January 14: Makar Sankranti in India

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January 14 is the 14th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 351 days remaining until the end of the year (352 in leap years).
It is celebrated as New Year's Day by those still following the Julian calendar.

Events

1129 - Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes.
1301 - Andrew III of Hungary dies, ending the Arpad dynasty in Hungary.
1501 - Martin Luther, 17, enters the University of Erfurt.
1514 - Pope Leo X issues a papal bull against slavery.
1539 - Spain annexes Cuba.
1639 - The "Fundamental Orders", the first written constitution that created a government, is adopted in Connecticut.
1724 - King Philip V of Spain abdicates the throne.
1761 - The Third Battle of Panipat was fought in India between the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Marhatas. The Afghan victory changed the course of Indian History.
1784 - American Revolutionary War: The United States ratifies a peace treaty with England.
1814 - Treaty of Kiel: Frederick VI of Denmark cedes Norway to Sweden in return for Pomerania.
1822 - Greek War of Independence: Acrocorinth is captured by Theodoros Kolokotronis and Demetrius Ypsilanti.
1832 - American author Edgar Allan Poe publishes his first short story, "Metzengerstein".
1858 - Napoleon III of France escapes an assassination attempt.
1907 - An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica kills more than 1,000.
1913 - First Balkan War: The Greek army defeats the Turks at Bizani.
1938 - Norway claims Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.
1943 - World War II: Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill begin the Casablanca Conference to discuss strategy and study the next phase of the war.
1943 - Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes the first President of the United States to travel via airplane while in office (Miami, Florida to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill to discuss World War II).
1950 - The first prototype of the MiG-17 makes its maiden flight.
1951 - The National Football League has its first Pro Bowl Game (Los Angeles, California).
1952 - The Today Show, the first morning/breakfast television show premieres on NBC.
1953 - President Josip Broz Tito is elected president of Yugoslavia.
1954 - The Hudson Motor Car Company merges with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation forming the American Motors Corporation.
1967 - Counterculture of the 1960s: The Human Be-In, takes place in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, launching the Summer of Love. Between 20,000 to 30,000 people attend.
1969 - An explosion aboard the USS Enterprise near Hawaii kills 27 people.
1972 - Queen Margrethe II of Denmark ascends the throne, the first Queen of Denmark since 1412 and the first Danish monarch not named Frederick or Christian since 1513.
1973 - Super Bowl VII: The Miami Dolphins defeat the Washington Redskins. The Dolphins become the first NFL team to go undefeated in a season.
1975 - Teenage heiress Lesley Whittle is kidnapped by Donald Neilson, aka "the Black Panther".
1994 - U.S. President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin sign the Kremlin accords.
1998 - Researchers in Dallas, Texas present findings about an enzyme that slows aging and cell death (apoptosis).
1998 - An Afghan cargo plane crashes into a mountain in southwest Pakistan killing more than 50 people.
2000 - A United Nations tribunal sentences five Bosnian Croats to up to 25 years for the 1993 killing of over 100 Muslims in a Bosnian village.
2000 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches a record high of 11,722.98.
2004 - The national flag of Georgia, the so-called "five cross flag", was restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years.
2005 - Landing of the Huygens probe on Saturn's moon Titan.

Births

83 BC - Marcus Antonius, Roman politician (d. 30 BC)
1451 - Franchinus Gaffurius, Italian music theorist (d. 1522)
1477 - Hermann of Wied, German Catholic archbishop (d. 1552)
1507 - Catherine of Habsburg, Infanta of Spain and queen of Portugal (d. 1578)
1551 - Alberico Gentili, Italian jurist (d. 1608)
1615 - John Biddle, English theologian (d. 1662)
1684 - Jean-Baptiste van Loo, French painter (d. 1745)
1684 - Johann Matthias Hase, German scientist (d. 1742)
1702 - Nakamikado Emperor of Japan (d. 1737)
1705 - Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, French governor (d. 1786)
1741 - Benedict Arnold, American general notorious for treason (d. 1801)
1767 - Maria Theresia of Tuscany, queen consort of Saxony (d. 1827)
1780 - Henry Baldwin, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1844)
1792 - Christian Julius De Meza, Danish general (d. 1865)
1793 - John C. Clark, American politician (d. 1852)
1798 - Johan Rudolf Thorbecke, Dutch politician (d. 1872)
1800 - Ludwig Alois Ferdinand KÃ¶chel, Austrian musicologist (d. 1877)
1806 - Matthew Fontaine Maury American oceanographer (d. 1873)
1818 - Zacharias Topelius, Finnish-Swedish writer (d. 1898)
1836 - Henri Fantin-Latour, French painter (d. 1904)
1841 - Berthe Morisot, French painter (d. 1895)
1850 - Pierre Loti, French writer (d. 1923)
1861 - Mehmed VI, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1926)
1875 - Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
1882 - Hendrik Willem van Loon, Dutch-American historian and journalist (d. 1944)
1883 - Nina Ricci, Italian-born French fashion designer (d. 1970)
1886 - Hugh Lofting, English author (d. 1947)
1892 - Hal Roach, American film producer (d. 1992)
1896 - John Dos Passos, American author (d. 1970)
1896 - Martin NiemÃ¶ller, German theologian (d. 1984)
1904 - Emily Hahn, American writer (d. 1997)
1904 - Babe Siebert, National Hockey League player (d. 1939)
1905 - Cecil Beaton, English photographer (d. 1980)
1906 - William Bendix, American actor (d. 1964)
1907 - Georges-Ã‰mile Lapalme, Quebec politician (d. 1985)
1908 - Russ Columbo, American singer (d. 1934)
1909 - Joseph Losey, American theatre and film director (d. 1984)
1914 - Harold Russell, Canadian-born actor (d. 2002)
1915 - Mark Goodson, American game show producer (d. 1992)
1917 - Billy Butterfield, American jazz trumpeter (d. 1988)
1919 - Giulio Andreotti, Italian politician
1919 - Andy Rooney, American journalist
1921 - Murray Bookchin, American libertarian socialist (d. 2006)
1924 - Guy Williams, American actor (d. 2002)
1925 - Yukio Mishima, Japanese writer (d. 1970)
1925 - Louis Quilico, Canadian baritone (d. 2000)
1926 - Tom Tryon, American actor (d. 1991)
1926 - Warren Mitchell, English actor
1928 - Lars Forssell, Swedish writer, member of the Swedish Academy (d. 2007)
1931 - Caterina Valente, French-born singer
1932 - Don Garlits, American race car driver
1933 - Stan Brakhage, American filmmaker (d. 2003)
1934 - Richard Briers, English actor
1934 - Alberto Rodriguez Larreta, Argentine racing driver (d. 1977)
1935 - Lucille Wheeler, Canadian alpine skier
1937 - Ken Higgs, English cricketer
1937 - Erland Kops, Danish badminton player
1938 - Jack Jones, American singer
1938 - Allen Toussaint, American singer
1940 - Julian Bond, American civil rights activist
1941 - Faye Dunaway, American actress
1941 - Milan Kučan, Slovenian statesman
1942 - Dave Campbell, American baseball player
1943 - Shannon Lucid, American astronaut
1943 - Mariss Jansons, Latvian conductor
1943 - JosÃ© Luis RodrÃguez, Venezuelan singer
1944 - Marjoe Gortner, American evangelist
1944 - Nina Totenberg, American journalist
1946 - Harold Shipman, British serial killer (d. 2004)
1947 - Bill Werbeniuk, Canadian snooker player (d. 2003)
1947 - Maria Farantouri, Greek singer
1948 - T-Bone Burnett, American producer
1948 - Carl Weathers, American actor
1948 - Valery Kharlamov, Soviet Union ice hockey player (d. 1981)
1949 - Lawrence Kasdan, American director
1949 - Mary Robison, American writer
1950 - Marco AntÃ´nio da Silva Ramos, Brazilian composer
1952 - Sydney Biddle Barrows, American author
1952 - Maureen Dowd, American writer
1952 - Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu, Prime Minister of Romania
1954 - Jim Duggan, American wrestler
1956 - Ben Heppner, Canadian singer
1956 - Ã‰tienne Daho, French singer and songwriter
1957 - Suzanne Danielle, English actress
1957 - Anchee Min, Chinese writer
1959 - Geoff Tate, American musician (QueensrÃ¿che)
1962 - Michael McCaul, American politician
1963 - Steven Soderbergh, American director
1964 - Shepard Smith, American news anchor
1964 - Mark Addy, British actor
1964 - Ernest Miller, American wrestler
1965 - Shamil Basayev, Chechen rebel (d. 2006)
1965 - Marc Delissen, Dutch field hockey player
1965 - Bob Essensa, Canadian ice hockey player
1965 - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, British chef
1967 - Kerri Green, American actress
1967 - Emily Watson, English actress
1967 - Saskia Wickham, British actress
1967 - Zakk Wylde, American musician (Black Label Society)
1968 - LL Cool J, American rapper and actor
1968 - Ruel Fox, English footballer
1969 - Jason Bateman, American actor
1969 - David Grohl, American drummer and composer (Nirvana, Foo Fighters)
1970 - Gene Snitsky, American professional wrestler
1971 - Lasse Kjus, Norwegian skier
1972 - Predrag Gosta, Yugoslav-born conductor
1972 - Kyle Brady, American football player
1972 - Raimondas RumÅ¡as, Lithuanian cyclist
1973 - Giancarlo Fisichella, Italian race car driver
1977 - Darren Purse, English footballer
1977 - Narain Karthikeyan, Indian race car driver
1978 - Just Blaze, African American hip hop producer
1978 - Shawn Crawford, American sprinter
1979 - Karen Elson, British supermodel
1979 - Angela Lindvall, American supermodel
1979 - John Reuben, American hip hop artist
1980 - Clive Clarke, Irish footballer
1980 - Cory Gibbs, American soccer player
1980 - Byron Leftwich, American football player
1980 - Sosuke Sumitani, Japanese announcer
1981 - Rosa LÃ³pez, Spanish singer
1981 - Abdelmalek Cherrad, Algerian football
1982 - VÃctor ValdÃ©s, Spanish goalkeeper
1982 - Caleb Followill, American musician (Kings of Leon)
1984 - Mike Pelfrey, American baseball player
1986 - Gary Brolsma, American internet celebrity
1987 - Kristin Cavallari American reality tv castmember (Laguna Beach)
1988 - Mikalah Gordon, American singer
1994 - Samir Patel, American spelling prodigy

Deaths

1163 - Ladislaus II of Hungary (b. 1131)
1331 - Odoric, Italian explorer (b. 1286)
1640 - Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry, English lawyer and judge (b. 1578)
1676 - Francesco Cavalli, Italian composer (b. 1602)
1679 - Jacques de Billy, French mathematician (b. 1602)
1701 - Tokugawa Mitsukuni, Japanese warlord (b. 1628)
1742 - Edmond Halley, English scientist (b. 1656)
1753 - George Berkeley, Irish theologian (b. 1685)
1786 - Meshech Weare, Governor of New Hampshire (b. 1713)
1788 - FranÃ§ois Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasetilly, comte de Grasse, French admiral (b. 1722)
1825 - George Dance the Younger, English architect (b. 1741)
1833 - Seraphim of Sarov, Russian Orthodox saint (b. 1759)
1867 - Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, French painter (b. 1780)
1889 - Ema Puksec, Croatian singer (b. 1834)
1898 - Lewis Carroll, English writer and mathematician (b. 1832)
1901 - Charles Hermite, French mathematician (b. 1822)
1905 - Ernst Abbe, German physicist (b. 1840)
1915 - Richard Meux Benson, founder of Anglican religious order (b. 1824)
1920 - John Francis Dodge, American automobile pioneer (b. 1864)
1937 - Jaishankar Prasad, Hindi poet, dramatist and novelist (b. 1889)
1942 - Porfirio Barba-Jacob, Colombian writer (b. 1883)
1949 - JoaquÃn Turina, Spanish composer (b. 1882)
1952 - Artur Kapp, Estonian composer (b. 1878)
1957 - Humphrey Bogart, American actor (b. 1899)
1961 - Barry Fitzgerald, Irish actor (b. 1888)
1965 - Jeanette MacDonald, American actress and singer (b. 1903)
1966 - Bill Carr, American athlete (b. 1909)
1966 - Sergei Korolev, Russian rocket scientist (b. 1906)
1970 - William Feller, Croatian mathematician (b. 1906)
1972 - King Frederick IX of Denmark (b. 1899)
1977 - Anthony Eden, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1897)
1977 - Peter Finch, English-born actor (b. 1916)
1977 - AnaÃ¯s Nin, French author (b. 1903)
1978 - Harold Abrahams, British athlete (b. 1899)
1978 - Kurt GÃ¶del, Austrian mathematician (b. 1906)
1978 - Blossom Rock, American actress (b. 1895)
1979 - Thomas DeSimone, gangster associate of the Lucchese crime family (b. 1950)
1980 - Robert Ardrey, American author (b. 1908)
1984 - Ray Kroc, American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1902)
1986 - Daniel Balavoine, French singer (b. 1952)
1986 - Donna Reed, American actress (b. 1921)
1988 - Georgi Malenkov, First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party (b. 1902)
1990 - Mani Madhava Chakyar, Legendary Koodiyattam artist and Sanskrit scholar (b. 1899)
1997 - Dollard MÃ©nard, French Canadian general (b. 1913)

2001 - Burkhard Heim, German physicist (b. 1925)
2003 - Koloman Sokol, Slovak painter (b. 1902)
2004 - Uta Hagen, American actress (b. 1919)
2004 - Ron O'Neal, American actor (b. 1937)
2004 - Valfar, Norwegian musician (Windir)
2005 - Charlotte MacLeod, American writer (b. 1922)
2005 - Conroy Maddox, English painter (b. 1912)
2005 - Rudolph Moshammer, German fashion designer (b. 1940)
2005 - JesÃºs-Rafael Soto, Venezuelan kinetic artist (b. 1923)
2006 - Jim Gary, American sculptor (b. 1939)
2006 - Shelley Winters, American actress (b. 1920)
2006 - Mark Philo, English footballer (b. 1984)
2006 - Henri Colpi, French film editor and director (b. 1921)
2007 - Darlene Conley, American actress (b. 1934)
2007 - Barbara Kelly, Canadian-born actress (b. 1924)

Holidays and Observances

Pongal in South India. Harvest Festival for Tamil people. Also celebrated as Makar Sankranti by Kannada, Telugu and North Indian People.
New Year's Day in Eastern Orthodoxy, see Julian Calendar.
Makar Sankranti in India. The event is marked by flying kites.
Feast of Divina Pastora, in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
Day of St. Basil the Great in Eastern Orthodoxy, January 1 on the Julian Calendar.
Festum Asinorum, medieval burlesque festival celebrating the Flight into Egypt.

Religious Feast Days

Barba'shmin
Felix of Nola
Macrina the Elder
Saint Mungo
Saint Sava
January 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)