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

On This Day / admin

250 – Emperor Decius orders everyone in the Roman Empire (except Jews) to make sacrifices to the Roman gods.
1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem.
1653 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.
1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
1749 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark’s oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.
1777 – American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
1815 – Austria, the United Kingdom, and France form a secret defensive alliance against Prussia and Russia.
1833 – The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of Liberia.
1861 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.
1868 – Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.
1870 – Construction work begins on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, United States.
1871 – In the Battle of Bapaume, an engagement in the Franco-Prussian War, General Louis Faidherbe’s forces bring about a Prussian retreat.
1885 – Sino-French War: Beginning of the Battle of Núi Bop
1911 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.
1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.
1913 – An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.
1925 – Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.
1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first woman to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
1938 – The March of Dimes is established as a foundation to combat infant polio by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
1944 – World War II: Top Ace Major Greg “Pappy” Boyington is shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
1945 – World War II: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan.
1946 – Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf dies in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.
1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.
1949 – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, is established.
1953 – Frances P. Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
1958 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
1961 – Cold War: The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba over the latter’s nationalization of American assets.
1961 – The SL-1 nuclear reactor is destroyed by a steam explosion in the only reactor incident in the United States to cause immediate fatalities.
1961 – A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.
1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
1976 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, comes into force.
1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.
1990 – United States invasion of Panama: Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces.
1993 – In Moscow, Russia, George H. W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
1994 – More than seven million people from the former apartheid Homelands receive South African citizenship.
1994 – Baikal Airlines Flight 130 crashes near Irkutsk, Russia, resulting in 125 deaths.
1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.
2000 – Final daily edition of the Peanuts comic strip.
2002 – Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.
2004 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history.
2009 – The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, was established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.
2015 – Boko Haram militants raze the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria, starting the Baga massacre and killing as many as 2,000 people.
2016 – Following the fallout caused by the execution of Nimr al-Nimr, Iran ends its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.
2019 – Chang’e 4 makes the first soft landing on the far side of the Moon, deploying the Yutu-2 lunar rover.
2020 – Iranian General Qasem Soleimani is killed by an American airstrike near Baghdad International Airport.

Births on January 3

106 BC – Cicero, Roman philosopher, lawyer, and politician (d. 43 BC)
169 – Lü Bu, Chinese general and warlord (d. 199)
1196 – Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1231)
1509 – Gian Girolamo Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1591)
1611 – James Harrington, English political theorist (d. 1677)
1698 – Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet and songwriter (d. 1782)
1710 – Richard Gridley, American soldier and engineer (d. 1796)
1722 – Fredrik Hasselqvist, Swedish biologist and explorer (d. 1752)
1731 – Angelo Emo, Venetian admiral and statesman (d. 1792)
1760 – Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Indian ruler (d. 1799)
1775 – Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont (d. 1863)
1778 – Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish archbishop (d. 1861)
1793 – Lucretia Mott, American activist (d. 1880)
1802 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (d. 1898)
1803 – Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (d. 1857)
1806 – Henriette Sontag, German soprano and actress (d. 1854)
1810 – Antoine Thomson d’Abbadie, French geographer, ethnologist, linguist, and astronomer (d. 1897)
1816 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (d. 1891)
1819 – Charles Piazzi Smyth, Italian-Scottish astronomer and academic (d. 1900)
1821 – Karel Dežman, Slovenian archaeologist, botanist, and politician, Mayor of Ljubljana (d. 1889)
1831 – Savitribai Phule, Indian poet, educator, and activist (d. 1897)
1836 – Sakamoto Ryōma, Japanese samurai and rebel leader (d. 1867)
1840 – Father Damien, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1889)
1847 – Ettore Marchiafava, Italian physician (d. 1935)
1853 – Sophie Elkan, Swedish writer (d. 1921)
1855 – Hubert Bland, English businessman (d. 1914)
1861 – Ernest Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1899)
1861 – William Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1904)
1862 – Matthew Nathan, English soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Queensland (d. 1939)
1865 – Henry Lytton, English actor (d. 1936)
1870 – Henry Handel Richardson, Australian-English author (d. 1946)
1873 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman and art collector, founded the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (d. 1957)
1875 – Alexandros Diomidis, Greek banker and politician, 145th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1950)
1876 – Wilhelm Pieck, German carpenter and politician, 1st President of the German Democratic Republic (d. 1960)
1877 – Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957)
1880 – Francis Browne, Irish Jesuit priest and photographer (d. 1960)
1883 – Clement Attlee, English soldier, lawyer, and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1967)
1883 – Duncan Gillis, Canadian discus thrower and hammer thrower (d. 1963)
1884 – Raoul Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1948)
1885 – Harry Elkins Widener, American businessman (d. 1912)
1886 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet and author (d. 1950)
1886 – Arthur Mailey, Australian cricketer (d. 1967)
1887 – August Macke, German-French painter (d. 1914)
1892 – J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer, poet, and philologist (d. 1973)
1894 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)
1897 – Marion Davies, American actress and comedian (d. 1961)
1898 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (d. 1990)
1898 – Carlos Keller, Chilean historian, academic, and politician (d. 1974)
1900 – Donald J. Russell, American businessman (d. 1985)
1901 – Ngô Đình Diệm, Vietnamese lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Vietnam (d. 1963)
1905 – Dante Giacosa, Italian engineer (d. 1996)
1905 – Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)
1907 – Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 1986)
1909 – Victor Borge, Danish-American pianist and conductor (d. 2000)
1910 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (d. 2000)
1911 – John Sturges, American director and producer (d. 1992)
1912 – Federico Borrell García, Spanish soldier (d. 1936)
1912 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2002)
1912 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
1915 – Jack Levine, American painter and soldier (d. 2010)
1916 – Betty Furness, American actress and television journalist (d. 1994)
1916 – Fred Haas, American golfer (d. 2004)
1917 – Albert Mol, Dutch author and actor (d. 2002)
1917 – Vernon A. Walters, American general and diplomat, 17th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
1917 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American journalist and publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux (d. 2004)
1919 – Herbie Nichols, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
1920 – Siegfried Buback, German lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Germany (d. 1977)
1920 – Renato Carosone, Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2001)
1921 – Chetan Anand, Indian director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
1921 – Isabella Bashmakova, Russian historian of mathematics (d. 2005)
1922 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
1923 – Hank Stram, American football coach and sportscaster (d. 2005)
1924 – Otto Beisheim, German businessman and philanthropist, founded Metro AG (d. 2013)
1924 – André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1997)
1924 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and educator (d. 2005)
1925 – Jill Balcon, English actress (d. 2009)
1926 – W. Michael Blumenthal, American economist and politician, 64th United States Secretary of the Treasury
1926 – George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2016)
1928 – Abdul Rahman Ya’kub, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Sarawak (d. 2015)
1929 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
1929 – Ernst Mahle, German-Brazilian composer and conductor
1929 – Gordon Moore, American businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation
1930 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (d. 2015)
1932 – Dabney Coleman, American actor
1932 – Eeles Landström, Finnish pole vaulter and politician
1933 – Geoffrey Bindman, English lawyer
1933 – Anne Stevenson, American-English poet and author
1934 – Marpessa Dawn, American-French actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2008)
1934 – Carla Anderson Hills, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
1935 – Raymond Garneau, Canadian businessman and politician
1937 – Glen A. Larson, American director, producer, and screenwriter, created Battlestar Galactica (d. 2014)
1938 – Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, English academic and politician
1938 – K. Ganeshalingam, Sri Lankan accountant and politician, Mayor of Colombo (d. 2006)
1939 – Arik Einstein, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2013)
1939 – Bobby Hull, Canadian ice hockey player
1940 – Leo de Berardinis, Italian actor and director (d. 2008)
1940 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2007)
1941 – Malcolm Dick, New Zealand rugby player
1942 – John Marsden, Australian lawyer and activist (d. 2006)
1942 – John Thaw, English actor and producer, played Inspector Morse (d. 2002)
1943 – Van Dyke Parks, American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, author, and actor
1944 – Blanche d’Alpuget, Australian author
1945 – Stephen Stills, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1946 – John Paul Jones, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
1946 – Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (d. 2002)
1947 – Fran Cotton, English rugby player
1947 – Zulema, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
1948 – Ian Nankervis, Australian footballer
1950 – Victoria Principal, American actress and businesswoman
1950 – Linda Steiner, American journalist and academic
1950 – Vesna Vulović, Serbian plane crash survivor and Guinness World Record holder
1951 – Linda Dobbs, English lawyer and judge
1951 – Gary Nairn, Australian surveyor and politician, 14th Special Minister of State
1952 – Esperanza Aguirre, Spanish civil servant and politician, 3rd President of the Community of Madrid
1952 – Gianfranco Fini, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1952 – Jim Ross, American professional wrestling commentator
1953 – Justin Fleming, Australian playwright and author
1953 – Mohammed Waheed Hassan, Maldivian educator and politician, 5th President of the Maldives
1953 – Peter Taylor, English football winger and manager
1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1958 – Shim Hyung-rae, South Korean actor, director, and producer
1960 – Russell Spence, English racing driver
1962 – Darren Daulton, American baseball player (d. 2017)
1962 – Gavin Hastings, Scottish rugby player
1963 – Stewart Hosie, Scottish businessman and politician
1963 – Aamer Malik, Pakistani cricketer
1963 – Alex Wheatle, English author and playwright
1964 – Bruce LaBruce, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
1964 – Cheryl Miller, American basketball player and coach
1966 – Chetan Sharma, Indian cricketer
1969 – Michael Caines, English chef
1969 – Lorenzo Fertitta, American entrepreneur, casino executive and sports promoter
1969 – Jarmo Lehtinen, Finnish racing driver
1969 – Michael Schumacher, German racing driver
1969 – Gerda Weissensteiner, Italian luger and bobsledder
1971 – Cory Cross, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1971 – Lee Il-hwa, South Korean actress
1973 – Dan Harmon, American screenwriter and producer
1974 – Robert-Jan Derksen, Dutch golfer
1974 – Alessandro Petacchi, Italian cyclist
1975 – Jason Marsden, American actor
1975 – Thomas Bangalter, French DJ, musician (Daft Punk), and producer
1975 – Danica McKellar, American actress, writer, and mathematician
1976 – Angelos Basinas, Greek footballer
1976 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor and producer
1977 – Lee Bowyer, English footballer and coach
1977 – A. J. Burnett, American baseball player
1977 – Mayumi Iizuka, Japanese voice actress and singer
1978 – Dimitra Kalentzou, Greek basketball player
1978 – Dominic Wood, English comedian and former magician
1980 – Bryan Clay, American decathlete
1980 – Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey player
1980 – David Tyree, American football player
1980 – Kurt Vile, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1980 – Mary Wineberg, American sprinter
1981 – Eli Manning, American football playe
1982 – Peter Clarke, English footballer
1982 – Lasse Nilsson, Swedish footballer
1982 – Park Ji-yoon, South Korean singer and actress
1984 – Billy Mehmet, English-Irish footballer
1985 – Linas Kleiza, Lithuanian basketball player
1985 – Evan Moore, American football player
1986 – Dana Hussain, Iraqi sprinter
1986 – Greg Nwokolo, Indonesian footballer
1986 – Dmitry Starodubtsev, Russian pole vaulter
1987 – Reto Berra, Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender
1987 – Kim Ok-bin, South Korean actress and singer
1988 – Ikechi Anya, Scottish-Nigerian footballer
1988 – Matt Frattin, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – J. R. Hildebrand, American racing driver
1989 – Ben Matulino, New Zealand rugby league player
1989 – Kōhei Uchimura, Japanese artistic gymnast
1990 – Yoichiro Kakitani, Japanese footballer
1991 – Jerson Cabral, Dutch footballer
1991 – Özgür Çek, Turkish footballer
1991 – Sébastien Faure, French footballer
1991 – Dane Gagai, Australian rugby league player
1994 – Isaquias Queiroz, Brazilian sprint canoeist
1997 – Kyron McMaster, British Virgin Islands hurdler
2003 – Greta Thunberg, Swedish environmental activist

Deaths on January 3

236 – Anterus, the pope of the Catholic Church
323 – Yuan of Yin, Chinese emperor (b. 276)
1027 – Fujiwara no Yukinari, Japanese calligrapher (b. 972)
1028 – Fujiwara no Michinaga, Japanese nobleman (b. 966)
1098 – Walkelin, Norman bishop of Winchester
1322 – Philip V, king of France (b. 1292)
1437 – Catherine of Valois, queen consort of Henry V (b. 1401)
1501 – Ali-Shir Nava’i, Turkic poet, linguist, and mystic (b. 1441)
1543 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer and navigator (b. 1499)
1571 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1505)
1641 – Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomer and mathematician (b. 1618)
1656 – Mathieu Molé, French politician (b. 1584)
1670 – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1608)
1701 – Louis I, prince of Monaco (b. 1642)
1705 – Luca Giordano, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1634)
1743 – Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian painter and architect (b. 1657)
1777 – William Leslie, Scottish captain (b. 1751)
1779 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and lawyer (b. 1712)
1785 – Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)
1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (b. 1730)
1826 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general (b. 1770)
1871 – Kuriakose Elias Chavara, Indian priest and saint (b. 1805)
1875 – Pierre Larousse, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1817)
1882 – William Harrison Ainsworth, English author (b. 1805)
1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman, co-founded Currier and Ives (b. 1824)
1903 – Alois Hitler, Austrian civil servant (b. 1837)
1911 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (b. 1851)
1915 – James Elroy Flecker, English poet, author, and playwright (b. 1884)
1916 – Grenville M. Dodge, American general and politician (b. 1831)
1922 – Wilhelm Voigt, German criminal (b. 1849)
1923 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech journalist and author (b. 1883)
1927 – Carl David Tolmé Runge, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1856)
1931 – Joseph Joffre, French general (b. 1852)
1933 – Wilhelm Cuno, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
1933 – Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1896)
1943 – Walter James, Australian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1863)
1944 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (b. 1873)
1945 – Edgar Cayce, American psychic and author (b. 1877)
1945 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and explorer (b. 1879)
1946 – William Joyce, American-British pro-Axis propaganda broadcaster (b. 1906)
1956 – Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1864)
1956 – Dimitrios Vergos, Greek wrestler, weightlifter, and shot putter (b. 1886)
1956 – Joseph Wirth, German educator and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
1958 – Cafer Tayyar Eğilmez, Turkish general (b. 1877)
1959 – Edwin Muir, Scottish poet, author, and translator (b. 1887)
1960 – Eric P. Kelly, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1884)
1962 – Hermann Lux, German footballer and manager (b. 1893)
1965 – Milton Avery, American painter (b. 1885)
1966 – Sammy Younge Jr., American civil rights activist (b. 1944)
1967 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (b. 1874)
1967 – Reginald Punnett, British scientist (b. 1875)
1967 – Jack Ruby, American businessman and murderer (b. 1911)
1969 – Jean Focas, Greek-French astronomer (b. 1909)
1969 – Tzavalas Karousos, Greek-French actor (b. 1904)
1970 – Gladys Aylward, English missionary and humanitarian (b. 1902)
1972 – Mohan Rakesh, Indian author and playwright (b. 1925)
1975 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1880)
1975 – James McCormack, American general (b. 1910)
1977 – William Gropper, American lithographer, cartoonist, and painter (b. 1897)
1979 – Conrad Hilton, American businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (b. 1887)
1980 – Joy Adamson, Austrian-Kenyan author (b. 1910)
1980 – George Sutherland Fraser, Scottish poet and academic (b. 1915)
1981 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (b. 1883)
1988 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-German poet and author (b. 1901)
1989 – Sergei Sobolev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1909)
1992 – Judith Anderson, British actress (b. 1897)
2002 – Satish Dhawan, Indian engineer (b. 1920)
2003 – Jimmy Stewart, Scottish racing driver (b. 1931)
2005 – Koo Chen-fu, Taiwanese businessman and diplomat (b. 1917)
2005 – Egidio Galea, Maltese Roman Catholic priest, missionary, and educator (b. 1918)
2005 – Jyotindra Nath Dixit, Indian diplomat, 2nd Indian National Security Adviser (b. 1936)
2006 – Steve Rogers, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1954)
2006 – Bill Skate, Papua New Guinean politician, 5th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)
2007 – János Fürst, Hungarian violinist and conductor (b. 1935)
2007 – William Verity, Jr., American businessman and politician, 27th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1917)
2008 – Choi Yo-sam, South Korean boxer (b. 1972)
2009 – Betty Freeman, American philanthropist and photographer (b. 1921)
2009 – Pat Hingle, American actor (b. 1923)
2009 – Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
2010 – Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt, Chilean-German composer and academic (b. 1925)
2010 – Mary Daly, American theologian and scholar (b. 1928)
2012 – Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1934)
2012 – Robert L. Carter, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
2012 – Winifred Milius Lubell, American author and illustrator (b. 1914)
2012 – Josef Škvorecký, Czech-Canadian author and publisher (b. 1924)
2012 – Bob Weston, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1947)
2013 – Alfie Fripp, English soldier and pilot (b. 1913)
2013 – Ivan Mackerle, Czech cryptozoologist, explorer, and author (b. 1942)
2013 – William Maxson, American general (b. 1930)
2013 – Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romanian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
2014 – Phil Everly, American singer and guitarist (b. 1939)
2014 – George Goodman, American economist and author (b. 1930)
2014 – Saul Zaentz, American film producer (b. 1921)
2015 – Martin Anderson, American economist and academic (b. 1936)
2015 – Edward Brooke, American captain and politician, 47th Massachusetts Attorney General (b. 1919)
2016 – Paul Bley, Canadian-American pianist and composer (b. 1932)
2016 – Peter Naur, Danish computer scientist, astronomer, and academic (b. 1928)
2016 – Bill Plager, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1945)
2016 – Igor Sergun, Russian general and diplomat (b. 1957)
2017 – H. S. Mahadeva Prasad, Indian politician (b. 1958)
2018 – Colin Brumby, Australian composer (b. 1933)
2019 – Herb Kelleher, American businessman, co-founder of Southwest Airlines (b. 1931)
2020 – Qasem Soleimani, Iranian major general, commander of the Iranian Quds Force (b. 1957)

Holidays and observances on January 3

Anniversary of the 1966 Coup d’état (Burkina Faso)
Christian feast day:
- Daniel of Padua
- Genevieve
- Holy Name of Jesus
- Kuriakose Elias Chavara (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church)
- Pope Anterus
- William Passavant (Episcopal Church)
- January 3 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Ministry of Religious Affairs Day (Indonesia)
Tamaseseri Festival (Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan)
The first day of Nakhatsenendyan toner, celebrated until January 5 (Armenia).
The tenth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)

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

On This Day

January 2 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

On This Day / admin

366 – The Alemanni cross the frozen Rhine in large numbers, invading the Roman Empire.
533 – Mercurius becomes Pope John II, the first pope to adopt a new name upon elevation to the papacy.
1492 – Reconquista: The Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.
1680 – Trunajaya rebellion: Amangkurat II of Mataram and his bodyguards execute the rebel leader Trunajaya. a month after the rebel leader was captured by the Dutch East India Company.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: American forces under the command of George Washington repulsed a British attack at the Battle of the Assunpink Creek near Trenton, New Jersey.
1788 – Georgia becomes the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
1791 – Big Bottom massacre in the Ohio Country, North America, marking the beginning of the Northwest Indian War.
1818 – The British Institution of Civil Engineers is founded by a group of six engineers; Thomas Telford would later become its first president.
1833 – Captain James Onslow, in the Clio, arrives at Port Egmont to reassert British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
1865 – Uruguayan War: The Siege of Paysandú ends as the Brazilians and Coloradans capture Paysandú, Uruguay.
1900 – American statesman and diplomat John Hay announces the Open Door Policy to promote trade with China.
1920 – The second Palmer Raid, ordered by the US Department of Justice, results in 6,000 suspected communists and anarchists being arrested and held without trial.
1941 – World War II: German bombing severely damages the Llandaff Cathedral in Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom.
1942 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) obtains the conviction of 33 members of a German spy ring headed by Fritz Joubert Duquesne in the largest espionage case in United States history—the Duquesne Spy Ring.
1942 – World War II: Manila is captured by Japanese forces, enabling them to control the Philippines.
1949 – Luis Muñoz Marín is inaugurated as the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico.
1954 – India establishes its highest civilian awards, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan.
1955 – Following the assassination of the Panamanian president José Antonio Remón Cantera, his deputy, José Ramón Guizado, takes power, but is quickly deposed after his involvement in Cantera’s death is discovered.
1959 – Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, is launched by the Soviet Union.
1963 – Vietnam War: The Viet Cong wins its first major victory, at the Battle of Ap Bac.
1967 – Ronald Reagan, past movie actor and future President of the United States, is sworn in as Governor of California.
1971 – The second Ibrox disaster kills 66 fans at a Rangers-Celtic association football (soccer) match.
1974 – United States President Richard Nixon signs a bill lowering the maximum U.S. speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
1975 – At the opening of a new railway line, a bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways.
1975 – The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by the United States Congress.
1976 – The Gale of January 1976 begins, resulting in coastal flooding around the southern North Sea coasts, affecting countries from Ireland to Yugoslavia and causing at least 82 deaths and US$1.3 billion in damage.
1978 – On the orders of the President of Pakistan, Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, paramilitary forces opened fire on peaceful protesting workers in Multan, Pakistan; it is known as 1978 massacre at Multan Colony Textile Mills.
1981 – One of the largest investigations by a British police force ends when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the “Yorkshire Ripper”, is arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
1991 – Sharon Pratt Kelly becomes the first African American woman mayor of a major city and first woman Mayor of the District of Columbia.
1993 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lanka Navy kill 35–100 civilians on the Jaffna Lagoon.
2004 – Stardust successfully flies past Comet Wild 2, collecting samples that are returned to Earth.

Births on January 2

869 – Yōzei, Japanese emperor (d. 949)
1462 – Piero di Cosimo, Italian painter (d. 1522)
1509 – Henry of Stolberg, German nobleman (d. 1572)
1642 – Mehmed IV, Ottoman sultan (d. 1693)
1647 – Nathaniel Bacon, English-American rebel leader (d. 1676)
1699 – Osman III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1757)
1713 – Marie Dumesnil, French actress (d. 1803)
1727 – James Wolfe, English general (d. 1759)
1732 – František Brixi, Czech organist and composer (d. 1771)
1777 – Christian Daniel Rauch, German sculptor and educator (d. 1857)
1803 – Guglielmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1869)
1822 – Rudolf Clausius, Polish-German physicist and mathematician (d. 1888)
1827 – Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky, Russian geographer and statistician (d. 1914)
1833 – Frederick A. Johnson, American banker and politician (d. 1893)
1836 – Mendele Mocher Sforim, Russian author (d. 1917)
1836 – Queen Emma of Hawaii (d. 1885)
1837 – Mily Balakirev, Russian pianist and composer (d. 1910)
1857 – M. Carey Thomas, American educator and activist (d. 1935)
1860 – Dugald Campbell Patterson, Canadian engineer (d. 1931)
1860 – William Corless Mills, American historian and curator (d. 1928)
1866 – Gilbert Murray, Australian-English playwright and scholar (d. 1957)
1870 – Ernst Barlach, German sculptor and playwright (d. 1938)
1870 – Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and businessman (d. 1929)
1873 – Antonie Pannekoek, Dutch astronomer and theorist (d. 1960)
1873 – Thérèse of Lisieux, French nun and saint (d. 1897)
1878 – Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai, Indian activist, founded the Nair Service Society (d. 1970)
1884 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-Israeli historian and politician, 4th Israeli Minister of Education (d. 1973)
1885 – Gordon Flowerdew, Canadian lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1918)
1886 – Apsley Cherry-Garrard, English explorer and author (d. 1959)
1889 – Bertram Stevens, Australian accountant and politician, 25th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1973)
1891 – Giovanni Michelucci, Italian architect and urban planner, designed the Firenze Santa Maria Novella railway station (d. 1990)
1892 – Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (d. 1962)
1892 – Artur Rodziński, Polish-American conductor (d. 1958)
1895 – Folke Bernadotte, Swedish diplomat (d. 1948)
1896 – Dziga Vertov, Polish-Russian director and screenwriter (d. 1954)
1896 – Lawrence Wackett, Australian commander and engineer (d. 1982)
1897 – Theodore Plucknett, English legal historian (d. 1965)
1900 – Una Ledingham, British physician, known for research on diabetes in pregnancy (d. 1965)
1901 – Bob Marshall, American activist, co-founded The Wilderness Society (d. 1939)
1902 – Dan Keating, Irish Republican Army volunteer (d. 2007)
1903 – Kane Tanaka, Japanese supercentenarian, oldest verified living person
1904 – Walter Heitler, German physicist and chemist (d. 1981)
1905 – Luigi Zampa, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 1991)
1905 – Michael Tippett, English composer and conductor (d. 1998)
1909 – Barry Goldwater, American politician, businessman, and author (d. 1998)
1909 – Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer and author (d. 2009)^[
1913 – Anna Lee, English-American actress (d. 2004)^[79]
1913 – Juanita Jackson Mitchell, American lawyer and activist (d. 1992)
1917 – Vera Zorina, German-Norwegian actress and dancer (d. 2003)
1918 – Willi Graf, German physician and activist (d. 1943)
1919 – Beatrice Hicks, American engineer (d. 1979)
1920(probable) – Isaac Asimov, American writer and professor of biochemistry (d. 1992)
1921 – Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
1926 – Gino Marchetti, American football player (d. 2019)
1928 – Dan Rostenkowski, American politician (d. 2010)
1929 – Tellervo Koivisto, Finnish politician, former First Lady of Finland
1931 – Toshiki Kaifu, Japanese lawyer and politician, 76th Prime Minister of Japan
1934 – John Hollowbread, English footballer, goalkeeper (d. 2007)
1936 – Roger Miller, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor (d. 1992)
1938 – David Bailey, English photographer and painter
1938 – Lynn Conway, American computer scientist and electrical engineer
1938 – Robert Smithson, American sculptor and photographer (d. 1973)
1940 – Jim Bakker, American televangelist
1940 – Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 2015)
1942 – Dennis Hastert, American educator and politician, 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
1942 – Thomas Hammarberg, Swedish lawyer and diplomat
1943 – Janet Akyüz Mattei, Turkish-American astronomer (d. 2004)
1944 – Charlie Davis, Trinidadian cricketer
1944 – Norodom Ranariddh, Cambodian field marshal and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Cambodia
1944 – Péter Eötvös, Hungarian composer and conductor
1947 – Calvin Hill, American football player
1947 – David Shapiro, American poet, historian, and critic
1947 – Jack Hanna, American zoologist and author
1949 – Christopher Durang, American playwright and screenwriter
1949 – Iris Marion Young, American political scientist and academic (d. 2006)
1952 – Indulis Emsis, Latvian biologist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Latvia
1954 – Henry Bonilla, American broadcaster and politician
1954 – Évelyne Trouillot, Haitian playwright and author
1959 – Kirti Azad, Indian cricketer and politician
1961 – Craig James, American football player and sportscaster
1961 – Gabrielle Carteris, American actress
1961 – Paula Hamilton, English model
1961 – Robert Wexler, American lawyer and politician
1963 – David Cone, American baseball player and sportscaster
1963 – Edgar Martínez, American baseball player
1964 – Pernell Whitaker, American boxer (d. 2019)
1965 – Francois Pienaar, South African rugby player
1967 – Jón Gnarr, Icelandic actor and politician; 20th Mayor of Reykjavik City
1967 – Tia Carrere, American actress
1968 – Anky van Grunsven, Dutch dressage champion
1968 – Cuba Gooding, Jr., American actor and producer
1969 – Christy Turlington, American model
1969 – István Bagyula, Hungarian pole vaulter
1969 – William Fox-Pitt, English horse rider and journalist
1970 – Eric Whitacre, American composer and conductor
1971 – Renée Elise Goldsberry, American actress
1971 – Taye Diggs, American actor and singer
1972 – Mattias Norström, Swedish ice hockey player and manager
1972 – Rodney MacDonald, Canadian educator and politician, 26th Premier of Nova Scotia
1972 – Shiraz Minwalla, Indian theoretical physicist and string theorist
1974 – Ludmila Formanová, Czech runner
1974 – Tomáš Řepka, Czech footballer
1975 – Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby player
1977 – Brian Boucher, American ice hockey player and sportscaster
1977 – Stefan Koubek, Austrian tennis player
1979 – Jonathan Greening English footballer
1981 – Maxi Rodríguez, Argentinian footballer
1983 – Kate Bosworth, American actress
1987 – Robert Milsom, English footballe
1988 – Damien Tussac, French-German rugby player
1992 – Korbin Sims, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
1992 – Paulo Gazzaniga, Argentinian footballer, goalkeeper
1998 – Timothy Fosu-Mensah, Dutch footballer

Deaths on January 2

951 – Liu Chengyou, Emperor Yin of the Later Han
951 – Su Fengji, Chinese official and chancellor
1096 – William de St-Calais, Bishop of Durham and chief counsellor of William II of England^[
1169 – Bertrand de Blanchefort, sixth Grand Master of the Knights Templar (b. c. 1109)1184 – Theodora Komnene, Duchess of Austria, daughter of Andronikos Komnenos
1298 – Lodomer, Hungarian prelate, Archbishop of Esztergom
1470 – Heinrich Reuß von Plauen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
1512 – Svante Nilsson, Sweden politician (b. 1460)
1514 – William Smyth, English bishop and academic (b. 1460)
1543 – Francesco Canova da Milano, Italian composer (b. 1497)
1557 – Pontormo, Italian painter and educator (b. 1494)
1613 – Salima Sultan Begum, Empress of the Mughal Empire (b. 1539)
1614 – Luisa Carvajal y Mendoza, Spanish mystical poet and Catholic martyr (b. 1566)
1726 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian organist and composer (b. 1688)
1763 – John Carteret, 2nd Earl Granville, English statesman (b. 1690)
1850 – Manuel de la Peña y Peña, Mexican lawyer and 20th President (1847) (b. 1789)
1861 – Frederick William IV of Prussia (b. 1795)
1892 – George Biddell Airy, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1801)
1904 – James Longstreet, American general and diplomat (b. 1821)
1913 – Léon Teisserenc de Bort, French meteorologist (b. 1855)
1915 – Karl Goldmark, Hungarian violinist and composer (b. 1830)
1917 – Léon Flameng, French cyclist (b. 1877)
1920 – Paul Adam, French author (b. 1862)
1924 – Sabine Baring-Gould, English author and scholar (b. 1834)
1939 – Roman Dmowski, Polish politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1864)
1941 – Mischa Levitzki, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1898)
1946 – Joe Darling, Australian cricketer and politician (b. 1870)
1950 – James Dooley, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of New South Wales (b. 1877)
1951 – William Campion, English colonel and politician, 21st Governor of Western Australia (b. 1870)
1953 – Guccio Gucci, Italian businessman and fashion designer, founder of Gucci (b. 1881)
1960 – Paul Sauvé, Canadian lawyer and politician, 17th Premier of Quebec (b. 1907)
1963 – Dick Powell, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1904)
1963 – Jack Carson, Canadian-American actor (b. 1910)
1974 – Tex Ritter, American actor (b. 1905)
1975 – Siraj Sikder, Bangladesh revolutionary leader (b. 1944)
1977 – Erroll Garner, American pianist and composer (b. 1921)
1986 – Una Merkel, American actress (b. 1903)
1987 – Harekrushna Mahatab, Indian journalist and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Odisha (b. 1899)
1989 – Safdar Hashmi, Indian actor, director, and playwright (b. 1954)
1990 – Alan Hale Jr., American film and television actor (b. 1921)
1990 – Evangelos Averoff, Greek historian and politician, Greek Minister for National Defence (b. 1910)
1994 – Dixy Lee Ray, American biologist and politician; 17th Governor of Washington (b. 1914)
1994 – Pierre-Paul Schweitzer, French lawyer and businessman (b. 1915)
1995 – Nancy Kelly, American actress (b. 1921)
1995 – Siad Barre, Somalian general and politician; 3rd President of Somalia (b. 1919)
1999 – Rolf Liebermann, Swiss-French composer and manager (b. 1910)
1999 – Sebastian Haffner, German journalist and author (b. 1907)^[
2000 – Elmo Zumwalt, American admiral (b. 1920)
2000 – Patrick O’Brian, English author and translator (b. 1914)
2001 – William P. Rogers, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 55th United States Secretary of State (b. 1913)
2005 – Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist and physician (b. 1911)
2006 – Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1913)
2006 – Osa Massen, Danish-American actress (b. 1914)
2007 – A. Richard Newton, Australian-American engineer and academic (b. 1951)
2007 – Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, American historian and author (b. 1941)
2007 – Teddy Kollek, Hungarian-Israeli politician, Mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)
2008 – George MacDonald Fraser, Scottish journalist and author (b. 1925)
2008 – Lee S. Dreyfus, American sailor, academic, and politician, 40th Governor of Wisconsin (b. 1926)
2009 – Inger Christensen, Danish poet and author (b. 1935)
2009 – Dnyaneshwar Agashe, Indian businessman and cricketer (b. 1942)
2010 – David R. Ross, Scottish historian and author (b. 1958)
2011 – Anne Francis, American actress (b. 1930)
2011 – Bali Ram Bhagat, Indian politician; 16th Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1922)
2011 – Pete Postlethwaite, English actor (b. 1946)
2012 – Gordon Hirabayashi, American-Canadian sociologist and academic (b. 1918)
2012 – Silvana Gallardo, American actress and producer (b. 1953)
2012 – William P. Carey, American businessman and philanthropist, founded W. P. Carey (b. 1930)
2013 – Gerda Lerner, Austrian-American historian, author, and academic (b. 1920)
2013 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (b. 1944)
2014 – Bernard Glasser, American director and producer (b. 1924)
2014 – Elizabeth Jane Howard, English author and screenwriter (b. 1923)
2015 – Tihomir Novakov, Serbian-American physicist and academic (b. 1929)
2016 – Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, Indian lawyer and politician (b. 1924)
2016 – Frances Cress Welsing, American psychiatrist and author (b. 1935)
2016 – Nimr al-Nimr, Saudi Arabian religious leader (b. 1959)
2016 – Gisela Mota Ocampo, mayor of Temixco, Morelos, Mexico, assassinated (b. 1982)
2017 – Jean Vuarnet, French ski racer (b. 1933)
2017 – John Berger, English art critic, novelist and painter (b. 1926)
2018 – Guida Maria, Portuguese actress (b. 1950)
2018 – Thomas S. Monson, American religious leader, 16th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (b. 1927)
2019 – Daryl Dragon, American musician (b. 1942)
2019 – Bob Einstein, American actor and comedian (b. 1942)
2019 – Gene Okerlund, American wrestling announcer (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances on January 2

Ancestry Day (Haiti)
Berchtold’s Day (Switzerland and Liechtenstein)
Carnival Day (Saint Kitts and Nevis)
Christian feast day:
- Basil the Great (Catholic Church and Church of England)
- Defendens of Thebes
- Earliest day on which the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus is observed, while January 5 is the latest; celebrated on Sunday between January 2 and 5. (Roman Catholic Church, 1960 calendar)
- Gregory of Nazianzus (Catholic Church)
- Johann Konrad Wilhelm Löhe (Lutheran Church)
- Macarius of Alexandria
- Seraphim of Sarov (repose) (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Vedanayagam Samuel Azariah (Episcopal Church)
- January 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Nyinlong (Bhutan)
The first day of Blacks and Whites’ Carnival, celebrated until January 7. (southern Colombia)
The first day of the Carnival of Riosucio, celebrated until January 8 every 2 years. (Riosucio)
The ninth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
The second day of New Year (a holiday in Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Mauritius, Montenegro, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine):
- New Year Holiday (Scotland), if it is a Sunday, the day moves to January 3
- Kaapse Klopse (Cape Town, South Africa)
The victory of Armed Forces Day (Cuba)

January 2 – 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

Alliteration – English sentences starts with the same letter

English, General Knowledge / admin

Alliteration is a term to describe a literary device in which a series of words begin with the same consonant sound. A classic example is: “She sells seashells by the sea-shore.” Another fan-favorite is: “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.” Here is some Alliterations.

Absolutely. Assembling an appropriate answer appears achievable, assuming an articulate author appropriately adept at alliteration.

Behold, by being brave, but besides boldness by brainstorming before beginning, broadcasting brief blurbs becomes bizarre but basic babbling.

Continuing, casual crowd commenters can concur, collectively checking current compositional constraints controlling character choice, concerning certain crackpot creative chores, chiefly claiming common cunning’s compelled conclusion, comprising conjectured chore conquerability (circumstantially) carrying clear caveats cautioning care, considering calling colossal commitments complete cinches could convey controversial cool confidence.

Don’t dare doubt David’s diligence doing deeds demanding deft, devious design, dear discussion denizen, deeming dogged determination doesn’t darken David’s door; during diction’s driest drudgery, despite delightful daydreams delaying development, destiny’s death-defying daredevil detail deviser dodges despair, denying defeat, displaying devotion demonstrating dreary deliberation doubles daft drama’s devastating dynamic disposition, dovetailing directly.

English enthusiasts eagerly envision enhanced emotional elevation, exceeding even existing examples’ elicited elation, encountering each ensuing eccentric exercise, ergo everyone’s esteemed enlisted essayist (enchanted!) ensures each exquisite excerpt exhibits explosive expressive efficacy evincing either excruciating editing effort, extreme endurance, engineering excellence, etc., else elemental extemporaneous effervescence, entertaining enough except — explaining earnestly — entailing eventual emergency; essentially, endorsing ever-escalating elaborate experimentation encourages extravagant excesses, especially emphasizing expectations encompassing elusive execution extending established events — exclusively employing equal everyday emblems (E’s, e.g.) embodying each emblem ensemble’s earlier end (elsewhere enunciated easily) — evaluating endowing entirely equivalent eloquence eternally, envisaging electronic education’s emerging endeavor enjoying eight, eleven, even eighteen entries, exploits experts empirically estimate expending extra-Einstein egghead energy engendering environmentally evil, Earth-exposing exhaled exhaust emissions.

Five funny features feel fairly finished for forum fodder, foolish followers falsely fancy, for failing further focus fueling full foresight, fellow fiction fanciers frankly forget fundamental facts framing fruits from frenzied freelancing, for first fragments flowing from frantic freshman fingers frequently fall flat, forming forced, flawed fakeries feigning fluency, faded facsimiles fractionally fitting for fatuous Facebook flapdoodle, familiar formulaic fragments famously fouling friends’ feeds; fine, for furthermore, fascinatingly, first forays facing far-flung fringe frontiers, finding faith’s fortitude ferociously fighting formidable foes — fear, frustration, flaky functioning, foot fungus — forge foundations for future feats, figurative furniture for fortune’s foyer, faintly favoring fantastic fairytale fates, fervently foremost finally finishing forever.

Good grief, getting gobsmacked glimpsing great glory gushing goofy gibberish generates growing gaiety, gladdening geekery’s gracious groupie (greetings), generally greasing God’s genetically ghostwritten gearbox governing giddiness gainsaying glumness: graphically, guts, glands — generously, gantries guiding glowing glee grains granting genuine giggles, graceful gadgets guarding geniality’s green garden gate; gobbledygook, gentle guy/girl gathering: grin given glimmering gold; gasp gratuitously guzzling glittery glamor (greedily, gilded gramophones gurgling garbled Gangnam getting groovy gyrating go-go gals gamely gesturing galloping); groan giant, gutteral groans given glaringly glib games, gross grammatical goulash, gloppy gumbo grouping gimmicks galore: gawkish gymnasts gliding gallantly, gingerly grasping gigantic grotesque gorillas; guileless genius guaranteeing gullible gala-goers grimy garbage garnering ghastly grapevine gossip (galling grieving geriatrics gripping geraniums gentrifying grandpa’s grave); ghoulish gory galleries giving grimacing guests grisly gas, grunting gruffly: go gag gobbling grass, goddamn gibbon, get gone guilty gent, git!

Huge hits have historically harbored hidden hazards, hysterical hordes hardly heeding how habitually heaping honors hyping his Holiness, Harry Harangue-Hatcher, hollering, “Hip hip, hooray! Hail Hypertext Highway’s happening hack!” heavily heightens his hedonism, hubris, head hugeness — harsh harbingers hurling humanity’s hardiest hero hellward, hereafter helming his hapless human husk haunting Hades’s hallmark hot haze, heckling Halloween’s hideous headless horseman (hefting his hollow head), harassing Hitler’s hired Holocaust henchmen, hassling ham-handed helicopter handlers — hopefully, hypothetically, having hardcore horizontal hugs holding his horny, high-heeled hourglass honey (he handily helped hang her hemp Hawaiian hammock), heartland’s “happy” housewife humbling hotel heiress Hilton, heinously having hated her husband’s horsey hee-haw “hello,” his hundred horrible hay howls hammering her homicidal; however, have heart, huddled hint hobbyists, hearkening how hallowed hieroglyphs hurtling hence harmonize hypnotically, heaven’s harps highlighting how hyperactive hippocampus hockey heaves hilarious harvested hash — healthy herbs healing hungry humor hankerings.

It is intriguing, if I innocently introspect, inquiring into industriousness, imagining isolating its ingredients, i.e. internal impetuses instrumental in inspiring indefinite intransigence in inking inane, ignoble illustrations (illuminating immoderate idiom’s indomitable impetuosity, its irrepressible impishness, in infinite iterations), intently ignoring indolent inclinations inducing interest in idly inspecting Internet idiocy instead — insouciantly ingesting incessant immature innuendos insulting impromptu interactive images, inevitably imbibing insipid informational items interpreting important issues incorrectly; if indeed impressive inner influences inhere in intrepidly indulging improbable initiatives, I informally identify: idiosyncratic innate impulses involving inflexible ideals; incurable insomnia; iron intestinal integrity; insufficiently inebriated introversion; indubitably, intellectual imperative imitating insecure icicles in impaling indifferent inactivity.

Jumping Jehoshaphat, J’s jaunty jangle jovially jolts jaded jargon junkies, justifying judicious juggling joining jocose journal jottings; judging Job’s Judaic journey jejune, jamming jousts (jointly, jabs) jeopardizing joyful June/July junctures — just jubilate, juvenilely jacking jumbo Jamba Juice jugs joking jumbled jingles jollify jail’s jeering junior janitors.

Knucklehead knaves karate-kicking King Kong’s kidneys kneel, kindred kibitzers, keenly knowing kempt knights knead keyboards, knitting kooky keynotes — kerosene kinetically kindling kinky kittens’ kisses, kiddingly kidnapping Kim Kardashian’s kingdom keys, knotting klutzy Kanye’s knickers; knappish killjoys, kowtow: kryptonite k-key knacks keep knowledge-knockers knackered.

Look lively, listless language lovers, learning lame lulls lack lasting legitimacy lessening lofty literature’s lumbering, lurching locomotion; leaving Local Lunatic Linguist listing letters, let’s lazily luxuriate, losing life’s latest little lingering laments like landlords limit lawless louts’ leases, least-leniently letting long-lost loathesome lecturers lambaste liberated leaders, lucidly laughing: Listen — lending lighthearted levity lubricates lavish labor, launching latent legato lyrics like larynx-lodged lasagna; likewise, licking lollipops; looping leashes loosely; lustily locking lips; lemon-lime lozenges; large-lidded lunch liquids; lastly, low light levels limning luscious landscapes.

Andrew asked Annabel about Alcoholic’s Anonymous. But because babes buy bubbly beverages, Bel bickered. Can’t couples communicate? Duh! Drunk dumb-dumbs debate. Everyone enjoys elocution. Flibbertigibbets flatter fellas; fellas fraternize. God, gabbers get grating! However, handsome hombres have healthy habits. I include Ignatz. Jesus! Jennifer justifies jealous jeering. Kindness keeps kin kinda kinky. Luckily, lovers likely love licking luscious legs. Meanwhile, Marcus marvelously mangles meaning. No! Neither nuance nor novelty negates negativity. Only Ontology, Orientalism, or Orthography obviates overdoing Occultism. Perhaps purple prose permeates popular periodicals. Quite! Quit quibbling! Quixotically queer queens quip quietly. Right? Radical reactionaries really resent redundancies. Really, really, really! So, stay silently stealthy. The timidity towards Teutonic tonic turns technically terrific talk to tittle-tattle. Understand? Unlikely. Unless users utilize unusual unicode. Very vexing! Well, we will wait without worrying, won’t we? What words will we write? “Xu”? “Xi”? “Xis”? “Xyst?” Yes! You yammering yokels yack, yack, yack. Yawn! Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz …

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English, General Knowledge

Unique 100 General Knowledge Questions & Answers

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

Unique 100 General Knowledge Questions & Answers

1. Which British actor who starred as Jimmy in the film Quadrophenia later appeared in Blur’s video for the single Parklife? – Phil Daniels

2. Which Argentinian striker is Barcelona’s all-time leading goalscorer? – Lionel Messi

3. In the video game Dark Souls, one of the locations in the game, Anor Londo is heavily based on which Milan landmark? – Milan Cathedral

4. Planned and begun in 1850 by King Maximilian II of Bavaria, Maximilianstrasse is a major shopping district in which German city? – Munich

5. Wise, methodical detective Lester Freamon is a fictional character in which TV series? – The Wire

6. Which Europe’s most southerly capital city? – Nicosia, Cyprus

7. Clark Kent is the real name of which superhero? – Superman

8. The film Grease was mostly filmed in which US state? – California

9. Which Irish writer and clergyman wrote Gulliver’s Travels? – Jonathan Swift

10. The largest tower located OUTSIDE of London in the United Kingdom is found in which English city? – Portsmouth(Spinnaker Tower)

11. Which Hollywood, California born actor is known for starring in films including Inception, The Wolf of Wall Street and The Departed, amongst others? – Leonardo DiCaprio

12. Who was the Greek god of the Sea? – Poseidon

13. Which soul singer enjoyed fleeting success in the UK as the first winner of the TV series X-Factor? – Steve Brookstein

14. Which is the only country to have taken part in every football World Cup finals? – Brazil

15. Charles Darwin features on which British bank note? – Ten pound note

16. How old was Frodo when he came of age in the book Fellowship of the Rings? – 33 years old

17. Which former American Footballer when on to play Apollo Creed in the Rocky film series? – Carl Weathers

18. What is the relationship between Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Beatrice of York? – Grandmother-granddaughter

19. What is the name of the founder of the company Amazon who later went on to purchase The Washington Post newspaper? – Jeff Bezos

20. Which Spanish region is known for the Tempranillo black grape wine variety? – Rioja

21. Which actress won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Actress aged seventy-four for her role in the film On a Golden Pond? – Katharine Hepburn

22. Which is the only inanimate sign of the zodiac? – Libra

23. What was the name of The Jam’s debut album, released in 1977, that shared its name with a hit single on the album? – In The City

24. Since 1987, which Tennis Grand Slam tournament has been the fourth and final in the tennis calendar? – US Open

25. Nelson’s Column is a monument in which London square? – Trafalgar Square

26. Which Oasis song opens with the lyrics ‘Today is gonna be the day’? – Wonderwall

27. Where was playwright Oscar Wilde born in October 1854? – Dublin, Ireland

28. Which is the largest moon of the planet Saturn, by diameter? – Titan

29. Bella Swan (later Bella Cullan) is a character in which film series? – The Twilight Saga

30. At 119 miles long, what is the name of Scotland’s longest river? – River Tay

31. The Bolshoi Ballet is based in which city? – Moscow

32. Charleroi is a city in which northern European county? – Belgium

33. What colour is the distinctive King of the Mountains jersey in cycling’s Tour de France? –Red polka dots on white

34. Sharon Osbourne, wife of aging rocker Ozzy, was a judge on which TV music program? – X-Factor

35. In a game of cricket, how many runs are awarded for hitting the ball over the boundary rope without bouncing? – Six runs

36. What is the name of the branch of medicine that focuses on eyesight? – Optometry

37. Which silent film starring Jean Dujardin won the Best Film Oscar in 2011? – The Artist

38. William Shakespeare was born in which English market town? – Stratford-upon-Avon

39. The Baggies is the nickname of which English football club? – West Bromwich Albion

40. Prior to join the Euro and taking it’s name from the Greek verb ‘to grasp’, what was the former currency of Greece? – Drachma

41. Which country has the most football clubs? – South Africa

42. Where was the first nuclear reactor built? – The USA

43. Which brewery invented the widget for the beer can? – Guinness

44. Which is the only mammal that able to kneel on all fours? – Elephant

45. Who designed the Statue of Liberty? – Bartholdi

46. Which country is Santiago the capital of? – Chile

47. What is the name of the dog in the ‘Back to the Future’ films? – Einstein

48. Who was the first female governor of India? – Sarojini Naidu

49. Who wrote the music for West Side Story? – Bernstein

50. Which is the largest species of crocodile? – Saltwater

51. During which year did the Apple iPhone first go on sale? – 2007

52. What was the nationality of the famous 18th century poet Robert Burns? – Scottish

53. Where did King Arthur hold court? – Camelot

54. In which year was Michael Jackson’s song Thriller released? – 1982

55. Which sign of the zodiac is represented by the scales? – Libra

56. Which country was Arnold Schwarzenegger born in? – Austria

57. What is the name of Washington’s active stratovolcano? – Mount St. Helen

58. Which nuts are used to make marzipan? – Almonds

59. What is the name given to a skydiver’s canopy? – A parachute

60. What type of shark was Jaws? – A great white

61. How many consonants are there in the English Alphabet? – 21 consonants

62. In which country were ‘The Lord of the Rings’ movies filmed? – New Zealand

63. What do the stripes of the US flag represent? – The 13 original colonies of the United States (sign of uniting as one)

64. True or false: the diameter is half of the radius? – False: the radius is half of the diameter

65. Which is the only English football team to play in the Scottish league? – Berwick Rangers

66. Which character did Clark Gable play in Gone With The Wind? – Rhett Butler

67. Which Roman numerals represent the number 40? – XL

68. Which word can come before: moon, house and time? – Full

69. What religion does a Rabi belong too? – Jewish

70. How many hours are there in one full week? – 168 hours

71. Which English actor starred in Gangs of New York and Lincoln? – Daniel Day Lewis

72. Who was the president of the United States in 2000? – Bill Clinton

73. What is the largest country in Great Britain? – England

74. What theory did the scientist Charles Darwin help to develop? – The theory of evolution

75. What ‘M’ is a popular egg white dessert? – Meringue

76. How many known planets are there in our solar system? – Eight

77. Canberra is the capital city of which country? – Australia

78. What is an obtuse angle? – An angle measuring between 90 and 180 degrees

79. What was the name of Moses’ brother? – Aaron

80. Who sang the 2015 hit song ‘All About That Bass’? – Meghan Trainor

81. Three countries of the world begin with the letter J, can you name them all? – Jamaica, Japan, Jordan

82. Which 2015 movie features a song called ‘Writing’s on the Wall’ by Sam Smith? – Spectre (James Bond)

83. Beginning with the fastest first, put the following body features in order of growth rate: finger nails, toe nails, hair? – Hair, finger nails, toe nails

84. In medieval legend, what name was given to the cup from which Jesus drank from at the Last Supper? – Grail (The Holy Grail)

85. Does the British noble title Viscount rank above or below a Baron? – Above

86. Which solar system planet experiences the hottest surface temperature? – Venus

87. Which George Michael song begins with the lyrics, ‘I feel so unsure, As I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor’? – Careless Whisper

88. In 1912, which ocean did RMS Titanic sink in? – Atlantic Ocean (North Atlantic)

89. What film series stars Marlon Brando and Al Pacino as leaders of a New York Mafia family? – The Godfather

90. What traditional Easter cake is toasted and decorated with 11 to 12 marzipan balls? – Simnel Cake

91. What type of animals make up the biggest group of amphibians? – Frogs

92. Which naturalist wrote ‘The Voyage of the Beagle’? – Charles Darwin

93. The inauguration of which American President took place on January 20, 2009? – Barack Obama

94. Can you unscramble the following word to reveal the name of a hormone produced by the pancreas: NNLUSII? – Insulin

95. What was the first fully animated feature film released by Walt Disney? – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

96. Which Asian country was formerly named Ceylon? – Sri Lanka

97. What type of gas primarily forms the Earth’s atmosphere? – Nitrogen

98. What is the opposite of nocturnal? – Diurnal

99. Which Winter Olympic event combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting? – The biathlon

100. Who plays Jack Bauer in the American television series 24? – Kiefer Sutherland

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Unique 100 General Knowledge Questions & Answers

Unique 100 General Knowledge Questions & Answers