Events
Pre-1600
*
41 –
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...
is proclaimed
Roman emperor by the
Praetorian Guard after they assassinate the previous emperor, his nephew
Caligula.
*
914 – Start of the
First Fatimid invasion of Egypt.
*
1438 – The
Council of Basel suspends
Pope Eugene IV.
*
1458 –
Matthias Corvinus
Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and King of Croatia, Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and ...
is elected King of Hungary.
*
1536 –
King Henry VIII of England suffers an accident while
jousting, leading to a brain injury that historians say may have influenced his later erratic behaviour and possible impotence.
1601–1900
*
1651 –
Arauco War: Spanish and
Mapuche
The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...
authorities meet in the
Parliament of Boroa renewing the fragile peace established at the parliaments of Quillín in
1641
Events
January–March
* January 4 – The stratovolcano Mount Parker (Philippines), Mount Parker in the Philippines has a major eruption.
* January 14 – Battle of Malacca (1641), The Battle of Malacca concludes with the D ...
and 1647.
*
1679 – King
Charles II of England
Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.
Charles II was the eldest su ...
dissolves the
Cavalier Parliament.
*
1742 –
Charles VII Albert becomes
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...
.
*
1758 – During the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...
the leading burghers of
Königsberg submit to
Elizabeth of Russia, thus forming
Russian Prussia (until 1763).
*
1817 –
Crossing of the Andes: Many soldiers of
Juan Gregorio de las Heras are captured during the
action of Picheuta.
*
1835 – Slaves in
Salvador da Bahia, Brazil,
stage a revolt, which is instrumental in ending slavery there 50 years later.
*
1848 –
California Gold Rush:
James W. Marshall finds
gold
Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
at
Sutter's Mill near
Sacramento.
*
1857 – The
University of Calcutta is formally founded as the first fully fledged university in
South Asia
South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
.
*
1859 – The
United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (later named Romania) is formed as a personal union under the rule of Domnitor
Alexandru Ioan Cuza.
*
1900 –
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
:
Boers stop a British attempt to break the
Siege of Ladysmith in the
Battle of Spion Kop.
1901–present
*
1908 – The first
Boy Scout troop is organized in England by
Robert Baden-Powell.
*
1915 –
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
: British
Grand Fleet battle cruisers under Vice-Admiral Sir
David Beatty engage Rear-Admiral
Franz von Hipper's battle cruisers in the
Battle of Dogger Bank.
*
1916 – In ''
Brushaber v. Union Pacific Railroad Co.'', the
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
declares the federal
income tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
constitutional.
*
1918
The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...
– The
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar is the calendar used in most parts of the world. It went into effect in October 1582 following the papal bull issued by Pope Gregory XIII, which introduced it as a modification of, and replacement for, the Julian cale ...
is introduced in Russia by decree of the
Council of People's Commissars effective
February 14
It is observed in most countries as Valentine's Day.
Events Pre-1600
* 748 – Abbasid Revolution#Persian phase, Abbasid Revolution: The Kaysanites Shia#History, Hashimi rebels under Abu Muslim Khorasani take Merv, capital of the Umayyad ...
(New Style).
*
1933 – The
20th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, changing the beginning and end of terms for all elected federal offices.
*
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
–
Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company starts selling the first canned beer.
*
1939 – The
deadliest earthquake in Chilean history strikes
Chillán, killing approximately 28,000 people.
*
1942 –
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
: The Allies
bombard Bangkok, leading Thailand, then under Japanese control, to declare war against the United States and United Kingdom.
*
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 � ...
– World War II:
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
and
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
conclude a
conference in Casablanca.
*
1946
1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
– The
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...
passes its first resolution to establish the
United Nations Atomic Energy Commission.
*
1960 –
Algerian War
The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...
: Some units of European volunteers in
Algiers
Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
stage an insurrection known as the "barricades week", during which they seize government buildings and clash with local police.
*
1961 –
Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two
H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.
*
1966 –
Air India Flight 101 crashes into
Mont Blanc.
*
1968 –
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...
: The
1st Australian Task Force launches
Operation Coburg against the
North Vietnamese Army and
Viet Cong during wider fighting around
Long Bình and
Biên Hòa.
*
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
– Japanese Sgt.
Shoichi Yokoi is found hiding in a
Guam jungle, where he had been
since the end of World War II.
*
1977 – The
Atocha massacre occurs in Madrid during the Spanish transition to democracy.
*
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
–
Soviet
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
satellite
Kosmos 954, with a nuclear reactor on board, burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering radioactive debris over Canada's
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
. Only 1% is recovered.
*
1984 –
Apple Computer places the
Macintosh
Mac is a brand of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 1984. The name is short for Macintosh (its official name until 1999), a reference to the McIntosh (apple), McIntosh apple. The current product lineup inclu ...
personal computer
A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...
on sale in the United States.
*
1986 – The
Voyager 2 space probe makes its closest approach to
Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. It is a gaseous cyan-coloured ice giant. Most of the planet is made of water, ammonia, and methane in a Supercritical fluid, supercritical phase of matter, which astronomy calls "ice" or Volatile ( ...
.
*
1987 – About 20,000 protestors march in
a civil rights demonstration in
Forsyth County, Georgia, United States.
*
1989 – Notorious serial killer
Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, is executed in the electric chair at the
Florida State Prison.
*
1990 – Japan launches
Hiten, the country's first
lunar probe, the first robotic lunar probe since the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
's
Luna 24 in 1976, and the first lunar probe launched by a country other than Soviet Union or the United States.
*
2003 – The
United States Department of Homeland Security officially begins operation.
*
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
–
Cyclone Klaus makes landfall near
Bordeaux
Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, France, causing 26 deaths as well as extensive disruptions to public transport and power supplies.
*
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
– At least 35 are killed and 180 injured in a
bombing at Moscow's
Domodedovo Airport.
*
2018 – Former doctor
Larry Nassar is sentenced up to 175 years in prison after being found guilty of using his position to
sexually abuse female gymnasts.
Births
Pre-1600
*
76 –
Hadrian
Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
, Roman emperor (died 138)
*
1287 –
Richard de Bury, English bishop and politician,
Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (died 1345)
*
1444 –
Galeazzo Maria Sforza, Duke of Milan (died 1476)
*
1547 –
Joanna of Austria, Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Austrian Archduchess (died 1578)
1601–1900
*
1602 –
Mildmay Fane, 2nd Earl of Westmorland, English politician (died 1666)
*
1619 –
Yamazaki Ansai, Japanese philosopher (died 1682)
*
1643 –
Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset, English poet and politician,
Lord Chamberlain of Great Britain (died 1706)
*
1664 –
John Vanbrugh, English architect and dramatist (died 1726)
*
1670 –
William Congreve, English playwright and poet (died 1729)
*
1672 –
Margrave Albert Frederick of Brandenburg-Schwedt, German Lieutenant General (died 1731)
*
1674 –
Thomas Tanner, English bishop (died 1735)
*
1679 –
Christian Wolff, German philosopher and academic (died 1754)
*
1684 –
Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, German noble (died 1737)
*
1705 –
Farinelli, Italian castrato singer (died 1782)
*
1709 –
Dom Bédos de Celles, French monk and organist (died 1779)
*
1712 –
Frederick the Great, Prussian king (died 1786)
*
1732 –
Pierre Beaumarchais, French playwright and financier (died 1799)
*
1739 –
Jean Nicolas Houchard, French General of the
French Revolution (died 1793)
*
1746 –
Gustav III of Sweden (died 1792)
*
1749 –
Charles James Fox, English businessman and politician,
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (died 1806)
*
1754 –
Andrew Ellicott, American soldier and surveyor (died 1820)
*
1761 –
Louis Klein, French general (died 1845)
*
1763 –
Louis Alexandre Andrault de Langeron, French-Ukrainian general and politician (died 1831)
*
1776 –
E. T. A. Hoffmann, German jurist, author, and composer (died 1822)
*
1787 –
Christian Ludwig Brehm, German pastor and ornithologist (died 1864)
*
1804 –
Delphine de Girardin, French author (died 1855)
*
1814 –
Duchess Helene of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, French Crown Princess (died 1858)
* 1814 –
John Colenso, British mathematician (died 1883)
*
1816 –
Wilhelm Henzen, German philologist and epigraphist (died 1887)
*
1828
Events
January–March
* January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Jean-Baptiste de Villèle, Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France.
* January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organiz ...
–
Ferdinand Cohn
Ferdinand Julius Cohn (24 January 1828 – 25 June 1898) was a German biologist. He is one of the founders of modern bacteriology and microbiology.
Biography
Ferdinand Julius Cohn was born in the Jewish quarter of Breslau in the Prussian Pro ...
, German biologist (died 1898)
*
1829 –
Yechiel Michel Epstein, Rabbi and
posek (died 1908)
*
1836 –
Signe Rink, Greenland-born Danish writer and ethnologist (died 1909)
*
1843 –
Josip Stadler, Croatian archbishop (died 1918)
*
1848 –
Vasily Surikov, Russian painter (died 1916)
*
1850 –
Hermann Ebbinghaus, German psychologist (died 1909)
*
1853 –
Sigbert Josef Maria Ganser, German psychiatrist (died 1931)
*
1856 –
Friedrich Grünanger, Transylvanian Hungarian-German architect (died 1929)
*
1858 –
Constance Naden, English poet and philosopher (died 1889)
*
1862 –
Edith Wharton, American novelist and short story writer (died 1937)
*
1863 –
August Adler, Czech and Austrian mathematician (died 1923)
*
1864 –
Marguerite Durand, French actress, journalist, and activist (died 1936)
* 1864 –
Gaetano Giardino, Italian soldier and
Marshal of Italy (died 1935)
*
1866 –
Jaan Poska, Estonian lawyer and politician, 1st
Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 1920)
*
1869 –
Helena Maud Brown Cobb, American educator and missionary (died 1922)
*
1870 –
Herbert Kilpin, English footballer (died 1916)
*
1871 –
Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic, Czech poet, writer and literary critic (died 1951)
* 1871 –
Thomas Jaggar, American volcanologist (died 1953)
*
1872 –
Yuly Aykhenvald, Russian literary critic (died 1928)
* 1872 –
Konstantin Bogaevsky, Russian painter (died 1943)
* 1872 –
Morris Travers, English chemist and academic (died 1961)
*
1873 –
Dmitry Ushakov, Russian philologist and lexicographer (died 1942)
*
1882 –
Harold D. Babcock, American astronomer (died 1968)
* 1882 –
Ödön Bodor, Hungarian athlete (died 1927)
*
1885 –
Marjory Stephenson, British biochemist (died 1948)
*
1886
Events January
* January 1 – Upper Burma is formally annexed to British rule in Burma, British Burma, following its conquest in the Third Anglo-Burmese War of November 1885.
* January 5–January 9, 9 – Robert Louis Stevenson ...
–
Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1982)
*
1887 –
Jean-Henri Humbert, French botanist (died 1967)
*
1888 –
Vicki Baum, Austrian author and screenwriter (died 1960)
* 1888 –
Ernst Heinkel, German engineer and businessman, founded the
Heinkel Aircraft Manufacturing Company (died 1958)
*
1889 –
Victor Eftimiu, Romanian poet and playwright (died 1972)
* 1889 –
Charles Hawes, American historian and author (died 1923)
* 1889 –
Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, German general of paratroop forces during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
(died 1968)
*
1891 –
Walter Model, German field marshal (died 1945)
*
1892 –
Franz Aigner, Austrian weightlifter (died 1970)
*
1895 –
Eugen Roth, German poet and songwriter (died 1976)
*
1897 –
Paul Fejos, Hungarian-born American director (died 1963)
*
1899 –
Hoyt Vandenberg, U.S. Air Force general (died 1954)
* 1900 –
René Guillot, French writer (died 1969)
1901–present
*
1901 –
Harry Calder, South African cricketer (died 1995)
* 1901 –
Cassandre, French painter (died 1968)
* 1901 –
Edward Turner, English engineer (died 1973)
*
1905 –
J. Howard Marshall, American lawyer and businessman (died 1995)
*
1906 –
Wilfred Jackson
Wilfred Emmons Jackson (January 24, 1906 – August 7, 1988) was an American animator, arranger, musical arranger and film director, director best known for his work with The Walt Disney Company, Walt Disney Productions.
Jackson joined Walt Dis ...
, American animator and composer (died 1988)
*
1907 –
Maurice Couve de Murville, French soldier and politician,
Prime Minister of France
The prime minister of France (), officially the prime minister of the French Republic (''Premier ministre de la République française''), is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of its Council of Ministers.
The prime ...
(died 1999)
* 1907 –
Jean Daetwyler, Swiss composer and musician (died 1994)
* 1907 –
Ismail Nasiruddin of Terengganu, fourth
Yang di-Pertuan Agong of
Malaysia
Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...
(died 1979)
*1909 – Martin Lings, English author and scholar (died 2005)
* 1909 – Ester Šimerová-Martinčeková, Slovak painter (died 2005)
*1910 – Doris Haddock, American political activist (died 2010)
*1912 – Frederick Ashworth, American admiral (died 2005)
*1913 – Norman Dello Joio, American organist and composer (died 2008)
* 1913 – Ray Stehr, Australian rugby league player and coach (died 1983)
*
1915 – Vítězslava Kaprálová, Czech composer and conductor (died 1940)
* 1915 – Robert Motherwell, American painter and academic (died 1991)
*
1916 – Rafael Caldera, Venezuelan lawyer and politician, 65th President of Venezuela (died 2009)
* 1916 – Gene Mako, Hungarian-American tennis player and actor (died 2013)
*1917 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (died 2012)
* 1917 – Wilhelmus Demarteau, Dutch prelate of the Roman Catholic Church (died 2012)
*
1918
The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...
– Oral Roberts, American evangelist, founded Oral Roberts University and Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association (died 2009)
* 1918 – Gottfried von Einem, Austrian pianist and composer (died 1996)
*1919 – Coleman Francis, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1973)
* 1919 – Leon Kirchner, American composer and educator (died 2009)
*1920 – Jimmy Forrest (musician), Jimmy Forrest, American saxophonist (died 1980)
* 1920 – Jerry Maren, American actor (died 2018)
*1922 – Daniel Boulanger, French actor and screenwriter (died 2014)
* 1922 – Neil Franklin, English footballer (died 1996)
*1924 – Brian Bevan, Australian rugby league player (died 1991)
* 1924 – Karpoori Thakur, Indian politician, 11th List of chief ministers of Bihar, Chief Minister of Bihar (died 1988)
*1925 – Gus Mortson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 2015)
* 1925 – Maria Tallchief, American ballerina and actress (died 2013)
*1926 – Ruth Asawa, American sculptor (died 2013)
* 1926 – Georges Lautner, French director and screenwriter (died 2013)
*1927 – Paula Hawkins (politician), Paula Hawkins, American politician (died 2009)
*1928 – Desmond Morris, English zoologist, ethologist, and painter
* 1928 – Michel Serrault, French actor (died 2007)
*1930 – Terence Bayler, New Zealand actor (died 2016)
* 1930 – Mahmoud Farshchian, Iranian-Persian painter and academic
* 1930 – John Romita Sr., American comic book artist (died 2023)
*1931 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician and academic (died 2012)
* 1931 – Ib Nørholm, Danish composer and organist (died 2019)
*1932 – Éliane Radigue, French electronic music composer
*
1933 – Kamran Baghirov, the 12th General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, First Secretary of Azerbaijan Communist Party (died 2000)
* 1933 – Asim Ferhatović, Bosnian footballer (died 1987)
*1934 – Leonard Goldberg, American producer (died 2019)
* 1934 – Stanisław Grochowiak, Polish poet and dramatist (died 1976)
*
1935
Events
January
* January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims.
* January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...
– Shivabalayogi, Indian religious leader (died 1994)
*1936 – Doug Kershaw, American fiddle player and singer
*1937 – Trevor Edwards, Welsh footballer
*1938 – Julius Hemphill, American saxophonist and composer (died 1995)
*
1939 – Renate Garisch-Culmberger, German shot putter (died 2023)
* 1939 – Ray Stevens, American singer-songwriter and actor
*1940 – Vito Acconci, American designer (died 2017)
* 1940 – Joachim Gauck, German pastor and politician, 11th President of Germany
*1941 – Neil Diamond, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1941 – Aaron Neville, American singer
* 1941 – Dan Shechtman, Israeli chemist and academic, Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize laureate
*
1942 – Ingo Friedrich, German Member of the European Parliament
* 1942 – Gary Hart (wrestler), Gary Hart, American wrestler and manager (died 2008)
*
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 � ...
– Barry Mealand, English footballer (died 2013)
* 1943 – Peter Struck (politician), Peter Struck, German lawyer and politician, 13th List of German defence ministers, German Federal Minister of Defence (died 2012)
* 1943 – Sharon Tate, American model and actress (died 1969)
* 1943 – Tony Trimmer, English race car driver
* 1943 – Manuel Velázquez, Spanish footballer (died 2016)
*1944 – David Gerrold, American science fiction screenwriter and author
* 1944 – Gian-Franco Kasper, Swiss ski official (died 2021)
*1945 – John Garamendi, American football player and politician, 1st United States Deputy Secretary of the Interior
* 1945 – Subhash Ghai, Indian director, producer and screenwriter
* 1945 – Eva Janko, Austrian javelin thrower
*
1946
1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
– Michael Ontkean, Canadian actor
*1947 – Giorgio Chinaglia, Italian footballer (died 2012)
* 1947 – Michio Kaku, American physicist and academic
* 1947 – Masashi Ozaki, Japanese baseball player and golfer
* 1947 – Warren Zevon, American singer-songwriter (died 2003)
*1948 – Michael Des Barres, the 26th Marquis Des Barres, English musician, actor, and DJ
*1949 – John Belushi, American actor and screenwriter (died 1982)
* 1949 – Bart Gordon, American lawyer
* 1949 – Nadezhda Ilyina, Russian athlete and mother of Russian tennis player Nadia Petrova (died 2013)
* 1949 – Rihoko Yoshida, Japanese voice actress
*1950 – Daniel Auteuil, French actor, director, and screenwriter
*1951 – Yakov Smirnoff, Ukrainian-American comedian and actor
*1953 – Yuri Bashmet, Russian violinist, viola player, and conductor
* 1953 – Moon Jae-in, South Korean politician, 19th President of South Korea
*1954 – Jo Gartner, Austrian race car driver (died 1986)
*1955 – Jim Montgomery (swimmer), Jim Montgomery, American swimmer
* 1955 – Alan Sokal, American physicist and author
* 1955 – Lynda Weinman, American businesswoman and author
*1956 – Agus Martowardojo, governor of Bank Indonesia
*1957 – Mark Eaton, American basketball player and sportscaster (died 2021)
* 1957 – Ade Edmondson, English comedian and musician
*1958 – Kim Eui-kon, Korean wrestler (died 2014)
* 1958 – Jools Holland, English singer-songwriter and pianist
* 1958 – Frank Ullrich, German biathlete
*1959 – Akira Maeda, Japanese wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor
* 1959 – Michel Preud'homme, Belgian footballer and manager
*
1960 – Jack Neo, Singaporean filmmaker, director and actor
*
1961 – Jorge Barrios (footballer), Jorge Barrios, Uruguayan footballer
* 1961 – Guido Buchwald, German footballer and manager
* 1961 – Christa Kinshofer, German ski racer
* 1961 – Nastassja Kinski, German-American actress and producer
* 1961 – William Van Dijck, Belgian runner
*1963 – Arnold Vanderlyde, Dutch boxer
*1965 – Mike Awesome, American wrestler (died 2007)
* 1965 – Carlos Saldanha, Brazilian-American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
* 1965 – Margaret Urlich, New Zealand singer-songwriter (died 2022)
* 1965 – Pagonis Vakalopoulos, Greek footballer and manager
*
1966 – Julie Dreyfus, French actress
* 1966 – Karin Viard, French actress
*1967 – Michael Kiske, German singer
* 1967 – Phil LaMarr, American actor and comedian
*
1968 – Fernando Escartín, Spanish cyclist
* 1968 – Tymerlan Huseynov, Ukrainian footballer
* 1968 – Antony Garrett Lisi, American theoretical physicist
* 1968 – Mary Lou Retton, American gymnast
*1969 – Yoo Ho-jeong, South Korean actress
* 1969 – Carlos Rômulo Gonçalves e Silva, Brazilian religious leader, Bishop of Montenegro
*1970 – Roberto Bonano, Argentine footballer
* 1970 – Luke Egan, Australian surfer
* 1970 – Neil Johnson (cricketer), Neil Johnson, Zimbabwean cricketer
* 1970 – Matthew Lillard, American actor
*1971 – José Carlos Fernández (Bolivian footballer), José Carlos Fernandez, Bolivian footballer
*
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...
– Beth Hart, American singer-songwriter and musician
*1974 – Cyril Despres, French rally racer
* 1974 – Ed Helms, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
* 1974 – Melissa Tkautz, Australian actress and singer
* 1974 – Rokia Traoré, Malian singer
*1975 – Gianluca Basile, Italian former professional basketball player
* 1975 – Rónald Gómez, Costa Rican footballer and manager
* 1975 – Reto Hug, Swiss triathlete
* 1975 – Henna Raita, Finnish alpine skier
*1976 – Shae-Lynn Bourne, Canadian ice dancer, coach, and choreographer
* 1976 – Cindy Pieters, Belgian cyclist
*
1977 – Andrija Gerić, Serbian volleyball player
* 1977 – Michelle Hunziker, Swiss-Dutch actress, model and singer
*
1978
Events January
* January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213.
* January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...
– Veerle Baetens, Belgian actress and singer
* 1978 – Mark Hildreth (actor), Mark Hildreth, Canadian actor and musician
* 1978 – Kristen Schaal, American actress, voice artist, comedian and writer
*1979 – Tatyana Ali, American actress and singer
* 1979 – Leandro Desábato, Argentinian footballer
* 1979 – Busy Signal, Jamaican dancehall reggae artist
* 1979 – Nik Wallenda, American acrobat
*1980 – Jofre Mateu, Spanish footballer
* 1980 – Suzy (singer), Suzy, Portuguese singer
*1981 – Carrie Coon, American actress
* 1981 – Mario Eggimann, Swiss footballer
* 1981 – Zaur Hashimov, Azerbaijani footballer and manager
* 1981 – Elena Kolomina, Kazakhstani cross country skier
*1982 – Céline Deville, French footballer
* 1982 – Daveed Diggs, American actor, rapper and singer
* 1982 – Claudia Heill, Austrian judoka (died 2011)
* 1982 – Aitor Hernández, Spanish racing cyclist
*1983 – Davide Biondini, Italian footballer
* 1983 – Wyatt Crockett, New Zealand rugby player
* 1983 – Evgeny Drattsev, Russian swimmer
* 1983 – Craig Horner, Australian actor and musician
* 1983 – Shaun Maloney, Scottish footballer
* 1983 – Scott Speed, American race car driver
*
1984 – Justin Baldoni, American actor, director, and producer
* 1984 – Emerse Faé, French-Ivorian footballer
* 1984 – Yotam Halperin, Israeli basketball player
* 1984 – Jung Jin-sun, South Korean fencer
* 1984 – Scott Kazmir, American baseball player
* 1984 – Paulo Sérgio (footballer, born 1984), Paulo Sérgio, Portuguese footballer
*1985 – Fabiana Claudino, Brazilian volleyball player
* 1985 – Trey Gilder, American basketball player
*
1986 – Cristiano Araújo, Brazilian singer-songwriter (died 2015)
* 1986 – Mischa Barton, English-American actress
* 1986 – Tyler Flowers, American baseball player
* 1986 – Vladislav Ivanov (footballer, born 1986), Vladislav Ivanov, Russian footballer
* 1986 – Michael Kightly, English footballer
* 1986 – Sean McVay, American football coach
* 1986 – Mohammad Bagheri Motamed, Iranian taekwondo practitioner
* 1986 – Ricky Ullman, Israeli-American actor
*
1987 – Brian Cushing, American football player
* 1987 – Wayne Hennessey, Welsh footballer
* 1987 – Luis Suárez, Uruguayan footballer
* 1987 – Davide Valsecchi, Italian racing driver
* 1987 – Kia Vaughn, American-Czech basketball player
* 1987 – Guan Xin, Chinese basketball player
*1988 – Selina Jörg, German snowboarder
* 1988 – DaJuan Summers, American basketball player
*
1989 – Serdar Kesimal, Turkish footballer
* 1989 – Gong Lijiao, Chinese shot putter
* 1989 – Whit Merrifield, American baseball player
* 1989 – José Quintana, Colombian baseball player
* 1989 – Ki Sung-yueng, South Korean footballer
*
1990 – Mao Abe, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1991 – Zhan Beleniuk, Ukrainian Greco-Roman wrestler
* 1991 – Tatiana Kashirina, Russian weightlifter
* 1991 – Zack Kassian, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1991 – Zé Luís, Cape Verdean footballer
* 1991 – Li Xuerui, Chinese badminton player
* 1992 – Felitciano Zschusschen, Curaçao footballer
*1994 – Tommie Hoban, English footballer
*1995 – Dylan Everett, Canadian actor
*1997 – Nirei Fukuzumi, Japanese race car driver
*1999 – Vitalie Damașcan, Moldovan footballer
* 1999 – Tristan Wirfs, American football player
*
2003 – Johnny Orlando, Canadian singer and songwriter
*2012 – Princess Athena of Denmark
Deaths
Pre-1600
*
41 –
Caligula,
Roman emperor (born 12)
* 817 – Pope Stephen IV (born 770)
* 901 – Liu Jishu, general of the Tang dynasty, Tang Dynasty
*1046 – Eckard II, Margrave of Meissen (born c. 985)
*1125 – David IV of Georgia (born 1073)
*1336 – Alfonso IV of Aragon (born 1299)
*1376 – Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel, English commander (born 1306)
*1473 – Conrad Paumann, German organist and composer (born 1410)
*1525 – Franciabigio, Florentine painter (born 1482)
*1595 – Ferdinand II, Archduke of Austria (born 1529)
1601–1900
*1626 – Samuel Argall, English captain and politician, List of colonial governors of Virginia, Colonial Governor of Virginia (born 1572)
*1639 – Jörg Jenatsch, Swiss pastor and politician (born 1596)
*1666 – Johann Andreas Herbst, German composer and theorist (born 1588)
*
1709 – George Rooke, English admiral and politician (born 1650)
*1877 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist and journalist (born 1796)
*1881 – James Collinson, English painter (born 1825)
*1883 – Friedrich von Flotow, German composer (born 1812)
*
1895 – Lord Randolph Churchill, English lawyer and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1849)
1901–present
*1920 – Percy French, Irish songwriter, entertainer and artist (born 1854)
*1920 – Amedeo Modigliani, Italian painter and sculptor (born 1884)
*
1939 – Maximilian Bircher-Benner, Swiss physician, created Muesli (born 1867)
*
1943
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured.
* January 4 � ...
– John Burns, English trade union leader and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (born 1858)
*
1946
1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...
– Morris Alexander, South African politician (born 1877)
*
1960 – Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (born 1886)
*
1961 – Alfred Carlton Gilbert, American pole vaulter and businessman, founded the A. C. Gilbert Company (born 1884)
*1962 – André Lhote, French sculptor and painter (born 1885)
* 1962 – Stanley Lord, English naval captain (born 1877)
* 1962 – Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, Turkish author, poet, and scholar (born 1901)
*1965 –
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, English statesman, soldier, and writer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1874)
*
1966 – Homi J. Bhabha, Indian physicist and academic (born 1909)
*1970 – Caresse Crosby, American fashion designer and publisher, co-founded the Black Sun Press (born 1891)
*1971 – Bill W., American activist, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous (born 1895)
*1973 – J. Carrol Naish, American actor (born 1896)
*1975 – Larry Fine, American comedian (born 1902)
*1982 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian general and politician, 56th President of Bolivia (born 1918)
*1983 – George Cukor, American director and producer (born 1899)
*
1986 – L. Ron Hubbard, American religious leader and author, founded the Church of Scientology (born 1911)
* 1986 – Gordon MacRae, American actor and singer (born 1921)
*1988 – Werner Fenchel, German-Danish mathematician and academic (born 1905)
*
1989 –
Ted Bundy, American serial killer (born 1946)
*
1990 – Madge Bellamy, American actress (born 1899)
*1991 – Jack Schaefer, American journalist and author (born 1907)
*1992 – Ken Darby, American composer and conductor (born 1909)
*1993 – Gustav Ernesaks, Estonian composer and conductor (born 1908)
* 1993 – Thurgood Marshall, American lawyer and jurist, 32nd United States Solicitor General (born 1908)
* 1993 – Uğur Mumcu, Turkish investigative journalist (born 1942)
*2001 – Gaffar Okkan, Turkish police chief (born 1952)
*2002 – Elie Hobeika, Lebanese commander and politician (born 1956)
*
2003 – Gianni Agnelli, Italian businessman (born 1921)
*2004 – Leônidas (footballer, born 1913), Leônidas, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1913)
*2006 – Schafik Handal, Salvadoran politician (born 1930)
*2007 – Krystyna Feldman, Polish actress (born 1916)
* 2007 – İsmail Cem İpekçi, Turkish journalist and politician, 45th List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Turkey), Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1940)
* 2007 – Guadalupe Larriva, Ecuadorian academic and politician (born 1956)
* 2007 – Emiliano Mercado del Toro, Puerto Rican-American soldier (born 1891)
* 2008 – Usha Narayanan, Burmese-born First ladies and gentlemen of India, First Lady of India (born 1922)
* 2010 – Pernell Roberts, American actor (born 1928)
*
2011
The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
– Bernd Eichinger, German director and producer (born 1949)
*2014 – Shulamit Aloni, Israeli lawyer and politician, 11th Ministry of Education (Israel), Israeli Minister of Education (born 1928)
* 2014 – Rafael Pineda Ponce, Honduran academic and politician (born 1930)
*2015 – Otto Carius, German lieutenant and pharmacist (born 1922)
*2016 – Fredrik Barth, German-Norwegian anthropologist and academic (born 1928)
* 2016 – Marvin Minsky, American computer scientist and academic (born 1927)
* 2016 – Henry Worsley (explorer), Henry Worsley, English colonel and explorer (born 1960)
* 2017 – Helena Kmieć, Polish Roman Catholic missionary (born 1991)
*2017 – Butch Trucks, American drummer (born 1947)
*
2018 – Mark E. Smith, British singer-songwriter (born 1957)
*2019 – Rosemary Bryant Mariner, American United States Naval Aviator (born 1953)
*2025 – Iris Cummings, American swimmer and aviator (born 1920)
Holidays and observances
*Christian feast day:
**Babylas of Antioch
**Cadoc (Wales)
**Exuperantius of Cingoli
**Felician of Foligno
**Francis de Sales
**Pratulin Martyrs (Greek Catholic Church)
**January 24 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*Day of the Unification of the Romanian Principalities (Romania)
*Feast of Our Lady of Peace (Roman Catholic Church), and its related observances:
**''Feria de Alasitas'' (La Paz)
*Uttar Pradesh Day (Uttar Pradesh, India)
*National Girl Child Day (India)
References
External links
BBC: On This Day
*
Historical Events on January 24
{{months
Days of January