Events
Pre-1600
*
475
__NOTOC__
Year 475 ( CDLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Zeno without colleague (or, less frequently, year 1228 ...
–
Byzantine Emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...
Zeno
Zeno ( grc, Ζήνων) may refer to:
People
* Zeno (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
Philosophers
* Zeno of Elea (), philosopher, follower of Parmenides, known for his paradoxes
* Zeno of Citium (333 – 264 BC), ...
is forced to flee his capital at
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...
, and his general,
Basiliscus
Basiliscus ( grc-gre, Βασιλίσκος, Basilískos; died 476/477) was Eastern Roman emperor from 9 January 475 to August 476. He became in 464, under his brother-in-law, Emperor Leo (457–474). Basiliscus commanded the army for an inva ...
gains control of the empire.
*
1528
__NOTOC__
Year 1528 ( MDXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 12 – Gustav I of Sweden is crowned king of Sweden, having alrea ...
–
Gustav I of Sweden
Gustav I, born Gustav Eriksson of the Vasa noble family and later known as Gustav Vasa (12 May 1496 – 29 September 1560), was King of Sweden from 1523 until his death in 1560, previously self-recognised Protector of the Realm ('' Riksför ...
is crowned King of Sweden, having already reigned since his election in June 1523.
*
1554
__NOTOC__
Year 1554 ( MDLIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 5 – A great fire breaks out in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
*January 11 ...
–
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 ...
, who would go on to assemble the
largest empire
Several empires in human history have been contenders for the largest of all time, depending on definition and mode of measurement. Possible ways of measuring size include area, population, economy, and power. Of these, area is the most commonly ...
in the history of Southeast Asia, is crowned
King of Burma
This is a list of the monarchs of Burma (Myanmar), covering the monarchs of all the major kingdoms that existed in the present day Burma (Myanmar). Although Burmese chronicle tradition maintains that various monarchies of Burma (Mon, Burman, A ...
.
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 ...
– The city of
Belém
Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in t ...
, Brazil is founded on the
Amazon River delta, by Portuguese captain
Francisco Caldeira Castelo Branco.
*
1792
Events
January–March
* January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea.
* February 18 – Thomas Holcroft produces the comedy '' The Road to Ruin'' in London.
* February ...
– Federalist
Thomas Pinckney appointed first U.S. minister to Britain.
*
1808
Events January–March
* January 1
** The importation of slaves into the United States is banned, as the 1807 Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves takes effect; African slaves continue to be imported into Cuba, and until the island ab ...
–
John Rennie's scheme to defend
St Mary's Church, Reculver
St Mary's Church, Reculver, was founded in the 7th century as either a minster or a monastery on the site of a Roman fort at Reculver, which was then at the north-eastern extremity of Kent in south-eastern England. In 669, the site of the for ...
, founded in 669, from
coastal erosion
Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwa ...
is abandoned in favour of demolition, despite the church being an exemplar of
Anglo-Saxon architecture
Anglo-Saxon architecture was a period in the history of architecture in England from the mid-5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066. Anglo-Saxon secular buildings in Britain were generally simple, constructed mainly using timber with tha ...
and
sculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
.
* 1808 – The organizational meeting leading to the creation of the
Wernerian Natural History Society
The Wernerian Natural History Society (12 January 1808 – 16 April 1858), commonly abbreviated as the Wernerian Society, was a learned society interested in the broad field of natural history, and saw papers presented on various topics such as ...
, a former Scottish learned society, is held in Edinburgh.
*
1848
1848 is historically famous for the wave of revolutions, a series of widespread struggles for more liberal governments, which broke out from Brazil to Hungary; although most failed in their immediate aims, they significantly altered the polit ...
– The
Palermo rising takes place in
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
against the
Bourbon Bourbon may refer to:
Food and drink
* Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash
* Bourbon barrel aged beer, a type of beer aged in bourbon barrels
* Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit
* A beer produced by Bras ...
Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
*
1866
Events January–March
* January 1
** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee.
** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published.
* January 6 – Ottoman t ...
– The
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society, also known as the RAeS, is a British multi-disciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community. Founded in 1866, it is the oldest aeronautical society in the world. Members, Fellows, ...
is formed in London.
*
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 ...
–
Yohannes IV
''girmāwī''His Imperial Majesty, spoken= am , ጃንሆይ ''djānhoi''Your Imperial Majesty(lit. "O steemedroyal"), alternative= am , ጌቶቹ ''getochu''Our Lord (familiar)(lit. "Our master" (pl.)) yohanes
Yohannes IV (Tigrinya: ዮሓ ...
is crowned Emperor of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
in
Axum, the first imperial coronation in that city in over 200 years.
*
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 ...
–
The National Trust
The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...
is founded in the United Kingdom.
1901–present
*
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 ...
– The
University of the Philippines College of Law
The University of the Philippines College of Law (often referred to as UP Law) is the law school of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Formally established in 1911 in UP Manila, it is the third oldest continually-operating law school ...
is formally established; three future
Philippine presidents
The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...
are among the first enrollees.
*
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 ...
– The
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
rejects a proposal to require states to give
women the right to vote.
*
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 ...
– Both
Oswald Boelcke
Oswald Boelcke PlM (; 19 May 1891 – 28 October 1916) was a World War I German professional soldier and pioneering flying ace credited with 40 aerial victories. Boelcke is honored as the father of the German fighter air force, and of air ...
and
Max Immelmann
Max Immelmann (21 September 1890 – 18 June 1916) '' PLM'' was the first German World War I flying ace.Shores, 1983, p. 10. He was a pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchro ...
, for achieving eight aerial victories each over
Allied aircraft, receive the
German Empire's highest military award, the
Pour le Mérite
The ' (; , ) is an order of merit (german: Verdienstorden) established in 1740 by King Frederick II of Prussia. The was awarded as both a military and civil honour and ranked, along with the Order of the Black Eagle, the Order of the Red Eag ...
as the first German aviators to earn it.
*
1918 – The
Minnie Pit Disaster
The Minnie Pit disaster was a coal mining accident that took place on 12 January 1918 in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys died. The disaster, which was caused by an explosion due to firedamp, is the worst ever recorded in th ...
coal mining accident occurs in Halmer End, Staffordshire, in which 155 men and boys die.
*
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
–
Hattie Caraway
Hattie Ophelia Wyatt Caraway (February 1, 1878 – December 21, 1950) was an Americans, American politician who became the first woman elected to serve a full term as a United States Senate, United States Senator. Caraway represented Arkansas. Sh ...
becomes the first woman elected to 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 ...
.
*
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 ...
–
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 ...
: United States President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
creates the
National War Labor Board.
*
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: The
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...
begins the
Vistula–Oder Offensive.
*
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
–
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
:
Operation Chopper, the first American combat mission in the war, takes place.
*
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
– Rebels in
Zanzibar
Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islan ...
begin a revolt known as the
Zanzibar Revolution
The Zanzibar Revolution () occurred in January 1964 and led to the overthrow of the Sultan of Zanzibar and his mainly Arab government by local Africans.
Zanzibar was an ethnically diverse state consisting of a number of islands off the east co ...
and proclaim a republic.
*
1966 –
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
states that the United States should stay in
South Vietnam until
Communist aggression there is ended.
*
1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
– Dr.
James Bedford
James Hiram Bedford (April 20, 1893 – January 12, 1967) was an American psychology professor at the University of California who wrote several books on occupational counseling. He is the first person whose body was cryopreserved after legal de ...
becomes the first person to be
cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.
*
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 ...
– The
New York Jets of the
American Football League defeat the
Baltimore Colts of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
to win
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Su ...
in what is considered to be one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
*
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
–
Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...
capitulates, ending the
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence ...
.
*
1971 – The
Harrisburg Seven
The Harrisburg Seven were a group of religious anti-war activists, led by Philip Berrigan, charged in 1971 in a failed conspiracy case in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, located in Harrisburg. The seven wer ...
: Rev.
Philip Berrigan
Philip Francis Berrigan, SSJ (October 5, 1923 – December 6, 2002) was an American peace activist and Catholic priest with the Josephites. He engaged in nonviolent, civil disobedience in the cause of peace and nuclear disarmament and was ...
and five other activists are indicted on charges of conspiring to kidnap
Henry Kissinger
Henry Alfred Kissinger (; ; born Heinz Alfred Kissinger, May 27, 1923) is a German-born American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant who served as United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presid ...
and of plotting to blow up the heating tunnels of federal buildings in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
*
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
– The
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
votes 11–1 to allow the
Palestine Liberation Organization to participate in a Security Council debate (without voting rights).
*
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
–
Space Shuttle program
The Space Shuttle program was the fourth human spaceflight program carried out by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which accomplished routine transportation for Earth-to-orbit crew and cargo from 1981 to 2011. I ...
: NASA Administrator
Bill Nelson
Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flo ...
lifts off from
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
aboard
''Columbia'' on mission
STS-61-C as a
payload specialist.
*
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
– A
seven-day pogrom breaks out against
the Armenian civilian population of Baku, Azerbaijan, during which Armenians were beaten, tortured, murdered, and expelled from the city.
*
1991
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 ...
–
Persian 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, ...
: An act of the U.S. Congress authorizes the use of American military force to drive
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 ...
out of
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
.
*
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
– Space Shuttle program: ''
Atlantis
Atlantis ( grc, Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, , island of Atlas) is a fictional island mentioned in an allegory on the hubris of nations in Plato's works '' Timaeus'' and '' Critias'', wherein it represents the antagonist naval power that b ...
'' launches from the Kennedy Space Center on mission
STS-81
STS-81 was a January 1997 Space Shuttle ''Atlantis'' mission to the Mir space station.
Crew
Mission highlights
STS-81 was the fifth of nine planned missions to Mir and the second one involving an exchange of U.S. astronauts. Astronaut John B ...
to the Russian space station ''
Mir
''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to&n ...
'', carrying astronaut
Jerry M. Linenger
Jerry Michael Linenger (born January 16, 1955) is a retired Captain in the United States Navy Medical Corps, and a former NASA astronaut who flew on the Space Shuttle and Space Station Mir.
Background
Born January 16, 1955, and raised in Eas ...
for a four-month stay on board the station, replacing astronaut
John E. Blaha.
*
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
– Nineteen European nations agree to forbid
human cloning
Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy (or clone) of a human. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of human cells and tissue. It does not refer to the natural concepti ...
.
*
2001 –
Downtown Disney
Downtown Disney (officially the Downtown Disney District) is an outdoor shopping center located at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California. It opened on January 12, 2001; a component of the Disneyland Resort expansion project alongside the ...
opens to the public as part of the
Disneyland Resort
The Disneyland Resort, commonly known as Disneyland, is an entertainment resort in Anaheim, California. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division and is home to two theme parks (D ...
in
Anaheim, California
Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...
.
*
2004 – The world's largest
ocean liner, , makes its maiden voyage.
*
2005 –
Deep Impact launches from
Cape Canaveral on a
Delta II
Delta II was an expendable launch system, originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II was part of the Delta rocket family and entered service in 1989. Delta II vehicles included the Delta 6000, and the two later Delta 7000 ...
rocket.
*
2006 –
A stampede during the
Stoning of the Devil
The Stoning of the Devil ( ar, رمي الجمرات , " throwing of the ' lace of pebbles)
is part of the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. During the ritual, Muslim pilgrims throw pebbles at three walls ( ...
ritual on the last day at the
Hajj in
Mina, Saudi Arabia
Mina ( ar, مِنَى, translit=Minā), also known as Muna ( ar, مُنَى, Munā), and commonly known as the "City of Tents" is a valley and neighborhood located in the Masha'er district in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia, southeast of the ...
, kills at least 362 Muslim
pilgrim
A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...
s.
*
2007 – Comet
C/2006 P1 (McNaught), one of the brightest comets ever observed is at its zenith visible during the day.
*
2010 – An
earthquake in Haiti occurs, killing between 220,000 and 300,000 people and destroying much of the capital
Port-au-Prince.
*
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 ...
–
Violent protests occur in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
,
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
, as two-day-old demonstrations continue against President
Traian Băsescu
Traian Băsescu (; born 4 November 1951) is a conservative Romanian politician who served as President of Romania from 2004 to 2014. Prior to his presidency, Băsescu served as Romanian Minister of Transport on multiple occasions between 1991 ...
's economic
austerity measures. Clashes are reported in numerous Romanian cities between protesters and law enforcement officers.
*
2015 –
Government raids kill 143
Boko Haram fighters in
Kolofata, Cameroon.
*
2016
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 ...
– Ten people are killed and 15 wounded in a
bombing near the
Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
*
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 ...
–
Taal Volcano in the Philippines
erupts, and kills 39 people.
Births
Pre-1600
*
1483
Year 1483 ( MCDLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–December
* January 1 – The Jews are expelled from Andalusia.
* February 11 – Th ...
–
Henry III of Nassau-Breda
Count Henry III of Nassau-Dillenburg-Dietz (January 12, 1483, Siegen – September 14, 1538, Breda), Lord (from 1530 Baron) of Breda, Lord of the Lek, of Dietz, etc. was a count of the House of Nassau.
He was the son of Count John V of Nassau ...
(d. 1538)
*
1562
__NOTOC__
Year 1562 ( MDLXII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 6 – Shane O'Neill of Tír Eoghain pleads his cause at the Pala ...
–
Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel I ( it, Carlo Emanuele di Savoia; 12 January 1562 – 26 July 1630), known as the Great, was the Duke of Savoy from 1580 to 1630. He was nicknamed (, in context "the Hot-Headed") for his rashness and military aggression.
Being ...
(d. 1630)
*
1576
Year 1576 ( MDLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 20 – Viceroy Martín Enríquez de Almanza founds the settlement of León ...
–
Petrus Scriverius, Dutch historian and scholar (d. 1660)
*
1577
__NOTOC__
Year 1577 ( MDLXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
January–June
* January 9 – The second Union of Brussels is formed, first without the ...
–
Jan Baptist van Helmont
Jan Baptist van Helmont (; ; 12 January 1580 – 30 December 1644) was a chemist, physiologist, and physician from Brussels. He worked during the years just after Paracelsus and the rise of iatrochemistry, and is sometimes considered to b ...
, Flemish chemist and physician (d. 1644)
*
1588
__NOTOC__
Events
January–June
* February – The Sinhalese abandon the siege of Colombo, capital of Portuguese Ceylon.
* February 9 – The sudden death of Álvaro de Bazán, 1st Marquis of Santa Cruz, in the midst of pr ...
–
John Winthrop
John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...
, English lawyer and politician, 2nd
Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony
The territory of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the fifty United States, was settled in the 17th century by several different English colonies. The territories claimed or administered by these colonies encompassed a much larger area tha ...
(d. 1649)
*
1591
Events
January–June
* March 13 – Battle of Tondibi: In Mali, forces sent by the Saadi dynasty ruler of Morocco, Ahmad al-Mansur, and led by Judar Pasha, defeat the fractured Songhai Empire, despite being outnumbered by ...
–
Jusepe de Ribera
Jusepe de Ribera (1591 – 1652) was a painter and printmaker, who along with Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artists of Spanish Baroque painting. Referring ...
, Spanish painter (d. 1652)
*
1597
Events
January–June
* January 24 – Battle of Turnhout: Maurice of Nassau defeats a Spanish force under Jean de Rie of Varas, in the Netherlands.
* February – Bali is discovered, by Dutch explorer Cornelis Houtman.
* February 5 ...
–
François Duquesnoy
François Duquesnoy or Frans Duquesnoy (12 January 1597 – 18 July 1643) was a Flemish Baroque sculptor who was active in Rome for most of his career. His idealized representations are often contrasted with the more emotional character of Ber ...
, Flemish sculptor and educator (d. 1643)
*
1598
__NOTOC__
Events
January–June
* February 21 – Boris Godunov seizes the throne of Russia, following the death of his brother-in-law, Tsar Feodor I; the ''Time of Troubles'' starts.
* April 13 – Edict of Nantes (promulgated April 30 ...
–
Jijabai Shahaji Bhosale, mother of Indian king
Shivaji
Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adil ...
(d. 1674)
1601–1900
*
1628
Events
January–March
* January 19 – (26 Jumada al-Awwal 1037 A.H.) The reign of Salef-ud-din Muhammad Shahryar as the Mughal Emperor, Shahryar Mirza, comes to an end a little more than two months after the November 7 dea ...
–
Charles Perrault, French author and academic (d. 1703)
*
1673
Events
January–March
* January 22 – Impostor Mary Carleton is hanged at Newgate Prison in London, for multiple thefts and returning from penal transportation.
* February 10 – Molière's ''comédie-ballet'' ''The Imag ...
–
Rosalba Carriera
Rosalba Carriera (12 January 1673 – 15 April 1757) was a Venetian Rococo painter. In her younger years, she specialized in portrait miniatures. Carriera would later become known for her pastel portraits, helping popularize the medium in eigh ...
, Italian painter (d. 1757)
*
1694
Events
January–March
* January 16 – Francesco Morosini, the Doge of Venice since 1688, dies after ruling the Republic for more than five years and a few months after an unsuccessful attempt to capture the island of Negropont from th ...
–
Godscall Paleologue
Godscall Paleologue or Paleologus (12 January 1694 – ?) was the last recorded living member of the Paleologus family, and through them possibly the last surviving member of the Palaiologos dynasty, rulers of the Byzantine Empire from 1259 to i ...
, possibly last member of the
Palaiologos
The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...
dynasty (d. ????)
*
1711
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 – Cary's Rebellion: The Lords Proprietor appoint Edward ...
–
Gaetano Latilla
__NOTOC__
Gaetano Latilla (12 January 1711 – 15 January 1788) was an Italian opera composer, the most important of the period immediately preceding Niccolò Piccinni (his nephew).
Latilla was born in Bari, and studied at the Loreto Conservator ...
, Italian composer (d. 1788)
*
1715
Events
For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...
–
Jacques Duphly
Jacques Duphly (also Dufly, Du Phly; 12 January 1715 – 15 July 1789) was a French harpsichordist and composer.
Early career as an organist
He was born in Rouen, France, the son of Jacques-Agathe Duphly and Marie-Louise Boivin. As a boy, h ...
, French organist and composer (d. 1789)
*
1716
Events
January–March
* January 16 – The application of the Nueva Planta decrees to Catalonia make it subject to the laws of the Crown of Castile, and abolishes the Principality of Catalonia as a political entity, conclud ...
–
Antonio de Ulloa
Antonio de Ulloa y de la Torre-Giralt, FRS, FRSA, KOS (12 January 1716 – 3 July 1795) was a Spanish naval officer, scientist, and administrator. At the age of nineteen, he joined the French Geodesic Mission to what is now the country o ...
, Spanish general and politician, 1st
Spanish Governor of Louisiana (d. 1795)
*
1721
Events
January–March
* January 6 – The Committee of Inquiry on the collapse of the South Sea Company in Great Britain publishes its findings.
* February 5 – James Stanhope, chief minister of Great Britain, dies a day after ...
–
Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Ferdinand, Prince of Brunswick-Lüneburg (12 January 1721, Wolfenbüttel – 3 July 1792, Vechelde), was a German-Prussian field marshal (1758–1766) known for his participation in the Seven Years' War. From 1757 to 1762 he led an Anglo-Germ ...
, Prussian field marshal (d. 1792)
*
1723
Events
January–March
* January 25 – British pirate Edward Low intercepts the Portuguese ship ''Nostra Signiora de Victoria''. After the Portuguese captain throws his treasure of 11,000 gold coins into the sea rather than s ...
–
Samuel Langdon
Samuel Langdon (January 12, 1723 – November 29, 1797) was an American Congregational clergyman and educator. After serving as pastor in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he was appointed president of Harvard University in 1774. He held that post ...
, American minister, theologian, and academic (d. 1797)
*
1724
Events
January–March
* January 15 – King Philip V of Spain abdicates the throne in favour of his 16-year-old son Louis I.
* January 18 – The Dutch East India Company cargo ship ''Fortuyn'', on its maiden voyage, dep ...
–
Frances Brooke
Frances Brooke ( Moore; 12 January 1724 – 23 January 1789) was an English novelist, essayist, playwright and translator. Hers was the first English novel known to have been written in Canada.
Biography
Frances Moore was born in Claypole, ...
, English author and playwright (d. 1789)
*
1729
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Frederick, the eldest son of King George II of Great Britain is made Prince of Wales at the age of 21, a few months after he comes to Britain for the first time after growing up in Hano ...
–
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (; 12 January NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS">New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">NS/nowiki>_1729_–_9_July_1797)_was_an_NS.html"_;"title="New_Style.html"_;"title="/nowiki>New_Style">N ...
, Irish philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1797)
*
1746
Events
January–March
* January 8 – The Young Pretender Charles Edward Stuart occupies Stirling, Scotland.
* January 17 – Battle of Falkirk Muir: British Government forces are defeated by Jacobite forces.
* February ...
–
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (, ; 12 January 1746 – 17 February 1827) was a Swiss pedagogue and educational reformer who exemplified Romanticism in his approach.
He founded several educational institutions both in German- and French-speaking ...
, Swiss philosopher and educator (d. 1827)
*
1751 –
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies
Ferdinand I (12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was the King of the Two Sicilies from 1816, after his restoration following victory in the Napoleonic Wars. Before that he had been, since 1759, Ferdinand IV of the Kingdom of Naples and Ferdinand I ...
(d. 1825)
*
1772
Events January–March
* January 10 – Shah Alam II, the Mughal Emperor of India, makes a triumphant return to Delhi 15 years after having been forced to flee.
* January 17 – Johann Friedrich Struensee and Queen Caroline ...
–
Mikhail Speransky
Count Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky (russian: Михаи́л Миха́йлович Спера́нский; 12 January 1772 – 23 February 1839) was a Russian reformist during the reign of Alexander I of Russia, to whom he was a close advisor. ...
, Russian academic and politician (d. 1839)
*
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 ...
–
Sir Robert Inglis, 2nd Baronet
Sir Robert Harry Inglis, 2nd Baronet, FRS (12 January 1786 – 5 May 1855) was an English Conservative politician, noted for his staunch high church views.
Family
He was the son of Sir Hugh Inglis, a minor politician and MP for Ashburton (1 ...
, English politician (d. 1855)
*
1792
Events
January–March
* January 9 – The Treaty of Jassy ends the Russian Empire's war with the Ottoman Empire over Crimea.
* February 18 – Thomas Holcroft produces the comedy '' The Road to Ruin'' in London.
* February ...
–
Johan August Arfwedson
Johan August Arfwedson (12 January 1792 – 28 October 1841) was a Swedish chemist who discovered the chemical element lithium in 1817 by isolating it as a salt.
Life and work
Arfwedson belonged to a wealthy bourgeois family, the son of t ...
, Swedish chemist and academic (d. 1841)
*
1797
Events
January–March
* January 3 – The Treaty of Tripoli, a peace treaty between the United States and Ottoman Tripolitania, is signed at Algiers (''see also'' 1796).
* January 7 – The parliament of the Cisalpine ...
–
Gideon Brecher
Gideon Brecher (; 12 January 1797 – 14 May 1873), also known by the pen name Gedaliah ben Eliezer (, was an Austrian writer and physician. He was a central figure in the Moravian Haskalah.
Biography
Brecher was born in Prossnitz, Moravia, a ...
, Austrian physician and author (d. 1873)
*
1799
Events
January–June
* January 9 – British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound, to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the French Revolutionary Wars.
* Janu ...
–
Priscilla Susan Bury
Priscilla Susan Bury, born Falkner (12 January 1799 Liverpool – 8 March 1872 Croydon), was an English botanist and illustrator.
Personal life
Priscilla Susan Bury was born in Rainhill, Liverpool. Her parents were Edward Falkner and Bridget ...
, British botanist (d. 1872)
*
1822
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
*January 3 - The famous French explorer, Aimé Bonpland, is made prisoner in Paraguay accused of being a spy. ...
–
Étienne Lenoir
Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir, also known as Jean J. Lenoir (12 January 1822 – 4 August 1900), was a Belgian-French engineer who developed the internal combustion engine in 1858. Prior designs for such engines were patented as early as 1807 ( ...
, Belgian engineer, designed the
internal combustion engine
An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal c ...
(d. 1900)
*
1837
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes 6,000–7,000 casualties in Ottoman Syria.
* January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States.
* February – Charles Dick ...
–
Adolf Jensen
Adolf Jensen (12 January 1837 – 23 January 1879) was a German pianist, composer and music teacher.
Biography
Jensen was born in Königsberg to a family of musicians. Although largely self-taught, he also had instruction from Louis Ehlert, ...
, German pianist and composer (d. 1879)
*
1849
Events
January–March
* January 1 – France begins issue of the Ceres series, the nation's first postage stamps.
* January 5 – Hungarian Revolution of 1848: The Austrian army, led by Alfred I, Prince of Windisch-Grätz, enters in th ...
–
Jean Béraud
Jean Béraud (; January 12, 1849 – October 4, 1935) was a French painter renowned for his numerous paintings depicting the life of Paris, and the nightlife of Paris society. Pictures of the Champs Elysees, cafés, Montmartre and the banks of ...
, Russian-French painter and academic (d. 1935)
*
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 ...
–
Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro
Gregorio Ricci-Curbastro (; 12January 1925) was an Italian mathematician. He is most famous as the discoverer of tensor calculus.
With his former student Tullio Levi-Civita, he wrote his most famous single publication, a pioneering work on th ...
, Italian mathematician (d. 1925)
*
1856
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California.
* January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voya ...
–
John Singer Sargent, American painter and academic (d. 1925)
*
1863
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation during the third year of the American Civil War, making the abolition of slavery in the Confederate states an official war goal. It proclaim ...
–
Swami Vivekananda, Indian monk and philosopher (d. 1902)
*
1869
Events
January–March
* January 3 – Abdur Rahman Khan is defeated at Tinah Khan, and exiled from Afghanistan.
* January 5 – Scotland's oldest professional Soccer, football team, Kilmarnock F.C., is founded.
* January 20 & ...
–
Bhagwan Das, Indian philosopher, academic, and politician (d. 1958)
*
1873
Events
January–March
* January 1
** Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar.
** The California Penal Code goes into effect.
* January 17 – American Indian Wars: Modoc War: First Battle of the Stronghold – Modoc Indians defe ...
–
Spyridon Louis
Spyridon Louis ( el, Σπυρίδων Λούης , sometimes transliterated ''Spiridon Loues''; 12 January 1873 – 26 March 1940), commonly known as Spyros Louis (Σπύρος Λούης), was a Greek water carrier who won the first modern-day ...
, Greek runner (d. 1940)
*
1874 –
Laura Adams Armer
Laura Adams Armer (January 12, 1874 – March 16, 1963) was an American artist and writer. In 1932, her novel ''Waterless Mountain'' won the Newbery Medal. She was also an early photographer in the San Francisco Bay Area. An online facsim ...
, American author and photographer (d. 1963)
*
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 ...
–
Fevzi Çakmak, Turkish field marshal and politician,
Prime Minister of the Turkish Provisional Government (d. 1950)
* 1876 –
Jack London
John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...
, American novelist and journalist (d. 1916)
* 1876 –
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari
Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari (born Ermanno Wolf) (January 12, 1876 – January 21, 1948) was an Italian composer and teacher. He is best known for his comic operas such as '' Il segreto di Susanna'' (1909). A number of his works were based on plays ...
, Italian composer and educator (d. 1948)
*
1877
Events
January–March
* January 1 – Queen Victoria is proclaimed ''Empress of India'' by the ''Royal Titles Act 1876'', introduced by Benjamin Disraeli, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom .
* January 8 – Great ...
–
Frank J. Corr
Frank J. Corr (January 12, 1877 – June 3, 1934) was an American politician. Corr served as the 45th mayor of Chicago, Illinois. Corr's term was as acting mayor from March 15, 1933, following the assassination of Anton Cermak until April 8 ...
, American lawyer and politician, 45th
Mayor of Chicago (d. 1934)
*
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 ...
–
Ferenc Molnár
Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial play ...
, Hungarian-American author and playwright (d. 1952)
*
1879 –
Ray Harroun
Ray Harroun (January 12, 1879 – January 19, 1968) was an American racecar driver and pioneering constructor most famous for winning the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911. He is the inventer of the open-wheel car.
Biography
He was born on Janua ...
, American race car driver and engineer (d. 1968)
* 1879 –
Anton Uesson
Anton Uesson (12 January 1879 – 13 April 1942)Mati Unt and Eric Dickens: ''Brecht at Night''. p. 161. Dalkey Archive Pr; First English Translation edition 14 July 2009. was an Estonian politician and engineer.
Early life and career
Born in ...
, Estonian engineer and politician, 17th
Mayor of Tallinn (d. 1942)
*
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 ...
–
Milton Sills
Milton George Gustavus Sills (January 12, 1882 – September 15, 1930) was an American stage and film actor of the early twentieth century.
Biography
Sills was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a wealthy family. He was the son of William Henr ...
, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1930)
*
1884
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London.
* January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's '' Princess Ida'' premières at the Savoy Theatre, London.
* January 18 – Dr. William Price at ...
–
Texas Guinan
Mary Louise Cecilia "Texas" Guinan (January 12, 1884 – November 5, 1933) was an American actress, producer and entrepreneur. Born in Texas to Irish immigrant parents, Guinan decided at an early age to become an entertainer. After becoming a st ...
, American entertainer and bootlegger (d. 1933)
* 1885 –
Thomas Ashe
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
, Irish Republican died while on Hunger Strike (d. 1917)
*
1889
Events
January–March
* January 1
** The total solar eclipse of January 1, 1889 is seen over parts of California and Nevada.
** Paiute spiritual leader Wovoka experiences a vision, leading to the start of the Ghost Dance movement in t ...
–
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad
Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad ( ur, ) (12 January 1889 – 8 November 1965), was the second caliph ( ar, خليفة المسيح الثاني, ''khalīfatul masīh al-thāni''), leader of the worldwide Ahmadiyya Muslim Community and the ...
, Indian-Pakistani spiritual leader (d. 1965)
*
1890 –
Johannes Vares
Johannes Vares (pen name Barbarus or Vares-Barbarus – 29 November 1946) was an Estonian and Soviet poet, medical doctor, and politician.
Vares was born in a farmer family in the village of Kiisa, near Viljandi, Estonia. He received secondary ...
, Estonian poet, physician, and politician (d. 1946)
*
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 ...
–
Mikhail Gurevich, Russian engineer and businessman, co-founded the
Russian Aircraft Corporation (d. 1976)
*
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 ...
–
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
, German commander, pilot, and politician,
Minister President of Prussia
The office of Minister-President (german: Ministerpräsident), or Prime Minister, of Prussia existed from 1848, when it was formed by King Frederick William IV during the 1848–49 Revolution, until the abolition of Prussia in 1947 by the All ...
(d. 1946)
* 1893 –
Alfred Rosenberg
Alfred Ernst Rosenberg ( – 16 October 1946) was a Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart and he held several important posts in the Nazi government. He was the head o ...
, Estonian-German architect and politician,
Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories (d. 1946)
*
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 ...
–
Georges Carpentier
Georges Carpentier (; 12 January 1894 – 28 October 1975) was a French boxer, actor and World War I pilot. He fought mainly as a light heavyweight and heavyweight in a career lasting from 1908 to 1926. Nicknamed the "Orchid Man", he stood and ...
, French boxer and actor (d. 1975)
*
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 ...
–
Leo Aryeh Mayer
Leo Aryeh Mayer ( he, ליאון אריה מאיר, 12 January 1895 – 6 April 1959), was an Israeli scholar of Islamic art and rector of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Biography
Mayer was born in 1895, in the city of Stanisławów, Gali ...
, Polish-Israeli scholar and academic (d. 1959)
*
1896
Events
January–March
* January 2 – The Jameson Raid comes to an end, as Jameson surrenders to the Boers.
* January 4 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
* January 5 – An Austrian newspaper reports that ...
–
Uberto De Morpurgo
Uberto De Morpurgo (12 January 1896 – 26 February 1961) was a male tennis player from Italy.
Uberto De Morpurgo was born in Trieste when it was part of Austria, but became an Italian citizen when the city changed hands after World War I. His ...
, Italian tennis player (d. 1961)
* 1896 –
David Wechsler
David Wechsler (; January 12, 1896 – May 2, 1981) was a Romanian-American psychologist. He developed well-known intelligence scales, such as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). A ...
, Romanian-American psychologist and author (d. 1981)
*
1899
Events January 1899
* January 1
** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.
** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City.
* January 2 –
**Bolivia sets up a c ...
–
Pierre Bernac
Pierre Louis Bernac (né Bertin; 12 January 1899 – 17 October 1979) was a French singer, a baryton-martin, known as an interpreter of the French mélodie. He had a close artistic association with Francis Poulenc, with whom he performed i ...
, French opera singer and educator (d. 1979)
* 1899 –
Paul Hermann Müller
Paul Hermann Müller, also known as Pauly Mueller (12 January 1899 – 13 October 1965), was a Swiss chemist who received the 1948 Nobel prize in Physiology or Medicine for his 1939 discovery of insecticidal qualities and use of DDT in the cont ...
, Swiss chemist and academic,
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureate (d. 1965)
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 ...
–
Karl Künstler, German
SS officer (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 ...
–
Igor Kurchatov
Igor Vasil'evich Kurchatov (russian: Игорь Васильевич Курчатов; 12 January 1903 – 7 February 1960), was a Soviet physicist who played a central role in organizing and directing the former Soviet program of nuclear weapo ...
, Russian physicist and academic (d. 1960)
* 1903 –
Andrew J. Transue, American politician and attorney (''
Morissette v. United States'') (d. 1995)
*
1904
Events
January
* January 7 – The distress signal ''CQD'' is established, only to be replaced 2 years later by ''SOS''.
* January 8 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library syst ...
–
Mississippi Fred McDowell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1972)
*
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 ...
–
Nihal Atsız
Hüseyin Nihâl Atsız ( ota, حسين نيهال آتسز; January 12, 1905 – December 11, 1975) was a prominent Turkish ultranationalist writer, novelist, and poet. Nihâl Atsız self-identified as a racist, Pan-Turkist and Turanist. He w ...
, Turkish author, poet, and philosopher (d. 1975)
* 1905 –
James Bennett Griffin
James Bennett Griffin or Jimmy Griffin (January 12, 1905 – May 31, 1997) was an American archaeologist. He is regarded as one of the most influential archaeologists in North America in the 20th century.
Personal life
Born in Atchison, Kan ...
, American archaeologist and academic (d. 1997)
* 1905 –
Tex Ritter
Woodward Maurice Ritter (January 12, 1905 – January 2, 1974) was a pioneer of American country music, a popular singer and actor from the mid-1930s into the 1960s, and the patriarch of the Ritter acting family (son John, grandsons Jason and ...
, American actor and singer (d. 1974)
*
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, ...
–
Emmanuel Levinas
Emmanuel Levinas (; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the relationship of ethics t ...
, Lithuanian-French historian, philosopher, and academic (d. 1995)
*
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 ...
–
Sergei Korolev
Sergei Pavlovich Korolev (russian: Сергей Павлович Королёв, Sergey Pavlovich Korolyov, sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪtɕ kərɐˈlʲɵf, Ru-Sergei Pavlovich Korolev.ogg; ukr, Сергій Павлович Корольов, ...
, Russian colonel and engineer (d. 1966)
*
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 ...
–
Jean Delannoy, French actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
* 1908 –
Clement Hurd, American illustrator (d. 1988)
*
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 ...
–
Patsy Kelly
Patsy Kelly (born Sarah Veronica Rose Kelly; January 12, 1910 – September 24, 1981) was an American actress. She is known for her role as the brash, wisecracking sidekick to Thelma Todd in a series of short comedy films produced by Hal R ...
, American actress and comedian (d. 1981)
* 1910 –
Luise Rainer
Luise Rainer ( , ; 12 January 1910 – 30 December 2014) was a German-American-British film actress. She was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her ...
, German-English actress (d. 2014)
*
1912 –
Richard Kuremaa
Richard Kuremaa (12 January 1912 – 10 January 1991) was an Estonian footballer - one of the most famous before World War II. He played 42 times for Estonia national football team scoring 19 goals. He debuted on 11 June 1933 in game versus Swe ...
, Estonian footballer (d. 1991)
*
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 ...
–
Mieko Kamiya
was a Japanese psychiatrist who treated leprosy patients at Nagashima Aiseien Sanatorium. She was known for translating books on philosophy. She worked as a medical doctor in the Department of Psychiatry at Tokyo University following World War ...
, Japanese psychiatrist and psychologist (d. 1979)
*
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 ...
–
Paul Jarrico, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1997)
* 1915 –
Joseph-Aurèle Plourde
Joseph-Aurèle Plourde, (January 12, 1915 – January 5, 2013) was a Canadians, Canadian Roman Catholic Archbishop of Ottawa, Ontario.
Early years
Archbishop Plourde was born in Saint-François-de-Madawaska, New Brunswick to Antoine Plourde a ...
, Canadian archbishop and academic (d. 2013)
*
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 ...
–
Ruth R. Benerito
Ruth Mary Rogan Benerito (January 12, 1916 – October 5, 2013) was an American chemist and inventor known for her work related to the textile industry, notably including the development of wash-and-wear cotton fabrics. She held 55 patents.
Pe ...
, American chemist and inventor (d. 2013)
* 1916 –
Mary Wilson, Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx
Gladys Mary Wilson, Baroness Wilson of Rievaulx (; 12 January 19166 June 2018) was an English poet and the wife of Harold Wilson, who twice served as British prime minister. She was the first British prime minister's spouse to become a centenar ...
, British poet and Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2018)
* 1916 –
P. W. Botha
Pieter Willem Botha, (; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006), commonly known as P. W. and af, Die Groot Krokodil (The Big Crocodile), was a South African politician. He served as the last prime minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and ...
, South African politician, 8th
Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 2006)
*
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 ...
– Walter Hendl, American pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 2007)
* 1917 – Jimmy Skinner, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2007)
*1920 – James Farmer, American activist and politician, co-founded Congress of Racial Equality (d. 1999)
* 1920 – Jerzy Zubrzycki, Polish-Australian sociologist and academic (d. 2009)
*1922 – Tadeusz Żychiewicz, Polish journalist and historian (d. 1994)
*1923 – Ira Hayes, American marine who Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, raised the U.S. flag on Iwo Jima (d. 1955)
*1924 – Olivier Gendebien, Belgian racing driver and businessman (d. 1998)
*1925 – Bill Burrud, American television host, producer, and actor (d. 1990)
*1926 – Morton Feldman, American composer and academic (d. 1987)
* 1926 – Ray Price (musician), Ray Price, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
*1928 – Ruth Brown, American R&B singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2006)
*1929 – Alasdair MacIntyre, Scottish-American philosopher and academic
* 1929 – Jaakko Hintikka, Finnish philosopher and logician (d. 2015)
*1930 – Tim Horton, Canadian ice hockey player and businessman, founded Tim Hortons (d. 1974)
* 1930 – Jennifer Johnston (novelist), Jennifer Johnston, Irish author and playwright
* 1930 – Glenn Yarbrough, American singer and actor (d. 2016)
*
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
– Des O'Connor, English entertainer, singer and TV presenter (d. 2020)
*1933 – Pavlos Matesis, Greek author and playwright (d. 2013)
*1934 – Alan Sharp, Scottish-American author and screenwriter (d. 2013)
* 1934 – Mick Sullivan, English rugby player and coach (d. 2016)
*1935 – Teresa del Conde, Mexican historian and critic (d. 2017)
* 1935 – Kreskin, American mentalist
*1936 – Jennifer Hilton, Baroness Hilton of Eggardon, English police officer and politician
* 1936 – Raimonds Pauls, Latvian pianist and composer
* 1936 – Brajanath Ratha, Indian poet and activist (d. 2014)
* 1936 – Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Indian lawyer and politician, Minister of Home Affairs (India), Indian Minister of Home Affairs (d. 2016)
*1937 – Shirley Eaton, English actress
*1938 – Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Pakistani scholar and politician (d. 2013)
*1940 – Bob Hewitt, Australian-South African tennis player
* 1940 – Ronald Shannon Jackson, American drummer and composer (d. 2013)
* 1940 – Dick Motz, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2007)
*1941 – Long John Baldry, English-Canadian singer-songwriter and voice actor (d. 2005)
* 1941 – Fiona Caldicott, English psychiatrist and psychotherapist (d. 2021)
* 1941 – Chet Jastremski, American swimmer and physician (d. 2014)
*
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 ...
– Bernardine Dohrn, American domestic terrorist, political activist and academic
*1944 – Hans Henning Atrott, German author and theorist
* 1944 – Joe Frazier, American boxer (d. 2011)
* 1944 – Cynthia Robinson, American R&B trumpet player and singer (d 2015)
*
1945
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, ...
– Maggie Bell, Scottish singer-songwriter
*1946 – Hazel Cosgrove, Lady Cosgrove, Scottish lawyer and judge
* 1946 – George Duke, American keyboard player, composer, and educator (d. 2013)
*1947 – Richard Carwardine, English historian and academic
* 1947 – Tom Dempsey, American football player and educator (d. 2020)
* 1947 – Sally Hamwee, Baroness Hamwee, English politician
*1948 – Kenny Allen (footballer), Kenny Allen, English footballer
* 1948 – Anthony Andrews, English actor and producer
* 1948 – Gordon Campbell, Canadian educator and politician, 34th Premier of British Columbia
* 1948 – Brendan Foster, English runner and sportscaster
* 1948 – William Nicholson (writer), William Nicholson, English author and screenwriter
*1949 – Kentarō Haneda, Japanese pianist and composer (d. 2007)
* 1949 – Ottmar Hitzfeld, German footballer and manager
* 1949 – Hamadi Jebali, Tunisian engineer, journalist, and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Tunisia
* 1949 – Haruki Murakami, Japanese novelist, short-story writer, and essayist
*1950 – Sheila Jackson Lee, American lawyer, judge, and politician
* 1950 – Göran Lindblad (politician), Göran Lindblad, Swedish dentist and politician
* 1950 – Bob McEwen, American businessman and politician
* 1950 – Dorrit Moussaieff, Israeli-Icelandic jewelry designer and businesswoman, 5th List of spouses and partners of Icelandic presidents, First Lady of Iceland
*1951 – Kirstie Alley, American actress and producer (d. 2022)
* 1951 – Chris Bell (American musician), Chris Bell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)
* 1951 – Rush Limbaugh, American talk show host and author (d. 2021)
* 1951 – Drew Pearson (American football), Drew Pearson, American football player and sportscaster
*1952 – Phil Perry, American singer-songwriter and producer
* 1952 – Ricky Van Shelton, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1952 – John Walker (runner), John Walker, New Zealand runner and politician
* 1952 – Walter Mosley, American novelist
*1953 – Mary Harron, Canadian director and screenwriter
*1954 – Howard Stern, American radio host, actor, and author
* 1954 – Martin Kylhammar, Swedish professor of culture and society
*1955 – Tom Ardolino, American rock drummer (d. 2012)
*1956 – Nikolai Noskov, Russian rock singer and singer-songwriter
*1957 – John Lasseter, American animator, director, and producer
* 1957 – Jeremy Sams, English director, playwright, and composer
*1958 – Christiane Amanpour, English-born Iranian-American journalist
* 1958 – Curt Fraser, American-Canadian ice hockey player and coach
*1959 – B. Brian Blair, American wrestler and politician
* 1959 – Per Gessle, Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
*1960 – Oliver Platt, Canadian-American actor
* 1960 – Dominique Wilkins, French-American basketball player and manager
*1961 – Simon Russell Beale, Malaysia-born English actor and historian
*
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
– Joe Quesada, American author and illustrator
* 1962 – Richie Richardson, Antiguan cricketer
* 1962 – Luna Vachon, American-Canadian wrestler and manager (d. 2010)
*1963 – François Girard, Canadian director and screenwriter
* 1963 – Nando Reis, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
*
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
– Jeff Bezos, American computer scientist and businessman, founded Amazon.com
* 1965 – Rob Zombie, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director
*
1966 – Olivier Martinez, French actor
* 1966 – Craig Parry, Australian golfer
*
1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
– Vendela Kirsebom, Norwegian-Swedish model and actress
*1968 – Farrah Forke, American actress (d. 2022)
* 1968 – Junichi Masuda, Japanese director, producer, and composer
* 1968 – Heather Mills, English businesswoman, activist and model
* 1968 – Mauro Silva, Brazilian footballer
*
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 ...
– David Mitchell (author), David Mitchell, English novelist
* 1969 – Margaret Nagle, American screenwriter and producer
*
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
– Raekwon, American rapper
* 1970 – Zack de la Rocha, American singer-songwriter
*
1971 – Arman Alizad, Iranian-born Finnish tailor and television presenter
* 1971 – Scott Burrell, American basketball player and coach
* 1971 – Peter Madsen, Danish engineer, entrepreneur, and convicted murderer
*1972 – Toto Wolff, Austrian investor
*1972 – Priyanka Gandhi, Indian politician
* 1972 – Espen Knutsen, Norwegian ice hockey player and coach
* 1972 – Paul Wilson (cricketer), Paul Wilson, Australian cricketer and umpire
*1973 – Brian Culbertson, American pianist and producer
* 1973 – Hande Yener, Turkish singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
*1974 – Melanie C, English singer-songwriter and actress
* 1974 – Tor Arne Hetland, Norwegian skier
*1975 – Jason Freese, American saxophonist, songwriter, and producer
* 1975 – Jocelyn Thibault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
*1977 – Yoandy Garlobo, Cuban baseball player
*1978 – Luis Ayala (baseball), Luis Ayala, Mexican baseball player
* 1978 – Maurizio Zaffiri, Italian rugby player
*1979 – Marián Hossa, Slovak ice hockey player
* 1979 – Lee Bo-young, South Korean actress and model
* 1979 – Grzegorz Rasiak, Polish footballer
* 1979 – David Zabriskie, American cyclist
*1980 – Bobby Crosby, American baseball player
*1981 – Amerie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
* 1981 – João Paulo Daniel, Brazilian footballer
* 1981 – Dan Klecko, American football player
* 1981 – Angus Macdonald (rugby union), Angus Macdonald, New Zealand rugby player
* 1981 – Luis Ernesto Pérez, Mexican footballer
*1982 – Paul-Henri Mathieu, French tennis player
* 1982 – Hans Van Alphen, Belgian decathlete
* 1982 – Dean Whitehead, English footballer
* 1982 – Dontrelle Willis, American baseball player
*1984 – Daniel Sepulveda, American football player
* 1984 – Jonathan Zydko, French footballer
*1985 – Artem Milevskyi, Ukrainian footballer
* 1985 – Issa Rae, American actress, writer, director, producer and web series creator
* 1985 – Borja Valero, Spanish footballer
*
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
– Kehoma Brenner, German rugby player
* 1986 – Miguel Ángel Nieto, Spanish footballer
*1987 – Naya Rivera, American actress and singer (d. 2020)
* 1987 – Salvatore Sirigu, Italian footballer
*1988 – Claude Giroux, Canadian ice hockey player
*1989 – Thiemo-Jérôme Kialka, German footballer
* 1989 – Axel Witsel, Belgian 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 ...
– Pixie Lott, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
* 1991 – Matt Srama, Australian rugby league player
*1992 – Ishak Belfodil, Algerian footballer
* 1992 – Samuele Longo, Italian footballer
*1993 – Zayn Malik, English singer
* 1993 – Simone Pecorini, Italian footballer
* 1993 – D.O. (entertainer), Do Kyungsoo, South Korean singer
*1995 – Sarah Mehain, Canadian Paralympic swimmer
* 1995 – Alessio Romagnoli, Italian footballer
*1996 – Ella Henderson, English singer and songwriter
*2002 – Eva Lys, German tennis player
Deaths
Pre-1600
* 690 – Benedict Biscop, English scholar and saint, founded the Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey (b. 628)
* 914 – Ahmad Samani, Samanid emir
* 947 – Sang Weihan, Chinese chief of staff (b. 898)
*1140 – Louis I, Landgrave of Thuringia
*1167 – Aelred of Rievaulx, English monk and saint (b. 1110)
*1320 – John Dalderby, bishop of Lincoln
*1322 – Marie of Brabant, Queen of France (b. 1254)
*1405 – Eleanor Maltravers, English noblewoman (b. 1345)
*1519 – Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1459)
1601–1900
*1665 – Pierre de Fermat, French mathematician and lawyer (b. 1601)
*1674 – Giacomo Carissimi, Italian priest and composer (b. 1605)
*1700 – Marguerite Bourgeoys, French-Canadian nun and saint, founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Montreal (b. 1620)
*1720 – William Ashhurst, English banker and politician, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1647)
*1732 – John Horsley (antiquarian), John Horsley, English-Scottish historian and author (b. 1685)
*1735 – John Eccles (composer), John Eccles, English composer (b. 1668)
*1759 – Anne, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (b. 1709)
*1765 – Johann Melchior Molter, German violinist and composer (b. 1696)
*1777 – Hugh Mercer, Scottish-American general and physician (b. 1726)
*1778 – François Bigot, French politician (b. 1703)
*1781 – Richard Challoner, English bishop (b. 1691)
*1829 – Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel, German philosopher, poet, and critic (b. 1772)
*1833 – Marie-Antoine Carême, French chef (b. 1784)
*1834 – William Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, English academic and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
*
1856
Events
January–March
* January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California.
* January 23 – American paddle steamer SS ''Pacific'' leaves Liverpool (England) for a transatlantic voya ...
– Ľudovít Štúr, Slovak philologist and politician (b. 1815)
*1861 – Václav Hanka, Czech philologist and author (b. 1791)
*
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 ...
– James Caulfeild, 3rd Earl of Charlemont, Irish politician, Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone (b. 1820)
* 1892 – William Reeves (bishop), William Reeves, Irish bishop and historian (b. 1815)
*
1899
Events January 1899
* January 1
** Spanish rule ends in Cuba, concluding 400 years of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.
** Queens and Staten Island become administratively part of New York City.
* January 2 –
**Bolivia sets up a c ...
– Hiram Walker, American businessman, founded Canadian Club (b. 1816)
1901–present
*1909 – Hermann Minkowski, Lithuanian-German mathematician and academic (b. 1864)
*
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 ...
– Andreas Papagiannakopoulos, Greek journalist, judge, and politician (b. 1845)
*
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 ...
– Georgios Theotokis, Greek lawyer and politician, 80th List of Prime Ministers of Greece, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1844)
*1921 – Gervase Elwes, English tenor and actor (b. 1866)
*1926 – Austin Chapman, Australian businessman and politician, 4th Minister for Defence (Australia), Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1864)
*1934 – Paul Kochanski, Polish violinist and composer (b. 1887)
*1938 – Oscar Florianus Bluemner, German-American painter and illustrator (b. 1867)
*1940 – Ralph Hitz, Austrian-American hotelier (b. 1891)
*1940 – Edward Smith (VC), Edward Smith, English lieutenant, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1898)
*1943 – Jan Campert, Dutch journalist and critic (b. 1902)
*1944 – Lance C. Wade, American commander and pilot (b. 1915)
*1958 – Charles Hatfield, American meteorologist (b. 1875)
*1960 – Nevil Shute, English engineer and author (b. 1899)
*
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
– Ariadna Tyrkova-Williams, Russian journalist and activist (b. 1869)
*1965 – Lorraine Hansberry, American author, playwright, and director (b. 1936)
*
1967
Events
January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 5
** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
– Burhan Asaf Belge, Turkish diplomat (b. 1887)
*
1971 – John Tovey, 1st Baron Tovey, English admiral (b. 1885)
*1973 – Roy Franklin Nichols, American historian and academic (b. 1896)
*1974 – Princess Patricia of Connaught (b. 1886)
*
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
– Agatha Christie, English crime novelist, short story writer, and playwright (b. 1890)
*1977 – Henri-Georges Clouzot, French director and screenwriter (b. 1907)
*1983 – Nikolai Podgorny, Ukrainian engineer and politician (b. 1903)
*1988 – Connie Mulder, South African politician (b. 1925)
* 1988 – Piero Taruffi, Italian racing driver and motorcycle racer (b. 1906)
*
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
– Laurence J. Peter, Canadian-American author and educator (b. 1919)
*
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 ...
– Robert Jackson (UN administrator), Robert Jackson, Australian public servant and diplomat (b. 1911)
*1992 – Kumar Gandharva, a Hindustani classical singer (b. 1924)
*1994 – Gustav Naan, Estonian physicist and philosopher (b. 1919)
*1996 – Joachim Nitsche, German mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
*
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
– Jean-Edern Hallier, French author (b. 1936)
* 1997 – Charles Brenton Huggins, Canadian-American physician and physiologist,
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
laureate (b. 1901)
*
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
– Roger Clark, English racing driver (b. 1939)
*1999 – Doug Wickenheiser, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1961)
*2000 – Marc Davis (animator), Marc Davis, American animator and screenwriter (b. 1913)
* 2000 – Bobby Phills, American basketball player (b. 1969)
*
2001 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
* 2001 – William Redington Hewlett, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Hewlett-Packard (b. 1913)
*2002 – Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and politician, 57th U.S. Secretary of State (b. 1917)
*2003 – Dean Amadon, American ornithologist and author (b. 1912)
* 2003 – Kinji Fukasaku, Japanese actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
* 2003 – Leopoldo Galtieri, Argentine general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (b. 1926)
* 2003 – Maurice Gibb, Manx-Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1949)
* 2003 – Alan Nunn May, English physicist and spy (b. 1911)
*
2004 – Olga Ladyzhenskaya, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
*
2005 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
*
2006 – Pablita Velarde, Santa Clara Pueblo (Native American) painter (b. 1918)
*
2007 – Alice Coltrane, American pianist and composer (b. 1937)
* 2007 – James Killen, Australian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Minister for Defence (Australia), Australian Minister for Defence (b. 1925)
*2008 – Max Beck, American intersex advocate (b. 1966)
*2009 – Claude Berri, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1934)
*
2010 – Daniel Bensaïd, French philosopher and author (b. 1946)
* 2010 – Hasib Sabbagh, Palestinian businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Consolidated Contractors Company (b. 1920)
*
2012
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 ...
– Bjørn G. Andersen, Norwegian geologist and academic (b. 1924)
* 2012 – Glenda Dickerson, American director, choreographer, and educator (b. 1945)
* 2012 – Bill Janklow, American lawyer and politician, 27th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1939)
* 2012 – Charles H. Price II, American businessman and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom (b. 1931)
* 2012 – Jim Stanley (American football), Jim Stanley, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
*2013 – Precious Bryant, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1942)
* 2013 – Flor María Chalbaud, First Lady of Venezuela (b. 1921)
* 2013 – Eugene Patterson, American journalist and activist (b. 1923)
*2014 – Alexandra Bastedo, English actress (b. 1946)
* 2014 – Connie Binsfeld, American educator and politician, 58th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (b. 1924)
* 2014 – George Dement, American soldier, businessman, and politician (b. 1922)
*
2015 – Trevor Colbourn, American historian and academic (b. 1927)
* 2015 – Robert Gover, American journalist and author (b. 1929)
* 2015 – Carl Long (baseball), Carl Long, American baseball player (b. 1935)
* 2015 – Elena Obraztsova, Russian soprano and actress (b. 1939)
* 2015 – Inge Vermeulen, Brazilian-Dutch field hockey player (b. 1985)
*2017 – William Peter Blatty, American writer and filmmaker (b. 1928)
* 2017 – Graham Taylor, former Grimsby Town F.C., Grimsby Town player and former manager of the England football team. (b. 1944)
*2018 – Keith Jackson, American sports commentator and journalist (b. 1928)
*
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 ...
– Roger Scruton, Sir Roger Scruton, English philosopher and writer (b. 1944)
*2022 – Ronnie Spector, American singer (b. 1943)
Holidays and observances
* Christian feast day:
** Aelred of Rievaulx
** Benedict Biscop
** Bernard of Corleone
** Marguerite Bourgeoys
** Tatiana of Rome, Tatiana
** January 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
* Memorial Day (Turkmenistan)
* National Youth Day (India)
* International Duties Memorial Day, Prosecutor General's Day (Russia)
* Zanzibar Revolution Day (Tanzania)
* Yennayer (Algeria)
References
External links
BBC: On This Day*
Historical Events on January 12
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Days of the year
January