Events
Pre-1600
*
27 BC –
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 Pri ...
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 Mediterr ...
.
*
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 peoples, Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Goths, Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the larg ...
, 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 cerem ...
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 –
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 in ...
: 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 –
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 on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...
.
*
1537 –
Bigod's Rebellion, an armed insurrection attempting to resist the
English Reformation, begins.
*
1547 – 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
The Grand Duchy of Moscow, Muscovite Russia, Muscovite Rus' or Grand Principality of Moscow (russian: Великое княжество Московское, Velikoye knyazhestvo Moskovskoye; also known in English simply as Muscovy from the Lati ...
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 i ...
.
*
1556 –
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 –
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 – 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 Old Style and New Style dates, NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-emin ...
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 – 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 is ...
.
*
1757 – 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 –
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 –
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 Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
.
*
1809 –
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 –
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 U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
Territory.
*
1862 –
Hartley Colliery disaster
The Hartley Colliery disaster (also known as the Hartley Pit disaster or Hester Pit disaster) was a coal mining accident in Northumberland, England, that occurred on 16 January 1862 and resulted in the deaths of 204 men and children. The beam o ...
: 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 –
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 – 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 a ...
.
1901–present
*
1909 –
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 –
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 southwe ...
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 alcoholic ...
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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
.
*
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 –
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; a ...
: 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 –
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 opposin ...
:
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
The ''Führerbunker'' () was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters ( ...
.
*1959 – Austral Líneas Aéreas Flight 205 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean near Astor Piazzolla International Airport in Mar del Plata, Argentina, killing 51.
*1969 – Czechs, Czech student Jan Palach commits suicide by self-immolation in Prague, Prague, Czechoslovakia, in protest against the Soviet Union, Soviets' crushing of the Prague Spring the year before.
* 1969 – Space Race: Soviet spacecraft ''Soyuz 4'' and ''Soyuz 5'' perform the first-ever docking of manned spacecraft in low Earth orbit, orbit, the first-ever transfer of crew from one space vehicle to another, and the only time such a transfer was accomplished with a extravehicular activity, space walk.
*1979 – Iranian Revolution: The Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, last Iranian Shah flees Iran with his family for good and relocates to Egypt.
*1983 – Turkish Airlines Flight 158 crashes at Ankara Esenboğa Airport in Ankara, Turkey, killing 47 and injuring 20.
*1991 – Coalition Forces go to war with Iraq, beginning the Gulf War.
*1992 – El Salvador officials and rebel leaders sign the Chapultepec Peace Accords in Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico ending the 12-year Salvadoran Civil War that claimed at least 75,000 lives.
*1995 – An avalanche hits the Icelandic village Súðavík, destroying 25 homes and burying 26 people, 14 of whom died.
*2001 – Second Congo War: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Congolese President Laurent-Désiré Kabila is Assassination of Laurent-Désiré Kabila, assassinated by one of his own bodyguards in Kinshasa.
* 2001 – US President Bill Clinton awards former President Theodore Roosevelt a posthumous Medal of Honor for his service in the Spanish–American War.
*2002 – War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), War in Afghanistan: The United Nations Security Council, UN Security Council unanimously establishes an arms embargo and the freezing of assets of Osama bin Laden, al-Qaeda, and the remaining members of the Taliban.
*2003 – The Space Shuttle Columbia, Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' takes off for mission STS-107 which would be its final one. ''Columbia'' Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated 16 days later on re-entry.
*2006 – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new President of Liberia, president. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.
*2011 – Syrian civil war: The Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM) is established with the stated goal of re-organizing Syria along the lines of democratic confederalism.
*2012 - The Mali War begins when National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, Tuareg militias start fighting the Malian government for independence.
*2016 – Thirty-three out of 126 freed hostages are injured and 23 killed in terrorist 2016 Ouagadougou attack, attacks in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso on a hotel and a nearby restaurant.
*2018 – Myanmar Myanmar Police Force, police Mrauk U riot, open fire on a group of ethnic Rakhine people, Rakhine protesters, killing seven and wounding twelve.
*2020 – The first impeachment of Donald Trump 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 as a replacement for North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA.
Births
Pre-1600
* 972 – Emperor Shengzong of Liao, Sheng Zong, emperor of the Liao Dynasty (d. 1031)
*1093 – Isaac Komnenos (son of Alexios I), Isaac Komnenos, son of Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos (d. 1152)
*1245 – Edmund Crouchback, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1296)
*
1362 – Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland, Robert de Vere, duke of Ireland (d. 1392)
*1409 – René of Anjou, king of Naples (d. 1480)
*1477 – Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (d. 1547)
*1501 – Anthony Denny, confidant of Henry VIII of England (d. 1559)
*1516 – Bayinnaung, king of Burma (d. 1581)
*1558 – Jakobea of Baden, Margravine of Baden by birth, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg by marriage (d. 1597)
1601–1900
*1616 – François de Vendôme, Duke of Beaufort, François de Vendôme, duke of Beaufort (d. 1669)
*1626 – Lucas Achtschellinck, Belgian painter and educator (d. 1699)
*1630 – Guru Har Rai, Sikh Guru (d. 1661)
*1634 – Dorothe Engelbretsdatter, Norwegian author and poet (d. 1716)
*1675 – Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, French soldier and diplomat (d. 1755)
*1691 – Peter Scheemakers, Belgian sculptor and educator (d. 1781)
*1728 – Niccolò Piccinni, Italian composer and educator (d. 1800)
*1749 – Vittorio Alfieri, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1803)
*
1757 – Richard Goodwin Keats, English admiral and politician, third List of lieutenant governors of Newfoundland and Labrador, Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1834)
*1807 – Charles Henry Davis, American admiral (d. 1877)
*1815 – Henry Halleck, American lawyer, general, and scholar (d. 1872)
*1821 – John C. Breckinridge, American general and politician, 14th Vice President of the United States (d. 1875)
*1834 – Robert R. Hitt, American lawyer and politician, 13th United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1906)
*1836 – Francis II of the Two Sicilies (d. 1894)
*1838 – Franz Brentano, German philosopher and psychologist (d. 1917)
*1844 – Ismail Qemali, Albanian civil servant and politician, first Prime Minister of Albania (d. 1919)
*1851 – William Hall-Jones, English-New Zealand politician, 16th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1936)
*1853 – Johnston Forbes-Robertson, English actor and manager (d. 1937)
* 1853 – Ian Standish Monteith Hamilton, Greek-English general (d. 1947)
* 1853 – André Michelin, French businessman, co-founded the Michelin, Michelin Tyre Company (d. 1931)
*1870 – Jüri Jaakson, Estonian businessman and politician, State Elder of Estonia (d. 1942)
*1872 – Henri Büsser, French organist, composer, and conductor (d. 1973)
*1874 – Robert W. Service, English-Canadian poet and author (d. 1958)
*1875 – Leonor Michaelis, German biochemist and physician (d. 1949)
*1876 – Claude Buckenham, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1937)
*
1878 – Harry Carey (actor), Harry Carey, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1947)
*1880 – Samuel Jones (athlete), Samuel Jones, American high jumper (d. 1954)
*1882 – Margaret Wilson (novelist), Margaret Wilson, American author (d. 1973)
*1885 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese author and translator (d. 1967)
*1888 – Osip Brik, Russian avant garde writer and literary critic (d. 1945)
*1892 – Homer Burton Adkins, American chemist (d. 1949)
*1893 – Daisy Kennedy, Australian-English violinist (d. 1981)
*1894 – Irving Mills, American publisher (d. 1985)
*1895 – Evripidis Bakirtzis, Greek soldier and politician (d. 1947)
* 1895 – T. M. Sabaratnam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician (d. 1966)
* 1895 – Nat Schachner, American lawyer, chemist, and author (d. 1955)
*1897 – Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet and academic (d. 1977)
*1898 – Margaret Booth, American producer and editor (d. 2002)
* 1898 – Irving Rapper, American film director and producer (d. 1999)
*
1900 – Kiku Amino, Japanese author and translator (d. 1978)
* 1900 – Edith Frank, German-Dutch mother of Anne Frank (d. 1945)
1901–present
*1901 – Fulgencio Batista, Cuban colonel and politician, ninth President of Cuba (d. 1973)
*1902 – Eric Liddell, Scottish runner, rugby player, and missionary (d. 1945)
*1903 – William Grover-Williams, English-French racing driver (d. 1945)
*1905 – Ernesto Halffter, Spanish composer and conductor (d. 1989)
*1906 – Johannes Brenner, Estonian footballer and pilot (d. 1975)
* 1906 – Diana Wynyard, English actress (d. 1964)
*1907 – Alexander Knox, Canadian-English actor and screenwriter (d. 1995)
* 1907 – Paul Nitze, American banker and politician, tenth United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2004)
*1908 – Sammy Crooks, English footballer (d. 1981)
* 1908 – Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (d. 1984)
* 1908 – Günther Prien, German captain (d. 1941)
*
1909 – Clement Greenberg, American art critic (d. 1994)
*1910 – Dizzy Dean, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 1974)
*1911 – Ivan Barrow, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1979)
* 1911 – Eduardo Frei Montalva, Chilean lawyer and politician, 28th President of Chile (d. 1982)
* 1911 – Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (d. 1996)
*1914 – Roger Wagner, French-American conductor and educator (d. 1992)
*1915 – Leslie H. Martinson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2016)
*1916 – Philip Lucock, English-Australian minister and politician (d. 1996)
*1917 – Carl Karcher, American businessman, founded Carl's Jr. (d. 2008)
*1918 – Nel Benschop, Dutch poet and educator (d. 2005)
* 1918 – Allan Ekelund, Swedish director, producer, and production manager (d. 2009)
* 1918 – Clem Jones, Australian surveyor and politician, eighth Lord Mayor of Brisbane (d. 2007)
* 1918 – Stirling Silliphant, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1996)
*
1919 – Jerome Horwitz, American chemist and academic (d. 2012)
*
1920 – Elliott Reid, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2013)
*
1921 – Francesco Scavullo, American photographer (d. 2004)
*1923 – Gene Feist, American director and playwright, co-founded the Roundabout Theatre Company (d. 2014)
* 1923 – Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)
*1924 – Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (d. 2002)
*1925 – Peter Hirsch, German-English metallurgist and academic
* 1925 – James Robinson Risner, American general and pilot (d. 2013)
*1928 – William Kennedy (author), William Kennedy, American novelist and journalist
* 1928 – Pilar Lorengar, Spanish soprano and actress (d. 1996)
*1929 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – Matt Duchene, Canadian ice hockey player
*1993 – Hannes Anier, Estonian footballer
* 1993 – Amandine Hesse, French tennis player
*1995 – 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 – Johannes Schöner, 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 – 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 – 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 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (b. 1802)
1901–present
*1901 – 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 – Marshall Field, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Marshall Field's (b. 1834)
*1917 – George Dewey, American admiral (b. 1837)
*
1919 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – 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 – Christopher Tolkien, British academic and editor (b. 1924)
*2021 – Pedro Trebbau, German-born Venezuelan zoologist (b. 1929)
* 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