Events
- 475 - Byzantine Emperor Zeno is forced to flee his capital at Constantinople.
- 1349 - The Jewish population of Basel, Switzerland, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing bubonic plague, is rounded up and incinerated.
- 1431 - Judges' investigations for the trial of Joan of Arc begin in Rouen, France, the seat of the English occupation government.
- 1760 - Afghans defeat Marathas in Battle of Barari Ghat.
- 1768 - Philip Astley stages the first modern circus (London).
- 1788 - Connecticut becomes the fifth state to join the United States.
- 1793 - Jean-Pierre Blanchard becomes the first person to fly in a balloon in the United States.
- 1799 - British Prime Minister William Pitt introduces income tax to raise funds for the war against Napoleon.
- 1806 - Admiral Horatio Lord Nelson receives a state funeral and is interred in St Paul's Cathedral.
- 1816 - Sir Humphry Davy tests the Davy lamp for miners at Hebburn Colliery.
- 1822 - The Portuguese prince Pedro I of Brazil decides to stay in Brazil against the orders of the Portuguese king João VI, starting the Brazilian independence process.
- 1839 - The French Academy of Sciences announces the Daguerreotype photography process.
- 1857 - The Fort Tejon earthquake of California occurs, registering an estimated magnitude of 7.9.
- 1858 - Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas, commits suicide.
- 1861 - American Civil War: The "Star of the West" incident occurs near Charleston, South Carolina. It is considered by some historians to be the "First Shots of the American Civil War".)
- 1861 - Mississippi becomes the second state to secede from the Union before the outbreak of the American Civil War.
- 1863 - The first section of the London Underground Railway opens -- between Paddington and Farringdon Street.
- 1863 - American Civil War: the Battle of Fort Hindman occurs in Arkansas.
- 1878 - Umberto I becomes King of Italy.
- 1880 - The Great Gale of 1880 devastates parts of Oregon and Washington with high wind and heavy snow.
- 1882 - Oscar Wilde gives his first lecture on "The English Renaissance of Art" in New York.
- 1894 - New England Telephone and Telegraph installs the first battery-operated telephone switchboard in Lexington, Massachusetts.
- 1900 - S.S. Lazio is founded in Rome, Italy.
- 1903 - Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson, son of the famous poet Alfred Tennyson, becomes the second Governor-General of Australia.
- 1905 - According to the Julian Calendar which was used at the time, Russian workers stage a march on the Winter Palace that ends in the massacre by Tsarist troops known as Bloody Sunday, setting off the Russian Revolution of 1905.
- 1914 - Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Inc. is founded on the campus of Howard University.
- 1916 - The Ottoman Empire prevails in the Battle of Çanakkale, as the last British troops are evacuated.
- 1917 - World War I: the Battle of Rafa occurs near the Egyptian border with Palestine.
- 1923 - Juan de la Cierva makes the first autogyro flight.
- 1941 - First flight of the Avro Lancaster.
- 1941 - World War II: The Greek Triton (S.112) sinks the Italian submarine Neghelli in Otranto.
- 1945 - The United States invades Luzon in the Philippines.
- 1947 - Elizabeth "Betty" Short, the Black Dahlia, is last seen alive.
- 1951 - The United Nations headquarters officially opens in New York City.
- 1964 - Martyrs' Day: Several Panamanian youths try to raise the Panamanian flag on the US-controlled Panama Canal Zone, leading to fighting between US military and Panamanian civilians.
- 1968 - The only known snowfall occurs in Mexico City, additional snow falls on Jan. 10 and 11.
- 1972 - RMS Queen Elizabeth is destroyed by fire in Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong.
- 1986 - After losing a patent battle with Polaroid, Kodak exits the instant camera business.
- 1991 - The Soviets storm Vilnius to stop Lithuanian independence.
- 1997 - A Comair Embraer EMB 120 crashes during approach into Detroit Metro Airport, killing 29 people.
- 2001 - Shenzhou 2, an unmanned Chinese spacecraft, is launched.
- 2002 - The United States Department of Justice announces it is going to pursue a criminal investigation of Enron.
- 2005 - The signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, commonly known as the Naivasha Agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement rebel group in Naivasha, Kenya
- 2005 - Elections are held to replace Yasser Arafat as head of the Palestine Liberation Organization. He is succeeded by Rawhi Fattouh.
- 2006 - The Phantom of the Opera surpasses the record set by Cats for the title of longest running show on Broadway.
- 2007 - An AerianTur-M Antonov An-26 crashes in Balad, Iraq. The Islamic Army in Iraq claims to have shot it down.
Births
- 1554 - Pope Gregory XV (d. 1623)
- 1571 - Karel Bonaventura Buquoy, French soldier (d. 1621)
- 1589 - Ivan Gundulic, Croatian poet (d. 1638)
- 1624 - Empress Meishō (d. 1696)
- 1685 - Tiberius Hemsterhuis, Dutch philologist (d. 1766)
- 1728 - Thomas Warton, English poet (d. 1790)
- 1773 - Cassandra Austen, English watercolorist and sister of Jane Austen (d. 1845)
- 1790 - Per Daniel Amadeus Atterbom, Swedish poet (d. 1855)
- 1811 - Gilbert Abbott àBeckett, English writer (d. 1856)
- 1823 - Johannes Friedrich August von Esmarch, German surgeon (d. 1908)
- 1829 - Thomas William Robertson, English playwright (d. 1871)
- 1829 - Adolf von Schlagintweit, German explorer (d. 1857)
- 1832 - Félix-Gabriel Marchand, journalist, author and politician, Premier of Quebec (d. 1900)
- 1848 - Princess Frederica of Hanover (d. 1926)
- 1849 - John Hartley, English tennis player, double winner of Wimbledon (d. 1935)
- 1854 - Jennie Jerome, American society beauty and mother of Winston Churchill (d. 1921)
- 1856 - Anton AÅ¡kerc, Slovenian priest and poet (d. 1912)
- 1859 - Carrie Chapman Catt, American suffragist leader (d. 1947)
- 1864 - Vladimir Steklov, Russian mathematician (d. 1926)
- 1868 - S. P. L. Sørensen, Danish chemist (d. 1939)
- 1870 - Joseph B Strauss, American civil engineer (d. 1938)
- 1873 - Hayyim Nahman Bialik, Hebrew poet (d. 1934)
- 1875 - Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, American socialite (d. 1942)
- 1879 - John Broadus Watson, American psychologist (d. 1958)
- 1881 - Lascelles Abercrombie, British poet and critic (d. 1938)
- 1881 - Edouard Beaupré, horse lifter (d. 1904)
- 1881 - Giovanni Papini, Italian writer (d. 1956)
- 1890 - Karel Čapek, Czech writer (d. 1938)
- 1890 - Kurt Tucholsky, German journalist (d. 1935)
- 1892 - Eva Bowring, American politician (d. 1985)
- 1897 - Karl Löwith, German philosopher (d. 1973)
- 1898 - Vilma Bánky, Hungarian actress (d. 1991)
- 1898 - Gracie Fields, English vaudeville performer (d. 1979)
- 1899 - Alexander Tcherepnin, Russian composer (d. 1977)
- 1900 - Maria of Romania, Queen Consort of Yugoslavia (d. 1961)
- 1901 - Chic Young, American cartoonist (d. 1973)
- 1902 - Rudolph Bing, Austrian-born opera manager (d. 1997)
- 1902 - Saint JosemarÃÂa Escrivá, Spanish Catholic priest and founder of Opus Dei (d. 1975)
- 1903 - Hem Vejakorn, Thai illustrator (d. 1969)
- 1904 - George Balanchine, Russian dancer/choreographer (d. 1983)
- 1908 - Simone de Beauvoir, French author (d. 1986)
- 1909 - Herva Nelli, Italian-born soprano (d. 1994)
- 1912 - Ralph Tubbs, British architect (d. 1996)
- 1913 - Richard Nixon, 37th President of the United States (d. 1994)
- 1914 - Kenny (Klook) Clarke, American jazz drummer and composer (d. 1985)
- 1915 - Fernando Lamas, Argentine actor (d. 1982)
- 1916 - Vic Mizzy, American orchestra leader
- 1916 - Peter Twinn, English World War II code-breaker (d. 2004)
- 1920 - Clive Dunn, British actor
- 1920 - Hakim Mohammed Said, Pakistani scholar
- 1921 - Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright (d. 2006)
- 1922 - Har Gobind Khorana, Nobel laureate
- 1922 - Ahmed Sékou Touré, President of Guinea (d. 1984)
- 1924 - Sergei Parajanov, Armenian film director (d. 1990)
- 1925 - Lee Van Cleef, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1926 - Giannis Christou, Greek composer (d. 1970)
- 1926 - Jean-Pierre Côté, Canadian politician, Lieutenant governor of Quebec (d. 2002)
- 1928 - Judith Krantz, American author
- 1928 - Domenico Modugno, Italian singer and songwriter (d. 1994)
- 1929 - Brian Friel, Irish dramatist
- 1929 - Heiner Muller, German dramatist (d. 1995)
- 1929 - Dorothea Puente, American serial killer
- 1931 - Algis Budrys, American author
- 1933 - Robert Garcia, American politician
- 1934 - Bart Starr, American football player
- 1935 - Bob Denver, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1935 - Dick Enberg, American sportscaster
- 1935 - Earl G. Graves, Sr., African-American Publisher
- 1936 - Anne Rivers Siddons, American writer
- 1940 - Jimmy Boyd, American actor and singer
- 1940 - Barbara Buczek, Polish composer (d. 1993)
- 1940 - Ruth Dreifuss, Swiss politician
- 1941 - Joan Baez, American singer and activist
- 1941 - Gilles Vaillancourt, Quebec politician
- 1942 - K Callan, American actress
- 1942 - Lee Kun-hee, Korean industrialist, chairman of Samsung
- 1942 - Susannah York, British actress
- 1943 - Elmer MacFadyen, Canadian politician (d. 2007)
- 1943 - Freddie Starr, English comedian and singer
- 1943 - Scott Walker, American singer
- 1944 - Jimmy Page, English guitarist (Led Zeppelin)
- 1947 - Ronnie Landfield, American artist
- 1948 - Bill Cowsill, American singer (The Cowsills) (d. 2006)
- 1948 - Cassie Gaines Backup Singer (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 1977)
- 1950 - David Johansen American singer
- 1950 - Rio Reiser, German singer (d. 1996)
- 1951 - M.L. Carr, basketball player and coach
- 1951 - Crystal Gayle, American singer
- 1952 - Hugh Bayley, British politician
- 1955 - J. K. Simmons, American actor
- 1956 - Kimberly Beck, American actress
- 1956 - Imelda Staunton, British actress
- 1956 - Mike Walczewski, American Public Address Announcer at Madison Square Garden
- 1957 - Phil Lewis, lead singer of L.A. Guns
- 1958 - Mehmet Ali Ağca, Turkish attempted assassin of Pope John Paul II
- 1958 - Stephen Neale, British philosopher
- 1959 - Mark Martin, American race car driver
- 1959 - Rigoberta Menchú, Nobel Peace Prize laureate
- 1959 - Cristi Minculescu, Romanian musician
- 1959 - Otis Nixon, American baseball player
- 1961 - Oliver Goldstick, American screenwriter
- 1963 - Michael Everson, expert in writing systems and Unicode
- 1965 - Darren Bennett, Australian-born American football player
- 1965 - Muggsy Bogues, American basketball player
- 1965 - Iain Dowie, English football manager
- 1965 - Eric Erlandson, American musician
- 1965 - Joely Richardson, British actress
- 1967 - Carl Bell, American musician
- 1967 - Claudio Caniggia, Argentinian footballer
- 1967 - Steven Harwell, American singer and musician (Smash Mouth)
- 1967 - Dave Matthews, South African singer and musician
- 1968 - Jimmy Adams, West Indian cricketer
- 1968 - Joey Lauren Adams, American actress
- 1968 - Al Schnier, American rock guitarist
- 1970 - Lara Fabian, Belgian singer
- 1970 - Alex Staropoli, Italian keyboardist
- 1971 - Daniel Dumile, American hip hop artist
- 1971 - Scott Thornton, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1971 - Yusuke Naora, Japanese game art director
- 1972 - Sarah Beeny, British TV personality
- 1972 - Jay Powell, baseball player
- 1973 - Angela Bettis, American actress
- 1974 - Farhan Akhtar, Indian Bollywood Director, Actor, Producer, Singer.
- 1975 - Kiko Calero, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1975 - Kimberley Ann Scott Mathers, former wife of Eminem
- 1976 - Radek Bonk, Czech ice hockey player
- 1976 - Todd Grisham, American professional wrestling interviewer
- 1978 - Mathieu Garon, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 - Gennaro Gattuso, Italian footballer
- 1978 - Chad Johnson, American football player
- 1978 - AJ McLean, American singer
- 1978 - Maggie Rizer, American model and AIDS activist
- 1979 - Tomiko Van, Japanese singer
- 1980 - Sergio GarcÃÂa, Spanish golfer
- 1981 - Euzebiusz Smolarek, Polish footballer
- 1982 - Kate Middleton, girlfriend of Prince William of England
- 1987 - Sam Bird, English racing driver
- 1987 - Paolo Nutini, Scottish singer/songwriter
- 1987 - Pablo Santos, Mexican actor (d. 2006)
- 1989 - Michaella Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
- 1997 - Lauryn McClain, American actress and singer
Deaths
- 1150 - Emperor Xizong of Jin was murdered by Prince Hailing of Jin in a Coup d'état.
- 1282 - Abû 'Uthmân Sa'îd Hakam al Qurashi, ruler of Minorca (b. 1204)
- 1283 - Wen Tianxiang, Prime Minister of China (executed) (b. 1236)
- 1499 - Johann Cicero, elector of Brandenburg (b. 1455)
- 1514 - Anna, Duchess of Brittany, queen of Charles VIII of France (b. 1477)
- 1543 - Guillaume du Bellay, French diplomat and general (b. 1491)
- 1562 - Amago Haruhisa, Japanese warlord (b. 1514)
- 1571 - Nicolas Durand de Villegaignon, French naval officer (b. 1510)
- 1598 - Jasper Heywood, English translator (b. 1553)
- 1677 - Aernout van der Neer, Dutch painter (b. 1603)
- 1757 - Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle, French scientist and man of letters (b. 1657)
- 1757 - Louis Bertrand Castel, French mathematician (b. 1688)
- 1766 - Thomas Birch, British historian (b. 1705)
- 1799 - Maria Gaetana Agnesi, Italian scientist (b. 1718)
- 1800 - Jean Étienne Championnet, French general (b. 1762)
- 1805 - Noble Jones, American Continental Congressman (b. 1723)
- 1848 - Caroline Herschel, German-born astronomer (b. 1750)
- 1858 - Anson Jones, 5th and last President of Texas (suicide) (b. 1798)
- 1873 - Emperor Napoleon III of France (b. 1808)
- 1876 - Samuel Gridley Howe, American abolitionist (b. 1801)
- 1877 - Alexander Brullov, Russia painter (b. 1799)
- 1878 - King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy (b. 1820)
- 1895 - Aaron Lufkin Dennison, American watch manufacturer (b. 1812)
- 1901 - Richard Copley Christie, English scholar (b. 1830)
- 1908 - Wilhelm Busch, German painter (b. 1832)
- 1908 - Abraham Goldfaden, Russian-born actor (b. 1840)
- 1911 - Edwin Arthur Jones, American composer (b. 1853)
- 1911 - Edvard Rusjan, Slovene flight pioneer (b. 1886)
- 1918 - Émile Reynaud, French scientist (b. 1844)
- 1923 - Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand writer (b. 1888)
- 1931 - Wayne Munn, wrestler (b. 1896)
- 1936 - John Gilbert, American actor (b. 1899)
- 1939 - Johann Strauss III, Austrian conductor (b. 1866)
- 1946 - Countee Cullen, American poet (b. 1903)
- 1946 - Dimitrios Golemis, Greek athlete (b. 1874)
- 1947 - Karl Mannheim, German sociologist (b. 1893)
- 1960 - Elsie J. Oxenham, British children's author (b. 1880)
- 1961 - Emily Greene Balch, American writer, Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b. 1867)
- 1971 - Giannis Christou, Greek composer (b. 1926)
- 1971 - Elmer Flick, baseball player (b. 1876)
- 1972 - Ted Shawn, American dancer (b. 1891)
- 1975 - Pierre Fresnay, French actor (b. 1897)
- 1975 - Pyotr Sergeyevich Novikov, Russian mathematician (b. 1901)
- 1981 - Kazimierz Serocki, Polish composer (b. 1922)
- 1984 - Wolfgang Staudte, German director (b. 1906)
- 1985 - Robert Mayer, British businessman and philanthropist (b. 1879)
- 1987 - Marion Hutton, American singer (b. 1919)
- 1987 - Arthur Lake, American actor (b. 1905)
- 1989 - Bill Terry, baseball player (b. 1898)
- 1990 - Spud Chandler, baseball player (b. 1907)
- 1992 - Steve Brodie, American actor (b. 1919)
- 1992 - Bill Naughton, British playwright (b. 1910)
- 1994 - Johnny Temple, baseball player (b. 1927)
- 1995 - Peter Cook, British actor and comedian (b. 1937)
- 1995 - Souphanouvong, President of Laos (b. 1909)
- 1997 - Edward Osobka-Morawski, Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1909)
- 1997 - Jesse White, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1998 - Kenichi Fukui, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize in Chemistry laureate (b. 1918)
- 2000 - Nigel Tranter, Scottish historian and author (b. 1909)
- 2001 - Maurice Prather, American photographer (b. 1926)
- 2003 - Will McDonough, American sports journalist (b. 1935)
- 2004 - Norberto Bobbio, Italian philosopher (b. 1909)
- 2005 - Gonzalo Gavira, Mexican film sound technician (b. 1925)
- 2006 - Andy Caldecott, Australian motorcycle racer (b. 1964)
- 2006 - Mikk Mikiver, Estonian actor, director (b. 1937)
- 2007 - Elmer Symons, South African motorcycle racer (b. 1977)
Holidays and Observances
- Martyrs' Day (Panama) commemorates the 1964 riots over sovereignty of the Panama Canal Zone
- Black Nazarene feast in the Quiapo district, Manila, Philippines
- Balloon Ascension Day
- January 9 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Adrian of Canterbury[SUP][/SUP]
- Metropolitan Philip II of Moscow [SUP][/SUP]
- Theophan the Recluse