`s attitude that had brought a change in the Pakistan-US relationship. He clarified that disagreeing with US policies did not equate to him being `anti-American` when he was asked why he harboured `anti-US sentiments`. `This is a very imperialistic approach: you`re either with me or against me,` he observed.

2. `Only 1pc of the population are tax filers, 70pc of the economy is undocumented`

• Economists and energy experts on December 7, 2018, called for structural, legal and fiscal reforms to bring the country out of the crisis.
• They suggested increasing the tax base, improving the capacity of state institutions, inclusiveness and creating a technology-friendly environment to create jobs and harnessing the talents and skills of the younger generation, who comprise 60pc of the population.
• During a panel discussion on `The Dynamic Global Economy: Fostering the Pakistan Advantage` organised by a public diplomacy initiative, RAABTA, experts attempted to address some of the tricky questions such as population growth, fiscal and financial imbalances, the direction of the government for steering the country out of economic crisis, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout and its impact on the citizens. The discussion was moderated by broadcast journalist Sidra Iqbal.

3. SBP to issue Rs50 coin for anti-graft day

• The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on December 7, 2018 said it will issue a commemorative coin of Rs50 from Monday, Dec 10, to mark the International Anti Corruption Day.
• On Oct 31, 2003, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the convention against corruption and designated Dec 9 as International Anti-Corruption Day to raise public awareness about it.
• The government has now authorised SBP to issue Rs50 commemorative coin which will be available through exchange counters of all the field offices of SBP Banking Services Corporation from Dec 10

4. Two new SECP commissioners appointed

• The federal cabinet on December 7, 2018 issued notification for the appointment of two new commissioners at the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).
• According to the Finance Division notification, the federal government has appointed Executive Director/ Spokesperson SECP Aamir Khan and Farrukh H Sabzwari as commissioners in SECP for a period of three years with immediate effect.
• Following the new appointments, the number of commissioners now stands at five, completing the commission.
• Mr Khan has extensive experience spanning almost 30 years covering banking, capital markets, structuring of financial solutions/products, leading national initiatives, business transformation, and regulatory reform. Since 2012, he has been serving as an executive director at the SECP.

5. Ban on hiring of doctors lifted

• The Punjab government allowed the health department on December 7, 2018 for ad hoc appointment of doctors and paramedics.
• According to a notification of Services and General Administration Department, regulations wing, the cabinet, in its meeting held on Aug 31, had decided to impose a ban on all recruitments from BPS-01 to BPS-16 in all administrative departments except on the posts from BPS-17 and above which fell under the preview of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).

December 8, 2018: International Current Affairs

6. Over half of global population now online: UN

• Some 3.9 billion people are now using the Internet, meaning that for the first time more than half of the global population is online, the United Nations said on December 7, 2018.
• The UN agency for information and communication technologies, ITU, said that by the end of 2018 a full 51.2 per cent of people around the world will be using the Internet.
• `By the end of 2018, we will surpass the 50/50 milestone for Internet use,` ITU chief Houlin Zhou said in a statement.
• `This represents an important step towards a more inclusive global information society,` he said, adding though that `far too many people around the world are still waiting to reap the benefits of the digital economy.` He called for more support to `technology and business innovation so that the digital revolution leaves no one offline.

7. China prepares mission to land spacecraft on moon`s far side

• China was preparing to launch a ground-breaking mission to soft-land a spacecraft on the largely unexplored far side of the moon, demonstrating its growing ambitions as a space power to rival Russia, the European Union and US.
• With its Chang`e 4 mission, China hopes to be the first country to ever successfully undertake such a landing. The moon`s far side is also known as the dark side because it faces away from Earth and remains comparatively unknown, with a different composition from sites on the near side, where previous missions have landed.
• If successful, the mission scheduled to blast off aboard a Long March 3B rocket will propel the Chinese space programme to a leading position in one of the most important areas of lunar exploration.

8. Australia passes new data encryption laws

• Australia has passed controversial laws designed to compel technology companies to grant police and security agencies access to encrypted messages. The government says the laws, a world first, are necessary to help combat terrorism and crime.
• However critics have listed wide-ranging concerns, including that the laws could undermine the overall security and privacy of users.
• The laws were rushed through parliament on its final day of the year. The Labor opposition said it had reluctantly supported the laws to help protect Australians during the Christmas period, but on December 7, 2018 it said that “legitimate concerns” about them remained.
• Cyber-security experts have warned the laws could now create a “global weak point” for companies such as Facebook and Apple.
• Australia already has laws which require providers to hand over a suspect’s communication to police. This may already be possible if a service provider uses a form of encryption that allows them to view a user’s message.

9. Tool designed to track steps of cells’ development

• Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis have developed a new tool described as a “flight data recorder” for developing cells, illuminating the paths cells take as they progress from one type to another.
• Using the flight data recorder, the researchers performed experiments that uncovered some surprising details about the specific routes taken by cells that successfully completed their flight paths.
• The technique harnesses the natural properties of a virus that inserts tiny DNA “barcodes,” called “CellTags,” into each cell. As the cells divide, their unique barcodes are passed down to all their descendant cells. The CellTagging technique keeps track of which cells share common ancestors and how far back that common ancestor is found in the lineage. The researchers found that if a certain gene, called Mettl7a1, was turned on in cells, they were three times as likely to successfully reprogram compared with cells in which this gene is inactive. Another interesting finding was that the cells that were not successful in their reprogramming didn’t just end up all over the map. They appeared to converge at the same dead end, tending to revert back to look like the original cell type. The tool could reveal cellular “reprogramming” routes that might involve reverting skin cells back to different types of stem cells that could then mature into a new liver or other vital organ.
• Among many potential uses, the tool also could be applied in cancer research, recording the wrong turns normal cells might take to develop into tumors, according to the researchers.

December 8, 2018: Sports Current Affairs

10. New Zealand crush Pakistan to win Test series

• Debutant Will Somerville grabbed three key wickets to guide New Zealand to their first away series win over Pakistan in 49 years with a crushing 123-run win in the third and final Test on December 7, 2018.
• The off-spinner took 3-52 and was aided by fellow spinner Ajaz Patel`s 3-42 as Pakistan came up well short after being set a daunting 280-run target in 79 overs.
• They crumbled to 156 in 56.1 overs on a weary pitch at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
• The victory gave New Zealand a 2-1 series win after they had taken the first Test by a narrow four-run margin at the same venue. Pakistan bounced back with an innings and 16-run win in the second Test in Dubai.
• New Zealand`s last away series win against Pakistan was a 1-0 victory in matches played in Pakistan in 1969-70.
• It was New Zealand`s fifth Test series win in their last six played since November 2016. They beat Pakistan, Bangladesh, the West Indies and England all at home with the single loss came against South Africa.

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March 30, 2019 National Current Affairs

1. Pakistan, China warns against politicizing UN anti-terrorism regime

2. Ex-IB chief Ijaz made federal minister

3. World Bank suspends water resource development project for Balochistan

4. Revised disaster response plan launched

5. Ex-CJP Jillani wins exceIIence award for promoting justice

March 30, 2019: International Current Affairs

6. Fears of no-deal BREXIT rise as MPs sink May`s proposal

7. KSA frees three women’s rights activists

8. Chinese telescope collects more than 11M spectra

9. Earth Hour being marked today

March 30, 2019: Sports Current Affairs

10. Australia win fourth ODI by six runs

December 7, 2018: National Current Affairs

1. Pakistan wants `proper ties` with US like its relations with China

2. `Only 1pc of the population are tax filers, 70pc of the economy is undocumented`

3. SBP to issue Rs50 coin for anti-graft day

4. Two new SECP commissioners appointed

5. Ban on hiring of doctors lifted

December 8, 2018: International Current Affairs

6. Over half of global population now online: UN

7. China prepares mission to land spacecraft on moon`s far side

8. Australia passes new data encryption laws

9. Tool designed to track steps of cells’ development

December 8, 2018: Sports Current Affairs

10. New Zealand crush Pakistan to win Test series

March 30, 2019
National Current Affairs