Events
Pre-1600
*
27 BC
__NOTOC__
Year 27 BC was either a common year starting on Sunday, Monday or Tuesday or a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar (the sources differ, see leap year error for further information) ...
–
Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
is granted the title
Augustus
Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
by the
Roman Senate
The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...
, marking the beginning of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
.
*
378
__NOTOC__
Year 378 ( CCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valens and Augustus (or, less frequently, year 1131 ...
– General
Siyaj K'ak' conquers
Tikal
Tikal () (''Tik’al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-C ...
, enlarging the domain of King
Spearthrower Owl
"Spearthrower Owl" is the name commonly given to a Mesoamerican personage from the Early Classic period, who is identified in Maya inscriptions and iconography. Mayanist David Stuart has suggested that Spearthrower Owl was a ruler of Teotihuacan ...
of
Teotihuacán
Teotihuacan ( Spanish: ''Teotihuacán'') (; ) is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico, northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as ...
.
*
550
__NOTOC__
Year 550 ( DL) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 550 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
–
Gothic War: The
Ostrogoths
The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...
, under King
Totila
Totila, original name Baduila (died 1 July 552), was the penultimate King of the Ostrogoths, reigning from 541 to 552 AD. A skilled military and political leader, Totila reversed the tide of the Gothic War, recovering by 543 almost all the t ...
, conquer Rome after a long siege, by bribing the
Isaurian garrison.
*
929
Year 929 ( CMXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* January 16 – Emir Abd-al-Rahman III of Córdoba proclaims himself caliph and create ...
–
Emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...
Abd-ar-Rahman III establishes the
Caliphate of Córdoba
The Caliphate of Córdoba ( ar, خلافة قرطبة; transliterated ''Khilāfat Qurṭuba''), also known as the Cordoban Caliphate was an Islamic state ruled by the Umayyad dynasty from 929 to 1031. Its territory comprised Iberia and parts o ...
.
*
1120
Year 1120 ( MCXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Siege of Sozopolis: Byzantine forces under Emperor John II Komnenos conquer Sozopol ...
–
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were ...
: The
Council of Nablus
The Council of Nablus was a council of ecclesiastic and secular lords in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, held on January 16, 1120.
History
The council was convened at Nablus by Warmund, Patriarch of Jerusalem, and King Baldwin II of Jerusalem ...
is held, establishing the earliest surviving written laws of the
Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...
.
*
1362
Year 1362 ( MCCCLXII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* January 1 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania switches New Year to January 1, before ...
–
Saint Marcellus's flood
Saint Marcellus's flood or (Low Saxon: ; da, Den Store Manddrukning, 'Great Drowning of Men') was an intense extratropical cyclone, coinciding with a new moon, which swept across the British Isles, the Netherlands, northern Germany, and Denmark ...
kills at least 25,000 people on the shores of the
North Sea
The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the ...
.
*
1537
__NOTOC__
Year 1537 ( MDXXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January
** Bigod's Rebellion, an uprising by Roman Catholics against Henry ...
–
Bigod's Rebellion, an armed insurrection attempting to resist the
English Reformation, begins.
*
1547
Year 1547 ( MDXLVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events January–June
* January 8 – The first Lithuanian-language book, a ''Catechism'' (, Simple Words ...
– Grand Duke
Ivan IV of
Muscovy Muscovy is an alternative name for the Grand Duchy of Moscow (1263–1547) and the Tsardom of Russia (1547–1721). It may also refer to:
*Muscovy Company, an English trading company chartered in 1555
* Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and Domes ...
becomes the first
Tsar of Russia
This is a list of all reigning monarchs in the history of Russia. It includes the princes of medieval Rus′ state (both centralised, known as Kievan Rus′ and feudal, when the political center moved northeast to Vladimir and finally to Mos ...
, replacing the 264-year-old
Grand Duchy of Moscow with the
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia or Tsardom of Rus' also externally referenced as the Tsardom of Muscovy, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of Tsar by Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter I ...
.
*
1556
__NOTOC__
Year 1556 ( MDLVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 16 – Charles V, having already abdicated as Holy Roman Emperor, ...
–
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
becomes King of Spain.
*
1572
Year 1572 ( MDLXXII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 16 – Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, is tried for treason, for his part ...
–
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, ( Kenninghall, Norfolk, 10 March 1536Tower Hill, London, 2 June 1572) was an English nobleman and politician. Although from a family with strong Roman Catholic leanings, he was raised a Protestant. He was ...
is tried and found guilty of treason for his part in the
Ridolfi plot
The Ridolfi plot was a Roman Catholic plot in 1571 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I of England and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots. The plot was hatched and planned by Roberto Ridolfi, an international banker who was able to travel betwee ...
to restore
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in England.
1601–1900
*
1605
Events
January–June
* January 16 – The first part of Miguel de Cervantes' satire on the theme of chivalry, ''Don Quixote'' (''El ingenioso hidalgo don Quixote de la Mancha'', "The Ingenious Hidalgo Don Quixote of La Mancha"), is publ ...
– The first edition of ''
El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...
'' (Book One of ''Don Quixote'') by
Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...
is published in
Madrid, Spain
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
.
*
1707
In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Tuesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar.
Events
January–March
* January 1 – John V is crowned King of Portugal and the Algarv ...
– The
Scottish Parliament ratifies the
Act of Union, paving the way for the creation of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
.
*
1757
Events
January–March
* January 2 – Seven Years' War: The British Army, under the command of Robert Clive, captures Calcutta, India.
* January 5 – Robert-François Damiens makes an unsuccessful assassination attempt ...
– Forces of the
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern Indian confederation that came to dominate much of the Indian subcontinent in the 18th century. Maratha rule formally began in 1674 with the coronation of Sh ...
defeat a 5,000-strong army of the
Durrani Empire in the
Battle of Narela.
*
1780
Events
January–March
* January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet.
* February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to allow ...
–
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
:
Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
*
1786
Events
January–March
* January 3 – The third Treaty of Hopewell is signed, between the United States and the Choctaw.
* January 6 – The outward bound East Indiaman '' Halsewell'' is wrecked on the south coast of Engla ...
–
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
enacts the
Statute for Religious Freedom authored by
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...
.
*
1809
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded.
* January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean ...
–
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...
: The British defeat the French at the
Battle of La Coruña
The Battle of Corunna (or ''A Coruña'', ''La Corunna'', ''La Coruña'' or ''La Corogne''), in Spain known as Battle of Elviña, took place on 16 January 1809, when a French corps under Marshal of the Empire Jean de Dieu Soult attacked a Briti ...
.
*
1847
Events
January–March
* January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government.
* January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California.
* January 16 – John C. Frémont ...
–
Westward expansion of the United States:
John C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...
is appointed
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of the new
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
Territory.
*
1862 –
Hartley Colliery disaster: Two hundred and four men and boys killed in a mining disaster, prompting a change in UK law which henceforth required all collieries to have at least two independent means of escape.
*
1878
Events January–March
* January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire.
* January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy.
* January 17 – Bat ...
–
Russo-Turkish War (1877–78)
The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...
:
Battle of Philippopolis: Captain
Aleksandr Burago
Aleksandr Petrovich Burago (russian: Александр Петрович Бураго) was an officer of the Russian Imperial army. Serving as a captain under Joseph Vladimirovich Gourko, he commanded the force that liberated Plovdiv from the ...
with a
squadron
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, ...
of
Russian Imperial
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. The ...
army
dragoons
liberates Plovdiv from
Ottoman rule
Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to:
Governments and dynasties
* Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924
* Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...
.
*
1883
Events
January–March
* January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States.
* January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people.
* Ja ...
– The
Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act is a United States federal law passed by the 47th United States Congress and signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on January 16, 1883. The act mandates that most positions within the federal govern ...
, establishing the
United States Civil Service
The United States federal civil service is the civilian workforce (i.e., non-elected and non-military public sector employees) of the United States federal government's departments and agencies. The federal civil service was established in 1871 ( ...
, is enacted by Congress.
*
1900
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...
– The
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
accepts the
Anglo-German treaty of 1899 in which the United Kingdom renounces its claims to the
Samoan islands
The Samoan Islands ( sm, Motu o Sāmoa) are an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa an ...
.
1901–present
*
1909
Events
January–February
* January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
* January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
* Jan ...
–
Ernest Shackleton
Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of ...
's expedition finds the magnetic
South Pole
The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...
.
*
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...
–
Nebraska
Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
becomes the 36th state to approve the
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighteenth Amendment (Amendment XVIII) of the United States Constitution established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and was ratified by the requisite number of ...
. With the necessary three-quarters of the states approving the amendment,
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
is constitutionally mandated in the United States one year later.
*
1920 – The
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
holds its first council meeting in
Paris, France
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
.
*
1921 – The
holds its founding congress in
Ľubochňa
Ľubochňa ( hu, Fenyőháza) is a village and municipality in Ružomberok District in the Žilina Region of northern Slovakia.
History
In historical records the village was first mentioned in 1818.
Geography
The municipality lies at an altitud ...
.
*
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...
–
The Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
: Nazi Germany begins deporting Jews from the
Łódź Ghetto
The Łódź Ghetto or Litzmannstadt Ghetto (after the Nazi German name for Łódź) was a Nazi ghetto established by the German authorities for Polish Jews and Roma following the Invasion of Poland. It was the second-largest ghetto in all of ...
to
Chełmno extermination camp
, known for =
, location = Near Chełmno nad Nerem, ''Reichsgau Wartheland'' (German-occupied Poland)
, built by =
, operated by =
, commandant = Herbert Lange, Christian Wirth
, original use =
, construction =
, in operatio ...
.
* 1942 – Crash of
TWA Flight 3
TWA Flight 3 was a twin-engine Douglas DC-3-382 propliner, registration NC1946, operated by Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) as a scheduled domestic passenger flight from New York, New York, to Burbank, California, in the United States ...
, killing all 22 aboard, including film star
Carole Lombard.
*
1945
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat.
Events
Below, ...
–
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
:
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
moves into his underground bunker, the so-called
Führerbunker.
*
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
–
Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 205 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near
Astor Piazzolla International Airport
Ástor Piazzolla International Airport ( es, link=no, Aeropuerto Internacional de Mar del Plata "Ástor Piazzolla", ), also known as Mar del Plata Airport, is an airport serving Mar del Plata, an Atlantic coastal city in the Buenos Aires Provin ...
in
Mar del Plata, Argentina, killing 51.
*
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
–
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
student
Jan Palach
Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resulting from the 1968 in ...
commits suicide by
self-immolation
The term self-immolation broadly refers to acts of altruistic suicide, otherwise the giving up of one's body in an act of sacrifice. However, it most often refers specifically to autocremation, the act of sacrificing oneself by setting oneself ...
in
Prague, Czechoslovakia
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oc ...
, in protest against the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
s' crushing of the
Prague Spring the year before.
* 1969 –
Space Race
The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the t ...
: Soviet spacecraft ''
Soyuz 4
Soyuz 4 (russian: Союз 4, ''Union 4'') was launched on 14 January 1969, carrying cosmonaut Vladimir Shatalov on his first flight. The aim of the mission was to dock with Soyuz 5, transfer two crew members from that spacecraft, and retur ...
'' and ''
Soyuz 5
Soyuz 5 (russian: Союз 5, ''Union 5'') was a Soyuz mission using the Soyuz 7K-OK spacecraft launched by the Soviet Union on 15 January 1969, which docked with Soyuz 4 in orbit. It was the first docking of two crewed spacecraft of any nat ...
'' perform the first-ever docking of manned spacecraft in
orbit
In celestial mechanics, an orbit is the curved trajectory of an object such as the trajectory of a planet around a star, or of a natural satellite around a planet, or of an artificial satellite around an object or position in space such as ...
, the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a
space walk.
*
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
–
Iranian Revolution
The Iranian Revolution ( fa, انقلاب ایران, Enqelâb-e Irân, ), also known as the Islamic Revolution ( fa, انقلاب اسلامی, Enqelâb-e Eslâmī), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dyna ...
: The
last Iranian Shah flees
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
with his family for good and relocates to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
.
*
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
–
Turkish Airlines Flight 158 crashes at
Ankara Esenboğa Airport
Ankara Esenboğa Airport ( tr, Ankara Esenboğa Havalimanı) is the international airport of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It has been operating since 1955. In 2017, the airport has served more than 15 million passengers in total, 13 mill ...
in
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, Turkey, killing 47 and injuring 20.
*
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
– Coalition Forces go to war with
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
, beginning the
Gulf War
The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...
.
*
1992 –
El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the
Chapultepec Peace Accords
The Chapultepec Peace Accords were a set of peace agreements signed on January 16, 1992, the day in which the Salvadoran Civil War ended. The treaty established peace between the Salvadoran government and the Farabundo Martí National Liberat ...
in
Mexico City, Mexico ending the 12-year
Salvadoran Civil War
The Salvadoran Civil War ( es, guerra civil de El Salvador) was a twelve year period of civil war in El Salvador that was fought between the government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front
The Farabundo Ma ...
that claimed at least 75,000 lives.
*
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
– An avalanche hits the Icelandic village
Súðavík
Súðavík () is a fishing village and municipality (Súðavíkurhreppur ) on the west coast of Álftafjörður in Westfjords, Iceland.
History
On January 16, 1995, an avalanche fell on the village early in the morning (around 6:25 am) and destr ...
, destroying 25 homes and burying 26 people, 14 of whom died.
*
2001 –
Second Congo War:
Congolese President
Laurent-Désiré Kabila
Laurent-Désiré Kabila () (27 November 1939 – 18 January 2001) or simply Laurent Kabila ( US: ), was a Congolese revolutionary and politician who was the third President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1997 until his assassinatio ...
is
assassinated by one of his own bodyguards in Kinshasa.
* 2001 – US President
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
awards former President
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
a posthumous
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valo ...
for his service in the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cloc ...
.
*
2002 –
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
: The
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of
Osama bin Laden,
al-Qaeda, and the remaining members of the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
.
*
2003 – The
Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' takes off for mission
STS-107
STS-107 was the 113th flight of the Space Shuttle program, and the 28th and final flight of Space Shuttle ''Columbia''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on January 16, 2003, and during its 15 days, 22 hours, 20 minutes ...
which would be its final one. ''Columbia''
disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
*
2006 –
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa.
Sirleaf was born in Monro ...
is sworn in as
Liberia's new
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.
*
2011 –
Syrian civil war: The
Movement for a Democratic Society
The Movement for a Democratic Society ( ku, Tevgera Civaka Demokratîk, TEV-DEM, ar, حركة المجتمع الديمقراطي, syc, ܙܘܥܐ ܕܟܢܫܐ ܕܝܡܩܪܐܛܝܐ, Zaw'o d'Kensho Demoqraṭoyo) is a left-wing umbrella organization ...
(TEV-DEM) is established with the stated goal of re-organizing
Syria along the lines of
democratic confederalism.
*
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
- The
Mali War
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Mali War
, partof = the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel and the War on terror
, image = MaliWar.svg
, image_size = 380
, caption = Military situation ...
begins when
Tuareg militias start fighting the Malian government for independence.
*
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
– Thirty-three out of 126 freed hostages are injured and 23 killed in terrorist
attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on a hotel and a nearby restaurant.
*
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
–
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
open fire on a group of ethnic
Rakhine protesters, killing seven and wounding twelve.
*
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
– The
first impeachment of Donald Trump
Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the first time by the House of Representatives of the 116th United States Congress on December 18, 2019. The House adopted two articles of impeachment against Trump: abus ...
formally moves into its trial phase in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
.
* 2020 – The United States Senate ratifies the
United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement
The Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA) Commonly known as the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) in the United States and the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CU ...
as a replacement for
NAFTA.
Births
Pre-1600
*
972
Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...
–
Sheng Zong, emperor of the Liao Dynasty (d. 1031)
*
1093 –
Isaac Komnenos, son of Byzantine emperor
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...
(d. 1152)
*
1245
Year 1245 ( MCCXLV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* Winter – Siege of Jaén: Castilian forces under King Ferdinand III (the Saint) bes ...
–
Edmund Crouchback
Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and Earl of Leicester (16 January 12455 June 1296) nicknamed Edmund Crouchback was a member of the House of Plantagenet. He was the second surviving son of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. In his chi ...
, English politician,
Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1296)
*
1362
Year 1362 ( MCCCLXII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* January 1 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania switches New Year to January 1, before ...
–
Robert de Vere, duke of Ireland (d. 1392)
*
1409
Year 1409 ( MCDIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* January 1
January 1 or 1 January is the first day of the year in the Gregorian ...
–
René of Anjou
René of Anjou ( it, Renato; oc, Rainièr; ca, Renat; 1409–1480) was Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence from 1434 to 1480, who also reigned as King of Naples as René I from 1435 to 1442 (then deposed as the preceding dynasty was restored t ...
, king of Naples (d. 1480)
*
1477
Year 1477 ( MCDLXXVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* January 5 – Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold of Burgundy is again defeated, ...
–
Johannes Schöner
Johannes Schöner (16 January 1477, in Karlstadt am Main – 16 January 1547, in the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg) (aka, Johann Schönner, Johann Schoener, Jean Schönner, Joan Schoenerus) was a renowned and respected German polymath. It is ...
, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547)
*
1501
Year 1501 ( MDI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 17 – Cesare Borgia returns triumphantly to Rome, from Romagna.
* March 25 & ...
–
Anthony Denny
Sir Anthony Denny (16 January 1501 – 10 September 1549) was Groom of the Stool to King Henry VIII of England, thus his closest courtier and confidant. He was the most prominent member of the Privy chamber in King Henry's last years, having ...
, confidant of
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...
(d. 1559)
*
1516
__NOTOC__
Year 1516 ( MDXVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January – Juan Díaz de Solís discovers the Río de la Plata (in future A ...
–
Bayinnaung
, image = File:Bayinnaung.JPG
, caption = Statue of Bayinnaung in front of the National Museum of Myanmar
, reign = 30 April 1550 – 10 October 1581
, coronation = 11 January 1551 at Toung ...
, king of Burma (d. 1581)
*
1558
__NOTOC__
Year 1558 ( MDLVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 7 – French troops, led by Francis, Duke of Guise, take Calais, ...
–
Jakobea of Baden
Princess Jakobea of Baden (16 January 1558 – 3 September 1597 in Düsseldorf, buried in the St. Lambert Church in Düsseldorf) was daughter of the Margrave Philibert of Baden-Baden and Mechthild of Bavaria.
Life
Jakobea of Baden-Baden bec ...
, Margravine of Baden by birth, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg by marriage (d. 1597)
1601–1900
*
1616
Events
January–June
* January
** Six-year-old António Vieira arrives from Portugal, with his parents, in Bahia (present-day Salvador) in Colonial Brazil, where he will become a diplomat, noted author, leading figure of the Church, an ...
–
François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (d. 1669)
*
1626
Events
January–March
* January 7 – Polish-Swedish War: Battle of Wallhof in Latvia – Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden, defeats a Polish army.
* January 9 – Peter Minuit sails from Texel Island for America's Ne ...
–
, Belgian painter and educator (d. 1699)
*
1630
Events
January–March
* January 2 – A shoemaker in Turin is found to have the first case of bubonic plague there as the plague of 1630 begins spreading through Italy.
* January 5 – A team of Portuguese military advisers ...
–
Guru Har Rai
Guru Har Rai (Gurmukhi: ਗੁਰੂ ਹਰਿ ਰਾਇ, pronunciation: ; 16 January 1630 – 6 October 1661) revered as the ''seventh Nanak'', was the seventh of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.[1634
Events
January–March
* January 12– After suspecting that he will be dismissed, Albrecht von Wallenstein, supreme commander of the Holy Roman Empire's Army, demands that his colonels sign a declaration of personal loyalty.
...]
–
Dorothe Engelbretsdatter
Dorothe Engelbretsdatter (16 January 163419 February 1716) was a Norwegian author. She principally wrote hymns and poems which were strongly religious. She has been characterized as Norway's first recognized female author as well as Norway's fi ...
, Norwegian author and poet (d. 1716)
*
1675
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Franco-Dutch War – Battle of Turckheim: The French defeat Austria and Brandenburg.
* January 29 – John Sassamon, an English-educated Native American Christian, dies at Assa ...
–
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, GE (16 January 16752 March 1755), was a French soldier, diplomat, and memoirist. He was born in Paris at the Hôtel Selvois, 6 rue Taranne (demolished in 1876 to make way for the Boulevard Saint-Germain). Th ...
, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1755)
*
1691
Events
January–March
* January 6 – King William III of England, who rules Scotland and Ireland as well as being the Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic, departs from Margate to tend to the affairs of the Netherlands.
* January 14 – A ...
–
Peter Scheemakers
Peter Scheemakers or Pieter Scheemaeckers II or the Younger (10 January 1691 – 12 September 1781) was a Flemish sculptor who worked for most of his life in London. His public and church sculptures in a classicist style had an important influenc ...
, Belgian sculptor and educator (d. 1781)
*
1728
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The '' Real y Pontificia Universidad de San Gerónimo de la Habana'', the oldest university in Cuba, is founded in Havana.
* January 9 – The coronation of Peter II as the Tsar of t ...
–
Niccolò Piccinni
Niccolò Piccinni (; 16 January 1728 – 7 May 1800) was an Italian composer of symphonies, sacred music, chamber music, and opera. Although he is somewhat obscure today, Piccinni was one of the most popular composers of opera—particularly th ...
, Italian composer and educator (d. 1800)
*
1749
Events
January–March
* January 3
** Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
** The first issue of ''Berlingske'', Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, ...
–
Vittorio Alfieri
Count Vittorio Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography.
Early life
Alfieri was ...
, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1803)
*
1757
Events
January–March
* January 2 – Seven Years' War: The British Army, under the command of Robert Clive, captures Calcutta, India.
* January 5 – Robert-François Damiens makes an unsuccessful assassination attempt ...
–
Richard Goodwin Keats
Admiral Sir Richard Goodwin Keats (16 January 1757 – 5 April 1834) was a British naval officer who fought throughout the American Revolution, French Revolutionary War and Napoleonic War. He retired in 1812 due to ill health and was made Comm ...
, English admiral and politician, third
Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1834)
*
1807
Events
January–March
* January 7 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland issues an Order in Council prohibiting British ships from trading with France or its allies.
* January 20 – The Sierra Leone Company, faced with ...
–
Charles Henry Davis
Charles Henry Davis ( – ) was an American rear admiral of the United States Navy. While working for the U.S. Coast Survey, he researched tides and currents, and located an uncharted shoal that had caused wrecks off of the coast of New Yor ...
, American admiral (d. 1877)
*
1815 –
Henry Halleck
Henry Wager Halleck (January 16, 1815 – January 9, 1872) was a senior United States Army officer, scholar, and lawyer. A noted expert in military studies, he was known by a nickname that became derogatory: "Old Brains". He was an important par ...
, American lawyer, general, and scholar (d. 1872)
*
1821
Events
January–March
* January 21 – Peter I Island in the Antarctic is first sighted, by Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen.
* January 28 – Alexander Island, the largest in Antarctica, is first discovered by Fabian Gottlieb von B ...
–
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...
, American general and politician, 14th
Vice President of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
(d. 1875)
*
1834
Events
January–March
* January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.
* January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states.
* January 3 ...
–
Robert R. Hitt
Robert Roberts Hitt (January 16, 1834 – September 20, 1906) was an American diplomat and Republican politician from Illinois. He served briefly as assistant secretary of state in the short-lived administration of James A. Garfield but r ...
, American lawyer and politician, 13th
United States Assistant Secretary of State Assistant Secretary of State (A/S) is a title used for many executive positions in the United States Department of State, ranking below the under secretaries. A set of six assistant secretaries reporting to the under secretary for political affairs ...
(d. 1906)
*
1836
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand Augustus Francis Anthony of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
* January 5 – Davy Crockett arrives in Texas.
* January 12
** , with Charles Darwin on board, re ...
–
Francis II of the Two Sicilies
, image = Francesco II of the Two Sicilies.JPG
, caption = King Francis II
, succession = King of the Two Sicilies
, reign = 22 May 1859 – 20 March 1861
, predecessor = Ferdinand II
, successor = ''Ki ...
(d. 1894)
*
1838 –
Franz Brentano
Franz Clemens Honoratus Hermann Josef Brentano (; ; 16 January 1838 – 17 March 1917) was an influential German philosopher, psychologist, and former Catholic priest (withdrawn in 1873 due to the definition of papal infallibility in matters ...
, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)
*
1844 –
Ismail Qemali
Ismail Qemal bey Vlora, mostly known as Ismail Qemali (; 16 January 184426 January 1919), was an Albanian diplomat, politician, rilindas, statesman and the Founding Father of modern Albania, and one of the most famous Southern Albanian perso ...
, Albanian civil servant and politician, first Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1919)
*
1851 –
William Hall-Jones
Sir William Hall-Jones (16 January 1851 – 19 June 1936) was the 16th prime minister of New Zealand from June 1906 until August 1906.
Hall-Jones entered parliament in 1890, later becoming a member of the Liberal Party. He was interim prime m ...
, English-New Zealand politician, 16th
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017.
The prime minister (inform ...
(d. 1936)
*
1853
Events
January–March
* January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida.
* January 8 – Taiping R ...
–
Johnston Forbes-Robertson
Sir Johnston Forbes-Robertson (16 January 1853 – 6 November 1937''Sir Johnston Forbes Robertson, Beauty And Grace in Acting'', Obituaries, '' The Times'', 8 November 1937.) was an English actor and theatre manager and husband of actress Gert ...
, English actor and manager (d. 1937)
* 1853 –
Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton
Sir Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, (16 January 1853 – 12 October 1947) was a British Army general who had an extensive British Imperial military career in the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Hamilton was twice recommended for the Victoria Cro ...
, Greek-English general (d. 1947)
* 1853 –
André Michelin
André Jules Michelin (16 January 1853 – 4 April 1931) was a French industrialist who, with his brother Édouard (1859–1940), founded the Michelin Tyre Company (''Compagnie Générale des Établissements Michelin'') in 1888 in the French ...
, French businessman, co-founded the
Michelin Tyre Company (d. 1931)
*
1870
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England.
** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed.
* January 3 – Construction of the ...
–
Jüri Jaakson
Jüri Jaakson VR III/1 ( in Karula, Kreis Fellin, Livonia, Russian Empire – 20 April 1942 in Sosva, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Soviet Union) was an Estonian businessman and politician.
Life and career
Jaakson studied in H. Treffner's Private H ...
, Estonian businessman and politician,
State Elder of Estonia
The Head of State of Estonia or State Elder ( et, riigivanem) was the official title of the Estonian head of state from 1920 to 1937. He combined some of the functions held by a president and prime minister in most other democracies.
According t ...
(d. 1942)
*
1872
Events
January–March
* January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years.
* February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...
–
Henri Büsser
Paul Henri Büsser (16 January 1872 – 30 December 1973) was a French classical composer, organist, and conductor.
Biography
Büsser was born in Toulouse of partly German ancestry. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1889, where he studied ...
, French organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1973)
*
1874 –
Robert W. Service
Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a British-Canadian poet and writer, often called "the Bard of the Yukon". The middle name 'William' was in honour of a rich uncle. When that uncle neglected to provide for hi ...
, English-Canadian poet and author (d. 1958)
*
1875
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...
–
Leonor Michaelis
Leonor Michaelis (16 January 1875 – 8 October 1949) was a German biochemist, physical chemist, and physician, known for his work with Maud Menten on enzyme kinetics in 1913, as well as for work on enzyme inhibition, pH and quinones.
E ...
, German biochemist and physician (d. 1949)
*
1876
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The Reichsbank opens in Berlin.
** The Bass Brewery Red Triangle becomes the world's first registered trademark symbol.
* February 2 – The National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs is ...
–
Claude Buckenham
Claude Percival Buckenham (16 January 1876 – 23 February 1937) was an English first-class cricketer who played for Essex and England. He also won a gold medal playing football at the Olympic Games in 1900.
Life and career
Tall and gangling, an ...
, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1937)
*
1878
Events January–March
* January 5 – Russo-Turkish War – Battle of Shipka Pass IV: Russian and Bulgarian forces defeat the Ottoman Empire.
* January 9 – Umberto I becomes King of Italy.
* January 17 – Bat ...
–
Harry Carey Harry Carey may refer to:
*Harry Carey (actor) (1878–1947), American actor
* Harry Carey Jr. (1921–2012), American actor
* Harry Carey (footballer) (1916–1991), Australian rules footballer
See also
* Henry Carey (disambiguation)
* Harry Car ...
, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1947)
*
1880
Events
January–March
* January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia.
* January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy.
* February ...
–
Samuel Jones, American high jumper (d. 1954)
*
1882
Events
January–March
* January 2
** The Standard Oil Trust is secretly created in the United States to control multiple corporations set up by John D. Rockefeller and his associates.
** Irish-born author Oscar Wilde arrives in t ...
–
Margaret Wilson
Margaret Anne Wilson (born 20 May 1947) is a New Zealand lawyer, academic and former Labour Party politician. She served as Attorney-General from 1999 to 2005 and Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008, during the Fifth L ...
, American author (d. 1973)
*
1885 –
Zhou Zuoren
Zhou Zuoren () (16 January 1885 – 6 May 1967) was a Chinese writer, primarily known as an essayist and a translator. He was the younger brother of Lu Xun (Zhou Shuren, 周树人), the second of three brothers.
Biography
Early life
Born in S ...
, Chinese author and translator (d. 1967)
*
1888
In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...
–
Osip Brik
Osip Maksimovich Brik (russian: link=no, Óсип Макси́мович Брик) (16 January 1888 – 22 February 1945), was a Russian avant garde writer and literary critic, who was one of the most important members of the Russian formali ...
, Russian avant garde writer and literary critic (d. 1945)
*
1892
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States.
* February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado.
* February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...
–
Homer Burton Adkins
Homer Burton Adkins (16 January 1892 – 10 August 1949) was an American chemist who studied the hydrogenation of organic compounds. Adkins was regarded as top in his field and a world authority on the hydrogenation of organic compounds. Adk ...
, American chemist (d. 1949)
*
1893
Events
January–March
* January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America.
* Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson.
* January 6 – Th ...
–
Daisy Kennedy
Daisy Fowler Kennedy (16 January 1893 – 30 July 1981) was an Australian-born concert violinist.
She was born in Burra-Burra, 160 km north of Adelaide, to parents of Scottish and Irish descent.A. Eaglefield-Hull (Ed.), ''A Dictionar ...
, Australian-English violinist (d. 1981)
*
1894
Events January–March
* January 4 – A military alliance is established between the French Third Republic and the Russian Empire.
* January 7 – William Kennedy Dickson receives a patent for motion picture film in the United S ...
–
Irving Mills, American publisher (d. 1985)
*
1895
Events
January–March
* January 5 – Dreyfus affair: French officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his army rank, and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.
* January 12 – The National Trust for Places of Histor ...
–
Evripidis Bakirtzis
Evripidis Bakirtzis (; 16 January 1895 – 9 March 1947), born in Serres, Ottoman Empire, was a Hellenic Army officer and politician. Dismissed from the army twice due to his participation in pro-republican coup attempts and sentenced to death, la ...
, Greek soldier and politician (d. 1947)
* 1895 –
T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
* 1895 –
Nat Schachner
Nathaniel Schachner ((January 16, 1895 – October 2, 1955), who published under the names Nat Schachner and Nathan Schachner, was an American writer, historian, and attorney, as well as an early advocate of the development of rockets for space ...
, American lawyer, chemist, and author (d. 1955)
*
1897
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City.
* January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puni ...
–
Carlos Pellicer
Carlos Pellicer Cámara (10 January 1897 – 16 February 1977) was part of the first wave of modernist Mexican poets and was active in the promotion of Mexican art, pictures, and literature. An enthusiastic traveler, his work is filled with ...
, Mexican poet and academic (d. 1977)
*
1898
Events
January–March
* January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...
–
Margaret Booth
Margaret Booth (January 16, 1898 – October 28, 2002) was an American film editor.
Early life and career
Born in Los Angeles, she started her Hollywood career as a "patcher", editing films by D. W. Griffith, around 1915. Her brother was actor ...
, American producer and editor (d. 2002)
* 1898 –
Irving Rapper
Irving Rapper (16 January 1898 – 20 December 1999) was a British-born American film director.
Biography
Born to a Jewish family , American film director and producer (d. 1999)
*
1900
As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...
–
Kiku Amino
was a Japanese writer and translator of English and Russian literature. She was a recipient of the Women's Literature Prize, the Yomiuri Prize, and Japan Academy of the Arts prize.
Biography
Amino was born in Azabu Mamiana-cho and raised in Aka ...
, Japanese author and translator (d. 1978)
* 1900 –
Edith Frank
Edith Frank (; 16 January 1900 – 6 January 1945) was the mother of Holocaust diarist Anne Frank, and her older sister Margot. After the family were discovered in hiding in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation, she was transported to Auschwitz- ...
, German-Dutch mother of
Anne Frank
Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...
(d. 1945)
1901–present
*
1901
Events
January
* January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...
–
Fulgencio Batista
Fulgencio Batista y Zaldívar (; ; born Rubén Zaldívar, January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was a Cuban military officer and politician who served as the elected president of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and as its U.S.-backed military dictator ...
, Cuban colonel and politician, ninth
President of Cuba
The president of Cuba ( es, Presidente de Cuba), officially the president of the Republic of Cuba ( es, Presidente de la República de Cuba), is the head of state of Cuba. The office in its current form was established under the Constitution of ...
(d. 1973)
*
1902
Events
January
* January 1
** The Nurses Registration Act 1901 comes into effect in New Zealand, making it the first country in the world to require state registration of nurses. On January 10, Ellen Dougherty becomes the world' ...
–
Eric Liddell
Eric Henry Liddell (; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish sprinter, rugby player and Christian missionary. Born in Qing China to Scottish missionary parents, he attended boarding school near London, spending time when p ...
, Scottish runner, rugby player, and missionary (d. 1945)
*
1903
Events January
* January 1 – Edward VII is proclaimed Emperor of India.
* January 19 – The first west–east transatlantic radio broadcast is made from the United States to England (the first east–west broadcast having bee ...
–
William Grover-Williams
William Charles Frederick Grover-Williams (born William Charles Frederick Grover, 16 January 1903 – 18 March 1945 (or shortly thereafter)), also known as "W Williams", was a British Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked ...
, English-French racing driver (d. 1945)
*
1905
As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia ( Shostakovich's 11th Symphony ...
–
Ernesto Halffter
Ernesto Halffter Escriche (16 January 19055 July 1989) was a Spanish composer and conductor. He was the brother of Rodolfo Halffter and part of the ''Grupo de los Ocho'' ( en, Group of Eight), which formed a sub-set of the ''Generation of '27'' ...
, Spanish composer and conductor (d. 1989)
*
1906
Events
January–February
* January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...
–
Johannes Brenner, Estonian footballer and pilot (d. 1975)
* 1906 –
Diana Wynyard
Diana Wynyard, CBE (born Dorothy Isobel Cox; 16 January 1906 – 13 May 1964) was an English stage and film actress.
Life and career
Born in Lewisham, South London, Wynyard began her career on the stage. After performing in Liverpool and Lon ...
, English actress (d. 1964)
*
1907
Events
January
* January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000.
February
* February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco ...
–
Alexander Knox
Alexander Knox (16 January 1907 – 25 April 1995) was a Canadian actor on stage, screen, and occasionally television. He was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe for his performance as Woodrow Wilson in the film '' Wilson'' (1944).
...
, Canadian-English actor and screenwriter (d. 1995)
* 1907 –
Paul Nitze
Paul Henry Nitze (January 16, 1907 – October 19, 2004) was an American politician who served as United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, and Director of Policy Planning for the U.S. State Department. He is best kn ...
, American banker and politician, tenth
United States Secretary of the Navy
The secretary of the Navy (or SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department (component organization) within the United States Department of Defense.
By law, the se ...
(d. 2004)
*
1908
Events
January
* January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica.
* January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 4 ...
–
Sammy Crooks, English footballer (d. 1981)
* 1908 –
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman (born Ethel Agnes Zimmermann, January 16, 1908 – February 15, 1984) was an American actress and singer, known for her distinctive, powerful voice, and for leading roles in musical theatre.Obituary '' Variety'', February 22, 1984. ...
, American actress and singer (d. 1984)
* 1908 –
Günther Prien
Günther Prien (16 January 1908 – presumed 8 March 1941) was a German U-boat commander during World War II. He was the first U-boat commander to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross and the first member of the ''Kriegsmarine'' to r ...
, German captain (d. 1941)
*
1909
Events
January–February
* January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
* January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
* Jan ...
–
Clement Greenberg
Clement Greenberg () (January 16, 1909 – May 7, 1994), occasionally writing under the pseudonym K. Hardesh, was an American essayist known mainly as an art critic closely associated with American modern art of the mid-20th century and a formali ...
, American art critic (d. 1994)
*
1910
Events
January
* January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...
–
Dizzy Dean
Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career ...
, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1974)
*
1911
A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole.
Events January
* January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...
–
Ivan Barrow
Ivanhoe Mordecai Barrow (6 January 1911 – 2 April 1979) was a Jamaican cricketer who played 11 Tests for the West Indies.
Barrow was born to Hyam and Mamie Barrow, two Sephardic Jews on 6 January 1911, a twin to Frank Norton Barrow. He attend ...
, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1979)
* 1911 –
Eduardo Frei Montalva
Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva (; 16 January 1911 – 22 January 1982) was a Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party, senator, President of the ...
, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th
President of Chile
The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is r ...
(d. 1982)
* 1911 –
Roger Lapébie
Roger Lapébie (; 16 January 1911 – 11 October 1996) was a French racing cyclist who won the 1937 Tour de France. In addition, Lapébie won the 1934 and 1937 editions of the Critérium National. He was born at Bayonne, Aquitaine, and died i ...
, French cyclist (d. 1996)
*
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
–
Roger Wagner
Roger Wagner, KCSG (January 16, 1914 – September 17, 1992) was an American choral musician, administrator and educator. He founded the Roger Wagner Chorale, which became one of America's premier vocal ensembles.
Early life
Wagner was born in L ...
, French-American conductor and educator (d. 1992)
*
1915
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction".
* January ...
–
Leslie H. Martinson
Leslie Herbert Martinson (January 16, 1915 – September 3, 2016) was an American television and film director.
Career
Martinson was born to Gertrude and Lewis Martinson in Boston, Massachusetts on January 16, 1915. He had a brother named Bert ...
, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
*
1916
Events
Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled.
* J ...
–
Philip Lucock
Philip Ernest Lucock, CBE (16 January 1916 – 8 August 1996) was an Australian politician and Presbysterian minister. He served in the House of Representatives from 1952 to 1980, representing the Division of Lyne for the Country Party. He ...
, English-Australian minister and politician (d. 1996)
*
1917
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...
–
Carl Karcher, American businessman, founded
Carl's Jr.
Carl's Jr. Restaurants LLC is an American fast food restaurant chain operated by CKE Restaurant Holdings, Inc., with franchisees in North & South America, Asia, Oceania, Europe and Africa.
In 2016, ''Entrepreneur'' listed Carl's Jr. as No. 54 ...
(d. 2008)
*
1918 –
Nel Benschop, Dutch poet and educator (d. 2005)
* 1918 –
Allan Ekelund
Allan Ekelund (16 January 1918 – 4 September 2009) was a Swedish film producer. He produced 50 films between 1947 and 1964.
Selected filmography
* ''The Emperor of Portugallia (film), The Emperor of Portugallia'' (1944)
* ''Father Bom'' ...
, Swedish director, producer, and production manager (d. 2009)
* 1918 –
Clem Jones
Clem Jones AO (16 January 191815 December 2007), a surveyor by profession, was the longest serving Lord Mayor of Brisbane, Queensland, representing the Labor Party from 1961 to 1975. He was chair of the Darwin Reconstruction Commission from 19 ...
, Australian surveyor and politician, eighth
Lord Mayor of Brisbane
The Lord Mayor of Brisbane is the chief executive of the City of Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland, and the head of the Brisbane City Council. Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner of the Liberal National Party was sworn in on ...
(d. 2007)
* 1918 –
Stirling Silliphant
Stirling Dale Silliphant (January 16, 1918 – April 26, 1996) was an American screenwriter and producer. He is best remembered for his screenplay for '' In the Heat of the Night'', for which he won an Academy Award in 1967, and for creating ...
, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1996)
*
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...
–
Jerome Horwitz
Jerome Phillip Horwitz (January 16, 1919 – September 6, 2012) was an American scientist; his affiliations included the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute, the Wayne State University School of Medicine and the Michigan Cancer Foundation.
...
, American chemist and academic (d. 2012)
*
1920 –
Elliott Reid
Edgeworth Blair "Elliott" Reid (January 16, 1920 – June 21, 2013) was an American actor.
Early life
Reid was born in Manhattan, the son of artist Christine Challenger Reid and banker Blair Reid. He attended the Professional Children's Sc ...
, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2013)
*
1921 –
Francesco Scavullo
Francesco Scavullo (January 16, 1921 – January 6, 2004) was an American fashion photographer best known for his work on the covers of ''Cosmopolitan'' and his celebrity portraits.
Biography
Scavullo was born January 16, 1921, on Staten Island, ...
, American photographer (d. 2004)
*
1923
Events
January–February
* January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory).
* January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
–
Gene Feist Gene Feist (January 16, 1923 – March 17, 2014, New York City) was an American playwright, theater director and co-founder of the Roundabout Theater Company. He authored 15 plays or adaptations, of which two were published by Samuel French Inc. ...
, American director and playwright, co-founded the
Roundabout Theatre Company
The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres.
History
The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...
(d. 2014)
* 1923 –
Anthony Hecht
Anthony Evan Hecht (January 16, 1923 – October 20, 2004) was an American poet. His work combined a deep interest in form with a passionate desire to confront the horrors of 20th century history, with the World War II, Second World War, in which ...
, American poet (d. 2004)
*
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
–
Katy Jurado
María Cristina Estela Marcela Jurado García (16 January 1924 – 5 July 2002), known professionally as Katy Jurado, was a Mexican actress. Jurado began her acting career in Mexico during the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. In 1951, she was rec ...
, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
*
1925
Events January
* January 1
** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria.
* January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...
–
Peter Hirsch
Sir Peter Bernhard Hirsch HonFRMS FRS (born 16 January 1925) is a figure in British materials science who has made fundamental contributions to the application of transmission electron microscopy to metals. Hirsch attended Sloane Grammar S ...
, German-English metallurgist and academic
* 1925 –
James Robinson Risner
James Robinson "Robbie" Risner (January 16, 1925 – October 22, 2013) was a Brigadier General, fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, and a senior leader among U.S. prisoners of war during the Vietnam War.
During the Vietnam War, Risner w ...
, American general and pilot (d. 2013)
*
1928
Events January
* January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA.
* January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...
–
William Kennedy, American novelist and journalist
* 1928 –
Pilar Lorengar
Lorenza Pilar García Seta (16 January 1928 – 2 June 1996), known professionally as Pilar Lorengar, was a Spanish ( Aragonese) soprano. She was best known for her interpretations of opera and the Spanish genre Zarzuela, and as a soprano she wa ...
, Spanish soprano and actress (d. 1996)
*
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
– Stanley Jeyaraja Tambiah, Sri Lankan anthropologist and academic (d. 2014)
*1930 – Mary Ann McMorrow, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
* 1930 – Norman Podhoretz, American journalist and author
* 1930 – Paula Tilbrook, English actress (d. 2019)
*1931 – John Enderby, English physicist and academic (d. 2021)
* 1931 – Robert L. Park, American physicist and academic (d. 2020)
* 1931 – Johannes Rau, German journalist and politician, eighth List of German presidents, Federal President of Germany (d. 2006)
*1932 – Victor Ciocâltea, Romanian chess player (d. 1983)
* 1932 – Dian Fossey, American zoologist and anthropologist (d. 1985)
*1933 – Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, and critic (d. 2004)
*1934 – Bob Bogle, American rock guitarist and bass player (d. 2009)
* 1934 – Marilyn Horne, American soprano and actress
*1935 – A. J. Foyt, American race car driver
* 1935 – Udo Lattek, German footballer, manager, and sportscaster (d. 2015)
*1936 – Michael White (producer), Michael White, Scottish actor and producer (d. 2016)
*1937 – Luiz Bueno, Brazilian racing driver (d. 2011)
* 1937 – Francis George, American cardinal (d. 2015)
*1938 – Marina Vaizey, American journalist and critic
*1939 – Ralph Gibson, American photographer
*1941 – Christine Truman, English tennis player and sportscaster
*
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...
– René Angélil, Canadian singer and manager (d. 2016)
* 1942 – Barbara Lynn, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1943 – Gavin Bryars, English bassist and composer
* 1943 – Ronnie Milsap, American singer and pianist
*1944 – Dieter Moebius, Swiss-German keyboard player and producer (d. 2015)
* 1944 – Jim Stafford, American singer-songwriter and actor
* 1944 – Jill Tarter, American astronomer and biologist
* 1944 – Judy Baar Topinka, American journalist and politician (d. 2014)
*
1945
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat.
Events
Below, ...
– Wim Suurbier, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2020)
*1946 – Kabir Bedi, Indian actor
* 1946 – Katia Ricciarelli, Italian soprano and actress
*1947 – Elaine Murphy, Baroness Murphy, English academic and politician
* 1947 – Harvey Proctor, English politician
* 1947 – Laura Schlessinger, American physiologist, talk show host, and author
*1948 – John Carpenter, American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer
* 1948 – Ants Laaneots, Estonian general
* 1948 – Cliff Thorburn, Canadian snooker player
* 1948 – Ruth Reichl, American journalist and critic
*1949 – Anne F. Beiler, American businesswoman, founded Auntie Anne's
* 1949 – R. F. Foster (historian), R. F. Foster, Irish historian and academic
* 1949 – Andrew Refshauge, Australian physician and politician, 13th Deputy Premier of New South Wales
*1950 – Debbie Allen, American actress, dancer, and choreographer
* 1950 – Robert Schimmel, American comedian, actor, and producer (d. 2010)
*1952 – Fuad II, King of Egypt
* 1952 – Piercarlo Ghinzani, Italian racing driver and manager
*1953 – Robert Jay Mathews, American militant, founded The Order (white supremacist group), The Order (d. 1984)
*1954 – Wolfgang Schmidt (athlete), Wolfgang Schmidt, German discus thrower
* 1954 – Vasili Zhupikov, Russian footballer and coach (d. 2015)
*1955 – Jerry M. Linenger, American captain, physician, and astronaut
*1956 – Wayne Daniel, Barbadian cricketer
* 1956 – Martin Jol, Dutch footballer and manager
* 1956 – Greedy Smith, Australian singer-songwriter and keyboardist (d. 2019)
*1957 – Jurijs Andrejevs, Latvian footballer and manager
* 1957 – Ricardo Darín, Argentinian actor, director, and screenwriter
*1958 – Anatoli Boukreev, Russian mountaineer and explorer (d. 1997)
* 1958 – Lena Ek, Swedish lawyer and politician, ninth Minister for the Environment (Sweden), Swedish Minister for the Environment
* 1958 – Andris Šķēle, Latvian businessman and politician, fourth Prime Minister of Latvia
*
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
– Lisa Milroy, Canadian painter and educator
* 1959 – Sade (singer), Sade, Nigerian-English singer-songwriter and producer
*1961 – Kenneth Sivertsen (musician), Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian guitarist and composer (d. 2006)
*1962 – Joel Fitzgibbon, Australian electrician and politician, 51st Minister for Defence (Australia), Australian Minister of Defence
* 1962 – Maxine Jones, American R&B singer–songwriter and actress
*1963 – James May, British journalist/co-host of ''Top Gear''
*1964 – Gail Graham, Canadian golfer
*1966 – Jack McDowell, American baseball player
*1968 – Rebecca Stead, American author
*
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
– Marinus Bester, German footballer
* 1969 – Stevie Jackson, Scottish guitarist and songwriter
* 1969 – Roy Jones Jr., American boxer
*1970 – Ron Villone, American baseball player and coach
*1971 – Sergi Bruguera, Spanish tennis player and coach
* 1971 – Josh Evans (film producer), Josh Evans, American film producer, screenwriter and actor
* 1971 – Jonathan Mangum, American actor
*1972 – Ruben Bagger, Danish footballer
* 1972 – Ang Christou, Australian footballer
* 1972 – Yuri Alekseevich Drozdov, Russian footballer and manager
* 1972 – Ezra Hendrickson, Vincentian footballer and manager
* 1972 – Joe Horn, American football player and coach
*1974 – Kate Moss, English model and fashion designer
*1976 – Viktor Maslov (racing driver), Viktor Maslov, Russian racing driver
* 1976 – Martina Moravcová, Slovak swimmer
*1977 – Jeff Foster (basketball), Jeff Foster, American basketball player
*1978 – Alfredo Amézaga, Mexican baseball player
*
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
– Aaliyah, American singer and actress (d. 2001)
* 1979 – Brenden Morrow, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1979 – Jason Ward (ice hockey), Jason Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
*1980 – Lin-Manuel Miranda, American actor, playwright, and composer
* 1980 – Albert Pujols, Dominican-American baseball player
*1981 – Jamie Lundmark, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1981 – Paul Rofe (cricketer), Paul Rofe, Australian cricketer
* 1981 – Bobby Zamora, English footballer
*1982 – Preston (singer), Preston, English singer-songwriter
* 1982 – Tuncay (footballer), Tuncay, Turkish footballer
*
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
– Emanuel Pogatetz, Austrian footballer
* 1983 – Andriy Rusol, Ukrainian footballer
*1984 – Stephan Lichtsteiner, Swiss footballer
* 1984 – Miroslav Radović, Serbian footballer
*1985 – Jayde Herrick, Australian cricketer
* 1985 – Gintaras Januševičius, Russian-Lithuanian pianist
* 1985 – Twins Jonathan Richter, Jonathan and Simon Richter, Danish-Gambian footballers
* 1985 – Sidharth Malhotra, Indian actor
* 1985 – Joe Flacco, American football player
*1986 – Johannes Rahn, German footballer
* 1986 – Mark Trumbo, American baseball player
* 1986 – Reto Ziegler, Swiss footballer
*1987 – Jake Epstein, Canadian actor
* 1987 – Charlotte Henshaw, English swimmer
*1988 – Nicklas Bendtner, Danish footballer
* 1988 – Jorge Torres Nilo, Mexican footballer
*
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
– Matt Duchene, Canadian ice hockey player
*1993 – Hannes Anier, Estonian footballer
* 1993 – Amandine Hesse, French tennis player
*
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
– Mikaela Turik, Australian-Canadian cricketer
*1996 – Kim Jennie, Korean singer
*1997 – Brendan Donovan, American baseball player
*
2003 – Adriana Hernández, Mexican rhythmic gymnast
Deaths
Pre-1600
* 654 – Gao Jifu, Chinese politician and chancellor (b. 596)
* 957 – Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ali al-Madhara'i, Tulunid vizier (b. 871)
* 970 – Polyeuctus of Constantinople, Byzantine patriarch (b. 956)
*1263 – Shinran, Shinran Shonin, Japanese founder of the Jodo Shinshu branch of Pure Land Buddhism
*1289 – Buqa, Mongol minister
*1327 – Nikephoros Choumnos, Byzantine monk, scholar, and politician (b. 1250)
*1354 – Joanna of Châtillon, duchess of Athens (b. c.1285)
*1373 – Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford (b. 1342)
*1391 – Muhammed V of Granada, Nasrid emir (b. 1338)
*1400 – John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician, Lord Great Chamberlain (b. 1352)
*1443 – Erasmo of Narni, Italian mercenary (b. 1370)
*1545 – George Spalatin, German priest and reformer (b. 1484)
*
1547
Year 1547 ( MDXLVII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events January–June
* January 8 – The first Lithuanian-language book, a ''Catechism'' (, Simple Words ...
–
Johannes Schöner
Johannes Schöner (16 January 1477, in Karlstadt am Main – 16 January 1547, in the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg) (aka, Johann Schönner, Johann Schoener, Jean Schönner, Joan Schoenerus) was a renowned and respected German polymath. It is ...
, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477)
*1554 – Christiern Pedersen, Danish publisher and scholar (b. 1480)
*1585 – Edward Clinton, first Earl of Lincoln, English admiral and politician (b. 1512)
*1595 – Murad III, Ottoman sultan (b. 1546)
1601–1900
*1659 – Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580)
*1710 – Emperor Higashiyama, Higashiyama, Japanese emperor (b. 1675)
*1711 – Joseph Vaz, Indian-Sri Lankan priest and saint (b. 1651)
*1747 – Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet and playwright (b. 1680)
*1748 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch lawyer and scholar (b. 1684)
*1750 – Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshal and politician (b. 1667)
*1752 – Francis Blomefield, English historian and author (b. 1705)
*1794 – Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (b. 1737)
*
1809
Events
January–March
* January 5 – The Treaty of the Dardanelles, between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the Ottoman Empire, is concluded.
* January 10 – Peninsular War – French Marshal Jean ...
– John Moore (British Army officer), John Moore, Scottish general and politician (b. 1761)
*1817 – Alexander J. Dallas (statesman), Alexander J. Dallas, Jamaican-American lawyer and politician, sixth United States Secretary of the Treasury (b. 1759)
*
1834
Events
January–March
* January – The Wilmington and Raleigh Railroad is chartered in Wilmington, North Carolina.
* January 1 – Zollverein (Germany): Customs charges are abolished at borders within its member states.
* January 3 ...
– Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician and academic (b. 1769)
*1856 – Thaddeus William Harris, American entomologist and botanist (b. 1795)
*1864 – Anton Schindler, Austrian secretary and author (b. 1795)
*1865 – Edmond François Valentin About, French journalist and author (b. 1828)
*1879 – Octave Crémazie, Canadian-French poet and bookseller (b. 1827)
*1886 – Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer and academic (b. 1834)
*1891 – Léo Delibes, French pianist and composer (b. 1836)
*
1898
Events
January–March
* January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...
– Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
1901–present
*
1901
Events
January
* January 1 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton becomes the first Prime Minist ...
– Jules Barbier, French poet and playwright (b. 1825)
* 1901 – Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter and academic (b. 1827)
* 1901 – Hiram Rhodes Revels, American soldier, minister, and politician (b. 1822)
* 1901 – Mahadev Govind Ranade, Indian scholar, social reformer, judge and author (b. 1842)
*
1906
Events
January–February
* January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...
– Marshall Field, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Marshall Field's (b. 1834)
*
1917
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...
– George Dewey, American admiral (b. 1837)
*
1919
Events
January
* January 1
** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia.
** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...
– Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, Brazilian lawyer and politician, fifth President of Brazil (b. 1848)
*1933 – Bekir Sami Kunduh, Turkish politician (b. 1867)
*1936 – Albert Fish, American serial killer, rapist and cannibal (b. 1870)
*1938 – Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay Indian author and playwright (b. 1876)
*
1942
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...
– Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn (b. 1850)
* 1942 – Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Estonian poet and linguist (b. 1885)
* 1942 –
Carole Lombard, American actress and comedian (b. 1908)
* 1942 – Ernst Scheller, German lawyer and politician, List of mayors of Marburg, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1899)
*1957 – Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone, English general and politician, 16th Governor General of Canada (b. 1874)
* 1957 – Arturo Toscanini, Italian cellist and conductor (b. 1867)
*
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
– Phan Khôi, Vietnamese journalist and author (b. 1887)
*1961 – Max Schöne, German swimmer (b. 1880)
*1962 – Frank Hurley, Australian photographer, director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1885)
* 1962 – Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor and architect, designed the Monument to the Unknown Hero (b. 1883)
*1967 – Robert J. Van de Graaff, American physicist and academic (b. 1901)
*1968 – Bob Jones Sr., American evangelist, founded Bob Jones University (b. 1883)
* 1968 – Panagiotis Poulitsas, Greek archaeologist and judge (b. 1881)
*
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
– Vernon Duke, Russian-American composer and songwriter (b. 1903)
*1971 – Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (b. 1890)
*1972 – Teller Ammons, American soldier and politician, 28th Governor of Colorado (b. 1895)
* 1972 – Ross Bagdasarian, Sr., American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor, created ''Alvin and the Chipmunks'' (b. 1919)
*1973 – Edgar Sampson, American musician and composer (b. 1907)
*1975 – Israel Abramofsky, Russian-American painter (b. 1888)
*1978 – A. V. Kulasingham, Sri Lankan journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1890)
*1981 – Bernard Lee, English actor (b. 1908)
*
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
– Virginia Mauret, American musician and dancer
*1986 – Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)
*1987 – Bertram Wainer, Australian physician and activist (b. 1928)
*1988 – Andrija Artuković, Croatian politician, war criminal, and Porajmos, Porajmos perpetrator, first Minister of Interior of the Independent State of Croatia (b. 1899)
*1990 – Lady Eve Balfour, British farmer, educator, and founding figure in the organic movement (b. 1898)
*
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
– Eric Mottram, English poet and critic (b. 1924)
*1996 – Marcia Davenport, American author and critic (b. 1903)
* 1996 – Kaye Webb, English journalist and publisher (b. 1914)
*1999 – Jim McClelland, Australian lawyer, jurist, and politician, 12th Minister for Industry and Science (b. 1915)
*2000 – Robert R. Wilson, American physicist and academic (b. 1914)
*
2001 – Auberon Waugh, English author and journalist (b. 1939)
*
2002 – Robert Hanbury Brown, English astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
*
2003 – Richard Wainwright (politician), Richard Wainwright, English politician (b. 1918)
*2004 – Kalevi Sorsa, Finnish politician 34th Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)
*2005 – Marjorie Williams, American journalist and author (b. 1958)
*
2006 – Stanley Biber, American soldier and physician (b. 1923)
*2009 – Joe Erskine (American boxer), Joe Erskine, American boxer and runner (b. 1930)
* 2009 – John Mortimer, English lawyer and author (b. 1923)
* 2009 – Andrew Wyeth, American painter (b. 1917)
*2010 – Glen Bell, American businessman, founded Taco Bell (b. 1923)
* 2010 – Takumi Shibano, Japanese author and translator (b. 1926)
*
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
– Joe Bygraves, Jamaican-English boxer (b. 1931)
* 2012 – Jimmy Castor, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (b. 1940)
* 2012 – Sigursteinn Gíslason, Icelandic footballer and manager (b. 1968)
* 2012 – Lorna Kesterson, American journalist and politician (b. 1925)
* 2012 – Gustav Leonhardt, Dutch pianist, conductor, and musicologist (b. 1928)
*2013 – Wayne D. Anderson, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
* 2013 – André Cassagnes, French technician and toy maker, created the Etch A Sketch (b. 1926)
* 2013 – Gussie Moran, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1923)
* 2013 – Pauline Phillips, American journalist and radio host, created Dear Abby (b. 1918)
* 2013 – Glen P. Robinson, American businessman, founded Scientific Atlanta (b. 1923)
*2014 – Gary Arlington, American author and illustrator (b. 1938)
* 2014 – Ruth Duccini, American actress (b. 1918)
* 2014 – Dave Madden, Canadian-American actor (b. 1931)
* 2014 – Hiroo Onoda, Japanese lieutenant (b. 1922)
*2015 – Miriam Akavia, Polish-Israeli author and translator (b. 1927)
* 2015 – Yao Beina, Chinese singer (b. 1981)
*
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...
– Joannis Avramidis, Greek sculptor (b. 1922)
* 2016 – Ted Marchibroda, American football player and coach (b. 1931)
*2017 – Eugene Cernan, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1934)
*
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
– Ed Doolan, British radio presenter (b. 1941)
* 2018 – Oliver Ivanović, Kosovo Serb politician (b. 1953)
*2019 – John C. Bogle, American businessman, investor, and philanthropist (b. 1929)
* 2019 – Lorna Doom, American musician (b. 1958)
* 2019 – Chris Wilson (Australian musician), Chris Wilson, Australian musician (b. 1956)
*
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...
– Christopher Tolkien, British academic and editor (b. 1924)
*2021 – Pedro Trebbau, German-born Venezuelan zoologist (b.
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
)
* 2021 – Chris Cramer, British journalist (b.1948)
* 2021 – Phil Spector, American record producer, songwriter (b. 1939)
*2022 – Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Former Malian President (b. 1945)
Holidays and observances
*Christian feast day:
**Benjamin I of Alexandria, Pope Benjamin (Coptic Orthodox Church, Coptic)
**Berard of Carbio
**Saint Blaise, Blaise (Armenian Apostolic Church, Armenian Apostolic)
**Saint Fursey, Fursey
**Joseph Vaz
**Honoratus, Honoratus of Arles
**Pope Marcellus I
**Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God (Coptic Church)
**Titian of Oderzo
**Eve of Anthony the Great, Saint Anthony observed with ritual bonfires in San Bartolomé de Pinares
**January 16 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*National Religious Freedom Day (United States)
*Teacher's Day (Myanmar)
*Teachers' Day (Thailand)
References
External links
BBC: On This Day*
Historical Events on January 16
{{months
Days of the year
January